Random Plots and Places 9: What a crazy, random happenstance!

[Ionbound]

[The Palace of Orochi]

Helen nods and says, "I see...Just curious...What happens if we 'incarnate' here? Other than being bound here. Do we lose our minds?"

[Lost_Deep]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Cerise smirks and chuckles

I'm not offended in the slightest. With all due respect, ma'am, we're an army: we have spent years training and drilling so everybody knows their part better than they know their parents. I appreciate your letting me know your feelings on the matter...

she looks pointedly at Caroline

And you're not coming either, Lady Caroline. Basic training takes three years, and neither of you has been through it.

Caravan nods. "What shall we do in the meantime, then?"

[Fenric]

[The Palace of Orochi]

Orochi shakes his head

As you are right this moment, you would remain: the problem that you would face is that you could not go back.

Frederick sighs

So hardly the end of the world, but pretty annoying. So what will cause it?

Orochi nods, then explains

If you drain either emotions or strength from a living person, you will immediately be trapped and it will be nearly impossible to be cured. If you have willing physical relations with a native shadow, you will be trapped but may be able to be cured. If you spend more than a continuous week in the wilds, you will be trapped but can be cured. None of these are of particular concern, particularly since you two are already a couple.

He looks serious

But if you use more shadow energy in a day than you can recover during that day, you will consume part of your mortal self. This can be very difficult to detect until it is already too late, and it cannot be cured. So if you start to feel tired, stop immediately - do not push yourselves.

[Lord Magtok]

[Marvel NYC]

"I can't use magic like that!" Geneva answers as she dodges a plasma blast and retorts with a lightning bolt, frying the drone's plasma gun. And the rest of the drone. "I'm familiar with the theoreticals of unicorn magic, but I don't actually have the ability to cast it!"

Turns out those particular parts of the robot-brain were being avoided for a reason.

It's because they explode when they get shot.

"You can not defeat me! I am Ultroooo...."

And then you know what happens?

The two hundred foot tall robot doesn't fall over.

Thank God for gyroscopes.

All the drones shut down, though. You would think Ultron would have the sense to make the things autonomous. Apparently not.

A cheer rises from the Avengers! Victory!

Magtok emerges, shortly after smearing some oil on a cheek to make sure he looks properly weathered and worn from his scuffle in Ultron's head. He rides his drone all the way back to the ground, descending towards the Fantastics and Nexusians. He'd rather not land near too many Avengers; he hasn't met them, and would rather not be mistaken for some mad tinker who'd been piloting the giant Ultron thing all this time.

[Rebonack]

[Marvel NYC]

For the sake of brevity, here's how things go down.

Reed explains who our heroes are and where they came from. Some are fascinated, some apathetic to the existence of yet another reality, and others are on edge. It's quickly decided that Reed and Geneva's plan regarding the portal is the safest course of action. Krystal will get as many autographs as she likes and the chance to strike a pose with the Avengers when the press shows up to begin taking pictures. Geneva gets into an absolutely hilarious argument about magic with Doctor Strange and seems really disappointing to discover that he's a neurosurgeon rather than having a doctorate in thaumatology. Malice will be given a few Ultron drones of his very own and he'll even get to keep the giant laser cannon so long as he keeps his mouth shut about it. Finally the portal to the Nexus will be moved to the Avengers Tower (the Baxter Building needs some serious repairs), the portal opened, and our heroes given transponders that will inform the Avengers that they're coming through.

Wouldn't want to splat on the shielded Marvel side of the portal, now would they?

Most importantly, the transponders will allow the portal in the comic book shop to be opened at will.

Well!

Wasn't that an adventure!

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Caravan nods. "What shall we do in the meantime, then?"

Verise gestures toward the building they are nearing

The base is fairly well appointed: we would love you both to be our guests tonight, and tomorrow you can watch from the command center.

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

Carvan nods. "Is there somewhere for my Limo to park for the forseeable future?"

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Verise looks over at Blacktop

The main hangar has plenty of room for ground vehicles, I'm sure we can find somewhere safe for it. The Ironstars are all already off in the machine shed or final loading. It'll just have Caroline's antique tank for company

Caroline smiles

Katrina is very fond of that tank, you know.

