King of Lame-Style
Eorl salivated, looking at the slab of meat, giving Mary his own fanged facsimile of a smile. "Well lass, so you know the way to an old mutt's heart eh?" Asked the wolf-like dog, although his smile faded as it was passed to Delta "Oi no fai- oh, cooking it then I see, cooked meat is good too. I'm partial to have it as fresh as possible but no, go ahead" He said with a caustic edge Then he saw it offered to Conan "Oy ye tall sod, its a wooden doll, can't expect it to eat cant it? toss it over!" Grumbled the dog.
"Oh behave, Eorl" Chastised Jory in his own lazy way "I'm sure miss Susan here won't mind to provide more" he turned to the woman in question "will ya?" The dog noticed there was already more fresh meat for him and quit hounding Delta and Conan for it, going instead to devour the meat
"Oh gods, its so juicy, so thick!" He said between gnawing and biting at the meat.
Then he looked at Tali at his side "Miss Tali then? pleased to make your acquaintance" he said pushing a gloved left hand out to be shaken "Now, what kind of engineer do you mean you are? With the armour you're wearing I don't see you planning edifications in a dusty old workshop, so you must have a good hand with artillery then?" Inquired the scarred knight.
edited 5th Jul '16 7:23:11 PM by Sanojutsu
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.
"Call me a skeptic." Lady said as she shook her head at Riddler before Reimu spoke.
"What can I say, I like to be prepared, and you can never have too many guns or explosives." Lady said with a wide smile. Something told her she was going to get along well with Reimu. One bright spot in this shit situation, at least. Lady turned as Marco spoke, suddenly getting an ugly flashback to a few moments ago when he had been transforming. Marco might notice her face go a little green a she tried her best to suppress those memories.
"Gotta agree with you, but looks like these assholes are out of reach for the time being. So, er, what do I call you, Ape Boy? And seriously, you wanna, er, warn us next time, or just get a room before you go and do....whatever the hell that was?"
edited 5th Jul '16 5:57:17 PM by Meanken
huzzaaaaaaaah
"His thing wasn't as annoying as yours." Korra snapped at Lady, apparently referring to Marco- except even in her attempts at defending him, she seemed fully focused on not even acknowledging his existence. "And unlike you, he didn't use a clearly dangerous weapon on someone because he thought they looked funny."
With that said, she stepped forward and raised her hand. "I'm Korra." And that's all she was willing to offer, promptly returning to her place near the wall.
"....T-thank you?" Yi confusedly accepted the compliment of his hyperlight blade from Scott.
Though he found Scott's grin to be...suspicious. Parameters suggest to be careful with some of the more suspicious looking members..the man who spoke to them about their situation said that there was a sabotage after all.
Benevolent Devilish Angel
Conan was very unsure when Delta offered him the steak. He hadn't even bothered trying to eat recently. The witch had never told him if he could eat in the first place. He tilted his head before quietly putting his pen back in his pocket. Quietly then, he took the steak and put it in his mouth.
Unfortunately, for him, it had no taste. In fact the lack of any of his touch nerves and his body basically being wood did nothing to aid him with this, but he ended up with the chewed steak inside him anyway. Whether or not it would go anywhere from there was beyond him.
Whatever, it didn't matter, and he was just thankful to Delta for being thoughtful anyway.
When he felt that he had ample notes on everyone, he closed his book and held it, just looking at everyone thoughtfully.
...how the hell would he introduce himself to all of these people?
And in this heart, our bond cannot break. From here to the end and back again I will stand sharp. The light in me will guide you home...
Yeeeeah! Uh-huh! Wiz Khalifa Knows What It Is!
"You know," said Nightwing, "I never knew there was a whole spectrum. Guess that's one more thing Sinestro didn't tell me...but then, there's a lot he didn't tell me about being a Yellow Lantern. Like the fact that he named the corps after himself, or that he tries to brainwash and kill Yellow Lanterns who don't go along with him." He paused a moment. "Is Sinestro or whoever leads the Yellow Lanterns in your universe an asshole in your universe, too?"
Just pretend I wrote something witty here, okay?
An incredibly awkward smile seemed to be locked on Scott's face after his comment, his eyes shifting left and right. "Heh...haha, y-you're, uh, welcome? Gottagocya." And he scurried off away from Yi.
"Idiot!" Scott snarled to himself, his face contorted in rage. "You just can't help but screw up!" Then, like a switch was flicked, he was smiling again like nothing ever happened; albiet still slightly awkwardly. "Well, that went well."
