Character Lounge

[Aisha deCabre]

Sighing, Aisha stepped back from the area which held the girl, eyes and ears drooping.  Everyone in the room could hear a metallic sound as her sword was sheathed once again.  For now the disturbance was at a stand-still, but the panther felt as if the motive for all of this trouble was gone...she looked dead.  Felt dead.

"Ouch..." she murmured.  Feeling a bit of that previous exhaustion set in, she sat upon the edge of a bed nearby and rubbed her aching waist.  Now that there was time to take a breath, any injuries that she had now took it to register in her mind.  Her tail ring still glowed slightly, but there was little room to acknowledge it at this moment.

No longer was she demanding answers.  They'll come when they'll come, chica.  Patience.

Looking around for Gareeku, who probably still felt a little more under the weather than she was, Aisha sighed again and asked, "So...this is over?  Have we failed to protect her?  Or shouldn't we have even tried...?"

[Stygian]

The disturbance in the attic was growing. Shadows swirled and whipped up the dust on the floor, as a gateway of some kind opened. The darkness beyond was absolute, disturbed only by short cracks of red lightning, in the light of which could be seen the outlines of winged shapes moving, marching against the opening...

[KarlOmega1]

*Just then, the Comm signaled*

Karl: yes? what is it?

Officer in Attic: Alert condition "Crimson"! Unknown Entities moving out of portal in attic! Portal Cross-dimensional signature looks like it opened from Shadowstorm region...we're not entirely sure if that's the case...but still it looks like an Invasion...Oh snap! Help...* End transmission*

Karl: Soldier?! Can you hear me?!  ...  Dang it! *hits all intercom buttons except for 4th LVL* Crimson Alert! All available personel go to Battle-ready status and head for the attic! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!

*Karl turns to the others in Medbay*

Karl: I don't think we'll have time to stay and heal....There's some Revitalizers in the Potions Fridge, top shelf. *points to fridge* ...and make sure to spare some for in the midst of battle...and and if we don't have any left in battle and you are getting beaten badly, use these portal scrolls design to open a portal directly to Medbay.

*Karl turns to Mel*

Karl: Mel...Can you stay and take care of any arrivals, please?

[e_voyager]

e looks at Karl. "new Arrivals? are the hostile?" E's power core is a 78% normal capacity and dropping as he powers downs. "if so i can help as i only received minimal damage most of which my auto repair system has dealt with already. "Gospel barks agreeing with e as he speaks up. E  had glimpsed a  gentleness in Mel that suggested that the dragon is not so much a fight as a helping hand. she reminded his of Roll actually.

[Stygian]

Suddenly, the air was filled with signals, some sort of transmissions that blared out strong in the environs. They didn't seem mystical in their nature, but they still gave off plenty of quantum residue, enough to let even those simply sensitive to magic and not just those with the equipment for it "hear" a bit of what was being broadcast. Not that it made much sense, of course.
   "Introduced phenomena comparation - designate new point - unit movement halted until new - solvet saeclum in favilla - gradient is 3.1 - ira vehementi - read area - scans project - 3 to 56.089 - in nomen tuum, nil inultum remanebit - set movement and execute..." It was a jumble of information, statements and readings, against a backdrop of what sounded like some kind of hymn or rhythmic prayer, all in a multitude of cold, silvery voices.
   The transmission died down quickly, but before it did, all the voices echoed in unison; "Target ascertained, moving to render harmless and capture."

[Boog]

Whup, that's probably not good.
"Alright, what did you do?" Boogey glared pointedly at Aisha. Yes, he was mostly just being snarky, but the next question was serious. "Any clue who that could have been referring to?"

[Stygian]

"Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus, cum vix justus sit securus?" It was just a whisper, but it was the girl who had said it, no doubt about it. She still lay lifeless on the ground, but her eyes had become black, and the tips of her fur were darkening. Her lips were still, yet her voice called out again, seemingly from nowhere. And this time, it was in words you could understand. But they were not chanting.
   "And this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." Her voice was cold, masked and shadowy.

[e_voyager]

E looks around. "My guess are either the girl with the Red circuit energy, the guy that the girl, was fighting wit the dark circuit energy  or one of us techno beings. like myself or maybe Karl " E's power core is rising again at 81% normal capacity and rising. it it then that the hear the girl speak. " great " says Erebus form with in E "not another religions dooms day. wasn't Ragnarok enough? "

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl turned around and gave a look at the still-lying body*

Karl: Antichrist? That can't be...I thought I banished it once. Hmmpf, must be a stubborn spirit...Ackernak Solerum Talisam

*Just then, Talismans were hanging from everyone's neck except for the girl's and Karl's*

Karl: Ok people, here's the story...those talismans will protect you from being possessed by whatever spirits there are about...be careful not to lose'em!

