[Nexus] AMEN 32: Srs Bzns

[Moff Chumley]

Seeing as The Moff still has some luck magic in place, instead of tackling Jack, he just falls flat on his face. He almost feels sorry for Cerice as she attempts to block Jack's sword... nah, that's a lie, he thinks it's hilarious.

[The Bushranger]

Grinning as the chains drop away, Shrike extends her hand, summoning her loyal steel, the Reaper Daiklave appearing in her clenched fist. "I think it's time we gave these clowns a good whoopin'," she declares, as she sprints after Anshu! Spinning around to try and make at least two henchmen per swipe...er...rest in pieces.

[ThePhantom]

Outside

Well, they didn't think this through, the orbs blow up the cowapult, and the gate, sealing the entrance off.

As for Gordon, the blood shield redirects the shoots at him to going around. He starts inhaling.

Inside

While henchmen drop, an number of them head for the meeting room.

"This is madness!"
"Arr, no other choice."

[Murkus]

Inside

Cerise might find her hand suddenly ravaged if she tries to block Jack's blade. It cuts through most materials (including steel and some magical metals) as if they were hot butter.

In fact, clasping the blade might just outright sever her hand and fingers, even with an armored gauntlet.

[happyturtle]

[Inside]

Darcy invisibly follows the henchmen into the meeting room.

[D_Lord]

Well, not much has changed since the last time anyone went in there. The table is there, the nice chairs, the hodded figure of madness siting on the floor watching an old Tv. Same old, same old. Exept for the three layored cake by it.

[ThePhantom]

Meeting room

The henchmen suffle around, quietly getting closer to the hooded figure.

"You do it." "Why me?" "Cause your'e sane." "Fine."

The poor henchman steps up, and clears his throat.

"Um, hi there. Um, the base is under attack by the exalted, and its likely we'll all die. And your tv will be blown up. So, would you, please help us out?"

[D_Lord]

It turns alittle. Fineish, but I'm not a tool or a toy. But I want to watch. I got it. but I need something more to set it up. You'll do.

Uh oh, Looks like he standing up and grapping the poor henchman. Oh look I don't think that is suppost to bend that way. After a little while and much screaming, it has a pot in it's hands. And the room is starting to pulse with energy. Treads of it brake off and head out the room and go to the other doors in the base. Oh and he pats the crazy, pirate henchman over the head and sends him away.

[happyturtle]

[Inside - Meeting Room]

Invisible Darcy 's and scampers out after the pirate henchman.

[ThePhantom]

[Meeting room]

This is why they only did this when threatened this badly. The henchmen all huddle as the elder evil gets to work.

[Hallway]

The pirate guy is screaming while running downstairs, away from the creepy and the exalted.

"Abandond Ship!"

[The Bushranger]

[Somewhere, near where Anshu is]

Shrike is, one presumes, still slicing, dicing, and Julienning henchmen...and lauching manicially while doing so.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Outside

Well, they didn't think this through, the orbs blow up the cowapult, and the gate, sealing the entrance off.

As for Gordon, the blood shield redirects the shoots at him to going around. He starts inhaling.

Seeing that their weapons have become ineffective against the dragon, the 'striders begin strafing the base itself.

Inside

Cerise might find her hand suddenly ravaged if she tries to block Jack's blade. It cuts through most materials (including steel and some magical metals) as if they were hot butter.

In fact, clasping the blade might just outright sever her hand and fingers, even with an armored gauntlet.

Cerise gets her hand mangled, but stops Jack's blade.

With the room clear, the commandos surround Jack, Cerise, and the Moff, and Anshu says, "Let her go. You're surrounded."

[Murkus]

Inside

Well, that was to be expected. I guess most of AMEN's henchmen are dead now.

Jack stares around, mind working feverishly as the warstriders commence hammering the base.

The shield. The shield was never put back up. It all happened too fast.

The hollow man swears quietly under his breath, speaking in an obscure language.

"Hm. So, this is it, then? You're getting rid of AMEN once and for all?"

