Talon

[color=teal][center]I stare in a mirror, but who do I see? The boy in my mirror does not look like me. His haughty black eyes, his defiant slant sneer, As if he were constantly stuck in a leer. He's not me, he can't be, but I'm at a loss. Seeing this boy, my heart starts to toss. Can I really have become this evil and cruel? Or am I just a vent, this cruel young man's tool? The scars on his face, near as bad as those on his heart, Like a puzzle, badly broken, they make my soul start. Why am I like this, what have I become? Has all the love I have given come unwrought, come undone? Why is it he laughs, he jokes at my pain? Where is it I am, like I'm lost in the rain? Why is it he smirks as I lie dying? And why does he smile while my dear ones are crying......[/color][/center]

[color=teal][i][u]Enemies......music.....we need music......but Fox......we need him most of all......his battle expertise.....without his pain......we need my brother......[/u] Blaze walked outside, seeing the Squiddies multiplying. There was a threat now![/i] [b]Blaze:[/b]MIKE! RON! DENNY! They're back! [i]Blaze twisted rapidly, looking at Ciel and tapping his head. Instantly, an explosive sheet of light covered him, and when it decipated.... He stood, long, green hair flowing in the wind, a silver longsword extending from his elbow joint instead of a right arm. A pair of emerald wings burst from his shoulder blades, huge muscles flexing within them. A single tear ran from his eye as the pain of his scars worked into his sallow skin, his cry of agony audible as his sword extended. He looked straight ahead as his white armor and long, flowing emerald cloak finished the transformation.[/i] [b]Fox:[/b]Revenge is for the weak. I must protect Danielle and Stephanie! [i]He allowed his wings to power him into the air, right at a bunch of sentinels. Tentacles came up, razors extended..... Tentacles fell down, no longer attached. Afterwards, Mike pulled out a pair of Mp5s, sending bullet after bullet into the steel carapaces of the Squiddies. Still Fox powered his blade into the enemies, his wings never tiring, his muscles never wavering. Eventually, he came down, allowing the others to have the fun of the battle and retracting th swordarm. He strode over to Stephanie, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her deeply. She sighed and turned, leaning against him as he wrapped his arms around her and rocked back and forth, humming his favorite lullaby to her.[/i] [b]Fox:[/b][i][u]On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air. Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light. My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night.....[/i][/u] [i]Stephanie nodded off into a deep sleep, allowing Fox a little freedom of movement. He looked over, and then something happened when his eyes made contact with Jaimie's.[/i] [b][i][u]Spiritshift[/b] John and Jaimie appeared in the Spiritshift, the realm where those with no destinies, no true lives, live. Jaimie looked about in wonder and fear, looking around her. John, or rather, Innath, stood stock still, knowing what was about to happen.[/i] [b]Jaimie:[/b]Why? Why'd you sing that to her? It was OUR song! [b]John:[/b]No. It was yours and the Fox's...... [b]Jaimie:[/b]Where is he? What's he doing? [i]John shook his head, knowing why he was there. His brother, the Fox, had fallen when Jaimie left him for good. The man Fox feared most took him as a servant and exposed him to torture, pain, and the murders of his own children. Slowly, Fox had transformed into the most loyal and worst-treated servant of Richard. He'd become the Diablo Nemesis.[/i] [b]Jaimie:[/b]WHERE IS HE?!?!? [i]John pointed to a nearby wall, where a black-cloaked figure tended to a wounded red-head whose soul had been torn from her by his master. The figure turned, seeing John, and removed his cloak..... The monster wasn't pretty. His skin was pale white, split to the bone in very many places, his teeth blackened and broken, his eyes black pools of nothingness.....he had none. His eyes were merely sockets, veins standing out against his torn white skin. His body was as bad, if not worse. Ribs shoved through the skin, the remains of emerald wings hung from stumps, bones broken in various directions. His arms were long, mainly bone with little flesh covering it, and long, cruel fingers at his hands. A number of various blades stuck in his body, chains wrapped around his body tightly, a brace keeping his head down. His hair was black and unwashed, his legs were torn, the muscles hanging from the thighs. A red sword, made from the pieces of another, more legendary blade, hung from his side.[/i] [b]Jaimie:[/b]Do you know where my best friend is? [b]Diablo:[/b]--------- [b]Jaimie:[/b]Please, where is my best friend? [b]John:[/b]Jaimie......that IS your best friend..... [i]Jaimie looked at the thing that had once been a proud knight, a man ready to fight until the earth ended, and saw less than a shadow of what Fox had been. He tried to speak, but the bit shoved through his throat kept his voice from saying more than "Ka...le.......". Large, bloody tears dripped from what used to be his eyes....[/i] [b][i]End Spiritshift[/b][/u] They came back to their senses, blaze's arms still around Stephanie. He looked close to tears after seeing his brother, the man that had given so much, in such a poor state. He'd given so much, and had more stolen from him, and got nothing back. And there was nothing Blaze could do. He decided he'd try to live John's life the way it should've been and began humming "Hotel California" to Stephanie again. Jaimie just shuddered.[/i][/color]

