Djalos bows, and says, "Perhaps, Tanaka-sensei." He then straightens and stands still for a moment. "You know, I believe I killed one of your clan over a dispute for a contract. I apologize."
"What clan are you from?" she asked coolly, her friendliness replaced with distance. "Clan Amateru? I know of no recent losses to Clan Akuma except those."
"Meet me at my office. Inside the warehouse, upper floor, first door on the right," James said over the radio and changed his trajectory, flying towards the warehouse instead of the landing field.Fei proceeds to the main building's top floor, coming to a stop at the indicated door unless stopped. He waits, utterly still, for James' arrival.
There is a loud thump on the roof and then James drops in from a trapdoor on the roof.
"You could have gone in. It's not locked," he said opening the door to the office and gesturing Fei to go in. "Have a seat if you want," he added nodding to the comfortable leather couch that took up half the office. The rest was filled with piles of paperwork that had completely overwhelmed the desk they were set on.
Djalos says calmly, "The Anonemuss. We don't generally operate in the ninja clans' area, but it was a high priced contract. My handler couldn't refuse. I just thought I should let you know. I have been feeling guilty about it ever since I saw you. Ever since the local psychic expert removed a block on my emotions that my own handler placed there, I have been feeling guilty about everything, surprisingly. I'm sorry is the correct thing to say now, I believe. Forgive me, my social conduct has not been up to par." Djalos delivers nearly all of this information in a neutral tone of voice, but at the words of my handler there is a tinge of bitterness that shows just a bit of a crack in the calm exterior.
The young elf suddenly takes a deep breath. "He... he was young... he didn't stand a chance. I'm sorry," he says, his voice suddenly raw and wavering before he stiffens again.
After a bit of wandering the Spirit world, Lang brings Sara back. Having discovered much about Sara's connection with the animals as well as all of her friends.
Lang believes that her connection with the spirits may have some important meaning, but he isn't sure what it is yet. he does tell her about a certain nature spirit that is being kept in a prison and is feeding off the negative energies of one of Avalon's teachers.
It isn't long before all the group is reunited at the reception hall of the Temple.
Lang takes some time to introduce everyone to some of the other bending masters that he knows about. but there are many that he has never met before.
The only bending community not represented is Fire as most fire benders are in fact Firebirds, and well, we all know what they can be like.
The Ceremony goes on and it is a spectacular event. there are demonstrations of the various bending techniques and Lang put on a spectacular show of his staff forms combined with his air bending abilities.
Chao follow suit, his skills prove to be almost as good as Lang's it becomes evident that there is a long rivalry between the two, yet Lang does his best to look for ways to mend things between them.
Lang asks Midori to give a demonstration of her sword skill, Which Midori ever so politely declines. Lang can't help but notice Midori feeling a bit uncomfortable at the request and he places his hand in hers and gives her a reassuring smile. he then tries to avert the attention of the others away from her hoping to help her feel more at ease.
The Ceremony continues as both Lang and Chao are present the title as Master Air Benders. They may now teach thier art to those that show promise.
Finally, Lang is then presented to the Bending community officially as the next Avatar. the whole audience gets down on one knee, offering respect to the new avatar. the feeling of uneasiness is evident in Lang's eyes.
The Ceremony ends with Lang and Chao giving one final display of air bending. the final form they learn at their top level.
After the Ceremony. there is a reception. a band from the Northern water bending community has a band to play music.
There is a loud thump on the roof and then James drops in from a trapdoor on the roof.
"You could have gone in. It's not locked," he said opening the door to the office and gesturing Fei to go in. "Have a seat if you want," he added nodding to the comfortable leather couch that took up half the office. The rest was filled with piles of paperwork that had completely overwhelmed the desk they were set on.
He steps inside the rather chaotic space, navigating around the stacks of paperwork to sit on the proffered couch. As he does so, the nanosuit's helm retracts...
... and reveals Fei's somewhat...conflicted visage.
His form slumps in slightly, as if releasing a large breath held longer than necessary. He looks around the room and back to his host.
"It...seemed to be safer out in the hall," he replies with a weak smile, eyeing a stack of papers with a pronounced lean to it. (^-^)
As Jai leaves to follow the raven, Ace gently grabs her arm.
"Hang on a sec. I knew there was something else I wanted to tell you girls. I performed a divination about our assassin, and this is the reply I got from my god"
** spoiler omitted **
Tyrrin absently bids farewell as Jaiye makes her exit, continuing her pacing and considering at length the divination.
After a few minutes of silence, Tyrrin glances up at Ace. "Hidden in plain sight I suspect means that they're brazen enough that we should never glance twice at them. As for the part about opaqueness... I suspect traditional methods of divination failed, thus they must be protected through some magic. That covers quite a few people unfortunately."
