EverEpic

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 23.1(45)

Phanto dived and bullets sang through the air above him to explode off a brick wall. He rolled up into a low crouch, aimed his powerful revolver-pistol and fired at the cultist figures in their black robes. The boom echoed through the ancient temple, a semi-enclosed structure thanks to the large holes that long ago had been torn into its roof by invading TriLegionaries. In the semidarkness the holes added light to the big chamber but only some in some areas.

A Democultist fell dead as the bullet slammed into him, dropping his machine-carbine as he did so. It was a large, powerful weapon but on the clumsy side with its big drum shaped magazine that fired off true carbine calibre bullets. It was also a type of weapon that was unknown to Phanto, who had knowledge of many kinds of weapons, especially of the Hopelands.

Another Democultist managed to get to safety behind a great stone pillar but she was bleeding as she gripped her lighter, less powerful submachinegun that fired pistol calibre bullets. She did so simply because she was smaller, slimmer, of body.

Democultists, of the Democult, were amongst the very worst of the demonic cultists. They were at one end while at the very other end were the pretend cultists, the exotic party goers who would not be able to handle anything close to the real thing.

Important question: what were Democultists doing in the area just outside of Hopeville, quite close to the Foremale Estate? They had set up some kind of outpost there with at least a dozen cultists.

These Democultists were willingly possessed by demonic spirits, were evil and had done evil, but still he did not like killing anybody. Some information he had picked up, with some messing around, had spoken of poachers spotting odd activities at the temple site. So he had gone investigating only to run into more than he had expected to but luckily he always planned for surprises.

Democultists were a surprise enough but they openly wore their robes and were heavily armed with unknown military type guns.

The wound cultist woman was trying to sneak away. He slipped out a fragmentation handgrenade and threw it with careful aim. Then he made sure he was well crouched down before there came the explosion and a brief scream of the woman cultist as she was killed.

Other Democultists were coming quick with their weapons except for two who were quite powerful DemoMages. The last two held demonic magical staffs encrusted with the blood of many human sacrifices and topped with softly glowing blood-crystals. DemoMages were not just willingly possessed but were partly absorbed by demonic spirits; the fully absorbed became too crazed, too chaotic, to have the focused discipline to be mages.

It was while this was happening, and he was planning his escape, that there was a terrible bizarre noise almost like a normal explosion and burst of flames. The whole temple shook. A few minutes later there was a whole lot of shooting going on as the Democultists seemed to be battling some kind of enemies. Phanto 'sensed' swarms of razorbi and other demonic beasts, along with demonic humanoids wielding armour and weapons of exotic extradimensional kinds. He quickly decided that he should leave the temple and so so as fast, as quietly, as he could.

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 23.2(46)

Then it came to him, as a mix of psychic impressions, that the Democultists and demons, of a kind that they normally dealt with, were not fighting each other. Instead they were skirmishing with other entities that Phanto 'sensed' were of a very different kind of demonic nature and from a very different kind of extradimensional demonic realm.

Flaming skulls flew through the air, but not human skulls; they were impzi skulls. Short furred impzi humanoids hurled fireballs while blood-red body-armoured demonbies, demonic zombies, were armed with exotic shotguns, rifles and submachineguns that fired exotic ammunition. There were also big monsters that were like huge mouths, filled with great fangs, on two powerful legs.

Doomlords! What were minions of the Doomlords doing there?

A Cleansing skull, or flameskull, shot through the air above him and began to turn to attack him and explode. Flameskulls were former impzi who were punished for various reasons by the Doomlords or their senior subordinates. He leapt out of the way and the flameskull exploded as it struck a heavy stone pillar. The explosion was of flames, blasting force and tiny Cleansing stones propelled at high speed.

Phanto was hurled a short distance and came up in another crouch, feeling sore but having no real damage thanks to his special abilities.

A razorbuz screamed in rage and pain, its body becoming visible to Phanto as it was hurled through the air by a HellKnight. The strange creature, of the HellKnight, was tall and inhumanly muscular with a strange goat like head including horns along with goat hoofed feet. It came racing into view even as the reddish razorbuz came to its feet and rushed at the other demonic monster. It was met by a blazing death elemental pulse of energies that killed it at once.

The HellKnight turned its eyes towards Phanto but he was gone from there before the terrible creature could see him. The HellKnight sniffed the air loudly and roared in alien rage just seconds before two fragmentation handgrenades and killed the Doomlordic creature.

As Phanto rushed across the temple, he suddenly felt the floor crumbling beneath him and down he went through the air for a fair distance down what seemed like a shaft type tunnel. Then he was falling into a great pool of murky water with a terrible splash.

