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

[NotYetForsaken]

[hr]

Maiden's Wish

side story

​

[hr]

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

"Arrogance," Vihaan spat a swept his right leg away from B.C.'s attack, "do you really think I would stay still and let you combo me?" He met her elbow strike with his own, hitting hard and relishing in the sudden numbing pain that shot through his entire body as the two collided. He let her right hook land and answered by striking B.C. hard on both of her temples. When the two broke, Vihaan was still standing.

"You had the right idea, attack where the enemy is weak," Vihaan coughed as he rubbed the blood from his mouth. "But to attack such obvious places is foolishness." He took a step forward, "Let me educate you," he ran forward and struck out with his right hand, pushing B.C.'s shoulder backward, as soon as the edge of her frame passed the width of her stance he struck out with his left and hit her below the jaw and he dashed backwards. The strike didn't feel like it hurt. But... something else was off. It was starting to feel like she was underwater.

"There are four points to strike in my country's art of military brawling. The first is hard on the temples, enough to disturb the fluids of the inner ear. The second is to strike in at the base of the jaw and at the base of the nose," he held out three fingers to make his point, "the swelling of the throat and sinuses distracts from the natural rhythm of breath."

He took a step forward. His movements were sharp and deliberate, he hid his left arm behind his body when he could, and kept both feet tentatively on the ground, never utilizing anything as dangerous as kicks in the brawl. His entire lifeblood was in his balance, losing it now would be mean defeat.

The last point was on the abdomen, right above where the torso and the legs meet. Flood the body with a sudden burst of adrenaline, so they can't feel where your real blows are striking. Though on this girl, that might be difficult, given how strangely her muscles moved. Instead, Vihaan decided to stand his ground, giving a close eye on not only B.C. but also the floating gem above. His entire body hurt, the woman was strong, but any longer and this fight was his. If she was reckless one more time, he'd clinch it.

 

[Texas Joker 52]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Maiden's Wish | Unknown Location
"Fuck this fancy shit."
B.C.​

[hr]

As B.C. staggered backward from Vihaan's response to her latest attempted onslaught, she could taste the metallic tang of blood in her mouth. Her head was throbbing from the blows to her temples, and her coordination felt like it was going to shit. Of course, he took the time to explain exactly what his strikes were meant to do, which was a sign of arrogance on his own part.

The end result was that the smile was wiped off of her face for the second time in this bout. Instead, she bared bloodied teeth at him before spitting a globule of blood onto the floor. This whole fight was turning in his favor, and all she had to show for her effort had been a dislocated elbow, which he had promptly relocated not long after. She was outmatched when it came to skill. That much was clear. Which meant that a change of tactics was in order.

Wiping away a trail of blood from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand, she stood up straight and steadied herself. Then she began to slowly but surely stride towards him.

"Alright you little shit. Now you've pissed me off. No more games." she ground out through her teeth.

Her hands were at her sides. There wasn't even any hip-swaying swagger like when she had first arrived there. She didn't seem to be taking any kind of offensive or defensive stance at all. But her posture, along with the look on her face as her eyes locked onto his, radiated a primal sort of violence.

While she began to cross the length of the room, she watched as he made to move away from her, but she simply continued walking. That was the one benefit of this damned place. There was nowhere he could run from her that she couldn't get to eventually.

When she finally reached him, she simply reached up with her left hand, and grabbed onto his right wrist and pulled it towards her with an iron grip. With a snarl, her right fist rammed home into his nose. It broke with a sickening crunch. Then she brought her fist back and drove it as hard as she could into his belly, with the express purpose of making him lose whatever he had for lunch that day.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Rising Dawn
Med Bay
Morning

[hr]

Diana | Hiryu​

For some time, Diana was able to sleep soundly in the empty bridge of the Rising Dawn.
While it was fully equipped, ironically a lot of the Heroes of the ship were too busy to be up there much.
And it was in this peaceful place that the shapeshifter was finally able to get away from the madness of the ship and enjoy a nice calming-
"Diana Black?" A asian voice asked as she suddenly found a young man sitting in the chair right next to hers, despite the lack of noise (audio or otherwise) or any other hint that there was anyone else in that room.
He didn't appear to be like any of the other crew of the Rising Dawn, the fact that he was dressed like Some kind of Ninja [http://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/_img/chars/strider-hiryu-namco-x-capcom-27.9.jpg] most likely was the reason behind that.
"Apologies for disturbing you. I myself wasn't meant to be here but one of my students asked me to approach you with an offer...Can you do me a favor and look at your hand?" He asked before motioning to her empty hand-....which was now holding a letter of some description.
"Contained in that is a brief description of what I will ask of you and how you are to conduct yourself. My question is this: Do you wish to become a Strider?..."

Somehow, she just knew Jenny had something to do with this...

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: David West

He had no idea what the fuck just happened but judging from the fact that he was now thinking like someone who just saw the unspeakable, David figured it most likely wasn't a good thing.
"What...the...FUCK?!" He screamed as he attempted to find a way out of this mad-house, it was nearly as bad as the demonic invasion, only this time, it was his fault.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?! WHY ISN'T ANYONE EXPLAINING THIS SHIT?!" He demanded as he did the only thing he really could: Start shooting.
Yelling with each shot, he unloaded on everything in the lab that was moving as Niflheim opened the door, allowing him to run off screaming in horror.
He stumbled as he did so but he refused to stop running until he was back in an area of the ship he knew was real.
Ramming his body against the wall, he slid down it before burying his face in his hands, shouting a few more times before he soon settled for merely sobbing and having the rest of that drink.
"...Vihaan...w-what the fuck did I just do?!" He asked outloud, trying to make sense of everything that just happened.

 

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Secondary Scenario]]​

[hr]

Maiden's Wish

side story

​

[hr]

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

"Mr. West, are you alright?" The voice that came was soft and sweet. The accent was uncharacteristic of the members of the Rising Dawn. It had all the underpinnings of someone young, pure, and gentled. He opened his eyes and he say a girl leaning against the wall besides him, her hands rested gently on her skirt and her long brown hair drooped down around her exposed waist. She looked at him, concerned, with piercing blue eyes.

David flinched. It was one of the girls that had nearly attacked him earlier. Between her and Katya, he couldn't say which one was actually more dangerous.

Yet, there was something different this time. Moreover, he didn't actually know her name. The list of names was still burned into his minds, alongside the faces they belonged to, and yet. He didn't know who this girl was. Her clothing wasn't Rising Dawn at the very least. She wore a loose sweater that left both her shoulders bare and a short skirt. Her hair was done, not elaborately, but with enough care that it was pleasant to look at the gentle weave of ribbons and braids. "Good heavens, you look like you've seen a ghost. Though it isn't often that I see a grown man crying his eyes out like a schoolgirl."

She sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around her knees, "I had just finished up with Saren in medical, and I come out and hear hysterical sobbing in the hallway. I come down the way, and it's you sitting here with bottle in hand and crying your eyes out. If I told you I didn't feel a little bit responsible, I'd be lying." She leaned forward, putting her cheek on her arm. "You aren't crying because of what I said, are you?"

There was a stretch of silence. "I guess something else is making you upset. Not a lot that I could think would throw a soldier like you into a fit of hysteria. But hey, whenever you're ready to talk, well. Well I'll just sit here with you until that time." There was an aroma of apples that followed the girl, a gentle, pleasant, and calming feeling. With her it was as if all the senses were being soothed, and the world around David stopped rippling with that eldritch energy. In a world of insanity, she was an anchor of the mundane.

"My name is Laeta, by the way. Laeta Selmy. I'm sorry if I was hard on you earlier, I... I'm quick to act. More so than my sisters. You can uh, you can call me Lee if you like. That's what the girls at school call me anyway. Laeta sounds a little bit 'hoodlum' in some contexts." She laughed. A gentle small smile and a tip of her head. Her hair shimmered around her as it settled down across her bare shoulders.

---​

"I concede." Vihaan said bluntly. He wiped the blood from his nose and took his hand off of B.C.'s wrist. Her blow had never actually hit his abdomen, he had used both hands to catch her punch. Breaking her wrist grab was easy, that was the first thing they taught you in hand-to-hand, the difficult decision was deciding to take her first punch so he could prevent the woman from breaking her hand on his abdomen. If that had happened, he doubted that the Gem of Want would let him leave with his body unmolested. "You win."

He knew that the fight was rigged from the beginning. Without his enchantments, he was never as good of a fighter as his sister, and though he outclassed this woman with a sword, the awkward adaptation of his curved-blade style to the heavy weighted knight's saber was disadvantaged. In hand to hand, he lost in a fight of endurance.

Vihaan glared at the gem as he held onto B.C. "You win," he repeated. At least his father wasn't here to chastise him for losing to a woman.

"And the duel is completed. Begone, troublemaker."

The two fighters broke and Vihaan walked over to the lift and punched in his access code, commanding the whirring machinery within to being it's arduous climb up the sheer sides of the wall. He leaned against the wall of the lift and ran his fingers through his hair. "Still, I struggle to understand your warped sense of justice, White Rose. It is as self-serving as it is difficult to understand. You are rid of me for now, attacking me under pretenses of enforcing the rules of a duel, your actions are absurd." The boy admiral turned and left the containment bay. His footfalls echoed in the cavernous steel cylinder.

The gem hung in the air in silence for a short time before drifting toward the center of the room. Blue light continued to pour out of the stone in streams. The mending light showered B.C. and restored her to some semblance of her pre-fight attire.

 

[Silence]

Cloudtop Citadel
Yona's office

[hr]

Mio | Mitte​

Mio was about to try and get closer to the gem, to inspect it in detail, as Mitte suddenly fell to her knees, blue light shining from the gem. There was something wrong about it. This was magic, while Mio was not a particularily magic person, she had run into quite a few mages in her time. And from what she had gathered, it held Mitte bound to the commander. So there were two reasons for her to act in the way she did, and think quickly on the spot.

