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About Chaos Sonic


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  • Title: "Ain't no thing like me, cept me"


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  1. He sat there for what felt like an eternity, just pondering the situation. Trevor could tell there was something there, something he could help with, but he was at a point where he couldn't break to it. He felt like a failure for the moment, but then again, he didn't have any magic that could easily be utilized to make the situation better. And for all intents and purposes, that was what he was good at. But even still...there had to be som-...wait were those loud thumping noises from outside the door? Trevor whipped around to look towards the door and saw...what seemed to be...a Minotaur. ...a Minotaur? ...interesting...very interesting... he thought, watching the hulking being approached him. "Heard a stranger was hanging around here, scared off a couple people and all, take it that's you?" "Scaring people off? No sir, I can't say that's me." Trevor said simply, looking at the beastman before him. "I do apologize if I actually wasn't supposed to be in here, I was in here talking to the receptionist, Benjamin, a few moments ago. I meant no harm." He cleared his throat, finally getting his bearings back together. "Trevor Masters, apprentice to Balthazar Blake, sorcerer of the 777th degree. I'm one of Mauvache's champions, well...one of the newer batch anyway." "One of....Gwaaaaaaahahahahaha!" The minotaur suddenly began to laugh. Then he clapped a hand on Trevor's shoulder a couple times, painfully, before shaking his large head. "Well that would explain it. You lot sure do like to just show up unexpectedly don't you?" "S-So it would seem..." Trevor tried his best to push through it, though he wouldn't lie...it was painful. "I-In any case, I can assure you I haven't scared off anyone presently around here...mister...?" "Mister? Gwaaaaaahahahaha!" He laughed again. "Name's Tegur m'boy! One of me waitresses scurried back to the bar saying some stranger was lurking you see." "A pleasure, Tegur." Trevor nodded, before rubbing his chin slightly. "A waitress, you say? Curious. Aside from Benjamin, I haven't seen anyone else enter or leave this breakroom...but then again, perhaps I was too engrossed in my own thoughts and ruminations to notice. If that did indeed, happen to be the case, I must apologize." "Poor girl probably didn't even get past the door. You'd think she would learn to be fine with strangers by now. Ah, well, glad to know there was no problem." He patted Trevor's shoulder again. "But you shouldn't linger around too much you know, if you've got nowhere to go I'd recommend getting a drink, gwaaaaahahahaha!" "I would definitely take a recommendation on that." Trevor chuckled, before moving out of the breakroom. However, after he past the door's threshold, he held up a finger. "A curious question from you, Tegur. The receptionist, Benjamin...what's his story? I got bits and pieces here and there, but nothing concrete. I was hoping to help the rabbit out." "Well I don't like to talk bout other folks but that kid? He's a good lad, always comes on time and does his job. Friendly too. Though I guess been a couple months since he's stopped for a chat now that you mention it." "So this is a strange change..." Trevor nodded slowly. "...truly a curious situation indeed. I know he mentioned he was trying to provide for his family, namely his old folks. Not only that, it seems he hasn't been taking care of himself in the long run...running himself through the wringer." "Mm, strange, lad always had so much energy. Don't think I noticed him working more than normal...Well, who knows this old man might just be forgetting things, not the sharpest bolt in the crossbow these days, gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahaha!" "And he did freak out...thinking I was requesting a payment, saying he already paid this month." Trevor nodded again, tapping his chin. "There's more to this, I reckon." The minotaur grunted. "I see..." He grew quiet then nodded. "Well, can't say I know what that's about. Be careful not to spook the lad too much or ye'll just do the opposite of what ye want." "Would you happen to have any suggestions on how to proceed, Tegur?" Trevor inquired, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Ah, like I said I'm not much o' a thinker. I'm just a bartender these days, people talk about their problems but don't usually hafta get them to open up m'self." "I see, I see..." he sighed. That's about the time it really hit him, maybe there WAS something he could do more than magic: believe. So many adventures before his arrival here back in the Ever...so many times he saw the power of the heart and how strong it was. They had their unique and abilities...they help build strong bonds, etch memories from the past in...they were great tools for all. He had to understand the rabbit's heart if anything...that was fair to be certain. "Perhaps you are right. Maybe he'll open up in his own time..." Trevor sighed slightly, before giving Tegur a thumbs up. "Thank you for the assistance there. As for the recommendation on getting a drink, I'll happily take that, maybe offer an invitation to our rabbit friend as well." "I'll warn my waitress, gwaaaaahahahaha!" Trevor heard the laugh long after Tegur left the room. He did notice the signs about apparently Tegur's bar, which was on the second floor of the Arena. With a nod, he decided to go out to Benjamin and simply offer the rabbit an invitation to accompany him up there sometime. Perhaps there, he would be able to understand the heart of the rabbit man.
