Togo and Jackie find themselves enjoying a lovely day in the city they've found themselves in for the past month or so. The doctors are done studying their bizarre alien forms, and so our two plucky young heros (or whatever they are) are free to walk around the city and look for something to eat that doesn't taste like it was grown in a vat. Over the weeks they've done a little shopping, too, although they still have enough cash for chow, it's hoped. [SESSION START] They seemed really disappointed when I didn't let them take a kidney to study. * Jacqueline looks for the nearest food place next to the arcade. * Togo follows Jacky's line of sight. "Arcade, right?" * Jacqueline grins. "Of course! As long as we're stuck here, we might as well make the most of it." * Togo nods. "You know, if you spent as much time with your sword as you did playing video games, you'd be a living engine of DOOM." ( But the DOOM engine isn't very good... ) * Jacqueline eyes Togo. "Are you sure that I'm not?" Jackie suddenly notices a restaurant labeled 'Food that Wasn't Grown in a Vat', but at that same exact instant, there's an odd noise followed by a THOOMP and a strong rush of displaced air. ... but video games *are* more fu- huh? * Jacqueline blinks. "What was that?" Turning towards the direction the sound came from, you see a large van with warp nacelles on the sides, and a motorcycle tied to the top. Needless to say, it looks rather out of place. o/~ Heeeeeere I come... to save the daaaaaaay! o/~ ... well, there's our ride. * Robert hops out of the driver's door. * Robert looks around. In typically odd fashion. So, are you happy to see me? * Jacqueline frowns. "I was gonna try that martial arts surfing game again today." * Marguerite opens the sliding door and steps out, stretching. You're a sight for sore eyes. * Rina opens the passanger-side door and jumps out. She takes a quick look around. Jackie! * Jacqueline waves. "Hi! Where've you been?" * Rina runs and nearly tackles Jacqueline in a hug. "You're okay!" Damn, dimensional travel always gives me the twitches. * Robert takes in the sight of the city. * Togo looks the same as he did before, except he hair is now white and his eyes and brown. ( and=are ) So, Togo... Pickin' up Marguerite and finding KITT. What about you? Shopping must be good if you found eyes. * Jacqueline blinks. "Yeah. It's been real nice here." * Marguerite blinks at Togo. "Nice hair. And eyes." * Robert walks up and gives Togo a big brotherly hug. ( Also, no more scars around his eyes. Coupla minor ones on his cheek/chin. He generally looks like a guy with 2 levels of Appearance. =P ) Congrats, man. ( I thought his hair was always white. ^^;; ) (And there's a good reason for that.) * Togo hugs back. "Thanks. Feels good to be able to raise my eyebrows again." ( Nah. It was just very light grey before :P ) Heh. ( It was dyed blonde, remember? ) So really. How's the shopping? ( Oh, right. ) Not bad. We're apparently unknown aliens here, so they paid us to let them study us a bit. Even made a comic book outta me. Isn't it great? The technology here is fantastic. They basically handed Togo a new set of eyes. We've been searching for days, and I feel like doing some hardcore shopping. Why am I the only one who got screwed on location? You all got these metropolises, and I got something straight out of the twilight zone. * Rina blinks at all the talk about eyes, then turns to get a good look at Togo. She blinks again. "Togo? That you?" * Togo takes out Tales to Astonish #115: "Togo, the Man from Beyond" *** Atom has quit IRC (Quit: ) I'll be back in a while, y'all. Try not to get lost! * Robert dashes off. *** Robert is now known as ShopRobert Yup. In the flesh and the depressingly black clothing. I _did_ get screwed. You're the star of a comic book, and I met a blue guy who'd almost forgotten his own name. Yeah. Her world was horribly dull. There wasn't even anything to shoot. ( You did better than we did. :P ) ( You guys were rude to demons of Chaos. It's y'own damn fault. ) Well, you make a quick appearence here... although their artist rendition was less than flattering... * Rina beams. "That's great! You can go surfing now!" She powerposes, then coughs. "Um... where'd Robert go?" Kinda funny, though - it's gotten easier than ever to unscrew those tough bolts on Bubba. Robert went to exercise one of his great pleasures... Probably went shopping. I can't blame him. * Togo raises an eyebrow... then pauses, and grins. "Raised my eyebrow... still can't get over how great it feels to be able to do that." ( I didn't say ANYTHING. ) Eyebrows rule, y'know. ( YOu let Sayuri do the talking. ^_~ ) *** DamienRoc is now known as Skuld * Jacqueline pulls out a huge armful of games. "Look at all the great stuff here!" (Yeah, well. I was in a bad mood. c.c;) Well, if you'll bring those over here, jackie, I'll see if I can get them to run on my systems. I dunno about *great*, Jacky... there were a few good games, but a lotta mediocre stuff. Oh, shopping. Robert's even worse than Mom when it comes to that. I swear, he's not a woman in disguise. Really. * Rina looks at the armful and groans. "You're not gonna make me carry all that, are you?" * Marguerite leans agains the van, and adjusts her hair. * Jacqueline brings them over to KITT. "Nah. I'll just leave 'em here until we get back." This place is more technologically advanced than back home, so we were able to pick up some useful stuff. (Like eyes. Those sometimes come in handy.) I could go for some shopping, I suppose. What do they use for currency? ( Yup. EYES RULE! ) And they speak English! Isn't that convenient? Robert reccommends barter. It's a universal language. * Marguerite looks in her pouch. *grumble* Not if you don't speak English... I can do that. What place sells guns? No guns. They don't have guns here. They don't know what bullets are, apparently. Well, you might try the conveniently located "Antique Weaponry" dealer over there... (The horror!) Um... Not ones that shoot bullets, anyhow. * Marguerite sighs, and cinches up the pack. * Rina hums and rocks back and forth on her feet. Well, there goes that. And if anyone wishes to exchange gifts as part of Christmas at Ground Zero, you can bring them back here and wrap them in privacy. I have a small store of wrapping paper. Well, Robert has wrapping paper, really, but you get the picture. But I can try the antique place. * Marguerite wanders off in that direction. * Togo thumbs through the comic. "Jacky, explain to me again why they decided to add in a romance between myself and Dejiko in the comic?" ( O_O ) * Jacqueline hurries over to Rina. "Oh, Rina! Look over here!" She directs her to a shop labled "Kharak's Best Ice Cream" ( ... ) *** Marguerite is now known as ShopMaggie ( Damned if I know. ) * Rina looks over there, like the gullible fool she is. ( Huh. Wonder what went wrong there. ) You *sure* you didn't embelish what I was telling them? *narrows eyes* C'mon, Togo! Every story needs a little romance. * Rina gets stars in her eyes. "I haven't had ice cream in the longest time... c'mon! She grabs Jackie and Togo by the arm and starts pulling them over to the shop. * KITT snickers. Everybody needs a little romance... * KITT shrugs as only a van can and settles in to be alone for a while. ... you do realize Dejiko will kill you if she reads this. * Togo is dragged. Ooh, ice cream. Never thought I'd hear ya say it, Togo. Good boy. Hey, Jacky's had a month to brainwash me. ... I wonder if they have that