Seaside 6: Six at the Beach

[bc56]

Eupharynx

Selekhael, kyld in tow, takes off and flies to the beach, depositing the kyld in the shade. "Wait here. I'll be back." She spreads her wings and draws her blade. This one creature seems different, but the others were definitely monsters, not even waiting to attack her. She draws her sword, pausing in midair above the ship, then diving down, her blade slicing easily through the hull. Her goal is to cut enough through it so that it sinks, taking the remains of those monsters to a watery grave.

[Earl of Purple]

Wreck of the Eupharynx

The kyld is put down, and watches Selekhael fly off and pull out her sword and start chopping at the ship's hull. It takes this opportunity to run and hide, dashing up the beach to the... I'll say cliff, and start scaling it to reach the top and whatever lies beyond. Not civilisation, or the ship would have been discovered sooner, but some form of wilderness it can hopefully survive in on its way to civilisation.

[bc56]

Wreck of the Eupharynx

Selekhael flies back to the beach, and finding the kyld gone, calls out, "Hello? Are you there?" Since there's obviously no response, she looks around, confused. She must have run off. "Hello?" The angel of forgiveness gives a feline shrug and pads off in no direction in particular. A child would be in danger in this wilderness, but that thing was no simple child. She'll still try to find it, but she's not as worried about it as she could be.

[Purple Eagle]

Silver Sand Stretch
Sekhmet looks distinctly uncomfortable at that suggestion. "Uh, I need to remember those things. To have them, uh, removed from my mind would be..." A violation of her personal autonomy? Damaging to her life? Really weird?

[Silver Sand Stretch]

"I won't do it without your consent." Zabb says, understanding why she'd be uncomfortable, at least to some extent. "I can at least make it hard for your mum to pull them out, instead?" He flies up and strokes her face in a calming manner. "Don't be worried!"

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

Sekhmet flinches at being touched. She wasn't expecting that. "Uh, how? What will it do, uh, exactly?"

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

Zabb giggles as she flinches. "It's just a touch, Sekh! Enjoy it!" He lets his hand drop as he answers her question. "Well, I could bury the thoughts so deep in your subconscious that it'd take her longer to find the memories, but that only makes it slower for her to find, and stuff. Any other idea will hurt you cos holiness, unless I remove it outright."

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch
"If you do that, uh, will it be harder for me to remember those things?" As Sekhmet said, the information she would want to hide from her mother is also information she needs for her daily life.

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

"Not necessarily. Even after what I do, it'll be up to you. If you panic, then yes, you might trick yourself into forgetting things." Especially one as fear-ridden as she, Zabb thinks to himself. He aims to employ a mental block, trying to be a little vague while also allaying any fears. "They'll still be there for you, Sekh."

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh, okay? Just, uh, be gentle about it." Sekhmet lets Zabb work. But she's psychically awakened, so she'll probably be able to tell what exactly he's doing, unless he's very subtle about it.

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

Zabb nods, hovers so he can look her in the eye, and starts working. He's trying to be subtle, with moderately successful results. When you're born with everything unlocked, learning to be subtle can be a lot harder than one would think, after all.

He's basically putting up mental blocks that'd make it much harder for anyone to just steal her memories, in some cases even obfuscating what can be pulled out. She might notice that what he's doing isn't hurting her, but then he isn't using any of the 'lethal-to-demons' variant of spiritual energy. "Just take deep breaths, Sekh. Okay?" He flashes her an easy, boyish smile that's meant to disarm her and calm her nerves, if only for a short while.

"There. That wasn't so bad, was it? Say it with me: 'yay'!" The energetic celestial squeaks. "I could add another layer so it'd hurt your mum if she tried, but... but it'd also hurt you. You're not a bad person, or evil, or malicious... but you're still a demon. Sorry." He says, apologetically.

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

Sekhmet rubs her head gently. "Oh, that feels fuzzy." She looks at Zabb as he apologizes for not being able to do more. "I understand, uh, don't feel guilty." She hugs him, if he'll let her. "You're, uh, a good kid."