[color=teal]With the green mail, the Cyclops can take about six or seven hearts from you if you're stupid enough to try to dodge their bombs by running into them.[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]Laughter......the dead don't hear laughter. Wait....he is gone. My brother, the eternal knight, dead. The body....mine. Stephanie....is she gone, too? It is my time....my time....my time.....[/u] Blaze woke up, the Fox within him dead, murdered. Blaze struggled to get out of bed, straining against the bullet wounds in his back. With a tremendous, sweat-pulling effort....he was out. He stood up, leaning on his axe like a short crutch, blood streaming from his back and the corner of his mouth. He stumbled into the area where everyone was drinking. He looked up weakly, staring at Ciel.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Jack Daniel's, Old No. 7. [i]The order was complied, everyone watching in horror as the convalescent uncorked the bottle..... And poured it onto his bare, muscular back. Blaze gasped, his eyes wide open as the alcohol content cleaned his back better than it had been in months. The pain nearly overwhelmed him. Half a bottle was left, and John smiled grimly at Ciel. The bottle became full again.... And then empty in less than four gulps. John packed it away, not even belching or looking cock-eyed.[/i] [b]John:[/b]I....love.....being.....Scottish...... [i]He collapsed, blood pouring onto the floor. John simply grabbed Danni's hand and squeezed.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Danni.....please.....don't......let.............me...........die...........[/color]

[color=teal]Wrong, Mei. Sorry. For the record, I think it's a tektite. Dunno for sure.[/color]

[color=teal]GDL, I had to wait for verification as I was not sure of my answer. I am NOT preemptive, like some other people in certain threads. Anyway, here's the question: [b]Question:[/b]In LttP, how much do the blue and red tunics lower the damage done to you?[/color]

[color=teal]AoL is "Adventure of Link", better known as Zelda II. Anyhow, I think the names of sages named after towns goes as follows: Saria, Ruto, Rauru, Darunia, and Nabooru. Impa would not have been named after a city in AoL as she was mentioned in the manual of LoZ, the first game, thus she would be named after her LoZ counterpart.[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]No....he isn't dead......just plugged. Revenge.....it will be mine......I swear it, revenge WILL be mine! I must avenge my kids.......my son.....my daughter......[/u] John rushed back into the Matrix chamber, grabbing a chair and forcing himself into it as hard as he could.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Data! Put me in the Matrix, location: Four blocks south of a young man, the image is in my head. [i]Data complied, pushing the young man into the Matrix, somewhere in Alabama. John felt a data download coming into his system: the exact location of Richard. John rushed forward, pulling out a Colt .45 and slamming open the door the Matrix indicated was Richard's. Inside was...... Not Richard. Four men in black suits stood in front of him, odd headphones plugged into their right ears. One walked forward, smiling maliciously.[/i] [b]Suit:[/b]Good morning, Mr. Schock. I see you are well, at least for the moment. Your revenge wil not come about yet, I assure you. Your anger still has use to us, but for that to come to pass, you must be destroyed, your renegade data must be absorbed. [i]John calmed down, thinking what he was about to do through. He sighed and turned around, heading out for a steak..... The men appeared before him.[/i] [b]Suit:[/b]I don't think so, Mr. Schock. You will not leave.....in one piece. [i]John pulled his gun out, firing at all four of them. Not a single bullet hit, and John prided himself on being an expert shot. They were fast. So fast that in one movement, John was in the suit's grip and being thrown into a brick wall. And going through the brick wall. He coughed blood, the men kicking him, punching him, throwing him across the room. He couldn't think anymore. He stood up when they gave him a reprieve. A phone began ringing.... He ran. Full out, he just ran. He picked the phone up just as four bullets entered his body. One in his shoulder, two in his back, one in his leg...... He woke up, blood covering the chair. The needle came out of his neck, and he fell to the floor. He managed to crawl himself into a nearby bed and began to cough blood uncontrollably. He felt his life ending, even as Ciel came over to heal him.[/i] [b]John:[/b]No! Get away from me. *coughcough* I deserve this......for certain sins...*cough*....go, if it's my time, I'll die. If not.....I'll *coughcough* live....... [i]He fell unconscious.[/i][/color]

