"Besides, it's nice having a pet," Garrett pokes at Corvis's chest.
"A pet?! You insolent heathen, I am the king of the crows, not some songbird!"
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"Besides, it's nice having a pet," Garrett pokes at Corvis's chest.
"A pet?! You insolent heathen, I am the king of the crows, not some songbird!"
'You need not worry about leaving people behind too much,' Niara says, as she steps through the opened door. 'I have my own portal. So long as I have time to set up and enough energy to power it, returning should be simple enough.' What kind of dimension hopper would she be if she didn't have her own method?
'It's interesting that neither of you really know how you got here,' she says. There's a moment where she's about to start with the technical jargon again, but she holds her tongue. 'I think a similar thing happened to me, a long time back. For a long time I thought I'd lived in the Nexus all my life, but the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced otherwise.'
Niara leads the group directly to the mirror, now retrieving another electronic device from her pocket. One might wonder how much junk she can actually fit on her person. 'You uh... might want to look somewhere else while I do this.' Her brow furrows. 'Commandeering portals like this does some wierd stuff. Least of which is making the portal all headachey to look at.'
Garrett is waving goodbye to Caelynn when the portal begins to give him headaches again and he turns to angrily shout, "Would you quit tha-"
He silences himself and turns back around when he sees Niara again. Awkward.
Presumably Sarah and Caelynn arrive! Possibly with Ark with them?
Spako wave to the departing girl, but he doesn't react to the returning one.
"you ok, Garrett?"
"Yeah it's just a headache," Garrett does his best to shut out all the thoughts in the room.
"That is convenient," Sanji comments at the statement of having a personal portal, and Sasha nods her agreement. At Niara's suggestion, both yokai direct their attention elsewhere until she addresses them again. Unfortunately, a problem will arise while attempting to open the portal: a powerful influence present at the destination of the gateway will create some interference. It shouldn't be too difficult to correct, but it will suggest that something isn't quite right on the other side...
((Whoops, sorry, didn't think to check here until a few minutes ago.))
Spako nods.
"You want to go, maybe? It's been a bit of a comedy of errors in here."
he says.
He'll be ignoring Cael, since it's unlikely her return is in the same timeline.
"Where do you have in mind?' Garrett asks, not really sure where to go.
"Well, you must be staying somewhere. But if you're not you can sleep at my place! Or maybe we should get you to a store and get you some nice clothes that fit."
he says, putting a claw to his chin and looking the man over.
"I've been alternating between the tables here and a small freshwater spring in the park," Garrett admits sheepishly.
Spako crosses his arms and gives him an irritable look.
"First, I sure hope you mean near a spring, because sleeping in one is an absolutely terrible idea. Second, for shame, Garrett. I don't care what you think about your relatives, there are plenty of decent gods who'll give folks shelter at their temples,even if my player can only name like, three.
So yes, we're going to get you some decent clothes and then you're coming to my place where you can get a shower and a bed. Not negotiable."
"I don't sleep at temples because I'm not a mooch," Garrett insists.
"If a temple keeps rooms prepared at all times in case someone without a home comes to ask for a bed, then you're not mooching, you're making that effort mean something.
And come on now, you need a real coat and pants. And shoes, since I think your old ones exploded when you grew paws."
he says, reaching for the tall man's hands.
(If he succeeds in dragging him somewhere, let me know if you want to actually take it to Mallside or hand-wave it)
Garrett is grabbed and dragged wherever works, grumbling, Corvus chuckling as he follows.
Spako will quickly grab the last of the honey rolls for later. Garrett could probably go outside much more comfortably if he just ate one, but then again maybe his feet have enough scar tissue to be rock-hard anyway.
Regardless, they're going to the mall.
The process takes a little while regardless of interference, so it's a minute or so before Niara notices the problem. It's more than a little troubling, but not unexpected. 'Hmm. This might take a little longer; something's... off,' she tells the two, before calling over to Garrett, 'I'll be as quick as I can. Sorry for the disturbance.'