  2. The start of Ziun's day was...rough, to say the least. He did eventually get free of his bindings after his meeting with the Apati, though it wasn't without it's embarrassment, as one would come to expect. It was quite the spectacle and did quite embarrass the young bard in the grand scheme of it all, but nevertheless he found himself back at the Drooling Dragon tavern, to do his now normal routine of performing as entertainment for the tavern patrons...hoping to score a bit extra coin...all the while, he kept hoping and trying to figure out what he would end up doing to better help his allies as they delved further into the dungeon. Unfortunately, when he got himself freshened up from the night prior, he double checked his coin count from the night...and to his dismay, he didn't have enough. No extra potions of health just in case, nor a possibility of getting any sort of enchanted items. He cursed to himself, but he didn't have anyone to blame but himself and his own skills. Ziun left his room and moved downstairs to enjoy a bit of food before he planned to meet the others as promised. However, what he needed to do was do a bit more practicing and freshening up on his conjuration magic. He hated the fact that he had neglected it in favor for the blade, but alas, the choice was made before and he had to move forward for this. He did ask a few tavern patrons about a good location to practice and train...and of course, he was thinking about the training grounds, but he was definitely told otherwise. One patron even suggested the docks, since no one was really down there much. Another basically echoed this sentiment...which sounded good. "You gentlemen have my thanks." Ziun nodded with a smile. "I truly appreciate the assistance." After getting pointed in the right direction, the bard made his way down in the direction of the docks. Ziun had to admit, it was a bit of a nostalgic feeling to return back to his conjuration side of magic, even though he forewent it in favor of the blade. It was like something he had lost was returning back to him...and it felt like it was completing him in the grand scheme of it all. But these were laments and thoughts he could have later. He entered the docks area and stood there, breathing the salty sea air for a moment or two. "Now, time for a bit of practice." he muttered, exhaling slowly. "I shouldn't have forgotten everything about how to do this, surely."
  3. Once again, Trevor found himself in a rather...strange predicament, the very same one he found himself in the day before. Alone in the abode with Bartleby, but honestly, not for very long. He figured today would be a good day to go visit someone: Benjamin, the receptionist at the Arena. A strange thing to do, in the grand scheme of it all, but once he bid Bartleby farewell, he left and headed to the Arena. "A curious question for you, Masters. What pray tell are we doing visiting the receptionist?" Trevor looked at his floating grimoire, before sighing slightly. "A...bit of an observation, actually." he started, the two headed off. "Our rabbit man had a bit of a tired look on his face when we first arrived here, if you happen to recall." He paused in his stride, sliding his hands into his pockets. "...I want to try and help our receptionist out and find out what's going on with him." The Cabanomicon spoke not another word...er...write out another word, but the two continued onward in silence. Once they arrived at the Arena, Trevor would notice that it seemed it was open and busy today. Seemed like there was a fight scheduled for today, but sadly, unlike other such fancy arenas, this one didn't have any screens to view the combatants to know who was fighting. Nevertheless, the young sorcerer noted the long line of people at, of course, the receptionist counter apparently buying tickets with Benjamin there selling tickets. Trevor found it best to just wait in the back and wait for the line to go down, then he'd make his move. Once a certain time hit, the bunny declared that ticket sales had ended. Of course, some people who didn't make it grumble but they ended up leaving regardless. The bunny then did something behind the desk and a red screen with text "Closed until end of match" appeared in front of the desk. Taking this as his cue, Trevor simply knock on the desk lightly and waved. "Good morrow, Benjamin. How goes it?" "Sorry, we aren't selling tickets at this moment." Benjamin replied automatically. "Oh that's fine, I wasn't here for ticket buying." Trevor chuckled, before pondering. "...at least not today anyway." "Oh okay. Merchandise can be bought online. The food courts and bar is in the floor ahead. Sign ups for Arena Contestants must go through an interview process. If you have a meeting scheduled please state your name and reason for meeting." "You seem to have that down to a science with that whole spiel." Trevor chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "In any case, I figure I stop by and check on you, actually. If I recall the last time we spoke and saw each other, you looked...for lack of a better term, like something the cat dragged in. Bags under the eyes, just to name an example." "I'm sorry I don't understand..." He then looked panicked. "I-I already paid this month!" "Benjamin...buddy, I'm not asking for money." he tapped on the desk