Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

Rolph blinked. What was that about? He grabbed another slice of the pizza, noticing that he was nearly done with it.

"This 'honorus Frost' must be important," he said, "if he gets that kind of attention, I mean."

With a gentle whoosh of it's engines, Glitch turned around to face Cecilia.

"By the Cravyn Empire, yes," the drone answered her. "With some assistance, and personnel" - it briefly glanced over at Rolph - "from our own government, the Mroothan Unity."

"We met them just eight years ago, actually," Rolph added. "But we're already close allies. Just wish the... circumstances had been better back then."

Club Bizarre- So this is where she went...

"I suppose she's a mostly decent woman from what I've observed." The suddenness of that voice, would give the impression there's seemingly a third person. But that can't be right, as- Looking towards the source of it, Ethoya and Kiran would find a man(?) standing near them as if he was there the entire time. Certainly, anyone who didn't watch his abrupt... Thereness would have no reason to think he's a newcomer.

Still, the fact he's wearing what is clearly an at least aesthetically steampunk suit of powered armor, would beg the question of how he even got into space. However, those with the right senses and abilities would notice something off about him- Other than the fact his visage is completely hidden, of course.

Firstly, any attempts to peer into his very being... Anything, not because it wasn't there or unknowable- No, it was clearly being hidden, though if it was purely about secretiveness and caution one could only guess. Nonetheless, the second that stood out was his True Name- Yet, that in itself has an air of falsehood, as if he's been constantly trying to forsake it to no end... Just why would he hate G-

"If you're interested in talking with a human being, I would be willing to converse with you. Still, it is Ethoya Uvalex I explicitly came looking for. Speaking of whom..." Twisting his body just enough he wouldn't need to turn his head, the mysterious metal man crosses his right arm against his chest diagonally. Holding that formal gesture, he continues with his composed tone.

"I would like to apologize for Vita's behavior, but my brethren would of been... Upset if she didn't try to defend our superiority. Honestly, being functional gods... Nobody ever seems to understand just how terrible it is being one. Though, that does lead into why I'm interested in talking with you..."

Pulling his arm away from his chest and holding it out to prompt Ethoya to shake hands, the man continues with a more 'introductory' kind of edge. "It is impossible for you to hear my real name, so instead use my title: Discoverer of Subversions. I have been assigned to the planet known as Earth, or Terra if you speak latin."

Holding up his left arm and tucking it in towards his chest like one would to look at a wristwatch, his 'gaze' doesn't seem to change as a small solar map of the Milky Way is projected. "I have been wanting to elevate them, yet the inherent problems of perfection and eternal peace... I've been trying to solve that for a long time, if you catch my drift. So, firstly, what did you think of my Angel whilst you were inside her?"

The Discoverer of Subversions' 'True' Name has already been mentioned elsewhere, not that he realizes. Oh, and it might also be possible to detect he has clearly moved between universes before- He is the exact individual shown in the vision Golden Being gave Sentinel in Dream II.

Club Bizarre - Herb Shop (Nemaforte, Horizons, Magistralis)

Again when these otherworldly beings spoke, Nemaforte took in their words with much genuine interest, even though in all fairness, "genuine" translated to "only because she was high". However, she had to think a bit on the very cryptic questions they asked her. First from Magistralis, "Where do you hail?" Though given the context, it sounded like a question of what she knew about magic.

And second from Horizons, who she first chucked at at the supposition of them charging the battery. Their question was more difficult to figure out, asking about what she knew about "her makers". "Makers of what? Of the herbs? Of the batteries? Of myself?"

Lingering her gaze on the celestial being for a while, afterward she turned to Magistralis. "Magic is widely known on the planet of Orenya. It comes from the collectiveness of all our souls, and manifests in one's life force, the aura. We all have an eye for material beyond the material. It is seeming odd that know you do not about magic when you are a being of knowledge. What specific maybe you want to know about it?"

As she spoke, she levitated the lunary battery Horizons had just charged into her outstretched hand. "So you are skilled with consecrating, yet seeming you do not know it," she told the celestial being. "I can feel the additional energies in this battery. Then use it well I think you can." She glanced back down to the three herbs she had shown to them earlier.

Deck 3 Hallway -> Nebula Lobby 3F (Sinistrina)

For several minutes the darkly-dressed witch stood there eyeing the map. There appeared to be several clubs, all named after planets or Roman gods (except for Club Bizarre), and she thought the presence of an arboretum and a spirit room rather strange. Of mild interest was the spa to do something about the pale grayness of her complexion, but after her encounter with the clothing store owner, she doubted she would be well-received at such a place.

