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

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Secondary Scenario]]​

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Maiden's Wish

side story

​

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"Never ask for anything, but desire everything."​

The Gem of Want pulsed with blue light, casting dancing shadows over it's holding chamber. Ever since the arrival of the Rising Dawn and it's crew, the artifact had become more active. In the past four years the black gem had not cast light more than once a week, but now it was positively flickering. Yona scowled, she was unsure on how the sudden burst of activity would affect the preliminary tests of the Inquiry's engines. She touched the glass and watched the blue light wash over her hand. Within the darkness of the gem, she saw the limestone walls of her home. Arched and inspiring, stretching from horizon to horizon as smoke trailed from suburbs built into it's side.

There was a chirp from her bag. She reached in and pulled open her phone, "Colonel Isami. Go ahead."

"Lieutenant Mitte here!" came the response, "I have someone who I think you should see! She's really weird! You might want to meet her!"

The second one of the day. How troublesome. It was as if High Command had known that the Desire Drive was slated to go into practical testing today and decided to inconvenience her as much as possible. Her phone chirped again.

"Colonel?" came Mitte's cheerful voice.

"Sorry, please bring her to my office. I'll meet with her there." Yona closed out of the call before Mitte's "Yes Colonel!" came through. She knew that it would, she didn't need to hear it. Not now. "Put the Desire Drive activation on-hold until the Gem of Want calms down. I want to make sure that we don't end up anywhere we don't want to go." She turned to her retainer and handed her a clipboard, "Kara, please tell Admiral Vaaldur that the Desire Drive tests have been delayed."

"Yes maam." Her retainer ducked away soon after.

Yona took off her lab coat and swung her regular jacket over her slight frame, wearing the heavy leather solely on her shoulders. She turned and headed out again, leaving the black gemstone to it's fitful dreams.

---​

Yona's office was a large empty space with slick black reflective floors. The room was largely empty, holding only her desk and two chairs. The only illumination came from outside two ceiling-to-floor panels of thick glass that provided a sweeping view of the hanger array. Yona leaned against the back of her chair, staring out at the Rising Dawn being repaired by the hurried shadows of her personnel.

The door opened.

"Here she is!" Mitte said, holding her hand high and presenting a drunken white-haired pirate with her other. Yona turned around. She definitely looks out of place here.

"I am Colonel Yona Isami," Yona put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it with a flick of her dagger. She took a deep breath and exhaled, letting the smoke cloud the meager light coming in from the hangar, "How can I help you?"

 

[BlackHarte]

Cloudtop Citadel - The Rising Dawn
Security Private Peter Moore

Lieutenant Morrison waved at his team, and at once every muscle in Peter's body relaxed. There was a rustle as the squad lowered their weapons. It was a relief. "Not a hostile then," he looked Graham over. "Two foreigners in two days. We're really being filled to capacity here." Jacob gave a chortle as he sat down against the wall.

"It feels like these past 72 hours have been years" Jacob had spent the last three days awake. I don't blame him for his fatigue.

Lieutenant Morrison stepped forward and offered Graham a hand, "You are on the Rising Dawn, we're an international peace-keeping organization. Come with me and we'll get you filled in over a hot meal and good drinks."

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | A Totally Random Corridor
The Library
Ruby Babbage-Lovelace | Nina Zaczoltski Phillip!!! |​

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"...right now we have an adventure to finish, no silly bugs are going to stop us." Miss Nina said in a voice that filled with determination and was reinforced by a determined clench of her fist, "Slight detour sure, but we were planning on heading to the library after hitting that locked door anyways, so we were heading back to this spot anyways. Now, did you say something about a magic spell you had to get to the library?" She concluded her determination filled pep talk with a raised but still determined finger.

There was a small part of The Magical Fairy Princess in Pink that wondered why this hat was so important that the three, now four, of them needed to brave a creepy abandoned market and a horde of devil roaches bent on consuming every bit of flesh from their bones. This was definitely outweighed by the part of Ruby that was excited to be visiting The Library. While any library would have been fun to visit, visiting The Library was a very very VERY exciting prospect. However, before a trip to The Library could be arranged, the Miniature Magical Girl needed to first find the way.

"Mmmhmmm." The Pink Princess of Prestidigitation nodded in thought as she reached for the scrap of cloth she kept on her for such an occasion, "I'm not sure that you could really call it a spell but I guess that's one way to describe it..." She said as she unrolled the cloth, revealing it to be a portion of a frayed, pink baby blanket with fairies embroidered around the edges. Finding a small thread, the young girl began to pull on it, watching intently as cloth started to unwind.

"[small]Untangled skein...[/small]" The girl muttered quietly.

"Hmmm.." Ruby hmm'd to herself as she read the pattern in the cloth that had been formed by the pulled thread,"Well... it's actually really really near by."

Walking a few feet down the corridor, the Nine Year Old Little Girl turned left and faced a wall, looking a bit uncertain as she looked back down at the pattern and then picked up her Grimoire, the pages flipping open of their own accord until the proper spell was displayed.

"Traversal of Space and Time... Miss Nina? You might want to stand back a little bit... maybe around the corner. This is the first time that I've ever tried this spell..."

With her warning finished, Ruby returned her attention to the blank wall and closed her eyes, though hesitant in warping reality and creating a gate that connected the ship to The Library, Ruby was fairly sure that the spell would work as intended. If one considered that magic was could be taken figuratively rather than literally, Ruby could alter the fabric woven by space and time and in doing so, she could stitch two points together, regardless of their distance from each other.

The air around the young child rippled for a moment before settling down. Opening one eye and then the other, Ruby Babbage-Lovelace breathed a sigh of relief. Had Nina been looking at Ruby directly from the side, it would have appeared that nothing happened but upon any change in viewing angle, Miss Nina would have seen a perfectly two dimensional portal standing in front of Ruby.

"Hi!" Ruby said with a happy wave as she passed through the temporary spacial/temporal stitch.

