Character Adventure

(Chitara's Wagon)

"Yesss, it reminds me of the Silver Order asss well. There's nothing as nasssty as a zealot, in my personal experienccce." Saen shrugged. "Be that asss it may, I think we can deal with whatever comes our way."

She slithered over to a corner of the wagon. "Let me sssee what I can do, Chitara." The lamia raised her hands, calling out an incantation. The magic flowed out of her like water, and though anyone outside wouldn't have seen any difference, inside the wagon, about five feet of empty floor space appeared around her in every direction. Saen began to pant from the mystical exertion. "That'sss the best I can do."

"Curssse?" she responded to Jaime. "I don't have any malicious workingsss upon me, if that is what you mean. If you speak of the Art itssself, then we are probably going to have some... disssagreementsss." Saen opened her mouth, displaying her fangs and letting a few amber flecks of venom drip from them. Just to make Jaime think twice about what he said.

As the newcomers roared up, Saen was confused. Their transports weren't alive in the natural sense, obviously, but if they were golems, they were extremely simple- she couldn't detect any minds within them. "Greetingsss, strangersss. Will you be joining us on our travelsss?"

Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!

WFS Hummingbird, Rec Room (Maequoql; Explorer of Unknowns; Felian)

Maequoql stared in utter bafflement at Explorer of Unknowns' emotional outburst. "What makes you think Nyorla is suffering? Multiple psychiatrists from multiple species have interviewed Nyorla over and over again about the sources of angst you mentioned and the results keep turning out she's fine. Psychiatrists keep checking her just in case, her and all others born Nao Ranay Nokt. The laws have special provisos for Nao Ranay Nokt, and the galactic citizens know Nao Ranay Nokt when we see it manifested. Nobody's envious or pitying or too stuck looking at the childish body to see the maturing mind inside. And the catastrophe I mentioned was something that happened during a coincidental invasion from the usual xenophobic warmongers. The one Mayatan who wasn't happy being Nao Ranay Nokt and had puberty artificially induced, he was among those the invaders killed before we could boot them out, precisely because he reflexively tried to use powers he no longer had."

"If your species is reaching for the goal of godhood, it's a good idea to make absolutely sure that something is indeed a problem before trying to fix it. Actually, that's good advice for anyone. So can we just chalk the Nao Ranay Nokt issue up to transuniversal culture misunderstanding and move on?"

Relieved to answer a less hot-button question, Maequoql said, "Yeah, the Web just deals with one universe, we're somewhere in between a SWAT team and a league of superheroes, with some diplomacy training thrown in for good measure. The invaders I mentioned earlier? We help the standing armies boot them out. We also help update maps while poking around looking for Sarquoql's latest hideout, in fact, maps are the bulk of how we fund our expeditions."

Justin's Mindscape (Shale, Justin)

Shale shrugged, "I wouldn't expect you to know that term, it was newly coined. Riversnake was not a natural part of Ella-Maria either. Ella-Maria accidentally gained superpowers and she didn't want anyone, least of all Sarquoql, to know she had them, so she enlisted me to guard her secret. I did so by making an identity shell named Riversnake. That was the only identity shell I have ever made."

"Eavesdropping, distorting perceptions, feeding false information... such tactics are prone to failure in the galaxy I come from. Feeding false information is too easily noticed, especially with the mundane skill of critical thinking. Distorting perceptions, same thing, with the added hazard of any Mayatan who doesn't have that talent getting a telepathic overextension headache from trying. Eavesdropping, in the few instances when the target doesn't notice and give a metaphorical poke in the eye, will inevitably exhaust the eavesdropper."

"Of course it is inevitable for at least a second individual with a talent for mind control to appear. For us, that second individual was Mael. We'll study what Mael does and become stronger against it much faster than we could have upgraded against Sarquoql. This is the first opportunity we have to find out how much of what we learned about Sarquoql applies to mind-controllers in general. And then we'll be just as strong against Mael as we are against Sarquoql. Really, the issue is unfamiliarity, not power discrepancy. We're not worried, we're looking forward to our improvement."

The pendant representation of her communicator pulsed once as Shale got a situation update. "I don't think you'll have to worry about Mael targeting Valerie today, the rescue team has been keeping him very busy."

"So, I'm curious, what can Vindex do that demons can't? And vice versa?"

Hotel Lobby

Arilay looked puzzled. Out of all the dark things she was imagining, a jab at reproduction was comparatively tame, and didn't make much sense with how many potential extenuating circumstances there could have been. She muttered, the only intelligible word was "context", but she didn't press further.

"Automatons, you say? Sounds like a third overlapping group with robots and golems." Arilay shrugged, "Yeah, the technology of my body blends with magic. Technology where this came from is quite advanced, but it does need a little extra boost. Uh, what's a Nomi and why should I be concerned?"

At Valerie's excited suggestion of making a new shapeshifting body, Arilay hastily slammed the biscuit compartment shut and yanked the rest of her nanobots into a suddenly standing human formation, complete with simulating a dark green jumpsuit. "And lose what this magitech can do? No thank you! I'm capable of more than just shapeshifting." She panted, dispelling the surge of anxiety, then re-opened the biscuit compartment. The biscuits were still there but a bit tumbled. "These, for example. And I can breathe any atmosphere, eat any food. I can become part of a spaceship and dance in between the stars. I think I would miss that most of all, piloting just wouldn't be the same if I was too organic."

Edit: I forgot a specific portion of Arilay's reaction.

Shopping District, Alley (Morpho, Moquoql; Mael)

Morpho and Moquoql were eavesdropping, and soon figured out what Mequoql was up to. She was leading six teens into an ambush. Why those teens specifically there was no time to question, Morpho and Moquoql were in position for a counter-ambush. Moquoql seized the air around herself and carefully started constructing a sound-muffling telekinetic bubble with it. It couldn't be a perfect silencing bubble, otherwise she'd get an overextension headache and/or suffocate in an airtight bubble.

Shopping District, Open Street

Mequoql smiled gently, "Okay then. There's a shortcut through an alley..." Noticing the buildings were no longer transparent, she made sure to tap the edges of her eye sockets and grumble "Darn prototype."

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Jun 26th 2018 at 1:33:16 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Outside Frontier Sporting Goods

[Mequoql, Carol, Lily, Not-Chaos-Hunters, Matiu]

To Matiu's great surprise, some sort of strange creature apparently wearing a skin-tight fur outfit and some sort of shield over the eyes turned up. At the same time, the lights vanished and the creature - which sounded female - started talking about a 'selective force field'. It seemed that she knew an awful lot about what was happening for someone who had apparently only just arrived. Matiu was instantly suspicious of the newcomer.

The woman called Carol grabbed some sort of old-style weapon and took up position beside Matiu - it seemed strangely incongruous to him, given the rifle and flying-suit of her friend.

The alien - that was as good a description as any - gave an explanation that seemed entirely too glib and convenient and offered to take the six to somewhere 'safer'. Matiu didn't believe a word of it and noticed the tense whispered conversation between the teens.

Surprisingly, the teens agreed and Matiu was about to protest but noticed something about the body language and expressions of the teens - they weren't fooled at all! Obviously they were just playing along with this alien and had something planned.

Carol didn't seem any more convinced than he or the teens did and supposed they should follow.