While she was contemplating, she heard whirring noises off to the side, and one of the main robots staffing the ship appproached her with a tablet in hand. "Pardon me madam, but that mirror was yours, correct?" The witch nodded. "I need to confirm in our records that it has been found. What is your name?"

"Sinistrina von Schwarzwald," she replied. "I honestly don't know how..."

"Affirmative," the robot interrupted, having scribbled something on the tablet - a rather strange device, the witch named Sinistrina thought. "And of what relation are you to a Lucina Geppetto of Solevaille?"

Sinistrina's eyes widened. Is that what the mirror business was about? Immediately she regretted giving the robot her name, and knew that now he had to choose her words carefully. She tapped her fingers against the shaft of her staff for a while, trying to think of the best response. It was too late to say that she never heard of her, as she had already expressed her surprise and she did not know how capable this automaton was of detecting lies. And so after considering all the options, she decided to settle on the truth. "I am her sister. But we haven't spoken in years. We are... not on good terms."

The robot nodded. "I see. Good day to you then, Miss Geppetto." And on wheels for legs, the robot rolled away.

Sinistrina watched the robot leave with a slight annoyance. But she didn't let it bother her for long - she would worry about Lucina later. For now, she walked the rest of the way down the hall, emerging into the spacious Nebula Lobby, where she looked around for the stairs leading down to the first floor where the info desk was.

edited 19th Mar '17 11:55:02 AM by ladytanuki

[Club Bizarre]

Ethoya smiled and said, "I'm glad to hear that. And, when I think about it... I like being seen for who, not what, I am." Interestingly, the word "who" lacked its usual surreal quality. Ethoya's expression also hinted at a blush beneath her her own dark skin. "You've probably noticed that, though. And I think we have that much in common. Maybe..."

That was when the Discoverer arrived. And, judging by Ethoya's icy expression, he had made a poor first impression. The second he said the name, "Terra," Ethoya was suspicious. The children of the Dying World had often come to her world to manipulate and steal for ends unknown. Was this another such thief, come to plunder a world not yet suffocating under a cloud of decadence and smog? Recoiling from the offered hand as though it were a poison, she said to Kiran, "...I'm sorry. Just a moment."

She studied the Discoverer. Covered in shining armor, as the stories said. He lacked the distinct cadence of the Terran tongue, though perhaps this mean nothing; Terrans could learn to hide the damage their world had done to their minds. Ethoya answered, carefully, "from what little I saw? She was quite mad. Perhaps there is more, but I did not see enough to say." Her glittering eyes measured the Terran daemon, wondering if anything of the Xayu could be found in its surreal essence. "And," she added warily, "I wouldn't know what's so terrible about being a 'functional god'. You'd have to ask one of them."

[Club Bizarre]

Sakura just about managed to refrain from giggling at Akria's brief predicament. She'd been in essentially the same situation just a minute or so ago, after all. Truly, those strange seats were as nefarious as they were confusing.

As she stood, John spoke to her. "Hm? As-tro-not?" she sounded out the word with a quizzical look on her face. "No, I don't think he'd ever been to space before, if that's what you mean. I don't think anyone has been to space before us!" she beamed. "That's why this is so exciting! We might be the first people to ever go to space!"

She laughed, delighted, then paused as a thought occurred to her. She looked around for a moment, then continued rather sheepishly. "Well, the first people from Kagos, anyway..."

[Deck 9] (Junko, Natalie)

Junko blinked a few times before scowling. "I don't train to compensate for anything. My grandfather runs a dojo, so I'd be there a lot when I grew up. I trained to kick people's asses before becoming a magical girl, and I ain't letting stop me from training now," she said.

She looked at the miniature figure Natalie produced, nodding slightly, "Sure, I'd love to meet her one day." As the nanoslime girl segued into mentioning the state of the masquerade, Junko once again nodded, "Originally, you could have gotten away with saying that werewolves exist and nobody would believe you because, 'No, that's silly.'" She rolled her eyes before continuing, "Then you start getting more and more proof that the supernatural exists, and world governments keep flip-flopping on what the official statement is... Actually, now that I think about it, there are still plenty of people who are skeptical the supernatural exists, even if they encounter it first hand!"

"I mean, hell, until recently, a lot of magical girls didn't even know there there were other magical girls around, and some of them are basically walking fireworks displays! And don't get me started on people finding out that practically every mythology is real," Junko said, shaking her head.

Junko put her hands behind her head and glance over when Natalie mentioned the negative side effects of magic. "Yeah, we really haven't had much of that going on, despite having Japan be knee deep in teenagers with magic powers. You'd think with thousands of magic users under the age of twenty, Tokyo would be a giant fireball by now. But it's not." Junko paused for a moment, "Then again, some people who find magic use it for everyday things, not going off to fight monsters or anything. And a few of the ones who do decide to go the 'warrior of justice' route just end up waltzing around town either looking like they belong in Akihabara, or looking like a fool."

