Shroud of Blades

The content of this page is relevant to the Lambda Timeline.

**Meta Content:** This section contains details which break reader immersion.
## I actually made a story!

Congradulations to myself, I actually started typing up one of my own stories, isn't it a miracle?

Anyway, this story is called *Shroud of Blades*, and it's my introduction story to my stories/characters.

So...

Oh and btw, colon story. HeuHeuHeuHeuHeu

Or whatever the hell that means...

**Meta Content** ends here.
## Chapter 1: Alone, Wandering

Julius walks through the bleakness that is the grey zone. He contemplates his survival, his life and his ShadeCompass. His thoughts refer to the bleakness often, and he wonders of his long dead family, and his old ship and A.I. He remembers that, without Colinth, he wouldn't be alive, and at the same time, he wouldn't be a rotting mass of putrid flesh. He thinks of the Tenebrae, and how if he were exposed for even a moment, he wouldn't just be dead - he would be nonexistant. His ShadeCompass protects him from it, yet at the same time, it burdens him. This reminds him of the mass of flesh that he used to call his right arm, although his mind drifts to the task at hand, he has reached his destination.

 Julius: Okay, so, another mission, another place, another time, yadda yadda yadda, this is so, damn, tiring! Every damn day, no breaks, just work. Work work work, balance of the multiverse my ass.

Julius looks up at the building in front of him. It is a pearl-white acropolis that looks like it's height goes on indefinitely. The pillars are made of a smokey white crystal that seems to radiate a glowing white light, and seems to keep the Tenebrae from coming near the structure. The stair steps up are very tall and large, and you have to climb up them, and jump down from step to step. Someone could really get hurt on these stairs. If someone were to look around to see the side of the building, it would seem to go on for miles, and reach the horizon. The large grey doors ominously seem to be made of tentacles, and when one looks at them long enough, the tentacles seem to move. Julius raises his left arm and points his ShadeCompass at the stairs. the stairs morph slowly into a ramp, and then into stairs with smaller steps.

As Julius struts up the steps, the steps he's already stood on slowly turn into a ramp, and then back into the original large steps. Julius climbs the mountain of a staircase. He remembers Chirp, that dark haired annoying, yet somehow intriguing rogue who has tried against his efforts time and time again. This refers his thoughts to Tempo, gold-brand, totalRecall, or whatever the hell the robotic fool's calling himself now, (or that's how Julius thinks of him) and whether the little robot will be in his way once more. He thinks of Kenta, and his continuous failures, and when he finally fired the imbecile. This reminds him of Dakon, and how all of this started, with the Crogenetor civil war. It makes of think of how much he wishes for a change of pace. What he doesn't know, is how much he's getting one...

He uses his weight to open the large doors, and looks on into the bright white inside of the structure. Along the left and right walls, are archways made of a grey stone that appears to be inlaid with a dark obsidian-like stone forming runes in the shape of prisms, and spheres. To the front of the multitude of archways are many characters, people, things, monsters, all normal things that workers like Julius would move from dimension to dimension on his daily work. What catches Julius' eye is on the 32nd archway from him on his right; Chirp, and Tempo. This moderately angers him that they are there, although he passes them off, because he's already completed this day's mission, he won't have another this day. He turns to his right, and sees a tall, metal figure, that seems to move as if it were flesh and blood. The figure is very basic, and it's head is but only an elongated sphere, and it's body a simple cylinder. Julius approaches the figure and begins to speak with it.

Julius: I'm here to turn in a mission, the plant relocation from B1Q64 to K10S2.

Figure: State your name, rank, and id

Julius: Crogenetor Julius, rank: #27, ID:232978, can we just get on with this, I want my bonus, and my rest.

The figure hands Julius a small card, Julius places it in his inventory.

Figure: Here is your bonus, proceed to gate 32 for your next assignment.

Julius: Next assignment? There's gotta be something wrong, my ShadeCompass would be stinging the crap out of my wrist if there was an assignment I hadn't taken yet that was available for me. That can't be right.

Figure: It states directly in my logs that you have an assignment at gate 32. Proceed to gate 32.

Julius: You know what, I'm not doing this.

The figure raises up its right arm, and quickly shocks Julius with a bolt of lightning.

Julius: Alright, alright I'm going.

Julius makes his way to gate 32, to see Chirp blankly staring back at him. She is motionless, and Julius walks past her, then shifts his gaze to Tempo, who is also motionless. Julius never really understood why when people were in the acropolis. He thought that maybe people without ShadeCompasses were like this everywhere in the grey zone, but outside of the acropolis they were to dead to do stay still like that. Although, Julius quickly hears footsteps behind him, and turns around, to see the back of Chirp's head.

 ?????: Get through that gate!

Whoever this unknown person is, they push Chirp into Julius knocking both of them through the gate. Before Julius falls through, he hears the sound of Tempo following after.

Chirp: What the, where am I? The last thing I remember is falling down a large hole... Hm.. the fall was rather painless..

Julius: Please get off of me.

 Chirp: Holy shit!

Chirp quickly jumps up, and raises her laser rifle at him, and Julius feels the edge of Tempo's sword meet his throat too.

Julius: Whoa whoa whoa! I can explain, please!

Neither of the two move.

Julius: Actually you're right, I have no idea how the hell any of this happened.

Chirp grabs the blowgun off of Julius' belt, and proceeds to take his belt off, and use it to tie Julius' hands together in front of him. She then helps him to his feet.

