Hello and welcome reader, to the 28th instalment of the Character Development Threads
! These shared story exercises help budding writers develop their characters alongside the characters of other budding writers. No sign-up is needed; just jump right in with your characters. It is recommended that you read the thread page and the last couple of pages before starting.
Discussion Thread Thread Page Town Map
This is a "Main Series" thread and, as such, an element of risk is expected. Rules and participation guidelines may be found on this page.
The thread page groups active characters under the areas in which they are active, enabling you to see who is at a given location in which you might be interested or to find out where to go to encounter characters with whom you wish to interact.
Kindly add your own characters to the thread page, with a link to their initial post, under the area in which they are located and update the page if they change location.
Bear in mind that if your characters are arriving at a location, they are likely to know little more than what they see and hear as they arrive - what the location looks like, what other characters are there (both of which can be read on the thread page) and the last few lines uttered and actions taken as they are arriving (which can be found in the last few posts for that location in the story thread itself), so inserting characters need not be a terrifying process.
If you need help, have any questions, or want a quick recap (if the page count is daunting), head over to the discussion page, and someone is sure to help you out!
To help guide character interaction, having your character come in with a at least one short-term and one long-term goal or motivation is strongly recommended. It is not required, but it does make it easier to drive the plot forward. Feel free to come up with rumours about what treasures, adventure, locations, and dangers may be found in the setting - they need not be true or accurate, just some hook on which to hang an adventure.
The setting is specifically designed to be a vast sandbox into which details can be inserted by participants (for example, you are free to decide that there is a particular temple in the midst of the forest in which something may be found or that there is a particular shop/hotel/restaurant in a section of the town), if you come up with a location that you desire/expect other characters to visit, please add it to the thread page as a sub-location of the relevant area.
Things change as the story progresses. If, for example, a massive battle occurs at a location and the area is now strewn with bodies and buildings are damaged, kindly update the thread page to reflect those changes, in order that other participants have an up-to-date description of the location prior to sending their characters there.
Special thanks to all those who helped in getting the thread launched or provided ideas and feedback. In alphabetic order, they include:
Blackfire667, Collen, Corvidae, daird, DarkbloodCarnagefang, EternaMemoria, Gault, Kkutwar, KillerClowns, ladytanuki, Masterofchaos, nrjxll, Pyxo, Slysheen, TroPartner, WillDeRegio and yours truly
Apologies if I missed anyone - just let me know and I'll update the post.
Between dimensions, and linked to the rest of the multiverse, lies a strange post-apocalyptic environment made up of various regions strewn with the remnants of past glory - ruins, lost technologies and magic. Here and there, nature has found its way back amongst the ruined temples and towns.
In the midst of the blighted landscape, a fresh new town has emerged - a synergy of technology, nature and magic; clean and eco-friendly; a beacon of hope for a brighter future - where travellers can rest, recharge their batteries both literally and metaphorically and get whatever they may need - technological, magical or otherwise - to aid them on their adventures.
New arrivals can turn up by diverse means in the transportation area in the north-western part of the town or by whatever other means they deem appropriate. Here they may also find for rent, lease or hire, any transport they desire from riding animals to vehicles.
The wilderness areas have not been fully explored since the mysterious apocalyptic events that ravaged the area some time ago and no one is really sure what's out there - but rumours abound.
All that is known for sure is that both magic and technology have existed here for a long time, so anything is possible...
Currently in Day 1.
Current Time: 10:00 PM
Current Weather:
General Setting: Fine, a few light clouds Rainforest: Moderately misty, the fog is slowly thickening
See the thread page for updates.
Edited by Wolf1066 on Feb 11th 2021 at 12:12:29 AM
Crazy Kiwi
Lobby —> Restaurant
[Wolfe, Jean, Diantha, Nora, Leone, Ulf, Kris, Teri, Sophia, James, Gwion]Wolfe nodded acknowledgement of what Jean said, glad to hear that she had access to transport. "Certainly, but there's no need to call me 'sir', I work for a living." The old joke didn't give as much satisfaction without Sir Archibald or James to hear it.
He left the hotel, and, for Jean's benefit, pointed to the nearby restaurant where his colleagues were waiting. He could see that Teri and Sophia had joined them - and so had Gwion's friend Ulf. "That lot over at the table. I'll introduce ya."
It didn't take long to cross the short distance between the hotel and the restaurant and he nodded greetings and acknowledgment to those around the table. He introduced Jean to all those he was able then turned to encompass the three women he hadn't yet met in his gaze. "I answer t'Kev or Wolfe."
Road Beside Purple Fez Tavern (Controlled!Mequoql)
In response to the repeated command, Mequoql started to take a step away from the fire hydrant. But then she hesitated. "I need to talk my way out of this with the demon first. And to do so properly..." She twitched as her mind bashed against its restraints. Mael's control slipped a little, and through Mequoql's transparent eyelids, the silver leaked out of one eye, pausing on her cheek like a frozen teardrop. Her other eye was still silver. That dent was as much as she could break, she wasn't strong enough to break loose entirely.
Mequoql bluntly answered the demon, "I broke out just enough to send you this message of my free will: I'd rather be 'stuck as that man's familiar', as you call it, than have you intervene. This is my mental battle to fight. Now, are you going to go away so I can shut off this fire hydrant or what?"
Town Square (Morpho; Explorer of Unknowns; Mael)
Morpho was sent down to the planet's surface below. He appeared six feet in front of Mael, five feet off of the center of Mael's field of vision, and four feet above the ground. The robotic being immediately fell down and crashed onto his metal posterior before deforming into a comically squashed heap. Morpho reported in a deadpan baritone, "Error, category pratfall. How embarrassing." Then he rearranged his morphing metal back into his favored shape and faced Mr. White Suit. "Greetings. I hope I did not scare you."
Morpho's role was to occupy Mr. White Suit's attention, optionally get him away from the public's eye, and generally stall for time until Moquoql could set up an ambush, at which point he would abruptly join in physically subduing the mind-controller.
Justin's Mindscape (Shale; Justin)
Shale needed a few seconds to really take in what she'd been shown. She was half-in, half-out of the mindscape, with only the senses that corresponded to human engaged in the world, and that altered how her body was portrayed in the mindscape. Gone were her chainmail, toolbelt and antennae. Her microchip communicator was represented as a necklace with a pale blue crystal. Her entire figure flickered between opaque and transparent like a ghost... but she could speak with her vocal cord simulacra.
"Your mindscape, your dance, you lead. Got it." She carefully reconnected her emotional secondary brain, opened a port in one specific mind-shield of hers, and out came an outpouring of compassion for Justin to feel. She let the emotion flow for a bit before getting back to the business at hand.
"The Web of Friendship is accustomed to fighting against mind control and rescuing each other from it. We don't need Vindex meddling in our affairs, and we especially don't want to deal with the demonic residue he could leave behind in Mequoql's mind or Mael's mind. Please, show me the control over him that you claim you have and call him off."
edited 16th Jun '18 2:18:19 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
Friendly Neighborhood Lich
Hotel-> Restaurant (Nui, Wolfe, Teri, Sophia, James, Kris, Gwion, Ulf, Jean, Nora, Diantha, Leone)
As soon as Nui exited the hotelnote , they saw Shale's furry dragon dart out past them, heading out into the streets. Whatever was out there, Vindex was following too, not his dog form, but the incorporeal form he was in before he got fused into UD Justin. Nui started to follow them, following with their eyes and more slowly, their feet... only to stop abruptly once a fire hydrant off in the distance burst. Though it looked like normal water to most, to Nui it seemed filled with an all-too-familiar radiance.
Holy water!
Nui stopped in their tracks, falling backwards onto the street. Demons, they could deal with. Devils and peculiar fusions of souls, they could deal with, even with the apparent corruption their own soul would face. But the holy essence of positivity on the other hand... Nui's soul was already unstable, and they could feel what little connection it had to their electromagic projector on their right arm fading even from this distance. Not wanting even a droplet of the water to splash on them, they turned around and ran in the direction of the restaurant.
