[Nexus] Outside XXIX

[Hattish Thing]

Above the Sea

"Well, lass, what'd ya like to see first? Crew quarters, storage hold, the cannon prison?" Blood asks. If she looks around, she'll see all sorts of people working. Men, women, elves, orcs, even a couple cyborg gorillas. It seems the good Captain doesn't discriminate.

Legion Tent

Pet opens his eyes, showing twin pools of swirling colors where his pupils should be. The tempo of the music within him changes and he takes a couple short and quick steps back out of the halfling's reach before thrusting an arm out to the side and lifting a leg up to rest a foot against the side of his knee. He tilts his hips to one side and looks down at an angle to the side while setting his other hand on his chest.

Within himself, he hears quick drums and guitars as he prepares for a Samba.

He doesn't reply to the halfling's quip, instead imagining an invisible partner there to lead him in the dance.

Marciano just laughs, Is tha' it? You jus' goin' t' prance aroun' like some doe? Marciano doesn't car for the answer though. He jumps into the air using the special boots he designed. By him I mean the "good" people in Louv're Laboratories. The boots have boosters for soles that runs on oxygen to fly. He tries to smash Pet's side with the long claws in attempt to rake him. His other hand doesn't stay for defense now and instead jabs at Pet's stomach in an attempt to gut Pet now.

Abandoned Mine

Now, if only Morty had gone to the Legion C&C Camp he would have seen Marciano...except he's in ratted clothes. But Marciano is at the mine! At the same time?! It seems that Marciano already knows how to clone something at his Laboratories....Which is odd seeing as he bought one for a steep sum at AMEN! Hmm...something's up. Anyway,

The group drove down the gravel path down a steep hill. At the bottom, dug into a large mountain, in the mine. TRhey'll see the same broken caravan and abundance of scavengers. Bugs fill the air. Nasty Mosquitoes. >.< There are three corpses around. One is missing its head and leg....the second one looks the best. It suffered a long cut across its stomach. It was a woman in life. Probably had family. But that's what you get when you work for Louv're Industries. The last one is only a skeleton...nothing but bone. Which should startle them. Marciano, Grantaire, and Rot's footsteps are easily seen.

[Zefir]

[Thessaloniki - The Walls]

Silvanus nods in reply. "They have plenty of vehicles. But rumor has it they just want to take the Governor. So they'll mostly be sticking to street fighting rather than bombing the city. The Legion will try to take the city intact."

And sell the rebels off as slaves. And replace them with loyal citizens from other provinces.

[Thessaloniki - The Walls]

"So we do whatever is need to prevent them enter here?" he says with a smile.

He hasn't used his best weapon, but this giant fight allows him to use them. Zefir starts searching in his bag and after some time he drags out a sheep with a red cape and a headset.

[Earl of Purple]

Thessaloniki- Front Gate

Narahar stays here. He thinks it's the obvious choice of assault, though that does mean they should be wary of other routes to get into the city they shouldn't abandon this one. So he stays put, muttering something in Abyssal.

[Mindfreak]

Eadin lets the woman hold on to her schoulders and starts to swim, changing her legs back to her tail. Goes faster that way.
"So what were you doing up there anyway?"

Ocean of Sinbad
"I was trying to kill that dragon. It had gone insane along with its rider who was trying to become the next Gallabatorix. I'd have my dragon to save me, but he was wounded so I went in alone like the reckless idiot I am.">.<
"And what were you doing out here in the middle of the ocean?"

[Slii Arhem]

Abandoned Mine

Furt snorts and burbles at the corpse-flesh flavoured air. The half-thing had been here, and others.

The rat-ogre snarls. He would find them, and then he would feast. Corpse-things in the pit were not worth his gullet.

[Eadin]

Above the Sea

"Well, lass, what'd ya like to see first? Crew quarters, storage hold, the cannon prison?" Blood asks. If she looks around, she'll see all sorts of people working. Men, women, elves, orcs, even a couple cyborg gorillas. It seems the good Captain doesn't discriminate.

Eadin scratches the back of her head, playing a bit with her hair. "Uhm, crew quarters I guess.."
She glances at the crew. Never seen cyborg gorillas before. "So what are you doing in this part of the sea anyway, this isn't eexactly the best place to fish..." Get more in open sea.

Ocean of Sinbad
"I was trying to kill that dragon. It had gone insane along with its rider who was trying to become the next Gallabatorix. I'd have my dragon to save me, but he was wounded so I went in alone like the reckless idiot I am.">.<
"And what were you doing out here in the middle of the ocean?"

