[Nexus] Skyside: The City of Eventually

[Ashen Lilies]

Current Events: Nothing!

Also known as the 'Free City of Skyside', the 'Trade City of Skyside', the 'City of Vice', the 'City of Progress', and 'That Wretched Hive of Scum and Villainy', Skyside is a floating city in the clouds, held aloft by a massive floating Skyship that once held the castle of Lethargia. Skyside has blossomed since those early days, blooming into a tiny, futuristic metropolis filled with commerce and trade.

What makes Skyside different from other Nexus cities, such as Inside or Riverside? Skyside is a city without law or official government. The closest thing Skyside has to a governing body is a group of five partners/investors, who manage Skyside's essential systems and security, and represent Skyside as a whole in any negotiations with foreign parties or governments.

In absence of laws, Skyside has become a haven for fledgling mad scientists and artist-entrepreneurs of all sorts, who come to Skyside for the cheap rent and the freedom to experiment on whatever they want, without that whole pesky 'government' thing getting in the way. Merchants too, are attracted by the lack of taxes, tariffs or other restrictions, and thus Skyside's marketplace is filled with a colorful array of stores and bazaars selling exotic goods not found in Inside or Riverside.

However, the lack of laws brings a darker side to the city, of course. The trade district of the city is filled with the slave bazaars, drug houses and brothels that would be banned in any other city. Some of them are actually rather fancy and high class affairs: able to operate in the open, without fear, they present healthy, well-fed and well-treated slaves, or higher quality chemicals, but many are not. And of course, slavery is still slavery, no matter how well-dressed it is. While the presence of an internal security force generally stops widespread fighting in the streets before it gets too out of hand, violence on a smaller scale is still common, and people who cannot protect themselves (or hire others to protect them) are often beaten, killed or kidnapped to be used in experiments or sold into slavery for those with lower standards.

In general, visitors and residents of Skyside learn to stay on their toes pretty quickly. Even the safest and most affluent areas of Skyside are vulnerable to some amateur mad scientist's latest giant robot or genetic abomination running loose and causing havoc, or a temporal anomaly rolling through and causing a street full of people to suddenly age several weeks in the space of a few seconds. The city can be chaotic, and often times dangerous, but there is potential for great wealth here, if someone has a talent for spotting opportunity and grabbing it. Whether with their own hands or the remotely controlled mecha hands that they designed in their attic is highly dependent on the person, of course.

Skyside's Defenses, Security and Partners

Defenses

Skyside's defenses against assault are many and varied. It's flying, for one, which means that most ground invasions are going to have a rather large stepping stone to cross before they get any troops into the city. In terms of static defenses, the lightning cannons that once were the main defense of Lethargia have been souped up, and are under the control of Dr. Graves. The majority of Skyside's defense forces, however, are whatever personal defenses (troops, weapons, etc.) Skyside's partners can cough up, varying in size, power and capability according to each partner.

Security
Though lawless, some semblance order in Skyside is maintained by the Partners of the city, who each understandably have some interest in keeping their city running smoothly. People causing too much of a disturbance should expect to draw attention from any one of their security forces. Like its defenses, Skyside’s internal security is as varied as the Partners who run it, and can vary in size, power and capability according to whose ire the unfortunate troublemaker has attracted with their mayhem.

Partners


Dr Graves (Kid Kris)
Harsworn (Lost_Deep)
Magtok (Lord Magtok)
Attore (Recaiden)
Nort (McBish)


Zones

The Cloudtops

The wealthiest and most glamorous section of Skyside, this area of town, colloquially known as 'the Cloudtops' (but often not by those who actually live there) is a area dominated by tall skyscrapers of glass and steel, covered in bright lights (many of them advertising a variety of exciting and expensive products) and connected by paved roads and elevated walkways galore.

The Cloudtops is home to Skyside's richest residents, and Skyside's biggest businesses and corporations. The Cloudtops is also Skyside's safest district. Rich people can generally afford a rather high level of private security, and Skyside's internal security force is out in full force here, keeping violence to a minimum.

The Raindrop District

Home to the majority of Skyside's population, this crowded residential area has neither the glitz nor the glamor of the Cloudtops, earning it the nickname of 'The Raindrop District' by those who live there.

The Raindrop District is an area occupied primarily by apartment blocks and housing developments of various types, from the absolutely dismal to the actually-pretty-nice. Some of the more novel developments in housing include ad-sponsered houses, where the ad companies pay part of your rent in exchange for being able to have advertising banners in your own home. In between the housing developments are all the small businesses you would expect in a residential area. Corner stores, groceries, fast food, laundromats, small restaurants, and all the other handy and helpful places that let people get everything they need without having to travel far.

The Raindrop District is relatively safe by day, but generally more dangerous at night. Especially in the more ramshackle parts of the Raindrop District, the back alleys tend to be frequented by muggers and the like, and break-ins are very common during the day when the occupants are likely out working. The wise Raindrop District inhabitant keeps good locks and a trusty firearm close at hand, at the very least, and some shell out for more, opting to rely on protection from mercenary and security firms that provide added safety... for a price.


Tempest Row

Depending on who you ask, Tempest Row is either a vibrant, colorful area full of exotic wares and noisy taverns where ale flows freely, and the barmaids are very accommodating; or a raging, screaming drunk who will drag you into a back alley, beat you over the head with a stick, and run off with your valuables. Or both at once.

Housing the main airship docks, Tempest Row is the nickname for the bustling market and entertainment district of Skyside. With the constant traffic in and out of the city, Tempest Row is home to countless taverns, bars, clubs, and brothels of various sorts, providing boisterous and often debauched entertainment for Skyside's visitors.

With its large crowds and large numbers of shop guards, Tempest Row is relatively safe from violence, though the odd scientific anomaly or experiment-got-loose may amble through occasionally. Visitors in Tempest Row should instead keep a closer watch on their valuables rather than their safety, keeping a close eye out for the pickpockets, scam-artists, and cutpurses of various sorts walking through the crowds, looking for easy money; or the gangs of street toughs roaming the back alleys, waiting for someone too drunk to put up a good fight to stumble along.

Thunderhead

The constant black smoke belching from the sprawling jumble of towering smokestacks and open smelting furnaces gives this area its name among the locals. Thunderhead is the main industrial area of Skyside, filled with factories, smelteries, warehouseries, and a whole array of other varied smelteries. Everything from airship construction to weapons manufacture takes place, and accidents can sometimes happen, especially with the more unscrupulous employers who care little about what happens to their factory workers, whether they be paid workers, slaves, robots or the mutated fishmen your mad scientist donor kindly granted you.

Thunderhead is among the most dangerous of the districts, with vicious gangs and supervillains hiding out in the mysteriously abandoned warehouses (seriously, Skyside is short on space, why are all there all these abandoned warehouses?), and generally abusing the dirty jumble of factories and lack of people to carve out their own territories and fight each other. Most good factories have guards to protect their employees (or keep them from escaping) but the open streets can turn into a danger zone at any point, with witnesses far and few between.

Groundtown

For those who couldn't get onto Skyside proper, one can always live in its shadow. Located directly under and around the floating city, Groundtown is a small, but growing settlement of improvised buildings and pre-fab housing blocks, populated largely by Skyside's poorest and most unfortunate workers, commuting morning and evening to the city above by way of hanging basket-lifts and small flying skiffs.

Located outside even Skyside's limited bubble of security and order, Groundtown can be truly hellish at times. Fighting on the streets between warring gangs is an all too common sight, and even the heaviest of personal weaponry cannot always guarantee personal safety. Residents of Groundtown lock their valuables up tight and keep their gun under their pillow, and visitors should always keep their eyes peeled for thieves and muggers. What little safety can be had in Groundtown comes from the powerful gangs who do their best to control the disorder within their own territory, and the superpowered and/or costumed vigilantes who can be found patrolling nightly, unwilling to let Groundtown fall apart and be consumed by darkness.


Locations



Please PM the thread creator with a description if you want a location added to this index!

Attila's Cantina (Player: Kris on a Stick, Tempest Row)

Located near to the docks on Tempest Row, Attila's Cantina is a bar run by an enterprising Hutt named Attila, who caters mostly to the pilots, captains and crew of airships stopping at Skyside. A large variety of food and beverages can be found here, with a special emphasis on items resembling what can be found from Attila's home galaxy, making it especially popular among those who have been sucked into the Nexus from said galaxy. People who know to ask can purchase small quantities of rare Spice from Attila, and he has a wide variety of contacts among Tempest Row traders and dock keepers, making him a good source of information for people looking to know what's what in the area.

The Cantina is relatively clean and bright, though noisy with the constant chatter of alien species. The ubiquitous Bith space-jazz band plays on a raised stage to once side, along with Twi'lek dancers (free and well payed) and vocalists. A few heavily armed guards dot the edges, and Attila himself keeps his powerful blaster shotgun clearly visible above the bar (along with a larger, even more powerful blaster hidden under it) in order to dissuade troublemakers.

Atlas Park (Player: Kris on a Stick, The Cloudtops)

Located in the midst of the Cloudtops, Atlas Park is a little bit of an anomaly within the urbanized city center. Owned and operated by Dr. Graves, Atlas Park is covered by a transparent dome, keeping out any pollution from the city, while allowing the climate inside to be manipulated to a fine degree. Atlas Park is home to some very attractive landscaping, exotic plants, a small lake, and in general is just a very nice green space for people to relax away from the buildings and bustle of the rest of Skyside. A massive statue of the titan the park is named after stands proudly in the middle of the park, carrying aloft a sphere covered in stars and constellations on his shoulders in reference to the original myth. Oddly enough, though, anyone who manages to get a close look at his face might note an odd expression carved there, which, combined with the slightly odd tilt to his shoulders vaguely suggests an image of Atlas shrugging.

Entrance to Atlas Park requires payment of a moderate fee to keep the park running, though membership cards can be purchased to allow free access over a period of time.

Brickstown Free Clinic (Player: Kris on a Stick, The Raindrop District)

A humble looking brick building in one of the more dismal parts of the Raindrop District, the Brickstown Free Clinic, true to its name, provides free service to any and all patients who visit. The previously red brick of its outer facade has been stained soot black by its proximity to the smoky foundries of Thunderhead, and the inside is somewhat dingy and depressing, with a smell halfway between disinfectant and old vomit. The building and regular staff are payed for entirely through donations, whether it be from the locked steel donation box in the lobby, or more importantly, a set of undisclosed benefactors. Despite this, the clinic continues to be understaffed and overburdened. However, those in the area will know of a mysterious doctor who visits the clinic on occasion, typically at odd hours of the night, to treat the clinic's more critical or chronic patients, before leaving. The identity of this mysterious doctor is a secret kept closely by the clinic's staff and management, as is whether they have any ulterior motives for their aid.

Lazurus Towers (Player: Kris on a Stick, The Cloudtops)

An attractive glass skyscraper located near the center of the Cloudtops, Lazurus Towers contains multiple stories of luxury apartments for Skyside's more affluent inhabitants. The tower complex also has its own gym, pool and spa, because lol rich people. The top several stories (accessed by a separate elevator) are occupied by an elaborate penthouse complex, home to Dr. Graves, Skyside Partner and businessperson.

Tinkertown (Player: None, Thunderhead)

A small sub-district located in between Thunderhead and the Raindrop District, Tinkertown is an odd district full of warehouses that have been mostly rented as labspace for the large cohort of mad scientists and visionaries who call Skyside home. As such, Tinkertown tends to be even more chaotic than Skyside at large, home to a wide variety of technicolored explosions, noxious gas outbreaks, and half-fish abominations wandering the streets, looking for their mummy. The non-Mad Scientist population of Skyside usually knows to stay well away from Tinkertown, though some find themselves drawn to the noise and excitement, or the glamorous (and occasionally lucrative) occupation of being some up-and-coming supervillain's henchman, hunchbacked assistant or attractive mistress.

Temple to Pazuzu (Player: Earl of Purple, Tempest Row

One of the buildings here, an overhanging pub with a novelty glass floor that quickly went out of business due to one short gunfight and a very long drop, has been taken over by a new group.

They've put up a sign outside depicting a red vulture with wings and talons outstretched superimposed on a silver cloud. Beneath that is a sign proclaiming this to be the Temple of Pazuzu, and on the other side is a list of the dates of various religious celebrations.

Outside, it still resembles the other taverns, being a three-storey building with a flat roof to dock smaller aircraft. Inside, there's an altar at the far end with a cage suspended over a hole in the floor next to it. There's a central aisle with rows of pews on either side, most suited for winged individuals.



OoC Notes and Rules


Godmodding is not permissible! As stated in the rules in the FFRP Central Thread,, godmodding is generally not allowed without permission. If you're shaky on what might be, and what might not be godmodding, please follow the above link.
Remember the curtain! It is accepted that there will of course be some inter-PC relationships, and that romance and certain physical interactions (commonly known as sex) happen. However, please be courteous to others and curtain any scene that you wouldn't be willing to write with your parents watching. This is so you can stay within forum rules, as well as letting those uninterested in the scene pass by without having to glimpse your poorly written and anatomically impossible erotica. Thank you.
All Skyside-Wide/Nexus-Wide plots need to be brought up in OOC first! It's fine to have the entire city be cast into a total darkness, or drenched in a rain of blood from time to time, but such things need to be brought up in OOC first, to allow players plenty of warning, and so people don't feel like anything is being forced upon them that they don't want to RP.
“My character is an escaped slave who became a paladin and hates slavery! She's going to attack every slaver she sees and singlehandedly tear down Skyside's slave industry!” Since everything is legal in Skyside, it's inevitable that some less well-looked upon industries, such as slavery, will find a foothold there, which more morally upright characters may take affront to. However, always be mindful of the consequences of a random paladin trying to attack slavers in the streets, burn markets down or knock down doors and bash in heads. Even if 'legal', slavery is still unpopular, and any slavers brave enough to be operating in the open are likely to have lots of guards to protect their interests. Also, Skyside does have an internal security force, who will try to stop any fights that start spreading and disrupting safety and order in a large area. Someone who consistently acts very aggressive and randomly assaults people and property in the open is likely to find themselves in a lot of trouble, very quickly. Also, not everyone wants to have to constantly respond to every Joseph McHero and Sally Superwoman who wants to pick a fight with them. If you plan on having a character take action and take down a specific store or organization, please be courteous and ask the players involved if they're willing to RP it, and remember that there are more subtle ways to take down an industry than kicking them in the teeth.
Remnant/Riverside/Orgs hunting down supervillains hiding out in Skyside. Go ahead. In general, it's perfectly alright to carry out retribution against any criminals trying to hide out in Skyside, as long as the force sent is relatively discrete or small scale enough to avoid notice from the powers-that-be. Large numbers of troops or powerful strike forces will generally draw negative attention from the Partners in charge of security, though, unless they have been informed of the operation beforehand and approve (though they probably won't). Gotta protect that independence, yo.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Right at the end of the docks, past the last airship gantry and across from the Mounting Heavens brothel, the Cloud 9 Bar and Grill protrudes awkwardly from the side of the city. Stevie, the barkeep, was one of the first people to move to Skyside when it got airborne, and he'd be the last. He even had the name changed to Cloud 9 when they finally went up. He thought it fit a theme.

Not a lot of people look for real estate at this end of the Row, and most don't look for trouble either - Stevie likes it that way. Hell, he'd retire, if he didn't think he would be so damn bored.

Tonight it's the other way around. Stevie's tired of waiting for business that isn't gonna come. He's just pouring himself some cheap whiskey, consigning himself to another quiet evening, when blinding light pours into the bar. Oh, great, some jerk forgot to turn off his high-beams, Stevie thinks. But it isn't coming from the front. It's coming from the rear window.

The one looking out over about three miles of nothing, straight down toward Outside.

Stevie hears the scream before it hits, a man's voice, screaming like his hair was on fire. Then a big, burning something bursts through his window like a bombshell, and he thinks of his mother (bless her soul), and he considers that this might be it. Red-hot glass soars over the countertop, and Stevie ducks. Furniture and torn floorboards fly through the air. The Cloud, jutting out over the precipice as it is, groans with the effort of staying horizontal.

Slowly, Stevie stands back up, surveying the wreckage. The Cloud feels like its gonna give way any second. And there, in the middle of his barroom floor, surrounded by smoldering debris, is a man chained to a metal slab. Well, he hasn't got any hair, but he's certainly on fire. The man writhes and shrieks, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings as the flames lick away his naked flesh.

Stevie has never been one to hesitate, even in the face of insanity. He's a Nexus man, gods damn it. He runs for his extinguisher, and in about thirty seconds the man on the slab is coated in blessedly cool white foam. The flame dies quietly, leaving a charred, wasted thing in its wake.

"M-mister?" Stevie reaches toward the man through the smoke and haze. He's become very still. "Mister can you hear me? I'm gonna call a doctor, just... just stay still!"

"No," comes a deep voice, rumbling up from the throat of its owner. Stevie stops, now still as the man on the slab. "No doctor."

The sound of straining, grinding metal fills the bar, and with a series of snaps the slab's chains begin to break. One by one, the stranger pulls against them, sitting up as he does so, before finally sliding free and toppling onto the floor. Then, leaving Stevie wondering if he's gone mad, the stranger stands.

The two men face one another. One, a sixty-year-old human, bright blue eyes, dark brown hair slowly turning to pale white. There is fear in his eyes. The other is a tall, charcoal-black thing, oozing blood and various other fluids through cracks in his flash-fried flesh. The other one is not a man. He's humanoid, but his proportions are all wrong - like a thing trying to imitate a person. And more importantly, the top half of his head is missing - as are any notable facial features.

But still, without eyes, he looks. And without a mouth, he speaks. "No doctor."

"Sure, mister. Sure," Stevie agrees too-quickly, nodding. He takes a step back, and asks stupidly, "Where... did you come from?" Stevie glances behind the stranger, at his slab. It's a huge, dull thing the color of midnight, etched with unintelligible markings worn by heat and age. Hung around the neck of the stranger, seemingly untouched by fire, is a heavy-looking necklace made of gold. The pieces are hung about an inch apart, sculpted into abstract shapes and crude symbols.

"A drink, please," the not-man says. Stevie can hear his heart beat.

"What?"

"A drink. Now. Please," the not-man says again.

Stevie walks around behind the bar working purely on instinct. But instinct only half-works, as Stevie hands the stranger not a drink, but his whole bottle of whiskey by mistake. The stranger accepts, pops the top, and raises it to his half-face. Along the front, a pair of huge, heavily chapped lips suddenly split open, taking the whole bottleneck in and lifting it up so the stranger can suck it dry.

Before Stevie's eyes, a bright gold light begins to pulse across the stranger's body. It passes over the surface of his ruined skin like a wave, from head to toe, over and over.

"Thank you," says the not-man, alcohol running from each corner of his overgrown mouth in torrents. He smiles, breaking Stevie from his daze, showing a grotesque double-set of hellishly sharp teeth. Without warning, the stranger seizes one of the gold trinkets hung round his neck and snaps it off. He places it gently on the counter, letting his three-fingered hand slide over it in one last caress. "Take that. Another bottle. To go."

