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

NotYetForsaken · Aug 15, 2016

[hr]

Code:

Lonely Nightmare

elizabeth's story

[hr]

"God has not forsaken you. You will be forgiven."
Wall Graffiti, Istanbul. Credited to the Silver Moon Confessors.

Rhodes motioned with her hand and two Angels stepped forward and forcibly separated the G-Corp soldier and Doom. A third bent to clean the mess he made and a fourth forcibly changed his pants.

"I want to speak to this prisoner," Rhodes said. It wasn't so much an indication of her purpose, but a command. It was as if she had said "I will speak to this prisoner." The first Angel led the G-Corp soldier out of the observation room. "As simple as he may be, a prisoner must be treated with respect. They may have lost, but that does not make them less human."

So the Major was just as noble as the stories had said.

The Angel had first left Doom standing bereft of pants. Rhodes pulled a gun from her arm holster and pressed it against Doom's silver mask. Carrying Ruby in one arm and threatening a grown man in his undergarments with another, the Major certainly was a character.

"Is that what a man should say to a beautiful woman? If I'm comfortable flaunting what I have, try not to aggravate me, because I am more than comfortable humiliating you with or without my clothing." She scowled, "I am Major Rhodes Selmy, you may call me Mustafia if you feel brave."

She put her gun back into it's holster as the Angels returned with a new pair of pants for Doom. They kept their rifles trained on his silver mask. They did not so much as quiver with breath. They were the very model of discipline.

"I have questions for you. If you know them, you will answer. You are of the same people that have hurt my daughter, yes? Then tell me who they are, what they are trying to do, and where they are."

Diablo1099_v1legacy · Aug 17, 2016

World Marshall Secure Location: Anomalous Materials [http://img00.deviantart.net/f187/i/2012/052/e/0/science_by_mikrob-d4qgzfi.jpg]
QnA
ARES | Viscus | Dimitri | M. Lab Tech

[hr]

Everything she said was noted for the record as the senior tech mused over the comments she had made.
"Interesting...Mass Production Model yet containing a personality matrix unique to each one...Implies the creator has found a way to keep said AI constructs in line. Will mark as an example for internal projects." He wrote in relation to her personality, the realization of them possibly "Copying" her for their own prototypes starting to wash over her.
He also perked up at the notion that she used "Hammerspace" storage for her main power generator.
"Hmmmmm...Well, if you insist. Might find a port for my comrade here to charge his phone with." The M. Lab Tech said before reaching for-
His hand was soon grabbed by the guard still standing at attention beside ARES, the cyborg growling "I'll do it." before her Superior(?) relented.
Pulling out that EM blade once more and pressing it against ARES's neckline, she then said "I don't know what make you tick, but I've dismantled much more advanced machines then you. Try anything funny and I'll mount your head with the other ones. You there, keep the EM field up. Anything happens, set it to max, even if it knocks me offline."
The warning given, the Cyborg then slowly pressed the release switch, ready for whatever they might find...

Diablo1099_v1legacy · Aug 17, 2016

Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Medical Bay
[color=004d]"WHY DOES EVERYONE KEEP POINTING GUNS AT DOOM?!"[/color]
Doom | Major Rhodes | Others

[hr]

It was really hard to tell if this was an improvement over his last situation, seeing how he was now minus pants but with only a few guns pointed at him, though one of those guns was now pressed against his forehead.
"Is that what a man should say to a beautiful woman? If I'm comfortable flaunting what I have, try not to aggravate me, because I am more than comfortable humiliating you with or without my clothing."
[color=004d]"NO! NO! DOOM DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! NO! HE DIDN'T! JUST-AAAHAHHHHHHHHH-When Doom doesn't close his belt, H-h-h-h-he falls down and then W-wesker yells at him aa-a-a-nd the others laugh at him annnnnnnnd, NOT THAT DOOM WOULD MEAN YOU WOULD FALL DOWN! JUST-...YOU'RE-....HOLDING A-A-A-A CHILDREN-UH-CHILD! And-....Doom...didn't...want you to-...[sub]fall down and-...[sub]hurt you both...[sub]while people laughed at you...[/sub][/sub][/sub]"[/color]
His mask audibly shook as did his entire body, if he didn't already empty his bladder, he would have done it by now.
"I am Major Rhodes Selmy, you may call me Mustafia if you feel brave."
[color=004d]".....eerrrrrrrrrr, Doom's name is-......Doom.....uhhh...."Hai"...Major-...Lady-....Sir."[/color]
While the Major put her gun away, the other Angels didn't so much as budge and neither did Doom, keeping his hands held high in the air even as a pair of pants were handed to him.
If The Major had little confidence in the standards of her enemies, then she would just love the part where Doom now had his hands up where they could be seen whist still holding the fresh pants by their legs, the crotch of them now blocking the view of his face.
"I have questions for you. If you know them, you will answer. You are of the same people that have hurt my daughter, yes? Then tell me who they are, what they are trying to do, and where they are."

This gave Doom pause for a moment as he processed what he was being asked: The Major's daughter had been hurt and she wanted to know what had hurt her.
There were a lot of answers he could give there but he kinda went down the wrong track entirely.
See, he knew who Kazuya was and he knew who the Rising Dawn was, but this woman?...not so much.
There wasn't much information to go on, just that she had a nice uniform and there were a lot of men with guns.
His mind processed all the possible other factions (That he knew of) that would have reason to capture him and that left only one outcome.

[color=004d]"....OH MY GOD!"

[HEADING=1]"YOU'RE THE DEA AREN'T YOU!?!"[/HEADING]

[/color]

For those of you who might have missed out, not long after his falling out with his Cartel buddies, Doom decided to follow in the footsteps of this one lonely chemist guy he saw on TV who went on to become one of the greatest Meth lords of his time. (Think the show was called "Game of Thrones").
Point was, he spent most of his time in Los Angeles before the Rising Dawn snatched him up, "Working For" a gang known as the Las Venturas Bookies and their LA Contact "Diabs".
While his Product "Doomsday" sold like hot cakes, the most he remembered from the experience was the part where he was used for both slave labor and "Entertainment" by the gang and some words of Wisdom from "Diabs" himself.

"Now hear this you little retarded fuck-wit. If I EVER find you talking to DEA about ANYTHING! The Weather, the News, about how big a slut your mother is, I will personally hunt you down and I'll do to you, what I did to Rarity..."

[color=004d]

[HEADING=1]"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARITY! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" DX[/HEADING]

[/color]

...
After shouting that REALLY loudly in the middle of the room, Doom soon returned to reality, a sole eye peering at the somewhat confused Mayor though the open fly of those pants.
[color=004d]"....Y-y-y-our not DEA....right?...B-b-because you need to tell Doom if you are! That's the law! or something..."[/color]

All the while, a pair of G-Corp soldiers watched on out of earshot, one of them barely able to contain himself as he smoked openly in the middle of the medical bay.
"Ohhh man! This guy....Every time you think he's done, he out classes himself!"
"....Think we should tell the boss about this? I mean, it's all fun and games, but what if she starts putting the screws to a few of us? And what if she finds out what Ghost is planning?"
"Nah, They aren't going to go against G-Corp, you see this place? They have enough to worry about before they'll bother us. Now piss off, I wanna see what he does next. Maybe he'll shit himself..."

Kalastryn · Aug 17, 2016

World Marshall Secure Location: Anomalous Materials [http://img00.deviantart.net/f187/i/2012/052/e/0/science_by_mikrob-d4qgzfi.jpg]
"I don't believe I was talking to you."
ARES | Viscus | Dimitri | M. Lab Tech

[hr]

As their little chat carried on, the lab tech taking notes about ARES 35's design and being very rudely interrupted by one of the guards, the reality of the situation had already registered to ARES quite a while ago. They were asking all these questions for the purpose of using the information to further their goals, which would likely mean designing their own ARES units or other tools she could describe to them. Were ARES to be in any position to fight back in the near future, one of her first orders of business would be to erase whatever information they gained from this. However, resistance was futile at this point. Sure, she could probably try and make whoever dug around in her chest cavity "fall in" and shut them in a place which could only be opened from the outside, and really that would not have been the worst idea ever... if she had anywhere to go from there. Her arms and legs had been removed and were being examined on a nearby table (which to ARES was very morbid) and there was a percussive maintenance[footnote]The technical term for "hit the thing until it works"[/footnote] version of an EMP pressed up against her neck, which as far as she could tell also held a collar laced with explosives.

The situation really made her roll her eyes as her chest cavity opened, it was a tad overkill. "You didn't have to do that you know." she said to the guard as they pressed the release switch. "My AI is made using the human mind as a blueprint. Thousands of them at that. Still, looking at my situation, it wouldn't take Einstein to say that I'm in no position to fight back at this time. There are explosives around my neck which you control, and even if I had some ace up my sleeve my arms and legs aren't exactly within reach to follow up with anything else." she stated, following up with "Then again I guess Einstein may have had trouble wrapping his mind around this, even if he had disassembled "more advanced machines."

Her retort to the situation out of the way, what was visible of her inner workings made it hard to think of a more complex machine. It was like looking into a maze of conveyor belts, shelves, and robotic limbs attached to the ceilings and walls. A few of them were currently set to work, and the results were visible as a hole in the "floor" of ARES insides was welded shut, which clearly coincided with the sparking hole where Bison had punched her earlier doing the same. If she were to make an estimate of where the far wall was, it would be about 3 kilometers away. Though if she were to place her hand inside, she could touch it before she had placed her entire wrist inside, a ripple like that of water when a pebble was dropped into it forming where her first finger had dipped in. It was like ARES housed a rather large factory instead of any organs or component wiring.

"As I'd said before, the Accord weren't very interested in simply copying themselves. ARES units were often used as portable armories. Still assume you've dealt with superior machinery?" she coyly said to the guard, before turning her attention back to the lab tech. "I also noticed you took note that I knew of Monty Python earlier? I have honestly never heard of it. In the invention of ARES units such as myself, the Accord had covertly gathered data through what we called "SIN" which was a combination of what you may call the internet, and chips implanted in people's brains which acted as a sort of augmented reality system to heighten sensory acuity, receive and send information from individual to individual quickly and efficiently, and other things. Haven't heard of Monty Python myself, but I know of it because at least one of the people sampled in my creation had knowledge of it."

If the lab tech's guard were to continue digging around in ARES' inner workings, she would find that she was capable of shifting the view she had by simply moving her hand in a given direction, even though from the outside her arm didn't move an inch. It became very clear what the space filled with conveyor belts was used for, as off to the left were an assortment of armors, ammunition, and more than a few weapons of note.[footnote]The arms and armor she herself uses.[/footnote]

Clearing her throat, ARES finished with asking the guard,"... That all said, could you let the good doctor sate his curiosity? Even without an EM field I'm hardly in a position to retaliate. Your concern for their safety is all well and good, but given that I have no limbs with which to do anything it's actually making you look a bit too thorough." she grinned, having implied the guard was of lower intellect if she legitimately thought this was all necessary.

bluecrimson · Aug 17, 2016

Apologies for the small entrance post! It's been a while since I've done forum RPing. I do have the character sheets in the Other thread too, but I will be polishing them a bit as they are older than dirt.

Rising Dawn: Hangar

A few hours after the last ship arrived, a smaller transport arrived in the rather packed bay. The pilot was thankfully skilled enough to avoid a lot of the rather large crowd held in there for the moment, though after the small group of four leave the transport rather quickly.

The four of do seem rather confused at all the new faces onboard, but it's the winged blonde woman [http://i.imgur.com/hvQ5pgE.jpg] that breaks the ice among the group as they look around. "I know this area's usually crowded, though after that time in the Canadian Rockies it's a bit of a culture shock. Then again, Slindis, I'm sure you're used to this kind of crowding." She then let out a light laugh before stretching, as the transport had been one of the older and more cramped models, and she waited for the redheaded drow [http://i.imgur.com/VdiVfv0.jpg] to adjust her eyes to the brighter light level.

It didn't take all too long, thankfully, though said drow does seem a bit wary as she cautiously muses. [color=c200]"I know there are a lot of unfamiliar faces here, Alashi, though out of all of them there are some I expected to see that aren't here. Where's Teri, and where's Caim? I know I sent them letters that we'd be here soon, after all."[/color] The somewhat short drow woman also sets her hand on a rather antsy young green-haired elven girl [http://imgur.com/4h1QBiS.jpg] to try and calm her, though the attempts seem to be failing. [color=c200]"Melethia, we'll see the rest of the crew in a few minutes. I know you're dying to see them after your time with me in India, but I promise that they're not going to run off without you!"[/color]

The girl wasn't exactly looking to be patronized, however, and she brushed off the drow's hand as she grumpily replied. "Don't be feedin' me that bilgewater, mom! I told her to be here with Garm so I could hand them both the bracers I made Teri while I was gone. Did she not get the letter? Devon, did you see if she got the mail?" Said short girl was finally looking to a decently armored young woman around the same height of the winged woman [http://i.imgur.com/LvfbY6k.jpg].

The blonde with the closely-cropped hair then chuckled as she patted Melethia's shoulder, though she winced as said elf tightly gripped her hand in a slightly painful manner. [color=00c863]"Ow, Mel, easy on the hands, I need those to play my music! I know Teri and the others aren't here right now, but I'm sure as soon as we get out of here someone can tell us where she went. Or maybe someone in here knows? We could always check with Rugal as well, but it'd be better if you or Slin talked with him...[/color]"

Texas Joker 52 · Aug 18, 2016

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | The Rising Dawn | The Canteen
"[CENSORED FOR FOUL LANGUAGE]"
Farber | [color=5B9C64]Eddie the Dead[/color]

[hr]

When the Ghoulish Servant of Lady Luck picked up the young Ish boy bodily by the collar of his filthy tunic, Farber was suddenly all-too aware of just how much trouble he was in. After all, he usually only encounter two kinds of adults whenever they caught him doing something wrong: The generally kind folks who were willing to forgive him so long as whatever he did wasn't too bad, and the grown-ups who were perfectly happy punishing a street brat by beating them within an inch of their life.

With the typical strength of an 8 year old, Farber struggled against the bigger, stronger adult.

"Hey, lemme go! LET GO OF ME YOU ARSEHOLE!" he cried out, before calling out for help from anyone who could hear, saying, "SOMEONE HELP! THIS MANIAC IS KIDNAPPING ME!"

With a sign, the multiversal rocker slammed the kid on the wall with just enough force to feel it. He grabbed the Ish by the mouth and leered at him with a look of great dissatisfaction.

