Inside 60

[Ionbound]

[Devil's Charm Hospital]

Clara nods and says impatiently, "Yeah. But I'm not worried about it. I definitely don't want to be all drugged up. Can we just do the third transfusion?"

[Slii Arhem]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Isaac shuts his eyes and shakes the image away. He was smart enough not to be looking straight ahead. He makes the drink order from the man with a polite smile. Oh, geez, no wonder this place gets business so close to the school. Teens and college students must love it.
"No problem at all. Would you like to start with anything, Tab?" he says, doing his best to just go with everything.

La Debaucherie Cafe

"Well... dreamwalking was interesting. Do either of you remember it?" Might as well ask that now.

La Debaucherie Cafe

"Nope!" Merissa chirps as she slides her seat closer to Isaac. Possibly out of some misguided attempt to draw his attention away from the other serving staff, "That's nothing new though, you knew I never remember mine anyway. Did anything go on that I should be remembering though?" She looks tempted to go back to her book, but pays attention to Tabitha while wondering to herself what their free meal will be.

[Deathkeeper]

Le Debaucherie Cafe

Isaac shakes his head.
"I don't remember specifics. I just remember that we said a few hopeful things, a few sad things, and something got really serious for a bit. Nothing specific really, although I did wake up with a really bittersweet feeling." Isaac says, taking comfort in Merissa being there are really trying hard to ignore the not-actually-clothed staff.

[Murkus]

Red Zone - Trash

Aiden crashes through a wall, and then flips around to land on his feet. "Lot more than you've got, Trash Man," he says. His sword is back at its place against his shoulder, and he steps through the hole he just made. "What say we finish this? I feel like getting a smoothie."

Susurrus has no answer this time. He grips the edge of his street-rupture to hurls himself from it, legs spread forward and back as he takes to the air. Purple lightning follows behind him like the trail of a great dark comet, as does burning shards of refuse. He flies over the street in a swift arc, arms outstretched toward Aiden, too insane with fury to consider a prudent retreat.

[Lost_Deep]

Le Debaucherie Cafe

"Merissa... I want to talk about yours in private. It was... distressing, and I hope it was a one-off. As for yours, Isaac, it was a little short since I got there late. We talked some, you showed me around some... it was like a forest, but you called it a city once. We touched on the time you were an ant, and then I had this moment of self-doubt... In short, dream me is a bit of a ditz and more likely to give serious thought to passing notions." She had never noticed that before.

[Slii Arhem]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Merissa peers at Tabitha, concerned, but not for herself, "Alright... wait, you were an ant once?" She looks over at Isaac, either having forgotten being told or perhaps she'd spaced out at the time, "That must have been really awful..." She can picture it in her head, shrinking is one of the worst parts of transmutation assignments to her, and shrinking that much is practically a full blown fear for her.

Meanwhile, an eyecatching waitress covered in symbolic tattoos serves their drinks and informs them that once they're done with those, they can have the complimentary meal. A bit of a strange deal, but perhaps it's just to give the chefs more time to cook, since they'd want to be doing so very carefully if they're all following the same uniform policy the wait staff are.

[Deathkeeper]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Oh boy, health inspectors would have a fit over that notion. At least the dress code doesn't stop them from washing their hands.
"Well, if you say that everything's fine..." says Isaac, but he's quickly interrupted as Merissa asks about what he'd prefer she didn't ask about. He blushes slightly.
"Um, yeah, I was a large ant for a while. By 'large' I mean a few centimeters tall instead of millimeters. My family blew a lot of money to get me restored, but I was like that for a solid month. It was uh, my third day back as a human when we met."

Isaac looks up and thanks the waitress, trying not to look too much with more concentration than he normally uses for pretty much anything, and goes back to the two girls at the table, sipping idly at the soda in an attempt to avoid some of the awkwardness of the scenario. To be fair, he'd much rather have attractive girls on the brain than his time as an insect, but Merissa might not be happy with it! Well, except for the thoughts about her, he's sure those are permitted.