Stroking his face as if thinking, Scott eyed the collection of people in front of him as he wondered who to bother next. There was the girl with all the guns talking to a few people, the superheroes were there so that was a good option. Then again, crazy girl with guns. Scott knew not go near crazy. There was the big guy in the suit with the puppet and creepy horned lady. Same reason for not going, there. Hmm...
Not really finding anyone interesting enough to talk to yet, he instead chose to start rummaging through the remains of the furniture and bits and pieces around the garage; Looking for anything interesting to loot.
edited 6th Jul '16 12:41:53 AM by Alleydodger
This was somewhat reassuring. Although he used the yellow light, this lantern seemed at least willing to cooperate. It wasn't too surprising that Sinestro was apparently alive on this other lantern's world; if the emotional spectrum was intact then Relic may not have appeared or may have been dealt with more easily.
"He could certainly be disagreeable, yes. But ultimately he died honourably, trying to protect his corps. No wielder of fear strong enough has yet taken his place and as a guardian of hope I am hardly suited to choose one."
He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to reveal everything. There was no guessing what he'd do if he discovered Walker's universe had a badly damaged spectrum. The Lantern wasn't responding to Nightwing at all so he probably couldn't wake up Parallax - he theorised that someone from a different universe couldn't properly commune with the entities - but he couldn't risk losing the light.
edited 6th Jul '16 3:50:35 AM by FerrousMaelstom
See? That's the way things are meant to go. Everyone makes up and gets along. No-one has to cry.
That's the way things should have gone.
Everyone's giving their names. I don't see why I shouldn't, too. I wave my left hand, but then I remember that I don't have one. So after staring for a bit at my floppy blue sleeve (it looks a little like an empty piping bag) and trying to flap the arm that isn't there, I raise my right hand instead.
"Hey. I'm Emiya Shirou."
My fingers wiggle. I think they're trying to tell their twins off for not existing.
"I had two arms once. It was rad. Um. Wow, you're a doll. And you're a girl. And so are you. That's a lot of guns. And…"
I squint.
"Is that a prime cut of hand-massaged, Brahms-serenaded, whiskey-fed wagyu tenderloin? Because it sure looks like it."
edited 6th Jul '16 6:36:28 AM by troydenite
Benevolent Devilish Angel
Conan looked at Shirou before giving him a small, wooden nod. He then opened his notebook and retrieved his pen before writing out a note for him... He recognized that the redhead was from Japan just like him, so he wrote his name properly to accomplish with that.
Yes, definitely a doll. Ah, I am sorry about your arm. I can't say I know how it feels, but I feel pretty odd myself. I haven't gotten used to this body yet, I'm told it wasn't always how I looked. I guess the amnesia isn't helping matters. But my name is Edogawa, Conan. It's good to meet you, Emiya. What would you prefer to be called, Shirou? I can't talk by the way, that's why I'm having to write.
He tilted his head then as he pulled the page carefully from his notepad and held it out to the redhead carefully. He was rather content on Delta's shoulder...and probably wasn't getting down unless he had to.
And in this heart, our bond cannot break. From here to the end and back again I will stand sharp. The light in me will guide you home...
Noticing that someone was getting ever-so-slightly closer to the boy on her shoulder, and then that he was writing something down that might require people to get even closer, Delta put her right hand down and grabbed the giant Big Daddy-sized rivet gun. Holding it at the ready - not quite horizontal to avoid anyone thinking it was pointed at them, but only angled down a bit to allow it to come up quickly if needed - Delta gave a low, vacillating rumble.
They...they loved it! Oh man, it turns out that meat is multiversally loved. She couldn't tell whether or not the diver fellow was truly enjoying it, but considering he didn't spit it out, he at least found it good enough to chew. Even the little puppet boy was eating it, surprisingly.
This impromptu dinner party made Susan feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. If a titantic man in a suit, a wooden human and a talking dog liked it, then surely everyone here would like it! Sooner than later, they'd all partake in the sacrament!
Just the thought of that was joyous!
Another one, the guy missing an arm, quizzed Susan on her meat. She tried to exude an aura of confidence, but this man was really overestimating her wondrous beef powers, and it was dampening her mood a bit to say anything less than perfect about her product. "It's...it's good beef," she said to him, looking a little embarrassed, "But it's not that kind of beef. Everyone loves it, but I doubt anyone's hands besides my own have touched it...let alone whiskey. I can tell you, though, it's still top of the line. Would you still like some?" she asked as she produced yet another piece of meat from out of nowhere. The brakes on this dinner train weren't going to stop any time soon.
