Skyside 3: Explore, Experiment, Explode

[TechnoScrabble]

Pocket Dimension

Jackalope scratches at the tattoo, groaning, and coughs up some of his meal. Overexertinf yourself swatting at a spider never ends well.

Not that I have any experience with that.

[Fenric]

Mortico's - store

Agent 47 apparently wanted a Big Mac, fries, and a bright red Slurpee, despite their being from utterly unrelated establishments.

[WarKitty]

Mortico's - Pocket Dimension

As the spider flattens, a large doorframe appears in the middle of the cell. A voice sounds "When the portal appears, please step through it. You will find bathing facilities. Please bathe and change into the provided clothing. Suitable grooming implements have been provided; please make appropriate use of them to make yourself look presentable. Once this is done wait for further instructions. Jackalope should feel compelled to obey the voice. The doorframe fills with white mist.

[TechnoScrabble]

Pocket Dimension

Jackalope complies, taking plenty of time to enjoy the shower. He likes being clean. He trims his hair and exfoliated his face, and dries his hair and tail with a drier to make them extra poofy before getting dressed.

[WarKitty]

Mortico's - Pocket Dimension

The shower is very well done, with a variety of lightly scented soaps and appropriate products. The outfit provided appears to consist solely of a rather tight pair of knee length leather breeches. Once he finishes dressing, the voice speaks again. Please step through the provided portal and follow the instructions of the store manager, who will meet you there and may be identified by a spider tattoo.

Another door fills with white mist. The other side should contain a large room with several nice chairs as well as a rather large stage. A silver service is on one side of the room, and several large weights as well as some acrobatic equipment are on the stage. No one else is in the room.

Mortico's - Store

The woman addresses the agent. Sir, if you would step right this way, I believe the merchandise is ready for display.

[TechnoScrabble]

Pocket Dimension

Jackalope shrugs and puts on the leather pants, looking around for where the voice is coming from. He steps through the portal into the next room and tentatively s out, "H-hello?"

It's certainly nicer her then it was in the daemon's house.

[WarKitty]

Mortico's - Showroom

The winged woman pops in briefly. A client will be in to see you shortly. Please have a seat in the chair on the stage and do your best to look nice. She gestures to a wooden chair in the middle of the stage.

[The Alexandrian]

[Dapper Dead Dan's Diner]

Finish Him!
*A beat.*
Oooooo! Wish we had instant replay on that!

Now that Dapper Dan has evolved into Dead Dan, Toy might as well help herself to his worldly possessions. She casually crouches over his corpse and eagerly liberates a ring of keys, a golden pocketwatch, a leather wallet which contains a tidy sum of cash, and a fancy cell phone. She'll attempt to toss the pocketwatch, wallet, and ring of keys to Shantelle before standing up, setting the cell phone on the bloody countertop, and unabashedly ogling her fellow torturess without restraint.

"How I admire watching you work!"

She practically throatily purrs. She seizes a bottle of expensive wine from a shelf on the wall, swipes two wine glasses from under the counter, and pours a nice, alcoholic beverage for Shantelle to sip.

"Considering how generous our host is feeling tonight, I reckon we should avail ourselves of his hospitality. We ought to whip up a five course meal, drive our friend's car to his house for him, and crash there for the night. We'll be too crocked and knackered to drive anywhere else, and we'll have to wake up early in the morning tomorrow if we want to give Johnny Law the slip."

"Oh wait! This is Skyside! Nobody cares if we murder nobodies!"

Gods how Toy loves this city!

Also, changing zone to Tempest Row since I think it is more appropriate for a scene like this.

[TechnoScrabble]

Mortico's - Showroom

The winged woman pops in briefly. A client will be in to see you shortly. Please have a seat in the chair on the stage and do your best to look nice. She gestures to a wooden chair in the middle of the stage.

"A-alright," Jackalope slowly makes his way to the chair and sits down, one leg crossed over the other.

