Lizard Metabolism
Oscar, Reporting, "Hornet"
"Lady Enterprise, Lady Yorktown." He saluted once more, mostly out of habit. "The Orderlies are currently patrolling the nearest premises. Is there anything required of me for the time being?" He was not taking part in the operation, but perhaps the shipgirls would deem to find him some sort of task either way.
He offered a nod at Chun-Li, but no comment on the red sky.
Vessel, With Reiko In Adventurer's Guild
Being a spindly, stretched out creature, the Vessel had no need for additional mode of transportation for itself, keeping up with Reiko on bikeback just fine. When prompted, it shook its head. By now it knew what a "cat" was, but the furriest thing around Hallownest the bugbeast could think of were the bee people, and even then it has only heard of those in passing. They were a secretive bunch, not wanting to associate with the Pale King's reign.
Perhaps that was a wise decision. Eventually, they've reached the Adventurer's Guild, where able-bodied gathered to do things for others, usually for compensation. The Vessel had seen some of those "coins" some people around use, and it just couldn't get behind the idea. That just seemed incredibly impractical to use. It waved at the people gathered before looking at the gun Reiko examined with mild curiosity. Not that you could tell from its impassive expression. At least its mask was fixed by a friendly artisan, sort of. It still needed to find some sort of nailsmith to fix its weapon. Ordinary "blacksmiths" seemed at a loss when looking at the Vessel's nail, unfortunately.
More distressingly, it developed a Guzma-esque habit of crouching down when staying in one place. It figured that in that way, it was simply taking less space. For now, it was content surveying the people present.
How do lizards fly?
M16A1 - Train Station
"Roger," M16 said to Kaga, the broadhead slowing down to a trot so that Siluca could follow along as it plodded its way out of the train station and towards somewhere with open skies.Naga - Adventurer's Guild Hall
"Dohohoho, don't make me laugh!" Naga said to Scrooge. "Right, Juri! We taught those scoundrels a lesson they won't forget!" she added to the martial-artist before turning her attention back to the duck."Of course it's gold. Each coin has a tenth of an ounce of gold mixed into it. But of course, pure gold would bend in two the first time someone like Juri here felt like biting down on it to test its strength, so my brilliant blacksmith added just the perfect hint of other metals to give it some solid strength. And they're stamped with my face of approval so you know they're good!"
Hiccup and Toothless - Adventurer's Guild
"Thanks," said Hiccup, as Toothless picked up the bag of coins from Naga. Although when Hiccup tried to take the bag from Toothless, he kept it from his reach.
"Seriously, Toothless? You're just gonna spend it on fish-" Hiccup then gets knocked into one of the booths.
"A model for ten seconds and already he's let the fame go to his head," he mumbled under his breath. Then Lune waved at him.
"Oh, hey. It's going good, but busy. Between teaching people how to tame Dragons, err, Dragonlisks, and making assembly lines, I've only just recently found time to sleep," Hiccup explained.
"So how are things with you?"
Sup
Siluca - Train Station Workshop/Hallway
Siluca would have liked to hear the details of the plan one last time before making her final decision, but it seemed more like an invasion of some sort than anything else, though she didn’t quite remember how they were supposed to take out the Fire Lord.
“Sadly, I’m unaware of his whereabouts, but I’ll be on the lookout for him,” she replied. She wasn’t even sure which faction he was a part of or what places he frequented.
The comment about the Firebenders growing more powerful did not bode well for them. It was hard to say whether this would have any interference on her own powers, though Siluca was reluctant to make use of her fire-based magic when the Firebenders could easily take advantage of it. Did this red sky have any other strange effects? Nevertheless, she would need to inform the inhabitants of her district, and set up a potential interim government in the event she perished during this attack.
“But hearing what you just said, I have decided to lend my aid to this strike.”
“Before I leave, I wanted to mention that Scrooge Mc Duck had a proposal for a unified currency system that he would like all of us to hear. Last I saw, he was at the central Guild Building along with several others, though I do not remember seeing Guzma there.”
Junko - God Tree
Junko probably would have cringed at Dreadnought’s hopeful smile if she wasn’t stuck making her formal teacher face.
“Those textbooks indeed will be quite vital. I was hoping I could have a look at them later. Seeing as we all are from different worlds, there may be discrepancies in knowledge that we might not yet be aware about.
“And yes, it has been rather chilly out lately, but I’ll ask them myself later.”
She had to keep up her image as the Ultimate Fashionista, even though there was hardly an industry these days.
“Other than that, I was mostly just checking up on things. I know I could teach those classes you’ve listed, and maybe I could revitalize the dearth of literature in these new lands, but I know you will have no trouble finding someone to fill those positions.
“For the time being, I suppose I’ll review my syllabus for the day and see what all the other townsfolk are up to.”
Junko
then turned to notice the robot that seemed to be meditating in the grass nearby. She didn’t know much about it, other than she had occasionally seen it floating around while in town. It was actually somewhat intriguing that a robot could have some semblance of spirituality, but due to its current state, it was unlikely that it would respond to anyone trying to communicate with it.
That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try.
