[Nexus] Inside 49

[Lost_Deep]

Random Park

Kate looks over her shoulder. Oh no... no no no no no no

Stop.

Keep calm and think like Spock.

Situation: Flora Madhowl (working under Eris?) is currently chasing me.

Situation: I don't want him to get Hadlin.

Situation: as long as he's with me, Hadlin is going to be collateral damage, as might the rest of inside be(?)

Situation: Gravity

Solution:

"Sorry, Hadlin!" Kate will say, and try to apply some pixie dust to him. She will then drop him.

While he will accelerate at the regular rate at first, the pixie dust made his speed inversely proportional to his distance to the ground: the further he falls the slower he'll fall. By the time he gets to the ground, he'll hit about as hard as a feather. This results in that while it looks like she just dropped him at first, he should be okay.

Kate will then accelerate as hard as she can, up and away from Inside. She doesn't think she can outrun the spell completely, but she needs to lure it away.

And give herself more time to think.

Adventure Park

Gerri finally collapses straight back, and after gasping for a minute gets up. She's shaking, but no longer completely manic.

"Okay. Okay. Alive. Not dead. Good. Okay. I'm okay."

[Halae]

[Random Park]

That's enough to interrupt his chanting, "What are you -AAAAAAUUUGH!" and then he's falling towards the ground at high speed... before it slows down to a more managable speed.

When Hadling finally lands, Just sort of lay there for a moment, looking rather frustrated and shaken up :I

[Rebonack]

[Adventure Park]

"Umm... Do you have any idea what just happened?" Rick inquires, concern in his tone.

"That was for neat!" Myrrh chatters excitedly.

That lizard thing is being wholly unhelpful right now! But then... Rick really isn't being too helpful either. Aside from simply someone to talk through this with. Which... is more helpful than many people will give credit for.

[Random Park]

"Lots of parks today, don't you agree? Such a fascinating fixation on them! Especially when it comes to making glorious disorder," comments a fellow leaning over Hadling and peering down at him. Details are difficult to pick out since he's currently being back-lit by the sun.

"Sorry about the color, by the way. But I assure you that it's wholly necessary. One of those little evils that has to be endured. But oh! Where are my manners! I haven't asked if you like bananas yet."

The figure leans a bit closer.

"Tell me... do you like bananas?"

[Lost_Deep]

Adventure Park

"No. I have no idea. Let's just move on." Still obviously shaken, Gerri will move over to pick up a heart crystal if one is still nearby. I hope it's one of those that also cleans up the blood and repairs clothes, seeing as that's really needed right now.

[Slii Arhem]

Random Park - The Skies Above

Now then-

Nope, sorry, you've had your fun and you're on character probation. I don't care what kind of magic typewriter you got.

Now then, it looks like after dropping the dead weight, Kate is massively outpacing the ball of lightless magic that is quickly arcing over Inside's dangerous PC Park district, but perhaps fate has something else in store for her this time. After all, despite being inconvenienced and smacked with slobbering, it looks like she's come out of this unscathed after all despite the massive scale of the threat.

Why, it doesn't appear to be gaining on her at all! In fact if you look closely which is difficult since the magical anomaly is sort of picking apart the threads of reality where it touches, turning the sky green and the air to water, and then pumpkin slurry, in a tight ovoid around it; it appears to be hovering in place just above where Hadlin was dropped, like a god's bowling ball moments before landing the perfect strike.

The surface fluctuates, bends, and inverts impossibly on itself, shrinking to a mote of light that is both invisible to the naked eye and consumes an entire field of view. It is the point where the tangent touches the circle of existence, and for a moment it winks out of sight, everything fading back to normalcy for the span of a few heartbeats.

There is a sound of torn jeans, soft but undeniably heard as embarassing boxer shorts are revealed. The tangent is back, it never left, but now a big top, three ring circus tent complete with carnies, a ringmaster, trained animals, and an audience falls from the sky to Hadlin, leaving him in the middle of it unless he has some way of avoiding it in time.

It vanishes and is back with the smell of wet leather and manure, and now it's raining lemon-soaked cotton balls sideways through the sky, bursting into rainbow-colored flames and clear bell-like tones to the tune of "The Song that Never Ends."

Once more for now, the small-massive-tiny-huge rent in the sky seems to disappear, though the feeling that it isn't truly gone remains. Everything still feels as if air was being sucked past your face out of a room, only the air remains largely still. Perhaps instead it is the essence of the Nexus that has opened a bit, and the unreality beyond the black void is slowly seeping forth as the pressure equalizes.

Of course, this new gentleman who appeared in the park/circus-tent below can likely still see it up there. I imagine he's quite used to such impossibilities frankly. To him and others used to looking through two copies of a subatomic particle as they quantum leap into separate eventualities, the hole in the sky is still as big and self evident as ever, while to those of a more mortal mentality their brains are likely working overtime just to convince themselves it doesn't exist.

