Date: 5:50:52 PM, April 12th to 8:04:57 PM, April 12th;
7:19:53 PM, May 2nd to 9:40:14 PM, May 2nd, 2013.
Metal Man (GM): GARRICK'S AMAZING ADVENTURE OF *BLEEP*ING EXPLOSIONS
Garrick is at Illian's base.
Illian walks into the room, looking mute as usual.
Illian MacGregor: "I have detected Dragoshi returning. The time to act is soon, because there isn't much time left. I have a ship ready... but I'm not sure what you'll think of it. I had to scrounge for one that wouldn't easily set off the sensors Borne has set up..."
Garrick Fy`aar is standing in front a short table, having started to go through a number of pieces of equipment. He was busy reconstructing his pistol as Illian walked in, glancing to him.
Illian MacGregor: "...In case something goes wrong."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Fair enough... what is it? Some old Robotnik piece of junk? An Arwing? One of those MTA things?"
Metal Man (GM): He would hold up his arm, projecting an image of a HIND helicopter.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...a HIND-D?"
Illian MacGregor: "We found these and repaired them."
Garrick Fy`aar: "What are you doing with a Russian gunship?"
Illian MacGregor: "They were being used by those old goons Trevelyan used long ago. They're all over the place here in Continia."
"Their base was here."
"They tried to use these to defeat Borne in the past."
"The Echidna equipped some of them with hover-devices so they could fly silently."
"The Echidna will recognize this one, it was one of those same helicopters. And... it's silent and small compared to the things Borne is looking for."
Garrick Fy`aar: "That's... some really low tier tech. It'll only hold two people... but I imagine that's all I need, to be honest with you..."
Illian MacGregor: "You will see. This way."
Metal Man (GM): He walks down the hallway to the landing pad.
Garrick Fy`aar frowns and finishes his collecting his equipment and attaching it to the straps of his suit, then follows Illian to the pad.
Metal Man (GM): You see... a HIND-D, probably 1990s era. It's been strapped with antigrav devices.
It hovers off the ground entirely silently.
The guns and missiles are still there.
Illian MacGregor: "It was... tricky... to repair, especially since Borne had shot this one up, but... I managed to find someone named Boris. After he fled in terror at the fact I resembled Xavier, he agreed to rebuild it. After all... Xavier apparently stole his mask. Somewhere out there, my evil doppelganger has the ability to transform into anything he wants."
"Unspeakable evil could be happening... we must hurry."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...well, that's just perfect. Alright then, I'll head out to talk to the Echidnas first thing. Keep me in the loop should anything, and I mean ANYTHING, out of the ordinary happen."
Illian MacGregor: "Best of luck." *He would give you the old Quester salute... the different one Xavier never actually used, because Xavier didn't know what a salute was.*
"I will remain in contact."
Metal Man (GM): Illian gestures and a hologram of himself appears on the dashboard of the HIND-D.
Illian MacGregor: "This should be good enough."
Garrick Fy`aar would go to approach the floating chopper and climb inside, checking out the instruments and what not and making sure that everything was working... at least within regular parameters. As long as they thing could fly, he should be fine.
Metal Man (GM): It speaks in unison with him.
Everything is basically the same, except your parameters have been loosened with throttle and such. Now you can use the same controls to fly up much faster... it's like a proto-high future space ship with how it handles.
If someone could pair these antigravs with an actual fighter body, it'd probably be the best fighter barring that one-off Time Cop fighter Xavier was seen with once.
Illian gives you the clear to take off, then backs off so he isn't blown away in the antigrav effect.
Garrick Fy`aar huhs in some surprise before he takes off. He links his own nav computer and mapper into the main computer of the Hind and plots a course to the Echidna's lands.
Metal Man (GM): The ship takes off, going rather smoothly.
You get a ways there, then detect an incoming GUN ship. It doesn't seem to see you, just is headed the other way and is coincidentally on the same path as you.
You seem to have noticed it before it can notice you.
Garrick Fy`aar will also take the time to set his own commands and programs into the ship, making certain it cannot be hacked. He also sets a wild brace scan--oh ho, what's this...
He tries to get a scan on this ship, as subtly as he can manage.
Metal Man (GM): The ship data shows up on screen, showing it to be a Dauntless Class MK-D--diplomatic ship. Boxier than the others, more of an homage to the Dauntless than an actual one.
Official specs on it seem to suggest it's lightly armored and meant for quick trips between continents.
Garrick Fy`aar frowns... "Diplomatic ship... the goal here is to make sure I'm not seen... Borne still thinks I'm dead..."
Metal Man (GM): You have plenty of time to move below radar range--this ship in fact can cruise at altitudes normal ships would fail to fly at due to turbulence.
Garrick Fy`aar brings the Hind up into the cloud cover, if there is any, in order to keep from being seen... though he does try to backdoor into the ship's systems, see if he can get a flight plan or something else that it just took.
Metal Man (GM): The ship itself does have an identifying beacon, to help with its diplomatic nature.
A backdoor... very well. You hack into it and reveal that it is being piloted by Sergeant Levis and is headed towards Capital City.
It is also moving at fairly high speeds and is expected soon according to the flight plan.
There's more confidential data but you'd risk revealing yourself to get that far in due to the data... yes.
You can see it was just at the Mushroom Republic.
Its Diplomatic Mission is publicly available, though the added data you find determines that it was intended to sway the Mushroom Republic to Borne's side.
It has no data on whether or not that succeeded, but that its return was URGENT.
Garrick Fy`aar frowns deeper... but let's it go. He can't risk himself getting seen. Especially by Levis...
Metal Man (GM): It's flying overhead and past, as it makes its way towards Capital City, flying in that chunky way Levis does.
It doesn't see you. Its rated sensors are actually low, for some reason.
Garrick Fy`aar does, however, wait until the ship is out of range before sending the data to Illian. He could very well turn around and shoot that thing down...
Illian MacGregor: *C* "Interesting. I leave it up to you what to do, but I will get back to you on what the data means."
Garrick Fy`aar nods a bit and lets it go. The longer he is seen as dead by the majority of the Borne public, the better.
He keeps on track for the Echidnas.
Metal Man (GM): You'd eventually make it there, finding the landing pad. The entire place is so primitive you can just land without confirmation.
Garrick Fy`aar frowns at the level of technology... yeah, it seems like this guys were from the stone age, but he had a pretty good feeling that one wrong move and he'd get blasted out of the sky... he would make it obvious that he was coming, doing a lap around the area so they knew he was here, before touching down just outside of the village.
Metal Man (GM): You'd see a silver glow, then... be standing before The Arbiter of all things. The massive metallic clockwork being would stand before you.
The Arbiter: "Looking for something, I presume?"
Metal Man (GM): Yes.
In fact, last time you really encountered him, he was trying to destroy the world.
And nearly succeeded until Jack and The Void violently killed him.
Nope. That was Aelibar.
Arbiter was a later enemy who... continued in that vein.
He died, and then everyone kept copying his data everywhere and using it to make Time Cop tech.
Now however you're staring at someone who was presumed dead or gone.
Garrick Fy`aar scowls slightly, swinging out of his ship... he walks up to the Arbiter, his hand resting gently on the latch that kept his gun in his holster.
"...fancy meeting you here."
