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Post by Kiddo on Dec 15, 2009 21:03:33 GMT -5
For a moment, Kiddo almost panicked. Then she saw the spear. It was no longer brass, but it shone like someone had taken the sun and poured it into a mold. Beside it sat a small piece of green stone... no... some other metal. Tied with thong into an amulet.
A broken shard of her spear.
And she remembered and her fear subsided. Gray mist surrounded her, but there was more than just mist. She wasn't back in the Gray Lands. Instead, she saw around her, where the mist took hazy forms of things made real by intent and will. Trees, the ground, rocks, all of it half-mist, half-real. Aside from the spear and her amulet everything was stuck in this in-between world. She saw the others around her... They were like bright candle flames in the mist. The lizard-ninja (whose brilliant idea was that? Stealthy as a brick shoved in someone's face!), PFA, the mage, and now someone new inquiring about Sev. So THAT was the little... jerk... that had blown up her old form.
Kiddo stood very, very slowly. They couldn't see her. Not like this, not while she was stuck between realms of reality and potential. They could still hear though and if the ninjas were still up to par, they wouldn't miss some strange prints appearing in the dust and blackened earth that surrounded her. She felt very, very tired.
It'd have to wait though. She'd resisted the change, fought the Gray Lands for too long, and almost destroyed her sanity with it. It all felt like some distant dream. Even now, she felt like she was dreaming. She'd have to sit and think on this. It had sat in her subconscious for so long and now this... new form... this new body... was real. The phoenix fire was gone, what little was left used up to finalize the transformation that had begun two years ago when the first of her feathers had started to rot and decay.
Think later. Sleep later. For now, she had to get moving. There were only three guilds she knew of - the pirates, the knights, and the mages. Only the last would have been able to pull off a stunt like this and even though the name Sev was a faint memory, it was enough of one. She had to get to their manor before the sun set.
With a bound, Kiddo leapt out of the blast radius and hit the ground, her legs throwing her forwards into a four-legged run, ears and tail streaming behind her. Part of her wanted to crow with exultation. It was like flying again! But then they would hear. They couldn't see, but they would hear.
And she wasn't ready for anyone to see what she had become just yet.
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Post by Vyt: Down, but Not Out on Dec 16, 2009 0:53:26 GMT -5
((Tabloid Town Hospital))
Not even heeding at Vyt's warning, whoever was on the giant Roc sent off a blast towards the catboy. It seemed that he let the spell hit him, as there was a small explosion followed immediately by black smoke around his vicinity.
However, when the smoke finally subdued, the catboy still stood. A translucent glow of yellow energy surrounded him for a brief moment before slowly dissipating into the ground.
Instead of shouting, Vyt simply hissed. Everyone who would have encountered the catboy once or twice would know that it was worse than hearing his ear-shattering screams.
"Don't even try and kid me around," he gritted his teeth.
In an instant, he opened his palms once more. A radiating flash of yellow once more surrounded them before condensing into two spheres of energy. Eyeing the one who just jumped off the Roc and followed suit into ground level, he jumped down the building without any hint of hesitation.
A trained ninja would have done so without any problem, and Vyt was no exception. Immediately after his feet created a small crack on the ground, he ran towards the Roc's "owner".
"I must be careful not to make any property damage at all."
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Moonlight
Frequent Visitor
-insert something witty here-
Posts: 153
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Post by Moonlight on Dec 16, 2009 1:51:01 GMT -5
~Mage Manor Office~
Liyer flicked his ears at the bang of the office door. Turning to see the source of the commotion, he immediately jumped off the chair in shock. "Eh, what...what the heck are you doing here?!" If that kid was here...
Oh, great.
---
Juverna stood firm in the middle of the floor, painfully aware that EVERYONE FREAKING KNEW ABOUT HER ENTRANCE. Well, one inconvenience won't matter...She watched the others from the corner of her eye, taking another step towards Liyer. Mages...
---
"Whoever you are, what do you want from us?" he asked whoever entered the room.
"Don't waste your breath," Liyer muttered. "She's mute anyway. Well, what DO you want?" he leapt up to a desk, baring himself and looking her over. "Is your master so desperate to have me dead already that he sends his lowest puppet? Hah, a wonder you're his FAVORITE."
He watched Juverna hesitate for a moment. True, he did feel a little sorry for this situation, but why now, in front of all these other people? Way to keep it subtle, Rivanth.
