Skyside 6: Return of the Cheddar

[Rebonack]

[Silken Whisper, inside]

Inside the building.

Not to be confused with an Inside annex of Silken Whisper.

This kind of nonsense probably wouldn't fly in Inside to begin with.

Regardless!

Zee will neatly aim to end the development of the second gene-stealer. Because the last thing the Nexus needs is monsters running around and thievin' people's trousers. And as with the first girl she'll neatly sever the chains. Shape yields to her will, and the shape of not particularly well made chains typically aren't an exception to that rule.

Unlike the slave girls, Zee isn't particularly concerned about chain swords. She's more concerned with making sure everyone is disinfected. And... possibly with freeing several slaves. Typically people that are chained to things aren't particularly willing participants.

She'll turn her attention to her surrounds. Any more infected slaves? If not, they can start getting out of here before the proprietors show up and start getting all shooty about things.

[Shadowcaller]

[Stromulus Manor- Common Room]

Who says anything about abandoning things? I'm well aware of your job, Anri. However, being a citizen of Skyside you must be aware of the concept of working two jobs. If this Brag have been able to run it the library your absence for so long then surely he can run it for you a few days a week once you return to your duties. Ultimately however, it's up to you and miss Jones to decide when and how you're going to assists her so you would need to take that up with her, not me. If you can't work out some kind of deal we simply have to find another way to solve it.
Now, as for what your body will look like that will be yet another thing you will be discussing with miss Jones. It's not like I would create a completely new body without any feedback from the person that's supposed to inhabit it. Why don't you come down to laboratory 36B? I'll mark it on your map. Please join us as soon as possible.

Anri have had an app downloaded to her phone which shows her around the manor, including functions which lets her order what she wants for dinner, breakfast, etc. for the day. What clothes she likes to wear and so on. The manor is really like a luxurious hotel where most things she wants are simply served on a silver platter to her.

[Deathkeeper]

[Stromulus Manor- Common Room]

I...could probably do that. We'll discuss it. With that, Anri skitters off to find this lab. At least Tellysandra was kind enough to give her a map with the place being as big as it is.

[UncleWolf]

Manor Lab

Anri will find the lab unlocked and open for her passage when she eventually gets there. Even before she enters, she'll hear some music playing within as someone is indeed inside prepping for her arrival. Inside, Norael Jones is shuffling around and looking quite groggy as she boots up machinery, a projection system, and lights a few candles that smell of bourbon. The angel had no mouth, but she'd be damned(ironically) if she wasn't going to enjoy a favorite drink somehow even if it meant just exposure to the scent. She pulls a large tablet out from inside her labcoat and gestures at a large console in the center of the room. "Please, step towards it and we'll get started on getting some rough ideas of what you'd like in a body."

When the last of the files is all opened and set, she shuffles towards the console herself, bunny slippers leading the way.

[Deathkeeper]

[Manor Lab]

Anri nods. The angel certainly looks odd, but Anri is no one to talk in that department.
"I'd like the necessities. I want my full biological functions back. Not breathing, sleeping, or eating isn't what people make it out to be." she says as she steps to the console. She suspects Norael knows a bit about some of that.
"Otherwise...I suppose it needs to be capable of using my powers, but I don't have a lot of technical demands. Other than being a good deal less ridiculous than I am now."

[UncleWolf]

Manor Lab

"Basic biological functions, alright." Norael makes a note before pulling up an alarmingly large list of body traits and features and sliders for Anri to peruse. "Here though. Take the tablet and just take a long few moments to decide. You might not become a literal elf or tiefling for example, but you can at least look like one if you'd prefer. Simpler will be easier, but I've got enough knowledge and help to make most any form you'd like given enough time and patience. True to her word, it's almost like a video game program. Dozens of options and sliders and it is likely somewhat overwhelming. Again though, take your time. It's an important decision. If nothing else, give me us a few options as to what you'd like."

