Dark Matter Ascension

The rumbling of the engine was the only accompaniment to Jace’s otherwise silent travel as night began to fall. He was fuming at the fact she broke their code. One of the first rules of the street was that you never sold-out fellow street folk. Only if you were threatened with death or grievous injury was it acceptable.

Seeing Greg brought him a bit of joy. The two had been business partners on several occasions, and had even gone out for drinks a handful of times when Jace could afford it – before he became responsible and rescued his sister from the crappy orphanage. Greg was a good man with a solid work ethic. Not one of the street folk – but good people, nonetheless.

Ollie floated up next to his ear, "You have a Brontasp nest coming up on the right side of the road!" He pointed and Jace followed the otter’s paw to a junk heap with several cave-like holes.

Good. I need to vent. Jace stopped the hypercycle when he got up alongside it, popped down the kickstand, and drew his sword as he dismounted. Dark Matter Blade (Rank 5) [Rending], Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3) [Reflecting.]. The blade ignited with purple and crimson fury, and the shield that popped around his body was no longer just a smooth, simple barrier encompassing his form. Small, aura-like whisps of purple energy wicked upward before dissipating.

Ollie flew in front of him and at his maximum height. "Here they come!" And he was right, as the Brontasps – that must have been settling down to sleep for the night – came out of the different holes all around the giant trash pile.

12? That’s a bit excessive. Jace grinned and held up his still-injured left hand. "Dark Matter Dart (Rank 4)." He felt his arm shake as his energy depleted to fuel the Skill. Nine, deep, purplish-black darts streaked out from his palm and struck dead-center into the skulls of nine Brontasps.

They fell silently, wriggling for a moment before stilling. And just like that, 12 becomes 3. Those three descended on him, and they performed the same pack-hunting tactic he’d dealt with already – one took the lead, and the others circled to strike from behind. Jace swung out at the one approaching from the front, cleaving its head clean off.

The other two struck his shield, and he felt his arms sag from how tired he became. But, looking back at the two creatures – they had recoiled, and their heads were severely damaged from the [Reflecting.] damage. Jace followed up on their recoiling forms with two deft chops, putting them down.

He heaved with exertion – the Skills having taken more energy out of him than actual fighting had – and he sat on the ground as Ollie dusted them.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Stardust Acquired: 1200.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Jace planted the blade in the ground and let the Skills fade. Ollie flew over to him, "That’s enough for two levels."

"And…maxing out…Dark Matter…Cloak." Jace shuffled back to the hypercycle and plopped himself onto the seat. Letting his frustration at Quinn’s betrayal fizzle with his waning stamina. Note to self; Reflecting takes a lot of my energy if combined with the (Rank 3) Shield.

Ollie nodded, "Want to level up now?"

"No point…in holding off," Jace replied as he chugged some water from a canteen. I still need to refill these. I’ve got less than a full canteen left. He had four of them in total so he could carry a few days’ worth, but he’d tapped out all the water he had gathered from the research post hidden location.

The otter threw Stardust at Jace, and he felt a warmth spread through him.

<<<<<>>>>>

Name: Jace Seren (Aspirant, Tier 1)

Power [Class Level.]: Dark Matter [Swordmage 16.]

Skills: Skill Name (Rank) [Evolutions.]: Universal Translation, Environmental Adaptation, Dark Matter Blade (Rank 5) [Rending], Dark Matter Shield (Rank 3) [Reflecting.], Swordmage Stance (Rank 3), Dark Matter Dart (Rank 4), Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3), Starfire Stride (1/day)

Stardust: 295

Equipment: Swordmage blade, Swordmage starting gear, Wirecannon Arm, Dragonclaw Devastation Legs, Runner’s Replacement (damaged), messenger bag, sliverscreen, survival knife, survival meals (x74), canteen (x4), medical kit (x2), orange tarp (damaged), flint bar, flashlight, 40x arc reactor components.

Boons: None

<<<<<>>>>>

Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 2) – As Rank 1, in addition renders the user untraceable.

Dark Matter Cloak (Rank 3) – As Rank 2, in addition renders the user undetectable.

<<<<<>>>>>

Nice. Now I can sneak around and there’s no way for anyone to find me. I’ll have to test how much energy it drains and how quickly…but this could be a game changer.

"Oh crap," Ollie stated as he looked off to the South.

"What?"

"Emergency Quest."

<<<<<>>>>>

[Quest: Rescue Quinn Cipher.]

[Time Limit: ASAP.]

[Reward: Uncommon (Information) Boon.]

[Sender: Star Council.]