[Dark Matter Lounge]

He saw her out of he corner of his eye. A buxom lady sat down near-by. This, he was not at all opposed to. He was more than a few drinks in, and while most men would be on the floor by now, Kiryu only had a nice buzz going. What was that weird accent, though? He'd never heard anything like it. She didn't sound like she was from Hakoda, though, so maybe she could help him keep forgetting his ex-wife.

He turned to her with a lazy smile, then froze. All the expression drained out of his face, replaced with a mildly concerned frown. She had horns. Horns. And big ones, at that. What was she, some kind of old-timey demon?

He stared at her for a second, then stared at his drink for a second longer. And a moment later, he shook his head and started to chuckle. "Hey, miss," he said, looking over at her with a wry smile. "Forgive me if I'm being rude for asking, but... I've just gotta know... how's jigoku these days? Nice 'n hot still? Fire and brimstone everywhere?"

[[Sickbay: Tigris, Gabriel, Anna, Minerva]]

Internally, Tigris grimaced. The truth of it was weighing on her now. Gabriel’s perception of morality may have been warped in the beginning, but the confusion and distress he was displaying now was almost impossible to fake. She felt a little ashamed at having suspected him of abducting Anna.

"We all have misconceptions about others, and about the world at large," she said. "Especially when we are young and malleable. What's important is that you were willing and able to know when you were wrong. A lot of people never do that." She regretted the last sentence before she even finished saying it. She was just fueling his flashbacks at this point- although she knew a good deal about ignorance and dogma, it was obvious he'd experienced a lot more.

"But as for me," she said, seizing the chance to change the subject, "I'm a sorceress." She held up her left hand, displaying the tattoo to them. "The Royal House of Illenmere, a sort of subsidiary that is technically ruled by the King of Murrulain, but that has some autonomy and exercises a fair amount of checks and balances. I was raised to be member of the Order, like my parents and my half-sister. We served as advisors to the Count- as sorcerers, naturalists, apothecaries, navigators, and oracles.” She paused a moment, wondering just how much she should reveal. The three of them were total strangers, capable of interdimensional travel, but she found it unlikely that they would care to intervene in any conflicts like hers.

As long as she left out most of Theign’s story, of course. It would probably upset Gabriel, and she hoped she could keep the conversation from going there.

“I studied under the master sorcerers, emphasizing in naturalist arts, but I also learned combat spells. I started to serve under the House, but I had some trouble with the royal family and went my own way. I traveled with a couple of warriors and became good friends with them. We’ve done a few interdimensional jumps, which is how I got my ticket here. I’m on vacation.”

Deck 1 - Arboretum

Aubrey couldn't help but chuckle at Joshua's obviously good-natured and lighthearted comment about British Imperialism. "Well, from what I've heard, the Empire was pretty much over by the end of the twentieth century, so I guess it finally must have been sated."

Pearl nodded. She remembered that the news of the decline of the Empire from the middle of the twentieth century onwards had created quite a stir amongst the population of Terra Nova.

Joshua's strange question took them both off guard.

Aubrey took a few puffs on his vapouriser to buy himself time to formulate a reply. "Well, that depends on whether you count lies of omission as well as commission. You have barely said enough to be counted as a liar, but you have clearly been evasive."

Pearl gave Joshua a direct no-nonsense look. "The only actual falsehood I'm aware of is your claim that you were accidentally transported a few minutes ago, when it was clear that you engineered it to avoid answering my question. The pretence was not necessary - a simple 'sorry, I don't wish to discuss it' would have sufficed. You're under no obligation to divulge anything to us if you don't wish to and it would have been nicer if you had been honest and forthright about it. A liar? I don't know - one obvious lie is hardly sufficient to warrant that label. Less than honest? Certainly, but it would be wrong for me to assume malicious motives - you could have been trying to spare our feelings or trying to avoid seeming rude."

She gave him a smile. "But that's all right. We're strangers to you and certainly would not expect you to confide your most private things to us."

[Deck 1, Arboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]

Joshua brought their right leg to rest their elbow on while propping up their head on their right palm. Joshua made a contemplating, slightly concerned look, "God, I really am that transparent."

Joshua crossed their legs and leaned back on the tree, "My dad was right. I am a terrible liar. Even when I omit the details."

Joshua leaned forward and looked at the two, "Okay, my boss is gonna hate me for admitting that I've been lying, but I need a clean conscious or it's gonna haunt me for this whole vacation," Joshua paused, "I'm also pretty sure that any details I share here won't matter once you go back to Terra Nova. People will believe me back home when I tell them I met people who were spontaneously teleported to another world, but no one will believe you when you say you met some stranger in a supernatural jumpsuit who fought zombies."

