This Pocket space is a perfect sphere with impenetrable borders. It measured 6km in diameter with the ground perfectly halfway up the sphere.
The sky is red and always overcast with purple clouds. There's no day and night cycle, only night with a constant shattered full moon moving through the sky.
The land itself is desolate with no plant life, sterile earth, and stony jagged peaks. The only remarkable features are the numerous gravity dust crystals of various sizes doting the land.
In the center stood a giant purple crystal, towering up to hundreds of meters high, and a gothic castle had been carved on the inside of this crystal.
The castle contains a multitude of rooms, among which are, a conference hall, training rooms, a landing platform, and a well-stocked library.
Some useful resources can be found in the castle, a few crates of dust of all types, mundane weapons, armor, and clothes.
And also three different mecha shift weapons and a pair of Scrolls.
Looks good to me, the only slight issue is that the first two links don't seem to be working but that could be in my end.
I also imagine that Twisted Cage will be of great interest to Colin since it's the closest to his halberd which will make reverse engineering it easier.
I am eager to the reactions of Alex and others to this being the "natural habitat" of Seers. Alex should already have some idea of what they do and how they act, so seeing the blatantly evil-looking castle of Doom ought to raise certain questions. The more literary-minded might make comparisons between the Seers and Palantiri. Also, the library likely contains information on the Grimm in general given Salem had who-knows-how-many centuries to study them.
The sky is red and always overcast with purple clouds. There's no day and night cycle, only night with a constant shattered full moon moving through the sky.
Without any larger context they'd probably just assume that Remnant is a world that got parahumans at a very different point in their history and that the Grimm are the creations of some sort of Endbringer.
Even if they do believe in magic enough to accept the truth "An evil witch exists somewhere in the multiverse" probably won't cause any actual problems.
Well I imagine that Alex/the PRT would copyright any stories they found in the library and I imagine people would be happy to buy a collection of fairy tales from another universe or something.
Though the historians and such will probably be the major audience.
I'm sure in that library I wouldn't be surprised if some of those books mentioned Aura and Semblances and how people in that world can grant other people Aura. I can see it being one of the excuses to Dimensional Travel there I'm sure Alex and the higher ups in the PRT/Protectorate would be interested given what Aura can do.
I'm sure in that library I wouldn't be surprised if some of those books mentioned Aura and Semblances and how people in that world can grant other people Aura. I can see it being one of the excuses to Dimensional Travel there I'm sure Alex and the higher ups in the PRT/Protectorate would be interested given what Aura can do.
*Wince*
Okay, I have some bad news. Let's rip the bandaid off. I have no intention for Alex to ever set foot in Renmant. Full stop. It will never be available in the list of options for Dimensional Travel.
While I have nothing against RWBY, it's a very nice setting, and I've read plenty of excellent fic in it but I just don't want to go there.
First I only ever only watch the first few episodes, so most of my knowledge is secondhand.
Second, I think visiting it makes acquiring Aura too easy. You want Aura? You roll the Awakened Faunus Huntsman entry in the RWBY Category and pay 800 points.
Lastly, there's already a wonderful CM fic that makes excellent use of RWBY, Wild Soul. I don't want to just do the same things.
So yeah, sorry just no to RWBY.
I don't want to make a full list of Dimensional Travel options, it won't come up in the story for a while and it may change depending on what happens in the story. But here's a list of popular Settings that won't be available.
Canon Worm: If I use DT, it's to see something new.
Avatar: I don't know it well enough.
Devil May Cry/Bayonetta, Monster Hunter/Dauntless, Risk of Rain, The World Ends With You, Toriko, Borderlands, Lilo & Stitch, Kingdom Hearts, Fallout, Ratchet and Clank: Same
Warhammer 40,000 No way I'm visiting that nightmarish realm.
Ben 10/The Secret Saturdays: Not a fan.
Discworld: I respect Terry Pratchett far too much, I'll never be good enough to do justice to his work.
And that's all I can think of right now, but this does not mean that because a setting is not in the above list that I'm automatically okay with going there.
