Vickory laughs, and speaking in the dark speech, "I am not some mere mortal, I am a reapling! Created by the great Shiara Sorenson! We reaplings enjoy much, but we are never the subservient play things of others, we are the masters. Now, given the losses so far, your chance to feel the best pain is fleeting. The others will be here soon to finish their work and destroy you. Sure you don't want some nice pain before you go?"
Completely truthfull this time around.
"Yes, the more of them are in an area the better they can simulate a neural network...even better when they can take over something else's brain...it's not the same thing as higher thought. I think based on how they've integrated with our patient zero here that they might be able to use her higher brain functions to think with when she's conscious. But they can't do that with a dead host and they haven't figured out how to keep a host alive. If we act fast this will not become a problem we have to consider. Ryuzo has been getting scans for me from Kuros so I could study the effects more closely. The violence appears more coordinated when the numbers are greater. Isolation is the key here."Almost as if her words were a trigger, there is a beeping coming from the stasis monitors. The monitor that is beeping is reporting unusual activity from inside the stasis field, and the numbers representing active cells are climbing steadily. The only possible explanation is that the virus has finally figured a way to modify the girl's bone marrow to produce stasis resistant viruses. With a swift calculation, Nala adjusts the modulation on the stasis field and the numbers suddenly drop nearly to zero.
** spoiler omitted **
"Even in stasis, the virus adapts....I've got it under control for now. And I'm gaining enough information to render it inert in patient zero. If you need to keep it from mutating for a bit, hitting it with antimagic is definitely the way to go....just don't try to hit it with fire....the records from when patient zero was apprehended show that the virus at that time had already adapted to fire. Better to contain it and let it die on its own. The biggest problem is treating the infected but not yet dead. Given the virulence of this disease, what's left of the town's residents are likely to already be infected," she said as she refined the nanite program to better reflect the new information she had gained.
"I kinda want to talk with her for a while, since she was in the infirmary and stuff, see how she's doing."
He is folding one of the papers into a shape.
"That doesn't sound like Renkai to me. I mean, he is scary good with a gun, but I don't think he would try to hurt anyone. He seemed like a nice guy..."
He listens more as he folds the paper.
"I can do clothes, but laundry is not me. I just do it the magic way. The history class is like world history. I'm off world, so it's required. If you want a job, I had considered buying an empty store I saw in town. If you know anything about building or running a cash register, I could probably use some help."
"Hmm...more clothes would be good," she agreed. "What's laundry? And what's a gun? And what is a cash re-re-whatever that thing was?"
[Lots of Damage]Belsayv (Combat)
Sadie & Anahita
[...]Before Anahita is able to carry through with her threat, Sadie's expert bladesmanship cuts their foe down, and he falls, dead. His poisonous blood pours out of his body onto the stone floor of the cavern.
Across the cave, the ghostly girl seemingly attached to the dark machine stirs noiselessly, her undead and supposedly incorporeal form seemingly trapped within the confines of the machine's dark clutches.
"The caster," she said, nodding towards the two-headed demon, "that's the most important one to take out next."
Rena's eyes fall, and she tucks her head down a bit, sensing Bradley's disappointment but perhaps not quite understanding why. "I'll... I'll try not to show you my teeth." she answered quietly, unsure how to act now, though she unconsciously flapped her wings when he mentioned them. At least Bradley was being honest with her, and not trying to hide his fear. "I... there's another healing potion there, if you're still sore." she added, trying to keep the slight tremble out of her silken voice. For some reason, she had thought he would've been overjoyed with her true form, but time and again her appearance had only brought fear to those whom she wanted to befriend. She should ask Vare tonight to change her back into a humanoid. It would be better for everyone.[blink, blink]
"Oh," he said, disappointed and trying unsuccessfully to hide it. For a little bit he'd thought a beautiful girl might actually be interested in him.....it figures she'd turn out to be a giant snake creature.
"Ummm....I....I think that the teeth take some getting used to....but your wings are still real pretty," he said, trying to be brave and not unkind....it was just hard.
"No...it...it's my problem, not yours," he said, dejected. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be like Ursula....I....just I'm sorry....it's....been a really bad day and....that's not a good excuse....I'm trying to get used to it, really I am....I'm sorry."
He put his head down on his knees and tried very hard not to cry. Mostly he just wanted to go home, but they didn't want him there either. And the pigeon coop seemed like it was miles away. He had no idea how he was going to make it. He knew he should just drink the healing potion and make a run for it, but he just didn't have enough faith that he'd actually make it in anything resembling one piece. The school was so full of suffering after last night's attack. And now he was adding to it instead of making it better. So much for being a hero. He really couldn't do anything right.
settro, after finding out that the holy fire fails, pauses for a moment, and then starts taking shots with his bow from high in the sky.
