115 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
115 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: 00062
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created: Sun, 12 Feb 2023 08:57:51 -0700
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updated: Sun, 12 Feb 2023 08:57:51 -0700
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public: yes
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syndicated: yes
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---
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### 00062 {#00062}
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> One moment, Inky is half-asleep on their feet in the middle of Branch Avenue.
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> In the next, they are reclining in a banana boat that resembles a canoe painted
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> with long stripes of yellow and white with deep brown swipes. The s'more
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> interior padding is soft, yet with the suppleness of fruit leather. A few
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> round, matching brown mini-cushions are strewn across the boat interior. Also
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> in the boat are two silver spoon paddles, more for looks than cooks.
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>
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> They don't know where the boat came from. Things just appear. Like that Red
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> Squirrel. Inky moves to holler a greeting, but instead recites:
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>
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> ```
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> "sgb rpthqqbk hr qba sgb fgnrsr dktb
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> sgb qnkkr rwbbs uma rn uqb ynt
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> sgnt uqs ly fthahmf rsuq ul h sghmb
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> h rbb vbqhky ly utrohehntr rhfm
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> sgb kns wur snrra uma sgbm h aqbw
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> uma cnqstmb ruha hs rgnta db ynt ott"[1]
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> ```
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>
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>
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> ```
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> [1]:
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> "The squirrel is red, the ghost's blue,
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> The roll's sweet, and so are you.
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> Thou art my guiding star, am I thine?
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> I see verily my auspicious sign:
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> The lot was toss'd and then I drew,
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> And Fortune said it shou'd be you. Puu."
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> ```
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~
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> While Inky boards her banana boat and recites poetry to the maddened
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> squirrel, Alex springs to action leaping blithely from the branch
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> towards the squirrel. Beneath him manifests a cockpit, sleek and
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> futuristic. Around this materializes a large robotic weapon,
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> octopus-oid in shape. The many tentacles bristle with weapons both
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> fearsome and deadly.
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>
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> Alex grabs the controls, in one tentacle he latches onto the banana
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> boat, that way he won't accidentally get separated from Inky. With
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> the other seven a series of feathers appear in every brilliant hue.
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> The tentacle attached to the boat unfurls allowing Alex to draw
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> closer to the squirrel. As the gap closes the most intense tickle
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> fight the dream world has ever seen ensues, bringing joyous laughter
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> to the faces of many.
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>
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> "Inky, if we need to get out of here, just jet it! That tentacle will
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> yank the control pod and me with it!"
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Alex basically becomes a Mech pilot, and confronts the Red Squirrel
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head on with the Octopod.
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You engage in the tickle fight to end all tickle fights!
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Its eight arms are more than a match for the squirrels eight legs.
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You have the advantage of reach, entanglement, and sucker pads. It
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struggles in your grasp, gnashing its terrible teeth, but cannot
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reach you. Its long tail whips around ineffectively, battering you
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softly.
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The agitated squirrel squeals and swells like a red balloon. The
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mech's tentacles struggle to contain it. Just as the strain on the
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machine is about to become unbearable, the rodent violently deflates.
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It collapses in on itself with such ferocity that it turns itself
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inside out. The octopod, all tangled up in the collapsing squirrel,
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is pulled along as it folds in on itself until it becomes a hungry
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void the size of a marble, floating in space and sucking at the air.
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Inky watches from the banana boat as Alex and the squirrel disappear
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from the Silver Forest. The squirrel portal finally closes in on
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itself, severing the banana boat from the octopus mecha at the last
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possible second. Inky on this side. Alex on the other.
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Alex, you and the wreckage of the octopod are vomited out onto a
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sandy beach. Red mist and vapors dissipate from your entry point.
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Before you is a vast ocean, lapping lazily at the beach. The
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shoreline extends endlessly in both directions. Behind you are
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endless sand dunes. Though there is no sun, the sky seems to hover at
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sunset, all brilliant, swirling oranges and purples.
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A lone humanoid figure can be seen standing atop a nearby dune. It is
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tall. It has legs like a goat or fawn, and a paunchy belly. Its long
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neck protrudes into a kind of trunk that eventually folds over and
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hangs down in front of the creature, about chest height. It
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terminates in a smooth, round nub. No face. It wears a small satchel
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at its hip, its strap slung over one shoulder and across its chest.
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Its long arms hand loosely at its sides. Despite the lack of a face
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and any sensory organs, it seems to be watching you. Slowly, it
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descends the dune and starts walking toward you. It reaches into its
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satchel and draws a long, sharp knife as it approaches.
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Inky, you are in the banana boat in the Silver Forest. The turtle
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that was a chipmunk has holed up in its shell, effectively just a
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sticky bun.
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"You wanted to see me," intones a slightly muffled voice behind you.
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A statement, not a question. You turn to see a figure cloaked in
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shadows and demons. They wear a domed helmet of black obsidian glass,
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flashes of rainbow colored light crackling along the inside
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illuminating very little of the smoke-filled interior.
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"What is it you seek from Dude 215R?"
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WHAT DO YOU DO
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