Stevie gives him another bottle. Christ, why not? The old barkeep eyes his last patron - and it may well be his last, given the state of his bar - with a little more resolve in his gaze. He's gathered his wits again. I'm a Nexus man. He repeats in his head. If the scary ones don't hurt you right away, they're probably not gonna. And what could he do about it if the fella wanted to?

"Are you gonna be alright?" Stevie asks.

"Oh yeah. I'm gonna be just fine," The man says, with a slow, rolling chuckle. He lifts the new bottle to his lips and drinks, not quite draining half. "Just fine. Yeah." And with that, the stranger starts toward the door.

Stevie almost stops him. To... damn, who knows, demand answers? Demand an explanation for the damage? Sure, his insurance covers random acts of God, but this was gonna cost business. Who is this guy? Who's gonna pay? Stevie's brain catches up to his mouth before he can say another word. With the same sincerity he's been using for forty years keeping a bar, Stevie finally decides on, "Take it easy, fella."

"Swell nights, old man."

And with that, the thing is gone. Stevie picks up the gold his... customer left, studying the symbols etched upon it. Stevie was no appraiser, but if it was real...

Maybe it was about time he retired.

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops - The Heights

Willow isn't rich enough to rate a penthouse suite in the Cloudtops, but she does manage to locate a nice apartment on the 23rd story of The Heights, with a glorious view of the landscape far below. Of course, that view comes with a ridiculous pricetag - the apartments on the other side of the building cost about a third as much - but Willow doesn't see the point in living in the sky without having the perqs. It's pretty stomach churning to stand on the balcony and look straight down, but it's not like she'd be any less dead falling only 23 stories instead of 23 stories + Skyside's current altitude.

"I love this place!" Willow shouts into the wind.

((The Heights is available to others as an upmarket residential location.))

[Morty]

[Tempest Row]

Very soon after Skyside's unveiling, Dipsnig purchased an office suite in the market district of the airborne town. He immediately started hiring staff and furnishing the building to serve as NO's office in Skyside. He didn't bother asking or negotiating with the powers-that-be. Skyside isn't the place for it, and the message he wants to send is 'We're here. Any objections?'

He is currently standing in the street outside, observing the work. He doesn't like being here. It's too high up. He's terrified of heights. But you gotta do what you gotta do; this place is crawling with mercenaries and hired muscle. NO needs to get a foot in the door ASAP.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

Stumbling out've an alley near Dipsnig is what appears to be a walking charcoal briquett. It's a vague, half-headed dark thing in the shape of a human being, but even in that regard it fails. Its shoulders are lopsided, and the arm that hangs from the higher one is at least four inches longer than the other. It reeks of burnt meat and alcohol. Around its neck appears to be a necklace of thick golden shapes and symbols. One of these appears to be glowing.

The thing stops a few feet short of the goblin, right before collapsing on its knees and falling against the wall. Its mouth drops open, revealing a double set of sharp teeth. The creature gasps for breath, letting a long, swollen brown tongue loll from between its powerful jaws.

Despite its state of exhaustion, the thing glances at NO, as well as one can glance without eyes. "You," He says, turning his chin up toward Dipsnig. "What is this place?" The creature's voice is decidedly masculine; deep and rich in tone.

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

Dipsnig turns around and looks at the pitch-black thing. He supposes he should have expected something like that to happen; a place like Skyside will attract things that even the Nexus considers weird.

"That," he says curtly, "Is the newest office of the biggest mercenary organization in the Nexus."

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"Good," he groans, forcing himself onto his feet weakly. The creature wobbles at the knees, uncertain, before suddenly doubling over to vomit in the alleyway. Blood and stale whiskey and bile spill onto the pavement. With that, it begins to stand a bit more steadily. One gangly arm wipes at its mouth. "Good. I need men. Now where... urgh. Where is this?" The thing looks at Dipsnig again, and though it lacks anything resembling a face, the goblin may almost feel eyes upon him. "What age is this?"

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

Dipsnig snorts.

"Age? Nobody bothers counting time on such a scale in the Nexus. Keeping track of it on a weekly basis is enough of a pain in the ass. Still, if you need men, we should have plenty of hired muscle signing up for our licenses once we finish setting up this office."

[The Bushranger]

Attila's Cantina

In walks a green-haired young woman in a blue button-up top, jeans, boots, and a vest, with a pair of goggles perched atop her head. Cat has arrived in Skyside, and, after a moment's looking around, heads for the bar, takes a seat, and asks for the strongest they got.

She quit her job, moved up here, and...realised she had forgot the "???" before "Profit!".

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1271/marn.png

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

The commotion of the not-man coming and going had awoken a large bird roosting in a corner of the bar. He's been there for a while, but the last thing he ordered was ages ago, so he hasn't attracted too much attention. The "being asleep" thing helped too.
Of course, 'bird' might not be a good word. With its tiny claws and tinier teeth in its beak, it looks more like some cousin of an archaeopteryx, if that little dinosaur was a little more elegant looking and crimson-feathered.
"Ahwhowhat? Aw, who broke the bar again? This is the fourth time this week! You'd think a place without laws would have more tough mercs or somethin' keeping this from happening. You going to need help with this mess, barkeep? I know a guy for this."
says the odd bird in a distinctly male voice that still does sound like what most people imagine talking birds sound like.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"Well, it's never been this bad before," the barkeep says, glancing up at the bird. He'd forgotten the fella was even there. Stevie furrows his brow. "What kinda guy?"

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"The Nexus. The keystone. It's finally come together," he says, smiling darkly. The creature takes a few steps toward Dipsnig, chips of blackened skin falling away to reveal bloody meat and sinew beneath. "I buried some things. Here. Somewhere. But we're... in the air. Why is that?"

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

Dipsnig doesn't back away, or even flinch. He just tilts his head and raises his eyebrow, as well as his corresponding ear.

"Because it's Skyside, the city in the sky," he explains. "How long have you been sleeping?"

[Earl of Purple]

Tempest Row

One of the buildings here, an overhanging pub with a novelty glass floor that quickly went out of business due to one short gunfight and a very long drop, has been taken over by a new group.

They've put up a sign outside depicting a red vulture with wings and talons outstretched superimposed on a silver cloud. Beneath that is a sign proclaiming this to be the Temple of Pazuzu, and on the other side is a list of the dates of various religious celebrations.

Outside, it still resembles the other taverns, being a three-storey building with a flat roof to dock smaller aircraft. Inside, there's an altar at the far end with a cage suspended over a hole in the floor next to it. There's a central aisle with rows of pews on either side, most suited for winged individuals.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

The creature watches Dipsnig closely. He seems to be telling the truth - no one but Nexus folk could stand near him and not flinch, at least in extreme disgust. They'd be used to odd things by now.

"Flying city," the creature says, with some mild wonder. His deep, smooth voice hardly fits his appearance. "I wasn't sleeping. I was burning. This would be my... six-hundredth birthday, or so." The creature turns his hands up and shrugs. "I've lost count." He gives a gravely, barking laugh. "But at least so has everyone else. What a laugh."

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"Burning, you say. Well," Dipsnig says with a shrug, "do you have any business with the Neutralist Organization now that you're out and about again?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"Well, it's never been this bad before," the barkeep says, glancing up at the bird. He'd forgotten the fella was even there. Stevie furrows his brow. "What kinda guy?"


Tempest Row- Cloud 9

For a moment there's a gleam in the bird's eye, the kind of look that would indicate a big grin if beaks could do that.
"The kinda guy who can fix walls long before you could put a claim in insurance and call an honest mason, and would be willing to do it all for the measly price of you givin' him drinks on the house for a while. Less than a year, but more than a month." he says, as if still working it all out in his head.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"I've got business. Tell you what. I'll get cleaned up, sir. Get proper lookin'. Then I'll come. Then we can talk," The thing assures him smoothly, offering a hand to the goblin, before realizing how awful his hand looks and pulling it back. "Where can I find you?" Other than Skyside, obviously.

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"Whoah whoah whoah. How much does this bozo drink? I've heard this kinda thing before," Stevie asks the bird, looking around at his still-smoldering bar and considering.

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row

Some of the fellow's feathers puff up at the word 'bozo.'
"If ya wouldn't like the help you don't gotta be rude about it, buddy. Only magic folk I've got is my size. And I'd pass out if I had more than two of your-sized drinks in one night."

[Beans]

[Tempest Row - Widowtek]
Widowtek, owned by the first open member of the Worm species that's been trying to infiltrate the Nexus gradually since '71 (someone's '71, at least), is the hottest body-modification clinic in Skyside---or so Aoife Salis's regulars claim.
On the ground floor of the fairly average-sized Widowtek building, the basic bodymod clinic rests. Ear and facial piercings? Child's play. Weirder stuff like hip, Madison, nape, other piercings? Could do it in her sleep. Tattoos? Sure, if you wanna be boring.

Below that, the real cool stuff starts. Maybe you want bioluminescence? Polydactly that works? A tongue that would make Gene Simmons claim you're compensating for something? Got it.
What if you want your eyes to see into the IR or UV spectra? Sure.

Then there's the... more interesting kinds. What if you wanted, say... an eye that can squirt venom from its tear duct? Compressed tentacle weapons in your fingers? A circulatory system capable of extending from your hands to inject boiling-hot blood?!
You'll need to pay up good and you won't exactly be skipping out whistling in half an hour in time for brunch, but it can get did. You will be the coolest cat on the town, and also really goddamn scary.

They say there's a sub-basement level too, but Aoife always claims it's just her living space down there. At the moment, she's sitting at the front desk, watching one of her artists go to work on some guy's back. Big ol' tattoos are getting popular again, it seems.

[Ashen Lilies]

Attila's Cantina

In walks a green-haired young woman in a blue button-up top, jeans, boots, and a vest, with a pair of goggles perched atop her head. Cat has arrived in Skyside, and, after a moment's looking around, heads for the bar, takes a seat, and asks for the strongest they got.

She quit her job, moved up here, and...realised she had forgot the "???" before "Profit!".

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1271/marn.png

Tempest Row - Attila's Cantina

The atmosphere in here seems lively enough, with the cantina already being filled with a variety of exotic races. Most of them tend to trend towards the more science-fictionally scale of exotic, however there is the odd elf or orc dotted amongst the clientele, enjoying a drink with a Twi'Lek or a Klingon.

The corpulent Hutt at the bar, dressed in a bright red canvas vest, takes a quick look at the green-haired woman, and quickly decides to give her something which is most definitely not the strongest drink in the bar, but still strong enough to knock the average human off their feet after a few glasses.

"Not messing around, huh? Ho ho ho!" Says the Hutt, chuckling as he pours out a measure of the bright green concoction and passing it to the lady.

[Murkus]

Tempest Row

Some of the fellow's feathers puff up at the word 'bozo.'
"If ya wouldn't like the help you don't gotta be rude about it, buddy. Only magic folk I've got is my size. And I'd pass out if I had more than two of your-sized drinks in one night."

"Aaa, bozo never hurt anybody's feelings," Stevie says, glancing up at the bird. "And I would, if that's all its gonna cost me. Hell, free drinks for half a year. How's that sound?"

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

The bird nods. "Sounds fine to me, buddy. Call me Iggy, by the way. And o'course, the only magic I've got on-wing is my own. Not my best trick, I admit. I need better material. You got a pan? I could do it right now, but I'll probably need a big pan."

[Morty]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"I've got business. Tell you what. I'll get cleaned up, sir. Get proper lookin'. Then I'll come. Then we can talk," The thing assures him smoothly, offering a hand to the goblin, before realizing how awful his hand looks and pulling it back. "Where can I find you?" Other than Skyside, obviously.

Whew, Dipsnig was liberated from the dilemma between having to shake that disgusting hand and being unprofessionally impolite.

"If I'm not here by the time you finish, you can find us in our base in the mountains," he says.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - In the Street]

"Good! Good. The mountains," The thing laughs again. "Oh, this is the Nexus alright. You don't even name them, but I'll know the way. I'll see you then, goblin." The creature waves at Dipsnig once before disappearing down the street. It fades into the dark before it comes to the next street light, leaving no trace it was there at all.

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Stevie frowns in a rather confused manner before heading into the back. He returns with a large frying pan. "Ain't never seen any pan-magic before."

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

"And you probably never will. This is just to keep your floor clean. I'll need it over there." he says, gesturing with a talon to the wall.
Assuming it's either placed for him or he can carry it in his talons Iggy settles himself in the frying pan, staring blankly at the ruined wall and the bricks littering the floor. Then with a flap of his wings, they burst into flames. They're mostly illusory, but there is still a surge of heat that's probably uncomfortable. It only lasts about five seconds, because after that the flames subside, leaving the wall exactly as it was twenty minutes ago. The pan now has several of Iggy's feathers in it, which quickly crumble to ash. A small number of the bricks that were too far from the wall shared a similar fate.
"You can probably sell these to an alchemist if you'd like. They're not death-ashes, but folks are always interested in minor stuff." says the phoenix, looking over at the pan as he finds a more comfortable place to perch.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Stevie's kind enough to put the pot by the ruined window for him. He nods once the window is fixed, then gives a mild whistle. A pheonix isn't something you see very often, even here. "I getcha now." The shopkeep picks up the pan and pushes the ashes around a little. "Well thanks, mister. Saves me a load of trouble. And I won't lose any business of it. I never had any idea a pheonix could do that."

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row

"I'm good at making things younger." Iggy says proudly. "You're lucky; I can only easily do objects for an hour back. People are a lot easier, but that's not something that I flaunt. Not good for me."

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"Just how far back can you take things? Cuz see, I've got this wife..." Stevie asks, and it's hard to tell if he's joking or not. A good, dry sense of humor.

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

"Trust me, pal, wouldn't be what you want. It never works out. Just unlucky to do that sort of thing willy-nilly. Now, reincarnations, those are way simpler, they're my thing, for obvious reasons. But no one likes the element of randomness, and I don't blame 'em. The last me was all paranoid I'd wind up all whiny or something when my turn came up." Iggy says, still friendly.

[Recaiden]

[Tempest Row - Widowtek]
Widowtek, owned by the first open member of the Worm species that's been trying to infiltrate the Nexus gradually since '71 (someone's '71, at least), is the hottest body-modification clinic in Skyside---or so Aoife Salis's regulars claim.
On the ground floor of the fairly average-sized Widowtek building, the basic bodymod clinic rests. Ear and facial piercings? Child's play. Weirder stuff like hip, Madison, nape, other piercings? Could do it in her sleep. Tattoos? Sure, if you wanna be boring.

Below that, the real cool stuff starts. Maybe you want bioluminescence? Polydactly that works? A tongue that would make Gene Simmons claim you're compensating for something? Got it.
What if you want your eyes to see into the IR or UV spectra? Sure.

Then there's the... more interesting kinds. What if you wanted, say... an eye that can squirt venom from its tear duct? Compressed tentacle weapons in your fingers? A circulatory system capable of extending from your hands to inject boiling-hot blood?!
You'll need to pay up good and you won't exactly be skipping out whistling in half an hour in time for brunch, but it can get did. You will be the coolest cat on the town, and also really goddamn scary.

They say there's a sub-basement level too, but Aoife always claims it's just her living space down there. At the moment, she's sitting at the front desk, watching one of her artists go to work on some guy's back. Big ol' tattoos are getting popular again, it seems.

Look, it's a customer! A young woman in a red cloak bounces into Widowtek, frowning at the sign outside, but shrugging. If Salis's people really are as good as she's heard, it doesn't matter if they've got an annoying name.

She approaches the desk, excited. "Not exciting, I know, but I'm here to get my ears pierced."

[Beans]

[Tempest Row - Widowtek]
Aoife (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16338532&postcount=897) smiles; oddly for a lady running a piercing and tat shop, she... has neither. Not even her ears.
Oh, ears then? How're we doin' those today, darlin'? The petite woman speaks with what people from most Earths would call a Geordie accent, the kind found in the Tyneside area of Britain. Exactly how real the accent is... well, who really knows?
She comes up to sit atop her desk, looking the customer up and down.
There's Helix, Industrial, Rook Daith, Tragus, Snug, Conch, Anti-Tragus, and Lobe. She even has a handy little diagram for those first-timers!

[Recaiden]

[Widowtek]

The first-timer is somewhat bewildered by the list, but the diagram helps. "Lobe." She eventually says. That's the most easily symettrified one, to her. The conch piercings, though, they also have potential.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
Aoife slips off the desk, leading the girl toward the racks of different jewelry. Alright then, see a pair you 'specially like, before we get on with the pointy happenings? They've a good selection, both in style and price range.

[Recaiden]

The girl follows along, in quick bursts of moving, and looks over the rack. Very quickly she picks out a pair of black-tinted loops. "These. Ah, what are the needles made of?"

[Arkhosia]

Widowtek

A Drider walks - or gets stuck in the doorframe, if it's a single-door entrance - in.
Hello.

[Beans]

The girl follows along, in quick bursts of moving, and looks over the rack. Very quickly she picks out a pair of black-tinted loops. "These. Ah, what are the needles made of?"
[Widowtek]
Aoife picks up a piercing gun, fitting a sterilized contact tip for the bits that hold the earlobe. Standard is surgical-grade steel. If that's a problem, we have alternate tips in silver, aluminum alloy, titanium, and carbon fiber.

One of the shop girls comes over to help the drider. "How may I help you?"

[Arkhosia]

Widowtek

Auria looks a bit content. It's not every day she finds a shop she can actually fit through the doorway.
Just browsing.

[Recaiden]

[Widowtek]
Aoife picks up a piercing gun, fitting a sterilized contact tip for the bits that hold the earlobe. Standard is surgical-grade steel. If that's a problem, we have alternate tips in silver, aluminum alloy, titanium, and carbon fiber.

"I think would not work steel. Silver is sharp enough." The girl eyes the piercing gun suspiciously. She can't see all the moving parts and that makes it questionable.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
She nods, loading in the sterilized silver cartridge with a click.
Alright, darlin', sit in this chair, get comfy, and we'll be ready to get you pierced.

[The Bushranger]

Tempest Row - Attila's Cantina


The atmosphere in here seems lively enough, with the cantina already being filled with a variety of exotic races. Most of them tend to trend towards the more science-fictionally scale of exotic, however there is the odd elf or orc dotted amongst the clientele, enjoying a drink with a Twi'Lek or a Klingon.

The corpulent Hutt at the bar, dressed in a bright red canvas vest, takes a quick look at the green-haired woman, and quickly decides to give her something which is most definitely not the strongest drink in the bar, but still strong enough to knock the average human off their feet after a few glasses.

"Not messing around, huh? Ho ho ho!" Says the Hutt, chuckling as he pours out a measure of the bright green concoction and passing it to the lady.

"Nope. I realised I probably made a big mistake, and there's no way of getting out of it," she says, shaking her head. "Since it seems that in a land of airships and airship mechanics, there's really no call for one more tinkerer."

She takes the drink when it arrives, and slams it down!

[Recaiden]

[Widowtek]

She takes a seat, biting her lip nervously, and nods to indicate her readiness.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
She sets the gun's holding mechanism on the girl's earlobe, then fires it.
The piercing gun's needle... well, it goes through her earlobe, that's how they work.
It will, um, hurt and all, but not that bad.