[hr]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | The Airship Rising Dawn | The Canteen
Self Destruction
Katya Rostikova​

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If someone were to ask Katya Rostikova if she was having a good day, the most likely response given the recent circumstances she found herself in would have been something to the effect of "What the fuck do you think?" It wasn't just that she'd felt betrayed and outcast from the people she'd tried to help but she felt doubly betrayed by what she had witnessed upon entering the Canteen. If she had considered anyone aboard the ship to be a friend, it would have been Dolores Selmy and the fact that the little backstabber had decided to make time with that Irish Cocksucker stung a bit more than a Brazilian waxing. To add insult to fucking injury, she'd been cut off before she'd even gotten on. With the sudden loss of power to the Canteen, the staff now had to worry about ensuring that the food in the non-working fridges didn't melt and that the drinks didn't mysteriously vanish under the cloak of darkness.

"Mom is going to kill us..." a voice in the darkness said, sounding the way Benedict Arnold probably sounded.

"Maybe someone should." The Never Level Headed Network Penetrator hissed as she stood up abruptly, sending her bar stool clattering to the ground. She was seeing red, both in the literal and the figurative manner and while this might have been the moment that something snapped inside of the Eighteen Year Old child, causing her to grab the nearest and largest fully automatic weapon in reach, she felt more self destructive than generally destructive, "[small]If no one's going to give a shit... I won't[/small]" She muttered to herself as she looked around the room, seeing that people were giving her the side eye.

'[small]Never needed friends before... why did I even think to start now...[/small]" The girl continued to mutter to herself as she pulled the envelope that Little Miss Stabby McStabface had given her from her pocket and gave it a once over. While the contents of one side was rather dull, the other one seemed right up Katya's alley given recent events BUT that would have to wait. Even if she was going to go out with a bang, she wasn't planning on going out without being banged. Turning back to the sisters, Katya gave them a rather lecherous look.

"Change of plans... who likes cherries?"

 

[BlackHarte]

[HEADING=2]Rising Dawn: Canteen ------------------------------------------------------------------ 01:50 AM[/HEADING][hr][HEADING=3]Lt. Dolores Selmy[/HEADING]

This is unacceptable. I knew that this was unacceptable, I knew that I should say something. Yet, for some reason I couldn't. I sat there, useless in my chair, contemplating the tightening in my chest. I wanted to reach out and grab a hold of Katya, to hold her and tell her that she needn't worry. But that's not something it seemed she wanted nor was it something I could do. I felt like a broken doll, something left aside to rot in obsolescence.

Saren had her head on the table and was looking somewhat ill. Thin strands of her hair rose into the air on currents of static stretching out from her body. Laeta, however, true to her natural constitution was none worse for the wear. She looked at her little sister and smiled, hardly affected at all by the straight liquor, "At least we know what happens now. A little more than what I expected, a little less than what the doctor predicted."

"My head... hurts..." Saren groaned.

"Anyway, if Mom asks, it was an accident. A mix-up in the drink orders." Laeta played with her thin braid.

"Change of plans... who likes cherries?"

Laeta turned her attention toward Katya, "Cherries? Kind of an odd question don'tcha think?" Saren groaned in response, as if to chide Laeta. "That's a no from Saren then."

I knew what she meant though. "I'll do it." I said finally. I didn't think at all, I couldn't feel the embarrassment, the horror, the pain within when I said it. I just knew I had to say it. "I'll do it. Katya..." I continued. Laeta gave me a strange look, as if sizing up my sudden vocalization. "I'm not useful for much else right? When it comes down to it, I'm just a piece of meat. I can't fight, I'm not smart. Now I can't even move by myself. But I can still do that, at least."

Be a good little Dolly and let us play with you. A phantom whisper. You want to make everyone like you, right?

A flicker of emotion shocked the base of my spine and made my stomach uneasy. I gripped the handles on my chair. Don't you want to be loved? You don't want to suffer, so just relax and be a good doll. Words from a lifetime ago. Of another girl, in another body.

Come to think of it, that was the first time she had met Isaac.

Laeta looked at me with growing clarity, and then her body tensed. She was frozen in place by equal parts rising shock and fury. Though, I couldn't tell who it was directed at. I felt ill at ease, knowing not only her glare, but the venomous gaze of other entities. I knew I was drawing attention.

"If it'll make you happy, please use me Katya." After all, my name is Dolores. It means to suffer. What else am I good for?

 

[Zepherus14]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Rising Dawn's Library
The Dim Library
Ruby Babbage-Lovelace | Nina Zaczoltski | Phillip!!! | Golem of Cloth​

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If the hat had truly been passed the ocean of ichor roaches, even Nina may have given up on it. It was up to one's imagination what exactly the bugs had wanted to do with them if they'd managed to catch the group, but that was in the past now, she'd give management a talking to about their infestation issues later. There was adventure to be had, and like she?d proclaimed, they would succeed in reclaiming her hat!

Phillip climbed up Nina's body rather effortlessly, perching on her shoulder and looping a tentacle or two around her for support while Nina watched curiously as to what Ruby was doing with the thread. "Well magical mumbo jumbo?" Nina replied when Ruby questioned if she could call what she was doing as a spell. As always, Nina didn't have the prior knowledge of magic to know exactly what Ruby was doing to discern what it'd qualify as other than making physics cry.

Regardless Nina watched intently, rather curious as to what the 'spell' would do. Would the thread extend through the hallways to lead them to the library? Would it produce some sort of map that would guide them to their destination? Maybe, just maybe the thread would fly over and weave into her own clothing, make little wings and they would just flutter them to the library? While Nina was slowly going over ascending levels of complicated what ifs, Phillip lazily ejected out the jar of eldritch bugs in his possession, giving it a quite shake. The jar was practically stuffed to the brim leaving little to no space for anything to move let alone breathe in there. One could consider it to be rather cruel of Phillip to leave the poor things in there, but he didn't seem to mind as his curiosity seemed to be sated with this brief inspection. The jar was quickly engulfed by tentacle after tentacle until once again it disappeared from view. Nina did give a momentary glance to her noodley rider, but seemed more interested in Ruby's own exploits, at least until her eyes shifted from Ruby's prep work to part of the wall a few feet away from them. 'Did someone spill something over there? That's a pretty nasty stain?' She thought to herself as Ruby walked into her gaze, grabbing Nina's attention again as Ruby warned her "Miss Nina? You might want to stand back a little bit... maybe around the corner. This is the first time that I've ever tried this spell..."