[Shadowcaller]

[Manor Lab]

"You're going to give Jones a lot more to do with all these requests, Anri." Archwarlock Tellysandra saunters into the room with a cup of coffee followed by her two guardian drones. "A homunculus body that copies the biological needs of humans would either have to be grown from an embryo or we'd use an already dead body. I mean, I know people who can do that sort of thing but it'd a mundane body without any powers." She takes a sip from her coffee mug and takes a seat. "Other than that, you should probably be more specific about what you actually want to look like unless you want miss Jones to just copy your current frame minus the lower body."

[Deathkeeper]

[Manor Lab]

Anri's unexpressive face doesn't register how overwhelmed she is by all these options.
"Well, I would certainly like to be at least normal height, maybe even on the tall side. Just human is fine by me. I don't have anything against inhuman features if they're necessary to properly manifest my heritage, but I don't think I particularly need anything like that. Though I was quite fond of my orange eyes. Honestly? I would be perfectly happy looking like I did before, maybe a bit taller and prettier. It doesn't need to require what humans need, but right now I can't do what I did before whether I want to or not." She does her best to reconstruct her old looks with the sliders, not being very good at it.
"Is all of this really simpler than breaking the curse on me?"

[UncleWolf]

Manor Lab

"Do you know why I'm an angel? I tried to break a curse and it went terribly terribly wrong." Norael explains. "Perhaps that isn't her experience, but it is mine. And there's a variety of other ways to grow bodies, but it'd take a while. Though instead the body could just convert fuel to power without a biological basis." She offers. ""You're wanting a living body stitched together by magic and power. If you want something stitched together by science alone, it will take longer. It's not exactly difficult either way though. Just exceedingly time consuming."

[Shadowcaller]

Manor Lab

"That curse was my bad admittedly. I had intended as a little ironic thing for what one of KABAL's associates had set me up to. But it got way out of hand when the recipient of the curse sought out miss Jones to have her dispel it..." Tellysandra shrugs. "I'm just glad it seems to have worked out in the end but your cursed friend should know that I'm still open to decurse you two should she come around to it." She gestures at Nora and then quickly turns to Anri. "I know you're not asking for my opinion in this but there's a lot of possibilities here that I wouldn't just dismiss. For one, a way to make sure this doesn't happen again and secondly more means to protect yourself. If this idiot you described is still out there you ought to be careful Anri. After all, skyside have no shortage of violent idiots."

[Deathkeeper]

[Manor Lab]

Anri waves a hand.
”Fine. Listen. I just want to be able to feel things and move air with my mouth and taste things and not be conscious if I don’t want to. The body doesn’t need to need all that physically but I need it psychologically.”
A lot of what Tellysandra just said is extremely worrying but Anri just has to keep going and pretend it wasn’t.
”Are you suggesting we find a way to make the body curse-proof? And...tough? I don’t think I’ve ever really been tough. Though I guess I am rather durable at present.”

[Arkhosia]

Spoiler

Show

[Knife to Meet You, Alleycat]

As much as she tried to brace herself for any follow-up, Elizabeth was far from a fighter. So she was unable to pull away from Fidelia as she was grabbed by the collar of her hoodie, and didn't even see the punch coming. She felt it though, a burst of blinding pain that left her winded and gasping. In no state to continue resisting with any real strength, she quickly found herself shoved against a wall. To her ever-growing panic the catgirl saw her quarry draw a knife, suddenly aware that she had clearly bitten off far more than she could chew.

"Ngnh f-[FORK]… I-I, w-woahhh, calm down, I didn't... gah, mean any harm, I was just..." She gulped nervously, both panic and fear evident in her eyes at the abrupt way the tables had turned. Elizabeth desperately tried to find an excuse or alternate phrasing for just why she had been chasing the woman. "I thought you were... u-uh, someone that... that I knew who um... owed me something! But you don't. Err, you're not them, I mean... just please don't hurt me." She shot another panicked glance at the knife and then back up at 'Mara'. Her excuse was weak, so obviously just her clutching at straws in an effort to get out of this, but what was she supposed to do? Admit to the angry girl with a knife that she was trying to follow her home and potentially rob her??.

