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Max woke to blissful silence, for two seconds, until the sound of Charlie gagging echoed from the bathroom. The team had already been very advanced with Sonic resistance. With the sphere’s training no longer needed; Xavier and Max had worked together to design a case for the sphere that clamped around the designated sphere carrier’s body like a hard-shelled papoose. The rig helped maintain contact with the sphere but dampened its incessant sonic abuse.
The radiation sphere, however, was still actively being used, and the team was suffering the side effects. Leah was taking another turn with the radiation sphere. The nausea and frequent trips to the bathroom had decreased as they all had slowly built up their resistance to the radiation sphere. Max rolled out of his cloud bed and sat next to Leah. She was meditating, but he knew she was probably monitoring her surroundings. He could feel the energy coming from the sphere he was holding and wasn’t surprised at his new system notice.
[Resist Radiation +1, Resist Radiation reaches level 10, skill cap award +100 XP, New skill unlocked.]
[New Sense skill - Geiger 1, Detect and quantify radiation type, emissions, and levels using augmented linked sensors.]
Charlie staggered out of the bathroom looking like hell. Max looked at him appraisingly.
“What’s your count, man?” Max asked.
“I just leveled to nine, you?” Charlie replied.
“Capped it. We might have a problem though. The 2nd tier skill that unlocked was a sensing skill, not an energy attack. How are we supposed to activate the pedestal for this one and complete the quest objective?”
“I guess that one will be for you and me to figure out. Let’s round up some breakfast and wake the sleepers. I hope the next set of spheres isn’t as big a pain in the ass. I do not appreciate the system trainers for this bullshit resistance.”
“Cool. I’ll hand the sphere off to Leah or Xavier while we eat. I’m betting our destination will have enough rads for you to finish capping while we deliver the package.
The team ate quickly, eager to swap the nuisance spheres out for the next set. Max and Charlie were bound for the Ruined City. The denizens wandering its blasted streets looked like simulation bots of the classic Armageddon punks. Max was excited about the fact that most of the enemy mobs sported modern weapons. He was eager to add some guns to his weapon collection in the Tesseract.
Xavier and Leah had targeted the territory dubbed Thunder Canyon to return the Sonic sphere home. It was located high up the side of a cliff, inside of a roc nest. The drone cams had shown the mythical thunderbirds soaring the length of the canyon. They were banking on Leah’s levitating cloak to try and slip in while the birds were out hunting.
“Alright boys, see you back here before dark. Make sure you don’t bring that blasted puke sphere back. I don’t want any more of that type of training.” Leah leaped on the back of the second Speeder bike. She took care to swing the papoose around to stay in contact with the Sonic sphere. Xavier, in the driver seat, revved it and sped off to the south, waving with his extra hands.
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Max spit out pellets from the shotgun blast he took to the face as he twisted the head off the android wasteland punk bandit. He grabbed the shotgun and cycled a round into its chamber.
“I told you, Max. Shoot to kill. You ate that because you were trying to get fancy.” Charlie yelled as he lay down covering fire with the pair of submachine guns he had liberated.
Max wiped the blood and grime from his face, the adrenaline coursing through his veins. "You're right, no more stunts," he conceded. Max paced back and forth until he could gauge the direction of increasing radioactivity. He pointed towards the west.
“That way! It must be inside that building over there.” Max said. He cycled his chameleon color change to try and match the dusty streets. He glided down the street hugging the wall. Charlie did the same on the other side.
Max’s precog triggered and he ducked as the wall behind him exploded. Mal tracked the trajectory and he immediately popped up with a [Laser] shot, hitting the sniper on the roof. Charlie lobbed his last frag grenade up. The roof exploded with a pair of screams.
Max opened the portal to his Tesseract and its integrated Maser lashed out and split the main door in two. Max tossed his shotgun into his portal and extended his sword arms and claws as he sent his swarm of motes inside. Charlie stuffed his pistols in his belt and snapped his sword loose.
