Guild Wars III Roleplay (Rated T)

[Draco]

<<Mage Manor - Fleet Rescue Ship Crash Site>>

Walking past the smoldering remains of the fleet ship Draco smiles. It doesn't take him long before he can see the large ship, Phantom Merc, and Mage Manor. He walks directly to the Phantom Merc, wanting to check up.

---

<<Mage Manor - Brassport Vehicles>>

Gil stops what he was doing, and allow his assistants to work on the vehicle.

"I believe my ninja friend told me he was on the other side of the vehicle a little."

He walks over and looks around, and spots him laying in the grass.

"Yes, right there. Had a piece of metal stabbed right through his leg. We pretty much did some basic first aid. He's been like that for some time now."

Gil looks up, and notices a figure walking towards the group. It takes him a few moments before he could recognize the figure, and what appeared to be a smoke cloud in the distance.

"Draco?"

Draco walks over to the group, brushing off a little soot and dirt off his jacket.

"So you guys made it out all right."

Gil nods his head, "Yeah, we did. Without much of a problem really."

"That's good. I had a heck of a time." He sits down on the ground, next to the unconscious Scar. "First the fire demons, then the battle with Strife. He's the guy trying to take over the world. I got a uppercut in on him, then I was thrown across town! It turns out he's working with Space Fleet." He looks back at the Manor. "They plan on taking over the place, and getting rid of those who stand in there way. The first being Mage Manor."971

[Zylaa]

((Mage Manor))

"Good luck with that. I've actually been trying to gather all the Mages and not all of them are coming - there are quite a few here. However, most of them should be gathered now, and I'll return to them in a bit. You could probably tell me and I'll tell the others." Kassandra nodded, and acted like she was thinking on this for a minute.

Then, drawing herself up with an inner strength, she didn't even know she had, in a voice that was little more than the whisper of a bird's wing, she said, "Thank you for offering, but... I must do this myself. I need to tell everyone... they need to see what's been done."

((Spacefleet))

Zylaa felt a brief stab of envy that the meepit was allowed to use the word "muffinpie" without dire consequences in the form of bodily harm. She supressed that envy, though, instead filing that excellent descriptor away for later use. Far out of the earshot of the captain.

Okay, Zylaa, I like that plan. Tell them to find a bay where the guards look incredibly busy. On a day like this, with all these new people pouring in, I don't think any of them will be too interested in extra paperwork. We just might be able to bluff our way through."

Zylaa grinned.

"Alright guys, you heard her. Find a shiny ship big enough to fit our crew on board. Make sure it has shiny guns! Check if the people around it are distracted. If you find one, come back and tell me! If not, just keep bouncing around and looking until I call you back. Do NOT, under any circumstances, tell anyone what you're up to. Just say "shiny" a lot." She paused, realizing that that's all they would have said anyway, but continued, "Any questions?"

The weasels were silent for a good ten seconds. One tiny paw raised in the middle of the crowd.

"Yes?"

"Can we squee?" it said.

"Bye all means. Squee, cavort, sing songs for all it matters. General, I'll need you for a different mission, please. The rest of you-- go!"

With a massive cry of "SHIIIINY!!!!" 299 weasels bounded off into Spacefleet, scattering in every possible direction. Zylaa allowed herself a grin of satisfaction before turning to the weasel general.

"Sorry you have to miss out on the fun, but we need to know what's left. We know Mage Manor and Zagora's are left standing, so see if there's anything else shiny left on the planet. Find out what's going on and report back."

"Do I get a shiny?" the General said.

"As soon as you get back," Zylaa promised.

"YAY!" He closed his eyes, appeared to be thinking very hard for ten seconds-- an unusual expression for any weasel-- and vanished. Zylaa turned back to Hunty.

"This should be fun," she said, with more cheer than she'd felt since yesterday.

((Ninja Dojo))

It was the one place left.

One moment, there was the gong and the empty platform. The next, the weasel general appeared on top of the gong. He slipped, scrabbled for a purchase, and slid down the front of the instrument, in perhaps the most musical comic fall in history.

