Theo stays on board with the Atlantean Prince, conversing as well as they can.
"Alright, lets go. Fast and quick.
Suiting up and going forth with NIssa in tow. (biohack)
Taking a moment he tries to visually readjust to where the explosion was and where Theo/Charles was in the brief instant he saw anything.
+2 if Nissa's Aid Another can be applied here instead if no pilot checks to get down here; or an additional aid another as approriate.
Nissa says goodbye to L.C., with a promise to tell the details of her moment in temporal stasis later.
She changes to her stellar mote form to ‘co-pilot’ the mech. “You may be pleased to know that I can’t cause explosions in this form.”
"....Are you more dense in that mode and more durable? or are you somehow losing mass? As long as you can't fly through me and give me a heart attack. Although I'm sure there is a self destruct buttom somewhere in here."
Nissa is less than three inches tall. Her body is the shape of a winged woman, but she appears to be made entirely of white light engulfed in a miniature yellow sun.
“Oh, I know what you’re getting at. It was explained to me the first week I had my powers—when I thought I’d stay this size forever.
“Matter can neither be created nor destroyed.” She’s well aware this is basic knowledge to a scientist. She probably learned this in sixth grade or something, but forgot. That was, like, a decade ago, she says to herself defensively.
“So… that’s like… everyone knows that. So then, where does all my mass go? And I was thinking that maybe it’s that whole matter-energy thing. So… right now, I’m physically a woman. I feel like a woman, and I know I have wings now but… I just will myself to fly. I… can’t explain…” She really can’t. So she doesn’t try. “Okay, forget the wings.
“I think the smaller I get, I become energy. I mean, think about it. If we’re made of atoms, and I can become smaller than the parts of an atom, what am I made of?
“Energy!
“At subatomic size, I’m just a point of light!”
Charles is glad enough to stay within sight of Theo and the prince--close enough to run over if there's trouble, but hopefully far enough the prince doesn't start ordering him around in languages he doesn't speak. He's had about enough of those for the day.
Theo stays on board with the Atlantean Prince, conversing as well as they can.
Charles is glad enough to stay within sight of Theo and the prince--close enough to run over if there's trouble, but hopefully far enough the prince doesn't start ordering him around in languages he doesn't speak. He's had about enough of those for the day.
If the Prince ever got close enough to examine Charles, he probably patted or petted him or otherwise treated him as one might a race horse or some other large trained animal.
Deep at the bottom of the ocean trench, there are still signs of the battle, obviously, but no signs of the animals that fought in it. No traces even of the dead. There is enough life even down here still to make quick work of the meat and it is gone now.
The octopus does not emerge. Perhaps it will enjoy playing with the ruined mecha, but it is no longer being summoned by the Guardian.
The place is flooded with T-Radiation though. As you search, you begin to experience some disturbing side effects. You experience some of the visual hallucinations and trails. At one point, a fish swims by and you see it both before and during and after it swims by and then watch it all again. At one point Nissa thinks she hears, in a corner of her mind, "... banoo atalas nawara nagi banoo atalas nawara nagi banoo atalas nawara nagi banoo atalas ....".
It makes the search weird, but eventually you find the source of the radiation. It's too small for the mecha to pick up, actually--a sliver of shining white crystal among the silt and stone at the bottom of the trench.
Nissa asks Zellgato, “Shall I get out and pick it up?”
"Either or. We're getting irradated a bit regardless at this point. The mechs can flush out the liquid so we could just pop it open; just don't linger."
“The radiation will stop when I touch it with my gloved hand.” I think.
Nissa swims out and immediately changes to her normal form.
She grabs the crystal and reverts to her fairy form—sending the crystal to wherever her clothing and gear goes!
She then immediately re-enters the mech.
Kai blinks a few times at the prince's declaration (for that is what it was, not merely an introduction), then smirks. "Well, he'll certainly have a few surprises once we reach the surface." Still information was information, so Kai dutifully adds the words to the translator program database once the prince repeats the same phrase in Atlantean.
"Charles, you were down there when things started blowing up. Do you have any thoughts on what happened? I'm curious about your own observations and impressions." With Legion lost and many of the monitoring equipment on the Starfish scrambled to all hells by the radiation burst, Kai had to rely on other means of gathering information. That, and Charles didn't seem very comfortable around the prince, so perhaps he might welcome the diversion.
Charles is grateful enough for an excuse to stay away from the Prince. "Which part? When the shielding went down, when the ship exploded, or both?" He asks Kai with a bit of a grin, then immediately proceeds with, "When the shield went down, it was... I still don't know what it was. It was like I saw myself smeared out front and backwards... like I was seeing what I was about to do and what I'd just done all at once?"
He frowns. "There's some kind of time weirdness going on, isn't there?"
