note: as with everything zybourne its pretty much impossible to tell if something is real or not. here's stuff i'm pretty sure is for real. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I drew a long breath and prepared the next words that were to come out of my mouth. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He pauses for a moment, considering plots which might've employed this child as a spy, paid in food, to inquire. Exhausted and drawn to the child's innocence, the walls of secrecy melt for a moment. "This, my darling, is a device. A device many men and many women have died to see, to understand, and to own. In many ways it is like one of your toys, but a toy for adults. This, darling, is The Zybourne Clock." Suddenly, barely visible in the dim light, the child's eyes change. The hazelnut brown tones are ungluing into silver, melting into swirls of pearl and mechanical shades. Her body loses its shy posture and rapidly conforms to a rigid, upright stance. Her mouth opens slightly and with programmed precision, she moves her wrist slowly towards her tiny lips. "Orange Fox to Deitrus. Orange Fox to Deitrus. The Golden Egg has been located. I repeat, we've got it. Over". Frozen with guilt, the man slowly begins to run through the crowd. The girl screams, "Rape! Rape! He tried to touch me! Help!". For Dirk McLauren, Wedesnday January 19 2381 has begun very poorly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This craving manifests itself as science, art, music and all other forms that humanity expresses itself in. The path we walk is the one of new beginnings, but quite humourously, it has lead to our end. The further we advance, the more desparate we become and the more desparate we become, the more we wish to reverse our mistakes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The years spent in that facility brought a mirad of human emotion and drama. Our party (through child birth and necessity) went from five people to twenty. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [BEGINNING SEQUENCE OF THE GAME] "In the oasis, where the garden grows, and the water fills the desert sands, a new hope will arise from the ashes of dismay, and cleanse the land where the children play." Over and Out Zybourne [BEGINNING SEQUENCE OF THE GAME] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sylus: We need to rest. Alex: What, tired already old man? Sylus: Old? Im only looking out for you. Alex: When did I ever put off that I was getting dainty? Sylus: Just trying to look out for you, Alex. Alex: Oh, come on, lets keep going. Sylus: There is a nice place to sit over there, come Alex. Alex: Whatever. [Alex and Sylus walk to a secluded spot and sit beneath a tree that is casting a nice shadow] Alex: Haha, I love how you think you are SO chivalrous. Sylus: What? I just dont want you whinning that you are exhausted when we get there. Alex: Where are we going anyway? Sylus: Well, a few years ago, I recieved reports that there was a text housed somewhere beyond the Greatest Distance. Alex: Oh? A text? How interesting that has been kept under wraps. Sylus: Well even the Ministry has its secrets. Alex: You know, its been a while since we did this last. There has always something I wanted to tell you. Sylus: Oh? Alex: Remember when you left Umberrda? I have always wanted to tell you I didn't need you. I didn't need you then and I don't need you now... (Sylus interrupts) Sylus: I know, that is why I was comfortable leaving, you were never a frail girl and I knew you could get along just fine without me. Alex: I wish it coulda been different, Sylus. Sylus: Me too. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The player finally navigates the crowded streets of downtown Strass Magnus and arrives at Sylus's apartement complex, the Yellow Road, apartment 10A. The player does not know this but Sylus is living here to keep his cover while seeking out Johnny. (as an aside I want the apartment complex and surrounding area to look kind of musty and dirty, just for the sake that is in a downtown area of a big city.) The scene ends with Sylus laying in his bed and going to sleep. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The levity of my speech made the air leave the room. They did not want to accept it, but they knew that I was right. Everyone sat in a deep concentration, their eyes staring off into a distant plane of existance where only they could tred. The air in the room was so constricted that I could hardly breathe. I prepared myself for my own words once again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex: You always had a pension for the dramatic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The answer came to me while reading an article out of a Science magazine that ... basically summarized how the planet got to its current point in its evolutionary cycle ... over 20 millenia and now. I sat there in and thought about the article for a good 3 hours. If we could subtely alter the cycle at which the planet terraforms and speed up human evolution, we could, possibly make humanity advance far past wars in a few millenia's time. My heart jumped into my throat as I ran through the bay doors to tell my colleagues that I had finally found a safe way to alter the way the timeline to such a degree as to not rip a hole in time itself. As I looked around the room, my excitement faded. All of them looked as if they had just became very ill. "Doctor, you understand if we do this, We will fade from existance as the timeline corrects itself." One of my colleagues said in the grimest manner I had ever heard him speak