Outside 46

[Mee]

Doctor Jonah gets a serious look on his face, and throws his popcorn to the side.

What part of *I want to see this cat fight* do you not understand?

DJ smacks his cane on the ground, gets right in front of Naku, and throws a charm at the ground. The ground sinks into a pit, With a domed glass ceiling. DJ stays on top of the glass, and hopefully Naku and Kitty sink in.

Whether they do or not, Kitty sends a purple gout of flame in a wide arc towards Naku's general direction.

"So. You're the one." Naku says, just after teleporting out of the pit in another cloud of snowflakes, and appearing behind DJ. "Kitty doesn't care. You're the instigator. You want this fight."

[bc56]

Spaceship Landing
"Interesting. There are already humans present. I was unaware any had escaped the cataclysm, other than those aboard Horizon, Redemption, Conclusion, and Resolution. This development must be followed completely." The machine then responds to the question. "This world, oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, gravity approximate 1g, air pressure at sea level 1 atmosphere, this world is perfect to support a human colony. Apparently, it already does. I am known as Ezra. What is your designation? What is this planet called?"

Sergei growls at Ezra. The bear is still not happy with the situation.

[Celticbear]

DJ grins, and says without looking behind himself:Events. Shaping of. You two are practically the same. Unstoppable force meet unbending defense. I'm a scientist. I experiment.

Kitty charges at Naku, sword in a defensive position guarding her head and upper body.

[Mee]

DJ grins, and says without looking behind himself:Events. Shaping of. You two are practically the same. Unstoppable force meet unbending defense. I'm a scientist. I experiment.

Kitty charges at Naku, sword in a defensive position guarding her head and upper body.

Naku raises an eyebrow, before teleporting well out of reach of Kitty as she charges at her, still remaining close to DJ.
Her sword still very much not drawn.
"Uh huh. So all of this is a farce. Which means I have exactly zero reason to be here, playing your games."

[Celticbear]

No purpose? DJ says as he sends a few magic missiles Naku's way. Your battle will be a study in tactics for millennia to come. A battle like this one only comes once every age, at any rate. Two champions of two gods of equal power? Almost unheard of. Plus Kitty really wants to consecrate your rotting corpse.

Kitty spins around, and sends another gout of flames Naku's way.

[CosmicHobbit]

Doctor Jonah gets a serious look on his face, and throws his popcorn to the side.

What part of *I want to see this cat fight* do you not understand?

DJ smacks his cane on the ground, gets right in front of Naku, and throws a charm at the ground. The ground sinks into a pit, With a domed glass ceiling. DJ stays on top of the glass, and hopefully Naku and Kitty sink in.

Whether they do or not, Kitty sends a purple gout of flame in a wide arc towards Naku's general direction.

((Sorry for being late. Probably turning in for the night after this post))

Oliver is a good 279 lbs. and just dead weight at this point, so unless Naku has super strength or is actively touching him, he probably won't teleport. It's up to Naku where he goes if he does teleport.

[Devixer]

Spaceship Landing

The woman glares at Ezra. "Hate to disappoint you, but there's no humans here. Can't recognize an android when you see one? And what's this crap about ships? The Council of Humanity's on the moon, and they're the last ones left."

The little robot floats up next to the woman. "This is Tactical Support Unit Pod 132. Control has been assigned to-"
"Pod, disengage communication." The pod's voice is much more robotic than the android's, and it ceases speaking as soon as she gives the order. "Call me Onora. I don't know where this is, and I haven't seen any humans. Just wildlife." She glances at Sergei.

[bc56]

Spaceship Landing
A satellite dish on the ship turns to point at Onora. "Indeed. Readings confirm three robots and an ursine with unusual brain activity. Fortunately for me, I brought humans along. This is the colony ship Horizon, I am its pilot.
The ship carries 3000 colonists, whom I intend to release upon this world. A knight's first duty is the people of the Homeworld, to protect them, and if necessary to find them a new home." Ezra speaks the last sentence like a mantra.

Sergei looks at all three of the machines. He nods knowingly, then he taps his chest with one claw, then his head. He repeats the action several times.

[Mee]

No purpose? DJ says as he sends a few magic missiles Naku's way. Your battle will be a study in tactics for millennia to come. A battle like this one only comes once every age, at any rate. Two champions of two gods of equal power? Almost unheard of. Plus Kitty really wants to consecrate your rotting corpse.

Kitty spins around, and sends another gout of flames Naku's way.