He turned in time to see a ... thing charge into the advancing ooze. A creature wielding a katana.

"EEP!"

[Celestial]

((Mage Manor))

"Could I speak to all of the mages? I have some information they should know. It's about how the Underdeep escaped." a girl spoke in a clear melodious voice which sounded like bitter medicine mixed with honey as she walked into the door. Celestial's head whipped around to look at her and even though there was nothing remarkable about her, was instantly awestruck.

A Sue huh? Perfect. You'll need to speak with her quite soon.

"Yeah, so far as I know it's always been there, but I haven't heard about the balance bit. It reads your subconscious mind to show your fears, and you should never say your fears out loud in it. I heard creatures escaped from it before, before the entrance was sealed. Poisonous lizards... real deadly..." Omni replied to her, seeming just a little bit suspicious. Celestial nodded slowly, looking down.

"It showed me some secrets about itself when it posessed me and before it moved onto a more powerful person. Right now it is out of balance, for some reason. It didn't tell me why," she spoke fairly quietly and meekly, hoping that nobody would react with hostility upon finding out about her "former" posession. Murphy's law says they will.

She felt another Underdeep presense near where the vehicles were. Another messenger? It had to be but it didn't seem to be Rikku or Strife. A new one? Whoever it was, she better contact them as soon as possible.

"Thank you for offering, but... I must do this myself. I need to tell everyone... they need to see what's been done." the Sue said, once again in her fake, beautiful voice.

"Not yet, my lady. I'm sure you have great things to do but you must stay here and help us in our plight. You are the only one! Please, may I speak with you in the library in private?" Celestial asked, trying to use language that a Sue would like to hear. She needed to get this angel-demon on her side.

With her, you could persuade them a little easier. And thanks to me, you are immune. See, I can be useful too.

((Ex-Dropship))

"Wh-what's going on? I just--the dock--the lab--the Underdeep--here--" the coati whined, something the Author did not really appreciate. Being only a bit of memory and a speaker tends to leave most virtual lifeforms pretty snippy and she had no time to deal with a BSODing funny animal that acted like Shinji Ikari.

"Look, I've love to summarise the plot for you and wait while you indulge in a little Heroic BSOD but we don't have the time. Could you please pick up the speaker and the memory connected to it by a wire and get out of here? Thanks," The Author said with more than a hint of annoyance.

"Don't make me rip through the fabric of reality to punch you. We'll work out why you're glowing later"

[Omni]

Mage Manor - near entrance

"Thank you for offering, but... I must do this myself. I need to tell everyone... they need to see what's been done."

Omni lowered an eyebrow. "I'm not what you can show them that we can't already see from the window. And like I said, some of them don't want to gather. And even if I were to tell you where most of them are, well, the Manor is confusing even without teleporting, especially if you're new. So like I said, good luck, unless you want an escort."

Remembering the hurt guy, and realizing that he was probably outside (and didn't seem to be coming in), she took a few steps toward the door, pausing when she realized something.

"You know..." she pointed at PFA and the girl in the door. "You two have pretty strong auras. You may not be mages, but maybe you can come and help me anyways."

"Not yet, my lady. I'm sure you have great things to do but you must stay here and help us in our plight. You are the only one! Please, may I speak with you in the library in private?"

Omni lowered her eyebrow again. What was with the prose-talk? "I didn't mean right this minute. Though still, the sooner the better."

She looked at the red-headed guy. "No offense, but you seem pretty nervous for a ranger." She stepped into the doorway, the aura from the outside making her shiver. "...And I think I know why."

The aura was... unnerving to her. However, she saw the vehicle and some figures by it, and she knew that if she did not give her touch of life soon, a poor soul might become lost to this world.

She blinked. What was that?

Odd occurrence or not, depending on how badly the guy was hurt, he may have needed healing right away. The ooze seemed to be keeping away from the Manor, so she figured that it was probably safe. As she took a moment to take a breath to give herself the strength to venture outdoors, where danger lurked among the shadows, unknown even to her, a part of her mind reached to try to touch the Sue.

The story goes where the author wants it to, my dear.