She's in that room of white again. The guardian is standing there with her again. She remembers him saying, "So, you will have met him by now. Magnificent, isn't he? ...[pause] ... Well, I think he's magnificent. ... Of course, I am but a mental projection of his, caught in timeless time. I guess you could say HE thinks HE'S magnificent. And, really, he is! ....[pause] .... I'm still here, aren't I? I think I will always be here ... I'll be here, when I'm gone, won't I?" And, then he was gone.
It feels like a fresh memory, but Nissa can be just as sure it wasn't there a moment ago.
Kai shrugs. "That is a valid hypothesis, especially considering that the field has apparently kept everything in stasis for a very long time. Hopefully it won't have lasting consequences, either for ourselves or for the area."
Back in the mech with Zellgato, Nissa (in fairy form) says, “That is so weird! I got got another memory of the Prince’s Guardian!
“I’m not sure what it means, but… I guess we’ll learn more in Boston. If I don’t become my full-sized self, the crystal remains… gone. Not sure where, but I’m sure it will be in my gloves hand when I change back.”
If possible, Nissa would like to retrieve her Mercy Pistol from the chunks of her mech. (One pistol was in the mech’s hand! She owns two.) She will remain in fairy form, so either Zellgato or his mech will need to hold Nissa’s gun, if salvageable.
Raising an unseen eyebrow-wearing a mask still; even inside the mecha. "What exactly was this Guardian? A person? An entity? Non physical? Is that Crystal actually part of it or was it?"
At Nissa's want, Zellgato will look for the lost firearm; but is not willing to come into conflict with the octopal over the lost weapon. --Even if he still would like to try eating it.
+2 if she helps.
1 biohack left. (Never took a 10min to make more) Only the one in the weapon is left currently.
The mission to retrieve the source of the T-Radiation--the sliver of crystal is successful. As for whether or not the pistol survived the explosion ...
Nissa sees her mercy pistol is no better off than the mech that held it.
As for the Guardian, “The Prince had a mental projection of himself. He’s the guy who tested me, basically by asking why we held back against the sharks, and sort of explained who the Prince is. It’s like AI, and to be honest, I like the AI version of the Prince better than the real one.
“But anyway, we rescued him without getting ourselves killed, so mission accomplished. The clean-up crew can grab my broken gun with the rest of the scrap.”
"Works for me. Fair shot that piece of rock might be part of the Guardian then. With any luck it'll have some left for the whole.. communication and arsebutt royal attitude thing."
Nissa finds a place on the deck to lay out in the sun in fairy form. At one point, she blinks seemingly from existence and is seen a minute later, flying down from over 100 feet in the air, having sat on the surface of an oxygen atom just to find out where the wind would blow it.
Once the yacht is in motion, Nissa does not mess with her subatomic size. She certainly does not revert to normal size. In her fairy form she spends much of her time lying in positions as if getting a suntan. She can’t do anything about the candleflame glow of her fairy ‘skin,’ but she can feel the warmth provided by her goddess. Somehow, in her Stellar Mote form, the sun seems warmer.
If anyone wants to chat with a fairy, Nissa will gladly respond. But she is very tired. The many uses of subatomic size, the multiple explosions, the adrenaline surges from undersea battles and fighting the crushing force of the deep… nine of these fears compare with what the Guardian has her do: face her worst regret.
For a moment Nissa wonders if she’s truly at peace with her sin. In the next moment, she is curled up in an empty teacup, fast asleep.
The Prince is beginning to get bored and restless. He doesn't want to provide input to a translation program. He wants to chase mermaids and mermen and get in fights with land-dwellers.
As Zellgato and Nissa make it back, Kai is very excited about their discovery. "I bet this is the missing piece from the wand! We should head back to the lab, I want to run some tests on it."
he Prince is beginning to get bored and restless. He doesn't want to provide input to a translation program. He wants to chase mermaids and mermen and get in fights with land-dwellers.
Nissa remains in fairy form as she replies to Kai, “Oh! I’ll bet you’re right.
“Um… but I kinda sent the crystal to whatever dimension I send all my personal stuff to when I change forms. I’m sure it’s safe. Even live bombs were, well… still live when I sent ’em there. So if I become my old self, that crystal should be in my hand. And… I’ll be wearing that unflattering diving suit.
“Anyway, do you want the crystal right now, or would you prefer to wait until we’re in Boston.” She almost sounds uncharacteristically bashful when, after a moment’s hesitation, she racks on her opinion. “I actually changed forms the moment I touched it. The radiation has this weird time-bending effect.
“Like… remembering a past that wasn’t. Or couldn’t have been. Or both was – and – couldn’t’ve been.
“So… unless you want me to change back, I was thinking of staying in this form until we’re in Boston. Y’know, so the T-Radiation doesn’t flood my brain with …impossibilities.”