"I was enjoying a nice day out, great day for a swim."
Mermaids don't need reasons to splash around.
"So you ride a dragon, huh? Two against one is always a bad idea."

[Mindfreak]

Ocean of Sinbad
"In my case? Perhaps, but I managed to kill the Rider at least, so now I just have to find the dragon."
"Hey, maybe you should come with me once we hit the Nexus! You can ride on my dragon all the way to Vreon and check out the sites! The least I could do to thank you for rescuing me."

[Eadin]

Ocean of Sinbad


A hydriad riding a dragon? That'll be something.
She can already hear Galinai's voice in her head 'Dragons? Don't trust anything that flies. Especially if it has scharp teeth.'
"Maybe, let's get you safe to shore first, huh?"
Water beings really don't belong in the air.
"Would like to see your dragon, though."

[Morty]

[Thessaloniki - Walls]

Having been hired individually by the city - he doesn't really wish to drag the whole NO into it - Dipsnig watches the approaching army, plotting devious things. Normally, he wouldn't bother... but he can't help but sympathise somewhat with the citizens' situation. So if he can help them throw off their oppressors and earn some money while he's at it, it's good.

[Thessaloniki - Barracks]

Wenomir also happens to be taking part in the battle on the city's side. He feels helping them break off from an oppressive government fits within the purview of Watchtower's mission. Besides, it looks like it'll be a good fight.

[Mindfreak]

Ocean of Sinbad


A hydriad riding a dragon? That'll be something.
She can already hear Galinai's voice in her head 'Dragons? Don't trust anything that flies. Especially if it has scharp teeth.'
"Maybe, let's get you safe to shore first, huh?"
Water beings really don't belong in the air.
"Would like to see your dragon, though."

Ocean of Sinbad
"Yeah, he's a real handsome one. He was the richest purple scales that shimmer in the sunlight like jewels and are as hard as diamonds...I'm glad I got chosen to be a Dragon Rider." ^_^
She held on tighter to Eadin.

[Eadin]

Ocean of Sinbad

"Purple, hm? My favourite colour."
Luckily the woman isn't that heavy for the fey, so she tries to swim a bit faster.
"You get chosen for that? Thought it was just finding a dragon and getting on it's back."
No dragons where Eadin comes from.

[Mindfreak]

Ocean of Sinbad
"Yeah it's...kinda hard to explain. The dragon chooses you, you don't choose the dragon."

[Mr. Moon]

Legion Camp - LXXX's Diagnostic

Sammy stands nervously in front of Eighty, his hands clasped together at his waist. His eyes keep dancing from Eighty's face to her handler to the guns mounted on her back to all the wires running in and out of the wyvren. "Um," he says again. His father? He mentioned his Pa earlier and...

"Um. Excuse me. Sir?" Sammy looks away from Eighty, up at the soldier working at the terminal. "What are you... Um. What are you doing to her?"

Thessaloniki - Front Gate

Mollad and Tavish long gone, the three remaining Sabertooths prepare for the coming assault.
"Right. Stand back over here." Moon Called instructs, stepping back a good fifteen metres from the gate. "When that thing comes down, it'll be coming down hard. No sense getting squished under it."
"Hey, what about Grumpy?" Sevran stands next to Moon Called, his right hand resting lightly on the pommel of his longsword.
"Hm?" Her remaining eye darts over to where Keval is standing.
"Sevran has a point," Keval shoots the shaggy-haired warrior a warning glance. "Without Mollad, just one of me on the roofs won't be of much use."
"I know. Which is why you're staying down here with us. I kno you don't like melee combat," Moon Called holds out a hand to silence Keval before he can protest, "but Sevran and I will be here with you. You'll be fine."
Holding his crossbow in one hand, Keval grunts. "You'd better be right."

Thessaloniki - Winding Through the City

Mollad wasn't really sure where she was, anymore. They'd made so many twists and turns that she had completely lost her orientation in the city. All she could do was keep up with Tavish. Every few turns, Tavish would accost some passing citizen or soldier.
"You!" she'd bark at them, while Mollad took the brief respite to catch her breath. "Which way to the vents from here?"
Sometimes they'd ask her what the hurry was, or repeat the request incredulously. But under the weight of Tavish's glare, they always pointed down one street or another. Without another word, Tavish would take off and Mollad would, with an apologetic shrug, chase after her.

She just hoped they'd make it there in time for.... For whatever this was.

