The proto-space version of Makassar was overrun with rainforest growth, the sky filled with volcanic ash. Four humanoid dinosaur hybrids were moving through the city, the gold-rank King in the lead. There were more of the silver-rank dino-men scattered through the proto-space as well.
King and his subordinate monsters were moving away from the aperture and the horde of humans they anticipated being on the other side. They did not want to be dumped amongst them when the proto-space shift...
2020-12-15 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Just a reminder: this is the final week of chapters for 2020. The normal schedule will resume the week after New Year's Day. That will be Tuesday the 5th of January in Australia, my time, and Monday the 4th of January US time.
2020-12-14 22:09:25 +0000 UTC
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One proto-space had already disgorged its monstrous contents onto the city of Makassar. A second one, with even stronger magic, was on the verge of doing the same. This proto-space was a troubling reflection of the city it was about to open up on, except that the buildings were grown over with rainforest and the sky was cast over with volcanic ash. The city was not as hot as its normal-world counterpart but was weighed-down with oppressive humidity.
In the heart of the city, four figure...
2020-12-14 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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As the plane flew north over Queensland, Asya looked to where Jason was sitting on the floor, meditating, as he had been since reaching cruising altitude. Akari stepped up next to her.
“I know he seems frivolous,” she said, “but I've discovered that he devotes much of his inactive time to training. His diligence in that regard surprises even me, and I was raised in a life of training.”
“I rejected cores because I wanted to learn the right way,” Asya said, “but I have...
2020-12-11 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Emi and Akari had arrived together in the main thoroughfare of the village, where Jason and Erika were speaking with one of the reporters. Akari was the one due to be interviewed, but the reporter had been waylaid.
"That story you did last November on mining deregulation was an exercise in buffoonery," Emi said. "I don't even think you're a corporate shill; you're just gullible. Have you even seen the foreign ownership statistics or do you only look at press releases and regurgitate the...
2020-12-10 22:01:01 +0000 UTC
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“I know Broken Hill must have been rough,” Ketevan said, meeting Jason in her office.
“Not as rough as it was for the people who lived there,” Jason said.
“Even so, I understand if you need to take some time before getting back into action. That being said, if you are up to it, we could always use you.”
“Actually, I came in to tell you that I need some time away from Network activity. Also, a flight to Japan and back would be good. With air travel restricted I ...
2020-12-09 22:01:01 +0000 UTC
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Akari led Jason and Dawn into the clifftop house. What was remarkable about Asano Village's clifftop homes was that most of their space was underground, dug into solid rock. The underground portion then emerged from the cliff face with a glass wall offering views over the Pacific Ocean.
Without access to magic, the construction of the cliff houses would have been dangerous and the results unstable. Since magic was involved, it was simply impressive, which Jason was reminded of as he wal...
2020-12-08 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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"Really?" Dawn asked. Shade's motorcycle form made almost no noise but with the rush of air, she spoke loudly.
"What?" Jason asked back.
"You have a portal power."
"Which I might need to use in an emergency."
"Your familiar can turn into a car."
"On a beautiful day like this?"
"Or more than one motorcycle."
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Jason said. "Emi loves the sidecar."
Dawn's senses relied on projecting her aura through her a...
2020-12-07 22:01:03 +0000 UTC
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In the Sydney branch’s media operations centre, Terrance was going through the footage Jason had stolen from the EOA at Broken Hill again, discussing it with his publicity staff.
“The key to what he’s doing here is that he’s not telling us what the EOA’s secrets are, which would get people immediately calling bull. He’s ‘inadvertently’ letting slip in his anger that he knows what the EOA’s secrets are. Instead of people denying what he’s telling us, he’s got them w...
2020-12-04 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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Smoke rose from smouldering buildings into an orange sunset over Broken Hill.
“Shade,” Jason said quietly as he looked over at the EOA media team. “Please find an ordinary handgun and discreetly leave it nearby.”
Jason had spotted enough armed dead that it would not be a difficult task. He had seen the military personnel, mostly clustered around their post near the tent city. Many of them had been killed by firearms rather than monsters. Only a handful of the military had ...
