AMEN XLIX: Is there anyone?

[Zefir]

[Entrance] - > [Office]

The main room is rather empty these days, nothing to see.
Maybe this guy is a minion, after all he got a different voice then the person on the speaker. On the other hand, who can know it by his first Visit?
The henchman will take the paper and head on. "Everything asked on the Form schould be answered." he comments as the goes through the hallways. The hallway is nearly all times the same. Same walls Same doors, same floor and an endless amount of branches that may lead deeper into the base, or maybe back to the main room? After a while they reach a guarded door and the man knocks. "Let him in." a voice says and the guards open the door to let Zenon and Blue in. Inside is a long room and on the other end stands a chair, a big business table and another man in an office chair.
"Take a seat." there main says and points at the free chair while Blue walks straigth in to hand over the paper.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Entrance] - > [Office]

Zenon takes the seat, his face an amused smile. Most of his armor resembles resilient clothing, but pieces of it are obviously some sort of hard metal, such as the boots, greaves, helmet and gauntlets. Up close, the man can see that his red irises have three sets of parallel bars in them, each set at 60 degree angles to one another surrounding the pupil. Despite the henchman's earlier comment, the form is completely filled out except for the "Other Information" field, mostly simply due to Zenon not knowing what other information might be pertinent that the interviewer might want to know ahead of time. He waits patiently, simply watching the other man, and doesn't say anything so as not to interrupt his interviewer's concentration.

[Zefir]

[Office]

The man reads over the form carfully befor facing the android like creature.
The man Zenon is talking to is zefir, the current leader of AMEN. He mostly looks like a normal human, black hair, red eyes and wears some causual clothes. Only some high tech shoulderpads and a bag on his side crush the image of a 'normal' person.

"What are your goals Zenon?Short tem and long term if possible." he then asks.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

"Well, for right now, the goal would be to take over the Nexus. I classify that as a short term goal; however, it's probably your long term one. In the long term, I'd like to conquer as many dimensions as possible. But in the immediate sphere, I need resources to accomplish any of that." Zenon explains, rather candidly. He doesn't seem to be concerned that AMEN might not let him join. Then again, from what he's stated on his application, he probably views joining AMEN more as an expediency towards these goals than an actual necessity, especially if he has the knowledge to manufacture his own minions.

[Zefir]

[Office]

Well, there is a point with characters that are to strong. It's really boring for combat and roleplay is also not the best because those chars normaly tend to not care in any way.
Zefir looks up from the Form. He takes a few moments. Those people are really annoying. They are to arrogant to work with others and mostly to powerfull, too. But most underestimate the good side. He puts the form aside, ribbing his eyes befor he speaks up.
"Then why should we make you a member. It seems you aim for the right side and I don't think your the kind type to share things."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

"You wound me, sir," Zenon says in mock indignation, smiling in amusement, before growing serious. "I do think you've misjudged me. I reward those who assist me, as, I'm sure, you do as well. I have no problems sharing the spoils of conquest with my allies. I've grown tired of trying to conquer things alone. It always ends the same way, no matter how far along I get, and it's time to try something different." He pauses for a moment, leaning forwards slightly. "This time, with allies who are actually competent."

He's very pointedly not mentioning that every time he's been thwarted, it's because the good guys have found a way to imprison him, and they've often severely weakened him before doing so, if the internment itself doesn't do that. No one's found a way to outright kill him yet, but being in the Nexus means there is probably some means of doing so he's largely unaware of, probably from a section of the omniverse that he's never been to. That is, after all, why the Xar brought him here when their last prison started to fail. They have yet to find it, but it doesn't mean someone else might not already have it. He keeps reminding the Devourer itself of this fact; though the entity doesn't seem to care. For all the confidence, or perhaps arrogance, he seems to exude, there is an equal amount of inner caution that he does not show unless forced to, since it would undermine the fear he creates in his enemies. Of course, having just met him, there is little way for Zefir to know any of this.

[Zefir]

[Office]

Zefir might be one of the options. His blood is very potent in destroying magic. maybe this could kill him if you work it out the right way? But as said zefir won't even consider it. Wll at least he won't tell, but he allways thinks out a way to kill people that might use magic.
Zefir takes a look on the paper again, ignoring the mocking totally and still beeing seriouse.
"Then you should maybe tell me about 'the same way'." he says. "And don't miss the once you failed."
It's a wild guess. It might also be that he just wants a little fun, but Why try to become a member of AMEN then?

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

Zenon sighs theatrically, slumping back against the chair for a moment, and frowning.