Liyer leaped up from the desk again, ready to pounce on the girl, not caring to hurt her too much. "I'd rather die of old age, thank you very much."
((Oh, all these post are just full of pure cheeseyness. Hope the action gets here soon...))
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Post by Draco on Dec 16, 2009 2:23:19 GMT -5
<<Choppa Crash Site>>
With a smile Gil throws off his coat and is crawling all over the Choppa. Every now and then he'll mumble to himself and then goes back to looking at it. After a few moments the propeller, or what remained of it, has been taken off and thrown to the side. He climbs into the Choppa, and notices Scar. He pokes his head out of the closest broken window.
"Uh, does your friend usually have a three-foot-long shard of metal through his leg? If so never mind, if it's not normal... You might want to get that first aid kit in here and treat him. He's not exactly looking good in here."
He climbs out of the Choppa and begins to think over a few things. He goes to his vehicle, the Fantome, and digs through the storage compartment.
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Post by Strife on Dec 16, 2009 4:27:17 GMT -5
((Spacefleet Network))
After a long wait (which was still only milliseconds in real NTWF time), nobody seemed to answer the oak door. It knocked two more times, but in vain. It seemed the Author had chosen to take a third option.
* * *
"Omega SS detected the foreign entity during the scan," said one of Haggoth's IT officers. "We can't pinpoint its exact location yet. It's spreading more copies of itself to deter us."
Haggoth cursed and snorted at the same time, making the former inaudible. "Quarentine the entire sattelite system from the rest of the network. We don't want those copies reaching other areas."
* * *
Back in the digital metaverse, the sky darkened, and the floor began to collapse in the far distance, creating a gap between the sattelite network and the rest of HQ.
The door remained in place with an eerie silence.
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Post by PFA on Dec 16, 2009 12:25:00 GMT -5
Ninja Dojo
Suddenly, while PFA's brain was still registering what had happened, Ikkin showed up, asking about Sev. Kovaran gave a brief summary of the situation while PFA was collecting her thoughts.
"Mayhaps one of my comrades could expand," Kovaran suggested, gesturing to the other ninjas.
PFA was too busy thinking about what had happened to correct Kovaran that it was 'expound,' not 'expand.' In an attempt to come up with something to say to Ikkin, PFA stammered, "I-I don't know... but... Kiddo..."
---
Crashed merc choppa
Jernath watched as Gil started getting into the chopper, jumping a little as he took off the propellor. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by what appeared to be a... a star.
"Uhh... well, right now you're by the forest..." Jernath was about to continue with 'around the Merc. HQ,' but decided that wasn't a good idea, for multiple reasons. He gave Nova a look over, questioning his sudden presence. "Who are you to ask?"
"Uh, does your friend usually have a three-foot-long shard of metal through his leg?" came Gil's voice, distracting Jernath.
"What?" was Jernath's immediate reaction. He turned away from Nova, heading over to the chopper to see Scar lying unconscious, a three-foot shard of metal--as Gil had said--sticking through his leg. That definitely wasn't good. "Yeah, uhh, guys? We could use that first aid kit over here!"
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Post by The Horsemen on Dec 16, 2009 14:59:01 GMT -5
The tavern by the road to Dunburrow was dark and empty. Pestilence wouldn't have necessarily stuck to closing times but the customers had to because they all needed their rest at night. He himself didn't sleep unless he wanted to kill some time so he usually spent his nights sitting at the bar keeping tabs on the accounting or taking a stroll in the countryside. Right now, however, he was at the barn.
A lantern was hanging off a nail in the wall. In its light, four figures were sorting through various papers. The air was full of the distinct scents of a building that's currently being used as a horse stable.
"This here looks suspicious," said a big burly figure that was sprawled across several bales of hay and looked rather comfortable there. "'We reserve the right to withhold your salary for up to three months if you fail to comply with the duties described in point 4'. Since when do we even get paid?"
I BELIEVE IT'S DEFINED ELSEWHERE, said another voice, heavy and low like a marble gong. CHECK POINT 1.2 AGAIN.
There was some general rustling of papers as the figures looked to see who had the paper in question.
"Point 1.2: 'Salary' is hereby defined as all the perks and powers that are unique to you as an active Horseman, then there's lots of blah-blah about what those powers are in particular," said Pestilence. "Well, this shouldn't be a problem. I have my powers as a non-active Horseman, therefore they're not unique to an active Horseman, therefore they don't count as salary."
