[Nexus] Inside 41

[Shadowcaller]

Blue Zone Streets

The new glasses aren't exactly making it easier to see, rather it makes Edijar and Charity look very blurry. She corrects them again as she bends forward while attempting to focus on the remnant commanders face.

"Harm them?" She says with a raised eyebrow. "I... guess that works! Awfully nice of you." The oni nods approvingly. "So while I'm here, is there anything else I can do for you? Eh?" Libra says hopefully.

[happyturtle]

Blue Zone Streets

"Yes." Charity says. "You can stay out of our lives."

[UncleWolf]

Blue Zone Streets

Edijar was going to say much the same thing as Charity, but she beats him to the punch. He nods in agreement and turns his back to Libra, trying to walk away with Charity, back to their home.

Counting Basie

"Ah, but you don't have a cause yet." Wolfy reminds the young godling.

[Shadowcaller]

Blue Zone Streets

"Okay! Bye!" Libra exclaims before disappearing again.

This should be interesting.

[Lord Magtok]

Snowball Fight!

Vincent uses CAROLING!

Magtok thinks it's ADORADISGUSTING! Vincent's not even hitting all the right notes, or maintaining a steady tempo, or getting all the lyrics right, or anything! Such righteous fury just makes Mag's ATTACK stat go up, though he gets a bit of a severe penalty to his ACCURACY state.

There's not enough snow around for a proper snowball attack this time around. Instead, Wild MAGTOK uses SLUSHBALL! It's like a snowball, only a lot soggier and gross!

[ThePhantom]

[So much for Hide and Seek]

Blue gets the message and resumes heading back to Feia, even cutting down on the teleporting a bit so Mr E or whatever AMEN minions are around will have an easier time following it.

Game is on

Now, having more information, E gets up and starts heading over the rooftops towards the location of the Blue creation.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

Snowball Fight!

Vincent uses CAROLING!

Missy thinks it's ADORABLE and clasps her hands together. She loses her action due to D'AWWWW!

Snowball Fight!

Vincent uses CAROLING!

Magtok thinks it's ADORADISGUSTING! Vincent's not even hitting all the right notes, or maintaining a steady tempo, or getting all the lyrics right, or anything! Such righteous fury just makes Mag's ATTACK stat go up, though he gets a bit of a severe penalty to his ACCURACY state.

There's not enough snow around for a proper snowball attack this time around. Instead, Wild MAGTOK uses SLUSHBALL! It's like a snowball, only a lot soggier and gross!

[Snowball fight]

Magtok... (takes Slii's lesson and rolls) hits! This time around. Vincent takes moderate damage (due to higher attack) and his SPEED suffers moderately. He'll need to find a way to fix that before the other team starts getting double actions.

Vincent has to change tactics. He tries out CLIMB IN SANTA'S LAP AND BEG FOR PRESENTS. The animation clearly shows that beard pulling will be involved as well.

[happyturtle]

Snowball Fight!

Missy is released from her spell, and able to attack again.

Pulling on Santa's beard? I can't imagine that's still on his face, after previous events. It must have reappeared for the fight screen.

Missy leans in close to Magtok and KISSES SANTA CLAUS. Vincent may be GROSSED OUT! Magtok is likely to get a MORALE BOOST! She even TICKLES MAGTOK UNDERNEATH HIS BEARD SO SNOWY WHITE!

((returning to nap induced deadtime after turtledog induced mealtime and sneak-in-one-post time))

[Mina Kobold]

[Cirrus Street]

Harin nods as well.

"Not in general. It can be a major headache when you're trying to schedule and plan an event, though."

Rahona blinks in surprise.

"Really? Time flexibility made everything much easier ta organise back on All. But A presume time travel a bit rarer here?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Meanwhile...back at the Apartment]

Well, with all the sneaky business sorted out, White has nothing else to do here. So it gives Feia a respectful sort of half-bow and 'ports off to get on with its next duty.

*****

And it's not long after that when Blue comes walking back in, a happy smile on its face, as always.

It's so glad to be helping Mother.

So glad that it gets to be close to her.

Luckiest creation of them all, it might say.