The Arbiter: "Time has brought us together again, though for different purposes. I am here to guard the Stargate from Borne. You... are the opposite of Borne. Therefore you have a 0% chance of interfering with my mission."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Stargate... ah, right."
The Arbiter: "In a past instance I was to destroy you, but the Time Cops abandoned this world and left me to fend for myself."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Sorry to hear that."
The Arbiter: "I am a mere thing, to be summoned or dispatched. One need not pity me." *He would then look at the ship.* "It would appear you feared attack. Know that the Echidna have not yet rebuilt their anti-air magic defenses. They are currently on the verge of allying with Borne. We have not figured out specifically how to dissuade them."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I didn't really fear attack."
The Arbiter: "I can never know. Organic beings are unknowable to me, for their emotions do not emulate well in my mind."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I mainly did that to let them know not to fear me. I'm only here to speak with them."
The Arbiter: "They are over there."
Metal Man (GM): He points at a huge temple that looks like it's been through two WWIIs.
The Arbiter: "I will watch for Borne's soldiers. They may come here. The Echidna are not prepared."
Garrick Fy`aar looks to the building, then looks back to The Arbiter.
"Have they made any attempts on this place recently?"
The Arbiter: "No. They tricked Marley and Valron into handing the Echidna a book that would make them instantly forgive Borne. While Valron and Marley realized that Illian, not Borne, should defend this planet, the damage is done. I have not told them this only because it was more vital they go and recover the situation with the Mushroom Republic."
"Had they stayed here the Mushroom Republic may have already gone to Borne's side."
Metal Man (GM): Yes, potentially.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...hrm. ...well, that might make things difficult..."
"If Borne and his crew make an attempt on the Echidna, let me know. I have... plans for Borne."
"Excuse me."
The Arbiter: "Borne, though an enemy of them for years, has changed his behavior recently. He appears to be trying to create... what you would considered Allied forces."
Garrick Fy`aar brushes past him... it... and heads into the temple.
Metal Man (GM): He would step aside to let you go past him.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts..."
*He heads inside the temple proper, going until he actually SEES a fucking Echidna...*
Metal Man (GM): The temple is full of them. They are bowing to a glowing book made of gold, studded with jewels.
The Emperor is there, narrating some ceremony in a language you don't understand.
Two Echidnas with pikes stop you from coming too close.
Guard: "Halt. A ceremony is in progress."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I need to speak with your council... or your leader... or whoever is in charge."
Guard: "All of them must stand by the book and control the reading of the Book of Kragok. Otherwise the reading will fail. Tales of evil and zombies have occurred, much like the infamous Statues of Robotnik. State your business. As acting executor in this time of religious emergency, I can hear your request."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...really, now. And just how long does this ceremony take?"
Guard: "Three days."
Garrick Fy`aar hrmfps.
Guard: "One for every holy alignment in the book."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...I'd much rather talk to you head honcho. This is a serious request." *He subtly tries to get a scan on that book with Megascan.*
Metal Man (GM): The book gives off enough magical energy that, the slightest twitch could set off a magical explosion cascade.
You'd detect a massive energy field around the Echidna inside, not unlike a nuclear reactor made of magic.
Garrick Fy`aar: .oO(For fuck sake... Borne was sitting on THIS thing??)
Guard: "The last time one of these ceremonies was interrupted, it caused the Dythnius Death and destruction of the magic energies of all the races but our own. Once, everyone had a book, with the magic needed to sustain their entire culture in perpetuity, but Dyne sought to unite them all under his role."
"He interrupted it for his attempt, causing the magic to backfire and the survivors to curse him to an eternal death."
"He cursed them in return. All but the predecessors to GUN and the Echidna perished."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...yeah, well, I don't want that..."
Guard: "Indeed. That is why we do not need heavy guard. Anyone who disturbs the field will die a most horrifying death--we cannot stop it."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...fine. Do you know who I am?"
Guard: "I have heard stories of the Questers."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Great..."
Guard: "The tricksters who would alternatively raise us to the heavens, then neglect us and side with the cursed Jack."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, well, that's not me. Not anymore. Not for a long time."
Guard: "What side of your two-sided face you choose to show us is your business. We have no control over what the Quester-Tricksters choose our fates to be. We shall simply treat you the same as the book--a source of great power and of potential ruin."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...wonderful. I'm a walking nuke..."
Guard: "So your requests will be heard by me, lest we incite your wrath instead of the book's."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...my name is Garrick Fy'aar. A number of evil beings have made their presence known in existence in the past several days. I require the aid of the Chaos Emeralds."
Metal Man (GM): The guard drops the spear.
He nearly falls over.
Guard: "...The three omens have converged... at the same time... The end of Time is upon us..."
Metal Man (GM): He would bow at your feet.
Garrick Fy`aar: "Not if I can help it."
Guard: "Please do not take the emeralds, it will destroy us all."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...what... no, stop that. I thought the book would destroy you all."
Guard: "It was prophesied that you would take the emeralds and unmake Time itself. The Book and the Emeralds can all destroy us."
"But the Emeralds are more powerful."
Metal Man (GM): He would stand up, looking scared.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...look, I'm not planning on unmaking Time. I just want them to defeat a number of evil beings. Really, really bad evil beings."
Guard: "The Emeralds were used to make the Book."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm a good guy."
Guard: "They created the powers the different peoples had... the Statues were made by them..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, and I've talked to the Statues."
Editor's Note: Statues that, you (the reader) should know were created by Illian, since Illian created the planet.
Guard: "The creator tokens were wielded by the Silver One to make us all... ...If they were to end up in the wrong hands, they would destroy us all and Time Itself..."
"But... I am a lowly priest. I must obey the commandments."
"You will find all seven emeralds, stored in the one place no one would ever find them."
"The Silver Creator designated this holy of holiest places, a place even Dyne failed to touch."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...alright, and that is?"
Guard: "The map places it... right... here."
Metal Man (GM): He points right in the very center of Mobius. Dead center.
Borne territory.
Guard: "Where they rest is where they were when they created us all."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...oh, you've got to be..."
Guard: "They were taken out once by the Great Evil Eggman. When the Mad Men defeated him, they put it back."
"Even they feared their powers."
"One of them, Mad Molly, tried to use their powers. That is how she became Mad, for they rejected her, and broke her mind."
"Jack was seen as favorable by them, as was Marley. That is how they came to share in our knowledge, for they had become Exalted ones."
"Kragok, our ancestor, was a favorite of them. They blessed him with the Book."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...what kind of defenses do they have?"
Guard: "Have you heard of the Statues of Eggman? He used them to create the Statues, so as to make himself eternally wealthy."
"The statues created great evil and great greed."
"He was destroyed when they unbalanced the universe so much, the dead became alive, and the living became dead."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Jack..."
Guard: "But Eggman was a tricky one, and that is how he survived to be found by you Questers... who ultimately gave him the death he deserved."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Look, I'm not evil. I'm not a bad man. I just... I've forgone all the power that is corrupting this world."
Guard: "The Emeralds rest where they are. Any can visit them. Few return."
Garrick Fy`aar: "The Emeralds are my only shot. ...then that's where I need to go."
Guard: "Perhaps you are the anti-Eggman. Perhaps you can use them as he did, without using the magic directly, and they will destroy your foes. Perhaps they will fall against you, and the Anti-Creator will gain them, destroying us all."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Not if I can help it..."
