Character Lounge

[Stygian]

"I think that once we're in, we'll have to find the ones inside. They are the only ones who can control this thing right now," Sathariel said, and she seemed sure enough right now.

   The large creature turned on a dime and swam back against Aisha, just under the surface. It came up behind her, now somehow having turned much more serpentine, and rose from the water with its head above her.
   "Little thingsss. I had an idea. Why don't we tessst the limitsss of thisss machine?" it said, in a voice that was much like Stygian's allright, except rumbling and gurgling.

[Joat]

“So the exit won’t appear until we find the people within? I see. Well, should I get the others or is there not enough time?”

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"They're busy, I say we leave a note in case anyone comes looking for us and jump on in." She pulled a piece of paper out of nowhere but instead of writing on it she just held it in her hand for a moment before setting in on the floor beside the mat. "There, now they know what we're up to. Let's jump before any survival instincts kick in," Mel laughed then walked through the nothingness.

[Aisha deCabre]

With a sigh of relief upon having located Gareeku, Aisha hoisted herself out of the water and onto the platform.  However, as the panther started to turn around and reach out for his hand, that was the instant that he had been hurtled in the air.  Her eyes wide with surprise, she cringed as he hit the water again.  Oooh...he can take hitting the surface, but still...that was just...

The panther rolled her eyes as she heard Stygian's voice in the playful--albeit creepy--tone of sound that he had to it, amplified by the water and through the solid structure beneath her feet.  Aisha saw this moment to hop in the water again and swam forward to meet with Gareeku and see if he was alright, only having been stopped by the creature's huge appearance above like out of a sea serpent legend.

"Test the limits of it?" she echoed with an incredulous look in her eyes, still left unnerved.

[Stygian]

The air rippled and seemed to turn thicker, like water, as Mel stepped forward through the barrier into the reality warp. For a moment, her skin tingled with the agitated and flowing particles that made up the surface of the "simulation". Then, it seemed she reached the next level of it, for she felt something like a pull from all around, and was immediately drawn into the heart of it.
   Next, Mel stepped out on an amber stone set in a floor that seemed dusted with time, but at the same time polished with the incredibly thin layer of water that ran across it. Around her were columns of the same amber and greenish-blue marble, perfectly and delicately crafted but ancient in their appearance, and some also a bit damaged. To her right, she could see where the water under her feet ran off to, as it fell down the abrupt end of the wall... down to a veritable sea many, many feet below. A sea in which lay a city of these ancient structures, and all of it inside an even greater hall, somehow. The sight was nothing but magnificent; towers and palaces, plazas and amphitheatres, all of the most masterful craftsmanship, and made even more beautiful in their antiquity and abandon. Far, far off, she thought she could see some figures moving, but it had to be miles.
   Then, she realized that she'd stepped out from thin air. And that's all there was behind her - thin air. No exit, no magical shimmer, nothing.

   "Yes," the seaworm-Stygian said. "I was thinking that maybe I could share a small glimpse of my own world with you, if this simulation is indeed good enough." He crept up on the great platform Aisha had just taken off from and slowly started to shrink back to his regular shape and size.

[Gareeku]

Coughing from the water that had managed to make its way into his lungs, Gareeku looked at Aisha with a smile.
"I'm ok." he said softly, before swimming towards the platform and climbing onto it, looking at Stygian with a stern expression.
"Still, I don't feel throwing me a fair distance was necessary." the wolf replied with a slight growl in his voice. "I have some reservations about your world. No offence."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel looked around for the other two, wondering if they followed or if they had followed would they arrive at the same point. "Good thing dragons are good at flying and swimming. They both look like valuable skills here. I guess Sathariel is right about having to find the rest to find the exit."

[Joat]

May appears next to Mel. “That transition felt pretty weird. It kinda felt cool, actually. Do you have any idea where this is? ‘Cause I have no idea.”

[Stygian]

Sathariel stepped out on the floor next, gasping at the sight. The huge place would be much to navigate, even for ones capable of flight.

