Inside 74: Summer Fun and Zombies

[Morty]

[Michalson's Office]

In the rather cluttered office of one Detective Michalson Barring, a space was cleared on the desk. And by "cleared" we mean "the endless piles of documents, gadgets, gadget parts, potion vials and Powers know what else have been displaced". The purpose is to put a clay gargoyle there. It's a small one, about the size of a young goblin or halfling. It does, however, have mostly articulate hands, a pair of wings and a mobile head. Michalson can't quite remember where he got this thing, but it will come useful now. He puts Bunny's pearl into the gargoyle's mouth and waits.

[Vahnavoi]

[Michalson's Office]

For a moment, nothing seems to happen. Then the gargoyle closes its mouth tight and appears to swallow. Then its eyes swivel around, it stretches its wings and... it falls flat on its back.

"What the fluff?"

The gargoyle flails around, tries rolling on its side to get back up, and promptly rolls of the desk.

Thump.

It lands on its hands and knees, but doesn't shatter. That's good, at least.

"I have six limbs. Why do I have six lim- whooaaaa why is everything so big?" It seems only now it's noticed Michalson, or rather, his leg. Slowly, it turns its head, to look up at his face. "Oh hi there, detective. You... uh... you wouldn't happen to have a mirror up there?"

[Morty]

[Michalson's Office]

"I should..." Michalson rummages through the ungodly mess of his office before producing a mirror. A fairly large one, but still possible to hold in your hands. It's got runes around its edge, but whatever magic power it might have had is long gone. "Before you say anything, this is the best placeholder body I had on hand. You'll be able to move about and... you know, use things."

[Vahnavoi]

[Michalson's office]

The gargoyle looks in the mirror, touching its face, moving around to get a better view of its body. "I'm ugly. And small. And ugly." It sits down, sighing, almost falling on its back again because of its wings. If it's possible for its face of clay to express disappointment, that's what Michalson sees. "Oh well. At least it's not a rotting corpse. So..." It looks expectantly at Michalson. "What now?"

[Morty]

[Michalson's Office]

"At least all your limbs work," Michalson says, wiggling his stiff right hand and lifting his right leg, which Bunny will have noticed has a noticeable limb. "Now we need to find someone who can make you a new body. It's not unheard of in the Nexus, but neither is it easy. I'll be on lookout. I presume you'd rather have a fleshy body and not a robot of some kind."

[Vahnavoi]

[Michalson's office]

The gargoyle stares up at Michalson. "Where I'm from, there wasn't really a difference. The original idea for a robot was human worker-clone that couldn't feel pain", it says. Or at least, that's what a certain Reaper told it once in the past. "I suppose it all depends on how fancy a robot it would be. There are... disadvantages to being a doll." Crouching on the floor, it looks at its hands and flexes its fingers.

"Take this one. This is made of... clay, I think? Baked clay?" It pinches itself. Or tries to. Its "skin" is not flexible enough for it to work. "My ability to animate it only goes so far. I think, if I exert myself too much, it might crack, and it wouldn't heal. I won't know for sure before it happens."

[Gold Leaf]

[Streets]

Down in the streets of Inside, a robot runs along the road at an incredibly fast pace. This robot has a light, thin and in some places even skeletal frame with a cobalt-and-navy colouring, and is wearing football kit-like shorts and shirt that possess the same colour scheme. The latter of the two sportswear items has the number 59 in large white letters on the back, and the word "SPEEDRUNNER" in smaller letters above it. The former, meanwhile, has two pistols - one with a blade affixed - secured by straps to either side of it. Their head looks much like the helmet worn by Guy-Manuel of the late Daft Punk, except cobalt blue instead of a metallic colour.

This robot appears to be going for a morning run. A perfectly normal habit, only that he's running at a hundred miles per hour. Also, he's singing to himself in a voice that (obviously) has a robotic quality to it.

"Rollin' around at the speed of sound, got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow!"

