Multiverse Crisis MUSH - User contributions [en]

1541/Along Came a Spider.

2015-02-10T18:27:39Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/10 |Location=Asian Plains |Synopsis=Juri Han sneaks into Konoha and makes off with a mysterious technique scroll. Rock Lee tries to stop he..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/10
|Location=Asian Plains
|Synopsis=Juri Han sneaks into Konoha and makes off with a mysterious technique scroll. Rock Lee tries to stop her, but unfortunately, things don't go as planned for the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha!
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=102, 678
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The night is dark in Konoha. The impassive faces of Hokage Mountain look down on the village with a cold, emotionless gaze. They are the spiritual guardians; the literal rocks which anchor The Village Hidden in the Leaves to their past, and serve as a beacon for their future.     They have also done precisely nothing to stop Juri.     Sneaking into Konoha on her own would have been unthinkable, but with the assistance of Hanama Ryou, it had been possible. He knew a way past the outer walls with minimal sentries, and really, once Juri has gotten IN, she's not too concerned about making a mess again on her way out.     The sound of breaking glass shatters the peace of Konoha's streets, and immediately, the alarm is raised. A silhouette of a woman is visible, for a brief instant, against the moon above - and then she's gone, bounding across rooftops in a mad, gravity-defying dash towards the front gates, and freedom. A satchel looped about her waist betrays the reason for this - a heavy, green-wrapped scroll poking through the top. Almost... as though she WANTED the keen-eyed ninja to know what she's got. It just isn't as much fun if you don't rub it in their faces.     "Oh my!~" She coos, grinning, as the village goes into panic below - several kunai already burying themselves where she was a few seconds previously, "And I was starting to think you were all tucked up in bed~." 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' Many of the best ninja are away at the moment, searching for Madara on various missions. Even the Hokage isn't here right now. This is the reason that the exact location of Konoha has been kept a secret from people within the Multiverse at large. But obviously this isn't always possible... Soon after Juri jumps from where she'd just been attacked, Lee lands on the roof in front of those kunai, crouched slightly as he treats to determine where exactly she's going. "Stop right there!" he shouts, reaching into the pouch on his leg to pull out a kunai of his own, tossing it at a far higher speed than the random mook ninjas who were chasing her. She might even be skilled enough to notice the thin wire attached to the loop at the end. "I am Rock Lee, the Beautiful Green Beast of Konoha. I will not allow you to get away with stealing that!" 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' If there's one thing that Juri is good at - it is noticing things. There's a flashed warning in her eye, and she turns. The darkness is no real impediment to the Feng Shui Engine - and the purple glow in her eye betrays that there's ~something~ strange going on there. She has to move quickly, though! Pivoting, the kunai passes within an inch of her face, and she completes a backwards roll, straightening up to face in Rock's direction. Standing on the edge of the roof, her lips quirk up in a sneer. "Beautiful Green Beast, huh?" She repeats, and then shakes her head. "Sorry. You look more like a poodle than a beast to me. Come back when you've practiced fighting as much as doing your hair." As she speaks, the lesser ninja continue trying to stop her - which you would think would be easy given that she's stood stock still, but as she plucks one flung kunai out of the air - without even looking at it - and uses it to send two more shuriken sparking off into the darkness... maybe not. 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' "But your hair is incredibly beautiful, surely you have spent far more time on yours than I have on mine!" Lee accuses, dropping the wire and charging forward. He leaps toward her and tries to aim his foot at her face, going for a knockout blow. HIs movements are quick, but at the moment obviously not as quick as her's. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' "You noticed that, huh?" Juri's eyeline is filled with technical data. Most of it is, frankly, useless, but there's enough to tell her that the young man's technique is... good. Very good, really, but not quite good enough. Going straight for the knockout blow? That's just bad sportsmanship. At the last moment, the devil-haired woman crouches low, letting Rock's leg sail over her head. Then, she aims to grab him by the ankle. "You know, you shouldn't rush into these things. You've got to take your time." With Rock so close, the other ninja don't want to risk hitting him by accident - this is not a concern for long. If she's got her grip on the younger fighter's ankle, she'll FLING him at the walls to Konoha village - intending, really, to send him bouncing and tumbling to the ground. Either way, she'll follow - but in a more controlled leap that'll have her alighting catlike atop the village walls. 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' "I am attempting to end this, I do not want to hurt someone with such beautiful hair!" Lee states right before she grabs his ankle, and he finds himself flying. With a -thump-, he's sliding down the wall. He had a brief moment of unconsciousness, but when he's back, he slams his foot against the wall and launches himself toward her. The combat data would definitely suggest someone who has ridiculous physical conditioning, the problem is that, currently, it's not on par with her's. He lands on a roof, then stumbles and reaches back to rub his head. He's still reeling from slamming into the wall. "Give that back and leave! I will not allow you to leave here. What village are you from?" 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' "That's really none of your business." Juri's smile could not be more infuriating. Straightening herself back up to her full height, she stands side-on to Rock. One hand rests on the scroll, the other hangs loose by her side. She looks... really quite relaxed, though that glowing purple eye of hers only burns more intensely as she scrutinizes her opponent. "Word of advice? If you're going to stop someone, stop them. You're never going to win a girl like me over with words." And with that said, she steps backwards off the wall, in a controlled, graceful arc towards the ground. 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' "The elegance of your movements led me to believe that you were a reasonable person!" Lee admits as he jumps after her, then two more kunai are tossed down at her when he jumps down over the same wall. They're attempting to wrap wire around her body, but once again, they're not quite as fast as she is. "I cannot tell what village you are from!" 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' "Reasonable?" Juri actually laughs at that, and uses the kunai to slash through the wire. A flare of bright purple power helps to make sure there's less chance of an unfortunate accident with the flashy move. "Alright then. Let me show you how reasonable a REAL Beast is." It is cruel, really, but Juri hasn't made a single offensive move at all so far. When she does go on the attack, it isn't with testing strikes, or even an attempt to knock Rock out all at once - nothing so merciful. In one instant, she's standing facing him. In the next, she's behind him. A trail of bright purple light joins her eye in the first position to her eye in the next, and in one simple movement, she aims to smash her knee brutally hard into Rock's kidney, wrapping her arm about his throat at the same time to keep him in place. 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' "So your name is Juri Han!" Lee says after holding his finger against his ear for a moment. But when she slams his knee into his kidney, he shouts and freezes long enough for her to wrap around his throat. He struggles, having an -incredible- amount of strength, far moreso than a normal human. But she seems to know just the right way to grab and hurt him, and he seemed to know just the right way to underestimate her. "There is no way... that you...can escape here..." 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' "Tch, so you've been reporting this as we go? You know, I really can't stand a snitch." Holding him tight isn't easy, the guy really is stronger than he looks - which is very impressive, since he LOOKS pretty strong - but the Feng Shui Engine helps to make up the difference. More infuriatingly, it means that Union backup is probably already on the way - his allies on the ground don't seem much help, but the Union have successfully made every other mission she's engaged in ... infuriating. "Oh well. I guess playtime is over, then." "SENPUSHA!" Releasing Rock's neck, he has a split second before Juri twists upwards in a spinning cartwheel, her heel aiming to catch the younger fighter in the /other/ kidney, and fling him into the air before she breaks into a sprint. 

:'''{{#var:678|Rock Lee (678)}} has posed:''' Lee goes flying into the air, yelling in so much pain that eventually he falls entirely unconscious before he lands on a random roof. She's still pursued by the random mook ninja, who start to shoot fireballs and manipulate electricity and whatever else they can manage at her. But right now, it seems she'll get away scott free. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:''' Dealing with low-level ninja isn't too great a challenge. Though the scale of the energy they are mustering is impressive to behold... it isn't overly strong, and she can counteract the flames by answering with her own. The only nuisance comes when she goes to meet up with Ryou. The man was supposed to be her guide back out through the forest; instead, this time, it seems that Konoha's ninja found him when she wasn't there to defend him. Rather than interrupt their confused gathering, the devil-haired woman merely hisses with irritation, and slips back into the shadows. Which means that Rock will have a little more to go on than just a name. There's also the missing ninja, and the strange headband she'd had made up for him - although Juri doesn't deign to wear one herself, the forehead protector is a band of dark purple cloth, with a steel plate and a staring eye. A symbol which the Union database should be able to cross reference with a particular organization... S.I.N 

}}

1523/Birth of a Monster (Squad)

2015-02-07T22:25:57Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/07 |Location=British Isles-548 |Synopsis=Taro, Psalm and Seras Victoria meet in order to discuss Hellsing's newest project... |Thanks= |Cas..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/07
|Location=British Isles-548
|Synopsis=Taro, Psalm and Seras Victoria meet in order to discuss Hellsing's newest project...
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=181, 246, 399
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Getting hold of Captain Victoria had proven surprisingly difficult. Even with Integra's direct influence in play, the pretty blonde woman (who is actually not a vampire!) had been reluctant to return to home base. She's here now, though, and looking surly and irritable with it.     Integra has had to return her attention to other matters, and so a meeting room within Hellsing Tower has been made available for Taro and Psalm, but she's much higher up in the building. Seras wrinkles her nose delicately as she waits for an explanation as to the reason for her being here. "This place always smells like fags." She complains. Meaning, of course, cigarettes. Because Britain. 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     Miss Songsteel is here, looking slightly wore for wear from last night. There's a glint in her eyes though as she leans back in her chair, looking over to Seras with a grin. "You're looking lovely as ever, Miss Victoria. And it does, just be sure to remember that Integra likes her cigars and she Is Allowed, so." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro has not yet told Sir Integra that she should consider giving up her smoking habit. Made a note to himself to consider a cybernetic pulmonary transplant in several years' time, yes, but not suggested she should quit.     "At least the view is nice," Taro remarks neutrally. Sometime between his last meeting and this one he's removed his uniform jacket and draped it over the back of his chair, but otherwise he's still wearing his Hellsing uniform. "Good afternoon, Captain Victoria, Lady Psalm. Thank you for coming, and apologies for making you travel." Polite words, even said with some sincerity.     Though he doesn't eat himself, he did politely ask Ms. Greene if they could have a light tray of something or another (his exact words) along with tea for their meeting. Which may or may not mollify Seras and may or may not be to Psalm's liking, but at least the effort was made. He'll let the two of them help themselves to refreshments if they'd like them - and pouring a cup of tea for himself - before getting to business.     "Sir Hellsing I and I were discussing this morning about the potential of Multiversal threats that the Hellsing Organization could face, either here on home soil, or during adventures abroad," he explains. "It would be for the best if everyone, from Director down the chain of command receives some training on how to counteract threats outside of the traditional scope..." A nod to Psalm, "Which is in part why you were asked to this meeting as well." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     A light tray of cucumber sandwiches and some tea is indeed provided, and Seras pours herself some tea while turning up her nose at the sandwiches. She nods her head to Psalm, though, and moves to sit down at one of the chairs as Taro speaks. The look she gives him is a little quizzical - she's still not entirely sure what the point of Taro and Nine is, but if Sir Integra said they were necessary, they were probably necessary.     "That makes sense." She says, at last. "We've been in this Godforsaken place almost a year now, and we still haven't mapped out all the Warpgates. People are getting in, and people are getting out. There's only so long we can keep getting lucky. Sooner or later, we're going to have to go after someone across worlds, or something big is going to happen here." 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     "'But Taro,' she says, 'I'm not a monster.'." Psalm snickers and plucks up a sandwich as well, before flicking her hand and... a plate of what looks like baked fish and bread hummus appears on the table as well.     The bard then leans forward with a grin. "You can thank Solanda for that. She is an excellent Servant. But yes, I am not a monster, but I can certainly bring some with, if that's the case. Or is it my magic that you're after?" 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro does his utmost to not flinch when a meal appears on the table courtesy of bard and servant, though it does momentarily break his train of thought. While he personally has...issues...with magic, it is part of the fabric of the Multiverse. And, he must grudgingly admit that the art has its value.     A small shake of his head, and then the android resumes. "Barring another Oblivion Incident or its relics, the Multiverse will not be going away. Thus it is only a matter of time before someone or something intrudes," he says in agreement with Seras. Then, attention and gaze shift back to Psalm. "I believe that Number Nine and I will be filling the 'monster' part of the equation." There's a note of wryness in his tone with those words. "Though in reality, the idea is to train Hellsing operatives effective measures against threats that Hellsing has not yet met. Your knowledge of magic and the effectiveness with which you wield it is what's of interest. To demonstrate, to teach, and to train. If you are interested and willing, that is?" 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Seras eyes the fish suspiciously for several moments, and then raises her eyes to look at Psalm once more. The young Captain is staring over the rim of her teacup, but then she remembers where she saw Psalm before!     "Oh! Yeah, you helped us when we attacked that Union diner." She says, setting the teacup down again. She hasn't actually met the mysterious Number Nine yet, but she's seen him in action from afar, and she's read the reports. Hmph.     "I suppose if we're going to have a witch on the team, one who knows how to watch our backs is a good deal." She says, "And we did alright last time. It isn't SO different out there." Seras pauses, considering her few deployments against Union elites. "You just have to shoot them a bit more than other targets, as a rule." 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     "Well there's a little more to it than that, but the idea remains the same, young lady." Psalm plucks up a piece of bread and spreads the hummus a bit, taking a bite. A moment to consider her response, and the bard leans forward. "There's more to threats than simple combat effectiveness, durability, or things of that nature. You'll need to be aware and have excellent intelligence."     A glance over at Taro. Education. And then back to Seras. "Tell me, Miss Victoria, have you ever been under a geas? Had someone cast a hex on you or your men? Seen them turned against one another?" Another bite, and then she continues. "I know you've fought unnatural super-combatants before, but what about the more subtle forms of combat?" 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     If Seras wants to hear about Number Nine, she should talk to Perkins. Or to the other handful of people who have spent time in the Golem and the Android's company. But not to the commissary staff or the takeaway place around the corner, unless she wants to hear about how much he eats...     Taro takes a sip of tea while Psalm speaks, his hands cupped neatly around the teacup even as he sets it down. "There are other threats as well, or an entirely non-supernatural nature...do you have any idea how to cripple or deactivate a combat machine-drone? Have you ever had your own equipment malfunction or fail due to a rampant virus?" 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Actually, yes." Seras says. Her jaw clenches tightly at the memory of it. "Bathory was her name. She clouded most of our minds and drained almost all of Integra's blood before she came to her senses and was able to stake the woman. One of the few True Vampires we've managed to kill."     That was to Psalm, obviously. To Taro, she gives a more circumspect look. "I already said I agree that it is a good idea." She says, reproachfully. "I suppose I'm the one who is supposed to pick our people for this project?" 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     It's even a name Magatha has heard of, and there's a twitch of her lips as she takes a cup of tea. "Then you've some experience on that front. And yes. You've got access to the top of the field in your United Kingdom, the best of the best, and I'm sure Integra's got the cash to throw around to hire the best of the best."     Maggie sniffs and hums a little tune though her nose, conjuring up a rather plain looking dossier wit hthe crest of House Deneith on the front. "I'd suggest my own company, of course, but I'm sure there are other consultants you can find as well." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro's normally mild frown deepens somewhat at the mention of Bathory. While he's had no direct experience with any iteration of her, he did read that After-Action Report and later analysis.     He nods to Seras. "If you would, please. You have been here far longer and know your people far better than I do. Outside of Squad One and R&D, I have had little direct interaction with them. Besides which, I am..." A small shrug of self acceptance. "...I do not expect to have the same kind of interactions with them as you do." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Neither of you are Christian, you'll both have ... issues, for a while."     Seras actually sounds a little apologetic about that. The woman's usual, hard demeanor fades just a little bit as she admits it, smiling faintly and nodding her head, "What sort of size of squad are we looking at? I usually deploy with Browning and Rose, so that's three. They help transport and load the Harkonen. There's a few veterans of other missions outside, but some of them were pretty shaken up by the experience. That bloody plant woman..."     She meets Maggie's eye, remembering that. "Thanks, by the way." 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     A wink back to Seras, before Maggie mmmhs. "No Christians, no. I can bring with adherents of the Soverign Host, of course, though those would be Warforged. Think your men could deal with Mechanical Priests?" A grin. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Being an ordained priest in another relgion is something of a conversation-stopper around here, yes. He makes no apologies for it, though he has been discreet about it while in Hellsing's territory.     Taro accept the unvoiced apology with a small nod. "My suggestion was for this squad to be available for rapid field deployment in case of incursion. We would need for it to be large enough to be able to support itself, but not so large that we and our equipment cannot fit in one or at most two transport helicopters." His gaze lowers to his teacup as he considers. "Veterans of a mission 'outside' would be preferable, of course, but my own preference is for those open-minded enough to accept that not all realities are like this." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "They'll deal with anything they're told to deal with."     Seras nods seriously at the next few criteria. "Alright." She says, "The Harkonen will take up most of the room in that case, and I think one is more sensible than two. Two helicopters means twice as many inbound targets."     There's a kind of twisted logic there; if one of them got shot down, the confusion and chaos could jeopardize the second team. If there was just one helicopter, and it got shot down, the second team would be coming in to a more certain situation. Because they'd all likely be dead.     "Open-mindedness isn't exactly on the standard quality list, but I'll do what I can." She looks to Maggie, then. "Will you need any equipment space?" 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     Maggie shakes her head at that. "No, if I am hired, you'll get a cadre of Warforged, the standard troops under my command. Tireless, well disciplined, cordial, soldiers. The don't need to eat or drink, but they'll do so to build squad morale with the rest of your men. I'll pick out a few of the more gregarious types."     A sip of tea. "The mix will be good for the team. More than one sort of soldier means that if something affects one bunch, you'll still have other folks who might not be affected and can exfiltrate the disabled men and regroup." A look. "Your Monster Squad, while mortal, should not be treated as fodder. They will need to be very highly trained, and we can provide that. Valuable. Disciplined. Treat them like it. They'll take the hard jobs and they'll know that. But they can't be bog standard." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "It is one thing to be told to 'deal with it'," Taro says, "But it is another to not to need to be told this. It would be best for the group as a whole if each of us is willing to accept this kind of challenge without the need to be so ordered.     "Number Nine will take up the space of two," He goes on to note. "While in theory I can fly on my own, it would be better to include me inside the transport than out of it." A pause. "Also, if I may advocate Operative Perkins for a spot in the squadron. He handled himself quite well during that mission in Scotland." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Hellsing does not HAVE fodder."     The rebuke is a little bit sharper, perhaps, than is strictly necessary. Given the way some Multiversal warlords treat their soldiers, it is hardly fair to blame Psalm for making the caveat; but this is an island which has been under siege for years. Whilst Integra has done as much as she can to bolster the training, numbers, equipment and other miscellaneous resources that Hellsing had to hand, it is never enough. They are always stretched thin; every loss is felt keenly.     "So. I have a team of three. Four including Perkins. We're at six with nine, seven with you Taro, eight with Maggie. Do these war-forged take up much space?" 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     "As much as a man, heavier depending on build, but count in 3 more for a squad of 11. Platoon level, and as much as I'd reccomend for this." Maggie takes a slice of fish and makes a sandwich with the hummus. "I'll have the Forged stay here. As I said, call them soldiers, mercenaries, consultants, whatever, but they'd need to be Hellsing as much as Deneith for this to work. Melee and defensive specialists, a spell caster or preist if you'd want as well." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "Eleven seems a reasonable number," Taro opins, then looks to Seras. "Would you find that acceptable?" Deferring to her judgement here, apparently. While it may be his idea, what he said about her before is true. Her acceptance of said idea would go far in convincing the others of its merit. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Seras considers the options carefully. She hadn't expected native forces to be outnumbered almost two to one, but perhaps it is for the best. Her lips purse as she thinks, "It'd be good if we could get another two of our guys in there." She opines, "But it'd probably be too cramped. We'll need some guys in reserve, anyway. And I wouldn't take another spellcaster." Her eyes meet Maggie's meaningfully, "We'll have you, right?" 

:'''{{#var:181|Psalm (181)}} has posed:'''     Maggie smiles. "You'd have me. And we'll wake several more of your men for reserve, of course. We'd need to contend with training injuries and such, even with the forged. They may be made of wood and metal and stone but they are certainly mortal."     A look to Seras, and Psalm nods. "That will do nicely, I think." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro nods at this. "Reserves would be ideal. We would also want additional men and woment that can later serve as trainers for the other squadrons. Ultimately we will want everyone down to Ms. Greene to have some basic training...but that is something to be discussed another time."     He's not in the habit of smiling, and the closest he manages now is a small crinkling around the eyes and a faint upturn at the corners of his lips. "I believe we have the foundation now, at least. We can work out all of the specifics later. I know that you both have other duties to attend to, and I would not want to keep you from them longer than necessary." 

}}

1521/The Value of Delegation

2015-02-07T17:17:18Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2015/02/07 |Location=British Isles-548 |Synopsis=Integra asks Taro for advice on new multiversal training techniques, and the pair devise new missi..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2015/02/07
|Location=British Isles-548
|Synopsis=Integra asks Taro for advice on new multiversal training techniques, and the pair devise new mission objectives for Hellsing going forward
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=246, 399
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' A new year has not changed much in London-548. Terrorists recently struck a blow against the Hellsing forces, ambushing a group of them and cutting them off from backup. The media has been successfully repressed from reporting this in any great detail, but it is an unwelcome reminder that the british isles are not, whatever Integra might desire, entirely under her control. She's been quietly pleased with the efforts of Taro and Nine on her behalf, and today is a semi-regular meeting between herself and the android in her service. Rather than the usual austere office surroundings, though, Integra has booked out a sizeable, ostentatious meeting room high up in Hellsing Tower, where she waits for the man and smokes her cigar in peace. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro is rarely, if ever, late for any of his appointments. Today is no exception to this, and he steps through the conference door a minute or two early. Since it's not her private office, he sees no reason to knock, instead simply opening the door and stepping through.     The android can at times be difficult to read. He does not convey human facial expressions well - it's more the tone of his voice and small changes in his almost-too-graceful body language that tip off what may be going on in that neuralnet of his. His head is slightly lowered (though that's not unusual in her presence), his brow more furrowed than usual, and he closes the door with a touch more force than necessary. Still, he bows as is his habit, and his tone is civil enough when he greets her with a "Good day, Master."     Ah, a beautiful view. That mollifies him a bit, and he'll take a long moment to gaze out the window before taking a seat. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' Integra doesn't tend to miss even small details. That Taro seems upset is noted, and the Head of Hellsing considers whether or not to address this for several long moments. Her cigar is enjoyable, but some of the pleasure has been taken out of it by the dissatisfaction evident in Taro's bearing. "Is it?" She asks, moving to sit at the head of the table. Almost the same instant that she sits down, Ms. Green - the ever-too-eager secretary - bursts in with a stack of folders. "The files you requested Sir Integra." "Yes, set them down and leave us, Ms. Green. I'll contact you if I need you again." Her eyes then drift to Taro, as she sets her cigar down on a small black ashtray. "You seem troubled. Is there something the matter, Taro?" 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro manages a "Good day, Ms. Green" somewhere in the time that the woman is in the room. The files are eyed with mild curiosity, but he leaves them where the secretary has placed them. No doubt Sir Integra will hand over what he needs to see when she's ready to, and he does not hurry that along.     His brow furrows deeper at her question, and he answers with "Yes." There's a pause, almost long enough to think that may have been his only answer, but then he continues. "One of the Union roboticists attempted to make some small programming changes to one of our reploid allies. I had to..." He slips out of The Queen's English into Neo Arcadian. "...perform emergency behavioral pattern matrix repair." He switches back to English. "It went well, and I expect my patient will recover."     Another pause. "But it has no bearing on Hellsing directly, Sir Hellsing. I imagine you have more relevant matters to discuss." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' The explanation draws a tight, clenched jaw from Integra, and she narrows her eyes. She herself has had experiences in the past where she's had to fend off mental influences. Some of the vampires she has encountered in her years of service have even managed to cloud her mind, or that of her closest friends. It is not, a pleasant sensation. Nor is it one she would wish on anybody. "Who was this reploid, and which roboticist made the attempt?" She asks, then, looking over the tops of her glasses, "If this is preying on your mind, Taro, we can take steps to rectify the situation." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "I am most displeased," Taro answers, stating the obvious in a dark tone. Judging by the words and expression, Integra seems to understand what a violation this can be for him and his kind. Good.     "I ask on the basis of medical confidentiality that this information go no further than you for now, Master. My patient is Ferham, whom you have not met, I think. The roboticist responsible is Doctor Maxine Sandberg." He swivels his chair to an angle where he can better view the world outside the window. "Ferham has asked that I take no direct action against the woman, and so I have limited myself to voicing my deep displeasure at her actions, well intentioned as they may have been." He makes a quiet sound of disgust. "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' "I see." Integra considers this information carefully, and then nods her head. "Alright." She says, "I promise you, there shall be no action undertaken which violates the word you gave to your patient." Clasping her hands together, Integra rests her elbows on the desk, and her eyes fall to the files. "I asked you here to obtain your input on a new project." She says, "The Multiverse represents a vast number of new threats to our forces and our allies. So far, we have used threats from our world and from within Confederate Elite ranks. We need new demonstrations to prepare our men for what they may encounter out there." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro gives a single, deep nod of his head. "Thank you."     Then, to business. His chair swivels back to face the table, his gaze following hers to rest on the stack of folders. "Mm. Although your government has been quite proactive in attempting to keep the Multiverse from your borders, it cannot remain so forever, Sir Hellsing. I would indeed be wise to prepare for when those threats find a way in." No ifs here - he knows it will happen eventually, and he doubts it will keep to a timetable. "What sort of demonstrations do you propose?" 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' "That is what we're here to determine." Integra replies, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "Against supernatural threats, we have considerable experience. I trust my operatives to adapt in the field even outside threats we have direct analogues to in our world." She pauses for a moment, casting her eyes over the files, "We are also one of the Multiverse's finest military forces." She states, in a manner which brooks no argument. "But against the stranger threats, we have little experience. Can you think of any scenarios it would behoove us to be prepared for?" 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro does not argue this point. He's been training with them, working with them, and living among them when he's here in London. (For certain definitions of living, at least - his and Nine's quarters are somewhat segregated from the rest of the barracks.) For humans, they are quite formidable.     The android steeples his fingers as he thinks. "Machine-based threats is the first that comes to mind, for unsurprising reasons." There's a hint of humor there. Now that he's been able to vent some of his vexation, his mood is improving. "Monsters not of supernatural origin - technological, biological, even some that are completely natural yet utterly alien to your Earth. Magic of the kind not found here...though on that I would have to defer to someone more knowledgable on the subject." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' "That was my thought as well." Integra says, "Although the Union are a constant concern, I was looking for examples of widespread threats considered malevolent enough to be engaged by both superfactions." She finally reaches out and snuffs her cigar, grinding the ashes into the bottom of the tray. "After all, any which have survived more than a few weeks would seem credible enough as a concern to try and prepare my forces to engage." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "Thus far, you and your organization have kept a low profile, and so you have not yet been a concern to the Union, either militarily or ideologically," Taro notes, picking his words with some care. It is not so much that Hellsing is non-threatening as the Union is generally unaware of the threat they could be. "However, sooner or later, we will engage them directly, and more likely it will be by happenstance rather than planned." He makes a small gesture to indicate his absent fellow monster. "Number Nine and I have already been working towards that...we've had some of the squads engage us in mock combat during our training sessions, to get them acclimated to fighting those of our caliber." And inhumanity. "To make such sessions more formal, and to expand the scope to other threats should not be overly difficult...though unless you'd like to train them outside the country, I will need to borrow one of those countryside training camps." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' "Actually, I was thinking in broader terms." Integra opens one of the files, and lays out a series of reports detailing the general abilities of Lance Benson, Albert Wesker, Tesla Armadia's constructs, and several other Confederate elites as they engaged with and against Hellsing forces. "I've found the Field of Trials very useful to demonstrate near-real world conditions. I am told, by those who have failed in their mission, that the sensation of death is powerful incentive to learn the lessons which need to be learned. I would like you to craft several generic missions we could use to train both my forces, and other Confederate Elites in a variety of common situations." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro gives an almost imperceptible twitch at the mention of sensation of death being a powerful incentive.     He cannot disagree. He has experienced being slain and left effectively dead. It is one he'd prefer to not repeat.     "I have some traning programs already, which I believe are still on file. It would be more efficient to begin with modified versions of those, and then introduce entirely new scenarios once I've constructed them." Another pause as he thinks further. "If I may make another suggestion..." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' Integra notes the twitch, but isn't quite certain what to make of it. If Taro believes that her methods are too strict... too extreme... that is a conversation which will need to wait for another time. "That makes sense. And you may." She says, curious about what it was the android had in mind. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     He gives no explanation, and for all he knows she did not notice. Taro simply continues on with his proposal. "It would of course be essential that everyone, from you down the entire organizational chain, receive tranining in counteracting Multiversal threats. That said, I believe it would benefit us as a whole to form an additional squadron from the ranks that's dedicated to this purpose. One that could be rapidly deployed should one of these threats find its way through a warpgate, or sent to support our Confederate allies in a time of need." He glances from the files spread across the table to her directly. "While I am not recommending that Hellsing get more directly involved in Confederate affairs, it may be prudent to show more support when it comes to common goals. Especially if you would like to have assistance from them in rooting out certain organizations in Europe." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:''' Integra allows herself a small smile at Taro's diplomatic wording. It is one of those strange things - whilst she'd much rather people spoke plainly, since her usual reaction to opinions she doesn't like is to start shouting, she can hardly blame them for trying to lessen the average volume of conversation. "The Hellsing Organization has leant resources to several Confederate efforts in the past." She says, mildly. "We've captured target zones and engaged Union elites at a breakfast bar in order to catch them unprepared. Casualties in all cases have been high." She considers this for several seconds longer, and then nods her head. "We are allies. So far, we've offered training and soft support, but I will not have it be said that Hellsing is afraid of taking a greater role in Multiversal affairs. A dedicated team could help us .... limit the drain on resources. Liase with Captain Victoria. She has been involved in the majority of missions outside our borders, she may have further ideas." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     it's not that surprising that Taro has retained some of his habits from interactions with his former masters. SHODAN especially. She was quite firm on not speaking of certain senstive subjects - such as invasions or removals of rivals - directly, except in exceptionally secured lines of communication. There is always the chance that one might be overheard.     Another deep nod. "I will."     Breakfast bar? ... He makes a note to look for that particular After-Action Report later. 

}}

1136/New Duties

2015-02-07T11:06:51Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/12/13 |Location=London |Synopsis=Holiday cheer, Hellsing style. |Thanks= |Cast of Characters=Sir Integra, Taro |Tinyplot= |Tinyplot2= |pretty=..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/12/13
|Location=London
|Synopsis=Holiday cheer, Hellsing style.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=Sir Integra, Taro
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=
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{{Poses
|Poses=
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938/The Deeper Darkness

2014-11-09T14:05:01Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/11/08 |Location=Faerun |Synopsis=A trading post in the Underdark is mysteriously abandoned. Unlikely allies come together to find out why. |Th..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/08
|Location=Faerun
|Synopsis=A trading post in the Underdark is mysteriously abandoned. Unlikely allies come together to find out why.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=6, 42, 347, 367, 562, 599
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:''' Word was sent out a few days ago that a wealthy Multiversal merchant went missing in the Underdark. This alone would not normally be cause for note; the Underdark claims many visitors. But this man - Jack Lacey - had a small fortune to invest in his own safety. He'd been overseeing trade at the Veldrin Trade Post when he disappeared, and he'd left a contract before he began his journey. If he didn't return, he'd pay ten thousand credits to the team that brought him back to the surface; dead or alive. Naturally, a rescue party has been formed. The Veldrin Trade Post was one of the smaller settlements in the upper levels of the Underdark. If one knows the way, it is only a few hours walk from the surface. Of course, if one doesn't know the way, it can take much longer, roaming the blind tunnels, trying to grope one's way to some small place of sanctity and safety in a world of infinite darkness and sudden, horrifying danger. What remains of the trade post now is not even that. It had been a series of small huts elegantly carved from the black stone of the cavern walls. There were once small stone tables in the center of the arrangement on which wares could be displayed and bargains could be struck. What there is now, is very little. The luminescent growth that had been used to provide light to the cavern has been burned away. Scorchmarks on stone and broken glass, scattered food and disparate trade goods remain left on the tables or strewn about the cavern in a haphazard fashion. Amongst the wreckage move six figures. Dark-skinned, short, and universally beautiful, the Drow have gotten here first and are in the process of systematically looking over the remains of the settlement. They are directed, fairly obviously, by a Drow Priestess. Clad in shining mithril and wearing her spider pendant proudly on her chest, she has summoned several small dancing lights which shed flickering, pale illumination about the bare bones of the trading post. But there's precious little noise, even as the five others go about their work - it is an eerie feeling, and even the very cavern itself seems to resent the presence of these interlopers. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa had been listening for news of the Underdark. She'd been watching every single news post, every rumor... and thus she found the word of the missing merchant and destroyed. She joined the rescue party almost immediately, carefully following with them, wearing the armor that had been previously been her sister's. The sight of the remains of the trade post once the party arrived was... far too familiar for Nasa. It looked like the village she had come back to so many years ago.      Nasa's lips pressed to a thin line as she moved slowly and carefully, beginning to slip into the shadows. Her fingers wrapped around the hilts of the twin blades that she carried with her at all times; the Viper's Fangs. Inside their poison reservoir was an extremely potent poison, strong enough to effect even the Drow.      The wild drowess moved carefully, beginning to scout out the situation, her eyes twitching from one Drow to the next. Simply examining each drow and checking for their armor and armaments. Okay. That one is obviously the leader, a Drow priestess. Soon, Nasa was carefully beginning to make her way around, hiding among wreckage to try to get as close to the priestess as possible without being spotted. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe had picked up word about the merchant who went missing, she'd seen the contract and that's a good deal of money. She also wonders what could have got him? He was prepared he'd hired a good crew that was well armed. That has her wondering tat this point. She at least looked more the part than she might for this world. Still while she had an elf like apperance it didn't quite fit what one might think of an elf. She was armred had her shield and sword across her back. She's not making hostile moves but she does see the trade post that had been well? Decimated she notices the drow and has to say she's not quite seen anything like that. She takes a deep breath and starts to approach not making any hostiles moves, she's here to find a man living or dead and bring him back to the surface, she's not about to ahem go cause problems but given her last incident with elves in mirkwood? She follows Na'sabal-une's order and has been doing her best ot keep quiet she'll let the Drowess do the talking she's got a better understanding of this place than she does. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     ADVENTURE! Staren seldom gets to do the whole Adventurer thing, but it's cool when he has the chance. Okay, high-magic low-tech world, need to find someone who disappeared in an underground cave network... hmm. Being in such an isolated place could be bad, but if he could teleport to the surface... That is easily taken care of by leaving a couple of camera drones on the surface, following the data from his armor's inertial tracker.     Thanks to the disguise bead, Staren appears as a human in bulky plate armor with a couple of wands built into his right gauntlet, though he moves as if it didn't encumber him at all (The missile ports are concealed by the illusion, but the missiles themselves lack an analogue and are undisguised). The beam sabers he uses to dispatch any random encounters on the way appear as brilliant energy weapons.     He's pleasantly surprised to find that he's working with a crew of multiverse folk he knows -- Staren revealed his identity to them before they set out. It's their enemies he doesn't want to immediately tip off...     Staren is... not happy to see a town destroyed like this, but it happened long ago now -- there is nothing he can do. He sends out a few fly-sized drones to check bodies and find their target, but when he notices the drow, he... finds cover to hide behind and observes them with drones. Maybe they'll say something useful, or he can figure out what they're doing here. Did they do this? Too many unknowns... 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      ReGenesis has been keeping their ear to the ground as of late. This Multiverse they find themselves in offers huge opportunities to those who paid attention. The report of a missing merchant who had set up funds for a rescue party caught their eye. Some actual capital, even a small amount, is a start.      Thus, they sent Eryl off to join the party, and make his way down to the Underdark. Crouching behind an upended table, he quickly scans the area. A devastated village is something he is used to by now. He pointedly tries to avoid looking at the magic lights. Last thing he can afford is a headache on a rescue mission.      He isn't... quite sure why they're being so careful to avoid being seen by these elves. But, he knows little of this place, so he is happy to defer to someone else's judgement for now. Stealth is not his speciality, given the weight of his limbs, so he remains behind the table, controlling his breathing and heart-rate, and waiting for someone else's cue. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Several things become apparent as the party arrive and take up stealthy positions. The first, and most important, is a total lack of any bodies whatsoever. There's signs of struggle, of a sort. There's a great deal of incidental damage, but there's no blood, no corpses, and aside from some fire damage, not a great deal of damage to the structure of the buildings themselves.     "I don't understand it, Priestess." Murmurs one of the drow, approaching the leader. He's tall, for a drow, and wearing heavier armor - the cruelly curved swords he wears crossed over his back speak to an Elite status to Nasa's eye - perhaps a bodyguard? "I can find no trace of an enemy, and Imrae says there's no evidence of sorcery at play. Something odd has happened here."     The Priestess shoots a dark look to the male, and her jaw sets. "What excellent deductive reasoning." She growls. "Tell me something I couldn't have determined for myself in the next ten minutes, Quavein, or I shall have to find some other way to make your hide useful." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Good, Nasa's allies had listened to her. They had hidden rather than jumping to conclusions. Still, that the Drow hadn't done this was ... admittedly surprising, really. Nasa slowly stood from her hiding place, her ears twitching. No corpses, all of the damage was there, but there were no signs of enemies, beyond the Drow. When Nasa speaks, it was in the Drow tongue, "This isn't your conquest? That's a surprise."      The Drowess stood cautiously back, her fingers slowly twitching. "Perhaps it was spirits, or they have magic to hide their tracks. But, I would know your name, Priestess." She says, bowing her head politely and flexing her fingers. Her body was tightly-bound. She was ready for combat, especially if her Brand caused them to act over-aggressively.      "I am here with comrades, perhaps for at least a brief time we could work together to get to the bottom of this mystery?" Nasa offers softly, her wings fluttering slightly. She was nervous, she was scared, but she hid it behind a face of relative impassiveness, like many Drow did. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren listens through the drones. So, they didn't do this, and they don't know why there are no bodies either...     Nasa's gonna talk to them though. That works.     When she explains she has comrades and offers a truce, he comes out from cover and approaches, hands raised enough to show that they are empty. The visor in his helmet covers his face, though. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe gets the idea to hang back at this point she does now know the full deal on the Drow but she will trust Na'shabal-une on this. She's going to listen to her and is going to keep from going into be hostile she'll ket her do the talking and hope this does not break out into a fight. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl listens carefully as the drow speak, Original Face making estimations on their positions based on how the sound of their speaking hits his ears. He opts to remain behind cover, diverting power into 'One Hand Clapping' just in case a fight does break out. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     When Nasa stands, the Priestess' eyes flash with anger, and her hand goes to the snake-headed whip coiled at her side. For one terrible moment, it looks like there may well be trouble - and then just as suddenly, the Priestess jerks, as though her body were shot through with lightning. The other drow look to her for answers, and for a whole second, none at all come.     "Hold." The Priestess hisses, raising her hand and - in that motion - causing the others to stop readying their weapons. "This, traitor, is not to be harmed." She does not explain why. The dictates of the Priestesshood are to be obeyed, not understood.     "I am Charinda of House Ristel. We had merchants here. It was not in our interest to see this place destroyed." Her eyes slowly shift to Staren. "There will be blood for this. One way, or another." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      That twitch, that flash of anger, Nasa tensed, her eyes narrowing and fingers flashing to her hilts. But when she said to hold, she released the hilts of her own blades. She breathes out slowly, her eyes glowing brightly. When it was said that she was not to be harmed, she glances towards her ally's hiding places. "Everyone, come out." She murmurs, before stepping towards Charinda. "I am Na`Sabal-Une of house Fang." She says softly, her lips twitching to a frown. "We have been hired to find one of the merchants, so it is not just Drow who have been effected by this... but a lack of bodies means at least there is a chance your merchants are alive."      She takes a small breath, before beginning to scan the area, glancing to try and find any signs of what may have happened, scenting the air for anything that seemed out of place or what was most recently there. She looks towards Staren. "Are you finding anything?" She asks towards the catboy curiously. "We may be working with these Drow. What an amusing twist of fate." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren cocks his head to the side at the priestess, not replying, though he nods at Nasa's words to her, then shakes his head at her question. "Just a lot of destroyed town." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Yes! Peaceful negotiation has been reached. At Fang's command, Eryl slooooowly stands up, hands in the air, palms open and facing the drow. He offers a friendly smile and inclines his head. "I am Eryl Fairfax, diplomat for the ReGenesis Corporation. A pleasure to meet you all."      He listens closely to the discussion of what has happened, before adding his own comment. "No blood could mean that everyone was taken. Perhaps whoever did this came when everyone was sleeping. If this is the case, we should be checking all exits for signs of tracks. If we find them, we follow them."      To that end, Eryl begins to check all possible entrances to the trading post, Original Face scanning for any disturbances in dirt or dust. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     "Drow do not sleep." Charinda says to Eryl, her voice quite disapproving. She folds her arms across her chest, and turns her head to Quavein, who steps forwards to speak more clearly to the outsiders. "We've already looked for any sign of tracks. The food has been going stale for several days. The fire damage we believe to have been caused by a knocked-over lantern."     He seems mostly correct, too. There's little evidence of life other than the direction the group came from and the direction the drow most likely came from. Of the two other exits from the cavern, one shows no signs of anything at all. The other is moist; a light pooling of water would make it impossible to tell, even if it is only a couple of inches deep. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Drow don't sleep? Good to know. "No tracks, gone for days... a knocked-over-lantern? Could it have been done to cover the evidence? ...A moment. I have an item that may help." Staren removes one of his gauntlets, then reaches into his bag and pulls on a black cloth glove with clear crystals on the back. Then he kneels, and touches the ground with it, feeling for psychic impressions in the area... 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren suddenly stands and turns towards the water-filled tunnel. Then he stops, blinks, and shakes his head, holding his hand to it. "...I think something compelled them all to walk into the water."     Beat.     "...I'm sorry. That doesn't make me feel good about their chances of survival..." He removes the glove and reattaches the gauntlet. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      "Ah, I see! My apologies, I was not aware." Knowledge isn't a skill that can be rolled untrained after all. He pauses before the wet exit, rubbing his chin. "This would be the wisest way to go for any kidnappers. No tracks. Assuming there were kidnappers."      He stops and listens to Staren, rubbing his chin. "Interesting. They were compelled? Hurm... forgive me, I am not exactly experienced in such things." He turns to look at the drow. "How difficult would such a thing be? Would whoever did it leave any traces?" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe listens and humms for a moment. "So it's been several days since it happened, they could have covered a lot of ground and if they are not leaving tracks? Did they teleport? Float?" she starts thinking for a moment. "...wait into the water?" That sounds terrible and well? She has to wonder /what/ are they dealing with. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      Nasa tilts her head a bit as she gazes at Charinda. "You are a priestess, yes? Perhaps a scrying spell would work." Nasa says softly towards the priestess, shifting her ears thoughtfully as she carefully continued to scent the area. She looks towards Staren as he speaks, looking towards the water. She frowns a bit, turning to make her way towards the exit with the water. "Perhaps if we can find them, bodies might help us find some clues..." Nasa says softly, giving a soft exhale, her eyes glowing as she searched for signs of magic. She didn't seem to mind walking in the front of the group, even with the Drow.      She waited at the watery exit of the cavern though, waiting to see if the others were willing to go with her to investigate there or not, as she didn't want to just wander off alone in the Underdark. It was dangerous to go alone, and taking her swords wasn't really necessarily going to help her at all. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     There's a wary look from Quavein as Staren does his thing, and he speaks in quick, hurried tones. "Surely, you cannot be thinking of trusting these outsiders, Priestess. For all we know, they are responsible for whatever happened here, I implore you-"     The backhanded blow is not gentle, and it is not for show. The Priestess looks, then, to the other drow, none of whom dare to meet her eye. "The Spider Queen has made Her will known to me. They are not to be harmed. /I/ am not to be questioned."     Looking back to Nasa, she just naturally seems to assume that the other drow female is in charge of their expedition. "Our efforts to divine their location have been blocked." She says, "For the moment, I see no alternative. Quavein and the men will lead the way. We will form the rearguard." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren gives a curious look at the priestess. What's their goddess know about all this? But he doesn't comment, simply walking ahead into the tunnel. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl smiles and bows his head to the priestess once more. "By your leave ma'am." He takes point with the other men, walking through the tunnel. He whistles softly at random intervals, letting the sound bounce back to him, Original Face analyzing the pattern of it roughly detail what lies ahead. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      The male, Quaevein is given a glance and even a brief glare from Nasa, her eyes glowing brilliantly. But she didn't comment. It was almost more an ages-old instinct from when she was still in the underdark. She watches the priestess. The Spider Queen made her will known. Hmm. She was a bit worried about that, really. Why did the spider goddess say /not/ to go after her?      That had to be an alternate one, rather than the one she had directly pissed off. "As you wish, priestess. We will work together with you on this, at least until we find the merchants and the source of what happened to them." Nasa says, waiting for the soldiers to pass and go ahead of them. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she was acting the leader, she was usually kind of bad at it. Perhaps it was just familiarity and the interaction with the Drow that had her acting like that.      "Staren, do you have any idea of what may have been the cause of the compulsion? Can you see if you can figure that out before we encounter whatever it is?" She asks, not /entirely/ sure how he managed to figure it out, but she just assumed he had some sort of sensor or magic that gave him that insight. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren shakes his head at Nasa's question. "I don't have that information. When I used the gloves, I felt pulled this way." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quavein is suitably chastened, and draws his swords. The weapons do not so much as gleam in the dim light of the cavern, and it is his turn to gesture and offer some weak, flickering light in the tunnel ahead. Two other drow males walk with him, weapons drawn, with Staren and Eryl following behind.     The Priestess and the two remaining drow females walk alongside Nasa and Tomoe. "Make no mistake, traitor." The Priestess whispers when the expendable forces are up ahead, "This IS a temporary arrangement. If I see you again, it will be my honor to take your heart for the Spider Queen."     The water is stagnant, old, and utterly lifeless. After ten minutes of walking, it begins to deepen enough that it flows up to ankles, and then, to shins. Eryl's sonar confirms that there's no side tunnels or anything clinging to the ceiling as the size of the tunnel slowly increases to twenty foot across. And it is his foot which bumps against ... something, in the murky water. Something fleshy that does not give. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe is lkeeping tabs on things and looks about she's more of a fitghter really and she nods to the Down as her party gets ready to move at this point. "Very well we should get moving and humm." What could cause it? It can't be the same thing that happned in Kingsmouth that much is clear to Tomoe from the reports she looks to Nas and then to the Priestess for the moment unaware of the threat, or one might say promise that's been made to Nasa and it may be for the best she missed it. She looks at the water and keeps moving she doesn't seem put off by it badly. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl frowns as the water rises higher and higher on his feet, wincing at the feel of wet socks. He's probably going to need some new shoes as well. Maybe he should have taken them off and gone barefoot-      And then his foot hits something different. Immediately, he raises a hand and says, "Hold. I think I just found a body." He kneels and plunges his hands into the water, lifting what he found to the surface. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     What emerges from the water is indeed a body. Small, stocky, the heavy frame was once a Deep Dwarf, judging by the pale coloration and stocky frame. He was still holding a satchel full of books when he died; drowned, most likely, as there are no signs of violence at all on the body. He's just waterlogged.     One of the drow men up front sniggers. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren looks at the body curiously. "No obvious wounds... but this water is way too shallow to drown in..." Staren checks the nearby water for more bodies, then, with some trepidation, uses the glove on the dwarf. Because there's no way that could end terribly, right? 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren freezes, then shakes his head. "Nothing new. Same thing as before." He swaps back to his gauntlet and heads onward. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "I am aware." Nasa responds softly to the priestess in a similar whisper. "But you will not succeed." She says, her tone just a bit arrogant and haughty. She flashed an almost cheerful grin towards the priestess. She scents the air as she went, her nose twitching slightly as she moved, her eyes glowing softly. She pauses at the sight of the Deep Dwarf floating to the surface, her lips twitching to a frown.      "Well, let's hope that's not the fate of the other merchants..." Nasa says softly, quietly watching the dwarf. "Maybe there's still traces of the spell that was used on him?" She looks towards Staren. "It doesn't take much to drown in if you lay down and let it happen..." She shakes her head, turning to begin to follow after the male drow again. It was a bit sadly, it was an honorless death, at least poison had to be administered rather directly. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl stares at the dead body before him, Original Face scanning every detail it can find. One must pay their due to the dead, after all. When one of the other guards sniggers, Eryl breaths deep through his nose, quelling that sudden rush of anger.      With a small grunt, he lefts the body out of the water and puts it to the side of the tunnel, in a sitting position against the wall. "This is all I can give you right now. I'm sorry." He stands up straight, nodding to Staren. "Thank you Mister Staren. Let us continue."      He continues walking, doing his whistling. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe pause as the body's found and halts looking to Nasa and then to STaren for a momet she's no good with this but it seems they can't find anything really. However Tomoe will take a moment to recover the satchen if she can and put it into her inventory. IF she can that is. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     "Pray to whatever weakling God you now hold dear, that you never have need to prove those words." Charinda whispers, harshly, to Nasa. The revelation of the dead man does not seem to draw much reaction from her, and she waves her hand vaguely for the group to continue.     Imrae, the drow woman wearing only modest robes, pauses to murmur some arcane words and wave her hand over the corpse. "There's no magic of any sort remaining." She says, to Nasa. "Which is curious. If the male's tool isn't simply faulty, it is tuned to a different kind of magic to the one I am versed in."     Up ahead, Eryl's whistling tips him off that the tunnel suddenly gives way when it opens into a cavern - a huge one, so vast, in fact, that it is as though the floor has simply vanished.     But of greater concern is the sudden movement in the water behind the group. Rising up, the creature appears almost from nowhere (and does not register to Eryl's whistling). Enormous, it fills the tunnel behind with a mouth of razor fangs and lashing, swirling tendrils. None of which actually come close to touching any of the group.     In an instant, the Priestess is hurling a bolt of shadowy energy from her hand, and the Wizard does likewise, filling the tunnel behind with flame and shadow - which passes through the monstrous creature with no visible effect.     ~You have come~ Speaks a thrumming voice; not heard, but felt in the mind. ~Lay down your arms. Walk into the water. Rejoice. You will assist us greatly~ 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "Your assumptions are silly, Priestess." Nasa responds simply. "I follow no god or goddess." She murmurs, keeping her voice calm and soft, whispers only towards the priestess for her and her alone to hear. Not that it would be impossible to hear it. She was honestly enjoying the bit of banter with the priestess, not that she'd ever admit to it. Her gaze shifts towards Imrae, listening to her as she talks. "...Fascinating... hmmm." She shifts slightly, her ears twitching.      And then... the monster appeared behind the group, speaking into her mind, and the priestess and wizard casting spells. The words tempted her, but she did not fall to them. Her mind was a Drow's mind, reinforced against mental effects such as that. The magic going... through the monster was fascinating. Her hand lifts, the Hand of Transference sparking to life, aimed towards the monstrous creature, attempting to draw energy out of it. "Illusion, I think..." Nasa murmurs in the Drow tongue. "I should be able to make short work of such." She states simply. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Staren doesn't comment on the disparagement of his tool. "Woah." he comments, and stops, when the tunnel opens up... And then suddenly, the priestess is attacking something behind them! Staren turns, holding his right arm out straight -- the 'wands' fire blasts of superheated plasma before it registers with Staren that the attacks aren't damaging it.     And then there's a voice. Staren's free hand touches his head. "Oh /great/. No, no, I don't think we /will/ assist you, in anything except a speedy death. Hey, how about that, huh? /You/ come up /here/, and we'll /assist/ you in suicide by adventurer!" Staren's looking around the giant cavern, trying to figure out where the source of this might be... 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      A part of Original Face listens to the conversation between Nasa and the Priestess. He resolves to keep an eye on those two. They might suddenly lash out at each other when the partnership has ended.      "There is a large cavern ahead," he reports when the whistles start indicating such to him. "The floor seems to be far below us. Does anyone have any ro-" Suddenly, something rises up behind the group! Eryl is momentarily stunned. How did it evade his notice? Water this shallow could not have concealed it. He watches at the magic attacks (eliciting twinges of pain caused by Original Face) go right though (causing more pain) and comes to a conclusion.      "It's an illusion! Don't bot-ARGH!" He slumps, the voice in his head causing Original Face to really start panicking. "G-Get out of my head!" 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe will make sure the boox are put into her inventory she keeps moving along and humms. "No magic, then what could have done this?" She pauses for a moment she halts and looks at the creature her blades out and her shield is up as strange well to thsi world letters shift across it's surfgace and she halts. "So I take it your the one who did this to the outpost and I'm afraid I'll not rejoice." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     ~We were born before death~     As the group largely realize that the creature behind them is illusory, the image of it begins to fade. When Nasa drains it, the link snaps instantly rather than waste any effort on struggling to control it. The image of the creature snaps out of existence as quickly as it had been created.     "I've never seen a creature such as that." The Priestess admits, "We should fall back, return in greater number."     And it is at this moment, that Quavain completes a graceful piroette, and the two men he had called his allies mere moments before, topple backwards into the water, staining it with their blood. "There's no need." He says, voice quite serene. "We only require more outsiders. The rest are unnecessary." 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "...That was naut our enemy. That was also telepathic..." Nasa says, carefully lowering her Hand of Transference, her fingers twitching a bit as the sickly black-red energy fades back to nothingness. She shifts her gaze towards the Priestess. "We can push on. That was not a huge threat." She says softly towards the Priestess.      And then Quavain simply... killed the two who he had called his allies, the other male soldiers. "I'm going to assume that those two were effected by the telepath and you didn't just kill those two needlessly in the middle of a mission." Nasa states dully, beginning to walk towards him and the two that stood by his side. As she approached though, her hand strayed to her weapons, seemingly preparing herself to defend herself against more treachery on the male's part. "Let us move on." 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl takes a deep, bracing breath once the illusion and the words in his head fade away, cupping some water into his hands to splash on his face. "Urgh... my apologies everyone. That will not happen to me again, I assure you."      He stands up straight once more, letting that smile creep back onto his face. A smile that instantly fades when Quavain lashes out as his own allies with his swords. "Oh..." But then Nasa answers first.      That smile is replaced by a devious grin. "Oh my. Good job, Mister Quavain." He seems to radiate sincerity, years of experience as a diplomat, in conjunction with his implants allowing him to skilfully deceive near anyone. He continues to walk towards the cavern he detected, staying within sword-reach of the drow warrior. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     Born before death...?     Staren feels a faint unease in the back of his mind. Something...     The encounter is over almost as soon as it began. "...Yeah... let us find this thing and kill it." He's not sure what to make of the possible backstabbings. He knows little about Drow... 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     "I think." Charinda says, "That Quavein is not feeling himself. I have never known the man to smile."     Imrae takes a step backwards - putting as many others between herself, the cavern ahead, and Quavain as possible. "I, have heard legends." She murmurs, "Not many. But, it would explain... controlling the minds, the illusion... if it isn't a trick, it could be an... Aboleth."     Quavein smiles easily, his eyes half-lidded as he raises his bloody swords in front of him, facing towards the group. "As we say, we need only the outsiders." He repeats, "You will help us craft a means to reach the Multi-Versal oceans. Then, we will be free."     Charinda waves her hand irritably, "We've no time for this. If you believe you can deal with the monster, kill him and let us continue. If he can't keep his head to himself, he doesn't deserve to have it." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:'''     It's a moment before Staren realizes what's happened. It wasn't the other two that were controlled... it was Quavein! Staren turns to point his arm at the man. "No... I don't think so. We will not help you." Staren draws his beam sword, wondering if he can disable the drow without killing him. As he turns to open his mouth to ask his allies if they have a method, he remembers the federation phaser in his bag. He draws it and starts firing stun shots at Quavein. 