"If we don't eat until we finish these, what do we drink with the meal?" he wonders out loud.

[Devixer]

Red Zone - Trash

Aiden grins and gets a running start before leaping right at Susurrus, following a similar arc. That grin only gets wider when he accompanies this leap with a slash from his sword. It's far from his flashiest move, but his strength and speed should get the job done. They can't all be Helm Splitters.

[Murkus]

[Red Zone - Trash]

If Aiden doesn't move out've the way somehow, Susurrus's superior weight may plow him into the street, but not before Aiden lands a crushing blow with the brutally large weapon of his. Whether Aiden lands beneath the beast or not, pummeled down, Sus roars a bloody roar and thrashes around on the cobblestones, the cloven halves of it's bony head tossed about raggedly. Horrible, stinking fluids leak from the severed eyes and other hexotechnical guts the beast possesses, splattered all about.

[Devixer]

Red Zone - Trash

Just after Aiden makes his strike, a circle of demonic runes materializes behind him. He kicks off of it, increasing his aerial speed just enough to get him behind Susurrus before they land. When he lands, he makes sure to land on one knee so that he can slowly stand up. He sheathes his sword and starts walking towards Susurrus. His hand starts to give off a dark glow.

[Murkus]

[Red Zone - Trash]

Susurrus hurls itself blindly to the left, vision failing, incapable of speech but for a rattling gurgle that penetrates the senses most uncomfortably. It lunges at shadows, leaking more brain-bile, limbs shuddering as it steadies itself weakly.

[Devixer]

Red Zone - Trash

"Just stay right there for me, Trash Man," Aiden says. He raises his glowing hand towards Susurrus, who may suddenly feel its very essence being drained from its body.

[Murkus]

[Red Zone - Trash]

This new and fascinating sensation is difficult to interpret when combined with violent sensory deprivation, but Susurrus begins to lose his hold on the patchwork body he's created. Violet light whiplashes out've Sus's joints and worms through the air toward Aiden.

[Devixer]

Red Zone - Trash

Aiden just keeps on grinning as he keeps pulling Sus's essence away from him. He can't help but wonder what kind of weapon he'll get this time around.

[Rebonack]

[Carousel Court - Nightmare Night Set Up]

Things are busy in Carousel Court.

Groups of equestrians, humans, and hobbits are all bustling about getting ready for the huge Nightmare Night celebration. It might not be considered strictly sane to be running such a celebration for a whole month, but the district's various sweets shops are bracing themselves for the influx of traffic. The goodies produced by the ponies are rather renown in the Nexus, and now they're going to have to get them prepped by the bushel!

Spooky decorations are being hung, festive streamers strung, and games are being assembled. A large group of ponies are busy setting up a stage for live music while a nearby human is puzzling through the mess of audio-system wires and doing his best to chase off any cord gremlins. Hay bales are getting tossed about, hey rides set up, the spooky pumpkin patch prepped, and a cornfield maze prepared courtesy of Roseluck Agrifirm is being stomped out.

And in the middle of it all?

Bubblegum Confetti is bouncing here and there, cheerfully calling out orders, lifting spirits, and making sure everyone is having fun even in the midst of all the hard work. She is, after all, Carousel Court's premier party pony. And that means making sure that the catering, set up, and general enjoyment having are all running smoothly.

She's in the zone. She's in her element! And she's probably going to cause at least one spontaneous musical party preparation montage to help speed things along.

Check back tomorrow! Because that's when the fun really starts!

[Lost_Deep]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Tabitha frowns. Crud, Isaac hadn't told Merissa and- "Sorry! I thought that... sorry." She takes her drink. "Merissa, yours was... I'll be honest, a little worrying. I try not to let dreams cloud my perception of someone, I know that my dreams are about as indicative to me as a random rock is, but I think I should tell you about it in private. It'd be fine for Isaac to be there if you're comfy with that, but..." She casually gestures at the public cafe.