before. I began to turn pale, and dizzy. I quickly found a chair and used the magazine (that I was subsequently still clutching) to fan myself. "Well, there must be a way around this. There must be." I said, even though I knew I was lying to myself. We sat up that night and discuss ideas on how to develope a new one. What we came up with was grim. We theorized that when you send an object through time, it does not create a new timeline that overrides the current like we had originally thought. When the object enters the timestream, time begins to correct itself. Let me use this example: Imagine four balls on the edge of a cliff. Say a direct copy of the ball nearest the cliff is sent to the back of the line of balls and takes the place of the first ball. The formerly first ball becomes the second, the second becomes the third, and the fourth falls off the cliff. Time works the same way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OMG ITZ JAMES Artisitic Coordinator ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This, my darling, is a device. A device many men and many women have died to see, to understand, and to own. In many ways it is like one of your toys, but a toy for adults. This, darling, is The Zybourne Clock. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As technology advances, so does human suffering and heartache. We walk the path of our own destruction, but I do not blame humanity, because I do not think it could have happened any other way. We crave discovery and knowledge, but most of all we crave to know where we stand in the scheme of things. This craving manifests itself as science, art, music and all other forms that humanity expresses itself in. The path we walk is the one of new beginnings, but quite humourously, it has lead to our end. The further we advance, the more desparate we become and the more desparate we become, the more we wish to reverse our mistakes. I am sure by now you are wondering what things humanity has done to want to reverse its current timeline. I wish I could describe it in words, but I would talk to you for hours. I want you to see for yourself. (Dr Zybourne turns in his chair) Camera. Pan outside view. Three Hundred Sixty Degrees (Main Computer Response) Yes, Doctor. [A blurry picture flashes on screen. It is one of destruction and chaos. The computer pans about Fourty five degrees and stops on what looks like a city. This city has been completely destroyed. Smoke is seen bellowing from tall sky scrapers and char marks are everywhere to be seen. The computer pans another thirty degrees and rises to about fourty five degrees, then zooms. A black Zepplin is seen flying over head, seemingly for another bombing run. The camera begins to reveal more of the destruction caused by what looks like a long fought war. It reaches 360 degrees and shuts off] Would we have had it anyway? Would we have done anything differently? Can we undo our pasts? That is what my Coleagues and I set out to discover some 20 years ago. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We began our research under exploratory pretenses. Sort of a "What if?" scenario. We wondered what would happen if we altered our current timeline to end this long fought war. We theorized about the Time Continuum, but did not have the technology to test our discoveries. We often wondered if time travel was possible. I mean, think about it, sending something back in time. Back before anything was done, back before man, back before thought. Can we send something to a time period where it didnt exist before? What consequences would our research bring? We agnoized over our own Theories, we looked at every angle possible. We even constructed a crude prototype. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, the war escalated and the capitol Aretheas was completely obliterated, along with our research. Years of hard work ruined, and it was at that point I knew that I was ready, ready to fix the errors made by humanity. The setbacks in research and lack of funding stalled the project for a time. During this time the war got worse and worse. Innocent human lives were being destroyed and the World as we knew it was coming to the end of its life cycle. I had to do something. I sold all of my worldly possesions and traveled to a secluded spot along with 5 other coleagues and bought a small research facility. We locked ourselves there for 12 years. The years spent in that facility brought a mirad of human emotion and drama. Our party (through child birth and necessity) went from five people to twenty. At this point our project had been moving slowly but surely. We had developed a way for an object to "adapt" to its surroundings, such as root itself to the ground and being drawing small amounts of the earths energy to do its job. We also developed a intricate security system, but this came with some inherient problems. We couldnt figure out a way to make the Clock be secure to such a degree that at any point in the timeline nobody could access it. We spent 6 grueling months coming up with a concept, and striking down idea after idea. Finally, we decided that we would send back three people with the Clock itself to integrate into the main population and keep the secret of the clock hidden. We entrusted two of my close colleagues, Dr. Rogers and Dr. McMillian, we also entrusted this duty to one other, My daughter Maria. This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, but the reasons why I did it would ultimatly save the planet, but save her also. The security system we developed has two aspects. The first aspect of the