Climbing out of it as quickly as possible, as he 'sensed' some very big and nasty things were in the pool along with him, he found himself in a glowcrystal lit stone chamber. It was part natural cavern as well as artificial architecture.

Infused into one wall was an ancient alien artefact but much smaller than any of the massive Waygates or some other known kinds of AAAs. It had a vertical capsule of metallic crystal glass like material being semitransparent that showed a naked human figure floating in some kind of slowly swirling, glowing, liquid that constantly changed colours. A kind of circular archway gripped it tight and it was all one a disk shaped base.

Other: “Not just human but a superhuman enhanced, transformed somehow.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 23.3(47)

Phanto wondered what the AAA was doing there, with its superhuman who seemed to be in some kind of status. He 'sensed' it was too dangerous to get any closer and turned around to see if there were any more such AAAs in the cavern.

Then he saw them, the elevator doors in one stone wall that looked identical to the ones that had appeared in the main library of the Foremale Mansion.

At that moment a great tentacle came up out of the pool, dripping murky water and strange oily substances, and whipped out towards Phanto. He drew his powerful pistol and shot the tentacle twice, imbuing the bullets with elemental electricity that augmented the bullets' damage with electrical shock and burn.

The tentacle was burned, had holes blown in it, but it still struck Phanto and hurled him, backwards through the air. He would have hit the elevator doors but they flew open and he landed in a large cube shaped chamber, the doors closing quickly behind him.

There was an odd 'shifting' sensation but not like that of an elevator even as he realised that it was not really an elevator at all but was apparently some kind of teleportation chamber.

Then he slipped into unconsciousness.

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 24.1(48)

Samtha joined the fight, against the Doomlordic invaders, as a volunteer. She quickly proved her strong ability with weapons and martial arts. TriGuards had attacked a large Doomlordic force even as it had come out of the semi-enclosed temple where Phanto had gone to. Prop driven fighter-bombers had dropped bombs on the temple and had strafed it with heavy machineguns along with light autocannons.

TriAirguard Hurricane fighter planes had once served as fighters but gained twin autocannons to become ground attack aircraft. They swept over the temple ruins and hammered it with 75mm calibre shells while bigger Airhornets dropped bombs and glider-bombs.

Bizarre Doomlordic cyborg-spiders, big and nasty, shot plasmaguns and rockets at the aircraft, blowing apart a Hurricane even as another wiped out one of the terrible living weapons.

Samtha was soon operating a heavy machinegun, firing 12.7mm calibre bullets with a heavy thumping noise. The powerful weapons blew holes in enemies coming out of the temple in a controlled fashion of barely controlled chaos. Ahead of the main force came zipping dozens of flameskulls, all seeming to want to commit violent suicide like demonic kamikaze weapons.

Samtha was linked to Phanto for Phanto was a materialised fictional character that Samson had created. So she gained, in a secondary sense, at least some of his experiences. So she knew of the battle between two, very different kinds of, demonic forces.

Behind a sandbag wall, she noted that the defending forces were slowly, steadily being pushed back. Reinforcements were arriving but not enough to do anything but to slow the invasion from another dimensional realm. Also many of the reinforcements were only lightly armed volunteers.

Which was when they began, the testing-transformations, fairly close to where Samtha was battling to survive, as well as to win. A dying TriGuard soldier was being attended by two medics, and Samtha was preparing to go to into healing mode, when the soldier was surrounded by sparkling shimmering energies.

Then the soldier was sitting up with an expression of pleased shock on his face. The medics, and other, were no less taken aback, which was natural. He was totally healed but, more than that, was rejuvenated and enhanced somehow.

He looked around as if seeing the world for the very first time and then turned to Samtha and spoke to her with a mixed tone of certainty and underlying confusion. “I am a test-transformed enhanced of mind-body-spirit. I have a message for you from the Multiversal Primary Adjusticators that you must take care as Fateplayers, that much more is at stake than you so far even guess at.”

Samtha went to the man and knelt next to him. “That is all of the message?”

The test-transformed one nodded. “I picked up impressions indirectly but that was the main message. I have no idea what those Multiversal Primary Adjusticators are even though I met them. They were tall, shimmering figures of vague appearance but I got the impression they were incredibly old and powerful.” Then he promptly lay back down and went to sleep.

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 24.2(49)

She sat with the test-transformed one for a while, to make sure he was fine, but he was indeed in excellent condition. She knew of testing-transformations but not how, or why, she did know it; it was most frustrating but no less so than much else that had been taking place since she had materialised into existence in Hopeville.

