305/Sarra's Desert Castle Adventure

Sarra's Desert Castle Adventure
Date of Scene:	11 July 2015
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Allyn and the crew of the Serenity rescue a princess from a monster-filled castle!
Cast of Characters:	Sarracenia, 307, 273, 521

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Sarracenia has posed:
     Random Desert Planetoid-1934231...or whatever.

     There have been reports coming in that a castle suddenly appeared in the deep desert, filled with plant creatures that won't let anyone near it. This naturally makes people wonder what's inside, and where the castle came from. And to make things more interesting, some of the locals got into a scrape with the defenders of the castle, so now the local authorities are offering a reward for information about the castle.

     And rumor has it that a beautiful princess is trapped in the castle, being held hostage by those plant people. If any heroes were to respond to that rumor, they would find themselves deep in a scorching desert with the sands whipping at them thanks to the heavy winds. All the more incentive to get inside the castle. The walls are several stories tall, and strange plant creatures with large red tulip-like heads filled with sharp teeth patrol the walls, while cactus creatures comprised of five person-sized orbs of spikey greenery patrol the ground. While the cacti are unarmed, the piranha plants carry spears and most wear helmets that one might see on an old spanish soldier. There is one large wooden gate that leads into the castle, well guarded, and several smaller doors that have less guards. Usually one to a door.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn arrives, not having really expected to end up in some desert in his wolf form, he shifts, changing into a cheetah instead, since he doesn't really have any other form that is very desert friendly. Well, he has a few bird forms, but still. He stalks curiously through the desert, at least until he spots those plant things that he'd heard wont let anyone near the castle.

Well he's not really a 'person' right now anyway and wonders if they might just think of him as 'wildlife' it has worked in other situations anyway, but what to test that theory with? Ah well, the cactus things would probably be the best bet, they might be spiky, but at least they aren't carrying pointy sticks to jab into a curious cat. So, he takes a chance and prowls closer to one of the cactus creatures, though not too close, he knows better than to go pouncing spiky looking things, cactus are almost as bad as porcupines.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Well, the crew of the Firefly-class transport has been to this Desert Planetoid 431986-something or other before. Had a pretty decent payoff last time they visited, too. And so, it's likely in search of some more work that the ragtag-looking ship is seen breaking atmosphere and heading towards one of the local landing ports not far from this mysterious castle, as fate would have it.

    "Gorramit Wash!" shouts a familiar voice, as Serenity's captain darts into the ship's cockpit. "If I hear one more alarm from us passing that close to something again....." Mal sort of trails off there, realizing he doesn't actually have anything to finish the threat with.

    As Serenity heads over and begins to hover down to the landing pad, Mal peers out of a porthole, looking back at the large structure that the ship very nearly just ran into. "What in the fay-fay duh pee-yen is that, anyway?" he asks, looking back at the castle.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye pokes her head over Mal's shoulder. "All the yelling." She begins, but stops short upon seeing the castle. Her jaw drops as she stares at it. "I got no idea." She replies. "I mean it looks like a castle, don't it? But what's it doin all the way out here?"

Sarracenia has posed:
     When Allyn approaches, the cactus creature turns the top orb of its body, which has a rather happy looking face on it, then...tries to crash down right on the cat, promising plenty of prickling from needles should Allyn not be fast enough to get out of the way. Of course, it is a pretty slow cactus, and he is a fast cat. Once it his the sand, it takes the cactus a few moments to collect itself, giving him a chance to get by or enact some plan to hurt it.

     As the ship flies by, many of the guards look up at it, and even on that quick pass they might have noticed a pair of bullets as large as a person have fired from cannons on the walls. Although slow...very slow...they track the movements of the Serenity, and once it lands it is only a matter of time before they reach it.

     Upon closer inspection, it is indeed a castle. Made of large sandstone blocks, complete with turrets and parapets and all that stuff. And there are plenty of turrets, each sporting several of those cannons that already fired on the Serenity. Within the castle walls, the castle proper is really more like a tower. It has a large base, but after the first floor it extends up like a spindle, and at the top is a teardrop-shaped room with iron grates on the windows. And out of one of those windows, a lovely young woman with red hair is staring out forlornly.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn nimbly dodges out of the way with all the grace and style a cat can muster. Ok, so the creatures will attack even something that'd be considered 'wildlife' the cat gives a sigh, he will just have to be careful of these things. He looks up a moment and blinks as something flies overhead, maybe this place has really large birds of prey?

