Inside 66: Order up!

[Devixer]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"Yeah, I thought you might be new. Good news is someone with your muscles tends to find work quick. Quicker, if you're willing to get your hands dirty." Cassidy sits on the opposite end of the couch Charity dropped herself on. At that distance, it may be easier for her to see the tattoos that peek out from under Cassidy's sleeves, down both of her arms. There isn't a unified theme to them - flames, chains, viking imagery, is that another jack-o-lantern?

"Me? Oh, a megacorp wants me dead, so I ran back here. I'll probably be living around the Nexus for my whole life now, as long as the Reds can't get here."

[Halae]

[Quiet Zone - Condemned House]

"You know a place where I can pick up a bit of work, then?" Charity asks, "I admit, that was a worry about coming here, but I couldn't think of any other places I wanted to be, and I can live for a few days without food if necessary."

"So, fair warning, if I catch you groping me, I'll break your hand. I know you're interested from the stares, but at least get me dinner first," Never know with homeless folk like this...

[Devixer]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"I can bring you to this organization I work with, MERC. Get you a license, so you can take on the odd job or two. It'll be a start, anyway." Cassidy shrugs. Truth be told, she wasn't sure if she still had any pull there, but a license shouldn't be tough.

"Wh-oh, that?" She cackles, leaning back on the side of the couch a little. "I mean, sure, but I'm not gonna promise a good dinner. Soysteak and cheap beer is the best I can do."

[Halae]

[Quiet Zone - Condemned House]

"Alright, I'll come with you to MERC; sounds reasonable. As for the Soysteak and beer... that sounds..." Charity makes a grimace, "... well, good enough."

[Devixer]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"Cool, just maybe less butt-early in the morning. I've gotta sleep too, eventually." Cassidy snickered once more, shaking her head. "You say that, but you haven't had soysteak. Almost tastes like something you'd throw away. Least it's healthy."

[Halae]

[Quiet Zone - Condemned House]

"I'll take your word for it," Charity yawns, unusually sharp teeth in evidence before she covers her mouth, "And that's a sign I'm ready for sleep. Talk to you in the morning."

Similar to the way cats seem to be able to sleep anywhere, Charity passes out within minutes.

[Devixer]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"Yeah, I guess you will. Not often I have someone crash in my squatting grounds." Cassidy hops off of the couch, and heads off to the maybe-bedroom to catch up on her sleep some.

[bc56]

Cookware Store

"They probably noticed when I nearly crashed the shuttle into that building." Ezra flies the shuttle back towards the colony in Outside.

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...&postcount=858

[Slii Arhem]

Slightly Rainy Morning

Even though Lum is let go eventually, she doesn't stop leaning into him, using him as a source of comfort while she arrangers her letters excitedly at the prospect of both food and help.

NEED HIGH FATZ, PROTEIN, AND SUGARZ.
SOLID OR LIQUID, BOTH GOOD. LIQUID EZR.

She pauses for a moment then, almost sheepish and embarrassed as she writes out her third message.

CAFFEINE BAD FOR LUM. MAKE DIZZY.

After explaining her needs, she snuggles up close to his arm, props the umbrella up over them and is ready to move on.

A Slightly Rainy Diner

Zan takes her through a few different back streets to a place that it would be charitable to call a hole in the wall. The shack, because it was a shack, was built around an old portable carnival food trailer, anchoring it to this spot with rusty corrugated metal sheets, bad welds, and a mixture of spackle and paper-mache to cover some of the rust holes that looked like it was refreshed at least biweekly with newspapers against the oncoming damp and the surge of rodents that its owner valiantly did battle with. Nonetheless, Lum is guided by the arm inside, where the rain is held mostly at bay and the half-sized food truck is kept almost entirely pristine by its battered and ramshackle outer shell.

The gobbun engineer leads her to one of the bench seats that was installed and goes to order for the both of them. The sound and smell of a gas generator in bad need of an oil change, and probably several extra parts that were scavenged to make something else run, cuts through underneath the sizzling fryer oil and the smell of hot sugar and dough.

A quick, hushed conversation with whatever small, spindly thing rests behind the counter is mostly dominated by Zan's demands that the water for their drinks be well boiled or come from a bottle, but the rest of the order is snapped off and taken down in very quick succession. It's rather large, owing to what Zan feels he owes Lum for working her little miracle back at his work.

