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Post by Gav on Dec 18, 2006 23:17:10 GMT -5
Neuer kundenspezifischer Titel für Rider?
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Post by Rider on Dec 19, 2006 18:07:45 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Not yet, Gav. XD[/glow]
Chapter Six
“You know, executions traditionally happen at dawn.”
“… Thank you, Gav, for that early-morning cheeriness.” Rider was up, shuffling like a zombie, and sipping some green tea pilfered from Hunty’s stock in order to soothe her frayed nerves. “I want to go back to bed.”
“Think about it this way, we’ll get to sleep for the next couple of days at least,” Thundy said sensibly.
“I couldn’t sleep a wink last night,” Aeri said.
Kiddo swept into the Splatterboard like a wave of sunshine and puppy dogs and cheesy fries. “Good morning, my dear test subjects!”
Rider bit back the urge to give her the finger.
Seeing the captain’s annoyance, Kiddo plowed on. “Hey, I’m not liking this any more than you are, so please stop making it worse.”
“So what?” Gav said, breaking the awkwardness. “We lie down on these couches and take a nap?”
Kiddo shook her head. “Stal and Wandy will be delivering the beds shortly, and Sammy will deliver a sleeping draught from Kat’s workshop beside Tabloid Town.”
Aeri paused. “A draught?”
“Brewed by Kat, modified by Sammy. It will hold you in REM for about a week.”
“REM?” Rider asked.
“Rapid Eye Movement,” Kiddo said with a sigh, wondering why she chose such difficult test subjects. “The deepest stage of sleep. Most brain activity happens at this stage. Hence. This is where dreams occur. We need to be able to keep you in one dream, the same dream, for days at a time.”
“I’ve got it!” Sammy ran in with the draught. At the same time, Stal and Wandy walked in, pushing a bed-on-wheels from the Mage’s Guild. “Is this where you want it, Kiddo?” Stal asked.
Kiddo shook her head. “Too many unstable elements in the Splatterboard region. We’d be better off taking them to Mod Squad, where I can keep a closer eye on them.”
“So we’ll finally get to see the inside of Mod Squad?” Aeri asked with a grin.
“… You know, just because you said, that, you’ll have the draught before you go in.”
* * *
Due to some creative negotiating between Rider and Kiddo, Thundy, Aeri and Gav were allowed to see the inside of Mod Squad before they took the draught.
No one was precisely sure what the negotiation consisted of, but Gav thought he overheard the word “closet” repeated several times.
It wasn’t much. Old files lay scattered on dusty desks. Chairs were covered in burn marks, fond memories of old debates. In the front of the room, there was a long, rectangular conference table which had been graffiti’d beyond all recognition. (Most of the graffiti was misspelled and written in red gel pen. Rider’s handiwork.) In front of this was a giant whiteboard on a giant easel, covered from top to bottom in Stal’s neat, distinct, almost feminine handwriting. The floor was pretty much one big shelf, though Kiddo was quick to assure them that she knew where everything was. Leoness was in the back, sitting on a mini-fridge and fiddling with a broken coffee machine, even though there was a perfectly fine one on the back counter.
Kat’s life force still lay in the center, too hot to touch.
“We have soda here, to offset the taste of the brew,” Kiddo said. “If Leoness ever gets her tail off the fridge…”
The lion-fae grinned sheepishly and jumped down. “Neocola, Afychi and… Stal’s Coke.”
“Stal’s Coke, just to annoy him,” Rider said grumpily. Thundy, Aeri and Gav took the Coke as well, figuring that if they were going to die or go insane, they might as well leave behind a legacy.
Leoness made them drain half the can, then filled each can back up with the sleeping draught. The mixture turned blue and started to smell like rotten eggs. By then, Wandy and Stal had brought the mages’ other three beds into Mod Squad.
“Well,” Gav said, holding his nose, “One last toast. To friendship.”
Aeri smiled. “To love.”
Thundy held his can up, keeping it upwind. There were probably chemicals in here that he’d only dreamed of working with. “Sweet dreams.”
“Aye,” Rider said. “Cheers.”
She held her breath, took one big gulp and was out like a light.
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Post by Scar on Dec 19, 2006 18:28:44 GMT -5
I just hope when you wake up you don't have another evil ninja to torment us xDDD Stal's feminine handwriting? ^_^; Keep writing, I demand it!
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Post by Zylaa on Dec 19, 2006 18:47:54 GMT -5
^_^ Awesomeness. Rider/Kiddo forever! And hey, now both shipees have included Rider/Kiddo themes in their NTWF stories.
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Post by Psycho on Dec 19, 2006 20:37:07 GMT -5
psycho grimoire
brilliant psycho
i love this story already <3
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Post by aerisangel01 on Dec 20, 2006 14:42:38 GMT -5
Bleh, I HATE sodas! >p
But... May love thriumph! ...or however that's writen x3
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2006 20:31:26 GMT -5
Kiddo swept into the Splatterboard like a wave of sunshine and puppy dogs and cheesy fries. “Good morning, my dear test subjects!” Rider bit back the urge to give her the finger. Best. Line. EVAR.
