Inside 67: Shadow over Innside

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Docks]

"So to summarise, from Feia's perspective she already thinks you're no longer useful to her and has either discarded or imprisoned you, hmm?" Sure makes Edict seem valuable, doesn't it? "How long did she keep you as her pet, Edict? What a terrible owner she is, to raise and nurture you for so long only to just lose interest like that. You've had all this time to find a way out. All this time, and the best you could come up with was to hide a little piece of yourself and hope she never notices while pointlessly antagonising the police?"

It's pathetic.

It's disappointing.

It's irritating.

"And you ask what I have that's so wonderful? Well, an actual solution to your predicament for starters. And the means to ensure Feia can never get you back under her control, of course."

*****

[AEB - N&I]

Einion really is wearing poor Naku down, isn't he? Polite conversation is difficult. Very, very difficult. "I think Saki and I have a bit of a shared outlook on this. Perhaps a sort of cultural difference between vampires and angels, and fae?" She asks, smiling softly, "We perhaps put less of an emphasis on our race and our heritage and more of a focus on our achievements - or at least, that's how it seems." Got to be careful not to go too far and come off as unforgivably insulting. She takes a moment sample a piece of cheese, "Still, neither she or I could possibly put on such an exquisite ball, could we? Whatever our cultural differences may be, your ability to amaze and astound all of us in attendance is undeniable."

[Earl of Purple]

AEB- Fade & the Godfather

"No, I agree. This is a celebration, and it's a confident one. But there's not much here to be proud of. Maybe the odd fae trying their luck on the guests, seeing what they can get away with and being proud of their efforts, but pride isn't a motivation here. It's a side-show, a piece of gossip for later court parties to which there won't be so many invitations." The Godfather knows that pride can be a flaw, but isn't seeing it here. Or not much of it, anyway.

[Murkus]

[Autumnal Equinox Ball]

Cantata shrinks into her seat a little with a bashful smile on her face, her cheeks still a little rosy over the apparent misunderstanding. It fades as the topic is changed though, some of that usual liveliness returning. Oh, it's been wonderful! The fae haven't been showing much interest yet though, maybe they were polite enough not to disturb us. A catlike smile forms as the songstress pauses to consider something, before adding Though considering the spectacle we made of ourselves, I wouldn't be surprised to see that change.

Autumnal Equinox Ball

The orchestra finishes the previous concerto, beginning a new one as the last course arrives - as unnoticeable as the first four, of course. Each diner is greeted with a fine platter of cheeses - rich creamy brie, a tangy blue, a sharp stilton, among others. A perfect finisher for the meal.

Cantata, Marina, Fettina

I would not be so sure, Cantata. They like it better when their prey is... isolated. Marina says, bitterness creeping into her voice. No, I'd say you two have been quite lucky, as far as things go. She turns to her food, slightly confused by the change in menu but forging ahead regardless, cutting off some cheese - something hard which she wouldn't be able to identify with a map - and popping it in her mouth. At least the food is good. She adds, after swallowing.

[Cantata, Marina, Fettina]

"Oh, c'mon, they can't be all bad. Fae are supposed to be whimsical and fun or whatever. Maybe we shouldn't wait for them to come to us and we should try to find a few good ones," Fettina suggests.

[Hattish Thing]

Stormwater Drain

The drain will be easily ripped apart, widened beyond what was ever intended for the structure. Much of it crumbles apart, collapsing into the drain, but a few minutes of work will excavate the worst of the collapse, allowing access to the sewers beneath, in all their filth and grime-ridden glory.

Wandering through the tunnels proves fortunately straightforward, and eventually Layne can be found.

--

She appears to have collapsed into a deep puddle of sewage, where she seems to be vomiting quite aggressively, lurching forward here and there, her clothing having been ripped to tatters here and there, with open wounds visible upon her back, oozing a black and crimson ichor. Layne does not appear to notice Anastasia.

---

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

The figure vacantly narrows his eyes before slowly, painfully slowly, reaching for a cell phone. He begins to dial for the police.

"Okay, man... Uhhh, I'm calling Intersection now."

---

[Autumnal Ball]

Kramolagh sighs somewhat before glancing towards Maldwynn as if he simply hadn't heard his remark.

"Excuse me, vhere you saying something?"

