Character Lounge

[Stygian]

Stygian had just set the pot down on the tray when he heard the comment from the unidentified stranger. He turned to face him, whoever he was. Apparrently someone thought they could sneak up on people.
   "I'm sorry, but I was presuming that it was still warm, judging from the smell of that cup in your hand there," he said, and leaned back against a kitchen bench. His exterior was calm and relaxed, but his mind was tense with concentration. He had not yet tested just how much force he could exert with this newfound power, and he was curious as to how it could best be applied to shorten the work with appropriately soft creatures.

   But then, Stygian hindered himself, and slid off the bench. He wouldn't mind the stranger, not now. Instead he put a large saucepan on the stove and put on a gentle heat, while looking through the cabinets to find some sugar and honey, and some small biscuits to go with the tea. He then made the tray hover beside him as he walked back into the common room.

((OOC: Seriously, Llearch? I am not going to treat you with any greater respect before you actually start playing a character. Now, we are all wondering at these things here, so please give us a description and some acting before I squish you.))

[Boog]

Boogey took most of the proceedings in stride, leaning against the wall and out of the way. At the mention of food, though, he looked up. Face cracking into a grin, he followed Gareeku and Aisha.
"Ancient aztec wisdom; it's good to eat when you're hungry. Anyone know the number of the local chinese food place?" He seemed to become a bit more solid as he walked, the not-all-there areas becoming a bit more solid. Yikes. Almost fully real. Gonna have to watch it from here on out. "Glad most of that drama's out of the way, so we can get around to important things like lunch. You sure we're out of pizza?" He continued to blather on about food, his repertoire intermixed with the occasional joke.
((OOC: Now now Stygian, there was stuff going on here before you showed up, and that wasn't particularly serious or dramatic stuff. Some people who were here before are going to have characters that don't fully fit. Take it easy.))

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha hummed with thought on what to eat as she walked beside Gareeku, keeping in step in case he needed help to walk...she hadn't failed to notice his wincing.  They moved back down towards the main room that the group was in from the start, which was still intact at least, even though it still smelled like worms from a battle that had taken place just before the whole inter-dimensional fiasco started.  Despite that, it seemed the little group was hungry enough to eat anything at that little table.

The panther glanced at Boogey with a roll of her eyes.  "As much as I'd like there to be pizza, we don't seem to have much luck with it.  The pizza-delivery guys have strangely disappeared and one was torn to bits up on the third floor."

She grinned.  "I'd say call for Mexican, muchachos.  Mucho con queso y carne...er,  with cheese and meat.  But then that's just my bias.  Maybe there's something in the cellar, as Stygian had hinted.  Let's give the house's food a chance."

The house can be evil, but for the love of all, don't let the FOOD be.

[Stygian]

Stygian bustled in with the tray hovering behind him, already holding a steaming, low but wide cup of fine china in his hands and stirring the honey in it with a spoon.
   "Not meat, but some cheese, Schätzchen. I'm making a Barcelonian fish soup. Learned the recipe some time ago," he said as the tray hovered down and settled soundlessly on the low table at the centre of the room. A large armchair suddenly rushed in behind him, and stopped only a few inches from his legs. He sat down, easing himself.
   "I wonder how long it will take for that other one to get down here. As much as I dislike it, I do need his assistance."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel, feline once again, trailed behind. As the only one who had actually eaten the food she'd raided earlier she wasn't hungry, but she was curious as to what Stygian was up to.

[e_voyager]

( i was trying tor react to what you had written and you're struggle awaken memories in E 's past.  that feral intervention remind me of a part of a story i wrote a while back under the name eurtan. you were ready to pass on but you other self was not willing to die. not her not now.)

e smiles Gareeku was back and apparently still himself. the three of them Ashia, Gareeku and Stygian had apparently settled up. Mel was back and everyone seemed calm. he could almost relax now. "No thanks i don't feel like going organic to eat right now." e smile genuine humor in his face again "beside i refueled my energy  while i was upgradings much like i assume you did for yourself Stygian."