The fighting began to ebb off as the enemy was withdrawing though how, to where, was not certain. In theory they should be returning to the Doomlordic Realms but they could have, just as easily, being going to a jump point extradimensional realm.

As soldiers gave up shooting, there was nothing more to shoot at, she wondered if there would be more test-transformations and decided that it would probably be so. It just 'felt' right to go to that conclusion.

The enemy withdrew, taking bodies and equipment with them that they could, but a very few of both were left behind.

The TPMI-SIRIO Taskteam arrived and began the process of studying the scene. They took authority over all Doom demonic bodies and equipment. Yet much was left in place as the team people moved around taking photographs, video recordings and audio recordings of witness statements. Other measurements were taken.

A couple of local fools got into big trouble for trying to take enemy weapons as souvenirs. They were struck not by local law, as with the Hopeville Sheriff, but with tougher imperial justice. They were given lighter treatment when it was proven they had not intended to sell the demonic devices.

Samsha was there but she did not even look directly towards Samtha though they were well aware of each other. Samsha was now dressed up in fatigues, boots and other military gear.

Samtha helped to store military equipment onto the back of big heavy military trucks. She hefted heavy things quite easily and got some odd looks from those around her but she generally ignored them. Then she went and did some healing at a first aid post that was a collection of tents and a couple of medical caravans.

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 25.1(50)

When TriGuardia Marshal Travis Jekyll sent people to get her, demanding her presence in an arrogant manner, she got angry for she was in the middle of helping to save the life of a woman volunteer fighter and also trying to take away any scarring. The TriGuards waited patiently except for a lieutenant who was on Marshal Jekyll's personal staff. He got growled at by another lieutenant. It became quickly obvious, to Samtha, that the Marshal was greatly disliked by many of the soldiers.

When she got to the large tent she was confronted by a big, muscular giant of a man with broad shoulders, a thick body and a thick mind. He radiated a great deal of arrogance.

He smiled at Samsha, in a mixture of arrogance, condescension and crude flirtation. “I will forgive you for your rudeness in being late if you will have some dinner with me.”

Samtha shook her head in open wonder. “Oh, please, be sensible! Marshal Travis Jekyll, a man of of a thousand imaginary victories who only gained your rank, and have kept it, because of the wealth, power and influence of the Jekyll Family in this regional area. As it is you were placed in a non commanding position, which begs the question of why you are here along with your toadies and your soldier mistresses?”

There were two attractive young women in fatigue shirts, fatigue like miniskirts who had many buttons undone to show non military standard lacy bras. Both gave Samtha haughty looks. But then Samtha began to 'sense' that something was not right, that all was not what it seemed to be on the surface. The Marshal suddenly changed, a subtle but profound shift of character. Now he was a tall, broad shouldered man who smiled just a little. The others, around him, also transformed, including the arrogant young lieutenant.

He spoke with a new tone of voice. “I am really Marshal Travis Jekyll but of the TriGuardia Military Intelligence Service, the TMIS. I have a twin brother who plays the same role. That means he can be openly me while I am pretending to be somebody else in some other place. For security reasons I can not speak further of the matter. TMIS agents were in the area when the trouble began and have taken witness statements. We have exchanged information with the TPMI-SIRIO agents in the area. One of the women looks oddly identical to you and her name is almost identical.”

Samtha snorted but knew that she had messed up. “As you know, I am Samtha as she is Samsha, and you might call us sisters. We serve a force that is attempting to assist Hopelanders to survive a great threat that we have yet to truly learn the nature of.”

Travis sat down heavily onto a larger seat than standard, that had clearly been reinforced to hold his weight. “You will not identify this 'network' of yours?”

Samtha shook her head. “No more than you will give more information, about yourself, than you have already given.”

Travis started to lose his smile, which had never reached his eyes. “Full cooperation would be recommended, Samtha. I do not have to get 'rougher' with you but the TMIS really does need more intelligence on what is happening.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 25.2(51)

“I suppose they do except you are not even human, let alone of the TMIS.” Samtha studied the fake marshal intensely. “Doppelgangers are ever so annoying. Parasitic demonic shapeshifters, fraudulent copycats of genuine lifeforms and deceptive murderous manipulators.”

The fake marshal grinned, now showing nonhuman fangs. “Why, thank you, I will take that as a compliment but you are no mere mortal human. We doppelgangers are here to carry out contract work to pick up information for an unidentified client who will remain unidentified mainly because we do not know their identity. The client worked through professional contract mediators. The trick is that they very much want to know what is going on.”