[Lord Magtok]

The Legion - C&C Tent

A jeep appears on the horizon, rolling in from what I'm pretty sure is the general direction of the MagCave. The vehicle's driver and the team's leader is an odd sort, wearing what appears to be a sort of armored SCUBA suit over his body, and neon green trifocal goggles over his forehead. That's HazMag.

Now, on the passenger side is Green Guy's second-in-command, a fellow who looks all dressed up to storm San Juan Hill in that ancient service uniform he's wearing, with an old-timey rifle to match. He's Roosevelt. He's not the ex-president with the same name, but...well, ignoring the fact that this one is a cyborg, there's no way you could hope to tell them apart. Roosey is an absolute stickler for accuracy when it comes to following in the rugged footsteps of Mr. Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt, to the point of dangerous obsession, and over the years, it's made him into quite a powerful killing machine.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Is your refrigerator running? Because-"

Oh, and there's also a guy in orange robes who's been hog-tied and blindfolded in the trunk who won't shut up. That's Needs Food Badly, the team's wizard. He has something of a drug problem, made all the worse by all manner of dark and vile rituals, which have left a foul taint deep within his bones. We don't talk about him, you don't want to know anything about him, and you really should just ignore everything he says. Trust me on this one.

"I must admit my orders were a tad bereft of detail. Is there anything you can tell us about our present circumstances that wouldn't have been on the pamphlet, Commander?"

Together they form Mystery Meat, a motley trio of unconventional MagClones, the sort of freaks who'd be culled in less than a minute, if only they weren't so damn useful. They deal with the oddjobs, the clean-ups, whatever Magtok wants dealt with, but either is too afraid of, doesn't have enough information to adequately respond to, or just can't be bothered to handle on his own.

"You see, we've been getting some complaints from a number of folks in the area, children going missing, and-"

Today, they've been asked to help out the Legion with that Thessalonia rebellion that needs to be put down. Magtok figures that the government could make a useful ally, especially if he had a chance to dissect those wonderful little Wyverns he's heard so much about.

"Nah. Rebellion is rebelling, Empire is quelling. Both think they're right, both are fulla uppity bull**** just like the shiny ******* holding our leash."

Their orders are to report at the C&C tent, find out as much as they can about the general situation, and do whatever they can to help out. Wyvern corpses are to be teleported back to the MagCave if it looks like they can get away with it, but they've been asked not to push their luck.

"So you see, we'd like to take you down to the station to ask a few questions. We're not accusing you of anything, ma'am, we just need to determine whether there was a history of abuse in your household, anything that might have set the refrigerator off, or-"

That's the plan, anyways. It remains to be seen if everything will go quite as well as Magtok hopes.

"Affirmative, sir."

They park outside of the tent and take Needs out of the trunk (keeping him tied up and blindfolded for safety reasons, though), and then begin idly waiting for a Legion official to help them along.

[Rebonack]

[The Legion - C&C Tent]

By this time Centurion Legate has set up shop outside the tent if only to get clear of the brawl that's going on inside. Crazy Nexus people. And that means she'll have a great view of the three clones arriving! Just what they need. Another batch of clones.

At least these ones appear to be humorously insane.

"Your names, please," the military bureaucrat of the day inquires. "And how can you be of service to the Legion."

[Legion Camp - LXXX's Diagnostic]

"It," the Centurion replies, his tone a bit gruff and not particularly friendly. "The Wyverns don't have genders. They aren't people. And I'm running tests on Eighty's equipment pods and cybernetics. Like any good weapon it must be properly maintained. If it malfunctions in combat soldiers could lose their lives."

Well.

That sounds awfully serious.

Eighty doesn't disagree with this sentiment. At least not outwardly. Instead she just sort of resigns herself to it like a dog that's been told she's bad.

"Sam Cassidy?" Eighty speaks up again. "I would very much like- erk," a beat as Eighty suddenly stands upright and spreads her wings to their full span. It looks like she wasn't expecting that to happen. "I would very much like to know more about your... 'Pa'... If you would be willing to share."

[Thessaloniki - The Walls]

Oh there's certainly money to be made. And plenty of it. This city seems to be pretty darn rich. Which is no doubt why The Legion isn't too keen on them going independent.

Anyone with a keen eye should be able to see that... something appears to be going on over there. Lots of movement. A lot more than a few minutes prior, too. Silvanus squints through a pair of binoculars at The Legion. "Troop transports? How could they possibly expect to get in with the barrier up?"

[Legion Camp]

Suddenly alarms!

Alarms everywhere!

"Attention all units. Attention all units. Report to your assigned transport immediately," blares a rather official sounding voice through the loudspeakers that dot the camp.