Joshua thought on the last part of that statement, "And yeah, I fought zombies. When I said I was dealing with a viral outbreak in New England, I meant zombies. And also Nordic sea zombies, for some reason. Who were brought to the island by a sword. That I'm pretty sure was Excalibur. Which was being wielded by who I think was Loki. I've had a weird experience since I joined a secret society. Because I swallowed a magic bee. I wish I was joking when I say that."

Joshua breathed out, "Seriously, ask me anything about the things I previously mentioned, it only gets weirder."

Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

"Children of CEOs often get unwanted attention," says Robin.

"Heh, imagine the pirates' disappointment if they found out that Frost is Eckstein's natural son and is no closer to the CEO than the whore that gave birth to him," says Ahlstrom.

"Max." Cecilia gives her captain an accusative glare.

"What? It's true, he's a bastard. Not much of a secret."

Bergmann opens her mouth, but, sighing, seemingly decides against arguing and finishes her pizza. Max devours the last piece of his pie, too, and asks:

"Better circumstances? There was an... armed conflict?"

Club Bizarre

Kiran turned, surprised to find the newcomer standing there. Her brow furrowed in suspicion. It was hard to imagine he had managed to sneak up on them while wearing that heavy getup. He appeared to be wearing something like a hardsuit, but designed more for form than function. There was a clear aesthetic to it, and Kiran found herself wondering how whoever built this thing managed to fit all the intricate modern technology necessary for a functional utility rig into something that was clearly intended as an art piece. Valves and steam vents- what were those? A thermal management system? Reaction control thrusters?

She stayed silent at first, as he and Ethoya shared brief conversation. What he had to say sounded mostly like gibberish- with a couple of surprising exceptions. The first was the mention of Earth, which he said he was from- completely impossible- and the second and more immediately troubling was that Ethoya had been inside one of his…

That sentence in particular sent her thought process off in strange directions, which she resolved to ask her about just as soon as this creature- whatever it was- was out of earshot. However, as little of their discussion as she had understood, it was clear the effect this Discoverer was having on Ethoya.

Looking halfway in the newcomer’s direction, Kiran spoke not to him but to her new friend, “Ethoya, is this stranger bothering you?”

Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

Rolph gave Max a confused look. Many cultures had hereditary traditions where the legal or social bonds of the parents were important, but still...

"I'm not sure I follow... Why does it matter what his mother's profession was?"

He cleared his throat. "Uh, anyway... There was an armed conflict, yes, but not between us. We were both attacked by a faction we call the 'Vesh Zealots', and were forced to become allies, even though we didn't know much about each other back then and sometimes... disapproved of each other's methods. Things have definitely improved though. I think most of us see the Cravyn as close friends by now."

He glanced down at his now empty plate. "Hm... I think I'm ready to get going, if you are too, of course."

[Club Bizarre]

John blinked.

"Kagos?" he asked. He turned to Akira, "You heard of a place like that?"

Akira shook his head. "Doesn't sound like any place I've heard of." He turned his attention to Sakura, "Mind telling us what Kagos is?"

It's short because the writer's block has come for me....x_x

edited 20th Mar '17 11:22:41 AM by Masterofchaos

Club Bizarre- That's what she thinks...?

Though nothing could notably be made out regarding his physical or emotional reactions to Ethoya, the strangely armored man pulled back his arm without issue. Turning off the solar map, the man begins calmly clapping his hands- Surprisingly not producing a clanging noise in doing so.

Turning his body to look in Kiran's direction, the Discoverer of Subversions raises his arm in its earlier formal position before speaking composed. "My apologies miss, I was merely interested in gauging certain responses. I'm really only here because she stumbled across one of my angels inside what I can only describe as a transuniversal dreamscape. I can thus assure you the double entendre was fully calculated- Eternus is literally gigantic enough to walk inside, much like the Rockgagong if you're familiar with it."

Bringing his arm down and giving a slight leaning bow to Ethoya with arms at his side, the man's composure remains intact as he speaks again. "I apologize for the partial deception, but I was overwhelmingly curious by the place you call Terra. Though we have falsely labelled Earth an 'Extinction Level Threat', to hear of an universe where that is true..."

For a flicker of a moment, something like shame or self-hatred dances around the metal man's nature. Still, without skipping a beat, the steampunk man continues. "Certainly it wouldn't be the first time I've witnessed corrupt Brittles- Those that should of been human, but born physically crippled from our standards. Nonetheless, having more data to examine would allow me to better plan things on my Earth."