black ice cream I like. *** KITT has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) * Rina grins at that. "This's your work, Jackie?" The ice cream shop is astonishingly similar to the ones on Earth, save for the chairs and tables made of that same crystaline stuff. The store boasts 34.75 flavors. *** ShopRobert has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) *** KITT has joined #ChibiRPG * Jacqueline chuckles. "That and I taught him a life-long skill he shouldn't be without." *** NinjaDebugger has joined #ChibiRPG *** NinjaDebugger has left #ChibiRPG Oh. How to kick butt at Smash Brothers with Kirby? * Rina starts looking over the flavors. Nah. They didn't have that here. So I got him to play a few other things. But it's a start, no? Yup! Mmm... black ice cream... * Rina turns and mock-bows to Jacqueline. "You trained him well. I am awed by your skill." Some of the flavors look familiar, like chocolate and vanilla. A few flavors just have odd names like "Cookscraps and Creme" and "Poorly Maintained Street". ... We have to get him off that black kick, though. Others look completely alien to you. * Togo turns and grins. "Never!" *** NinjaDebugger has joined #ChibiRPG * Jacqueline winks at Rina. "Only a matter of time." *** NinjaDebugger is now known as Robert * Rina smiles knowingly and nods at Jacqueline. ... I now know fear, and it is two determined teenage girls. * Jacqueline looks over the ice cream selection, and orders one that's four shades of purple. "This looks good." Yup! So don't even bother resisting, Togo. Jackie gets her ice cream! ( Wai! ) * Rina looks back at the flavors. "Um... I'll try the light blue one." Rina gets her ice cream! Hey Togo! They have a black one, just for you. * Rina giggles. * Togo orders the black one. Mmm... tastes like angst... Togo gets his ice cream, too. You probably think everything tastes like angst. Not true. Hamburgers taste like dark festering rage. *** Robert has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) ... Right. That's probably the seasoning. ( I have no idea why one client is peering out and the other isn't. ) *** Robert has joined #ChibiRPG ... okay, eyes back. Sense of humor... not back. * Rina eyes her eyes cream, then gives it a small taste. ( Eyes cream? Ewwww... ) (Hey, you never know what it's made out of! ... Typo. :P) ( I feel like I'm in Chrono trigger. :P ) * Jacqueline wastes no time in devouring hers. That was supposed to be self-deprication... it needs work, right? (The ice cream is all good, although you can't really judge if it's the best on Kharak.) ( Not even Rina? ) * Rina shrugs and eats her ice cream at record speed. When she finishes, she says, "Maybe. Are you gonna eat that?" You can have a taste if you want. Good enough! * Rina takes a small spoonful of Togo's ice cream and pops it in her mouth. "Hmm... definitely not angst." What's it taste like, then? Fear? I stand corrected, then. *eateateat* No. It's actually pretty cheerful. Yup. But admitting it was cheerful would put my grim, tough guy image in doubt. So work with me here, 'kay? *grin* * Rina grins back. "Image is already in doubt. Sorry, Togo." * Jacqueline points to Togo's comic. "A bit late for that." * Rina snickers and snatches the comic, leafing through it. "They didn't *really* put a Dejiko romance bit in there, did they?" ... yes, I really wish they hadn't had me doing ballet as a child. They did. Nonetheless, I'd like to keep up appearances. Hard to intimidate drug lords into talking when they know you have a favorite flavor of ice cream. I think it adds more to the book. * Rina reaches the relevant part and starts giggling. * Togo rubs his temples. "The tango scene, right?" * Rina grins and nodnodnods. * Rina flips the page and giggles even more madly. ... well, I will admit, they made me look pretty darn good in that tux. Nonetheless... Rina sees a cheesy romance between a strangely-drawn Togo and a Dejiko that looks nothing like Dejiko, all done in classic Jack Kirby style art. ( Wai! Kirby! ) ... and I'd never spout poetry that bad... *muttergrumble* They shoulda gotten Yoji to draw this. He'dve done a much better job, I think. "Thine ass-kicking doth set my heart aflame with desire"... bah. * Togo scowls, but is visibly blushing. *** ShopMaggie is now known as Marguerite * Marguerite wanders out of the shop, stuffing things into her satchel. * Rina looks up from the comic to see Togo's interesting shade of red. She elbows Jackie. * Robert follows Maggie out, but hasn't got anything new, as far as anyone can tell. Say, KITT. Where'd they all run off to? They went to go indulge in ice cream. * Jacqueline grins at Rina. "Told ya." * Marguerite hmms. "Ice cream sounds good." Huh. * Marguerite heads towards the ice creamery. * Rina grins back, the smile scarily matching Jackie's. She leans over and whispers in the other girl's ear. There are worse things to do. * Robert heads to the ice cream shop, too. * Jacqueline snickers and whispers back. * Togo is busy with his ice cream, and remains blissfully oblivious. Kharak's Best Ice Cream is right where it was before, since it isn't Tuesday yet. The flavors are all there, too. * Rina giggles and continues the quiet conversation. * Robert holds open the door for Maggie, somehow having gotten ahead of her. * Marguerite eyes Robert. "I do have arms. Momma raised a gentleman, that she did. * Jacqueline chuckles and whispers a response. * Marguerite snrks. "Amazing." She wanders over to the ice creams and starts looking for something vaguely mintish. * Robert follows her in and starts looking for something... plain. * Togo continues eating, but feels an odd sense of dread that he can't place. * Rina considers, then whispers back. Marguerite discovers that this planet has not yet discovered peppermint. Aw, balls. ( Bah. They've just got a more technologically advanced form of peppermint :P ) * Robert orders whatever looks closest to plain vanilla. Robert gets his (plain vanilla) ice cream! * Marguerite then looks for lemon or orange or lime or something close to a citrus fruit. * Robert sits down next to Togo. Having fun? Margie gets a scoop of purple icecream that is said to be 'kiithberry flavored'. * Togo shrugs. "Ice cream's good, and my comic book is rather... odd." Momma always said there'd be flavors like this. * Jacqueline sees Robert and decides to end the silent conversation in favor of asking a question. "Say, where's Yoji and Sayuri? Did you pick them up yet?" * Marguerite takes the cone and sits down at the table. Nope. They're last on the list. ... so where the hell are we? We're right here. (/me wonders why! HAW HAW HAW!) * Rina blinks. "Oh, you guys were second on the list." What took so long? * Marguerite licks tentatively at her ice cream, then blinks and continues on. And what list? Um... we got you only a couple hours after we got Marguerite... And we only spent a couple days searching for her. ... it's been a month since we got here, about. Took so long? It's only been a couple hours or so since they picked me up. What were you doing the rest of the time? ...interesting. We'd best get going, then. I mean, it's been a fun stay here, but... * Robert downs the rest of his ice cream in a hurry, ignoring the brainfreeze. Moving sounds like a good idea. * Rina nods and stands. * Marguerite stands up and moves to the door, taking her time with her ice cream. * Jacqueline scratches her head in confusion, but shrugs and stands up. If Sayuri and Yoji are in a place like this, that could