You find yourself in E1M1

[Shadowswift]

...you awaken to the buzzing of your console. You shake your head, as if from a daze. What happened...? You look around. You're lying on the ground in the Palace of Hate...though you aren't sure why. You don't remember coming here. You aren't even really sure how you got here...or what time of day it is. You take in your setting. You're in the main atrium where the battle with the Death Knight Commanders took place. Below you are the various scratches and tick marks you left when you were counting the stones in the floor. Over yonder is the elaborate etching you carved of Tim the Adventurer with the arrow in his knee, and the note you left to Captain Ray above that. Your console is on, and appears to have been recently used. The screen displays a connection attempt to some server you don't recognize. You examine your console. Someone other than you has used it...fairly recently. The date is not what you remember it being...in fact, several days have passed. You wonder if time really has passed you by, or if someone merely tampered with the time/date setting. You notice that someone has left you a text message...ney, several text messages...and voicemails...and failed calls. You open the texts and read the first one.

Lieutenant Donavon- "Phoenix, report. This is Donavon. We haven't heard anything from you in some time and you aren't answering your calls."
You open the next one.

Lieutenant Donavon- "Sergeant, we're under attack! Our bases were swarmed and our standing army has been overrun! We're barely holding our own! Earth is being invaded! Repeat: Earth is being invaded! Please respond ASAP!"
...the next one.

Lieutenant Donavon- "HQ HAS FALLEN! REPEAT: HQ HAS FALLEN!! WE NEED YOUR FUCKING HELP!! GET BACK HERE NOW!!!"

......

Lieutenant Donavon- "Hello, sergeant. It has been awhile. The lieutenant very kindly allowed me to use his phone to contact you. I would have used my console to do so, but I left that thing lying somewhere in the Nameless City some time ago. I'm looking forward to seeing you again. I haven't forgotten the wound you gave me in our last encounter. I intend to repay you for that in full the next time we cross paths. Don't bother returning to HQ. You won't be greeted in a friendly manner, I assure you. The Encroaching Darkness has already engulfed your realm and altered it to my liking.
...but don't despair. All is not lost. You can kill me, take my power, and set everything back to the way it was before.
..............if you think you are up to such a task.
-The Captain"
God...damn. You've failed. All your efforts...all of them, even before you met Ray were for nothing. The Earth's defenses have fallen. The Shadows have left Quake and moved on to other dimensions. The only relative safe haven you have left are the lands you have already conquered. Quake. Once a land of terror, death and flesh-hungry monsters...now is the only comfort zone you have left. You contemplate the situation. It all sounds hopeless...but it isn't. Your weapons still work. You can still fight. You've stared defeat in the face before and you've pulled through. It's just one more mission! First thing's first, though. How did you get here and what happened to you? Where are your companions and where is The Captain now if he isn't at the Nameless City? You call out to your companions...to anyone. No response. Hm...where the hell is everyone? You start to worry. Just as you start to stand, your console buzzes. You look down at it. Hm...it's a call from Scribe Irish's personal cell phone. You answer.
"Fenmore, is that you? You're alive?? Hey, everyone, he's alive!! Sergeant Stockton is alive!!" You hear indistinct shouting and cheering in the background. You ask what's going on. "We all feared the worst about you. It's been over a week since anyone has heard from you." You explain that you aren't sure what happened to you. Last you remember, you were fighting an indestructable gigantic serpent in Hell's Atrium. You don't remember taking any hits, and you can't exactly explain why you blacked out and ended up back in E4M4. "So, you've been out of action for that long? Well...you must have recieved some kind of news about what happened on our end..." You acknowledge..."Earth is lost. Those of us that survived fled HQ and took your slipgate to E1M1. We've fortified this base and turned it into our new HQ. We've shut down all slipgates in the base. There's no way in or out." Except one...The Captain's Scythe. He can get anywhere with that Scythe...and he can take others with him. "Yes...so we've seen. It was Ray himself that lead the assault on HQ. We were all shocked to see him...perhaps too shocked to take the proper action. He got the drop on us and annihilated the bulk of our standing forces before we could mount a proper defense. Those poor men never stood a chance..." You express your sorrows for their losses. "But no worries. We won't let him get the drop on us again. We've set up a temporal security grid. Any temporal disturbances anywhere in the base will trigger an alarm and the automated turrets will rain down a hellfire of laser blasts on any intruders. If that doesn't stop The Captain, it'll at least give our troops a chance to take the offensive." Excellent. You inquire if anyone from HQ didn't make it. "Well, yes...we lost quite a few people. Other than a countless number of soldiers, your C.O., Lt. Donavon, was struck down by The Captain himself. He was turned into a Shadow on the spot. I'm sorry, son...but that's not the worst of it. The General was also killed in the fight. I'm told he was turned as well...right now, Major Davis is our base commander. Behind him would have been Lt. Donavon, but.......well, Hastings has been promoted to Lieutenant and is serving as second in command." Who the hell is Major Davis? "He was one of Navejar's proteges. He's been groomed to take the General's position when he was ready to retire. He's sharp as a tack, and about as friendly as an overheating blaster rifle. He's not easy to get along with, but he knows his stuff." You ask if they know where The Captain is now. "No, not for certain. If he had a base before he obliterated our HQ and basically sold out the entire human race, he would be there. That's my guess." So he might be at the Nameless City after all. He said he left his console there in the text message...why would he tell you that unless he wanted you to go there? A trap? Probably...but you can't help but take the bait. You tell Irish that you are proceeding on mission. You aren't quite sure how you're going to defeat that enormous monster in the next map, but you'll cross that bridge when you come to it. "Very well, Sergeant. Keep us posted on your progress. We'll be here at E1M1 holding down the fort. Oh...and make sure you answer your calls...Irish out."
Alright...first step, find your companions. You aren't going to get very far without their help. Second, confront The Serpent again and finish the fight. Third, proceed through the map to the Nameless City.

