Venus - Second Floor - Adventurers Guild
"Sure thing, seems like it shouldn't be too far from here," Venus said cheerfully. "I don't think I'll accidentally wind up in Gotham or somethin'...."
Venus - KAIBADOME™
One short trip later, Venus managed to find the KAIBADOME™ without accidentally going to Gotham.
"Pretty sure this is da place," she commented as she headed in, following the sounds of people beating the shit out of each other. And hey, what do you know, some skinny chick with a sword fighting a twintailed lady with... her bare fists? "Oh hey, a fighting type and a steel type. Guess we know who's gonna win this one alright... oh, popcorn!"
She pulled out a Naga coin and bought a bag of popcorn off of a vendor, scooping a mouthful into her face without taking her eyes off the action.
"Wan shom?" she tilted the bag towards Cynthia.
Eugen - Rocket Launch Facility
Eugen stood a short ways from Architect, stabbing an apple with a knife and cutting off a slice that she plucked out and slowly brought to her mouth. She chewed on it for a while, swallowed, and stabbed the apple again.
"You think ze fish are biting?" she asked the ringleader. "Still seems rather risky, letting people get close. Hope the launch goes smooth."
Off on Amagi's boat, M16 was taking a swig from a bottle of Jack Daniel's, and then offering the battleship the bottle.
He nods.
"Good. Knowledge is power. I offer no judgement, nor advise, but mere facts. It will be up to you to use them how you see fit."
He grows silent for a moment.
"The tale begins with an organization, known as the Bird of Passage. Formed some 200 years in the past of our world, they were children, leftovers, left orphans from a great plague that ravaged the land. Left with no choice, they turned to crime, and found they had a talent for killing. Much of the details are both lost to history and not particularly relevant to our coversation, but these children formed what amounted to an assassins guild. New membership is found by kidnapping children off the streets. They tend to target orphans, or other outcasts, abandoned by society and written off as dead."
"Now, one would think that mere children served as poor assassins, and typically, you would be correct. Over time, the Bird of Passage formed methods to both weed out the weak, and instill the......shall we say, proper mindset into their recruits. For instance, when first taken, a group of potential recruits will all be taken, and locked into a dark room. Then they wait for one to die, usually of starvation, the children are usually malnourished as it is. Then they bring in food, and feed them. Then they wait for another to die, and feed them again. Thus teaching them that it is only through death that they will continue to survive. I'll spare you details of their further training, but be assured the turnover rate was high."
He continued to talk, his voice not shifting an iota. "The girl herself started no different. It is likely she never knew her parents, or had any family, and like many other children, she was taken by the Bird of Passage. But documents I retrieved suggested that she was a unique case, and took to the training like few others. Generally, it takes a month before they finish weeding the recruits out of their "Dark room" system. In her case, she had slaughtered them all within a matter of days. She possessed a unique talent for killing, and rapidly rose through the organization's ranks. By the age of 10, she had slain enough people to rival even their most senior members. Soon enough, she was given special training to kill other members of the Bird of Passage who had defected, a problem that was apparently growing more common."
He shakes his head. "In retrospect, training their greatest killer in methods specifically made to slay their own members was a foolhardy mistake. The time came where she was on a mission, but an event happened. I won't bore you with the details, other then to say that it was Soul Edge who was responsible for it, as it was countless other events of its like that happened at the same time, but the members on the mission turned on one another in madness. As one might imagine, given they were trained killers, it was not long until the girl was left alone, surrounded by bodies, and unwittingly freed from their control."
"This event, I believe, is also responsible for her unique state of mind. I would have to examine her to be sure, an act which nether of her will ever consent to, but the only way I know of to split a soul in two in the manner done to her is to shatter the soul, and then reforge it. The fact that she survived such a thing with even a small amount of sanity intact is a remarkable event."
"Backtracking the trail of bodies she left in her wake revealed to me that she was found, soon after this, by an unremarkable family and taken in as one of their own. But her mind had been irrecoverably twisted by this point, and she had grown addicted to the very act of killing, the rush one gets from battle, something almost akin to a drug. She was mentally unable to cope with the idea of not killing, and soon enough, she snapped, and slaughtered the whole family. Thus did the tales of the madwoman with the ringblade begin, although they were dwarfed by those of the Azure Knight, who was active at the same time. Her attacks were much smaller in scope. Rather then razed cities, she ambushed random travelers on the road, sometimes went into cities to steal food, which inevitably ended in the deaths of some guards."
"Documents suggest that the Bird of Passage made repeated attempts to bring her back into the fold. She had been their greatest killer by far, and they had a vested interest in keeping her in the ranks. From what I understand, she made a game of sending severed body parts of their assassins back to them. Sometimes an ear, sometimes an eye, a finger. But at some point during this aimless wandering, which lasted some years, she became aware of the Azure Knight, most likely she stumbled on some recent massacre of his, and grew to view him as a kindred spirit, a fellow outcast and bringer of death on a scale she had yet to comprehend."
"So it was she came to his castle. I happened, by pure chance, to be there on other matters, and intrigued, I tested her. I was not disappointed. I suppose, perhaps, I could have stopped her, I could have lied and told her Nightmare was not there, I could have simply slain her then and there, and spare all of those she would go on to kill in his name. But such is not my role, and it is not my job to bring others into line. And so I let her pass, and kneel before the Azure Knight. The rest, you know."
He fell silent, and waited for the machine to speak.
"Certainly." Nodding in acquiesce while reaching a hand out to grab some of those heat bloomed and seasoned kernels, one would see that Cynthia was watching the venue with a bit more than passing interest even as the bout of combat continued. A bit of disappointment did come onto her expression though because it wasn't quite a proper Pokemon battle but she did give credit to the participants for being masters of their respective crafts.