<<<<<>>>>>

Oh, so now they want me to save the person that betrayed me? Jace shook his head. "I’m not going there to save Quinn."

"Are you su-"

"Greg’s with her. I’m going to make sure he is okay. And, if I save her in the process, it’s a bonus." Jace revved the hypercycle and took off to the South, across the plains as the flowers began to bloom in the night.

"Get back you fuckers!" Greg shouted as he stood with his back to the tent. The exterior was electrified, and Quinn was hiding inside of it. Facing him down were two Vyrknadine predators. He had bashed the chitinous shell of one of them and had managed to break a few of its legs. The tent was meant to ward off curious predators, not bloodthirsty ones that already got a whiff of prey. If Greg retreated inside, they would tear at the fabric; better to fight out in the open where he could maneuver at least.

The other one was untouched, and it was the larger of the two. Greg’s Stunstick thrummed with electricity, and he held it out to keep the creatures at bay. "Any ideas?!" he shouted.

Quinn’s voice came from inside the tent, "I put in a Quest! Just hold on!"

For how long? Greg thought as the uninjured creature took a nip at his Shockstick, and he bashed it on the snout – jolting back away from him. He was still coated in a rocky shell – but these creatures had taken chunks out of it with their initial surprise attack. He didn’t even see them coming out of the grassland. Ambush predators. He kicked himself for not being more vigilant.

One of the two – the uninjured one – leaped forward. He shoved his arm into its mouth – trusting in the strength of his earthen shell to keep him safe – as he drove the Stunstick into the side of its head.

The creature locked up, but the injured one took advantage of the opening to clamp down on his shoulder. Greg felt the teeth start to get past the armored shell and into his flesh. Grunting against the pain, he drove the Stunstick into the creature’s head – driving through the thin ’temple’ part of the skull.

The one with his arm jammed down its throat let out a keeling whine before it flopped flat, dragging him prone to the ground with it. The one tearing at his arm pulled him away and flung him back and forth like a chew toy. The Stunstick stuck in the downed one, and Greg felt himself bashed over and over as he was tossed like a rag doll from side to side, impacting the dirt with painful thuds that sent shockwaves through his body.

His vision started to get hazy, and he heard a loud roaring noise right above him. There was a rush of air that split apart and carved a path through the grassland. Blood sprayed out over his body and the tension against his shoulder vanished as the predator’s jaw went limp. What happened? He thought as he sat up, his body protesting at the movement and telling him to stay on the ground. Ignoring the pain as he’d done countless times before, he pushed up to his feet and looked around.

There was the hypercycle Jace had been riding…but no one was on it. The vehicle came to a stop, and Greg could make out the spray of dirt from the side of it. "Quinn?" he shouted out as he looked at the still sealed sparking tent.

"I’m fine!" she shouted back through the fabric.

Jace appeared in front of him riding the hyperbike; as if he was there the whole time and suddenly appeared. He turned the vehicle off, dismounted it, and a quiet descended upon the small battlefield. "You alright?" he asked.

Greg nodded and let out a laugh of exhaustion as he leaned back onto the ground and let the earthen armor fade away; the rocks clattering off and sloughing away. "That was close ."

The tent opened and Quinn poked her head out, "Thank God you got the emergency Quest."

Jace just frowned. His spectral otter companion raised its paw, but Darrin flew up, "Hold on! You don’t get to take all the Stardust."

"Why not?" Oliver asked. "We saved your Aspirant from death."

"It’s okay," Jace said as he waved Oliver off. He walked over and held out a hand to Greg. Greg accepted the help up. "You okay? Other than the shoulder."

Greg nodded, "Just the shoulder." He cracked a smile, "How’d you get here so fast?"

Jace looked back at the hypercycle that clattered onto the ground, "I went way faster than I was comfortable with going. That thing has some type of turbo mode. It guzzled all the remaining fuel."

"Well…damn. Sorry about that."

Jace waved the concern away, "I should be able to get my other Quest done in time. Speaking of…" he looked to Oliver, and there was a flash of light-blue starlight that came from the river otter. "Quest completed." Jace looked past Greg to Quinn, who was still staring from the tent entrance.

"Th-thank you," she muttered.

Jace looked back to Greg, "We each dust one of them. Sound good?"

Greg blinked in confusion, "Sorry. Dust them?"

Jace raised a quizzical eyebrow, "You…you can turn things you kill into Stardust. Did you not know that?"

The river otter flew over one of the Vyrknadine corpses and held his paw out over it. The creature’s body vanished, turning into liquid starlight that flew into his cute, little paw. "Dusted," he stated as he flew over to Jace’s shoulder and wrapped himself around the back of his neck like a fancy scarf.