[billtodamax]

Stormwater Drain

You are ill. Anastasia says as she approaches Layne. The sewerage doesn't seem to bother her at all really. Undeath comes with some perks. She reaches down to grab Layne and gently carry her out of the sewers. She'll let her vomit it out as she goes, holding her so she can retch into the sewers and not onto Anastasia's lovely repurposed curtain dress. Assuming nothing stops her she'll take Layne to the nearest medical facility.

[Arkhosia]

AEB - Cantata, Marina, Fettina

The sudden and unceremonious appearance of yet another course provokes a brief look of surprise as the songstress brings her fork down to snag one last scrap of fondant and meets a piece of brie instead, followed by an amused little exhale. Her focus is soon brought back to her two companions though, and Cantata heeds the bitter note in Marina's voice.

Well, it probably pays to be careful around a type of people that you have to avoid mentioning your name around. She points out, before adding Although knowing this place, there's probably such a variety of fae that its entirely possible we're merely talking about a certain type, and that's entirely true for another type.

[KerfuffleMach2]

[Autumnal Equinox Ball - Ivaz and Ellrin]

Hm...Ivaz could really use another drink right now...Might not be too bad, right? Having to spend a little time with the fae? Or whatever they'll make her do.

Oh. Wait.

While waiting for Ellrin's reply, Ivaz casually lets her hand slide under the table. Where it's dark.

She'll find a shadow under there, reach in, and pull out a flask. Well, she'll try, at least.

[Deathkeeper]

[AEB- Anchor and Alex]

”Oh,Tamamo knows all of us, I’m sure. The goddesses pay attantion to all of their children.” says Alex, who has been happily munching on the courses while Anchor bantered with the fae. Though she’s soon putting a hand to her stomach.
”Oooof. I think I ate too much.”

[bc56]

4972 Darkwood Lane

There are other seats, a pair of human sized ones along the walls. I just assumed Anima couldn't sit in them anyway.

The ship begins to hum and vibrate as the green creature begins the boot sequence. "Indeed, and in record time, I believe."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

"Oh, son of a...give me that."
Xeni scowls at the poor fool and makes a "give me" gesture with his hand, which is accompanied by a very sharp jerk of force seeking to yank the phone from his hands.
"I'll call them myself, if it will get me somewhere useful before the world dies screaming."

And he means that.
He'll call Intersection himself.

[Docks]

Edict lightly clasps his hands in front of him, in a gesture that would be accompanied by a quirked eyebrow by someone with less shadowed features.
"By all means. Elaborate."

[Zefir]

AEB- Fade & the Godfather

Fade is not deep in this terms to argue with them more.

"I guess we will find out in the future. I haven't been to much events latly and things here are allways different." he says. "I'm also a bit confused why people celebrate the coming winter. Isn't it usually a harder time then summer?

[Rebonack]

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

Xeni makes a phone call!

And he gets a prompt reply from a pleasant female voice.

"Intersection, what's the nature of your emergency?"

Straight to the point!

They already got several calls recently from this locations, but they all need to be handled. It takes a few minutes to get a team to the location, after all, and getting as much information as they can on the situation is important.

Didn't help that the previous calls were a bit vague and panicky.

[Ominous Street]

Ibby, meanwhile, waits around until a pair of Intersection officers arrive. He'll explain the situation and the danger at hand, give his testimony, usual stuff.

Intersection is now aware that Inside is dealing with a dangerous memetic cognitohazard with the potential to eat a big chunk of Inside! Isn't that just fantastic? Ibby will go on to describe, in the vaguest of terms possible, the sorts of signs to be on the lookout for and in a bit more detail the types of precautions to take against the influence of their new yellow friend. He rather pointedly avoids names and specifics, since the less everyone knows about what's going on the safer they're going to be.

When asked about the woman who made the call, Ibby will explain that she was suffering from a minor head injury when he arrived and that he did what he could to inoculate her against the cognitohazardous material she had contacted. With luck, she won't spread it further. And she sort of ran away instead of waiting for the officers to arrive in spite of her injuries.

This all will take some time to discuss and explain. Ibby's really hoping he can make it to the gallery in time to be useful.

[Recaiden]

[AEB- Anchor and Alex]

”Oh, Tamamo knows all of us, I’m sure. The goddesses pay attantion to all of their children.” says Alex, who has been happily munching on the courses while Anchor bantered with the fae. Though she’s soon putting a hand to her stomach.
”Oooof. I think I ate too much.”