It should be noted he doesn't remove his blade, but he is almost imperceptibly edging towards the Moff. The Sword of the White King is still in a position to swing towards Cerise's neck if she takes her hand away. Yet with each second touching it the pain from the Sword's blade will increase.

[happyturtle]

[Inside]

Darcy is pretty much out of her depth here. So carry on without waiting for her player to post, and I'll jump back in if she thinks of something to do. Otherwise, she's just staying out of sight and out of the way.

[Lord Iames Osari]

[Inside]

At least the henchmen in this particular room.

"It wasn't our original objective, but if providence continues to smile on us, who knows?"

Cerise takes her hand away from the blade and spins around to deliver a hard punch with her other hand that should knock Jack down.

[Murkus]

Jack flits aside, already moving with his blade, away from Cerise. If no one stops him, he'll dash at the Moff, grab him by the shoulder, and teleport deep into the base.

Heck, even if he doesn't manage to grab him, he teleports away.

In any case, I gotta deadtime. Maybe for the rest of tonight.

[Lord Iames Osari]

Cerise commands the Moff to scramble away from Jack, and then begins licking her injured paw once Jack is gone.

[ThePhantom]

[Meeting room]

Lots of screaming. The henchmen would run for it, but there's no way through the door.

As for the pirate henchman, he heads down a set of stairs, with a sign by them, saying 'To docks'

[Outside]

Gordon finally learned a classic dragon trick. The breath, in his case, lighting. Gordon fires the breath at the warstriders.

[Controls for the lava cannon]

Rogar and Sweetums, both stand in front of the controls. Knowing that the cannon can't be replaced, muster the last group of henchmen here.

(deadtime)

[Lord Iames Osari]

((At all the warstriders? Or just one or a small group?))

[Moff Chumley]

Again, The Moff seems to make an effort to move away, but seeing as he's laying on the floor, Jack gets to him first.

((Would teleporting through another dimension disrupt the control spell?))

[Lord Iames Osari]

((She'd be unable to control him while he's in the other dimension, but if he comes back to this one before it wears off, she'll be able to control him then.))

[Moff Chumley]

((Awesome. Looks like I'm gonna have to sit this one out, then.))

[Murkus]

Jack, who is well adapted to compulsion and control magics, notices Cerise's continued hold on Moff.

He sighs as him and his compatriot float through the Yellow Road. "Seems you'll have to stay here till' someone kills the GLoG bitch, Moff. Sorry. Well, that, or her spell wears off. Just... don't make a lot of noise, and if you happen to see anything other than this big, yellow void..."

Jack looks about as serious as a perpetually grinning monstrosity can. "Close your eyes immediately. And don't open them until you hear my voice again. By the by though, if you think you can break free of her spell, I can take you elsewhere. Just say Yochanan. I'll hear."

With that, Jack disappears back to AMEN, leaving Moff to his floating. Sorry, Moff.

He reappears in one of AMEN's many secret rooms, where he had the force field generator installed. He says but one word in that same obscure tongue as earlier.

The force bubble reappears around AMEN, stopping the arial bombardment. At least, for now. However, it is plain that the forcefield is there now, seeing how it ripples with each heavy hit.

[happyturtle]

((@Murkus:

Well, it's possible I overestimated AMEN's resources.

Moff, if you want, you can resist Cerise's orders and move as you want. It'll hurt, but you can do it, and it will also reduce how long the spell lasts. Also, if Cerise doesn't know he's back, she can't give him orders.

))

If Jack can detect invisibility, he might at some point, encounter Darcy, in deadtime. She can be dragged along on auto-follow for me to post tomorrow, assuming there's something useful that can be one with low level sorcery, or ignored for now. Up to you

Anyway, goodnight ((deadtime))

[The Bushranger]

Shrike swears roundly as Jack Empty and the Moff escape.
"Well, then. Where to next," she asks Anshu, spinning her Daiklave in one hand nimbly.