again, doing his best to really observe the rabbit man. "Just trying to help you out is all. Honestly seems like you haven't had a break in a while." He stared for a while, not comprehending, then said, "Oh! You're um. That guy. S-sorry I, um, thought you were someone else haha....and well actually it's just about time to take my break!" "Excellent..." Trevor nodded, before clearing his throat. "So you wanna talk about...that...?" he asked, referring to what the rabbit man just had happen. "Either that or maybe why you look like something that Morgan would work with? Ya know...dead lookin with those tired eyes?" "Oh dear, do I? Sorry I'll work on that. I don't like to have caffeine, my mom always said that I get jittery ahaha...." He paused. "Er, I should head to the break room. But it's employees only so...." "Would it technically be alright for me to accompany, considering I'm one under Mauvache's employ too?" Trevor asked. "Or would that be a no?" "Um. I don't....I don't know...I-If you insist, but it's not really anything special." The break room was simply that, complete with a bunch of tables and vending machines along one wall that had all sorts of things including full packaged and cooked meals. "Looks like Mauvache keeps her employees in good hands with everything like this." Trevor chuckled, moving to a table. "So, what seems to be the issue with you, my friend?" "Issue? There's no issue....did I make a mistake that I don't remember?" "I meant the insomnia there." Trevor said, waving a finger in the air. "Noticed it when we first arrived. Quite frankly, with everything else going on, didn't have a moment to properly look into the matter. But I have time now, thankfully." "Insomnia? Ahaha no no I guess I'm a little tired but I'm okay I'm just glad I have a job." "Uh huh..." he said, staring intently at Benjamin, trying to study him. "And you thought I was someone wanting money, when I clearly don't look like any loan shark at all...and once again, you look like the living dead...so why don't you just tell me what's up?" "Nothing is up why do you keep saying that you're being so weird right now, ahahaha." Trevor stared more at Benjamin, squinting his eyes slightly. "Uh-huh..." he said, not really believing the rabbit. The more he looked the more nervous Benjamin seemed to be getting. He began to fiddle with a nametag on his shirt. "Is...um, is that all you wanted then? I appreciate the concern but everything is A-Okay here." Trevor kept staring, noticing the nervousness that Benjamin was displaying. "You know...I've already been taught this lesson, one I'm still working on figuring out..." his mind reeled back to his training fight in the system with Morgan against Grigoriy. "...you need to rely on others, your team and friends, to help you. You can't just do things on your own. Take it from this sorcerer...trust me." He smiled weakly. "Y-yeah, that's true. Well that's what I'm working for you know, to help my family and all. Old folks getting, well, old." "Have you been taking proper care of yourself afterwards?" Trevor raised an eyebrow slightly. He could honestly get behind Benjamin's reasoning at this point, family was important for sure. But if he answered anything else here bu-... "Oh don't worry if I don't 'take care' of myself I'm sure someone will, ahaha..haha." it seemed he had made a joke somewhere in there to himself that he didn't actually find very funny. His eyes slightly narrowed for a split moment. He cursed internally, it was making sense now. With Benjamin saying he was helping his family with his parents getting old... it all made sense. And for a moment, the sorcerer was both sad and upset at the same time. "No." Trevor said sternly, shaking his head slightly. "Let me tell you this, my mentor and master told me the importance of rest. While hard work is important, don't mistake me, rest is even more important. For example, if you work out your muscles and don't give them time to rest and heal, you'll only damage yourself in the long run. What do you think will happen if you continue to go down this path of working yourself to death? Your folks most likely won't have anyone to take care of them should anything happen to you." "Ahaha, yeah, wouldn't...wouldn't want to damage myself would I. That sure would be bad....anyway, break's just about over I should get going." Trevor nodded before thinking of something. "Tell you what...provided that our top-hatted boss is alright with it, how about I help you out? Just to lessen your work load in order for you not to kill yourself in the process." "Less work? No, no no no no not at all, no way, I can't have that!" He got up suddenly and went for the door. "A-anyway break's over time to get back to it." Trevor just let the rabbit man rush past him, simply rubbing the bridge between his nose. "The poor man is overworking himself...that there is for sure. All this for his folks...and for what?" he muttered, most likely loud enough for Benjamin to hear...or not to hear, that was up to the rabbit's ears. "...perhaps casting Curaga might help? No...I believe I did that once before. It didn't seem to work then." The sorcerer just sat there in the break room, contemplating and collecting his thoughts. If Benjamin wasn't careful, he would most likely work himself to death...and that couldn't happen.
