[Nexus] Inside 53

[The Bushranger]

[Not At All Imperial Interrogation]

Red, as it happens, leans back into the chair, eyeing Elf Girl with an almost bored expression...

Well, at least he's not maniacially grinning.

"Raymond Russell," Red says, sounding bored, even. "And that's a very Nize Hat you have there."

===

[Ruler's Plaza]

Clearly, Shawna will need to arrange for repair of the plaza! She might even do it herself!

As it is right now, though, she turns and starts firing her laser pistol at the departing robots! Well, one of them, anyway. Aiming at any visible thrusters.

[Rebonack]

[Inside the City Gates]

Overwhelming is probably the best way to describe it here.

Conflicting architecture, countless races, and technologies ranging from Flintstones to stuff so far advanced that even attempting to describe it wouldn't give it justice.

The pirates will be able to tell in a hurry that ponies are a minority here, perhaps one in twenty among the crowd of mostly humanoids and a few really weird creatures.

Several booths along the road nearby seems to be the destination of the farmer who was kind enough to give them a ride. He pulls up and several other 'mans' step forward to help him unload.

Allo hops out of the bed of the truck and offers the farmer a bow. "Thank you again for your kindness and generosity."

[Earl of Purple]

Inside The City Gates

"Thank you, sir. Your transportation in the ponyless wagon was much appreciated." The purple unicorn pony with the red mane and tail gives her awkward bow again, and again it's awkward because of the wooden pegleg replacing her left foreleg from just above the knee. She's wearing her tricorn hat and a greatcoat over her bandoleer of four flintlock pistols. Her cutie mark is of two flintlock pistols, one above the other and pointed in opposite directions with the bottom one upside down.

Her ragtag crew jumps down behind her. Or rather, the blue earth pony with a white mane and tail and mismatched eyes- her left is green, but her right is yellow- jumps down. A scar on the right side of her face passes over that eye and does nothing to improve her mediocre looks. Her cutie mark depicts three cinnamon sticks arrayed into a triangle. She's wearing a grubby chef's hat and a heavy cudgel strapped to the left side of her body.

Draped over the earth pony's back is a middle-aged pink pegasus stallion with yellow mane and tail. He's currently unconscious, so his eyes can't be seen. His left wing ends just after the middle joint, ending in a clean cut. He's got a stethoscope around his neck and a brace of surgical knives and bonesaws. His cutie mark depicts a pony skull over crossed scalpels.

[Rebonack]

[Inside the City Gates]

"Oh, no problem. A little extra weight doesn't hurt anything," the farmer laughs as bushels of cabbages are set out in the open air stall for people to buy. Now's Cinnamon's chance to pick some out. Though of course payment will still be required.

Those silver coins they got from the bandits should be plenty.

Allomyrina is a creamy white unicorn with a candy red mane and green eyes. Her mark is a simple green hexagonal ring and she's wearing a utility harness along with a pair of saddle bags. And she's got a semi-automatic grenade launcher clipped to her harness. Obviously not somepony to mess with.

"Well, I suppose this is where we part ways," Allo comments as she watches all the various humanoids doing humanoid things. The way they move. The way they talk. The nuances of their body language. An eye for detail that only a natural shape shifter would have.

A wave of livid green faerie fire washes over her and the pony has been replaced by a red-haired human woman of light, freckly complexion. She's wearing a practical drab colored outfit with the harness reshaped to fit her. The saddle bags seem to have become a backpack somehow.

She steadies herself with one hand against the side of the farmer's truck and wiggles her toes.

"Erm. Still can't do shoes..."

[OrchestraHc]

[Steele Street - Above the Fog]

It would have to be a pretty small giant. The inside the of cloud castle looks like it was made for someone who is more or less human sized. Though human sized is still pretty giant compared to a hobbit, all things considered.

So that sort of begs the question who built the castle and who put the harp inside it? For that matter, where did all those weird block things come from in the first place?

As the hobbits begin to run for their lives all those questions are answered.

