[Nexus] Inside 38

[ThirdEmperor]

Abandoned Umbrella Factory

There are, in fact, two doors, both set into the right facing wall of the factory at such an angle that they're basically impossible to see until you step inside. Neither, however, looks like the key would fit, as both doors use modern locks, while the key is of a more archaic design. One of the doors is located roughly ten feet above the ground, the catwalk that once connected to it having long ago rusted away and fallen to the ground, and this door hangs open, showing some sort of control room beyond.

As Boris steps into the room, the penguins begin to crowd around him, with much jostling and annoyed "Qwark!"s. Suspiciously enough, one of the penguins actually appears to be a robot, and a damaged one at that, sparks falling from the large gash in it's metal neck. Worse yet, all of the penguins have teeth. Penguins, as a rule, are not supposed to have teeth. Not that they seem to be hostile.

When Reinholdt grabs the letter though, that changes quite fast. The penguins begin to growl at Boris, shuffling forward menacingly, while underneath the floor, there's the sound of machinery kicking into gear. Which is about when the door slams shut.

Claymore Bar and Grill

Well, nothing will stop Zefir from grabbing the machine's hand and trying to place the explosive despite the robot's interference, but it does still have a hold on his neck, so it simply tightens it's grip, trying to strangle him.

[M. Mayonnaise]

[Wish Shop]

Gaddiyel gives his host a small bow before taking the offered seat. "Thank you."

He seems somewhat disconcerted by the witch's level stare and looks away to watch Plum hurry off. His gaze snaps back to the witch as she asks his name; she may notice that his pupils are slit-shaped, much unlike a normal human's.

"Well, you can call me Gaddiyel, I suppose. That's what I've been going by recently. I don't remember my real name - that's rather why I'm here, actually," he tells her, sounding rather uncertain.

[happyturtle]

[Temple of Cunningham]

Aleph is definitely of an age where she can tend to the matter herself, and she certainly doesn't seem like she'll need any assistance. In fact, once she's without the bulky coat obscuring her precise build, it seems likely that she's more in the later teens, but that she's just a bit slight and small in general, and definitely underfed.

The dress is decidedly large on her, but she manages to adjust it a little so it doesn't look completely ridiculous on her.

"I thought you would be asking me a lot more questions." She says uncomfortably, once she's gotten the dress on.

"I can do that if you like. Who is after you? What do they want with you? How dangerous are they? What made you think of coming here?" Pastor Ellen says. "But we've got a guest bedroom with clean sheets and soft pillows, and there is no reason for me to be impatient for answers."

[Orphanage]

Ibby smiles and waves at the other children, running to meet them! Because yay, kids! Playing with more kids is always fun and Ibby just so happens to be gifted with the Magic of Friendship! And as such friends is something he's rather keen on.

"No, I just came to play," the boy replies as he slings his pack off his shoulder. "I found my dad and he gave me a name! I'm Ib'ahalii now!"

Which is kind of hard to say.

No doubt the other children will have a nick-name for him in short order.

The lad sits down in the grass and dumps out his back-pack, releasing a torrent of Lego bricks one a scale such that they probably shouldn't be able to fit in there. "There was a monster made out of Legos at Trog's! But the good guys beat it and I picked up a bunch of the pieces!"

Ib'ahalii uses MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!
It's SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!

Everyone agrees that he's their bestest friend ever, and that him coming to share his Legos was very nice, and the story about the Lego golem is really awesome and must be told several times!

Elder Cooke exchanges a few words with Tia, and then goes back to Ibby. "I've got to get back to my tulips. This is Miss Tia. She can help you with anything you need and make sure you get home safely."

He heads back to the church. Meanwhile, much fun is had.

[Reinholdt]

Abandoned Umbrella Factory

Reinholdt whirls when the door slams shut.
"Oh joy. Can you hold off the growling penguins? I'll go see if the control room will get that open." Reinholdt starts flying towards the control room! Unless Boris requests otherwise.

[Devixer]

[Abandoned Umbrella Factory]

Boris doesn't reply, he's a little busy holding off the penguins. So hey, that works. He already has his silenced Makarov pistol, and also gets his ballistic knife, holding the two weapons with the Harries technique.

[UncleWolf]

[Masks Temple]

Grace props herself up, and tries to put an arm around Jezebel again. "I know. I think even some of them regret it- Harnel seemed to, at least. It seemed like it was a lot of bad circumstances coming together in all the wrong ways."

"But, Jezebel," Grace raises a hand to touch her cheek. "I don't even really know who Slaanesh is. All I really recognize is the word cult, and the changes in you. And I'm hardly anyone to criticize people for strange practices and cultures- I mean, I'm part of a spiritual business group made up of the kind of people that are most feared and hated."

