RobRX

http://orokos.com/roll/274004 1d20+10: 12 [1d20=2]

GM "It would be hard to tell if it even came from someone in particular. For there is something I need to explain." Vohl said, leading Dragonid away from the center of the camp, away from prying ears. Or ear-holes as the case may be, Za'akis seemingly lacked external ears beside ridges and spikes on the sides of said hole. "Before I say this understand I am still loyal to Kharag." Vohl said, feeling perhaps he needed to be clear on the matter. "However, you need to understand that he was first and foremost a conqueror. That is how our people were united. Unfortunately, our king can be rather...aloof and removed from his people. Our culture and society is very highly competitive. But Kharag is too powerful to take down in a duel. Furthermore, there are many amongst his inner circle who are former royalty or their descendants. They bowed down to him but revenge is still strong in their heart. When the Delaztri found us, our God-King challenged their champion, a mighty warrior. A being capable of flying through the air without wings, a being which could lift entire mountains. Kharag was defeated and so we became part of this new empire. Our depose king did everything in his power so that this new alliance is to our benefit but..." The warrior sighed and took a swig from his drink. "I don't need to explain this to you; he's no longer seen as invincible. And he has ennemies. People who feel it's perhaps time to replace him, to show how they are more worthy. Even if it means deicide. My guess would be someone in very high places. A general most likel-AH!" He suddenly stopped, suddenly hit by an idea. "Oh this is bad."

WYRM HQ, Midtown Later that day... "I take it this must be your brooding spot." Saboteur said, entering the living space of the WYRM HQ, where Cho was currently reading while Kiatsu was busing playing with a game console. "I'm guessing that's payback for my comment the other day, huh?" She replied, still looking at her book, this time being the one doing the antisocial routine, their roles reversed. Previously, Cho had been the one trying to get a conversation out of Saboteur. "I had not figured you as the abrasive or prickly type. Was my initial assesment of you entirely wrong?" It was vague, but Saboteur was at least trying to aim for a smirking smile. "Don't lie. You know I can be like that. I'm not all sunshine and rainbows and really bad wannabe heroic speeches." Said Cho, looking up from her book for a moment, then going back to it. "You do crave it, don't you?" Saboteur asked. "Hm? Crave what?" "Acceptance. Respect. You want people to acknowledge you, even if you don't want to admit it because it would go against your own self-imposed code." Folding his arms, Saboteur rested himself against a wall, waiting for Cho's inevitable reaction to that comment. "It's not that! It's not...I-it's not...ugh..." Anger turned to barely coherent rambling, as usual. "J-just....uuugh. Look, I don't do this for the fame. I don't do this because I want to look superior to other people but it's just, well, I guess some appreciation is always nice. But look! I-it doesn't matter here! We're not talking about the public cheering on me and making me statues, it was just you and Clay. It's just I got caught up in the moment. I was so glad I actually managed to use my powers in a way that wasn't horribly destructive and you just stood there without even a single bit of epxression on your face. I can understand for Brainclay, I guess, but sometimes you're really a total snow man!" She sighed and her shoulder slumped. "I mean is it really too hard to have more than one of you even show any kind of emotion? Or at least more than one? You and Clay are cold. Bestia's always pissed at something or ignoring people." "It can be dangerous during a mission to let petty emotions get in the way." Saboteur pointed out, explaining his point of view. "I know that but we're NOT on a mission here! We're not trying to stop someone from taking over the world or stealing a bank or stopping a building from collapsing!" Cho shouted back at him, even if yelling is hardly a good way to get a point across. "Sure you're good, you know how to fight. Maybe even kill. But you don't even know how to settle down, take a break and act like a ordinary person. Seriously, what's your major malfunction?"

"O-okay. Another attempt." Cho said, while being eagerly watched by Saboteur and Brainclay as she sat in the training room, surrounded by a rather large amount of broken and useless objects. Next to her were physics books; somewhat complicated material for her, but hopefully something which would allow to better grasp the subtleties of her powers. Picking up the discarded case of a now broken DVD, she focused, trying to alter the properties of the object. It's structure warped, buckled and then began to stretch.However as Cho lost control again, it turned to a gooey paste in her hands. As she played around with the stretchy matter, an idea came to her mind. "Hey! Miles, come here! I need a live subject!" she shouted. "No, I'm not going to make you explode." "I thought Brainclay and you had come to the understanding your powers do not work on living matter which is not your body." Stated Miles. "Okay, uh...just start running away from me will you? And whatever I do..." She said, leaving the end in a temporary suspence. "Yes?" The young man replied. "DON'T dodge it." Cho simply stated, dead serious. "Now move!" She shouted and Miles began running away from her, playing the part of an escaped criminal. Firing a bolt from her hand, Cho targeted the ground where Miles was going to be in the next second. Upon contact, it changed consistency, becoming temporarily fluid as it engulfed Saboteur's body, restraining him. "YEEEEES!" Loudly screamed Cho. "It worked! Woo! Yeah!" "I see. Interesting." He simply said, completely without emotion as he simply remained stuck inside the warped matter. "You like it? Just bam! Fwoosh! Instant crime-stopper and not need to destroy half a city block! Not bad, huh?" "You seem quite happy with the results. That's good." She turned to the other person observing her progress, the telepath: "Any comment, 'clay?" 'No.' Replied the androgynous alien. Either they weren't impressed, didn't care or simply lacked the ability to show that they did. "I'll take that as a 'good job'. I mean, close enough, right?" It's not that Cho really cared all that much about compliments, but they still felt good, didn't they? For her it was a major milestone right there but unfortunately her new 'friends' just weren't as heartwarming and kind as Stronghold, Glamazon or Maxima. She figured these three would have reacted with a bit more interrest but unfortunately the WYRM members had a way of acting all detached. Except Magmatic, who was sometimes almost disturbingly chirpy and energetic. "R-right. I forget. You two are allergic to fun." She added and, as she passed next to the tangled up Saboteur, carefully punched the solidified mass of matter to release him. "Oh and sorry about the floor. I'll try to smooth it out later as much as I can." 'Are you upset at our reaction?' Asked the telepath. "You know what upset mean? Also, wow, I can be really a total jerk and not even realize it..." The teenage girl said, suddenly realizing too late just how actually snide that comment was. 'I am familliar enough with human thought patterns to understand the basics of it.' "L-look it's just...ugh look it's not about wanting people to clap at me. Okay well to be honest that would be nice but this isn't why I do it. It's just for the first time since I've gotten my powers I'm actually able to understand them and use them in a way that doesn't destroy everything around me. Well sure, it's still messy but I didn't turn Miles into chunky salsa when I caught him." She tried to explain to Brainclay, even if words were likely quite limited to the mentat. Not to mention Cho wasn't very good at constructing her sentences in a nicely flowing way. "It just means a lot to me to know that my powers can be used a bit more constructively." 'I see.' was the only message the alien psychic sent back. No way to tell if they even understood. "It means a lot more than you might ever realize." She said, sounding as if an incredibly heavy weight had been lifted off her chest. One she had never ever expected to lift and be freed of.

