Thire

Been a hot minute but here's something new!  I had my absolute weirdest and most vivid dream yet last night. It started off with darkness, a void with nothing everywhere I looked. Then I heard a voice, it sounded female, kinda like Cindy Robinson. It was saying something but I couldn't make it out as it sounded faint. I felt tugging on my left side and when I looked, I saw a Mudkip next to me.  All of a sudden we started falling. Almost like a tunnel of light beams around us. We fell for about 30 seconds or so before the light faded and I woke up.  I jot down most dreams like this as a way to remember them or if another dream I have is connected to it in some way, which has happened before.

My turn!  Got Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on launch day! Had a blast going through it.  100% the main game and collectables within 5 days after launch!

  Elias Acorn, Casino Night Zone         After a long battle in the streets, Elias now found himself up against his best friend who was turned into a robot.    "Doug, if you're in there, you've gotta snap out of it!" Elias attempted to call to him, but there was no response. He was devoid of emotions and swung and chased after Elias like a lifeless husk. Elias couldn't bear to hurt him, so he only used his sword in defense by blocking and deflecting  attacks. Unfortunately he was already worn out from the previous battles.    "I can't keep going on like this… I need to get away!" Left with little options, Elias decided to cripple the robot by taking out one of it's legs. It swung in a huge overhead smash downward toward Elias. He noticed the wind-up attack and dodged by rolling around to the back of the bot, then did an upward slash on it's right leg. The robot couldn't support its weight on one leg and toppled over. All it could do was swing it's arms around and stare at Elias.    "I… I'm sorry… my friend."    "You did what you had to." A voice came from behind Elias. He quickly spun around with his sword and stopped just shy of the voice's neck.  "Do not fear." He said with his hands up.  "I am not an enemy." The deep voice came from a slender black wolf, dressed in a black cloak with deep gray minor highlights. Armed with a sword of his own and other hidden weapons.   "No, but you don't hesitate to kill, Semileph."    "I completed my bounties as instructed however the methods were never specified, Elias."    "Sure… I bet those innocents you murdered felt different." He said as he lowered his sword.   "I could not have any witnesses. Regardless of how you think of me, we must escape."    "No! We need to help those people in the streets! Get them to safety!"    "There is no one left! After you were separated from your group, they fell apart one by one. Not even I could help them without risking myself to those infernal machines."    "Wha- but… no…" Elias staggered backwards with the shock of so many people lost in a matter of minutes. A clanking march was heard in the distance.  "They are coming for us. We must leave now."    "R-right… there's a secret passage out of the city that I know of. Just in that building." He pointed to what was left of 'Doug's Digs'.  "Excellent, we must go."    With that, they headed inside the building's ruins. As they entered, an old radio Doug had on a countertop was playing a message... --------------------   Chuck and Josh, Knothole         "Uncle Chuck, do you possibly have any other 'toys' around here?" Josh hinted at Chuck.    "Nothing special really, at least anything that you would be interested in."    Suddenly, an old CB radio activates and starts playing a message.    "Urgent communique from his majesty's secure frequency to any and all agents and allies of The Kingdom of Acorn. New Mobotropolis is under siege. I repeat, New Mobotropolis is under siege. An overwhelmingly large force that has invaded Casino Night Zone and other locations has invaded here as well. The king has called for an evacuation of the city. The status of the princess is safe for now. Nearby units are requested to aid the citizens in evacuation or shelter. Repeat message." The radio then begins to replay the message.    "Hmm, that happened a lot faster than I'd hoped. Josh, I don't think we'll be able to finish our journey to Downunda."    "D-do you think we're safe here?"    "For now, I believe so."    "Wait, what about Larry and Ian? Would they be safe?"    "I doubt Ian took Larry anywhere near the city. They should be okay as well. Fortunately this place is too small to be of any tactical importance. I doubt anyone could even see it with how thick the brush is here."    "Right…"   "What's up, kiddo?"    "It's just… maybe we should go and help them? Or maybe try to get people to safety?"    "That's a big risk we'd be taking, there's no telling what danger lay in store for us if we get into the fray."    "Yes but… I'd feel terrible if I knew there was something I could do to help but I just stayed back and left them on their own."    "Now you sound just like your father! Well if you really want to, I suppose they probably need all the help they can get. Problem is, I'm no fighter. I wouldn't be much help at all. But you can make a difference. I should see if I can contact Ian first so we're all in the know."    Chuck grabs the long range walkie talkie and then begins sending a message. "Charles to Ian, we've received a signal from the Kingdom of Acorn. They're preparing for a siege from this army that attacked Casino Night Zone. We are going to the city to help in any way we can. I'm not sure if you'll get this, but stay safe. Charles out."     --------------------   Shard, New Mobotropolis        Finally arrived at the city. And it's a good thing there's plenty of cover because holy smokes, that's a huge invasion force! Looks like they're almost here... It appears people are evacuating the city, and the guardsmen are setting up positions. Waitasec, the database identifies that chipmunk as Princess Sally Acorn. Seems like she's being escorted out as well. Well hopefully she makes it to safety because this is going to be an interesting battle…        --------------------   Elias and Semileph, Casino Night Zone         "...repeat message." The old CB radio on the countertop begins replaying the same message sent out by the Kingdom of Acorn.    "So now the Kingdom is next… I wonder how a radio like this managed to pick up a secret frequency such as this. Unless your friend knew more than you thought." Speculated Semileph.    "Oh shut up. Right now we need to escape, right?" Retorted Elias.    "Well, what do you have in mind?"    "I don't know… maybe we should go help them. If there's anything we can do to prevent something like what happened here…"    "You mean YOU can help them. It would be for the better if I did not show my face there again. Not after the last time I did a job in the capital."    "What possibly compels you to be so heartless and cold? For someone like you, I'm sure they'd pay you to help and not come back."    "I do not work for money, boy. I live for the hunt."    "Whatever, you cold-blooded monster. I'm going to see what I can do for the greater good. I don't expect you to understand what that could possibly mean." With that, Elias grabs the radio and some gear, and makes his way to the back of the counter through a secret passage out the city.    "What a jerk… thinking only about himself. I swear he lives only to kill. Well, I guess now's a good time to see if Doug's brother George might actually be in Knothole like Doug said…"   --------------------