"[color=5B9C64]I kill children, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtqPlB-oC4w][/color]" Eddie growled, "[color=5B9C64]I love to see them die! I kill children...[/color]" he started pressuring the kid's jaw enough for it hurt, "[color=5B9C64]And make their mamas cry![/color]" He stopped applying the pressure, but kept his hand on the kids mouth. "[color=5B9C64]Don't tempt me. Scream again and I will rip your jaw off.[/color]" he let the mouth go. "[color=5B9C64]Don't make your situation worse than it is.[/color]"

Despite the pain, Farber glared at him, but there was the beginning spark of fear in his eyes. As the Canteen got further and further behind them, he was pulled up by the collar until both he and Eddie were face-to-face and could look one-another in the eye.

"[color=5B9C64]Lucky for you,[/color]" he said, "[color=5B9C64]I have decided to take a 'Hands on, Hands Off' approach with parenting the two of you.[/color]"

Farber frowned at that. What? Despite what Eddie said a moment ago, did that mean that he wasn't going to be beaten as punishment after all?

He didn't get a chance to even respond before his captor opened a nearby door, revealing a room that was in the middle of having the air sucked out of it through a nearby broken port-hole. The pull of it was strong enough to make Farber feel like he could be sucked through at any moment, with his hair, the ends of his scarf, and even his tail being drawn to the source of the current. If he was pulled through... All that would be left would be a long, terrifying fall, and then, SPLAT!

His captor walked in, closing the door behind them, and a distinct feeling of dread settled in Farber's belly.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands on,[/color]" Eddie told him, "[color=5B9C64]Hands off.[/color]"

And then he let Farber go. With a terrified, high-pitched scream, Farber was suddenly pulled towards the jagged glass and an inevitable, fatal fall, clutching at his scarf so that it wouldn't be pulled away from him.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands on![/color]" the Undead Demi-God said again, as he caught Farber halfway.

Staring at him with wide eyes, Farber's breath was quick and he could feel himself get light-headed.

"Don't... D-don't you--" he managed to gasp out before he was let go again.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands off![/color]" he repeated.

This time, it wasn't an incoherent scream, but instead of long string of every single swear word he knew in every combination he could think of that escaped the little urchin's mouth.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands on![/color]" Eddie said as he caught him, right before he reaches the window.

Farber clenched his teeth as he shook in abject terror, the cursed adult staring at him before looking out the window, then turned his gaze back at the young, disobedient boy. And let go one last time.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands off.[/color]"

This time, he wasn't caught before he reached the port-hole. This time, he was pulled through, shards of broken glass scraping across his back and his cheek, cutting through cloth and skin as he exited The Rising Dawn. He couldn't even scream as he looked down at the distant, expansive landscape below, his mouth gaping silently.

But before he could plummet, he felt Eddie's hands catch him and pull him back in, the broken glass making a few new scrapes against him in the process.

"[color=5B9C64]Hands on.[/color]" Eddie said, tucking Farber under one arm and striding out with him.

Once the door was closed behind them, he was set down on the floor of the ship's hall with a final, "[color=5B9C64]Hands off.[/color]"

Farber slid to the floor like he was boneless, staring at the tall figure of Eddie as he squat down next to him with wide, fearful eyes. Whatever spark of defiance might have been left in the look he gave, it was hard-to-see. Eddie's stare was serious, completely devoid of his usual cocky grin.

"[color=5B9C64]You will meet people in your life that you're better off staying well away of. Unfortunately for you, I am one of them.[/color]" Eddie told him with a sigh, "[color=5B9C64]Look, kid, I have no business with you. The only reason I even deign to do this is because I need to cover my bases while the two of you are young.[/color]"

He leveled a finger at Farber, saying, "[color=5B9C64]Ruby's the one I'm stuck with. You're nothing to me, as I'm sure I've drilled into your head by now.[/color]"

He emphasized this with a poke to the boy's forehead.

"[color=5B9C64]Now, I am not saying that you stay away from her. Kids needs friends, after all. If you're good to her and stay on my good side, I'll reward you with more than sweets. But if you cause me trouble, or put her in danger, we'll have a repeat of that,[/color]" Eddie the Dead explained as he jabbed a thumb at the ominous door they exited a moment before, "[color=5B9C64]And next time I'll adopt a 'Hands off' approach.[/color]"

With that, Eddie stood up and began to stride away with his characteristic swagger, adding, "[color=5B9C64]Or you might choose to stay away from her and save me the trouble of dealing with you. Your choice either way.[/color]"

Farber didn't say a word. He wasn't entirely sure he could if he wanted to, and he didn't. Really, he was lucky he hadn't peed himself in fright with the stunt Eddie pulled. But, if he said something, made a show of defiance? He wasn't sure there wouldn't be a repeat of that in the next minute or so, without the benefit of rough hands catching him at the last second. Not only that, but it would give the game away if he said something.

His earlier defiance seemed to flare up in his eyes again as he stared after the retreating form of Eddie, along with quite a bit of spite. Oh, Eddie was a dangerous one alright. That didn't mean Farber couldn't find a way to try and make his life hell a little more indirectly.

Standing up on shaky legs, he lifted a hand and formed a ball of smoke in his palm before tossing it to the ground. The resulting cloud of noxious smoke filled the hallway, albeit not enough to reach Eddie. Using it to hide him, he bolted away in the opposite direction.

"Oh, you're gonna get it, arseface." he murmured.

Made in collaboration with @Neuromancer!

bluerocker · Aug 18, 2016

[hr]

[color=9f2c68]"Angelus, full report on what happened down there. Spare no detail...Come here, you little-"[/color]
Kazuya then proceeded to grab one of his men before slowly choking him out with his remaining arm for the crime of snickering behind his back.
"I remember you ... you were with us, during the Bison assault. Did everyone else make it out? ... Or, did they get left behind like we were?"

Angelus turned to Annie first, a slow rumbling chuckle echoing from her gut, "Of all things, Annie, you only remember me from the battle with Bison? I suppose you are more acquainted with my mortal form, as it was the guise I took during our romp through Philemon's realm. You might recall a woman in red with long, blonde hair? Carried a short sword? No matter... Regarding your lack of a ride, myself and Caim split apart to help whom we could when the battle began to turn ill. I acted as a ferry for those who were close by, including some of the wounded. I'm sorry that we weren't able to help you, but know it was not of any malice on our parts. We simply did what we could. As for why my fool of human is not with me...."

The dragon paused, overhearing the transport and it's four riders stumble out and began to talk among themselves. Recognition crossed the dragon's features, as she knew all of those faces as previous comrades upon the Dawn. Alongside their faces, their arrival came with a number of questions, some of which were relevant to what she was about to speak. The dragon beckoned with one of the talons on her wing to them and began to speak once more, "I am not a dragon who likes to repeat herself, so I shall say this once to all of you. The initial parts of our mission were going well. We attacked the enemy groups as coordinated and managed to free all of the mind controlled citizen groups and evacuated them prior to the battle. However, trouble began underneath all of our noses. Slindis, I am sorry to inform you but... Regarding your daughter, she was grouped with Garm during the mission as is standard procedure, however, as I heard from Rugal - who heard from the wolf himself, after the two neutralized one of the threats, they were ambushed. Garm barely made it out alive, and our primary healer is now taken by the enemy forces. In a similar mode, when the fight with Bison was taking a turn in our direction, a third party swooped in while we were weakened, and saw fit to attack and divide all forces. Of those captured, I know Caim is among them. I know he is not dead, that much is clear - but when I reach into our pact bond, I sense nothing. It is as if I hit a steel wall when I attempt it."

Her head turned back towards Kazuya, a small trail of smoke beginning to emit from it, "So, if you do not understand why I might be a tiny bit cranky, allow me to reiterate. My partner and father to my little ones is captured alongside some of our other comrades, one of our best healers is now missing and we've a multitude of wounded to deal with - including this dragon" she gestured her great head towards the sleeping black dragon, "who so graciously helped us, a number of our group is still scattered on the ground, and yet you've the audacity to speak ill of my mood and the management of this mission; when YOU were the one who put yourself in the hospital bed. Or would prefer I tell our friends here what you've been doing lately with the prisoners? Hmn? I think not."

Avatar Adventures | The Rising Dawn | Confusing Halls
[color=77C7C6]Simon[/color] | [color=15650D]Ton Ton[/color] | Cadolbolg

Following with introducing Anjali to everything Dawn related, the Cutie Bruisers began to float their way down the hallways once more, Cadolbolg beginning to speak again, "You know, she seemed pretty nice! I wonder if she'll wanna hang out some more later after nap?"

Ton Ton gave a noncommittal noise of agreement as Cadolbolg continued to chatter about the recent turn of events; his thoughts turning inwards. Angelus had asked him to keep the smaller turtle dragon baby distracted in light of Caim being "unavailable". Now, Ton Ton would never say that he was the smartest of former stuffed animals, but something seemed... Off. As Cadolbolg chattered more, the Tonberry concentrated towards the link between pact partners, and then focused specifically upon the silent swordsman. It wasn't often that he had contacted Caim in this way (or alone for that matter), aside from minor checkups or quick little messages. More frequently, the little Tonberry would just speak to the man, usually in tow with Cadolbolg.

After feeling the sensation of hitting a brick wall, Ton Ton frowned, and allowed himself to come back to reality, his thoughts mulling further. To be honest, how often was he alone with the mute in a setting that wasn't a battle? Fighting was something the two had understood intimately - Ton Ton was born to fight, and war was something that Caim knew for most of his life. Just sitting and talking alone? Ton Ton wasn't quite sure if he could pinpoint exactly how frequently that was. If anything, the thought was a little imposing - what would they talk about? Fighting? No, it had to be something other than fighting... Cadolbolg? Angelus? Those movies the duo sometimes watched (post parental approval).... Caim and Angelus did screen those themselves, didn't they? And they always let the Cutie Bruisers sleep in their room, with special pillows; and Caim always let the duo ride on his shoulders (despite however heavy they were supposed to be); and he always made sure that the two ate properly at breakfast - citing whatever thing Angelus had dug up about nutrition next; and when the battle down below went under, what was it Cadolbolg had said?

"Mother AND Father said so, so we gotta do what they say!"
"Father's coming this way to help, so he can take care of them. He's Father, after all."
That's right... Caim made sure Ton Ton and Cadolbolg were out of harms way before he went off to do...Whatever it was he did...Whatever it was that made him missing.
[color=15650D]"Mr. Caim is missing because he made sure we got out."[/color]
Ton Ton paused at this little realization, a there was this sensation of a pit in his gut that made him feel very small and very bad. He had been doubting the mute swordsman all this time; and this exact feeling he was feeling... It was probably why Angelus had asked him to distract Cadolbolg. She wanted him to feel happy and safe till this matter was sorted with-

"Hey Ton Ton? Didn't you hear what I said?"
[color=15650D]"Huh?"[/color]
"I said - you ever see this guy before? I sure haven't."

At the inclination of the flying turtle dragon, Ton Ton saw that a dark-haired man dressed in a hoodie shakily wandering down the hall. He had bandages over his eyes, and seemed to be nervous of everything he encountered. Ton Ton gave a careful look to his pact partner, and directed Cadolbolg to fly slowly towards the new individual, the younger of the duo speaking up,

"Are you okay, Mister? You don't look so good."
[color=15650D]"Um... Are you hurt? Do you need some help?"[/color]

Sithmorack · Aug 18, 2016

[hr]

The Batter hadn't truly understood why the man had began talking to him. He didn't recognize him and they apparently weren't enemies. The man was of no consequence and he simply resumed his journey towards the weakened impurity. The Batter wasn't worried, the man may have had a gun, but that had never stopped him in the past. He couldn't quite make out the groups argument but he did recognize a certain snake... Girl... Thing? What had she called herself?

[color=514F50]"Lamia."[/color] The Batter commented as he stopped and stared for a second seemingly lost in thought. Before he could move on, the girl had slithered up to him and happily greeted him. [color=514F50]"I've been pla-"[/color] The Batter was cut off as the girl began asking more questions before she finally settled on.

[color=BA0025]"And why are you STILL dressed up as a baseball player?!!"[/color]

He tilted his head to the side with the same stoic expression as ever as he thought for a moment. He finally opened his mouth to reply. [color=514F50]"These are my clothes."[/color] He couldn't exactly tell her he was hiding his true form and if he ever reverted back he'd rip her apart limb from limb. He sat there for a few moments before continuing. [color=514F50]"Why are you here? I thought you held disdain for death?"[/color]
[hr]

[hr]

[color=848482]"Shit, shit, shit, gotta act cool."[/color] Agent thought when David had approached him. If there was anyone who would be able to see through Agent's acting, it would be David. He knew the Russian the best and although he may act dumb as a rock at times he was indeed more intelligent than he appeared.

"Ah, comrade!" Shadow greeted as he stood up. "I was with Elise when I saw the explosives incoming. I saw many of you carted off and followed." He said through his Russian butchering of the English language. "I follow them to this compound but when I try to free you all they catch me. They will [color=848482]regret[/color] letting me live."

Agent mentally scolded himself for the slip up but hopefully it would go unnoticed. "We must hurry comrade. They have taken Taytum. We must end them quickly. I suggest something with explosives!" Of course they didn't have explosives, but hopefully the idea would distract David from his mistake.[hr]

Avatar Adventures | The Rising Dawn | Confusing Halls
[color=77C7C6]Simon[/color] | [color=15650D]Ton Ton[/color] | Cadolbolg

[hr]
The pounding in Simon's head had never ceased. [color=77C7C6]"No no, that's not right."[/color] Simon muttered to himself as he tried to keep it together. Something about this place seemed off. He didn't feel like eyes everywhere were watching him and that death was around every corner. On the contrary he felt relatively safe at the moment. Though the confusing turns and twists of these halls lead him in circles more than once. [color=77C7C6]"I've been here before haven't I?"[/color] He muttered to himself as he rounded a corner.

It was still another five minutes of mindlessly wandering before he ran into something... Different. [color=77C7C6]"What the hell?"[/color] He questioned as he felt a few beads of sweat roll down his forehead. Two new monsters stood before him but they didn't attack. They were strange and almost cuddly looking creatures. No, he wouldn't let his guard down. He would never let his guard down and relax again. He felt his hands grasp his 9MM glock in its holster. [color=77C7C6]"That's not right. None of this feels real."[/color] He muttered to himself as he felt his heartbeat increase and his breathes become shorter.

"Are you okay, Mister? You don't look so good."

