Most of those listening were completely stunned at the enormity of the endeavor that was just asked of them, struggling to even conceptualize what they were now involved in, or caught in mental logic loops as they struggled to figure out how to approach it. Carmelita was not frozen thusly. "How much time do we have before the chaos he spreads wakes Set?" she asked carefully.
"That I do not know," Wadjet hissed out softly. "Hisss behavior sssince sssslaying the Cooper Ancessstor hasss been...erratic. He waitssss...and then sssstrikes without warning." She looked up at the River of Time, and then back down at the Divine River. "At bessst esssstimate...three weekssss."
"And how long until your ability to sustain us as rogue elements within the time stream fails?" Carmelita pressed carefully.
"If Ssssseft issss not sssstopped by then...two weekssss," Wadjet allowed apologetically. "At that point, my sssstrength will sssstart to fail, and I will be forced to choosssse between maintaining the River of Time or maintaining your pressssence."
"Then we'll have to plan fast," Sly spoke up calmly. "I'm assuming mortal weapons can't kill a god, even a Fell one?"
"That issss correct," Wadjet confirmed. "It musssst be made from sssspecial materialssss, and once crafted must be bathed in the Divine River, and bound with blood to the wielder. Even then there issss only one point on Sssseft's body that will be vulnerable."
"The old wound that let the water into his body," Coco deduced. "The one Dad put there with Mom's help."
Wadjet smiled down at the group. "Indeed...and it mussst be done by the onesss who wounded him for the energiessss to work properly."
"So you'll be giving us a list of materials we'll need to gather, general areas where they can be found, and then we'll have to figure out how to retrieve them without causing temporal disruptions of our own," Bentley deduced thoughtfully. "That means not being seen by anyone, not using any anachronistic technologies, and not leaving any trace behind...which means retrieving materials will be entirely up to Sly and Coco, with only a little help from us."
Wadjet's smile widened. "You adapt well. I am mosssst pleassssed. While ssssscouting to locate the materials will indeed need to be done by thosssse who have massstered sssstealth, othersss can sssstill help in retrieval if you are careful. Time isss ssssomewhat flexible in that regard."
"I can carry the heavy loads, once I know where to go!" Murray spoke up helpfully.
"I'll stay back here with Bentley and work on forging the weapons once we have the materials," Penelope offered quickly. "That's one thing we're both good at."
"I don't suppose there's anything in all this I can do until we've got those weapons?" Carmelita asked ruefully.
"You will need to determine what weapon of thissss time besssst ssssuitsss you," Wadjet observed carefully. "Then you musssst train in itssss usssse. Know, however, that ssssome weapon typesss accept the Divine Blesssssing to sssslay a god better than otherssss."
"In that case, I'd better train with a Nekhakha," Carmelita deduced, glancing over at Sly. "Pretty sure Sly's cane fits as a Heka, and they wouldn't be symbols of Divine Authority if they weren't naturally suited to Divine power."
"A wissse choice indeed," Wadjet confirmed as she produced the Eqyptian flail for Carmelita. "This one has magic within it, and will wield in a manner sssssimilar to how the Godslaying one will, though not exact. Practice until it isss sssecond nature, and you will be ready to face Sssseft. I will guide you assss I am able while you are here, and arrange for garb that will allow you to fight in thissss climate without weaknessss."
"And what materials do we need to gather?" Sly asked curiously, ready to make the list.
"There are four," Wadjet observed calmly. "Three are sssimple to come by, though disssstant. One, however, isss quite dangerousss, and you musssst be careful in retrieving it." She turned to the part of the River of Time Murray had tried to drink from and breathed on it, causing fog to take shape over the water before revealing an image. First was a silvery metal that glittered even when there was no light. "Firsssst isss Mithril, which will give the weapon the qualitiesss needed to absssorb the energiesss of the Divine River, and allow it to share them with you without burning up your life force. It can be found in the lake just outssside thissss cavern...but beware. The lake contains the energies of both Rivers within, and if you are not careful it could conssssume you."
"I get!" Deik-Beck offered helpfully. "Rust-proof metal body! No life force! No problem!"
