Scene #6425: The Endless Desert (1)

Owner	Pose
Sheriff Marti	=The Endless Desert= A jagged desert, with no identifiable landmarks, stretches out in all directions. The horizon warps with heat haze generated by the sun that beats down from the noonday position above everyone. The sun is set into a black sky, and swirls and flickers like a furnace, beating down on the head and baking the landscape. The plant life is all desert flora, but it's all hideously overgrown, warped and technicolor, like a bad Dia de los Muertos painting. Out at the edge of sight, a white jackrabbit can be seen that no one can get any closer to, like a still image burned into the heat haze. This place almost resembles the Mojave Desert, if it was a cursed nightmare hellscape. Marti is here, sitting at the dusty bench under and overhang at the Old Train Station. He has a plastic-wrapped tray of hot dogs, and an ice chest full of non-alcoholic drinks. He leers past his curly hair into the dusty expanse, watching an ominous tumble weed roll in a slow circle, trapped by a swirling current of wind. Marti has his .44 revolver in one hand, with proper trigger discipline, while he waits for the gaggle of strangers to show up to this bizarre place. "What am I doing...?" he breathes. "This is crazy." He chuckles to himself. Well, it's only gonna get crazier.
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay's arrival is easily noticed by the sunlight reflecting off her choker, announcing her with a golden gleam. She approaches slowly and cautiously with her hands tucked behind her back and ready to draw her twin swords at any moment, her gaze fixing on Marti. "You are Sir Marti, I assume? I am Cordelay Levail, daughter of Sartaire the Dragon, and I have come to lend my strength to your expedition." Despite her obvious caution she does smile slightly, her sapphire eyes sparkling at the prospect of a venture into unknown lands.
Sheriff Marti	"'ey." Marti lifts two fingers in greeting, saluting Cordelay. His brows lift and a sleepy smile shows on his face. "Just waiting on the expert. Enjoy a drink, or a hot dog while you wait." Most anyone else will get a similar greeting from him.
Shigure	A pair of teenage girls approach the old Sherrif, one brunette, the other blonde. They're both wearing the same uniform, a black serafuku(Sailor Outfit) with red necktie and white trims. Blue and Red eyes peer out at the man as the brunette speaks. "Sheriff Marti? We spoke on the radio the other day. I am Shigure." she says in that gentle, measured tone she always uses. She then gestures to the blonde beside her, who introduces herself far more vibrantly. "Heeey! I'm, like, Yuudachi. Fourth ship of the Shiratsuyu-class destroyers." she says, grinning big and wide. "I'm also known as the Nightmare of Solomon!" she then does a quick little dance, and makes a curious sound. "Poi poi~."
Corona Arclite	"Tarnation, and Ah thought the Heatstroke Valley could mess with folks' perceptions." The drawling observation on the technicolor scenery is accompanied by what one might expect to go with such an accent. The thump of beat-up boot heels, the faint jangling of spurs, the light thump of leather holsters against thighs as one walks. It's more that this very fitting decorium is upon a humanoid fox also sporting a plethora of other anachronistical gadgetry of piping and glowing moving bits that adds a contrast to Corona's arrival. If that's not enough for your tastes, there's also that she's being followed by mechanical jackrabbit with antlers. Said jackalope cranes his head in the direction of the white rabbit in the distance and hisses, a bit of steam hissing from some unseen duct as he does. Just a couple of strangers in an already very strange land. As her eyes come to rest on Marti she clutches on gloved hand atop her stetson and lifts it off her head just enough to tip cordially in his general direction. "Howdy." Simple yet effective gunslinger type greeting.
Septette Arcubielle	Heavy metal footfalls clank against the train station's floor, heralding Septette's approach. She gives her ankles a little clattering shake to mimic the jangle of cowboy spurs- it feels vaguely apropos. After waving her greetings to Marti, she makes a beeline for the hot dogs. Hot dog in one hand. Ketchup-filled bun in the other. Alternating bites. Such a peculiar flavor. "So," she says- perfectly clearly, despite the mouthful of processed beef- "who's the expert? Kohler, by any chance? Or are you waiting on somebody else?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone exits the doorway and takes a look about, pausing for a moment to look at a device which has a cable plugged into it. She'll pull the cable out letting it slide into the back of her neck, and pockets the small device. She acts like this is perfectly normal as she strides up to Cordelay and Sheriff Marti. Soon joined by Shigure, Yuudachi and Corona. Kotone is clearly Asian from appearance though she has blue hair, and oddly matching sleeveless long coat with shirt pants and boots to match. Though something is a bit 'off' about her eyes. "Hello Sheriff I'm Kotone Yamakawa, and greetings to the rest of you." When Septette also arrives she gets a wave from Kotone as well. "So this is the place."
Kalia	It's not the lure of adventure that draws a demon. And it's not the call of a sheriff that draws a spirit. It's the description of a place where the restrained traits of a person take form, the cry of beasts repressed and then made monstrous. Kalia instantaneously slips through words and barriers, appearing in the middle of a desert with none of the creatures they sought in sight. Or at least, in sight yet. A miscalculation? Maybe the wrong place? No, perhaps they just... need to be stirred. The pale-skinned spirit wearing ragged, patchworked grey and black clothes raises their hand to adjust the scarf that conceals their lower face. Right, then. They disappear, popping out of existence. ... and right back into existence behind Shigure, floating off the ground silently. "Are you here to stir the Shadows? Or is there an Abyssal nearby?" You never know, it's better to ask than to assume. Presume. One of the two.
Flamel Parsons	Flamel Parsons has been busy setting up a miniature blacksite on the other side of the Gate that Sheriff Marti noted before. He arrived with a suitcase full of signage designed to mark the place in all kinds of ways that discourage curiosity. Signs of it being a restricted area. Barbed wire. Bad political posters. Things discussing the local risk of contracting a disease called "Sailor's Mouth". It's all fake, of course, so the others can go right on in, but it sure is enough to drive people away. "Hi! I'm the expert." Flamel says, waving and emerging from invisibility on this side. (Septette Arcubielle is the only individual who can somehow see him through his usual invisibility, albeit with lots of weird visual artifacting.) "Glad to see you again, Septette!" He looks around. "I heard a bit! About the business with August Kohler. So this is another Collective Unconscious then? Hmmmm." He puts a hand to his chin and frowns. "I don't like it! It feels too much like someone set off a psychic bomb." He declares, still keeping that positive voice. "But let's figure it all out." He strides up to Sherrif Marti, flashing his Psychonauts badge and offering a quick handshake. "Agent Flamel Parsons, I work for shadowy global agendas adjacent to the government. Want to get started?" He still has a second suitcase full of who-knows-what he plans to make use of.