Tyrrin taps her lips with a finger, having stopped still from pacing. "I agree with Jaiye that colour of life flowing almost certainly means blood. Again though, there are plenty of people with red eyes at the school, setting aside that some species do not have red blood, so that should help us narrow down the list as well. Hm."
Tyrrin's eyes suddenly light up, a clear epiphany sketched across her face. "What about a vampire? Is there evidence of vampiric feeding on the victims? It would fit everything. Targeting young women, powers that affect the mind, difficult to track by scent. Many vampires even have red eyes." She grins at Ace. "We should find out if there are known vampires here."
After a bit of wandering the Spirit world, Lang brings Sara back. Having discovered much about Sara's connection with the animals as well as all of her friends.
Lang believes that her connection with the spirits may have some important meaning, but he isn't sure what it is yet. he does tell her about a certain nature spirit that is being kept in a prison and is feeding off the negative energies of one of Avalon's teachers.
It isn't long before all the group is reunited at the reception hall of the Temple.
Lang takes some time to introduce everyone to some of the other bending masters that he knows about. but there are many that he has never met before.
The only bending community not represented is Fire as most fire benders are in fact Firebirds, and well, we all know what they can be like.
The Ceremony goes on and it is a spectacular event. there are demonstrations of the various bending techniques and Lang put on a spectacular show of his staff forms combined with his air bending abilities.
Chao follow suit, his skills prove to be almost as good as Lang's it becomes evident that there is a long rivalry between the two, yet Lang does his best to look for ways to mend things between them.
Lang asks Midori to give a demonstration of her sword skill, Which Midori ever so politely declines. Lang can't help but notice Midori feeling a bit uncomfortable at the request and he places his hand in hers and gives her a reassuring smile. he then tries to avert the attention of the others away from her hoping to help her feel more at ease....
Midori is clearly thankful for Lang's understanding, obviously in a reserved mood with so many dignitaries present, but she's polite and friendly, if a bit distant, towards all everyone she's introduced to.
During the ceremony, Midori remains stoic through the various bending presentations, sitting seiza in the crowd and maintaining decorum as appropriate for a guest of the honoured Avatar, following along with the acts of homage given to Lang, not wishing to be offend anyone by being out-of-step.
Afterwards at the reception, Midori does seem to perk up, even just a little bit, as the mood in the room seems at least a little less formal.
Of course, that doesn't stop her being overly formal when Lang first arrives on the scene with her and the rest of the party from Avalon. She bows deeply to their friend. "Congratulations on your hard work, Lang-sifu."
"The first attack happened during the attack on the school when the wards were down. The second two....we don't know how he does it exactly, but somehow he lured the second victim off of school grounds. She didn't even remember walking into the woods. We can't ask the third victim, but she was also found off school grounds, so I'm assuming that the killer was somehow able to lure her outside the wards as well. Whoever or whatever he is, he's careful not to commit violence inside the wards. And we can't maintain a constant watch outside the wards. I asked. Security systems are still recovering from the attack."
"...Are you sure you're okay with this? You seemed....uncomfortable? I'm sorry, I haven't quite figured out what yellow means...."
"Traitors." Illithia mutters under her breath, raising a inked hand to see the tattoo having shifted to the muted yellow colour.
"Yellow is usually fear, or panic, or something like that." Illithia says, still staring up at the ceiling and trying overly hard to seem brazen about it. "That's alright though. You should be worried if I wasn't nervous about something like this, right? Haha."
Yeah, that was a pretty forced laugh.
She tries to act like it's nothing though, moving straight on from the topic. "Alright, so who's the group of friends and are there are available (and preferably handsome) guys I could go start hitting on?"
As the ship descends, Ghalen takes note of Class, name, and registry. After the ship lands, and the refugees are given clearance to leave, Ghalen begins to section them off into groups, ordered by injury, and mental state. He will do so with precision, as if it's second nature.
"Repp, this group seems to be the most lucid. Perhaps you can start gathering information from them..."
Repp watches Ghalen move about his work, not interfering and assisting in helping to sort the refugees and is needed, allowing the other to take the lead. Once Ghalen seems satisfied with the sorting and given Repp a take, the gnome takes to it with gusto.
Repp watches Ghalen move about his work, not interfering and assisting in helping to sort the refugees and is needed, allowing the other to take the lead. Once Ghalen seems satisfied with the sorting and given Repp a take, the gnome takes to it with gusto.
Following the directions of these new, very unusual individuals, Korren darts down the cargo ramp. It does not seem that he is hurrying, but his motions are almost too fast to register. He comes to a stop in front of the small pale man.
