Skyside 7: The Big Pizza in the Sky

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man sighs. "Fine." He walks to the elevator door and pries it open. He descends the shaft to the door of the floor below, then repeats the trick. He spies the interior corridor through a partially open door, to see if anyone's nearby and if any cameras are pointed at his direction, then slips through. He siddles along a wall towards where he estimated the correct room to be, untill he comes within line of sight of the broken door and the staff member fixing it.

If he's still unnoticed by this point, he walks to said staff member and taps them on the shoulder. "Hello, I have some questions. Let's start with... does that collar do anything?"

[Earl of Purple]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

The good news is, Sandals is a good climber. The bad news is, he needs his skills. The elevator shaft does have a ladder, steel rungs bolted to the wall, but... some of the rungs are loose, others are missing, and some are coated in lubricating oil. There's no alarms as he exits the lift shaft, but there's some problems here. There's three doors on the hall, all of them currently closed. The valet is repairing a door inside the suite, not the front door. One of the doors leads to a cleaning cupboard, currently locked from the outside- there's no way to lock it from inside- most notable for the cramped bed where someone has been sleeping. Another leads to a suite labelled as 'Room 401', which isn't the one Hana stayed in. She stayed in the final door, labelled as 'Master's Suite'. Sandals could try knocking, or just break the door down; the valet is in the foyer to the suite, so he should hear someone at the door.

SSGTV Studio

Abbi is next, offering her damaged ankle to the robed figure. "Wound is old. Needs reopening to transfer. Hold still, bite this." The figure produces a leather strap, which Abbi gulps and puts in her mouth, before producing a bronze athame and cutting swiftly across the old surgical scar. Abbi yelps, but the blade's sharp enough it didn't really hurt immediately, and it doesn't bleed- or last- for long before the cut Achilles tendon is transferred to the corpse. Abbi hands the strap back, before looking down at her foot as she moves her ankle, smiling. "Mind the tail. Only transfer injuries to anatomy." So if Abbi's injured on the tail, she'll have to wait for it to heal naturally.

The dwarf is healed next; then it's time to go to get changed in the clothing department ready for their first match. Inside, it's full of clothing, all sizes and styles, but... all of it is rather skimpy. There's sports bras, literal chainmail bikinis, hotpants, and so on. There's some actual armour, too, but not much- sportswear mostly, shinpads, arm-guards and bracers, metal, leather or hard plastic.

SIN HQ

Magoo smiles rather nervously, but clasps the handcuffs about her wrists. Her tail twitches nervously, but she'll follow him and Wallowglum.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Of course some complication would arise. The bandaged man looks back and forth between the suite front doors. He has no trouble figuring out which is the right suite, but the "Master's suite" catches his attention. If any kind of a master happens to be present, whatever the bandaged man does has a chance of catching their attention. And, given everything about this hotel, the man presumes said master is some kind of a crime boss, so he might gain himself a nasty new enemy.

After a moment of hesitation, he knocks on the door belonging to what used to be Hana's suite.

[Deathkeeper]

Black Abyss Body Shop

This is really stupid.
But Mina can’t deny it sounds at least a little fun.
”Thats heroine, Evil-Doer! Your zombies are nothing in the face of the lightning-fast strikes of justice!
how was that Sai?”

[bc56]

Anri's Library
Eventually, Jason starts to look bored and shuts the book. He turns to Anri. "Mind if I ask a bit of a personal question?" Uh oh. "Were you always a djinni?" He pauses. "Sorry if it's too much. It's just, this place does weird things, and my sister, well, she... Nevermind. I'm just curious."

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

The music scratches to a halt as the Empress stops her descent with just her head poking up. The mecha-zombie stops in place too.

"Ok. Wait. Really, are there one of you or two of you? Cause I'm only seeing one here." Raven Ebondark's gaze sweeps left and right, looking for this unknown second person who keeps shouting in addition to Mina. It's not very successful attempt at peering past the veil of secrecy to discover the truth of this duo.

"If you're trying to cheat with someone invisible, I'll have you know it won't work on my mecha-zombies." Except they haven't found a second culprit either so maybe it does work on them. Which is an uncomfortable thought.

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

Ilpholin isn't so attached to her vehicle that she panics when Anika tosses it in the air. But she does watch it rise and fall with morbid curiosity. Oh, ok, Anika intended to catch it and carry it in her mouth like a-

Wha...what?

The nymph isn't surprised by much, but she blinks slowly at the saber. "Did you just..."

Anika swallowed Ilpholin's motorcycle. That can't be healthy. She bites her lip, not even remotely sure how to handle the situation. Well she certainly can't call upon the motorcycle to home in on her in a pinch now.

"We... should get going." Ilpholin says in a strained voice, climbing upon Anika's back.

[Searching for Truth]

It might not have been the smartest thing Anika have ever done, no.

But there's no time for such considerations right now.

As soon as Ilpholin sits down on Anika's back she starts to move down the side of the field.
But before she can get down much further they can see a section of the field further down below shimmer and disappear.
That Anika takes as her cue and starts to move faster down the field. However, Ilpholin will quickly realize that moving too fast would likely cause them to helplessly tumble off it so she can't move too fast either.

