|
Vitcity
Sept 27, 2023 13:44:17 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Sept 27, 2023 13:44:17 GMT -5
Leia
"I mean, it seems pretty clear that some know about it, at least?" Jimmy suggests. "I never really questioned if we had adults on the team - besides Mercia anyway - but now that I think about it, someone had to manufacture the power armor we use, right? It's not made of uh... aether? Real metal. And a lot of them. So, uh, more than a kid could do probably. Whatever the soul key stuff is called. Since it was made to fight those mosquito things. Vagus. So, uh, I guess it's not surprising that the police would know...?"
Nora
Alice smirks. "Better. Well, I think a rematch later will-"
The elevator dings. Alice's eyes go wide and she snaps straight up, scrambling to put a reasonable, deniable distance between the two of you. You can hear the elevator coming down. Alice notices she still has the feather duster and chucks it through the door to her bedroom, sitting innocently as the elevator dings again before opening.
Marion steps out, wearing a fluffy sweater, arm back in its sling but grinning broadly. "Dinner's ready! I hope you like roast and... Hm?" She looks over at the chess board, then the two of you, then back at the chess board. She cocks her head a few times, then shrugs. "I never was any good at this. Well, you two finish... whatever it was you were doing, wash up, and come on upstairs while it's still warm, OK?"
"Y-yep!" Alice says, face tinged pink.
Dewey
Dewey can feel the flecks still burning through bits of his armor. Mareena doesn't seem to mind it as she flicks her chakrams at Dewey. A small, glowing bird appears from one and begins to orbit around him as the chakrams return to her hand. The bird pecks at a melted portion of his armor and it starts to close slightly.
Dewey fires another blast of light at the slime as another chunk is blown off and begins to dissolve. The slime jiggles violently, then explodes. Two smaller slimes land near where they were before. One just misses Mareena as she hops off the laundry machine. The fourth lands directly on Pimpernel's head, engulfing it with a loud hissing sound.
"GAH! Crap! Help me get this off!" Pimpernel disengages and retreats behind a pile of scrap for shelter. His hat tumbles off as he claws at the buckles behind his head.
|
|
|
Vitcity
Sept 27, 2023 13:49:19 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by Malefio on Sept 27, 2023 13:49:19 GMT -5
"Don't you think it's strange that the police does not put surveillance around the portals if they know about them?
There certainly wasn't any adult around to help with the color eaters..."
|
|
|
Vitcity
Sept 27, 2023 23:13:14 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Sept 27, 2023 23:13:14 GMT -5
Nora smiles widely. "That sounds lovely. We'll be right up."
Her smile twists into a beckoning grin, and she lowers her voice to a whisper, only for Alice's ears. "God, you're so damned cute. Rematch later. I'll hold you to that."
|
|
|
Vitcity
Sept 29, 2023 14:32:39 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Sept 29, 2023 14:32:39 GMT -5
Nora
"You don't have a choice," Alice whispers back, still red. "It's part of your punishment." She gives Nora a playful shove and jumps up, running over to the elevator before her. She freezes for a moment, staring at the doors, before she finally forces herself to step inside. She stays up against the doors while you ride and is the first to throw herself out into the 2nd highest story, her mother's room. The broken window has been properly replaced since you were last here. The table is holding a sizable meal with a bright, steamed vegetable medley, cornbread, and a still-smoking chicken pie. You can smell something chocolatey baking in the oven.
"Oh... Pie," Alice mutters. "That's rare."
"I thought Nora might want to try a different style of home cooking," Marin says.
Leia
"Man, I don't know," Jimmy says. "All this conspiracy stuff is beyond me. I need someone smarter to figure it out. Like... Alice or Lisa or, uh... Well, not me. Maybe they know about monsters but don't know about the portals. Like they know they exist but haven't figured out where they're coming from yet? Or maybe they... want people going inside for some reason?"
|
|
|
Vitcity
Sept 29, 2023 16:36:21 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Sept 29, 2023 16:36:21 GMT -5
Nora smiles. "It smells and looks delicious... I'm still not quite used to most dishes in America. We Brits tend to be far too afraid of spices, and think beans go with everything. Sometimes we're right- but not often, in my experience. So I'm always excited to try new dishes. Thank you again for the dinner, Ms Marin."
|
|
|
Post by Malefio on Oct 4, 2023 5:56:57 GMT -5
"I know the delivery company I work for gave me my Soul Key before my first job...
And then they never called me for another job..."
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 8, 2023 21:26:49 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Oct 8, 2023 21:26:49 GMT -5
“Close your eyes,” Dewey instructs before using another Mystic Gleam, this one not actually hitting the slime or Pimpernel but close enough to try to force the slime to disengage from his head out of fear of being hit.
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 9, 2023 20:26:32 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Oct 9, 2023 20:26:32 GMT -5
Leia
"Man, I dunno... Oh. Wait, like a delivery job? Yeah, you work when you want. Just go back and tell them you want to run some deliveries or whatever," Jimmy says. "Anyway. I know... eh. I mean, no point beating around the bush at this point, I guess. Mercia and one of the adults fought with me 'n' Mala- uh, Nora. Getting Alice back. So, uh, at least Mercia knows about them and seems to be allied with them?"
Nora
Marin laughs into the back of her good hand. "Oh, beans can be a fantastic and healthy addition to almost any meal, so long as you consider what kind and how to prepare them! Now, don't stand on any ceremony. Come, sit, eat. Help yourself, I made plenty so there'd be enough for tomorrow."
Alice reaches for the pie and Marin raps her knuckles gently with a wooden spoon. "Ow."
"Manners, Alice. Guests first." Marin waves the spoon threateningly. She breaks into a smile, stabbing the spoon into the pie. "I'm kidding. How much do you want?"