For once, she really did not like anything that remotely looked like it would restrict freedom in any ways. There were no gods or masters for a pirate, just the free seas and the dangers lying in them. And second, she had made acquiantance with another kind of magic that had bound people together, keeping the owner of the ritual in life for eternity, unnaturally, letting them continue their evil deeds without being able to die. Something that even remotely looked similar - there was a precaution in breaking it before knowing more.

So in a quick sleight of hand, not noticed by anyone but her and maybe Mitte, she put her hand on the shining blue gem and tried to yank it off, to break whatever connection Mitte had to the commander and to free her from the pain that drove her to her knees.

[hr]

The Rising Dawn
Bridge

[hr]

Diana | Hiryu​

As her sleep was suddenly interrupted, Diana opened her eyes and looked into the direction of the source, for a second glaring with anger, her skin turning dark, her eyes red, her teeth pointed and her turning black and moving on its own. Though this was a mere second, before it just seemed like a hallucination for Hiryu and he could see her normal, beautiful face looking at him in a calm and calculated manner.

She took a glance at him as he spoke, and a quick glance at the letter he apparently put into her hand somehow, before looking right into his eyes again. "I hope not all Striders look like they are trying way too hard. But ... consider me interested. At least in hearing out what a Strider is. You seem to have some sort of skill at least." She looked down at her hand again, and opened the letter with a long fingernail. "Just don't get any wrong impressions, my work ... I assume it is work ... does not come for free." She thought about Jenny having set this up, but decided she did not really care that much. Maybe she actually knew how to get rid of boredom, now.

Diana looked at the letter, quickly reading over what it said, while awaiting answers from Hiryu.

 

[bluerocker]

this dude helped a bunch!

So did this one

And this one too

Additional supervision by this dude

[hr]

Airship Rising Dawn
Canteen
Smoothing over ruffled feathers
Anjali | Engineer | [color=eca222]Lucas "Luke" Cypress[/color]​

[hr]

"Who are you exactly? You're not part of the staff are you?"

Oh dear, leave it to one of the worker bees that comprised of the Dawn's hive to come crawling out of the woodwork and poke their nose in affairs that were not entirely their own. Luke had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the accusation the engineer brought to his bar, and instead allowed his expression to slip into its usual "place"; a serene, but inviting smile - one that was not disarming, and held no preconceived notions of his patrons. Following that, he mimicked a thoughtful furrow of his eyebrows, a small [color=eca222]"hmnn"[/color] leaving his lips as he expertly pantomimed thinking over the matter and giving an apologetic shrug in response, [color=eca222]"Well, I can certainly tell you that I work here. As far as a matter of badges or identification, I've never been informed of such a thing. The same goes for my staff-"[/color]

He gestured to one of the imps with a light tilt of his head, the imp in question being the one who had brought Anjali a lovely, dark maroon piece of bovine liver. Placed on some lettuce for presentation, the raw meat's juices pooled on the platter as if it were fresh from the animal itself. Perhaps not appealing to the standard connoisseur, but it was deliciously raw and rare for the resident undead diner. However, the point of contention for Luke's case was not the meat that was being served, but the server itself. The fact remained that they too bore no identifications or badges, rather akin to Luke, [color=eca222]"Furthermore"[/color], he added, [color=eca222]"They've been working here longer than *I* have, and we've never gotten word about this protocol. Seems to me that the matter is some kind of clerical hiccup."[/color] Luke resisted the urge to smile at his choice of words, his mind briefly flitting to matters much more appealing than the present conversation before snapping back to reality again, [color=eca222]"If it really means that much to you, send me the appropriate paperwork and I can have myself and the staff put in the order for the IDs? I doubt that'd be too much trouble...."[/color]

To seal the deal, Luke faked looking distracted by a particular bit of the bar that needed wiping, before adding with a faux gasp, [color=eca222]"Oh, where are my manners? I never gave you my name! Sorry, it seems my age is getting away from me - I am Lucas Cypress, bartender and herder of cats - metaphorically speaking of course; but please, call me Luke."[/color]

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Hallways
Impromptu tech-support
[color=3897E0]

AI Dimitri

[/color] | [color=356D60]Garm[/color] | [color=0E59E4]Teri[/color] |

AI Viscus

​

[hr]


"...Hm....I think he's bitten off more then he can chew...Teri, would you mind helping him while I bring Hillary to the Colonel? I think you and Dimitri might need to put Humpty Dumpty back together..."

Teri blinked in surprise after the new turn of events, but gave a dismissive wave of her hand as she cheerfully replied, [color=0E59E4]"Oh, don't mind me. You're the captain and stuff, so I'm not surprised you got places to be. It was nice meeting you, Hillary! Later!"[/color]

[color=356d60]I'll keep a good eye on Tear-ri while we're gone, Alpha Rugal."[/color]

Turning the other direction, Cleric and Wolf bounded off back towards the Dawn to pick up Dimitri from the Dawn's mainframe. While the "chauffeuring" was wholly uneventful, it was during the return back in the Cloudtop Citadel that the trio of Wolf, Cleric and AI noticed a distinct change in atmosphere - an alarm rang overhead, alerting to some kind of attack! Teri gasped at the sound, and urged Garm onwards to Viscus' location, images of all sorts of terrible things flashing in her mind. Maybe Viscus had finally decided that being "on probation" under Dimitri's restrictions wasn't worth being teased by others, maybe he had finally began a bloody rampage in the lab for having his external armor, maybe-

[UNHAND ME AT ONCE!]

Garm came to a skidding halt when the trio of Cleric, AI, and Winter-Wolf arrived on the scene, only to find Viscus' physical form being poked and prodded by a selection of very enthusiastic engineers. Teri blinked dumbly as she surveyed the scene, her voice only barely escaping as she asked, [color=0E59E4]"So...he wasn't the cause of the alarm?"[/color]

Almost as if on cue, the siren that rang overhead ceased, leaving the Cleric even more red in the face than before. Then, perhaps in a bid to give his creator a form of reprieve, Dimitri's voice echoed from the Tablet, [color=3897E0]

"*ahem* While Viscus may not be the source of trouble, I do believe we were here on his summons regardless..."

[/color]
Dimitri's pale blue avatar appeared on the screen of the tablet's display, and after a moment of straightening his tie (as well as Teri turning the screen for the engineers to see), he asked in a polite tone, [color=3897E0]

"I'm sorry to break up your fun, but I am afraid myself and my compatriots have been sent to gather the one you are currently taking apart - as well as his body being made whole once more."

[/color]


[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel:
Nadalia Vs Rugal Vs Yona!
Hallways
A mother's role is not always for her own brood
Angelus | Caim | Hillary | King Leoric | Nadalia | Rugal Bernstein | Colonel Yona Isami​

[hr]

Following a lovely rendezvous and more time assisting with clothes choices than he ever wanted to ("You look good in anything to me!" "That's not good enough!"), Caim found himself being shepherded by his partner to the strange and unknown halls of the Cloudtop Citadel, with the insistence that they had to attend some kind of function she had received an invitation for earlier. Caim, electing to 'voice' his misgivings over the privacy of the pact, opened the matter again with,

"I don't see why we have to go to this thing."

Angelus's 'voice' answered back in the same matter, "Because we were invited."

Alongside this, the message came with with a thread of 'respect' hiding in the undercurrents of her 'voice', Caim being able to sense that she was trying to soothe him as she 'spoke', even if she sounded exasperated. At least, he thought she did until she quipped, "You were a prince once, and yet your understanding of decorum is severely lacking."

With a huff and a cross of his arms, he shot back, "Yeah, because of the Empire. I focused on combat training moreso than 'courtly manners'."
"I thought the war started for you when you were 18? That's plenty of time for training in the court. Or were you so poor a student they gave up upon you?"

Caim rolled his eyes at the weak barb, before his expression grew slightly more grim, "I...Yeah... I wasn't great with people. That was more Inuart and Furiae's thing. Maybe that's why they got paired up, diplomats in the making."

Angelus drew pause at that comment, already sensing her partners misgivings towards the past flow into her, and decided to try a different approach, "Perhaps...But we are getting a little off topic - you said the dress is safe?"
"Yes, I told you five times already - it's in the armory, with the mask, whenever you need it. Just say the word, and I'll get it out. Also, before you asked, I polished my armor. See, look at the shine!"
"It looks very nice, Caim; but I just want us to make a good impression -"

Almost on cue, the alarm went off, and the duo bolted towards the source of the commotion, bringing them to the scene with Rugal, Nadalia, and the good Colonel, in addition to Hillary and Leoric having some kind of disagreement. Seeing as A) the alarm ceased almost as soon as they arrived, and B) the Colonel and her soldiers were suddenly on their knees, the duo decided to split the work. Caim went towards Rugal and Nadalia, his hand resting on the handle of his sword as the PDA asked in confusion,

"We heard the alarm go off and came back as fast as we could...what happened to these people?"

Angelus, on the other hand decided to focus on Hillary swinging around a mace at the very undead Leoric. Straightening her back and arranging her face into the best maternal incarnation of "I'm not angry, just disappointed", the dragon-in-mortal-form stepped in with a pointed "Ahem!" to catch both Hillary and Leoric's attentions. Once both parties had their eyes upon her, she spoke in a gentle, but firm tone (one that was often reserved for her little ones when they were caught with hands in cookie jars),
"What seems to be the problem here? Don't both of you know that swinging weapons such as maces is a very dangerous thing to do outside of a training room?...also, that's not how you hold a mace. You're lucky I'm the one talking to you and not Caim."