He spies the window as well when he looks up and ponders changing into a bird, but that'd be too easy and not quite as fun he doesn't think. Swatting at the cacti monster wouldn't be smart either, too many spiky bits to take a chance of. He does hiss at the creature though and then dashes off to look for another way to get inside the castle. Well, maybe there are people on that flying thing, so he dashes off in their direction, stopping to swat with his claws at some of not so spiky plants as he heads shipwards.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    The crew has just begun to step out from the ship's front-facing bay doors into the desert heat when Serenity's redheaded pilot shouts out from the inside of the ship.

    "MAL! We've got incoming!"

    "Bun tyen-shung duh ee-dway ro... Zoe! Get her back up in the air!" shouts the captain, hurriedly rushing the ship's Mule and its load of cargo out of the main doors, along with a few of the crew.

    "Get her behind those mountains! I'll be on the radio for pickup!" Mal shouts, over the sound of the ship's engines winding up.

    "Kaylee, Jayne, you're staying here!"

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye gives a short nod to the captain and dashes off to the engine room. She checks on the engine to over see the start up sequence, and turns away to run up to the cock pit to get a better view of the castle, and whatever is flying towards them. Turning to Zoe, she says "Where's the captain going? He ain't thinkin of goin to the castle is he?"
Jayne looks up to Mal, hurt "Your takin' them not me?"

Sarracenia has posed:
     Allyn's swat gains him a poke from a spear and an angry sounding growl, and then a few more of the piranha plant people start off into the desert after him, growling and grumbling unintelligibly.

     The bullets that were fired on the Serenity sail right over Malcolm's and his crew's heads. Just two, but they are she size of boulders. They barely avoid the ground when the Serenity takes to the skies again, then they follow it toward its hiding spot. But, no more bullets are fired on the ship.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls as he's poked by a spear, but he knows this form isn't the best for fighting, eyah he still can and these things probably wont be intimidated, but if they are going to poke at him, well he needs something with a bit more power. He shifts forms again, the cheetah form growing larger, until he's become a sabertooth cat.

He tilts his head at the spear wielding plant and roars at it, baring his teeth, including those sharp, eighteen inch canines that don't fit in his mouth when it is closed. He stretches out his full length and stares at the plant.

"Ah, poking me with sharp things? Well, lets see how you like being poked back with some real claws, darn weeds."

With that he retailiates for the poke and swats hard at the plant's middle with his claws extended. "And here I was going to be nice."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
Jayne looks skyward, and gawks, as the large Bullets with faces go flying over. Him, the ship's captain, and Zoe have been left on the planet with the Mule, and its cargo.

    "Oh, I gotta get me one of those..." he says.

    "Alright, Jayne. You an' Zoe get the goods off to our contact," says Serenity's captain. "And make sure they pay in full!" he instructs, emphasizing that point.

    Serenity's favorite space cowboy then turns, and heads over in the direction of the castle, and towards the source of the shots. Got time to kill? Go find the source of big bullets. Yes, that will end well.

Sarracenia has posed:
     When Allyn transforms, the plants skid to a stop. When he roars, they flail in panic. And when he swipes...well, the one he swiped at falls apart in slices like some kind of cartoon character, then the others flee back toward the castle, flailing and crying out in fear. They've never seen such a bit cat before, and even little cats are troublesome for plants.

     Whenever the Serenity gets to where it is going, the bullets no doubt follow it. If it goes behind a mountain, though, they impact the mountain and explode spectacularly. Not exactly smart bombs.

     The castle lies ahead, sand swirling around it and a captured maiden to be saved inside!

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye holds on to the wall for support as Serenity shakes from the shock wave of the nearby explosion.
     Wash picks up the radio, and calls into it "Crisis averted. Anyone want to tell me what I was dodging?"

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn just blinks as the thing falls apart like that. What the? ok, that's almost too much for the simple shapeshifter. The big cat huffs in disbelief and confusion. Plants aren't tasty anyway, so he doesn't bother trying to eat the thing he just killed? He growls, but lets the others run off, no need to chase them and kill them all, right? they ran off anyway.

He turns and heads back towards the castle as well, something is going on and he's curious. He runs into Malcolm on the way, "This place is weird and those plants like to poke you." the large cat tells him. "There's a window up there though, don't suppose you can fly can you?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Serenity's safe behind a nearby mountain, at least for the moment. Wash sets the transport ship down in a low hover, presumably to wait further direction from the ship's captain, who by now, has made his way significantly on closer over to the castle itself, making his way over towards the outer wall.