There was a particular need to give credit to Kaiba too, the eccentric man in question that came from a world that was somewhat similar to her own, just that his monsters had the prefix of 'Duel' before the word instead of 'Pocket'. "Have you tried your hand in competing here yet? It seems like the best place currently to keep giving the teams sharp and ready for lack of a better alternative."
Gespenst - Formido Castle
"I see, she's effectively a weapon of war, similar to myself in more ways than one, especially the part about turning against her former masters. I intend to go in harms way, and she'll probably enjoy herself with the sheer amount of enemies I will likely collect in the process. I do things differently from nightmare as well, so perhaps she will come to prefer my leadership to the azure knight's."
Gespenst could only offer his own shrug in the end. It was a pretty fucked up past, but Gespenst wouldn't be able to change anything about it, and he got the feeling that Tira wouldn't give a damn about any sympathy or pity he'd give over it so it'd probably just be better to focus on the future.
"Thank you for the information regardless, I will owe you one both for helping us get to Nightmare and also this data, if you need anymore help in the future feel free to ask."
He turned back to Tira, and figured he minus well try to act like a better leader than Nightmare had obviously (not) been.
"Hey Tira, you ever been to a place called the Fire Nation? I've got to go there next to find someone so I was curious if you'd like to take a field trip."
Gotham, Streets: Makin' My Way Downtown...
Krillin remained silent as the duck (Scrooge Mc Duck, as the feathered billionaire introduced himself) revealed that Mr. Wake knew his nephew Donald, and about some adventure Alice had in a Wonder Land. While he didn't comment as Ismene raised the issue, it wasn't like he wasn't bothered by it.
A world in the crossroads of many others...wouldn't that mean those other worlds would know about Mr. Wake's? That's how crossroads work, don't they? Though as the group fully split in two, the officer sighed and chose to put a pin in these questions for the time being.
They had an Evil Queen to stop.
...
As the group bound for Bowsette walked downhill from the cemetery, they'd find Alan talking on the phone as he leaned against the graveyard's iron fence. Much like the person on the other line, he was also rolling his eyes as sarcasm was met with lecture.
"Just...try not to hit anything on the way here. Speeding tickets are a low priority; vehicular homicide is not."
He ended the call, sighed, then willed his smile back to life as he turned to Satsuki.
"Good news, Captain: the Maneater's been gracious enough to clear some space in her schedule! She and Pinkie are on their way now, probably in a big creeper van with one of those Japanese cartoons painted on the side. Should be in the neighborhood soon; Pinkie tends to drive like the Devil's chasing him."
"You mentioned this uhh, Man Eater, earlier." Krillin said as he approached the fence. For rather obvious reasons, he felt the need to pause before the name.
"Velvet Crowe, an Outsider like the rest of us. She's earned quite the vigilante reputation around here, hunting down rapists and murderers to feast on their blackened souls. She's a friend of mine and the Mayor's; did a great job catering for a fundraiser venue during the campaign."
One glance at the officer forced Wake to scoff.
"We had turkey sandwiches, Cueball. She's not a cannibal, for cryin' out loud. The 'Maneater' title evolved from rumors and the media."
Perhaps Wake sensed some confusion from the two Frontiers newbies, since smirked and shrugged as if getting pegged with a menacing pseudonym was just something that happens sometimes. "When it comes to heroes and villains, Gotham's got a flair for the dramatic. Before it got dropped into this clusterfuck, the city's #1 crime fighter ran around in long underwear, a cape, a cowl, and a utility belt with enough gadgets to weasel out of anything."
He paused. "That's not a joke. Some things are just too ridiculous to make up."
Krillin shuddered as quietly as he could, at first because he could imagine Gohan being too invested in a town that'd embrace his kiddish superhero persona...but then for something far more serious. He couldn't quite pinpoint why he hadn't noticed it earlier—maybe he was still trying to adjust his senses to this planet, or maybe he was just so used to galaxy or universe-destroying strength that it never registered on a conscious level—but a strong source of ki had appeared on his radar...and it was a lot closer than he liked it to be.
"Uhhh, Mr. Wake?" asked the officer, his eyes seemingly trained on nothing but a vacant store front across the street a ways. "You said that Bowsette's a really powerful person, right?"
"Power comes in all shapes and sizes, Cueball." Alan sighed. "The Madame just prefers the big, bulky, stomp-your-head-into-the-pavement type. Why do you ask?"
Krillin gulped, then tried to play off his nerves with a chuckle. "Well, you see, one technique I've learned over the years is how to sense someone's ki—their life force, their fighting power—from a distance. And I'm picking up a seriously big source of it..."
The officer pointed to the empty store front.
"About a block or two t-that way."
Wake stopped smirking, and followed the martial artist's finger. With a quick map of the area flashing through his mind, the adviser groaned and started walking.
"There's a commercial street around there. Salons, boutiques, cafes. Maybe we'll catch the Madame out shopping!"
...
A few minutes later, and the group would find a mostly empty street in a popular slice of the city. High-end shops lined each side of the road, complete with outdoor seating for cafes and a recently-opened BUBA store. What few pedestrians there were hugged the store fronts and (if they were truly courageous) were shooting a photo or two of the figure standing in the middle of the street.
"Not bad, Cueball." muttered Wake. "Now hold on tight, ladies and gentleman: this is bound to be a bumpy ride."
Alan shot the redhead Koopa Queen a friendly smile as he took step after dreadfully careful step towards the larger-than-life figure.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness! Love what you've done with your hair; fits your fiery passion like a glove."
He spotted the drink in Bowsette's dainty claws hands, and glanced at the nearby store it likely came from. No smoke, no rubble, no screaming civilians running for their lives. How...civil.
Maybe this would be easier than he thought.