A bunch of people, Wolfe and Jean included, were gathered around one of the tables at the restaurant. Their eyes immediately darted across some fairly unusual sights about them. One of the girls at the table had a snowflake enveloping her right eye. Another, the girl with the overly long ponytail, had some lingering magic around her head; Nui had just barely missed it splitting open to devour the rest of her meal. But the disturbance in her aura suggested some sort of morphing having occurred, though Nui wasn't sure what. Then there was one of the men standing, who had some mechanical parts on him, complete with a mechanical red eye.
The pale bluish-grey-skinned elf stepped forward to an opening so that everyone at the table could see the flat face in the shadow of their strange paneled hat, and the purple-framed sunglasses covering their narrow eyes.
"And my name is Nui," they said, briefly holding up the hand bearing the barreled gadget in greeting. "I am looking for a James Turner regarding an expedition to the Ghost Town, to which I am interested in traveling, in addition to the Hellmouth and the cave hidden within the Coast of Chills."
At that point, the panels on their hat took on a faint glow, as a sound inaudible to everyone except Nui alerted them to its situation. In response, they pulled on a string hidden within their hair to stop the glow, muttering "sunlight is stronger here than I expected" as they did so. They then took off their backpack and stashed away the hat, stepping into the shade for now.
Come, my child of the devil. Your mother is calling you. Hear my call in Hell's grand hall, where all our dreams come true.
[Somewhere in Town Square—ok seriously where are we?]
While he couldn't see Vindex, he could see that some part of his power was starting to wear off, as Mequoql's eyes were slowly turning back to normal. His eyes, for a brief moment, widened with clear panic...before he cleared his throat and fixed his collar.
"Oh, I'm sorry." he said, his eyes and glove glowing once again as he walked over to her, "I believe you were given a clear order, were you not? Hunt down the children and bring them to me. Go."
Right after as he repeated this order, yet another person decided to literally drop by not even a second later. And once again, they seem to want to talk to him specifically. He sighed and crossed his arms, quirking an eyebrow. It was one thing for one person to show up to bother him, but with a supposed demon arriving and now this robotic person coming to him, he realized what this was; a rescue mission.
If they were trying to be subtle about it, they weren't doing a good job.
"You didn't startle me." he said, "Instead, now I'm just wondering who you people are and who sent you here." He then turned his attention back to Mequoql and whispered, "Before you leave...take care of this for me. You know how important this mission is for me, right?"
edited 17th Jun '18 5:13:32 PM by Masterofchaos
City Hall, Holding Cells – Parthenia and the Technocracy official
The sound of steady footsteps on the basement's floor belong to a middle-aged woman (someone would call her old, seeing the white hair gathered in a thick braid and the wrinkles, but certainly not herself) in modest dark brown dress that reached her ankles. Making fifteen paces, she stops at the intersection of the jail's corridors. First, she hears a familiar voice with decidedly unfamiliar hoarseness say "We're not done yet, pirate". She smiles softly.Perceptive as ever.
Then she hears more familiar sound of iron-bound boots thumping on the jail's floor. And, ultimately, she sees Parthenia the Keraunos appear from behind the corner. The older woman takes a good look at the Inquisitor and her gleam of almost maternal pride shifts into a concerned expression. The lightning mage's pale gray eyes draw attention off the bags below them, her cheekbones are a lot more pronounced than the older woman remembers and a healthy person is allowed to have, and while her posture conveys brawn, the armor looks too big on her, meaning the layer of fat than keeps the moisture inside the body is entirely absent. Parthenia looks like a champion bodybuilder right after a winning performance: about to collapse.
"You look awful, Parthenia." The words escape the older woman's lips.
The Inquisitor takes a measure of her.
"Curator Brimoda, the proper way to address me would be 'Inquisitor the Keraunos'."
Proud and cold as ever, as well.
The smile returns to Curator Brimoda's face.
"We shouldn't speak here," says Parthenia.
"They have a room for that," says the Curator. "No one would hear us there. Well, except for the Security Service."
City Hall, the Meeting Room – Parthenia and Curator Brimoda
The room is small, with a sofa, coffee table and a fireplace cracking its logs cozily."Did he talk?" asks the Curator, sitting on the sofa beside the Inquisitor.
"A lot," says Parthenia. "But none of the talk was about the topic that interest us."
"Arx will make him stay on topic," says Brimoda. "I didn't notice Whisper at the hitch."
"I've lost him in the wilderness."
"Along with the equipment?"
"Yes."
"Too bad, the Keraunos." Brimoda shakes her head. "Our presence here should have been as discreet as possible. And you have almost made a massacre in front of the City Hall's doors."
"I didn't initiate it. And it didn't escalate."
"Hand me your badge, Parthenia. It would be better if it would stay in my possession for the time being."
What?!
"Am I being discharged?!"
"It's more of a 'prolonged shore leave'," says the Curator. "Until you find your equipment and put yourself back into shape. I'd hate to see you die of exhaustion, Parthenia."
The Curator, taking the badge from the former Inquisitor, stands up.
"If you'll need me, I live near the market district."
"Wait," Parthenia jolts up. "Were you the one who negotiated with Chaudhari's superior?"
"Who's Chaudhari?" asks the Curator. "Nevermind. You'll tell me later. Farewell."
She turns on her heels and exits the meeting room. Parthenia stands there, staring at the door for quite the long time.
Now what do I do?
Hotel Lobby – Mark and Farah
Mark eyes the … commotion going on at the lobby with bored expression. It appears that some of the locals' attitude rubbed off of him.
"This doesn't concern us."
"Yeah, let's go," says Farah.
They follow the plant-people bellhops to the second floor and stop at the doors of the suites 205 and 206.
"We better hurry, Murkle's already assemblin' the search party," says Farah.
Spiral out, keep going.
It's a bird.
The Scar (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)
Jann gave Rosalind a wide-eyed look, not quite sure of how to respond. Holy hand grenades? He glanced over at Varg, who simply shrugged at him.
"Yep, things got a bit messy," was all she said.
After making it's way down the sloped side of the giant concrete trench that the locals had ominously named "the Scar", the vehicle slowed to a halt, it's thrown-together engine parts creaking and sputtering loudly. Varg shuffled around a bit in the driver's seat and leaned up against the cabin's rear window, gesturing for Ozurr to move his head closer. Meanwhile, Jann spread out the map on the dashboard in front of him, and pulled out what looked like an oversized brazen pocket watch from one of his belt pouches. He flipped it open, revealing a set of tiny metallic rings that quickly floated into the air just above the device and began to spin in irregular patterns around a tiny dot of shimmering, distorted air.
Jann gave the Thaumic Compass - or "Witch's Eye" to most commoners - a thoughtful look, before closing it again to glance at the map.
"Alright," he said, "it seems like we've got a few possible locations for the artifact. The 'Warpfields' to the north look the most promising, but we've also got the 'Hellmouth' and the 'Fields of Abyss' to the south, among other things." He scratched his head. Who came up with these names? "...None of which sound terribly pleasant."
"Once we've got it," Varg continued, "we're meant to meet up with one of our contractor's men back in town. We'll split the profits then."
"Six hundred League Silvers," Jann said, suddenly looking a lot more cheerful. "Duchess Ezrabeth always pays well..."
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.Hotel Lobby (Murquoql; Mark and Farah; crowd) -> Elevator (Mark and Farah; Murquoql) -> Outside Room 444 (Murquoql)
Murquoql joined Mark and Farah in the elevator. At the second floor, she said a brusque "See you in two hours or less," to Mark and Farah as they disembarked.
As soon as the doors closed in front of her and left her alone, Murquoql let out a sigh and slumped, leaning against the wall. She took one sheet of paper, flattened it against the wall, and messaged her friends for memories of Mael's face. Out of all the Mayatan sisters he could have nabbed, he had to nab the artist. Still, Murquoql had learned enough from her sister to quickly sketch a mediocre mugshot of Mael, adding the words DANGER above and MIND-CONTROLLER below. Then she carefully rolled up the paper and stashed it in Victoria's Secret Compartment. It was a bit uncomfortable in there. She couldn't post it on the bulletin board until Mael was out of the area, after all, the message was not for him.