security system is Auto Self Defense. The clock has the ability to fully compute and emulate human response in the event of an attack. The second feature is the most unique aspect of the clock (besides the fact that it time travels). It has the ability to read the human genome and compare it to a list of acceptable genomes and allow access to the core operations system of the clock. The people whos genetic coding were in the machine itself was purely logic after that point: Dr McMillian, Dr Rodgers and My own. ***** We had all the main logistics points of our projects hammered out and our prototype built, but there was a few more things to be decided. What would this clock do when it gets back in time besides gather energy? The answer came to me while reading an article out of a Science magazine that I had picked up about 2 years ago. The article basically summarized how the planet got to its current point in its evolutionary cycle and where it had started. It compared key points of life over 20 millenia and now. I sat there in and thought about the article for a good 3 hours. If we could subtely alter the cycle at which the planet terraforms and speed up human evolution, we could, possibly make humanity advance far past wars in a few millenia's time. My heart jumped into my throat as I ran through the bay doors to tell my colleagues that I had finally found a safe way to alter the way the timeline to such a degree as to not rip a hole in time itself. As I looked around the room, my excitement faded. All of them looked as if they had just became very ill. "Doctor, you understand if we do this, We will fade from existance as the timeline corrects itself." One of my colleagues said in the grimest manner I had ever heard him speak before. I began to turn pale, and dizzy. I quickly found a chair and used the magazine (that I was subsequently still clutching) to fan myself. "Well, there must be a way around this. There must be." I said, even though I knew I was lying to myself. We sat up that night and discuss ideas on how to develope a new one. What we came up with was grim. We theorized that when you send an object through time, it does not create a new timeline that overrides the current like we had originally thought. When the object enters the timestream, time begins to correct itself. Let me use this example: Imagine four balls on the edge of a cliff. Say a direct copy of the ball nearest the cliff is sent to the back of the line of balls and takes the place of the first ball. The formerly first ball becomes the second, the second becomes the third, and the fourth falls off the cliff. Time works the same way. The timeline of an object has a set beginning and end when the object is created. If that timeline is altered, time itself must make room for it in the timeline, which essentially means dumping another event in the timeline. At this point, my team and I knew that there was a moral decision to be made. Would we sacrifice countless human lives to prolong the life of our own species? I fell into quite a despair that day. The thought of losing Maria, and my team was painful to the point that I actually thought about cancelling the project. That night I called an emergency meeting in the researchers office. Everyone who had a hand in the project was required to attend. "What does it mean to save humanity, I mean isnt that a paradox in itself?", I postulated. "I mean if humanity is doomed to work against itself, then what is the point of saving it? Why are we doing this?" I saw Maria from across the room, and I rested my head in my hands. I knew that I had to go through with it. I knew that if I didnt do something now, I would be denying humanity the right to exist. There was no way around our current situation. I drew a long breath and prepared the next words that were to come out of my mouth. "Some 19 years ago, we started this project with the hope that we could somehow reverse the mistakes that humanity has made. We made a conscience decision the day that we started that we would not give up until a solution was reached. That solution is now in the palm of our hand. In what position am I to deny humanity the right to exist? Ill tell you. I'm not. None of us are, and as much as it hurts me to say this, and as much as I do not want to fade, we must. Our jobs as human beings, if anything, is to survive. Not survive in the sense of the individual, but as a whole, we must carry on, because if we dont then what is there? The uncertain, and that is why I am so afraid. It is not death that drives us it is the uncertainty of death that makes us want to keep living, and for that very matter we must. So we must cease this opportunity to make the world a liveable place. Even if it means irradicating ourselves in the process." The levity of my speech made the air leave the room. They did not want to accept it, but they knew that I was right. Everyone sat in a deep concentration, their eyes staring off into a distant plane of existance where only they could tred. The air in the room was so constricted that I could hardly breathe. I prepared myself for my own words once again. "As you all know, our security system calls for three people to go back with the clock and integrate with the general population. I have choosen those people: Dr. Rodgers, I need you to go back with the clock for the reason that I have entrusted you with security overrides and databank passcodes. Do you still have the manual that we prepared?" "Yes, Doctor." "For the second person, I have chosen Dr. McMillian, he is primary time researcher and can, if necessary, Auto destruct the