Chirp: Be quick, tell me what happened. No sudden moves.

Julius: I know, no sudden moves, I've been through this many times before...

Chirp: I know, that's the problem.

Julius: First I was minding my own business turning in one of my missions for a bonus, then the figure at the desk says I have another mission today. Honestly, I don't get 2 missions per day, only one, and my ShadeCompass wasn't trying to fry my arm off, so I didn't believe it. When I tried to deny it, the figure shocked me. I then went over to where you two were, where I was directed, mind you, and got pushed into the gate.

Chirp: Who was this person?

Julius: How the hell should I know, you were in my way.

Chirp: I only have one more question, Julius, why in the name of Mike do you expect me to believe that?

Julius: Okay, you've got me there. But where are we anyway?

The two of them stop their conversation, and take a moment to look around. They seem to be in a metropolitan city, that is in total disrepair; Many of the buildings are falling apart, and the roads seem to be wrecked as if an earthquake hit them. There is an advertisement for a hotel, that just says 'Best hotel in Iasiputh', although there are multiple bullet holes through the sign. They are at a T-shaped intersection, and the road goes behind Chirp one way, to the front of her another, and also makes a bend to her left.

Julius: This place can't be good.

Chirp: Julius, please get us out of here.

Julius: And how do you expect me to do that? I don't have my spaceship, my ShadeCompass is malfunctioning, and Tempo right here has a blade to my throat. Seriously, not to mention my hands are tied together.

Chirp: Well... anyway, we should find shelter, get our bearings together, and maybe find a map of this place.

Tempo backs away from Julius, and Julius begins to get up, when a screech pierces the air. Chirp quickly grabs Julius and moves him in front of her as a human shield, while whimpering.

Julius: Yeah, shelter might be a good idea....

The two begin to walk towards the ruined hotel, but when the get to the door, a strange creature jumps out.

### STRIFE! An insane Survivor.

Insane Survivor thrashes at Julius.

Julius takes 26 Damage.

Julius tries to attack, but his hands are tied.

Chirp uses Julius as a human shield.

Tempo charges with it's sword,

Insane Survivor takes 53 Damage.

Insane Survivor thrashes at Chirp,

Julius takes 30 damage because Human Shield.

Chirp shoves Julius at the Insane Survivor,

Insane Survivor is Staggered, and cannot attack.

Tempo charges with its sword,

Insane Survivor takes 48 damage.

Tempo charges with its sword again,

CRITICAL HIT

Insane Survivor takes 85 damage.

Insane Survivor crumples over and dies.

You Win! 10 experience gained, distributed (nearly) evenly throughout the party. Tempo gets the remainder due to MVP

Julius: I can be more useful than a human shield you know!

Chirp: I still don't trust you.

Julius: You suck..

The three move past the Insane Survivor, and enter the building. The inside is rather wrecked, with a corpse at the front desk, and the couch in the waiting area is turned over. Chirp, in disgust, throws the body out the window, and Julius goes over to try to flip the turned over couch, while Tempo just enters, and becomes motionless.

Julius: I call the couch.

Chirp: Dang it! Anyway, Tempo, can you stand guard?

Julius: Great idea, have the blind one *watch* for intruders!

Chirp: Then you stand guard, idiot.

Julius: And have you take my spot on the couch? no way.

Chirp: Ugh...

Chirp sits down in the chair at the front desk, and Julius begins to lie down on the couch. As the two fall asleep, they do not think of the fates that will befall them the next day.

## Chapter 2: Urban Jungle

As Chirp gets up, she sees Julius still lying down on the couch, and Tempo still at the front door. Light beams in from the windows, and there is morning dew on multiple things in the room. The dew is dark, and polluted with ash and chemicals.

A few Beige Shield spiders can be seen outside, although they quickly scurry away as soon as they notice Chirp. Chirp smacks Julius upside the head, and he wakes up with a grumble.

Chirp: We need to get going, we can't just wait here, this place is obviously not safe.

Julius: Yah didn't have to hit me...

Chirp: Tempo, since you preformed that scan...

Tempo exits the building, and leads them around the building to the left. As they walk down the street, several more Beige Shield Spiders scurry into the shadows. They continue down the street noticing how nature has overtaken the remains of this city. About 150 meters from the skeleton of a hotel, there is a large burn spot on a building to the right. On the darkened burn spot is a confusing message written in strange angular green graffiti.

**THEY'RE STILL HERE**

Julius: Dafaq?

Chirp: That's foreboding and cryptic.

They continue for about 100 more meters, and Tempo halts.

???: Stop right there you freaks,

Chirp: Huh?

A figure in a pale beige coat jumps down from a building onto the ground.

???: Look at the gear on you..

The person's coat goes down to his feet, and embroidered along the trimming are strange red glyphs. The coat seems rather bulky, probably inlaid with hidden armor plating. Four limber, almost anemic looking robots jump down landing behind him. Each robot carries what looks to be an electric rod with a pistol-grip handle. The figure himself pulls a rifle with a long bayonet extending along the top of the barrel out from his coat.

???: Give me all you fucking got.

Julius: I'd do what the man says Chirp.

Chirp: Actually...

Julius: That's a bad idea and i'm not gonna be a part of this.

Julius quickly to the coat wearing man.

Julius: I'm already tied up, so you've got that going for you.

Chirp gets into a fighting stance, and the man whips his finger into the air, then forms a fist. The robots next to him raise their weapons.