She inhaled and dashed outside toward the vehicle, looking for the guy on the ground. Thankfully, when she spotted him, the bandage made it easy to spot the wound. Without saying a word, she bent down and began to heal him, the light that came from her crystal and her hands even more noticeable in the darkness.

[PFA]

((Mage Manor entrance))

Jernath listened thoughtfully as the Mages spoke of the Underdeep. Like he'd remembered before, it definitely didn't sound like a good thing to be randomly possessing things.

It was then, though, that his train of thought was interrupted by a soothing, elegant voice. He glanced to the side, realizing that someone had come up next to him while he wasn't paying attention. What caught him off-guard was that this someone was a delicate beauty, with all the grace of a white dove. He gaped in awe at the fair maiden, her silvery hair cascading down her shoulders. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his li--

Whoa, wait, he snapped inwardly, trying to break himself out of that train of thought. No no no. This is not the time for... um... He seemed a bit flustered, not quite sure how to react to this stunningly beautiful character. Part of him wanted to ignore her, but another part couldn't take his eyes off her.

Meanwhile, PFA raised an eyebrow at this same stunningly beautiful character. She wants to talk to all the Mages... about the Underdeep? That... sounds like it could be important.

Omni, however, seemed to be thoroughly convinced that gathering all the Mages was an impossible feat. PFA decided to speak up. "Are you sure? Maybe the Mages would be willing to hear this..." She resisted the inexplicable urge to use the words 'delicate flower.' "...Young lady out."

After a moment, Omni was headed out the door, but stopped to gesture to PFA and the girl in the door. "You know... you two have pretty strong auras. You may not be mages, but maybe you can come and help me anyways."

"...Really?" was PFA's only response. She knew she had some healing magic, but she'd never considered herself especially good at it. Though come to think of it, this could be a good time to practice. "Um... sure." And she followed Omni out the door.

Turning to Jernath, Omni added, "No offense, but you seem pretty nervous for a ranger."

"H-huh?" Jernath fumbled, looking at the chimera with arms akimbo. "N-no I'm not! It's just... uh... it's been a rough day. Yeah." He glanced at the Sue beside him, his face turning a reddish hue. He then turned back to the chimera, and decided to skitter after her. "I'll, uh, come with you."

PFA glanced behind her, noting that Jernath was following them, before turning to watch Omni heal the injured Mercenary. Before she could ask Omni how she could help, the Ninja instead took notice of the group Jernath had arrived with.

"...Draco?" she spoke up, noticing the other Ninja. "What are you doing here?"

[Draco]

<<Outside Mage Manor>>

Draco pays no attention to Omni healing Scar, but turns his head when PFA shows up.

"Ah, PFA good to see you aren't stone. To sum up a long story... I left the Dojo, went to Merc HQ, it went boom, ninja went splat, ran into Mercs, another ninja went splat, went to Tabloid Town, hospital went boom, crazy man declares himself commander of the world, stone turning ooze, fight with crazy man, thrown across town, hijack ship, crash ship, sitting here."

He falls back onto Scar for a few moments before sitting back up, and adjusting his glasses.

"Otherwise, a peaceful day full of new friends. But what I was telling the Gil and this other man, the Spacefleet are coming to destroy the mages."

During the summary of Draco's, Gil sneaks his way back to the Phantom Merc. The vehicle looking more like the osprey the main frame once was. However, the propellers were missing. Every now and then Gil stops to explain to the NNPC what is going on and how to do something.

Draco turns his head, "Oh, I still have one NNPC with me."

[Kiddo]

Ninja HQ

The shrill 'eeep' was enough to drag Kiddo's mind away from raw anger. That and the fact her paws were getting numb, even though she kept moving and moving. The katana was doing nothing. With a snarl she threw herself out of the black ooze and flexed her claws a couple times. Pins and needles. Could barely feel them. Trembling with rage, Kiddo walked back towards the dojo. There was something there.

Two things, really. Once inside Kiddo gazed dully at the weasel, then dropped to all fours, glowing eyes fixed on it. The katana scraped along the stone as she stalked closer.