Caught a bit off guard by the request, Nina absent mindedly stared back at the little one before looking back and forth before doing a brisk jog to the end of the hallway and peaking her head around the corner while Phillip hung from her shoulder like a draped cloak. Thankfully, there was no explosions, no blackholes, and thankfully no mutant rubber ducks! Nina however was looking from that sweet spot where she couldn't see the portal Ruby had made, frankly she'd been expecting at least something? "So... did it work?" She quietly muttered to herself, following her looking over her shoulder to Phillip. "Well, how am I supposed to know it worked?! I'm all the way over here?" She replied back indignantly, apparently Phillip relaying that in fact Ruby had succeeded in making the portal.

By the time Nina had looked back Ruby had already passed through, leaving the temporary guardian to give the area a brief once over before heading to the portal. "Ruby?" She called out before spotting her through the portal prompting her to give a sigh of relief. "That's like what? Four people now? Five?" Commenting on just how many people she'd met so far that had some sort of transporting powers. Eventually catching up with Ruby within the rows upon rows of book shelves. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but gold star for efficiency~" Nina complemented Ruby, looking around to get her bearings. "Well, as long as there isn't any more interruptions, we should be-" Nina started to say tempting fate as a certain technomancer's drunken state killed all the lights, if only for a moment before the backup power kicked in. "OH COME ON!!" She exclaimed.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel
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Cloudtop Citadel: David West, Cloudtop Citadel personnel

"......Fuck you too, lady..." David muttered under his breath after Yona walked off.
While the notion of putting a bullet in them all and calling it a day was a rather tempting one, Considering he was about to meet the same fate of execution/torture without a trial less then 24 hours ago, he wasn't pleased by the idea.
Plus, he was REALLY looking forward to that promotion and forcing Rugal to address him by Rank and prisoners dying under his watch wouldn't aid him in that regard.
As he began to leave the Administration sector, he was greeted by this Vihaan fellow, responding to his greeting with "If I had to take a guess, the no booze thing is more for her sake then anything else. It's always the really uptight ones that can't handle their drink. David West, Agent of UNIT."

A bit of walking and talking later, he brought up the fate of his poor flask, to which David responded "Ehhhh...ah, sure, might as well. Just don't try to hook me up with someone, I'm spoken for and I enjoy having my genitals attached to my body."
As he walked alongside Vihaan, he began to notice all the details in his outfit and equipment, namely how the guy looked like a Mish-Mash of those "Mang-Gah" characters Teri kept telling him about.
"...Hellva get up you got there. You heading to a convention of something?" He jabbed with a playful nudge on the shoulder as they re-entered the elevator.

The Rising Dawn
Med Bay
Morning

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Diana | Jenny​

"You misunderstand. I don't date humans." She responded back as she kept up their mental battle, only to realize she was starting to falter in her efforts.
"This is your last chance. Don't make me have to injure you..." She asked rather politely as she redoubled her efforts on defense as her psionic offense on Diana's mind came to a halt.
It appeared she was trying to force a stalemate now, extra layers of Reflect Barriers starting to come into place to reinforce the existing ones as they slowly pushed back the monster snarling at her.
"Besides, even you have to admit that it would be a lot faster and easier to just tell me how to help Dr. Violet. So just tell me and we can both walk away from this. M-might even buy you a drink?" The Gardevoir then suggested, altering her stance to a more fearful and submissive one in the hopes it would sate Diana's ego just long enough...

 

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Secondary Scenario]]​

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Maiden's Wish

side story

​

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"Never ask for anything, but desire everything."​

Vihaan turned around and looked at David quizzically. "Get up?" he said aloud. His mantle jingled as if to answer. The service elevator clicked as it ascended, counting the floors up from the first, slowly and steadily toward the fourth floor. Vihaan motioned to his outfit, "This outfit is quite normal for people like me."

"Well, I guess I just never met any 'normal people like you.'" David snarked, a bit bitter about his poor innocent flask.
"I mean, what are ya? An Officer? A Priest? A-...Waiter?" He then asked, running out of ways to point out that his outfit looked weird.

The elevator doors opened.

"Admiral Vaaldur!" Kara said, saluting. Another pretty one, but stiff and professional. Blue uniform with a clean blonde bob. Behind her spectacles were eyes of a stone-cold soldier.

Vihaan did not so much respect Kara's strict professionalism, instead he flashed her a smile. "What can I help you with, beautiful?" He leaned against the wall and raised his eyebrows as if to look cool.

"The Desire Drive activation as been delayed to tomorrow, sir." Kara reported.

"That is fine, as long as my desire for you isn't going to be put off as well," Vihaan continued, raising his eyebrows suggestively. There was a pause as Kara bowed and saw herself out. Vihaan laughed boyishly.

"Right! Admirals! They are the military guys with the awesome outfits!" He densely remarked once he figured out what Vihaan was.
"Right... ahem sorry sir. I didn't know." David then said, a bit worried about his comments earlier pissing off another commanding officer of the base.

Vihaan turned to David and shrugged, "There is very little need for such formality David. I am no Admiral in your sense of the word." He spun around to show David the extent of his uniform. "I am Vihaan Vaaldur, Admiral of the Rising Dawn's First Supernatural Investigations Fleet." He curtsied, dipping his head so that the crown on his head was fully visible. It was shaped like BlackHarte's eye, David vaguely recalled.

"Ahhhh, I gotcha now. Sorry, just feel like I already upset enough people here for one day," he said while stretching the back of his head nervously. "Still, uh, you said you could bring us to someone who could fix, uh, this?" he then shifted the topic back to fixing his flask as if doing so would make the situation less awkward.

The two men stepped onto the Foundry floor, and felt the sudden rush of hot air. The floor was like an engine, beating hard and fast with steam and gas. Burning furnaces raged alongside the walls as huge machine arms reached up and down moving crates of scrap metal, liquid metal, and cast metal between the floors. The fires sent glowing embers of molten metal high into the air to rain down as gentle warm ash. The staff here moved efficiently, weaving between the machines in white uniforms. Vihaan wove through the machines and staff, stopping every now and again to greet one of the women working, either with a polite bow or a not-so-innocent hug. Generally though, the young Admiral seemed to be well liked. Some of the women pat him gently on the head while others slapped him on the back as he passed, leaving ashen hand-prints on his cream-colored robe.

After a good distance of weaving back and forth, Vihaan finally stopped in front of a more antiquated forge. A small kiln burned away as several sheets of metal lay cooking in the coals. A little bit away, an older woman - perhaps nearly in her sixties - white haired, wrinkled, but still with arms full of strength sat hammering away at a tiny chain link.

