Fire Nation

The thing continued to slowly pull itself forward as the group talked to each other, paying them no mind.

Luke's Tower - Naga

"Drat. Oh well, Recovery!" Naga pressed her hand on the girl's forehead and cast a simple recovery spell on her. Seeing as she didn't look particularly injured, the spell would just use her own stamina to speed up her recovery process and hopefully wake her up.

"Helloooooo, you're being rescued," she said again, hoping she would wake up.

Bandit Town -> Salty Spitoon - Rosalina

"If you say so," Rosalina said to Earthquake, looking back at the elephant for a moment before gliding away and entering the Salty Spitoon. She floated on over to the bar next to Daisy, giving a one-eyed gaze at the back wall and its assorted refreshments through her bangs.

"I'll have what she's having," she finally settled on. Luma floated on over beside her, and poked her on the shoulder.

"Oh, and the strongest thing you have for Luma," she added.

The flashbang was one thing, and the rocket was another. Mr. Freeze managed to get out a single, solitary "Ice—" before he raised his suit's arm up, reacting instantly as the Vessel brought his unorthodox weapon to bear.

He parried it with ease, naturally, and looked down upon the bug as he said "Now, that wasn't very ice—"

One bang and one boom later, the front of the van was more or less...existent, but not intact. Very open. Mr. Freeze stood there, briefly dazed as he waved about the stump where his mech's limb was.

Now on the defensive briefly, Mr. Freeze tried to raise himself up with full intentions of freezing everyone and letting the ones he needed thaw out later, but no matter how much he strained the activators in his right leg it just wouldn't move. The people in the shell of the van could see it visibly sparking.

This was going to be a problem. Unfortunately, he was going to have to put his plan on ice.

With a roar of disapproval, he raised himself up with his emergency measures. Something like a frosty wind shot out of vents on his backside, and this was somehow an effective enough propulsion system to lift him from the ground.

"I know this frost-bites, but I ahm afraid we can't go ahn like this," he shouted over the roar of his turbines. "Icee you later! You can bet on it!" And then he left.

In the back of the van, the people still inside could hear the sounds of men frantically trying to open the rear door...only for them to stop, as they realized that their boss was leaving. There were some groans of disappointment, and then the crunch of snow as they shuffled off.

Reiko stared up into the sky as Mr. Freeze disappeared into the icy mists, and wondered what the fuck that guy's problem was.

Maybe every villain had a gimmick around here.

Did she have a gimmick?

Hopefully not, that would be lame.

Then, because there was nothing else to do, she walked off into the snow.

HOPEFULLY everyone else followed at some point, because a few freezing minutes later they came upon what must've been a staging area for...something. A few bright orange tents and awnings fluttered in the wind, but aside from that it was completely motionless.

The group would find some things waiting for them. A number of snowmobiles, because of course they'd have them...and the most obnoxiously toyetic automobile to ever exist.◊

It was very large, more like a bus than a van. It didn't have any ice cream near it, but it definitely was unattended for the moment.

Edited by wikkit on Mar 24th 2019 at 5:37:55 AM

Pink Diamond, Salty Spitoon

Once they arrive at the Salty Spitoon, Pink looks over at the smoll floof girl hiding behind her.

"Oh, hello," she said to Shirakami. "I didn't see you there. What's your name?"

She looks over at the bartender, pondering her order.

"Hm... I guess I'll have whatever they're having."

Destoroyah, Outside Police Station

Destoroyah saw another who seemed eager to join Ges' cause, and greeted him with a toothy grin.

"Hey there!" she said energetically. "My name's Destoroyah. Good to see that we're gathering up some more Battle Buddies!"

She thought that was pretty cool name for their group, at least.

Kaiba, Hill of Origin

Kaiba saw a masked man and a white haired woman. He couldn't put his finger on why, but something about her was oddly... not familiar persay, but he had a sense of deja vu. He shrugged this off, figuring it wasn't really worth thinking about too hard.

"Well, that's convenient," he said as he looked at the map as he listened to the Nameless' words. "I don't agree its my 'destiny' to help shape your world, but it sounds like I'll be stuck here for a while. If nothing else, I guess I have to commend you on making an excellent choice."

Then he turned to Kisara.

"I'm Seto Kaiba, President of Kaiba Corp."

Juri, Luke Tower Exploration

Juri watched as the others left to explore the tower and once they were alone, she pulled the Feng Shui Engine out of her eye and looked at it as she covered her left eye socket up. With it removed, the energy she felt from it was gone. Without the Feng Shui Engine, she felt weak and powerless and it was so easy for anyone to remove if she were utterly defeated. Something fell to the ground. It was her Permit of Perpetuity. Juri was absolutely positive she left that thing back at the Adventurer's Guild! In any case, she looked at the Permit with her good right eye as she put the Feng Shui Engine back into her left eye socket. Once the Feng Shui Engine was back in and its power coursed throughout her body again, the Korean martial artist picked the Permit of Perpetuity up, closed her eyes as she thought of exactly what she wanted, and smashed the Permit onto the ground, shattering it to pieces. Juri blinked a couple of times as she looked at the shattered pieces of the Permit of Perpetuity.

"Was that it?" Juri began to say, but felt something happening. Her left eye socket! It was hurting. Burning. Merging with the Feng Shui Engine. Juri breathed quickly as if her heart was pumping. Pumping because of the pain. The pain that was moving inward through her left eye. She had pain in her left eye!