"Tasties?" she murmured, then shook her head. "No! Tasties later... fire..."

And she dropped the katana and vanished into some back rooms.

She came back with a few bottles of sake with soaked rags stuffed in the top. She also had matches. For a moment she eyed the weasel, muttered 'tasty' again.

"Fire first," she said, walking back out to greet the ooze with two large bottles of molotov cocktail.

[Deleted]

Of Dropships, Traumatised Coatis and Smart-Alec AIs; it's a wonderful sitcom! Or not.


Sometimes, all it took to snap someone out of a daze was the sound of someone else talking. That same voice who Nasue had heard earlier did just that; the coati blinked and looked in the direction of that sound.

"Uh... wait. Grab speakers? A-and stuff connected to it? Yeah. Hold on a second--"

She started to sit up, but something stopped her. Nasue looked down to find that there was a seatbelt restraining her from sitting up. So, with a small sigh, she unfastened it, actually stood up, and began to walk to where the sound of the strange voice had come from.

Navigating the debris, it didn't take long for her to find the speaker, wires or a strange device. The coati hesitated, then kneeled and took what was there, with the speaker in one hand and the device in the other. As she stood back up, she looked around, and saw that there was a hole above her - and she could easily climb up there, as there was a pile of debris close by.

She put the setup in her pocket, then began climbing.

Once she had reached the hole and climbed onto the outside of the former dropship, and after recovering from the initial shock of seeing that all of her surroundings had been covered by the blackness, Nasue sat down, removing the speaker and device. She looked at them quizzically.

"Why a device? Why not themself?" Those questions made more sense in Nasue's confused mind, at least.

--

Mage Manor, THE PLACE TO BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~


Somehow, between all the exposition and conversation, D-Man managed to quietly slip into the Manor.

*

Kovaran listened to the conversation between PFA and her friend (Omni, was that her name?), as well as with some of the other beings outside. These were voices he did not recognise; in particular, one melodic series of syllables emerging in a specific collection from a meticulously crafted voicebox, part of a throat which had been sculpted from well-chosen flesh and skin to form something which would make a master artist weep. This voice, too, would make any musician weep for joy, and any musical vocalists weep for jealousy.

The large, muscular warrior turned to look. It was a perfectly crafted woman, with hair made of precious silver metals--platinum and silver and titanium, all woven together to make a powerful and gleaming collection of long hairs. This woman's hairs were arranged in such a manner that the way they yielded to the gravity lord's law was, in a manner, appealing. It complemented her face, which--hang on, he couldn't even see her face. Maybe he should go and take a closer look--wait, what the heck is up with yourm idn?!

He blinked. What - was - that?!

Then he instantly looked away, raising his hands to massage his skull.

[Ian Wolf-Park]

Mage Manor-near Phantom Merc

Lupehunter went over to the injured person and was slightly surprised to see that Omni beat him to the punch, but decided to help her out anyways to speed up the healing process. He held out his hands in front of him and began reciting a spell.

While he was healing, two more people arrived at the scene, both ninjas. It was the second ninja, named Draco, that caused him to be cautious near him as he sensed the same sickly disturbance of the Underdeep that he had sensed earlier in the dragon mage.

"Great, another messenger of the Underdeep," he thought to himself. "Just what we needed, more messengers. It was bad enough when we had two mages to deal with, but now, there's a ninja and a spaceman as well. I just hope there isn't any more."

As he was concentrating on healing, he focused his attention towards Draco.

"Hey, Draco, thanks for confirming to us about the spaceman being possessed by the Underdeep and declaring himself the leader of the world. I wasn't sure if it was true after one of the mages told me, but it now looks like it is."

[Zylaa]

((Mage Manor))

"I'm not what you can show them that we can't already see from the window. And like I said, some of them don't want to gather. And even if I were to tell you where most of them are, well, the Manor is confusing even without teleporting, especially if you're new. So like I said, good luck, unless you want an escort."

Kassandra nodded, trying not to show the hurt she felt from the mage's curt words, when she had only looked for a bit of kindness. The mage was saying something else, but Kassandra heard another voice from behind her and spun around, momentarily jarred.

