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Khala
Topic Started: Aug 8 2009, 02:04 AM (417 Views)
daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
It had started gradually, so minutely that the members of Silver Shield did not notice any change at all in Artanis' behavior. People had gotten used to his habits and frequent greetings the empathic alien communicated with, and the Alien had done his best to adapt to the less social species whose planet he now inhabited, so the slow withdrawal was seen more or less as the attempt to give the others their own personal space. That is until the mood swings started occurring. It was not frequent at first, but then every so often, the entire staff in the headquarters would suddenly be overcome with sudden feelings and urges that did not fit the place and time, wither it be a sudden onset of hunger, anger, or sudden bout of tears, the effect generally disrupted whatever projects were being worked on. Artanis had apologized for these outburst, explaining he was having some difficulty with his powers, and would try and keep them under better control.

However, things did not get better, and after a sudden hour long bout of hysterics experienced across the board, Sentinel was ordered to find out what was going on with Artanis, as the disruptions could not continue, taking with him Splortch and Mr. Mercury, as two fellow aliens would probably understand any situation Artanis was going through. And it is at this point where the three found themselves heading through the corridors towards Artanis' quarters when it happened...

Suddenly a psionic scream plunged through the minds of all in a 3 mile radius. But this was more then a simple scream, with it came a torrent of indescribable pain, something overwhelming and consuming, the experience causing those caught up in it to collapse, their bodies going into seizures from the mass mental overload caused by it.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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Batguy
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Not too shabby
[ *  *  *  * ]
"Wow! That would make a great horror movie sound effect!"

"Splortch, now is not the time," Mr. Mercury said. "I'm concerned and feel we should hurry; I am having difficulty reaching Artanis telepathically at the moment, though I hope this is merely an aftereffect of the scream and not because Artanis is in some way injured."

"Hurry?" Splortch said, instantly shifting into a motorcycle with a side car, complete with two leather helmets and sets of goggles hanging off the handlebars. "We've only got more hallway to cover from here. LET'S ROLL."

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daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
It only took a few moments for the trio to reach Artanis' quarters, by now the psychic scream had subsided, leaving a erie silence in it's wake as those affected by it started to recover. However, the brief pause lasted only a moment as operations began running again, accelerated as everyone started to respond to the 'attack'. Security measures were already being put into place in case this had been planned. As the three reached the door, two figures teleported just outside the door. Samuel Orenstead, quickly recovered from the disorientation, as the teleporter disappeared, returning to the med lab to tend to the others who had been affected. "Here, put these on," said the doctor, tossing a few devices to the others. A similar device was already on him, a psionic dampener in case another deblitating wave hit. Wasting no time for explainations, he hit the entry button, the door sliding over and entered.

Inside, the light crystals that had been grown over a period of weeks illuminated the quarters in a steady glow similar to daylight, the decor definatly gave the feel of the otherworldly, designed and decorated over time to Artanis' specifications. But admiration had to wait as one could see the alien on the ground, his body twitching sporatically in spasms. His hand clentched and unclentched uncontrollably, his eyes pulsating wildly. A glowing blue fluid dripped from his eyes, at first appearing as if the alien was in tears, but those who had been around Artanis enough knew that the blue fluid was his blood now running down his featureless face and pooling on the floor beneath him.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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The Royall J
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The Last Cool White Guy
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Sentinel ran up to Artanis to pick him up and carry him to Med Bay so they could find out what was happening to him but upon contact a rush of emotions and memories flooded his mind, overwhelming him and causing him to fall backwards. He recovered quickly but could still see images flashing through his mind of crystals and people and friends and home. Although he wasn't thinking about it now he knew in the back of his mind these were Artanis' memories, some of his memories and he suspected that some of his own memories were transferred to Artanis.

"I don't know what's wrong with him but I can't touch him. It's like he's trying to defend himself from something" Sentinel said.
Do not walk in front of me I may not follow. Do not walk behind me I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.
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daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
***Medical Lab***

Artanis lay on the examining table, hooked up to several machines that measure his mental activities. Orenstead had managed to stop the bleeding for now, but the anaylysis showed that it could start again with another mental overload. By now the normal functions of Silver Shield had recovered, though the medlab had been equipt with an emergency psy dampener to keep another mental outbreak from occuring.

"There seem to be no foriegn substances in his system, at least form what we can tell from our current studies." explained Orenstead, examing the test charts, "We also tested for influences from outside metal intrusion, but the with his mind the way it is right now the results are severly flawed." The good doctor was finding Artanis' physiology both facinating and annoying at the same time due to the vast differences between their speicies, the same could be said of any of their resident aliens, but Artanis was the one that needed treatment right now.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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Batguy
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Not too shabby
[ *  *  *  * ]
"It would seem only a hands-on diagnosis will help right now," Mr. Mercury said. "I'm going in; if things change for the worse, break the contact."

"Won't that cause massive psychic trauma to you both, making you switch personalities or something like that?" Splortch asked, his eyes lighting up.

