_Max_

Nearing the halfway mark now, hope you've been enjoying it as much as I have

LEVEL TWENTY-THREE
LEVEL TWENTY-FOUR

I'm now ahead of Stasis, although probably only for 20 seconds or somesuch, at 26,004 words.

And as usual, the next chapter is up to read, by those who are actually reading it.

Next chapter, and though there may be some inconsistencies with game-lore, it makes things a bit more realistic.

Chapter 10 - Hunted.

Nova Violet picked himself up from the grassy area they had emerged onto, and dusted off his navy blue jacket with his hands, checking nonchalantly for any mud stains, before he looked around at the area they were in. “Any ideas where we are?” Ethan asked, clambering to his feet, and checking for any injuries. “Well, the good news is, we're still in the Rogue Isles. The bad news is; we'd better start running this way.” Nova Violet replied as he pointed his thumb behind him, turned and began running from some unseen danger. Ethan looked out into the horizon, and saw a large expanse of water, with an extremely large structure made of metal and stone on an island, covered with blinking lights, with what looked like gun turrets mounted around the perimeter. “Why, who does that belong to?” he asked as he started running after Nova Violet. “I think it's Longbow, don't take my word for it, all I know, is that it's Hero central in this area, who will think nothing of hunting us down and 'incapacitating' us. Oh, by the way friend, welcome to Bloody Bay.” Nova Violet's words were met by the distant sound of klaxon sirens from the large structure behind them. “Great, we've been spotted. Keep your eyes and ears open, and follow me.” Nova Violet grabbed hold of Ethan's left wrist with his right hand, and started to drag him over the grass and towards the shoreline of the small island they were on. “Can you swim?” Nova Violet asked Ethan as they got closer to the water's edge. “Yes..why?” This was met by being dragged further into the water. “Wait..wait! I can't get my arm wet!” Ethan yelled, and stepped back from the water. “I don't give a damn friend, if your arm dissolves in contact with water. They find you, they can guess that someone a bit more experienced is around, and damned if I'm going back to the Ziggurat, friend.” Ethan found himself dragged back into the water, losing his balance and landing with a loud splash. “Now come on, swim and follow me.”

They swam over the expanse of water, towards the next island, Ethan struggling to keep up with Nova Violet as he swam ahead like a fish in water. As they neared the coast of the island, Ethan saw that it seemed like a residential area, though the buildings were of an old Eastern European design, with crumbling brickwork, with a few modern touches here and there of concrete paths and ramps around the area. He reached the shoreline, and staggered onto dry land, before hearing a voice shout from above and behind him. “Over here! Targets sighted!” He looked up to see a man in a finely dressed black suit, with sunglasses similar to Nova Violet's, and finely combed back hair. Nova Violet looked behind him, and shouted back; “So Tremeur, resorted to chasing easy prey nowadays?” Tremeur sneered, and flung a bolt of dark light at Nova Violet, sending him to the floor. “I'd advise you not to mock me Violet, I'm a different person to who you knew before.” He raised his arm, holding a purple and black light in it, which started to link between itself and Nova Violet, who writhed in pain. Ethan raised his arm out, and clenched his fist, but nothing happened. The device must have short-circuited having been flooded with water. Tremeur laughed coldly, and walked over to Nova Violet, before kicking him in the side. “I've waited a long time for this, and I'm even going to be rewarded for it.” Ethan looked around, and saw a large grey stone near his feet. He picked it up in his right hand, aimed at Tremeur, and threw it as hard as he could. The stone hit Tremeur squarely in the left side of his head with a sickening thud, and he fell to the ground with a loud cry. Nova Violet grunted, and was helped to his feet by Ethan. “You okay?” Ethan asked. Nova Violet took in a deep breath, and replied; “I'm fine. Let's get out of here, I haven't got any weapons to fight this guy with, so I don't want to be around when he wakes up.” He adjusted his hat, and ran off towards the crumbling houses, searching frantically as he ran forwards, with Ethan still struggling to keep up. “Who was that anyway?” Ethan asked, as Nova Violet continued onwards, still searching. “An old friend, but no longer a friend.” was the only reply given, until a quick; “Ah-ha.” and he ran over to a metal hatch on the floor, and lifted it up to reveal a metal ladder leading downwards. “Down here friend, quickly.” Ethan went over to the ladder, positioned himself properly, and began climbing down the ladder, the initial wall of soil being covered by metal panelling as he descended downwards, with Nova Violet checking around out top before climbing into the shaft himself, and closing the metal hatch behind him, plunging the shaft into darkness, save for a glimmer of light at the bottom.