Naku holds a hand up, intercepting the magic missiles, and they just . . . rather whither and die, as the energy is just drained from the spell.
"Yeah. Well. I'm not interested in being a part of a battle study.
Later."

((Sorry for being late. Probably turning in for the night after this post))

Oliver is a good 279 lbs. and just dead weight at this point, so unless Naku has super strength or is actively touching him, he probably won't teleport. It's up to Naku where he goes if he does teleport.

Oh, Naku does absolutely have more than enough strength to hoist him. Which she does, before teleporting them both away elsewhere.

[Celticbear]

OH GODDAMMIT. NO ONE TELLS ME NO. NOT YOU, NOT ANYBODY, NOT WITHOUT PAYING A PRICE!

Jendeverix slams his cane into the ground, and with it attempts to jump with Naku's spell as she casts it. However, he soon realizes that Naku teleports much the same way he does. Interesting, that clears his head a little. He starts to think how, but halfway through their journey, he notices the wards. The metric f**kton of wards. The one thing that lead to Nimnarath's downfall was his underestimation of Civvy. He needed to learn, to plan. He needed weapons, and men to use them. He needed... an edge. He wouldn't get one blindly charging into enemy territory. He retreats, to some dark corner of wherever this in between was. Safe enough place for now.

Meanwhile back in the field, Kitty sheathed the black blade, and looked up. She then went to one knee, and offered a prayer to Pharasma to help her smite this creature. Xavouir banged against the walls of his cage, tears in his eyes.

[Devixer]

Spaceship Landing

"The pilot's statements do not coincide with human records. There have been no ships designated for deep space travel."
Onora grumbles. "I know." She looks at Sergei again. He was a bear, right? She'd never seen one before, except in records. "And I just said I'm an android. It's different."

[bc56]

Spaceship Landing
By now, Ezra has completely descended the side of the spaceship. He looks over the android, investigating her for signs of her true nature. "Who constructed you? Where did you come from? Is this ursine with you? Your design is most impressive. More importantly, what powers lay claim to this planet? Are there significant environmental hazards? What dangers to human life lurk here?

Sergei growls at the machine. It is, after all, responsible for disturbing his nap.

[Earl of Purple]

Chapel

Now that the oil drum is loaded into his new vehicle, Rivet wanders over to Faudre and Haar. "I'm gonna head over to the trader with his arctic. See what he has. Wanna come with? Might have some more bullets for your pistol, or a better holster for it." Or some other thing that Faudre could use.

[Devixer]

Spaceship Landing

There are no real anomalies in Onora's construction - scans will show that she is indeed an android, as she says. But she's most certainly a highly advanced one - she looks, sounds, and even acts human.

"The Council built my body; I'm stationed on Earth; no; thanks but my design ain't exactly unique. All those last three are 'I don't know.' Look, it's become damn clear I'm not on Earth anymore. So whatever this place is,
I don't know any more than you do."

Chapel

"I have nothing to trade with, but I suppose I have little to lose in going." Faudre pats the top of Haar's snout, and he makes a low noise.

"I know, friend, I don't like this land either," she says to the wyvern. "But we are strangers here, and they are more powerful than us."

[bc56]

Spaceship Landing

"Peculiar. Earth is the name of the First Homeworld, abandoned millennia ago when the atmosphere went bad. This datum needs further analysis. If there's no knowledge of others here, I might as well go exploring and let the colonists unpack. There. I've started the defreezing process and left a message informing the colonists that we have arrived at our destination, and that I am running reconnaissance and will be back shortly. Care to come along? Ezra will then march off into the forest. With a shrug, Sergei follows.

[Devixer]

Spaceship Landing

"Atmosphere? Yeah, that's definitely not what's wrong on Earth." But really, the list of "Problems on Earth" was far too long to get into here.

Onora sends another glance Sergei's way. Did that bear just shrug? Is that a thing they can do?

"Proposal: Assist in reconnaissance, and gather more data on this land, and the humans."
"Supposed humans, you mean. Alright, I'll come along."

[bc56]

Spaceship Landing

As the group travels through the forest, they encounter little wildlife, the rocket landing having scared most of it away. Ezra is quite noisy as he explores, musing to himself about every little thing he encounters, but it seems something else on his mind. "You say you came from Earth? That is an impossibility. Humanity does not even know the former location of Earth. I have a theory. What do you know about parallel universes?"