"This is a totally pointless thing anyway," said the fourth figure leaning against a wall, in a voice that was very distinctly female and somehow bought palm trees and surfer dudes to mind. "You can't like, fail to comply with the duties. You comply by existing, everyone knows that."
IT'S A HOOK, Death said. He was sitting on a milking stool.
"You mean, they'll strip me of my powers if I try to do anything they could define as non-Horsemanly?" Pestilence asked sharply, looking up. The seven-foot skeleton nodded.
"Hah!" growled War, shifting aside in the hay and grabbing a pen that was leaned against his horned helmet on the ground. "Easy. We'll just add a clause defining that the powers you have now don't fall under that clause for... someone word this all nice and posh for me, will ya?"
There was a pause, then Death dictated the new clause and War wrote it down.
"Can we, like, do that?" Famine asked, carefully sidling towards the other three while making sure that her excuisite Dior-clad skin and bones wouldn't brush against too much of the resident stable ickiness. "I never wrote in my own contract."
"We didn't even have contracts, girl," War said grumpily. "It was a simpler time. And we looked over your contract too, we coulda written in it if we'd found anything funky, but yours was fair. This here?" He waved the wad of papers around. "Trying to rein him in, s'what it is."
BUT THEY NEED HIM, Death said with a grin - well, more of a grin than what he already had. WHATEVER WE WRITE IN HERE, THEY'LL HAVE TO AGREE WITH IT. THEY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE.
"Couldn't they like, just get a new Pestilence?"
"Not while the old Pestilence still has his powers that can't be taken away in any shape or form," said Pestilence. "Really, guys, this is one big smelly pile of... stuff. Why do they bother? It's just the Underdeep. We could go seal it all right now and go back home."
"Can't," Famine said. The others turned to look at her. "It's like, symbiotic. Lots has gone through and lots has come here. Seal it off and you'll get like, stuff trying to get back across and looking for entrances. And then pressure will build up. The entrances are natural, the planet needs them for like... balance, and harmony."
There was silence, helpfully filled by the crickets chirping outside.
"How exactly do you know that?" War asked.
"Duh, it's the Underdeep." The Horsewoman rolled her sockedshadowed eyes at him. "It's practically all hunger. Totally one of my biggest gigs. Anyway, there's far too many entrances right now, that's for sho'. New ones are getting ripped in. The Underdeep needs something like..." She paused, then pulled a pair of scales out of her purse and had a good look at it. "Six hundred entrances all over the planet to keep the balance. Right now it has like seven thousand."
WOULD YOU BE ALLOWED TO CLOSE THE EXCESS WITHOUT GETTING IN TROUBLE? Death asked. His voice was somewhat weary; bureaucracy wasn't his thing and the meeting had lasted for a good three hours now.
There was a pause. "Yah, totally," the girl then said. "Except, y'know, can't do that while the pressure is still building up, otherwise the remaining ones would just get like, thousand-mile wide rips in them and presto, Apocalypse."
"That'd look neat," War said dreamily. "Hey, I'm just saying. We haven't seen proper action in a while. I have to sneak off to other dimensions to watch James Cameron movies for the good stuff."
"What's causing the excess Underdeep?" Pestilence asked, absentmindedly going over his contract again.
A COMBINATION OF FACTORS, said Death.
"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out myself," Famine agreed. "Hey, wanna come to my place down there? Maybe you'll see something I've missed."
Three heads turned. "You have a place down there?"
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Post by Goosh on Dec 16, 2009 15:38:38 GMT -5
((Merpo Manor))
Kassandra could feel the sword moving towards her, like gravity, but her enemy fought back. The sword stayed put.
"You're a parasite!" she cried. "You don't even understand that, do you? You take whatever you want, regardless of who it belongs to, because you're too darn lazy to earn it yourself. Oh, but it's okay, because you're charming, and you're witty, and you only kill when you have to. Do you think that makes you a better person? Do you think that brings you even one step closer to being hero?"
She stepped forward, raising her blade. "So self-centered. It's appalling." Kassandra flicked her wrist and in a flash, the sword was at the throat of one of the pirates. A small furry one, who began to break out in a strange sparkly rash.
"I could cut him down here and now, and you wouldn't care. Sure, you'd be sad, and you'd probably try to bring him back, but only because you need all the friends you can get. Only because you want to feel more heroic. But deep down, in the back of your head, there'd be a little relieved voice saying, 'at least it wasn't me'. You'd be happy because your story gets to go on, and you get to keep living and stealing and playing big bad pirate on the high seas. Is that your story? That's pathetic."