She noticed the elevator had been idling at Floor 4 for a bit and disembarked. She followed the maternal distress to Room 444 and knocked on the door.
The Scar (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)
Rosalind brought out her own battered and worn mundane compass out of a pocket and put it next to the map, using the excuse of examining it to lean ever-so-lightly on Jann. She exposited her hypotheses on where the mustangs went, "Well, let's see, the mustangs ran south. We won't find them in the forest, they favor wide-open spaces where they can see for miles. If I were to go by the names alone, I'm guessing the Warpfields to the north and Fields of Abyss to the south are the most likely areas they'd gravitate towards. But then again, I don't know what those places are like, they might be less suitable than I think. If we were to start our search to the south, we'd be going past these rivers on our way to Fields of Abyss or Hellmouth, and Lead Mare Flashfoot the Seventh loves rivers. Might be worth pokin' around there."
edited 17th Jun '18 1:38:51 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
The Scar (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind; Krakka'a, Zarokh)
"As the only one who won't be inside during this trip," Ozurr said, "I'm in favor of any plan that involves going to where there's water."
At that moment, a shadow passed over the vehicle. Ozurr looked up to see a strange creature, its wingspan nearly twice as wide as Ozurr was tall, soaring overhead. In some ways, it reminded him of a dragon, and in other ways, it didn't remind him of a dragon at all.
Krakka'a, for his part, was not particularly interested in the group he passed over. The gigantic blue mammal sitting on the back of the truck gave him pause, but he had other things to concern himself with. The only reason this passing had any significance to him was because at that moment, he felt something catch in his throat. Perhaps leaving the mammal's clothes on wasn't a good idea. With a hack, he forced the obstruction up his long neck and spat it at the ground.
Ozurr jumped as something bounced off of the hood of the truck. He leaned forward to get a closer look. Was...was that a shoe?
"Krakka'a!" came a voice from behind the truck. Zarokh came ambling past, briefly bumping against the side of the vehicle. "Excuse me," he said quietly as he passed. "Krakka'a, wait up!"
"I'm not wasting any more time on this than I have to. Either keep up or find your own way."
"But I'm not meant to be out of the water for this long!"
"There'll be plenty of water for you when we get to the river. Now move!"
The two reptiles continued on along the Scar. Ozurr watched them leave. He didn't recognize either of them, but at that moment, his wilderness training started to kick in. The one on the ground had to be a predator; with those teeth, there was no way he could be anything else. He also had short legs, a large tail that flattened as it got near the end, eyes on top of his head, and had said that he wasn't meant to be out of the water for a long time. So whatever he was, he was an aquatic predator.
Ozurr leaned forward again. "Rosalind, if your horses are at the river, we may want to hurry."
[The Sun-Dry Sea - Vrask, Koyel, Layi]
Koyel looked dubiously in the direction Layi indicated. "I'll guard the prey," Koyel said. "Give a holler if'n anything gets a clever idea. Layi, you take a look if you're curious. Vrask, your pick."
"Sounds good," Layi said. "Ain't so far a walk for a hunter." Without waiting for a response, she headed off.
[Sun-Dry Sea - Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Nyorla]
Layi would be visible as a distant shape, studying the group from afar, a large, roughened old woman with a shotgun slung across her back, but her hands open and easily visible, actively non-threatening. Dead Gods, might be Terrans. That's over my head, just the hand brought enough trouble.
[In the middle of Nowhere, Interrogation Room #(10 ↑)2 8.6 — John Smith, Security Service; Alice]
The wealth to be made from selling these packages wasn't enough? Hmm. John Smith was interested only in his own city and those in it, to the exclusion of everyone and everything else that could not serve those ends. Alice could understand that, and was even self-aware enough to recognize that she'd do the same in his position, were it Western Amalgamated in queston. But it was still a dreadful inconvenience; this was an ecological niche Alice preferred to inhabit alone.
So what, uniquely, could Western Amalgamated offer? Lacking both the highly advanced technology of visitors from FTL-capable civilizations and any sort of magic, her organization had always, relyied on the useful applications of their fairly unique Anti-Magic, organizational cohesion, and cunning. Material offerings posed a problem; they could provide massive quantities of food, medicine, biochemistry, but yes, nothing the free market couldn't provide. And whle bits and pieces of the Graveyard of the Gods presented possibilities, she didn't want to bid too high, lest she find herself here again.
"I should ask you," Alice finally said, "since you clearly have no interest in anything you can 'acquire through the free market' and Western Amalgamated, by definition, sells on the free market. So what restitution can I meaningfully offer you? Surely you must have an idea — otherwise, we are simply at an impasse." A brief dramatic pause. "Unless... I suppose there's some Songtech devices we'd be willing to offer, but I'd need a clear picture of what the City needs before I could say what would be of use. I don't want to waste your time, after all."
edited 17th Jun '18 4:59:10 PM by KillerClowns
Sun-Dry Sea (Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Nyorla)
The boy nodded, "Alright, then we have a plan..."
He glanced over at the moufreta corpses, "I could help you skin them..." He pouted, "if I had a knife or something."
The boy walked over to the nearest corpse. Groping around, he eventually tried dragging the dead moufreta, which weighed as much as a grown man, by its tail, to little avail. He only managed to stumble backwards on his rear.
At this point, he noticed two things. The first was Nyorla's zipper, a strange object which he couldn't fathom the purpose of; and the other was the figure of someone off in the distance. He pointed, first towards the zipper, then towards the stranger, and hit the crossroads of confusion, "Um..."
Town ~ Hotel Lobby (Cynthia, Jean, Moobly; Dog!Arilay, Shale; Nui; Wolfe; Justin, Valerie, Vindex; others)
With several of those crowding this section of the lobby departing, Cynthia relaxed a bit. Hopefully now, Valerie might feel a little more comfortable. She wished Shale good luck in her endeavors as she disengaged the link.
Now fully aware of her surroundings, she immediately noticed the tin she had dropped. "Oh no, Moobly's gonna kill me..." she lamented.
Meanwhile, Moobly had considered following Arilay; the dog seemed to be more anxious than one that needed to pee. However, as she left the lobby, Arilay was already making her way back in, forcing the cynthonic to make an about turn to follow her again. She returned to gently scratching her once Arilay flopped back on the floor and rolled over.
Town Square ~ Restaurant (Diantha, Jean, Nora; Leone; Ulf; Gwion, James, Kris, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe; Nui)
Jean noticed the colorful hair and the single snowflake iris and smiled, "Ah, you must be one of Lady Otterbien's children; is it Lily or Diana?"
"It's Diantha, actually," the girl in question replied, holding a hand to her chest.
Jean glanced up at the girl's hair and back down again, "Of course it is; makes sense," she said with a smile.
Diantha continued introducing the other two girls, "This is my friend, Nora, and she's Leone." Noting the strange looking elf and her choice in destination(s), she smiled, "Looks like we'll be travel buddies; Nora and I are planning on going to Ghost Town."
"We are?" asked Nora.
Town Square ~ Frontier Sporting Goods (Carol, Lily; Stranger; Not-Chaos-Hunters)
Carol gave a small grin, "Also a perfect place for hunting," she told Amy.
"A change in destination is fine by me," said Lily.
"By the way, where's bunny-ears?"
Lily choked slightly, "She's, uh, she's taking care of some personal business," she told Carol.
Town Square ~ Lost, but bound to wind up in trouble (Bonnie)
"Stupid crocodile, stupid lightning, stupid stupid stupid— Ugh! I can't believe how hard it was to find a washroom! Stupid city..." glowered the rabbit-eared girl, before she glanced up at her surroundings, "Wait... I thought this was the way I came... don't tell me I'm lost!"