Was he good? He hadn't been even "OK" in a long time. Good was a stretch as he narrowed his eyes at the duo under his bandages. He let out a chuckle for a moment before muttering. [color=77C7C6]"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it."[/color] Where had that come from? Simon was pretty sure he hadn't heard it before. [color=77C7C6]"Don't think just act, it'll save you at least once I promise."[/color] He muttered under his breath.

[color=15650D]"Um... Are you hurt? Do you need some help?"[/color]

Simon then raised his pistol as he chuckled, then he laughed, and he kept laughing. He laughed so hard he began crying. He saw a rose fall in front of him before he pulled the trigger on his weapon.

What? That [color=ff033e]didn't[/color] happen?

Simon came to as he realized his weapon was still holstered. [color=77C7C6]"Please leave me alone."[/color] He barely whispered.

bluerocker · Aug 19, 2016

Diablo1099 said:
Dis Dude wrote some shit
[small]No seriously, he wrote quite a bit[/small]

[hr]

Avatar Adventures | The Airship: Rising Dawn | Canteen Storage
Rugal Bernstein | [color=eca222]Lucas "Luke" Cypress[/color]

[hr]

[color=eca222]"...Got it out of your system?"[/color]
"...Not really, but I don't want to break the other arm."

Luke rolled his eyes and moved away from the crates he was leaning against, bringing his hands to the arm in question before muttering, [color=eca222]"Don't move."[/color]
With a small glow from his hands, Rugal heard another sickening sounding crunch as his arm bones put themselves back in their proper places before his arm was good as new. The giant German flexed his hand gingerly and did a couple of practice swips in the air to test it's efficiency, and once he was satisfied, he murdered, "Guess you aren't entirely useless..."

Ugh, this routine again, as if he wasn't suffering enough. Luke leaned back against another crate and waved a hand dismissively, [color=eca222]"No more than you with a crippled arm. If paper work has to ask why, I can simply say you're within my frame of interests. It's not a complete lie, anyway."[/color]

Rugal, on the other hand, look distinctly unamused at Luke's faux nonchalance, and turned to leave, "Right, right...Now, if there is nothing else, I need to save your lover..."

Luke flinched at the unsaid barbs in Rugal's words. Funny, usually little passive aggressive things like that didn't hurt. Was he always this spiteful? The bartender couldn't quite recall, but he felt his anger begin to swell up again. After dealing with a multitude of stressors today, and his initial little outburst, everything seem to touch raw nerves. With a growl, he pushed himself off of the barrels and shouted back, [color=eca222]"You are NOT doing this to me. I know this routine, I've done it! You're trying to guilt trip me, so I'll step outside of my bonds. Given what happened last I did that, you should be thanking me for being a bit more rational about things. I get it already, you can go, but I can't. You don't need to-"[/color]

Lucifer paused, and mulled the words over in mouth again, [color=eca222]"You can go, but I cant..."[/color], and again, the phrase repeating in a manner almost akin to how one tastes wine. Something about that phrase suddenly made sense.

Rugal paused at this little display, turning back with an annoyed expression on his face, "...Are you done? Because like you said, I can go and dammed if I'm leaving her in the hands of that right-wing bast-"

And that's when inspiration struck, why everything suddenly seemed clear as a bell. The Devil rushed forward and grabbed Bernstein's shoulders and shook the German man, a manic grin on his face, [color=eca222]"No, you don't understand! YOU can go! It's brilliant!"[/color]
"...Is this a delayed reaction to my strike?"
[color=eca222]"No, nononono. Not that. I have an idea. When are you doing your raid on Armstrong? I already know several members of your crew need to lick their wounds and recover."[/color]
"As soon as possible."
[color=eca222]"Okay, here me out. I can propose a small contract...That is, I occasionally cut what I like to call "favor-based" deals. You'll probably lose a little bit of the brownie points you've earned with do-gooding for it, but I don't get your soul. Instead, it works like this. I help you, in what ways I can, and you owe me some favors. I'll use a trigger phrase when I want you to do one, and you have to do what I ask of you, no questions asked - barring the details of your assignments."[/color]

Silence overtook the room as the proposal slowly sunk in, before Rugal's eyes lit up, his face breaking into a huge smile, "...A deal with the devil, Of course!..."
[color=eca222]"THERE WE GO, HE GETS IT!"[/color]

Releasing Rugal from his hold, Lucifer began to pace around the room excitedly as he began mulling over the details of a proper contract. In the meantime, Rugal took a moment to calm himself as well, the relief that Lucifer could help (even if it was a technicality and only for a little bit,) finally sinking in. With a sigh, Rugal's hands rose to rub his face as all the anger from moments ago began to fade....only to be left with the sinking feeling of regret in it's stead. The other man had certainly worried too, and if his actions a moment ago were anything to go by, really did mean he felt just like Rugal did. In an attempt to make amends, Rugal spoke up again, "...Look-...about what I said, it's been a stressful day, I've had missiles fired at me-"

Lucifer simply shrugged at the apology, [color=eca222]"Tell me about it. I've had no less than two demigods appear on this plane who know damn who I am, our mutual interest was kidnapped despite my protests for her leaving, and a woman tried to wrangle me about my sex life. We've all had a bad day."[/color]

"...Our canteen is really that popular with demigods?..." Rugal shook his head to perish the thought, getting back to the business at hand, "Nevermind, so, what can you give me?"

Lucifer stood up straight at the question, his visage taking a more serious expression, almost akin to a general planning his next strike, [color=eca222]"Alright, how this'll work is that I'll put a brand on your body, where it goes is your decision, but it stays there until the contract is fulfilled, so make it an easy place to hide. Bottom of foot, scalp, or your rear end - if you're not expecting sex any time soon - are pretty decent."[/color]

Rugal blinked, appearing somewhat perplexed at the mention of sex (one could suppose it was on account of WHO was mentioning it and what relation they were to Rugal, but regardless), before quietly pointing to his head, "..What about the back of my head? Under my hair?"

[color=eca222]"[small]That was one of the places I mentioned...[/small] Don't give me that look! I'm a professional and I'm being fair listing the terms and conditions before you sign. Besides, aren't you married?"[/color]
"Alright, alright. So where do I sign?"
[color=eca222]"Hold on, I'm not done. Alright, so under your hair. So, once the contract is started, the brand will be the medium from which I can help you. I can siphon you a small percentage of my power; and by percentage - we're going to start fractionally. I could accidentally make your explode or mutate if I'm not careful... But, if you really need more, which I'm doubting, you can ask me. Which, by the way, is the second function of the brand - communications. Think of it as your rings, but it's directly to me."[/color]

"Right..."

[color=eca222]"Now that all of the exposition is out of the way,"[/color] The Devil snapped his fingers and a piece of parchment and a nibbed pen appeared, [color=eca222]"Look that over before signing."[/color]

I, Rugal Bernstein, do solemnly agree to the contract with Lucifer, Star of Morning, First of the Fallen, Grand Overlord of the Rings of Hell, (At this point, dear reader, we're going to skip ahead a long listing of titles and pseudonyms here), who will be referred in this document as the Owner of this Contract.

This agreement is as follows,

The Contract Owner shall give his aid [subcategory 11AB - temporary power] in the manner as uniformly decided by both parties, in the rescue of captured Rising Dawn members from Senator Armstrong. The aid will be granted at the agreed upon time [official commencement of Rescue mission], and shall end under the resolution of: [both parties and those rescued are returned to a secure location that is uniformly decided - Airship Rising Dawn]. As per standard procedure dictated by Infernal Order MXCIX, this contract shall be represented through the mark of a brand upon my body in a place of my choosing at the initiation of this contract. This brand acts as proof of the Contract Owner's aid and will disappear when my part of the contract has been fulfilled.

In exchange for services rendered by the Contract Owner, I acknowledge and accept an additional weight upon my soul, which will be accounted for upon my death and judgement of sins, as well as a granting of my services to the Contract Owner in the form of 6 tasks. These tasks will be created at the design of The Contract Owner whenever and wherever he so chooses, and I will follow them without question. Activation of these favors shall be initiated through the use of a Class 1c spoken phrase "I have a favor to ask of you" by the Contract Owner. Once the key phrase is spoken, I will be alerted by The Owner of this Contract through the means he so chooses, be it through the brand, physical speech, or a third party uniformly decided upon by both parties [Email contact through my PDA]. The Contract Owner may not expressly demand for any of the six aforementioned tasks to cause bodily injury or death upon myself. Once I have completed these 6 tasks, my part of the contract will be fulfilled.

By signing this, I confirm that I have reviewed this contract and agree to its terms,
Signature, _________

Rugal gave the contract a careful glance over, before cutting his finger, dipping the pen in, and signing the contract with a careful and timid stroke of the pen.

[color=eca222]"There we go. Yes, I know it looks intimidating, but it covers my rear whenever the auditors show up. I have a contract, we agreed to it, you get your favor. Now -"[/color] the bartender's form shifted, shimmering in a manner akin to a mirage in the midst of a desert, before he appeared at his "proper" height - matching Rugal's 6'6". Placing a hand on the King of Fighter's head, he continued, [color=eca222]"- this might feel a little funny."[/color]
"Go on, I've dealt with some pretty ba-"

It was not often that Rugal Bernstein would mistrust his own senses. Having the daylights knocked out of him? Standard issue for a fight, maybe even on account of a concussion; but never could he say that he ever forgot something. He could always look back upon each and every one of his fights and remember a lesson - how a knife flew before it entered his flesh, how a punch felt to hit the solar plexus - these were the building blocks of how Rugal learned to fight, how he declared himself the KING of Fighters. This however, would prove to be an exception to that rule. When he attempted to look back upon it, the memory would always have a small gap in between - one moment a hand was placed on his scalp, and the next: he was screaming, writhing on the floor from a wound he could not recall, a pain he could not properly file away under "stab", "punch", or "burn". It simply was. Yet, as soon as it had appeared, it was gone; faded like the last remnants of smoke over a dying ember. Silence, save for the sound of harsh breaths, filled the room, leaving the atmosphere dour and strained. Finally, after a few more deep breaths, Rugal was able to look up, his eyes wide, face slack, before gasping out, ".....WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

Lucifer on the other hand, would have kept his expression sagely and blank in moments like these, but instead elected to bend down to the prostrate fighter's level, his voice speaking in a somber and careful tone, [color=eca222]"Power, Mister Bernstein, it's a fickle thing. The more powerful you become, the more you become bound; be it through rules and regulations, or higher forces demanding that you cannot act as you wish. Even if every fiber of my being wanted to be elsewhere, doing something, anything - I cannot; and now you have seen firsthand as to why. If creatures like me, or those higher than me step in whenever we please - this world wouldn't last. 'Even the Gods are bound by rules'. It's what gives your kind a chance."[/color]
"..."

Ah, so many rules bent already. Were it not for Bernstein's previous knowledge of his role in this world, Lucifer would have been less kind about this ordeal. Contracts were never pleasant businesses, and humans never took well to the "There are things much bigger and stronger than you" spiel, no matter how delicately one tried to explain it. Still, no point in being a complete downer - there were things to be done, now that an extra oomph was given to do them. But first things first, try to pick up the prideful's mood, if only a little. Allowing his expression to turn ever so slightly at the corners, Lucifer continued past Bernstein's silence, [color=eca222]"You know, humans are really lucky in that regard - they can shape themselves however they see fit - so long as they see the ability to do so. So, chin up. It could always be worse. It could always be better too, but thinking about it that way tends to make one miserable. For example, one soul thought it'd be a good idea to get the Brand on his penis."[/color]
..."He who hath Increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow."
[color=eca222]"Ecclesiastes 1:18? Hey now, incidentally appropriate quotation of Bible Verse is my thing. I'm supposed to use that to tempt you or misconstrue your understanding of morality or whatever. Come on, up and at em."[/color]
After a few moments of Rugal getting up and stumbling like a newborn fawn, he ran a hand through his hair and murmured, "So it is done then?"
[color=eca222] Yup. No one will be able to see it...unless they shave your head. I wouldn't recommend doing that. You'll start getting my end of the bargain once your mission officially begins."[/color] Lucifer tapped his forehead before continuing, [color=eca222]"Don't be afraid to keep in touch. Oh, and think of something funny. The endorphins from your laughter will help with any leftover pain, if there is any."[/color]

In spite of the Devil's attempt to comfort him, Rugal looked a little faint, leaning against another of the crates as he murmered, "...I-...think I'll just rest a moment.."
[color=eca222]"...?"[/color]
"As I said, I-...I- just need to...catch my breath..."

[color=eca222]"Uh oh... Did I overdo it?"[/color] Lucifer gave the former King of Fighters a hard stare, or at least, it appeared that way to Rugal. In reality, the glare was simply a somatic component for the magic equivalent of an instantaneous medical chart. With a quick glance at the "chart", Lucifer dismissed the spell, [color=eca222]"Your vitals seem alright.. Mostly."[/color]
"...I'll be fine...It's...been a while since I felt something so...'Acute'..."
[color=eca222]"If it makes you feel better, it is not terribly often any human would, much less you."[/color]
"...Time to make Armstrong feel it..."
[color=eca222]"That's the spirit! It's part of the reason you did this damn contract in the first place, right?"[/color]

Simply answering Lucifer with a nod, Rugal pushed himself away from the crate and made his way out of the storage room, leaving ~~Lucifer~~ Luke to his devices... Well, since he was in the store room, it would make sense he grab a couple extra bottles for the bar. Now, which ones were running low again...?

Texas Joker 52 said:
You guys are only being quoted for this part.

Neuromancer said:
Apologies for the wall of text above.

[hr]

Avatar Adventures | The Airship: Rising Dawn | Canteen Bar
[color=eca222]Lucas "Luke" Cypress[/color]

[hr]

Now with a box containing several different bottles of liqueur in tow, Luke returned to the bar and handed off the box to his stand-in Imp to stick in the appropriate places. Turning back to his potential patrons, the Bartender gave a (well practiced) apologetic smile and spoke up, [color=eca222]"Sorry about that, folks. I had to take care of a little restocking."[/color]

Orinon · Aug 19, 2016

The Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: The Armoury
Icarus.
With Plan A Failing Icarus had an alternate Plan The last time he had attempted top use an old Password but sure the Dawn had some sort of Armory.
"Dmitiri?- Mister Computer, Guy? Are you there? I Umm I want to talk to you." He looked around The lower level was eerily silent Due to Him being the only one down here.Neither the Engineering Bay or the Armory (which was shut and magnetically sealed) Made great social areas and the heat of the engine room, oddly deterred most people. Icarus wasn't fond of the heat himself, he much preferred the cooler environments.
He pulled out his Digital Handheld and browsed the files he eventually found what he was looking for a schematic for an automated Production line. The design was one His Father had designed for the purpose of outfitting a massive army.
"Umm Dmitri Are you active at this Time It's Urgent I talk to you I may have a way of helping the lost crew members, This ship has to have a military functions still intact, but I don't know how to turn it on." Icarus Sighed, His father had told him back in the Day The Dawn had everything, including the capability to function as a mobile base and a massive flying warship. even if this ship had gone though major changes there was absolutely no way any Leader would remove such a valuable assets as the ability to function as a military base, With on board weaponry, a generous munition and weapons cache thick, armor plating and possibly a Command center-that enabled communication without delay, though that last function may not have been installed...