[Terumitsu]

[Junkyard Junktion]

What if they're extremely unique legos? :P
Sophia will get out of the car along with Riss if she does, nodding.
I can see the usefulness. Not only do you have a source of miscellaneous materials, but you have a large amount of space that you could potentially use for many things, such as testing or storage.
She replies, looking upon the junkyard.
So, what exactly do you need to test or need my assistance for?
Sophia inquires.

"I felt a demonstration would be in order. You mentioned not being able to transform without a goal and I have one that, while particularly mundane, would yield more information than you might expect. Plus the place would be a bit more organized.." she said although the shifter might want to debate on just how organized one could get in a junkyard. "Do you see the pile of mostly vehicles over there?" she said, pointing to a relatively small cluster of crushed cars stacked on top of each other. "If you could move those over next to that concrete bunker-looking building next to the pile of aluminum scrap in as few trips as possible." she said. That should be simple enough of a command if she recalled the conditions correctly although this was more than just a test of physical prowess. Dexterity and some basic problem solving were included given how the path between the two locations was hardly a straight line... Unless one wanted to just plow through a few other collections of scrap in addition to a crane.

"Seeing how I've planned on having to spend quite a bit of time here on my own, I've already taken care of stocking up on sources of nourishment although this also means I've got plenty for you to refuel with should you require it after the task has been completed." she said. It was a bit of a drawn out way to say that she would be cooking for the shifter, yes, but putting it that way at least removed any connotations that might otherwise crop up when saying that directly.

[Shadowcaller]

Chadwick's Temple

Arty can't help but smile at the wisp. He doesn't think that the demon could trick him with light. Is that not its antithesis?
"Hello, there. Don't suppose you can hear me through this, can you sir?" he says out loud to it.

[Devil's Charm Hospital]

Clara nods and says impatiently, "Yeah. But I'm not worried about it. I definitely don't want to be all drugged up. Can we just do the third transfusion?"

[Devil's Charm Hospital]

The doctor hesitates for a moment. "Well... if that's what you really want I can't deny you it since it's all paid for." People could get sued for that sort of thing. "So just sit down then and let us take care of the last injection."

And if there is no protests she will be prepared and the warforged will inject her with the final dose of fiend blood and then await the changes that will occur.

Chadwick's Temple

"Have you seen Radu Arty? I can't seem to find the demon anywhere. I did find the mark it had left in the temple though. I'm afraid we will have to cleanse it..." He can hear Chadwick through the wisp.

But suddenly, as they approach the entrance, Arty can see something small fly straight out the entrance and take to the skies.

[Deathkeeper]

Chadwick's Temple

"I did see him. He attacked me with his host, but left after that failed and his words failed to coerce me." he says, indicating the woman he's carrying. But then flinches.
"Uh, what was that?" he asks.

[Ionbound]

[Devil's Charm Hospital]

Clara nods as the third transfusion takes place, and her final transformation begins. She twitches and thrashes, bouncing up and down on the chair as her eyes burn blue, fading to reveal that her pupils have become slitted and her sclera pitch black.

Clara screams and thrashes in pain as her form seems to melt, becoming protean, before reforming herself and, with a groan and a deep breath, Clara smiles and says, "Ahh...Is that it? I'm a devil now?"

[Arkhosia]

[Junkyard Junktion]



"I felt a demonstration would be in order. You mentioned not being able to transform without a goal and I have one that, while particularly mundane, would yield more information than you might expect. Plus the place would be a bit more organized.." she said although the shifter might want to debate on just how organized one could get in a junkyard. "Do you see the pile of mostly vehicles over there?" she said, pointing to a relatively small cluster of crushed cars stacked on top of each other. "If you could move those over next to that concrete bunker-looking building next to the pile of aluminum scrap in as few trips as possible." she said. That should be simple enough of a command if she recalled the conditions correctly although this was more than just a test of physical prowess. Dexterity and some basic problem solving were included given how the path between the two locations was hardly a straight line... Unless one wanted to just plow through a few other collections of scrap in addition to a crane.

