The Chromatic Witch, Ep 1: The Gate of Blue Heaven

[Yoruichi-san]

Outside the Box Studios Presents...

A Y-san Puzzleduction...

(Based on the short story The Chromatic Witch that Y-san's real life alter ego was too lazy to actually write...)

The Chromatic Witch

To WoS/WoD for introducing the puzzle/adventure game format, many thanks. Xie xie

To all the shows/animes I've watched, books I've read, games I've played that inspired my subconscious to have the dream this is based on, arigatou.

To my laziness for not writing that dream turned story idea into a short story for over a year, so that it was readily available for transcribing into this format...;P

And to all who will follow this series and give it life, thank you .

The room was almost completely dark. Around the periphery of the room, the girl could barely make out the outlines of pieces of equipment, stands where pieces of equipment should have been, lab benches with varying degrees of dust cover, drawers brimming with supplies, and cabinets littered with specimen jars that were labeled in a weary hand.

“Are you ready?” asked a voice, muffled by the presence of a light turquoise surgical mask. The man it belonged to, donning the matching attire, adjusted the fluorescent stand light next to him. Then he turned and selected a scalpel and surgical drill from the trolley of tools sitting next to him.

It could have been his imagination, but he thought that, for just a brief moment, he caught a slight wince in the corner of the girl’s eye when her gaze fell upon the drill. But he blinked, and it was gone.

Reclining back onto the vinyl back of the surgical chair, the girl closed her eyes.

“Do it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Welcome to Sector Lambda

Our world is in grave peril. The most nefarious, most maleficent, most devious Chromatic Witch seeks to destroy it through her malevolent tricks and heinous devices.

The Chromatic Witch draws her vile power from her seven Gateways. Each Gateway has the property of being a different color, and each color grants the Chromatic Witch different powers.

Hence, we have gathered you, the best and the brightest agents, here, under the skillful supervision of the most capable and fair Father to form an elite team in the world’s defense.

You and your fellow agents will have to venture into the territory of these Gateways and destroy them, one-by-one, to remove her hold on this world and vanquish her.

There are a few things you must know, though, before you can attend the task at hand.

1. Do not question the word of Father. He is here for your guidance and protection. Father knows best, and has your best interests at heart. Normal human beings such as you and I cannot hope to understand the depth of Father’s knowledge and comprehension.

2. Do not question the above, ever.

3. Some of the challenges the Chromatic Witch will pose will require special knowledge, which should be readily available through the neuro-link to the vast information network implanted into your minds. If your neuro-link is malfunctioning, please contact the BioIT department at SectorLambdaBioIT@gmail.com for help.

4. Some of the challenges the Chromatic Witch will pose may have more than one possible solution. If you discover multiple solutions, then take pride in your savvy as an agent. However, you will have to face the Chromatic Witch in her own domain, and to defeat her power over the domain, you must find the solution to what she has set as the key to her devices and abilities.

5. Some agents will be more readily adapted to certain tasks or easily identify the knowledge needed for certain challenges than others. After all, no man may have complete knowledge, no man except Father, that is, but he is no mere man. Therefore, to be the most effective, you must function as a team and build on each others' strengths. Remember, this is not about you as an individual, this is about protecting our world.

6. Do not question any of the above. It just may cost you or your team their lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Led by a tall, gangly man with scraggly dark hair and close-knit brows, who had introduced himself as “Agent Wraith”, the new agents entered the main operations room of Sector Lambda, burdened by a combination of excitement, anticipation, and anxiousness.

“And this is the main control unit,” Agent Wraith explained, waving his arm towards the an expansive sloped panel covered with back-lit buttons of various shapes and sizes, from which a number of holo-screens protruded. “We use it to coordinate all of our operations in the field. It sends real-time feedback from our agents’ neuro-links, so we can monitor their vitals and receive any information they attain, allowing us to guide them as effectively as possible.” He demonstrated by dragging out a sample schematic on the nearest holo-screen, featuring a rotating representation of a head on one half, which zoomed out and displayed the agent’s infrared signature, and with several panels of scrolling data on the other half.

Most of the group emitted the appropriate oohing and aahing sounds. Wraith nodded acceptingly, ignoring the few holding back. Then he turned and went to stand by a panel with four 12 columns of lights, every other column of which was blinking, and contained 1, 4, 3, 2, 5, and 2 lights, respectively. The non-blinking columns contained 5, 6, 4, 7, 7, and 6 lights.