:'''{{#var:6|Tomoe (6)}} has posed:''' Tomoe watches as the drow drops some of the others and she halts for a moment. Okay she looks to Nasa and isn't sure what to think. At being from before death she's got to really wonder here but she makes no hostile move she'll follow the other's leads but she seems concerned about something really. It's her job to be the shield but she'll say nothing more and she folds her arms at this point. "I think I see where this is going." She seems to be preparing a chat at this point she's got an idea strange runes appear about her as he attempts a hindering spell. 

:'''{{#var:562|Eryl Fairfax (562)}} has posed:'''      Eryl sighs, rubbing the back of his neck as Quavain squares off with them. "Mister Quavian. This is not you. You are a warrior, strong, brave and true. You would never let your will be bended by another so easily. Fight it!"      He turns to stare at Charinda, frowning slightly. "You would give up on him so easily? If we defeat this... Aboleth, its hold on him should be broken. All we need to do is incapacitate him for now."      But then, Staren opens fire and Tomoe starts casting. Eryl breathes a sigh of relief, so sure that his allies would not kill readily, even if he is unclear as to what they are doing. 

:'''{{#var:367|Na`Sabal-Une Fang (367)}} has posed:'''      "..." Charinda's words are given a rather quick nod, glancing towards her. "I see. I understand now, then..." She murmurs. Imrae is given a small smile. "Ah, to naut worry, little mage. We will be fine. The 'outsiders' are capable of doing what is necessary." She says, turning towards the cavern. She looks towards Quavein as he raises the swords towards them. She gives a soft sigh, her fingers twitching as she calmly reaches back for her twin swords, slowly drawing them as chains rattle between the weapons.      "Erel'Avin. Become Dull." She says, stepping towards Quavein. Her blade was lifted almost immediately, Nasa circling to be out of the firing range for the stun shots... she attempts to slam Erel'Avin with her blade. She was aiming to disable. She would not needlessly kill someone who was simply under control of others. "Rest for now." She says softly towards Quavein.      If they successfully stunned and knocked the drow unconscious, she would simply continue on towards the following cavern. He was a good warrior, she did not want to see him dead just yet. 

:'''{{#var:347|Abstractum.Net (347)}} has posed:'''     Nasa's blades flash with a soft red light. "Non-lethality?" It queries, curiously. "I can assist with that. But it's such a strange way of approaching this. I like it." The eye that sits on one of the blades seems to have thoroughly integrated this decision into its perceptions of proper handling of situations.     The soft red fire tries to modulate; the impact of the dulled blade against the skull isn't enhanced in terms of of its sheer impact, but rather the precision. It's trying to minimize the long-term health impact! Knock-out without any brain damage, hopefully, but making sure that it doesn't fail to achieve the proper IMPACT, with a soft red shockwave of light coming from the impact. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quavein is a great warrior, a bodyguard and a swordsman. He is not used to phaser blasts. Magic spells and swordplay he's on stronger ground with, but ultimately, he's overwhelmed. Energy bolts slow him down, the magic hinders him, and Nasa's sword hits him heavily, the shockwave of light bounces him from the stone wall. He lands in the water, face up at least, and does not move.     "If he is so weak as to fall prey to such a creature, he is of no use to me." Charinda explains to Eryl. "He'll pay for his failure later, I suppose."     The cavern beyond is really more of a lake than anything else. There's no solid ground to stand on; the tunnel opens up to thirty feet across, and yet the yawning emptiness of the darkness extends further in all directions.     Of the Aboleth, there is no sign. At least, not at first. When the group dive down into the depths, there, they find what they are looking for. The population of the trading post - eighteen in all, including their erstwhile employer and six drow traders - had been tasked with the creation of an intricately carved circle on the floor of the lake. The twisted sigils within are deeply unsettling to behold, as is the scale of it, some hundred feet across... but it doesn't seem to have been completed yet.     More horrific is the disease which has afflicted them. They've got gills, and they can't breathe air any longer. Its a magical disease, and it can be cured - but doing so will take time and effort.     The Aboleth, however, is gone. A thorough exploration of the 'lake' reveals a half dozen underground reservoirs which could have been used to flee, and as the Aboleth's slaves regain their right mind, it seems that the creature has chosen not to test itself against the strange forces the Multiverse has sent against it - today, at least.     But that means the creature is still out there, somewhere, and may yet return to finish what it began. 

}}

913/Bad Blood

2014-11-04T20:12:15Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/11/04 |Location=TARGET: Phase Rock (PR) |Synopsis=On the island of Phase Rock, a teenager has a breakdown and a soldier tries to stop them kil..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/11/04
|Location=TARGET: Phase Rock (PR)
|Synopsis=On the island of Phase Rock, a teenager has a breakdown and a soldier tries to stop them killing everyone in the vicinity in the process. Does anyone really come out of this a winner?
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=290, 476
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     The giant crystal that makes up the centrepiece of Phase Rock has seen a lot of blood shed. Today, it seems, is not going to be any different. Having descended from above on black, liquid wings, Crona's long, slender blade had carved into the defenders with ease, and now the pink-haired child sits in the middle of the scattered defenses. Most of the non-elites have just fallen back - Crona is well-known enough that they realize trying to use conventional arms against them is... ill-advised, they need Elite backup.     Crona doesn't look very happy, though. The teenager is repeatedly stabbing into one of the bodies, their expression a mask of beaten, abject misery as they do. Poor Crona. Life just isn't going very well for them right now. Come to think of it, life has never gone very well for them at all. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Not long after Crona makes his appearance, an alarm is raised and the non-elites are calling for backup from the Union. Fortunately, backup is not too far off, for the alert is heard quickly by Rebecca Chambers, and she is quick to move out to respond to the attack on Phase Rock.     A few minutes after the alert goes out, a helicopter with the S.T.A.R.S. logo on it can be seen arriving in the area, followed by a cable dropping from it, ending slightly above the ground. After that, Rebecca can be seen exiting the helicopter and descending to the ground on the rope. Once she hits the ground, she signals to the pilot, who raises the cable and proceeds to fly away. Then Rebecca looks around, attempting to spot the aggressor at Phase Rock. She doesn't look too long, for she quickly spots Crona, and her face contorts into a fierce glare. "You made a foolish mistake attacking a Union territory!" Rebecca calls out as she draws her submachine gun, advancing on Crona. She doesn't say anything else, knowing that calling for compliance would be a waste of time. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona looks up at the helicopter as it flies in, and their depressed expression just deepens. Medusa's 'encouragement' on the radio has set some pretty clear conditions for all this. They can't show mercy; there can be no survivors.     The Meister raises up after Rebecca drops to the ground, but they still aren't paying attention to her, even when she starts shouting. Instead, they draw their sword level with their face, and a ruby-red mouth bursts into being, a tongue slathering over Ragnarok's lips before Crona speaks in a dull, monotone voice. Really more 'resigned' than enthusiastic. "Screech Alpha."     <EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!>     Ragnarok's terrifying howl is met with a scream of Crona's own, and the sword is swung upwards. A black ball of energy some eight feet across rips from the blade, and swallows up the tail of the helicopter whole, leaving it to crash into the ocean about the island, before Crona looks to Rebecca, and acknowledges her presence.     "I'm sorry." They say, quietly. "But I love her, so ... now, everyone dies. I'll be quick." 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca can only watch in disbelief, then in horror, as the helicopter goes crashing down towards the ocean. For a moment she stares wide-eyed, mouth hanging open, before she stares at Crona again, and scowls at him, angrier than before. "You just killed one of my own men! Now you leave me no other option!"     Double-checking to ensure the safety is off on her firearm, Rebecca levels it at Crona. "You're going to pay for this... IN HELL!" She then fires a semi-automatic burst of gunfire. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona brings their sword up with one hand, and waves it around in an erratic motion. One of the bullets grazes across their cheek, drawing a thin trickle of black blood, but the wound closes up quickly. The Meister whimpers, bottom lip quivering, before lurching steps loop them erratically towards Rebecca.     "Its not my fault!" Crona protests, "I had to! She told me to, so if you'd please stop moving around and just let me cut your head off it'd be way easier for me to deal with right now!"     As they say it, the point of their sword jabs out, making full use of their long, gangly reach and several foot of razor sharp black metal to try and stab Rebecca in the leg to slow her down. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca isn't in the mood for negotiations, nor is she about to let her head be cut off. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for her leg. The blade cuts directly into her leg, causing her to cry out in pain and drop down to one knee briefly, just long enough for her to realize she's bleeding and wrap some gauze around it tightly to stop the bleeding so that it doesn't cause any more serious complications for her. Once she's stopped the bleeding, Rebecca is back on her feet.     "I don't care who or what you're following orders from!" Rebecca exclaims, firing off another burst of gunfire, hoping that this time she hits her mark. "You're not welcome here!" 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     The second burst of gunfire does seem to have more of an effect. Bullets punch into Crona, and the teenager wobbles uncertainly for a moment. "Owww..." They whine, black blood oozing from the wounds, but Ragnarok is quick to help out. The dented lead slugs are spat back out onto the ground, and Crona raises their weapon high up above their head. Repeating:     "I'm sorry."     And then there's a faint giggle from them. "But... I suppose it won't matter what you like, when you're dead. I've never heard a dead person complain before. Hehe, he..."     The child's movements are, strange. It is like they are constantly falling as they wobble erratically around, almost like some kind of dance, but the sweeping, slashing motions of the sword remain horribly deadly for all that - and Crona is giving Rebecca their full attention, now. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca tries to pull back from the slash, but it catches her full-on. She is stunned and left bleeding more than usual. She grits her teeth through the pain and attempts to pull back a little, in hopes of giving herself a little more space while she recovers from that injury. "You're not going to kill me that easily! I've dealt with the living dead so many times in my life that I know it like it's an everyday occurrence!"     Rebecca then holsters her submachine gun and draws her Magnum instead, loading a clip into it. "But you won't become one of them I'm afraid!" She then fires a single shot. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     The magnum is just one bullet, and that makes it easier for Crona to deal with. The noise is loud, and it rings out clear and true, but the sword is swung around to cut through the incoming bullet, and the larger lump of lead gives way to the Demon Sword's edge, spiraling off to either side of them. The Meister's eyes shift to the left, then to the right, and they lean in close.     "I don't think I'm dead." Crona confides in Rebecca. "Zombies like to eat meat, but really, I just like pasta..."     Although the second after they've said it, that large mouth on Ragnarok's blade spring back into existence, and tries to BITE down hard on Rebecca's arm.     <YEAH! I'M THE MEAT EATER, MWAHAHAHA!> 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     This really bites! OK, seriously, this really hurts. Rebecca cries out and drops her magnum as Ragnarok bites into her arm. She struggles to get her arm free from the bite, until Ragnarok finally releases its grip. Taking some gauze and wrapping it on her arm to stop the bleeding, Rebecca grits her teeth through the pain and grabs her Magnum again. "I don't care what you like to eat!" Rebecca shouts as she steadies her aim in spite of her injured arm. "YOU ARE NOT TAKING THIS TERRITORY FROM ME ALIVE!" She then fires again. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona pauses, and steps backwards. "But I do because I betrayed her and I betrayed everyone and they'll hate me if I don't!" Crona babbles, not really paying much attention to Rebecca as she gathers her weapon up again, and squeezes off a shot. The bullet hits Crona square between the eyes, and the pink-haired Meister falls to the ground with a startled expression on their face.     Lurching back up to their feet, Crona's hand touches the ugly black wound, and tears well up in their eyes. "WHY IS THIS SO CONFUSING?!" The Meister shouts, waving Ragnarok around wildly, brandishing the weapon in all directions. "WHY CAN'T EVERYONE JUST DO WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO?! It isn't fair, it isn't..."     Sobbing, they fall to their knees, and Ragnarok unfurls. The sword becomes, instead, a large, muscular man made of the black blood, and white-gloved hands press in to either side of Crona's head. "It isn't complicated, you idiot!" he barks, "Stop feeling sorry for yourself and KILL everyone, then we can go home. We MIGHT even get cake!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca can only stare in disbelief at how Crona is acting in this situation. This is supposed to be a Confederate elite? "What's wrong with you?" Rebecca asks. "Why don't you try to kill me?" She's not being sarcastic at all, instead she's both confused and angry at this whole display. "You're supposed to be a Confederate elite, so go ahead and kill me already!"     Then Rebecca realizes what she's saying and shakes her head. "Actually forget it! I'm going to kill YOU instead!" She rushes in, ignoring the wounds she has, and attempts to slash Crona with her combat knife. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Poor Crona is clearly having some sort of nervous breakdown. They keep mumbling to themselves, "It isn't fair. She ruined my shirt and it isn't fair and she /shot me in the head/ and I should kill them all. Mister D if I kill them all then people will like me again. I don't want to but I have to I'm sorry."     And it is about as they come to the end of the rant that Rebecca slashes at them, and Crona raises their arm up to defend. The cut causes thick black blood to spray out of the wound, and they giggle, alarmingly. "What did you say?" Crona asks, "... You're right! You're right! You want me to kill you, that makes it okay! I'm a Confederate Elite, so I should go ahead!"     Laughing, Crona stretches back up to their feet. They actually seem taller, with black blood dripping down their face and arm. Ragnarok swirls as he reforms a sword, and...     "BLOODY NEEDLE!"     In an instant, all of the blood shed by Crona sprouts razor-sharp needles, dozens of droplets across the battlefield suddenly shooting in to spear the enemy soldier. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Being hit with those needles is worse than being hit with bullets... in several ways at that. Rebecca could tell you why, but right now she's busy trying to avoid them. And unfortunately, she's failing miserably. The blades cut into her flesh and cause her to yelp with pain as she pulls back, trying not to be turned into a human pincushion by this weird duo of Crona and Ragnarok. "You're really testing my patience," Rebecca calls out.     As the flurry continues to pound down upon her, Rebecca looks up long enough to try to fire off another round of gunfire before trying to find someplace to take cover behind. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona seems to hesitate again, and speaks loudly, almost shouting, "But she said to go ahead and kill her! Why is everything so confusing?!"     And that gives Rebecca the opening to shoot them all over again. Bullets thud heavily into the child, and the pink-haired Meister raises their weapon up in front of their face. They're actually shaking, trembling with frustration at all of this. "I... I DON'T CARE ANY MORE!" Crona screams, their pupils tightening down to tiny pinpricks. "I JUST WANT THIS TO BE OVER!" As they howl, the groud around them trembles and shakes, purple lightning crackling for a moment before...     "SCREECH ALPHA!"     <EEEEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!>     The explosive blast of dark black power that streaks towards Rebecca is even larger than the one which took out the helicopter; actually forming a howling, pained face before it detonates, aiming to blast the soldier into tiny pieces - or clear off the island! 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     The blackness that comes at Rebecca would destroy her, but the rock she's taking cover behind seems to absorb a good portion of it. Unfortunately, it sends Rebecca flying a good distance across the area, causing her to smash her head into a nearby rock wall, and she finds herself rather dazed and quite confused for the time being. Not to mention, her arm feels like it might have a sprain or something in it. As Rebecca struggles to get her bearings back, she can be heard muttering gibberish like, "Ungh... where's the ink ribbon? Did anyone see the Armor Key?" She shakes her head a few times, trying to get that feeling of dizziness away as she struggles to get up, and it's only then that she realizes that she's in a bit of pain.     "Damn it," Rebecca hisses, trying to find her gauze, only realizing now that she's got quite a predicament on her hands as she remembers what happened to her just now. "OK, now you've really made me mad!" She grits her teeth through the pain that her arms are in and attempts to empty the remainder of her clip into Crona. "You're gonna pay big time for this!" 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Bullets rain into Crona freely, and the kid just stands there and takes it. When it passes, their knees hit the floor for the second time, and they look up at the sky. Ragnarok bubbles as he resumes a humanoid form, grabbing and shaking the Meister to try and get them back into the action. "Come on, Crona, you idiot! Don't let that guy get into your head! You're worthless! You're useless! You're pathetic! He could never make you safe, and even if he could, what sort of kid turns against their own mother?! Get back on your feet and do what you came here to do, damnit!"     Crona, though, doesn't move. Despite it all, they just whimper, and tears flow constantly, making their nose run and their shoulders shake. "I don't want to do this any more." And, making themselves blink away the tears, they look up at Rebecca with wide eyes, "I'm /sorry!/" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca is shocked by this confession. She keeps the gun leveled at Crona but doesn't fire just yet. "All right, then. If that's how you want to be, then I'll give you one chance, and only one chance, to retreat from this territory at once! Otherwise, I will have to attack again!" She maintains a steady level, although the shakiness of her aim indicates how bad her injuries are. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona doesn't get back up right away. Shaking, their hands dig into the ground, and they take a few, deep breaths to try and steady themselves. It doesn't really seem to be working very well, though. In fact, as it goes on, it becomes pretty clear that Crona is having a panic attack, hyperventilating as they try to make a decision.     "If, if I run away, Lady Medusa will be angry with me and she'll punish me again... but if I stay, Mister D will abandon me and he'll never try to help me again. But can he help me? I'm a horrible person, I lie and I cheat and I hurt the people who want to help me and I'm a MONSTER."     Managing to get up to their feet, Crona takes three steps towards Rebecca, looking at the woman as though they are seeing them for the first time. "... Hey, you're hurt. Are you okay?"     And Ragnarok, seeing his opportunity to stir things back up, carefully leeeeeeeans over the top of Crona... and then bends down to try and flick Rebecca's nose. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Jumping back quickly, Rebecca shakes her head. "No, I'm NOT okay! You and your stupid weapon almost killed me! And since you aren't retreating, I have no choice but to take you out!" She doesn't try to shoot this time. Instead, she takes out her stun baton and flicks it on, energizing it with a small, but notable, amount of electricity. "I don't care what consequences happen to you, YOU are a Confederate!" She tries to shock Crona with the baton. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona's Black Blood, it seems, is a good resistor to electricity. The baton hits home, and the shock makes them jump backwards, "Eep!" Crona squeaks, rubbing their stomach for a moment, and then... their expression seems to fall towards a more neutral one. "Ragnarok is right." They murmur, "Nobody does care about me, so I should stop caring what other people think..."     As they talk, their sword reforms, and for the first time, Crona grasps it with both hands. "Screech.... Beta."     The scream that follows is heard for miles around, loud and echoing, Crona's blade slashes out over and over again, trailing that same destructive black energy as Crona gives in to Ragnarok's desires, aiming to hew Rebecca limb from limb. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     The good news is that Rebecca still all of her limbs intact. The bad news is that she's more injured than before, and is showing definite signs of being weakened from those attacks. Yet, somehow, her resolve still remains strong, and she doesn't back down or retreat. Instead, she stares at Crona with a glare of anger and determination. "You were pretty tough there, but I've got a few tricks of my own too!"     Rebecca reaches into her pocket and produces a vial of chemicals. It looks simple enough, but it's not for drinking. In fact, Crona might notice that there's a symbol on it that indicates that it's very hazardous and flammable. "Catch this!" Rebecca yells as she hurls the explosive vial at Crona. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona brings Ragnarok around to cut the vial out of the air, with the result that the whole mess explodes directly over them, sending up a thick cloud of dust and smoke. As the cloud begins to settle, Crona is standing there, dress burned and blasted, but sword still held just as firmly as ever, looking up not with sadness in their eyes any more... but a manic mirth. Its over, now! Its so much easier when they stop worrying, and just start killing.     "Could you tell Mister D that I'm sorry?" Crona asks, "... Don't worry if I kill you first, because, he'll be dead soon, too."     What the hell that is meant to mean is probably a secondary concern compared to the words that Crona speaks immediately after. "Screech Alpha."     And the third juggernaut-sized explosive projectile of energy that eats into the ground as it tears towards the brave and dedicated soldier.     "EYEAAAAAAAAAAAH!" 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     The projectile strikes Rebecca, sending her flying across the area and causing her to land in a crumpled position. Badly injured and barely even able to get up, Rebecca looks up at Crona and scowls. "I'm not telling anyone anything on the behalf of a Confederate goon!" She draws her gun and aims it weakly. "Here, take this instead!" Then fires. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:'''     Crona stumbles under the impact of the bullet, and nods their head in understanding. "Well. Okay. I guess I'll tell him myself." They decide, walking forwards with careful, deliberate steps. They're in a lot of pain too - its just that the Black Blood does a great deal to hide the impact of the damage until it can no longer hold all the wounds in check.     Ragnarok, though, is raised up high, and the Demon Sword licks his lips. That's all the warning Rebecca gets before the blade descends - intending to make good on the threat that had been issued at the very start of the fight, and separate Rebecca's head from her body in one strong arc. 

:'''{{#var:290|Rebecca Chambers (290)}} has posed:'''     Rebecca somehow manages to roll out of the way, being grazed by the attack instead of being decapitated. But she's close enough to being incapacitated that she knows she has to retreat. Pressing a button on her wrist device, a glow begins to envelop Rebecca. "You were just lucky this time, you little brat," Rebecca says weakly. "Next time, you and your talking weapon are going to pay!" Then she vanishes. 

}}

739/Loose Ends.