Mr. Mercury looked at him blankly for a moment, then turned back to Artanis. "You watch too much television." Laying his hands on Artanis's head, Mr. Mercury opened his senses and projected himself into Artanis's mindscape. Almost immediately he recoiled back, ejected with enough force that his head was ringing from the psychic backlash for several seconds.

"I'm going to need help with this one," Mr. Mercury said, breathing heavily as the pain receded. "Splortch, I need you to act as the conduit; that will dull any backlash. Sentinel, you have the strongest will of anyone here at the moment besides myself; I'm going to have to bring you into the link to help me break past the reflexive shields Artanis has erected. I'm not sure what's going on, but from my brief touch I know that Artanis has the information we need; our only hope is to break through so I can contact him and see what we can do to help."

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Son
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Not too shabby
[ *  *  *  * ]
A splitting migraine combined with a sudden wave of pure extreme mental energy would be enough to floor anyone for a while. Archer was certainly no exception. He'd been in enough pain from his hangover--having drunk more than usual the night before, Laura had decided it was finally time to take control of his drinking habits and told him to stop for a while--but the psychic shriek of pure agony made him feel he could relate to whoever it came from. It took him about ten minutes to even move from the fetal position he'd been reduced to in the elevator. When he finally came out of it, he sat in the corner with his back against the wall, chest heaving and eyes squeezed tightly shut to avoid the light. Archer blindly grasped for his Silver Shield com-unit and raised it to his lips, gasping half in pain and half in worry and fear.

"Laura! Laura, are you alright?!" he cried into the mic. Her voice came back immediately.

"I'm fine, yes. What about you?" She certainly sounded better than he did, though she was just as worried.

"Feel like my skull just split into a million fiery pieces, but otherwise fine. Now, everybody sound off! What the hell just happened?!"

It hurt him even more to speak at all, let alone yell like he was. But something very bad had just happened and no one in the SS had had so much as a gut feeling or a tingling sixth sense. Archer's first impression was they were under attack, by someone powerful, in which case, they had a very serious problem. Although, regardless of the source of that horrendous scream, they still had a serious problem.
Sometimes, it's not an angel you need, but a demon.
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daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
As the three broke through into Artanis' mindscape, the three sould feel the strain as it came into focus, the force of his mental energies pelting like a sandstorm, until that is what it was. A single mind is a world unto itself, a mental sactuary that each person shapes thoughout their lives, thus it would come as no surprise when a landscape came into view, barren and rocky, sands buffeting is the chaos of his mind. Even thrugh the mutted browns though, one could see the haze of multiple suns overhead. Even though they knew this was a mental manifestation, the heat of the world blazed about them. There was a bim light ahead, and though difficult to make out, one could see shapes reminicent of unnatural structures, a city looming through the sand clouds with only the slightest hint of glowing lights. That was not all that was present, crackles of mental energies moved through the storm light lightning ready to strike, indicant of the overload which threatened to discharge at any moment.

***

Orenstead looked upon the four motionless figures. Psychics, he figured, checking the charts once more, noting the change in the brain activity caused by the additional presences in Artanis' mind. For a moment then, the lights in the room flickered, and the doctor heard the whining of the generator for the mental shield projector as if strained. It seemed that the collective mental energies were intensifying the output Artanis was giving off. That's not good, he thought, turning to check the condition of the machine. As Orenstead crossed the room, he suddenly felt the floor disappear from under his feet. Falling forward, he braced himself to meet the floor, but it never came. It was then he noted anything lose was starting to hover of the ground. Orenstead had seen this happen sometimes with patients with high mental capabilities, but usually only with telekinetics. Crud, mental feedback, he thought, realizing that the merging was tapping into Mr Mercury's telekinetic abilities, amplifying it outwards, so that what was usually a personal flight ability was now 'floating' anything that entered the room. Orenstead turned on his com, "Can we get someone down here?" he said, 'swimming' to a pipe in the wall to lower himself back to the ground. From past experiances he knew how bad something like this could get, "Preferably Archer." he added, knowing they may need his unmatched reflexes soon.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
As the Trio passed through the worst of the storm, they found themselves in the calm, the center of the storm, around them swirled the chaos, but here it was clear, a small patch of clarity. A formation was in the center, a rock outcropping, it lloked partially carved, like an obelisk or spire, obviously alien in oragin. From the looks of it it was heavily damaged, cracked, jagged crystals seemed to be jutting out from within, as if growing from inside and breaking through. A figure seemed bound to the base of it, and imediatly they could see it was the form of Artanis. Upon closer inspection though, one could see that his limbs were not bound, but merged with the monument. Even with no features, his eyes seemed focused, strained, concentrating intensely. However, he was forced to divert his attention as he saw the approaching figures in his mind scape. *NO! You can't be here! You need to leave, NOW!* came his sending, and it could be felt he was afraid for their well being, panic throughout his mental tone. Almost as soon as he had diverted his attention, a pulse of light flashed throught he crystals, which visably grew a few more feet, furthering the damage to the structure, Artanis reacted, his body recoiling as if he himself had been pierced.