Dave continues to try to contain the virus in the ice by putting more and more layers of ice around it with his breath, sucking the heat out of it when he is catching his breath between releases
"No...it...it's my problem, not yours," he said, dejected. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be like Ursula....I....just I'm sorry....it's....been a really bad day and....that's not a good excuse....I'm trying to get used to it, really I am....I'm sorry."
He put his head down on his knees and tried very hard not to cry. Mostly he just wanted to go home, but they didn't want him there either. And the pigeon coop seemed like it was miles away. He had no idea how he was going to make it. He knew he should just drink the healing potion and make a run for it, but he just didn't have enough faith that he'd actually make it in anything resembling one piece. The school was so full of suffering after last night's attack. And now he...
It was Rena's turn to feel like crap - she was being selfish when he was already hurting. She had to remember that she had found Bradley in a pile of garbage. She needed to be there for him, instead of making him feel worse.
She nudged him gently with her snout as he curled up. "I'm sorry too. I... I'm being selfish. I'm... I'm not going to hurt you." she says again, but this time with a specific reason. After she had said that, she starts to coil herself protectively around Bradley's sorrowful form. The feathers and scales are slightly cool to the touch, but she was insulating him, which meant warmth. She had done this once when Vare had been injured - to protect and comfort him. Once she was finished, it was practically a cocoon of feathers around him, with Rena gently nuzzling him from the hole in the top of the coils, where he could keep his head out and still breathe. She really hoped she wasn't scaring him further with this 'hug'. "... Just tell me if I'm scaring you or you want me to stop, alright Bradley?" she says after a moment, the sheltering coils still allowing him a full range of movement.
"I can do clothes for both of you tomorrow if you like. It's kinda late to start on two full coutures tonight. A cash register is a ticket metal machiney thing that keeps track of money, Laundry is when you wash clothes and a gun is a stick that makes a loud noise and shoots pellets really fast. I don't care for them. They're too inaccurate and they darn near make my ears bleed.
If you guys want, you could maybe go see if you can watch the sun go. I heard people say that it would be gone by sundown here. I personally want to be inside when that happens."
Two of the pages have become oragami at this point. No tears or cuts, just folds.
Tyrrin comes in for a quick landing back in the square where the bodies were and her allies were waiting. "Alright..." she begins,
"Basically, the virus hasn't been compeltely wiped out as expected, but the medical team at the school thinks they can use nanites to reprogram it. The main thing we need to do is try to contain any damage the remaining infected do, and if possible, stop the virus from progressing so that we can save as many as we may." Tyrrin will then proceed to share as much as she may with those present about ways they can delay the virus (which isn't much, mostly Anti-magic).
settro lands.
"Is that all?"
settro groans and twitches his tail.
"Ok, does someone have a melee weapon i could borrow, of any sort? I usually use my tail and claws, but that's not really an option."
after getting whatever weapon he can he casts anti-magic field and wails on any infected he can find.
Ryo contacts High Seer Denulia and fills her in on what's happening in Kuros, asking for any aid she can provide.
As the group flies eastward the low plains become low rolling hills. The view of mountains looms in the distance.
the flight is going smooth. and apparently making better time than originally expected.
Lang looks back behind the group. His eyes go wide at the sight he sees.
looking to everyone on Simba. Sara, ask Simba to fly on his own please, I really want you to see this.
Lang also nunges Midori urging her to look behind them.
look Midori, isn't it beautiful
the view behind the group is truly breathtaking.
the sunset as viewed from the Sunrise mountains is something to behold.
Sara has very quickly learned the controls and if she learns at this pace she could easily be doing skilled manuevrs inside of a month.
She turns around and squints a little at the sun.
"Ooh. It's so pretty!"
relax Sara, all in due time. learning to pilot a giant owl is easy, but trusting and caring for one is a bit more. I am sure you will be a very caring companion.
And yes, once you are accepted among the monks, you will be given an owl hatchling to care for, it will be your companion for the rest of your life.
tarka drops concentration on her spell and looks back.
"Oh, ow. Sorry, can't really see it."
Lewis is continuing to duck and dive, pumping his wings as much as he can, to further this euphoric feeling he gets when he works his body as hard as he can.
After a few minuets Dom appears from around a corner bending an orb of water through the air. Within the orb an infected struggles to free it's self. "We missed at least one. Did any of you find others?" He calls out with a worried frown. He waves his arms gracefully causing the orb to follow him as he saunters toward the group.