Pressing her glasses up, Junko approached and then looked down at th robot, first looking at the nine dots on his forehead before then moving her eyes to the slits below, “I don’t think we’ve met. I am Junko Enoshima, an instructor at this new academy. There are robots in the world I’m from, but none quite like yourself. How is it that you float?”
Hill of Origin (Lost Vessel, Cagliostro) ~ This Just Raises Further Questions
The Lost Vessel hadn't even made it off the hill when some shrill voice called out to it. Its first thought as it whirled around to face the source was that it was some beast preparing to attack, perhaps one of those little predatory fliers from the crossroads.
The creature it actually found itself looking upon was one it had no word to describe. It was some kind of pale being, seemingly with soft skin instead of a shell, and dressed in some overly elaborate outfit that just didn't seem practical. Yet despite being completely alien, it somehow spoke the language of Hallownest as it observed that the Lost Vessel was probably very confused.
The Lost Vessel gave this odd creature an empty stare, which was to be expected since that was the only expression the Lost Vessel was capable of making. Yet it was a perfectly fitting expression, for it was indeed quite confused. Alas, it had no voice to vocalize its confusion, so the only thing it could do was watch as the creature somehow floated a little piece of paper over to it.
It accepted the gift, such as it was, and looked it over. At least the whatever-it-was wasn't hostile, and was in fact seemingly trying to help.
It didn't take it long to find the note on the back on the map. As it read the note on the back, more questions came to its mind. Given the note made no mention of Hallownest and in fact noted that everyone else here were likely from other realms, it could only assume that the city of "Akihabara" and the land of "Frontiers" had nothing to do with Hallownest at all. Yet how come the language of Hallownest was spoken here? And what of the oddly red sky? Clearly it had been brought here for some purpose....
Well, this little scrap of paper wasn't going to give it any more answers. At least the map would probably prove to be useful; while it wasn't sure what any of these locations actually were, at least it had better knowledge of how to get to them to figure that part out.
It tucked the map away for the time being, before looking back up at the odd pale creature and tilting its head to one side curiously. Perhaps it had some more answers for the Vessel? Unfortunately, it didn't have a way of telling it exactly what questions it wanted answered the most, and its motions could be taken to mean any number of things. The question it was most hoping to have answered right now was "What are you?"
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
Scrooge - Adventurer's Guild
Scrooge felt a powerful headache. He put his right hand on his head before groaning in annoyance and then speaking to Naga. "The hardness's not the problem her. Neither is what is represented on it." Scrooge certainly didn't like the tougth of having to see the witch's laughing face on every coin, but that was beside the point. He then raised his voice. "The problem is that you can't have every last coin be made of gold! Gold is one of the rarest metals you can think of, and most of the others are known only by chemists. You can bet that when a stable economy is built, the materials used to make these coins are going to cost more than the coins themselves!"
He then pulled out one of his own coins from the cart and showed it to the half-naked woman. "See? These coins are made from copper, a more common element, so they will be easier and cheaper to make when things actually cost money. The valor of money is not judged from how shiny it is!" He spoke with all the passion of a patriotic sergeant encouragin his soldiers before a tough battle. For if there is anything Scrooge don't tolerate people messing around with, it's money.
Naga - Adventurer's Guild
"Oh, I get it," Naga said knowingly.She snapped her fingers.
"You want your coins to be used for change!" she exclaimed. "Wonderful! we can use my coins as the most valuable unit, and then all of your coins can be redeemed for them. That way if someone isn't rich enough, they can always resort to using your own money!"
Zenyatta (God Tree) - Ultimate Tranquility
As a minute ticked by, it became uncertain if Zenyatta would even reply to Junko's inquiry, yet in time, the monk's voice could be heard speaking, even as the rest of his body remained entirely still. "My faith has been said to be uplifting by those who have heard me; perhaps that is the answer." Finally, Zenyatta's head turned to face Junko, and while his face remained unchanging, new warmth could be heard in his voice. "It is an honor to meet you, Miss Enoshima. To be responsible for kindling and nurturing the sparks of hope in children, it is a high calling indeed."
Proud member of the AGOG community.
I have a plan.
Adventurer's Guild — Wendy's
The quiet going ons at Wendy's were interrupted when Giovanni stepped into the business, alone. He had a confident smirk on his face, and both of his hands were stuffed into his pockets. Giovanni quietly looked over the people gathered in the eatery. There were a lot of potential threats just sitting there, stuffing their faces with Wendy's greasy junk food. Some of them were present at the council meeting which didn't go Team Rocket's way. Giovanni wasn't there for them, though.
The Team Rocket Boss approached Wendy, and rested his arms on the counter, smiling. "Hello, Wendolyn. You've been getting a lot of business, which doesn't suprise me. I've heard good things about your cooked Pokémon—I mean Chocobos."
Giovanni's smug smirk slowly receded into a straight expression. "I came to warn you of a potential issue for your business endeavors. Bluetail Tribe Pokémon have been appearing over at the farms you get your selection from, hungry for easy Chocobo meat, and it's only going to be a matter of time before that little situation escalates."
