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Message: <blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7919861" data-attributes="member: 79141">Session 258, Part FiveRound 14Borne stomped on towards the Space pillar.  Quratulain streaked through the sky towards him, taking a well-deserved breather as she fell.Rumdoom couldn’t catch the Ghost Council, but Borne had come close enough to present a more tempting target – Rumdoom activated his Icon of Avilona and flew up to find one his weak spots.Nicodemus used his thoughtseize power on both Rumdoom and Quratulain, making Rumdoom hit her and her fire at Gupta. (Gupta responded to the danger with alacrity, springing to her feet and running for cover.)Korrigan reappeared on the battlefield and headed straight for Conquo’s fallen form.“Icons!” demanded Rumdoom.“You can come to me!” Korrigan yelled back at him.  Then, to Nicodemus, he said, “Clearly you’ve never had children. I have. Only by letting them make their own decisions, suffer by their own mistakes, learn their own lessons, can you have any hope of their improvement.  You want humanity to be perfect!”  These words were largely aimed at Borne.With Lya out of the way, Doctor Von Recklinghausen was able to heal Kasvarina and Leon.  “If you want your arm back, you’ll need to give me a moment.”  Leon stayed put.The Ghost Council swept towards Gupta, sensing how weak she now was.  Fast as they were, they could not quite reach her in time. She stood firm, summoned multiple drums, to beat with her many arms, and raised a bone-pointing curse at them. It faltered. Soon they would be on her.Uru caused his ghostly entourage to seize control of the Revolution, bringing it to a halt.  Both he and Matunaaga leapt out, flying down to help Gupta as fast as they could.Round 15A glowing spot began to appear at about ’11 o’clock’ on the face of the ritual site.  Soon the energy tendril would jump there from its current spot over Conquo, at ‘9’.Borne stooped and yanked out the Space pillar.  Nicodemus removed the icon of Fourmyle, and placed the icon of Urim. He left the icon of Baden in place.  With the Space pillar out, the immense golden seal began to fall again.While they worked together, Nicodemus talked to Borne. “Don’t listen to them, my boy. I made you, and you trust me. This is a fight to the death, Borne, not the time to discuss philosophy. I can hear them, son. Millions of people crying out for you to save them! We finish this now.”While scrabbling through the remains of Conquo for his golem heart, Korrigan replied to Nicodemus, and to the worldwide audience witnessing this climactic battle: “By saving them, you mean removing their will and turning them into helpless puppets.  This is what you have been doing all these years – manipulating, coercing, blackmailing, killing, just to realise your own idea of a perfect world.”“You’re right, Nicodemus,” said Rumdoom, regaining possession of his faculties after Nicodemus’ thoughtseize and flying back towards Borne.  “Only I will finish this now!”  As he swung the Stone of Not at Borne’s other, undamaged knee, he declared a fiat, and then struck with all the force he could muster.   He all but destroyed the knee joint in a single blow.Borne cried out, “Oh, papa! It hurts!”Quratulain regained control of herself too and fired at the ghost council, some distance away, to try and defend Gupta.Nicodemus used thoughtseize on Rumdoom and Quratulain again, throwing them at each other like toy soldiers.“I have Conquo’s golem heart!” declared Korrigan, having located the shining crystal amongst the wreckage of his form.“Get it into Borne’s chest cavity, behind the lantern!” said Kasvarina. Korrigan set off in that direction. The Ghost Council enveloped Gupta and tried to welcome her into the fold.  As they did so, they were suddenly attacked by a huge mechanical figure that had jetted over the jungle.  It tore them apart with ghost-touched claws.  “I’ve got your back, girly!” said Pemberton, who had arrived in draconic duplicant form.  Matunaaga had her back too, dropping into the midst of the council and lashing about him on all sides.Gupta then took on divine tiger form, and tore the council apart with the arsenal of dhebisu. It was gone for good.Uru flew down to welcome Pemberton.  “We need to put that golem heart thing into the colossus,” he said, hoping the industrialist might have some ideas.  “Hop on,” said Pemberton.  Uru leapt off Little Jack and on to the dragon.  Then Pemberton said, “If you’re trying to do what I think you are, it might be best not to cripple it.”Round 16Rumdoom didn’t care, nor did he appear to be constrained, as others were, by the aftereffects of Nicodemus’ thoughtseize. Having clashed with Quratulain, he threw himself back at Borne’s badly damaged knee, and despite injunctions on all sides, took his hammer to the joint once again.  This time, the colossus went down, causing the whole area to shudder.“You ape! You moron! What have you done?” screeched Nicodemus.  Again, he took control of Rumdoom and threw him at Quratulain, and forced Quratulain to try and bring Korrigan down.  Korrigan flew on towards Borne, clutching Conquo’s golem heart.  Telepathically, he asked Linia for healing, when she was able. Linia was alongside him in an instant, bathing him in holy light.“Borne, my boy,” said Nicoedmus, “they’re lying to you; they want to harm you, isn’t that clear?  Now, quickly, before they strike again. Lower the pillar.”  Sobbing, Borne did as he was told.  “Well done.  Now the Time pillar, quickly!”  Still sobbing, Borne obeyed.  Nicodemus went on: “Order. Justice. That’s what I’m creating. Selfishness will no longer destroy what is good when free will is no more. People will be moral because they’ll have no choice. For a thousand years, chaos will be no more, and when the watch’s hand winds down, yeah, then I’ll give these worthless people their freedom back. But they won’t know suffering. I’ll have been their god, one who can truly answer their prayers, who won’t have to let evil into my world. I’m creating heaven, where no man will fear tyranny. Whatever empty value you place on ‘free will’ pales to the paradise this world will be.”The energy tendril moved to 11.The extraction of the Space pillar had trapped Leon and Kasvarina on the Revolution, unable to teleport. Kasvarina said to Korrigan, “We have to take control of Borne.  I don’t know how I know, but that’s what needs to be done; that’s what Conquo is for.  To help his little brother understand.”Matunaaga was on the far side of the battlefield from where all the action was now.  He ran across at incredible speed.  Uru piggybacked on Pemberton.From the Coaltongue, Xambria urged Gupta to lift the Life pillar and Gupta moved to do as she suggested.</blockquote>

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