    "Well that's a curiosity..." he remarks, before reaching for his radio.

    "Wash? Bring her back on over. Hug the ridgeline, see if you can't get her back over by this castle without getting shot at, dong ma?"

Sarracenia has posed:
     As the group nears the outer wall, the cactus creatures make their way toward them, swaying as they move along the sand without even taking steps. Once they get near, they try to greet Malcolm and Allyn in the same way Allyn was greeted earlier. These creatures don't seem to care that Allyn is a big cat.

     Behind them, those spear-wielding plants gather in front of the main door. They bare their spears, practically daring anyone to try and get past them.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls at the cactus and other plants. Well, the cacti don't seem to be afraid of him, but he knows those plants are. While he is bigger now, those spikes will still hurt, but he supposes there isn't much other choice. He lets out another roar at the plants, maybe it'll at least scare them off, well unless they are more courageous with those cacti around. "Guess I am going to be pulling thorns out of myself today." the large cat mumbles.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal yelps, as the plant tries to abruptly dive-bomb him, and he ducks away to the side in time to avoid being smashed/eaten/glomped by the big angry plant. Serenity's captain dusts off his knees, then straightens, steps back out of plant-eating range in order to address the plants, whom he's hoping understand some kind of speech.

    "Don't know who's in charge in there, but I'm real hopeful that it's not someone with leaves growing out of 'em!" shouts the Captain, addressing the plants on the wall.

    "But whoever it is, ya'll've got no business firin' on my ship! Don't see no reason why we can't work some kind of agreement out, here... So how's about you and your leafy friends put your stems together, and bring out whoever's in charge there so he and I can have a proper sit-down?"

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Serenity comes flying around the corner of the mountain range, keeping its distance from the castle and it's guns. Upon spotting Mal and the others, the ship dives down, thrusters bared, as Wash attempts to land atop the group of cactus beings, burning them alive, and landing the ship in one fell swoop.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The cacti are successfully burned, but that pretty much negates any chance of Malcolm making a peaceful solution. The plant guards all let out little roars as their spikey bretheren are burned, then there is a *pow* as the cannons fire again. This time, there are plenty of bullets for all. Grinning missiles fly in toward each person, and several more toward the ship!

     As those explosive bullets fly in, the guards close in, spears held out in front of them. "Heeeelp!" they can hear just barely over the swirling winds.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn growls as bullets come flying at them, well that's not going to be too goo when they hit them. Well, he's just too large to move out of the way quickly, but those huge things are probably going to hurt when they do hit. He thinks for a few moments, growling a bit in frustration. Should he change intoa falcon and fly away, leaving the other person to fend for themselves?

No, that's not his style at all. The large cat shifts again, it probably wont do too much good and will still hurt if those bullets hit, but he's not too worried about himself, protect others when he can, even if he doesn't know. He shifts into a huge tortoise with a thick shell and draws his head and limbs as far inside as he can, sitting there on the ground like a giant wall.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Damnit Wash!!" shouts Mal, into his radio.

    The space captain is forced to make a hasty getaway from an oncoming Bullet. He pulls his sidearm from his hip, and takes aim at a few of the closer plants, squeezing off a round or two as they close in.

    "So help me, Wash! If you crash my spaceship!" shouts Mal, again, before changing frequencies. "Jayne, drop the cargo, and get over here!" he calls, over the sound of Serenity's engine, and his own gunfire. "And please tell me you brought grenades..."

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
The hydraulic door to Serenity's cargo bay slowly begins to hiss open. Wash mutters "I think you mean to say 'Thank you for saving my life Wash." With his radio smartly off. The Engines hum as the ship prepares for take off as soon as possible.
     A grin crosses Jayne's face as he tears a cylindrical explosive from his bandoleer. "Wouldn't leave home without em'" With his other hand, he draws his knife, cuts the lines holding down the various boxes on the mule, and gives them a quick kick, sending them tumbling towards whatever might be chasing them.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The bullets are not exactly fast, but as Kaylee found out earlier, they pack quite a punch. When Allyn transforms into a giant turtle, he is hammered hard by the explosive Bullet Bill, which no doubt sends him skittering across the sand several feet. When Malcolm dodges, the bullet hits the ground and explodes just as hard, sending sand flying everywhere.

