Scene #8070: The scene where the nice one flips out and goes apeshit

Owner	Pose
Kukuru	Fall is one of those nice vacation spots generally known for being just warm enough to go outside while being just cool enough to do so comfortably without falling into the suck zones of blistering heat and frigid cold. It's a place where food is plentiful, the people are kind, and the locals are a little weird depending on where you go. Even the weirdest ones are no less kind, though, and this is the time of year where one might expect to come out here for a trip to beat the summer heat rather than do actual work. It's in one such weird village where the distress calls are coming from, coinciding with a rather heated battle happening just outside of the ancient wooden gates that surround the place. Those coming here from the warp gates are treated to the sight of a bloody skirmish between holy knights of some variety and a large number of ghouls, ghosts, and even some goblins along with plenty of other classical undead monsters. Corpses are being dragged away from the deadly melee or drag themselves into the village as their compatriots fight on. The holy knights are rallying around a standard JRPG-esque party of four (a Knight, a Rogue, Mage, and a Cleric) and dressed in different primary colors. The undead, meanwhile, rally around the gates of the village, maintaining a wall of bodies between the knights and a trio of robe-wearing figures in the back. The only person that can be seen actually staying still that isn't a corpse is a certain green-haired woman, lazing about on a grassy hill far in the distance. It's only when the DANGER bells inside the village start to ring that the figure finally stirs, sitting up and turning slowly to face the source of the noise.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	A grey space elf materializes, constructed from the soles of his running shoes, up the length of his nebula print sweatpants, all the way past his black crop top and the high-waisted red windbreaker. The alarms have him looking hastily around, his golden eyes scanning over crowds of undead just past the wooden gates. "Oh, god damn it," he says, arms crossed, brow knotted in frustration upon the sight of the knights. Hopefully they (or the four they're rallied around) are more intelligible than the knight he's used to. His figure becomes a grey-red blur as he zips towards the nearest wall, running up its surface. As he nimbly pirouettes to land beside the party of four, his clothes are replaced with an encroaching tide of plated leather armor. The soft glow of internal components is visible in places through vents in the metal plates; the leather itself, a rust-sand gradient in color, doesn't appear to be any earthly variety. A visor meant for high-speed eye protection materializes over his face, and two heavy-looking, blocky submachine guns are the last to join the ensemble--one for each hand. "Alright. Two questions. What's the fight about, and how can I help?" There's a glance towards the three robed figures. "Okay, one more question. Who are those guys?"
Kale Hearthward	Another settlement needs our help! Kale arrives, perched on top of his personal aircraft, peering down at the situation from high up above. <"Kale Hearthward, Paladins, answering the distress call, confirm the situation, it looks like you've been taken-"> He manages to cut himself off just in time. "Boots-1, sounds like there's an issue with your radio, 10-9," comments the aircraft pilot on the private band. "No, that was a 10-3, I think we're dealing with a monster village. That's where the distress signal's coming from..." He clears his throat, and activates his radio again. <"It looks like you're under siege, I've got an evac craft and medical supplies, please designate an LZ."> The VTOL descends when it has clearance, Kale still perched on top, and it opens its doors to the village wounded (of whatever shape they may be) while Kale keeps watch from his perch.