After a moment he calls out, "Wait! A client? What is this?"

[WarKitty]

Mortico's - Showroom

The shout catches the woman in the doorway, and she turns. You've been acquired by Mortico's Slave Acquisition Services. The individual who originally had you acquired did not follow through on the payment deal, so we went looking for an alternate buyer. The tattoo will prevent you from escaping or disobeying a direct order, so please remain calm.

[blackouttwo]

The Heights

Jessica, unaware that she's being considered for her soul's tastiness, measures Arthur's shoulders, wings folded, wings extended, arm length, and so on. She isn't taking notes - apparently trusting her own memory with the numbers. Arthur's kind of cute, for a non-human. She catches herself with her hand on his wing a little longer than necessary, and quickly pulls it away. This is stupid. I've done tailoring for way hotter men than Willow's boyfriend. Human men. Most of the 'way hotter' men were models, and a large percentage of those men were gay, but still. She hadn't let her hands wander then, and she wasn't going to let them wander now. Again. It's not my fault, I'm just flustered by all the guns!
Finally she takes out a notepad and starts sketching out her plans for the cloak.

"Um... your tail? It stays under the cloak, right? I don't think I can make it hang properly if there needs to be a tail slit."

Jessica's hand wandering slightly got Arthur's attention. He hid it well, rolling his eyes slightly and trying to avoid drawing any notice to it. Willow was still in the room, after all, and it wasn't a big deal. Focus.

"No, it'll be fine without one. Long as I can put it over my shoulders, pull stuff through the dimensional-fold and not have someone immediately notice, it should work for our purposes."

Turning to look Jessica in the eye, Arthur frowned in thought. She really shouldn't have been here, in this whole mess. If Darvulia learned of Jessica's involvement, all it'd do is mark her as a potential target. But, there wasn't much he could do now. Willow had already made the call. And thinking about it, there wasn't much he could say that would make a convincing argument that it was a bad move.

Ordinarily, I'd give Willow flak for bringing in someone who couldn't fight, but we'd really be screwed if she didn't happen to have a friend with a fashion degree living in the city. The dimensional-fold matrix is going to be critical in the rescue attempt, and they wouldn't just let us walk in with a folded square of cloth.

All things considered? There were worse possible options than to show some gratitude. Duly deserved, in Arthur’s opinion. Especially for coming on such short notice.

"Listen, Jessica, I'm sorry about the 'gun' thing. Thanks for coming out to help. It means a lot, and the whole plan would’ve been a bust without you. If you can make this cloak, I’ll make it worth the trouble."

Vice had actually fallen silent for once. Arthur was more than pleased with this turn of events. Normally he kept prattling on. Or triggering impulses in Arthur's psyche to make him do things he would rather not. Having an eldritch god of sin playing backseat driver in his head was beginning to wear on him.

[happyturtle]

The Heights

Jessica catches her breath as Arthur meets her eyes. "I'm sorry... thanks... means a lot... if you..." The words blur together and seem to mean "You're wonderful. I want you. I need you." Time seems to stop for a moment as she tries to make sense of it. Is he... is he flirting with me? She steals a glance over at Willow - tall, thin, pretty, and rich - and when she catches Willow looking back, she immediately turns her attention to the fabric, marking it up and then taking scissors to it. Stop thinking like that, Jessica! A hot guy like Arthur who has a girl like Willow would never be interested in me.

Willow watches Jessica through narrowed eyes, takes a deep breath, and lets it out. Her best friend, standing right there in front of her, flirting with her boyfriend, then looking guilty when she got caught. Don't call her out yet. Arthur needs that cloak. Instead, she makes her way over to Arthur and puts her hand on his chest. "We're going to get them back, Arthur," she says in a low voice, trying to sound reassuring.