“Ready. On three. One…two…” Charlie dove through the door prematurely, his sword flashing.
“No fair!” Max yelled charging after. Both the guards were already down. He wasted no time and charged down the hall. Max navigated through the dimly lit corridors. The air was stale, heavy with the scent of decay that permeated the ruin.
Max’s radiation sense buzzed as the radiation levels ramped up. He grinned and dove into the final chamber. A giant with cyborg arms and jaw waited inside swinging a strange chainsaw blade. Max dodged, feeling the vibrations of the deadly weapon pass inches over his head.
He struck out with claws and swords and was about to deliver a massive shock when the sphere on the pedestal behind the giant pulsed. Max’s resistance to EMP was already capped, but his system stuttered briefly. The giant laughed and kicked out sending Max into the wall.
“[Max, the Tesseract is destabilizing! Get out of here! Another blast like that could wreck it!]” Mal screamed in his mind.
Charlie charged the monster while Max dove behind the wall he just crashed through.
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“[Damn it. Charlie needs help! How do I protect the Tesseract? Tesla, help?!]” Max screamed.
“[I…I…we need a better bracer…with tempest shielding. Ah, damn it! There is no time. Just tuck the anchor into your armpit or better yet put it in your mouth for now. Use your body's enhanced EMP resistance to shield it!]” Tesla stuttered, panicking under the pressure.
Max growled and tore the Tesseract’s anchor module off his bracer and popped it into his mouth. He flipped over the wall and dove back into the fight. Charlie had disarmed the huge punk but somehow the giant had managed to pin him down and was squeezing his neck.
Max shot out a grapple, impaling the huge android’s forearm. Using his kunai skill training, he flipped a loop of cord around the giant's neck and yanked. The large opponent’s hand popped free of Charlie's neck as it was cinched upward tightly. Charlie gasped for air and grabbed for his dropped sword.
Max held firm as the giant struggled and Charlie's blade lashed out. The giant’s head rolled to the side and decapitated body sprayed simulated blood like a geyser onto the ceiling, covering Charlie in gore.
“God damn. My mouth was open! Augh!” Charlie struggled out from under the corpse. Max quickly scanned the area, but no enemies were left. He was sending his swarm out to fill the building and look for holdouts when the sphere pulsed again, and his motes dropped to the ground dead and shorted.
“Furk!” Max mumbled through clenched jaws.
“Cover me, Max. I’ll swap out the spheres.” Charlie said.
Max sent more precious motes out, using all his senses to scan the building. As Charlie swung his improvised papoose about, he grabbed the radiation sphere and traded it for the EMP emitting sphere. Max took the time to ramp his cognition up. In his head, he consulted his daemon team.
“[Tesla and Hawking, I need a better bracer to protect the Tesseract ASAP. If you can create some of this tempest shielding you mentioned, please get to it. Maybe a specially shielded papoose too!]” Max said.
“[I’ll work with the brainy boys, Max. It looks like Charlie needs your help.]” Mal sent.
Max refocused on Charlie. He had the EMP sphere secured and the Radiation sphere on its pedestal but was still stumped as to how to activate it. Max cleared his mind and watched. Charlie was pushing with [Heat], [Cold], and [Shock] but nothing worked to activate the sphere.
His new Geiger sense skill was going crazy. Max pulled the data into WorldMap using his decoding and gestalt skills to try and picture it better. Max’s visualization showed the radiation intensity doubling when Charlie’s newly radiation-shielded skin pressed on the sphere.
Max’s eyebrows rose and he reached out his own hands, covering the sphere. In his map, the reflected radiation redoubled, unable to escape from the blocking effect of his and Charlie’s radiation-resistant bodies.
“Dude! I think I know what we need to do!” Max said. Pushing Charlie back, Max hugged the sphere, trying to cover it completely with his improved radiation-reflecting dermis.
The sphere pulsed as its output was blocked and then reflected backward upon itself. With a surge of power, the pedestal lit up. The two friends’ systems pinged at the same time.