Frustrated, Bonnie picked a direction at random and stamped off. Sooner or later, she'd find a familiar landmark or something.
They/Them
[The Sun-Dry Sea - Vrask, Koyel, Layi]
Vrask picked up their maul and leaned it against their shoulder as they followed after Layi.
They turned back to Koyel for a quick second, "And you give a holler if something goes for the carcass, I've seen too many young hunters die thinking they can take on groups of scavengers."
[The Necropolis - Unnamed, Wanderer, It Came From The Sea]
She was about to take off another chunk of the beast before she heard it talk. She generally preferred meals that didn't talk back, and she removed the scimitar from the creature's face. She then jumped off the creature's head, landing a good few feet in front of the creatures.
She kept a cautious stance as she looked at the creature, "So," she said, "I didn't expect that."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
The Prince of Foolish Relevations
In the presence of living arrogance (Mael, Morpho, "Dius Giudice", Vindex)
Shadowy head flicking over in Mael's direction, the demon Vindex scoffs dismissively "Oh sure she is, and I'm most definitely a sacred priest." Though a bit surprising that the victim minutely freed herself, her response... Was hardly shocking to the demonic soul.
Sneering at her, Vindex snapped back at her "You're doing incredibly well, honest, so best let you prove you're a big girl huh? Moron, your cursed water won't kill me! It can't even stop me! All you're doing is trapping yourself, physically and spiritually! Filthy idiot, that telepathy is wasted on you... Can't even see how wrong you are distrusting me."
Looking away in annoyance, to Mequoql and other perceptive individuals Vindex seemingly leaves... When in truth, he suddenly finds himself trapped in an invisible sphere, his spiritual body thrashing about in violence as he instinctively tries to break free. Of course, "lower" powered entities like Mequoql wouldn't know...
"Dius", however, smiles knowingly as she glances in Vindex's direction. The rainbow-haired deity, in response to Morpho's arrival, simply eats some of her popcorn very casually. Making a small "Hmm" as Mael, for all purposes, orders Mequoql to ignore a supposed demon...
"Dius" begins curling and uncurling her left fingers, for seemingly no reason... But boy, it is oddly timed with how the buildings are slowly becoming transparent. Nonetheless, as Mael voices his suspicion and issues the enslaved girl another order...
The buildings between them & the Not-Chaos Hunters suddenly turn transparent in an instant, "Dius" snapping her left fingers in sync. Leaning in towards Mael conspiratorially, the supposedly non-interventionist goddess speaks to him.
"Hey, look, I'm suppose to be an observer goddess yeah? So I don't really have anything actually important to do. I get you might not trust me, but I just helped you. I could of easily stopped you instead, and I won't be allowed to do anything else for a while. Besides..."
The herself nicely suited goddess shrugging her shoulders, she continues casually serious "You're the only one who can see me, so with me around nobody can surprise attack you. Seeing you win would be more interesting anyways, and I'm beneath such petty things as good and evil. So, what do you say?"
Whilst it would be clear to Mael the buildings truly are currently transparent, what wouldn't be clear to anyone is how the Not-Chaos Hunters could no longer leave the city- Invisible walls that'll only bar them, with attempts to be dragged through teleporting them to safety rather than get crushed. Walls whose only purpose, it seems, to ensure they're publicly confronted by Mequoql…
The Rec Room where nothing could possibly go wrong...
The cute little Felian tilting her head in confusion, she "speaks" in a judgmental/inquisitive manner befitting a child "That doesn't make sense, how does touching someone make a person calm?" Thus while the nascent lifeform stands there in thought...
Explorer raises her right eyebrow at Maequoql, and for the briefest moment... Actually seems disturbed. Yet as such a blink-and-miss-it moment, it would be easy to dismiss her expression as simply one's mind playing tricks.
Still, as Mae asks in confusion what Explorer meant, the goddess scrunches her face up before replying a bit disbelievingly "Your soulful metal creature, Morpho. In many ways his design clearly seems based off organic models, thus 'biomechanical'. Arilay is more techno-organic, assuming one doesn't simply call her a cybernetic organism."
With that said though, some sort of soft drink suddenly appears before Explorer- And as she grabs it Felian excitedly steps up to Mae & chirps. "You're silly, I can just make you calm!" Thus as Explorer begins drinking whatever she summoned, the nascent Felian's mind worms her way inside Mae's head...
And the alien girl would suddenly feel much calmer. Explorer, however, seems more interested in her drink as if nothing even happened- Before finally calmly talking about the subject of Sarquoql & related matters.
"Back to your brother, I guess you'll consider letting Designer of Life have him too merciful. He'll definitely live a life of comfort there, least when Designer isn't letting his creations 'loose' in the name of science. You'll probably end up with many nieces and nephews too, Designer likes seeing how different abilities & physiologies mesh together. Ah, things get weird when you've both a Persona and Semblance..."
The universe-traveling goddess drinking more thoughtfully, she speaks up a second time. "Physical force won't be effective on more powerful or... Peculiar psychics you know. We actually have an embryonic angel who has been stuck inside her mother's rotting corpse for twenty years, and yet she's still able to pull off mighty telepathic feats like distorting perception or making someone relive the memories of another."
Explorer letting loose a small, proud smile, she adds on quickly. "In fact, her most impressive to date is projecting her mind into another universe by using a person's mind as a bridge. Granted, she was even more limited, and it really only worked due to both worlds being universal nexuses. In fact, she projected herself into that Space Liner."
Is my curse him, or people thinking I'm his friend?
Narrowing his eyes at Shale, Justin doesn't exactly seem suspicious as compassion flowed from her... But he definitely seems distrusting, as if doubting the sincerity given what he knows of her.
The moment she accused him of letting that thing do whatever, Justin's expression becomes incredibly unamused- His annoyance more of a familiar nature for him, rather than some special occasion.
Once the intrusive monster girl was done saying her piece, Justin leans forwards slightly as he brings his right hand above his eyebrow. Casually and slowly massaging his eyebrow, the young man responds in a casually annoyed way- Like he's very used to this.
"So that's it, you came into my very soul just to insult me? What kind of idiot do you think I am, feeling the need to point out an obviously bad idea like it is some grand mystery? I don't want him so far away and-"
Pausing for a moment, Justin looks around his mindscape as if something was there- And suddenly Vindex appears, trapped within a translucent sphere and seemingly unaware of his surroundings as he thrashes about inside.
The human familiar eyeing his demon suspiciously, Justin lets out a short breath before picking up. "So there he is, locked away as he should be. I'm not sure why you assume I have sole mastership of him, Master Valerie created him after all. I'm guessing you know why?"
Shaking his head slightly from side-to-side, Justin slouches against his imaginary wall before speaking in a more politely conversational tone. "Your friend hardly seems fine, and shouldn't you be out there dominating Mael's mind instead? He clearly wants to hurt people, and the law here is... Complicated, so not many will stop you."
Rubbing the back of his neck and sighing, Justin's tone becomes a bit tinged with worry. "My head always gets all messed up when I have to fuse with my demon, so... Did his rampage as the 'Unchained Devil' draw you here? I couldn't just let him break apart after hugging that girl, and I honestly wasn't expecting him to be challenged- Valerie would of defused us much sooner otherwise."
Hotel (Cynthia, Moobly, Arilay, Shale, Justin Parker, Valerie Nexus, Vindex)
Seeing Wolfe leave without incident, Valerie sighs peacefully as she visibly relaxes. "I really don't get what his problem was, we never even did anything to him... Maybe he's one of those people who just feels good when hating?"
The young(?) witch's gaze flicking to Cynthia as she lamented, Valerie soon turns her attention to the fake dog. Squeezing her hands together as she holds them over her lap, her blue eyes gleaming with half-hearted mischief... Then, in a playfully innocent though a bit curious tone, the be-hatted speaks.