"Seeing how I've planned on having to spend quite a bit of time here on my own, I've already taken care of stocking up on sources of nourishment although this also means I've got plenty for you to refuel with should you require it after the task has been completed." she said. It was a bit of a drawn out way to say that she would be cooking for the shifter, yes, but putting it that way at least removed any connotations that might otherwise crop up when saying that directly.

Junkyard Junktion

Pretty sure I can. You might want to step back a little, by the way. It's kind of dangerous to stand near to a transforming shifter.
Sophia replies. After Riss is at a safe distance, Sophia focuses, and transforms into her titan from.
She bites down upon her hand, and lightning flashes downwards and around her with a loud thunderclap. Steam erupt in a spiral, swirling like an upside down stationary tornado around her. The steam clears in a few minutes, revealing a 15 meter tall titan. Her skinless body is only covered with muscles, possessing an amazingly fit physique that matches Sophia's human body. Bone formations jut over her muscles, forming an appearance of armor upon her lower legs and kneecaps, her feet sheltered by the covering as well. Forearm guards, along with armor upon the hands, made out of bone, adorn her arms. Sophia's face, however, is what makes this entire visage truly frightening.
Bone forms a partial guard, covering her jaw and around her eyes. The titan's eyes are narrowed, with blazing blue irises, and Sophia's mouth is jagged, shaped like the Rogue titan's and without any lips.
Sophia steps forward, her footfalls shaking the earth slightly, and moves towards the cars.

[Slii Arhem]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Oh boy, health inspectors would have a fit over that notion. At least the dress code doesn't stop them from washing their hands.
"Well, if you say that everything's fine..." says Isaac, but he's quickly interrupted as Merissa asks about what he'd prefer she didn't ask about. He blushes slightly.
"Um, yeah, I was a large ant for a while. By 'large' I mean a few centimeters tall instead of millimeters. My family blew a lot of money to get me restored, but I was like that for a solid month. It was uh, my third day back as a human when we met."

Isaac looks up and thanks the waitress, trying not to look too much with more concentration than he normally uses for pretty much anything, and goes back to the two girls at the table, sipping idly at the soda in an attempt to avoid some of the awkwardness of the scenario. To be fair, he'd much rather have attractive girls on the brain than his time as an insect, but Merissa might not be happy with it! Well, except for the thoughts about her, he's sure those are permitted.

"If we don't eat until we finish these, what do we drink with the meal?" he wonders out loud.

La Debaucherie Cafe

Tabitha frowns. Crud, Isaac hadn't told Merissa and- "Sorry! I thought that... sorry." She takes her drink. "Merissa, yours was... I'll be honest, a little worrying. I try not to let dreams cloud my perception of someone, I know that my dreams are about as indicative to me as a random rock is, but I think I should tell you about it in private. It'd be fine for Isaac to be there if you're comfy with that, but..." She casually gestures at the public cafe.

La Debaucherie Cafe

Merissa's eyes light up and she flips open the book she'd brought, muttering to herself, "Bounded fields, bounded fieeeelds ahah!" She points at one portion of the illegible page and intones a few mouthed words that come out as anti-noise, killing all sound in a wave expanding out from her that suddenly stops in a circle, surrounding their table, "Wow, that one was super easy. Air won't vibrate past the edge of the field, so you can talk about it now if you like Tabby. I know it must have been pretty bad to spook you like this, but I think we should figure it out between us." Rather than keeping it from Isaac. As she thinks of him, she turns and places a hand over the back of his, trying to comfort him about the ant thing. She can't relate to the experience, but she can surely be sympathetic.

"It's probably water, or maybe you have to order another drink. It's a strange deal, but I heard that they have a quota to meet with the drink company that provides their beverages, so maybe it's to force people to buy one."

[Deathkeeper]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Isaac shrugs, smiling at Merissa at the contact.
"If you want me around, that's fine. We can always stop if it's too personal." he says.
...
and then goes back to sipping his drink. He's one of the folks who really has trouble not drinking or eating something when it's placed right in front of them.

