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-- TemporallyMisguided [TM] has begun pestering DistinguishedPhysics [DP] --
TM: Don’t respond, don’t say anything, just read this quickly. DO NOT FIRE AGAIN until Echidna gives you the choice, it may save your damned life!
DP: -| => Oh fine. <= |-
TM: I SAID DON’T RESPOND! YOU’LL GET DISTRACTED TYPING
DP: -| => Voice control, remember? <= |-
TM: Oh, right. Okay, wait for the choice.
-- TemporallyMisguided [TM] has begun pestering DistinguishedPhysics [DP] --

Thom popped open the hatch and stuck out of the tank. Echidna towered above him, looking just like the web browser icon of his. “Sorry about that earlier, I’m aware that you have a choice to offer me.”
Meanwhile, far away, on Carmen’s currently unnamed world. Josh is currently typing on the computer with Carmen to help her out.
-- DistinguishedPhysics [DP] has begun pestering PsycologicalTechnitian [PT] --
DP: -| => Hello <= |-
PT: About TIME you get back on, Thom! I’ve been trapped in this box for days!!
DP: -| => 1. It’s not Thom, It’s Josh, Thom is busy getting his ass kicked by the queen of all monsters for all I know, I’m controlling his computer. 2. It’s only been a little over an hour <= |-
PT: Oh. That little? I suppose my sense of time is off.
DP: -| => Oh, joy. I’m stuck with this crappy text quirk. <= |-
PT: I think it’s actually quite nice, symmetrical.
DP: Better.
PT: Anyways, could you get me out of this BOX? I’d much enjoy being able to see my world, and also what the HELL happened to my sprite! And also, could you perhaps alchemize some clothes?
DP: Clothes?
PT: It’s a long story I’d rather not tell.
DP: Fine.
DP: They’re right in front of you, inside of the box.
PT: It’s awfully dark, how can you tell where I am in the box?
DP: Brightness settings.
PT: Tell me you didn’t take screenshots...
DP: Oh, no! Of course not!
PT: Are you SURE?
DP: Okay I may have on accident.
PT: Damnit...
PT: Just get rid of it, it’s creepy!
DP: Don’t worry XD It’s on Thom’s computer, he’ll never find it.
PT: Fine....
PT: Now get me out of the box, I’m already dressed.
DP: No worries, settle down.

The box immediately disappeared, opening up to a peaceful forest landscape. Scattered about, however, are the ruins of ancient temples and cities. She could see a castle on the horizon to the north, and a town nearby to the east. To the south was a structure that she did not recognize.
PT: What’s that spiral tower over there?
DP: Oh, that?
PT: Yes.
DP: That would be your quest bed.
PT: And what does it do...?
DP: Oh, you have to rise to the top of the echeladder, and die there.
PT: And then what happens?
DP: Oh, you ascend.
PT: Ascend?
DP: To the god tier.
PT: God tier?
DP: Yes, god tier.
PT: God tier?
DP: Yes.
DP: The god tier.
PT: What is a god tier?
DP: Oh, right.
DP: It’s a level of extreme power comparative to that of a god. Your powers depend on your class and aspect, seeing the quest bed from here I imagine your aspect is mind, but I’m not sure just yet. It comes with perks such as flying, and conditional immortality.
PT: Oh.
DP: I see your home is destroyed.
PT: Yes! Oh, and my blueprints were too...
PT: Oh, I see the name up in the sky of my world, I hope that’s the name of my world.
DP: I see it too. LOFA
PT: No.
PT: My world is called the Land of Forests and Ruins.
PT: L
PT: O
PT:F
PT:A
PT:R
PT: LOFAR
DP: yes, LOFAR
PT: Oh.
PT: Just make a base of operations for me, I’ll be fine.
-- PsycologicalTechnitian [PT] has ceased pestering DistinguishedPhysics [DP] --
Meanwhile on LORAS, Echidna has offered the choice.
“I’m really not sure what to think of this! Hold on, I need to think in peace”
Thom ducked back into the Leviathan and closed the hatch. Peace and calm. Now he thought about the choice. He could fight Echidna, would he likely would lose, or Echidna would be able to implement him, copied from this moment in time, into every session that involves any variation of him, null, active, alpha, or otherwise. The drawback is major, though. It would mean the destruction of the current session, and the death of everyone in it.
“Okay, all of my friends will die, that can be a problem. But I just might be able to save them, right? I hope so. If I manage, I may save them, I may be able to keep all of my friends, even my grandfather, I’m not sure where he is right now, dead likely. I need to buy myself some time though. The quest beds, I remember the quest beds, but if I make a move for the bed, Echidna will attack, so I’ll have to make it there, kill myself, come back to LORAS, and accept the choice. Good plan I hope.” Thom started the systems, and revved up the engines. He suddenly rose a notch on the Etchaladder

- Gearhead -

Well, it’s not the most flattering of titles, but it’s clearly at the top of the echeladder, and just in time, too. Pushing a button, the transmission flared to life and the tank started moving.