Of course, Anika has a need for speed so as they get closer to the opening it gets all too apparent that they can't slow down. There's next to no friction provided by the field underneath them so its almost as if they're moving on ice.

Thus, unless Ilpholin pulls another trick they will both tumble off the edge and fall into the opening. Anika miraculously managing to land on all her feet and unharmed. The fall distance thankfully not even a fraction of what would have happened if they went of the edge entirely.

Though even if they just survived that fall they are now surrounded by a whole lot of people armed to the teeth. All aiming their various weapons at them.
It looks like security didn't miss that final stunt.

"Who the **** are you?!" A goblin among them calls out.
They have touched down on a well-maintained lawn decorated with various artistically designed outdoor furniture and statues. Small drones occasionally virrs past, preoccupied with either polishing the statues or maintaining the lawn.

[Ironsmith]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

The good news is, Sandals is a good climber. The bad news is, he needs his skills. The elevator shaft does have a ladder, steel rungs bolted to the wall, but... some of the rungs are loose, others are missing, and some are coated in lubricating oil. There's no alarms as he exits the lift shaft, but there's some problems here. There's three doors on the hall, all of them currently closed. The valet is repairing a door inside the suite, not the front door. One of the doors leads to a cleaning cupboard, currently locked from the outside- there's no way to lock it from inside- most notable for the cramped bed where someone has been sleeping. Another leads to a suite labelled as 'Room 401', which isn't the one Hana stayed in. She stayed in the final door, labelled as 'Master's Suite'. Sandals could try knocking, or just break the door down; the valet is in the foyer to the suite, so he should hear someone at the door.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Of course some complication would arise. The bandaged man looks back and forth between the suite front doors. He has no trouble figuring out which is the right suite, but the "Master's suite" catches his attention. If any kind of a master happens to be present, whatever the bandaged man does has a chance of catching their attention. And, given everything about this hotel, the man presumes said master is some kind of a crime boss, so he might gain himself a nasty new enemy.

After a moment of hesitation, he knocks on the door belonging to what used to be Hana's suite.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

For her part, Hazel is eager to get some answers from the servant; maybe he can elaborate on what happened here. It beats playing detective with the random stuff on the floor.

SSGTV Studio

Abbi is next, offering her damaged ankle to the robed figure. "Wound is old. Needs reopening to transfer. Hold still, bite this." The figure produces a leather strap, which Abbi gulps and puts in her mouth, before producing a bronze athame and cutting swiftly across the old surgical scar. Abbi yelps, but the blade's sharp enough it didn't really hurt immediately, and it doesn't bleed- or last- for long before the cut Achilles tendon is transferred to the corpse. Abbi hands the strap back, before looking down at her foot as she moves her ankle, smiling. "Mind the tail. Only transfer injuries to anatomy." So if Abbi's injured on the tail, she'll have to wait for it to heal naturally.

The dwarf is healed next; then it's time to go to get changed in the clothing department ready for their first match. Inside, it's full of clothing, all sizes and styles, but... all of it is rather skimpy. There's sports bras, literal chainmail bikinis, hotpants, and so on. There's some actual armour, too, but not much- sportswear mostly, shinpads, arm-guards and bracers, metal, leather or hard plastic.

[SSGTV Studio]

It's better than nothing. And considering those are Hana's literal options, she'll dress herself up in a chainmail bikini, with shoulder and hip guards for good measure. She'll also grab a set of hand wraps or improvize some from the clothes if there aren't any... she's going to be doing a lot of punching soon.

SIN HQ

Magoo smiles rather nervously, but clasps the handcuffs about her wrists. Her tail twitches nervously, but she'll follow him and Wallowglum.

[SIN HQ]

After proceeding for a while, Klaus will break the awkward silence between the three. "Tell me about yourself, kid." He says to Magoo, in a slightly imperious tone. "What can you tell me about who you are and where you come from?" Not likely much, but Doctor Master might have missed something in wiping her memories.

Black Abyss Body Shop

This is really stupid.
But Mina can’t deny it sounds at least a little fun.
”Thats heroine, Evil-Doer! Your zombies are nothing in the face of the lightning-fast strikes of justice!
how was that Sai?”

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

The music scratches to a halt as the Empress stops her descent with just her head poking up. The mecha-zombie stops in place too.

"Ok. Wait. Really, are there one of you or two of you? Cause I'm only seeing one here." Raven Ebondark's gaze sweeps left and right, looking for this unknown second person who keeps shouting in addition to Mina. It's not very successful attempt at peering past the veil of secrecy to discover the truth of this duo.

"If you're trying to cheat with someone invisible, I'll have you know it won't work on my mecha-zombies." Except they haven't found a second culprit either so maybe it does work on them. Which is an uncomfortable thought.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

"Fantastic! Didn't I tell you it was fun?" Sai chuckles. "Don't mind me! Just your standard sapient-but-inanimate wisecracking sidekick. Talking weapon. It was either that or be a small animal."

[Lord Magtok]

[Aimless Drifting]

Well, anyway. "So, I'm Sirena." She takes a deep breath in, and out. "Since you're not planning on destroying the world, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I was mostly just working on finding food and not getting recaptured, mostly," Tetra admits, a hand rubbing her chin. It never really occurred to her that she could pursue goals more complicated and involved than simply living on the run forever. She was probably too tired from all the running and hiding to come up with such lofty ambitions on her own.