A single brick pops out of one of the blocks with a sounds that's amusingly similar to a cork being removed from a wine bottle. The brick spins end over end in a high arc before landing in front of the two hobbits.

[Steele Street - Above the Clouds]

The pair almost don't stop moving, hesitating only as the lands in front of them. Digger, shifting to a front facing position and holding the harp in one hand above his head, swipes at the brick with his shovel as the two attempt to double their pace and avoid being attacked with more bricks.

"Keep movin, I got an idea on leavin once we get outside." Cracker says to his nephew.

[Rebonack]

[Steele Street - Above the Fog]

The bricks are popping loose!

The floor is coming apart!

The whole cloud castle is crumbling!

Quickly, flee back to the bean stock!

Flee!

Flee you filthy thieving hobbitses!

Fleeeee!

[Earl of Purple]

Inside the City Gates

Cinnamon smiles at her captain, briefly becoming more than plain. Volley Shot rolls her eyes and telekinetically lifts the Doc onto her back, grunting under the weight. This is so Cinnamon can buy some of the best cabbages. Cinnamon has the eye of a practised chef, and can easily identify the best cabbages on offer, though cabbages aren't what she's best at. "You're always welcome aboard my vessel, Allomyrina. If you change your mind, please come find me. I'll persuade Doc that you aren't too bad. He probably won't trust you, and I can't promise more than indifference and passive hostility, but that's better than nothing."

[Rebonack]

[Inside the City Gates]

Allo gives a nod and takes a few wobbly steps, but she manages to find her balance in a hurry. It isn't too long before she finds someone selling cheap sandals and manages to buy them with a bit of zebra money she had in her pack.

Yay shoes!

She heads off to find the Irregular offices to see about joining up, which is apparently going to happen off screen and in a vary hand-wavy fashion.

Why?

Because RPing bureaucracy is boring!

As for the pirate crew...

They buy some cabbages?

Hopefully Doc will wake up soon.

[Earl of Purple]

Inside The City Gates- To Metropolis Square

Captain Volley Shot will wave goodbye with her flesh-leg until Allo is out of sight. Then, she'll start lurching awkwardly towards the nearest signpost to follow the directions to Metropolis Square. Cinnamon Stick follows, trying to keep her right side against the captain. With only one eye, she's vulnerable to pickpockets and bumping into people, so she's using the captain as a shield against the crowd. Volley is muttering under her breath about how all these damn bipeds manage to balance on two legs with so little difficulty when she has immense difficulty balancing on three legs.

[Lost_Deep]

Abrajin's Library

Kirin looks through this. Wha...

"So... maybe we should just call it a day and I'll start saving for the magic?"

It seems that a large amount of paperwork is sufficient to deter Kirin.

[Rebonack]

[Inside the City Gates]

Off the pirate crew goes!

Their first clue will be the Riftline station that proves to be nearby. That's one nice thing about Riftline stations. They're always nearby.

A large LCD board will show all the various destinations and what times the trains arrive at said destinations. According to this the Skyport of Metropolis Square isn't too far away!

There in front of the station a crowd of various species sit about waiting for the train to arrive. Some are chatting with each other, some are riddling with various technological devices, and some are even reading news papers!

As the pirates draw near a massive starfish wearing a musketeer's hat... maybe looks at them? Those might be eyes on the ends of its legs at least.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Ruler's Plaza

Krystal the mutant obviously doesn't like the fact that the robots seem to possess some kind of intelligence. She keeps trying to get in a good shot. She doesn't pay as much attention to her surroundings as she should, which means she doesn't see the kick coming until it's too late.

Krystal manages to at least get her arms crossed in front of her, lessening the impact of the kick on her body. It still sends her flying away.

Right towards Shawna, in fact.

Interrogation Time!

Alysha cooperates completely, though she does seem a little nervous throughout the questioning. Her version is pretty much the same as Nick's, if a little more long winded. Her version also includes the fact that since the buildings were abandoned, she didn't really think they'd get in trouble for accidentally smashing them. Which it was all an accident, of course.