>

[MadGypsy]

The End.

lol, I'm JK.

You didn't really leave room for an impulse as you already described the next 3 things you are going to do. So, wait for you to do them?

PS> the above is written very well, kudos

[metchsteekle]

>just sneak past the thing or somethin

[Shadowswift]

The End.

lol, I'm JK.

You didn't really leave room for an impulse as you already described the next 3 things you are going to do. So, wait for you to do them?

PS> the above is written very well, kudos

[[thanks. No, you can put in whatever impulse you want! Anything your heart desires]]

[ImperiusDamian]

> go find the DKC and the others. "You must gather your party before venturing forth."

[Shadowswift]

>just sneak past the thing or somethin

You'd really like to do that, as facing the thing directly seems really....well, stupid. However, you're pretty sure it's in posession of a certain key needed to unlock the secret exit to The Nameless City. You can't pick it open, and because it isn't an ordinary door with a lock, rather its a solid slab of pure slatestone wall, you can't melt the lock. Besides, there's slime all around the serpent. Sneaking around it while trying to avoid that stuff would be rather difficult for one of your level of subtlety.

> go find the DKC and the others. "You must gather your party before venturing forth."

Very well, then. You decide that going backward might be easier than going forward. Maybe they're camping out in the Elder God Shrine or something...though you aren't sure why they'd do that. You put your nose to the ground and sniff around for anything that smells like a small blood-covered fiend, an 8-foot steel-plated dead guy, or a floating collection of circuits and blaster cannons. As you search the familiar areas of the map, you through stealth to the wind and call out to them, making sure that anything that might be here knows full well that you are there. You keep your plasma pistol ready at the draw as you frequently check your console's radar. After having thoroughly searched the Palace of Hate, you head back to the Shrine to see if anyone might be there.

[Loading...]

You arrive at E4M3. Just as you show up through the enormous wooden archway, something clicks in your head. The DKC was wearing a console and a headset, right? SFX also has a WiFi link to your console so you can text it. Why didn't you think of that before? Maybe the ethereal travel jarred something loose in your skull...hm. You press the MessageMode2 button on your headset and whisper into it, calling out to your team.
"My lord? You are awake, finally?" Phew...they're still alive. You inquire their location. "We're stepped away to the entrance of Hell's Atrium to see if maybe the Serpent decided to leave. It hasn't. In fact, it is still here, still waiting for us and still blasting away at the entrance with it's Shadow Plasma, preventing us from making any headway." You order them to rendevous with you at the exit of the Palace of Hate. You'll discuss strategy with them all there. They comply.
Man...if only you had a Flashbang or two...