Without so much as a word all the various cables begin retracting from the Wyvern and slithering back into the machinery. "That will have to do for now, Eighty. Time to mobilize."

"Yes, Centurion," Eighty replies before clomping off the platform and heading toward a nearby transport with her handler walking in front of her. She sneaks a glance back at Sammy and makes a 'follow me' motion with her head.

Brutus, meanwhile, elbows at Allen. "That's our cue to get moving. Things are about to heat up," and with that he and his company are heading towards yet another transport!

[The Legion - C&C Tent]

"Alright. As amusing as this all is it's time to ship out. If you don't have a specific mission embed yourself with one of the units heading for the city," Centurion Legate says. "Mars be with us all."

She points at the trio of Magtoks. "You three? You're hired. Payment can be arranged later. We're going to need all the help we can get to crack that city, Mars willing. Get on one of the transports. Your mission will be explained on the way."

[Thessaloniki - The Vents]

"We're headed to the geothermal vents. It's not far now!" Gaius replies, pointing at a rather temple-like building not too far away. At his insistence they aren't to slow down, not until the get inside to-

Huh.

Eerr...

The doors appear to have been barred from the inside. That sure is strange.

"By Vulcan..." the young solider mutters. "I hope we aren't too late already. Quick! We need to find another way in!"

There are some windows!

But they look to be up awfully high.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Thessaloniki Vents]

Gaius will be treated to a rather speedy dismount as Leeh comes to a quick stop and rapidly shifts form again. Slight danger of faceplanting into the ground, but nothing worse than that. Within moments, Leeh is back to normal. Clothes n' all.

"They've already had time to barricade the door. That means that they're set up to repel any attack we make. There's probably not many of them, but there's only two of us, and hopefully some others playing catch up behind us."

Leeh's staring thoughtfully at the door. Or rather, um, through the door. He's got fancy eyes. And among the fancy things they're capable of, he's able to pick out heat signatures. There's a limitation to how far he can see, of course, but hopefully it'll be far enough to see how many soldiers are set up to defend the doorway.

"Don't suppose you've got a way up to those windows, or a way to communicate with anyone back at base? I can give you a way up to the windows, but shapeshifting so rapidly to shapes I'm not used to is tiring...and it might just be best to say the vents have fallen already. I doubt we'll be able to stop them before they finish whatever they're planning in there."

Leeh's desire to avoid communicating has been suppressed for now. He's too busy thinking. He can guess what's going to happen. He knows about geothermal energy and all. So presumably the vents are about to be deactivated in some way and the city wall is going to come crumbling down...

[happyturtle]

Thessaloniki - Palace

Vita is frowning at the ambiguous message from Vesta, when she suddenly stands up straight, eyes closed as she sees through her brother's eyes. She only opens her eyes a moment, to move to the side of Octavius and lean down by his lectus. "Uncle, many troop transports are in motion right now. Vulcan preserve us, they are heading towards the walls as if they think the barrier won't stop them!" She closes her eyes again as she speaks, seeing what he sees.

Thessaloniki - Walls

"They've been recruiting heroes just as we have. They must have found someone who thinks they can destroy the barrier." Felis says decisively. "You must ready the troops."

Spoiler

Show

Players involved!


{table=head]Character|Player|Location|Side
Narahar|Earl of Purple|Gates|Thessaloniki
Mooncalled & co|Mooncalled|Gates|Thessaloniki
Ice elves|Mooncalled|Vents|Thessaloniki
Rose|Horngeek|Walls|Thessaloniki
Hipho|Flarg||Thessaloniki
Alteration Squad|C'nor|Walls|Thessaloniki
Vita|Happy|Palace|Thessaloniki
Felis|Happy|Walls|Thessaloniki
Octavius|Rebo|Palace|Thessaloniki
Gaius|Rebo|Vents|Thessaloniki
Silvanus|Rebo|Walls|Thessaloniki
Leeh|Shrimp|Vents|Thessaloniki
RU1|TS|Side Gate|Thessaloniki
Zefir|Zefir|Walls|Thessaloniki
Wenomir|Morty|Gates|Thessaloniki
Dipsnig|Morty|Walls|Thessaloniki
Allen|Mooncalled|Transport|Legion
Oogy Boogy Man|TS|??|Legion
Slaani****es|Wolfbane|C&C tent|Legion
Marciano/Grantaire|singingnoodle|C&C tent|Legion
Magtok|Mystery Meat Squad|Transport|Legion
Triplets|TE|?|Legion
Teq Vraal|Murkus|?|Legion
Wyvern 80|Rebo|Transport|Legion
[/table]

[Mr. Moon]

Legion - Diagnostics -> Transports

As the soldier explains what he's doing to Sammy, the boy's expression falls from concern to confusion and indignation. He opens his mouth to protest, but two things stop him.

