The Escapist Avatar Adventure: An Open RP (Now Re-Opened!)

NotYetForsaken · May 15, 2016

[hr]

Lonely Nightmare

Code:

elizabeth's story

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To err is human.

I was suffocating. It was unbearably hot. My skin was burning, Sweat clung to me, sticking my clothes against me like plastic. The cotton as nearly soaked through. I sat up and threw off my shirt. The air hit my skin, it was cold. It felt nice against my bare body. My breaths grew gentle as the madness passed. I swallowed, my throat ached and my mouth was dry. I could feel the tightness of my lips. I ran my hands over my body, from my stomach up over my chest and past the hair that clung to my neck and shoulders. My hands came away wet.

It was night.

The soft hum of the airship grew louder in my ears as the throbbing subsided. Nightmare, I thought, it was just a nightmare. Now the chill of the airship's air seeped into my skin. I welcomed it. Though I could not remember what it was about, I could still feel the intensity of it's nature. My chest stopped heaving and my breathing finally returned to normal. I ran my hands through my hair again.

My room was dark. Though the curtains had been pulled closed, the darkness outside betrayed the moon's absence. The airship kept humming.

Water. I swung my legs off the bed and hopped off and then stumbled through the dark, fumbling with my blurred vision to find a bottle of water. I knew I had some left before I went to bed. When did I go to bed? My head hurt. My hands found a bottle and I eagerly raised it. I pulled off the cap and brought it to my lips. The water was cool and sweet. I drank greedily, letting some of it dribble out of my mouth and down my neck over my body. I still felt unbearable hot. After I finished drinking I splashed whatever was left on my chest and let it drip down to pool at my feet. What... happened. I sat down on my bed, the sheets were still damp with sweat, but cooler now. I tried to remember. Just what in the world happened last night?

I closed my eyes and pressed on my temples with the heels of my palms.

The dark came creeping back. Shadowy forms danced at the edge of my vision and the hum of the airship turned to wicked howls. Azure... That ancient blue danced in the blackness of shadows. Slithering forms in the dark that my eyes could not see yet I knew were there. That darkness so deep it was brilliant.

I felt sleep grasp at me again. Pulling me into the dark. I wanted to forget as much as I wanted to remember. Me duele la cabezaw... I pressed harder at my temples.

It was hot.

I didn't want to be in this room anymore. It made me feel like I was suffocating. I got up to my feet. The floor was cold. I picked up my shirt and threw it over myself. I didn't want to wear any more than I needed to. I wandered out of my room and into the hallway.

[hr]

The halls were quiet. Not even the night watch were patrolling. It must have been sometime between three and four A.M. Before the early morning guard had been stirred to duty. Even then, the night watch was sparse. Mostly it was handled by automatons. The hallways were dim, almost pitch black, electricity was being rationed. I never noticed. I kept a hand on the wall as I walked to steady myself. My thoughts were still dancing mad. The pain was still there, duller now, but no less persistent.

Eventually I got to the Canteen. The heroes. There must be one or two in here. At the very least the flaxen-haired bartender ought to be around. At this point I would have been happy to even see an imp or two. I pushed the door to the Canteen open. The inside was dark. The windows let in no light. It was a moonless night outside. The stars were the only spirits that graced the sky. They twinkled dimly in the distance, hard to discern but present nonetheless. Otherwise the Canteen was empty. No heroes. No imps. I bit my lip. There was something off here.

There were more tables than before. Each was lined neatly next to each other. The kitchen opening was larger too. Fit to serve more people than the heroes ever were. It was odd. It had such order that it seemed wrong. I walked over to the bar. It was still well stocked, each of the colorful liquors were dimly illuminated by backlighting. In the abstract dark that I had wandered, it was a welcomed sight to see such man-made light. I stepped inside of the bar and started to look for a cup. I wanted a drink. Something to calm me. My heart was still beating anxiously.

A sharp piercing pain returned to my head. It throbbed once, and frightened me. I stumbled. I knocked three glasses to the floor and spilled several index cards from their box. Ah shit. I bent down to pick them up. The index cards were for recipes. They had all sorts of strange cocktails listed on them. I ought to have given one a try. I held the first one up to the light of the back lighting. It read,"

Code:

Recipe: Royal Arrival

4 parts Gin
1 parts Lemon Juice
1 part Creme de Noyaux
1 part Kemmel
Dash egg white
Dash vegetable extract

Preparation - Shake ingredients together with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

"

Below the printed portion was a little note scrawled in red ink.

"Ian, Margaret wants you to make this for her during her end-of-service party. Do us all a favor and make sure you don't use the almond liqueur. George is allergic. - Hailey"

Ian...? There wasn't... Ian wasn't the bartender. I shook my head and put the card away. No. The bartender was Luke. I chewed on my lip. And these people don't seem familiar to me. I don't think there even is an Ian on the ship, and Margaret was killed in actions two years ago in Los Angeles. Although... if she had survived... it would have been her release year.

I put everything back where it was and started to leave. My head spun. The Canteen - now that I look at it - it looks foreign. Similar to the one I know, but unsettlingly different.

I should go check on the heroes. I need to go check to see if they're back yet. They have to be back. Back.. from what? When did they leave?

The night was silent.

I started to make my way into the heroes' quarters.

[hr]

Now the hallways were bathed in such an inky pitch that I could no longer make out the path ahead of me. I fumbled through my shirt pockets and pulled out my lighter. It was still heavy with fuel. I lit it and a plume of orange flame leaped out into the darkness. The soft orange glow of the flame did not uncover much of the hallway, but it was enough for me to continue.

I was approaching the links of the two main cabins of the airship. What lay ahead was the Rising Dawn of antiquity, a section of the ship that hosted the hero's quarters - large specialized spacial rooms reserved only for the Rising Dawn proper - and the old hanger array - which was now the gunnery bay. The metallurgists had done a find job melding the two cabins together, but the differences were still there. The steel here was darker with a texture like wood, the hallways were wider, and there were blank spaces where old room had been filled into to preserve structural integrity.

The flame flickered, casting illusory demons on the walls. The orange glow made the ship seem somehow old, like aged paper or ancient film. Yet, it was more comfortable here. The flooring was wood paneled, and the walls did not seem so cold. This part of the ship felt more... alive. My hair brushed down against my neck and made me jump. Why is it so eerie!? I calmed my breath and leaned against the wall. The shadows were my only companions here in this suffocating silence. I held my breath, the panic was coming back. It was like being swallowed in a pit of tar - my mind became muddled and I could not think. It was as if I had become to tired to think.

As it came, it passed. I dropped to the ground. My breaths were deep and long. The floor was cold against my thighs - my shirt was soaked again in sweat. The flame flickered. It was as if hours had passed. I was tired as if I had waded through the tar for a lifetime. Yet. There was nothing. The hallway was still empty and those familiar phantasms danced to silent music upon the walls. I gathered myself. I was so thirsty.

I steadied myself against the wall and stood up. My legs were weak so I stumbled. The will was there, but there seemed to be no more strength in my body. I did my best and leaning against the wall I rose to my full height with great effort. Then I just stood there. Tears were streaming down my cheeks. I felt so scared. So alone. Never before had I ever known such loneliness. Such fear. Such separation. The shadows consoled me wordlessly.

I don't know how long I just stood there sobbing in the dark, but the front of my shirt was sticky with tears by the time I moved on. My throat was sore and dry and my eyes were angry. Yet... something called me. I pressed on, one shaky step after another. My fingers caught on the grooves of the door before I had realized I reached one of the heroes' rooms. I had been so lost in the effort of my steps that the light no longer existed to show me my path, but to comfort me with it's meager light.

I pressed against the door. The name plate was blurred. I slid my hand across the door and it opened. The room within was bathed suddenly in the orange light of my small flickering flame. The bed was neatly made, the furniture undisturbed, and the windows closed. The bathroom was open and affixed with all the amenities. I coughed. Dust. There was so much of it. A thin grey blanket had covered everything. This room had been undisturbed for years.

I entered. I could feel the soft grains of dust against my bare feet. Who's room was this?

"a'homma."[footnote]"Mine."[/footnote]

The answer startled me. I turned around and raised my lighter into the air. It cast its paltry light upon everything in the room - and there was the speaker sitting upon the dresser by the door. Her body was bathed in a shimmering violet light, different from the orange that bathed the room. She did not disturb the dust when she moved.

"Who are you?"

She ran her fingers through her hair. It was long and white, so perfectly kept that it ran down to her ankles in thick beautiful strands. Her eyes were a piercing red - a color unnervingly close to that of blood. She smiled. Her lips were pale. She had long thick black eyelashes. She leaned forward and smiled.

"uinia,"[footnote]"Venia"[/footnote] she answered.

She swung her legs out and landed on the floor. She was just as tall as me, probably fourteen years of age if I had to guess. Her skin was ashen - and she wore nothing. Her body was bare against the light - yet her small breasts were featureless and she had nothing below her navel. She was like a doll...

Except she was bleeding. All over her body ran angry red lines - cuts and lacerations - oozing with blood. Her skin was purple and bruised in patches from the neck down, and her neck had faded black rings around it. She smiled and leaned forward toward the orange flame. It flickered.

"Who are you?" I repeated, taking a step back. That fear was coming back, the engulfing darkness, the miasma. Her eyes gleamed and she rushed forward, a flurry of white and violet light. I raised my arm to shield myself. I had nothing but the flame to guard me against this phantom.

She grabbed a hold of my arm, and suddenly my body felt cool. I opened my eyes. She was inches from my face, with large red eyes staring into me. She smiled. The terror had gone from my body, and my legs had regained some of their former strength. I felt my voice catch in my chest. She leaned forward and pressed her body against mine. She still held onto my wrist, and she put her other arm around my waist. It was as if we were dancing.

"Who are you?" I repeated once more.

"a efam i,"[footnote]I am Pain.[/footnote]

I blinked, "The lieutenant?" She shook her head. She brought her cheek to mine and whispered in my ear.

"a suer i,"[footnote]I am Suffering[/footnote] She leaned back and pulled me forward into a light-hearted spin. "a shuamyo i,"[footnote]I am Compassion[/footnote] she leaned forward and kissed me deeply. I did not struggle. She felt.. right. It was a sort of indescribable love. I wanted to hold her and to be held by her. I wanted her to become of me. With her gentle touch, it was like all of my pain had melted away. "a uinia i."[footnote]I am Venia.[/footnote]

"Venia," I muttered under my breath. She twirled me again, her body pressing tightly against mine. Our dance was sending the dust into the air, and as our bare feet swept over the ashen carpet, it began to turn to liquid light. Like water, it moved in and out in waves and crashed against our feet. It was a warm pleasant light, as if pleasure of sight and touch had been distilled into liquid. Venia held me in her dance and I leaned my head against her shoulder. The skin was soft, but I could feel the bumps of scars on her skin and scaly patches from old burns. Her thin arms had fractured bone and her fingers had opened sores. I could feel her the bones of her hips as she pressed into me. Yet, she was strong. It was as if she felt no pain, but joy. Enveloped in this brilliant white sea. The liquid light rose and upon it came a foam of all colors. Venia spun and spun and spun. Her eyes were closed in absolute bliss and she grinned so widely I could see the broken flesh within her cheeks. "Why are you here?"

"mediara ite sa,"[footnote]To save you, of course.[/footnote] she said smiling.

I paused. ",ie...,"[footnote]Why?[/footnote]

"because," she said in English. There was an accent, strange and foreign, but familiar at the same time. The sounds danced on her lips and resonated from her throat like music. "you need saving. no reason more."