The Rising Dawn:Canteen, Bar
Selena
Now That Icarus had been taken Care of, Selena was less stressed and the Medical crew seemed to have things handled. as a result Selena Decoded to head to the Canteen and get something to eat and a drink. The imps didn't Take long to pour her some wine and bring her a Salad. Sipping a Dark red wine Selena had her hat off, reduced to a charm on her bracelet. Her long purple hair was down wearing a new royal blue dress, It had a somewhat low neckline and if ANYONE dared ruin this dress there would be hell to pay. Picking up a fork, she daintily picked at her Salad. Holding the wine glass in her off hand, She sipped slowly it was a lil too quiet for her own taste. Taking a moment to draw her wand she cantripped a ghostly Jazz band to appear in the corner playing Soft Music.

bluecrimson · Aug 20, 2016

The Rising Dawn: hangar
Slindis, Melethia, Devon, Alashi, Angelus

Although the group of four all seemed alarmed at the capture of the others, Slindis was the first to break the ice there as she set her hand on Angelus's flank. [color=c200]"Angelus, Kazuya, if you could explain exactly what's going on that would be fantastic. We've been out of the loop for a couple of years while we were out and about."[/color] She didn't seem to be standing down any either, although Melethia quickly ran to her regular area in the Armory.

Devon and Alashi weren't exactly happy with the turn of events either, and the taller blonde groaned while she put a hand on her partner's shoulder. "I'm headed to find the old man, so I'll... Wait, Devon, do you smell that?"

Said bard rubbed her chin, her face furrowing into a sharp frown as she hardly notices Annie zipping past her. [color=0c863]"Yeah, I know that smell. I'm finding out exactly where that stench is coming from, and worst comes to worst I'll call you. Maybe after that I can make some sushi for us tonight."[/color] She then lightly laughs to try and break thesour mood, but the attempt is wasted and before long the two split off.

The Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: The Armoury
Icarus, Melethia.

As Icarus started to get to work on his plans to build an armory he could see a rather young elf pulling out a small wand while she started to work with some rather exotic looking materials and what could be only described as the raw elements of nature in a long-untouched corner of the armory that had been absolutely riddled in rather vicious traps from ceiling to floor. "What in Khyber are you doing in my armory, boy? Get out of here before you hurt yourself, I am not in the mood to be cleaning up the remnants of your body."

The girl was a lot more surly than one her age really should be, and as she continued to grumble to herself this was a rather deep iciness to her mood that was hard to find even on the rising Dawn. A look at her work would show that she was highly skilled at her smithing, and the fact that she'd managed to bypass the myriad layers of traps without a scratch was definitely worth a notice as she started to refine the shape of the new throwing dagger. "Are you going to keep staring, or are you going to head to the training room and stay out of my way?"

The Rising Dawn:Canteen, Bar
Selena, Luke, Alashi

The fiery blonde woman entered the room, folding her wings behind her as she sat near the purple haired woman. She passed the Bartender a note on a bar napkin with the words

Code:

See me later.

written on it. Shortly after, she then ordered a glass of vodka as she turned to introduce herself to the brooding woman. "So, what brings you here? I know the drinks aren't the best, but it's hard to beat this place for unwinding. Name's Alashi, by the way."

Generic NPC 22 · Aug 20, 2016

Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Surgical Ward Observation Room
Divination and Doom
Ruby Babbage Lovelace | Doom | Rhodes Selmy

[hr]

Down the corridor to the end
Through the room where bodies are on the mend.
Be wary of the of the unwrapped sight
and head to the door on the furthest right.
Through the door marked "Observation Room"
There shall you find Dolores Selmy and doom.

For anyone who knew Ruby Babbage-Lovelace, they were more than likely familiar with her obsession regarding the color pink. The ribbons that tied up here hair were pink. The ribbon that she had wrapped around her arm was pink. The dress that she wore on a nearly daily basis was pink. So it might have been regarded as strange that the girl was clutching a small blue baby blanket that had seen better days. The pair of black flecked golden eyes stared intently at the fraying cotton as if the secrets of the universe were hidden in the object's stitching, which in a way they were.

Having already checked the main wing of the Medical Bay, Ruby had been perplexed to discover that neither Dolores/Lolita, Laeta or Saren were inside, leading the young girl in the pink dress to locate the trio of sisters using alternative measures. This had lead to her current location, standing in front of a door that read "Surgical Recovery Unit" and wondering if it had been a good idea to leave the Canteen in the first place. Having reread the augury produced by untangled skein, she was definitely sure that this was not a good idea but what other option did she have after having been chased out of the Rising Dawn's main facility for socialization.

Looking up from the tattered blue baby blanket, young Ruby Babbage-Lovelace looked at the open door that loomed before her, the familiar smells of antibacterial and antiseptic chemicals so characteristic of medical settings mingled through an unfamiliar scent of something metallic substance wafted through the open portal, pushing the girl back. To further add to the nine-year-old's dilemma, the unpleasant smells were accompanied by low, pain-filled moans. Despite the prediction's assurance that Ruby would make it through the Surgical Recovery Ward without issue, it did little to ease the fears that threatened to burst out of her chest. Taking a deep breath, the black and white haired girl stepped through the door and into the domain of Captain

Georgie Nayadokovov.

"(Blood blood everywhere and not a drop of blood to spare)" Ruby's mind chimed as her eyes scanned the darkened Surgical Recovery Ward. A constellation of dimly lit LEDs cut through the darkness of the room, each one a machine that was either monitoring a patient or pumping medication and blood into their veins. Even with the multitude of light sources, they were barely emitting enough light for the cautious young girl to see five feet in front of her, far enough away for her to realize that she wasn't the only one in the room. Out of the ten beds in the unit, nine had been filled with the patients of the Cold Handed Stitcher.

A soft and feminine moan caught Ruby's attention. Turning to her right, the child caught sight of a woman who head had been wrapped in a once ghostly white bandage which had become stained dark red. Looking at the patient in bed #1, the nine-year-old girl was selfishly relieved that it was not Dolly since even a girl with limited knowledge of human anatomy could tell that there was something wrong with the misshapen head hidden under mountains of gauze.

"[small]Corporal Lacy Ironage[/small]" The young black flecked, golden eyed girl read quietly before looking back up at the bed ridden corporal. Having sensed the wounded soldier's near return to consciousness, the machine next to the soldier beeped as it pumped a combination of painkillers and sedatives into Corporal Ironage's body and pumped something called Neuron Cream through a tube that was been snaked under the gauze. Despite her initial shock at the woman's state, there was an intense sense of curiosity that had overcome the pink dressed girl and forced her to creep forward towards the head of the wounded Corporal's bed. Closing in on her objective, the child wondered what the purpose of Neuron Cream was. Was it to enhance the flow of neuro-impulses in her brain? Was it to help heal some sort of traumatic head wound? Oh how she was going to wish that she'd just moved on to the observation room...

Ruby Babbage-Lovelace stretched out her right hand, infusing the ailing woman's bandages with a small amount of magical energies. Under the child magician's control, the bandage began to unravel and reveal what lay underneath. Biting her lips, the horrified little girl stifled a terror filled shriek that had been caused by an unfettered view of the interior of the corporal's skull. The left upper quarter of the Corporal's skull was ... missing... gone... and all that was left was an open window to her brain... which didn't look like it was doing so well. The clear tubes that had been snaked from the machine to the woman's head oozed a clear gelatinous substance. The Neuron Cream pooled into the large hole in the woman's grey matter, a hole that had the appearance of having been caused by a melon baller or a high speed fragment of shrapnel. This... this was the cost of war?

"(I'm not supposed to see that... I'm not supposed to see that... I'm not supposed to see that...)" Came the rapid fire thoughts as the emotionally scarred little child backed away from the woman's bed, tears thankfully obscuring the girl's vision. On the verge of fainting, Ruby never noticed the person that had crept up on her until they placed their icy cold hands on her shoulders and wheeled her around, obscuring her view of the Corporal.

"Easy there, kiddo. Just breathe." A calming voice said from ... not directly in front of her. Wiping the salty tears from her black flecked golden eyes, the traumatized nine year old looked up, expecting to see someone's face, anyone's face. What Ruby had not been expecting was to see a pair of mechanical arms floating in the air, devoid of anything between the shoulders. Unconsciously, the panicked little girl struggled against the phantasm's grip.

"I said easy there, kiddo. Just look past those tin can arms and you'll see me." A man's voice said in a slightly louder and firm voice, drawing the Ruby's eyes to its source, "And remember... breeeeeathe."

Reluctantly, Ruby followed the man's advice and took a deep and calming breath, pulling the chemically treated air in through her nose and holding it in her lungs for a moment before letting it out. Breathe in... breathe out... inhale... exhale. Feeling her body relax, the child magician looked past the arms as the voice had suggested and saw the man that had spoken to her, or rather what was left of him since he appeared to be missing his arms. Taking a closer look at the blonde soldier laying in the medical bed, she noted that where his arms had once been were instead thick bundles of cable that dropped down to the floor before snaking their to the arms that held the girl in place. For someone who'd been told that he'd had his arms amputated a couple hours ago, the easy smile that he wore on his face seemed out of place.

"There. See? That's better, isn't it?" Sargent William Sorenson asked, continuing to comfort the formerly panicked young girl who'd wandered into the Surgical Recovery Ward of all places. As the black and white haired girl continued to look at the wounded soldier, she noted that someone had scrawled a big black X in permanent marker on the man's forehead.

"Do I have something on my forehead?" Sargent Sorenson asked as he shifted his shoulders as if he was trying to move his hand up to his forehead to point out the little black mark. In front of him, the floating arms started to move and point to something roughly forehead level to where someone's head would have been.

"D'oh!" The grinning Sargent D'oh'd as he once again shift the muscles in his shoulder, causing the arm to face palm a face that was not there. Rolling his eyes, he noticed that he'd made her smile a bit, a vast improvement over the pee her pants expression that she'd been wearing after meeting Corporal Lacy Ironage, "I'm still getting used to this... situation. Can't say that I wouldn't be freaked out if I were you..."

"Wh... what happened?" Ruby asked, having found her voice once again, before flashing an embarrassed look of her own. The question was rather impolite and personal to be asking someone she'd just met.

"Oh the usual... the sky fell on me...," Pausing when he noticed the look of disbelief on his young visitor's vace, "No... seriously. The sky fell on me... At least, that's what it sounded like." The Sargent repeated his childproofed answer. Another to glance at his audience and notice that rather serious expression from Ruby, "Well fine. Since you're not going to buy that explanation, I was down in Denver helping those Big Wig Heroes of ours... when all of a sudden I find myself flying through the air with the greatest of ease. It literally felt like someone turned the world upside down and I'm falling... upwards towards the sky but it still feels like falling. I black out and the next thing I know... tada... I'm laying here in this bed. Thankfully, that Captain Georgie's a pretty good surgeon... I mean, he's no cleric... buuut I think he did just fine."

The pink dressed little nine-year-old glared at the Sargent in a manner that suggested that he'd just grown an extra arm out of his forehead. He'd lost both his arms and yet he seemed rather overjoyed for a man who would be using a pair of mechanical approximations of arms for the rest of his life. He'd be looked at as a freak... or worse someone to be pitied... like the way the nine-year-old girl was looking at him at that very moment.

"Oh no. Don't you give me that look, kiddo. I know that look and you can save it for someone else, like the Corporal over there... well... scratch that... I don't think she'd be the type of person that would enjoy that either. The way I see it, kiddo, I lost my arms doing something that I think is important. The way I think the Corporal sees it... she was doing something important too and if you wanna give me those puppy dog eyes that say 'my life sucks,' well... don't." The Sargent said amiably as he settled back into his bed, the cybernetic arms relaxing as he did.

The child named Ruby Babbage-Lovelace flinched at both the lecture she'd received and at the man's unwavering faith that everything would turn out okay. Wringing her hands, the tiny fortune teller felt the comforting sensation of cotton still in her hands. Glancing at the blue fabric, the girl pulled a single thread and concentrated.

Hear of the coming decades that are to come
For the smiling Sargent William Sorenson.
He'll never let his wounds slow him down
Nor allow that himself a slight frown
Having lived a life filled with such grace
He dies with only one regret that love did lace.

"S...sorry." Ruby whispered as she looked back to the soldier that had fallen asleep. Pausing for the briefest of moments, the black and white haired girl glanced at the various doors, unsure of where to go next.

"The observation room," Sargent Wilson said, not opening his eyes, "If you're looking for the loot (Lieutenant), she's probably with the Captain now... and before you ask how I knew, there were a couple of girls that looked like the Lieutenant walking through here. I figured you were with them."

The girl giggled softly at the wounded Sargent who had lost his arms but not his smile. Ruby could see the reason why Sargent William Sorenson would be back on his feet in no time. Wordlessly, Ruby slipped out of the Surgical Recovery suite and entered the Observation room where she was promptly ambushed by a pair of arms she'd not felt in some time.

"My, my. If it isn't the little anisa[footnote]Little Lady[/footnote] herself," Miss Rhodes Selmy cooed. "Is this ship truly the place for a young girl to be?"

The ribbon wrapped girl in pink would have answered were it not for the noises that were being filtered in from the surgical suite on the other side of the viewing window.

"A little deeper, c'mon... a little more... AH! AHHH! AHH THAT'S IT!" Laeta's voice screamed in an enthusiastically disturbing manner before it was cut off by a noise cancellation device. The only comparison that the nine-year-old child had in comparison was the squeal of intense joy ... which did not match the bloody and gory scene on the other side of the window.

"Little Ruby," Miss Rhodes Selmy said, her eyes had taken a less severe tone and a smile graced her red lips. "Why are you here? Where is your mama and your papa?"

Again, Ruby was interrupted by the sounds of the surgical ward as the Doctor activated the intercom to inform them that the surgery would be over soon, Laeta's enthusiasm could be heard in the background.