   "None taken. It's a dark place anyhow. But at least it's better than the one I've created..." Stygian said as he slowly turned back into his bat form, and then left that at that. Then, he gave the wolf and the panthress an inquisitve and stern look. "I will hold you to that fight later on though," he stated with finality. "And I don't suppose you have the capability to take on a more... human appearance? Don't get me wrong; some people of my world modify themselves for one reason or another, but never that extensively."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"I think I see movement a few miles that way. Can either of you fly? Do you know how to use those wings, Sathariel?"

[Joat]

A flash of fear appears upon May’s face, remembering the last time she attempted a levitation spell. “Still, it must be done.” She nods and begins to chant a spell.

*OOC: You all remember her big lake dive, right? You can see, then, why she isn’t all that pleased with risking that happening again.*

[e_voyager]

"Right, dragons and tundras..." Boogey winced, "Damn. Usually the metaphor for this stuff is a lot of hallways. Not as open, but at least you're warm," With that, he set one foot on the bridge to see the reaction, "These other mentalities you've run into, are they full blown personalities or merely fragments of E's psyche?"

with the exception of the younger Eliander and the new guy Esure i'd say the are full blown personalities. in your terminology  they are form past lives that e does not remember directly you see. e like me is more then his body would suggest even though he has not truly awaken to who he is.
Erebus watches  as Boogey mounting the bridge. he can feel the push but it is no strong. the bridge despite it's appearance holds up against Boogey's weighs as if it was unaware of it. there is no swaying or wind to try an balk him to makes it simpler it is as if you past bodies remain a part of you even once you move one form them. even the bodies that were limits in use or time but in this case they all have their own souls and individuality. i am different as i have been there form the start and have never been fully subsume into his personally.  true DGE, Esure and myself are about  the only ones without bodies of our own as well but that is beside the point. Erebus takes a breath. Don't think of E as a mechanical mind. he has a mortal mind that is intimately familiar with the ways of mechanical minds.  his  mind will be and overly ordered organic mind. there are likely to be any number human style defences with a touch of melodrama and machine style precision with that Erebus fades away  as a shadow color pda appears in Boogey's grasp.

(ooc sorry about stealing Boogey form you but i rally need his help

[Aisha deCabre]

The panther listened and watched Stygian shift back into his normal self while following Gareeku up the platform.  Upon Stygian's statement about having a look at his own world, she blinked with curiosity.  Therein lay a bit of concern, for though it would be more a projection of the room than reality in ways, the prospect of virtually visiting another world was a little more than intimidating.

In the events of the past hours, Aisha had grown slightly distrustful of things so strange.  However, she shrugged it off in her own usual way, for she was always taught that it was all a part of the experience of an adventurer.

Aisha shook her head to be rid of the water dripping from her hair, a little more effort needed for the rest of her body and sparring clothes which she still wore.  But an eyebrow quirked at Stygian's inquiry about a change in appearance.  She had seen and heard of what humans looked like, but upon trying to imagine herself as one, it was found she couldn't so easily.

"Afraid that kind of skill is out of my range," she commented, looking the melanistic fur on her arm thoughtfully.  Pressed in by being wet, one could just barely see the hidden jaguar pattern of spots on parts of it.

[Boog]

Boogey waved back at Erebus as he continued to walk, nodding to show that he'd understood. When the PDA appeared, he glanced at it quizzically and started scrolling through the files on it in the hopes of figuring out where it had came from.
So, not exactly a mechanical mind. Good, I guess, but that also means some more dangerous defenses. Full blown other personalities... that's both good and bad. Bad, because they may not want me here. Good, because there are other minds within this one for me to retreat to if things really get ugly. The only thing left to figure out, He continued to fiddle with the PDA as he strolled along the bridge, Is what in the sparkly blue hell I can do with this? I've had keys, lunch boxes, diminuative people and the solidified idea of a CD player's mortality appear out of nowhere before, sometimes at my urging, but a PDA? Lets check out the calander function, see if there's an agenda I can take advantage of.

[Stygian]

"I think I can do something about that..." Stygian then said thoughtfully, and fished a slim controller that looked like a cylinder about as thick as his finger and as long as his palm out of his pocket. He twisted a few rings on it, and pushed a few buttons. Then, he simply held it while looking really concentrated. Next thing, he stopped and let his hand down his side again.
   "There," he said. "The Convenience Effect really does have its quirks. When I turn this on, everyone in the simulation will be affected by the warping to turn into a human version of themselves, regardless of form. I'm not sure whether I could escape it myself, actually, despite my powers being of the same... nature, as those of this machine."