clock and return the timeline back to normal if, in the extreme event that this causes a unrepairable rift. Dr McMillian, this is left up to your discresion, but I need you to keep in mind that if you destroy the clock, the timeline will revert to normal and the world will end." "Yes, of course Doctor, I will not let you down." "The third person I have chosen for a special reason. As you all know our security system calls for a third set of genomes before it becomes operational, but there is something you may not know. I have encoded a failsafe in the clock itself. If, in fact, humanity advances to the point where they figure out the purpose of the clock and alter the clocks progess, the clock will send out a message stating the clocks purpose and a plea for help to a set of people. These people will be my decendants and my decendants alone. I say this because we are sending back 3 people who will start family trees, those family trees will have a limitless amount of people who reside within them. If I send back this failsafe message to only one set of decendants then it limits the chance that the message will fall into the wrong hands. I will be sending back Maria, my only daughter. Dr Rodgers and McMillian I expect you two to be her care providers." "Yes, Sir!" ***** I could see a new determination in the teams eyes over the next few months. The project was finally starting to shape up, and everything was coming together. We worked some of the bugs out of the messaging system and updated the terraforming process. We created a few new defense features and a main interface. We also integrated the main security systems into the routine list. The clock is nearly operational. This interface will be set at 20000 (representing years that the clock was sent back) and count down to zero (the date that we sent the clock back). Once the clock reaches zero the timeline will be properly corrected and the clock will auto destruct. **** Over the next year we completed the final version of the clock and also got the approved it for launch. It was a massive piece of machinery, nearly 5 stories tall and 150 feet wide. It was impressive, to say the least. That final night I sat and stared at the stars and wondered what would happen to the world. Once again I entertained thoughts of cancelling the project, but I immediatly banished any such notion as soon as it arose. I rose from my chair and made my way to the launch pad where a few researchers were making the final preperations for launch. I went to the control room and sat and waited. Finally the moment came. Our moment to make our mark on this world, our time to give back to the place that let us live for so long. This moment was ours, and The Earth's. We are not noble, nor are we heroes, we are just a group of people who realize the ways of humanity (may they be good or bad) and intend to correct any mistakes that we have made. To anyone watching this, my final transmission, please head these words: [BEGINNING SEQUENCE OF THE GAME] "In the oasis, where the garden grows, and the water fills the desert sands, a new hope will arise from the ashes of dismay, and cleanse the land where the children play." Over and Out Zybourne [BEGINNING SEQUENCE OF THE GAME] *** 1st half of game The first half of the game will revolve around Sylus, Johnny, Handre and Alex. Sylus, being down on his luck and finding himself out of cash, reluctantly accepts a mission from the Order to analyze Civilius Primiscotas, just outside of Strass Magnus. There he meets up with an old friend, Alex. They both travel to The Greatest Distance field in search of the first Text: The Wild flower (instructions on how to enter Civilius Primiscotas). During this time you learn a lot more about Sylus and Alex's past. Sylus and Alex's past is first revealed through a flashback event about midway through the Greatest distance. Once they reach this point, Alex suggests stopping and resting for a little bit. They enter an area of the map not accessable to the player and sit and begin to talk of their adventures together. It is revealed that Alex and Sylus are ex-lovers but have remained friends through what seemed like a very cruel break up. The scene flashes to a town of unknown origin at this point in the game and you see the two in what seems like a shopping district. They are both sitting in what looks like a resturant or cafe of some kind and they are talking. Sylus reveals that he must leave the town, and that he might not be back to the town to see her again. Alex, trying not to pry and holding back her emotion says that this is the state of the business that they are in, and that she hates to see him go. Fighting back tears, Alex stands along with Sylus and gives him a seemingly emotionless hug goodbye. Sylus leans in to Alex and whispers something in her ear, and exits the resturant. Possible Scripting for event: Sylus: We need to rest. Alex: What, tired already old man? Sylus: Old? Im only looking out for you. Alex: When did I ever put off that I was getting dainty? Sylus: Just trying to look out for you, Alex. Alex: Oh, come on, lets keep going. Sylus: There is a nice place to sit over there, come Alex. Alex: Whatever. [Alex and Sylus walk to a secluded spot and sit beneath a tree that is casting a nice shadow] Alex: Haha, I love how you think you are SO chivalrous. Sylus: What? I just dont want you whinning that you are exhausted when we get there. Alex: Where are we going anyway? Sylus: Well, a few years ago, I recieved reports that there was a text housed somewhere beyond the Greatest Distance. Alex: Oh? A text? How interesting that has been kept under wraps. Sylus: Well even the Ministry has its secrets. Alex: You know, its been a while since we did this last. There has always something I wanted to tell you. Sylus: Oh? Alex: Remember when you left Umberrda? I have always wanted to tell you I didn't need you. I didn't need you then and I don't need you now...