Matiu nodded. "Too right." Whatever their plan was, he wanted to be on hand in case things didn't go the way they hoped. The staff wasn't ideal but he was confident that he could do some damage with it if the need arose. A shortcut through an alley, he thought. Yeah, right!

South Gate —> The Scar (Chitara's Wagon)

[Saen, Nyceme, Sindar, Jamie, Chitara, Naiolo, Pearl, Aubrey, Finn]

Aubrey could well understand the puzzlement that some of their travelling companions expressed about the motorcycles. On Terra Nova - as on Earth of his own time - self-propelled vehicles were rare, practically unheard of outside of New London and some of the larger cities and towns, and therefore unfamiliar to most people.

He smiled up at Jamie and Nyceme as Pearl busied herself with the task of controlling and guiding the bike. "They are machines. They use stored electricity to create motive force which drives the wheels. The noise you hear is nothing more than the machinery moving - the electricity makes the motor spin, the chain moves and acts on the rear wheel to make it turn and push the vehicle forward. The bar Pearl is holding is used to steer it and holds the controls to make it move and stop." He felt very proud to know enough to explain the bikes to those who had never seen them before.

Finn smiled at Aubrey's simple explanation. "There's a bit more to it 'n that, but that's basically it inna nutshell."

The road out of the gate - such as it was - ran out quickly and they were travelling across country over dirt and grass. Finn guided his bike from his memory of the map he had called up, aiming for the "scar" that would hopefully provide a "road" to bring them closer to the necropolis. He was far more used to riding on city streets than "off road" and the less time he spent trying to negotiate uneven terrain, the better - so far as he was concerned.

Up ahead was a break in the uneven ground, an unnaturally straight line. That had to be the scar. On the map it curved and turned, but here, close to it, it was impossible to see that it curved at all.

"That looks like th'scar up ahead," he called to Chitara. "Should be easier goin' than this."

Sure enough, at the pace Chitara had set, it wasn't long before the scar was clearly visible. The sides of the scar were sloped enough that it was easy to roll over the lip and ride down to the wide flat bottom. It was just like riding on a smooth concrete road - a few wind-strewn leaves and occasional small twigs here and there, but nothing to cause any concern - and the long straight 'road' made for excellent visibility.

edited 26th Jun '18 4:39:42 AM by Wolf1066

[In the middle of Nowhere, Interrogation Room #(10 ↑)2 8.6 —> Alice's Hotel Room 301 —> The Dying World (Alice)]

Alice nodded, quite happy to be rid of this place. She headed through the door to her hotel room, then opened one of the portals to her home universe. She explained the situation, sent a warning to the Ace of Spades, and confirmed that the Abigail protocols were underway. A curious rig allowed her to receive phone calls from the other world, but she would not, for the moment, be actively intervening.

The rig worked, as Alice and Gwion both discovered. Slouching comfortably in her office chair, Alice answered the unlisted number with a cheery-yet-professional, "Alice Winters speaking."

[??? (Ace of Spades)]

The Ace of Spades was soon comfortably outside city limits.

[City Hall (Local couriers)]

Western Amalgamated was nothing if not efficient; the payment was delivered promptly and in full, with no attempt made at even minor deception. While Western Amalgamated had many bad habits — supporting and advising brutal but "stabilizing" dictators, turning farmers into de facto serfs, grotesque hypocrisy whenever their nominal values called for anything more than a token sacrifice, and a nauseatingly twee presence on The Metaverse — they did not let debts go unpaid.

Edited by KillerClowns on Jun 26th 2018 at 8:57:47 AM

Hotel - Room 444 (Murquoql, Amelia, Inni)

A... a telepath? Despite Murquoql's reassurances that she only read surface thoughts, the woman was very wary about what she might uncover. She sighed stiffly through her nose, taking a moment to make sure she wasn't thinking of anything too sensitive. Truly, she would have to make this meeting as short as possible.

Murquoql sounded like quite a strange name to the woman, but she had quite a strange appearance as well, so it was understandable. "And my name is Amelia Blackwood," the woman replied, without the slightest hint of annoyance. "And my son's name is Frederick. Sometimes he goes by Fred, but never by Rick. Come in for a second..."

She quickly backed up, bumping into the back of a chair as she did so, gesturing over to the bed. There was an elderly woman sitting on it, reading a book by the source of the pinkish light: a pink silken rag that had been draped over a lamp.

"And this is Inni, my mother. She has the power to grant wishes."

"I'm also a DJ at the karaoke bar next door," the older woman replied. She sounded a lot younger than she looked; in fact her voice was nearly identical to Amelia's. "I heard everything. You're a telepath? Then you should be able to find Rick in no time."

"Fred."

"...Right. Fred. I hope he returns soon. Amelia and I are terribly worried about him. Amelia doesn't believe this of course, but I think he's been spirited away by some curse that had been placed upon him. Unfortunately, before I could remove the curse, he went missing. If you ask me it might be related to all those trees in the rainforest dying off."

Amelia rolled her eyes, looking back at Murquoql. "Well, I don't want to keep you too long. When you find Fred, you bring him right back here, okay? You have my utmost thanks... and I wish you luck."

Much like Shale, Inni had some sort of psychic shield up around her. Except this one seemed to be purely magical, rather than neurobiological, in nature. But Amelia had no such shield. It was clear that Amelia actually did have some belief in Inni's talk of curses, but she was also very afraid of the topic and did not like to think about it. Importantly, there was nothing in the room that would register as a weapon, except maybe for the tiniest blip from the clearly hotel-issued pen sitting on the desk.^note They do say the pen is mightier than the— shot

"Regarding that man..." said Amelia, "thank you for alerting us. Yes, that is exactly the sort of measure I am worried about for the sake of security." This wasn't entirely true; the other measure Amelia thought of was intrusive telepathic aliens like Murquoql. "I recommend showing that to the front desk, so the staff could notify the authorities if they see him."

She nodded, waiting to see if Murquoql would say more, though she secretly hoped she would leave already.

Restaurant (James, Kris, Kaitlyn, Teri, Sophia, Gwion, Wolfe, Jean, Diantha, Nora, Leone, Ulf, Nui)

Nui nodded all around at the introductions. But the seven people who seemed to all be buddies caught them by surprise. First, the one with the red eye and the mechanical arm asked if they were from Orenya. To this, Nui's eyes grew wide.

"...Yes, yes I am. That woman you met... did she go by the name Talmori perhaps? White skin, gray hair, purple eyes, always wears a wide-brimmed hat?^note Nemaforte, for the record, had pink eyes."

Second, the blond man turned out to be James. It was at this point where Nui seemed to keep their wordiness in check, simply nodding in acknowledgement.

Third, there was talk of Alice. "Ah yes, I met Alice. She had some interesting insight into the technology of magic-negating devices, although magic in the world of Western Amalgamated takes on a peculiar malevolent sentience, the exact sort of threat few on Orenya consider a palpable threat. If she bothered to warn us against approaching the Ghost Town, that could mean a couple of possibilities. One, that she perceives a magical threat and believes that she is the most qualified to remove it. If the threat is magical, I would much like to see the aura it gives off for myself. Two, she has associates who are conducting business there and do not want their work disturbed. In which case, why would they cordone off the entire town for a business meeting, unless A) refer back to the possibility of a magical threat, or B) they discovered something there that they don't want anyone else to find out about."

