Alton glares at Jiminy, who can swear his shirt is is in danger of catching fire, before gently picking up the baby rats. His expression is quite different as he handles his rats, cooing softly to ease the fear of the little ones before the disappear in an overly large puff of smoke and ash.
Jim keeps his defensive posture until Alton leaves.
His primary mind will manifest Recall Death Augmented through the use of the Telepath discipline ability to raise its saving throw DC. Will save DC = 24. If he saves he takes damage.
Phaeze's secondary mind will have control of his body for a moment and will cast Feeblemind. The will save DC is 20 (or 24 if he can use arcane spells).
Both Jiminy and Jim will get just about as lethal a glare as Phaeze can muster without actually putting magic behind it.
So. We will just let our enemies depart with their victory? You are both fools.
Phaeze will then rise into the air, cause his Psicrystal to use Telekinetic Force to open the door, and fly out of it disappearing into invisibility as he crosses the threshold.
Jim will walk up to Alton, provided he does nothing to harm him, and extend his hand.
It could have been worse. You could have killed everyone. I thank you for not doing so. This doesn't mean this is over, but we'll finish it later. Definitely the hardest I've ever fought, though. Oh, right. Sorry about your rats, I was under the impression you were completely destroying Agartha. Well then, I'll be off.
Whether Alton shakes Jim's hand or not, he'll then leave to find Aananda and the others. In fact,
::Is everyone alright? If not complete destruction, then what happened?::
As soon as the explosion occurs, the presence in the link is gone violently. So violently that Vai screams both out loud and through the link, and collapses to her knees. Still humanoid, but with all her draconic features, and covered in scales, Vai breathes hard for a second before collapsing into a fit of sobs.
Vai's scream gets Ephebe's attention, and even in the middle of her own upset, she couldn't ignore her friend's pain. Especially given the presence she'd felt in the link before everything went haywire.
She stumbled over to Vai and held her while she cried, looking up helplessly at Krays, tears still streaming down her own face.
::As if there weren't enough wrong right now...I think Aegythrax may have found Vai.::
Vai welcomes the comfort by burying her face into Ephebe's shoulder. Her draconic features are slowly reverting back to half-elf, her voice is choked. "I.. I whu-was so scared Ephebe. I don't even know why... but we lost didn't we?"
"What in the Underdark is going on?"
Vai welcomes the comfort by burying her face into Ephebe's shoulder. Her draconic features are slowly reverting back to half-elf, her voice is choked. "I.. I whu-was so scared Ephebe. I don't even know why... but we lost didn't we?"
"Yeah. We lost. Taron somehow found a way to turn the planet inside out. We're on the surface now instead of under it," she said, her voice hoarse from crying.
Over in Anderail, Michael picks himself up off the floor and starts helping everyone else to their feet.
"What in the world was that?"
Comforts Ephebe the best he can and just lets her cry...
::Vai isn't the only one in danger of being found now...I'll never understand why Taron thought this was a good idea.::
Over in Anderail, Michael picks himself up off the floor and starts helping everyone else to their feet.
"What in the world was that?"
"I have no idea. Wow. It was...did anyone else feel everything go whoosh when the crash happened. What could have caused that?" she asked, confused and disoriented.
*meep*
Saffire huddled shivering on Kitty's shoulder, trying to hide under her hair.
There was a moment of confusion among the lycans as they tried to process what was going on and everyone looked around trying to figure out where the attack was coming from.
Jeran took advantage of his chance and pinned Ssrena, putting her in a chokehold until she passed out from lack of oxygen.
The totem spirit faded away as its summoner lost consciousness.
Comforts Ephebe the best he can and just lets her cry...
"Vai isn't the only one in danger of being found now...I'll never understand why Taron thought this was a good idea."
Ephebe shook her head. "I don't even begin to understand."
The lycans who were effected by Nala's suggestion stayed quiet and seated through the whole mess and she decided the best thing to do was to keep casting mass suggestion to get everyone to just calmly sit until the teachers could sort out the mess. She didn't want the violence to erupt again.
"I have no idea. Wow. It was...did anyone else feel everything go whoosh when the crash happened. What could have caused that?" she asked, confused and disoriented.
*meep*
Saffire huddled shivering on Kitty's shoulder, trying to hide under her hair.
"It's okay, Saff, I don't here anyone screaming. The forest got real quiet though." Michael says as he scratches between Saffire's wings.
Anthony dashes up the stairs before anyone can stop him and is up at the top of the tree in no time. He comes back down looking very confused.
"Um, I think something happened to the sky. It's not the same as last night."
Kitty runs up the stairs to see what he's talking about. She gets to the top of the tree and looks up. The dark seems to extend a lot farther than it should.