“That ends the orientation. But before you can start your duties, there is a little test we administer to new Agents to make sure they’re up for the trials ahead.” He swept out his arm at a group of Agents sitting nearby.

“Hi, I’m Janine,” said a pretty, freckled girl with short reddish brown hair and glasses. She gave them a warm smile.

“And I’m Orin,” followed a somewhat tall, muscular blonde with clear blue eyes, a strong jaw ,and prominent cheekbones. He gave them a welcoming nod.

“And that is Umi,” Wraith finished, gesturing towards a small, thin, silver-haired girl with pale skin and sharp eyes. “She doesn’t talk much, but she’s a wiz with computational stuff.” The girl blinked at them and then turned back to her work. “One of the agents here is the squad captain. Did you get the memo? Good. Your test, new agents, is to figure out which one. And no random guessing.” He wagged a finger. “Only answers with appropriate reasoning will be accepted. You must demonstrate your prowess before gaining the right to wear a Sector Lambda uniform.”

Edited June 29, 2012 by Yoruichi-san

[Aaryan]

2) 15 16 5 18 1 20 5

Edited July 20, 2012 by Aaryan

[Aaryan]

(2)(2). 6 1 3 5 20 9 15 21 19

Edited July 20, 2012 by Aaryan

[Yoruichi-san]

The Witch was clearly becoming agitated, and every strike only served to rouse her further. Her blazing blue eyes glared at her attackers.

Inspired by his fellow warriors, a new challenger rose to the fight. The Avenger of Mind joined in the battle, with a quick (2) with a (4) followup. The Hero of Doughty Deeds acted in perfect accompaniment, scoring another 6 and 5 damage, respectively. The Knight of Flowers rose once more with a (1), and the Hero of Doughty Deeds once more played his part, for 4 more damage, bringing the total damage to 43.

The Witch was infuriated. In this state, Father could scan her and gauge her remaining strength. 157/200 HP remaining. The warriors were off to a good start.

[Aaryan]

1)

3

8

1

(7)(2)

(2)(2)

5

12

9

5

18

Edited July 21, 2012 by Aaryan

[Aaryan]

3)

11

18

25

16

20

15

(7)(2)

9

20

5

[Aaryan]

5)

13

21

(7)(2)

9

6

9

3

9

5

(7)(2)

20

[Aaryan]

6)

15

19

20

5

(7)(2)

19

9

2

12

25

[Aaryan]

7)

20

15

18

18

5

(7)(2)

20

[Aaryan]

8)

(2)(2)

18

1

7

15

(7)(2)

[Aaryan]

9)

3

15

18

15

(7)(2)

1

[Aaryan]

10)

(2)(2)

5

3

1

16

9

20

1

20

5

[Yoruichi-san]

Sensing the Witch's distress, the Avenger of Mind drew up his strength once more and paired with the Knight of Flower's (1), scoring another 4. Then he launched a quick succession, accompanied by the Hero of Doughty Deeds, using sequence (3,5,6,7,8,9,10) for a whopping 26 more damage, bringing the Witch's HP to 127/200.

All the warriors felt their energy returning, and they shared looks, preparing their next onslaught. As the first was about to proceed, however...

The Blue Witch put her hands on her head and crouched as if in pain. Blue veins pulsed and protruded from under her porcelain skin. Her slender form writhed and spasmed. Suddenly, she threw her arms and head back, blue light pouring forth from her eyes and her mouth. Her skin seemed to crack where the veins were and through the cracks, the intense blue light shone also. Her long silver hair, glowing blue in the light, seemed to stand straight behind her, fanned out in a shining circle.

She held out an arm towards the suspension of numbers, drawing some towards her...1,7,8,9. As they contacted her form, they seemed to be absorbed into her, replenishing her strength in the process. Renewed, the Witch glared at the agents.

Selvaria, the Blue Witch SECOND FORM

You are no longer allowed to use 1,7,8,9. Additional words will be sent to you. You may use the previous words that you have not hinted to already. Guesses to words with hints that use 1,7,8,9 are no longer valid. The number that was out of reach before is still out of reach. Good luck!

Edited July 21, 2012 by Yoruichi-san

[MikeD]

0 ) 2 . 4 5 6 ( , ..