Greg looked to his spider Wayfinder, "Can we do the same?"

"Yup." The spider flew over to the other Vyrknadine.

<<<<<>>>>>

[Stardust Acquired: 500.]

<<<<<>>>>>

"Whoa," Greg stated in awe. "That’s…so much!" He looked at Jace, who was stripping the hypercycle of his gear and valuable components, "How much did you get?"

"500 Stardust," Jace replied. "The adult ones are worth that much. The smaller ones – I’m guessing their pups – are 300 Stardust." He looked up at Greg with a smirk, "I also fought a three-headed one."

Quinn came out of the tent and walked over to Greg, "Can I patch you up?"

Greg nodded, "Sure." He stood still as the woman fussed over his shoulder, cleansing it with some type of disinfecting powder, and then wrapped the wound. The powder numbed his shoulder, and he couldn’t feel any discomfort. "Thanks."

Quinn went over to Jace and made some hand gestures that Greg was not familiar with. Jace frowned and made some gesture back to her. She returned a few more gestures. Jace’s frown turned to a scowl. "I came here for this Quest because I knew Greg was here. That’s all. I’m not interested in associating with someone who broke the code."

Greg was not keyed into this ’code’ – he didn’t grow up on the streets. But he knew that across the world – Earth – this underclass had strong ties. They had a shared identity, and apparently, some strict rules. "Jace, man. I don’t know what you both told each other, but it’s all goo-"

The courier shook his head, "No! You never give up another street kid!" He pointed at Quinn with the prosthetic arm, "She broke the code."

Greg walked up next to Quinn, "Chill out. You’re an Aspirant – a strong one. I mean, you dealt with that thing instantly. And you turned invisible! Who cares about some code from another life you lived?" He wrapped his good arm around Quinn’s shoulder, "Plus, now you have a Broker who owes you."

Quinn nodded, "I’ll make up for it. I promise." She was shaking slightly, and Greg felt his protective nature come out as he rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.

"25%," Jace replied bluntly. "Off of anything I buy from you. And I get 25% more Stardust from stuff I sell you."

Quinn answered quietly, "Okay."

Jace made a gesture with his fingers, touching the pinky of his right hand to the palm of his left, shouldered his large satchel, and began walking away. "Stay safe, Greg. Those things – get on their spine to stay out of their bite range."

Greg nodded as his old friend walked off into the tall grasses. Quinn walked back to the tent and sealed it up behind once Greg got inside also. She began laying out her supplies, slightly trembling as she did so.

Greg looked at Darrin, "I want to level up. How much Stardust do I have?"

Darrin flew down and his spindly legs caressed Greg’s arm. "1915. What Skills do you want to Rank up?"

"Three levels? Hmm. Let’s do one Rank into each existing Skill."

"Okay, incoming!" A stream of starlight emitted from Darrin’s legs and Greg felt his body warm up.

<<<<<>>>>>

Name: Greg Bhastal (Aspirant, Tier 1)

Power [Class Level.]: Planet [Protector 4.]

Skills: Skill Name (Rank) [Evolutions.]: Universal Translation, Environmental Adaptation, Protector’s Vow (Rank 2), Planetary Defenses (Rank 2), Planetary Retribution (Rank 2)

Stardust: 415

Equipment: Protector’s starting gear, Pheracorp deflection matrix, Stunstick

Boons: None

<<<<<>>>>>

Protector’s Vow (Rank 2): As Rank 1, damage redirect effect halves the damage transferred to the user

Planetary Defenses (Rank 2): As Rank 1, and the speed/nimbleness reduction is reduced drastically.

Planetary Retribution (Rank 2): As Rank 1, but the efficacy is three quarters.

<<<<<>>>>>

That is awesome, Greg thought as he chuckled. Looking over at Quinn, he saw her bundling into her sleeping bag. "You okay?"

"I…" Quinn turned to him, and he could see the sad look in her eyes. "I’m…I broke the code." Her voice dropped to a whisper and she made the pinky-to-palm gesture Jace had made, "This means ’I forgive you.’ I know he won’t hold it against me."

"It’s not like you didn’t pay some price, from the little I know about you. A permanent 25% discount? That’s steep." Greg leaned back onto his sleeping bag. But if this code is so important…maybe it’s an appropriate punishment. He smiled to himself, not concerned with this code he barely understood. He had his own code to live by. And one of the first things he would do when Jace made it to The Eternal City would be to buy the man who just saved his life a nice, ice-cold beer.

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