"They called me the Tetragrammatok. Tetra, for short," he answers, before pausing to think about what someone taking advantage of her and using her as a tool to end the world would look like. They'd probably need to dress it up as a more noble thing than murdering everyone. She's naive, but not dumb. She wouldn't just start murdering everything because someone asked her to; all the other people on this world probably have robots they want to fight, food they want to eat, and causes they want to champion too, and it wouldn't be fair to deny them the opportunity. Maybe convince her everyone is secretly miserable and they all want to die, but just don't have the guts to end their suffering themselves? Heavens, what a morbid and terrible thought. Surely no one would ever fall for a ruse like that.

[Deathkeeper]

Black Abyss Body Shop

"For the record, you would have made a wonderful hound, Sai. Or maybe a cat. Hm." she shrugs and looks back up at her opponent.
"So are we good or what?"

LaRouge Library

Anri looks up from her book.
"I was born with this heritage, and it unlocked itself in full thanks to time, magic, and the rather unorthodox process of being cursed and restored. It's a long and annoying story, the details of which are unnecessary. Suffice to say, yes but also no, to your question. I should assume your sister has had Nexus things about her?" she answers.

[bc56]

LaRouge Library
"Yeah, she did. She was human like me, but got turned into some sort of nine-tailed fox. It's weird." The twins have agreed not to talk about the even weirder parts of their origins with outsiders. "She's really turned it around though." Jason shrugs. "Just through the incidents that caused all this nonsense, she's got a ton of friends and romance, and some fancy new tech. Good for her, but..." Jason pauses. "We're business partners, you see, but I feel kind of redundant."

[Earl of Purple]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

There's a brief moment where there's no response from the Master's Suite. Just long enough for Sandals to ponder knocking again, louder, to be sure he was heard. But then the door opens. The servant is a dark olive-skinned man with curly brown hair and dark green eyes, wearing a white low-cut shirt and black trousers, plus a bronze collar. He's got plimsols, though if Hana had walked through the door she'll have noticed he walked with a limp. The letters TWH have been branded onto the back of one of his hands, though it's perhaps hard to spot given the angle. "Aiden's sorry, milord, but this suite has been damaged. It is not ready for guests, but Aiden shall endeavour to ensure it is repaired in time for this evening. If milord would come back then?" He looks down, bowing his head, and doesn't look straight at Sandals.

SSGTV

There are in fact hand-wraps present. Another gladiator is waiting, and will approach Hana when she's finished changing- she's not allowed to keep the large cape she arrived here with. The gladiator is an orc woman wearing a sleeveless gambeson cut to show off her cleavage, with two tusks on the left side of her mouth drawing her face into a snarl. She's got scars on her arms and teardrops tattooed under each eye. "Ready? Foller I, you're up first. The other fish have their own fights t' fight, most of 'em should do good. Akayope's got a good eye. Don't be scared, pick a weapon. Fight's till one of you can't fight no more. You're a fish, your opponent en't. Can't say more'n that, I don't know what ye're up against." The orc opens a door into a room containing weapons, though at the moment there's not many- and none of them look great. "Pick one, you keep it. You win, you get tokens. Get enough tokens, trade 'em in for somethin' better, maybe. Or better clothes, a shield or helmet, or bodywork, or better grub. Your choice. Lose, get no tokens. Lose often enough in a row, you get a deathmatch. Might be a deathmatch you're gettin', you an' a corpse or beast or somethin'. Good luck, fish."

Hana has a choice of weapons. There's a hefty padlock on the end of a chain, a 'machete' made from half a set of garden shears, a belt with two knives sheathed, a baseball bat wrapped in razorwire, a dolomite disc-mace, a basket-hilted sabre with a snapped blade, a blood-spattered claw hammer and a pair of spiked brass knuckles. The padlock has the best reach, the bat looks most threatening, the sword- though it's snapped halfway along- is sharp, as is the shears-machete, the knives are serrated and vicious-looking but maybe not that effective.

SIN HQ

"Um... not much. I was taken from a vat of goo this morning, something thick and slimy. I went in... last night, maybe? I'm not sure, I don't know the date. I climbed in after Miss Kitty took me back to it, I'd come out so Doctor Master could shine blue light in my eyes. I gave Miss Kitty a massage, after, and was given a questionnaire on how to treat cuts, bruises, lacerations and broken bones. They... I think they were happy with my answers? Then Miss Kitty took me back to the vat, told me to get in, so I did. The cat... I saw Fifi, I think. Someone like Fifi, a pretty girl with that patterned hair and a tail. It wasn't as long, I think, maybe it wasn't her. Maybe the glass of the tank or the goo's glow played tricks on my eyes. She was sleeping in the vat next to me. Because she looked peaceful, that convinced me not to fight, and climb in. I don't remember anything else. Miss Kitty drives a tiny car, it's yellow. I don't remember getting in, just having a light shined in my eyes and then being told to get out. I was bought ten minutes later, I think, by this really scary man with a creepy mask and gloves. I don't know where he went." So some new information, at least, although it's perhaps not great to rely on some slaver's idea of 'first aid', a questionnaire and memory-implantation to rely on for nursing.