[Stygian]

Stygian raised an eyebrow slightly at E's remark. Upgra...? Hm. Guess that needed another explanation. And that might give him a good opportunity to ask another question.
   "Well... I wouldn't call it an upgrade so much as a... development. An evolution of sorts. I feel a bit stiffer now, but I think that some other things more than make up for that," he said and sipped his tea.
   "By the way, voyager... I noticed you wielding some amounts of quantum energy up there. I don't suppose that you could do something similar to what that other guy did? Perhaps opening another... gateway, yes?" he then asked, looking over his cup. "There is a message of sorts that I need to get through."

[e_voyager]

"e nods i do gateways but i rarely direct them.  as a voyager for me  it is more interesting a journey if i'm unsure of the path to i'll take to the final location. " e shakes his head. "in truth Erebus handles most of the portals i use and he has a dark sense of humor." now now be fair "so whats do you need to send this message? and if you need a portal why not go in person?" ask e  ignoring Erebus for the moment. some times it didn't pay to be suspicious." still i guess it doesn't matter i'll open your gateway buy don't us it to call any more trouble to us okay?"

As E waits he gathers the energy needed for the requested task it is fairly simple and on 20% power he could span a planet. still he wonders who would stygian need to talk with. let may handle the portal Erebus asks e agrees

[Stygian]

"I can't really travel dimensional spans as easily as you seem to be capable of. I need a... point of fracture, so to speak. Something to make something of. And even then I'm kind of restricted. I am much better at shorter distances and times. Don't know whether it's just a difference in nature between us. Anyhow, that's why I have this..." he said. He set down his teacup, and then fiddled with something at his waist.

   The lower part of his stomach also covered in black wrappings, Stygian reached down and pulled on a black, thin chain that had been hanging out from under them beside his darkish silvery belt buckle. He fished out a small onyx and black watch-like thing, holding it dangling right under his hand. It gleamed slightly in the low light of the room.
   "May I ask you to open a gateway over there by that wall then?" he said, pointing to the left with his other hand as he stood up from the chair. "Don't worry about any dangers. This is a direct link, so the only thing that could be dangerous is disturbances at the place of the fracture itself."

((OOC: I have a great many strange things in my pants...))

[Gareeku]

Hearing E and Stygian's conversation, Gareeku raised an eyebrow. He'd rather not be involved in any more battles today, if he could help it. One day's worth of excitement was quite enough.
"If anything goes wrong, I'm hitting him again. Many times over." Gareeku muttered to Aisha, before a smile appeared on his face. "But I will join you on the thought of mexican food."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha started to munch on a bit of the food on the tray, tilting her head at Stygian's presentation of it.  Rolling her eyes, the panther watched as he talked with E about re-opening a portal and sending a message.  Hum.  This ought to be interesting to watch.

They could only hope that it wasn't anything having to do with trouble.  There was no time left for trouble, but plenty of time left for hope.

She laughed quietly at Gareeku's statement and looked back up at him with a wink.  "And I think I'll join you on hitting him too.  Two-to-one odds this house will be leveled if something else happens.  Then we'll have to move the lounge party elsewhere.  We'll bring the Mexican food AND pizzas."

She poured herself a bit of the drink and sat back comfortably on the sofa, glancing around to see if anyone else had started coming back in.  She did spot a cat nearby that of course had to be Mel.  As for Karl, he seemed to have gone into a black hole somewhere.  Aisha shrugged.  The mech-guy could take care of himself, at least he seemed to.

[e_voyager]

"if all you want is a break is sub space almost anyone with sufficient magic or technology can do that. the last incarnation of cut man i fought could use his blades to cut temporary hols in the fabric of reality like little  peek windows and blot holes if you were. still with out a better description this if going to be sloppy" 
for a moment e generated  a small portal which he then stick his hand through tapping Stygian on his shoulder before he withdrew his hand closing the portal. he had confirmed that he still remembered the skill.
"okay i've  tested my portals do you have a destination in mind of do ii  just open it to subspace?"

[Stygian]

"No, no. That will do just perfectly," Stygian said. He twisted some parts of the cover of the "watch", seemingly little rings that held it together like bands, then some smaller dials. Then he pressed down on a single button on the side of it, and released the watch with his hand. It floated in mid-air at about the height of his chest, and then the dials of it started glowing faintly with a sickening green light as it hovered against the point where E had made his portal.