"This is Janet Colsworth, last of a looooong line of blacksmiths," Vihaan said as he held his arms out as if he was presenting a prize.

She looked up, eyes hidden behind dark glass, "And who have you dragged along to my office, Vihaan."

 

[Sithmorack]

AA Verse | Cloudtop Citadel | The Rising Dawn
[color=8a2c0f]Joshua Graham[/color]​

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As the group around him lowered their weapons, Joshua in turn lowered his arms. He didn't know what they meant by foreigners but it appeared he wasn't the first to simply "appear" like this. Seeing their relaxed posture put him off to a degree. Even if someone isn't immediately hostile in the Mojave they could turn on you at any point. He did notice the tired looks the group was giving and the 72 hour comment must mean that whatever this place was, it was on high alert.

He was thankful for their welcoming attitude as they offered him food and drink. [color=8a2c0f]"Thank you, being a good neighbor to your fellow man is a service in the eyes of the Lord after all."[/color] The term international confused him as he had never heard of such an organization that was world wide. Perhaps he had been more isolated with the Dead Horses than he originally thought. He'd keep that question for later however as he didn't want to let on how in the dark he currently was.

Instead he decided to ask, [color=8a2c0f]"It seems you've all been rather busy?"[/color] It was a statement as well as a question.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[HEADING=2]The Rising Dawn Adventures[/HEADING]The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Rising Dawn: King Leoric's room | King Leoric, Nadalia
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"My dear Leoric, thou'st has done thee such a service indeed ..."​

"Well, my being would still be contained within that World Marshall prison if it wasn't for you. While I do now know a cure to your curse, I am glad that that I could aid you like you have aided me..." Leoric warmly said with something akin to a smile on his face skull.
He didn't seem too bothered by what his amulet had done to Nadalia nor the fact that she seemed to "Revert" into a a more primal and nude version of herself.
Well, he did notice that second part and quickly adverted his eyes.
"...having that said, might I suggest covering yourself? While I'm glad I've rejuvenated you, there is ill-need for immodesty..." He then requested with a somewhat embarrassed tone in his spectral voice.
"Actually, hold a moment. Servants!"

Upon the Skeleton King's command, the amulet glowed before a series of souls escaped from it, each one striking the ground gently before 3 skeletons formed, each one clad in Outfits and Facial hair [http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3197/2971513248_d095818711.jpg] they had borrowed from the imps.
"Find something to clad your new Sovereign. I'd rather not mark her return to form with a scandal about her modesty..." He then ordered before the 1 of the servants went about getting her measurements while the others went to look for suitable attire for the Iron Queen.

 

[Generic NPC 22]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Outside the Library
The Library? Not Quite
Ruby Babbage-Lovelace | Nina Zaczoltski Phillip!!! |​

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A strong wind ripped through Ruby Babbage-Lovelace's black and white hair as she passed through the portal, her eyes having involuntarily shut themselves tightly to keep from being blinded by the portal's chaotic, churning, vortex of colors and energy. Being that this was the first time she'd cast this particular spell, she was unsure as to whether the hurricane like gust of wind was supposed to be normal or if this was something else entirely. Opening her eyes, the Pink Dressed Princess of Prestidigitation was relieved to see that her spell had worked, to a certain degree, and she had not sent both her and Miss Nina to some otherworldly location where they would choke to death on toxic gasses the moment they passed through the dimensional door, or sent out the portal's exit in big fleshing chucks of raw meat. On the other hand, it was obvious that the spell needed a small bit of tweaking, especially when it came to the exit's vertical location.

"(I must have misplaced a decimal point...)" The Ribbon Wearing Witch thought to herself as she looked down and saw that she was roughly one mile above the location that she wanted to be... which meant that she positioned the portal's exit in the middle of empty sky... which meant that she was currently plunging to her very messy but quick and messy death, splattered against the roof of the Rising Dawn. Turning around to look above her she noticed that Miss Nina had just exited the portal, and was probably screaming her lungs out or cursing Ruby's name. If the latter option was the case, it was probably a good thing that Ruby couldn't hear her over the sound of the wind rushing past her head.

"I'M SORRY MISS NINA!" Ruby called out to her very temporary guardian before she turned around and tried to think of what she could do. If she cast a fireball against the top part of the Rising Dawn, it would probably do a bit of damage but not enough to breach the ship's armor. A lightning bolt would have been dispersed by the ship's metal hull. A meteor strike would have probably caused the ship to fall from the sky. Water... well... it would have caused a bad case of rust.

"[color=5555FF]*SQUEAK! SQUEAK!*[/color]" Something squeaked next to the Nine-Year-Old Skydiver's head, causing the young girl to notice that her miniature cloth golem had grabbed onto her and was looking intently at her. The other thing that she noticed was that the golem didn't speak words, rather he squeaked at her like some sort of doggy chew tow. "[color=5555FF]*SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK![/color]"

"OKAY! OKAY! I GOT IT!!!" Ruby exclaimed loudly as she listened to Ollie Golly Golem's plan before watching as the cloth sack puppet tightened himself into a ball, cutting down on his drag and falling faster than Ruby and Miss Nina. As he did so, the Pink Princess of Prestidigitation unwrapped Gleipnir, the long ribbon she kept wrapped around her arm, from around her, allowing it to trail behind her like a long flag, willing the pink fetter to reach out towards Miss Nina, who would hopefully understand that Ruby wanted her to grab it and allow it to wrap itself around the Temporary Flying Babysitter's wrists. Unable to worry about Miss Nina and longer, Ruby prepared another spell, hoping that Ollie Golly Golem's plan would work.

*POOF!*

The sound and sensation of wind rushing past her died away dramatically as Ruby felt her rate of descent decrease dramatically due to the sudden transformation of Ruby's dress into a waist worn parachute. Looking up she saw Miss Nina closing in on her, barely avoiding a collision.

"Grab the ribbon Miss Nina!!!" Ruby called out before she heard a loud boom in the distance.

*BOOM!*

Looking down towards the source of the sound, she noticed that there was now a hole where Olly Golly Golem's impact had ripped through the armor on the top of the Airship. Conveniently enough, it was over the location of the library.