[Lost_Deep]

La Debaucherie Cafe

"Well, to start with, dream-you seemed to look down on waking you. And kept asking me, 'why do you always leave?' It... well, I'll start from the beginning."

And then Tabitha will tell the story of Merissa's dream. The parts that are impossible she explains as best as she can, but her memory is perfect and as thus she's 100 percent accurate about it. She'll stop at any point if either of them wants her to stop, especially Merissa.

[Slii Arhem]

La Debaucherie Cafe

Isaac shrugs, smiling at Merissa at the contact.
"If you want me around, that's fine. We can always stop if it's too personal." he says.
...
and then goes back to sipping his drink. He's one of the folks who really has trouble not drinking or eating something when it's placed right in front of them.

La Debaucherie Cafe

"Well, to start with, dream-you seemed to look down on waking you. And kept asking me, 'why do you always leave?' It... well, I'll start from the beginning."

And then Tabitha will tell the story of Merissa's dream. The parts that are impossible she explains as best as she can, but her memory is perfect and as thus she's 100 percent accurate about it. She'll stop at any point if either of them wants her to stop, especially Merissa.

La Debaucherie Cafe

"So my dream avatar doesn't like me because I don't remember anything she tells me, or anything that happens? And I still haven't figured out an answer to that question for myself... I don't know enough about this stuff, but the crazy, impossible stuff sounds like something that's meant to shock me, or you. What do you think Isaac?" What Isaac might think, should he keep his eyes on Merissa too long, is that she looks very fetching in the apparently nothing that she's currently wearing.

Because yes, of course he should have been more cautious about the drinks. The mild potion mixed into Isaac's is an inverse of the illusion that's on the waiters, and fills in the gaps in the person's vision with what they would imagine someone as naked, or what they actually look like as such if they're familiar with the person in the buff. Meanwhile, Tabitha hasn't yet suffered the effects of her regular soda, but beneath Merissa begins to shift comfortably in her seat after another sip of the hot cocoa, the warmth of the drink spreading out from her stomach pleasantly.

[Deathkeeper]

Le Debaucherie Cafe

Isaac thinks for a moment. "To be honest, I don't really know about some of this stuff. Most of it, really. I erm, did talk to your dad, though and well, he was talking about throwing around some crazy stuff. I mean, besides the fact of what his business is, well, he did say that, well, he was a djinni. And that he didn't tell you about that. Erm, it'd certainly explain the odd magic you inherited. And..." he trails off, as he started to look back down at Merissa as his thoughts come together, and things become apparent. Oh gods, not again. And after the incident when they were first changed by the wild magic, Isaac does know what Merissa looks like naked, even without assuming other scenes happened! Isaac immediately turns scarlet tries to avert his eyes, but he can't look at Tab, and everywhere else is suddenly nowhere to look either, in terms of the other patrons of the staff whose magic is currently being cancelled out. He settles on laying his forehead against the table.
"Next time we are not picking a place for value. I would highly recommend not continuing with those drinks." he says.
...honestly, it's really kind of funny, and he's really not upset about his own state to their eyes, especially if his clothes are actually still there to keep the wind out, but he can't look without being a bit of a pervert, now can he? If Merissa weren't here he'd probably have laughed. Maybe. But oh, when she is here it's just embarrassing.

[Murkus]

Red Zone - Trash

Aiden just keeps on grinning as he keeps pulling Sus's essence away from him. He can't help but wonder what kind of weapon he'll get this time around.

Susurrus batters trenches in the cobblestones, crushing swathes of street in his flinging. His tale whips out and snaps off a lamppost, his claws dig furrows, he enacts great violence on thin air. The motions slow, however, as Susurrus's essence gathers around Aiden. Then at last, with one attempted heave toward a nearby building, Sus's corpse is laid down onto the sidewalk with a thunderous crash, throwing up more rubble with his final lunge. His claws and legs lay stretched out behind him, tail twitching gently, fluids leaking from the dark shape of his head.