****

The equiptment measured a spike in the metal readout, and Orenstead felt his center of gravity pull upwards, as the feedback increased. He was pulling himself to the generator along the ceailing already, finally getting within reaching distance. He would have to switch the power over to the main grid, this hunk of junk wouldn't last much longer, not that it was doing much good now. He grabed the auxillery cables from the machine and began hooking them to the power cuplings. They probably had a minute or two before the dampener would lose power, and the last thing they needed was a psychic backlash to fry everyones brains.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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Batguy
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Not too shabby
[ *  *  *  * ]
"The obelisk represents Artanis's control over his powers, and the crystals the powers themselves," Mr. Mercury surmised, his consciousness picking up memories both conscious and instinctive in Artanis's mindscape. "This is a... puberty of sorts. Painful. He needs someone to help him with the pain, or it will kill him. Or worse, drive him and everyone around him insane."

Mr. Mercury walked up and placed both hands on Artanis's face, and leaned down until their foreheads touched. The cracks in the obelisk seemed to start to fade, and some of the crystals began to shrink back into the obelisk.

*I cannot keep this up by myself* Mr. Mercury told the others. *His race has a much different form of Telepathy than my own, and my will alone is not enough to help him through.*

Splortch took a look around, gave what could only be described as a full body shrug, and flowed over to Mr. Mercury's side. He reached out a pseudopod and made contact with Mr. Mercury, then extended another to make contact with Artanis. There was a shudder through his body, and a smile broke out in his face. "Cool."

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The Royall J
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The Last Cool White Guy
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
"Group hug. Not quite my thing" Sentinel said. He thought for a moment looking at the obelisk and the pieces that had broken off because of the crystals growing from it. He wished he had growing powers then he could hold the obelisk together while Splorch and Mercury did their thing. Suddenly he was as tall as the obelisk itself and began to use his strength to force back the crystal growth. But it didn't seem enough.

"Ok maybe group hug is my thing" Sentinel said looking at himself holding the obelisk together and putting one hand on Mercury and another on Artanis. "I'm getting the hang of this whole mind scape thing"
Do not walk in front of me I may not follow. Do not walk behind me I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.
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daioni
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Almost Badassical
[ *  *  *  *  *  * ]
Through the link the three could feel the pressure on Artanis mind, the pulses of mental energies as they sought out new pathways, burning as they richochet throughout his mind unfocused. Artanis himself could feel the weight lift as the three connected, shareing in the burden, it helped, but he still had little idea how he was supposed to complete the process. With the will of the three helping to push back his powers and repair the damage, it seemed to be working, but at the same time didn't feel as if it was completeing it, only delaying another outbreak. With his mind no longer overwhelmed he could concentrate on finding a solution. He could feel though the connection the mind of the others, intricute networks much like his own, complex in their own right, each forming a unique shape. His species knew the shape of emotion and experiance, but the pure raw metal shape was something new to him, a level he had not experianced before. It made him wonder what his own mental shape looked like. Perhaps that was part of the Khala, maturing into one's final mental shape. The growing crystals, were his power, growing raw and unfocused, trying to find their way out. Perhaps it wasn't about keeping it in, but more about helping it grow correctly. He was sure now that had he been with his people, they would have shown him a way to do this, a shape that was used to stabalize and focus. Unfortunatly, that was not an option here, so he would have to improvise and hope it worked. He already knew the three others knew his thoughts through the connection.

He focused his concentration on the obelisk, and began reshaping it, reworking it's form. It twisted around, and he could feel the pressure of the crystal within resisting his efforts, but nevertheless yeilding slightly. As the obelisk twisted upward, water seemed to begin flowing from the base, the area around them acting as a natural basin that began to fill. The top of the obelisk split off and the shape began to become recognizable and it formed branches. As it did, sparkling crystal began poking though, tiny dots that blomed forth, shaping themselves into leaves. In a few moments, what towere overthem was no londer an obelisk, but a great tree, leaves and buds of cyrstal defusing the light into a spectrum of colored light, while the water formed a pool of clear water. The group could feel a release of pressure, as the crystal began following the reformed pathways, no longer pushing out against the closed shape of the obelisk. The clouds of sand and dust began clearing, the chaos subsiding, revealing a vast rocky plain, and an alien city of sotne work and crystal.

Artanis'smental image, stepped away from the tree, his limbs coming out and forming as he was no longer needed to hold the obelisk together. *By the maker,* he thought, the translation coming in clear from the strength of the mental connection, as he looked in wonder at the scene. There was nothing like this on his planet, only since his stay on earth had he seen tree's such as this. It looked strange against the scene of his home planet, He had a feeling this was not the way that his people usually completed the Khala, however, he no longer felt his mind being torn apart, so he supposed it would have to do.

***

Orenstead gave the cupplings a final kick, before the generator kicked back in full. He felt his center of gravity shift once more, as everything in the room suddenly crashed back to the floor, him included. He glanced at the metal readout. The activity was no longer spiking, which meant the others were accomplishing something in there.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
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