[Deathkeeper]

LeRouge Library

"Being the less exciting sibling can be hard sometimes. But it's not your fault. There's something to be said for stability. I'm sure me and your sister could both tell you that." Anri assures him with an utterly serious face. She probably would have been happy stopping after the first weird thing.

[bc56]

LeRouge Library
"Sure, sure. I don't want to be turned into who knows what. Neither does she, it just keeps happening," Jason chuckles. "But I'm still jealous anyway. We were always close to equal in everything. Now it feels like she's better in everything..." He laughs. "So here I am spilling my guts to a complete stranger about it.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven Ebondark stares at Mina with narrowed eyes as if trying to decide whether or not she's being lied to. She finally settles on the fact that it might not matter. "Yeah sure whatever," she says waving her hand. The music starts back up, winding up from slow to its normal beat.

It might be just distracting enough that the mecha-zombie's wild haymaker connects with Mina. Boy they're stronger and faster than they look!

Raven takes the opportunity to slip out of sight once more. She's got to hurry to get into position.

[Searching for Truth]

Anika gets to feel what it's like when Ilpholin clings onto her too tightly, hand gripping the saber's fur and knees digging into her side. Hopefully it doesn't hurt too much, but she doesn't relax until they've landed and surrounded. Ah this. This was much safer than letting Anika steer. Lolth help her, she's gotta ride Anika a less often.

Very slowly she'll release the saber and get to her feet, hands always visible at all times. Sure, in doing so, she's exposing a lot of herself to the crowd around them and she starts tossing pheromones around like it's a going out of business sale.

"I'm Bellena, the exotic dancer that Lady Tellysandra ordered. You know, the one you almost left behind. Are you trying to get us both killed?" Bellena hisses out, each word a melody, if sharp and accusing. She shifts her hips considerably to one side as she finally lowers her hands and puts one of them on her hip.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Just as the bandaged man begins to suspect he picked the wrong door after all, the hotel staff member, Aiden, presumably opens up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not here to stay. I just need to know what happened here and where the people who were here before have been taken", he says hastily, peering into the suite. "Oh yeah. Aiden, was it? Does that collar around your neck do anything?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Searching for Truth]

At this statement the guards exchange confused looks and words with one another until one of them, a gnoll, raise their voice. "Oh, she must have been ordered for the party."

There is a general murmur of agreement among them and several 'nobody tells us anything' sentiments as their weapons are lowered.

"Pretty, ah, early aren't you? Still a couple of weeks..." The goblin continues mumbling something that Ilpholin can't quite make up as he approaches them alongside three humans who are giving her more than curious glances. So are the rest of the guards really though some are already returning to carrying duty.

"Anyway, it's not like we're responsible for the transports. We're just security so you have to file a complaint with Skyport if you-" He blinks. "-how'd you get over here anyway? You will still need to turn over the appropriate paperwork regardless of what might have happened y'know? Receipts, screenshots of emails, the stuff they should have given you?"

[Ironsmith]

Black Abyss Body Shop

"For the record, you would have made a wonderful hound, Sai. Or maybe a cat. Hm." she shrugs and looks back up at her opponent.
"So are we good or what?"

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Raven Ebondark stares at Mina with narrowed eyes as if trying to decide whether or not she's being lied to. She finally settles on the fact that it might not matter. "Yeah sure whatever," she says waving her hand. The music starts back up, winding up from slow to its normal beat.

It might be just distracting enough that the mecha-zombie's wild haymaker connects with Mina. Boy they're stronger and faster than they look!

Raven takes the opportunity to slip out of sight once more. She's got to hurry to get into position.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

Sai isn't going to intervene for this first attack. Mina is either going to show she's prepared for it or recieve a quick reminder that she should have been. He thinks she's strong enough that one punch isn't going to give her an insurmountable disadvantage.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

There's a brief moment where there's no response from the Master's Suite. Just long enough for Sandals to ponder knocking again, louder, to be sure he was heard. But then the door opens. The servant is a dark olive-skinned man with curly brown hair and dark green eyes, wearing a white low-cut shirt and black trousers, plus a bronze collar. He's got plimsols, though if Hana had walked through the door she'll have noticed he walked with a limp. The letters TWH have been branded onto the back of one of his hands, though it's perhaps hard to spot given the angle. "Aiden's sorry, milord, but this suite has been damaged. It is not ready for guests, but Aiden shall endeavour to ensure it is repaired in time for this evening. If milord would come back then?" He looks down, bowing his head, and doesn't look straight at Sandals.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Just as the bandaged man begins to suspect he picked the wrong door after all, the hotel staff member, Aiden, presumably opens up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm not here to stay. I just need to know what happened here and where the people who were here before have been taken", he says hastily, peering into the suite. "Oh yeah. Aiden, was it? Does that collar around your neck do anything?"

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

"Seems like ya could save a lotta time by askin' him how dis room got tohn up." Hazel points out. "An' what's wit all dis 'milohd' stuff? Dis is an houhly hotel, not Caesah's Palace. Is 'sah' and 'miss' too tame for dem? Geez."

