HALO 183: The Not Remotely Gritty Reboot

[Morty]

[Mirai's Replacement]

"My Name Is Sizewell," the golem rumbles in a deep voice.

"And mine is Dorota Serégon, yes," the alchemist says. "I've met Mirai briefly." And was accidentally insensitive towards him. "It's good to meet you, Enitan."

[Purple Eagle]

[Mirai's Replacement]

"Ah yes Enitan, this is one of our alchemists, Dorota," Reinholdt says, motioning towards her. "And her golem, uhh, Sizeright wasn't it?"

"My Name Is Sizewell," the golem rumbles in a deep voice.

"And mine is Dorota Serégon, yes," the alchemist says. "I've met Mirai briefly." And was accidentally insensitive towards him. "It's good to meet you, Enitan."

[Mirai's Replacement]

Enitan nods to them both. "Good to meet you both. Reinholdt was just concluding the tour of the base. The next order of business, I suppose, is to get to know the members. I will start with you." She says. She's heard of Dorotoa from Mirai, and it shows in her eyes once the blonde woman introduces herself. "I will be this base's Military Scientist, as well as protection for any ventures that require we go outside to potentially dangerous locations."

A talking cat, and now a golem-thing, not to mention the things she saw in VIGIL, and on the way over here. Curious world, indeed.

"I admit to having never seen a golem before, the closest thing we have are robots." Which aren't sentient, and which don't include cyborgs like Svetlana whose only organic component is her brain, and whose face and body is a perfect cybernetic replica of that which she had before the accident necessitated a new body.

[Reinholdt]

[Mirai's Replacement]

Reinholdt's ears fold against his head and he takes a step back. It... It can TALK?! How long has it been able to do that?!

Rein recovers quickly and clears his throat. "Yes, well, uh, I'll leave you to it. Have fun." The cat turns and departs.

[Morty]

[Mirai's Replacement]

"It Is A Pleasure To Meet You As Well," Sizewell replies. "I Am Not A Member, But I Help My Creator With Her Duties."

Dorota looks at Reinholdt as he departs hastily. Was it something she said?

"Well, I'm not really the sort of person to go on expeditions, but if I ever do, I'm glad you'll be watching my back," she says. "I would be useless in any sort of combat situation."

[Purple Eagle]

[Mirai's Replacement]

Reinholdt's ears fold against his head and he takes a step back. It... It can TALK?! How long has it been able to do that?!

Rein recovers quickly and clears his throat. "Yes, well, uh, I'll leave you to it. Have fun." The cat turns and departs.

"It Is A Pleasure To Meet You As Well," Sizewell replies. "I Am Not A Member, But I Help My Creator With Her Duties."

Dorota looks at Reinholdt as he departs hastily. Was it something she said?

"Well, I'm not really the sort of person to go on expeditions, but if I ever do, I'm glad you'll be watching my back," she says. "I would be useless in any sort of combat situation."

[Mirai's Replacement]

Enitan turns to watch the flabbergasted cat leave them, then returns to them both. Specifically, to Dorotoa. "Then you can count on me to protect you and the other members on any expedition." She replies, nodding. "What's the latest news in HALO?" She asks, seeking to know more from the point-of-view of a member.

[Morty]

[Mirai's Replacement]

Dorota pushes her glasses up her nose in thought.

"There's a plague of... they call them skinwalkers. Monsters who can assume people's shape if they take their blood. We've been doing some testing to root out shapeshifters and I've been doing some preliminary research into counteracting them. But that's just what I've been busy with."

[Gullara]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

Reinholdt kinda vaguely recognizes her. He mostly just remembers the monkey hanging the tapestry. Different from her certainly. Gah! He was caught so quickly too. That's what gets for snooping while mildly tipsy. "Yeah... which room's the ritual room?"

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

She's certainly far different than Bili. "Which one?" Her eyebrows raise. "Perhaps you should tell me who or what you're looking for?" She suggests.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Sor-sorry," Rein sounds mildly abashed and takes a breath. Two. "I just... didn't know who else to call. You're the best mom friend I know. Annie's such a great girl. You and Obry... fantastic moms." He's about a moment away from telling everyone in the room he loves them all.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

'Barely keeping it together' is apparently equal to fantastic these days, but Kitsuki will take it. "You need mom advice or something? You didn't go knock up some girl now did you?" She jokes. Wait, what if- Maybe she shouldn't have...