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

Zabb's pleasantly surprised that Sekhmet is initiating a hug this time. Of course, he lets her, and even hugs back. "And you're a nice adult."

"Do you have enough shells now, Sekh?" Though with his help, she should have more than enough.

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh, yes, I've got enough." Sekhmet responds. "Thanks for helping me." She's glad she met him, even if she spent the first part of the encounter terrified for her life.

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

"Yay! And it's no problem. Let's go to GLoG. I'll keep you company so you won't have to be scared. Do you have a phone so we can take a picture of our castle?" Zabb points to their sandcastle in the distance. "When we get there I'll have to go play with Tuskfang, okayy? He's my friend!"

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"I have a, uh, phone, but it doesn't take pictures." Sekhmet pulls out a smartphone from her purse. It definitely does have a camera and can take pictures. Is it possible she doesn't know how to use it to take them? Probably. She doesn't seem very technologically adept.

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

"It does, silly! It has a camera, which means it does." Zabb says with a giggle, pointing out the camera spots. "Is it new? Do you game on it, or is it just for calls? I can teach you how to use one!" He's glad at the possibility of helping guide her again.

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh, game?" Game isn't a verb, right? Sekhmet is confused. "I, uh, just use it to ring people." She just keeps being confused with the pointing at the dark circle on it. "It's so tiny, how could you fit a camera in it?"

[Lord Magtok]

MAG-COM: TERROR FROM THE DEEP

At long last, the Janus Engine arrives at its destination. Emerging from the ocean's depths, where Magtok had concealed a telewarp platform, a giant mechanical Magtok strides out of the benthopelagic waters and towards the shoreline, gradually coming into view as first a head and shoulder, then torso, then equally colossal legs rise out of the waters. A single clone seated at the helm within his own replica's head yawns, just awakening from a nap. The long trek out of the sea had been almost entirely on autopilot, but now that the mech has risen from the blue, he's alert and ready to spread chaos and havoc on these innocent shores. He clears his throat and reaches for the button for the intercom system, ready to make the speech that will take him out of this dull and dreary retirement and back into the spectacular spotlight he so rightly deserves.

"Attention, people of Bayside! This is Magtok, your new lord and master speaking! Bayside, heretofore renamed as Magside, is now under my control! Please inform your previous system of government that it has two hours to renounce and relinquish their offices and/or thrones, as I will not be needing their services. Also, bear in mind that resistance is both foolish and futile, and will be met with swift and terrible destruction. Remain calm and continue to go about your meaningless peasant lives, thank you," the Janus Engine's loudspeakers shout, booming across the docks and beaches and into the civilization beyond. The giant mecha continues to stride towards the city, its weapon systems gleaming in the sun, still soaked in seawater from their long voyage to Bayside's shoreline.

"Okay, that shouldn't take too long to take effect," Magtok mutters to himself, slouching in his fancy gamer chair mech pilot throne and chowing down on a plate of nachos. The government should be rallying its forces or calling in VIGIL or alerting some local superhero soon, right? They wouldn't be boring enough to just surrender without a fight, right? Gods, Magtok sure hopes not.

[Reinholdt]

[Believe in the Clicks that Believe in You]

Upon one of those beaches is a catgirl in a flame top bikini, exceptionally short shorts, and white boots. Her ears and tail are dyed red to match her long red wig. She even goes so far as to wear yellow contact lenses. And she WAS posing in a variety of stances with a sniper rifle for the camera crew. She had worked with them before on many shoots and trusted them to get her good side. Uploading professional photos to her cosplay website made such a substantial difference from those early years where everything was a little shaky and a little blurry and a little less realistic.

So it's a little rude for a giant robot to show up and ruin the mood. Or wait. Was this not a perfect opportunity as well?