Btw using interpose at the first presentable occasion.

http://orokos.com/roll/273761 1d20+2: 15 [1d20=13]

Oh btw, Cho is going to use interpose if the situation present itself.

Maybe want to roll some Diplomacy, Lazer,

Actually I'm going to refuse that HP because Cho has never made any fuss or attempt to hide her identity.

WYRM HQ, Midtown July 7th 2014 'You must close your eyes and allow me in, human Cho.' 'said' the androgynous, telepathic Lor as he applied his hands to her head. 'If you do not allow me in, I will have to force myself into your thoughts. I am under the impression that it is not something you would like, so take a deep breath.' "I'm...r-really not sure about this. Is it really that good an idea? I mean what if it goes wrong? W-what if Brainclay see things inside my head he shouldn't what if he..." Cho said, rapidly, trying to not freak out at the incoming mental invasion. "Your powers are a complex things. Unfortunately, none of us here have anything remotely similar to yours. It means that the only way to understand how they function. Once Brainclay is inside your mind he can understand what mental process activates them." Explained Miles. Of course, he had ulterior motives about trying to get the telepath inside Cho's head, even if he wasn't quite willing to risk him trying to alter her memories and personality. In the event she noticed or fought back, it would mean a very high chance of getting vaporized until nothing was left. For now it was better to dig in and try to understand how it was inside her mind. 'Once I am inside, I want you to begin vaporizing this refuse.' The telepath said, standing behind her. The refuse were various old and derelict objects, like cardboard boxes, old lunchbox and a rubix cube. 'Stop. Stop, you are resisting me. Do not make this painful for you.' "Hnng, gah...sorry but! I! Can't! Stop! Fighting back!" Cho shouted, eyes closed and face contorted as she kept, on instinct, closing her mind to Brainclay's prying. It was an automatic reaction, not something born of constant training to resist mental influence. A simple, almost animalistic preservation mechanism. Raising her hand and focusing her power, Cho fired a single shot of her signature orange-red desintegration beam, which made short work of the poor old rubix cube. Slowly but surely the telepath wormed his way into her mind, trying to understand what mental process were activating the powers. 'I see. Now, do it again. But like this.' The androgynous telepath 'said', followed by giving Cho instructions which were hard to translate into words. "I don't see what's do different this ti-ohmygod." Cho said, as she opened her eyes, shocked at what she was seeing; instead of having burned off or desintegrated the refuse, it was instead floating in the air, gathered into a big lumpy ball. With Brainclay assisting the control of her body, Cho found herself altering the structure of the ball as the objects composing it seemingly changed consistence. Melting was slightly innacurate, however. Soon everything was nothing but a gooey ball of diverse matter. "W-what...but..what, how?! How did I do that?!" 'It appears the molecular structure of the material can be radically altered.' Explained the Lor psychic. 'It can be modified extensively but it appears no new matter can be formed. The alterations are also quite crude.' "But...b-but I can DO THAT?! How?! Since when?" In her shock, Cho found herself losing control and the ball of matter fell to the ground with a somewhat comical 'splat' sound. 'Our estimations were correct and corroborate with what you told us about Claremont's 'diagnostic' of your abilities. We now have a more concrete proof; you, Cho Paige Lee, are a manipulator of molecules. Perhaps all your abilities are tied directly into this.' Stated the telepath, coldly and clinically. "But what did you Do?!" Asked the teenager, greatly surprised at the results. 'I controlled various functions in your brain, allowing it to achieve a greater equilibrium and state of focus, albeit temporarily. I allowed you to think more clearly and unburdened by previous experiences. Even then, the process was vastly too short and temporary to achieve greater results.' "Then do it again!" Cho shouted, wanting to see more of what she could do. 'As I have just explained; the process is incredibly limited. It is a temporary aid in self-control, not a complete and utter control of your mind which allows me to fully tap into your powers. Unless you fully surrender to my will, I can merely assist.' Brainclay further explained. "So what's the biggest issue right now?" She asked. 'You are still, despite your mutation, very much like an ordinary human. A primate. An Homo Sapien, as your kind has scientifically labelled itself. Your mind is not designed to compute the complexity of your abilities. It is simply incapable of fully grasping the underlying process required to accomplish a more complex physical phenomena. It does not matter how poweful you are, it is pointless if your mind simply cannot ever take you past a point where your abilities are used instinctively.' "Well crap. But I guess that's probably for the better!" Cho replied to Brainclay, strangely content with that answer. "I don't think I'd be able to relate with people if I existed in a way that's alien to them." Brainclay did not replied, as he chose to remain silent, prefering to hide from Cho the consequences of being consumed by her own powers. Such a scenario would offer no positive benefit. She would simply die, consumed by her own abilities until she died.