Giovanni stepped back from the counter, and started smirking again. "I'm willing to handle this potential problem free of charge. All I ask in return is that you consider Team Rocket's services the next time you run into any major issues. Maybe let our organization keep watch over your store."
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
A dogged fellow, aren't we?
Omega - Quest board
"My current form is the result of my own adaptive process." Omega explained. "You mortals possess an unpredictable and illogical strength that counteracts your many weaknesses. To analyze this strength, I have assumed a humanoid form. This alone has been... insufficient, but analysis continues."
She turned her head to look at Destoroyah. "I am exploring alternate avenues of adaptation, but combat remains my primary purpose. Combat simulations remain a useful tool regardless of my temperature."
Akuma Shogun
Entry 002 Part 7 (Lune - Adventurer's Guild)
Unfortunately, the duck was busy chatting economics with the two ladies. For some reason, they were disagreeing over which coin is top dog around these parts. I guess money is more important than some girl who likes building toys and machines, huh. Oh, well. At least, I got Hiccup to talk to.
Hiccup was quite busy, it seemed. He taught many people how to ride Dragonlisks and was busy making assembly lines. That almost sounds like the title of a corny sitcom. Then again, “How to Ride Dragonlisks & Start an Industrial Revolution” seems like a mouthful to the casual listener.
“Neat! I started up a toy shop around here and hired a bunch of workers to keep things going in case I have to gather materials. I also have a mascot to boost morale. Her name is Malia.”
"I see... thank you very much for your continued assistance and aid in this foolish endeavor of mine then. If there's anything you require, don't hesitate to tell me." Smiling warmly at the Super High School Level Subscription of Issues, the somewhat innocent woman turned her attention on over to Zenyatta and correlated his appearance and powers to what she knew.
"Are you a priest of some sort, sir? Are you empowered by a deity because of your faith?" Though she knew a couple of empowered religious folks over the years, none of them were robots. It was rather hard wrapping her mind around that particular concept but he seemed like a very kind person in general so she simply kept treating him the same way as she did organic individuals.
"Mou... you can't speak, huh. It seems like this world loves sending in the quiet ones a fair deal." Huffing and complaining that being saddled with mute main characters was a bit of a pain to deal with when one had to constantly deal with the heroic mimes, the alchemist snapped out of her exasperation to see that the Lost Vessel only looked even more confused.
And really, considering that what she saw and felt with her senses, she couldn't blame the literal bug. If that was the norm where the Vessel came from then it might not have seen anything that looked like her before. Which meant now was a good opportunity to show off!
"Ah, are you wondering what the amazing me is? Well, I'm Cagliostro, FOUNDER OF ALCHEMY!" Actually making an arc with her arms and willing a sparkly rainbow with her abuse of power, the flashy girl continued her shenanigans before finally getting to the meat of the matter. "Anyways, I'm a human. We have our bones inside of our body and the outside is meaty so we're the total opposite of arthropods with the hard shells and boneless insides."
Slipping on a pair of glasses, Cagliostro would then proceed to go on a monologue about the biology of mankind in question, how most people living in the Frontiers shared many characteristics with herself due to being from the same race which turned out to be the main majority for intelligent life-forms discovered thus far, and a short history of what had happened in the days that had passed before the Lost Vessel's personal arrival. With a little slideshow of all things, cutesey drawings adorning the various slides to serve as a visual aid on what's what.
"Hmmm?" A rather annoyed sound came out of the busy cook's throat as she wordlessly gave Giovanni a glance before taking the time to garnish her currently almost done meal, only giving the man her full attention when she had delivered her food to the nearby golem waitresses.
"Well, that was rather... nice of you to volunteer your services so... selflessly." Her mother had instilled into her young head that no one ever gave anything for free unless they were a fool or a saint and that she'd always have to keep an eye out for any strings attached to deals too good to be real. Like right now.
"However you have gotten some things wrong, Mister... Geobendy. The Bluetails are currently a friendly faction that comes by every so often to trade necessary domesticated beasts that could be used for either protection or transportation in exchange for a certain amount of food since their tribe live in an area that is unsuited for breeding Chocobos." Already the redhead didn't like the smile the man was giving off, it just felt so... smarmy. Like a bigoted noble.
"It is true that people get nervous around their approach but that is simply because of they are unused to them in general. We are all starting out here and I'd rather not antagonize a faction that is peacefully attempting to reach out to us if possible. And as for your suggestion..." Staring up at the larger man from her petite height of an even 150 cm, the proprietress shook her head.
"I feel that I'd have to disincline your generous offer. My restaurant is already under the protection of Boss Naga as well as a few other friendly faces that donate their precious time to keep an eye out for this humble eatery. Anything more would simply be overkill as it were." Though her words were polite, it was pretty clear that there was a very solid refusal interlaced beneath the surface of the statements as well as the fact that Wendolyn herself was being rather more overly formal than her regular casual self.
Admiral Wei meanwhile took a look at the approaching Gespent with a raised eyebrow while remarking at the remarkable worksmanship that had went into the steel doll (Fire Nation WAS the leading country when it came to technological prowess from their world after all) while mulling over the matter for a few moments before nodding his head in acquiescence to the question.