[Murkus]

((In that case, let me edit so Jack tells Moff that he can call for him if he'd like to go elsewhere. Jack will probably encounter Darcy next post, and hopefully get her out of there. She can't do a lot to stop the invaders, might be best if she leaves.))

[Moff Chumley]

Hmm. The Moff isn't controlled on the Yellow Road. But what can he do with that?

The Moff begins wandering, then picks a place and lies. Maybe take a nap, now that he's all by his lonesome. Ya know, it's not that unpleasent a place, once you get past the monochrome. And the spheres that keep drifting around. And the voices.

The Moff wishes the voices would stop.

[ThePhantom]

((At all the warstriders? Or just one or a small group?))

(Small group. As for Happy, Gordon's a blue dragon, most of those breath lighting.)

[Lord Iames Osari]

[Outside]

Gordon finally learned a classic dragon trick. The breath, in his case, lighting. Gordon fires the breath at the warstriders.

Two of the warstriders targeted are blasted from the sky by the powerful breath weapon; the other three manage to take evasive action.

With the base's shield back up and their stutter cannons ineffective against Gordon's blood shield, the warstriders regroup into a single formation.

"Pilots, I want an Overwhelming Missile Storm on that dragon on my mark," the Crimson Meteor declares, aiming the nose of her craft at Gordon. "Mark!" she cries after a few moments, and each of the 13 warstriders launch several dozen glowing missiles of magical energy that streak toward him, swirling and tracking his movements. The 'striders bank away once they've launched, wanting to observe the results of this attack before they commit to another.

Ebon Mirror and his mecha-zombie forces arrive on the ground and begin moving toward the Deliberative army, a bank of fog rising from the ground to conceal their presence.

[Inside]

[Controls for the lava cannon]

Rogar and Sweetums, both stand in front of the controls. Knowing that the cannon can't be replaced, muster the last group of henchmen here.

Shrike swears roundly as Jack Empty and the Moff escape.
"Well, then. Where to next," she asks Anshu, spinning her Daiklave in one hand nimbly.

Anshu concentrates, spreading his awareness of the battlefield. "Hm. I'd anticipated needing to have the commandos serve as an additional diversion, but it seems the remaining enemy troops are concentrated in a single location, probably of high importance. We'll have to go in and see what it is."

Cerise transforms back into human form, her injured hand miraculously healed, though she was forced to remove the ruined gauntlet. "Then let's go," she says, and she and the commandos follow Anshu as he starts leading them roughly in the direction of the henchmen concentrated around the lava cannon controls.

[Murkus]

Inside

Jack flits through the various passages and byways of the AMEN base, looking for Darcy. He only occasionally passes the main rooms, glancing in before blurring away in short bursts of speed.

He is quiet, but if the Celestial troops deliberately search for him, they might spot him. Whether they'll catch him or not is... debatable.

"Darcy?" He whispers. "I can practically smell the arcane magic. Where are you?" See, he can detect the use of arcane magic, but he isn't so good with illusion and disguise magic. It's just not something he's adapted to over the years. Needs more experience with it.

Which is why he can't find Darcy very easily.

The Yellow Road

Whether the voices are inside Moff's head, or being spoken by more eldritch tongues, they are suddenly silenced.

If and when he opens his eyes from the nap, there will be... a significant change.

What can only be described as eldritch horrors surround him. Beings that can break minds, contort spacial reasoning, defy all the established laws of biology and physics. They hardly even seem biological. They might be hundreds of feet high, or only as tall as a man.

The Moff, being something of a madman himself, may not be affected by their proportions.

Or perhaps he's just not seeing the worst of it. Perhaps the majority of the Road is still hidden.

But something is revealing these things to him... what could it be...

Perhaps the grand, towering stone floating before you, made to resemble an emerald? Perhaps the ancient being contained within, concealed by a blinding light as old as time itself?

"I see you've been spending a lot of time with the Yochanan." Comes a soothing voice. Not mind-breaking like D-lord's, but it certainly gives the feeling of something unfathomably old.