Meanwhile on LOFAR, Carmen was playing around with various machinery after Josh finished replacing them. She had nothing better to do, and decided to do some alchemizing with the little materials she still has.

==> Low-Res copy of Josh’s Clothes || Scrap of marble = Pixellated Marble Dress
A fine dress, made of a mysterious fiber that has the appearance and feel of marble from the outside, but of silk from the inside, and light as cotton. It is, however, pixellated in shape, and fitting, and felt very awkward around her shoulders and chest, and was too revealing on her, she could adjust the fit later, for now she has to stick with Josh’s crappy clothes.
==> Fountain Pen || Charred Blueprint = The Sapphire Fountain
Clearly very sharp, a fountain pen that uses blue, and black ink to write. With a small dial on the side to switch.
==> The Sapphire Fountain || Kitchen Knife = The Sapphire Lacerator
Added a bayonett, retractable. Very efficient.
==> Leather Scrap || Pencil case = Leather Pen Sheath
Very efficient storage for The Sapphire Lacerator, quick snap button cover.
That’s all she could afford to make with the grist she has. She equipted the Sapphire Lacerator to make a Penkind Specibus for strifing, and sat down on the alchemizer, waiting for a new project to work on.
Meanwhile on LORAS, the battle was raging stronger than ever, Echidna is pissed about Thom’s refusal to answer to the choice, and is actively trying to kill him. Josh got the idea and is building a direct bridge to the quest bed faster than Thom can drive on it, and Echidna was shortly behind. The Leviathan had sustained damage from the fight, severe damage. It moved at full speed, if not faster, because it’s rear, and turret plating is practically missing and the reduced weight helped. The quest bed was coming up quickly, but he wouldn’t make it much longer.
1 Kilometer
Echidna charged, splitting the distance in half in a matter of seconds, and catching up in another two. She used her quills to stab directly through the weakened turret plating, nearly impaling Thom, but leaving a vicious cut on his side as the quills pulled out at an angle. He swiveled back the turret and fired several shots back at Echidna, several of them being direct hits, which allowed him to gain some distance, but not enough.
500 meters.
The distance gained was lost in a matter of seconds as Echidna charged forward again, this time taking a massive bite out of the tracks system, causing the Leviathan to immedietely lose control and fall over onto it’s side.
Thom, on the inside, did not fare very well in this accident, and fell sideways, one of the razor sharp armor piercing rounds of the main cannon penetrating his leg. “Son of a... Goddamnit!” It didn’t bleed to much, but it hurt as much as you’d imagine. And the top section had a porous ring as well, to fragment as it pierced armor. He silently told himself to stop making his weapons as effectively as he has been recently and pushed on the hatch with all of the force that he could, but it wasn’t enough to open. He then remembered the emergency release lever that he had the idea to install earlier and thanked himself for that. He pulled the lever and the hatch burst off with a blast from the explosive bolts.
250 meters
Thom crawled outside of the Leviathan and started to run as quickly as he could to the quest bed. The wound on his side was killing him, in terms of pain, and literally speaking, and the leg wound was only through the fleshy part of his calf, it hurt pretty bad, but it didn’t bleed much and there was no major damage.
150 meters
The quest bed was approaching, and Echidna came in for another charge. Thom took his bow out and fired a single arrow back, and kept running. He became faint from blood loss, seconds were all he had to make it.
100 meters
Echidna was not discouraged, and charged forward again to finish him off, but was met with one of Thom’s fist blades in the face.
20 meters
Echidna was right on top of him and wasn’t giving any ground on the matter. She curled up her tail and prepared for a killing blow that he wouldn’t be able to avoid or stop.
5 meters
Echidna’s tail lashed out violently, and quickly. Aimed directly at Thom’s chest.
1 meter
Disaster. Echidna’s tail had managed to penetrate directly through Thom’s heart, killing him instantly, and brutally. Echidna couldn’t get his body off of her tail, and wiped it off using the quest bed. His body rested on the quest bed for a few seconds until Echidna was satisfied and flew off. The quest bed got to work immediately. The small creatures of his world, all of the small creatures of his world assembled over his body as a spirographic glow orbited his corpse. He was slowly raised into the air, as his dream self did the exact same thing on a single scrap floating through space, a piece of rubble from Skaia.
Everyone else saw it too, first the spiral-symbol of space floating over the debris field of Skaia, and shortly after there were strange white orbs of light floating from the ground and flying towards Skaia everywhere. Carmen and Sarah were both awestruck, but Josh was completely and utterly shocked by the progression.
And on Skaia the process was nearly complete, the wounds from Thom’s own body appearing on his dream body, and then with a sudden flash of brilliant light it was done.
The Rogue of Space has risen.