[Nexus] Inside 40

[Gullara]

[At the Door of the Den]

Kirk cries out in pain as the raptor leaps on him,. Using the momentum from the dinosaur's leap, he throws himself forward, turning forward in the air. With any luck the raptor will smash its face on the ground and Kirk can get a moment to deal with it.

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Through the comm link, Del can hear Kaz swear, and he should recognize how angry she is, "It's that ooze thing again! I'll kill it!" and unless Del stops her, she's going to run off towards the direction the voice came from, moving at full speed

[Chaotic Bob]

[At the Door of the Den]

There's an unhappy screech from the raptor, as it bites at Kirk's neck mid-flip.
And then gets rammed into the ground.

Which cues another unhappy screech and claws releasing the fellow's back.
Although, there is the chance that they flail a little...

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

"Miera, wait!"
Del makes a loose grab at her sword arm, but isn't entirely prepared for it, having been more focused on holding his gun a moment ago.

There is a not-well-restrained anger in his voice as well. And the urge to kill that...thing.
But if there's one thing he's learned about magic-users, coupled with his training, as that there's no way they would transport you somewhere like this, and then be there themselves, unless there was an ugly trap waiting.

It would make sense.
Take them out of the way, and have them walk in on their death.


If Kaz presses on, avoiding the grab, she'll reach the door just in time for the glow to wink out completely.

A very quiet "hmph", from within, that only she will hear if she makes it to the door.
Someone stands within, at the far wall, in a long dress from that faint rustling sound, for the briefest moment.

And then they're gone, in a simple blink of the eye.

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

"Damnit!" Kaz yells, "There was someone here! They just vanished though! Must've been magic." She makes a slash with her sword at one of the nearby walls, venting frustration. She's something of an angry person.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Del grits his teeth as Kaz runs towards the room anyway, reporting what she saw and then leaving a rather ugly wound in the drywall.
Their target is now gone, and she could have been attacked.

"I told you to wait."
He stalks towards the door, giving her an angry look behind his mask, and slightly more strain in his voice than before.

Within the now-dark room, what appears to be two massive (blank) viewing screens have been blended seamlessly into the drywall, surrounded by large quantities of etched runes, of the same style that the ooze produced when they were transported.
There's a wooden chair in the middle of the floor, facing towards one screen, with a simple cushion on it.

There's nothing else immediately noticeable.

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Kaz looks mack at Del, and then down at the floor. She'd let her emotions get the better of her. This wasn't like her; she was normally cool and collected. but going through that nothingness... It scared her, and there's still a lot of adrenaline pumping through her system, "I'm sorry Del... I just... ugh." She collapses against the wounded wall, sliding down into a sitting position, "I'm so sorry."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Del's gaze gives a quick, instinctual glance around the room, mostly to confirm the lack of any threats, before moving in and stopping a few feet away from Kaz.

His left hand twitches slightly, finger-tips clenching and then relaxing.
Still keeping his own anger in, although it's becoming clearly more difficult. Almost at his snapping point.
"Sorry wouldn't cut it if there had been a trap, would it Mi? Apologies don't fix dying."
He's snapping, perhaps unnecessarily, but he's feeling frustrated.

A possible trap and a missed potential lead.
Maybe Kaz scared them off? They might have stayed if she hadn't rushed forward!

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

"Yeah, I know, I know," She sighs, "I don't know what's wrong with me today. that void freaked me the hell out."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Del would rub his face at this point, if not for the mask in the way, that he doesn't feel safe removing yet.
So instead, he goes silent for a moment and stares up at the ceiling.

He glares at it, clenching his fist more fully, then releasing a little breath.

Calm.
Find the calm.

The enforcer looks back down, but over towards the view screens.
"Yes, I've noticed. We can discuss it later, when we know we're alone."

He doesn't really trust that they are, a nagging feeling continuing to pull at his mind, consistent since he saw that glow.
Maybe those screens are two-way, and someone is watching them now?
"Mistakes happened. But we're still not free yet.
We should keep moving."

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

Kaz nods and stands up, "Alright Del, I'll follow your lead. Where to?" she's still gripping the sword and the gun. Inside, she's going Stupid! why did you have to run off like that? Del is going to be angry at you for it for more than a week!

[Chaotic Bob]

[Somewhere Else - Abandoned Apartment]

"Keep close. And don't run off again."
He jerks his head towards the door, pausing briefly to make sure he can't hear anything outside, before slowly moving back out, sweeping first left, then back towards the staircase.

Continued silence. No sign of other life.

"Clear."
Then he's moving, back off towards the stairs.
Onwards, to the exit, he'll be entirely silent now, save to periodically stay his "clear"s.