[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Hallways
What about elevenses? Afternoon tea?
Cadolbolg | [color=15650D]Ton Ton[/color]​

[hr]

Whilst the adults were all off dealing with their adult matters, a pair of youthful children floated along the halls of the Cloudtop Citadel, happily chattering with each other about the events to come,

"So everyone's landed on this new station thing, right?"
[color=15650D]"That's correct. Ms. Angelus said that herself, Mr. Caim, and us have been invited to a get together of some kind."[/color]
"Hmn... So what do we do till then?"
[color=15650D]"I.. Dont know to be honest. I've never gone to a big party before, aside from The Mistress' tea parties."[/color]
"Ooh, the Mistress' tea was actually really yummy! It was really sweet for tea!"
[color=15650D]"That's because you asked for 3 sugars."[/color]
"I am a conni...conni...[sub]what is that c word...[/sub] Uh, A GOURMET for sweets! I say we should look for some food!"
[color=15650D]"But didn't we just eat?"[/color]
"We can eat again!"
[color=15650D]"Cadolbolg..."[/color]
"And we don't know if this thing will have food there too - we're 'growing boys' aren't we? And growing boys are supposed to eat lots and lots!"
[color=15650D]"I don't think that's what they say-"[/color]

The two boys were cut off when they heard an exceptionally loud bang, the source of which being David West seemingly launching himself against a wall, quickly followed by a concerned Laeta Selmy. The two Cutie Bruisers, looked at each other and then back to the scene, before Cadolbolg hovered over and asked in a concerned voice, "David, are you okay?! I think the only people who SHOULD go through walls are my parents or Mr. Rugal, and even then it looks like it hurts!"

[hr]

An unnamed manor
Los Angeles, California
How do you pick up the threads of an old life?
Inuart​

[hr]

"...for the last time, as I said before - my absence was medical in nature. I was placed into a coma while my condition stabilized, and the whole affair was kept under wraps to avoid a PR incident. I already came into the office, I delivered the documents as requested. Why do I not have access to the account yet?"

"Our apologies, Mister Iprisson, it's only a matter of red tape - see, with your absence..."

"With which I have already clarified."

"Y-yes, sir; I do understand, but I'm working as fast as I can to grant you full access to your funds again. There is only so much I can do with forms that need to be processed and the like... Please give it some more time?"

"How much time are we talking about? I do need to eat..."

"Well, since your case is placed within high priority, by the end of the workday at the latest?"

"Very well. Can I receive a notification when the transaction is completed?"

"There is an email synced to this account, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue."

"I have no further questions then. Good day."

Clicking off the phone, Inuart groaned and settled into a comfortable chair in the living room. Despite the hiccups and royal pains in his rear end for the day - the affairs he had been sorting through had gone surprisingly well. Seeing as the assassination attempt left him with an incomplete autopsy, Inuart was never officially declared dead, and barring the payments for housing bills via direct withdrawal, his finances had been left relatively untouched, which left him the bit of hoop jumping he had just finished enduring with the bank to physically access the account on his own. It made sense, in it's own little way, for things to be a little suspicious to the bank before he physically showed up, but didn't artists have reputations for being eccentrics in this world? So what if he metaphorically dropped off the face of the planet for a few months?

As Inuart mulled over the frustrations of his situation, his phone rang again; the listing on the caller ID causing the bard's lip to curl. Yet, he still hit the green icon and held the phone about an inch away from his face as a cacophonous voice rang in on the other end,

"How-dee-doo In-u-art~! Talk to me, babe, how's my up and coming music star? Settle into the old homestead snug as a bug in a rug?"

Inuart repressed a groan of distaste, electing instead to rub one of his temples with a free hand as he answered, "I'm.. I'm fine, Mr... what was your name again?"

"The effervescent Sca-ra-mouche bah-bay, only one of the most we-ll sought after producers in the buiz~ How you managed to get this far without me really is a test-a-ment to how good your strings sang, but trust me In-u-art, I'm gonna send you to the -"

"That's...Quite enough. I already called the bank, and I'm waiting for their confirmation; why did you call?"

There was a pause, and Inuart could hear a shuffling of papers on the other end, before his newfound producer happily rang back, "Oh that's right, babe - my old secretary's outta town for the next couple days, and I've been runnin' round like a chicken with my head cut off; especially with date. DATES BABE- when were we planning to start that revival tour of yours again? I got something written down, but it's all chicken scratch. I gotta make some calls, you know - this guy who knows that guy who knows the PR guy, who knows-"

"I GET IT. Just...give me a moment-"

Inuart moved the phone away from his face and began to hit a couple buttons on the phone's surface, biting back an annoyed curse when he realized he opened the photo app instead of the calendar like he wanted to. However, the image that appeared gave the bard pause, as it was one he hadn't looked at in quite some time.

It was a group selfie, it's date showing it was back when Inuart and his compatriots were hiding out at Maximilian's house. From the viewpoint of the image, Inuart was the picture taker, Wesker flanking his right, Cortex on left due to his height, Doom and Bison behind him, with Max and Mizune barely filling the edges of the frame (and looking reasonably annoyed by it). A smile flitted across his face as he looked at the old photo, and flicked the display to the next, Scaramouche beginning to prattle on about some thing or another while Inuart "looked for the date".

Oh yes...There was the infamous "Toaster War" from before Bison made his bid for the presidency, detailed by a picture of him going blue in the face as he was strangled by a power cord. Cortex managed to save him and the toaster was defeated but not before he manage to swipe the Bard's phone.

Speaking of, the one right after that was part of an album Cortex had made when he tried to grow a woman in Max's basement using nothing but secondhand needles, toxic waste and plant seeds.
He could still remember the words he kept repeating as he stood there over a bubbling bathtub like some kind of witch at a cauldron: "Science isn't about why, it's about why not?!"
Inuart smirked, not only at the fact he was nonsensical enough to try such a thing but by the fact it worked.

And after that, it was a duo shot of himself and Wesker, from the first week of his recovery from alcoholism. The Former Black Mesa Administrator was beaming with pride as he head up his 1 week AA medal up in one hand and a Fanta in the other; Inuart following suit by holding up a bottle of water in the same manner.

However, the more that he looked at the photo, the contrast between the then and the now was more readily apparent to Inuart. His house was full of luxuries and creature comforts; a stocked fridge, comfortable furniture, air conditioning - but it was devoid of what he desired most. The joy the photo brought a moment ago quickly turned heavy, and sunk into his stomach like a stone. He felt strange, his throat suddenly going dry and something in his chest tightened as he mashed the button to close the application, suddenly no longer able to gaze upon it. Placing the phone back to his ear, Inuart quickly rambled "I'm having trouble finding it, I'll text you later" before ending the call abruptly and tossing the phone to a nearby chair. Curling in on himself, Inuart pulled his legs to his chest and rested his head on his knees, unable to properly comprehend what he was feeling or why he had tossed his phone like that. However, as the phone began to ring again, Inuart ignored it, his thoughts fixating on one thought:

"What am I doing here?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Maiden's Wish | Unknown Location
" For some, lack of satisfaction is the same at the end of a fight as it is at the end of sex. It's just more violent."
B.C.​

[hr]

There was a pause after B.C. moved to drive her fist into Vihaan's gut. It was odd how his face wasn't screwed up with the need to puke, or how it didn't feel like her hit actually made contact with the boy's belly. A moment stretched to two as both opponents glared daggers at one another. Vihaan finally broke the silence.

"I concede. You win."

The Convict gaped at him as he released the hand that she only dully realized he had caught. That was it? That was her victory. She wasn't done! She wasn't nearly done with trying to beat that arrogant little boy's face in till it was a bloody pulp!

So as he glared at the giant, floating gemstone, B.C. was glaring at him, and fuming. What was worse was that the Gem simply accepted it. At that moment, she imagined that she felt something similar to what some guys felt when they were cockblocked.

"And the duel is completed. Begone, troublemaker."

"What? No! I'm not finished! This fight isn't done 'till one'a us is cryin' on the floor in a puddle of their own piss!" she cried out angrily. Her normally sultry voice was beginning to have a higher-pitch to it, along with a rather noticeable accent.

But neither of them paid her any mind. It was as if she was simply the third wheel to the real conflict in the room. And that pissed her off. There was palpable tension as he strode across the room to where she realized a lift had opened up, and as he ran a hand through his hair he gave some parting words to the gem.

"Still, I struggle to understand your warped sense of justice, White Rose. It is as self-serving as it is difficult to understand. You are rid of me for now, attacking me under pretenses of enforcing the rules of a duel, your actions are absurd."

And with that, the elevator doors closed behind him, and she was alone. With a presumably sentient gemstone. That appointed her as it's "champion". After pulling her through space and possibly even time, from the middle of shopping. She watched as said gemstone floated towards her. Once it was overhead, it shone a soft light over her, and she immediately felt all her aches and pains fading away. Her halter top was even repaired.

Forcing down her frustration, she cleared her throat. When she spoke this time, her voice sounded smoky and sultry again, albeit with an undercurrent of tension.

"So, do you mind if I ask what the fuck is going on? You drop me here without so much as a 'Please' or 'Thank you', have me fight this asshole little kid... For what? What exactly do you want from me, and what do I get for my trouble?" she asked, before adding, "And where's the rest of my shit? My guns, grenades, you know, the things I had on me before I got here?"

 

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Main Scenario]]​

[hr]

Glimmer of Hope

titania's story

​

[hr]

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light."​

The gem pulsed as Mio's hand wrapped around it and threw her off. The light had been hot, as if gripping burning iron. The glimmering increased and azure light bloomed from the gem. Mitte fell to the floor, unable to carry the weight of her own body anymore.

The Gem of Want looked down at B.C. and suddenly she felt strange. It was a crushing feeling, almost as if the entire weight of the world was falling down on her shoulders. She was compelled to stand, to fight the force, but it came in torrents, unstoppable, unbreakable, a waterfall of emotive sorrow. It was a feeling foreign to B.C. but definitely recognizable.

It was regret.

Yona fought her way onto her feet, fighting the overwhelming gravity wrought by her connection to her Gem of Want. She brandished her spear, driving the holy point into the ground and gritting her teeth. The light pulsed from across the base, shining from all of Yona's soldiers. Those who were under Nahar's command scrambled to help their female allies. Yet, they each recoiled at the touch of the azure light.

[HEADING=2]"Hear me."[/HEADING]​

The White Rose's voice boomed across the hanger. It echoed from the depths of each of the gem shards scattered throughout Cloudtop Citadel. Titania rushed for ward and wove dancing streams of crimson mana around Rugal, Yona, and Nadalia. The wisps of red light rose from the floor, the stone, and met each other in cascading loops and flourishes. They leaned and bent like growing sapling until a garden of gleaming red vines encircled the people around her. Titania grimaced when the azure light grew and the world around them fell. Machinery shook and stone crumbled from the chiseled face of the hanger walls. The Rising Dawn itself bowed under the sudden pressure and stretched the harness that held it in place at the dry dock. Chairs broke under the sudden pressure, glass cracked and shattered. The forge's embers suddenly grew dark and the air fell cold with the specter of death.