"Not yet, my lady. I'm sure you have great things to do but you must stay here and help us in our plight. You are the only one! Please, may I speak with you in the library in private?"

Kassandra looked mutely at the speaker, her eyes filled with a thousand questions after the mage's cryptic statement, while she tried to work out the meaning of this. She hadn't spent ages in the Underdeep for nothing. This was the Underdeep's messenger. She could no more sway this person's mind than she could explode the moon. But neither could the Underdeep control her.

"I.. I don't know what you mean," she said. "I'll talk to you in... in a minute. First, all these good people must know something."

She looked around at the entry hall. Noticed pretty much everyone had gone outside. Followed them.

"Hey, Draco, thanks for confirming to us about the spaceman being possessed by the Underdeep and declaring himself the leader of the world. I wasn't sure if it was true after one of the mages told me, but it now looks like it is."

"It's worse than that," she said. She took a deep breath, feeling the story flow around her. This was it. This was her moment. "The Underdeep didn't spiral out of control on his own. There was a scientist... a Spacefleet scientist. He'd been working on harnessing the Underdeep for twenty years. Harnessing it! Like a horse! And he would've stopped his... his lunacy if he didn't have help." She took a deep breath. "The Spaceman got the pirates to help him. He was only missing one bit of his research, and told them what it was. The pirates got it for him. And then he tried to tap the Underdeep." She laughed, bitterly. "You can see where that ended up. And now as our whole world dies, Spacefleet and the pirates are holing up on the moon, leaving us to rot. Or solidify. The pirates and the 'fleet are just sitting back to watch and laugh as their crazy spaceman kills us all."

((Ninja Dojo))
Not for nothing was he the general of the weasels. When the creature crept towards him on all fours, eyes glowing, he held his ground, tensed and ready to vanish the moment the creature attacked. If it attacked.

"Tasties?" Now this was familiar ground. He had spent years on a ship with Shiva after all. Was this another demon? "No! Tasties later... fire..."

A demon who played with fire. The general approved of this demon. And so he stared right back at the creature as it returned with something... well, it didn't look like fire, but people and demons were very strange.

He'd let the creature go play with fire, and he'd try and ask it what was happening when it returned. Big Weasel would want to know what this thing was.

It could talk. He could talk. They could deal, or he would vanish.

[Fraze]

((Zagora's Little Shop of Horrors))

Fraze watched the small woman with curiosity. As he did, he kept watch on the 'Fleet movements. The skinsuit gave him a map of ship and troop distributions, which floated at reading distance at the right side of his vision. A light on the map began blinking angrily. One of the nearby ships had gone down--with a chill, he realized it was Amneiger's. With a thought, he sent a message to the ship. "This is the Commander, what's wrong? Do you need assistance?" With the spreading goo covering most of the city, Fraze wasn't sure if the ship had been petrified or not.

And another ship crashed...this time at Mage Manor. He tried to contact the ship, but the comm had gone down. Instead, he contacted the group he had just ordered to the Manor. "Another 'Fleet ship just went down near you, do you see it?"
"Yes, sir, we did. It just came down near to us. Should we give them help?"
"Yes, but be careful. There have been too many coincidences today."

Multitasking, Fraze had been listening to Zagora's speech with one ear while playing Commander with the other. The woman gave her final price.
"World coming to an end? Call me a sucker for a lost cause, then. But if it's a thing that's destined to happen, then money doesn't really matter. So, three hundred thousand by three hundred is three million by thirty is..." he mumbled to himself. "Ninety million, then." He knew full well that the price would be highway robbery, it's just expected of places like this--and he was right. There would be hell to pay with the budget committee, but worry about that later. He paused to think.
"Would you consider two hundred thousand apiece with a ride off this planet? I could arrange a shuttle to take you pretty much anywhere within five hundred light-years of here. You'd probably have a bit of trouble running a business in a postapocalyptic world, so relocating might be a good business move." Fraze knew that negotiating like this probably wouldn't do a lot of good. He had this person more or less figured out after her first sentence; she was the type who would happily sit on a porch next to a pile of money, knitting a pair of cursed mittens instilled with black magic while the world crumbled around her.