     And when the bullets impact the Serenity...well, there are lots of explosions, but nothing really happens except they rock the ship. Then, the plant guards push inward toward the heroes, trying to spear them.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn grunts as he goes skittering across the sand as the bullet hits and explodes on him, probably chipping out a chunk of the shell. It also has him landing upside down on his shell, now that's kind of embarassing.

Ah well, that's enough playing around with strange plant creatures and bullets or whatever they are. He shifts again, this time to a falcon and flies up to the window and perches on the edge of it. He tilts his head at the woman inside and peers at her, "Ok, just what is going on here? What are those weird things?"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Gorramit!" shouts Mal, again rushing away from the advancing plant spearmen as he fires off a few more rounds. "If you brought that grenades, know would sure be as fine a time as any to use 'em, Jayne!" he adds, popping off to fire off another pair of shots as he makes his way towards Serenity's open bay doors.

    "Jayne, get the Mule on here!" he shouts, readying himself by the hydraulic bay doors.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye catches herself of the door as the ship rocks from the bullet blow. She runs down through the ship towards the engine room to assess the damage.
Jayne pulls the pin on the grenade and tosses over hand at the cactus folk. He straps down his goggles, and tightens his grip on the mule's controls, steering it towards Serenity's doors, and possibly right past a certain turtle. He accelerates speeding towards the ship.
"Go shi." Kaylee curses upon entering the engine room. She hits a few buttons, and reroutes a tube to disable the flashing alarm lights present in the engine room. As soon as she can, she turns around and bolts out of the engine room towards the cargo bay. Standing in the door to the common area and the bay, she shouts out to Mal "Captain, we got trouble!" She speeds up, talking in barely comprehensible technobabble "Port side locks got shot, the atmo coils in the engine's striped to pieces. I tried to reroute the power from starboard, but the starboard engine ain't got enough juice to get Serenity up for long, and she's gonna be shakey if she does fly."

Sarracenia has posed:
     The plant people laugh as Allyn goes sliding through the sand. Thinking an upside down turtle is no threat, the go after Mal! Who's shots poke holes in the plant people, sending a few falling to the ground, howling in agony. There are a few left outside, and those cannons are still there. Which fire another volley of shots at this point.

     Of course, Allyn is a bird on a window, so when the bullet flies at him, it is right toward that window. So, the woman within, who appears to be a princess judging by her poofy gown and golden crown, yelps! "Get away! There's a Bullet Bill coming right at you!" She waves emphatically for Allyn to flee the bullet.

     Another volley is also fired at the Serenity. While they might not have punctured the hull, how many hits can a ship take from explosives? Kaylee may find out!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn blinks at the woman and then nods and he takes off and flies off and hmms, he wonders if those things will follow you? He flies towards the bullet bill and then to the elft of it, "Hey, do you follow things?" and then flies for the canon that it was shot from, only to pull up t the last moment.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal's sprinting for the bay doors of Serenity, ahead of the plant people chasing after him, and aside of one very awkward sliding turtle. For a brief moment, the captain and the turtle are actually perfectly side-by-side, and he locks eyes with the sliding sea creature for a moment or two.

    "Wuh duh ma huh tah duh fong kwon duh wai shung..." (Holy Mother of God and All Her Wacky Nephews)

    "Wash! Get us in the air before the plant people get here!" he shouts.

    Mal's just barely made it onto the ship, and he's trying to sprint quickly for the catwalk in order to avoid being accidentally (or purposefully) run over by Jayne when the Mule makes it way back into the bay at full speed.

    "It never goes smooth..." he mutters, loudly. "Why doesn't it ever go smooth??"

    And then Kaylee's shouting techno-babble over at him, while he checks himself for missing parts.

    "Kaylee! Captain dummy-talk!" he shouts, taking the catwalk stairs two at a time. "We just need enough juice to dodge a bit, and limp over to a repair station. Can we fly?" he asks, stopping to peek his head down, and look towards where his mechanic has emerged from.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye lowers her voice. "She's hurt cap'n. She'll fly but she ain't gonna fly far." She says as she follows the captain up the stairs. "It's gonna take some time to fix, and I don't know how she'll handle another-"
     The mule comes screaming in, and with it Jayne. He manages to stop the machine before it crashes, but only just barely. He snaps his dust coated goggles off his eyes, and on to his forehead. "We got more of them things comin' for us!" He shouts as runs towards the control panel to close the door.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Coming indeed! At least six Bullet Bills are flying toward the Serenity at...well...a leisurely pace at best. But, if she can't move, she is going to get hammered hard. The sadistic grins on the bullets' faces say it all. They are looking forward to causing some destruction!

