Two Fisted Tales of the Secret War

Story summary for Two-Fisted Tales:

The Purists used the Legacy and the knowledge they extracted from Dr. Zaius to build their own version of the Discombobulator. The difference was that their version was stable and controllable. They used it to open up a portal to the early 1930s, and began building a power base there. Their eventual goal was to cause a critical shift by enacting a powerful ritual that would instantly attune one of their members to every FSS in the world, while de-attuning all their current owners at the same time. They chose the early 30s because they knew the Ascended's grip on power was weak, having been shaken by the events of WWI, and also because they calculated that the optimal time to conduct the ritual would fall right around then.

What they didn't count on - because no one knew about them - was the Reascended. Reascended interference led to them accidentally opening up portals all over the Netherworld to the early 30s. Naturally, all the factions rushed in to stake their claims in the new juncture, as follows:

Both Bonengel and Boatman sent agents to infiltrate Nazi germany. In Bonengel's case, he saw it as an opportunity to undo one of the greatest wrongs in human history by reshaping the 3rd Reich. In Boatman's case, he simply saw them as the most efficient way to seize power. Both are attempting to gain influence by having their agents introduce new technologies in order to win der Furher's favor. Bonengel's agent, Col. Reiger, is pushing things like the Eisenriese and other advanced weapons, while Boatman's agent, Dr. Herrbruck, is promoting abominations and supersoldiers.

The Lotus have established ties with the Red Scorpion Tong, who were themselves the descendants of the Poison Clan from Seven Masters, and who are essentially the Lotus' agents in that time. The Red Scorpion are a powerful, world-spanning criminal society, with a hand in pretty much every form of organized crime.

The Hand have also connected with their agents in the juncture: a revolutionary secret society known as the Swords of Heaven, and a group of monks known as the Jade Dragon.

The Ascended, of course, already control the juncture, although their control is shaky, and so their influence is in the usual places: government, industry, crime, media, and so on.

The Jammers have hooked up a rag-tag collection of anarchists, communists, and malcontents - essentially the resistance, before there's anyone to resist. However, they've also established a secret base in Africa known as Ape City, where they're busy making new cyber-apes. Their first conversion - who now acts as the leader of Ape City - is a white gorilla whom the natives call K' Tongo.

The Monarchs have infiltrated the juncture through their agents as follows: The Thunder King has taken control of a semi-secret German society known as the Teutonic Knights. The Fire King has control of a ring of Arabic assassins, and the Darkness Queen has taken over an ancient Indian death cult hidden deep within the Amazon. The Ice Queen's agents are essentially the Dragons, and so any influence she has is through them.

As for the Reascended, Saleem has sent John Fenris back to the 1850s, where he's been put into stasis until some time before the juncture actually opens. Once he awakens, he creates a solid, well-established powerbase for the Reascended, so that they'll be able to act effectively when the juncture opens. There are other Reascended in the juncture as well, including Athena, but I can't remember if she was supposed to be there before the juncture opened, or if she came in afterwards. We may have never decided.

As for the Purists, they already have a head start on everyone else, and they've managed to infiltrate themselves into the uppermost echelons of society. They've created a phony, Cthulu-esque mythos around "The Nameless One" and have built a cult around it made up of bored, jaded, and gullible socialites. The Purist's goal is to enact a powerful ritual that will give them control over the world's FSS. To power this ritual, they need five, extremely potent magical artifacts that are scattered all over the world. That's where the Dragons come in. Sir Arthur Broome approaches the Prof., gives them a run-down on the situation in the juncture (it's 1934 at this point, to be precise), and convinces them that they need to get a hold of these five artifacts. He pairs up five of the "classic" Dragons - The Golden Gunman, Tricia Kwok, Silver Jet, Dr. John Haynes, and Zheng Yi Quan, with five "exceptional individuals" from 1934: The Nemesis, Jake Molloy, Amanda Snow, Tom Donovan, and John Fenris. He convinces each of these individuals to go after these artifacts by playing on their weaknesses: greed for Tom, glory for Amanda, ego for Jake, and vengeance for The Nemesis.

The one mistake they make is with John Fenris. They don't know he's one of the Reascended, and that he isn't truly native to the juncture. He's suspicious, and by using the resources of the Reascended, he figures out that the Purists are behind this. He agrees to go along, however, because he wants to find out what it is they're up to, and figures he can best keep tabs on them "from the inside."

Anyway, at this point the overall story breaks down into five different stories based around each one of the pairings. Zheng and David Maxwell travel to Shanghai, where Madame Yen, acting on the behalf of the Red Scorpion, is auctioning off the Jade Dragon. The Swords of Heaven and the Jade Dragon Monks get involved as well. Dr. Haynes and Amanda Snow go down to South America in search of the Crystal Skull, and end up tangling with the Darkness Queen's followers. Silver Jet and Jake Molloy infiltrate Rabenfels Castle, where Dr. Herrbruck is holding the Spear of Destiny. They're alternately helped and hindered by the Teutonic Knights, who also want the Spear. Tom and Tricia infiltrate a party being held by the mob boss Vincent Benilli, who's showing off his prize acquisition, the Ruby Eye. They're assisted by Athena, who has been ordered to help them out by John Fenris. Finally, John Fenris and the Golden Gunman travel to Cairo, pursuing rumors of the location of the Ivory Goddess. They eventually end up heading down to Ape City, hidden in the heart of Africa, with both Khalid al-Haddad and Col. Reiger in pursuit.

Eventually, the Dragons get all five artifacts and they regroup and turn them over to Arthur Broome. However, Broome has lured them into a trap, and he leaves the cult to deal with them. However, Fenris, expecting a double-cross, has prepared for this contingency, and the long and the short of it is that the Dragons prevail, and then everyone goes down to Antarctica, where the Purists plan to work their mojo, in pursuit. The final confrontation takes place in Mt. Erebus, the Purists' secret base. The Dragons battle the cult and various constructs and The Nameless One. Broome performs the ritual and sacrifices the artifacts, charging up a, well, a thing that will allow him to attune himself to every Feng Shui Site in the world. Also, Fenris finally reveals his true colors and tries to go for the power himself. However, in the end it's Zheng who foils the Purists' plans by finishing the ritual and attuning to every FSS in the world. The volcano erupts, and in the end, only Zheng Yi Quan, Athena, Tom Donovan, and Dr. John Haynes survive the conflagration. The fate of the rest is left unknown.

This story summary was written by David Eber, and can originally be found on Stefan Vincent's website, here.