The lyrics probably would fit better if he was actually moving the speed of sound.

If this blue bot should happen to see any other robots on his route, he'll stop his run to take a look at them and wonder what they're doing in a place like this.

[Morty]

[Michalson's office]

Michalson sits down heavily on his chair. His leg is giving him trouble today.

"Aye. I can't imagine this is an ideal body for you soul to be rattling about in. Ivories know my body started giving out a while ago. But it will hopefully keep until we find something better. I'd say I'm going soft in my old age, but... I was like that when I was younger."

[Normal Escort Mission]

The spirit will see that the door exits to a narrow hallway, old and worn but kept clean and dust-free. There are at least two other doors along the walls, barred similarly, but no key to be found. Another door leads (judging from the layout) to the front of the store and has a more conventional lock. The voices come from behind it.

[Geopol4r]

Steele Street
Hyeonbin will stand and attempt to retrieve his lighter. He is stumbling, and likely fails to even get to his lighter.
Hey, any way you have to patch me up? I'd leave, but I'm not keen on the idea of letting you handle this. I need to... Really, I could use the glory. I have a couple projects in the works that would benefit from me helping out.
Hyeonbin will steady himself and pull out a cigarette.

[Gullara]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The spirit will see that the door exits to a narrow hallway, old and worn but kept clean and dust-free. There are at least two other doors along the walls, barred similarly, but no key to be found. Another door leads (judging from the layout) to the front of the store and has a more conventional lock. The voices come from behind it.

[Normal Escort Mission]

The spirit has no intention of leaving this space. Without a key visible, Onyeka is forced to use other options. She rifles through her bag and produces a set of lockpicks, which she slides under the door. "This is a bit dangerous, I must grant, so please be careful about interrupting me." She seats herself cross-legged and then closes her eyes. She loosens the safeties on her pact bound slightly to let her perception blend with the spirit's. Now when it picks up the lockpicks, she can offer some guidance. It proceeds on the task, but the indirect nature of Onyeka's involvement means that a particularly secure lock would likely still thwart her.

[Vahnavoi]

[Steele Street]

Nothing quite like a nice song to magnetize all the iron nearby.

Or maybe just pulling it to himself?

Depending on the reach of the song the reaction is going to be very different.

If the reach is just a block or so the storm serpent wrapped around the base of the spire won't pay it any heed.

But if it pulls on iron all the way to the spire?

There will come a distant rumbling. A storm building. A sound of metal sliding against stone.

If the storm serpent is coming to devour them both they have a few minutes. It isn't in nay hurry.

All the world can be devoured in time.

Steele Street
Hyeonbin will stand and attempt to retrieve his lighter. He is stumbling, and likely fails to even get to his lighter.
Hey, any way you have to patch me up? I'd leave, but I'm not keen on the idea of letting you handle this. I need to... Really, I could use the glory. I have a couple projects in the works that would benefit from me helping out.
Hyeonbin will steady himself and pull out a cigarette.

The bandaged man's voice is still feeble from having his breath stolen. It can only rattle iron within a block or so, his words lost in the wind before they reach the spire.

But, the longer the song goes on, the louder it gets. The man keeps repeating the verses, loose fragments of metal gathering in a pile before him. "Through words of your origin / by song of your birth / in name of the Reaper / I call thee, brother of fire!"

"I wield the hammer / I strike the spark / I stoke the furnace / to give you shape / to bend you to my will / cast you in sweetest nectar / to make a shield / to craft a weapon / so you would not strike your kin / nor betray your brother! Path of Binding: Armaments of the Reaper!"

Hyeonbin can see the pieces, some of them already glowing with heat in the pyre left behind by the destroyed bike, grow even hotter until they glow like gold, melting into droplets, flowing into a pool, the man lifting shapes from it, spinning the molten metal into chains as fine as thread. The threads surround and wrap around him, burning away his clothes, cooling down into segmented armor and a horned, skull-like helmet. The smoke from his clothes turns into a heavy black shroud that settles on him like a tabard. The silver pendant melts too, but then grows and reforms into a real warhammer that the man rests against his armored leg.