She'll do some fiddling with the calibration of her device, keeping it pressed up against the mirror all the while. It's quite tricky to concentrate with all the nauseating strangeness going on around, but she's somewhat used to it by now. Ideally she wants to arrive in the most energy-efficient way, which may mean turning up at a point beyond the reach of this influence.
Sanji grumbles a bit under his breath but remains stoic, but Sasha gets a bit fidgety. Thankfully, the gateway to the World-Heart of Other-Gensokyo won't make too much more fuss, and the connection should stabilize before too long.
((So long as the portal is opened in your next post, it might take me a while to respond, as my next post will be rather long and detailed. Things are about to get a little crazy...))
((Take your time, there's no rush. :smallsmile:))
After some delay and a little of her own grumbling, Niara manages to make adequate corrections to the portal. There is a sudden glow of bright white light from the surface of the mirror.
'Alright, let's move,' she says, stowing her devices back in those deep pockets of hers. 'After you this time, Sanji.'
The elder yokai turns to the mirror and sees it radiating a fierce light. "Finally," he mutters, his tone a mix of triumph and relief. "Sasha, stay here for a minute; I'm going to check things out." With that, he approaches the mirror and touches its glowing surface; unless it draws him in automatically, he'll step through and pass into the gateway, finally returning to his home...
Spoiler: The Destruction of Other-Gensokyo[OTHER-GENSOKYO, UNDERGROUND -> THE WORLD-HEART]
As Sanji exits the portal, he immediately notices something amiss: the World-Heart, a massive sphere of magma suspended in the middle of its subterranean chamber, is unusually dim, even if he's been away for some time. He inspects its surface for anomalies, but he doesn't need to wait long to learn of the cause; before long, a humanoid figure casts a shadow between him and his charge, and he recognizes it instantly. Hot steam rises from his shoulders as anger boils up in him, and his harsh, grainy voice slowly and deliberately utters the figure's name, every syllable dripping with near-palpable malice: "Noraware Chiaki."
"It's been a while, Sanji-kun," the woman's voice teases. "I was just wondering what could've happened to the big, bad yokai that denied me this prize a year ago. You really need to rethink your priorities; fooling around in other worlds is unbecoming of someone as important as you."
"Don't toy with me, witch," he snarls. "I believe I made myself clear when I whupped you the first time: come back here again, and not even Card Battle law will save you."
"Oh, I remember your threats quite clearly...That's why I arranged to have you and your associates spirited away. I might not be able to take you in a straight fight, but I've had plenty of time now to develop my barrier magic, and your absence has weakened you. Now, all you can do is watch while I take what's rightfully mine."
"The World-Heart does not belong to you," shouts Sanji, and his body erupts into flames as he takes on his salamander form. He growls and spits a small jet of liquid fire before launching forth at blinding speed, only to be bounced back by a translucent wall of potent magic. Chiaki lets out a chortle before turning to the World-Heart and wrapping it in her magic. The elder yokai slams against the wall repeatedly, attempting in vain to force his way through, as the magician begins to peel away the surface of the World-Heart, as if stripping the skin from an orange. After a minute, the facade of roiling lava falls away, revealing a glowing amorphous mass at its center. "And here it is," she proclaims. "The true heart of the world: the Magic Reactor. With its energy-generating ability in my possession, I'll have this world in the palm of my hand...Even that senile wench Mimi will cower in my presence...!"
"Chiaki, you don't know what you're doing," Sanji protests angrily. "You won't rule this world with that power; you'll outright destroy it!!"
"How would you know," retorts the witch. "You, who have selfishly squandered its potential for nearly three millenia...You don't understand any better than I. The difference between us is that I'm willing to take that risk; power of this magnitude deserves...no, exists to be used!"
"Have you lost your mind?! There isn't a single entity in this world that can handle power of that magnitude!! Nothing about it is worth risking the lives we've made for ourselves in Other-Gensokyo!! You touch that Reactor, and you'll condemn us all to ruin - yourself included!!"
