[Nexus] Home 9

[The Alexandrian]

[134 Ninja Drive]

One of the men moves to absorb the brunt of the platform's force with his left shoulder! Colorless blood begins to drip out of his arm before the wounded arm ignites in a potent, demonic flame! With incredible strength, the demon works to attempt to shunt the Punji stick laden platform aside and storm the building, a division of the other demons covering him as he tries to advance!

Clarissa stares at Dave blankly as he fails his attempt to effectively communicate with her again. When Dave springs into action and starts to leave her alone in the dark, presumably, she attempts to latch onto him as she whimpers!

[Mindfreak]

134 Ninja Drive
As the man pushes aside the first trap and runs forward, he'll spring the second, even more deadly trap!
Using a powerful spring, a large web of super sharp wires comes flying towards that first man, having been hidden beneath a piece of fake carpet, like a rat trap being sprung. This will most likely end with him and anyone right next to him being sliced and diced into...cubed human steak.

Dave hears as the second trap is sprung and looks at Clarissa.
"Fine, fine fine! You'll come with me!" he said as she latched onto him.
"Quick, get on my back, we've got to do this quickly, they only have one last trap near the hall of the front door, the rest are in the doorways and in the pantry." he said as he got into a position for her to piggy back ride on him.
He keeps most of the traps disabled, electing to just maneuver guests around the trap's triggers.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"Yes but..." Harnel didn't really think sometimes and if he managed to lose it to someone...

"I guess, but it still feels odd looking at those pictures. It isn't really me." She gives the calendar a final look before turning to the shelves surrounding them. She looks around for a few moments before bending down to pick out a boring-looking book with an old worn brown cover which makes it hard to read the title.

But as Cessie hands it over and she can get a closer look she can make it out.

A anthropological study of the venereal traditions & rituals of the world
By Vimar Händler

The sorceress coughs again, "Don't let the title fool you, it's a rather interesting book actually. I haven't actually read all of it but..." She only seem to get more awkward by the moment. "Maybe I should have that back? It might not be such a good gift after all when I think about it." <.<

[The Alexandrian]

[134 Ninja Drive]

Ouch! Horrible dismemberment occurs! That demon will certainly never be back again. They're all expendable, though.

The other three demons enter the house, stepping around the remains of their comrade. One of them announces something in a terrifying, demonic voice,

"Mistress. We are here to fix you. Lord Marintho has ordained that you should be allowed to flourish, and flourish you shall. Your mortal pet should learn his place."

Clarissa, by this time, has decided that Dave shall not leave her! She attempts to trap Dave in her warm, cuddly, soft wings! She doesn't understand the noises he is making at all. She does detect the demonic presence. Therefore, it's not safe for Dave out there!

[Mindfreak]

134 Ninja Drive
Dave falls to the ground, helpless underneath Clarissa's wings.
Looks like he can't save those people now...

Meanwhile!
The final trap springs!
A compartment in the wall opens and what appears to be a...dog jumps out!
A pit bull to be exact.
It growls menacingly at the men.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura takes the book and reads the title. Hrm, she doesn't understand a couple of those words, time to flip it open. The dryad takes a step away from Cessie when it looks like she wants to take it back, and opens it to a random page.

Sakura's eyes widen. She wasn't expecting that, and there are pictures too. She glances up at Cessie, barely suppressing her laughter. "So is this for keeping things things interesting, like you said before?" She asks, grinning.

[The Alexandrian]

[134 Ninja Drive]

Something alive and moving! Shoot it! The demons attempt to fire at the "pit bull" with their 10mm pistols! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Clarissa shimmers with radiant white flashes of light. She appears to be weaving a strong spell. If all goes well, Dave might find himself teleported out of the area. If that is so, he'll probably arrive at...

[Clarissa's Sanctuary]

A feeling of weightlessness affects both the soul and the body here, or attempts to, at the very least. Light shimmers throughout this holy place, bursting out of nothingness and fading just as fast, like the fleeting light of an imploding star but gentle and soothing to the eye. A structure stands in the midst of this empty space. In the heart of it rests a serene garden, populated by blossoming flowers of gnarled trees hidden away from the eyes of mortals for several thousand years. The vegetation is colored by hues for which people have no words, brilliant colors beyond the limited scope of our vision. Sounds of nature, divine sonatas composed by the gods themselves float through the air, blending with other tones and notes, giving rise to new melodies, each associated with a blessed soul residing in the mortal plane. The structure constructed around this garden, a structure which has always stood and will always stand, a tan shelter, the materials of which stream to the left and to the right like the water of a river skipping down a hill, with windows looking inward on the enchanted garden, rotates slowly seemingly without pattern, until it is observed for a lengthy stint of time, after which method strikes chaos and overtakes it, imparting reason to every motion of the "river." It is a beauteous thing, otherworldly in its every aspect, from it appearance to its inner workings. Never before has a human set foot here. It is unexplored territory untouched by our hands, influenced only by the hands of the divine. A paradise sculpted without ever being sculpted at all. For it has always been and it always shall be.

