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Post by Nasuella on Dec 19, 2009 20:52:48 GMT -5
Near the Ninja Dojo
It happened in a blur. Kovaran had leaped for the firebird, hoping to grab it and land on the ground, helping restrain it--
Instead, he felt it collide, he felt himself crash to the ground, and he felt the sickening sensations of a body being crushed under his weight. Ignoring the pain in his own body, he lifted himself up to look at the firebird.
...no.
Something had gone wrong.
Hearing the stranger scream at him only drove that point further in. The massive lizard quickly moved backwards, not taking his eyes off the bird, nor the woman who was looking at it--him, she was saying.
And then she turned towards him, drawing a sword and yelling at him some more.
"It was accidental!" Kovaran retreated further, still refusing to look away from what had just happened - what he had just done. He'd just killed someone by being careless. Yet again. "I only intended to - to restrain it! Him! I did not mean--did not mean to--"
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Post by Kiddo on Dec 20, 2009 0:53:31 GMT -5
Mage Manor
The vibration traveled through the floor and into the walls. Kiddo felt the building give a slight shudder and she absently adjusted her stance, digging her front hands in and bracing with her back legs, spreading the wings to stabilize... the wings.... that she no longer had....
Too much weight backwards and nothing to catch the wind and hold it. Kiddo fell, reached desperately for the wall of the manor and caught an outcropping. Her body smashed into the stone, scrambled for purchase, and kept falling.
Into a window. Her head smashed through the glass and with a frantic kick she managed to roll the rest of her body into the room. Then she lay there in a pile of broken glass.
No. Effing. Wings.
She was cut from the glass. The blood was deep crimson, like it had already started to clot early, and seemed to have taints of purple in it. She was going to leave marks. Footprints, at worst. Well, there was nothing to do about it - at least she was IN now - and this body healed fast.
At least, that was her hope. Kiddo got to all fours and carefully looked around for the first time to see what kind of room she'd managed to drop into.
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Tokala
Fan
Rider's gonna kill me for this...
Fox in Box
Posts: 92
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Post by Tokala on Dec 20, 2009 1:30:29 GMT -5
<<Brassport, Where A Long Recap of Recent Conversation Will Now Be Taking Place>>
As Blackstone began to gather himself for the coming explanation of his plans, a woman walked up to him, dragging someone behind her. The man she was dragging looked familiar, like he had seen him before... like he had seen him hanging off a strut at the Aerodome.
‘Mr Blackstone, two more pairs of hands to help. What can we do to help?'
She then leaned in and whispered to him, and his eyes went slightly wide. Giving a small nod to the woman, an excellent engineer if his memory served him, he straightened up. As he was about to respond, the man interrupted.
"Ah, well, Oscar Featherstone, Gentleman Adventure, and what my lovely lady companion here means to say is that we'd be glad to offer our unique services to the city of Brassport . Of course, good sir, being a well travelled Gentleman Adventurer and all I do have extensive experience in flight. If it's sized and shaped like an airship, I'm your man!"
Blackstone didn't like the man, he was too much like a politician in his manner of speech, and you couldn't trust anyone who called themself an 'Adventurer,' none the less, he could use their help, just as much as anyone's. He opened his mouth again, but now a third person joined Oscar and the woman who's name was on the tip of his tongue.
"Asta Moret, New Guild member, chemist and alchemist. I'll help with whatever I can."
At this, Athar snorted. "Is there a new Guild that I was not made aware of?" he asked disdainfully, "and will you be asking admittance to the Royal Academy for your 'Guild'?"
Blackstone silenced him with a glare. "Now Athar, I'm sure the young Alchemists aren't plotting some insidious scheme to overthrow you and the Royal Academy, you should really stop being so paranoid." The Alchemist snorted again and folded his arms, but said nothing.
Rushsaw began to address these three and the others left in the hall. "It is in all of our best interests to find out what's going on outside the City, and figure out where we are firstly. Secondly we should try to understand what happened and how we can get back. Any and all of you are welcome to help in whatever capacity you are able. Nothing is expected of you or owed by any of you, and you can leave at any point."