Ethan reached the bottom of the ladder, and his footsteps echoed as they made a clanking noise as they moved over the metal floor of the storage room he had entered into. Nova Violet followed soon after, and walked straight over to the containment door, and turned the handle, before walking through. Ethan followed him through the doorway, and was met with an assault rifle pointed at his face. He slowly raised his hands into the air to indicate surrender, and a gruff voice asked; “Who are you, and how did you know to get in here?” Ethan looked at the owner of the gun being pointed at him. They were wearing black body armour, with red trimmings, and spider-like symbol on the chest plate. They had a similar style helmet, which obscured half of their face. Nova Violet replied, hands in the air also; “We're both Rogue Isles inhabitants, I'm Nova Violet and this is Dr...um..er...Apocalypse. He's new.” The Arachnos troop spoke into an integrated communication system; “Looking for details on a Nova Violet, and Dr Apocalypse.” Ethan looked over at Nova Violet and frowned. “We don't want them knowing your real identity friend, you do appear to be worth something.” Nova Violet whispered at Ethan, before standing up straight as the Arachnos troop paid attention to them again. “Seems there isn't a Dr Apocalypse registered with us.” Nova Violet smiled, and replied; “Like I said, he's new. Needs an I.D card” The Arachnos troop looked at Ethan, and nodded. “This way.” They were led further into the underground installation, where Ethan saw dozens of identically uniformed troops marching to and from various computer terminals and weapon arrays. One wall covering screen showed what looked like an overhead map of Bloody Bay, and the positions of various deployed troops around the area.

Eventually, they reached a small side-room, where one female troop sat at a desk with a computer looking rather bored, before she noticed the trio enter the room, stood up and saluted. “This one needs an I.D card.” The female troop nodded, sat down at the computer, and started typing at the keyboard. “Name.” she said bluntly, and Ethan replied; “Ethan Mortimer.” The female troop sighed, and repeated the question; “Name.” Ethan rolled his eyes, and answered; “Dr Apocalypse.” She typed some more, and asked another question in the blunt tone: “Powers.” Ethan chewed on his lip, and replied: “Um...control of gravity using a technological dev--” He was cut off as the female troop said “Gravity Control.” and typed into the computer. “Look at the camera.” Ethan looked around and saw a small electronic camera mounted on a stand on the desk. As he caught sight of it and looked towards it, there was a clicking sound. The female troop typed some more, and a small device on her desk whirred into action, and produced an I.D card, which she handed to Ethan, who placed it in his jacket pocket. They were escorted back out of the room, and the male Arachnos troop turned to them: “Do you need any supplies?” Nova Violet nodded instantly, Ethan shrugged and replied; “I suppose so.” They followed the Arachnos troop further into the installation, and into a room marked as the 'Armoury'. “We're awaiting a supply drop from the mainland soon, so we've only got a few basic things left you can take.” Nova Violet immediately rushed forward and started to pick up a couple of pistols, which he slotted into his belt, some grenades which he placed in his jacket pockets, and two automatic rifles, which he hung from his right shoulder, before picking up some ammunition clips, and also slotting them into his belt. Ethan walked nervously forward, and picked up one of the pistols, feeling the weight of the gun in his hand. “You ever fired one before friend?” Nova Violet asked. Ethan shook his head, and placed it in his jacket pocket, before taking three clips and putting them in the other pocket. “If you've got all you need, I'll show you to the exit.” The Arachnos troop motioned them out of the room, and they headed through the installation, until they reached another metal ladder leading upwards. “We're an isolated outpost, so you've still got half a mile or so until you reach a safer part of the bay.” Nova Violet nodded and saluted, before climbing up the ladder, with Ethan following.

They emerged into a cobbled stone courtyard area, surrounded by more fanciful looking buildings, the flashes of light from the near distance ahead of them indicated the signs of a fight. Nova Violet put his finger over his lips, and motioned for him to be silent. He closed the metal hatch they had emerged from, grabbed Ethan's wrist with his hand again, and moved swiftly but silently through the built up area. The sounds of various powers being used got louder as they moved onwards, until a small bolt of flame shot overhead and into a building behind them. Nova Violet readied his automatic rifle, and scanned the area around them. The streets seemed empty. They began to pick up their pace, and came to a low brick wall. Nova Violet placed the automatic rifle back over his shoulder and clambered up, before reaching over and giving Ethan a hand up and over. They descended from the wall onto another grass-covered area. “We're getting close, we should see the Arachnos base round the edge of this island.” They carried on forwards, following the curve of the island they were on, until the looming shape of the Arachnos base was visible through the increasing fog. A thin strip of land connected the island to the the Arachnos base. “Thank goodness for low tide friend, was almost another swim there.” They started to run over the narrow stretch of land, the grass being replaced by wet sand, with flung up as they ran, and covered Ethan's shoes and trousers. “Halt villains!” a stern female voice sounded from behind them, and a blast of energy hit the ground in front of them, sending up a small shower of wet sand. They both turned to see a female hero floating in mid air, and three robots, of different types, standing on the narrow pathway. Ethan's eyes widened as he remembered the female hero from a couple of days ago, it was the same one who had saved him from the gang members on his way back to AusTech.