Spoiler: Jessica Falk

Show

Spoiler: Willow Warwick

Show

[Fenric]

Mortico's - Showroom

Agent 47 enters, dabbing a bit of mayo from his lip, and heads up to the front row. He reflexively gives the seat a quick wipe before undoing his coat-button, flipping the coat-tails out, and taking his seat - this same action briefly displays the trademark dart pistol mostly concealed in a white shoulder holster. He looks Jack over, beginning to wonder what his superiors are going to think of this...

Hrm... turn around, please.

Something that the manager has said twice now is finally starting to sink in now that he's had lunch. He may not be an analyst, but even the field agents are hardly stupid.

[Arkhosia]

Spoiler: the 3D

Show

[Dapper Dead Dan's Diner]

Finish Him!
*A beat.*
Oooooo! Wish we had instant replay on that!

Now that Dapper Dan has evolved into Dead Dan, Toy might as well help herself to his worldly possessions. She casually crouches over his corpse and eagerly liberates a ring of keys, a golden pocketwatch, a leather wallet which contains a tidy sum of cash, and a fancy cell phone. She'll attempt to toss the pocketwatch, wallet, and ring of keys to Shantelle before standing up, setting the cell phone on the bloody countertop, and unabashedly ogling her fellow torturess without restraint.

"How I admire watching you work!"

She practically throatily purrs. She seizes a bottle of expensive wine from a shelf on the wall, swipes two wine glasses from under the counter, and pours a nice, alcoholic beverage for Shantelle to sip.

"Considering how generous our host is feeling tonight, I reckon we should avail ourselves of his hospitality. We ought to whip up a five course meal, drive our friend's car to his house for him, and crash there for the night. We'll be too crocked and knackered to drive anywhere else, and we'll have to wake up early in the morning tomorrow if we want to give Johnny Law the slip."

"Oh wait! This is Skyside! Nobody cares if we murder nobodies!"

Gods how Toy loves this city!

Also, changing zone to Tempest Row since I think it is more appropriate for a scene like this.

Shantelle catches the objects, smiling more at Toy's comment and staring as she accepts the glass of wine.
I second that plan, my maybe more than a good friend! This is the best city I've visited by far, I agree! I propose a toast to the greatness of Skyside and the hospitality of our host!
Shantelle says, raising up her glass to toast.

[Fenric]

[Towers - Dormitories]

Atorre's latest acquisitions awaken the next morning, surprised to find themselves in beds after falling asleep in the gyrocopter.

Aja shakes her head

Well... they're certainly gentle - I always considered myself a light sleeper, but I don't remember getting here.

Kal chuckles

Yeah. Now, I wonder where the bathroom is?

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Dormitories]

It's inward, at the center of this level. There's several other beds in this wedge-shaped room, but all appear empty, even unused. Other doors lead to the sides, and out into the hallway where stairs can be found.

The two new recruits are given several moments to wake up and look around.

[Towers - Security Office - Earlier]

A winged woman in a dress uniform is briefing the group leaders of the retained security team, who are generally happy to have something to do other than foil bank robbers and people who try to steal company airships. A little globe projects a map of the city into the air, with different markers showing the locations where the scans picked up the Tenjin symbols, the leifts down to grounside, airship docks large and small, and points of interest nearby.

A smaller projection to the side shows the poorly-graphically-designed holy symbol in more detail than the map icons, while the woman goes on about the importance of catching them, of making an example to the city, caution about their tendency to use explosive traps. SHe speaks in clipped, almost broken nexus-translated language, and finally sends them off with a 'GO!'

[Fenric]

[Towers - Dormitories]

Poking at the doors, and a few false starts, and the bathrooms are found. The pair retire to clean themselves rather fastidiously. Kal comes out first, wrapped in a towel. He goes back to the room and pokes around to see if there might be clean clothes to wear.


[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

Almost but not quite fashionable, with private security: you stand a decent chance of enjoying your evening here. It's a busy day, already.


[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

There are six garments here: one sliced and bloodstained, two with bullet holes, one with strange burns, and two completely intact.


[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

Looks like it's somebody's house.


