You find yourself in E1M1

[foq]

>We need to get to the runes to resurrect Chthon, don't we? Hmm, maybe we should ask if it will teleport us to the House of Chthon as well, once we get the runes...

[Shadowswift]

>We need to get to the runes to resurrect Chthon, don't we? Hmm, maybe we should ask if it will teleport us to the House of Chthon as well, once we get the runes...

Mithinks that would require two separate wishes...
"If I may, sir?" Phoenix says sheepishly. You glare at him, frustratedly. "Sorry, you just looked like maybe you needed some help." You allow him to continue. "Well, if you ask me, and I know that you didn't, we could take a chance and have it teleport us directly to the runes, though that is taking an awfully big risk. We could have it simply tell us where the runes are." You nod your head and decide to go ahead with that one. "Wait!! I wasn't finished!" You hold off and allow him to finish. "See, we could also ask it to release the grip the Shadows have on your mind, thereby refreshing your memory. With your memory free, you'll be able to remember where you left the runes. You might even remember just how to get there. Hell, with your mind clear, theres no telling what kind of stuff you can tell us!"
That's a good idea...in theory. Those runes might not be exactly where you left them. The Shadows could very well be on to your little scheme and went on their own hunt for the runes...which might be why you haven't seen whats left of that army for a while.
Hm...
You can feel them...those bastard Shadows digging into your memory, squeezing it, crushing the knowledge out of it. You can almost see the asshole responsible for it. You scowl with furious rage.
"It's the Reaper, isn't it?"
You nod. That son of a bitch is the one with the grip on your mind. You can feel it. That piercing cold aura. That hollow, echoing voice. As long as he lives, your mind will never be restored. Even if you wish for your memories back, he'll simply take them away again.

The Reaper has to die in order to get the runes. With the Plasma Rifle at your disposal, you think you might be able to beat him this time. Now, for the wish...

"Give me a steak, medium rare."

"Um...sir???" Phoenix asks, befuddled by your request. You shoot him a stfu look. You're done with relying on mystical crap to solve your problems. It's high time you suck your gut in and show these sons of bitches what real human might is made of. Darkscythe relays the message, adding in some for him and Phoenix, too. Above, on the bridge, awaits your delicious meal. You and Darkscythe head upward. You grab Phoenix by the back of his shirt and pull him with you. He still can't figure out exactly what's going on. You and Darkscythe happily feast upon the delicious meat. Phoenix sits in utter stupification. You tell him to get over it and eat his steak.

And so, with our heroes' bellies full, they make the journey to E2M1, where they left off!

You proceed cautiously into the base. With the power restored, you can see just fine.

Ahead of you is the room with the silver keycard door.
To your left is a door.
To your right is the bridge over the pool with the narrow underwater tunnel.
Behind you is the slipgate.

Let's do dis!


>

[foq]

>open silver keycard door

[Shadowswift]

>open silver keycard door

You step into the room with the silver keycard door. Hm. Doesn't appear to be any terminals or buttons or strip readers or anything. How the hell does this thing work? You step closer to the door to get a better look and *swish!* it opens! Well, thats cool. You didn't even take the keycard out of your satchel. The door just somehow knew you had it. Ah, the marvel of modern technology...
Anyway, you step through the door to see a short, narrow hallway veering to the left. You traverse the hallway. At the end, where it veers to the left, is a lift. You and your party step onto the lift. Again, no buttons or switches, you just step onto it and up it goes! Amazing!
Ahem...so, up top, you find yourself in another hallway going left and right.

Ahead of you is...a wall.
To your left, the hallway leads off into the unknown. Looks pretty far...
To your right, the hallway leads to a door.
Behind you is the lift.


>

[metchsteekle]

>examine door

[Shadowswift]

>examine door

You attempt to get close enough to the door to examine it, but as soon as you get close to it, it zips open. Ah, technology...
Wait, that looks like a mainframe up ahead...


>

[metchsteekle]

>examine mainframe

[Shadowswift]

>examine mainframe

Looks just like the one at your base. You wake up the screen and log on.

"Welcome, Ray.