Nova Violet immediately swung one of the automatic rifles round from his shoulder, and started firing at the trio of robots on the pathway as they started to slowly advance, and dodged out of the way as another volley of energy bolts came flying at him. “Could use some help here friend!” He yelled out to Ethan as he let another burst of gunfire off at the approaching robots. Ethan frantically withdrew the pistol, held it up, and fired a shot at a robot. The bullet hit, and ricocheted off, and Ethan staggered backwards at the kickback. “Not them, the cape!” Nova Violet yelled again, as he reached into his jacket pocket with his left hand, and produced a grenade. He pulled out the pin with his teeth, and threw it towards the robots, Ethan shakily aimed the pistol at the female hero, and pulled the trigger just as the grenade detonated, sending the robots flying into the water around them. There was a loud female cry, and the hero fell to the floor with a heavy thud, slight traces of blood coming from her shoulder. “Good shot friend, now come on!” Ethan looked in horror at the downed female hero, and ran over to her. He felt a sickening feeling in his stomach, as he saw her laying there unable to defend herself, in the same way he had been. “She's injured! We can't leave her here!” Nova Violet ran over to Ethan and grabbed him by the collar, throwing him to the floor. “She would have done the same to us friend. Now get up, and move, the medical teleport system will take care of her, and we don't have that luxury.” The robots had emerged from the nearby water, dripping with the cold liquid, and started marching faster towards the duo. Nova Violet let go of Ethan and started racing towards the Arachnos base. “Well come on friend!” he shouted, and Ethan scrambled off of the floor, and ran in the same direction. “HALT VILLAINS.” came the metallic voices of the robots in unison, followed by the sound of gunfire from Nova Violet's automatic rifle. “Just be thankful these are close distance bots.” He shouted above the sound of the automatic rifle going off. They reached the side of the Arachnos base, and Nova Violet headed towards a domed door in the side of the building, and started waving frantically at a security camera pointing towards him. The robots marched closer to them, closing the gap, until a loud droning noise was heard, and a tentacled drone appeared from above, hovered in front of the robots, and disintegrated them with a wide spread laser beam, before flying off again into the top of the Arachnos base. The domed door opened, and Nova Violet rushed inside. Ethan scanned the way they had just came, but there was no sign of the female hero, only a crater in the sand from the grenade explosion served as any reminder that there had been a fight there at all.

The door started to slide shut, and Ethan ducked inside, bumping into Nova Violet as the door shut behind him. He caught his breath, and asked; “So...what do we do now?” Nova Violet looked at him, and replied; “That's not up to me. I got you here friend, and you owe me a favour for that. But aside from that, it's up to you now.” Ethan took off his sand covered jacket, and looked at the device on his arm. “I need to get spare parts for this. I need to head back to my work shop.” Nova Violet sighed, and nodded. “Fair enough friend, but my help comes at a price now.”

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Well, up at 8 in the morning to walk a mile before getting on a bus to run a store. When I get home I'm getting to 16k or I'll eat my own earwax!

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Can you have the webcam at the ready please? We need proof of this, if it happens.

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My point is that a large section of the community must enter the PvP zones to acheive their objectives - [u]even if they don't want to.[u]

[/ QUOTE ]Since when does anyone HAVE to enter PvP zones?

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Villains, to get the badges required for the Villain version of the Atlas Medallion. Badgehunters and people just looking for an extra boost alike.

[/ QUOTE ]None of them are forced to enter.

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You want the badge, you HAVE to go in, regardless of whether you want to PvP or not. That's what you asked for.

Next up, the zone everyone loves:

LEVEL TWENTY-ONE
LEVEL TWENTY-TWO

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My point is that a large section of the community must enter the PvP zones to acheive their objectives - [u]even if they don't want to.[u]

[/ QUOTE ]Since when does anyone HAVE to enter PvP zones?

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Villains, to get the badges required for the Villain version of the Atlas Medallion. Badgehunters and people just looking for an extra boost alike.

Next chapter, after a day's break of writing. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 9 - Overground, Underground.

Nova Violet sat down at a wooden table in the canteen, which looked like it had been 'borrowed' from the Ziggurat prison back over in Paragon City, especially with the tally marks carved into the surface seeming to show the counting of days by one prisoner. That, or someone was waiting an awfully long time for a friend to get out of surgery. He lifted the styrofoam cup to his lips, and took a sip of the hot coffee, which instantly burnt his mouth, causing him to recoil away, and spill some of the hot liquid down his black shirt and red tie. “Damn it!” he exclaimed as he went and grabbed a paper towel from the canteen's service counter, dabbing at the coffee and trying not to spread the inevitable stain any further. “Might want to watch that mate, could be a bit hot.” a male server said from behind the counter, his voice buzzing as he did so. Nova Violet looked up at the server, and replied to his numerous domed eyes; “Oh really friend? I really hadn't noticed that, thank so very much friend for pointing it out.” The insect featured man chuckled, buzzing again, and went to attend to some food cooking on a nearby stove. Nova Violet finished dabbing at his shirt, and sat back down at the wooden table. He picked up the now half empty styrofoam cup, blew over the top of the coffee to try and cool it down a bit, and took a few sips. The coffee felt refreshing after an entire night spent awake without anything to eat or drink, although his training with the Malta Group had ensured he could function normally for a few days without sustenance, it didn't stop his stomach from feeling the pangs of hunger. He finished the coffee, and went back to the canteen counter, grabbing the attention of the insect-man server. “Can I grab a cheeseburger, no gherkins, extra brown sauce?” The server grunted, and began to prepare the burger.

Doctor Forrester looked up as Nova Violet walked back into the operating room eating a burger, before proceeding to finish off the stitches on Ethan's wound. “Your companion should be right as rain in a day or so, nothing serious was injured, so a quick healing aura mended most of the damage up right away. He just needs to rest so as to not aggravate it.” Nova Violet nodded, unable to answer with his mouth full. Quickly chewing the food and gulping it down, he asked back; “When can he leave?” Doctor Forrester finished the stitching, and cut the thread, before tying the remainder into a small bow. “Just as soon as he wakes up.” A voice sounded from behind Nova Violet as the doors to the operating room swung open; “I'm sure we won't need to wait that long Doctor.” Before he could turn round, Nova Violet felt the crack of the stock of a gun hit the back of his head, and everything went dark.