Putting the red tip back on the end of the sniper rifle so no one mistakes it for a real weapon, Rachel hoists it up and approaches the Janus Engine from the side, slightly awed. She yells up at it. Well, yell is a strong word. But she does use a louder than normal voice. "Excuse me. Do you want to do a few shots? You know. Like a collab? I think it'd be pretty great, draw in a lot of views."

"Oh. Oh and also, I'm pretty sure this place already has a ruthless tyrant ruler so maybe... I dunno. Don't? It'd be kind of rude to take a city like this, don't you think?"

Hopefully the robot can hear her.

[Lord Magtok]

Pierce the Shoreline With Your Drill!

The giant robot looks down on Rachel from up above, as Magtok sets his nachos aside and hurriedly adjusts the audio settings, to try to determine exactly what sort of snappy comeback or witty repartee would be appropriate here. It'll take a moment to replay everything she just said, but one thing is clear: obviously that's some action hero down below threatening to take us down, with a superpowered energy rifle to match. Of course she is, just listen to how she threatens to take us down in the name of justice. Here, I'll play the clip for you:

"Excuse me. Do you want to do a few shots? You know. Like a collab? I think it'd be pretty great, draw in a lot of views."

"Oh. Oh and also, I'm pretty sure this place already has a ruthless tyrant ruler so maybe... I dunno. Don't? It'd be kind of rude to take a city like this, don't you think?"

...or not? Crap, that's a real disappointment. What the hell is she even talking about? Some sort of publicity stunt? Pictures for some kind of photo shoot? Is that gun she's carrying even real? Magtok sighs in disappointment, dusts some crumbs off his purple anime mecha pilot suit, and strides out of the side of the mecha's head with a megaphone in hand.

"Rudeness is not a concern when expanding the MagCorp's holdings, miss-" Magtok stops himself mid-sentence, lowering the megaphone to peering intently at the catgirl down below, zooming in with his prosthetic eye. A catgirl with a sniper rifle, what are the odds? No really, how bizarrely coincidental is that? Red hair, though, not blue. It might just be dyed for the cosplay, though. Not that finding this out should change anything, though I mean, even if her hair is blue, should we really take a gamble obliterating some random civilian just because they might have something to do with that cat?

[Reinholdt]

[Who the Hell Do You Think She Is?]

"Rachel." The catgirl calls back. Oh, he came out. See, he is interested in a photoshoot!

"Rachel Melodia Vulpan. You might have seen some of my work! Sailor Mercury. 80s pun Catra. Kyoko Kirigiri. Bowsette. Your giant robot would really make this Yoko pop, grab attention, you know what I'm saying? It's really quite perfect. I'll include your name and give you ten percent of the direct ad revenue." Really, can you get better than a giant robot as a backdrop with this cosplay? Rachel thinks not! The beautiful catgirl rocks on her heels and offers her best 'please' look.

[Lord Magtok]

A Cruel Cyborg's Thesis

Her last name is Vulpan...but she's very clearly a cat. Not just cosplaying a cat either, because the character she's portraying doesn't have those ears or that tail. Rachel is clearly, indisputably a catgirl, not a foxgirl. That's...is this some sort of elaborate prank? Did HALO's former commander know he was going to be here before Magtok himself knew, and placed one of his children here to defend the city with trickery and nonsense? Magtok's brow furrows in thought, as he reconsiders the 'shoot first, ask questions later' stratagem he'd been contemplating a post ago.

"Vulpan? Do you have family in or associated with HALO?" he asks, before looking off into the horizon. He should really step inside before someone tries to murder him. It's only a matter of time before this cosplayer distraction gets him shot by a real sniper, right?

[Purple Eagle]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh, game?" Game isn't a verb, right? Sekhmet is confused. "I, uh, just use it to ring people." She just keeps being confused with the pointing at the dark circle on it. "It's so tiny, how could you fit a camera in it?"

[Silver Sand Stretch]

"Game, you know, play games on it."