Once done, she'll try to stay and wait for Red. She felt at least partially guilty for him being in this mess.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler

Show

[Rifltine Showdown!]

Dawn... lets out a very undignified squeal, recoiling back in shock and disgust from the mutant slug things. "EEEEEEEEWWW WHAT THE **** IS THAT?!" she screams, waving a hoof at the nearest one while looking away in abject squick. Normally the little pegasus doesn't swear that badly, from what Geneva knows of her. She must be really freaked out!

And no, she doesn't notice the doom-squid.

[Riftline Ruckus]

Geneva frowns at the... gross... slug person things. Her mind instantly returns to visions of that MoAS bunker and the nightmares that were lurking inside. But at least these ones aren't attacking.

Yet.

Sunder moves to the front of the group.

"Okay squidface, you know the drill. Release your prisoners and we let you go. Resist and we beat your skull in," Sunder crows full of bluster and moxie. "And just sayin' but I'm hopin' you decide to resist. You squidfaces make a real satisfying squish when I smash you."

Wow.

Sunder is actually trying diplomacy? In... a very loose sense of the word diplomacy.

Meanwhile, on Riftline...

The creepy slimy slug things get ignored by the assassin, as she focuses on the biggest (literally and figuratively) threat in the room!

And even as Sunder steps up to diplomance, she's already carrying out her own course of action.

Bend Time II.

The four Explosive Bolts she has loaded, each aimed at a slightly different part of the ulitharid's upper body and head.

One Arc Mine, aimed at its feet.

Bend Time expires

Think fast, squidbrain!

[Riftline]

Dawn the Inelegant.
Sunder the Blunt.
Lydia the Brute.
Bob the Silent.

The ulitharid leers down at Sunder's attempt at Diplomacy, its voice proceeding to emanate through the air before she even finishes.
Thoon's decree shall be made manifest. Begone.

And then it raises its two longest tentacles-

Time Freezing Time

Two little bunny ears spring up over Lydia's shoulder as she fires her bolts.
"Oooh, this is neat. I didn't think to try skating outways from time while doing any of this.
Your magic seems kinda funky though. Maybe you should be careful with it?"

Unfreeze

The ears are gone, the bolts and mine are loose.

Thinking fast is precisely what this particular squidbrain is best at. It has a vague theory that its intelligence dwarfs that of its hopeful murderers by a factor of hundreds.

It gazes on spitefully as the weapons approach, and gazes just as spitefully as those holographic projections before it seem to solidify just long enough to intercept each of the bolts, splintering and cracking under the pressure of the subsequent explosions.
Flying into explosions probably doesn't do anything nice for the mine.

The displays crumble, fading away in a light drizzle of arcane symbols and numeric devices, rather thoroughly broken by the attack.
Unlike their user.

Unity in purpose would aid you. I possess the cure to your disharmony.


For perhaps everyone save Bob, the features of the ship will appear to twitch, revealing a trace of something truly baffling.
The Captain projects its thoughts with such a precise clarity into the surroundings around it, that they briefly take on the appearance of the image within its mind, seeking to drive themselves deep into a viewer's mind and memories.

Normally not such a bad thing. Just a couple extra memories that can be easily seen as "Hey, not mine".
Less so when those memories are of an impossible place, far beyond the sane bounds of space and time. Colors that shouldn't even exist, flowing around great twisted shapes as though fluid.
Staring at any one shape for longer than an instant seems to reveal something else entirely, refusing to stay static in any way, for any amount of time that it would take the mind to find something tangible to focus on.

Everything is in motion, constant and unendingly dynamic.
But around it seems to be centered a will, something desperately seeking to be noticed, recognized, freed. A pervasive sense of desperation and horror coats everything about the vision, with no discernible source.


A brief vision. A corrupting vision.
The presence seeks aid, and even the memory of such seems capable of trying to convince others to support it, rescue it, obey it.

[Lycan 01]

Riftline Mindcrime!