[Morcleon]

Spoiler

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[Generic Street]

Ignai tears herself to the side to get Sayuri's hand over her shoulder. She picks up her can and the two pouches of money and stands. "You're insane. Just stay away from me." She takes a few steps back. Her eyes wander to the flaming trash can and she practically winces. She needs to get away.

Generic Street

As Ignai takes a few steps backward, Imesah draws what looks like an old piece of canvas from her belt. "Be on your way, before you scare her anymore than you have." She doesn't seem much interested in addressing what was said to her anymore.

[Generic Street]

Indeed, the cloaked woman's eyes have been hovering on the brink of insanity, and she glares at the both of you. Standing, she takes a step forward. Then, something seems to snap inside of her, and she crumples to the ground, motionless. A moment passes, and the flower behind her ear dulls slightly.

"Ugh..." She looks up with two bewildered brown eyes, a sharp contrast to their previous crystal blue. A look of comprehension dawns on her face as she sees your expressions, and she winces. "Sayuri went insane, didn't she...? I'm so sorry for whatever she did. I- I really am..."

((No, it's not MPD, but yes, it is a different person.))

[Halae]

[Random Park]

Hadlin looks up at the figure, and says, "And, exactly who wants to know about my banana preferences? I've never even had one."

The summoner stands up and looks around. What's with this place anyways? He looks towards the newcomer, trying to get a sense for who it is, as he asks, "Is this sort of thing a common occurrence around here?"

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler

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[Sewers]

Yuki grimaces at the failure to effect the creature. "Well, at least we can confirm that they are indeed the demons we're looking for... I've spent way too much time hunting Things That Shouldn't Really Exist(TM)..."

"One dose used, nine left." He flips the "cursed" function off, just in time to see the spiked fist rushing towards his face. A crackling blue tentacle whips up, fast enough to soften the blow, but not nearly enough to stop it completely. Carried from the momentum of the blow, he is blown back, his wings stopping him in midair.

Wiping a slight trickle of blood from his lip, Yuki narrows his eyes. Then, he shoots directly back at it, this time leading with the two tentacles, glowing with a vivacious energy, which try to restrain it long enough for him to cut an opening with his silvered scalpel, and hit it there with the (now only blessed) hypospray.

Sewers - Red Zone
Kirlia grimaces as it hits her skin. Before it can do serious damage, she exudes a beam around her arm, vaporizing it.
She floats back and smirks. This will be fun.
She then proceeds to fire pure beams of energy from her fists, the energy itself gaining the essence of silver as it passes over silver, at the demon thing.
If you've watched dragonball Z, think of the energy from a kamhehameha.

Sewers - Red Zone

Well, isn't this (still) an interesting little situation.

On one side, we have a Black Creation...thing performing a controlled detonation and caving in one half of the Hunters' directional options.
There's an ominous rumbling in the ceiling above, as this portion of the sewer's structural integrity is threatened.

One another we have Yuki charging directly at a mass of of claws, tails, and carapace wielding two blunt pseudopods and a scalpel.

About halfway towards his target, the entire mass leaps out of the wall to meet him, several times his size and apparently completely unconcerned by the prospect of being cut by the puny medical implement.
Surely their impact will be pleasant, no? If you ignore all the weight, the claws, the spiked tail, and there may be a maw of fangs unfolding inside there somewhere.


And then, there's what Kirlia is doing.
Pew pew, micro-misdescribed death lasers! They seem to be pretty effective, all things considered. But it's pretty hard to argue with death lasers, unless your opponent has a mirror.
Which, this particular one does not!

Scratch one freakish overly limbed demon...thingy.

Spoiler

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[Arkham Street Outside Philip Memorial]

"All the Old Ones have to follow them. But again, I'm not sure why," Sigil replies with a shrug. "Not that I'm complaining. We would be dealing with a lot worse than toys from the sky if Hastur had free rein."

In the far distance there comes what is at once both resonant song and booming command. And at that voice the sky is split asunder. A mile wide lane of clear azure sky now extends from elsewhere Inside and reaches off out of the city. The command seems to have obliterated the army man clouds. Yay? There are still toys all over the ground, though.

Sigil briefly glances up, but pays it little heed. "The library can be a bit spooky, yeah. But so long as you don't break into the Rare Book Room then you should be fine. There's a dimensional shambler locked just outside reality that'll try to creep you out, but it is harmless."

[Arkham Street Outside Philip Memorial]

Celestial magic parts the skies!
Rainbow Dash proceeds to be completely distracted as the sky just seems to sort of...part, in a massive area.
"...whoa...what...that's awesome!"

The reactions from the rest of the ponies are slightly less positive, staring up with gaping expressions and more than a touch of intimidation.

Luna frowns.
"This realm contains such exorbitant abuses of power. How does it last?"