Metal Man (GM): He shows a mural that shows someone who looks like Illian using the emeralds to create the world.. ..And in a circular motif, on the exact opposite side is Xavier blowing it to pieces with them.
Or... The Void... ...it's vague.
Similarly, Illian-wannabe almost looks sorta like Kuja...
Garrick Fy`aar: "...right. I need to get going, then." *He would turn on his heel without another word and stalk out of the temple, heading back for his ship.*
Guard: "I wish you luck on your journey. Otherwise... we will all die, and time will be unmade."
Metal Man (GM): He would then go silent and begin praying, probably for his very soul, in his Echidna language as you leave.
The Arbiter is still out there. He looks to the sky, worried.
As worried as a machine can be, but... seriously.
He has that angular brow thing.
It looks pretty arched to you.
He's like a giant clock so you can read him even from far away.
It's also 3:20 PM according to the hands on his chest-clock, not that you cared.
Garrick Fy`aar moves past him, heading for his ship. He was about to sell his soul to something that could unmake him. He could potentially doom everyone ever for all time... no, he had to keep the goal in mind. He had to figure out how to get---hrm...
He stops.
"...Arbiter."
The Arbiter: "The ships are coming."
Garrick Fy`aar: "How many?"
The Arbiter: "Three."
Garrick Fy`aar: "How many men?"
The Arbiter: "One of them is Borne's personal ship. The other two appear to be personnel carriers. They have enough weaponry to raze this entire island, given it's only trees and those few huts and the temple."
"I am going to take the Master Emerald and Stargate and find a good hiding place away from here."
"Illian is sending a cargo ship that should make it."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...Arbiter, can the Stargate be used to teleport distances without dimension jumping?"
The Arbiter: "Only if the other side has a Stargate. The only reason a Stargate is even here is... a long story that we do not have time to discuss."
"No others are even in this system."
Garrick Fy`aar: "What can I do to help?"
The Arbiter: "Tell Valron and Marley what is going on. They are cut off and have only a rickety ship. If they come back here they are doomed."
"I have this situation under control." *He would glow, and the Stargate and Master Emerald would appear, floating behind him.*
"I shall consolidate these in a spot Illian controls, so that we can separate controlling these from this territory's unstable nature."
Garrick Fy`aar nods and heads back for his own Hind, trying to locate this rickety old ship on the scanners, launching while that happens to cut as much time off as possible.
Metal Man (GM): You already have the data--it's... Marley's old boat.
How does Marley's old boat even fly?
Garrick Fy`aar sets a course, moving there as quickly and quietly as he can. He's starting to dig this ship.
Metal Man (GM): It moves fast enough, and quietly...
Dragoshi, you up?
All right, we'll add you in in a moment.
First... you near the Mushroom Republic and get an incoming hail.
It's from their airport control tower.
Yes.
Toad: "Unknown aircraft, please identify yourself."
Garrick Fy`aar frowns for a moment, then sends a text only response.
Metal Man (GM): What's the text say?
Garrick Fy`aar: *Text* 'Private ship passing through to meeting with acquaintance. Peaceful. Will abide by Mushroom Republic flying codes and standards.'
Toad: "Let me check the records... ...Illian appears to have sent in a pre-clearance, you're free to land."
Metal Man (GM): He points you to a spot next to... a rickety piece of junk flying fishing boat.
Yup.
That's the one.
Toad: "Illian has noted the hush-hush. No one will know you're here. Especially after that distasteful Borne envoy ticked off the Princess."
Garrick Fy`aar pauses as he lands... then sends another text. *Text* 'What did the envoy do to annoy Her Highness?'
Toad: "Insisted upon the value of the relationship despite also allying with the Evil Echidnas. He was a dirty cheater trying to trick us into giving away our authority for nothing like Waluigi or Bowser would try to do."
Garrick Fy`aar frowns, then sends a final text thanking the Toad for the quiet nature of what he was doing. Then making to get out and take care of this rickety old ship.
Metal Man (GM): You'd land. Just in time to see Dragoshi and Marley walking... towards the bars.
Garrick Fy`aar smirks slightly, and quickens his pace to catch them.
"Gentlemen. A word."
Valron: *Smiles as he hears that familiar voice* "...Heh. Today's just my day, isn't it?" *He would then stop and turn around to look at Garrick.*
Marley: "...Ah." *Turns to Garrick.* "Surprised to see yeh. It's been a very long time."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Quite. Sorry about this, but we need to talk in private with the other gentleman you've got on the... ship... over there."
Valron: "Ah? Sure thing."
Marley: "Then I need to drink afterwards, because I'm getting even more flashbacks now."
Metal Man (GM): Marley would lead the way over there.
Valron: "And I can wait on eating later." *He would then head over to Marley's ship... of sorts.*
Metal Man (GM): Marley would lean on a wall, looking a bit exhausted.
Marley: "It always comes back to where we started, doesn't it."
Valron: "Pretty wild how things work out, I guess."
Garrick Fy`aar scowls as he listens to them, then speaks up.
"Borne is attacking the Echidnas. Right now."
Valron: "...Well, then."
Marley: "Oh no, it's all happening again. The cycle is back to where it started. You even have the helicopter Trevelyan used to counter-attack Borne..."
Valron: "...What is The Arbiter's status in all of this? I did have him stay behind to make sure the Stargate was safe."
Marley: "...Don't make another table though, or crash into the ocean..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "He's making sure Illian can get some forces there, then getting the Stargate and the Master Emerald out of there."
Marley: "Hm. I guess at least this time he won't hold all the cards."
Valron: "Indeed."
Marley: "We were going to rest, then get the Mushroom Republic on our side, so we could oppose him politically."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Apparently Borne has also pissed off Toadstool, which might work into your favor."
Valron: "Yeah, we saw Levis making an ass out of himself in front of the Princess."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Levis, and Borne in turn, think I'm dead. Which is a good thing, all things considered."
Valron: "Aye. Means we have a surprise of our own."
Marley: "Hm. See, last time around, it was me playing dead. I had a plan and then the Questers ruined it."
Valron: "They... tend to do that. A lot."
Marley: "I was going to destabilize Borne's leadership by having the Questers pose an alternative to him for protecting the planet. They went to Westopolis and began fighting street thugs instead."
"Then they sided with Echidna Cultists and began killing people."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...look, there's more out there than just Borne right now. Sloan has shown back up."
"And he's... he's getting pretty big."
Marley: "...Sloan... what is he even doing?"
Valron: "We... noticed that, yes."
Garrick Fy`aar explains the situation as best he can. With Sloan having some sort of mix of several powers from a different reality, the fight with the Imperium of Man ships...
Valron: "He was also quite cross at me when I invaded his toy box for Tails so I could get Sonic and his friends back for him. Seriously, it was just... surprisingly out of character for him."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...if Sloan is left alone, he's going to turn to this planet and start in on us."
Marley: "Sloan has an entire planet and thousands of mechs..."
Metal Man (GM): He shows you an image of one of the walker-mecha.
And... the 50+ other ones he had in the bizarre city he had.
Valron: "One of them isn't too problematic between us... but in those numbers?"
Marley: "He could basically attack every part of this planet at once."
Valron: "We'd be dead in the water."
Marley: "He just has no way to get them here, otherwise we'd all be dead already."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Which is why Illian has charged me with something."
Valron: "And that would be?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm going after the Emeralds."
Valron: "...I see."