After getting back to the bench, he smiles again, "Biff's a good sort, but he can't stand huge crowds so he cashed his retirement in, bought the truck, and does this now. The warren gives him enough business that he treats us alright. And even with only what he's got here he makes the best fried dough I've ever tasted. He's making you a hot chocolate with extra sugar too, and he's got some ham he was going to do for his own breakfast that he said he'd shave you off a few slices of and deep fry." He glances back towards the truck as the generator gives a splutter and cough, but ultimately keeps running, "And don't worry about the generator. We've fixed it for him a few times yet, and it's got a while to go before it gives up again. He only runs it first thing in the morning, when the warehouse he gets his power from overnight might notice that he's got an extension cord running out a window."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Abandoned Tech Store]

"A reminder, hm?"
Edict's gaze travels to his left arm, flexing the fingers there and seemingly searching for something.
After a moment of nothing in particular, his smirk grows into something bordering maniacal.

His eyes blaze for a moment and he hisses, the darkness of the room deepening, or perhaps something endless void encroaching.
"They wouldn't know what to do with a reminder!"
The shadows retreat a moment later, along with the unrestrained menace of his voice.

"But, 'haste is ever the enemy of success', or so I've been told. If we march through those doors and leap straight to blatant mass murder, I don't think it would have the effect you would be interested in."
Not with the seemingly endless populace of the Nexus, sinking and swelling eternally, like the breath of creation.

Gate

"I was aware of the nature of Magtok's return, however what interests me is that each clone posseses the memories of the previous iterations. I cannot reproduce that with my own technology." Ellrin has no intention of being arrested. He backs up toward the nearest shadow, a building, a tree, anything that casts a shadow larger than himself.

[Abandoned Tech Store]

"Tell me, Edict, when did you start acquiring my knack for needlessly flashy displays?" Affidavit permits himself an echoing, electronic chuckle all around the room. "One of the strangest quirks of this new form is that I find myself much more willing to criticise my own actions. Would the true me be willing to accept that a lot of this is...unnecessary? Fake Affidavit is much more willing to acknowledge the flaws." As if to demonstrate, there's an errant spark from a piece of machinery as it fizzles out and dies.

Affidavit flickers for a moment.

"Give me a little time and I can convert pretty much any old piece of tech into something capable of supporting me. But I can't magically remove the rust, the fused wires, the burnt-out circuit boards. This serves as a suitable sort of place for a friendly chat with an old acquaintance, but I'd be in very poor form if this was all I had at my disposal."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully and turns those piercing eyes back on Edict.

"You are right of course that a little reminder wouldn't suffice. And anything too overt would have little impact in the grand scheme of things, and would only serve to hasten our own demise. Or, well, yours anyway." Affidavit smirks. "I always have a backup. But I do have something in mind to serve as a reminder that might accomplish something without drawing a huge target on our heads. It's, well, it's a long-term project though. So I'm happy to devote some cycles to anything more immediate you might have on the agenda."

*****

[Gate]

Finding a large shadow is going to be a little difficult for Ellrin as long as he's in direct line of sight with Ithuriel as she's still a big beacon of angelic light. All that really means is that he needs to duck behind a tree or something, though. "Cool story, don't care. Last chance for you to come quietly. Drop your weapons, get down on the ground and get your hands behind your head." Ithuriel barks out her orders as she advances, her wings spread out again to try and cut off any easy means for escape behind her.

[Lord Magtok]

[Gate]

"Look... sir, I'm just following orders here," Michalsons says, his headache not receding despite the wind of disenchantment being gone. "I had to check your magic and I did. Not my fault everything went to Carceri right afterwards. But your cooperation is noted, so we'll let you through once we arrest this berk."

Gate

"I was aware of the nature of Magtok's return, however what interests me is that each clone possesses the memories of the previous iterations. I cannot reproduce that with my own technology." Ellrin has no intention of being arrested. He backs up toward the nearest shadow, a building, a tree, anything that casts a shadow larger than himself.

Magtok nods, but otherwise, doesn't do anything else. He just holds onto Needs and keeps the both of them out of the fight. Much as it irritates him to just stand idly by when there's conflict to be had, this isn't his fight, and there's nothing to gain from involving himself in it.

[UncleWolf]

Slightly Rainy Diner

...Sure. Don't worry about the generator he says. They've kept it repaired, he says.