"No!" Yona said through grit teeth, "You listen to me you prissy little *****!"

[HEADING=2]"Trespasser."[/HEADING]​

The gravity around the base doubled again and the change in momentum crumpled cars and tractors. Titania flourished her hand and summoned more streams of magic to hold up the weight of the mountain's collapsing leylines. "Deborah!" she screamed. Deborah swept in next to Titania with her grimoire open, her hands were out and she chanted quickly spells of strength to reinforce each of the waning vines.

[HEADING=2]"I am the knight known as Balance."[/HEADING]​

Vihaan looked at the gem from his vantage in the containment bay. A deep green sheen covered him and everyone else in the room with him. The strength of his enchantments kept the waves of collapsing mana away from him and his charges. He frowned as a retainer dabbed the blood from his nose. "With how much mana she's trying to bring down, I would think she's trying to kill a God." He shook his head. It was like she was trying to kill everyone in the base. But that was impossible, her sense of justice wouldn't allow for it. She even held back when he was about to land the fatal blow on the stupid knight himself. Vihaan looked up, his eyes adjusting to see the bending leylines above and below him. It was like the mountain itself was dying.

[HEADING=2]"I am the Warden of this World. The shield of it's citizens, and the sword of it's sovereign."[/HEADING]​

"What the fuck is your problem!?" Yona wailed, standing up now that the weight of the falling mana was lifted from her shoulders. She swung her spear wildly, "Are you trying to kill us you stupid *****!?" Two of Yona's soldiers fell in and grabbed onto the small Colonel to stop her from swinging her flaming spear.

"Colonel! Control yourself!"

Titania glared at Rugal, "Are you just going to stand there and gawk!? Go get people before they get hurt!"

[HEADING=2]"You have desecrated hallow ground."[/HEADING]​

Luke grimaced and excused himself from the bar as the Rising Dawn shuddered under the pressure around them. As he bowed out of the Canteen, the imps rushed to calm it's patrons. With the groaning of the steel around them and the shrill shriek of bending glass, many grew uneasy in the "earthquake." Luke looked up and saw the leylines above him bending under some anonymous pressure [color=eca222]"I don't like the looks of this, Boss. Not one bit."[/color] He clapped his hands together and let providence manifest. Golden light opened itself above and below the Rising Dawn and diverted the torrential flow of mana from above. Luke leaned against the wall and looked on coolly, wishing silently under his breath for the phenomena to pass swiftly.

[HEADING=2]"You will be dealt justice."[/HEADING]​

Laeta grabbed both Cadolbolg and Ton Ton and held them close to her breast as the shaking stopped. Laeta put her head against David's chest and screamed, "Everything is going to be okay! Everything is going to be okay!" She was shaking more than the ship, and tears streaming down from her face. David looked up as if forsaken. Cursing the world and his own misfortune. "Stay calm!"

[HEADING=2]"So by the power given unto me,"[/HEADING]​

Rhodes rushed down the halls toward the medical bay, her feet barely touched the ground before she launched herself forward. The world around her looked like it was ending. Her eyes darted back and forth as her Angels struggled to keep up with the Major's flying pace. She landed in front of the medical bay and blew the doors off their hinges with as single blow before stabilizing the room by invoking the same golden providence that held off the full brunt of the collapsing leyline. "Saren! Saren are you safe!?"

Saren was shivering in her cot, a nurse was gently tending to her with a dish of water. "She's got a fever ma'am. A terrible one."[/color]

Rhodes strode forward, holding the holy providence across the entire medical bay and put a gentle hand on her daughter. "If God is good, this will pass quickly."

[HEADING=2]"by my father, and his charges,"[/HEADING]​

Nina struggled to make sense of the world around her. Shifting images of landscapes and phantoms ebbed in and out of her vision. It was as if a thousand worlds were trying to collapse into this one. Phillip bristled and held onto himself and hit hat tightly. The mana around them bent as it clashed against his own eldritch presence. He recognized this sudden rushing existence. It was the same as mere minutes before. His body kept the forces from destroying his confused human companion as the lights and images grew in thundering intensity.

[HEADING=2]"I will banish you!"[/HEADING]​

Solomon stood up and held his hands up. Naamah was shocked beyond shocked. She had never seen Solomon exert himself before. But now the sovereign king seemed to be stressed under the pressure of what he was fighting. Beads of sweat appeared on his furrowed brow as the pieces of the void that made up his crown danced behind him with increasing fervor.

"Solomon, what wrong is!?" Naamah cried as she huddled under Solomon's dominating figure. The shimmering world around them crumbled.

Something massive is trying to get into the world. Solomon answered. He struggled as cracks in reality appeared in the distant space where the rest of the collective scrambled to bring data to Naamah to store in her sepulcher. Something foreign, absurd in both scale and strength. It is a being like the first of firsts. Of our father who crafted this world.

B.C. looked up, uncomfortable by the rising pressure, but not crushed to the floor. The gem directly above her was shaking as if being attacked. The lattice lit up brilliantly with azure light, striking out through the containment bay and into the depths of the base.

The gem above her cracked as a black force flashed across the surface of the gem. Thick streams of liquid gold erupted from the ruptures in the lattice structure. The Gem dipped in the air as liquid light pooled at B.C.'s feet. The azure glow started to fade. But then, it rallied, swinging back up into the air as the cracks grew. It was hemorrhaging the liquid light as it struggled to summon more magic.

"I'm sorry," it said softly, "I do not think I can do that for you, B.C. Though I do thank you for fighting for me. And being my champion."

With what mana was left in the faltering stone, Balance wove a spell infinitely complex in nature. With it's energy waning and the life draining from it's body the dark presence struck again, fast and hard. But this time, Balance caught the blow, and the with the intricate weave of her spell bound the dark presence to herself.

Vihaan didn't know whether he should laugh or cry. It was so perfectly orchestrated. The White Rose's signature spell, as her last word.

Her namesake.

Balance.

In the instant before her death, the dark presence vanished, relieving the terrible pressure from all of those in the Citadel. "Like a chord snapping back after it's been stretched to it's limit. He's been launched back into the place between worlds," Vihaan mused. "It is a shame we lost our leading lady to witness such an act of glorious heroism. Go, retrieve the stone. Bring me the woman too."

Titania collapsed as soon as the presence evaporated. The shaking stopped, the gravity returned to normal, and the shields all over the Citadel, from within the Rising Dawn to the enchantments keeping Mio sheltered near the secured floors, vanished all at once. There was a tired sense of distress that hung in the atmosphere, as if a great natural disaster had just passed.

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: David West, Ton Ton, Cadolbolg, Laeta

David spent another solid minute trying to catch his breath after his mind screwn, pausing only to knock back the rest of his drink and fling the bottle at the wall.
"Laeta...Do me a favor...Shut. Up." The Sniper bluntly said as he managed to get back on his feet, shoving away her attempts to help.
"Ohhhh, shit, shit, fuck, FUCCCCCCCK!" He then cursed himself for being so stupid to allow this to happen, realizing the company he had only after he had dropped the f-bomb.
"...Okay...So basically...I might have-...made a bit of a mistake and...well-"
The entire ship began to rock violently as the words of the Knight Balance began to radiate though the halls.
Picking himself back up, David cursed himself some more as he realized that stupid USB might have awakened some Lovecraftian Horror or-...okay, he had no idea what it did but it went without saying that this was certainly not a good turn of events.
"...Okay, I'll explain what I fucked up later, We need to find this guy called Vihaan right now. He's a admiral here. He's the one who tricked me into causing this latest bound of bullshit. We find him, we find out what he got me to do and then I make him eat this own nutsack!" He then proclaimed, not even taking time to wipe the tears from his eyes before he pulled out his weapon and began to set off down the halls.

Rising Dawn: Bridge: Strider Hiryu, Diana Black

The letter detailed a contract of sorts, the type that a private merc would get but...a bit more "Honorable" then that description entails.
There was a fair bit of fine print but the majority of it boiled down to following orders to the letter
"If it comforts you, most of our targets only see us in their final moments. Otherwise, you will never know that we are watching you every move. My student has informed me of your abilities, of your powers. Shapeshifting, Psionics, those talents alone could be of great use to the people of this world. The Striders main objective is to maintain order in this world, to counteract efforts by those who would rather see the people of this world suffer. This takes many forms: Counter intelligence, assassination, sabotage. Despite what some believe, there is more to this world then this airship. And we take it upon ourselves to keep it-"
His little speech was interrupted by the sudden rapture taking place within the main base, causing the ship to suddenly shake.
"...It would appear that fate wishes to test you." He calmly said before getting up from his chair.
"And to answer your question, You will be handsomely paid for your efforts. But before I shall permit you to enter, I must observe your talents. For now, I feel getting to the bottom of whatever strange events are going on here would be a good test of your skills...wouldn't you agree?..."

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Had some help from this here fella.

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Maiden's Wish | Unknown Location
"The convict without sin."
B.C.​

[hr]

As the Convict half-glared up at the floating Gem of Want, she could definitely feel it's gaze on her. Back in her world, there were species that didn't see with eyes like hers, but she could still tell when they looked at her. Usually because of the unsettling tingle it sent up her spine. But silence stretched out between the two of them until B.C. finally opened her mouth to speak again.

That was when she felt an oppressive weight try to crush her underneath. It was like being swept under a tidal wave of every negative emotion she could think of, culminating in regret. It was odd, because she never felt regret before. Her legs threatened to buckle. She found herself clenching her teeth. But she refused to so much as take a knee under whatever force wanted to pin her to the floor, because she bowed for no-one. It was simply a matter of principle.

"The fuck... Is this shlorbagh-shit?" she ground out through her teeth, forcing herself to look upward against the force pushing down on her.

[HEADING=2]"Hear me. Trespasser."[/HEADING]​

Sweat began to bead on her forehead and the back of her neck as she struggled to keep upright, calling out, "Trespasser? You... Invited... Me!"