"Oh... Oh my... Oh god... Oh yes!" Juri practically moaned out as she clutched the left side of her head. She had pain in her left eye and it was absolutely amazing! She laughed out maniacally, the pain continue to reverberate through the Feng Shui Engine as it became an organic part of her body. A true left eye full of the Feng Shui Engine's power. Soon enough, the pain in her left eye subsided, the Feng Shui Engine having become a true part of her body. Juri herself looked absolutely spent from the ordeal as if she went down from a high. She waved her hand in front of her left eye. It was essentially the eye she used to had, but she still felt the Feng Shui Engine's power surge throughout her body, just as delightful as ever. Soon enough, Juri followed the others back into Luke's Tower to help raid it.

Maria, Salty Spitoon

"I'll have what they're having," Maria said as she joined Rosalina in eyeing the assorted refreshments at the back of the Salty Spitoon and nodded to Daisy, before turning back towards Earthquake. "And thank you, Earthquake, for being willing to listen."

Catwoman, Warehouse

"Well, I was hoping that you would get the other Outsiders in this city to help you," Catwoman replied to Sonia's objections to the actions that Catwoman was trying to get the Outsiders to do. "These people might be sitting ducks if it was just you, but there are a lot more Outsiders here than just you."

"Just think about it, alright," Catwoman told Sonia, accepting that she would have to leave this place to do anything to help.

Edited by GameGuruGG on Mar 24th 2019 at 7:32:12 AM

Nightingale - Hospital -> Shrine Gate

"Mhmm." Shaking hands with her recent visitor and collaborator before he made his leave, the nurse made ready to embark upon her destination while momentarily leaving the operations of her hospital to her assistant, Ms. Sylvie.

Gathering surplus medical supplies and then some before going off, Char's group near the gate would find a determined woman in red military uniform◊ approaching the portal from which images of the graveyard can be seen. Should she not be stopped, she would pass through the gate towards the Gotham Graveyard without so much as a glance towards the Red Mecha's entourage, her thoughts single-mindedly focused only on fulfilling her duty to care for the wounded on the other side.

The Joker - Amusement Mile

With Starscream(and an invisible mech) following the helicopter, they will find themselves at the north side of Gotham City, the area being affectionately known as Amusement Mile. True to its name, this area once houses many local attractions such as the Gotham Fairgrounds, from which its roller coaster ride could still be seen from afar, and Haley's circus, all for the amusement of the city's populace. For one reason or another however, said attractions have long since been discontinued and is now home only to the Joker and the rest of his colorful gang.

The deeper they went within the Jester's territory, the more of his goons they would be able to see.◊ Some of which carries either small-arms, melee weapons or heavily armed with Blackgate riot shields and armor, with even some snipers located at certain vantage points. If they were to look really closely, they could spot one or two Titans wandering about as well, with clown make-up and wearing ripped versions of the Joker's suit.

"Annnnnnd we're home!"

Eventually, the helicopter landed down on the open ground at the right side of the Funhouse main gate,◊, with the Joker taking deep breaths upon touching down upon the ground. "Ahhh, can you smell it? The sweet smell of artificial chemicals and fresh gore wafting in the air. Does tingle one's noses, don't you think? Anywho,"

Turning around, the jester gave the Decepticon a mock salute. "I'm the Joker, in the flesh! Want a card?" Offering the machine his trademark Joker card with a flick of his hand seemingly out of nowhere, he continued. "So I take it that you aren't friends with this 'Phantom' whatever his name is. See, that's one thing we have in common already! He hates yours guts. He hates all of the villains' guts, including my own. And we all just wants to do our own little thing in this city, and that's great! There's absolutely nothing wrong with that! Only..."

It was at that moment that the entirety of the Joker's goons' eyes trained upon the Decepticon, with the ones outside of the Decepticon's line of sight starting to bring in heavy weapons and vehicles from behind the scene around the general vicinity. Just in case.

"Are you a friend? Foe? Someone who just wants to see the whole world burn? Etcetera?"

Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Mar 25th 2019 at 12:31:51 AM

Kisara - Hill

This Priest Seto look-a-like, now known as Seto Kaiba, is a leader of a kingdom known as Kaiba Corp. I didn't know what the term “President” meant at all, but it sounds rather majestic to me. How did Seto earn this title in the place? Did he get it from his father?

“I never heard Kaiba Corp,” I note. “Where is it located, your majesty?”

Entry 003 - Part 27 (Lune - Berry Farm)

Sometime later, I arrived back in the Adventurer's Guild with a pair of blueprints I stole from Luke's Tower. Then again, Luke can't protest since he's dead.

These new weapons are gonna be so awesome when we finally get them built! I ordered Gunther and Convoy to head back to the shop and start working on their new weapons. With the help of the Earthbenders and Metalbenders at my shop, this should be a breeze. And seeing they did a good job during our conflict against Luke and his ghoul minions, they deserve to use those new weapons.

For now, I wandered the city of Akihabara until I encountered the berry farm. When did this show up here? Was this a new addition to the city while I was away at Camoa kicking zombie butt?

In any case, I waved at the anthropomorphic goat lady^note Toriel and the blonde lady^note Cynthia whom I've never seen before.

“Hey... how's it going?”

Betty/Vera - Fire Nation Outpost

Seeing as she has nothing better to do, the Viera continued following the techno-zombie.

Edited by josh6243 on Mar 25th 2019 at 12:33:28 PM

Former Falcone Goons - Koopa Kasino

Fortunately for the tied-up ex-mafia employees, Cag's familiars had already been put to work to protect them despite the alchemist's seemingly threatening words. Already, most of them are hunkering down under the serpent-barrier, with some breaking free of their bonds

The nicer, more familiar mook from earlier meanwhile stared wide-eyed as his two previous charges started summoning gigantic snakes and throwing around fuck-huge lasers like nobody's business. It was very obvious that he has a lot of questions in his mind just waiting to be asked, one of them being 'what in the flying fuck are you two?!?' but for now, the man's just thankful for the added defense between them and the battle going on and decided to lay his head low until the coast is clear.