"Black worm from earth / steed of evil's dominion / hunter of the Devil's lot / I tell you to grow / I call and command you! Path of Binding: Horse of Hell!"

The ruins of the Harley Davidson twist and turn, the molten-hot frame tearing itself off from the burning tires, the skull ornament coming to life and cackling madly before being stretched and reforged into a horse's head. What iron the man didn't spend to craft armor for himself is used to remake his ride into a mechanical stallion, crimson flame burning in its eyes.

As the newborn metal beast prances around to cool itself down for its rider, the armored apparation finally stops singing and turns to look at the professor. "What? You're still here?", a voice echoes through closed teeth of the helmet. Eyes of the man inside are now burning with the same fire as the horse's. "I'm no healer. But if you wish to fight, I can provide you with weapons." He lifts his left hand up and snaps his fingers, Hyeonbin's lighter appearing in his hand like magic. "Reverse Path of Destruction: Crimson Flame Bullet!" He clicks the lighter several times, but instead of striking flame, it instead draws the flames that still linger around into the lighter. Soon, the street is as dark and flameless as it used to be before the two men brought destruction to it.

The armored man hands the lighter to Hyeonbin, then looks at the spire. "Aim well. You only have six shots or so." He hefts his hammer on his shoulder and whistles to his steed. It trots obediently to the two men. "Get ready. The serpent has only let us be because my voice doesn't carry all the way. But it isn't blind. By now, even if we don't go to it... it will come to us."

Indeed, it might already be on its way. Their few minutes might be up any second now. The armored man hoists himself on his steel saddle and braces for impact.

---

[Michalson's office]

Michalson sits down heavily on his chair. His leg is giving him trouble today.

"Aye. I can't imagine this is an ideal body for you soul to be rattling about in. Ivories know my body started giving out a while ago. But it will hopefully keep until we find something better. I'd say I'm going soft in my old age, but... I was like that when I was younger."

"Okay", the gargoyle responds. Short silence ensues. Before it get too awkward, the gargoyle tries jumping back on the table, but finds itself alltogether too heavy. It turns to look at Michalson expectantly. "Ummm, this is kind of embarrassing, but could you lift me back on the table. I'd be comfier talking closer to your eye level. If we aren't going anywhere, that is."

[Morty]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The locks are sturdy, but Onyeka should be able to work them with enough focus. However, just as she's close to opening them, another problem presents itself. It seems the door to the main area of the store has opened and someone is coming through. She doesn't have much time.

[Michalson's office]

Michalson lifts the gargoyle and puts it back on the table. Slowly, due to his hand and leg.

"This isn't working quite as smoothly as I hoped. But no, we're not goin' anywhere just yet. I need to track down someone who can help you."

[Gullara]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The locks are sturdy, but Onyeka should be able to work them with enough focus. However, just as she's close to opening them, another problem presents itself. It seems the door to the main area of the store has opened and someone is coming through. She doesn't have much time.

[Normal Escort Mission]

Onyeka curses under her breath. Now? She's so close! The spirit freezes, and its hands fade from sight. The lockpicks remain in place, though, apparently hovering place, but perhaps also discrete enough to avoid immediate attention. The spirit maintains the tension. Maybe whoever this is will be in and out in a moment...

[Vahnavoi]

[Michalson's office]

The gargoyle sits on the table and tries to find a comfortable position. "Okay. Sooo... how are you tracking this person down, since we're not going anywhere? Call a friend of a friend?" It looks around for a phone. "What kind of a person are we talking about?"