Stomp stomp stomp stomp stomp.

Ethan slowly opened his aching eyes, as the loud noise of synchronised marching on stone pounded through his head. He looked at the concrete floor, and saw a pair of knee high jack boots, looking further up, the boots joined a desert-coloured uniform, overlaid by some metal body armour, before meeting a calm, stern face obscured by red blast goggles, and military cap. “I see you have awoken, Dr Mortimer.” The person said, in a horrible mock German accent. Ethan tried to move, but found that he was tied to the chair he was sitting on by a length of rope around his arms and legs, he still attempted to struggle, and was met with a swift slap round the face by the person in front of him. “I would suggest you do not try to escape Dr Mortimer, I would find it most...unfavourable.” Ethan gritted his teeth as the slap woke him up further; “Who the hell are you anyway?” he asked. The person strode up and down deliberately for a few seconds in front of Ethan, before replying; “I am Archon Rossi of The Council, and I think it would be best for your health if you let me ask the questions Dr Mortimer.” Ethan took in a glance of surroundings, or lack of them. He was in a small holding cell, around ten by ten foot, the whole room a drab concrete, lit by strip light on the ceiling, which flickered noisily every few minutes. Nova Violet sat in a chair next to him, tied up also, and still unconscious. “Now, Dr Mortimer, tell me what you know.” Ethan looked at him quizzically; “Know about what?” His reply was met with another slap to the face. “You know what I am talking about Dr Mortimer, tell me why you are so wanted in Paragon City. You have a secret worth knowing about, and I want it.” Ethan shook his head, and did his best to look apologetic; “Seems like you got the wrong guy Rossi, I'm just on the run from the police.” This was met by yet another slap to the face. “I would aim to be more co-operative Dr Mortimer, if you are not co-operative, we have ways of making you talk.”

At that, Archon Rossi strode out of the room, turned to a numeric keypad on the wall, and entered a code, causing a thick metal door with a grill in to slide shut from inside the wall. Ethan turned his head towards Nova Violet, and started to speak firmly at him; “Wake up. Come on, wake up. Wake up you idiot.” Nova Violet grumbled slightly, and started to regain consciousness. “Ugh...what happened?” Ethan sighed and replied; “I thought you could tell me that, seeing as I was the one under anaesthetic.” Nova Violet blinked and regained the focus in his vision. “Oh yeah, the Doctor said you'll be fine, you just need to rest for a day or two. Now, where are we and how do we get out of here?” Ethan looked at his right arm, and realised he was still wearing his brown jacket, and underneath, the gravity control device was still concealed. “I think I have the means, if you can get me out of this chair.” Nova Violet smiled, and stood up from the chair as the ropes fell from his hands and feet. “You mean like this?” he said as he walked over to Ethan, and undid the knots in the rope in a matter of seconds. “I've been captured enough times by The Council to know how they tie their knots, like amateur boy scouts.” Ethan worked himself free of the rope, and outstretched his cramped arms, and doubled over in pain as his wound began to flare up in pain again. “Easy friend, you're supposed to be resting that remember? Now, what's the plan that doesn't involve us getting captured again?”

Ethan motioned Nova Violet over to a corner of the room near the door, out of sight from the grill in the door, positioned himself in the adjacent corner, and waited for the marching of footsteps from a patrolling guard, as they neared the door to the cell, stopped, and a voice said under its breath; “What the--?” and the light clicking of the numerical keypad was heard. The door slid open, and the guard ran into the cell, as Ethan raised his right arm, and clenched his fist. The guard attempted to emit a cry if surprise, but found himself unable to speak as he was held in place where he stood. Ethan nodded at Nova Violet, and left the cell, checking for any other guards, as Nova Violet walked over to the held guard, and took the sub machine-gun from his hands. “Thanks friend, much appreciated.” He ran out of the cell, and smashed the stock of the gun into the keypad, causing a slight explosion of sparks, and the door to the cell clanged shut. Sweeping the area with the barrel of the gun, Nova Violet took the lead, and rushed over the metal walkway they were now on, and headed for the only visible exit, with Ethan following behind, who was glancing behind every now and then, in case they were flanked from behind. The corridor they went down eventually led out into convoluted area of metal walkways embedded in stone walls, or suspended from the ceiling, and numerous control terminals in bunkers hidden amongst the cave's rock formations. A voice suddenly cried out; “HALT!” and Nova Violet opened fire in random bursts as Council soldiers emerged from various positions and started firing back. Ethan ducked down as bullets whizzed over his head and into the wall behind him. Looking up, he saw three Council soldiers positioned on one of the metal walkways above, firing shots at the two of them as they moved to one side to avoid the incoming bullets. Ethan looked out from his cover spot, and quickly reached outstretched his arm, and pulled it downwards, causing the walkway to snap loose of its supports, and fall to the ground below, taking the three Council soldiers with it.