Ryo contacts High Seer Denulia and fills her in on what's happening in Kuros, asking for any aid she can provide.
Kitty waited for Saffire to come back up as she dangled from the tree by her tail....and waited....and waited....
"So much for not going swimming today," she said, with a sigh before she let go of the tree branch and fell into the water below.
Bradley was shaking. It wasn't immediately clear whether he was scared or just crying. Either way he didn't lift his head from against his knees, and he didn't shrink away from Rena as she curled around him.
"I can do clothes for both of you tomorrow if you like. It's kinda late to start on two full coutures tonight. A cash register is a ticket metal machiney thing that keeps track of money, Laundry is when you wash clothes and a gun is a stick that makes a loud noise and shoots pellets really fast. I don't care for them. They're too inaccurate and they darn near make my ears bleed.
If you guys want, you could maybe go see if you can watch the sun go. I heard people say that it would be gone by sundown here. I personally want to be inside when that happens."
Two of the pages have become oragami at this point. No tears or cuts, just folds.
"Okay," she said, frowning a little. "So clothing has to be washed....how does that work? Do you just....wear it in the shower or somethng?"
"Uh...sorry, don't let us keep you, Tybalt. I know you wanted to go and check on your friend."
"Is that everyone?" he asked, triple checking to make sure that the container filled with as many of the phoenix and their eggs as the volunteers had been able to gather was properly sealed, and firmly attached to the shuttle.
"Is that everyone?" he asked, triple checking to make sure that the container filled with as many of the phoenix and their eggs as the volunteers had been able to gather was properly sealed, and firmly attached to the shuttle.
"Yes, all of our people are accounted for. I walked through as much of the place as I could, scanning for life in case anyone decided to try and stay or leave an unwanted relative behind...as far as I can tell the place is deserted. We're the last ones here."
"Is that everyone?" he asked, triple checking to make sure that the container filled with as many of the phoenix and their eggs as the volunteers had been able to gather was properly sealed, and firmly attached to the shuttle."Yes, all of our people are accounted for. I walked through as much of the place as I could, scanning for life in case anyone decided to try and stay or leave an unwanted relative behind...as far as I can tell the place is deserted. We're the last ones here."
"Time to get on the shuttle then. Let's go, we're cutting it a bit fine when it comes to the time."
Jiminy let Sorchan sit in the co-pilot seat even though he knew his father-in-law couldn't fly a shuttle. It had a better view and he figured Sorchan would want to say goodbye to the place. He lingered in view of it for longer than he really should before taking off and heading for Avalon at the fastest safe speed.
"Alright, folks," he said over the radio, "that's it. Last bird is away. We did it. The firebird sun has been successfully evacuated. Thank you to all of the pilots who worked so hard the last two days to make this happen."
Fieri stumbled out of the teleportation room.
"There shouldn't be much time left, if any....whatever is going to happen I want to be outside to see it."
Ephebe made sure to position herself underneath Lewis so that when his wings started to fail him she'd be in a position to catch both Lewis and Tarka so that they didn't fall.
Tami led Morrivan into the cafeteria, keeping an arm around her. It was obvious from her red, puffy eyes that Morrivan had been crying.
"I know you don't want to, but you have to eat. Rodhas wouldn't want you starving yourself on his account."
"...and this is why several outfits are good. So while some are being washed, you have a spare to wear. Plus, fashion, if you care about the things you wear and what people see on you. I think it's overrated myself. Some people take it an extreme. "
He chuckled at Asha's comments and adds, "The washing is by hand, with a machine if they have that, or I bet magic, right?"
Tryko'Sam wasn't acting to keep Tybalt from going anywhere, letting him stay or go as he wanted.
"Could just stretch our legs outside a bit, or find a relaxing spot to sit and chat. Given how easy people can get around and those arrows, doesn't appear being inside the school lends much to privacy, huh?"
"Excuse me a moment..."Ghalen says to his elders in the room, and keys the mic on his radio...
"My lady, your mother has been notified. Do you require any further assistance?"
"Alright, folks," he said over the radio, "that's it. Last bird is away. We did it. The firebird sun has been successfully evacuated. Thank you to all of the pilots who worked so hard the last two days to make this happen."
"Aye boss. Let's hope we never see this again: where the place symbolic of the beauty and spirit of a culture also becomes a symbol of it's own intolerance to the point of deserving destruction...may we get it right from now on."