  4. Basically on cue after he said stuff (and a bit more than that as well), Sabrina went in before the rest of the party. It seemed like a rookie mistake in the grand scheme, considering the fact that the number one rule of any game with a party: Never split up the party. And yet, Sabrina took that one rule and threw it out the window. So much for the dragon blooded warrior being a team player...then again, what was he doing any different? He had been pretty distant lately after that last fight against the Guardians, least in his mind. “...Sabrina’s gone, I’m going to go look for her. ...I’m going left,” "N-No telling where she went...but..." Gene sighed, nodding slightly. "May as well see if we can find some clues on the left path..." ...maybe get some actual puzzle solving going. His decision was made as Gene followed after Marshall down the left path. Like Marshall in front of him, he scaled up the pile of rubble as best he could just to see a dimly lit hallway...a poorly lit one at that. It stretched in both ways as the previous floors had, though there was a clear lack of floor. Eventually though she would hear armored footsteps from further down the hall and it's winding castle walls, though it was difficult to make out how many there actually were. Even still, Gene had the mind of a puzzle solver in this moment. He knew there had to be something within these halls in regards to a secret or something. And he was determined to find it! He got within the hall and started to slowly run his hands along the walls. Here and there he would press on it to try and find out if there was a hidden secret within the walls. Nothing. ...okay...no secrets in the walls...damn. Let's try the next thing. Gene proceeded to move towards the collapsed floor, to see if he could find anything within the pile of rubble. Unfortunately, once again, he came up empty. ...o-okay...this is starting to really upset me... he slightly grumbled silently to himself. He figured the only thing left to do was to move forward. And that was the last thing he wanted to do. With a slow, drawn out sigh, Gene moved past Marshall in a cautious manner and proceeded forward. Walking around the bend, Gene saw them: a patrol of three armored Drengr, all carrying weapons. He let a slight gulp after seeing these creatures walking around on patrol, though they were walking on the opposite direction of him...which was a plus. Though on the right, he saw a door, though it was a bit further down. Damnit...and it's past the Drengr...just my luck. Gene thought, slightly defeated at this point. He decided to just play it safe and go back cautiously and quietly back to Marshall and just relay all the information to her. Maybe she could assist with a better plan of attack.
  5. “So it’s a floor and change below the restaurant? I wonder if people know that when they decide to eat there…” “I mean, it kinda makes sense. If they’re using water as their main fire suppressant because Caesar’s got that woman on staff, like, you still want a different suppressant if the restaurant’s got a fryer. I don’t think even Caesar could convince a health inspector otherwise.” "I wouldn't put it past the rotund psycho at this point..." Override sighed, his suit finishing the expulsion of the water from his suit. "Regardless...we should be able to work with that at least..." “And the control room’s probably got a lot of tech. You don’t want water leaking through the floor into that. She can’t be here all the time to keep it out if something goes wrong.” Override was silent, as he turned towards A.V.D., waiting for a moment. Things started turning in his head, about the time he realized what was meant, Minos seemed to come to the same conclusion. “Oh, so it’s like a blind spot! She’s in the Control Room, but she can’t let too much water get in there. We could probably just make a hole in the kitchen floor then, right? Go down through there?” “You know where the kitchen is?” “Duh! My superpower-Cassie-says-isn’t-a-superpower, remember? Also, there were signs for the restaurant when we came in. Anyway, yeah, if you’re real anxious, I could probably close up the floor when we’re done with it too,” "...that's...a fair point. I think I must've missed those signs specifically, considering I came through the roof." he said, prepping himself. But at least now they had a plan, though it wasn't too much of a great plan, but it was something. “I don’t want to get into all that water on the floor, though. I guess we’re running across the machines, then? I’ll try to conjure up some handrails in case we lose balance because that doesn’t look safe either…” “Good idea! Well, we’ve got a goal and a plan to achieve it. What else are we waiting for?” Override gave Minos a nod, beginning to rise into the air again. "At this point, nothing. Though I am going to say this..." he noted the display on his H.U.D., seeing the layout of the kitchen he had gotten. The restaurant area was a series of tables circled around a lavish buffet line. There were a couple of mercenaries/mooks/whatever they were standing guard near the kitchen doors, one by the buffet, and three tables also have someone nearby for a total of six hostiles. The tech hero already started flying off in the direction of the restaurant. "Okay, we have about six hostiles in the restaurant area. One by the buffet, a couple standing guard by the kitchen doors and three tables have someone near them. Do either of you have a proper plan to take care of this? I'm open to suggestions." A.V.D. looked back behind himself and saw a rush of water flowing out of the casino pit and giving chase. "I don't know if we have the time to make a plan..." he said. "No, it's okay!" Minos said. "That's just one or two each. Dibs on the buffet line one!" "Guns blazing then, alright." Override nodded, before hearing some stuff behind him. He glanced backwards and saw that the very slot machines they were starting to run on, the ones behind start sparking even further and explode behind the last person running along. "Shit...that's not good at all. Kick it into high gear, people!" The moment he got to the restaurant doors, Override burst through and aimed at the two nearest ones, the ones by the tables...and he fired two pulse bolts at them. One connected with a mook and they were knocked down. The other, dove behind a table. "The table isn't going to save you, buddy." he said, immediately firing another bolt at the table, blasting a hole in the table. And yet, the hole was sealed up by a freeze ray. "...charming." He took aim at another thing in the room...a chandelier above the table in question. Override fired another bolt at the chandelier, having it crash down onto the table...or the plan was that... The mook fired the freeze ray up at the falling chandelier which froze into a platform for the chandelier to crash into instead. The tech hero immediately noticed something, in where the mook was giving a thumbs up to the camera in the corner of the room. "So they're keeping tabs on them from the cameras, eh? Clever girl." Override took this opportunity to immediately fire bolts at the cameras. "Time to blind you lot. No more freebies." "Sir...sir!" "In a minute, P.I.X.E.L." "But sir! Incom-..." Override heard the alert too late as he was struck in the left arm by the freeze ray, which knocked him for a loop for a moment. He got careless, which caused him to curse under his breath and helmet. "P.I.X.E.L., get the suit to attempt to pull power to go into a defrost." he said, before immediately firing another bolt at the mook with the ray, knocking him out. He landed for a moment, before checking on the others...Minos had managed to deal with the two by the kitchen door in addition to the one she called dibs on and A.V.D. had left the one remaining one shivering in the fetal position. Plan well executed. "O-Okay...good work...now...while I get my suit to at least deal with the frozen side... Minos! You're up." he pointed in the direction of the room, towards the kitchen. "If you don't mind." Minos gave a little salute. "You got it!" she said. "One and a half floors down we go!" She marched through the swing doors into the massive casino kitchen, where she picked out a spot, punched into the floor, and widened and deepened the hole until the first basement could easily be seen. It seemed like a standard office hallway underneath. She hopped down and repeated the process with the basement floor. The hole she created there did not reveal any details about the control room, though. It was pitch black below. It took a second but Minos decided to climb back up to the kitchen. "It's a bit of a jump, and I'm gonna guess she's not alone down there 'cuz that's gotta be a power," she said. "Fantastic..." Override sighed, the suit finally able to heat up enough to defrost the left side. "Then we should get down there and see what we got." Once he was fully defrosted, he immediately followed after Minos.