"Gaze upon this tragedy anisa, this is what happens to those in war. Do not become used to this sight though you will see it many more times." Rhodes kissed Ruby on the forehead,

"One day, anisa, you will grow up to be a strong and beautiful lady like Lolita, so remember to spread compassion wherever you go. Remember that all people are the daughters of Allah, so even in death they must be treated with respect. War should be clean and decisive, as Allah has pre-ordained or else war should not be fought."

Wrapped up in Miss Selmy's arms, the child could only nod while her young mind attempted to decypher the meaning of the wisdom that the woman who held her had imparted upon her. The rapturous nature of the woman's words intermingled with those of Sargent Wilson.

"(Remember but don't pity those who suffer in war. Treat everyone with respect and compassion for all are equals in the eyes of the Gods.)" The thought came to Ruby Babbage-Lovelace as she gazed through the window, her eyes unwavering as they settled on the body of Dolly, "(Dolly was doing what she wanted though... wasn't she? Is it still a tragedy? Does that mean that if I'm going to be like Dolly, that I should try to keep everyone from getting hurt?"

The thought was... unsettling. Was Ruby going to turn out the same way as Dolores Selmy, spread out on a table with her insides exposed to the world? Was there going to be someone like Laeta there for Ruby? Did she even want that? As the cradled child opened her mouth to speak, she was once again interrupted, this time by the entrance of someone new.

"Does the Rising Dawn allow all of it's prisoners to wander so freely?" Miss Rhodes Selmy asked, a scowl clearly audible in her voice. Squirming in her "captor's" arms, the pink dressed girl caught a glimpse of the person who had invaded the obervation room.

[color=004d]"D-d-d-d-d-d-doom d-d-doesn't-...H-h-h-he was brought-...uhhhhhhhh!....[sub]ohsweetmercifulcurlymustashes[/sub]..."[/color] The masked man stammered... did he say that his name was doom? The girl laughed a laugh that was more than likely out of place given the situation but she had no other way of expressing her understanding of what the prediction meant when is said that Ruby would find Dolly and doom in the observation room. [color=004d]"...uhhh...Ma'am-...Boss-...Lady-...Guy? (Rhodes)....your fly is open...Uh, Doom meant down-...Ahhh, No, no...Open...Or-.....D'ooooh!" >.<;[/color]

There was a slight lull in the conversation that was more than filled by the sudden odor of ammonia.

*SLAP!*

[color=004d]"WAAAAAAAH!!?!"[/color] The simpleton cried in response to a someone beating on the man, an action that was clearly counter to what Miss Rhodes had said not 30 seconds earlier.

"Gah, filthy damn hobo! The hell is the matter with you? Relieving yourself in front of women like that?! Get your ass back to your bed before you have another reason to need patching up!" The guard stated as he roughly pulled Mister Doom off of the floor, "Sorry about that, git pretended to be sick to that healer chick. But if he's healthy enough to piss himself, I think he can go back to his cell. Carry on!"

"I want to speak to this prisoner," Miss Rhodes saidas one of her guards, her Angels, led the G-Corp soldier out of the observation room. "As simple as he may be, a prisoner must be treated with respect. They may have lost, but that does not make them less human."

"Is that what a man should say to a beautiful woman? If I'm comfortable flaunting what I have, try not to aggravate me, because I am more than comfortable humiliating you with or without my clothing." She scowled, "I am Major Rhodes Selmy, you may call me Mustafia if you feel brave. I have questions for you. If you know them, you will answer. You are of the same people that have hurt my daughter, yes? Then tell me who they are, what they are trying to do, and where they are."

As Mister Doom considered how best to answer the question, Ruby wondered if it was her turn to speak. As adults often do, it seemed that those in the observation room had forgotten the existence of Ruby Babbage-Lovelace. After waiting a few heartbeats, the girl with the blue blanket once again pulled a thread from the tattered fabric in her hands.

There once was a fool with a mask
Who was given an impossible task.
He moaned and he groaned
about the fact he'd been disowned
By the very people about whom he'd been asked.

Glaring at the prediction, the child being craddled by Rhodes Selmy could make no sense of what she'd read. Was he going to tell them the truth? Was he going to be make the impossible choice of whether or not to betray his friends? Was the question Miss Rhodes asked him impossible to answer because he'd been a captive aboard the Rising Dawn for too long? Did he...

For the fourth time since Miss Rhodes had entered the observation room to check on her daughter, the door slid open. Looking down past her dangling feet, the nine-year-old girl could only make out a black pair of boots with crimson laces past the hanging hem of her skit. Pushing the skirt up between her legs, Ruby waved at the newcomer.

"Hi Miss Rory!" Ruby cheerfully greeted Emloy's Apostle.

Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Medical Bay
Observation Room Rendezvous
Rory Mercury | Naamah

[hr]

Listening to Naamah's story, the Youthful Looking Demi-Goddess could not help but feel a tinge of envy. As she'd accepted a life in the service of Emloy at a young age, she'd never had the opportunity to have a child or a family. While she'd never regretted her decision, she could not help but connect the loss of her family when she was merely thirteen year old with her desire to become her world's Goddess of Love. Having been unable to truly connect with anyone for most of her long life, it was fitting that Rory Mercury wanted to connect with everyone after her ascension.

Naamah's small frame was breathing more steadily now after she'd fallen asleep. Yawning ever so slightly, the Raven Haired Oracle was content to settle down for a brief nap. Between a desire to keep an eye on her companion and a need for the Winter Wolf to finish his own rest, Rory was fine with waiting for taking a brief moment for herself while those aboard the Airship planned their rescue mission. As she closed her eyes, the scarlet lipped loli heard a peculiar set of foot steps echoing past the doorway to the Medical Bay, peculiar in that they suggested that either the person walking was extremely short or they were a child. Opening her crimson eyes, Emloy's Disciple caught a flash of pink fabric... which was also a peculiar sight considering it was absent one overly large and overly muscled Demi-God named Eddie.

"Why is she by herself?" Rory muttered quietly as she used the haft of her halberd to gently help ease herself off of the ground so as not to wake her slumbering passender. The last time she'd seen Ruby Babbage-Lovelace, the young girl had been placed under Eddie's supervision... which surprised Rory that she was surprised to see Ruby walking by herself. Walking slowly towards the corridor, so as not to wake the still sleeping Naamah, the Halberd wielding Berserker looked to her left and followed the sound of Ruby's footstep.

Unlike Ruby had, Rory made no effort to address the warriors slumbering in the Surgical Recovery Ward. She could tell that they were in state of recovery and that they would not need her services that day. Glancing about the dark room for signs of her quarry, the Demi-Goddess spotted a door sliding shut, revealing a sign that said Observation Room, the very room that Rory had just left.

"She certainly is the popular one aboard this ship," The Former Love Goddess quipped as she pushed on the keypad to open the door and stopped in surprise. There in the middle of the observation room was Ruby, being held by a woman that looked remarkably similar to Lieutenant Dolores Selmy and the Iron Masked prisoner that had been shot by the madman Kazuya. Two sentries stood to either side of the Priestess, who's grip tightened around her Halberd in preparation for a fight.

"Hi Miss Rory!" The Child that Rory Mercury had been tracking said rather loudly, her right hand waving back and forth with an enthusiasm that matched her smile.

"Ruby, why are you here and who are these people with you?" Rory asked as she leaned on her weapon, her body relaxing. Eying the two guards on either side of her, the black haired Priestess saw that they had not made a move to attack her or the her pale young companion.

"Well this is Miss Rhodes, Dolly's mom, and she's here to check on Dolly of course and she was in the middle of asking Mister Doom where the people that did this to Dolly were... hey who's that you're holding?" The nine-year-old child asked before adding, "She looks like she could be your daughter!"

"Unfortunately, she's not," The Dark Haired Demi-Goddess said in a tone that was just a hair shy of snapping, "She's actually much older than I am."

"REALLY?"

"Yes. Now... if you don't mind, I need to talk to Miss Rhodes if you don't mind." Rory Mercury said before turning her attention to the woman who was holding Ruby, "I assume that you are looking for the people who are responsible for the wounds your daughter has suffered, the very same people who have taken a number of this ship's crew members as prisoners? If your plans involve interrogating Doom, I should forewarn you that any information that he provides might be stale. He has been a prisoner aboard this ship for some time now and if our enemy is smart, they will have moved by now."

With that warning out in the open for all to hear, Rory glanced over at Doom, a smile on her face that challenged him to be useful.

NotYetForsaken · Aug 21, 2016

Cocoon
Location: Operation Observation Room | Rising Dawn
When I had the strength, I lacked the wisdom to use it. When I finally achieved wisdom, I lacked the strength to benefit from it.

Nameless Child

My name is Dolores. It means to suffer. It's a terrible name for a girl. My father gave me that name, I think. He used to say I would understand when I was older. I am older now. My name is a good excuse I suppose, for all the things that has happened to me. My name is Suffering. My life is pain. My body is broken. Such is the way that I was born, I think. My name is Dolly, it means that I am a plaything. A toy without a will. A body to be abused. My name is Lolita. It means I'm innocent and kind. It means that I am an easy target. It means that I suffer.

My name is Dolores Selmy. As far as I know, it doesn't mean anything. To suffer, to live, to hurt, to be hurt. I don't think I care anymore.

I had a name once, one that I was given before all this. A name that was born out of an infinite blue so deep that it was darker than black. I can't remember it anymore, that name, that purpose. The reason I was born into this world. This idea, this soul, this... abomination created by human eyes has become what I am. I have become this girl, Dolores Selmy. I have become her in her happiness and her hunger. I have become her in her aching heart and the heavy weight of her melancholy. I have become her in both her anger and forgiveness. I have become what others have willed me to become. Dolores Selmy is a kind and hardworking girl. I am a kind and hardworking girl, surrounded by friends and family. Caring hearts and bountiful souls that reach out and touch me gently, encouraging me to continue. They fill me with... you want me to say [Determination] don't you? It's not though. I can't really say what it is.

Let me cue you in on something that I have remembered after teetering at the brink of death. I want you to remember that Dolores Selmy doesn't exist. She is, I am, a construct of the ideas and hopes that you have written upon me. I was once a soul roaming free in the infinite blue - a realm of freedom. Now, bound by your desires and expectations I have become Dolores Selmy.

I had a true name once. A long time ago. Before I became lost in this [Eternal Labyrinth] you call a world. This... dollhouse. Remember me. Please. I am here grasping at my own reality, hoping to stay afloat in this sea built by your [Observing Eyes].

---

Dolores Selmy

I couldn't move my body, but I could open my eyes now. My own heartbeat echoed in my ears, so loud that it seemed to shake my entire body with each beat. Through the window I could see figures... several actually. I could see mom, Ruby, Rory, Naamah. I saw Doom and mom's angels. I could hear Laeta and Saren, though I could not see them. I could feel Captain Nayadokovov's hands working inside me. I knew things that I had no right to know, the names of people I have never met before, the voices of friends I could not remember meeting before. Despite that, I knew them, not in my mind, but in my heart.

"I am not D.E.A.," mom said and she motioned to her Angels. The six of them - six? There were always eight angels in the stories... though I never got to see them in person. I counted them again, six women in white ceramic armor. Where was the thrones? The eudaimone?[footnote]attic greek: lit. "blessed pair"[/footnote] None of the angels here wore that golden band around their neck. "I am with the United States Air Force. My job is to oversee the construction of the Soul of Tomorrow. I am currently not on duty." Mom paused as he cast a eye toward me. I tried to smile, but I couldn't find the strength to. "I would say that it would be correct if I identified with the Silver Moon Confessors at the moment. We are mujahideen, in your language terrorists, in ours those who struggle."[footnote]Note: Major Rhodes is a Muslim by faith, but not Arab in ethnicity. She was born and grew up in Jerusalem.[/footnote]

There she goes again. Always talking about perseverance and endurance. Mom never seems to understand that normal people don't rise from the dead three days after they die like the prophet. Get up, get up, she would always say. Tears shed solve nothing. Put your fury to fire to fuel your progress. Persevere and endure, anisa. Linguam Perpetuam... what little use it was. To be able to know all languages spoken by all humankind, and then more... it ought to have been useful. Yet, though I knew the meaning of the words, the very soul of spoken music eluded me. The warmth of love built within those words spoken mother to daughter and father to son was absent. Words had meaning to me, but they could not convey to me the history, the culture, the very heart of the people that spoke it.

That's why I always envied those without the gift. I always envied those who... struggled.

Love was born out of struggle... closeness out of tragedy... and generosity out of hardship. Suddenly I could feel my chest tighten. I felt... as if I had finally understood something. But I couldn't understand it at all. I just knew, suddenly my heart was exploding.

"We can only enjoy the times that are good because there are times that are bad."

My name is Dolores... but does it mean to suffer?

"Then to you," mom addressed Rory. "What can you tell me about the nature of their organization? You Rising Dawn have been pursuing them for a while, yes?"

Postmodern Mysticism
Location: Canteen | Rising Dawn
Wishes upon wishes.

Tania la Fey

Titania idly rubbed Miki's stomach. Pisa sat nearby playing with her hair. She had reported back soon after Ruby had returned from her little escapade. Shortly after she had left. The idea of being a mother never thrilled Titania, she was busy enough without another life to have to worry about. Ruby could do whatever she wanted as far as Titania was concerned.

As soon as Luke came back to the bar Titania looked up. Deborah had left, having no idea where she had gone, and the two fairies being rather lackluster conversation partners, she decided to speak up to the gold-haired bartender instead.

"You have a bad day too Luke?" she almost wanted to flub his name intentionally just to put him on edge, but that seemed a little too cruel for the situation. Despite lacking her book, her eyes were still privy to more information than most would. A devil hiding in plain sight was effective, but was it was a rather weak strategy when you knew what to look for wasn't it?

She was an observer after all. "Tell me about it while you make a Death in the Afternoon for the both of us. Come on, drink with Major la Fey." She cracked a gently sarcastic smile while flashing Luke her badge. We both have our dark depths at the very least.

[HEADING=2]"Had a bad day?"[/HEADING]

Silence · Aug 21, 2016

Groaning loudly, the black dragon stirred awake. This was a place of constant turmoil, not fit for longer resting. And she was healing, shifting, her wounds closing slowly, but visibly. Diana opened her eye, dazily looking across the room, seeing Angelus and smaller people. Then, she shrunk herself, letting out some more pained noises. While she could not grow smaller after having sustained heavy injuries in her dragon-form, to heal completely, Diana needed to stay in her default appearance, and she knew it.

