[Nexus] Remnant III

[Halae]

As he looks for the vampiric taint he may find several things. He may find she was fighting a common flu before she died, and that she took a very strong medicine for it laced with a strange sort of power. The power of that potion is akin to the magic of this world, but different, and it has a small effect on Caet's magic. It seems to shed magic like a duck sheds water from its oiled plumage. However, there is no trace of vampiric infection. Only the twin fang marks in her neck and her bloodloss would lead one to believe she was attacked by a vampire.

The feathers are even more interesting than the victim. The full feather is glossy black with a crimson shaft. Anyone capable of 'seeing' magic will see Caet's spell shed off of the feather, beading and rolling over it, unable to mix with it in the same way oil does not mix with water. It would take an emulsifier of sorts to allow the two to work together. There is a hint of blood along the feather's shaft, that his magic can touch, if only slightly. It is not quite enough to get a reading on... if only there were more...

The feather scrap is dull back, and it only consists of barbules, it has no shaft because the full feather was not pulled out. It too sheds magic. Neither should be like anything Caet has seen here before, for they were brought here from another world.

[Autopsy Room]

Caet thinks for a moment, before going to check the victim's hands, to see if he can't get any more blood out from under her fingernails. there was signs of a struggle, after all. Perhaps she managed to scratch her attacker?

[LadyOfWar]

[Autopsy Room]

Caet thinks for a moment, before going to check the victim's hands, to see if he can't get any more blood out from under her fingernails. there was signs of a struggle, after all. Perhaps she managed to scratch her attacker?

All of the matter was scraped from under her nails and transferred to the jar that Latas showed him and told him about.

Should he check the contents of that, jar he will find only two sets of biological samples. The first is, of course, skin cells of the victim herself and the normal bacteria found under a person's nails. The second is blood and skin of a very different creature. If he casts his spell to identify the being it belongs to he should have a slightly fuzzy reading this time. It belongs to a male humanoid creature with enormous black feathered wings. He is a mix of human, vampire and phoenix, all strangely melded. The compound found in the victim's blood belongs to this creature, or another like him.

((If the spell is specific enough to give Caet the man's face and/or more details just let me know, I'll reply with the descriptions. I wasn't sure how much fell under, "identify the being it belongs to," in your earlier post.))

[UncleWolf]

Interview Room

"I'd suggest that if you wanted to join, that you should stop making so many assumptions about how we run things, but it's something of a moot point as you have admitted to having Vampirism. That and various form of lycanthropy fall under Infectious Diseases. You won't be allowed to enlist until you get rid of it. Of course, we could do it for you if nothing else." The man explains.

[Halae]

[Autopsy Room]

((Apologies for not being specific. You gave all the information that Caet would have found out from that spell >.>))

Well, that is an interesting happening, isn't it? "Nellens Latas, We have a chimera on the loose. A sort of merging between vampire and phoenix. It seems resistant to magic, if its feathers are anything to go by. Male; it's wings should be very large. The compound that was in the victim's blood belonged to it."

[AmberVael]

[Autopsy Room]

"Well, that'll give me a bit more to go on. Any chance of giving me a clearer lead on his location, or perhaps some information that we could use to look him up?"

"Now, you said compound in the victim's blood- I wasn't aware there was such a thing. Can you clarify? Would this prove that he is in fact our murderer?" Latas puts her hands in her pockets, hoping that at least one of these things could get cleared up.

[Halae]

[Autopsy Room]

"The victim appears to have been taking a type of powerful magical medicine for a flu virus. Apparently, it belonged to our perpetrator. This suggests a prior relationship, potentially one of doctor and patient. Unfortunately, I can't give you an accurate description of the individual, as the only piece of his body that I might have used to do so - the feather - apparently resists magic." Caet says this all matter of factly.

[Terumitsu]

Interview Room

Okay, so either she was spot on or so far off the mark that she wasn't even using the same map anymore. Well, that'll teach me to try reasoning things through out loud. That said, it stood to reason that, unless the organization had unlimited resources (doubtful), it would be hard to expect them to field armies of finely tuned soldiers ready for anything that could be thrown at them. That went double if the Nexus was just as much of a madhouse as the guard said it was.

Though.. Getting rid of the vampirism? The fledgeling wasn't quite sure how to respond to that at first. And that was ignoring the part that she was ineligible due to it being considered a disease. "Get rid of it?" the muse asked, turning the thought over in her head. "And exactly how would that work? Cause, as far as I know, this isn't the easiest thing to remove."