>

[Shadowswift]

[[So much to do, so little time...]]

[MadGypsy]

> Aren't you a technician or something? Put together some makeshift flash bang thing with whatever electrical whatchamawhozitz you can find and quite originally (storywise) add your ONE makeshift flashbang that MAY work ONE time to your items.

[[ it's all I got ]]

[Shadowswift]

> Aren't you a technician or something? Put together some makeshift flash bang thing with whatever electrical whatchamawhozitz you can find and quite originally (storywise) add your ONE makeshift flashbang that MAY work ONE time to your items.

MAKE a flashbang? Why that's the stupidest most outrageous...stroke of brilliance you've ever had! You're an apprentice Scribe, aren't you? You know how Flashbangs work, you've seen them built, you know their mechanics. You're Phoenix fucking Stockton! You're the best jury rigger there ever was. You make MacGyver look like a 2-year-old with a shape-matching puzzle looking around at the grown-ups for help! You can do this. You lay out all your stuff in front of you and look it over carefully.

-Phoenix's Inventory-
-Ammo-
(98 ) Shells
(10) 30-06 Rounds
(81) Shadow Plasma Cells
Charge = 100/100
-Weapons-
Grappling Hook
Maglite
Badly-Bloodied Hand Axe
Fireman�s Axe
Plasma Pistol
REALLY Super Shotgun
Enforcer's Blaster Rifle
Lightspark Rifle
Thunderbolt
-Consumables-
Biosuit
(2) Stimpak
(4) Dream Water Stims
-Miscellanious-
Brass Key
USB Flashdrive
Fully-Stocked Toolbox
Complex Networking for Dummies Manual
Rune of Fire Magic
Rune of Wind Magic

You take out a Shadow Plasma cell, the Brass Key, and a shotgun shell. You head back through The Palace of Hate to The Elder God Shrine and its massive lava pit. You set the items to your side and take out your toolbox. You strip down the Shadow Plasma cell, leaving its power core aside. The case, with its twin polar connectors, will make a perfect grenade. You then melt down the Brass Key...you reassure yourself you're not gonna ever need it again. You use your metalurgic knowledge to separate the magnesium in the key from the Brass Slag. You scrape the raw magnesium into a fine fuse and set the Brass Slag aside. You then disassemble the shotgun shell, set aside the Buckshot and 10ga Hull, and dump the primer into the makeshift grenade around the fuse. You close the grenade and connect the cell's powercore. You then use the Brass Slag, Buckshot, and 10ga Hull along with the a bit of lava and welding to create a crude little timer and switch. Don't ask how...you're Phoenix fucking Stockton.

You create 1 Jury-Rigged Flashbang.

You carefully stuff the thing into your inventory, and head back through the maps to the entrance of Hell's Atrium. This is it...the moment of truth. With this flashbang, you're certain to gain just the edge you need to fry this thing with your Lightspark Rifle. Now all you need to do is carefully concoct a plan with your companions about how this should be coordinated. You suspect that the Flashbang itself will not only blind The Serpent, but will damage it heavily as well due to the weakness Shadows have against light. Plus, you plan to throw it right at The Serpent's face. It's a pretty big target...it'd be hard to miss. With it dazed and damaged from the bang, a triple blast from your Lightspark, Velen's green fire, and SFX's blaster cannon straight at it's head should be enough to cripple the thing out of commission. Then, you can just mop up the rest with a Crystal and some pot shots. This is the plan....

...unless of course you think you can concoct something better.


>

[MadGypsy]

>Your Pheonix Fuckin Stockton, Make 20 more of them.
>Fuck your friends, throw all the flashes at the beast, unload the entire lightspark if you have to.
>Get the key, go to the wall thing, open it and tell your buds to rendezvous there.

EDIT: I seem to remember some crystal whatevers. So just blow the stupid ass monster to kingdom come, get its ?dark crystal - and then do the rest I impulsed.

EDIT 2: Arrrgh, the brass key...hmmm. Go find some more brass and then do everything. Wait, you don't need brass and why did you melt the key? Lava is full of magnesium. You could make (up to) 81 flashbangs and annihilate this thing.