   Sathariel nodded at Mel's question, and unfurled her wings, spreading them. They even seemed to grow as they did, unfolding from those little and wieldy bunches of feather into majestic angelic ones, swooping out with a smooth flap behind her.

[Joat]

May finishes chanting the spell and gently rises into the air. She sighs with relief.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

"No sense in standing around here," said Mel as she stepped off the edge. As she dove towards the water she opened her wings and changed to her full size. She turned her descent into a glide inches above the water, allowing her tail to trail and send up a spray behind her. "Wheeeee!!!" Then she rose and turned to see if the other two followed.

[Joat]

*OOC: May was following perhaps TOO closely.*

“Oh well, I was bound to get wet eventually,” May says, completely soaked by the spray of water Mel caused.

[e_voyager]

as Boogey searches though the calendar he sees several contacts and a date. the date ins 07-13-2742. as for what this date means it is a mystery.. the PDA starts play a message as a video appears on the screen it is not Erebus but some one else.  greeting i am DGE. if you are seeing this then Erebus has chosen you to try and retrieve E. using this pda you will be able to tap into the information around you or contact us. it also serves as an emergency escape function should you find yourself in danger. be warned that the dangers you face are as real as you are. our hopes are on you  kind entity. thank you and good luck. the video ends and the screen returns to the calendar.  Boogeys finds himself at the wall that balked Erebus.. it is invisible and at the same time  it has a commanding presence. As he pushes at it he senses the outline of a door with out hinges or knob, there is no handle of any kind. Just what kind of barriers is this?

[Boog]

Boogey snickers to himself a little as he reads the message, realizing how little those who'd requested his help knew about what they'd invited into this mint. As real as I am, meaning that how real they are varies. Used to tap into information, which I'm technically doing right now. Guess it works like a key, making it easier to get at guarded thoughts. Useful.
He reached the firewall and looked it up and down, examining this first obstacle. Sighing, he belted off an argument that got him around most mental defenses that simply block one out.
Which accomplished absolutely nothing. Gazing at the wall in confusion for a second, Boogey chuckled. Different mind, different ways of doing things. He was inputting the information in the wrong format. Still laughing at himself, he typed into the PDA.
I am a thought. An idea without a head. I am now in E's head. E has met me. The idea of me exists on the other side of this wall. An idea is all I am. Ergo, I exist on the other side of this wall. He selected E-voyager as the recipient of the message and hit SEND. With a popping noise, he dissappeared and reappeared on the other side of the firewall and continued onward.

[Aisha deCabre]

"Well, that's convenient then," Aisha answered with a grin at Stygian's statement, although one couldn't tell from the tone of her voice if she was really so enthusiastic at the prospect of becoming human.  If she told anyone back home, doubtless they'd think she was crazy.  The thought just made her laugh inwardly.

She glanced at Gareeku, wondering what his thoughts were on all this.  The look on the wolf's face was probably enough, he seemed as she was; partial of interest.  At least they were going to be going together.  Then a thought struck, and noticed that Karl hadn't shown himself again.  Hrmph, and what would the others find if they were to come down here...?

"Fire away then," Aisha finally said with approval, while looking down at herself.  And here's hoping I'm dry and I get my REGULAR clothes back too...

[Stygian]

Stygian looked appreciative of the Panthress' response. He himself was already changing, in fact, his skin crawling with streams of black under it as his muzzle flattened to a straight nose and his fur ungrew into slightly tanned but fair skin. He raised the slim black cylinder again, looking over the small cracks in it that emitted a faint green glow. For a moment his eyes drifted upwards, into the distance behind the both figures in front of him, and a short smile seemed to play across his face, but it went away so quickly it might have been nothing.
   He then turned to the wolf with a raised eyebrow and querying face.