Wadjet turned to the little robot and examined him carefully. "...indeed, you will be unaffected," Wadjet allowed, "and asss the lake is under my ssssupervisssion, you need not worry about dissssrupting hissstory." She then turned back to the fog and breathed again. The image faded, and then revealed an image of another metal, this one having the color of steel but seeming to support a mountain upon it, holding strength no earthly metal should possess. "Thissss issss Adamantine," Wadjet explained. "It will give the weapon the sssstrength to withssstand Sssseft's divine power. You will need to retrieve it from Greece, assss there issss none within our lands. Wadj-Wer will asssssissst you in reaching thossse landsss acrossss the Sssea that isss Hir dominion, but you will need to retrieve the metal yoursssself from the Young Godsss who dwell there, working to prepare the land for a new people. Diplomacy will be needed."
"I'll take care of that," Coco offered helpfully. "I'm better equipped for diplomacy than Dad anyway, not to mention a stronger connection to magical energy. That should smooth things over, right?"
"Possssibly," Wadjet allowed. "Sssstill, a good choice." She breathed again, and the image revealed was of a golden metal that seemed to float in midair. "While you are there, ssssee if you can find sssome Orichalcum. While not sssstrictly necessssary, it will help ssstabilize the mix of metalsss, asss well asss taking the weight the alloy will have off your own shouldersss."
"How careful do I need to be about technology while I'm over there?" Coco asked worriedly. "You mentioned the Young Gods are still preparing the land for a people. Does that mean there won't be a people there right now? Being able to program and use my Binocucom to scan for the metal's properties would help."
"Assss long asss the Young Godsss do not ssssee, it should be fine," Wadjet allowed nervously. "Do be careful." She then turned to Sly and Murray. "The two of you will need to work together to retrieve thissss lassst material...and you musssst not let Sssseft learn of itsss location!" She breathed on the fog, and revealed an image of a quartz-like material that seemed to pulse with inner light. "This is Naqahdah. It will allow the weaponsss to bond with you, and hold the energiesss of the Divine River ssso they may become Godssslaying weaponsss. Ssssly, you musssst locate the quarry which concealsss itssself, while Murray mussst retrieve it."
"Understood," Sly agreed nervously.
"We won't let you down!" Murray declared emphatically.
"I have faith in you," Wadjet avowed firmly.
Ah, the things we do for stable time loops. Like playing jump-rope with nitroglycerine bottles attached to caffeinated Pinkie Pies!
Any chance Naquadria is also available? XD
8671782
You live a very dangerous life, my friend.
Of course, it's no more dangerous than playing peek-a-boo with causality, but still.
Interesting that she didn't actually say to go find it, only to make sure Seft doesn't learn of it's location.
8671829
She did say they needed to retrieve it.
Is that old "In Soviet Russia" thing still a meme?
By the end of Carmelita's training she won't be flailing around with that weapon.
This challenge will definitely test the Cooper gang's metal quite thoroughly.
Coco is definitely taking one of the Greeciest tasks of managing the slippery road of godly diplomacy.
8671829
The quarry that conceals itself?
And Sly must find it so Murray can retrieve it?
I think you might be on to something.
Wait, Nekhakha? Heka?
*googles terms*
Huh. Didn't know the Pharaoh's Flail and Hook had proper names.
Mithril, Adamantine, and Orichalcum? Okay. Sure. Just break out all the mystical/magical metals, why don't ya?
8671845
Your puns suck!
I'm getting an "Age of Mythology" game vibe here. I don't suppose Coco will end up on Atlantis or meets Poseidon? (Since Poseidon is the patron God of Horses in Greek mythology.)
Naquadah? So we got a Stargate now? And now I'm having my doubts that Wadjet is actually an actual magical Egyptian Goddess and not a Goa'Uld.
8671841
Sorry, I meant to say she left out where to get it. Typed that out right before I drove home for an hour.
So, the three mythological metals. This is almost like using the PAL Key in Metal Gear Solid (or Twin Snakes)
So, what are the odds that Naqahdah turns out to be the same thing as Australium / Mana Stone? (Given that this is Tatsurou we're talking about, it's possible.)