"What's to tell? Surely you understand what you do against a foe you can weaken and imprison, but have no means to kill permanently?" He pauses briefly, raising an eyebrow, but not giving enough time for Zefir to answer the rhetorical question. "You do just that. You weaken them, and imprison them, and hope your prison is strong enough to hold them. That is what happens whenever I've tried conquest on my own. Every time, eventually, some ragtag group of meddlers finds a way to weaken me enough that they can throw me in a cage for awhile. Even when I have large groups of loyal soldiers, somehow they manage to find their way through." His eyes glow briefly, but not red, they flash a sickly green color, before returning to red. "And the last set of so-called 'allies' I had got themselves killed instead of retreating when they should have known better. I don't know how they managed to survive as long as they did before they joined forces with me."

He pauses for a moment, shaking his head, then shrugs. He may as well share this if he truly wants to join AMEN; after all, they will either need to know or will find out eventually anyways, and while he doesn't exactly trust them, they will be better able to aid him, and he them, if they have a better idea of his capabilities, limited as they now are. Besides, his allies should only fear what will happen to them if they turn on him, not what he can do in theory, but not currently in practice. "Sometimes I get further than others, but in the end, they always find a way to drain my strength and imprison me. As the Xar have done to bring me here. I am nowhere near the strength I once was. My references are true, but most of them occurred long ago, when my power was much greater. The time I spent in the prisons has weakened me greatly and it will take several centuries for me to regain even a fraction of it. I am loathe to admit it, but even devouring a city is beyond my capabilities as they stand, unless I were to do it one building at a time." His frown deepens, and he taps a finger on the table for a moment, before going on. "The Xar still fear me, but they do not realize just how weak I am right now. Conquering the Nexus will help ensure my recovery, but it will still take a long time, and possibly a long time spent in other dimensions once the Nexus is secured. This is why I need AMEN. In return, I will lend what abilities I have left to the organization, along with the knowledge to create powerful robotic soldiers and weaponry that can be used towards our mutual goals."

[5a Violista]

Speaking of people you can weaken and imprison...

Maria the Exploding Witch is back in the AMEN building. She is staring at her palms, as she is in the front room. She recently thought of a new trick that could improve her destructive ability. It really is a trick that Harley Zorzo had used before, but in a different way that Maria is unable to replicate.

Staring at her pallid grey palms doesn't seem to do much. Nothing's happening. So, to accelerate the process, she reaches into her dress pocket to grab a nail. One of the nails slips out of her pocket and clatters to the ground. The fallen nail catches fire then bursts like a firecracker, but fortunately the shrapnel isn't launched high enough to reach the floating Maria.

A second nail is now in her hands. She mutters something along the lines of, "Hana, man, mona, mite." The nail starts to glow red-hot and she brings the sharp point to the back of her right hand. "Catch a witch 'til she bite." She etches the symbol of the rising star on the back of her hand. Blood sizzles. "If she bleed," She raises the nail to the center of the drawn star, then thrusts it, "as dark as night: Bascalora, bora, blight."

To Maria, the pain is evidence that it's working as intended. She removes the nail and drops it back into her pocket. "Not because you burn, and not because you burst," she tells her hands. "Just make the darkest blood be accursed."

The darkest light dances across her hands and between her fingers. As the light dies, she flexes her fingers. A small explosion, no bigger than a mouse, bursts off her hands and propel her down towards the ground. Her smile widens.

It worked.

[Zefir]

[Office]

Zefir listens. It's not really what he expected, but in the end his feelings where right. This guy is weaker then he made himself on the form. There are still mayn things he has to consider, even his offer. The last time they got some mechanical guards turned to be very bad. People reprogrammed them in near no time.

"I should be the first totell you that the nexus is far away from anything you conqured. People here can be mighty as gods and wipe out a city with a blink." sure he overdid it there. "I'm a bit curiouse about your powers now. Are they magical based and how sure you are those 'powerful robotic soldiers' can't be reprogrammed? There are so many skilled people out there and some that can even cheat there way through it."

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

Zenon shakes his head.

"Not magic based. A mix of technology and....hmmm, how to explain it. Divine energies? I suppose that would be the closest analogue, but I'm not sure I can explain it better than that. The world bends to the whim of the Devourer. Call that 'magic' if you like, but you should know that I can eat the energy that most call magic. In fact, it's one of the things that is helping me to recover, since the Nexus is awash with the stuff." He grins at Zefir. "As for my soldiers, they are hardened against intrusions in several ways, and they also possess an integrity reporting system that is separate from what you might call their 'brain' that reports directly to me over any distance and through any sort of jamming. I could modify this technology to report to a central system instead of to me. I suspect this would counter anyone, even the 'cheaters', though I would need specifics on how they cheat in order to adjust counter-measures." There's more to these systems than Zenon wants to delve into at the moment; much of it is rather complex and technical, and the gist really boils down to the fact that reprogramming his soldiers is extremely difficult, and temporary at best, thanks to these systems. "If you'd like, I could build you a sample soldier, and you'd be welcome to throw whatever measures you'd like against it, to see how it stacks up."