[color=teal]Not positive, but I think it was four. It could've been six, but I think I'll stick with four.[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]Hmm.....Mike seems.....different. Not Mike....I must be careful. Already, my body seems tense and ready to battle.....yet there is no fight. The mirror.....something about me is missing.......I know.....[/u][/i] [b]John:[/b]Ciel......give me a pair of glasses, Peachtree frames, prescriptioned for genetic nearsightedness. [i]Ciel complied, the black frames appearing on John's face, but still Ciel was not satisfied. She altered them to be prescription shades, in the style of Blade-meets-, and the rest of his body followed in the makeover. His muscles seemed more smooth, his skin tanned, his scars reddened, two more growing just on his shoulder blades, as if he was an angel whose wings were torn off. His hair turned smoother, lighter, and shorter. His black eyes shifted through a spectrum of colors before settling on a sparkling silver, a new scar crisscrossing his old one, forming a red "X" on his chest. A tattoo appeared on his left shoulder, just the numbers "01" with the word "GUNDAM" underneath. A green tanktop took the place of his tattered black t-shirt, his jeans repairing and changing color to white. A pistol holster appeared on his right side. Ciel snapped her fingers, his transformation complete.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Owch......all this for a pair of glasses? [b]Ciel:[/b]I hate stereotypes, and you looked exactly like a post-apocalyptic hero from too many movies. [b]John:[/b]Yeah, I thought I looked kinda like Mad Max.... [i]John smiled, liking the new him. He looked over at Jaimie, asking for approval.....[/i][/color]

[color=teal]I'd have to disagree, Turkey. If you don't remember, the King manages to tell them to make the land above into their own kingdom, as in a kingdom of islands. I am inclined to believe that the Zelda series is not connected at all, aside from a few EXTREMELY obvious references mentioned in the games themselves. (I.E. LttP to Awakening, OoT to WW, OoA to OoS) And also, if anyone bothers to connect the two, there appears to be a connection between LttP and OoT, from the reference of the seven sages sealing Ganon into the dark world in LttP. In effect, LttP MUST take place BEFORE WW, or else any connection at all between the series' games would fall apart, because in WW, they mentioned that it had been the first time Ganon had risen from his prison. In LttP, Ganon did NOT escape the Dark World, and he barely threatened the Light World. Also, after Link grabbed the Triforce in LttP, everything was as it was BEFORE Agahnim began his experiments in the tower. Hence, a period of peace would seemingly have been in the part of history's place instead of a heroic struggle against evil, correct? Link then thought about the possibility of Ganon's return and set out to make himself stronger. In his absence and the absence of his bloodline, Ganon arose again, unchecked, and threatened the land. The gods heard Hyrule's cry and flooded it completely, thus WW comes into effect beginning with a new hero of a different bloodline, but the same name. I am a fifteen year old that has played Zelda since I was in diapers, and I study the games' mechanics. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about.[/color]