This pale person is the same size I would have been. Is this the new torment, to taunt me with what could have been? It will not work, evil ones.
A flicker of something crosses his face, gone too quickly to be identified, and he glances at the sky for a moment before bringing his attention back to Repp.
Tybs had indeed planned that, taking the piece with his pawn.
"It's always worked just fine for me. And you just light them with Fairy lights. Like using Spark on a normal candle."
He nods, confirming his belief that crafting can go ary exactly in such a way.
"If this is made to amplify the dragon blood you've got in you, it's a definite possibility that it could go overboard if more, ie your feathers, we're incorporated into the pattern. Not to mention that you wouldn't be you anymore. You'd just be a linnorm. I mean, they're big and powerful, but kinda not the best in social situations. I like being your friend and not getting eaten for being I'm what you consider your territory, ie our room. I don't think I've ever been to Tien before. Maybe we could go visit some time?"
He winks and does the mouth locking motion when you convey your secret.
"I promise I won't tell. But, that does make this more important not to screw up if you can't make another one of those yourself. All the more reason to get it right the first time. I should practice too. Maybe on some of the things I've bought and made."
He pauses for a moment when the subject of his fear is reconsidered.
"I'm just so afraid of what could happen. I haven't even been able to make or buy anything to block it because I'm too afraid it would be the broken kind that flares up when you put it on. But I don't want to be afraid any more. Especially now that I've met you. I want you to be able to be yourself around me and not have to be afraid of hurting or scaring me. Do you think you could help me get over this?"
Dave frowns, not thinking it right that a bishop would loose to a mere pawn, but then it had just taken out a knight and... Whatever the little castle thing is supposed to be... He shrugs and bites at his lip in contemplation and looks up when the cat continues talking merely nodding at the comments about the candles and looking up at the cat briefly when he mentions something more that he can comment on "hold on a bit, just remembered... Linnorms don't have wings, let alone feathers, they just sorta swim through the air, I can too but the mental effort involved to will myself through the sky causes headaches so I use my wings, these things aren't anywhere near enough to push me through the sky when I'm made of diamond, and they'd be pushing it even when I'm not simply because of my bones not being hollow, it's mostly or at least partially something to distract me because it's easier to tell myself that my wings are totally enough to lift me through the air, than it is to tell myself that gravity just doesn't apy at all, which is why when I beat my wings harder it does help" he then pauses, realizing he had gotten distracted "anyway, back on topic, wouldn't the feathers be suffused with angelic magic more then linnorm magics? I'm not sure how that could go wrong, I mean, angels are the good guys, I've never heard of one that ate people" he decides to move one of the end pawns as far out as it would go so that, perhaps the turn after next he'd be able to get his little castle thing out... On second thought "hey can any of these pieces go over allied pieces,?" After being told the answer he pauses with his hand hovering over a knight on one side before moving his pawn foward two spaces and then says "I trust you, you won't screw up. But if you feel you need the practice... " he removes a mithril ring from his right hand "this ring is has a feature allowing it to absorb Magic, thing is, the trigger to release said magics is telepathic and all of my mental powers are sealed up, I'm too sc- cautious to even give a mental whisper, so that feature is mostly useless for now. If you could put in an additional command phrase that's audible that'd be great" he frowns "I've never had any of my magic items randomly explode.... Though I guess cursed items don't work on me... Hmm if you want I could come with you and use some divination to make sure you aren't being tricked into buying a cursed exploding vest or ring of fire resistance or something"
the overly large coutal cough and says in a strangely neutral tone, "what makes you think that this is not my true form, given that your divination skill claim that it is such"
"We see readings like you have often on druids, were-creatures, and other shapeshifters. Even with those that have either forgotten or chosen to forget what they are, there are echoes of their true form present in these readings. This is the prana remembering its experiences. Think of this as a map used for healing the body and spirit. Much like a navigator will use their knowledge of the stars to guide their ship from port to port."
Khassar pulls up a diagram on the monitor showing examples of this.
"With you however, it is as if your prana have no experience to draw upon. An analogy would be the explorer in uncharted wilderness. Until your prana blazes the trails of experience to establish new nadi and minor chakra you will have no map of your true form."
Khassar splits the screen on the monitor and pulls up a diagram of the coutal's diagnostics for comparison.
"And what if I'm simply an outsider who lost their true form when I died the first time"
Djalos says calmly, "The Anonemuss. We don't generally operate in the ninja clans' area, but it was a high priced contract. My handler couldn't refuse. I just thought I should let you know. I have been feeling guilty about it ever since I saw you. Ever since the local psychic expert removed a block on my emotions that my own handler placed there, I have been feeling guilty about everything, surprisingly. I'm sorry is the correct thing to say now, I believe. Forgive me, my social conduct has not been up to par." Djalos delivers nearly all of this information in a neutral tone of voice, but at the words of my handler there is a tinge of bitterness that shows just a bit of a crack in the calm exterior.