"Yes, the Fire Nation has other enemies on the opposite side of the ocean from Akihabara. In fact, the barbarians have constantly attempted to breach our shores many a time, their forces done up in horrid make-up and dark garbs that resembled nightmarish spirits and armed with the handheld weapons you people called 'guns'. We've had to relocate a few of our civilian towns because they've proved to be rather... bloodthirsty in that regard. They come from a behemoth of a city situated over several isles, the very skies cloudy and overcast about the area. I do believe it goes by the name of... Gotham ."
The primly groomed man quietly stated with narrowed eyes, literal heat waves emanating from his temples even as he stewed in quiet fury before recalling himself to the present. "In fact, one of the reasons why I've decided to realign my affiliations was to hope that I could eventually accrue enough merits to allow the more peaceful faction of the Fire Nation populace to settle on over this side. Resources are growing increasingly scarce for the fatherland and the current regime is militaristic so peace talks are of no use until the current situation is resolved."
Edited by Makaioh on Oct 18th 2018 at 5:44:39 AM
The beginning of her stay in this new world was mostly spent drifting around. Part of Rukia did not want to accept that she was trapped in this place, and so she tried to keep herself busy to avoid going stir crazy. She wandered the city, meeting many people, most of which were pretty strange. She quickly picked up on how different the worlds that all these people came from were.
One day she made her way to a park that had been cleared out and turned into fields for crops. She could see the beginnings of a coming harvest poking up from the dirt. The gathering of people out in the open was enough to attract the attention of an avian monster to attack. Luckily for the civilians, an experienced shinigami was more than enough to drive it off.
The farmers were grateful, needless to say. They were happy to offer her a place to stay for the time being, which was an invitation that Rukia could not turn down. One night turned into a week as she found busying herself helping the community a great way to pass the days. She spent some of that time working alongside the large robot that she had met on the hill. After her heroics, the farmers had started turning to the shinigami for help and advice. Before she knew it, she had become pretty familiar with the small community.
Towards the end of the two week period, several of the younger members of the area had taken it upon themselves to seek out an ability that was native to their world. They called it "changing class" or something like that. As far as Rukia knew, they came back in the afternoon wearing new clothing
with swords on their waists. As soon as they returned, the youngsters practically begged Rukia to teach them how to wield their swords. They wanted to be able to defend their home, not to have to rely on others forever. Feeling a little bad after taking advantage of their hospitality for so long, Rukia agreed, though she was not confident in her teaching ability.
Rukia made her way to the large building that had become quite the hub of activity in the city. It was home to a board that people can post requests for help on as well as the only restaurant in the city. Earlier this day, she learned from a few of the farmers she had got to know that the first set of crops was getting close to being ready for harvesting. They were hoping to see if they could find a buyer before going to market, and Wendy seemed like the best lady to sell to.
The shinigami made her way to the restaurant, nodding to whoever she passed but keeping mostly to herself. When she stepped into the establishment, she saw that the proprietress was currently staring down a sharpy dressed man for some reason. She was not very familiar with either figure, so she couldn't exactly make any guesses as it what they were discussing. Rukia , ever the master of tact, cleared her throat to announce her presence and said "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Enterprise - Hornet
"Nothing right now Oscar, currently we're just getting into the final stages of preparation. Keep the orderlies alive while we're out."
Enterprise turned to look at Chun-Li as she arrived and gave a small wave.
"Yeah, I'm a bit weirded out myself. I prefer blue skies and blue seas, red's too much like blood."
Gespenst - Adventurer's guild
"I will have to visit this 'Gotham' after we settle things with the fire nation."
He gave a bow to Wei as a thank you for the information. The black mech at least had a new destination in mind once this next fight was over, but getting there would be a challenge all it's own. Not to mention the fact these people were violent meant that he might be in for yet another fight.
Hill of Origin (Lost Vessel, Cagliostro) ~ First Impressions Are Very Important
The good news was that the pale creature managed to correctly guess what the Lost Vessel wanted to ask, albeit after grumbling about its lack of a voice. That certainly didn't bode well for future attempts at communication, if the other "humans" were like this one.
It certainly got the answer it sought...along with a lot of other information it didn't ask for, presented in a manner that just raised even more questions. Particularly, if all "humans" were like the one it was speaking to now. The way Cagliostro referred to themselves (herself? The voice sounded somewhat similar to a female bug's) so egotistically, coupled with the way she rambled on and on, gave the Lost Vessel the impression that it could have just walked away and she would have kept going without even realizing she no longer had an audience.
Nevertheless, the Vessel stayed and listened to the rest of the lecture. Much it simply flew over its head or just made it wonder about further questions (its best guess as to what "bones" were was some kind of internal shell, which sounded awfully painful), but there was one part of the explanation that caught its attention: something about a nascent god, who would be truly "born" from the actions and interactions of the Frontiers' inhabitants. That sounded suspiciously like the light it was destined to seal. However, it also noted that there was not one mention of the "blinding light," or anything that sounded like the Infection.