Again I apologize If I gave you false hope but I'll stand firm on this point.
[X] Yes, she's too powerful not to. I can't let this opportunity go. She can become a tool for good.
[X] Power
Power Roll: (620 points)
Entry Roll D7=7
500 Pocket Biosphere, 0 Bonus Theme, 700 Summon x7 (Too Expensive)
0 point reroll
200 Explosive Summoning, 600 Gigantification, 400 Choose one (300)
Sub-vote results: 500 Pocket Biosphere (Seer)
Banked: 120
It's weird how some chapters are straightforward to write and some end up really hard to write. This one lends much more toward the second option but the result isn't too bad in my eyes.
There's also the fact that I'm starting to get choice paralysis in some situations. Alex has so many options available to him, often equally valid ones that I'm having a hard time deciding on which way to go. It was bound to happen of course, I just needed to deal with it.
Enjoy.
As much as I dislike the Siberian for what she represents I couldn't afford to let her… No, not her, it. I couldn't afford to let it disappear into the ether. It can become a tool for good.
"What do you need to do? Capture her?" Alexandria appears to agree with my thoughts.
"No, not the Projection. We need to find and defeat the Master, and then I need to touch their head."
Eidolon asked a pointed question. "Does the Master need to be alive?"
"Yes." I paused before adding more details. "At least until the moment I touched them."
The meanings of my words didn't escape the members of the Triumvirate. They didn't comment.
"Do you have any ideas of his range?" Legend asked an excellent question.
"No. It must be significant for them to have remained anonymous for so long. I'm already searching but nothing so far." My Harvest's units were spreading in every direction as fast as possible, with no results so far, the area appeared deserted of human presence. And it was logical, it was still very early and we were in a very rural area. My other partners were also scouting all around the area, mainly from the sky.
"How will we be able to identify them?" This pointed question coming from Legend cut my momentum. My Minds provided an answer to that question in a split second.
"I can identify Parahuman if I see them with my own eyes. But I have no way to know if they are the ones we're looking for." I paused before amending my words. "Well no unless I got really close, which might not be wise considering the risk of the Siberian popping up right in my face." It wouldn't kill me but I wasn't eager to test Sustained Immortality.
Eidolon scowled before speaking up. "Don't worry about that. I can load some Thinker Powers and defensive ones to identify them if needed. The first step is finding them."
"Then let me give each of you one of my smaller partners, That way, I'll be able to teleport to you."
They nodded and I didn't waste any more time in summoning three partners relayed on each member of the Triumvirate. Eidolon received Weaver hidden in the hood of his cloak. Legend ended up with Serpent wrapped around his left arm. And Alexandria received Penta clinging to her shoulder. The trio didn't react to the additions on their person, simply nodding in acknowledgment.
Once more Alexandria took the lead. "Then let's go. We can't allow the Siberian's Master to escape. I'm going to Rust to coordinate with the troopers there, it's some distance away but the Master may be hiding among the populace."
"For my part, I'm going to the field camp, they could be in danger if the Master stumbled upon it. And I'll use that time to spool up my powers."
They both flew off. I exchanged a nod with Legend and we both also took off. Draconic wings sprouted from my back as I grew in size and then using the Rabbit Talisman I zipped away. With Legend going north I decided to go south.
We wasted a lot of time talking but it wouldn't have been wise to go hunting for the Siberian with no plan.
The first person we detected, found by one of my Harvest's Unit, was a man fishing in a small pond. The man looked relaxed, so it was unlikely to be him. Still, I approached invisibly and my Analytical Eyes confirmed that he was a normal human. I left one unit with him just in case and moved on.
The next two potential suspects were both farmers doing chores, spotted by Legend. I didn't believe for a second that either of those could be our mysterious master but I checked anyway to be thorough. No results there either.
Alexandria then called me to check on a suspicious-looking woman driving a sports car at an unsafe speed. But it turned out to be just a drunk returning home after an extremely late party. I put her to sleep and left her in her car on the side of the road.