The young elf suddenly takes a deep breath. "He... he was young... he didn't stand a chance. I'm sorry," he says, his voice suddenly raw and wavering before he stiffens again.
"I'd heard those guys were psychos," she said tersely. "I don't suppose you remember when and where this happened?"
... and reveals Fei's somewhat...conflicted visage.
His form slumps in slightly, as if releasing a large breath held longer than necessary. He looks around the room and back to his host.
"It...seemed to be safer out in the hall," he replies with a weak smile, eyeing a stack of papers with a pronounced lean to it. (^-^)
"I know, right. People never realize I'm being literal when I say I'm buried in paperwork," Jiminy says, with an attempt at humor, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. The strain of the last few days is starting to add up and what he really needs is rest, but that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
"How are you holding up?" he asks quietly, leaning against the desk/piles of papers.
"The first attack happened during the attack on the school when the wards were down. The second two....we don't know how he does it exactly, but somehow he lured the second victim off of school grounds. She didn't even remember walking into the woods. We can't ask the third victim, but she was also found off school grounds, so I'm assuming that the killer was somehow able to lure her outside the wards as well. Whoever or whatever he is, he's careful not to commit violence inside the wards. And we can't maintain a constant watch outside the wards. I asked. Security systems are still recovering from the attack."
"...Are you sure you're okay with this? You seemed....uncomfortable? I'm sorry, I haven't quite figured out what yellow means...."
"Traitors." Illithia mutters under her breath, raising a inked hand to see the tattoo having shifted to the muted yellow colour.
"Yellow is usually fear, or panic, or something like that." Illithia says, still staring up at the ceiling and trying overly hard to seem brazen about it. "That's alright though. You should be worried if I wasn't nervous about something like this, right? Haha."
Yeah, that was a pretty forced laugh.
She tries to act like it's nothing though, moving straight on from the topic. "Alright, so who's the group of friends and are there are available (and preferably handsome) guys I could go start hitting on?"
"You're right. Fear is a healthy response for something like this. And you don't have to do this. It's okay to change your mind."
"Uh...not really sure about anyone's relationship status here....Ace has a girlfriend....sort of...it's complicated. I don't know. Ace is more into the social stuff than I have been. Let's start there."
Tyrrin's eyes suddenly light up, a clear epiphany sketched across her face. "What about a vampire? Is there evidence of vampiric feeding on the victims? It would fit everything. Targeting young women, powers that affect the mind, difficult to track by scent. Many vampires even have red eyes." She grins at Ace. "We should find out if there are known vampires here."
"Huh, I have no idea if there the girls had any bite marks on them, and I also don't know if there was any other sign of feeding. We would have to ask those who found them initially." He pauses, thinking. "Who else would know if there are any vampires here, aside from the Headmaster? He's awfully busy right now, so I'd rather not bother him further. Is vampirism something that would need to be registered with the infirmary/medical staff?"
"I would say my handler was sociopathic, not psychopathic. As was I, until about... well, less than an hour ago. Huh. I was a sociopath. That is... startling. And I feel even more guilty now. Strange."
Djalos is sincere. Nanami can tell that by the fact that he is even more emotionless and robotic than before.
"And 21 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days ago. Nikiragawa. The contract was on a minor noble named Inaio. Petty noble war. Lots of money to be made. I didn't see any of it. I didn't care about anything like that, though. I didn't care about anything at all, I suppose. I was a machine. A tool," Djalos says, gradually growing angrier... at what, or whom, Nanami can't tell. He seems to have forgotten that he is speaking aloud-he's lost in some sort of memory.
"They didn't care about me at all! They-huh. This is new. What's this feeling? I can feel adrenaline heightening my touchsense. I didn't call on it. What emotion is this?" This is too audacious to not be true.
Tyrrin's eyes suddenly light up, a clear epiphany sketched across her face. "What about a vampire? Is there evidence of vampiric feeding on the victims? It would fit everything. Targeting young women, powers that affect the mind, difficult to track by scent. Many vampires even have red eyes." She grins at Ace. "We should find out if there are known vampires here."
"I know, right. People never realize I'm being literal when I say I'm buried in paperwork," Jiminy says, with an attempt at humor, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. The strain of the last few days is starting to add up and what he really needs is rest, but that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
"How are you holding up?" he asks quietly, leaning against the desk/piles of papers.
He ponders that question for a few seconds.
"I believe I am on par with you, if I were to make a...rough equivalency," he finally replies. "That is probably not the best thing for either of us...I will endeavor to take up no more of your time than is necessary."