[Shadowswift]

>Your Pheonix Fuckin Stockton, Make 20 more of them.
>Fuck your friends, throw all the flashes at the beast, unload the entire lightspark if you have to.
>Get the key, go to the wall thing, open it and tell your buds to rendezvous there.

EDIT: I seem to remember some crystal whatevers. So just blow the stupid ass monster to kingdom come, get its ?dark crystal - and then do the rest I impulsed.

EDIT 2: Arrrgh, the brass key...hmmm. Go find some more brass and then do everything. Wait, you don't need brass and why did you melt the key? Lava is full of magnesium. You could make (up to) 81 flashbangs and annihilate this thing.

You need Shadow Plasma Cells to make Jury-Rigged Flashbangs. If you make too many, you won't have enough left to use in your gun! One should be plenty. If you mess up, you can go back and make another one.

Ok, so we're doing this solo, then. You tell your companions to stay put. You tell them you'll be back with another full Shadow Crystal. You clutch your Lightspark Rifle and quickly make your way to Hell's Atrium.

[Loading...]

You arrive in the blue-stoned corridors of Hell's Atrium. No doubt the Serpent still knows you're here and is waiting for you. You can't sneak around him, but maybe you can get the drop on him. You take out the grenade and ready it. You creep up to the corner, taking care not to make a sound. As you aproach the corner's edge, you press the timer button on the grenade. You estimated when you built the thing that the timer will give you five seconds. You cook the thing for just the right amount of time before darting around the corner and flinging the thing at its face. Just as it kerplunks against The Serpent's head, you spin around the corner and close your eyes. You hear a loud pop, then frantic angry roaring. You bolt around the corner into the open, slime-covered area. The sky above still rolls with the same miasma of purple stratus clouds that are common in Quake...rather than the inky black starrless night sky you noted back in E1M1. The Serpent in front of you is flailing in pain and rage. You notice that a good chunk of it's face is missing as black shadowy fog seems to bleed from the open wound. You take this moment to pump as much Lightspark from your rifle and Plasma from your pistol as you can directly into the giant monster's open wound. You don't have much time...it is already starting to regain its combat prowess. You continue to blast the thing as quickly as your trigger finger will allow. Just as you are certain The Serpent has you lined up for a shot, you pull the triggers one more time before you plan to make a hasty retreat. As your white and green bolts sail across the map into The Serpent's wound, it finally staggers. Not much, but enough to allow you to take out an empty Crystal, run up to it, and jam the Crystal into The Serpent's thick meaty tail. You make particular note of how solid and meaty the thing feels, rather than shadowy and ethereal. The Crystal rapidly draws upon the great creature. Victory is certain! Finally, after so long you...wait. Shit! The Crystal wasn't big enough to take it all in! The Serpent, still very much alive and very much pissed, has flung the full Shadow Crystal from what's left of it's tail and is now sending repeat volleys of explosive Shadow Plasma at you. It carves through the blue stone and rips the corridors apart as it lands, leaving you quite vulnerable. You make a B-Line to the entrance arch, praying it doesn't follow you.

[Loading...]

You arrive back in The Palace of Hate, leaving a wide berth between you and the exit arch. You site your rifle at the arch, expecting The Serpent to come crashing through any moment, and praying that it doesn't at the same time.

...it does. You're fucked. The gigantic shadow monster has errupted through the arch, leaving the doorway in splinters. It crashes through the orange brick walls, smashing and crashing the very map itself as it proceeds forward. It is now actively chasing you. You can outrun it for now, as it is quite large and is having trouble smashing through the tight corridors of the Palace's exit area. You have to get away from it before it gets to the larger corridors outside the exit. You press the MessageMode2 button on your headset and alert the DKC that The Serpent is not dead and is now actually hunting you in the Palace of Hate.
"We're on our way, lord. We will help you hold it back." No. You tell him to meet you all on the other side of the lava pit in The Elder God Shrine. You have an idea to lead the thing into a trap... "As you command. We will meet you there." You grapple through the map like a pro, leaving the raging monster well behind you. You gain a good lead, but it won't last. Once it squeezes or smashes through the exit, it'll be well on your heels. You sail through the entrance arch leading to The Elder God Shrine.