[Ionbound]

[The Palace of Orochi]

Helen nods and says, "I see. Okay...So, don't drain people, don't have sex with a native," She gives Frederick a meaningful look as she says this and continues, "Don't spend too long in the wilds, and don't use too much Shadow Magic at once. Alright. I got it."

[5a Violista]

[Mirror, Mirror]

Harley also gets farther away.

The crack can be made between the stones, in the mortar.

After it explodes, it shakes lots of the stones and they fall. So does a lot of dirt. Above the dirt, a little bit of cement cracks; enough for water to begin pouring down, making a mess of the mud - and, because the flowing water continues to weaken the cement, sunlight also peeks through.

Eventually, the water will stop but for several minutes it'll just slow down to a trickle.

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

"Oh?" Caravan asks, a smile crossing her face, "that sounds like a story!"

Blacktop will head off in the direction of the garage. Time for a nap.

Or whatever it is that Transformers do all night. Maybe they just play app games or something.

[Fenric]

[Palace of Orochi]

Orochi nods. Frederick's ears fold down in brief embarrassment

I wasn't planning on cheating!

then he nods

I got it: we follow the rules, and it won't be any trouble. I don't think it's going to be a problem.

Orochi smiles and snaps his finger. A shadowy servant comes quickly

Very good. Karick here will show you to your room. Dinner is in an hour, then afterwards we can retire to the library for some theoretical foundations.

---

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

Caroline chuckles but also looks sad. Verise laughs

This silly Tenjin has been stirring up trouble forever, but this time he's made quite a pest of himself. He sent assassins to the Vulpan's home world, and they killed Caroline's little sister... really awfully, as I've heard. Well, it turns out the temple had some old relic equipment of ours: three large walkers and a tank.

The temple engineer, a gnome named Kira, came to us and asked for help: and we were more than happy for the chance, let me tell you! We hopped out in the 'Fury and gave them a quick lesson. Then we picked them up and carried them to Riverside. They pottered around for a bit, Katrina drove the tank like a pro and Caroline here was the gunner. Things looked like they might get out of hand when Tenjin's ugly Messenger showed up, but then Caroline here droped a plasma charge right on top of their miserable little excuse of a temple! Two and a half tons worth of explosive power makes a proper mess of a temple complex - it was beautiful.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Marvel New York

Krystal stands near the portal now, a small backpack she got from Spider-Man on her back. Inside is a huge collection of signatures. She was gonna frame them all and hang them on her walls back at VIGIL.

She also spent some time on the phone with her parents, telling them what happened. They were gonna find out when they saw the news, anyways.

Krystal also gave the appropriate praise to MagtokMalice for finishing off the big Ultron. Though she still doesn't want to call him by his new name.

Now she simply waits to return to the Nexus with her two companions.

Mirror, Mirror

Darsy watches the water slow down and gives a slight sigh of relief. Continuous water would've been a bad thing.

Once the water stops, she'll approach the pile of stuff they were gonna use to climb out.

Alright, I got the light, so you two up first.

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

"Ahh. Suffice to say I can appreciate such a strong reaction. Many people aren't willing to take extreme steps when they're needed. There are times when compromise isn't worth the trouble. Sometimes, you even need to sacrifice your public image to do what needs to be done."

Caravan nods.

"However, in those situations you ideally hire mercenaries, give them vague instructions, and then just close your eyes and let plausible deniability take care of the rest."

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Caroline blushes

I didn't know about the Vulpine base... nobody ever told me.

Verise nods

That's why we quietly re-possessed the equipment rather than let them take it back to the temple. It's clearly our stuff and has an old version of our markings: it'll be hard for anyone to blame anyone except us - and best of luck with that!

Caroline finally puts the pieces together

Oh... Thank you so much.

Verise smiles

Just doing my duty, Holy Priestess.

[ThePhantom]

Mirror, mirror

Okay, it work. I'm strongest, so other up first.

Card gestures at Harley, not that he knows that's her name. She's the best one to go up first.

[Lost_Deep]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Caroline blushes

I didn't know about the Vulpine base... nobody ever told me.

Verise nods

That's why we quietly re-possessed the equipment rather than let them take it back to the temple. It's clearly our stuff and has an old version of our markings: it'll be hard for anyone to blame anyone except us - and best of luck with that!

Caroline finally puts the pieces together

Oh... Thank you so much.

Verise smiles

Just doing my duty, Holy Priestess.