Marley: "...Ha ha ha ha ha." *He pats Garrick on the shoulder.* "Nice joke, boy. Next you'll tell me that Dyne is on our side and Jack is a good guy now."
Valron: "I had my own ideas as well... Particularly, making my own mechs based off of combining the MTAs and Dauntless-class ships."
Marley: "Tell me, what is your real plan? Maybe you'll make up some magitek bomb and send it over?"
Valron: "...I don't think he's joking."
Marley: "...But... it was very clear. Nobody who goes after them survives."
Valron: "Garrick isn't really the type to joke about this sort of thing."
Garrick Fy`aar narrows his eyes.
"Look."
Marley: "I mean. I had the chance to go to them before. The whole time. I even nearly went for them, but got killed before I planned to die going after them."
"Damn Questers. Wouldn't even let me die in dignity."
Garrick Fy`aar: "The only way we can stop someone like Sloan at this point is some grand power source. Smash Energy will just spread and cause the cycle to repeat again."
"Alsan Energy will cause the corrupt of the planet to spread."
"Sloan has links to both anyway."
Marley: "True. The Power of Alsa would be enough though. We just need a fitting sacrifice subject to become the next vessel. We could drain it out of Sloan and then blow him to pieces. But that's a hunch... I'm not the boss here." *He shrugs.*
"If you wish to go after them... no one can stop you."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I don't have a better idea.'"
Marley: "The Emeralds ensure only they and they alone can kill those doomed souls, anyway. You're probably already marked by them."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...yeah."
Marley: "That was why I never really went for them, they never really bit me."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I'm familiar with one of them."
Marley: "I see. Where was this?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "A long, long time ago... the Red Emerald made me its vessel for a period."
Marley: "...No wonder." *He would sigh.* "Your damn table glows with the energy."
Valron: "Huh..."
Marley: "It showed up the other day..."
Metal Man (GM): He points to an ethereal glowing table across the counter.
Valron: "Wonder where that puts me, considering Sloan and I are different sides of the same coin in terms of the whole 'energy combo' th... ing"
Marley: "I have no clue why, but it just showed up, and it had your name on it. I tried to move it and it burned me."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...my tabl--what?" *He frowns at it.*
"What the fuck is that?"
Marley: "It seems to record data. Touch it. It'll tell you. It gave me flashbacks of you crashing into the ocean."
Valron: "...Well, this has certainly been quite the day."
Garrick Fy`aar walks over to it, frowning...
Metal Man (GM): It's a table... definitely one you made...
Metallic, workbench style...
Part of it appears to have mounted to an Eggman ship's side...
Garrick Fy`aar: "...oh yeah. I remember this."
Metal Man (GM): It's got a million cracks in it that glow as if it somehow sealed itself together with energy.
Garrick Fy`aar reaches out and knocks on the 'table top'.
Metal Man (GM): You have a flashback... to the ship crashing... Panzer piloting the ship.. ..Xavier Ridgecrest killing you and summoning Alex Fender on the moon...
...Then other images you don't even remember of it seeing Julian's casino explode, and the fall of "Jacob", the GUN alter-ego of Jack before Jack went nuts...
...And some more, including an incident against some sort of RED or BLU Engineer... and then the table being blown up over and over again.
And it continually appearing.
It glows faintly with the chaos energy that you had from that red emerald. Energy that isn't a part of you, but was once there in trace amounts.
It seems to seethe with the hatred you had for the Questers back then.
Almost as if it was the reason Julian's casino exploded....
It seems to keep replaying that memory if you think too hard.
On the flip side... it's still a functional table to upgrade weapons and equipment with!
Garrick Fy`aar growls and pulls his hand away.
Metal Man (GM): ...And could probably create some cursed equipment to destroy things with if you let it.
Garrick Fy`aar: "...freaky..."
Marley: "Anyway, what shall we do now, Garrick?"
Garrick Fy`aar returns to Marley and Valron.
Valron: "I am wondering what our next course of action is, yes."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I was told to tell you two NOT to go help the Echidna. Leave it be. If you want, you can accompany me to find the Emeralds..."
Marley: "...Simple enough."
Valron: "It might be best if we went together as a group, anyway."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Yeah, well... Here's the rub. They're in the center, dead center, of Borne territory."
Valron: "Figured there was going to be something to complicate that whole matter pretty hardcore..."
Marley: "I have an idea, but it involves luring Sloan into attacking Borne and sneaking in in the chaos."
Valron: "And how would that be managed, exactly?"
Garrick Fy`aar: "We'd need some level of distraction, yeah..."
Marley: "Easy. Questers!"
"We have Questers attack Borne. Sloan comes in while they are distracted."
"We come in while they all destroy one another."
"They're also all in one place, so we can then use the emeralds to destroy all of them."
Garrick Fy`aar: "...and how do you suggest we get the QUESTERS to attack? If anything, they're more random than Sloan. And that's saying something."
Marley: "Hmmmm... Didn't they hate you?"
Valron: "To be honest, I've other things to worry about instead of the Questers."
Marley: "We could say Borne was eating Smash Power. While pretending to be Borne... ...I probably need a better idea."
"You have any?"
Valron: "Mmh. I... was never much of an idea person, sorry."
Garrick Fy`aar frowns...
"...we could always use Illian."
Marley: "Illian... could challenge Xavier to a battle... in Borne's territory! ...Wonder what in the world would happen though."
Valron: "...Would Xavier even take it up, though."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Oh, he would. Definitely."
Marley: "Well, that should settle it. Now..."
Garrick Fy`aar: "The right words, the right feeling, the right inflection... Xavier would come running."
Valron: "And you're absolutely certain about this?"
Marley: "We'll just need to figure out how to get the Mushroom Republic on our side, then we can really mess up Marley. I mean Borne."
*Slaps his forehead* "I need a drink."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Go get a damn drink."
Marley: "This is what happens when I don't have a--right."
Metal Man (GM): He sleepily gets up and wanders off to drink.
Valron: "Right, then."
Metal Man (GM): Leaving Valron and Garrick to talk, as they wish. Then I'll pause soon. Fallin' snoozy.
Once they go their separate ways, that is.
Don't want to get jammed up. :p
Garrick Fy`aar: "The best I can come up with is to get Illian to start a fight outside of the territory, then chase into the territory... which will bring Borne in... and then with all those big movers and shakers in one place, Sloan will step in. We move in undercover, grab the Emeralds, then light the place up."
"Sloan, Borne, Xavier, and the Questers. All at once."
Valron: "I see. An interesting plan. Regardless, my eyes are on Sloan and Borne. Particularly Sloan, seeing as he has something that's mine and I want it back."
Garrick Fy`aar: "I could care less about Sloan. It's Borne I want... especially after what he did to me."
Valron: "Go ahead. Once I tear off Sloan's arm I'll be sure to help you with that. Borne's a slippery serpent, so a little backup might not be a bad idea.*
Garrick Fy`aar: "No. I want him all for myself. He ruined me. Stole everything from me."
"...right, I'm going to go see if I can figure out how to get the Princess on our side. We need to do this fast, then get those Emeralds as soon as possible."
Valron: "...I see. I promise not to interfere in the matter of Borne, then."
Garrick Fy`aar: "Keep in touch." *He would stand, clapping Valron on the shoulder before heading out.*
Valron: "Will do." *He nods in response before heading off to... get something to eat. It's been a long day and he honestly forgot to pick something up on the way out.*
Metal Man (GM): And... we pause here.
