Think an iguana except the size of a skyscraper and can shoot deathstar beams from it's face.
Rad shrugs.
"If you are a set-piece train station or army men, you have no chance. We aren't those things. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't he usually stopped by large power grids of electricity in the movies?"
"So, are we going to take the fight to this King in Yellow immediately, or try to further increase our power before taking on a rival of Cthulhu?"
yingzen looks at the others it is clear the tengu Hasn't slept in quite some time.
it is always wise to elemanate an opponents allies before facing them
A familiar buzzing grows closer as a fly buzzes through a window into the fest hall of the Castle....
Hail, doughty Fierce Ones! buzzes the tinny voice of the fly from the Hall of Trials.... I just buzzed by to let thee know not to waste thy time in The Land of the Rising Sun, for The Lord of Monsters tarried there but a short while.... Seek the King in Yellow and The Lord of Monsters in the Empire of Silk and Opium.... For there, on the south coast, lies their abode.... Dim Carcosa, ancient necropolis of nightmares and madness!.... Verily, Fair Allison, the Tarnkappe is most fetching on thee!
Having said what he came to say, the talking fly buzzes back out the window through which he entered, and away to the Hall of Trials....
Weird!.... How'd he know where to find us, I wonder?.... That talking fly's probably Loki or something, huh....
MJ looks at the window the talking fly came in and left by with a look of part awe and part amusement on his face....
He seems to favor you, Dr Jones....
Merlin's voice comes from the corner.... It's difficult for anyone to remember noticing when he entered the room....
You are powerful enough now to teleport yourselves to the Empire of Silk and Opium.... You need not my aid anymore, Fierce Ones.... I shall go and seek new recruits for the Jaeger League.... And other reincarnated heroes of yore willing to take up arms 'gainst the Great Old Ones.... Your gods be with thee, Fierce Ones.... It seems that they are!
Merlin winks at Allison, then salutes the assembled FOs before teleporting away....
As a result of experience gained on their adventures in Sarasota, a few Jaeger Leaguers advance in level (to fill the empty spots left by the NPCs who died--2 level 4s, 2 level 3s, a level 2, and 2 level 1s, if my memory serves, and to fill the open level 6 slot):
Remy levels to 6th level, filling the open 6th level follower slot....
Lebaron levels to 4th level, filling one of the 4th level follower slot....
Inspector Legrasse levels to 4th level, filling another 4th level follower slot....
Dietrich Schnurr (oracle of the Dark Tapestry 2) and Sophie Cawthorne (cleric of Athena 2) both level to 3rd level, filling those open slots left by deceased NPCs....
Ronald Foster (rogue 1) and Garret Brooks (ranger 1) both level to 2nd level....
The survivors of Sarasota convene for a forum about establishing a government for the new Free City of Sarasota on September 12th, and after several hours of debating the merits of different forms of government, the survivors narrow their decision down to a choice between: 1--a republic with elected officials and a Lord Mayor to oversee them; 2--a benign monarchy under an elected King or Queen advised and limited by a parliament of elected lords and ladies; 3--or true democracy, where all adults (21 years of age and older) vote on all matters of public concern....
A vote is held, resulting in option number being chosen....
A vote is held, resulting in option number 1d3 being chosen....
A Republic of the Free City of Sarasota will be established, under the guidance of a Lord Mayor, with all officials elected to serve limited terms by the people of Sarasota....
Radsworth, Koran, Derrik, Allison Jones, Yingzen, Daisy, and Marcus Greer are all nominated as candidates for Lord Mayor of the Free City of Sarasota, and may accept or decline as they see fit....
Other nominees include Dr Albert Hoffmann, Professor Solomon Dirge, Sister Maria De La Rosa, Hell-No Kitty, Sgt Gore Illa, Dr Hugo Grimm, Kate Peace, and several noteworthy survivors, mostly professors, attorneys, and doctors....
Daisy declines her nomination.... She explains that, while honored to be nominated, she feels she would be a poor choice because her duties lie with ministering to her Fellow Fierce Ones at this stage in her life.... Their active adventuring schedule would prevent her from devoting the time and attention necessary to govern a city....
Koran immediately declines. Leading a pack of feral weresquatches is plenty enough for me.
"If you think I'd be a good mayor, you're crazier than I am!"