[hr]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | The Airship Rising Dawn | The Canteen
Deflated...
Katya Rostikova​

[hr]

"I'll do it."
"I'll do it. Katya..."
"I'm not useful for much else right? When it comes down to it, I'm just a piece of meat. I can't fight, I'm not smart. Now I can't even move by myself. But I can still do that, at least."
"If it'll make you happy, please use me Katya."

Standing in the middle of the Canteen, Katya Rostikova felt herself unconsciously facepalm at the response that she'd received from Dolly as she felt her conflicting thoughts pull her in three different directions. Of the three, the desire with the least amount of pull was the desire to pull Dolores off into one of the many not so private and not so sound proofed rooms nearby for a sensual scissor session with her pathetic former pal. The fact that Dolores would offer herself up as a piece of meat for Katya's pleasure had a fair amount to do with her own desire to puke in response to the display of pathetic passivity, clubbing both her desire to get shitfaced and her desire to get laid over the head like a baby harp seal.

"[small]Goddamit...[/small]" Katya muttered softly nefore looking up at Dolores, her eyes burning not with lust but rather with both concern and anger, "I don't know whether I need to hug you or break your fucking nose."

Having come straight from the *****'s mouth, one could have been sure that she was feeling that tug in either direction. On the one hand there was Dolly consorting with the enemy, that drunken Irish bastard that needed a lesson on how to show appreciation. On the other hand was the fact that Katya felt a certain kinship towards her fellow lover of all things Japanese... one that haphazardly bordered on friendship. More than anything, Katya had once been in Dolly's position... weak, injured, self-loathing and self-doubting... and she hated it. That Little Miss Wounded Bird had decided become so wrapped up in these feelings horrified the formerly dying debutante.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Dolores Selmy? You are smart you dumb shit. The fact that you think that you're stupid is what makes you fucking stupid! Also, you're not useless either! You managed to almost kill that super powered magical kid with the smoke powers and stuff... you survived getting impaled by a bunch of metal bars AND you successfully dismantled my attempt to piss you off and hurt your feeling by hurting mine instead!" The 18 year old young woman admitted loudly in the middle of the Canteen, sober as a red panda, "You've got balls to go fight a bunch of power powered psychopaths despite having no super powers, you've got the strength to survive, you've got the intelligence to understand the wonders of anime... but for fuck's sake... put a computer points into your perception stat and see that you're not a goddamned person... not a fucking sex toy! So guess what, Dolly, I'm not going to mash my goodies all up in your face, I'm going to sit here and talk to you... like I should instead of trying to find an opportunity to scream 'U Mad Bro'at you, why don't we sit here and drink some shots while you tell me exactly what the hell is misfiring in that brain of your's."

~Splish!~

The tears that had been steadily building up in the corners of Katya's eyes lost their fight with gravity and landed on the bar's wooden surface.

"Dammit... now I'm crying... The girl exclaimed weakly as she wiped her eyes on the sleeve of her long sleeved dress, "You're lucky you're my friend... or I'd... I'd... block you from torrenting anime or logging into Crunchyroll."

 

[Silence]

The Rising Dawn
Med Bay
Morning

[hr]

Diana | Jenny​

Diana was indeed slightly reducing the pressure as Jenny asked her out for a drink.

[b][i]That sounds lovely, my dear. But it won't be enough to tell you about Violet, unless you want to be my slave.
Which I honestly doubt, I'm not that naive.[/i][/b]

With that spoken, she increased the pressure again, putting her full strength into breaking the physical barriers, while her mind was open for a single second.

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Yona's office
Morning?

[hr]

Mio | Mitte | Yona Isami​

Mio looked at the colonel introducing herself. There seemed to be something slightly off, but other than that ... well, she was pretty perfect.
"Hi!" Mio said, putting on her most charming smile. "I am Mio Kaizuko, most feared pirate on the Seven Seas and I think I lost my ship when accidentally traveling to another world.
You see, I was fighting this giant demon kraken, of course no problem, if it did not just let me fly through a portal. Or something like that. In truth, I don't really know how I got here.

It does not matter, though. I am missing my ship, my crew - even if yours seems better in certain departments -" She had a huge grin on her face. "It is still my crew. Well, and apparently I have not only lost my ships, but also my treasure, including my friggin' arm.
So I am searching for this, while also searching for new booty and adventure, of course! So, can you help me? In all of those departments?"

While waiting for an answer, Mio then took out a pocket flask, unscrewed it with her teeth and took a deep sip.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel
​

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel: David West, Cloudtop Citadel personnel

David was sweating like nuts once they got into the Foundry, even going so far to take off his trademark jacket, revealing a white running top underneath.
He was so warm he was even attempting to get the last drops of liquor out of his broken flask once Vihaan introduced him to Janet.
"Ah, sorry about that. I swear, you need to get some AC in here. David West, UNIT Special Envoy to the Rising Dawn. Pleasure to meet cha." He said before offering his hand to be shaken.
"Hell of an operation you got going here. Did a bit of Metalworking over the years, mostly weapon mods, partly car mods, made a pair of custom cuff-links once too." He pointed out, attempting to sell himself before the professional.
"Just if there is any spare tools or something, I might fix up my flask. Just-...bit of a run in with the Colonel and I'd like to get it fixed. Kinda a good luck charm, the kind you'd pass onto your kids, you know." The sniper then asked before bringing the two pieces of the flask.

 

[BlackHarte]

Cloudtop Citadel - The Rising Dawn
Security Private Peter Moore


"Private Moore," Morrison said. Peter jolted to attention and swung his arm up in a haphazard salute.

"Yessir!" Peter replied.

"Take Mr. Graham to the Canteen and get him acquainted with his new world. I'm going to take the rest of the squad to meet up with Citadel security and upload our combat data from the Black Mesa incursion to the database." Lieutenant Morrison waved for the rest of the squad to follow him as he left.

There was a simple silence that followed between Peter and Joshua. the two men were about the same height and build, but Joshua was not only older, but also carried himself in a way that was altogether different from the air of inexperience that followed Peter like a cloud. Peter cleared his throat and nodded as Joshua as he led them toward the Canteen. "We've been engaged in combat for the past week or so non-stop. Though it does feel like it's been a year or four."

The two men walked in the red-washed hallways, footfalls echoing in the empty corridors. "The Rising Dawn is a proactive peacekeeping unit, so it's our job to look out for threats and stop them before they become a problem. A lot of the time that also means having to stare down the full force of a mobilized enemy." Peter turned a corner into the Canteen.