+7 EXP to Garrick, +3 to Valron.
Metal Man (GM): Oh My God I Can't Believe It It's Another Session
Xavier Ridgecrest, intrepid interdimensional adventurer extreme the fourth the third the mistaken idol of Gondwana Spaghetti Extreme, was busy fighting a robotic Julian. He then saw to it that Sloan's ship exploded. This was apparently a test run, as he had his Questers, but apparently they were still in training. It is hoped they will eventually join him again. For the time being though....
Stadium HQ, Metal's Office
Xavier is sitting in his office, playing an accordion made out of steel forks and party hats. It sounds as awful as it looks.
Gelato: *Music for Gelato! He chirps along unsteadily, trying to follow the rhythm.*
Editor's Note: I did use the unicode emoji for music note, but trying to put that into my logging system doesn't seem to work right, so ASCII representation it is.
Xavier Ridgecrest: o/`A peck of peppers violently exploded o/` my evil friend's violent toad goat head o/` and then a bunch of guys died o/` they left the beans on the stove o/` and they got twice refried o/` Bogota, Colombia o/` killed by a machete made out of red bell peppers o/` that's what happens when love's gone o/` and been replaced with toxic chili o/`
Gelato: "Cheeeeep."
Xavier Ridgecrest: o/`alligator clips on my nose o/` making me speak in funny prose o/` why don't you--*Loud accordion noise and sound of breaking*
"Ah well, that was 3 hours wasted. I'll go do that again tomorrow."
"Now to get down to business: buying a new accordion. I mean killing people. I mean this thing!" *He would take out a map of the universe, then stab a spork into an image of Alsa.*
"My car is lost on Alsa, and a bunch of dweebs told me I couldn't go there."
"So I won't."
Metal Man (GM): He then opens his drawer and takes out a transformer.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "But someone else will!"
Metal Man (GM): He clicks the button. It disintegrates.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Oops... that was Wolfman's broken one. Let me try that again."
Metal Man (GM): He kicks the drawer and snaps it loose, then opens a different drawer and takes out a mask that looks like a cat-demon's face.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "But someone else will!"
Gelato: "...?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...But who would work on Alsa... do you know anything about Alsa? ...Is there any way I can even communicate with you? Otherwise I'm gonna just be talking to myself, and that's... creepier than usual. Hmmmm. I could really use Aribar right now."
"Maybe I should become Aribar."
Gelato: "Chirrup."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Step one. Become Aribar. Step two. Obtain car. Step three. Make your thoughts talk to me somehow."
Metal Man (GM): He puts the mask on.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "JUMANJI!"
Metal Man (GM): Nothing happens.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Oh, right. I put the device in my own helmet. How silly of me."
Metal Man (GM): He sticks the mask on the wall instead.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "There. Now I can scare off visitors even more than before."
Metal Man (GM): Xavier then clicks the hidden button on his helmet.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "It's PIFFLE TIME!"
Metal Man (GM): Strange magic causes him to now resemble some sort of elf person... with both arms though.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Well, it's good enough. Everyone else will see me as him. I will see me as myself. As will you. This mostly because that whole uber-transformation thing drained too much juice. Now to carefully not get into combat, lest they wonder why Aribar is shooting guns at them. Now, this way, Gelato. We must go to the bogus planet and stop the losers."
Gelato: o.o *He crawls onto Xavier's shoulder, kneading and getting comfy.*
Metal Man (GM): He would start walking towards the Garage.
He'd glance at the empty medbay.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I'll also need to kidnap us a new Doctor. Garrick killed the Mario one."
"Bastard. I was going to do that eventually... now I'll never steal his soul."
Metal Man (GM): Xavier then walks to the garage and steps over to the REDITS--which is literally a really old looking space ship made of silver, poorly hammered together metal.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "This... this rustbucket... it really sucks. We're going to make Borne and Garrick pay. With their lack of convenience. I want to cause both of them... great annoyance!"
Metal Man (GM): He says this while trying to start it, and it keeps malfunctioning.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Damn it... dammit! I don't even say damn, but something makes me say it these days! ...That and this stupid leaky electrical system!"
Metal Man (GM): He tries to jam his hands in to get at the wires, but mostly is like a confused child trying to remove a block from a puzzle.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "And these hands are about as precise as mush..."
Gelato crawls down, examining the wiring.
Metal Man (GM): The wiring looks like somebody spilled caustic radioactive soda on it, causing it to be eaten.
It could be bridged, but of course it's in a crevice Xavier's stupidly large fingers can't reach.
Gelato: *He happily crawls into the gap, purring.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "You... go get it. My fingers will stay here. Safely away from things they might clumsily destroy."
Metal Man (GM): You get up close and see merely pulling the wires together and properly reattaching would work. Somebody else had long ago made the wires really long, as if they expected this to happen.
Reattachment points all over the wire attest to this.
Plus a faded note by Professor Oak that says "If I have to replace this a fifteenth time, I'm shocking Xavier with my Raichu."
Gelato: :3 *He tugs on the wires, growling playfully as he backs up to bridge and splice them. Helping is fun!*
Metal Man (GM): The wires are slowly fixed. The machine starts up. Xavier stares at the dash, which has almost all the warning lights on.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Hm. Replace engine, replace fuel plugs... pilot is drunk... yep. That's what it should say."
Metal Man (GM): He would start the launch sequence.
Warning lights would describe various failures in the systems.
The bucket of bolts shakes and an old manual meant for "SUPER SMASH QUESTERS MELEE, CLASS OF SEASON 3" falls out onto the abandoned second seat.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Ah, so that's where that went!"
Metal Man (GM): Xavier flips through it, as it describes various situations that don't exist, like "Killer Goomba Attack" "Kuja invasion" and "Zio Dark Energy Wave Death"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Pah!"
Metal Man (GM): The ship would launch off, now flying towards Alsa... very slowly.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "You know... I should have replaced the Questers with an army of silent people. Maybe most of them could be mimes that mimic me."
Gelato: *Purrrrr.*
Metal Man (GM): Alsa becomes visible.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Let's see... Garrick hasn't seen me... neither has anyone else... oh... yes. Borne territory..."
Red Text: *Comm* "What ARE you doing here?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Well, um. Piffle Piffle Gravy. Gravy gravy, Wall Kinesis."
Red Text: *Comm* "Did you have a stroke, Aribar?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Er... Whaller gravy piffle!"
Red Text: *Comm* "Wait a minute... why are you riding that vehicle? What is that vehicle even doing here? It's not even from this time period..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Er... you caught me! I am here to... learn magic books!"
Red Text: *Comm* "...I can tell you are using some strange magical energy--"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Er, Yeah! It's one of my spells!"
Red Text: *Comm* "...I've never seen it before."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...A new one!"
Red Text: *Comm* "Which spell is it?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Er... Transfiguration?"
Red Text: *Comm* "...Well. I can't really be sure you ARE Aribar, but I can be sure that you aren't who I'm looking for. That guy doesn't have any sense of subtlety anyway." *Click*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...I don't?"
Gelato: "Cheep."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Anyway, I really should figure out, why there is a strange amount of weight in the trunk of this vehicle. I don't recall putting any dead bodies in there."
"It's probably nothing."