They stopped to take a deep breath, for speaking that wall of text took a mouthful. "In either case, personally I would be in favor of wandering near the ghost town anyway and then assessing the situation as appropriate. And with me, about half of you, and two-and-a-half^note the "half" being Vindex, since he is not quite a full being other mages at least as comp— almost as competent as I am who are still at the hotel, it looks like our group should have sufficient protection. Now how about supplies? In a town this size it seems reasonable that there should be places that sell adventuring gear. I am mostly all packed save for a tent and transport, but what about all of you?"

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.

Hotel - Room 444 (Murquoql, Amelia, Inni)

"Nice to meet you two. In less troublesome times, maybe we could enjoy ourselves at karaoke." Murquoql assured Amelia, "Anyway, don't worry about accidental Thought-Aversion Failure, I keep a lot of secrets and... well, I'll just shut off my telepathy while I'm in here anyway, since it's clearly bothering you." She repositioned the chair to sit in it and moved the psychic equivalent of blast doors into position. She wasn't exactly enjoying being the equivalent of blind and half-deaf, especially with her friends involved in two different... delicate situations... but she could cope and she'd still get messages on her communications microchip.

She re-rolled the mugshot paper and added, "I was going to show this mugshot around anyway, ideally where Mael — the mind-controller — won't notice."

The blank sheets of paper were in Murquoql's lap, with the pencil idly in her right hand, "So, I know you're concerned about security, do you not want me taking notes, then? I... have a lot of questions." If indeed they didn't want her taking notes, she'd put down the paper and pencil.

"On a lot of planets I've been to, the usual way to search for a missing child involves making a public hullaballoo and gathering up as many people as possible to participate in the search. Is your concern about security why you're not pursuing that course of action? If others want to join me on this quest, what would you have me do to honor your security?"

"I don't have much to work with here and this thing about a curse and dying trees sounds like not finding out more will bite me in the rear. Care to elaborate, at least on what I need to watch out for so I don't fall victim to the same thing?"

"Do you happen to have an up-to-date picture of Fred? Or at least can you describe what he looks like? Do you have any other useful information about him that will help me recognize his mind, without breaching security?"

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

FUCK power outages.

[Shopping District-Alley]

Of course, Dius decided to be a nuance one again. This time, though, Mael didn't seem to be too annoyed, and the fact that she assumes he's sort of prince (or a father figure) was pretty amusing. He cleared his throat and turned to her, his face stoic.

"I don't dislike the teens," he said, "In fact, I don't have any sort of feelings for them whatsoever. My employer, on the other hand, is tired of them interfering with their plans and want them to stop by any means necessary." He moved some hair out of his eyes, "They personally sent me out as a last resort because up till this point, their plans kept falling apart. That is all I'm going to tell you."

He fixed his collar. "Now, let me ask you a question...why are you bothering me specifically?"

---

[Shopping District-Street]

More and more alarm bells were ringing as they followed Mequoql, mostly because the walls was guiding them to her direction, yet still wouldn't let them leave in peace.

Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

Amy hid something behind her back. It was small, round, and black. What it was would be unknown to anyone else watching them, but Jackson knew what it was immediately. Looks like she really did have a plan after all.

God, I wish we got that musket before all of this shit. Maya signed, Who'd thought we were gonna be prisoners in a damn city that nobody knows the name of?

"We'll get through this." Marie whispered, "We're not gonna be stuck here. Let's just see what Miss Blue wants to show us."

Shopping District, Alley

Moquoql noticed that Mael seemed to be talking to an invisible someone. Now was her chance, while he was distracted. She opened the chloroform packet and stalked up behind Mael. With the rag in her left hand, she unsheathed her claws and pounced. She tried to snake her right hand around Mael's elbows and waist while pressing the rag to his face with her left hand.

If all went well, she'd have her left-hand claws anchored in his cheeks — thumb in his left and four fingers in his right — and her right-hand claws anchored in his left elbow with her right arm across his front.

^{Click for Author's note:} Mayatan claws are slightly bigger than the claws of a domestic cat. And if I can take a moment to digress, I hate how the new labelnote format is indistinguishable from the other text.

Moquoql also telekinetically pinched the back of her sister's neck.

Shopping District, Street

Mequoql had only taken two steps towards the alley when she suddenly shrieked in agony and dropped face-first to the ground. The telekinetic cover on her silver eyes failed, showing them to just the pavement. Someone would have to pick her up to witness the eye color.

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Jun 27th 2018 at 7:35:51 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Hotel - Room 444 (Murquoql, Amelia, Inni)

Amelia was not exactly reassured when Murquoql offered to turn off her telepathy. To her, that remark sounded like it was meant to lower her guard so that she could feel safe in thinking more thoughts to pluck. However, she had a less adverse reaction to the pen and paper.

"Oh, taking notes is perfectly fine." She sat down on the bed across from the chair. "Regarding the notice... yes, I decided it would be best to announce the matter quietly. It was for safety; it's why I had Inni post the notice. Not just for us, but also for the townfolk. Had I loudly announced Fred's absence, many of them would have rushed over to the rainforest. I don't think all of them are prepared for possible magical threats and I didn't want too many unnecessary deaths, so I posted the notice on the bulletin board; it's known to be the first place daring adventurers look for a mission."

Because randomly meeting fellow adventurers in an inn at the same time that someone with a mission or a source of distress arrives is both cliche and too much of a Contrived Coincidence for these purposes. Now excuse me while I get back on the other side of the fourth wall.

"Regarding Fred's curse, well..." She cringed and looked behind her. "Inni, perhaps you'd better explain..."

Inni looked up from the book she had returned to and took off her reading glasses. "Oh, yes. All that black magic stuff makes Amelia very uncomfortable, in case you haven't noticed. Anyway, Fred may have come into contact with some terrible dark magic, and been spirited away by a compulsion to seek more power. He seemed to be rather ill the other day, and his skin had become paler and drier than usual. He also shrank a bit; he originally came up to the waist on Amelia, but when he disappeared yesterday, he was barely taller than the bed. It's the strangest thing we've seen; I had no idea walking a cursed land before a vam—"

"That's enough!" Worry had grown on Amelia's face as Inni's explanation went on; by the time she interrupted her, she was trembling with her face in her hands. "Please... please don't remind me. Excuse me." She stood up and made a beeline for the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Back on the bed, Inni shook her wrinkled head. "Poor Amelia. Things have been not at all right with us ever since that damn vampire lord set up shop in our hometown. When the magic surrounding that god-forsaken fortress is capable of harming me," and here she waved a hand all around her face and arms, everywhere her skin was exposed, "you know it's bad. It seems to be at its strongest around the graveyard before it; all sorts of strange curses have been reported among people who have entered it at night. Amelia and Fred and I fled here before things could get much worse; it seems that the curse took a hold of Fred the night before we left. That's why Amelia is so paranoid: she is afraid that the vampire's henchmen, or even himself, might trace Fred's curse to follow us here. She even warns that he may already be here, waiting for just the right time to strike."