The large ceiling-to-floor windows in the Canteen gave a spectacular view of the Citadel's internal hanger. From the sheer amount of lights, whirring machines, and moving bodies below - the simple scale of the operation dwarfed civilization itself in the post-war Mojave.

Peter looked up and noticed two engineer corp members working on patching a hole in the ceiling just over the bar. A little further in, an officer was sitting at a table with a couple of heroes. He blinked away the shadows in the red light. Lieutenant Selmy? he grimaced, wasn't she gravely injured in the deployment to Denver? Maybe the darkness was playing games with his eyes.

"I'll order something for you to eat and drink, anything you'd like in particular?"



[HEADING=2]Rising Dawn: Canteen ------------------------------------------------------------------ 02:00 AM[/HEADING][hr][HEADING=3]Lt. Dolores Selmy[/HEADING]

I held my breath as I watch Katya settle down. The tears that rolled down her cheeks glimmered in warm red light. "Is that really how you see me?" I couldn't truly understand the feelings stirring within my own heart. There was happiness and yet there was also pain. A deep throbbing wound that shuddered as my spirit roused. I reached out and placed a hand on her shirt, letting the weight of my fingers pool into the folds of the thread.

I smiled, "Thank you for your kind words, truly."

Yet if your insecurities were really that easily overturned, you would not need me.

Laeta sat back down with a bounce. She seemed more than relieved that the tension in the air had slackened. I had never noticed, but her eyes shone in the darkness like amethysts, cast purple by red light. Saren hit the floor with a dull thud, lazily turning over in a drunken stupor. Laeta bent down to help the younger girl up, making sure to gently crease her jacket so that her sensitive skin would not come in contact with the cold metal of the chair.

Katya pulled up a chair and sat down. In a matter of moments, there were cups on the table and an assortment of liquors. I tried to remember what they were by the shape of their bottles, but I couldn't remember. I knew that I had worked with drinks for a long time - in both part time jobs before the Rising Dawn, and for some time thereafter. Yet, as I reached for the flared neck of a heavy-bottomed bottle I couldn't help but feel that the cool glass was foreign and rough. Still I poured both of us a glass of the amber liquor. I took a small sip. It slid down my throat like glass and left a trail of fire. I coughed.

I put the glass down and let both my hands rest gently in my lap, "I said a lot I didn't mean to say," I started, "a lot of it comes from deep down, to be completely honest, so deep that it's from the time before, well... my first memories."

Laeta sighed and stood up, picking up Saren as she did, "If you're going to try and tell that story, I'm going to go get Isaac."

I looked up, confused.

"Like it or not Lola. And I am speaking to you big sister, Isaac was the first person to find you the day you lost your memories, and he's the one with the best interpretation of what's actually wrong with you." Laeta grimaced, her eyes gleamed, brilliant like a hawk's. I never noticed, but Laeta had the same eyes as both my father and mother. Fierce, strong and predatory. But she had always hidden her true nature behind a guise of foolishness and promiscuity that it was impossible to gauge her capabilities.

"Hold on a second," I said, chewing on my lip. I didn't particularly want to know what Isaac knew, "Let's not go too deep, too quickly." I looked at Katya, "You have been good to me," I said, reaching for her hands, "even though I've only known you for several days, I can say that I feel like I've been with you for years. If you want to know about me, I cannot deny you. Yet, if you would rather for use to simply drink and whittle the early hours away watching anime, I'd be more than fine with that."

Mankind's greatest folly is his desire for independence. Yet the ties that bind have the capability to be just as dangerous, isn't that right, Dolores?

 

[Sithmorack]

AA Verse | Cloudtop Citadel | The Rising Dawn | Canteen
[color=8a2c0f]Joshua Graham[/color]​

[hr]

Joshua watched as the Lieutenant left him to be escorted by a private Moore. Graham quickly did his best to covertly scrutinize the private. The kid was young and inexperienced that much was apparent. There was a time when he remembered being that green but those days were long gone. The kid was a bit nervous with him which was fine. Joshua preferred to negotiate from higher grounds and the kid was talking fast enough that he didn't really have a chance to reply anyways.

He listened to the private talk for a few minutes as the two of them walked through the halls of the Rising Dawn. The kid has said something about being in combat constantly for the past week. There was war wherever he was and he imagined he wouldn't stay out of it for long. A small smile graced his lips as the private said how the past week felt like a year. Joshua knew the feeling a little too well as he continued following. During his days as Caesar's Legate many of the battles seemed to drag on. Your worst moments in life always did seem to last the longest but God had always been there by his side to see him through.

The disconcerting red lighting in the halls didn't bother Joshua much as he realized it was more of a high security state rather than an active attack. He mulled over the privates next few words as he thought about their peacekeeping unit. It seemed almost hypocritical in a way to enforce peace through violence but he had yet to really see anything they had done. He had to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. He could admire their bravery at least if the private's words were truthful.

Then he saw the view as they entered through a doorway into a new room. He had seen a lot of things serving Caesar but this took the cake. The Mojave and the entirety of the East couldn't even begin to compare to what he was seeing in this one room. He did his best but he paused for a moment and his hand shook. That was all the outside indication he gave but on the inside his mind (to put it simply) was imploding. Everything he understood about the world he lived in was drastically changed. It was like he was back in the Old World he had never even lived in. There were so many people, lights, and ships? He had never even seen most of these advanced aircraft before. The sheer scope of it all made him pause. He was quick to regain himself however but remained quiet for the rest of their short journey.

He had so many questions going through his head. Where was he? When was he? Was he even in the Capital Wasteland anymore? This was... Normal for the people here? Everyone acted like the jobs they were doing were menial and boring. Was this a miracle from God himself? Who had bestowed this kindness on him? The Burned Man silently thanked the Courier for his kindness now.

The two were in what looked like a bar of some kind. If he remembered right, the private had seen canteen. Joshua had almost missed Peter's question due to the previous room but answered, [color=8a2c0f]"Just... Water please."[/color]

 

[Zepherus14]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Outside the Library (Above the Dawn!)
"WHERE IS MY PACKAGE OF PEANUTS!"
Ruby Babbage-Lovelace | Nina Zaczoltski Phillip!!! |​

[hr]

"That's like what? Four people now? Five?" Nina questioned aloud, about to once again cross through another threshold of a portal from this to that. Each one had been different from one way or another, so as the wind started rushing passed Nina as she plummeted to her death, she was left with one thought in her mind. 'Ruby really needs to learn from Ryan or Sloth, this portal kinda sucks..!'