     Allyn's method of turning the bullet back toward its cannon is successful! The Bullet Bill has a hard time turning, and so slams right back into its own cannon, exploding powerfully and knocking the cannon from its mount. But, it doesn't destroy the cannon. Fortunately, it takes time for it to reload.

     As both bird and spaceship seem to be getting ready to leave, the princess's eyes widen. "H-hey! Please don't leave me!" she shouts out her window.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
"Sir?" says Zoe's voice, coming down the catwalk towards the figures of Mal and Kaylee and Jayne. "We've got a problem... Sensors picking up a heat signature up in that tower..." she sas, looking expectantly to Mal.

    "Shion mao niao..."(Panda Piss) "Why can't things -ever- go smoothly?!" curses Mal, stopping where he is, and looking back towards Jayne as he rockets into the bay on the Mule. "Just once..."

    "Wash!" shouts the captain, looking up the way leading to the cockpit. "Get us airborne and out of range of those big bullet things, will ya!" he calls, before looking back to Kaylee. "Just need enough juice to get us out of range," he says. "Can you get us there?" he asks.

    "What the hell'm I supposed to do?" asks Jayne, peeling his goggles off and walking up the catwalk.

    "You go get Vera.." replies the captain.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Once the bullet thing has knocked out the canon for the moment, he's not leaving anyone behind afterall. That just wouldn't be right, no telling who the person might be and well, yeah someone needs help. So he flies back towards the window and tilts his head at it a moment, shifting once more, a large winged serpent now. He wraps his tail around the bars and pulls at them while flying forward

Turning his head towards the window to look, "If you want out of here, though I don't usually offer rides, climb on and hold on tight, we'll try to get you somewhere safe."

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye nods to Mal. "I'll try. I'll try real hard." She turns and jogs back to the engine room. She rearranges some of the cables, wrapping wires to extend some, to jury rig the damaged parts of the ship into half way working order. Sparks fly as she plugs a thick bundle of wires into it's new home. The ship will be able to at least hobble faster than the bullets, but it's path will be shaky. She shouts down the hall "Try it now!"

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Now, Wash!" shouts Mal, as he hears Kaylee give the go-ahead.

    The engines whine and the ship shudders in protest, but they're flying, albeit not very high off of the ground. Serenity's managing a stable hover a few dozen meters off the ground, but it doesn't seem like the ship is going to be capable of much more than that. Wash has enough manueverability in the transport's thrusters to get them mostly out of harm's way, hopefully, and guide them towards a spot nearer to the local village, hopefully out of the cannons' firing angle.

    "Jayne! Get the Mule loaded back up!" shouts Mal, heading back down the catwalk, for the main bay once more.

    "You're going -back-?!?" asks the large figure, as he re-emerges clutching his favored weapon (and a few others, as well).

Sarracenia has posed:
     Because smoothly is no fun! That's why it can't go smoothly! But, Kaylee keeps them from getting blown out of the sky, and it would be an easy task to avoid the bullets and make their way to wherever they wanted to go.

     The plant guards can't do much down on the ground except shake their spears and growl as the Serenity rises out of range. Even Allyn is safe from them on the outside of the tower. But, despite his pulling, the grating on the window just won't budge. Even with the princess pushing against them from the other side. "Nnng...I don't think this is going to work..." she grunts.

     About that time, the huge gate of the castle opens, and out lumbers...another of the plant people, but this one is at least 20 feet tall! It's mouth is big enough that it could chomp onto the Serenity, and in its leaf-like arms it is carrying what appears to be some sort of ball and chain, except the ball has large eyes and an even larger mouth full of triangular teeth that look razor sharp. The plant creature lumbers forward on root-like feet thicker than most tree trunks, then looks up at Allyn.

     It takes aim, then with a whirl of the chain, it sends the Chain Chomp flying upward, its teeth clamping up and down like some kind of novelty denture set on steroids. While the Chomp is flying, the giant piranha plant looks toward the Serenity, then with a loud coughing noise, a fireball as big as the creature's head is sent flying toward the ship. And those bullets are still in pursuit!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn hisses in annoyance as the grate wont move, well it was worth a try, he hisses again hearing the commotion coming from down below and sees the toothy ball thing coming towards him and shakes his head, not sure what else to try. Well, he tries one thing anyway and swivels his head downards and opens his mouth, at least in this form he can do something, he spits a stream of venom at the chompy-bitey ball thing aiming for its eyes and mouth, maybe he can at least blind the thing if that'd help before it can latch onto him. Though he does ask the princess, "Think one of those thigns that hit me earlier can open this window?"