Some of the security goons that cut off their binding realized there were guns scattered around the place from their previous dead/unconscious coworkers and debated if they could grab and make a run for it before perishing the thought. If all these people couldn't do shit against these crazy power-wielding Outsiders, what hope would they have? And they weren't exactly in a hurry for their savior to put down her barrier in case if she decided that they're going to be trouble and not worth saving.

All in all, they're just heavily hunkering down in the hopes that whatever civil war the local Outsiders were having are settled down and hopefully not kill them next.

Joker Goons - Luigi's Pizza

As if the core of D.I.C.E being in the Pizzeria is fun enough, there's another entirely new group entering the fast food restaurant too.

Through the front door, a six-goon Joker squad entered through the establishment acting as if they owned the place. One is a twitchy shirtless dual-knife-wielding maniac, two in orange prison fatigues each carrying a lead pipe and a bat with nails at the tail end of it respectively, two more carrying Uzis and one who's wearing full-body armor with a shotgun and seemed to be the leader of this bunch of misfits. All of them wore variations of clown make-up and masks save for the leader, who wore a security helmet with a clown face painted on top of it.

"-and then, get this, this giddy-looking masked chick walk up to him and suddenly, 'BOOM'! Man, you should've seen the look on Two-Face!"

"Heh, that must've been a hoot to watch. Now if only somebody actually woke me up when the boss makes his broadcasts."

"Oi now, not our fault you've slept through all that squealing. 'Sides, whoever heard of torturers sleeping on their job anyway?"

"Ehh, been kinda boring murderin' and torturin' folks with the Batman gone. I mean, I certainly have all the time in the world to be creative with 'em. But it really takes out of the thrill when you're no longer paranoid and have nobody to watch out for behind your back, ya know? Well, 'sides from the boss just being the boss, but that's more of a occupational hazard that you kinda got used to."

Walking past the D.I.C.E. members, the group got themselves a seat at the corner.

"Yo, waitress! Two extra large with extra cheese and uh..."

"Pepperoni and meatballs!"

"Yeah, what he says. Also, careful with Mr. Twitch over here! Or don't. Don't say we didn't warn ya!"

Even as the goons chatted among themselves, one of them got a long curious look at the masked Junko, as though recognizing her from somewhere.

Scrooge - Exploration Time

Scrooge shrugged off Yue's apology. "I had worse ride, lass. Pay it no mind." Lady's inquiry about Scrooge's younger body brought a smile to the duck's face, and so he gladly answered her while he rushed toward the tower. "I used my Permit to wish for water from the fountain of youth. So I'm now as hale and hearty as I was in my thirties!"

Inside the tower itself, Scrooge examined the assembly line with great interest while picking up as many glowing ore nearby as he could. If it could be repurposed to product others, more mundane items, it would surely prove a boon.

After which, he would go up right to the archive and began skimming trough the book himself. Unlike the other's search for occult lore, his concern were a tad more materialistic. He searched for any mention of ancient places or fabulous treasures. Even if there were little written, any little clue could be the start of a fruitful adventure.

Ah, the man inside the helicopter was receptive to Starscream's plea. Perfect. The question about his ability to fly brought a smug smile to the bat-winged robot's face. "Of course. I can fly better than all of your contraptions put together." And so the cybertronian transformed into his byplane form to follow the flying vehicles to their lair.

Once there, the Decepticon changed back to land and followed the human on foot. Joker who made that threatening statement about outsiders earlier. Starscream picked up the tiny card with two of his finger before taking a unimpressed look at it. The various goons trying to appear threatening earned themselves nothing but a disdainful glare from the technogically advanced extraterrestial titan. Even now, humanity amazed him by how pathetic they were. But he needed an ally. And if it needed debasing himself and pretend to see an earthling as an equal, then he would do it. And so the Transformers began loudly and proudly presenting himself. "I am Starscream, future ruler of the Decepticon Empire. And I would very much like to see to see this 'Phantom' scrapped, so you don't need to worry about that." He began to walk in a short circle around the room, as villains like to do. "I want many things: universal domination and the destruction of everyone that ever disrespected me, amongst others. But for now..." He stopped right before the Joker and raised his right fist before his face for emphasis. "I would be satisfied with watching this city burn under my feet. And I think you want the same thing, don't you?" Once again, he smiled wickedly, expecting the clownish criminal to join him.

Edited by Alecoene on Mar 25th 2019 at 10:43:25 AM

"Bring out the good stuff. Fitting for these fine ladies." Looming over the poor bartender even when he was sitting down on three whole stools, Earthquake then turned his attention back on over to Nintendo and Co. with a big grin as the man took great care to use glass that wasn't dirty and mixed up some actually rather nice looking Peach Bellinis were served up. A warning growl from Earthquake later ensured that every one of the drinks had little tiny paper umbrellas added along with curly straws as well.

"Anyways, miladies... You must have gone through hell and high water to actually have the machines listened to you. And also enter the source of them all." Tapping the counter with a beefy finger, the meaty man sighed before giving a look back at them. "The problem is, you're basically walking around with a giant 'mug me' sign over your heads in doing so. Bandit Town lives up to its name, being a giant hideaway for those that want freedom."
"Naturally you got all these hotheaded idiots playing king of shit mountain and barely anyone plans in the long run. Most of the people here don't deserve kindness. We're scum plain and simple. I wouldn't care at all if you were men but since you aren't, well I'll give you some freebies. The big kahunas round these parts will simply try to force you to cough up the tech and then make people pay an arm and a leg for clean water and air."