[color=teal]It's a recorder. I can't give the rest, he already did.[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]NO! I can't stand here, watching her.....NO!!! Why...I shouldn't feel like this. I've lost my children, my heart......this can't be real. I must not allow them to see my weakness.....I don't want to be hurt again...it'll only kill me.....[/u][/i] [b]John:[/b]Nice to see you. YUGI! Drop me at conver-point oh-three-niner, latitude 32, longitude 35. Coordinates I recieved from Data my first point in. [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Understood. I am dropping you at Delta Site. [b]Dani:[/b]Delta.....Site? [b]John:[/b]A den of squiddies. [i]The bombshell damn near killed everyone in the room. John was WILLINGLY going to throw himself into a den of sentinels. He stopped next to the Matrix console, sat in a free chair, and made preparations.[/i] [b]Data:[/b]Welcome back, Blaze. What do you wish now? [b]John:[/b]Guns. An Mp5, an Ingram Mac 10, two Colt .45 caliber, and one Smith and Western magnum. Four clips of ammo each, ten per Colt. [b]Data:[/b]Complying. [b]John:[/b]And a katana. And for God's sake, alter my armor! [b]Data:[/b]What is yours in the Matrix, is yours in reality..... [i]John's weapons came in, his armor changed. And he awakened, the weapons ready on a light table. He grabbed them, attaching them to various area where they would be easy to grab. A new weapon appeared, with a parchment note saying "For emergencies" on it. An EMP, ranged about forty meters, was now available. John had a nearly full arsenal at his disposal. He hated it, but he'd do anything to avoid falling in love again. But he was too late.[/i] [b]Yuginocho:[/b]We are over the target point, John. Are you prepared? [b]John:[/b]Yes. [i]He stood back, looking down and pulling out his two submachine guns, the Ingram and the Mp5. He turned back, a tear he failed to stem streaming down his face. He couldn't keep it back.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Goodbye......Rain. [i]He leapt. Into the dragon's maw, John fired a huge spray of bullets. Four sentinels went down, two disabled, one noticed the rain of death. Flying up, the squiddie grabbed John around the waist with a tentacle. John was prepared. He drew out his katana, slicing the tentacle off, grabbing the stump, and swinging onto the sentinel's back. On his new platform, he drew out his S&W, putting four-inch holes into anything mechanical level with him or below him that moved. Then the humanoid, reminiscent of the Terminator, appeared. The bullet-proof armor on the beast shrugged off the Mp5 and Ingram bullets like dust in a vacuum. John put away all of his bullets to that thing, watching in horror as it assumed his form. John stood, staring at himself. Both drew out their respective katanas, standing in a different pose. John charged, the 'bot dodged, and John felt his side split. Blood landed on the robot's sword. The thing took the blood and broke down John's abilities.....assimilating them into its system. John now faced a perfect copy of himself.[/i] [b]Meta-J:[/b]I am Meta-J. I am a perfect copy of you, John Schock. [b]John:[/b]Crappy name, man. Ok, then. Fight me! [i]Both rushed towards each other, slashing and cutting at each other like lions. Blood spilled from John's side, a cut opened in Meta-J's now-vulnerable chest, spilling red fluid onto the cement below. John dashed at the 'bot, Meta-J dashed at John...... John fell. His attack had hit its mark, but so had the robot's. John felt as though his stomach would spill open onto the ground. Meta-J collapsed, sparks flying from its head. John coughed blood, a new cut on his forehead pouring the crimson fluid all over his visage. John pushed all of his effort into calling Yuginocho. [b]John:[/b]Yugi......I........need.......a.......pi...ck.....u....p.................. [i]He fell, face forward, prostrate on the ground. Yugi flew down, picking the wounded boy up. John just shook involuntarily, his mind fading to unconsciousness....[/i][/color]