Metal Man (GM): Xavier idly loads some guns as the ship goes to land near one of Borne's bases.
Well, what WAS the base.
It's a huge crater now.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Yup... exploded cannon bits. ...Probably harmed my car."
"I'm gonna be SO MAD if my Battletoads Sticker is damaged."
Gelato: "Grrrr!"
Metal Man (GM): Xavier lands the ship. He then turns to the trunk of the REDITS.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "First, let's find out what's in here."
Metal Man (GM): He opens it and finds KitOrbel in there.
KitOrbel: "... Hiya."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh. It's a Quester. Hi! I should have warned you, the REDITS has a... bad trunk mechanism."
"The last time I tried to take something out of it, it grabbed me too."
KitOrbel: "I told you, I'm not a Quester anymore. I'm a magical girl." *She climbs out and dusts off her skirts.*
Gelato: :D *Gelato excitedly runs over to KitOrbel, licking her face.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh, right. I need to know what your wish is. Do you want any particularly unfunny comedians killed?"
"I can also make it rain, but only on Tuesdays."
"I tried to do more magic, but... it didn't work. So I had to do this." *He would show to KitOrbel his disguise--a thing that makes him look like some pale skinned elf magician.*
KitOrbel: *She smiles and snuggles Gelato.* "I don't have a wish... Well, maybe a small private tropical island WELL away from all this crazy junk but... I'm content."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "In case anyone asks, I am Aribar. You see me as me, but other dopes see me as Aribar."
KitOrbel: "... You still have both your arms."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I considered chopping off one of my arms, but Dr. Mario died. I don't think I know anyone else who could put my arm back on."
"For now, we can pretend it was healed... by your wish, yes!"
KitOrbel: "Hide it in your sleeve."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I have a sleeve?"
Metal Man (GM): He looks.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh, right. A fake one."
Metal Man (GM): He contorts and now looks like a hunchback Aribar, but his arm is not visible except when seeing him normally.
KitOrbel: "Only you..." *She sighs softly,* "So, what's going on?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Hm. If I didn't know any better, I'd feel like rambling about freedom of choice and darkness and hearts. Well, my car is on this planet."
"We need my car. So that I can sneak in and kill my evil clone from another dimension."
"My car is probably guarded by evil people poisoned by negative energy."
KitOrbel: "..." *She sighs,* "Alright then..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "So we need to find the car, and then kill the evil people. Then run away. Borne can keep the REDITS. I don't want anyone else to be trapped in it, myself included."
Gelato: :3 *Gelato wriggles on KitOrbel's shoulder, ready to assist the funny hunchbacked man.*
Metal Man (GM): He begins walking through the jungle.
Up ahead is the outer wall of a destroyed building.
KitOrbel: "... Find car, kill guards, escape... Simple plan." *She follows behind him.*
Metal Man (GM): Two guys in Borne Army suits are there, holding their rifles.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "So... should I start taking dibs on which one's giblets I violently destroy, or do you have a better idea, KitOrbel? Oh right... I'm Aribar."
"That means they shouldn't kill me on sight... I don't think... piffle."
KitOrbel: "You go first, if they shoot? I've got a plan."
Gelato: "Piffa." :D
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Okay. In case we fail, I have enough armor to survive about 20 minutes anyway."
Metal Man (GM): Xavier walks towards them in his hunchbacked way. They stare at him.
Guard 1: "Halt!"
Guard 2: "Who are you? Why are you walking like that?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I er... I lost my contact lens!"
Guard 1: "That's not saying who you are. Borne told us that mysterious people with mysterious goals must tell us who they are first!"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I'm... Aribar, naturally!"
Guard 2: "That's... let's... let's look at the data."
Metal Man (GM): They look at a book.
Metal Man: "It's called 'The Big Book Of Felons"
Guard 1: "Aribar... Aribar... wanted for destroying a helicopter..."
Guard 2: "But wait! He was redeemed for trying to kill the Questers!"
Guard 1: "That's right... he worked with Ael to try and kill all of them..."
Guard 2: "Hm. But why are you standing like that?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Uh... er... injuries..."
Guard 1: "...Well, I think that covers it."
Guard 2: "We'll be watching you. Or I should say, the men inside can easily take you if you do anything stupid."
Guard 1: "Borne told us. We should let you in. He didn't say why we should let anyone who isn't Xavier in, just that we should."
Guard 2: "Have fun!"
Metal Man (GM): Xavier walks in.
The question is... how shall you two get in?
The area has guards around its perimeter at regular intervals.
And Xavier didn't tell you what he was going to do...
And he just walked into the area and has kinda already moved out of easy earshot.
There's two guards, a wall, a doorway in the middle, and... a bunch of forest, and a perimeter of guards to the right.
To the left is a bunch of water.
KitOrbel: .oO(And offensive is a terrible idea... I can't use my known name... Nobody's heard of me as Agent Cathrine besides the fact that I'm a free agent... And I can't fit in air vents anymore.)
Metal Man (GM): There aren't any guards on the left side, by the water, but one guard is watching...
The land far off to the left is unguarded, and it has trees... and then the water separates that peninsula from the land where the craters are.
It's rather quiet, but from here in the bushes, you can see the crater too. Some people are busy guarding a semitransparent object in the center of it. "Aribar" can now be seen, slowly pacing around, as if looking for contact lenses.
Gelato: *He looks up at KitOrbel, waiting for an order.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: *Faintly* "Oh dear... why didn't I bring my friends? Maybe they could see in this mess... why I swear... it's almost like they're invisible... and underwater..."
KitOrbel: *She takes a deep breath, and sneaks towards the water.*
Guard 3: "Shaddup! You're ruining my ability to count all the trees here! It's bad enough Borne made us guard this dump..."
Metal Man (GM): The water is murky. Nobody will likely see you, if you're sneaky enough. Q: Either of you have the Stealthy Perk?
KitOrbel *Guess who.*
Gelato: *Yep!*
Metal Man (GM): Without much difficulty, you can move around in the water. The next issue is where you go next. You can overshoot the area and hang out on a less guarded tip of the land that's behind the enemy lines, or risk being seen in the wide open crater, of which there is no real cover.
KitOrbel: She goes towards the less guarded tip of land. .oO(Why can't he be dumb enough to have his guards in uniforms that show nothing... then I could easily...)
Metal Man (GM): The guards keep looking around, though since they are humans, some look better than others.
Gelato: *Bubble bubble.*
Metal Man (GM): You walk down there, and find... wreckage.
It's wreckage of a weapons system.
It looks pretty badly twisted up, like it was hit by a point blank explosion.
Gelato blows some more bubbles at the wreckage. An entirely new experience for him!
Metal Man (GM): Submerged under the water is also... the wreckage of another ship, one of Borne's.
Borne mercifully removed the corpses, but it still looks pretty gross down there.
Xavier keeps wandering around. The guards shrug and... get used to it, since he doesn't seem to be doing much.
Gelato: *More bubbles! Gelato's former clearness is now a murky brown, the same as the water. Eww.*
KitOrbel: *She nods at Gelato, pointing at the submerged ship... After all- it doesn't need to breathe.*
Metal Man (GM): Indeed... the ship itself is a mess, but... it seems to have some old equipment in there... what little you can see over here.
Gelato: :D *Gelato slides off and dragon-paddles over to the ship, peering inside.*
Metal Man (GM): The ship has no uniforms, and if it did, the destroyed fabric bits suggest they degrade really fast underwater.