[Recaiden]

The ears are pierced as intended.
It's just a bit of extreme pain from the silver. Nothing she hasn't felt before.

The girl breaks into a smile.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
Aoife... has actually seen that before, but not on a newbie. Mostly on the people with piercings all over the place.
After a bit, she disengages the cartridge, removes the gun, and loads in a second one; the first she puts in a small dish to sterilize again.
She dabs with rubbing alcohol at the pierced lobe, then goes to pierce the other.

[Recaiden]

There comes a slight wince at the alcohol swab, but she keeps smiling when it comes time for the second ear. Mostly, she waits.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
Not long before she's done, yay!
Well then, let's get those rings in, shall we?

[Recaiden]

Hurrah!
"Yes, let's!" She waits to see what Aiofe is doing, not sure if she's to remain in the chair or head to another place.

[Rebonack]

[The Cloudtops]

Pillars of steel and glass rise high into the air, all but obscuring the skyline from the ground. These stand as monuments to the ingenuity and tenacity of the inhabitants of Skyside.

That or the sky scrapers were just yoinked from somewhere else. There's a good chance of that, too.

And in those buildings people are going about their daily lives. Apartments. Offices. Entire floors with blackened out windows seeing to horrific experiments. All of the wonderful, normal things one would expect of the Nexus. The sun is shining through the crisp autumn air. The pigeons are trying really hard to not be noticed by falcons. And on the one hundred and twelfth floor of the Herpderp building Jarl Gobstopper is enjoying a cup of tea on the balcony.

Then?

Then there is a ripple in the air.

Jarl raises an eyebrow. Ripples in the air aren't terribly uncommon in the Nexus. That usually means that someone or something new is about to show up. Jarl sets down his cup and turns his attention to the growing distortion. Hopefully it'll be a new art museum.

Skyside could always use more art museums.

Alas, it isn't an art museum.

It's a giant monster. (http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/228/5/4/warped_chaos_tarrasque_by_unded-d5ba28s.jpg)

A massive, hulking monstrosity of armored plates and colossal spikes and a few too many mouths, hellish heat radiating from its body. The thing stumbles backwards after appearing and slams into the lower floors of the Herpderp building, causing the whole tower to shudder.

"Oh dear," Jarl mutters as he leans forward slightly to peer over the edge of the balcony. "I suspect this is going to make the insurance adjusters upset."

The beast gives a bellowing roar and begins thrashing about, ripping into the Herpderp building as it struggles to tear its dorsal spines free. Just as it begins to steady itself another towering abomination materializes out of the rift and slams into it.

This second monster is, if possible, even more horrific to behold than the first. Its flesh has an almost plant-like quality to it despite being studded with massive metallic plates. Fissures and pits in its body glow with phosphorescent light and hiss with noxious fumes. Tremendous wings stretch from its back and dozens of thorny tendrils ending in slathering maws writhe all around it. Its draconic head sports a mouth packed with a wholly impracticable collection of teeth, acid dripping from tusks and poison gas hissing out of its jaws. Lightning crackles and arcs between its four clawed arms, one pair noticeably larger than the other.

With a reverberating, warbling cry the second monster clamps down on the first with its sickle-like claws and thorny tendrils even as the first gouges into the second's torso with its vorpal horns.

Two titans of immense size locked in combat while people in the streets below flee for cover to avoid being trampled underfoot or slain by toxins, flames, or arcs of lightning flashing between the beasts.

Someone, somewhere, begins to play The Monster Mash over some loudspeakers.

((Woo! Giant monster fight!))

[happyturtle]

The Heights

Willow can't see the giant monsters, due to her off-Skyside view, but she can sure hear them. She doesn't know what it is, but it calls for getting into her Black Maul gear and going to investigate!

Costume change!

[Beans]

Hurrah!
"Yes, let's!" She waits to see what Aiofe is doing, not sure if she's to remain in the chair or head to another place.
[Widowtek]
She takes the rings that the gal selected and, making sure they're sterile too, carefully sets them in those new holes of hers! Classy!

[Ashen Lilies]

[The Cloudtops - Lazarus Towers]

The sound of sudden kaiju attacks attract the attention of Dr. Graves, who looks out of the window. From his view at the top of Lazurus Towers, he can vaguely make out the fight between the two giant monsters, but too much is obscured by buildings in the way. There's a knock at his door, and after a curt "Enter" from Dr. Graves, a young woman with mousey brown hair wearing a white blouse and a black pencil skirt enters.
"Doctor, the noises are coming from a pair of giant unidentified creatures that dimensionally shifted into the vicinity of the Herpderp building." She says, her tone crisp and businesslike.
"Thank you, Ms. Atherton. Please have Zacharias fetch my coat, and find Ms. Piper. I'll be going down there to see what's going on."

[Tempest Row - Attila's Cantina]

"A tinkerer, huh?" Says the Hutt, looking genuinely curious.
"Where are you from?"
The sound of building's smashing causes a quick hush from the clientele, but they quickly return to their conversation. That noise came all the way from the Cloudtops, not anywhere close enough to put them in danger.

[The Bushranger]

[Tempest Row - Attila's Cantina]

Cat, feeling a good buzz already, is about to launch into song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsgCzszkLS8) in answer to the Hutt's question, when she hears the crash outside.

Turning her head to the door, she pauses, turns back, downs her drink, and slaps a bar of gold on the counter. "Hang onto that, ansh I'll anshwer yer question when I get back, awright?" she says, before hopping off the barstool, and crossing into the (thankfully close-by) bathroom.

From behind the closed door comes a flash of light...and then she emerges.

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6574/sy0.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/54636387)

...and hurries out the door before launching herself into the air in the direction of [The Cloudtops]!

[Rebonack]

[The Cloudtops]

Well.

These two are making quite the mess, aren't they? Someone should probably assign cool-sounding nicknames to them. And maybe use a hurricane-related category system to classify them. And possibly get some giant robots out here as well. Giant robots can always liven up the scene.

Anywho!

Quite suddenly and without warning the plant monster seems to register that its surroundings have changed and it pauses its assault for a moment. A pause that its foe swiftly takes advantage of.

The spiky dinosaur monster swats away the draconic plant monster's claws and hefts its bulk into its foe, sending the plant monster toppling over backwards and rolling across the street. Much to the chagrin of anyone who had left their vehicles in the middle of the road to flee for their lives, of course. As the plant beast struggles to right itself the dinosaur leaps on it with its terrible talons, causing the breath to whoof out of the plant monster's lungs.

Sadly the plant monster's breath happens to be a toxic cloud of caustic vapor that begins corroding metal, melting glass, and doing awful stuff to anyone alive who happens to be nearby. Its melting into the dinosaur, too, buts it body is regenerating at a truly astounding rate.

[Recaiden]

[Widowtek]


She takes the rings that the gal selected and, making sure they're sterile too, carefully sets them in those new holes of hers! Classy!

That's definitely one word for jewelry. The girl reaches up to feel the earrings. Yep, really there, and hops out of the chair. "Thanks!"

[Murkus]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

"Trust me, pal, wouldn't be what you want. It never works out. Just unlucky to do that sort of thing willy-nilly. Now, reincarnations, those are way simpler, they're my thing, for obvious reasons. But no one likes the element of randomness, and I don't blame 'em. The last me was all paranoid I'd wind up all whiny or something when my turn came up." Iggy says, still friendly.

"So what, it's not the same you when you do the whole pheonix deal?" Stevie crosses his arms and leans on the bar. "Not sure I'd want somethin' like that."

[The Bushranger]

[The Cloudtops]

And so the rather tipsy transformed Cat soars up to Cloudtops on what appears to be nothing but thin air, flying above the dueling monsters and looking down with a frown!

Given the chance to aim at the back of the not-plant monster, though, she's thinking straight enough to point her weapon at it and fire! Six shots, not five, are you feeling lucky today, punkmonster?

Each shot contains a small magical dart, which upon impact attempts to latch onto the monster's hide and then discharge a massive electical jolt!

Presumably she can aim straight enough to get at least one hit.

Right?

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
That's definitely one word for jewelry. The girl reaches up to feel the earrings. Yep, really there, and hops out of the chair. "Thanks!"
Aoife gives her the usual spiel about keeping them clean, don't take them out or you'll heal up again, blah blah blah.
While also hoping this young lady doesn't try to avoid payment.

[Recaiden]

Aoife gives her the usual spiel about keeping them clean, don't take them out or you'll heal up again, blah blah blah.
While also hoping this young lady doesn't try to avoid payment.

The girl hesitates and listens to the spiel. "Right, ah, how much do I owe you for that?" The girl pulls a little pouch of coins from a pocket of her cloak and offers it. "This gonna be enough?" It should contain approximately <lots more than a piercing and pair of earrings>, but in this Skyside economy, who knows.

[Beans]

[Widowtek]
Aoife blinks, opening the pouch and extracting the actual amount, then returning the rest in the bag.
This'n here's enough, darlin'. Sure, she could take advantage of this seemingly naive young lady's... well, naivety, but it'd be really pretty low.

[Recaiden]

[Widowtek]

The girl seems a bit surprised to get the pouch back, but replaces it in its pocket when she does. "Thanks for the earrings!" A quick wave, and she starts to rush back the way she entered.

[Deathkeeper]

"So what, it's not the same you when you do the whole pheonix deal?" Stevie crosses his arms and leans on the bar. "Not sure I'd want somethin' like that."

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

Iggy nods. "And now you know why I don't flaunt the immortality. 'Course, I remember all my lives, and really there is a baseline for me, so all my selves all resemble each other for the most part. Of course we're all physically exactly the same. When I make someone else reincarnate they stay the same person mentally because the randomness is physical. But I can't make that happen for me."

[Rebonack]

[The Cloudtops]

Missing something the size of a condo really isn't a very easy feat to pull off. Even the most highly of trained Storm Troopers could probably hit something that big. Though considering the thing has a carapace that would put an anklyosaur to shame shooting it in the back might not be the most expedient plan.

The shots hit home!

And zapping happens!

BZZZT!

With an irritated roar the psudonatural dino-thing turns one of its mouths towards Cat, the maw splitting wide as oppressive heat begins welling up inside like magma in the neck of a volcano.

It didn't just spit fire at her.

It spit a two hundred pound blob of molten flesh that is on fire. And covered in claws and horns and eyes and teeth and other less identifiable bits. It gibbers in a hissing cacophony of insanity and hungers for blood.

Probably a good idea not to be hit by that.

Meanwhile! The towering dino-abomination is ripping into the back of the draco-plant, tearing off tendrils, ripping into organs, hurling chunks of meat all over the place, and generally making a mess of things. One of the remaining tendrils lashes around the dino-abomination's neck and quite suddenly the draco-plant is gone.

Instead there's a human clinging tenaciously to the abomination's neck. She's clad in an age worn silk shirt and breeches synched tight in places with a sash or a belt to keep the clothing from flopping around in the wrong spots. The only thing approximating armor on her are a pair of unadorned leather bracers and and fingerless leather gloves with studded knuckles. The fingerless part is probably important since her fingers sport claws that would make Lady Death Strike green with envy. Her bright red hair is held in a tight bun with an ornate ivory pick comb stuck into it. Green eyes, fair skin, and more than her share of freckles. She looks a bit on the haggard side, but not particularly injured.

As she stands there with one of her claws dug into the dino-abomination's hide for support she can't help but start glowering when another Molten Mouther starts scrabbling its way out of a nearby maw.

She gives an exasperated sigh and blows a lock of hair out of her face as the disgusting aberration hauls itself toward her. "If it isn't one thing it's always something else."

[Zefir]

[Arriving at Tempest Row]

Soon after Skyside was seen 'open for business', Arkant grabed all his stuff he got. He will arrive at the city with whatever veehicle you use these days. A bully man with two gas tanks and a gas mask and the known black half dragon Vutha follow him.

"Now it's already here. How long did we wait for that. Say hello to our new home." Arkant speaks up, his arms wide open as if he wants to hug the whole city.

"Is that really nessessary?" The deep smoky voice of the man with the gas mask replies.

"Don't be silly. That's just one of these phrases people use. You should learn a few, I'm not in the mood to declare them all the time. That's just like a joke you have to explain. It's not funny after that." Arkant says with a seriuse expression.
"Now you both go and seek a building we can use. I would prefere if there aren't anyone in there. Piano guy and the others watch for the equipment."

"And what do you do?" Vutha speaks up as she grabs a bag.

"I try to kill some time..." "How?" "That's a phrase man.*sight* You know how to call me."


With that the bully man and the half dragon will go on their search, likly finding an old Film production hall with several sound proove rooms under it. They will start moving big boxes to the building and repair whatever is broken on the building.

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

Arkant enters the bar, looking for a free chair at the bar and at least a clean one, he takes a seat.

"What can you offer me that's typical skyside?"

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops

Black Maul takes the elevator to the roof of her building, then makes a running jump, using her extendastaff and her power boots to pole vault her to the next roof. Then the next. Eventually reaching the scene of one giant monster destroying another.

http://img856.imageshack.us/img856/1274/uo7b.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/54636955)

Oh great. And dinozilla has a hostage already. :smallsigh:

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"So how old are... you?" Stevie asks, not sure if that's the right word for someone that's been reincarnated with a different mind so many times.

There's still a few free chairs at the bar. Some things are still knocked over or smoldering as Arkant enters the establishment. Stevie laughs a bit at his question. "Pal, I ain't got any special garbage or fruity drinks like some other places 'round here. Howsabout a beer?"

[Darkcomet]

[The Cloudtops]

Tactical analysis:

One of the two massive creatures has vanished. The remaining one no longer has a distraction from a blind rampage, though others are engaging. Emitter functions unlikely to be capable of serious direct harm if conventional combat is attempted. Improvising.

Strangely, a small, nondescript bird flies up by the giant chaos beast dinosaur thing from behind, looking at all the pointy things sticking out of it.

Estimated chance of success is overwhelmingly low. But the fact that I'm here at all is improbable enough, so really, probability can kiss my photonic...

I should delete these profanity protocols.

The 'bird', which is not a bird but a certain hologram that recently obtained a mobile emitter, turns its sensory systems to scanning the thing, trying to find the spot where its hide/spikes are thinnest, so as to better get at its spine.

Of course, that assumes it has a spine.

[Deathkeeper]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"So how old are... you?" Stevie asks, not sure if that's the right word for someone that's been reincarnated with a different mind so many times.

There's still a few free chairs at the bar. Some things are still knocked over or smoldering as Arkant enters the establishment. Stevie laughs a bit at his question. "Pal, I ain't got any special garbage or fruity drinks like some other places 'round here. Howsabout a beer?"

"Well, considering that I die every once and a while I'll take that as meaning Current Me. Which is about sixty. I usually last about three-hundred if I'm careful." says Iggy. He shudders a bit as Arkant opens the door and lets the heat out. It had just started getting nice and toasty in here.

[Ashen Lilies]

[The Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

A discreet black limo rolls up nearby, and a blond woman with a severe bun and a charcoal grey uniform and peaked cap gets out of the driver's seat and circles around to the back, letting out Dr. Graves.
He steps out cautiously, looking up at the devastation. Almost immediately, a man in an inky black uniform and cap approaches him.
"Doctor. I have 1 squad on standby, and several more on their way. Contain the anomaly?"
Dr. Graves shakes his head.
"Not just yet. Cordon off the area, and help evacuate those fleeing the scene. As for the anomaly, hold back a little while longer. I'd like to see what the people will do in response."
He looks around, catching sight of Cat, hovering in midair, and Black Maul, standing on top of a nearby building. They were but the first to respond. More would come.

[The Bushranger]

[The Cloudtops]

Cat wasn't hovering for long, as even in her decidedly sloshed state the Magical Girl realised that getting hit by the oncoming horrorterror would be decidedly not of the good.
And so she shot straight up, even as she slipped the gunblade into a comically oversized holster that materailzed just long enough to accept the weapon.
Then spun about, holding out her hands in front of her, as the air seemed to shimmer...

It was time, she'd decided, for the oncoming force to see if it was irrestiable when it struck an immovable object.

[Rebonack]

[The Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

The Molten Mouther collides with the barrier with a resounding splat, slides off the sheet of force, and goes tumbling down to the streets below. The vile thing is still alive when it impacts, too. It makes a threatening brubling sound before slinking off into a nearby coffee shop.

Then some scanning! The hulking abomination's hide is supernaturally reflective, making it terribly difficult to get a good image of what's inside it. Interestingly enough the reflective property is diverting tight beams and even wider scans, however a pulsed omnidirectional scan could potentially pass through without hindrance. That would result in a less detailed image, but it's still something. Should such a scan be used it will be found that despite its impossible size and alien appearance the creature's anatomy is more or less identical to any large tetrapod.

And the monster?

Well. Its opponent is gone so it decides to start causing trouble. The dino-abomination takes a deeeeep breath as the hellish orange glow inside its mouth intensifies. Then with a sound like a cross between a bomb going off and someone vomiting cream corn the beast spews a burning wave of flesh over a nearby building. Immediately steel begins to warp and glass starts to pop as a legion of newly spawned Molten Mouthers slither off in search of prey.

How awful.

Meanwhile up on the hydra's Tarrasque's back!!

The molten monster lashes out at Zoe, only for the woman to sever the first two with her claws while the third whops into her and gouges her face-

-revealing that she has thick armored hide just under her skin. The gash bleeds a bit, but otherwise is about as serious a threat as a snake shedding.

Zoe is surrounded with a phosphorescent blue glow as she darts forward and punts the slathering monstrosity, sending it tumbling end over end off the back of the dino-abomination and down to the streets below.

Now it's someone else's problem!

With a huff, Zoe begins looking around in a desperate bid to figure out where all her friends went. They were supposed to be killing this thing while she distracted it!

[Aric Kale]

The Cloudtops - Monster Mash

Zane (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16379144&postcount=376) decides to show up right about now. He's appears unarmed, though that's quickly realized to be a false assumption as our favorite pyromancer pours fire from his palms, swiftly rising in the air to the monster's eye level. Hello there, Beastie. I intend to make a home in this city, and I can't have you wrecking it already.
What an inspiring speech.
Zane swiftly flies over to a rooftop, where he hurls basket-ball sized fireballs of a unique, black flame. If this creature has some aversion or fear to fire, (unlikely, I know), then any flames that hit it will burn with 10x the ferocity of a bonfire.
By the way, these orbs of flame are being thrown at a rapid pace, and their creator doesn't appear to he stopping anytime soon, his black eyes burning with a desire to burn...

What an entrance.

[Arkhosia]

The Cloudtops - Monster Mash

A few bullets fly through the air, aimed with expert precision, which explode on contact.
Here's some presents from the Mojave!
Valia yells, flying across rooftops with her trusty Anti-Materiel Rifle in hand.

[The Bushranger]

[The Cloudtops]

And with the efficiacy of the force barrier being proved, Cat maneuvered. Grinned...

...and then pushed out her hands downwards torwards the abomination below, sending the barrier, now angled horizontally, straight down at it.

"Shay hello to the speeding locomotive, ugly!"

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

Okay.

Just to be clear here. The dino-abomination is radiating hellish heat and spitting out molten flesh blobs. Generally speaking such beings are going to be at least somewhat resistant to your typical thermal damage.