[Reinholdt]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"The-" Rein cuts himself off, stopping himself from making an hilarious joke, but one that probably wouldn't represent well. "The one with Korrina in it."

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Yeah, you got it! Exactly!" Reinholdt confirms. See, he knew Kitty was smart! She probably got everything he was saying the whole time. "At least that's what she says happened. Like we met and we hit it off. Like really hit it off. Like really, really hit it off." Kitty knows what sex is Rein.

"And a month later she comes by, but she's a bunny girl, not an elf. I mean she's still really damn cute, but I don't even recognize her at first. And she starts crying saying she was a shapeshifter with twenty plus identities and secret lives and she's pregnant and it's mine and she's moving into HALO. And it's just... it's a lot to take in all at once you know?"

[Purple Eagle]

Dorota pushes her glasses up her nose in thought.

"There's a plague of... they call them skinwalkers. Monsters who can assume people's shape if they take their blood. We've been doing some testing to root out shapeshifters and I've been doing some preliminary research into counteracting them. But that's just what I've been busy with."

[Mirai's Replacement => Enitan's Lab]

((Changing location to justify tag change, also Enitan needs to start preparing her lab space for use.))

Enitan perks up once Dorotoa mentions shapeshifters. "Oh? One moment. I hope I am not interrupting your work, but I would like to check out my lab while we speak. If you'll come with me..." She says, leading them both to an unused lab space. "Wait here." The clone of Enitan she's been speaking with disappears into a puff of air, and shortly after the real one walks in. Cloning herself once more, the clone gets to work setting up and rearranging the place to her liking, whilst the original continues speaking with the bespectacled woman.

"So, as I was saying. What have you found out about the skinwalkers?" She asks, suddenly very interested in the topic. "As you have just seen, my special Talent is self-cloning. There is a crime boss from my world here that I'm tracking, whose Talent is shapeshifting. Your research could be of use to me in rooting out that psychopath, although he only requires blood to more perfectly assume the shape of others he's seen, from what I've heard."

"I am to work on a Stealth Buggy for Reinholdt, but I shall figure out a way to help you out with this." She adds.

[Gullara]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Yeah, where's she at?" Delv chimes in from outside the storage room.

"She's in the far left room I believe, though you should be tactful. She's doing important work and you wouldn't want to damage her work." The vanara smiles, as if at some joke. "Trust me."

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Uh, wow, okay." That's a whole lot. Kitsuki can certainly sympathize given her own situation, but damn. "So what are you going to do? You're sure it's your kid, right?"

[Reinholdt]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Of course," Reinholdt assures her, clearly the very pinnacle of tact with his sneaking and lack of knocking. "Thank you for the information miss... what is your name?"

[Late Evening Phone Call]

The sound that comes over the phone is definitely gargled uncertainty. "No, I'm not sure. I mean... probably?" But there's room for doubt at the moment.

"As for what I'm going to do? I was... I was.... Oh yeah. I was going to call Kitty for advice and get drunk off some o' the special stuff in the back of the cabinet. But... uh, I think I got the order wrong. Excussse me, I gotta go and call her real quick. Good talk." Kitty can convince Reinholdt pretty easily to not hang up and call her right back before he actually does so.

[Morty]

[Enitan's Lab]

"You're not really interrupting anything," Dorota assures Enitan as she follows her. She's visibly taken aback by the other woman's ability to just create copies of herself instantly. "You can just... create clones of yourself out of nothing?" Then she remembers that she was supposed to explain something. "The skin-walkers can copy others very closely if they get any amount of their blood. They seem to have a social structure and internal conflicts. They're very afraid of fire, since it's lethal to them."

[Gullara]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Call me Bontu." The vanara keeps smiling. "So nice to meet you, Reinholdt."

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Rein, but-" Kitsuki might just be cut off by Rein hanging up. She wasn't prepared for that and took a second to react.

[Purple Eagle]

[Enitan's Lab]

"Partly." Is Enitan's answer to Dorota's shocked question. "I emit some spirit energy that my special Talent allows me to shape into copies of myself, instantly." She adds, as though that's sufficient explanation.