If someone was looking on, at first, the black dragon just seemed to shrink until it was small, and human-sized. Then it shifted again, revealing the form of a beautiful blonde woman. But it was also like people close to her could feel some of the physical pain she was feeling, herself.
At first, Diana just la on the ground, apparently wearing some kind of full body suit, only leaving the head free. She still seemed to be half-unconscious as her clothing shifted at last, as well. Her pants stayed close to the original, as they started to look like tight black leather pants. The outfit on her upper body changed to a black, sleeveless top. The material on her feet changed into shoes, for reasons later shown high heeled leather boots.

In this comparatively bland, though still figure-accentuating outfit Diana groaned, and coughed, again, then put her hands on the ground and pushed herself on her feet. Her long blonde hair fell loosely across her shoulders as she blinked and looked across the room again, towering above most humans due to her 5 inch heels. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce whoever she was looking at, having an unnatural quality to them. Still, she was obviously light-headed, as she nearly stumbled, walking closer to the current conversation, bringing her depressed mood with her.

"How the fuck can you not know of a military array of missiles about to hit a city?
You can't hide that many missiles. Not if someone does actual scouting beforehand." she chimed into whatever was said at the moment. Then she coughed a bit of blood.

[hr]

Avatar Adventures | Undisclosed Location | Cell
Nightfall
Mio | [color=0E59E4]Teri[/color] | Bruiser

"[sub]...it's just-...Karma...catching up...thought there-...would be more flames and-...stuff down here...[/sub]" the Bruiser stated while sitting up, finally. "[sub]...I've been-...in this place-...since Bison...asked me...to kill his-...political rival-....I-...don't know...how long ago...that was-...tried it...can't do so now-....my arm...[/sub]" he explained further.

"You think you are in hell?" Mio asked, raising an eyebrow. "Just because you were beaten up and tortured a bit?
Hell, they didn't even cut off any parts of you!" She knelt down, to search around in Bruiser's clothes, carefully avoiding private parts, looking for any kind of tool Bruiser might have on him, even if it was a hairpin. "And you still have another arm, you definitely can use that for something. If you rather feel like lazily resting, at least answer me some questions: When are they going to feed us? Do they have an order in which they interrogate us? Is there any guard you find sympathetic? Maybe there is someone smuggling smokes and such? Do we stay in our own cells the whole time or is there time to socialize, as they call it?"

She turned to Teri. "So ... do you think you can help a bit? I know that it might hurt, but can you patch up this guy a bit? And then ... there are people in the other cells, but I can't really see them. Can you describe them to me? Maybe they can do something useful, as well."

Texas Joker 52 · Aug 22, 2016

[hr]

The Escapist Avatar Adventures | The Rising Dawn | Ship's Library
"Sloth's gonna teach you the pecking order. It goes..."
Sloth | Envy | Nina and Phillip

[hr]

Despite Nina's good intentions, Sloth couldn't help but feel like it was largely a pointless waste of time to defend him to Pride. After all, it was her nature to simply ignore what she considered to be 'inconvenient evidence' that worked against whatever conclusion she had come to herself. He was about to say as much when Nina brought up another question.

"So... if you don't mind me asking, what's the deal with mortals and, not mortals. Now I realize that I probably smell a bit, sorry, I didn't shower today. Kidnapping, missiles, blackmail; it's been a long morning and frankly I wasn't really prepared. But really you're acting like I got some sort of cooties."

Frowning, he turned to her and glanced over at Envy, who was busy keeping her distance behind Nina. In all honesty, he was expecting a question like that at some point, from at least one of the mortals. After all, no one liked to be looked down upon. With a sigh, he shrugged.

"Well, we aren't acting like you have cooties, so much as..." he trailed off, wondering just how to explain it.

Envy, however, followed his train of thought, and true to her nature, decided to word it as bluntly as possible.

~Mortals are beneath us. They have short life-spans, most mortal races don't have any real power to speak of, and their impact on the world they live individually is negligible. Ultimately, Mortals amount to very little in the grand scheme of things, and it's pointless to treat you otherwise.~ she explained with a surprisingly level tone to her mental-voice, before she cringed back in the realization that she had just drawn Nina's attention to her.

Sloth merely groaned and nodded.

"Well, that's one way to put it I suppose. There's always exceptions to those rules, but mortals like that are few and far between. Not only that, but we--The Vices--weren't born, like you or any other human. We simply were, not long after the beginning of creation. And we always will be, until the eventual end of all existence." he told her, "So, we aren't human. At the same time, you could say that we're fundamentally human, because what makes up our nature, our desires and personality traits, are what goes into making mortals more than just mindless automatons without any real life to speak of."

He shrugged again before turning to the exit portal and stepping out. Envy trailed behind Nina, obviously uncomfortable, before exiting a few moments after. And it was the moment Nina stepped out that the effects of trans-dimensional travel finally took it's toll on her. She flopped into a familiar-looking chair nearby, and was looking a little more green.

"Haha, thought you could get the jump on me portal, well... you didn't. *Erp*! Mmmm, what's with you and libraries Sloth? Don't tell me your portals only work in li- *Erp* -braries. Where's some ginger when you need it?"

He looked down at her with a glint of amusement in his sleepy eyes.

"No, I just like them. I can make portals to anywhere I want, so long as it's from one dimension to our own personal realm. I can't simply teleport to different points in the same dimension without using our realm as a kind of sling-shot, and I can't go straight from one dimension to another. Would be awfully convenient if I could, though." he said with a soft chuckle.

Orinon · Aug 22, 2016

The Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: The Armoury
Icarus, Melethia.
Icarus Had managed to get inside learning the doors had been opened by... Someone.
"What in Khyber are you doing in my armory, boy? Get out of here before you hurt yourself, I am not in the mood to be cleaning up the remnants of your body."
Icarus looked over to see a young elven girl She was somewhat familiar, He may have seen her before but he never learned her name. Whoever she was She was glaring at him shooting daggers with her Eyes, Icarus could tell he ought to be cautious in case he provoked her to throw actual Daggers.
Unfortunately his Piercing Violet eyes lingered a little too long possibly annoying her "Are you going to keep staring, or are you going to head to the training room and stay out of my way?"
Icarus sighed and took a deep breath, his eyes darted around the room noting all the traps then moved quickly not triggering a single trap He Managed to cross the room With him being much closer it became clear the difference in height With Icarus towering over the young elf.
"Trust me I would be in the training room, but The doctors Said I'm not allowed any strenuous activity until my wings are healed,' He stated his black wings were folded, It hurt to open them fully. "Some of the crew were captured, Including some of my friends But- I have no clue where they're being held... I thought if I came down here I could do something useful." He trailed off His hands had clenched into fists, he was clearly frustrated.

The Rising Dawn:Canteen, Bar
Selena, Luke, Alashi
Selena had downed two wine glasses and finished her Salad when a blonde women entered and approached her
"So, what brings you here? I know the drinks aren't the best, but it's hard to beat this place for unwinding. Name's Alashi, by the way." Selena turned to Face the Newcomer "I'm Selena, My friends would probably call me something cute if I had any friends" Selena Admitted continuing to sip her wine.
"Normally there'd be alot more people here, Kinda like the quiet, it seems nothing stays still for long around here." The Witch chuckled lightly it was clear she was mildly intoxicated. "You seem to be new, or at Least I don't remember seeing you here before, But I tend to keep to myself"

Generic NPC 22 · Aug 23, 2016

Neuromancer said:
Written in conjunction with this fine example of Greek Technology.

Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | Applied Sciences Laboratory
Won't someone please look at my logs?
No One

[hr]

Deep within the bowels of the Airship Rising Dawn, an old and rarely used laboratory sat idle. In its heyday, the room was used to analyse materials and technology recovered from the field by the ship's crew members and also generate new technology for their use. However, as the use of magic among the Heroes increased, the usefulness of the research facility decreased until finally it was deemed more cost efficient to mothball the lab and reassign the personnel to other departments.

Despite the fact that the Applied Sciences Lab had been inactive for some time, it did not mean that all the machines had been shut down. Take for instance the Anomalous Particles Detection Suite, a rather large machine that was installed on the far left wall of the room. It had been hypothesized that the sensor could be used as a means to detect ultra high technology usually found on both alien spacecraft as well as inside the evil layers of evil scientists. Ultimately, it was deemed more cost efficient to check the news for explosions as a means of detecting nefarious plots. Ultimately the machine was thought to have been deactived... but on this, it beeped.

Anomalous Particles Detection Suite Log said:

Code:

>08:31 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:32 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:33 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:34 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:35 Scanning... Anomaly detected (2).
>>>Increase of Chronotons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Canteen.
>>>Increase of Gravitons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Canteen.
>08:36 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:37 Scanning... Scanning... Anomaly detected (2).
>>>Increase of Chronotons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Forge.
>>>Increase of Gravitons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Forge.
>08:38 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:39 Scanning... Anomaly detected (2).
>>>Increase of Chronotons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Internal Corridor.
>>>Increase of Gravitons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Airship Rising Dawn - Internal Corridor.
>08:40 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:41 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:42 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:43 Scanning... Anomaly detected (2).
>>>Increase of Chronotons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Unmapped Location.
>>>Increase of Gravitons detected... location verified...
>>>Location:  Unmapped Location.
>08:44 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:45 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:46 Scanning... no additional anomalies detected.
>08:47 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:48 Scanning... no anomalies detected.
>08:49 Scanning... no anomalies detected.

[hr]

Avatar Adventures | Airship Rising Dawn | The Canteen - 08:35
Future Arc Setup - Take 1
Scarlet | Alashi | Selena

[hr]

The Canteen was, at one time, the finest dining establishment aboard the Rising Dawn in that it used to be the only dining establishment aboard the Rising Dawn. While still not the best place to dine aboard the ship, that distinction having been taken over by an old Japanese man that sat in front of a coal grill making Yakitori all day, it had become known as the place to go if you wanted to get shit faced in only a couple of glasses. As was typical of most nights after a mission, many of the crew members had assembled for the post mission ritual of lifting up a glass to the fallen, boasting about that day's heroics and braggadocio regarding who was going to score the most kills during the impending rescue mission.

While Luke Cypress, the head bartender of the establishment, was unloading the box of wines and liquors for the thirsty crew of the Airship, the imps had continued with the role of mixing and serving drinks. Whether it was due to that day's events or the fact that the next day would presumably bring another mission, the crew seemed in particular need of drinks... lots of drink, which was causing quite the slowdown. Due to the amount of time that it was taking for drinks to be served, it was not surprising that another person step up to the bar to assist in the serving of drinks. What was surprising was the fact that she seemed to appear suddenly from no where, at least to everyone but Alashi and Selena, who had started the early stages of a conversation. Had either of them noticed, they would have seen what appeared to be a two dimensional rip in the fabric of space and time. On one side of the rip was the Canteen while on the other side appeared to be a electronics testing facility of some sort. Beyond the young woman, who appeared to be in her mid teens, was a woman standing at a console looking into the Canteen.

"So, what brings you here? I know the drinks aren't the best, but it's hard to beat this place for unwinding. Name's Alashi, by the way." The Hawk Winged Blonde asked the Purple Haired Witch, trying to break the ice. The black and white haired newcomer, Scarlet, glanced around the Canteen, taking stock of her location and who was present while she poured a glass of vodka for Alashi and slid it to her.

"[color=ff2400](Gosh darn it... it's the Dawn. Not the place I need to be...)[/color]" The young woman thought to herself as she turned to head back through the portal.

"HEY YOU! HOW ABOUT YOU GRAB A BOTTLE OF PEPPERMINT SCHNAPPS, COME SIT ON MY LAP AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE FIRST THING THAT POPS UP!" A particularly loud and obnoxious Ensign said to the 15 year old girl with the black flecked golden eyes, who froze in place, as if she recognize the voice of Ensign Butterfield. Turning toward the man, the teenaged girl wearing a form fitting pink outfit gave the man a great big smile and grabbed a rather large bottle of Goldschlager.

"[color=ff2400]Sure thing, hun. I'm sure you've had a pretty rough day from the looks of things, huh?[/color]" The young woman stated before clubbing the ensign over the head with the bottle, the thick glass shattering all over the bar and flooding the Canteen with the smell of peppermint. The world froze for a moment as everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to the commotion, giving the woman the chance to beat a hasty retreat... only she didn't. She felt a familiar pair of brown eyes lock onto her and she froze. Sitting there and talking to the bartender was a rather familiar woman, one that she'd not seen in what felt like ages.

"[color=ff2400]Mom?[/color]" The Black and White haired girl muttered quietly as a hand wrapped itself around her arm, the Ensign was back.

"YOU FUCKING BIT-"

*SMASH!*

A second bottle to his face, this one a Corona Light and this time it created a second opportunity for escape. Running towards the two dimensional rip in space and time, the teenaged girl made her way through a gauntlet of grabby hands, using every evasive technique that she'd learned from her combat instructors (dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge). Closing in on her entry point, the 15 year old escape artist dodged one last set of hands and as she did, inadvertently knocked over Selena's glass of red wine, sending it all over the place.

"[color=ff2400]CLOSE THE PORTAL, VIX! CLOSE THE DARN PORTAL! WE'RE NOT IN THE RIGHT PLA-[/color]" Scarlet Babbage-Lovelace screamed as the passed through the portal before it slammed shut, cutting off any attempt to chase her and the her last words.

[hr]

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Armory...

Rather atypically for a place usually quiet, there was a disturbance in the armory. It seemed someone didn't quite like it when a young angel goes snipping around where he doesn't belong, even if said angel had found found enough weapons to make black market sellers blush. It could really make one wonder how, and, more importanly, why Icarus' father, a self proclaimed upstanding hero, would collect such a large amount of weapons that did things one would not expect from a self-proclaimed hero to do. But an indepth discussion on the morality of weapon stockpilling is not why we are here. It's something much less exciting instead.

Without a warning, reality started bending and twisting right in front of the teen's eyes in front of his daddy's weapons. The temporal distortion caused all sorts of laws of physics to go haywire, and soon enough a large amount of ammunition started firing all around the armory, bullets richocheting around the walls, other cases exploding and guns bending and twisting in abnormal ways whilst flying out of their place.

By way of miracle or sheer luck, neither Icarus nor Mirantha was hit with none of those things. Rather than have a premature meeting with Mr. Death, what happened instead was a portal blinked into existence not too far away from him.

From within the portal emerged a familiar figure to the young angel. The colossal form of Eddie the Dead came through the portal, but there was something different about him. A lot of things, actually. The most glaring of all being the the scar on his face, that went from cheek to cheek under his eyes and over his nose. But, for anyone sharp enough, they'd see that his coat was much more rugged, with tears all over, most evident in the hemline. Even his hat had a very visible cut at its edge. To anyone with enough intellect to them, it would have been pretty evident that Eddie had been through one hell of a fight to come to a state such as this. Even so, the most peculiar thing about Eddie's appearance must've been the armband he wore on his right arm; a pink armband decorated with spikes, a skull patch and an actual black feather.