The dark completely eroded into the sea of liquid light. I felt weightless. I felt beautiful. I felt... normal. For the first time in my life I could think of no true worries. I put my head against her young chest and cried. She held me close. I had never felt so relieved in my life. It was like. It was like I... I... I...

It was like I was saved.

And she held me. In that embrace of infinite kindness, and never before had I felt such unconditional love. It was brilliance brighter than the brightest stars. I held onto her and cried, and she soothed me with gentle whispers and song. And we fell within the waves of liquid light.

And she cried.

So I asked her,

"why are you crying?"

and she answered,

"because I will not let you cry alone."

"but I do not cry because I am sad, but because I am happy"

"then I also cry because I am happy."

I gripped her and wailed. She held onto me tightly, her hair drifted in the liquid light like wings. She cried tears of crystal as she held me. There was nothing I could want more than to be with her.

Then she spoke again. Child, she said, let your feelings go.
Let yourself become one with me so that I can bear the weight of your sins.

And so I did. The light held us and sang sweetly. There was nothing more that I could want. A saint. This girl was a saint. She was born of the same cloth as Maria and Peter and Michael. She was an angel. The very essence of God. It was encompassing love - this infinite sea of compassion that had swallowed all the darkness.

I could only wish that it would last forever.

Then at last she said, You are forgiven, My Child.

She let me go and the liquid light around us receded. Still her presence gleamed like the very star of the heavens. I reached out to her and she held her hand against mine.

Do not fear. She said. For I am with you always, my child.

Then why was this the first time I had seen her.

You have had me always. She answered. In your own compassion and love I exist.
In times both good and bad I am with you.

"a sa'ahn i" [footnote]I am with you.[/footnote] she said.

"a sa'ahn i" [footnote]I am with you.[/footnote] I answered.

[hr]

It is known that mankind's greatest folly is his desire for independence. For man cannot exist alone. The longing for love and life is too great. When mankind becomes truly independent, the weight of his own life is too heavy to bear. It is only by collective struggle that the sins of life can be carried to completion.

Mankind exists upon the nature of love and compassion. To that end he has created the concept of God, and through God created a sea of compassion that is a part of all men. For God, by a million million names being called, is all but one thing - the hope of all humankind to be loved and forgiven.

For man cannot exist alone because the sins of life are too heavy to bear. Man forgives man, and all of mankind loves one another so that God may love all of mankind.

To forgive is divine.

[hr]

It was night. The fan was blowing gently. I could feel the dry tears on my cheeks. I sat up in my bed. The sheets were newly cleaned, smelling of fresh linen. My shirt was draped over my desk chair along with the rest of my uniform. I was naked beneath the sheets. My body felt light, and I held myself. My heart was fluttering. The light of the moon outside trickled in through the window - a beautiful silver ray that fell upon gleaming steel.

I couldn't remember what it was. A nightmare? A dream? I picked up a bottle of water and brought it to my lips. It was sweet and cold. I tossed the bottle once I drained it and looked around again. The air felt nice against my bare body. I ran my hands through my hair and sighed. I felt lighter than before. The gleaming steel shone at the foot of my bed. It was my lighter.

I could go for a smoke. I pulled a cigarette from the pack on my bedside table and bit onto the filter. I grabbed the lighter and flipped it open. It was too light, almost empty. I'd have to get another one. I brought it to the end of the cigarette and pulled the sparker.

I dropped the cigarette to the floor. I took a deep breath. My heart was stuck in my throat.

The flame of the lighter shone gold - a fire born of liquid light.

Silence · May 15, 2016

The entity understood. As it was drawn out, it seemed to hesitate, slightly pull back against the force with ease. But then, it let go. Anjali could feel its emotions, them overwhelming her. She felt like a god, like a being having lived for millions of years, with all the experiences stemming from several lifetimes. From other beings. From betrayal and trust. From other beings, dead long ago, and dead again. And she acknowledged Deborah as one like her. One who had burrowed power.

As the book opened, Anjali understood nothing and at the same time felt as if she understood everything. She wanted to reach out, touch the words, see the past and the future. She wanted to know, but she knew she could not. Time could not be tamed, not like human souls. It was as if she had enough power to know it all, but not enough to know anything.

And then, as Deborah closed the book, and everything was normal again, Anjali felt normal as well. The haze she had felt on her mind was gone. She did not feel something rumour inside her anymore. It was not gone, but content. She felt more alive, like she was free to do what she wanted, not something urging her to do anything anymore.

She looked at the world, taking in the sounds, smells and sights, not knowing if she had ever seen it this way. This place was perfect in its imperfections. It was a world to celebrate. It was intense, and nothing held back the wonder Anjali felt. She felt ready to investigate the mystery of something like a simple spoon, to adore the craftsmanship, to learn how even one without power could create wonders. And she felt ready to preserve this world.

"Given time I think I could - if I were to be so proud - pinpoint your nature within the limitless bounds that is the world that we live. For I am Nobody, and I am Anybody, and my domain is that of the very words themselves."

Words are everything. Even if nothing else exists, ideas, the nature of beings, can still exist in empty space. Ideas are shared in words. Memories are ideas, shared by words. They are precious, keeping the world together. Memories came back to her again, with all the emotions connected to them. She had wanted to share the beauty of the world as she saw it now, but who could she share it with? Her best friend, her mother ...

Anjali broke down and cried, silvery, spiritual tears running down her cheeks. "Mommy." she sobbed. "Why did I die so soon? I would have wanted to show you this.
Why can I be back, and why can't you know it? I can only imagine in how much pain you were, after I vanished."

Nothing held back her emotions. Purely her own, personal ones. Regret, grief, anger. Joy and sadness. The urge to take revenge and the urge to forgive. It was like she was alive again, learning what she had lost, for the first time. She wanted to change what had happened, but knew she could not. She wanted to accept it, but could not yet.

"What the fuck did I miss?"

Anjali, the undead girl, just kept on crying.

NotYetForsaken · May 18, 2016

Postmodern Mysticism
Location: Canteen | Rising Dawn
Seeing is to knowing as knowing is to having done.

Titania

"For fuck's fuck," Titania whispered under her breath. She tucked her hat over her head to try to drown out Anjali's fervent sobs. Whatever Deborah had done to the girl while she was knocked out - by Deborah's own slight of hand no less - must have been quite excessive. The lingering static of phenomena intervention still tainted the air around the three woman. Though, it was quite unlike the aggressive phenomena intervention that Titania was so accustomed to dealing with. This was a smaller, more benign version - more suited to scrying and prophecy than actual causality.

Still, the buzzing was quite an annoyance.

Titania shifted uncomfortably. Her thighs were sore and her belly ached. She frowned. Even as her neck sank into the soft cleavage of the ~~pleasure servant~~ woman behind her Titania was unsatisfied. Though, she was unsatisfied to a degree not entirely owing to her carnal incarnation. Rather, she was bothered by something on her mind. Now that the little one had gone - Ruby - she remembered with a strange fondness, her mind was becoming less and less clouded.

The little queen ran her hands across her dress to smooth out the wrinkles from the red silk. She adjusted her hat as Anjali cried. Miki floated down with another cup full of honeyed wine, and Titania accepted it graciously before emptying the cup in one breath.

Deborah sat still with her eyes closed. She was humming. That silly old song that Titania remembered that she would always sing in court even before she was transposed into the physical world. So often that dopplegangers forget their original forms so that they have fully become the personas once only assumed.

The trembling pitch from within her chest was unmistakable though. It was the hum of a viola's strings paired with the bright tones of a flute. It rose and fell like waves, switching between light and dark notes. Titania sighed.

Kalamon Nahm. The song of change, as Oberon used to like to say. The lowborn would sing it together whenever the seasons came to pass in the Backyard. The tune was passed from mother to daughter through countless generations stemming from immemorial times - from an era before even the First Names.

Deborah leaned forward to take Anjali's hands, and she opened her mouth just a smidge to let the building melody out into the world.

"~Let it pass and let it go, for seasons ebb and seasons flow.
Time stops nevermore for even men most bold,
so sob no more and let time pass, let time go.~"

That's only the first chorus. Titania recalled, though she couldn't think of the rest of the song at the moment. It had something to do with being born again and again... something something 'the cycle runs forevermore. So turn, turn, O wheel of time, and let us all mourn.'

"Tread not now for deeds undone,
wallow not for failures come and gone,
stand tall, O child of magic born, and live on.

Live on for mother,
and live on for father,
whose solemn rest in earth be undisturbed.

Live on to see,
and live on to be,
for children yet to see the buds of spring.

Leave winter, leave fall.
Leave the burning cinder,
so that fire may all return,
to darkened earth.

Then from black earth rise,
saplings born from ash.
Then from icy prisons freed,
the children whom in water sleep.

Live, live, and live dear daughter mine,
and live not for me, but live for thee."

...

That's not the original song at all. The world was convoluted indeed. Little Ruby's strength far exceeded her expectations. For something as banal as an old lullaby to be so drastically changed was as feat attributable only to the most powerful of observers. Perhaps... it was attributable to artificial observers. Creations without bias. Or perhaps it was a nature of unrestricted creativity - to be able to ignore the bounds of reality in ways that changed the very nature of history in subtle ways.

Nevertheless as Deborah comforted Anjali with heartfelt words, Titania was preparing to deal with something much more sinister than a vengeful spirit. Could it actually be... the one thing that I cannot do, that makes humankind so powerful as observers?

Diablo1099_v1legacy · May 20, 2016

Capitol Building Compound: M. Bison Vs Pretty much everyone

Bison had been on the loosing side in a battle before, the would be Dictator hoping he could use those experiences to his advantage.
First thing first: He had to not die before then.

Diana's dragon form quickly bored down on him, taking swings at him with her claws and tail, as if Bison needed any more reasons to dislike dragons.
He still stood his ground, waiting until she had committed to the attack before making his move, namely glowing purple for an instant before warping out of harms way [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Bison_Warp].
He re-appeared on Diana's skull, stomping on of her eyes under his boot before striking his palm against her forehead, sending a rather sharp surge of negative energy into her mind, funneling some of the anger and fear that his "Fans" have "Donated" to him.
His hope was the painful emotions he was channeling into her would disable her or at least slow her down.

Leaping off the dragon, then turned his attention to Kalastryn's "Goons", another smirk coming from him as he held his arms out, channeling more Psycho power into this next attack.
[color=6c1504]"I will not fall this day, Not before I claim what is rightfully mine!"[/color] he shouted in a hammy manner before launching large orbs of psionic power [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Psycho_Cannon] at each creature in rapid succession, dealing respectable damage but not finishing them off.
He would have done so, but Nadalia's incoming attack was a much more pressing matter.
Nadalia cut it pretty close and for a moment there, even Bison expected to have a flaming sword though his skull, but her momentum stopped in mid-air as her blade's flames licked his face.

Both of his hands glowed purple as they they "Caught" the blade, using his power to hold it in place before the point of impact.
Once the shock of his near-death experience was over, he then used his grip on the blade to throw Nadalia aside, letting out a slight chuckle until he smelt something akin to burning leather.
[color=6c1504]"Hahahaha-ah? Oh! Ah! Not the hat! This is my last one!"[/color] he panicked as he began to pat out the small fire on the bridge of his hat with his hands, letting out a sigh of relief afterwards.
But that was short lived as Icarus made his offensive, landing a flurry of lighting infused blows, it was like a even more annoying version of that weird green Brazilian he fought in the past.
Still, years of attending fighting tournaments did allow him to press on though it and even attempt a rather nasty counter attack as Icarus tried to put some distance between them.