2014-10-18T19:08:10Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/04 |Location=British Isles-548 |Synopsis=A simple mission to take out the last source of false vampires on British shores takes a dramatic ..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/04
|Location=British Isles-548
|Synopsis=A simple mission to take out the last source of false vampires on British shores takes a dramatic turn when the enemy are expecting Hellsing's arrival, and events a hundred worlds away conspire to strike at the worst possible moment.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=246, 269, 399
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     When it comes to actual military operations, the Hellsing Organization has partaken in remarkably few since their arrival in the Multiverse. Sir Integra has focused primarily on training exercises and internal security; aside from a few notable exceptions, she has not leant her people out to be used on the Multiverse's battlefields, and she has not asked for assistance from her Confederate Allies in dealing with situations at home.     This has changed today. At dawn, Sir Integra sent out a private message requesting both Taro and Nine join her at an airstrip. The field is part of a military complex, and three helicopters are in the process of being prepared for a mission. Perhaps most tellingly, Sir Integra's right hand woman - Ms. Greene - has not accompanied her this morning, and Integra is waiting on her own, smoking a cigar and trying to ignore the ever-present drizzling rain beneath a large umbrella held by a shaky-looking soldier.     It is cold, it is wet, it is miserable. It is England, and she is irritated that she is not already underway. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     It is cold, it is wet, and it is remarkably unlike the usual weather in Neo Arcadia.     Taro gives barely a nod to the weather, regardless. His combat armor is comfortable enough, and its slick outermost layer drizzles away the rain. He does concede to an umbrella of his own, though, to keep his head relatively dry on his walk from the car that brought him here to the landing strip.     The helicopters and the loading thereof are noted in a seemingly absent way as he approaches. Oh, he's paying attention, but his observations do not usually require staring. Instead, he looks up to Integra once close enough, and at her expression remarks, "I did account for the time difference, I trust. Good morning, Sir Hellsing." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Well that's good. Throwing your folks lives away for nothing is kinda pointless, isn't it? Hell even NINE doesn't just throw Golems at every little thing, and his people are fucking catatonic, there's not even a loss there, is there? They're just ambulatory metal-filled meat that shoots or slices people with beam weaponry.     But- wait, what? She'd been doing so WELL. Training and internal security are important! This, whatever it is, is probably, NOT, as important? ...Eh, it's not like Nine payed attention to why she might possibly be doing it.     It's not like Nine pays attention to /anything/. It might be why he's fighting catatonia himself. Apparently being stupid really can be terminal from more than just getting your ass shot.     Nine's here. He'd show up. He doesn't bother with an umbrella. His mitochondria can keep up with the chill of the water, though he shivers like a chiuahuah to do it. He's wet and pale, the water washing over his body, plastering his hair to his face, darkening it to a dirty sort of honey color and... less said about 'wet GOLEM smell' the better. He'd be there though, waiting calmly, patiently, stinking and soaking wet.     "G'mornin Sir, reportin for... uh, yer, requestin, me, bein here." Headscratch. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra nods to each in turn, and takes a long drag from her cigar. The tip glows brightly, and she takes her time to exhale the stream of smoke upwards before she deigns to begin explaining... well, anything at all, really.     "You're here in acceptable time."     She nods to the soldier holding the umbrella up, and the door to the helicopter is opened for herself and her guests - though she doesn't move towards it right away. "We've received confirmation on the location of what we believe to be the last vampire chip factory in Scotland. I don't have time to wait around on this. We're going to take care of it personally."     There's no indication that she's brooking any challenge to this. She has absolutely no authority to order either of them around in reality, of course, but she's simply assuming that they'll go along with it. "We'll be accompanying Squad One, they're using the new laser weaponry you recommended, Taro. Squad Two, led by Captain Daniels, will be ensuring the perimeter remains secure. Squad Three, led by Commander Victoria, will perform overwatch from above and extraction should it become necessary. I will be leading Squad One."     Explanation given, she turns and climbs into the helicopter - a large military transport which has enough room, just about, for six serious-faced individuals, Sir Integra, Taro... and at a stretch, maybe even Nine. But it won't be a comfortable ride. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro listens in the silence of a soldier as Integra explains now what her ealier message had (understandably) left out, giving a small nod at the mention of the chips, and a second at her having taken her recommendation in weapons. "I see....may I presume, then, that we will be collecting their research, if so possible?" That would explain why he was asked along.     Aside from that, he seems to have no outward dislike of her plan, or of the authority with which she provides it. This is her world, her army, and he is here at her request. Thus, he will advise but not challenge. He will also follow her in the direction of the waiting helicoper, lowering and folding his umbrella along the way. At least he's on the small side of human-sized, even with the armor, and so fitting him will not be much trouble. His 'brother', on the other hand... 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Blink. "Vampire chips? Are those like, blood flavored r' sumthin?" A pause, then, looking up at the weeping sky. "Act'lly tha'd be pretty good, come t' think a it, especially if ya added seasonin t' it. Lays-style r' Doritos-style tho? Cus I don' think it'd stand up t' most Lays style chips. Mebbe kettle style? I aint much fer kettle style tho, hurts m' mouth..."     Assuming Nine will go along with something by just assuming he'll go along with it in an authoritive verbal manner? Genius. He falls in without even thinking about it. He scratches his head though. "You uh, you, mebbe, want sum backup? I got bout a hundred n' fifty Golem troopers I could bring in- they aint rally people no more, so s' better n' wastin yer folks, eh?" Nine aint much of a person himself, so if HE says they're not people? They're not. Behind him a three pack of his kind sort of fade into view (or existence?) two red and one purple, full bodysuits and masks. He lost one trying to keep Haytham alive... and ultimately, failed. But hey, the loss of one of his people isn't like losing a PERSON person. They'd been a person person. Before he'd kidnapped them. Civilians. With families! :) But they weren't people now. Not anymore. They'd retreated from the pain, retreated fully and finally, and there wasn't anyone there, behind those masks. Not anymore>     A glance over at Taro. That explains why he's along. "...Why'd you invite me? M' I runnin bodyguardin work 'ere? On Taro r' you?" He tilts his head, following... and then stops. "Uh." Blink. He shakes himself like a dog, whipping water everywhere. "Um." He stares at the helecopter, stinking and slightly embarrassed. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Obtaining the research is a secondary priority. If we can take one of the researchers, that will be ideal, but they have universally preferred suicide to capture so far. I see no reason to expect that to change."     Looking to Nine from within the helicopter - which is large enough, even if it isn't going to be comfortable - Integra puts her cigar back between her lips, and takes another puff. "No. This is also a test of Hellsing's new weapons, and I don't want a bunch of monsters on the streets causing panic. We'll deal with it ourselves, quickly, and efficiently. And you will accompany us as a.... failsafe. In the unlikely event of our deaths, I expect you to be tough enough to get away and tell the Confederacy what it was that killed us."     One of the soldiers inside speaks up with a cheerful tone of voice and a rich Northern accent, "Cheer up, mate. Big lump like you ain't got nothin' to worry about. I've popped three of these places before. Walk in the park, innit?"     Integra blows another stream of smoke into the transport. "Quite." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro notes the sudden appearance (or more likely simply their return to visibility) of Nine's subordinate Golems, but since it's not his place to say whether the should come along, he says nothing. Integra quickly settles the matter, however, and so he only adds, with a touch of wry, "Two monsters seems to be enough for her, hm?" While it no doubt looks a bit silly, he offers an encouraging hand out to Nine to coax him onto the chopper with them.     It's going to look more than a bit silly if Nine actually takes that hand, but ah well. An acceptable price.     "I would like to obtain a few chips if that's possible?" he ventures to their host/commander. "It is much easier to tease secrets out of a design when I have a physical one in hand." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     He actually has the gall to grumble a bit. He knows he's a monster, but it's still surprising that it bothers him a little every now and- he turns his eyes, flat, on Integra. He's... going to, disobey that. Yeahh. If it looks like they're going to die? Nine would have them deliver the damn message themselves by hauling their ass out of there. He's not so, good at, talking, to folks, or remembering messages. So hauling them alive to relate things themselves? Probably the best way to go here. He looks over at the soldier as he slips in, sitting his ass down and immediately filling the chopper with the scent of wet monster, grinning and offering a fistbump. "Aint worried fer my ass man-o, jest tha I'm th' one what's s'pposed t' die so folks like 'er can live." He jerks a thumb at Integra, looking over at Taro for a moment, eyes distant and a bit sad. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "If we recover some, you can have them." Integra assures Taro. The soldier gives a fistbump with a snort of amusement, and as the helicopter whines with protest at the added load, the three teams move out.     There's a quick comms check between the three team leaders, but for the most part, Integra stays quiet. She doesn't address Nine's concern - or the possibility of being disobeyed. Perhaps that is the real reason she's brought him. Or perhaps she expects that, were something to be enough of a problem to cause it to be relevant, it'd all be over too quickly for it to matter anyway.     Whatever the case, the whining helicopter is soon in transit - and it is a surprisingly quick trip, too. The soldiers begin checking their fancy new weapons as the flat, grey expanse of a city makes itself known below. Integra checks her sidearm, too. "We'll give Squad Two five minutes to get into position, then we'll deploy. I want Perkins and Johnson in first, then you Nine. The rest of us will follow after the initial room is cleared." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro knows Nine well enough to suspect the Golem will come after him were anything to happen, orders be damned. This is taken into account. He meets Nine's gaze when he looks over at him, unsmiling as always, but giving him a nod of assurance.     Comms and weapons are checked, and he checks his own while they're at it - though this seems to consist of checking the seams of his gantlets and then making sure his beam sabres are firmly in their sheaths at his waist. Then, he bows his head, keeping his voice to a bare murmur that's the cadence of a prayer.     His head rises as pre-landing orders are given, acknowledging them with a nod. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine's not... that, open, about his planning on not obeying orders. But no need to make a fuss of it one way or another. Right now, he'll do what he's told, until what he's told is so antithical to what he is that he can't do it anymore. He's a bodyguard type. He's here to keep people alive, not watch them die. Die FOR them, not the other frickin way around. But that's not important right now. As she's giving her orders, he nods, scattering raindrops from his sodden hair, "Yes sir." A nod.     aro's nod of assurance actually reassures the Golem, who nods in turn, dripping and smelling bad. He'd taken a shower but rain is rain and wet GOLEM is wet GOLEM, scrubbing be damned. Wringing out his hair in the middle of the chopper, he flips it back, likely getting a few droplets on, oh, everyone. Now everyone smells faintly of GOLEM, whee! 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     As any commander knows, a good plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy. As Integra's people assume the positions she'd intended for them, though, hers does seem off to a better start than many. Daniels confirms that the perimeter is secure, and Victoria confirms that the extraction team are in position too. One good thing about vampires is that they are, if nothing else, a predictable sort when it comes to their hours of operation. The sun is well above the horizon now - and it is time to move.     "GO! Our orders are clear, and they will NOT change. SEARCH this facility, and DESTROY all vampire scum and their collaborators. GO GO GO!"     In an instant, the helicopter is dropping alarmingly, and the soldiers drop a rope ladder. Their descent is impressive - though whether Nine chooses to test the weight or just trust himself to jump the last twenty feet is another question entirely. Two of the soldiers are booting in the door in record time, though, and from the sound of laser fire within, Taro's weapons are performing as advertised. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Well. If nothing else it will be easier for Nine to track all of them by scent...assuming that it's not washed away as soon as they're in the rain again.     Taro holds on as the chopper drops at an alarming rate of descent, though he doesn't appear all that alarmed himself. If Integra trusts to competency of the pilot, then so will he. As the side hatch slides open, the android unharnesses himself from the seat restraints and prepares for his turn to move out. He can't help but look slightly puzzled at the slight change in orders, however. Mm. Perhaps this is also why they've had such terrible luck in obtaining scientists to interrogate...? 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Twenty feet, pff. He's done multiple story jumps without fuss, twenty feet is just enough to register that there was a drop at all. He lands with a THUD, creaking slightly as he straightens, grinning a feral, insane sort of grin, stalking after Taro. He might, try to, sneak a scientist. Knock the guy over the head, sort of throw a jacket over him, throw him over a shoulder? Maybe Integra might not notice. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     In fairness, Integra doesn't care if scientists aren't destroyed /immediately/. They will be, in due time, but she's not going to object if Nine manages to get one out captured. In fact, that is still a secondary objective. But in all the many times Hellsing have stormed one of these factories and taken the people responsible, they've never managed to secure even one captive. Their killswitches are sophisticated.     The building being stormed looks like any other council housing project; a drab grey block of apartments, and if it weren't for the fact that the two young men in cheap clothes had pulled guns, they could have been mistaken for any other member of Britain's burgeoning underclasses.     When Integra strides into the lobby, gun in hand, she pauses to stub out her cigar and survey the scene. "Alright. Williams and Renolyds, you stay here and keep the door clear. Let us know if they get past us."     The power has been cut to the building; which makes it darker than it would normally be, but also means the elevator is out. Things progress mostly by the numbers for the first four floors of the twenty floor block. Resistance is existant, but minimal, and the four soldiers with the three elites take up a practiced position - two up front with Nine, two behind Integra and Taro. The lasers are making it much easier to take out the grunts, and body armor actually seems effective against the low caliber rounds. There's been perhaps a dozen badly trained armed people incapacitated between the four floors...     And then the entire building is rocked by an explosion. Perkins (the chirpy man Nine fistbumped earlier) loses his footing, and a laser shot is blasted out at random.     "Watch it, for God's sake! What the hell was that? Daniels? Victoria? Come in..." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''      Standard sweep operation. A suitable choice, given the location and terrain. So long as it's not pitch black inside, there's enough light for Taro to see by, and so the dim light gives him little trouble. He's drawn his own buster pistol to dispatch any of the resistance members that make the mistake of getting within sight - his swords, given the close quarters, could be dangerous to his allies as well as their opponents.     He also notes with a pleased eye how well his weapons are working, and the skill that Integra's troops are already using them.     The building rocks, and Taro keeps his balance by slightly swaying with it. "An explosion, I would say," he answers over his shoulder, whether Integra was expecting one or not. "A moderate one. Are the rest of you all right?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Thaaaaat's what torture is for. Ahh torture. Inhumane. Wrong. Immoral. Educational. Informative. Fun! Is there any time it's not appropriate?     And as he follows her, Nine sort of protests, hands spreading. "Aw come on, y' don' gotta take th' time t' stub it out, ya flick it, sparks flyin- what're you worried bout, settin th' place on fire? It's cinematic! Tha makes ya look cool n' collected but it /ruins/ th' pacin." Apparently his mind went crickety crack and he thinks he's a movie director now. Or, something. Chuckling to himself he paces in, body hunched and bestial, knuckle clicking on the floor as he comes to a resting state. He moves ahead, before Integra and Taro, grinning a feral grin. Light resistance. It's like an appetizer. Oer'durves before the main course. A warmup. ...Delicious. Hee.     With the lights out, the walls nearby have an odd slight sheen to them as they pass by in the dark, very very faintly, but there. The why is illustrated as Nine turns his head. Huh. Glowing eyes. Oh, right.     As the building rocks and Perkins starts to fall over, the Golem's hand would snap out, catching the man under his falling body. Seems like Perkins exists in the consciousness of the Golem now, instead of just another faceless shape that smells vaguely of meat like most people seem to be to the insane ANMC. His head goes up, sniffing, setting the man on his feet and brushing him off a bit subconsciously, looking confused and surprised. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Yes, thank you for that Taro. I'm more concerned about WHAT exploded."     Integra doesn't respond to Nine's rambling; by and large, it simply isn't worth it. She knows the man is tough. That's his job. Being coherent is not. The other Hellsing forces might be surprised that she doesn't admonish him, but she's got other things to worry about. Such as Commander Victoria's response:     ~They've blown the elevator, Sir Integra. Looks like most of the lobby is in flames~     Ominous silence from the two men left behind prompts Integra to punch the wall in frustration. "Its a trap. Flames below us, elevator's out. They're coming."     As if on cue, the dark corridor ahead begins to echo with the sound of whooping laughter, and the intermittent crack of gunfire. Integra feels sweat bead on her brow, but she's still relatively confident; four soldiers, two other Elites, and a shooting corridor.     "Time to see how long those lasers of yours will hold out, Taro. Firing positions, Squad One. Prepare to engage the enemy."     At her order, Perkins and Johnson crouch, the other two men placing their weapons at their shoulder. She herself takes this moment to produce another cigar, light it, and clamp it between her teeth. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro's brow furrows as he comes to the same conclusion as Integra does. The trap has been sprung, and now their only option is to break their way out of it.     A glance is made at Integra before he holsters his pistol. "They'll hold," he says as a statement of fact. This, followed by a faint whirr of mechanics as plates on his guntlets retract to reveal his greater firepower. This seems to warrent it.     He's not exactly keeping an eye on Nine at this point - he trusts the Golem in a firefight, after all - though he's keeping an ear out for him just in case he does need help once the firefight truly starts.     As for Integra, he murmurs, "The light is going to make you a target." Referring to her freshly lit cigarello. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Very astute. Tough? Check. Coherant. Pff, please. His mind is shit, his body is tanky. The folks who made him? Kinda sucked. Admonishing Nine is like yelling at a vending machine full of puppies. It might hurt the puppie's feelings, but it makes you look sort of silly. It'll have an effect, but really is getting on someone's case about blithering stupid shit gonna do more than bring you down to his level? Good plan Integra, you managed not to mire your foot in the Golem's stupidity and look kinda dumb. :)     A glance behind him. "If th' shafts r' intact a'tall we kin still git out wifout too much a an issue, though it'll make a bit a... trouble..." The whooping laughter catches his attention. He cracks a grin. "...Right, then." A grinning, snarling hiss, and his eyes blaze. "...Today is a damn good day fer other people t' die. Come on bitches, I aint had a chance t' wreck summone's shit in /months/." HSSS!     A quick check on Monty shows his lil buddy is sleeping. He pats him gently, before pulling out a pair of mongooses. He looks at them. Puts them, awwaaaaay, and then unslings the laser he'd borrowed from Taro out in front of himself. Right. Bullets against vampires, or, whatever. That'd be kinda, dumb. A glance behind him, his eyes blazing in the gloom. "Dun worry Taro, I'll try t' be a bigger target, h-HA!" GRIN. >:D 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "In case of a fire." Integra says, calmly, closing her eyes and completely ignoring the fact that her cigar makes her the most obvious target - except possibly Nine, with his glowing eyes. "The flames will turn the inside of the elevator shaft into a furnace. You and Taro may survive, the rest of us would be burned to a crisp. Besides."     Integra's icy eyes snap open, and she shouts loud enough to wake the dead. "The Hellsing Organization will NOT retreat from a bunch of pathetic cast-offs and replicas! We will stand firm, and eliminate ANY freak that dares to show its face."     By now, the whooping has reached fever pitch, and bullets begin to fly about as she straightens up taller. "IN THE NAME OF GOD, IMPURE SOULS OF THE LIVING DEAD WILL BE BANISHED TO ETERNAL DAMNATION."     "Amen!" Chorus her troops.     The first rank of enemies are cut down instantly by the scything laserfire - but these are not vampires. They're humans, but misguided and deluded ones. For the first few seconds, the team definitely succeed in holding their own, even pressed in as they are.     Then the ceiling behind them explodes, and a swift-moving shadow in humanoid form darts from above, ripping off the head of one of the rearguard, and drinking the blood from the stump.     Now that's a vampire. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''      As the first wave charges, Taro lifts his arms high. Though he has but the space of seconds, he chooses his targets with care...and proceeds to mow them down with precisely aimed volleys of supercharged plasma. That they're human does not seem to overly concern him. It's the human soldiers that answer to Integra that he is being careful in avoiding.     No sooner than the first wave is brought low than the ceiling behind them explods in a shower of plaster and tile. His head near-instantly ducks thanks to hardwired reflexes, and those same reflexes cause him to turn in its direction, already lifting his arm cannon in the direction of this new threat....     And then, an instant later, the android priest crumples to the ground with all the grace of a marionette whose strings have just been cut. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine nods. True he's survived Rei Hino burning him often enough and bad enough he couldn't /feel/ it anymore. Collapsing into snow after being burnt bad enough he only survived by having mechanical lungs, blind and unable to feel the heat or cold or pain anymore? Yeah, took him about, oh, a month and some REAL good Confederate doctoring but, he's still around! He could probably make his way through a furnace of an elevator shaft and come out alive on the other end, but, yeah. Other people might not be able to. Um. Good point. COUGH.     As a, freak, that dares to show it's face, he's actually kinda glad he's, nominally, working for her right now. Um. COUGH. COUGH cough.     He's shooting, scything away with everyone else... when, BOOM, and then the smell of blood behind him.     He turns, his eyes a wide glow in the gloom... and then narrow. A glint of teeth... and a ROAR. He gathers to leap-     And then Taro's down Taro's down what's going on Taro's down Taro's DOWN nothing happened he didn't get hit he didn't get- what's happening what's- Taro's DOWN and there's still a threat there, and he's moving, lurching between the thing and Integra and Taro (Taro's DOWN Taro's DOWN his brother's in trouble his brother's) -and he's torn straight down the center. Enemy. Attacking from the rear. Threatening his friends and family. And TARO. ON THE GROUND. WHAT THE FUCK?? He has to DO SOMETHING!     One he can't do anything about.     One he can.     He ROARS and LEAPS, his eyes blazing and his metallic hands outstretched- 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     As Taro falls over, that actually draws some emotion from Integra. That, more than the exploding ceiling, is a shock. Had the android taken a bullet and simply died? It wasn't the sort of thing she was expecting to see - not from him, anyway - but it was... possible, and her hands are just by her sides. What had been an effort to project confidence in her men by simply being /above/ the carnage has not worked out so well.     To make matters worse, there's not one vampire, but two. The first - the one who killed the poor rearguard, is confronted by a raging Nine, and he's all grinning fangs and claws with that, discarding the head, he comes in low, aiming to simply disembowel the far larger man with his claws - because he fails to appreciate just how tough a monster Nine actually is.     The second, who bears an eerie similarity in dark hair and dress sense (and therefore is probably his sister) runs across the ceiling, and drops down over Taro, mouth open wide and hissing...     And receives Integra's neat little pistol jammed right into her maw. Standing astride the downed android, Integra's eyes narrow, and she snorts.     "Damned trash."     Squeezing the trigger, the incendiary round makes the vampire's eyes glow for a split second, and then she crumbles away into dust, leaving Integra to look back over her shoulder and see Perkins and Johnson desperately trying to hold off the advancing horde on their own.     "We do not have time for this nonsense. Commander Victoria, open the windows on the fifth floor, towards the rear of the building if you please."     ~Y-Yes Sir, right away Sir!~ 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro lies there. Not even the vampire landing over him rouses him, nor the sound of Nine and the other vampire duking it out with fists and claws, nor the sharp report of Integra's pistol as it dispatches his near-attacker. The vampire dst settles over his prone form. He's not breathing.     Then again, he's an android. Does he even need to breathe? 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Disembowling a human isn't like disembowling Nine. Disembowling a human just involves putting a bit of oomph in it, ripping through the musculature. If you can get through a side of uncut bacon, you can get a human open. Nine is more like trying to get through bacon made for the World's Tough Guy competition, complete with alloy inserts over the abdominal muscles, metallic mesh interwoven into the musculature itself and subcutaneous ceramic plates. It's more like digging through bacon-flavored armor- with armor on top of it! An exercise in frustration, and the mistake of getting close to a very very VERY angry Golem. Oh yes. He's got his hand scraping nails for his guts, Nine's got a bearhug for her now-sisterless brother, arms winching down (if he can get it) with a metallic whine of very high end cybernetics... and Nine doesn't have fangs, but he does have a very built up neck and a LOT of anger to deal with- and so he's gonna bite a vampire. Revenge! Ironic! And, he'd, keep going, if he could, biting and ripping and covered in blood- Messy! Grotesque! Gory! And- did he just, decapitate a vampire, with his mouth? Given the rending sound as he bites into the spine, blinded by blood but using his neck and shoulder muscles and a twist of his head to simply close his teeth through the spine. FUCK YOU VAMPIRE, TRYIN TO HURT HIS LIL BUDDY! D:<     Did that just happen?     He turns, drooling blood, the eyes shining through a haze of red, hair dripping... "Oh. Right. I, have a laser gun. Um. That, would've been... better, to use there." Then his MOUTH. Cough cough. Cough. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     It is at this point that Integra's forces really begin to seize back some of the initiative. Mostly by virtue of the fact that the far end of the corridor is blown wide open, engulfed in flames, and the impact of the high-velocity Harkonnen shell shatters every window on the floor. If Nine had been concerned about how dramatic Integra can look, the fact that she just stands over Taro and keeps her back to the explosion ought to settle that issue nicely.     The ceiling above caves in, and she doesn't look back as she puts three rounds into the vampire above her. The floor shifts alarmingly, too, and in fact, the entire building is on the verge of collapse.     Integra takes stock of the situation quickly, and points at the blood-smeared Golem.     "Get Taro onto your shoulder. Perkins, Johnson, shoot anything that moves from above and behind. We're going back down to the lobby." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     The floor rocks under them all, never a good sign. Perhaps it's coincidence. Perhaps there's a subroutine that has detected the impending threat to his continued physical existence. Either way, a moment after Integra finishes barking out orders, Taro begins to come back online.     The stench of smoke, burning flesh, blood, and GOLEM and human sweat assails him as soon as he's conscious enough to discern them. His eyes snap open, looking straight ahead, not yet focused. Followed by a mutter, "...there's dust in my mouth." In the tone of someone not sure why this has happened to him. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nice. Yeah, now that's a stunning, impressive visual. Very nice.     He's grinning, covered in blood, dropping the body which, probably does that ashing thing or, whatever they do. He's grinning... and then the blood sort of drifts free and he's coughing, coughing and gagging and scratching out, "UGH, FUCK, ACK, pth, tastes like I made out with an ASH TRAY, /NOT/ cool!" blugh blugh blugh and he's pawing at his tongue. Bluck. >.<     At the word he nods, shaking dust out of his hair, coughing and snorting and gathering his mechanical brother up, easing him across a shoulder with a tenderness that's odd in such a big, ugly guy, placing an awkward hand over his back. His whisper is tense, low and slow and soft. "...Iss gonna be okay man, iss gonna be okay... we'll get it sorted out. You'll see." Patpat. He coughs. "Yeh, there's dust in mine too brother, we're gettin outta here though n' then you can take a shower. You, kinda collapsed. Wus afraid you'd got hit by sumthin. You okay?" 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Nine takes a soothing, calming approach to bringing Taro back to reality. Integra is not so kind.     "Taro, status report. NOW."     This is said just in time to draw up short as the stairwell fills with zombies. Apparently, the previous inhabitants of the block hadn't simply been peacefully replaced... they'd been turned into ghouls. Ghouls which have now fallen through the crumbling upper floors, and are serving as an impediment almost as frustrating as the fire.     Integra's reaction is smooth, at least, as she hooks the laser gun of her fallen soldier with one foot, and swings it into her hands. Pistol isn't going to cut it, and there's STILL people coming from above, keeping the new rearguard busy as she fires into the mass.     "We do NOT have time for this. This building isn't going to last much longer, and if I order the helicopter in close, we risk losing it." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     The reality to which he's awakened is harsher than Integra's tone of voice. He makes a confused sound as Nine gathers him up and settles him on his shoulder, but otherwise makes no complaint. The puzzle pieces of his recent memory files fall into place, and awareness returns to his eyes he recalls just why they were here and what they were doing.     Then, the gaping absence is found by its very absence, and Nine can feel his muscles tighen as the implications hit him. He hisses softly and sharply in an inward breath. "SHODAN...something has happaned to SHODAN."     Then, realizing that this is just one of many catastrophes facing him, he forces himself to continue, "How bad is our situation?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Ugh. He rolls his eyes. Not at Integra. Not at anyone in particular. More at field-o-ghouls. UGHHH. Right. They did NOT have time for this. He looks to Taro, his eyes wide and gentle... and hugs him. "Iss gonna be okay. Our buddy Perkins is gonna have t' keep ya up for a lil while, I gotta get t' choppin." He looks into Perkins' eyes, and his own are intense and thin. "...Please look out for him." No threats. It's pointless to threaten here. These are Hellsing soldiers. But Taro needs someone to watch out for him for a lil bit, and he's gotta clear the stairwell...     He eases Taro off his shoulder, and if the guy was at all amicable to it, he'd let Perkins support Taro a bit. The look he gives his friend is aching, stressed and strained... His voice is low. "Be right back Taro. Perkins." A nod... and then he's throwing himself down the stairs, hitting the wall-o-ghouls, his gunblade out and describing glowing orange arcs in the air... he helpfully leaves one side open for Integra to mow down folks. So he's not just, in the way here. Cutting and sweeping and snarling, slicing off any who might try to reach or claw. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     'How bad is our situation?'     The building lurches again, the wall to the side cracks and splinters, and Integra narrows her eyes. It is, in many ways, the most clever trap she has seen these Millenium freaks pull. The building is clearly going down, but if they don't act quickly, it will be a pyrrhic victory.     "Not good."     Whilst she hears what Taro says about SHODAN, for her, right now, that isn't even a blip on the radar. The ghouls are thinning out enough that they can advance behind Nine; they aren't a major threat to the heavily-armored Golem, they're just flailing, hungry dead people after all, but they are slowing progress. At least Perkins seems able to offer some support and still vaguely take pot-shots enough to keep the still-living threats with guns pinned back. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''      Taro again makes no complaint to Nine as the Golem gently sets him down again and into the commandeered support of Perkins. He stares almost blankly at his 'brother' as he turns back to the important duty of Keeping Them All From Getting Killed, until he disappears from sight down the stairwell. Then, he brings a dirty gloved hand up to his face to rub his temples.     Once he lowers his hand again, brushing at least some of the dust that was still clinging to his face in the process, he moves to unburden Perkins by grabbing the wall and pushing himself back on his feet. That in doing so he puts his hand through the wall doesn't seem to matter, and he pulls it free again. "I can stand. I can still fight," he states plainly as fact.     For how long? He's not going to dwell on that. Not dying still remains high on his list of priorities.     Though not with quite the same grace as before, the android steps to one side as he draw both of his beam sabres from their sheaths. But then, grace at the moment is not strictly necessary. "We cannot stay here. I will go help Nine clear the way."     And with that, he almost literally follows in Nine's footsteps, this weapons cracking to life as he descends the stairs. those ghouls trying to close in after tham are going to get a first hand accounting of his level of technology, and he is showing only the barest of restraint. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine would MUCH RATHER be carrying Taro right now. Even if he doesn't need it. Because Taro's hurt, and in trouble.     Something's happened to SHODAN.     And now it, hits him, quite, what. He turns, staring behind him... and then is drawn in by the mass of ghouls. There's a few moments where there's just a flailing mass of flesh and claws... and then "MOTHER PUSS BUCKET!" And arcs of orange energy, looking more, annoyed, then anything else, blazing through the damned dead folks in a flurry of death. Or, more, death. Okay. He sort of wades his way back, hissing and spitting curses, covered in gore, and this gore doesn't ash off afterwards. He pops up from the mass of snarling bodies, sort of calling out, "This is a lil slow! I got a building cracker bomb but wif things as fucked up as they are I dun think she could handle it!" He reaches out for the building... and a woman, a ghoul, latches onto his metallic arm. A roar. "FUCK OFF BITCH, I ALREADY GOT A GIRLFRIEND!" SMASH.     A glance over, and then as they're both wading through zombies, Nine is shouting over at Taro. "I thought I TOLD you to STAY UP THERE! You just COLLAPSED what happens if it happens again! You could be hurt!" Slash slash slash gut slash." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Sir Integra merely nods to Taro, allowing the android to judge his own effectiveness rather than make any comment on it herself. Between the pair of them, Nine and Taro are able to cut quite the swathe through the ghoul horde, and Integra follows behind them, taking shots as the opportunity presents itself, and ensuring that the surviving Hellsing officers continue their descent.     Soon, the lobby is coming into view, and the burning wreckage and debris which bears testament to a powerful explosion... and possibly some pre-planning, if the heat of the inferno is any indication. Integra's patience for the situation has finished, and she points directly to the front door.     "Clear a path, Nine. We'll fall back to a safe position and Team Three will destroy the building." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Integral Law #2: Prevent your termination.     The tide of ghouls gives Taro something more immediate to concern himself with than the fact that his Master is currently lost to him. That he has thrown himself headlong into this danger - and that Nine is rightly upset about it - doesn't matter as far as that command is concerned. All that matters now is survival, and both what he was and what he is can agree with that.     He bares his teeth as he slashes and slices and cuts his way through to Nine, seeminly not caring that he's being berated.     Finally, they all make it to the lobby, and while he's not panting, he's trembling. Still on his feet. And will remain so, until all of them can manage to get out of this inferno and to the relative safety of the street. 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     A nod... and then he's cueing up something in his head. Not something he likes using. It causes a monster of a headache. But he has targeting chips. And he has an aggression regulator that, let's be fair, he never ever uses. He activates both. Set, oh, say, 45 seconds. Both to 11. Targeting, friend from foe, and full raving snarling aggression. Keep the weapon in hand, exclude allies, and murder like a motherfucking sonofabitch. He goes into 'clear the room' mode. Or, more, into FUCKING BUTCHER EVERYTHING THAT'S NOT HIS FRIENDS RAAAAAAAAAAA!!!     Because, seriously, fuck these guys. Fuck these guys, SO MUCH. There's no words for the level of FUCK THESE GUYS. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     The firey debris is cleared out of the way through brute force and determination. As the trio burst out onto the street, the helicopter crew throw down a sturdy ladder, and Integra, naturally enough, goes up first. The helicopter is hovering about ten feet above the ground so... here's hoping that Nine can get into it without accidentally destroying the whole thing, because that would be rather awkward.     From the outside, the damage already done to the building is clear and obvious. Thick black smoke billows from the interior, and the whole structure is at an unhealthy angle. Intermittent crackles of gunfire seem to be doing a good job of pinning down whatever else might be trying to come out from the god-forsaken building, though, and Integra doesn't wait for the others to get up before she gives the final order;     "We're cutting our losses, here. Commander Victoria, send the whole place back to hell."     "With pleasure, Sir Integra!" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Oh naturally. Though Taro would be pretty quick to get sent up there, perhaps by protocol, perhaps by a very concerned Golem. And yeah destroying their ride WOULD be rather awkward, wouldn't it? Let's avoid that, yes.     The issue with the helicopter is taken care of with mechanical precision. Nine lets anyone who needs to climb their ass up climb their ass up, making damn sure Taro gets in and secure, and then? Well, Nine is seven feet tall when not being a lazy slouchy ass. His arms are long for a humanoid. He simply reaches up, easing to tippytoes for a moment, locks his hands on the edge and, HUP, does a pullup. Shifts a hand, reaches for the bolted in metal securing a row of seats, locks his hand, HUP, up, rolling in and sitting up, looking over at the smoke. "...Well, that didn' go smooth..." Coughing, sifting dust and ashes out of his ratty mop of hair. Kaff. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro is visibly trembling by the time they make it out onto the street, though whether it's from all of the exertion or from something else in't entirely clear. His beam sabers are quickly deactivated and resheathed at his sides, and he turns back around to face the building. He bares his teeth at it in a snarl, and for a moment he looks like he might just go back the way they just came...but then he sharply shakes his head and forces himself to stand where he is.     Nine and Integra and the remaining members of Hellsing are behind him. Good.     He forces himself to wait until the humans scale up the ladder and into the chopper first, before scurrying up after them, with Nine bringing up the rear Once he's finally inside, he doesn't so much collapse as drop into a seat and appears to pass out. his head slumping forward. Hopefully someone else will think to buckle him in. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     The helicopter is soon ascending, and Seras demonstrates the aptitude of the Harkonnen Cannon in taking out structures. Behind them, the apartment building detonates in a spectacular cloud of dust and fire. This will need to be addressed on the evening news; exactly the kind of situation Integra had hoped to avoid. And there's the matter of the dead soldiers. But all in all, they had survived the trap aptly.     Integra is NOT shaking, her composure remains just as absolute as ever, and she lights up another cigar as the helicopter takes to the skies. It is only after she's exhaled that she responds to either man. "The mission was a success." She says, to Nine. "You performed ... acceptably, under the circumstances."     Her eyes slide to Taro, then. "Do I need to get you medical attention?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Narrow glowing eyes, the Confederate shock trooper King Model snarls down, "Yeah, fuck all y'all, see what you get..." A sniff- which is a mistake, making the still-slightly-damp-and-covered-in-dust-and-debris Golem cough again, big blocky metal hand over his mouth. KAHH!     Now Nine normally laps up any positive reinforcement. It's part of his nature. It's part of his training. It's part of his rather thorough brainwashing. It's his bread and butter, his soldier's pay. You done right son. Good boy. Ect. But this time he just roughs out a thick grunt, his face grimy with soot and dust and his eyes low-burning and serious. "Acceptably my ass. Taro got hurt, and I aint even rightly got a good bead on /why/." Something has happened to SHODAN. Something has- but what? And more importantly, FAR more importantly, what has happened to Taro?     :( 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro gives no immediate answer to Integra's question. His eyes are closed, his chin resting on his chest, his expression all but blank. Nine would likely recognize this as him directly interacting with cyberspace.     A cyberspace that barely exists in this part of the multiverse - the local telecom network barely knows what to do with him - but he forces a route through it and into the larger multiversal inernet.     Something has happened to SHODAN. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra narrows her eyes at Nine as he *contradicts* her. The woman takes another deep drag on her cigar, and then very deliberately blows the stream into the face of the coughing Golem. Her men don't look very happy either. Nine is upset that Taro fell over for a bit; their friends lost their lives.     "We eliminated the last external threat currently operating within the borders of our country." She states, "And whilst Taro's behavior does require an explanation, you got us out in one piece. Everything else can be dealt with in time." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine knows that look alright. Means his lil buddy is diving the dirty byways of the net. Not good, but he has a fair idea on why. Getting a bead on that gimpy bitch he calls Master... okay he might be in a bad mood. He resists the urge to touch him, not wanting to interrupt him, but his body language is all sorts of stressed, harried and troubled.     But he's not so distracted that he doesn't notice that look, not only hers but those of the men's too. They lost friends, he's just being a whiny complainy bitcher-person. He seems to accept the smoke for what it is- a rebuke, coughing and... wilting, monumentally wilting, head going down as inexorably as if there was a hand on the back of his skull, pushing it there, his face one of contrition and shame, as is his tone. "Y-yes Sir Integra. Forgive my impertinence." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:''' Network Error: Cannot Connect To Host. Network Error: Unable to Establish Connection.     Each of them has their own separate priorities. Sir Hellsing is understandably upset over the loss of her soldiers and friends. Nine is understandably upset over the state of his would-be brother. And Taro is understandably desperate to learn what has happened to the only one who should matter to him. Network Error: Network Path Cannot Be Found. Network Error: Gateway Not Found.     SHODAN is /gone/.     /SHODAN is gone/.     The android's eyes finally snap open, but only to squinch shut. While he doesn't actually retch, his face twists in an expression usually associated with having just been violently ill. "I cannot reach SHODAN," he says, his voice tightening with each word. "Her primary and secondary nodes are no longer connected to her Holy Network, I cannot locate any route to Citadel Station, and I find no sign of her in the multiversal grid...she has vanished."     His hands grip the edge of the seat as if his life depended on it, his voice taut with emotion. "I no longer have a Master to serve." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Sir Integra never had much love for SHODAN. What little she had learned about the AI's nature had not predisposed her towards acceptance. She has, however, found Taro useful. Being useful is about as close as anyone in her life gets, these days, and so whilst Nine wilts - as well he should - her attention shifts towards Taro, and she ponders how to approach this.     She may not know anything about artificial intelligence, but she DOES know a great deal about religion, and it seems as though Taro's crisis is of a similarly existential nature; even if there's a more concrete root to it than most men of faith who suffer a similar break. And a mental breakdown on the part of a man who is so useful would be... wasteful.     "Is that so?" She says, slowly. Gloved hands net together as she leans forwards, looking at Taro over the top of her glasses as the helicopter continues back on course towards home. The other soldiers just look simply baffled. "Faith does not require evidence. Your God was kind enough to speak with you directly for a time. Withdrawing that privilege does not mean your service is over." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     And there's a metal hand at his face, that ugly ugly visage entirely too close, entirely too concerned, the hunched mutated figure too grimy and too smelly to have in such close quarters. And then in a gesture, frankly, way too fucking domestic to be really that comfortable, Nine is wrapped around Taro, holding his helplessly distressed brother to his misshapen chest, his own eyes squinched shut.     At her words the Golem seems to tense, rounding with teeth bared and eyes a blazing glow of angrily narrowed... but restrains himself, teeth grinding together tight enough to be audible. He... releases Taro, sitting down next to him with the air of extreme concern and taut defensiveness that would normally be reserved for a domestic partner.     NOW GET THAT OUT OF YOUR HEADS. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "You do not fully understand." Taro gives a small shake of his head with those words. His eyes open partway, and he looks about to say something further. Only he is interrupted by Nine, who envelops his small frame in an embrace. The android leans into the larger golem, though he does not put his arms around him in return.     He's trembling. Not much, he's trying to keep it from being visible, but he's trembling.     Then, he's released, and once so, he leans forward, hands no longer gripping the seat but his knees instead. His eyes remain open now, staring at the floor through his filthy bangs. "This is not a matter of her divinity, Sir Hellsing, but a practical necessity. She is my Goddess, but she is also my Master, as my enslavement programming requires...if she is no longer here, then I have no one holding my chains. That is a very dangerous thing." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra has a talent for many things... but it must be said that patience, is not one of them. She listens, but Taro is right; she really doesn't understand what is happening, and she has even less desire to watch Nine hugging the other man. Really. Such maudlin displays of affection have never sat well with her.     "Of all the Confederate elites I have had the pleasure of meeting, I can think of few I have thought require chains less than you, Taro. So please. Explain." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine's left sort of in an uninentended mimicry of Taro's own position, his look of stress and hennish worry evident on his taut leathery face. It's not his tale to tell so he would not trouble Taro by interjections- until he forgets, which he might well in here, but for now he's not going to fuss up his story by dumb Golem babbling. He understands the need for chains, having that need himself, but for Taro it's different. His is real, legitimate and not at all a flawed and unworthy personality trait like it is in Nine, artificially induced or otherwise. His is real, immediate and dangerous if not deadly if ignored.     He is a worried, worried Golem, but he does not sit between Integra and her current line of inquiry.     Well he, technically is sort of sitting between her and Taro but that's, not, what is- okay this analogy is going nowhere. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     "I am enslaved for a reason, Sir Hellsing." Taro tilts his head slightly upward, though he does not brush his hair out of his face. Nine's affection aside, he's trying to cling to some dignity, though his vanity has taken on less importance. "I was never designed to be sentient. My creator, if he knew what I have become, would kill me on the spot. Even though he does not know, he designed me in such a way that I should have already been terminated and my original programming reinstalled. I was only ever intended to be a simulation, based upon his vast knowledge and focused through the lens of his methodology and behavior patterns, absolutely subservient to him. Instead, the Ahren Simulation Program that has become 'Taro Daisho' developed from errors caused by a dilemma that could not be resolved without a higher order of thinking...and now that it...that -I- exist, I have done all I can to avoid triggering any of those safeguards that would erase all I have gained. The chains that bind me into service to a master also bind and contain the 'demon' that I was. It is a price that I remain willing to pay." He raises his left hand to make an open-handed gesture to himself. "I would rather live this life, such as it is, than to die, and I would rather die as myself than revert to what I was."     His gaze shifts slightly looking outward, over the other soldiers with them before settling on the outer hatch though not truly focused on it. "Were this to have happened under other circumstances, I would have locked myself away in a cell that I prepared for such an occasion. Instead, I was here, in what we may call a stimuli-rich environment and on a mission with companions that could not have been immediately abandoned.     "I was able to prevent any immediate regression by focusing my full attention on survival, but in doing so I've slid into old patterns, closer to what I had been. I fear I may either further slide downward into my default methods or trigger a safeguard while distancing myself from them. Beyond the immediate need, without a master to give me orders, I will eventually have none save the ones my creator left me..." A sidelong glance is made at Nine, before returning his gaze to Integra. "...and I have found just enough pleasant things about this world that I no longer wish to lay waste to it." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra listens, and about halfway through the explanation, she closes her eyes to concentrate. It might LOOK like she's not paying attention at all, and is instead focused on her cigar; but looks can be deceiving. She doesn't understand WHY this has to be the way it is, but she doesn't need to. 'Why?' has never been a question Integra has had the luxury of caring about very much. 'How?' is only marginally more important. 'What', is the issue of the day for her, and in this case, it seems that the crux of the matter is that without someone to act as slaver, Taro will cease to exist and instead become a threat.     She trusts Taro to be expert enough in his own field that she won't insult him by making stabs in the dark, either. "Very well." She says, at last, "What do you suggest we do? I can have us back to the nearest warpgate within..." A quick mental calculation, "Forty five minutes, if you need to get to the chamber. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestion." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine's still doing the silence game, though he's evidently stressed and full of tension at the moment. How can you tell?     He's sweating.     Even worse than that he's sweating stressed and afraid.     You poor poor people. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Nine's distress has not escaped Taro's attention. However, his own distress is all he can handle just now.     Fourty-five minutes. That may as well be an eternity.     "I must find another Master," is his answer to Integra's question, his gaze somewhat unfocused but still on her. "At this exact moment, out of everyone here, you would be the best candidate. If you are willing to accept that burden, that is." 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra's eyes open again, and for a moment, she just looks at Taro. Then she looks at the profusely sweating Nine. Her soldiers are wise enough not to interrupt her as she weighs up the situation in her head, and finally, she nods her head.     "Then I will be your Master. The Hellsing Organization always has a place for people who have proven themselves as well as you have... and in the event that you do find yourself losing control, I promise that I will do everything in my power to allow you to die as Taro Daisho." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro breathes a quiet sigh of what sounds like relief. "That is all I would ask, Sir Hellsing. Better to live and die as the monster that I am, than allow the demon to win."     He turns his head to look fully at Nine. "Will you be all right with this, my fellow instrument and weapon?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Yeah Nine's not trying to add to his strain... that would be cruel and... well he's just not wanting to do that to his friend in his hour of need.     Taro's pronouncement of needing a Master has Nine's mouth making an ugly little line, his eyes closing. He feels for him. To be so vulnerable, so... helpless. For all that Taro is smart and wonderful, worthy and good, scary competent and wickedly intelligent and capable, he's still no more unshackled by his own life then Nine is. Less so then Nine is, in a lot of ways.     Now that is a very scary thought.     And he nods at the assertion that she would be the best candidate. Only candidate, really. No offense to the rest of the Hellsing soldiers. Being a candidate doesn't even enter into his diseased and cracked little head. That would be like leashing a dog to another dog, like a fine silky borzoi being tied to a big ugly slobbery mutt and telling them to go for a walk. There's just no chance, and if not exactly the worst idea ever it's certainly in the running.     He looks over, sorrow and pain evident in his painfully ugly face, wincing at her words. It's more than he'd do for Taro, if things went south. He's too... selfish, and too emotional. It still hurts to think of it tho. He makes a low taut strained sound, his eyes scrunched closed, head down and hands clamped in a ball between his knees like he's praying...     Not that Nine followed any god, or, on that end that any god would have any part in the sick thing that is No. 9. But it looked like it. And maybe in his own way he... kinda was. To anyone listening, as it were. Even Integra's fucked up god. Even him.     Nine turns to Taro, looking over at him with a great depth in his eyes. It's the first time Taro had referred to him as such, and one might imagine it would affect him adversely. Quite the opposite. He's touched by the acknowledgment, and offers a deep inclination of his head, his soot-filthed ratty blonde hair falling in his face. "I am alright with this." A glance over at Integra, and he's suddenly uncomfortable. "I cannot help but feel this is not the time to mention, but. It's not quite a two for one on this but it's kinda close. Taro is a friend and a brother. A fellow instrument, weapon if you will, and I'm around him a lot." And he doesn't even know how to proceed from here, turning to look at her with wide, helpless eyes. Taro's last Master had been distant, remote. Integra however was RIGHT HERE and had control over his friend, and therefore control over him. Technically she could say that, Taro, could never see him again, keep them apart, ban him from their areas and keep Taro close. He doesn't ask specifics, but lays out his concerns with facial expressions and general posture, a sort of open ended question, to be addressed (or ignored) as she would be wont. She controls his friend now. And he doesn't know where he fits in. Or if he fits in. If they'd be able to... Or if he's being bad to his friend for even bringing it up as much as he had. Squirm. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra has been fascinated by Nine in many ways, for many reasons. He's a monster, yes, but he is - as he is so painfully aware - a monster on a leash, and a monster who feels guilty for his own state. Its been an interesting puzzle, which is why Integra had taken a personal interest in him. That he feels loyalty for his friend is not unexpected; that he is alright with her taking control is... moreso. But his acquiescence is appreciated.     "You're a good soldier." She says to the Golem, around her cigar. "... There's room in the Hellsing Organization for you, too, if you want it. I've no intention of splitting up a good team."     And then her eyes are falling on Taro again, and she exhales, long and slow.     "But make no mistake. If I am your Master, that is what you're accepting. The Hellsing Organization is winning its war, but there are still monsters in the world that would tear us down. Until EVERY threat to peace and stability for this island has been crushed, we will continue to search out and destroy our enemies wherever they may hide." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro reaches out to gently grasp Nine's meaty upper arm in a gesture of affection. He has yet to to say the words 'friend' or 'brother'. Difficult words to speak aloud for one whose life has been a path of blood, tears, and betrayal. Yet that is what they are, and both of them realize it. The words do not need to be spoken to be understood.     "Thank you." Words spoken quietly, to them both.     "You have a sense of purpose and direction. Those are qualities I prefer," he says in answer to Integra. lets his hand fall, shifting forward in his seat again. "Let us be done with it, then...Nine, help me down, please. Sir Hellsing...your full name and titles?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     And the relief is just, so, evident it's pathetic. The big rough heavy insane soldier sort of... seems almost to collapse, head down body melting like ice to water, those bunched and bundled hands relaxing and he lets out a long shuddering breath, tension running from him like life from a slashed artery. He nods, looking dizzy and faint.     They'd lost people today, which affected him, deeply and sadly. But, Taro wasn't among their number, and for that he is, more, grateful then he could ever have words for...     At Taro's request, he nods, his face going a touch gray. While he has no problem with this on an intellectual level, it still hurt his cold stained mechanical heart a little bit to see it; his friend was smart and wise, clever and capable, and he understood that he needed this, but it was...     Nine had no issue with eating off the floor. But it still bothered Taro to see him do it.     Sort of the same thing.     Except, less, insulting to Integra. Um.     His hands were careful, careful, easin his friend down to the floor of the chopper, hands on his shoulder, squeezing reassurance before he slinks back, looking to Integra. He would bear witness, but it still made him squirm. Just a little. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra waits for Nine to set Taro back down, and for the decorum of the situation to be restored at least a little bit. She even stands up, which in the cramped confines of the helicopter really highlights just how tall the woman actually is. Her shadow falls over both Nine and Taro. Her voice is utterly calm and clear, and she somehow manages to maintain her balance such that she doesn't even wobble as the helicopter carries on.     "I am Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing. Head of the Protestant Knights, Director of the Hellsing Organization, Ally of the Confederacy." She smirks, faintly. Possibly the first time either man has seen her show any mirth at all. "And Master of Monsters." 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     At least this time Taro is able to make his own choice. A hastily made choice, with only two candidates in the running, but it is a choice nonetheless. It's more than what the first SHODAN gave him.     "Master of Monsters. A fitting title." A hint of humor creeps into his voice with that. With Nine's help, Taro lowers himself to one knee, the joints of his armor creaking with the motion. His left hand draws one of his beam sabres from its sheath, while the right draws one of the small folding multi-tools that he always carries with him. Both are held out to Integra in offer, and once unburdened, both hands come to rest on that knee. His voice steadies, speaking the words with the gravitas that such an oath deserves. "Ahren Simulation Program version four point two accepts redefinement of the Designated Master Unit, and accepts transfer of custody and control to Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, Head of the Protestant Knights, Director of the Hellsing Organization, Master of Monsters." He lowers his head in a gesture of fealty. "I am yours to command. What is your bidding, my Master?" 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Her shadow falls over Nine whether she is standing or sitting, but to have her loom over him rams things home, and his posture is eminently acquiescent. He looks up at her, his eyes glinting in the stained depths of his sockets. Master of Monsters indeed...     He listens quietly. He has no such protocols.     Well he does, but since he doesn't NEED pomp and ceremony (not that Taro does but his is more formal and all that) he doesn't necessarily need to hand over the sheet of ferreted out control phrases to Integra (though he should) and... he shivers. He'd like to avoid that if at all possible. Taro needs it, but to him it's all hands dipping directly into his psyche, sliding past the conscious mind with phrases he doesn't even hear and reprogramming his mind and soul and- he'd rather, avoid, that if at all possible. Though if Integra demanded or even asked it of him, he'd hand the control phrases over. Some are known to the Confederacy, like Control Word Activation Regretful December, an odd string of words that has his body lock up in muscle-tearing absolute rigidity, things like that. And far more subtle things. He watches Taro, his expression unreadable, his posture low but his eyes sad and respectful of his friends situation, and of the ceremony of the moment. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     Integra takes the offered tools, and nods her head respectfully as Taro goes through the ceremony. It isn't, perhaps, the best surroundings for such a solemn ritual... but necessity does have to come before tradition, sometimes. That's something that recent events have hammered home to her time and time again.     "Rise, and rest, Taro." She says, moving to sit down again herself. The tools and weapon are handed back to the android, and she folds her hands on her lap. "When we return to London, I'll require you to produce a report with any... necessary details I may need to keep in mind regarding your operations, previous loyalties and obligations, but for now, you've been through an ordeal. Take some time to collect yourself."     Finally, she looks first at the sheet in his hand, then directly at Nine, looking into those crazed eyes - and for a moment he has to wonder, can she see right through him? Into his doubts and fears?     ... if she can, she doesn't act on it. "And you, Nine. I expect you to assist Taro in making the transition. I hope I am clear." Never ask for more than you need from your subordinates; but never hesitate to ask for exactly that. Its a simple rule that Integra has found helpful to live by. She won't ask for the means to reach into Nine's skull, because she doesn't need them... not right now, at least. 

:'''{{#var:399|Taro (399)}} has posed:'''     Taro was originally designed by a dragon, a race that enjoys such formalities. It also ritual, something in which Taro takes comfort after the chaos of this past hour. Were the circumstances different, he would have at least cleaned himself up, but such was not to be.     The oaths spoken, accepted, and controls once back in place, the android gives another quiet sigh of relief. Then, he dutifully rises - Nine's help, if given, if certainly not rebuffed - accepts his weapon and multitool back from his new Master, returns them to their proper places on his belt, and then sits back in his seat. "Of course, Master."     As if he's just now noticing what a mess he is, the android runs his fingers through his hair to finger-comb it out of his face. That his gloves are grimed and his face is smeared with soot and ash means the act does nothing for his appearance, but if nothing else his hair is parted again.     Then, he leans back, posture not exactly relaxed, but no longer rigid or trembling. "I will try to not be to difficult for either of you." 

:'''{{#var:269|No. 9 (269)}} has posed:'''     Nine nods. If nothing else nodding means at least a lessening of eye contact, and the idea of her being able to read him like a battered and open book, to be able to pierce straight to the core of him and pick all his fears and uncertainties right out of his diseased, percolating mind? It gives him a cold breadth right through the innards. He nods.     If she felt the need to ask, she'd get it. She'd get the Box to read through, with all it's instructions and diagrams. Somewhere she can look and he definitely cannot, for all the triggers that had been put in him to keep him from doing so... and the PTSD horror fest of things that had not been slid directly in but the mind throws up in desperate attempts to keep from being destroyed by something happening to it. His voice is low and respectful. "And you shall have it Sir Integra."     Nine would of course help Taro up, slowly and carefully and with evident care. Loyalty. Even a crazy thing like him was dogged in his devotion to his friend and brother. Dogged. Dog. It just sort of works.     He sets a few moments aside sort of battering his fellow Confederate tool and weapon, brother and friend, whapping at his clothing to try to get loose some of the dust, looking over apologetically at Sir Integra. His own state is, of course, ignored. Polishing up a potato like him is just a waste of arm effort, but Taro is a sleek and composed thing. Really an odd couple and a half there. 

:'''{{#var:246|Sir Integra (246)}} has posed:'''     "Excellent. Now if you'll excuse me, I must take field reports from the other squad leaders."     Closing her eyes again, Integra does indeed let her mind drift elsewhere; presumably to the radio reports coming in from the other Hellsing operatives, who must deal with the aftermath of the apartment block's destruction. There was nothing more to say though, was there, really? All other details could wait for more private and comfortable surroundings. The matter has been dealt with. Best not to dwell on it.     And so the copter returns to London in the bright light of the midday sun. The scarred city entirely uncaring of the dramatic new twist in the lives of those aboard it. 

}}

813/Elven Supremacy

2014-10-16T22:55:40Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/16 |Location=Middle Earth |Synopsis=In an unfamiliar forest, under an unfamiliar sky, unfamiliar spiders bring unfamiliar elves together. W..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/16
|Location=Middle Earth
|Synopsis=In an unfamiliar forest, under an unfamiliar sky, unfamiliar spiders bring unfamiliar elves together. What could have easily been bloodshed is instead turned by cunning manipulation towards... a party invitation for the future. And the possibility of trade between two very different cultures.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=592, 599
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     The Multiverse is a large place, and it is full of mysteries. Quenthel had marveled, at first, at the fact that the amulet she was given could keep her in touch with her followers and allies across almost all of it. Then, her heart had fallen, for she knew what it meant. She had to travel from her comfortable city, and see at least some of the sights of the Multiverse for herself.     The Mirkwood is far indeed from the forests of Faerun, and though to many travelers they might look identical, the beautiful Drow and her entourage could sense the difference in their very bones. They could also sense some of the dangers, here, and it is in a small clearing that we find them contesting with one now.     The creature is huge; larger than a horse, eight-legged and terrible. The spiders of the Mirkwood are not to be trifled with... and yet the High Priestess is smiling a faint, distant smile as she strokes her hand over the creature's head, and it releases a high-pitched, clacking purr. "This is an adorable one." She muses, looking back at one of her entourage - a serious young woman with a hand crossbow in one hand and a shortsword in the other, "What say you, Erelrafryn? Do you think the masters of this land would protest were we to bring it back with us?" 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      The residents of this sickly forest would certainly not protest if someone took a spider home with them. Once they leave the borders of the woods, Thranduil is no longer concerned with them. If they turned on their master, well, that is just one less outsider to deal with.      The wind howls through the forest, blowing dead leaves through the twisted mass of roots and branches. The daylight barely makes it through the thick canopy high above, bathing the forest in a dull, cold sort of light. Suddenly, Silvan Elves drop down from the trees, surrounding the group with their bows drawn and daggers at the ready. Guards in their armor come jogging up the path. "Move away so that we may destroy this wretched creature." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel's first instinct is to lash out. Pale elves are, generally speaking, the natural enemies of the Drow. Certainly, as the Elven warriors level their weapons, the Drow respond in kind, and Quenthel has to act quickly. Holding her hand up, she speaks in the sharp, clipped tone of someone used to being obeyed. "Do not draw first blood." She demands, and then she turns her red gaze towards the one who spoke.     She does not move away, but she does face that warrior directly. Her tone softens, even as her eyes narrow. "Come, come. There is no need to resort to violence. The beast is quite pacified, I assure you. Please." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      The elves keep their weapons trained, unflinching. The guard holds his spear at the ready. "You are an outsider to the forest of Mirkwood. That foul creature is from the fortress of Dol Guldur. It is pure evil and must be destroyed. Who are you and what do you want?"      The other elves drop to one knee in a gesture that indicates that they're ready to take action but they're not exactly threatening Lolth directly. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel's jaw sets at the explanation, and she straightens her back. She does not show an ounce of weakness, but nor does she make an aggressive movement, not yet anyway. She stands calm and composed, though the women of her entourage are looking increasingly pensive as they size up their elvish counterparts.     "I am Quenthel of House Baenre, Matron Mother of Menzoberranzan and High Priestess of Lolth, Goddess of the Dark Elves." She says, imperiously. "She is also known as the Spider Queen. If this creature is as evil as you say, then it is an /affront/ to her holy symbol, and as Her representative, I claim the right to destroy it."     This seems to get some genuinely shocked reactions from two members of her entourage, though the spider... well, it looks almost like it is sleeping! It certainly doesn't seem aware of its impending destruction. 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      "Your title means nothing to us. If you wish to destroy the beast yourself, you are welcome to do so, but it will not be permitted to wander the forest. We are overrun with these spiders and our orders by the king are to destroy them all. "      He keeps his hand on his spear, watching the spider pensively. "You are Elves? You are not of Middle Earth. There are Elves outside of our world? Where do you come from? Why are you here? Our orders are to take any outsiders to the King." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel's lip curls up into an angered, haughty sneer that could rival any elf's. "You would be wise." She says, slowly, "Not to belittle my title." Suddenly rounding on the spider, the High Priestess draws her whip from her belt - and weaves an illusion in the same instant.     What the world sees is impressive. The magical weapon - seven blood-red snakes bound into a handle - strike home clear and true across the spider's form, making it scream shrilly and then curl up on itself. Shadows actually lengthen and the darkness seems deeper for a few seconds, before the whip is replaced at her belt. What actually happens, is nothing at all, as the spider simply dozes off beneath the illusory image of its own dead body. It is a gambit; she doesn't know how resistant these elves may be to such illusion, but she can hardly let such a fine creature die!     "If you wish to take me to your King, then that is agreeable, and I will answer all the questions he may ask. But my servants will dispose of the corpse. The Spider Queen must be made aware of this affront to her image, and I will not be disrespected further." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      "You will relinquish your weapons." The guard says firmly. He looks at the spider, his keen Elvish sight seeing the spider, but uncertain if it is dead or alive. "They will be returned to you upon your departure from Mirkwood." Wood Elves are not quite as wise or elegant as their High Elf cousins in Rivendell. Thranduil and Legolas are Grey Elves, a somewhat rare breed of Elves. The guard offers no apology, he's not there to make friends, he's there to keep the few safe spots left in the demented forest clear of outsiders and foul things. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     "If I hand you my whip." The High Priestess says, "It will kill you. But if you insist, I am happy to oblige."     Quenthel's tone is, quite calm. It is taking a fair amount of restraint, but... it is likely worth it. She gestures to her entourage, in any case, and four of the six women move to bodily shift the spider's 'corpse' and take it from the Wood, back to the Warpgate from which they had come. The other two begin handing over weapons. The obvious are removed quite quickly.     Then the vials of poison, spare daggers, backup crossbows and other such items take a little longer to locate and pass over. 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      The guard reaches out for the whip, then frowns and lowers his arm. "Why would it kill me?" He asks as the other guards collect the weapons and carry them along the path. "Shall we journey to the Halls of The Elvenking, then? It is a long and perilous journey. We must go before nightfall. Should the stars appear before we arrive, the forest becomes much more dangerous."      The guard is not certain about these people. They do not seem as friendly as the outsiders they have enountered before. "Come." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel holds up the whip - seven crimson snakes writhing against one another - and smiles faintly. "It isn't personal. She only abides my touch grudgingly."     Quenthel says little about the night; frankly, she's glad that the Mirkwood is so thick with leaves that the sunlight is mostly obscured. "Let us travel." She agrees, instead. Night is not as comforting as the Underdark, but it is close enough. She does not linger on the path, though, and the Drow move with quick and practiced grace. They definitely are not a friendly lot, these three; bunching together, the two remaining bodyguards seem nervous and on edge... but then, they have been disarmed, and are on unfamiliar ground! 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      The guard gestures for the women to go first, while other guards are in front. "I understand. Please refrain from using any weapons within the Halls. You are but three females, there are thousands of Elves within the kingdom."      Their journey takes them over massive roots, around trecherous curves on the edge of a cliff whose bottom cannot be seen due to the darkness, and through brambles, which a few of the scouts chop away with their long daggers. As they travel, it begins to rain, the water managing to find a way through he canopy of trees. One of the scouts almost slips, but due to their natural grace, regains her footing. The forest has a way of making the air feel like a thick fog closing in all around, but it isn't much longer before they reach...      The Halls of The Elvenking. The sun touches the ground, even though the clouds are encroaching on the crystal blue sky. There is green grass here, flowers and living trees. A great waterfall flows down the mountainside into a river that runs beneath the bridge. Guards see the oncoming entourage and open the ornate blue gates to admit them inside. 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Whilst her companions bristle at the implied threat, Quenthel merely nods her head. "I am an envoy of my people." She says, "I have no intention of bringing violence to your home."     The rain is unpleasant enough a reminder that there's a sky up there; the sunlight is even worse. Whilst Quenthel hides her pain well enough, her comrades are clearly in great discomfort as the three of them hurry towards the gates, and the shade within. The natural light burns their eyes and they are blinking away tears when they make it into more comfortable ground. They do regain some composure before continuing onwards, though. Accursed daystar! 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      "You must understand that we are constantly under threat. We cannot trust anyone." The guard leads them into the kingdom, which is vast and ornate. the pathways are made of roots which have been cut across the top to make a flat walking surface. It is not a place for anyone afraid of heights, that much is certain. The drop would lead one down to a small river running through from a branch of the waterfall outside. They are led up a rather narrow set of stairs that leads to a platform with a large throne made of enormous elk antlers made of wood, twisted roots and branches. It is quite a sight to behold. Upon the throne sits Thranduil, sitting crosslegged with his wooden staff in one hand.      "You brought me more outsiders. How lovely." He says flatly, rising to his feet. Thranduil is an impressive 6'5, making him a towering figure. "What brings you to my halls?" 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     There's no response to the comment about threats, Quenthel is still trying to erase the lingering trace of encroaching migraine from her head. When she stands before Thranduil, though, she has to admit; he is a very tall elf. Perhaps the tallest she's ever seen. As she stands barely over five foot herself, the contrast is... impressive, to say the least.     "I am Quenthel of House Baerne, Matron Mother of Menzobarrenzan and High Priestess of Lolth, Goddess of the Dark Elves." She says, introducing herself and bowing before the King, as she straightens, she actually answers the question, though.     "We have only recently arrived in this place. We seek trade, knowledge... perhaps even allies, in these strange times." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      Thranduil looks down at the woman and with a neutral expression steps down from the throne platform to face them properly. His long platinum hair is perfect, nearly reaching his waist. "I see. What is it you have to trade that we would find of value? What knowledge would we gain?"      He folds his hands in front of him, ice blue eyes locked on her, as if looking right through her to her very soul. Grey Elves have a bit of an eerie look to them, occasionally. "I believe we would need to become allies before any trade would be possible. It is not wise to trade with outsiders when there are so many strange things such as metal giants and metal dragons." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel has looked into the eyes of her Goddess, and wondered if she might have her heart plucked from her chest for some insane perceived insult. Whilst Thranduil's gaze is not comforting, the bright red eyes of the High Priestess meet his levely, refusing to be intimidated before him.     "Your wisdom does you credit." She says, "I have heard tell of many terrible things, but never of a metal giant. Fascinating." And then she smiles. Dazzling white teeth agains tthe darkness of her lips. "We have precious metals, gems, magic. My people... we were driven from the surface of our world by our enemies thousands of years ago. Wood, seeds, and similar such luxuries are worth ten times their weight in gold to us. As for knowledge... I would be remiss in my duties if I did not offer to teach you of glorious Lolth, but we may also offer what we learn of this Multiverse, as we learn it. Maps, threats, and so forth." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      Thranduil lowers his head and closes his eyes for a moment at her compliment. "We too were driven to take refuge in these halls due to the forest becoming corrupted. We do not leave the woodland realm unless absolutely necessary." He looks a bit interested when she mentions seeds. "Seeds. What sort of seeds do you have? We are always looking for something to supplement our gardens. There are many mouths to feed here and sometimes food becomes scarce. As the shadows come closer and closer to our walls, our green areas are being overtaken by the sickness that plagues this forest." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     Quenthel considers the question, and purses her lips. She is not a farmer, but she does know her City well enough. "We rely largely on hardy crops that need little light. Edible fungus, as well."     She looks about the hall, making a show, perhaps, of taking in the other faces before her attention returns to the King. "I am sorry indeed to hear of your pain. In our time of need, Lolth guided us. She gave us strength, and we have carved for ourselves a home in the dark. It is not comfortable, or safe... but from there, we hope to reclaim what our enemies have stolen from us." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      Thranduil folds his hands behind his back as he seems to look down his nose at them as he tilts his head back slightly. "Perhaps we have something in common, then. We have a similar method of farming, but they are set where the sunbeams can reach them. We once had crops that grew by moonlight, but with the moon missing from the sky I fear those crops will not survive by starlight alone. I am planning a feast under the stars soon. Perhaps you could join. Where are you from?" 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     The High Priestess nods her head, "Indeed. We live in an age of ill omen." She says, with a heavy sigh. "We live in the Underdark, in the finest city of them all - Menzoberranzan." Any earlier mispellings of the city's name clearly dealt with as she enunciates precisely. "I would be honored to attend your feast, Your Highness. I will be certain to bring a gift that befits your stature, as this was a somewhat... unexpected audience." 