Next Eidolon spots a camper, still sleeping in his tent in the middle of the woods. He was able to check by himself, it still wasn't the Master.
And then my ever-expanding net of Harvest's units caught sight of a white van speeding away just a hair above the speed limit on a side road. From the sky, I couldn't see the driver. Still invisible I dropped down by the side of the van to see them. It revealed a middle-aged man with dark unkempt hair, his face reminded me of someone but I couldn't place it. The man didn't look well, glancing every which way all the time, barely paying attention to the road itself. Upon closer look, I noted the presence of tattoos on the back of his hands.
Most importantly, Analytical Eyes revealed its statue as a Parahuman. I didn't hesitate to activate my Player Pin.
"Must get away. Must get away. Must protect Vanessa*. Once we're both safe we plan our revenge. Must get away."
That was already pretty damning, but then I checked his kill count and I struggled to contain my anger, one thousand three hundred and fifty-five.
Got you! Rising again I positioned myself right above the van. Only then did I call the others.
"I've found him." In a few words, I gave my position. "I can't wait for you, we're nearing the highway."
Legend advised me to remain careful and both Eidolon and Alexandria indicated that they were on their way.
At the same time as I was speaking, I scanned the van with all my senses. While this didn't, yet, include the ability to see through walls I was still able to discern a presence in the back of the vehicle. Without a doubt, the Siberian was ready to defend its Master.
Before acting I want to have eyes on the inside of the van. For once I couldn't use Harvest, both the Siberian and the Master would be able to see the Stand. Instead, I summoned a miniaturized Cujo equipped with Clear's invisibility on top of the van. An instant later, the tiny ghost dog phased through the ceiling allowing me to see inside the vehicle.
The back of the van appeared to have been converted into a sparse living space, including a retractable bed, a tiny kitchen, and a lot of storage space. The Projection was standing crouched just behind the driver's seat, eerily motionless.
Now I need a way to get the Master out of the van, and ideally away from the Projection. He'll be able to call it back but if I act fast enough that shouldn't matter.
I was unsure of how to go about it, the Siberian was well known for its ability to share its physics-breaking property with others or with objects. It saved Jack a number of times. And it could transform this van into an unstoppable giant bullet. Worse, I didn't want to kill the Master by accident, not before grabbing the Siberian anyway. He wasn't going that fast but putting him to sleep while he was driving sounded awfully risky to me.
Mundane Equalizing was the obvious solution but it probably wouldn't dispel the already existing Projection and the animal serving as the focus of the power would either need to be moving at the same speed as the van right in front of it, which might be problematic in case of a sudden turn, or be right inside the van itself which would make it vulnerable to the Siberian.
Then I hit upon another idea. Could I forcefully teleport him out of the van? Could I do so without too much risk for the partner doing so? Perhaps. Or maybe it was time to bust out Mindless Summoning. I knew that my partners didn't mind being hurt or even dying for me. But there was no need to make them suffer needlessly.
Yes, it would require some coordination but that would be the best way to handle it.
Bruce reappeared above, newly summoned because I'd need access to his prison car. Just to have eyes on the inside of Bruce I also summoned the Spider Bot in the same car.
I flew down, once again parallel to the van and looking toward the driver. With all my Minds ready and my partners warned I got to work.
A Mindless Olky manifested right on the man's lap, in that state it was more of a puppet for my will than a true living being. The sudden apparition startled the man who stomped on the brake and violently jerked the steering wheel to the right. Despite the sudden movement of the vehicle, Olky grabbed the Master and apparated away with him. But apparition wasn't an instant process, it was fast but not instantaneous. In the brief window of time and despite the suddenness of the events and the movement of the van, the Siberian managed to surge toward the Elf, her clawed hand piercing straight through his shoulder in an explosion of gore.
It wasn't enough, in spite of the atrocious pain he was feeling Mindless Olky completed the apparition taking with him the master and leaving behind a pissed-off Siberian in a van that ended its course in the ditch.
