Originally posted by Coppertop
Don't kill people unless I need to. Or unless they become nuisances ...

And yet Kaz still lives...


Great chapter.
I would claim this page but I'll let Copper have it because I'm nice.

Yes, this chappie is really awesome, so /me agrees to Radium

Eval

Originally posted by Radium
And yet Kaz still lives...


Great chapter.
I would claim this page but I'll let Copper have it because I'm nice.

Aw Radium, that's not a nice thing to say ^^, now apologize.

A graceful delay, but a delay ;p.

lol, Rad. *bows* A delay? Where?

Skiye's home was unique. She led them to a place where a gigantic tree grew, solitary on the top of a sizable hill. She pushed aside a large stone, and revealed a tunnel leading into the hill. Twisting corridors, small chambers laid out in a confusing pattern, and hidden entrances served to make Skiye's abode anything but defenseless.
She took them up a curving, claustrophobic staircase, built into the hollow trunk of the tree. When they emerged into daylight, they were twenty feet above the ground, in a well-hidden treehouse. KRSplat could see where Copper had gotten the design for her old tree house.
Skiye was quite serious once she got down to business. Flipping her long white hair over a diminutive shoulder, she turned to - of all people - Kaz. Demanding his take on the events, she worked her way to the rest of them, ending with Claw. Then she sat, immersed in silence.
Finally she said, "your original plan should work, but the Ninja must be alone, and if he is at full strength he will resist. The lies lovingly fed to him will not be vanquished easily, but the powerful memories that Radium holds can succeed and bring him back. Radium, you stand in danger if you try this. If you fail, or if the memories fail, Shinyso will try to kill you or capture you. And despite your being a very powerful Chaos Mage, you can be defeated. Don't forget that."
"Definitely not," Radium agreed, a ghost of a smile on his face. Obviously he did not think of himself as invulnerable.
"Claw," she continued, "I believe you will play a crucial part in what is to come, but only if you wish to. If you do not feel like dying for my granddaughter, don't. It is your life, and you have the right to live it as you will."
Claw nodded gravely. She turned to Kaz.
"You will be underestimated time and time again. Take advantage of it."
"How could I not? Sure thing, Skiye."
"Good. Crystal, I don't know where you fit in, so you must do what seems right to you. Don't pass a chance by."
"Of course."
"Defalcon ... I also don't know. Keep a hand on your hilt, though. You are not simply a pawn in this deadly game. KRSplat, you of all will be ignored. But just because you don't have some mystical power doesn't mean a thing. Don't underestimate yourself, and take advantange of their unwariness."
"Thank you," KRSplat said, clearly surprised. She nodded sadly.
"Evaluator, you will not be there. You will be elsewhere, doing something important. I do not know what it is, but it might make the difference."
"Well, I'll certainly try," Evaluator said cheerfully. She nodded again.
"That's all we require. Acid, I don't know what will happen to you. However, you and your brother, Electrik, will survive intact and in your right minds. Coppertop."
"Yes, Skiye."
"You play a crucial part in this. You will lose a thing you treasure, but will gain a thing you lost. If you make the right decisions, you will succeed. Don't give up hope, and don't let that leg slow you down."
"I'll try," she said dryly. "Thanks, Skiye. Your help is valued."
"Sure it is. Don't stay too long in one place, or they'll find you. The presence of a Chaos Mage is hard to detect, but they'll be looking for Radium."
"Well I knew that," Radium said coolly. "If they weren't, you think I'd be here?"
"Probably not. Most likely you'd be out making trouble. Try to refrain from that pasttime now."
"Can't say I'll succeed," he said, saluting her. Skiye made a face.
Copper rose, and they headed out. Radium was the last to leave, but before he could, Skiye stopped him. He looked at her quizzically.
"When you leave Searac," she said, "tell Copper that Frostfire is waiting."
Then she released him, and he left as well, puzzling over her words.
Frostfire is waiting ...