Shortly after Inni finished her tale, Amelia emerged from the bathroom, carrying a piece of paper and a pen. She handed the former to Murquoql. "Sorry about that... while I was in there I decided to sketch up a picture of Fred. He's got black hair and blue eyes," which was important because the sketch was entirely in black pen, "and I think he may still be wearing the... the..." Her mind suddenly blanked. There was something slightly off about it, though trauma from the incident with Fred was the most likely culprit.

"...Oh, that fancy black coat he wore to dinner the night before he vanished," said Inni. "The poor de— I mean, pity. We went to a nice bistro off the town square that night to help us cheer up and calm down about it all. There's no use trying to solve things with an overworried mind, after all."

Amelia nodded, gazing down at the floor as she sat back down on the bed. "Anything else?" she asked Murquoql.

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.

Hotel - Room 444 (Murquoql; Amelia, Inni)

Murquoql was writing quickly in her native language, which could be mistaken for Chinese calligraphy by anyone unfamiliar with either language. Some of her notes included hypothetical precautions for monitoring one's height and state of mind. In one margin was a note to call cursebreaker Seenarnha from the Web of Friendship HQ — and maybe, just in case Fred shrunk too much, also bringing in some of the smaller Web members, like Chlora Phyllis. So, the curse was strongest at night, that was going to be a bit of a problem for the nocturnal Mayatans.

"A vampire lord! You're in luck, the Web of Friendship pulls double duty as professional vampire hunters." Murquoql didn't say 'vampire slayers' because not every vampire they hunted needed slaying: some were friendly neighborhood vampires who'd fallen Off the Wagon; others really were fiendish and needed to be slain; and it was important to find out which was the case before grabbing the wooden stakes. "We have lots of experience dealing with many different kinds of vampires in one way or another according to their level of ferocity."

She took the sketch of Fred with a murmured "Thank you."

To answer Amelia, Murquoql switched to a fresh sheet of paper and said, "Yeah, do you happen to have a map of your home town and the graveyard and the fortress and where they are both in the rainforest and relative to each other? I'd hate to be herded into the vampire lord's lair just because I didn't know where it was. Also, if I recall correctly, your poster mentioned something about herbs. What are they for and how do I recognize them?"

"Amelia, it's your choice, you might want to cover your ears or leave the room again. I have more questions about the curse and the vampire lord."

"It sounds like the vampire lord is responsible for the curse, am I right? Curse symptoms include shrinking, thirst for power, skin damage, trees dying... did I miss any? Do you know anything about this vampire lord's diet, hunting methods, powers, weaknesses, minions?"

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Jun 28th 2018 at 1:55:18 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Town ~ Hotel Lobby (Cynthia, Moobly; Justin, Valerie, Vindex; Arilay, Shale)

Cynthia vehemently shook her head as she resisted the urge to pinch Valerie's cheeks. "Oh no, you've got it reversed. I was referring to the fact that Vindex looks like a wolf—" she said as she tilted slightly to the left to look past Valerie at Vindex, "critter?"

Moobly, meanwhile, palmed her forehead.

Cynthia glanced down at Valerie as she grabbed her arm, giving the little witch a puzzled look. "What do you mean by that?" she asked, before clarifying, "what do Moobly and I have to do with shapeshifting?"

---

Town Square ~ Restaurant (Diantha, Jean, Nora; Leone; Ulf; Gwion, James, Kris, Sophia, Teri, Wolfe; Nui)

Nora gave Leone a curious head-tilt before shrugging; if the other girl didn't want to tell her what kind of creature that mouth came from, it wasn't her place to push for answers.

Diantha acknowledged Wolfe's warning with a head nod. Hmm, sounds very much like the presence of a potentially hostile noble spirit. The girl crossed her arms, "I'm still going to scout out the ghost town," she said, "I'm trained to deal with dangerous situations."

Jean gave Ulf a smile and a look of curiosity. "A werewolf, eh? What do you mean by that, exactly? There are many that go by that name, you know, though I can rule out a few right off the bat."

Diantha then turned to address Nui. "Both me and Nora have all the supplies we need, so we're ready to go. As for transport, I have a bike; Nora can ride with me."

---

Town ~ Shopping District ~ Alley (Bonnie, Lily; Mael; Moquoql, Morpho)

It all started with a bird.

Lily was flying through the back alleys, carrying Bonnie in a bear hug, her arms locked under the latter's chest. They were flying just above head height, to avoid accidentally hitting anyone (though a few folks had their hats blown off by the wind).

Out of the blue, a pigeon was caught up in Lily's flight spell, resulting in the poor creature being blown into the mage's face. Her grip shifted upwards, causing Bonnie to squirm about in her grasp.

The flight mage realizing what she did, tried to readjust her grip, only to loose her grasp on the rabbit-eared girl. Bonnie fell and crashed, chest first, into a furry bluish-white person and the man in white from earlier.

---

Town ~ Shopping District ~ Street (Carol; NCH; Mequoql; Matiu)

Carol glanced around, looking for whomever the unknown assailant was, or for anyone who might be after them. She didn't see anyone.

Charging forward, she crouched down to pick Mequoql from off the ground, hand still on her halberd. Getting a good look at the alien's eyes, she snorted, "Huh, didn't realize Silver Witches came in fuzzy;" Mequoql's fur, which if Carol tilted her head and squinted, looked a bit silvery to the quarter-elf, "then again, never really met one before. Anyway, looks like we all walked into a trap," she casually said, fully expecting it, before slamming the butt of her halberd on the ground, cracking the concrete in the process, as she hauled Mequoql to her feet.

Edited by WillDeRegio on Jun 29th 2018 at 6:33:20 AM

[Shopping District—Alley]

Mael let out a pained, muffled scream, as he was suddenly attacked unexpectedly from behind. Then, on top of that, he was knocked over—by the same bunny girl who saved him earlier.

And once again, she saved him now.

However, he couldn't completely register it; when he touched his face and realized he was bleeding, his eyes widened in rage—looking directly at Dius.

"You..." he growled, "I should've realized this was all a goddamn trap!"

---

[Street—Alley]

Everyone gasped as Mequoql fell forward.

"Oh no!" Amy yelled, "She died!"

Maya blinked. No. She just...fell...

Carol came over and picked her off the ground, and that's when they saw her eye color. Silver, just like a certain someone everyone in the group knew.

And everyone in the group feared.

"Oh my god..." Marie said, covering her mouth, "She's not a silver witch—whatever that is—she's brainwashed!"

"That means he's here!" Jackson said, "Come on! We gotta find out where he is now before he hurts another person."

"The wall looks like it's leading us somewhere." Nick said, "Best guess is that we follow it."

Nodding, the six teens quickly followed the path to the wall, until they reached and alley. There, injured on the ground, was Mael. Also laying there was Bonnie and another blue person.

"Look out!" Adam yelled, lifting his bow and arrow, "He's dangerous! Run!"

Seeing that he now had no chance to get his targets—and knowing he was outnumbered and very likely to be taken away—Mael angrily snapped his fingers and, with a bright light, vanished without a trace.

He was now gone, but that left no reassurance to anybody. He would be back; they just didn't know when and where. They had to leave the city—if the wall would finally let them be free.

First thing's first was to check on the others.

"Are you two alright?" Marie asked, walking to Lily and Moquoql, "He didn't hurt you two, did he?"