Knowing them all is one thing. Paying attention to them all... that's quite another. "If you say so." Anchor concedes, smirking. "Well, you should have paced yourself. Saved room for..." Oh. It's cheeses. Anchor can't really eat those.
But Alex should be able to! Delicious!

4972 Darkwood Lane

There are other seats, a pair of human sized ones along the walls. I just assumed Anima couldn't sit in them anyway.

The ship begins to hum and vibrate as the green creature begins the boot sequence. "Indeed, and in record time, I believe."

((You assumed correctly!))

"Record? How often do you travel to hell?"
Anima puts a hand against the wall to steady herself as the ship starts up.

[bc56]

4972 Darkwood Lane

"I guess that was a weird turn of phrase. No, I haven't been there in thousands of years." The green creature shrugs. "The name's Tethrik. What's yours?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]


"You had much the same problem as us, then." Perhaps not quite as intensely.

"We're out here for historical reasons. When we first arrived we weren't in a position to travel far. But it's worked out well. We don't get in anyone's way, we're hard to reach for people who want to give us trouble, our excavation doesn't cause any trouble, we have all the space we need. Excepting all the monsters down here, but that's what warrior flights are for." They move first through old ruins, then areas that have been cleared of debris, then finally to the edge of the base's tunnels, broad round passages coated in a slick purplish membrane.

"Tell me, what is your faction, exactly?"

At this point another alien appears from invisibility. They're similar to Sophia, but not quite the same. The upper arms are boneless tapering tentacles. The antennae are longer and more clustered together, trailing behind their head. And they're not wearing an ominous concealing robe, which lets one examine the carapace plates more closely, see how much the stalker does resemble the human woman one of them used to be.
"Our volunteer, Fay."

Unfortunate Meeting

Nora facepalms and sighs. "Can't drive or teleport away. No time. We're not going to be able to stick around so start running before Intersection arrives." Nora tells them before reaching into the car to just drag everyone out of it. She'll confiscate the teleportation gun however once everyone is out and give it a once over. Unsure of how to work it, she'll just flip switches, turn knobs, pull levers and eventually hold it inside the car before pulling the trigger and letting go as fast as possible so both the gun and the car teleport away as she pulls her arm back. There's a chance she'll lose the arm of course, but she'll live.

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]

"Truly?" Tauron remarks thoughtfully. "Perhaps there's still hope for me then." He nods in agreement with her next statement. "Indeed, soldiers are a necessity regardless of ones intentions it seems."

But as he considers her question regarding his faction, he's distracted by the appearance of the creatures appearing before him. He takes a step towards Fay, his upper right arm stroking his chin while being supported by his lower left arm as his upper left arm is held in the air as if he's considering poking her with it. "Well..." He finally begins, gesturing at Sophie with his lower left arm. "My faction is admittedly extremely violent in their pursuits and thus others tended to respond in kind. A group of them came to this world along with me and attempted to convert two mana-users that had helped them chase away the beings that had brought us to this place. Their betrayal was rewarded by utter destruction, I saw them being unmade knowing that I had made the right choice. These beliefs of ours cannot be forced upon people, they must be given else we plant the seeds of our own destruction." Then he points back at Fay. "Consequently, I would like to know you before we start, Fay. Why do you volunteer for this? Or perhaps a better question would be, why do you choose to serve your community in this manner?"

Unfortunate Meeting

"NO!" Nimix will jump at Nora and attempt to wrestle the teleportation console from her as she starts to press buttons on it.
Therese doesn't even attempt to stop him, if there was anything worse than Nimix touching that thing it was someone else touching it.
"We can't leave the car behind..." The gnoll mumbles.

Faith now turns to them, making some conclusions of her own as she is making a run for it while Nora is busy pulling the others out of the car. She is planning to head out the room, as far away from the KABAL members as possible.

[UncleWolf]

Unfortunate Meeting

"Fine, then make the car vanish." Nora tells Nimex as she shoves the device back into his hands. When she sees Faith trying to sneak off, she just gives a wave. "Good luck out there!" She tells the reporter before waiting on the KABAL goons to finish up so they can run off as well.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Docks]

"There are, mmm, several options." Affy rubs his chin thoughtfully, "I can break the curse. I have no means to test if doing so will harm you beforehand. I assume you are capable of breaking the curse, just unable to do so due to its effects - I can ensure you don't feel them. Your thoughts?"