If it's weird it'll be explained later in the story. So nya

I think you'll get more than the half of the pages of this thread, CT

Anyway: w00tness! But I didn't get the meaning of the delay (Kaz???) either

Eval

*claps*
Very good chapter.

I forget, why does Claw stick with Copper and her group? In the stories he's seemed to have become the main secondary character, but always acts like he regrets helping.

You'll have to read conqueror and conquests to understand, Rad

Eval

I still have the last half or so of Conquests to read... It's very intimidating when put into a 64 page document =P.

Good chapter. Write on!

And give Acid a lot more action!!!

edit: Whoa, hey! A whole new page appeared while I was gone? Where was I?!?

I meant that chapter as being a small fill so that CT could actually post a chapter that day, but not a necessary one, but I'm wrong in the sense that explains pieces and details (much like adjectives). Too used to those in other stories ;p.

Hmm? Read the stories Rad ;p.

O.o Why not just Con-?

Originally posted by Kaz

Hmm? Read the stories Rad ;p.

Story. I read Conquerer long ago and am halfway through Conquests.

Yay, rad-chan(meh.) knows singular nouns as well.

Hmm, I believe I'll stick to commenting since now I'm afraid CT will kill me off x.x

*Excessively twiddles

Don't worry yet, Kaz.
My computer crashed yesterday, and so I didn't get to type any for the story. Sorry guys.
Maybe some for tomorrow if I can get on, but definitely on Monday.
I'm not sure why he sticks around, Rad. Maybe it's cause I needed a copilot/partner for Copper and he was convenient.

must have more chappies... ;_;

Okay.

The sleeper dreamed.
He was in a vast expanse of darkness, broken by brilliant flashes of color, llight and memories. The void expanded around him; he could not escape it. He called out, but no answer came. He was trapped alone.
How long he hung in that harsh place the sleeper could not say. He did not doze, but remained in a state of despair. There was no way out.
In time he became aware of a sound. Vague whispering echoed around in this previously silent place. There were two sets of them, and as they became louder he identified them. Smooth, coaxing, cultured voices, those of the knowledgeable, whispered tantalizing thoughts of rest to him. Their opponents, the rough and weathered voices of experience, sang a different song.
Get up. Come on. You can't stay there forever.
No, said the smooth voices. You are weary. Rest. Go when you are ready.
Come now, the others said urgently. But there was nowhere to go, and so the sleeper remained.
A time later, as the smooth voices whispered what they knew to him, the voices of experience intruded again.
Move. Now.
Let him stay, the learned ones urged. See, he rests.
We will awaken him, experience said grimly. What you will not do, we will.
Something in those voices motivated him. He began to drift again, but not aimlessly this time. He followed the rough voices, and they led him purposefully thorough the lightning-flecked void.
Winds that were and were not threatened to tear him apart. Unimagined colors that had no names flared and died around him, and places that might have existed once drifted by. Knowledge followed him, calling him back, urging him to give up.
A new voice joined those already assembled - the voice of despair. He tried to ignore it, and finally both Knowledge and Despair fell silent.
After a while Experience took over again. The sleeper had no control, but he trusted experience more than knowledge.
Stay with us. Follow or you are lost.
A pinprick of light, steady in a wall of darkness, glowed ahead. A new voice joined the others. It was his, and it reassured him.
Stand fast. There will be pain, but to turn back is to fail.
Failute was not dishonorable, but failure because of weakness was. The sleeper definitely would not turn back because of a little pain.
Good. Come with us.
He pushed forward towards that light, which grew bigger. The resistance grew stronger, like swimming against the current. Then the pain hit.
Waves of agony racked his body, shuddering him with their intensity. Oddly enough, they centered in his lower back, spreading out like malicious ripples. Then abruptly it faded to a dull ache. He had made it through.
The resistance lessened, and then increased again as he drew closer to the light. A shimmering wall of wrongness blocked his way - a wall made of lies and memories that were somehow wrong. Experience could not cover this, and Knowledge moved in.
Rest. A way will show. Wait.
You know nothing, a new voice said contemptuously. Knowledge was once again ousted, but not by Experience. By memories.
Real memories, not the altered ones in this wall.
This is made by those who would control you and have now left you for the dead, his memories whispered. We can (-)ter this wall, but you must stand firm. What might happen is unpredictable.
I will not falter, the sleeper replied, and immediately the memories attacked the wall. As each delusion and lie was destroyed, a sharp splinter of mental pain lanced through his mind. If he had been standing he would have fallen to his knees before the onslaught.
As the last one was ****tered he cried out, and his memories came rushing back to fill the void the wall had left.
The light grew stronger, filling his vision. Then he was rushing into his body, his mind clearer than it had been for weeks. The dull ache intensified, the heaviness of weary limbs returned, and the sensations of cold water running over him, sharp stones beneath him, and cool air above him, came back to him.
The sleeper awoke.