SSGTV

There are in fact hand-wraps present. Another gladiator is waiting, and will approach Hana when she's finished changing- she's not allowed to keep the large cape she arrived here with. The gladiator is an orc woman wearing a sleeveless gambeson cut to show off her cleavage, with two tusks on the left side of her mouth drawing her face into a snarl. She's got scars on her arms and teardrops tattooed under each eye. "Ready? Foller I, you're up first. The other fish have their own fights t' fight, most of 'em should do good. Akayope's got a good eye. Don't be scared, pick a weapon. Fight's till one of you can't fight no more. You're a fish, your opponent en't. Can't say more'n that, I don't know what ye're up against." The orc opens a door into a room containing weapons, though at the moment there's not many- and none of them look great. "Pick one, you keep it. You win, you get tokens. Get enough tokens, trade 'em in for somethin' better, maybe. Or better clothes, a shield or helmet, or bodywork, or better grub. Your choice. Lose, get no tokens. Lose often enough in a row, you get a deathmatch. Might be a deathmatch you're gettin', you an' a corpse or beast or somethin'. Good luck, fish."

Hana has a choice of weapons. There's a hefty padlock on the end of a chain, a 'machete' made from half a set of garden shears, a belt with two knives sheathed, a baseball bat wrapped in razorwire, a dolomite disc-mace, a basket-hilted sabre with a snapped blade, a blood-spattered claw hammer and a pair of spiked brass knuckles. The padlock has the best reach, the bat looks most threatening, the sword- though it's snapped halfway along- is sharp, as is the shears-machete, the knives are serrated and vicious-looking but maybe not that effective.

[SSGTV]

Hana looks over her options, trying to figure out what option would work best for her. She dismisses the brass knuckles almost immediately; she needs something with reach, since her opponent is likely going to be someone bigger than her. The knives have a similar problem, in addition to be looking more like they're meant to cut wood or bread than people. The machete's a maybe, but might be a bit too short and seems unwieldy besides. The chain and padlock and the mace would both be fine options if she had more upper body strength, but as it is, they're a little heavy for her. That leaves the bat as her best choice... which is hardly surprising, since it's already a proper weapon even without the razor wire.

She grabs the bat and steps out to see her opponent.

SIN HQ

"Um... not much. I was taken from a vat of goo this morning, something thick and slimy. I went in... last night, maybe? I'm not sure, I don't know the date. I climbed in after Miss Kitty took me back to it, I'd come out so Doctor Master could shine blue light in my eyes. I gave Miss Kitty a massage, after, and was given a questionnaire on how to treat cuts, bruises, lacerations and broken bones. They... I think they were happy with my answers? Then Miss Kitty took me back to the vat, told me to get in, so I did. The cat... I saw Fifi, I think. Someone like Fifi, a pretty girl with that patterned hair and a tail. It wasn't as long, I think, maybe it wasn't her. Maybe the glass of the tank or the goo's glow played tricks on my eyes. She was sleeping in the vat next to me. Because she looked peaceful, that convinced me not to fight, and climb in. I don't remember anything else. Miss Kitty drives a tiny car, it's yellow. I don't remember getting in, just having a light shined in my eyes and then being told to get out. I was bought ten minutes later, I think, by this really scary man with a creepy mask and gloves. I don't know where he went." So some new information, at least, although it's perhaps not great to rely on some slaver's idea of 'first aid', a questionnaire and memory-implantation to rely on for nursing.

[SIN HQ]

It's still more "medical training" than most of his minions have.

"Witness Korvin." Klaus elaborates. "One of the Guild's newer enforcers. I wouldn't worry too much about him; our preliminary intelligence suggests he's an idiot. As long as you keep out of grabbing range from him, you should be fine." He gives Magoo a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Once we get to the safehouse, you'll be free to go. Do you have any idea what you want to do now that you're no longer a slave?"

It's a deliberately overwhelming question. By Magoo's account, she has no context for being anything else; he's counting on her not knowing what she wants so he can make some persuasive suggestions, joining his motley crew being foremost among them.

[Deathkeeper]

Black Abyss Body Shop

Mina might have been distracted from the zombie had it not been slowly approaching her for about three posts two minutes and absolutely stank to high heaven. Minotaurs might not have werewolves' famous canid senses of smell, but they still have giant noses that function quite well. And even her tiny human nose would have been befouled by the oil and decay of the catgirl's minions.
What is far more surprising is the alacrity with which she steps back. Huh. Maybe in this version Sai did get some drills in before that heart attack.
And maybe he had some for punching too, because despite not being in her proper stance she finds herself shifting into it automatically as she winds up and attempts to deck the zombie in the face herself. Mina might be playing superhero but she wouldn't need powers to inflict some serious damage with arms that big.

[Earl of Purple]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

"Aiden apologises, sir, but if you are not staying Aiden is not allowed to speak to you." The valet then tries to shut the door, though Sandals could easily stop him by putting his foot in it or something.

Hazel does not know this, but the Master's Suite is not offered at hourly rates, only weekly ones.