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
The ship rocks as one of the cables falls out of place raining sparks down all over the engine room, and starting a small fire. Kaylee pulls a fire extinguisher out of a nearby compartment and begins spraying the fire down, gritting her teeth as she does so. As soon as the fire has died down some, she slams the cable back into place, and ties it down with some space age duct tape. She tightens her grip on the extinguisher and goes back to putting out the fire. "Everything's shiny!" She calls out "No need to worry!"
     Jayne grumbles as he moves to stack up the necessary adventuring gear onto the mule, stopping briefly to find a new strap to tie it down with.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal hastens down to the Mule with Jayne and Zoe following closely behind. "Wash! Get her out of range, and sit tight 'till you hear from us, got it?"

    He leaps on board the small landcraft, and waits for Jayne to hit the main bay door controls and hop on alongside Zoe and Mal.

    "Kaylee? You coming?" shouts Mal, as Wash brings Serenity back down to a brief touchdown on the desert surface.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye finally puts out the fire, leaving the engine room coated in a layer of foam. She whips her head around to call down the corridor "Just a minute Cap'n!" She again, tapes everything into place, making sure the engine doesn't catch fire again. She runs back down the hallway and into the loading bay, carrying her tool kit and brushing some foam off her jumpsuit. "Where we goin?" She asks, as she skids into the bay.
     Jayne finishes with the mule, and opens the door only to see the bullets continuing their attack. His hand snaps around his back, as he pulls Vera up to his shoulder, preparing to fire. Taking aim, he sprays the sky with multiple short bursts, attempting to shoot the larger bullets out of the sky, with many smaller bullets.

Sarracenia has posed:
     "They might!" the princess says to Allyn when he asks. The chain chomp doesn't seem affected by the venom, but it also isn't able to change course in mid-air, so if Allyn moves, it will simply fly past before falling back toward the ground.

     The Serenity is still in danger from those bullets! If they stop for more than a few seconds, the Serenity is sure to take a hit! That is, until Jayne fires that anti-bullet fire. The larger bullets take a few hits before exploding in mid-air, removing the threat there. But, with the chain chomp now free to be thrown again, the giant plant creature switches targets. It throws the heavy metal chomper toward the Mule, and spits a large fireball up at Allyn. Meanwhile, more Bullet Bills fire at Allyn!

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn :hisses again as the venom doesn't seem to work and then thee is a fireball and bullets coming at him! darnit all! but he gets another idea, "Get back." he tells the princess, "find somewhere to hide, we'll get you out of here." he does move, but its tog et closer to the window and then he shifts again and changes into a small mouse. He stays there in the window frame until the bullets and fireball get close enough and then jumps into the room with the princess and finds a place well enough back from the window to hide from the blast when it comes.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Move it, Kaylee!" shouts the captain, the Mule already beginning to move just as Wash sets the ship down, briefly, the landing bay door slamming into the sandy ground. Zoe and Jayne are lighting up the Bullet Bills, trying to give the Mule some cover.

    Of course, bullets are kinda useless against the chomper, so the only hope Serenity's crew has against that is to dodge it. Zoe floors the controls, pushing the Mule quickly up to speed in an attempt to avoid the oncoming chomper.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye runs up and jumps on to the mule as it moves off. She climbs up, tool kit crashing as she does so. It is only when she see's the massive chain chomp that she regrets her decision. She sits in the back seat, paralyzed in fear, just watching the creature chase after them.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Allyn's plan is a good one! The Bullet Bills and the fireball all impact the window and the surrounding wall, and with a powerful explosion, the wall practically evaporates! It is only hiding behind a large dresser that saves the princess from being pelted by stones and metal. She's free! But, she's a bit annoyed. "That was dangerous!" she exclaims, then quickly walks over to the hiding mouse and scoops him up before walking to the opening. "Alright, let's get out of here!" she says.