Oh, my, vell dis is quite the unexpected honour. I vould be happy to accept the nomination. However, Mein duties to protect humanity must still take priority, ja?
Radsworth shakes his head.
"Leave Kingship to Kings. I seek to balance more than a kingdom now. My work doesn't end when Cthulu dies."
What is zis nonsense, huh? Jacques said through gritted teeth and a cloud of cigarette smoke. Why did nobody nominate Jacques Remy?! 'E would make a fine leader, no?
Me? Lord Mayor of a city? No way, man.... That gig sounds like a drag, to be frank....
Me? Really?.... People actually nominated me for Lord Mayor?.... Huh.... Well, I'll have to think about it.... Um, no.... Thanks, but no....
Wow! I'm really honored that people thought I'd make a good leader.... But.... I feel like I'm gonna want to devote myself to being a mommy to this person growing inside me.... And that would make me a bad Lord Mayor.... So I must respectfully decline....
Professor Dirge considers carefully and long before accepting the nomination....
I will endeavor to serve in this capacity, if it is the will of the people....
My place is as combat instructor at Pandora's Box, to hone the skills of the Jaeger League to razor-sharp lethality.... I got no interest in pushin' pencils and fussin' over city problems!
I have prayed to the Virgin Mary about my nomination.... And I feel that she is telling me to graciously accept this honor and responsibility, for the glory of God, the Father, and the Son, Our Lord Jesus, and the Holy Ghost....
Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean, at the nightmare city of R'lyeh:
Tidal waves pound the cyclopean masonry and wash away the ooze and slime of the briny depths from the non-Euclidean architecture of horror-haunted R'lyeh.... Aboleths and their hordes of underlings--skum, faceless stalkers, sinspawn, and fleshdregs--rear their ugly heads in alarm as the tsunami thunders through R'lyeh, heralding the coming of Gojira and Mosura!
The two mighty Kaiju, now dominated slaves of the King in Yellow, loom over the eons-old domes, spiral spires, polyhedrons, and warped towers of the corpse-city of R'lyeh....
The aberrations of Cthulhu are uprooted from their grottos and washed out of their towers, domes, and porticoes by the tidal floods preceding the King of Kaiju....
Froghemoths flounder on the briny masonry.... Chuuls and chokers choke on seawater.... Oozes and otyughs undulate in the turbulent currents.... Driders and phase spiders are washed out of waterspouts.... Troglodytes tremble in the streets.... Shoggoths shake and shiver at the swells....
At the bidding of the King in Yellow, Gojira goes on a wild rampage across the east end of Carcosa, incinerating insanely intricate architecture with his atomic breath weapon, stomping in ancient vaults and cathedrals of madness with oblivious gigantic feet, and tearing down bridges, towers, spires, and catwalks with massive claws....
Entire schools of aboleths are killed, along with their mishappen slaves--skum, sinspawn, faceless stalkers, and fleshdregs....
Broods of wicked spirit nagas are crushed underfoot....
Conclaves of Mi-go are drowned in their hives....
Gugs are fried by the Kaiju's deadly breath....
Flights of night gaunts and cloakers are charred by the firebolts that erupt from Gojira's back spines....
At the King in Yellow's command, Mosura flies over western Carcosa as an angel of death, leveling strange monuments with her lightning bolts and scouring the streets and buildings with tornados kicked up by her wings....
Entire prides of lamias are slaughtered by the wind-hurled rubble....
Whole colonies of intellect devourers and their host bodies are sizzled by Mosura's electric wrath....
Gibbering mouthers babble in confusion as masonry topples and winds howl through the streets....
Dread Cthulhu foresaw the coming attack of the Kaiju, and in preparation, had summoned to R'lyeh his mighty star-spawn....
Four are kept at R'lyeh to counter the attack of the two Kaiju, and these four meet Gojira and Mothra in a titanic battle that rages for nearly an hour before the battered Kaiju are recalled by the King in Yellow, lest he lose his most potent weapons....
Four others are dispatched to avenge the attack on R'lyeh.... These four descend on Carcosa in a storm of furious destruction!
Debauched artists and poets devoted to Hastur quake in terror as the four star spawn move about Carcosa, wreaking destruction and death....
Denizens of Leng scurry, and spiders of Leng scuttle in search of shelter....