--------

((Mage Manor
Agh, I'm so far behind.))

The shuttles carrying Dunburrow evacuation team 12 and Dunburrow peacekeeping team 10 landed outside the manor near the burning shuttle. It was devoid of passengers; the only occupant was the ex-pilot.
"There wasn't a distress signal," someone chimed in. "Either a completely unexpected catastrophic systems failure or a sudden attack." There were no signs of external damage to the ship aside from those caused by the crash landing.
"Something must have happened inside, then." This information was relayed to Commander Fraze.
The entire combined team was acutely aware of the man who exited the shuttle and was now strolling casually despite having just crashed into the earth. The evacuation leader, who had dealt with similar (though smaller scale) situations in the past, knew that his apparent calmness could be a symptom of shock. But still, as the Commander said--too many coincidences. "Ready weapons," the peacekeeping team leader instructed. "But don't show hostility."
The two team leaders walked purposefully toward the man. "Hey!" the evacuation leader called out in an authoritative voice. "What happened here? Was there an attack?"

--------

((Spacefleet--commons area))

Two hundred ninety-nine ankle-high mustelids disappeared into a crowd of four hundred thousand terrified evacuees, two thousand armored guards, and fifty thousand cats, dogs, and assorted farm animals of varying shapes and sizes. The effect of this was roughly equivalent--to modify a certain off-color figure of speech--to spitting in the ocean.

[Ikkin]

The fake Sev didn't turn away as the spaceman slashed at him with his dark sword, intending to take the full strike to judge his potential partner's power. He wasn't disappointed; he found himself tumbling backwards through the air with a massive gash across his chest, then fell hard to the ground.

Fortunately, his new body was much more resilient than the old one, repairing itself with the dark energy from the Underdeep that flowed through the air. Within moments, he was back up on his feet again, and ready to begin the next phase of his plan.

"It seems the Underdeep chose its host well," he said. "If you'll accept this one as a part of yourself, this one can offer you more of the power you seek."


***

Ikkin listened silently as PFA and the lizard-ninja explained what they knew about the Underdeep, trying to see if she could piece together what was going on, but they seemed to know just about as much about it as she did.

Besides, by the time Omni showed up, Ikkin realized the other thing that had been bugging her - she actually knew who people were now. And, as soon as she realized that, her old memories began to flood in, jumbled-up bits of one memory or another combining in bizarre ways until she wasn't really sure where she was anymore.

When she finally came to, Sev was pecking at her hand insistently to get her attention, and her hand was bleeding a bit from his attempts. She put her hand to her mouth to lick her wounds, but the pain seemed to make things a bit clearer.

She still wasn't quite sure of everything that had happened, but she knew who people were, and that was a lot more than she had before Sev had returned to her.

And, it seemed, she was in the middle of a... well, the best word for it had to be "expository monologue."

"The Spaceman got the pirates to help him. He was only missing one bit of his research, and told them what it was. The pirates got it for him. And then he tried to tap the Underdeep." She laughed, bitterly. "You can see where that ended up. And now as our whole world dies, Spacefleet and the pirates are holing up on the moon, leaving us to rot. Or solidify. The pirates and the 'fleet are just sitting back to watch and laugh as their crazy spaceman kills us all."

Ikkin had no doubt that it was all true. A creature as perfect and pure as that one could no more perjure herself than a diamond could lose its beauty. But she felt nothing but cold dread at the girl's words. She was, after all, a pirate, and whatever that special little snowflake, with her sparkling metallic locks said about them, there was no way that she was going to let her turn the Mages and Ninja against her friends.

Even if they were awful, lawless creatures who aimed only to harm the innocent girl who stood before her. Even if she herself was one of them, and therefore powerless in the face of perfection.

"You're wrong," she said softly, fighting against every instinct she had to take the girl's side. "I don't know about the Fleet, but the Pirates would never do that. Hunty and Rider are my friends, and as long as I'm here, they'd never let that happen. I know you have nothing but the best of intentions, and you're by far the most qualified here to save everyone from the Underdeep, but I'd die before I let you turn my friends against each other."