The ground shakes, faintly. Somewhere else in the city, energy can be seen rising from the ground.


[Common Street]

She wipes a bit of sweat from her brow, staring at the faintly glowing sigil-array before her.
"Okay...that's it I think. The hard part done. Right?"
It is merely a matter of practical reapplication and subtle adjustments for the leys and geography.
"You don't have to try to comfort me with oversimplification. I do understand the theory behind this.
She frowns, pausing momentarily to lift up a squirrel and deposit it away from the sigil, shortly before it pulses and fades, now merely a burnt scar in the ground.

Dormant.

"Next stop-"

The ground rumbles, energy soars into the sky two streets over.

She balks, backing away from the sight and nearly tripping over the very same squirrel she moved moments ago.
"Sweet Celestia, what is that?"
No distractions!

[Gullara]

[Generic Street]

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Ignai is reassured at all by this sudden shift. The Nexus is a weird and often dangerous place, so people, especially those in her position, need to know when to make a swift exit. The woman turns around, and without delaying any further, she starts swiftly walking away.

[ThirdEmperor]

Docks

Like something out of an old horror flick brought to life, a hand rises from the ocean. A webbed, slimy, undeniably fishy hand, breaking the stillness of the pitch-black water and distorting the starry, moonless night reflected there as it grasps blindly for any sort of anchorage.

Finding purchase in the form of a mooring line carelessly left trailing out into the ocean, the hand is joined by it's counterpart. A pause, then with obvious effort the creature levers itself fully out of the water, onto the creaking planks of a rickety pier.

The creature from the deeps is undeniably some manner of merfok, but not of any subspecies often seen in the Nexus. It has more in common with a prawn or shrimp than a squishy icythoid, it's back covered by an overlapping, segmented shell, stumpy secondary arms sprouting from it's underbelly, each ending in a three-pronged claw.

Looking about nervously, picking a little at the various items left on the dock, the mer observes it's surroundings. The lights, mainly. So many of them, lit up on top of metal stalks, leaking out of the surfacer domiciles, looking so very different outside of water. But the dwellings, the metal stalks, those are also objects of fascination. And if the houses are this amusing, imagine what must be hidden inside them...

The mer scuttles along the ground on all six limbs, eager to explore.

[Rebonack]

[Random Park]

"Never had... Well! That simply won't do now will it?" the figure says as he catches one of the flying cotton balls, gives it a harsh snap, and aims to shove a recently peeled banana into Hadlin's mouth.

Should Hadlin object to this the figure will continue shoving MORE bananas into the summoner's trap until he shuts up and starts chewing. What a generous guy!

Once the summoner gets a better view of the person he's talking to he'll be met with a stunning view of the Burger King in Yellow. Robes are far more yellow than the standard fair. And the Burger King logo has been replaced with the Yellow Sign.

No surprise there.

In his right hand he carries aloft a tray with a Carcosa Burger value meal, cooked Your Way. And in his left the Six Elements of Parody. Upon his head are many cardboard birthday crowns and his eyes burn like a pot of New England Clam Chowder that got left on high and forgotten about.

"And who am I? Why I'm the King in Yellow of course. How nice to meet you. And on such a beautiful day as well!"

[Outside Philip Memorial Library]

To be fair that was fairly awesome. Sigil wrinkles his nose at it a bit. Celestial magic is weird. And the Celestials aren't terribly fond of his Mother and her kin for rather obvious reasons.

"Through sheer grit and dogged determination. As jarring as the Nexus' nature is its adaptability is also its greatest strength," the unicorn replies. "There's little that it can't bounce back from."

Aaaand there's the library!

The Librarian is out front at the moment tending to his planter boxes full of flowers. The fellow appears to be a rather scholarly looking elderly gentlemen calmly water his marigolds. When a towering pillar of chaos magic splits the sky he pauses to fish a silver pocket watch out of his coat, open it, close it again, and then replace it. "Your friend has not been here, I am afraid. Her plan is being carried out and as you can see-"

He gestures at the sudden onset of a herring storm in the distance. "-the Nexus appears to be doing its best to balance against her efforts."

...yeah...

Sigil is staring off toward the roiling epicenter of chaos not too far away. "...I... I think Hastur just assumed an avatar. And Eris just blarged an discordant singularity in the middle of the city. This might be really bad."

"Mm... Quite likely," the Librarian replies as he fishes an errant root grub out of the flower bed and tosses it into a nearby bucket.

[Adventure Park]

"Yes! We are to be continuing!" Myrrh chatters. "Open the thing, Master! It is to be having things in it!"

Rick pensively approaches the chest and taps it once with his foot. Just to make sure it won't come to life and try to bite him or something. Once sure that it's safe he eases it open and...!

do Do DO DOOOOO!

You got a bundle of cartoony looking spherical bombs!