[Mee]

Autumnal Equinox Ball

The orchestra finishes the previous concerto, beginning a new one as the last course arrives - as unnoticeable as the first four, of course. Each diner is greeted with a fine platter of cheeses - rich creamy brie, a tangy blue, a sharp stilton, among others. A perfect finisher for the meal.

Naku and Ithuriel

I've certainly noticed a few jealous looks myself. Einion says to Ithuriel, sharing that private joke again. But please, Saki, - the name hangs in the sentence like a loose tooth, ever so slightly wrong - you're hardly just any vampire. Such peerage is something to be proud of! And from there to representing a Goddess of Hope? The irony is exquisite. I'm sure your father doesn't approve of that. He gives her another smile - she's in on the joke too! Ha ha your dad is Satan.

"I would not know. I do not speak with my father.
We do not have the best of relationships. I fully do intend to kill him someday. Do not worry, though. He is well aware. I told him as much.
But that's not a polite subject for a pleasant dinner.
What about you? I have yet to ask, what do you do on a day to day basis? What are your goals and dreams? If you do not mind my inquiries."

[AEB - N&I]

Einion really is wearing poor Naku down, isn't he? Polite conversation is difficult. Very, very difficult. "I think Saki and I have a bit of a shared outlook on this. Perhaps a sort of cultural difference between vampires and angels, and fae?" She asks, smiling softly, "We perhaps put less of an emphasis on our race and our heritage and more of a focus on our achievements - or at least, that's how it seems." Got to be careful not to go too far and come off as unforgivably insulting. She takes a moment sample a piece of cheese, "Still, neither she or I could possibly put on such an exquisite ball, could we? Whatever our cultural differences may be, your ability to amaze and astound all of us in attendance is undeniable."

Fortunately, Naku is at least attempting to change the topic of the other conversation!
At least a bit.
If she can.
"This has been a remarkable evening." Naku says in a form of agreement, nodding once.

[billtodamax]

Autumnal Equinox Ball

After the last course, people have begun making their excuses and filtering out. Fae who have successfully snagged a mortal walking out cocksure, mortals who have felt the fake niceties a little too keenly ducking out at the first available opportunity, and those who have found themselves punishingly out-danced by the angel and her muse taking the chance to head home for some well deserved sleep. It seems the ball is finally wrapping up.

((Feel free to keep any scenes that still have life in them going on as long as you want, of course. Any conversations that have perhaps run their course though can find themselves ending.))

Jack, Feia and Kramolagh

Jack will have no trouble finding a nearby champagne bucket for her distasteful expulsions. Maldwyn gives her a look of unbridled disgust while she's face deep in the bucket. It quickly fixes itself to something more consoling when she's done. Oh Jack dear don't worry about Maelynn. He says (without really specifying why she shouldn't worry) before turning back to Feia and Kramolagh, glancing between the two. He gets a sly smile as Kramolagh rudely rebukes him. No trouble at all I see. Well I'm glad this... Affidavit character hasn't hurt such a lovely couple. He sounds perfectly genuine, as always.

Ithuriel and Naku

Oh please, you flatterer you. Einion says, waving away the compliments with a smile. But still, there is some difference between being some nobleborn elf and scion to hell itself, you must admit. He tells Ithuriel with a knowing glance. And then the terrible news from Naku. Oh no.

Such a shame when children fall out with their parents. He says, attempting to take Naku's hand and give it a comforting pat. I am certain you shall resolve your differences one day. He adds, giving her a sincere look. So good at sincerity these fae. but please, inquire away. My day to day is really quite mundane. Hobnobbing with various lords and ladies, checking in on my servants and vassals, spending time with my beautiful wife. He leans over at this point to plant a kiss on Drysi, who seems rather distracted talking with a massive woman with flaming red hair and a man made of branches and a deer skull. She smiles slightly as she takes the kiss on the cheek before waving him back to his conversation. Nothing at all compared with the duties of Intersection or of serving Civiron, I am sure. He finishes.

Cantata, Marina, Fettina

Marina laughs humourlessly at Fettina's description of the fae. Yes, fun and whimsical. Well, certainly they are. This does not prevent them from being dangerous. She warns. She motions towards the pair with her fork with a smile. But, please, don't let me stop you. If you keep your wits about you they are quite fun.

