A Man from the Stars

The party began backtracking their way through Lilliput Caves, but found an obstacle in their way. There stood what looked like a short man made of metal. He stood perfectly still and addressed the party. "TARGETS FOUND. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY."

The party tried ask him questions, but every answer was "LEAVE IMMEDIATELY." They tried walking past him, but there was some invisible barrier behind the metal man. Eventually, they tried leaving the area to think of a better plan. But there was another invisible barrier. They were stuck with the metal man. The metal man, known as the Starman, noticed their plans and said, "YOU MISUNDERSTOOD. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN THIS WORLD. ANOMALIES, YOU WILL BE... ERASED!"

Their surroundings became dark, and an odd neon-like glow covered everything. Cyrus approached the Starman, and punched at him. His punches were quicker than usual, and dug deeper. The Starman jabbed back, and shot a laser at a far-away opponent at times. Jeffeus stood back, casting spells. To some members' surprise, Paula did the same, casting a freezing spell.

John raised his sword against the Starman, and then, to everyone's shock, there were two Johns! A second, greyscale John appeared, mimicking John's actions. They both slashed at the Starman in succession with such strength that John has never shown before.

Vike went slashing with his blade, but the pendant he was wearing seemed to call to him. The eyes of the silver bat resonated with a green glow. He took in his hands, and connected with it. With a puff of smoke, Vike turned into a bat! He was like a silhouette made of only shadow. He became intrigued with his new form, and flew up as high as he could. Afterwards, he returned to his original form by command, and fell down towards the Starman with his blade. Unfortunately, the Starman made a quick dodge, and Vike fell on top of John instead.

After the scuffle, and the battle, the party began advancing on damaging the Starman. The Starman started appearing and disappearing in different spots, trying to dodge the party. There were too many opponents, however, that the Starman stood no chance. It was struck down, and in the last moments it had alive, it spoke to the adventurers.

"YOU F-f4IL TO eVëN REAl1ZE WH4-a-åT ŵILL HAPPEN Tô YOU. WHAT WI1L HAPp3n T0 TH1Ss WôRLð 1F ʎ-Y0ʊ..."
And then, like a device, the Starman's voice died, and he became solid. The area around everyone returned to normal, and the invisible barriers disappeared.

Cyrus inspected the Starman, having great interest in the machine-like lifeform, but not much was discovered. The party continued on through the Lilliput Cave, and returned to the Happy Happy Village.

So, to the party's surprise, John is an Echo Knight!
An Echo Knight can summon an "echo" of themselves. It's like a ghost, but physical, and can attack like John can.

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