He bows respectfully, closing his eyes for a moment to maintain his center before continuing.
"I was...able to obtain a diverse collection of information from the Imperial facility I visited. I hope it can be put to better use by us than by the Imperial family. All protective countermeasures have been removed from the data by my neural lace, but I understand if you wish to have me transfer it to an isolated network or keep it with me to be safe."
"In addition, your mother and I spoke briefly before I left about further measures to safely use my excess energies, as my output appears to be...increasing. She mentioned adding more storage units, but I thought there might be some benefit in utilizing some of it this facility as well. I...wish to have no more 'accidents' if I can help it..."
Ghalen takes a step back, letting the medical personnel handle the wounded. He does what he does best, and observes, watching the people, their body language, looking to see if anyone is paying a little too much attention, or by contrast, is acting a little too disinterested.
Mel gives Arthur a reassuring smile, don't worry, what could possibly go wrong? she adds trying to keep herself confident as much as reassuring everyone else.
taking the two devices. Mel heads to the rift opening. Activating all the necessary protective shields before getting to close. Once there, Mel takes a moment to give the area a temporal scan. identifying the boundaries of the rift opening.
she pulls out her sonic devices and scans the opening. she relays back Arthur, you reading me? she messages back.
a review of the scans she notices something. Ahhh, guys, I think I was right, there is definitely something else in this rift. I need to go in to investigate.
with that Mel launches herself using the suit's flight ability. for someone that never flew before, seems to have gotten the hang of the suit rather quickly.
Mel vanishes from most tracking devices as she disappears inside the rift.
|
Arthur chokes back a pained laugh at her thinking What could possibly go wrong, this looks to be one of the few times where you could say something like "the world could end.. Or worse, we built this in a couple hours with limited resources and none of us having worked together before... Ok be calm, make something "just promise me you'll be careful" he says, and turns to disassemble some of the spare equipment once she takes off, attempting to make a holographic projector to map her position.
"Yeah I'm reading ya, be carefu... If need be your palm thrust stabilization gears have been configured to shoot a pulse of plasmic energy as a weapon in the event of an appropriate emergency"
"You're right. Fear is a healthy response for something like this. And you don't have to do this. It's okay to change your mind."
"Uh...not really sure about anyone's relationship status here....Ace has a girlfriend....sort of...it's complicated. I don't know. Ace is more into the social stuff than I have been. Let's start there."
"Hey, I gotta earn my keep around here don't I? I'm not a dragon or super-powered like the ones around here who always save the day, so I gotta do what I can." Again, Illithia's dancing around the issue, downplaying her own fear. It's pretty easy to see through, even without the colour-changing ink patterning her skin. She pushes herself back up to a sitting position on the bed, accidently knocking a book and causing a small avalanche of stuff to tumble off the bed.
She blushes again momentarily and grins sheepishly. "Whoops."
"Alright, let's go see this Ace guy then. No use in sitting around."
Following the directions of these new, very unusual individuals, Korren darts down the cargo ramp. It does not seem that he is hurrying, but his motions are almost too fast to register. He comes to a stop in front of the small pale man.
This pale person is the same size I would have been. Is this the new torment, to taunt me with what could have been? It will not work, evil ones.
A flicker of something crosses his face, gone too quickly to be identified, and he glances at the sky for a moment before bringing his attention back to Repp.
After having sorted through a few others (and action which involves a brief conversation, and to the perceptive, Repp's eyes glowing momentarily), giving them a brief set of instructions to help them get settled, he moves on to the strange half-spider creature.
The gnome's mannerisms are very calming. There are no sudden movements, and his voice flows with a gentle authority as he speaks. It is difficult to find fault in the way he conducts himself.
"Greetings. My name is Repparyn. May I have your name?" Korren will note that again, Repp's eyes glow very briefly.
"I would say my handler was sociopathic, not psychopathic. As was I, until about... well, less than an hour ago. Huh. I was a sociopath. That is... startling. And I feel even more guilty now. Strange."
Djalos is sincere. Nanami can tell that by the fact that he is even more emotionless and robotic than before.
"And 21 years, 9 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days ago. Nikiragawa. The contract was on a minor noble named Inaio. Petty noble war. Lots of money to be made. I didn't see any of it. I didn't care about anything like that, though. I didn't care about anything at all, I suppose. I was a machine. A tool," Djalos says, gradually growing angrier... at what, or whom, Nanami can't tell. He seems to have forgotten that he is speaking aloud-he's lost in some sort of memory.
"They didn't care about me at all! They-huh. This is new. What's this feeling? I can feel adrenaline heightening my touchsense. I didn't call on it. What emotion is this?" This is too audacious to not be true.