Was it really a good idea to anger an authority figure who could very easily get his new friend in trouble? Sammy had spent enough time moving around that he knew how to escape trouble, but Eighty didn't have that luxury.

Second, a shrill alarm fills the air. Were they moving out? Already? Sammy had expected Allen to track him down before hand. What was he supposed to do? Stay here? Go with them? Sammy had a pistol in his back-pack, but he wasn't a soldier and he'd only used it a few times.

But there. Eighty catches his eye, motions for him to follow. He hesitates for a moment, before hurrying after the wyvren.
He wasn't a soldier, but maybe he could still help.

Legion - Firing Range -> Transports

Allen glances up as the alarms sound. "'s'bout damn time," he grunts. Grabbing another handful of fruits and a danish, Allen trudges forward after Brutus. As he sits down in the transport, he adjusts his rifle and lays it across his lap. Kicks his boots up onto the seat in front of him, pulls his hat down over his face, leans back and takes a nap.

Thessalonkiki - Racing to the Vents

Xun confound this stupid city, Mollad grumbled to herself as she and Tavish stormed towards the vents. She was now completely lost, and she was starting to wonder if Tavish was, too. The battle was going to start without her, she mentally griped, and she'd be too busy trying to tell one of these godsforsaken houses from the other to draw any blood.
At the edge of her mind, two somethings grumble impatiently.

Spoiler

Show

Way to fail, Rival. You totally didn't notice that most of my hastily introduced characters are split up.

Thessaloniki:
{table=head]Player|Character|Location
Earl of Purple|Narahar|Gates
Moon_Called|Moon Called, Keval and Sevran|Gates
Moon_Called|Tavish and Mollad| Heading towards the vents
Horngeek|Rose|
Hipho|Flarg|
C'nor|Alteration squad|Thess
Happy|Vita and Felis|Palace/Walls
Octavius|Rebo|Palace
Gaius|Rebo|Vents
Silvanus|Rebo|Walls
Shrimp|Leeh|Vents
TS|RU1|Side Gate
Zefir|Zefir|Walls
Wenomir|Morty|Gates
Dipsnig|Morty|Walls
[/table]

Legion:
{table=head]Player|Character|Location
Moon_Called|Allen|Transports
Moon_Called|Sammy|Transports
TS|Oogy Boogy Man|
Wolfy|Slaani****es|
Noodle|Marciano|
Magtok|Mystery Meat Squad|
TE|Triplets|
Murkus|Teq Vraal|
Wyvern 80|Rebo|Transports
[/table]

[horngeek]

[Thessaloniki - Walls]

Rose frowns, and reaches to what appears to be empty space... before a golden bow appears in one hand, and a quiver bristling with arrows appears in the other. She slings the quiver on her back, taking an arrow out, and nocks it to the bow, not drawing yet.

She looks at Silvanius, then nods at Felis' statement. "He's right. Or they've got a trick themselves. Remember, they've held this city for a while, they might have studied this shield."

She nods at the Bloodthieves in acknowledgement, but unless they talk to her, she's focused on the battle right now.

[Lord Magtok]

C&C Tent => Transports

Roosevelt turns his head towards his squad leader, getting only a simple nod from the hazardous materials expert. Yep, it's go-time. Still too early to untie NFB, though, he could accidentally fireball everyone in the face if released from those ropes prematurely. The two carry Needs Food Badly in by his head and feet as they clamber inside the nearest transport that will take them.

"The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen. Begun, the Clone Wars have."

[Hattish Thing]

Legion C&C Tent

Marciano instantly retracts his claws when alarms sound. He nods at Pet before turning to the Legion commander guy, Oy! I'll be goin' now, I'll be int ha' transport...uh....yeah. By th' way, when am I gettin' paid? Marciano's claws sshorten to the point were he can slip the gauntlets into his sack. That he hands to Grantaire to carry. By th' way, I've brought me own artillery. He laughs darkly. He then heads off into the same trnasport area that the three magclones(?) head off to. (If the clones look anything like Magtok Marciano would remember him.)

[Lord Magtok]

Transports

Being MagClones, they look exactly like the Magtok that Marciano knows. In fact, aside from their clothing and physique (Roosevelt is of course about as strong and buff as he can be. HazMag has a more athletic build, to help him run away in terror when things get too ugly for even the MM team, whereas Needs Food Badly is nearly anorexic beneath those robes, and has to be force-fed his meals more often than not), there's not a thing to imply that they're anyone other than Magtok.