Riku	Amidst the others arriving, there is yet one who is standing out from them. Mostly because he doesn't bother milling about with the others. The silver-haired teen arrives from the train station, looking out around the area with a mild grimace, the heat almost a hammerblow upon him... But he grits his teeth and presses on. He doesn't greet anyone immediately, looking about at the typical (and atypical) decor. He shades his eyes with a hand, looking about before turning away and moving back to the gathering. He simply raises a hand to the Sheriff, waving to him. "You're not going to get anywhere if you keep telling yourself you're crazy." the teen says shortly. The pale spirit gets a glance from Riku, quietly measuring, but he says nothing about her or to her. Parsons gets a look as well. Despite his distant demeanor, it's hard to ignore that level of signage, speech, and behavior... Mostly, he begins edging towards the non-alcoholid drinks at this point, trying to avoid breaching social interaction ranges. With this lot it might be hard.
Septette Arcubielle	One- and just one- of Septette's eyes tracks Flamel as he approaches. Until he 'decloaks', there's a subtle tension to her. It isn't in her face or voice, but in the way she angles her body subtly to optimize attack vectors and prepare to interpose herself between him and the others. That drops instantly as soon as he appears properly. She gets little flecks of ketchup everywhere by waving at him enthusiastically with her bun-holding hand. "Mister Parsons! It's been a while. Can't wait to see what you and the Sheriff have planned for us." Munch munch munch. "Besides the warm dogs, I mean."
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay smiles brightly as she surveys the gathering, especially the one she recognizes. "Ah, Septette! So you're part of this expedition as well! It's a pleasure to see you again." She then turns to each of the others in turn. "Misses Shigure, Yuudachi, Lady Yamakawa. Lord Parsons. And the vulpine woman, the ghost and the silver-haired gentleman whose names I have yet to learn. I am Cordelay Levail. It is a pleasure to meet you all." She curtseys, defaulting to her usual formality with those she doesn't know, before taking a hot dog and biting into it experimentally. Her eyes widen in surprise as she promptly consumes the rest of it with as much dignity as one can muster while eating a hot dog of all things.
Sheriff Marti	Marti seems to process each of the participants with a separate fragment of his mental processing. He at least holsters his revolver for now, breathing a sigh through his nose. Septette's behavior gets a chuckle at him, despite how bizarre she is to him. Flamel gets a funny look, his comical behavior more than a little amusing to the fairly realistic sheriff. Shigure and her companion get a blank stare; there's just something hard to process about a kanmusu. He'll get used to it. "Right. Well, since everyone is here, get refreshments and follow me when you're able." He gestures for Flamel to follow, and then turns and starts walking, following some dusty footprints that lead off into the distance. His footprints from the last time he was here. Almost as soon as he gets out past a perimeter around the station, something leaps from a burrow. An enormous technicolor snake with a bone-like mask. He quickly draws his revolver and blows its head off. He pauses for a second, then continues on his way. "You aren't stopping me from getting my bike back," he mutters.
Doctor Strange	A hole in reality opens up, rectangular, as if someone had opened a door. It is set several feet into the air, and the other side of the hole reveals the stately hallway of a mansion, with artifacts and trinkets displayed on pedestals with protective glass cases. Standing in the doorway is a man with hair that greys in the temples, a thinly trimmed goatee, a pensive frown, and piercing emerald eyes. He wears a roughspun blue tunic and breeches, tucked into cloth boots, as well as a subdued, yet rich red cape. That cape billows out behind him as he steps through the doorway, and his descent is slower and more controlled than gravity might otherwise dictate. The doorway closes behind him, returning to the normal noonday sky of the Endless Desert. The first thing this man spots is the jackrabbit. He notes its appearance with interest, and cuts a sparking, hissing hole in reality to try and approach it. He steps through it, and for his trouble, is no closer to the creature. His brow furrows at this development, and he tries something else, scarred hands moving in complex, almost martial motions. The sand shifts beneath him and a flat platform of it pushes him towards the creature--to no avail. No matter how the wizard tries, he can go no further. He sighs. "Kay." It is at this point that his attention turns to the others present. There are a couple of new faces. In fact, quite a few. "Doctor Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." He lifts one trembling hand to give everyone present a general, informal salute. A few voices he recognizes from the radio. Marti, Shigure, Kotone and Septette each get a glance, recognition glinting within his eyes. He nods approvingly towards the cooler. "Good to see you came prepared. If you run low on supplies, lemme know." There is suddenly a cold bottle of water in his hand. He lifts it in a silent toast to the sherrif, then opens it and takes a drink. Rather than walk along with Marti, he hovers, just a few inches off the ground. The blast from his revolver draws an impressed frown from Strange. "Huh. So--" He does away with the bottled water for now. "How much do you personally know about this place, and how'd your bike end up here?"
Corona Arclite	Never one to turn down free vittles, Corona grabs a couple of hotdogs after shoving a drink in a duster pocket, and ambles after the rest of the group. Being part fennec she doesn't need to eat or drink as much as others but that doesn't stop her from taking full advantage of the oppritunity. Unfortunately her hands are full when the skull-snake bursts out of the ground, and can't draw a gun like she should. Though Hopalong does rear up protectively in front of her ... Then Marti blows the thing's head off. It's skull off. Skull off it's head? Does it have two, or was that some freakish skin-less skull-ness? That quandry doesn't really matter. Corona takes it as a hint to stuff as much of her food in her mouth as she can so her hands won't be occupied the next time a nasty surprise pops up.
Septette Arcubielle	For the first several steps through the sand, it's a miserable slog. Septette sinks in to her shins, putting too much force on too little surface area even with her talons deployed. After a bit too much of that, she electrifies her talons with a noisy crackle and starts fusing the sand together into dark glass footprints with each step, providing a handy breadcrumb trail as well as more solid footing. The technicolor snake garners a similar subtle writhing anticipation for her, and it doesn't dissipate until a second or two after Marti takes off both its skulls- you can't be sure when something isn't going to stay dead. Even as her eyes linger on the dead critter, though, she's chatting up the rest of the group. "Pleased to see you in the flesh, Dr. Strange. And Cordelay- glad you're getting out." The actually important questions seem to be handled by others, for the time being.