:'''{{#var:592|Thranduil (592)}} has posed:'''      Thranduil bows his head again and offers a thin lipped smile. "Then I look forward to your attendance. We will not be difficult to find in the forest. It is where the starlight reaches the ground. Silvan Elves and even Sindaran Elves such as myself prefer the stars while the High Elves prefer to bathe in sunlight. My guards will see you to the entrance of the forest so you do not become lost. Anyone who strays from the path is prone to succumbing to the madness the forest can bring." 

:'''{{#var:599|Lolth (599)}} has posed:'''     "You are most generous." Quenthel says, with an easy smile, "My people are... uncomfortable with sunlight, after so long beneath the earth. But to see the light of the stars without worrying about a dagger in one's back... truly, I shall wait for the night with great anticipation."     With no more to say, Quenthel and her attendants bow low, and then simply allow themselves to be escorted to the edge of the forest. Interesting, to talk to an Elf who didn't wish them dead on sight... yes, the multiverse is most definitely full of rich possibilities! 

}}

754/What Does The Scouter Say About Her Ponylevel

2014-10-06T23:39:40Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/06 |Location=TARGET: DBZ Zone 92 |Synopsis=Its OVER THIRTY THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (Ahem). Its hooves versus hair-horns in this battle fo..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/06
|Location=TARGET: DBZ Zone 92
|Synopsis=Its OVER THIRTY THREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! (Ahem). Its hooves versus hair-horns in this battle for the most dramatic zone of all. The beautiful and determined Luna faces off against the cruel and sadistic Juri, one for the good of others, the other, just for the good of themselves... who will emerge victorious in this battle of the titans?! ROUND ONE! FIGHT!
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=102, 337
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|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Some Confederates are the noble sorts who call ahead of time and warn the Union that they wish to attack, and thus it may be a good idea to remove non-elite forces from the area. Some try to minimize casualties and prevent unnecessary bloodshed. Some, you can even negotiate with.     Juri Han is not one of those Confederates.     Her impact on the Union forces engaged in a standoff with the Confederate ones is like the wrath of some terrible demon. She hasn't fought here before, and the burning, glowing purple power that surrounds her is intoxicating - she's barely calling on her Feng Shui Engine at all! People scatter from the point of impact with the ground, and a cloud of dust is thrown high into the sky. Juri's eye penetrates it, a point of singular burning purple light, and her laughter echoes through the region.     FINALLY, she's found a way she can let off steam. This is actually fun! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      The fun of decimating rank and file troops doesn't last long. As that dust spreads, a viscious wind kicks up and storm clouds move in overhead. In a flash of lightning, the form of a majestic winged unicorn can be made out. The alicorn quickly makes her way down, coming to a stop between Juri and the Union troops. "I will not allow you to take the lives of our noble soldiers! You will face me and leave them to their primary duties!" she declares as she lands on four hooves, then her tail gives a sassy swish and she smirks.      "I am Luna, of Equestria. And I shall not allow you to claim this resource for your evil." she says. She doesn't actually -know- Juri is with the Feds, but it seems a safe bet. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri just sort of stares at Luna for several seconds, and then she laughs some more! It isn't a pleasant laugh, her voice raising in more of a demeaning cackle as she folds her hands behind her head. "You're serious, huh? Well, I was wondering how long it'd take before I had to fight a pony. I've heard a lot about you guys. You're magic or something, right?"     Juri's whole demeanor could not be more disrespectful as she saunters casually to stand right in front of Luna, the bullying, sadistic fighter looking down at the majestic alicorn. "I should warn you though, I don't play /nice/. If you don't back off and let me finish what I started, I might have to break those pretty wings of yours." 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna's ears splay back as Juri approaches. The pretty pony doesn't back down in the least. "I only play nice with those who deserve it. I am magical, yes. But, I do not back down from a battle simply because it promises to be painful." she says.      Luna's horn starts to glow after that, and a moment later a cone of dark energy seeks to engulf Juri. If it succeeds, it would sap her strength and slow her movements somewhat as thoughts of peaceful dreams and comfy beds fill her mind. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri has never had a peaceful night's rest. Not as long as she can remember, anyway, and as the cone of energy washes over her, she braces against it. Trying not to be tempted. "T-tch, what is this, damn..." Yaaaa~awn. "Nonsense!"     The Feng Shui engine kicks into a higher gear in response, and rolls around in her socket. The 'eye' glows a brighter purple as it seeks to counteract the draining effect, and Juri comes in low. Truth be told, trying to figure out how to beat up a pony is actually something of a challenge. Tae Kwon Do mostly presumes human-shaped opponents.     But she brings the heel of her foot swinging around anyway, aiming to impact with Luna's jaw, because... well, kicking people in the face is usually a fairly safe bet. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Smack! Luna is kicked squarely in the jaw, snapping her head to the side and dishevelling her mane. "Ow!" she exclaims, then huffs. She had hoped that such thoughts would slow her opponent, but it seems to have had little effect. "This nonsense is you, attempting to defeat the savior of an entire world!"      She whirls around, and Juri finds a pair of powerful-looking hindlegs quickly rushing outward toward her own face. Juri might have just enough time to notice the extravagant horseshoes that are being propelled toward her skull. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The kick lands heavily, and Juri is sent - thanks to the physics of this place - hurtling backwards to impact powerfully with a rocky outcropping. As she pulls herself from the cracked and splitered ground, she spits to the side, and wipes her lips off with the back of her hand.     "You're stronger than you look."     Her voice is low, almost a purr, before she dashes back in to close the ground, "Good! I don't want this to be too EASY!"     This time, she's definitely showing Luna a bit more respect. Whilst she seems to be running in for the kick, she actually comes up short, and a thick wave of burning purple ki energy rockets from the arc of her sweeping leg, malevolent and evil! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna is a master of energy manipulation, and so as the malevolent ki rockets toward her, her wings spread and a shield pops up. It dulls the impact, but can't stop it entirely, sending Luna skidding back a bit. "It will not be easy at all!" she counters before her horn glows again. There is a rumble high above from those dark, foreboding clouds, then...      A bolt of lightning lances downward, aimed squarely at Juri. Whether it impacts her or the ground, it results in a cloud of dust getting kicked up and an ear-splitting thundercrack being sent rolling across the area. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The bolt of lightning strikes Juri pretty much dead on, and she grits her teeth. Narrowing her eyes, the girl grinds her teeth together, and grinds her feet into the earth. The fighter lunges up into the air, leaving of burning purple fire in her wake. She comes up incredibly fast, and those crazed eyes of hers burn with her fury.     She can't seriously be losing to a pony, can she?!     "You've got some tricks, but you're still just a /horse/."     That might sound like a real mean thing to say - but actually Juri means that Luna probably can't keep up in hand to hand. That's what she's hoping, anyway. Quadruped to biped? The mobility bonus has to go to her, right? Which she tries to capitalize on by throwing out a quick series of short, sharp punches at Luna's flank, before finishing with a roundhouse kick back down towards the ground! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      It seems to work! Luna is quick on her feet, but it is hard to avoid blows from someone in close quarters when hitting you is literally like hitting the broad side of a...well...horse. Luna is struck solidly, drawing yelps of pain from her with each hit and sending her stumbling back. Finally, she gives her wings a flap and takes to the air to avoid the onslaught. "I am not -just- a horse, anymore than you are -just- a human! If that is indeed what you are, and not a demon of some kind!" she says as lightning crackles around her.      "And even if I were, do you condone attacking innocent creatures? Non-Equestrian horses are quite peaceful, I am told." she says, even as the tempurature drops rapidly. "Perhaps a little taste of the coldness in your heart will sway you from such notions!"      And with that, it starts to hail. Well, more like icicle, really. Sharp spikes of ice fall all around Juri, and there is definitely magic at work. The hail falls only around her, not around Luna or any of the troops. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri's arms brace across her chest as she weathers the onslaught. The ice and bitter cold rains down around her, and she counters as much as she can with her own dark power. Brilliant purple flames cascade down her form, and she bursts up higher, surprised, on some level, by the kind of height she can achieve here - flying at all ordinarily is impossible, but in this place? She feels stronger than ever, even if she is taking a beating.     "A demon? No, I'm not a demon." Juri snarls, her voice low and furious and-- suddenly, she's not there at all.     She's descending from above! Her eye carves a sharp purple trail behind her as she descends, "I'm a LIVING NIGHTMARE! Hahahahahaaaaa!"     Descending down like a lightning bolt of her own, she aims to slam her foot into Luna, and the juggle the poor pony down towards the ground. One foot follows the other, again and again, in a display of acrobatics which would be gravity-defying ordinarily but here... is more like she's actually playing soccer, only, with her opponent as the ball, against herself! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna blinks as her opponent disappears. "What the..?" She looks around, only for Juri to appear above her. That shouting alerts her in time to mitigate the first hit or two, but she isn't designed to fend off repeated attacks, and so is kicked several times before her form becomes a purple mist, allowing Juri to pass right through.      Luna reforms behind Juri, panting a bit. "A self-professed nightmare." she says before her horn glows brightly. And this time, she fires one strong burst of magical energy, like a laser beam except instead of heat it imparts kinetic energy. Like one of Juri's own ki attacks. And attempts to accelerate her right down into the ground. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The burst of magical power rockets Juri down to the earth, where she impacts heavily. When the dust clears, she's standing in the middle of a crater. Tall, strong, but scorched lightly, she glares up at the alicorn above her, and her eye glows even more brilliantly still.     "Oh, don't worry." She says, cracking her neck and working her shoulder back with one arm. "You haven't even begun to see what I'm capable of."     As she speaks, those evil purple flames burn about her body, glowing brighter and brighter, until she suddenly sweeps her leg upwards... and nothing happens.     Juri winks. All of that power drawn inwards, did it just... go away?     And then suddenly she releases it from the OTHER leg, kicking upwards, a purple fireball easily three times as large as she is hurtles towards Luna at breakneck speeds! Actually earning an appreciative whistle from Juri. She's never managed something THAT big before. 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Still reeling from the previous attack, Luna is unprepared for the giant fireball of purple energy. The pony lets out a shrill cry as she is hit, knocking her back and sending her falling from the sky. She barely manages to recover in time to keep from crashing into some rocks, instead landing in a gallop which she steers toward Juri. She wishes she could say the same as Juri just said, but Luna offensive capabilities are a bit limited.      But, she does have another trick up her sleeve. Her form turns to purple mist again, then reforms into three smaller ponies. "Even so, I refuse to lose!" the trio of smaller alicorn ponies say in unison as the run in and surround Juri before they start firing energy beams seemingly from all sides. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri narrows her eyes, surrounded by a trio of ponies. She's not sure what to make of that, exactly. They are each Luna, obviously, but smaller. Does that mean they are weaker? Well, the beams of energy are hitting her just as hard as any other. Growling low in her throat, the Street Fighter stamps down on the ground and tries to combat the beams by blocking them with her own power - but it seems like she's not having much success, as the beams keep on landing heavy blows.     "Well, lets have some REAL fun then!" Juri declares, eye twitching before suddenly, she lunges into action.     There's no feint this time, just a vicious series of moves as she pushes the Feng Shui Engine. Glimmering trails are left in her wake as she aims to punch one little Luna right between the eyes, and kick her bodily into a second. The third has a split second to react before she's on that one, too, aiming to grab her by those pretty wings, swing her around, and hurl her into the pile.     All finished off with an overhead heel kick to what is - hopefully (to Juri at least) a pile of ponies. She really ISN'T messing around any more! This is the most intense fight she's had in weeks! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      One little Luna is is punched between the eyes. One little Luna is bowled over. One little Luna is swung hard. And all three are pounded into the ground. The little Luna's fade as they cry out in pain, then they reform into the full-sized Luna, who is left panting on the ground, one eye swollen and blood flowing from her mouth.      As she tries to get back on her hooves, Luna grunts against the pain. It doesn't seem like her spell is working on Juri anymore. "I...I cannot...fail..." she pants as she stands up tall again. Determination flashes in her eyes as her horn glows and she spreads her wings, and an image of the moon forms between their arc. As the light flows over her, her wounds heal somewhat. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri actually laughs when the injured pony gets back to her feet. "Look at you, you can barely stand up!" She mocks, "You want me to call you a vet? AHAHAHA!" Then, of course, Luna heals herself, and undoes most of the 'good work' that Juri had managed to inflict on her. The devil-haired fighter sneers, and sweeps her leg around to the side.     "You're tough, I'll give you that... but I'm afraid around here... the only thing that matters..."     Blitzing forwards in a burst of unexpected speed, Juri isn't smiling any more, she's just charging forwards, and aiming to leap up and onto Luna's back. Most girls dream of riding a pretty pony like her, right? But, Juri's hands are going straight for the horn, and if she gets a hold on it, she'll lean in close to the heroic pony's ear.     "--Is who is at the top of the food chain."     And she'll WRENCH down and to the side with as much force as she can muster, literally aiming to break Luna's neck! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna tries to ignore the comments, but it obviously riles the pony for vets to be mentioned. "As long as you call a psychiatrist for yourself!" she exclaims. Just in time to be lept upon. "H-hey! Let go!" she demands, sounding a bit panicked. She starts to buck, only to cry out in pain as her horn and her neck are wrenched painfully to one side.      The stress to her horn causes a surge of energy to flow through it, and Luna focuses that surge in on Juri, trying to send what would basically amount to an electric shock through her unwanted rider. Then, Luna bucks to try and send Juri flying off her back. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The Feng Shui Engine beeps a sudden warning, and Juri lets go just in time, the shock of electricity crackling over her palms but not quite managing to find purchase. As she's just about to make a comment, the fighter is instead thrown from the saddle, and has to concentrate on twisting around in the air to land crouched instead.     Straightening, Juri grins, raising one hand in front of her, "Ah, come on come on!" She declares, "I'm not crazy. I just know what I want!"     Stepping neatly forwards, she aims a powerful punch right between Luna's eyes. "I /FIND/ what I want."     She follows up with a roundhouse kick, foot trailing more of that searing purple energy into the pony's side.     "And I TAKE it!"     Her other leg swing around, and a (mercifully, far smaller than the charged one) wave of purple energy is sent scorching in Luna's direction.     "Today, I want to HURT some of you Union sorts because you GOT IN MY WAY, for no reason at all! Tomorrow, who knows? Maybe I'll kick a puppy instead." 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna is hit hard, sending her stumbling back again and leaving her panting with the effort of staying on her feet. She isn't sure how she is going to win this one, but she isn't going to give up. "And that..." she pants, "...is why you should see someone." she says as her horn glows, and that same cone of energy that engulfed Juri at the start of the battle is cast again.      And again, Juri would feel a bit more sluggish than before, her mind distracted by other things. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri actually growls as the wave of fatigue hits her again. Her mind is not easily distracted, though; she might not seem like it, but the young woman has an incredible amount of focus. That sort of thing is necessary when plotting for revenge against people who can literally read your mind.     It also kind of pisses her off when people try to psychoanalyze her.     "If I were you." She growls, sweat beading on her brow as she steps forwards into the cone, "I'd worry less about what I /should/ do, and more about what I'm /going/ to do to you!"     Leaping upwards, Juri's arc IS a lot slower than it has been as the fatigue sets in, but the approach is different too. Rather than throwing energy or punches, this time, she's aiming to grasp Luna's wings, and make good on the threat she gave at the start of the fight, brutally trying to twist them off, as one of the few identifiable 'weak points' she can really spot! 

:'''{{#var:337|Luna (337)}} has posed:'''      Luna's teeth clench as Juri just seems to ignore her spell. She does look worried, but she is trying to hide it. And she doesn't run either. Rather, she tries to get another hit it, but is caught by the wings. "Hey! What are you-g-gaaaah!!" Although her wings don't actually come off, they are twisted in ways that wings should not twist, and combined with all the pain and damage she has already taken, the dislocation of both wings at once knocks the pony out cold.      Luna is left at Juri's mercy, hanging from her now useless wings. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri shifts her grip to Luna's mane, and considers the dangling pony for several seconds. She's... tired. Bone tired, actually. All that power she'd been riding high on seems like it is a million miles away, and for someone who pursues her own goals at the expense of everything else, right now, she just wants to sleep.     With a scornful snort, she tosses the pony down at the feet of some Union grunts, turns, and simply walks away. Mercy? Hardly. But who knows. Maybe the fact that she didn't continue to try and kill this one will come in handy some day. 

}}

741/No Need For Carrots

2014-10-05T01:50:11Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/04 |Location=Void - Deep Void (East) |Synopsis=But we want them anyway! Ryoko and Jinx try to hold up a space freighter transporting space ..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/04
|Location=Void - Deep Void (East)
|Synopsis=But we want them anyway! Ryoko and Jinx try to hold up a space freighter transporting space carrots in space. Hi-Jinx ensue. OH THE PUN.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=27, 39, 265, 580
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     In space, it seems, plenty of people can hear you scream - so long as you have decent access to basic communications technology, the whole dang Multiverse can hear you scream, and flee, and desperately try to avoid the insane, spiky-black ship chasing you down through the stars.     "NYAAAAAAAAAAAH!"     Oh yeah, that noise is pretty audible in space, too.     The carrot-bearing space-truck is a large vessel, like a white juggernaut with carrots painted on the side with little jet boosters, and much bigger than Ryo-Ohki. Much slower, too. The panicking pilot continues to broadcast on all frequencies that he can.     "Aaaah! This is Genki Ninjin Delivery Vehicle Six Seven Nine Eight, we are under attack by, by some sort of SPACE MONSTER, please, somebody help us!"     Its at this point that Ryoko sends out a transmission of her own. Smiling and pointing cheerfully at the screen. "Space monster?! I'm offended! This is the STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL, galactically-famous Space Pirate Ryoko! Hand over the carrots and nobody gets hurt, Genki Ninja or whatever your name was!" 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     CRIME DOESN'T SLEEP! Nor, apparently, does it care about the rigors of Zero Gravity. Thus the wonderful and totally reserved Miss Jinx of Zaun is coming on out to investigate.     A space pod, clearly stolen and repurposed, bumbles along through space, executing lightspeed hops every so often to catch up to everything else. It's only when the garishly painted neon purple and orange pod can get into range of the pair of craft does the radio crackle open with... grunge rock. And a keening lady voice.     "AHooooooooooooooy NERDS! I hear there's a THEFT. BURGLARY! SPACE PIRACY!" An eager lilts. "I'm here for the whatevers too, man, stick em up and no one gets hurt! WELL. Hurt-ish."     A pair of rude looking laser cannons pop out of the front of the pod, glowing dangerously. 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:''' FIVE MINUTES AGO     "Oh no. No no no. HELL no. We are NOT getting anywhere near a space pirate attack. I don't care who you are." The pilot of a nearby spaceship looks over folded arms at a strange fellow with his face wrapped up. "That's for the authorities to deal with."     Dude with wrapped face scowls. "Then gimme some kinda propulsion, an' I'll deal with it meself." PRESENT TIME     What the hell? Is that a ship? No, it's a... space... motorcycle... speeder... thing. It's meant for someone in an exosuit or closed power armor. But that's not what's on it. What's on it is a dude in a black coat and pants, with heavy boots. He'd look like a normal brown-haired dude except... he's not wearing a spacesuit. And... he's ON FIRE. Or it looks like he is, anyway... 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     The fighter piloted by Rabby is known as a Basalm Fighter. It's a weird name, but it's helped her in many a battle before, and hopefully it will serve her well in this fight as well. That is, if there's any fighting to be done here today. Hopefully, this whole situation can be resolved without any combat, but that might not be possible. Either way, the only thing on Rabby's mind right now is resolving this matter before it gets any worse.     The craft swoops into the area, with Rabby piloting it, and the transmission is seen and heard rather clearly by the pilot. Unfortunately, Rabby's not going to offer any compliments to Ryoko's self-compliment of her own. Instead, Rabby angrily yells, "Your beauty and fame aren't going to save you! You've got two options here, Space Pirate, and only two: Either surrender peacefully, or you're really gonna regret it in the morning!" 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     The arrival of another space pirate isn't exactly expected, but Ryoko isn't going to complain! She's fairly sure that Ryo-Ohki will wind up taking the cabbit's share of the carrots no matter what happens when it comes time to split up the loot. It is one of her better features.     Weird guy-on-fire gets an odd look, but... who is she to judge? And of course, then there's the cops. There's always the cops.     "Ohohoh~, is that right? Well, its nice of you to admit that I'm beautiful, but I'm not going to surrender. A girl's got to eat, right?~"     The freighter has pretty much stopped dead between the three ships. The delivery guy does not get paid enough for situations like this. It just isn't fair! 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     The Bumblepod floats over to one of the heavy cargo containers and latches on with mag-clamps to the side...     And from the hatch emerges a skinny lady, carrying copious amounts of guns wearing a bubblehelmet space suit. JINX OF ZAUN hops out of the pod, puffs of EVA jets pushing her back to the surface of the ship before she hops on the radio. "REACH FOR THE STARS!"     And then she drags a heavy ass glowing neon blue laser rifle from... whever her guns come from, and trots along the survace of the frigther. 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     Meanwhile, Rabby impatiently yells over the radio, "You can eat all you want while you're in custody. I just don't expect you to like the food. Now I suggest that you surrender peacefully, or we will be forced to use force!" At the same time, Rabby is slipping on her protective suit in the event she needs to exit the craft and engage Ryoko on foot. "Besides, you have no chance of escaping now!" 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:''' Jono has to do some quick tuning in to the frequency. Since there's no radio on this thing, he has to use his own. Besides that, his is the only radio around here tuned to telepathic frequencies. He's heading for between the ships as well, having seen someone head for the freighter. That's the last thing they need! He doesn't have the supplies to rescue anybody that might get sucked out into space because somebody punctured the ship! 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     Ryoko seems genuinely startled at the assumption, "Oh, it isn't for ME." She says, "Its for my ship! Ryo-Ohki gets hungry, don't you?"     "NYAAAAAAAA!"     Ryoko claps both her hands together, then, "But! If its a fight you want, we're happy to provide!"     Ryo-Ohki twirls against the inky blackness, and when she moves, the ship moves fast! Bursting in to close the distance between herself and the police vessel, she aims to come in from above, and clip the back of the ship to send it spinning.     "Really, no chance of escape? You OBVIOUSLY don't know who you're dealing with!" 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     The PINK SPACE PIRATE JINX seems to not care for that non-response, and turns the heavy laser rifle on the cargo itself. Or rather, on the container her pod is latched on to. "FINE THEN! I'll just have to take your shit and then BLOW YOU UP!" AAHAHAHAH     She waddlewalks around to look down at a coupler, thorws a set of switches on the rifle, and starts burning at the locks on the coupler. 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:'''     With the space pirate ship engaged with the police ship, Jono's left to deal with the lady who's pointing a gun at the driver of the freighter. And then she's trying to burn off the locks! Jono gets to where he can aim, and fires a blast of biokinetic fire at Jinx. It isn't really fire, and doesn't burn. Instead it rather feels like a solid punch. It sends him back too, but he's quickly making up the distance on the craft. 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     Meanwhile, Rabby's gotten out of her craft and is using her protective suit to protect herself against the atmosphere (or lack thereof possibly) as she attempts to get closer to the freighter. In her hand is her rifle. "I warned you to stop!" She yells angrily. "Now you're gonna pay!" Rabby attempts to fire a single shot at Ryoko, not so much as to kill, but possibly to stun her long enough for her to get closer. 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     The lady on the ship itself ROCKS rom the hit, her magboots managing to hold on alright though as she flails a second, that laser rifle tethered to her body. Another moment to plant her feet and she turns around to look at Jon. "OY! You're not a cop, I can smell those! Just another dude playin' hero! Let's dance!"     There's a gleam in the woman's eyes, as she pulls out... Pow Pow, the massive pink minigun whirring to life and spitting lead across the void. 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     Ryo-Ohki leaves the enemy ship spinning, and really, Ryoko is not observant enough to notice that the actual pilot has fled it. Until, that is, the rifle shot pings off of one of Ryo-Ohki's spikes. "NYA!" The ship exclaims, and Ryoko turns around, surprised, and not a little annoyed at this tactic.     "Oh, trying to get away, are we? Well, we'll just see about that! Charge, Ryo-Ohki!"     "NYAAAAAH!"     With an audible (yes in space, don't ask how) whoosh, the vessel twirls around and jets right towards Rabby, moving at a fair fraction of the speed of light. Ryoko doesn't actually want to /kill/ the police woman either, and now she's out of the ship, that task has become more difficult. But going bug-on-windshield should work nicely.     Meanwhile, the poor delivery driver is freaking out a fair amount. "H-HEY!" He shouts at Jinx, through open comms, "Come on! These things aren't cheap you know, you don't have to trash the whole ship!!" The poor guy looks utterly horrified. Even moreso since she's threatened to blow him up! 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:''' Jono can't really move thanks to being strapped onto the craft. Not being able to maneuver fast enough means the minigun shots rip into him. "Augh!" Oddly, it's not over the radio. It's as though he can speak normally in space! He can't, it's telepathic. But his telepathy mimics human speech, so it might as well be speech.     Anyway, he slumps over the handlebars of the craft, and it turns strangely, veering off to one side. But he isn't dead. Just stunned. Notable when he speaks again, despite being disoriented. "There's nothin' in there but carrots, yer daft git!" Jono replies. "All the transactions're done elsewhere, an' they don't carry cash! There's nothin' on it but carrots! What're yer gonna do with that many carrots?!" 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     Rabby is not a police woman. She's just with the Union and is attempting to act like one since she believes that words should come before actions. Unfortunately, Rabby seems to have shown a bit of lapse in judgement here, as well as carelessness and recklessness. She finds herself getting caught on the ship (who cares if it's a windshield or not) and finds herself struggling to use her thrusters to get away from it. After a moment of fumbling around, Rabby gets free. "What the hell was I thinking?!" Rabby asks to herself, realizing she nearly died out there as a result of her carelessness. She flies back to her fighter and initiates the flight mode again.     "All right, now I'm peeved!" Rabby exclaims, both at her stupidity and the fact Ryoko's getting away. She considers going after Ryoko but then realizes there's a transport driver in danger. She moves her craft a little closer and says, "Get away from him now!" Over her radio. 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     "SHUT UP AND TURN OVER THE GOODS!" Jinx cackles happily still firing Pow Pow of at Jon, before his words reach her. CARROTS! A blink, and she looks down at the cargo truck and then up at the other ship and the man on the bike. "So? Carrots are nature's candy! That's veggies, that's healthy!" A little stamp of her foot, and she lashes out, throwing a handfull of grenades at both Rabby and Jon. 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     Escape? Why would Ryoko be trying to escape? As Rabby is pinned to the bright red orb in the middle of her ship, she can clearly see the Space Pirate in there, waving at her with a bright smile. And when she escapes, Ryoh-Ohki doesn't keep flying off and into the Void. She wheels about to settle just above the transport - and the two people fighting atop it.     "Wow, you're still talking? I'm impressed. You're stronger than you look, you know that? Lets see if your ship can hold up as well."     "Nya!" Ryo-Ohki adds, not to any comment related to this discussion at all, but in general support of Jinx's appreciation for carrots.     Brilliant, dazzling white lasers streak across the void, dozens upon dozens.... of course, most of them aren't actually aimed anywhere close to Rabby, or intended to hit at all. But the lightshow is very impressive, and those that do scatter close enough to ping off the ship pack a moderate punch. Combined with the grenades, it'll only make for a more impressive fireworks display. 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:'''     Jono has no choice but to fire at the grenades, attempting to shoot them off in a random direction far enough that they won't explode in his face. "An' they're not worth a murder rap over. Yer want carrots? There are other ways ter get 'em. Yer want me ter buy yer some?"     There is a distinct possibility that Ryo-Ohki can hear this offer as well. Because he's just broadcasting in his general area, rather than aiming in a specific direction. 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     When the grenades come at Rabby's craft, the shields activate, meaning that the grenades don't damage her craft. But they do lower the shield integrity, meaning that she can't take more grenades. She turns her craft to face Jinx and realizes who she is. "I didn't think you Confederate goons would have the guts to come out here for something like this. And you're doing this for carrots? You make me wonder sometimes." She presses a button and the gatling guns on her craft appears. "And throwing a grenade at my craft? I just got a new paint job, you're lucky the shields were active!" Rabby pulls the trigger quickly, attempting to fire off a short burst of gunfire at Jinx. "This oughta teach you!" She says, attempting to aim carefully to avoid damaging the freighter. 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     Jinx seems more than content to be shot at, really, running alongside the frighter and letting the shots from the HEROES go splattering into the sides of the cargo container, carrots starting spill out and go tumbling off into the void of space.     There's a crackle over coms though. "Buying them isnt' the point! TAKING THEM is. Maybe blowing them up if you keep being butts about it!" 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     "NYAAAAH!" Ryo-Ohki panics as carrots are sent flying out. Unfortunately, this distracts from the offer to just buy carrots, as the ship frantically begins dodging around to pick the precious vegetables up before they can be lost for good. Ryoko hovers in the middle of the ship as she goes nuts, and tries to reason with her at first. "Ryo-Ohki, calm down, calm- will you- come on, Ryo-Ohki! RYO-OHKI!"     That last shout finally manages to make the ship stop dodging about, and she gives a reproachful, "Mwaaah?" To which Ryoko sighs. "Fine, fine."     Fading out of existence, Ryoko reappears standing behind both Rabby and Jinx. Ryo-Ohki likewise looms large... and then begins to shrink! The massive spiked ship is soon an adorable little cabbit creature, and Ryoko just crosses her arms over her chest as Ryo-Ohki dives for one of the holes, to start wiggling down into the carrot stash within.     "First up." She declares, somehow still entirely audible because /duh/. "I'm NOT with the Confederacy. Second of all, if you keep this up, someone IS going to get hurt, and its NOT going to be me! And thirdly..."     Its at this point she actually manages to get a good look at Jonothon, up close and personal. "Are you alright? That really doesn't look very comfortable, is it some sort of medical condition? Should we find you a doctor?" 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     Several carrots float in front of the cab for the freighter, and the poor man bursts into tears, grasping his hat in sheer frustration.     "Not my CARROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTS!!!" 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     Jinx's eyes go... very wide as the massive ship decides to get VERY CUTE and.. and that is a very girly squeal. "Eeeee! I need one!" But, uh, first, she hoists Pow Pow over her head and cackles. "Yeah! Guns and bullets, blood and shit! And seriously though, HEY MISTER YOU SHOULDN'T BE OUT HERE LIKE THAT!" This yelled at Jonathon. 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:'''     "'Bein' butts'? OK Pot, name's Kettle," Jono growls. He doesn't bother trying to reason further. Instead he aims his craft at Jinx... and he's about to floor it. It's probably good Ryoko shows up when she does, and the ship turns into... what the hell is that? Jono just... blinks.     Suddenly things get weird. To Ryoko's question, he nods. "Y-yeah. I'm always like that." Jinx starts yelling, and he narrows his eyes. "You're bein' a thief, just for the purpose of bein' a thief, an' you're tellin' me /I/ don't need ter be here?" 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     "I was NOT talking to YOU!" Rabby screams. "I was talking to the braided-haired witch!" Then Rabby watches as the carrots go flying, and she bangs her hands on the console furiously. "DAMMIT! NO!" She feels like she was the butt of a bad practical joke, watching those carrots go flying into space. "You little monster! I oughta burn you alive for that!" She would fire again, but doesn't want to risk any more collateral damage. 

:'''{{#var:580|Ryoko (580)}} has posed:'''     "Ryo-Ohki is one of a kind, I'm afraid." Ryoko says to Jinx, flashing an even wider grin, "But tell you what, I'll take you out for a spin in her some time. How's that?" As consolation prizes go, it isn't a cabbit of your very own, but it isn't bad either!     Jonothon gets a relaxed nod, "Oh, well, that's okay then." Ryoko says, cheerfully, "But I don't think you understand. See, its important we space pirates are out here as part of the ecosystem. Like wolves, or sharks."     The sheer delight she takes in Rabby's hissy fit is difficult to overestimate, as she casually hooks her foot into one of the holes in the hull, and WRENCHES it upwards with a sound like a tin can being torn apart. She then giggles, pulls down her eyelid at Rabby, and sticks out her tongue. "Nyaaaaah." 

:'''{{#var:39|Jinx (39)}} has posed:'''     Jinx likewise smiles at Rabby and Jon, and pulls out a giant burlap sack. She tromps her way to the hole, steps around ot the inside of the cargo box, and can be 'heard' filling the bag. 

:'''{{#var:27|Jonothon Starsmore (27)}} has posed:'''     Welp. This is a wash. He pilots his craft over to Rabby's, since Ryoko has doubtless made it unpilotable thanks to having turned it into a tin can with a pop-top lid, and offers Rabby, "'Ey. Yer need a ride out?" 

:'''{{#var:265|Rabby (265)}} has posed:'''     Rabby is merely cursing loud enough to wake the dead, before she realizes it's useless. Her mission was a failure. She makes a mental note of Jinx and what she looks like, adding it to the list of enemies she's going to personally hurt badly the next time they're encountered. After that, she turns her craft and prepares to warp back to the Union Headquarters. "This is going to be fun!" Her voice is dripping with sarcasm. 

}}

738/The Water Cycle

2014-10-04T11:10:37Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/10/04 |Location=The Great Mountains |Synopsis=A potential security breach at a secret base turns into a semi-polite discussion, and an annoyed..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/10/04
|Location=The Great Mountains
|Synopsis=A potential security breach at a secret base turns into a semi-polite discussion, and an annoyed Juri Han throws Ayako off the premises. Kind of. Its more of a mutual throwing, really.
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=102, 575
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     S.I.N has been responsible for all sorts of terrible things, but whilst weapons technology, organized crime, kidnapping and murder might be the fun and infamous parts of running an organization which wants to take over the world... infrastructure is just as necessary to the research process.     Which is why, a week or so ago, black helicopters arrived in this part of the Great Mountain region, and now, one of the larger rivers is being blocked up. The whole area is a huge building site, as engineers and construction workers come together to gouge deep into the rocky mountain terrain, and turn the valley below into a lake.     Sure, the locals might have something to say about it... but that's what the armed guards are for, and generous bribes to the local authorities to look the other way. It won't be too much longer now until whatever the local complaints might be, it'll be far too late to be relevant. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako pokes her head up from the river upstream from the dam construction site. Just her eyes are above water-everything else below the water line doesn't seem to exist. It's not like she's hiding or anything. Her bright red ribbon tied into a big bow that is holding her ponytail in place doesn't exactly scream stealth, after all. "Hmm... a dam, huh?" 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Say what you like about S.I.N, they know their surveillance. They don't pick up on Ayako until the moment she emerges from the water - but the big red bow crops up on camera feeds instantly. Within the site, there's a panic raised, and the Station Director - Commander Kinde - acts immediately.     Juri had just been laying on a packing crate, watching the clouds go by... bored, really, but she sits up straight when the man's voice punches into her ear.     "Ensign Han, we've got an unidentified observer upriver. Go and check it out."     "Ara, ara..." The feed is put through to Juri's eye, and she smirks, "Oh, yeah. I can see why you'd need /me/ to go check that out, Commander. She looks /really/ scary."     Don't talk back to me, Ensign!"     Hopping down from the crate, Juri begins to saunter away from the construction and along the riverbank, immediately notable because of her bizarre outfit... and hair, of course.     "Talking back? Heh. You're starting to annoy me. You know, if this is a waste of time, you're going to make it up to me..." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako's eyes close half-way as she slowly continues downstream. "Kind of a shame. Seems like a nice river to me. But oh well. A dam's a dam."     Her eyes blink quickly when the site starts to panic. "Hmm... wonder where's the fire?" She pauses going downstream for a moment to glance around. "Don't really see anything out of the ordinary. Oh well." Resume floating downstream!     The sight of Juri walking up the riverbank doesn't even cause Ayako to look twice. Distinctive outfit? Sure, but that's quite true of everyone in the Mulitverse and anyway, that kind of clothing isn't even Ayako's style. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri keeps walking, until she is standing pretty much level with Ayako. She doesn't seem particularly worried, hands coming together behind the back of her head as she cocks her hip to the side and eyes Ayako with vague curiosity. The Feng Shui Engine kicks into gear, and her right eye glows brilliantly purple, the iris becoming a twisting yin-yang symbol and then... futzing. She's getting reads, but they don't make a lot of sense, levels rolling up and down, scrolling nonsensical information down her vision.     "Piece of useless trash." She mutters to herself, lips curling up in a sneer. Then, louder, she addresses Ayako directly:     "Hey, hey! You can't be here. Private property." 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako blinks her eyes at the 'Hey, hey!' and then stops to turn in Juri's direction. "Hmm?" She raises her head out of the water and smiles cheerfully at Juri, "Oh, hi hi!" A hand rises out of the river water to wave hello equally cheerfully and then vanishes completely into the water.     She inclines her head to the side gently and blinks her eyes quickly. "Eeeh? I can't be here?" She puffs her cheeks out in a pout. "Well, I call eminent domain AND natural right of way." 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri isn't entirely certain whether the appearance that parts of the girl are vanishing is because they actually are vanishing, or because of the strange energy reading she's giving off. She's seen enough Multiversal weirdness herself, by this point, that either seems entirely plausible. Either way, its annoying.     "Its for your own safety." Juri says, and her voice is that wonderful mix of 'bored' and 'annoyed' familiar to security guards the multiverse over. "You want to get sucked into a turbine or covered in cement? Get out of the damn water already. I do NOT want to have to drag you out." She really doesn't, either. There's no way trying would end without her getting soaked. 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako's eyes sparkle with excitement. "Oh oh oh... a turbine? Is it one of those new ones that really spin around lots? Oh oh... cement. Instant quick-drying, I hope!" She stops once Juri asks her to get out of the water.     "Umm... I can't. At the moment I am a good amount of the river." Her head inclines to the side gently. "Unless... you mean..." She gasps softly and the river literally stops where she is. "You want me to pack up the river and leave?!" 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri's irritation grows by the moment and her eyes narrow. Well. Her left oen does; the Feng Shui Engine remains locked on Ayako, open wide and trying to make sense of her, which is really starting to give Juri the worst headache. "I hate the Multiverse." She mutters, folding her arms across her chest.     "No, I don't want you to pack up the river, I want you to get out of it. Leave the water the way it was before you turned up. What, do you need me to get you a sieve or something?!" 

:'''{{#var:575|Ayako Hasekawa (575)}} has posed:'''     Ayako smiles cheerfully and raises her hands and arms above and out of the water in a classical expression of joy, "I love the Multiverse!"     "Hmm... this is a tough one..." She taps her right cheek with her right pointer finger. "Hmm... how can I do this right? Aha!" Her face brightens and she opens her mouth to say something! And then slowly closes it. "Ah. No no... that would be lying... that doesn't work... Hmm..."     She smiles cheerfully at Juri, "Oh sieves are nice! But that wouldn't help the situation right now... Hmm..." Ayako glances around and the river resumes flowing, "I know! I know! This should do it!" She just goes back underwater and vanishes without a trace. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri glowers at Ayako as she struggles with the conundrum of how to go away. When she finally does actually leave, the Street Fighter scrutinizes the river closely. Her eye stops freaking out, though, and as her vision clears and she becomes pretty convinced that the girl actually is gone... and the river still seems to be flowing as normal, she sighs, and shakes her head.     "Well, trying to explain that is going to be interesting. Tch. Whatever. This isn't MY problem."     And with that, she saunters back towards the base. 