The Half-angel's flight-plan was going steady until Bison seemed to vanish, right before he felt a large weight on his spine as Bison Stomped on his back [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Head_Press], violently knocking him out of the air and back onto the ground at an unhealthy speed, leaving a slight crater on impact.
[color=6c1504]"Heh...The folly of Youth..."[/color] He then taunted before slamming his foot down on one of Icarus's wings hard, attempting to break it there and then.
He would have done the other one until he looked over at ARES who was about to blast him into next year and a few months extra.
Quickly forgetting about the Angel, he brought up a protective field in front of him, keeping his flesh un-shredded for another few seconds even as the sheer volume of lead slowly pushed him backwards.
If ARES's visual drivers were good enough, she could just about make out each of the bullets sticking to the field before being slowly turned around with the tips pointing back at her.
A processing cycle or two later, she realized what was about to happen as Bison struck his side of the field with his palm, Sending each bullet attached to it back in her direction [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/Psycho_Reflect].

(More reactions to come!)

Kalastryn · May 20, 2016

Capitol Building Compound: M. Bison Vs Pretty much everyone

ARES was surprised that her onslaught was so well handled by the dictator to be. Her eyes widened in fear as everything she sent at him slowly pointed back at her.

"God damn it all... this wasn't supposed to be easy, but that's just..."

She knew what was coming, and as tough as her armored plating is... that was a lot of bullets. Would her shield absorb enough of them so that she wouldn't be struck anywhere vital?

She had no time to think about that. Her perception of the world seemed to slow to a crawl as a taste of her own medicine raced through the air in her direction.

There was little choice in the matter as she had to then devote entirely to defending herself, stopping the flow of bullets to bring up an additional layer of shielding, and coat herself in a reflective fluid that seemed to seep out of her and through her armor like she was sweating bullets; then it hardened to provide not only extra defenses, but also to hopefully send a few ounces of lead back in Bison's direction should all else fail.

Once the hail of lead had ceased however, she wisely decided that it was time to move. Disengaging her sentry mode and the damaged barrier that came with it, she drew one energy blade in her right hand, like those she used when fighting in the demonology lab in black Mesa, and dropped her minigun to the ground as it reformed. After all if Bison's last action was telling, an assault from range would likely only come back to bite her, or anyone else caught in the crossfire.

"You seem to like keeping your distance where possible, but that won't be a problem for long!" She shouted as she dashed forward, having a trick up her sleeve for when he no doubt retaliated.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile Kalastryn watched down from the roof, through the holes rather conveniently made by a falling truck. While her "summoned" henchmen kept Bison busy, she decided to use that time to nurse her most severe injury, using the negative energy from her own spells to regenerate rather than harm her now undead form.

"You seem to think highly of yourself, but you will fall this day. After all, if you are so determined to claim what is rightfully yours, that is exactly what you've earned!"

She shouted as she then jumped down from the roof and unfurled her wings, letting herself stop just shy of the ground while her leg recovered, conjuring a spectral hand hidden by gripping her leg from beneath her robe. Though the strongest she could conjure it, it was still a weak little thing. For one of Bison's strength merely sneezing on it could utterly destroy it, which is why she waited for an opportunity to use it.

In the meantime, the Lemures that bison struck had recoiled from the impact, but as they got back up they were still dead set on brainlessly charging him.

"So hard to find good help these days... brainless swine." She cursed at them before opening a dimension door in front of one of them to just above where Bison had been forced by ARES' barrage. The effect of this was essentially throwing it at him from an angle above and behind him.

Gliding over to where Nadalia had been thrown, noticing her lack of an arm. "That looks... terrible. I'm actually impressed you still decide to fight after losing a limb. Hm... could you lend me your ear for a moment, this situation actually gives me an idea..."

Silence · May 21, 2016

What was going on was too far away for Mio to make out, but the sounds, carried over the plaza, gave enough indication about the danger it would be to come closer. The sounds of cannons, magic, punching and shouting, all concentrated on one place. And no end to listen to. Mio decided to sneak closer, still keeping out of range of the fighting itself. But she did not want to lose Elise, immediately after finding her, just because she had lost her out of sight.

Suddenly, she heard painful roaring, like that of a wild animal being hurt. She stopped, looked: The black dragon, one eye closed, had landed before the building, seemingly being in pain, slashing the empty air violently. It was far too close for Mio. She stumbled backwards again, her sight becoming blurry. She ran to some green blobs she saw, some bushes, and hid inside, slowly breathing in and out, calming her mind.

The dragon in the meanwhile, running on pure instinct in pain, tried to keep its eye on the one who had caused this much pain, this many unwanted memories, real and unreal. Violently slashing out, it did not care what it hit, it just wanted the pain to stop, while inside the mind, resembling the strength that was carried to outside, Diana fought against the overwhelming sensation in her mind. She still had a tiny bit of clarity, stemming from experience, from dealing with all the bad memories she had read from other people before.

She knew biggest fears, extreme trauma, and extreme depression even from her own mind. She was slowed down by how much it was at once, but she could fight against it. Sorting, slashing through the memories, like she slashed the air on the outside, she slowly put these thoughts away, replacing them, knowing what could be done to calm minds, and to overpower what had been put in her mind. It took extreme effort, it exhausted her, but with pure willpower she shoved negative energy out of her mind, like someone would use every last reserve of her body's strength to roll away a boulder that was laying in her way, threatening to roll over her and leave her dead.

And then, a wave of psychic energy pushed out from her mind, targeted at Bison, but strong and not aimed precisely enough to not get others, that is everyone who did not have a telepathic shield in place, to get a glimpse of it as well.

It was a simple memory. One of a grassfield, blooming flowers, insects buzzing, some trees and a mountainscape in the distance. It smelled of freedom and happiness, nothing disturbing the peace. And right where the memory was gathered, a bunch of kittens played with each other, licked and cuddled with each other, meowed, tried to hunt some insects, with not a care in the world. And you yourself, you were a kitten too in this memory, taking part in the play. It was a good memory, one to calm minds, one fully devoid of any negative energy.

And it was pushed into Bisons brain, set out to get rid of negative thoughts, to leech out the poison stemming from reading too many bad minds. It was like a spike of happiness inserted into his mind, open, so others could share this sense of happiness, of peace, of calm.

Mio could see clearly again, she felt better. Her idea to come closer had been dumb, but she felt calm again. It would be alright.

[hr]

Anjali kept on crying while Deborah was singing, not being able to stop for a while. The song she sung - it felt familiar, but she did not recognize it. Maybe it was just the magic in place. She wept, until she felt exhausted, something she did not expect to even be possible in her state. There was not much she could do, but hold Deborahs hands until she was done singing.

Much was still unsaid, undone. Anjali just said on the floor, not knowing what to do. She wanted to visit her mother's grave. She wanted to experience most of the things she had missed, being dead so early. She wanted others not to suffer like she had. She wanted to help people. She still felt cold. But she knew now that she could experience some warmth.

"Thank you." she said quietly after Deborah had finished her song. Then, as honest as she could be: "I do not know what to do now. Living, but how?"

Diablo1099_v1legacy · May 21, 2016

Capitol Building Compound: Rugal

Rugal had beaten Bison before, it was the nature of their business relationship back in the Cartel: Bison would attempt a coup every once in a while, Rugal would smack him around and tell him to get back to work and all would be well in the world (except the millions of lives they both ruined in their criminal actions but that's another story).
This however was different, while Rugal knew the outcome already (Seriously, he couldn't beat him then so how could he beat him now?), it was really more a matter how much harm he would cause before he was taken down.
Even without an army backing him up, Bison's power alone could cause them some serious hassle and without his daughter to patch everyone up...

"Rugal, this is Elise speaking ... we have more than enough members to take on Bison- let us find your beloved daughter love. I'll search the perimeter from up here, do search the area and see if there's a cellar passageway leading somewhere. There's bound to be one in a building like this. I'll inform you if I come across Teri before you do."
Elise's message helped to snap him out of his sight daze as he replied back "You go on ahead, I've fought Bison enough times to know better then to under-estimate him. Stay out of sight, the Cyborg army mightn't be engaging us but I doubt they'll take kindly to spies. Report back as soon as you can. Rugal, Out."
Turning his attention back to the fight, he watched as the heavy gunfire from ARES's reflected barrage threatened to turn him into swiss cheese.
Firing off his Dark Barrier [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx9/char/cvs2/rugal/a/special/rugal-cvs2-reflector.gif], he used it to shield himself from the lead storm as well as advance forward, not getting too "In his face" however, that's what Bison would be expecting of him...

Instead, he attempted to play the range game, if for nothing else then to keep Bison too busy dodging to even attack.
I hope Teri is okay...wait-...Terry-...That's it!
Recalling a certain pizza boy with a bad grasp on the English language, he had just the move.
Taking a moment to compose himself, he channeled a rather large amount of ki before Smashing the ground and sending a massive wall of golden colored death [https://youtu.be/89nNsPUhewc?t=8m48s] Bison's way.

Capitol Building Compound: David West

*Beep Beep*
*Beep Beep*
*Beep Beep*
*Beep Beep-Click!*

The first thing that David West did whenever he was waking up after a rough night was to shut off his alarm so he could get a few more hours, the alarm in this case being the anti-theft on the truck he was in.
Moving his hand though the sick gel-like..."Gel" to yank the key out of the ignition, the sniper then attempted to get out of the truck, too fazed from the impact to realize the fight was already underway.
The door to the drivers seat was already in someone's bathroom right now so he was able to gracefully fall out the side of it, retching slightly as some of Katya's gunk got into his mouth.
While he did survive the impact because of it, he still felt rather shook up, as one would be if they just lived though as many buildings as he did like that.
"[sub][sub]Ohhhh...that-...sucked...[/sub][/sub]" he gasped though bruised lungs and what was most likely internal bleeding as he began to pull himself back to his feet using the tears in the side of the truck as hand-grips.
"Alright-...alright-ACK! POOT!...Okay, I'm alright...I'm alright...I'm outta the truck...outta the truck-" He groggily said as he spat out the contents of his mouth and wandered away from the truck, only to pause when he saw what Bison was cooking.
"...BACKINTHETRUCK! BACKINTHETRUCK!" He then screamed as he attempted to do a Hollywood Slow-Mo dive out of harms way while the bullets went flying.
While most of the fire was directed back at ARES, the sheer volume of lead that was being fired about rivaled John Woo movies and, thanks to the laws of averages, at least one of them had to hit something.

Bad news for our sniper that something happened to be his leg.
And his knee.
And his bicep.
And his ribs. (As well as whatever was behind them)
By the time he landed from his dive, David looked and felt like someone who just got blown up by a landmine, letting out a silent gasp of pain as the wind and blood in his body was knocked out of him.
Landing beside the front of the truck, he groaned in pain before hastily dragging himself behind cover, slumping against the damaged grill as he informed his current status over the rings/radio.
"West-...here....Got hit-....*Gasp*...Not going to lie...it really hurts to talk right now-...*Gasp* Teri, could use some of that "Jesus Loves Me" stuff...
...
...Now would be good...Hello?..."

NotYetForsaken · May 22, 2016

Postmodern Mysticism
Location: Canteen | Rising Dawn
Only the nameless complain about the frivolity of names.

Titania le Fay

"You ask for the truth to the nature of life," Deborah said softly. She smiled with a mother's gentleness, "Such a question, is not one to be answered. To know the nature of life, of how to live, that is your own journey."