Weird chappie, I know, but it will be explained later. Then you'll understand

Yeah, weird chappie
Maybe the faders are back... but actually I don't know

Eval

It's Ninja, isn't it?

Nice chappter. I'd say w00tness, but it has gotten old. Oh, wait, I did say it.

`N0

Mysterious...





What's (-)tered?

@Radium
I think we'll just have to wait for the next chappie

Eval

The word's supposed to be $hattered, but $hat seems to be a filtered word. *shrug*

Shattered O.o? Why is shat censored?


Kaz understands ^^. Tricky CT, one has to wonder if the voice is lying or if he's trying to help. Especially since the information before makes you think that they're liars, but your current set of characters and actions says otherwise. Forgive my vaugeness, I do not want to spoil this for other people.

Satisfying chapter (ebil thesaurus.com XD).

It's theoretically the past tense of sh!t. *immediately regrets previous statement as he is whacked several times by Derby's Steel Pipe of Dishonor*

Good chapter. But I don't understand why the memories have to (-)ter the bad memories.

Big spelling error. Whoops.
FixOrs the errors ...
Nobody: Not Ninja.

I still see a typo.

I'm such a pantsbread.

Yes you are.

I can't fix it. Rrr

I think I see at least two, but why can't you fix them? And why are you on today O.o?

I hope everyone will now worship me because I abuse my administrative powers to aid the public.


Heehee. Anything for the best writer on the board. Keep up the awesomocular work, CT.


`Duckay

Excuse my gramatical nit-pickyness, but I think you mean "the conquistador", as "the conquistar" translates to "the to conquer". Oooor just leave it that way since I'm the only one here that speaks spanish anyway. *Is ignored*

Always thinking that he's the only person in the world...

IMO you should come up with something else, no q required ;p. I mean, it's the same thing in spanish which is almost as cheap as "Joyous Days" (some foreign show that mimicked happy days in almost every way. I believe they had "Frankie" as "Franky" to avoid copyright laws.)

That's just me.

*Worships Ducky*
Use ICQ more!
You wouldn't happen to be able to change the thread address would you? That way Eval would actually have to come check the JCF himself for each new chapter, since his program would technically by monitoring a different address.

Nice chappies!

No, he would just change the adress destination. One way though would be to provide a clue to where the next chapter is on the web somewhere. that'd truly be static.

Hey, the threadid stays the same... But I don't use the program anymore, it's too annoying

Eval

Originally posted by Ducky
Anything for the best writer on the board.

I'm almost insulted.

Well, not really.

W00tish, CT. Just w00tish.

Hmm? CT the best writer on the board? Sorry to say, but I'm honest ;p, I don't think so.

Warning! Flamewar approaching!

*separates Duckah and Kaz*
No fighting. Especially over me.
Rad, there's a reason why it's called The Conquistar. You'll get it eventually.
I was on because my parents were nice. Yes.
I can't fix them because ... I don't know. It says I edited them but it doesn't show it.

4I: You are a pantsbread. Yes. You are. Yes.