I'm doing this cause I want to speed this shit up and not have it derailed, lol. He won't be back until the next in-story day.

Edited by Masterofchaos on Jun 28th 2018 at 10:33:31 AM

Shopping District, Street

Mequoql groaned wordlessly as someone got a good look at her face.

I VOWED.

One of Mequoql's eyes began twitching like mad, flashing back and forth between brown and silver with each twitch.

I VOWED.

"Help... me... out... silver... out..."

I VOWED.

The flashing eye was steady brown now. "Yes, I'm under mind-control! Help me break it!" She was hauled to her feet...

Shopping District, Alley

"OW!" The sudden weight slamming into Moquoql's back yanked her claws down and out of their anchor points.

Meanwhile, Morpho galloped out of his hiding place.

"You..." Mael growled, "I should've realized this was all a goddamn trap!"

"Get off me you spanner he's gonna get away!" Murquoql used a combination of her own muscle power and telekinesis to throw whoever just landed on her off. Morpho had to swerve, and lost precious speed and momentum.

Someone yelled, "Look out! He's dangerous! Run!"

Morpho didn't know and didn't care who was talking to whom, he just lunged in an amorphous blob for Mael. He missed as Mael disappeared. Morpho reformed into his humanoid shape, looked down at the rabbit girl and groaned, "You again?"

"Good frakkin' grief!" Moquoql examined her bloody claws. "I gotta get this blood sample to the police!" She dashed off, telekinetically holding onto Mael's blood and limping a little.

Morpho sized up the whole bunch of people now in the alley, one dragging Mequoql with her. He said, "Okay, I can explain everything." He pointed to Mequoql, "AFTER we free her."

WFS Hummingbird Rec Room (Maequoql, technically Arilay; Felian, Explorer of Unknowns)

"Ugh!" Maequoql exclaimed, "Lost him. Darn teleport was too much this time! Now I gotta start scanning the planet..."

A speaker on the wall activated with Arilay's voice, "I'm scanning for Mael, too. Darn it, we almost had him, and now we have to settle for chasing him off..."

Edited by Miss_Desperado on Jun 29th 2018 at 9:02:20 AM

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

Restaurant (TOO MANY DAMN PEOPLE)

Leone raised an eyebrow as Ulf introduced himself as an "occasional werewolf," but as with most strange things she'd seen and heard up until this point she opted not to comment on it. Instead she turned her attention to the subject of deciding who was going where.

"Sounds fair to me," she said simply in response to Wolfe's suggestion, before acknowledging her to-be coworkers with a polite nod. "With a name like 'Wasteland,' I wouldn't be surprised if what my boss is after happens to be out there."

Then she turned to the wordy elf, or at least what appeared to be an elf. "I'm seeking a ranged weapon of some description. Perhaps some better armor. Past that, it depends on what's available around here. I can work without anything if need be. I can also handle transporting myself, but I'll be happy to accept anything that's offered to me."

She took a look at the now very large group. "On the subject of supplies, perhaps now would be a good time to take care of that. After all, another patron of this restaurant might need this table."

---

Forest - Ruins (Eris, Inanna, Henry, Joseph)

Inanna beamed as the traveler stated that she'd made the place less dark. "See? I am helping!"

Then she looked at the blade as he tried again to explain the flashlight in terms of what she just did. Judging by how her face scrunched up in thought in confusion, it was doubtful whether or not she was actually making any sense of it. Right as she turned to him ready to ask another question, he popped another one of his own.

"You could call it that!" she explained, "These are the gifts of the great Mother Tiamat!"

Eris frowned heavily. "...It's Mother Tiamat's wish that we not speak of her."

"And I say that's silly! There's no point to keeping her a secret. Even if this was Sumeria, it's not like any humans would know who Mother Tiamat is, anyway. And I don't think it is Sumeria!" Inanna raised the pointer finger of her free hand. "I think we somehow managed to find another world! I don't know how, but we did! So if we spread the word about Mother Tiamat here-"

Caught up in her explanation as she was, Inanna almost wasn't paying any attention as the traveler called his previously-hidden friend over to them. Then her eyes settled on him.

"-EEEEEEE! HE'S ADORABLE!" she exclaimed, with the tone and expression of a little girl who had just been given a puppy.

Eris simply tilted her head to one side as she examined Joseph. Then she turned to his friend with a frown.

"And what, exactly, do you want us to do for him?" she asked, "It is true that we possess what you might call 'magic,'...but our powers can't do everything. In fact, I'm afraid they're...quite specific."

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

The Scar (Ozurr; Krakka'a, Zarokh; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)

Varg sighed quietly. Why could things never be easy?

"You really should listen to the big guy..." she began to say, but was cut short as Ozurr was suddenly swept of his feet, tumbling towards the ground dangerously close to her.

Varg took a few quick steps to the side, her tail flailing out behind her to keep her balanced, and aimed her weapon squarely between the eyes of the giant flying creature. The other, slightly more mundane looking reptile was also a threat, but it was clearly the flyer who was in charge here.

She growled at them both.

"Step. Back."

---

Hearing Rosalind's hiss, Jann glanced behind him, his eyes immediately widening in surprise.

What the Depths..? While he had been able to make some assumptions about her abilities, he certainly hadn't expected this. It was both terrifying and oddly... fascinating, at the same time. Jann found it difficult to look away.

The air around him crackled angrily as his spell momentarily slipped out of control.

Right, must keep concentrating. Almost done.

As his work finally became complete, Jann raised his arms, letting the power of the spell rush away from his body and into the air far above him.

Conjure. Unnatural storm clouds slowly coalesced into shape high in the sky above the group, making their presence known with a low rumble. Direct. Jann flung his hand forward in a dramatic pose - After all, what was the fun in being a mage if one couldn't put on a show every once in a while? - and focused on a spot right in front of the two menacing reptiles. He'd prefer not to resort to any actual violence if a show of force would be enough.

Activate.

With a furious roar, a massive bolt of lightning struck the ground, sending shards of concrete into the air and leaving a scorched crater in it's wake.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Jann shouted, and gave his adversaries a confident - and perhaps just slightly maniacal - smile.

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

The Scar (Ozurr; Krakka'a, Zarokh; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)

Rosalind saw Jann's awestruck glance at her and the lightning bolt he threw at the ground between the stand-off. Hopefully Ozurr would be able to regain his feet while Jann had the predators' attention.

She spoke her mind, "Last warning, varmints! Let us go about our business in peace!" She punctuated it with another go-away-hiss.

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, Krakka'a, Zarokh; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)

Ozurr glanced over at Rosalind.

Um.

Wow.

Yeah, that was certainly different. The black sclerae were a nice touch, he thought. He never understood why every creature in the world...and in other worlds, it seemed...had white sclerae except for Frost Giants.

Krakka'a sized up the group amassed before them. The big blue one was intimidating, to be sure, but Zarokh would be more than a match for him. But the smaller grey one was pointing a gun at them. No, scratch that - she was pointing a gun at him, even though Zarokh was the closer threat. This meant that she had identified him as the one calling the shots.

Well. There was nothing for it, then. He would just have to order Zarokh to kill her first.

He opened his mouth to give the order...and the pavement in front of them exploded in a bolt of lightning. Both reptiles jumped back several feet.