"I will admit I'm not really a fan of anyone actually worshiping anyone else, no matter their relative positions. I've had bad experiences with that, and seen the worst sides of it. So I'm a little concerned, I guess... but that doesn't mean you aren't safe telling me. It doesn't mean I won't listen, and won't understand that you have beliefs that are important to you." Grace's pink nailed hand drops to Jezebel's, which she tries to squeeze reassuringly.

Masks Temple

Jezebel sighs and sets a hand on Grace's shoulder. "Well, which do you want to hear first? About my worship practices, or about the events of the hotel?"

[AmberVael]

[Masks Temple]

"You and Watchtower have already told me what I need to know about the hotel, I think." Grace replies, leaning against Jezebel. "It was really the mention of your worship that I wanted to talk about."


[Temple of Cunningham]

"It's just a little weird." Aleph mumbles quietly. "Do you actually want me to answer?" Ellen seemed more to be asking questions to make a point than anything else, after all.

[happyturtle]

Temple of Cunningham

There isn't really a puzzle to trap you, Aleph. Pastor Ellen is simply being motherly. "Only if you want to, dear. If it will help you to talk about it, then you can. If it will upset you to talk about it, then we can put that off for now. You can decide."

[Earl of Purple]

Streets- Outside Trog's

A dwarf is lying here. He's got a long, tangled black beard and his eyes are closed. He's wearing chainmail that's dirty, grubby and rusty in places, and a helmet mounted with a massive pair of chipped antlers lies nearby. Oddly, he doesn't seem to be armed- an unusual state for any dwarf.

Elsewhere- Underhive

A servitor is lurching along here, taking the same route everytime. Its left leg is mechanical, but the right leg is organic from the hip to the knee, ending below that in a stump of metal and wiring. Its organic torso is emaciated, with a blinking control panel built into its chest and wires and tubes poking between its ribs. The left arm is mostly flesh, though ends with a universal connector socket just above the wrist. The right arm is organic till half way between shoulder and elbow, ending in six long multi-jointed fingers.The servitor's head is completely encased by bronze, four gleaming blue lights marking the servitor's eyes and a small grill marking its mouth. Eight connector plugs run down its spine, marking the servitor's charging apparatus.

Something about the servitor, however, seems... Wrong.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Streets - Outside Trog's]

(Since I've established The Nest is across the street from Trog's...)

A D'Lattu (gray skinned human with four arms) tries to carry him out of the street.

[Earl of Purple]

Streets- Outside Trog's

The dwarf can be lifted quite easily. He's about as heavy as a metal-clad humanoid with quite dense bones.

Where's he carried to, and is the helmet taken with him?

[Lady Serpentine]

[Streets - Outside Trog's]

The helmet is taken with him. He's being carried to The Nest, in the Home thread.

[PurityIcekiller]

[Abrajin's Library]

"That was convenient, if a bit confusing. Of course, with magic involved, that sort of thing happens."

Xalicus decided to focus on figuring out where he was rather than how he got there. "Probably somewhere related to deserts, but it's also reminiscent of certain ancient cultures... Maybe some of these books will tell me more." He headed over to the pyramid to check it out.

[Earl of Purple]

Streets- Outside Trog's --> The Nest

The dwarf does not resist being carried off. Say goodbye to the 'streets', Iron.

Or just snore loudly.

[Lady Serpentine]

[The Nest]

This area of The Nest is still in Inside, as it's the business, but Iron is being moved upstairs. If he could see the journey, he'd probably recognize this as having been a hotel lobby at one point. He's taken up in the elevator.

(And now, to Home.)

[UncleWolf]

Masks Temple

"Alright, but I did neglect to mention some things about what happened there, and that Watch wouldn't likely know." She admits before unwrapping herself from Grace and going to a small cabinet, getting out some sort of drink and pouring herself a glass and preparing it for absinth. "Where we're from, worship of Slaanesh is a forbidden act. She's generally seen as a dark god of Pain, Pleasure, and excess, with most worshipers being mindless drug addicted zealots who wish to do things like flay flesh from people." She says before taking a long pull of her finished drink. "What they neglect to mention, is that Slaanesh isn't just about that. It's about experiencing things for the sake of it, of love, enjoyment, and simply living life to it's fullest every day you can. As for experiences and sensations go, Pain and Pleasure are most common amongst them, because they are likely the most common and easiest to experience." Jezebel explains before sighing. "I will admit, I tread the line between the two, but that's what any true believer of any God or Goddess should do. If you worship someone, pay tribute to all sides of them, otherwise you can't claim you worship them, can you?"

She offers a slight wry smile before gesturing at herself. "As you can see, the perks can be somewhat worth it in my opinion."