SSG TV

The orc seems to approve of Hana's choice, and opens the door. Beyond, after a short passageway, it opens out into a rather large arena. It's big enough to maybe double as a basketball court, though it's square not rectangular and there's no sign of the hoops. The floor is bare concrete, occasionally stained with old blood and other substances, and there's cameras hanging from wires over head and more built into the walls. The walls are slightly sloped, and after Hana enters the arena the door slides shut behind her and it's very hard to see where it was. Hana is the first to enter, but another door opens up opposite and her opponent strides out. They're tall, and male, wearing a pair of jeans ripped at the knees and hefty boots. His torso is muscular and scarred, and a bushy red tail swipes the air behind him. His red hair contrasts with his skin, which is too dark for natural redheads, and there's a pair of pointed ears sticking from his head. The foxman grins when he sees Hana, and hefts his own weapon- a sledgehammer. He'll charge in and roar, swinging his cumbersome weapon at Hana.

SIN HQ

"Um... I don't know. I'd like to know who I was. I don't think I'm a clone. Clones don't bite their nails." Or they might, but they wouldn't have bitten fingernails in their earliest memories. Unfortunately, there's no real way of knowing if that information was ever actually shared anywhere. Klaus doesn't know what Doctor Master's memory tech is capable of, I think, and he might have a clue about how it works but no real way of determining it. "That man might be an idiot, but he's still scary. I think... I think I'll help you. Don't have anything else to do."

[Deathkeeper]

LeRouge Library
"Sure, sure. I don't want to be turned into who knows what. Neither does she, it just keeps happening," Jason chuckles. "But I'm still jealous anyway. We were always close to equal in everything. Now it feels like she's better in everything..." He laughs. "So here I am spilling my guts to a complete stranger about it.

LaRouge Library

Anri shakes her head.
"Well, if you wanted I could do something to you with a wish but it sounds like you don't. So you have to decide what's more important: your identity or the sense of inadequacy. I'd suggest not resorting to magic. It's messy business." she promises him.

[bc56]

LaRouge Library
"You're right about that. Unless you could somehow use a wish to fix my problems in a mundane way, I'd rather not. Probably even if you could." Jason shrugs. "It feels wrong. If I didn't solve them myself, but used magic, not even my own magic (not that I have any) to fix it." It feels like cheating.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

The mechazombie draws up its arms in a cross guard, protecting its face, though it still gets hit and there's a crunch in the metal (mind the sharp bits!!) as a large dent forms in that arm. The mechazombie slides backwards a considerable distance and when the arms lower, it looks like that left arm is dangling decidedly incorrectly.

But that's ok, because now he's with his two friends, mechazombie 2 and mechazombie 3. They can go in together, splitting into a near pincer triangle attack. Everybody knows triangle attacks are always crits. And all three are diving to bite into the minotaur's juicy steak laced flesh. OMNOM!

[Searching for Truth]

Bellena focuses her attention her attention on the goblin who is asking all the questions, leaning forward just enough to keep her cleavage tight and visible. Though it helps that she actively motions to the entirety of her body. "I jumped. It was scary as all hell," Hopefully the goblin will chalk this up to the Nexus because... well it wouldn't be particularly wrong actually. Still her hands trace her skin and the minimal amount of clothing covering it to point out the lack of a place to hold stuff. "Do I look like I have papers on me? Look, I was sent by Juril to make sure that I'm acceptable for what the Lady Tellysandra needs. Otherwise Juril's got to pick another girl to use and I'm out a gig and a paycheck. So this is like... the pre-interview? I don't know. He was supposed to handle all that. I was just told to show up, look pretty, and dance my heart out." Bellena moves her hand to atop Anika's head and starts petting it as if to remind the goblin that she is wonderful to look at, but she also has a pet that could eat him at any moment. She also feels bad about throwing the romulan she just met under the bus, but it probably will never get back to him.

Probably.

"Do you want a... demonstration?" Bellena asks, clearly not adverse to dancing for this goblin as she smiles sensuously.

[Vahnavoi]

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man jams his boot between the door and the doorframe, then grabs the door's edge and wedges himself into the doorway, preventing any reasonable effort from closing it. "Hold on a sec... Aiden, was it?", the man says. "If you don't tell me who made this mess, I might have to make a mess myself. Well, I might have to make a mess regardless. How should I put this... you aren't going to avoid any trouble by not talking to me. But if you talk to me, you can at least direct the trouble a little bit. Understood?" The man knows it's a long shot, he has no clue how loyal or psychologically broken the people working here are. The valet might fear his masters a lot more than some random stranger. The valet mighy genuinely like working here. There's better than even chance that this ends up with the bandaged man having to deal with hotel security.

So please, Aiden. Please be the guy who hates his job and hates his boss.

[Ironsmith]

Black Abyss Body Shop

Mina might have been distracted from the zombie had it not been slowly approaching her for about three posts two minutes and absolutely stank to high heaven. Minotaurs might not have werewolves' famous canid senses of smell, but they still have giant noses that function quite well. And even her tiny human nose would have been befouled by the oil and decay of the catgirl's minions.
What is far more surprising is the alacrity with which she steps back. Huh. Maybe in this version Sai did get some drills in before that heart attack.
And maybe he had some for punching too, because despite not being in her proper stance she finds herself shifting into it automatically as she winds up and attempts to deck the zombie in the face herself. Mina might be playing superhero but she wouldn't need powers to inflict some serious damage with arms that big.