"Sorry to bother you on your shopping trip, but the Mayor wanted me to tap your shoulder and get an answer or two. Word on the street's that you've become quite popular in the neighborhoods around your casino. The kind of popular where the hard-working citizens of Gotham pay handsomely for your 'protection.' Now, I'm sure you're used to tributes back in the Mushroom Kingdom, but Gotham works a little differently. The casino's yours, we're not here to dispute that. The neighborhoods around it, though...I think everyone will be better off if the city's government takes care of them."
Edited by TheodoreHastings on Feb 25th 2020 at 6:27:37 AM
"There is but one boon I would ask." The hooded man said, nodding. "I require a place to preform my work, a small space. I will set up far out of the way of any of your work, within a hidden room that none of your people will stumble upon. I will not interfere with your work, you will not see me, and indeed, you will not even know I am there."
Meanwhile, Tira practically bounced over, all smiles as Ges asked his question. Sure, master! Any place called the Fire Nation is bound to be loads of fun!
Then she frowned as Gloomy took over, and glared at Zazzy. He's not coming, is he? I don't like him.
"A shocking revelation."
Ya Zazzy didn't exactly looked shocked.
Tira turned to Ges. Let me remove this pest for you, master. Maybe you'd like his golden eye as a gift? I can rip it out of his skull if you want.
Siluca - Formido Castle
“That does seem very convenient,” Siluca said after hearing this castle had a portal of its own.
It did seem as though people were getting ready to leave, though Siluca herself wished to stay around a bit longer to see more of this castle, and to find where this portal was.
Standing nearby, and more or less waiting to see if Gespenst or anyone else would start exploring, Siluca listened to Zasalamel’s story about Tira. The mention of two souls combined with the assassin-like upbringing did explain Tira’s behavior. Did that also explain someone like Junko, who seemed to be five different people?
It was unlikely that an organization like this Bird of Passage would have arisen in Siluca’s world without escaping the Mage Academy’s notice, though could the Academy have used such an organization to make contracts with witches or other Artists?
Tira’s upbringing was certainly unfortunate, though as the Mage heard more about the assassin’s history, especially given this penchant for slaughter and sending people’s body parts as trophies, she had to wonder if her continued presence and association with Akihabara was a good thing or not. Even in spite of this, Gespenst still seemed willing to keep Tira on his side, likely out of sympathy.
Gespenst was going to the Fire Nation? What reason would he have to go there?
Then not too long after, Tira herself showed up and offered to kill Zasalamel. Siluca didn’t think Gespenst would take up that offer, though if this was how Tira acted around people, especially someone as helpful as the scythe-user, it would definitely be a problem for Akihabara’s image. For a moment, Siluca had figured Tira was part of Pathfinder, though then the Mage remembered the assassin was only an Independent. At the same, given how much the golden-eyed man knew about Tira, Siluca had to wonder if there was some reason for this animosity, though Zasalamel himself did not seem too perturbed by this threat.
Deciding not to comment on Tira’s threat for the time being to see how Gespenst would handle it, Siluca instead decided to say to the mech, “I’m not sure what business you might have at the Fire Nation, though shouldn’t we make sure the rest of this castle is secure before leaving? It would be bad for us if someone else showed up to this place and claimed they were the one who freed the people here from Nightmare’s influence, assuming there aren’t still others who are loyal out of their own will. Although I know little about the geography of this area, I’ve heard that the one named Wulfrik has been sighted nearby, along with whoever else might be wandering these lands.”
There was that image Eve displayed of that shadowy individual, albeit a month ago, though Siluca couldn’t quite remember what Eve said about it, other than it was dangerous.
Edited by CathariSarad on Feb 22nd 2020 at 8:25:19 AM
Gespenst - Formido Castle
“I understand you dislike him, but he did me a favor Tira, so for now I’ll say no to that. People who keep their word can be very hard to find so it’s important to not back stab them.”
He left out the part where he was pretty sure she’d die in the attempt considering that Zasalamel was obviously capable of unleashing great power. Gespenst was pretty convinced he was the strongest being in the room.
“Anyway Zasalamel, I agree to your conditions. Take what ever secret room you want, I will not pry further into what you are doing.”
Then there was Siluca speaking up. She did have a good point, his little personal errand to the fire nation could probably wait until he was sure the castle was in his control.
“You are right Siluca, though once I get the portal established I’ll bring over some bigger guns of my own to help hold this place down. As for Wulfrik, I suppose I should ask him how his head is doing if he is around here. Tira you know the lay out of this castle right? Can you show us around?”
Edited by Bcom on Feb 23rd 2020 at 9:09:43 AM
Lizard Metabolism
Shigure, Formido Castle
"Don't know how many of them are left now that we've dismantled the leader." Shigure craned his neck to where the Soul Edge was once etched, taking a moment to let Morgrim return to her mote of light mode as light enveloped him for a moment, the cat malak gone from sight. "We'll just deal with them like we would with any trash threatening the realm."
Zasalamel's cryptic warning might have had a destined effect on someone not named Shigure Rangetsu, but as it was... "Let them come. If they think they are worth their salt, then we shall dance right under the sun - and see who has the right to stay under it." He grinned before the story on Tira began. It seemed the girl had it rough, and the scholar had at least a part in it himself. Shigure's grin turned upside down. He was no stranger to difficult pasts - that was the Rangetsu way, after all - but to have an option and not make good on it... the thought was unthinkable.
Perhaps the scholar was forced to observe rather than merely choosing to, but it still left a sour taste in the Exorcist's mouth. "Mind if I scout around the castle?" He asked both the scholar and the new owner. "Just want to make sure no demonic waste is hanging around anymore. Would be a shame if someone stumbled upon a missing shard or other..." Zasalamel was an inscrutable presence; he could very well have had other reasons for wanting Nightmare done with.
"Oh yeah, Ges? I expect I won't hear any word of Tira's mistreatment flying around." He knew the robot wouldn't mistreat her, but it was a friendly reminder either way.