Pausing for a bit, the man grunted before taking another swig from his ceramic bottle, enjoying the best day of his life bar none. "If you want to make a difference like the softies you are though, then there are orphans and other unlucky bastards who got caught up in the whole thing living in the slums that you can help. They have sticky fingers but at least they aren't bandits. If you want to help anyone, go for the scavengers. And try to not be as overt if you do so... the bigwigs don't like anything that can threaten their hold over these yahoos. With that elephant you got though, I wouldn't be surprised if you're already being monitored."

Sighing as he lamented his own being a huge sucker for the ladies, Earthquake picked up a whetstone he kept around before grinding the oversized kusarigama he had on hand idly. "In any case, even though I can scare a bunch of the riffraff, I'm not exactly one of the head honchos in this place if you get what I mean. The sooner you do your thing and get the hell out of dodge, the easier it'll be for you all. The intimidation factor I've got going on isn't gonna last all that long once the big cheeses thinks you're worth the time and trouble to personally... visit you."

The instant Wulfrik broke his Permit of Perpetuity, he'd end up holding a rather strange looking spear in his hand where the tablet used to be. Said spear would seem to be a hodgepodge but overall solid piece of equipment, with the knowledge on how to use such a utensil burned into the Chaos warrior's mind, showing him images of plunging the spearhead into the machines and Overriding their set programmings to make them his thralls. That said, the prequisite was he had to physically jam the weapon into their heads but for a man like Wulfrik he'd probably enjoy that part of the whole requirement process.

"SASAFRAS!" Coming back out of her stupor after being healed with wild eyes, the homunculus looked around before homing in on the scantily clad lady with a confused expression on her face. "What happened? Becky just let some people through to meet the Old Man Luke before the tower went swoosh and then bang..." Scrunching her eyes closed, the girl wondered why her head was throbbing and who Naga was. "Who are you?"

Mokou would find herself in a hot and humid environment typical of greenhouses or the primeval jungles of prehistoric times, a wholly different sort of heat than the one that she was used to as the heated moisture settled on over her like a disgustingly moist blanket. A wall clinging bundle of fleshy tendrils whose tentacles tapered off into needle thin tips meanwhile would drop on above her head, the ambush predator sensing prey underneath itself as it attempted to eat the newcomer situated beneath its ambush site. Law of the jungle was the order of the day in these parts it seemed.

Scrooge's findings about treasure wouldn't reveal much other than the fact that there were some beasts that had a golden hue should sufficient effort be put into either tracking them down or breeding them proper. Of significant note was the fact that Gold Chocobos were a thing, with notes on how to manipulate genetics to create such wonder birds that were capable of traversing almost all terrains without trouble (and could even run across the surface of water eve). Apparently Luke looted this observation journal off of a dead adventurer who was dedicated to creating the ultimate birbs that could feasibly reach out of the way places that in turn could be sites that held potential hidden treasure.

"Mostly just talking about battles and farming. Hi, I'm Cynthia." Responding kindly to the newcomer, the fancily dressed Champion inwardly fretted that she was going to scare away Toriel with the whole Pokemon Battle thing. Maybe she should have used footage that didn't feature Green/Blue/Gary Oak. He was a bit of an acquired taste after all.

"I'm Junya Inose, of the Jigen-Haoh Ryu School." Straightening up his back and saying that introduction in a regular volume but overall firm tone to denote how much pride he had in being a student of the Dimensional Overlord Style, an overall fighting spirit burned from the seemingly laidback boy that would probably give Gespenst the impression that he was like those super robot pilots that he knew of back in the day. "This fist of mine fights for justice so you have me on board." Now if only he could stop being such a cringy chuuni.

"She's never said her name to me so I just call her pronouns and such. That's something she needs to decide on for herself." Folding her arms and replying back with casual playfulness to the darkness manipulating man with a quirked eyebrow, the alchemist's eyes flickered on over to where Void Termina was about to do something she's gotten rather familiar with over the course of spending time together before turning her attention back to Scratch. "That said, Sunshine would be better suited towards her than me if you know what I mean." And then Void Termina shooped the whoop.

"That man's theme was rather in poor taste. You can't just force it with horrible puns, you have to let it naturally seep through until it becomes an extension of yourself." Grunting as he came on back from where he was standing while lugging a spent rocket launcher and a low energy state robot woman wearing a questionable outfit, Gramps simply took out a set of specialized lockpicks before unlocking the garish vehicle for the others and took control of the driver's seat. "This is as unsubtle as it gets but at the least it has sufficient armoring." And then the old man would drive people wherever they wanted go.

Edited by Makaioh on Mar 25th 2019 at 11:29:51 AM

As everyone busied themselves looking around and looting, Lady pocketed her loot and turned to the room at large.

"Has anyone found any mention of this vampire cure they said was here yet?"

Luke's Tower - Elevator Floor - Naga

"Who am I? Why, I'm Naga the Serpent, of course!" Naga excitedly exclaimed to the awoken girl. "And I just so happened to save your life."

She stood up and shook her head.

"Of course, I don't need any thanks for saving your life. No small token of your appreciation, and no reward to express your gratitude. I simply saved you out of the goodness of my heart, and I definitely wouldn't require any sort of compensation for doing so. Of course, I can't turn down such an offer so I would have to accept whatever you want to give me as a way of showing just how grateful and appreciative you are - but only because you insist. Whatever it is, be it coins or jewels or relics or food or drink would surely be more than enough and again, I don't need you to give me anything unless you just happened to feel the need to make it up to me - after all, it's not every day that a world-class sorceress such as myself takes time out of her very busy schedule to save the life of a girl she hardly knows."

