Matchsticks Library and Science Lab

((Doc Scratch did make the flares though. He invests a little of his own power in them to make them, which is why he needs the remaining one so he can restore his powers.))

((He's ASSUMING he didn't.))

((I wasn't sure if Matchsticks should reasonably have known that or not, so I thought I would clarify just in case.))

sparkingLife wrote:

((I wasn't sure if Matchsticks should reasonably have known that or not, so I thought I would clarify just in case.))

(( I'm pretty sure Doc gave him a flare. Or did he give Nepeta the flare...))

((The original flare we're looking for was originally to be given to Trace, but that was right before our Trace quit IIRC so the flare kind of went into limbo which is why we're looking for it now. The second flare was made, given to Kanaya to protect herself while she worked on healing Nepeta, then when they both got kidnapped by Caliborn, Doc overclocked himself, and he ended up having to use the flare on himself to negate his powers before they permakilled him, which left him with the side effects he's currently trying to deal with.))

(( So then. I need to go to limbo and find a cue ball. ))

((Is that the place where PI is right now? ))

((Figurative limbo, not literal limbo.))

*Matchsticks raises an eyebrow.*
~Is the Cherub Full-grown?~
~And my understanding is that Doc specifically needs his old flare, so why are you asking me?~
~I'm not exactly a frontline adventurer.~
~I'm more of the in-house backup scientist.~

*Matchsticks calm demeanour deteriorates for a brief second, making his worry obvious.*
~You... can access Lord English?~
~If you can sample his blood for me, I may be able to create something.~
~Whilst your at it, you could get a large sample so that I can get the hardest step of the ritual over with at the same time.~
~As for finding the original Flare, I will need Doc to supply some energy to create a brother and sister hood.~
~After that, tracking it down will be easy.~

*Matchsticks says nothing for a moment, staring at Gluttony. Finally, he speaks.*
~The Ritual is a present for Lordess Nepeta.~
~I feel as if I have gotten off the wrong foot with her, and I wish to give the cause of the ritual as a present to make my mess ups up to her.~
~I... assume you know of the fundamental law of paradoxical balance?~
~Basically, everything and anything has a counterweight, with the exception of powers of Eternity.~
~For example, the Cherubs have Righteous and Malicious forms.~
~The two legendary rings that never exist at the same 'moment' that either steal away or give eternity.~
~Life and Void, Hope and Rage, Space and Time, Mind and Light, etc, etc.~
~This ritual is the same, both tapping into the powers of eternity but to different effect.~
~One requires blood of a Horrorterror, the other, the one I am aspiring to, the blood of an angel.~
~Both are blood of Gods, Ichor.~
~The one using Horrorterror Ichor gives the power owned by a Malicious Cherub, but increased with shadow powers and the abilities of a King and Queen.~
~Once the tap between the powers of Eternity is closed after what the book says to be a year, the host will have had their mind so overrun with Terror, Anger and other emotions of such, the original person will no longer exist, taken with the Eternity that was sustaining their corrupt conscious.~
~People under this effect will always to terrible things, lay waste to universes, for example.~

~The one using Angel Ichor, however, will own the powers of a Righteous Cherub, increased with the powers of a fully realized Page of Hope and, once again, the abilities of a King and Queen.~
~This one has the same after effects of the opposing version, but happier, more bold feelings will cause the wipe.~

~So, when I read about this power, I decided to see if I could weaken it, meaning the power would instead bind to the owner and leave their mind alone.~
~With some... tests... I found that using the blood of a normal prospitian and dersite, as well as a immature Righteous Cherub would weaken the effects, the angel and cherub being enough to create a counterweight for a full grown Malicious Cherub.~
~A bit of tinkering, spell speculation and more... tests... later, the ritual has been altered enough to be just a power bound to the owner that cannot be stolen without the use of the counter ritual that I also found in the book, meaning Nepeta will have a power that matches Lord English should he steal her abilities over Time.~

Gluttony leaves

*Matchsticks returns to studying the ritual, checking for about the 413th time that he is right, not wanting it to go hay-wire and all.*

*enters again*

Doc stumbles in after Gluttony. Is this 11's old lab?

*Matchsticks takes his fez off dramatically. He is wearing entirely new clothes, and is no longer wearing a bow-tie. He breathes out orange dust, then breathes in deeply.*
~Hello Doc.~
~Are you well?~
((Edit: HOLY SHIT GUYS THE CURSE OF THE ANCIENT PENCIL OF ONLY DRAWING IN ONE FORMAT HAS BEEN LIFTED!))

((cecil gtfo give us back the smith ))

*jim stays hidden to avoid the white man*

*Matchsticks sees jim, but pretends he isn't here just in case he and Doc, or perhaps Gluttony, are enemies. He grabs his candle holster by the handle and starts drawing a pentagram on the floor.*
((Sorry, but the time of Darkness is at hand. The day he's been running from his whole life.))
((The Day of the Matchsticks))
((DUN DA DAAAAAAAAAAAAAA DAAAA DUN DAAAAAAAAA, DUN DUNA DUN DUN DUN DAAAA DADAAAAA DAAA DAA DADA DADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, DA DA DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHH.))

Doc asks Matchsticks to define "well".

After making some small talk, Doc inquires what Matchsticks knows about the flare. Gluttony said you knew something about it.

ConflictedScales wrote:

~I know how to make one without using First Guardian powers.~
~With this kind of thing, however, we want to track one don't we?~
~You lost the flare that you made, depriving you of the power it stored, correct?

((Mass-produced flares would be kind of OP--and coming from me that says something. They more-or-less completely and *specifically* negate our buddies from the Nightnight Crew. That's not the variety of power you bring out casually, which is why they're so hard to make: they're for special occasions. So whatever Matchsticks came up with, I hope it's not too ridiculous.))

That's not quite how it went down, Doc explains.

Between the memories that have returned and the other clues he's pieced together, Doc knows he burned out his powers and memory while fighting a certain ex-boss. The flare's loss preserved a sliver of power, and now Doc has to go get it back to reignite his old abilities.

But 11 has the gist of it: he and Doc specifically have to track down that one.

So does 11 have a lead?