Despite Zan's assurances, the state of the machinery in the shack is obviously distressing to the Little Worker. She does her best to try and ignore the state of things, particularly when the food is delivered and she can dig in. She's utterly ravenous and quickly devours or drinks every last bit of food and drink set in front of her with it all vanishing under the scarf she uses to cover her mouth. Unfortunately though, even the good food can't distract her completely from the state of things and when she hears another sputter of machinery she finally loses it.

Lum throws off her poncho in disgust, buzzing and humming up a veritable storm of what couldn't be anything other than chastisements for the state of everything, and she even reaches up to pull off her scarf. Her face, mostly human, was missing a cheek completely. It wasn't naturally that way as scar tissue was easily seen and a mechanical mandible like an ant's was bolted right into place on the right side to make up for much of it. It clicks as she hums, and once her scarf and poncho are left on the seat she just dives into whatever nook she can and squirms under the machinery to begin working on it. She doesn't ask for any of it to be turned off, and it isn't long before she starts replacing things with bits of junk, gel, putty, and whatever other mysterious technology she kept on herself. If she's given time, perhaps almost an hour, she'll have the generator quietly thrumming at max efficiency and she'll begin working on the stove and fryers.

She'd also be leaving quite the mess of ripped out parts and failed repairs she'd cast out from under the machines.

[Slii Arhem]

Slightly Rainy Diner

...Sure. Don't worry about the generator he says. They've kept it repaired, he says.

Despite Zan's assurances, the state of the machinery in the shack is obviously distressing to the Little Worker. She does her best to try and ignore the state of things, particularly when the food is delivered and she can dig in. She's utterly ravenous and quickly devours or drinks every last bit of food and drink set in front of her with it all vanishing under the scarf she uses to cover her mouth. Unfortunately though, even the good food can't distract her completely from the state of things and when she hears another sputter of machinery she finally loses it.

Lum throws off her poncho in disgust, buzzing and humming up a veritable storm of what couldn't be anything other than chastisements for the state of everything, and she even reaches up to pull off her scarf. Her face, mostly human, was missing a cheek completely. It wasn't naturally that way as scar tissue was easily seen and a mechanical mandible like an ant's was bolted right into place on the right side to make up for much of it. It clicks as she hums, and once her scarf and poncho are left on the seat she just dives into whatever nook she can and squirms under the machinery to begin working on it. She doesn't ask for any of it to be turned off, and it isn't long before she starts replacing things with bits of junk, gel, putty, and whatever other mysterious technology she kept on herself. If she's given time, perhaps almost an hour, she'll have the generator quietly thrumming at max efficiency and she'll begin working on the stove and fryers.

She'd also be leaving quite the mess of ripped out parts and failed repairs she'd cast out from under the machines.

Slightly Rainy Diner

There's a startled shout from within the donut stand as Lum starts her work, but Zan simply watches her carefully over his cup of instant french vanilla cappucino and then, setting it down, goes over to have a quiet word with the owner.

Lum will be left alone for several minutes by the time he's finished, but then he walks as calmly as he can over to Lum, not wanting to disturb her. Once he's at the generator, he'll bend over and throw its kill switch when it looks like doing so wouldn't throw off her rhythm.

And then he's kneeling down and attempting to pull the little worker out from underneath the generator and into a stiff, tight hug, "It's alright, Lum. If you need to fix something, just ask first next time so I can okay it with the owner. I told Biff I'd buy him a new one if you break it doing this, but that was just to get him calmed down, I know you won't break it." Zan knows nothing of the sort, he's just acting on a hunch that he hopes won't let him down.

"So now I'm going to leave you to what you're doing, and if you need any help, just point it out to me and I'll hand you what you need, or your sign if you need to spell it out. I'll sort the parts you're removing in case there's anything worth salvaging." He keeps talking, low and calm, to try to avoid his own thoughts. She's been broken, twisted to the point where she can't even speak for herself, and then poorly put back together. Of course the generator would grate against her nerves. How could it not?

[Morty]

[Gate]

Michalson swears under his breath, turns away from Magtok and Needs and faces Ellrin, pointing a large black revolver at him. His headache is clearing away, and he's reaching under his vest for something as well, having sheathed his sabre.

"You really don't want to make it any harder on yourself with resistin' arrest and attackin' two officers, mister," he says.