>/run complex diagnostic

Compliling diagnostic. This may take a few minutes...
...
......
.........
Base Diagnostic -The Installation
Security Grid -disabled
Alarms -disabled
Base Intranet -disabled
External Network Connection -disabled
Automatic Doors -enabled
Power -enabled
Back-up Power -disabled
Water -connected
Personelle Report:
-Master Sergeant Ray: Checked in 18:54, 12/13/12
Location -mainframe

Additional comments: It is advised that the Securty Grid and Alarms are enabled to ensure optimum base safty. Warning, back-up power generators have been disabled at the source. To ensure uninterrupted power flow, perform any needed repairs and/or reconnections to the base's generators ASAP. Be advised, no network connections are detected in the base's mainframe. In order to receive any messages from HQ, a reliable network connection MUST be established.

Diagnostic finished."

De ja vu. You call HQ.
"Lieutenant Donavon speaking. Who? Holy shit, you're Ray??"
He goes off on an unintelligable tangent about how much he's heard about you and how much he's tried to contact you since your first venture into Quake...ugh, adoring fans...you calm the lieutenant and ask him to slow down.
"Sorry. So sarge, I heard you helped my young charge, PFC Stockton." You correct him. "Oh wow, Tech Sergeant, now? Very nice! Let me talk to him!" You allow the Lieutenant and your companion to have a few words, most of it being a very uninteresting conversation. You interrupt them and ask to speak to General Navejar.
"Alright, hang on. Hey, whenever you get back to your base, I have another console upgrade for you. I don't have a lot of details about it at the moment, but when I send it, I'll tell you all about it. Here's the general."
"What's up, sergeant?"
You ask him what he wants you to do with The Installation.
"Well, it would be nice if you could restore it the way you did the Slipgate Complex. When it was operational, it was a pretty important outpost on the border of the dimension. Now that our bordering bases have slipped into the Nether, that makes them significantly less important."
Wait, what?
"Well, before the Shadows started showing up, we had five bordering bases; The Slipgate Complex, The Installation, Termination Central, and The Sewage System. The fifth was a failed experiment, and quickly became an Abandoned Base. Those bases, while still technically on Earth, bordered on the edge of the interdimensional Nether. Now, for whatever reason, they have slipped out of our dimension entirely and into the Nether between Earth and Quake. We can't fully explain why, but we speculate that it has something to do with some kind of magnetic pull on the slipgates within each base. The eggheads could explain it better than I can."
No thanks....not exactly interested.
"Anyway, what was I talking about? Oh yeah. You can fix up that base if you want, but its not entirely necessary."
Great. Decisions...what good are they? Well, at least the general isn't pissed off at you anymore...or maybe he is and just isn't showing it. Anyway, what's the plan, killer?


>

[metchsteekle]

>enable all that you can, see if there are pumps to get rid of water overflow, get a map of the base

[Shadowswift]

>enable all that you can, see if there are pumps to get rid of water overflow, get a map of the base

Lets see here...

>enable security

"base security systems online"

>enable alarms

"base securty alarms online"

Within a few seconds, the alarms start blaring. You hear blaster fire from a distance. There are still Shadows here. The blaster fire stops...but the alarms continue. It's still here. Those turrets that were firing have been disabled or destroyed. You check the securty moniters on the other side of the mainframe. One screen is all snow. That must be where the enemy is. They destroyed the camera in their area. Hm...you tell Phoenix and Darkscythe the watch the door while you work.

>disable water

"Water and power sources must be disabled at the source."

>open drains

"bad command or file name"

hm...
>drain overflow

"bad command or file name"

>make water go away?

"bad command or file name"

Goddamn it. Grumble....you connect your console to the mainframe with your USB cable. You type in some commands to override the mainframe's AI and switch it to manual control. You tell your console to tell the computer to open the drains.

"Negotiating request............request accepted."

There. The overall water level of the base should be at least a little lower. You reset the mainframe's AI and disconnect your console.

>inquire security grid

"The Installation is equipped with a Bowmet Platinum Edition modified Security Network. A highly sophisticated network of sensors, cameras, and automated laser turrets spot the entire base. Request print-out?"