  6. Ziun’s head throbbed with pain. He had been hit before, sure, but this was a new sort of sensation. As he started to come to, he felt the area around him jolt up…was he…in a carriage? It seemed so, and a very VERY fancy one too. Red colored sheets covering the windows, long cushioned seats, several feet between him and the other side…which the little girl was, a bird cage with…a…fish…and water, and a sword in a…stone? He blinked a few times, wondering if he really did wake up or was still in the land of dreams. Well, he would be enjoying this more...if he wasn't bound...lovely. "Finally awake are you? I didn't think I hit you that hard, not much of an explorer huh?" "Now now. You just don't know your strength sister." "Does it matter? He's up ain't he? Let's get to it." "Come on brother, can't you see the pathe-....poor thing is still out of sorts? So, about what you said about 'offering your life'...." "W-Well..." Ziun finally spoke up, once he finally got his bearings and wasn't as groggy when he first awoke. "Am I to assume you represent the Apati family, my dear?" he asked, as calmly as he could (despite basically being abducted). "Considering your appearance and voice don't quite match up now, that and the fish in the cage..." The bard motioned with his head to the cage and the fact that the water was still there in one piece. "Top it off with a talking sword...which most of this doesn't just happen. Now if I'm speaking nonsense, I suppose I'll make due and assume I may still be dreaming after seeing this." "Maybe you are dreaming, you were out for a while after all." The girl said. "We wouldn't presume to 'represent' the family, as it were." the fish said. "But yes, we are members." "A pleasure to meet you, in that case...albeit, perhaps would be a bit more of a pleasure if I wasn't currently in this predicament." Ziun shrugged, namely referring to the fact he was bound. "Nevertheless, you answered my question...so I'll respond in kind. I would say it was nothing but a slip of the tongue with my words, but perhaps..." he paused, before sitting upright and letting out a sigh. "...due to me not having anything but my own life to offer, why wouldn't I attempt to bargain with it? For some, this could be construed as madness. I myself know not why I said it when I did, but nevertheless...I uttered those words and therefore, made my bed. If I could not be a hindrance to my allies while delving further for the Spark, to be of service and help to them instead of cowering like a scared child in the face of watching a...friend...perish in the line of adventure...then I suppose...I would gladly submit and work for the Apati family." "I told you he talks a lot." The girl said to the sword. "Yeah I didn't quite get all that." "Simple, he's saying he wants to do work for us." The fish answered. "And he doesn't even know who we are yet." The woman said with a derisive laugh. "Hey, who even are you?" The sword asked. "...I'm sitting right here, you don't have to talk like I'm not here..." he muttered, before clearing his throat to avoid that. "Apologies. My name is Ziun Castir of Cheron, Bard of the College of Glamour, at your service." "Oh a schoolboy, cute." The girl said. "Why I think I know of the place, it's a quaint instutition." Said the fish. "Ugh." Grunted the sword. "Oh, right, you can call us Cerberus." The girl said, and giggled. "Cerberus...?" Ziun lulled that name around in his mind some, nodding. "That sounds familiar, or at least it rings a small bell, more or less...I believe my peers at Steelhorn used it as a term rather than a name, however." "Nonetheless that is what you can call us." The fish said. "Anywho, so you want to work right? And I recall you said you don't have much in the way of outstanding skills to mention yes?" "Aside from illusions and conjuration, though unfortunately I pale in comparison to such as the likes of Zion." Ziun lamented, but nodded. "Aside from that, I am but a humble bard." "Humble, bah." The sword said, clearly not liking the word choice. "Well we can have you play some music, perhaps spice it up with some fire and spikes..." the girl said. "Sister, did you not bring him here for a reason?" The fish prompted. "Yes, yes, I know I was just thinking of other ideas." The girl leaned forward, elbows on her knees and chin on her hands. "How far have you gotten in the Dungeon? Do you think those....companions of yours intend to try and go all the way?" "Fifteen. However, I only joined with my companions for five floors." Ziun explained. "So before I joined them, it was ten." "Ah, it's a start as they say." The fish said. "Well, do you think that they have what it takes to go all the way? Or are they gonna just give it up on their own?" the girl asked. "With these three, I am as sure as the sun sets and rises the next day, that they'll go all the way." Ziun smirked confidently with this. "They're a most impressive and formidable group." "Hm." "Hm." "Heh." The three practically said in unison, before the little girl spoke once more. "Then that makes it simple. There's an easy thing you can do for us to earn some money. All you have to do. Is sabotage them." She laughed and then, as if expecting a certain reaction, continued "you don't have to get them killed or anything just make it a bit harder on them, enough that they decide it's not worth it." Ziun gave a blank stare at them, as if in...disbelief. "I'm sorry...please, I must be mishearing, Cerberus. Could you repeat what you said?" "Do I have to?" She asked, sounding suddenly childish again. "It's simple really." The fish answered. "Use whatever tricks you can to make their next expedition to the dungeon hard. Hard enough they decide to stop going through it. That's all." Ziun was silent, almost deathly silent. His gaze