Nova Violet continued to trade bursts of fire with the remaining Council troops, ducking for cover as their shots fired around the area he was taking cover in, and returning fire as they stopped to reload. As he fired back, he suddenly heard the click of the gun's clip emptying. “Oh bother...not good.” he said to himself. He looked over to Ethan, thought about an idea momentarily, and shouted out to him over the gunfire; “Hey friend, this might feel a bit strange, but trust me!” he pointed his arm out towards Ethan and a shaft of turquoise light travelled from Ethan to Nova Violet. Ethan suddenly felt light-headed, as he found himself struggling to move, as though his muscles were refusing to work properly, and he collapsed to the ground as the effort to move became too much for him. Nova Violet,on the other hand, now had the turquoise light surrounding him, as he started to move at a superhuman speed, his body becoming a blur as he sped towards the nearest Council troop, taken completely by surprise by the sudden speed increase, and grabbed his gun before knocking him out with the stock. He aimed at the Council troops and started firing as they dived for cover or retreated, the spray of bullets covering the room, until the gun clicked empty again, and Nova Violet grabbed a spare clip from the unconscious troop and reloaded the gun in one fast and smooth motion. Ethan began to feel his body returning back to normal, and clambered to his feet, the bursts of gunfire now aimed directly at Nova Violet, who dodged them simply by running quickly from one direction to the next. He scanned the area, and raised his right arm towards one of the computer terminals near the remaining group of troops, moved his arm swiftly to the side, and watched as the terminal was ripped from its stand, and ploughed through the group, scattering them in all directions.

The sounds of gunfire ceased, and Nova Violet signalled for Ethan to follow him as they headed towards an open blast door on the opposite side of the room, and into a large tunnel dug into the rock, supported by metal frames, and lit by a succession of light bulbs on a black cable. The place looked more like a mine shaft than a military base, Ethan thought to himself as they traversed through the tunnel as it started to climb upwards. The next room they reached consisted of a narrow black tiled floor, leading through to a door on the other end, with the rest of the vast room filled with four large lit pools of what looked like water, though a thin white vapour was apparent on the surface, and dark pods hanging suspended above the water. “What on earth is this?” Ethan asked in a hushed whisper. Nova Violet gazed around, keeping his sub machine-gun ready at all times, before hoisting himself up onto the edge of one of the pools, and kneeling over to dab his finger in the liquid and sniffed it. He recoiled at the offensive smell, and wiped his hand on a handkerchief in his pocket, which he threw into the liquid. “I don't know friend, but I sure as hell don't like it. Especially as we should have had more troops following us by now.” He climbed back down, and nodded towards the door on the other side of the room. They started to hurry towards the exit, but as they reached the door a siren started sounding, and previously unnoticed red warning lights started flashing on the walls. There was a loud hiss from above them, and the top of the room started to fill with steam being emitted from the sides of the pods, as they started to descend slowly towards the pools of liquid.

“I don't think we want to be here much longer friend.” Nova Violet said as he pushed Ethan slightly towards the door, and they both started to back away slowly as the pods reached the water, and a mass of loud hisses were heard as the hydraulic catches on the doors were released. Green leather gloves reached around the sides of the pods as their inhabitants clambered out, and studied their surroundings. Ethan started to run through the tunnel, as Nova Violet kept walking backwards, and tripped over an indent in the floor, dropping the sub machine-gun he was carrying, which hit the stone floor, making a loud clatter. Immediately, a mass of hissing came from the room with the pods in, but this time it sounded as though something alive had made it. He picked up the sub machine-gun and started running alongside Ethan as a mass of loud scratching sounds came from the room they'd left behind. The tunnel continued onwards for a long distance, climbing upwards, and it seemed that whatever was behind them, they'd left it well behind. They slowed their pace, and carried onwards, until a loud cracking sound was heard, and the lights in the tunnel flickered, then went out. Ethan and Nova Violet stood there in silence, until a faint scuttling sound was heard echoing from the tunnel behind them, drawing closer and closer. “Run.” Nova Violet said, and sprinted off into the darkness of the tunnel, as Ethan followed.

Ethan ran as fast as he could, the scuttling sound scraping the walls behind him, and getting closer all the time. He looked behind him in the darkness, and could make out the faintest glint of red specks of light in the distance, before he tumbled over onto the floor, and picked himself up again, running onwards, and clutching at his wound, from which pain was shooting through his side, until he caught up with Nova Violet, who had stopped. The way ahead was blocked by a metal blast door, which he was scrabbling around trying to find a switch or keypad for, as the scuttling sound drew even closer. “I suggest friend, you find the way to open this door, and quickly.” He readied his sub machine-gun, and aimed it at the darkness, as Ethan moved his hand over the rock surface near the door, trying to find a way of opening the door. The glints of red in the distance were now becoming larger, and Nova Violet pressed down on the trigger of the gun, and let out a wild spray of gunfire. There was an inhuman screeching from the darkness as some of the bullets hit their target, and in the flashes of light from the gunfire, he could just make out the pale skin of the creatures approaching, and the red goggles they were wearing, probably infra-red enabled somehow, to let them see in the darkness. They were crawling on the floor and walls at a great speed, and however many were taking down by the gunfire, more seemed to replace them. “I suggest you hurry up friend!” he shouted over to Ethan, who looked at the door, and pointed his arm at the door, raising his arm. The door creaked, and started to lift up, revealing the bright dazzle of sunlight from outside the base. Nova Violet noticed the beam of sunlight, stopped firing and hurried under the half open door, as Ethan moved towards it, still keeping his arm outstretched and sliding under the door before letting it slam down as loud thuds came from the other side. They both looked at each other, and started to laugh in shock at their narrow escape.