>Y

Ray receives a Map of E2M1's Securty Network


>

[foq]

>The Shadows probably know where you are now. If we're going to restore this base like E1M1, we need to clean them out. First, head towards the generators and get those running.

[Shadowswift]

>The Shadows probably know where you are now. If we're going to restore this base like E1M1, we need to clean them out. First, head towards the generators and get those running.

So we're going to restore this base? Alright, then, let's get to work. You have a look at the security grid map. From what you can make out of this schematic, the generators should be right.....there. You think you know how get there, but it looks like theres a gold keycard door in the way =/ cripes.
"Sir! This is Corporal Drew! The Shadows have returned and are attacking at full power! We need -AAARRRGH!!!!"
Uh oh...
"Sir, Corporal Drew is down! We need your help!! Get here quick! They brought -AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Static.....You radio HQ.
"What is it, sergeant?" It's the general. You tell him to cut off contact with your entrance slipgate and inform him that your base has been overrun by the enemy.
"What?? Unacceptable!! You get your ass back there and you restore order to that fucking complex! Now!! Move it!!"
He cuts contact. You slap your console closed, lift your head to the skies and roar with enraged fury. You storm away from the mainframe and head back to the entrance.
"Wait, don't be stupid!" says your companion. "You know damn well they'll be waiting for us!" You glare at him.
"Sir, please....don't let your anger corrupt your judgement. We need to attack this with strategy, not rage." His genuine concern for your well-being calms your rage. Alright...we'll do this the smart, strategic way...not the fun way. So, what is the strategic way?
"Well, since we're going to restore this base, we'll use it as a staging ground. Once we get our External Network Connection up and running, we can get one of our slipgates connected to Earth. From there we can get some supplies and maybe reinfo-" You stop him and remind him about how you feel about reinforcements. Besides, you have a better idea. Instead of connecting your slipgate to Earth, you can have HQ connect it to the entrance slipgate at E1M1. You can slip into the base that way and take them out systematically.
"Wow....that's brilliant." Yeah, yeah, yeah...so let's do dis already. You step back over to the mainframe and check out the security moniters. One of the cameras is out. According to your print-out, its the one by the generators. Lovely. You step back over to the terminal screen and attempt to reconnect to the internet.
"Trying...
Connection accepted."
Finally, some luck. All the connections were still intact. No need to trace them down, this time. You radio HQ.
"Tell me something good, sergeant." *sigh* its the general again...you ask him to sever all connections to this base's slipgates for the time being. If you're going to restore the place to working order, you don't want to be bothered by any annoying invasions. "Alright, it'll take a minute or two. Any idea when you'll have the place up and running again?" You inform him of your progress. "Alright, let us know when you want us to reconnect your slipgates. Anything else?" You give him the negative and break contact.

I'm watching you...

What the fuck was that? You look around, but don't see anything.

The generators....

You look over at Phoenix. He shrugs his shoulders. He didn't hear anything. Yep...you've finally lost your mind.

Come to me...

You're being summoned. You know that voice...you head to the generators with all haste. You turn around from the mainframe and backtrack toward the lift. You head past it to the path that lead to the left of it. It leads around the room with the big pool, overhead of the path below. Ahead is a small room with the gold keycard door. Hm...shit. It won't open. Where might one find a gold keycard in this place? You ask Phoenix where you haven't explored yet.
"Well, there was that door by the entrance. There's also that..um...submerged tunnel." You head back outside and hop down to the lower level. The pool's waterlevel has drastically lowered, but the tunnel still remains submerged...yuck. Well......yuck.
"Sir?" Phoenix points at the bottle of volitile liquid strapped to your hip. You take it from its strap and uncork it. The smell makes your eyes water. You hold your nose and take a big gulp of the stuff. You fight harder than you've ever fought anything before just to keep the Liquid Courage down. You wait a minute...hm......mmmmmmmmmm....you're feeling pretty good right now. You smile at the world as the alcohol takes effect. Ahh.....heheheh...your smile turns into a smirk as the adrenaline and testosterone kick in. You remove your Reaper's Shroud and most of your clothing, stuff it and your weapon into your satchel and take out your Axe and Wetsuit and equip them both. Hooah! You dive into the water and tell your 'boys' to get in here! Phoenix puts his Wetsuit on, also, and dives in after you. Darkscythe slinks in after. You swim with vigor towards the tunnel. You eye the inky darkness, swallow hard, grit your teeth, then swim-charge into it. It's a tight fit. You're more-so crawling through the tunnel than swimming through it. Fear twinges at the back of your head. Phoenix periodically checks in with you over the radio to see if you're ok. You're breath starts to quicken. Your pulse accelerates. The Liquid Courage is starting to wear off. Shit! You scramble through the hole, clawing at the walls. You don't see the end of the tunnel. You start to wonder how much more air is in this wetsuit. You try and get ahold of yourself. You frantically rip away at the walls...still no end in sight. Shit...shit shit shit shit! God, you're going to die in here! Air is getting a little tight. You swear the walls around you are getting smaller. God, help you! You start panicing. Phoenix tries to calm you. His pleas fall upon deaf, paniced ears. He starts pushing you through.