On to the good stuff! Enitan listens intently as Dorota, taking mental notes of all what she's learning. "I suppose that's what Reinholdt needs the Stealth Buggy for. Perhaps I could send a clone that'll disappear if harmed, to scout the area, but I suppose I'm better served using my energy to build an effective stealth recon vehicle." And lethality to fire, eh? What that tells her would be incredulous were it not for the fact that she's in the Nexus. "That tells me they're either undead or vampires. Perhaps both. I suppose a complete cyborg, like a gynoid, would be immune to their effect?" She asks, already thinking of how Svetlana can be made useful in this case.

[Reinholdt]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Nice to meet you too Bontu," Reinholdt says, giving a smile back. "Thanks again and sorry for interrupting." Unless there's anything else, Rein will back out and close the door. Only after will he realize she knew his name, but he never gave it. Mysterious.

Or just well informed.

Rein will move on to far left room and very lightly rap on the door this time, though he doesn't wait for a response before carefully cracking it open. Trying to remain as unobtrusive as he can.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

Kitty need not worry. After Rein hangs up, her phone rings again moments later. There's really no question who it is.

[Morty]

[Enitan's Lab]

Dorota nods. This isn't surprising, but the discussion of Enitan's power will have to wait.

"No, I believe they're quite conventionally alive and not undead. Just very flammable. But yes, I do believe a being with no blood would be immune to their shape being stolen."

[Purple Eagle]

[Enitan's Lab]

"Then I know of someone in VIGIL that would be able and willing to help, should the time come to take the fight to the skinwalkers. Svetlana's a retired Polish-Japanese figure skating champion turned cyberneticist, and now vigilante. She's completely cyberized, armed with fire weaponry and eager to enact her version of justice. I could enlist her when the time comes." The african colonel says matter-of-factly, then pauses to think on all she's heard. A race of shape-stealing beings that aren't undead despite having all the stereotypical characteristics of such. Perhaps, she'll be spending time with Dorotoa as they both work to solve the situation in their own ways.

Perhaps she should pay another visit to Wenomir soon to find out what he knows.

"Thank you, Dorota. Your intel will help design the Stealth Buggy against skinwalker attacks."

[Morty]

[Enitan's Lab]

"You're welcome. Working out such matters is what I do. Well, part of it." Dorota straightens the glasses on her nose. "With that out of the way, I really am curious about your cloning power. I've never seen anything like it. Cloning, yes, but not just spontaneously creating copies."

[Gullara]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Nice to meet you too Bontu," Reinholdt says, giving a smile back. "Thanks again and sorry for interrupting." Unless there's anything else, Rein will back out and close the door. Only after will he realize she knew his name, but he never gave it. Mysterious.

Or just well informed.

Rein will move on to far left room and very lightly rap on the door this time, though he doesn't wait for a response before carefully cracking it open. Trying to remain as unobtrusive as he can.

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

Rein peeks inside and finds... Korrina! Alone too. She's standing at the edge of the room, looking critically at the circles she's chalked out on the floor. It's simple on its face. One large circle in the center of the room and three smaller ones arroyed before it. Though who knows what the number of intersecting lines mean, and the runes she's started to write look entirely unfamiliar to Reinholdt.

She glances towards the door. "No need to sneak around. I'm all on my lonesome." Delv crowds Rein from behind, trying to get a look in the room.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

Kitty need not worry. After Rein hangs up, her phone rings again moments later. There's really no question who it is.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Hi Rein." Kitsuki is honestly curious how far Rein's brain derailed. Maybe he figured it out after he hung up.

[Reinholdt]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Truly a tragedy for any beautiful woman," Reinholdt says, carefully stepping inside just to get a little room and letting Delv inside as well. Rein stays away from touching any of the lines, the practice of his days dealing with traps serving him well at keeping quite still when he needs to be.

"How's it coming?"

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Hey Kitty. I just got off the phone with Kitty, she-she tolld me to call you for advice." There's a pause. "Wait a minute..." Another pause. And a loud, unrepeatable curse of the very mundane variety.