However, it does seem to have well made weapons systems. Some of which appear to be plated in a shiny metal. Some LEDs are even on, even though this thing is... underwater.
Apparently he intended his ships to survive ANYTHING.
However, the main engine is entirely missing, so this thing is sitting, its guns pointed into the mud.
Gelato: *Another excited stream of bubbles comes out at the sight of blinking lights, alerting KitOrbel.*
KitOrbel: *She goes to get a quick breath of air, out of sight, then goes back down to the lights... Observing it.*
Metal Man (GM): The LEDs make it clear--the system was ready to fire powerful
Phase cannon lasers at any time.
The system is still armed. The button to fire is also there. However, given the location, it would probably not end well for anyone inside when they are fired.
KitOrbel: *She makes a mental note to figure out how to salvage it... The beckons Gelato back with a finger.*
Gelato: *Paddle paddle paddle.*
Metal Man (GM): Xavier seems to be becoming impatient. Or sleepy. He wanders around some more. The sun, meanwhile, is slowly beginning to set.
KitOrbel: *She swims to find a safe spot to get out and observe...*
Guard 3: "You really must like your contact lenses."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "They're MAGICAL ones!"
Guard 3: "Riiiight..."
KitOrbel: .oO(Did Aribar do summons? I think he did summons. How do I convince Xavier to pretend he's summoning me...)
Gelato: *Ugh, now he smells like stagnant water.*
Metal Man (GM): Xavier continues wandering. He moves close enough to be within 15 feet of you. By now, the guards have stopped staring at him all the time.
Gelato starts eagerly crawling towards Xavier.
KitOrbel: *She tries to get his attention.*
Metal Man (GM): He would glance to you. Then he would gesture towards... his head?
KitOrbel: *She ducks down again, confused.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "If only I could mind read like Deloth did... he had this mask you know... it made him able to read minds..."
Guard 3: "Have you gone senile or something?"
Gelato: *Crawlin' crawlin' crawlin'*
Guard 4: "We should get a flashlight. This annoying old elf is boring."
Guard 3: "No! We should tell Borne!"
KitOrbel: "..." .oO(Of course. Freakin'- Pretend I'm a summon! Say I'm bringing you new contacts.)
Guard 4: "No we shouldn't!"
Guard 3: "Bah!"
Xavier Ridgecrest nods, then holds his face for a moment, before then glancing to the guards.
"WHOOSH! I'll get rid of our problems with... a gravy summon of epicness! Mega... Mooga... Bazooga!"
Metal Man (GM): He starts making erratic gestures.
Guard 4: "Look what you did! The old man is having hallucinations!"
Guard 3: "It's your fault, you didn't agree with me. You probably set him off."
Guard 4: "At least there's no helicopters here..."
KitOrbel: *She uses a water marble to make it look like she's being summoned out of the water... And levitates out with the wave it creates.*
Guard 3: "Gah! It's... it's real magic!"
Guard 4: "I should check the book for this one."
Guard 3: "We... don't have a magic book."
Guard 4: "Now what did I tell you about the magic book, Samson?"
Samson: "'Always bring the Magic Book.' I know, George. But why does it matter? He's summoned some weird woman out of nowhere."
KitOrbel: *She summons a contacts case in her hand.* "Here you are master Aribar." *She smiles sweetly.* "I'm sorry it took so long for me to complete your request."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Ahhh... there they are." *He would 'take' them and 'put them on', though those who could see through him would just see him doing gestures.*
Gelato climbs onto Xavier's head, purring.
George: "You know... if you could do that, why did you have to do it here?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I must use the last place I had them in as a focus."
Samson: "Frickin' magicians..."
KitOrbel: "The spell also requires a pool of water that has been host to dead bodies. It's a very finicky spell. Very difficult to master."
George: "Excellent. ...I mean creepy. Creepy!"
Samson: "You're all really weird, and I don't recall Borne telling us to let magicians summon freaks into our domain. So please scram while I try to find out why I took this job again."
KitOrbel: "Oh, all I can really do is return lost objects."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Not a problem. I'll just... disappear!"
Metal Man (GM): Xavier opens the still-invisible car, and steps into it, vanishing.
George: "...Huh... I didn't know magicians vanished by opening car doors... ...where there aren't even car doors..."
Samson: "...Something is off here, Aribar was better at magic, says this thing. He could do it without summoning things, because he 'found it creepy.'"
George: "Whattaya mean? Let me see."
Metal Man (GM): George walks over and they look at the book in the dim light.
KitOrbel: "Of course they do! He's opening a door between dimensions. It's how magic works. They should have covered that in your training." *She quickly follows suit.*
Metal Man (GM): Meanwhile, Xavier closes the door once you get in.
Gelato rides inside on Xavier's head.
Xavier Ridgecrest: *In the soundproof interior* "Bah! It dented the roof! The explosion dented the roof!"
Gelato: *...he still stinks.*
KitOrbel: "Well this went better than expected... But now my dress smells like pond scum."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I can smell it on my helmet too." *Glances up* "Somebody needs a bath! And for once, it isn't me!"
KitOrbel: "Augh- come here you little..."
Gelato: :D "Chirp!"
KitOrbel: "Xavier, I think now is a VERY good time to get out of here." *Before they try to find the door.*
Gelato: *He does obediently flop into KitOrbel's hands, still a dirty brown.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Right. Let me push the button."
Metal Man (GM): Xavier pushes the button.
The two guards glance at what looks like an invisible Diablo SV outline floating off the ground.
George: "...That's not a helicopter."
Samson: "What IS that?"
George: "Duck, you fool!"
Metal Man (GM): The car takes off, nearly hitting both but missing.
KitOrbel: *She just buckles in... And relaxes.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...All right. We managed to leave before anyone figured out what was going on. And Garrick won't even know what happened."
"Now... ...now... ...I forgot what I was going to do next."
Metal Man (GM): The car zooms out into space.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I believe... yes. I wanted to kill... kill my double! ...But not with just two Questers. More Questers. MORE!"
KitOrbel: "... I'm not a- Oh nevermind!"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh, right! You're a Magical Girl! And I'm a Technological Guy!"
KitOrbel: "One of these things is not like the other..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...I didn't get a wish though. All I got was the ability to open cans with my pinky finger."
"Speaking of which."
Metal Man (GM): He takes out a can of air freshener and opens in with his pinky finger, as his car nearly misses an asteroid.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Yeah... that's much better... ...don't worry, if we had hit that asteroid we would have just traveled back in time and avoided that anyway."
KitOrbel: "... I need to check if my Magical Girl Contract comes with an insurance policy..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Now... ah... yes! I... think... ...hmmm... You could wish for me to be a very safe person."
"That would truly be a miracle."
Gelato: *Cough.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Now... ah... yes! I... think... ...hmmm... You could wish for me to be a very safe person."
"That would truly be a miracle."
KitOrbel: "..." *She shakes her head.* "Nah, that'd be borring."
*She pauses and thinks about that.* "I need to check if my Magical Girl Contract comes with an insurance policy..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "So, I was wondering, anyway. You have any spells that make it possible to talk to Gelato? Or... can I read his mind? Its mind? Her mind?"