Kukuru	The JRPG squad is indeed intelligible enough to recognize that the gray man isn't an enemy, and the Knight is the one to greet him with a broad, if somewhat stiff wave in greeting. "Hail, friend! You're just in time." His voice booms with the bravado of a stereotypically meatheaded Knight. "The holy order tracked down a stolen artifact to this-" he gestures at the village with a broad sweep of his arm "-den of monsters, and we've been tasked with recovering it and wiping out these vile things!" He gestures at the three robed figures next. "And they...! Those look like the ringleaders, no doubt. Calling upon the dead to do their bidding, I'd wager, and even turning the townspoeple against each other..." He clench his hand into a fist, then takes his sword in his other hand before smacking the now free fist against the chestplate of his armor. "Will you aid us in our cause, then?" --- Meanwhile, Kale's aircraft draws quite a bit of attention even as high as it is (or perhaps especially because it's so high), and requesting an LZ along with stating hhat he's got on board makes it easy enough to tell what his intent is. One of the robed figures gestures at the others, another gestures at crowd of the undead, and a skeleton promptly books it back into one of the buildings. Shortly afterwards, he gets the coordinates as requested smack dab in the middle of the village. It doesn't look like the fighting's reached there jsut yet, at least, and there's already assorted body parts and disarmed (literally) skeletons waiting there trying to keep their other compatriots held together. --- While the space elf and the birdcopter approach the potentially treacherous situation from opposite ends, a new problem arises when the figure waaaaaay over there finally moves. It disappears in a hazy black and purple puff, and a similar cloud of dark energy appears behind one of the holy knights (not the one that was speaking earlier). A body-sized claw reaches out of the cloud to close around him, followed by a very green person that steps past him on one side, twists around to build momentum, then hurls him straight up into the sky. "What are you doing here?" Kukuru asks, sounding like she's trying quite hard to keep her cool. The holy knight hits the ground several seconds later, leaving a rather dark crater where he lands.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Buddy," says the fixer to the knight, clipping his guns to either hip. "Guy. That 'den of monsters' is a village. Okay? I was literally just in there and it's full of people--yes, different looking people--but people." Grey palms held out, brow raised. "So, first of all, you guys need to chill the fuck out with--" Toss. Impact. Crater. "...that. Hi, Kukuru. He was just telling me about some artifact that got stolen. But, you know," he says, leveling a suspicious visor-filtered squint at the mage and cleric, "I'm not really feeling like I believe that, with the way that guy described the village. You," he says, snapping his fingers and nodding at the rogue. "You look like you've got a grip." Game recognizes game. "What's this artifact, and why's it worth a siege, huh? Where was it stolen from, and where's your proof it was one of these guys?" He crosses his arms. "Sorry," he says flatly, with a nod towards the crater. "But your guy there didn't exactly inspire much faith in your, ah, 'holy mission.' I might be inclined to help you--but if I do, you can bet your ass it's not gonna be 'putting the brakes to this village.'"
Kale Hearthward	Kale keeps his perch on top of the craft, while the two pilots exit to meet the wounded. There's a blue bird, and a pinkish mouse. Neither of them look quite entirely confident about what they're seeing. "Azalea, do we even have medical supplies for the undead..." whispers the bird. "I've got it, Skye," whispers back the mouse. Then, louder, "Alright! Everyone wounded, inside, if you or someone you're with needs immediate assistance get to the beds on the left, if you're stable and just need evac get to the beds on your right! If you're able bonied- er, bodied, wait outside with me!" The interior of the craft is much bigger, more like a small hospital than a simple medivac. It's big enough to hold the whole village's occupants, although they'd be a bit cramped in doing so, but more than enough to fit the wounded comfortably. Kale himself remains perched on top of the craft, ready to act if any fighting happens to break through to the spot where the craft's landed.