[Lord Magtok]

Ice Skating Rink

"Gideon died on an ice rink? Or do you mean Athena? Wait, am I mixing up my gods again?" Tracey asks.

Behind the duo, a child has gotten mesmerized by the lines in the ice and started following them... around and around...

Needs shakes his head, and tosses a fish over his shoulder. The child should forget there were ever any lines at all, regardless of where the flounder lands. Anyone who tries to eat the flounder will never know happiness ever again, though.

"The King in Yellow. The one who causes bad things if you say his name three times. Starts with an English 'H', and a ₴₮₳₤₧₦ian '₪' That one."

A whatian what now? I don't even know how to pronounce those characters, let alone what they mean!

"Or at least, one of him died there. Nexus likes some people more than others, and makes extras. Lots of Deaths, Cthulhus, Tobiases, and so on."

[Devixer]

Generic Street

Judging from the fact that Imesah has not put away her talisman yet, she doesn't seem convinced that this sudden shift is a good thing either. She bends down to pick up her helmet and put it on her head. "You keep away," she says before turning and walking away, with Ignai if allowed.

[Murkus]

[Lots of Hope Hospital]

Sure, might as well play it out. For a bit of it at least.

"That's probably a good plan. Better do it before I get too big to move." Sakura laughs. Cessie managed well enough, but she still wonders how much of an effect carrying twins will have.

"Mallside then? We'll have to get a mountain of toys I think. And two cribs... It's a good thing we have the truck."

"All kinds of goodies, then. I love Mallside," Adir says, heading 'round the front of the truck after he helps Sakura inside. Once Laela's strapped down safely, they take off down the road.

You can post first, then.

Never any Jokes in the Red Zone

"Well, are a lot of different ingredients in there that give it its effects," Ashley says. She doesn't think her potions are that amazing, but she's used to them.

She lets Kailee and Wrath talk about the Escort's being human. She doesn't have much to add to it, knowing less than nothing about robots.

No Joking Matter in the Red Zone

Wrath's obviously a little uncomfortable with Kailee poking at him, but he doesn't bring it up just now. She's got worse problems than not respecting personal space. "Okay, uhm... Not an android. Still, theee Elexxion guys are looking for you. Not good." To put it lightly. As a resident of the Red Zone, he's had a first-class seat to Elexxion's rise. Those people have scary amounts of power.

"Why?" Cautiously, Wrath tries standing, putting as little weight on the previously-injured leg as possible. To the vigilante's pleasant surprise there's no stab of pain and he doesn't collapse again. He shifts a little more of his weight onto it. Still nothing. Healed. "I mean... It's your business. But I want to help and I'm not sure if I can, without knowing why they're after you."

"It's okay. Remember how I said about batteries?" Kailee taps her the center of her own chest, producing a loud clang or two. "They want mine back. Worse than I'd thought." Kailee looks a little disheartened at that. This is a lot more attention than she thought she'd get. Had they really stopped the others already? Or was Elexxion's reach so vast that it didn't matter? "I've got some friends. Or, not-friends. Never mind. We split up after leaving the Clinic. I think they might still be here."

[Halae]

[Random Park]

Hadlin will stop the King from shoving more food into his mouth after the first, blocking the hand coming at him as he chews on it.

It'll take a moment of chewing before he says, "Tastes odd. Too mushy,"

A moment later, he finishes swallowing, and the black book he's been carrying with him since the ritual. The pages will flutter open of their own accord to a page that has the writing crawling across the page in every direction. The thing with this book is that it should have information on everybody that the bearer knows of, and Hadlin dislikes being at a disadvantage to someone like this, who seems so at ease around the supernatural. It also generally contains information on things a pact maker could summon, as well as information about warnings and pitfalls.

Of course, he doesn't really know what he's getting into.

[ThirdEmperor]

Serious Business in the Red Zone

"Then.. Then we should find them, right?" Right. Simple. Simple as finding a handful of individuals trying not to be found amidst all the chaos of the Red Zone. If they're still in the Red Zone. 'Needle in a haystack' doesn't quite suffice. He rocks back on forth on the heels of his feet, trying to think. But first, first let's get you to Remnant." This can't be legal. Battery-operated or not, she's still got the rights of any other sapient being.

"I mean, taking your battery would kill you, right? Remnant won't stand by and let that happen. They're good people, my sister, she works for them. Yeah, if we tell them, they'll probably throw the book at Elexxion. Maybe shut them down." It's a good plan. Sensible, not too risky, maybe they can even help Kailee find a recharge station or something. And yet, Wrath can't shake the creeping feeling that it's too easy. One can only hope his gut instinct is wrong this time around.

[Devixer]

Something Something Red Zone

"You know where your friends might have gone?" Ashley doesn't really want to think about whether or not Kailee's friends escaped or not. They had to have kept away from Elexxion.