Cordelay Levail	The appearance of the snake causes Cordelay to quickly draw her swords, though Marti's gun takes care of the beast before she can make another move. "That's quite the weapon you have, Master Marti." She comments, scanning the wastes and going wide-eyed in shock for a moment at the kanmusu sisters' Riggings being deployed, for once lost for words at such a sight. Forcing herself not to think about it too hard, she keeps in lockstep with the others and keeps her swords at the ready in case another bizarre skull-faced monstrosity shows up.
Riku	Suddenly, someone is talking to the 'silver-haired gentleman'. Riku almost sighs inwardly as he is spoken to and thus should return some kind of acknowledgement. "Riku." He says simply, waving a hand to Cordelay as he pulls out a soda and pops it open, drinking some to take the edge off of the heat... And then grimaces as he is slightly splattered with ketchup from the nearby Septette. He simply turns away, brushing the droplets of red off of his clothing as he follows along with Marti. The appearance of the dark techicolor snake, however, causes Riku to react like a snapped spring. With a blur, he lunges to one side, nn eruption of shadow forming in his hand into a long blade that looks formed from a bat-wing in black with crimson webbing. Bone-white ridges decorate the hilt while a gleaming azure eye blinks from the crossguard. But before he can strike, Marti has already shot it. He pauses, and quickly approaches the snake, looking it over and examining what corpse is left... if there is one.
Shigure	Shigure turns on Kalia, her Rigging appearing in a flare of light on her back, the rig comprising a pair of large 'Cannon tonfa' that rest on her back, and a smaller 'cannon pistol' she wields in her right hand... though she doesn't bring her weapons to bear. "I am here to aid a new comrade, that is all." she says, frowning a bit at the demon before asiding to Yuudachi. "Make sure to manage heat in this environment, but secure the powder magazine." Yuudachi summons her rigging which sports a large smoke stack, and a large white 'sail', as well as smaller turreted cannons. The pair react to the snake a moment after Marti does, then they go onto full alert, scanning with their eyes and making use of their fairies to look in more directions at once. "So, this entire place wants to kill us... understood." says Shigure, holding a cannon turret like one might a pistol.
Flamel Parsons	Flamel gets on the road, grabbing up a hot-dog and munching on it. "Mmph. Yemph, should be goopmh." He says, speaking to Septette. There's a quick nod to Cordelay, and he says something through a mouthful of hot-dog that sounds polite and positive to her. He also gives Doctor Strange a look. "Mmmph." He swallows his bite. "Sorcerer Supreme. You run one of those ancient councils, with the blood rites and stuff? I love those. Looks like you even get to have legitimate magic for it, or at least some good psychic power." He focuses, first, on examining the snake. He sets down his suitcase, picks up the corpse with a big telekinetic hand, and examines it briefly, Area 51 style. "So, do you know around about /where/ you lost it, or do you want me to try some clairvoyance for tracing your emotional signature?" For now, though, he's focused on figuring out the nature of what he assumes is a psychic construct. Is this amalgamated psychic energy from humans overall? Perhaps an individual stray negative thought? Is it warped by external influence, or is this the natural state of the Collective Unconscious around here? He wants to dig into the substance of it using his psychic senses, before they move on towards the bike.
Kalia	Oh. A snake. Kalia remains behind Shigure, where it is nice and safe, and where they need to do exactly nothing but observe. Was that a Shadow? It wasn't very person-like. But than that sounded like the point. Do they talk? Do they recognize their kin? This one's too dead to provide answers. Shame. With the threat gone, and Shigure moving on, having answered, Kalia begins hovering towards Riku instead, made curious by that sudden, rapid reaction. That says a lot, all on its own. The demon helpfully points out: "We're pretty sure it's dead already. Maybe there's more."
Sheriff Marti	"It's apparently the 'Collective Unconscious,' and there's a bunch of Jungian shit involved. Also, I don't know how I got here initially, but that train station is the only way in or out. I was driving down the road back to my office when the desert swallowed me up and I crashed. I'm lucky to be alive." "Something about a Persona...?" Shrug. Marti hasn't seemed to NEED one so far, as much of a crack shot as he is. But then, the Shadows they're likely to encounter along the way -- assorted desert critters with a thirst for BLOOD -- are mostly throwaway mobs, things not likely to put up a threat to anyone. The snake he shot slowly fades into red and black mist, and disappears, apparently destroyed. For Flamel... It's some kind of residual psychic imprint, though it's hard to divine its precise origin, if there even is one. It doesn't feel 'natural' though. It feels like a fragment of insanity. It stinks of a single powerful emotion: Despair. Following along with Marti results in a few of these creatures lurking at a safe distance, watching the group. Marti ignores them for now, determined to hike to where he crashed his motorcycle. "Yeah. It's this way." Marti's determined to walk off to get his bike, trusting the others to keep the wildlife from murdering him. He's not being careless, though, he's just not the type to waste time with a lot of chit-chat. But it's clear they're not gonna reach their destination instantly. It'll take about an hour of walking.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is not going to say no to the free food either, she will happily accept the food she'll take a bit and notices Doctor Strange is here, and that's a big plus for her given his far greater understanding of the supernatural over her. She's about to say more and pauses for a moment and sees Kalia there's a spike of fear here she knows of them and is quite spooked they are here she's about to say something else as the snake shows up and she also has gone to pull a pistol to deal with any of the hostiles that might jump then. "This lines up with my other experience with personas that it has something to do with the Collective Unconscious, but after that? I'm honestly not sure, Sheriff. Given this is a whole other world."
Kalia	Despair, huh? So even the small ones... What an interesting place, on second thought. Even the empty desert isn't so boring anymore. The flows of emotions, like tasty hot air currents to an expert paraglider. Positive ones... disgusting. Delusions. Lies. Pretty words people hide the awful truth underneath. But the other ones... And those critters, keeping to a safe distance. Kalia disengages from Riku, phasing out of existence and back in by the critters. 'They'll attack once they think they can overpower us.' Doth thou desire the power, little ones? Like a surge of negativity, trying to spur the critters into action. Kalia's powers are theirs to borrow, if they're willing to ACT. Do they possess enough of a mind to accept? It's science. And besides, those guys are about to slaughter them anyway.