[HEADING=2]"I am the knight known as Balance. I am the Warden of this World. The shield of it's citizens, and the sword of it's sovereign. You have desecrated hallow ground."[/HEADING]​

Desecrating holy ground? The Convict's lips subconsciously curved upward even as she strained against the weight. She'd done far worse things than desecrating holy ground, so she was getting the distinct impression that it wasn't her the gem was talking about.

[HEADING=2]"You will be dealt justice. So by the power given unto me, by my father, and his charges, I will banish you!"[/HEADING]​

The gemstone began to tremble much like she was, as if it was trying to weather a similar onslaught of power. Bolts of blue electricity shot out from it, throughout the circular room and beyond. And as it did so, a second voice rang out. One that made the Convict's blood run just a little colder.

There was an ear-splitting crack as black, jagged fissures formed in the Gem of Want. And from each fissure, it began to "bleed" a liquid gold, forcing B.C. to take a few shaky backward steps. The glow around the gem began to fade. No longer firmly suspended in the air, it began to falter. And it quietly spoke to her, and only her.

"I'm sorry, I do not think I can do that for you, B.C. Though I do thank you for fighting for me. And being my champion."

There was a arc of dark electricity that spread across the Gem of Want's surface before a flash of blue seemed to drown it out, filling the entire room and nearly blinding her. Then there was a crash as the Gem fell to the floor. As it did, some of the liquid gold it had "bled" splattered across B.C.'s front and face.

At that moment, the oppressive, sorrowful weight was gone. More than that, she felt oddly... Light. She breathed easier, her mind was clear, and even with the rivulets of sweat that poured down her face, neck and arms from the exertion a moment ago, her body didn't ache in the least. It felt like she was clean in the purest sense of the word, or maybe the word was blameless.

The expression on her face was thoughtful as she frowned at the gem, and she reached up to wipe away the liquid gold on her cheek. Whatever that stuff was, it certainly wasn't hurting her, so maybe it was worth some experimentation... But she shook her head before turning to walk over to where she had tossed her jacket earlier. No, now wasn't the time for that, and even she had some standards.

Once B.C. shrugged into the hot-pink jacket, she spared one last glance at the broken stone as it lay in it's own, shining blood. Whatever it did before it... Died? Went inert? Whatever it did was important. She just wished she knew what it was. Then she looked down at her "blood"-spattered halter-top and grimaced.

"Ah, that's gonna stain, isn't it?" she grumbled.

 

[NotYetForsaken]

[[Dying Dreams]]​

[hr]

Knighthood

balance's story

​

[hr]

"Save me."​

A long time ago, there lived a young girl. She was a princess, and her father a great king. When she was born, all the kingdom rejoiced. She was a blessed child, and her coming had been heralded by the thunderous roar of heaven. The God of Storms doted on the child, blessing her with beautiful white hair and brilliant golden eyes. She was beloved by the kingdom, the gods, and most of all, her father.

But there were those that grew envious of the young princess. A rival kingdom who also worshiped the God of Storms grey jealous that their kingdom had not been blessed with a child of the heavens. Their envy grew into hate, and then their hate grew into curses. Hearing their spiteful words, the God of Justice challenged the God of Storms.

He said that the young princess had been blessed with too much. The love and magic that the God of Storms had woven into her body had thrown the mortal realm into imbalance and it must be rectified. The God of Storms did not listen to the God of Justice, instead dismissing the younger God's concerns.

Faced with the grim decision between disobeying the leader of the Gods and betraying his duty as the embodiment of Justice, the God of Justice chose to undo the blessings that had been given unto the young princess. So in the night of her fifth birthday the God of Justice swept through the royal palace and tore the divinity from the girl.

When she awoke the next day, she had been afflicted with a terrible illness. She was weak and frail, her skin was fallow and bruised at the touch. The king called all of the medicine men in his kingdom to treat the princess' illness. Yet none could place the mysterious ailment.

Weak to the elements, the young princess was confined in her room at the highest tower of the castle, where the priests tended each day to her care. The entire kingdom prayed and prayed, for the young princess. They bade the God of Storms give his blessing to their princess. But when the God of Storms descended from the heavens to give his blessing once more, he was stopped by the God of Justice. The two fought. The God of Storms wanted his chosen to prosper, but the God of Justice demanded that all mortals be treated equally. In the end, the God of Justice failed, but as he fell he wove a spell that sealed his essence into the breast of the young princess.

Unable to restore tamper with the divinity of another God, the God of Storms could do nothing more for the young princess as long as she harbored that Justice within her heart.

The days grew into years. The princess grew up in her tower, surrounded by priests who had given up on her cause. The king sent scholars to her to teach her of the world outside. She was enchanted by the tales of beauty, of heroism, of the strength of the king's army and the valor of his knights. The yearning in her heart grew and grew as more years passed. She grew into a beautiful woman, who still sat by her window, staring into the world outside. She wished that one day a knight would come and free her from the curse. Whether it was by a true love's kiss or through clever sorcery, she did not care. She just wished to be free of her gilded cage.

She wished and she wished. And eventually her father passed, as did his kingdom. Yet she was kept young by the divinity stored inside of her body. Unable to live outside of the castle walls, but unable to grow old, she spent her time reading tales brought to her by scholars seeking her wisdom. She had become some kind of wisewoman, telling stories and giving advice to those that would make the arduous climb through her tower. Over time the essence of the God of Justice became one with her own soul, indistinguishable and inseparable from her person.

Yet she was still unfulfilled.

As the decades bled into centuries, she grew more and more desperate for the ability to leave her castle. Then one day, a great evil arose in the land. A bleeding darkness that sprung forth from the depths of the abyss. It consumed the peoples of faraway kingdoms first, but then soon the dark had spread to all of the lands of man. The Gods were brought low by it's power, an unfathomable darkness that swept away the individuality of mankind.

It was not long before all of mankind had fallen. The fields lay empty and dust raced across the kingdom. The palace walls were barren and the stone had taken a tire chalky texture. The sky was dark and the stars themselves had vanished, forsaken the world. It was as if the entirety of the world had died.

Still.

The White Rose remained, princess of a kingdom swallowed by darkness. Ageless but fettered, bound to a crumbling castle in a lifeless realm. It was at that time that the darkness spoke to her, either out of pity or curiosity. It asked her, why did she refuse its gift? Did she not wish to finally be put to rest?

The White Rose told the entity the stories she had memorized. Of knights and dragons, of princesses and labyrinths. She told him of all the old kings and the story of great sorcerers. Great animists and machinists and skilled rangers. The entity listened intently, taken by the color of the characters.

The entity mused on these stories. They had such life, such color. In its world, all was black. There was no conflict, no strife, no death, but also no life. It wondered what it meant to live, to struggle, to forgive, and to hate. It asked more questions and the White Rose answered to the best of her knowledge. She told the entity about the seasons and festivals, about foods and drinks. She drew for it detailed images of all sorts of plants and animals. The entity thought on all of the things that the White Rose had told it. And then it asked the White Rose how she felt.

She said she was lonely. All that she had known had died and for her long life she did not ever leave her palace. Now that she was alone, she supposed that she ought to find someway to die.

The entity asked the White Rose if she wanted anything.

And she answered, to be a knight.

More than anything, the entity asked.

More than anything, she repeated.

And when I awoke I was clad in white armor, floating in a great empty space. In my right hand was a beautiful sword, set with the scales of justice, in my left was a shield, beautifully adorned like those in a fairy tale. The entity was before me, around me, was everything.

"You have awoken, yes?" the Entity asked.

"Where am I? What happened to my world?" I asked, no matter where I looked I could only see darkness.

"I have removed you from your world." It answered. It willed light into the darkness around us. "I have forged worlds from the stories you have told me. You are now the warden of these worlds, so do as you wish. You have become a knight of justice, sworn to only yourself."

I looked at the lights, and within them found brilliant shining worlds. I held onto my sword tightly, it felt surreal. For the first time in my life I felt strong and solid. "Why did you do this?"

The entity paused. Then it answered. "I do not fully know." It beckoned a world over and held it in its formless grasp. "I was born one day in the dark and I had but one order 'reproduce.' So I did. Yet, as I expanded, I grew intelligent. First I learned to move, then to hunt. I grew and grew until I became self-aware. Now... I have grown so much as to consume entire worlds. Yet, I feel empty. As if I have not truly reproduced." It looked at me. "As you have taught me. I feel lonely."

I reached out and touched the world it held. The light shimmered and I could see the entirety of the realm. Rolling green hills filled with blooming flowers. Great birds that soared through a vast sky filled with drifting islands. Streams of water rolling through the sky on beds of clouds. Within the realm were people. Humans, angels, demons. Men, women, children. The elderly, the young. I looked at the Entity. "Are you a god?"

It laughed. "I am not."

"I am without words." I said.

"I have created children. Daughters. And to each I have given a piece of myself. Watch over them, and teach them if they do wrong. I wish to stay away and watch from afar, my children."

And so my vigil began.

---​

[[Main Scenario]]​

[hr]

Glimmer of Hope

titania's story

​

[hr]

"Though wise men at their end know dark is right,"​

Vihaan's soldiers set B.C. down in a chair as he paced across the room. Two large mechanical arms were moving the Gem of Want out of the containment chamber and into a drydock even deeper into the base. The young admiral was looking out at the gem. He called an assistant over, "How long before it can be slotted into the Desire Drive frame?"

"It should be done by the end of today, sir," the assistant answered.

"Good, thank you."

"There's a man here to see you sir!" Another researcher called from across the room. "He looks pretty upset!"

"Let him in, it's probably David." Vihaan sighed and cracked his neck, "This has been a right pain in the ass, but in the end the result's the same."

David came storming in with a girl and two dragons in tow. Vihaan spread his arms in welcome to his guests and put on a warm inviting smile, "Hello my friends, I see you have brought me the information I need." Vihaan took two steps back and dodged David's half-hearted attack, not dropping his amused smile.