Shanks for the Meowmeries

Fidelia's eyes narrow as she stares into Elizabeth's face, studying motion that flits across it. Her own gaze is cold and flinty, hiding as much as she can manage from showing in her hazel eyes. She doesn't exactly buy this strange lady's explanation, and attempts to unravel just how much of it is fabrication. "And just who did you think I was," she demands, putting a little pressure to emphasize it.

[Hattish Thing]

[Thunderhead District - Streetfight]

Calm Reed moves up to help the man stand, which is considerably easier for her than for Carlie. Either she had the same plan or caught on to Carlie's, but either way she seems to understand.

"We can help you get there."

Fortunately, the injured man remains just coherent enough to provide ample directions. After a brisk walk through the garbage-lined streets of the company town, the agents will find themselves just outside of a small medical ward based out of what appears to have once been a movie theater.

As the pair venture within, a pair of nurses come to take the man away. In the meantime, a front desk clerk attempts to approach the two.

"I'll need you to fill out some paperwork. What... what happened?"

[Thunderhead District - Streetfight]

The pregnant woman does her best to help the man up. "Company hospital? Like, this company? Olympian...whatever?" she asks.

Of course, being pregnant makes it harder for her to help somebody stand. "Which way is it?"

She turns to Calm Reed, wondering if she's making the same mental connection: getting into a company hospital would be a great place to ask about disappearances.

[Thunderhead District - Olympian Extractions]

Magtok stares blankly at the attendant, utterly dumbfounded. ID? Did this...did this peasant just ask him for identification? Is it not immediately obvious just from looking at him that this is the Lord Magtok, formerly the most powerful and influential man in the entire Nexus? Good gods, it's one thing to not be famous and powerful anymore, but people should at least still have the capacity to look at him and immediately recognize that he's not the sort of blue-collar schmuck who bothers with mundane, insipid nonsense like identification, Raptor Christ, we need to hurry up and get involved in a major faction war or save the world or take over a city or something; this whole anonymous stranger thing is really starting to grate on the nerves.

"I'm Magtok. Your boss, the big guy in the suit? He invited me up here, told me to have a look around and visit. Called me the 'real McCoy,' whatever the hell that means," he answers, radiating immense distaste for having to explain himself like this to anyone. In fact, if he still had a few drones to spare, he'd fly right over this stupid gate and let them shoot all they want, flipping all of these security people both birds as their bullets do little more than add a few measly dents and cracks to the drone body's iron carapace. That would show them for having the audacity to speak to us like this.

The attendant blinks a few times before pursing her lips. For a brief second, she considers pushing the big red button underneath her stall. She'd always wanted to do that. However, if she ended up calling security on someone important enough to be invited into the plant personally, the consequences would be severe.

With a sigh, the attended merely dials a number into her phone and raises a hand towards Magtok.

--

A brief phone call later, the front gates leading into the factory courtyard open wide. A shuttle of some sort rolls around a corner within, before parking just inside. A small, painfully nondescript man in a suit waves towards the cyborg from within the shuttle.

"Hello, hello!"

[5a Violista]

[Company Town]

Carlie starts filling out the paperwork.

"A bunch of guys were attacking him," she says to give off the gist of the situation.

She gestures at Calm Reed. "She'll be better at explaining it." Since Calm Reed got closer to the situation.

[Lord Magtok]

Thunderhead District - Olympian Extractions

A brief phone call later, the front gates leading into the factory courtyard open wide. A shuttle of some sort rolls around a corner within, before parking just inside. A small, painfully nondescript man in a suit waves towards the cyborg from within the shuttle.

"Hello, hello!"

Magtok waves to the generic stranger as he approaches the shuttle. "Hi, Magtok. The boss guy told me to come here, but it wasn't until I got to the gate that I realized he never actually told me his name, so..."

So if this is truly a company run by an Olympian god, that must make this besuited man...Polyphemus, right? Poseidon's son, and one of the most famous of the sea god's offspring. The big guy we met at the start of all of this, that's obviously Poseidon, right? Big genial man, with dark storms hidden in those spooky eyes. Poseidon's the god who makes the most sense, yeah. Certainly not Hephaestus, that's for sure. The CEO might have a cane, but Magtok would've noticed if there was an ugly limp and hideous face to go along with it, and there most certainly was not.