[color=teal]Nah, I'd have to say keep it the way it is. I mean, Zelda has pretty much survived with its medieval approach since the '80's, and I'd only submit to a change if the series was DYING. Wind Waker introduced an entirely new approach with the Cel-shaded environment, as well as the sailing-oriented world. THAT'LL take a serious amount of time to get off of, in my opinion. Another thing.....how can Hyrule become industrialized and futuristic if IT'S NO LONGER HYRULE?!?! Does nobody remember that the land in the Wind Waker is NO LONGER HYRULE? Hyrule is completely submerged, adios, finito, vamanos. The islands themselves are too far apart to unite, eradicating any chance of industrialization. There are realistic morals involved as well as the appeal of the series.[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]Where.....no. I care not anymore. My mind is hazy, I feel my body disappearing. Am I relapsing like the others? What happened to my brother? Is he alright.......[/u] John awake, not inside Yuginocho, but inside his room. His PS2, untouched. The pictures on his mirror of Jaimie, untouched. His clothes from the last dance he'd attended, still ruffled in the corner. He shook his head, finding himself in his armor, jeans, boots, and the axe in his hand. He walked into the living room, hearing voices at a high level.[/i] [b]???:[/b]Where is he, Jack? Where is your son? If he's got anything t- [b]Jack:[/b]Get away from here, Doreen, and don't you dare mention my son's name again! It's Jaimie's fault he's dead, it's your fault he's dead! [b]Doreen:[/b]Dead......John's dead? Well, he deserved it, after what he did to her. Fine then. [i]John chose that inopportune time to walk into their view. He was bleeding, battered, bruised, and his hair had grown wild. Still, they knew who he was. Or who he should have been.[/i] [b]Jack:[/b].....J....J......J..........DEMON!!! What have you done with my son?! Where is my son?!? [i]Jack collapsed, crying, his hands covering his face. John felt a moment of pity at the man he'd hated for seventeen years. He never knew he could cry. Doreen took a much more rational approach.[/i] [b]Doreen:[/b]My god, are you a ghost? What happened? [b]John:[/b]I....I don't know. I'm in a place where everything's dead. I don't know what happened to jaimie, but the same thing that happened to me happened to Danielle, Ron, Mike, and a few kids from Otakuboards. It hurts. Nobody's around. I'm sorry, Mrs. Doe, for what I did.......I wish I could have done something to atone for it....I wi-ARGGHH!!!!!!! [i]John started screaming, he collapsed to his knees. He felt himself being torn apart. Doreen and Jack simply looked on in horror as shadows grabbed him, shook him, tore him apart. He disappeared. And reappeared somewhere he'd never expected to see again. His Hotel California, lost somewhere within the forests of Avalon. But the sight didn't reassure him. It made him cringe. Everything, burned to the ground. Countless graves mounted, and one empty grave marked "Innath". Three, set near each other, were marked "Kale", "Kaylee", and "Rain". The last one, too, was empty. There was one living person, a tall, green-haired boy with torn wings and a broken arm. He cried over the graves of his children, Kale and Kaylee. His name was Fox.[/i] [b]Fox:[/b]You know what I've gone through, Innath? Do you know what is was like, trudging through Hell, Purgatory, and countless hordes of demons only to find the home that I'd hoped to see through it all, the hope that got me through these trials, burned to the ground? My wife, gone, my children dead, and my own brother, forsaken? [b]John:[/b]Please, John. Don't call me Innath. Ever since you went away, I've taken to your name. I...I wasn't forsaken. I forsook them, I forsook YOU. I lost all hope of ever seeing you again, brother. I...I....I'm sorry..... [b]Fox:[/b]Don't be. Ever since the demons stole my soul, I've had only one thought on my mind. Where is she? [b]John:[/b]I....I don't know. I didn't keep an eye on her. [i]Fox looked down again, tears again trickling down his cheeks.[/i] [b]Fox:[/b]How did they die? [b]John:[/b]A demon......impaled Kaylee, and Kale was skinned alive. [b]Fox:[/b]Who?!?!? Who did it?!?! I'LL AT LEAST AVENGE MY CHILDREN!!!! [i]Fox attempted to pick up his legendary blade, the Alaris, but the grief it had seen was too much. It weighted the sword down like a ton of lead. Fox collapsed back again, crying hysterically as his entire life vanished before his eyes.[/i] [b]Fox:[/b]What have you been doing with your life? While I was gone, I mean? [b]John:[/b]I....I dated Stephanie, pretty much. Went to high school, joined the ROTC....nothing much. I lost it all, though. [b]Fox:[/b]What? How? [i]Fox stopped crying as he looked on in wonderment.[/i] [b]John:[/b]The Matrix.....it's real. And I was pulled. [i]Instantly, Fox began to feel torn apart, as well as John. Suddenly, they blacked out. Fox woke up in his old body, much stronger, taller, and faster than it had been. He felt John asleep in the back of his mind, and decided to go back to his old name. He looked around, not seeing anything, and jumped out of Yuginocho. His memory seemed to get an update from the body, of everything that had happened. He smiled when he saw that Innath had treated Danielle like Fox would have. But Fox had one thought in his mind. Revenge.[/i] [b]Yuginocho:[/b]You are leaving, too? [b]John:[/b]Yeah. Put a tracker on me in cas I get lost. I'll call you if I need help. [i]After this had been done, John looked ahead. He ran, almost aimlessly, tirelessly. He did not stop running until he'd found a temporary shelter, weighing his chances against the world he now had to call his. He fell asleep, fists clenched against an axe that seemed to respond.....[/i][/color]

[color=teal]Wrong. i meant from the ORIGINAL Legend of Zelda, on NES. And Deku Shrubs, by the way, HAD to be moving to be killed, unless you were idiotically patient and let them repot themselves three times and die from their own reflected attacks.[/color]

[color=teal]250 rupees. [b]Question:[/b]What enemy from the Zelda series usually needs to stop moving before you can kill it? [b]Hint:[/b]They did away with the "unmoving" kill factor in the 64 titles and in Wind Waker.[/color]