For some reason, Ikkin had begun to feel like she probably would end up dead if she tried anything against the girl. On the other hand, it was growing easier to disagree with her by the second. If that meant she was a villain now, well, Ikkin could handle that.

"Now, if you'd like to give us some actual useful information about the Underdeep, feel free to go right ahead and explain. Otherwise, I'm going to do everything possible to keep you from leading an attack on my friends."

[Scar]

((My apologies for the late reply, especially to Sarn))

- Brassport, The Blackstone Wings -

He was surprised when he heard the little fox that was once Lady Sarinon 'speak' into his mind, a talent he had only heard of in the dark corners of taverns, and even then it was the Juju Brain Chefs of the Oblongata Peninsular that possessed it. Certainly not a shapeshifting fox lady, no sir.

Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, half-dragged Blackstone along after the little, bounding silver and red creature, the cogs in his head almost clicking audibly as he struggled to figure things out. Within a day he had met a giant lizard, got shouted at by an angel, watched the city slowly turn into obsidian and, mere moments before, watched his mark turn into a fox.

He reckoned it was only a matter of time before Ghi'gala the fire god of the Kik'imikiki Tribe made a personal appearance. Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, certainly didn't want to stay around for that spectacle, due to the fact that he had stolen a gem from an eye sockets of one of Ghi'gala's statues.

The stony floor of the assembly hall soon gave way to metal plating, closed corridors to open walkways several feet in the air, as they scurried towards the huge airship moored in the private dock next to the hall.

The Blackstone Wings, most advanced airship in the country, perhaps even the world. (The old world at least. He'd take some time to get used to saying that) As fast as it was maneuverable, it could outrun any ship currently in the service of the Navy, which certainly made the top brass nervous. At least that's what Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer had heard and he knew better than to trust rumours. A couple of guards stood nervously at the foot of the ramp leading onto the airship, their eyes clearly darting back and forth from the approaching black mass and their boss.

Oscar, Gentleman Adventurer, pushed Blackstone in front, whispering furiously at the jabbering man to "Buck up and get us aboard and out of here before we all turn into literal Blackstones." That certainly snapped the suit out of his daze and in no time at all they were being ushered hurriedly aboard. He remembered to scoop Lady Sarinon back up into his arms, gently this time.

He needed to speak with her but doing so among the mass of rushing fliers and engineers making preparations for take off would just look pretty foolish. Thus, he decided to try his hand at being a Brain Eater.

Lady Sarinon, if you would be so kind as to explain what in Don's infernal cogs is going on here?

- Mage Manor -

The world burned.How he did that with a sniper rifle he would never know but all he knew was that he was standing on a mound of dead bodies. No friendlies, he checked. He always did.

And even that was on fire.

Scar wondered how he had gotten there, last cat standing and not a spot of blood on him. Of course, being a sniper meant everything was handled all neat and tidy.

He shuffled, trying to find a way down, and fell down, yowling and clutching at his leg.

Oh wait, he remembered now.

Scar opened his eyes slightly and saw someone leaning over him, hands pressed around the shard of metal. "Wha? Where am I?"

[Strife]

((Tower of Strife))

"It seems the Underdeep chose its host well," said the bird-like creature after being struck down by Strife's attack. It then proceeded to heal itself with the dark energy surrounding the city hall. "If you'll accept this one as a part of yourself, this one can offer you more of the power you seek."

Strife said nothing, but he, as well as the bird, knew that this statement was as rhetorical as someone who was talking to, and agreeing with, themselves. They both already knew his answer.

With those unspoken words, he stepped towards the creature. The static in his eyes went wild as he lifted his hand to absorb its energy. He felt his mind expand to make room for the bird, and when it was all said and done, he felt not only as though he had gained an extra limb, but that he immediately knew how to move this limb around.

A silent monologue flooded his mind, along with a tidal wave of emotions. He saw faint images of distant locations and even more distant faces. Most likely, they were leftover memories from whatever this creature used to be before the Underdeep possessed it. Once he had sorted out all of the images, his focus returned to his surroundings.