be trouble. Yeah, it's nice and all, but people on the street keep wanting to see me witha rose between my teeth... *scowl* Especially if they ended up someplace hostile. * Rina eyes Togo, then bursts out laughing. Or someplace as boring as where I was. Sayuri'd go insane. Come to think of it, I'd like to see that, too. * Togo eyes Rina, then slowly starts to grin himself. "Ridiculous image, ne?" * Robert stands up. Just a little. * Jacqueline grins "I think it'd be kinda cool!" C'mon. We gotta move it. * Rina nodnods at Jackie. * Togo takes out the comic again,turns to page 73, and shows it to Robert. "There." * Robert snickers. That's you? * Marguerite glances at the comic and cracks up laughing. Yup. And don't ask why Dejiko's in a bunny suit while I'm in a tux. * Togo sideglances at Jacky. That's supposed to be Dejiko? You'd better burn that before we run across her. * Jacqueline smiles innocently. * Robert shrugs and heads for the door. ... nah. I figure, push comes to shove, I can use it as blackmail. ^_^ Remind me to read that later. * Rina giggles. "Your funeral." She heads for the door. "You rock, Jackie." * Robert holds the door for the herd of people. Move it, people. * Jacqueline smiles to herself and follows the others out. Or do I have to start threatening to take christmas presents back? * Rina sticks her tongue out at Robert as she walks out the door. * Togo stows the comic and heads out. * Marguerite is already halfway to the car. ( "But I'm Jewish!" ) ( "So?" ) (He's Jewish? Okay, no presents for him!) ( Discrimination! ;_; ) * Marguerite stands in front of KITT's sliding door. * Rina hums as she walks past Marguerite and climbs into the van. Everybody in, so we can go get Sayuri and Yoji. * Robert hops in the driver's seat. * Togo gets in. * Inside KITT, when people finally climb in, the back workshop floor area is taken up by a pile of presents, marked as for different members of the crew, and all marked "Do not open 'til Christmas." * Marguerite climbs in. * Jacqueline hops in the van and pulls out a random game. So, you all get in the van, which takes off, accompanied by the appropriate sound effects. Soon you find yourself in a corridor of whirling colors streaking by you at incredible speed; Robert and Rina are used to this, Maggie less so. o/~ We're off to see the Wizard... o/~ ... s'nice to be able to see color again. The wonderful Wizard of Oz! ... Though we never did find those red shoes, Robert. We tried, and it's the thought that counts. * Togo hands Mad Dog the comic. "Enjoy. Keep the wisecracks to yourself, please." =P * Rina turns to look at Togo. "You know she won't." * Marguerite grins, and starts flipping through it. "Rina's got that right." She wouldn't be the MAggie we all love so dearly if she did. Well, yeah. Had to say it, though. * Marguerite idly whacks the side of the van with one hand. "Shaddap, you." Ow! * Rina giggles. Hey, watch it, or _you'll_ be the one re-apholstering me. That way, if she does make comments, I can feel perfectly justified in administering a retaliatory noogie. * Robert PHEWS and wipes imaginary sweat off his brow. * Togo smiles evilly, chuckling. If you muss my hair, you get to put all the rubber bands back in. So, where're we going? Right, right. ( "Thataway." ) We're going to see the wizard. Where else? ( Aw. Not there AGAIN ;_; ) I thought we were gonna get Yoji and Sayuri. Didn't I say that? No. * Marguerite flips through the book, chuckling occasionally. She falls off her seat laughing as she hits "the tango scene". Oh. Well, we're going to go pick up Sayuri and Yoji. There, I said it. * Rina blinks, trying to hide her grin (and failing miserably). "Oi, Marguerite, you might wanna buckle up." 'Kay. o/~ Flee, mortals! Flee in fear! Cthulhu's coming, the end is near! o/~ * Marguerite cannot respond. She's laughing too hard. But eventually she manages to get up and buckle herself in. * Togo facepalms. "Please don't spread this around. I'll get kicked outta the grim badass union if it gets out." * Marguerite grins. "And I'd lose my merc license if I didn't make jokes about this for the rest of your life." ( Just don't let Sayuri see it. She'll scan it and put it on the internet in a heartbeat. ) (o/~) ( Oh, she's not. =P ) o/~ Circle round... look at what you see... in her face... the mirror of your dreams... o/~ ( Don't show Yoji, or he'll write a continuation. :P ) (Ooh! Can I help?) * Rina swings her feet back and forth. ( Me too! ) ... it was justifieable homicide, your honor. They pushed me too far, your honor... * Jacqueline shuts off her game and stretches a bit. It'll never stand in court. *crackle* Attention, passengers. We will be experiencing reality-re-entry in approximately three minutes. Thank you. *crackle* * Marguerite finishes off the book, then hands it back to Togo. "Great read, I couldn't put it down." She grins, then opens her pack and pulls out some gadget or another and starts studying it. * Togo tucks it into the deepest, darkest recess of his coat. * Rina snickers. Are we there yet? * Togo then pulls out his shades, and puts them on, relaxing back into his seat. Buckle your seat belts, boys and girls. * Togo buckles. * Robert buckles in. * Rina checks. Yup, buckled. * Jacqueline does so. * KITT bursts into another reality in a burst of industrial light and sufficiently advanced technology. * Jacqueline looks out the window. ( /me gives the GM time to type. ) (...Yu?) ( methinks he went AFK. ) (Gah. Had to get the cat in.) (::looks back up::) KITT emerges somewhere above a mountain range. A single mountain stands out amongst the rest, not due to it's size, but due to it's color; it is a very distinct shade of black, as opposed to the blueish grey of those surrounding it. ... black mountain. Cool. * Rina blinks at the mountain and twirls a lock of black-dyed hair around one finger. * KITT cruises toward the big black mountain. *Someone* has a sense of style... =P Yeah, but it sure ain't whoever owns this mountain. Hey, wait... black mountain... Black Mountain! _That's_ who that lady was, KITT. Hmmm? You're a few weeks behind, but you finally met Xivilai. There's that name again... * KITT whistles a little jaunty tune and then sings o/~ We're off to see the wizard... o/~ Her again? Argh. Great. Just take us in, KITT. Who is she? (As you approach the mountain, you see a very few windows scattered around, and maybe three large balconies. There are two renaissance-styled villages at the foot of the mountain.) ... wonderful. I just love going to see people who can slaughter me with a thought. Tall scary woman... yup, that'd be her. Togos (Ack.) * Jacqueline frowns. "Sounds like one of those cheesey RPG bosses who you can't beat and who defeats your entire party with a single attack." Togo's just paranoid. Xiv hasn't killed us. Yet. That was exactly it, actually. Yeah, that's about right. They don't have to defeat you. Just "knock you all down." You say paranoid, I say... well, paranoid. But rightly so. * Rina shrugs. "Long as she doesn't try to see what makes me tick, I don't care too much." * KITT cruises up to the largest balcony and sets down hard on the only area large enough for him to fit. She wants Dejiko alive for some reason. ( Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you. ) * KITT pops open the side door. * Jacqueline frowns. "Those battles are annoying. I lost an elixer in FF14 once because of one of those." Everybody out of the pool! * Rina unbuckles and climbs out. * Marguerite climbs out. * Togo hops out. * Jacqueline gets out. * Robert hops out and looks around. The balcony is quite spacious, and all black. Big surprise. There are three tables with three chairs each, all wrought-iron. A familiar little girl is sitting at one of them, and was apparently reading a book until you guys came along. Hallo, little one. There is a single large glass and wood door that leads from the balcony into the mountain. * Marguerite waves. "Hey, Ada." Hey Ada. *grin* * Rina waves at Ada. "Hi!" Are Sayuri and Yoji here? Well of course they're here. Why else would I have brought you here? * Jacqueline looks around. The little girl waves back. "'Lo. Yoji's inside, dunno where S'yuri is." Figures. Ada wiggles her nose. "S'yuri's prolly with the Lady, but I dunno where she is, either." * Togo puts away his glasses, and stretches. You know, it just occurred to me. Where the hell are we going next? Well, could you go get them? Or take us to them? I dunno. Pick up Dejiko and Richard, I'd guess. * Yoji opens the door and looks out. "What was..." Heya, Yoji. * Yoji 's face lights up. "You're all okay!" 