WYRM HQ, Midtown, Building Roof "So, I take it that's your brooding spot." Said Cho, landing on the roof top of the building, having lept and climbed there. As she had been told, Saboteur was on the roof. No information yet if he was actually doing any kind of brooding, however. The teenager stood there, awaiting an answer. One that never came. "So...not really the type for small talk, huh?" She asked him, hoping the second try would work better. "I try to keep things to a bare minimum. I talk when I have to. And I talk about things which suit me. I assume you are here to talk about our earlier conversation, correct?" Saboteur replied, still overlooking the city from the edge of the building, looking down at the people on the street, looking at the cars and the trains. Watching, silently. Feeling like snarking a bit at Saboteur's expense, Cho said: "So is that the part where you act all brooding, laconic and uh...well I dunno, the part where you play the brooding smart loner." Saboteur frowned at the sentence, being compared to a simple archetype. "Yes and you clearly play the part of the newcomer. Look, neither of us can be reduced to such simplistic characters, so what is your point?" "Oh nothing just, ya'know...wondering why the hell you pop into a conversation, lecture me and then run off to brood on a roof." "Our conversation had come to an end. I said why you were considered for the role and I stand on that opinion however I had no reason to continue talking." "Yeah why am I getting the feeling that whole team dynamic just isn't all that strong?" She chimed out, for once rather aware of what was going on rather than oblivious. Mile slightly turned his head, giving Cho a much better view of his cybernetic eye and grim face. "You are not quite correct; we do have a dynamic. It's just that we are not close friends in a way you'd expect us to be. We do trust each other and we do respect each others but absolutely nothing says a team has to stick together and enjoy common hobbies and act like good friends. If you knew anything about the superheroes you seem to idolize you would know they are not 'superfriends', but rather work partners." "Well it wouldn't hurt Brainclay and Bestia to even show their face. Haven't seen them since I joined up." She pointed out to him. "Neither are very social. Bestia's just not good with people, preferring animals. Brainclay just cannot process human interactions, especially not verbal ones. He finds them too crude. Plus a mind is a terrible thing to read." Said Miles, explaining to her why these two weren't quite so interested in interacting with people. "I'm not forcing anyone, I-I never would it's just..." Cho muttered, stuttering a bit. "Is it ego? Are you bothered they are not acknowledging you as their new superior?" "No! Hell no, why wouldn't you even think that?!" She shouted, angered at the idea that it was anything about ego and a desire to polish it. That idea was, in some ways, completely anthetical to her. "I see. Good." Replied Miles, as laconic as ever, turning his face back to look at the city rather than Cho. "...yeah you're right, small talk can get a little weird and difficult. Especially in these kind of situations." She admitted, somewhat feeling like a jerk for previously calling out Miles on his inability to maintain a conversation, when she sometimes had the same problem, albeit for entirely and completely different reasons. "Good to see you understand. Now if you want to make yourself useful to the team, maybe you ought to learn to better handle yourself in combat and have a better grasp of your powers. I know you were holding back against Konchu and Magmatic." "N-not really. Racer's pretty damn powerful overall. More so than Magmatic." "And she, too, is holding back. But I see you do notice it; when someone is holding back. Keeping their powers on a leash out of fear." "Why all the pressure for me to do that?" "Aren't you the one who complain that you can't use your powers properly? That it makes you less than the others, like the Claremont students?" Miles said, tusing Cho's own words to motivate her to refine her powers, as that was an important part of the entire plan. If Cho mastered her powers and got stronger while being loyal to the WYRM's cause then it was perfect. If she got more powerful but had to be disposed off, the more powerful she was the more the public could be swayed on the idea that she was too dangerous for the greater good. "W-well yeah, but...um.." Cho muttered, once again back to awkward mutterings. "But what?" Miles asked again. "N-nothing." Replied the teenager. "Then you know what to do." Said Saboteur, certain that the push needed to get Cho to begin training and mastering her powers would be overall minute. Everything was already in place and he was fully aware that she already had the desire to do so. All she needed was one final, subtle push.

http://orokos.com/roll/273167 1d20+2: 14 [1d20=12]