(Sylus interrupts) Sylus: I know, that is why I was comfortable leaving, you were never a frail girl and I knew you could get along just fine without me. Alex: I wish it coulda been different, Sylus. Sylus: Me too. **** Sylus: I need to talk, Alex. Alex: What about? Sylus: I have been called away by the Ministry, they are investigating a new weapons system at Grassridge and I must attend. Alex: You told me at the beginning that if you got called away, you would not hesitate. I didnt expect this to last forever. Sylus: So you dont care then? Alex: Not in the slightest (Alex looks away to hide the rapidly welling tears in her eyes) Sylus: Then its settled. I depart tomorrow. Alex: Fine. [Alex get up from the table, and turns to walk away, and Sylus gets up and grabs her hand. Sylus pulls her close, and wraps his arms around her waist. He leans in, seemingly to whisper something to her] Sylus: Goodbye, Alex. (as an aside, this is one of the few times Sylus ever shows compassion for another human being) [The scene fades back to the present] Alex: It was another woman wasn't it. Sylus: Im too poor for that, Alex. Alex: Hahaha. Dont forget ugly. Sylus: Yeah, that one too. [The camera stays fixed on Alex and Sylus and slowly pans over so Alex is just barely in the shot and a whirring noise is heard in the distance. A soldier of unknown origin repels from what seems to be a small, airbourne object. Alex unclips her rifle and loads a clip and cocks the rifle. She takes aim at the soldier.] Soldier: Lay down your weapon, step away slowly. [Sylus lights a cigarette and walks over to the soldier. He stops just inches away from his Impulse Loader.] Sylus: Hmm. That is a nice weapon you have there. Version 3 Impulse Loader. 3 second lag, rechargeable energy pack, Omega wavelength negator. Very advanced for a low level foot soldier. Soldier: Step away, Sir and tell the girl to lay down her weapon. Sylus: State your purpose here and we may go peacefully. Soldier: This area is a Ministry secured section. No citizens below a level 3 clearance are allowed here. Sylus: Alex, shall we? Alex: Of course. Unknown Soldier Max Hit Points: 150 Emotion Energy (EE): 30 STR: 5 AGI: 2 PHYSICAL DEF: 3 SAD DEFENSE: 0 HAPPY DEFENSE: 0 NERVOUS DEFENSE: 3 TENSE DEFENSE: -15 ANGER DEFENSE: +20 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 2 Mood: Anger Skills: strenghtMAX, Rage Other notes: Tutorial Battle, Moods, battle flow. *** Hello, and welcome to the battle screen, do you like it? I do too. Okay so, you pretty much know the drill, this is a tutorial on how to use our wonderful battle system. There will be a few things that you will need to get accostomed to, first of which is the battle menu (battle menu opens). Looks pretty normal, right? You have Attack, Defend, Flee, Item, all of which are incredibly self explanatory, but a there are a few commands that may not be as self explanatory. Lets go over a few of those right now. Viewing the battle screen, you see a few things, you see two rings at the top left-hand of the screen right? Those are Mood Indicators, and they will become very very important as you progress throught the game. You also see a flow chart of sorts in the middle of the top portion of the screen. That will list all enemies turns going 5 turns forward and where your turns fall within theirs, so right now you see: Party: Action > TR Soldier: Attack > Party: Action > TR Soldier: Rage (Immune Anger) > Party: Action That may not make so much sense right now, but Ill explain the functionality of this flow chart later. On the far right you see a clock that reads one o clock. No this is not the current time, this is actually a gauge for something called timesynch. I will explain that in a later tutorial. Lets start with the rings. Once again, those are mood indicators, they will tell you what mood each character is in within the party. So if you look, Sylus's ring is red. That means he is angry, and Alexs ring is Pink. That means that she is tense. Moods play a HUGE roll in battle in that they can add or remove status points from you characters base stats. So right now Sylus is angry, so of course his stamina and attack ratings will be higher, but his defense and speed will be lower. Alex is tense so her defense is up, but because she cannot articulate her attacks as normal, her attack rating has fallen. Moods also dictate which skill set your characters can use at a given time. So what I want you to do now is go to the menu option Moodskill. In fact, so you dont screw it up, Im gonna go ahead and lock all other options. Okay good, you found moodskill!! Congrats, You are not illiterate like your family thought! Moodskills are very important and it is something that you will be using quite frequently to help you out of very tight spots through out the game. You cannot use them constantly because, you see, there is a certain point where your character will run out of emotional energy. Each skill you use costs Emotional Energy, and once you run out you must either use and item, go to a save point or an Hotel/Motel to restore them. The first thing I want you to do is select stregthMAX. This is an Anger skill that will raise your attack rating by 15 points for 2 turns! There is a downside, unfortunatly. This skill drops your defense rating