[UncleWolf]

Slightly Rainy Diner

Lum has no idea she's being left alone for a while as she's so caught up in her work it never registers. It's only when the power to the generator is cut off and she's left wondering what she did to mess it up that she even remembers there were others present. She's pulled out when she's finished testing the power, confirming that the generator was shut off and she hadn't screwed up, but she gladly returns the hug despite the messy state she's in. It was doubtful that the owner ever cleaned in the places she was likely to be crawling and squirming in after all.

When he talks, she tilts her head for a moment trying to understand what he was saying, but eventually it clicks and she gives a small nod before diving back under. She's a little more careful from that point on and slides whatever spare bits she creates or pulls out a bit more gently towards Zan. there was an awful lot of important looking stuff she was ripping out, but when she's given time to work she eventually worms her way out from under it all and turns the generator back on. It'll purr at barely a whisper while everything in the kitchen lights up efficiently, quietly, and without skipping a beat. Zan had seemed to impose the desire for it all to be stealthy, so that's what Lum had tried to make it all.

When she gives Zan and Biff a bit of time to look it over to check her work, she'll work over her letters some before holding up her sign.

CAN HAZ EXTRA FEWD TO TAKE HOME?

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin mentally notes that someone needs to install a dimmer switch on the angel. All the magical light is messing around with his ability to work shadow magic. Fortunately, he has an artifact sword which is the source of that power. Shadow pours out of the blade and forms an inky cloud around Ithuriel, blocking out her light and probably blinding her, depending on her willpower. As the shadows reappear, Ellrin steps into the shade of a building. "Whew! It's awfully hot out here."

[Slii Arhem]

Slightly Rainy Diner

Lum has no idea she's being left alone for a while as she's so caught up in her work it never registers. It's only when the power to the generator is cut off and she's left wondering what she did to mess it up that she even remembers there were others present. She's pulled out when she's finished testing the power, confirming that the generator was shut off and she hadn't screwed up, but she gladly returns the hug despite the messy state she's in. It was doubtful that the owner ever cleaned in the places she was likely to be crawling and squirming in after all.

When he talks, she tilts her head for a moment trying to understand what he was saying, but eventually it clicks and she gives a small nod before diving back under. She's a little more careful from that point on and slides whatever spare bits she creates or pulls out a bit more gently towards Zan. there was an awful lot of important looking stuff she was ripping out, but when she's given time to work she eventually worms her way out from under it all and turns the generator back on. It'll purr at barely a whisper while everything in the kitchen lights up efficiently, quietly, and without skipping a beat. Zan had seemed to impose the desire for it all to be stealthy, so that's what Lum had tried to make it all.

When she gives Zan and Biff a bit of time to look it over to check her work, she'll work over her letters some before holding up her sign.

CAN HAZ EXTRA FEWD TO TAKE HOME?

Slightly Rainy Diner

Zan just sends Biff a silent look and lets the quiet purr of the generator speak for itself. He's sorted all the spare parts worth refurbishing into one pile, and then shoved the rest into a garbage bag so they can be turned in for scrap. The good ones he'll leave here, just in case the thing needs any more repairs, and as a sop to old Biff's anxieties. He highly doubts that whatever Lum did is going to fail anytime soon.

The older, mostly human cook has been leaning out over the edge of his trailer's serving window and goggling, but he notices the penetrating stare and tries to match it for a moment before buckling with a sigh, "Alright, once the oil's back up to temp, I'll run you out another do- okay another couple dozen donuts then, as a thank you. But I never asked her to fix it! It was working fine the way it was." He harrumphs and gets to work doing the prep required to quickly bake another few dozen donuts. Despite his grumbling, there's a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he pulls a lid off one of the bins and begins shaking out the dough into long, flat shapes not unlike pitas.

In a few minutes, he's begun taking these crispy, crunchy stretches of fried dough from the fryer and quickly coating both sides of each with far too much cinnamon sugar. It's simple, but a favorite of all his returning customers, and he charges accordingly to the demand. As many as he's doing for Lum, he could have put money down on a new generator if he'd sold them all out individually. The treats are boxed a dozen at a time and laid out, and Zan tries to pay but is waved off with a stern look that brooks no argument.

"Well... looks like you made a friend. Unfortunately, you're covered in engine grease and Biff's not a very huggy person at the best of times, so you'll have to accept these donuts and his thanks instead." That earns a snort from the agoraphobic chef, who slides the window shut and begins to shut his place down for the day.