In any event, it didn't sound like there was any easy way back to Hallownest short of awakening the nascent god, so it would be stuck here for however long that took. Which, again assuming the light was not in the Frontiers, meant it would be unable to accomplish its goal. Another question came to it: would it return to Hallownest as it had left it, or would the flow of time here affect Hallownest as well?
Questions upon questions upon questions. And the answers just raised further questions. Perhaps that would be its goal while it was stranded here: to find conclusive answers. As fascinating as this lecture was, it got the feeling that it wouldn't be getting many of them out of Cagliostro.
As soon as the fancily-dressed human was finished, the Lost Vessel offered up a respectful bow of farewell before turning and finally taking its first steps into the city of Akihabara. Its first goal: to investigate the matter of the "Fire Nation." Fire brought to mind light, and a blinding light could also be a burning one.
Icon by Civvi the Civilian!
I have a plan.
Adventurer's Guild — Wendy's
Giovanni wasn't smiling anymore by the time Rukia arrived. "I assure you I can handle situations like the Bluetail tribe with a deft touch. Nobody's going to get hurt. I understand not everyone here is confident in Team Rocket's services, but I'd appreciate a chance. That's all I'm asking for, a chance. Thank you for your time."
Giovanni turned around, and started looking a little more sour now that Wendy couldn't see his face. He nodded to Rukia quietly, then left the premises.
Outside the Adventurer's Guild, Giovanni approached a Team Rocket executive who was on standby.
"How did it go, boss?" the Rocket executive asked.
"Not as well as I hoped. These people don't have a care in the world for my services. They don't respect Team Rocket. We'll have to take another approach to this."
"Maybe. It wouldn't hurt for us to at least investigate what's going on out of town, right? Maybe show everyone that Team Rocket's a friendly face."
Giovanni pressed his thumb on his cheek, before walking off with his henchman. "I'll think about it..."
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Annoyed Mode: ON
When it came to fighting, Morrighan was by no means weak under normal circumstances. As one of the three Goddesses of War, she was one of the most fearsome and skilled combatants to have ever set foot in Erinn, outmatched only by her sister Macha, whose martial arts skills were absolutely unparalleled, and Nuadha, who was both the King of Gods and also straight up immortal.
However, that situation was far from ordinary. She was in a completely new land, most of her power was gone, her body had turned into that of a child, and the people she had been watching over, while prosperous, were still quite vulnerable. Admittedly, the ruling council had done a respectable job with the growing so far, and the community had grown stronger in the previous weeks. Her slowly increasing following had contributed towards her efforts to restore her power, and some had even built a shrine in her (adult) image
◊ at the local church. It was not something she had actually asked for, but the gesture was more than appreciated.
As for her, well... she trained. She trained every single day. Her body was completely different to the one she was used to, which meant she had to adapt. So when the Dragon Knight (not to be confused with Hiccup, the Dragon Rider) started her school to help train the other children, the goddess joined up almost immediately.
The other children were usually quite nice to Morrighan, but rather than believe she was a goddess, they were thoroughly convinced that she was, in fact, an oracle. Thus, despite her efforts to correct them, she was granted the nickname "Ori" among her classmates. A nickname that she had no choice but to accept. Despite that, she found them to be... not that unpleasant. Even if most of the time she was off training by herself
And training was what she was doing, squaring off against one of the many inanimate dummies set up specifically for that purpose. Or, more accurately, she was currently resting from viciously beating up an inanimate dummy... by tagging along in a small activity some of the children liked to call "spying on the adults". Which could be explain why there currently seemed to be three small heads poking out from behind one of the tree's enormous roots and staring at Dreadnought, Junko and Zenyatta, as well as a suspicious empty space perfect for a fourth head to fit in.
Vampire Hunter
Chun-Li, Hornet
"It is too much like blood," Chun-Li crossed her arms, unhappy at the sky.
Juri, Adventurer's Guild
Juri remained quiet as she listened to Admiral Wei's explanation of the red sky phenomenon as being something called Sozin's Comet. She was quiet because she was keeping an eye on Giovanni as he talked to Wendy. Thankfully, Giovanni merely offered his services and walked away, but there was a worry that there might have been violence. Juri eventually turned back to Naga and Scrooge who were still arguing about money.
"Yo, anyone else worried about the guys who asses we kicked three weeks ago coming here now that they have comet-induced uber-fire powers?" Juri noted to Naga. "We might want to do something about that."
"And all the bandits really had was gold... well, gold, dirty magazines, and a motorcycle I've claimed," Juri looked over to Scrooge. "If you've got some copper coins already made, I might be willing to trade some of my gold for an equivalent amount of it."
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Time passed as always, marching steadily onward. It was but a blink of an eye for someone as old as Alalia, having watched countless years pass by in her current lifetime. But things had changed. Perhaps it was the lack of a true goal, even while trapped in Etheria she was constantly in conflict to protect her home. But here, all she had was a vague one at best, to ensure the land would not become corrupt or twisted as it grew.