seemed to go from the trio known as Cerberus to the floor in contemplation. The opportunity was here, he could have the coin to get what he needed to assist his companions through the dungeon...but...it was at the cost of them not being able to progress. He had to sabotage them, which at this point, he would've been better off without doing this...on the count of his last five floors with them. He thought hard on this, his eyes darting slightly around as his gaze remained fixated on the floor of the carriage. Finally...the bard spoke with a sigh. "...I must apologize...but, I don't believe I'm the man for this kind of job." Ziun confessed, seeming slightly dejected. "In truth, I sought the Apati out to be able to assist my fellows in their dive through the dungeon. If I was to simply sabotage them...well, quite frankly I would've done so without trying to fix anything. That is to say, with the last five floors, I proved to be nothing but a hindrance. I sought a way to help them, not to be a hindrance once more." His gaze returned to Cerberus. "I apologize that this may not be the answer you hoped for, but I cannot do that." "Well that's stupid." The sword said. "A very unwise decision indeed." The bird replied. "And here I thought you were willing to do anything. Why did you bother trying to find work if you're not willing to do what it takes? Who would want to hire someone like that?" The girl said, sounding annoyed. "We have plenty of grunts if that's all you intended to be." Ziun sighed but simply shrugged. "I was, but not to the point of practically screwing up the reason I was seeking you out in the first place. I was doing it, not for my sake, but for theirs. I lost one...compatriot, ally, friend, whatever you wish to call her because of my..." he paused, shaking his head. "...because of my incompetence. So I am truly sorry, but I cannot do that. But perhaps you'll indulge me in another question. Why are you opposed to this group going further through the dungeon?" "Ew." "Ew." "Ew." The three groaned. Then the girl answered. "Why wouldn't we want to stop anyone else reaching the Spark? That's pretty simple stuff." "Apparently not to someone such as myself." Ziun said plainly. "Quite frankly, I figured most of the families, from what I was told, mind you, were hiring people to get the Spark...and yet, you wish to keep those from reaching it. It's a strange situation for sure." "Less people in the Dungeon means less competition." The fish said with a chuckle. "Even I know that." The sword said. "But I suppose you are just a musician." The girl snickered. "So why don't you just...hire someone to get there before the others?" Ziun inquired. "As you said, I am just a musician, but even I can understand that if you want it...you would hire someone to get it, right?" "Well that would be stupid." They all said at once. "At least, it would be right now." Said the sword. "Without competition we can simply take our time." The fish said. "So impatient." The girl said, shaking her head. "You really don't know what you're getting yourself into. Trust me, you should take this deal. It'll be a lot better for you and your...." she snorted. "...friends." "At least WE aren't trying to kill ya." The sword said. "Now now, brother, don't say anything about the other families. You wouldn't want to be rude." said the fish. "Well, in any case, guess we have no use for you right now, do we?" asked the girl. "It appears so..." Ziun sighed yet again. "Seems we are truly at an impasse and it's a shame. Part of me was truly wanting to learn from the great Zion Apati, but alas, it seemed to be too good to be true." "Ah, he's not so great really, but I guess he would seem like that to you huh." The girl said. "Well, I suppose you should be on your way." Said the fish. Then one of the carriage doors opened up. If Ziun looked he'd see the carriage was still moving. Even still the sword said "Go on then." "I take it you won't at least unbind me?" Ziun looked out through the door, seeing it still moving. This would be the way this day would be for him, wouldn't it? "Part of me is assuming you won't at this point." "Of course not, we're not even sitting in front of you." The girl said with a laugh. "Maybe if you had taken the offer." "I figured as much." Ziun sighed, before doing his best to stand up and keep his balance as he made his way towards the carriage door. "Very well, Cerberus...twas a delight meeting you, until it wasn't, but I shan't hold that against you. Do give Zion my regards." he said, trying his best not to mentally kick himself for not taking this offer, but he wasn't going to ruin the other's chances like that. With nothing else to say, he walked out the carriage door. "See you later, schoolboy!" The girl said and began to laugh more. "You might not see us though." was the last thing he heard before stepping out and tumbling onto the ground. He bounced a few times before coming to a stop. As he rolled slowly to a stop, after bouncing a few times, he found himself back on the ground to where he looked up at the sky. His face, while he did have a smile on his face with talking to Cerberus...it was now gone. Ziun just laid there...partially not caring if he was a road block or anything (considering he was still bound), but he laid there...feeling defeated. He felt stupid on multiple levels. Stupid on how he thought this would work. Stupid on almost selling his soul to the proverbial devil(s) just to do it. And stupid how he ALMOST agreed to sell his allies out and sabotage them just to "help" them. If there was a low point...this was it...and any lower, well, Ziun probably would be descending there too. "...back to square one..." he muttered to himself, sighing slightly. "...how the hell am I supposed to help them now...?"