Anchor and Alex

See? Your churches aren't so dissimilar after all. Meinir makes it sound like a compliment. Don't worry Alex, this is the last course. Or perhaps that's concerning? The Hiers do put on quite a spread. She says, eating a bit more of her own cheese. So. She adds, after finishing her morsel. When were you thinking of gracing my forest?

Fade and Godfather

Ilar smiles Paddy knowingly. Yes indeed, there'll be some stories to tell later on for sure. Ah, but Fade was still there. Wouldn't do to talk about those sort of things in front of him. Well yes, for some people winter can be a hardship, of course. But we here are all tied to it, in some way. Its arrival strengthens us and, in turn, weakens those of the Summer Court. He's very patient in explaining this to Fade. Some people just don't understand, poor dears.

[Murkus]

[AEB - Fettina, Marina, Cantata]

"Well, I for one am not good about keeping a lid on my name or keeping my wits about me. Maybe we should just get the hell out of here," Fettina suggests, leaning forward and propping her arm on the table as she gazes primarily toward Cantata. Not that the offer wasn't extended to Marina, but she seemed... a bit more reserved in nature than the songstress.

[Earl of Purple]

AEB- Jack, Feia & Kramolagh

When she's finished emptying her stomach, Jack straightens. She's visibly paler now, and just wants to sit down and be steady. "Sorry. That... I've not seen anything die before. Especially not so... violently." She's better now, though that wasn't particularly pleasant and she's going to have nightmares later.

AEB- Fade & Godfather

"Fae are nearly always linked to something. A time of year, phase of the moon, natural area, whatever. Leprechauns... We've got links. Times and places we're stronger, and times and places we're weaker." Paddy won't explain what his weaknesses or strengths are, though.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Docks]

Ah, good old brute force tactics. The easiest and most dangerous of them all.
"I imagine, after a point of trying to remove it myself regardless of feeling it or not, I would be...turned off. Unless you're completely redirecting the spell entirely, rather than just numbing it."
Which, now that he thinks about it, actually sounds like a halfway decent idea.

Edict ponders that for a moment, adjusting onto one of the stacked up boxes so he doesn't have to be in the Pink.
The thing wearing Ithuriel's voice lurks beneath his feet, periodically dipping back down underneath the fog.
"Michalson Michalson. It's dead dead dead Michalson."

"If you want a violent solution to the curse, we should probably go somewhere where the activation of it won't be noticed."

[Autumnal Equinox Ball - Jack, Feia & Kramolagh (and fae)]

Feia can't really say she's surprised where this has ended up.
Maybe slightly disappointed in the mundanity, but not terribly surprised. Right down to the more pitiful one hucking her dinner into a bucket.

"I am a bit curious. How long have you lived in this city? How far have you traveled in it?"

[Felandria]

Arkham Street - Alley Hideout

"Hm? Uh, sure, I guess I won't. You that ugly or something?" she cackles as she starts down the stairs. "I'm kidding. You do what you gotta do." Cassidy can probably be struck out as someone with extreme mental fortitude, though having a thought process is still up in the air.

Her face wrinkles as she starts to see the basement. "Oh, definitely a cult. You can tell cause they have no damned taste. Throw up some posters or something." Cassidy's critique of their decorations is interrupted by the sudden rush of heat their way. She's able to raise her arms just in time to block the brunt of the magic coming her way. While her adept magic can keep her from being burned, it still smarts, and the sleeves of her suit jacket are burning up quickly.

"Cripes, you know these aren't cheap, right? I don't have a tailor, you know!" Cassidy swats at her sleeves to put out the fire, and while she's still able to make it down the steps, she's quite thoroughly distracted for now.

Fishery

Iamar narrows her eyes. It just looked like a regular cat, albeit one that looked covered in soot. Had they been sent on a wild goose chase?

She sighed and glanced at Felandria. "Is there anything you can see? Are you more familiar with magic than I?" That, of course, is not a high bar at all.

I could always cast Detect Magic.

Let’s see if anything is around.

Or if it’s just a poor sooty kitty.

She does this, casting the spell which will let her know it there is magic nearby.