Salty Spitoon - Rosalina

"Thank you," Rosalina said when her drink was served. She sat down - or rather, she continued to float, but in a position that looked like she was on an invisible bar stool - then took a sip of her drink. Luma, meanwhile, double-fisted its drink and chugged it down in a heartbeat, setting the empty container down on the countertop once more and giving the barkeep a hard stare.

"Your warning is appreciated, but we happen to know how to handle ourselves. I don't think that's much of a concern." Rosalina said to Earthquake. "What does concern me, though, is just how negatively you view life in this entire town."

She set her drink down on the counter.

"So, tell us their names. Who are the Big Kahunas that you think would try and sell out their fellow man for the sake of profit? The ones who would monopolize a source of clean water, watching the orphan and sick dying in the streets so long as it meant lining their pockets. I think we could pay them a visit and explain the situation to them."

"Medusa, dear, you'd surely enjoy having a chance to discuss things with those gentlemen and ladies, wouldn't you?" she called over to Medusa.

Coldfront - M16A1

"I don't give a shit at this point," M16 grumbled as she approached the vehicle. "This whole goddamned place is just filled with idiots. And what was with those puns?"

Junko - Luigi’s Pizza

As the eight thugs that came on the truck went about do to what Junko told them to and Junko began making pizza, she saw a bunch of people in clown masks enter through the restaurant.

“Sure, what kind do you guys want?”

Several more people entered after them, but though they were also clown themed, they looked a lot better armed. From the sounds of what they were saying, the second group seemed like they were probably part of Joker’s gang. That left the question of who the other guys were.

“Coming right up!” Junko said after hearing the Joker squad’s order.

But before Junko began to make her way to the back area to begin her work, she turned to speak to Kokichi and his goons.

“By the way, if any of you guys need work, we could probably use a little extra help. Everyone else ran off after seeing the big battle on the TV, so it’s just me and my own personal group of friends.”

Siluca - Luke’s Tower

The pages surrounding the Behemoth seemed very interesting, and perhaps had the potential to bring some of her citizens to the level of Guardians. While the crew gathered with them might have had the potential to hunt this beast down, it would be very difficult to carry it back without organizing wagons beforehand.

The mage decided to keep the bestiary to herself for further examination. Leading an expedition to hunt this beast would greatly improve the prestige and morale of those in her district, and combined with the favor Juri promised, an event like this could place Siluca and her followers into a prime position to lead and unite the other factions while also potentially gaining favor with the people of Camoa.

As Siluca was considering whether to look at more texts or explore the rest of the tower, she heard Lady ask about the vampire cure.

“I found this log which seems to be Luke’s notes on the vampire transformations. Sadly, it doesn’t say if there is any way to save the majority that are in the ‘Ghoul’ state, though for those like the vampires we met back in the forest, it says that having them ingest the blood of someone rich in energy and magic will let them evolve to a state where they can keep their vampire instincts in check.”

She held out the log in case Lady or anyone else in the area wanted to have a look at it.

Nacht and Abend - Gotham portal -> Akihabara

As Kokichi and his buddies went over to Gotham, two mechs went zooming by them and back through the portal they had just come through. On the other side they ended up in a somewhat bewildered staring contest with Char who wasn't sure what to make of them. Before Char could tell them to 'stop' though, the two practically bolted and took off into Akihabara with their boosters roaring, leaving the Char stunned and in the dust.

Gespenst - Police Station

Ges laughed happily, the fact Junya was fired up only fed into Gespenst's own desire to start fighting. Though he hoped that the errand he had sent Nacht and Abend on wouldn't be too difficult for the two.

"Good Junya, glad to have you with us. We're gonna smash the evil in this city. I doubt we'll eliminate all of it but I'm never going to let a place exist where evil holds all the power."

Koopa Kasino, Ground Floor: If Only Alderaan Could Dodge Death Lasers Too (Woo! 2 Star Wars Subtitles in a Row!)

Mr. Scratch's smile dripped a little lower with the news: so The Madame kept her identity close to her chest, huh? Well, at least he could relate. Not that the secrecy deterred him in the slightest.

"You don't like the nickname?" he shrugged to the alchemist. "I'm up for suggestions!"

Well, probably not right now. Right now, Magenta was glowing bright in places that (if superheroes had any say around here) meant something especially bad for him.

"Shit."

The beam of light/plasma/magic/whatever had a simple straight line to Mr. Scratch. An easy kill, if he decided to be an idiot and stand still during the charge up. Unfortunately for Void Termina's nerves—and perhaps the health of Cagliostro's giant snake, which was coiled a fair sixty feet directly behind Mr. Scratch—Wake's evil twin flew out of the way in a cloud of inky smoke.

Should Void Termina try to trail the apparition around the area, she'd risk causing more damage (and injuring Giga Bowsette's legs) in the process. For its part, the smoke could swiftly and easily maneuver around any obstacles on its way back to safe ground; while it definitely didn't seem so at a glance, Mr. Scratch could at least see where he was going in that form.

Reforming into his handsome self about 160 degrees behind Void Termina's left shoulder, Mr. Scratch motioned towards Cagliostro:

"Mind getting those people out of the picture? I'm not taking the blame for their corpses."

On any other day, he'd think murdering all those hostages one by one would be like a trip to fucking Disneyland. But there were consequences here—the kind that could hurt him, maybe even kill him, which meant he couldn't give into his every little impulse. Truth be told, he hadn't the slightest clue what this sunny kid could do, but quietly hoped she'd be preoccupied with the nobodies; least long enough for him to manage her weird-ass pal here.