Doctor Strange	"Nah, not so much," says Strange to 'Mel. "The blood rites, I mean. Kinda... unsanitary, y'know. I definitely /do/ run an ancient council. The superheroes fight the aliens and the bank robbers, we fight the dark wizards and vampires. Pretty decent gig." Marti's answer causes him to stroke his goatee thoughtfully. Jungian, Jungian... he knows the name, at least, but he was always more interested in the brain and the nerves than the mind itself. His rumination is interrupted when he notices that they're being watched. The corner of his mouth twitches in annoyance, and as he floats along behind Marti, the sorcerer begins another series of hand gestures. His practiced motions burn lines of orange energy into the air, forming a ring. Within the ring, two half-moon motions of his hand form an oblong shape. Within that, a smaller circle. An outward thrust of his palms burns a ring of glyphs into the inner portion of the larger circle, and a twist of his wrists shrinks it. He's made a mythical eye. Withdrawing both palms, Strange makes a chopping motion with one hand, as if striking a foe in close combat. The eye flies ahead of the party and spies the landscape in advance, searching for more significant threats. "See how you like it," says Strange under his breath.
Corona Arclite	"Just another day in paradise, eh Koto?", Corona drawls with a wink to her friend once she's finished scarfing her food. But don't take the playful quip to mean she's not taking this seriously. It's totally just stress management. Don't let the pressure to get to you. If there was any doubt of her seriousness, it's dismissed as she pulls both of her handguns from their holsters. To call them revolvers would be slightly misleading, they certainly look the part. But that extra gimmicky and greebling on them is because the chamber cylinders are actually tiny spinning generators instead of physical bullet holders. It's hard to tell just what methods of conflict her construct companion has, but there's a noticable heat radiating from his body, and occasionally a spark of electricity crackling up between the jackalope antlers like they were some kind of steampunk jacob's ladder. "Despair, huh?" An ear twitches, listening to the surroundings. "So like the reminants of folks that got stuck here and gave up on ever gettin' out? That kinda despair could certainly kill a soul."
Flamel Parsons	"Oh, we know it's dead. Dead's just about the right time to dig in and learn more about it." Parsons explains, to Kalia, dissecting the dissolving psychic energy. "Whether something is alive or dead, at least when it's dead, you're not hurting anyone when you find out more about what makes it work!" He finishes up around the time it's fully evaporated. He heads back on the road, seeming relatively cool for someone in an MIB suit despite the weather. It takes a moment to get on the road, but he heads along it, deciding to drift in Levitation instead of walk. As he moves, he begins to pulse. Small waves of light radiate from him, passing over the sands. Wherever they may pass, Flamel hopes to summon up echoes of the past, imagery of strong emotional moments that may have occurred here, or in whatever minds supplied the hostile bleakness to this place. Unfortunately, psychometric clairvoyance is meant to find psychic echoes in physical objects, which makes it hard to get a good fix on the past of /psychic/ objects. But hey, if he can get any flashing hint of a destructive event, he's gonna try to. Every pulse, he winds up tilting his head, trying to figure out what that lingering scent of offered power on the air is, but it's not likely he's going to trace ot to Kalia without more time and effort. He doesn't strike at the scavengers without provokation; his primary weapon is heavy bolts, blasted from his brain with two fingers pressed on his temple and another two held out like the barrel of a pistol.
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay wipes a drop of sweat from her brow, wishing she'd worn something lighter than her usual battle-dress. "Despair is the wolf that devours thought. It can drive people mad and reduce them to less than beasts. And if this place is truly formed from the thoughts of the people, I'm not at all surprised that despair could take such an actively malevolent form." Her tone is grim as she continues on, watching for the scavengers in the distance to make a move and ready to spring into action.
Riku	The creature is dissolved before Riku even gets there. He stares at the space the snake existed in for several moments, but turns away, his hand leaving his pocket, empty. Apparently, it's not enough for him to choose to bring out whatever's in his Baggy Pants Inventory. He turns away, finally looking over Doctor Strange with that same appraising look. Apparently, he sees the floating Sorceror Supreme to be something more familiar, as he nods in greeting to the man without being further prompted. He doesn't say anything yet though, turning away to proceed with the others. Riku scans the horizon, noting the creatures when the Sheriff points them out. "Got it." While Kalia begins aggroing the monsters, Riku holds out a hand, a wave of shadow swirling into a man-size hole in front of him that he simply... Leaps through. Some distance away, Riku pops right out over one of the predators, descending with the blade and carving into it. He begins repeating this, quickly portaling about the area and assassinating whatever creatures aren't getting murdered by high-powered artillery.
Sheriff Marti	Kalia reaches out and tickles the despair. This turns out to be a very bad idea. The Shadows respond much more strongly to the coaxing than they should. It's an unnatural, violent response. The jackals puff up, their heads lifting, their eyes shining with red light. They search for the source of the voice that rung in their fragmented souls. "Power." They speak in unison. Then there's a HIDEOUS, bone-snapping noise, and they all dissolve into red and black goop as they're destroyed, or they simply dissolve where they stand. From the boiling, burning lake of bloody tar that collects on the desert ground. Then, something enormous emerges from it. It speaks in three voices, from three heads, adorned with platinum fur. The great canine's mouths billow with smoke and flame. Cerebrus turns on Riku, and ROOOOOARS!! Then the heads just start spitting burning napalm in all directions. Marti shouts in surprise, leaping behind some cover in the form of a sandstone boulder and narrowly avoiding being burned alive. The plant life that gets hit by this fire breath combusts violently as if struck by flying lava. STRENGTH ARCANA - HELL GUARDIAN: CEREBRUS
Septette Arcubielle	Septette instantaneously sprints towards the three-headed hound, dashing into- Wait, nope. The sand gives way under her claws as she tries to lunge, sending her in a pratfall faceplant directly into a dune. God damn it. Someone needs to audit hellscape deserts for accessibility standards. They're just not safe for ton-and-a-half killbots. After falling like a moron, Septette creates a solid platform of black lightning-glass under her claws, shatters it into pieces by leaping eighty feet into the air, and unfolds an alarmingly large curved blade from her arm. For a brief moment, she's silhouetted against the eerily dark sky... and then she falls like a meteor, right through the beast's napalm-breath, to slam her blade into its central head. With any luck, that'll pull its attention off the others!
Shigure	Shigure frowns a bit. This is all kinds of messed up, even the Abyssals aren't this 'wrong'... there's some method to their madness... this is just madness. Chaos. And then Kalia does her thing and makes everything twenty times worse. "Contact! Get behind Yuudachi and I, we will protect you with our armour, what there is of it." she says, holstering her handcannon and unfolding her backpack. It splits down the center and gimbals out on a pair of arms, deploying handles with triggers that she uses to aim and fire at the Cerberus. AP shells launch out of the oversized barrels, while the kanmusu starts moving to bodyblock the squishier members of the group. Yuudachi giggles mirthfully. "Finally, a real fight!" she crows happily, charging in towards Cerberus and pulling torpedos from the thigh launchers she wears. "I'll show you why they call me the Nightmare of Solomon!" she adds, then leaps onto Cerberus' back, trying to jam the torpedoes into the creature before lighting them and leaping away.