The scarlet jewel on Titania's broach hummed. She scoffed. She speaks as if she knows what it means to live! As if she were not just a flesh and blood copy of a more prodigious life! As the Fairy Queen thought contemptuously to herself, the Blue Sorceress opened her eyes.

Titania almost fell over, so shocked was she that she could feel her heart skip a beat.

Deborah's eyes held a profound light. They shone brilliant with flitting embers indicative of observing nature. Titania touched her own eyes and blinked several times. She herself still retained that same observing strength - from nowhere it seems that Deborah had been gifted with the strength of an Observer.

Deborah continued to speak, the light of her red eyes grew ever stronger, "You must find your raison d'etre, your reason to be. Seek it, and in seeking it find the secret to living."

Titania took a step back, her head hurt sharply. Shattering lightning and thunder ripped through her small frame - the world seem to break apart into a million shards, each superimposed upon each other into a strange fractal distortion of the world.

Then it all snapped back into one.

"Travel with us, and in time I think you will be able to find the reason behind both your rebirth, and your future life." Deborah sat back and picked up her drink. "Cheers."

Neuromancer · May 23, 2016

The Streets of Colorado - Near the Capitol Building
[color=5B9C64]Eddie the Dead[/color] | Wrath of the Gods | Five more minutes | Tentacles and Me: A Love Story

To Eddie, few things were quite so amusing as mortals reacting to... somethings. He didn't really have a name for these increasingly unlikely chain reactions that he helped start but not willing cause. He had theorized that they were a ide effect of his ability to fundamentally change reality. Or maybe they were just his hostess' way of cracking a joke.

Either way, the somethings always had a way of making an impression. Take, for example, the dumbfounded expression poor Nina had, trying to register what exactly happened. If only he had a camera to capture the expression, maybe he could even start a collection...

Actually, that was a pretty good idea, now that he thought about it...

Having added a new objective in mind, Eddie turned to look at the sky. Nina, clearly not a stranger to hubris, was trying to haggle with him, but he wasn't really paying attention.

Indeed, something else was occupying his attention: Someone was copying him.

"BUT! I gotta to get rid of that shit first."

[color=5B9C64]"Mmhm"[/color], he replied back, utterly ignoring her. From his hand movements, one could gather that he was calculationg a trajectory- namely, the trajectory of the fall and point of impact.

"Even, if we leave for the pastry shop that'll just send more assholes after us and probably blow the shop up before we can enjoy anything. Right?"

And just as she said that, Eddie pointed at the cyborg with an [color=5B9C64]"...Aaaaaand there!"[/color] Just as he did, Rory crashed next to the cyborg, and continued to tear it in half with her impractically large halberd.

"Well, that was really convenient."

[color=5B9C64]"It was, wasn't it?"[/color] Eddie said as he turned to her, a smug, knowing grin forming on his lips. He [small]probably[/small] had nothing to do with that little convenience, but his navigator didn't need to know that.

In truth, though, Rory's appearance couldn't help but make him feel itchy bitchy nervous. Without Rory, who was gonna look after the kids? And more importantly, with her gone, who was gonna monitor poor Anjali in her first few hours since awakening?

[color=5B9C64]And to think she thinks me irresponsible.[/color] he thought, and found himself have a sudden urge for haste. He had already taken too long, and Rory's appearance only served to remind him not to tarry much longer.

"HEY! The fuck do you think you're going?!" yelled Wrath as she threw her hammer at a drone with the grace of an olympic medalist, destroying it and grabbing his attention both.

"You know Eddie," commended Nina, "kinda see why you like her, she's pretty awesome. So, about the whole pastry thing, are you just going it alone or are we bringing anyone else along here as well?"

He chuckled at that. Oh, if only she knew all the terrible, terrible things Wrath had done for the pettiest of reasons. Would she still think her 'awesome' then? Heh, ignorance truly is bliss.

Still, there was some merit to what Nina had said. More people means that things are taken care of quicker and easier. If Wrath came along, for example, he wouldn't have to waste time dealing with potential obstacles and just battering ram through them with her. And Sloth... he'd have some use, surely. Maybe as a check for Wrath.

[color=5B9C64]"You brought up a pretty good point there, my dear tentacle lover. So, here's how it's gonna go: I'll do a party check, you go on ahead and start walking. I'll catch up on you and Squidward in a minute."[/color]

Leaving her behind, Eddie walked up to the first potential recruit, the lord of the vices, Sloth himself.

"You can't help but show off, huh?" Sloth asked with a soft chuckle.

[color=5B9C64]"That's certainly true,"[/color] Eddie grinned back, [color=5B9C64]"but I can solemnly say that I did not plan for that to happen. I think you can blame that on the higher ups."[/color] he pointed at the sky. [color=5B9C64]"So, Bison, huh? That sounds like too much effort to me. And, I mean, there's so many of those so-called heroes in the Rising Yawn, surely they got things covered, eh?"[/color] he pointed at Nina with his thumb, [color=5B9C64]"I'm gonna be going to pick up sweets for the kids back in the airship. Reckon resistance will be pretty light down the road."[/color] Wrath was having a laughing fit in the distance, [color=5B9C64]"Why don't you stick with us and relax a bit? You did your part for the day if ya ask me."[/color]

Leaving Sloth with a "Think about it," Eddie moved on to Wrath. Much to his disappointment, Rory was already gone, and he had thus missed the opportunity to ask her how the kids and the chick were doing. All the more reason to get on with all of this, then.

[color=5B9C64]"Oi, Wrath!"[/color] he yelled as he moved up to her, [color=5B9C64]"Sounds like yer having a good time over there. Can't say I've been having much of that the past day, but that's a different story."[/color] he pointed at the source of much noise in the distance, where the Bison fight was taking place, [color=5B9C64]"You're not gonna have fun in there, Wrath. Too many people, too much to watch out for. Collateral damage. You'll have Sloth yell at you every single swing you take, 'be careful' 'don't swing so wide' yada yada yada. I know you, Wrath. You're not the kinda person to have fun if they don't let loose."[/color]

He started walking towards Nina. [color=5B9C64]"So why not join me instead?"[/color] he grinned as he turned to Wrath, [color=5B9C64]"I'll let you know how I ended up having to go shopping for a couple of brats all the way up on an airship. The schaudenfreude should help with the bloodlust, eh?"[/color] and turned back and continued walking.

Texas Joker 52 · May 25, 2016

[hr]

While Wrath was busy shaking with laughter and wiping away the tears from her eye, Sloth merely shook his head. He didn't consider himself unreliable. It's just that people relied on him for the wrong things. That wasn't his fault, it was theirs. Turning back to Eddie and his companion, he strode over with his characteristic slowness, even as Eddie moved to meet him too.

"[color=5B9C64]That's certainly true, but I can solemnly say that I did not plan for that to happen. I think you can blame that on the higher ups. So, Bison, huh? That sounds like too much effort to me. And, I mean, there's so many of those so-called heroes in the Rising Yawn, surely they got things covered, eh?[/color]"

Sloth pursed his lips thoughtfully and glanced back at the capital building for a moment before smiling rather charmingly when he looked back at Eddie.

"You're certainly speaking my language." he said with a soft laugh.

"[color=5B9C64]I'm gonna be going to pick up sweets for the kids back in the airship. Reckon resistance will be pretty light down the road. Why don't you stick with us and relax a bit? You did your part for the day if ya ask me. Think about it.[/color]"

Sloth nodded, striding over to Nina's side as the Mercenary of the God's made a bee-line to Wrath. The Embodiment of Ire had finally managed to finish up her laughing fit, and had just realized that the flamethrowing ***** and the little wimp were both gone, much like Rory. With an irritated huff, she stared hard in the direction of the capital building.

True to her nature, she could feel the violence and hate radiating there. It wasn't hard for her to feel it, either, like it could be elsewhere. It was pretty concentrated, so there had to be more than a few assholes there. But beyond that, she felt that there was... Something there. Something infuriating, something so offensive at it's core that even she would have a hard time being around it.

"[color=5B9C64]Oi, Wrath![/color]"

Blinking her lone, remaining eye, she turned to Eddie and casually let her hammer rest against her shoulder.

"What is it, Eddie? I'm kinda busy." she grunted.

"[color=5B9C64]Sounds like yer having a good time over there. Can't say I've been having much of that the past day, but that's a different story. You're not gonna have fun in there, Wrath. Too many people, too much to watch out for. Collateral damage. You'll have Sloth yell at you every single swing you take, 'be careful' 'don't swing so wide' yada yada yada. I know you, Wrath. You're not the kinda person to have fun if they don't let loose.[/color]"

The Towering Vice frowned and reached up with her free hand to scratch idly at a scarred cheek. He was right: As much as she loved to fight groups, the fight she could sense inside was largely one-sided, and she didn't feel particularly inclined to help either side. Now, she could possibly fight both sides, but even she could only handle so much in a mortal body, a fact that made her bare her teeth unhappily.

"Yea, you've gotta point. So?" she asked.

"[color=5B9C64]So why not join me instead? I'll let you know how I ended up having to go shopping for a couple of brats all the way up on an airship. The schaudenfreude should help with the bloodlust, eh?[/color]"

As he strode back to where Nina and Sloth stood, Wrath stood there for a moment considering his offer. Ultimately, she shrugged and made to follow. He was probably right, if nothing else it'd be more fun than the clusterfuck in the political shit-house.

"Alright, I'll tag along." she said as she lumbered up, adding with a grin, "But man, it's times like these that make me wish for the good, old-fashioned religious wars this world used to have. Now those were fun. You could really spread the hate and discontent like a ************ in one of those."

When she finally joined them, Sloth glanced over at Nina and belatedly remembered basic mortal courtesy.

"Oh, right, introductions. I'm Sloth, Embodiment of Entropy, Laziness and whatever, this is Wrath, Embodiment of Anger, Sadism, and the like. Pleased to meet you." he said, raising his hand in a halfhearted wave.

[hr]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | The Rising Dawn | ???
"You Are: Here."
Farber

[hr]

Farber was getting increasingly frustrated. Each and every hallway looked basically the same, despite some of the colored markers on the floors and walls, and the fact that almost each room had some kind of sign next to, or above the doorway. Despite the fact that he hadn't paid much attention to his run to the healers room, or from there to the tavern, he felt that his excellent sense of direction should have helped him find his way.

Ultimately, he wasn't ready to admit that he was lost.

Clenching his fists, he stomped over to where what was clearly a map was pasted on the wall. For the third time in five minutes. And for the third time, got even more mad at how the stupid thing didn't make a lick of sense to him. The layout was like some kind of messed up fairy story maze, and the same colored lines that marked the halls around him also seemed to trace the map too. He also noticed the red dot with some kind of odd writing next to it, but that didn't help him at all! He couldn't read!

He pulled at his hair and groaned.

"Awwww, man! Where am I?! How do I get back to the candy?!" he ground out though clenched teeth.

After a moment, he kicked the wall, only to end up recoiling in pain, reminded that he was still barefoot. The young Ish sat and clutched at his now-aching foot, wondering just how to get to his ill-gotten sweets when he simply decided that, if he was already well-and-truly lost, it wasn't as if he could get any more lost if he just picked a direction and stuck with it.

Standing up, he glanced down the hallway and shrugged before starting off. That seemed to be a good enough direction for now. May as well see where it led.

Zepherus14 · May 26, 2016

"You may call me Nadalia, for that is my name young one. But, to fill in your curiosity- I shall be fine." The woman replied back, and proceeded to rip her arm off. Now to most, something like that would be pretty traumatic but Nina didn't seem to be overly bothered by the arm now flying through the air, or the blood, or the fire that had soon enveloped Nadalia. The fact Nadalia had stated she'd be alright put her mind at ease. "OK! Good luck with the whole Bison fight thing! You can do it and all that jazz!"