Awkward silence filled the room as Cho and Aby'sal stood there, not talking, simply awkwardly staring, while Kiatsu stayed at the table, not saying anything either and simply staring at her food. "I-I'm sorry. See, that's exactly why I shouldn't be part of the team; I'm a mess, I get too emotional and I have doubts." Finally said Cho, throat all tight and her speech half incomprehensible. "No one is perfect." The japanese girl said, finally moving her face to look at Cho, pushing aside her plate and getting up. "But I'm...Maybe I should be! People like the Freedom League members, people like the greats. They're not like that, they don't doubt themselves! He would never doubt himself! He'd know exactly what to do and even if he did have doubts, then he'd probably still know what to do for the best of everyone!" Cho's face contorted with angst and rage. "He? Who?" The mutant magmin asked, unsure of who Cho was talking about. "The Centurion." Mumbled the teenager. "Oh. Him. But you're not him." Kiatsu pointed out. "And you've never even met him." In fact she wasn't even born when he died, repelling the multiverse's most dangerous foe, destroyer of world, the dreaded Lord of the Terminus, Omega. "So? He's...he's like the ultimate hero! He's THE superhero! Well he was anyway, back when he was alive. See I don't know how he got his powers but I'm sure that whoever he was as a person, he had what it took. Me? I'm just a mess." She then added, at least self-aware. "And full of teenage angst." "Awww, you're just pushing yourself too hard, setting impossible standards." "Why wouldn't I push myself too hard? I got all roped up in leading a whole team of people, some of them clearly more experienced and competent than me. That means YOUR lives are now MY responsability. If I mess this up, you could do. I could die. Innocent people could die hell if things gets really bad enough? Probably the whole planet but...hopefully it doesn't come down to that. Because the world would be pretty badly screwed if it's fate depended on us." She continued to rant. Or perhaps vent was more appropriate. "All you've done are a few sparring match and some training attempts to use your powers." Said a voice behind her. "Oh...hi Miles." Cho muttered. "Just ranting off my mouth at how being the new team leader is a terrible idea. I'm sure you can support me in this, right? You can't possibly be in favor of that." "You would be somewhat...ah...surprised at what I believe on the matter. However I will repeat myself and say; you haven't even had the chance to try. As for why we've picked you; you have experience with things most of us do not." "Like what? Collateral damage?" "You are more or less the only one of us who actually has any experience out there in the real world, if I can use that term. Can I?" "Real world...?" She asked. "Aby'sal said it before, didn't she? You are the only one of us with experience at being a civilian; at having a taste of what it's like to be part of the masses. In other words, you are the normal one. You know what it's like to be on the other side. Not to mention we are all foreigner to this country." "Hmm, I guess that's true but that's hardly what I'd call 'team leader' material. Plus I'm not a people person." "You still blend in better than any of us. I'm not going to go into the details here and now but trust me on this; you're much better adapted to interact with the civilians than any of us. Believe me, this conversation is becoming quite a bother. You can talk without end. Now goodbye." He replied, turning his back and quickly exiting the room, as if getting bothered by having a prolonged conversation with another human being. It seemed that was something that Saboteur disliked or at least felt uncomfortable at. "...I really don't get this guy." Cho said out loud, still unsure of what had just hapenned.

"Yes, well the local magistrate..." Muttered the poor purple-haired Lor, a bit lost that something was actually hapenning on this backwater planet. Well that and being bossed around by someone acting like they owned the place. Presumably that had to hint it was someone important. She pointed with her finger: "Third door to your left. Yes, third door. I...I suppose you're here about the excavation? Only reason anyone would bother with this place unless they're a refugee."

Once out of the shower, Cho headed back to the team's cafeteria. "O-ow.." Said the teenager as she sat down, still completely sore from the sparring match, so much so that even sitting felt uncomfortable. She took a brief moment to look at herself; her skin covered in scratch marks from Konchu's claws and burn marks from the fire. Adding to that were various bruises. "Ugh, at least it will heal..." "So I've been wanting to ask, how much do you work out? Because you've got some muscular arms." Said the Magmin, sitting at the table. However Cho was rather unsure if the crystalline being ever ate or even needed to. The question caught her by surprise. "Um...uh...not a lot, actually. It, um, it comes with powers. Just um, please don't make this awkward, okay?" Self-conscious, Cho grabbed her jacket and put it on to cover herself. Getting ogled by an elemental being was just really weird. "Anyway I hate to say it, okay well not really, but I really don't think I'm cut out to be part of that team let alone lead it. It's ridiculous. I have little to no combat experience or training and you two are clearly leagues above me in terms of raw power." Cho said, talking about the magmin and the other person currently sitting at the table, all quiet: Racer Konchu. Annoyed, the teenager got up and prepared to leave. "It doesn't make sense to make the newbie and weakest team member the leader. Look, I'm sorry, Saboteur can have it back. I don't have what it takes." "If you say so." Added Racer Konchu, her voice barely audible. She wasn't even looking at Cho. "Aw come on! You can't leave! What's wrong, hey tell me! Don't go away, stop it Cho please don't go you'd say you would stay with us, what's the matter why are you changing your mind?" The magmin shouted, running after the girl and grabbing her arm with her shifting, glowing crystalline hands. "Because I'm not good enough, okay?! I'm really not what you think I am. I'm not a great hero, I'm not skilled, I'm not a genius tactician okay? I'm really nothing special except for some weird fluke of nature and...well I'm not even sure that's nature so much as being born wrong." Cho shouted back at the Magmin, who slightly recoiled. "You really think there is something wrong with what you are?" She asked, dissapointed that was apparently the case. "No, not...as much as you'd think. I don't spend days wallowing in my own tears at being born a monster or being afraid others will shun me for being different. That's weak. That's pathetic, it gets nothing done for others to actually like you. It's just something different." The teenager clenched her fist as dark red crackles appeared around her and the inside of her body began to glow. "I..I didn't earn my powers. I just have them because that's how I was born. That ain't right. People like that, well, they usually become hero or villains and there's nothing they can do about it. Those that do become heroes, well there was already something great in them. I don't have that." Somehow the Magmin had really enjoyed that 'speech', but for all the wrong reasons it seemed. "See? THAT was good! I knew you could start doing those big heroic speeches, you're exactly the kind of person we need!" However that only angered Cho, who proceeded to stop the floor in fury, causing the whole building to shake. "CUT THAT SH** WILL YOU?! Don't look up to me like that! Stop it, it's creepy, I hate being coddled and being told how this is great or that is great! There's nothing great about me! I'm not from some illustrious heroic familly and I don't have any glorious legacy to carry!"