     The chain chomp is pretty easy to avoid, but a Mule is a Mule, and so the chomp slides along the side before being pulled back by the giant plant creature. When it sees the explosion up above, it roars, and then starts to climb the castle! It is determined not to let the princess escape! With the giant piranha plant otherwise engaged, the cannons take aim again, and the Mule along with its passengers come under fire again. And with them rushing forward, dodging the bullets might be a bit more difficult.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn Squeaks a little when he's scooped up, but that's alright. Once they are next to the wall he leaps out of her hand and before falling he shifts back into that winged serpent form from before. He nods his head and then lowers it so she can get on, "Sorry, but it had to be done, since I couldn't pull those bars off of there. Now get on and hold on tight. There's no saddle since I don't let people ride me, but you should be safe once you're holding on."

Once she is holding onto him, if she does, he begins to fly off towards a safe distance away from any creatures, or bullets and fireballs. Saving people can be dangerous it seems.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal and Jayne are now popping off rounds at the approaching Bullets, while Zoe handles the stick. The Mule is relatively quick, all things considered, though it's built for durability, not manueverability, and Zoe's doing all she can just to keep the hovercraft on a steady course towards the side of the castle.

    "Aim for that tower!" shouts Mal, over the noise of the gunfire, and the Mule's engine.

    "On it, sir.." comes Zoe's calm-voiced reply.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye continues to clutch the seat in white knuckled terror with one hand, and her tool box with the other. She closes her eyes tight as the dust swirls up into her eyes. "Captain?" she says through clenched teeth, trying to squint ahead of her.
     Jayne runs out of ammo for Vera, and instead of reaching for another clip, he draws his smaller side arm and pops a few rounds at the bullets.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The princess blinks as Allyn transforms back into the winged snake. She seems...timid at best. Riding on a flying snake is scary! But, there's the piranha plant, climbing the tower, and as Allyn floats there waiting for the princess the pirahna spits another giant fireball and throws the chomp at the same time!

     Allyn is fine, no doubt, but Sarra can't hold on with so much happening. "Eek! Aaah! Nooooooo!!" She falls right toward the plant, who catches her in one of its large leaf-like arms, then squeezes firmly to make sure she can't escape. "H-heeeelp!" the princess cries out, just her head visible above the edge of the leaf holding her.

     With the princess in hand, the plant creature just...leaps down. It lands with an earth-shaking thud, then roars at the incoming Mule. Bullet Bills explode all around it, but none connect solidly thanks to the crew's efforts. Now, they just have to deal with the giant plant! Who seems to think they look tasty!

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    "Pull up!" shouts Mal, as it becomes clear that if they keep going, they'll run right into the roaring plant creature. Zoe yanks on the control stick hard, bringing the hovercraft to a stop; it would be a screech halt, save for the fact that it's hovering a few feet off the ground, and can't, well, screech.

    "Just stick with the Mule, Kaylee..." says the captain, looking back to his mechanic as he hops down from the hovercraft along with the other two crewmembers, squaring off with the plant creature.

    "Ain't no need to be making a mess of things here!" shouts Mal, unsure of whether or not the thing can actually understand him. "Just let our pretty little damsel go, and we'll be on our merry. You can go back to...whatever it is that a fellow of your particular constitution would be goin' back to."

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye nods to Mal. She sidles up to the front of the craft to get a better look at what's going on.
     Jayne takes the time to reload both guns. He rests his hand on his bandoleer, right above his second and final grenade. "Why we savin' her?" He asks. "Don't seem very much like our problem."

Allyn (307) has posed:
The serpent hisses in frustration, seems like he's getting rather pissed off too. He stares down at the fireball and the chompy-bitey ball thing coming at him. He's getting tired of changing forms so much just to try to get things done. Well, these plants haven't seen anything yet, as usually happens when he gets angry he loses a bit of control over his shifting,

The serpent shifts and begins to grow, thirty...fifty..eighty, no almsot a hundred feet long, wingspan growing in proportion. No, he can't fly very fast like this, but he turns so that he faces downwards and opens his mouth, he'll just swallow that fireball and the bitey-chompy thing, not worried about what doing that might do to him and the plant monster as well, well except for that arm that has the woman in it, he's not going to swallow the woman, because well, that just wouldn't be very nice.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The giant plant seems to have no plans for peaceful resolution. Just as he is about to attack again...he notices a large shadow. Then looks up. Only to get chomped by a gigantic snake thing! The plant arms flail before dropping the princess right toward Malcolm and his crew! Hopefully Allyn has an iron gut, because that piranha plant and chain chomp will be hard to stomach.