However, tossing around lots of flashy spells is a great way to get the abomination's attention! It lunges toward Zane and aims to snap him up in its terrible jaws.

Rebo advises against allowing it to snap him up in its terrible jaws.

And aiming bullets! Aiming at... uuhh... what exactly? The thing is the size of a twelve story building. Missing it is kind of difficult. So what sort of anatomy is the marksmen (markswomen?) aiming at?

And then a force screen is launched down toward the vile dino-abomination! Zoe seems to register that something is amiss and dives into the air, the blue-green glow around her intensifying as she ceases to stand on anything solid and begins hovering in the air for no readily apparent reason. "Hey! Watch it!"

The abomination isn't quite so agile and lurches when the force collides with it. There's a gross snapping sound and the monster casually flicks its tail at Cat, sending several truck-sized burning spikes headed her way.

[Arkhosia]

Cloudtops - Monster Mash

She's aiming for the neck of the beast.
After firing at it, Valia sprints across the rooftops to get closer to the beast, stowing her Anti-Materiel Rifle and pulling out two Plasma Pistols from her jacket and opening fire at the beast's maw.
I never thought it was possible to be uglier than a Super Mutant!
Valia's in a good mood.

[Aric Kale]

Monster Mash ~ Cloudtops

Zane beats a hasty retreat! Sadly, the skyscraper had a -20 modifier to both dexterity and speed; the buikding is destroyed.
He hadn't expected the flames to do much. It's mostly for show.
A show he continues to fund as he produces more flames to fling at the monstrosity before him...
Now, he holds his right hand forward, a tiny flame dancing along each fingertip. Zane lets the flames build in intensity, though not in size, until five beams of black fire project themselves at the beasties' head! Five Stars of Nightly Terror! Advance! Well, shouting out your attacks. How very...anime of you?

[Darkcomet]

[The Cloudtops-Monster Fight]

Scanning occurs. Much scanning occurs. It obviously isn't as great as it could be, but it happens anyway.

Scan complete. Engaging.

The 'bird' flies at its target spot on the thing's back, whether or not it's totally spike-free. Once it gets up there it'll suddenly...

...

Turn into a drill and use the momentum of its flight to try and fly into the thing. The drill proves very tangible. And active. Completely bereft of anyone seeming to control it, it will try to, uh, drill into the thing's back to try and get to the spine.

[Ashen Lilies]

[The Cloudtops - The Asimov Building: Floor 27, Akira Design Tech]

Xenia leaped through the window. Or tried to, anyway. Where she had expected the glass to shatter into a million harmless fragments, like it did in the movies, there was only a dull rattle as her body weight slammed against the hardened plate, and the plate won. She tumbled backwards to the ground, tears forming in her eyes from the throbbing pain in her left shoulder. On the other side of the glass was a 27-storey drop onto hard pavement, but her LifeLineTM anti-fall gravity field generator would have saved her, and even if it hadn't, the solid concrete would no doubt be quicker and cleaner than the thing chasing her.

As if on cue, the escaped prototype rounded the corner, skittering across the floor on those damn ugly mechanical legs she had objected agaisnt in the design briefs. Stupid Bertrand and his efficiency ratios. Well, at least he had been able to experience his ratios first-hand when the thing had torn his head off. An irony that Xenia was slightly less appreciative of now that she was to be on the receiving end of those ratios.
"Emergency Shutdown." Snapped Xenia. "Override Code 45-Xenia-Orange."

The spider-bot whirred for a moment, its single eye blinking green for a few moments as it processed the voice command, before flashing bright red as the override code was rejected. "Russell you bitch. Those were meant to be in 3 weeks ago."

Fortunately, the voice-overrides weren't the only tools used at Akira to kill rogue prototypes, and Xenia reached into her coat pocket for her emergency neutralizer. The spider-bot pounced, neural injectors whirring menacingly, and Xenia was forced to drop to the ground, the spider-bot soaring above her to hit the window, where it bounced harmlessly off, crashing to the floor.
"Of course the window stops it, but 6-inches of reinforced titanium doesn't. When I find the ass who designed this building, I'm going to strangle him."

Xenia stood, whipping out the emergency neutralizer and aiming it squarely at the spider-bot, which was still getting up from its collision with the window. She pulled the trigger, and a beam of concentrated electrons arced through the air, dissipating harmlessly off of the spider-bot's energy shielding.
"Gods-FREAKING-DAMMIT, Russell. Why the crap would you install those before the override codes, you over-educated chimpanzee??"

The robot took a step forward, preparing to pounce again, when a burning lance of energy streaked down the hallway, deflecting off of the robot's shield and boring a whole through the ceiling. Xenia quickly looked to her left, seeing the boss himself striding calmly down the hallway in a pale blue suit, wielding some sort of shoulder-mounted cannon. He fired shot after shot, bombarding the rogue prototype with an unending barrage of energy bolts that impacted the shield and deflected off it into the surrounding hallway. Xenia ducked wildly as one bolt ricocheted off the window, narrowly missing her head and burning a hole into the wall behind her. Finally, the spider-bot's shield failed, and a bright bolt of energy severed three of its legs, causing it to collapse to the ground. Xenia's employer walked up to the twitching robot, calmly executing it with a final shot to the central cortex. He turned and looked placidly at Xenia.

Xenia sighed, using the wall to support herself as she tried to stand, legs shaking uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry, sir. This incident was all my fault. Several people died, and I'll accept full re-"
"What, are you kidding? That was awesome! Great work. When can you get another one of those running?"
Xenia stared.
"... sir?"
"Prototypes, Xenia. Get with the program. I want another one of those by the end of the week. We'll get some guys to move that window there and use it as a new blast door. Then we can do some testing. It'll be great!"
"... Yes sir."
"I'd say to go and get some coffee, but our coffee maker ended up becoming self-aware and started spraying hot coffee at the office boy, so I had to deactivate it. And I wouldn't recommend going out for coffee either, because there's a rampaging dinosaur monster a few streets down. Better just stay inside for the next few hours, just to be sure."

Xenia suddenly had the feeling that moving to Skyside might have been a very bad idea after all.

[Reinholdt]

Monster Mash

More comers Grave wants? More he shall have!

Up on another nearby skyscraper kneels the indomitable spirit of justice, Invincibelle!! This bountifully buxom bombshell's blue and white cape billows dramatically behind her. Barring appropriate ear, nose, mouth, and tail holes, this catgirl's skintight costume covers her completely but more than accentuates her finer points. A large letter I dominates the rear of the outfit.

"Should we go in? I never expected a criminal underworld to have so many stealing our idea already, as if this place were just another Riverside. On one hand it's it a pretty giant freaking monster. I don't think it'd even notice any punches I threw at it. I suppose we could always play support or stop some of the chaff it's spewing, but we'll be instantly D-listed for it. On the other hand if we don't go in, it'd be seen as even worse. Damn we really should have started with a good old fashioned mugging. Hey wait, that one's getting away." Invincibelle is definitely rambling nervously here. The question is, whether it's to her partner, Intrepid, or to empty space.

Not that it seems to be stopping her from leaping off the building to the streets below where the molten mouther landed. You know you could wait for your partner's input here. You seriously need to work on your teamworking there Invincibelle. Anyways, she mysteriously slows as she reaches the ground and lands softly, one hand outstretched.

"Halt! Finish this foolishness, you fearsome fiery fiend!"

[happyturtle]

Monster Mash

Black Maul takes a device off her belt and deliberately fires five disks at the beast, aiming each at a different spot on the dinoberrant's body. If they hit, they'll simply stick, not trying to burrow through the carapace or anything.

[Zefir]

"Well, considering that I die every once and a while I'll take that as meaning Current Me. Which is about sixty. I usually last about three-hundred if I'm careful." says Iggy. He shudders a bit as Arkant opens the door and lets the heat out. It had just started getting nice and toasty in here.

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant just laugths as well.

"Then skyside seems even better then I though, yes I take one." Arkant replies. He watches the bird from the side, not knowing if it maybe some kind of phonix.
Current me, age up to 300, that all sounds intressting and Arkant isn't really able to hide is intresst right now. Especially since he don't feel ay danger nearby. He is well aware of the heat and the bad conditions of the inside.

"What happened." He asks.

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

It's all fun and games until someone gets eaten by a giant monster.

The hologram begins drilling! The monster's hide is supernaturally tough and heals at an astounding rate, so there's a chance the drill might get jammed. Barring technical issues a hole begins forming! Nothing awful is showing up to thwart the holographic hero just yet.

The gal in the black outfit sticks some disks onto the giant monster's back! Which... uuhh... results in some disks being on the monster's back? Hazzah!

Plasma bolts are fired at one of the dino-abomination's many mouths, but the super-heated ionized gas does a whole lot of nothing. Directed energy weapons seem to be of dubious effect, though lightning attacks have proven effective. Fire? Not so much.

The tightly focused black fire beams prove to be exactly as useless as the black fireballs. Though they do encourage the abomination to take another snap at the flying evoker guy. The monster bellows in irritation and lashes its tail again, knocking a large chunk out of a nearby building and showering the streets below with broken glass and twisted steel.

Down on the ground the Molten Mouther halts!

Well. That was easy.

Then it hefts itself at Invincibelle with a horrific warble! The warble is accompanied by a whole bunch of fire. Wuh oh! Several more of the nasty things are slinking closer, too!

It's at about this time that Zoe joins the fray! She dips down low in the air, grabbing the ivory pick in her hair and pulling it forward, causing it to morph into an absolutely terrifying skull-mask that looks like it would belong inside the head of some feral monster. She then GLARES at one of the mouthers, blasting it with a brilliant spotlight of searing light and leaving it thrashing about blindly.

"Hey!" she yells at the caped crusader. "This doesn't look much like any city in Mystara I've ever been to. Did we just get plane-shifted to Sigil or something?"

[Beans]

[Widowtek]

The girl seems a bit surprised to get the pouch back, but replaces it in its pocket when she does. "Thanks for the earrings!" A quick wave, and she starts to rush back the way she entered.
Aoife smiles as she leaves; maybe this girl will be a repeat customer. Those are the best; they start with a little earring or a tiny heart tattooed on the hip. Before you know it, bam, you're installing bioluminescent patches in their midriff and slit pupils in their eyes.

[Aric Kale]

Monster Mash

Zane tries something that may prove to be absurdly foolish. He flies towards the monster's head, trying to avoid it's many mouths. If he can land on its head, he'll place his hands on the beastie's scaly outer skin, and attempt to absorb the flame within, or at least cool its inner temperature, using his manipulation of flames.

[happyturtle]

Monster Mash

Black Maul fiddles with the controls on her device, and the five disks, now attached to Big Ugly, activate.

They're anti-gravity devices.

The monster may start gradually and steadily (http://what-if.xkcd.com/64/) rising off the ground now, though faster than 1 foot per second. Probably more like 10 feet per second.

[Arkhosia]

Monster Mash

Valia draws the rifle again and sends 7 Armor-Piercing rounds flying at the beast's eye.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops - Giant Monster Fight]

The convenient thing about holograms is that their internal workings don't really follow the same rules. Indeed, they don't even really have them. It's all just photons and forcefields, after all. The appearance is just for show.

Even if it would be jammed, the forcefields just shift so that it is no longer jammed.

The forcefields part also helps, as in keeping with other forcefield technology of similar origin, these are now producing quite a bit of electricity. Zap!

If the holodrill manages to get through the idea is that the zapping right in the spine might screw up the thing's nervous system.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant will get his beer. Stevie looks around and shrugs. "Another new arrival, I suppose. People get dumped on the Nexus all the time. You guys know how it is."

[Reinholdt]

[Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

"Worse." Invincibelle says, as she counterattacks the leap by stepping up to try and punch the mouther in the... uh... teeth as it flies at her. "You're in the Nexus. The city of Skyside to be exact. It's only slightly better than Inside in terms of naming convention."

Invincibelle's not great at this melee thing, but she has been training lately. Thanks to her gauntlets, she punches with the force of an iron golem, something she tends to wear when fighting indiscernible monsters. She also has a personal forcefield! This should protect her from getting nommed or catching on fire! They don't call her Invincibelle for nothing.

Said forcefield does not, however, do anything against temperature changes and the blistering heat does not go unnoticed. Particularly as she yelps in pain from it. She definitely tries to back away now if she can, extremely lucky that her Riverine gauntlets weren't super heating and permanently ruining her hands. Still, a new plan of attack might be needed. Up close and personal is bad. Why do people fight like this? :smallsigh:

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy ruffles a few feathers in a shrug.
"Had to fix the window and a good chunk of the wall. But that's really it for right now." he says.

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops]

Trying to suck heat out of giant abomination works about as well as one might expect sucking heat out of a thing that's directly linked to a hellish extra-planar inferno would. That is to say, it really doesn't work at all.

Shot in the eyes, zapped in the spine, and levitated into the air. At this point the giant monster seems to be unconscious! And floating. Both of those things. It's just kinda hanging there all limp-like. Maybe someone should figure out what to do with it?

Should probably do something about all those molten mouthers, too.

Like punching them in the teeth! Luckily they have lots of those, so it's hard to miss. The monster's... face?... caves in upon impact moments before it's launched backwards.

Zoe drops on the mouther she had blinded and does a nice impression of a Cuisinart, hacking the burning mass of protoplasm into ribbons. Thankfully she had enough sense to bulk up on fire-resistance before fighting a giant fire monster. Seems like a generally wise plan.

More mouthers are oozing in out of that ruined building!

"I'm going to pretend I know what those places are and assume my friends didn't get plane-shifted along with me and Big T," Zoe says. She then casts a brief glance toward the now hovering dino-abomination and grunts. "Huh. That's different."

[The Bushranger]

[Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

"Woah!"

The apparent Magical Girl in the skirt and thigh-high boots maneuvers her platform out of the spikes' way, although one clips it, and it becomes visible, shattering...before, after only a short drop, it reforms, vanishes, and she starts circling the monster like an angry bee that got into some fermented nectar.

Odd, it might almost seem as if she's using constructs.
Naaaah.
Coudn't be.

"Hey, you!" That means you, Zoe! "Howdaya take this thing down?" And then she hears The Big Question. "Welcome to tha' Nexus, sistah!"

===

[Meanwhile, on the other side of Skyside...]

An airship of moderate size soars lazily along the skyline...giving little to no visual hint that it's a hologram around a smallish spaceship, its occupant, being Susan, looking out across the flying city.

"So. Impressive, isn't it?" she asks her nonorganic companion.

[Lost_Deep]

Where the Monsters are Not

Neni examines the cityscape idly. She does not seem particularly moved by it. "Given the apparent average technology level of the Nexus, yes. The technology needed for this is not uncommon where I come from, but in the Nexus it is a definite show of scientific and perhaps magical power. The question is how much good is done with it."

[The Bushranger]

[Flying, Not To The Moon]

"Well, given the circumstances, yeah. And I guess the answer to that question remains to be seen." Susan shrugs. "Where I come from, this kind of place becomes one of two things: a wreched hive of scum and villiany, or a place swarming with mad scientists trying to one-up each other in a constant quest to show them, to show them all. I assume it was different for you though."

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

"Hives of scum and villainy? I imagine that such places do not stay flying very long. Anything this complex requires constant maintenance. The same is true of any space station, space ship, or even a large land-based facility. If there is no one keeping the whole place afloat, it will sink. That is the truth in any city, it is simply more literal here."

"As thus, facilities like this are often funded by some government or other large body with large amounts of money. The why varies, of course, but the point stands that without some sort of unification, this will fail."

Neni has her usual outlook, it seems: jaded and highly educated.

[The Bushranger]

Up In The Air

"You'd be surprised; one of the other large bodies with large amounts of moneys is often a crime syndicate," Susan observes; she, too, is jaded, just in a somewhat different way. "You might want to access files on the Hutts when you get a chance. Now, I don't think this lot will ever really come together against those running the place, but..."

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

"I believe we have a miscommunication. Scum 'hives,' as I understand them, are made of a loose collection of individuals or unofficial groups that interact in a given area. No one controlling force, in fact borderline anarchy. A formal government can be in place, but any such government is corrupt and/or weak, making them comparable to the other groups in terms of control. Rather contrary to 'Hive' when referring to eusocial animals, but I did not make the decision on the language. The precise connotations must vary between our experiences."

"Organized crime cartels are, as they say, a whole other beast. One that I would not be surprised to find operating in this city."

[The Bushranger]

Up In The Air

"...ahh. I've heard of that before. But never actually encountered one," Susan admits. "And you're probably right. It's pretty much a paradise for that sort of thing. Well, less so than some parts of Riverside, I suppose."

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

"I don't have much personal experience, either. Nor do I know enough about Riverside to make comments on it."

Neni would shrug, but she has no shoulders and is not projecting an avatar.

[The Bushranger]

[Up In The Air]

"From what I know, each sector of the city is pretty much legitimately run by its own gang," Susan observes with a chuckle. "Perfectly Legitimate Businesmen, of course. Although one is supposedly a vampire sector where it's always night."

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

"It's likely that more research would have to be done to fully understand the Riverside situation, then. Even simple-seeming situations are often complex, and that situation seems to be complex even at a glance."

Neni then decides to address the issue at hand. "Now then, Susan, what do you intend to do with this visit?"

[The Bushranger]

Up In The Air

"Aside from sightseeing?" Susan chuckled. "Getting a feel for the area. For all its potential downsides this seems like the sort of place that might be most...fitting for us. If you know what I mean?"

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

Yes... that's what Neni was afraid of. "I'll start querying for potential leads on such jobs, see if I can find some kind of hub. The nigh-omnipresent free wireless access seems to have been made with digital exchanges in mind, it should be a simple matter to find something." Something that won't get them shot, to be precise.

[happyturtle]

Monster Mash

Black Maul lets the dinozilla float upwards until it's above the skyline, and then she adjusts the controls to halt its upward momentum and send it sideways, then lower it again until it's floating at the same height as the floating island and off to one side. It seems a safe enough place to park it for now - people below the floating island know well enough to look out for falling rubbish from above. She supposed she'll need to take it out and lower it into the sea - gently, to avoid making a tsunami - but she'll need to rent a skycycle to make that trip. Note to self - buy a skycycle.

Maneuvering the dinobomination takes enough time that she won't be able to do anything about the remaining monsters this round or probably the next either.

[Zefir]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant will get his beer. Stevie looks around and shrugs. "Another new arrival, I suppose. People get dumped on the Nexus all the time. You guys know how it is."

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant takes a nip of his beer.

"Many people get thrown into the Nexus latly. For example this whole city here."

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row-Cloud Nine

Iggy shakes his head. "Wouldn't say that. This city was built here, and the population for the most part seemed pretty normally found."

[Reinholdt]

[Cloudtops - Monster Mash]

"It means monsters like that attacking daily." Invincibelle explains. "Also whatever you imagine has at one point or another come true or been a person here. Yes, even that. Especially that."

Invincibelle reaches behind her back and pulls out a metal staff sort of like the one Nightwing uses. Because there are just some things you don't want to punch, no matter how punchable they are.