And now... the elephant in the room. Frankly, Shigure almost forgot about the deal he and Velvet made, but a promise was a promise. That being said... "A deal is a deal. Just make sure you don't seek suspicious sources of power like that one, hm?" Once again he vaguely gestured to where the Soul Edge was. "I'd loathe to renege on that deal if something proves too big for your boots."
Pyrrha, Meeting The Turtle Boss
Apparently a woman named Velvet - christened Maneater - would be joining them on the enterprise to meet Bowsette. The way Wake described her, however... she seemed more on the confrontational side. She also had a friend called "Pinkie" who couldn't drive a van to save his life? Yet, this seemed to be par of the course for a city as... unique as Gotham. Before she could ask any questions, Krillin said he sensed her presence - a powerful, overwhelming presence.
Pyrrha stiffened, willing her Aura to life as they made way to Bowsette. She was... big. The drink in her huge hand looked so at odds with the rest of her, but Wake didn't seem deterred - only further energized by what seemed to be a more optimistic scenario than all of them had envisioned. Now only time would tell how she would react to the man's words. Remaining straight-backed and focused a little behind the City Advisor - and ready to grab him out of the harm's way if need to - the redhead eyed any metal parts of Bowsette's outfit, trying to come up with ways to use them to slow her down.
It was a good thing the turtle queen had a taste for spiked bracelets.
How do lizards fly?
Military Grade Shitposter
Nightmare's Castle
With his arm intact and enough blood in his body necessary for executive function, Rico Rodriguez stood up with Lady's assistance. Unbowed. Unconquered. Victorious. The man that healed him gave a warning: he needed to be careful. There were people here who were going to take notice of how well he was doing, and try to kill him early.
"I will keep your warning in mind. The sword told me about this. I suppose it must have been smart about wanting to bring me to the dark side, then, to sprinkle in truth with its lies."
Patting his arm just to make sure that this wasn't a dream and he was no longer bleeding, he looked to Lady, who wanted to know if he was alright. "I am fine, Madam Lady. I feel better than I have for the past five minutes. And beyond trying to psychically entrance me with promises of power, I do not think it has done anything else "weird" to me."
Taking a second to stretch, Rico regarded his damaged armor. "I may need to make a trip to Camoa for armor repairs. That sword took off my Carabineer mail like it wasn't even there. But beyond that? I have no plans either. I only came here after my daily work with Enterprise was finished."
"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."
Toriel (Bisga Woods)
As her magic and medicine began sinking in and taking root in Inosuke's shoulder, Toriel considered his words, before slowly nodding.
"That is correct. As much as I wish it weren't necessary, the matter is being seen to by professionals at the very least." When asked if everyone at home looked like her, Toriel paused, and let out a chuckle in spite of herself.
"Goodness, that would be a mountain of fur if that were the case. No, to my knowledge there is just myself, my husband, and my son. Monsters at home take many shapes and forms, so I can safely call any of them unique." Toriel's voice took on noticeable warmth as she spoke of home, thinking fondly of days past, but soon she continued. "What about yourself? Are masks important in your society?"
Proud member of the AGOG community.
What had started as a sour beginning to her existence had started to turn when she'd realized that she essentially had a day of being able to just go around and relax, while her double was back at the casino dealing with the hard stuff. And then it all had to be turned on its head when this guy showed up. Bowsette frowned as she spotted him approaching, and not alone either. She grumbled, "What do you want, thief."
As Scratch spoke, she turned her attention towards the group following behind him. Sizing them up one by one with a piercing and confident stare even as she sipped on her quickly diminishing boba tea. It seemed like the man had came more prepared this time if he wanted to cause trouble. She wasn't feeling like being removed from existence so quickly after arriving, so she bit back the flaring temper as much as she could.
Only once he finally finished talking did she turn her gaze back towards him, filled with annoyance and aloofness that one would expect from a ruler. "First, if Cody wants to challenge me hero to villain, he is free to come see me himself. It's why I helped him become mayor, after all. Second, I don't know what you're talking about. What tributes? If it's about money, then you'll want to talk to my right hand. Not that I think she'll listen to anything you have to say either."
The horned woman was scowling now, wondering just what the man was getting at. She protected the areas around her casino because it was her kingdom, and she didn't have a proper army and guard in place yet. And then, just to add insult to it, the thief had the gall to ask her to give up her land. Obviously too afraid to try and take it himself. "Give up my kingdom? Are you challenging me, thief? Or maybe one of your heroes will?" She turned to look at them again. "Is that what you're here for? To be rivals to me, and face me hero to villain?!"
Despite the antagonistic words, Bowsette didn't actually do anything. Just stood there, one fist clenched dramatically as the other held her drink, and the wide, sharp-toothed grin on her face aimed at the group.
Just another guy
Daud - Apartment -> Off to who knows where
Daud could only groan as yet more potential clusterfuck is happening around at Gotham, as if the Reiko shenanigans ain't enough. He'd almost considered Bub's advice of keeping heart medication or caffeine to keep himself up, at this rate.
"Not thrilled to hear that in the least, but fuck it, thanks anyway for the tip."
He had half a mind to visit the Empire's supposed 'execution site', but decided against it. If he's heard, then the others probably had as well and are probably already doing all they can. Plus, well, the earlier incident that he tries to forget.
He can already imagine being greeted by rockets and tank shots to his face by a certain tank girl the moment he shows up.
That leaves re-visiting the shithole that is Gotham to oversee and prevent future potential conflicts. Again. Poor old Seven is going to get their work cut out for them.
"If you're planning on staying, it's not much but make yourself at home while I'm off to the piss poor excuse of a city again. Got a feeling I'll not be getting any real rest anytime soon."
With that curt farewell and a respectful bow, the ex-assassin went out through the door and off to parts unknown following this new piece of intel. No rest for the formerly wicked, indeed.