Air in Wetsuit is expiring...

God, finally you see the end, but its still a ways away. Phoenix starts shoving you through to the end. All the air in your suits is gone. You start choking. You hold your breath, rip the suit's helmet off and start clambering away at the walls. You grip the end of the tunnel and thrust your way through. You kick for the surface as hard as you can. God, it seems to far up! You can't hold your breath much longer! Phoenix is starting to feel the effects of oxygen loss, too. The surface is still so far! You start to feel faint....you black out. Phoenix grabs at your suit and starts swimming you upwards...
"Can't....keep this up!" Phoenix blacks out.

You and Phoenix lose 8 health from drowning

Darkscythe struggles to propel himself through the water, but his claws don't gain him very much propulsion. He flails with all his might, but gets very little result. He feels so helpless!

You and Phoenix lose 16 health from drowning
You are now Partially Crippled.
Phoenix is now Badly Crippled!

Darkscythe sinks down to the bottom of the pool, digs his hooves into ground, loads his springy legs as tightly as he can, then launches himself like a torpedo upward. He grabs you and Phoenix on his way up in a very Superman-esque fashion. In a mighty burst of wave and spray, the three of you explode from the watery depths. He lands on the nearby bank and rests the two of you down. He looks for a way to bring you out of your plight, but is interrupted...by a pair of Shadow Shamblers staring the three of you down. Darkscythe positions himself between you and the shamblers, growling and puffing his muscles...very threatening. The shamblers, however, are not impressed. They launch a twin volley of dark lightning. Darkscythe dodges one of them, but the other hits him dead center.

Darkscythe loses 21 health and 10 armor

He leaps into action and slashes at his enemies viciously. These shamblers are much faster than their white, fleshy counterparts, however, and nimbly avoid being slashed. They counter by swiping at Darkscythe with their gigantic, shadowy claws, but Darkscythe showcases his own agility and dodges their attacks. The fight continues in this manner for a few minutes.

You start to regain motor function. You cough up a pint of stagnant water. You hear some horrible fighting behind you. You see your Pet being assaulted by Shadow Shamblers. You shake your head and try to come to your full senses. You take out your Liquid Courage and take a few swallows. Gross. You feel calm, then energized. You pull your Plasma Rifle out and spray down those bastard shamblers. The shots pushes them back and erases them like a hose washing away dirt from a wall. With them gone, you tend to your companion. You administer CPR to him, which brings him around with little difficulty. You offer him three medikits while taking the last two for yourself.

You and Phoenix now have 100 health

Phew....lets see, what's going on here?

Ahead of you is a limestone cavern that leads off into a dark passagway
Behind you is the pool. You're not going back that way...
To your left is a stalagmite.
To your right are the black, residual remains of some dead Shadow Shamblers.

Seems you're in some kind of subterranian cave. Cool. Now how do you get out?


>

[foq]

>check Darkscythe;examine stalagmite;examine dead Shadow Shamblers;head to dark passageway

[Shadowswift]

>check Darkscythe;examine stalagmite;examine dead Shadow Shamblers;head to dark passageway

You call Darkscythe to your side. He seems uninjured and fairly proud of himself for being able to hold his own in combat like that.