[Ironsmith]

[Streets]

Down in the streets of Inside, a robot runs along the road at an incredibly fast pace. This robot has a light, thin and in some places even skeletal frame with a cobalt-and-navy colouring, and is wearing football kit-like shorts and shirt that possess the same colour scheme. The latter of the two sportswear items has the number 59 in large white letters on the back, and the word "SPEEDRUNNER" in smaller letters above it. The former, meanwhile, has two pistols - one with a blade affixed - secured by straps to either side of it. Their head looks much like the helmet worn by Guy-Manuel of the late Daft Punk, except cobalt blue instead of a metallic colour.

This robot appears to be going for a morning run. A perfectly normal habit, only that he's running at a hundred miles per hour. Also, he's singing to himself in a voice that (obviously) has a robotic quality to it.

"Rollin' around at the speed of sound, got places to go, gotta follow my rainbow!"

The lyrics probably would fit better if he was actually moving the speed of sound.

If this blue bot should happen to see any other robots on his route, he'll stop his run to take a look at them and wonder what they're doing in a place like this.

[Streets]

TASBot is likely to meet many robots this way. Inside is a very large, very diverse city, and it would be quite surprising if the only robot he met (not counting his reflection in a shop window) was a GT.

Especially so as she'll be a little reluctant to share that fact.

Though fortunately, with as much sprinting as TASBot will be doing anyway, it's statistically probable that he will run into Phoebe eventually.

clonk!

"H-Hey! Watch where you're-" The gynoid warbles indignantly as she picks herself up off the ground, before realizing just what ran into her. "Oh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asks, looking over TASBot for any sign of injury from their collision. This is in spite of the fact that she apparently got hit in an inopportune way, holding one hand over her eye, wincing slightly as she touches it.

[Gold Leaf]

[Streets]

100mph isn't sprinting for TASBot, it's a paced run. Sprinting for this guy involves moving at speeds that would kill a human many times over.

0mph, on the other hand, definitely is what happens when TASBot runs into Phoebe.

"Oof!"

TASBot jumps back after having knocked the girl over. Also, was it just him, or did she look different right as he hit her?

"Oh, shoot! No, I'm fine-" indeed, TASBot is unhurt by the crash, "-but your eye! Is it okay? Are you okay?"

[Ironsmith]

[Streets]

Phoebe's cheeks take on a slight red tint. "I-I'm f-fine, thank you." She cups her hand away from her eye, blocking it from any bystanders' view, but letting TASBot see the distortion around her eye socket. Her "eye" appears to be some form of camera in reality, staring back at TASBot as an unfeeling black bead. "It just hurts, that's all." She continues, covering the break in her facade again.

That being said, Phoebe will switch to a different form of communication; radio. She's not certain if TASBot can pick up radio transmissions, but she can at least be sure nobody else nearby can.

It's actually really lucky I ran into you. There are people around here who aren't very fond of us synths. Running around all bare like that in public is a good way to get hate-crimed.

[Gold Leaf]

[Streets]

TASBot is a little startled when he sees Phoebe's true eye. That's another robot's optical sensor staring back at his own, isn't it?

He doesn't do it often, but TASBot can, in fact, pick up and communicate on radio, which he does in response to Phoebe doing it.

>Oh, they have those guys here too? Blech, you really just can't get rid of them, huh? But I'm not worried. Try as they might, they'll never get me down, 'cause I'm the fastest machine running. And, if push comes to shoot, I can flash cannons. TASBot points to the pistols strapped to his shorts as he says that last part.

[Morty]

[Michalson's office]

"I don't have anyone specific in mind yet." Michalson sighs. "I've put out feelers with my contacts. Someone's bound to turn up eventually. Or we'll go to MERC and ask them for information. For now, try to get comfortable with this body. I should have somethin' 'ere to let you actually fly. The people who made these gargoyles managed it somehow."

[Normal Escort Mission]

The two intruders will hear a voice speaking in the hallway.

"-what I'm attempting is of utmost delicacy and very dangerous. I trust you understand why I cannot divulge anything more."