The half-elf looked into the captain's eyes. There was nothing there. "Every shred of sympathy you have, you have only for yourself. Everyone around you is expendable. I say this with the utmost certainty; you are a villain." And then Kassandra raised her sword toward Huntress once more and struck out.
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Post by Huntress on Dec 16, 2009 16:35:08 GMT -5
((Casa de Merpo))
Hunty parried the strike without much effort. Kassandra's primary idea about swordfighting seemed to be trying to hit the other guy's sword. And she was the good guy in this story. Good guys don't kill.
"I never claimed to be a hero," she said dryly, backing down the staircase. The farther she'd get from the Sue, the clearer she could think. Melee fighting wasn't smart with someone like this. "I've never claimed to be something I'm not. Yes, I'm a pirate. Yes, I hold my own if I can at all help it. Yes, I'll never qualify for Citizen of the Year, I know that. But you? Thinking you got me all figured out just because I'm not you? Thinking that I'm not capable of compassion, caring and full-blown loyalty just because I fit your definition of villain? That the world is black and white and you're the only one who's right? What the hell, hero?"
She lowered the sword which left a faint silvery trail as it moved, and tossed it into her left hand. Her right hand was holding the crossbow all of a sudden. It wasn't generally a smart idea to carry a loaded one around on her back but sometimes you'd run into a situation where you had no time to load.
"If I'm selfish and vain and have no sympathy," she said, "then we're really" she fired the crossbow mid-sentence, "not so different, are we? And this one's for holding my quartermaster at swordpoint."
Hunty rarely, if ever, missed her target when firing while standing still at such a short range. She'd aimed straight for the throat. Still, it was kind of fascinating to watch how the bolt swerved slightly in its path about five feet from Kassandra and ended up hitting her shoulder.
Five foot immediate radius. Ha. Good to know.
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Post by Celestial on Dec 16, 2009 17:57:03 GMT -5
((Spacefleet Network))
The door kept knocking but the Author knew better than to answer strange knocking noises on doors that seemed to float in mid-air. She remained in her kitten form and kept watching it but just for kicks, created a stereo speaker system that began playing "Gotta Knock a Little Harder" to lighten the atmosphere.
And it needed lightening. The sky began to darken as the floor fell away dramatically to what should be Ominous Latin Chanting (TM) instead of the fairly jazzy music that was playing. The Author was now cut off and she realised that. It was do or die. Which automatically made things more fun.
Heck, everything that increased dying chances was more fun. Except maybe...no, even taunting the undead penguins with a faulty flamethrower was fun.
"The door is open, by the way," she made her shadow clone say and realised the whole reference things. Along with the 1052 thing, the comparision was becoming too much. It was accurate but nobody had to point it out, stupid writer.
Come on, where was the LOLcat? She wa greatly looking forward to facing him and just sitting here was boring. Sure she could stirke up another conversation with HUL but the thing about Heel Face Turns was that the villain had to have some time off away from the hero before he or she realised that they have to turn good. And HUL needed that. Plus GozillaCat should not be something that just sneaks up on you.
The Author was fully aware of what she had just said in her narration.
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Post by Fraze on Dec 16, 2009 18:42:18 GMT -5
((Spaceport)) Fraze did his best to comprehend what Amneiger was saying, but the weight of his need to facepalm was distracting him. I don't want to deal with this right now, he thought. I don't want to deal with this right now, I do not want to deal with this right now, I desperately want NOT to deal with this right now... Take a deep breath in. Go on a long, relaxing vacation. Come back refreshed and energized and ready to get to work. Exhale. "I can't go with you there right now, Amnei. There are too many other things going on right now that need my attention. I'll get a team down there as soon as possible, but that's all I can do for now. And concerning one of the other pressing issues, since you're here, I'd like to start a planetside mapping and monitoring of the Underdeep. It seems like something big is going on there, I'd like to know what it is. Would you allow a few of your minitanks to go in and do a survey, take readings, without anyone accompanying them directly? I'll get some other unmanned bots down if possible, but if the tank you have with you now can do a preliminary investigation, that would really help."
It was only now that Fraze realized who had accompanied Ethan to the surface. His brow furrowed deeply. "And I want to ask you," he told her, "where you've been for the past year, but I'm not entirely sure I should. If you can help with this Tabloid Town incident, please do so."