-Pet-
Darkscythe has 204 health
Darkscythe has 65 Soul Armor

Darkscythe heads back over to the water and takes a few gulps to refresh himself. Phoenix wanders around, examining the surroundings. You take a closer look at this stalagmite. Looks like an ordinary stalagmite. You touch it...small pieces crumble off. You grip the top of it and pull. It breaks off with relative ease. This isn't a very mighty stalagmite. You take out your axe and begin scratching away at it. You get the feeling something is stuck inside of it. You notice a dull blue luminescence eminating from a chipped part of the stone. You chip around that area, revealing some blue runic stone. You have a good feeling about this. You rip away at the stone around the blue stone. What you unveil makes you very happy in pants

Ray finds the uad Damage!

Just touching the thing makes your muscles bulge. Wind starts to whip up around you as you take the thing in to your hand. You quickly stuff it into your inventory, so as not to drain its power before you need it. You allow your body to settle down before you saunter over to what's left of the Shadow Shamblers. This one is still nearly half-way intact. They don't wear armor, so you can't use that........or can you? You take your axe and swipe the head off of it. You take the head and hollow it out, making a sort of ski mask out of it. You walk up to Phoenix and cram it onto his head. After his period of WTFs and various cuss words, he accepts this as his new headpiece.

Ray creates a Shadowhide Helm!
Phoenix now has 100 Soul Armor

It kind of makes him look like Mushmouth, but he thinks it looks cool. Oh well. As long as everyone's happy. You inspect the remains of the other Shambler. Ooo, something shiny!

Ray finds the Gold Keycard!

Mkay, scary dark cavern. Go! You take out your Maglites and light the place up. Nothing down here, not that you can see. This tunnel looks like it goes on pretty far. Hm....aren't caves usually hot and steamy? This one feels like a freezer. Oh, whats that? Theres a tiny red light up ahead here.
grrr...
Uh oh....you hold your plasma rifle steady. You keep approaching the red, glowing, and apparently, growling light. You can see it. Oh shit....its a hold-out of Quake minions. A base door guarded by a pair of Grunts and a pair of Knights. The Grunts site you up, but don't fire. One of the Knights cautiously approaches you with sword drawn.
"You...." Holy shit, they can talk? "We know who you are..." he growls in a ghoulish voice. Phoenix steps forward.
"You're not attacking us..." He says. "Why?"
"Because for the moment, you are not our enemy. The last thing Yogg-Shargoth said to our minds was 'aid the mortal, kill the Shadows'. We know now that we stand no chance of victory against them. You are the only one who can stop them."
"Why should we even let you live, let alone help you?" Phoenix asks. The Knight lowers his sword.
"For one, we are mearly pawns of the Elder Gods. Without their mental influance and guidance, we have no agenda against you or your people. As a matter of fact, we don't seem to have any agenda at all. We exist soley to fulfil the whims of our Masters. The only reason any of us are still alive is because of Yogg-Shargoth's final request. Once this struggle ends, the lot of us left will probably ceise to exist."
You roll your eyes...do we really want to take pity on a bunch of misplaced monsters and undead? You'd rather just wipe em out and be done with their nonsense...
"For another reason, we can aid you in ressurecting our Lord Chthon."
...that might be a good reason not to do what you just thought about doing...Phoenix glances over at you, waiting for your call. You nod at him.
"Alright. We'll go along with whatever you're doing. But understand this; we're watching you and keeping you on a very short leash." The Grunts lower their shotguns and open the door. The Knight stands aside and allows you passage.
"For the moment," He adds "this place is untouched by the enemy's presence. You will be safe here until they discover us. Should they come, we will protect you with our lives so that you can make your escape." You nod. You enter what appears to be an old fallout bunker. Quake's minions of all varieties are congregating here. They watch you as you make your entrance. Darkscythe watches them, hesistant to make eye-contact with any of them. You have a look around the place.

Ahead you of you stands an unusually large Death Knight, clad in shining black armor and armed with a large, barbed sword. He must be the commander.
Behind you is the door out of here.
Your left and right are littered with all manner of Quake minions. Many of them seem uninterested in you, but some are watching you carefully.


>

[metchsteekle]

>inquire upon large death knight