h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

[Location: a sort of pagoda hovering in the middle of a dark cloud. An unassuming old man is standing there, leaning on a staff. His name is Rubicant. A portal opens at the entrance, and Lizzie, YK, Janine, and some others step into the pagoda.]

[Rubicant] Hello, hello!

Well, hello yourself. Lemme guess, is this one of those mystical locations occupied by wise entities who teach people how to perform various tasks, but don't ever bother to perform them for themselves? I mean, there's almost always one in any adventure.

[Rubicant] Sort of, sort of. You want to learn about Trance?

[YK] Yep.

[Rubicant] Everyone's Trance has three parts: Aura, Formation, and Eight Skills. Trance Aura is a glow of a specific color that surrounds you while you're in Trance, and your eyes glow the same color. Trance Formation is a temporary metamorphosis that indicates what new skills you can use. (Your clothing doesn't metamorphose.) The Eight Skills are the new abilities you have. In most cases Trance is activated by a tremendous surge of emotion.

[YK] Like Limit Breaks.

[Rubicant] Indeed.

Oh, so it's like those times in bad anime when someone gets ticked off, eyes glow red, body becomes engullfed in flames, and he either spurts out giant flame balls or just starts adding a whole lotta extra force to their blows?

[pause]

[Rubicant] Huh?

Never mind....

Never mind....

Actually, I got the idea from Final Fantasy 9.

"Plover the river and Frotz the woods
To Belboz's house I go...."

[Rubicant] So do you want to learn Trance?

[YK] /I/ do. Anyone else?

I honestly don't care. Go ahead, teach, show me the trance. "I bloomin' dare ya", as a famous Dolphinback once said.

Make a list of your Trance Skills, what level they're at (1-8 ) , and what each one does. Don't list them here; you only need, at the moment, to know the first one.


[Rubicant] All right. I'll activate it for you. Just /will/ yourself to use it, and incant the first thing that enters your head.

[[Trance Mode - Rubicant]]

[Rubicant enters Trance Mode. His Aura is golden; his Formation is that his thin hair glows and his muscles become huge.]

[[Trance Mode - Yaradovich]]

[YK suddenly finds himself entering Trance Mode. His Aura is golden, and his Formation is that the short, grey horn sticking out of right above his forehead goes from rhino-style to unicorn-style.]

[[Trance Mode - Afgncaap5]]

[Affy can describe his own Aura and Formation.]

*Affy begins glowing a whitish red, and he actually appears to be becoming older and smaller*

Oh, this thing. I think I've gone through one of these before. During the fight with Krill in the Magick Forest....

[{Switch}]

[YK switches places with the target and kicks him/her/it back to where it was before.]

[YK] Hey, that was my Level-1 limit break!

[Trance Rubicant] If you know Limit Breaks, they will become your odd-numbered Trance skills.

[YK] Sounds cool.

*Waits for the Trance to go away. Not really interested in casting a spell right then*

[[Trance Mode End]]

[Rubicant] ..... Here.

[He gives YK a book, entitled "Trance for Dummies"]

[YK] What's this?

[Rubicant] Give it to your other companion, the lycanthrope. He can learn his own Trance skills, if he so desires. Reading at any point inside will teach them. It will then disintegrate like a spell scroll.

[YK] It just occurred to me that GL might not Trance it for the same reason he didn't want the Class Change: worries about BBW...

[Janine and Liz] Hey! What about US?? Don't WE get to try out our Trance skills??

[YK] Er ... [anime sweatdrop] Later! We don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?

Can we leave yet? Not that I'm in a rush to see this quest end, but I prefer to do my learning of new techniques on the road, when I'm in danger of being ambushed by Grues, or something.

BTW, anyone think that I could become a member of the Supernatural And Fantastic Wayfarers Association? I bet that I could be a pretty good supernatural guide.

[Janine] Sounds good to me. All though I think you look a bit to normal to be a "supernatural"... [Rubicant opens a portal back to Mt. Sandcastle.] http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/F44375?thread=117041&latest=1