'ey Yoji. Hey, Yoji! Right as rain, yeppers. * Yoji walks out the door, smiling widely. * Rina grins, running up and giving Yoji a quick hug. "Yeah, everyone's okay so far. And there's presents!" Y'holding up okay? if Xivilai will GET SAYURI OUT HERE, the present giving can commence. * Yoji blinks. "Presents? You guys went shopping while you were...wherever?" But of course. What's a vacation without souviniers? Yeah, I'm good. Been practicing for the last few days. * Yoji looks at Togo. * Yoji blinks, and looks again. Yup, souviniers are good. You...you have eyes now? Yup. Xivilai apparently isn't there, as she makes no response to Robert's yelling. ...wow. * Rina looks around the balcony and rubs at her head. "All this black really makes me want to wash this dye out of my hair," she mutters. My exact words were "Holy fucking shit! WOOHOO! SUCK IT, HAYASHI!"... * Marguerite strides towards the door. "Say, Ada, would you help me find Sayuri?" You guys must've been to much more useful places then we got too. They wouldn't even let us into the city. * Jacqueline nods at Togo. "It's true. I was there." But yeah, "wow" pretty much covers it. ^_^ I'll wait here with the presents. If you guys'll go find Sayuri, we can start opening them. ^_^ * Yoji frowns at the memory. "Jerks." You sure she's even here? A very tall lady in black and silver comes charging out of the room beyond the door Yoji came out of, holding a sword almost as big as Robert. She stops as she sees the bunch of you and frowns, obviously expecting something other than this. Okay. Sayuri's been with Xivilai almost the whole time we've been here. No idea what they're doing. Holy florking schnit! * Marguerite backs away from the door very quickly. Wah! * Togo raises an eyebrow. "That's some sword." Well, that's a hell of a chunk of metal. * Rina blinks at Xivilai It's a Final Fantasy character! * Yoji STARES at the sword. (*snerk*) Ada hops out of her chair and goes over to the lady, who leans down enough for the child to whisper in her ear. The lady frowns, glances at you all, and walks back inside. Y'know, I really shouldn't be surprised by anyone carrying people-sized stuff, since *I* carry people-sized stuff, but... What a waste of good metal. ;_; Sweet jesus. * Rina sweatdrops. THAT wasn't Xivilai. * Sayuri walks out of the door soon after the woman goes back, and chuckles softly, looking at everyone with a sad smile. "Sethra was looking to killing people, I think." She was probably the heroine. The main characters always have hideously oversized swords. Sayuri-chan! Hey, 'bout time you got here! Hey, Sayuri. Looks like you' Hi Sayuri. ve been having fun. (Dammit. >_<) * Togo nods at Sayuri. " 'ey." Sayuri, hi! Ada goes back to her book. Okay, okay, everybody have a seat, we can all exchange stories while we're opening presents. * Marguerite sits in a chair backwards. * Sayuri is back to jeans and t-shirt, but her hair is still colored. She also looks fairly tired. "Go to hell, I've been here, Sure, sure, Hi, Hi, and Hi." What about Dejiko and the others? * Togo raises an eyebrow, then sits down. * Robert disappears back into KITT. Don't worry about them. We'll find them in due time. * Rina tilts her head. "Looks like you didn't get much sleep while you were here." She sits on the ground. * Jacqueline frowns. * Robert returns bearing five similarly sized gifts, each wrapped in a different style of paper. He hands one each to Jackie, Maggie, Sayuri, Togo, and Yoji. Am I the only one who's only been awake for less than half a day? Nope. I caught some sleep while finding you. * Sayuri shakes her head and sits down on the ground in a half lotus. "Not quite, no. Been getting in shape, so to speak." She accepts the present confuzzledly. So did Rina. * Togo looks around the room... then blinks. "... your hair is naturally purple, Rina?" *blinkblink* * Yoji blinks and accepts the package. * Marguerite takes the present, and weighs it carefully. "I meant since the I13 run, Robert." * The packages are all fairly small, and rattle slightly. * Jacqueline frowns a bit more, but it vanishes when she recieves the present. * Rina blinks at Togo. "Um, yeah." She touches the top of her head. "My roots are showing, aren't they?" ... cool. Didn't realize... no color and all. *small grin* * Jacqueline is back to having silver-colored hair by now, what with a month having passed, and all. * Rina laughs. Go ahead, open them! ^_^ Well, it's kinda unusual. I really want to wash this dye out. Yeah! Open them! * Togo shrugs, and opens. * Yoji shrugs and tears open the package. * Jacqueline rips hers open. "Sounds like a plan!" * Robert watches eagerly. * Marguerite shreds the wrapping paper. * The presents are all essentially the same. An amulet suspended from a tough leather cord, which varies in color. Black for Togo, Green for Yoji, Yellow for Maggie, Blue for Jackie, and Pink for Sayuri. The medallions themselves are carved front and back with a fish-scale pattern. Hey, cool. * Jacqueline holds it eye-level by the cord and blinks. * Robert pulls his out from inside his shirt, it's on a red cord. * Togo eyes it, nods approvingly at the color, then slips it on and puts it under his shirt. * Sayuri pulls the paper apart carefully, and peers at the amulet. "How... strange." * Marguerite taps at it. "Huh." * Rina beams. "Robert and me each got one, too." She pulls a violet amulet out from under the shirt. It's certainly... ah... not what I expected. * Yoji puts his on, and does as Togo did. The place we stopped at had some incredibly advanced tech, and I had some money to spare after I sold some MREs, so Rina and I did some shopping. More like magic, really. Sufficiently advanced technology. Pink's never been my color, though. * Yoji blinks. "These aren't magic, are they?" * Marguerite slips hers on, tucking it inside her sweatshirt. ... this isn't gonna turn me into a newt, right? * Rina rolls her eyes. "Whatever. I still say it's magic." * Sayuri peers at the amulet even more suspiciously. According to the merchant, they're supposed to allow you to breathe water. Been a long while since I've had anything around my neck. * Robert disappears back into the van, and the sound of frantic wrapping can be heard. * Rina snickers. In any case, that's not all! Like I said, I got a _lot_ of money for my MREs, so I got a lot of nifty stuff. ...yeah, you guys definitely ended up in better places than we