The King in Yellow musters his mightiest defenders--spawn of Yog-Sothoth, flying polyps, ancient and powerful vampires, et cetera--to drive off the star spawn, but these are fodder before the mighty abominations of Cthulhu....
When the star spawn and Kaiju withdraw from their various depredations, both Carcosa and R'lyeh are more ruined than ever before....
The Battle of the Titans goes down in history as the most destructive to date in the War of the Great Old Ones over dominion of the Earth....
Go and awaken the others with your Kaiju Dehibernator.... Bring under the Yellow Sign those primordial children of the Elder Things.... Awaken Anguirus from his decades long slumber beneath the sands of the Gobi Desert.... Awaken Rodan from his deep sleep in the volcano of the Pacific Rim.... Awaken them, my faithful subject, and bring them to Carcosa....
I hear and obey, my King in Yellow....
Through study of several pictures of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing, Radsworth has a few options for teleport destinations.... Where would he like to teleport the FOs to?
Grimm.... Dirge and I have cooked up this formula for allowing you to access your past lives! It's totally mad, and it lets you access your former lives' memories, experiences, skills even.... It's insane in the membrane, my honky.... Do you wanna try it?
"What flavor is it? I hope it's not grape." Marcus says as he takes a vial and inspects it.
"A chance to learn of the lost stories of Beowulf? I'd be a fool to pass up such an opportunity."
I'm not sure who I was. I would be interested in finding out.
Um... Dis seems like it vould be quite dangerous, ja? Allison notes timidly as she looked down at the concoction. Vat testing have you done on it to ensure it is safe for consumption? Und vat are the noted side effects? Und- The young surgeon/medical researcher continues asking clinical questions ad infinitum until someone cuts her off.
"Hey, hey, Allison, come on. Do you really think something that fizzes this much could be dangerous?"
With an audible gasp, she turns to give Marcus a harsh German glare so intense it would frighten away a Lovecraftian horror.
Herr Professor Doktor Greer! she says, involuntarily switching back to full German formality. How could you say such a thing vith all the danger ve must already face! Ve cannot simply allow one of our own to come into dire harm at our hands. It is irresponsible as individuals of higher education and reckless as individuals entrusted to protect mankind.
With all the rigidity and sternness one would imagine in a woman raised between British high society and German upper class, she spun back around to face Dr. Hoffmann. With a raised eyebrow and looking down her nose at the aged Hippie, Herr Doktor Hoffmann, I trust you vill ensure this... elixir is perfectly safe before administering it? As the only member of dis team vith sufficient medical training, I am most suited to be chief medical officer, und as such it is my duty to provide medical care and guidance for the Fierce Ones. If you need further expertise, I vill proudly lend you my talents; however, I vill not allow anyone to take a potentially fatal drug vithout proper precautions and testing.
Of course it's been tested! I just said it was insane in the membrane like five seconds ago! How would I know it was insane in the membrane, unless I, myself, had tested it!?.... I'll have you know that I was a damned good court jester to King Agamemnon.... And a damned good wife to Owain the Welsh baker, back in the 12th century.... And I was Master of London's Guild of Apothecaries in a later life.... I shot down my share o' k#~!s in World War Two as Airman Johnny Slade....
Dude, you had me at cooked up, honestly.... My past lives? Hell yeah, I wanna become aware of them.... That would be baws!! Gimme, gimme....
You guys can't already do that when you dream? I've been exploring my past lives in my dreams ever since we conquered the Silver Tower....
Mikey eagerly takes a vial of this new past-life potion from Dr Hoffmann....
What's the onset and duration of this wondrous concoction you've cooked us?
Marcus takes his vial and downs it with a single swig.
"Well, it's not grape at least." he says, twisting his mouth.
Sieg, as well, downs his own vial.
Oh, takes about thirty or forty minutes to really start kickin' yer ass.... Then you experience a flood of key, vital memories that made you who you are....first from your current life, which lasts maybe an hour or two, depending how old you are...then from a less recent life....seems like a few generations back, maybe....then a yet more primitive life, generally in the ballpark of Dark Ages to the Age of Exploration....and finally a most ancient life, generally dating to Bronze Age or thereabouts....each life taking about two hours, I'd say....then it wears off, with no hangover!