Another figure walked up to the podium, in a large metal suit that Blackstone recognized. "I suppose I could help you out. Technically, I'm an engineer, but hey, with a big metal suit on, who's counting?" He smiled at the kid and nodded.
"Of course, any and all help is welcome."
Suddenly, through the glass ceiling of the Assembly Hall, many heads turned up to see a giant... thing swoop over them. It landed right outside the doors in the empty courtyard, then disappeared and was replaced by a human woman, no, two of them, who strolled just into the Assembly Hall.
"Greetings, we come as envoys of the Mage Guild. You have a wonderful city, I managed to admire so much of it from the air, it is such a pity that you have entered into such a dangerous world,"
Blackstone moved his mouth in shock, and was relieved to find others talking so that he wouldn't have to. Except..... "She's a witch!" came the cry, and his eyes instantly re-focused. A witch, now there was something he had not heard in a long time.
****************************************************** The Clockmaker saw the dragon fly overhead, and watched it morph into human form. He doubted anyone in the Hall, or even in the rest of the City would remember what one was, but he knew, he remembered. Dragons were not to be trusted, they spoke in riddles and tricked you. And it looked like this one was starting off just the way he expected.
"It is such a pity that you have entered into such a dangerous world."
A veiled threat perhaps, and he waited for the demands of a virgin sacrifice.
"She's a witch!"
The Clockmaker did a double-take. He knew that kid, knew the suit he was in. He was so young to be using that word, he didn't think anyone else remembered. He shook his head and smiled. Of course the kid didn't remember, he just picked up the word from stories. It'd been over a century since the Witches had been banished from Brigaia, out into the Wilds beyond. No one else in Brassport remembered that. He'd been just a little boy when the last one was hunted down, not two blocks from his house. She'd turned into a bird, then a squid-like thing, and had finally ripped a man's heart out in her attempt to escape.
Witches, beings who weren't human, who scoffed at science and any attempts to define their magic with natural laws. Witches, beings who messed with souls. ******************************************************
"There're so many more people like myself. But I mean you no harm. I'm only here with a warning, against the other guilds of this world. If you choose to not believe me, it will only create more problems for you,"
Blackstone listened intently as a young girl started up a conversation with the woman. Witch. Monster. Thing. The boy in the suit- Owen if he remembered correctly- slipped away, though Blackstone thought he might have the right of it. The so-called 'Mage' didn't have much to back up what she said, but it was worth checking out. He waited for a lull in the conversation, then cleared his throat loudly.
"The girl is right, this world's politics should not be our concern. Now if you have information about this place we are in, I ask that you come with me back to my office and share it. Athar will join us, as he is the head Alchemist at the Royal Academy of Alchemy, and will most likely understand the subtle nuances of you... Mages? was it? Sarinon," that's her name! he thought, "As the leading engineer here besides myself will accompany us as well. And Oscar, being the pilot that we have available, should be brought in so that he can look at maps." Or because I'd rather keep him in my line of vision than roaming free around the city, he thought.
Athar seemed to have a similar thought as he leaned into the conversation and said, "The girl Asta as well, as the representative of this new 'guild' she claims."
Blackstone nodded, and completely unseen, Athar drew a small circle with his finger on the inside of his cloak, tracing a pattern stitched in gold. Weaving that pattern into his cloak has cost the life of one of his students in Energy, and left him tired for almost a week. But even the hassle of covering up the body and having to sleep in for a few days was worth it for situations like this.
A voice spoke in the Dragon's head, "I know what you're up to. But don't worry, I won't tell. Come talk to me when the meeting breaks up."
******************************************************
The Clockmaker couldn't let this meeting happen without him, he needed to know what was going on just as much, if not more than, everyone else. For if history forgets a thing, it's like it never existed. So he spoke up, in his own raspy way, "Dr. Blackstone, if you would, I will also attend as a stenographer for the meeting, as these ladies will be wanting to get on their way, and you will want to have records of what they said, and charts diagrammed. There isn't time to go get a proper phonograph from the Clock Tower, so I'll see what I can whip up."