did. Cool. So if we ever have to save the world from a group of evil carp, we'll be set, ne? * Robert comes back out, bearing five more gifts, and hands them to the same five people. The one Togo gets is rather more sloppily wrapped than the others. I never would have thought you'd be one for color coordinating, Robert. * Yoji blinks again. "Um. Thank you." I believe in making gifts appropriate to the person, if I can. * Togo blinks at it, shrugs, and gets to opening it. * Yoji opens. * Again, the gifts are all basically the same, a pair of goggles. The colors are chosen to match the colors of the amulets. Sorry, Sayuri. ^_^ * Marguerite takes her second present, pulls out a knife, and effectively skins it. * Jacqueline opens the next package. (Sure you are, Robert. ;P) ( E_E ) ( Robert is. _ND_ isn't. E_E ) * Sayuri puts her present in her lap, shivers as she puts the amulet in her backpack, and opens the next one just as carefully, setting the paper aside. So...what do THESE do? ... swimming goggles? * Marguerite looks through them. "I always thought Sayuri needed some rose colored glasses." Advanced low-light and no-light vision gear. I've tested these. Good stuff. (Goggles of Infravision, no da. ^_^) Amazing. They'll allow you to see clearly in low light conditions, and will give you black and white vision if there's no light to work with. * Rina mutters, "I still say it's magic." Sufficiently advanced technology. * Robert nods smartly. ( But my glasses already do that. ;_; ) Maaaaagic! * Sayuri rolls her eyes and looks at these new goggles. "Odd. You're 0 for 2 on the 'I'll use this in my everyday life' factor." Oughtta come in handy. I guess. Yeah, well, I thought everybody should have these. * Yoji looks at Robert and smiles. "Is what Xivilai does 'sufficiently advanced technology'?" Now, on to the personalized gifts. * Robert nods at Yoji. Advanced tech. That's all there is to it. ( Add "" to that. ) * Rina giggles madly. Uhuh. * Togo eyes them, shrugs, and stows them in his coat. "Just like backup glasses..." * Sayuri shoves her goggles in her backpack, and chuckles to herself. * Yoji pockets the goggles. * Robert disappears and comes back out with a shoebox sized gift for Jackie. As a side note, I would have given you all gifts, but I don't think the little blue guy would have liked being dragged away, and the only other thing there was grass. * Robert snerks. Don't worry about it. Do you know how much fun it is watching you guys open presents? It's like watching my daughter five times over. * Jacqueline blinks a few times at it. It's for you, Jackie. Open it! You have a daughter? ...you have a daughter? Um, yes? Your daughter is a psychic gun-happy hacker who dresses in black and plays video games? I have a wife, too. ... there's a mini-Robert running around? * Jacqueline opens the package. My daughter is _not_ a mini-me. I hope. Your wife must be something else. * Inside the box is a pair of boots, in stylish colors that match Jackie's normal style. * Marguerite chuckles at Sayuri. "You can say that again." * Togo chuckles. "Wishing better for the next generation. I can respect that." My wife is a saint. She has to be, to put up with me. Wow. Never woulda thought... * Jacqueline takes the boots out and looks at 'em. Go ahead, put them on, put them on. ^_^ 'Kay. Don't think I'd want my kid going into the family business, if I ever had one... * Jacqueline sits down and quickly changes footwear. Okay, now walk up the wall. ^_^ Kids are for women who don't carry plasma. * Rina laughs. Walk...up the wall? Go on... Um... Huh? * Rina nodnods, a smile breaking over her face. * Robert shoos JAckie toward the wall. You heard me, walk up the wall. ( "You're driving me up the wall, Robert!" ) * Jacqueline walks up to a wall and casts a glance back, then tests with one foot. ( "I sure hope so." ) ( Sho nuff, Jackie sticks to the wall. At least, she would, if Yu were paying attention. ) Jackie's foot gets a solid-feeling hold on the wall. * Jacqueline blinks, then tries to walk up the wall. Jackie succeeds! ... Newton must be rolling in his grave right now. Newton bows before sufficiently advanced technology. Hey! This is cool! * Rina grins madly as she jumps to her feet and runs up the wall after Jackie. "You mean magic!" * Yoji grins. "Cool!" * Jacqueline walks around in a circle. * Rina laughs. * Marguerite looks at Jackie. "How bizarre." Wow. They didn't have anything like this where we were. * Sayuri snorts. "Yanno, Robert, you're awfully stuck in that 'sufficiently advanced technology' thing. Magic a bit too scary for the Marine to rely on?" They didn't have magic. * Togo hrms. "Could be hands... attacks from walls, ceilings, all sorts of angles..." * Rina sticks her tongue out at Robert, then moves over to Jackie and murmurs something to her. ( hands=handy ) * Robert disappears and re-emerges with a much smaller package. He hands it to Yoji. It's about five inches long, and about an inch wide. * Yoji accepts it and opens. * Inside is a drafting pencil and a fountain pen. * They are horribly mismatched. * Jacqueline grins and nods to Rina. * Rina grins and runs higher up the wall. I'd have liked to get a set for you, but they didn't have any pencils, just those fountain pens. It was hard enough getting them to modify some of my pencils. Thank you. Do these do anything special? Anyway, I've been told that the pen will never run out of ink, and the pencil will never sharpen past a comfortable length. Alright! Thanks! ^_^ That sounds like magic to me. * Yoji grins widely. I love Christmas. * Robert disappears into the van again. That's 'cause it is. C'mon Jackie, let's get a better view. * Rina runs back down the wall and joins the present opening circle again. 'K * Jacqueline hops off the wall, spins in the air, and lands on her feet. * Rina blinks at Jacqueline. "You've gotta show me how to do that." * Togo chuckles. "Christmas back home was usually a trip to some less- than-reputable arms dealer for a little shopping." * Robert comes back out with another shoebox sized present and hands it to Sayuri. (And Jaqueline's scores; 9.3, 9.4, 9.1...) It's not hard. Just a little gymnastics. Got my first hollow-points when I was 10... *wistful look* * Yoji eyes Togo nervously. I remember Christmas. My first carbine BB-Gun, my first .22, my first 12-gauge... * Sayuri sighs and opens the present carefully once more, puts the paper to the side as before, and peers at the new object. Gymnastics? I'd trip myself in gym class. * Inside are a pair of bracers. They are (much to Sayuri's horror, I'm sure) white with stylized lacelike inlay in pastel pink. ... my first anti-personnel homing mine... ah, those were the days. * Yoji laughs. * Sayuri cringes. "I'd ask what the fuck you were on, but you wouldn't dare touch anything like drugs, I'm sure." Merc Christmases involved a $300 bonus for each corpse. * Yoji blinks at Sayuri's present. Well, you can always cover them with your sleeves. I'm sure you'll want to wear them, since you don't enjoy being shot at. * Togo grins. "Ah, now *there's* the true spirit of Christmas." * Sayuri frowns, and slips them on, the annoyance clear on her face. They emit a low level constant personal force shield. It won't stop much damage, but most things won't hurt nearly as much. * Yoji looks from Marguerite to Togo and back. "You guys are nuts." That's handy. * Marguerite nods at Togo. "And then a free round when we got back to the Hellhouse..." * Robert tosses a second, nearly identical