}}

705/A Crazed Beast

2014-09-30T16:11:44Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/09/30 |Location=Thai Jungle |Synopsis=An explosion! A mysterious attack on a fellow evil organization! When Juri Han refuses to allow herself ..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/09/30
|Location=Thai Jungle
|Synopsis=An explosion! A mysterious attack on a fellow evil organization! When Juri Han refuses to allow herself to be taken in, can plucky officer Zephyr Windstar force the issue? Why did this even all happen? Can I fit any more questions in this desc? Find out, if you, dear reader, read o
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=102, 162
|Tinyplot=
|Tinyplot2=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     ~KABOOM~     The explosion in this damp little piece of Thai jungle is really quite impressive. The detonation shakes the earth, sending a fireball up into the sky that is visible for miles - along with the fluttering of hundreds of displaced birds and panicked wildlife as they flee from the sudden danger.     Naturally, this tends to raise some attention.     What HAD once been nothing more notable than any other section of jungle has been rudely exposed as so much more. Now a smouldering crater, the remnants of a very advanced-looking facility are revealed beneath the damp, cold earth. Pieces of it are still on fire, with the bodies of a dozen soldiers (and a few men in labcoats) clearly visible. As well as two figures still standing.     One of them is a tall man in a military-style uniform, perhaps seven foot tall with a beret, scarred, and the Shadaloo insignia pinned proudly to his chest. He looks pissed, to say the least, in fact, it looks like he's about to slug the woman standing in front of him!     And since that woman has pointy devil-horn hair and is currently failing to hold back a snigger at the destruction, it is easy to see why. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr was on patrol, flying over the jungle area to get to the next warpgate in the 'chain'. She comes up short, though, as that explosion rips the air asunder, buffeting her back from the concussion wave. "Whoa..." she calls it in before approaching, Device at the ready.     <Master! Wanted criminal identified.> chimes the axe, as it pulls up Juri's rap sheet in a floating holographic window. "From the tower, right? Any info on who the guy is?" <Sorry Master. Archive search is producing nothing definitive.>     "Alright, we'll see what they do before engaging... We won't be able to take them both alone." 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Interestingly, Juri isn't the only wanted criminal here! The other individual is a wanted man, too. One Kamon 'Cyanide' Jack, wanted for crimes against humanity by at least one Interpol. He's a seriously bad person, too!     But it is still difficult not to feel at least a little sorry for him as Juri laughs and laughs, and he lunges forward to try and hit her. she responds by simply jumping over his head, not even bothering to hit back for now. For the moment, she seems entirely unaware of Zephyr.     "You psychotic beast!" Kamon shouts, "You can't do this, do you KNOW what kind of hell you're causing for yourself?!"     Juri's laughter dies down at last, and she instead shrugs her shoulders, turning over one of the labcoated bodies with one foot. "I can't?" She muses.     "That's funny, it looks like I already ~have~. Come on now, is this the best you can do? At least make me break a sweat before I finish you off." 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr frowns a bit, then amplifies her voice as she lowers down closer to the crater. "Juri Han. I am Zephyr Windstart of the Time Space Administrative Bureau. You are under arrest. Disarm all Devices, surrender any weapons and stand down." she then brings her Device into position, the blades cracking open and beginning to spin around the central gemstone. Wind, and mana gather within and around that gem, charging for a spell. "If you resist, I will use all force to subdue you."     Ultimatum said, she's silently putting calls out for backup from anyone in range. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri looks faintly surprised when Zephyr begins to descend, and she turns, hair blowing as the woman makes her ultimatum. There's a faint snort, and she turns back in time to see Kamon taking the opportunity to try and punch her in the face.     Forced to raise her arm to block, the impact of it shudders up her limb, and she lets out a faint 'tch' of annoyance. She twists her hand, grasps the large man's wrist, and swings him down into the ground before looking back up to the intervening police officer.     "You people again? How about instead, if you close your eyes, turn around, and hum, we can both pretend I ran away and I won't break every bone in your body?~" 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr grits her teeth, adjusts her grasp on the haft of her axe. "I warned you." she replies, before unleashing the torrent of purple mana and cutting winds. She follows up, after the beam peters out, with a swirl of her axe, leaving a wake of glowing motes that grow rapidly into large mana bullets. These then blast out in a fusillade-like bombardment.     <Typhoon Buster. Impulse Cascade> intones the Device. "Dee, keep trying the support bands, if nothing else, get medical teams on standby... this is gonna get rough." 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri shrugs her shoulders, "No? Oh well..."     As the bullets begin to pepper the ground, Juri's eye glows with a bright purple power. In the next instant, she's dancing among the assault, most of the bullets not managing to find a clean home - though a few do splash off her shoulders in pretty purple sparkles.     "Can't say I'm /SORRY/."     That last word is coupled with a sudden leap into the air, and Juri's leg comes hurtling around, aiming to crash into Zephyr's side and - hopefully - bounce her down towards the ground. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr can't see well past the debris her fusillade kicks up, and so she's unable to avoid getting smashed by that roundhouse kick. Divine Wind is on the ball and erects a shield, but it doesn't help as it shatters instantly.     The mage slams into the ground, hidden for a moment within the surrounding jungle... There's a surge of power from where she landed though, where could she be?     <Mistral Form. Mistral Squall.> 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri can't keep the smirk from her lips as the police officer bounces off the ground. The woman's eye glows a brighter purple still, and begins to swirl in her socket as it tries to keep up with and locate the Mage. When it does, Juri turns slowly towards her, raising up to her full height and lifting one hand, palm up, with a come-hither gesture.     "You can use all the fancy tricks you like~." She purrs, "But if you want to run away, that's fine too. I've had my fun for today. I don't NEED to break you in half. Run along now~." 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr isn't running away. She comes bursting out of the undergrowth with speed far in excess of her previous showings. Her armour isn't any different, though muddy and slightly dented from the kick, but her weapon. It's half the size, one bladed, but looks wickedly sharp. Also, the Eye might pick up the flitting motions of a pair of little Option-like drones that mimic the Mage's movements.     "Who said anything about running away?" she growls, blurring out of view as she rapidly circles Juri, waiting for an oportunity to strike. <TEMPEST SABER> intones the Device as Zephyr appears finally behind Juri, sweeping that axe hard down in an overhead chop, the blade sheathed in boiling wind-element that would explode outwards in a kinetic burst on contact. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The sweeping blade is met with a casual, raised hand and an intolerable sneer. Summoning her ki, the SIN operative is confident that she can handle whatever output this new form can -- and then it explodes.     Sent hurtling away, Juri's feet dig deep trails into the ground and she grinds her teeth together. One of her neat little hairbuns has been disrupted, cut open and the dark hair flowing loose, a small trickle of blood evident on her brow. If Zephyr remembers how this went last time, though, that might not be a good sign.     "Alright, then, that's enough fun and GAMES, I'M THROUGH PLAYING AROUND!"     With an echoing SCREAM, Juri bursts forwards, moving so fast that the purple glowing trail of her eye is the most visible part of her. In an instant, she's aiming to smash her fist into Zephyr's stomach, then kick her legs out from underneath her, and, in a shocking display of both acrobatic prowess and terrifying speed, Juri's whole body will arc upwards in a twisting cartwheel.     "KIYAAAAAH!" 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr grins when her blow connects... then her eyes go wide as Juri surges forwards in a burst of speed even she can't keep up with. The blow to her stomach cracks her armour, but luckily knocks up up into the air slightly so the sweep just catches her boot, sending her stumbling. This doesn't save her when that cartwheel smashes into her, the first strike hitting her shoulder and forcing her down, while the next is partly deflected by a sheild the Axe forms.     "Fun and games?" asks the Mage, forcing herself back to her feet. "You think this is a GAME?!" <MISTRAL STORM> Another 'drone' spalls from the Device, then the wind itself seems to come alive, gusting and blowing unpredictably. "I said I would beat you down. And I mean it. Stand down now."     The wind continues to pick up, becoming a gale, then swirling into a cyclone, though the Mage doesn't seem to be affected by the wind blowing. <WIND CONTROL. TORNADO SHIFT> states Divine Wind, as the wind attempts to pull Juri off her feet, and toss her into the air, before catching her and slamming her into the ground. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The angrier she gets, the more Juri's power surges. That becomes increasingly apparent as the woman's body is wreathed in purple flames, surging and dancing over her in response to the angry wind. She digs her feet into the ground, bracing against it as it whips her hair madly to the side.     "I heard what you SAID."     The snarl in her voice only becomes more pronounced as she grinds her heel into the floor. When the wind stops trying to lift her, and instead slams bodily down into her, the flames swirl about her, coalescing into onne foot.     "But I've met little KIDS who hit stronger than you, lady!"     And lashing upwards with her foot, the gathered energy is released as a swirling burst of brilliantly purple power; although where Zephyr's energy was pretty and non-lethal... there's absolutely nothing non-lethal about the wave of evil purple energy that Juri releases at her opponent. 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr grits her teeth, bracing against the energy wave. A shimmering field of purple mana forms between her and the wave, and a clash occurs, mana sparks flying from the Barrier shield before it cracks, then shatters, letting the remaining energy bombards her Barrier Jacket.     Zephyr staggers a moment, smoke rising where bits of her armour vaporized on impact, before she sweeps her axe to the side. "So have I." she returns bitterly, kicking up off the ground and beginning that blurry, juking circle again, but this time, she doesn't attack once, or from one angle, she's appearing, slashing then vanishing again, trying to get the woman caught off guard. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri raises her arms, but trying to keep up with Zephyr is becoming frustratingly difficult. The blows keep coming, and whilst Juri's guard is strong, she's reduced to trying to lash out. Defense has never been Juri's game; she's much better when she can get her opponent on the back foot, and it is as Zephyr comes sweeping in for one more strike that Juri tries to regain the upper hand.     The charred and broken ground beneath her splinters as she leaps into the air, and her legs sweep around like a helicopter's blades, burning with more of that dazzling purple fire.     It doesn't end there, though, as if she hits cleanly, the devil-haired woman will follow up with a crushing knee aimed right for Zephyr's gut. Her good eye squinting as the Feng Shui Engine burns brightly in her socket. "You really want to die today, huh? Will anyone know? Will they even CARE?" 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr is caught by that spin kick, skidding back a moment, before that knee comes slugging into her weakened chestplate. The armour cracks, then detonates like reactive armour, sending the girl skidding further back.     She falls to a knee, panting heavily. "No. They won't know, or care." she says, pushing back up shakily. "But I'm okay with that... if I can put a stop to a threat like you." she adds, tightening her grip on the axe haft. <Empowerment Mode.> chimes Divine Wind, the three little 'drones' gathering close around the mage, orbiting the head of her Device. "Would anyone care if you died today?" she asks, lifting her Device with the gemstone pointing towards Juri. <SLIPSTREAM DRIVER.>     Mana, wind, and the three turbine blade-like drones gather at the gemstone, the drones adding a cohesive field to the charging beam. <Stun Mode is Cancelled.> chimes Divine Wind, before the beam fires. Now that energy isn't pretty and non-lethal. Now, it's deadly and destructive. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     Juri's eye begins to bleep in alarm as Zephyr's power rises, and rather than back off, she comes tearing forwards instead. Perhaps Zephyr's retort hit a nerve, or perhaps she's just reckless, either way, the burst of power crackles through the air, and hits home in Juri's side, burning the woman's skin - but in her furious state, she refuses to let herself be slowed down by it.     Instead, she leaps into the air, and suddenly descends! Sweeping downwards at a steep angle, the heel of her foot aims to smash down into Zephyr's jaw, but it is after that, that Juri really lets rip.     Blow after blow is thrown out in rapid succession - mostly kicks, but her elbow comes into play too, only stopping when she delivers a brutal axe handle. She has been serious since the beginning; but now her vision is starting to crackle and blur. She's reaching her limit, and that is driving her mad! 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr manages, somehow, to parry the first few strikes, pushing them aside with armoured bracer or axe haft... however, she can't keep up with the furious woman, and gets rather pummeled, shields raising to soften blows, but breaking instantly with each strike. "Dee... It's time." she says softly under the din of her opponent.     <YES. HURRICANE THUNDERCLAP. GET SET!> chimes the Device in response. Zephyr leaps up into the air, trying to get clear of that wrathful flurry. MANAFLOW CONTROLS AT PEAK. VECTOR ORIENTATION CALCULATED. STRIKE VECTOR SET. MISTRAL STORM. STRIKER MODE.>     As Zephyr reaches the peak of her leap, she draws the haft of her axe out so its easier to hold two-handed. The drones settle into position along the counter-balance side of the axe blade, while said blade becomes a seething morass of wind-element magic. Four white 'jets' form from the mage's back, while a spell seal forms beneath her feet, giving her somewhere to kick off from. "HHYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAH!" is the only thing she utters, a wordless battlecry as she screams down at her foe. The axe sweeps, and should it impact anything, a concussion wave to rival the explosion from earier would rip free, splintering tree trunks and uprooting foliage. 

:'''{{#var:102|Juri Han (102)}} has posed:'''     The axe-blow is met by Juri's crossed arms, and the detonation has her at the center. When it finally begins to clear, Zephyr could be forgiven for thinking that she's completely destroyed her opponent. There's certainly nothing directly in front of her, and the remains of the Shadaloo facility have been well and truly decimated by the pair's ongoing conflict.     "YOU'RE FINISHED!"     The voice is shaky, screechy, and very loud. Shouted from high above, Juri's eye is burning a constant, dazzling purple as she hovers momentarily i the air, and then sweeps her leg downwards.     Earlier, it had just been one fireball. Now, dozens of them are unleashed, over and over as Juri covers the ground in burning purple flame. Her vision swims in front of her, good eye bleary and the electronic one bursting alarmingly with static as she pushes, and pushes, and finally, the eye winds down with a gentle whine, and Juri's feet touch the ground, leaving her sweating and exhausted.     "T-tch. Who would have thought it. That WAS fun~." 

:'''{{#var:162|Zephyr Windstar (162)}} has posed:'''     Zephyr blinks. "Did th--." Divine Wind cuts that thought off. <MASTER EVADE! WIDE AREA ATTACK INBOUND.> She looks up, just in time to get bathed in purple flames. She screams as the fire burns her, leaving her to fall into a heap on the ground, Device pulsing a rescue signal. 

}}

Glowing Blood.

2014-07-05T08:57:21Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "{{Log Header |Date of Scene=2014/07/04 |Location=Radiation Planes |Synopsis=At a secluded military outpost, Crona is spurred into action to murder soldiers. It doesn't take lo..."

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2014/07/04
|Location=Radiation Planes
|Synopsis=At a secluded military outpost, Crona is spurred into action to murder soldiers. It doesn't take long for the Union to muster an effective defense. But in spite of the corpses they left in their wake, it soon becomes clear that they might not be the only victims in this scenario...
|Thanks=
|Cast of Characters=3, 22, 42, 213, 365, 476
|Tinyplot=
|pretty=yes
}}
{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' The Warpgate has been locked - a dark black piece of machinery has been fastened to the ring structure, which even now fizzes and crackles warningly. It will only take a minute to break through, but for the unfortunate soldiers who had been immediately in the vicinity of the Gate, too much time has already passed. The military outpost here is sparsely populated anyway. A squat steel construction with a staff of a few dozen. The intense levels of radiation make it difficult to maintain communications, and harder to find people willing to spend large amounts of time here. But the blasted wasteland outside of the facility is a rich resource for mutants, and the harshness of the environment itself is a kind of natural defense against attack. Only, now, it seems to have worked against them. A half dozen bodies lay scattered around the warpgate, dismembered by the Meister who now stands babbling to themselves in the middle of the gore. The rest of the staff have retreated behind blast doors and deeper into the facility as they await backup to come and rescue them, but Crona doesn't seem TOO interested in pressing the attack. "She said they were different, but I don't understand why it isn't working! Its too hard! And the eye will open soon and everyone will see us..." Ragnarok, held tip-down inside another body, licks thick, cherry red lips. ~I don't care about excuses! You must have killed them wrong somehow, Crona!~ "A-aaah, I can't kill them any more, Ragnarok! Look!" Which the unfortunate Meister demonstrates by stabbing the corpse in front of them a few more times. 

:'''{{#var:22|Medusa Gorgon (22)}} has posed:''' Children. They never listen, now do they? Then again, you have to give them a chance to show that they are not /completely/ worthless. For this reason Medusa Gorgon keeps her distance to the place of slaughter, seated up in a tall dead tree with her broom resting across her lap. From this distance it looks like... ah, yes. Crona is stabbing the same bloody corpse over and over. How wonderful. The witch narrows her eyes and lets out a slight snort. Whatever thought passed through that child's head? There are more of them inside, after all. But then again... perhaps that is truly the best way to draw the Union in on this. They are bound to learn of what is happening here if this goes on. Just who will arrive? How pressed will Crona be? How much can the black blood influence the young meister? These questions will hopefully be answered soon. Not that she's impatient, but... Crona is hardly interesting to watch while this goes on. 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' With the warpgate disabled, Roll has to get in the hard way. Flying in on Rush Jet isn't so dangerous for her. radiation? Pfheh. ROBOT. Since she couldn't get in through the warpgate, Roll's forced to enter through other means.. in this case, swooping down towards the facility and its entrances... 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' Far too late, threads of energy spread over the machine keeping the warp gate locked down, gradually glowing brighter and brighter, and then... the warpgate opens once more, the machine gaining several cuts in key places, though not completely destroyed, oddly enough. Shortly after the warpgate opens, icy wings carry a woman through the gate, coming to a landing just inside. Snow gives a small frown as she lands just inside the gate, looking at the half-dozen people around the warpgate, blue eyes trailing between each of them. And then... towards the babbling Meister... who was presently stabbing the corpse. "They are dead. Let them rest in peace." The dragon-winged girl states firmly towards Crona. She shifts her hands slowly, barely-visible threads trailing from the tips of her fingers as she watches Crona. "You will be outnumbered shortly, I suggest that you surrender." Snow states firmly to the child before her, taking slow steps towards Crona on her frozen feet, the light 'Tink' and a crackle of ice audible with each step. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' Well that explains why she couldn't get a warpgate to open to the location properly. But Snow took care of that problem, thank goodness. Procyana follows her through the warpgate, and doesn't really react to the dead bodies already lying around. Nothing worse than what she sees on the job half the time. Save a bit of a snort, tail flicking a few times. "Tch. Worse thing than an unwanted house guest is an unwanted -messy- houseguest." Swiftly she cross-draws her blasters, twirling them both once in her hands to get them into proper grip, and an audible hum of powering up as she holds one ready and points the other in the direction of the one obvious intruder. "I know this is the ass crack middle of nowhere, but that's no reason to go around being rude and killing everyone." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Staren is enjoying a peaceful day of watching airshows in Equestria. Stunt flying is quite a sight! But, duty calls. People need help. A couple teleports and a warpgate trip and Staren's ready to deploy. No warpgate? Radiation? No problem! Staren has a convenient solution to both of these problems: A giant transforming war machine. Like a streak of chrome, the apparent fighter plane has arms and legs unfold from under its body as it decelerates and approaches the ground -- the sonic boom washing over the area an instant after. The Star Hawk finishes transforming into a 40' tall humanoid and lands a short distance away. Staren sees an agressor in the middle of dead bodies, and doesn't bother with words. What's he gonna do, demand surrender? No. He doesn't think words are going to work here. His machine raises its right arm, a panel in the arm pack revealing three barrels. A single railgun slug flies through the air in a streak of fire as hypersonic speed ignites the very air. It's aimed high so that if it misses it will hit some distance away -- Staren is hoping to drive Crona /away/ from the bodies, so that the significant collateral damage of mecha weaponry won't blow the bodies to mist or burn them to ash. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' Crona looks around as Snow turns up, and breaks the Iris device. Straightening, the tall, gaunt Meister rolls their shoulders back, and cocks their head to the side. Its, an unnerving expression on their features. Crona is smiling, but the smile is too wide, and pale eyes dart about this way and that. "Yes, I killed them. But their souls went away. Aah, maybe they are hiding? Can you help me cut them open and find the souls? We need them..." And then the darting gaze settles on the broken device. "Oh no! The eye is open, it can see now... oh, I thought I'd be the one to wake it up, ah, that's, not the plan..." Stumbling back a couple of paces, they actually look quite intimidated. These were, after all, the people that Medusa had warned them about. Don't underestimate them, Crona! Plan it carefully, Crona! And now Crona is realizing that 'plan it carefully' had all gone out the window when they couldn't sate Ragnarok's hunger for souls on the local soldiers. "Aaah, but She told me to kill them!" Crona complains to Procyana, "And anyway--" *WHUMP* The railgun slams into the side of Crona's head, and they are sent hurting sideways, where they bounce off the metal blast doors, and roll, after a few seconds, to a complete stop. The railgun slug rolls away from them a moment later, and after just a second, the Meister is lurching up to their feet, black blood trickling down their lips. "Hehe... he... My blood is black, you know?" And there's a ~DEAFENING SCREECH~ as Ragnarok is raised up high, and opens his mouth to wail. The keening cry is a painful thing, radiating outwards to (hopefully) disorient and assail those in the immediate area... and it will be audible for miles and miles. 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' Snow's gaze remains level on Crona as she talks, fingers slowly playing at her sides, weaving the threads together as she responds to Crona. "Souls do not leave their body easily in this world. And when they do, it usually is to move on to the next." Snow responds quietly to Crona, one of her brows quirking slightly as she watches the Meister. As Crona backs, Snow matches her pace forward, eyes on Crona calmly. "Who told you to kill them?" She asks curiously, and then... Crona is shot by the railgun and sent flying towards the blast doors, causing Snow to wince. And... black blood? Snow couldn't help but have her curiosity perked by the black blood, "...Fascinating. Has it always been like th--" SCREEEEEEECH. Snow takes a step back as Ragnarok starts to scream, her hands lifting to her ears briefly. But as the screech continues, she gets as used to it as she can, her ears ringing, and some of the ice on her legs and wings gaining cracks. As the screeching continues, Snow's eyes narrow. "So noisy..." Snow lifts her hands, weaving threads together into an intricate web of energy, which is then whipped out towards Crona, attempting to wrap around both Crona and her blade. If it successfully wraps around them, Snow jerks the force lines, which glow brightly, tightening to possibly painful levels, maybe even cause Ragnarok to cut into Crona as well. Eventually, as they tightened(If the initial wrap was successful!), the threads would either snap on their own, be consumed, or be cut by Ragnarok, likely only causing a minor hindrance for a second or two -- if that. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' They just never listen when someone tells them to surrender. But that one unchanging aspect is what has Procyana ready, despite her generally laid back and sarcastic demeaner. As soon as the .... thing moves as if to ready and attack she twists sideways and engages the boosters in her boots, leaping away from the others. A flip mid-air lands her feet first against the wall of the building just long enough to kick off of it and higher into the air, evading the worst of the sonic blast by basically jumping over the center point of Crona that screech is radiating out from so she's not in its direct path. As soon as she lands on the other side of the source of the passed attack she whips up one arm to level her disruptor at the creature and open fire with a quick shot. "First time I've had someone screaming -before- I put a hole in their heart." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Babble about souls. And a plan, and calling a warpgate an 'eye'. This guy is clearly not all there. Staren's a bit surprised when he takes a railgun hit to the /head/ and doesn't even seem to care, though. Well, that just means they need to /keep shooting/. So what if he has black blood? That's hardly the weirdest thing in the Multiverse. And then, some... /thing/ is raised up and wails. Some kind of crazy magic attack, it must be -- the Star Hawk shakes, and the sound resounds in Staren's head. "Shut UP!" He leaps over the bodies, and as he approaches, he takes a few more shots with the railgun. Still on semiauto -- he doesn't want to accidentally blow the doors open with a burst. 

:'''{{#var:22|Medusa Gorgon (22)}} has posed:''' Hmmm. Medusa arches an eyebrow as the opposition arrives, watching intently as they work on the warp gate and then decide to try and discourage Crona from what the young meister is doing. Silly Unionites. She's worked too hard on the child. There is no way that Crona will stop what they are doing and surrender peacefully. The railgun fire does draw some attention, and the witch glances in the direction from whence it came. Well well well. Seems like there are some familiar people here today at least. And just as taught, Crona gets up. And even if the screech can be heard from here, she's at a relatively safe distance to avoid Ragnarok rupture her ear drums. Not to mention she can mentally brace herself from the mad cacophony. They attack in return however, and Medusa narrows her eyes slightly, leaning forward on the tree branch where she is seated... 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?! Roll would like to think that, but she heard it right after landing, and the moment it hits her sensors, it's like scorching electrical overload right to her CPU. She barely even gets a scream out before her whole body tumbles forward against the door. Nobody can see it, but her systems just experienced a pretty nasty overload, sensory parsing UTTERLY CRASHING. A few seconds pass and Roll reboots the systems. A few more for them to resynchronize with her core program... "What... WHAT was that noise..." Rush, who landed next by, whines piteously and growls. He suffered a similar problem. Frowning, Roll dons her armor in a flash of light, and tries to gain entry to the facility. If the union Elite access codes don't work, she'll have to use Super Arm to force the doors open enough to slip in and close them again. can't have radiation everywhere! 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' The energy web wraps around Crona as they slowly get an idea of what it is they are fighting. The Meister clearly isn't in the most lucid state of mind, as their head wobbles and sways about. ~PAY ATTENTION CRONA!~ "Wuh?" When they come back to themselves, it is because Procyana just shot them in the back. Thankfully, Ragnarok is paying far more attention than Crona is, and after the energy splashes against their back, the black blood is visible hardening underneath the skin in response. In the same moment, Crona jerks the blade around, slashing through the ribbons with Ragnarok's surprisingly sharp edge... and the bullets? Well, they have /less/ effect than the last time, Ragnarok's edge slashing the mecha-sized ammunition into neat pieces after a flurry of sudden speed. ~THAT'S BETTER! Make me do all the work again and I'll eat your breakfast for a month!~ "Ah! Not breakfast! That's the most important meal of the day! I don't think I could deal with that!" The threat - clearly audible from the Meister's abusive Weapon - seems to do a good job of getting Crona to pick out a target at least. Mad eyes slowly settling on the robot which shot them in the face earlier. "... I suppose its easier to cut up a big target. Even I can't miss something like that. But do machines even have souls?" A question for the philosophers, perhaps. It seems that Crona's ability to hold a coherent conversation has been somewhat hampered by the bullets, energy blasts and strange strings that are wielded against them. Now, Ragnarok screams again, and the resonating energy thrums anew... but the edge also carves deep grooves into the metal ground. Sparks fly everywhere as Crona runs straight at Staren's war machine, and aims to cleave through the joint at one of the machine's knees. There's a casual viciousness there which might be shocking if anyone can piece it together; it just seems natural to try and stop the thing you are killing being able to run away, you know? Meanwhile, the Union codes work for getting through the blast doors, but the soldiers inside look pretty unnerved. It is worth noting this is a MILITARY INSTALLATION and so there's only a few token civilians... but none of them want to go outside right now, either. They saw what Crona did to the others! And there's that SCREAMING to worry about! "Do you have an escape plan?" 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' Crona's responses were... somewhat surprising, to say the least! The way Crona talked and conversed with the sword ... well, Snow was definitely paying attention and listening. One thing was for sure, the poor thing was being bullied, and it was the sword who was more or less in control. "She's already skinny enough, I think taking her breakfast for a month might kill her." Snow says, making an assumption about Crona's gender based off of voice and appearance. Possibly an incorrect assumption, but hey, everyone makes mistakes! As Crona runs towards the robot that currently housed Staren, Snow's eyes focus, following the sword and meister... and when the sword's mouth opens, she was ready, ice beginning to coat and cover her ears to protect them. Even with that, however, cracks form further in those icy wings, causing Snow to wince slightly. "...I really hope that you have some sort of protection from that sword." Snow says, possibly even concerned for the health of the Meister! Still, regardless, Snow did not simply stand by. She lifts her hands, making several gestures as her hand swirls in the air, snowflakes dancing around her hands. "Gelu sepulcrum, inimico meo. <Icy tomb, crush my foe.>" Snow speaks out in Latin. The spell's effects are almost immediate. From the ground behind Crona, a tomb-like cavity is created, with a 'door' suddenly forming in front of the Meister, attempting to sweep Crona straight back into the icy tomb behind, simply crushing Crona against the back if it was successful. Luckily, even if it was successful, the icy tomb was just ice, and would likely be easy enough to break through to escape. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' Procyana gahs and holds up her arms to shield her face as the strike tears through the ground this time, showering essentially shrapnel torn up from the floor panels. Little sparks can be seen where the sharp edges impact with the defenses built into her jacket. Once it's subsided she lowers her arms partway again, squinting a bit at the creature. Her tactical cybernetics are trying to scan it, but it's just not easy to pick any one thing out. Finally she shrugs, adjusts the setting on her disruptor and holds it out at arms length as the muzzle briefly glows with motes of red-orange energy. "Time to heat this party up." This time it's a bolt of shearing thermal energy that fires, likely causing painfully sudden temperature changes as Snow freezes the target, and then suddenly it's blasted with heat afterwards. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' /Cutting/ railgun bullets? "Tch..." Staren mutters to himself about dealing with this insanity... But then Crona CHARGES him. Staren tries to leap again, but too slow -- the sword cuts deep into the armor with a terrible slicing sound, but... it's not quite enough to really slice into the knee mechanisms. It /is/ a pretty heavily armored war robot. If he can land another hit or two in the same spot though, it looks like he could take Staren down a leg! With a roar of rockets and jet thrusters, the Star Hawk takes to the air. "What do you want souls for, anyway?" Staren asks, through the speakers, as the machine readies its gunpod, which appears to contain a massive missile launcher filled with dozens and dozens of little missiles. A few tiny missiles are flung out and then spew smoke trails as they robotech in on Crona. These are Staren's new 'micromissiles' -- the size of a magic marker, they home in on the target at up to mach 2, aiming to ram themselves into it hard enough to penetrate armor before setting off their tiny explosive warheads! In this case, they also have the benefit if avoiding too much collateral damage -- the blast radius is only a few feet if things don't go as planned. This is for piercing hardened targets, not vaporizing wide areas. Staren has other missiles for that. He might show them to Crona later! 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' "AAAAAAAH!" Crona screams as they are frozen, and the ice is really very cold, locking them up in place for the few seconds necessary to help the incendiary shot get a nice clean target. "AAAAAAAH!" Crona screams again as they are set on fire, and the flaming energy bolt sears deeply into their body as they stagger to get back up to their feet, waving Ragnarok around in a warding motion. "AAAAAAAAH!" Crona screams for a third time as they are blown up. As hardened targets go, though, Crona is up there with the strongest of them. Black blood now lays neatly in puddles about the area, but even as the smoke clears, the visible evidence of the wounds is closing up, and Crona is free to look between all the Union Elites. "... Don't you understand?" They ask, "My blood is black. She made me this way, and now, I have to kill you all, because that's what She told us to do..." There's a longing look back at the warpgate, as though poor Crona wants to flee - or perhaps, yearns that their promised backup would arrive ... but it is no surprise they are on their own. They probably said all those nice things just to shut Crona up. There's only one person Crona knows has a use for them... one person in all their life they can rely on to be there, and for that person's sake, they have to do their best. ~BLOODY NEEDLE!~ And suddenly, all those little blood splatters which have been distributed throughout the area like raindrops come back to life. Dozens upon dozens of tiny, stabbing lances seem to erupt from nothing at all, fully intending to skewer the enemy Elites in a gruesome demonstration of why that black blood is so important. 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' "No..." Roll mumbles out after seeing all the faces, quite noticeably cringing at the fact. She taps her temple, listens to some inner comms. "The warp gate isn't blocked anymore, but there's a nasty battle raging. Waiting here might be safest! Is this all of you...? Are others further into the facility? With the intruder fighting the other Elites, there's no way they'll be able to break in here if that's all of them!" The only question is, is it? 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' Almost immediately after the needles spring out, one of Crona's hands goes to their head. Then they lift their shoe. Right in the middle of battle, the spindly thing just bends right over, head tucking between their knees as their free hand - the other still grasping Ragnarok - touches their toes. "I did it!" That exclamation just sounds so ... happy! Even if they are now completely and totally exposed to attack. 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' Scream... scream... scream... scream... Crona doesn't really seem like an enemy so much as a scared child to Snow. It made her feel a bit bad to be harming Crona, due to that. But they were being a dangerous enemy, harming innocent civilians. "J-just because she made you that way... doesn't mean you have to listen..." Snow says, ever-so-slightly unnerved. That sword was kind of creepy, really. And then... Needles. Needles everywehre. Stabbing through ice and flesh alike to damage Snow, a small grouping in particular stabbing right into her stomach, causing a whimper of pain to come from Snow... but ... this time... she had a focus. This time she had to protect lives. There were people waiting for help. And so, Snow lifts her hands up above her head, magical energy gathering around her. "Hastae glacies, et protegam eum. <Spears of ice, protect and destroy!>)]" She calls out. Icy spears suddenly erupt from the ground, three sent towards Crona, aiming in part to hold her in place, but the sharp tips might cut along that hardened flesh briefly. Also, quite possibly, putting Crona's hair out! But more importantly... a series of spears begin to burst from the ground, working at creating a hardened path of ice between the entrance of the facility and the open warp gate. As this path forms, Snow begins to hover in the air between Crona and the icy spears jutting up from the ground, energy glowing on her hands as she channels her spell. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' "Whoever this she is, what she says don't matter when you're putting lives in pointless danger like thi--Whoa!" Blood suddenly erupting into needles, now that is something she hasn't seen done before. She leaps to the side and rolls out of the way of one flurry of the suddenly sharp colagulations, but several more manifest to riddle her form as she's getting back onto her feet. "Ugh, usually when I get other people's blood on me it's not them doing it intentionally!" Okay, Snow is using more ice to try and trap the thing. So she better not keep flinging fire around. With a snort she spins and holsters both her disruptors to free up her hands. Then keys the energy projector of one glove on. "Hey, big bleeding and ugly. Over here!" She points her hand at Crona and what's essentially a energy cable shoots out at the creature to clamp onto it. And then deliver several hundred volts of electricity like an overclocked taser as Procyana tries to pull Crona's line of view away from the rescue operation going on to get people to the warpgate. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Needles. Needles everywhere! They turn Staren's mecha into a pincushion! The armor stops them from going deep, but they breach it all over... Here and there, small explosions, smoke, or arcing electricity show the damage. The leg locks up, and there's a loud POW as the homing laser emitter is skewered perfectly and explodes! "Gah! What the hell /IS/ this?!" Staren shouts, his screen full of warnings about damaged thrusters and power routing problems. The Star Hawk flies backward, thrusters sputtering a bit then evening out, to land unsteadily a moderate distance away. And then the railgun spins up and he starts firing extended bursts. Just how many slugs can Ragnarok slice through in a split-second? Let's find out! Also, Staren's firing from the side now relative to the base -- hopefully, if even part of the burst hits, it will knock Crona away from the bodies. 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' With the path open, Roll glances about at the group. "I'll scout ahead. Follow but keep some distance. If anything starts coming at me, keep back. I don't want anyone hurt trying to get out!" Roll activates the Mega Buster for her left hand and heads out into the corridors, on a beeline for the warp gate after accessing a map of the place over local wireless! She's careful to look into any open rooms... and is on the prowl. If anything big and noisy is TOO CLOSE, it's time to stop and check for safer routes! 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' Oddly enough, the ice spears don't really cause a pain reaction from Crona. They stab into the Meister pretty firmly, but they look more confused than anything else. "What? Where did those come from?" They ask the world, "Ah, these will slow me down!" And... you know, having ice spears sticking out of your body probably isn't great for your long term health, either. "Ugly? Why would you say that? That's just meaAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Poor Crona. The blow to their fragile self esteem might actually do more long term damage than the electricity now coursing through their system. It does at least make them straighten up all the more, and Crona is peppered with railgun blasts. There's no real attempt made to parry, the lightning and ice help make sure of that. It might look like the heroic plan is working; with the exception that Crona has managed to stay stubbornly in place near the dismembered corpses they went through all the trouble of killing. But when the evacuees start to be ushered from the facility, that is when Ragnarok just goes and spoils everything. Uncoiling from sword form for the first time, Ragnarok shifts into a stretching, muscular body perhaps six foot tall on his own. Inky black and huge, he points one gloved fingure and gesticulates wildly at the running men. ~What do you think you are doing, Crona?! NOW'S OUR CHANCE! KILL THEM! KILL THEM ALL!~ But Crona doesn't move. It almost looks like the pink-haired Meister is frozen in place all over again. Eyes darting from Procyana, to Snow, to Staren's war machine, then to the evacuees - and there are so many of them! - and finally back to Procyana. The Meister starts to hyperventilate, pupils shrunken down to the size of pinpricks. "I c-can't!" Crona wails, and falls to their knees, "There's too many of them to kill, how am I meant to choose? I can't DEAL with this!!" This provokes Ragnarok into a terrible rage, and the muscular Demon Sword grasps Crona's head firmly between his knuckles and starts rolling, "Now isn't the time for this, Crona! Come on! Just pick a target and keep stabbing until they stop moving! THIS ISN'T COMPLICATED!" "AAAAH! WHY ARE THERE SO MAAAAANY?!" 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' It was a rather large relief that Crona just couldn't handle the situation, because Snow was immobilized as she channels the ice spikes, her arms held firmly above her hands... gradually as the magic continues, a second layer of spikes begins to cover the path, further (hopefully) protecting the evacuation. Snow keeps her eyes quietly on Crona as she watches that... black... thing... begin to come out of the blade. "That thing is a bit creepy... and a bully to you... are you sure you want to listen to him?" She asks towards Crona, possibly trying to further confuse the meister. Slowly, she lowers her hands in front of her, energy beginning to gather around her hands once more, though she doesn't speak magical words just yet, still focusing heavily on protecting the evacuation. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Staren's going to have to just /grab/ Crona and pull him away... However, that disabled leg is a problem. Staren activates the beam shield on the left arm, lowering it to partially cover the leg as repair drones fly out and start tending to the damaged knee. In the meantime, Staren keeps his crosshairs steady on Crona, in case the boy (girl?) charges. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' And a big shadowy -something- comes out of the sword. "That's just all sorts of nasty." Though it's hard to tell if Procyana is commenting on Ragnarok's appearance, or the conversation going on between the demon and his.. host? Oh these things are never easy to sort out. Or really important at the moment. The electrical charge disperses finally as the grappler expends its energy, and once her hands are free of that Procyana pulls out ... a flare gun? "You wanna kill someone?" Clicks off the safety and points the weapon at the demon. "Then come get me you poor excuse for a monstrousity!" She fires off a smoking flare at the demon, trying to keep his raging attention on her instead of the others protecting the evacuation. "Over here, ugly!" 

:'''{{#var:22|Medusa Gorgon (22)}} has posed:''' A heavy sigh leaves the witch as she cants her head slightly to the side. What a mess. What disappointment. Medusa looks slightly annoyed as she peers at the situation in the distance, not liking how the evacuees are fleeing the scene, and especially not how Crona chooses this exact moment to have a breakdown. Calmly she reaches down to her belt, unclips her radio and pushes the button, speaking quietly into it, waiting for a response. The hushed conversation doesn't last for long, and then Medusa fastens it again before she moves, standing upright and stretching out her back and legs, holding the broom next to her as she waits and watches, ready to step in should it be necessary... 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' The change which comes over Crona in those few seconds is unnerving to behold, but it isn't thanks to the cajoling of the Demon Sword. In fact, Ragnarok shrinks back away to a sword, and Crona's expression falls. Just a few words from Medusa, and everything is put back in perspective so much more clearly. "... I'm sorry, but I have to." The words are softly spoken as the flare bounces off their shoulder. The words directed to Snow before the slender Meister, wreathed in smoke and flame, rounds on the evacuees as they retreat. They are trained soldiers, and Roll is leading the way - but they aren't slow by any means. Crona lifts Ragnarok, and no doubt the attack from the Union Elites will resume, but either way... "SCREECH ALPHA." "SHYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A huge wave of black energy suddenly flows from Crona, and streaks across the battlefield towards the ice blockade. The resulting detonation is impressive... a cloud of ice, dust and jagged metal shards thrown up all around. But the very fact of the explosion's power works against the intent, as no ice survives long enough to become a danger to the fleeing individuals as Crona resumes their erratic run in pursuit of the prey chosen for them. "The weak die. If I want to survive, I have to kill them. At least dead people don't call me names." 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' As Crona speaks, Snow keeps her eyes calmly on them, speaking with Crona over the radio. And then... the blade is lifted, her eyes begin to glow as Crona calls out their attack. Immediately, Snow shifts her hands so that her pointer fingers and thumbs are touching each other, forming an 'aiming reticule' for her. "Inrorat, frigore hostem in aeternum. <Icy beam, freeze my enemy forever.>" She speaks out in latin and then... Pale blue energy gathers into Snow's hands, forming for several moments... and then firing in a line aimed to attempt to encompass both Crona and the blade of Screech Alpha. In the path of the beam, nothing is spared. The moisture in the air freezes, radiation sprinkles the ground below, and even magical energy from Crona's attack may be frozen if the beam strikes true. A terrifying ability, and it was aimed more directly at the blade than Crona herself. "Your enemies are over here. Those ones will not give you proper souls." Snow speaks, her voice resonating with power as she speaks. As the spell consumes itself, Snow's dress begins to deteriorate slightly from the bottom edges, the threads of magic that are weaved into the outfit being consumed for the extended combat, and attempting to maintain that path. "You might die if you look away from us." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' /Finally/. Thank goodness Crona didn't murder all the soldiers. But it seems he's about to if they don't do something quick! Staren at least has had ample time for a missile lock -- Several more micromissiles launch and streak towards Crona... but they're just meant to keep him distracted. The Star Hawk leaps into the air and transforms to fighter mode. (The cockpit canopy is covered by an armored plate as Staren sees through sensors.) It speeds towards Crona, just behind the missiles, then suddenly transforms, arms and legs unfolding underneath it again leaving it in a chicken-walker-plane half-transformed hybrid state as it rolls, tries to snatch Crona up in a massive metal hand just after the missiles keep him busy, and then fly away as fast as he can!* *Almost 600 miles per hour 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' Shit. That didn't work as intended to keep the things attention. "Sorry freaky, but we can't let you do that." Procyana discards the spent flare gun, and draws both her blasters again. This time knowing the other lady is using ice magic, she can not accidently burn it away this time. As such she changes the setting on both blaster, and their trace lines start to glow a pale icy color instead. Then she points both of them at Crona as Snow is firing her freezing beam. "Let's ice this bastad -- literally!" Switched to their anti-thermal mode, the disruptors instead of heat work sort of like a freezing beam... except instead of shooting cold at the target, they lower temperature by dispersing the heat -away- from it. In other words, hopefully combined with Snow's own ice based attacks, making things a lot more dangerously cold and easier to freeze. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' The effect, when Snow's magic comes close to Crona, is beautiful. The icy magic actually renders the startling red of Crona's soul visible around them. A perfectly spherical shape, and the sensation of having someone try to /freeze/ that energy causes the unfortunate Meister to recoil, if only briefly. That moment's hesitation is made worse when the secondary beam of ice causes Crona to stiffen. This all combines to give Staren the few moments he needs to get in position and try to extract Crona from the situation more permanently. By now, micromissiles alone aren't enough to distract them. But perhaps more terrifying is the strength that Crona displays. Given in to the terrible and dire consequences that await them if they do not perform according to expectations, there'll be a terrible squealing of metal as Crona bodily wrenches themselves free, and... "SCREECH" "BETA" Ragnarok is surrounded by that burning black energy, shot through with brilliant purple light which forms a gnawing face. One which attempts to go straight through Staren as Crona rockets towards the ground, and, when they impact, pause only to turn, with terrifying inevitability, towards the fleeing survivors -- Who actually are almost to the warpgate already. Oh dear, that's not good. "I don't get it. Why do you all keep fighting? They're useless anyway, they deserve to be gotten rid of." 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' "Just because they may not be strong, doesn't mean they're useless. They're well trained and do their jobs." Snow replies as Crona speaks, Snow's icy wings taking her quickly to place herself between Crona and the fleeing survivors. As she does, there was a sudden shimmer of Snow's Force Lines coming from her gloves, a swirl of them coming out from her hand, as Snow's eyes glow faintly. "Frigidum erat funiculos, et separabunt caperent. <Frigid threads, ensnare and sever.>" Snow speaks. Suddenly, those lines of energy become thin lines of ice, which would fall almost peacefully down around Crona. However, with a sudden jerk, they would attempt to tighten around Crona once more. Wherever the frozen lines touched, flesh would begin to freeze and grow brittle, as the solid lines of energy pull tighter and tighter. If Crona doesn't break the lines quickly enough, they might find themselves crushed by the freezing threads. "You should stop fighting, before you become an ice sculpture." 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Crona just bends the Star Hawk's hand like it's nothing, then obliterates the hand and part of the arm to scrap as he shoots down to the ground and then changes course towards the survivors. "Shit!" warnings flare on Staren's screen, and for a split-second he thinks Crona might be coming for /him/ -- but when he realizes what happened, he stops, and turns, and in an instant he commands his tactical software to plot Crona's path, and in another instant he commands it to fill that path with explosions. This time it's the big guns: Plasma minimissiles drop out of the weapon pod and race after Crona, exploding in 30ft-wide spheres of air superheated to ionization. Some of the micromissiles, meanwhile, use their superior speed to race ahead, then turn around and assault Crona from the front! <<Hurry!>> Staren transmits to his allies. <<Get them out of here, I can't keep him away!>> 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' "Go! Go now!" Roll tells the soldiers, who probably all see their chance anyways. She runs out of their corridor into the warpgate chamber, along with Rush, and her body sizzles with a building glow as energy charges in her reactor and buster's capacitors. A very overt Charge Shot pending a target! In reality, she can't attack Crona, but s/he doesn't need to know that. Nor does Crona need to know that the growling Rush that lunges out to also patrol the route to safety is unable to attack unless Crona threatens the evacuees. They can sure LOOK threatening though. "Isn't that obvious? They have goals and families, a part of something much bigger - the whole world. What gives you the right to think you can take that away?! Or can you not hear cries of pain at all, whoever you are?" 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' "Points for perseverence," Procyana comments aside to Snow, "But I don't think talkin' is gonna work." With a huff into her bangs she holsters both her guns. And pulls out of her inventory a futuristic looking sawed off shotgun. Gives it a jerk as if pumping a lever action like a traditional shotgun, the energy chargers built into the barrels starting to glow before she fires off a blast. Not of buckshot, but a burst of hot plasma embers. She half-flips the gun in her hand to reload the charge chambers, fires again. And then flips the shotgun into the air and spins around to catch it in her other hand, holding it out to fire off two more quick blasts. 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' There's no further words forthcoming from Crona as the plasma missiles, bullets and magic demand their attention. When the eye-searing display has finished, the effort it is taking to maintain use of their Black Blood at such a high level is finally starting to show through. Crona breathes heavily, both hands clamping down tight on Ragnarok's hilt as they raise it above their head, before they leap directly into the path of Staren's war machine. "Ragnarok. Lets go. Scream Resonance." Crona's voice lifts with Ragnarok's now, and both Meister and Weapon scream as one, the intensity of it shakes the ground below. Survivors stumble, some fall, bleeding from the ears - though there won't be any deaths, when Crona's wobbling gait touches the ground again, they are shouting at Roll - perhaps because the noise deafened them a little, too. "WHO CARES ABOUT FAMILY, HUH? WHO CARES ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE?! THEY'LL ONLY HURT YOU! IF YOU AREN'T STRONG ON YOUR OWN, JUST DIE, DIE, DIE BEFORE THE PAIN GETS TOO BAD!!" Shouting, shrieking, closing on Roll despite the big blast of energy she's got just waiting to be unloaded in their face, and the snarling robot dog. What happened to all the fear that Crona was showing earlier? Right now, they look and sound almost... suicidal! 

:'''{{#var:213|Snow (213)}} has posed:''' Shouting... shrieking. It hurts. Snow flinched when the screeching and shouting started, one of her wings actually SHATTERING as the shrieking permeates her body, a trickle of purple-ish blood beginning to come out of her ear as her eardrum is damaged, and... her eyes only focus that much more on the Meister. She drops both hands to the side, force lines shifting once more... though this time in the air in front of her, they're rapidly weaving into a massive and intricate design, attempting to circle and cover Crona in a dome of them... not doing anything just yet. "...Seal." Is all that Snow speaks this time, and that weaving suddenly attempting to close off Crona from the rest of the world, attempting to reduce that screeching and slow Crona's attempts to get to the survivors... wait. How were the survivors? That hurt HER that badly... what about the survivors? Were they okay? 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' "Aaaaw shit," is all Procyana gets out when despite taking a big barrage of everything that ... whatever she is with the screaming demon sword leaps on Staren's mech all the same and start letting really loose. It's a good thing he's between that rampage and the evacuees, but this is escalating out of control now. Unfortunately this time the sonic backlast from the attack is enough to bowl her off her feet, tumbling roughly on the cold metal surface before managing to get half onto her feet and digging the claws of one hand into the plates to grind herself to a stop. The plasma shotgun, lost in the impact, is forgotten. She can get another one from the company armory later. With a grunt she shakes herself off and gets up. A normal person would probably be feeling rather banged and bruised by this point, but her adrenaline is running too hard to pay attention to measily things like injury at the moment. Speaking of armories she keys up her personal one and pulls another futuristic weapon, this time a large rifle, out of nanotech storage. Which causes it to look almost like it was being assembled in her hands through wireframes and graphics resolution as it appears in her grasp. "Normally I reserve this for big armored things, but..." She gets down on one knee to brace herself and holds the large weapon up so the targetting scope can interface with her smartgun systems, and she zooms in her arm not on the humanoid(?) but on the demon/sword/creature that has been yelling at her to do the killing as well as screaming. "Hey, ugly bastard." She makes one final adjustment and pulls the trigger, and a shearing beam of highly focused particle energy, normally used for blowing holes through heavy armor, screams towards Ragnarok. "SHUT UP!" 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Staren fires missile after missile. One explosion after another of some of the most powerful small missiles humans have devised. And it's /still/ not enough. "How.. HOW?!" Staren can only shout indignantly as another piercing scream threatens to shake his mech apart. Shards of armor and small pieces of internal structure fall. He transforms to humanoid mode and lands, taking aim to... what can he do? Just keep shooting and shooting! But then Snow seals him. Staren waits and holds aim incase Crona breaks out. 

:'''{{#var:3|Roll (3)}} has posed:''' Normally, Roll cannot harm living people. First law of robotics and all that! But right now, with that screeching wave comingg at her, she can only endure and strive - strive to protect the soldiers trying to get away from this madness beyond their level! Yes, she cannot harm Crona - unless just standing there would put more lives than Crona's in danger! Roll raises the Mega Buster even as the blast tears at her sensitive components. Sparks fly from some of her joints and her aim jitters a little, but she steadies with the other hand. "S-sorry, but you HAVE TO STOP! STOP THIS!!" FWOOOOOOOOOOSH!! Well, on the good side, it's not aimed at Crona's center of mass, but their weapon arm. Still, that's a BIG roiling plasma blast to deal with! 

:'''{{#var:476|Crona (476)}} has posed:''' Crona does seem quite determined. Where before they had been faltering, now, they set themselves to their task with a grim determination. Even as the world slows about them, some part of Crona can't help but wonder if it is just that everyone else is speeding up. It makes about as much sense as everything else today! When the sword is hit by the particle beam, it glances off, and Ragnarok SCREAMS, a shrill noise. Still, Crona slowly, slowly raises the sword up, ready to bring it down on Roll and decapitate the poor robot. Then, the plasma blast hits home, and apparently Ragnarok is mostly out of ways to mitigate the damage. Crona looks startled as it actually causes horrible burns to well up and... stay welled up. At least the Meister doesn't scream any more. Instead, they topple over backwards into the dirt, eyes closed. They look almost peaceful, if it weren't for the burns. 

:'''{{#var:22|Medusa Gorgon (22)}} has posed:''' She had hoped she wouldn't have to do this, but then again... it's not entirely unexpected. With broom gripped in both hands the witch up in the tree leaps off of the branch, getting onto the broom mid leap as she plummets down to the ground. Her eyes narrow, snakelike pupils staring ahead as she speeds up towards the battleground, and her voice is still calm as she speaks. "Soul Protect Release." With the magic seal on her soul broken, the witch moves her right arm, pointing it towards the Unionites. "Vector arrow!" Not a real attack, mind you... merely a deterrent to clear some ground, distract and threaten them away from Crona as she closes in, doing a barrel roll to stop the magical attack, vectors crackling before they dissolve. The hand not gripping the broom grabs Crona by the front of the dress, perhaps a rough maneuver for the poor meister who is probably hurting more than enough at this point. It all happens in a matter of seconds, and the witch on the broom begins her ascent quickly, quickly up and away. Only once she's certain she's high enough up does Medusa slow down to haul Crona's body mostly onto the broom, another uncomfortable thing most likely. Her head turns slightly to peer down over her shoulder at the Unionites, amber eyes glinting with amusement and a non-pleasant smile on her face. "I'm afraid that this is where it ends for today. You have a great deal of work cut out for you," she chuckles, glancing briefly at the destruction caused here for the evening. 

:'''{{#var:42|Staren (42)}} has posed:''' Staren's mech smoulders, smoke curling off of it. Something overloads with a pop and a crackle of electricity, and the Star Hawk shudders a little. Finally, Staren relaxes with a sigh in the cockpit as Crona goes down. Then he gets ready to move in for the capture... when Medusa shows up. ...Honestly, they saved the personnel. That's more important than fighting Medusa if she's leaving. "Yeah. We do. So you tend to your ally, and let us get to it." He lowers his arm. 