   When the gleaming metal watch reached the little breaking that E had made, something practically wrenched it from his control. Dark energy started flowing out of him and into it all of its own, and the watch started shaking and moving with audible metallic clicks and whirrs, the light emanating from the dials spreading through cracks in its cover and growing stronger and stronger. Stygian reached out his arm, and the watch burst into hundreds of tiny pieces that started swirling around a single, bright green point where the portal had been, shining like a little star and sending familiar green bolts around it, while shadows seeped from his arm into the thing.

   Then, as dramatically and quickly as it had started, the reaction imploded upon itself. The swirling pieces and energy pulled back in together, and the "watch" was assembled again all on its own. A few little green sparks coruscated from it, and then it was all but still, hovering in mid-air and slowly rotating as if it were floating in water.
   "There," Stygian said. "Now, we wait. I don't know how long it will take before it reaches synchrosis, and then we actually have to make contact. But if I am right it should not take that long. And while that fixes itself," He turned and started walking back to the kitchen. "I am going to make some dinner."

[Boog]

"Now then," Boogey asked around a mouthfull of pretzels washed down with tea, "mind letting the rest of us in on what you just told the big scary bad guy and, more importantly, how likely that is to call yet more of those damn angels?"

[Stygian]

Stygian stopped and turned, idly scratching his head.
   "Excuse me? You must have gotten this wrong. I didn't call Neraux. Fact is, there should be no way for him to trace this at all." He looked over at the watch, then back at the Boogeyman. "I'm contacting some of my... associates. In this situation, they are the best source for information and aid. If more "angels" start falling out of the walls, that means that the Kyriote up there sent something back through the last portal. And then all we can do is run like hell." He turned again and passed through the door to the kitchen, still feeling at his scalp, and was gone.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha sipped at her tea, eyes following Stygian for a second as he left the room.  Tail twitched idly next to her, with the ring's glow having been dulled down considerably since the last time it went off.  It was great to see that for once, the beacon wasn't alerting to danger.  And the bat, however a personality he was, didn't really seem like he was there to do everyone harm either.  The panther figured it would be good to let up on the sarcasm at least a little.

She had watched the sending of the message with a tilt of her head, but no will to intervene out of curiosity.  "Nice light show," she chuckled beneath her breath.

However, when she did hear the comment about the possibility of angels returning and that the only thing to do was to run, she started to scoff.  Aisha had only before run from a fight when she was on the brink of death.  Not still assuredly alive with quite a few bruises to sport.

But with the power they wielded, could an exception be made now...?

"Hopefully it won't come to running for our lives if they come back," the huntress hummed with thought...which was soon to be more light-hearted most likely as soon as food would be smelled from the kitchen.

[Stygian]

Once inside the kitchen, Stygian felt the heat of the saucepan, judging it just right. Forming out claws several inches long from his fingers, he quickly hacked up onions and threw them to stir in the pan, then cut salad and paprika, shredded cheese, diced large bits of reasonably fresh cod... Everything went into the pan with swift efficiency, together with white wine, creme fraiche and a load of spices and some prawns. He then let the thing stir while making another tray with bowls and fetching some bread to warm and butter and more cheese to go with it, while finishing what wine he had not put in the soup.

   From the kitchen, a rich, thick, creamy smell drifted, perking noses and watering tongues. It seemed that Stygian knew very well what he was doing. The tea was barely done, and already it smelled as if the food should be ready any minute.
   A slight whirr came from the watch as it floated, bobbing slowly in front of the wall, but it did not seem to go active again.

[e_voyager]

e chuckles." if i were drinking tea i'd toast to that ." he sighs and sits down waiting. " you don't this this portal is doing to turn around and bite me in the exhaust vents do you"?

[Stygian]

It took about a minute more, and then Stygian suddenly appeared in a veritable cloud of darkness, forming forth with a sound that was half like a punch and half like a slash, like a dull blade cutting swiftly through the air. Light bent around him so that he appeared to be almost transluscent but for his contoures for a second before he completely phased into view. He was dressed in a complete waiter's attire, with pressed trousers, a white shirt, bowtie and a towel over his right arm, and on his left was a very large tray, with the steaming pot of soup, bowls and spoons, tall glasses and a pair of bottles of white wine on it, and a plate with cheese and butter and a basket of white bread.
   "There we are. Hope you enjoy," he said, and the tray with tea and loose cups flew through the air, settling elsewhere as he set down the new one and quickly made the table. He then stepped back and settled in the chair he had been sitting in before, his clothes darkening and morphing back into his ordinary attire. "I picked this up when I did a cover as a chef. I'm sure it should fit most tastes. Don't know about the wine though."

