Seaside 6: Six at the Beach

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

Codebreaker is more or less where he was before, standing staring at his watch. He was fairly sure six and a half minutes would be enough time to see if she would need his help and look, there she is.
Gosh she’s weird. But he can’t really say that to anyone’s face, can he?
”Yo, what’s up?” he asks, trying to look casual.

[bc56]

Octahedron

"There's a, uh, thing in there that, uh, needs two people." Selekhael counts as a person, right? "I'll, uh, try to explain on the way. Just, uh, watch your step. It's dark in there."

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

That isn’t really much of an explanation but he supposes the place is weird enough to make those hard. He cautiously follows the Lion-monster. He will be putting his hands out in the hallway because wow she was not kidding about being dark. But his enhanced senses should keep him from smashing face first into something.

[Vahnavoi]

As long as Codebreaker keeps a hand on a wall, he'll be fine. If his hearing is good, he might be able to follow the shape of the interior by ear - the walls reflect no light, but they do reflect sound. Tapping the wall as they go or listening for echoes of their footsteps could serve to keep track of their location.

Not that the return trip is hard - just two stretches of tunnel and across a room. A light can be seen coming from their destination. But when they get inside the control room, it has changed. The chair and the floating slate are the same, but the material of the walls is different. It's now made of some grey, spongy matter, with pulsing blue veins intertwined in its structure. On the wall the chair is facing, there are two large, circular windows or screens. They seem to be displaying video from the room they're in - a longer look will reveal they in fact display the room from Codebreaker's point of view.

[bc56]

Octahedron

"So, uh, there's this chair. And it needs someone to sit in it. But, uh, I can't use it like this. I, uh, either need to get human-shaped, or, uh, someone else has to sit in the chair. I, uh, don't know what it's for, but, uh, whatever runs this place thinks it's, uh, important."
Then Selekhael and Codebreaker actually reach the room. That's weird. Are they inside a sponge now?
"Oh, that's weird. It was all mirrors last time I was here. And that panel was dark." She points to the chair. "Someone has to sit in the chair and get injected with that stuff. So, uh, either you have to sit in the chair, or, uh, you have to help me turn human again so I can do it." Also having someone here to stop anything bad from happening to whoever is in the chair is probably a good thing.

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

Codebreaker looks blankly between the Gieger room and Selekhael.
”Or, and I’m just throwing this out there, we could just leave and not inject strange drugs into our brains for absolutely no reason.” he barks. Is this lady nuts?!

[bc56]

Octahedron

"This is important!" Selekhael counters.
Whether or not it's actually important depends on your perspective.
"You don't have to, uh, do it yourself. Just help me turn human despite this place." Codebreaker can probably see the ways she's been forcibly unfolded into her current shape, or at least have some inkling. Maybe he can help, maybe he can't.
Hard to say.

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

Codebreaker does not seem convinced.
"It's important...how, exactly?" he asks, confused. "Besides, I'm not a wizard or whatever the heck you are. I do not have control over your shapeshifting." He can see the folds, sure. But that doesn't really mean anything in terms of practical application.

[bc56]

Octahedron

"I'm an angel." Selekhael adds, matter-of-factly. "I don't know what you can do? I just need to get around this aura that's keeping me in my true form." Hard to say if that makes any sense to Codebreaker, but it makes sense to Selekhael when she says it.

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

"At the moment I'm a guy with a gun who's good at noticing things." he says matter-of-factly. The trip here has made it abundantly clear that he's not cut out for any of this sort of thing anymore. At least until he does quite a lot of working out. "You're better off asking this place than me for that."

[Vahnavoi]

As the two discuss, there's a slight ping. It's coming from the floating black slate. If either look, the glyphs have changed again. They show Codebreaker sitting in a chair with a syringe in his head, with a... cone of light? A cone of some sort projecting out of his eyes. This cone terminates in a circle... representation of a spotlight? Selekhael is drawn inside that circle, changing from her angelic form to a human and back again in a short loop. Next to this series is Codebreaker, stabbing the syringe in his head while giving a thumbs up.

[bc56]

Octahedron

Selekhael looks at the glyphs. "Uh, it looks like if you got in the chair, you could make it so I could change. But, uh, then I wouldn't need to change because someone would be in the chair. Uh..." She's not sure what Codebreaker's thoughts on this are. She's pretty confident he'll refuse. He seems too sane.

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

Codebreaker squints. "Yeah, I think I'm good." he says and begins tottering back to the entrance so he can exit this madhouse.
What a bunch of weirdos.