[color=5B9C64]"You brought up a pretty good point there, my dear tentacle lover. So, here's how it's gonna go: I'll do a party check, you go on ahead and start walking. I'll catch up on you and Squidward in a minute."[/color] Nina's jaw dropped slowly as Eddie called her a tentacle lover. Frankly completely stunned until Eddie turned to move towards Sloth, Nina stomped her foot and shifting the Phillip dufflebag behind her back with her one hand keeping it there. "Y-You! I'm not-! He's not-!" She started to blurt out, each time her mind slapping her tongue from saying another stupid thing after already tempting another strike after her rock throwing stunt. She instead heel turned and stormed down the roadway, aimlessly walking as she had no idea where the pastry shop would be. "[small]Fuckin' bull, how!? HOW!? First Ryan McEyeball, now this asshole? How could he think I would do that with you?! And Squidward?! ...That was actually pretty good. But still!![/small]" She mumbled to herself, honestly most upset that she had to admit Eddie was actually funny.

She'd continue working her way down the roadway, stopping at an intersection and pulling out her phone to check, which gave Sloth some time to catch up with her. "Oh, right, introductions. I'm Sloth, Embodiment of Entropy, Laziness and whatever, this is Wrath, Embodiment of Anger, Sadism, and the like. Pleased to meet you." The man known as Sloth greeted her. Nina would give a quick look over the two, finding the names a bit odd, but frankly everything that day so far was odd. She would give a smile to the two new people and happily shake Sloth's hand. "It's nice to meet you Sloth, you and your... sister? Wrath did a good job back there, thanks for the help and everything. Is it just the two of you, or are the other five around somewhere?" Nina asked, wondering if the rest of the deadly sins were going to show up.

[hr]

A short while later, Nina would nearly walk passed a pastry shop, but quickly doubled back for seemingly no reason. The shop sign above reading 'Brakland's Pastry Cafe'. "OH! Look at that! I found it, yep." Nina said feinting confidence as she placed her hands on her hips. "Alright let's see what we got in here." Stepping towards the door and strolling inside, a pleasant bell ringing as she entered.

Although some work had been put into the cafe/bakery there, it still looked much more of a 'Mom and Pop' shop vive than a professional one. Behind the counter, one could see a window and a back door that seemed to lead to a kitchen area. There was no one in the cafe, but thankfully for Eddie there were still some pastries sitting on some of the glass display areas if he wanted to use those. "This place is pretty nice. Quaint and stuff. Kinda weird they left the door open though if no one's around..?" She said as she adjusted the bag with Phillip inside.

"HELLO? Hello?" She exclaimed as she got up to the counter, dinging the service bell on the front counter several times before standing on her tippy toes to try and look into the back window. With a short huff and a quick look over her shoulder, Nina quickly moved over to the counter to the staff work space. "Well regardless, I got you to the pastry shop you wanted Eddie, so that's my job done. I'm gonna go and make sure no one's stuck in the kitchen or something stupid." She finished as she started making her way to the backdoor.

[hr]

About a block away, some of the Bison's Ex-Soldiers would be rounding the bend on the side walks.[footnote]Now we'll see if I made any mistakes here, but I think we're all good. Just wanted to get this up so people had something to do over the weekend. If there's a problem send me a message and I'll get back to it when I can.[/footnote]

bluerocker · May 26, 2016

Diablo1099 said:
He helped me write some of this

Generic NPC 22 said:
So did you!

[hr]

Aside from the initial annoyance of Titania's entrance ([color=eca222]"Who did she think she was to go about and barging into his Imps' workplace and give them little mind?"[/color]) Luke was paying the conversation between Anjali and Deborah little mind, at least, before she opened a book of her's. Outward poured strange shapes in arcane patterns that Luke, no, Lucifer was not entirely familiar with; which was all the more disconcerting. A being of age and ability as he were, he was versed in the use of several magics - if not that, he at least a passing familiarity with many things within the Verse, such as the Ki abilities of martial artists, or the spells of passing Tiefling wizards. This? This was something he knew nothing of. Gold runes and sigils danced on paper as the owner went on about her ability to know much from her grimoire - however, the most disconcerting of all was,

"Given time I think I could - if I were to be so proud - pinpoint your nature within the limitless bounds that is the world that we live. For I am Nobody, and I am Anybody, and my domain is that of the very words themselves."

Did that mean she could see through him as well? Read a book to divine his essence, his true nature, as quickly as that smart mouthed psychic[footnote]In reference to 000Ronald's character, Boss. To be fair, he had an ability that allowed him to view souls/true natures or something to that degree[/footnote] was able? That was certainly the last thing Lucifer wanted at the moment, as quiet and firm as his position had been. After an annoying lengthy coup in Hell from his Ex-wife and some speed bumps along the way, the only thing that really mattered to him was being able to enjoy whiling away the hours here as "Luke". Perhaps he had no need for concern - he had given no reason for her to delve into his nature, no need to figure out who the "lowly" bartender truly was. And yet, the longer this woman stood by and described her book's abilities, the more he felt ill at ease - at least until it closed, and Titania ([color=eca222]"The mage's lover?"[/color]) roused, drawing attention to herself, and the small child who had decided to leave. Good. Very good, now he could just -

[sub][sub]"GROOVE GROOVE GROOVE" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcLox-o5GKU][/sub][/sub]

Lucifer - no, "Luke's" train of thought came to a crashing halt as the sounds of some goofy sounding dance number began to play in the air. After a quick scan, the bartender's eyes fell upon the dozing Violet, who had decided that the counter was the perfect place for a nap (it really wasn't, but drunkards were never well known for good standards on anything). As the sound of the ringtone grew louder, Luke gently shook Violet's shoulder to get his attention, and was only given silence and groans as answer. With a sigh, and a mutter of, [color=eca222]"This is so not company policy, but.."[/color] Luke reached into Violet's pocket, and grimaced as the ringtone intensified in volume-

-"I WILL NEVER EVER RUN AWAAAAAY~!"-

With a couple of misplaced beeps on the smartphone, Luke blinked in surprise when he saw he had in fact, answered the call. Placing the phone gingerly to his ear, Luke was about to open his ear, when Elise's voice tumbled out,

"Come in Violet, I repeat ... come in. This is Elise, and there's a hold of a hostage situation. Teri Gravel was abducted; we have ascertainment that she will be found alive. Bring an evac asap for Garm. Location is in Denver, En Route 119 within an alleyway 3 blocks from the Capital Building's entrance. I'll be on the roof, proceed with caution. This is a hot zone, I repeat- proceed with caution with evac. Do you copy?"

Luke stopped everything he was doing after hearing those words, his expression taking a distinctly slack look. Captured? Her? Why?

Before Luke could think anything else, a worried Elise cut in again, "Hello? Do you copy?"

With another pregnant pause, the blonde bartender was barely able to scrape [color=eca222]"Copy That. Help will come ASAP."[/color] before hitting the red button on the display, ending the call before he allowed himself any further distraction.

Lucifer turned to move towards the door, towards emancipating the one he love without second thought, but before he could take another step - there was a distinct feeling like his feet had been nailed to the floor. Oh yes, of course - this was a reminder of his duty. The role that was chosen for by a higher power, he could not interfere, for he was not allowed; not when it was outside of his realm of influence. "Duty", such a binding, dirty word. Why was it such a virtue? What good was duty when it prevented you from saving those you loved? What good was the ability to love if he could not act? Pure and simple, Lucifer was bound. If he took another step in the direction he wished to - there'd be consequences for both himself and his dearest Cleric. There was nothing he could do. Absolutely nothing.

Rage, hot and burning, began to grow his gut, crawling towards his chest and threatened to spew forth from his jaws - he wanted to revert to his darker nature then and there- allow horns to grow from his head and dark armor to take root, sprout the wings of a demon and go careening out of a window of the Dawn, howling curses in dark tongues mortals would shudder to hear - but he could do nothing.

He needed a plan, he needed to something, but what? He wasn't like The Boss, he preferred to just go out and do things himself, not operate through proxies- wait proxies. What were proxies? People that did things on the behalf of others. perhaps "someone" could do. Lucifer couldn't go out and save her, but a concerned Dawn member, or members... that could do the trick. The one who called identified herself as Elise, Lucifer remembered her from the night before - Spider-affinity, was with Rugal following the little incident with Kazuya, presumably working partners. If she was the one who called, Bernie wouldn't be far behind and probably was well aware of the situation; and as sexist as it was, fathers were always more extreme when it came to matters of Daughters. Maybe Lucifer didn't need to worry at all, as frustrating as this turn of events had been - if nothing else, the two could potentially coordinate and work out a plan should immediate extraction not be possible.

A strange of calm fall over ~~Lucifer~~ - (no, Luke - he needed to be Luke) over Luke as he thought over things more. Angry? Oh yes, he was absolutely livid - but he needed to be calm, or at least look calm. He needed to be calculating, and he needed a plan; but first things first - Garm. Luke's eyes scanned the Canteen for any roaming G-corp officers, and saw a small group of two enter; perfect targets for venting a little stress. With a pointed glare to the two grunts, Luke gave a notable [color=eca222]"*Ahem* Tell me, are you two gentlemen doing anything important at the moment?"[/color]

"Pfff, yeah right...not sure if it matters though, CO doesn't seem to mind..." one of them answered as they pointed to the passed out form of Violet, the puddle of drool on the table currently starting to soak into his hair dye and causing some of it to run off.

Luke allowed his eyebrows to raise in manner that he at least thought LOOKED like contempt, [color=eca222]"Oh, really? Well, seeing as your CO is a little indisposed, I have to deliver on his behalf. You see-"[/color]
He held up Violet's cellphone, it's garish wallpaper glowing faintly, [color=eca222]"I just got a phone call from a Dawn member detailing two things - 1) that our ships primary combat medic has been captured. You know, the nice one who doesn't use needles so much as praising Jesus; and 2) That her lupine companion has been wounded. So, tell me, do you think it matters if a member of this team is currently wounded and another captured while you so pleasantly chat among yourselves in the comfort and safety of our home?"[/color]

"...Oh shit. Sorry sir, we'll get right on that. Transfer over the coordinates. We had some men on the ground trying to get civilians out of the hot zone in case things went south. I'll personally oversee the mission. She saved a good number of our men, least we can do."

Ah, such a good little puppy. Luke allowed his expression to soften, if only a little to put the grunt back into an easy disposition, [color=eca222]"Wonderful. If anything else comes in on this"[/color] He shook Violet's phone for emphasis [color=eca222]"I'll have Vermilion patch it to you. Move out."[/color]

With a salute, the grunt and his partner ran back out of the Canteen. Back at the bar, however, Luke's troubles had not ended, as the distinct sound of a body slipping off of a barstool and hitting the floor filled his ears. With an expression of distaste, the bartender gestured to a couple of nervous looking Imps and pointed at the incredibly drunk CO, [color=eca222]"Clean up this mess. Put him at a table if you need to."[/color]

"Cool Cat Saves The Kids? What kind of pedo-swaying fucking movie is this shit??"

[color=eca222]"Ugh... Ride never ends, does it?"
"Can I help you miss?"[/color]

The Airship: Rising Dawn: Hallway
"Please leave your inquiries after the tone"
Ruby Babbage-Lovelace | AI. Vermilion

[hr]

"Ummmmm... Miss Vermilion? Are you there? Are you on the ship?" Ruby called out into the corridor, hoping that the feminine A.I. was paying attention to the microphones installed about the ship.

