Storyflash: Avatar 2

Yo, I am back!

Well, these few days have been really, really busy, with some major disappointments, strange circumstances and other unutterable occurrences which are...well, unutterable. In any case, it was some time before I had time to myself, and it is now that I continue my story of Shearer and his sudden, spoilered death. Damn you Cherilyn.

Part 2: Emerald Sphere (another cool-sounding name that has no bearing on the story whatsoever)

The action shifts from Hawaiian atolls and Transpirers to a continent called Proxima. This continent is geologically unstable, and the surface of the continent is littered with volcanoes, rivers of lava, ash-covered landscapes, and at absence of any forms of life. There are few plants living on the continent, and only ones that do live in boiling hot geyser pools that occasionally spray the surrounding areas with scalding water.

Humans still live in this continent, kept alive only through bio-rehabilitation centres called Sanctuaries. These centres are terribly maintained, and the people living there look a lot like the people from Zion. However, certain sections of the Sanctuary look like something out of a high-class research centre - these are known as the Hanging Gardens, and is, obviously, the place where Humans grow their food.

Now, the problem with Proxima other than the fact that it is literally burning up is the existence of the Cluster. No one is sure how the Cluster evolved, nor are they sure how the Cluster manages to sustain itself. Nevertheless, the Cluster represents a dangerous foe to the Humans, even more so than the harsh environment on Proxima.

The Cluster is a race of...monsters. The term here is used loosely, because most of the Cluster strains can be easily mistaken for a human, even at a talking distance. Nevertheless, the Cluster is of a completely different nature in the sense that the Cluster's primary objective seems to be seek and destroy, rendering them impossible to negotiate with - except with lethal force.

The Cluster is led by an entity known as the Driver, a (supposed) man with the ability to sense everything and anything that his own minions sense. It's kinda like the Zerg Overmind in this sense, although the major difference between the two is that the Zerg Overmind controls his minions. Every single member of the Cluster is an independent being, capable of making their own decisions, creating plans, etc. However, each member of the Cluster is also unfailingly loyal to the Driver, and they will stop at nothing to achieve his desires. This makes the Cluster an exceedingly dangerous enemy, and they have already caused the destruction of several Sanctuaries throughout the continent.

The Cluster is similar to the Zerg in the sense that different strains of Cluster are bred for different purposes. They all, however, exhibit a humanoid appearance (or at least shape, for many Cluster strains come equipped with a mask, presumably to hide disfigurement). However, the only difference between different strains of Cluster is how they work in combat. The Immortals, for example, are...well, immortal. They function kind of like the Cauldron-Born (go look that up). Other Cluster strains are Heartseekers, Furies, Deceivers, Mutants, Juvies and Splicers. Remember that the Cluster are meant to be overpowered, so don't worry about the power levels. =)

In order to combat this threat, the humans have created a organisation known as the Flarerunners. Flarerunners have abilities superior to normal humans, manifesting themselves in either physical abilities or the weapons that they carry. Not many people can be Flarerunners, due to the high stress and willpower needed to overcome the intense training that they have to go through.

That, unfortunately, was only the background. The story starts with a man named Young Pullman, a young boy who was living in a Sanctuary before it was suddenly and swiftly destroyed by an entire brigade of Cluster soldiers. Young Pullman is one of the few who actually survive the attack, but when he returns to observe the wreckage, he is mortally wounded by a lone Cluster and left to die.

Just before he dies, however, Young is approached by a Flarerunner, a man by the name of Scott Reed. Scott Reed asks if Young wants revenge on the Clusters who destroyed his friends and family, and when Young answers 'yes', Scott Reed absorbs Young's soul into his blade. This allows Young to be kept alive in spirit within Reed's blade (named Avenger), and allows Reed to summon him during battle to fight against the Cluster. (It is important to note that Young cannot be killed while in summoned form.)

However, a problem arises with the transference of souls, and although Young's soul is embedded within Avenger, his spirit is free to move outside the sword as well as inside. Due to this strange occurrence, Reed is tempted to kill Young, but the young boy manages to persuade the Flarerunner to spare his life (through what means is up to the author).

It turns out that Scott Reed as well as three other Flareunners: Jack the Hand, Phantom Brigade and Limbre Thorn, have left the main Flarerunner body and have taken it upon themselves to kill the Driver, the Cluster's leader, in the hopes that this will end the relentless Cluster assault on the rest of human civilisation.

Before going any further though, the author might want to explain the Flarerunner's abilities - Jack the Hand can move and strike things at inhuman speeds, making it look as if he is teleporting, even though he is fully tangible during that period. Phantom Brigade can separate himself into many different bodies, of which only one is real - the others are like Naruto's shadow clones, except for the fact that they cannot be killed. Limbre Thorn has the ability to twist and contort his body into unimaginable shapes, rendering him almost impossible to hit.

The three Flarerunners continue through their journey, and throughout the course of their adventure, they encounter many fights with the Cluster, and Young eventually makes friends with Scott Reed. Authors should also develop the characters of all Flarerunners at this point, showing the readers glimpses of how terrible their training is, etc.

Along the way, they meet all sorts of people, including Rats Sam and Cool Braids, members of the Human Resistance - also known as Humans who do not have a Sanctuary to return to. Together, the motley bunch manage to infiltrate the headquarters of the Driver, and despite the deaths of several of their party (Phantom Brigade definitely kicks the bucket), Scott Reed (depending on the author, he might be the only one who survived) manages to make it to the throne room of the Driver.

However, the Driver reveals to him that the Cluster's motive was never to destroy humans - merely to attain the technology that would allow them to travel between worlds. Through raiding the Sanctuaries and Human Research facilities, the Cluster have finally located a world where they can invade without any troubles. Even now, the Driver is planning for a massive push into the New World through a giant portal in the middle of the Volcanic Desert.

At this point, things are up to the author. No matter what method he uses, there really isn't any alternative - the Driver is going to invade the New World whatever Scott Reed does. Nevertheless, Scott Reed must survive the following series of events, whatever they are. This is because his role in the story is not done - he plays a significant role in the Third Part of the story...

Well, I'll end off here, because I'm tired and I wanna sleep. Hopefully, this is still interesting - it's damn interesting to me - and if you wanna know more about the Cluster strains (of which I see only one person doing), feel free to ask. For those of you who hate reading (ie Herrick), just wait for Cherilyn's