"Of course, of course. But I can already guess you're trying to manipulate time. I've seen a thing or two in my time. My lips are sealed, obviously. But you'll need some of my rarest items for this."

The first voice is low, quiet and impatient. The other is a raspy, weak voice of someone getting on in years.

[Ironsmith]

[Streets]

TASBot is a little startled when he sees Phoebe's true eye. That's another robot's optical sensor staring back at his own, isn't it?

He doesn't do it often, but TASBot can, in fact, pick up and communicate on radio, which he does in response to Phoebe doing it.

>Oh, they have those guys here too? Blech, you really just can't get rid of them, huh? But I'm not worried. Try as they might, they'll never get me down, 'cause I'm the fastest machine running. And, if push comes to shoot, I can flash cannons. TASBot points to the pistols strapped to his shorts as he says that last part.

[Streets]

...Can you, now?

Phoebe's eye lights up as a grin works its way on her lips. "You know something? You, um... you seem like a nice guy. Why don't we meet up again later?" She reaches into her "pocket" and produces a business card, handing it over to TASBot. It's not real- the card itself is blank and an extension of her holographic exterior- but it provides a nice cover for her transferring over information over radio.


Meet me again at Talman's Electronics. I think that'd be a better place for us to get acquainted.

[Gold Leaf]

[Streets]

TASBot takes the card... or, at least, he'll do the best he can, before realising it's a hologram. That's too bad. 999 more of those and he could have played 1000 Blank White Cards.

>Talman's Electronics? It's a date! Haha, kidding, kidding. So, what time were you thinking?

[Rebonack]

[Steele Street]

Wow.

Mister Reaper is really going full on Ghost Rider now, isn't he?

Which is probably just as well.

The spawn of Typhon that's approaching our heroes now is neither subtle nor kind.

There comes a sound of metal grinding against stone, a sound of rumbling thunder and brittle crunch of bones. Of death and terror. Of fury and destruction. A howling wind picks up, growing in intensity and power, whipping up dust and stones. Gas lamps flicker and bricks shudder. The ground quakes and the stones are split. And then, just as the strength of the storm is at its greatest-

Stillness.

A shock, perhaps, to those who aren't familiar with storms.

But to those that do know what the eye of a storm means, what comes next should come as little shock.

The storm serpent, a bus-sized abomination of metal scales and destructive wind and scouring lightning, appears in the middle of the street with a thunderclap. Several bolts of lightning licking out from the agonized faces that adorn its scales to strike down these foolish creatures that have interrupted its ongoing meal.


[Normal Escort Mission]

Ah.

How fortuitous.

It would appear as though the one they were following has come to them. No doubt so that the owner of this hovel might retrieve the rare items spoken of. Likely in the closet they now occupy. Neshi's voice falls to a bare whisper. "Be silent and still. I will render us unworthy of notice."

A simple enough thing.

The mind processes a deluge of information at all times and most of it is ignored as irrelevant. Typically two people standing in a locked closet would warrant notice but and invocation of Perception will reduce them to little more than unnoticeable background details unworthy of even being mentioned in the unfolding story.

[Ironsmith]

[Streets]

I'm not.

With one eye covered, it's difficult to tell whether Phoebe is physically blinking or winking at TASBot, but the gesture is transparently flirtatious either way.

I'll need about an hour to get up there, so shall we say an hour and fifteen minutes, to be safe? I'm sure you won't have any issue being on time.

The gynoid smiles and starts to walk away, giving TASBot a "call me" gesture as she leaves.

[Gold Leaf]

[Streets]

If TASBot could blush, he'd totally be blushing right now.

>...Oh, uh, see you there!

TASBot starts walking in the opposite direction. As he turns a corner, he thinks that he should totally call one of his friends and tell them about this.