Naquadah? The stuff Stargates are made of?
8671873
I thought Adamantine was called adamantium. Or am I thinking of something else?
Coco should be more concerned about the potential to run into Zeus than anything else.
8671782
...God help us all.
8671927
8672023
I'm genuinely surprised anyone caught that.
But hey, the Goa'Uld were basically 'Space Egypt', and I'm going to be doing a DBZ Abridged crossover at some point, and I wanted Egyptian themed mythical metal...so why not?
8672048
u r, the two r actually completely different...
Oh man, these elements all blended together in one weapon.... very nice. I can't wait to see what they have to go through to get the metals... though I can also see Coco being scooped up by a young goddess and subjected to hugs, tea parties, and dress up. But if she meets Pegasus she might get a boyfriend who could show up after they get back home.
8672048
Adamantine is a mythical metal said to have diamond-like hardness, which in Marvel Comics inspired the name for adamantium, a synthetic alloy with similar durability. The first is supposedly mystical in nature. The second is the product of comic book super science. Similar, but not the same.
When this is over, there will be a number of Gods a like that indebt to Coco and family.
Mithril, Adamantine, Orichalcum, and Naqahdah...
So Lord of the Rings, Marvel, Elder Scrolls and Stargate?
omfg, hehehehe I fucking love it.
Good show
8672048
Adamantine is a separate metal from Adamantium. Adamantium is the metal from Marvel comics that Wolverine's skeleton is made from. Adamantine is usually an incredibly hard metal in fiction or fantasy.
8671843
In Soviet Russia, gods have faith in you.
8673068
Take on that as a yes
8672627
You've got the first and last right, but adamantine is an ancient term used to refer to anything very hard, and eventually came to be used as a metal common in fantasy, (derived from the term adamant, which is derived from a Greek word meaning 'untameable'), while orichalcum is an ancient Greek term that was thought to mean 'gold copper', and was referred to in many writings, including Plato's tale of Atlantis. It was supposedly durable, not an alloy, and was lost by the time of Plato. The Elder Scrolls series does use the name, but it is not unique to it.
8673292
I didn't know about either of those, to be perfectly honest with ya, I just went with what popped into my mind.
Hehe
To be honest I reconinized the Stargate metal right away.
The O metal I have no clue about...
The A metal I thought was marvel but I guess I am wrong, so I only know the mass culture origin of two.
N is Stargate, and Mithrial (The only one i will even attempt to even spell) Are the two I know the origin of.
8673292
Actually, Adamantine is also, according to Greek myth, the metal the pillars of Tartarus are built from.
8673364
Yes, because adamantine was simply used as a stopgap name for an unknown, very hard substance.
8673432
I researched the material for use in the story. It isn't just a descriptive term, it's also a mythical material.
Adamant was the descriptive term.
8672154
8672363
8672733
Thanks for pointing that out guys. Something to look up later.
And Tats. Great chapter as always. Keep it up.
At first I thought they might accidentally create Clockwerk but then I remembered he has been around since Bob Cooper. Then I thought of YuGiOh...
WHEN YOUR SOUL WILL BE TAKEN BY THE ORICALCOSE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!
EDIT: That joke might’ve been a bit cringy and more Ra than refined.
8675051
Actually, the prehistoric period is the only one where you can't see Clockwork flying around in the background.
All the others are after the creation of the Thievius Raccoonus...and he can be seen in the background of said book's picture of Slytunkhamen I, who created the book.
8675443
I never knew that.......
Just came up with a theory, Seft turns into clockwork..... If it's not true it's still my head-cannon unless proven otherwise.
8684923
My mistake, I didn't remember her too well.
8684923
Yeah, I only remembered afterwards, and forgot to edit it.
Is it wrong that I'm expecting a 'Can't Spell Slaughter Without Laughter' reference soon?
8671997
These ARE crossovers. That would be cool.
Seriously, though? Naquadah!? That's some crazy weapon.
8677447
The Crab is Clockwerk. What talks to Coco is a program made to fool her and Sly into trusting it.
8706753
Nothing wrong at all
8684904
Am I the only one who would like to see that?