The last delivery of the day arrived at Avalon, limping its way into the drop-off area behind the materials and supplies building looking significantly worse for wear. A large, strapping young man walked confidently beside the wagons while the merchants seemed friendly enough to him, but he clearly made them nervous.
[i] If the condition of some of the merchants weren't clue enough, one look at the young man would certainly tell the tale that there was a struggle along the route to the Academy. Both the blade of his greataxe and the hide armor he were bore the faint red tinge of caked blood, some of it seeming to have been intentionally smeared across his own face, with various shades of red across both his cheeks and on his nose. He gripped his greataxe loosely, looking around every once in a while, as if searching for more threats, his long, black, unkempt hair swishing this way and that each time.
Once the caravan stopped, the young man immediately returned his greataxe to the strap across his back and looked to the merchants to confirm that they had finally reached the place they promised to take him. Not even waiting for certain confirmation, he ran up to the building and yelled out, "Hey! Who's the guy I need to see to get smarter?! This place does that, right?!" A brief snicker from one merchant was quickly stifled as the young man cut him a glare, before looking back to where he was sure someone would walk out.
Despite the retrograde fueling his flight while he worked as hard as possible, he didn't know that he was still using energy to do so.
" HA HA ha ha..."
Seconds after the spell fades he passes out and both Tarka and Lewis fall to Ephebe waiting below them.
"It's ok. I'm just worried about Mel. I don't think she's made of very sturdy stuff. I can meet with you two tomorrow and get some clothes done. I'll find you after classes tomorrow, k?"
He puts his paw on the wall and an arrow appears to guide him to Mel.
"I'll leave you two alone for a while."
He gives them a quick wink and turns a corner.
He could tell they were close. And it wasn't just their actions. He had a nose for these things. Literally. He could smell them on each other. Perhaps not Tryko'Sam as it had been a few days for him, but Asha yes.
He departs down the hall, at a moderate pace. He walked quickly, but still had short legs.
"Hmm. Read me a passage that you think you're not understanding."
He sits back and watches him with interest.
He opens the book and reads a page detailing the location of a beautiful crystal. His seems to become clearer as he translates, and when he's done he closes the book and sighs.
"It tells me what to look for, but that's it, and I don't under stand what it does tell me anyway..."
"So you're just not quite getting what it's saying. Perhaps if you just give yourself some time it will come to you then. Maybe you're trying too hard."
"It's ok. I'm just worried about Mel. I don't think she's made of very sturdy stuff. I can meet with you two tomorrow and get some clothes done. I'll find you after classes tomorrow, k?"
He puts his paw on the wall and an arrow appears to guide him to Mel.
"I'll leave you two alone for a while."
He gives them a quick wink and turns a corner.
He could tell they were close. And it wasn't just their actions. He had a nose for these things. Literally. He could smell them on each other. Perhaps not Tryko'Sam as it had been a few days for him, but Asha yes.
He departs down the hall, at a moderate pace. He walked quickly, but still had short legs.
"So you're just not quite getting what it's saying. Perhaps if you just give yourself some time it will come to you then. Maybe you're trying too hard."
"It's been a long time already... I don't know what I'm missing and it's really important! "
"...and this is why several outfits are good. So while some are being washed, you have a spare to wear. Plus, fashion, if you care about the things you wear and what people see on you. I think it's overrated myself. Some people take it an extreme. "
He chuckled at Asha's comments and adds, "The washing is by hand, with a machine if they have that, or I bet magic, right?"
Tryko'Sam wasn't acting to keep Tybalt from going anywhere, letting him stay or go as he wanted.
"Could just stretch our legs outside a bit, or find a relaxing spot to sit and chat. Given how easy people can get around and those arrows, doesn't appear being inside the school lends much to privacy, huh?"
Asha got a strange expression on her face. "What time is it?" she asked urgently. "I've lost track....it was getting late....the sun is going to go down soon right? Except...the firebird sun isn't ever coming up again. Come one," she said, grabbing his hand and trying to hurry him towards outside. She was glad to have escaped, but she wanted to see it for herself. She wanted to make sure it would really be gone.
Kitty waited for Saffire to come back up as she dangled from the tree by her tail....and waited....and waited....
"So much for not going swimming today," she said, with a sigh before she let go of the tree branch and fell into the water below.
She surfaced again just a little bit later.
"Michael, did you teach Saffire how to swim?" she asked, clearly very worried now. "I can't find him!"
"Unless he's learned on his own, I don't think he can!" He jumps in after her, hoping she just missed him. He decided not think about how hard it would be for him to find Saffire's if she had missed him...