     The princess blinks as she is released, then lets out a shrill shriek as she starts falling. It isn't really that far to the ground. Petey Piranha isn't -that- big. But still, it is at least a dozen feet off the ground, and that is a pretty long way to fall.

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
Well, that marks the second time today that Mal's efforts at diplomacy are interrupted by a more..direct way of dealing with the plant people. Lesson learned: Don't bother trying next time.

    "What in the black is that thing?" says Jayne, gawking as the massive snake-thing totally just appears out of nowhere, and swoops in to chomp down on the plant thing, and save the princess. Though, she's not exactly home free just yet.

    There's nothing like a falling princes to spur Sereinty's captain into action, and he swiftly darts over, hoping to tryi and catch her and prevent her from just smacking into the ground after being dropped by Petey.

Allyn (307) has posed:
Allyn doesn't plan on keeping them in his stomach for long! once the nasty things are swallowed he flies off a ways and regurgitates them somewhere far off from the castle, well, at least somewhere far enough it'll take the plant and his chompy friend a while to get back. He hisses and flies abck off towards the castle, back to normal size now. He doesn't want his insides torn up by those thigns after all, he mainly just wanted them out of the way. He flies over near the ship, "Thatw woman safe?" he asks.

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Kaylee Frye looks to Jayne "Don't look friendly, does it?" She sits up as the princess is dropped. She leans forwards and shouts "Cap'n get her!" as if that helps anything.
     Zoe starts up the engine of the mule prepping it for departure. "Jayne, get ready."
     Kaylee looks at Allyn disbelievingly.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The princess lands in Malcolm's strong arms, then blinks before looking up at him. Then...her eyes practically sparkle. "Ooh. My hero." she says in a dreamy voice before wrapping her arms around Malcolm's neck. With Petey handled and the princess safe, the castle's defenders that are still able to move all flee into the castle depths.

     And that's when the ground starts to rumble. Then, the sand starts to push upward around the perimeter of the castle. The princess's eyes widen. "We should get out of here! And you should carry me!" she says, curling up in Malcolm's grasp.

     When she hears Allyn, the princess giggles girlishly. "Just fine, thanks to you guys!"

Allyn (307) has posed:
Hey, winged serpents don't really look all that threatening, well at least when they aren't in giant proportions they aren't, but still even at his usual fifteen feet long, he might seem a bit imposing, but he doesn't look aggressive or anything at the moment. "Good, good, glad to see you're not injured."

Malcolm Reynolds (273) has posed:
    Mal's suddenly holding a rather newly-rescued princess in his arms. A swashbucking space pirate has managed to help save a foreign princess, and not only that, but also catch her from falling several meters. It's like something out of a fairy tale. And now, all they have to do it run off into the sunset, or to his spaceship, and it would be a perfect ending.

    But this is Malcolm Reynolds, ladies and gents.

    "Jayne, strap her in," says Serenity's captain, quickly hefting Sarracenia up onto the Mule, unceremoniously, and then hopping up in the shotgun seat, himself.

    "Zoe, hit it."

Kaylee Frye (521) has posed:
Jayne smiles a lecherous grin. "Sure thing." He says, moving to gruffly buckle the princess down. Kaylee looks back to Sarracenia, happy to have the princess safe, and happy to get out of the range of the plant. "Don't you worry, everything'll be just shiny." she looks back to Mal, speaking as much to him as the princess. "The captain will treat you nice."

Zoe puts the mule into gear and swings it around, speeding back to the ship. Before they get too far away, Kaylee waves to Allyn. "Thanks!" she says before literally leaving him in the dust.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The princess lets out a little 'eep!' as she is practically tossed up into a seat and strapped in. She blinks in surprise, then huffs softly. "That is no way to handle a princess! Especially the lovely Princess Sarracenia Sundew of the Sundew Kingdom!" she protests, crossing her arms over her chest. When Allyn approaches, the reaches out and pats him on the head. "You are a very helpful creature. And your manners are quite adequate." she says with a smile.

     As the Mule pulls away, the sand keeps rising. Only, it isn't just the sand. The entire castle is rising, and beneath it, lifting it upward, is a very large wooden ship. Long masts poke up through the castle courtyard, then propellers deploy on the top, and the ship starts to fly away.

     Princess Sarracenia doesn't seem to notice. She is too busy watching Malcolm be a captain. "Oooh...I'm sure he will." Sarra says to Kaylee.