[Hattish Thing]

]Thunderhead District - Olympian Extractions]

With a perfectly corporate smile upon his unremarkable face, the suited man reaches over to pop open the shuttle door nearest to the cyborg. "Why don't you have a seat, sir!" He makes a point of checking a large watch worn around his wrist. "Would you look at that! Already behind schedule!" He chuckles nervously before patting the cushioned seat beside him, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Not a problem, not a problem! Just get on in, and we'll be right on our way, won't we!" The man wipes away the sweat of his brow before rubbing his hands together. "We can talk on the way!"

Assuming that Magtok gets in, the man in the suit offers a sweaty hand to shake before responding properly. "Ah, you mean the boss boss! Why, he goes by M.H. nowadays! At that, he'll tap hard at the pedal, causing the shuttle to rocket forward towards the factory.

"You've a scheduled tour it seems! Good for you!"

[Morty]

[Company Town]

"Yes, it was a simple enough situation," Calm Reed says, looking down at the clerk. "Two men were savagely beating him, one with a club. They might have killed him if we had not stepped in."

[UncleWolf]

Manor Lab

Norael continues to jot down some notes, but after a moment of consideration she stops and rubs her chin. "There is an alternative I'm not sure has been considered yet, though it might perhaps be a bit too squeamish for you." She tells Anri. "Cadavers. Bodies are donated to science all the time and it shouldn't be too difficult to get our hands one in an approximate size and shape that you'd like." She raises a hand to soothe any qualms. "The reason I bring it up is because it cuts the work down by easily three-quarters AND provides the entire basis of what you'd like. The most complicated part isn't even breathing life into the body. It'd be replacing the brain to be a receptacle for your consciousness. And before asked, I can't revive the soul anyway so I can't really bring the person back from the dead. I can bring the body back, but not the person. YOU can be the person instead and I can spend more of my time sculpting the flesh as you'd like."

[Lord Magtok]

]Thunderhead District - Olympian Extractions]

With a perfectly corporate smile upon his unremarkable face, the suited man reaches over to pop open the shuttle door nearest to the cyborg. "Why don't you have a seat, sir!" He makes a point of checking a large watch worn around his wrist. "Would you look at that! Already behind schedule!" He chuckles nervously before patting the cushioned seat beside him, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. "Not a problem, not a problem! Just get on in, and we'll be right on our way, won't we!" The man wipes away the sweat of his brow before rubbing his hands together. "We can talk on the way!"

Assuming that Magtok gets in, the man in the suit offers a sweaty hand to shake before responding properly. "Ah, you mean the boss boss! Why, he goes by M.H. nowadays! At that, he'll tap hard at the pedal, causing the shuttle to rocket forward towards the factory.

"You've a scheduled tour it seems! Good for you!"

M.H.

Great. That tells us literally nothing. This cagey **** doesn't even have a real name, just a pair of letters. Of course, that just means Magtok is even more convinced that the 'boss boss' must be some Greek god. Why else would he be so secretive about his own identity, right? Definitely a deity of some sort. Thanatos, perhaps? This whole district seems designed to kill people, right? Certainly not Hades, though. M.H. doesn't seem anywhere near gloomy and moody enough for Hades to be the logical choice.

"Listen, if anyone asks, the delays are my fault," he insists, as his cold chrome fingers cling tightly to the shuttle's interior, more than a little unsettled by their abrupt lurch forward. This sweaty, nervous corporate drone clearly has enough to worry about without getting in trouble for falling behind schedule, and we probably could've saved time by being more diplomatic at the gate, right? "Magtok, that's me, got caught in some traffic before he got to Thunderhead. Another skytaxi broke down and crashed in the middle of the road, so I had to take another route. I'll explain that to anyone who needs to hear it," he offers, even if he's almost certain it's a complete waste of time to be making promises like that. A place as ugly and awful as this has to be actively trying to be this bad, right? Management isn't going to let an outsider take the blame when they have footsoldiers like this sweaty wretch to step on instead.