Kukuru	The Knight blinks slowly in utter disbelief as the fixer gives his own perspective on what's going on, clearly bewildered by everything he's saying. "'People'? But they're... Demons! monsters! Gh-" Crater. Kukuru raises one of her claws to wave lightly at Phreak, but she doesn't stick around to talk. She actually looks upset, even, but not at him. No, her ire seems to be directed squarely at the knights as she disappears into another portal to aid the trio of robed figures in the form of tearing yet more knights to shreds and staining her green hoodie in a bit too much blood. "... Is that something normal people would do?!" The knight asks with a rising shock in his voice, while the Mage and the Cleric return that suspicious squint with similarly suspicious looks of their own. The Rogue, predictably, is the only one that looks more disinterested than the others, even going as far as flicking out a cigarette from the pouch at her side and slipping it into her mouth. "Inside the own. Word from the Order is that it's supposed to be holding some kind of dangerous... Thing, and they're worried it'll get loose." She replies brusquely, gesturing at the Mage to come over and light the cigarette for her. "It was stolen from an auction, but whoever took it never bothered taking the tracker off." --- Kale's VTOL, meanwhile, is met with what would otherwise look like a shambling horde of the dead if not for the fact that they don't seem to be attacking his crew or the vehicle at all. Instead, they're met with... "Thank you!" "Please, stop them!" "They're still out there..." "Where are they?" Words of thanks, panic, and everything in between are uttered in a somewhat controlled chaos within the VTOL as the locals start huddling up inside. The uninjured focus on ushering the wounded or de-boned to go in first while standing guard with Kale and the mouse, but even some of the wounded seem hesitant to pile inside themselves. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like the battle is coming into the village proper just yet, but there's a growing anxiety regardless. A skeleton with a missing shin hops out of the VTOL, assisted by a possessed suit of armor that's allowing it to lean on one side while looking across the battlefield. Eventually, the skeleton turns to Kale. "Y... You there! Do you see anyone else coming towards the village? Someone wearing a lot of green?" Our daughter's still out there!"
Kale Hearthward	"Okay - skeletons missing structural bits, we have... I don't know if you'd call these prosthetics or transplants..." Those that are literally falling apart are, to the best of the mouse's ability, held together with wooden splints, medical tape, various building materials the East Wind happens to have in stock, and a few properly-shaped 3D-printed bones of approximately the right material once the vehicle's printer starts popping them out. And a few get hastily-cleaned soup bones and etcetera from the stock of rations. Just, basically, whatever works to keep the living dead from becoming less living and more dead. "I'm on it," says Kale, hopping down from the roof of the VTOL, clicking his jet boots on as he does so, and skims along the village, looking for the person in green. "Hey, Kukuru," says Kale, passing her. Then he doubles back - abruptly turning around in mid-air and veering back to hover next to her. "Um." He looks her up and down. "I think your parents are... looking for you," he says, hesitantly.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"Hold on," says Phreak, after hearing the rogue's explanation. The knight doesn't even get that--just a series of 'be quiet' noises. Some manner of application winks open, displayed in reverse throuh his visor. A waveform shows up within a window, shifting in time with the vocalizations of some conversation they're only half privy to. "Hey, man, what's up. Listen, I need some details on, a, uh... 'dangerous artifact.' Yeah--yeah, that auction. Wait, what? She did? Fuck's sake." Phreak jerks a thumb towards the village, clearly agitated as the app closes on his visor. "Listen. Those people probably don't have a fucking clue what you're here for. Alright? You wanna know who's probably got the 'artifact?' The same person that stole it." He pauses. For emphasis. Then, "In other words, her." A point towards Kukuru in the distance. "I happen to know her." His voice falters, slightly. "From work. And I can tell you she tries goddamn hard to see the good in people. But, folks, you're not really giving her a whole lot to work with, with this... crusade angle." "If you're so worried about this goddamn thing," he testily continues, poking his finger into the knight's chest, "Then you go over there and you use your words and ask her about it. And if you can't do that, you send her to do it," he then adds, inclining his head towards the rogue. "Go," he says. "Shoo." A contemptuous brushing motion with both hands. "And tell your boys to stop bothering this village, before I get upset."