"Oh," she said with a sigh of relief when she found out the crime in question happened before she was born. "Pretty sure what you're feeling is anger. You're pissed as hell that you were used. You don't have to worry about the Akuma taking revenge by the way. That was taken care of ages ago. Obaa-sama took care of the Nikiragawa incident before he became clan leader. Water under the bridge."
"I know, right. People never realize I'm being literal when I say I'm buried in paperwork," Jiminy says, with an attempt at humor, but the smile doesn't reach his eyes. The strain of the last few days is starting to add up and what he really needs is rest, but that doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.
"How are you holding up?" he asks quietly, leaning against the desk/piles of papers.
He ponders that question for a few seconds.
"I believe I am on par with you, if I were to make a...rough equivalency," he finally replies. "That is probably not the best thing for either of us...I will endeavor to take up no more of your time than is necessary."
He bows respectfully, closing his eyes for a moment to maintain his center before continuing.
"I was...able to obtain a diverse collection of information from the Imperial facility I visited. I hope it can be put to better use by us than by the Imperial family. All protective countermeasures have been removed from the data by my neural lace, but I understand if you wish to have me transfer it to an isolated network or keep it with me to be safe."
"In addition, your mother and I spoke briefly before I left about further measures to safely use my excess energies, as my output appears to be...increasing. She mentioned adding more storage units, but I thought there might be some benefit in utilizing some of it this facility as well. I...wish to have no more 'accidents' if I can help it..."
Jiminy opened a cabinet with some difficulty as there were piles of paper in the way of the doors and pulled out a data pad, handing it to Fei. "You can put the data on that. It's not connected to any network, so there's no risk. But it might be a good idea to keep a copy of it yourself too just in case."
"Hmm." He ran his hand through his hair as he considered the power issues. "Yeah, I can build more power storage units out here no problem. It would be a big help in getting more facilities built honestly.... Say, Fei, you're a ki user right? That's how your stuff works? And you don't have any problems with airsickness or anything?" he said, eyes lighting up as an idea filtered through his tired brain.
"Dammit! Melody? Can you hear me, Melody? Please respond," Aananda said over the radio, as she frantically tried to find some way to track the young girl inside the rift.
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"You're right. Fear is a healthy response for something like this. And you don't have to do this. It's okay to change your mind."
"Uh...not really sure about anyone's relationship status here....Ace has a girlfriend....sort of...it's complicated. I don't know. Ace is more into the social stuff than I have been. Let's start there."
"Hey, I gotta earn my keep around here don't I? I'm not a dragon or super-powered like the ones around here who always save the day, so I gotta do what I can." Again, Illithia's dancing around the issue, downplaying her own fear. It's pretty easy to see through, even without the colour-changing ink patterning her skin. She pushes herself back up to a sitting position on the bed, accidently knocking a book and causing a small avalanche of stuff to tumble off the bed.
She blushes again momentarily and grins sheepishly. "Whoops."
"Alright, let's go see this Ace guy then. No use in sitting around."
"As the lady wishes," he said with a mock bow.
Once in the hallway, he touched a hand to the wall and followed the arrows to Ace.
"Hey, Ace. I've brought a friend and we have a terrible idea, but it just might work," he said by way of greeting.
Keme walks in on Tyrrin and Ace discussing the possibility of the presence of vampires in the school. She looks at Keme with a non-plussed expression, her eyes straying to the inked halfling who had entered with him before returning to the Kitsune. She doesn't say anything yet, allowing Ace to direct the conversation.
After being fully examined by the infirmary and given a clean bill of health and free of magical influences, Ardiente makes his way out of the infirmary, his stomach still churning at little at the memory of the filth that he had reached through to pull the hangar open. He shivers slightly, the cold of the surface seeming to chill a little more than usual. The infirmary hadn't found anything though, so he had written it off simply as nerves.
He makes his way to class, leaving the bustle of the nurses behind him.
Rena hurries frantically through the halls of the school, half-running and half-flying flapping her wing for extra speed, following to arrows towards Bradley. She had no idea what he could give, but he was the first person to come to mind when she started panicking after Tryko'Sam vanished.
Rena hurries frantically through the halls of the school, half-running and half-flying flapping her wing for extra speed, following to arrows towards Bradley. She had no idea what he could give, but he was the first person to come to mind when she started panicking after Tryko'Sam vanished.
The arrows lead her to the infirmary where Bradley is having a particularly rough time of things as his ability just won't seem to shut off and he is subjected to one disaster after another. In an attempt to stop the cycle, he has been put in an isolation room.
Ace smiles, truly smiles for the first time since he found out what happened to Ginni, at Keme's new friend "Hi there, I'm Ace, which you already know, and my cranky friend here is Tyrrin." He says by way of introductions, offering a handshake to Illithia.