WYRM HQ, Midtown July 6th The World Youth Rescue Movement's HQ didn't really have a high tech training room unlike Claremont. It was noticeably simpler and more bare-bone. Still, it was better than nothing and it got the job done, allowing Cho and the others to train. Currently Cho was under much stress, having to fend off attack after attack from multiple angles. The teenager crossed her arms over her face as a jet of hot flames erupted. She barely had the time to recover from that when a black blurr began assailing her with sharp claws. With only a brief moment to strike, Cho landed a punch on the second assailant, sending it flying, only to leave herself exposed to another jet of flame. -- As Cho was currently sparring with Magmatic and Racer Konchu, on the other side of the reinforced glass, Saboteur and Brainclay observed. "She wasn't kidding when she asked if this was simply a question of filling some gap in the team's abilities." Saboteur commented. "She's actually managing to hold her own against both Magmatic and Racer. ' 'Holding her own' is somewhat innacurate. She is clearly overall weaker than the two of them at once. This is hardly what I would call a fair fight. Not to mention she is very close to collapsing. Her endurance and resillence are formidable but not enough in this situation.' The telepath 'replied', still blankly staring ahead, not even making eye contact with his interlocutor. There wasn't a single hint of facial expression from the adrogynous alien. Continuing to observe the sparring match, which was less and less in Cho's favor as she kept being wailed on non stop by the other two, Saboteur added: "Still, the initial reports and assesments prove to be entirely accurate. Her abilities are quite impressive. I wouldn't say they are anything legendary, there have been plenty of individual with powers of this kind across superpowered history, but she's still something. Especially since she's clearly untrained and tapping into a mere fragment of her powers." 'Mental blocks are apparently quite common for individuals of this kind. Their feeble, simplistic terran minds are unable to rationalize the amount of power they posses. Their emotions, especially fear and doubt cloud their mind and install blocks. These blocks are what prevent them from fully accessing their full capabilities. A similar phenomena exist within telepaths.' "Yes what about her history and the psychological profile?" Saboteur was suddenly reminded, having asked Brainclay to review it. 'Subject is of mixed ancestry. Biological progenitor unit you call a father was apparently what you would called korean-japanese. It appears that the bequeating a japanese name to the child would be strange, but that is the only apparently unusual detail to her history beyond her unusual ancestry. Said father was killed in a random act of violence, which may act as a potential motivator for fighting what she may consider 'evil'. Otherwise her famillial history is completely and utterly mundane and insignificant. As for Cho, she appears to be rather mundane herself.' Coldly stated the alien. "Define mundane, will you?" He asked back to the alien. The telepath continued to coldly state everything, still not making any eye contact: 'She is not particularly notable. She does not stand out from the crowd of countless other humans of her age range and gender. The subject has her own unique...quirks...but those are nothing out of the ordinary. Her most notable trait is that she is actually quite the underachiever; it is this very trait which prevents her standing out from the rest as she is remarkably lazy and unwilling to develop any talent she might naturally posess.' "If you ask me she seems rather determined so that IS something. Still, I guess that was part of the whole idea, getting someone that is...ah, I suppose 'normal' is the right term." Said Saboteur, continuing his analytical observation of Cho's fight, down to her fighting style. Or rather lack of fighting style, as the case was. It was only at Claremont that she ever received any amount of what might be called training. Mostly it was just her flailling until she hit something. "Her balance and reflexes are good, but hardly good enough to suffice in a fight like this. She's poor at guarding her sides and..." He muttered to himself, analyzing the battle. 'I would hardly defined someone so infused with entropy as 'normal'. Such being is an anomaly. It is, therefore, anormal.' The telepath added, as it walked out of the observation room. -- "Okay, phew whew okay...yeah...j-just a minute." Cho garbled out, collapsing from the repeated blows from Magmatic and Racer Konchu. She had done everything to hold her own against the two in a brawl but raw determination wasn't enough to keep her ticking and fighting forever. Grunting, the teenager tried to get back on her leg after receiving blows that would have broken an ordinary human in half. "I-I think we're good for today. I hope you guys got, well, whatever information you wanted out of that." "Oh I'm sure Miles got what he wanted out of this Choey! He's good at picking up other's weakness. Here, take my hand I'll get you up!" Said the energetic magmin, offering a large, thick hand made of hardened crystals to her sparring partner.