Regardless of the reason, the dryad found that she was no longer content simply sitting and waiting, biding her time and helping when she was sought out. Instead, she began to think and plan. And come up with novel ideas of her own, things she was curious to attempt. Shortly after leaving the God Tree after her initial meeting with Dragon Knight, Alalia had flown over the city and observed it. She watched the people as they moved, and spent the rest of the day getting herself up to speed on its current state and speed of growth.
For a week she did so, keeping an eye on the city and its surrounding area as she noticed the spread outwards; In between other things she found herself getting up to. The arrival of hundreds of new people, filling the city further with life and activity, told the dryad that her plan was viable. And if not, well there wouldn't be anything to really lose. And with her steadily growing flock of harpies, now around about 40 strong thanks to her efforts in planting World Trees, she had what she needed.
Alalia wasn't too surprised to find that a fair number of the harpies wanted nothing to do with her idea, and some even insulted by it. It was likely only her strength and the fact she was a Dryad that stopped them from lashing out at her, and instead simply ignored her and flew off in a huff. But, there were some who were a little more open to the idea, and a little less aggressive, territorial and wary of other races as their sisters. And a few who were perhaps a little too intrigued by them. It didn't matter to her though, and would only really help her in the end.
And so, with that the Frontiers' first mail carrier service was born. Harp Air, a name Alalia was infinitely proud of coming up with, and one that was pretty much entirely lost on the harpies themselves. It was a bit of a task, to teach the feathered women what they were meant to be doing, but she was persistent and she was certain they were ready.
The construction of the orphanage as she and Dragon Knight had planned was also the perfect time for her to have a simple extra building set up for herself to serve as the store, not far from the elevated little village; Set within the bough of a tree itself. It was the perfect location really. Not far from the harpies main nesting area in the bough of the God Tree, and somewhere they could rest comfortably. It was simply just a matter of getting word of its existence out to others.
Her time working on it and training the harpies for the job also worked well in giving Alalia a chance to have kept an eye on the construction of the Dragon Knight's project. It had begun quickly, a testament to the woman's drive and desire to see the idea realized. She was glad to see that the woman had taken her words to heart, and there had been no point where she had to step in to prevent damage to the wildlife and nature of the clearing and forest. At least, during the construction itself.
The number of children Dragon Knight had managed to find in need of protection and a place to stay was far above what Alalia had expected it to be. And with over a hundred children of various ages and species running around, the dryad had to at time step in to ensure they knew to respect the plants and creatures around. And to not do anything that might harm them, or the children themselves. The harpies certainly didn't enjoy being spooked as they rested on their perches.
During the same time, she turned her attention less towards expansion of her powers and more towards strengthening them. It was a slow and tiring affair, and perhaps not as fast-going as if she had simply focused entirely on the task, but the dryad spent some time simply coaxing along the growth of the World Trees, resting among their roots and taking the chance to balance the Corruption within herself as she fed the trees magic and felt them strengthen and grow, and their power do the same. Soon enough, the ranks of the Terrarian creatures in Frontiers swelled, joined by slimes, more hornets, and even several Angry Nimbuses
◊. The minor weather spirits drifting idly throughout the clearing and keeping the plant life watered and protected.
There was also a strange new addition to the creatures of the clearing. Tiny little plant beings that seemed related to the already existing ones, yet much more human-looking, appearing like tiny girls complete with hair and flower petal dresses, yet with the same little stem the other ones had. They seemed to blend with them with no troubles, and had even begun to take up weapons like the already existing ones. It was curious, and made Alalia wonder just where they had come from.
Without the need to really sleep, it gave the dryad ample time to get everything she wished done. Which is how she found the time to occasionally visit what the residents of the city had taken to calling the Adventurer's Guild, and work on her fighting skills. She had found out about it when someone had stumbled across her practicing with her blade, and asked her if she was one of the said adventurer's. Curious, Alalia had gone to check it out and found that it was the perfect place to train. As well as the perfect place to gather information about what was going on in the world currently.
Which is why, it was the first place she went on the day the sky turned red. It had been gradual, steadily growing deeper as hours had passed. Alalia had watched on in silent worry, wondering if it would simply pass after a time. She had been ready, and wary, reminded of the Blood Moon of her home. A night when the dark forces and monsters grew more powerful, and came in hordes to terrorize. But as the day dragged on, and nothing changed, she knew it was time to find out what was going on. Something like that was never a good omen.
She made her way towards the Guild, her blade strapped to her back with a harness of living vines, finding it full of activity as usual. She gave the residents a once over, noting the ongoing conversations, before moving towards the Guild Girl. "Hello, I was wondering if anyone has come through that's familiar with the cause of the red sky."
Anger. Fear. Shock. Sorrow. All of these ran through the Queen of the Koopas as the days passed, and they were actual days complete with a rising and setting sun, and there was no sign of an exit. Or of anything that one would typically find in a game. It didn't matter how realistic one was, there was always something one could find that would break the illusion. Mechanics, menus, anything. But her searches turned up nothing, even as her attempts grew more desperate. She had to get back to her game. She was sure some of her minions could disguise themselves as her and play the part if it came down to it, but she wasn't sure how long it would last before something went wrong. Then it was Game Over for her game.