"Delivery completed, Mother! Thank you for letting me be of assistance to you."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Apartments]

Feia never really bothered to address the White creation after its initial report, save to briefly hold up a farewell hand as it bowed out.

She does offer Blue a little smile for greeting though, to continue encouraging its own cheer.
"Thank you dear. I'm not sure I have any other immediately pressing work for you right now, though."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Apartments]

"That's fine, Mother. You've given me more to do in a day than I sometimes get to do in a week!" Blue says gleefully, quite satisfied with having had something to do.

Still, that means it's got to go find something else to do for the time being, and there's only one order on the list from Father. That one, never ending, kinda boring order.

Observing.

Oh sure, it was more fun being able to at least observe Mother rather than anyone else, but it's still just observing.

Can't be helped though. Orders is orders after all.

"If that's all for now though, I guess I should get back to watching you. Would you prefer it if I remained here, or resumed sitting on nearby rooftops?"

[Halae]

Counting Basie

"Ah, but you don't have a cause yet." Wolfy reminds the young godling.

[Counting Basie]

Cosiellio nods, "I know. I understand it's a personal thing, so I can't exactly ask you what I should be, but do you have any suggestions for how I might find out? I'm not really sure where to start."

[Lord Magtok]

Snowball Fight!

Spoiler

Show

[Snowball fight]

Magtok... (takes Slii's lesson and rolls) hits! This time around. Vincent takes moderate damage (due to higher attack) and his SPEED suffers moderately. He'll need to find a way to fix that before the other team starts getting double actions.

Vincent has to change tactics. He tries out CLIMB IN SANTA'S LAP AND BEG FOR PRESENTS. The animation clearly shows that beard pulling will be involved as well.

Snowball Fight!

Missy is released from her spell, and able to attack again.

Pulling on Santa's beard? I can't imagine that's still on his face, after previous events. It must have reappeared for the fight screen.

Missy leans in close to Magtok and KISSES SANTA CLAUS. Vincent may be GROSSED OUT! Magtok is likely to get a MORALE BOOST! She even TICKLES MAGTOK UNDERNEATH HIS BEARD SO SNOWY WHITE!

((returning to nap induced deadtime after turtledog induced mealtime and sneak-in-one-post time))

Vincent successfully BEGS a MagPlush item out of the Wild MAGTOK's inventory! It goes right into Vincent's, where its description explains that it's the perfect item for stunning the egocentric cyborg midbattle!

Additionally, the wild MAGTOK gets a substantial MORALE BOOST from Missy's SANTA CLAUS KISS. He decides to take advantage of this stat jump to attack, with a timely THROW THE PRESENT SACK OVER THE STUPID KID'S HEAD!

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

Snowball Fight!

Missy is released from her spell, and able to attack again.

Pulling on Santa's beard? I can't imagine that's still on his face, after previous events. It must have reappeared for the fight screen.

Missy leans in close to Magtok and KISSES SANTA CLAUS. Vincent may be GROSSED OUT! Magtok is likely to get a MORALE BOOST! She even TICKLES MAGTOK UNDERNEATH HIS BEARD SO SNOWY WHITE!

((returning to nap induced deadtime after turtledog induced mealtime and sneak-in-one-post time))

Snowball Fight!

Vincent successfully BEGS a MagPlush item out of the Wild MAGTOK's inventory! It goes right into Vincent's, where its description explains that it's the perfect item for stunning the egocentric cyborg midbattle!

Additionally, the wild MAGTOK gets a substantial MORALE BOOST from Missy's SANTA CLAUS KISS. He decides to take advantage of this stat jump to attack, with a timely THROW THE PRESENT SACK OVER THE STUPID KID'S HEAD!

Snowball Fight!

Vincent is ICKED OUT. Ewwww. It's gross cause it's not Caroline.

Vincent is BAGNAPPED BY A CREEPY SANTA.

Vincent STRUGGLES this turn, trapped in the bag. Vincent's RAGE METER hits max this turn.

[Terumitsu]

Spoiler

Show

[Outside the Den]

The trip doesn't take overly long, no. Merely towards a bench on the other side, which Kirk had already experienced once.