Caravan nods. "I'm liking what I'm seeing. If you don't mind, what's the history of the vulpan empire, in general? I'm rather curious about historical facts."

[Ionbound]

[Palace of Orochi]

Helen nods as she follows the servant to her and Frederick's room.

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains[/color]

Verise delays the story until the trio is comfortably settled in the lounge and has offered and fetched tea, coffee, water, or soda fot those who want them. Then she begins...

Spoiler

Show

Back when "Inside" was just called "Town", our people came to this area from a dreadful place called Ravenloft, led by a man named Fenric NorZilliar. As time went by, we founded our own city away in the north. The Nexus being the sort of cantankerous place that it is, that world started to drift apart and become separate - though still connected at a very significant level.

During that time, through a combination of trade and treaty, our city's influence on that world expanded. Our influence in Town also increased, leading at one very brief point to our being in control of the Town - it was at that time this base was established.

There was a revolution of sorts, and a fairly unpleasant werefox declared himself emperor. He led us to war against the neighboring countries, expanding our influence rapidly... he also had a policy that we convert everyone that we occupied. The last action in that war was the conquest of the only other major country in the world - turns out there wasn't a native population as such, everyone had come over from the Nexus. He deployed an aerosolized infectious agent to make them into werefoxes all at once. Without the guidance that the army had been providing to the newly infected population, it was a gruesome and terrible thing. It was also the last straw: we revolted, deposed him, and tried and executed the people responsible.

Something about that entire event also caused the world to split completely from the Nexus, leaving only the portal in the temple. Most of our people fled to the new world, and when the portal stopped working as well, those of us who had not yet left were stranded.

---

[Palace of Orochi]

The bedroom is outfitted in similar style to the other room: dark furniture accessorized with brightly colored accompaniments. The bed and dresser are of ebony or some other dark wood, and the top of the dresser is black marble, but there are bright gold candlesticks holding red candles. The bed has black satin sheets but a brilliant tapestry for a duvet. Bright paintings in dark frames adorn a dark gray wall.

Frederick looks around

Nifty! I was afraid everything here would be shades of gray.

The he gives Helen a "You deserve to be tickled" look.

And you think I'm a risk for jumping on the shadow-maids, hmmm?

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

Caravan listens and nods. "I've never been sure why anyone ever came to the conclusion that militant spreading was a good idea. It makes people angry. Neighboring countries, the people you rule, it just makes them all angry. If you want to conquer the world properly, you do it with money and happiness. I've seen it done."

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Verise nods

It was a dreadful mess, and folks still weren't over it by the time we were cut off. I can only hope and pray that everything is settled down there now... we have no real way of knowing anymore.

---

[La Fontaine Nightclub]

Katrina leads Urias to the club and then up to the doorman, where she displays her VIP Member card and they are immediately allowed inside.

This is a nice place: not too loud, with live music and decent food. Folks will be dressed nicely and behave reasonably well. The band tonight is from here in Inside. Don't let the name fool you: Camelot doesn't sing old medieval hymns!

Inside, the club is all shades of blue and turquoise. It is dimly lit overall with bright accent lights highlighting various water-themed statues and paintings. There are distinct areas: the main bar has a wide space of tall tables but no chairs. Then there is a dance floor, and finally an area of tables and booths near a reasonable sized stage. The stage is set up for a fairly modern band: two guitars, a bass, an elaborate drum set, and two synthesizers hooked up to laptop computers.

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

"I'll keep an eye out for it. In my line of work, I'm likely to come across it. However, depending on how things went, it might not be recognizable. If you have the metaphysical coordinates for that place, I might be able to look in on in within the foreseeable future." Things like that are generally worth checking to be sure they aren't in an infinite revolutionary loop. Those can happen among sufficiently fecund species.

[Baeleck]

[La Fontaine]

VIP access, hmm? Very snazzy. From his limited knowledge of clubs, Urias was expecting to have to queue for some amount of time, but looks like Katrina got special treatment. Come to think of it, Nathan had said it was her club. Did she own the place?

Inside, Urias takes a long moment to drink in the surroundings, only partially listening as Katrina explains. Yes, it was a nice club.

'I figured as much,' he responds, in light of her last comment, 'though it'd certainly be interesting to see them try hymns on that set of instruments. Do you know what time they're expected to start?'