“Then they can just join the end of the line because there are many who who very much want the same thing. Nobody seems to know what is going on.” She shrugged. “Except that more powerful demons are being dragged through with the summoning of lesser demons and that a man was murdered in a non demonic fashion made to look demonic.”

The doppelganger scowled. “Trouble is, I believe you. Damned it, if we do not fine any real answers we will get only a basic commission with no bonuses. We already know that along with the fact that the Doomlordic forces were drawn here against their will just as other demonic entities have been.”

Samtha nodded. “You gave me information so here this; a Fateplayer has emerged in the area and a Fategame is in the process of starting.”

The doppelganger looked startled and then scowled even more. “At least that information will gain us a good bonus but makes matters very problematic.”

Samtha nodded. “More than just problematic, considering the sort of situations that Fateplayers tend to arise in. I strongly suggest that you, and your 'people', depart. You have been discovered but I have managed to get you a running start to leave.”

The doppelganger just shrugged and vanished with a sparkling shimmer. So did the other doppelgangers, the tent and other objects there. A shallow grave was revealed, at least the top of it, but she did not have to dig it up to 'know' that the real Marshal Travis Jekyll was in it along with two other men. Of course they were dead.

There was a bright red yellow glowing effect, coming up out of the grave for a short distance, and then the grave collapsed a little. So the real marshal, and the two others, had been willingly possessed by demonic spirits. The doppelgangers had certainly had no uncertainty in killing them which indicated they were of different factions.

Other: “They were Democultists but that does not mean much when it comes to how demonkind deal with each other, as you know for demonkind are ever treacherous.”

That powerful Doomlordic Entities were being pulled into that realm had many dark ramifications. She considered such matters even as she slipped away before real soldiers arrived, including some real TMIS Officers. One important question was why had the attracting factor seemed only to focus on demonkind though quite different kinds of them, there being many demon realms?

Edited June 9, 2013 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 26.1(52)

Samson awoke with a 'sense' of increasing danger and slipped into fatigues, boots, body-armour and other gear he had secretly gained. Then he took up a powerful revolver-pistol and a pump-action shotgun. The shotgun was not a standard 12gauge but a more powerful 10gauge. He took up some other devices, not all of them weapons or more standard weapons. He took extras in a backpack.

After making sure all of his pet-companions were safe, he put them into their safe chamber, he moved quickly to where the nearest Estateguards were to be found. They were not active but two of the older ones were 'sensing' something was not right. The two veterans grinned when Samson walked in though others were shocked at him being outside of his confinement area with so much gear.

He placed his backpack on a metal all purpose table. “Handgrenades, burnpacks, special ammo, laser-torches, night-goggles, two grenadeshell launcher-rifles and some magic-sniffers. Yours to keep, as Estateguards. Keep the backpack!”

The lieutenant, there, came over and spread the items over table and whistled softly. It was all very good quality stuff and expensive.

He spoke to Samson. “So who are you, that looks so much like Samson Foremale?”

Samson grinned. “His cousin, Sam!”

At that moment sirens began to sound as the new security system proved itself to be effective, especially as Samson had fiddled with it so as to make it deceptively non standard. He intercom-telephoned his mother who was still sleepy. She was startled and not willing to try to take charge as she had no real expertise in such matters of security or defense.

Samson was examining a big console display showing alarms. “I fear, mother, that somebody let the intruders into the estate through one of the heavily secured outer gate-ports. A key has been used to get through it.”

A gate-port had three heavily secured gates, one after the other, that had many tricks to them including alarms.

Salisha: “You are certain? You know what this means!”

He did! Treachery amongst Estatefolk was a very profound crime by the standards of the Estatefolk.

Samson frowned. “I would not jump to conclusions quite yet.”

Yet even as he said the words he had a sinking feeling and strong, subtle, impression that he knew who the traitor was.

So Samson, as Sam, became the temporary commander of the Estateguards but did not interfere in the way they did things. He did make 'suggestions' that were quite brilliant and canny.

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 26.2(53)

The intruders were semi-elite mercenaries, of the worst kind being known as thug-mercenaries, but also over confident or so Samson 'sensed' even from a distance. They had probably had many successes striking at Estates suffering from low economic times and poor security. This time they ran into improved security with some nice tricks thrown in.

The Estateguards at first kept back as the mercenaries, with two others moving with them in disguise, came in two platoons. The first platoon had the others with them and was heading for a certain destination; the second unit appeared to be trying to cause a distraction to draw away Estateguards from the real object of the intruders.