Next chapter done, over 1,000 words over my quota now, at 23,445, and only 100 or so words behind Stasis.

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Really starting to slip with being back at work, but a good night's sleep with a plan for tomorrow will have me writing at work to add on later. Damn this social life!

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Doing today'spictures have given me a fresh idea for tomorrow's chapter, so glad I took a day off writing.

Today's drawings that put Van Gogh to shame:

LEVEL NINETEEN
LEVEL TWENTY

To be honest, although I agree PvP zones are for PvP, the instances where some posters have responded by insulting the PvEr's intelligence or have simply cried out 'It's a PvP zone, deal with it' are simply making the problem worse.

If people actually tried thinking about ways to solve the problem, on both sides of the fence, rather than going 'Get over it', there wouldn't be people complaining all the time. Both side's complainers need to stop acting like spoilt brats, and actually try working towards a solution, rather than the endless "My way's the way it should be" arguments.

Been rather busy today, so decided to take a day off from writing, otherwise I'd stand to lose most of my evening. Pictures will be done though.

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But slotting EndRdx on henches only reduces the end cost of casting them, right?

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It applies to the henches own attacks, reducing their endurance cost and meaning they don't run out so quick (especially with some pets such as the Commando, who has whole host of AoEs and drains endurance like a Humvee through 4 star )

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I believe it was the Recharges that had the change made to only affect the Power rather than the power+minion.

Today's magnificent drawings, with sand instead of cement!

LEVEL SEVENTEEN
LEVEL EIGHTEEN

Well, my novel is currently being posted up a chapter at a time on the Creative Boards during November, so it'll be finished towards the end of November.

And Bridger doesn't need to read *all* the novels, just the CoH/V ones, or everyone can just tell him how great mine is.

Just to check...as the novel I'm writing is set in the CoH/V universe, and doesn't contain silly things like scenes of a sexual nature or overly-gratuitous violence (as they're not suitable for these boards), it should be eligible for nomination for the November Creative Genius award, shouldn't it, though it's tied to Nanoo Nanoo?

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I may actually get some proper action

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Dont we all wish th-

I mean .....erm...
What type of action? Actiony action or "action" action?

Chiefette

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Trust me, you don't want to see the directors cut I was talking about with Stasis, where it delved into a world of homoerotica as I was running out of words.

But I mean fighty-action, and that's proper punches, not matey-punches.

Next chapter written, and I've broken the 20K boundary, at 20,638 words. Next milestone, 30K, and who knows, I may actually get some proper action in the next few chapters.

Next chapter, and we're back with Ethan today. I might consider a spin-off chapter for his new-found 'accomplice', I'll have to see as the story progresses.

Chapter 8 - The Journey.

The leather upholstering for the seats in the car squeaked slightly as Ethan groaned in pain and clutched at his right hand side with his left hand, curling up slightly as the pain peaked for a second. The car hit a small pothole, causing it to bounce slightly, and Ethan cried out again as the feeling flooded through his chest. “That's what I like about leather, all the stains wash off easily, even blood.” the figure driving the car said in a light-hearted fashion. He glanced quickly behind him at Ethan lying on the back seat, his navy blue cowboy hat scuffing the head rest on his seat, and slight reflections of light gleaming on his circular red sunglasses. “Stop complaining friend, you're not dead, be grateful for that at least.” Ethan looked up at him, and replied back through gritted teeth; “I...have...been shot, and you want...me...to be thankful for that? And another thing...where are you taking...me?” The driver of the car smirked, and turned back to look at the road, before switching on the radio to a country and western station, and tapping his hands on the steering wheel in time to the upbeat music. Ethan fumed and shouted over the music: “I SAID WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME!?” The driver of the car turned the dial on the radio, through some static, and onto a news bulletin. The news announcer's voice crackled through the speaker: “...an Ethan Mortimer, wanted for counts of kidnapping and the murder of Terence Austin, well-known CEO of AusTech Industries. The suspect was last seen at the AusTech building near midnight, and police have urged any civilians to report sightings of him, and not to approach the suspect--” The driver turned the dial back to the country and western station, and began whistling along to the tune. Ethan shook his head, and clutched at his wound again. “So you're turning me in, is that it? Hoping to bag some...big reward?” The driver chuckled and replied; “Hell no friend, I'm taking you to the finest hospital the Rogue Isles has to offer, well...maybe not the finest, but they're sure used to cases like yours, and it sure isn't a good idea to be going to a hospital in Paragon City, the police will be watching every one in the city.”