Speaking of Laser Girl, Mr. Scratch turned to Void Termina with a condescending, disapproving, shake of his head.

"And some folks call me unstable. That's two yellow cards, kid: you're out. One last warning before I start fighting back!"

Despite Void Termina's misconception, her ax wasn't frozen in time. The Dark Presence had no more control of time than almost anyone else in its universe and those who could control time were from an entirely different video game!. What Mr. Scratch had done was manipulate the Darkness at his command to possess the ax itself, as a form of poltergeist. If Void Termina could simply will the weapon out of existence...well, then that was one weapon out of Scratch's command.

Though it was far from the only one in his arsenal.

Lady leaned in, looking at the offered text from Silica.

"Hmmmmm.....that's a shame. I sadly don't know any powerful mages, at least not any who I would assume are just willing to donate blood for people they've never met. Maybe we can have a chat with the people at Camoa. If they're made aware of what's going on and there's a peaceful solution to the problem that won't put anyone at risk, maybe they'd be willing to help. They may have their own mages who can contribute. We'd need multiple people anyway, no one person would be able to donate enough blood to cure every one of them."

Edited by Meanken on Mar 25th 2019 at 1:54:47 AM

Toriel (Berry & Bean Farm) - That Fighting Spirit

While still a little embarrassed over her faux pas, Toriel felt grateful that Cynthia saw it as a positive thing...though when Cynthia brought up keeping her skills sharp, Toriel could not help but gain a more vested interest. It wasn't that she particularly liked fighting, but she could not deny that there was an allure to the workout that a fight entailed. All in the name of peace, of course.

When a strange machine emerged from Cynthia's person and brought to life video footage, Toriel felt a brief pang in her heart; Gorey would have loved to see something like this, he'd have been bombarding Cynthia with questions by now. And the kids, they'd have been clamoring to see what else was on it...but soon she saw just what was on display, and Toriel's eyebrows lifted. She didn't much care for the challenger's attitude, as it reminded her far too much of Undyne for her liking, but it was clear he and they possessed a great deal of skill, as did his opponents. Attacks like these felt...well, familiar wasn't the right word, but not dissimilar to how the great war was fought all those years ago. Little good it did them in the end, true, but it was clear that wherever Cynthia was from, it was a land who's inhabitants were quite capable of defending themselves.

Toriel's musings on the footage she saw abruptly ended, however, when Cynthia said that she'd be relying on her for healing, at which point she raised a hand. "I'm flattered you trust me so readily, I truly am, but please understand, I would only have general knowledge of healing, it is not my specialty. If you needed something more advanced, you would need to come to the hospital and have their staff help. And in regards to a venue...there may be something like that, but where it would be, I honestly do not know." The thought of a fighting venue, and seeing how fired up Cynthia's friends looked, brought Toriel's mind back to the footage, and a problem with it nagged at her before she spoke up. "I...do not mean to be rude, but aside from the rather large muscled one, it looks like your...Pokemon would be the ones doing the fighting. Are you...that is to say, would you be able to defend yourself if need be?"

It was at this point that Lune emerged, and Toriel looked upon her, before smiling politely at her and nodding in greeting.

Sonia (Warehouse -> Gotham) - Once More Unto The Breach

Taking in the woman's words, and realizing that for all her drive to protect, trying to take it all upon herself would be foolhardy, Sonia finally nodded. "I see. If I find any more Outsiders, I will ask for their aid and lead them here. In the meantime, I have work to do." Taking in a calming breath, Sonia gave Catwoman a bow. "Thank you for your hospitality, brief as it was. May God keep you and yours safe in these trying times." With that, Sonia departed the warehouse, stepping carefully outside.

From where she was, Sonia could only see more buildings like the one she had emerged from, and as she walked, she saw no other signs of life...that is, until she heard voices. Propping herself up against a wall, Sonia peered around a corner to see two vagabonds huddled around a fire, chatting about all manner of things, until one pertinent piece of information caught Sonia's attention. There was a battle she had missed? And more importantly, there was someone who had all but declared war on the miscreants of this city? This warranted further investigation. And there was still the matter of the bounty she had initially come here for. Hoping to make some headway into either mission, Sonia resumed her trek into the streets, coming back into the city proper and keeping vigilant for anything that might come her way, a lone lamp in the darkness that was Gotham City.

Shirakami - Salty Spitoon

Shirakami followed them into the Salty Spitoon, sticking close, but once they were inside she.... kind of relaxed a bit. Something that may seem odd to those around her, but the bar itself doesn't seem to bother her as much.

The fox thought for a bit when she was offered a drink, "Do... you have sake?", she asked not really expecting a yes, but hoping they did.

"Kaigun-Daii Shirakami Fubuki", she then replied to Pink Diamond when her name was asked, "May I ask the same?"

She then began to listen to Eartquake, a bit enthralled listening to what the ladies she was with had apperntly done, they visited the factory of the machines, and got them to listen to them.... she wished she had been able to do that herself, but what was in the past was in the past... and the past currently had rendered her one tank poorer... the thought of which caused her to fold her ears down.

"I don't really have any thing to mug", the fox replied to earthquake, neglecting to mention that even the current clothes she was wearing she had just stolen off of some one else.

When Rosalina mentioned knowing how to handle themselfs, she figured she would empisize the point and maybe re-assure there friendly behemoth a bit by lifting from her purse just enough of her gun so that the back of the reciver was visible, before sliding it back down.