"I don't think Remnant'll be able to do much. I bet Elexxion's made some efforts to get on their good side." Ashley doesn't trust Remnant any more than any other authority, but she doesn't want to let anyone else know that.

[Rebonack]

[Random Park]

"Too mushy? Oh dear me! Are you saying that you don't like bananas?" the King replies, sounding positively appalled at that very notion. "Well I suppose there's no explaining taste. To each their own they always say!"

And then a book is opened!

The King in Yellow is a pretty cool guy. He creates chaos and doesn't afraid of anything.

Quite abruptly the King is hanging in mid-air in a comfortable reclining just behind the summoner. He reaches out to tap him on the shoulder. "You know. If you wanted to know about little ol' me you could always just ask. Who knows! I might even give you a straight answer! Have to mix things up once in a while after all. Keep the audience guessing."

The crowns, meal, and cheap plastic trinkets he was holding previously are now being held by a eye-burningly hideous midget with a face that would make a toad cry. To make matters worse he's dressed in a clown costume with the most awfully clashing colors possible.

[Halae]

[Random Park - Under the Bigtop]

Hadlin frowns. The book had never given him an answer like that before; when he used it for Huginn and Muninn, it had detailed everything right down to the ritual to summon them and what they'd ask as a sacrifice.

Which meant he was dealing with someone who could deal with reality at a whim, even if he hadn't suddenly rearranged the area.

Oh dear.

"Well, in that case, My name is Hadlin. Who are you?" Emphasis on the 'who'. He's not asking for just a name this time.

[OrchestraHc]

(Tell me what you think)

Red Zone: Docks and Fish Canneries

It had been a hard day of work for the Dock worker, Sammy Parker. Aching, tired and ready to go home, he stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled away to the alley between the warehouses, his usual route home. It was an incredible surprise to find someone waiting for him on the way, let alone someone dressed in a suit, tie, and bowler hat.

"Samuel Parker, correct?" the figure asked, checking a notepad. "Forklift operator?"

"Who's asking?"

"Frederick Pepperjack," the suited man answered, doffing his hat, polite as you please. "Once again, Samuel Parker?"

"Yeah. Whadda you want?"

"Oh I just have some business with you I didn't want to interrupt your workday for."

"Listen buddy, if this is about the cash I owe Mr. Coal, I still have a week."

"Oh no sir, not at all. If it puts you at ease, I'm happy to tell you, you won't have to pay Mr. Coal another cent."

"Really?" Sammy asked, perking up at the thought of his debts vanishing. "That's awfully swell of you, pal." He was so excited, he reached out to shake Pepperjack's hand. He didn't even mind him pulling out a little blue handkerchief to shake his hand with, even though he was already wearing a glove.

"Think nothing of it. I'm just a man hired to do a job, same as you." Pepperjack's smile seemed no less genuine than it had before.

Sammy's smile faded as he pulled his hand away. "M-my hand feels weird. Actually I can't feel my arm."

"Oh that's just the poison working," Pepperjack said cheerfully.

"NNo. Pppoisson?" The dock worker fell on his backside then lacked the power to stay there and fell on his back. "Yyou do wwwork fffor Missser C-coal!"

"Oh no no no." the assassain corrected. "I work for a jealous husband of a Mrs. M. Cready, whom you made liasons with last week, and various weeks before that." He tut-tutted before walking away from his now doomed target. "At least you'll no longer have to worry about your debts. Tata!"

"Nnn... Sbdy... Hel..." the dock worker could only mumble as the poison quickly left him speechless and motionless, a final shudder leaving him properly inhumed.

Pepperjack began whistling, walking out of the alleyway, wiping the fingertips of his gloves with an alcohol rub. He was having trouble placing his tune when something weirdly crustaceous seems to catch his eye. He doffs his hat.

[Rebonack]

[Random Park]

"Oh ho! So, right for the big questions hmm? I don't think you realize quite who you're dealing with here. So please-"

The King gestures at the ground, causing a fast-food booth seat to pop up under the summoner as the hideous midget begins cranking an organ grinder. Music fills the air!

"-why don't you ruminate, whilst I illuminate the possibilities."

The King grows to seemingly titanic proportions, shedding his robes and mask to reveal a horrific lizard-snake-thing. Its yellow hide is covered in innumerable white masks bearing innumerable expressions and emotions. Its limbs ending in countless clawed tendrils. And a crest of sea-anemonie like growths adorn it from head to tail. The largest of which atop the beast's head looks akin to a crown.

It drops to the ground, chin resting on its 'fingers' as it gazes at Hadlin with a wide leering grin.

"Well Cthulhu's got his crazy cult and Xn's got her scary tales," a swarm of deranged cultists pop out of the earth around Hadlin and begin to close on him with daggers drawn. "But with my power up your sleeves you've got a brand of magic that never fails!"

Innumerable tendrils slither out of the summoner's sleeves and sweep the thugs away before vanishing in a yellow puff of smoke.