[Gnrlshrimp]

Gate

Ellrin mentally notes that someone needs to install a dimmer switch on the angel. All the magical light is messing around with his ability to work shadow magic. Fortunately, he has an artifact sword which is the source of that power. Shadow pours out of the blade and forms an inky cloud around Ithuriel, blocking out her light and probably blinding her, depending on her willpower. As the shadows reappear, Ellrin steps into the shade of a building. "Whew! It's awfully hot out here."

[Gate]

To some creatures of light, such darkness would be very disconcerting. Ithuriel's light is not so easily banished as to be swallowed whole, but it definitely achieves the desired effect of letting shadows form again.

She lets out a quiet sigh. "Fine. I'm tired of warnings." She lets her light fade. The darkness consumes her. Her piercing purple eyes effortlessly cut through the shadows and remain locked on Ellrin as she watches him step into the building's shade.

And then she roars and charges out of the darkness. "AND I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR TRICKS!" The massive hulking form of the angel in her hybrid were-rhino form barrels forward towards Ellrin at a terrific pace, intending to smash straight into him and knock him to the ground.

[Morty]

[Gate]

His gun still trained on Ellrin, Michalson reaches under his vest and produces what looks like a runestone. He twists his in his fingers, cracks it and throws it in Ellrin's direction. There's a strange hum on the edge of hearing and all extradimensional forms of transport will have significant difficulty connecting. If they do, the interference might cause unpredictable results.

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin is fed up too, but unlike Ithuriel, he's not willing to resort to lethal force. That leaves only surrender or retreat as options. "That's too bad, I had like six tricks left. I hope next time we meet, it is in more pleasant circumstances." Fortunately, Ellrin's artifact sword is especially capable of cutting through defenses. He swings the blade down in a circle, cutting the shadows around his feet. A glowing hole appears, and he falls through, just as Ithuriel reaches him. The hole is still open.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

Charging rhinos are kinda hard to stop. As Ellrin takes his looney tunes-esque portable hole escape route, Ithuriel doesn't even bother trying to stop. Instead she simply beats her wings again to carry her over the hole before skidding to a halt. With a growl she turns and stomps over to shout down into it, "You're insane! If you can hear me through this thing, know that if we ever meet again, I'll be knocking your ass out and dragging you off to do time!"

The angel takes a moment to relax and shift back to her regular humanoid form, turning to shrug apologetically to Michalson. "Sorry partner, my bad. He's a slippery one." She reaches down to pick up the runestone and pass it back to him, her irritation at letting Ellrin slip away clearly visible on her face.

"Magtok, wherever you're hiding, coffee at Trog's before you leave. I insist. Knowing you, I'm sure you'll have no problem finding me when you're ready, right? Uh, Michalson, can you finish up here if I take care of the paperwork on our officer-shooting alien friend? I probably ought to let a doc take a look at me too, just in case." Stoic angel is being stoic and looks fine, but careful observation would show that her wings are all kindsa twitchy, as if nerve signals were firing off randomly. She probably can't fly right now - probably can't do much more than that little hop over the portal-hole.

[UncleWolf]

Slightly Rainy Shop

Lum happily accepts the boxes of goodies and piles her poncho and sign on top of the boxes after she's put her scarf back on. She gives a very happy buzzing hum at the shop owner, telling him thanks for all the food, and once she's outside the food stall she pauses for a moment, trying to figure out what to do. She gives a small hum towards Zan before attempting to shove the goodies into his arms. Once he's taken them, she slips a hand into a pocket and pulls out a small glowing disc with a big blue button on it. She'll loop an arm around the Gobbun and press the button and without any warning a flash of light blinds him before whisking him away...

[Lord Magtok]

Gate

Magtok blinks, more than a little intimidated by Ithuriel's angry law voice. "Yeah, uh...sure. Trog's. It still does that thing where you can find it anywhere, right?" That it does, Magtok, unless the OP needs updating. Even so, I'm sure you'll be more than capable of finding your way in. If all else fails, you have Needs and his weird magic to guide the way, right?

"You'll know where to find me when you need to find me," Needs mutters, before pushing the horse and motor vehicle back together. He raps his knuckles against the thing, nods, and then fades out of this plane of existence. Places to be and things to do, can't be sitting around waiting for Magtok to drive him everywhere.

[Morty]

[Gate]

Michalson pinches the bridge of his nose, the headache coming back in.

"Aye, sure. I'll make sure the higher-ups know 'e resisted arrest. I need to look through my notes for a better way of pluggin' portals. Hate those bloody things."