"Solenoooid, pick up, pick up, pick uuuup!"
...
"It's me, TASBot!"...
"Wait, you're right! We totally are! How'd you get here, anyways?"
...
"It's always a long story, isn't it? Look, I know a spot where we can sit and talk for a bit. It's called Trog's Tavern. I'm headed there now. Swing by and I'll tell you about everything, including how I just landed a date."
...
"What? Alright, alright. Well, see you later, then."

TASBot hangs up the call and runs off to Trog's Tavern.

[Gullara]

[Normal Escort Mission]

The two intruders will hear a voice speaking in the hallway.

"-what I'm attempting is of utmost delicacy and very dangerous. I trust you understand why I cannot divulge anything more."

"Of course, of course. But I can already guess you're trying to manipulate time. I've seen a thing or two in my time. My lips are sealed, obviously. But you'll need some of my rarest items for this."

The first voice is low, quiet and impatient. The other is a raspy, weak voice of someone getting on in years.

[Normal Escort Mission]

Ah.

How fortuitous.

It would appear as though the one they were following has come to them. No doubt so that the owner of this hovel might retrieve the rare items spoken of. Likely in the closet they now occupy. Neshi's voice falls to a bare whisper. "Be silent and still. I will render us unworthy of notice."

A simple enough thing.

The mind processes a deluge of information at all times and most of it is ignored as irrelevant. Typically two people standing in a locked closet would warrant notice but and invocation of Perception will reduce them to little more than unnoticeable background details unworthy of even being mentioned in the unfolding story.

[Normal Escort Mission]

Onyeka would nod, but she takes the instruction to heart. Instead she waits. She also silently instructs the spirit to remain in place, including holding the picks in place. Hopefully Neshi's trick will cover that as well...

[Morty]

[Normal Escort Mission]

"Very well, then. Let us be quick. Where are the items I need?"

"Let us see. I believe they are..." The other voice moves closer to the door where the two spies lie in wait. However, after a moment its owner moves away and a rattle of keys signifies he's actually opening the other door.

"You need a better filing system, old man," the low voice says, his irritation clear.

[Geopol4r]

[Steele Street]

Wow.

Mister Reaper is really going full on Ghost Rider now, isn't he?

Which is probably just as well.

The spawn of Typhon that's approaching our heroes now is neither subtle nor kind.

There comes a sound of metal grinding against stone, a sound of rumbling thunder and brittle crunch of bones. Of death and terror. Of fury and destruction. A howling wind picks up, growing in intensity and power, whipping up dust and stones. Gas lamps flicker and bricks shudder. The ground quakes and the stones are split. And then, just as the strength of the storm is at its greatest-

Stillness.

A shock, perhaps, to those who aren't familiar with storms.

But to those that do know what the eye of a storm means, what comes next should come as little shock.

The storm serpent, a bus-sized abomination of metal scales and destructive wind and scouring lightning, appears in the middle of the street with a thunderclap. Several bolts of lightning licking out from the agonized faces that adorn its scales to strike down these foolish creatures that have interrupted its ongoing meal.


[Normal Escort Mission]

Ah.

How fortuitous.

It would appear as though the one they were following has come to them. No doubt so that the owner of this hovel might retrieve the rare items spoken of. Likely in the closet they now occupy. Neshi's voice falls to a bare whisper. "Be silent and still. I will render us unworthy of notice."

A simple enough thing.

The mind processes a deluge of information at all times and most of it is ignored as irrelevant. Typically two people standing in a locked closet would warrant notice but and invocation of Perception will reduce them to little more than unnoticeable background details unworthy of even being mentioned in the unfolding story.

Steele Street
The good professor takes a puff of his cigarette and blows a small cloud of plasma smoke at the snakey boi. Whether it not it dies anything, it should blind the snake to the raised lighter one at his eye.
Click.
Click.
Boom.
Hyeonbin shoots a flame bullet at the eye of the snake, hoping for some damage. Maybe even enough damage to catch the attention of Phil Swift.