"You've got power in your corner now, ammunition in your camp! You've got some punch, pizazz! All ya gotta do is stamp that stamp!"

A red hot brand with the Yellow Sign on it appears and plinks onto the table in front of him. The towering creature rises once more, gesturing at the table and causing a veritable feast to appear out of nowhere.

"And I'll say 'Mister Hadlin sir, what is your pleasure please?'" Hastur sings, holding up a stone tablet and chisel. "And I'll take your order and jot it down-"

Then leans in to give the summoner an encouraging elbow. "Cuz you ain't never had a friend like me. Ho ha ha!"

The lid to a silver platter is pulled away, revealing the creature's head sitting atop a dancing roasted chicken. "Time is your restaurant and I'm your main entree!"

It slithers, warping around him and pressing the side of its head toward him. "Come on whisper what it is you want, you ain't never had a friend like me!"

And then splits itself into a quartet of tiny duplicates dancing on the table, each in various outlandish colors. "We pride ourselves on chaos, unlimited magic's our forte! Say what you wish it's yours true dish! Maybe a little more endless power todaaaaaaay?"

An enormous golden pillar with a large letter A on it rises below his feet, lifting him into the air. "Try a little something from column A or all of column B?"

A tendril slithers up to pluck him from the dizzying heights and set him back on the ground. "I'm in the mood to help ya dude-" its mouth yawns open and its tongue extends like a flight of stairs as the King in Yellow descends with a top hat and a cane. "-ya ain't never had a friend like me!"

A pair of tendrils split off and drop to the ground, contorting into a pair of stick figures and begin dancing along side the King.

"Can your friends do this?" the King inquires as he begins to juggle a few dozen of his own heads. "Can your friends do that?" he asks as the spinning heads form a portal and disgorges a lovely china set complete with matching tea spoons. "Can your friends pull this-"

The pot sprays out a cloud of steam that resolves into a cloud of steam before exploding into a pink bunny with the King's face.

"-out from under their haaaaat?"

The bunny shifters and contorts until it has transformed once again into the alien lizardy creature. "Can your friends go FWOOM!" he asks as he breaths out a torrent of sickly yellow flames that resolve into a trio of rather attractive dancers that begin weaving their way around the summoner. "Hey lookie here!" the creature laughs, gesturing from off the top of the screen at the dancers.

"Can your friends go abra-kadabra-" wraps its tendrils around its head and! "-let 'er RIP!"

Tears itself in half and vanishes.

"Make that sucker disappear?" poof! go the dancers. A disembodied voice then speaks up. "So don't just sit there slack jawed, buggy eyed! I'm gunna answer all your midnight prayers!"

A contract unfurls before him with a pair of leering eyes at the top. "You can have my aid bonafied and certified, an Old One to solve your affairs!"

The King in Yellow warps an arm around Hadlin and leans against him. "I got a powerful urge to help you out. So what'cah wish I wanna know?"

He then reaches into the man's ear and yanks out a scroll of clearly preposterous length. "You probably got a list miles long no doubt!" the King then shoves the Yellow Sign into the back of his own hand with a sizzle. "You just gotta stamp like so!"

The King vanishes once again, leaving his creepy mask on the ground as the towering lizard thing rises once more. "Mister Hadlin, sir have a wish or two or three. I'm on the job you big nabob!"

The thing musses his hair and gestures once again, causing a dozen golden elephants to appear out of nowhere and begin dancing.

"You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend-"

Another gesture and this time belly dancing fish-people spring out of nowhere.

"You ain't never had a friend, never had a friend-"

A neon outline of a monolithic city blazes into being, an army of glassy green constructs standing before the summoner and awaiting orders.

"You ain't never-"

Riches beyond imagination.

"-had a-"

Power beyond reckoning.

"-freeeeeeeind-"

Knowledge without limit.

"-liiiiiiiiike-"

Life without end.

"-MEEEEEEEEEE!"

The display rounds into a finale with creatures dancing and strange pipes luting and fireworks exploding overhead!

"You ain't never had a friend like me!"

And then it's just the King in Yellow again striking a pose with a neon sigh above his head flashing 'Applause'.

[ThirdEmperor]

Red Zone- Docks, Canneries and Taverns

The merkin scuttles back a step upon finding itself addressed, then, cautiously, pantomimes lifting up an invisible hat in return. "Hello?" The word is pronouncing with clumsy unfamiliarity and a set of vocal cords not meant to produce the harsh sounds of the common tongue, twisting the syllables so that the first vowel is nearly ignored and the second drawn out into an almost musical note.

The crustacean-creature draws a little closer, examining the surfacer it finds itself conversing with. Then it gestures at the man lying dead on ground with one of it's secondary arms. "Why?" An uncomfortably direct question, but an important one- If killing is done so casually here, the merkin would rather be forewarned.