(Avatar by Coffee)
"We can begin by rifling through the lady's possessions, ruined as they may," Mitsuhide told Marco. "Did our captors not tell us that this was her base of operations? Alternatively, we can make our way outside and try to ascertain our location." He paused and looked around. "However, I doubt that we will find ourselves in anywhere familiar."
The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground
The Mighty Pen
Tali accepted the handshake. She would never entirely get used to the human customs about touching - quarian personal space was much smaller, but extremely rigidly enforced - and with only three fingers, the grip was a little awkward. But she made the effort anyway.
"Spending time in a lab sounds pretty good sometimes," she answered, "But no, it isn't what I'm best at. I'm more of a technician or a mechanic than a scientist, if that's what you mean. I solve practical problems, make useful tools, and fix them when they break."
She glanced over at the big synthetic and the little man perched on its shoulder. Perhaps I could start with a way to let those two talk? Neither of them has said much.
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
Emissary of the Void
Well, no answers for me then. Xigbar thought, looking around carefully as nothing of import was occurring. Although, i wonder if that giant talking toy is the same one from before... Eyeing the food nearby, he quietly opened a small portal to grab a piece and quickly dispelled it before keeping to the shadows.
Might as well wait until they've decided to send us on our way...
[DATA LOST]
And so many lookers in the bunch, thought Riddler with a womanising smirk. However, he stopped the quip before it could leave his mouth. Plenty of time for flirting on the job. May as well get down to brass tacks.
"Yeah, not so fond of the 'threatening loved ones' thing myself. Still, there's always merit in making her come to us... But anyway, we're getting ahead of ourselves. First stage of skip tracing: filling out a basic profile form. Samurai boy's got the right idea with rifling through her stuff. That might give us some Known data, some good solid facts about who she is and what she does. Besides the obvious, of course. Then there's the Assumed data."
He looked up at the ceiling. "Hey, Will! You got any records of Rook talking to people? Anything, say, where's she's talking to someone and briefly mentions some place or people of interest?"
edited 6th Jul '16 3:37:01 PM by LizardOfAus
"Marco. Just Marco." I said absent-mindedly to the lady as I poked around the remains of what had once been some kind o base on the run. From the looks of it, our mystery woman had had time to pack up and make a break for it before the... whatever happened. As someone who'd spent years on the run - hiding in sewers, underground, in the deep jungles where not even the Yeerks could get to- I couldn't help but admit a grudging admiration for her thoroughness in trying to sabotage any possible leads. "I'm an animal morpher. Turning into animals - any animal- it's kind of my thing. I bring it up on all the dating websites."
I picked up a shard of broken glass from a mirror and peered at it skeptically. Then again, no sane person on the run would go to the trouble of hanging up paintings in an abandoned parking garage. Come on, Marco, there's got to be some connection. If this lady was out of her gourd then they wouldn't have to call in the experts.
At Samurai Guy's comment, I grabbed one of the pillowcases from the ground, tore a strip from the ragged-looking artifact and tucked it into one of the pockets on my old morphing suit. Yeah, Carmen Sandiego thought she was pretty good at covering her tracks, but let's see how well she could hide from a wolf nose.
"I could look around," I suggested to the rest of the group, looking towards the entrance of the parking garage. "Go bird or something, see if I can't spot anything from up in the air."
"
Scott barely glanced up from where he was rummaging through a broken underwear drawer, but just long enough to get a quick glimpse of the person who talked. It was the long-haired girl flat chick. Kind of cute, but he'd had his fill of asian chicks for the time being. Still, it didn't hurt to test things. "Way ahead of you, babe. Nothing interesting so far."
He tossed something possibly silken aside and kept searching.
Did you know this section has a character limit?
"Don't go outside!" Will shouted.
He paused before speaking again. "It's a warzone out there."
There was another pause, almost as if he was muting his microphone.
"Okay, so according to the board of directors, I was not supposed to tell you about the sabotage. It has eroded your confidence in our competence. Because when you take the greatest minds in the world, put them together to work on a problem, you're gonna get nothing but competence." His voice dripped with sarcasm.
"I've worked here for three months, and I can tell you one thing about scientists: they suffer from huge amounts of tunnel vision, and egos the size of a planet. You ask three scientists a question, and you'll get five answers."