Dawn reacts... unpleasantly... to having her brain made host to foreign memories and desires.

"GAH!!" she screams, clamping her wings up over her ears, her body writhing where it stands as her mind struggles against the alien forces trying to invade it. "Guh! NO!! No! GET OUT!! Get it out!" she screams, squeezing her eyes shut as she staggers to the side.

Alien memories and feelings. Strange desires. Unholy curiosity. She grits her teeth and snarls, flinging herself sideways and into the nearest wall or piece of equipment. "No no no no NO get it OUT!! GENEVA!! Geneva help me! GENEVA!!" she half-screams, half-sobs as she slams herself against the wall/equipment again, trying to drive the Ilithid's dark magics from her mind.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline Ruckus]

Geneva's reaction to the mental assault is wholly different from Dawn's. The hippogriff's eyes widen and her jaw slacks slightly as her mind becomes a whirring blur of activity. Every little detail, every facet, every single ever-changing impossibility. Everything is taken with a hushed sense of wonder. Something new. Something different. Something so totally unlike anything she's ever encountered before.

She begins to look for patters. To dig for understanding. To catalog the movements. It takes only a moment for her to realize that she must be dealing with hyper-spatial geometries here. With things she can visualize only as a shadow. But that's still a starting point. And even if she can't properly picture the form of these things she still has the framework to comprehend them.

N-dimensional tensor calculus time!

"What is this place filled with so many wonders..." Geneva whispers breathlessly.

The whole of her focus has zeroed in. Her entire world for a time is that alien memory. She MUST know. She MUST understand.

Geneva sits there on her haunches staring off into the void. She doesn't even register her friend screaming for help.

Meanwhile!

Sunder's reaction is very different. Possibly because she has the Elder Sign carved into her butt on the side of her ruined cutie mark. The mare lived through (and broke faces during) That Day. She learned in a hurry how important proper warding is.

The pegasus gives a violent twitch and then leers wide. "That the best you've got, squid-face?" And then she launches herself at him moments after Bob hurls the full force of his mass at the ilithid's shield to hopefully make way for Sunder's follow-up attack.

[The Bushranger]

[Riftline Mindfoolery]

Lydia glares at the silly mind flayer.
And as it tries to project thoughts of a place of strange geometries and impossible things...

She starts to laugh.

"Is that the best you could do?" she snaps, stepping forwards and drawing her blade. "Do you think that somebody who has been touched by the Outsider could be driven mad and controlled?"

Really. When your benefactor takes you to a place where buildings float upside down and eldritch whales swim through the sky, a little non-Euclidian string theory is amusing.

...less so, perhaps, to the ithilid as she drops and swings her blade at its lower section, assuming Sunder is going for the eyes!

[Plaza]

Shawna, as it happens, likely gets bowled into by Krystal, the now-unclad techno-paladin being knocked aside, the last of her laser shots going wide and destroying a pigeon nest in a nearby tree!

[Hyozo]

[Ruler's Plaza]

The Ansuli Doll comes to it's senses and sees the departing robots. It briefly considers pursuing, but clearly decides not to. It instead gives a loud "Humph.", straightens the glasses it doesn't actually have, and goes to inspect the robot it managed to take down.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Riftline]

Two down.
Three remaining.

Dawn and Geneva were at a small disadvantage, of course. They were new. Their home was a terrible place, but it was at least largely grounded.
The other three have experience or innate resistance.

Really, it's a larger effect than the ulitharid would have bet on.


The other three begin their assault.
It isn't particularly difficult for Bob to crumple up the rest of the console defense, as it's purpose was not to be sustainably used in that fashion. A very temporary solution, for their enemy, if nothing else.

What it does do, however, is give it reasonable peace of mind to more properly adjust its tactics.
A long hand is raised towards the ceiling as it backs away from the edge of the console, before several of the tubes stretched above tear themselves down. They lash down before Sunder, seeking to snare her and pull her off course.