The building is truly empty now.
None of the rooms upstairs have doors and are still very empty.
Unfortunately, due to the lack of doors and Del's paranoia, each consumes a few seconds to check.

Unless something special happens, or Kaz interrupts, they'll move right on towards the night-draped street outside.

[Halae]

[Somewhere Else - Night Draped Street]

Kaz won't interrupt him. They're following procedure for keeping themselves safe, and she's not exactly in any position to question Del. She's stay following, even out onto the street.

[AmberVael]

[Black Rock Hotel]

A saxophone perpetually plays in the background as Magister watches the news- or rather, the lack thereof. Who were these people the anchors were talking about? And why did she care about their love dodecahedron, anyway? In fact, how exactly did that work? Only a certain level of resigned boredom and morbid curiosity keep Magister watching.

"Kimi wa kikoeru-"

Like a striking snake, Magister's hand flicks out and picks up her cell phone, cutting off her ringtone. "This is Magister." She says in a voice caught between professional and apathetic. When the voice on the other side speaks, however, her eyes light up, and a smile crosses her face. "Hey! You doing alright? Yeah?"

Magister holds the phone close to her ear as she picks up her remote with the other hand and turns off the TV with a certain level of satisfaction. "Things are pretty slow here. My boss doesn't seem to be doing anything- I've only gotten one 'job' out of him. Did I tell you about that? Yeah, the guy called me up for a secret mission, which turned out to be picking out a cat to fit with his villainous flair. And then he picked out this little furball of a kitten which I just know I'm going to get saddled with taking care of. Hm?" Magister flips over onto her back "Oh. Right. Yeah, he seems to be posing as a supervillain. Weird, right? But so long as he pays well..."

A chuckle comes from Magister at the reply on the other side of the phone. "If anything, I should be worried about you. I know what I'm doing. I'll be fine. You're the one in over her head. Hey, don't get mad at me, I just seem to recall that someone has been needing my money to be bailed out."

The mercenary gives a sigh, but is still smiling a bit. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll hit it big with some time. Until then though, you worry about you, alright?" There's a pause, then Magister nods. "It's okay, I understand. Anytime, alright? Just so long as I'm not in the middle of work, I'll answer. Talk to you later."

Snap. The phone shuts, and Magister looks out the window. She needed to get moving too, and there was only one source of work she really knew of at the moment... and it was one that was supposed to be providing. Well, she could fix that.

Time to get to work.


[Dr. Kraken's Warehouse]

WHAM WHAM WHAM. The door rattles against hammer-like blows, then crashes open as Magister forces her way in.

"Rise and shine, jerks! Time to get moving. Where's the boss?"

[The Alexandrian]

[Blue Zone - Private Sector -Crier Pharmaceuticals - Building 3 - 27th Floor to Street-Level]

Shoot! Magically hindering someone's muscular movements is a cheap move. Fortunately, Spec's plan to keep her from splattering against the burning, rocky roadway doesn't require much movement. Spec now bears even more animosity toward Trium. Grr! There's nothing Spec detests more than a dirty fighter. That's not to imply that Spec isn't a dirty fighter, it merely attests to her hatred toward dirty fighters that are not herself.

Ever so slowly and with great grit and exertion, Spec aligns her blade with the building, its superheated components melting every iota of the material it comes into contact with.

26th floor. 25th floor. 24th floor. 23rd floor. All the way down to the 15th floor. Hurry up, Spec! Don't die on me now! Hurry up!

A fiery explosion consumes at least half of the 27th floor and chunks of the floor both above and below it! Come on, Spec! The 4th floor is fast approaching!

Spec grunts as she pushes her thumb forward, timing this movement with the exact second her blade cleaves through the first half-inch of the divider (floor) resting between the 4th floor and the 3rd floor.

The blade is deactivated. It relinquishes its property which allows it to slice through metal. It cools. It becomes lodged in the roof of the 3rd floor, though it still remains on the outside of the building.

From the sword jutting out of the structural supports of this office structure, Spec dangles, holding on for dear life with her right hand, which is slowly slipping off.

Of course, from her arm erupted a sickly popping sound when she came to a halt so quickly. Better her arm be busted than her whole body be squished.

[Murkus]

Masks Temple

Jack won't see much in the chapel, just the many pews, podium, cots and food for the homeless/needy, and the several guards.

Mm. Not a whole lot to work with. Jack starts to walk down the center aisle, studying the decor. "You take care of the homeless, yes? How about the sick, or the disabled?"

Outside the Den

Legion's armor clamps down, spreading over most of her bare skin a mere instant before the raptor's claws collide. She cries out and falls backwards, nearly blind, trying to seize the creature's forearms and keep them away.