[color=45774c]"I remember this!"[/color] yelled the transuniversal rocker with a laugh, only to stop short. [color=45774c]"Huh."[/color] he said as he looked around, as though something went wrong. That was followed with a facepalm and sigh. [color=45774c]"So much for that piece of machinery working right. Note to self: Do the coordinates yourself next time."[/color]

As the Rock Scientist turned to walk through the portal, he noticed the two . From their perspective, they would be able to see, for the first time, Eddie's guitar. A huge thing, almost as enormous as Eddie, it was painted black save for a single red button. A quick glance would show that it was also heavily reinforced with thick metal plates, themselves also painted black, it had exhausts on the sides of its bridge, and, of course, an enormous axe-like edge on its lower half, thick and sharp enough to cleanly cut through a tank with ease. In stark contrast to its otherwise menacing look, a ribbon was tied to the first of the tuning pegs, though for what purpose, no one could know.

[color=45774c]"Looks like I came in at quite the time. Sorry for interrupting."[/color] he took a look at the young elf, [color=45774c]"If it isn't young Melethia. You haven't met me yet, but I've met you a good while ago. It'll make sense when the time's right."[/color] and then the teen angel, grinning, [color=45774c]"Well, look who's still breathing at this point in time."[/color] he chuckled, [color=45774c]"So, this is where you you've been hiding all those little toys of yours."[/color] he turned to the young elf and shrugged, [color=45774c]"Sorry for the mess, Melenthia, but it ain't my fault. You can blame the kid that made the machine for the complications caused."[/color] and back at Icarus, [color=45774c]"You must feel real mad I broke some of your daddy's toys, eh? Considering how you treat me, you had it coming."[/color]

[color=45774c]"But I should be on my way. Got business to attend to."[/color] With that said, he turned towards the portal and pointed at Icarus, [color=45774c]"Was nice to see you with all your limbs still attached to your body again."[/color] he laughed as he went through the portal, [color=45774c]"Close the damn thing, will ya?"[/color] he yelled, before the portal closed and left Melenthia Icarus with the mess it had caused.

[hr]

[hr]

*THUD!*

In an anime, it would have been more like *BOI-YOI-YOI-YOING!* only this wasn't an anime and Scarlet was certainly not built like that. That bit of silliness aside, Scarlet was deathly afraid that she'd traveled to the wrong moment... or the wrong Rising Dawn... horribly wrong. Between the amount of smoke that had filled the corridor and the sudden impact against her chest, it wasn't hard to convince the black and white haired girl that the Rising Dawn was in terrible trouble. It wasn't until she noticed the lack of vibrations traveling through the ship's superstructure and the lack of alarms blaring loudly that the young woman realized that everything was okay, mostly. Waiting for the smoke to clear, Scarlet looked towards the ground to identify what had hit her in the chest, a bandage wrapped hand rubbing the point of impact.

"[color=ff2400]FARBER![/color]" The girl practically squealed as she picked the eight year old Ish, and helping him to his feet. Scarlet grinned at the fiery little demon before adding, "[color=ff2400]Lemme guess you're getting chased... again? Is it Katya? Or maybe it's Icarus... he doesn't like it when you mess with his Dragon Gauntlet you know... or maybe it's...[/color]" The girl stopped mid-sentence when the smoke finally fully dissipated and revealed, "[color=ff24000]Eddie?[/color]"

Turning around, the black and white haired girl spoke to the giant behind her.

"[color=ff2400]You never told me that you ran into ... me.[/color]" Scarlet commented before grimacing a little, "[color=ff2400]I could have saved myself a bit of chest pain if you had, Mister Eddie the Dead.[/color]"

The last comment was directed to the Eddie behind Scarlet rather than the Eddie in front of her.

[color=45774c]"Yes, well..."[/color] the musician from the future said, rubbing the scar on his face, [color=45774c]"let's just say it brings back memories I don't feel like discussing.[/color] His older self turned to see the ruckus, and they both stared at each other for a moment. [color=45774c]"Ha!"[/color] the future self let out, [color=45774c]"Now I know why my current self laughed at my old one! That look is golden."[/color]

Current Eddie walked close with a look of horror, curiosity and amazement all at once.
[color=5B9C64]"Time travel."[/color] he stated, befuddled, [color=5B9C64]"I guess I just can't catch a break, can I?"[/color]

[color=45774c]"Heh. Let's just say I'm still waiting on that vacation."[/color]

[color=5B9C64]"Of course..."[/color] Old rocker said, sighing a heavy sigh, [color=5B9C64]"I should've known this job would be a headache. She always hands out the worst ones."[/color]

[color=45774c]"Lady Luck is a cruel mistress."[/color]

[color=5B9C64]"Amen to that."[/color] The Olden Bard took a good look at his future self, [color=5B9C64]"Jaysus Christ, the fuck's happened to make me look like that?"[/color]

Future Self shrugged, [color=45774c]"Stuff."[/color]

[color=5B9C64]"Well, thanks for the helpful answer, dickhead. I thought you were on my side."[/color] it was at that point that he noticed the teenage girl with Yin-Yang hair holding Farber, and it was at that time that Future Eddie masked her pattern in the song, so that his old self would not figure out. [color=5B9C64]"So who's the gal?[/color]

"[color=ff2400]Who, me? I'm Scarlet....[/color]" The girl in the pink outfit said as she tried to reach for a semi-plausible lie, a fairly difficult thing to do since this was the first time that she'd ever lied to Eddie... or was it the first time for Eddie when she lied to the Older Version of her guardian when he was younger... or was it... ANYWAYS... she quickly found a lie when she spotted Eddie's guitar, "[color=ff2400]You know... front woman for the ... The Future is FFFFF... Fine?[/color]" She corrected herself after getting a stern look from her guardian and following his lead about not given away any knowledge about the future. Turning her attention back to the younger version of her companion, she pointed towards the older one's guitar, "[color=FF2400]I know that The Future is Fine doesn't sound very metal but you would know that you would make it a metal band... even if it was named Jonathan McKenna Dies at the End.[/color]"

If Y.Eddie (Younger Eddie) didn't believe her, Scarlet wasn't going to give him the opportunity to dispute the veracity of her claim. Pointing at O.Eddie's (Older Eddie) Guitar Strap, which was different than the one that Y.Eddie had on his guitar strap, The Tactical Teenage Magician tried to sell him the Lasagna of Lies that she was offering up.

"[color=ff2400]I mean, how could you not be metal with a guitar strap like that... it's got... puppies being hung from trees while kitty cats holding torches while dance in circles under the trees... It's got a blue whale riding an atomic bomb... it's got... Jesus Christ!... no not Our Lord and Savior... ummmm... I just... [small]what in the hell was I thinking when I made this[/small][/color]" Scarlet asked herself as she felt herself getting red in the face at the image of BB King using Elvis as a bench and sitting on his back while playing "The Trooper." She continued to peddle her perjury, "[color=ff2400]Also... check out his arm band... he decorated himself.[/color]" She added, pointing to the once pink armband that had been decorated with near every iconic Metal symbology in existence.

Turning her attention back to Farber, she gave the kid a familiar grin and mussed up his hair, looking at him in that way that a person does when they become friends with someone and then don't see them for years before meeting them in a random location and addressed the older version of her guardian as she did.

"[color=ff2400]I think we're at the wrong coordinates again.[/color]" Scarlet stated the obvious, "[color=ff2400]Then again, I guess it's not really since this was supposed to happen... but I guess we should get going before I do something that causes the universes to merge... you know the last thing we need is two Katya's running around.[/color]" The girl said pausing to see if Eddie had anything else to say to Eddie or to Farber.

[color=45774c]"Yes, we should."[/color] The Future Self said, and pointed at Farber and then Eddie, [color=45774c]"We got the correct timeframe, at least. I can tell from the fact that I haven't gotten my coat back from Anjali yet."[/color]

[color=5B9C64]"Now, you just wait a second. I'm not buying-"[/color]

[color=45774c]"Good thing we're not selling anything then."[/color] he turned to his band-mate, [color=45774c]"Scarlet, prepare to jump. I'm setting the coordinates this time, though."[/color]

Nodding to her companion and temporary temporal escort, Scarlet gave the Farber a quick peck on the top of his head before running through the portal. Despite the fact that she was gone, her voice could still be heard.

"[color=ff2400]Hey Vix! Eddie says that he's going to set the coordinates for the next test.,,[/color]" Scarlet was heard saying and despite the fact that no response could be heard, she could be heard responding to the inaudible response, "[color=ff2400]I'm pretty sure that he's not going to break the machine and yes I remember what happened the last time he helped out... but it's not his fault that he's the biggest guy on board the Redeemer and it's not his fault that you didn't build it to accommodate someone of his build.[/color]"

Sighing at what was being said from behind the portal, Future Self turned to Current Self with a stern look.

[color=45774c]"Right."[/color] he started, [color=45774c]"I know you're not gonna listen to me because I didn't listen to me when I was in your position, but I'll say it anyway."[/color] he pointed at his Current Self, [color=45774c]"Treasure what time you get to spend with the girl."[/color] and then at Farber, [color=45774c]"And give him a good smack in the butt. Good luck."[/color] And jumped in the portal.

[color=45774c]"Close the portal! Yes, I am setting the coordinates. No, you don't get a say-"[/color] was the last thing heard before it closed.

[hr]

[hr]

Antoinette de la Trou stared at the assembled group of prisoners and frowned. The newcomer who called herself Nadalia, had the faint stench of angels about her, the same as the strange loud mouthed child called Katya. The scent was not strong enough to implicate them in anything other being in the presence of one of those blasted winged otherworldly beings. Leaning back against a wall, she watched as her mentor, Benedict, grabbed a strange chair with wheeled mounted on the legs and offered it to the steely eyed Nadalia before informing her something rather obvious.

"This may hurt a bit..." The man stated as he positioned himself at the foot of the chair, the position where he needed to be if he was going to be resetting the bones in her leg.

"Maitre Benedict, you know that resetting a compound fracture is going to hurt more than 'a bit.'" Twit teased before she noted that everyone in the room, except for her mentor, was a woman. Were he any other living, breathing male, this observation would have more than likely caused his blood start pounding in his veins and his pants to grow tighter, except he wasn't like every other living, breathing male in existence, he was Benedict Warrington and for reasons known only to himself, the former priest had clung on to his vows of chastity.

"My pupil, this is what they call bedside manner. Comfort your patients before you force them to endure the pain." The Kind Former Man of the Cloth said matter of factly.

"As for y-UUgh!" - *SNAP! CRACKLE! POP!* - Nadalia winced with pain shooting in her face once Benedict got to work in tending to her wounds... which in this case meant resetting the fractured bones in her left le. "As, for you ... 'Twit', uah... what brought you and your master here to this ... wretched place? Me and my companions were tracking a vile man down until he overwhelmed us with forces from ... the back line. We are now his prisoners, and will suffer unless, we escape .. aahhhuh." - *POP! CRACKLE! SNAP!* - She groaned, bending her head down to fight passing out from how bloody painful this was, still feeling everything with no medicine to ease the problem whatsoever.

Waiting for the resulting pain of the worst of the treatment to subside, the apprentice looked to her master. As two of their number had the stench the hated winged host on their body, Antoinette was reluctant to tell them the entire story, especially because it would have involved revealing the location of the Blasphemer's Brigade's rendezvous. Sensing Twit's eyes upon him, the pepper haired man nodded towards her before returning to his work.

"To be honest... Mademoiselle Nadalia, neither my Maitre or myself know how we arrived here," Said the pupil in her lush French accent, "We had been holding out position in Dresdon when the Beacon fell and the Winged Host started burning the city to the ground. The Morningstar, seeing that the city was lost and ordered a retreat " The young woman stated as she turned to look at her mentor, who was checking his handy work and ensuring that the bones were in proper position.

"So you're telling me... that you were in the Bombing of Dresden.?" All eyes were suddenly on Katya Rostikova, who paused at the sight of three sets of eyes on her. " What? I watch the History Channel. commented the strange young girl with an even strange method of speaking. Twit eyes the girl as she approached the trio, "That was ... a long time ago. So... you're time travelers?"

Twit blinked. What did she mean that it was a long time ago, the French woman wondered before her mouth plagiarized the thought, "What do you mean that is was a long time ago?"

"I mean what happened was..." The Rising Dawn's Resident Amateur Historian started to say before BEWP interrupted her.

"

Code:

Little Miss, I'm detecting an increase in gravatons and chronotons in the area.

" The Machine inside of Katya's body said as he attempted to calculate what was occurring, "

Code:

I believe I am either detecting the formation of an Einstein Rosen Bridge or the spontaneous formation of a black hole.

"

"[color=FF2400]I vote of the first option... but we call it a portal.[/color]" An familiar but not familiar voice said as she passed through a two dimensional rip in the tear of space and time. Scarlet eyed the assembled group of prisoners before her eyes fell on her objective."[color=FF2400]Hey! I found her! Grab a band would you .. ummm... Freddy?[/color]"

----------------------------------------Along Came Scarlet and Eddie----------------------------------------

[color=45774c]"It's not like I can mask my identity as good as you can, you know."[/color] said Eddie as he swaggered through the portal, swinging around a pink armband on his index finger like a hula hoop.

[color=45774c]"Besides, eager, young Katya's already met me before, along with half the occupants of the room."[/color] He took a glance at everyone, and waved them a greeting with a [color=45774c]"Heya folks. Been a while with some of ya."[/color] He turned to his companion with a knowing grin, [color=45774c]"Told you I'd get it right."[/color]

Scarlet glanced at the occupants of the room and sort of frowned. The test was supposed to have been covert but they'd made their presence known to almost every member of the Rising Dawn, caused gross bodily harm to one of the members, which surprisingly was not Eddie's fault this time around, and now Scarlet understood why Father Benedict and Twit had acted so strange around Eddie the first time Eddie met them. Still with her guardian's special calibrations to the "Thingamajig," as the Rock and Roll Ghoul had taken to calling it, the black and white haired fifteen year old was confident that there would be fewer mishaps and fewer corruptions in the timeline... which... if you looked at it... weren't really corruptions at all.