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - Alley in Rael's Territory
It looks like Jimmy was back and killing NPCs again in an alley.......he seemed to be really getting into it too!
"Bonk!"

[Rebonack]

[The Skyway - The Cathedral of Saint Geno the Wise]

The place is huge.

A megalithic monument of glass and chrome and stone and steel, reaching high into the sky and bearing at its crest the unmistakable symbol of The Servant. A simple round pole with a point at the end. A stake. Much like the small one hanging from the necklace of beads in Amil's hand.

A stake is an important thing to have for plenty of reasons. But we won't cover that at the moment.

It's been some time since Amil has taken part in any of the Holy Rites. Not since this... insanity was heaped onto her. Why? Well... fear mostly. She still isn't totally sure what she would be considered. Does she even have a soul anymore? Or has it moved on to refined in the Forges of the Servant? She never received her Final Rite since no one knowns if she died or not.

Amil still isn't sure herself whether she lived and went through some kind of metamorphosis. Or if she died and she's just a Tyranid who believes itself to be Amil. Or if she's a phantom bound to an alien monster instead of her own decaying corpse.

It's just... So confusing. And the weirdness at the party in Riverside really did little to rest her mind about it. The whole experience just lead to more questions.

So here she stands at the steps of the cathedral, looking as human as she's able and clutching her prayer beads like they're the only line to grasp for pulling herself out of this pit of insanity. She needed to talk to a priest. To... figure out what happened to her. And figure out what she needs to do now.

This isn't the cathedral she usually visited. Normally she went to Saint Barnabas' down on Generic Street. She only ever came up here for special holy days. Up here in the sky, she can't help but feel a little closer to God.

There's no Rite of Feasting going on at the moment, so the place is fairly quiet when she steps inside. Only the shuffle of course robes and bare feet across the stone floor. And the mumbling of monks in High Gothic off in some out of the way alcove. Amil takes a deep breath and slinks inside, both hands hanging onto her prayer beads for dear life.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - Alley in Rael's Territory]

Rael, in his combat form, along with several other vampires, drop down, trying to surround him.

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
Jimmy sits bored on his most recent victim when they come, eating a sandwich.
"Finally, I mean, you're seriously one hard person to get a hold of. I have a proposal for you."

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - AiRT]

"What?"

Rael sounds rather displeased.

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
"Here it is: You make me a vampire, I work for you and also stay outta ya territory."
He was quite serious. He was proving once again that Jimmy is a generally confusing man.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - AiRT]

"And why would I need you to work for me?"

Rael sounds curious, but only mildly so.

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
"Because ya chucklehead, I'm da best there is at my job. I'll be your assassin when you don't want your hands dirty. And, if I can already run a little over 35 MPH now, imagine how fast I'll be as a vampire. It'd be freaking interesting."

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - AiRT]

"Hmm. That would be interesting. But why would I need more people to be assassins? I can make as many of them as I need, with no way to have them tied to me."

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
"And how many would willingly give their lives up to be a vampire?"
He makes a very good point. A vampire's minion becomes that usually against their will.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - AiRT]

"If I made them properly, all of them. But it would be interesting to see what you're like as a vampire. Of course, you don't seem to be the most stable of individuals..."

Rael can make them extraordinarily loyal, if he needs to. And implant false memories.

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
Jimmy laughs.
"Let me tell you a little story of a boy who grew up in New Jersey. Now, for this purpose let's call him Timmy. Timmy was a bright kid, got good grades, excelled in social situations and was very good under pressure. Timmy wasn't one for sports though so he was constantly picked on by the other kids. Then one day Timmy had to play baseball in gym. He went up to bat and he swung that metal beauty perfectly. He hit that ball outta da park. When the other kids were staring, absolutely flabberghasted, Timmy had a strange look on his face. It was a smile of glee. You see, he quite enjoyed the sound of that ball hitting his bat. Timmy spent the next couple years playing baseball and grew quite good at it, always hitting homeruns. But then, Timmy found himself getting bored with that sound. He needed something that was more interesting to him. It didn't occur to Timmy until he was 18 that a skull cracking gave him satisfaction. He moved to Boston and began to wander the streets at night, breaking skulls and getting away with it. He became known as the Boston Basher, and took over 100 lives, and there was a good amount of cops in that mix too. Timmy eventually left Boston for new hunting grounds with more dangerous foes........"
He began to laugh again.
"And buddy, I was Timmy. Except my name is Jimmy. When you say I look unstable.....that's an understatement."

[Lady Serpentine]

[Red Zone - AiRT]

"You're not making a very good case for why I should hire you..."

[Mindfreak]

Red Zone - AiRT
"Well buddy I don't have much to say about it except it's easier this way. You get another minion and no one muscling in on your territory and I get vampire powers."