[Aisha deCabre]

Her tail ring suddenly was glowing brighter.  Aisha hadn't rested a second before something new had come up.  The darkness...it was back...once again, coming from the attic.  The girl was stirring...and there was something in the air that crawled menacingly across hers and everyone's senses.  Were she not wearing a cape around her neck, she would have felt her fur stand on end.  The huntress didn't respond right away to Karl's suggestions to fight.  There had to be some rest before more fighting...

But at the roach-controlling stranger's sudden statement, a tone of accusation directed towards her, Aisha's head swished around, and she shot a glare back at him.  "What have I done?  I did NOTHING!"  Her voice was hard and raspy, worn from the pain of before.  She felt a few curious eyes following her.  "He...it only took control of my body so that I could reopen a portal and rescue my friend.  It left me, I swear, nothing happened.  Nada."

Aisha grasped the talisman and turned her head away, but glanced to the ceiling, where above their heads and protected by a few feet of wood and plaster was something menacing.  The way the panther sounded was much like she was trying to defend herself more so than the truth.  Still she knew little of Stygian's power.  She withdrew her boomerang and tried standing.  "I'm going back to investigate and actually HELP. If anyone cares."

In Aisha's mind, really, all she was wanting to do was to get out of that room for the moment...

[KarlOmega1]

*Karl then gave Aisha a smirk*

Karl: So you're going with? Fine, but be cautious...we might be dealing with more than mere annoyances.

*After his remark, Karl brought up his arm...on it was a device. Karl then pressed a few buttons on it*

Device: Standing by...

*the device began to glow...then Karl shouted out two words that was it's activation call*

Karl: TO ARMS!

*a kind of power suit, complete with katana on left side and Saber-blaster on his right, formed around Karl*

Karl: Ok...Lets go!

*karl then ran out of Medbay, then proceeded to go up two levels to the Attic...*

[Stygian]

Within her mind Aisha could hear a voice. One she had hoped she would not hear again.
   "We came here for a reason. We held that girl for a reason. Now, because of you we are facing enemies beyond reason, and We are your only hope for survival. They have a Hashmallim with them." Stygian spoke to her. She did not care how, or why. She wanted him, it, out of her head!
   "Listen! Stolen power has been returned to me, but my blood fails. The key is made, the gate is open, yet my power wanes with every second that passes. Spill their blood, and offer it to my fangs, that I may cross the threshold again. Else, they will seize you all in their cruel grasp."

[Boog]

Boogey bowed his (currently green and fuzzy) head slightly in Aisha's direction.
"I meant no offence, madame. I humbly appologize. Before we take care of that, methinks we should deal with the girl in here. I don't trust her to stay dead this time either." He guestured one hand at aforementioned girl posthumanously broadcasting prophesies about the antichrist. Wouldn't there be nothing do worry about from the opposite of Christ? Christ had power, so his opposite wouldn't. Common sense.

(OOC: Fixed. Sorry 'bout that.)

[Stygian]

((OOC: You do know that her voice is ethereal and immaterial, and that she is still laying dead on the ground, right?))

[Boog]

((OOC: Misunderstood how it works. Frig. Either way, not a problem. If she did it wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten back up from the dead, so a bit of concern over the matter's understandable.))

[KarlOmega1]

(OOC: Stygian just PM'ed me that they're tech, not spirits)

*Just then, Karl picked up some info that something hit the Attack Barrier in his implants (Yes I sometimes watch "Ghost in the Shell")

Karl:(being heard over the Medbay Intercom) Odd...something just tried to hack my Cybernetic implants...and the trace indicated it's coming from the problem zone! OMG! They're machines! Dang it!

*Karl then switches to the other floors' intercoms*

Karl: All personel equip EMP rifles as well as regular arsonal and blades!

[e_voyager]

e looks at the item and Erebus sniffs as if it were a minor annoyance. " you think this thing could take over the lings of myself Karl? I'm not as old as i should be but I'm not that weak either." E's had glows as he copy the talismans and he as weapon in his arm with a 28 attack max. "he then groans at the swamp devils logic. " and by that logic the devil would be a mortal that  does not try to lead mean. get  real even dad puts more logic in us then that"

[Boog]

((OOC: How the heck did E read what Boogey was thinking? Oh well, Boogey will go with the flow.))

"Actually, by that logic the devil is also powerless. The opposite of god is not a mortal, since mortals were alledgedly made in gods image (of course, depending on ones religion we could have been made out of cosmic scrap metal, so lets take all that with a grain of salt)," Boogey corrected E. "And something completely logical can often condradict itself. For example, this sentence is a lie. Beside the point though. The body?" Again he points at the girl.