package to Yoji. * Rina eyes Marguerite and Togo. * Yoji catches it, and rips it open. (Idle for a second. Keep on without me.) * Yoji's package is, as expected, a near duplicate of Sayuri's, but in green and black rather than pink and white. * Sayuri frowns at them. "Wonderous. And all I have to do to get this benefit is degrade myself." She slips them off and puts them in her backpack with everything else. There's nothing wrong with pink. And we'd always take down a yakuza higher up on Christmas Eve... tradition and all. Wait, no. The free round was at the Wench's Tits. The Hellhouse was Double Run night. Cool. Double level of protection. * Marguerite chuckles at Togo. "What fun, huh?" Thanks, Robert. There's everything wrong with pink. * Robert goes back in and comes back with a flexible package and hands it to Jackie. Another one for you. * Jacqueline blinks. "Another?" Yup, especially when we caught them in the middle of dinner. Always scared 'em shitless when we came down the chimney. ^_^ * Jacqueline shrugs and rips it open. * Inside is a bundle of fabric. * The fabric is a dull grey. * Marguerite busts out laughing. "I can so see you dressed like Santa, with those twin guns blazing... and a horrible fake beard..." Wow...you must've sold your MREs for a lot to get all this stuff. * Jacqueline takes it out to inspect it. ... how'd you know? * Rina snickers. * The fabric shakes out into a cloak. * Sayuri looks off into the mountain distance idly. Dad always did have a twisted sense of humor... *grin* I sold them for what I estimate was roughly the equivalent to ten thousand dollars. For nine MREs. I figured as much. ... If he's anything like you. For those things? * Jacqueline puts the cloak on. Yup! "HO HO HO! You've all been VERY naughty! It's lumps of lead for you this year!" They seemed to have an inverse sense of taste. The worse something tasted, the better they liked it. Go stand against the wall, Jackie. * Robert grins evilly. 'Kay. * Jacqueline does just that. * Over the course of the next ten seconds or so, the cloak slowly darkens to match the black wall behind it. I remember the time we dressed Shaggy Marciniak up like Santa and dropped him down the chimney of the local brothel. Ooh. This'll be real handy. He was a lot like me, yeah... well, how I used to be. Deadly serious on the job, a goofball off it... and a freaking nightmare with a pistol. He was way better than I am. Rina said you'd like it. It was great, especially because the fire was still going. * Jacqueline tries walking up the wall with it. * Rina grins. * Togo chuckles, and sniffles slightly. "Ah, merc humor." * Robert disappears again and reappears with a smaller box this time. He hands it to Togo. Now, there's a strange condition on this one. Looks like it's your turn, Togo./ Open it up, and I'll explain. ( It comes with mustard? :P ) ( Strange, not bizarre. ) * Togo blinks and opens it. "What, do I have to sacrifice my immortal soul? My spleen?" ( Your eyes! Easy come, easy go :P ) * Inside are four slightly glowing rocks, one pale blue, one orangish red, one a sickly green, and one a blazing yellow. (Back.) The condition is... you only get two of those. ( CRAAAAAAAAAAP! ) ... huh? * Rina hums, content to let Robert explain it. They're supposed to be used on a weapon, but the merchant said it was a very, very bad thing to use more than one on a single weapon. * Jacqueline walks across the wall and stares at the present from her vantage point above Togo's head. ( Cue Jackie's RPG comment...) So one on each gun... okay. What do they do? You touch it to the weapon and it slightly modifies the weapon's ammunition as it's being fired. Of course! You can't modify weapons more than once! It's unbalance things. The blue stone makes the ammo freezing cold, the orange sets it on fire, the sickly green adds an acidic payload, and the yellow charges it with electricity. * Togo eyes Jacky. "And we wouldn't want to have an unfair advantage over the people trying to kill us and take over the world, right?" ( Take the red one! Then you can summon things with your gun! ) * Rina jumps at the sound of Jackie's voice. Ah. Elemental charges. No wonder. What? We already do. We're the main characters! * Yoji laughs into his hand. *** Demota has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) So, you get first pick of two of them, and then the other two will be used as the group sees fit. (She has a point, y'know. ^_~) ( Yes, she does. -_- ) ... okay, point. Hrm... *** Demota has joined #ChibiRPG * Marguerite looks at the stones. Is it permanent? Yes. I made sure to ask. Once you do it, you're stuck with it. No pressure, Togo. Red and Blue! Fire from one gun, ice from the other! That way, you won't be in trouble if you run into a fire or ice monster. ... ice and electricity, I think. * Sayuri looks away from the mountains, and rests her face in her hands. Well, go ahead and use them, then. Fire's useless if they have armor, and acid... eh, acid's not my style. That works too. Electricity works on water beings. ( Who was it who wanted acidic bullets, then? ) And on machines. And since we might be going into water a lot... That too. * Rina makes a face at that. * Togo touches the blue stone to one gun, and the yellow to the other. Why would we be going into water a lot? * The glow fades from the stones and the guns glow with a similar color for a moment, and then it fades. Machines, yeah. If I ever have to take on another A-class bot, I wanna be prepared. ^_^ * Sayuri looks up suddenly in shock, and waits for Yoji's question to be answered. 'Cause we just got these amulets that let us breathe water! It's a plot device! * Rina facepalms. * Robert chuckles. ...right. In any case, what're we gonna do with the other two? * Marguerite chuckles. Anybody want one? *** Deomta has joined #ChibiRPG * Sayuri rolls her eyes, and then lies back on the ground, eyes closed. I'll take the poison if nobody wants it. Are you okay, Sayuri? * Yoji looks over at Sayuri. * Rina glances at Sayuri as well. * Jacqueline stares at Sayuri. From above. :P (make that acid.) *** Demota has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) * Sayuri shrugs from the ground, and waves her hand idly in the air. "Yeah. Swell." * Robert blinks. Well, Marguerite wants the acid one, and if nobody else wants it, I'll use the fire one. * Yoji frowns sadly at that, and turns back. * Rina blinks at Sayuri, then shrugs. Go right ahead. Unless you want me to have a fire sword. ^_^ *** Deomta is now known as Demota I don't know if they'll work on melee weapons or not. Probably better not to experiment with technology I don't understand. * Rina singsongs, "Magic." Sufficiently advanced technology. Makes sense. "Magic"'s lot easier to say than "sufficiently advanced technology". * Robert takes the orange stone, and hands the green one to Maggie. Go for it. * Marguerite pulls her MP5 out, and touches the green stone to it. * Robert takes out his oversized autopistol and presses the orange-red stone to it. The gun flouresces red for a moment, and then the glow fades. * Maggie's gun glows a sickly green for a moment, then the glow fades. * Yoji closes his eyes, and Robert suddenly feels a phantom bap on his head. Ow! So what do you call that, then? * Yoji smirks. * Rina blinks at Robert, then looks over at Yoji. She grins. * Jacqueline walks back down the wall to the others. I don't have any 'sufficiently advanced technology'. Okay, and in the spirit of saving the best for last... Brain is pretty damn advanced. 