(.) )6 )2 ) )4 5 20 ) ), 25

(4) ) 2 5 ), ) 20 20 )0 )5 )4

(5) 2 5 )2 )2 9 . )5 ).. 5

[DudleyDude]

0 ) . 3 4

()3) )6 ) ), .. ) ,

()4) ) 3 .) )3 5 )4

()5) 5 )4 .0 5 ), .0 ) .. )4

[Aaryan]

22 / 2)

665 / 35

30 / 2

36 / 2

(2)(2)

(3)(3)

(2)(2)

[Aaryan]

36 / 3)

30 / 2

36 / 2

3

200 / 25

5

665 / 35

20

36 / 2

2 / 2

20

5

[Aaryan]

26 / 2)

665 / 35

3

(3)(3)

5

322 / 23

20

(3)(3)

665 / 35

20

[Aaryan]

322 / 23)

352 / 22

30 / 2

3

22 / 2

5

20

[Aaryan]

30 / 2)

35 / 5

30 / 2

665 / 35

665 / 35

2 / 2

26 / 2

5

36 / 2

[Aaryan]

Sorry, I realize my last few hints are not allowed. Please forget about them.

[Aaryan]

0 ) 2 3 ( 5 6 . .. ...

))

) ...

) 5

) ..

(

...

(

0 ) 2 3 ( 5 6 . .. ...

) 2

)5

) ..

3

..

5

) ...

20

) ..

)

20

5

0 ) 2 3 ( 5 6 . .. ...

) 3

) ...

3

...

5

)(

20

...

) ...

20

0 ) 2 3 ( 5 6 . .. ...

)(

)6

)5

3

))

5

20

Edited July 22, 2012 by Aaryan

[Aaryan]

0 ) 2 3 ( 5 6 . .. ...

) 5

.

) 5

) ...

) ...

)

) 3

5

) ..

[MikeD]

6) )5 2 ).. 5 )( 2) .. )5 2) )..

() . ) )4 4 .. 4 ) 20 5

,) 20 ), .. 22 .. ) )2

..) )5 2 6 2) ).. . ) 20 5

)0) )5 20 20 5 ), )..

))) 20 5 ). )6 5 ), ) 20 5

)2) ).. 5 )4 20 .. 5 )4 20

).) )5 ), 4 5 ), )2 25

)4) 2 ) )6 20 .. ).. 20

)5) ). ) )2 .. ( )4

Edited July 22, 2012 by MikeD

[Yoruichi-san]

Barely phased by the Blue Witch's transformation, the warriors pressed the attack. The Champion of Unknown words and the Hero of Doughty Deeds paired up for two sets of triple attacks, the Champion's (3,4,5) and the Hero's (13,14,15), for 31 damage in all.

Next the ambitious Avenger of Mind took center stage, signalling to both the Hero and the Champion for attacks (11,12,13,14), and they flanked the Witch for a might 30 damage. Lastly the Avenger and the Hero finished the sequence with (15) for another 3 damage.

The Witch's mouth opened in a silent scream and she lashed violently at the warriors with her glowing limbs, but they expertly evaded.

Their adrenaline pumping so hard they could feel it drumming upon their ears, the Champion of Unknown Worlds summoned up strength from his deepest recesses and unleashed a furious slew of attacks, obliged by the Hero of Doughty Deeds, (6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14) for a fantastic 44 more damage, bringing the Witch's HP down to a meager 19/200.

The Witch's defeat was near, they could taste it. The Hero leapt at the Blue Witch, preparing the finishing blow, but as his weapon was about to pierce her form, there was an explosion of light that threw him back. She had dismissed all traces of her physical form and now existed solely as a ball of blue light that bathed the space in its blinding radiance. She absorbed the nearest number, a 6.

The warriors attempted to regain themselves to coordinate the final attack, but they could barely make out what was just in front of them, and could not make out the features of the space around them. The final challenge.

Selvaria, the Blue Witch FINAL FORM

You are now not allowed to use 6, and another two numbers, which will be PMed to you. Also, you are not allowed to use parenthesis (()) anymore, except to denote the word you're hinting at.

A final list will be PMed to you. Guesses to previous hints are no longer valid. You may still hint at words from previous lists you have not previously hinted at. Good job so far, and good luck!

Edited July 22, 2012 by Yoruichi-san

[Yoruichi-san]

Sorry, clarification:

0 was absorbed as well.