[Stygian]

((OOC: Way to be subtle, Karl. I'll get you for that...))

Upon reaching the attic, Karl bursts through the door. Before him, he saw something of the strangest thing he ever had, and that counted for a lot.
   Before him stood roughly what appeared to be a dozen human-like beings, all sprouting white wings and with smooth and nearly ivory white skin with some few red patterns. All of them were robed, swathed or uniformed in some form of crimson clothing, and all had at least some silvery pieces of armor. In their hands were large and finely crafted shapes of silver that looked very much like some sort of long-barrelled weapons, and standing amid them was also a mechanical silvery shape, four-legged and two-armed, and nearly as tall as a man, that looked like some form of war machine to Karl.
   Another humanoid shape, but this one with four wings, floated up among them. Its wings were segmented and looked almost mechanical, and into the back of its head, its face covered almost completely but for its mouth and chin by a metallic red helmet, ran a number of silvery wires and hoses. Its arms and legs were strapped up with some sort of black bands, but it did not need its legs free to move; it floated a couple of inches over the ground. Without opening its mouth, it spoke. How Karl could know that it was specifically the four-winged figure that did, he knew not. But he just knew.
   "This one is of machine and shadow. The technology in him is tainted, if advanced. Purify him!" it commanded, and a woman-angel with what appeared to be silvery tendrils coming out of a pair of bracers on her forearms, where her hands should have been, moved to obey, raising those tendrils and walking calmly against Karl.

[e_voyager]

((OOC: How the heck did E read what Boogey was thinking? Oh well, Boogey will go with the flow.))

(OOC sorry i didn't realize i was reading your mind)
"yes you're  right except that you described a boot strap paradox.  it is possible for such things to occur but i'll go into detail on a later date. (I.E when asked) but for now i me ask why you are broadcast on so many different frequencies or are my tuners still to high from when we cut the threads that were connected to the girl?"

[Boog]

"I know I'm not broadcasting anything on anything and I have no clue what the other thing you just said means, so I'll assume the second one." Boogey shrugged, "Nowadays, who the hell knows, know what I mean?"

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha had gone after Karl, only pausing to hold the sides of her head with her palms.  "Grr...I don't NEED your orders..." she muttered.  When she saw that there were still people glancing at her, she regained her composure and ran up the stairs.  She'd deal with people denouncing her as crazy later.  Boomerang humming as it sliced the air at her side, the focused panther hopped the last few stairs and came up behind Karl.

Her feet skidded on the dust-strewn floor, and the energy seemed to invade her mind.  The autonomic creatures were marching through the void, hell-bent on reaching their destination, and they sure did look tough.  As much as machines could.

"I hope for once that good old-fashioned violence gets rid of these things," the panther thought out loud and, with a hard flick of her arm, sent the boomerang swishing through the air as swift as wind...

[Stygian]

Aisha's boomerang sped through the air like a wild sawblade, cutting the woman's "fingers" at their roots and eliciting a surprised, though only slightly pained yelp, and an incredulous stare from her. No sooner had her boomerang returned to her hand though, than the four-winged shape shouted.
   "Seize them! The girl carries traces in her, take her alive. The other, you can kill." As soon as its voice stopped, two of the shapes, a pair of males each surely weighing a good bit over two hundred pounds, ran forth against Aisha and attempted to grab her. Two others raised their silvery weapons and unleashed a torrent of glowing red bullets against Karl, their guns roaring like dragons.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"Well what do we do with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Insubstantial puddled up on the floor over there? Walk around him and pretend he isn't here? I think he is a key to this problem but I haven't decided if the door he opens leads to the lady or the tiger. At the moment I think a lady tiger."

She looked at the ring glowing faintly on her hand. She was a dragon, a dragon whose hoard of treasure consisted of great big piles of information. It might even contain information they could use right now. But to get to it she needed ten or fifteen minutes where she was safe enough to go blind and deaf to the outside world. She didn't think that whatever was up in the attic was going to grant them that much peace.

[Aisha deCabre]

Aisha stared ahead, not watching the boomerang as she caught it in midair.  Her eyes narrowed incredulously at the woman-thing's order.  Traces?  Pah...I'll show them traces...their blood will trace the floor!

The panther snarled and the muscles in her legs bunched.  The two males came at her without question like the machines they seemingly were, hard-wired and obedient.  She let them come, her left hand inserting slowly toward her belt.  When they were close enough, she leaped in the air just above their heads.  There was a flash of metal as her sword appeared in the left hand and came down in a surprise attack upon one, the tip aiming straight for the the exposed midriff.  Her right hand released the boomerang again, freely flying across the room to hit whatever it could in another round-about.