Eventually, Bowsette had no choice but the accept it. That, somehow, she had been pulled far further than she had ever imagined possible. And out of a game entirely. This was the outside world. Or an outside world. The impossible had happened, and she had no clue what to do.
The horned woman had spent her first days wandering aimlessly, with nowhere to go or nothing to really do. She flew as far as she could stand in one direction away from the hill where she had appeared, pummeling any creatures that had tried to attack her. That had been one of the first signs that she wasn't in a game. The creatures hadn't just disappeared, or played death animations, before respawning. They had bled, and then stayed. At that point she'd quickly turned around and gone back the way she'd came.
But the Queen can only be helpless and sulky for so long. She wasn't some soft little princess who swooned and moaned about how horrible things were! She was Queen Bowsette! The greatest villain of all time, and hallmark video game character! If she was stuck, then she'd do what she did best. Conquer and rule.
The goal gave her a welcome distraction, as she sought out somewhere to set up her new kingdom. As well as a group of minions for her to rule over, and to follow her bidding. She quickly realized that she'd be in for some tough competition, with several other such groups already existing or being created. Some even had matching outfits, speaking of their coordination and ability.
It was during one such time, that one of the most embarrassing things happened to Bowsette. Having come across a number of odd, powerful little plant creatures that seemed to be scattered throughout the land, the horned woman had come across a number of them waging war against several goofy looking, mushroom spotted creatures. Despite their small size, and numerous losses, the creatures were aggressive and determined and were quickly able to bring the creatures down. Especially once several showed up wielding weapons. They had then picked the bodies and carried them away with surprising strength. Formidable, numerous, and strong. They would have made the perfect minions, if only for one thing. They were very, very tiny. But then, she did have some super mushrooms...
Lost in thought as she had followed the creatures curiously, Bowsette had misjudged a tree root. The ruthless, terrifying Queen had gone down with a surprised squeal, slamming chest first into the ground and learning one of the prime weaknesses of her new form. At least, for the few moments before her crown had gone flying, and she had poofed back to her regular form. The fiery lizard had gasped in shock, now once again a massive dragon turtle, and watched dumbfounded as the crown had bounced and landed directly atop the head of one of the spotted mushroom creatures. A poof of smoke later, and there was a very dumbfounded small girl dressed in a spotted dress standing where it had been.
And of course, there had to be someone around at the time too see it all unfold as well. And who else would it be, but the princess from the hill when she had first arrived. Snatching up the crown and slamming it down on her head, Bowsette had glared fire at the blonde girl and pointed. "Don't say a word to anyone. Got it."
And then she had fled with her tail between her legs, and her cheek burning red.
The Koopa Queen had forced the event from her mind, focusing it instead of once again seeking out a kingdom, and a force to use to establish it. She had little luck beyond her initial idea, and was beginning to seriously entertain the idea of growing more super mushrooms to give the idea a try. The only problem, was the annoying limitation they had. But, it was around this time that she noticed something very strange. Alongside the already existing little plant people, ones that looked like cute little girls started to appear. It started as just one or two, and Bowsette had wondered if she had been seeing things at first. But she hadn't been, and soon more and more had begun to appear, even driving tiny trains.
It was dumbfounding and confusing. Particularly when they would spot her, and begin to congregate around her. Soon, she had a little entourage of the plant girls skittering around her, or trying to climb her. When she would stop to rest or anything of the like, she would quickly find them on her clothes, or even in her hair. Even once, she had laid down to relax, and had been brought out of her thoughts by the sensation of tugging all over her, and tiny little grunts. They had been trying to lift her up and carry her away, much like the ones had done to the creatures they fought. She had roared and they'd scattered, but had returned not long after.
It was beginning to grow frustrating, the confusion over what was happening stoking Bowsette's temper. There was only one person who could be responsible for it. One who had seen the truth of her and seemed to be mocking her with these adorable little plant girls. The little princess. She must have had magic of some sort, and was no doubt using it to harass and tease the Koopa. That would not stand.
Her search from her Koopa Clown Car spanned the length of the populated area of this land she had seen so far, flying dangerously between towering buildings and swooping low to demand if anyone had seen the blonde princess. It was as she had been flying over the hill, that she had spotted her target. With a scowl, Bowsette swooped down from above with a booming voice. "You! Tiny princess! Is this your doing?!"
The horned woman tossed one of the tiny pikgirls in her grasp in Cag's direction, knowing full well the little girl could easily handle the distance. She stared sharply down at the girl, ignoring the little entourage that was currently moving up the hill towards her location, tiny little locomotives carrying a number of the pikgirls as they followed after the flying koopa.
Fear me
O'Kais, Hall
-So the skies are not a surefire indicator or the imminent arrival of twisted gue'la and the lunatic gue'ron'sha. However, Wei's further comments are cause for concern. Another group of violently destructive gue'la in striking distance of their base is worrying, but the fact that their government is opposed to peaceful negotiations is another problem, bringing to mind the colossal wastes of time, materiel and Imperial lives due to the blind arrogance of their commanders and theocrats.-
But what of the civilians? Do they support such a senseless war? Would they be open to abandoning their lost cause as your troops have?