:'''{{#var:365|Procyana (365)}} has posed:''' Procyana lowers the accelerator rifle just enough to peak over it as the combatant is bowled over. And praise the heavens that demonic sword does finally shut up. "Is it finally gonna stay do--" Cue Medusa abruptly dropping in. --dammit!" Procyana jerks the rifle back up, but before she's got a chance to fire again the interloper flings an attack of her own, and the enforcer has to advert her own attack to dive and roll out of the way. It's just long enough for Medusa to make off with the downed foe before she can get back up into position though. "At least the screaming finally stopped," she grouses, withdrawing one hand from the rifle to rub her head. Sometimes it sucks having augmented hearing. Thank gods it does have an dampener on the tech. 

:'''{{#var:22|Medusa Gorgon (22)}} has posed:''' Saved the personnel? Parts of it, perhaps... Medusa smirks on top of the broom, narrowing her eyes with sadistic amusement down at them, all while she has a firm grip on Crona. "Until another time then," she chuckles as she broom continues on its way away from the area. At least she has no bodies to bury, and Crona will heal soon enough with the right medication. At least things went as she imagined they would. 

}}

Breakfast At Bonnibel's

2014-05-25T18:39:43Z

Qualmpeddler:

Date: Sunday May 25 AU 22

Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Frederica, Alicia T. Harlaown, Karima

Location: The Land of Ooo

Summary: Princess Bubblegum sets out to demonstrate that she can, in fact, create the greatest bowl of cereal possible under multiversal laws. A true Breakfast of Champions awaits!

Princess Bubblegum's laboratory is located deep in the heart of the Candy Castle. The Princess herself is wearing her labcoat and goggles, and her visitors are guided to the lab by her Banana Guards. The Princess stands next to a huge red switch, though, there's really nothing else of note visible in the lab - tables and whiteboards covered with complicated equations, yes, but nothing that looks like it might be ... breakfasty at all! Other than the banana guards, but it would be bad form to nibble on them.

Alicia arrives soon enough, wearing her Dimensional Navy uniform. A nice little professional getup. She's been to some pretty weird places both before and after unifying, but she has to admit this place is pretty darn weird! Just look at those guards! Alicia enters the lab, looking around with interest for a moment at the whiteboards. She then focuses on Princess Bubblegum and smiles, "Hi! We've not actually be introduced. I'm Alicia Testarossa Harlaown, Mage for the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Thanks for inviting me!"

Frederica is perhaps a little worried about entering the Candy Kingdom, considering what happened last time she was here. Oh, not to her. She had a quite wonderful time really... but there's always the possibility of a visit from the Lumpy Space Princess and gaining her full attention, right? Scary thought!

Perhaps only the lure of chocolate breakfast cereal is enough to persuade the 'crimson princess' to come. In truth though, she likes company and there's something very appealing about the mix of whimsy and seriousness of this place. It's a lot like her own playful dignity, though she'd never admit it.

Frederica is dressed typically for her, wearing comfortably fashionable clothing rather than dignified wear. She treats the guards with reserve, which probably means snobbery, but ends up in the right place eventually. "Princess!" she greets. "And Alicia, dear. You look wonderful." she says cheerfully.

Princess Bubblegum is pretty odd-looking herself, being pink and composed of bubblegum. She smiles to the guests, and nods her head. "A pleasure to meet you, Alicia. I'm Bonnibel Bubblegum, Princess of the Candy Kingdom, but, please, there's no need to stand on formality."

Clearing her throat, she straightens, and puts her hands on her hips, "We stand at the dawning of a momentous occasion! Today, we make Breakfast HISTORY! MWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Flipping the switch, there's a brilliant CRACK of electricity, and the wall of the laboratory parts with a grinding noise to reveal glass, behind which shimmering golden grain grows in rich earth. At least, until a brilliant red laser sweeps across the room, and parts the grain from the stalks in an instant, and a large sucking tube descends from the ceiling to draw it all up.

"Come come, into the next room!" The Princess ushers, running towards a door at the far end of the lab.

Alicia grins as Frederica shows up too, "Hi, Frederica! You look well yourself!" She then turns to Princess Bubblegum, "Nice to meet you!"

Alicia can't help but laugh happily at Bubblegum's little speech. A biiiit over the top, but perhaps appropriate considering what they're actually doing here! Alicia watches with interest as the switch is flipped. The auto-harvesting tech seems to get Alicia's attention, "Impressive!" Alicia then moves to follow Bubblegum into the next room, thought she doesn't run. More walks at a fast pace.

Frederica smothers a delighted laugh at the dramatic reveal. The whole campy mad-scientist thing definitely fits her mood and is not at all creepy. Much. She might, somewhere in the back of her mind, start to worry about what she's getting into here... but that little hint of worry is far from her conscious mind.

She runs along with Princess Bubblegum, following slightly as they go to the next room. "Do you need the grain toasted at all?" she offers, grinning manically. Then she abruptly reconsiders. "Actually no, I'd probably burn it and ruin .... I mean, this is YOUR special creation and you surely have everything well in hand. It would be inappropriate for me to interfere with your experiment!" she claims, neatly dodging what might be an awkward reveal of her own lack of culinary skills. Safe!

The next room contains ... a cow? He's sat up at a table, eating a bowl of finely chopped grass. He looks a little startled by the sudden intrusion, but smiles when he sees Bubblegum. Really, given he has a prominent udder, you wouldn't think he's a he, but his voice is undeniably male as he says, "Oh, hey Princess. Thanks for this grass its--"

And then he's cut off as Bubblegum wheels around, "No! I'm sorry, but I don't need any help. Everything has to go exactly right, I've got it down to the last detail, so, just stand back, and let me handle it!"

The cow now looks somewhat uncertain, "Uh, what do you mean..."

And then Bubblegum presses a button on a controller from her pocket, and the cow is locked down tight to the table. Milking tubes descend from the ceiling, and he looks a little menaced. "Oh... oh dear..."

Alicia follows the other two in and grins at Frederica, "Well as this is a scientific experiment, the idea is to negate personal interaction as much as possible! Nothing more contaminating to accurate results than a person!" Of course that's when the talking cow draws Alicia's attention and she blinks. A talking cow? A sapient cow! Wow, that opens up so many ethical questions about milk...

... But then Alicia reminds herself that his is a different world, a different culture. It's not her place to judge or anything, unless someone is obviously in pain, in which case it's perfectly alright to judge. Alicia looks a little uncertain, just like the poor cow, but she still watches.

Karima makes her way into the Candy Kingdom, seeming to be..thoroughly and completely confused by just about everything that was going here. The guards lead her down to the lab with few problems, but she couldn't help but stare at the...particular shape of said men. Once they had gone, she stands in the empty foyer of the lab, looking around curiously at the various sciency things strewn about.

The sound of voices draw her into the next room and even then, she only pokes her head in. "What...kind of weird place is this anyway? Hello? Is anyone here?"

Frederica certainly didn't mean to interfere in the experiment, she'd just gotten caught up in the excitement. She's not, after all, the most scientific of people. Far more whimsical than scientific really. She nods to Alicia, gathering her dignity. "Of course." she agrees. "This is for science after all. And for chocolate." she adds, not quite under her breath.

Frederica looks more than a little dubious however when a cow is introduced. Her mind simply refuses to process the cow as a 'he', which is probably for the best. Just a girl cow with a really deep voice, that's all. Because if she is a he, then udders... become shudders.

Deciding to let things be for now, to not attempt to understand the local weirdness, Frederica instead turns back towards Karima. She waves cheerfully. "We're here. Welcome, Karima. This is Princess Bubblegum and Alicia Harlaown. And a ..." she pauses, looking around suddenly worried. A cow. Oh dear. "... Um, you know how I joke around about not-food? Well, the cow here really does talk. In this kingdom, I'd suspect it's probably a bad idea to eat anything that isn't served to you." she says nervously. "It's a very unusual place, even with the rest of the multiverse in mind." she adds, probably understating the case.

Princess Bubblegum doesn't seem too concerned that a dragon has wandered into her castle. Occupational hazard, really. "Welcome to the Candy Kingdom." She says, cheerfully, "We're making breakfast."

She moves on to the next room as the milking machine gets to its /dark work/, and she ushers everyone else to move along with her. Here, a large block of crystal stands suspended in a yellow column of light. Princess Bubblegum clears her throat, and then begins to hum. Narrowing her eyes, the humming takes on a far deeper, more vibrant pitch as she focuses, and the crystal begins to shake as it matches the frequency of her humming... and then shatters! Tiny crystal shards fall to the floor, leaving behind a perfectly sculpted bowl, and a spoon.

There's a 'ding', and a hermetically sealed door set into the far wall hisses. "Excellent, the wheat is ready for the next stage! Would one of you mind bringing the bowl? My hands are going to be full."

As Karima enters Alicia turns to her and smiles, waving, "Hi. Nice to meet you." Oh, no time for more pleasantries now, they're being guided into the next room! Alicia gladly follows along, not particularly interested in watching what was about to happen in the current.

Alicia looks in interest at the large crystal, "Oooh, I love crystals. Their molecular structure is just so beautiful!" She watches on as the crystal shatters, leaving behind a bowl and spoon. Alicia hahs, "You're certainly not taking this experiment lightly!" She's fairly certain she's not met anyone who went so far to make the 'Ultimate Breakfast'.

Alicia sticks close to Bubblegum, "So did you do all this work yourself, or do you have a bunch of assistants to help you?"

Karima holds up a finger towards Fred when she brings up the...weird but still tasty looking bovine that is very lovingly 'donating' it's milk to breakfasty science. "Huh. Well see now, there you go changing the rules again. Not that I was going to do anything, because I wasn't."

She turns towards hte Princess and the other girl, offering them both friendly waves. She does take a moment to answer Bubblegum directly though.

"Ah...I think you should let one of the humans with the soft hands handle..uhm..whatever it is that you just did. What...did you just do?"

"I'm not changing the rules!" insists Frederica. "Honestly. It talks!" she claims. There's a certain playfulness in the girl's tone, a hint that this is a game between them, but also just enough uncertainty that it might be clear Frederica's not entirely sure it's not more than a game.

Still, Frederica's at least reasonably sure of the dragon-woman. Slightly wary, but extending trust nonetheless. She gestures inclusively, inviting Karima to come with them. "Ah, even making the perfect bowl and spoon." Frederica marvels. Well, she's not sure they're perfect, but then it was Princess Bubblegum herself who insisted she was making perfection and who is Frederica to claim otherwise? "I'll get the bowl." she volunteers, still caught up in the 'experiment' enough to be quite willing to help.

"Oh, its just a simple property of harmonics." Bubblegum says, dismissively, to the question. Then, she looks to Alicia. "I never take science lightly! Even something as trivial as breakfast can push the boundaries of knowledge and open up whole new possibilities for the glory of all sentient life!"

She... is utterly and completely sincere, smiling cheerfully as she opens the door to the next room. "I had the banana guards help with construction and logistics, but I handle all the design and implementation myself... if something goes wrong, I don't want anyone to blame it on other than me."

The heat which hits the group as they follow is... intense. Magma, hot and piped straight from the superplanet's core, is clearly visible beneath the toughened glass floor of the specially constructed lab room, and the gathered wheat is being toasted by being shot across the space by high-pressure air and caught in a trough at the far end of the room. "Okay! We've just got the quantum choco-entanglement to go, and then we're done!" Bubblegum shouts over the pop-pop-pop, guiding the group across a precarious walkway over the impressive, some might say excessive, sight.

Karima isn't terribly affected by the sudden heat spike as they continue walking through the laboratory, though the sight certainly catches her offguard. She gives a low whistle towards the sight and tucks her wings in close as she replies to Fred.

"Uh huh. I've got my eye on you lady." She turns her attention next towards the Princess and...looks her over once more.

"Oh...you are really, really pink. I've seen beige humans, brown humans, kinda weird yellowy humans, reddish humans and now I can add pink humans. It's like a box of inks or something. Weird."

Frederica flashes a grin at the dragon. "I'm used to being watched~" she coos playfully. Probably she's not truly serious about the statement. She IS a little full of herself at times, but she doesn't seem to really take it all that seriously.

In the next room, hit by the wave of heat, Frederica blinks. She's one who might - just might - call this excessive. This room, at least. She's no stranger to obsession and to wanting things to be just right, but she likes her comfort too. For a fire-user, she isn't particularly comfortable in the heat.

Frederica tosses back her hood with a gesture, sweeping out her hair and settling herself more comfortably. "Qauntum choco-what?" she asks, not entirely hearing things straight... or perhaps not understanding the technical aspects. "You need to add the chocolate, right?" she asks, clearly eager. To get to the chocolate perhaps, or perhaps to get out of the heat.

"I'm not a human. I'm a person made out of candy biomass." Bubblegum explains, in a semi-distracted kind of way. Most people don't make that mistake! What with the squishy hair and solid black eyes... but she is humanoid, so, it isn't totally unforgivable.

If Frederica is expecting chocolate, she might be disappointed. The final room is dominated by a large computer and a pedastal. "If you could just set the bowl down on there, please." The Princess says, nodding, and, after that is done, she starts tapping at the keyboard, eyes narrowing. Incredibly complex matrices and graphs flash up on the monitor, and over there's a sound much like static electricity emanating from the center of the bowl.

"Almost... almost..."

A 'chocification' progress bar builds along the bottom of the monitor, and when it finally reaches one hundred per cent, there's a blinding flash of brown light, and the toasted cereal - now a rich, chocolatey brown - is resting in the bowl, along with creamy milk. "At last! The work is complete!" Bubblegum declares, sounding... absolutely exhausted. "The most perfect bowl of cereal possible within the constraints of the physical laws of this part of the multiverse!"

Karima rolls her eyes towards Frederica, but before she could comment, the wonderous computer makes itself known. The dragon stares at it blankly as the princess expertly works the buttons to bend it to her will.

"What..the....What kinda thing is that? And furthermore...what did you just say? Does all chocolate like, take this much energy to make? Or is this some kinda special one?"

The pyro girl seems to take a perverse pleasure in the dragon-girl's eye rolling. Frederica grins in unselfconscious amusement, but doesn't directly respond. This... this is the good part right?

She is however disappointed when it comes to the chocofication process. Stopping abruptly she stares at the computer. After prompting she does put the crystal bowl numbly into place, standing back to watch the magic. Er, science. Whichever. She's not sure what she was expecting, but this is definitely bizarre beyond her expectations!

"This is..." Frederica muses, considering. "This is quite unusual, I believe." she says. She doesn't really know how chocolate is made, but is quite sure it's not normally like this. Still, the end result looks suitable. Toasted cereal with a chocolatey coating? Milk so fresh the cow is likely still grumbling about it? And a bowl of fresh-cut crystal... not to mention the grains scythed by laser mere minutes before and roasted in the fires of the Earth. No, it's hard to imagine anything that could be done more quickly or elaborately. Perfection, in short.

Frederica simply stares at the wondrous cereal for a moment, awed. Then she starts. "Ah, what now?" she asks, possibly spoiling the mood. "I mean, there's one bowl and spoon, right?" she clarifies. "I- I suppose it's your wondrous creation..."

Princess Bubblegum shakes her head to the dragon, "No, chocolate is merely a bean product used for sweet flavoring. This cereal is a work of art."

And with that, she hands the bowl to Frederica, smiling easily. "Please. Feel free, I didn't make it for myself, I made it because the universe /deserves/ at least one perfect breakfast."

A work of art? Frederica, momentarily speechless, would have to agree. In truth though it's as much a work of science. MAD science! Insert cackle at your peril.

Wordlessly, Frederica approaches the perfect cereal with an air about her that would be appropriate for a shrine. Reaching out with careful fingers, she picks up the spoon and delicately wields it like an instrument of surgery.

As she quietly tastes the cereal, it's possible to notice the sparkle of moisture in her eyes. Tears of joy, one would hope. She remains silent, savouring the breakfast perfection. Finally, choked up, she turns to Princess Bubblegum.

"Princess..." Frederica says, her voice rough with emotion. "You are a genius. True perfection..." she states, obviously overcome with something that could only poorly be called delight.

Breakfast At Bonnibel's

2014-05-25T18:39:13Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "Date: Sunday May 25 AU 22 Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Frederica, Alicia T. Harlaown, Karima Location: The Land of Ooo Summary: Princess Bubblegum sets out to demonstrate that sh..."

Date: Sunday May 25 AU 22
Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Frederica, Alicia T. Harlaown, Karima
Location: The Land of Ooo
Summary: Princess Bubblegum sets out to demonstrate that she can, in fact, create the greatest bowl of cereal possible under multiversal laws. A true Breakfast of Champions awaits!

Princess Bubblegum's laboratory is located deep in the heart of the Candy Castle. The Princess herself is wearing her labcoat and goggles, and her visitors are guided to the lab by her Banana Guards. The Princess stands next to a huge red switch, though, there's really nothing else of note visible in the lab - tables and whiteboards covered with complicated equations, yes, but nothing that looks like it might be ... breakfasty at all! Other than the banana guards, but it would be bad form to nibble on them.

Alicia arrives soon enough, wearing her Dimensional Navy uniform. A nice little professional getup. She's been to some pretty weird places both before and after unifying, but she has to admit this place is pretty darn weird! Just look at those guards! Alicia enters the lab, looking around with interest for a moment at the whiteboards. She then focuses on Princess Bubblegum and smiles, "Hi! We've not actually be introduced. I'm Alicia Testarossa Harlaown, Mage for the Time-Space Administration Bureau. Thanks for inviting me!"

Frederica is perhaps a little worried about entering the Candy Kingdom, considering what happened last time she was here. Oh, not to her. She had a quite wonderful time really... but there's always the possibility of a visit from the Lumpy Space Princess and gaining her full attention, right? Scary thought!

Perhaps only the lure of chocolate breakfast cereal is enough to persuade the 'crimson princess' to come. In truth though, she likes company and there's something very appealing about the mix of whimsy and seriousness of this place. It's a lot like her own playful dignity, though she'd never admit it.

Frederica is dressed typically for her, wearing comfortably fashionable clothing rather than dignified wear. She treats the guards with reserve, which probably means snobbery, but ends up in the right place eventually. "Princess!" she greets. "And Alicia, dear. You look wonderful." she says cheerfully.

Princess Bubblegum is pretty odd-looking herself, being pink and composed of bubblegum. She smiles to the guests, and nods her head. "A pleasure to meet you, Alicia. I'm Bonnibel Bubblegum, Princess of the Candy Kingdom, but, please, there's no need to stand on formality."

Clearing her throat, she straightens, and puts her hands on her hips, "We stand at the dawning of a momentous occasion! Today, we make Breakfast HISTORY! MWAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Flipping the switch, there's a brilliant CRACK of electricity, and the wall of the laboratory parts with a grinding noise to reveal glass, behind which shimmering golden grain grows in rich earth. At least, until a brilliant red laser sweeps across the room, and parts the grain from the stalks in an instant, and a large sucking tube descends from the ceiling to draw it all up.

"Come come, into the next room!" The Princess ushers, running towards a door at the far end of the lab.

Alicia grins as Frederica shows up too, "Hi, Frederica! You look well yourself!" She then turns to Princess Bubblegum, "Nice to meet you!"

Alicia can't help but laugh happily at Bubblegum's little speech. A biiiit over the top, but perhaps appropriate considering what they're actually doing here! Alicia watches with interest as the switch is flipped. The auto-harvesting tech seems to get Alicia's attention, "Impressive!" Alicia then moves to follow Bubblegum into the next room, thought she doesn't run. More walks at a fast pace.

Frederica smothers a delighted laugh at the dramatic reveal. The whole campy mad-scientist thing definitely fits her mood and is not at all creepy. Much. She might, somewhere in the back of her mind, start to worry about what she's getting into here... but that little hint of worry is far from her conscious mind.

She runs along with Princess Bubblegum, following slightly as they go to the next room. "Do you need the grain toasted at all?" she offers, grinning manically. Then she abruptly reconsiders. "Actually no, I'd probably burn it and ruin .... I mean, this is YOUR special creation and you surely have everything well in hand. It would be inappropriate for me to interfere with your experiment!" she claims, neatly dodging what might be an awkward reveal of her own lack of culinary skills. Safe!

The next room contains ... a cow? He's sat up at a table, eating a bowl of finely chopped grass. He looks a little startled by the sudden intrusion, but smiles when he sees Bubblegum. Really, given he has a prominent udder, you wouldn't think he's a he, but his voice is undeniably male as he says, "Oh, hey Princess. Thanks for this grass its--"

And then he's cut off as Bubblegum wheels around, "No! I'm sorry, but I don't need any help. Everything has to go exactly right, I've got it down to the last detail, so, just stand back, and let me handle it!"

The cow now looks somewhat uncertain, "Uh, what do you mean..."

And then Bubblegum presses a button on a controller from her pocket, and the cow is locked down tight to the table. Milking tubes descend from the ceiling, and he looks a little menaced. "Oh... oh dear..."

Alicia follows the other two in and grins at Frederica, "Well as this is a scientific experiment, the idea is to negate personal interaction as much as possible! Nothing more contaminating to accurate results than a person!" Of course that's when the talking cow draws Alicia's attention and she blinks. A talking cow? A sapient cow! Wow, that opens up so many ethical questions about milk...

... But then Alicia reminds herself that his is a different world, a different culture. It's not her place to judge or anything, unless someone is obviously in pain, in which case it's perfectly alright to judge. Alicia looks a little uncertain, just like the poor cow, but she still watches.

Karima makes her way into the Candy Kingdom, seeming to be..thoroughly and completely confused by just about everything that was going here. The guards lead her down to the lab with few problems, but she couldn't help but stare at the...particular shape of said men. Once they had gone, she stands in the empty foyer of the lab, looking around curiously at the various sciency things strewn about.

The sound of voices draw her into the next room and even then, she only pokes her head in. "What...kind of weird place is this anyway? Hello? Is anyone here?"

Frederica certainly didn't mean to interfere in the experiment, she'd just gotten caught up in the excitement. She's not, after all, the most scientific of people. Far more whimsical than scientific really. She nods to Alicia, gathering her dignity. "Of course." she agrees. "This is for science after all. And for chocolate." she adds, not quite under her breath.

Frederica looks more than a little dubious however when a cow is introduced. Her mind simply refuses to process the cow as a 'he', which is probably for the best. Just a girl cow with a really deep voice, that's all. Because if she is a he, then udders... become shudders.

Deciding to let things be for now, to not attempt to understand the local weirdness, Frederica instead turns back towards Karima. She waves cheerfully. "We're here. Welcome, Karima. This is Princess Bubblegum and Alicia Harlaown. And a ..." she pauses, looking around suddenly worried. A cow. Oh dear. "... Um, you know how I joke around about not-food? Well, the cow here really does talk. In this kingdom, I'd suspect it's probably a bad idea to eat anything that isn't served to you." she says nervously. "It's a very unusual place, even with the rest of the multiverse in mind." she adds, probably understating the case.

Princess Bubblegum doesn't seem too concerned that a dragon has wandered into her castle. Occupational hazard, really. "Welcome to the Candy Kingdom." She says, cheerfully, "We're making breakfast."

She moves on to the next room as the milking machine gets to its /dark work/, and she ushers everyone else to move along with her. Here, a large block of crystal stands suspended in a yellow column of light. Princess Bubblegum clears her throat, and then begins to hum. Narrowing her eyes, the humming takes on a far deeper, more vibrant pitch as she focuses, and the crystal begins to shake as it matches the frequency of her humming... and then shatters! Tiny crystal shards fall to the floor, leaving behind a perfectly sculpted bowl, and a spoon.

There's a 'ding', and a hermetically sealed door set into the far wall hisses. "Excellent, the wheat is ready for the next stage! Would one of you mind bringing the bowl? My hands are going to be full."

As Karima enters Alicia turns to her and smiles, waving, "Hi. Nice to meet you." Oh, no time for more pleasantries now, they're being guided into the next room! Alicia gladly follows along, not particularly interested in watching what was about to happen in the current.

Alicia looks in interest at the large crystal, "Oooh, I love crystals. Their molecular structure is just so beautiful!" She watches on as the crystal shatters, leaving behind a bowl and spoon. Alicia hahs, "You're certainly not taking this experiment lightly!" She's fairly certain she's not met anyone who went so far to make the 'Ultimate Breakfast'.

Alicia sticks close to Bubblegum, "So did you do all this work yourself, or do you have a bunch of assistants to help you?"

Karima holds up a finger towards Fred when she brings up the...weird but still tasty looking bovine that is very lovingly 'donating' it's milk to breakfasty science. "Huh. Well see now, there you go changing the rules again. Not that I was going to do anything, because I wasn't."

She turns towards hte Princess and the other girl, offering them both friendly waves. She does take a moment to answer Bubblegum directly though.

"Ah...I think you should let one of the humans with the soft hands handle..uhm..whatever it is that you just did. What...did you just do?"

"I'm not changing the rules!" insists Frederica. "Honestly. It talks!" she claims. There's a certain playfulness in the girl's tone, a hint that this is a game between them, but also just enough uncertainty that it might be clear Frederica's not entirely sure it's not more than a game.

Still, Frederica's at least reasonably sure of the dragon-woman. Slightly wary, but extending trust nonetheless. She gestures inclusively, inviting Karima to come with them. "Ah, even making the perfect bowl and spoon." Frederica marvels. Well, she's not sure they're perfect, but then it was Princess Bubblegum herself who insisted she was making perfection and who is Frederica to claim otherwise? "I'll get the bowl." she volunteers, still caught up in the 'experiment' enough to be quite willing to help.

"Oh, its just a simple property of harmonics." Bubblegum says, dismissively, to the question. Then, she looks to Alicia. "I never take science lightly! Even something as trivial as breakfast can push the boundaries of knowledge and open up whole new possibilities for the glory of all sentient life!"

She... is utterly and completely sincere, smiling cheerfully as she opens the door to the next room. "I had the banana guards help with construction and logistics, but I handle all the design and implementation myself... if something goes wrong, I don't want anyone to blame it on other than me."

The heat which hits the group as they follow is... intense. Magma, hot and piped straight from the superplanet's core, is clearly visible beneath the toughened glass floor of the specially constructed lab room, and the gathered wheat is being toasted by being shot across the space by high-pressure air and caught in a trough at the far end of the room. "Okay! We've just got the quantum choco-entanglement to go, and then we're done!" Bubblegum shouts over the pop-pop-pop, guiding the group across a precarious walkway over the impressive, some might say excessive, sight.

Karima isn't terribly affected by the sudden heat spike as they continue walking through the laboratory, though the sight certainly catches her offguard. She gives a low whistle towards the sight and tucks her wings in close as she replies to Fred.

"Uh huh. I've got my eye on you lady." She turns her attention next towards the Princess and...looks her over once more.

"Oh...you are really, really pink. I've seen beige humans, brown humans, kinda weird yellowy humans, reddish humans and now I can add pink humans. It's like a box of inks or something. Weird."

Frederica flashes a grin at the dragon. "I'm used to being watched~" she coos playfully. Probably she's not truly serious about the statement. She IS a little full of herself at times, but she doesn't seem to really take it all that seriously.

In the next room, hit by the wave of heat, Frederica blinks. She's one who might - just might - call this excessive. This room, at least. She's no stranger to obsession and to wanting things to be just right, but she likes her comfort too. For a fire-user, she isn't particularly comfortable in the heat.

Frederica tosses back her hood with a gesture, sweeping out her hair and settling herself more comfortably. "Qauntum choco-what?" she asks, not entirely hearing things straight... or perhaps not understanding the technical aspects. "You need to add the chocolate, right?" she asks, clearly eager. To get to the chocolate perhaps, or perhaps to get out of the heat.

"I'm not a human. I'm a person made out of candy biomass." Bubblegum explains, in a semi-distracted kind of way. Most people don't make that mistake! What with the squishy hair and solid black eyes... but she is humanoid, so, it isn't totally unforgivable.

If Frederica is expecting chocolate, she might be disappointed. The final room is dominated by a large computer and a pedastal. "If you could just set the bowl down on there, please." The Princess says, nodding, and, after that is done, she starts tapping at the keyboard, eyes narrowing. Incredibly complex matrices and graphs flash up on the monitor, and over there's a sound much like static electricity emanating from the center of the bowl.

"Almost... almost..."

A 'chocification' progress bar builds along the bottom of the monitor, and when it finally reaches one hundred per cent, there's a blinding flash of brown light, and the toasted cereal - now a rich, chocolatey brown - is resting in the bowl, along with creamy milk. "At last! The work is complete!" Bubblegum declares, sounding... absolutely exhausted. "The most perfect bowl of cereal possible within the constraints of the physical laws of this part of the multiverse!"

Karima rolls her eyes towards Frederica, but before she could comment, the wonderous computer makes itself known. The dragon stares at it blankly as the princess expertly works the buttons to bend it to her will.

"What..the....What kinda thing is that? And furthermore...what did you just say? Does all chocolate like, take this much energy to make? Or is this some kinda special one?"

The pyro girl seems to take a perverse pleasure in the dragon-girl's eye rolling. Frederica grins in unselfconscious amusement, but doesn't directly respond. This... this is the good part right?

She is however disappointed when it comes to the chocofication process. Stopping abruptly she stares at the computer. After prompting she does put the crystal bowl numbly into place, standing back to watch the magic. Er, science. Whichever. She's not sure what she was expecting, but this is definitely bizarre beyond her expectations!

"This is..." Frederica muses, considering. "This is quite unusual, I believe." she says. She doesn't really know how chocolate is made, but is quite sure it's not normally like this. Still, the end result looks suitable. Toasted cereal with a chocolatey coating? Milk so fresh the cow is likely still grumbling about it? And a bowl of fresh-cut crystal... not to mention the grains scythed by laser mere minutes before and roasted in the fires of the Earth. No, it's hard to imagine anything that could be done more quickly or elaborately. Perfection, in short.

Frederica simply stares at the wondrous cereal for a moment, awed. Then she starts. "Ah, what now?" she asks, possibly spoiling the mood. "I mean, there's one bowl and spoon, right?" she clarifies. "I- I suppose it's your wondrous creation..."

Princess Bubblegum shakes her head to the dragon, "No, chocolate is merely a bean product used for sweet flavoring. This cereal is a work of art."

And with that, she hands the bowl to Frederica, smiling easily. "Please. Feel free, I didn't make it for myself, I made it because the universe /deserves/ at least one perfect breakfast."

A work of art? Frederica, momentarily speechless, would have to agree. In truth though it's as much a work of science. MAD science! Insert cackle at your peril.

Wordlessly, Frederica approaches the perfect cereal with an air about her that would be appropriate for a shrine. Reaching out with careful fingers, she picks up the spoon and delicately wields it like an instrument of surgery.

As she quietly tastes the cereal, it's possible to notice the sparkle of moisture in her eyes. Tears of joy, one would hope. She remains silent, savouring the breakfast perfection. Finally, choked up, she turns to Princess Bubblegum.

"Princess..." Frederica says, her voice rough with emotion. "You are a genius. True perfection..." she states, obviously overcome with something that could only poorly be called delight.

Mission 1: 175 Years

2014-04-22T22:51:00Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "'''Mission 1: 175 Years''' Date: Tuesday April 22 AU 22 Cast: Juri Han, Nanoha Takamachi, Zephyr Windstar, Ezio Auditore, Goro Location: Urbania Summary: Juri commits ..."

'''Mission 1: 175 Years'''

Date: Tuesday April 22 AU 22

Cast: [[Juri Han]], Nanoha Takamachi, Zephyr Windstar, Ezio Auditore, Goro

Location: Urbania

Summary: Juri commits a murder. Nanoha's ice cream is ruined. The only possible result is an enmity to last the ages. Zephyr and Ezio arrive to help Nanoha subdue the psychotic criminal, but the interference of two Shokan tie up the assassin, and in the end, Juri is able to slip the net despite the hefty sentence laid down for her many crimes.

Sometimes, people get a little too close to something they shouldn't. Even someone as mundane as a stock manager in the clean, tidy city of Urbania. The pleasant facade of the tall skyscrapers hides all manner of dark and underhanded dealings, and here at Redtail Finance & Loan, one Gerald Mallard has come across something concerning. He's just your average wage slave, in his thirties, a sharp suit and tie, maybe a little prematurely bald... but he works in shares trading. Its a high stress position! Wouldn't you just know it, though, being a good and honorable man he'd passed his worries further up the chain of command.

If the world was fair, this would come out in his favor. If the world was sane, the mild offenses would be sorted out with lawyers instead of psychopaths. But it isn't.

And that's why he suddenly feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as a shadow with dark horns falls across his desk. "Hey, Gerald~." Purrs a rich, sultry voice. "I'm really sorry to have to tell you this, but, your stock has just taken a downward turn. In fact, I think its going to drop, what... eighty stories?"

And there's a sudden, terrified scream above the streets of Urbania, as a flailing man in a business suit is suddenly SMASHED through the front of his office block. Shards of broken glass begin their tumbling descent towards the ground, as onlookers stare in mute horror or scatter for cover and safety as their will allows.

There are always those people that poke in where their nose doesn't belong. As it so happens, one such person is on the street below, eating ice cream. It's been getting warmer, ice cream is now appropriate. Nevertheless, Nanoha Takamachi seems to have found a moment off from her duties with the TSAB for a little break. After dealing with a Lost Logia smuggling ring somewhere else in Urbania just half hour ago, a little break was in order.

Thusly the twelve-year-old is quite fine with a breather that entails not shooting at people and having some cool refreshment. That is at least until the red gem on her necklace chimes with a warning. In an instant the sound of crashing glass and screaming causes a panic, but not from the small child in the dark military longcoat; not even as glass comes down in a raining hail that patters off her jacket and ruins her ice cream. But her ice cream is not the concern when a man- someone who was once an actual living breathing person- is rendered a sickening red splatter on the ground not too far off. It's a stomach-churning sight. And Nanoha suddenly doesn't want to finish her ice cream.

With a saddened sigh, the girl, as to not litter, dumps the cone into the nearest trash recepticle before making a motion with her hands. In an instant, a circle of runes forms on the ground at her side in a flare of soft green light, a boy apparating from nowhere.

"Nanoha?"

"Yuuno could you please do me a favor and get the civilians under control and evacuated? I'll head up and investigate."
"Right."

And just like that the pair split off, a flare of pink light replacing the girl's coat with an armored dress of blue and white as she zips upwards in a straight flight for the shattered window to investigate the CRIME SCENE.

Prowling through seedy dirty streets full of peasants is unfit for one of royal blood. To think that Prince Goro of the Shokans would debase himself by walking around trying to pick street fights.

So of course, he doesn't! That is why he has minions for!

The meddlesome Shokan pair of Sheeva and Kintaro are the ones who over hear some commotion in the streets whilst they were doing their daily bit of recon. Kintaro leans upwards to sniff at the air, sensing something amiss and leads the way of his partner towards the streets where the commotion is going on.

It isn't the nature of these two Outworld fighters to attempt to rescue anyone in need of help. But they are warriors and have their honor, unlike other mindless monsters. The least they could do is check it out.

Maybe they can run into good fighters there too to test their mettle.

Nanoha won't be facing these formidable foes alone today, as she'll notice upon gazing upwards to the rooftops. A white flash here and there of motion is spotted, and a prowler begins to make his presence known to all involved.

Ezio Auditore is on-scene, and his eyes scan down at the Outworlders, before he tracks the fallen body of the suit up. It's a hell of a drop, and Ezio's gaze goes upwards to find the perpetrator.

Hawklike gaze narrowed, Ezio only remains on watch for now, ever vigilant.

Juri could not be much happier with how that went. She thinks she even spotted that she ruined a little girl's ice cream, down there. That's practically the definition of a job well done, in her book. Turning around, the woman rests her hands behind the back of her head, smiling in a very smug manner as she starts to walk leisurely back towards the elevator. She's expecting security to turn up any second. She hopes they try to stop her. That'd be ~fun~.

She actually pauses mid-step when something triggers in her eye, though. There's a warning bleep, and scrolling numbers and symbols alert her to - something - closing in fast on her position. She slowly lowers her foot to the ground, and the woman bows her head. "Oh, well. Who knows. Perhaps'll be fun after all." She muses.

So it is that when Nanoha arrives, Juri is waiting for her, turned to face the broken window with her hands still firmly behind her head. A look of sheer disappointment that crosses her features when she sees who it is, exactly, that is causing these weird readings. She tuts, and one hand waves vaguely in Nanoha's direction. "What a shame. I was told there might be strong people to worry about. I've got better things to do than waste my time with brats."

The woman actually closes her eyes as she spins on her heel, and waves her hand in the same loose, disrespectful manner. "Fly back out of here little bird. Otherwise..." And there's a low chuckle in her throat, her voice a deadly purr. "I'll have to clip your wings."

She is, of course, entirely unaware of Ezio - at least for the moment - and she doesn't seem to be treating Nanoha as even vaguely a plausible threat. Casually strolling towards the elevator with her back turned to the uniform-clad girl, even if she IS flying and radiating all sorts of weird readings. As though someone so small could stop her!

From the shattered window of the building, Juri shades her eyes and watches his descent with a dark smirk on her lips. Horns of hair clearly outlined in silhouette against the gaping hole in the eighty second floor window. "Boring. But at least I'll have some good footage for later~."

"Hmrg! Smells like blood." Grumbles the four armed Tiger Shokan.

"That's the least of our worries." Comes Sheeva's more composed voice. "I sense several sources of chi in the area. Be on your guard, Kintaro."

"Bah! It's about time we got a decent foit 'round here. It feels like forever since we got to bust some heads in." Responds the brutish Tiger looking creature.

Where it only Kintaro here, he would likely attempt to attack Juri along with the others. Not because of what she did, but because she is very noticeable and is clearly raring for a fight. However, Sheeva provides the guidance needed for the other warrior and holds her ground feeling that something is a miss.

"Hold. If that woman is antagonizing Union forces then she may be an ally."

"Bollocks, then why not say so in the radio?? The one time we get ta do somethin' I can't tell who I'm supposed ta eat!"

Arguing back and forth, the Shokans can't decide on what to do. Seems like a perfect time to prevent them from intervening.

Man what is with that look. Nanoha halts herself at the window in a hover, lips already set into a thin line when she finds the woman RIGHT THERE looking self-satisfied and smug up until the moment of contact. And then she looks -disappointed-?

If anything, Nanoha's grasp on her staff tightens as she holds up her right hand; raising a holographic display of her TSAB badge and credentials. And another beside it displaying info and an image of the deceased red splatter below. A shame huh? Threatening an officer as well, but it's telling Nanoha for just fly off that seems to miff her the most while walking away. "I'm Time-Space Administration Bureau Cadet Takamachi. And as of right now I am hereby placing you under arrest and taking you in for questioning in regards to the suspected murder of Gerald Mallard. You have ten seconds to comply and turn yourself in. If you do so, you will have the right to a fair trial, if not then you will be subject to-" <EXTREME>- "-force and direct imprisonment. This is your only warning."

<LISTEN OR BE SHOT. FAIL TO LISTEN AND BE SHOT AGAIN.> Her staff adds in.

The two Shokan are blissfully unaware of who has shifted his attention towards them. Ezio's eyes stare coldly at them. They probably have no idea what Juri's done, but they are confirmed Confederate assets. That makes them a threat if they get anywhere close to Windstar and Takamachi.

Ezio can't have that, so he opts to step in before that happens. The less attention the girls get, the better.

He bounds and leaps across the roofs until he reaches a perch closer to the ground, where he can make a safe landing so long as something cushions his fall.

Those two Shokan look beefy enough to handle that, and he's got a prototype he's been wanting to test anwyays.

Coiling like a panther ready to strike, Ezio reaches behind to his back to hold onto a cord, then he leaps, pulling the cord as he sails through the air before raising his arms akimbo in a swan dive.

A parachute of sorts emerges from a concealed back under his robes, slowing his fall down and angling his descent until he's right on top of KIntaro and Sheeva.

Then he releases the cords of the chute, falling down to their level.

Tensing his wrists, Ezio draws twin hidden blades, and he lands right on top of the two, bringing them to the ground and plunging his blades into their backs should he land correctly.

"Ohoh? The little girl is placing me under arrest, hm?"

Juri does at least stop walking away from Nanoha. Turning around, she spies Zephyr too, and the fact that she's outnumbered only seems to excite her more. Lips pull up in a dark smile, and her left eye flashes a brilliant purple. Straightening up, she stops slouching, and instead raises one hand towards Nanoha, gesturing towards the girl in a mocking wave towards her body.

"I already told you to fly away." The woman's left eye opens wider, and she fixes Zephyr with a deadly glare.

"Shouldn't you be taking her to sell cookies in a nice, quiet neighborhood?~ If she keeps running her mouth like that, she's going to get HURT."

Zephyr narrows her eyes, tensing her grasp on her Device. "You've already been read your rights. If you continue to resist arrest we will use any and all force required to take you down. This is your last warning. Stand down." she says, bringing her axe into position.

The blades begin to 'ripple' as they gather magic around them, the gemstone set between glowing a brilliant blue-purple as it gathers mana for the spell.

Knives on the back are always a good way to interrupt a heated, and very pointless, discussion.

Sheeva and Kintaro were far too distracted yelling to each other and then yelling on their radios to notice the chi signature suddenly flying down to their backs.

An "AARGG!" comes in unison from the two Shokans as their thick backs are pierced. However, it may be at this point that Ezio may be noticing that those back muscles are incredibly sturdy, more so than the average Templar soldier. To make matters worse, both Shokans are tall, very tall in fact. With Sheeva standing at 7 feet and Kintaro a whooping 9 feet.

The Shokan refuse to go down with the double stab and hold themselves up. Thus leaving Ezio hanging between the two of them like a shirt left to dry.

"It's an Assassin!!" Yells Sheeva, being the only that keeps up with the Confederate files of most wanted.

"Kill him!!" Comes Kintaro's roar as the both of them swing their arms back to smash Ezio with a double back swing.. each! That's... how many arms?

Cookies? Well that's one way to call Nanoha a girlscout. But the mage simply sighs. She's not being taken seriously at all. That's kind of insulting. But as Zephyr says, Juri has already been read her rights. And when the woman opts to NOT come in peacefully and continue trying to shoo her off that the girl does not seem to get the hint involved in 'fly away little bird'.

There are no words. Not from Nanoha, anyway as Raising Heart chimes, piping up:
<GO TO JAIL. GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT DOLLARS: 200. ... ACCEL MODE!>
And like that, in an explosion of motion, Nanoha is not flying away, but flying towards Juri in a blitz of pink light from the wings on her heels. Her staff is swapped to her right hand so she can reel back her left. And she opens up in a violent display of the worst sort of police brutality ever.

It's an open palmed slap.

Though her hand is charged with enough mana to make the blow hit with car-stopping force as she aims it straight for Juri's cheek in a lightning fast swing.

"Murder is -not- an acceptable act in civilized society, there ate -other- ways to settle differences that don't involve -killing- people."
Yes, a 12 year old is berating your actionsm Juri. But what makes it worse:

<YOU ARE A BAD PERSON. AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD.>

*SLAP*

The noise rings out across the empty office, and all Juri's amusement seems to come to an end at once as her head whips to the side. It does shut her up, at least for a second, but it doesn't keep her chastised for long. The Feng Shui Engine rolls in her socket, showing the 'eye' is in fact a small, intricate device inlaid with the ying-yang symbol, as it replays the last few seconds in slow motion to keep up with what just happened.

"You think I'm a bad person?"

Juri's voice is lower, and dark purple flames begin to roll over her body, a sharp contrast to the brilliant pink that Nanoha showed.

"You're wrong, little girl, I'm not a person... I'm a MONSTER."

When Juri moves, it is fast enough to leave a blur in the air, a swift, slashing roundhouse kick that aims to sweep Nanoha in the stomach and bounce her off the wall - comparatively, its weak, a testing strike, but it is intended to hem in the more mobile opponent as she shrieks, purple light dancing about her body.

"AND NOW I'M GOING TO EAT YOU UP, BONES AND ALL!"

Zephyr sweeps her axe over her shoulder, just as Nanoha surges forwards with that empowered slap. The older mage grins... but then goes wide-eyed in shock as Nanoha gets herself a thorough kicking. "NANOHA! UUUUAAARRRGH!" she cries, then blasts forwards, mana flaring a brilliant purple of a similar hue to Juri's.

<TEMPEST SABER!> states the Device, as the 'ripple' becomes a boiling morass of wind-element magic. This detonates into a stinging 'cloud' of razor winds if it strikes.

FIGHT!

Looks like its Round One for Ezio versus the Shokan Tag Team. Both four armed warriors give out their respective battle cries and rush to meet the nimble Assassin head on. Sheeva even reaching for her back to draw her own double pair of scimitars. Looks like she plans to really live up to her name as a Hindi Goddess.

At least she'll try to anyway, for Ezio's slashes Kintaro across his broad chest, causing him to stagger on his step narrowly missing his grapple. As Sheeva moves in to try and bring all four swords on top the Assassin, she is pierced on her lower armpit forcing her to move backwards lest she risks impaling herself further.

Kintaro is the first to tough out through the pain and attacks Ezio again from behind, wrapping all four arms around the Assassin's body to then deliver a vicious fanged bite on the left side of his collarbone.

Wha-BLAYUM.
And just like that everything's off like a bullet. In the downtime to follow her swing, Nanoha is left open in the brief instant of regaining her balance. It's long enough for her to see that 'eye', and then the girl soaks a train-wrecking kick to the gut. Indeed, she sails backwards with a grunt, slamming a Nanoha-shaped crater in the wall behind her and bouncing her right off it, back at the crazy kickboxer, but where most people would be dropped cold, stunned by the blow, there's a flash of pink from her boots as she jams the jump and block buttons crazy enough to pull an aerial recovery.

Landing on her palm and tumble-flipping forward onto her boots, she sweeps forward- pauses in an instantaneous back-shuffle as Zephyr opens fire, timing it to follow in after the deluge of cutting winds.

Nanoha enters MELEE range, opting to try and hold Juri's attention off the other mage.

"Person. Monster. You're STILL under arrest." she grunts in reply, eyes blazing with determination as she swings her Device in a quick flurry of practiced and smooth strikes, using Raising Heart like the quarter-staff that she is.

Two pairs of scimitars. This is going to be interesting.

Despite what some may expect, Ezio does have access to the internet. He doesn't browse it often, but it's brought him up to speed on a great deal of information of more advanced timelines he may need to know of, this includes some myths.

It also provides streamed movies, which is nice. He's seen that movie with Sinbad and the animated mutli-armed satue. So this isn't quite a surprise for him.

However, he isn't entirely unflappable, as he's grabbed by Kintaro. The shokan's bite leaves several trails of blood from his fangs piercing armor and flesh.

"AGH! Che cazzo-" Ezio squirms, keeping a death grip on both his weapons as he tries to free himself. His foot lashes out, settling for kicking Kintaro right in the groin. Nothing can no-sell that, it's a tried and tested method of getting out of these situations.

As is driving a blade through their ribs, as Ezio quickly determines where to find the fourth and fifth rib of Kintaro and drives his dagger there. His sword meanwhile strikes at Sheeva, ready to parry her returned strikes just in case.

Juri turns in time to see the deluge of magic, and holds out one hand towards it. There's a pained hiss as her energy bashes bluntly into the alien force, and it overwhelms her, exploding in a gale of slashing wind and rending air. When she recovers, it is with Nanoha right in her face. Just as she was considering how best to eviscerate the older mage.

The swinging staff manages to land several good hits, and then Juri darts backwards. The purple flames around her body intensify for a moment... and then seem to die away entirely as she draws it inwards.

Only for her elbow to come smashing forwards for Nanoha's nose. The motion is so sudden and brutal it seems to come out of nowhere... and hit or miss, as she arcs herself upwards, foot kicking out towards the other woman despite the long distance between them... and a blazing purple fireball slashes through the air diagonally towards Zephyr! The burning energy moves surprisingly quickly, all the more so since it seems to come from absolutely nowhere a few seconds after she initially gathered it!