All that he is lingers now around Aiden, whirling gently, slumbering.

[Rebonack]

[Spooktober Spectacular!]

It's the month of Spooktober!

Due to the diligent efforts of a small army of equestrians from Carousel Court, as well as like minded humans and hobbits, not only has Carousel Court been spooked up with spooky games and decorations, but the festivities have spilled over into many of the surrounding districts of Inside! Not one to be outdone by a bunch of ponies, many businesses have set out bowls of candy for the kidlings scampering about in costume and demanding sweet treats! There is, sadly, a pretty lacking supply of mass produced candy, though. The closing of MagMart has made that stuff rather difficult to acquire. But! That just means more business for Carousel Court's artisan confectioners, doesn't it?

Streamers of black and orange and yellow are strung about. Fake cotton spider-web and rubber spiders abound. Apple-bobbing tanks have popped up like mushrooms. Spooky music is played off stage by a live band whilst costumed children and adults do the monster mash! The cake walks have begun. Skeletons and ghosts hang from every window and tree all the while children dash about vying for the most praise for their costume and the best candy. A bit of a dispute amongst the youngsters which rhyme is better for acquiring the most goodies, but so far it's little more than a friendly competition.

Trick or treat~
Smell my feet~
Give me something good to eat!

Nightmare night~
What a fright~
Give me something sweet to bite!

Spooky lanterns depicting Nightmare Moon are hung from many a front porch, lightning the night with a creepy blue glow. The cornfield maze has been opened. The pumpkin launching giant slingshots have been readied. And everyone is having some spooky fun!

But watch out for Nightmare Moon! Remember to set aside some of your candy as an offering, otherwise she might just gobble you up!

[Lost_Deep]

Le Debaucherie Cafe

Tabitha sips her own drink as the other two share their musings... and then Isaac acts oddly. Tabitha is worried and slightly confused, but puts the soda down.

Hopefully whatever is in the drink doesn't kick in after the sips she took in-between telling the story plus the sips from right now.

[Darkcomet]

Unknown Location

"Shutting down the MagMarts is the same thing as killing me. It's just a slower way of doing it," Magtok corrects N'alae, looking about his surroundings, trying to figure out where he is and if there's any way out of this room. It wouldn't surprise him if the Union had a underground room with no entrances or exits, with a mountain of teleblocks and secure passwords keeping anyone from entering or leaving without Vyrn's approval, but he still has to be sure. Knowledge is power; this sort of thing might come in handy later.

"I've changed my ways, besides. Everything you said about who I was is absolutely right, but it's no longer the man I am today. I've fought those very same slavers you mentioned, abandoned AMEN and recovered a hostage it'd taken, and did what I could to reconcile with Vasquez after that assassination attempt. I am doing everything in my power to put the past behind me and defend a world I once so gleefully lied to and exploited at my leisure." He takes his hands off the top of his head, since it's clear that this isn't that kind of an arrest, and begins pacing about the room, studying each wall as he goes along.

"There's nothing to gain from killing me, Vice Commander. If you strike me down, I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

"If you have changed, then I'm sure you will understand why we err on the side of skepticism. Taking you at your word alone is not something we can do, considering how you've treated your allies and enemies alike before. But you are right about one thing." N'alae looks almost like she's about to beam out for a moment, getting surrounded by the column of light as before, but it seems she just got rid of the armor and traded it for her uniform. You know, better for conversation. It also might be a bit disarming, though she still has a holstered disruptor.

She sighs. "It is a death sentence. With your resources crippled, some are already rushing to take advantage of the situation, and without the means to keep your operations running, they will whittle you down until you're gone, and they clearly do not care who gets in the way. Personally, I don't care to effectively help anyone who tries to drop giant statues on me, but the High Commander will not let it go with no assurances of your change in outlook. We need something more than words, Magtok, and while I will consider any proposals you offer, it had better be good, for your own sake."