Merry Birthmas Shinomi!

Shard, port town for the Kingdom of Acorn   Finally arriving at the port town, Shard snuck out of the cargo hold and stealthily got out of the town.    GPS: Activate   Using a vantage point and cross-referencing the area with a map it obtained, Shard began planning it's route to Mobotropolis. It wasn't too far from where it is now thankfully, but hopefully it can start uncovering it's purpose soon. This is getting annoying...   --------------------    Josh and Chuck, Chuck's Lab, Knothole Village    "Woah! This place is awesome!" Exclaimed Josh as he and Chuck entered his secret lab.    "It ain't much but it's an honest workplace. Now, let's see if we can find what I came here for..." Replied a half-distracted Chuck. His old lab was about the size of a small warehouse, set up almost like one too scattered with all his old projects.    "What's this?" Josh picked up a light blue bangle and slid it on his arm. "What'cha think Uncle Chuck? Am I styling now?" Chuck turns and chuckles. (*chuckle*)    "Took you long enough to realize you looked drab! Hahaha! Try clenching your fist, Josh." Replied Chuck. As Josh closed his fist, a beam of light came out from the bottom of the wrist forming a blade of light extending a small ways from his fist.    "OHMYGOSHTHISTHINGISAWESOME!!"   "Hahahaha... I figured you might like it. Prototype weapon designed to increase mobility yet maintain effectiveness. It was originally intended for stealth but as you can see, the sound and light kinda give it away."    "Regardless, this thing would be 'handy' to have!"    Chuck simply gives him a blank stare, prompting Josh to deactivate it.   "Er... Right..."    Chuck walks over to Josh and motions for him to sit down next to him. "So what do you know about your father?"    "Well... Aside from the fact that he traveled a lot when he was younger, mom always said that he was a navigator of a cargo ship for the Kingdom of Acorn."    "She always thought that he should've stayed home and not gotten involved with his old job again. Which reminds me, I have something here for you. Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough, but your mother wouldn't allow it."  Chuck puts a metal cylinder in Josh's hands.   "What is it?"   Asked Josh as he picked it up and pressed the button on it. A light blue blade of light came out of the top, slightly less than a meter in length, it made a distinct sound upon activation and hummed quietly. "T-th-this...this thing... It is beautiful..."    "This is your father's 'Photon Saber'. It was the weapon of a brave man serving the Kingdom. Not as Clumsy or random as a gun. An elegant weapon, for a more civilized time."     -------------------- Elias, Casino Night Zone   Still trying to defend themselves, the fight continues on. Elias had cut through at least two dozen? No, more like four dozen bots already.    "Not good Vector! We've got more company!" As Elias steeled himself ahead, a small motobug rushed towards him.    "Oh, you're approaching me?" He confidently remarked. A blow from the back caught him off guard however, but Elias quickly recovered and turned to see a large robot in time for it to smack him off a distance away into the "Per Schin Rug Store". Thankfully it wasn't a hard landing, but Elias was concerned as he drew his eyes front was the large robot. He knew exactly who that was.    "Well frick. If they got him then… no… no way she'd let them take their son." Elias recognized it as Doug. Anger was building up in Elias. He had to defend himself but he didn't want to hurt his old friend. Left with no choice, he drew his sword and prepared to try and escape and outrun the machine.   --------------------   Larry and Ian, Mobian Badlands   "D-d-defend myself? But...but… I can't fight! I don't… I can't… it's just…" Larry was distraught with what Ian said. He always hated violence but after the incident at the lake, maybe self defense wouldn't be a bad thing to know.    "I was really hoping things would go back to normal. Like when it was peaceful again. Mom and Dad would walk through the door and we would be happy again. I know Josh wants that too but he seems like he was actually prepared in a way for something like this to happen. Was he really just prepared to protect me? He's never scared, he's always brave, he's so strong. Maybe… maybe I want to be that strong someday too!"    Finding a bit of resolve, he grabs the sword. But uh… he has a hard time lifting it. He tries getting it up to rest it on his shoulder but it tips over every time he gets close. Poor guy hadn't lifted many things before so he never really built any arm strength.   "Jeez Mr. St. John, why'd you give me the heaviest branch off the tree?" He strained to say as he hefted the practice sword.    “Heh, my boy was swinging that sword since he was 6 years old!” Replied Ian.    “6?! What did you feed him growing up?!” Larry replied in disbelief.    “A balanced meal! And he wasn’t soft like some people!” Retorted Ian.    “What’s that supposed to mean?!” Questioned Larry as he turned to face Ian with the sword.   “Anyways, start by finding the balanced center-point of the hilt. Once you find that, take your other hand and support your lead hand just below it on the hilt. This should help you lift the blade. Now, how I trained and used it is purely one-handed. You’re not going to be able to do that yet so for now, build up your strength then work your way up from there. Eventually you will be strong enough to find your own style.” Ian instructed Larry.   “Okay Mr. St. John, I’ll try!” Confidently remarked Larry as he tried once more to lift the sword, this time with his guidance. He manages to lift the sword up and in a better position where he can keep it up.    “Hey I did it! Thanks Mr. St. John!”    “Very good, now you must find your resolve and call upon it to guide the blade if you intend to protect anything! Remember resolve is measured by results so do not neglect your training. Now keep at it Larry, I’ll be back shortly.” He leaves Larry with some words of wisdom before heading further inside.   --------------------   Sally Acorn, Mobotropolis      "I still can't believe he wants me to leave… we prepared for this day to come but… something about this Robotnik has Daddy freaking out. He hides it well but I can tell." Sally thought to herself as she was being escorted out of the palace. "I know it's what we've planned but it just doesn't feel right..." 

Merry Birthmas Clay!

Merry Birthmas Chaos!