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay slips into her battle stance, presenting a narrow profile as she watches the beast carefully in search of any weaknesses. "Keep calm." She says to herself. "You don't have to kill it. Just bloody its nose. This is nothing." She glances around at the rest of the party, taking stock of everyone's positioning. She doesn't know much of anyone's prowess save Septette and the bit she's seen from Marti and Riku, but she hopes their combined strength will be enough. For her part, Cordelay charges forward, swinging one of her swords by the chain and aiming for the monster's central neck, her usual battle-adrenaline kicking in.
Doctor Strange	Strange pointedly ignores what's going on--until he hears a roar that's pretty tough to ignore. The sorcerer rolls his eyes, crossing his hands over his chest. He nods to Riku, then draws each hand in opposite directions, his fingers mimicking the opening of an eye. The rose-gold amulet upon his chest clicks, the complex lattice opening to reveal a brilliant green light. There are now two Stranges. One manipulates the arcane eye he'd created to search the desert for Marti's bike. The other one begins weaving a spell of a different sort. Tracing a circle in the air with one hand, this Strange opens another hole in reality. Instead of trying to reach the creature from before, he uses it to throw Cerberus' napalm back at it, via the portal's counterpart. The angle is the attack's true strength--rather than reverse its direction, Strange changes it entirely, dropping the burning substance on the three-headed beast from above.
Flamel Parsons	Parsons isn't getting anything off his CLAIRVOYANCE PULSES, aside from feeling the surge of power moving through the air from somewhere to somewhere else... Hmmm. Well, for now, he's got bigger matters to deal with, namely the sudden emergence of Cerebus. He adjusts his sunglasses, peers at its vast gush of flame, and plants both hands firmly on his own skull, and projects a high-intensity defensive barrier. It moves him with the blast, just enough to get him behind Shigure, whose armor is going to be a little more reliable. "Hmmm? Oh, no, this is definitely something. Seems like an externally juiced psychohazard! No idea why. Maybe whatever did this is adding a lot of psychic energy to tap into!" He then shifts his hands, now keeping two fingers on each temple. From behind Shigure... his psychic field makes uncanny noises. A shining orange light builds and builds, and it sounds like the reversal of a fading human scream. He releases an artillery-scale psychokinetic blast, a continuous and persisting beam of energy that's intended to pierce into it and start to carve it apart.
Kalia	This is successful science at work. The massive beast that emerges causes Kalia to back away - the demon has the advantage of flight and absurd speed, withdrawing upward immediatly to avoid being chomped in half. Or worse, getting caught in the ensuing chaos. Attacks rain on the beast almost immediatly. Kalia does not assist the heroes, instead extending their one visible arm out like they're feeling out for something. How much of a mind does it have? What does it feel? What drives it? Kalia wants to know more about Shadows. This is the best way to do that!
Riku	Turns out Riku was just accelerating the problem along one they chose to accept the offer from Kalia. For a moment, perhaps Riku would be irritated... But in the end, killing the small fry was always just a waste of time. There would always be more, just like the Heartless. This is why he smiles instead of curses when the horrible beast begins to drag itself out of the morass of hatred and despair. "Looks like I'm going to have to take this seriously." Riku says, grimacing... And with a roar, he draws up Darkness from his own self, black washing over him. As the blackness passes, his clothing is replaced with a purplish suit made up in the same motif as his blade, almost a mix of a light armor suit and spandex with the way it clings tightly over his body. Even so, Riku suddenly blurs to one side, streaking out from under a lava orb and vanishing into another portal. A moment later, Riku darts out against one side of the Cerebrus, lashing and slashing out at the haunches as he runs /along/ the beast, apparently not caring that he's horizontal to the ground as he carves along its side.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone just stares for a moment at what transpires The Shadows seem to want power, or they are seeking it? She doesn't know but Kalia has provoked the shadows pretty damn hard and she's going to get moving she'll double jump into the air dashing to keep from being set on fire. Thankfully she saw that Shigure and Yuudachi have protected The Sheriff and she's now airborne she'll open fire on the thing with her pistol as she's moving the air, she'll drop down, holster the pistol, pull out another item which kind of looks like a gun and soon he's got an assault rifle in hand now. The device seems to take the pistol into it in a poof of light and she's now far better armed.
Corona Arclite	"Well shat me sideways!" That about sums it up from Corona, who's seen some weird stuff in her time. But when the guy that brought them out here yells about this being something weird and new, you take notice. A burst of fiery fury hurtles towards them, only to send Hopalong tumbling backwards across the bleak terrain as he jumps in the path of it to shield Corona. "Nice save." There's a grumble like clacking in response, he's going to take a moment to resituate himself, seening as the landing twisted his head sideways. Corona spins the cylinders with her thumbs to essentially turn the safety off of her guns, gives them both a twirl and then snaps her arms out. Only to cross them over as she pulls the triggers so they shoot off several volleys at angles to her sides instead of at the beast? What is this, some manner of trick shooting? That's exactly what it is actually, as after they've fanned out past the ground all the shots abruptly turn at angles that would be ni impossible for standard bullets and scream towards the Cerberus from multiple different vectors in a vibrant and confusing display.
Sheriff Marti	Shadows aren't technically people, in most cases. What Kalia finds isn't easy to understand. It's like feeling through a fuzzy world of static images, and not an active, living mind. It's full of negativity, intense and unrelenting. Its mind is directly hostile to the point of murder, obviously. As she probes at it, Cerebrus has something to say to everyone, even as they carve into its flesh and slice into it, and blast it with artillery of psychic and traditional flavors. "The only way to reach it is by crushing everything in your way! The only way to survive is by destroying everything that threatens you! I will devour that light myself! I'll gobble it down whole!!!" What light? It doesn't elaborate, and instead whips around to try and throw the melee fighters off of its enormous form. Dust kicks up around it in the chaos of their battle. Then it leaps away from the group, and... does something rather vicious. It charges at Marti, the apparently weakest member of the group. Marti sees this, and something happens in the brief moment or two before it bounds to him to kill him, his hand instinctively lifts and grasps the metal badge on his shirt. As he grabs it, a blue fire ignites around his hand, and his eyes shine a bright gold. "PERSONA!!" A towering man in a patterned poncho emerges in the air behind Marti, his head masked by the shadow of his black cowboy hat. His body is clad in tight black leathers, with glowing gold buckles. A pair of powerful revolvers are ripped from the spiritual figure's holsters in an instant to meet his foe, and he blasts Cerebrus with enough stopping power that it startles the creature. It doesn't kill it, though. Almost as soon as he's done this, a fireball blasts from one of the more intact heads, and slams into the newly discovered Persona, shattering it like glass. Marti SCREAMS and staggers backward after the impact, and falls to one of his knees.