Seems a somewhat overly similar situation, with Feia sitting on the bench, thumbing through a notebook.
Primary different here, is that she seems to be wearing an eye-patch, and her left arm is completely covered in bandages, which she stylistically decided to wrap around her fingers, all the way up to her shoulder.
Can still move her digits, but it looks neater this way.

Still wearing her black dress.

"Here is the one you sought."
And then the man in the suit collapses into mist, falling to the ground and swirling off towards Feia's feet.

Ghoul would give Feia the once-over glance, checking the person here against the picture she had seen in the files. Call it whatever one wants to call it but it was always nice to be sure who it was one was speaking to. Especially in a situation like this.

A small note appeared in her peripheral vision that said the tracking marker had been activated and Ghoul sent back a quick message for Kirk to read. Some changes in her original plan might have to be made but the main issue here was terrain.

As she was lead over, Ghoul would be keeping a few mental notes on the current configuration of the streets. While it might end up being needless, being prepared for an altercation was never useless. At least she still had her tactical gear on.

Watching the suited man disappear, the muse smirked somewhat, adding a wry comment as well."So, was he talking to me or you when he said that?"

[happyturtle]

Snowball Fight!

Missy calls for a CUT SCENE! She's not the Main Character though, certainly not a side kick, and probably not even a recurring villain. All she can aspire to be is the fanservicey EASTER EGG in that outfit she's wearing. The CUT SCENE ART is well designed to SHOW OFF HER LEGS.

"Do you know where he lives? I guess we should take him back to his parents," Missy says.

Poor Vincent. He has no way of knowing, while inside the bag, if this is one of the brief cut scenes that interrupt phases of the same fight, or if it's the 'you lost the mission and have to start over back at NO' cut scene. HT guesses that it's the former, based on NO being surrounded by icky self-rp potential for Vincent though.

[Rebonack]

[Inside Some Random Empty House]

Utter blackness.

But then, slowly, out of the darkness resolves-

Game ended without saving

Continue from:
>Rick's Home
Last Save
Quit

With a sudden gasp Rick sits bolt-upright in a small bed, his body aching as though he had been immobile for heaven knows how long. Was this his room? Had it all been a dream? A dream about some surreal magical place and a deal with a monster and some kind of-

"Master! It is not being a time for the sleepings!" comes a rather high-pitch, overly enthusiastic voice a good half second before a foot-long lizardy critter adheres itself to the boy's face. "We must be making for the adventures with post hasteness!"

This understandably causes Rick to flail his arms for a few moments before peeling the creature off and peering at it in the flickering fire-light. Small dark blue critter, lighter blue on the under-side. And an odd golden symbol engraved into its forehead. Two nubby golden horns poke out of its head with a matching pair on its shoulder-blades.

"I... you... but-" the lad manages to stammer.

"Master's word-sounds are jumbly!" the lizard observes.

"You're... Myrrh...? It wasn't all a dream then?"

"I am Myrrh! Pleased to be meeting you!"

The lad drops the lizard on the bed next to him and shakily rises to his feet whilst Myrrh attacks a trio of CERAMIC URNS that were most certainly not there previously.

"Smash crash crunchy-bunchy~!"

From the shattered clay remains a trio of cartoony HEARTS drift to the floor only to be gobbled up by the lizard! The lad suddenly feels a lot less wobbly!

Rick has regained TWO HEART(s)!

Heart Containers: {]<3<3<3[}
Magic Decanter: {]XXX[}

[Chaotic Bob]

[Apartments]

Feia stares back down at her clipboard for a moment, somewhat blankly.
Distracted by an errant thought that should not be.

She blinks and smiles again.
"Rooftop if you would. It may keep Remnant off the Professor's back a little longer."
Not entirely sure they wanted in here, if the sorceress remembers correctly.


[Before the Den]

Meanwhile, at an entirely different Feia, or a future-continuity one, a note is made in a notebook, before it is snapped shut.