[Shadowcaller]

Manor Lab

With a short 'tsk' Telly shows just how much Nora's corpse idea displeases her.
Then she takes another sip from her mug as Anri is talking.
But as Anri finishes, she decides to actually voice her opinion before Nora can reply. "If that's what Anri wants to do, I can't stop her. What I'm saying is that you should avoid thinking small. I mean, sure. You might be satisfied with exactly what you had right now with all these weird changes you've been subjected to. But I'm just saying that in this instance you can both have the cake and eat it. Like, some djinn are able to shapeshift so if we could fix you up with that kind of body..." She makes a dismissive gesture at Nora. "-using whatever method you prefer. You could look like both like yourself and exactly what you want to look like. It might be the same, it might not. You can find out for yourself is what I'm saying. Options are rarely a bad thing. Not to mention things like flight and teleportation which are common abilities among djinn. Imagine skipping the daily commune you people have to go through. I'd sell my soul for that if I hadn't already." Telly smiles as if making a joke though it's hard to tell if she actually is.

[Deathkeeper]

[Manor Lab]

Anri's face is as unreadable as ever, but from the way she's squirming she isn't happy with the idea of inhabiting a corpse either.
"Well...yes, perhaps but...I am not a fully-blooded djinn. At least I don't think so; frankly I have no idea what I am at the moment. Some fey was convinced I was one of them anyway. But ah, how would you even make a body for me capable of doing all that? It sounds...very complicated. And long. And I would like to continue being a glorified vending machine for as little time as possible. But if you want to try using some power of mine on it, you're welcome to try." she says, turning to Nora.

[Earl of Purple]

The Silken Whisper Outside

The Luxan approaches Minerva, followed by the Kroot. Most of the customers have filtered away, and some of the girls have gone with them. "Izzit safe for us to reopen the place yet? Time's money, and we're losing a lot right now." The alien bartender isn't intimidated by Minerva's faceless helmet and powered armour; though wearing no armour of his own, he's got a Qualta blade at his hip and Luxans are tall and powerfully built. Plus he's got the Kroot backing him up, with the bladed rifle held in sinewy limbs capable of movement far faster than most would expect.

The Silken Whisper Inside

There's one more infected girl, but she's slightly further along- she was infected a few days ago, and currently she's cowering in another room, this one also occupied by a customer- a horned Zabrak holding a cut-down blaster rifle, pointed at the door.

The girl Zee has just freed is getting dressed, in a mix of her clothes and those of the hybrid killed on the stairs. Mostly the latter, as she didn't have much to wear. She also takes the chainsword, though she looks a little scared still.

[Shadowcaller]

The Silken Whisper Outside

As Minerva hears the xeno asking her that question she's once again reminded by the many reasons she wore a face-concealing helmet. Right now however she was most grateful that it concealed her distaste of having to interact with these creatures, to exist in their presence without purifying them in a rain of bolter fire.

Still, this was for the greater good of mankind.
A term Minerva would never consider using if she knew about the tau and their culture.

"I don't know." She admits while making sure her weapon was visible so they didn't forget who was in charge. "My... associate is still scanning the building for infected. It's crucial we get them all before people start moving about. Otherwise this place could be shut down for good if they know what awful diseases that lurk around here." That was putting it lightly. She wouldn't mind this place getting destroyed but she wouldn't give the useless biomass that these xenos were made up of the far more dangerous xeno's. It was a question of practicality.

She then once more turns to Zee. "So? Is there anything else here? Take a walk around the place to make sure."

[UncleWolf]

[Manor Lab]

"Well, I can try to make your magic capable in a new body, but that is entirely dependent upon the source of your magic, whether it is from the body, the mind, or soul." Norael explains. She's a bit peeved that no one seems truly willing to work with the cadaver idea. She thought it'd been rather clever! "What I mean is that if it is a matter of your soul being a conduit or it being a result of mind over matter, then it ought to work in any body I make. But if it springs from the current body you inhabit, or is possible through a quirk of your anatomy, then it might not work at all or require a fair bit of pieces transported over to make such magic conductive in a new body. Does that make sense?" She asks. "Do you know which it comes from?"

[Rebonack]

[Silken Whisper]

"I've got one more," Zee calls down to the sister of battle. "I'll be done in a moment."