Unfortunately, Chiaki is no longer paying Sanji any mind, practically drooling over the untapped potential of the Magic Reactor as she is. He strains against her barrier magic and continues to curse and plead profusely to her, but none of his words reach her as she lifts a hand to touch the energy-rich mass. Magic swells within her with the slightest touch, and she radiates an unearthly violet aura, brimming with power...
...for all of about ten seconds. After that, the swell leaves her, and it attempts to drag her own magic out with it. As she struggles to hold onto her own power, she calls out for help, but Sanji sighs and mutters, "You ignorant fool...I warned you that it would come to this. The Magic Reactor isn't a generator; it's a regulator. And it's just as we're all taught: for every action, there's an equal but opposite reaction..."
Just as the elder yokai portends, Chiaki's magic power is wrenched out of her body, leaving her with nothing more than the ability to hover. As one might expect, she goes ballistic for a minute or three, screaming and cursing just about everyone and everything, but then she does something stupid, reckless, and damning: she hurls herself head-first into the Reactor in desperation, plunging headlong into its volume to try and take back what was stolen from her. The Reactor, of course, does not tolerate this, and it liquifies her body in mere seconds, but the interference of her corporeal matter unfortunately starts a chain reaction in the regulator, causing it to erupt violently with numerous explosions of magic.
Even from deep underground, Sanji can hear the frightened screams of the panicked denizens of Other-Gensokyo, human and yokai alike crying out for salvation as their world suddenly comes undone at the seams just before being thrown to the winds and tossed about at the mercy of chaos. Unable to break through the persistent barrier around the dying World-Heart, Sanji beats a hasty retreat through the portal from whence he came, his heart heavy with despair at his ultimate failure...
[Back at Trog's...]
Some ten minutes later, Sanji is propelled out of the mirror's portal again, tumbling clumsily to the floor of the tavern as he arrives back in the Nexus. Once he gets his bearings, he turns to Niara and barks, "Quickly, close the portal!" Should she hesitate or question him for even a split-second, the salamander will roar, "CLOSE THE PORTAL!! Close it NOW, or we all die!!!"
I'm sure that Niara will understand the severity of his order and do as he asks, sparing Trog's Tavern the fate of being caught in the explosion of the Magic Reactor, but any relief that any of them might feel will be overwhelmed by confusion. Before long, Sasha will shakingly ask, "Wh-what...just happened...? Sanji...what's going on...?" He'll hesitate to answer, unsure how to break the news to her, but he eventually sticks to the bare truth: "I've failed you...I've failed everyone. It's gone...Our world is...gone..."
((Sorry for the super-long delay... something came up.))
There is no hesitation on Niara's part - she picks up on the insistence in his voice and can tell that there's not time for lingering. The device is fumbled from her pocket and some buttons are punched in quick succession.
The facts may be known to Niara before Sanji reveals so, as the device in her hand flashes red, accompanied by a suitably ominous buzz sound. 'Oh... oh no...' she says under her breath, as the realization dawns on her.
"Yeah... I imagine so... Unfortunately, I haven't met a single one of them yet."
The nine-tailed woman, still ensconced in the shadows of her robe, heaves a crestfallen sigh. A second passes, then two. When the third is upon them, her eyes begin to glow with entrancing violet light. It's absolutely mesmerizing. If the kitsune so much as glances at the nine-tailed woman's eyes, she may find it difficult to look away from them ever again. Why would she want to look away in the first place? There's something about them. She might feel as though she could gaze into them forever. She might feel as though she should gaze into them forever. She may curse each and every blink of her eyes. She must look. She must...
She may feel herself becoming more tractable. You want to please her. You need to please her. You live to serve her. Whatever she commands. Her will be done. In this life and the next. Obey. Obey her. Obey to the lady with the glowing violet eyes. Forever. Her will be done. Heart. Mind. Soul. All her's, would she have them. In this life and the next.
Her's.
"You want to stay with me, don't you?"
Forever.