[Nexus] Inside 39

[Rebonack]

[Cursed Street]

Amil's still in the process of altering her form. About half way there at this point. The changes to her body are dramatic to say the least. And it takes her a whole to alter herself to this degree.

Though...

It's actually easier than assuming her human-like shape. Big monster is what she's supposed to look like after all.

"I..." Amil looks down at herself as her armor thickens and spreads over her frame. "I'm not actually sure how I do it. I think I draw ectoplasm from the ethereal plane and work it into bio-mass. It might be some kind of psionic thing?"

She honestly isn't sure.

[Gullara]

[Cursed Street]

"Huh. Wouldn't really know. Pretty cool though." Genevieve slips her wand back into the sleeve over her dress. Just then Jenkins the vampire bat lands on her hat, screeching worriedly. "It's okay, Jenkins. We got rid of the big, bad wolves." She reaches up a hand to comfort him.

[Rebonack]

[Cursed Street]

It takes a while, but after a few minutes of focus Amil has assumed her 'natural' shape. Sixteen feet tall, not really human in the least. Clad in brass carapace and denim-blue hide. Fleshy pink bits as well, mostly in the form of her tendril hair. Each strand ending in a sharp barb.

Her tail twitches as she sniffs at the air, trying to figure out if anything else is lurking around. Her wounds begin to slowly. It'll take a little while, though. This is certainly not Wolverine level regen.

"Actually, I think it's partly arcane, partly biological, and partly psionic. The Hivemind wasn't able to replicate the whole process when it... uuhhh..." she coughs awkwardly. "Melted me..."

Eeww...

The Tyranid stomps over to the witch and stoops down, laying flat against the ground. "You can climb on and hold onto those breathing vent things on my back. It'll make it harder for anything else that might pop up to grab you."

[VampireRot]

"I didn't mean weaponize them! I was just saying they could maybe forge the statues for us."
But it doesn't matter. There is without a doubt regular metalworkers here somewhere.

"... I'm not going to have to preach am I?"

[Animal Shelter/Temple of Bast]

"I was joking."

Chione purrs in amusement again.

"Not unless you want to. Worshiping a cat goddess is, thankfully, very easy."

"We can just laze around and listen to the sl- peoples' prayers, maybe purr or meow thoughtfully every now and again."

The sphinxes really haven't had much prior experience in running a temple.

[COLOR="Blue"]Anatolij bows his head slightly, causing Rot's fist to hit his helmet's reinforced top rather than his face. He staggers, but his skull is unharmed. He tries to drag the saber down Rot's arm.
The combat cleric shakes off Rot's suggestion and approaches the vampire, quickly, muttering: Svarog, lend me your flame. As he does so, the warhammer he's holding is wreathed in, unsurprisingly, flame.
The trooper keeps aiming. He won't fire into melee, so he's just covering the other two soldiers in case Rot tries to get away or manages to down one of them.

[Null "Gray" Zone]

Since Anatolij is bowing his head, Rot's next attack is to attempt to knee him right in the face. But as always, he keeps no guard and the saber cuts a swathe through the vampire's arm, electing a snarl of pain.

The snarl turns into a loud whimpering yelp of fear when he sees the cleric has a flaming warhammer. That's not something he wants to go toe-to-toe with at all. He looks around frantically for escape routes, but sees the other trooper keeping watch. Darn it. The vampire wonders if he can manage to stall the fight out ten minutes until the alley blows sky high. The bag of bombs is still laying on the ground where it landed after being thrown, after all.

[Reinholdt]

[Animal Shelter/Temple of Bast]

"Well that's a relief." Reinholdt doesn't think she could be bothered to think up sermons and stuff. Purring thoughtfully sounds much more pleasant. Though I doubt it'll last.

"Why do you keep calling people slpeople or slhumans or slworshippers? What sort of prefix is sl supposed to stand for?"
It's very odd.

[AmberVael]

Well, if that's what you like... She can understand prefering more spartan surroundings. Maybe we could visit a bookstore instead, then. Unles you want to go back to the Order now.

[Market Street]

"A bookstore?" Aleph frowns, thinking about that. "I do like books... I don't know if I need to buy any though. I never need to read a book more than once. A library is fine, right?"

[Gullara]

[Cursed Street]

"Sure." Genevieve says, and quickly sets about climbing Amil's back. You'd think she'd think twice about that... Oh well. She holds on tight to the breathing vent thing. "Ready!"