Setting it next to her and curling up both hands in her lap, Ghoul is fixed with a rather plain stare from her one clear eye.
"It would be a true statement in either direction.
Now, you have been asking a few questions about me. I will make a light assumption that it is not because you wish to go out for tea."

[Lord Magtok]

Snowball Fight!

Mag shrugs. The CUT-SCENE ART does nothing to make him look any friendlier. In fact, it only makes him look even more menacing, and much more deserving of that capture and BOUNTY-SANDWICH Vincent so very much craves. Just a shame Vincent can't see any of it, though. "Nah, I think he got orphaned by an apocalypse or something way back. The goblin guy who runs NO's been his adoptive dad or something, though."

He's personally of the opinion that this ORPHAN ought to be KICKED OFF A BRIDGE, but he doesn't share that particular thought with Missy. Probably for the best, too.

[Rebonack]

[Random Empty House ==> Streets]

The door opens dramatically!

Despite Rick's best efforts to do so in a fairly quiet fashion. Seems like the Protagonist isn't allowed to be covert! At least not in this game!

Out into the snow he goes!

"This is all really weird. Things are starting to come back... But a lot of it feels really blurry..."

"Nyaaar! You did not make a Save Master! That is not a thing to be forgetting!" Myrrh announces as he comes bounding outside right behind Rick in typical 'thing that's in your party' fashion.

The boy stares at the lizard incredulously.

"What are you talking about?"

Heart: {]♥♥♥[}
Magic: {]xxx[}

[Terumitsu]

[Before the Den]

"Tea's never been a thing I could understand. It's kinda silly to dedicate a time of day directly to a single consumable item, I've thought." Ghoul said, continuing the line of small talk before getting down to business.

"Right, well I won't waste either of our time here and get to the point. If you don't already know, Remnant has a bounty on your head. And I've been going around trying to find you so I could turn it in." Ghoul said, probably being the most direct she's ever been during this entire investigation. Probably due to the fact that she doesn't see any profit in beating around the bush in this case.

"Now, the bounty is to bring you in alive. Now, if I can help it, I'd rather this go nice and easy for the both of us so I'm just gonna ask right here and now: Why not consider coming with me so we don't have to mess each other up?" the muse said, a wry grin on her face that said she wouldn't be surprised if Feia denied the option.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Before the Den]

"It is nice to know the various hunters of the Nexus are becoming more straight-forward."
Feia straightens a bit of her dress and frowns.

"Peaceful acquiescence of the hunted is more typically reliant on perception of threat, or for personal negativity.
As I lack the latter, I must ask what makes you think I should possess the former? I have already been assaulted once, today, by two very well seasoned slayers and I do not appear to be afflicted with any permanent damage.

What do you have to offer to elevate yourself beyond that?"

[Gullara]

[Bast's Animal Shelter]

Arel and Reinholdt are arriving back here after making a hasty retreat from the Gambling League of Gambling. The fallen seraph is rather tense and still not entirely in a decent mood, but she's still holding onto Rein's arm, so there's that.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

Snowball Fight!

Missy calls for a CUT SCENE! She's not the Main Character though, certainly not a side kick, and probably not even a recurring villain. All she can aspire to be is the fanservicey EASTER EGG in that outfit she's wearing. The CUT SCENE ART is well designed to SHOW OFF HER LEGS.

"Do you know where he lives? I guess we should take him back to his parents," Missy says.

Poor Vincent. He has no way of knowing, while inside the bag, if this is one of the brief cut scenes that interrupt phases of the same fight, or if it's the 'you lost the mission and have to start over back at NO' cut scene. HT guesses that it's the former, based on NO being surrounded by icky self-rp potential for Vincent though.

Snowball Fight!

Mag shrugs. The CUT-SCENE ART does nothing to make him look any friendlier. In fact, it only makes him look even more menacing, and much more deserving of that capture and BOUNTY-SANDWICH Vincent so very much craves. Just a shame Vincent can't see any of it, though. "Nah, I think he got orphaned by an apocalypse or something way back. The goblin guy who runs NO's been his adoptive dad or something, though."

He's personally of the opinion that this ORPHAN ought to be KICKED OFF A BRIDGE, but he doesn't share that particular thought with Missy. Probably for the best, too.