"Anyway, the warzone. You're sitting in the city-state of Oriesia. Five hundred years ago, the three empires of Aquata, Barbarosia and Oriesia went to war with each other for reasons lost to history. Up until five years ago, they were still going at it. That year, Oriesia sued for peace and got it, not before what was left of it's empire was taken from it."
"Over these five hundred years, Rook has appeared no less than twenty times. Every time she's done it, she's provided humanitarian aid, medical supplies, tried to help the three sides come to peace. That's why we're sure that if you find her, she'll help you. All the legends say that she helps those in need."
"The legends also say that she is completely merciless against anyone who tried to attack her. The three empires learned to fear her appearances. Even though she tries to scrub any traces of her existence from wherever she appears, people still pass on the legend."
"Except for four months ago. Rook had been using this place as her base of operations for two years, and four months ago, she took off. As you can see, she left stuff behind this time. We don't know why, but for the past four months she's been leaving evidence, a trail. Maybe it's breadcrumbs, maybe she's in a hurry. We can't tell."
"The minute Barbarosia and Aquata heard that the Rook had taken off, they invaded. They were too afraid to do it while she was here, but now they're searching for any scrap of technology she's left behind, anything that can break their deadlock. Oriesian forces are searching for the same reason. Thankfully, this place is cloaked."
"Unfortunately, our saboteurs managed to exploit a flaw in the cloaking system. It's still active, but they led one of the three armies here. They took everything that could potentially be a weapon, including your mobile base. So you're not gonna find any loot, Scott. The cloaking system is built into the walls, so they didn't find it."
"We're in luck, though. It's been less than twenty-four hours, so they can't have moved it out of the city."
"But to get to it, you have to figure out where it is. And then make your way through a warzone where everything will be shooting at you."
"As for what you have to do once you find it? Rook has a four month head start. And it's only going to get bigger. The Bifrost can only be powered by an experimental fusion reactor, but every time it makes the jump to a new universe, it's damaged. There's an onboard self-repair system, but it'll take time to repair."
"That's where the detectives come in. If Rook's leaving a trail, it's gotta point somewhere. If you can figure out where she's headed, you can get there before her. So you can use the repair time to investigate her trail."
Meanwhile, Tucker had remembered something that shot way up his list of priorities.
"Hey, Church? You still in here?"
He waited a few moments, but no answer came. He guessed Church must have transferred over to someone else just before he was taken-
"Greetings, Captain Tucker." said the little green hologram
◊ that appeared in front of him. "Who the hell are you? Where's Church?"
"I am Delta. Epsilon left a message for you and his comrades."
And inside his visor, the recording played. Tucker stood still for a few moments as it played, and the meaning of the message became clearer and clearer. Those around him would notice his relaxed stance growing more and more tense.
That was, until the point that he picked up a wardrobe and threw it against the wall, shattering it into a thousand pieces. He started grabbing at his helmet, twisting and pulling in an attempt to get it off.
"Captain Tucker, I cannot allow you to remove this suit."
"This thing killed Church!"
"Epsilon sacrificed himself to ensure your survival. If you remove this suit, your chances of surviving this situation drop by an order of magnitude. The AI fragments within this suit, including myself, were created to keep you alive. We cannot allow you to remove it."
"We?"
"There are seven AI fragments within this suit. Delta, Gamma, Eta, Theta, Iota, Sigma and Omega."
"Omega? O'Malley's in here?!"
A new hologram
◊ appeared next to Delta. " Yes, Captain Tucker! And we're going to have so much fun together, heh heh heh! "
O'Malley popped out of existence once more as Tucker slumped against the wall, despondent.
edited 6th Jul '16 4:07:40 PM by GeekCodeRed
They do have medals for almost, and they're called silver!
nagisad
Nagisa -> Bug Susan Person for food
The floor was kinda cold. The young woman lay on her back, only she wasn't so much of a woman at that point in time. She had no bones or skin to speak of. Still, the floor was cold. It kind of hurt too. The chunky grains of concrete dug into the plush fabric of her back. Literally, plush fabric. Felt or something similar to the touch. Fuzzy felt ears were inclined to not come to life for a while. Nagisa didn't wanna move! As much as the ground was hardly the best bed she was a bit tired. Besides, there were all kinds of noises in the air about her.
She listened idly. She still didn't quite understand what was happening, but Nagisa thought she got the gist of it.