[UncleWolf]

Spoiler

Show

Grief

"We should move. The true beast is out there, taunting us with scavengers and ephemeral nonsense. Press on and shine your lights to our flanks and behind. I will shred any before us." Though the Mother speaks not of what she saw, an unease sits heavily in her empty, starved gullet. They must move before the thing tires of attacking their pursuers and goes for them properly. Keeping her ears peeled for any sounds of movement, she'll step onwards to where Kirby's scent was and slowly begin to follow the trail. A marching fight is her best idea.

Between one step and the next, the pair of tentacles that were her right arm warp even further, ending in long, barbed clusters of spikes like a massive mutated brace of flails ready to strike and flay.

Grief

Wes has enough presence of mind to obey the Mother's instruction, and even to say 'Needs? Can you move okay?" Better for someone to pick up the cat now than to have to go back and rescue him.

"Mmm," Needs answers in the affirmative, demonstrating this by continuing forward. Not before he sneezes once or twice, though. Stupid jackal dust.

Grief

The path chosen is devoid of the jackals ahead of them, but as soon as they begin to move, the others close in from behind with some splitting up along the paths to try and find ways around. Four tag behind, sticking to the shadows, and The Mother and Needs will hear the pad of running paws all around as they seek alternate routes. A few seconds later however, and everyone will hear a series of loud yelps and screeches off to the right followed by a loud crunch of bone being crushed. The sound causes the visible jackals to flinch and look around warily, but they don't shy away, staying on the group's heels.

It might be best to start running.

[Fenric]

[Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains]

Verise smiles

Really? That would be great. I'm not sure on the exact location myself, but the analysts probably know - we'll find out when they're not so busy as they are right this moment. I'd certainly hope it isn't all that far gone!

Caroline tries to imagine her world being completely out of contact and perhaps at war again

That must be very distressing.

Verise shrugs

It's not so bad... remember, that's not where we were from, that's where we were going. Heroes from the Nexus here destroyed our original home... there's nothing but vacuum and little fragments of rock left.

---

[La Fontaine]

Katrina giggles

It would, wouldn't it? They start at 7:45, so we've got some time to snag a good seat and get settled in.

and she leads Urias over to an area where an undulating booth-bench gently wraps a series of round tables.

I always like these, they're comfy. You don't end up bumped into all the time like the tall tables, and I can't stand standing for the whole show.

[Lost_Deep]

Vulpine Outpost in the Mountains

"Violence begets violence. If you stop a militant expansion, it's hard to decide to ensure it won't happen again. Don't cripple the enemy hard enough, and they'll just try again later. Do it too hard, and they'll be spiteful for generations. Total annihilation, though awful, is something I will admit is sometimes necessary."

Hmm... sounds like bad personal memories.

[Ionbound]

[Palace of Orochi]

The bedroom is outfitted in similar style to the other room: dark furniture accessorized with brightly colored accompaniments. The bed and dresser are of ebony or some other dark wood, and the top of the dresser is black marble, but there are bright gold candlesticks holding red candles. The bed has black satin sheets but a brilliant tapestry for a duvet. Bright paintings in dark frames adorn a dark gray wall.

Frederick looks around

Nifty! I was afraid everything here would be shades of gray.

The he gives Helen a "You deserve to be tickled" look.

And you think I'm a risk for jumping on the shadow-maids, hmmm?

Helen grins and says, "Well, I've heard things about the NorZillars," as she steps next to Frederick and hugs him.

[Baeleck]

[La Fontaine]

Urias wouldn't normally be fussed about spending all night on his feet, but being jostled and shoved is certainly something he wouldn't enjoy.

'Shall we get drinks first, before it gets too packed in here?' he asks. Not only was he a little thirsty from the salty onigiri earlier, but he also wanted to properly explore the place while he still felt comfortable.

[5a Violista]

[Mirror, Mirror]

"So I guess that leaves me," says Ms. Martinez.

She gets up so Card can help her up. Through maneuvering and reaching, she holds up to the top and squeezes herself through.

She lays on the still-wet ground up in the area between the mansion and the outside wall. Some of the larger loose cement pieces, she pulls from the hole and lays it on the ground near her, widening the hole a little.

"Who's up next?" she asks down the hole, ready to help someone up by sticking a hand out.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Mirror, Mirror

Darsy looks at Card and gestures towards the hole.

After you, my large and scaly friend.

Once Card is up, Darsy will quickly follow.