[Purple Eagle]

[Enitan's Lab]

Enitan smiles and nods. It's barely noticeable save for her lips and connected muscles, like so.

"I can create multiple copies of my own self, as well as of small objects as long as I know the size and molecular structure." She starts to explain. "They are under my control, with my base personality as of the time of creation. They get dispelled either at my command, or after taking some damage. I have a sense of what they learn while active, and it all transfers back to me once they're dispelled." She finishes, and that's obviously all the explanation she's going to give. Now, Dorota could enquire further, but she'd merely get a variation of the above words.

Enitan then considers Dorota. If she's possibly going to be working with this woman on the skinwalker crisis, she should know just who she's dealing with. All that matters is getting the job done, but it helps to know what kind of person the other is. Besides, the blonde did ask about her abilities, perhaps it's best to return the favour. After a pause, she finally speaks. "I like to know the sort of person I am working with, so I ask a question of my own: who are you, and..." Her eyes drift to Sizewell. "What exactly is a golem?"

[Lady Serpentine]

Felandria considers whether of not she should wave.

Also how to wave, there are several ways to wave, after all.

This shouldn’t be too awkward, Fel’s new girlfriend does not currently seem to be here, which might exacerbate things.

She decides on a simple, stiff wristed wave where the hand tilts left and right.

[I Don't Think This is Thanksmas Anymore, Toto]

Lynette's plan of pretending they never saw each other is almost immediately thrown so far off the rails that a couple of bystanders look around in confusion, trying to work out whether the faint sound of a train going by is part of the festivities. One of them even pats his hair, in an attempt to make sure that the spectral breeze of its passage didn't ruin his look, before frowning in complete baffelement, because even if it weren't for the fact that there's obviously no train here, the base is underwater and there can't be one in earshot.

After a few moments of frantic thought, though, the thief forces a smile onto her lips (it's almost convincing, though Felandria likely knows her well enough to pick up on the fact that it's most assuredly not) and offers a quick wave of her own. She even manages to keep from tensing up like her former lover did, which in her opinion makes it look altogether more natural. And that's it, right? A brief acknowledgement, a pretense of friendliness that lets them both feel good about how mature they're being, and they can go right back to ignoring each other and do their best to have it never happen again. Ever. Even if it means that Lynette stops going out for Thanksmas after this. She doesn't like the cold anyway, it's totally a mature and reasonable reaction, and besides, she has a whole year to think about it.

[Morty]

[Enitan's Lab]

"I suppose that is fair." Dorota nods. "I'm an alchemist, which in my homeworld means someone who practices the art of transmuting materials into different forms. Not by magic, but by laborious processes. A golem is... one of the greatest achievements of alchemy."

"I am clay, given life through a careful arrangement of rare materials and the Divine Fire," Sizewell says. Dorota smiles in an... unmistakably maternal way.

"That is true. I had constructed Sizewell out of all the materials I needed and with the correct arrangement of glyphs, but what animates him is the Divine Fire. A raw force of creation, as I understand it. There are different ways to acquire it. My wife and I went on a journey to find out how... though she wasn't my wife yet at the time. In the end, we used our blood to give him a spark of our own Divine Fire."

[Purple Eagle]

[Enitan's Lab]

"I see." Enitan says, remembering that they're from different worlds. She had assumed that he was a robot of some sort. "Creating new life outside of procreation is impossible where I'm from, and transmutation is the domain of angels, outside of those who have it as a Special Talent."

Noticing how Dorota looks at Sizewell, as well as talk of both she and her spouse creating him... "One could say he is your first son together, then. I myself have 3 boys with my husband, back home, all in law enforcement like my hubby and I."

[Morty]

[Enitan's Lab]

Dorota smiles warmly, thinking back to some pleasant memories.

"The symbolism did not escape us, no. In fact, it might have spurred us to realize how we felt about each other."

"I Do Believe I May Be One Of Few Golems To Have Parents," Sizewell rumbles.

"We both think of Sizewell as our son, but I wouldn't compare it to raising children the usual way. Sadly, I haven't seen any other golem from my homeworld. But I think Sizewell's emotional development might have been affected by the way in which he acquired the Divine Fire."