   Stygian took a glass and opened one of the wine bottles, the cork pulling out of it seemingly on its own. The wine itself poured upwards out of the bottle and into his glass, and he swirled it for just a brief second before he put it to his mouth and took a sip, and then sighed.
   "So," he began. "Now that we're all settled, perhaps you could tell me what you are all doing here? I've been in this house for two weeks now, but I've only been tending to myself and I really don't know much of what is going on in this place."

[Boog]

Boogey nodded to himself, intaking what Stygian had said. Associates. Friends of ol' tall dark and morphologically gifted. Peachy.
"Well, I've already said what I was doing here; just seemed like someplace where I wouldn't have to translate myself much. It looked like some sort of party, and if the laws of reality were this flexable around here I probably wouldn't seem like too strange a party crasher. Besides, I've run into concepts of some of the people here before, so that's sort of like knowing the people here."

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had started munching on a few things from the tray as she listened to the others talk a little, including Stygian's question and Boogey's answer.  The panther thought about her answer and took the time to swallow her food before answering, so she would have the courtesy of a clear tongue.

"Well, I certainly wasn't here looking for battles...those seem to follow a warrior everywhere," the panther chuckled, shaking her head.  "Anyway...I guess I'm much like Boogey in that I wasn't invited to this party either.  I was pointed to this mansion that I was told, of all things, was haunted.  But it was quite lively when I came...so instead of breaking the party up, I stayed to see who or what had come."

She took another sip of tea and continued.  "Surprised and fairly glad I was to see a few old and good acquaintances and friends," she glanced briefly at Gareeku, "I thought it would be a vacation."  Aisha shrugged, a motion that reminded her of her bruises with a slight wince.  "Turns out it wasn't.  But I'm not one to complain."

[Stygian]

Stygian nodded, making mental notes while he poured himself some soup. Haunted mansion, partying... these people led exciting lives. He hated to crash them. Where he came from, even murderers for hire had courtesy.

   At Aisha's remark, Stygian gave a bitter smile.
   "I would say the same. I actually enjoy a bit of adversity now and then. But not when it involves those things..." he said, leaning back again and taking a bite from a piece of white bread.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel, not finding a seat in the ruined room, had sized herself down to the size of a housecat. She had insinuated herself between some books on the one bookcase still upright where she could see the entire room at once. "I was walking down the street to an appointment when a lost delivery driver asked for directions. When I stuck my head in to see if the owner of the 200,000 balls of yarn was in here I was invited to tea. I stayed because the Admiral offered a tour and I couldn't pass up the chance to gain such info. The house was already a mess, magically speaking, at that point." She laughed, "It was a mess period. I think there had been a food fight right before my arrival. After seeing all these pizzas ground into the carpet and the upholstery I can't see why any of you still crave them."

[Stygian]

As Mel spoke, Stygian flinched. A housecat speaking, and two hundred thousand balls of yarn? No. He was not seeing things. At least, not unless someone in this house kept other things in the spice jars than just peppers... He chewed down a piece of fish, and then looked at the little white cat.
   "Ehm... not to sound rude or anything, but I take it that this is a civilized world? I had some... trouble when just arrived here."

[e_voyager]

"ironically enough i got here through sleep waling. when i woke up the first face i saw an remembered that that of a feline made that i met in castlevania. i wonder where he's gone to now though. "

[KarlOmega1]

(OOC: I'm back!)

*In the room they were in, a portal opened...out of the portal came Karl, followed by a troop of FIA military personel*

Karl: Stopped by Omega Prime and requested the Military Council for some reinforcing of the complex in case those things come back...*turns to troops*...here's the list of Authorized guests, including Mr. Interdimensional here *points in direction of Stygian*...and on the next page of the documents are what you'll shoot on sight *page describes the things that attacked earlier*, as well as any other things that HE says are the enemy! *turns to Stygian* Since you are the one with knowledge of what these things are and what they do, I believe I'll leave the troops in your care, ok?