"Oh, no, no, I don't need it now. So you can stay as you are and get some well-deserved rest." Kai smiles at Nissa, waving away the suggestion. "Interesting point about the effects though. We will definitely have to run a lot of tests." Kai then gets busy with scribbling notes and calling ahead to the lab to inquire about various measurement and analysis equipment.
Though her features are obscured by her glow, Kai might notice (as an empath, from observing Nissa’s now-relaxed posture, or both) that this comes as a relief to the fairy.
“Rest… yes. I could use some of that.”
"Yeah, let's get back. I think we could all use a rest. And, uh, hopefully no more time-y craziness."
"Back is fine; RoboyBlue saved my life, I intend to spend some time fixing it up.....also I'm going to borrow the kitchen" Zellgato replies but avoiding the moral and social implications surounding him.
He instead, secures RoboyBlue, then procceeds to grill Shark Bits and eat it. While also taking a moment to scan the Prince from long range, and preferably while he's ooglin something or other distracted.
While cooking however, he notices his new object-one he's only seen prior with his other self. Unsure of when or where, nor how, it endedd up in his chest pocket, under his diving gear, while in a mecha, in a deep sea trench.
The Atlantean stares at Z's grilled shark bits and shakes his head sadly. Later, he dives into the water and comes up with a fish, which he turns into sushi in the kitchen.
He's quite happy to share his raw fish with anyone who wants some.
While you are heading back to Boston, Ron messages to find out where you are. Chicken Caesar popped up on Beacon Hill, larger than ever at 40' tall, and crapped on a row of townhouses while his crew robbed a neighborhood bank. The police went after them, but ended up with egg on their faces. Five minutes later, Ron messages again to tell you it's too late, the giant toga-wearing chicken has disappeared again.
Ian help Zellgato repair the Big Blue Mecha that Boston Theoretical confiscated from the dudebros using an anti-terrorist law allowing property seizures against anyone profiting from transdimensional terrorism.
"That's... a worrisome trend," Charles says in response to the information about Chicken Caesar's size. "Do you think the appearing and disappearing might indicate some dimension-hopping ability or just another superpower?"
Nissa wonders…
“If there can be a me, there can be an opposite. A villain that grows!
“Villainess,” she’s quick to add. “Egg-laying as a weapon. That’s uh… maybe less weird if you’re a bird.”
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Nissa wonders…
“If there can be a me, there can be an opposite. A villain that grows!
“Villainess,” she’s quick to add. “Egg-laying as a weapon. That’s uh… maybe less weird if you’re a bird.”
The yacht arrives back at Boston fairly quickly. The voyage home isn't any longer; it just feels longer. Someone taught the Prince the words 'servant' and 'peasant' and he keeps using them. He also develops an appreciation for the yacht's well-stocked bar.
EIG is annoyed enough that she starts taking the Prince's drinks the minute he puts them down and he can't figure out what's going on.
Kai notices what EIG is doing and cheers her on, but also keeps an eye on her drinking, stepping in if she start going overboard (hopefully not literally).
Hadn't there been someone else around? Someone he was trying not to forget... it feels like it was important, but Charles can't remember what it was about.
"Or maybe they're a shapeshifter, and they escape by taking a human form no one recognizes or something. Anyway, I can't help but feel like this is going to end up being our problem eventually. Kind of like Flora and Fauna."
Your yacht makes it back to Boston. It would fit in around some parts of Boston, but it doesn't fit in at the wharf where you end up docking it. It's surrounded with local police vehicles.
You arrive back at Boston Theoretical in windowless, driverless vehicles. No need to splash the Atlantean's face all over the news.
The Prince is lured away to the medical lab. He didn't want to go at first; it took a very persuasive nurse.
L.C. is pretty excited about all this.
Kai asks Nissa to come to the lab and "liberate" the crystal shard from her pocket dimension, then sets to studying it. Zellgato is welcome to come as well.
Nissa flies up and kisses L.C. on the lips. One lip, actually. The lower one, which is bigger than a fairy’s face.
She kind of enjoys her girlfriend’s immensity, and isn’t sure why. Maybe it’s because her feelings sparked on L.C.’s fingertip the day they met… but she keeps this to herself, and explains her current shape: “I’m gonna need to change my form at the lab. Kai thinks I have a piece of the wand. Much as I love piloting the Bombshell, without Verve and Valerie, I guess the wand’s the way to go.
“Care to join us? But fair warning—the crystal has a weird time-bending effect.”
Nissa is happy to get to the lab and change forms.
Nissa takes the crystal out of the pocket dimension in the lab downstairs. The moment she does, it starts popping, crackling, and sparking with energy. Dangerously so.
Zellgato would opt to help out; he hasn't much else to do outside of this fabulous amount of TV movies.
As a funny sidenote; leveled up in both games in the same week. one pbp oen live. hella coincidence.
When Nissa grows back, she feels a warmth she can’t explain—
—not that she has time to! The crystal! It’s—!
Rolls prior to level up