Cordelay Levail	The sight of the giant spirit only fazes Cordelay for a moment as her mind instinctively reorients to the battle. Racing toward Marti in the wake of the beast's attack, she throws both her swords this time, grinning with grim satisfaction as they stick into its flank with the chains hanging down. She begins to scale the monster like a mountain, using the chains to ascend until she can climb the beast itself. Cordelay rips her swords out of the monster once she's on its back, carefully moving along its body until she's within range of its left head. "See how you like this!" She hisses, thrusting toward its eyes and shouting down, "Master Marti, can you summon that giant again?! It would be a great help!"
Doctor Strange	"We'll see about that," says Future!Strange in response to Cerberus. He's not really a 'crush everything in your way' type of guy, and it clearly annoys him that the beast evidently is. He figures he knows exactly what it's trying to reach, even if it doesn't elaborate. If this is some kinda psychic world, then there's got to be at least a little metaphor involved. Present!Strange is still working on finding the bike. In the meantime, the sorcerer spies Marti's ability suddenly manifest. He's not sure if healing him with the Eye would help summon the giant, but he does have an idea in mind to test whether he knows what Cerberus is after. In the space of a few mudras (done behind his back so as not clue in the giant dog), there is now a field of dozens of white jackrabbits in front of the beast. Perhaps that's what it's after. If so, he hopes it'll buy Marti enough time to get his Persona out again!
Shigure	Shigure brings her tonfa around to absorb the incoming attacks from Cerberus, standing her ground to people can use her as cover, though the flames lick across her body, and fairies scramble all across her rigging trying to douse flames as they burn within the metal. "Damage control part, lay to the engine room!" she murmurs, dropping to one knee and wincing as fires burn. "Engine out... Shigure is dead in the water." Yuudachi doesn't fare too well when Cerberus uses its bulky form to smack her away with the rest of the melee fighters. She tumbles and skids back along the sand, then kips herself up in a backflip and snarls. Eyes blazing red she angles to bring all her cannons to bear. "POI!" she growls, and unleashes a volley of artillery fire toward the flank of Cerberus, armour piercing shells sailing towards the monster to keep up the pressure.
Septette Arcubielle	The monster's writhing and snapping pushes Septette back- just as well, given the changing tactical situation. The most apparently-squishy member of the party is a ranged attacker, emphasized by his most recent revelation; everyone currently engaging it in melee can handle themselves. Rather than join in the melee furball, she takes a mighty leap backwards and draws her hand in a sweeping arc, fingertips crackling with yellow arcane diagrams. The sand in a large semicircle between Marti and the three-headed dog erupts in black glass spikes several feet long and multiple layers deep, all angled 'outwards' and upwards towards the beast to gouge at it if it tries to approach the Sheriff! The ominous spines crackle with electricity as if building up some kind of charge.
Corona Arclite	The fireball isn't aimed at her this time but Corona reflexively dives and rolls to the side for the sake of not being too close when it does hit its target. "Whatever the hell that was ya did, it made it plum loco!" She mutters as she gets up, and holsters her sidearms. "Hopalong, ya okay there pardner?" While the fracas was continuing the mecha-jackalope has gotten up, and with a few twists of his forepaws gotten his head straightened back out. He click-buzzes a response as he hops back over to Corona. "Awright then. Let's so this thin' who's boss." The vixen turns and grabs the construct and picks him up. As she's turning back towards the fight he shifts around with little mechanical clattering sounds, by the time Corona is facing the fight again he's turned into some kind of heavy piece of weaponry. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" is the one warning shouts her allies get to not be in the line of fire. Fire and then some, as the jacka-cannon-lope belchs out a projectile of scorching hot molten metal arcing towards the Cerberus like a mortar round.
Kalia	Bestial. Ugh. It's not like animals are beyond feeling, but they're a lot harder to have a straight exchange with. And this one's talking nonsense, to boot! It's still useful information. Maybe not the information Kalia wanted though. The beast kicks a cloud up and charges for Marti. Marti gains a superpowered cowboy. That's new. And strange. It feels a lot like that thing August did, too. And Janine. For now, the demon elects to remain airborne and keep watching how the situation evolves. That thing won't cooperate any more than it has, besides.
Cordelay Levail	Abandoning her attempt to stab at the monster's eyes, Cordelay vaults down off it and rolls upon impact with the sand. She rushes over to Shigure and grabs her, attempting to toss her to Septette with a grunt of exertion. "Please take care of her, Septette!" Turning back toward the monster, she sees Corona's mortar fire and takes a moment to catch her breath. She's dripping with sweat now from the action and the heat, forcing her to swipe an arm across her forehead and waiting for another opportunity to strike.
Flamel Parsons	Parsons continues to unload for several seconds, but stops for a moment. "Hey, guy! Way I heard this," He says, approaching Marti to help him up. "Is that it hurts to take what your Persona takes. Sort of like how it would hurt if someone hurt your psychological persona, you know." He calls out to Levail, "Probably gonna need his trigger for it, I dunno what it is!" He didn't notice the badge-grab. He also doesn't even know what August's trigger is, only that he /has/ one. Septette is calling out to get Shigure. Well, Parsons is near her! He plants two figners on one temple, and raises a hand to Shigure; a big translucent telekinetic hand appears, linked by a wire-thin strand to his brain, trying to bring her to Septette, as was requested! Maybe that tank can help her. He comes along, and blasts more with mental machine-gun fire as he does. I mean, /he/ needs some cover too, and if Septette has it, he wants it. He'll have to settle in behind some of her emplacements to keep from getting in a lethally bad position.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa has no idea what the light of which Cerebus is referring to but she will keep note of it. Then Marti summons a persona which is very cowboy so very cowboy. She will keep moving though not wanting to get caught by the shadow as it does not stop. She sees Marti caught in a fireball and she'll just start shooting as Septette gives the Sherif some more protection and she will see that Corona's heavy fire has also helped them out. this gives her time to bring the full power of her rifle to bear on the shadow and just lays down as much fire on it as possible.