After a moments silence, there was a small crackling on the speaker before the feminine AI began to speak, [color=FF5349]

Code:

"Yes, I am here. While A.I. Dimitri usually manages matters of humanities while I aid in maintaining the ship, I can easily suffice while he and the others are away. How can I help you?"

[/color]

Orinon · May 29, 2016

Capitol Building Compound: M. Bison Vs Pretty much everyone

To say Icarus was having a bad day would be an understatement. Between the chaos of the breakfast, The truck, the headaches. And that was before he got slammed into the ground and bison stamped onto his wing.
And spoilers for those unaware of anatomy, Having one of the largest limbs being crushed by a musclebound dictator really REALLY HURTS.
He screamed out in pain a long bloodcurdling shriek, His right wing luckily hadn't broken. His trembling arms pushed himself back up. He saw the Major was fighting someone else.

"Dragon, Got any ideas?"
"Your opponent is much stronger than you, Drawing out the fight will likely be a detriment to you Its best to try and hit him where his guard his down and strike hard."
"Got it!"
he spread his wings and winced in pain, gritting his teeth he forced his wings they weren't quite broken, Using his wings he launched himself at Bison the Dictators back was to him as Rugal was firing Ki Projectiles at him. Using his wings and legs he launched himself forward and slammed his fist into the back of Bison's neck. The massive momentum, as well as the metal gauntlet made it feel less like a punch and more like being hit with a sledgehammer.
Icarus followed up not wasting his chance, His fingers crackled with electricity black bolts arcing between his fingers.
"BOOST"
Icarus let out a Savage roar as he unleashed his attack The gem flashed bright red as The heavy punch Hit The Major in the same spot but this time he delivered an electric payload.
"See how you like it"
He snarled as he saw the golden wall of energy he grumbled and decided to get one more move int He lunged himself at Bison trying to pin him into a hold so the Ki attack would hit. Of course this would hurt Icarus alot, but he was prepared to take that risk.

bluerocker · May 31, 2016

Capitol Building Compound: M. Bison Vs Pretty much everyone

Denver: Capitol Building: Caim, Angelus, Cadolbolg

"Hey Cadolbolg, try this on for size!"

With a touch and a glow of Icarus' artifact, Cadolbolg felt a strange sensation within himself, before his whole body began to grow - his arms, legs, neck, and tail extended outwards from beneath his shell; giving the much bigger turtle-dragon baby a much ganglier appearance.[footnote]I imagine his newfound body structure would be somewhat reminiscent of a combination between these [http://img.timeinc.net/time/photoessays/2009/crocs/crocs_01.jpg] prehistoric [https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/79/47/ca/7947ca84a2209ea0fe99032c6b5cca1c.jpg] crocs with the shell structure of an Alligator [http://www.texasturtles.org/Alligator_snapper_op_800x604.jpg] snapping turtle [https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/44/52/8a/44528adc103c007afa49e18516b84575.jpg]; which if you note, have less shell than normal turtles, which enables limb mobility[/footnote] His horns grew in size as well, most notably the small horn on his nose. It was by no means comparative to the rhino's in might, but as it grew, it began to display an edge that looked more suited for goring and stabbing than simple decoration. The final touch in this transformation was the extension of the young dragon-turtle's wings - once minute and childlike, they began to grow and expand outward, until Cadolbolg giving a reflexive flap of his newfound appendages and sent himself a good himself a good 10 feet in the air without thinking.

"Mother, Father - I got big again!"
"AGAIN?! Cadolbolg?! What..What's going on?"

Code:

"We can explain later - move out!"

Angelus was the first to act of the trio, her concentration turning back to Bison as he redirected the bullets from ARES back towards the party. With a sweep of her mighty wing, the dragon pulled Caim closer to her body, opened her great maw and spewed forth a great torrent of crimson flame at the metal missiles. The stench of metal[footnote]Based on canonical evidence [https://youtu.be/JS2vp0n17BE?t=3m8s] in the game, Angelus was able to turn Iron or Steel into ash pretty quickly in her level 2 form. (AA has had her in her level 3 form throughout her run) Considering that lead is less dense and more malleable than iron and she's able to ash iron rather quickly, it seems logical that the bullets should be pretty easy for her to destroy as well.[/footnote] filled the air as Angelus retracted her wing, giving a very proud "HMPH!" in light of her fires proving to be a deterrent against the projectiles. After she lifted her wing and allowed her fool of a human to start charging towards their collective enemy, the red dragon began to concentrate on Bison again, and shot off 4 homing fireballs in his direction.

Caim, after being detained for Angleus's little fireworks display, decided that his family blade would suit him well for this situation. Pushing himself forward, Caim did what he knew worked best - he charged. Running towards Bison, while a seemingly stupid idea, had it's perks. For one, Caim knew something that Bison didn't - after so much running time, he could thrust his blade forwards, sending a sonic attack [https://youtu.be/j9pbwzQ2lr4?t=15s] straight towards the wanna-be dictator and still stay out of immediate blasting range of his draconic partner's homing fire. Of course, the next part of the fight would be fending off Bison himself in close quarters.

Cadolbolg, on the other hand, was still trying to adjust to his sudden increase in size. With a few awkward flaps of his wings, the much bigger turtle-dragon preteen(?) looked down at his parent's quarry and reflexively licked his lips. He wanted to help out in this battle, but felt uncertain about what his increased size would contribute. Was his fire and lightning still the same? Was his tail sharper?
As if his body tried to reflexively answer his own questions, Cadolbolg felt the tickle of electricity on his tongue, and giggled aloud, "That tickles!" and a small ball of lightning energy shot out wildly across the battlefield; landing a ways off from the main battleground with Bison. With widened eyes, the turtle dragon's jaw became slack at the discovery; his lightning HAD grown in power! Now, if he could just do as he had seen his mother do... With a gulp, Cadolbolg tried to concentrate again, feeling the familiar tickle of lightning on his tongue once more before - "Eat this!" a charged lightning ball shot forth from Cadolbolg's gut, this time looking to be a bit more on the mark....

Katya, Ton Ton

Ton Ton, who had decided to stay behind with the wounded Katya while Cadolbolg fought with his parents, valiantly stabbed at one of the spectral hands Bison had sent towards the wreckage of the truck with a spirited [color=15650D]"Take that!"[/color] As it disappeared under the power of the Knife, Ton Ton turned back to his charge to check on her condition, only to hear an ominous voice escape from the young hacker's lips,

"

Code:

Warning: 3 minutes and 40 seconds until commencement of harvesting protocols.  All friendlies in the area are advised to evacuate.  Repeat 3 minutes and 35 seconds until commencement of harvesting protocols.  All friendlies in the area are advised to evacuate...

" Katya's hijacked voice paused for a moment before the next process started, "

Code:

Commencing scan for raw biological materials.  Scan completed.  Raw materials located.  Four inactive sources, identification: Unknown Deceased, one active source, identification: Rising Dawn Member Selena and one incompatible source, identification: Rising Dawn Member Ton Ton located.  Suggested Actions:  Move inactive sources closer to primary host.  You have 3 minutes and 15 seconds to comply.  Will you comply?

[color=15650D]"Wait... What? 'Raw Materials'.."[/color] Ton Ton tried to ponder this thought further, before the voice boomed again,

Code:

Will you comply?

[color=15650D]"Yes, yes, I comply! Just tell me what I need to do!"[/color]

Code:

"Repeating previous message:  Four inactive sources, identification: Unknown Deceased, one active source, identification: Rising Dawn Member Selena and one incompatible source, identification: Rising Dawn Member Ton Ton located.  Suggested Actions:  Move inactive sources closer to primary host."

The realization of what the voice was asking of Ton Ton began to dawn on him, he felt his grip on the Knife and Lantern begin to go slack; before abruptly shouting, [color=15650D]"You want me to do WHAT?!"[/color]

Katya, or something within Katya, wanted Ton Ton to go fetch a corpse, which certainly wasn't on Ton Ton's "To-do list" at the moment. He was far more content and familiar with dealing with members of the living, and the dead were cleaned up by... come to think of it, how were dead bodies cleaned up - aside from rotting and natural processes? Either way, what the voice said about a timer not too long ago sounded pretty bad, and as disgusting as all of this was...

Ton Ton allowed the Knife and the Lantern to slip back into whatever Aether they had manifested from and began booking it towards the nearest corpse, his little hands grabbing onto the fabric of the body and weakly tugging, [color=15650D]"NNnnngh! It's so heaaavvyyy! I dunno if I can move it! What do I do? What do I do?!"[/color]

The little Tonberry scanned over the deceased carefully, and noticed a bit of flesh poking out from underneath a sleeve. If the body was too heavy for him to move... Then perhaps pieces would have to do.... Ton Ton felt the Knife appear in his hand again, ready to serve it's master; but he felt his gut drop out from under him. A body. He was going to cut apart a body to save his friend. This guy was a bad guy, and he was already dead, so that made things okay... right? Mr. Caim would put it that way, probably. But even as the Tonberry raised his knife to make the cut, he heard his own voice whimper in the chaos, [color=15650D][sub]"I'm sorry."[/sub][/color]

---

Blood slowly dribbled out of a ragged stump, little hands clutching to bigger fingers on a hand connected to the rest of the arm he managed to "harvest".[footnote]So I did some googling, and arms weigh a lot less than I realized. On average, an arm weighs about ~5.3% of your total body weight, depending on your gender, among other factors. A leg is about 17.5%. This means for a 150lb average human being, an arm weighs ~8lb and a leg weighs ~26lb. Based on that, I figured Ton would be able to at least drag the whole arm. [/footnote] Ton Ton tried keeping his eyes off of his bloody conquest and dragged it before the wounded hacker, gasping out, [color=15650D]"H-Here. I brought you an arm... Just get it away from me."[/color]

Diablo1099_v1legacy · May 31, 2016

Capitol Building Staging Area: Elise, Jenny, Cyborgs on break

After her communication to Rugal, Elise was easily able to catch up with the withdrawing forces (Then again, they weren't exactly running for the hills).
Thanks to the fact their alert status went from "Defcon 1" to "Lunch Time", she was even able to get within earshot of the strange female cyborg as she relayed orders to her comrades while strolling though empty bombed out streets.

Code:

[Strategic Strike is on Stand-by. All Units Stand-by until Strategic Strike is deployed against Organisation: Rising Dawn and World Marshall User: AD-317]

She droned on, even as her allies were pulling out their phones to update their status and even going to get coffee.
She was also able to hear this exchange from a another pair: "Hey, where's the FULGORE? Wasn't it ordered to Decloak?"
"Nah, it's currently running prisoner drop off, picked up some teenager a while back, most likely a mage or something."
"Wooo...wouldn't want to be that *****..."
"Yeah, most likely half-way to the secure location by now. Anyway, Going to get some coffee before the fireworks, want anything?"
"Nah, I'm good."

And with that, a sizable number of the Cyborgs laid down their arms before going to their local pastry shop for a new hot brew...