At the same time as the duo reappeared in Bruce's car, I summoned Chip as a focus for Mundane Equalizing safely away from the cell's bar. Mindless Olky was also dismissed at the same time.
And just to be safe I bombarded the van with a barrage of 1000 Needles, destroying the Siberian current incarnation in the process. Once satisfied with that I teleport into Bruce's car.
The Master was curled on the ground in a fetal position, Olky's blood all over his face and clothes. He was grabbing his head in despair while screaming. "VANESSA!!!!! WHERE ARE YOU VANESSA???"
He must have noticed me at some point because he jumped to his feet, grabbed the bars of the cell, and tried desperately to reach me. "YOU!!! GIVE ME BACK MY VANESSA!!!"
Understanding that there was nothing more to be gained from this pitiful caricature of a human being I put him to sleep.
Ten minutes later, still inside Bruce, we were back near the crater, it seemed appropriate to remove the Siberian from play in the same place as the other members of the Nines, even if its fate would be different.
The other members of the Triumvirate were with me. I noted that when they first saw the man behind bars they appeared to recognize him. I didn't comment, I didn't care much for his identity at present.
Under their gazes, I crouched down, passed my hand between the bars, and put it on the head of the man lying on the ground. Closing my eyes I focused on Creature Acquisition, there was no disputing the fact that I had thoroughly beaten the man. Even if he wasn't physically hurt, he was unconscious and his power was sealed. The Menagerie agreed with my assessment because an instant later, a new pattern engraved itself on the surface of my soul.
I wondered if I would acquire the Shard itself as a Companion. But no, the Menagerie only took the Siberian. I half expect it to be an inherently evil being, hellbent on causing death and chaos. That was not the case, the projection was more neutral than that, with an animalistic mindset. It wasn't an unfeeling entity, a simple puppet for its Master, it possessed some basic instincts, geared toward hunting. And it could feel some elation at a successful hunt. It even has a sense of taste allowing it to enjoy raw meat. While that was gross, particularly considering the origin of the meat she most often eats that was pretty much all.
The Siberian was a Projection in the shape of William Manton's dead daughter, the Vanessa he mentioned. Hn, so that's where I heard the name. How did such a renowned scientist end up as a wandering serial killer?
He went mad with grief and drank a vial that granted him his powers. That was kind of a shock, I didn't expect the rumors about Cauldron to be true. The name of this mysterious power-selling organization popped up in my research about Parahuman. Few people took it seriously and I dismissed them myself. After all, I knew that powers come from Shards. So the question became, how did they manage to create vials that could force a connection with a Shard? I could have maybe bought the use of a machine that created an artificial Corona Gemma, followed by hacking the signals emitted by Shards to forge an artificial connection. I mean it would still be ludicrous, but if I saw it I would be willing to accept it. But a vial that just needs to be drunk? That was way out of the left field.
I was pulled out of my musings by Eidolon's voice. "Compendium? Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine." I straighten up to face the trio. "I was just digesting the information provided by my powers about the Siberian." I glance at the unconscious man. "It's maybe even more powerful than what we knew about. He didn't use it to its full potential. It can ignore physics in numerous ways."
"I would ask you to demonstrate."It wasn't quite an order but Alexandria's voice didn't leave much room to negotiate. I shrugged and the Siberian, I really need to find a new name for it, appeared by my side.
I would have preferred it if it didn't look like a naked woman, if it had somewhat changed to reflect my own personality that would have been great. In addition to a name, a set of Themes and Modifiers would need to be chosen to sufficiently alter its appearance, and it must always stick to those.
Returning my attention to the Triumvirate I noted that they looked warily toward the Projection.
"You have it under control, I trust?" Legend's tone was as serious as I ever heard from him.
I smiled reassuringly. "Yes, absolutely. It will follow my orders like any of my partners."
"Good, good." He didn't seem to be fully confident in my answers, still throwing looks at the Siberian, but he did relax a fraction.
Changing the subject I looked toward the inside of the cell. "What do you want to do with him?"
Eidolon asked. "He's powerless?"