There was no Mami nor Kyoko, that much she could tell. That one bugged her a little, but it was alright! She was positive she'd be seeing them soon enough! Like, really really positive, cross her heart, hope to fly, arms to the sky, other things like that. If she did what all the grownups needed her to do and stayed at least kinda focused, she could-
If she had a nose at that moment it would have been twitching, jerking, folding onto itself. She didn't have an actual olfactory organ as a Bebe doll, but Nagisa could still sense out her environment in full detail. And that meant she smelt something cooking. It wasn't so sweet though. A bit of a gritty, hearty vapor that suffused into the... nope, still no nose. Diffused into her soul, she guessed. Nagisa didn't want to think about it too hard. Whatever she was smelling was tantalizing! She needed to find it and promptly eat it. So she stood up.
She was still barely looking at the ankles of most of the people scattered around the garage. Her oddly portioned body needed a second to stumble and meander in place before she could get down to business. Where was the scent coming from? Two folk with hair like fire, one of them with horns protruding from her bubbly hair. She was holding a hunk of meat! That was the smell. Uh, maybe. Raw food wasn't the most appetizing, but in a pinch Nagisa would still happily scarf it down like anything else.
Her Bebe form bounced over, pink bow-like ears and overly long sleeves fluttering behind her as she scampered towards Susans's feet. She tugged a bit at the nearest hunk of cloth available as her clothing, tried to get girl with food's attention. Looked right up the vast gulf of height between them with her dull, velvety eyes.
" ^ *@& @( #(& %!* *^# #!" It didn't resemble any language. Barely had a phonetic form. It was something akin to the random syllables you'd expect out of a fresh-to-the-world babe. But anyone who heard it would understand the intention, the translation etched itself into the brain like a stylus:
"Excuse me, Miss, your vittles seem pleasantly sumptuous! Could I trouble you for a bite?"
edited 6th Jul '16 4:17:19 PM by Katsuun
Kitkat Kitkat / He's our man / If any one screws up / He sure can -Imca
King of Lame-Style
"It's similar to what I said yes... glad those skills are our disposition" He said, attempting to understand and in his mind meeting her halfway. Her hand though surprised the knight, either she'd lost fingers or the people in her world were three fingered, either way it mustn't be easy he judged. In the corner of his eye the little doll boy had pulled out a page with some writing in it. He moved around to peek at it but the armoured person the puppet was mounted on grumbled in a somewhat menacing manner, and wielded an object he didn't recognize as a weapon.
He cautiously approached delta speaking "Don't worry feller, I just came to read, I won't harm ye" with an open handed gesture. While yes, he was armed with two blades and a concealed bow he was somewhat confused on how a big armoured bastard like Delta was apprehensive about his space. He looked at the note and quickly backed away. "Edogawa then?" said Jory, the surname sounding odd in his british accent "Pleased to make your acquaintance" he greeted.
Eorl looked up from the now scraps that used to be his slab of beef at the smell of more beef produced. "Shiro was it?" began the old dog "If you don't want your piece the gods know I'll take it, kid" he attempted to persuade both him and Susan.
As Jory waked away from Delta he heard the intercom sound in again. He patiently heard what was finally standing to sound like a brief. Jory looked at the assembled group "So, in few words, we have three armies on us, and outside is no man's land. We have to capture the base of operations from one of said armies." He looked at the source of the intecoms "We need more information, beyond where this base is we need to know how many men we're going to encounter, how well armed they are, how many horses do they have, where are they, if they have any artillery, where are their camps and supply lines if we're to have even the slightest chance" Interrogated Jory, war mentality kicking in.
The graceless warrior, wielder of the edgeless blade, prophet of the old religions, writer of fluent nonsense, saviour of soul and song.
"Well, legends also say that Santa Claus brings coal to good little boys and girls every Christmas," I muttered, more to myself than anything. I wasn't going to trust anything about this "Rook" woman before I got to meet her in the flesh. Until then - well, she was an unknown variable. The x in the equation, if my fragmentary knowledge of grade 10 algebra was anything to go by.
"But that's it? Navigate a post-apocalyptic warscape in search of something that might not even exist? That's just about every day of my life," I grinned ruefully and flashed a thumbs up to the rest of the group. Internally, I weighed my options and morphs against one another. Rachel once said that morphing was like some kind of old-timey duel, choosing your weapon for the right situation. We could try barrel through whatever this was like an out-of-control sledgehammer... and going by some of the personalities I was having to deal with, this seemed like the probable option note or we could try and go stealthy.
The fact that some of my teammates were talking about horses and camps as if they were the hottest new development in military technology did not inspire confidence.