Riku	The thing calls out, saying its piece. Riku launches off of the beast smoothly as it tries to shake him off. Clearly, it's succeeded in getting rid of him! And then he falls into another Dark Portal, vanishing into it and dropping right behind the heads, hooking his Heartbrand around and slashing at the central beast's neck even as it tries to run down the Sheriff. The cry of Persona echoes out, and the archetypal cowboy emerges from the Sheriff to blast the beast, hitting it hard. The return attack disables Marti, and Riku wastes no more time. "If that's the way you want it..." He says, clenching a hand. All around Cerebrus, a dozen or more portals open, and Riku lunges into one. What follows is a brutal series of high-speed slashes from them, Riku immediately attacking and ripping past to dive into a portal over and over as he simply begins shredding into the beast until he can deliver a lethal strike. Anger and power, focused into a knife-edge, cleaving anything in its path. If anyone else is brave enough, they'll find they can use the portals too.
Sheriff Marti	Cerebrus is a powerful Shadow, but not powerful enough to deal with the ridiculous firepower being brought to bear against it. He reels back, shaking and growling and roaring, to try and shake off all the pain and damage that has obviously accrued on him by this point. Fire, they will find, doesn't work very well, as if it's resistant to that sort of attack. Burning, terrible goo flies from its triple maws, spraying toward everyone almost at random, firing blasts to try and deal with the crowd. As it's doing this, Marti, sweating and struggling to his feet, pulls his badge from his shirt and holds it in his off hand. In classic JRPG protagonist fashion, he's the one to get the final blow, though it's in conjunction with everyone else, so it's not clear who actually killed it. A shared final blow, basically. "Persona! Man with No Name!" The Man With No Name manifests again, on the other side of the wall of sharp glass. It stands on a couple rocks, wielding both revolvers (which are still smoking, oddly) and takes aim. Then it unloads a barrage of very loud revolver blasts, slamming into the demonic pooch like a rain of death. Click click click. It ran out of ammo. It blows the smoke from one of the revolvers and disappears in a shimmer of heat haze, as Cerebrus collapses to the dirt. Marti pants and trembles, sweat pouring down his brow. Strange manifests a lot of rabbits. Sadly, it didn't do a lot. Even when the hellhound was alive, it seemed to ignore them as if they weren't there, choosing instead to opt for violence. His theory doesn't seem to be valid here, at least in this case. Whatever it's searching for, it isn't the rabbit. He does, however, find the wrecked motorcycle. It's a sheriff's roadster. Looks kinda messed up, and still giving off some smoke... probably because the sun never sets here, and anything flammable on it is just constantly smoldering.
Doctor Strange	Some of that burning goo is splattered upon Strange's very flammable robes. He doesn't notice, until the Cloak of Levitation begins interfering with his attempts to cast spells. The cloak vigorously pats down the sorcerer's sleeve, and it isn't until this begins that Strange aborts the offensive spell he was preparing. A quick gesture from a trembling, scarred hand held over his sleeve blasts his arm with a burst of frigid cold, freezing the napalm solid. He shatters it with a strike... then vanishes in a flash of green light. Time's up! Present!Strange smiles with satisfaction. "One second, guys." A portal opens up beneath the wrecked roadster, depositing the bike beside Marti. He then opens the Eye of Agamotto and vanishes, traveling into the past to assist the party against Cerberus. He reappears a second later with a scorch mark on his sleeve. "Okay. So, I know it looks bad, but I can fix it."
Shigure	Shigure is picked up and tossed... whether it's Cordelay or Flamel that send her the full distance is a moot point, as the destroyer girl soars through the air toward Septette. She dismisses her rigging and braces for impact, her legs seeming to be moving very awkwardly due to the damage to her 'engine'... wherever that actually is. Yuudachi facetanks the incoming flame blasts, the fire scorching along her body, leaving black marks and causing smoke to begin rising from a flame that catches on her sail. A fairy comes out a moment later and hoses the flame down with a tiny little hose that sprays water on the flames until they stop being flames anymore. The blonde then backs up when Cerberus finally goes down, and links up with Septette and Shigure, making sure the latter is alright.
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay ducks and weaves as globs of napalm rain down around her, dodging the worst of it but still growling in pain as bits of the burning substance splatter onto her clothes, skin and hair. Once she's sure it's done raining down, she pats out some small spots where her battle-dress had caught fire and stands. "That was not a battle I would like to experience again." She sighs, heaving deep breaths. "But this is still a resounding victory. Thank you for your aid, everyone! Despite her wounds and fatigue, her smile shines bright as the sun as she looks proudly over her fellow members of the expedition.
Kotone Yamakawa	With the firepower brought against the Shadow be if from magic, blade, or bullet? Is more than enough to bring it down with Sheriff Marti's persona finishing it off for good os so she hopes and finally bring the thing down, She'll lower her weapon and move to summon her matter manipulator again to put the rifle back into storage. With that out of the way she will look about for a moment until they find the bike and she'll take out what seemt to be a took kit and take a look at the bike. "I bult bikes for a living before I wandered into the multivse." Kotone notes and then Dr. Strange offers to help as well this should be easy enough then right? She's going to try to get to work regardless to jury rig something though if she gets in Strange's way she will back off.
Corona Arclite	"Ugh, what is it with dogs and slobber?!" Corona protests, even as she's whirling and weaving about the feiry globs being flung about. Some of the splattering effect still tags her here and there, smoldering against her duster. That's gonna be a bitch to wash out and repair later isn't it. The combined efforts are enough to put the beast down though. And while that was going on apparently Strange found the motorcycle and conjured it to the rest of the group. As an engineer she can't help but cringe at the sight, snout crinkling slightly at the smell of smoke. "It's been sittin' here a while ain't it." Then Strange offers to fix it. "Err.. not that Ah doubt magic can do that, but let's be a little more sure 'bout what's wrong first, eh?" She sets Hopalong down, who shifts back into his basic form, and then turns towards the cycle while fiddling with the device strapped to her one arm and get a proper diagnostic on the cycle's condition.
Riku	As the beast collapses, Riku lands on top of it. He wastes no time in pulling out a small vial and pressing it against the dying beast's side, but it dissolves out from under him. With a frustrated grunt, Riku pockets the vial and shakes his head, looking over the area to see if there's anything else to deal with. "Well, that was a whole lot of nothing." He says, looking over to the others. "Did anyone find anything useful out of this?" He asks, apparently not considering the wrecked bike useful.