  7. This was it…the moment of one of the many big scores that Neal had on his list. He stood there, staring at the same sign that John was, who seemed to just be taking long drags of his cigarette. CLOSED HOURS: TUE-FRI: 7AM-11PM SAT-MON: 8AM-9PM “Luckily for me…I’m not using the front door.” Neal smirked, preparing to go off to round the corner and begin the heist, but John stopped him and handed him a small device. "Do not lose this. Or else we'll both get fired, deported, and sent to prison. In that order, if we're lucky." Neal nodded at this, only giving a small chuckle. “Quite the order to be caught in if that were the case. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure to bring this back in one piece.” he asked, remembering the instructions he was given of the device and the inner machinations of it. Grapple hook, flashlight, flash bang, smoke grenade…all in one little device. It was a beauty of an invention and piece of work, fitting for the Gentleman Thief Arsène Beau. "Now get in there and show me how a thief would use this thing." “Wish me luck.” Neal gave a two fingered salute before moving off to round the corner of the museum. He pulled his mask from his pocket, adorning his face with it, removing the outer layer of clothes he had on…revealing a less baggy outfit, resembling some sort black suit. He proceeded to spin the grapple hook a bit and having it launch him up to the ledge with the greatest of ease. He looked at his watch, it showed the military time presently: 22:04. An hour and four minutes since the museum closed, so all that was to remain were the security detail for the exhibit. This would be the biggest moment he ever had to deal with…and he was planning to make every second count. It was time. BGM He moved along the rooftop of the museum with the grace and agility of a cat, making his way through until he arrived at the skylight above the exhibit, seeing his prize below. You’ll be mine soon enough…now, let’s have some fun. he thought, attempting to assess the situation. From what he could see, it wasn’t too pretty. Like he saw earlier, it was a room with two levels…but what he saw this time was there were two guards. One guard was on the top floor in the back while the second guard was on the bottom/ground floor near the front wall. They were both facing the center, which meant access into the room using the doors was near impossible. Scratch that, it WAS impossible. Luckily for him, he was using the skylight. But now, this poses a new problem. How in the hell am I going to get down to the spearhead with this layout? Beau rubbed his chin slightly. It was a conundrum for sure. Just dropping in would alert both guards, while the usage of the smoke grenade capability of the grapple hook would simply cause the guards to alert the rest of them. The only other option was the easier one. And what was the “easier option”? Simple: a utilization of his ability “Phantom Thief”. Beau would simply “call” the spearhead to him with it, with the greatest of ease. While this was the easier option, Beau did hope to make it more grandiose than this, but alas…one had to do what they had to do. Once he finally had his strategy, he began to dig into his bag as he pulled out a glass cutter, starting to gently cut into the skylight’s glass. Normally a thief, when doing this, would have those vacuum suction cups to keep the glass from falling and making a scene…but not this thief. For him, Beau simply used his ability to snatch the cut glass to his hand without much of an effort. I truly love my ability sometimes. he smirked. Now came the big moment. Beau slid his hand through the hole in the skylight and aimed it at the exhibit. With a deep breath, he began to concentrate. “Come on…come to your new owner, my little trinket.” he muttered softly to himself. And just like that, by force of psychic will, the spearhead Beau so craved found itself no longer in its exhibit, as if it simply disappeared from inside. Instead, it was now in Beau's hand. The guards below seemed to be none the wiser, their line of vision on the spearhead's case blocked by other exhibits within the same room. Truly convenient. ...terrible placement for them, really. But alas, that's on them, not me. "Like taking candy from a baby." Beau chuckled to himself, already putting the spearhead away in his bag, standing away from the skylight. "And now, we make our escape.” Making his way from the skylight, Arsène Beau heard the dreaded sound of the alarms inside going off. He cursed under his breath, moving over towards the edge of the museum roof, to which curiosity got the better of him, he glanced over...and he was quite shocked. What he saw was another museum thief, who simply barged out the front doors with swaths of the guards following right after. This was a puzzling sight to see, as he didn't expect to see a fellow thief around here, specifically at this time of night. But, knowing this was happening gave Beau another revelation. "That means more than likely...the cops will be making a move here soon." he muttered, already doing his best to scale off the museum building. He needed to change his outfit and rendezvous back with the now 'innocent and intrigued bystander'.