"Okay, so do we go in guns blazing here?" I asked. "Or do we play it smart, try to sneak around and launch a surprise attack? 'Cause I know what side I'm voting on."
edited 6th Jul '16 4:47:20 PM by Locoman
Icarax is amused no longer
The Makuta was silent as the crowd around him mixed and dabbled in each others affairs. Some were debating the various merits of their personality; the useful ones were comparing weapons; a small group had begun to eat. Icarax no longer had the heart for explosive interruption; and so he stood stoically to the side, and gave his faith to the belief that they would eventually sort themselves out.
The inter comm buzzed and their captors gave them the closest thing they had to a briefing. At the end, though their purpose was clearer than before, the Makuta could not help but give a rumble of displeasure.
"I once entertained the idea that my nomad captors were an incompetent gathering of fools," he addressed the ceiling, after finding no other valid representative of their captors. "I see now that I was sorely mistaken. You are hardly gods; but I find it hard to reconcile your potential for incompetence with the fact that your universe might very well die because of your mistakes. Perhaps you should consider the possibility that your race is in its very nature, doomed to extinction."
Turning, the Makuta addressed those who would listen.
"Our first task is clear. Unfortunately we do not know the size and strength of the army that has taken what is ours. If there are any among us gifted with the ability to conduct reconnaissance, now would be the time. We need to know what the enemy looks like, the quality and firepower of their gear, their chain of command; their number; and their locations."
Icarax strode into the crowd, coming to a stop beside the Samurai.
"I see already we have warriors in our midst. It would be wise now to lay bare our strengths to each other before the fighting begins. Though these walls shield us for the moment, I cannot imagine them a stable defense forever."
edited 6th Jul '16 5:02:14 PM by biomechtraveler
The Mighty Pen
Although each time their contact spoke, their situation grew worse, Tali found it strangely comforting now that he was talking about hard facts rather than their vague ideas of sabotage and the mysterious Rook. We thought the Protheans were a race of noble scholars once until we actually met one. All they have is second-hand information that tells us next to nothing. What could a woman who can go anywhere and do almost anything possibly want? Where would she be going to? A mobile base, though, that was something real and nearby that could help them. The moment their contact said 'warzone,' she hastily reached down and turned off her tracking program, which had still dutifully been trying to trace the transmission and failing miserably. If one signal could get in through the cloak, hers might well get out and cause trouble. Mentally, she agreed with Marco. This was depressingly familiar. I am so sick of war.
"Why attack at all if we don't need to?" she asked Marco. "This place has advanced technology. If we can hack into their comm network or computer systems, we might be able to sneak over to and get back our base without ever firing a shot. Speaking of which, I have more questions. This base, do you have any way we can track it? What kind of tech do these warring factions have? Can they track your comm signal to us? Will you be able to keep in contact once we leave this room? Do you have a map of this city, a sewer system, bulding schematics, a road map, anything? Do you have any idea of the positions of the factions right now? He's right." She nodded at Jory. "We need a lot more information. If we can't get it from you, we'll have to try on our own and that will be a lot harder. Also, he makes a good point." She gestured to Icarax, "How long do we have before they sweep back through this place? And the most important question, what do we have to fight with, if we have to fight? We need inventory."
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving. -Lao Tzu
The dark-haired girl seemed... disappointed by the fact that I wasn't one of her spirits, whatever that was. I was never particularly religious, not even before the war, but to have your belief system shattered like that...
"I'm sorry," I offered her, trying not to sound as dumb as I felt. "Not saying your, uh, spirits can't be out there somewhere else. Big multiverse, apparently." I leaned against a wall and tried to get my jangled thoughts in order. "According to our friend"- I jerked a thumb at the wall "- it's about to get bigger."
"So what kind of plan do you suggest?" I asked the pin-striped detective-lady. I'd done a lot of stupid, dangerous, life-risking things over the past two decades. I'd stolen a crystal from a pitch-black building. I helped hijack a subway train. I've sabotaged countless Yeerk pools, infiltrated a Taxxon hive, even assassinated a few sub-vissers. I didn't know what kind of universes these other people came from, but I had a sneaking suspicion that my corner of reality was what you might call a "tough neighborhood".
"From the sound of it, we're being sent on some kind of multi-dimensional wild goose chase, and I have a war that I kind of need to get back to. Sorry if I'm trying to speed things along here." I was getting a bit snappish, but I hadn't had a particularly good week. "Getting kidnapped and sent to search for a lady who makes Waldo look like a circus parade isn't exactly my idea of a good Friday night."
edited 5th Jul '16 5:24:04 PM by Locoman