******************************************************
The old man from the back interrupted again, insisting that he come along to record it. Blackstone wasn't in a mood to argue, so he simply nodded. After all, who knew when having a written record of what these women had said would come in useful, perhaps for fact-checking.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2009 4:30:03 GMT -5
<<Somewhere by Brassport>>“Did you sleep at all, my lady?”No, she was tempted to snap, but she held it in, settling for a rubbing of her temples and a sigh. "Only a little. Light...'cat naps'." She'd heard Aly, among others, say something similar, though the casual phrase sounded strange when she said it. Odd, since most of her resting periods were cat naps. "I'll be fine." The unspoken question hovered the brief silence. Will you?"In any case," the knight continued, standing, "you seem like you have something urgent to do." He could hide the pain well, but it was clear to her eyes that he wasn't quite recovered. She wanted to interrogate him, ask him about the half-phrases and bits and pieces he'd uttered during the long night--this 'Underdeep' and 'Brassport', for one--but she settled for the next best thing. If that was his target, maybe she find answers for herself without pushing him. "Can you ride?" *** <<Brassport--Assembly Hall>>((Hmm...well, which one sounds weirder, 'Guild member' or 'Steampunk girl'? )) Asta folded her arms and sighed. "It's been a while since I've been called a 'girl'," she said shortly to Athar, though she kept a slight smile on her face all the while. For the sake of friendliness, if nothing else. "And last time I checked, a guild's a group of people who do the same job or role, or even share common interests--for some. It's--" She stopped, and sighed. "Let's not speak of it again." The two newcomers--the most recent ones, in any case...her thoughts turned to those two as she started walking with the group. She'd picked up a little of the conversation. Mages, she thought, and sighed again. Of course, she had her own abilities, and she knew them well--the power to change matter itself, reform it into something new and completely different, useful in novel ways and inventions to be discovered. She didn't know if that, or her interest in chemistry had come first, but both were a part of her and that was what she would continue to pursue. But, mages... Those two didn't fit here, even in this city of diverse people and minds. Getting us back home? I doubt it. She traced the symbol on the back of her right glove--mercury--thinking. Brassport's a strong city. We'll make it through on our own. Not that she was totally convinced, but it seemed better than allying with two new strangers. She looked around again, reminded of the others by her. Hmm. The Gentleman Adventurer, or the two newcomers? ...Not an easy decision. *** <<Mage Manor>>Aly, having scurried out of the basement, went to secure herself some food. She came out successful. [ Aly...] Lika looked up, a little incredulous and exasperated at the same time. [ Much as I know you've been careful to always eat plenty after that one illness...isn't this a little excessive?] "No," the girl replied. Or rather, tried to. The seven-slice layer of swiss in her mouth wasn't letting her say much. [ Let me rephrase that. Put half the food back, and you can spread the rest over a day.[Swallowing a bite and working her mouth to get the next chunk of cheese, she shook her head. Joy, Lika sighed. She'd heard that some mages ate a lot, due to the amount of energy it took to use magic. Aly had gulped down her fair share sometimes, and she definitely wasn't going to eat all of that in one sitting, but even so... [ Aly, are you maintaining something?[She grinned, tucking a last bit of swiss in a cheek. "What do you think the campout food's for?" [ ...Oh, joy.] They settled on her bed, after the mage had unlocked her room. Leaving the cat to bump the door shut, she started on an apple. [ Pig.] "Oh, shut it," she snorted, swallowing. "In any case, it's just a small line of flame. Shouldn't even burn anything used to room temperature." [ And you left it right outside a gigantic opening into darkness? Isn't this a little stupid?] She frowned. [ Not to mention convenient. I didn't see you put anything of the sort up.] "You weren't watching," she said with a smile. "I'll kill the flames if something happens, and we can go to check." [ You're not the best person to do so.] "Lika, if something's happening here...I need something to shoot." [ Then go out to the forest.] "Not when there's a fight to be had." The cat sighed and flicked her tail in resignation. [ Do as you want.] I had to be stuck with the stubborn one.