"Copper, your grandmother is weird."
"Interesting statement, coming from you, Kaz," Crystal murmured. Kaz turned and glared at her, but she ignored him.
"He's right," Radium agreed. "Skiye is definitely strange."
"Don't remind me," Coppertop growled. "I have to live with her."
"Lucky you," Claw said, fastidiously inspecting his claws. Copper gave him an elbow in the ribs, and he looked at her mildly, with just a hint of steel in his eyes.
Kaz marvelled at his response. Six years ago, when they had met, Claw would have reacted with explosive violence. Now, a look was enough.
Wow.
Kaz hadn't been there for most of those years, so the change in Claw was obvious to him. It probably wasn't as blatant to Copper, who had been partners with Claw since they had met. Not that he was complaining or anthing.
He missed the old gang. Ducky, Wild Angel, Kovu, Blacksheep, Alpha, Omega, Phoebe, Zanzibar (but not Grath), Shinyso, Nightshade, even Zazz a bit. Not that he didn't like Defalcon, Crystal, Acid, Electrik and Radium - quite the opposite, in fact - but the presence of KRSplat, Evaluator, Claw, and for part of the way, Shinyso, made him feel slightly melancholy.
He was sure Copper felt it, too. Six years was a long time. The others probably didn't even know why she was on this mission. But that was to protect them. Why else would she seek after Shinyso so fervently, if not to preserve the life of a treasured friend? But he kept silent; that blade of hers was sharp, and embarrassing her was not a very beneficial option.
Copper sighed. "Suggestions?"
"Queral," KRSplat suggested. Defalcon shook his head.
"Too obvious. They'll be watching there."
"Vanargala," Acid said. "They can't watch every ship that goes in there. There's too many. If we go in under a different name they would never catch us."
"He's right," Kaz piped up. "They probably won't even notice us."
"Well," Copper said, "we can but try."

Kafla twiddled with the controls of his ship. His job here was boring. He'd much rather have been an Enforcer, not Customs. Suspicious ships got scanned; the rest were ignored. Kafla really didn't care about smugglers.
A big black starship glided by. Kafla idly glanced at his scanners. No record on the ship, privately owned. Darkspray class, carrying passengers. It waited patiently. He sighed and punched the comm button.
"Assassin, you are cleared to enter."
"Thanks, Customs," came the reply, and the Assassin moved away. Kafla sighed again. No excitement. He sat back and began to daydream about being an Enforcer. He never even noticed when the Assassin did not follow the designated route, veering off instead to head away from Vanargala, in exactly the way a pilot who has been turned down and is disappointed would fly.

"That should by some time," Defalcon said, gleefully. Copper nodded and smiled faintly.
"Keep them looking," she agreed. "So, where to next?"
"Wha'?" Kaz asked, turning away from the window where he had been watching Vanargala recede into the distance with something like dismay. "What're you doing? We were supposed to stay on Vanargala!"
"That's where we are," Copper said cheerfully. "However, in a little while a black Darkspray-class starship named the Scorecard is going to fly into a spaceport of your choice, carrying ten passengers and no cargo."
"Oh," said Kaz in confusion. "How do you know that?"
Copper rolled her eyes. "Figure it out, Kaz. How many Darksprays are there in the galaxy that are painted black and have ten passengers?"
"I don't know. You tell me."
"Kaz ... "
"Where's the Scorecard identifier, Copper?" Defalcon interrupted absently. Copper nodded towards a plate in the floor.
"In there. Put your index and little finger on it and say 'Sjalax'. The Scorecard one has a yellow chip."
Claw grinned, recognizing the password as one he had used on Kroys' ship Deep Spacer. Copper silenced him with a look.
Kaz blinked. Then it dawned on him. "You're going to fake it!"
"Yes. I have many identifiers, Kaz. Now you know why I didn't use one on Vanargala."
"Won't Shinyso anticipate that?"
"No. I didn't think this up. Acid and KRSplat did."
"Oh. I see ... "


Give KRSplat and Acid some of the glory there.

*brings the tradition back* w00tness!

And CT, please reply to "boing, boing,"... if you don't, 4I won't continue with his story

Eval

I did.