[Gullara]

[Dr. Kraken's Warehouse]

Several sets of eyes look up to meet Magister when she bursts in. One of which belongs to Kraken. He's sitting in front of a few tables shoved together. They are absolutely littered with papers and documents and blueprints. Lots of papers. He was working on writing something when she arrives.

"Ah, hello Magister. Do you need something. I said I'd call you when we were going to get to work, didn't I?" That was ages ago, Kraken.

[At the Door of the Den]

Kirk rolls away from the raptor, just enough so he's facing it and still within arms reach. He stabs three times in rapid succession at its chest and neck. Sure he suffers some wounds, but it'll be worth it if he can just kill the blasted thing.

[AmberVael]

[Dr. Kraken's Warehouse]

"You did." Magister agrees, making her way over with long, quick strides. Her pace is the kind that probably picks up and flings papers up around her, leaving chaos in her wake. "As your second in command, I feel obligated to make sure things keep running smoothly though. And things haven't been running at all." She says, crossing her arms and staring down at the doctor. "Beyond the Great Kitten Heist, there has been no activity. So, time to get moving. Get up."

[Lady Serpentine]

[Blue Zone - Private Sector -Crier Pharmaceuticals - Building 3 - 27th Floor to Street-Level]

Shoot! Magically hindering someone's muscular movements is a cheap move. Fortunately, Spec's plan to keep her from splattering against the burning, rocky roadway doesn't require much movement. Spec now bears even more animosity toward Trium. Grr! There's nothing Spec detests more than a dirty fighter. That's not to imply that Spec isn't a dirty fighter, it merely attests to her hatred toward dirty fighters that are not herself.

Ever so slowly and with great grit and exertion, Spec aligns her blade with the building, its superheated components melting every iota of the material it comes into contact with.

26th floor. 25th floor. 24th floor. 23rd floor. All the way down to the 15th floor. Hurry up, Spec! Don't die on me now! Hurry up!

A fiery explosion consumes at least half of the 27th floor and chunks of the floor both above and below it! Come on, Spec! The 4th floor is fast approaching!

Spec grunts as she pushes her thumb forward, timing this movement with the exact second her blade cleaves through the first half-inch of the divider (floor) resting between the 4th floor and the 3rd floor.

The blade is deactivated. It relinquishes its property which allows it to slice through metal. It cools. It becomes lodged in the roof of the 3rd floor, though it still remains on the outside of the building.

From the sword jutting out of the structural supports of this office structure, Spec dangles, holding on for dear life with her right hand, which is slowly slipping off.

Of course, from her arm erupted a sickly popping sound when she came to a halt so quickly. Better her arm be busted than her whole body be squished.

Trium is now hanging from Spec's other arm, I believe. The heavily augmented woman shoves hand-blade into the wall, and mutters "Kohlrot.", hopefully making them both considerably lighter.

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

Kail will receive a skirt to Gertrude's knees and a low-cut blouse. Gertrude's clothes are high-quality, as is suitable for minor nobility, and none of it is even remotely male.

The altar room is quite full, with lots of people within. Quite a few of them are human, and most of the rest are at least humanoid. There's tieflings, elves, dwarves, thri-kreen, and lots of others. Terrowin does note Kail's appearance, however, and gives her a brief smile. When he's sure there's nobody else left to arrive, Terrowin begins the sermon. It's readings from the holy book, prayers in Abyssal and common, and a short period for individual prayer. Kail will likely learn that Dalachrech doesn't like people killing invertebrates unless their life depends on it, and would prefer people to avoid areas prone to hostile invertebrates rather than try and tame them- so that's avoiding the cultivation of locust-prone areas and not living near swamps. Dalachrech will help His followers by diverting locust swarms from their crops and ensuring a bumper year for mosquito-eating invertebrates, but He prefers to let insects do as they will without His guidance away from human lands. Other than that, though, there's few prohibitions, apart from the obvious 'respect the clergy' and 'do not harm your fellow worshippers'.

Anyway, during the private prayer, Kail receives a vision. She's flying above a massive swarm of beetles- a sea of them, in fact. She swoops low over a rocky outcropping with people chained to the sides and screaming as the beetles swarm over them. There seems to be hours of this, before eventually she's flying over a desert, then a jungle- both are teeming with invertebrates and invertebrate-like creatures. In the distance the whole time is a massive mountain, and as she approaches it she realises it's not a mountain at all, despite being taller than Everest. In fact, it's a termite mound. When she arrives, she is sent down one of the air-tunnels, and deeper into the labyrinthine, dark caves of this place. After a short time, there's light- it's given off by dog-sized beetles one the sides of a round tunnel wider than any she's yet come across. Kail swoops along it, past massive termites, ants, wasps and other insects which shouldn't be cohabiting without eating each other. After an indeterminate amount of time, she enters a massive chamber lit by more beetles- though these are larger than cars and much brighter than the smaller ones in the tunnels. At the far end of this chamber is a massive pedestal, and sitting on it is a great, big, centipede-bodied thing with three huge scorpion tails, the head of a male stag beetle, praying mantis claws and four pairs of wings resembling those of a dragonfly. Kail is sent past statues of people wearing the same suit of armour and carrying a morningstar shaped like a scorpion's telson. The last is recognisable as Terrowin. The humongous creature she is hovering before gives a great, slow nod.