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Post by Huntress on Dec 20, 2009 11:26:14 GMT -5
((Merpo's place))
In the end, Hunty left Jina on the doorstep, having told the blarf to keep an eye on her. There's not much that can happen to people when they have something like a blarf watching them. Granted, she was a little iffy, considering how the blarf had been terrified of Kassandra back on the days, but then again, he'd been the size of a big horse back then, now he was the size of a pretty decent house. Not to mention he'd been living the free life of a pirate for years. Good for the mindset, this sort of thing.
She couldn't really tell how big the house actually was when navigating towards the basement, considering how dark it was. She stopped to pick up a clock in a hallway and hold it near a window. Nearly eleven. This'll be another one of those long days.
There was light looming somewhere downstairs so that's where she headed, only to stumble across Nasue and very nearly fall over.
"Why," she asked the universe in general, squinting at the coati in the dim light and determining that she was, indeed, unconscious, "does my crew always have to consist of equal parts of bravado and swooning? I would be willing to give up some bravado if I got a little less swooning in exchange. Coo-ee, anyone down here?"
She edged into the lab with the kind of suspicious stare of a person who's expecting something to jump at her every minute now, only to find nothing more terrifying than Rider and Amneiger and to hear Rider say, "If we could get a living, breathing, thinking person in there - with some sorta protection of course, then maybe we can figure out how this bunny ticks."
"Are you volunteering?" Hunty asked grimly, placing Nasue's limp body on a nearby table. "The Underdeep is as big as this planet. You might as well send an ant down the blarf's throat and expect him to locate his brain and perform surgery in it by pure trial and error. Hopping in there and hoping that we'll get lucky isn't my way to go. That's why I wanted to talk to Merpo, he might know something. Speaking of which, what was that you said about some commander Strife?"
"That'd be the Commander," Bloody Mary said sulkily.
Hunty looked up. "Come again?"
"The Commander. You know, big bulky guy, reeks of evil, little on the dead side, talks like this." He gave a 'ghack' and pawed his throat. "Remind me never to try that again. Anyway, yeah. Same guy. If he comes out again, there's your chance to settle some old scores."
Hunty stared blankly at him. "What, seriously? Awesome. Peachy. Just what I needed. Well, tell him to grab a number and get in line once he's out again. First we need to see what's wrong with Nasue here, and Jina's still out there unconscious, Kassandra needs to be dealt with, Merpo's missing and the Underdeep," she shot a glare at the tunnel in the farther end of the lab, "don't even get me started on the Underdeep. I'm not going in there or letting anyone in my crew go in there without some sort of big powerful protection that we know for a rock-solid fact to work..."
Her voice trailed off. Something was nagging at the back of her brain, demanding for attention.
The Commander. She'd last fought the guy well over a year ago, over something that... something that later turned out to be a blessing and a curse all at the same time...
Something that, when used right, could accomplish very nearly anything.
Something she'd later sent off to pay a debt. Guess it was time to start owing favors again.
"Rane," she said sharply. "We need to find Rane."
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Post by PFA on Dec 20, 2009 11:27:10 GMT -5
Ninja Dojo
It all happened so fast.
First Sev was dead. Then suddenly he was back, but needed help. And then, with an attack from Kovaran, Sev was dead again.
Ikkin's outburst made this even more apparent. PFA was knocked over from the wind that Ikkin had suddenly 'dropped' and was just getting back to her feet as Ikkin drew her sword to face Kovaran.
"Ikkin! Wait!" PFA yelped, and again she pulled out her katana... only a split-second later realizing what she was doing. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, something inside of her was saying Ikkin was about to start a fight. She took a couple steps in front of the others in her group, holding her katana in a defensive stance. If Ikkin wanted to fight... then so be it.