Ozurr stared, wide-eyed, at Jann. He's an electrokinetic? No, he couldn't be. That lightning didn't come from anywhere on Jann's body. He hadn't generated electricity, he had conjured a storm, something that Ozurr understood to be beyond even the abilities of Fae magic.

Different world, different rules, remember?

Right.

Zarokh nervously cast his gaze between Krakka'a and Jann, trying to decide who scared him more. It didn't take him long to make up his mind.

"I think we should let them pass."

Krakka'a glowered at Zarokh. "What did I just get through explaining to you?"

"That was before they started throwing lightning around!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I had recruited a coward."

"You weren't in that town! You didn't see what I saw!"

"I don't care if you saw the last living Sauropod..."

"Lightning makes people disappear here!"

Krakka'a blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"In town. Someone got hit by lightning, and he vanished. He didn't die, he vanished without a trace. No body, no ashes, nothing. Just a scorch mark on the ground smaller than that one." He pointed to where Jann's lightning had struck the ground. "And that guy can apparently make it happen at will. He can hit both of us in the time it takes us to blink."

Krakka'a snarled as he angrily backhanded Zarokh. But notably, he didn't tell him to press the attack. "Fine," he growled, stepping away from the truck. "But this isn't over. You'll find I'm not one to just let insults go unanswered."

Ozurr relaxed his posture, but kept his axe out. He wasn't about to let his guard down until he was sure they were in the clear.

Tidesson Son of the staves of time

The Scar (Ozurr; Krakka'a, Zarokh; Jann, Varg; Rosalind)

Still on the roof of the truck, Rosalind remained motionless with her spooky face still in place. She kept her stare leveled at the flyer and mumbled under her breath, "You started it..."

Something was giving her the heebie-jeebies about the way the flyer interacted with the gator. Where had she seen that dynamic before?

Oh. Plantation foremen and slaves. Oh dear. That poor gator.

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

You can't hide from the truly righteous...

Looking a simple bored, 'Dius' dismisses the popcorn in her possession. Her gaze shifting to the children Mael was after, the nicely suited deity floats over in their direction- And faster than a nanosecond later, the invisible force pinning them in disappears completely.

Floating just above the group, the goddess seems to watch them with stoic interest. Flicking her eyes to the woman who interfered twice now, 'Dius' suddenly becomes visible to Bonnie.

Spinning a finger just above Amy's head as if pretending to twirl Amy's hair, the rainbow-haired goddess speaks clearly to Bonnie & Carol. "Oi, evil little prince Mael wanted to get rid of these kiddies for his boss. Dominated Mequoql so he didn't have to dirty himself doing so. The barrier formerly locking the kiddos in can be blamed on him."

Bringing her finger up to her chin as if thinking about something, a familiar presence suddenly appears on the spiritual plane- A demonic, shadowy creature. Yet as he initially twists about in confusion, it becomes present to most who could detect him that his movement is shackled.

The Not-Chaos Hunters, however, wouldn't be aware of his shackled state. The demon Vindex, his confusion at an end, gazes in Meq's direction momentarily. His 'eyes' narrowing, he speaks up rather calmly though roughly- And acts seemingly unaware of the Hunters.

   "What happened to the master? I had wanted to force him to break the connection... Didn't get to pay him back for trapping me. Must not be a very powerful controller, though..."   

The mostly-invisible goddess, however, only briefly looks at Vindex before turning her gaze to the teens. Hands held together, a soft voice whispers on the wind between them. "So long as you are here, you have Dius Giudice's attention. Was drawing these people together helpful for your group?"

---

What, huh? This interest is too weird...

For the most part, Justin listened on politely and calmly- His body language doing enough to say 'I don't really have anything to say'. Even Shale reassuring him about Mael simply caused Justin to look off a little uncomfortable.

Yet, that question, about Vindex... Caused Justin to really focus on Shale. His gaze flicking over to Vindex's prison, his eyes narrowing as he examined his demon suspiciously, the young man finally speaks in a calm yet subdued manner.

"He can... Be good, even if he doesn't want to. No real demon could do that, at best they'd feverishly obey whoever they lust after. Overall, he's far saner with full possession of their abilities. If anything, he's better than a true demon. Of course, he's shackled to me so he doesn't have nearly as much freedom."

Tugging on a lock of his white hair, Justin gives Shale bit of a casually inquisitive look. Then, stepping away from and looking back at the connection to another he was standing before, the witch's butler speaks up plainly yet nicely.

"Why not make a connection to each of your friends' minds? Rely on each other to break free, and bolster each other more easily. Master Valerie's soul and mine, are always connected. She controls how much is actually shared, but I don't mind too much. Worst she'd ever do is make me and... Vindex, merge for the sake of survival. Hm..."

Scratching at his facial scars, Justin looks back at Vindex- His expression suspicious, but as if he's unsure why. Still, having gazed at his trapped demon, Justin calls out yet again.

"So you can make 'identity shells', and I'm guessing they don't require upkeep on your end? So, why not refine that technique? Use it to create psychic constructs to do the lurking for you. Made to blend in, and act like they're just the person's own mind acting up. Like... People filled with guilt, or shame, or rage..."

---

Hotel

Looking at Arilay with slight curiosity as she muttered 'context', Valerie's expression becomes more puzzled as the cyborg expresses unfamiliarity with Nomi. Though as Arilay weirdly insists on being a cyborg, the dark-haired witch simply tilts her head in confusion as if saying 'but magic'.

When Cynthia tried correcting the young(?) witch about who she meant, Valerie looks away- Her witch hat helping hide her expression. Yet as Cynthia openly questions why she'd be helpful in making Arilay a new body, Valerie looks up at her with clear confusion.

Her eyes semi-quickly darting between Cynthia and Moobly, Valerie finally speaks with a confusion-tinged tone. "Because you made Moobly the way she is? D-did you not make her that way? Surely you know something about making and altering living people, because Moobly is... Moobly."

Thinking to herself for a few seconds, Valerie shakes her head as she shifts gears. "Vindex isn't a wolf though! That's just how he shaped his construct body. He isn't my familiar, though, Justin is. I guess you could consider Vindex to be my Justin's familiar?"

Blowing some air from out of her mouth, Valerie turns her attention back to Arilay. Squinting her eyes as she stares for a few seconds, the dark-haired witch speaks up again.

"Nothing is impossible with magic if you just try hard enough. I mean, you're already benefiting from mystic modification. So unless they put in effort to prevent Nomization… Oh! What's the term...?"

Gently knocking her right fist against the side of her head, her eyes closed in thought, Valerie suddenly calls out excitedly "Tsukumogami! That's what some people call it! Um, basically, non-living stuff transforms once they soak up enough magical and spiritual energy. So you're basically using someone else's body until their soul is born."

Edited by Kkutwar on Jun 29th 2018 at 10:58:52 AM

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."

Forest - ^{Washingtonians and Sumerians} Henry, Joseph - Eris, Inanna


Henry and the recently-named Joseph exchanged confounded glances after Inanna's enthusiastic reaction.

"Dithee jeth cauh me aduhahble?" Joseph whispered. The response had taken him so far aback that he'd had halted the process of getting to his feet entirely, and instead sat kneeling at the bottom step of the ruins, nearly crossing his eyes as he tried to make sense of whatever he was feeling.