Angered, Kharag unleashed a barrage of punches at his deceased mentor who dodged them by leaping above them, landing on Kharag's cranial ridge, balancing himself on them. Even more angered by this, he attempted to throw his mentor off his head but the old man had already jumped out of the way. He replied with a sweep of his cane at his protégé's legs but Kharag had already seen that trick countless times. Moving out of the way he countered with a thrust at Ghakarizi's face but stopped mere inches aways. "Wait. How is this even possible. Everything else inside this mental image is intangible, how can you and I be touching each others. And how did you use your own powers against me when mine have no grip on these ephemeral minds? Furthermore, you are a ghost, you have no body nor life force to call upon." He relaxed and removed his hand from so close to his mentor's face. "You're cheating, aren't you? Reshaping the rules of this mental world as you see fit. You old rogue. How dare you! You've been playing me all this time, haven't you? Then does that mean the visions weren't true?" "No what I've shown you is real. That said yes, I have been 'playing you' ever since I entered your mind." The old man chuckled and grinned, showing his old yellowed blunted teeth. "Are you so foolish to believe I could get any lesson through that thick skull of your without having to resort to trickery? It's the only way to teach you anything. Well either that or brute strength but as you know I am the ghost of an old man. Furthermore, you needed that anger; you needed to vent. I know you well, anger and passion are very strong within you. I admitted my failures as your mentor and you were angry at me, so I've let you unleash your anger. Better for it to be inside a world which does not exist than taken out on innocents." Slowly the old man turned his back to Kharag and began walking away. Of course Kharag wasn't going to take just that as an answer so he ran to catch up to the old man, who was already starting to vanish down memory lane. "But what now? What was the meaning of all this?! Why do you have to be so cryptic?" He asked, hoping this time he would get some proper answers. "To be perfectly honest, Kharag, I felt we had unfinished business. As for the meaning of this lesson, it is something for the both of us to ponder. I once made the mistake of assuming my actions were right. We've both made mistakes but we've been given a chance to somewhat repair them. Especially you. I came here to tell you to undo your mistakes and understand them. Then I decided to let you unleash your anger because you needed to. There is nothing wrong in feeling anger when told we have done something wrong. Often, we take our anger on others because we are so full of shame about ourselves." "I do not feel shame, old man. You taught me that, do you not remember. I am to be justified in my actions and see them through." Kharag replied, disgusted by the very idea that he'd feel something so weak and crippling as shame. Only weak fools who doubted themselves felt shame. "Well no matter, your life is long enough for you to maybe one day understand..."

"A lie! This is nothing but a lie! Trickery! Sorcery! This cannot possibly be right! It has to be nothing more than some carefully constructed lie. It is absolute madness. There's no way they would disobey me and always scheme against me and my rules in my back! I...I...I AM ABSOLUTE! I am..I..." Kharag collapsed to his knees as everything around him raced, becoming increasingly chaotic, a mass of images of countless atrocities done under his rule. Atrocity after atrocity. "No, this all cannot be possible!" He shouted, trying to grab the chains of enslaved Za'akis being led by soldiers wearing his colors. Of course they didn't exist, so his hands merely passed through them. "This cannot be true!" "And yet it is and you know it is true. Your rule did unify Za'ak in ways never done before, but there were also consequences. An empire this large can only breed corruption. Do not make the mistake of assuming our kind to be any more righteous than other beings. We are mortal, we are faillible. Your failling is that you never once walked amongst your kind to see what your actions wrought and what others did to enforce your words. You demanded them to use force, to enforce your power and they did, thus making you the kind of tyrant you once loved so much to despise. As your empire grew, you found yourself more and more confused, unsure at how to enforce cohesion across such large groups. You had to think less and less about the individuals and more in broad terms." Said Ghakarizi, slowly walking toward the collapsed Kharag. Now the old sage was carrying an egg. "What is this...?" The collapsed former god-king said, looking at the egg. "Why? Why an egg?" "Tell me, what is the value of a single life? In the grand scheme of things. If you are so adamant in being absolutely right at everything and that the progress of our people and their unification must be done at any cost then tell me; the egg I hold will hatch one day into a great warrior who will be skilled enough to kill you. Permanently. Do you kill him now or not? Remember, you said yourself our people's progress and unity, under your wise guidance, is sacrosaint. Now what do you honor." He placed the egg on the ground, leaving it defenseless. "Why would I kill an unborn child? That is a disgusting, dishonorable act of murder and cruelty! I am not a blind killer!" Kharag shouted, disgusted his mentor would even dare bring that up. "Remember, he will defeat you. Now choose; your belief in honor and greatness or the unity of our people you believe to be so dependant on your very existence. You cannot choose both. Now make your choice!" "What kind of sick man have you become, Ghakarizi? You ask me to choose between my beliefs and honor and my mission! YOU were the one who raised me, taught me everything I know and now you come back from the dead to admonish me?! What insane game is this! I am Kharag, god-king of the Za'akis. The scourge. The immortal! I have my mission, a mission you taught me everything about!" He shouted back, angered by this turn of event. "I NEVER TAUGHT YOU TO BECOME AN ARROGANT, DETACHED GOD! I said you were to be the bridge the mortal and spiritual world and be the safekeeper of our race in an age beyond the one of gods. YOU and ONLY YOU decided the methods at which you would take on this task! I understand that the route of peace was never open to our kind but nowhere was it said you had to do it this way!" The old man raised his voice, which now echoed across the mindscape like a booming thunder. "You are wrong, old man. You are a fool to ever doubt my greatness!" Kharag clenched his fists and assumed a battle stance. "You wish to fight me? You know you will lose, don't you? I can read you. To me you are as still as the mountains. I can sense your every moves. You-" The old sage didn't even get to finish his sentence as Kharag lept at him, attempting to punch his head off. Calling upon his own psionic powers, Ghakarizi yelled, creating a shockwave which repelled Kharag's fist. "You finally did it, didn't you. You've raised your hand on me in anger. How ungrateful."