--------
Merpo's Lab, Where Everyone Is Being Unnecessarily Held Up Because Fraze Was Madly Studying For Final Exams And Didn't Have Time To Post, The Misfortune Of This Problem Only Being Compounded By The Fact That Fraze Now Missed A Lot Of Action That He Could Have Taken Part In And Thereby Caused Himself To Go OOC, Because, Let's Face It, Merpo Wouldn't Want Someone Else Answering His Door, Would He?
Merpo Looked Up When The Doorbell Rang. It Had Been...How Long, Since Someone Had Last Rung It? A Few Years, He Thought. He Had Almost Forgotten What It Sounded Like, And His First Thought Was That The Sound Was Something Breaking In His Lab To The Exact Tune Of "Never Gonna Give You Up."
The Girl Got Up And Ran Off. As She Did, He Suddenly Had The Impression That He Was Mentoring Her, But It Faded As She Continued Upstairs. He Shook His Head. Absurd Notion. He Got Up From His Crouching Position In Front Of A Piece Of Machinery. He Was Blessedly Free Of Most Of The Joint Pains Of Advancing Middle Age, But Still Felt A Need To Groan As...
What?
I Forgot To Close The Underline Tag?
I've Been Capitalizing Every Word Since The Location Header?
Sorry Kwoi, Rikku. I Win.
...he straightened up.
He was still wearing the protective Underdeep-proof suit. It looked rather like he had tried to make a suit of chain mail, but had to make do with wire mesh--and when the wire mesh ran out, he covered the remaining patch on the hip with knobs and homemade batteries. He turned and walked up the stairs, himself humming "...desert you, never gonna make you cry..." He turned around the corner.
And almost fell over when he saw who was at the door--and that she had just shot this girl, whoever she was. What did she want? His first thought was to walk up to the pirate woman and say hello. But given that she had just apparently attacked this mysterious girl, that didn't seem too smart. Should he run into the Underdeep? He would probably be safe there. Except that the batteries powering his suit only had a few hours of juice, and the pirates might be waiting when he came out. ...But they wouldn't necessarily know where he would come out. Merpo ran as fast as his aging legs could carry him back downstairs into the lab. He grabbed his chart of the Underdeep and a few coins from a table--just in case--and dashed for the Underdeep entrance.
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Post by Rider on Dec 16, 2009 20:18:13 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]La Mansion de Merpo[/glow]
Hunty was explaining herself to this girl. This wasn't good. Already this girl had power over Hunty, whether the captain knew it or not.
The twang of a crossbow. Oh yeah. This demon had Hunty in the palm of her hand. Rider shoved a silver candelabra into her traveling bag and turned to warn Hunty and missed a door opening right behind her.
By the time she turned to investigate the noise, Merpo was halfway down the hall.
"Get back here!" she screamed, knowing it would do no good. She bolted after him. Around this corner, through that room, down a couple of flights of stairs and into his lab - and an entrance to the Underdeep.
She hesitated just a moment, and he was gone.
[glow=red,2,300]Brassport[/glow]
"But I … wouldn’t recommend it. Last year, the Commander of Spacefleet sort of … rampaged."
Rampaged? Adeline didn't like the sound of that. On the other hand, there were other guilds on this progress-forsaken rock that knew the value of science.
On the other hand, these mages might be able to bring them home.
If that were the case, she would follow them to the ends of the earth.
"How did we get here? And don't just tell me who did it. I want to know the process."
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Post by Zylaa on Dec 16, 2009 23:15:59 GMT -5
((Merpo's House Thing))
Zylaa had decided that this was not a very good night.
First, Bloody Mary had revealed that their little theft all those months ago was actually research on the Underdeep. Zylaa had been a pirate for far too long to believe that anything this narratively convenient was a coincidence.
He seemed harmless! she raged silently. Eccentric, sure, but who isn't here? And he's working with everyone's worst nightmares? What in the name of the Guids was he thinking? Technicolor leech, risking all our sanity for what? And getting us to do his dirty work!
Aside from her continually increasing rage, the Blarf ride was kind of fun, she supposed, and she managed to keep a tight hold of the nearest spike and land safely. She even managed to leap off the Blarf as the landing jolted her free, and she landed on her feet, bouncing a bit as she drew her cutlass.
Time to give that peacock a piece of my mind, she thought. Mistakenly, as it turns out.