Ethan sighed. laid back on the back seat of the car, and rested his head on the leather seats. The wound in his side was burning like hell itself, and still leaking out a trail of blood over his hand and the inside of the car. “Who are you anyway?” He asked, as the car started to slow down. “The name's Nova Violet, and that's all you need to know for now.” the driver replied, as the car came to a halt, and he switched off the radio. Nova Violet turned off the engine, undid his seatbelt, and opened the door of the car, letting in a cool breeze that felt extra sensitive around Ethan's bullet wound, causing him to grimace slightly as the nerves began to sting, before becoming acclimatised to the cold. Nova Violet got out and looked around in the darkness, before walking to the back door to the car, and opening it, grabbing Ethan by the underarm of his shoulders, and hoisting him out of the car into the cold night air. Ethan squinted at the bright light from the street lamps around, and gazed around before being supported by Nova Violet and starting to walk down a concrete walkway set into a small cliff face. The smell of sea air invaded Ethan's sinuses, and the gentle crash of waves was heard a short distance away. “Where are we?” he asked weakly as they carried on walking down the walkway. “Talos Island, I have some transport here that should get us safely to Cap Au Diable. How's the injury holding up? I'm guessing not too bad, seeing as you're not dead yet, but we're halfway there now. Just a quick sea voyage and we're home free.” They reached the bottom of the walkway, and started heading across the wooden docks towards Nova Violet's boat. Ethan started to feel his eyelids drooping, and the feeling of sleep flooded his head, Nova Violet looked at him and noticed him starting to fall unconscious; “Hey. Hey! Don't fall asleep on me! I'm not going with the risk of you not waking up friend.” and he gave Ethan a quick slap on the face.

Ethan struggled to keep himself awake, as they finally arrived at a rusting fishing trawler, mostly coloured military grey, with a dark brown underside. Nova Violet gently lay Ethan down on the dock, and jumped on board the ship, before rooting around on the deck, and producing a large piece of wood with step sized ridges in it, that hooked onto the side of the boat at one end, and lay on the dock at the other end. He walked down the makeshift ramp, helped Ethan to his feet again, and carefully guided him up the ramp and onto the boat, round the deck, and down some steps into a small cabin room with a faux wooden interior. Nova Violet guided Ethan down to a bed inset into the wall of the cabin, and helped him slide inside. “Right, you rest there friend, and we'll be with a doctor in no time.” Nova Violet patted Ethan on the shoulder, and went back up on deck. He walked over to the makeshift ramp, and lifted it back on board, before heading to the bridge of the fishing trawler, pulled a set of keys from his pocket, and inserted one into the ignition. The engine of the boat spluttered, and then roared into life, as Nova Violet suddenly remembered to jump back on the dock, and untie the rope holding the boat in place, and leaping over to the vessel again. “It's a pirate's life for me.” he said to himself as a private joke, before placing the engine up to speed, and manoeuvring the trawler away from the dock.

The sea was relatively calm that night, though below deck, Ethan was feeling every bob and jolt of the boat worse than Nova Violet did. The bleeding had stopped now, but Ethan didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On deck, Nova Violet began whistling some country and western tunes, his navy blue jacket billowing slightly in the wind entering the bridge. The journey continued unhindered for around an hour, until a droning noise was heard above the sound of the engine and the waves crashing against the side of the boat. Nova Violet looked through the windows of the bridge trying to discern the source of the noise, and was met with a dazzling light in his eyes, and the sound of a male voice booming through a megaphone. “This is a Longbow investigation! Please halt your vessel, and allow us to come aboard!” Nova Violet swore to himself, and ducked below the window frame of the bridge, opening a wooden cupboard underneath the bridge controls, and pulling out a black sub machine-gun, and two grenades. He placed the strap of the sub machine-gun around his neck and concealed it under his jacket. He placed his two index fingers through the ring pulls of the grenades, and held the main grenades in his hands, before getting up and walking out on deck, arms held up in a false pose of surrender. He walked to the edge of the boat, and looked at the small Longbow boat. It was small and fairly weak looking, obviously used for approaching stealthily rather than for attacks. The Longbow Officer and two Agents on board the boat were dressed in the usual Longbow gear, red boots, white trousers, a red and white militaristic top, red gloves, and an embarrassingly awful looking helmet. The Longbow Officer spoke through the megaphone again: “Whatever you may be carrying, put them down, and stop the boat.” Nova Violet smirked and replied; “Certainly.” and threw one of the grenades towards the Longbow boat, the pin sliding easily out as it stayed attached to his finger. The grenade landed next to the boat, and promptly exploded, sending a cascade of water flying in all directions, and knocking a sizeable chunk out of the front of the vessel. At that point, Nova Violet threw the second grenade, and withdrew the sub machine-gun from underneath his jacket and started firing wildly at the boat, the second grenade landing squarely inside the vessel. “Grenade!” shouted one of the Agents, as all three of the Longbow members dived from the boat and into the water, the subsequent explosion blowing the small boat to smithereens. Nova Violet ran to the bridge controls, and increased the boat to full speed. “So long friends! Send my regards to City Hall!” he shouted as the fishing trawler sped off into the distance, and into Rogue Isles waters.