---
Crashed merc choppa
Jernath took the sheets and first aid kit from Gil, doing what he could to tend to Scar's leg. He certainly wasn't a medic by any sense of the word, but he did know a bit about first aid.
"Yeah, that's great," Jernath grumbled to Nova over his shoulder, "but I believe I asked who you were. Don't you have a name?"
Jernath was probably coming off a bit harsher than he intended, but that was because it hadn't exactly been a good day. When giant dark voids threaten to eat you, your home blows up and your chopper crashes... let's just say Jernath was a bit irritable at the time.
Jernath was just finishing bandaging Scar's leg when the three ninjas showed up. He looked at them, raising an eyebrow. "First Gil and this star guy and now ninjas... since when has this been a gathering grounds for you people?"
As he said this, he finished tying off the impromptu bandage, stopping for a moment to see how he did. "That should help... but I think he's going to need some professional medical attention. Anyone know where the nearest hospital is?" Jernath took a breath, brushing his bangs out of his eyes as he pondered this. "...Tabloid Town, maybe?"
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Post by Amneiger on Dec 20, 2009 12:04:27 GMT -5
((Merpo's lab))
"Protection? The Mages might be able to help with that, since I'm pretty sure that the Underdeep is some kind of magical phenomenon. Does anybody have a way of contacting them? Because otherwise we'd have to walk to Mage Manor. As for the Underdeep, I'm hoping that there's at least some sort of real, non-Underdeep-influenced tunnel system there. If we can map it out, anybody down there might have a chance of finding an exit - " Amneiger looked up as captain Hunty and her Meepit came in.
"You're all sure that it was Commander Strife? I'm going to have to tell Spacefleet, because we haven't been able to find out where he's been. And Rane's one of the gem pirate captains, right? Why are we talking to him?"
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Post by Fraze on Dec 20, 2009 13:02:54 GMT -5
((Spaceport)) Fraze wanted to go back to Spacefleet. But with the hacker, he wasn't sure whether he could trust the shuttles to get him there safely. So, he decided, the best thing to do would be to wait at the surface until it was stopped. Still, things seemed to be getting dangerous down here. The drone could protect him fairly well, and he trusted himself with the small phase weapon at his side--but his years as a special operative told him he should be better protected than this. Well, at least there was something he could do about this. He swung the backpack he was carrying around to the front, rummaged around, and pulled something out. It looked a bit like one of those men's business shirts that's folded around a cardboard frame and displayed at a clothing store, except this was about two inches thick and much more solid. Fraze put it on the ground and stomped on it. The thing flew apart into dozens of pieces, which shifted, rotated, and collapsed again on him. Woven carbon nanotubes, the best Spacefleet labs could offer. Thin, flexible, and capable of withstanding a direct impact from a cannonball. Of course, many of the functionalities of his old skinsuit--speed and strength enhancements, internal computer, and so forth--were not included in this armor. But still, Fraze dearly hoped that this suit would be overkill. "Collapse helmet," he said out loud. Parts of the frame shifted and rotated away from his head. Now, it just looked like a particularly futuristic cosplay. Amneiger had graciously gone to investigate the Underdeep firsthand. Fraze contacted 'Fleet system security. "This is Commander Fraze here. What's happening? Have you made any progress?" As he said this, he realized his leg was shaking. He had to do something. What, then? Investigate. He was as well protected has he could be now, short of a full escort. Go to Tabloid Town and see what was going on. He set out toward the town. If this hacker was stopped soon, he could always turn back.
--------
((The Underdeep)) Merpo ran down one of the corridors, away from his lab's entrance to the Underdeep. A short while after he had escaped, he heard a horrendous noise coming from the direction of the lab. He winced when this happened, and for a moment dearly wanted to go back...but at the same time, knew that if something had happened to the lab, he would not be safe returning there. Just a few seconds after that, there was another noise, much closer. The sound of an engine. A motorcycle barreled down what Merpo thought of as the Underdeep's main thoroughfare of the area around his lab. Merpo himself had taken a turn and gone down a side route--if he had not, he thought, he would probably have been run over by the thing. A motorcycle? He had never heard of this planet having any such technology. Was this...someone from Spacefleet? That was the only possibility he could think of. As he considered this, curiosity flared up in him for the second time in as many minutes, and once again it was suppressed. Someone like that probably would not be particularly friendly, and Merpo had next to no way of defending himself aside from running away as best he could.