[Lucy's Diamonds]

Sakura, Cessie, and Harnel find themselves here for some shopping. Yay! Sakura steps inside and looks around. It's a small shop. An older woman stands behind a single glass case that runs the length of the left wall. Across from it are another two smaller glass displays. At the back of the store a small set of stairs go up and deeper into the building. The woman gives them a smile and a nod, waiting for them to approach her.

"We should be able to find one here, right?" Sakura asks, spinning around to face Cessie and Harnel.

[Halae]

[Lucy's Diamonds]

And Harnel finds himself at a loss. Why had he come here again? Because he got caught up in the enthusiasm, but he has no idea what kind of ring would be good for this; he turns to Cessie. All that they do in Ascaerin is a wreathe, not a ring.

[Shadowcaller]

[Lucy's Diamonds]

Cessie do know she need to finish up that ritual but right now she need to take her mind off things. She still felt that lure of wanting to be outside she hadn't felt before. She probably should change back after all. She wasn't normal just yet.

Her normal enthusiastic attitude towards shopping is somewhat dampened because of that, she had so many other things to take care of.

"Yes, I think so. Harnel might actually be good at these things right?" She herself had less experience with jewelry then clothes as such things were considered 'bragging' within Hestopia. Rich people shouldn't show their wealth, no one should stick up, not even the mages.

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street B

"The vampire. I couldn't bear her smell," Lorraine admits.

Well, if she points to it, Alysha will get the hint.

This? Oh, it's called a Keyblade. I got it from a world called Radiator Springs.

I can use it for magic, and it can lock or unlock anything.

((Sorry I took so long!))

Market street-A

The female takes some notes on her tablet-like thing, and asks a question. Thinking that further explanation is necessary, she proceeds to give an example.

For all Alysha knows, it could be something about banana wombats. For all their science, the aliens can't quite seem to wrap their head around the notion that people can't understand them.

Market Street B

"Did she have a [notable?] smell? I did not [detect?] any strong chemical readings."

[Halae]

[Lucy's Diamonds]

Harnel shakes his head. He has no idea what he's doing here! "Sorry, I don't really know much about wedding rings." It's true! it's all earrings on his homeworld. These people and their crazy finger ring weddings

[KerfuffleMach2]

Market Street A

Alysha stares at "Jerry" for a moment. Then she gives a small laugh.

I'm sorry, but I can't really understand what you're saying.

But, I'm gonna guess that you have more questions about the Keyblade.

So...let's see here...well, where I come from, the are these thongs called Heartless. The Heartless always seek out people's hearts, and try to make them become Heartless, too. The only thing that can fully stop a Heartless is a Keyblade. Like mine.

[Gullara]

[Lucy's Diamonds]

These two are useless! Hopefully the women at the counter can help. Sakura nods to her friends and and turns to approach her. "Hello there, deary. I'm Lucy Skye. What're you looking for today?"

"Hi, I need a ring. To get married with." She glances back at Cessie. Sakura barely knows what she's asking for. "I'm gonna propose to my boyfriend."

"That's wonderful." Lucy says, giving Sakura a warm, encouraging smile. "Let me get a few rings for you to look at." And then she starts pulling out rings and placing them in front of Sakura. One, two, three, four, five, six rings. Sakura peers at them all. It's a hard decision to make.

[Rebonack]

[Cursed Street]

Amil sets off, prowling through the street like a massive displacer beast sans tentacles. She's alert and watchful, careful to spot any movement in the darkness. Because last time there was movement in the darkness it resulted in getting mauled by dogs.

But she's bigger this time!

And more heavily armored!

And stronger, too!

With any luck the nasty lurking things will leave she and Gene alone.

...

Though they'll probably just attract something much bigger and much worse instead.

"So... Do you mind if I call you Gene? Your full name is really hard to pronounce."

[Gullara]

[Cursed Street]

Much bigger and much worse sounds bad. =X

"Yeah, sure. I don't mind." Genevieve looks around. This is a nice vantage point to see the street. "I wonder what other kind of creatures are here. Those wolves were pretty scary." She doesn't seem all that put off.

[The Alexandrian]

[Lester's Saloon]

[Lester's Saloon]

"I'm sorry. Didn't knew it's that bad for me."

He spots the bruise.

"What's that?" He points at it with his little paw. Cute!

((Gah! Missed this! Sorry!))

Oh so cute!

"That? Let's just say that talking didn't work out so well. We ended up brawling in the tavern. Our contact tried to smack me about the head with his fists and then a barstool. I smashed his head into the cash register until it broke and then held him against the wall beside the fireplace."