'S not technology, though. (*taps on Rina's metal body parts*) (*kicks Togo's butt*) ( Poor Togo. He didn't even do anything. ) ( Mwahahaha. ) * Robert emerges from the van this time with a shoebox-sized package, which he handles gingerly. He offers it to Maggie. Be careful with this one. You _don't_ want to break it. ^_^ * Marguerite eyes Robert. What, is it one of those eggs my grandma used to collect? * Rina watches the exchange, grinning all the while. * Yoji looks at Robert, and smiles some more. "I rest my case." ^_^ Oh no. It's far, far better. ^_^ I'm not even sure if you _can_ break it, but it's better to be safe, you know. * Marguerite uses her knife to carefully remove the wrapping. "Damn secrecy." * Inside is a crystal decanter filled with scotch. * Marguerite raises her eyebrow. * Robert hands Maggie a 65oz mug. Pour yourself a drink. ^_^ Appropriate, but oddly amusing.... the hell? * Rina covers her mouth with one hand. * Sayuri sits up, and rolls her eyes. "Wonderful. Now she'll never be coherent." Trust me. Pour yourself a nice... big... drink. * Marguerite suddenly grins, then uncorkcs the decanter and starts pouring. ... note to self. Stay *behind* Mad Dog during battle at all times. Hey, I don't have that option! * When the immense glass is full, so is the decanter. Sure you do. You can throw trophies at people, remember? Oh, sweet ass. Now, let's see how it tastes. This had better be aged at least a year... Yeah, but my aim sucks. Never forget the One True Path of Trophy-Fu. I'll just give you trophies to throw at people. * Marguerite takes a nice, big, long drink. * Rina laughs. * The scotch has been aged approximately forty years. I don't have your throwing arm. 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Marguerite (2d6-1) and gets 4. And as for you aim... that's what practice is for. ^_^ * Marguerite comes up for air thumping her chest. "Holy crap. Now THAT'S what I call liquor." (Actually, Maggie, that roll's at -2. ^_^ ) * Robert grins widely. (Oh, you're right. Still made it anyways.) * Rina crosses her eyes. "Practice, right." In theory, that decanter will never empty. Nobody said that the One True Path of Trophy-Fu was easy. It is a long road to spiritual enlightenment and the ability to beat people up with bowling trophies. I haven't tried it, but all the merchant's other stuff worked, so I figure this one probably does, too. I'm sure I'll have ample opportunity to test it. ... and perhaps Mad Dog will have a chance to learn a side- brance... Drunken Trophy-Fu. ( branch, even ) Drunken Trophy-fu! * Rina laughs. * Marguerite pulls out a cigarette and lights it. "God damn, I haven't had scotch that good since I got laid by the CEO of some corporation or another. I forget which one. I was really drunk." * Yoji looks at Rina. "What's he talking about? You brained someone with a bowling trophy?" * Rina grins at Yoji. "No, but that's a possibility." * Yoji scratches his head. "Then...what?" I'll tell ya about it sometime. 'kay. Robert, I'd hug you, but then I'd have to kill you. And I'd also have to shower for a long time. * Sayuri looks at Margie oddly, and shrugs. She clutches her forehead too. Hey, it's not like I'm dirty... * Rina snickers. "Ah, feel the love." She blinks at Sayuri. But I'd rather not die, so restrain yourself. I don't think it'll be a problem. * Marguerite takes another swig. Hey, Sayuri. You all right? Not if you get drunk enough. What's wrong, Sayuri. * Yoji looks at Sayuri with concern. * Jacqueline grins and takes another walk up the wall. "These are great. Thanks, Robert and Rina." * Marguerite shrugs. "If I can't remember, it didn't happen." She looks over at Sayuri. * Sayuri shakes her head, and mutters "Tired. Been a long three days." * Robert scowls. Somehow I think there's more to it than that. * Yoji sighs. Welcome, guys. Yeah. I'm supposed to be the brooding angsty one on this team! As for the presents... it was the least we could do. I hope you all enjoy them. Watching you open them sure was fun. ^_^ * Togo nods at Rina and Robert. "Thanks." * Rina nods at Robert, leans back, lying on the ground. She sticks her tongue out in Togo's general direction. "Don't kid yourself." Yeah, thanks! They were great. Eh, Sayuri didn't seem to like them. ... but every RPG has a brooding angsty gunfighter. Right Jacky? * Rina gets back to her feet. "I'm gonna think for a little bit." She runs up the wall. I'm sure she'll get over it. I dunno. Probably once she realizes that if she tries, she can change the color scheme of her presents. * Sayuri chuckles softly. "They were interesting. I not a presents person." (Blah. I->I'm) ( "I no like presents! I Grinch Who Stole Christmas!" ) I suppose we should get going - we still have to pick up Dejiko and Richard, right? (I was trying to put an ellipsis in.) Who knows how long this's taken where they are? * Rina keeps going up the wall until she reaches the next balcony, then walks onto there. * Togo nods, and stands. Cue the snaps, crackles, and pops. Those two are having entirely too much fun with those boots. Maybe it's only been a couple hours for them. Not every one, Togo, but most of the better ones do. * Marguerite slips the decanter into one of her pockets. I shudder to think of the sheer amount of mischief they'll be able to perpetrate now. * Sayuri looks up at Rina and frowns. "Xiv may be a nice enough person, but her guards are a bit overzealous." Shudder in the car. We should get going. o/~ ...here I am... on the road again... o/~ Sounds like our cue to go. * Yoji calls up to Rina. "Rina? Are you coming?" o/~ here I am... up on the stage... o/~ * Rina doesn't seem to notice. Probably too high up. :P Rina, come back down here! * Yoji frowns, then his face lights up. * Togo eyes Rina, crouches, then jumps up to her on the ceiling, yelling "Time to go!" as he passes. ~Rina, I think they want to leave.~ * Sayuri stands wearily. "Don't butcher a classic, ya damn thing." (I'm not on the ceiling, baka. :P) Oh fine. ( There's a ceiling? ) * KITT starts the original song playing, instead of singing it himself. ( /me steals Shiggy's telepathic notation. ^_^ ) Just because you have a better memory than I do for these things... ( Okay, then cancel that. =P ) * Rina runs down the wall and over to the group, skidding to a halt. The woman with the huge sword comes back onto the balcony, looks uncertainly at all of you, and then walks over and says something quietly to Ada, who nods and comes over to you. * Togo heads for the van. It's less that you can't remember it, and more that you can't really sing it. * Jacqueline walks down the wall to the others. "Gonna have to remember which way is up." * Rina grins at Jackie. Well, at least I try. I may not win any karaoke awards, but I can sure try. ... karaoke. Now *that* brings back memories... * Yoji tries to picture Togo singing Karaoke, and fails. Ada looks at you all and says to the bunch of you, "Sefwa said th' Lady's back, and she brought someone y'needta see." We should go see this person, then. * Marguerite sighs. * Rina glares evil doom at Togo. "Don't you dare." Yes. Go. Leave me alone. Again. As always. * Yoji blinks. "Okay, thanks Ada." ^_^ More delays. * Rina sticks her tongue out at KITT before following Ada. * Togo grins at Rina. "What, you doubt my singing ability?" * Sayuri 's face actually brightens as she starts walking. "Oh, so she's back." * Robert follows along behind Ada. Ada says, "I can take ya' to where she is. C'mon." * Yoji