   Sathariel stepped up to the edge of the platform, looked down, and swallowed. She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her resolve. Then, she made a small jump, and dove away after Mel. As she eased out in flight behind the dragon she still looked very unsure, but the memories of flight that had been imparted on her seemed to have sunk in, because she didn't slow or shudder in the air. After a bit, she smiled a nervous smile.

[Gareeku]

Watching Stygian change shape, Gareeku's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I'll be sure to remember it." the wolf replied to Stygian's statement about their fight. Hearing Aisha's reply to Stygian's question, Gareeku gave her a quick glance before turning back to Stygian.
"I'm going too." he said flatly, his arms crossed as he spoke.
There's no way in hell I'm letting Aisha go alone... the wolf thought to himself.

[e_voyager]

Boogey snickers to himself a little as he reads the message, realizing how little those who'd requested his help knew about what they'd invited into this mint. As real as I am, meaning that how real they are varies. Used to tap into information, which I'm technically doing right now. Guess it works like a key, making it easier to get at guarded thoughts. Useful.
He reached the firewall and looked it up and down, examining this first obstacle. Sighing, he belted off an argument that got him around most mental defenses that simply block one out.
Which accomplished absolutely nothing. Gazing at the wall in confusion for a second, Boogey chuckled. Different mind, different ways of doing things. He was inputting the information in the wrong format. Still laughing at himself, he typed into the PDA.
I am a thought. An idea without a head. I am now in E's head. E has met me. The idea of me exists on the other side of this wall. An idea is all I am. Ergo, I exist on the other side of this wall. He selected E-voyager as the recipient of the message and hit SEND. With a popping noise, he dissappeared and reappeared on the other side of the firewall and continued onward.

indeed the ideal of boogey did exist on the other side of the firewall but so did more safeguards.  Boogey soon finds himself in a mirrored maze that seems to apper around him.  thon he is reflected in several   mirrors they are reflections of his past forms including when he was merged with the roach, when he was the fungal entity when he was inside of e's head the first time and when he was merged with Mel.  as boogey looks deeper he sees the reflections of Mel in her dragon and kitten forms including one of her in her dress form when they danced. Further in the maze he can glimpse unfamiliar images but he can't see them clearly without getter closer. As he looks around where he landed the PDA beeps and displays the word reflections.. he also notices that the ground here is well worn as if this area was used frequently.

( well done that is not something i would have anticipated and it works)

[Stygian]

"Excellent," was all Stygian said. Then, he pressed the little black cylinder.
   It was as if suddenly the world bore down on them more, as if the air around them had thickened or some weight had collapsed on them for a moment. And it writhed around them, and in them, as they felt themselves changing. Fur grew inwards, scales retracted and smoothed out. Horns, fangs, claws - all retracted. Tails and wings disappeared gradually with a few painless but uncomfortable snaps and pops. The process forced itself upon all who were in the simulation, and took some short time to take effect.

   Mel's wings and tail suddenly failed her, and she tumbled into the water along with May and Sathariel, everything feeling very odd all of a sudden. At that speed, it was like trying to waterski after a powerboat without skis. Fortunately the transformation wasn't nearly so swift that she failed to slow down to a quite safe speed.

   The process worked on the panther and the wolf right before Stygian's eyes and he nodded with a smile. It was safe, as he had expected. Still, it was an unknown effect, and it needed study if he was to understand it completely.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Mel was happily skimming low over the water, admiring the pretty architecture below when a burst of disorientation overtook her. The next thing she knew she was underwater. She bobbed to the surface, coughing. Whatever hit her hit her hard enough that her windpipe hadn't closed. She must have touched a wing to the water and tumbled. She'd have to swim to the next dot of land to launch herself again as it was nearly impossible to get airborne from water. Good thing every dragon had a little bit of seamonster in them. Done coughing she opened her eyes to spot the others and found her vision obstructed by sticky whitish seaweed. She tried to pull it off and found it painfully attached. Hair? She didn't have hair. As she grabbed at the hair to look at it two other things hit her; her snout was missing and her hands, though nearly as white as normal were missing scales and claws. She touched her face, it was nearly flat, even flatter than the feline illusion she often used. She started cursing in draconian as she tried to twist her strangely stiff neck around to see her wings. She added curses in every other language she could think of in ever increasing volume and outrage as she discovered wings and tail both missing. She was all deformed. When she ran out of breath it occurred to her again to look for her companions. Sathariel had probably learned a lot of interesting new things from the mental barrage she had just given off.