Wait... There was a fireplace in the unsavory bar! That was not a smart design feature. Bars are full of alcohol. When alcohol meets fire, things burn. Buildings. People. Zombies. Vampire Rot. It's just not a good idea. Not good at all.

[PurityIcekiller]

((Sorry for the long-overdue response.))

The bogeys look at where their tongues used to be and frown.

"Tthhaff waffn't very niffe!"

Good. You rotten little bastards deserved it.

Demon Queen, still looking at the bogeys, nods towards Kyinde.

Answer her.

The fox-girl considered carefully. "All right, here's the way I think it'll be. If you're puppets and you help us find whoever's commanding you, you'll go free. If you don't cause trouble, you'll go free. However, if you do cross lines around us..." She grinned. "...I'll be merciful, in that I'll let you live. However, I'll make sure you remember not to do bad things around me. I might make you wish I was never born. As for her, I can make no promises of not killing. Any questions?"

[happyturtle]

((Sorry I took so long!))

Market Street B

"Did she have a [notable?] smell? I did not [detect?] any strong chemical readings."

"Really? But it was such a strong smell. And your scanners couldn't read it?" Lorraine's mind boggles at the thought that a wolf's nose is more sensitive than Mysterious Alien Technology.

[Zefir]

[Lester's Saloon]
((Gah! Missed this! Sorry!))

Oh so cute!

"That? Let's just say that talking didn't work out so well. We ended up brawling in the tavern. Our contact tried to smack me about the head with his fists and then a barstool. I smashed his head into the cash register until it broke and then held him against the wall beside the fireplace."

Wait... There was a fireplace in the unsavory bar! That was not a smart design feature. Bars are full of alcohol. When alcohol meets fire, things burn. Buildings. People. Zombies. Vampire Rot. It's just not a good idea. Not good at all.

[Lester's Saloon]

Mr. C raises one eyebrow . Wait where did that eyebrow come from? Clearly some camonflage effect.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! And did we got the informations we seeked?"

[Morty]

[Null "Gray" Zone]

Since Anatolij is bowing his head, Rot's next attack is to attempt to knee him right in the face. But as always, he keeps no guard and the saber cuts a swathe through the vampire's arm, electing a snarl of pain.

The snarl turns into a loud whimpering yelp of fear when he sees the cleric has a flaming warhammer. That's not something he wants to go toe-to-toe with at all. He looks around frantically for escape routes, but sees the other trooper keeping watch. Darn it. The vampire wonders if he can manage to stall the fight out ten minutes until the alley blows sky high. The bag of bombs is still laying on the ground where it landed after being thrown, after all.

Anatolij's face is kicked and he staggers back, but his power armor offers enough protection against such attacks. He tries to attack Rot again, but this attack is a bit feeble, as the Cossack is still staggered by the kick.
The cleric, meanwhile, reaches the vampire and swings his fiery warhammer at his head, hoping he would be unable to defend against two attacks at once.
The trooper is still making sure Rot can't escape, but he's creeping a little closer to the bombs. All Remnant soldiers know time is of the essence.

The sappers, by the way, follow the bombs using the GPS trackers and try to disarm them as Zefir told them to, quickly.

[Market Street]

"A bookstore?" Aleph frowns, thinking about that. "I do like books... I don't know if I need to buy any though. I never need to read a book more than once. A library is fine, right?"

There should be a library here somewhere. One of the normal ones, hopefully, not eldrith or haunted. Let's head there. They presumably do head to a regular, NPC-owned library.

[AmberVael]

[Generic Library]

Maybe it's haunted by eldritch creatures! Or it is actually a normal library. Wouldn't that be new?

Aleph walks over to the first shelf she sees and picks up a book at random, which appears to be titled 'Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard.' Rather than sitting down somewhere, or actually appearing to read it, she turns the pages quite quickly, only glancing at each one for a moment.

There's probably a good explanation for that. Maybe she's a robot or has magical photographic eyes. Or perhaps she's expecting to find pictures.

[Morty]

[Generic Library]

Sophie won't intrude, letting Aleph take her time and pick whatever books she wants.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Streets]

"Or," jakus says, raising a finger and grinning, "It will be very, very fun."

Harina grins back. "You've got a point there. Let's hope you're the one that's right."

[AmberVael]

[Generic Library]

Aleph goes through the entire book this way before putting it back, and then repeats the process with a few smaller books. When she's done with this, she turns to Sophie and smiles. "I think I've got enough for today. Lets go."

[Morty]

[Generic Library]

I'm glad to hear it. Let's head back to the Order. With that, she'll lead the way back to the Sacred Order's quarters. On the whole, it went pretty well, she thinks.