[Thunderhead: Who leave these warehouses empty??]

It's locked. And warded. And there are cameras pointing at the door.

[TechnoScrabble]

Mortico's-Showroom

Jackalope starts to ask just what the hell is going on here and who decided he was a slave when Agent 47 enters. He stands quietly, keeping an eye on the newcomer, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, and then the command is given. Jackalope turns around on one foot, giving a bit of flair to the twist.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Dormitiories]

Kal will find drawers under the bed, which contain several sets each of white underclothes, grey pants and shirts, blue tabards with a meshed gears and wands symbol of Skyside in silver, belts, socks, and shoes, which might not fit akarthi feet.

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

They were likely already gone from this place, but it can't hurt to check.
One man heads in, giving the place a quick look over and then heading to the bartender or host, whichever is more appropriate to the place, and explaining that city security is looking for something that was known to have entered the establishment.

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

Doubtful that Mary herself is here, it's likey just a friendly name, the whole group of four enters the run-down place and give the pitiful selection of garments a quick look before going up to the shopkeeper.
"We're looking for a particular symbol, which you might recall. A lightningbolt over a flame."

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

A knock at the door, two guards standing behind the one who knocked, a fourth looking around the block for windows and ladders and toher exit points.

[Thunderhead: Who leave these warehouses empty??]

A loud knock on the door; two of four there, while two are watching on opposite sides of the building.
If the place doesn't open up promptly, the leader will hold a badge up the camera, for just a moment, before they start blasting at the locks and hinges.

[Fenric]

[Mortico's-Showroom]

Agent 47 arches an eyebrow as he is simultaneously convinced that this will never work, and somehow life will not be complete if Jack isn't brought back to the office.

what the... um...

he sees the weights

Uh... how much can you lift? Show me, but don't hurt yourself.

While Jack gets going with that, the Agent remembers the thought he had earlier and looks at the manager/salesperson/whatever: perhaps this trip will work out well after all.

You said you would fetch people on request, right?

---

[Towers - Dormitories]

Kal grabs a set of clothing and scurries back to the bathrooms, pausing at the door to the room Aja is in

Clothes are under the bed!
Thanks!

---

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

The bartender nods and points at a high-walled booth where two men in reasonably modern looking garb with leather jackets bearing the symbol in question on the shoulder are enjoying pints of beer.

---

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

(( I was unclear: the six I mentioned are the ones with the symbol ))
The shop attendant nods at the six garments

Dat's all dere is, an I 'ate it when dey come in: aint nobody will touch 'em. Always cut up er shot up, too - is dey some gang or udder?

---

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

Who's there?

---

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

The shield over the door gives a nifty hexagonal energy-dispersal pattern at the attempts to shoot it.

[WarKitty]

Mortioc's - Showroom

That is correct - with a down payment and suitable information for tracking, of course. the winged woman replies. Our hunters are highly accurate.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Dormitories]

A knock comes at the door from the staircase.
"Good morning. I trust you found everything well enough?"

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

A few taps of the communicator at his waist signal two others to come in, and they walk up cautiously to the high-walled booth.
"Gentlemen. Sorry to interrupt your drink, but..." He holds out a badge with a light smile. "Skyside internal security; we're going to have to ask you a few questions."

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

"A cult, trying to destabilize the whole city. We'll take these six things off your hands." Unless her prices are crazy, a few damaged outfits should be well within the operation's budget.
"Do you remember where you got them from?


[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

"City Internal Security. We hope you can answer a few questions for us." If there's a little peephole, she'll hold up a badge, which looks official because it is. Although no one has agreed on a standard format, so it gets a bit confusing.


[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

How neat. They'll have to get themselves some of those.
He motions to his partner, who throws a grappling hook up towards the roof, hoping there's a sturdy rain gutter or other feature. The others are signalled to try any windows the building has, and he signals the liutenant back at the complex that they may need heavier building-entry equipment.