Kukuru	The Rogue raises an eyebrow as she circles around Phreak, peering at his visor when he looks at all sorts of stuff she can't quite see. There's certainly some curiosity in her expression, but in that sort of 'I have no idea what this is' way. There's enough context clues between what Phreak says to somebody and to her directly, though, that she's already groaning lightly before he finishes. "I thought so. They're never just upfront about these things." She takes a deep breath, then exhales while looking over at the other three members of the party who all seem to be going through some sort of crisis of faith at getting hit with so much at once. Instead of trying to speak for the Knight, though, she steps aside to let Phreak lay into him as his mettle is tested. "But... They told us this village was overwhelmed, not inhabited by these..." The Knight clutches his chest, sounding over dramatic despite clearly taking this quite hard. "... Are /we/ the monsters here? But why would the Holy Order... Would they truly deceive us to get something like this?" The Rogue starts walking past Phreak and the Knight, but stops when the Knight places a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it. I will... Parley with them. Stay your swords!" Steeling himself, he raises his shield and bellows a mighty enough shout that actually gets the knights (holy) and the monsters (respectful) to look in his direction, then break off uneasily while he approaches Kukuru. --- The emergency given to the wounded is certainly appreciated. Despite their appearances, the undead from the village are actually quite friendly, if still rather shaken from their home being atacked so suddenly. Somehow, the ghouls don't even smell (too) bad, and the whole group of them are aactually pretty good about cycling in and out of the VTOL to make sure there's plenty of room for those yet to be treated and those handling the treatment. When Kale comes across Kukuru, meanwhile, he's greeted with a light wave of her claws that's similar to the one that Phreak got earlier: Massively distracted, and far less friendly than usual. Her ire isn't directed towards him, at least, but there's a distinct lack of her usual cheerfulness. It probably has something to do with all the blood. It's only when he mentions her parents, though, that she freezes in the middle of grabbing a knight. She doesn't release him, but instead just approaches him with the knight clutched beside her. "Th... They are? Where? Are they okay?!" She sounds frantic. That's about when the Knight (JRPG) starts approaching them. Kale's answer may have a significant effect on how she approaches the rest of the knights going forward.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Holy shit. That worked? "...yeah. Well. Maybe think about this the next time you take work from that Order, huh?" Phreak says, after overcoming his surprise at actually getting through to the knight. Watching as the knight heads over to Kukuru, and quite unaware of whatever Kale might have told her, Phreak turns his attention back to the rogue. "And you... well. Thanks for the help. I'm gonna go make sure your guy doesn't fuck everything." He therefore arrives a little late--closer to the knight's arrival. "Kukuru, these guys thought the village was 'overrun by monsters.' And the people that write their checks told them that the village had stolen some 'dangerous artifact.'" He pauses. "A little--" Phreak catches sight of Kale. "A friend told me you'd come away from an auction with a little something." "You, uh, wanna tell Mr. Shining Armor here about your, uh, 'dangerous artifact?'" He doesn't know what it is. But it's clear from the tone of his voice he doesn't believe anything Kukuru would steal could be the kind of 'dangerous' to warrant this response. Whether he's right or not remains to be seen.
Kale Hearthward	There's a long moment on Kale's behalf as he realizes this. There's a few factors at play here - 'here' being inside Kale's head. He has a code, albeit one that he's working on coming up with and refining instead of one set in stone. Then again, testing it like this, in situations where his next move is ambiguous and having a code to fall back on would come in handy... there isn't a better stress test for it, is there? 1. Hit back first, and harder. 2. Don't look at this list for a justification. 3. If someone says that they're a thief, believe them. 4. Force on behalf of those you're charged to protect is always just. 5. Force 'for the principle of it' or to prove a point is never just. Justice is just, vengeance is not. 6. If you have to lose, lose in a way that you learn something from. 7. If you've lost, the conversation is over. 8. Words, flags, and symbols are all important. Never assume they're carelessly placed. The village sent the distress call, he answered it, he's now charged to protect them and any number of actions are justified as a result (#4), including telling Kukuru that the knights injured her parents(?). However - siccing her on them would be... done in vengeance (#5)? Just telling her that her parents are injured, encouraging her to get off the field, would be the less... carnage-filled option. "Kukuru..." Then he looks up. There's a knight approaching them. To duel (#1)? Or... no, to parley? "... They got hurt," says Kale, drawing a sword and facing the knight. "My people are taking care of them, but ou need to go check on them." Rule number five wins out. He needs to get Kukuru off the field. But at the same time... "Hey!" he calls, sword at the ready, rule number four having also won out - but in a different way. "Kale Hearthward, Paladins! This village and its inhabitants are under my protection, per Commonwealth code 58c! You all have about ten seconds to drop all of your weapons and surrender!" Rule number one's also applying, and he's counting down quietly from ten.