Henry was silent, but raised his eyebrows at Joe as if to say, That's Inanna for you. He had been a little nervous about unveiling his friend, worried that one or both sisters would freak out. In a way, Inanna had, just not how he'd have ever had expected.

More concerning, however, was Eris's more contemplative response. Granted, he hadn't given them any specifics, but he was already starting to feel like maybe he had jumped the gun. Still, it was worth a shot.

"The thing with Joseph..." he began, hesitating as he tried to figure out how best to phrase it.

Joe himself—still on his knees—looked up at Henry with anticipation, like a dog uncertain of whether he is about to get a treat or an admonishment.

"The thing about Joseph is that he isn't supposed to be this way. The..." Henry moved his hands around his face, "and the..." he flexed his fingers in and out, "just the whole..." he tried making a few more sweeping gestures about his body, before sighing, getting little around his wordless impediment.

"What I am... spectacularly failing to say is that he's supposed to be a human like u- mh...me." He had almost said 'like us', but considering the way Inanna had just mentioned 'humans' as if they might have been something separate from herself or her sister, and considering what they were able do with their 'gifts', he wasn't so certain. "But two days ago he woke up-"

"Lethuhthey moorin," Joe said.

Henry blinked. He blinked again. He scrunched up his brow, trying really hard to make sense of his friend's speech. He couldn't.

"...What?"

"Leth- lyeth-" Joseph closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Yeth-ther-thay mourrr-nyeen-guh. Thwad lyetherthat moorin, nah two thaysgo."

Henry slapped his forehead, "Oh man, he's right. Today's been so long, it just..." he looked back at Eris, "yesterday morning he woke up like this. We've got no idea why. I thought maybe call a doctor, but I couldn't sell it to them. They thought it was a prank call," he paused, "which is... if you have phones- y'know what? Nevermind. The point is, I'm not sure if there's any scientific solution to this. It's..." he shook his head several times, struggling to find any word to describe how insane the whole situation was. "It's unheard of. It's crazy, and it's totally unheard of."

Joseph frowned, resting his long face in his hands. It all sounded a little hopeless. He'd made no attempt to stand up all the way since pausing. The forest floor was soft against his knees, and it let him feel small, and small things couldn't have terribly big problems.

"So," Henry continued, "I'm thinking, now that magic seems to be real, we need to find some kind of sorcerer who can change him back to normal, and I was kind of hoping that one of you might fit the bill." He glanced upwards, trying to remember what else there was to say. "Oh! And his parents get home from out of town tomorrow, so we were kind of hoping to get it done before then."

"Ith muhmom and her voi- moi- boy-fer-end," Joseph corrected, sticking out his big tongue in frustration by the end.

"Right, his mom and her boyfriend. You'll have to forgive Joe's speech. Adjusting to a new, um... mouth and all that. But you should have seen him earlier today, when I first found him." He held up a finger, "Let me tell you, strides—great strides—have been made."

Joseph laid his head against the bottom step, whining a low, "Yipphee..."

Edited by Ryuhza on Jun 30th 2018 at 12:57:24 PM

the color today

Forest - Ruins (Eris, Inanna, Henry, Joseph)

"What?" Inanna asked in response to Joseph's dumbfounded response, "It was a compliment! I meant it!" She stroked her chin with her free hand as she looked over the lizard. "Especially the eyes. They're so big and-"

"Inanna, stop."

"But Eriiiiis...."

Eris sharply glared at Inanna. She let out a childish frustrated sigh before both sisters turned their attention to the other traveler's story and his ensuing plea. As it went on, Eris approached Joseph and knelt down to his level, examining him closely with a thoughtful expression on her face. At the end of the explanation, she frowned.

"If this is the result of magic, it's of a sort I do not recognize." She glanced up at Inanna. "Inanna, do you think Life magic would do anything here?"

Inanna frowned and shook her head sadly. "Illness? Sure. But I don't know of any disease that makes people randomly turn into lizards." She stepped closer to get a better look at Joseph herself. "...Maybe he's ascending? Like, a god looked at Joseph and liked him enough to make him a god too. Except the god was a god of lizards, so Joseph had to become a lizard too...." She shrugged. "...It's a guess." She turned to Joseph. "...Have you been awfully nice to lizards lately, Joseph?"

"I wouldn't rule it out, but if that was the case I believe I would have noticed." She got to her feet and turned to Henry. "Unfortunately, whatever the cause may be...fixing it appears to be out of our domain." She hung her head sadly. "I apologize."

"But I have an idea!" Inanna exclaimed. "What if we helped you find somebody who could help? There has to be more to this land than just this dark forest, right?" A big grin came to her face. "You don't have to wander around lost anymore, we can spread the word about Mother Tiamat, and I can spend more time with the cutie and his adorable lizard friend! It's a win for everybody!"

Eris could only sigh in exasperation.

Edited by Yomegami on Jun 29th 2018 at 12:53:51 PM

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

Town ~ Shopping District ~ Street (Bonnie, Carol, Lily; NCH; Mequoql, Morpho; Matiu)

Bonnie managed to maintain her grip on her staff as she was flung away from the pair. She hit the ground, rebounded, and rolled to her feet, just in time to see Meal vanish in a flash of light. Whipping her head back and forth, she eventually set her sights on the metal man, "Gah! You again! You're not laying a hand~ whatever on them," she pointed her staff at him, while pointing a finger towards the Not Chaos Hunters.

Lily arrived and cut off her flight spell, redirecting winds away from those below and dropped down, her landing progressing to a bouncing crouch to disperse her remaining momentum.

Carol, still holding on to Mequoql by the wrist, was first to offer a suggestion, "I could punch her in the face—"

"NO." Lily gave the quarter-elf a glare, before addressing the rabbit-eared girl, "Bonnie, strand down; I think we came to the wrong conclusion about them. They were after the mind control because he had control of one of their own, not because..." She gave an uncomfortable frown before shaking her head, "Bonnie? What wrong?" she asked, noting the bewildered look on the lagokin's face.

"Please tell me you can see the rainbow haired lady who just appeared out of nowhere," said Bonnie, with a "why do these things keep happening to me" kind of look on her face.

"No, but I'm pretty sure I heard her," stated Carol, glancing around, "Guess she confirmed what you were thinkin', Lils. Next time I see that Maels guy, I'm kickin' his ass."

Bonnie relaxed slightly, though the corner of her mouth twitched, "Oh, okay then…" quietly adding, "he seemed like such a nice person, though..."

Soon, Lily became aware of a shadowy presence nearby. She scowled, and rubbed her forehead, "What is going on around here…" She took a deep, relaxing breath, "Anyway, we need to freed the miss from her affliction; I believe this would be your purview, Bonnie."

The lagokin lowered her ears, "Hrmm... right. Carol, make sure to keep hold of her, and don't punch her," she told the black-and-red eyed girl.

"I'm fairly certain I can fix this relatively quickly with a dual catharsis spell," she told Mequoql as she formed magical circles of interwoven bright green and magenta light above her palms, "you might feel a bit "floaty" and experience a temporary loss of sensation, but don't panic. It's simply a side-effect of the spell," she forewarned as she raised her hands to the Mayatan's temples.