[UncleWolf]

Interview Room

"It isn't the easiest thing to get rid of, but it can be done. It's just easier to kill the vampire instead. It also depends on the kind of Vampirism."

Locked Vault - Antagonist

Arla, Anna, and Aliz all watch the heavily warded block, standing vigil while awaiting word from Taul about plans. As they wait, they start inscribing more layers of seals, locks, and wards on their previous spells. These include protections from divinations and other such magics and containment spells to keep Feia's senses and mind locked in the block.

[Terumitsu]

[Interview Room]

Ghoul was firmly of the mind that she would rather not be slain just because she was under a certain category. She'd be fine if she was being hunted because of something she actually DID, however.

That was secondary, though. Apparently there were varying procedures to the differing species of vampire. Which kinda made sense but it made the muse wonder just how many types of vampire there were out there. Probably too many.

"So, 'zactly how do you tell which process to use, anyway? Because, honestly, I couldn't tell you much that would help, I think." the fledgeling said with a bit of a shrug. She knew what to avoid and so on but hadn't been told the name of her Sire nor the line she now technically belonged to. It made sense in her mind, though, as it would keep the new initiates from spreading too many secrets.

[UncleWolf]

Interview Room

"Mostly, it'd involve testing you to see what weaknesses you had until we could narrow it down. But that's a long and arduous process. Painful. The quickest and easiest way would be for you to see the witch Which at the Wish shop, but her prices are steep."

Sealed Vault => Teleportation Chamber

Getting a call from Taul, Arla sighs. "Strip to your swimming gear, then we'll go." She tells the two Combat Mages. The other two snort, barely keeping from laughing, and they do as she says. Fortunately, they were prepared for it. Still, they were going to have to show off to anyone above ground as they moved to their prepared Tele-chamber.

The floor of the vault lifts as the ceiling parts. When the elevator finishes moving, they're all above ground with a floating slab of stone between them. As soon as they're in sight of others, many Remnants just can't help but give out cat calls and wolf whistles to the trio.

Arla grumbles, cursing Taul's name and damning him to any afterlife she can think of as they enter the Teleportation Chamber.

"Lock on and send."

After a moment, there's a bright flash of light as they're teleported to AMEN's Magma Chamber.

[Terumitsu]

[Interview Room]

Wishes. Lovely. Ghoul wasn't very trusting of magic and just wishing something away seemed far too convenient. Of course, she wasn't aware of the exact scheme of pricing that was in place but that probably would only serve as a deterrent.

As for finding the weaknesses of her particular species, well, she had been instructed to keep quiet about several things by her Sire. This was definitely a topic included in that list and even attempting to suggest that probing around for weakness was halted by a strange sort of mental block. This resulted in several of her sentences breaking off right in the middle before she simply gave up on trying with an agitated expression.

"Well, looks like the former is of no use and I honestly don't trust the latter option. So I suppose that leaves us right back where we started. Though, now that I think of it, I'd probably bring down hell on myself if I did 'cure' myself." the muse said with a mirthless chuckle. "Unless there are other ways, I think I've wasted enough of your time now."

[happyturtle]

Elsewhere, but placed in this thread for narrative convenience

Spoiler

Show

Billie was growing impatient. She had staked out the Watchmaker's Shop, but Jake and Gus never slept there. Always back at Remnant, where she couldn't touch them. It would have been easier to take one of them in their sleep. She didn't want to hurt him, but if she had to, she would. It was for his own good.

She couldn't understand why they always changed daily, like clockwork. 9am, one changed to the other. Why? It made no sense. Some sort of mutation perhaps?

She watched, and waited. She needed a Gus day, and she needed to snatch him early in the day, to allow the most possible time. And finally the day came, when Gus arrived early in the morning to pick up something at the house above the shop.

Billie picked the lock and let herself into the Watchmaker's shop. The customer bell over the door rang, and Gus came downstairs.

"Um, sorry, Mr Stevenson isn't here, so the shop is closed."

"That's okay. I wanted to talk to you." Billie says.

"Me? How come?"

"I saw your photo in the Remnant at Play calendar. So, dating the Commander, are you?"

"Yes..." Gus says warily, not sure where this is going.

"How do you feel about her?"

"She's amazing," Gus says simply.

Billie beams. "That's wonderful. I'm so glad you're happy."

"Who are you?"

"I was there, you know, when you were born. Even if you weren't there yet. I was there. And since then, I waited for you to arrive. And then, I found you, in the calendar. Isn't it wonderful?"

"What are you talking about?"

And that's when Billie pulls out a taser.

"Sorry."

---

1

Sometime later....