With the high winds blasting passed Nina, she could only try to bring up an arm to break some of the blow back so she could look around. This was certainly an unorthodox method of travel she thought, even with Sloth's portal at least it got them to a destination immediately even if they needed to make a quick pit stop to make the whole thing work. Nina'd dealt with air travel in the past, connecting flights certainly weren't unheard of, but she was starting to feel like this was taking it a bit more literally than was necessary.

Phillip was feeling something entirely different to Nina however. After making a last minute attempt to pull them back through the portal to safety, he'd been jettisoned aggressively out of the portal in turn. He still clung to Nina's side, fighting against the roaring wind which was seeming rather difficult. Due to his light weight, large surface area, and the constant battering of Nina's hair against him at nearly 195km/h; Phillip was finding it particularly annoying to keep connected with Nina. "WHAT!?" Nina shouted tilting her head back to Phillip, not really able to see him through her sea of yellow. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!" unable to hear Phillip's complaints. Now Phillip did resist blunt force, but much like water torture, there's a limit one would be willing to take. As such one tentacle, despite the wind, grapple the mass of hair assaulting him and forcing it down close to the back of Nina's head. Oddly enough in this situation, the hair made a makeshift chute of inspiration.

While Nina had been falling in a rather unimpressed upside down fashion, she wished she had a nice stylish pair of goggles, the air was making her eyes tear up. It made it really hard to see after all, and with it being so loud, she was left to her own thoughts. 'What's taking so long? Do I need to do something special? Ugh where'd Ruby get off to anyways, I can't see her with all this w-!' Nina thought before she suddenly slowed down! "OH! What wait? Phillip?!" Nina looked up to see Phillip had been busy. Grappling a large amount of Nina's torso to ensure they stayed connected, Phillip had extended a hefty amount of tentacles behind them to create a pseudo chute. Despite this, Nina was still in serious danger if she tried to land now, easily breaking many things, but at least she could make out what Phillip was saying. "YA, I KNOW! I WAS JUST THINKING THAT TOO! THIS IS TAKING FOREVER!" She shouted back, Phillip obviously replying in turn as she continued. "YOU'RE RIGHT, WE SHOULD ASK RUBY!" Nina agreed as she started scanning the way below, Phillip giving her a squeeze of her shoulder before a guiding tentacle pointed her in the right direction.

"W-What is that? Oh. I SAID, WHAT IS THAT!? Oh... Well why didn't you say anything before?" Nina relayed as she saw the ribbon approaching them. "You get the feeling that's important..? Good, it isn't just me then! LET'S GET IT!!!" She proclaimed as Phillip adjusted some tendrils to start their fall towards the pink savior. Given Ruby's magical ribbon, what would have been a monumental task would be made child's play. Simply getting relatively close to the ribbon caused it to lash out to grab Nina's arms securely..

With Ruby acting as the pivot, Nina swung as the ribbon slowly took over supporting her weight as she approached equilibrium. Both the ribbon hold and Phillip's chute allowing Nina's arms enough time to adjust to this without them being ripped off. Once she was hanging proper, Phillip would reduce his size while keeping his tentacles out. "HEY! SO WE ALMOST THERE RUBY? NOT TO BE A NUDGE BUT THIS IS EASILY THE LONGEST PORTAL TRIP WE'VE GONE ON!" Nina called out finally reunited with Ruby.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[RETRACTING CUZ WAS SUCC]

 

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Secondary Scenario]]​

[hr]

Maiden's Wish

side story

​

[hr]

"Never ask for anything, but desire everything."​

Janet took the flask from David's hands and gave it a look over, "It's nothing special, but if it means that much to you, I'll give it a good once over." She placed the two halves of the flask in the red embers of her furnace and let them sit until they were red hot. "A run in with the Colonel eh?" she whistled as she retrieved the two halves and placed them on a rounded anvil. "She's a hot-headed one that lass," Janet continued as she started to solder the two halves of the flask back together, "Not from around here. When she first arrived, she was no more than a child. A strange looking one too. Tiny, skinny, holding onto a spear as if it were her own mother. Wore strange clothes too. All white and gold from head to toe. Didn't speak a lick of English and was scared to death of men." She put the flask into a water trough to cool. The sudden flash of steam caught Vihaan off guard and he stumbled backwards.

"But in the end, I think she's a good soul. Wants nothing more than to go home, wherever that is." Janet took the flask out and put it back in the furnace before stoking the coals. "The rumor is that she's from some other dimension or whatsit. I don't believe it, but to hear her talk about her homeland, well. She's a good storyteller and a convincin' leader. That much is true." She pulled the flask out and started to smooth out the scar on the flask with a narrow clamp. "Don't hold it against her, she means well, but isn't very good at talking. That's why I think she surrounds herself with so many people that love her. So she don't need to speak much. English isn't her first language, and every now and again I can hear her lapse into whatever it is she speaks. It makes her uncomfortable to be here, in society."

Janet handed the flask back to David, ship shape and none the worse for wear. "Don't hold it against her lad, she's a good girl. Quick to act and of few words. She's lost, afraid, and wanting for her home."

---​

The dagger flashed as Yona dashed forward. Her movements were segmented and broken, as if between each step her form vanished into another world. Mio saw the footsteps coming by the dust that kicked up on the floor each time Yona landed in her stride. The room glowed bright and hot with the shimmering light of sparks.

Steel danced against steel and the screeching song of grinding metal tore deep into Mio's skull.

Yona landed several steps in front of the white-haired pirate. Her blue eyes were framed by the dying embers drifting around her.

"Let's not get hasty now, Colonel." Mitte said cheerfully as she sheathed a broadsword back into a holster hidden on her outer thigh. "The poor girl didn't know."

Yona gave Mitte and Mio a deadly glare before spinning her flame-kissed dagger in her hand. "Zero-tolerance, no alcohol."

Mitte capped the flask in Mio's hand for her. "It is so," Mitte said, "please refrain from drinking while you are outside of the Rising Dawn. There are a lot of sensitive instruments that would be adversely affected by vaporous alcohol." Mitte smiled and cocked her head.