2020-12-03 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Lauren Chamley and her family hunkered in the bathroom of their house, fearfully checking through the windows from time to time. Crammed in with them was another family, monster wave refugees that the Chamleys had taken in. Many of the families in Broken Hill had opened their homes, although there were never enough places. Most of the people brought in from the surrounding areas had been staying in a tent camp on the outskirts of town.
On one of her periodic checks, Lauren discovered th...
2020-12-02 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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One of the best-known locations in the Australian outback, Broken Hill was a carefully chosen target. Its rich history and iconic desert landscapes had woven it into the fabric of Australia’s soul. It was also one of the centres to which isolated people from across that region of the outback had been gathered, exploding the population from less than twenty thousand to almost thirty-five thousand.
The Network presence was minimal, with only a single tactical section to protect th...
2020-12-01 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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The residents of Asano Village spilled out of the hall into the blessed sunshine, freed from Jason’s domineering aura and the unnatural darkness they had been plunged into. Even though the darkness had faded, reaching sunlight coming down from open sky still felt like an escape.
Once outside, many made a beeline for the village, putting the amazing but unnerving demonstration of magic behind them. Others stopped to watch as Jason returned the solid building they had just been occupyin...
2020-11-30 22:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Akari watched in horror as the leeches crawled off the dried-out remains of what had been, a short while ago, a very intimidating monster. The leeches formed a pile from which a bloody rag shot out to wrap around Jason’s hand. The pile then rapidly melted into blood that flowed up and through the rag to finally seep into Jason’s skin and disappear.
“Colin can’t pop in and out as easily as my other familiars,” Jason said. “It’s likely as not on account of him being physical...
2020-11-27 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Strategy meetings to develop effective responses to the monster waves were taking place all over the world. At one such meeting in Sydney, Network and military personnel were discussing the responses still being rolled out, less than a day after the monster waves had begun. Sydney’s Director of tactical Operations, Koen Waters, was addressing a meeting being held in a large briefing room.
"In most instances, we anticipate tried and tested methodology to be effective. Existing sweep an...
2020-11-26 22:00:01 +0000 UTC
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On a busy Sydney street, people backed off as an archway filled with darkness rose up in the middle of the footpath. Some quick thinkers immediately pulled out their phones, so when, after a few moments, two figures emerged from the arch, they were able to capture it. One was wearing dark robes and impossibly draped in a starry void, while the other was looking rather shell shocked.
Jason pushed the hood back from his head as he looked around.
“I didn’t pick very well,” he s...
2020-11-25 22:00:04 +0000 UTC
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“We’ve got her in the guest wing of the main house,” Emi said.
“There’s a guest wing?” Jason asked.
“It’s better than the holding cells, plus only Farrah would be able to get her in there.”
“There are holding cells?”
“Farrah though we would need somewhere to handle intruders until we figure out what to do with them. Plus, a drunk tank. We even have a magically reinforced divvy van. It’s all in the administration quarter.”
“That’s t...
2020-11-24 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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There will be a two week hiatus covering the Christmas/new year period. The final chapter for the year will go out on Friday, December 18 (USA time) and the first chapter of the new year will be Monday, January 4 (USA time).
2020-11-23 22:03:59 +0000 UTC
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Jeremy Westin was surprised to find a freshly-sealed road leading all the way into the isolated bushland area. He followed it to a gate in a chain wire fence, where a sign marked further progress as a private road. There seemed to be something off about the fence but he would need to look closer to identify what it was.
Next to the gate a was a security booth. It was circular and made up almost entirely of mirrored glass that didn’t allow him to see inside, giving it an unnerving pano...
2020-11-23 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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"…brother of celebrity chef Erika Asano, shown here actually appeared on his sister’s cooking program. He was declared legally dead for a year and a half after an explosion in his apartment building, which the Victoria Police at the time put down to a gas explosion. Subsequent enquiries have revealed that the building in question had no gas service, pointing to a quick and quiet cover-up. This in turn leads to questions about how long authorities have known about Asano and what appear to ...
2020-11-20 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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“I’m sure Uncle Jason will be here soon,” Erika said to her sullen daughter.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Emi’s friend Ruby said. “You’re always talking about your uncle but he’s never around.”
The beach birthday party was going well, although the ongoing absence of her uncle was increasingly ruining the birthday girl’s mood.