Rather abruptly shifting gears, a hint of wistful seeps into his otherwise composed voice. "I wasn't meaning Vita Exosso earlier, as she technically isn't one of our angels. However, though you reject the notion of godhood, you would be dubbed one easily by any mortal. That... Is where our problem is rooted."

With that said, a holographic image of a man appears- Fully colored, he could almost be a woman, silvery eyes & back-length pink hair helping that notion. The holographic replica of him strutting as if down a walkway, the Discoverer of Subversions talks once more- Disgust hiding within his tone now.

"When your civilization is all powerful and knows perfect peace, that is no different from hell. Since life is ruled by conflict and desire, reducing that to zero will drive them all insane with boredom. That is why individuals like the Breaker of Wills emerge- To satisfy their eternal existence with something new, consequences be damned."

The holographic image of this so-called 'Breaker of Wills' thus rather gruesomely disintegrates, an amused smile on the replica's face as its body is stripped away into nothing. Some vents opening on the man's back, some stream is harmlessly discharged- Though those with the intuition could easily deduce that was intentionally theatrical, or a rather literalized term seeing as he doesn't like that guy...

His tone regaining the normal composure, he finishes up for now. "Thus, why I am interested in solving that problem. Godhood is vastly overrated when everything is stagnant and unchanging, which just produces creative sociopaths. So, are you truly not familiar with the flaws of peace and perfection?"

edited 20th Mar '17 1:35:33 PM by Kkutwar

[Club Bizarre]

To Kiran, Ethoya said, "I appreciate it, but... not yet." She gave an impish smile and added, "It looks like I'll be 'on the clock' for a bit, but frankly, if I decide I don't want to talk to him... I won't talk to him." The confident, deadly look she gave the Discoverer clearly indicated that he should not try to continue the conversation if she saw fit to end it.

"And as for you," Ethoya said to the Discoverer. "Let me tell you a little story." She glanced over at Kiran. "And you as well, my friend; you might find it interesting. Although if there's a lesson for your life — and there might not be — it won't be the same as the one he finds. Such is the nature of stories; no two get quite the same thing from one."

"Once upon a time," she said, "there was an Emperor. Okul." She passed her some inches above the able, conjuring up a wispy little simplified humanoid figure to stand there. His features were indiscernible, just copper skin, ramshackle bronze armor, a crude iron crown, and in his right hand, a well-worn steel glaive. No image of imperial glory here, this was a warlord's form, though his proportions were exaggeratedly scrawny and shifty, more rogue than barbarian hero. "And he had the great misfortune of being born a man in a land and age when most believed that the place of men was to serve and die, that only women were fit to rule. And there were very many women who looked upon his crown and thought him unworthy..." here, a quartet of looming female figures, uncrowned but similarly armored to the Emperor and carrying broad, single-edged swords arose. They had the exaggerated proportions of stone age Venus figurines, and towered at over twice the height of Okul, casting a shadow upon him as he flinched away.

With a gesture from Ethoya, another figure appeared beside Okul. Slightly taller (though still much smaller than the towering doubters) but much more slender, they wore loose robes which hid their own gender. "Okul's adviser said to him, 'the only hope you have as Emperor is to be perfect in all things.'" Okul's figure turned to the adviser. "And Okul replied with a question: 'what is the perfect animal?'"

Ethoya paused here, letting the adviser study Okul in confusion. Then she continued, "Okul explained himself thus: the camel is a perfect camel." A diorama formed behind Okul and the adviser, depicting the silhouette of a running camel in an expanse of desert. "Long can it run in the dry lands, enduring sands and, in its great herds, it protects its kin and is protected by its kin against the hyena's gnashing. The shark is a perfect shark." Another diorama appeared beside the first, of a shark, flitting through schools of fish. "A swift and able swimmer, able to find the slightest drop of blood. But..." and suddenly the two switched. The camel thrashed helplessly in the water, the shark flopped pitifully in the desert. "The camel is a poor shark, for it can barely swim at all, and knows nothing of finding blood. And a shark is a poor camel, for the desert will easily dry it, and its own teeth will not save it from the cunning of the many hyenas." The shark was barely twitching, and the camel's efforts to reach air weakening, when mercifully, with a sweep of her hands, Ethoya returned the poor beasts to their proper places and, after letting the images recuperate for a bit, let the dioramas fade so gently one could imagine shark and camel alike were still roaming free in their worlds.