[bc56]

Octahedron

Selekhael protests. "Wait! I need to do this!" She doesn't want to have to cancel this quest because of uncooperative critters. She could use her powers to make him help her. But that seems mean. Instead, she resorts to a different strategy. She begs.
"Please, you have to help me!"

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

"Why?" Codebreaker demands, rounding on her.
"This is the second time you've said that you 'need' to do this, but fifteen minutes ago you didn't know what this place was and said you just had a 'quest' for it."
He has a point, Selekhael. You do sound pretty nuts.

[Vahnavoi]

As Codebreaker is moving past the pillar, the pillars alight with large blue glyphs. They depict the young woman with reindeer horns talking to something... well. Let's call it a giant elk. For now. Looking at it too closely would reveal many uncomfortable details. Such that its flesh seems to be rotting and falling off its body. And that its intertwined with tree branches, to the point it's hard to tell where the animal ends and plant begins.

In the glyphs, they seem to be conversing.

"Consider it done", the elk seems to be saying. The text floats next to it, so it seems a fair guess. "I fear it will not be a permanent solution, but it's done."

"Why wouldn't that be permanent?", the woman seems to reply. "Because someone else stuck in here might open it again?"

"Your guess as to why closing this place wouldn't be permanent is correct", the text next to the elk continues. "Like I said, I am just a shadow on a wall. I cannot overcome a Lantern, and at least one of them is lit up. If there is someone, anyone inside still capable of reaching it, they can eventually undo your work. But it was worth a shot."

[bc56]

Octahedron

"It's, uh, an angel thing. I don't know what needs to be done until I'm doing it." Selekhael spots the glyphs depicting... Something. But they make sense to her. "See? This place wasn't sealed properly. In order to seal it, we need to put out the lantern. Otherwise, the bad things inside here could, uh, get out." Her quest log has a new update: "Extinguish lantern," with the old bit about using the chair as a subheader.

[Deathkeeper]

Octohedron

”No, what it said was that the place is sealed but the Lantern could unseal it. And I’m also not a magic elk so I can’t seal it properly even if we did that. So naw, I think I’m good. Go call MERC if you want someone suicidal. I’m not jamming mystery liquid into my brain because a picture told me it would work out. A very unflattering picture.” Codebreaker huffs. He continues his trip to the exit.

[Purple Eagle]

[First Date Night]

Olvisin takes a closer look at Dr. Tanaka. She certainly looks impressive and from what Chidi is saying, is otherwise impressive too.

"Good to know I'll be in good hands, then. And her eyes... both of them seem to be cybernetic," she points out.

[First Date Night]

"Yes, good catch there Olvi!" Chidi grins cheekily, but it's all in good fun. "She can be a bit stuck-up at first glance, see, but I promise she can actually be quite nice. She had to be fully cyberized to save her life after... the accident." He frowns sympathetically, as he recalls how she almost destroyed herself in the process of finding revenge, and all that happened in VIGIL almost a year ago.

"We can go and meet her after we're done with our work, tomorrow. I got the feeling tomorrow's the day we get contacted, see? But first things first: do you dance, by any chance?" It couldn't hurt to have a little dance once they're done with their meal, after all... which they probably soon will be.

[bc56]

Octahedron

"No, what it said was that as long as the lantern was lit, it could unseal it. If we extinguish the lantern, the bad things trapped in here won't ever be able to get out," Selekhael argues. She paws at Codebreaker's back gently. "You're the only one who can do this." If he doesn't, she's going to have to find a way to the Lantern herself, and she's not sure if she can without... Whatever this is.

[Deathkeeper]

Octahedron

"Lady, this whole place will be under water in a day. I'm really not that concerned about things getting out when they're dead from asphyxiation." Not to be confused with asphynxiation, which is what happens if you fail in your mission from a Sphynx of Black Quartz.
"Listen, if you want to look around the place I'll be more than happy to try other rooms, but there ain't nothin' you can say to get me to take unidentified drugs that require heavy straps. I ain't about that."

[Rebonack]

[Octahedron]

A weird furry arctic crab is crawling around on top of the octahedron.

Technically it isn't a crab.

Or, at least, not a TRUE crab.

But that's kind of like crab gatekeeping, right? Telling crustaceans whether or not they're a real crab?

Why can't arthropods just undergo carcinization in peace?

Why do humans have to go and scrutinize them for their multi-generational life choices?

Can't we just get along and evolve to crab?

The furry crab is completely irrelevant to everything going on within the mysterious alien structure.