“Mrs Asano, Miss Emi,” Shade said. “Mr Asano is on his way.”
“Who said that?” Ruby asked, looking arou...
2020-11-19 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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“Chloe, it’s good to hear from you,” Jason said as the video chat opened. “How’ve you been?”
“I’ve been staying with my sister,” she said. “It’s been nice but I am increasingly ready to go.”
Jason chuckled.
“As a guy who ran away from his family for six months, I completely understand.”
“Well, whatever your reasons, the entirety of West Africa benefited, even if they don’t know it. Which is actually why I called you?”
“The outb...
2020-11-18 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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Kaito had been supplied with a variety of awakening stones loaded towards producing useful compliments to his main power. Koen Waters had seen potential in Kaito’s abilities and had the Network recruit him and provide the stones to complete his power set. They started with common stones, like awakening stones of the gun and various elemental stones. Less common were the awakening stones of vision and reach.
The result was a comprehensive suite of abilities that turned Kaito and his he...
2020-11-17 22:00:59 +0000 UTC
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Jason, Farrah, Emi, Ken and Hiro were standing on the thoroughfare of what Jason had started thinking of as Asano Town. He was about to open a portal to Casselton Beach when Farrah’s phone bleeped.
“Category three incursion,” she said after checking the message. “Ready to get back in the saddle?”
“Listen to you, category three,” Jason said. “You’ve gone native.”
“I’ve gone native? You were frying giant worm meat in a village stall on your second day i...
2020-11-16 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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“It’s definitely sabotage,” Farrah said. “The Network is convinced that the EOA is behind it and I have no reason to doubt them. They know the local politics a lot better than me.”
“As it was explained to me,” Jason said, “the EOA’s agenda is built around the knowledge of magic going public. Are they tired of waiting and trying to accelerate the process?”
“That’s the prevailing assumption,” Farrah said. “Our best guess is that they’re trying to get lu...
2020-11-13 22:01:00 +0000 UTC
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“Do have any idea of the disarray you’ve thrown my life into?” Chloe asked.
Outside of her hazmat suit, she had plain, blockish features and light clothes for the Moroccan heat. She was sitting with Jason at a teahouse in Marrakech.
“Oh, I’m well aware of how magical revelations in the middle of a crisis can throw you off. Whether you sink or swim teaches you a lot about yourself.”
“Well, thank you,” Chloe said. “While I may have felt like I was going insan...
2020-11-12 22:00:03 +0000 UTC
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“…spokespersons from Médecins Sans Frontières and the World Health Organisation have both dismissed claims of miracle healing, stating that the success in containing the outbreak is due to experience and the protocols established during the 2013-2016 outbreak. Evangelical aid group Samaritan’s Purse has officially echoed these statements, but unnamed sources within the organisation have made reference to what they describe as divine visitations…”
Mr North paused the recordin...
2020-11-11 22:00:59 +0000 UTC
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Jason walked down the single street of the dilapidated, West African township. Buildings of clay brick and rusted, corrugated iron were silent and the streets empty. The only people he could see were amongst the tents set up at the far end of the town, where people in hazmat suits were bustling about. They had too much to do, too few people to do it and too little to do it with.
He made his way down the dusty street, the heat pounding down like a blacksmith’s hammer. It wasn’t until...
2020-11-10 22:02:03 +0000 UTC
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Resonating-force damage excelled against rigid structures, so Gordon’s beam made short work of the collapsed girder, reveal the narrow hole underneath. Jason could easily see through the darkness to the top of the little boy’s head and extended his shadow arms down to pluck him out. As soon as he was free, his mother rushed forward to embrace him as the villagers looked on. They were all as dirty as Jason was under his cloak.
***
“…took responders several hours to reach mo...
2020-11-09 22:00:05 +0000 UTC
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Jason had satisfied himself that his newly refined aura control techniques were adequate. It was now time for a test, which was something Vermillion had devised. That had brought Jason, Vermillion and Farrah to a large shopping centre in Sydney, where they wee sat on a bench just inside the entrance.
“I’m not sure this is the best idea,” Jason said. “If I don’t get this right, the Network won’t be happy.”
“There has to be a failure condition,” Vermillion said. ...
2020-11-06 22:00:02 +0000 UTC
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