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

The mechazombie draws up its arms in a cross guard, protecting its face, though it still gets hit and there's a crunch in the metal (mind the sharp bits!!) as a large dent forms in that arm. The mechazombie slides backwards a considerable distance and when the arms lower, it looks like that left arm is dangling decidedly incorrectly.

But that's ok, because now he's with his two friends, mechazombie 2 and mechazombie 3. They can go in together, splitting into a near pincer triangle attack. Everybody knows triangle attacks are always crits. And all three are diving to bite into the minotaur's juicy steak laced flesh. OMNOM!

[Black Abyss Body Shop]

This is when Sai chooses to intervene. When the zombies lunge at Mina, he'll create a strong forward draft for her, giving her both a very visceral hint to jump into the zombie in front of her and the means to do it quickly. They have a numeral advantage; better to take out one of them as quickly as possible, then worry about recovery. Otherwise she's going to get overwhelmed.

Trust-Worthy Hotel

"Aiden apologises, sir, but if you are not staying Aiden is not allowed to speak to you." The valet then tries to shut the door, though Sandals could easily stop him by putting his foot in it or something.

Hazel does not know this, but the Master's Suite is not offered at hourly rates, only weekly ones.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

The bandaged man jams his boot between the door and the doorframe, then grabs the door's edge and wedges himself into the doorway, preventing any reasonable effort from closing it. "Hold on a sec... Aiden, was it?", the man says. "If you don't tell me who made this mess, I might have to make a mess myself. Well, I might have to make a mess regardless. How should I put this... you aren't going to avoid any trouble by not talking to me. But if you talk to me, you can at least direct the trouble a little bit. Understood?" The man knows it's a long shot, he has no clue how loyal or psychologically broken the people working here are. The valet might fear his masters a lot more than some random stranger. The valet mighy genuinely like working here. There's better than even chance that this ends up with the bandaged man having to deal with hotel security.

So please, Aiden. Please be the guy who hates his job and hates his boss.

[Trust-Worthy Hotel]

Hazel steps past Aiden and Sandels and into the room itself, stepping just behind the manservant. She had a feeling this guy wasn't going to take the threat seriously if Sandels didn't back it up; these people probably got crap from guests all the time. When Sandels gets to the part about making a mess of his own, Hazel runs a finger up the man's back, in what she's hoping will produce that supernatural "chill up the spine" she's heard in so many ghost stories. With any luck, that'll give him some amount of credibility as someone to not be trifled with.

SSG TV

The orc seems to approve of Hana's choice, and opens the door. Beyond, after a short passageway, it opens out into a rather large arena. It's big enough to maybe double as a basketball court, though it's square not rectangular and there's no sign of the hoops. The floor is bare concrete, occasionally stained with old blood and other substances, and there's cameras hanging from wires over head and more built into the walls. The walls are slightly sloped, and after Hana enters the arena the door slides shut behind her and it's very hard to see where it was. Hana is the first to enter, but another door opens up opposite and her opponent strides out. They're tall, and male, wearing a pair of jeans ripped at the knees and hefty boots. His torso is muscular and scarred, and a bushy red tail swipes the air behind him. His red hair contrasts with his skin, which is too dark for natural redheads, and there's a pair of pointed ears sticking from his head. The foxman grins when he sees Hana, and hefts his own weapon- a sledgehammer. He'll charge in and roar, swinging his cumbersome weapon at Hana.

[SSG TV]

Hana's eyes widen as the fox man charges. She'd expected something to signal the match had started; a bell or a siren or a gunshot or something. But no, this guy's going to go straight into trying to smash her skull in.

Fortunately, Hana's quick on her feet. When the hammer comes down, she'll duck under it and move to the side, keeping her own weapon lowered. She's not going for a counterattack yet; she wants a better idea of how this brute fights so she can be sure she's not going to get mashed into glue if she mistimes her advance.

SIN HQ

"Um... I don't know. I'd like to know who I was. I don't think I'm a clone. Clones don't bite their nails." Or they might, but they wouldn't have bitten fingernails in their earliest memories. Unfortunately, there's no real way of knowing if that information was ever actually shared anywhere. Klaus doesn't know what Doctor Master's memory tech is capable of, I think, and he might have a clue about how it works but no real way of determining it. "That man might be an idiot, but he's still scary. I think... I think I'll help you. Don't have anything else to do."

[SIN HQ]

"Fantastic. Welcome aboard." Klaus congratulates her, giving her a little pat on the shoulder.

He'll lead her and Wallowglum to an aging white house near the outskirts of Skyside. True to his word, it's been totally abandoned, with the only hints of life being the dead wasps littering the path up to the door. There are still nests everywhere; he hasn't had time to take them down. But it's roomier than the bus, and a little further out of the Guild's way to boot.

[Earl of Purple]

Trust-Worthy Hotel

Aiden gulps and throws his hands up as Sandals forces his way into the Master's Suite, and shudders as well when Hana's finger runs down his spine. He's close to wetting himself, he's that scared- of Sandals, and of the consequences of helping him. "Aiden doesn't know! Aiden's a valet, nobody talks to the valets unless they want something! Same with maids. Aiden doesn't know anything about any guests, not when he's doing maintenance. Go threaten the receptionists, scare them. Aiden can't help you, Aiden is valet." He's quite emphatic that he can't help, and is close to crying.