Doesn't Marciano have a fight to deal with, though?

[Hattish Thing]

Transports

Marciano stopped attacking when the sirens started blaring. It seemed the best thing to do. So Marciano will recognize the cyborgs! M-Magtok?....There's three 'o' you? W-What are ya doin' 'ere?!

[UncleWolf]

Above the Sea

Blood takes his hat off with a smile and gives a bit of a bow before trying to set the hat on Eadin's head. "Keep it. Consider it repayment for the troubles." He tells her before he begins walking towards a stairway leading down. "As for why we're out here, we're on a long course for some treasure, but needed a short stop to pick up just a couple days' more supplies."

C&C Tent

(Noodle, next time, please at least let me respond to an attack against my PC before you leave the scene since it puts me in a rather awkward position.)

Pet's eyes turn back to their normal brown after the halfling leaves, and he sighs when the music is cut off. He felt alone once more as the warmth inside him drifts off. He looks up when Razorfang wraps her arms around him from behind and gives his neck a gentle nuzzle to remind him that she's still there. With another touch of her claw, she puts the shackle back on her wrist.

Pet gives her a warm smile, feeling whole once more, and the four Slaaneshi Mercenaries head into their designated transport. They'd go on foot after the battle started.

[The Bandicoot]

[Thessaloniki The Vents]

The little black puppy lets out a loud howl and Flarg(along with the sparrow) disappears, reappearing in the shadows behind Galus. Need to get in through the windows? Give me a second.... the gem on his glove glows brightly and the tiny sparrow grows to become a large hawk bigger than Galus.Hop on, it'll take you through the window and I'll meet you on the other side.

If Galus does hop on the falcon it'll do just that, fly him through the window and drop him down. Flarg will then step through the falcon's shadow and bring the half dozen black wolves in as well.

[Rebonack]

[Legion Transport - Halfling and Clones]

Three identical guys. One of which is tied up?

Okay. That's kind of weird. A solider starts to make a snarky comment, but one of others elbows him. "That's Lord Magtok," the guy doing the limb-jabbing says. "He's one of the most powerful people in the Nexus. Show some respect."

Y'know.

In spite of the insane quirks.

[Legion Transport - 80 and Sammy]

There's a rather large space available for the Wyvern inside the transport. Probably was designed with the ability to carry these critters in mind. Aside from Eighty and her handler there are quite a few Legion soldiers in here as well. As the boy climbs aboard the living weapon is watching him expectantly.

"I'm curious to see what you can do in battle, Sam Cassidy. I've heard stories of what people from the Nexus are capable of and many of them seem too fantastic to believe," Eighty admits. Even sounds vaguely excited. "And when this battle is won you can tell me all about your Pa. And the Nexus as well. That will be good, I think."

Eighty had always liked hearing the stories about the Nexus when she was back at the Capital still. About the valiant Lord of Steeds Atreyu, the Platonic cast from which all horses were formed. And of course his never-ending battle against his dark nemesis The Godrupede.

A place where beings of unfathomable power split the sky with songs unfit for mortal ears to comprehend.

Where the Goblin King reigns from the roof of the world, commanding the very teeth of wind in the form of ravenous wolves.

A place where the dead rise and the earth quakes and the greatest heroes imaginable stand opposed to them!

Heroes like Cosmos the Lofty who armed with nothing more than a mop drove off single-highhandedly an army of lion-faced warriors from beyond the rim of the world.

Heroes like Magtok the Eternal, herald of machines and ruler of a vast empire through his machinations alone.

Heroes like The Warden who stands watch at the gates of Tartarus itself lest the Titans ever return and wreak havoc upon the world.

Heroes like The Three Faced Monk who commands legions of celestial warriors to guard the sacred flame of passion.

Yes... so many stories. So many stories too marvelous and awesome to be true. And yet here she is, right at the boarder of this fabled land.

This train of thought doesn't take long to pass through Eighty's mind. Sam might notice that she looks a little dreamy-eyed for whatever weird reason.

[Legion Transport - Allen]

Aaaaaaand Allen is taking a nap.

Geeze.

He was so busy shoveling fruit into his mouth that he forgot all about Sammy. And now Sammy is stuck with a Wyvern who thinks he has death-ray vision or something.

[Legion Transport - Slash Mercs and XIV]

Into another transport they go! Though this time around it's just Sixteen and the four mercenaries. Unlike Eighty Sixteen doesn't seem to have a handler in the proper sense. Probably because she's a fair bit more experienced.