Sergei walks in silence, occasionally stopping to smell unusual things.

[Mee]

OH GODDAMMIT. NO ONE TELLS ME NO. NOT YOU, NOT ANYBODY, NOT WITHOUT PAYING A PRICE!

Jendeverix slams his cane into the ground, and with it attempts to jump with Naku's spell as she casts it. However, he soon realizes that Naku teleports much the same way he does. Interesting, that clears his head a little. He starts to think how, but halfway through their journey, he notices the wards. The metric f**kton of wards. The one thing that lead to Nimnarath's downfall was his underestimation of Civvy. He needed to learn, to plan. He needed weapons, and men to use them. He needed... an edge. He wouldn't get one blindly charging into enemy territory. He retreats, to some dark corner of wherever this in between was. Safe enough place for now.

Meanwhile back in the field, Kitty sheathed the black blade, and looked up. She then went to one knee, and offered a prayer to Pharasma to help her smite this creature. Xavouir banged against the walls of his cage, tears in his eyes.

"I mean. I do~" Naku says with a bit of a wink, before she and Oliver vanish off into Civvy's Realm (Link for Cosmic!)

[Earl of Purple]

Chapel

"They have power you don't, sure. But one of these guys couldn't take on as many raiders you did. Not without getting badly injured. Their guns are better, and their armour's tough, but it ain't as encompassing as yours, and in melee all they've got is little knives. Aim for the head, legs, arms, they're squishy, and the raiders'd know that. And they don't fly, not so I see. This settlement's only got three vehicles, not counting the trader outside, and I'd not trust that one." Rivet motions to the stripped-down four-by-four. It's basically just an engine, gear box, steering-wheel and peddles on a wheeled vehicle chassis, with a wooden bench to sit on.

It's only a short walk to the lorry, and the back door is open, with a short ladder leading into the back of the trailer. Visible inside are several shelving units and large items, with only a narrow walkway to a larger clear area at the back, where a hammock hangs next to a robust steel safe with a three-number combination lock. Lying in the hammock and reading a book is a black man with very dark skin wearing a pair of navy cargo pants and a tattered grey t-shirt.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mountain Temple]

There's a sort of hissing laugh from Damon, his shoulders shaking slightly. "Oath of vengeance? Nothing ssso formal or honorable. I kill becausse I have nothing better to do. Either I kill demonss, or I kill mysself. And we can be civil, dragon. Sssure we can. Jusst asss ssoon asss you get ssomething of value out of our hosst here. Go ahead."

[Mountain Temple]

The dragon opens her mouth, but before she can reply the constructs around them speak of. "Enough. You want to kill 'demons'? Demons that are actually hunting down your people? Since there is a great deal of those in a location in seaside, demons I could give you all information about. So either you could sacrifice yourself here, and essentially die for hurting a non-aggressive 'demon' or you could much more effectively plan to take out a far more dangerous demon."

[Shadowcaller]

[Lucianas Haven]

The suburb does not look different from any other city at a distance, compared to most of inside it indeed appear like a bastion of civilization. Big building complexes standing lined up in perfect symmetry with tall chimneys raising far above them.
However, as one comes closer the decay starts becoming apparent. The once colorful facades of houses have faded, revealing the grey concrete beneath. The exteriors living complexes have started to crack and the roofs started to rust. Trees are taking over, growing densely enough to hide several of the smaller buildings.

Hidden behind a few of these trees is a big sign, LUCIANAS HAVEN, and with a smaller more faded font, adding A haven for true humans.

Supposedly, this was a rich neighborhood with a lot of valuable stores, yet few people have come here due to the contamination so there might actually be a lot of loot around here.

[Rebonack]

[Lucianas Haven]

Oh hey look, people approaching! Three people, in fact. Of three very different sizes. Khannie hops off Zebes when he lands and begins skipping toward the ruins at a leisurely pace. She hasn't stopped humming the Adventure Time theme while singing the wrong lyrics every now and again since they left home. Good chance she just misunderstood what they were saying, or possibly remembered it wrong. This sort of thing is pretty common with children. Hopefully it doesn't bug Zebes too much.

As they draw close Khannie is puzzled at first. This looks like any other suburb. Just like the one they live in! She was expecting... like... ancient ruins! Like the ones that Jake and Finn explore all the time! Not just someone's house. The idea of rifling through a long forgotten home leaves her feeling a little uneasy, but... isn't that what an ancient abandoned castle is, too? Someone's long forgotten home? Maybe the fact that the 'otherness' of these ruins isn't quite so pronounced is what's causing it.