Lydia...gets a more familiar problem.
The spear that jerks out of a puff of shadow, to intercept her sword is certainly one she's seen before.
As is its rather burnt and shriveled wielder.

I did say there was two left, guys!


The goo-faced things continue to...have no real part in any of this.
Just slithering around. Being gross.

Geneva:

Spoiler

Show

A mare works in tandem, mind rapidly dissecting the problems placed before it, picking up the griffin's lack and supporting her strength.
This isn't new, she's just sharing.
"Whoa, wait...where did this come from? I don't know any of this.
Geneva! Snap out of it!"

[KerfuffleMach2]

Ruler's Plaza

After knocking Shawna over like a bowling pin, Krystal's momentum keeps her going at least another ten feet, tumbling along the whole way.

Man, that robot kicked her harder than she thought.

Once she stops rolling, she just lays there, breathing deeply.

[Lord Magtok]

Airborne EMBOH Vault

Spoiler

Show

[EMBOH Vault]

Magtok's chrome takes a tiny fist to the face!
There's an equally tiny yelp of pain!

And then a swift kick of further tiny feet towards his throat.
"Take that you jerk!"

Seems there's some sort of...tiny, wingless faerie trying to kick his butt?
They look exactly like a human man, no green or anything. Just...tiny.

"...that's kind of cute."
Lookit's little legs!


Down below, as the vault begins to rise, a few concerns are being raised amongst the defenders.
They most revolve around 'wow, they're taking the whole thing?', 'I didn't study for this', 'anyone have a jetpack?', and 'eh...the boss will handle it'.

A couple individuals run back the way they came, running...somewhere.
One person begins drifting up after the vault a ways, before thinking for a second and stopping.
"...yeah. Guess so. We're only paid to nab the people inside anyway."
"We're not paid at all!"
"Then why aren't you going after them?"
"Heck, I don't save money here."
"...they why are you here at all?"
"Seemed like a fun place?"
"Get out!"
"Anyone seen Red?"
"Wasn't that Magtok?"
"Maybe this was just a publicity stunt."
"It was definitely a publicity stunt."
"Didn't we get insurance against those?"
"Have to file a claim over with those policing fellows."
"Can I shoot the rocket first?"
"Yeah."

Magtok coughs and staggers back when kicked in the throat, shooting Libby a reproachful glance before returning his indignant frown back to the terrible termite-sized man who soured the cyborg's spirits.

"Kind of annoying if you ask me. Shrimp doesn't know when he's blatantly outmatched."

Magtok tries to catch the little bastard on the next pass, and throw his useless hide out the vault and at those incompetent buffoons collecting dust back at the bank. If there's a rocket to notice, this is right around when he'd be noticing it.

[Rebonack]

[Riftline Ruckus]

Sunder manages to avoid getting snared, mostly by spinning, ducking, dodging, bucking, and generally trying to smash the cables to bits. That does serve to prevent her from diving on the big-bad-squid-head though.

After crashing into the barrier and discovering that Sunder has been distracted Bob decides to take the most obvious course of action and aim to lash his body of sand and sea and jagged coral around the ilithid with the intent of drowning/crushing/abrading the thing to death.

While the elemental lacks the brain to pick up the earlier attack Bob was still able to feel the absolute wrongness of it. Such things really shouldn't be allowed to existing within reality. Creatures like the Warden and her children are pushing it, but at least they're working to maintain a semblance of balance.

Meanwhile!

The voice in her head manages to snap Geneva out of her reprieve. The hippogriff blinks and gives her head a shake, the strange visions fading to a vague memory. No! No, this is too important! I can't lose this!

Then she hears her name.

"Dawn?"

And sees her friend's distress.

"Dawn!"

Geneva darts over to the thrashing pegasus, reaching out to try to comfort her. "Come on Dawn, snap out of it. It-it's just a vision. Focus on my voice. Focus on the world around you."

Which would mean focusing on the disgusting slug-man sliming its way by.

"Eerr... actually just focus on my voice for now."

[Darkcomet]

[Irregulars-Nick]

Uh. I'll get back to you. It involves offscreen shenanigans.