Septette Arcubielle	A writhing yellow-black tendril of thermally-contorted sand erupts from the ground as Shigure soars through the air. It moves 'backwards' along with her, ensuring a soft contact like two cars gently bumping at highway speeds: most of it is half-molten, but the surface that touches the shipgirl is cooled and hardened with ice magic to an acceptable temperature, and insulated from the scalding inside by glass's natural nonconductivity. Once the tendril eases Shigure to the ground, it makes a loose spring-like spiral around her before solidifying completely, forming an insulative bunker against the hazards of the desert. Septette dusts off her hands, seeming terribly pleased with herself, and then gets to nosily poking at the other injured. "Strange! Your arm! Check it visually. Third-degree doesn't hurt, y'know."
Kalia	RIP, Shadowpuppy. F. Kalia blinks out of existence, reappearing somewhere near Riku like the annoying shoulder ghoooooose that they are. They, of course, know nothing about motorcycles or repairs, and so get involved in that matter exactly not at all. "Yes. We found out how Shadows think. We found out this place is very interesting." The demon motions towards Flamel, who had the answers earlier. "We're going to follow currents of emotions for a while. You're free to come along if you want. Or not. We don't care either way." Maybe there's more to see in the desert. Or maybe it's just a shitty superdesert. Only one way to find out.
Flamel Parsons	Parsons has to dodge around, occasionally projecting big hemispherical shields to try to block it out, and burning at his arms every so often. These days, when he burns, it's a little easier to see the nerve-patterned lightshow at his arms as "clearly not a human wound". It was actually a bit tough to do that, before! But soon enough, the thing is slain, and everything is mostly dealt with. He moves to the corpse of the thing, speaking to Marti over the radio every so often. "Oh, I guess we found this guy's Persona! That explains the Igor thing, I think. Aside from that, not much else. Not a very responsive place for clairvoyance, and there's not exactly a surplus of landmarks." He starts yanking chunks of likely-dissolving energy out and apparently inhaling them with his hands. "I guess some of the psychic energy is useful, once it's burned out on active hazard." He squints at Kalia. "Wouldn't recommend it myself," He calls out to Riku. "This place looks like a disaster hit it! Might be a bit dangerous, and not just from monsters. Could wind up being an issue with who knows what else. I know I'm leaving now myself, anyway!"
Sheriff Marti	The bike is totaled. They could theoretically get it working, but it'd be barely road-capable. He could it get it back home and get the parts later, unless they have some way to circumvent the need for new parts. Looks like some bits were lost in the initial crash. Marti barks, "-- holy...!" when it lands next to him, startled by its presence. He cranes over the destroyed bike, brows lifted and eyes squinting at the chrome as it reflects the enormous noonday sun. He frowns at all the burn damage on it. It looks worse than the last he saw it, somehow. Riku discovers something left behind by Cerberus. There's a pile of iron sand in the dirt where it once stood, sparkling faintly in the sunlight. It's the only non-weird thing in the whole desert that actually originates here, as far as he would have seen. He can probably put some in a vial for later, for whatever that's worth. Marti pulls a rag from his back pocket and rubs his face with it. "Does that sun ever set?" he complains. "Let's just get the thing fixed and get out of here."
Doctor Strange	"Yeah, you're right," says Strange to Septette with a nod. He takes a look, peeling back the tattered robe. The wizard frowns slightly. Seems like it's a third degree after all. "I'll hit the undo button on that later." He opens the Eye again, this time weaving a band of congealed time around his wrist. Strange extends his arm, 'aiming' it not at the bike, but at Corona. His original plan was to simply turn back time on the bike, but he'll be damned if he's gonna miss an opportunity to show off. Instead of turning back time on the bike, he speeds it up for Corona, using his free hand to spin the band of time upon his wrist. It speeds up, and Corona will find that she takes less time to discover what's wrong with the vehicle, and less time to repair it. After the time magic, Strange stands there, feeling quite satisfied with himself and wearing a hint of a smile. There is still a field of rabbits, which he notices after a moment's silence. The satisfaction on his face dims slightly, and he dismisses the illusions with a flick of his wrist. They all disperse into shimmering orange motes, which drift away like fireflies.
Riku	The demon-girl seems to pop right in on him like some kind of annoying ghost. This situation seems distressingly familiar to him. For a moment, he turns, about to shun the ghost and just tell her to go haunt something else, but he stops when she mentions she's going to follow the currents. "Now that could be useful." Flamel warns him, and Riko waves a hand. "Of course it's dangerous. The place has been trying to kill us the moment we left the station. If things get out of hand, I'll just leave." Something sparkles in the light as he prepares to leave, the iron sand getting his attention. Did that thing leave this behind? Well, samples are samples. The vial comes back out, and this time Riku scoops the sand up against the enclosed top, where it gets sucked in and quickly fills the sample container with the granules. Well, looks like he won't be going back to Croix empty-handed, at least... At that, he turns back to Kalia. "Fine. Lead the way." Looks like he's not too concerned about much else, as he begins walking and warping from place to place though portals, foillowing Kalia around.
Cordelay Levail	Cordelay sighs and brushes some sand out of her hair. "I've seen so many fascinating fighting styles today. Master Marti's 'Persona', Master Riku's teleporting swordsmanship, the sheer amount of projectile fire from the various ladies in our band... It was an enlightening experience. Thank you for allowing me to accompany you all today." She sits primly on her knees in the sand, finally sheathing her blades and bundling the chains up again.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa spends some time going over the bike looking it over. "I think I can get it moving again but we'll need to get it back home as it were." That's just from her eyeballing of it, with Corona's help this should go much faster. Then Doctor Strange Overclocks her along with anyone else such as Corona working on the bike. Now they can't fix the missing parts without getting pars but with how much extra 'time' they have been given thanks to Doctor Strange? Getting the bike into a 'working' condition where it can be moved to a place to replace the missing parts goes so much faster than Kotone thought she and Corona could work at.
Corona Arclite	A quick analysis is made even quicker by Strange's assistance with fiddling with time. Corona shows the readout to Kotone. And not a moment is wasted past that before getting to work. Missing parts is less of a problem as Corona gets creative, pulling a few random bits and scrap parts out of her inventory, trimming and reshaping a bit with one of the plasma cutters built into her other glove, and in general a lot of tinkering, welding and good old fashion engineering technobabble bullshitting that will at least, between her and Kotone, should keep the bike together and running long enough for Marti to get it to an actual garage and some proper full scale repairs can be made. Granted all that's probably difficult for anyone else to make out thanks to the rediculous speed they're now going at.