"And one cannot make a beast," Ethoya said, "that is both perfect camel and perfect shark." A still image appeared, a crude painting of a pitiful and ungainly thing; a camel with an exaggerated shark's tail and head, and gills awkwardly placed on a camel torso. "The swimmer's tail weighs the runner down, the runner's legs drag in the swimmer's oceans." With a flick of Ethoya's wrist, the absurd image vanished. "Thus, Okul said, he was doomed, for as Emperor, if he chose to be shark, then no matter how great a shark he was, his enemies would call him a poor camel. If he was the greatest of camels, his enemies would laugh at what a poor shark he was. And so," Ethoya said, as the image turned away from the adviser and to the looming doubters, "Okul knew he could only be Okul." The Emperor and the doubters stared one another down for a time, and, though subtle changes of posture, seemed to come to... an understanding. That Okul was... sufficient.

The images faded at last, and she looked the Discoverer in the eyes. She briefly considered letting him try and puzzle the implications out himself, but instead decided on clarity. "It seems to me that you are trying," she deadpanned, "to determine why your perfect shark is thrashing so sadly about in the desert no matter how keen you make its nose, or how strong you make its tail."

edited 21st Mar '17 6:14:50 AM by KillerClowns

Club Bizarre

Kiran narrowed her eyes. ‘’I didn’t mention any double-entendre. Quite a thing to pick up on.’’

She wondered if this being’s arguments were just some opinionated personal ramblings or if he had any empirical basis for them. That was doubtful. Plenty of people could theorize, but as far as she knew, no one could claim they’ve seen a perfect society, so any questions pertaining to them would be purely academic ones. No, she resolved, there’s no way he could possibly know that. He’s full of shit.

Ethoya, to her credit, gave a rather good accounting of herself. It would be interesting to watch this creature respond, if nothing else. Kiran doubted he’d be able to do much but sputter.

edited 26th Mar '17 5:06:29 AM by Gault

Nebula Lobby

Ryya considered Rebecca and the doll, Carlotta had said. "Well, I hadn't thought of it that way." She admitted. "Though it does sound like them keeping us as pets if you say it like that." That would make an interesting question when she returned home. "Although I don't think it would be of any use." She added in response to Carlotta's suggestion. "According to the stories, all the Celestials perished in a horrible war millenia ago. Only the Great Dragon remains, and supposedly, he returned to us in time of need because he felt it was his responsibility to guard us against danger."

Then, Ryya turned to Rebecca as she heard the lich talking about the term, as well as herself. That sounded genuinely creepy, but as before, Ryya felt more curious than creeped out. "So, you're... dead, then. Or undead. How... how does that work? "

Just then, another stranger came in. Ryya turned to greet her. "Oh, hi..." She trailed off when she noticed this one, a girl apparently, seemed to lacked arms. For a moment, Ryya stared, trying to make sense of what was she looking at, when she remembered she was staring. So she shook her head and looked at the stranger at the face, speaking to her in a friendly tone. "My name is Ryya. Are you new here?"

Turning around to the other two, she also noticed something strange; like a grey line up Carlotta's boor. Some kind of magic? Before Ryya could ask, the doll quickly excused herself, and explicitly asked that no one talked as if they knew her, and just left. Ryya worried a little at her reaction. What could make her act like that? Did she say an evil royal court? A moment later, a tiny marionette came down the stairs and presented itself and asked if anyone had seen someone that seemed to match Carlotta's appearance. The guy was so well behaved, Ryya found it hard to believe he could be a bad guy, but due to Carlotta's previous insistence in the matter, Ryya decided to keep quiet for now.

"Hi. I'm Ryya." The girl bent down and offered a finger for the marionette to shake. "No, I don't think I saw anyone like that. I mean, someone like you described would probably stand out a lot, so if I saw someone like that I would remember. " She responded a little too quickly and hurriedly for her taste. "That makes sense, right?"

[Deck 1 ~ Nebula Lobby] (Kokoro, Rebecca, Winky, Ryya,)

"My name's Kokoro," the girl said in response to the others, bowing slightly. She locked eyes with Ryya for a moment, before faintly smiling. The stare she received from the draconic looking woman didn't phase her much, she was used to getting such attention ever since the accident.

The doll Carlotta suddenly excused herself from the group, mentioning an evil member of her court headed their way. Said member shortly arrived at their group, and was looking for Carlotta. He seemed nice enough, but all that appeared nice was not always so. So she decided to do one better than what the first doll had asked.

"I'm Kokoro," the amputee girl said, politely bowing to the doll. "Blonde hair you say?" Kokoro asked, tilting her head, "I think I saw someone with blonde hair over that way, just a little while ago." She pointing an arm towards the opposite side of the lobby from Carlotta. She wasn't lying, she had seen some random passenger with blondish hair(?) leaving the lobby, just not matching any of the other descriptors Winky had given. But, if he took the bait...