"Most of our enemies will be using ballistic weapons with chemical propellants of various models. Vibro-blades for close combat," Sixteen states as the transport begins to lift off. "We can expect a few to be equipped with infantry-scale railguns. Fuel-gel sprayers are a possibility, though unlikely given the volatile nature of the targets we will be infiltrating. I have been ordered to aid you to the best of my ability. However I am not to jeopardize the mission to save any of you. I hope that will not be an issue."

The Wyvern fixes her almost-human gaze on Pet. "Your hand to hand skills are admirable. But do not under-estimate our enemies. They have lived at the edge of the Nexus for hundreds of years and are accustomed to fending off the horrors it throws at them."

[Thessaloniki - The Walls]

Word is quickly spread that the enemy is mobilizing and weapons are readied to defend the walls! Small sections of the barrier are powered down so the city's defenses can train on enemy targets. As soon they stray into range the cannons will obliterate them!

Silvanus shakes his head. "I know the Legion isn't stupid. They wouldn't charge the walls suicidally..."

[Thessaloniki - The Palace]

At this most distressing of news murmurs spread through the whole court. However, the High Priest of Vulcan stands and motions to the nobles. "Calm yourselves. We all know that the barrier around our city is as the anvil of Vulcan himself. Despite how furiously the Legion pounds against it, it will not yield. It is their hubris that drives them to this folly."

[Thessaloniki - The Vents]

Gaius gestures for the dog to stuff it. Being loud right now is a terrible idea.

The shape-shifter's vision will find the following. Vision matched by Gaius when he accepts the lift up through the window and motions for the others to follow him.

Dead priests. A lot of dead priests. Most without weapons drawn. Whatever did this did it fast. Piled up against the doors are hastily built barricades of furniture and equipment.

Wired with explosives to blow in case someone tries to force them open.

Gaius feels like someone just pulled out his liver and used it to skip-rope a few times. "Vulcan preserve us... they're already here..."

He motions to the others all the more frantically. "Our enemies are probably still inside. If we're lucky we can still take them by surprise before they damage the generators."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Thessaloniki - Vents]

"Alright. Probably worth going in and seeing what we can do. But someone needs to get word to the troops on the wall. They need to know what's about to happen if we're too late."

Leeh stretches his arms out to grab the window, the rest of his body thinning out as all the mass is transferred to his arms.

Lots of weird shimmering and generally unpleasant-looking rippling going on there as the various solid bits and pieces being hidden within are shuffled round and so on.

But in a matter of seconds he's up at the window. Hopefully no one watched him closely, they might feel a little nauseous after that.

Once up at the window, Leeh turns to their newly arrived companion, Flarg. "You got here quickly. Some form of teleport? Can you get back to the wall the same way and warn them? If not, guess I'm going to have to run back..."

And having thrown his body through that rather awkward rapid shapeshift, Leeh's feeling pretty tired. He'd rather not have to sort out four legs and start dashing back to the wall.

He'd rather stay here.

His awkwardness and silence may have faded as his attention is focused on the situation at hand, but he's still here to die. He can't really expect to die if he's stuck playing messenger the whole time.

[ThirdEmperor]

[The Legion - C&C Tent]

Fight fight fight!

Those crazy people are really duking it out!

"It is, yes," the Centurion replies to the newcomers in a level tone even as the hobbit and the former priest scuffle nearby. "Your names, if you will. And what you feel you can offer The Legion."

She glances up at the fight nearby.

"...demonstrations of abilities aren't strictly required."

Though they are amusing to watch none the less. Legate personally finds it somewhat silly. But everyone seems intent on boasting about how amazing their skills are. It's a pretty universal thing.

"Er, I'm afraid me and my brothers don't actually have names." The red shirted triplet explains, sounding more than a little bit annoyed about it.

Names. Bloody useless things. When they'd still been with their brothers at Excelsior, nobody needed silly frivolities like names. Everyone knew who you were and who you were talking about without the need for labels. Now everywhere he goes people are asking what his name is and never even bother to consider that perhaps not everyone has one and would very much prefer not to have to say so for the three millionth time thank you very much!

"But we can fight and we can kill and we can use almost any kind of weapon."

[The Bandicoot]

[Thessaloniki-The Vents]

Flarg grins when surprise is mentioned. Surprise is my middle name.... he says pulling a couple wickedly sharp blades from his belt. As for messengers two of the wolves break away from the pack, disappearing as they step into shadows.