Kukuru	Phreak explains the situation, and Kukuru still looks somewhat dumbfounded (and mildly homicidal) as she keeps her unmoving grip on that knight. "Is... Is that really what happened?" She asks quietly with a confused tone still, looking towards the Knight as he sheathes his sword and nods slowly. "Fair lady! I... We've made a grave mistake, coming here. Everything the strange gray man said was true." The Knight explains, clasping a hand against his chest while Kukuru fixes a wide-eyed stare on him. "We were told that this town was overrun by the undead, not a home for your own." Kale gets Kukuru's attention again when he mentions that her parents are injured, and there's a brief moment where her grip tightens before relaxing again once she realizes that they're being cared for. "They're... Thanks, Kale. Thanks Phreak. I gotta..." She shivers lightly, turning slightly pale even under all that caked on blood despite the apparent relief in her tone. She looks ready to turn and leave, but stops when the Knight speaks up again. "I don't know what this artifact is, but..." The Knight admits and turns towards the holy knights, grimacing after a moment. "Whatever it is couldn't be worth this stain on our souls. We do not deserve it, but can you forgive us for our transgressions?" The Knight takes a knee, and the holy knights murmur among themselves while the Knight speaks on their behalf. Some of them look like they might be itching to move around him despite what he's saying, but they're stopped by the rest of the JRPG crew in a wide formation (of only four people) gesturing at them to back off and shaking their heads as if trying to warn them not to do something terribly stupid. Kukuru takes several long moments to try and process all of this, looking towards Kale, then Phreak, then at the Knight as he remains kneeling. The first indication that she's moving at all is when there's a sudden gasp for air as she releases the knight she had been holding in her claws, and then a cloud of dark energy opens in front of her. She steps into it, then comes back out of that same portal a few seconds later with a pink and black rice cooker with a yellow paper strip stuck to the side. She approaches the Knight, reaching for his head and... "... It's okay. You didn't know. I couldn't stay mad at you and your friends if that's really what happened." She murmurs gently while moving her free hand past the Knight's head, hugging him gently for a moment before getting back up. "But the ones that didn't tell you anything..." She turns to the knights with another unusually tense scowl. "Get out of here. I don't want these kids to have to see anything worse, and I don't wanna make Kale or Phreak have to break their promises, either." She warns, glancing at the rice cooker when she notices that the knights are still standing there even after Kale's declaration about protecting the village. They seem uncertain on how to proceed despite the Elites and the JRPG group apparently united in trying to get them to stand down, but that countdown has the knights finally starting to back away slowly after several long, uncomfortable seconds.