[Deck 2 ~ Sickbay] (Minerva, Anna, Gabriel, Tigris)

Minerva wiggled in place for a bit. She had slightly toned out Gabriel as he delved into another rant against humanity. "You've been though a lot, it seems, and being stuck in a small space after such horrors doesn't help either. I understand that it is quite easy to become disillusioned with humanity. My creator wasn't- isn't exactly parent of the year material, and the first director of AEGIS was a bigoted relic of the Cold War. But, despite that, I still respect humanity. For every jerk, there is always at least one nice person to balance it out," she said smiling. Then, out of the blue, she hugged Gabriel.

Stepping back, she responded to Anna's question, "Girl, singular. Sort of. It's complicated. Her name's Alice, and she was designed and trained to be the ultimate soldier. It... kinda worked." Minerva gazed down at the floor, "At least I got a mostly normal 'childhood', so to speak. Alice... did not," the gynoid said, frowning.

Minerva scowled for a moment, before brightening up and changing subjects, "I'm one of the heavy weapons specialists of AEGIS. Basically, I shoot all sorts of nasty critters with really big guns and stuff," she said, beaming. She materialized a two and a half-foot long revolver-type weapon, unloaded, safety on, and pointed at the floor. This got a wary look from the nurse. "This is my personal sidearm, the Wayland Industries HC-20, which I've nicknamed the 'Wyvern Slayer'. It fires twenty millimeter, high explosive incendiary armor-piercing shells, and just like it's nickname, is capable of taking down a charging bull wyvern at 100 meters."

She returned the over-sized handheld artillery to its extra-dimensional storage. "I'm an excellent shot, well versed in close quarters combat, a capable flier, and am a fairly decent cook," she said, smiling.

[Deck 9 ~ Dark Matter Lounge] (Mari, Kiryu)

Mari laughed heartily. "Pleasantly warm. Full o'monkeys and naked people, though," she replied, before grinning, "don't worry, you 'aven't offended me."

She shrugged, before downing her glass. "No, I'm not a demon, if that's what you're thinkin'. I'm an oni; though, some might say there ain't a difference there," she said. "I prefer drinkin' booze and 'avin' a good time over tormentin' people, though I enjoy a good fight now and then."

She waved for the bartender to refill her glass before looking over at Kiryu, leaning on her elbow. "Name's Mari, by the way," she said, grinning, "I take it you're from Japan, too?"

edited 21st Mar '17 5:06:07 AM by WillDeRegio

Deck 9 (Junko, Natalie)

Looking ashamed and frowning a bit that she upsetted Junko, nonetheless it was obvious Natalie's curiosity was being fed as she learned more. Placing a single finger on her chin and looking thoughtful, the metal girl slimes as she speaks up sweetly.

"In my universe, almost every instance of a fledgling magic user becomes noticed by the Servants of Humanity. Sure sometimes it takes a while, like with the infamous Corpse Digger, but rarely do mages outside the masquerade pose a real threat- If only because too many are lazy to study much."

What seems to be another figurine appears on Natalie's shoulder, looking like a Nordic nine year old girl dressed up like some stereotypical princess with pink eyes & blue hair. Natalie not bothering to look at her figurine(?), it does look in Junko's way and wags her eyebrows as the machine girl continues.

"Honestly, weird magical mishaps usually only happen with biomancy or attempts at manipulating less understood aspects of reality. Not overly fun having to defuse a spatial Wightland from inside- Still expecting to see ghost images of myself sometimes... Though gods and mythology are a pretty interesting subject!"

Creating a figurine of what's seemingly a young woman, black tips to her blonde hair, wearing a white wool sweater with no real back, curiously... Clashing feelings seem to be warring within the nanomech girl, but she doesn't let that smile down regardless.

"Some Gods haven't been acknowledged as such, one example being 'Demon' Goddess Lilith- Born in the Era of Magic, and somewhat discriminated against for inventing Soul Synchronization. Others, like Miss Loki, intentionally let their historical events be altered- Miss Loki seems to find it more hilarious if everyone thought she was a guy. However, with the masquerade, very few Gods are active anymore."

Holding up the figurine of Demon Goddess Lilith to her eyes, Natalie finally reabsorbs the figurine after a lingering few seconds- Closing her eyes briefly in cheer, before speaking with a thoughtful tone. "Speaking of people running around like fools, the commercial technology has gotten pretty advanced. We're constantly having to deal with perfectly 'legal' loons, strapping together all kinds of stuff like they're comicbook characters. Chasing Jetman knockoffs gets really annoying after the fifth lunatic..."

Deck 1 - Arboretum

Joshua's uncharacteristically lengthy speech caused Aubrey to blink in surprise and Pearl's mind was left buzzing as she tried to process everything he had said.