[Morty]

[First Date Night]

An accident? Must have been something serious if she had to become entirely cybernetic. This looks like something Olvisin shouldn't pry into. Better to focus on something else.

"I dance a little." She smiles. "I'm not too good at it, but I don't let it stop me. Our dances might be a bit more energetic than what you're used to, though."

[bc56]

Octahedron

Selekhael sighs. "How do you know whatever's in here needs to breathe? Or can't breathe water? Fine. We can try to go to the lantern without... This... But don't say I didn't warn you." She looks back to the wall. Does it have any input on how to reach the lantern? It's been helpful so far.

[Vahnavoi]

A series of new glyphs appear - arrows - pointing towards another circle that has appeared on the wall left of the entrance - right when looking from the control room. Codebreaker and Selekhael can feel a change in air currents, indicating that a new tunnel has opened. Two symbols appear above the new path: a triangle with an exclamation mark inside, once again, and a dot with six sectors radiating from it, every other sector bright blue.

[Deathkeeper]

Octahedron

"If the person with the magic elk couldn't fix that problem, I'm not qualified." He totters around towards the symbol with the dots. He's getting worked up from this argument and he's already starting to feel a little tired from walking around so much. Curse Codebreaker's lack of endurance. It's going to take years to get back to what he was at weeks ago.

[bc56]

Octahedron

"You, uh, don't have an elk," Selekhael puts a paw on Codebreaker's shoulder, "But, uh, you have a lion." She calls upon the sphere of Growth, pushing some of her energy into Codebreaker, refilling his depleted reserves. Once that's done, she'll pad towards the newly opened entrance. "Coming?"

[Gnrlshrimp]

Follow your Nose

”Oh, because all my stuff is here. I was out doing important cleric business. Secret spirit stuff, but not anything I’d willingly move somewhere else for.” Codebreaker answers casually even though that barely answers anything at all.
He pulls into the driveway of a huge white home with a gate. For whatever reason he doesn’t bother putting the car into the garage.
”Oh. I hadn’t really thought about getting them from here to there. I don’t ah, suppose a strong guy like you could help me with them?”
He’s probably playing Atreyu into doing the heavy lifting but he did offer to do so earlier…

[Follow your Nose]

"It'd be my pleasure." Atreyu steps out of the car, then pauses and glances back at the seat. "Ah- hope y'don't mind. The whole outfit ain't proofed against shapeshifting. The, uh, essentials are, but-" He waves a hand, as if the rest is self-explanatory.

In short order, hat, trenchcoat, shirt, vest, and boots are removed and put in a neat pile (with the boots on top, naturally. Wouldn't want to get dirt on anything!). And then Atreyu steps back and shifts, and growls, and grows. Eyes brighten, hair turns to thick fuzzy fur, nails become claws, and within moments the previously relatively well-dressed but slightly scruffy man is replaced with a big silver-furred werewolf.

"Alright. Load me up." He says with a chuckle, ready to carry all those groceries in one go.

[Deathkeeper]

Follow Your Nose

Codebreaker blinks in surprise. He’s never seen a werewolf transform. And he also just wasn’t sure why exactly he needed it. Either way it’s practical, he supposed?
Wow that’s a big wolf. Codebreaker wasn’t really expecting to be eye level with his chest. It’s almost comforting. Being tall was a bit of a shock once he started talking to other people. He gingerly places the clothes pile on the back seat and gives Atreyu all the bags.
It’s a simple trip to the door, unlocking it with a big key and letting the ID system. Once inside they will be in the mud room and the foyer past it which is full of paintings.
”Um. Welcome. Kitchen is straight ahead.”

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Follow Your Nose]

"Hah, yeah, yer reaction says it all, Kid. Definitely not the same as a werewolf if y'ain't used to seeing transformations like this." Atreyu hefts up all the groceries and carries them through as directed. One might almost think he was showing off a little bit.

"Feels nice'n freein' to be like this after a while. Useful to have the arms to carry more too. Ah, if it makes ya feel uncomfortable, I can shift back once I've got 'em all set down though. Reckon not every fella wants a big wolf walking around his house." It's a little too easy to forget sometimes that he's no longer in a place where every other person walking down the street is capable of shifting into some other form.

Less crow people too.

As they walk through the foyer, Atreyu casts his gaze over the paintings, letting it linger just slightly on one particular piece that seems to have been taken down recently.

...

"I take it yer fond of art then?" He asks, diplomatically. Although the slightly amused expression on his face ruins the attempt to be polite somewhat. That, and him staring at the piece for a moment or two longer than the rest.