"What....what are those points of light in the sky? They're pretty, but....when did the sky get so big?" she asks, both confused and amazed.
"Oh my." Is all Sylvia can say as she huddles closer to Jerak. "That's... I don't know what that is."
"Kitty, I've got a weird feeling about this." Michael says as he looks up at the starlit sky for the first time.
Kitty nodded and took Michael's hand for comfort. Looking up at this sky made her feel very small.
"Something really big happened. I just don't know what."
Should we go to Avalon and see if any of the teachers know?" Michael asks.
"The light we're seeing now..." Anthony says softly as he stares at the constellations. "It's very old."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I have no idea."
Kitty shivered. "I've always been really comfortable being high up before, but right now it feels like we could fall into the sky..."
"The lights look so far away....."
"Maybe going back to Avalon would be a good idea."
Ryuzo gets a respite from the confusion, and looks around, seeing the creature Fei was fighting wink out, and Jeran choke out Ssrena. He'll approach Jeran, still in were-mole form...
"I heard the homeroom bells just before the 'boom'. Maybe we should take advantage of the confusion and Nala's help here to get people to their homerooms before their blood gets up in a boil again."
"Michael, you be careful. Pay attention to that weird feeling." Jerak tells his son.
"You two take care of each other, okay?" His mother asks.
"You had better not stay gone too long." Anthony tells his older brother. "You still owe me a familiar."
Cait just looks at them both.
Jeran looks at Ryuzo critically, automatically suspicious of someone who appeared to be friendly with the witch. But he nodded reluctantly.
"Just one thing first."
He looked around at the lycans, most of them unconscious or incapacitated.
"Okay, those of you who can hear me, you can explain this to the ones who are unconscious later on. You want free of my leadership. Fine. You can have what you want. Just remember later on that this was what you asked for. I doubt the teachers will give you as much freedom as you're used to after this stunt, and clearly I can't stop you from hurting others as your leader. I never wanted to lead. All I want is to leave the forest laws behind me and never look back. That's all I ever wanted, but I couldn't let you bring that violence here to Avalon. I failed. Now you're on your own."
"Alright, that about covers it. Let's get these guys where they're supposed to be."
"Don't worry. I won't let anything happen to Kitty. I like her too much." Michael says as he slips a ring on and steps out onto a branch. "I'll send word as soon as I know what's happened."
Kitty impulsively hugged Cait. And then she hugged Anthony.
"You can ask your parents to send you to Avalon too you know, anytime you want, but only if you want," she whispered.
She bowed respectfully to Michael's parents. "Thank you very much for your hospitality Dacamara-sama." And then she couldn't quite resist the urge to hug them both.
"Don't worry. I'll do my best to make sure that Michael stays in one piece." ^.^
Kitty runs back inside to get her things. She didn't own enough clothes to be able to just leave them behind her. And then ran back outside to catch up with Michael.
Ryuzo's clones start helping up students and ushering them out of the artroom...he saunters over to Nala, taking his human form along the way. He hugs her.
"Using your powers for good...who'd'a thunk it?" he says teasingly to Nala "Jeran didn't even seem to mind. Good work, there hon. Now to figure out what the hell that shaking was all about, huh?"
She shook her head. "Jeran minded. A lot. But he was busy with other stuff."
"You go ahead....I have a long overdue apology to make. I think he might listen without outright trying to kill me right now."
Krays continues to hold Ephebe, then tenses up a bit.
::With all of the crap going on with the champions, why would Alton choose now to do this? Won't this just escalate things? We also need to figure out how to hide our auras. Maybe Ryuzo can help with that...sorry, my mind is going a mile a minute trying to think of all the implications of this attack, and what the future holds...::
He looks very unsure, then sighs, and gives her a peck on the cheek"Ok. I'll be in homeroom." He heads off to homeroom...nod/bows to Fei in respect along the way...
::Well....to a certain extent it works against Madness as much as us since it can't help but shake up his plans...but that's going to be a short window before he's back up and running. And now he can bring in allies from the outside, yes. ...I'm not altogether certain which side Knowledge is on right now.::
Kitty impulsively hugged Cait. And then she hugged Anthony.
"You can ask your parents to send you to Avalon too you know, anytime you want, but only if you want," she whispered.
"I'll think about it." He whispers back as he returns the hug.
She bowed respectfully to Michael's parents. "Thank you very much for your hospitality Dacamara-sama." And then she couldn't quite resist the urge to hug them both.
They both hug Kitty back.
"Come back anytime, Kitty. I think I still have a lot of recipes to learn."