This is the resting place of the sacred Eternity. Clarissa is her keeper.

And no. This is not Eternity the Object. This is something else entirely.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

The mage holds up her hand as Sakura steps away but can only look as she flips through her secret little book.

Then dryad will be able to see it's rather detailed in it's descriptions and imagery.

Now it's Cessie's turn to blush profoundly. "It... I just read it when I was bored long time ago." She had through Sakura would have blushed when she read it but she just seemed amused.

"It's a very in-dept study..."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura would be blushing, but her blood isn't a dark enough colour for it to show through her skin.

She flips a few pages and blinks. Oh boy, this is rather... wow. "Where in the world did you get a book like this?" Sakura snaps the book closed, looking a bit embarrassed. "You know, you should... let me borrow that sometime. After you show Harnel, of course." She offers the book back.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"That... won't be needed." Cessie replies, still blushing. "Isolde gave it to me years ago, said it was an interesting read. I just read parts of it before I quit. It's really a bit too much for me."

"And... there is another copy of it anyway." She seems to cough a lot today.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura giggles. Okay, so maybe she's gotten a little bit more comfortable with this topic since the first time Cessie tried to talk to her about it. Of course, she's had a lot more experience with it since then.

"Then I'll have to get my hands on that copy." Adir would no doubt think it was a great idea. "We're going to have a couple of happy husbands, aren't we?" Sakura says teasingly.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"I didn't read that book for Harnel's sake Sakura." Cessie says quietly, trying to avoid the awkwardness of this topic. "And I just read it for scholarly reasons until I realized what it really meant." The mage explains, shifting uncomfortably where she stands. "Just don't tell Adir I gave you this book, okay? Tell him you happened to find it laying around."

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura nods, recalling that she already mentioned to him that she got the idea of lingerie from Cessie. She's not good at keeping secrets in general, let alone from Adir.

"Okay, I promise. Just as long as you don't tell Harnel about my present for Adir." She glances at it. She briefly wonders if it'll fit, but it was from a magic bag, so probably.

"Anyway, now that I'm thinking about it, I kinda wanted to start reading more books now that I can. Do you have any books I could borrow that you think I'd like?" Sakura thinks it's about time for a topic change. At the very least to spare Cessie.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"Of course I won't." It's funny how these two trust each other with things not even their husbands get to know.

"As for books, what are you interested in? Fiction? Fact?" Cessie asks, pretty glad to have that taken care of.

[Mindfreak]

134 Ninja Drive
It seems the pitbull is just an ordinary pitbull.
This is because the bullets have no problem killing it at all.
Dave...really ran out of imagination on the traps at the end...

---

Clarissa's Sanctuary
Dave ends up here!
"What." he says as he plops onto his butt.

[The Alexandrian]

[Clarissa's Sanctuary]

Clarissa suddenly pops into existence just above Dave! She's not falling. She's merely hovering inches above him and grinning happily.

"Hi Dave!"

Hey! She can speak again!

"How are you doing? I hope this isn't too much of a strain on your psyche. This is my home! Since your house is kinda being raided right now, I figured we could chill here for a lifetime or two before returning to earth to find you a new one!"

-------
[134 Ninja Drive]

That's a little anticlimactic. A bunch of armed demons just exterminated a pit bull.

They attempt to search the house for signs of Clarissa and Dave. If they find nothing, they will then proceed to attempt to burn the house down to demoralize Dave and smoke out Clarissa!

Luckily, neither Dave nor Clarissa are anywhere near the house anymore (to my knowledge).

It's not the most wonderful time of the year!

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

The menfolk don't need to know everything. *nodnod*

"I'm not really sure, I haven't exactly read a lot you know." Sakura says. "Hm, how 'bout something that you like then?" She suggest.

[Mindfreak]

134 Ninja Drive
The demons might very well be killed by the traps in the doorways before they get a chance to set the place on fire.
Such traps as one that drives a hammer into the person's groin and then slices off their head using wire, a cluster of grenades falling and going off in their face, and an actual pitfall, filled with spikes.
If they manage to circumvent these traps then the house actually explodes.
This is because of something that happened a while ago...

A while ago...
Three dwarves are building Dave's house for the owner before Dave.
"This guy isn't paying enough to make this place explode-proof."
"Shall we take the extra money to fund our guild's pool then?"
"Done."

Back to the present...
The house is exploding rather largely, destroying the back and front yards as well.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"Sakura, I mostly read magical theory and history books from my world, it might not be the best thing to start off on. I do have a story book though if you want. They are children's book however so their perspective might be a bit screwed. I recall one which had the skogrå which basically is a dryad. She seduced woodcutters and took their souls." She smiles slightly. "See what I mean?"

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura laughs. "I can't remember the last time I stole someone's soul." She says jokingly. "But I think a story book will be just fine. I gotta start somewhere. I was thinking about going to the mall sometime to buy some books, but I've been too busy lately. After me and Adir are back from the honeymoon we should go there."