*He stares at Gelato, trying to read his/her/its mind. Meanwhile, the car nearly misses another asteroid.*
Gelato: *TV static would be the best way to put it. How can one read the mind of the brainless?*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...It's like reading Bonecrusher's mind..."
KitOrbel: "Not really. I might eventually because he's my mascot."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Good. I need some means to talk, because I must always talk, but I must talk to someone other than myself. Otherwise I will start becoming Charles, because that's what Charles did. Talk to himself."
"That lunatic."
Metal Man (GM): A ship would appear in the distance.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Hm. I see adventure has visited us without asking first. Shall I lose them, or should we steal their ship as pirate plunder?"
"It says they're Dweezil. As if I'm going to let that bug me."
KitOrbel: "Let's see who they are first."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Right."
Metal Man (GM): *BEPBEEP* The comms comes up.
Lancius: "Do be nice and surrender. We, the Dweezil, have decided to commandeer your vessel, so as to invade Alsa."
Xavier Ridgecrest: *Comm* "I'll have a side of fries with that."
Lancius: "What?"
KitOrbel: *Snicker.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: *Comm* "Your mouth shutting up, before I blast your steamy hides to another dimension."
Lancius: "You can't be serious. We're..."
Gelato: :D *Gelato stares at the screen, chirping into the mic.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "The Dweezil... who... ...were killed by Time Cops... you know. The guys who wore these?"
Metal Man (GM): He would show his Time Device up to the screen.
Lancius: "...Good god... you killed a Time Cop and stole their device..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Sorta."
Lancius: "...You hate the Time Cops. Why don't you help us?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Why don't I help you? What in the world do you offer? A bunch of weird looking dudes?"
Lancius: "We want to conquer Alsa and destroy Time Cops."
KitOrbel: *Comm* "My name is Cathrine Ti'Fiona, otherwise known as Agent Cathrine, former Quester. I suggest you boys run along home to mommy."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I don't give a beeping beep beep about Alsa or Time Cops..."
Lancius: "Your arrogance is foolish, but my commander explained to me something that disturbs me... Lest I have the displeasure of finding out what a 'Valhalla' is..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Heheheheheh. 99 floors of death crashing into you like a dump truck!"
KitOrbel: *Comm* "And here I assumed he was to tell you about the things he did with your mother last night." *Oho, look who's snarky.*
Lancius: *His face darkens* "Rude... annoying people..."
KitOrbel: *She smiles,* *Comm* "Listen buddy, I faced Evil Wolfman when I was thirteen and lived. I was bringing down fleets with nothing but my voice when I was eight. I stared a black hole in the face and survived. You don't scare me. Now leave."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Your mother did taste good... wait, no, wrong statement." *Takes out a sheet and flips through it* "For I have destroyed entire planets... galaxies... anything that got in my way. ...No, that was something Indalaceo said..."
KitOrbel: "You need queue cards for your intimidation checks?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I mixed up my intimidation with my recall nonsense history checks."
KitOrbel: "Ahhh... You should be rolling Charisma with a bonus due to your unpredictable insanity. Not knowledge."
Gelato: "Cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep cheep" *Into the mic.*
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh. But I swear saying ...actually, Julian... Metal told me to destroy it. So I did... it was a cursed item from The Void. Would scare him out of his wits!"
Lancius: "You people both disgust and confuse me. I shall stop wasting my time here."
Metal Man (GM): Lancius closes the comms and the ship flies aside.
KitOrbel: "That went better than expected. Here I thought he was going to actually look my name up."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "They did remind me though. Next time... we blow them up. I want their time Steam Engine."
KitOrbel: "...I'm not still on Time Cop payroll, am I?"
Xavier Ridgecrest: "...Good question."
KitOrbel: "I could have sworn I gave someone a resignation letter, but it may have gotten misplaced..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "They'll consider hiring you after we're done with those sons o' spuds. Time Cops are losers, but Dweezil are the losers that lose TO losers."
"Losers."
"Anyway, let's get back to HQ before I get attacked by some ancient Romans wearing hockey masks."
Metal Man (GM): He steps on the gas.
KitOrbel: "I was on it before. They were having me spy on Panzer and Evil Wolfman and give them information and battle plans. Dunno if that changed."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Oh. Well, Panzer is dead, and Evil Wolfman is... mostly dead. The Time Cops pulled out of this realm, but I heard a number of them are with my no good alter ego, Illian."
"Maybe you could fool them. But not Illian. You can't fool Illian."
"Illian shoots everyone first, then only revives after confirming they aren't his enemy."
KitOrbel: "I don't need to fool Illian. If I'm still on payroll, I might be able to manage without taking a single blow."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I dunno... Illian tends to shoot everyone... But if you think you can handle it... I'm not going. He can't be fooled by me."
Gelato: *Yawn, cough.*
KitOrbel: "Oh, I need to do more digging into 'if I'm still on payroll' or not. If I am, I probably have a whole bunch of coins I didn't know about in an account somewhere I haven't touched since the EW incident. If I'm not? No real loss."
Metal Man (GM): The car slowly lands at HQ.
Gelato climbs onto KitOrbel, still smelling bad. Bath time.
KitOrbel: "Okay. I'mma go check on if I'm still considered an informant for the Time Cops. That's important right now. It may give us leads and backdoor access to Illian's forces..." *She pauses,* "Right after Gelato and I take a bath and get a new change of clothes."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "I'm gonna go take out the trash. I forgot about it 10 weeks ago..."
Metal Man (GM): He walks out to do that, leaving you to do as you wish.
KitOrbel: She goes to shower first, taking Gelato with her. Then meditates on a chair after transforming into street clothes again. .oO(Mewtwo?)
.oO(Can you search my records to check if I was ever taken off Time Cop payroll after Evil Wolfman was stopped?)
Mewtwo: .oO(Let's see... one moment.)
.oO(Their accounts in this realm were frozen after they withdrew. They didn't bother to remove you.)
Gelato: *Clear again!*
KitOrbel: .oO(Hm... So I'm still technically allied with them, just not getting paid anymore.)
Mewtwo: .oO(Granted, the main accounts are not accessible, and the only remaining members in here were all declared casualties or 'rogue members' for not following the others out of the realm...)
KitOrbel: .oO(Including me, right? Shoot, nothing's ever that easy...)
Mewtwo: .oO(Yes, you're a 'casualty.')
Metal Man (GM): Xavier returns, contemplating.
Xavier Ridgecrest: "So then. Anything you found?"
KitOrbel: "The time cops consider me a casualty, I'm not currently allied with them in any way, and I'm not getting paid." She sighs, "Nothing is ever as easy as I'd like it to be." .oO(Thank you Mewtwo... It's not what I wanted to hear, but it does mean I have no obligations to assist them in any way, shape, or form.)
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Well, no problem. Lasers and death should deal with my evil doppelganger. I say we trick the Dweezil into going down there and getting blown up. ...Once I figure out HOW to do that, of course..."
KitOrbel: "That'd be an interesting way to solve two problems at once..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Of course, I need to figure out how first. You have any contacts that know how to make massive factions blow eachother up?"
Gelato: *Perhaps Xavier could throw the dragon as bait.*
KitOrbel: "..." *She thinks,* "Augh..."
Xavier Ridgecrest: "Hmmm..."
Metal Man (GM): And, actually, while I do have an answer, I'll pause here.
Fadin' out.
+8 Exp to KitOrbel, Xavier and Gelato