[Zefir]

Fade and Godfather

"How interssting." Fade comments. He looks around noticing theat people have start to leave the party.

"It appears like the ball is over." He says witha little disappointment in the voice before looking back at the others. He noticed that Ilar is uncomfortable around him.

"I can't imagine how these links were made, but then again my world had only the survival of the fittest.
Well, I guess I take my leave here so you can talk about this. Should one of you ever need my service just contact me."

He drops a business card which will point at Merc.
Until anybody tries to stop him he will then head for the exit.


Fishery

The cat appears to have a sight magic around it. more then a normal cat but less then something summoned or an illusion.

While she watches the cat finishes washing and heads for the closed Gate.

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Docks]

"Violent is not the only option on the table. Magic is nothing special, nothing unique, it never has been. It's nothing more than, mmm, a different language really." Affy smiles, conjuring up an image of a book in his hands. A few lines of text float of the page - a snippet from some sort of story. "And once you know the language, you can take anything written in that language and turn it into gibberish with just a few changes." Perhaps half a dozen words float into new positions and what was previously a prefectly legible sentence is now absolutely meaningless. "A few tweaks to that curse and it ceases to function."

But there's a consequence to that particular route too. "I've observed enough of what Feia has done to piece together enough of her language to safely nullify one of her simpler constructs, but I'm sure she has some sort of protection to it - it might alert her, it might destroy you, it might do something horrible to me...whereas if you break it by force and I redirect its effects to me, I know exactly what the response will be, and I can deal with that." As crude as the brute force method may be, the predictable consequences will at least be easier to deal with.

"As for doing this somewhere safe - I know a little place. Should be completely off the radar to everyone, as long as no one walks through the front door. And, hmm, Intersection are nearly here. About time to make an exit. Will the angel-head in the pink mist be joining us?"

*****

[AEB - N&I]

"A remarkable evening, yes. It seems we're drawing towards the end of it, though. How time flies." In truth it's felt like it's been crawling, trying to balance being polite, not getting ensnared by the fae and making sure Naku also doesn't get tricked. "I imagine what you do is a lot safer than Intersection work - this has been a very welcome change of pace from my regular duties." Not for the reason Einion might think...or maybe exactly for the reason Einion might think as Ithuriel sneaks quick smile to Naku.

She probably ought to be more concerned about that whole "I intend to kill my father" thing, but it's actually another thing she has in common with Naku. Which is weird.

[Hattish Thing]

Stormwater Drain

You are ill. Anastasia says as she approaches Layne. The sewerage doesn't seem to bother her at all really. Undeath comes with some perks. She reaches down to grab Layne and gently carry her out of the sewers. She'll let her vomit it out as she goes, holding her so she can retch into the sewers and not onto Anastasia's lovely repurposed curtain dress. Assuming nothing stops her she'll take Layne to the nearest medical facility.

A moment or so after Layne is picked up, she falls unconscious once again, meaning that there is little in the way of resistance as she's lifted up off the ground. Dropping her off at the nearest hospital is a relatively straightforward task, and once Anastasia arrives, she's briefly questioned as per the nature of Layne's wounds before several nurses wheel her away.

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

"Oh, son of a...give me that."
Xeni scowls at the poor fool and makes a "give me" gesture with his hand, which is accompanied by a very sharp jerk of force seeking to yank the phone from his hands.
"I'll call them myself, if it will get me somewhere useful before the world dies screaming."

And he means that.
He'll call Intersection himself.

The figure recoils as Xeni yanks the phone out of the attendant's hand. In response to the thoroughly ominous final statement, the man simply flees into a nearby room.

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler: Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary

Show

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

Xeni makes a phone call!

And he gets a prompt reply from a pleasant female voice.

"Intersection, what's the nature of your emergency?"

Straight to the point!

They already got several calls recently from this locations, but they all need to be handled. It takes a few minutes to get a team to the location, after all, and getting as much information as they can on the situation is important.

Didn't help that the previous calls were a bit vague and panicky.

Xeni rolls his eyes as the employee flee, very barely restraining some unflattering comments in an effort to be nice to the Intersection phone-tender.
"I'm inside the-...the heck is this place...Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary gallery? I've locked the building down to quarantine an eldritch mental contaminant of apocalyptic nature. The entity responsible for this is operating through paintings of its symbol being viewed by victims. Don't send anyone into this building that isn't prepared to deal with vision-born mental contamination and please don't shoot the guy in the robe with the mouse. That's me.
Also may be worth dispatching teams to as many of the city's galleries as possible, infected artists are spreading the contaminant."