[Shadowcaller]

[Fourth Tower Visit]

Dena Xifhara, one of the senior officers of MERC, is visiting HALO or more specifically the fourth tower who've settled into the base recently. She is looking for their leader, or whoever is knowledgeable within their organization. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long...

[Gullara]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"Truly a tragedy for any beautiful woman," Reinholdt says, carefully stepping inside just to get a little room and letting Delv inside as well. Rein stays away from touching any of the lines, the practice of his days dealing with traps serving him well at keeping quite still when he needs to be.

"How's it coming?"

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

Delv moves overt to Korrina's side and she leans over to kiss him, but stops just short. She puts her finger on his lips. "You've been drinking."

"Ah, just a spot, babe. Nothing to worry about." Delv assures her.

"Mm." She straightens and gives Rein a critical eye. "Fine. The space constraints are a challenge, but I knew that coming here. The major circle needs to be large, given the unpredictable nature of the entities we can conjure. I believe I can manage space for two observers in addition to the summoner. I'm trying to fit a overlapping circle with the main to accommodate Zhareen's talents, but she may have to do her business in the main compound." Her eyes leave Rein and she looks at one wall. "The walls I haven't touched, but it's a trivial task."

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Hey Kitty. I just got off the phone with Kitty, she-she tolld me to call you for advice." There's a pause. "Wait a minute..." Another pause. And a loud, unrepeatable curse of the very mundane variety.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"Oh, did I now? What kind of advice is that?" Kitsuki's voice is filled with vicious teasing.

[Fourth Tower Visit]

Dena Xifhara, one of the senior officers of MERC, is visiting HALO or more specifically the fourth tower who've settled into the base recently. She is looking for their leader, or whoever is knowledgeable within their organization. Hopefully this wouldn't take too long...

[Fourth Tower Visit]

Dena will presumably receive some direction to the compounds footing in the base. She'll enter the lobby and find someone crossing it toward the office. A young vanara woman, dressed in a poncho over a simple robe. She freezes in place she she sees Dena. She quickly turns her head to look away from the gorgon. "Do you seek the services of the Fourth Tower?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Fourth Tower Visit]

"I got my glasses securely on, gal. There's no need to worry." Dena assures her as soon as she spots the woman turning away from her. "But yeah, services. The fact that you just turned away tells me that you at least know a thing or two about gorgons and that's the kind of service I need. Information." She offers her hand. "Senior Officer Dena Xifhara of MERC."

[Reinholdt]

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

Reinholdt holds his hands up innocently. It was important to convey that he probably had nothing to do with Delv's drinking, and it probably wasn't that big a deal anyways, and who needs to worry about it. Let's not worry about it.

He had a number of questions of his own, like about those unpredictable entities. But settles for just one. "What are Zhareen's talents?" It wouldn't hurt to know more about Zhareen, given she's integral to the whole putting Shepherd's soul to rest for good plan.

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"She did-you did- I mean I did," Reinholdt says, sounding quite flustered and a little frustrated. "Very bad advice apparently. I need advice on how to handle Harley so I don't push her away and how to raise a baby that may or may not be a mermaid! Better advice. The best mom advice you got." The advice Kitty's given so far hasn't lived up to drunk Rein's expectations!

[Gullara]

[Fourth Tower Visit]

"If we're at an understanding about my knowledge of gorgons, then you'll forgive me for not looking your direction." She doesn't take Dena's hand either. "Especially not when this gorgon is from Merc. Not many in my profession make it to old age, but I intend to be one of them. Now, what is it that you need?"

[More Fourth Tower Settling]

"She has a talent for cohabiting her body with spirits in order to harness their power. Some fools would make that bond by by standing directly in the circle or breaking it. Many of those are dead." Korrina walks over to one side of the large circle and looks at it critically. "That said, it might be a lost cause trying to do that here even if I did have more space. It's not easy to account for Zhareen's bulk."

[Late Evening Phone Call]

"My advice is mostly to hold on for dear life." Kitsuki replies glibly, though maybe now's not the time... "But um, one baby's a lot easier to deal with than three. That part's probably going to be alright." Hopefully he knows how to swim, though? "It sounds like you should be thinking about doing your best to really get to know... Harley was it? You don't want to be having a baby with someone you barely know, so at least know her for nine months."