"Technically he still has a Corona Gemma and Potentia. It's just that now there's no template for his power to generate a Projection anymore. If he had any other powers he would still have those but I doubt it." And his Shard must be really confused right about now.
Again it was Alexandria that took the lead. "We'll be taking custody of him." She paused for an instant, looking contemplative. "It's a tragedy what happened to William. We've worked with him in the past, years ago. He disappeared abruptly after his daughter's death. He must have gone mad with grief."
While I could sympathize, this doesn't excuse the murder of more than a thousand people. "He must pay for his crimes."
She nodded firmly. "Of course. But before that, I would appreciate the opportunity to interrogate him." She glanced toward the man. "And proving his culpability might be challenging. Apart from us, nobody knows of his identity as the Siberian's Master."
That…that was a fair point. I could provide footage of today's events of course. But it would require exposing my AI self. Something that I wasn't willing to do just yet. I wish to free Dragon first. And even then it might not be enough.
I inclined my head. "Very well. I understand." And it was true I did understand, I didn't like it, but I understood. Furthermore, it wasn't my decision to make, I didn't have the authority to do that. Alexandria didn't even need to ask for my opinion, so I appreciate the fact that she did.
The rest of the morning was spent dealing with the aftermath of the Nine's death, which took much longer than the operation itself. The local authority needs to be notified that their district now sports a massive crater that cuts through a road and that the former inhabitants of the farm were dead. A cordon needs to be set up. And Manton's van needs to be secured.
All that implied the participation of a lot more people than I expected. For my part, my role was being a reassuring presence for the townspeople that just discovered that a group of mass murderers squatted in the area for weeks and almost certainly visited their town.
And if that wasn't enough, it was followed by a press conference back at the New York headquarters. I could only be thankful for the fact that I wasn't required to speak, just being there and nodding at the appropriate time was enough.
It was nearing noon when I got back to Brockton Bay. The whole team, both Protectorate and Wards, were there to welcome me back. A celebratory lunch was had for the occasion, I was asked to retell the whole story at least three times. Even the normally dour Colin, smiled more often than not.
I also received a text from Crystal, congratulating me and promising me a reward this evening. My imagination ran wild at that but I did my best to reign it in.
The Menagerie chose that moment to gift me with something new and I was glad for the distraction.
It's a power called Pocket Biosphere. It's a Pocket Dimension tailor made for one of our partners that we can access at will./In this case it's for Devin, our duo of Seer./It's massive! And it's not empty./From the glimpse we got from the Menagerie it's a desolate wasteland, constantly at night. With giant crystals everywhere made of something called gravity dust. We'll definitely need to study that./And of course there's also a forbidding gothic castle in the middle too, that may contain some additional resources./The real upside of it is that it doesn't cost a summoning slot./It would have been real nice to have it before we finished sprucing up the Orb.
As far as Pocket Dimension goes, I would have preferred something more scenic, like a tropical island or mountain cabin. But I'll take what I can get. At least it'll make for a perfectly secure place to put Nimue's Dungeon.
Don't forget, that we'll finally have room to safely use Random Summoning./And also a much better place to store our Anti-Monster.
As my Minds debated about the best ways to use this Pocket Dimension I relaxed against my chair and enjoyed the festive atmosphere in the room.
Wordcount: 3173
Excess words: 998
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And there we have it, one Siberian to go. I still haven't found a name so I'm open to suggestions.
For the roll, 120 (Banked) + 360 (Chapter) + 0 (Excess words) = 480 points.
[] Creature
[] Power
Voting will be closed Thursday at 3 PM GMT
*Note: I couldn't find the name of Manton's daughter so I called her Vanessa.
Eh, Manton was never one of the mass killer members of the Nine. In terms of sheer casualties Shatterbird, Burnscar and Crawler did most of the work while the Siberian spent most of her time protecting Bonesaw and occasionally hunting someone or fighting a particularly troublesome parahuman.
Plus that's still a kill rate of roughly 123 people per year since the Siberian debuted in 2000.