*Ding!*

"AAAAAAARRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Kicked in the crotch again!!? It seems that's the case every time Kintaro tries to take on to the field. Alas, he's not as intuitive as his Highness Prince Goro, and has yet to learn his lesson about the glaring weakness of such a vital point. Goro, for his part, never leaves the Emeperor's palace without a codpiece. Maybe Kintaro will finally start to learn after this.

The Tiger Shokan reels back and releases Ezio, his lower set of arms going down to grasp at his injured groin, and it's only his lower pair of arms that keep him from being another Fatality in the battlefield, taking the double stabs in the bicep rather than in between the ribs.

"Kintaro! You idiot!" Indeed, Ezio is wise to assume that Sheeva will quickly attack him from the back, as she reveals herself by crying out to her injured companion. A resounding *KLANK!* of steel is heard when Sheeva does a double overhead strike onto Ezio's upwards parry. This is, however, exactly her intention, as she wants the Assassin's attention upwards so that he doesn't notice the left scimitar being thrust right at his midsection.

Zephyr grins a little at that strike hits, and she winds back up for another. She has to hold off when Nanoha gets into melee range. This leaves her mostly open to SUDDEN FIREBALL! Her right hand shoots forwards, and a Marchian seal forms in front of her. It takes the first impact of that fireball, but then it shatters. She 'skids' backwards in the air, and pants a little for breath.

"That... hurt." she states simply, then cocks her posture again, ready to swing her axe... but what's she going to do from that range? "Dee, Spin up, Tornado Razor!" The Device chimes in response, and the blades begin to boil once more. This time, she sweeps the axe horizontally and the wind-element magic spalls off as a pair of spiralling crescents that sweep out to try and catch Juri between them. <TORNADO SABER, SPINNING ON! Lets cut her down to size!>

She's fast! In the flurry of blows, the SUDDEN ELBOW for Nanoha's face gives the girl only a split second to react, and when it comes, Juri's blow will find itself meeting a solid wall. For a second, anyway as a barrier of pink light emerges in front of the younger mage. Though the impact is more than enough to make the shield spell crack... And a second later is shatters like glass, but the tiny delay is more than she needed to tip her body back and let the blow sail over her head, brushing cheek and only barely missing. And closer a call and she'd probably be on the floor.

But there's no time to think, in the middle of a melee, with Juri suddenly launching a FIREBALL for Zephyr. Nanoha quietly berates herself internally for not being fast enough to deflect that either, but her self-deprecation does not last long. She has to focus on what's at hand.

Like how she suddenly raises her left hand, palm out, facing the korean kickster.

A tiny speck of pink light gleams on her palm. Before it erupts, instantaneously becoming a point-blank stream of mana in a massive and engulfing pillar. A snap-cast of roiling PAIN intended to catch Juri off guard.

"Strike Smasher!"

Juri brings her arms up to guard, but the twin crescents aren't the same sort of energy she's used to beating back. The power smashes her from both sides, and in the next instant, she is engulfed in a pillar of pure, pink pain. The woman's voice raises in a high-pitched squeal of pain, and she is flung into the air. When she hits the ground again, she sprawls. She'd taken hits before, but that combination of attacks finally seems to knock her out of her cockiness, and even her irritation. Now... there's only one word which suits her:

Rage.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, NO MORE GAMES, I'M GOING TO BREAK EVERY BONE IN YOUR BODY!"

The woman's voice is actually thrumming with power, and that brilliant purple light suffuses her. It burns out of her eye, a miniature star of continuous purple power as the sparking glow kicks into overdrive, and becomes a blazing fire. It is hard to look at...

But Nanoha probably wants to, because that burning trail becomes the easiest way to track where Juri IS! The Feng Shui Engine kicks into overdrive, and she leaves a glowing path as she dashes towards the young girl, apparently intent on bringing the teenager down.

At the last moment, she is in the air, and when she comes down, it with a blazing trail of purple energy to smash across Nanoha's front. Her other foot sweeps around as she touches down behind where the girl was, hoping to take her off her feet... and all of that is just a setup for the final attack. Juri pinwheeling her body in a cartwheel kick to try and juggle the small girl up above her head three times over! The whole set of moves delivered in just a few seconds, and whether or not she hits Nanoha, the poor office furniture all around her vicinity is going to be trashed by the raw excess ki that Juri is now ripping out of her eye and forcing towards violent purposes.

Kintaro may or may not have heard that sound advice. It's difficult to tell with him down on the ground, writhing in pain. To think that he once was the best gladiator in Shao Khan's arena.

Fortunately, the Shokans still have some hope left in their race thanks to Sheeva. The second in command of Prince Goro's army proving once again that she can be surprisingly competent despite not having the monstrous strength that Goro and Kintaro posses. She says nothing to Ezio's retort, instead just making a face of deep concentration whilst she meets steel with the hooded Italian Assassin. It's time to prove herself as a warrior and she's not going to fail!

"What--" Sheeva is at least smart enough to recognize a gun for what it is despite it's intricate design. It's her cleverness that keeps her from dying, as she moves to try and dodge, letting that bullet rip through the top of her collarbone instead of punching a hole through her shoulder joint. She drops to one side though, bloodied, trying to fight through the stinging pain of the bullet hole. "Unngh.. such dishonorable tactics.."

A moment that Kintaro takes to move between the two. Furious eyes screaming for vengeance.

He rears back and opens his mouth at Ezio, vomiting a burst of incandescent hot flames at Ezio's face.

Zephyr can only watch as her strike lands... and that it just seems to make the woman /madder/. Her teeth grit as she tightens her grasp on her Device... "Spin on." is all she says.

The device goes through a partial transformation, blades shifting to angles before they begin to rotate. Wind-magic coats the spiralling assembly, as four 'jets' open from the spiked end-cap on the other end of the haft. CYCLONE STRIKER. SPINNING ON. BOOST SYSTEM DEPLOYED. Zephyr then surges forwards, but doesn't just leave it to the spinning drill-lance to do the damage. SPIRAL SHOOTER adds the Device, as spinning bullets spew out of the tip of the wind-drill, peppering the berzerking kickboxer.

That's normally a very surprising attack. Much to Nanoha's satisfaction it seems to remain surprising. The issue here comes when Juri gets back up from the sudden explosive wave of mana. And only gets MAD.

"W-wuh?!"

Her voice, the rise in energy readings, that suffusing aura of purplse light all read as Bad News.

<WARNING. IT IS OVER NINE THOUSAND.> Raising Heart gives an alert, but it's too late as the Feng Shui Engine kicks Juri's body into overdrive and sends her careening towards Nanoha at full tilt. <PROTECTION!>

Her autoguard kicks in at the last second, a wall of pink light that Juri smashes aside like it was nothing, shattering like glass as the initial blow connects like a mack truck, the second catching Nanoha clean off her feet, before she's up- up- up- and BLAM!

Swung overhead and smashed back down by kicks alone, the mage crashes to the floor, leaving a crater of impact before she goes skidding, trailing a furrow that tears up tiles and concrete before coming to a stop on the other side of a wall after leaving a nasty Nanoha-shaped hole clean through it. And for a moment there's silence, an unresponsive, worrying quiet as dust and debris begin to settle before a bright FLARE of pink shines through the wall with an announcement:

<RECONFIGURING BARRIER JACKET: HEAVY ARMOR MODE.>

And then comes the -explosion-.

A brilliant wave of searing pink light, opening the way in a focused PILLAR of energy as the Device announces:

<DIVINE BUSTER!>

And like the Kool-Ade Man, Nanoha smashes a giant hole in the wall. But there is no joyous cry of bringing children sweet drinks to consume. She's holding her Device by the rifle-grip, finger on the trigger as Raising Heart pops open her twin-pronged exhaust ports to vent steam in an angry HISSSSSSSSH. And she's standing. Though her Barrier Jacket is scored, singed, and armor dented in places, blood trailing in a thin line from her nose and the corner of her lip, it is noticeably thicker. Heavier. Layered in new ways, with several additions of a bulkier platemail over chest, neck, and gauntlets.

"That's ENOUGH." The child booms in an authoritative voice that brooks no mood at ALL for this. "I'm dragging you into custody, and I don't care if you're conscious or -not-. And when you wake up, you are going to explain -everything- to me!"

Sheeva is actually quite heavy, though not enough that someone like Ezio can't lift, only enough so that he can't seem to use her as a meat-shield fast enough to protect him from Kintaro's fireblast. The warrioress winces feeling those hot flames so close to her and as she's feeling herself being thrown towards the bigger Shokan, she does give a huff of annoyance when Ezio mentions his own outlook on fighting.

"You're right on that regard, I'll give you that." Sheeva is tossed and caught by Kintaro, realizing that this is no longer a martial arts tournament, but a real war.

And you have to make sacrifices in a war.

"Oi!!" A startled grunt comes from Kintaro as Sheeva gets behind him using /her own partner/ as a shield from the frag grenade. As expected, Kintaro eats the full blast of the grenade and falls backwards, giving Sheeva the opportunity to step on Kintaro's back and use him as a plataform to jump at Ezio.

The Shokan woman jumps high into the air to clear the distance Ezio put between them. Bringing all four of her blades down on the Assassino's shoulders and torso with a quadruple aerial slash.

Ezio has to give it this much, these two shokan know how to work together in a real fight. They operate in a pair, using each other's strengths where they are best suited. He would be proud if he were their trainer, but he is not. So he is a bit more worried than usual. Dealing with them both at the same time might be more than he bargained for, but Ezio is nothing if not overly confident in his skills.

The grenade seems to cook Kintaro enough that he's down for the count, at least for a little bit anyways, and Sheeva's improvisation is certainly...inspired. As she jumps up high at Ezio, he braces for impact, but his parrying isn't enough as he feels several blades slashing at his torso and shoulders. Blood and metal are cut into deeply, and he's lucky to still be standing as he lets out a sharp yell of pain.

Of course, this puts Sheeva in range of a last-ditch manuever, the assassino headbutting Sheeva swiftly.

For a few seconds, Juri looks like the Queen Bitch of the universe. As Zephyr comes at her, she looks the woman right in the eye. The drill-lance-wielding woman has a good half a foot of height on Juri, but the psychotic Korean doesn't look intimidated at all. In fact, as the spiralling lance comes stabbing at her, she looks almost exhilarated! Dodging amongst the lashing blades and spiraling bullets, the last few scatter across her body with a series of 'pings', but the pain just drives her on.

Then, Nanoha bursts in through the wall, and for just a split second, the Feng Shui Engine crackles with static. Diving to the side, Juri's hair is caught by the energy with a light ~fizzle~, but as her vision swims and the brilliant purple glow is restored, the kickboxer licks her lips with anticipation.

"Why bother with an explanation?" Juri laughs, tossing her head back, "Its really none of your business. He poked his nose where it doesn't belong, and now he's dead. Just. Like. You."

Only this time, it is Zephyr who has gotten Juri's attention, and Nanoha isn't in her face, stopping her getting there this time. Leaping into the air, Juri's whole body swings around in a graceful arc, and her heel aims to embed itself right in Zephyr's stomach.

"The brat's pretty tough... I wonder, will YOU scream for me?~"

Whether she embeds her heel in Zephyr or not, the massive geyser of brilliant purple energy which erupts from her foot will bloom from the broken window, visible from the street below and for quite a distance around!

*KRUNCH!!*

Sheeva gives a HRRGG! of pain when she feels her face being smashed by the Assassin's forehead. She is quite impressed herself at how tough this Assassin really is. She's heard of them like most Confederates, but finally getting to face one face to face is an entirely different experience. They are quite nimble, but surprisingly tough as well. Almost like the Lin Kuei ninja.

Sheeva stumbles backwards and licks the blood dripping from her nose. "You are an admirable adversary, Assassin."

"I'll make certain you receive a warrior's death!"

Sheeva raises her foot and SMASHES it against the ground, cracking the building directly behind Ezio in half to collapse a large chunk of rock in order to crush him.

Zephyr isn't nearly as resistant as Nanoha... she's more about dodging the shots than taking them, so it's little surprise that even though Divine Wind deploys an Auto-cast barrier, it shatters without taking any of the force from the blow. Wind knocked out of her, the mage flies backwards, cast clear of the building by the impact of that technique.

She recovers, her flight spell flaring brilliantly as she arrests her descent, then checks her injuries. <Master... Continuing this battle would be foolish.> "Don't care... bitch is gonna pay..." Alright.

Zephyr lifts back up, charging a spell as she does so. "Now I'm angry." she states with a cold fire burning in her mismatched eyes. "Blow them away. Impulse Buster!" As she speaks the words, the device's blades crack open, exposing the gemstone, before a torrent of raw mana lashes out. Much like the previous Divine Buster, but less contained.

"You first." Ezio fires back in defiance, before he hears crumbling. Pebbles landing on his head get his attention first, then he looks behind him as the building begins to crumble right on top of him. "Oh, merda." He looks almost disappointed by this, really. Or at least annoyed.

Bullets he can endure, blades too, broken bones are nothing but an inconvienence that he could heal from.

Collapsing buildings are slightly more annoying than that, as he's caught underneath the debris. Dust surrounds the immediate area, and Ezio is seemingly nowhere to be found save for a bloody scrap of white cloth.

Sheeva may have won this one, or maybe not. Either way, Ezio's wounded /bad/ even if he's either under a pile of rocks or limping away in the confusion.

Of course, the answer to that mystery is revealed shortly after as Sheeva no doubt roots through the wreckage, as a cloak-less Ezio, bloodied and wearing naught but a filfthy wifebeater under the bandoliers and armor holding his gear together. His sword may be broken, but he's still got his dagger on hand to use, and other weapons.

Tackling Sheeva, he stabs Sheeva and doesn't stop unless someone or something makes him.

In reality, Sheeva is quite aware that Ezio has not been killed thanks to her ability to sense chi. She can still notice him under that pile, weakened, but still alive. Thus giving her enough of a reason to pry him out of there. She promised to give him an honorable death after all! It is time to ritually behead him instead of leaving him to rot under a pile of debris.
Turns out, he wasn't quite dead yet, and Sheeva is tackled to the ground when Ezio shoots out of from under the debris. "HRAAA!!" The warrior woman yells as she is pinned, losing two of her swords in the process and stabbed mercilessly, her gauntlet covered arms coming up to try and deflect the blades, though having only minimal effect in doing so.

"My time.. has not yet come!!" Sheeva, not surprisingly, refuses to roll over and die. She does roll over though, pushing her hips up to toss Ezio aside from his straddling position and switching places with him. Now that Sheeva is on top, she makes sure to return the favor by pounding Ezio's face over and over with her fists.

For a second. For a brief, irritable second, Nanoha's lips purse into a thin line as she misses her mark. But she doesn't have all the time in the world to be annoyed, she has to act fast, as Juri's attention shifts to Zephyr. "A-ah...!"

The building is already a wreck. There's no real worry for property damage any more at this point as she sets her footing, boots locking into place with several prongs ramming into the ground to lock herself and brace for the recoil as she takes aim.

<BUSTER CANNON MODE.>

Device reconfiguring to a more spear-shaped construction, an array of runes and aiming rings form up in front of Raising Heart, wings of pink light flaring from behind the spearpoint as mana coalesces into a point at the tip.

And just like that Nanoha produces a magazine from her pocket, very much like an assault rifle clip, she slams it into place, loading Raising Heart with a menacing Ka-CHAK.

<COMMENCE CARTIDGE LOAD. A FIRING SOLUTION IS ACHIEVED.>

With an explosive CHUNK-CHUNK-CHUNK, the Device spits not onem but three emptied cartridges to the ground, tink-tink-tink-ing quietly as they roll off and it internalizes the massive amount of boosted mana, focusing it into the energized array.

"Zephyr fall back." She orders as she takes aim, trigger locking into place, her fingers rests on it. And with a -CLICK- she gives it a squeeze.

<DIVINE BUSTER: EXTENSION.>

"No more screaming. You are assaulting a TSAB officer. I hereby dub you guilty for the murder of Gerald Mallard, aggravated battery and assault on two officers, attempted murder of two TSAB personnel, a summarily sentence you to...

Raising Heart pings up a holographic display.

[175]

"One hundred and seventy five years imprisonment in TSAB dimensional detention and rehabilitation facilities."

It's clear when Ezio knocks Sheeva over, he wasn't going to have full reign for very long. He made his stabs count, but nothing can stop a seven foot tall woman with four arms and strength to take out a tank, not for lack of trying anyways.

Grunting, Ezio's vision goes dark for a moment as Sheeva lays into him, punching him over and over. By the end of it, he's swollen, bloodied, and chances are he felt a break here and there. Needless to say, this fight would be suicide for a lesser assassin. But Ezio doesn't go down that easy.

"That makes two of us." Ezio rasps, before he reaches down to pull another knife from his boot's sheath. He jams it right into Sheeva's armpit, before he tries to wriggle himself free. His thumb presses something on the knife's grip, and he doesn't bother trying to walk it off. He shakes off the severe concussion he's probably feeling right now, and he sprints fast as his legs can take him.

That knife had enough high-concussive explosives in it to give Sheeva a /very/ bad day, and the fuse was a sort one.

Juri's eye twitches as Zephyr gathers her power, and the growing spike of energy sends another burst of static through her vision. "Tch... piece of junk..." She murmurs, shaking her head, and then-- then, in the next moment, before she knows what is really happening, there's a veritable torrent of energy coming her way! Juri slams both feet down, and braces herself, arms raised and answering the powerful spell with as much of her own energy as she can muster. For several seconds, she is a brilliant purple flame inside the torrent of Zephyr's attack, and as it fades away, she's broken a sweat. Breathing heavily, her smirk returns as she arrogantly straightens and--

Fizz, fizz.

The Feng Shui Engine rolls around in her socket, displaying nothing but static swimming and interleaving with her vision. Bright purple numbers scroll erratically over it, and the woman wheels around as the loud voice declares some sort of cannon is coming up next. She's not getting accurate readings any more. But she's smart enough to know that whatever she is looking at, it is serious business.

The array actually seems to cause her physical pain as the Feng Shui Engine tries - and fails - to understand what it is looking at. As the beam of light sears out towards her, Juri swears, and barely manages to spring away, landing with far less grace on the far side of the room. Much of the floor has been erased from existence, and as Juri's left eye keeps spluttering between purple energy and crackling static, she sneers.

"This is pointless. I killed the man I came here to kill. Time Space Administration Bureau? I'll deal with YOU, another time. But don't think this is over..."

One powerful kick smashes in the doors to the elevator, and Juri leaps backwards, tumbling away into darkness as her voice echoes in her wake...

"I'LL HAVE MY REVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENGE!"

*Punch! Punch! Punch!--Hold still...*

Problem with Assassins; its really hard to pin them down. Even when you have them right where you want them and are in the process of laying on the hurt, they still find some underhanded way to wiggle free and escape your grip.

Sheeva realizes this now as even with four hands grasping Ezio's body and the before mentioned strength to rip apart a tank. The Assassin still manages to slide away from under her. It's like he has experience eluding the clutches of women or something!

"Tsk!!" All Sheeva sees is an Assassin escaping her grip, not the parting present that Ezio left stuck on her, to her it was just a feeble attempt to stab her before running away.

"Come back here cow--" *BLAM!!*

Sheeva doesn't get to finish that sentence. The explosive dagger ignites on the side of her body and it rips open her ribcage smashing her against a nearby building before falling onto her back, hands grasping her side to keep her insides...well.. inside her.

"Eldergods... blast it all.." Mortal Kombat participants are tough mo' frigs. She probably will survive getting disembowelled. But she's not in any condition to give chase right this moment, what with her guts threatening to spill on the concrete and all.

Froggy Knight Fever

2014-04-13T09:46:45Z

Qualmpeddler:

'''Explore the Dungeon 1: Froggy Knight Fever'''

Date: Saturday April 12 AU 22

Cast: [[Princess Bubblegum]], [[Staren]], [[Ainsley]], Ms. Fortune, Arthur Lowell, [[Theo Morrison]], [[Crys Gattz]]

Location: The Land of Ooo

Summary: If a tree explodes in the forest, and reveals an ancient dungeon, will adventurers come to explore it? They sure will! Brought together by Princess Bubblegum to go down and see what's going on, the intrepid band of explorers soon find a froggy mystery. Can they overcome these trials and claim their Epic Loot?

Exploding trees tend to get noticed, even somewhere as bizarre and ecclectic as the Land of Ooo. This particular forest is bigger than most, towering trees reach high up into the sky, and as the sun gradually works towards evening on the horizon, Princess Bubblegum - dressed in a white labcoat and safety goggles - finishes waving a radar-like device over the dark and foreboding stone steps which lead down into the earth. Said steps now situated in a crater some twenty foot across, still warm to the touch.

The Princess' robot swan transport is located nearby, and she sent out the coordinates along with her general call for assistance. If people needed lifts, robot swan transportation was of course on offer, though that means they've also had twenty minutes of standing around being bored as Bubblegum takes measurements in this relatively mundane part of the Land of Ooo.

"Okay everyone, it all seems fairly safe. At least, I'm not picking up any harmful levels of radiation or any more surface-level explosives. I guess just go in and see what you can find? I'll wait outside to collect the ten per cent Adventuring Tax, and provide rescue if you need it. Okay?"

Ms. Fortune has been here for a while! And has been bored for just as long, honestly. When it seems like the Princess is -finally- letting them go in, she stands up from her resting place under a tree, stretching and yawning in a stereotypically feline way.

She's currently dressed in a trench coat! Which is completely hiding her athletically-muscular physique -and- her horrible scars. Her cat ears are visible, though.

Ainsley got here shortly before Bubblegum discerned the area was safe to enter, at least at the surface. The lizard girl gives an uncertain look at the pink-haired girl for a few moments. Ains is, in fact, a candy addict, and this princess /looks like/ bubblegum. It is quite a distracting thing for her to see, one way or another.

She snaps out of it when 'Adventuring Tax' is mentioned. She blinks once in surprise. They have to pay a tax on what they find? Lame! She frowns and crosses her arms, but makes no verbal complaints. She decides to play with the straps to the Thaumostatic Harness. She turns to start walking down the steps without another moment of hesitation, waving a hand at Bubblegum in vague confirmation that she heard what was said.

Staren arrived recently, though he hasn't had to wait long. As usual for this sort of thing, he's clad head-to-toe in white armor that looks like bulkier reploid armor since it has to be worn -- mostly rounded plates, with an armored backpack unit of some sort and an armored covering for the messenger bag at his side. He, too, is taking readings with what looks like a futuristic flipphone with round crystals set into it, with his helmet off. When Bubblegum announces she's done, he nods, not seeming surprised by the adventuring tax. She found the dungeon, it's her kingdom's land, and she's promised rescue if needed? Yeah, that sounds plenty fair.

Staren looks over the assembled group. "Haven't seen most of you in awhile... especially you!" He looks to Crys. "Good to have you back." He looks to Miss Fortune. "So, we have a rogue, and..." he points at her, probably jokingly, then turns to Arthur. "What echeladder rung are you up to, now?"

Crys Gattz was an old unionite, and she did often pop up in strange places. the Princess world had caught her intrest to be perfectly honest, so here the newman was curious to put it mildy. She was wearing basically a high tech tank top, hot pants, leggings and knee high boots. Also she sported a long glove with a strange gaunlet. A strange glowing choker and finally? There was one oddity however an eyepath of all things an eyepatch. Well that and pointed ears like an elf, she's totally not an elf however.

"Sot his is the place, huh? This is up there with the strangest places I have been to, I must admit."

Ms. Fortune is given a look an then looks over to Staren.

"Never been gone, just doing thigs most people don't want to do."

she looks to Arthur for a moment.

"Arthur, ti's strange to see a god out dungeon crawling."

Theo doesn't actually know where the Land of Ooo is in relation to anything else. Heck, he's having a hard time keeping /anything/ straight in terms of relative position in the Multiverse. This'll probably be a persistent problem.

He doesn't ask for a robotic swan ride -- he's not in the Union, so helpful as he might sound on the radio, he could be some kind of creepy creeper what creeps. Instead, he asks for coordinates, because he wants to try something else out. Once he has them, he spends a few minutes staring at them and someone's mock-up 'Map of the Multiverse' he found online during his wanderings amidst the patchwork landscape. And then --

A spot in the air ripples with oily iridescence. It thins and tears like a sheet of wet paper, exposing a gap that leads to... somewhere else, shrouded in what looks like mist. Theo falls out of the gap, backwards, holding onto the straps of what could be a backpack and hitting the ground with a dull 'oof.' He lays there for a few seconds.

Kickotron, the short robot bird thing, hops out after him with an /actual/ backpack and considerably more grace.

"It worked!" Theo thrusts a fist into the air from his spot on the ground in clear triumph. The hole snaps shut when he does.

Arthur Lowell's arrival is with a lot of gusto; he'd arrived as he always does in a lot of places, by way of ROCKET BROOM and a lot of yelling. The broom disappearing, the boy in his casual magely outfit, a little more fitting to the locale. "MAN, yeah, RADIATION would HARSH our fuckin' DUNGEON DIVES." He doesn't seem to mind an Adventuring Tax.

Staren gets a grin and jabbed thumb up towards some imaginary echeladder. "Right up the GOD TIERS, yo, I jumped up on GALACTIC BADNESS like a fuckin' platformer fungasman. But don't WORRY, still got the MAGE shit goin',"

A look at Crys. Arthur doesn't recognize that lady! But apparently he knows about Arthur being a god. A laugh, from the boy. "HAH! AS IF. Don' worry, I'm a KNOW-NOTHIN' JERK HERO before I'm any kinda god of ANYTHIN', guy. 'Sides, gotta keep in SHAPE, yeah?"

Arthur then looks at the others, none of whom have yet descended. "SO, we ready t'GO?" A wide grin, and with swaggering, confident steps he's gonna head straight down the steps into the crater first, almost as if he knows what he's going, descending from the forest around it. You know, unless someone has objection.

Princess Bubblegum doesn't seem to mind being stared at by Ainsley. Possibly, having dealt with Union negotiations, she's used to the looks that else-worlders tend to give people like her. That is, people made of delicious, delicious candy. Besides, she's got her laser swan if things get rough, right? Can't beat a laser swan.

"Excellent! Well then. I wish you all good luck."

Arthur and Ainsley amble towards the dungeon entrance. The stairs down are broad enough that a pair of adventurers could walk next to each other, possibly, but it'd be a tight fit. The stone blocks spiral downwards, and it doesn't take too long for the weirdness to start.

To begin with, there's torches attached to these walls. Wooden ones, with guttering flames and oily rags. Then there's the designs carved into the walls - frogs? They look kind of like frogs, except most of them are holding some sort of tool. Spears, pitchforks, maracas, longsword and shield in chivalric heraldry and elegantly form-fitting frog platemail...

Ms. Fortune stares at Staren for a moment or two. "Trinity, you look like somethign straight out of the ASL... Or a villain from that Annie cartoon. Either way." She laughs, before sheeding her trench coat - and throwing it behind her, possibly right at the Princess, before she dashes forward to start descending.

"My, aren't we an ecclectic bunch? A space pirate, a science cat, a Mage-god, a mage with a robot... and a pretty lizard. So who's the healer?" she chatters jovially as they head down.

Staren blinks at Nadia. "What?" At PB's well-wishing, he smiles. "Thanks, Princess! ...So, who's taking the lead?" He waves as he heads over to the entrance to look in and follow folks down. Upon seeing LIT TORCHES in a dungeon that's lain untouched for so long, he immediately scans them for magic. Also: "Frogs? Oh man, not more frog nonsense."

Theo rolls onto his side and climbs to his feet. Then, he removes the thing from his back and noisily deflates the giant back-mounted inflatable pillow. He shoves it into the actual backpack the Myr is carrying, pulling out a plastic card-box and looking around. He frowns. "Man... forests. Where's Yumi when you need her," he mutters.

He hustles to catch up, correcting, "Planeswalker! Subtle difference." Theo cracks the case open and drops his deck of cards into his hands, stashing the box. The little robot bird puts a tray table on its head in dutiful preperation while he shuffles up. "I've got... robots today. Mostly. Maybe a sub-orbital laser. Might not be the best idea to use that underground," he muses, descending the stairs behind the rest of the party.

Ainsley looks at the walls, depicting... frogs. She stares at them for a while as they descend. She looks at one of the torches briefly, and reaches out to grab one and pick it up out of the wall. Because why the hell not? It's a torch, and they're going deep into a dungeon. It's not like there isn't a dozen more of these things.

"Something may be living down here," she gathers from the lit torches, instead of any kind of mystical conclusion. "Something hidden from sight for a very long time. Maybe maintained by some sort of guardian." She shrugs her shoulders. Now that she's provided a mildly sane explanation for the torch thing, she looks over her shoulder at Staren, confusion on her face.

She has no idea about any frog nonsense.

Crys Gattz keeps herself well informed even if she's not very noticable a of late. She seems amused at Arthur after all he's a god yes but one that seems to give a shit about his creations. So that's enough for her. She looks over to Kickotron as her Mag pops out from somewhere and hovers and flies over hovering abover Kickotron while Crys follows laong with the party. AS they head in she take s a moment to ook about wonering about the makup of the place Frogs? She makes note of that. She looks at Staren and says "What's wrong with Frogs, they are kinda cute for amphibans. Torches being lit like this, are never good thing in my experiance...last time I encounted this...lets say all hell broke lose."

With that she mvoes on after the others but does have a unpowered photon blade out at this point.

"Not a MAGE GOD." Arthur says, grinning widely and forcefully and holding up an objecting finger at Ms. Fortune. "JERK HERO. MAGE GOD is the SECONDARY CLASS." Yeah, that's a pretty transparent insecurity.

A dungeon about frogs. "FUCK." He says eloquently. "YEAH, hope it ain't THIS SHIT again." He's nodding to Staren. "If this is some awful APOCALYPSE JUMANJI shit again I'm gonna FLY OFF THE HANDLE." Mumbling under his breath but still doing the same verbal emphasis, he says, "Gonna do some GYMNASTIC TWIST off the goddamn handle, win a PRIZE or some shit." His mannerisms have become an odd, paradoxical mixture of upbeat confident positivity and resentful suspicion about the circumstances, but he continues on regardless, looking at those designs carved into the walls. Well, at least these are civilized frogs. Better than awful universe frogs. "I'm actually more worried 'bout STAIRS here." He says, honestly. "STAIRS are DANGEROUS yo." What's that about? Huh, weird. Upon noticing the stairs issue, though, Arthur has begun to float just slightly off the ground, seeming weightless, like an astronaut.

Oh hey, Crys discusses dungeons. "STANDARD DUNGEON TECH, y'know." He says, frankly. "SOME dungeons even got the DRAMATICALLY SEQUENTIAL torches installed." He continues to head down, hoping to get away from the potentially-hostile architecture quick. Where's this spiral staircase go?

Where do the stairs go? Well, that's a question which is soon answered! The stairs soon open up, and the adventurous troupe find themselves arriving in... a swamp? Its certainly fairly warm and fetid down here, and large crystals jutting out of the ground provide a kind of dim blue luminescence (and - to a certain dungeon-crawling mindset, possibilities. Surely they have to be wort something, right?)

The roots from the trees above have driven down, crumbling the majority of the architecture around the outskirts of the large open space. There's more evidence of froggy civilization here; many of the remains of the walls have etchings similar to the stairs, and submerged in the moist ground are three large frog-shaped statues. They were probably each about ten foot tall when they weren't sunk into the mud.

Also, there's a pit trap in the first five foot square in front of the door. The bottom is soft and squishy, and therefore fairly unpleasant.

Ms. Fortune walks along with her hands held behind her head, just being all casual and stuff. "Sheesh, kid, you got some self esteem issues there," she notes casually in Arthur's direction.

And then... pit trap! Nadia ends up falling right in, but manages to grab the edge with one hand. Her arm promptly does an amusing (and slightly gross) bungee-cord effect, as her skin splits at the scars to reveal the stretchy muscle beneath. Boing!

Dungeon torches. Does someone live here?

Staren heads down the stairs, when... Ms Fortune falls into a pit. He approaches to pull her up, but she's got it. He makes a face at that, and then jumps across. He activates a helmet light and looks around. Ugh, moist squishy ground. He's glad he's in sealed armor that can be washed off fairly easily. He scans the crystals and statues for magic, and looks for any further passages. Is this it, already? Oh, and another thing...

Staren turns to Theo. He reaches into his bag and pulls out the AU model 1911, holding it out grip-first. "Try not to aggro any walking apocalypses this time, okay?" He tries to step towards Theo -- only to find his feet stuck. "Rrgh... urgh..." with some effort, he manages to rise up enough to get on the surface, and then he activates his wings to just float over the muck, because screw that.

Ainsley listens to Arthur for a while, fascinated by the way he speaks. It's like a whole new dialect, as far as she can tell. The dialect of 'Rad Weird Jerk God People' or something. Also he says stairs are dangerous. Wha? She has no trouble with stairs, and doesn't bother wasting the battery in the Thaumostatic Harness.

They reach the bottom, she takes a step and almost falls into a pit trap -- bzzzzzt. Her electric jetpack activates, and she hovers up out of the pit before she even touches the bottom, torch still in hand, having smoothly reacted to it. She looks mildly startled, but being prepared has contributed a lot to her calm state. She looks down at Ms. Fortune uncertainly. That was... kind of grody!

"Hmm."

But she is not as disturbed as others might be. A curiosity at best, for her.

She hovers over the muck, looking for any tunnels of interest, or anything more than that. She floats up to one of the crystals, and projects a bit of electricity through one to see if it collects charge or reacts to mana in any way. If there are any interesting properties, she might try to find a piece of crystal broken from one of them, or break an already cracked crystal with the hilt of a dagger.

A pit trap!

Arthur pretends that he knew what he was doing all along when he started floating back there, and passes over the pit trap that he otherwise would have fallen down and faceplanted on it. He takes this as a good moment for a rhetorical jab back at Ms. Fortune! "HEY, I'm not the one BARIN' MY HEART here. Or at least some'a the MUSCLES." He says, before laughing briefly. Good-natured!

He stops at the edge of the pit, if anyone else has fallen in, still floating, to grab at the hand Ms. Fortune has on the edge there. "Hey, one more bounce, yeah?" He says, grinning; his intent, if the cat goes for it, is to bounce her back down so she can grab onto anyone who doesn't have any other ways of getting up; Arthur's pseudo-flight lets him adjust the tension for any loads that her bouncy muscles can take!

Arthur does not like looking at those gross bared muscles though, AUGH! Under his carefully-calculated coolkid facade, he's recoiling from even that brief glimpse he got of the skinless body.

After that happens - or maybe, doesn't happen? Depends on how many others fell! - he's gonna go back to floating along! Floating along and heading further in. If this is the outskirts, maybe more of the civilization is further in, less messed up by the tree roots. He's got other kinds of loot in mind: Tools and weapons! Stuff to alchemize.

Crys Gattz says "...you have a point prehaps."

She seems to ease up a bit, but seriously what did she run into that this set on her on ege at first? She moves along with some sense of caution till she thinks about having to pull some gynmastic stunts. She has fun with those, a good deal of run with those. Crys is light enough on her feet this gives her a second longer to react. Her blade snap hisses to lie and she drives it into the wall catching herself and she summons another, which eshe starts to use to climb back up.

"Pit traps, it's always pit traps at some point."

"'Apocalypse Jumanji'?" Theo echoes in slight disbelief. "...'again'?" That's even worse!

Kickotron looks up at the Mag. It stares at the other small robot, but it doesn't say anything. Perhaps robot-words are exchanged in the interim staring. Perhaps it is just wondering if it can put it back together again.

Theo is in the back of the party. This means he sees the pit trap before he has to walk into it. He stays on the stairs, frowning about the trap /and/ the muck. He does drop his deck and draw seven cards off the top, glancing over his hand. "Huh. Okay." He puts something labeled Urza's Power Plant on the tray on the Myr's head, one odd card among many. Then... "Ornithopter!"

There's a flicker of the white, misty Aether in the air, and an honest-to-god ornithopter, skeletal, leathery wings and everything, appears directly in front of him. Kickotron and Theo mount up, and glide over the pit. He looks down, spotting the scars and muscle, turning a little green around the gills.

He looks to Staren instead, reaching down and taking the proffered gun. "I totally had that under control until she didn't take a swing," he protests. Theo stashes the weapon somewhere on his person either way... and then drops another card onto the table. Kickotron is sitting in front of him just for this purpose. "Annnd... Ornithopter!"

A second one pops in. It's lacking in passengers, but seems self-propelled. Cats and Cryses could totally hitch a ride instead of wading through muck.

Ms. Fortune looks up at Arthur, with a grin. Well, one more bounce will help her get out, even if no one else was down there! So she bounces down... then digs her feet into the sides of the trap, pulls down almost to the breaking point...

And then...

BOING! Out she pops, flipping right over Arthur, flipping in the air, then... landing in the squishy swamp. Eugh.

The crystals seem to be in universally good shape. They have magic in them, which might help to explain that. Shocking one with electricity makes it glow brighter, briefly, which throws crazy shadows off the surroundings, but it doesn't make them any more interesting. If a dagger is used to try and carve a piece off a whole crystal, it'll find it surprisingly easy to do. There'll be some splintering of course, but the crystals are slightly warm to the touch and do project a low luminscence - though that will go down over time as it expends whatever energy it has absorbed.

And then, quite suddenly, tongues!

The slimy pink appendages come shooting out of the swamp, to try and snare those people who are flying. Most notably, two tongues aim to latch onto Staren, two more onto Ainsley... and a full four each aim to attach to each ornithopter wing. The tongues are each way too big to be those of normal frogs... in fact, they're more like what one would imagine a person-sized frog might be packing in rubbery lips!

Staren is taking a closer look at the crystals when SUDDENLY, TONGUES. They're latching onto his body! Staren doesn't even have time to analyze what they are actually -- his mind mentally identifies 'sticky, pink tentacles trying to grab me' and reflexively he activates his beam sabers and tries to cut them off! If that's as easy as it sounds, then he looks for the source before flying over to help cut allies free. If the tonmgues aren't easily cut, though, he may need to get out some heavier artillery...

Crys Gattz sees she's got a way out, so she hitches a ride on the second thing that Theo summoned. She'll have to thank him later, as she hitche a ride up away she goes. The comes the frogs, well falz spawn. This isn't good and now she's trying to not end up a smack. On the other hand she's not in a good spot to use any of her powersor weapons right now...

SPLAT.

Ainsley had pocketed the crystal chunk, for later souveneir purposes, and another chunk for Bubblegum because Adventurer Tax, when she was assailed by something outside of her periphery that hit her in the side of the face, and then a few more of them narrowly missed her. It is a frog tongue. It is sticky, wet, and GROSS.

She squeals like a little girl, reaches to grab the tongue, reversing direction to tug at it, while simultaneously using her grip on the slimy appendage to apply absurd amounts of nonlethal electrical magic... which would course down into the marsh below as well, and make life Exceedingly Unpleasant for anyone who is still in the muck. There may even be friendly fire! But she's distinctly trying to avoid doing that, she's a good enough electric mage to manage directing a current through liquid by now.

*pak pak pak pak*

Theo looks down.

"What... are you serious?!" The tongues have neatly attached to the ornithopter wings. Lacking in propulsion, the big, mechanical definitely-not-flies start to fall. Theo reacts by freaking out mid-draw, kicking at the nearest tongue awkwardly from his perch atop the conveyance. He slaps down the card he just drew and a second besides while he does it, now laying horizontally across the vehicle as it struggles to stay in the air.

"Myr Servitor!" A grey-white flicker, and there's a second thing, identical to Kickotron, except without the extra luggage. Theo promptly shoves it off the Ornithopter. It rolls onto the tongue and down towards the muck, the three-foot bird-robot plummeting towards what is likely its untimely demise. It doesn't seem to mind. "Little help?!"

Arthur is already a bit on edge from the gorey display and now he's seeing AWFUL, GROSS TONGUES! "Fuckin' hell!" He exclaims. A weapon has suddenly appeared in his hand, as if from nowhere, blinking into existence, a bright white broom with intense industrial aesthetics. The metal bristles are suddenly whirling around like a blender!

"'EY! FUCK OFF, NO FOOD HERE!" He calls out, slamming the big metal broom into one of the encroaching tongues - Ainsley's electrifying hers, so no go there, Staren's working on the cutting angle already, so he goes for the ones hassling Crys and Theo - and just tries to blend the sets of them in a grossed out panicky sort of way. It's not even the cool, heroic yelling kind of way! He hasn't seen a full monster yet, he can't get that started.

Looks like the tongues are being handles! So Ms. Fortune just... helpfully goes off in search of their owners. Into the muck she goes! She's not particularly worried about getting dirty, even though she's barely wearing anything.

She removes her tail, holds it rigid, and then does some exploratory poking.

At least these tongues don't seem very tough. Staren's sword cuts through them easily enough, and Ainsley's high-voltage solution to the problem seems to have the desired effect. Squat, fat frog-people float up to the surface of the swampy terrain after the electricity arcs into them, whilst the cut tongues flick backwards into the mire - presumably to the chastened mouths of their occupants.

Really, its just poor Theo who isn't having a good time of it. His ornithopter struggles against the tongues, and his kicking doesn't seem to have much effect at all! The bird robot disappears into the mud with a 'bloop', and there's crunching sounds. Then a belch, and fragments of birdbot bubble up to the surface.

Arthur's frantic blending/brooming (blooming?) is more successful, dislodging a pair of the tongues. Ms. Fortune's poking nets her a frogman all her very own, who introduces himself by trying to eat said tail. Most of the tongues seem to have been fended off by now, though, and those frogs whose tongues have been injured seem to be hopping a hasty retreat, croaking malevolently as they do.

Note to self: frogs eat Myr. And Ornithopters. And... anything they can get, apparently.

Theo does not intend to be 'got.' His Ornithopter flounders, wing-tip scraping the surface of the muck before Arthur brooms the /crap/ out of them. It takes back to the air rocking dangerously. Theo throws himself over the top of Kickotron and the tray, keeping his stack of cards from falling off. He is in a really awkward position. Crys is going to have to deal with the others; he's got nothin'.

Well, he /does/ have altitude. He looks over the side, raising a hand. He sounds a little shaken up, likely largely physically. "Uh... thanks," he calls down to Arthur. He looks around. "Is that all of them?"
And as quickly as it began, it seems to be over. Staren cut away the tongues, and others seem to be handling them, except for Theo. Who Arthur has taken care off, and Miss Fortune is... using her tail to fish for frogs or something? She catches one while the rest flee, so Staren flits over there. "Hey! Can you understand us? What is this place?"

massive frogs with huge tongues, this is not sort of thing sh consiers to be fun. She's been in worse situation but this is not fun, not fun at all. With a bit of help from the other and he's got a chance to get in a bit of a better situation now. She's now able to bring her powers to bear and she does so. She rises one hand but sees that thigns are settling a bit she launches some waves of freezing cold to keep the creatures back.

"BARTA!"

Ainsley has calmed down after that scare, and no longer has a frog tongue on her face. She does have frog drool on her face, though. She takes a rag from her pocket to clean it off, only vaguely aware of the fleeing frogs. She starts to buzz around the expansive room, looking for alternative exits, or simply anything odd besides marsh, crystals, and the ceiling above her. The torch is still held in her off hand as she moves, held up to illuminate here and there.

"Maybe this is just where they live," she murmurs, and then her brow furrows. "What are they eating, then...?" Ugh. She recalls that these things don't always make complete sense, as she is from a world where the reason for a lot of things being weird is 'Magic.'

She busies herself with her task, because everyone else is busy with diplomacy and recovering from a sudden frog attack.

The freezing cold helps dissuade the frogs from returning as they flee, and Ms. Fortune successfully dislodges her tail from the frog's mouth. When Staren approaches, the frog had juuust been starting to turn away from him, and he asks his perfectly reasonable question.

"HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

The frog rounds on him momentarily, tongue flicking out madly in the air, and then that frog too - which just made a decidedly unfroggy noise - leaps away into the murky swamp.

Ainsley's flitting about does bear some fruit, though. At the far end of the large expanse of swamp there's a more intact wall, and a pallisade! Standing before that there's a person-sized frog in shiny steel armor, leaning casually on his sword. The plate armor is quite complete, and the visor is down, but, from the shape of the helmet and the bow in those legs... yup, that's a frog knight alright.

Well that's different.

Ainsley finds a nice place to land, or at least hover, and regards the frog knight with surprise and cheerfulness. Because SURELY a being dressed in full plate armor will be considerably less hostile than a bunch of ruffians in the middle of a bog, right? Right?

"Hello," she speaks up at him, "My name is Ainsley, and we are, my friends and I, exploring what I presume is the underground realm of your... ruler? King, perhaps? People, or tribe? Could we be given time to speak to someone of importance?" She makes sure to keep mana charged in her fingertips on the off chance he tries to lop her limbs off with his weapon, because those other guys were assholes, or maybe half-feral.

"I apologize for any trouble this may cause, Sir." He looks like a knight! Gotta treat him like one.

Hissing frogs, what. "Yeah, well, same to you buddy..." Staren mutters, and on they go... to be confronted by the FROG KNIGHT. Staren looks over the palisade, while waiting to see how the KNIGHT reacts to DIPLOMACY.

Ms. Fortune hisses right on back. And hers has the feral edge of a mamalian predator to it, to boot. Screw those frogs.

And then there's a -frog knight-. Ms. Fortune suddenly looks a little uneasy, for some reason.

Theo and his MARVELOUS FLYING MOUNT (read: muddy flappy machine) moves across the stretch of swamp. He draws, drops a land, and taps some of them on the way over. "I guess you never know when you're gonna need a robot army," he murmurs. "Golem Foundry!" Fwip.

There's a quiet bubbling in the muck, and a metal construction rises out of it. It looks kind of like a metal vat, taller than a man and thick-sided, with forges glowing with hot metal flanking it. The muck sloughs off of it as it settles above it. It isn't really doing much of anything else.

Theo lets Ainsley do the talking. She's good at being polite with just about anyone, and stabbing the crap out of people who aren't polite back.

Crys Gattz sees the frogs are backing off she lets the go as there's other things to worry abotu she powers down her weapons now and seems to be in a decent enough of a mood as she moves to catch up. She notices that she finds something, ot is it someone.

"A frog Knight?"

She stares for a moment at it but moves to swap weapons the blades vanish and a pair of gauntles appear, but hte claws do nto flare to life as she closes in. She'll let Ainsley do the talking, Crys is muscle and has long since accepted that fact.

Arthur seems pretty relieved that the damn frogs deciding to disengage. So now the broom's away and he's back to his casual cool-bro behaviors! Smooth, Arthur, definitely nobody noticed the freakout there. Arthur's heading towards what Ainsley discovered now, the more intact bits. The others are gonna handle the diplomatizing, or maybe dealing with his mad knightly efforts. ARTHUR, on the other hand, is gonna quickly drift over the muck and peek his head up and over the palisade, to see what's behind it. Is there anything more intact down here? He hopes so! Maybe that's what's being guarded by that knight felow.

The Frog Knight straightens up as Ainsley approaches, and waves one hand to shush her until the others have mostly arrived. He's really kind of rude, but at least the sword stays pointing at the floor rather than at the adventurers. It is only when he's sure everyone can hear him that he deigns to answer Ainsley's questions.

"My people are long since passed. All that remains now is to find a worthy successor to whom we shall pass on our wealth and our wisdom. You have all passed the Trial of the Moderately Difficult Jump, and the Trial of the Groddy Tongues, now, you face your final test, OH MIGHTY HEROES!"

Waving the sword above his head suddenly, brilliant light streams from the crystals about the cavern, reflecting in the shiny metal and illuminating the whole place in twirling, dancing swirls of light as... pounding music starts to play?! Frogs emerge out of the swamp wielding trumpets with funky intent!

"Prove that you... can DANCE WITH THE FROG IN YOUR HEART!"

From his vantage point, Arthur can at least see that the prize on offer is worth the bizarre competition. There's piles upon piles of golden coins locked behind a hefty-looking metal cage, clustered around a HUGE golden frog statue. The frog statue is wearing a top-hat and is in mid-cane twirl.