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Post by Kat on Dec 21, 2006 1:59:02 GMT -5
Kiddo swept into the Splatterboard like a wave of sunshine and puppy dogs and cheesy fries. “Good morning, my dear test subjects!” Rider bit back the urge to give her the finger. Best. Line. EVAR. [shadow=purple,left,300] GIVE 'ER THE FINGER! DO IT DO IT DO IT - *slapped*Great. I'm still missing somewhere and our only hope is for a Scar fangirl, a nuke enthusiast and a sadistic marine mammal to help us, among others. ... I really am becoming the next Kiddo, aren't I?[/shadow]
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Post by phoenixblessed on Dec 21, 2006 5:33:03 GMT -5
...I want coke.
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Post by aerisangel01 on Dec 21, 2006 11:52:05 GMT -5
[shadow=purple,left,300] GIVE 'ER THE FINGER! DO IT DO IT DO IT - *slapped*Great. I'm still missing somewhere and our only hope is for a Scar fangirl, a nuke enthusiast and a sadistic marine mammal to help us, among others. ... I really am becoming the next Kiddo, aren't I?[/shadow] Scar fangirl? I'll let you know I'm now his OFFICIAL Girlfriend, missie =p
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Post by Rider on Dec 27, 2006 13:36:55 GMT -5
Chapter Seven
Aeri opened her eyes.
Sweat dripped into her mouth, but she couldn’t taste the salt. The air around her shimmered and swam with ghostly heat. The ground was hot stone. Nothing was living. Nothing was growing. It was some sort of apocalyptic nightmare, the complete opposite of her flowering field.
She grimaced. Being a sea-creature, Gav would hate this. “Gav!” she called. “Do you need help getting around?”
No answer. Aeri whirled around, looking in every direction.
“Gav?” Still no answer. She tried again. “Gav? Rider? Thundy? … Anyone?”
She was completely alone.
Dejected, she closed her eyes, picked a direction and started walking. She’d get to Scar eventually, no matter what it took.
* * *
Thundy woke to the familiar smell of rotting leaves. The trees stretched on for miles in every direction, flame-leaved and whispering. Reds, oranges, golds, like a sunset. Berries were squashed underfoot, or rather, underpaw. He had gone full kitsune.
Ikkin was nowhere to be found. The trees all looked the same. There was no indication, no conveniently-placed sign that said “Ikkin is this way.” To top it all off, there was no sign of Rider, Gav or Aeri either.
He sighed. He had been hoping that the four of them might end up in the same dream, but the chances of this happening, with each mind as individual as a fingerprint, were slim to none.
Closing his eyes, he tried to imagine his mother’s smell. That particular musk of sweat and fur and fire. The scent was weak here, very weak. Maybe it was the product of his imagination, mere wishful thinking. Nevertheless, he set out in a seemingly random direction, following his nose.
* * *
It was dark.
Gav opened his eyes, blinked a few times. It was still dark.
He flipped himself over and saw fragmented pieces of light glittering above. The sun could still reach these depths. He chirruped happily and kicked his tail. For some reason, he was very, very happy.
He needed to find Kat, and Aeri, Thundy and Rider so they could share this happiness with him.
He started to swim upward, all the while wondering if there was life after fish.
* * *
Freezing.
Rider growled about how there was no such thing as a Winter Wonderland unless you were indoors.
Mountains, eternally snow-capped, stretching for miles. The sounds of water, somewhere.
Ninja territory, more likely than not. Rider thought, resting one hand on her cutlass. Hu might be here.
A gust of wind blasted in from the north, and Rider cursed and wished Gav, Aeri and Thundy were there.
The valley would be warmer. She ought to head down…
* * *
A million possibilities away, Luon was dusting the shelves of the library, listening to the welcome patter of rain on the windows. Subconsciously, he started humming Daemon folk songs in his joy.
A servant rushed through the door. “Sire, we have reports of a- why are you doing what?”
“Doing what?” Luon asked guiltily.
“Cleaning! Sire, you’re the Regent now.”
“Old habits are hard to break, and old friends are hard to let go of,” Luon said, smiling at his books. “I’ve been Bookmaster since I was a lad.”
The servant grimaced. But this was hardly a time to argue. “Sire, large amounts of morphing energy have been detected near Alezandriel’s old hideout. Sire… we think it’s a shapeshifter.”
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Post by Ice on Dec 27, 2006 14:50:26 GMT -5
Gav's happiness is freaking me out. O___O
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Post by Rider on Dec 27, 2006 20:20:36 GMT -5
Gav's happiness is freaking me out. O___O [glow=red,2,300]Not my intent. XD he's a dolphin, after all, and he's having a happy dream. It's a bit of a contrast to what everyone else, Aeri especially, are feeling.[/glow]
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Post by Gav on Dec 27, 2006 21:38:26 GMT -5
Gav's happiness is freaking me out. O___O [glow=red,2,300]Not my intent. XD he's a dolphin, after all, and he's having a happy dream. It's a bit of a contrast to what everyone else, Aeri especially, are feeling.[/glow] It's a dream? But but... the fish! ;__;
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Post by aerisangel01 on Dec 27, 2006 21:50:15 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Not my intent. XD he's a dolphin, after all, and he's having a happy dream. It's a bit of a contrast to what everyone else, Aeri especially, are feeling.[/glow] It's a dream? But but... the fish! ;__; Can you think of other things than fish!? I'm using some of my already too worried heart to care about your well-being here! >.< *shake fist* Full Kitsune Vil? I wish I could see that =p
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