[color=teal]For what reason were you allowed only to carry 255 rupees in LoZ, and for what reason did using arrows deplete said Rupees? [b]Bonus:[/b]What game was the first to resolve both of these inconveniences in the Zelda series?[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]My sis.....in pain. I can feel it. I can do nothing. It's her trouble, inside her. Why can't I help her? I must protect her. I am the only knight left, the only fighter. I must protect the only person that means a damn to me. I must enter the Matrix....[/u] John woke up, his arm curled around Danielle. He sat up in the boat, Yuginocho speeding through the sublevels of what seemed to be someplace in Missouri. John felt some serious vertigo as they passed over a huge pit, leading extremely far down, but Yuginocho passed it quickly. Suddenly, he stopped. John looked about, finding that the boat had brought them to some command room of sorts, like something you'd see in an air traffic control tower. They were old computers, yet not so old as to not know the Matrix....[/i] [b]John:[/b]Where are we, Yugi? [b]Yuginocho:[/b]We are in Mother, the system mainframe where a rebellion against machines began [i]with machines[/i]. Mother is the one that set you free, Mother....can help you. You can help destroy the machines that use you for energy, you can lead a human resistance. Who shall be first? [b]Denny:[/b]Not me, I'm scared of anything back there. Would my friends even remember me? [b]John:[/b]I'll go. Just.....tell me what to do. [b]Mother:[/b]Sit down. [i]A chair slid from a hole in the wall, cushioned and with a hole where the neck would normally rest. John obeyed, sitting down.[/i] [b]Mother:[/b]Data, please assist me. Please attach Test Subject 01 - ......Blaze into the Matrix. [i]A new, humanoid robot walked from an adjacent area, hooking a long, cruel-looking needle into John's neck.[/i] [b]Data:[/b]Hello, Blaze. I am Data, your operator. I shall now tranfer you into the Loading Program. [u][i]SLAM!!!! White, all around me. Is this a dream? No, it can't be. But my holes are gone, I'm taller, and my hair is spiked the way I've always wanted....[/u] John was in a field of endless white, a landscape of pure snow, it seemed. Until he turned around.[/i] [b]Data:[/b]Welcome to the Loading Program. Here, we can give you an unlimited amount of knowledge, weaponry, and skills for when you enter the Matrix. I shall begin by loading a basic skill into your body and mind: Jujutsu. [i]A whir of energy flowed into John's mind, swirling about him, breaking him, reviving him. Physically, in the real world, his eyelashes fluttered gently. In the loading program, he fell to his knees. In seconds, it was over. He stood. He knew jujutsu.[/i] [b]Mother:[/b]Data, begin transfer into the Matrix. Target point: 3312 Edenborn Avenue, Metairie, New Orleans, Louisiana. [i]It happened. In seconds, John was in familiar territory, a single combat knife pressed into one of his combat boots. he knew how to use it, but he walked forward, knocking on the door of apartment 103. It opened.[/i] [b]Jack:[/b]Who the Hell are....wait......John?!?! He's dead, his body....who are you?!?! [i]It was evident that Jack was drunk. A beer was in his left hand, what remained of a bottle of Old No.7 in his right, and the smell of the whiskey on his breath. That, and he passed out as sson as John raised his head to answer....not the reception John had been expecting. he turned and walked away, making his way to Alta Drive.....Stephanie was gone. Her parents had moved away, but under the tree in the front yard stood a tombstone. She was dead. John blinked away a tear, running away. A pay phone began to ring, and almost instinctively John picked it up to answer..... He snapped back into reality. Dani was standing over him, a concerned look in her eyes. John almost ripped the needle out of his neck. Dani just stood there, Denny swore to himself. Yugnocho looked on knowingly....[/color][/i]

[color=teal]Gawd....years since I bothered to get that far. I think he was blue, and when he was stunned he'd turn grayish. Of course, I might just be confusing LoZ and LttP...[/color]