"Why exactly are you pretending to be a dog? I would of asked earlier, but I guess you know why not. You hurt these nice ladies' feelings, and hogging all those biscuits wasn't nice. It was also really mean how you tricked that lady into hurting herself, rather than explaining things... Those failed Homunculi are really mean lady, didn't you know that?"
edited 17th Jun '18 9:46:37 PM by Kkutwar
"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."
Crazy Kiwi
Outside Frontier Sporting Goods
[Carol, Lily, Not-Chaos-Hunters, stranger]He looked from the one who introduced herself as Amy to the clearly legible sign above the shop's door and back to Amy again, unsure if she was deliberately being unhelpful, trying to be funny, insulting his intelligence or genuinely didn't understand his question.
One of the others - looked to be African-American at first but spoke with a Cockney accent - spoke up and wasn't any more helpful. The only new information he gained was that they were leaving 'this place' - wherever that might be - and going to a forest for 'adventure'.
He looked hopefully at the other two, hoping they would provide more useful information but they were more intent on their intended destination and the whereabouts of someone nicknamed 'bunny-ears'.
He looked at the bloke with the 'pommy' accent. "Yeah, nah, bro, I meant..." he waved his hands expansively to cover the area in general, "where is this place? Y'might think this is weird—" he looked at their clothing and Lily's strange-looking eye and hair— "or might not, but I just appeared here a couple-a minutes ago 'n' I don't know where I am or how I got here."
He looked about. "Anyways, I'm Matiu Tamaherenote but most people jus' call me 'Matt' or 'Matty'. I w'z just out havin' a hikoi - that's 'a walk', to you fellas - an' suddenly there was a big-as flash-a light 'n' I wound up here... freaky-as! Dunno where I am or how ta get home."
What they had said about the forest and hunting sounded interesting. "So you fellas goin' out huntin'? Cool-as! My Koro useta take me out huntin' - pigs, mainly; sometimes deer or goat."
Will wait for Jean before posting for the Restaurant group.
edited 18th Jun '18 2:43:34 AM by Wolf1066
In the middle of Nowhere, Interrogation Room #(10 ↑)2 8.6 — John Smith, Security Service; Alice
"Hm-m." Smith pauses for a moment. "The City does not have enough manpower to be something more than just a Hub in the middle of hostile territories. Asking WA for a piece of technology that would increase our firepower would be pointless and counterproductive."No. We could thrive on getting and transferring information whilst remaining a neutral party. Recently I've tried to contact an omniscient deity, but she doesn't answer my calls. The city could use to have leverage against her, or at least something that would be interesting enough for such an entity to help us.
"There's also a matter of defense. Many of our potential dangers are of magical variety, and while we do possess the means to counter them, they're clunky. Hazardous. Unreliable. Yours, on the other hand, seem to be innate. Something we could use freely. Something we could turn into a shield.
"I'm afraid I'm going to ask you for a sample of your genetic material. Three drops of blood, not more. It would be enough for our R&D department. Unless you're feeling generous and will give us your subordinate for … thorough examination. Ace of Spades was his name, wasn't it?"
Spiral out, keep going.
[In the middle of Nowhere, Interrogation Room #(10 ↑)2 8.6 — John Smith, Security Service; Alice]
Alice shook her head, torn between offense and amusement. "I'm tempted to take you up on the blood request," Alice said, "except I don't want to deal with the fallout when you realize that genetically, I'm just standard-issue Midwestern white trash. Unless you want genetic markers for stunted height and poor impulse control?" She shook her head. "Still, I get what you're after. What you'll be wanting are our training guides, assembled from old Mauros, Uelane, Graveyard, and Kykiten occultic lore into, as best we could manage, a science. Plus our records of MRI scans on myself, the Ace, and a few other agents with similar skills, both Terran and Alosane. Or if you need a shield that doesn't depend on a trained agent, I can provide fresh, unprocessed crystals from the Crystal Forest of Maur. I'm sure your R&D department can figure out how to deal with the decay issues."
"But," Alice said, suddenly darkening, "as for the Ace? You want something from him, you talk to him." It was one of the few kind things one could say about Alice — she had a sincere loyalty to her useful agents, and was personally insulted by the insinuation she'd so callously sacrifice one.
Road Beside Purple Fez Tavern (Controlled!Mequoql, Morpho, Moquoql; Mael, Explorer of Unknowns)
As the demon left, Mequoql sighed in relief and shut off the fire hydrant. She didn't resist the silver returning to her eye — the demon had left, and that was all she'd needed that bit of freedom to do.
Mael's immediate suspicion was utterly predictable. Morpho approached Mael, spreading his arms wide, and said in a deceptively cheerful tone, "I am a friend, and I am here to give you a hug." Before he could lunge...
Moquoql was transported by the spaceship's teleporter six feet directly behind Mael. She slammed her psychic shields up and stealthily pulled a packaged rag of chloroform out of her grab bag. Before she could open the airtight package...
Mequoql stiffened as her sister appeared on her psychic radar. The Web of Friendship was after Mael, which meant she was next. She telekinetically pinched the back of her sister's neck.
Moquoql twitched like she was having a seizure and cried out in agony as she was blind-sided by her sister's nerve pinch. Her two sets of vocal cords hit specific tones that resonated with each other to make binaural beats. Combined with a primordially instinctive psychic lash-out, the sonic attack was designed to spook the living daylights out of those who heard it, demoralizing them into fleeing or freezing. She dropped to the ground, temporarily unable to move or use her psychic powers.
A few rubberneckers turned and ran, along with more locals who had just been going about their business. Even Morpho hesitated, though how much of that was because of Moquoql's cry and how much was because of the plan falling to pieces as he watched shall remain deliberately ambiguous.
Mequoql, affected by the scream, opted to scram. As she did so, she levitated a pointy fist-sized rock and launched it into Morpho's eye. There was a Sickening "Crunch!" as the rock cracked and crumbled, leaving the sturdily constructed eyeball-in-a-forcefield unharmed. She sprinted away, taking a hard turn left at the first fork in the road, her soggy fur dripping a temporary trail behind her. In this sunny weather, she wouldn't need to expend effort to dry off.
Morpho didn't fall for Mequoql's bait and completely ignored the fact that he'd gotten a rock smashed on his eye. Looks like he'd have to do this on his own. He lunged at Mael, intending to coccoon Mr. White Suit in morphing metal.
Author's note: I don't expect Morpho to succeed. The Mayatan spooky vocal trick was inspired by Lavender Town.
Shopping District (Not-Chaos Hunters; whoever else is there; NPCs; Controlled!Mequoql)
A small stampede of people passed by the Not-Chaos Hunters, screaming about some horrible, awful, scary noise. Mequoql was trailing behind them, but not immediately visible.
Mequoql's psychic radar sensed her targets up ahead, they hadn't seen her yet. She briefly clapped her hands over her eyes. When she withdrew them, the silver of her eyes was hidden behind a curtain of cobalt blue wrapping over her eye sockets as a one-way visor. She could see out, but they couldn't see in.
She quietly gasped as entire buildings turned transparent and hid herself in the nearest knot of locals. Well, this would make her initial idea that much harder...
Justin's Mindscape
Behind her mental shields, Shale thought to herself, "Where's the diplomacy Arilay saw him display earlier?" Aloud, she backtracked, "Forgive my skepticism, I've never witnessed humans controlling demons before, and the many attempts I heard about all backfired horribly. When I saw you fuse with Vindex, I thought it was yet another backfire..."
With dawning realization, she added, "But... that memory... and Valerie... that would mean Vindex is not the kind of whole, nigh-impossible-to-control demon like the one that assaulted your mind and necessitated his creation, right?"
"As for Mael, I fully intend to do something, but I know my limitations. Here and now is not the opportune time and place." Her body was too slow and squishy to go out there after Mael or Mequoql. But once either one was nabbed, no other Web telepath could remove psychic 'fish-hooks' with the same level of speedy efficiency as she could. "The Web of Friendship knows what it's doing, its members spent a thousand hours practicing recovery tactics against mind-control."
edited 18th Jun '18 2:33:50 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
* Wasteland, Southeastern Cove - A Thief is Confronted*
Trying to will his racing heart to be still, David pocketed a quick breath and steadied his weapon. He hadn't been bluffing; looped through a strap around his shoulders and resting in his hands was a short shotgun. It had two vertically aligned barrels, each loaded.