Yes, about that. He turned back and continued on down this corridor. The suit's batteries were fully charged, so he would have several hours to get to another Underdeep exit. The closest one was a half-hour walk and opened out just outside of a suburb of Tabloid Town. He headed that way. He realized that he would look rather absurd in this protective suit. The part of him with a sense of irony knew that this was an absurd worry given how he normally dressed in public. But that particular look was specially designed to get people to avoid him. This suit just made him look covered in steel wool. And after this--what next? He didn't feel safe going back to his house for at least another day, so would have to find somewhere to hide until then. He continued walking. About halfway to the exit.
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Post by Jina on Dec 20, 2009 14:02:30 GMT -5
Tabloid Town Hospital The horn went straight at Sandra. It hit her... and then bounced off. Sandra wrapped her arms completely around Kwoi and held tightly, to stop her from being able to move her head. Then she started headbutting the other shapeshifter.
Patri walked to the back of the hospital, opened a window, and looked out. She saw Sandra attacking Kwoi, so she climbed out and ran over to help.
Mage Manor Owen slowed down as he approached the Manor. There appeared to be a broken window. He pulled down his binoculars for a closer look, and thought he saw a shadow of something, but he wasn't sure.
He went over to the door. What, no doorbell? Instead, he knocked a few times.
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Post by Vyt: Down, but Not Out on Dec 20, 2009 14:13:36 GMT -5
((Tabloid Town Hospital))
Vyt's ears flicked at the instant a sound was heard. A shriek followed by a soft yet firm struggling noise could only mean there was a fight going on.
"Bird!"
The catboy ran towards the back of the hospital where he guessed the sounds were coming from. He struggled to control the bleeding on his shoulder with his right hand, but made it to the place with little difficulty. He watched as a troll and another strange creature were wrestling each other on the ground.
"... Who are these guys? Could they be... one of them must be Bird!"
His left hand began to emit the familiar glow of energy once more.
"You'd better stop, you two... else I'll make you!"
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Post by Celestial on Dec 20, 2009 14:16:05 GMT -5
((Brassport))
There was a hubbub as the leader spoke up, inciting the people into action. Celestial never expected them to trust her but she was prepared for that eventuality too. There were others who trusted the mages more than these new people did. Then again, for them to regard her as a savage standing in front of discovery was very narrow-minded. This was something she had to remember when she went to the others and asked for their help.
"The girl is right, this world's politics should not be our concern. Now if you have information about this place we are in, I ask that you come with me back to my office and share it. Athar will join us, as he is the head Alchemist at the Royal Academy of Alchemy, and will most likely understand the subtle nuances of you... Mages? was it? Sarinon, as the leading engineer here besides myself will accompany us as well. And Oscar, being the pilot that we have available, should be brought in so that he can look at maps." their leader said and Celestial shrugged.
"I'd be happy to, although I have to be getting back to my own guild very soon. I fear that it might be under attack," she replied to them, feeling the unrest down in the Underdeep through her mind. It felt like everyone had gathered there.
"I know what you're up to. But don't worry, I won't tell. Come talk to me when the meeting breaks up."[/b][/color] a voice said in her head, a voice which the Underdeep in there did not like. But she decided she might as well. If they decided to attack her, she could easily kill them. It took all her willpower to not smile at the thought.
"I did not expect any of you to trust me or ally with us. All I wanted to do was deliver a warning to you. It is up to you if you decide to accept it or not," she spoke with finality and graveness. She was wasting her time with these close-minded people.
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Post by Strife on Dec 20, 2009 14:31:21 GMT -5
((Spacefleet Network))
"Bad kitty! The Fourth Wall is already unstable!" shouted one of the Author copies... or was it the real one? There was no way of telling this early in the game.