She barely had time to register that Hunty's sword was glowing lavender before the door opened and out walked an all-too-familiar face.
I think I'd take the Underdeep, Zylaa thought with scorn as the Mary Sue walked out and began to confront Hunty. Of course, part of her mind reasoned, part of the reason she felt such hatred was that the story demanded it-- after all, they were the villains, weren't they? And all female villains always hated the Sue. Always.
I can't even HATE her without feeling like she's manipulating me!
And the Sue was now lecturing Hunty on the wickedness of her ways. Zylaa felt a small squirming of doubt and guilt. After all, they were selfish. And they were lazy. And they were pirates. And as captain, clearly Hunty would be the most manipulative of them all. It was only right. And--
-- then Kassandra stuck her sword at Goosh's throat.
Zylaa wasn't really inclined to listen to Kassandra's twisted story any more. She hadn't had nearly enough time to figure out a plan by the time the Sue spun towards Hunty, but as Hunty fired back with a high quality What The Hell, Hero moment, she got an idea. Hunty seemed to be holding her own, so she dashed over to Goosh, who still was sparkling some with nerves.
"Sparkling. If we're lucky, it'll work against Sues too. Use it," she said, speaking very quickly. "If that doesn't work, we'll be down to The Power of Friendship, and I'm not sure how strong she can twist the story. Especially with the Underdeep here." She took a deep breath. "And--"
But it was a day for unfinished sentences, as at that moment she spotted Merpo and saw Rider disappearing after him. She dashed along behind, easily overtaking the captain, who had for some reason stopped.
Zylaa blamed the aftereffects of the Sue for what happened next. Since she was sure that if she had been in full control of her wits, she would have noticed that the vaguely ominous entrance Merpo was passing through was an entrance into the Underdeep, and stopped.
As it was, though, she wasn't about to lose him, and kept bounding towards the Underdeep.
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Post by Omni on Dec 17, 2009 0:55:08 GMT -5
Mage Manor - office
"Well, what DO you want?" he leapt up to a desk, baring himself and looking her over. "Is your master so desperate to have me dead already that he sends his lowest puppet? Hah, a wonder you're his FAVORITE."
Omni watched, and listened, as the cat talked, feeling out of the loop.
"I'd rather die of old age, thank you very much."
It was around then that Loophunter spoke up. "Omni, I have a bad feeling about this. My wolf's intuition tells me that there's someone or something outside the manor and I think they're going to attack us."
Omni paused. She was part wolf, herself, but if she did get a feeling about something outside the manor, it was lost among all the other bad feelings. Great. Something else to worry about... "Yeah, can you two save this for later?" she said to the cat and the newcomer. "I think we've got bigger problems on our hands." She gestured with a thumb pointing to the door behind her.
Omni paid careful attention to the girl's aura. If she was mute, then her emotions might be a good way to judge her reaction. Actually, it was probably good even for those that weren't mute.
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Post by Amneiger on Dec 17, 2009 1:08:45 GMT -5
"The Underdeep?" Amneiger hadn't heard anything about any trouble with the Underdeep. Well, he was just going to have to hope that Vyt was dealing with whatever was at the hospital, then. If they were lucky the destruction around the hospital would convince people to stay away. "I'll get the latest maps and start on it."
There was a storage area in the spaceport that was designed for holding equipment for the workers; Amneiger went there now. As he was prepping the minitank he'd stored there for activation, he logged on to one of the computer terminals in the storage area and checked the news feed. A hacker? And there's no connection to the satellite network? I'll just have to download the latest updates before it was quarantined, then.
As the minitank finished the last of its diagnostic checks, Amneiger looked over the map.
...Okay, I can see why Fraze was worried. That's a lot of openings.
It appeared that one of the closest openings was underneath a large mansion. How'd that happen? Never mind, maybe I'll find some clues to that in the mansion. He picked up a laptop and left with the minitank following him.
Several minutes later, Amneiger and the minitank arrived outside the mansion on the map. There seemed to be sounds coming from inside the fence. He followed the fence around, looking for a way in. Eventually he found an unlocked gate around the back of the mansion. He held it open so that the minitank could get through, went through himself, and softly shut it.
He went around the front of the mansion and saw...the Pirates?
"Um...hi. Do any of you know the owner?"
Then he looked at captain Hunty and one of the other people standing around, and realized that the captain had just shot this strange other girl.
Maybe just walking in like this was actually a bad idea.
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