[Aisha deCabre]

Glancing back at Gareeku for his forthright insistence on going, the panther had to smile slightly, for his nobility was a trait to be praised.  She merely stood next to him with her own arms crossed, as braced mentally and physically as could be for however the possibility was that she was changing.

Still, when something like that begins, one is never as prepared as they think.  At the first sign of transformation, along with the sounds and the feeling, her eyes closed tightly shut as if on instinct.  The sensation could be best described as that it should be painful, but like the possibility was being blocked from her mind or redirected altogether.

She had to hunch over a little when her tail disappeared in order to preserve her balance.  Adrenaline flooded through her body when the strongest senses gained from being feline--hearing, sight, smell--were dimmed down with uncomfortable ease.  Then her body felt somewhat heavy, most of her natural flexibility having disappeared as well, the almost rubbery spine substituted for pure bone and muscle vertebrae.  All of her limbs underwent this same thing, like some bones were fused and others disappeared altogether.

When she felt it finally end, Aisha's eyes opened slowly, which still gave her a surprise at how the sense of sight had changed.  She couldn't see through darkness as easily anymore.  Her hands had been cupped up to her hair, which kept its raven color but with less of the gray tones and also less fuzziness, giving it a stringy and straight texture.  Her nails were tapered to dull points that would have given minimal damage to scratch if anything, and she felt a little colder with her fur gone...but at least she did have her regular clothes back.

Looking at her skin, it was now a little more pale, but not too fair either in its undertones.  Curiously her hand came up to a face that was considerably flattened and a little rounded in the cheeks, making her demeanor seem almost childlike, but still with considerable features of maturity one found in their early twenties.  Looking into a nearby puddle (and trying not to yelp), her eyes had kept its reddish color, but as if the tone didn't really exist in humans it was turned a little more towards red-brown.  The ears were now set on the sides of her head instead of towards the top, hidden by her hair.  Her fangs were dulled as well, the set of teeth in the jawbones more accustomed seemingly to a various range of things other than meat.

Straightening herself, easily regaining her balance after a few seconds, Aisha could only say to this phenomenon a very shaky outburst... "Whoa."

[Gareeku]

Suddenly, Gareeku something change... with himself. Looking at his retracting fur, a mixture of shock and a certain degree of amazement was evident on his now-changing face. No longer was it the canine shape, but now it was becoming flatter, much more flatter than even a feline's. Looking over his shoulder, Gareeku gasped somewhat was he found that no longer could he feel his tail, it no longer even existed.

When the transformation was complete, Gareeku, like Aisha, looked into a puddle. However, instead of jumping back in shock, he merely stared on in amazement at his own relflection.
"Amazing..." he muttered, feeling out the shape of his new face with his hands. Although his eyes and hair were still the same colour and style, he found that his face had completely changed. Looking around, he found that his sight as well as his hearing had diminished somewhat.

Looking over at Aisha, he blinked as he saw that she too had changed.
"Well now...this is different..." He commented, observing his restored clothes before giving Aisha a somewhat amazed smile.

[Joat]

*OOC: Stygian, I am sorry to auto the mechanics of the transformation, but I must do so with May. Since, up until now, May was basically a large, bipedal rabbit, and not a being, she never really needed clothes any more than animals would, thus she didn’t wear any. Having May naked in human form, a form that requires clothes, is not something that I wish to role-play.

May does not hit the water, because her levitation spell applies even if she is not in her natural form. However, she does stop moving forward when the others do. She looks at them, then at her reflection. She now has short, pink hair, a pink sweater, and pink jeans. She also notices that she is significantly taller than before. “Wow, this is interesting,” she thinks aloud.

She does not understand Mel’s words, but she does understand the tone. “Not taking this well, are we?”

[e_voyager]

( ooc this sound like a variant on the morphing technology that i once encountered but that tech requites one to take a sample of the entity you were going to morph into while it was living. i modified mine as well but is still requites take a sample form the type of entity that i wish to become. )