So instead, bapping these mouthers with the pole sounds like a good idea. Quick swift hits preferably. But again, she has much to learn about combat and footing and such, so I'm not sure she'll be that effective. Still, these don't seem to be too bad. Yet. She's reasonably sure it's going to get bad when surrounding and swarming happens. Which it looks like it's getting close to. That'd be bad.

[Rebonack]

[Monster Mash No More!]

Floating the giant beasty out to sea? That'll work. Though when the thing wakes up there will be a giant monster looming out of the ocean. That might turn a few heads.

Meanwhile, back at Cloudtops!

At the apparently drunk gal's question Zoe can't help but frown. "I didn't take the Big T down. I was supposed to just hold its attention until my buddies killed it. My pal Jerrith? He found this wonky sword that's supposed to be able to kill the thing for good. Otherwise it'll just keep coming back to life every time someone takes it out. Or at least that's how the story goes."

Technically it could be killed by exploding its carcass into a fine red mush. But that would require some high explosives and apparently no one has ever tried it before.

When Invincibelle starts chattering about the improbable nature of the Nexus Zoe opens her mouth to ask a 'What about-?' question, but the follow-up answers that for her. She coughs awkward.

Hmm...

And it looks like the molten mouthers are beginning to cool off! As time goes by they are growing more and more sluggish until after a few minutes they'll harden into heaps of slag. Seems that problem fixed itself.

[happyturtle]

Monster Mashed Streets

By the time Black Maul finishes parking the monster, the streets below are monsterless. Well that's good!

She leaps down the sides of skyscrapers, going back and forth, pushing off with her staff until she's at ground level goes inside the building she's on the roof of and takes the elevator down to ground level.

She stops to examine the slag, and it's possible she'll run into Invincibelle, Zoe, and/or Cat.

[Hattish Thing]

Monster Mashed Streets

Darth Calamity wanders the streets, having watched the large fight take place from a hidden alley. He saw powerful opponents battling. He was impressed, and knew to respect these individuals. Black Lotus and Scoprio are kept at his belt, under his dark grey flowing coat, his dark red cloak trailing behind him. It seems Trucido would rather go a bit more stealthy than his usual white clothing. He will eventually move towards the group. That was impressive. What... was that creature? I thought this place would be a bit safer. Giant monsters aren't exactly a boon to the environment.

http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s440/Singingnoodle/DarthCalamityAngry.png

[Lord Magtok]

All Monster Mashed Up

Ding! The elevator Intrepid took finally reaches the ground floor, and he springs into action, rushing out the door! The costumed vigilante steps out into the bright, obscenely sunny day, garbed in what appears to be a dark-blue motocross biker uniform, complete with matching helmet and a short navy-blue cape that only goes about halfway down his back and over one shoulder.

"Halt! No kaiju can threaten this city so long as-"

He looks around, notes the day has already been saved, and his shoulders slump in disappointment. Ugh, that's just his luck, isn't it? Invincibelle insists on waiting up on the rooftops for trouble on the very same day he forgets to bring any sort of flight or hover gadgets, forcing him to ride all the way down like your average NPC, only to arrive too late to contribute anything.

[Arkhosia]

Cloudtops

Meanwhile, it appears Valia just accidentally took the express route.
She tripped and fell of a building near where Intrepid happens to be.
****!

[Aric Kale]

Monster Mashed Streets

And Zane has to fly down to the streets, off of the flying monster's back.
He quickly hides himself in a dark alleyway, cloaking himself in shadowy flames.

[Reinholdt]

Superhero Mash

"I believe the sword just transported you and it to someplace completely different. Like a banishment." Oh hey. The monsters are being logical and going out on their own. Or illogical. I'm not sure which.

And then four more people show up at the same time(ish)!
"... You're late." Mostly to Intrepid.

"Is this the part where we all go, 'This is my town, and I work alone!' in a grumpy fit?"

[Lord Magtok]

Masks and Monsters

"I'm fine with sharing so long as nobody gets in my way," Intrepid holding up his arms as he shrugs in disinterest. It's a big city, and he's not particularly worried about-


Cloudtops

Meanwhile, it appears Valia just accidentally took the express route.
She tripped and fell of a building near where Intrepid happens to be.
****!

Oh hey! Random distressed damsel! Would be pretty wacky if she fell right into his arms or something, wouldn't it? I can't imagine the cyborg concealed within that costume would be very pleased to see Valia again in such a state, though.

[Arkhosia]

Masks and Monsters

"I'm fine with sharing so long as nobody gets in my way," Intrepid holding up his arms as he shrugs in disinterest. It's a big city, and he's not particularly worried about-



Oh hey! Random distressed damsel! Would be pretty wacky if she fell right into his arms or something, wouldn't it? I can't imagine the cyborg concealed within that costume would be very pleased to see Valia again in such a state, though.

Valia braces for impact, and...
Oh, hello. Just dropping in.
She says, embarrassed.

[happyturtle]

Superhero Mash

"I believe the sword just transported you and it to someplace completely different. Like a banishment." Oh hey. The monsters are being logical and going out on their own. Or illogical. I'm not sure which.

And then four more people show up at the same time(ish)!
"... You're late." Mostly to Intrepid.

"Is this the part where we all go, 'This is my town, and I work alone!' in a grumpy fit?"

"Considering none of us could deal with the menace alone, that would be rather foolish," Black Maul says. Luckily, the laws of supercostuming prevent her from recognizing Magtok or Reina, and prevent them recognizing Willow. "I levitated it, but I don't know who knocked it unconscious."

[Lord Magtok]

Capes and Kaiju

Intrepid bites back the urge to just drop Valia on the ground. It'd be so, so funny, and also a little cathartic, but it's not exactly hero behavior, is it? He politely sets her down on her feet instead, still totally baffled by what just happened. It's not often that women just drop out of the sky into his arms, after all. Not anywhere near often enough.

"Err...watch your step next time, citizen?"

It didn't take a whole lot of shapeshifting to modify his throat enough that Intrepid's voice would be unrecognizable, but it's a dignified sort of unrecognizable. Not like that ridiculous Dark Knight movies growl; more of a Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne sort of voice.

[Arkhosia]

Capes and Kaiju

Intrepid bites back the urge to just drop Valia on the ground. It'd be so, so funny, and also a little cathartic, but it's not exactly hero behavior, is it? He politely sets her down on her feet instead, still totally baffled by what just happened. It's not often that women just drop out of the sky into his arms, after all. Not anywhere near often enough.

"Err...watch your step next time, citizen?"

It didn't take a whole lot of shapeshifting to modify his throat enough that Intrepid's voice would be unrecognizable, but it's a dignified sort of unrecognizable. Not like that ridiculous Dark Knight movies growl; more of a Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne sort of voice.

Citizen Kaiju

Valia nods and walks away with her hands in the pockets of her violet trench coat and Ebony slung across her back like nothing ever happened.
She makes a mental note to buy herself a grappling hook.

[Aric Kale]

Heroes, Untie!

Zane steps out of the shadows, and because of superhero logic, fully in costume...
Not that he's wearing anything too elaborate. It's just a black trench-coat bordered in black flames, over a black, chainmail shirt and loose black pants. Anyone sending a theme here? No? Ok...

His mask (heaven forbid he go without one!) is a black, glassy fire covering his whole face, with no discernable features. Hail, fellow heroes! Cough Cough A job well-done, I'd say.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops-With the Capes]

"Are we arguing about who did what?"

There is suddenly someone else there. It seems almost certain that they were not there before. She was probably masquerading as a chunk of rubble or something.

Said someone else bears an uncanny resemblance to the Altaran Irregulars' Emissary N'alae (though most here probably won't notice that), except in a distinctly different (http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060309071337/m__/memoryalpha/en/images/2/21/Prometheus_class_bridge.jpg)-looking uniform and...having an entirely normal-looking forehead.

She probably thinks it is funny.

"If so, I will clarify that A. I am a holographic goddess and B. I electrocuted its spine. So I must take credit for that."

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops - Black Maul wears no cape

"Clarifying, rather than arguing," Black Maul says. "I'm just going to hit a skycycle rental place and dispose of the corpse."

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops]

Wearing no cape is a good idea! Everyone knows that capes cause awful mishaps all the time. NO CAPES!

Zoe isn't wearing any caps! In fact, she's wearing her usual adventurer's outfit, which is more martial artist-y than anything else. And her scary beast-skull mask thingy. Though clearly she isn't aware that super heroes are supposed to wear masks to protect their identity since she just pulled up her mask and converted it into a pick comb for her hair.

Now they all know your secret identity, Zoe! Why would you do that?

"Chaos damned sword. This is what we get for trusting Loki's advice," she growls and kicks a random rock. That doesn't make her any more back in her home reality, but it does make her feel a little better. "The Big T isn't a corpse. Actually killing the thing takes tremendous effort. It has to be utterly taken apart or it'll eventually revive."

Then the... elf? shows up and says something about being a holographic goddess? That gets a balk out of Zoe! "You're an Immortal then? Well, thanks for the assist. But I thought the Intervention Councils forbid Immortals from offering any direct aid against the Tarrasque?"

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops

"... So you're saying we need to hack that thing into itty bitty pieces or it will wake up and start rampaging again?!" says Black Maul, rather boggled at the scope of that task. "Could we use explosives? Explosives would be a lot faster."

._.

If they can't use explosives, that's a lot of cutting up. They'll need to get moving on that right away.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops]

The hologram also wears no cape.

"No, that was a boast designed to provoke an emotional response to my prior actions. When subjects fear a security agent, they are much less likely to provoke said agent in the future, or so my programming says. Although I think I am technically immortal, so long as my program is not destroyed and still has a system to run on. And creative security holoprograms are probably horrendously illegal in most places especially with mobile emitters, but the shapeshifters around here mean it's really not that remarkable..."

It appears she's prone to rambling.

"So in terms simplest for many local organics to understand, I am more of a shapeshifter than anything, merely a technological one rather than a biological one. I apologize for the misconception. As for dealing with the creature, I am afraid I am not in possession of explosives. Activating improvisation subroutines...

...

Is it edible to biological lifeforms?"

Wait, what.

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops]

"Explosives?" Zoe replies dubiously. "Well... I guess you could blow it up if you have a few tons of smoke powder sitting around."

She pauses to consider the disposal of the Big T whilst admiring the surrounding buildings. Wow is this place ever fancy. She's pretty sure that even the largest of fortresses don't hold a candle to this towers of glass, stone, and steel. Though... The few Blackmoorian towers that still stand are probably comparable.

But almost without question they're all death traps filled with awful things.

People actually appear to live in these ones.

And if these people are boasting technology on the level of Blackmoore then there's a good chance they have something far more potent than smoke powder.

"If you've got explosives that could do the trick I can see about getting the Big T ripped open. They'll work better if they blow it up from the inside."

Then the hologram says a whole bunch of words!

Zoe even understood some of them. "So you're a living construct, then? Gotcha. And... eating tarrasque meat is probably a pretty terrible idea."

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops - Capes Conference

Black Maul turns to the others. "I've only got two grenades on me. I don't think that'll be enough. Anyone else packing?"

Two grenades seemed about right. Sometimes you need to blow something up, and you carry two in case the first grenade is a dud. But if you're ever in a situation where two grenades isn't enough to kill something, you're probably dead anyway.

[Arkhosia]

Big Boom

Valia stops mid step.
Did someone say something about explosives?
She says, turning. She has a mischievous smile on her face.
I might just be the gal you need.

[Aric Kale]

Conference of Cool...People

Our totally-mysterious-and-completely-unrecognizable hero seems skeptical...That being was entirely unaffected by my fire. How powerful will these explosions have to be?
Still thinking up a name for our new vigilante-type version of Za-t one guy... <.< >.>

Sadly, this guy doesn't have any weapons, choosing to rely on his natural abilities.

[Hattish Thing]

Watching

Darth Calamity watches grimly as the superheroes gather. That was never ever good for someone like him. Nexus Vigilantes tended to fire at potential baddies then ask questions later. He does however move to the group, his dark grey coat and dark red cloak wrapping about him, casting a large shadow. As usual, the Sith radiates an aura of deep red and darkest blue... Hatred and Despair. The Sith begins to speak to the group. You seem to be looking for a way to destroy the creature. I... Believe I may be of assistance. He reaches for Black Lotus and Scorpio from his belt and activates the lightsabers, pointing them down, their glow casting creepy shadows on him.

[Ashen Lilies]

[The Cloudtops - No More Monsters]

Meanwhile, nearby, Dr. Graves quietly slips back into the back seat of his car, which drives away.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops]

"Gravity could be a viable alternative. Drop it to the ground repeatedly, preferably in a hostile location. Alternately, it could be launched into space, if anyone is capable of doing such a thing. Possibly repeatedly. Also, does it breathe, and if so, is it amphibious?"

It's okay. You can slow down. You don't need to provide all the ideas here.

[Rebonack]

[The Cloudtops]

"Yes, someone said explosives. I've met a hobbit that grins just like that whenever explosives are brought up. I hope you're more restrained than he is," Zoe comments with an arched eyebrow.

Grenades probably wouldn't do much good, anyway. Grenades do their damage by flinging around pointy bits of metal everywhere. What they need is something with a whole bunch of force behind the explosion. Something like plastic explosives.

"Fire doesn't do much good against the Big T," Zoe says with a shrug. "What we want is something that packs a lot of force. The more the better."

And then the Force user speaks up again. Zoe regards him curiously. "I hope you're offering to bring more to the table than a pair of magic swords."

And then even MORE suggestions!

"I... guess we could drop it a lot? And it doesn't breath, no. I... think it's technically a type of elemental? No one ever really gets much of a chance to study the Big T when one wakes up. A bunch of adventurers just get together and put it down as quickly as they can manage."

[Arkhosia]

Cloudtops

Does this work?
Valia asks, pulling a Fat Man from her trench coat. You know, the giant gun from the Fallout series that fires miniature nuclear bombs? That's what she just pulled out.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant takes a nip of his beer.

"Many people get thrown into the Nexus latly. For example this whole city here."


Tempest Row-Cloud Nine

Iggy shakes his head. "Wouldn't say that. This city was built here, and the population for the most part seemed pretty normally found."

"Hell, this bar was in one of the towns that signed on to go up. We just sorta got mashed together," Stevie says, getting a frosty little bottle of something for himself.

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy waves a wing.
"Hey, get me something nice too, will ya? Use something small I can actually hold."

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops]

The hologram's eyes immediately turn and lock onto the mininuke launcher. Given that her senses are purely technological in nature, and pretty sufficiently advanced at that, she can probably detect the part where it's...you know.

Nuclear weaponry. (Feel free to correct me if that's wrong, and I'll delete this.)

"Please refrain from irradiating anyone."

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Stevie gives the bird a smile and retrieves his lightest shot glass - he really hasn't got anything smaller. "What's yer poison, bird?"

[The Bushranger]

[The Cloudtops]

Cat finally comes floating down, dismissing her flying disc and dropping, with a theatrical bow.

"Hey, I crushed it once," she says...quite obviously a good bit tipsy. "Howsh about I just squish it into tiny little bits of a fine pashte?"

[Deathkeeper]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Stevie gives the bird a smile and retrieves his lightest shot glass - he really hasn't got anything smaller. "What's yer poison, bird?"

He shrugs his wings. "Something you think I haven't had before. Nothing too strong, not good to get drunk after magic."

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Stevie pours Iggy a bit of wine labelled Bottled Lightning, a sharp, fruity blue concoction likely made from some variety of cloudberry. While the flavor's strong, the drink isn't terribly so.

"Cheers, boys," Stevie says, raising his beer toward the two gentlemen before knocking some back.

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops]

Zoe has absolutely no idea what the launcher is aside from some kind of absurdly unwieldy weapon. It looks almost like... "Umm..."

Oh.

"Oh! That's a rocket launcher, right? I heard that the wiz-kids up in Glantri had been designing alchemical rockets for their foot soldiers to use. Nasty weapons, though if you ask me rockets are better off being used for fireworks."

She thinks it's some sort of primitive chemical explosive!

How cute.

"I guess that might help? But it looks awfully small."

[Arkhosia]

[Cloudtops]

Zoe has absolutely no idea what the launcher is aside from some kind of absurdly unwieldy weapon. It looks almost like... "Umm..."

Oh.

"Oh! That's a rocket launcher, right? I heard that the wiz-kids up in Glantri had been designing alchemical rockets for their foot soldiers to use. Nasty weapons, though if you ask me rockets are better off being used for fireworks."

She thinks it's some sort of primitive chemical explosive!

How cute.

"I guess that might help? But it looks awfully small."

Valia laughs.
This isn't a rocket launcher, miss. It's a Shoulder-Mounted Nuclear Slingshot, AKA Fat Man. Much more powerful and nuclear.
She turns to the Hologram person

Don't worry. If anyone does in the process, I'll personally administer RadAway.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops]

"I must object to the use of nuclear weapons anywhere near a populated area. If you fail to wait for the creature to be moved away from populated areas and insist on using that, I will be forced to confiscate the weapon." Well. Somebody had to have the 'no nukes' reaction.

[The Bushranger]

[Skyside]

The word "nuclear"?
That gets the drunken Magical Girl's attention.
"What? No. No capes! I mean, no nukes!"

In case the earlier tektek was missed by newcomers:
http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/6574/sy0.png

***

Up In The Air


Yes... that's what Neni was afraid of. "I'll start querying for potential leads on such jobs, see if I can find some kind of hub. The nigh-omnipresent free wireless access seems to have been made with digital exchanges in mind, it should be a simple matter to find something." Something that won't get them shot, to be precise.

"Sounds like a most cunning plan to me," Susan says; if Blackadder is a thing in Neni's world this probably is amusing, concerning, or perhaps a little of A little of B. "Maybe something like...discreet cargo hauling services. I ask no questions, they tell no lies."

...she's a terrible scruffy-looking nerf herder.

[Reinholdt]

Cloudtops

Invincibelle scoots over to Intrepid to whisper to him. "Want to disappear dramatically while they bicker and before the mad scientists intent on catching superhero guinea pigs shows up?"

[Lord Magtok]

Cloudtops

"Fine, but the next time I accidentally catch a random damsel falling out of the sky without even trying, could you at least pretend to be impressed? Everyone just went right back to talking about the monster like that didn't even happen, but I'm still freaking out about it. I didn't even see her or anything!"

Intrepid's motorcycle (dark blue and marked with an 'I', of course) is parked only a few feet away. Getting the hell out of here in a hurry is simple enough, assuming the two can stand the sort of proximity involved in riding a motorcycle together without either of them murdering the other.

[Reinholdt]

Cloudtops

"It's not impressive if it's pure coincidence!" Invincibelle proclaims. She'll get on the motorcycle behind Intrepid, going to wrap her arms around him to keep from falling off. Something might die, but it doesn't feel like murder...

[Rebonack]

[Cloudtops]

Welp!

Zoe doesn't know what a nuke is. Or what nuclear means. But given the way everyone is talking about it and the way the word 'irradiated' is being thrown around she's guessing it must be some kind of nasty alchemical weapon that blows things up and poisons anything it doesn't kill.

...which honestly isn't too far from the truth.