[color=teal][i][u]Huh? Dani.....sis.....I'll protect you. Like I did in third grade, like I did in high school....I'll protect you. I missed you. I can never admit my true feelings around you, but I'll protect you. I'll make sure you find happiness, even if I have to die for it. But I miss my girlfriend.....[/u] John awoke, his arm around Danielle. he sighed for a minute, wondering whether he should move it or not. He moved it, placing the blue jean jacket he'd found in the warehouse on her. She shivered slightly, pulling the Marlboro tighter around her. John smiled gently, grabbing his axe and standing guard. Denny had fallen asleep, Yuginocho ever-alert. John began a conversation with the boat.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Lonely, isn't it? [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Sometimes, I do feel alone. It is not natural for a machine to feel. [b]John:[/b]Don't say that. [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Why not? It is tr- [b]John:[/b]It is NOT true. Machines can have feelings, anything can have feelings, EVERYTHING can have feelings. Look at me. I thought I was heartless until I met Danielle. Like a song I once knew, back when I was fourteen, "There's a place so far, so far away. There's a place you dreamed you'd never find. Hold on to 'What If?'! Hold on to 'What If?'!". [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Thank you. I am at ease now. You seem....protective. Of Dani. [b]John:[/b]Eh? I am, really. I love her, Yugi, she's all I have left. She's my sis, Yugi, and it's all I can do to stay sane without knowing she's alright. [b]Yuginocho:[/b]I understand, "Blaze". Where did you get that name? [b]John:[/b]I'm surprised I still have the scars, but when I was sixteen, I saved a girl I used to like from a fire. The flames didn't hurt, I didn't even feel them. They still scarred my left arm, though, but everyone could squeeze the burn area without my flinching, even right after the rescue. They said I was a demon, a god, an angel, but most just said I was invulnerable to the blaze. [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Why does it surprise you that you still have the scars? Your mind makes whatever you felt in the Matrix real. You can hack back into the system, you know, using your terminal link-ups. [b]John:[/b]You mean my holes? [b]Yuginocho:[/b]Yes. [b]John:[/b]Would I be able to...you know.....break any rules? [b]Yuginocho:[/b]If you are the right kind of person, yes. If you understand that it is just a 'game', you understand the rules, you can break the rules. I have a feeling that you young ones shall be a wave that destroys the machines' empire once and for all. I only wait to see that day. [i]John felt this as the breaking point of the conversation and walked off into the night, looking for food amidst the wreckage. He turned his eyes toward the sky*, seeing the stars twinkling as if nothing had happened since his days in the system. He wondered if he could use the system to his advantage, but stopped as his axe hit something moving, but unliving.[/i] [b]Unit B19C-67:[/b] Renegade lifeform detected, engaging combat. Goal: Destroy! [b]John:[/b]F*ck! you think I'm going down, bucko? THINK AGAIN! [i]John brought his axe down on the squiddie's head,cutting a gash in the CPU's protective plate. It wasn't enough. A laser cut across John's shoulder, cauterizing instantly. John didn't have time to scream in pain, he only thought of his stupidity at forgetting his personalized armor in Yuginocho's bow. He brought his axe down again, severing wires and spraying oil. The machine faltered, sputtered, died. John turned and rushed back to Yuginocho, pausing briefly to see if any other robots were around. He climbed in and fell asleep, his arm around his sis yet again, his right arm hurting like an indestructable T.N.T. barrel in Hell....[/i][/color]

[color=teal][i][u]Home......I am home, yet I am not home. Home was then, was in the computers. Danielle, Stephanie, Mickey, Corey.....were they all just dreams in a nightmare? No. I can still feel them in my heart. I have to find them, have to find.....a life.[/u] It hurt him worse than anything. He wasn't even sure if his own family was real. He shook his head, cleared his mind. John woke up, his axe in his hands. He was getting nervous about relying in the axe, wondering if he was going to end up loving it like a wife. He shook his head again, clearing his thoughts. Danielle had disappeared a month before he had, so maybe she was here....if she was still alive. He walked, aimlessly, recognizing the wreckage around him, and he heard no more robots. But there was some[/i][b]thing[/b][i] talking around the corner, getting closer. Tightening his grip on his axe, John jumped out, prepared to swing. What he saw shocked him, almost to death.[/i] [b]Yuginocho:[/b]We broke the surface, Danielle, and we are in the neighborhood that was formerly 'Fat City', but I do not understand why we are here. [b]Dani:[/b]I'm hoping Ican find someone here.....or rather, where he lived.... [i]John almost fainted, but he found his strength again.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Hey, SIS!!!! DANI!!!!! [i]Dani almost fell out of the floating robot. She managed to right herself in time, jumped down, and ran up to her best friend. Keeping with her personal tradition, she tackled him in a hug, preventing him from keeping his balance.[/i] [b]Dani:[/b]Gawd, bro, it's been months! Where the HELL have you been? What have you been doing, where'd you get that armor, and why didn't Yuginocho know you were there, and WHY DO YOU HAVE AN AXE AND ACTUAL CLOTHES?!?!?! [i]John chuckled loudly, hugging his 'sister' back.[/i] [b]John:[/b]I was in that warehouse over there, about a mile that way, I've been living off of rats and non-perishable food items (more rats) in the warehouse, I got the armor from killing a robot that was too stupid to shoot me, I have this axe from a ruined fire escape in the warehouse, and my clothes came from the basement of the warehouse. There were plenty more clothes there, by the way. Your boat-thingie couldn't see me because of a severe cooling system in the armor. Now, as for us.....I propose we fight back. we need more people, and I kinda wish Mike was here, he's the computer expert, I just fight. Anyhow, how ya been, sis? [i]Introductions ensued between Yuginocho, Denny, and John, who insisted he be called "Blaze", after his fiery awakening at the bowels of a foundry, during a transit from area to area. John couldn't stop staring at his best friend. He thought he'd lost everything when she disappeared, but he had his sis back. that was all that mattered, aside from kicking the asses of everyone that stole him from his life in the first place. He fell asleep in Yuginocho as Dani and Denny investigated the warehouse, taking scraps of clothes, bits of cooked rats, and scraps of the robot that fit their wrists and shins for clothes, food, and what little armor John didn't have. John dreamt about his family....and about making them survive in this wasteland. He smiled in his sleep at the thought....[/color][/i]