"Don't worry. I'll do my best to make sure that Michael stays in one piece." ^.^
"It's how she likes me best." Michael says as he holds a hand out to Kitty. "We're taking the fast way down. Mom, I'll send the ring back later."
"Keep it for now."
Nala took a deep breath before approaching Jeran. He growled a little when he saw her approach.
"I know you don't want to talk to me and I don't blame you. I'll make this quick, I promise. I just want you to listen. I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did to you. It was wrong, and I can see that now. I was so wrapped up in my own concerns that I didn't consider what my actions were doing to other people, or rather I didn't consider it important. I was very wrong. I hurt you more than anyone else. What happened here tonight...it wasn't your fault. I know you're going to try to blame yourself, but this was my fault. I forced things into this and you just tried to hold it together as best you could. I am very sorry for what I did. If there is ever anything I can do to repay that debt even a little, just ask. That's all I wanted to say."
Jeran glared at her. "Just get out of my sight, witch. It's taking every bit of control I have not to gut you where you stand."
Nala nodded and retreated quickly, heading for homeroom. She sat down next to Ryuzo when she got there.
"That went better than I expected. He only threatened to kill me, he didn't actually try it."
Taking Kitty' s hand and holding her close, Michael steps off the branch. After a moment of that strange feeling people get when they fall, the ring on Michael's finger takes effect and slows them down enough to land safely on the forest floor. Michael takes a moment to look around and then runs off for the place the teleported to a few days ago.
"Hey, if you're watching, we're ready to come back to Avalon!"
It takes a moment, but then Michael and Kitty find themselves back in Avalon's Teleport Room. The dwarf looks at them and shakes his head.
"Ye sure picked a hell o' a time to come back, kid. First the lycans get all riled up and then that big 'plosion. Get to yer homeroom. Ye should have gotten a paper tellying ye which one yer in."
On the way to his homeroom, Ryuzo turns a corner to find it oddly absent of people, and sees a familiar face round a corner, not looking too happy.
"Well, aren't we the happy little champion."
Ryuzo smiles and says "Yeah, now that you mention it, I'm..." and is suddenly wraked with immense pain.
"I CAN CORRECT THAT!" the figure booms in a male voice. "I did not choose you to fall in love, I chose you to further my ends. While I do not begrudge the girl, or your feelings for her, you let the champion of knowledge trapse in here and ruin a good thing. I. Am. Not. Pleased."
"I...we...no one knew..." Ryuzo says between clenched teeth, and the pain stopped.
"I suppose you were at a disadvantage, not knowing how to find a suppressed aura. But also, had you not been persuing Mab's daughter, maybe you would have seen the signs? You MUST learn to read your environments, my dear champion. Or not, to your peril. You are mine, until death, and you will serve me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I do, Deception. I will be more vigilant in the future. But...oh nevermind."
It/she sighs "What, Ryuzo. Spit it out."
"Not to sound impertinent, but a heads up would be nice next time. If you knew he was coming why didn't..." A light seems to go off over his head. "You didn't know he was coming, did you?"
'She' looks a bit uncormfortable. "I have other things to occupy me, I do not look to mortal minutia, that is what YOU are for. Do not think you've won any kind of points here. We have mortal champions for a reason."
He nods"Ok, I get it. Be more mindful of my surroundings, watch for schemeing, find out if it's dangerous to us."
'She' seemed pleased "Good. Now, this is how you suppress your aura. I do not know how knowledge does it, but you can suppress yours.
While doing so, you cannot use your champion powers. It's a poker face, so to speak...she imparts the knowledge to him
"Oh...ok I feel stupid. Thanks I guess."
SHe raises an eyebrow. "Now, go do your job." She smiles "And you are correct. I can take Mab. If you choose to pursue Nala, you have my blessing, just do not let it interfere with your duties any longer."
"Yes, master..." Ryuzo says to empty air...he chuckles to himslef, shaking off the memory of the pain...and realizes he doesn't ache...
"Effing illusions..."
Nala nodded and retreated quickly, heading for homeroom. She sat down next to Ryuzo when she got there.
"That went better than I expected. He only threatened to kill me, he didn't actually try it."
"He what? Well, wolves will be wolves I guess. Do you feel any better?"
Waits until the children are seated and takes roll. He sees that Taron and Kamenwati are absent.
::Ryo-sama, all students accounted for, except Taron Sunwake and Kamenwati.::
Vakkler was silent for a minute. Then he snapped back into action, going amongst the lycanthropes and scribbling their names down on a piece of note paper. By the time the students begin to move to their homerooms, he's fairly certain he's caught most of the troublemakers.
::They wouldn't have stayed on Agartha.:: Ryo sends back, confusion and anger lacing his mental thoughts. ::Good work, Professor.::