[Zefir]

[Office]

"If that is the case." Zefir says and points at the form. " Why did you write up things you can't do?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

"The form asks for references, victims preferred," Zenon says in a bored tone, rolling his eyes. "I haven't spent a lot of time in the Nexus yet, and very few of my 'victims' still exist to tell the tale of what I've done to them. I listed many things I had done before my power was drained because once my power recovers, I will be able to do those things again, and those places are well-known enough in some sections of the multiverse that you might have records of them, before I got to them. The list is actually significantly longer, but many of the places I have destroyed were not 'on the map', so to speak. Not everything I listed was done before I was weakened, either. My powers are diminished, not dead. It's a matter of scale, not ability. As I said, I could eat a city, I would just need to do it one building at a time, rather than all at once."

[Zefir]

[Office]

"Well." Zefir says. "You migth eb suprised, but your well known plces are not so well known. But that shouldn't be the point now. I think I can work with what we have here. Any questions?

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

Zenon tilts his head to the side for a moment, and smiles. "I could ask what your current plan for taking over the Nexus is, but I'm sure I'll see it in due enough time, and I'm sure you already have things in motion on that front. The only truly relevant question I have is practical: what would you like my assistance with first?"

[Zefir]

[Office]

"We'll soon act in Riverside." Zefir says. "Stay prepared. We just wait for the signal of our allys."
He can show up in riverside, waiting in another tank or just standing somewhere close.

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Office]

Zenon nods, rising.

"Very well, then. I will acquaint myself with the rest of the base in the meantime, and perhaps get a start on that soldier I mentioned earlier." The robotic soldier probably won't be finished before the invasion begins, but he can at least use it to pass the time until then. He stands, and shows himself out.

[5a Violista]

[Office]

"We'll soon act in Riverside." Zefir says. "Stay prepared. We just wait for the signal of our allys."
He can show up in riverside, waiting in another tank or just standing somewhere close.

[Front room]

Speaking of Riverside, would it be good if my character got involved, too? Or would they prefer the Exploding Witch to stay away from it all?


Maria the witch continues experimenting with her newly-discovered ritual. She begins putting her palm against all sorts of objects, along the walls, and other places. The pattern on her hand leaves behind a rising star pattern in trace blood.

So far, nothing happens yet.

Then, she says something and her eyes flash a burnt orange color.

Suddenly, there's brief bursts of flame and waves all across the room, wherever her hand had touched. Rocks ricochet across the room. The couch is pushed a couple centimeters. The walls heat up. The stars she made first have larger and wilder flames than the later ones. As quickly as they appeared, the bursts are gone again, as well as the patterns originally inscribed.

[Zefir]

[Front room]

((I don't think there is a problem. Be there if you want, thought I think she might first need to talk with zefir since things here have changed.))

Well Zefir will appear here and watch the scenen, (Thought I soubt the walls heat up due to be in a Vulcano XD).

"What are you doing there?" Zefir asks the witch.

[5a Violista]

[Front Room]

Yeah, the walls probably won't heat up. You're right.

The witch stops making explosions. She does this because it's generally difficult for people to hear her when she's making explosions.

Maria turns and looks downwards from her position in the air. She's looking at Zefir. "Oh, just learning a new skill," she replies, showing the blood-etched star in her palm. Notably, she doesn't turn this into a rhyme. "Haven't mastered it, still. Oh, wait. Nevermind. She is rhyming. "How about you? What will you do? Because I've time to kill."

It's a little unclear whether her last statement means she has nothing to do ("killing time") or that she is willing to set aside her schedule in order to kill ("have time to kill [people/animals/whatever]").
She doesn't clarify.

[Zefir]

[Front Room]

Zefir looks at the rune. he is quiet knowledged ybout magic runes and stuff. Even if he is no spellcaster. But most runes have their own use.

"Will?" he asks back with a seriouse face. "You mean what I AM doing."
He makes a short break, but speaks up befor the witch can replie.
"I'm doing my work here. As the current leader I look after members and what they do. For example a witch that seems to blew up things in the base. Haven't you found a better place to train? Like....everywhere that doesn't belong to AMEN?"

Zefir is aware that her time killing is unclear, but on another hand he doesn't fear spellcaster at all. And a witch is just that. A Spellcaster.