"A lot... Oh, and lots of carrots, too!"
Dewey
Dewey aims the Gleam near the slime on Pimpernel's head. As the light ignites, the slime jiggles intensely before dropping off. While Dewey's distracted, two of the small ones attack from either side. He manages to dodge out of the way of one, but the other takes advantage of his move to tackle him. The fourth slime stops jiggling for a moment, spikes forming out of its body as it seems to crouch and guard itself. Mareena skips over the slime without any trouble as she runs over to Pimpernel.
Pimpernel's mask continues to hiss as it dissolves from the slime remnants. "Hold still, now," Mareena says. She flicks her chakram towards the back of his mask, slicing through some of the leather straps criss-crossing to hold the faceplate in place. She grabs the others and flips the last few latches as the acid starts melting through the last layers of the mask. The mask drops to the ground with a thud.
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 9, 2023 20:31:27 GMT -5
Post by empireoffire on Oct 9, 2023 20:31:27 GMT -5
DeweyDewey aims the Gleam near the slime on Pimpernel's head. As the light ignites, the slime jiggles intensely before dropping off. While Dewey's distracted, two of the small ones attack from either side. He manages to dodge out of the way of one, but the other takes advantage of his move to tackle him. The fourth slime stops jiggling for a moment, spikes forming out of its body as it seems to crouch and guard itself. Mareena skips over the slime without any trouble as she runs over to Pimpernel. Pimpernel's mask continues to hiss as it dissolves from the slime remnants. "Hold still, now," Mareena says. She flicks her chakram towards the back of his mask, slicing through some of the leather straps criss-crossing to hold the faceplate in place. She grabs the others and flips the last few latches as the acid starts melting through the last layers of the mask. The mask drops to the ground with a thud. Scarlet Pimpernal"So much for the whole 'secret identity' thing..." Pimpernal retrieves his fallen hat and slaps some dirt out of the brim. "Thanks, Turtledove. Apologies for the sloppy performance." He sets the hat back on his head, turning and angling it in a way that covers his bandaged left eye. "Now, time to deliver some furious vengeance on these foul slimes for such an undignified unmasking!" Pimpernal emerges from cover with a hand on his bolas to rejoin the fight. "Istyar!" He points to the crate that fell on the slime a moment ago. "Retrieve what's inside that, if you can!"
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 16, 2023 17:13:26 GMT -5
Post by Malefio on Oct 16, 2023 17:13:26 GMT -5
"I swear they told me I was on call... Maybe they just wanted to give me a Soul Key and call it a day?
So... Uhm... Nora knows you are one of the mechas or not?"
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 21, 2023 13:40:51 GMT -5
Post by Neo 5.0 on Oct 21, 2023 13:40:51 GMT -5
Nora smiles and sits down. "I would also like a lot."
She relaxes. "This is quite nice. Family dinners tend to be either obligations or something to avoid for me, and they're rarely so friendly."
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 21, 2023 13:50:14 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Oct 21, 2023 13:50:14 GMT -5
Dewey goes for the crate, continuing to assault the slime with light as he does so.
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 21, 2023 20:10:56 GMT -5
Post by Vitsheep on Oct 21, 2023 20:10:56 GMT -5
Dewey, Linus
Dewey fires off some spells at the slimes, then opens the chest and finds a Smokeball.
2. Smoke Ball - Allows self or target ally to become [Untargetable] for one turn.
One of the slimes forms into a spike again as Mareena begins to twirl. She fires off a cluster of lightballs that dart around and smash into the slimes. One of them begins to melt away, its shell bursting and the innards bubbling away into steam as it disappears. When a lightball hits the spikey-slime, the spike splits and fires off from the slime, stabbing into her stomach. "Ow?" she says, skipping back.
One of the slimes tries to tackle Dewey, only to wind up wrapped up in a bola. The last slime rolls into Linus, tripping him as he splats onto the ground.
Leia
"Nora? I dunno. As far as I know, she doesn't know jack about us. I mean, any more than anyone else." Jimmy scratches his head. "Why would they want to give you a soul key?"
Nora
Marin spoons a large chunk of pie onto Nora's plate, then another. When she scoops out the steamed vegetables, she makes sure that Alice gets more carrots than the other vegetables. The pie is gone very shortly. It's a little burnt, but still hearty and filled with even more vegetables. The cornbread is a bit dry, but the steamed vegetables are perfectly seasoned. The oven beeps a few minutes into the meal and Marin excuses herself, returning with a small chocolate cake. You chat a bit about school and things around the office while you eat. The cake is excellent.
"Ah, this was nice. I'm just so happy to see my little girl finally standing up for herself again!" Marin smiles.
"That's one way to put it," Alice says. "I just... got tired of losing..."
"Losing?" Marin says.
"Um, at chess. And... against the elevators, I guess?"
"O-oh...?" Marin clearly doesn't understand, but smiles and nods.
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 22, 2023 8:07:16 GMT -5
Post by Malefio on Oct 22, 2023 8:07:16 GMT -5
"I guess that's the question... I am not detective though..."
(Please give me a stand up ovation for my very lazy Julia reference)
"I guess that's a problem for another time... Can I ask you what your opinion on Mercia is? Who is she to you?"
|
|
|
Vitcity
Oct 23, 2023 15:20:50 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by mrfuzz111 on Oct 23, 2023 15:20:50 GMT -5
Dewey hangs on to the smoke ball for the time being waiting for someone to be more seriously injured before using it, in the meantime using Mystic Gleam on the slime that tripped Linus. (Yep, definitely going to have to start diversifying Dewey’s moveset here soon…)
|
|