[Nexus] Home 11

[Rebonack]

[SET Spaceship]

Obviously.

What else would you do with a creature like this other than look at its brain?

On with the show!

The weredeor is properly restrained and paralyzed! In fact, the thing is still out cold when they arrive. That stun gun really did a number on the creature, which is obviously quite odd.

And curiously enough...

Now that it is unconscious its body isn't mutating either.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

Notes! Notes are taken! And once the beast is properly restrained, it is woken up, and more notes are taken with the aid of a very strong and exact mental scanner!

Let's see what makes this beast tick!

[Rebonack]

[SET Spaceship]

As soon as the creature wakes up it bellows in rage (and hate) as it begins straining against its bounds! The weredeor is quite a bit stronger than it should be able to be from a physical standpoint. Its muscle cross-section just isn't sufficient to exert the level of stress that it is on its restraints!

Even more interesting?

Its brain lacks all higher functions. No part of the brain seems to cover such basic things as visual processing or memory or facial recognition or any such thing! All its brain seems to do is cover the basic autonomic functions of the body.

And yet impulses are still being sent from... somewhere.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

Is the beast strong enough to puncture adamantine or imbued with some kind of primal universe power? If so, the binds buckle dramatically! If not, they don't even seem to notice.

The SETs take notes, and then focus on more detail. Multi-spectrum psychic scan bla bla technobabble advanced SCIENTIFIC! instruments from space and try to figure out the big questions: Where are the signals coming from and what do they do?

..what, you want *Real* technobabble? Do you want to read three big paragraphs of the stuff? Which ultimately won't answer much more than what I have here? I didn't think so.

[Rebonack]

[SET Spaceship]

Nah, it can't bust adamantine. Not that strong.

Well!

Let's see!

If the scanners can pick up such things they will find that there is in fact a cause for the signals.

Four immaterial consciousnesses independent of the brain are all vying for control. Though three of them appear to be ganging on up the fourth as it were. Results in a very fractured, insane, violent creature.

How sad.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

It takes them a bit, but they do find the immaterial consciousnesses eventually. By accident, but eventually.

Well, this is interesting. After a bit of work they put together an odd silvery device that should permit them to control the prevelancy of each mind when they surgically implant it into the creature's head. When that is done, they will cycle through the minds, taking notes, ending with the one that's getting ganged up on.

[Rebonack]

[SET Spaceship]

The first three are quite animalistic.

Brutal. Destructive. And nearly mindless. They're only interested in devouring things. Any things. Though preferably living things. Sort of like they did to that poor clay guy.

The fourth, however...

As the SETs click that one on the creature's thrashings suddenly fall still as a look of strained fear and tiredness overtakes the monster's countenance. The sort of tiredness one might expect to see in a person who has been treading water in the middle of the ocean for days and could simply sink below the surface at any moment.

"The others..." the creature mutters in a gruff, guttural voice. "The others are gone..."

He sounds like he could break down into tears right about now.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

Successful exclamation in the space language and a hi-5! THAT IS SUCCESS!

The male will then speak to the beast in his language. However, unless he is magically able to understand languages he won't be able to understand any of it.

And then the female says something, too, in the same language.

This might be hard.

[Rebonack]

[SET Spaceship]

Considering how common this problem is one would think that the SETs would keep more translation gear on hand.

But apparently not!

Silly SETs.

The weredeor seems...

Confused.

Mostly because he's be babbled at incomprehensibly.

"...I don't understand."

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

The aliens look at the Weredeor, and then the female says something to the male, who facepalms and answers.

They really need to get that translator back. Especially if they're ever going to want to take off again; it was made from some important part of their ship. That's why they only have one.

In any case, the SETs just kind of stand there and look at each other as if to say, "now what?"

[Mindfreak]

[Sidera]
"Hey..." She smiles and hugs Ariel.

Sidera
Ariel smiles back.
"Sleepy still?"

[Beans]

[Sidera]
She stretches.
A little...
Whatcha wanna do now? Ancha smiles.

[Maxios]

"Right, uh.... This way!" And attempting to grab Jack by the shoulder, Riv will head back the way they came, towards the basement.

Ex-LANTERN HQ

Riv grabs Jack by the shoulder, and Jack walks with him to the basement.

[Mindfreak]

[Sidera]
She stretches.
A little...
Whatcha wanna do now? Ancha smiles.

Sidera House "Mmmm...you wanna go out today? You know, go somewhere that isn't this house?

[Beans]

Sidera House
"Mmmm...you wanna go out today? You know, go somewhere that isn't this house?

"Okay." Ancha nods. "But where to?"

[Halae]

[Admer's Apartment]

Admer and presumably Tinseltwig will show up here after a while, carrying all the necessary equipment for the Familiar ritual.

"Alright, you may want to get something to eat; this'll take a little while to set up."

[Gullara]

[Admer's Apartment]

Tinseltwig darts in front of Admer and gives him a peck on the nose. "Okay, Addy, I'll be right back." She flits intot he kitchen where she tracks down a single piece of cereal! She grabs that to nibble on as she goes back to watch Admer.

The pixie can hardly think about eating. This is all just too exciting. She watched Admer work with obvious fascination. He's just so smart and talented.

[Halae]

[Admer's Apartment]

It'll take a few hours of setting up a pair of concentric rune circles and filling the room with sage and incense before Admer is ready to start the ritual, at which point he'll invite Tinseltwig to sit at the other end of the circle from him.

"Are you ready to begin, Tin?"