"This place is kind of creepy," Khannie mutters as she approaches the big sign. Something about a place that should be bustling with people, but is instead totally abandoned. It isn't right. She flexes her fingers instinctively, muscles coiling in anticipation of a fight-

-though she relaxes upon reaching the sign. Here's a nice, simple thing she can actually do. Something that doesn't involve terror of the unknown. She tilts her head back to view it.

"Luck... umm... Luc-ia-nas Haven. A haven - for -true - humans," she reads aloud. "Daddy, what's that supposed to mean?" she asks, glancing back at Jace. "Are there pretend humans?"

She hasn't met someone pretending to be a human before, though she can imagine why they might. Humans are pretty cool! She always dreamed of being a human since she knew her daddy was one. And then grandpa koi was nice enough to show her how to be one! Just like her daddy!

[Deathkeeper]

[Lucianas Haven]

"Oh good, human supremacists." Jace says, half serious and half groaning. He turns down at Khannie.
"That means that they thought they were better than everyone else because they were human and not anything else. Usually they're awful people and that means we won't have to feel bad about taking their stuff." Jace says, keeping right beside her and not letting her get away from him no matter how reckless she gets.

"So there's supposedly some awful gas that used to be around here, and nasty monsters. So if we see any funny gas you have to put your mask over your nose. And don't fight anything on your own." Zebes insists.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lucianas Haven]

The most noticeable, and largest, building in the area is definitely the factory which towers over even the largest of the living complexes with its tall chimneys.
However, there would be more preferable targets if one wish to acquire loot. The living complexes themselves look like they once housed a lot of relatively high class people judging by the walls around each complex as well as the overgrown fountains and pools located within the gated area.
Another target would be the big building with the they can see in the distance with the big monitor mounted on its glass facade. The monitor is completely black, but the multiple signs encased in the glass still displays the names of the shops contained within the center.

If they spend a moment just watching the suburbs, they might be able to see a short hooded figure coming out through one of the walled off areas gates, going in the direction of the shopping center. The figure appears to be in quite a hurry...

[Rebonack]

[Lucianas Haven]

"So they wouldn't like me since I'm a kangaskhan AND a human?" Khannie inquires. She considers that for a few moments. "That's dumb. Being more than one thing is cool! I'm way better at punching things when I'm a pokemon and way better at playing video games when I'm human 'cuz my fingers are smaller and I've got extras."

It's good that Khannie is quick to focus on the important things in life.

"Maybe they just need to meet more nice people that are two things at once? Maybe they only met mean ones," she reasons.

Ah, the innocence of childhood.

Khannie has yet to learn that sometimes hate is arbitrary and irrational.

"Okay, so the thingy goes on my nose if something uses Smog. That's a good idea, poison attacks are gross," she concludes, glancing between the various buildings. If all this stuff really is fifty years old, they probably wouldn't have any cool video games. What a shame. Not new enough to have cool tech but not old enough to have amazing relics of the past. She's so busy trying to decide which building looks the most interesting that she doesn't notice the furtive figure creeping about.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Mountain Temple]

The dragon opens her mouth, but before she can reply the constructs around them speak of. "Enough. You want to kill 'demons'? Demons that are actually hunting down your people? Since there is a great deal of those in a location in seaside, demons I could give you all information about. So either you could sacrifice yourself here, and essentially die for hurting a non-aggressive 'demon' or you could much more effectively plan to take out a far more dangerous demon."

Damon can't help but smirk slightly at the constructs' exasperated response. It's the little things in life that make you smile, sometimes. The petty, childish little things. "I'm lisstening. I doubt my pacifisst dragon friend here iss, but I am. Though I might sstick around to ssee what sshe wantss too. But-" Damon clenches his fist and extinguishes his flames. "Doess that put you a little more at easse?"

[Devixer]

Spaceship Landing

As the group travels through the forest, they encounter little wildlife, the rocket landing having scared most of it away. Ezra is quite noisy as he explores, musing to himself about every little thing he encounters, but it seems something else on his mind. "You say you came from Earth? That is an impossibility. Humanity does not even know the former location of Earth. I have a theory. What do you know about parallel universes?"

Sergei walks in silence, occasionally stopping to smell unusual things.