[color=teal][i][u]Five months......I've been eating rats, battling robots, and trying to stop the bleeding for five months. Why won't God let me die? Why is Providence so...so cruel to me? I must escape.....I must find others like me, others with....holes in their bodies.....[/u] John's thoughts wavered in and out of conscious being. His right hand clenched on his axe, his left pressing against a gash in his chest, one that bled slowly, but stung like a *****. He'd had the gash since his first day out of whatever life he used to have, since that squid-like robot pierced him with one of its saws. Thankfully, a pipe was nearby and took most of the force, but John still didn't get away clean. His chest was pretty much skin with a gash just over the heart. He awakened.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Huh...wha? Awake......I guess it's feeding time. After I eat, better get back to emptying that 'bot's innards for armor. Maybe I'll get finished today, or tonight, or whatever 'soon' is. Then I can get outta this piece of **** mess. [i]The rat never knew the boot was coming down. all it took was a quick ripple of John's body, the bandage around the gash barely moving as a huge combat boot snapped the neck of the large rats, at least twice the size of N.Y.C. rats back in his 'world'. John then picked it up, used his axe on the flint-cement floor to create a spark, flashing into a pile of dried clothes. A fire ensued, roasting the organs, innards, and fluids in the rat. John hated it, but it was the only sustenance to be had.[/i] [b]John:[/b]Well, now that dinner...or breakfast....is served, it's time for me to finish removing the gears outta that 'bot.... [i]A task John relished more than anything. This particular robot, a humanoid model, had a torso, shins, and forearms that would make excellent armor, so long as they were emptied of their circuitry. John had 'killed' this robot by severing the head unit. John set to work..... Hours later, he finished, walking out of the building, wondering if humans would ever reclaim some of their glory. He noticed the sky was a dull red, indicating sunset. He noticed something streaking across the sky and looked around frantically, finding a small patch of metal to hide behind. A squid robot passed overhead, not noticing John, which was strange. The robots detected heat, not visual verification. JOhn looked inside his armor and found the reason. A freon-unit, a makeshift air-conditioner, was using his body heat as an energy source and keeping his exterior cool. John almost laughed, but instead picked up his axe and moved off, heading nowhere in particular, just trying to figure out which city he was in. A sign said 'New Or- -eaux Ma-', but the rest was dashed away. He was in New Orleans, near the Breaux Mart, or so he was led to believe. He began to laugh maniacally. He was HOME........on his very street! He looked again to the sky, hit by a wave of nostalgia. He missed his sister......[/color][/i]

[color=teal]Sorry, sis, I can't help. I've only seen my manga, The Grey Witch, and a few eps that Steph borrowed from the library. I wish i could give you more help. Maybe it's like Tenchi, different sides of the series in completely different ways.[/color]

[color=teal][b]Name:[/b]John Schock [b]Age:[/b]17 [b]Height:[/b]5'10" [b]Eye color:[/b]Midnight black [b]Hair color:[/b]Midnight black [b]Life inside the Matrix:[/b]Once, a strong-willed young man, best of friends with everyone around him, John was an exceptional youth from an abusive family. Repeated beatings from his father drove him to the point of manic schooling, learning all that he could so that he'd never have to be like his father. He met a young girl, he loved her with all of his heart, and the two made plans for ther future together. It wasn't about to happen. The girl, when she and John were fifteen, died. Her father, an alcoholic, got them into a car crash. John's grief was consoled very lightly, only by his spiritual sister, Danielle, who was older than him in the Matrix. He loved Dani with more heart than he'd loved the young girl, but John acknowledged that it was a different kind of love, the protective kind of love a true brother gives his younger or injured sister. But when Dani awoke, John was alone.....so he awakened to! [b]Time of Awakening:[/b]Five and a half months ago. [b]Equipment:[/b]Luckily, I found myself near a sort of shop warehouse with clothing available in the back. I took what was the least moth-eaten, and found myself in a pair of blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a nice leather jacket. I carry a hatchet with me, one I found in the ruined fire escape. All i need now is matches and I could fry the rats I live off of. Oh, I kill them with my combat boots.....[/color]