[Gullara]

[Admer's Apartment]

Tinseltwig seats herself where indicated and beams waaay up at Admer. "Ready when you are, sweetie." She says excitedly.

[Slii Arhem]

SET Spaceship

The aliens look at the Weredeor, and then the female says something to the male, who facepalms and answers.

They really need to get that translator back. Especially if they're ever going to want to take off again; it was made from some important part of their ship. That's why they only have one.

In any case, the SETs just kind of stand there and look at each other as if to say, "now what?"

SET Spaceship - Front Door

Well look who finally arrived. Jakob, in his humanoid, seven foot tall form, stands at the door where he last met the SETs after their experiments on Jenna. In one hand he holds a circlet of silver, and in the other his sword, brimming with magical power. By all rights it should be held in two hands, but in relation to his massive frame, it fits snugly in just one.

The sword's tip is rung against the door thrice, and Jakob waits for an answer. He has a proposition for these madmen of science, one they would be foolish not to accept.

[Rebonack]

[SET Ship]

Well!

Just in the nick of time!

Funny how that works, huh?

The unstable... creature... tries to shift his bulk slightly so he can peer toward the source of the sound. Depending on how well he has been restrained this may or may not be difficult.

Who could have arrived just now?

Only time will tell!

[Lost_Deep]

SET Ship

The creature is... very restrained.

The female walks over to the wall, and a screen pops out. A similar screen appears out of the front door, giving Jakob an instant vidchat with the SETs. If Jakob can get the translator on fast enough, he will be greeted with, "[Greeting], who are you?"

If not, he will be greeted with unintelligible space gibbrish.

[Slii Arhem]

SET Spaceship

Jakob does not bother getting the translator on, preferring to speak the universal language.

That of pain, threats, and violence.

"Jakob does not care if beings can understand him. Know that if you do not come to door, Jakob will destroy this thing and leave. You have very little time to decide." He points at the circlet with the tip of his sword, raising it up to the camera.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

The female is quiet for a bit.

If he destroys the thing... that would be very bad.

But if he *can* destroy the thing...

A quick poll is taken. Scientific instruments are deployed. The SETs watch with anticipation. The female gives Jakob the thumbs up.

For science.

[Slii Arhem]

SET Spaceship

Jakob grins at the sign of approval. Finally, he meets creatures as mad and willing to destroy as himself. This requires further communication.

He slips the circlet over his head at last, gesturing to the female alien with his sword.

"Jakob has offer to make you in there, and this device is a part of it. However, if you wish to see my powers of destruction, I can demonstrate them on other things for you as easily as on this. If you simply wish to see your hard work explode... I can easily oblige." Coming away from this with what he wants first requires him to get his foot in the door. If these things are so eager for their trinkets to be obliterated, perhaps that will accomplish his goals.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

The eagerness fades, and the female almost looks disappointed. "We want to [observe?] if you can destroy it, and [analyze?] data from [repercussion?]."

The male thinks a bit, and then says "It might, however, be nice to have a [control set?]"

Hearing this, the female nods. "[correct?], please display your [capabilities?] for [baseline?] before attempting to [damage?] the [translator?]"

[Slii Arhem]

SET Spaceship

Jakob understands their displeasure. He too enjoys the simplicity of honest destruction.

"Then I hope door is expendable. I will see you in moments." Jakob raises his free hand up to the door, two pouches of earth and rock dangling from loops of leather tied around his wrist. His fingers glow with a vibrant, energetic red light as he presses it into the door's surface.

The light winks out, and for a moment there is no visible result. If the aliens have any sort of scanner on the door, they should be able to sense the relatively minor amount of chaotic magic he's attempted to press into the door. It doesn't take long before its intended effect is apparent. The spell is designed to destroy artifacts of great magical and technological power by collecting in weak points in the atomic structure and exerting wild bursts of force and pressure, ripping apart the crystalline structure molecule by molecule until the entire thing shatters along its minor bruises and faults caused by the forging process. Of course, this relies on the door having any faults at all atomically. All earthly, man made materials do unless influenced by powerful magic during their creation, but Jakob has had so little experience with casting spells he's almost entirely acting on instinct. He has no idea what trying this one on an alien artifice might do, and is just assuming it will work just like anything else.

[Lost_Deep]

SET Spaceship

The sensors on the door are very advanced, and read the minute details of what is happening! Therefore, when there is a BLAM and a silvery concave dish is forcefully expelled from about twenty feet above the door, they are not surprised. Nor are they surprised when a vase, a lawn chair, and what appears to be an artificial lobster in a silvery kilt are also expelled in a similar fashion.

Fascinated, but not surprised.

The door has not even seemed to notice the spell.

The lobster goes about gathering up the various items into a katamari-like ball.

[Eadin]

Cottage

"Indeed! I was somewhat worried that I would be sent to oblivion. I'm not sure how I survived. Your aid was most appreciated." Still smiling, she looks back at what is left of her wing. "It appears that I have taken a degree of permanent damage, though. It shall never heal, it seems." She seems to be perfectly happy at this.

"Why would you be sent to oblivion?"
What's that anyway?
"Well, it's no problem... Are you sure it won't heal?" The hydriad seems to be giving the woman worried looks.

[Lost_Deep]

Cottage

"If it would heal, it would have started already. It appears that my wings have been taken from me, my very essence scarred." She takes a moment to sip the soup. "As for oblivion, with neither heaven nor hell intact there is nowhere left for one such as me to go when I must leave the mortal realm." She pauses a bit. "I believe you call it death?"