Brakland's Pastry Cafe: [color=5B9C64]Bootleg Iron Maiden Mascot[/color], Slightly-less Angry Soccer Mom, Me before 2pm, Implied Tentacle Molester, Generic NPCs 23-though-35 Feat. Larry and Gerry

Not too long after Nina rang the bell, the sound of a toilet flushing could be heard before the main counter staff member walked out of the restroom.
"Sorry about that, all the racket from those explosions are actually pretty good at clearing certain internal blockages..." He said before getting behind the counter, making everyone around him wish that he washed his hands (whether he did or not will be forever unknown).
"OI! GERRY! MAN THE OVENS! GOT CUSTOMERS! So, what can I get you-"
This was then interrupted by the sound of at least a dozen of those Cyborgs[footnote]Visual Reminder [http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/metalgear/images/1/1c/MGR_ConceptDesignArt_01_MGSTV.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140819203048][/footnote] they've been dealing with all day walking right in, chatting rather loudly with each other.
"Hey! Larry! 12 Coffees, 24 jam scones, all to sit in." The leader of the pack said, getting the main part of their order in before every last one of them began to queue up to place their own individual orders on top of that.
"Hang on, let me get this chick first. So what exactly did you want?" The tiller asked as he began to take down Nina's order while the Cyborgs kept talking among themselves.

Generic NPC 22 · Jun 1, 2016

[hr]

If someone had attempted to use a song to summarize Katya Rostikova's day, of all of the titles that had been created or were to be created at some future date, the song would not contain the words "Good" or "Day." It would definitely contain the words "I'm," "Not" and "Okay" or perhaps "Famous," "Last" and "Words" or maybe when thinking about (D)Ic(k)arus, "Stupify." Whatever song title was used to summarize the Dying Dutchess of Dick Jokes, the situation she found herself in remained unchanged from two minutes and fifteen seconds ago, except for the fact that the Irish Marksman, David West, had decided to become status twinsies with the Emaciated E-Sports Enthusiast.

The one thing Katya had discovered about being KO'd for the entirety of the SUPER FINAL ULTIMATE BOSS FIGHT!!! was that being on the verge of death was incredibly BOOOOOORING. The formerly former combat enhancing distributed processing agent, designated as the Biological Enhancing Weaponized Phage, had already isolated Katya's thalamus from receiving incoming nerve impulses sent by the Young Miss' pain receptors and directed the remaining nano-agents still running through the young woman's veins to prioritize oxygen distribution to critical life supporting organs. The result was a quasi-conscious, super bored, slightly dumbed down version of the Rising Dawn's Resident Porn Peruser.

"Dare desu ka?" The Semi-Conscious Soon-to-be Cannibal muttered with a childlike grin on her face before chuckling to herself. No, Katya had not gone the way of The Vapors and started "Turning Japanese," instead she was passing her time the way she always passed her time when bored... watching j00tube. "Hachi-ju-hachi?"

As Katya watched the video, an overwhelming sense of... something that could have been mistaken for loneliness passed over her when seeing Ma-Chan, the woman with the glasses. Though something was off about her... perhaps the hair color... the look and personality of the woman managed to pry a memory loose in Katya's brain... something about fog on a wintry night... the lights of the city lit up the mist and painted the sky orange.. she was sick... crying... and the woman who was Katya's mother but not Katya's mother held her against the warmth of her chest... comfort...

"D...De... Dehhhhh..." The name was on the tip of Katya's tongue... on the verge of being pulled out of the dark recesses of the young woman's memories.

"[color=15650D]H-Here. I brought you an arm... Just get it away from me.[/color]" A familiar voice filled with revulsion said as he broke the Rising Dawn's Dying Dame of Daisuki's trance.

"Domo ... arigato ... Mister... Tonberry-oh..." The Hungry but Humble Hacker said in a near whisper as black shiny tendrils extended from her finger tips and wrapped themselves around the severed limb. Piercing the dough-like white skin of the arm, the remaining nano-agents in the Petite Pornophile's system started the process of converting whatever living tissue remained in the arm into new and functional nano-agents. While the process wasn't as satisfying as perhaps munching down on a steak, the harvesting and conversion process required the injection of existing agents into a bio-matter source. Slowly but surely the pale limb turned darker and darker as more and more nano-agents were fabricated.

"

Code:

Fabrication process complete.  Integrating new nano-agents into colony.  Thank you Ton Ton.

" B3WP said in Katya's voice before returning control of their shared body to its mistress. Blinking a couple times, Katya noted that her nano-bot population count was still critically low, though not as low as it had been.

Picking herself up off the ground, she noticed that she was still abnormally gaunt and that the cool afternoon air was still caressing her scalp. Katya was intimately aware of the fact that if she looked in a reflective surface, she would have seen that her eyes were still sunken into her skull, as if trying to hide themselves from the world. This was what Katya truly looked like without the assistance of her life support. Sighing to herself, she looked around the inside of the truck to see if there was another nano-agent fabrication source that she could use.

"Mehhhhhh..." The Diabolical Dutchess of Digital Distraction meh'd as she saw that only Selena and those two damnable blackbirds were inside the truck.... speaking of which. A pair of tendrils suddenly reached out and wrapped themselves around the Duo of Dodos and pulled them up to Katya's eye level. She hissed at the two before speaking, "See? I'm... not... dead... yet."

Finished with the Cocky Couple of Cocks, the Tumultuous Technophant's Tendrils hurled the Bitchy Blackbirds from the interior of the truck, giving them space to fly away... or go peck on some dead guy's pecker... or whatever it was that blackbirds did in their spare time. Grinning a bit, the Mischievous Queen of Mean remembered that there were a couple of freshly dead corpses outside of the van... as well as one dying David. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to need help from the E-Cupped Enchantress.

Eying (D)Ic(k)arus' main squeeze, Katya approached the woman slowly so as not to give the wrong impression. The smile on her face was reassuring and soon, Selena found herself wrapped up... in Katya's hug.

"Thanks for looking over me." The young woman whispered breathily into Selena's ear, "If there's anything I can do for you... or to you... just ask." As she said this, a thin, black tendril wrapped itself around Selena's leg like a creeping vine, tickling the inside of her thigh before reaching up to the Witch's belt. There was a loud snap, as a leather strap was undone.

**SNIFF**

Katya sniffed the potion that she'd just pulled from Selena and detected the subtle smells of healing herbs.

"THANKS! ^_^" The young woman said as she gave the Coal Clad Conjurer a kiss on the cheek before heading out of the truck.

The scene outside the truck was no better than the inside. The crew of the Rising Dawn was getting their asses handed to them by the truck load. Between bullets being RTS'd [footnote]Return to Sender[/footnote] and everyone getting their heads shoved up their own asses, it appeared that the OP Endboss was pretty much going to mop the floor with everyone. A womanish scream caught Katya's attention. Turning her head, she witnessed the Crimson Colonel curb stomp the Doofy Demi-Angel into the ground, almost breaking the Boorish Buffoon's Blacker than Black wing.

"No time for gloating..." The Boldly Bald, though not on purpose, Code Breaker muttered as she walked towards the front of the truck where the corpses were... and David too.

Walking towards David, thin dark steams of nano-agents snaked out from her body and began wrapping themselves around the bodies of the fallen. Eyeing the bullet riddled bullet sponge, Katya knelt down by his side and pulled out the stolen vial, taking an experimental sniff of the brew. It smelled like a healing potion, though Katya would have likely added a bit clove essence to the mix since it would have numbed out the David's mouth and kept him from gagging on the taste. Absently, Katya wondered how it was that she knew this sort of alchemical, magical mumbo jumbo as she began pouring the putrid concoction down the man's throat.

"Man... I hope she made this healing pot correctly. Even though you think having severe lead poisoning is the worst of your problems at the moment, I assure you... the last thing you need is to go all Futa and shit."

[hr]

[hr]

"Yes, I am here. While A.I. Dimitri usually manages matters of humanities while I aid in maintaining the ship, I can easily suffice while he and the others are away. How can I help you?" Came a friendly feminine voice piped in from the overhead speakers. To the right of Ruby Babbage-Lovelace, a woman's face appeared on a small view screen. Entirely rendered in a particular shade of red, Vermilion looked a bit like Little Red Riding Hood if Little Red Riding Hood had grown up and started hunting wolves on her own. A small smile appeared on the artificial woman's face as she waited for the Nine Year Old Girl in the Pink Dress to respond.

"Uh... neat." The Young Girl stated rather hesitantly. It wasn't that she was clueless as to what the Artificial Intelligence had said, rather it was the fact that she was unused to be spoken to in such a manner, "I'm looking for my friend Farber. He's a little shorter than me... I think he's my age and he casts magical spells."

The A.I.'s face froze for a moment as she accessed the Rising Dawn's security camera feed. Once patched into the security feed, the Scarlet Artificial Intelligence made quick work of the request using her facial recognition processes and comparing them against the crew manifest. There were only two remaining passengers aboard the Airship that did not match any of the existing records, one of whom was conversing with the A.I. at that very moment. The other, who roughly matched MisS Ruby Babbage-Lovelace's description was located near the aft half of the ship.

"Miss Ruby Babbage-Lovelace, I have located the subject of your query. He is currently located in the aft portion of the airship and appears to be lost. I have calculated the shortest route that will take you to your associate. Please follow the arrows." A.I. Vermilion stated crisply before her face was replaced by a green arrow telling her to go down the corridor.

------------------------------A few moments later...------------------------------

"FARBER! There you are!" The Nine Year old girl said excitedly as she ran through the hallway and tackled the diminutive Ish, "What are you doing out here? Why'd you leave the Canteen? Did you meet my other mom? She's just a little grumpy from traveling. I hope you like her. Did you mean to come all the way out here? Why are we near the brig?"

Sure enough, the two found themselves in front of a large and imposing looking door, the sort of door that screamed don't you even think about trying to get to the other side of me. Of course, the two laser turrets installed on either side of the door didn't help it look any friendlier either.

"Maaaaybe we should head back... like... right now..." Ruby suggested, tugging on her friend's arm.

NotYetForsaken · Jun 1, 2016

Misunderstood Intentions
Location: Rory's Neck | Denver
Contrivances

Naamah

Code:

"Prime Unit Fatima,"

came a deep dark scary voice. I jumped. It was quite scary indeed! It sent shivers down my spine, that voice. I looked around and there was nobody around Rory and I. In fact, the desolate wasteland that had become of this city was as silent as could be for the battleground. All I could make out was the crunching of rubble underneath and the crackling of fire.

Code:

"Prime Unit Fatima!"

It came again!

I looked around. There was no Fatima around here, much less a Prime Unit. Indeed. Whoever this voice was, it didn't make much sense.

The voice came again. It was inside my head!

Code:

"I give up."

There was a pause. Then a longer pause. Then there was an even longer pause indeed. Then I finally understood! He was inside of me, like how he usually is. O, the sweet feeling of his gentle caress within my body. Lovely, lovely, lovely!

"Solomon! Naamah is very happy to hear from you again!" I said back to him within me. I know I didn't need to vocalize it at all, or even think it, but it was a habit. He humored me! Usually when he was being super serious Solomon wouldn't so much as allow a second for rationalization. It was subtle, fast, and absolute. Absoloodle.

His voice came gently and slowly. Wise and old, like a book. I didn't so much hear his voice as I read it, out of the pages of my own heart. "Naamah, dear," he said. He's a good husband, I nodded. He treats me well. "Naamah, I would like you to do something for me."

Code:

"Prime Unit Solomon! Do not force yourself to such a low level to deal with the Exiled One!"

The air cracked between us, the metaphorical air of course. That annoying deep resonating voice hushed up quick. Dear Solomon had silenced him without a word. Like usual!

"Dear Solomon, what would you like Naamah to do for you?" I answered cheerfully.

"Solomon needs Naamah to recover something precious that has been lost." He was playing with me now! I laughed.

"Naamah will!" Indeed. "What indeed is this precious thing that Naamah will get for Solomon?"

"A girl."