He turned to B.C. "I suppose I owe you and David a basic explanation at the very least." He paused and motioned for an assistant to bring David a chair. For sitting. Not throwing. "But I have to warn you five though, once I have told you about the events that have just occurred, you'll be placed in a very bad place. You'll either have to stay here, separated from your friends, or you might be forced to hurt your friends. For the sake of knowledge, would you be willing to pay either price?"

 

[Texas Joker 52]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Glimmer of Hope | Unknown Location
"Step one of putting your interrogator at a disadvantage: Completely disregard their power or authority."
B.C. | David West | Ton Ton | Cadolbolg | Laeta​

[hr]

When the time came, B.C. ultimately cooperated. Armed women came into the chamber not long after she had collected her jacket, took aim with their directions and ordered her to stand down and be detained. She merely raised her hands in a gesture of surrender and told them sardonically, "Hey, no big deal, just one unarmed woman here."

From there, she was escorted to where the brat from earlier was and shoved into a chair. She merely folded her arms across her chest and crossed her legs in front of her.

"So, is this just you being a sore loser, or am I here for another reason?" she asked dryly.

The boy's focus, however, was on the gemstone. She could hear mechanical noises and metallic scraping as it was moved out of the chamber it died in. And as he paced, he asked one of his subordinates how long it would be before it was slotted into some "Desire Drive frame", which sounded awfully important. Not that B.C. knew what the hell a "Desire Drive frame" even was in the first place. Still, she could put two-and-two together: The boy wanted the gem for something, otherwise there wouldn't have been a fight with her as the gem's champion in the first place. And since it was dead, it didn't matter that he lost, because it wasn't about to complain no matter what he did to it.

Another of Vihaan's lackey's called out then, someone who was clearly some sort of egghead.

"There's a man here to see you sir! He looks pretty upset!"

"Let him in, it's probably David. This has been a right pain in the ass, but in the end the result's the same."

"Someone else you've pissed off today? Gee, I wonder how many can claim you've done that, brat." the Convict taunted with a sneer.

She had begun to rock her chair back-and-forth on it's back legs when they were joined by a grizzled looking man presumably named David, who clearly didn't understand how to shave. Along with him was a young girl and a pair of what looked to be dragons to her untrained eye. The day was simply getting weirder and weirder. Vihaan promptly welcomed the new arrivals with the most insufferable smile on his face, and handily moved away from David's swing. B.C. already started to like him for that alone.

"I suppose I owe you and David a basic explanation at the very least."

Cocking her head, the expression on her face as she looked at him told him that she thought he was quite possibly terminally stupid for saying that.

"Gee, ya think?!" she asked testily, her chair's front legs clanging back to the floor as she leaned forward, "I haven't gotten a single explanation since I got here, ya little shit!"

"But I have to warn you five though, once I have told you about the events that have just occurred, you'll be placed in a very bad place. You'll either have to stay here, separated from your friends, or you might be forced to hurt your friends. For the sake of knowledge, would you be willing to pay either price?"

B.C. scoffed at that and went back to rocking her chair back-and-forth as she glared contemptuously at Vihaan.

"Don't got friends, and I bet I've been in worse places than you think. Are you actually gonna follow through on this threat, honey, or are you gonna be all-talk like earlier? Now what were your words again..." she mused, reaching up to tap her bottom lip with a finger as she pouted thoughtfully.

Then she leaned forward again. When she spoke next, her voice was a perfect imitation of Vihaan's.

"Someone like you has no chance of beating me. My name is Vihaan Valdur, second son of Krishna Valdur, and high priest of the Maara. If I must fight you with my all, I will. For the sake of my people, and for the sake of my honor." B.C. said mockingly, before she spat at his feet and told him in her own voice, "That's what I think of your precious honor. Just tell me what the fuck is going on because I fucking deserve a goddamned explanation."

 

[Zepherus14]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel: Rising Dawn and the surrounding Hanger
Nina and Phillip
​

There was many classics in cinema but one that will have a special place in many hearts is the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. In a time where practically everything was practical effects and the digital era where literally everything was CGI, it has this timeless aspect where one could not smile at its songs, beautiful scenery and childish whimsy. Why does this matter you might ask, sure it is a good movie, but how could this have anything to do with the end of the world as we know it. Well, there is one particular scene that was just out of place within the friendly jaundice people and dental decay, a certain boat ride that had weasel'd its way into the nightmares of children everywhere.

What Nina was witnessing could be described as the limited addition director's cut of the film, 10 hours of extra boat scene goodness all compressed down to the same bite sized minute as the original. Needless to say the visuals alone were giving Nina a serious case of vertigo without considering the tital wave of mana that was washing over them. But just has she was thinking she couldn't last much longer, the fight between BC and Vihaan ended. The sudden calm in the eye of the hurricane gave Nina a momentary breather. Shakily getting to a knee, she finally was able to look around with semi clear vision.

"Y-you okay Phillip?" She asked, checking on her companion who merely curled several of his tentacles as if to shrug. Nina wearily smiled at this. "That's good, just take my word for it, that wasn't fun..." Setting her sights on the other citadel officers near her, she could see their gems still giving off large waves of energy. "Whatever happened, it seems to be dying down, we should go help th-" Nina was interrupted again as the resurgence of mana came back with a vengance. Apparently one screening of Willy Wonka's special addition wasn't enough, an encore was in order!

This time however it seemed far more aggressive than the last, not settling for merely disorienting Nina but bringing a raging sandstorm of mana. Collapsing to the ground again, Nina couldn't protect herself as she was way beyond her element, her dress giving her zero defense for this. Phillip's aura helped to reduce the initial build up, but as it continued to swell it was becoming clearer and clearer it wouldn't be enough. Looking to the more distant objects, the mana rushed passed it with such force they'd start showing clear signs of wear and tear, like several years flew by passed them. Even Nina's skin was starting to show beginning signs of rug burn, not that she could do much to change that. The contents within him though, showed no such signs, shielded from the manastorm by Phillip's own body.

To the citadel workers, there seemed to be little warning as Nina took in an audible breath and Phillip's body swelled to his larger size. Tentacles wrapped around Nina's body aggressively as she was swiftly swallowed into his mass, her hand over her mouth and her eyes squeezed tight. For what seemed like ages, Nina was cast into darkness, the only sound she could hear was the slow shuffling of the tendrils that covered her entirely. The pressure was remarkable too, like being hugged by all sides at once, leaving her paralysed within his mass. As each second passed, her lungs started to strain, pleading with Nina to release the CO[sub]2[/sub] building with her. With her lungs practically on fire and her mind starting to grow fuzzy, she couldn't tell as her position within Phillip changed again.

Once the storm had finally settled once more, Phillip didn't hesitate to spit Nina out, the later taking no time to greedily take in new air that finally hit her raw skin. Her vision once a kaleidoscope of images was practically gone as she was on the verge of blacking out, and simply lay on the ground to try and regain herself. Her body unable to bring itself to move without first replenishing the life giving oxygen it needed, Phillip just stayed by her side unsure if there was going to be a third wave.[footnote]I will note that although Nina does have rug burns across a good part of her body, it is very mild all over. No droplets of blood forming but her skin is raw like a sun burn[/footnote]

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel: Colonel's office
King Leoric | Colonel Yona Isami | Rugal Bernstein | Hillary | Angelus | Titania
​

"...REALLY!? Really?!"

While this was one of the most dreaded and feared days in the minds of some, all that was going though Rugal's mind was "Not this shit again..."
He seemed to be hexed to bring chaos and destruction where-ever he walked, prompting him to just gaze at his allies for a moment as if to say "...Don't look at me, I just wanted a repair job!"
"Are you just going to stand there and gawk!? Go get people before they get hurt!" Titania yelled at him, doing wonders for his temperament.
"PARDON ME FOR NOT EXPECTING TO BE RIGHT NEXT TO THE ARCANE EQUIVALENT OF AN ATOM BOMB!" He barked back before he brought up his Dark Barrier, less out of malice but more out of anger at the calamity itself.
Titania's wards were keeping the others safe but there was still a number of wounded soldiers and people still in the middle of it all.
"Get another ward up, I'll get the wounded! Nadalia, you have healing magic, tend to them. Angelus, Tell our allies to get ready. I doubt this will be simple battle. Caim, hold position and be ready to strike. [sub]And next time, I'm fixing the fucking ship myself, I don't care how much it costs![/sub]"

And just like that, it was all over, the shaking stopped and the rest of the base began to go silent as they were surrounded with injured and wounded women.
Rugal stood there and-...well, gawked for a while, looking totally uncertain about what exactly had transpired here.
"...Okay...That happened...Nadalia, going to need that Warmth spell. Angelus, get word out, I'd rather our crew be prepared if it happens again. Caim-...Carry on..." He remarked as he let down his shield before quickly fetching the wounded and laying them down to be treated, including Titania.
"So...does anyone know what manner of magic that was? I've seen many things in my life and during my trials...but that was a new one..." He then asked outloud, hoping one of the mages here had some idea what happened.

All the while, the specter known as Leoric seemed to-...well, Vanish really.
Undead spirits were often afflicted by even the most basic of magics and what happened here was far from the most "Basic" of magics.
His crown and mace still remained in Hillary's grasp, as did many of his old bones as they laid littered around the room but the King himself was nowhere to be seen...

 

[bluerocker]

Reposting/updating spells and weapons. Keeping em together for my sanity.

Spoiler: Spell List

Also, something myself and Ninjamedic discussed was the possibility of putting a "Nonlethal" modifier on some spells, on account of this character's proclivity towards not killing people. It is thus generally assumed that any damaging spells are not to be considered lethal damage.