looks at Sayuri quizzically. Hey, Togo's got a killer singing voice. * Marguerite follows Ada. * Togo follows Ada. * Yoji follows Ada with everyone else. * Jacqueline follows. * Rina says in a deceptively sweet tone, "What ever gave you that idea, Togo?" Yeah, that was the mission I met you on. Robert can vouch for me. Ada leads all who care to follow through the maze of Black Mountain. Before too long you get back the the mammoth library that most of you remember from before. The glare of evil doom? In the first ring of sofas and chairs, Xivilai and the woman with the huge sword are examining Dejiko, who lies unmoving on one of the sofas. * Jacqueline looks around the castle in awe. "Say, you think there's a gameroom here?" Hm, that might have something to- hey, it's Dejiko! Dejiko! * Marguerite blinks. "Well, damn." ... holy crap, Dejiko's out cold. Maybe she's sleeping? Dejiko makes no response. Hmm. She musta gone too long without sleep again. That's a bad habit. Her eyes are wide open, unblinking. Her chest rises and falls very slowly. That's not sleep. Nah, I don't think so... ... She doesn't look asleep. * Sayuri sees Xivilai, and smiles, before paling at Dejiko lying there. Xivilai looks up as you enter, says something to the other woman, and walks over to you, saying "I am afraid I bear unfortunate news." * Sayuri whispers, "Dear gods..." * Rina smiles shakily. "Dejiko's... alive, isn't she? I mean, she's breathing." What...what happened to her? * Togo scowls. * Jacqueline frowns, but waits for an explanation. Xivilai makes a gesture asking for quiet. "As you are all aware, my attempt to teleport you away from the eruption that destroyed the underground fortress back on your world was only partially sucessful. Instead of being sent back here, to Black Peak, you were sent to... various places. This is probably due to interference from-- no, nevermind." "The short of it is, Dejiko did not arrive whole at the end of her teleport." * Marguerite winces. * Rina pales. Not...whole? What's missing? What's that supposed to mean? ... shit. "Her physical form, which is there in front of you, is intact and still living, although I do not know how long it can survive thus without..." she sighs. "Dejiko's soul arrived somewhere else, and I don't know where, yet." ... ...I thought so. ... Wait. What? Her soul? S'just a shell. There's no Dejiko in there. * Togo narrows his eyes. "Can we cure her, when you do?" I don't think we can force her soul back at gunpoint, Togo. If we tried, just her soul could probably kick our asses. Shaddup, Mad Dog. I'm talking to the lady with the massive magical powers. I owe Dejiko my life, and if we can fix this, I'm not about to welch on that debt. * Marguerite crushes her cigarette out on her leg. * Sayuri just looks at Dejiko's form mutely. You said "We", like either of us have magical powers. Xivilai frowns at Marguerite. "Are you saying you will not try?" Xivilai does. Which is why I was asking her. We can do it. * Rina nods. "We should at least do what we can." If we give up, we've already lost. * Togo idly reaches into his coat and puts his glasses back on. What, you expect me to crawl in her ear and wake her up? I'll do what I can, but until someone tells me what the hell I CAN do, I'll have to leave it to you psi/mags. Yeah. I'll do whatever I can. Xivilai looks coldly at Marguerite. "What you can do," she says "Is go out and find her soul, and convince it to come with you so you can return it to her body. If you decide not to help, I'm sure I can arrange to have you join her in limbo." * Robert steps between Xiv and Maggie. Hey. No threats. We'll do what we can. That's a given. * Marguerite lights up another cigarette. "So what you're telling me is that Dejiko's soul is somewhere in the infinite reaches of space and time, in a physical manifestation, and we're to bring it back?" She pauses. "Okay, long as I know where I stand." * Rina looks over at Dejiko and sighs. * Togo curses under his breath, and leans against a wall. A chunk of ice appears at the tip of Margie's cigarette, snuffing the flame instantly. * Jacqueline looks around at the others and blinks a few times. * Marguerite grimaces, and stuffs it in her pocket. "I said I'd help, dammit." * Sayuri sighs. "There's this whole lack of 'Dejiko's Soul Detection' going here, Xivilai. You're better suited to finding it than us." "You are all free to stay here until then. Ask any servant for refreshment of any sort and it will be provided. And what, exactly, makes you think that I am not looking for her soul even now, Sayuri?" (ping?) * Sayuri shrugs, and says softer, "Nothing, of course. Just the whole 'finding' part for us seemed a bit off, s'all." (Pong.) *** Demota is now known as DemoSleep * Rina glances at Sayuri. Xivilai gives a 'whatever' wave of her hand and says "If I am needed for anything other than what I am doing, you can find me in the room of windows." I guess that's that, then. Is there any place I can wash this stuff out of my hair, Xivilai? Wish I knew something about finding souls. I hate having no idea where to begin. * Marguerite sits down, and instinctively reaches for a cigarette. She catches herself before she lights it, and settles for chewing on it instead. "You don't have to worry about finding her soul. You only need to bring it back. That will be the more difficult part." * Togo adjusts his glasses. "Whatever it takes." Right. Bubba and I are ready whenever. At least we'll have something to go on at that point. * Sayuri looks over at Rina. "I can show you where to do that." Yeah, well, I'm kinda tired. I'll be catching some shuteye in KITT. Just let me know if you need some ass kicked. Xivilai walks past you and exits the room. "I will let you know when I have found her. Until then, do as you will." * Robert makes his way back to KITT for some sleep. * Marguerite pulls a piece of equipment from her satchel and starts examining it closely. She's still chewing on the cigarette. (Ping?) ( Piro! ) (Shall I call it a session there, or do you guys wanna tool around some more first?) (Pong.) Let me know if you manage to get it out of your hair, Rina. I'd like to get rid of this myself. ( Robert's going to bed, and so am I. Night, all. ) (Night.) Okie dokie. ( Night. ) ( God, next quarter is going to suck. 8am classes every day but friday. ) * Jacqueline frowns and looks around. "Do as we will? What's there to 'do' here, anyhow?" * Rina smiles at Sayuri. "Yeah, can you point me there?" ( Night ) ( It's 3 AM ) ( Night, ND. ) (Night ND.) *** KITT has quit IRC (Quit: ) *** Robert is now known as NinjaDebugger * Sayuri smiles sheepishly. "This place is a bit of a maze. It'd be easier to show you." *** NinjaDebugger is now known as SleepDebugger There's not an awful lot...there's stuff to read, but not much for entertainment. * Rina grins, some of her usual cheer returning. "Okay, then show me." * Jacqueline frowns. "That's no fun." ( Er, one more time. Shall I call it a session there, or do you guys wanna tool around some more first?) ( Whichever :P ) ( End. ) (Doesn't matter to me.) (Either way's fine with me. :P) (I was under a soft assumption that Rina would bug Sayuri, but beyond that...) * Sayuri nods, and walks out the door. ( Doesn't matter. ) (Yeah, she would. I'd like to play that out, if here or in a mini.) * Rina follows Sayuri out. Say, Yoji, you suppose there's a relavent book on convincing souls in this library? ( Alright. If you're gonna be that decisive about it, then...) [END SESSION.]