"[color=FF2400]Alright... I'm going to help you all finish up your introductions so that Eddie and I can get what we came here to get and you all can get back to your escape plans. Also Father Warrington, if you could step aside so that I can help Miss Nadalia,[/color]" The Teenage Magical Girl said as she knelt next to the wounded Ironqueen and placed her hands on the wounds. Closing her eyes, the teenager took out a spool of thread and started channeling energies into the object. Slowly uncoiling from the spool, the cotton thread wormed it way through the injured woman's skin and started threading itself around Miss Nadalia's formerly shattered bones, "[color=FF2400]I know that is going to sound a little strange Miss Nadalia but I'm going to thread together a series of sleeves that fit securely around your broken bones and then I'm going to reinforce them with spells so that you can walk around without any issues. After a 3 or so months time, the materials will start dissolving so you don't have to worry about getting cotton fever or anything like that. Next I'm going to stitch your muscle fibers together before I stitch up your wounds with more reinforced thread. Okay?[/color]"

Without waiting for an answer from her patient, Scarlet went to work, closing her eyes and concentrating on channeling the proper amount of magic into both of Miss Nadalia's legs.

"[color=FF2400]To answer your question, Miss Katya, Father Benedict and Miss Antoinette aren't just time travelers. They're also from an alternate dimension. They dimension hopped onto our plane of existence. In our world we battled the Nazi's in World War II wear as in their world, they've been fighting against the Father, their world's equivalent to this world's God. While the bombing of Dresden in our world was carried out by the Allies, in their world the Father's army burned Dresden to the ground. They're going to join the Rising Dawn and you guys are going to be great friends.[/color]" Scarlet said as she started stitching up the wounds on Nadalia's legs. "[color=FF2400]Actually you're all going to be good friends... with the exception of you... you're going with us.[/color]" The Teenage Magical Commando said to Betty BEEP.

[color=45774c]"Indeed you are!"[/color] said Eddie as he took his cue and walked towards the cyborg, [color=45774c]"Congratulations, you have won a non-refundable non-negotiable trip through our portal. Meet exciting people! Visit breathtaking places! Save the future!"[/color] he grabbed her by the arm and slid the armband through, [color=45774c]"Anything is possible when you play 'find the loophole' with the fundamental laws of reality!"[/color] he strengthened the armband and turned to Scarlet with a grin, [color=45774c]"Package secured."[/color]

As the Mammoth Ghoulish Demi God passed through the portal with the equally massive Cybernetic Woman, Scarlet breathed a sigh of relief and addressed the remainder of the prisoners. They were probably thinking that they'd be going with her but sadly that was not the case. They would have to break out of the facility on their own... that's how it had to be for the timeline to be maintained. However, Scarlet couldn't explain it to them in that those terms.

"[color=ff2400]I'm sure the four of you are expecting me to give you armbands to that you can escape with your friend Betty... unfortuately... I can't do that because you four are essential in helping the rest of the crew escape. Since you have a certain French woman who can teleport, you shouldn't have any issues getting to the secured room where your equipment is kept. Just keep an eye on the security cameras for an opening. I know you guys can do it... also... you might want to check some of these cardboard boxes for weapons or something that can help you get out of here.[/color]" Scarlet said as she placed her hands on the collar around Nadalia's neck and deactivated the depowering mechanism and the explosive. The black and white haired magical commando paused for a moment as she pondered something, "[color=ff2400]I know that you're not going to listen to me but... if someone asks you to go to Titan... you tell them no... no matter what.[/color]

With that, Scarlet turned and exited through the portal. Staring at the hole where the two extra-temporal beings had been, the foursome were quiet for a moment.

"Was that Ruby's sister?" Katya suddenly blurted out, "Daaaayum that little kid's gonna be stacked when she grows up!!"

bluecrimson · Aug 24, 2016

The Rising Dawn: Hangar
Slindis, Diana, Kazuya, Angelus

There was clearly a lot that Slindis had missed in her time while she was gone - missile attacks on a city, captured teammates and family members, Angelus seeming stuck in her draconic form, and another woman that seemed rather badly wounded. She'd have to talk to Rugal or Kazuya soon to start sorting out exactly what had happened in the years (in her perspective) that shed been gone.

For now, though, the badly wounded woman was her first priority. When Slindis had a chance she rather quickly moved over to the woman and laid both of her hands on one of the rather vicious wounds on her torso. [color=c200]"Just stay calm, I'll take care of this for now.[/color] The meaning of her statement was a little muddied thanks to the chaos in the hangar, but as the drow kept her hands on Diana a rather intense glowing suffused her wounds.

Astonishingly, Diana would be able to feel all of her worst wounds simply... healing up. She might have run across other healers in her time, bu the sheer rate at which all of her worst wounds meshed up to leave only slightly tender spots on her skin was certainly refreshing to Diana. [color=c200]"You should be fine for now, but next time be more careful around missile defenses, Miss."[/color] She then spent a few minutes to ensure that Diana was well, then when she was satisfied she went to Kazuya. with a stern glare on her brow.

The moment she found him, she gave the man a disapproving stare as she tapped her foot and dryly replied, [color=c200]"Mind explaining exactly all the ways that the ship's gone to Khyber since you wrested control? I already see you're a hand short, and I prefer not to waste my time while I've got a daughter that's currently in enemy hands."[/color]

The Rising Dawn: Lower Levels: The Armoury
Icarus, Melethia.

The rather short elf was about to reply to Icarus when the rather burly man interrupted, though she casually and calmly dodged the shrapnel headed her way. "No clue who you are, big man, but for your own khyber-touched safety you had better take care where exactly you teleport nex time. I can not guarantee your safety should you fail to heed my warnings." return The fact that he said he knew her was a cause for concern, and her mind raced as she tried to find out exactly how she knew the man, Of course, she was unable to find anything that she could easily connect to him, and after he left in a rather large poof.

As such after the man left she continued reworking the metal on the small dagger before it started to shine dully, and her rather nonplussed stare showed that she wasnot the least bit intimidated by any difference in height. "If you want to do something useful you might not want to go through those traps again, for one. Those were some rather basic ones I set up a few years ago, and the next time you try that you might not be so lucky. U'd rather not have to clean up after the results, if you catch my drift."

After she gave her blade some cooling time, she packed up all the essences in a pouch at her side and seemed to critique Icarus's build. "You smell of ozone and dragons, you do know that right? The way you hold yourself, ti seems as if you use a lot of Ki as well. If you want to be some use, I would advise you to head to one of the meditation rooms and center yourself. If you are done here I can show you where that is, but fro the way you move I doubt that you're the most experienced with actually forging a weapon from raw materials." Though she was being stern, odds are this was the closest the elf would get to being kind. She also talked far more like a weathered veteran than her height would ever hint at...

The Rising Dawn:Canteen, Bar
Selena, Luke, Alashi, Tania

Alashi then ordered a vanilla stout after she pulled out a shortspear from an oddly familiar weapon wheel to deflect any bits of broken glass from hitting her, and as Luke passed the glass over to her she took a look at the other two women. Tania seemed a bit otherworldly to her even if she couldn't quite place why, though as Selena lightly replied to Alashi she rather calmly retured the greeting. "I'm not exactly new here, though it has been a long time since I was last here. Name's Alashi, and who would I be speaking to?" At the very least she seemed to be used to the chaos here, and as she gave the bartender another light glance it seemed as if the oddly-winged blonde would at least be simple enough to approach.

The Rising Dawn: Hallway
Devon

The bard seemed to be getting closer to that pervasive scent, though the bard couldn't quite place it yet. [color=00c863]Who else in their right minds would even consider doing that? I understand desperate times, but you have to be a really impulsive person to consider that as an option...[/color]

Diablo1099_v1legacy · Aug 24, 2016

The Rising Dawn: Hangar: Slindis, Diana, Kazuya, Angelus

[color=c200]"Mind explaining exactly all the ways that the ship's gone to Khyber since you wrested control? I already see you're a hand short, and I prefer not to waste my time while I've got a daughter that's currently in enemy hands."[/color]

There was a lot of things that Kazuya could say in his defense right now, that the lack of forward scouting was because of Violet's inability to lead this operation, that her daughter's capture was as a result of his lack of command over the mission and the part where Armstrong's forces caught them off guard? Same again.
But he knew better then to try and make any excuses, least to a crowd that was as hostile to his existence at this moment in time as the Rising Dawn was right now.
[color=9f2c68]"...After a unexpected change in management, the details of which are un-important at this junction in time, Violet was left to command our latest operation to try and capture Bison. It went badly, as Angelus can attest. I'm currently in the process of recalling our forces back to the airship before planning our counter attack to eliminate both Armstrong and Bison."[/color] Was all Kazuya would say on the matter before calmly returning to his work, resisting the urge to clear himself of blame as well as just generally lash out at his staff for their moronic actions while he was "Sleeping".
[color=9f2c68]"I assure you, with my command restored, I Can win this battle. Had I been aware of Armstrong's involvement in Bison's last stand, I wouldn't have lead such a headstrong attack like Violet did. I'm not going to let either one of them appear as victors nor will they remain in possession of your crew and family. Now, shall we begin?"[/color] He then asked as the first of several retreating transports began to arrive...

The Rising Dawn: Hangar: Kalastryn, Miia, Elise, Jenny, Batter, Ghost

One such transport was the one that was bringing Ghost and a few of the crew his unit ran into back to base.
Jenny was stable but still somewhat jittery as the protocols forcefully shoved into her head began to try and ping World Marshall's TAC-COM network.
It wasn't long before she was taken away on a stretcher towards the increasingly crowded medical bay, thought a few of the staff were wondering if they should take her to a workshop or something to try and get all those cybernetic's out.
Ghost meanwhile was a lot more lax about the entire situation, it wasn't the first time he was in an operation was so royally fucked and it most likely wouldn't be the last.
Still, it wasn't all bad as he got off the transport to see Kazuya half-naked and being chewed out by the rest of the crew.
Part of him was a little pissed that he wasn't still in a medically induced coma (Coma victims weren't known for fighting off assassination attempts) but the part where it seemed his already falling approval rating had hit rock bottom would make his and his allies plans go a bit more smoothly.
Once all this bullshit was over that is.

Code:

*TSK!* "Well, if anyone's looking for me, I'll be in the men's room. Aching for a piss." *TSK!*

He muttered to the others, less out of any desire to actually have a conversation and more as if he was covering his own ass for some reason.
Either way, he quickly blended into the crowd before disappearing from sight, his alter-ego had a prison sentence to get back to.

The Rising Dawn: Canteen: Selena, Luke, Alashi, Tania and...Violet... /)_-"

While everyone else was more or less enjoying themselves, there was a slight elephant in the room, a pink one that was currently slumped over one of the tables for the 3rd time that day alone.
It was not Violet's day as he slowly began to wake up once more, only to find something was different.
"....urgggg....where are my glasse-....HEY, WHAT THE-?!" he yelped when he realized he had some kinda of canine "Shame Cone" around his neck, obviously some kinda prank by the imps who's lives he was making rather awkward for the entire day.
"...HA HA! REAL ORIGINAL!" He shouted back in snide sarcasm before attempting to leave the room and head to his quarters, having a hard time doing so thanks to said cone.
On the way out, he paused for a moment before asking "...Ella/Alashi?[footnote]Wasn't sure what name for him to use ^^;[/footnote]...That you? When did you get back?"

The Rising Dawn: Hallway: Devon, Rugal

It was some time before Rugal felt comfortable to move again, the "Branding" he received was easily one of the most painful events in recent memory, like drinking water only to find it was really vodka.
Wincing slightly, he then began to make his way out of the storage area, rubbing the back of his head insistently to try and examine whatever marking Lucifer had placed on him.
He couldn't make out any ridges or distortions in the flesh, only reason he was able to "Feel" it at all was from where his skin still felt raw.
Whatever it was, it was star shaped, fitting for the Morning Star after all, and was encircled with what felt like letters but not from any tongue that he knew.
It was then that he ran right into Devon, who soon found him to be the source of the demonic scent.
"Devon?...oh, I take it that mission Slindis borrowed you for is over now? Good. Listen, I need your help-"

Diablo1099_v1legacy · Aug 26, 2016

Avatar Adventures | Undisclosed Location | Secure Cell Block: Designation A-Class | Guard Outpost Alpha: Interrogation Room 2 [http://static1.squarespace.com/static/52256df1e4b0d0d4129fdb70/55127db3e4b09ee138545886/55127dcfe4b02b6c4e59f524/1427275215494/Sci-Fi_Interrogation_Room_Concept.jpg?format=1000w]
Katya Rostikova | Antoinette de la Trou | Benedict Warmington | BEWP/Betty BEEP | Nadalia

[hr]

Betty's comments did seem to give Sundowner pause for a moment but not really for the reasons that Betty was hoping for.
"...Heh....Alright then, GI Jane. Let me check their GPS..." He chuckled over the radio before deciding to take her up on her word and began to try and track down the crew members and their collars with his own PDA.
Their ruse seemed to work as a few moments later, He radio'd in again before saying "Alright, you're off the hook this time. But so help me god if I find you disobeying my commands again, I'll turn you into a blow up doll! Sundowner, Out."
An air of relief began to fill the room as they dodged that bullet but the question was what was the plan now?

At the other end of the prison network, the guard manning the cameras watched somewhat disturbingly closely at Katya's (Former) cell as he watched footage of her walking around her cell naked being chased around by Antoineete.
He found it somewhat enjoyable, so much so he didn't seem to notice that she was making the same movement of her falling off the bed and landing on her back with her legs wide open over and over again...

As for the weapons storage [http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/14/147915/3129549-8721632083-Chapt.jpg], It was locked down pretty tight with 2 guards at the door both inside and outside the room.
While they had the same equipment as the other guards, their armor was a slightly different color, which would tell Katya that they were either a much higher or a much lower level then any of the other guards in the complex.
Also of note was a collection of weapons and equipment that seemed to be a fusion of stuff they "Borrowed" from the prisoners and their current technology, They were most likely retrofitting their ill-gotten gains.
While the notion of getting big, un-tested BGFs was appealing, the problem was if they were spotted, the two guards could also use those weapons.
Either way, they better make up their minds on what to do and fast, the display that Katya was using showed that the interrogation rooms were starting to fill and it was only a matter of time before someone came knocking...

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

Power in Procedure

Doom needs Yoghurt, Badly

Doom needs Yoghurt, Badly

What is "normal?" Sounds dumb.

No soffidx.

All hail the Pun Meister!

Queen of Cockblocking and Misery

May the Flames fade...

Queen of Cockblocking and Misery

New member

No soffidx.

The Most Generic of NPCs

Power in Procedure

Living undeath to the fullest

All hail the Pun Meister!

New member

The Most Generic of NPCs

No soffidx.

Doom needs Yoghurt, Badly

Doom needs Yoghurt, Badly