"I'm no expert here on alchemical weapons, but I think everyone would be pleased if you waiting until the Big T is out in the middle of nowhere before blasting it," she says with a huff. "Honestly, we went to a lot of trouble getting it to a desolate area to begin with so no one would be hurt in the battle. Then I go and get plane shifted here."

[Arkhosia]

Cloudtops

I was going to fire it down it's mouth at closeish range.

[Lost_Deep]

Up In The Air

What... Neni knows that Susan is naive, but... "Susan... how much experience do you have smuggling?"

[The Bushranger]

[Nuking Mr. T(errasque)]
er
[Cloudtops]

"...do you even knowsh how a nuke works? You don't fire it down anything's mouth at anything range!"

Cat looks horrified now...

[Up In The Air]

"...smuggling? Not much. I did do actual legitimate cargo runs for awhile, but those tend not to pay the bills. People who do that want established carriers. How you're supposed to become established, well, that's never really explained..."

[Lord Magtok]

Cloudtops

"It's not impressive if it's pure coincidence!" Invincibelle proclaims. She'll get on the motorcycle behind Intrepid, going to wrap her arms around him to keep from falling off. Something might die, but it doesn't feel like murder...

"Is there a way you could do this without doing that?" Intrepid asks, clearly uncomfortable about the arms wrapped around him, but trying his best to sound like he's not going into a huge hysterical fit over this, that he's willing to just go along with things and not be a pain in the neck if there's no other way. It's just physical contact meant to keep her from falling off the bike, Intrepid. It's not like she's massaging anything or looking for places to bury a knife, jeez!

[Aric Kale]

Cloudtops

Ignis (that's totally been his name the entire time) takes note of Intrepid and Invincibelle's hasty retreat before turning back to the topic at hand. Alright, let's calm down. Clearly this weapon is not what immediately comes to mind when someone says Nuke. Let's get this thing over the sea, set off some bombs and drop it into the depths. Sound like a plan? Seems reasonable enough.

[Darkcomet]

[Cloudtops]

"That sounds acceptable. I suggest bolting many heavy things onto it, and aiming for an ocean trench. Though I remain fond of the food plan." You would, you deranged rogue AI.

[Arkhosia]

[Nuking Mr. T(errasque)]
er
[Cloudtops]

"...do you even knowsh how a nuke works? You don't fire it down anything's mouth at anything range!"

Cat looks horrified now...

[Up In The Air]

"...smuggling? Not much. I did do actual legitimate cargo runs for awhile, but those tend not to pay the bills. People who do that want established carriers. How you're supposed to become established, well, that's never really explained..."

Valia walks up to Cat.
My home is a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of irradiated animals and Super Mutants. I know firsthand what a real nuke does. The Fat Man fires mini-nukes, which are basically rockets that do much more damage and cause slight and minute radiation.

[Reinholdt]

Motorbike

"How the hell am I supposed to ride this thing otherwise? I am NOT doing the Robin kiddie car thing." There doesn't really seem like very many options here.

"Now keep your eyes peeled. While all the copycats are distracted, we can get some real crime fighting done. Maybe a mugging, or some jay walkers." Nine out of ten jay walkers deserved to be punched in the face by a costumed superhero.

[Zefir]

"Hell, this bar was in one of the towns that signed on to go up. We just sorta got mashed together," Stevie says, getting a frosty little bottle of something for himself.

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"See." he sais to the bird. "Be built 'IN' the Nexus dooesn't really mean your not thrown into it. From my knowledge you only are in this Nexus when you get noticed. But I accept your point of view. I alread know that logic doesn't mean I understand everything in the nexus."

Arkant makes a short break as he takes another nip of his beer. waving away the head of the bear from his lips.

"So your bar is new here? Maybe you need someone to help you out? I and my servants are going to move here. maybe one of them can work here."

[happyturtle]

Cloudtops - Monster Disposal

Black Maul spots a skycycle rental place, and hands the proprietor a nice chunk of money. Enough to rent the entire inventory. "Everyone who is coming to help dispose of the beast, grab a skycycle and follow. I'm getting it away from the city now."

With no idea when it might wake up, Willow really wants it AWAY from her beautiful shiny city.

Black Maul and the beast begin hovering away from the city, towards the sea.

[The Bushranger]

Cloudtops - Monster Disposal


Valia walks up to Cat.
My home is a post-apocalyptic wasteland full of irradiated animals and Super Mutants. I know firsthand what a real nuke does. The Fat Man fires mini-nukes, which are basically rockets that do much more damage and cause slight and minute radiation.

"Well, fine thensh," the drunken Magical Girl slurs, "But yoush still ain't settin' that thing off in no city!"

Spotting the beast disposal getting underway, she hops into the air - despite her tipsy state and her high-heeled boots - and with a slight hum, the sky-disc construct is created directly beneath her feet.

"Wanna ride?"

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy holds the glass with his wing-claws and dips his beak in. He lets the other guy talk for now.

[Arkhosia]

Cloudtops - Monster Disposal



"Well, fine thensh," the drunken Magical Girl slurs, "But yoush still ain't settin' that thing off in no city!"

Spotting the beast disposal getting underway, she hops into the air - despite her tipsy state and her high-heeled boots - and with a slight hum, the sky-disc construct is created directly beneath her feet.

"Wanna ride?"

Valia nods and unless stopped will get on.
Ive never been on a vehicle other than a monorail before. All of the cars back home are destroyed, used as barricades, or explosion hazards. And you can't find a bike anywhere.

[Aric Kale]

Cloudtops

Ignis grabs a skycycle and hops on, ready to follow Black Maul wherever they need to.

[Lord Magtok]

Motorbike

"How the hell am I supposed to ride this thing otherwise? I am NOT doing the Robin kiddie car thing." There doesn't really seem like very many options here.

"Now keep your eyes peeled. While all the copycats are distracted, we can get some real crime fighting done. Maybe a mugging, or some jay walkers." Nine out of ten jay walkers deserved to be punched in the face by a costumed superhero.

Intrepid lets his boot off the gas pedal just a little when Reina mentions jay walkers. If that's all it takes to convince her to beat the tar out of someone, gods help him if she were to catch him speeding. Seriously Reina, isn't it a little early to be going all-out Rorschach on these people?

"We should drop by the airship docks at Tempest Row sometime this evening. City's still new, and people with all sorts of illicit contraband stuff will be rushing in to get their wares out of the other cities and onto the market here. We'd probably have to be all sneaky and Batman to not get caught and curbstomped, though.

Also, airship docks. Sneaking around in the dark at airship docks to beat up nefarious smuggler gangster people smuggling in terrible things. Those are actual things I'm actually suggesting with my actual mouth. I'm sorry, I just...wow. Gods, I really need to get out of the cave more often, do stuff like this."

Like abruptly lift one wheel into the air and rocket down the street in search of crime like you're doing right now, or just adventures in general? Because if you're thinking of making a habit of the former, I can't imagine Invincibelle letting you go without a few bruises or thwacks to the head.

[Recaiden]

[Cloudtops Streets]

Oh, would you look at that. Some punk with bat wings and a toga, recklessly jaywalking across the street like he owns the place. His wrist-hourglass says he's terribly late, and he's looking pretty distractedly off at the skyscrapers ahead of him.
Luckily people are almost never run over by flying cars or skycylces around here :smalltongue:.

[Lost_Deep]

[Up In The Air]

"...smuggling? Not much. I did do actual legitimate cargo runs for awhile, but those tend not to pay the bills. People who do that want established carriers. How you're supposed to become established, well, that's never really explained..."

"It's a matter of marketing, availability, capability, and knowing the market. I suspect that the size of this ship prohibits how much cargo space you have, limiting your options significantly. From there, if you don't know the market you would have numerous troubles."

"And smuggling has several layers of complexity on top of that. Good contracts, bad contracts, trap contracts, the legal details included, reputation becomes much more important, and in many cases the details of what you are shipping becomes more important, not less. Ask-no-questions contracts usually imply that whatever you're shipping is something that you likely do not want to be in the same room as, much less on the same spaceship as."

Neni states all this matter-of-factly, as if she knows what she's talking about and even has experience in it.

[Rebonack]

Zoe gives the skycycles a rather skeptical looks. "Nope, I'm not riding one of those. I have enough trouble with horses."

That said she pulls her mask back over her face and lifts into the air, surrounded by a ethereal blue-green glow. Seems she's one of those super-hero types who can fly for no readily apparent reason. Of course, if you bothered to ask her she would tell you that she's using a Will O Wisp's weird electromagnetic/telekinetic flight which makes perfect sense and explains everything all easy-like.

Anywho!

She goes zooming off after Black Maul, arms held tight against her side to reduce drag.

[Down By the Bay]

Hey look!

A giant monster hovering over the sea!

Don't see that every day.

[happyturtle]

Down by the Bay >> And then a bit further on

Bays are usually used by people. So Black Maul is steering the monster out above deep water.

People who want to do explody things to it should do so now.

[Reinholdt]

Intrepid lets his boot off the gas pedal just a little when Reina mentions jay walkers. If that's all it takes to convince her to beat the tar out of someone, gods help him if she were to catch him speeding. Seriously Reina, isn't it a little early to be going all-out Rorschach on these people?

"We should drop by the airship docks at Tempest Row sometime this evening. City's still new, and people with all sorts of illicit contraband stuff will be rushing in to get their wares out of the other cities and onto the market here. We'd probably have to be all sneaky and Batman to not get caught and curbstomped, though.

Also, airship docks. Sneaking around in the dark at airship docks to beat up nefarious smuggler gangster people smuggling in terrible things. Those are actual things I'm actually suggesting with my actual mouth. I'm sorry, I just...wow. Gods, I really need to get out of the cave more often, do stuff like this."

Like abruptly lift one wheel into the air and rocket down the street in search of crime like you're doing right now, or just adventures in general? Because if you're thinking of making a habit of the former, I can't imagine Invincibelle letting you go without a few bruises or thwacks to the head.

Oh yes. Invincibelle is so pissed about him doing that out of nowhere, she has to grip him more tightly and press into him even closer and no doubt has much to chastise him ov-

"Whooooo!!! err... I mean warn me next time you do that. I thought I was going to die." Grip grip.

"The docks sound like a good place to start. We know how to be sneaky. Plus the best part about this place is we don't stand out at all." It's as good a plan as any.

She sort of notices the jaywalker, but wasn't at all serious about beating them up, so sort of ignores it. Sorry Recaiden jaywalker. Unless they actually do almost literally run into him. Then issues.

[The Bushranger]

[Up In The Air]


"It's a matter of marketing, availability, capability, and knowing the market. I suspect that the size of this ship prohibits how much cargo space you have, limiting your options significantly. From there, if you don't know the market you would have numerous troubles."

"And smuggling has several layers of complexity on top of that. Good contracts, bad contracts, trap contracts, the legal details included, reputation becomes much more important, and in many cases the details of what you are shipping becomes more important, not less. Ask-no-questions contracts usually imply that whatever you're shipping is something that you likely do not want to be in the same room as, much less on the same spaceship as."

Neni states all this matter-of-factly, as if she knows what she's talking about and even has experience in it.

"..." Susan started to protest, then sighed, shaking her head as she realised that Neni, for all her annoying bubble-bursting, did, in fact, have a point. "Well, what would you suggest we do, then? Since it sounds like from your own personal expereince that smuggling is right out."

***

[Cloudtops > Bay and Beyond]


Valia nods and unless stopped will get on.
Ive never been on a vehicle other than a monorail before. All of the cars back home are destroyed, used as barricades, or explosion hazards. And you can't find a bike anywhere.

"Vehicles are lame when you can sky-surf," Cat declares with a grin...before the disc they're standing on smoothly accellerates to follow Black Maul and the flying beast she's acting as tow-truck for.

[Hattish Thing]

Skyside Streets ---> Official Bank of Skyside

Darth Calamity blinks when he realizes that the mass of superheroish vigilantes left him there, alone. He sheathes his lightsabers before looking about for anyone. No... No one was there. Huh. How very strange.

He walks down through alleys and onto a main street that leads to the large bank that was built here. Trucido needed some cash to find some builders to design him a small area to train his new apprentice, and to have somewhere safe to sleep at night. Unfortunately, this was the quickest way. Well... Unfortunately for the Security Guards at least.

He walks up to the door in the bank before entering the large and shining facility. Some jazz soft music is playing in the background, and there's only a few people inside at the moment. Four burly guards lean against walls and look about, studying the customers. They don't identify Trucido, for the Sith has his hood up, covering his face. Calamity walks to the middle of the room before standing there. He uses Force Manipulation to silently lock the doorway out. Then... The light goes out. All is dark, and now customers are screaming while the Security guards try to shout over everyone to calm them down.

Then... Two beams of glowing light can be seen in the dark. Red and Dark Purple. Lightsabers. There's noises of swinging blades and flashing light as Trucido goes Guard by Guard, slaughtering anything in his path, including a few civilians. Eventually Trucido walks forward and speaks to the teller cowering behind the bars under the table. There's just enough light for the Teller to see Trucido. Currency, please. All of it. The alarm has been sound, but I'm not sure there's a police force here. Two minutes later, bags of cash are in Trucido's Coat, his two sabers moving to leave.

(Feel free to stop teh evulz. He's low power enough to have some fun.) :smallsmile:

[BladeofObliviom]

Official Bank of Skyside

(...Sure, why not?)

GO GO KAPPA RANGERS! ...Or just one of them. Whatever. That works too.

Kappa Ranger Green arrives on the scene, showing up from...somewhere, and strikes a daring heroic pose, even as the water on his head sloshes around from stopping too quickly!

"Stop right there!"

[Hattish Thing]

Official Bank of Skyside

(...Sure, why not?)

GO GO KAPPA RANGERS! ...Or just one of them. Whatever. That works too.

Kappa Ranger Green arrives on the scene, showing up from...somewhere, and strikes a daring heroic pose, even as the water on his head sloshes around from stopping too quickly!

"Stop right there!"

Darth Calamity turns to face... whatever that is. (Huh...? What is his 'Kappa' you speak of?) He rolls his eyes and grits his teeth. It was a bad habit of his. He sheathes his sabers and dissapears back into the darkness of the bank. The place smells terrible... Sweet and coppery, along with burnt skin. Ew. The Kappa Ranger would have to somehow open the door and walk into the pitch black bank to find Trucido.

[BladeofObliviom]

(A Kappa) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore))

"Official" Bank of Skyside

Luckily for Kappa Ranger Green, he has hands! Those help a lot with opening doors. Unless the door's locked, which might be a problem. As for the darkness, well, he doesn't have night vision goggles or anything like that, but he does have the next best thing:

A flashlight!

*click*

"Show yourself, Cur!"

[Hattish Thing]

(A Kappa) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kappa_(folklore))

"Official" Bank of Skyside

Luckily for Kappa Ranger Green, he has hands! Those help a lot with opening doors. Unless the door's locked, which might be a problem. As for the darkness, well, he doesn't have night vision goggles or anything like that, but he does have the next best thing:

A flashlight!

*click*

"Show yourself, Cur!"

The door is still locked, for Trucido never got to get very close to the door. However, I'm certain the creature can break a glass windowpane or damage the door somehow. It's not terribly difficult. The flashlight can glance about, but it'll be extremely creepy. Dead bodies, the smell of blood, and a Sith lurking somewhere about the room...Watching him.

[BladeofObliviom]

"Official" Bank of Skyside

But knocking down the door wouldn't be very polite! And neither would breaking a window! :smalleek:

Kappa Ranger Green frowns, knocking on the door!

...Yes, really.

[Hattish Thing]

"Official" Bank of Skyside

But knocking down the door wouldn't be very polite! And neither would breaking a window! :smalleek:

Kappa Ranger Green frowns, knocking on the door!

...Yes, really.

....Uhhhh. Worst. Entrance. Ever. :smalltongue:

Well, to the superhero's awe (Horror? Confusion?) the doors open wide, manipulated by the hiding Trucido. Now that leaves the room open for Green Ranger Kappa to explore! And it is particularly nasty. There's only the light from his flashlight to look around....

[Lord Magtok]

Motorbike => 'Official' Bank of Skyside

Intrepid might be new to this whole motorcycle riding business, but he's not so bad at it that he's going to be running people over. The hero found an instruction manual or two online and downloaded it into his head in preparation for stuff like this. So long as Invincibelle doesn't try something stupid, like shifting her weight to the right when he swerves left or something, everything's fi-

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Oh, would you look at that. Intrepid's wrist seems to be beeping. Wonder what that's about? Probably something important, given the way he turns away from the docks, and starts heading down for the bank.

"Something big at a bank two blocks away. The city's security forces got that same alarm, but it'll take a few minutes for them to mobilize and change out of their Godzilla-fighting gear. Those thieves think the monster distraction will be enough to get in and out without any trouble. Let's prove 'em wrong."

Vroom! A window on the Kappa Ranger's left is shattered to pieces, as a motorcycle shoots through the glass and violently escorts its two riders inside. Thanks to superhero physics, nobody should be hurt in the process, as Intrepid rolls to a stop inside the bank's lobby, his ride's headlights piercing the gloomy darkness within.

[BladeofObliviom]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

Wow, the door actually opened! Boy does that save on collateral damag-

*CRASH!*

...or not, as a motorbike goes careening through a window and miraculously doesn't cause any explosions or gruesome deaths. Then again, I think Trucido already killed most of the civilians, so maybe it should be 'any more gruesome deaths'.

For his part, the Kappa Ranger demonstrates a complete lack of regard for life or limb, not even flinching as the door opens or dramatic entrances happen! Oh, and a dinky little flashlight clicks on to help illuminate the room. Can't forget that.

"Cur and maybe-or-maybe not Curs, reveal yourselves!"

[Hattish Thing]

Motorbike => 'Official' Bank of Skyside

Intrepid might be new to this whole motorcycle riding business, but he's not so bad at it that he's going to be running people over. The hero found an instruction manual or two online and downloaded it into his head in preparation for stuff like this. So long as Invincibelle doesn't try something stupid, like shifting her weight to the right when he swerves left or something, everything's fi-

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Oh, would you look at that. Intrepid's wrist seems to be beeping. Wonder what that's about? Probably something important, given the way he turns away from the docks, and starts heading down for the bank.

"Something big at a bank two blocks away. The city's security forces got that same alarm, but it'll take a few minutes for them to mobilize and change out of their Godzilla-fighting gear. Those thieves think the monster distraction will be enough to get in and out without any trouble. Let's prove 'em wrong."

Vroom! A window on the Kappa Ranger's left is shattered to pieces, as a motorcycle shoots through the glass and violently escorts its two riders inside. Thanks to superhero physics, nobody should be hurt in the process, as Intrepid rolls to a stop inside the bank's lobby, his ride's headlights piercing the gloomy darkness within.

It's dark out currently, which is how the veil of darkness still hides Darth Calamity. Then there's a motorcycle. The noise and sudden appearence of the machines scares the hell out of Trucido, and a "Gahh!" Can be heard from....somewhere on...the ceiling? Sure enough, Trucido is somewhere in the rafters! Still unseen, but his location is easier to pinpoint now. The room is still very dark, and the heroes might be distracted by the disgusting scene that the bike lights reveal.