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha, having been enjoying the quiet moment and the company, with their interesting stories, was finally starting to leave the stress of the day behind.  She reached for another piece of cheese and munched it.

But as soon as the portal opened, with a sudden disturbance and shouting from Karl, she started choking on her food, caught with surprise as was the others.  Coughing, the panther sat up straight and turned her eyes to the small army.  "Que es esto?" she muttered with a scratchy voice.

Aisha's glance turned to Stygian curiously.  Certainly Karl was going overboard with this sudden intrusion.  She smirked almost pityingly.  "Karl, you remember how powerful those things were.  Stygian has given the impression that they will be VERY hard to stop, should they come back."

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl whispers in Aisha's ears*

Karl: these guys are here to act as a thing to slow them down if they come back...of course, some of these soldiers can do better than me in a fight...

[Stygian]

While Aisha seemed to react quickly enough, Stygian just sat frozen in his chair with a perplexed look on his face, holding his bowl of fish soup and spoon just beneath his chin. His eyes stared at the contingent of soldiers that had wandered into the room out of nowhere, completely befuddled as to what to do. What the bloody hell...? he thought. Is this going to...?
   The "watch", floating at the wall a good ten paces behind the back of Stygian's chair, started crackling green bolts.

   A loud, metallic ripping noise sounded as the watch was torn asunder, and a dark portal the shape of a vertically tilted eye, almost tall enough to reach the roof, tore through existence. Green energy snapped and coruscated around a centre of blackness that was as dense as crude oil before it started changing, and then only becoming slightly clearer, showing a dimmed and blurry background of some dark underground hall riddled with machinery. On the face of the opening, two shadowy silhouettes grew into sight, humanoid shapes that stepped closer.

   The shadowy apparitions broke through the portal as it slowly started to... crumble, revealing themselves as a pair of hooded figures, dressed in some sort of single-breasted coats and garments that looked like slightly customized uniforms. One was clearly a woman, standing at about five feet nine or ten. Her arms were hidden within her coat, and her face was shaded with a cowl of sorts. But from within that cowl, you could sense a piercing, dangerous gaze that seemed to take in the entire room at once.
   The other figure was a man, his coat shorter, ending at his knees. He was as tall as Stygian, perhaps a bit taller, and his face was hidden by an all-covering two-part mask that seemed more like a helmet, the front of it an expressionless, smooth surface of dark metal, with some details and gilt of dark red and gold, and thin breathing slits at the bottom. His neck was covered with bands and metal wiring too that went underneath the black collar of his coat.

   The both figures took a few slow steps in, appearing unperturbed by the soldiers. Then, they stopped, and the masked man turned his head slightly to the side, making a single nod to the shorter woman. She turned her cowl against the soldiers for only a brief moment, and then made a backflip against the tall wall behind her, clinging to it and vanishing up into the dark roof with mercurial speed.
   The man on the other hand, took a moment to unbutton his coat, taking it off and letting it fall to the floor. underneath it, he was clad in some all-covering armor, seemingly made of some combination of fiber and metal and of the same black, dark crimson red and golden style as his mask. Over this he wore some sort of black vest of a fine cut. His right arm was more golden and metallic than his left one, but the hands of both were covered by long, folded-base black leather gloves.
   "You are overpowered. You will stand down and surrender your weapons, else we will not hesitate to kill you," he said in a cruel, metallic voice, distorted by his mask.

   Stygian had just set down his bowl and slowly grabbed the arms of his chair.

[KarlOmega1]

: Strange, we were about to say the same to you

*from out of the ranks of the Soldiers came a group of Cyborgs that looked liked they were wearing Paladin armor, except it was cyberorganic*

CyberPaladin Commander: You are in violation of Interdimensional Law Code 5304-102-A..."No dimension shall invade another dimension without justification, or permission of No-zone authority"...so either you submit just reason for invasion of this dimension or turn around and leave...refusal to do so will result in extermination.

*Karl then turns to Stygian*

Karl: So No-zone saw fit to implant a group of CyberPaladins into my troop...Styg, are those two things your friends or are they the nutcase's lackeys...if they're his, I hope you have a backup plan in case the CPs fail to stop them...