[5a Violista]

[Front Room]

Maria's counter is swift: "People generally don't respond positively when I practice around them," she says.

Gee, I wonder why people don't like explosions near their property...

"Since you're the one who leads," she says, "I'll bet you know all the good places."

She continues. "I'll be the one who heeds, so tell me where and I'll practice at their bases."

Well...that's progress, right?

[Zefir]

[Front Room]

"That is because people don't really like to get blewn up or burnt." Zefir replies.

He then thinks for a moment.

"If you want to avoid people go to the Canyon in the south. If not go to inside, but be carefull there will be people that want and can stop you." it's not nessesary to sacrifice people, even if their loyality to AMEN is questionable.
"Soon we will go against Riverside. Your free to practice your talents there, Even on people."

[Magentamist]

[Entrance]

Near the foot of the mountain, a small red cloud of mist gathers. It swirls for a moment before coalescing into the form of a tall, imposing woman.

She wears ornate but scratched and dulled chain mail armor. Her head is exposed, showing a dark red face and jet black hair. A long scar divides her face in two. Around her neck glints a (un?)holy symbol, though on closer inspection one would see it is stained with blood. She carries a long spear with a crystal implanted in the shaft in one hand, and the other arm has a metal shield strapped around it.

The woman gazes up at the base. Nodding to herself, she begins the trek up the volcano.

[5a Violista]

[Front Room]

Hmm...that makes a surprising amount of sense. Maria didn't like it the first time she burned, so it makes sense others wouldn't want the same.

She nods, signalling that she'll do what he said. "I'll traverse the valley walls like a creeple. Probably Inside soon in the future, to stock back up on aluminium diboride."

She turns towards the front door and floats over to it, no longer creating more explosions indoors. "When we go to Riverside, call me so I can join your coup." She opens the door, so she can leave and head south. "I could take on their sabaoth." She leaves out the door, with a wave at him.

She still doesn't make much sense. However, it seems like she's saying something along the lines of "okay, you can count on me" or something like that.

That grey witch descends the AMEN's volcano, going around it and heading south to the valley to practice more explosions. In the distance, she spots the woman with the holy symbol. She waves, and mumbles more nonsense at the woman: " If wishes were horses, nobody should ride."

Complete nonsense, obviously. You should just ignore her and continue your trek up to the top, to speak with the leader.

[Zefir]

[Front Room]

Zefir just nods. He isn't really sure what exactly the whitch is up to, but he understands that she understood him. He might need to prepare some more activities for the member in the future. There is allways a treasure to hunt and Zefir just needs to gather the informations. He turns of to head back inside.

He stops. A stange feeling crosses his mind. Something just appeared close. He waits a moment at the entrance to see what will come.

[Magentamist]

[Entrance]
The armored woman quickly climbs the volcano, arriving at the large front door. She stops and looks around, wary, taking particularly note of any bones or dead bodies that may be nearby. She raises the spear and mumbles a few words, the crystal glowing as she casts a minor protective spell on herself, then turns back to the doors and yells in a booming voice:

"Hail! I am Saurina Calarook, mocker of death, traverser of hell! I come to offer my services as an ally!"

Saurina lifts her shield and assumes a defensive pose, alert for any threats. She awaits an answer from the door.

[Zefir]

[Entrance]

Zefir who is standing at the entrance right now looks at the newcomer. As he notic that she is up for yelling he holds his ears. Not that it would matter. he had to deal with close explosions in the past, but he also notice that she uses magic.

"You know you don't have to yell when someone stands befor you?" Zefir replies also yelling. His voice turns back to normal as he goes on.

"I'm the leader of this organisation. Zefir. Will you be a member or do you have your own fraction?"

[Magentamist]

Saurina lowers her shield as she sees Zefir; she hadn't expected such a quick response. She gives a quick bow of the head.

"I have no faction for now. However, I can use my skills in necromancy to bolster your forces. I hope to find solid allies here.
How should I prove myself to this organization? Is there some task I must undertake?"

Saurina walks into the building, keeping her eyes on Zefir.

[Zefir]

[Entrance]

Well he was quick because he was just standing at the outside lookign after the witch that just left.
Zefir turns to head into the base and notes her to follow.

"First of we got a talk." he sais. Then he gives her a form. "Fill that out." (It's the membership form found in the first Post of this thread.)

He will head deeper into the base aiming for an office he used many times. While they walk, zefir has ordered the henchman to look up at any newcomer, watching the internet and making reasearches where that person have been the last days/weeks. Thought it's hard to do that when they just arrived from another world.