Since the employee isn't going to help him very much, he decides to start running down the halls pulling down every painting he can find.
Current game plan: collect every piece of art in the building to a central location for screening and hopefully targeted destruction.

[Docks]

Edict would pretend to look impressed by the Professor's display, but he really can't care to pretend. Instead he just laces his fingers and awaits the end of the boasting.
"I'd warn against simply 'scrambling' curses to disable them. Destabilizing the energy would likely have other consequences."
Like explosions.
"But if you're willing to eat the backlash, we can try it your way. Worst that can happen is I'm destroyed anyway, I suppose."

The creature continues chattering away on the ground and he watches it a bit like someone else would be watching their particularly amusing cat.
"Keeping Page near us for the time being would be best, if you don't want her babbling about us to the police."

[Recaiden]

4972 Darkwood Lane

"I guess that was a weird turn of phrase. No, I haven't been there in thousands of years." The green creature shrugs. "The name's Tethrik. What's yours?"

"Thousands?" she asks, losing her composure a bit at the thought of such a vast stretch of time.
"Anima Drake-Nerei. A pleasure to meet you, Tethrik."

[Red Zone - Leaving VIGIL]

"Truly?" Tauron remarks thoughtfully. "Perhaps there's still hope for me then." He nods in agreement with her next statement. "Indeed, soldiers are a necessity regardless of ones intentions it seems."

But as he considers her question regarding his faction, he's distracted by the appearance of the creatures appearing before him. He takes a step towards Fay, his upper right arm stroking his chin while being supported by his lower left arm as his upper left arm is held in the air as if he's considering poking her with it. "Well..." He finally begins, gesturing at Sophie with his lower left arm. "My faction is admittedly extremely violent in their pursuits and thus others tended to respond in kind. A group of them came to this world along with me and attempted to convert two mana-users that had helped them chase away the beings that had brought us to this place. Their betrayal was rewarded by utter destruction, I saw them being unmade knowing that I had made the right choice. These beliefs of ours cannot be forced upon people, they must be given else we plant the seeds of our own destruction." Then he points back at Fay. "Consequently, I would like to know you before we start, Fay. Why do you volunteer for this? Or perhaps a better question would be, why do you choose to serve your community in this manner?"

Sophia smiles at the answer.
"I understand. We've had to learn the same lessons. Well, before my time."

Fay reaches out a tentacle to poke Tauron's outstretched upper left arm. What is this creature, really?
In response to his questions, they only tilt their head for a moment, until Sophia hands over a paper pad and pencil so Fay can scribble out an answer.

I'm curious what you do, if we can learn anything from it.
And it's a way to set myself apart, possibly gain new capabilities for our community.

[Rebonack]

[Kingdom Kingdom Contemporary]

"I understand. You're dealing with a hazardous image or images. We've had several other reports to this effect and are presently mobilizing a response," comes the pleasant voice on the other end of the line. "Our response team should be arriving at your location in five minutes. Are you in any immediate danger? Would you like me to stay on the line with you?"

Meanwhile!

Ibby is jogging toward the gallery!

He's in pretty reasonable shape, given that RUN AWAY! is often a good defense when dealing with otherworldly nonsense. He should be arriving pretty quickly to help with infectious painting disposal assuming something doesn't waylay him on the way there.

...

Hopefully something doesn't waylay him on the way there.

Fighting really isn't his favorite thing.

[Arkhosia]

[AEB - Fettina, Marina, Cantata]

"Well, I for one am not good about keeping a lid on my name or keeping my wits about me. Maybe we should just get the hell out of here," Fettina suggests, leaning forward and propping her arm on the table as she gazes primarily toward Cantata. Not that the offer wasn't extended to Marina, but she seemed... a bit more reserved in nature than the songstress.

Cantata chuckles silently, nodding in agreement with a friendly smile. When it comes to a gorgeous angel like you, your safety is my top priority. The smirk that forms on the songstress' lips is a playful one, a suggestion of good-natured sarcasm... but the woman's eyes tell a different story. A more earnest light shines in them, suggesting that while her tone may be one of jest, the words themselves are sincere.