[The Wall]

A black wolf steps out from the shadows and says in a whispy-sounding voice The vents are compromised. The barrier may fall. Prepare yourselves.

[The Palace]
A similar black wolf steps out from the shadows. Galus sends word. The vents have been infiltrated by the Legion. The generators are at risk. Will attempt to protect them. If sending troops use windows, doors are rigged to explode.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Thessaloniki - Walls]

Rose frowns, and reaches to what appears to be empty space... before a golden bow appears in one hand, and a quiver bristling with arrows appears in the other. She slings the quiver on her back, taking an arrow out, and nocks it to the bow, not drawing yet.

She looks at Silvanius, then nods at Felis' statement. "He's right. Or they've got a trick themselves. Remember, they've held this city for a while, they might have studied this shield."

She nods at the Bloodthieves in acknowledgement, but unless they talk to her, she's focused on the battle right now.

"It lets light through, at least in our visible spectrum. A laser of the right wavelength should, then, in theory, not be hindered. They might not be planning to take down the barrier so much as kill anyone who comes onto the walls and starve us out until we open the gates," the Bloodthief on the left muses, staring out at the forces of the Legion, and looking almost eager for the battle to begin.

[The Wall]

A black wolf steps out from the shadows and says in a whispy-sounding voice The vents are compromised. The barrier may fall. Prepare yourselves.

"Or, you know, they could come up though a set of vents no-one bloody told us about," his sister remarks, flexing her claws angrily. "It's usually, y'know, considered a good idea to brief your troops on weak points, just in case, even if you 'know' the enemy is going to come at you a certain way..."

Meanwhile, the rest of Alteration has arrived at this section of the walls!

On the edges of their formation are the Hunters; further in the Shapers wait eagerly for the chance to change them. At the center are the Siphons, which, fortunately, being life-linked to the Bloodthieves, recognize their allies as Nayleth. Overhead, the Drakes circle, careful to keep low, and within the confines of the barrier.

And, finally, the remaining four Bloodthieves, who quickly joined the rest on the wall.

Nayleth breeds:

Spoiler

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First, the Nayleth, or more specifically, a subspecies of them, Hunters. Tripedal, with their rear limb bearing far more similarity to a tail than a leg, especially as it ended in a wicked bone spike instead of any foot, possessed of an almost lupine head, though with faceted eyes, no visible ears, save for a small pair of holes in the sides of its skull, and completely covered in scales, not fur, these beasts - though beasts was not, perhaps, the best term, as they were at least as intelligent as most of the other species claimed by deities - were fearsome hunters, especially as they hunted in groups, and the sucker-padded feet on their front limbs, which secreted an extremely sticky slime (valuable as sealant and glue, if one managed to survive the attempt to harvest it and bring back a sample), enabled them to climb on almost any surface, from which they could leap without warning, using their third limb to guide themselves. Though they did have a weakness, one that any skilled bowman could exploit - there was a nerve cluster at the exact intersection of the lines that would be formed by the legs and tail if they were to be pulled straight, and most damage to it killed them instantly.

Next came the Shapers; quadrapeds, unlike their brethren, and with no tails, instead being covered in tendrils tipped with spikes of bone similar to, though hollow, those of the Hunter's third limbs, all sprouting from various parts of a many-chambered sack on their backs, these strange creations have been granted similar gifts to those of Kansheri, though at the cost of many of the things that made the Hunters so devastating, such as their climbing prowess and agility. However, due to their ability to sense weaknesses in their enemies, and the many bone-tipped tendrils they're armed with, especially as those can also inject strange mutagens and toxins, they're certainly far from easy to kill.

Third were the Siphons - worm-like creatures with a vertical pair of mandibles, and no eyes, as they can directly sense life, these were meant as warriors, almost certainly. For in addition to sensing life, unless they choose to suppress their abilities, any life save that of other Nayleth is swiftly drained to feed them from anything that comes near them, or from a single entity at much greater distances (though this makes them approachable), and it is hard to imagine what other purpose such things could serve, save, perhaps, that of executioners.

And, on seeing the Dragonfly, three of the Hunters are quickly singled out for mutation, granting them, in a few moments of painful, but ecstatic, transformation, two pairs of tough, leathery wings, as well as a membrane stretching from their ankles to the rear of the spike on their tails, and the ability to spit certain compounds, which react rather explosively with air, and stick to whatever they come in contact with.

Those three, the first Drakes, launch into the sky, two spewing massed droplets of burning liquid at the Korish Soldiers, and the Kyorl that stands in their midst, while the remaining one sprays them towards the wings of the flying Kyorl.