[TechnoScrabble]

Mortico's-Showroom

Jackalope's more of a cardio person than a lifting person, but he's still definitely fit. He walks over to the bench, swaying his hips purposefully as he does, and slides two and a half plates on each side of the bar. He links the pins in and slides under, gripping it tightly and slowly pushing it up, then letting it down even slower. His pores still open from the shower, he's soon sweating, making the smell of chocolate and cinammon around him even stronger.

[Fenric]

Mortico's-Showroom

Agent 47 is sweating slightly himself

Ok, how much for the bunny, and how much to catch us a female Vulpan from inside? Any random white-robed one from the Temple of Inari will do: we don't really care which one in particular. Nab one from the MagMart parking lot - we know they frequent the one on Maple Street.

---

[Towers - Dormitories]

Aja opens the door with a smile

Mostly. We found shoes, but they're not made for our kind of feet.

---

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

The men look at each other, then one answers

Of course, officer.

---

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

The clerk is quite thrilled at the news

'eee now! See, dat'll be sixteen credits for da lot. Now, lemme tink... Da cut one was from Tommy Switchblade 'imself, dat was yesterday. Da two shot ones were from da coroner at Mercy East 'ospital. An old drunk bum brought in da burny one, and the udders were inna donation bag with lotsa other stuff.

---

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

The door is unlocked and a fairly nondescript middle aged man opens the door

How can I help?

---

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

The windows are small and barred, and the two other exits are similarly shielded.

But there's a standard curtain-wall rim over which the hook easily catches.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Dormitories]

It's a very similar bit of Atorre to the one who took them on the flight. Maybe the same one. Smiling back.

"Ah. Yes, our only other digitgrade worker went unshod. Go to the city tower, that's the purple one, give the quartermaster your measurements, and we'll get you something soon. But first, what sort of skills do the two of you have? We're still not sure where to put you; no need for assassins in our team as of yet."

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

The leader grabs a chair from an unoccupied area and sets it at the end of the booth to sit in.
"To start with, tell me about that symbol on your shoulders. Then, what do you know about a group called DART?"

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

The credit chips are counted out onto the counter, and a note made on the expense. One of the guards who isn't paying goes to collect the garments and look at them in detail, especially the burnt one. This place seems like a dead end, though.

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

"You can tell us your name and occupation, place what this symbol means to you, and why it's been detected in your residence." The first are to match against the records, the others for information. She holds up a cheap paper printout of the Tenjin symbol.

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

One after the other, the agents shimmy up the rope and swing onto the roof, before inspecting what it's made of and how best to get through it. Will this collapsible hammer do? Plasma blasts from up to four of them? Or will they need the heavier cutting equipment? For all they know there are similar shields up here.

[WarKitty]

It's half price up front to catch, although I think we could cut that by a quarter if you're willing to pay now for the jackalope. It would help if you could provide some sort of item or other thing to track them by, although a sufficiently clear description will do. Lacking an item will make the chase take longer however. The woman produces a set of forms. This one's the order form.

[Fenric]

[Mortico's-Showroom]

Agent 47 shakes his head

No, we don't have anything to trace, and any one of them will do. Looks like a fox, noticeably female if you know what I mean, five-ish feet tall, in a white dress. You can't miss 'em.

He starts filling out the forms.

---

[Towers - Dormitories]

The twins chuckle

It's ok, we don't usually wear shoes either.

Then the second question

That's a tough one... because it's been mostly tracking, stealth, infiltration, and various ways to kill people.
I was tolerably good at clerical magic... don't know how well it would carry over to a different deity

---

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

The one who spoke before answers again

It is the holy symbol of Karai Tenjin, God of Fire and Thunder.

The second looks confused

Uh... but what does that have to do with the Dockside Area Rapid Transit?