Barry - Middle of the Ocean, Rocket Launch
"Yoohooooo? Helloooo? Honey, come out, come out wherever you are..." Barry looks up high and low as he continued to scan both ship and sea for the eponymous sniper, to no avail.
"The heck kind of scam is this? I was promised an execution show, but I ain't seen her nowhere!" Well, that and he can't really do any breaking out or the likes if he doesn't know where honey is. Noticing Amagi and the German shipgirl, he very so brazenly walked up to them.
Not really the same people he'd encountered back at the Gotham Court massacre, but eh, it's a start. "Oi, you two! When are ya startin' the show? Not sure if ya heard of good ol' me, but I'm itchin' to get ta meet our guest of honor again as fellow admirers!"
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
Sakura Empire - Middle of the Ocean, Rocket Launch
"Not like we really have that much of a choice", Architect replied to Eugen, "If we don't let them see the body, they aren't exactly going to believe that we went through with it are they? I mean our history isn't an unknown variable." She then pauses to look out to the water "As for the fish? You could just wait a little bit and scoop them out of the ocean pre-cooked", another pause, "for a given definition of cooked"
As for Amagi, she gave her head a little shake when offered the bottle, "No thanks, I have to give the speech when the launch happens, it would be undesirable to have the big moment ruined by me sluring my words."
Then Barry arrived signaling the start of there guests showing up.
"You have it backwards my armored friend, This is a rocket launch first and foremost my armored friend", Amagi replied to him as she was interrogate, "The execution of the one who wronged us is nothing but a secondary function, and not the one which we are focusing on...", she gave a motion to the on lookers "They are here to watch some fireworks, not gallows... as for your second question. Oi! SPZH how are things looking!" she called out to the chocolate flavored architect on the nearby platform.
"Well we have managed to substitute the hydrogen for that blaze stuff that the robot cows make, that has drastically reduced the amount of water we need to electrolze since we don't need hydrogen for fuel... But... LOX is still cryogenic meaning that we were not able to store it up in the tanks in advance, so we are still compressing it out of the air, and breaking down the water for it", Architect replied in a rambling form to Amagi.
"Point is?" The brown fox called back.
"Point is that while we still need to check and see if space is actually a vacuum here, if we want the best chance we have of completing the circularization burn the oxidizer tank needs to be FULL, not half full FULL", Architect continued.
"And what is it at now?" Amagi queried.
"90% ma'am" Architect finished.
"Alright", Amagi finished her little detour and looked back to Barry, "Translation to baka, Rocket is Big, Rocket Needs lots of fuel, we are making the fuel, Unless we want it to fall out of the sky which we don't, its in 15 to 20 minutes baring unforeseen delays."
Edited by Imca on Feb 24th 2020 at 4:20:33 AM
Vampire Hunter
Chun-Li, Middle of the Ocean to Rocket Launch Facility
Once her group decided to split up from Wake's group, Chun-Li was soon able to lead them to Gotham's Harbor. She left a note for Daud and Yue to hopefully join her at the coordinates they were going to. Afterwards, Chun-Li rented a boat and some fishing equipment. She used the trip to try to teach Dark Samus to fish properly, so that she could perhaps fend for herself in case they needed to exile her because of how dangerous she is. In addition, it meant that Dark Samus could possibly survive when out on her own.
Eventually, the group got to where the Rocket Launch Facility is, and Chun-Li frowned. If she was reading the situation correctly, the rocket that was to house Reiko was mostly underwater. This is almost certainly a problem in regards to trying to rescue her... or making a working rocket for that matter.
"I would say the fish are biting, just not over here where their natural environment has been tampered with," Chun-Li looked over towards Architect and Eugen as she moved her boat towards them, rather angry at them. "I assume you have proof of Reiko's crimes against the Sakura Empire?"
"Ignore him, he insisted on coming here." Chun-Li looked over at Barry, sighing. "Besides, it is pretty obvious where Reiko is... She's clearly inside the rocket. There doesn't look to be any way to get her in without flooding the rocket and ruining the launch."
Chun-Li frowned as there didn't seem to be any obvious way to rescue Reiko from the submerged rocket. Any way to get inside the rocket would naturally flood it and likely drown Reiko. In addition, trying to get inside the rocket would need to be done underwater and there is no clear idea how deep in the rocket its entrance is. Chun-Li certainly couldn't hold her breath for that long. The only way to do it would be... to do it mid-flight when it is surrounded by air, but that would just be choosing to die with Reiko unless there was a way to get in and out fast enough to survive the drop into water.
Juri, KAIBADOME™
It took a while for Sonia to find an opening since Juri had some good timing. When Sonia attempted an overhead strike, Juri moved to dodge. She saw the strike coming from a mile away... the kick to the midsection, not so much. As Juri doubled down to catch her suddenly lost breath, she just barely rolled in time to miss getting cut by the sword.
Once Juri caught her breath, she asked Sonia, "You ain't tryin' to kill me with the sword, are you?"
Maria, KAIBADOME™
"Ah... well, I hope she wins," Maria smirked a bit and was about to focus on the battle again when Cynthia and someone else showed up.
"Hey, Cynthia!" Maria waved over to her and her friend.
Meanwhile, it seems like Catwoman and the five San Fransokyoans Juri had recruited entered to watch the battle as well. The San Fransokyoans seemed to have futuristic scanners of some sort that they were pointing at the battle between Juri and Sonia.
Edited by GameGuruGG on Feb 24th 2020 at 8:40:07 AM
Wizard Needs Food Badly
The Kaibadome™
The Arena was starting to fill up as more fighters/spectators entered. The audience was becoming much more vocal as the fight continued.
“CYNTHIA CYNTHIA SHE’S OUR LADY, SHE’S BETTER AT CATCHING THAN TOM BRADY!!”
“JURI JURI, SHE’S THE BEST! SHE’LL KICK YOU REAL HARD IN THE CHEST!”