Kale Hearthward	Kale looks like he's itching to open fire here, but as the knights back away he (reluctantly) sheathes his sword (#5). "... They're being taken care of," he repeats to Kukuru, after taking a moment to relay their VIP status to his pilot and gunner/medic via radio. "The East Wind's in the back, they're being taken care of inside of it, I'll have it stick around for as long as the village needs." Then he turns back towards the holy knights, crossing his arms, hovering ominously in the air as he sweeps his head from side to side, taking them all in in turn. "Go check in on them," he suggests to Kukuru. "I'll just make sure there aren't any more incidents here." Please let there be an incident, his posture suggests. "And - if there is something actually dangerous that comes up, like genuinely, I'd suggest contacting us instead of someone else," he says to the (non-holy) Knight, pulling out a Paladins contact card and flinging it at him.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	Phreak releases a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Reaching up to run his left hand through his short black hair, he watches the knights back away with tangible relief. Turning to Kale, the pointy-eared fixer extends his right. "Good working with you," he offers. No point in introductions when Kukuru essentially did it for them. A backwards nod towards the village--specifically, the VTOL he'd landed there. "Happy to lend a hand patching up, if your people need it." 'It sure looked like they had it handled, though,' his impressed tone implies. "Good advice," says Phreak to the knight, chiming in after Kale. "You seem like an alright guy. And I know you got a problem with this, uh, 'stain on your soul.' Well, I got a problem, too, see," he says conspiratorially, as command prompts begin scrolling up his visor. Fingers diligently tapping away on an AR keyboard. "And we can help each other out. I can get you back to the nearest city, and you... you can raise hell with that Order, like I know you wanna, that much faster. I'll even throw in a ride for your friends, too. Major city or warpgate just like that, and all you gotta do is your thing, guy." He pauses, hands at rest. The cursor on his visor blinks. "What's it gonna be?"
Kukuru	With her fears mostly pushed aside, Kukuru approaches Kale and practically falls on him for a moment to just hug him around the side. "Right. I'm gonna.. Yeah. Thanks again. All this over a rice cooker, too..." She starts laughing after a while, but in that sort of 'what the hell' frustrated way. The Knight, missing the cue entirely, laughs in a meatheaded big boy way. The Rogue just sort of groans in tired irritation while the Mage and Cleric continue standing off to the side with visible discomfort. The Knight catches the tosses business card with his face, looking it over a few times before tucking it away into own of his own pouches. "I think... I would like that, indeed, Sir Gray. You and Sir Hearthward have opened our eyes to something truly unthinkable today." The Knight gets up finally, nodding at Phreak's offer before turning to his allies. "We'll need to investigate this matter further-" "No, we don't." The Rogue chimes in. "-and get to the bottom of all of this travesty." The Knight keeps on going, completely ignoring the Rogue's protests. "We do not have much to offer but our own skills with the blade and magic, but do not hesitate to call upon our aid should any of you need it as well!" He continues, apparently accepting both of Phreak's and Kale's suggestions without faltering one bit. "... Could be worse, I guess." The Rogue sort of assents while the Mage and Cleric continue to not get any interesting dialogue yet. With everything that needs saying said, then, there's nothing left to do but to care for the wounded, for Kukuru to finally get back to her parents (?), and for the holy knights to withdraw lest they get their shit royally pushed in by so many Elites and a group of JRPG idiots now defending the village. Kukuru will have to send the invitations to everyone to come by for a meal/party later.
Rubi-Kan Vagrants	"It's Phreak. I'd give you my first name, but I'm on the job right now. Work life balance, you understand." With the rest of the party gathered and ready, he takes a moment to explain. "This is gonna feel weird. Uhhh... imagine that the world is a scroll, and all the things in it, and about it, are written down on that scroll. Wait, no--imagine a library. FUCK! Okay--so, at some point, someone is going to put rocks together and make a machine that thinks--okay, you know what, just gimme a place and don't puke on me." The party is digitized, Phreak included, compacted into data receptacles and bounced to a cyberspace construct built in real time around them; collapsing in their wake. Traveling in the dizzying perspective of observing oneself abtractly as a moving point of data, towards a port labeled with the name of the nearest relevant city, they are reassembled in realspace at the gate of that very city. Phreak takes a lunging step backwards in anticipation of that which he'd warned against. "Yeah. So. We have people all over. I, uh... don't have a cool business card like that guy. But--if you need me again, we got people all over. Just look for the signs." Nodding towards the rogue, "She'll know the ones. Later!" His fingers fly once more across the keyboard, and he's gone, fading away like an afterimage, briefly overlaid with a virtual blue wireframe facsimile of himself before vanishing entirely.