Eventually, the dark outline of an island appeared on the horizon, and Nova Violet began to guide the boat around the coasts of the various islands, keeping on the lookout as he passed Bloody Bay, in case any late night heroes spotted the boat and attempted to stop it, or indeed, late night villains seeking some non existent treasure. Faint turquoise glows from the shoreline indicated the area was possibly clear of people, as the Shivan monsters patrolled the area. When nobody was around They mostly came out at night, mostly. A few sharks could be seen trailing alongside the boat at times as it carried onwards, desperate for the possibility of bodies of people being thrown overboard in the empty mass of water between Sharkhead and Mercy Island. Thankfully, Ethan wasn't dead weight yet, and there was still a good chance of saving him. Nova Violet hadn't told Ethan, but the wound was mostly harmless, it wasn't in an area that could hit vital organs, all that needed to be done was to remove the bullet, and patch him up. But having someone owe you the favour of having saved their life wasn't something Nova Violet was going to miss out on. The boat started to enter narrower inclines of rock, and the outline of Port Oakes could be seen as the light levels started to increase ever so slightly as night became early morning. The docks were quiet, save for the odd cries of seagulls, a few lights could be seen on shore where homeless people stood huddled around fires in barrels in an attempt to ward off the cold. He began to slow down the engine, until it moved the fishing trawler at a snail's pace, and manoeuvred the boat into an empty space on the dock, before turning off the ignition, pocketing the keys. Walking out on deck, he grabbed the end of the anchor rope, leapt to the dock, and tied the boat to a mooring post.

Ethan breathed in heavily, and took his left hand away from his wound. The blood had dried now, but the pain in his side was still near unbearable. The steps to the cabin shook slightly as he saw the black leather boots Nova Violet was wearing start descending the steps, before the man himself came into view. “Right friend, let's get you out of this box, and to a doctor.” Nova Violet went over to the bed Ethan was lying on, and helped lift him out, before supporting him on his shoulder again. As they stumbled back out on deck, the sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, and Ethan looked away and squinted as the bright light hit his eyes. “Come on friend, the hospital's not far this way.” They walked off the boat, over the makeshift ramp, and headed towards another walkway in a cliff face, this one in a state of disrepair, and not entirely safe looking. Regardless, they climbed up it, the upwards step causing Ethan more pain, the ascent seeming to never end, until they reached the top, and a large open stone-cobbled area greeted them, a large dome building covering the skyline ahead of them, and various worn-down houses and apartments making up the majority of buildings in the area. Nova Violet motioned to his left, and they carried on towards the hospital. Looking down the streets they passed, Ethan could see groups of black-outfitted troops patrolling the area, and chasing after apparent law breakers, whatever the law may be in this place.

They reached a tall brick-walled building, the metal doors on the front rusted over, one of them buckled heavily inwards from the inside, and moss covering the brickwork around the door frame. “Well friend, we're here at last.” Nova Violet said as they walked towards the doors. Ethan looked around, partly in disbelief, and partly in disgust. “This is a hospital? It looks more like a morgue...although even those are meant to be clean and tidy.” Nova Violet smirked, and replied; “No, the morgue is downstairs, and it's pretty clean actually. The Necromancy types don't like purchasing corpses that smell too much.” Ethan shook his head, and hobbled over to a chair in the empty waiting area, whilst Nova Violet went to the reception desk and talked to the attending 'nurse'. Ethan looked around the room, the walls were bare grey stone, and the floor was constructed of cheap beige lino tiling. Most of the chairs were blue plastic, with various chunks ripped off or scratched out, and lighting was provided by a solitary light bulb in the centre of the room. Nova Violet walked back over, and helped Ethan up. “Don't let the looks fool you, everyone in here is guaranteed to be a fully qualified doctor, or your money back.” Ethan couldn't help but wonder whether the doctors in here were in fact, fully qualified doctors in medicine, or botany.

The next hour was a blur for Ethan, as he was taken upstairs by Nova Violet to a private operating room with the same lino tiling and stone grey walls, which didn't look particularly clean. He was lain down on what looked like a dentist's chair, before he lost consciousness. The doctor looked at Ethan and exclaimed; “Oh good! No need for anaesthetic!” Nova Violet shook his head, and produced a small wad of money, which made the doctor's eyes light up, literally. “Okay then! Anaesthetic it is!” Nova Violet left the room, and went to the canteen to get himself a cup of coffee whilst the doctor operated on Ethan.

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N1 BD

Transparent belly though?

Great pic!

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Nothing wrong with a transparent belly, could be quite useful:

Bob:"What did you have for dinner today Dave?"

*Dave looks down*

Dave:"Fish fingers"

I think it's great, and much better than my one would have been if I'd remembered to enter it.

I do agree a few screenshots would be nice, not too many of course, but if there's an advert for a game, and there's no screens of the game itself, I personally tend to get suspicious, as I wonder why the publishers don't want us to see the game itself.

On further reflection, I think it's best that the 'starter' threads for the Nanoo Nanoo things are done in October, as otherwise they might overshadow the actual results that are put up in November resulting from them.

I'm glad I didn't get that email personally. I really dislike getting 'inspirational' message from people. I'm comfortable going at my own pace, and if people try urging me to go on, I tend to feel rushed, get stressed and give up entirely.

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I find that very hard to fathom... to be honest... ED came before CoV, and Max had been lvl 49.4 (or was it 49.6?) since then, until much, much later...
There wasn't any longbow back when Max was an iccle lvl 16!

Disclaimer: All this is based on the world as I know it, it may or may not be true. YMMV.

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I realised as I was about to draw Level Sixteen, that there wasn't actually much *to* draw of the zone it was in, so I ret-conned the Bloody Bay entrance in, as you get sent there at about Level Fifteen these days.