Cold Front

Amagi followed after the rest of the group, happy that Mr. Freeze left, but slightly confused as to why he left so soon... Well a fight that you don't have to fight is a fight you always win, so she was going to take it.

following Reiko though soon lead them to the strangest vehicle she had ever seen.... "Is.... is that a teletank that you can drive?", she mused aloud as there friendly ninja went to work on the doors, and eventually got them in.

Overhead though, a black and blue plane flies, catching Amagi's eye who is quick to dispatch one of her own aircraft to meet it in the sky.... and after a bit of the sky hornets dancing around and trying to get an angle on each other she holds a hand up.

"Hold up a few minutes", She requests of the others, whom for there patience would be rewarded with a white silloute walking it's way through the snow, that Amagi bounds over too and hugs.

The other fox looks very, very flustered by the huh but just kind of accepts it looking at the ground.

"I got mayday that we had lost one of our aircraft", the white fox can be overheard saying from this unusal state of disarment for her.

"It has been taken care of by your big sister", Amagi replies before coughing up a bit more oil... A fact that causes the white one no small amount of worry if the arguing that follows is any indication.

The arguing goes on for a few minutes before Amagi slaps Kaga upside the face and they both walk back over to the group.

"We have decided to trade places", Amagi said with a sigh, "I am of more value overseeing the empires budding projects, even if I would enjoy the feeling of battle more...."

"And I am more fit for combat, even if there is things I need to get done, I trust my sister to do them", Kaga replied wasting no time boarding the van.... if any thing she looked relived that she would no longer be the one doing paper work. "Hand our POW over to my sister, she will take her with her to the fire nation, and outside of the prying eyes of Akihabara... then let's go."

Edited by Imca on Mar 25th 2019 at 4:10:24 AM

Luke's Tower - Archives (Lost Vessel, Others) ~ Wrapping It Up

As the others spoke and rummaged through the archives themselves, the Lost Vessel continued its own investigations. Alas, so far it seemed only the tome it already possessed had said anything about the Black Nightmare. Once again, it mostly just found more scientific babble. Either that truly was it, or one of the others managed to find it before it did.

There was one last thing it found, however, and that was the almost-hidden scroll detailing the properties of "Terranite." It pulled it out and began to read it, once again noting some similarities between the effects this substance had and the behavior of the husks. Granted, it still failed to answer the question about how Luke used the Black Nightmare to control the husk, but it felt like it was getting closer.

More interestingly, this Terranite substance appeared to have extra value as a weapon, particularly how it made wounds slower to heal. It sounded like a nice upgrade to give its nail, should it had found some of this substance to integrate into it. Unfortunately, it lacked the skills to make use of this knowledge itself, but perhaps it could find someone back in Akihabara who could make sense of this.

That thought in mind, the Lost Vessel took the scroll for itself while also grabbing a convenient bag nearby to hold both the scroll and the book on the Black Nightmare for future study.

It was right about this time that Siluca found what their quest givers needed. Apparently, they needed the blood of something rich in "energy and magic" to make their condition more bearable, if not completely cured. Alas the Lost Vessel was not that being; whatever leaked out of its wounds, it certainly wasn't blood. A part of it wondered if Luke would have sufficed, but with him being dead and likely with no trace of him left behind it was only a thought experiment.

With no other ideas, it opted to head out of the Archives and investigate the rest of the tower for another potential source of the Black Nightmare or perhaps some Terranite.

Shigure, Mysterious Black Man, Pink Van Party

Astolfo, ever unpredictable, decided to simply stop the van nearby and chat the hooded man in white up. Apparently, oh so conveniently, he was observing Nightmare for quite some time and now believed that their little party was capable of beating the Azure Knight. Shigure was willing to believe their own hype, as long as Astolfo was planning to actually join them rather than watch from the sidelines.

To the man's credit, he could tell that Morgrim and Rider were spiritual beings, as well as Velvet being a daemon. "Yeah, sure, what the hell." Shigure said, leaning out the window with a curious look. "We're probably gonna need a moment to lick our wounds - metaphorically speaking" Or maybe not; Tira was pretty roughed up. "but advice's welcome."

The fridge attack did little to stop the man in a suit, but it provided enough of a distraction for the old man to disable the enemy. After a batch of what the Vessel understood were "puns", Mr. Freeze retreated and left them to their own devices. As they vacated the now ruined ice-cream van, the bugbeast grabbed a couple of icecream still lying around. O'Connell had both the cannon and Architect - after stuffing some of the cones into the pockets of its clock, it gestured towards the old man, as if asking if it can relieve him of some of the burden.

Once they got in - the Vessel had to bend its head a bit - it was yet another vehicle to drive. Being secure now, it offered both Reiko and M16 a cone each, hoping that perhaps that can do to lift their spirits a bit.

Aaron Cash — Police Station

Sergeant Cash walked over to one of the thugs who had died in the battle, and crouched down to take a look at the man's face.

"Yeah, I know this guy. Guess your dumb luck finally ran out, Charlie."

Cash got back up and looked over to Gespenst and the other do-gooders who had assembled by the police station. "I think these are all Two-Face's guys. Two-Face used to be the District Attorney here in Gotham, but back then, we all knew him as Harvey Dent. We all thought Gotham would go back to being a regular old city when Dent was in charge, because he was throwing the book at guys we never thought would see prison."

Cash shook his head. "Well, one day a mobster caught a lucky break and tried to assassinate Dent with some corrosive chemicals. Dent survived, but it broke something in him. He started calling himself Two-Face, and he basically declared war on Gotham, starting with the criminal underworld. He doesn't have any powers, but his luck's never run out. Right now, I'd argue he's one of the biggest crime bosses in town."