“SONIA IS OUR FAVORITE PAL! WITH HER SUPER COOL WHIP SHE’S ONE COOL GAL!”
“MARIA DOES NOT HAVE A WHIP, BUT SHE HAS DOVES WHICH IS ALSO NEAT. WAIT, THAT DIDN’T RHYME.”
Kaiba, meanwhile, was trying to get the audience to give less lame cheers to no avail.
Pink Diamond, To Wendy’s
“I suppose my job here is done for now,” Pink said. “For the moment, I shall take a break before I make my next move.”
With that, she headed over to Wendy’s to get her FOOD on.
Alice, Meeting with Bowsette
“I am simply here to make sure Wake doesn’t get himself killed,” Alice stated plainly. “Nothing more, nothing less.”
Indeed, she had little interest in the feud between man and turtle queen. But she at least wants to minimize the damage of this venture.
Sonia (KAIBADOME™)
"The proprietor forbade such. And you're hardly at a disadvantage, you found a way to make my primary weapon a liability." Sonia replied succinctly, with just a touch of amusement in her voice. "Can you blame me for evening the playing field?"
Before she could press her advantage, the sound of the crowd cheering reached her ears...and she couldn't stop the grimace from forming on her face. "Surely they aren't intentionally trying to distract us..." Shaking her head, Sonia pointed her sword at Juri, a courtesy sign to prepare herself, before blazing forward and lunging at the martial artist.
Persephone (KAIBADOME™)
As Maria called attention to another group, thus taking attention off of her for the time being, Persephone let out a quiet huff, as if she felt slighted by others intruding on the conversation. Her attention drifted to the interlopers in question...and she blinked a few times at Catwoman's attire, before wisely choosing to keep her thoughts to herself.
Dark Samus (Ocean)
After the fishing trip, and the subsequent unspoken vow not to mention such again when Dark Samus tore into each fish caught like a wild animal, the 'woman' in question seemed pacified for now as they reached the launch site. Ignoring most of the conversation going on, Dark Samus instead fixed her gaze on the mostly submerged rocket...and looked at the rest of the group, as if wondering why they weren't going closer. Receiving no answer, she instead looked upon who they were speaking to, and fixed all of them with a piercing stare, one that clearly showed she was sizing them up as potential threats.
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Sakura Empire - Middle of the Ocean, Rocket Launch
"Of course we have proof, we are machines we aren't evil", Architect replies while looking around the area, before settling on one of the guards and motioning to it. " SP-17, please replay the audio logs if you would.", on request there was a burst of static and then.
"Guilty, I plead guilty", a voice answers in Reiko's tone, "It was me who demolished your reactor, and who killed those civilians because I was hired too"
"So you betrayed us?", Architects voice asked back.
"Yes", Reiko's voice replied plainly
With that the machine stopped speaking and Architect looked back to Chun-Li, "And he is a machine, when exactly is the last time you heard of a robot lieing? ...but if that is not enough I think Eugen has the security footage on her phone" Architect explained with a little nod as she took off her formal clothes for the swimsuit she had under them. "Also what kind of idiot would build a rocket that you cant enter, especially when I am pretty sure you wont believe us that this isn't a show unless we show you.", with a dive into the water architect swam over to the submerged rocket and opened the hatch on the small part of it exposed to the surface, "Watch your step, this thing wasn't designed for any thing other then satellite launches"
Edited by Imca on Feb 25th 2020 at 4:28:27 AM
Gotham, Commercial Street: Can't We All Just Get Along?
"Mayor Travers is an incredibly busy man, Your Highness." Wake apologized in a manner that seemed gentle, yet heavily practiced. "He asked me to speak on his behalf, so here I am."
As Bowsette all but shrugged off the reasons for this encounter, Alan's practiced gentility shifted into practiced patience. "I'm afraid the issue at hand isn't exclusively financial: we have reports that a group of felons vandalized three store fronts within five blocks of Your Highness' casino, likely as part of a shakedown to obtain protection money. These gentlemen just so happened to bear the likeness of your husband on their clothing, marking them as foot-soldiers of Your Highness' 'Kingdom.' Extortion is a felony offense punishable of up to three years in prison, and using it to expand Your Highness' influence outside of the Koopa Kasino violates our mutually beneficial truce."
The giant turtle woman's gaze pierced straight through the tiny bald and (supposedly) noseless police officer, who stared up at the Koopa Queen the way one stares up the height of a skyscraper: part awe, part intimidation, and part vertigo. Krillin had to force himself to look back to the Mayor's adviser just to regain his equilibrium, though something Bowsette repeatedly mentioned caught his attention.
"Uhhh, Mr. Wake?" the officer blinked. "Why does she keep calling you a thief?"
Alan's shoulders tensed at the question. Turning halfway between Bowsette and his group of protectors, Wake rubbed the nape of his neck and sighed.
"Back when I first arrived on this rock, I umm...didn't take the news of my abduction very well. It was one helluva blow, so like many men and women under intense strain, I tried to ease the burden with some booze. As it happened, the first place I stumbled upon was Her Highness' newly-acquired casino. The place was in shambles, so I helped myself to some drinks at the bar and might've forgotten to pay."
He could practically smell the smoke about to snort out of Bowsette's nostrils, so he quickly amended:
"I helped myself to a lot of drinks at the bar and neglected to pay." Raising a hand to both parties, he gave the Koopa Queen a nervous smile. "Which is a tab I'll graciously pay off now, if Your Highness wants. Now that I don't have just the clothes on my back."
Stretching out his arms in a half-committed shrug, Wake fully faced the Koopa Queen once more. "The short and sweet of it is that Your Highness' best interests are currently out of line with Gotham's. Out of respect for your title and your assistance in the early stages of the Travers campaign, we offer Your Highness a chance to keep the peace. Given the rise of the Decepticons and the Monokuma Gang, I believe we all have enough problems to deal with."