He'd forgone his sandals for the quicker and quieter pads of his feet, but was otherwise dressed the very same as he had before, even down to the sunglasses. Between the firearm, the beach clothes, and the fact that he looked like a large white otter, the scene at the cove was a striking one indeed.
The target of his... coercive statements was a very human woman about a foot and a half taller than he was. She was tan-skinned, fair—and fairly messy—haired, wearing a sleeveless green polo, dusty beige hiking pants held in place with a belt, and heavy looking dark brown boots. Still clutched in her hand was a large, dangerous looking revolver.
David whistled. "I said lose the piece. You don't lose it this second, you'll be losing the arm."
He wanted to punctuate his threat with a good follow up sound, but lacking anything to pump or cock, he had to settle for flicking the lever to break open and quickly reassemble his shotgun, which produced a satisfying-enough click. Moreover, the thief—after a moment of twitchy reluctance—tossed her weapon to the ground a few feet away.
"Better!" David grinned. "Now, to chit-chat. You're actually very lucky. You stole something that isn't too precious from someone who isn't too vindictive, so we'll just be taking back the keyring and leaving you with the local authorities. Consider this a slap on the wrist for a first time offense. See, that- ah-ah!"
The thief had started to turn around to face him, but now froze.
"Agh," David slapped his forehead, "I'm sorry, there's been a bit of miscommunication. When I said 'do exactly as I say the second I say it', I also meant don't do anything I did not tell you to do. Think of it like a game of Simon Says. Right now, Simon says: back the way you were, thankyouverymuch."
The thief seemed to hesitate for a moment, peeking over her shoulder at him, but ultimately complied once again with David's command.
"Right, so as I was saying, being as this is your first offense, Joseph and I were hired to get back what you took and bring you to your due justice. That is the full extent of the job. Neither of us have any interest in shooting you, but if you choose to escalate things, we are armed and prepared to defend ourselves."
He paused, drawing in a slow breath before sighing. "And... our employer wants you to know that if you do something like this again, then we aren't the ones she's going to hire. You won't get to talk to the person she hires next. So call that your first and last warning."
David glanced up at the thief, looking for any kind of response; some recognition. But it was hard to tell anything from the back of her head. He supposed the silence was answer enough.
"My advice to you: if you can't possibly get by without stealing, then at the very, very least, make sure you never steal from this lady again. And be a little smarter about what you take. A keyring isn't going to get you far without something to unlock, and taking it by itself is like sending your mark a detailed list of what you plan to hit next."
He waited a moment, again eying the thief for a sign that she'd got what he was saying, or at least that she was listening.
"Oh, shoot, of course. Ahem, Simon says... you may speak your mind."
Finally the thief did speak, quite levelly and without any obvious resentment.
"I guess I was desperate. I wasn't thinking. I really needed the money."
"Yeah," David nodded, "hallmark of amateur work. Nothing to be ashamed of, not being cut out for thieving. Just all the more reason not to do it again."
The thief turned her head until she could glimpse David out of the corner of one eye. "Please, don't take me in. You can have the keys, I won't steal again. You'll never even see me. Just don't turn me into the authorities."
David shook his whiskery head, but there was sympathy in his voice. "Sorry, that won't fly. Turning you in is part of the job. I don't turn you in, I don't get paid. Besides, the system might do you some good. Just explain your situation, maybe primp it up a little bit. There's gotta be someone who can help you."
"Oh that's sweet. Really funny, aren't you."
He frowned, voice edging on doleful. "Yeah... I know. But I don't know what else I can tell you. This is my job."
"Why don't you just tell her I fought back and you had to put me down? Please don't tell me she needs a body." She hesitated for a moment, murmuring, "Although..."
"Nope, nope nope," David shook his head again. "For several reasons. With this," he patted the forestock of his shotgun, "It would almost certainly make a mess, which would probably wind up on my clothes, and I'm not eager to reproduce that."
"So tell her you changed clothes."
"Secondly, I don't really trust you, and if you ever resurface, that's my butt on the line."
"So don't stick around. Get your money and run."
"Who's to say I don't live here? Anyway, besides either of those things, I don't think she'd buy it in the first place. I can't just fake 'I killed someone'. No. I'm not doing it. You made your bed and now you're just going to have to stick it out with the local authorities. They can't be that bad."
Just then, Joseph's voice rose up from down on the beach. "All good up there, David?"
David kept his eyes trained on the thief as he turned his head to shout back, "Peachy!"
"What?"
"I said p- ...agh... Yes!"
He turned his full attention back to the thief, just in time to catch her slipping a hefty stone into her left hand. "Are you kidding me with that? Are you trying to put me on edge here? Lady, I have your untimely death sitting in my hands, just a trigger pull away. Lose the rock."
As she complied once again, David couldn't help shaking his head in frustration. "I mean, damn it, I thought you were actually going to be reasonable. And you go and pull a stupid stunt like that, I really... I really ought to do something. What do I say? Look, you try anything... we're both armed and ready. Even if you get away from Johnny-on-the-spot here, my marksman friend on the beach is fully loaded and ready to fell a galloping gazelle at half a kilometer. You got it?" He let out a sigh. "Now, Simon says how about that keyring?"
The thief was quiet for a moment, frowning tightly. When she spoke, it was a curt, "I hid it behind some rocks. I can lead you to it." Then she tried taking a step forward.
"Ah-AH!" David yipped, raising his weapon, "Simon says you're not going anywhere. Not until I've got you in..." he paused, feeling around his back pockets, but found nothing, save for his big tail. "...cuffs."
He bit his lip, blowing out hot air and trying not to give away any more than he already had. In his urgency to sneak back to the cave, he must have left them in the truck. What else had he forgotten?
Not wanting to waste any more time, he cleared his throat and continued, "Right, for now, you just... stand where you are and point to the rocks you hid them behind."
She started to move her right hand, swinging it down past her waist.
"Slowly."
"Hairy little gremlin"
David wrinkled his nose. "What?"
"Fucking former."
He heard her clearly. "Ah yes, the failed thief with mystical insight into all things. You got something to say or are you just going to gurgle all over your chin?"
The thief raised her head and her voice.
"I said, you have no right to detain me."
"Yeah? Yeah?" He hesitated, then gritted his teeth, "Bite me."
"You aren't human. It's funny the way you and your friend dress up. Play like people." She slipped something out of her waistband. "For a while, it's funny. But you keep going."
David tried to keep the creases out of his brow. He glared, pretending it was in concentration. He lowered his weapon slightly, and breathed out through his nose, venting the heat from within.
"You keep going and it becomes this creepy, freakish thing. You confuse yourself into thinking it's normal, when it's anything but. It's immoral. You should be kept far away from people."
David shut his eyes, muttering through irritated breaths. "You all sound the same. Why do you all sound the same..."
"No, the only place for yourself and real people to coexist is. a. zoo."
On the last word, the thief flung out her arm, hurtling a rock at David.
He came to attention just in time to lift his weapon— not to shoot but to defend his face. The rock struck the side of his shotgun and careened downward, grazing his leg with a stinging jolt.
"Frck!"
He had no time to recover before the thief was upon him, ramming her knee into the side of the gun with enough force to knock it into his nose. It felt like someone had rammed it with a semi truck. He winced, barely keeping his eyes open as she came at him again. Knee. Knee. KNEE. It was all he could do to push back with his hands, barely stymieing the blows as she drove him back.
Seizing upon a moment between the strikes, he grabbed his dangling shotgun and raised it again, beating back at each knee with the side of his weapon as hard as he could. On the third strike, the thief cried out and grabbed at her knee.