to 0. Its a very useful skill. Once again I have locked all other options so you dont get confused. Good, there you go! Sylus is PUMPED! Okay on to Alex's turn. Alex is tense, so go to moodskill again and select Turtleshell. This skill is like strenghtMAX but for defense. Good, now you are prepared for the enemy turn! Here he comes OH! He smaked you pretty good, but thats okay! You have enough HP to withstand it! Okay, well that was fun. Your turn again! Attack the Unknown Soldier!!! (once again, locked options!) Okay, now that we have that down, there is another thing that I should point out. Some enemies will have immunities to certain moods during points in the battle. Look at the battle flow chart. You see where you used moodskills, and where he attacked you, where you attacked him, and now where he is about to use the Moodskill rage and during the turn he will be immune to the emotion anger. That means that Sylus's strenghtMAX skill will be negated and his attack rating will return back to normal for this turn, but the negative effect of the skill will remain on him, so it is best to defend to make up for lost defense points on this turn. Okay, so the battle menu opens, select defense please! On to Alex! She is unaffected by the anger immunity because she is tense! So you can attack with her! Good! Next few things I want to cover. The change mood command will change the selected characters mood at random. It can only be used once in battle. You can also use an item to change a characters mood by using an item or by seeing a Psychologist. Okay, Ill let you do the rest! Look forward to our next and final installment of tutorials, Timesynch! Oh yeah one more thing. Anger <---> Hurt Tense <---> Nervous Happy <---> Sad *** Mosters can now attack the party! Bestiary for the area! 1. Mutated Fox Max Hit Points: 50 Emotion Energy (EE): 15 STR: 3 AGI: 4 PHYSICAL DEF: 0 SAD DEFENSE: -13 HAPPY DEFENSE: Infinite NERVOUS DEFENSE: 0 TENSE DEFENSE: 0 ANGER DEFENSE: 0 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 15 Mood: happiness Skills: Jubulation, Overhaul 2. Paradigm Bird Max Hit Points: 30 Emotion Energy (EE): 15 STR: 1 AGI: 3 PHYSICAL DEF: 3 SAD DEFENSE: 0 HAPPY DEFENSE: 0 NERVOUS DEFENSE: -20 TENSE DEFENSE: Infinite ANGER DEFENSE: 0 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 2 Mood: Tense Skills: Workin Man, Radiation 3. Molerat Max Hit Points: 50 Emotion Energy (EE): 50 STR: 0 AGI: 2 PHYSICAL DEF: 3 SAD DEFENSE: +12 HAPPY DEFENSE: -10 NERVOUS DEFENSE: 0 TENSE DEFENSE: 0 ANGER DEFENSE: 0 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 1 Mood: Saddness Skills: Cry, Wrong Number 4. Unknown Soldier Max Hit Points: 150 Emotion Energy (EE): 30 STR: 5 AGI: 2 PHYSICAL DEF: 3 SAD DEFENSE: 0 HAPPY DEFENSE: 0 NERVOUS DEFENSE: +3 TENSE DEFENSE: 0 ANGER DEFENSE: 0 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 3 Mood: Anger Skills: strenghtMAX, Rage **** After the battle, Alex and Sylus continue forward without questioning why they were attacked, because basically they were used to it. Finally after the field the come across a deserted, and completely secluded bunker. This is where the Order theorized the text was. They decide that it is a good idea to at least check it out. This will be the games first official dungeon. **** Beastiary for Secluded Bunker 1. Vibraphone Max Hit Points: 175 Emotional Energy (EE): 15 STR: 7 AGI: 3 PHYSICAL DEF: 4 SAD DEFENSE: +1 HAPPY DEFENSE: 0 NERVOUS DEFENSE: -20 TENSE DEFENSE: +20 ANGER DEFENSE: 0 Hurt Defense: 0 SPD: 3 Mood: Tense Skills: Shelter, POOF! 2. Cannon Fodder Max Hit Points: 80 Emotional Energy: 0 STR: 10 AGI: 2 PHYSICAL DEF: 5 SAD DEFENSE: 0 HAPPY DEFENSE: 0 NERVOUS DEFENSE: 0 TENSE DEFENSE: 0 ANGER DEFENSE: 0 HURT DEFENSE: 0 SPD: 1 Mood: None Skills: Cannon Fodder! 3. Unknown Sergeant Max Hit Points: 200 Emotional Energy: 45 STR: 13 AGI: 2 Physical Def: 8 SAD DEF: 0 HAP DEF: 0 NER DEF: 0 TEN DEF: 0 ANG DEF: -15 HUR DEF: +45 MOOD: HURT SKILLS: Wounded Animal, Retreat! 4. Unknown Officer Unknown Sergeant Max Hit Points: 220 Emotional Energy: 30 STR: 15 AGI: 1 Physical Def: 5 SAD DEF: 0 HAP DEF: 0 NER DEF: 15 TEN DEF: -45 ANG DEF: 0 HUR DEF: 0 MOOD: NER SKILLS: Worry, A1 Atomic 5. Bunker Bunny Max Hit Points: 15 Emotional Energy: 12 STR: 5 AGI: 15 Physical Def: 7 SAD DEF: -55 HAP DEF: 15 NER DEF: 0 TEN DEF: 0 ANG DEF: 5 HUR DEF: 5 MOOD: HAP SKILLS: Jubulance, Dance of the Pigmies 6. Brickhead Max Hit Points: 150 Emotional Energy: 56 STR: 20 AGI: 1 Physical Def: 3 SAD DEF: +20 HAP DEF: -5 NER DEF: +1 TEN DEF: -13 ANG DEF: 15 HUR DEF: +45 MOOD: SAD SKILLS: Weaping Willow, Depression *** At about the second or third map, action once again stops. The screen begins to rumble and shake and dust falls from the ceiling. Possible Scripting for Event: Sylus: What the hell was that? Alex: I have no idea, an earthquake maybe? Sylus: there havent been any earth quakes around this area for some twenty years.... Alex: What the hell do I look like, A geologist? Sylus: Shh. [Talking is heard echoing from the room ahead, Sylus walks to the door and puts his ear to it] Unknown1: Tell those idiots to stop screwing around. Unknown2: Yes sir! Unknown1: Remember our job is not to pillage it is to find it. I had better get a promotion for this. [Sylus removes his ear from the door and Turns to Alex] Sylus: Watch me work. Alex: You always had a pension for the dramatic. [Sylus slips on what looks like a brass knuckle, and lunges for the door. Right as his knuckle is about to connect a blue light shoots out of it, distegrating the door] Alex: Come on, haven't you ever heard of stealth? Sylus: Nope. [Sylus