The smile and calmly-delivered words were a threadbare curtain to what Alan Wake was here to say. This was a threat: get your thugs out of the neighborhoods, and we won't have to waste time and energy beating the crap out of each other. Of course, if the Koopa Queen was still not picking up on the subtext, the presence of four warriors would probably get the message across.
...but were even that not enough, another titanic spike of ki got Krillin shaking all over again.
"Uhhh...guys?" he shivered, "S-something's coming. Fast."
Edited by TheodoreHastings on Feb 25th 2020 at 6:29:36 AM
Seeing that Daud had decided to go on out after hearing the bombshell of the news (not that he could blame him), Bub continued sitting for a few more seconds to drink the rest of his coffee before placing down the saucer and nodding at the hired help with a winning smile before flying after the ex-assassin, both to see with his own eyes what was happening as well as to make connections (and watch the fireworks).
"I wasn't aware I was so popular around these parts... still, if I've been noted as such it would be rather rude not to reciprocate in kind..." Blinking at the warm welcome she received, the Champion gave off a kindly smile before waving back with the same sort of charismatic standing that one would expect of the highest summit for a Pokemon Trainer, bringing up the bling of a true Champion up to its max setting in a manner that most celebrities would kill for. "Greetings one and all. I do hope I'm not interrupting anything?"
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Satsuki - Gotham streets
The negotiation was going about as well as Satsuki had feared. Bowsette seemed determined to interpret every overture in a confrontational hero-vs-villain light - she seemed to relish the idea of being directly challenged. It was a situation not helped by Wake's penchant for smooth double-talk, which Satsuki suspected the koopa king found insulting.
The imminent arrival of Velvet Crowe was doing nothing to ease her concerns either. She honestly questioned Wade's decision to summon the vigilante, but there wasn't time now to do anything about it.
Satsuki stepped up to stand beside Wake - a silent reminder that she was an interested party as well, not just backup - and folded her hands calmly over the pommel of her sword.
"No-one is interested in challenges or rivalries." She looked back up at the towering koopa king with her own unflinching gaze. "No-one will benefit from further conflict, but the city is being pushed towards it from all sides. In order to push back, Gotham grows a little stronger every day."
"The fact is that the Mayor's office considers the harassment of areas around the casino to be a push. The Pledge agrees." She said matter-of-factly, before giving Bowsette a small respectful nod. "You've been a valuable ally over the last few weeks. We'd rather settle this matter now, without violence, before the situation escalates."
Edited by LittleMako on Feb 27th 2020 at 3:07:06 AM
"First off...."
Lady takes a moment to wag a finger in Rico's face. "The name is Lady. Call me Madam again and I'll think you're trying to call me old and get offended."
Dispite this, Lady had a smile on her face that signaled she was joking.....mostly. Maybe not a good idea to risk annoying the woman who could rightly be considered a walking armory, depends how lucky Rico is feeling.
"Secondly, I'm not about to let you go off on your own until I'm sure you're not suffering any side effects from what just happened. So, for the moment, it looks like you're stuck with me."
Sure! Follow me, guys!
Thus, Tira bounced off, beginning to show Ges and whoever else decided to follow around the castle. For the most part, it was pretty unremarkable, standard stuff you expect to see in a medevil castle. The most notable room was what Tira called the "Armory", as in addition to the standard swords and spears and catapults and such, there was a number of other captured items that were clearly not native to this castle. Guns of assorted sizes, various forms of armor in varying states of damage, that sort of thing. But the destroyed mech, which had been in this room, in fact you can still see the hole in the wall that lead to the first room you all entered, was clearly by and far the most advanced weapon that Nightmare had.
Also, there was a treasury, just like Tira had said, right next to the main room you'd all entered, and Lady jumped in behind Tira to fill her pockets with gold before she popped back out to rejoin Rico.
Beyond that? Lotta empty space. This castle was friging huge, and according to Tira, vast spaces of the castle went unused or neglected by Nightmare. She diden't know why, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that Nightmare didn't have even half the manpower he'd have needed to man the whole castle with his forces.
Ges would also meet some of his new staff, all of who stopped when they saw the mech who clearly had freed them to kneel down, thank him, swear fealty to him, and in one case try to kiss his feet. Absolutely none of these people said a word to Tira or even dared to look at her longer then it took to identify her, choosing instead to ignore her completely, out of a clear and instant sense of fear for a majority of them.
Finally, they reached the bottom of a very large tower, clearly the largest in the castle, out of which various ravens had been flying in and out of since they first saw it.
And last on the list, this is my room!
She points up the endless set of stairs, beyond which there's no light past the first 100 or so.
It takes a really, really long time to climb up here! I got really really bored and counted the steps once, I lost count around 2000 or so! Nighty always said that I was "too valuable" for any other room, which is weird, cause there's not really any kinda furniture up there at all, no bed, no closet, the mirror's shattered in a lot of places, and it's like a 5th of the size of most other rooms in the castle!
"I'll keep that in mind. See you around, Shigure."
Thus, Velvet snapped her fingers to get Astolfo's attention, and walked back through the portal and left.
Thus it was that the group of people in front of Bowsette, as well as Bowsette herself, would hear the loud noise of an approaching van, blasting down a street marked as 30 MPH at around 100 MPH. Somehow, defying physics, the car managed to screech to a halt directly in front of the assembled group. Not a half second after stopping, the side door was thrown open, and an annoyed looking Velvet stepped out. The van slowly moved out of the way so it didn't get in the way of the scene while Velvet crossed her arms and looked at Bowsette.
"........Why is she red now?"