SSGTV

He's not swinging at her head, he doesn't get as many tokens if he kills his opponent- though nobody's told Hana that yet, just that the fights go on until 'somebody can't fight any more'.

He smiles as Hana dodges out of the way, and takes her hesitancy to attack back as a sign that she's not happy with this and too scared to fight back. He growls and lashes out again, aiming low to hit her in the legs. If she dodges back, he'll step forward and swing again. The hammer is heavy, and there's not a lot he can do whilst he recovers from a miss, but he's trying to get her up against a wall where she won't be able to dodge simply by stepping backwards.

SIN HQ

If any of the others arrived first, they'll have gotten to work setting things up for inhabiting the place- sweeping dead wasps, taking down nests, replacing any loose boards on the windows, setting up beds, starting up a meal, and exploring the house for any surprises to take into account.

[Ironsmith]

SSGTV

He's not swinging at her head, he doesn't get as many tokens if he kills his opponent- though nobody's told Hana that yet, just that the fights go on until 'somebody can't fight any more'.

He smiles as Hana dodges out of the way, and takes her hesitancy to attack back as a sign that she's not happy with this and too scared to fight back. He growls and lashes out again, aiming low to hit her in the legs. If she dodges back, he'll step forward and swing again. The hammer is heavy, and there's not a lot he can do whilst he recovers from a miss, but he's trying to get her up against a wall where she won't be able to dodge simply by stepping backwards.

[SSGTV]

Hana steps back away from the attack, noting how long it takes for each windup and how long he needs to recover from each swing. When she's sure she has the timing down, she'll let him make his swing, step back, and surge forward and to the side, swinging her bat in a low arc into the soft part of his side, hoping to wind him and open him up to a devastating follow-up. If he doesn't respond immediately, she'll follow this attack with a downward slam toward his elbow, intent on breaking his arm; if that hammer is unwieldy as it is now, she can only imagine how he'll try to use it one-handed.

SIN HQ

If any of the others arrived first, they'll have gotten to work setting things up for inhabiting the place- sweeping dead wasps, taking down nests, replacing any loose boards on the windows, setting up beds, starting up a meal, and exploring the house for any surprises to take into account.

[SIN HQ]

Since Klaus and company were the first to leave, and have the best idea where this house is, they will naturally be the first to arrive. Klaus will assign the aforementioned chores to his companions, and participate himself, as well as continue to delegate as the other arrivals start trickling in. The exception is that he orders the nests to be left up; they're harmless without their residents, and he doesn't want this place looking new and "attracting the Guild's attention".

This whole process will likely take some time. Unless one of the groups gets broken up or something on the way in, it will likely be a while before anyone hears from SIN again.

[Earl of Purple]

SSGTV

It takes a while, and the foxlad doesn't realise he's being baited- he can see Hana's dots, at least enough of them to know she's a new fish, and so underestimates her. He grunts when she does attack, the razorwire-clad bat slashing at his ribs and side, cutting at his flank and opening a lot of small wounds that bleed profusely. It's a pretty brutal injury, and he does seem quite winded, and can't get the air out to scream- because he's winded- when she breaks his elbow and cuts his arm open. He drops the hammer and collapses, holding his arm and desperately wheezing for breath. He's also crying.

A klaxon sounds, though if Hana wants to hit him again she can- it's just the match is officially over. Two gates also open in the wall; from one, two attractive and naked young women walk, carrying a stretcher. They'll walk over towards the fallen fighter, whilst a naked young eunuch waves at Hana from the other, trying to get her to come to him.

SIN HQ

Then to work they go. All of the groups turn up as expected, except Blinkum the goblin and Garry the half-orc are slightly injured from an attempted mugging. Blinkum has a cut to his face, but also now has a new knife and there's a mugger out there with eleven broken fingers.

Fifi points out that someone's going to notice they're here sooner or later anyway, if only because there aren't as many wasps about. But she's also not too willing to touch the papery nests they've left behind, so she doesn't complain about leaving them be- even if they do creep her out.

[Deathkeeper]

Black Abyss Body Shop

Mina feels the wind at her back and decides to go with it. She puts her bulky legs to good use and leaps forward to deliver a flying knee to the lead zombie's center of mass. If she can she'll try to land past it so that she doesn't get gnawed on the back by its friends.
She doesn't think her outfit is gnaw-proof even if it is part of Sai.

LaRouge Library
"You're right about that. Unless you could somehow use a wish to fix my problems in a mundane way, I'd rather not. Probably even if you could." Jason shrugs. "It feels wrong. If I didn't solve them myself, but used magic, not even my own magic (not that I have any) to fix it." It feels like cheating.

Larouge Library

"Sadly, no one has wished that I had a degree in psychology so I can't give you what you need. For your solution, you'll have to find it on your own." Anri tells him.
"But as the old folk say, you're still young. You have all the time in the world."

[bc56]

LaRouge Library
"You don't look all that old yourself, but you've got way more time than me," Jason jests. "How'd you come to have this library?" Jason wasn't expecting to find one in this part of Skyside, especially not one run by a friendly djinn, but it's a good place to lie low, and well stocked too.