takes off his knuckle, slicks his hair back and enters the room. The camera pans ahead of him to a person dressed in a Ministry Army standard uniform. His blouse was taken off and on the floor next to him. He was so suprised by Sylus's entrance that he wheeled around and stared right into the end of Alex's Rifle barrel] Alex: Hold it. What are you doing here? Unknown1: I should ask the same of you two. Sylus: (Strides to the left, and finally upward and right next to the soldier) You know, we could kill you where you stand. Unknown1: Try me, slick. Sylus: Alex, if you would. Alex: Fine. [Alex loads a clip of ten bullets, and She fires wildly at the Unknown soldier. The camera pans toward the soldier to reveal that right next to the soldier she had hit where his head, heart, lungs, both legs, both arms and genitles would be] Sylus: (Sylus paces back a few steps and then forward a few steps and continues this until his line is over) So, what to do now. I could have my associate dispatch you or you will leave this place peacefully. Its really up to you what you decide, but it is a decision that you could end up regretting. Unknown1: I will not stand for this intimidation. Do you even know who I am? Alex: Don't know, don't really give a damn, to be honest. Unknown1: You have a dirty mouth for such a beautiful lady. Sylus: So, as I said (starts putting on VibraKnuckles) you have two choices: Either leave, or we tear you limb from limb. Unknown1: Yeah Im up for a little work out. *********** BOSS BATTLE *********** 1. Unknown Team Commander Max Hit Points: 1000 Emotional Energy: 250 STR: 16 AGI: 8 PHYS DEF: 10 SAD DEF: 0 HAP DEF: 0 NER DEF: +5 TEN DEF: -20 ANG DEF: +25 HUR DEF: 0 MOOD: ANG Skills: Plow, UltiBuff, 25 Years and Countin' (special) Other Notes: Boss Battle, Timesynch Tutorial ****************** Timesynch Tutorial ****************** Hello, and welcome back! I hope you are enjoying our great game! Really, I know it is something special, that Sylus, such a stud. As you recall from last time, there is something we did not cover! I know you are dying of anticipation, so lets get started! Timesynching is an art that is only found in this very game! There are a few unique aspects to this system that I think youll quite enjoy! The first is the clock at the top right of the screen. Ill go ahead and put an arrow there just to remind you where right is! [arrow flashes right below clock] Good! Now what that clock represents is quite complicated but lend me your eyes and I will most definetly explain in a long winded, roundabout way! Im gonna go ahead and open the battle menu. Now what Ive done is added a timer to the battles! This should make things interesting! You have a certain amount of time to select your characters moves now. I figure that you are familiar enough to know all the commands to make fast decisions (and if you are ever in a bind you always have the pause button). Now if that timer reaches zero before you select a players command they will enter a confusion mode called "TIME OUT". What is TIME OUT you ask? TIME OUT is when I decide what action your character is to take. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how your character is feeling. Yes, I do take mood into consideration. Anyway, enough with the bad stuff, lets get to the good stuff. Basically the faster that you enter commands, the more time is put on the clock. Right now your clock is at One O'clock. Once that clock strikes twelve, you enter TIMESYNCH MODE. The battle menu will force open and all action will stop, and all menu options will be locked. The only option you will have is TIMESYNCH MODE. Im gonna let this one slide and let you select TIMESYNCH MODE without the time being on the clock. Okay good! Now Im gonna stop the timer. There we go! Now there a couple of things that you notice here. Number one there is an box labeled "INPUT COMMAND" right there, and a sequence of buttons right above that. This is the first phase of timesynch. Now normally, a timer will be running to make you enter the right command within the time given, but I have stopped the timer this time. So enter the command you see there. (Either: What are you a moron, THE COMMAND IS RIGHT THERE, ENTER IT CORRECTLY, or Good, you did pass kindergarten, for a little bit there I was worried. Depending on whether or not the user gets the command right) Now you see that the battle menu has opened again with everything unlocked again and a new menu option called TIMESYNCH MOVE LIST? Yes that is the command we are looking for. The TIMESYNCH command was like a key that unlocked the door to the Move list. What I want you to do now is select that moves list. For your protection Im locking all other commands. Great! Right now you only see one command labeled "Justice I", correct? That is Sylus and Alex's move. Basically the reason why this move is called TIMESYNCH in the first place is because both characters attack at the same time in a dazzling display. It is also ultra powerful. In fact besides moves, learning timesynchs will be a helpful ally. So go ahead and choose it and watch the sparks fly. Yowtch, that poor man! He is gonna need to put ice on that. Now, I want you to pay attention to something. Watch what I do to the Battle Flow Chart Party: Action > Boss: Attack (Immune Anger) > Party: Action > Boss: 25 Years and Countin' (Immune Timesynch) See that! The boss on the next turn is now immune to any timesynching action! Shut up, its not unfair, its just the way I operate okay! This is really why you should pay attention to the Battle Flow Chart because if the boss is immune to a timesynch