[OrchestraHc]

Red Zone: Docks, Canneries, Taverns

Pepperjack looks back at the corpse. A long practiced, contemplative look comes across his face. It was important for assassins to practice contemplative looks to give them a sense of ennui. Personally, he prefers to merely leave, stylishy. Corpses are so distasteful. Turning back, he looks at the merkin and shakes his head. "Someone was very very angry at him," he answered, as though he was uninvolved. "Honestly it's quite misdirected. But it was a crime of passion I suppose. Where are my manners? I'm Frederick Pepperjack. May we continue this conversation on the move? I'd rather not have you involved."

[ThirdEmperor]

Red Zone: Docks, Canneries and Taverns

The merkin nods and starts off down the street, no more eager than the assassin to linger 'round a dead body, although moving bipedally limits it's pace a good deal. "So.. You're a shark?" I've no idea why Pepperjack would have any knowledge of deep-merkin culture, but on the off-chance he does, he'll likely recognize the use of 'shark' as a slightly disdainful one. They're commonly kept as guard animals, like dogs, so when applied to humans the term roughly equates to 'thug' or 'brute muscle'. No matter how well that thug might dress themselves.

[Murkus]

Serious Business in the Red Zone

"Then.. Then we should find them, right?" Right. Simple. Simple as finding a handful of individuals trying not to be found amidst all the chaos of the Red Zone. If they're still in the Red Zone. 'Needle in a haystack' doesn't quite suffice. He rocks back on forth on the heels of his feet, trying to think. But first, first let's get you to Remnant." This can't be legal. Battery-operated or not, she's still got the rights of any other sapient being.

"I mean, taking your battery would kill you, right? Remnant won't stand by and let that happen. They're good people, my sister, she works for them. Yeah, if we tell them, they'll probably throw the book at Elexxion. Maybe shut them down." It's a good plan. Sensible, not too risky, maybe they can even help Kailee find a recharge station or something. And yet, Wrath can't shake the creeping feeling that it's too easy. One can only hope his gut instinct is wrong this time around.

Something Something Red Zone

"You know where your friends might have gone?" Ashley doesn't really want to think about whether or not Kailee's friends escaped or not. They had to have kept away from Elexxion.

"I don't think Remnant'll be able to do much. I bet Elexxion's made some efforts to get on their good side." Ashley doesn't trust Remnant any more than any other authority, but she doesn't want to let anyone else know that.

"If we can find someone with decent tech, we might be able to use Elexxion's tracking network to find them," Kailee says. Of course, that would quickly draw Elexxion's attention, but they wouldn't do anything overt if it's on someone's private property. "Audrey's probably in the Blue Zone, looking for a client to protect herself. The other two... they could be anywhere."

Then this talk of Remnant. Clearly these two don't understand what Elexxion's done to the Red Zone. Or at least a large portion of it. "Elexxion makes the people here happy. Gives them everything. Ninety percent of the employees were homeless three months ago." Anger - perhaps simulated - shows on Kailee's face. "Could you imagine if Remnant tried to shut them down? The 'real police' hardly even patrol here."

[Halae]

[Random Park]

And then it's just the King in Yellow again striking a pose with a neon sigh above his head flashing 'Applause'.

[Random Park]

Hadlin stares on in wonder for a long moment, trying to figure out exactly what just happened. It seems only polite to follow the helpful neon sign after a display like that, and thus clapping ensues.

After a few moments of that, Hadlin looks down towards the brand sitting on the table near him. This was an entity he knew little more than a moniker for that was offering the world to him. This wasn't a simple pact, like he had got from Huginn and Muninn, Naaga, Hermod, Lix Tetrax, The Seller, Idun, and... Thanatos. Remembering that name makes him cringe a moment.

No, this is the signing of servitude, in the form of a brand.

Hadlin is far, far out of his depth right now.

His mind races. The only pact beings he knows of that call for actual servitude are the Trinity of Beasts, Behemoth, Leviathan, and Ziz. And neither are any of them willing to reduce their form to that of a human being nor are they... yellow.

This means he's dealing with an entity he's never even heard of before. Is it some unknown Aeon? The Seller is the only other being that pops to mind that wishes for a form like this, and his instructors and every reference book said that The Seller was the only Aeon to take human form..

His mind jumps to what Kate said

"The Nexus just pulls people in; some get displaced from their homes somehow and some just find themselves here."

Which, of course, doesn't exclude phenomenally powerful beings, does it? It's very possible that The King In Yellow here is an Aeon or Shajad or Beryl, or maybe even a God in its own right, that simply fell into the Nexus like he and Kate had.

But this all brings Hadlin to that same firm question that he's been pushing for all of this, What do you know about this being?

Next to nothing, besides the fact that it's immensely powerful and has a sense of humor.

A sense of humor.

That can be worked with.