Ms. Fortune stares at the Frog Knight for a moment or two. And then she just kinda... turns and walks off to climb up the palisade and peer over it as well. Quite close to Arthur, in fact. "Dancing? Sheesh. Do dungeons always end up this way, kid? This can't be normal."

Ainsley hesitates when shushed. She isn't offended, just confused, but realizes he's doing it so everyone gets the DRAMATIC PORTRAYAL he's putting down. She can appreciate that, smiling gently at the sight. A final test, huh? She waits for something amazing with wide eyes--

Light shines, music plays, and her smile droops to a look of horror. Oh no this is going to be /terribly embarrassing/. She cracks her mouth open momentarily... and closes it. She finds a place to land, a solid bit of stone near the pallisade that is bound to be there. She shrugs her shoulders, and then, using the lightweight steps her Harness can supply, she begins to... disco dance. With a lot of energy. While her face is beet red. Who would've thought a lizard could dance, /or/ blush like that?

She wants to appease the only frog in here with a sword and armor who is designated to be a guardian for treasure that has somehow been untouched over ages. She has a feeling he'd seriously harm her if she attempted to bruteforce through this.

Staren flies over to the knight to see what's up. He sweatdrops a bit as the challenges are listed. So will third be a DUEL TO THE

Oh wait no it's's not a duel at all.

Staren stares at the frogs. Wat.

After a moment or so, once Ainsley starts, he shrugs and joins in! It could be fun. It's not like they won't see plenty more ridiculous things! He lands across from Ainsley, starting with a sort of variant of the Monkey that includes some butt-shaking. Then he matches her disco moves. Then he backs up slightly and leans forward, swinging arms and feet in wide arcs. Then he pulls out his staff and leans back, dancing back and pumping the staff up and down, then twirling it, then throwoops it slipped out of his hand. He TKs it back to his hand, catches it, spins around, and points dramatically at the frog knight.

Crys Gattz looks at the Frog Knight as he speaks. she listens now for a moment and she tilts her head for a moment as he speaks. This was a test? A strange one but there seems to be no malice behind it. She can get not wanting to leave your stuff to any one idiot, putting a bit of bar as it were was a good idea.

"Dance?"

Crys actually grins at this, she now starts to dance and banishes her weapons she will trust that the Knight is being on the level. She's a bit jaded but not /that/ much. So she dances away the sort of thing you would see in a dance club really. She's not one for formal waltzes and such but she's certainly enjoying herself on this.

Theo squints from his lofty perch. Did it just say 'dance with the frog in your heart'?

"...yeah okay why not." He descends, pulling himself free of the Ornithopter. He stands on one of the most flat pieces of big ol' crystal he can find, looking at his hand. Theo pulls something out, putting it on Kickotron's tray. "Staff of Nin." He holds out a hand, and a metallic staff appears in his grasp, topped with a spidery head surrounding a gleaming red stone.

Theo takes a second to compose himself. Frog in his heart. Well, if Ainsley and Staren are getting into it, he can too. He reaches a hand out, and Kickotron hands him something fished out of his pack. It looks like a baseball cap.

Theo does his best Michigan J. Frog impression. He does not disco, but he /has/ seen this. Michigan J. Frog being classy is the closest thing he's found so far to a /Multiversal constant/.

A cane, twirling! Funky music! Arthur knows what this is, and, like any coolkid faced with the option of FANTASTICAL PRIZES, he just goes with the flow.

With swift, intense, and wholly confident motions, Arthur immediately zips away from the wall, and then across and in front of the group. He's dealt with frogs before, and he'll do it again!

Darting back and forth with broad, powerful, wide gestures, Arthur's broom now exhibits its rocket-powered properties, literally blasting Arthur back and forth in an intensely theatrical way. Arthur has decided that, instead of getting embarrased by it, he's going to take the challenge, throttle it violently, and practically challenge the manhood of anyone who would ever assume his dance moves are inadequate in any way.

It is a little ridiculous, but at least intentionally. Kind of musical-inspired, very theatrical, full of a lot of energy, interspersed with rocket broomtwirls and things like that.

"Yes! Yes! That's it...!"

The light and music pick up in intensity, literally shaking the walls of the 'dungeon' as it shudders under the powerful passion put on display. Sure, some of the dancers might be less than enthusiastic... but some of the others are really getting into it!

The sword is almost blinding as it floats out of the Frog Knight's hands, and the guardian falls to his knees. The visor on his helmet flicks up to reveal tearful eyes, and a smile of pure ecstacy. "At last, my vow is done. The oath... IS FULFIIIIIILLED!"

And as quickly as it had all begun, the sound stops. The armor clatters to pieces all about the place, and the locked gate swings open to allow the heroes access to the treasure within. The sword embeds itself into the ground directly in front of Ainsley, shimmering with Funky Intent.

Now that the group have free access to loot the treasure, there's plenty of *other* swords in the loot, too. And pitchforks. And maracas, for some reason. But only that one noble sword retains the glimmer of magic.

Ms. Fortune sighs with genuine relief. "Oh thank goodness it wasn't an 'everyone has to dance' situation." She even puts one hand to her heart and everything. Then she drops back down to ground level, reaches into one of her pouches... and produces a rather large fold-out bag. It has 'swag' written on one side and a dollar sign on the other.

She came prepared.

Crys Gattz watches as the Knight finally ginds his rest and smiles a little bit. She plans to put whatever cut she gets to good use. She actually doesn't plan to blow it on her normal party binges, not this wouldn't feel right she is perpared given she's got a photon trap it's time to start to collec this.

"I wonder if there's any hisotrian sorts who'd be intereste in some of this?"

Theo plants his staff and tosses the hat back to Kickotron a moment after the music stops. He looks over at the pile of loot, and the Sword of Froggy Funk. That is aaaall Ainsley's. "Nice moves," he remarks, heading over to the Loot Pile.

"So, uh... how do we divvy up the loot?" Theo asks. "Does someone have some kind of loot calculator? Sweep it over, divide it into shares? Minus the ten percent tax," he adds, a little begrudgingly. He looks over the collected weapon (the swords, mostly; more portable than a pitchfork) with a fair bit of interest. Not as much as the gold, sure, but he could always use a wider non-card arsenal.

The music stops. The Frog Knight has had his oath fulfilled, and disappears in a clatter of armor. And it leaves an air of confusion around the prospective diplomat.

She stares down at the Sword of Funk before her. She puts a hand up to her snout uncertainly. Okay, so that just happened. She has just gotten the blush out of her face when she reaches to grab the sword by the hilt. She can feel THE FUNK vibrate through her being as she lifts the sword high above her head. It releases a SHIMMERING ARRAY OF DISCO LIGHTS, and she is compelled to shout something.

"YOUR FUNKY DISCO SKILLS WILL LIVE ON, FROG KNIGHT!!"

A funky musical beat complements her words, punctuating the moment nicely.

She lowers the sword to her side unceremoniously, and pretends she didn't just do that, as she scurries over to help with the loot.

When Ms. Fortune gets out her swag bag, a cute little snail was already inside. It is now making a determined bid for swampy freedom. Freedooooooooom.

Nadia stares at the snail.

And then shrugs, and goes about filling the swag bag with loot. GLORIOUS LOOT.

Staren stops dancing with the sound to look at the clattering armor. And then he gives the sword a look, and shrugs at it -- then he gives the other dancers a thumbs-up. He heads for the loot, stopping to look at Ainsley at her declaration, and having a sudden urge to remix it into a techno song of some sort. For now though, he heads to the loot pile. "Probably could have a machine sort it out, at least the coins. Not sure how to value the other stuff, though..." He pulls a regular bag out of his magic bag and starts filling it with coins (So that he can draw 'bag of coins' out of the magic bag later. Drawing 'gold coin' out of the bag a jillion times would be a pain >:| )

"I guess I'll use mine, then." Theo puts his cards away. He does not appear to notice the presence or absence of a tiny snail.

Instead, he summons in three more Myr Servitors. Kickotron moves over with them. Theo points at the pile. "Equal shares, minus ten percent," he instructs. "Make sure you count hers, too?" He jerks his head at Ms. Fortune.

The little bird robots go into the hoard and start dividing it, and quickly. They do so silently and fairly, but they leave the non-coinage alone. They seem particularly intrigued by the maracas, insofar as a silent, expressionless bird robot can be intrigued by anything.

"YO LIZ GAL, lemme get a CAPTCHAROID o'dat shit." Arthur says, coming down from his INTENSE DANCE HIGH. He's actually having to catch his breath a bit! In his hands is an odd digital camera thing, hard-edged with a lot of green trim. He's taking pictures! He's taking pictures of literally all the loot that anyone will let him get a moment to take a picture of. He's more interested in /that/ than in actually looting. But if none of the objects here have "COMPLETE RESISTANCE TO REPLICATION" as a property, that's enough for him!

He takes a couple of maracas, grabs a sword or two, and a share of the gold. Arthur is an odd case; instead of actually grabbing them and putting them anywhere, they just seem to... Blip away, into nothingness! They're sent into his card-based inventory! Useful.

His inventory structure is as visible as ever: http://puu.sh/86q1A/1c882a3169.png

Unfortunately that means he's not getting that sword out from under his glasses.

The looting carries on for a few minutes, and then the 'ceiling' begins to glow. A few seconds later, glorious daylight streams into the dungeon cavern as Princess Bubblegum on the back of her flying robot swan swoops down. The swan's mouth had been belching lasers to melt a way down to the cavern, but it stops pretty quick as she homes in on the party and their looting ways.

"Oh thank goodness, you're all okay." She says, "I detected some DANGEROUSLY groovy jams pumping from this location."

She pauses, and looks around the rather swampy location. "Well, looks like all that's left to do is take everything that isn't nailed down. Good job guys!~"

Froggy Knight Fever

2014-04-13T09:44:10Z

Qualmpeddler: Created page with "'''Explore the Dungeon 1: Froggy Knight Fever''' Date: Saturday April 12 AU 22 Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Staren, Ainsley, Ms. Fortune, Arthur Lowell, Theo Morrison, Crys Gat..."

'''Explore the Dungeon 1: Froggy Knight Fever'''

Date: Saturday April 12 AU 22

Cast: Princess Bubblegum, Staren, Ainsley, Ms. Fortune, Arthur Lowell, Theo Morrison, Crys Gattz

Location: The Land of Ooo

Summary: If a tree explodes in the forest, and reveals an ancient dungeon, will adventurers come to explore it? They sure will! Brought together by Princess Bubblegum to go down and see what's going on, the intrepid band of explorers soon find a froggy mystery. Can they overcome these trials and claim their Epic Loot?

Exploding trees tend to get noticed, even somewhere as bizarre and ecclectic as the Land of Ooo. This particular forest is bigger than most, towering trees reach high up into the sky, and as the sun gradually works towards evening on the horizon, Princess Bubblegum - dressed in a white labcoat and safety goggles - finishes waving a radar-like device over the dark and foreboding stone steps which lead down into the earth. Said steps now situated in a crater some twenty foot across, still warm to the touch.

The Princess' robot swan transport is located nearby, and she sent out the coordinates along with her general call for assistance. If people needed lifts, robot swan transportation was of course on offer, though that means they've also had twenty minutes of standing around being bored as Bubblegum takes measurements in this relatively mundane part of the Land of Ooo.

"Okay everyone, it all seems fairly safe. At least, I'm not picking up any harmful levels of radiation or any more surface-level explosives. I guess just go in and see what you can find? I'll wait outside to collect the ten per cent Adventuring Tax, and provide rescue if you need it. Okay?"

Ms. Fortune has been here for a while! And has been bored for just as long, honestly. When it seems like the Princess is -finally- letting them go in, she stands up from her resting place under a tree, stretching and yawning in a stereotypically feline way.

She's currently dressed in a trench coat! Which is completely hiding her athletically-muscular physique -and- her horrible scars. Her cat ears are visible, though.

Ainsley got here shortly before Bubblegum discerned the area was safe to enter, at least at the surface. The lizard girl gives an uncertain look at the pink-haired girl for a few moments. Ains is, in fact, a candy addict, and this princess /looks like/ bubblegum. It is quite a distracting thing for her to see, one way or another.

She snaps out of it when 'Adventuring Tax' is mentioned. She blinks once in surprise. They have to pay a tax on what they find? Lame! She frowns and crosses her arms, but makes no verbal complaints. She decides to play with the straps to the Thaumostatic Harness. She turns to start walking down the steps without another moment of hesitation, waving a hand at Bubblegum in vague confirmation that she heard what was said.

Staren arrived recently, though he hasn't had to wait long. As usual for this sort of thing, he's clad head-to-toe in white armor that looks like bulkier reploid armor since it has to be worn -- mostly rounded plates, with an armored backpack unit of some sort and an armored covering for the messenger bag at his side. He, too, is taking readings with what looks like a futuristic flipphone with round crystals set into it, with his helmet off. When Bubblegum announces she's done, he nods, not seeming surprised by the adventuring tax. She found the dungeon, it's her kingdom's land, and she's promised rescue if needed? Yeah, that sounds plenty fair.

Staren looks over the assembled group. "Haven't seen most of you in awhile... especially you!" He looks to Crys. "Good to have you back." He looks to Miss Fortune. "So, we have a rogue, and..." he points at her, probably jokingly, then turns to Arthur. "What echeladder rung are you up to, now?"

Crys Gattz was an old unionite, and she did often pop up in strange places. the Princess world had caught her intrest to be perfectly honest, so here the newman was curious to put it mildy. She was wearing basically a high tech tank top, hot pants, leggings and knee high boots. Also she sported a long glove with a strange gaunlet. A strange glowing choker and finally? There was one oddity however an eyepath of all things an eyepatch. Well that and pointed ears like an elf, she's totally not an elf however.

"Sot his is the place, huh? This is up there with the strangest places I have been to, I must admit."

Ms. Fortune is given a look an then looks over to Staren.

"Never been gone, just doing thigs most people don't want to do."

she looks to Arthur for a moment.

"Arthur, ti's strange to see a god out dungeon crawling."

Theo doesn't actually know where the Land of Ooo is in relation to anything else. Heck, he's having a hard time keeping /anything/ straight in terms of relative position in the Multiverse. This'll probably be a persistent problem.

He doesn't ask for a robotic swan ride -- he's not in the Union, so helpful as he might sound on the radio, he could be some kind of creepy creeper what creeps. Instead, he asks for coordinates, because he wants to try something else out. Once he has them, he spends a few minutes staring at them and someone's mock-up 'Map of the Multiverse' he found online during his wanderings amidst the patchwork landscape. And then --

A spot in the air ripples with oily iridescence. It thins and tears like a sheet of wet paper, exposing a gap that leads to... somewhere else, shrouded in what looks like mist. Theo falls out of the gap, backwards, holding onto the straps of what could be a backpack and hitting the ground with a dull 'oof.' He lays there for a few seconds.

Kickotron, the short robot bird thing, hops out after him with an /actual/ backpack and considerably more grace.

"It worked!" Theo thrusts a fist into the air from his spot on the ground in clear triumph. The hole snaps shut when he does.

Arthur Lowell's arrival is with a lot of gusto; he'd arrived as he always does in a lot of places, by way of ROCKET BROOM and a lot of yelling. The broom disappearing, the boy in his casual magely outfit, a little more fitting to the locale. "MAN, yeah, RADIATION would HARSH our fuckin' DUNGEON DIVES." He doesn't seem to mind an Adventuring Tax.

Staren gets a grin and jabbed thumb up towards some imaginary echeladder. "Right up the GOD TIERS, yo, I jumped up on GALACTIC BADNESS like a fuckin' platformer fungasman. But don't WORRY, still got the MAGE shit goin',"

A look at Crys. Arthur doesn't recognize that lady! But apparently he knows about Arthur being a god. A laugh, from the boy. "HAH! AS IF. Don' worry, I'm a KNOW-NOTHIN' JERK HERO before I'm any kinda god of ANYTHIN', guy. 'Sides, gotta keep in SHAPE, yeah?"

Arthur then looks at the others, none of whom have yet descended. "SO, we ready t'GO?" A wide grin, and with swaggering, confident steps he's gonna head straight down the steps into the crater first, almost as if he knows what he's going, descending from the forest around it. You know, unless someone has objection.

Princess Bubblegum doesn't seem to mind being stared at by Ainsley. Possibly, having dealt with Union negotiations, she's used to the looks that else-worlders tend to give people like her. That is, people made of delicious, delicious candy. Besides, she's got her laser swan if things get rough, right? Can't beat a laser swan.

"Excellent! Well then. I wish you all good luck."

Arthur and Ainsley amble towards the dungeon entrance. The stairs down are broad enough that a pair of adventurers could walk next to each other, possibly, but it'd be a tight fit. The stone blocks spiral downwards, and it doesn't take too long for the weirdness to start.

To begin with, there's torches attached to these walls. Wooden ones, with guttering flames and oily rags. Then there's the designs carved into the walls - frogs? They look kind of like frogs, except most of them are holding some sort of tool. Spears, pitchforks, maracas, longsword and shield in chivalric heraldry and elegantly form-fitting frog platemail...

Ms. Fortune stares at Staren for a moment or two. "Trinity, you look like somethign straight out of the ASL... Or a villain from that Annie cartoon. Either way." She laughs, before sheeding her trench coat - and throwing it behind her, possibly right at the Princess, before she dashes forward to start descending.

"My, aren't we an ecclectic bunch? A space pirate, a science cat, a Mage-god, a mage with a robot... and a pretty lizard. So who's the healer?" she chatters jovially as they head down.

Staren blinks at Nadia. "What?" At PB's well-wishing, he smiles. "Thanks, Princess! ...So, who's taking the lead?" He waves as he heads over to the entrance to look in and follow folks down. Upon seeing LIT TORCHES in a dungeon that's lain untouched for so long, he immediately scans them for magic. Also: "Frogs? Oh man, not more frog nonsense."

Theo rolls onto his side and climbs to his feet. Then, he removes the thing from his back and noisily deflates the giant back-mounted inflatable pillow. He shoves it into the actual backpack the Myr is carrying, pulling out a plastic card-box and looking around. He frowns. "Man... forests. Where's Yumi when you need her," he mutters.

He hustles to catch up, correcting, "Planeswalker! Subtle difference." Theo cracks the case open and drops his deck of cards into his hands, stashing the box. The little robot bird puts a tray table on its head in dutiful preperation while he shuffles up. "I've got... robots today. Mostly. Maybe a sub-orbital laser. Might not be the best idea to use that underground," he muses, descending the stairs behind the rest of the party.

Ainsley looks at the walls, depicting... frogs. She stares at them for a while as they descend. She looks at one of the torches briefly, and reaches out to grab one and pick it up out of the wall. Because why the hell not? It's a torch, and they're going deep into a dungeon. It's not like there isn't a dozen more of these things.

"Something may be living down here," she gathers from the lit torches, instead of any kind of mystical conclusion. "Something hidden from sight for a very long time. Maybe maintained by some sort of guardian." She shrugs her shoulders. Now that she's provided a mildly sane explanation for the torch thing, she looks over her shoulder at Staren, confusion on her face.

She has no idea about any frog nonsense.

Crys Gattz keeps herself well informed even if she's not very noticable a of late. She seems amused at Arthur after all he's a god yes but one that seems to give a shit about his creations. So that's enough for her. She looks over to Kickotron as her Mag pops out from somewhere and hovers and flies over hovering abover Kickotron while Crys follows laong with the party. AS they head in she take s a moment to ook about wonering about the makup of the place Frogs? She makes note of that. She looks at Staren and says "What's wrong with Frogs, they are kinda cute for amphibans. Torches being lit like this, are never good thing in my experiance...last time I encounted this...lets say all hell broke lose."

With that she mvoes on after the others but does have a unpowered photon blade out at this point.

"Not a MAGE GOD." Arthur says, grinning widely and forcefully and holding up an objecting finger at Ms. Fortune. "JERK HERO. MAGE GOD is the SECONDARY CLASS." Yeah, that's a pretty transparent insecurity.

A dungeon about frogs. "FUCK." He says eloquently. "YEAH, hope it ain't THIS SHIT again." He's nodding to Staren. "If this is some awful APOCALYPSE JUMANJI shit again I'm gonna FLY OFF THE HANDLE." Mumbling under his breath but still doing the same verbal emphasis, he says, "Gonna do some GYMNASTIC TWIST off the goddamn handle, win a PRIZE or some shit." His mannerisms have become an odd, paradoxical mixture of upbeat confident positivity and resentful suspicion about the circumstances, but he continues on regardless, looking at those designs carved into the walls. Well, at least these are civilized frogs. Better than awful universe frogs. "I'm actually more worried 'bout STAIRS here." He says, honestly. "STAIRS are DANGEROUS yo." What's that about? Huh, weird. Upon noticing the stairs issue, though, Arthur has begun to float just slightly off the ground, seeming weightless, like an astronaut.

Oh hey, Crys discusses dungeons. "STANDARD DUNGEON TECH, y'know." He says, frankly. "SOME dungeons even got the DRAMATICALLY SEQUENTIAL torches installed." He continues to head down, hoping to get away from the potentially-hostile architecture quick. Where's this spiral staircase go?

Where do the stairs go? Well, that's a question which is soon answered! The stairs soon open up, and the adventurous troupe find themselves arriving in... a swamp? Its certainly fairly warm and fetid down here, and large crystals jutting out of the ground provide a kind of dim blue luminescence (and - to a certain dungeon-crawling mindset, possibilities. Surely they have to be wort something, right?)

The roots from the trees above have driven down, crumbling the majority of the architecture around the outskirts of the large open space. There's more evidence of froggy civilization here; many of the remains of the walls have etchings similar to the stairs, and submerged in the moist ground are three large frog-shaped statues. They were probably each about ten foot tall when they weren't sunk into the mud.

Also, there's a pit trap in the first five foot square in front of the door. The bottom is soft and squishy, and therefore fairly unpleasant.

Ms. Fortune walks along with her hands held behind her head, just being all casual and stuff. "Sheesh, kid, you got some self esteem issues there," she notes casually in Arthur's direction.

And then... pit trap! Nadia ends up falling right in, but manages to grab the edge with one hand. Her arm promptly does an amusing (and slightly gross) bungee-cord effect, as her skin splits at the scars to reveal the stretchy muscle beneath. Boing!

Dungeon torches. Does someone live here?

Staren heads down the stairs, when... Ms Fortune falls into a pit. He approaches to pull her up, but she's got it. He makes a face at that, and then jumps across. He activates a helmet light and looks around. Ugh, moist squishy ground. He's glad he's in sealed armor that can be washed off fairly easily. He scans the crystals and statues for magic, and looks for any further passages. Is this it, already? Oh, and another thing...

Staren turns to Theo. He reaches into his bag and pulls out the AU model 1911, holding it out grip-first. "Try not to aggro any walking apocalypses this time, okay?" He tries to step towards Theo -- only to find his feet stuck. "Rrgh... urgh..." with some effort, he manages to rise up enough to get on the surface, and then he activates his wings to just float over the muck, because screw that.

Ainsley listens to Arthur for a while, fascinated by the way he speaks. It's like a whole new dialect, as far as she can tell. The dialect of 'Rad Weird Jerk God People' or something. Also he says stairs are dangerous. Wha? She has no trouble with stairs, and doesn't bother wasting the battery in the Thaumostatic Harness.

They reach the bottom, she takes a step and almost falls into a pit trap -- bzzzzzt. Her electric jetpack activates, and she hovers up out of the pit before she even touches the bottom, torch still in hand, having smoothly reacted to it. She looks mildly startled, but being prepared has contributed a lot to her calm state. She looks down at Ms. Fortune uncertainly. That was... kind of grody!

"Hmm."

But she is not as disturbed as others might be. A curiosity at best, for her.

She hovers over the muck, looking for any tunnels of interest, or anything more than that. She floats up to one of the crystals, and projects a bit of electricity through one to see if it collects charge or reacts to mana in any way. If there are any interesting properties, she might try to find a piece of crystal broken from one of them, or break an already cracked crystal with the hilt of a dagger.

A pit trap!

Arthur pretends that he knew what he was doing all along when he started floating back there, and passes over the pit trap that he otherwise would have fallen down and faceplanted on it. He takes this as a good moment for a rhetorical jab back at Ms. Fortune! "HEY, I'm not the one BARIN' MY HEART here. Or at least some'a the MUSCLES." He says, before laughing briefly. Good-natured!

He stops at the edge of the pit, if anyone else has fallen in, still floating, to grab at the hand Ms. Fortune has on the edge there. "Hey, one more bounce, yeah?" He says, grinning; his intent, if the cat goes for it, is to bounce her back down so she can grab onto anyone who doesn't have any other ways of getting up; Arthur's pseudo-flight lets him adjust the tension for any loads that her bouncy muscles can take!

Arthur does not like looking at those gross bared muscles though, AUGH! Under his carefully-calculated coolkid facade, he's recoiling from even that brief glimpse he got of the skinless body.

After that happens - or maybe, doesn't happen? Depends on how many others fell! - he's gonna go back to floating along! Floating along and heading further in. If this is the outskirts, maybe more of the civilization is further in, less messed up by the tree roots. He's got other kinds of loot in mind: Tools and weapons! Stuff to alchemize.

Crys Gattz says "...you have a point prehaps."

She seems to ease up a bit, but seriously what did she run into that this set on her on ege at first? She moves along with some sense of caution till she thinks about having to pull some gynmastic stunts. She has fun with those, a good deal of run with those. Crys is light enough on her feet this gives her a second longer to react. Her blade snap hisses to lie and she drives it into the wall catching herself and she summons another, which eshe starts to use to climb back up.

"Pit traps, it's always pit traps at some point."

"'Apocalypse Jumanji'?" Theo echoes in slight disbelief. "...'again'?" That's even worse!

Kickotron looks up at the Mag. It stares at the other small robot, but it doesn't say anything. Perhaps robot-words are exchanged in the interim staring. Perhaps it is just wondering if it can put it back together again.

Theo is in the back of the party. This means he sees the pit trap before he has to walk into it. He stays on the stairs, frowning about the trap /and/ the muck. He does drop his deck and draw seven cards off the top, glancing over his hand. "Huh. Okay." He puts something labeled Urza's Power Plant on the tray on the Myr's head, one odd card among many. Then... "Ornithopter!"

There's a flicker of the white, misty Aether in the air, and an honest-to-god ornithopter, skeletal, leathery wings and everything, appears directly in front of him. Kickotron and Theo mount up, and glide over the pit. He looks down, spotting the scars and muscle, turning a little green around the gills.

He looks to Staren instead, reaching down and taking the proffered gun. "I totally had that under control until she didn't take a swing," he protests. Theo stashes the weapon somewhere on his person either way... and then drops another card onto the table. Kickotron is sitting in front of him just for this purpose. "Annnd... Ornithopter!"

A second one pops in. It's lacking in passengers, but seems self-propelled. Cats and Cryses could totally hitch a ride instead of wading through muck.

Ms. Fortune looks up at Arthur, with a grin. Well, one more bounce will help her get out, even if no one else was down there! So she bounces down... then digs her feet into the sides of the trap, pulls down almost to the breaking point...

And then...

BOING! Out she pops, flipping right over Arthur, flipping in the air, then... landing in the squishy swamp. Eugh.

The crystals seem to be in universally good shape. They have magic in them, which might help to explain that. Shocking one with electricity makes it glow brighter, briefly, which throws crazy shadows off the surroundings, but it doesn't make them any more interesting. If a dagger is used to try and carve a piece off a whole crystal, it'll find it surprisingly easy to do. There'll be some splintering of course, but the crystals are slightly warm to the touch and do project a low luminscence - though that will go down over time as it expends whatever energy it has absorbed.

And then, quite suddenly, tongues!

The slimy pink appendages come shooting out of the swamp, to try and snare those people who are flying. Most notably, two tongues aim to latch onto Staren, two more onto Ainsley... and a full four each aim to attach to each ornithopter wing. The tongues are each way too big to be those of normal frogs... in fact, they're more like what one would imagine a person-sized frog might be packing in rubbery lips!

Staren is taking a closer look at the crystals when SUDDENLY, TONGUES. They're latching onto his body! Staren doesn't even have time to analyze what they are actually -- his mind mentally identifies 'sticky, pink tentacles trying to grab me' and reflexively he activates his beam sabers and tries to cut them off! If that's as easy as it sounds, then he looks for the source before flying over to help cut allies free. If the tonmgues aren't easily cut, though, he may need to get out some heavier artillery...

Crys Gattz sees she's got a way out, so she hitches a ride on the second thing that Theo summoned. She'll have to thank him later, as she hitche a ride up away she goes. The comes the frogs, well falz spawn. This isn't good and now she's trying to not end up a smack. On the other hand she's not in a good spot to use any of her powersor weapons right now...

SPLAT.

Ainsley had pocketed the crystal chunk, for later souveneir purposes, and another chunk for Bubblegum because Adventurer Tax, when she was assailed by something outside of her periphery that hit her in the side of the face, and then a few more of them narrowly missed her. It is a frog tongue. It is sticky, wet, and GROSS.

She squeals like a little girl, reaches to grab the tongue, reversing direction to tug at it, while simultaneously using her grip on the slimy appendage to apply absurd amounts of nonlethal electrical magic... which would course down into the marsh below as well, and make life Exceedingly Unpleasant for anyone who is still in the muck. There may even be friendly fire! But she's distinctly trying to avoid doing that, she's a good enough electric mage to manage directing a current through liquid by now.

*pak pak pak pak*

Theo looks down.

"What... are you serious?!" The tongues have neatly attached to the ornithopter wings. Lacking in propulsion, the big, mechanical definitely-not-flies start to fall. Theo reacts by freaking out mid-draw, kicking at the nearest tongue awkwardly from his perch atop the conveyance. He slaps down the card he just drew and a second besides while he does it, now laying horizontally across the vehicle as it struggles to stay in the air.

"Myr Servitor!" A grey-white flicker, and there's a second thing, identical to Kickotron, except without the extra luggage. Theo promptly shoves it off the Ornithopter. It rolls onto the tongue and down towards the muck, the three-foot bird-robot plummeting towards what is likely its untimely demise. It doesn't seem to mind. "Little help?!"

Arthur is already a bit on edge from the gorey display and now he's seeing AWFUL, GROSS TONGUES! "Fuckin' hell!" He exclaims. A weapon has suddenly appeared in his hand, as if from nowhere, blinking into existence, a bright white broom with intense industrial aesthetics. The metal bristles are suddenly whirling around like a blender!

"'EY! FUCK OFF, NO FOOD HERE!" He calls out, slamming the big metal broom into one of the encroaching tongues - Ainsley's electrifying hers, so no go there, Staren's working on the cutting angle already, so he goes for the ones hassling Crys and Theo - and just tries to blend the sets of them in a grossed out panicky sort of way. It's not even the cool, heroic yelling kind of way! He hasn't seen a full monster yet, he can't get that started.

Looks like the tongues are being handles! So Ms. Fortune just... helpfully goes off in search of their owners. Into the muck she goes! She's not particularly worried about getting dirty, even though she's barely wearing anything.

She removes her tail, holds it rigid, and then does some exploratory poking.

At least these tongues don't seem very tough. Staren's sword cuts through them easily enough, and Ainsley's high-voltage solution to the problem seems to have the desired effect. Squat, fat frog-people float up to the surface of the swampy terrain after the electricity arcs into them, whilst the cut tongues flick backwards into the mire - presumably to the chastened mouths of their occupants.

Really, its just poor Theo who isn't having a good time of it. His ornithopter struggles against the tongues, and his kicking doesn't seem to have much effect at all! The bird robot disappears into the mud with a 'bloop', and there's crunching sounds. Then a belch, and fragments of birdbot bubble up to the surface.

Arthur's frantic blending/brooming (blooming?) is more successful, dislodging a pair of the tongues. Ms. Fortune's poking nets her a frogman all her very own, who introduces himself by trying to eat said tail. Most of the tongues seem to have been fended off by now, though, and those frogs whose tongues have been injured seem to be hopping a hasty retreat, croaking malevolently as they do.

Note to self: frogs eat Myr. And Ornithopters. And... anything they can get, apparently.

Theo does not intend to be 'got.' His Ornithopter flounders, wing-tip scraping the surface of the muck before Arthur brooms the /crap/ out of them. It takes back to the air rocking dangerously. Theo throws himself over the top of Kickotron and the tray, keeping his stack of cards from falling off. He is in a really awkward position. Crys is going to have to deal with the others; he's got nothin'.

Well, he /does/ have altitude. He looks over the side, raising a hand. He sounds a little shaken up, likely largely physically. "Uh... thanks," he calls down to Arthur. He looks around. "Is that all of them?"
And as quickly as it began, it seems to be over. Staren cut away the tongues, and others seem to be handling them, except for Theo. Who Arthur has taken care off, and Miss Fortune is... using her tail to fish for frogs or something? She catches one while the rest flee, so Staren flits over there. "Hey! Can you understand us? What is this place?"

massive frogs with huge tongues, this is not sort of thing sh consiers to be fun. She's been in worse situation but this is not fun, not fun at all. With a bit of help from the other and he's got a chance to get in a bit of a better situation now. She's now able to bring her powers to bear and she does so. She rises one hand but sees that thigns are settling a bit she launches some waves of freezing cold to keep the creatures back.

"BARTA!"

Ainsley has calmed down after that scare, and no longer has a frog tongue on her face. She does have frog drool on her face, though. She takes a rag from her pocket to clean it off, only vaguely aware of the fleeing frogs. She starts to buzz around the expansive room, looking for alternative exits, or simply anything odd besides marsh, crystals, and the ceiling above her. The torch is still held in her off hand as she moves, held up to illuminate here and there.

"Maybe this is just where they live," she murmurs, and then her brow furrows. "What are they eating, then...?" Ugh. She recalls that these things don't always make complete sense, as she is from a world where the reason for a lot of things being weird is 'Magic.'

She busies herself with her task, because everyone else is busy with diplomacy and recovering from a sudden frog attack.

The freezing cold helps dissuade the frogs from returning as they flee, and Ms. Fortune successfully dislodges her tail from the frog's mouth. When Staren approaches, the frog had juuust been starting to turn away from him, and he asks his perfectly reasonable question.

"HISSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

The frog rounds on him momentarily, tongue flicking out madly in the air, and then that frog too - which just made a decidedly unfroggy noise - leaps away into the murky swamp.

Ainsley's flitting about does bear some fruit, though. At the far end of the large expanse of swamp there's a more intact wall, and a pallisade! Standing before that there's a person-sized frog in shiny steel armor, leaning casually on his sword. The plate armor is quite complete, and the visor is down, but, from the shape of the helmet and the bow in those legs... yup, that's a frog knight alright.

Well that's different.

Ainsley finds a nice place to land, or at least hover, and regards the frog knight with surprise and cheerfulness. Because SURELY a being dressed in full plate armor will be considerably less hostile than a bunch of ruffians in the middle of a bog, right? Right?

"Hello," she speaks up at him, "My name is Ainsley, and we are, my friends and I, exploring what I presume is the underground realm of your... ruler? King, perhaps? People, or tribe? Could we be given time to speak to someone of importance?" She makes sure to keep mana charged in her fingertips on the off chance he tries to lop her limbs off with his weapon, because those other guys were assholes, or maybe half-feral.

"I apologize for any trouble this may cause, Sir." He looks like a knight! Gotta treat him like one.

Hissing frogs, what. "Yeah, well, same to you buddy..." Staren mutters, and on they go... to be confronted by the FROG KNIGHT. Staren looks over the palisade, while waiting to see how the KNIGHT reacts to DIPLOMACY.

Ms. Fortune hisses right on back. And hers has the feral edge of a mamalian predator to it, to boot. Screw those frogs.

And then there's a -frog knight-. Ms. Fortune suddenly looks a little uneasy, for some reason.

Theo and his MARVELOUS FLYING MOUNT (read: muddy flappy machine) moves across the stretch of swamp. He draws, drops a land, and taps some of them on the way over. "I guess you never know when you're gonna need a robot army," he murmurs. "Golem Foundry!" Fwip.

There's a quiet bubbling in the muck, and a metal construction rises out of it. It looks kind of like a metal vat, taller than a man and thick-sided, with forges glowing with hot metal flanking it. The muck sloughs off of it as it settles above it. It isn't really doing much of anything else.

Theo lets Ainsley do the talking. She's good at being polite with just about anyone, and stabbing the crap out of people who aren't polite back.

Crys Gattz sees the frogs are backing off she lets the go as there's other things to worry abotu she powers down her weapons now and seems to be in a decent enough of a mood as she moves to catch up. She notices that she finds something, ot is it someone.

"A frog Knight?"

She stares for a moment at it but moves to swap weapons the blades vanish and a pair of gauntles appear, but hte claws do nto flare to life as she closes in. She'll let Ainsley do the talking, Crys is muscle and has long since accepted that fact.

Arthur seems pretty relieved that the damn frogs deciding to disengage. So now the broom's away and he's back to his casual cool-bro behaviors! Smooth, Arthur, definitely nobody noticed the freakout there. Arthur's heading towards what Ainsley discovered now, the more intact bits. The others are gonna handle the diplomatizing, or maybe dealing with his mad knightly efforts. ARTHUR, on the other hand, is gonna quickly drift over the muck and peek his head up and over the palisade, to see what's behind it. Is there anything more intact down here? He hopes so! Maybe that's what's being guarded by that knight felow.

The Frog Knight straightens up as Ainsley approaches, and waves one hand to shush her until the others have mostly arrived. He's really kind of rude, but at least the sword stays pointing at the floor rather than at the adventurers. It is only when he's sure everyone can hear him that he deigns to answer Ainsley's questions.

"My people are long since passed. All that remains now is to find a worthy successor to whom we shall pass on our wealth and our wisdom. You have all passed the Trial of the Moderately Difficult Jump, and the Trial of the Groddy Tongues, now, you face your final test, OH MIGHTY HEROES!"

Waving the sword above his head suddenly, brilliant light streams from the crystals about the cavern, reflecting in the shiny metal and illuminating the whole place in twirling, dancing swirls of light as... pounding music starts to play?! Frogs emerge out of the swamp wielding trumpets with funky intent!

"Prove that you... can DANCE WITH THE FROG IN YOUR HEART!"

From his vantage point, Arthur can at least see that the prize on offer is worth the bizarre competition. There's piles upon piles of golden coins locked behind a hefty-looking metal cage, clustered around a HUGE golden frog statue. The frog statue is wearing a top-hat and is in mid-cane twirl.

Ms. Fortune stares at the Frog Knight for a moment or two. And then she just kinda... turns and walks off to climb up the palisade and peer over it as well. Quite close to Arthur, in fact. "Dancing? Sheesh. Do dungeons always end up this way, kid? This can't be normal."

Ainsley hesitates when shushed. She isn't offended, just confused, but realizes he's doing it so everyone gets the DRAMATIC PORTRAYAL he's putting down. She can appreciate that, smiling gently at the sight. A final test, huh? She waits for something amazing with wide eyes--

Light shines, music plays, and her smile droops to a look of horror. Oh no this is going to be /terribly embarrassing/. She cracks her mouth open momentarily... and closes it. She finds a place to land, a solid bit of stone near the pallisade that is bound to be there. She shrugs her shoulders, and then, using the lightweight steps her Harness can supply, she begins to... disco dance. With a lot of energy. While her face is beet red. Who would've thought a lizard could dance, /or/ blush like that?

She wants to appease the only frog in here with a sword and armor who is designated to be a guardian for treasure that has somehow been untouched over ages. She has a feeling he'd seriously harm her if she attempted to bruteforce through this.

Staren flies over to the knight to see what's up. He sweatdrops a bit as the challenges are listed. So will third be a DUEL TO THE

Oh wait no it's's not a duel at all.

Staren stares at the frogs. Wat.

After a moment or so, once Ainsley starts, he shrugs and joins in! It could be fun. It's not like they won't see plenty more ridiculous things! He lands across from Ainsley, starting with a sort of variant of the Monkey that includes some butt-shaking. Then he matches her disco moves. Then he backs up slightly and leans forward, swinging arms and feet in wide arcs. Then he pulls out his staff and leans back, dancing back and pumping the staff up and down, then twirling it, then throwoops it slipped out of his hand. He TKs it back to his hand, catches it, spins around, and points dramatically at the frog knight.

Crys Gattz looks at the Frog Knight as he speaks. she listens now for a moment and she tilts her head for a moment as he speaks. This was a test? A strange one but there seems to be no malice behind it. She can get not wanting to leave your stuff to any one idiot, putting a bit of bar as it were was a good idea.

"Dance?"

Crys actually grins at this, she now starts to dance and banishes her weapons she will trust that the Knight is being on the level. She's a bit jaded but not /that/ much. So she dances away the sort of thing you would see in a dance club really. She's not one for formal waltzes and such but she's certainly enjoying herself on this.

Theo squints from his lofty perch. Did it just say 'dance with the frog in your heart'?

"...yeah okay why not." He descends, pulling himself free of the Ornithopter. He stands on one of the most flat pieces of big ol' crystal he can find, looking at his hand. Theo pulls something out, putting it on Kickotron's tray. "Staff of Nin." He holds out a hand, and a metallic staff appears in his grasp, topped with a spidery head surrounding a gleaming red stone.

Theo takes a second to compose himself. Frog in his heart. Well, if Ainsley and Staren are getting into it, he can too. He reaches a hand out, and Kickotron hands him something fished out of his pack. It looks like a baseball cap.

Theo does his best Michigan J. Frog impression. He does not disco, but he /has/ seen this. Michigan J. Frog being classy is the closest thing he's found so far to a /Multiversal constant/.

A cane, twirling! Funky music! Arthur knows what this is, and, like any coolkid faced with the option of FANTASTICAL PRIZES, he just goes with the flow.

With swift, intense, and wholly confident motions, Arthur immediately zips away from the wall, and then across and in front of the group. He's dealt with frogs before, and he'll do it again!

Darting back and forth with broad, powerful, wide gestures, Arthur's broom now exhibits its rocket-powered properties, literally blasting Arthur back and forth in an intensely theatrical way. Arthur has decided that, instead of getting embarrased by it, he's going to take the challenge, throttle it violently, and practically challenge the manhood of anyone who would ever assume his dance moves are inadequate in any way.

It is a little ridiculous, but at least intentionally. Kind of musical-inspired, very theatrical, full of a lot of energy, interspersed with rocket broomtwirls and things like that.

"Yes! Yes! That's it...!"

The light and music pick up in intensity, literally shaking the walls of the 'dungeon' as it shudders under the powerful passion put on display. Sure, some of the dancers might be less than enthusiastic... but some of the others are really getting into it!

The sword is almost blinding as it floats out of the Frog Knight's hands, and the guardian falls to his knees. The visor on his helmet flicks up to reveal tearful eyes, and a smile of pure ecstacy. "At last, my vow is done. The oath... IS FULFIIIIIILLED!"

And as quickly as it had all begun, the sound stops. The armor clatters to pieces all about the place, and the locked gate swings open to allow the heroes access to the treasure within. The sword embeds itself into the ground directly in front of Ainsley, shimmering with Funky Intent.

Now that the group have free access to loot the treasure, there's plenty of *other* swords in the loot, too. And pitchforks. And maracas, for some reason. But only that one noble sword retains the glimmer of magic.

Ms. Fortune sighs with genuine relief. "Oh thank goodness it wasn't an 'everyone has to dance' situation." She even puts one hand to her heart and everything. Then she drops back down to ground level, reaches into one of her pouches... and produces a rather large fold-out bag. It has 'swag' written on one side and a dollar sign on the other.

She came prepared.

Crys Gattz watches as the Knight finally ginds his rest and smiles a little bit. She plans to put whatever cut she gets to good use. She actually doesn't plan to blow it on her normal party binges, not this wouldn't feel right she is perpared given she's got a photon trap it's time to start to collec this.

"I wonder if there's any hisotrian sorts who'd be intereste in some of this?"

Theo plants his staff and tosses the hat back to Kickotron a moment after the music stops. He looks over at the pile of loot, and the Sword of Froggy Funk. That is aaaall Ainsley's. "Nice moves," he remarks, heading over to the Loot Pile.

"So, uh... how do we divvy up the loot?" Theo asks. "Does someone have some kind of loot calculator? Sweep it over, divide it into shares? Minus the ten percent tax," he adds, a little begrudgingly. He looks over the collected weapon (the swords, mostly; more portable than a pitchfork) with a fair bit of interest. Not as much as the gold, sure, but he could always use a wider non-card arsenal.

The music stops. The Frog Knight has had his oath fulfilled, and disappears in a clatter of armor. And it leaves an air of confusion around the prospective diplomat.

She stares down at the Sword of Funk before her. She puts a hand up to her snout uncertainly. Okay, so that just happened. She has just gotten the blush out of her face when she reaches to grab the sword by the hilt. She can feel THE FUNK vibrate through her being as she lifts the sword high above her head. It releases a SHIMMERING ARRAY OF DISCO LIGHTS, and she is compelled to shout something.

"YOUR FUNKY DISCO SKILLS WILL LIVE ON, FROG KNIGHT!!"

A funky musical beat complements her words, punctuating the moment nicely.

She lowers the sword to her side unceremoniously, and pretends she didn't just do that, as she scurries over to help with the loot.

When Ms. Fortune gets out her swag bag, a cute little snail was already inside. It is now making a determined bid for swampy freedom. Freedooooooooom.

Nadia stares at the snail.

And then shrugs, and goes about filling the swag bag with loot. GLORIOUS LOOT.

Staren stops dancing with the sound to look at the clattering armor. And then he gives the sword a look, and shrugs at it -- then he gives the other dancers a thumbs-up. He heads for the loot, stopping to look at Ainsley at her declaration, and having a sudden urge to remix it into a techno song of some sort. For now though, he heads to the loot pile. "Probably could have a machine sort it out, at least the coins. Not sure how to value the other stuff, though..." He pulls a regular bag out of his magic bag and starts filling it with coins (So that he can draw 'bag of coins' out of the magic bag later. Drawing 'gold coin' out of the bag a jillion times would be a pain >:| )

"I guess I'll use mine, then." Theo puts his cards away. He does not appear to notice the presence or absence of a tiny snail.

Instead, he summons in three more Myr Servitors. Kickotron moves over with them. Theo points at the pile. "Equal shares, minus ten percent," he instructs. "Make sure you count hers, too?" He jerks his head at Ms. Fortune.

The little bird robots go into the hoard and start dividing it, and quickly. They do so silently and fairly, but they leave the non-coinage alone. They seem particularly intrigued by the maracas, insofar as a silent, expressionless bird robot can be intrigued by anything.

"YO LIZ GAL, lemme get a CAPTCHAROID o'dat shit." Arthur says, coming down from his INTENSE DANCE HIGH. He's actually having to catch his breath a bit! In his hands is an odd digital camera thing, hard-edged with a lot of green trim. He's taking pictures! He's taking pictures of literally all the loot that anyone will let him get a moment to take a picture of. He's more interested in /that/ than in actually looting. But if none of the objects here have "COMPLETE RESISTANCE TO REPLICATION" as a property, that's enough for him!

He takes a couple of maracas, grabs a sword or two, and a share of the gold. Arthur is an odd case; instead of actually grabbing them and putting them anywhere, they just seem to... Blip away, into nothingness! They're sent into his card-based inventory! Useful.

His inventory structure is as visible as ever: http://puu.sh/86q1A/1c882a3169.png

Unfortunately that means he's not getting that sword out from under his glasses.

The looting carries on for a few minutes, and then the 'ceiling' begins to glow. A few seconds later, glorious daylight streams into the dungeon cavern as Princess Bubblegum on the back of her flying robot swan swoops down. The swan's mouth had been belching lasers to melt a way down to the cavern, but it stops pretty quick as she homes in on the party and their looting ways.

"Oh thank goodness, you're all okay." She says, "I detected some DANGEROUSLY groovy jams pumping from this location."

She pauses, and looks around the rather swampy location. "Well, looks like all that's left to do is take everything that isn't nailed down. Good job guys!~"