on a turn that you enter timesynch mode you will be sorry. Not only does action NOT stop, but any Attribute boosts you get from entering TIMESYNCH mode will be negated and the boss will not take damage from the TIMSYNCH move itself. Now there are ways around this, and Ill leave that up to your imagination. One more thing there chief, and then Ill leave you alone. If you enter the wrong commands or do not finish the command in TIMESYNCH unlocking you will enter TIME OUT for 2 turns. Have Fun! **** [The battle ends and returns to the bunker map. The unknown soldier is seen lying face down and Alex still has her rifle pointed at him] Sylus: You can stand down now Alex, our job is not to kill anyone. Alex: Right. (Alex puts her rifle away) Sylus: Shall we continue? The party trecks deeper into the Bunker in search of the texts. They stop multiple times do to what seems like earthquakes, but still keep moving as to not get trapped in any falling debris. They finally enter an area of the bunker that has a safe and a lock, the party stops and tries to figure out where to go from here *************** Possible Script *************** Sylus: Well, crap. Alex: I guess we can figure out what to do from here then. Sylus: Hmm, I guess we should have counted on this. Alex: Well they are forbidden texts, it makes sense that they would be well protected. Hey dont you have that Antigrav Bomb in your pouch? Sylus: Yes but with those soldiers crawling around is it a good idea to draw attention to ourselves? Alex: Well, got any other ideas? Sylus: No, but I dont want the whole world knowing we are here. Alex: We have to do something. Sylus: You're right. We will do something. [Sylus exits the room and dissappears for a while, Alex waits for about thirty seconds and Sylus comes back with the Soldier they beat up. Sylus throws him in front of the safe and begins to put on his knuckle. The soldier is still visibly shaken at the whole interaction and sits up] Unknown: HEY! WHAT THE HELL! Sylus: Tell us the combination. Unknown: Even if I did know it, I would never tell it to the likes of you! Sylus: Still an indignant little puke aren't you? Tell you what, if you do not come up with the right combonation in the next thirty seconds I will spill your blood all over this bunker. Unknown: I already told you I do not know it! Sylus: 29, 28, 27..... Unknown: I DON'T KNOW! Sylus: 26, 25, 24.... Unknown: You cannot sway me with petty threats! Sylus: 10, 9, 8.... Unknown: HEY! Sylus: 7, 6, 5..... Unknown: No, I cannot, nay, I must not open my lips for the good of Strass Mangus! Sylus: 4, 3, 2, 1....Times up. Tell me now or die. Unknown: You will have to kill me. Sylus: You had your options, and now I have no regrets. [Sylus once again rears back, and gets ready to lunge for the soldier] Unknown: WAIT! Ill tell you, tis a far worse affair for me to die than to reveal the code. [Sylus stops] Unknown: Right 44, Left 63, Right 72. Sylus: Say, thanks friend, you don't know how much my colleague and I appreciate it. Unknown: You will die for what you have done today, mark my words. Remember my name, as it will be written on your gravestones. Thomas Redding. Sylus: Get the hell outta here, I am not one to keep promises. Redding: 2ND Battalion FALL BACK! [Redding promptly flees the scene with his men not far behind. At this point Alex has already tried the code.] Alex: That rat bastard. He gave us the wrong code. Sylus: I thought as much. Alex: So, now what? Sylus: What do you mean? I have the Anti-Grav bomb, remember? Alex: I thought we were laying low. Sylus: Dumbass and his men have already scrammed, what do we have to worry about? [Sylus takes the device out of his pouch and sets it up against the safe door. The two ready themselves for an explosion behind a crate. Sylus remotly activate the device and a magnificent explosion is seen. The safe door comes flying off its hinges, crashing into the wall adjacent, and finally falling to the ground. The two collect themselves after the explosion and casually enter the newly created hole in the wall leading them to small chamber.] Sylus: End of the road, I guess. This room doesn't lead anywhere else. Alex: The Text must be here. ******* After this scene the player then regains control of Sylus. Alex is seen kneeling in a corner of the room, and if the player talks to her, she instructs Sylus to help look for the text. The text is actually under the floorboard in the far left corner of the bunker. This will be signified by a small hole. Once the player examines the hole, this message displays onscreen: Sylus: It looks like the floor has been tampered with. Examine? -Yes -No Depending on user input either Sylus will continue looking or the following occurs: *************** POSSIBLE SCRIPT *************** Sylus: Take a look at this. Alex: What is it? Sylus: Looks like the floor has been messed with here. [Sylus snaps off a rotted boards from the floor and looks inside of the cubby.] Sylus: Its not here. Alex: You have got to be kidding me. Sylus: Damnit, so close, those damned soldiers must have it. There is no other explanation than that. Those reports I got were rock solid. Alex: Could have been robbers also, I mean it is an old looking book, probably worth quite a sum of money. Sylus: No body in their right mind would dare enter this sector with so many Ministry Guards roaming around. Alex: You may have a point, what does the Order with the Artifact anyway? Sylus: Hell if I know, they just told me to find the Text and make my way towards it and they would instruct me further once I got there. Alex: Well lets get out of here. Sylus: Yeah.