It suddenly occurs to Zabb that his first demon friend might be from a different time. "Technology advancements have made it possible. It has a camera you access through the phone screen. It can't only call, but text... watch videos, look at cat pictures..." He counts off on his fingers. "... or even take pictures and videos! When did you get the phone?"

[Reinholdt]

[Is Powerlessness a Crime?]

Huh? What's HALO got to do with anything? Rachel doesn't understand where this line of questioning is coming from.

Maybe this cyborg didn't have good business sense. Gotta take advantage of those photo ops!

"What? Uhh... No. Not yet." It would be a bit of a faux pas if Rachel used her knowledge of the future to answer the question. Leah and Rebekah keep harping on about that. "Have you considered coming down here so we can stop shouting at each other?" Rachel's too soft spoken to begin with.

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh, it was given to me after I, uh, moved to GLoG, uh, two and a half years ago?" That's a long time. "All I ever do is ring people and send letters. Why would I, uh, need it to do more?" Why would she play games on it? That doesn't seem very useful. She can play games without it, and she won't have to squint at the tiny pictures.

[Purple Eagle]

[Silver Sand Stretch]

'Ring people'? 'Send letters'? Her word choice is a dead giveaway that she's unfamiliar with the item she's currently holding in her hands. "If that's all you need, then that's all you need, but I should tell you that that smartphone in your hands can do a looot more!"

He starts to list off the possible things that can be done with it. "You can take and view pictures, record and watch videos, tell the time, tell the weather, connect to the internet to get information - flawed information, but still - and much more! Liiike say, play games, social media, plan your day, listen to music... and on and on!" He finishes with a flourish, whilst possibly blowing her mind at the sheer information. This little thing, capable of so much?

[Chidi and Olvisin's Fun Night]

Chidi parks outside a seafood bar and restaurant located near the beach. It's a modest little number with a wooden hut decor, mainly serving seafood but also having a number of non-seafood meals.

"We're here, Olvi. I like this place, it's chill like the Black Dragon, see? BDD's not a place to take a lady out on a date, however." He says as he gets out, goes over to her side and opens the door for her.

[bc56]

Silver Sand Stretch

"Uh..." Sekhmet just looks confused. "How?" It doesn't make any sense to her. Even with all the colorful symbols, she doesn't know what any of them mean or do. Prumathe's had to help her use her phone on a few occasions.

[Morty]

[Chidi and Olvisin's Fun Night]

"I do go to the Den pretty often," Olvisin says as she steps out of the car and thanks Chidi with a nod. "It's better to go to somewhere different fro a special occasion. This looks like a nice place."

[Lord Magtok]

Libera Me From This Cosplay Hell

Magtok sighs in exasperation, checking his wrist to see how long he's been here. Another minute or so shouldn't be too catastrophic, right? Worst case scenario, he can always run away and leave the Janus Engine on autopilot, or flee back into the ocean with it. Blegh, but this would be so much simpler if we could simply stick to the plan instead of indulging this random stranger. He quietly curses his own curiosity and inability to just murder a catgirl without provocation, before taking a running leap down the length of the mecha's arm. Once he's landed in the palm of its hand, he sends wireless command to have it kneel and present the cyborg before Rachel, like a giant offering the cyborg as a vast, incomprehensible mechanical god's gift to Nexuskind.

"Fine, fine, I'm here now. How long do you think this would take?" Mag frowns, still waiting for karma to spring like a bear trap around his ankles.

[Reinholdt]

[Kick Reason to the Curb]

"Umm... shouldn't take much longer than half an hour," Rachel predicts, glancing back at the camera crew, who are kind of scrambling to figure out what angle these shots are going to have to be taken at and repositioning the cameras.

The beautiful catgirl clasps her hands together. "So you're in then? We should start with one with your fist on the beach like so, as if you just slammed it, with me dodging out of the way and 'firing' back." She indicates her now even more obvious fake rifle. "Maybe a few standard poses where you look menacing and I look sexy. Then we can possibly cap it off with a fake capture shot, me in your grasp. Any others we should do?"