Dear lord I'm going to drown in these recruits. I was already working on stuff. I don't even know how I'm getting this many. PMs will be sent out when I'm ready for things, which mainly involves me typing up stuff so you won't be horribly bored.

[Irregulars-Alysha]

Waiting happens.

[Interrogation Room-Red]

"Yes, yes. Tell me, do you make a habit of causing property damage while trying to get around the city?" The flattery does not seem to have helped! Plan B is in order.

[Ruler's Plaza]

What Vyrn does is simple. He flies up under the cover of a cloaking device and tries to plant a tracking device on the statue.

Fun.

[Lycan 01]

[Riftline Crazytime!]

Dawn hears Geneva's voice, and locks onto it. "Grrrrah!" she snarls, gritting her teeth and wrenching her mind free from alien's influence. She hurls herself towards the sound of Geneva's voice, hooves outstretched to grab her in a tight hug. "Geneva! Oh thank the sky! I was so sc-scared!" she stutters, trying not to sob as she shakes of the mental and physical shock. Eyes still closed, she hugs her friend tighter. "It was h-horrible! And I w-was..." she chokes, on the verge of bursting into tears.

It's a good thing she hasn't opened her eyes yet.

Because she totally missed Geneva.

And is, instead, currently glomping the hell out of a slug-thing as she sobs on its abominable and/or metaphorical little shoulder.

[The Bushranger]

[Riftline Rumble]

Always, there are two...

Lydia wastes no time though.
In allowing the spear to block her sword, as she converts her forwards motion into a slide.

Intending to take out the legs of the big guy, even as she flicks her wrist in an attempt to sever the shaft of the spear with her blade.


[Interrogations: Red]

"No, trust me, if I was trying there wouldn't be much of a city left," Red observes. Completley straight-faced. "You'll probably find that all the property damage was to abandoned buildings scheduled for demolition anyway."

As there's a Giant Robot Collateral Damage Field that causes that kind of thing...

[Chaotic Bob]

[Riftline]

Stillness.
What was happening? Something...something stirring in the mind. A disquieting in the chest. Warmth and light. A veil over the eyes, peeling away ever so slightly.

A pair of very thin, cold, and distinctly metallic limbs hesitantly reach out to return Dawn's hug.
There's also a rather large quantity of green slime coughed onto her shoulder.


A clever motion for Lydia.
The ulitharid was focused enough on trying to tie up Sunder with the tubes and keeping an eye on Bob, that getting the drop on its poor legs happens simply enough.

Which is [i]bad, from its perspective.
It ruins the hold it has on the tubes (freeing up Sunder), and prevents it from simply moving away from Bob by vaulting over the console. The enchantments on its ribbon-based clothing are remarkable, but they won't keep out the incarnation of erosion off its flesh for more than moments.

But that's where team-work comes in.

The other illithid, as battered as it is, still has a fairly decent hold on its abilities. As Lydia's sword strikes off of its (metal) spear shaft, it tumbles a few feet to the side, striking out a hand to grab one of its superior's flailing tentacles.
There to drag them both into shadow, and subsequently a rather short distance away from the entire console area.

The fried-flayer is looking rather tired by this point, and its boss worn (somewhat literally), but they'll not have themselves dropped so easily.

A plague and a nuisance. We can relieve you of all your faults.
This would seem more a genuine offer if the two illithids didn't seem outrageously ticked off.


Meanwhile!
At the opposite end of the room, a familiar pair of bunny ears have appeared, along with the rest of a the super-heroine-dressed girl.

She's grabbing at something in the air and giving it a biiiiiiig pull.

[Lycan 01]

[Riftline Slime Time!]

Dawn opens her tear-rimmed eyes as something pukes on her shoulder. She finds herself hugging a slug-thing.

A hideous shriek of utter horror, surprise, and disgust howls forth from the little pegasus. Instincts take over, and without a second thought, Dawn frantically hurls the slug-thing in a random direction, trying to get it as far away from her as possible.