As Kharag and his mentor continued walking across the memoryscape, the environment began to change, turning from the bloody battlefield to a bountiful city. Road of cobblestones were filled with chariots who sometime had a rather bumpy ride on the slightly uneven ground, where sharp quills of 'grass' erupted between the stones, scratching the surfaces of the wheels. Tightly packed buildings of stone and mud formed much of the city's architecture. Still walking, Kharag headed for one of the city's heavily reinforced gate. Nostalgic, he touched it, before turning to his mentor and saying; "I built this wall. I remember it; I built it with my own hands." "Yes and a fine wall it is, certainly a wonder for it's time. I know you intend to show me the great wonders our people have built. You intend to show me these immense fields, safe and bountiful. But these wonders are known to me and known to you. It is not what I wish for us to observe." Lifting his walking stick with his old decrepit arm, Ghakarizi slammed it into the ground. Around the two of them, the environment changed once again as years upon years passed, the stone and mud city growing in size, quadrupling in fact, becoming a booming metropolis of ever-taller stone structures and reinforced guard towers. "What you must see is this." A group of armed soldiers were walking down the street, carrying swords and wearing chainmail armor, something which in this current time had grown increasingly common and had become the backbone of Kharag's troops at least in terms of protecting them from ennemy weapons. "These are but soldiers on patrol. I do not see the issue with this." Commented Kharag, completely unfazed by the sight. Kicking down the door to a decrepit building, the armored soldiers invaded the structure. The people in there immediately lept to action; survival was a concept very ingrained in the Za'akis. Despite being mostly unarmed, the people inside the building put a good fight, even taking down some of the soldiers. "Why are they fighting?" Kharag asked. It was a mental projection, even if he wanted to break his own rule and obtain the information directly from the minds of those involved it was impossible. "I assume these are criminals, but I do not have the context. Not to mention it is against the law for soldiers and guards to invade a residence without stating their purpose. This is naught but mindless bloodshed." "These soldiers are under the orders of your former regent. You see, these poor people are the downtrotten, the under caste of society. These in particular have formed a group in order to stop the shipment of drugs to the palaces of your generals and ministers. In turn, those in power have sent these soldiers to eliminate the troublemakers." "WHAT?! But that is not how things are done! Traitors! Scum! I shall destroy them and smite them off the face of this wo-" And then Kharag was promptly silence by receiving a face full of a walking stick. "Calm your anger, it is pointless. These people have long been reduced to dust. What you see here is but one of countless examples. As you sat on your thrones making decrees or riding into battle, you merely offered words and laws. Laws which were carried over by your subordinates. You were so certain of how absolute your rule was that not once did you ever consider actually looking by yourself and see HOW these laws were applied and if they were applied correctly. You were such a naive arrogant fool you never once thought that someone might actually lie to you! Why? Because they knew your foolish, stubborn pride meant that you'd never dare pry into their minds. Does that mean you SHOULD have pried in their minds? Of course not. But you never second-guessed yourself, you never took the time to observe the result of your actions! AND THAT IS WHY I AM VERY DISSAPOINTED IN YOU!"

"You continue to speak of my so-called mistakes, yet do you ever take a moment to ponder what I have done right? I'll assume that given your existence in realms beyond those of mortals you are familliar with the story of Molakar." Said the former God-king, willing to offer some counter-points to how much his actions might have been wrong. "Perhaps I do, but continue." Simply replied the ghostly old man. "Molakar was a tyrant, easily amongst the worst I have ever deposed. And I have indeed deposed several over my conquest of Za'ak. I know that you were implying that, in many ways, I was a tyrant but the tale of Molakar is one which shows how such description of my rule is completely wrong. Molakar and his wife, Suloro reigned over the northern lands for over six decades. According to the story, Molakar was nothing but a bandit and wanton murderer. Molakar met Sulor when, again according to the story, he tried to murder her in her sleep. She then proceeded to gouge out his eye and bite off three of his fingers. After a long furious battle, the two apparently seemingly fell in love." Kharag then laughed at the last part of his story. "Only on a world like our could love come from such wanton violence. In any case, Molakar and Sulor soon began unifying roving mauraders, which then began conquering all in their path." "I can indeed begin to see some parallels but also the differences." Ghakarizi added, nodding before letting Kharag continue his story. "The parallels end there, however. Molakar's army relied heavily upon slave labor and pillage, to an extent rare even on Za'ak. Where I opposed slavery, Molakar practiced it in mass and built his riches entirely on it, leaving the people starving and defenseless. The only ones granted any right and ressources had to join his army. Eventually, he even began kidnapping as many eggs as he could so he could ensure these children would be raised to be entirely loyal to him. They became violent, unhinged killers, comitting the worst atrocities. In addition to this, Molakar began purging any he deemed undesirable to his empire; certain groups, certains tribes or priests of certain gods. They were either killed or enslaved and then sent to battle as cannon fodder...living shields for his soldiers." "Now I understand why you say he was such a despicable individual. A monster in every way. Molakar ruled through fear, that is true, but you must also understand that you too relied on fear from time to time. Just because you casted a lesser shadow than this monster does not automatically make you righteous." He looked at his interlocutor, with a gaze suggesting many things. One of them being accusation. "Rrraahr! Do not mock me, old man! My empire had no slavery and no starvation. It's people were not destroyed, all would join my empire on their own terms. None would be expunged on the basis of the superiority of one group over another." Enraged, Kharag slammed his feet into the ground. "But are you so sure of that, Kharag?" The old man said, letting out a long wheezing sigh, as if preparing to reveal some horrible secret. "What do you mean?" He asked, suddenly having the creeping feeling that something dire had completely eluded him. "Well yes, you wrote down the law. You made sure your empire was one where things would be as just as they could be and that was indeed commendable, even if your methods were more than questionnable. But as your empire grew in size, it quickly reached a size far beyond your sight. You had to rely on others to enforce your rule across distant lands. Because you led your armies from the front, it would be years before you returned to oversee the development of your empire. How do you know for sure that the actions taken in your name, during this time, were as you wanted them to be? How do you know your name and power wasn't abused for the gain of others?"