"Sounds like a nonsense word to me."
"Parallel universes were first mentioned by ancient human scholars, then popularized in entertainment."
"Um, that, I guess. Not much in the records about human entertainment, though, just real general things." Onora walks along side them, her gait much quieter as she keeps her eyes out for hostiles.

Chapel

"They have power you don't, sure. But one of these guys couldn't take on as many raiders you did. Not without getting badly injured. Their guns are better, and their armour's tough, but it ain't as encompassing as yours, and in melee all they've got is little knives. Aim for the head, legs, arms, they're squishy, and the raiders'd know that. And they don't fly, not so I see. This settlement's only got three vehicles, not counting the trader outside, and I'd not trust that one." Rivet motions to the stripped-down four-by-four. It's basically just an engine, gear box, steering-wheel and peddles on a wheeled vehicle chassis, with a wooden bench to sit on.

It's only a short walk to the lorry, and the back door is open, with a short ladder leading into the back of the trailer. Visible inside are several shelving units and large items, with only a narrow walkway to a larger clear area at the back, where a hammock hangs next to a robust steel safe with a three-number combination lock. Lying in the hammock and reading a book is a black man with very dark skin wearing a pair of navy cargo pants and a tattered grey t-shirt.

Faudre sighs. "My armor wasn't capable of taking more than a few of those shots. I would not survive a fight here. More importantly, they would try and take Haar." She was not going to leave her companion to these people. She looks inside the trailer, at each of the shelves. More of these strange implements she had no need for.

[Earl of Purple]

Chapel

There's not just guns and bullets on offer. There's bits of computer, walkie-talkies, mobile phones, and electronic toys. There's a collection of knives and daggers, a modern compound bow, carbon fibre arrows, a collection of gems and jewellery, and bits of clothing, as well.

Now they're in the back of the lorry, the trader stands up and walks over. "Hey there, fellows. How can I help you?" His voice is deep and rich, and he looks with interest at Faudre's armour. He doesn't see anything so well-made often; everything is either scrappy post-apocalyptic construction, or old and battered mass-produced stuff that has survived a lot of abuse.

[Deathkeeper]

[An Open Field]



"Depends on what you wanna see. I could just make some basic conjurations, show an illusion or two, bring you on a trip into the spirit world..." Ashley looks around the forest. It wasn't drenched in residual magic, but it would do for a crossing over.

[An Open Field]

Willa grins, hooves dancing in excitement.
"Oh, can we see the spirit world? That sounds awesome! Unless it's super dangerous or something." she says, though she does realize the potential problems by the end.

[Lucianas Haven]

"Yup. And we're going to check out the big glass building first. It's the farthest, but it's the most obvious place to find good stuff. Now, go slow and look around, we don't want to get jumped by anything nasty." Jace says softly, gently pushing Khannie in the right direction. He noticed the figure, but he doesn't want to scare her before he knows what it is. It could just be a kobold squatter or another looter.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mountain Temple]

"Pacifist might be a bit of a stretch." The dragon remarks, but then falls silent again as the constructs speak up again.
"You have no idea how many mortals I have to send away when they here expecting some sort of monster to fight against. Its disruptive." The demon laments. "But if I got your attention, the demonic stronghold is located at the roof of the world, far up north where few mortals dare thread. I don't know the exact details, but they are using the remote location as an staging area to hit distant mortal settlements. In addition, they have some of my best engineers working on some big project. Whatever it is, it can't be good for your kind."

[Lucianas Haven]

The figure soon disappears into the building through the front entrance.
As the two get closer to the buildings, they might notice a big sign towering above the wall of the gated areas. Big black letters reading, DEMIHUMANS KEEP MOVING, THIS IS A HUMAN NEIGHBORHOOD.
The letters have been partly spray painted over with red letters spelling a rather crude message, **** HUMANS TO DEATH

But there are no more movements, the entire area is remarkably quiet. Even if there are growing trees all around them they still can't see a single animal. Yet there is still that eerie feeling of being watched, and anyone could be from the big empty buildings all around them. Plenty of the windows are cracked or broken, but those who are still whole are blackened out, meaning that you can see out of them but it is much more difficult to see into them.

Finally, they reach the shopping mall, and this close up they can see the decay it has suffered. Plenty of the windows making up its facade are cracked and the metal frames holding them together have started to rust. There is a garbage can just outside the main entrance which appears to have exploded as there is trash just about everywhere around it.

All of sudden, the silence is broken.

BLAM

The sound of a gun, a bullet just missing them.