As the missles whined and soared towards the clones, one of them immediately lifted up a strangely innocent-looking kitten, who promptly started to mewl and cry while flicking her paws at the air. The clone then seemed to neutralize the missles headed in its direction.
"Stop this!" the clone cried out, "Or else I'll corrupt this little thing and make it into one of my own clones then send it to do the spying!"
The kitten mewled and yelped even more loudly than before.
Omega SS bent down and raised his single eyebrow at the two, not quite knowing what to say to them. One thing's for sure - he didn't take the threat seriously. He lifted his paw towards the clone and attempted to flick her into one of the other clones standing behind them.
While this happened, the sky seemed to flicker in the distance - a side effect of the satellite network being cut off from the rest of HQ.
* * *
"Sir! The Commander is on the line," said one of the officers in the room.
Haggoth swiveled his chair around and hopped out of out, snatching the comm device from the officer. He pressed it against his ear.
"This is Commander Fraze here. What's happening? Have you made any progress?"
"The virus is in the satellite network," snorted Haggoth. "We isolated it from the rest of the system. The thing's got nowhere to run now, but satellites are starting to go down. Messages on standard frequencies may not get through for a while."
__________________________________
((The Underdeep))
When Strife had finally burst out of the tunnel from Merpo's lab, the vast darkness of the Underdeep was there to greet him. He immediately lifted his goggles up to his forehead in order to see more clearly. The glow of his eyes pierced through the darkness like a pair of violet flames.
No fear, he constantly told himself. Get to Merpo, drag him back to the mansion, and get him to close down the portal. The task would be simple enough... if he knew where Merpo actually was. With literally nothing around him as far as he could see, it wasn't going to be easy.
After several minutes of racing through the darkness, Strife still had no luck in finding the guy. He braked to a stop and tried pulling up his wrist computer, but the digital map display simply read "Invalid Location." He cursed to himself, trying to reconfigure the settings of the device to see if it would make any difference.
As he played around with the settings, a distant source of light reflected in the alloy of his wrist armor. He quickly closed the device and looked ahead of him. In the far distance, a wall of fire seemed to be closing in on his position. At first, he assumed that it was just this - a flame wall - but as it approached his location at an alarming speed, he could hear the distant shrieking of thousands of birds. This was not just a wall of fire... it was an entire army of Sevs. The nightmares were back.
Strife wasted no time in burning the rubber of his motor bike's tires to turn around and race back to the portal entrance. His business with Merpo would have to wait for another time.
Before he got very far, though, he spotted another wave of Sevs coming towards him from the opposite direction. He made his bike come to a screeching halt once again. He was surrounded on all sides. Nowhere to run.
Strife jumped off the bike and grabbed the side of it with his hand, preparing to use it as a shield. He watched the enemies advance towards his position. When the Sevs were close enough to him, they began to dive upwards by the hundreds and start circling him from above like a tornado of hungry vultures.
Strife looked straight upwards at the birds. He tried to concentrate his growing anxiety into anger. If he was to get out of this mess, he needed to embrace this fear - not succumb to it.
The Sevs started circling faster. Strife bent down and gritted his teeth in frustration, and started to grumble. His grumble became a growl. His growl became a snarl. Finally, his snarl became an explosive and terrifying scream towards the sky.
"RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!! YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?!" he shouted ferociously to the flaming birds in the air above him.
Then, with his free hand, he focused his psionic energy into the ground in front of him, causing a giant rock spire to erupt out of the dirt and ascend towards the sky (or lack thereof). As he continued to keep his hand raised to make spire rise upwards, Strife set his bike down, jumped back on it, and drove it one-handed up the side of the spire. Squeezing the accelerator as hard as he could, he defied all laws of gravity as his bike rocketed straight upwards, riding the spire like a vertical roller coaster in order to cross through the opening in the "tornado" of Sevs.