[Gullara]

[Dr. Kraken's Warehouse]

Kraken blinks at her. "I've been very busy. Making plans, and setting things up. Right now I'm writing a strongly worded letter." That's hardly making things happen at all. Kraken withers under her gaze. "But I guess we could do something else." He stands.

[Halae]

[Temple of Dalachrech]

When the vision overtakes her, Kail will be surprised, to say the least. She's never been particularly religious, so being touched by the divine in this way is a fairly new experience.

She watches all the invertebrates she passes by with interest, despite being somewhat grossed out by much of it. As she comes to rest in front of The chimeric giant insect, she immediately knows who it is, and almost immediately after she realizes this, she bows, attempting to show respect for it, "Ah, greetings, Lord Dalachrech."

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

As soon as she says those words, she's back in the Temple, the vision over. Since I forgot to say that was the complete vision in my previous post. Anyway, everybody's filing out and the service is over. The vision only took about ten minutes, maybe a quarter of an hour. Terrowin is still at the front, next to the altar, lighting a stick of incense.

[AmberVael]

[Dr. Kraken's Warehouse]

"A strongly worded letter?" Magister asks disbelievingly. "Actually, never mind. I don't want to know. So, I'm going to give you a few minutes to come up with a plan, and if you don't have anything, I'll figure something out, and that something will likely be hitting the first big store we see. Given that that is a boring and risky plan, I hope it's ample incentive for you to figure out something more creative and bold for your big villain debut."

[Halae]

[Temple of Dalachrech]

Kail, a but surprised, will try to go up to Terrowin and say, "Terrowin, is it common for people to have visions of Dalachrech?"

[Earl of Purple]

Temple of Dalachrech

"Not especially common, no. Why, what did you see?" There's only one reason why somebody would ask that particular question, and Terrowin's guessed.

Despite it being 'not particularly common', no PC has watched a sermon and not got one. Only one has failed the test of loyalty, too. But that's later, and there's still one person awaiting that test.

[Halae]

[Temple of Dalachrech]

"A whole lot of bugs, doing various... buggy things. Then the big guy himself, in a hall filled with people wearing your armor. He was up on a pedestal." Kail shrugs, "I have no idea what it means."

[The Alexandrian]

[Blue Zone - Private Sector -Crier Pharmaceuticals - Building 3 - 27th Floor to Street-Level]

Oh! That's very thoughtful of Miss Trium! She doesn't have any interest in watching her opponent wreck herself against the heartless earth below! Lighter Spec becomes, then!

Spec does nothing to reciprocate her foe's good sportsmanship. Nope. She'd love for her opponent to hurdle to the earth below with as much kinetic energy as the universe can spare and more.

Spec still probably is under the effects of Trium's disable movement spell. There's not much she can do...other than powering up her light-katana once more, transferring the combined weight of the pair to Trium's hand-blade which, last she checked, might be embedded in the wall.

Spec's arms are going to be so useless once the adrenaline in her system dissipates. Near avulsion! Boo!

[happyturtle]

Masks Temple

Xifra extracts herself from her beloved with kisses and promises to return, and goes to find Jezebel and kneel at her feet, wherever she is.

[UncleWolf]

Mm. Not a whole lot to work with. Jack starts to walk down the center aisle, studying the decor. "You take care of the homeless, yes? How about the sick, or the disabled?"

Masks Temple

The disguised daemonette nods. "We do."

Masks Temple

Xifra extracts herself from her beloved with kisses and promises to return, and goes to find Jezebel and kneel at her feet, wherever she is.

Masks - Underground

She'll find Jezebel drawing up plans for the event that she's been planning, and a couple moments after she kneels, she'll feel Jezebel reach down to stroke her cheek. "Yes dear?"

[happyturtle]

Masks Underground

"I have an idea of how to be rid of the Objects, but I cannot do it without help, Mistress. You've done so much for me, that I have no right to ask." she says, nuzzling Jezebel's hand. She truly believes that she has no right to ask. No right to be considered important or worthy of help. She's still so broken from her upbringing and her curse.