Edited by WillDeRegio on Jun 30th 2018 at 3:20:35 PM

Shopping District Alley

The spell worked a bit like a jump-start cable on a stalled car. Mequoql worked with the spell to shatter the silver out of her other eye — both irises were back to brown. "I vowed!" she declared triumphantly. "I vowed to ask..."

"Mequoql..." Morpho sing-songed, interrupting.

Mequoql giggled giddily and swayed, "Yeah, yeah, safety protocols, I know." She walked over to lean against Morpho, who partially engulfed her. "I could use a hug anyway."

Mequoql tilted her head in confused suspicion, there was... something... lurking... and then, a newly-familiar presence. Mequoql gasped and flinched in Morpho's grip. She slammed her psychic shields up. A coating of white light appeared on the concrete floor and brick walls around the adventurers, obliterating their shadows. "Who goes there?" she called, for the benefit of informing those around her. She herself knew darned well that the demonic entity was back.

Justin's Mindscape

Shale shook her head. "Identity shells do require upkeep precisely because they're the wrong tool for the tactic you speak of. Identity shells are the psychic equivalent of pearls in an oyster, meant to keep what's trying to become part of a mind a manageably separate piece instead. The tool for the tactic you describe reminds me of cancer."

"If by connection, you mean like the one you have with Valerie, I have one reason not to. Contagion." To demonstrate, she started playing Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up".

"Imagine the frustration if Valerie couldn't or didn't filter out more annoying songs before they could jump from her mind to yours. Imagine the damage if a tune that catchy was used as a conduit for mind control."

She reached for the pendant, the mindscape representation of her communications microchip. "This is a different kind of connection to each of my friends' minds, it has equal rights in sharing or shutting off, as well as extra security measures."

The crystal in the pendant pulsed. "Ah, I have just received news that Mequoql freed herself. So much for your wondering if Mael is a god. Now, as much as I would otherwise be interested in continuing a brainstorm on mental security measures and countermeasures, that would be a bunny trail away from my purpose for talking to you in the first place. Vindex has spooked a lot of people, and he is currently spooking Mequoql. Whether the spooking was by accident or on purpose doesn't matter, you and I have the information that will help calm her down."

Shale spoke into the crystal. "Attention, Web of Friendship. Guest Speaker Justin has something important to announce regarding Vindex." She extended the chain and held out the pendant to Justin like a microphone. "The Web is listening. Repeat what you just told me about Vindex."

Hotel Lobby

Arilay looked back and forth between Valerie and Moobly. "Well, as long as we're sharing assumptions, I just assumed Moobly hatched like the dragons I'm familiar with."

Upon listening to Valerie describe the phenomenon of enchanted objects coming to life, Arilay recognized it, but not the names for it. "Oh, I don't have to worry about that happening. There are indeed measures against it." Arilay figured it would take too long to explain the inherent rigidity of the magic of her home universe. The phenomenon described by Valerie could only happen in specifically prepared technology as willed by specific Mayatans with a specific telepathic specialty. Those Mayatans had reassured Arilay that her cybernetic parts were keyed to her soul and her soul alone.

Arilay received Shale's broadcast and relayed it to her radio so that Cynthia and Moobly could listen in.

If not for this anchor I'd be dancing between the stars. At least I can try to write better vampire stories than Twilight.

[Alley]

As if the day couldn't get any worse (and stranger; who on earth was that whispering to them? It was rather creepy), Val's demon appeared again. Adam, once again, felt his anxiety skyrocket, until Nick put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Why are you here?" he asked Vindex rather cautiously, "You already caused enough trouble back at the hotel. What, do you want to fuck with us some more? Posses more people cause someone dared to be nice to you?"

"Actually," Amy said, "It sounds like he was trying to help us! Let's try not to provoke him again..."

Well, Maya signed, Sorry, buddy. You just missed him. No thanks to THIS— she pointed at Bonnie, —dumb ass.

"Maya!"

She is! she glared at her, Ok, did it not strike even a little bit strange that there was a man with silver eyes, dressed in white, and had a gem on his hand? Did you even think that maybe, just maybe something wasn't right? Like at all?

Marie sighed. "There's no point of yelling at her. What's done is done...though we should get out of the city fast. He could be anywhere at this point." She turned to Jackson, "That forest really does sound like a good idea right now."

"Right." He then faced the now-freed Mequqol. "You said you vowed something? What, exactly, did you vow?"

I'm assuming the kids can't see the anime goddess.

Edited by Masterofchaos on Aug 17th 2018 at 3:56:20 PM

Never treat someone like a monster if you don't want to be bit...

The shadowy Vindex expressing simple confusion at the supposed-presence of a 'rainbow haired lady', the demon nonetheless took note of Lily. His gaze examining her, Vindex actually seems surprised by her succeeding in fully freeing Mequoql.

Unsurprisingly, the former doll proceeds to get worked up by his presence.    "Great, free and she's still misunderstands..."    Looking at the conjured lights with little more than bored annoyance, Vindex at first didn't acknowledge the question of who or why he's here-

And then Vindex's 'eyes' widen as he processes who the second person was. Turning around and seeing the Not-Chaos Hunters, the demon seems... More upset, as if uncertain what to actually do.

Looking away from Nick and clenching his fists as the young man accuses him, Vindex just... Hovers in place, listening silently as they speak. Finally, as they reach a conclusion, Vindex doesn't look back as he speaks... 'Calmly' upset.

   "I was dying, because my master was the one upset by your kindness to me. I only get to exist because I'm... Useful, in keeping Mistress Valerie alive. So honestly? He didn't want to save my life, and I couldn't do anything to save myself anyways. My very existence was unraveling right before you, because I dared to accept a hug."   

His hands curling and uncurling, Vindex looks in Meq's direction before continuing.    "Your… 'friend', Wolfe, was very upsetting to Valerie. So when I saw someone suspicious, I decided to follow to make sure nothing was going to happen. Seeing that telepath, I wanted to interfere as proof of Valerie's kindness. Instead, the telepath nearly drove me mad with her poisoned water..."   

'Letting out a breath' on the spiritual plane, Vindex turns his attention to Amy. His expression, becomes 'calmly' resigned- As if fully expecting condemnation. Holding up his hand for a moment and looking at it, Vindex speaks with subdued self-disgust.

   "I just wanted to prove your 'friend' wrong, that Valerie isn't some monster. Me... I'm an abomination, something fundamentally lacking a right to exist. It was wrong for me to want a hug, and for my arrogance that parody got to run loose. I just... Wanted to reassure you, about my Valerie..."   

---

Hotel

Looking between Arilay and Moobly, Valerie settled on the cyborg- And looked both confused and intrigued by her notion of dragons. Though that soon turned into excited curiosity at Arilay's response.

"She knows people skilled at soul magics!? That's so awesome!! I gotta, gotta gotta meet them!" Yet as Valerie nearly began bouncing in her excitement, she suddenly stilled as she 'feels' Justin's mind connect to...

Looking at Arilay with slight suspicion covered by interest, the dark-haired witch asks simply and casually. "Why are you readying to project my Justin's thoughts out loud? He didn't agree to that..."

Edited by Kkutwar on Jun 30th 2018 at 1:03:29 PM

"The Omniverse is the collection of all possibilities, and all possibilities must eventually come to pass."