David straightened his shotgun but couldn't quite get his hand around the trigger before the thief—nearly doubled over—charged forward with her shoulder. He stepped to the side but the force of her charge clipped his weapon, yanking it forward, which yanked the strap forward, which yanked the whole of his body forward, tumbling heels-over-head behind the thief.
Before he could right himself, he felt himself being dragged backwards and then hoisted upwards by his tail. His shotgun strap slipped free from his shoulders, sending the loaded gun clattering to the ground. He was disarmed, but far from defenseless. With a flex of his muscular tail, he swung himself outward and—not unlike a wrecking ball—right back inward, barreling into the thief's waist with a surprising amount of strength. The blow set him loose, landing backwards on his hands and feet while the thief stumbled back towards the rock she'd been hiding behind earlier.
Adrenaline pumping, David turned his head this way and that, searching for his weapon. Before he could find it, the thief was on her feet and charging at him again. He charged right back, leaning into his run as they closed in on each other.
Left is right and right is left, he thought. Left is right, and-
She brought up her right knee. He dropped down, feeling it flatten his whiskers against the side of his face as it grazed him. Then he sprang forward, launching past her left leg and curving the end of his tail slightly inward, just enough to hook her ankle and...
The thief fell hard. When David looked back at her, she was lying face down, trying weakly to prop herself up on her elbows. He also noticed the stock of his shotgun sticking out from under her waist. He hadn't found it earlier because he'd been standing right on top of it.
Taking the opportunity to breathe, and trying to ignore the churning pain that was flooding into his nose, he marched back over to her and slipped his shotgun out before the thief had a chance to realize what she'd landed on.
Whiskery muzzle twitching, he raised his head towards the beach and shouted a long, "Joseeeph!"
Edited by Ryuhza on Jun 26th 2018 at 1:36:11 AM
this place needs me here
[Town Square]
He had to admit; being able to see where his targets were was a blessing, as much as Dius was annoying Mael. On top of that, before he could be attacked, Mequoql took care of both threats. He couldn't help but smile.
"How rude of you." he said calmly at the others, "You're interrupting my friend's goal. Would you lot be kind enough to leave? It would save you the trouble."
He later regretted his cockiness, cause he soon found himself slammed on the ground by Morpho, and about to be wrapped in a cocoon. His eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and anger.
"You guys would sink so low to attack an unarmed man?" he said, "Truly pathetic, is it not?"
[Shopping District]
Adam blinked. "Well...w-we're not really sure ourselves. We kind of appeared out of nowhere after a fight and we—"
He quickly stopped when he and his friends quickly noticed the crowd leaving in terror over something. Instantly they all knew that something was terribly wrong.
Maya tried to follow the crowd to see what was up...but couldn't. Some sort of wall she couldn't see prevented her from getting any further.
And only her.
Guys. she signed, We're trapped here.
"Ok..." Nick said, slowly putting on his gloves, "Shit's going down."
"Agreed." Jackson said, pulling out what looked like some sort of laser pistol, "Carol, Lily, get the stranger out of here. We're gonna figure this out. We'll meet you the forest." He turned to his friends, "Amy, Nick, you try to break whatever wall is keeping us here. Me, Maya, and Adam will be here."
Amy, grabbing a metal bat, nodded, then started slamming repeatedly against the invisible wall, Nick joining her.
They were so preoccupied with this, they didn't see the emerging Mequoql arriving to their area...
edited 18th Jun '18 6:34:03 PM by Masterofchaos
WFS Hummingbird Rec Room (Maequoql; Felian, Explorer of Unknowns)
Maequoql's eyes widened in comprehension, "Ohhh, Morpho! We call his design 'bio-mimic mechanical'. We had too many confusions with biomechanical making it sound like we put actual organic bits in there. And yeah, Arilay's a full-on cyborg, she lost her limbs and some organs in an incident she never explained."
And that was when Felian decided to make Maequoql calm. "Uh..." Maequoql blinked, turning her head, "I didn't know you could do that. Interesting. But could you please ask for permission before invading someone's mind?"
If Felian's timing had been just a little bit later, Maequoql would have shuddered in disgust at the mental image of Sarquoql making sons and daughters. That was her big brother for Pete's sake! But then Explorer of Unknowns mentioned something even more gross. "Rotting corpse... isn't there a more suitable incubator, and hasn't anyone tried to transfer her to it?"
Hotel Lobby (Arilay, Shale; Cynthia, Moobly; Justin, Valerie, Vindex; anyone else?)
Well, Arilay was busted. She knew this would happen sooner or later, her disguise wasn't perfect. She carefully moved the nanobot formation simulating a dog mouth, she wasn't used to speaking with this formation, "Look, I'm sorry about the biscuits, I originally planned on just eating one. They're absolutely wonderful, by the way, Moobly. I didn't know Cynthia would drop them, and I'm sure Shale and I would have caught them before they spilled if we had faster reflexes. And then when they accidentally fell on the floor..." She lowered her voice a little so the clerk wouldn't hear, "You do not want to know what kinds of germs and cleaning residues got all over them..." Her earlier scans of the residues on the floored biscuits would have nauseated her if she'd still had her organic digestive tract. The translations of those scans for the benefit of her taste buds had redacted that data.
"That woman with the broom earlier, what else could I have done after talking failed? Shale and a few other people who were at the restaraunt already tried to talk her into putting down the broom and the woman wasn't listening. I couldn't shapeshift or take the broom away from her or defend myself with fighting, or I would have scared her further and reinforced her mistaken belief that I'm a homunculus. I thought the wall was the least harmful way to get her to stop after talking failed."
"As for why I'm in a dog shape, I thought you'd prefer an animal over a human. After all, animals don't insult you or yell at you, and I wanted to make a good first impression."
"Oh, and one last thing. I'm not a failed homunculus, I'm not a homunculus at all. I'm a human who lost a few parts that got replaced with machines. Now, don't be alarmed, I want to show you something that might be icky..." Her nanobots fell away like sand to reveal a mass of armored machinery arranged in the shape of a human without limbs. Her head looked like a metallic skull missing its teeth and lower jawbone, with a clearly complex mechanical windpipe complete with voicebox sticking up in front of the rest of the armored neck mass. A small clump of nanobots were obscuring what should have been the back of her throat. What should have been ribs with gaps between them were overlapping rib-like plates of armor. The belly had an arrangement of sealed-tight compartments, a large one centered directly underneath the ribs and two small columns on either side. Where the pelvis would have been was also obscured under the nanobots piled like sand. The dog collar was gone but the radio remained, plugged in directly under the windpipe.
Speaking through the radio, Arilay said, "There. See? Not a homunculus... Is this too much? Do you want me to stop showing you?"
Shopping District (Controlled!Mequoql) -> Road Beside Purple Fez Tavern (Controlled!Mequoql, Morpho, Moquoql; Mael, Explorer of Unknowns)
Mequoql silently reported, "I found them. They seem to be trapped in a selective force field." She glanced around. Morpho wasn't following her. Why wasn't he following her? She reversed direction as her directives switched back to protecting Mael. Dripping, she sprinted her way back to where she saw Morpho tackling Mael. Well, this was turning into half a disaster. Morpho's brains were waterproof, she couldn't fry his circuits with the water she had in her fur. So she started telekinetically prying at the morphing metal.
Morpho laughed, "You're not unarmed, silly!" Two bands of morphing metal wrapped around Mael's shoulders. "See, your arms are right there..." Two more bands of morphing metal snared Mael's wrists, "...along with your other weapon, this mind-control gem!" Morpho continued engulfing Mael, throwing a band of metal over Mael's eyes for good measure. That's when he started having difficulties. His engulfing slowed, and in some spots briefly reversed. Morpho spun his head and soon spotted the source of the trouble. Mequoql was back.
Moquoql was still down for the count.
edited 18th Jun '18 9:36:39 PM by Miss_Desperado
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
This is my good side.