Once Strife had driven himself higher than the army of fire birds, he put his other hand back on the handle and halted the growth of the spire. When he reached the peak of the massive structure, he used his jet boots to help the bike ramp off the top. He soared through the air in the direction of the portal to Merpo's lab.
He had just successfully leaped over his nightmares.
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Moonlight
Frequent Visitor
-insert something witty here-
Posts: 153
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Post by Moonlight on Dec 20, 2009 14:40:51 GMT -5
~Merc Choppa Ruins~
Wilhelm watched anxiously as Jernath and Gil went to help Scar. That must hurt. He wasn't any medic at all, so he didn't want to get in the way or do anything wrong. Still, he thought to himself while standing back up, the bandages better hold until they could find a better place to heal him; a hospital or something.
That's about the time Gil notices that there is a new person among them... And he was a blue star... "When did a blue star show up? And... You guys have stars that live among you?" He remains silent for a few moments. "This really isn't like home, but that is really cool."
"A blue star?" Wilhelm asked, confused, and finally noticed Nova. "Well, what do you know? There actually is a blue star. I dunno how many live among us, but I guess some do..."
He walked over to the star, not quite catching his name, and reached out a hand. Wilhelm wondered if he could, you know, shake hands at all. "Hey. I'm...Wilhelm. Can I get your name?"
A few feet away from the group three figures form out of the shadows. The ninjas have arrived.
"Hm?" He turned momentarily towards where the newcomers have arrived. "Ninjas? Well, aren't we popular? What do they want..."
~Mage Manor~
Rivanth took a glance around the hallway. "This place really hasn't changed much in five years, has it? It's been so long since I was actually an apprentice here, too," he smirked.
Dragging Juverna to her feet, he pocketed the cards again. "Wonder what else hasn't changed. Perhaps we should head to Tabloid town, no?"
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Post by Ian Wolf-Park on Dec 20, 2009 14:57:44 GMT -5
Mage Manor
"Well I'm not too good at this...but I think we should head for the basement. I think the doors and such can hold themselves, but the basement is a kind of hole. I definitely don't want to leave that unattended. Come on."
"That's good enough for me," Lupehunter replied as he dashed off with Omni to the basement.
As soon as he arrived at the wall of vines, he noticed that it was starting to crack. He held out his staff in front of him as if it was a sword, waiting for whoever was on the other side to come out.
"Whoever you are, we're ready for you," he thought to himself.
A few minutes later, a portion of the wall collapsed, revealing a hole and sending up a cloud of dust. Lupehunter closed his eyes and began chanting a spell.
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Post by Draco on Dec 20, 2009 15:13:23 GMT -5
<<The Popular Merc Crash Site>>
Draco breaths heavily for a few moments before relaxing and sitting down on the ground. "We were going to the Merc Base, the four of us. When we got there it blew up, and I lost one of my men to a flaming table... So we decided to head towards Tabloid Town to investigate what is going on in the NTWF. That's when we spotted the crash, and now here we are."
Gil turns his head to look at the trio, interested at the coming of ninjas now. "You said you lost a man to a flaming table?"
"Yes... It came out of the sky and crushed him. Right after I told him he should be punished for killing the mercs... As a joke." Draco turns to one of his men, "You'll be punished for killing the mercs," looking back at the group he continues, "It was about that time a flaming table landed on him."
Just then a flaming mass lands perfectly on another member of the NNPCS'. The object this time, a almost all burned up sack with what seems to be flaming red cans of some sort.
"...Yep, kind of like that. This time death by... Cans?"
Blinking a few times Gil looks up at the sky, wondering if anything else will fall. "You might not want to say anything about punishments..."
Draco nods his head, "Sounds like a good idea..."
The last remaining NNPCS with the group nods his head frantically in agreement. "I'm next if he says it again!"
Gil turns to Jernath. "So if this Tabloid Town is the closest place where he can get help, how do we get there without moving him to much?" He looks at the wreckage and his own vehicle. "I don't have much equipment, but I might be able to put together something that can last until we reach I town... I think."
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