Vasquez's phone rings. The caller ID shows it's Gus.

[Lost_Deep]

Armory

A new Remnant member steps into the Armory. Humanoid, the main thing that sets him apart from humans are the large, black-furred ears on his head.

He looks around. Some of the things he recognizes... SMGs, Pistols, power armor... it's a lot of power armor. It's not very common where he comes from...

In fact, there is a lot here he doesn't know what to make of... ah, well. He's been in the army before. He'll get training in what he needs to use. He listens to the world for a minute: To his own heart, to the machinery in the walls, the hearts of anyone else in the area.

Here he is, a place in Remnant is as close as he's going to get: Terral Ven, Wraith third class. Not quite what he was used to, but he's willing to learn.

[UncleWolf]

Vas' Office

Vas looks up from her paperwork and hits the answer button on her cell, putting it on speaker. "Hey Gus. What's up?" She asks, somewhat distracted.

Interview Room

"Oh, don't worry. You didn't waste any time." The Remnant tells Ghoul before offering her his hand. "If you do get cured and wish to come back for a more in depth interview and possibly become a recruit, go right ahead."

Armoury

All the weapons outside The Weapons Vault are unloaded, and the power armors on display have no power cores inside. Terral will hear heavy footsteps behind him as Geoff, the base's main Mechanic. "Alright, lets see what weaponry you already have first of all."

[happyturtle]

Elsewhere

Tied up in the back of a nondescript white van, Gus had managed to get his phone out of his pocket, slowly work it up to his face, and then use his tongue to hold down the 'unlock' key, followed by Vas' speeddial. He didn't know how long he'd have before the woman noticed what he was doing, so he had used the time it took to work the phone up to decide on what to say first.

Once Vas knew he was in trouble, she would find him. He had no doubt of that. But if the phone call lasted only seconds, there was one thing he had to say.

Vas' Office - Phone

"Vas, I'm in trouble, but don't hurt her! I need you to listen," Gus says, his voice low and hard to hear. Loud pop music is playing in the background, and there are road noises. "Please don't hurt her. She's my mother."

[Lost_Deep]

Armoury

Terral pulls out a good sized pistol, specifically following gun safety rules. He shows it to Geoff, and will let him take it if he wants to. It's clearly futuristic, with a basic ammo display, a simple trigger, and a safety. There does not appear to be any way to remove a clip.

"A basic sidearm from where I come from. Not as strong as a bullet-based weapon of similar size, but it's designed to have basically infinite ammo. I have training in other weapons, but this is the only one I have with me; I was in transit and off-duty when I was... nexused, as you might say."

[UncleWolf]

Vas' Office - Phone

Vasquez pauses for a moment before sighing and facepalming. It's like he was never out of trouble, but now his own mother is doing something. "What happened, Gus? Where are you?"

Armoury

Geoff looks over the pistol carefully and looks at a little target down an indoor firing range. If allowed, he'll fire a handful of shots down the 30ft range to get a feel for it.

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office - Phone

"In the back of a van. Not sure where she's taking me. She has a taser, red hair like mine..."

"Who are you talking to, Gus?" a female voice calls out in the distance, over the pop music.

"I'm praying!" Gus calls back.

"You don't have to pray. I swear I won't hurt you," the voice calls back. There's a honk of a horn and a string of swear words as her distraction causes her to run a red light and nearly crash.

[Lost_Deep]

Armoury

It's a laser pistol, red lasers in fact. It has almost negligable kickback, but not much stopping power. It has a good twenty shots in it, and a very good rate of fire. Clearly an emergency weapon.

[UncleWolf]

Vas' Office

"Alright Gus, just hang on. I'm going to put on a trace." She tells him as she flicks a couple switches on her computer and phone. "It'll take a few moments, just keep the phone going and stay calm."

Armoury

Geoff looks the pistol over one last time before handing it back. "And how are you with it? Since its yours, keep it as a backup weapon, but we'll give you something a bit more powerful as your standard sidearm."

[happyturtle]

Vas' Office

Other than it being a moving target, Vas shouldn't have much difficulty tracing the call. The phone is moving towards Mallside.

"Love you, Vas. Jakey does too, even if he doesn't say it." Now that he's delivered his main message, he does sound fairly calm for having been tazed and kidnapped.

[Lost_Deep]

Armoury

"Fairly good. I'm no pistol sniper, but I'm definitely above average where I come from. I've used a couple of different side arms, I'm willing to learn whatever I'm assigned."

He shifts on his feet slightly.

"I'm having flashbacks to boot camp. Is that common?"