[Recaiden]

[Streets]

The jaywalker isn't about to run into or be run into by anyone, so it's probably all good. He's very busy talking over a phone, actually.

"Yes, it's a bank robbery. Already. Yes, it was bound to happen eventually. I know, you just got the plasma cannons ready for the giant monster fight, have them put away again."
"The guards are dead; don't go charging in there. Let the 'heroes' handle it for now, just ring the building. Didn't take them long from the alarm going off to kill all 4."

Slowly, the security team heads out to respond to the robbery.

[Lost_Deep]

[Up In The Air]

"..." Susan started to protest, then sighed, shaking her head as she realised that Neni, for all her annoying bubble-bursting, did, in fact, have a point. "Well, what would you suggest we do, then? Since it sounds like from your own personal expereince that smuggling is right out."

"Quite the contrary," Neni says, "It is simply complex. If people never did anything complex, nothing interesting would ever happen. What is your exact cargo capacity available for hauling? It's needed to know what jobs would be possible."

[Reinholdt]

The 'Official Bank' of Skyside

As the bike is still moving, Invincibelle leaps off dramatically, and rolls to her feet in the bank, no doubt cheating and using her flying powers to actually pull such a mobile stunt off. She stands, dramatically shillouetted by Intrepid's headlights.

"Your money grabbing menace stops today, you massacring monster!"
Today is probably a Monday.
Just saying.

[Lord Magtok]

The 'Official' Bank of Skyside

Intrepid removes himself from the motorcycle and looks up, tapping the side of his head as if to activate some sort of nightvision in his helmet. Seeing as his secret identity is Magtok, he doesn't need to do that at all, and already has such a thing built into his left eye, but we gotta sell everyone on the whole 'this isn't Magtok underneath this helmet' thing, so he's making sure to do little things like that to distance himself from his other identity.

"We're on your side, Tommy Oliver. Watch yourselves, I heard something from the ceiling."

Anyways, yes. Nightvision. That's a thing that's happening. Intrepid removes a baton from his belt, and the business end of it begins to pulse and hum as blue tendrils of electricity dance along its criminal-smacking edge. The Sith's gotta show himself sooner or later, and when he does, Intrepid will be ready.

[Arkhosia]

[Up In The Air]



"..." Susan started to protest, then sighed, shaking her head as she realised that Neni, for all her annoying bubble-bursting, did, in fact, have a point. "Well, what would you suggest we do, then? Since it sounds like from your own personal expereince that smuggling is right out."

***

[Cloudtops > Bay and Beyond]



"Vehicles are lame when you can sky-surf," Cat declares with a grin...before the disc they're standing on smoothly accellerates to follow Black Maul and the flying beast she's acting as tow-truck for.

Valia grips Cat around the waist with her left arm tightly, the Fat Man in her right, lowered and unloaded.
Sorry if i'm holding on too tight: I've never been this high before without guardrails!

[Murkus]

((Whoops, sorry guys, forgot about this one))


[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"See." he sais to the bird. "Be built 'IN' the Nexus dooesn't really mean your not thrown into it. From my knowledge you only are in this Nexus when you get noticed. But I accept your point of view. I alread know that logic doesn't mean I understand everything in the nexus."

Arkant makes a short break as he takes another nip of his beer. waving away the head of the bear from his lips.

"So your bar is new here? Maybe you need someone to help you out? I and my servants are going to move here. maybe one of them can work here."


Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy holds the glass with his wing-claws and dips his beak in. He lets the other guy talk for now.

"New? Naw. Just relocated. And thanks, pal, but I don't need any hired help. I don't get enough business to need more'n me," Stevie explains, shrugging. "Ain't like Trogs. I like it quiet here."

[Zefir]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Looking back at the mess that was there when he entered he shakes his head.

"From what I see, it is as quiet here as it is in Trog's"

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud 9

Iggy sets his tiny glass down.
"I believe the appropriate term here is 'isolated incident.' If this was a common occurrence I doubt our friend here would still have his bar in this spot."

[Hattish Thing]

The 'Official' Bank of Skyside

Intrepid removes himself from the motorcycle and looks up, tapping the side of his head as if to activate some sort of nightvision in his helmet. Seeing as his secret identity is Magtok, he doesn't need to do that at all, and already has such a thing built into his left eye, but we gotta sell everyone on the whole 'this isn't Magtok underneath this helmet' thing, so he's making sure to do little things like that to distance himself from his other identity.

"We're on your side, Tommy Oliver. Watch yourselves, I heard something from the ceiling."

Anyways, yes. Nightvision. That's a thing that's happening. Intrepid removes a baton from his belt, and the business end of it begins to pulse and hum as blue tendrils of electricity dance along its criminal-smacking edge. The Sith's gotta show himself sooner or later, and when he does, Intrepid will be ready.


The 'Official Bank' of Skyside

As the bike is still moving, Invincibelle leaps off dramatically, and rolls to her feet in the bank, no doubt cheating and using her flying powers to actually pull such a mobile stunt off. She stands, dramatically shillouetted by Intrepid's headlights.

"Your money grabbing menace stops today, you massacring monster!"
Today is probably a Monday.
Just saying.


Well, seeing as Trucido is now officially outnumbered, the Sith bursts into action! Magtok/Intrepid can easily see Trucido standing on one of the rafters. Unfortunately, he might also suddenly see a large amount of lightning flying for his face. Trucido uses Force Lightning with his left hand to attempt to electrifiy his attackers temporarily, while in his right hand, he jams his lightsabers into the ceiling and begins to create a getaway hole.

[BladeofObliviom]

Well, seeing as Trucido is now officially outnumbered, the Sith bursts into action! Magtok/Intrepid can easily see Trucido standing on one of the rafters. Unfortunately, he might also suddenly see a large amount of lightning flying for his face. Trucido uses Force Lightning with his left hand to attempt to electrifiy his attackers temporarily, while in his right hand, he jams his lightsabers into the ceiling and begins to create a getaway hole.

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

"Draaagoooon Shield!"

Kappa Ranger Green calls up an energy shield, absorbing the force lightning that comes for him! It's only really effective on energy projectiles most of the time, sure, but it really excels at its job!

"For Great Justice!"

The Kappa Ranger uses the absorbed energy to propel himself into the air, aiming a stylish kung-fu kick at the sternum of the Dark Jedi, whose swords are conveniently stuck in the ceiling!

Or so he thinks, anyway. He isn't really aware of the whole "cut-through-matter-effortlessly" thing. :smalltongue:

[Reinholdt]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

GAH! Ow. That kinda hurts a bit.
Probably not as much as Trucido would like as Invincibelle's shields flare to life, but she'd have definitely preferred he not done that. Her hair is going to be puffy for days.

She hisses and pulls the short metal staff off her back, wincing a little as she does so. With a "KER-POW!" she leaps at Trucido as well, aiming to bash his legs and create falling situations.

[Lord Magtok]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

"Aaagh!"

Intrepid is held back this round. Without any of the sort of defenses the other two have against lightning attacks, all he can do is grit his teeth and wait for this to pass. Well...that, and promise himself to get this costume insulated, so that doesn't happen again next time.

[happyturtle]

Far from Skyside, Over the Sea

Since nobody posted (:smalltongue:), and with Rebo's permission, this scene is being handwaved.

The horrible monster is blown to teeny tiny pieces, with rain down gore over the sea.

Fish eat well. And are probably then mutated into horrible gribbly fish that devour whole fishing boats, but taste delicious on the rare occasion when the fisherman lives.

Black Maul keeps a sample for further study. This can't possibly end badly!

[Hattish Thing]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

"Draaagoooon Shield!"

Kappa Ranger Green calls up an energy shield, absorbing the force lightning that comes for him! It's only really effective on energy projectiles most of the time, sure, but it really excels at its job!

"For Great Justice!"

The Kappa Ranger uses the absorbed energy to propel himself into the air, aiming a stylish kung-fu kick at the sternum of the Dark Jedi, whose swords are conveniently stuck in the ceiling!

Or so he thinks, anyway. He isn't really aware of the whole "cut-through-matter-effortlessly" thing. :smalltongue:


['Official' Bank of Skyside]

GAH! Ow. That kinda hurts a bit.
Probably not as much as Trucido would like as Invincibelle's shields flare to life, but she'd have definitely preferred he not done that. Her hair is going to be puffy for days.

She hisses and pulls the short metal staff off her back, wincing a little as she does so. With a "KER-POW!" she leaps at Trucido as well, aiming to bash his legs and create falling situations.


'Official' Bank of Skyside

"Aaagh!"

Intrepid is held back this round. Without any of the sort of defenses the other two have against lightning attacks, all he can do is grit his teeth and wait for this to pass. Well...that, and promise himself to get this costume insulated, so that doesn't happen again next time.

Well, seeing as two people are leaping at him, Trucido has a decision to make! Continue melting the hole, or take a slice at them both. Darth Calamity decides to take his chances and brings his lightsaber down to slice at the pair in a powerful cut that should seamlessly slice through the pair. Of course, this means that the lightning stops on Intrepid.

TLDR; Kappa and Invincibelle are being sliced at, and Intrepid has stopped being electrified.

[BladeofObliviom]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

KRG...

...loses an arm! Ouch!

I dunno if his kick actually hit or not, but regardless of the result the Kappa Ranger ends up on the ground next to his severed arm. Grumbling, the Ranger spends the rest of the round putting his arm back on!

Luckily for him, that actually works. Somehow. Perhaps it's best not to think about that too hard.

[Reinholdt]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

Invincibelle flinches, certain that this was the end as the lightsaber came down straight at her face. Before it stops a mere inch above it, bouncing off her force field harmlessly! She slowly opens her eyes.

Oh hey. She's alive. Sweating a thousand bullets, but alive. WHOO!
Invincibelle at least lives up to her name.

She proceeds to try and finish her attack and smack Calamity's legs. She's not great in melee and did just nearly get killed in slow motion, so she might end up missing entirely.

[Murkus]

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Looking back at the mess that was there when he entered he shakes his head.

"From what I see, it is as quiet here as it is in Trog's"


Tempest Row- Cloud 9

Iggy sets his tiny glass down.
"I believe the appropriate term here is 'isolated incident.' If this was a common occurrence I doubt our friend here would still have his bar in this spot."

"Damn right. I rarely get new arrivals like that burnt fella. I think most of them get sucked into Trogs. Some fella tried to sell me on a theory about that once. Described it as a... like a dimensional sink trap. Catches all the solid stuff washed in from other places, y'know what I mean?"

[Lord Magtok]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

"You showed up in the wrong city, Darth." Intrepid growls, as he lunges forward to electrocute Calamity with that stun baton. Unlike Force Lightning, this weapon is more concerned with rendering someone immobile and incapacitated, as opposed to slowly torturing them to death. A poke with a baton like that is going to be painful, yes, but more worrying is whether or not Trucido's muscles will start locking up and spasming, sending him tumbling to the floor.

[Zefir]

"Damn right. I rarely get new arrivals like that burnt fella. I think most of them get sucked into Trogs. Some fella tried to sell me on a theory about that once. Described it as a... like a dimensional sink trap. Catches all the solid stuff washed in from other places, y'know what I mean?"

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"From my knowledge Trog just placed his Tavern right where the exit of this dimension drainer is. Not a bad idea at , a lot of people pass the Tavern and leave enougth money there."

Then he turns to the bird thing.

"That depends. Skyside hide himself until now so now there are whe whole Inside and Org people who may come here."

[Recaiden]

[Those Forged by Flames]

There's a person approaching the building, walking confidently; She's sure this is the right address.
They look like so, with the addition of long, thin batlike wings.
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/5103/tek512fcb7fb75941976832.png
Where she steps, color drains out of the sidewalk and the steps, slowly seeping back in as she moves on.

*knock knock knock *

[Deathkeeper]

Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy shrugs again.
"Don't know where you're going with this. Just because people might show up doesn't mean they'll bust through the walls."

[The Bushranger]

[Up in the Air]



"Quite the contrary," Neni says, "It is simply complex. If people never did anything complex, nothing interesting would ever happen. What is your exact cargo capacity available for hauling? It's needed to know what jobs would be possible."

"Well, it's...modest, but about the size of two standard-sized containers," Susan muses, motioning to a diagram of standard intermodal "trailers". "Weight capacity is pretty much unlimited, though."



Valia grips Cat around the waist with her left arm tightly, the Fat Man in her right, lowered and unloaded.
Sorry if i'm holding on too tight: I've never been this high before without guardrails!

"No worries! It takes shome getting used to the first time." Cat giggles, and watches, impressed, as the beast is destroyed.

[Lost_Deep]

Up in the Air

"Do you have any non-extraspacial space? Certain things react poorly to being placed outside of reality. In any case, I'm finding a number of possible jobs. Due to individuals setting up thing here in Skyside, a number of people want things 'smuggled' in. Which is to say, they cannot afford or do not trust the security of bulk cargo aircraft. Their stupidity could be our gain."

"However, traditional smuggling jobs are going to be scarce until some sort of power structure forms. The government here islaissez-faire enough that we're mainly going to be smuggling against underworld groups; effectively high-risk cargo runs. In fact, if you want good-paying smuggling jobs, this is not the place for it." When there's no one saying what can't be carried around, there's no such thing as smuggling.

[Hattish Thing]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

Invincibelle flinches, certain that this was the end as the lightsaber came down straight at her face. Before it stops a mere inch above it, bouncing off her force field harmlessly! She slowly opens her eyes.

Oh hey. She's alive. Sweating a thousand bullets, but alive. WHOO!
Invincibelle at least lives up to her name.

She proceeds to try and finish her attack and smack Calamity's legs. She's not great in melee and did just nearly get killed in slow motion, so she might end up missing entirely.

Well, Trucido growls in confusion and annoyance as his perfectly aimed strike does no damage to Invincibelle. That's incredibly bothersome. However, a limb is removed from the Kappa! So that's at least a bit of a success. He turns his head to look down at the group yet again, and just as he turns, the falling Invincibelle gets a well-aimed kick at his knees. Trucido falls from the rafter, but as he falls he does an impressive flip as he takes out and activates his other lightsaber, Scorpio.


'Official' Bank of Skyside

"You showed up in the wrong city, Darth." Intrepid growls, as he lunges forward to electrocute Calamity with that stun baton. Unlike Force Lightning, this weapon is more concerned with rendering someone immobile and incapacitated, as opposed to slowly torturing them to death. A poke with a baton like that is going to be painful, yes, but more worrying is whether or not Trucido's muscles will start locking up and spasming, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Unfortunately, Intrepid's attack missed completely seeing as Invincibelle knocked Darth Calamity down already. Intrepid might want to prepare something soon though, for Calamity is now on the ground with his lightsabers drawn in the dim room.


['Official' Bank of Skyside]

KRG...

...loses an arm! Ouch!

I dunno if his kick actually hit or not, but regardless of the result the Kappa Ranger ends up on the ground next to his severed arm. Grumbling, the Ranger spends the rest of the round putting his arm back on!

Luckily for him, that actually works. Somehow. Perhaps it's best not to think about that too hard.

Darth Calamity is now on the ground, his combat boots landing lightly on the polished floor, slippery with the blood of innocent bystanders. His sabers are drawn, and the Sith Lord begins to move quickly, his lightsabers flashing at extreme speeds.

He moves forward towards Invincibelle, his right arm raised high, before he brings his highly toned forearm down, Scorpio falling to deliver a potent attack aimed at her waist, as his left arm slices downwards at Intrepid, aiming to slice him in half.

Either way, success or failure, Trucido leaps across the room to attempt to land on the Kappa and behead him.

[Aric Kale]

[Those Forged by Flames]

There's a person approaching the building, walking confidently; She's sure this is the right address.
They look like so, with the addition of long, thin batlike wings.
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/5103/tek512fcb7fb75941976832.png
Where she steps, color drains out of the sidewalk and the steps, slowly seeping back in as she moves on.

*knock knock knock *

Those Forged by Flames

The building doesn't look too impressive from the outside. The paint is peeling, the windows could use new panes, and welcome rug is no longer readable. However, there is one new-looking aspect to the house: a humanoid figure, with 8 differently colored flames forming an octagon around it painted upon the front door. Those flames would be the primary and secondary colors on a color wheel, with the inclusion of black and white.

*knock knock knock*

Thatcher answers the door, smiling brightly Come in, come in! Welcome to the Guild. I'm Thatcher, and you are? He ushers her into the building. The interior is clearly where the refurbishing has been focused on. New wallpaper, rugs, lights, fire-related paintings, and a long, wooden table with a dark finish, the same symbol on the door is painted onto the table.

)(Currently posting from my phone, and that link isn't working at all.)(

[Recaiden]

Well, a proper description is in order. It's a young woman, maybe twenty-five, twenty-eight years old, wearing a short dress, tall shoes, and a headband to organize waist-length hair. She is completely monochrome. Skin, eyes, clothing, jewelry that really should be colorful, all grayscale.

She steps inside confidently, looking around at the new furnishings, nodding slowly. "Atorre Tavlii, partner of Skyside. We are most interested in your organization. It was my study of fire elementals that made us the people we are today. We have no powers of our own, but we though we might be of some assistance with information or funding."

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

I'd offer a description of Thatcher, but I think you know already.

Thatcher offers a hand to shake, nodding enthusiastically, That's very kind of you ma'am. What exactly was your research on fire elementals about?
Atorre may notice ten or so glass pendants on the table, finely crafted and utterly devoid of color. The don't even shine in the candlelight.

[Recaiden]

Tavlii takes his hand, shaking it cautiously. Thatcher might notice that all of the color has drained from his arm, and is slowly seeping back in from his shoulder.

"Thank you. About connecting them to humans, objects, places."
She nods at the pendants on the table. "Tokens of membership?"

[BladeofObliviom]

Well, Trucido growls in confusion and annoyance as his perfectly aimed strike does no damage to Invincibelle. That's incredibly bothersome. However, a limb is removed from the Kappa! So that's at least a bit of a success. He turns his head to look down at the group yet again, and just as he turns, the falling Invincibelle gets a well-aimed kick at his knees. Trucido falls from the rafter, but as he falls he does an impressive flip as he takes out and activates his other lightsaber, Scorpio.

Unfortunately, Intrepid's attack missed completely seeing as Invincibelle knocked Darth Calamity down already. Intrepid might want to prepare something soon though, for Calamity is now on the ground with his lightsabers drawn in the dim room.

Darth Calamity is now on the ground, his combat boots landing lightly on the polished floor, slippery with the blood of innocent bystanders. His sabers are drawn, and the Sith Lord begins to move quickly, his lightsabers flashing at extreme speeds.

He moves forward towards Invincibelle, his right arm raised high, before he brings his highly toned forearm down, Scorpio falling to deliver a potent attack aimed at her waist, as his left arm slices downwards at Intrepid, aiming to slice him in half.

Either way, success or failure, Trucido leaps across the room to attempt to land on the Kappa and behead him.

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

...That is a lot of actions. Remember, everyone's posts are kinda-sorta happening at the same time, and this seems like a lot for Trucido to be doing in a split second or two!

Anyway, by yet another miracle, the Kappa ducks at just the right moment to avoid losing his head! Of course, he's only successful by a hair. And by that I mean that the proximity of an absurdly hot high-energy beam to his head has caused his hair to catch fire.