---

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

Yup... not much to see here. The cut one is a reasonably nice dress shirt, with the logo embroidered onto the breast pocket. The wearer most likely did not survive Mr. Switchblade's attention. The bullet-riddled ones are biker style leather jackets (identical in most respects to those on the guys in the bar), much abraided by contact with the road surface and only barely serviceable. The burnt one is a windbreaker jacket with the logo silk-screened on, and the undamaged ones are cotton robes of some sort, also silk-screened.

---

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

He pulls a sour face
Ugh! Them! I was an idiot and actually let them talk to me: some crazy cult or other, rambled on about injustice and revenge - the usual garbage. Lots of weird talk about hating foxes and they gave me a pamphlet on how bad it is for you to eat rice. You're welcome to it.

---

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

The rooftop appears to be standard industrial tar and gravel over sheeting on a network of steel rafters. There is a roof access door, but it is locked and shielded: they aren't that dumb. Several bits of pipe, ductwork, and HVAC equipment, but nothing you'd really want to try to climb into.

[WarKitty]

The woman frowns. Well, it will take longer if there's no scent for the hounds to pick up. But it can be done. The price should be on the form, including the down payment. It's a pretty steep price.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Dormitories]

Atorre laughs along. That makes that easier.

"It should come across reasonably well, the magic. You can pray and meditate and practice with us, and we'll see what you're capable of."
He looks to Aja with a slight frown.
"Well, keep those skills ready somewhat, in case they're needed. What would you learn then? Something that you don't already know."

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

"Different DART. Good, if you mean it. And what is your relation to Tenjin and his church? Are you aware that it is their intent to destroy this city?"

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]

The team waves back to the shop's clerk and head off to destroy the damaged garments and keep the good ones in case they're even needed as a disguise. Two back to the complex, two to meet the team at the thunderhead warehouse.

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

"Thank you for your assistance. Do you remember anything about the actual cultist who gave it to you?"

"And just remember to cook your rice thoroughly, and it's a fine food," chimes the second guard.

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

The rooftop appears to be standard industrial tar and gravel over sheeting on a network of steel rafters. There is a roof access door, but it is locked and shielded: they aren't that dumb. Several bits of pipe, ductwork, and HVAC equipment, but nothing you'd really want to try to climb into.[/QUOTE]

The security team smiles. Roofing tar is not really that strong once you dig away the gravel covering.
They start to do just that, then set their plasma guns to 'saw' and start trying to blast through the outer roof layers.

[Fenric]

[Mortico's-Showroom]

Agent 47 shrugs, what does he know about kidnappings... seems like you'd just lurk in the parking lot until one of them came out.

I'll take the jackalope now, but I'm not authorized to spend this much: I'll have to get clearance - so don't do anything yet.

---

[Towers - Dormitories]

Kal smiles

Sounds like a plan

Aja looks sad

I don't know....

Kal looks hopeful

She can draw really well!

---

[Tempest Row: Preston Avenue Bar and Grill]

This gets a look of surprised bafflement

Huh? They're just a bunch of crazy fox haters - they hired us for security. But we lost two in a shootout with some vampire cult, and then Tommy cut up their priest, so we got fired. Not sure where you got the tip they're some sort of a threat, but they make Joe the Pickpocket look like a criminal mastermind. You guys catch him yet this week?

The other shakes his head.

I can think of a lot of places that make "dart", but can't see why any of them would matter:"Devils Are Religious Too", "Dwarves Against Racial Tolerance", "Diamond Avenue Rugby Team", "Drunkard Alley Response Taskforce", "Derrek Avrey's Rental Tools", and "Dragons Aren't Reptiles you Tosser".

---

[Tempest Row: Mother Mary's Thrift Shop]
(( *derp* ))

---

[Raindrop District: Apartment block 254-A]

The anti-rice pamphlet gives an address in the Southside district of Riverside. The man nods

Ok, thanks.

---

[Thunderhead: Who leaves these warehouses empty??]

Cutting in is not much of a problem: they do not appear to have expected that. Once the hole is opened, it's a LONG way down - there do not appear to be any interior improvements in the place where the cut was made.