He then turns his attention back to Keme "I'm all for terrible ideas. Occasionally, those can be the most fun."
Ace smiles, truly smiles for the first time since he found out what happened to Ginni, at Keme's new friend "Hi there, I'm Ace, which you already know, and my cranky friend here is Tyrrin." He says by way of introductions, offering a handshake to Illithia.
He then turns his attention back to Keme "I'm all for terrible ideas. Occasionally, those can be the most fun."
"So, the thing is that Illithia here has volunteered to be bait for a trap to try and catch this guy once and for all. So we can stop being a step behind him. I already told her she definitely doesn't have to do this," he said, putting his hands up to forestall the obvious arguments. "And she's free to back out if she changes her mind. But I figured it was only fair to at least present the option."
Ace flashes an evil grin, and his eyes glow red momentarily "A trap, to catch the guy who murdered my girlfriend, as well as killed another friend, along with all of the innocent animals she cared for? This sounds like an amazingly spectacular idea" The tone in Ace's is considerably more grim.
Jiminy opened a cabinet with some difficulty as there were piles of paper in the way of the doors and pulled out a data pad, handing it to Fei. "You can put the data on that. It's not connected to any network, so there's no risk. But it might be a good idea to keep a copy of it yourself too just in case."
"Very well," Fei replies, accepting the datapad with another small bow. The device whirs to life as the connection is established and data begins to be copied over.
"Hmm." He ran his hand through his hair as he considered the power issues. "Yeah, I can build more power storage units out here no problem. It would be a big help in getting more facilities built honestly.... Say, Fei, you're a ki user right? That's how your stuff works? And you don't have any problems with airsickness or anything?" he said, eyes lighting up as an idea filtered through his tired brain.
The young monk looks at him quizzically.
"...Many of my abilities are tied to my ki, yes, though my energy issues appear (thus far) to be separate from it. I also have had no issues with airsickness that I can recall. I do not fly very often, but it causes me no discomfort if that is what you are referring to."
"Why do you ask?"
Djalos nods. "Indeed." Pausing for a moment, he asks tentatively, "How do you deal with... this? It's so distracting. Right now I'm feeling anger, some sort of relief, gladness, happiness... it's reducing my efficiency? How do people deal with emotions?"
After having sorted through a few others (and action which involves a brief conversation, and to the perceptive, Repp's eyes glowing momentarily), giving them a brief set of instructions to help them get settled, he moves on to the strange half-spider creature.
The gnome's mannerisms are very calming. There are no sudden movements, and his voice flows with a gentle authority as he speaks. It is difficult to find fault in the way he conducts himself.
"Greetings. My name is Repparyn. May I have your name?" Korren will note that again, Repp's eyes glow very briefly.
Korren looks blankly at Repp for a few instants. When he speaks his voice is flat and without inflection, but there are faint sounds of electrical discharge crackling through it, "My name is Korren Blake." As you very well know. This ruse has gotten old.
"And what if I'm simply an outsider who lost their true form when I died the first time"
"Yes, the reincarnation principle. I suppose one who had lost their form for a long enough time could show these readings. Especially, if that one had returned to a full energy state of conscience, and then been forcibly converted back to a state of matter. The energy release alone could power most planets for a century, not to mention the spell applications."
"....what?"
"I believe you have been forcefully reincarnated from an energy state of being to a material state of being."
"uh....maybe?" he says looking confused.
"Almost everything in the universe is in a state of change. This change usually happens in stages. An earthworm becomes an elephant in another life. This elephant becomes a dragon in another life. The dragon reverts to a mere human in the next life. This cycle of change continues until the end of everything, and includes time spent as energy states. Consider in this case that pure thought equals an energy state. While these states are natural they are rarely achieved by the earthworm without going through the transitory stages and vice-versa. All of these changes require energy. The greater the difference between the pure material and the pure energetic the greater the energy required.
In your case, I believe that you were much closer to the energetic than the material when you were forcibly reincarnated. Done properly, this would have caused a sudden release of much of your life energy."
Khassar pulls up surveillance records of the coutal's arrival to the school.
"According to these records the amount of energy you were releasing upon your arrival upon this plane caused the school to see you as a threat. Not as great a threat as other things going on at the moment, but enough it took notice. When it realized you were dying it decided to drop you in the woods to let you stabilize. Even now you are still releasing large amounts of energy. This energy will continue to be released until your chakras adjust to this new state."
"Dammit! Melody? Can you hear me, Melody? Please respond," Aananda said over the radio, as she frantically tried to find some way to track the young girl inside the rift.