That random direction may or may not be where the Ilithids are popping up at...

Incoming!

[Gullara]

[Abrajin's Library]

"Just fill in whatever. I doubt they really check these." Xavier suggests quietly. Even if he's still not at all pleased about this. "We don't want to miss our chance for something like this."

[Rebonack]

[Ruler's Plaza]

Let's see here...

A tracking device gets planted on the statue. That's a really good idea!

Away they go with the statue of the Town's first emperor in tow!

The doll inspects one of the asploded robots. When the Atom Engine went critical it took most of the machine's upper body with it. Bits of burning rubber and twisted metal have been hurled all over the place and the ground is wet with hydraulic fluid.

The insignia of Doctor Diabolical, a skull with a pair of horizontal wings, is featured prominently on the robots.

[Riftline Ruckus]

Both of the squid creatures are right next to each other. And both of them are clear of the rest of her friends. Geneva decides that this would be a perfect time to take in a deep breath and-!

Squawks in surprise when she's bowled over by a flying slugmancyborgthing.

"Oow..."

Whoops!

One more Bob and Sunder move in unison, the elemental surging forward low to the ground to knock the squidmen off balance while the pegasus swoops in to clobber the spear guy with a hoof to the sternum while his guard is broken.

Getting caught in the flash flood will erode one's legs rather nastily.

Getting caught by one of Sunder's punches will probably be heart-explodingly lethal.

[Abrajin's Library]

The two women are ignored for the most part. That old grouch by the fireplace just sniffs loudly and turns the page in his book.

Should the cat girl decide to take some initiative instead of giving up the moment things get inconvenient she'll be able to finish filling out the forms in roughly fifteen minutes.

[The Bushranger]

[Riftline Ruckus]

Lydia straightens up, rolling to her feet and thrusting out her wrist -

pfft

- firing another explosive bolt at the boss guy's face!

She had considered another Arc Mine but, friendlies in the way...

"Our imperfections are our strength!"

[GrandDM]

[Robots and Tranquilizers->Interrogation Room?]

"We had to do something about that. Beats dealing with him flipping out with who knows what, and trust me, this type? They don't stop flipping out once they get started. Now, everyone in the transport."

Assuming everyone's feeling cooperative, I'll call for a timeskip here. Alysha and Nick will be brought through, asked for their versions of what happened, and released. The players can handwave that since it'd involve a lot of questions from generic NPCs and that would be boring. So just post a summary or something.

Teddy, being panicky about the whole thing, is judged to be an unreliable witness and dropped off at a clinic. He will be released upon awakening.

Red, however...what happens with him is much more interesting. He will be brought to an Irregular interrogation room, where what appears to be an elf woman with short brown hair wearing an Irregular uniform with a fancy commissarish hat sits at the other side of the table from him. (She gets a description at all? She must be important.)

"Please, relax. What is your name?"

((This is all assuming everyone's okay with timeskipping. I figure it's the quickest way to get everyone able to play other interesting scenes faster.))

When Teddy wakes up, he leaves the clinic and, after getting directions, proceeds to wherever the others are being interrogated (assuming its not a secret facility, in which case he waits until they're released and then uses a Locate Person spell.)

While he's waiting, he pulls his holdall out of midair and plunges his arm in much further than it should be able to go. Anyone nearby will hear him muttering "I need something to protect me from stuff like that... some sort of constant healing, perhaps... maybe a dormant skin-transmuter... I think I have Diamond Form in here somewhere..."

Teddy groans, and puts the bag down, before kneeling and sticking his entire upper body down to mid-belly into a bag that's maybe a cubic meter. Eventually, after a lot of muffled cursing, he comes up with a book titled 'Zezzen's Compendium of Transmutation'. He flips through a few pages, then puts it down open and pulls out another book.

"Greater Contingency: Stoneskin, Resilient Sphere, Shockwave!"

He then replaces the books, mutters something under his breath that causes the holdall to again disappear, and settles back to wait.