[bc56]

Gate

Ellrin is glad he never gave anyone his name. That would have made it much easier for the angry rhino angel to find him. He shouts another retort through the still open portal. "The next time we meet, it will be on my terms!"

[Halae]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"Yeah, I guess you will. Not often I have someone crash in my squatting grounds." Cassidy hops off of the couch, and heads off to the maybe-bedroom to catch up on her sleep some.

[Quiet Zone - Condemned House]

Cassidy will likely be woken up by, a few hours later, Charity rummaging about in the kitchen looking for food. She's not trying to be loud - in fact, it seems she was trying to be quiet - but something hit the floor when she dropped it with a noise loud enough to carry throughout the house. If Cassidy goes down there, she'll find Charity sweeping up the remains of a bowl.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Abandoned Tech Store]

"Tell me, Edict, when did you start acquiring my knack for needlessly flashy displays?" Affidavit permits himself an echoing, electronic chuckle all around the room. "One of the strangest quirks of this new form is that I find myself much more willing to criticise my own actions. Would the true me be willing to accept that a lot of this is...unnecessary? Fake Affidavit is much more willing to acknowledge the flaws." As if to demonstrate, there's an errant spark from a piece of machinery as it fizzles out and dies.

Affidavit flickers for a moment.

"Give me a little time and I can convert pretty much any old piece of tech into something capable of supporting me. But I can't magically remove the rust, the fused wires, the burnt-out circuit boards. This serves as a suitable sort of place for a friendly chat with an old acquaintance, but I'd be in very poor form if this was all I had at my disposal."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully and turns those piercing eyes back on Edict.

"You are right of course that a little reminder wouldn't suffice. And anything too overt would have little impact in the grand scheme of things, and would only serve to hasten our own demise. Or, well, yours anyway." Affidavit smirks. "I always have a backup. But I do have something in mind to serve as a reminder that might accomplish something without drawing a huge target on our heads. It's, well, it's a long-term project though. So I'm happy to devote some cycles to anything more immediate you might have on the agenda."

Needlessly flashy displays? Technically that was opposite of flashy!
Edict doesn't seem abashed, however. Just smirks and waves a hand dismissively.
"We all have to flex our 'muscles' occasionally, hm?"

That flickering and breaking of a component however, is of more serious interest. Not insofar as he's worried about the Professor breaking and dying, but in that it is probably important.
And something to be worked with.
Alongside the Professor's talk of plans and immediacy, Edict gives a moment of consideration.

The lights of his eyes shift around, traveling over the various pieces of machinery and the shadows between them.
"I believe that I have a long-term idea that could help with this...quality problem and advance our interests in the city at large."
His gaze crawls back to the Professor's projection and the considerate look moves towards a more serious one.
"And second, for something of immediate interest...is there a manner in which I could transport you to another building? There is something I want your opinion on, now that the opportunity presents itself."

[Devixer]

Quiet Zone - Condemned House

"Cripes, can these people wait till I get my kaf..." Cassidy blears out as she slowly steps out of the bedroom once more, until she sees Charity cleaning up a bowl. Was that hers, or was it part of the former owner's belongings? She wasn't sure. "Oh, mornin'. You sure know how to wake someone up." She certainly doesn't seem mad about it.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Gate]

Ithuriel glares at the portal. Boy, if it wasn't such a terrible idea to jump in after him...

"Yes, Magtok. See you there." The angel grumpily walks off to go make a report on this mess. This definitely counts as "one of those days" now.

*****

[Abandoned Tech Store]

"I suppose it would only be fair to offer my assistance after dragging you away from your business just to say hello, hmm?" As Affidavit talks, he waves a hand. The piles of equipment shift and shape themselves into a variety of appendages, sifting through the trash and taking out the most functional pieces. Gradually all the "quality" items left in the store are pooled together and slowly reformed into a disk - roughly CD-sized, though considerably thicker.

"I am intrigued. Assuming there is something on-site for me to cannibalise that's transmitting and receiving wireless signals, I could probably make my own way there - but this little thing should suffice for physical transportation. Although I won't be able to do much more than communicate with you."

[Halae]

[Quiet Zone - Condemned House]

"Didn't mean to wake you," Charity says, dumping the shards of bowl into the trash, "Just too groggy," she sighs, "Was gonna let you sleep longer before asking to head to MERC, but that clearly didn't pan out."