Yona put her dagger away and turned back toward the window. There was a silence before she spoke, her voice was hard and unwavering, "With many of the things you desire, we have no ability to assist you. That being said however, there is one thing we are working on." Yona turned around to face Mio. She rest her hands on her hip, looked sternly at Mio and said straight-faced, "We're working on the technology to breach dimensional walls and facilitate inter-planar travel for mortal peoples. In more simple words, we're trying to learn how to send people back to the worlds they came from."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[HEADING=2]The Rising Dawn Adventures[/HEADING]The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Rising Dawn: King Leoric's room | King Leoric, Nadalia
​

[hr]

"It is quite alright, Iron Queen. Should you ever need my aid, merely ask and I shall provide as best I can. Thristram has fallen but their nobility and pride live on though me." Leoric remarked as he got changed back into his Royal Armor, fresh off a quick polish and gleaming in the electronic light.
The Servant backed off as his fake facial hair began to burn from Nadalia's heat, the lot of them soon returning to the enchanted Gorget now that their mistress had been served.
"Now then, shall we be off? I wish to examine this "Cloudtop Citadel" for myself. They appear to be allies of the brave warriors of this vessel and I wish to help forge an alliance to secure my new kingdom." Leoric then asked, looking suitably royal (Lack of flesh not withstanding) as he lead the two of them out of his chambers.
"You know, I feel you would have thrived in our world. With the Eternal Conflict ever raging, it has left humanity lead by-...well, sheep. They know nothing of a strong leader and you could be just the type of monarch they require. I used to think myself as one but-...I believe you recall my fate..." He then suggested, rather liking the idea of the Iron Queen ruling a region near Khanduras, perhaps she could find her place in the sands of Aranoch.
For now, it was time to correct the suspicions of anyone who thought her weak...

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel
​

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel: David West, Vihaan, Janet

"Figured it was something like that...Poor woman...Growing enough is enough of a battle for a kid, nevermind fighting in someone else's..." David remarked as he heard the colonel's story from the blacksmith.
While the Rising Dawn had a number of under-age members, David still made his stance of putting children in the line of fire, now, if they grew up and still wanted to serve, more power to them, it's what he did.
His political views were soon pushed aside when he noticed the flawless finish on his flask once Janet handed it back to him.
"...Damn...I think it's in better condition now then it was when I bought it! Hellva job, ma'am." He remarked as he examined it, looking nothing like the cheap pile of crap he purchased while waiting in line at a cafe in Iraq almost a lifetime ago.
"Well, you'll be glad to know that she's not even in the top 10 biggest jackasses I've met with that rank. Thanks again for this. Listen, you need anything done? Let me know. Once UNIT pick up those dirtbags in the brig, I'mma have a LOT of sway with my people and an outfit just as fancy as the Admiral's here." The Sniper joked, patting Vihaan on the back and unknowing marring his outfit with a dirty oily handprint.
"But real talk: Means a lot to me. Need a favor and I'll make it happen."

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Rising Dawn
Med Bay
Morning

[hr]

Diana | Jenny​

"Oh, that's alright. I was just trying to distract you." ^_~

Diana then stumbled forward as the Gardevoir seemed to disappear from-...well reality if I'm being honest.
There was no trace of her and even her wheelchair seemed to vanish as the shapeshifter looked around, finding the entire medical bay to be strangely-...empty...There was no other souls to be found, no sound could be heard apart from a pair of short-stride footsteps."It's over Diana. You've lost. Now, can you please tell me what you did to Dr. Violet?..." Jenny asked as he walked into view, no longer clad in bandages, walking around as if she as 100% healthy and now sporting a crimson hue to her normally green hair."Confused? You let your guard down just long enough...We are currently in your head right now actually...You can think of me as a little..."Virus", uploaded directly into your mind's Hard Drive." The mimic coyly pointed out before tapping the side of her head."There are two ways this can play out...Either you give me what Jenny wants and I leave or..."

Moving her hand out, a large medical-looking filing cabinet began morph out of the floor underneath but this one was special, hence a large marker drawn label that wrote "Diana's memories".
"I'm going to just have to start tearing though these until I find what I'm after and, believe me, if you think you are confused now...Just wait until I wipe out the last 20 years of your life..." She then threatened before sliding the first drawer open...

---

While Diana entertained Jenny's phantom within her mind, in the Real World the Shapeshifter's monstrous form dozed lightly at the base of Jenny's wheelchair.A smug look appeared on Jenny's face before she wheeled herself back into Dr. Violet's room, waiting for her "Clone" to get what she needed out of Diana's mind.And hopefully before Diana pushed her buttons and made things worse for herself

 

[BlackHarte]

Cloudtop Citadel - The Rising Dawn
Security Private Peter Moore

"Asamatte! Hidahei!" Peter called out to the kitchens. After a short pause, a darkness came bursting out of the thick steel doors. It loomed toward Graham's table and slammed a bottle of water in front of him before turning around and leaving. Peter smiled awkwardly, "Sorry about that, he's Asmora, one of the automatons that we were given. He runs errands for the staff members when we're in high-alert." Peter paused, "Not that we're in high alert or anything. The power generators short-circuited due to some strange EMP earlier. All the back up systems are running right now."

Peter motioned toward the water, "Please drink up."

The world had changed a lot in the past four years. He looked out the windows into the hangar. A lot. He wondered when he could go home... it's been way too long since he'd seen Rachel. She'd have grown up by now... When did he leave home? How long ago was it? Peter furrowed his brow and hunched over on the table, placing his hands on his cheeks. His memories from before joining the Dawn. They seemed... so distant. As if they were physically far away. "What in the world..." he muttered under his breath.

"Oh, my apologies once again. You're with a friend, are you not? Shall I .. leave you two be?"

"No, no." Peter waved at Nadalia to sit down, "Please, take a seat and join our conversation." Peter turned back to Graham and tried to shake the feeling of unease from his shoulders. "I should probably go over where and when we are, shouldn't I?" He forced a laugh, "It's the year 2013, and you're in the Rocky Mountains Rage in Colorado. Where exactly, I'm not sure. But it's the United States of America. I don't know if that helps, but that's what I can give you right now. If you would like, I could see if Intelligence could scrounge up some maps and records for you to read in your down time."