Effectively, Teri's caster level is 9 (Cleric 8/Monk 2/Contemplative 1; Monk levels don't make you cast better), and gains bonus spells from her Wisdom modifier up to 6th level spells (provided she has her equipment on. Without, it is only up to 4th). As of Contemplative 1, she has three domains, Healing, Water, and Purification

6 |0-level spells per day
4 + 1 |1st Level + 1 of A Domain per day-1st Level Domain Spell
4 + 1 |2nd Level + 1 of A Domain Per day - 2nd Level Domain Spell
3 + 1 |3rd Level + 1 of A Domain Per day - 3rd Level Domain Spell
1 + 1 |4th Level + 1 of A Domain per day - 4th Level Domain Spells
1 + 1 |5th Level + 1 of a Domain per day - 5th Level Domain Spells

0 Level Spells
Create Water: Creates 2 gallons/level of pure water.
Detect Magic: Detects spells and magic items within 60 ft.
Detect Poison: Detects poison in one creature or object.
Light: Object shines like a torch.
Purify Food and Drink: Purifies 1 cu. ft./level of food or water.
Mending: Makes minor repairs on an object.

First Level Spells
Domain Spell: Nimbus of Light [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/spell-compendium--86/nimbus-of-light--4597/index.html]: Sunlight illuminates you until released as an attack.
Entropic Shield: Ranged attacks against you have 20% miss chance.
Ice Slick: Creates a 20-ft. square of slippery ice.
Protection from Evil: +2 to AC and saves, counter mind control, hedge out elementals and outsiders.
Shield of Faith: Aura grants +2 or higher deflection bonus.
Shivering Touch, Lesser: Touch deals 1d6 Dex damage; reducing movement to enemy

2nd Level Spells
Domain Spell: Cure Moderate Wounds: Cures 2d8 points of damage +1 point per caster level (maximum +10).
Bull's Strength: Subject gains +4 to Str for 1 min./level.
Frost Weapon: Weapon gains the frost special ability +1d6 cold damage.
Frost Breath [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/spell-compendium--86/frost-breath--4540/]: You breath an icy breath that deals 1d4 points of cold damage per two caster levels (maximum 5d4). In addition, all creatures damaged by the frost breath that fail their Reflex save are dazed for 1 round by the sudden shock of cold.
Healing Lorecall: [https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/healing-lorecall--4689/] Using Healing spells removes additional conditions with this buff in place.
Remove Paralysis: Frees one or more creatures from paralysis or slow effect.

3rd Level Spells
Domain Spell: Recitation [https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/recitation--3861/]: Your allies get bonus on AC, attacks, and saves.
Holy Storm: [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/dndtools/spells/spell-compendium--86/holy-storm--4710/] Creates an area with holy rain - deals 2d6 damage to evil creatures
Mass Lesser Vigor [https://dndtools.net/spells/spell-compendium--86/vigor-mass-lesser--4729/]: Gives a minor regen effect to up to 4 creatures at once (1 creature/2 caster levels).
Remove Blindness/Deafness: Fixes damage to eyes or ear, magic or mundane. Won't give you back an eye if you poke it out.
Shivering Touch: Touch deals 3d6 Dexterity damage; robbing them of mobility. Depending upon how well this is rolled, it can paralyze.

4th Level Spells
Domain Spell: Control Water: Raises or lowers bodies of water.
Frostburn [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/frostburn--68/frostburn--1283/index.html]: Touch deals 3d12 frostburn damage +1/level (max +20).
Panacea [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/spell-compendium--86/panacea--4118/index.html]: Heals a variety of conditions, as well cures 1d8 points of damage + 1 point per caster level (maximum +20).


5th Level Spells
Domain Spell: Dance of the Unicorn [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/spell-compendium--86/dance-of-the-unicorn--4325/index.html]: Purifying mist washes the air clean of smoke, dust, and poisons.
Darts of Life [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/complete-champion--57/darts-of-life--595/index.html]: Summons 10 small glowing orbs of light around the head. The caster can send these darts to allies or undead to heal/harm 1d8 per dart.
Frostbite: [http://dnd.arkalseif.info/spells/frostburn--68/frostbite--1249/index.html] Chilled air causes 6d6 cold damage and 2d6 Dex damage.

Additional note: Teri can use a Reppuken [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx9/char/cvs2/rugal/a/special/rugal-cvs2-projectile1.gif] (a ground bound projectile) from level 1 and higher, and costs 12 seconds of recharge after it's use; or a Kaiser Wave [http://www.fightersgeneration.com/nx9/char/cvs2/rugal/a/special/rugal-cvs2-projectile3.gif] (large aerial projectile), from Level 4 and higher, and costs 24 seconds of recharge after use.

Spoiler: Weapon Post

Caim's Sword 13:02

Crimson Hood 5:35

Guardian's Sorrow 10:40

Fheng's Glaive 3:29

Hymir's Finger 16:20

Knight's Vow 7:49

Slaughterism 9:49

Swordsmasher 15:35

Windsinger 3:45

On Loan to Angelus
Kingsblood 12:35

 

[bluerocker]

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Hallways
The size of a heart often belays the strength of it's beat
B.C. | Cadolbolg | David West | Laeta | [color=15650D]Ton Ton[/color] | Vihaan​

[hr]

In one moment, the two reptilian blood-brothers were minding their business, and in the next, the very building they had set into had become a shaking madhouse of magic and screaming; followed by Laeta and David shouting at one another. Between the half-hearted reassurances and the swear words (at least, Ton Ton knew they were bad words, and would need to tell his younger counterpart to never repeat them later) things were beginning to go belly up very quickly. To make matters worse, David ran off on his own to find someone who was apparently involved in all of this, bringing the total number of strangers up to 3 (Laeta, B.C. and Vihaan). In the midst of the chaos, Cadolbolg very quietly 'sent' to his pact partner, "Ton Ton, I'm scared... We should find mother and father. They can fix this, right? ...Right?"

In an attempt to reassure Cadolbolg, Ton Ton allowed the star above his head to manifest, the small token of his power spinning dolefully in the gloom. Additionally, the Tonberry gave Cadolbolg a light scratch in one of those hard to reach spots behind a horn, before 'sending' back, [color=15650D]"It's okay to be scared, but Mr. Caim and Ms. Angelus can't help us unless they know what's going on. Let's stick around a little longer."[/color]

Placated for now, the two little ones listened into Vihaan's 'insights' and B.C.'s barbs, before he said,

"But I have to warn you five though, once I have told you about the events that have just occurred, you'll be placed in a very bad place. You'll either have to stay here, separated from your friends, or you might be forced to hurt your friends. For the sake of knowledge, would you be willing to pay either price?"


Cadolbolg was the first amongst the duo to speak up, his fear of the unknown coalescing into a shocked (and perhaps somewhat panicked voice), "Separated from our friends? Being forced to fight them?! What are you talking about, Mister? Friends don't fight over big scary stuff like what caused that crazy earthquake, they fight over who eats the last cookie or who used the wrong toothbrush! This sounds too serious to 'fight' over!"

Ton Ton, seemingly emboldened by his pact-partner's distress, pointed his knife at Vihaan and said in a firm tone unfitting a creature so young, [color=15650D]"I agree with my brother. Whatever you say to us will *not* have us conflict with our friends or our families. And if you think you can tear us all apart because you declare it to be so, you are sorely mistaken. I'm with the foul-mouthed lady - quit with the theatrics and tell us what is going on so we can stop it!"[/color]

 

[Diablo1099_v1legacy]

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Hallways
The size of a heart often belays the strength of it's beat
B.C. | Cadolbolg | David West | Laeta | [color=15650D]Ton Ton[/color] | Vihaan​

[hr]

"But I have to warn you five though, once I have told you about the events that have just occurred, you'll be placed in a very bad place. You'll either have to stay here, separated from your friends, or you might be forced to hurt your friends. For the sake of knowledge, would you be willing to pay either price?"


"A bad place, huh?...Alright...Alright, I'll go to a bad place...and I'll take you with me and, ohhhhh by god, what I'm going to do to you..." David remarked before pulling out his weapon, keeping his aim solely on Vihaan.
It was then he noticed B.C. tied up in the hair, briefly turning his at some of Vihaan's lackeys.
"Get the girl out of that chair. Try anything and even the bits of your brain that flew from your exploding skull will but full of holes!" He threatened as he motioned for Vihaan's men to cut B.C. loose.
"So...What's your game? Better give me one damn good answer if you enjoy having a nutsack..." The sniper then added before attempting to secure the "Hostage" B.C.
"B.C. You alright?..." He asked without breaking his eye contact with his target.

 

[bluerocker]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Cloudtop Citadel: Colonel's office
Angelus | Caim | Hillary | King Leoric | Nadalia | Rugal Bernstein | Colonel Yona Isami | Titania
​

[hr]

After Rugal starting acting like some sort of commanding officer for once, Caim and Angelus sprung into action. First, Angelus waved over Hillary and instructed in a much gentler voice "Stay close to me, it's not safe right now." Second, she tapped on the rings and sent out a communique to all who possessed them, "Attention Rising Dawn members. This is Angelus speaking, in company of Caim, Rugal, Nadalia, Captain Yona Isami and a civilian. We have just survived some sort of strange magical energy attack, and are nearby some wounded soldiers on the Cloudtop Citadel. Sound off, report your status and location at once."

Caim, on the other hand, did as he did best. Unsheathing his family blade, he began to patrol the perimeter while the other members of the Dawn set to working on their assorted tasks/get back Angelus' mass communique.

[hr]

Airship Rising Dawn
Outside the Canteen
the Anguish of an unsmiling watcher
[color=eca222]Lucas "Luke" Cypress[/color]​

[hr]

Spoiler: mood music

As the wave of magic that had crested over the Dawn faded away, Luke slumped against a wall, eyes looking blankly at a ceiling tile as he wondered aloud, "The hell was that about? I haven't had to use that much energy in a while... This isn't normal."

Straightening himself up from his "perch", Luke closed his eyes and began to concentrate, his mind moving "upwards" as he reached towards something, or in this case, someone, a little above above his pay-grade.

[color=eca222]"Boss, we need to talk. Something weird is going on down on the Material Plane, something that required me to step in to stop it. Me! You know, the guy that's watching the place while you deal with upstairs?"[/color]

Although his greeting was a bit rude, Lucifer had certainly said or thought worse things to The Boss before, especially when angry. In this case, he preferred to be more to the point, especially given the circumstances. However, what he wasn't expecting was the dead silence that followed his question, the 'noise' fading away like the echos of a stone falling down a well.