Snowball Fight

CUT SCENE Vincent is rather hilarious, what with a bag over his head and a slight GLITCH causing his sword and some of his hair to show through it.

Icky self RP dictates something through this though. And Vincent can do one thing in a CUT SCENE that he couldn't before. He gets to pull off a DRAMATIC BAG BURST, busting out of it with a roar of strength and re-initiating BATTLE.

Vincent uses his limit break, HOT COCOA FRENZY, tossing hot cocoa everywhere, drinking some while Magtok and Missy probably get splattered with scalding hot cocoa damage. Vincent's STATS return to normal and he gets healed a tiny bit. Vincent's RAGE METER drops to zero.

[Bast's Animal Shelter]

Reinholdt's not in the best mood himself. He feels awkward and both that the universe conspired against him unfairly and that he screwed up, so isn't even sure who to blame for all this, himself, Libra, or Julie.

"Here we are." He says, rather pointlessly.

[Gullara]

[Bast's Animal Shelter]

Arel sighs. She wishes this whole evening never happened. As futile as that is. "Reinholt? I'm going to change, and I'll come back and we can talk. Okay?" As long as he's okay with that, she's going to go and change out of that skimpy little dress she has on under that cloak.

[Reinholdt]

[Bast's Animal Shelter]

"Okay." Reinholdt says. He's a bit surprised she wants to talk already, rather than turning in for the day and trying to talk about it tomorrow, but he's not about to argue that. Instead, he'll go and sit on the couch and wait, scooping one of the kitties that likes laps and setting it there to pet while he does so.

[Terumitsu]

[Before the Den]

Ghoul's wry grin spread a bit more although it wasn't an expression of mirth. Or, at least not wholly.

"So, I guess this is the part that I start rattling off a bunch of accomplishments that you either don't care about or find paltry. Or maybe I should try and verbally intimidate you and wave this in your face and describe just how grisly it can get at point blank range to someone who's probably got at least one or two countermeasures in place given that you've likely had time to prepare something before I came by. Or maybe I could just assault you here and now but that would completely demean the request of a peaceful resolution in the first place." The muse stopped explaining for a moment to fish out a cigarette and light it up, turning away from Feia just enough so that she wouldn't get hit with the first breath of smoke.

"I could do any number of a dozen useless things. But you know what I'll offer?" Ghoul said, leaning in towards the dragon-witch. "Nothing." the muse said, simultaneously and paradoxically offering what might be a very good reason indeed:

Confidence.

It wasn't the cocky sort that a person would display from over-thinking one's ability or underestimating their opponent. Nor was it the type born of bluster and bluff to try and scare a foe down. In the way Ghoul spoke and moved, the muse carried herself with an air that came from countless altercations, both violent and otherwise. Her motions were carefully gauged so that she had a hand near a weapon at nearly every moment just in case Feia decided to try something. Not out of fear but simple expectation of a possibility. She was well aware of the hex-dragon's abilities or at least her potential and she wasn't trying to overstep her own prowess. She might even have a few plans of her own in place in case things went sour. Whether or not Feia knew of any of them would be a non-issue at this point, though.

Leaning away to breath another blue-grey cloud of smoke into the air, the muse asked, "So, what's your answer"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Before the Den]

"Your neglect is, in itself, an offering."
Careful confidence through such a speech is not so horribly different than the cocky arrogance of a threat.

Merely a different piece of character.

The notebook at Feia's side distabilizing and fades from reality, as the witch pulls a single piece of hair out of her good idea.
"To which, I must reply 'no'."
Quiet, expectant.
An offering for Ghoul to act.

[Gullara]

[Bast's Animal Shelter]

It takes her a while, but Arel returns. She's taken the time to wash her face and put on a clean, white shift. not to mention collect her thoughts. She sits down beside Rein and... realizes she's not sure what to say.

"...I don't really know what I got so upset. I mean, I know why. Just not why I got that upset." She says hesitantly, trying to sort out what she's saying on the fly. She doesn't feel like apologizing, though that could go a long way in helping the situation anyway.