[The Alexandrian]

[134 Ninja Drive]

Even if all of the demons inside of the house die, the one guarding the hostages will attempt to set the house on fire. And then explosion! Boom! All of the demons and captives are dead! Deader than dead dead things!

[Clarissa's Sanctuary]

...

Clarissa hopes that she hasn't finally broken Dave again. His lack of response to her actions is by no means a good sign.

"Um, Dave? Hello! Are you okay? Can you hear me?"

[Mindfreak]

Clarissa's Sanctuary
Dave does look a bit broken.
"My house...it's gone. I can feel it..."
He looked a bit sad about this.
"I-I-I lost all my stuff! The thousands of cookies in the pantry are gone! Everything I owned...is gone..."
Even his motorcycle.
He stands up and looks at Clarissa.
"Who were those guys?"

134 Ninja Drive
Dave's vast collection of illegal Chinese start going off as only one thing remains from Dave's house.
A gleaming black katana falls from the sky and sinks deep into the ground, not a single scratch is on it.

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

Cessie chuckles as well and nods, "Okay, let's give you a story book then. I'm sure it would be interesting for Laela to read. I'll try to pick one without the demonic dryads though." She says with a smile while going back to the shelves, looking for a suitable book.

After a while she returns with with a book with this cover. "Try to read this one, it mostly have troll stories."

[The Alexandrian]

[Clarissa's Sanctuary]

Wouldn't keeping 1000 cookies in a pantry at one time ensure that most of them would be stale?

"That may be a good thing. The last thing we need is for you to come down with a bad case of diabetes."

Clarissa quips, attempting to offset the overall negative feelings that might emerge from the destruction of one's home.

"Those goons belonged to Lord Marintho, my arch-nemesis. He's trying to plunge the world into a greater state of chaos subtly and slowly."

"..."

"He's also...sort of...kind of...my...my boss."

Awkward!

[Lady Serpentine]

Riv's Fortress

"Good to see there's at least a few brain cells rattling around in your skull. Take her away, an try not to damage her." This last is directed to Icarus, who goes to pick up the unconscious girl, sling her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold and carry her out of the room.

"Now, to business. Business never seems to end around here. Grabbing a chair, Riv takes a seat, scowling as he flips open his notepad and scribbles something down. "Now, in case you were uninformed, there is a town about so far away from this miserable mountain. I won't tell you the name cause yer smart in the way stupid people can find it in em to be very clever when said wit is for the purpose of perpetrating more stupidity, that is, I don't want you tracking me. Said town is under assault, with lots of innocent boys and girls getting cut up into lots of little bits, this ugly **** being the perpetrator." Riv holds up the notebook so Rael can see, displaying a crude drawing of Javert. And by crude, I mean third-grade level art. Riv isn't exactly an artist.

"Now, I want whatever you can tell me bout him, be honest now, starting with whether or not he's one of your assassin buddies."

[Riv's Fortress]

The girl, who has a name, but I don't remember it, is probably carried off without difficulty, unless Icarus would be unable to do so for some reason.

Rael scowls, dissaproving of the methods that are apparently being used.

"I've never seen him. That doesn't, of course, mean that he's not, simply that I'm not aware of it. Though I admit, it's certainly the simplest reason for him to be doing this, Occam's razor seems to be rather in need of sharpening around here. And considering that people can get sucked in from other worlds to anywhere, there is the possibility that he's simply a random killer who happened to warp in, though it's a slim one."

[Talnissa's]



She's successful, and Kara relaxes against her girlfriend, sighing happily as she returns the kiss. Her expression being one of pure bliss and happiness.

[Talnissa's]

Talnissa's expression is much the same, and she will, very likely, hold the kiss until Kara breaks off.

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

Sakura takes the book and looks it over. "Thanks, Cessie. This'll be great. Too bad it'll be a long time before Laela can read." She pauses thoughtfully. "Maybe when she's a bit older I can start reading to her."

[Mindfreak]

Clarissa's Sanctuary
This is the Nexus!
I'm sure technology to store the cookies from Dave's cookie baking habitats is advanced!
How the heck do you have a crazy man for a boss? I thought you were working at AMEN!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Mithar Keep]

"I'm sure she would love that. I remember being read to when I was just a few years old by Millie our maid." She replies. "I'm sure Laela can learn to both read and write quite quickly once she's born. You did didn't you? Even if you had some help."

[Murkus]

[Fettina's Suite]

Evan just grins, and will give her a kiss on the lips, before pulling away, "We should probably eat breakfast before getting too far with stuff like this. Have to keep our energy up, after all."

"That's what I have drugs for." Tina says, picking up what looks like a glass of wine and swirling it in front of Evan. Her myriad addictions and alcoholism may or may not surprise Evan much at this point. Though she never seems to have backlash from it - no mood swings, no ticks, no erratic or unsettling behavior.

"Speaking of which, how was that dormamine?"

[Gullara]

[Mithar Keep]

"I kinda cheated though. Oh! I never told you about that. It was this store in Mallside where they do stuff with memories. They gave me all Adir's memories of how to read and write. It was kinda weird, but handy." Sakura says.