[AmberVael]

[Temple of Cunningham]

Aleph follows Sophie back without complaint, and heads to the guest room to store away her purchases- and also change out of the dress that was definitely getting a little annoying at this point, and into some of the things she bought. With this done, she sits down on her bed and leans against some propped up pillows, thinking over the books she had looked at.

Eventually though, she'll just fall asleep.

[Murkus]

MagMart

"Right this way, sir and madam! We've got all sorts of baby stuff for babies! Babies with tails, babies without tails, babies with horns, babies with scaly skin, babies with smooth skin..."

The Magbot leads the way, continuing to spout nonsense about all sorts of babies that MagMart has things for. The list just seems to go on and on. At long last though, they get to Pupa Palace, a part of the store with vaguely regal wallpaper plastered all about, as well as tons of diapers (The MagDiaper brand, of course, has the cyborg's face on the back. When it's changing time, the notorious supervillain's evil grin fades away, and is replaced by a look of absolute horror), strollers, hover-strollers, cribs, baby clothes, pacifiers, classical music recordings, and specially trained floating, spherical Magbots, which follow the child around and emit a loud alarm whenever your baby inexplicably ages up a few years, gets near anything sharp, or attempts to stuff something potentially toxic in its mouth-hole.

"...babies with legs, babies with wheels, and even babies with tank treads! Oh look, we're here!"

Adir grabs a cart before they proceed, rolling along happily behind Sakura and their mechanical guide. He laughs a little at the babbling. "Just for babies with legs, thanks."

Once they reach the palace, the stag starts grabbing stuff he recognizes. Weird diapers, a fold up hover stroller, a pacifier. He even grabs a safety bot.

[Gullara]

Adir grabs a cart before they proceed, rolling along happily behind Sakura and their mechanical guide. He laughs a little at the babbling. "Just for babies with legs, thanks."

Once they reach the palace, the stag starts grabbing stuff he recognizes. Weird diapers, a fold up hover stroller, a pacifier. He even grabs a safety bot.

[MagMart]

Sakura is taking a closer look at clothing. "Look how cute this is, Adir." She turns to face him, holding up a baby sized dress for him to see.

[Rebonack]

[Cursed Street]

Amil continues on down the street, alert for any sudden movements in the shadows. The lack of lighting really shouldn't bother her. She knows the lack of lighting shouldn't bother her. And yet this unnatural gloom is hindering her vision just as easily as it would have if she were still human.

And frankly that creeps her out.

Soon Amil and Gene find themselves flanked on either side by rows of gnarled, twisted trees. Branches bare and groping and scratching at the sky. There comes a sound of snapping and fluttering followed by a loud 'CAW!'

And suddenly the trees aren't quite so bare.

Though it isn't leaves that they're heavy with.

Dozens of crows peer down at the pair.

[The Alexandrian]

[Outside Lester's Saloon]

[Lester's Saloon]

Mr. C raises one eyebrow . Wait where did that eyebrow come from? Clearly some camonflage effect.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOK! And did we got the informations we seeked?"

An eyebrow forming out of nothingness? How odd.

"We got something much better. Let me sh-"

Percilia-prime makes a move to reach inside of one of her pockets, but pauses midway. Someone slams through the doors of Lester's Saloon. He is dressed in a ten-gallon hat, tan, dirty chaps, spurred boots, and a red flannel shirt. Over his mouth and nose, he wears a red bandana.

"This ain't over yet!"

The man roars, as two other men dressed in the exact same outfit emerge from the bar and walk toward Mr. C and Percilia-prime.

"You just don't know when to call it quits, do you mister?"

Percilia-prime smirks, back still turned to the three scoundrels that would empty hundreds of bullets into her back without a second thought.

And then!

Reinholdt's voice comes blasting out of one of Percilia-prime's back pockets.

"Percilla, we've reached the spot where the gps directed us and it appears to be some sort of structure or shrine buried in the water of a deep lake. Aurea is investigating it now. What do we do now that we're here?"
...
...
"Over."

One of the rough, dishonorable riders plucks the tiny radio right out of Percilia's back pocket, openly ogling Percilia's backside as he does so. The other two have nasty little revolvers pointed at Percilia's head.

"Percilia can't come to the phone right now. She's a little busy at the moment, and she'll be tied up for awhile. May I take a message?"

The ruffians haven't noticed Mister C as of yet. They aren't exactly sober, but they're not exactly drunk either. Now is Mister C's chance to be a hero!