Cash looked across the empty battlefield, looking at the trashed vehicles and the weapons that were carried by Two-Face's men.

"Two-Face usually isn't this brazen. He knows all about how the cops and the crooks operate in the city, so when he commits an attack, he usually plays it smart. But these guys are packing military grade gear. I got no clue where he'd even get this stuff."

Cash folded his arms. "The only place I know where Two-Face would be at is in the old Solomon Wayne courthouse. He's pretty sentimental about that old building, and I think he uses it as a hideout from time to time."

Yue - Luke's archive

Yue had, naturally, made a beeline for the for the archives. After pausing to explain a few concepts to the Lost Vessel - he'd looked visibly confused, pouring over the scrolls he'd found - she'd turned her attention to the shelves. For her part, she was looking for spell-books and alchemy texts, becoming increasingly absorbed as she searched, slowly floating down rows of shelves on her staff to get at the higher-placed tomes.

Hydaelyn - Luke's Tower

"That so?" Hydaelyn directed her qustion towards Siluca as she walked up to Siluca, several books in hand. The form shifting feline had spent what little time they were in here gathering any books or information about the tower, especially noting that its "wounds" were closing. But what Siluca said about the vampires both intrigued her and also brought up some very unpleasant memories. Still it sounded like something she was intimately familiar with.

"How many vampires do you think their are? I wouldn't mind volunteering to help the two hanging out in the forest but like said. I don't have an infinite supply of blood, and I get the feeling they might need more than your average apprentice mage." she offered taking a look at both Siluca and Lady.

Yue - Tower

Overhearing Siluca and Hydaelyn, Yue marked her place in the tome she was browsing with one finger and drifted down closer to the pair, sitting sidesaddle and cross-legged like she was sitting on a reading chair and not a staff.

"Perhaps I can help there. First, I'm willing to donate a little blood myself if I have to. Second, I'm something of an alchemist, and I know how to pack a lot of magical energy into one person." She waved her free hand over her own frame to demonstrate. "With a little time, I might be able to brew up something that would turn anyone into a suitable donor."

Turning to glance up at the shelves around them, she added, "With all the information in here, who knows, maybe we could even make some sort of substitute and cut out the bloodletting altogether."

Edited by LittleMako on Mar 25th 2019 at 6:21:13 AM

Lady crossed her arms, frowning. This wasen't her field, not in the slightest, so she was prepared to let the experts handle it. Then she looked at the still closing wall of the tower, and suddenly thought of something.

"The notes, they diden't say it had to be human blood, did it?" She asked, looking up at the magic users. "What about that reserve type place we passed on the way here? He had a lot of random animals there, and given what he got up to, I doubt all of them are....unaltered, shall we say? If we can find a suitable candidate among them, couldn't we use their blood? And if we can find a large one, we'll get far more blood out of it then a human, and it'll be a lot quicker then making a substitute."

The man shook his head as he was questioned about riddles.

"Once, perhaps, I might have indulged in such whims. But I do not have much time here. Pay attention, because I will not repeat myself."

He closed his eyes. "The first, and most important thing you must know, is that the man is not the true threat. He is but a vessel, a shell. To kill him alone is only to postpone the inevitable. The true threat is the sword he wields. Throughout history, it has gone by many names, but its true name is Soul Edge. Once, legend has it, it was a normal weapon, no different from any other. But it was forged in an age of great war, lost to history, and throughout the ages, the countless lives it took caused a change in the blade. It gained awareness, and as it slew more and more lives, it began to consume their very souls for power."

He opened his eyes again. "The legend of the cursed sword grew, and men began to seek it out, looking to claim its power and use it for their own ends. But without fail, those who managed to claim it fell under its influence. It would speak into their minds, promise them power, fame, glory, all that which man seeks. But their minds, bodies, and eventually, their very souls were consumed by the blade."

Velvet scoffed. "Killed by your own sword? Maybe if you're a weakling."

He shook his head. "Yes. As are most humans. Only one man is known to have wielded the sword and not fallen to its power. And you are not his equal." This earned him a death glare, which went ignored. "It is important you understand this, for if you are to face the Azure Knight, you too will face this temptation. All men have desires. It knows this, and it will attempt to prey on them. It is no fool, it has survived millennia of conflict, not just through brute force, but through cunning, through planning. If it senses its existence is in danger, it will act to preserve itself. It will attempt to convince another to take it up, it will attempt to flee, it will use its servants, of which it has many, to weaken you. As a last resort, it will attempt to split itself. The blade is fluid in shape, altering itself to fit the form of its wielder's preferred style. And so long as a single shard of it remains, there remains the possibility that one day, it will recover, and rise again."

He paused, giving the chance for questions to be asked.

Edited by Meanken on Mar 25th 2019 at 6:56:10 AM

Siluca - Luke’s Tower Archives

“I believe we would need to continue searching around this tower and ask the two we met in the forest to get a rough estimate,” Siluca added. “I am also willing to provide some of my own blood to ensure these vampires can ascend to the next stage, though concentrating our magical energies might be a worthwhile solution.”

Though she hadn’t initially thought of it when she went through the notes, if what Lady said was correct, the Behemoth she read about would seem like a viable candidate for such a thing. Still, while Siluca didn’t have much reason to distrust those present, she did not want her findings on the beast to leak out just so Naga or someone else would steal her chance to showcase the organization and might of her district.

“That does seem like it could be a possibility,” Siluca said. “Now that you mention it, I did find a text containing Luke’s notes on the various wildlife nearby, though I’ll need more time to go over them due to how extensive they are.”