[To be continued...]

[MadGypsy]

You need Shadow Plasma Cells to make Jury-Rigged Flashbangs. - uh, lol, you have 81 of them...just sayin.

Before I even finished reading I was prepared to impulse about a trap, but I guess you got it covered.

signed,
Eagerly awaiting your next submission

[Shadowswift]

[continued]

You arrive in The Elder God Shrine. You quickly grapple down the hallway, praying that the Shrine's narrow hallways will slow The Serpent down as well...if it even follows you this far. If it does, you estimate that it will burst through the arch in about 56 seconds. You hook around the sliding brick wall that has the writhing zombies nailed to the wall across from it, down the hallway to the lava pit you love so much. You hook to the ceiling at sail across the pit as the floor below you slides open. Velen and the others greet you on the other side. You'll have to make this quick. No time for dilly-dallying. You tell the others that you're going to lure The Serpent here. You're not sure how Quake's lava affects Shadows...the lava pit may not even damage it much, if at all, but it will slow it down enough to kill it from a distance. For that, you'll need Velen and his sword. You order Velen and Darkscythe to wait on this side of the pit. You and SFX are going to greet The Serpent on its arrival and shoot at it as it chases you to the trap. This has to work. If it doesn't, then your plan will only serve to corner yourself and your companions...you won't stand a chance against the thing if it makes it across the lava pit. You say a short prayer and give a nod to the gods as you order SFX to come with you. Shortly after you hook your way across the pit, you hear it.

It has arrived...and it's plenty pissed off. You're fortunate enough to get a look at it just as you round the corner. Apparently smashing through solid brick and stone has not helped it's wounds at all. Though it doesn't seem to have slowed down at all, it's multitude of Shadow Plasma-slinging arms seem much fewer in number. Shadowy fog bleeds from multiple points on its body. You taunt the thing as you fire volleys of lightspark and plasma at it. SFX joins in with a rain of blaster fire. It returns fire blindly and angrily. It's...missing. It's so wounded and enraged that it's actually missing you. You thank the gods as you continue to taunt and lure the thing into your clever trap. As you approach the pit, you tell SFX to go on ahead and get behind the corner with Velen and Darkscythe. As you round the corner to the pit, you take off away from the writhing monstrous Shadow and sail across the open lava pit. SFX set it off when he crossed over it. It should be closed by the time you reach the other end. When you get to the other side, you tell Velen that it's showtime. You, Darkscythe and SFX surrender your strength to him and his sword. As he powers up, he readies a spell. Green fire wraps around him. The Serpent roars around the corner and charges through the corridor, ripping away at the walls around him. The floor slides away underneath it, revealing the bubbling lava below. As the Serpent falls into it, it shrieks. You guess lava actually does hurt it. As you cling to conciousness, you witness Velen perform his most powerful attack. Green fire errupts around him and envelopes the entire area. The green glow of the fire drowns out the orange-yellowish glow of the lava. The Serpent roars in pain as the fire licks and burns away at it's body. You give Velen your last two Crystals. The sliding floor begins to close, closing around The Serpent, trapping it in place. As green fire swirls around him, creating a small hurricane around him and The Serpent, Velen walks along the jammed floor pannel, up to The Serpent. He looks The Serpent dead in the eye, and slams the Crystals directly into its pupil. The Crystals drink The Serpent's essence, reducing the monster in size. Velen then jabs his flaming sword straight into The Serpent's heart, if it had one. The creature jolts a little...then dies...and vanishes. The floor pannel closes underneath Velen. He walks back toward you and the others and releases your strengths back to you. You rise to your feet and congradulate your team. Velen reaches his hand out to you, offering you something. You open your hand. He drops two small things...a silver key, and a small rune. You smile at him. He nods.

You got a Silver Key.
You got the Rune of Water Magic.

Excellent. The Serpent is dead. That fight is finally over...but the war rages on.


>

[metchsteekle]

>inspect key and rune, consider next options

[MadGypsy]

>make at least one more flashbang
>Go open that slate slab door with no keyhole.
>Oh and practice hare krishna or whatever..

EDIT: lol, apparently I mean kaio-ken.