Aananda only recieves static for a bit as she frantically works the controls. but soon there is the familiar sound of Mel's sonic device heard over the speakers.
soon a visual starts to come into view. it is a bit hazy but it is definitely Mel.
can you hear me? I made some adjustments to the communications, the interior of the rift was not as we expected. there are changing energy patterns here that threw off the calculations. I compensated for it for now, but I think the changes get more drastic the further I go.
Oh yeah, Arthur, this suit is AWESOME! Thank's so much, remind me to buy you dinner when I get back. maybe even some desert.
(of course to Arthur's embarrassment Mel forgot that she was broadcasting to everyone in the room)
Anyway, there is definitely an object in here. I need to be sure it will not be a problem. any advice?
"Almost everything in the universe is in a state of change. This change usually happens in stages. An earthworm becomes an elephant in another life. This elephant becomes a dragon in another life. The dragon reverts to a mere human in the next life. This cycle of change continues until the end of everything, and includes time spent as energy states. Consider in this case that pure thought equals an energy state. While these states are natural they are rarely achieved by the earthworm without going through the transitory stages and vice-versa. All of these changes require energy. The greater the difference between the pure material and the pure energetic the greater the energy required.
In your case, I believe that you were much closer to the energetic than the material when you were forcibly reincarnated. Done properly, this would have caused a sudden release of much of your life energy."Khassar pulls up surveillance records of the coutal's arrival to the school.
"According to these records the amount of energy you were releasing upon your arrival upon this plane caused the school to see you as a threat. Not as great a threat as other things going on at the moment, but enough it took notice. When it realized you were dying it decided to drop you in the woods to let you stabilize. Even now you are still releasing large amounts of energy. This energy will continue to be released until your chakras adjust to this new state."
"I thought that when mortals died they became outsiders, and when outsiders died they either became one with their plain or became a different outsider,... Wait... Are you saying I'm still loosing power?!? Fix it!"
Tybalt shakes his head at the chess question.
"Nothing stacks on anything, but if a pawn makes it to the end, it becomes another queen."
He thinks for a moment about how best to describe why it would be the dragon.
"Well, I'm pretty sure it would be the dragon part of you. Nothing of you is more one thing than another. Your wings may be from your angelic heritage, but it's all still you. Like, nothing of you is more you than any other part, right? It would be the dragon part amplified because that's what your robe's magic is tuned to do. Having any part of you, wings or otherwise is still an open channel into your body, because it would be considered part of it. If that gets enchanted, it'd be too easy for it to follow your body back in and mess with all sorts of things internally."
He pauses for a moment as he takes his move.
"And, for the record, since we've decided it's not worth the risk, even if doing that did result in your angelic part being amplified, it's not any different than your draconic part being done. The problem is it wouldn't be you anymore. The amplified part of your aura would destroy the rest of it, and you wouldn't be the same person. It'd be like you died and someone else took your body over. And I can't do that. Not for the power of a dragon. Not for the power of an angel. Or even the power of a God. Nothing is worth destroying who you are. Because... You're irreplaceable. There is never going to be another David De'foul. And destroying that isn't a sacrifice. It would be a waste."
He seems pretty intense for a moment there. Seems like he really cares about Dave. He eases down a bit as he inspects the ring, looking at it more methodically than he would normally. He has to get a feel of it with his powers down, when he'd normally just flash his eyes and know everything about it.
"I think I can do that pretty easy. What do you want it to be? The command word, I mean. And ya, I'd really appreciate you helping me out. The sudden ignition is just for broken resistance vests, it's not a usual thing... that... ha-..."
As he turns the ring over, the transparent bubble of shimmery soap that surrounds his aura becomes much more visible in Dave's champion vision. From the top of it, several small bubble detach and drift off, popping soon after they depart. As the first few drift away, he blinks his eyes and shakes his head, as if trying to clear his mind. As more drift away, his speech becomes scattered and he passes out, dropping the ring and falling out of the bed onto his head if immediate response and action isn't undertaken to stop his fall.
Hermes stands by, idly running diagnostics on the stump where his right arm used to be. He is aware if the fact that he doesn't know enough about the subject to be of any help and doesn't intend to interupt.
dave blinks a few times "I didn't really understand much of any of that technobabble but the rest of it.. wow... I don't really know what to say..."
he takes his move and positions his rook, aided by his remaining bishop such that they should be able to take a number of key pieces unless stopped
"ah that's easy, make it Dov... no wait, kaaz... Tybs... you ok..." he reaches down to catch him "what's going on man, who's doing this to you" he then puts the cat on the bed and presses a panic button on the side of the bed to call a nurse to the room or turn on an intercom.
after he does this he closes his eyes and tries to meditate, find some way he can trace his friend's draining aura.