"You say it is a different era but are you so sure? Are you so certain there ever was change in era? Is the world still not ruled by violence and brutality? Do the weak still not die, sometimes without ever a change of fighting? How is this still not the savage world of survival?" Wondered Kharag, unsure at how exactly his time was any different from this time, this so-called modern age. "That the gods are around or not does not matter; I am still here. I can still continue with my old purpose and if I cannot? Well, I have many purposes. All the gods, demons and spirits vanishing from heaven and earth would remove my purpose in being a warrior and conqueror!" "And once again are you so certain? Do not be so simplistic, Kharag. A destructive hand of the gods is not what our people need and neither do they need a conqueror. Well, hmm, at the very least it is what my heart tells me. Could I be wrong? Possibly. And before you bring up my long and glorious history of deep insight and wisdom sharing remember that I can, indeed, be quite wrong. As I have just admitted to have raised you in the wrong way." The old man replied, continuing his slow walk across the imaginary scenery formed from Kharag's centuries-old memories. "Then what am I to be? Can't you conjure up at least that wisdom?!" Shouted back the former king, exasperated at this conversation seemingly going in circles. "I cannot with any certainty. I do know that strength and power alone are not enough, especially not anymore. Believe whatever you want, today is not an era of brute overwhelming strength. There is also unbreakable will and a just course of action. Beside, you were always a quick learner and quite adaptable; do not wallow in melodrama! Not only is it quite shameful of you but also quite unproductive. Need I remind you lazyness is a sin? Hmmm, no of course I don't. Trust your instincts, my son, but open yourself to the new world and new thoughts. Once you bridge between the world of spirits and mortals and perhaps now you must bridge between past and future, history and progress. Neither is stronger than the other." The old man nodded, quite satisfied by his ramblings. However, Kharag was quite surprised by a specific word. "What...what did you call me?" He asked, surprise...nay, shocked. "You've never called me that before. Why now?" "Yes yes, I've made mistakes. I would say even fewer people get to fix them beyond the grave. Fortunately for you, you are not on this side yet, so I would suggest you get to fixing your mistakes."

GM Temporarily relocated to a different habitat, the za'akis warrior showed a completely different side to Dragonid after the horrific events of the day. Gone was the rowdy, noisy boisterous mood full of shouting and laughter. Every single one of them showed a weary face. While one would certainly expect a species so used to violence to not dwell too much upon loss, it was abundantly clear that their morale had been completely destroyed by such a violent attack that had left them completely defenseless and had costed them dearly. These dour-faced warriors were being overseen by Delaztri peacekeepers, providing an additional amount of protection to these hardened warriors. Perhaps such extra protection was currently needed, considering how easily these assassins had dispatched them the last time. Once more the repugnant smell of their horrid drinks filled Dragonid's nostrils but this time around, people weren't drinking out of pleasure. After searching the crowd and making a few wrong guesses, Dragonid managed to isolate Vohl from the crowd. Currently the swordman was seemingly busy watching over the inebriated body of his brutish friend. "I sincerely hope you are not here early for the duel because, as you can see he will not be walking any time."

Kharag Rampart GM Points go to Kharag

'I am sorry, Silvar Drash, but now I must stoop low and allow myself to use dishonorable methods.' Kharag thought to himself as the saurian alien left. The assassins had forced him to use deceit, but for his species this was considered a necessary act; one cannot fight a dishonorable opponent by remaining steadfast in their methods. 'I know you are watching me, creatures. Now watch as I play you. Watch as I expose myself, supposedly weakened and troubled. You have fooled me once and now I shall make you think you can fool me forevermore. I shall bait you, monsters. And when you reveal yourselves, I will destroy you.'

"You should watch your every steps, Silvar Drash. These assassins are capable of occluding themselves to our senses. Even mental ones, as you might have notived given how they have managed to sneak up on me so easily. I have to assume it has something to do with their flesh being replaced by cold machinery. As a fellow hunter, I can only assume that them striking again is not a question of if but rather when." As if almost expecting an attack, Kharag paused and look around and crouched a bit, clinging to the nearest wall. A small local animal scurried nearby; the source of the noises, no doubt. Kharag remained silent for a moment, before speaking up against. "These monsters are playing tricks with my mind. It feels as if they've been around me all day, ever since the attack. The fact I cannot sense them by any mean until they attack has undeniably left me on edge. For all I know they could be here right now. Or they could have left for good. On my world, I cannot allow myself to lower my guard, less it might spell my doom. It is not that I fear them but rather that I have little desire to be struck down by such cowardly means. And today has shown that our adversaries will find new lows to take us down." Once again, Kharag stopped talking and looked around. No sign of anyone, especially not the assassins. The alien applied the side of his earless head to the ground, as if trying to sense vibrations. "Such an environment is still alien to me. It is very different from the stone and wood cities of my world. There are many new noises and smells and they are interfering with my senses and instincts. But no matter, in time even this new environment will be conquered." He then raised his bald head. "Not military." Kharag added, just to make sure, in case Dragonid would get the idea he was trying to actually conquer the Delaztri.