Strife walked deeper into the shadows of the petrified city hall, blending in seamlessly with his surroundings. If anyone were to enter, they would have no idea where he was, and yet, he would be able to track their every move and strike when they least expect it. Once he had concealed himself, he then focused on the next phase of his plan.

Spacefleet. Commander Fraze was sending them to the surface by the thousands, and no doubt, the people who called this planet home were in complete terror and panic. Those who did not travel to the Fleet's moon base were either floating around in the skies above the continent, or enjoying the comforts of a frozen tomb on the surface. Then there was the Manor... He'd let Draco and Celestial take care of that.

There was no use in wasting time for his enemies to organize themselves and come for him. He needed to strike now while everyone was still trying to figure out who to blame for this mess. With the Fleet running rampant across the planet with their scores of spacecraft, and with thousands of refugees packed uncomfortably in Headquarters, convincing the natives to hate them wouldn't be a difficult task. And if for some reason he failed to incite war against Spacefleet... he would destroy it, with all of the refugees still inside HQ.

((Spacefleet HQ))

Cyclops spent most of his time and energy directing communications, at least until there was a steady flow of traffic between the surface and HQ. The shuttles were now pouring in and out of the station quickly enough to make verbal communication the most efficient way to spread information. He relaxed his duties, but remained inside his suit in case the Commander should contact him.

The sound of heavy metallic footsteps penetrated the walls as he walked down a corridor. He was in one of the few sections of Headquarters that was still closed off to the refugees, but judging by the rate of increase, it wouldn't be long before protocols required this section to be opened as well.

Suddenly, he stopped. Cyclops' gelatin structure vibrated rapidly as he felt a sharp pain slide down the back of his eyeball. The pain subsided as quickly as it came, but when it was gone, he felt a familiar telepathic signal. He hadn't felt this signal for a long time... not since...

You are my oldest friend, Cyclops. Perhaps my only friend at this point.

Ex-Commander Strife? he answered back with his mind.

Yes. There is something I must ask you to do... not as your superior officer, but as your comrade. You aren't going to like it, but it must be done.

Cyclops' eye widened and his pupil narrowed in shock as Strife relayed a set of orders to his mind.

Ex-Commander, this order is in strict violation of-

Please, Cyclops. Think back to all of those years of unflinching service. when I grew alone and isolated, you gave me companionship...

Aided by the Underdeep, Strife continued to sink his telepathic hand deeper into the mind of Cyclops, making his argument more convincing by the nanosecond. It wasn't easy, but when the words and feelings subsided, the little green blob was left with a strong enough impression to break the rules he had set for himself since the beginning.

Acknowledged, Strife.

I will be with you every step of the way. No one will know you were responsible.

The bottom half of Cyclops' suit rotated around, followed by the top half. He then proceeded to march in the opposite direction, towards Spacefleet's primary control center.

He determined that if he was not interrupted, he would have every refugee in Headquarters killed within the hour.

[Kiddo]

Ninja HQ

Kiddo threw the two bottles at the approaching ooze, watching in satisfaction as the fire skated across the surface, whipping up into a blazing fury for only a few moments before the fuel was expended. The ooze was still there. Kiddo frowned. But... where the fire had landed it wasn't moving as quickly as the rest. Maybe... maybe she could buy some time.

And where had that weasel come from anyway? She turned and bolted back to the HQ, panting from all the effort.

"Tasty," she said, "Weasels just don't pop into places. And you smell funny. Maybe you don't know what I'm saying, in which case I get to eat you, but if you do, you help and I don't eat you. The ninjas have a stock of gunpowder and sake, both flammable. You make a line of it. Thick line. When ooze gets close, set line on fire. Keep ooze back... long enough..."

She trailed off, looking at the mountain range. The ooze had approached from a different angle. If she ran parallel to it... and fast enough... she could reach the spot the last of the phoenix in her had expended itself before the ooze managed to petrify her. And then, well, if that didn't work, it would be a moot point in trying to save anything, wouldn't it?