Hadlin cracks a smile, which should immediately tip off Hastur (assuming he doesn't just know anyways), "Well, you know, I'm a bit of a busy man, and servitude tends to take a while. Tell you what; I'll look into what this contract of yours entails and get back to you. Can I write you into my schedule for next week?"

He's obviously playing for time so he can conduct some research, but he's hoping that the King will find the way he's approaching this amusing enough to let it slide.

[Lost_Deep]

Random Park The Sky The upper part of the chaos

When Kate sees that the bolt of chaos isn't following her anymore, she doesn't keep going. She stops, turns around, and flies back toward it. She gets out her holy symbol (something that could have saved her a lot of trouble if she had thought to pull it out earlier) and gets ready to throw down some kind of ward, or dispel, or something! Maybe antimagic? Yeah, antimagic would be the most-

rriiiiiiip

Kate stops and looks around. That's odd. Flora, and the chaos are gone... and instead Kate's in a tent-like thing? What?

She stops flapping, dropping to a nearby building. Her boots keep her from getting bent out of shape... and then she presumably gets to see some of the King's performance. Unfortunately, she can't see Hadlin from this angle, so she simply decides to avoid that area for now.

Ohhh, look at this one!

Kate spins around, but no one's there.

She's almost broken, poor thing!

Kate begins to move away from the edge of the building, not sure where the voices are coming from.

But look at the cracks! It's like a jewel: break it just right and it will be the most beautiful.

Kate toggles through some of the vision settings on her cybernetic eyes, but can't see anything odd with any of them. She can only hope that the voices either don't want to or can't touch her.

She isn't hopeful.


((Someone can come play with Kate and her two chaos-enabled tag-alongs!))

[OrchestraHc]

Red Zone: Docks, Taverns, Canneries

Pepperjack comes up with his own metaphor for shark. A mindless, efficient killer, constantly on the move. It was true in most spots, but sharks aren't nearly as friendly as he is. Maybe if anglerfish were more handsome he'd have a better metaphor.

"Like a shark, I suppose. Much nicer smile." Pepperjack flahes his pearly whites. "Are you a... Lobster?" he asks, unsure of merkin, metaphor lingo.

[Rebonack]

[Chaos and Musicals]

The King in Yellow rubs his creepy plastic beard as the summoner ponders. Then reaches out, grabs the man's previously invisible thought bubble, and stretches it out like a scroll.

"Let's see here... typical misgivings... Comparing me to whatever cute little things inhabit his world... Oh! So you're worried about the whole servitude thing are you?" the King then yanks the bottom of the thought bubble, causing it to quickly roll up and begin flapping like a hastily pulled window blind.

He then casually tosses it over his shoulder. It lands somewhere off screen and explodes in a shower of tires. One of the flaming wheels goes rolling past which The King pays no heed.

"Next month will work just fine-" a snap of the fingers and a huge novelty Dilbert day calender appears above Hadlin before shedding a month's worth of comics on top of him. "Now listen up mortal and I'll tell you how I play The Game. The nonsense with the Yellow Sign is just that, nonsense. Everyone expects that sort of thing from a being like me so who am I to argue?"

There comes a loud buzzer sound as a red felt X is super-imposed over the Yellow Sign brand.

"No contract," the King transforms into a massive paper shredder and grinds up a big fancy looking legal document. "No servitude," the hitherto unnoticed shackles on Hadlin's wrists pop off. "You just say 'Hastur' three times and then speak aloud whatever your wish is. If I find your request suitably amusing then I'll grant it. Truly it is the epitome of simplicity!"

The King slides up along side the summoner and moves to prod him a few times with his elbow in a cajoling fashion. "So come on, buddy. Waddaya say? Have some fun! Stir up some chaos! Request the impossible! And I'll see what I can do."

Meanwhile!

And now for something totally different.

A few moments prior Amil had been sitting at a coffee shop, awaiting with anticipation the opportunity to sit back and relax with a warm cup of coffee. It's those simple moments that really make life worth living. A time to get away from the insanity of the Nexus and just take some time to-

Get yanked sideways through space and hurled at Kate.

"Aaaaaah!" the mostly human looking jeanstealer cries out as she flails her limbs uselessly at the sky. Either or both of them might get hot coffee spilled all over their clothes.

[Lost_Deep]

Meanwhile-Rooftop

"Huh-ack!" Kate will try to catch Amil, and hopefully not fall down when-nope Kate's too small right now to not fall down. And she gets coffee spilled on her.

"I... oh. Fancy meeting you here." Kate says to Amil. She's honestly happy to see her.

Oh, look at this one! One of the voices says, audible to both Amil and Kate.

She is beautifully broken!

"Um, you can her those voices, right?" Kate asks as she looks around more.

Adventure Park

Gerri looks on in disbelief. Can't anything today make sense?

No, Gerri. Not yet. Especially considering what's going on outside. Poor Gerri doesn't know how good she has it.