Aubrey drew reflectively on his vapouriser and nodded slowly. Joshua was almost right - most people on Terra Nova would not believe anything about this trip and the people they met on it, but James, Wolfe, Karl, Teresa, Peggy and Kristina - the self-styled "Mad Bastards", whose own adventures had apparently included a ghost reanimating the corpse it had recently vacated, strange cultists with supernatural powers, all manner of alien creatures and a Yeti bartender - would most likely believe. Not that he would tell them anything told to him in confidence, anyway.

A lot of what Joshua had said sounded fantastic in its most literal sense. As an Englishman, there was only one Excalibur of which Aubrey knew and, while his knowledge of Scandinavian folklore was not extensive, he had certainly heard of Loki.

"There is one burning question right at the outset," he said. "What on Earth is a 'zombie'?"

Square Root of Pie (Rolph and Glitch; Max, Robin and Cecilia)

Max's face takes a lenient, "I'm-talking-to-a-child-or-a-foreigner" expression.

"First of all, not all professions are acceptable-"

Robin mutters "Look who's talking" under her breath and Cecilia coldly says:

"Even if it's true, when it comes to children of people with such jobs, it shouldn't matter, Rolph." She sighs and stands up, leaving the rest of her pizza untouched. "We need to go."

Van Segher stands up, too and asks Glitch:

"You comin'?"

[Deck 9] (Junko, Natalie)

Junko nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you gotta beware of the smart magic users." The magical girl shrugged, "Smart people don't fight fair. You go in expecting a simple fight, and you find out they brought guys with assault rifles and an attack helicopter to a magical duel." Junko paused to rub her temples.

They continued down a corridor, with Junko glancing over to raise an eyebrow at the seemingly autonomous figure perched on Natalie's shoulder. She reached over to gently poke its belly as their topic of conversation changed to that of gods. While a few of the things went over her head a little, she could understand the gist of it. However, at the mention of "Loki", Junko adopted an inquisitive look.

"Wait, you mean Loki Laufeyjarson? As in the Norse trickster god, Loki?" Junko asked after Natalie had finished speaking. She paused for a moment before continuing, "So your Loki's a girl too, huh." Junko looked up to explain, "I suppose since we live on different versions of Earth, somethings would be similar, and others would be different. Our Loki is capable- was capable of shapeshifting, so he could be a man, or a woman, or a horse," she said.

"Long story short, he- she's stuck as a little girl... and works for AEGIS now. And apparently she's banned from going anywhere near a supply closet," Junko said, shrugging, "or allowed to go places unsupervised."

They walked by the pool area on Deck 9, Junko noticing Mari's familiar red hair as she sat at a bar conversating with a man. Figures as much, she though to herself. She turned back to Natalie, "As for other deities, I've dealt with my fair share of 'em. Some of 'em are just really awesome folks who got called gods, some are people who demand to be called to gods, and others..." Junko once again shrugged, "in any case, whenever a god or goddess shows up, there's bound to be trouble."

She stopped to cross her arms, "So, you guys've got people running around with stolen tech, too? Can't tell you the number of times I've had to face off against military and AEGIS hardware that fell off the back of a truck," Junko gave a slightly unamused laugh, "I'm just glad most of the time the bad guys don't bother reading the instruction manual."

[Deck 1, Aboretum - Joshua, Aubrey, Pearl]

It hadn't occurred to Joshua that the two might not know what a 'zombie' was. Since the concept of reanimated corpses was a common concept, both in pop culture and Joshua's interaction with the hidden supernatural world, it felt like something Joshua could talk about without extensive explanation.

"You know how when a person dies, they kind of just lay there," Joshua paused, "Well a zombie is when they get up and then start trying to bite people. They were honestly the most normal thing I experienced when I first started working as a field agent."

Joshua thought on that last part, "The part where I said I'm a field agent is also true. I do go around the world trying to solve problems, it's just that I have to deal with problems related to the supernatural."

Joshua brought their legs up and wrapped their arms around them, "I'll admit I made some bad choices along the way. I may have ultimately hurt the world I'm trying to save," A dark hint of sadness in their voice.

edited 22nd Mar '17 3:29:58 PM by DarkbloodCarnagefang

[Deck 3~Nebula Lobby/Henry and Lauren]

Henry realized he didn't introduce himself. "Ah I'm sorry about that." He started as he bowed before the masked figure. "I'm former Intergalactic Senator from Earth Henry A. Safon the 2nd and this is my wife Lauren head of the Intergalactic Intelligence Agency. We're here on vacation."

Lauren brought a hand to her head. "Well I guess you can call it that."

Henry ignored her protest and looked down that hall. "Well anyways let's head down to the theater." He then headed down the hall and reached the door to the abandoned theater only to find it locked. "Hm." He said studying it. "Looks to be a standard electronic lock." He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out an electropick. "Give me a second."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Lauren asked serving as a lookout.