[Quest: Elemental Alignment - the elemental spheres need to be arranged in their correct locations. Fix the misalignment. Carrying the spheres is a burden but must be done by hand. Iron will and fortitude are required to complete this trial.
Objective: Radiation sphere returned. (5 of 10) complete. +100 XP]
Charlie grabbed the token from the pedestal and collapsed to his knees and wheezed, “Mutha Effin Hoo-Rah…” He coughed into his hands and winced at the blood spattering his palms. The pedestal was glowing cherry red with a haze of intense blue Cherenkov light.
[Geiger +1, Geiger reaches level 5. Detect and quantify radiation type, emissions, and levels using augmented linked sensors.]
“Come on, man. Let’s get the heck out of Apocalypse Central and head home. My Geiger counter is going nuts. Our resistance might be capped, but I think we might regret hanging around much longer.” Max said.
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The pair returned to the team’s safe lair. The notification had pinged their systems a half hour ago indicating that Leah and Xavier’s mission was a success.
[Quest: Elemental Alignment - the elemental spheres need to be arranged in their correct locations. Fix the misalignment. Carrying the spheres is a burden but must be done by hand. Iron will and fortitude are required to complete this trial.
Objective: Sonic sphere returned. (6 of 10) complete. +100 XP]
While they recovered, Max had examined his newly modified arm brace. It now had special shielding to protect the Tesseract from EMP. His crew of daemons were busy overhauling the interior of the pocket space. He remembered the way the thieves had wrecked his home with an EMP detonating inside its shielding. He wanted the Tesseract protected against both EMP and short-circuiting via water.
Charlie was carrying the EMP sphere in its own special traveling case and grunted as it occasionally zapped him. He sipped a beer as he sunk into his cloud chair.
Despite his discomfort, Charlie couldn't help but smirk at Max as he berated and cajoled his daemons to perfect the Tesseract’s arsenal. He was insistent on trying to tie the low-tech guns that he had taken from the City Ruins into the device's already impressive array of weaponry.
Max was bringing a fresh pair of beer bottles over when the familiar high-pitched whine signaled the return of the other Speeder bike. Max set down the beers and jogged to the door. Leah crashed through the door dragging a bloody Xavier into the lobby.
"Guys, help!" Leah shouted. Max and Charlie helped to lay the injured man on the floor and Max quickly scanned him. "Hang in there, X!" Leah's voice shook as she worked to unwrap a makeshift bandage that held the new sphere to Xavier’s mangled extra arms.
Max queued House and ran a full scan, projecting a holographic display of Xavier's vitals. "Damn, what the hell is going on?! His arms are riddled with holes." Max asked, voice tense as he began the emergency procedures to stabilize Xavier.
Max grabbed the sphere. Despite his high resistance to pain, Max could feel the sphere eating into his armored dermal layer. Max almost dropped the sphere in surprise. The pain bypassed his capped [Painless] skill completely.
[ANDD +1, ANDD reaches level 4 - Train your Anti-NanoDisassembly Defense for improved nanotic resistance.]
“Shit! Really? Resistance to active nano-disassembly? What the hell? Is this dungeon sadistic?” Max asked. He slung the sphere up and away using his blade arms to maintain a minimum of contact necessary. He snorted.
Guess that’s exactly what Xavier was doing to have his extra arms eaten up that badly. This is going to be the nastiest hot potato ever. He thought.
“[Enough daydreaming, Max.]” House sent. “[I know you hate Xavier with a passion for stealing your girl, but I need your hands to help stem the blood loss. Activate your heat touch skill and cauterize where I highlight…]”
Max's hands hovered as directed, glowing with a dull red warmth. House's holographic overlays pinpointed the critical areas, and Max pressed down, searing the active bleeds with precision.
Leah assisted, administering a maintaining pressure to the bleeding areas as Max worked fast. The smell of seared flesh permeated the room, a harsh reminder of the gravity of the situation. Xavier groaned, consciousness flickering, but Max's steady hands kept working to fix the worst of the damage.
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