Gespenst - Formido Castle
Gespenst was kind of in awe at the sheer size of the castle he had just claimed. It was honestly bigger than he had expected, but that was not a bad thing and it meant he'd have room for more people. There was already an inbuilt armory, though they'd need to update what was available to deal with the threats that existed here in the wastelands. The residents all seemed grateful for having killed off nightmare, and Gespenst was feeling just the tiniest bit weirded out to be praised for his actions, since genuine gratitude was something he had rarely experienced.
Gespenst was more than happy to let them know that they did not owe him anything, anyone was free to leave for the city of Akihabara if they wished, but he would be grateful in return if they stayed to help him man the castle and just keep things running.
Then they reached Tira's 'room' and Gespenst could only shake his head when Tira told him everything. Either she'd have to get a new room or he was going to haul a bed up to the top of that tower, but it was pretty obvious how badly Nightmare had been mistreating his subordinates.
"Everything seems secure. If there were any Nightmare loyalists, it seems like they have fled at this point. Alright Tira, time to go on that field trip I promised you. Just gotta make a quick stop back in Akihabara to send some friends here and then it's off to the Fire Nation."
With that he went out towards the portal that was effectively on the castle's front lawn, and stepped over to Akihabara briefly enough to send his two subordinate mechs, Nacht and Abend, through the portal back to the castle to help keep an eye out for any potential hostiles dedicing to pay a visit. After that it was off to the Fire Nation.
Gespenst - Fire Nation/heading to the shipyards
The portal wasn't exactly in the capital city, but it was better than trying to get a boat considering every one else in Akihabara seemed to be trying to fight over naval power and he just wanted to go see Kaga and had little interest in building an army on this side of the gates. Even though he didn't know Kaga's precise location, the first place he'd guess her to be would likely be down near the shipyards because she was a ship herself or at least that's what he remembered from Enterprise telling him.
"Ok Tira, we're looking for a kitsune, so she's a white haired lady but she's got 9 white fox tails and also fox ears....she's probably gonna have a scowl on her face as well. her 'body guard' is kind of uuuuuh, rough around the edges so don't be surprised if she threatens to try and shoot us."
And with that he set off to go find one of the warlords of the Sakura Empire.
Enterprise - Akihabara
Enterprise meanwhile, was rolling out one of the 'Mongoose' tanks and getting it fired up, along with briefing the crew on what to expect when dealing with drow. They'd be going for their first real combat experience, so it was important to make sure they didn't get cocky thinking that just because they were in a tank, they'd automatically won. Of course there was also the things with Britannia which would a whole different can of worms they'd need to deal with.
Edited by Bcom on Feb 29th 2020 at 3:57:46 PM
Just another guy
Gotham Stand-Off - Daud
Amidst all the others approaching the Koope Queen in en-masse, the ex-assassin too would join in their ranks.
... Well, less join in just yet and more becoming a silent observer to the whole thing. Situated and carefully hidden in an unoccupied room of an abandoned high-rise apartment nearby, not only is the man identifying the people out on the scene... but also kept a potential lookout on anyone else spying in on this little gathering; expanding his preternatural senses with his Void Gaze, looking over at other suitable high vantage points or inconspicious people/vehicle out on the streets.
After all, they might not be the only interested party around this parts.
"Hm, didn't knew the Hospitallers are involved." He gazes over at Satsuki, having recognized her from many of his contacts in Gotham. Leader of the voluntary expedition forces liberating Gotham from its vices, if there's one people to be trusted handling negotiations on Gotham's power balance, it would be her.
Alan Wake, he doesn't know of much. Sources tell that he's pretty much the same as Cody Travers, in that he's an 'Outsider'(bah, even here, someone still uses that damnable name) that rose to prominence during the turbulent weeks of Akihabara making first contact with Gotham. Outside of being the aide of the muscle-headed mayor and director of the city's power supplies, there's nothing much to be said about him.
Bowsette, the Koopa Queen of Koopa Kasino. Given her disposition, it'll be odd if he didn't hear about her. Bombastic and brash, he could see why city authorities worry about her.
The rest are either faces he hadn't seen yet or ones he felt are just there as bodyguard details. Hence, surveying the scene that hadn't quite turned to chaos yet, he waited(possibly alongside Beelzebub) while re-checking his gear at-hand one more time.
Rocket Launch - Barry
"Oi, wait for me!" Following after Architect's lead, Barry too dived after her into the body of water before swimming after her towards the rocket where honey is at without much consideration... or, well, tried to swim.
After diving in, the living suit of armor found himself able to float via vigorously flailing his arms around and his hollow armor serving as buoyant... But that's about the extent of his swimming capabilities. As it turns out, having metal armor for a body may not be conducive to traversing on water.
"Welp. Hold on tight, fellas! I'll get over there. Eventually!" so says Barry as he tries to swim over there still and making absolutely no progress beyond a snailpace one. With this, anyone around would most likely be delighted to know that Barry the infamous Chopper can't handle a mere body of water and would probably need a bit of a helping hand getting there.
Edited by JustSomeGuy732 on Feb 29th 2020 at 5:36:49 PM
"A post per day keeps the GMs away!"
Gespenst - Gespy/Formido Castle
"So you're saying I'll already have a maintenance crew then, that's fantastic. It means I don't have to go around and recruit people for this stuff....still probably will need to get engineers in here to introduce some modern things."
Gespenst took a moment to think on what was being said by Zazy, true some of the people in Akihabara were not exactly....agreeable and under normal circumstances they'd probably be fighting each other, but this situation was not normal and they were gonna have to pool together to keep from dying to stronger enemies.
"Knowing the risks, I still think it's better to stay connected. I intend not only to use this castle as my domain, but as a second base for Akihabara here in the wastelands. Plus it wouldn't be polite to anyone I asked to help remodel this place if they had to trek through the wasteland to reach it."
He looked briefly over at Tira and her bird communication then back to the Zazy.
"Truthfully I don't care too much about people's past. But since you're offering, having more information never hurt and I should know about people I will be looking after."