She knew at least one of the creatures in the room were hit, for already entrails were covering her clothing in blotches.  She landed on the floor on their other side, taking the sword with her in no less than feline maneuverability and acuteness...ready to outmaneuver the burly creatures again, herself a machine of blood and flesh.  Her mind was set on nothing more than the fight.

Take care of these two...then the ringleader...

[Gareeku]

"Uggh...damn it..." Gareeku growled as he slowly made his way up the stairs to the attic. His head was swimming, largly thanks to the broken nose he had gained from the girl only minutes ago. Finally making his way into the attic, the wolf's eyes widened at what he saw.
"Damn it...they may look like angels, but they sure as hell don't act like them..." Gareeku muttered, weakly raising his katana.
"Leave them alone! They've done nothing wrong!" He shouted, hoping to get the attention of the "angels".

[KarlOmega1]

* Karl had just ducked before the unknown creatures opened fire on him*

Karl: What in Inferno? These punks are like T-droids...Terminating any resistance! Dangit, what do they want?! I can't even access my sidearm without risking my elbow getting shot off!

*Just then, Karl saw Gareeku out of the corner of his eye...well, at least his feet (hind paws)*

Karl: Gareeku! thank the eternal you're here!

[Stygian]

The two angel-creatures were taken aback at Aisha's attack, but even though she tore a huge gash in one of them, there was surprisingly little blood. It clasped its midriff with its left hand, and then turned against her, reaching out for her with is right one while its comrade made a sidestepping maneuver and attempted to get on Aisha's flank.
   "Resistance will not surmount to anything. Sanguinisque pretiosi." At the last words of the four-winged angel woman, she pulled her head back and spread her metallic wings, red bolts of energy leaving them and criscrossing out through the air. They hit the tentacle-fingered girl and the man Aisha had just wounded, and upon reaching them they shook for a moment, cramping slightly. Their wounds then healed, closing up with incredible speed and leaving not so much as a scar.

The creatures were setting up and moving to push forward now. A huge male angel with more armor than the others, loads of cybernetics infused into his arms, and his hands replaced with a pair of huge clawlike ones made from metal moved in on Karl's position next to the streaking fire from the other two behind him. Stalking at his back was a comparatively diminutive angelic woman, her wings severed and instead replaced with a pair of round shield-like things atop a pair of mechanical arms.
   At the arrival of Gareeku though, nearly all turned their attention to him, if only for a moment before they resumed attacking again. Then, a slender and beautiful woman-angel who had been standing next to the four-winged creature skid forward across the floor with terrible speed and positioned herself just in front of him and to his side. An almost warm and serene smile upon her face, she gripped him by the shoulder and raised her left arm, holding a small twitching crimson metallic thing in it.
   "Come into the grace of the lord," she said.

[Boog]

Boogey, hearing the commotion upstairs, did something unforgivably heroesque. With a shout toward Mel along the lines of "Keep an eye on the unstable cadavers over there!" he raced up the stairs just in time to see the cherubim reaching for Gareeku with the metal worm in hand.
"You know, I was rather hoping that I was the only one to have had the whole Daos de machina idea." He said almost conversationally, leaping forward to crush the worm in the womans hand before she got to Gareeku, "Then again, it is rather obvious isn't it?" He delivered a quick jab to the cybernetic woman's face (releasing spores laced with his venemous arguments) and bounced off toward another target, the heavily armored angel headed towards Karl. Rather than the powerful barrage he employed as the roachthing, Boogey bounced from target to target like a spaldeen on speed, delivering a few spore-filled blows before heading for the next, taking advantage of this shapes small stature (about 4'5" standing upright, and 3'10" with its normal hunched posture) and powerful hind legs.

So this is being heroic; you refuse to stop to plan and just power through the problem, hoping your own momentum will keep you going. Intreguing...

[Stygian]

The girl cried out in pain as the poisonous spores tore into her face, arguments that worked like carnivorous toxins reducing her skin and flesh into decomposing matter in seconds. She clapped her hands over the wound, and bent forward. It seemed these creatures were capable of feeling pain after all. But her cries stopped short in just a few seconds, and she put down her hands. They turned into claws halfway down. She stared at the speeding Boogey, her face now nearly a fleshless grinning skull of silvery white, a mechanical eye-lens glowing red beside her other, almost unscathed eye. She emitted a terrible wail and dove for the moss-creature with speed that almost rivaled its own.
   The large angel-man also proved much faster than expected. His eyes locked on the bouncing green creature, and in an instant one of his huge arms flew out, its clawed hand open and attempting to catch the creature in its grasp.