Well hidden video cameras observed the movement of the two mercenary platoons who had disguised themselves as TriGuards but with out any form of unit or personal identification. They also wore hoods along with their helmets and body-armour.

Samson did not join in the fighting because the Estateguards would not allow him to do so. It was bad enough that he was there but if he was hurt, or worse, than they would have big trouble. Samson stood as reports came in and orders went out.

The first surprise report came in that frighting out broken out between the second mercenary platoon and some unknown fighters. The sounds of submachineguns mingled with that of shotguns but there were also stranger noises like hissing-sizzling and soft thumping sounds. Samson found that he knew they were pulselasers and pulseblasters though he did not know where this information came from.

By the time Foremale Estateguards got to the enemy second platoon, the thug-mercenaries were all dead with pulseblaster and pulselaser caused wounds. Not only was there no sign of who, or what, had killed them but no clues to who, or what, they were.

Samson insisted on examining the dead bodies and got his way because his mother backed him up and because of a sheer will power that he radiated. He carefully examined the bodies and the surroundings. He was also puzzled as he was unable to find any clues to what had killed the intruders except the marks of exotic energy weapons that had been used.

Other: “Basic but cleverly designed antigrav lifters were active here at the time of the killings, or so my sensors detect the residue of their use. There were very quiet, fast moving humanoids in flexible body-armour that covered them from head to foot. Each had some kind of rifle like weapon with two barrels, of different sizes, and one lens-barrel, being one of two different kinds.? My data is not totally reliable.”

Samson: “Unreliable data?”

Other: “Yes, they seemed to be screen somehow from being picked up by sensors of the kind that I utilise except that the screening was not able to block out my sensors totally. My conclusion is that their technologies are more primitive than my own. My computations lead me to believe that they are supersoldiers of some kind with at least some human genetics, biology, involved in their make up. Such supersoldiers were said to have been created during the scientific madness of the PreBreaking decades.”

[Maharg67]

EverEpic One 26.3(54)

The first mercenary platoon went right into a trap and were dropped by a series of stunflash handgrenades being thrown over brick walls in the small courtyard the intruders were in. Samson, and Salisha, went into the courtyard and revealed the identities of the two non mercenaries. One of them dear Aunt Sallie and the other was Nicolanda, an old grim faced man who was one of the Foremale people who dwelt in the Hopeville Foremale estate.

Estateguards guarded the stunned mercenaries, who were soon handcuffed and legcuffed. Sallie and Nicolanda were just handcuffed. Even as the traitors, and the fools awoke, the Sheriff himself arrived looking tired and clearly not desiring to get involved in messy Estatefolk affairs. Who could blame him for that for Estate Family kinship matters could become dangerous with far too much ease.

Sallie Foremale was in a terrible state. She looked exhausted and frightened. Samson had one look into her eyes and had her handcuffs removed. He explained. “Sallie has come to realise her foolishness but also to understand that she was seduced by a very handsome dark stranger. We made brief empathic-telepathic contact but she has been deeply damaged of mind-body-spirit.”

When Sallie Foremale sparkle shimmered she transformed into a healthier, more relaxed, fitter version of herself but there was something exotic about her now that was not so obvious.

Samson shook his head in amazement. “Why are the testing-transformations happening here and now? I have experienced this sort of event before but where, when?”

Sallie slept soundly, peacefully.

His mother looked upon her younger sister with an obvious mixture of annoyance and concern. “What of this 'very handsome dark stranger'?”

Samson shook his head. “Tall, dark, handsome but nasty, very nasty wrapped in lots of charm. The face I glimpsed, in Sallie's mind, was blurred. Sallie was seduced and then woke up to the truth but too late; he had tricked her into doing something that he was blackmailing her for. Oh, yes, he used some very subtle, but potent, form of dark psychic influence on her which, to her credit, she defeated in the end.”

The Sheriff shook his head. “All of this is way above my head.”

Samson looked to him. “You might say that but how is the TPMI these days?”

Sheriff Adam Sinclain was not really surprised that members of an Estate Family would know about his links to the TriImperial Paranormal Metaphysics Institution but he was irked by the fact for he was a Hopelander but not of the Estatefolk and had his pride.

The Sheriff snorted. “We have had no reports of such a man, at the Hopeville Sheriff's Office, but how could we? What did he wear?”

Samson described what he had glimpsed, in Sallie's mind, and as he did the Sheriff looked puzzled and then he was frowning with concern. At last he cursed softly.