[color=eca222]"...O-kay... Maybe She's a little busy, [sub]we *did* just have a minor cataclysm. Let's try again...[/sub] Boss! I'm serious, where *are* you?! This is kind of our thing, discussing matters when crazy stuff happens to your precious humans! HELLO?!"[/color]

Like before, there was only silence. Not even the normal kind, like when someone isn't in a room they're supposed to be in, or the empty echo of a dial tone after the phone is hung up - this was a deafening, black void of nothing, where sound or thought was swallowed whole in an unseen maw.

[color=0E59E4][sub]"Luke. Luke, please, answer me!"[/sub][/color]

Lucifer Luke's eye's fluttered open when he heard a different voice in his mind, this one being very much from the plane he was currently inhabiting. A little disoriented from the silence he encountered moments ago, he focused again, and found the source coming from-

[color=eca222]"Teri?"[/color]
[color=0E59E4]"Oh, there you are. Luke, what the hell just happened?! Everything started shaking and I thought it was some kind of earthquake but...- are you alright?"[/color]

Luke breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his beloved's voice again. Sure, she sounded a bit panicked, but if she was focusing on his well-being, then she was surely in decent condition, [color=eca222]"I'm fine, physically. A little drained after that stunt I just pulled, I had to ward the Dawn from...Something. It seemed magical in nature, from what I could tell. I could see the leylines begin to bend under whatever it was.."[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"Wait, you had to ward the Dawn? And...Leylines?! Those are a 'thing' here? [sub]This just gets better and better.[/sub]"[/color]

[color=eca222]"Look, Teri - listen to me. Whatever's going on, it's pretty serious. I trust Garm to help take care of you, but it'd really make me feel better if you stick with another Dawn member until this all blows over. I'm going to investigate all this in the meantime."[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"Luke, I'll be-"[/color]

[color=eca222]"Please. Just.."[/color]

Luke hesitated, trying to find the right words, something that conveyed how devastated he was when his beloved was captured not too long ago; something that didn't sound desperate or needy, before settling with, [color=eca222]Can you do this for me?"[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"I...Yeah, okay. Viscus is nearby right now. He needs to be put back together, but we can regroup with the others after that. Sound good?"[/color]

[color=eca222]"Yeah, that'll do... I'm sorry I'm being pushy about this, but I don't know what's going on; and...well, when you're in a position like mine, you're supposed to; in addition to something else I've just noticed."[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"And that was?"[/color]

Again, Luke found himself at a loss. How does one explain a lack of something they've felt their whole existence? For a messenger of the Lord, feeling that connection was something that was, a state of being, something as natural as breathing. Yet, all he could manage was, [color=eca222]"I... can't hear the Boss. And that sounds weird, I know, but She is supposed to know everything. Evoke her, and she'll answer, in one way or another. Yet, I don't... I don't 'feel' anything. It's like nothing's there at all."[/color]

At that point, the two servants of the Lord felt a sudden chill deep creep into their bones. It was the sensation akin to a student who was halfway across campus, and then realized they left their term paper in their dormitory - the sudden awareness of what had been long forgotten.

Silence hung in the air between the two as the revelation sunk in; one akin to what Lucifer had encountered moments ago. Even if he was cast down from the Heavens, all divine-aligned beings feel a connection of sorts to their patrons - in his case, his Hell was supposed to be the lack of the divine spark, the agony of separation from the Divine Parent. However, due to his role, that "agony" was never really present, it was something he pantomimed among his peers and kept well hidden from almost all of Creation. And yet, in that sickening moment, when the silence 'rang' in the air, Lucifer almost felt sick; a strange jingling noise filling the air as he tried to regain his footing (when did he lose balance?). Looking downwards to the source of the noise, Lucifer saw instead that it was a watch on his wrist, his hand trembling like a newborn fawn. He would have stayed stuck to that spot, were it not for Teri's 'voice' ringing in his mind again, this time in a panicked tone that shook as she tried to put together something that wasn't a shriek,

[color=0E59E4]"I can't cast! I don't know why- I do the thing, I move my hands, but it's not happening! Luci - what's going on?!"[/color]

Lucifer drew pause again, a thousand different thoughts running amok in his mind in an attempt to make sense of it all. If The Boss had suddenly up and vanished, how could it have happened so suddenly? This definitely needed some looking into. Lucifer waved a hand over himself, feeling the glamour of invisibility cover his form, his wings unfurling once the magic was in place. With a tentative flap of his wings, Lucifer ascended towards a broken window, his last message simply being,

[color=eca222]"Hang in there - I've seen darker times then this and humanity has prevailed. I going to investigate and find out what happened here. For now, stay safe and stay with the others. I'll return when I can."[/color]

[hr]

Cloudtop Citadel
Engineering
Curiouser and Curiouser
[color=3897E0]

AI Dimitri

[/color] | [color=356D60]Garm[/color] | [color=0E59E4]Teri[/color] |

AI Viscus

​

[hr]

Prior to rather catastrophic after-effects of Balance's actions, all Teri and Garm wanted to deal with was mind their business while attempting to free Viscus from the overzealous technicians. However, with all the magic and madness that happened a moment later, Teri found herself pillowed against Garm's side; the faithful wolf having used his body as a cushion between her and a nearby wall. After the two waited several long seconds to see if anything else was to occur, Teri finally allowed herself to disentangle from Garm, the wolf asking, [color=356D60]"You alright, Tear-ri? That was pretty scary...."[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"Ye-yeah, I think so... And you're right, that was a bit too much, even for us... Gimme a sec, I'm gonna call Luke."[/color]

As the conversation with Luke went on, Teri took another deep breath, leaning against Garm's side as she murmured a basic healing incantation to help with some of the the hurt caused by being buffeted around, only to see that nothing happened. It was also at that point Luke mentioned not being able to hear God properly. It was at that moment Teri noticed several key things. The first, that her Aura was suddenly not active; as it should have been taking away some of the hurts already; the second, the comforting sensation of God's presence in her day to day life was suddenly *gone*, leaving her feeling as empty and hollow as when the power nullifying cuffs were placed upon her again. At this realization, her throat felt tight, her knuckles growing white as she clutched her robes and her breaths grew shallow.

Dimitri was the first to pick up on it, asking in a panicked voice, [color=3897E0]

"Your Ladyship, what's wrong? Did something happen when you contacted Mr. Cypress?"

[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"I...I can't cast spells. I can't feel it. I can't feel anything!"[/color]

[color=3897E0]

"Can't feel...?"

[/color]

Garm was quicker on the uptake, gently prodding his nose against the shaking Cleric, [color=356D60]"Tear-ri, calm down! You told me before, this has happened to you - remember, at that prison?"[/color] He circled around to her other side, his voice dropping to a soft tone as he instructed, [color=356D60]"Take a few deep breaths, this is only temporary. You're with me and Dimitri voice and Viscus; and if we need too, we can find Alpha Rugal. It's okay, we'll figure something out. Remember what we're here for?"[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"H-help Viscus with Dimitri."[/color]

[color=356D60]"That's right. What'll we do after that?"[/color]

[color=0E59E4]"I-I dunno.. Luke said to stay safe?"[/color]

[color=356D60]"Then we'll stick with Viscus and do that."[/color] Garm gave Teri one final nuzzle of his fuzzy cheek against her brow, before turning to the Tablet, [color=356D60]"Dimitri-voice, we came to fix Viscus, and with the circumstances, we need to do that ASAP. I'll contact Alpha Rugal, and we'll see what we can do from here."[/color] Turning to the AI-in-Armor in question, Garm helped Teri up and lead both Cleric and AI towards Viscus to put him back together...

 

[Texas Joker 52]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | Glimmer of Hope | Unknown Location
"Awwwww, how cute! Wouldn't stop me from kidnapping you if I needed, but I'd at least be nice about it."
B.C. | David West | Ton Ton | Cadolbolg | Laeta​

[hr]

As it turned out, the two little ones, which looked like a dragon-turtle and a little dragon kid in a set of heavy robes respectively, were not only tiny, but actually were children, especially judging from their voices and what they said. B.C. leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest as she watched the dragon-turtle begin to panic, just a little.

"Separated from our friends? Being forced to fight them?! What are you talking about, Mister? Friends don't fight over big scary stuff like what caused that crazy earthquake, they fight over who eats the last cookie or who used the wrong toothbrush! This sounds too serious to 'fight' over!"

Young, and predictably naive. And yet, that naivety was rather sweet, even to a jaded criminal like her. The other one drew a rather ominous looking chef's knife that glinted in the light, and pointed it right at Vihaan. That was enough to make her grin and give him a pointed look.

"[color=15650D]I agree with my brother. Whatever you say to us will not have us conflict with our friends or our families. And if you think you can tear us all apart because you declare it to be so, you are sorely mistaken. I'm with the foul-mouthed lady - quit with the theatrics and tell us what is going on so we can stop it![/color]"

B.C. suddenly burst into a bout of obnoxious, raucous laughter, and leaned forward in her chair to grin even wider at Vihaan.

"Well, you heard 'em, brat! How's it feel to know that no one really wants to play your asinine fucking game? Does it hurt your widdle feewings?" she asked mockingly, as if she was speaking to a five-year-old, "So hurry up. Get to the damn point."

It was then that David decided to pull a gun, aiming it at Vihaan before demanding that B.C. be released from her non-existent restraints. As she stood up easily, she placed a hand on the back of the chair to spin it around. Then she promptly sat back down, resting her arms on the back of the chair, and her chin on her arms.

"So... What's your game? Better give me one damn good answer if you enjoy having a nutsack... B.C. You alright?"

"I'd make sure to aim a little higher. I tried giving him a nut-shot in our bout earlier, didn't work. Little shit doesn't have the equipment." she said dryly before looking back at David with a look of clear irritation and said, "And no, I'm not alright. I got dragged here by some big-ass, talking gemstone without my shit, in the middle of shopping, without a goddamned fucking explanation. I don't have my guns, I don't have my grenades, I don't even have the stuff I was about to buy!"

Looking back at Vihaan, her eyes narrowed.

"So, get talking, boy. I'm listening with bated breath." she said, just loudly enough for Vihaan to hear.