[Terumitsu]

Interview Room

Ah yes. The old handshake. It was nice that some gestures here meant the same as back home. Otherwise it would likely have been a bit harder to adjust to things here. In any case a firm handshake would be exchanged. Very businesslike. An old tradition, yes, but some things just stayed due to the 'professional' history that they implied. "Yeah, I'll look you up should the circumstances change." the muse replied. With a jocular tone she added: "Or if policy changes. You never know."

And unless there were reasons in which to extend the fledgeling's stay, then Ghoul would presumably be lead back to the front gate where she could reclaim her gear before she left the grounds. Of course, any necessary stops along the way would take precedence over that.

[UncleWolf]

Interview Room

The only stop Ghoul will have to make is to be given her equipment back on her way out.

Vas' Office

She stands as she waits for the trace and begins strapping on some weaponry such as a pair of knives and a couple pistols, hidden on her person. Gus said not to hurt her, but if she's his mother, she might need an equilizer or two on her side and didn't want to go high-profile in her armor. "Can you describe her for me?"

Armoury

Geoff examines the various sidearms and rifles around the walls as he replies. "It isn't unusual." He says before finally picking out a slim and long barreled pistol. Overall it's small, but it carries a larger calibre than the laser pistol probably has. The mechanic offers it to him carefully. "This is a little specialty we made. It can be taken apart and hidden on you with ease. Only carries 10 rounds, but is accurate to 60ft and is built with a silencer."

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office

"Red hair down to her shoulders, about 5'8 or 10. She was wearing green military fatigues and - " the motor and music suddenly cut off in the background.

"We're here - I don't want to tase you again, so I hope you'll come along peacefully." Billie calls, and then there's a car door closing noise.

"Gotta go - hiding the phone -" Gus says, and there's some loud scraping against the mic, and the background noises go muffled.

The next sound heard is the van doors opening, and Billie and Gus's voices - far enough off-mic to show that he wasn't able to hide the phone on his person.

And then there's the closing of the van doors. The connection is still live, but Gus is not on the other end of the line any more.

[Lost_Deep]

Armoury

He tries it. It's a bit more than he's used to, and has less ammo, but it's good. It'll just take a bit to get used to. Not having much to say on the matter he turns back to Geoff, "Okay. What's next?"

[UncleWolf]

Vas' Office

Vasquez curses and puts on her commlink. "Lock onto the trace from my office and teleport me directly there. No backup. I'm going alone." She tells the officer at the other end before a flash of light appears and she vanishes.

Armoury

"We take measurements." Geoff says before pulling out a tape measure. Provided he doesn't object, it'll be done in just a couple minutes. "This'll be for your Wraith suit. We need a tight fit, so please monitor your diet and exercise. There's some elasticity, but not a lot, so be careful." He explains before standing up. "Now, go above and report to Wraith Commander Goodfellow. He's the halfling in the Wraith system. He's waiting for you." Geoff tells him before tossing him a knife. "He'll train you in the art of assassinations."

[happyturtle]

Vas's Office

Vas will find herself teleported here.

[Lost_Deep]

Armoury

Measurements will be taken! He will then be directed to the wraith commander and given a knife. He wastes no time, and goes straight where he was told.

Knives... Terral was never fond of knives. He has claws, and knows how to use them...

Ooh, maybe he should have mentioned the claws to Geoff to keep in mind while designing the suit. Ah, well.

[happyturtle]

Sunny and Carl's Quarters

There's a knock on the door. An excited bark by Archer the pug tells Sunny it's a friend, so she opens the door without hesitation. "Hi, Cherry."

"Are you ready to go?" Charity looks around and sees some sort of electronic stuff spread across the table. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Sunny looks at the robotic parts that she was assembling into a hover child carrier. "Oops."

"Come on, you can leave this mess. Valentine's day is two days away! We need to go shopping!"

"It's not a mess." Sunny stops and thinks about it. "It might be when we get back." She looks meaningfully at Archer. The pug knew he wasn't allowed up on the table, but that didn't mean he didn't try if he thought he wouldn't get caught. "We'll have to take him."

"I'm not sure dogs are allowed at Mallside."

"Why not?" Sunny asked.

Charity thought about it, and decided in a world where catboys, bunnygirls, and creatures of all other descriptions wandered around, the Mall couldn't object to a pug on a leash.

"Sure, we'll bring him. Let's go! My shift starts in six hours. We don't have enough time."

Sunny was mystified. Why would shopping for Valentine's day presents take more than six hours? But she quickly got herself ready to go, while Charity located Archer's lead.

In a few minutes, the girls headed off to Mallside.