"Another wife?" I pouted. Even of all of Solomon's wives, I, the youngest, was the only one to give him a child! I was barely of age then too. How inconsiderate.

"No. A friend."

"Solomon has friend?"

"Solomon the Wise has wise friends indeed. But a wiser wife."

"Friends indeed!" I echoed.

"Go there." He said finally. Then I knew where to go. He had placed the place within my heart, and in my eyes I could see where it was, no matter where I was or where I was looking. Solomon the Wise indeed!

"Rory!" I chimed as loudly as I could, "Naamah has something for Rory to help with. Please head that way, towards that crater. We shall find something of great importance buried within the rubble there! Yes indeed!"

Epyc Wynn · Jun 4, 2016

A fly wanders by. It buzzes merrily. It lives a happy life without a care in the world as the NPC side character it is. It lands on Rory's eyeball just as it is opening wide.

Diablo1099_v1legacy · Jun 4, 2016

Epyc Wyn said:
Snip

Heya, I'm Diablo1099, the main Mod of the Escapist Avatar Adventure.

if you wish to the join the RP, I recommend that you join our RP User Group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/The-Avatar-Adventure-Group] and we can get you up to speed on the current events of the RP as well as lay down some ground rules.
Oh, and have a bit of fun chatting and whatnot

bluerocker · Jun 5, 2016

Caramel Frappe said:
This dude here collabed on this

"Aaacctualllyyy, why don't you have a seat? Seems like there's something I can help you with." A cheeky smile, and while Chrysalis in her human disguise tried to look civil & humble, Lucifer probably could see right through that ruse. Whether he would take the bait or walk away, it didn't really matter. Chrysalis would be able to feed off his love for days if he stuck around the ship.

Luke quirked a thin eyebrow at the stranger's request, the curiosity further compounded when she not so subtly knocked her phone off of the table. This, on top of her sudden 180 in demeanor had given Luke the following conclusion - he had something she wanted. What that was exactly, was still up in the air. The bartender did notice that the young woman, who had yet to identify herself, was giving him a long, slow inspection of his physical form. It wouldn't be the first time that a patron had flirted with him, but given his current circumstance, as well as the conclusion that this woman wanted something out of him, Luke could only be suspicious of her intentions. The easiest fallback in this situation was to blame duty, which started with the bartender quietly beginning to wipe down the barfront, [color=eca222]"I'm sorry, Miss; but I'm afraid I'm on the clock. Can't leave unless nature calls. However, I can keep talking. Might I suggest a stool? There's plenty open."[/color]

"Works for me." Chrysalis nearly sang as she slid out of her chair in a risky business style [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UVsyVLLcE] before pushing her chair in and skipping to the stool like a school girl (though she was merely getting in character, not so much doing this by nature). Sitting upon the stool, she smiled gracefully at the bartender, seeking out a drink to pass the time while Luke would be paying for her drink personally without him realizing it.

Soooooooo, you have someone on your mind?" Chrysalis asked, in a teasingly snarky tone but without much toxicity too it. It's in the voice you'd expect from that one girl you didn't trust, but she catches you off guard regardless.

[color=eca222]"Hmn?"[/color] Luke blinked quietly and looked up from a particular spot he was cleaning, [color=eca222]"Rather upfront of you, don't you think? But, I suppose my thoughts go out to my comrades. They're out fighting on the front lines, after all."[/color]

[color=#0877830]"Sure about that? You have the same impression as Jack Dawson does in Titanic. Your look is basically screaming 'helpless romantic here'."[/color]

[color=eca222]"Never heard that one before..."[/color]
Luke's brows furrowed at that comment, annoyance taking root in his already thin patience the further this conversation continued, [color=eca222]"You must be young, because slicked back hair is a classic look. It was done well before DiCaprio attempted to charm teenage hearts."[/color]

The young lady didn't seem to notice, and giggled ever so lightly, her eyes containing some mischievous glee as she spoke, "Hahaha, I am young thank you. It feels good to be young- and you certainly do the trick right."
[color=eca222]"Uh huh... How old are you exactly? I don't serve minors alcohol, but I can make you a mocktail?"[/color]
"Twenty two, but everyone believes i'm 16 ... only further boosts my ego. But, enough about me. I'll have a mocktail as you tell me more about yourself Mr .... ?"
[color=eca222]"Lucas Cypress. But Luke is perfectly acceptable. Your name?"[/color]
"I came from Japan, but I learned fluent English here in 2008. My Japanese name is Kagome, but you may call me by my American name ... Amber."

Luke shrugged, not really being one to question or comment on a multitude of names (especially seeing as he had so many), and decided that, if he had to be stuck with this conversation partner, perhaps he could try to steer it away from his love life, rather than careening straight into it, [color=eca222]"So tell me, Amber - what are you exactly doing in a place like this? Not to sound rude, but the Dawn is hardly a safe place to live."[/color]

"Same thing can be asked your way, wonder boy. Why is a perfectly charming, normal looking man doing in a place filled with mutants, freaks, and outcasts? Don't get me wrong, they aren't ugly or mutated on the outside but they're clearly far from human. You on the other hand, have nothing wrong with you on the outside."

The bartender chuckled at that, [color=eca222]"Oh if only you knew..."[/color]
[color=eca222]"Well, someone needs to serve the drinks. Even "mutants and freaks", as you put it, need to relax and unwind. And a perk of being a bartender is that I get to hear some interesting tales."[/color]
"Ahhh, right you are. I've had my fair share of stories- most of them kill the mood for me but others, well ... they're delicious to hear. Speaking of tales, what's your story Luke? Why serve drinks on the Rising Dawn?"

Ah, a nosey one. Luke would have to remember what he told this young lady - someone else of higher importance was bound to pry sooner or later. With a simple shrug of his shoulders, Luke feigned humility to his guest, [color=eca222]"I'm really not that remarkable, Miss. I'm just a man who's bounced between jobs and ended up here. Room and board on a flying international airship with good wifi? Can't complain."[/color]
"Tu parles comme un coureur de jupons~ mmh mh, forgive me. I was speaking French ... from the looks of it, that makes you sound like a womanizer. Going between station to station, seeking out beautiful women whom love adventurous guys, no?"

[color=eca222]"You know nothing of what I am. I don't even want to be here right now."[/color]
Ah, that struck a nerve. ~~Luci~~Luke's eyes narrowed at that little comment, a motion he did not care to mask. Were it in his power, he wouldn't be at his station - he'd be off going to rescue his Cleric from captivity, but instead he had to entertain a young woman who was quickly working her way up to be a great annoyance. His voice, surprisingly, remained calm, [color=eca222]"I can't say I follow. I'll admit I'm a drifter, but I know better about how to treat women."[/color]

His adversary chuckled, this little conversation a game to her, So you're telling me a guy who's hot, obviously wealthy, and loves to travel doesn't get women in his chamber? Are you pulling my leg? Well, I mean ... you could if you wanted to." She smirked at her not so subtle double entendre (while Luke inwardly groaned), and continued, "But if you're really ... that noble and thoughtful on women in general, then I guess I can't judge. Still, hard to believe you're only worried about your friends but not someone dear to you. I can see it on your face."

Luke kept quiet at that little comment, silently finishing the touches on a mixture of juices and small pour of club soda, for that little fizzing appeal, before sliding it towards his customer. As she began to sip, he considered a differing approach, denial could only go so far, so perhaps changing the subject towards his opponent in this verbal spar could turn the tide, [color=eca222]"And I think you're a bit more invested in my affairs than any stranger has any right to be. So I'm worried about my friends. Why do the specifics matter to you? What do you get out of this?"[/color]

Amber accepted the mocktail with little ceremony, sipping it while giving, at least what Luke thought to be, an attempt at seductive eyes, a delicate smile following afterwards, "It's fun to understand people. I love what excuse they'll use to weasel out of things, when they could simply be honest. I mean, your friends must mean something to you ... but, you're not hitting on me. You aren't even interacting with people like a host should- let alone bartender. You have something on your mind, and it's fun to see what makes you tick."
She punctuated this with a soft smack noise with her lips, equal parts in relish of her drink and an attempted distraction of her conversation partner.

Luke rolled his eyes at the theatrics, his patience growing even thinner, [color=eca222]"Spare me the "I want to see what makes you tick" number - we've already one psychologist who's a regular. Second, the matter that I'm not hitting on you means absolutely nothing, and third,[/color] He gestures to the environment around them, aside from Deborah, Titania and Anjali, the atmosphere was kind of dead - the G-Corp grunts that filed in and out previously had be reorganized to more important posts than drinking, leaving a quiet and sedate canteen in its stead, [color=eca222]"Not much is really happening here, now is it? If someone wants a drink - they'll ask."[/color]

"And just like that- you took the bait. So defensive, aren't you? .. She starting rotating her glass, getting the drink to spin slowly "Alright, which girl is it? Angelus, Dolores, maybe ... nah, couldn't be Katya. Kurumu maybe ... hmmm, perhaps Elise suits you. Both of you have fashion syndrome. Oh you wouldn't happen to like that girl Rory now? I've heard quite a few things about her. There's also Diana who could be the next hit in your chamber. Oh do tell, who's the lucky girl?"

Well, if nothing else, his assailant was on the wrong track, sort of. Shaking his head, the bartender tried a different approach, [color=eca222]"I think you're delusional (and obnoxiously persistent)....You know, I have heard that there are a few tabloids about the ship...You wouldn't happen to be with a writer for one of them, would you?"[/color]
"Nope. I'm not with them, nor do I have any interest in writing. It's not my strong suit. But here's the better question- why would someone like you, go out of your way to serve drinks here? Seems like you had a ray of other hobbies you could of occupied yourself in." An eyebrow quirked at that question, the young woman looking very confident in her style of interrogation.

What was her angle anyways? Well, maybe if he tried wowing her with a little trick, that could get her off his back, [color=eca222]"I mentioned it earlier - but I can expand on it a little. So, ever heard of Pousse-caf??"[/color]

Oohhhh yes, yes I have. What of it?" She leaned back in her seat, smiling faintly at the thought of one of those drinks.
[color=eca222]"They sound simple enough - through the power of differentiating densities, multilayered drinks with different colors can be made. But, to properly create these drinks is another matter entirely. A Black and tan is simple - it's two beers. But what about something like this -"[/color] Luke pulled out a trio of liquids, a red, a white, and a green, before carefully placing a spoon in a tall shotglass. Starting with the red, he poured each drink, before creating a glass with three distinct layers of color in it, [color=eca222]"It requires a steady hand, and a knowledge of one's materials, like a painter knows his paints and his brushes. There's a sort of "art" to mixology, I think; aside from Pousse-caf?. I enjoy practicing that art, even if it's something that'll be downed quickly."[/color]

The young woman looked up, her interest piqued further by the little display, "Wow, quite sophisticated ... making alcohol into an art form. By all means, this is exactly why I would come back to the bar for and you're still telling me you're single?"

Ah, there it was - a perfect opportunity to shake her off his back. The best lies always had a grain of truth to them -less body language to cover for, less manipulation of the voice and face. With Ageha to blame for his sorrows, it'd be easier than turning dirt to mud. Faking a bittersweet smile, the bartender imitated the motions of the jilted lover, [color=eca222]"Well, I didn't really want to bring this up but... I've been through a nasty divorce recently. The two people that fell in love initially ended up growing to realize they weren't suited for each other - they had different wants and needs between them. As such, I think you can imagine why I might like to stay off the market..."[/color]

The Escapist Avatar Adventure: An Open RP (Now Re-Opened!)

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