Kappa Ranger Green scampers away and works on patting out the flames on his head, precluding him from taking an actual offensive action this turn!

[Aric Kale]

Thatcher glances aside at his arm...hmm, that's curious. Connecting them? That sounds interesting. And yes, they are, with a bit unique flavor to them.

[Reinholdt]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

FWOOM.
Invincibelle's shielding has already proven effective against lightsabers, so trying to cut her more proves not all that helpful. Must be as annoying as those droidekas.

Now that they're all on the ground again, she takes a wide swing with her staff, building up what power she can muster to try and smack him in the ribs! RAWR!

[Lord Magtok]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

That seems like a strange reason for Intrepid's attack to miss, but alright. Intrepid leaps left out of the range of Trucido's lightsaber, and clips the baton back to his utility belt, switching to what appears to be a flashbang grenade instead.

"You know, killing the lights doesn't really help you when your only weapons are big, eye-catching, neon-red laser swords," our hero remarks, before priming the flashbang grenade in his hand, holding it out towards Darth Calamity and the others instead of throwing the thing. This is a grenade meant to blind and deafen an entire room full of people, and Intrepid might as well be shoving it in everyone's face at this range. Sure, his own helmet might be capable of keeping him from going blind the second that thing goes off, but last I checked, nobody else in this dark room had those kinds of defenses.

[Recaiden]

[Those Forged By Flames]

"Don't worry, that will return to normal soon. This body is...defective. It serves as a drain into a realm beyond the normal function of light and energy."

Atorre heads over to the table, and, after a glance to Thatcher to inquire after permission, takes up a pendant if he does not object. "What is that flavor they have?"

"It is." Tavlii smiles; he's commented on her specialty. "Every thinking being, nearly, has some amount of extra-sensory potential, and it can be synchronized with another's to the point where it becomes a permanent or near-permanent bond. It naturally occurs sometimes between twins or couples, but the side effects when it happens with a magical creature like an elemental are quite interesting. Their powers blend, and in the right situation the link can extend beyond the life of one of the participants."

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher shrugs, it was of no concern to him. At her glance, takes two and hands her one, keeping the second for a slight demonstration. Well, for one, I made them myself, with some spell-work from a skilled mage. Secondly, they will be instantly identifiable to other members, as they may not properly meet each other here after they have joined the guild. But that's not even the best part, oh no. He extends his hand, palm outstretched and lets the teardrop-shaped, glass pendant rest on his hand. Without warning, his hand bursts into flames, surrounding the token with white fire. Attore might notice the heat to be mildly uncomfortable, even with such a small amount of fire. Once the flames subside, the pendant is left in perfect shape, with one difference: its core now contained the white fire inside of it, and the glass has gained a luster which before it had lacked. This is now mine. Any of the Forged will be able to tell that this is a fyrjewl, and that it is Thatcher Jsut's. Every member will receive one, and each fyrjewl will bear their mark upon it.

[Arkhosia]

[Up in the Air]



"Well, it's...modest, but about the size of two standard-sized containers," Susan muses, motioning to a diagram of standard intermodal "trailers". "Weight capacity is pretty much unlimited, though."




"No worries! It takes shome getting used to the first time." Cat giggles, and watches, impressed, as the beast is destroyed.

Valia puts away the Fat Man with a grin on her face.
Well, that was fun! Hey, do you know where the nearest bar is?

[Recaiden]

[Those Forged By Flames]

Atorre nods. "That is an impressive form of membership marker." She notes the heat but feels no discomfort; that is an inefficient feeling which she has discarded.
"Well made. So long as none can duplicate the flame...Here, a contribution towards your situation. It will be good to see how your organization progresses."

[Hattish Thing]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

That seems like a strange reason for Intrepid's attack to miss, but alright. Intrepid leaps left out of the range of Trucido's lightsaber, and clips the baton back to his utility belt, switching to what appears to be a flashbang grenade instead.

"You know, killing the lights doesn't really help you when your only weapons are big, eye-catching, neon-red laser swords," our hero remarks, before priming the flashbang grenade in his hand, holding it out towards Darth Calamity and the others instead of throwing the thing. This is a grenade meant to blind and deafen an entire room full of people, and Intrepid might as well be shoving it in everyone's face at this range. Sure, his own helmet might be capable of keeping him from going blind the second that thing goes off, but last I checked, nobody else in this dark room had those kinds of defenses.




['Official' Bank of Skyside]

...That is a lot of actions. Remember, everyone's posts are kinda-sorta happening at the same time, and this seems like a lot for Trucido to be doing in a split second or two!

Anyway, by yet another miracle, the Kappa ducks at just the right moment to avoid losing his head! Of course, he's only successful by a hair. And by that I mean that the proximity of an absurdly hot high-energy beam to his head has caused his hair to catch fire.

Kappa Ranger Green scampers away and works on patting out the flames on his head, precluding him from taking an actual offensive action this turn!


['Official' Bank of Skyside]

FWOOM.
Invincibelle's shielding has already proven effective against lightsabers, so trying to cut her more proves not all that helpful. Must be as annoying as those droidekas.

Now that they're all on the ground again, she takes a wide swing with her staff, building up what power she can muster to try and smack him in the ribs! RAWR!

This round isn't going so well for Trucido. The Sith didn't seem to get much done at all. However, the money is still in his coat. That's good. You bunch of baboons are more antagonistic than I, and I'm a Sith! Do you know who I am?! I am Darth Calam- Then there's a whack, and Trucido gets jabbed in the ribs. CRACK. There's a break. Then he happens to look over and see Intrepid with a grenade.

Instantly his mind flashes back to when he saw Garn Kubo lift the sonic grenade out of his coat. How the sound caused so much ringing... How his teeth shattered into bits. How he bled and screamed.

He runs. He runs as fast as he can to escape. Then it went off. His head was turned, so he's not blinded, but he feels his eardrums rupture. He growls and shouts curses in severe pain, as blood begins to drip from his ears. He's deaf and bleeding, and now running as fast as he can out the door.

[BladeofObliviom]

['Official' Bank of Skyside]

Kappa Ranger Green continues to pat at the flames on his head! It's kind of odd that such a thing has put him out of the fight for a longer amount of time than losing a goddamn arm, but there you go.

Oh, and then just as the fire goes out, he manages to trip over his foot and the water spills out of his head. Oops. He doesn't move much after that.

Is it really a surprise that KRG had little to no effect on the result of this? :smalltongue:

[Murkus]

Tempest Row- Cloud Nine

Iggy shrugs again.
"Don't know where you're going with this. Just because people might show up doesn't mean they'll bust through the walls."


[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

"From my knowledge Trog just placed his Tavern right where the exit of this dimension drainer is. Not a bad idea at , a lot of people pass the Tavern and leave enougth money there."

Then he turns to the bird thing.

"That depends. Skyside hide himself until now so now there are whe whole Inside and Org people who may come here."

"Sure, but that place pulls enough that Trog can pay to have the building fix itself. I could never afford something like that. Nuts from Inside and Riverside are bound to show up, but if someone tears the place down, I'm retiring. **** em'," Stevie says crudely.

[Reinholdt]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

Whoo! Invincibelle got a hit! She even heard something crack.

Of course then Intrepid decides to flash-bang everyone. Invincibelle is caught off guard and is reeling back, clenching her eyes shut and holding her sensitive cat ears. She's also opening her mouth a lot, presumably to curse Intrepid heavily, but it's hard to tell with the ringing.

Needless to say, she's not getting much done.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher nods, pleased that his work is appreciated. Thank ye, they were not easy to craft, and I doubt they will be any easier to recreate.
I'm not sure what the contribution is, based off your post. Though I'm sure he's glad to accept it, and he'll offer her a token to analyze. Oh, I forgot to mention. If you need any help with any further research, give me a call. You know where yo find me. He adds, arms outstretched as he gestures around him.

[Recaiden]

Well that's because Tavlii hasn't revealed it yet. She offers him a small suitcase, containing nothing more interesting than money (about 500 gp's worth) and a copy of all their notes about elementals.

"Good to hear." She takes the token, examining it closely. It can't get any more colorless, but something about its identification powers is unsettling to her. She hands it back quickly.

"We'll be in touch. Good luck with this guild of yours." v Barring some reason from Thatcher, Atorre turns to go.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

That would make sense.
Thatcher accepts the gifts gratefully, setting them on the table. He would definitely have to go through those notes later.
He also makes some mental notes himself, observing her unease at the markers. How odd.
Alright, take care.
Now she's gone. Better start cooking dinner.
Nothing in the fridge... @#!*% .
Oh, that gem she was holding? It's now set apart from the rest of its kind, at least until its color returns from gray to clear. Thatcher's personal fyrjewl hangs from a chain on his neck.

[Lord Magtok]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

"Not so fast, Calamari!" Intrepid shouts, not that anyone can hear him. He reaches into his utility belt for yet another fancy toy, jumping over the Green Kappa Ranger as he throws a set of bolas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas) through the air, intent on tying up Trucido's legs and sending him tumbling to the ground once more. The Darth should consider himself lucky; it was either that or a grappling hook launcher, but Intrepid was feeling merciful today. It wouldn't do for the first person they arrest to go to Skyside's police with huge puncture wounds in his chest. I mean, the corrupt cops in this town are probably already planning to let Darth go after a sizable bribe, but that kind of brutality would make it even easier for them to excuse doing so.

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flames

There's a weak knock at the door, near the top.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher shuts the empty fridge and answers the door, opening it to reveal...?

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flames

It would reveal a brilliant red bird perched on top of the doorframe, looking down. Bird might be the wrong word though, as he almost looks like an archaeopteryx.
"Hiya, boss. Is this the flame guild thing?"

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher chuckles, leaning against said doorframe, craning his head up to look at the phoenix, for that is what he assumes the bird to be. Aye, that it be. And are you looking to join, my friend?

)(Sorry for slow responses, I'm writing an essay...)(

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flames

"Aye again. I haven't been in a club in ages. May I?" he asks with a flutter of wings.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher gestures for the phoenix to enter the house, stepping aside to let it in first. Please do. Come in, come in. If he does so, he'll notice a humanoid figure, with 8 differently colored flames forming an octagon around it painted upon the table. Those flames would be the primary and secondary colors on a color wheel, with the inclusion of black and white. The table also has ten, quarter-sized, teardrop shaped pendants made of an utterly colorless glass, joined by a stack of notes on elementals. Well, just take a fyrjewl, pour some of your fire into it, and keep it as a token of membership. Every member will be identify each other by these members. He reveals his own marker, the formerly dull glass now shines and contains white fire in its core.

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flames

The phoenix flaps his way over and picks up one of the pendants with one of the claws on his wings. He plucks a feather from his breast and lays it over the glass. It crumbles to ash, leaving a small scarlet flame in its place.
"Call me Iggy, by the way. And call me if anyone needs any emergency raising. If it wasn't obvious, reincarnations are my thing. Can't guarantee you'll come back as anything close, but I won't ask for a diamond or anything like that."

[Arkhosia]

Near Those Forged By Flames

The occupants of the building may feel strangely cold.
If they look outside, they will see that a large pillar of ice has sprung up close by.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher chuckles, now that was a nice trick. Alright, Iggy, I'm Thatcher Jsut. You are now Forged. I'd offer you food, but I forgot to buy groceries for the new place.
Now that...that is useful. I wish I had known you a year ago. I've died multiple times since coming here... Then he shivers. That's not supposed to happen. Ever.
He dashes to the front door, swinging it open wildly, fire already dancing on his right hand.

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged By Flames

Iggy seems to shrug with his wings.
"Sorry about that, boss. 'Course, asking for reincarnation multiple times is pushing your luck. I can make sure it's still the body of a sentient race and usually the same sex but it's only a matter of time before you wind up with something wacky. and I don't do do-overs just because you don't like what you got; that's not how it works."
Being a living embodiment of the spark of life, it's quite difficult to make Iggy feel cold. Rooms have a tendency to get rather warm just with him being there.

[Arkhosia]

Meanwhile, outside...

The ice begins to crack, and the pillar shatters, likely sending ice shards flying into the Forged Building. A drow in light blue snow boots, a sleeveless blue sweater, white gloves, and a silver breastplate collapses on the ground.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Too bad Thatcher ran off, I'm sure he would've loved to hear Iggy's little monologue.
The ice flying towards the Guild's meeting place melt in mid-flight, be this from the building itself, or Thatcher's own aura is unknown. He calls out to the newcomer. Stranger! You are not welcome here. Take your ice and go elsewhere. He even spits at the word ice, the saliva sizzling as it hits the ground. Do you dare to challenge Those Forged by Flames so soon after its birth? What is your purpose here? The white fire continues to lick angrily at his hand.

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flames

Iggy alights on Thatcher's shoulder. He's toned himself down so that his aura of heat is simply one of moderate warmth. Still, the effect is probably rather striking, which is what he's going for.
((Side note Arkh: it's actually a thing that the Nexus auto-translates to avoid every few characters being unplayable from lack of understanding. You don't have to make use of the fact, but know that it's there.))

[Zefir]

"Sure, but that place pulls enough that Trog can pay to have the building fix itself. I could never afford something like that. Nuts from Inside and Riverside are bound to show up, but if someone tears the place down, I'm retiring. **** em'," Stevie says crudely.

[Tempest Row - Cloud 9]

Arkant holds his hands up in defence.

"Wow, cool down. That's just what I saw. There are people who won#t do such things, but come on. Have you ever read the Wall? So many aggressive people post there and any of them could show up."

Arkant isn't really pleased with the situation and doesn't add anything more.

[Arkhosia]

Those Forged by Flames

Too bad Thatcher ran off, I'm sure he would've loved to hear Iggy's little monologue.
The ice flying towards the Guild's meeting place melt in mid-flight, be this from the building itself, or Thatcher's own aura is unknown. He calls out to the newcomer. Stranger! You are not welcome here. Take your ice and go elsewhere. He even spits at the word ice, the saliva sizzling as it hits the ground. Do you dare to challenge Those Forged by Flames so soon after its birth? What is your purpose here? The white fire continues to lick angrily at his hand.


Those Forged by Flames

Iggy alights on Thatcher's shoulder. He's toned himself down so that his aura of heat is simply one of moderate warmth. Still, the effect is probably rather striking, which is what he's going for.
((Side note Arkh: it's actually a thing that the Nexus auto-translates to avoid every few characters being unplayable from lack of understanding. You don't have to make use of the fact, but know that it's there.))

The drow lifts herself up. She looks a bit disoriented.
Then Thatcher and Iggy appear.
The drow backs away from them.
Listen, I have no idea what the hell Those Forged By Flames is, or what this place is, and therefore could not have purposely attacked, so how about we put the fire away.

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher snaps his fingers and the flames sink back into his hand. My apologies. I recently started a guild. The ice shards flying towards our meeting place, and the sudden cold, have the impression of an aggressive intention. I am Thatcher, welcome to the Nexus.

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged by Flame

"Ugh, newbies. Don't we have Trog's for this?"
says Iggy quietly to Thatcher.

[Arkhosia]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher snaps his fingers and the flames sink back into his hand. My apologies. I recently started a guild. The ice shards flying towards our meeting place, and the sudden cold, have the impression of an aggressive intention. I am Thatcher, welcome to the Nexus.

Uh,sorry about that...
What's a Trog's?

[Hattish Thing]

'Official' Bank of Skyside

"Not so fast, Calamari!" Intrepid shouts, not that anyone can hear him. He reaches into his utility belt for yet another fancy toy, jumping over the Green Kappa Ranger as he throws a set of bolas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolas) through the air, intent on tying up Trucido's legs and sending him tumbling to the ground once more. The Darth should consider himself lucky; it was either that or a grappling hook launcher, but Intrepid was feeling merciful today. It wouldn't do for the first person they arrest to go to Skyside's police with huge puncture wounds in his chest. I mean, the corrupt cops in this town are probably already planning to let Darth go after a sizable bribe, but that kind of brutality would make it even easier for them to excuse doing so.

Well, poor Trucido is deafened, bleeding, and swerving as he tries to run. Normally a very difficult target. Intrepid's shot fires true, however, and Darth Calamity ends up faceplanting into the ground, sparks flying as his metal teeth hit the asphalt. He lies there, and stops moving. Ow. That hurt really bad. He's down.

Those Forged by teh Flames:

Another, more pleasant individual is moving to pay a visit to this place. It's Alabaster! Most of you probably don't remember who that is. He was around Arcanus for a while before his death. Something like that. Anyway, the ghostly cleric had been floating about the Nexus for an awfully long time. The Silver Flame Wielding spectre had heard about this place, and decided it might be nice to have a place to call his own. He moves to the front door and makes a knocking sound by causing a rock to smack against the door. http://i1051.photobucket.com/albums/s440/Singingnoodle/Alabaster.png Current Form: http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/3994/o7bj.png

[Aric Kale]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher replies to Iggy, pretending the cold one can't hear, Aye, Skyside isn't the place for the young and inexperienced... Then he responds to the girl with a curt, It is of no matter. Now run along.

Suddenly, ghosts. Thatchers looks at the spectre incredulously as it throws a rock at his new door...Hello?

[Hattish Thing]

Those Forged by the Flames:

Alabaster knocks at the door yet again with the rock using his ghostly powers of matter manipulation. Hello? Anyone? I'd hate to just walk in on something. Anyone there?

[Deathkeeper]

Those Forged By Flames

"Sorry girl, but you'll want to find a shuttle to one of the other cities. This place isn't one for a newbie. They're cheap and will take whatever you have, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Say boss, did you hear something?"
caws the phoenix.

[Reinholdt]

Official Bank of Skyside

Invincibelle recovers somewhat. Her vision at any rate. Her ears are still ringing and probably will be for some time. She stumbles out after Intrepid and the Darth, prepared for more fighting, only to see Calamity lying there.

"Did we get him?"

[Arkhosia]

Those Forged by Flames

Thatcher replies to Iggy, pretending the cold one can't hear, Aye, Skyside isn't the place for the young and inexperienced... Then he responds to the girl with a curt, It is of no matter. Now run along.

Suddenly, ghosts. Thatchers looks at the spectre incredulously as it throws a rock at his new door...Hello?


Those Forged By Flames

"Sorry girl, but you'll want to find a shuttle to one of the other cities. This place isn't one for a newbie. They're cheap and will take whatever you have, so it shouldn't be an issue.
Say boss, did you hear something?"
caws the phoenix.

I'm not inexperienced. Good bye.
The drow then leaves.
Streets of Skyside

The drow walks down the street in search of a shuttle.

INTERACTION WANTED

[happyturtle]

Streets of Skyside

She might see a Skycycle dealership, with Willow Warwick, spoiled rich girl and mad scientist, looking at the skycycles available.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/7363/ua2q.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/54657159)

[Arkhosia]

Streets of Skyside

She might see a Skycycle dealership, with Willow Warwick, spoiled rich girl and mad scientist, looking at the skycycles available.

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/7363/ua2q.png (http://tektek.org/avatar/54657159)

The drow approaches her.
Miss, would you happen to know where I could find a shuttle off of this place?