Town Square -> South Gate (Chitara's Wagon)
"Holy magic? Bah." As if to emphasize her dismissal of the term, Chitara spat on the ground below. "Can't tell from personal experience, but I'm sure what you said sounds like the Holy Knights. Not that we will probably find any on the road, but better be prepared for anything. My advice? Stay away from them. From what I heard, they they mean well, but tend to be rather... crazy fanathical. You and your undead friend are not going to be seen with friendly eyes. Especially you, a fairy and undead, it looks." She emphasized this by shaking her head. "They would roast you alive." She added with a morbid smile.
Meanwhile, back inside the wagon, Naiolo didn't seem to grasp what Nyceme told him. "King of hte fallen? So, like... outcasts and such?" An idea lighted up on his mind. "Oh, that sounds amazing! Just the perfect chance to compose my first own song. 'The one who rules over the outcasts and the misfits. Watching over them when no one else would...' It's just like the King of Thieves!"
He was about to ask Nyceme to tell him more, when he noticed what she and Saen were doing,a nd gaged in disgust. "Agh! What are you doing?! Please tell me you're not going to drop blood on the floor!" While trying not to puke, he managed to make a few words. "I think (urk)... I think Granma wouldn't mind your (agh)... your sorcery to enlarge the interior, Saen. Just be careful."
While all of this was going on, the conversations and the impromptu alchemical surgery, the wagon made its way to the South Gate. The others were already waiting there, mounting some small, two-wheeled metallic vehicles. Much comfort or protection they didn't seem to offer.
"Hey!" Chitara called out to them. "Kept you wating?"
Crazy Kiwi
South Gate (Chitara's Wagon)
[Saen, Nyceme, Sindar, Jamie, Chitara, Naiolo, Pearl, Aubrey, Finn]The wagon arrived and Chitara called out a greeting; Pearl gave her a smile. "We've not long arrived." It was true - by the time they had walked back to the bikes, geared up and got underway, even with the joyous burst of speed through the streets to the gate, they had only just got there ahead of the wagon.
Finn gave Chitara a cheerful grin. "You set the pace, we'll match it." He turned to address Pearl and Aubrey. "Set ya radios to 'VOX' 'n' switch to our designated channel." Even as he instructed them, he was doing the same to his own radio so that they would be able to communicate without having to reach for the 'transmit' button.
Pearl nodded and pressed the buttons on her radio to switch to the desired channel and enable voice-activated-transmissions; Aubrey, after a bit of fumbling, managed to follow suit.
They did a quick check to ensure they were all transmitting and receiving properly and then Finn turned back to Chitara. "All set. Let's go."
they'll follow and/or ride alongside the wagon. The electric bikes make very little sound, so they should be able to converse at pretty much normal levels with Chitara or anyone who sticks their head out of the wagon as if they were walking alongside them.
It's a bird.
The Scar - Heading south to the River (Ozurr; Jann, Varg; Rosalind; Krakka'a, Zarokh)
Jann turned to Rosalind as he noticed her leaning closer, feeling a chilly vampiric upper arm against his own. He didn't mind though. Feeling more confident now that they had learned each others histories, he moved to place an arm across her shoulders...
Bonk!
He was interrupted by something bouncing against the hood of the vehicle, and suddenly became aware of the sound of wings. Leaning forward to look out through the windscreen, Jann saw a giant... something swoop across the sky. What the Depths...
Meanwhile, Varg felt something bump against her side of the vehicle.
"Excuse me. Krakka'a, wait up!"
She looked out the side window, and saw what could only be described as some kind of oversized lizard - like the kind one might find on the isles around Duskport - hurry past. It was certainly an odd sight, but since it didn't seem threatening at the moment, all she did in response was to quietly tilt her head a bit.
Jann, on the other hand, continued to stare out the windscreen with wide eyes for a long time, before glancing between Varg and Rosalind.
"Did... you hear them speak as well?" he asked with disbelief in his voice.
Varg nodded in response to all three of her companions.
"Yep, I guess we're going south."
She pulled some of the many levers that randomly protruded from the dashboard, and the vehicle took off with an angry roar, following the two strange creatures down the Scar.
Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.The Scar (Ozurr; Varg, Jann; Rosalind; Krakka'a, Zarokh)
A shadow passed overhead and something hit the roof with a THOCK. Rosalind jumped. "What was that?"
That appeared in front of the truck visible through the windshield, a giant flying beast that sent Rosalind flinching back in her seat. A few seconds later, the biggest dang gator she'd ever seen came following behind and jostled the truck. Rosalind grabbed and pocketed her compass before it could fall off the dashboard. Wait, was that gator speaking to the flyer?
When Ozurr had his say, Rosalind replied, "Boy, I'll say! That is the biggest dang gator I've ever seen!" There was no way her dinky little fangs could pierce that gator's scales, and she didn't want to get chewed up trying.
"Yeah, I heard it talk, too." As the truck lurched forward, Rosalind fretted, "I have a bad feelin' about this..."
Larger River, Forest Tributary (Rosalind's Mustangs, Inquisitor's Stray Horse Whisper, Skvader)
The herd rested. Members took turns keeping watch, grabbing quick snacks of grass and small drinks of water, pairing up to scratch each other's itches. The skvader came and went, sometimes sitting on Whisper's saddle, sometimes gliding away from the herd to eat or drink where he wouldn't get accidentally stepped on.
Lead Mare Flashfoot looked back along the trampled path of grass they'd left behind and traced the distant line of the forest with her eyes. She then traced the river upstream with her eyes. She sniffed the water, tasted it again, watched a battered leaf get carried along by the current, and inferred that the river came from the forest. No need to explore upstream, then, she wasn't about to take her herd back to that spooky place.
Looking downstream, she spotted a very distant smear flying through the sky, too far away to identify. A Sabertooth Metalbeast,note maybe? She stared at it, waiting to see what it would do.
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.Sun-Dry Sea (Pilot 0037, Unit 09; Nyorla)
Nyorla giggled, "Silly, we don't need to drag the corpses whole, I can hack them to bits with my claws!" She studied the corpses with a critical eye, imagining the minimum amount of cutting it would take to get each skin off in one useable piece. Actually doing the skinning would be exercise for her, but after that, clawing off chunks of muscle would be easy. There was more than enough meat to feed herself and distract the jellyfish.
Nyorla noticed the distant strangers splitting up even though they were too far away to see. She turned a little to watch two approaching figures appear in the distance.
"Zipper? I'll explain later. Lemme scan the strangers' intent." Her psychic radar reached out to... Layi. Curiosity. No sign of hostility.
Nyorla overheard a thought, "Dead Gods, might be Terrans. That's over my head, just the hand brought enough trouble." and wondered what that was all about.
"So far so good," Nyorla murmured. "That one's friendly enough."
Nyorla scanned the other stranger... Vrask. Curiosity and no hostility there either.
"They're friendly, I think we'll be okay."
The third stranger who wasn't approaching was just a bit too out of range for Nyorla's fading headache.
Nyorla decided not to initiate a telepathic conversation in favor of resting her head, and was about to wave when she reconsidered her bloodstained hands. Granted, with the four moufreta corpses right there, it was obvious where the blood had come from, but still... She ended up taking a deep breath in and calling, "Hellooo there!"
Nyorla thought of something and asked the young pilot, "Have you ever seen a lizard person before? 'Cuz one of the friendly hunters coming is a lizard person. Just a heads-up. I hope you don't have a phobia."
If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.
[Frontier Sports Goods (Outside)]
Amy waved as Zarkoh left. Before she could tell them where they should go for their new adventure, a new stranger appeared.
"Hi!" she said, "I'm Amy! You're in front of the Frontier Sports Goods!"
Jackson didn't completely buy that this was a military truck, but he decided to ignore that for now. A new person had just arrived and was asking for directions.
"Pretty much what she said." Jackson responded, "We're actually just leaving this place and heading to the forest."
Amy's eyes widened. "Forest? That's so cool! That's a perfect place for adventure! Thank you Jackson!"
"Thought you would like that." He smirked, then returned his attention back to the stranger, "Need any other help?"