Mokou, Bar
Is that so... Fine. Wine, then.
Wulfrik, Wastelands
-Wulfrik watches the scouts go with some regret, less for their sake than for the valuable fuel and motored-cycles they ride and which they risk losing. Nothing to do but wait for their report, if indeed they heed his orders enough to do so.-
Junko - Near God Tree -> Adventurer’s Guild, Quest Board
Hope?
That’s what she was trying to nurture in these students?
This dumb tin can couldn’t be further from the truth.
Junko’s eyebrow gave a brief twitch and for a moment, she gave Zenyatta a somewhat stern glare, but, seeing as the dragon knight was nearby, she didn’t maintain this expression indefinitely.
Regardless, it seemed like he wasn’t going to answer her other question.
Unless this robot’s world was like the sickeningly pure knight, Junko doubted faith alone could grant any such power. Luck on the other hand was a different story, though seeing what she saw of him so far, she doubted that he would possess such a talent.
Well, anyway, she didn’t really feel like standing around in this dump listening to people rattle on about hope, so now seemed like a good time to take her break. Wasn’t everyone else planning some sort big invasion? That sure sounded like fun!
“Well, I must be off. I heard there was some sort of meeting taking place at the Guild Hall, and I still have time before my next class.”
Junko caught a glimpse of some of the students who seemed to be watching them, before she then decided to move on.
When she arrived, lots of people were gathered at the hall, including one girl in a traditional kimono and the city’s mascot character. Oh yeah, Alalia was also there, along with Destoroyah and a few other faces she recognized.
Junko
approached Destoroyah, Omega, and anyone else who might have been near that group.
“Hey Destoroyah, how’s it hangin’? I’ve got time to kill before my next teachin’ gig so I wanted to know what the hell was goin’ on here. Heard there was supposed to be some big meeting for taking on a bunch of fire dudes.”
She turned to Omega, “And who are you?”
Edited by CathariSarad on Oct 20th 2018 at 11:15:31 AM
Zenyatta (God Tree) - We Have Faith, And That's Enough
As Junko left to go to the Guild Hall, Zenyatta's attention turned to the dragon knight that had joined them, and as some more wildlife came to his side to rest near him, Zenyatta spoke once more. "A monk, to be precise. I was of the Shambali, though my calling has taken me into the world at large. The Iris flows through me, its gifts enabling me to give back to whoever I should meet. Much like you do with your pupils." Zenyatta gave Dreadnought a knowing nod of the head at this, his head turning to where the training grounds were located. "I trust you teach them not only how to fight, but when and why to fight as well. A kind word can be just as effective as a sharpened sword."
Proud member of the AGOG community.
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
chaos at the Adventurer's Guild
"Apparently it's a grand cosmological phenomenon occurring due to the approach of a comet, which will greatly enhance the power of firebenders while it's in the vicinity," chaos answered the dryad's query from his spot leaning back against the guild counter, then took a sip of his tea. "I haven't seen much of you for the past few weeks, Alalia. How are you getting along? Anything interesting going on in your neck of the woods?"
For the sake of today's operation, he had exchanged his usual orange vest and light trousers for a set of dark pants and a red and black hooded mantle with dark facemask. About his waist was a crimson cloth held in place by a light belt, form which hung a sheathed combat knife. All in all, it was a look
◊ appropriate to an assassination, which was the work he was to be aiding in for the time being, in contrast to his usual activities as a healer.
Military Grade Shitposter
Adventurer's Guild
"Ah well." And with that, Rico let it go. It was true; the tank Shirakami was driving seemed... quite old by Rico's standards anyways. There was only so much you could do with the platform before the platform started to become the problem. "Though I do suggest potentially upgrading to a better tank if you see one. Just... don't take one that has wheels. Treads are the way to go. Trust me."
He smiled and patted the machine gun as Shirakami looked over towards two other women, one of whom looked relatively normal, and the other quite... silvery. "Well, I need every gun I can get. Unfortunately, whoever dropped me off here didn't give me much more than the clothes on my back and my Grappler," Rico grumbled, as he lifted the heavy tank machine gun onto his back. God damn did it weigh a ton; fortunately, he was only going to need to carry it for the offensive upcoming. Then he could enjoy a day where he wasn't breaking his back.
"Which means that while this is... not exactly up to my rigorous standards of what qualifies as good destructive equipment, it is still a functioning firearm in a world that thinks firearms are still muzzle-loaders. It is an oasis of lead in a desert of blades."
"Seven is here too, dressed like the concept of choosing clothes that look nice together was an arcane secret far beyond their grasp."
Gespenst - Adventurer’s Guild
A comet enhancing the power of fire benders, and the supreme leader planning an all out assault against his enemies using this enhanced power. If the mission failed, would there be anything left in the aftermath? This assault was going to be a fairly risky gamble, but those were always the most fun. At the same time Wei had said something he found interesting, so the black machine approached him.
“The fire nation has other enemies besides us? Who are they?”