Okay.

Two people alive in that room. One some dude with horns and a weapon pointed at the door. Zee would really rather not get shot. Now, granted, dealing with hot stuff is something she's well equipped for. She's shoved her arm into molten metal before with no real ill effect after all. That's just how dragons do. But if the guy inside starts shooting then he might hit one of the slave girls and that would be bad. Zee would rather conserve her stores of Glory as much as possible and doing a patch job on blaster wounds wouldn't be great.

Sure she would still do it.

But that might mean she runs dry when an adult gene-stealer is trying to eat her face.

And Zee likes her face uneaten.

So she knocks on the door.

"Hey. The girl you're in there with has a infection that I need to clear up. You might, too. It's important that this contagion isn't allowed to spread," she calls out to the occupant. Hopefully he's more inclined to be talky than shooty.


[Doom Door]

There's a door in the ceiling of a noodle stand.

This is quite odd, since the door wasn't there yesterday. This is also odd because the ceiling is a sheet of corrugated metal that shouldn't be wide enough to accommodate said door.

The door in question is ornate and polished, carved from slabs of oak and bound in thick bronze bands. Its surface is paneled, depicting twisted hedges of climbing pants, shrubs, frolicking woodland animals, and playful children. The scene grows more sinister should one look more closely, however. The children and animals show signs of fear and seem to be fleeing from something unseen. A heavy brass ring hangs from the door, dangling from the mouth of a fearsome brass lion head.

"So what's up with the door?" asks a regular customer, pointing at the door with her chopsticks.

"Beats me," replies the insectile noodle stand owner. "It was here when I opened up this morning."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it."

[bc56]

Doom Door

One of the noodle stand's customers looks up at the door. She's a woman in her mid 20s, rather plain looking except for her short white hair, and her dress, tight-fitting, short-skirted, black with white triangular patterns on her front, and creamy white with circular patterns on her back. She peers at the door through her rectangular glasses curiously. That looks new and interesting, and she loves learning. Probably much to the surprise of the vendor and the other customers, she jumps out of line and climbs onto the side of the stand to get a good look at the door. Neither her shoes, which are low spike heels, nor gravity seem to be any hindrance to her.

[Rebonack]

[Doom Door]

"Hey hey whaterya doin'?" the noodle stand owner hollers when one of the customers suddenly scrambles up onto the counter. Thankfully there aren't too many random objects to knock over, otherwise the noodle-vendor probably would have been far more upset than he is right now.

What if someone's bowl of noodles had been upended?

Why, that would be an unforgivable crime.

The door is quite an artistic work, carved with painstaking detail. This close to the door, one can feel an almost electrifying sense of potential radiating from it.

There could be anything behind it!

Or it could just open to a view of the condensers above the noodle shop dripping water.

That's also a possibility.

At least, that's what should be on the other side of the door.

But there's a strange certainty that should one open it, one would find somewhere else completely.

"Hey! Are you listening? Get off the counter!" the noodle vendor yells.

[bc56]

Doom Door

"Sorry sir! I'll be just a moment!" The woman responds, walking up one of the beams supporting the roof as if it were a tightrope, up to the door, which she grabs and attempts to open. One might have surmised by now that she's not exactly... Human. They'd be right.

[Rebonack]

[Doom Door]

By now the noodle vendor is beyond trying to stop the odd woman. She isn't kicking over his noodles so who cares?

And so she grabs the bronze ring in the lion's mouth and-!

"Oow! Hey? Grr! Who's there?" the bronze lion growls, suddenly quite animate.

Apparently it is pretty good at speaking around a great big ring in its mouth.

"Hmm? What are you doing, yanking on me? What do you want, huh? You wanna go through the door? Well if you do then you're going to have to answer a riddle first!"

Oh.

Huh.

A riddle, is it?

Apparently one has to start by solving a puzzle before even beginning their adventure.

[bc56]

Doom Door

"What is it?" The woman asks, curiosity obvious in her eyes. "I love riddles!" And poems, and puns, and stories, and pretty much anything else that can be written down. She leaves the noodle vendor to his business. She has more interesting things to do now than buy noodles.