  8. Apparently Override timed it just perfectly as the moment he crashed through the casino ceiling, the others in his group came running in as well. Just as the tech hero planned...okay maybe it wasn't but it was a well timed and thought out coincidence for sure. And thanks to his efforts with the roof, there wasn't a counter-assault in that aspect. Once again: just as planned...maybe. “Classic move. Always wanted to do that someday except, well, also like having my feet on the ground.” “Maybe you could do it again? That’d get us underground better than dealing with the backrooms. Surely they’ve got security.” "I'm sure you'll get an opportunity to do so, Minos." Override chuckled, trying to assess the situation they currently found themselves in. "But AVD is right...we should be able to get down below here without an issue. Provided nothing else gets in our way to impede our progress." It was at this point that Override wished he kept his mouth shut, as the sprinkler system began to go off. He cursed under his helmet as the water started coming in...then he heard the voice over the intercom. “You seem like a troublesome bunch. Casino policy states that we can refuse service to anyone for any reason, and that means you, I’m afraid. If you don’t voluntarily exit the premises, you will be escorted out by security, and we will not be responsible for any injuries caused by me or my colleagues in the carrying out our said duties.” The water pooling at their feet receded...but it was only to get worse. Over the horizon of the casino, Override saw it: a massive tidal wave of a flood. "Minos! We need to be above that...STAT!!" he shouted, watching Minos nod and immediately digging deep into the ground and pulled everyone up via a new earth...or in this case...vinyl pillar. The wave crashed into the new pillar and it began to wobble, clearly not architecturally sound, but they narrowly avoid that particular assault for now high on the casino floor. "Good work, now..." How the hell do we fix this? Override thought, his eyes darting around him as they lay behind his helmet. This was a conundrum, but he had two options, except one option was not good. That option being the fact that they could blow a hole right into the ground, that way the water would just find a place to drain. However... ...our goal is down below, so that's going to make things even worse...we won't be able to obtain Caesar and finish the mission. Plus, the person that was over the intercom, more than likely...controls water, so even if we attempted it, it'll fall flat. He thought about it a bit more, before finally coming up with an idea. "P.I.X.E.L., I need a scan of the area. I need to try and pinpoint the control and/or security room. We can pinpoint that, we should be able to make a plan of action." "Processing now..." P.I.X.E.L. spoke, before a ping was heard. "I am afraid that the current area is giving us a reading of slot machines." "Expand the range of the scan and immediately remove the frequencies from the slot machines." Override sternly replied. Another ping sounded, and to the tech hero, there was the CCTV security cameras scattered throughout the pit. It was faint at first, but this was due to the water and distances. ...can't believe I'm about to do this...but I'm going to need to hack into those cameras. If I do...I can trace it's signal to locate the control room. Without another word, Override rocketed over to one of the corners to attempt to hack the camera. However, as he started to fly to it...the water beneath began to spring up and fire off like a geyser. "D-Damnit!" he shouted, narrowly dodging the geyser, immediately landing back with the others, though he noticed the strain from the sprinklers after doing that. "Geysers...of course it wouldn't be easy." Override cursed under his breath, before trying to figure out another course of action. His gaze, however, turned immediately to AVD and he had an idea. "Can you conjure up appearances of people?" "I can try...," A.V.D. said. "It's easier if I know the person well, but... what do you need me to do?" "I need a few illusions of me..." Override spoke directly to him, quietly though to not arouse suspicion from the control room. "I need to use them as cover and a distraction while I attempt to interface with the cameras so I can get a read on the control room. Our water manipulator is there...if I can pinpoint the location, we can continue the assault. It's an option, at least." A.V.D. looked Override up and down, trying to take all of him in at once. "You tech heroes have stupid complicated stuff..." he muttered to himself. But they complied. A.V.D. took out some keys from his pocket and knocked them against various parts of Override's armor, trying to listen to the sound they made over. Then he went over to each corner of the pillar everyone was on and made the same motions. He knocked against the air and sound came out. The illusory suit came after. A.V.D. stopped after the second one. "I... I think that's about as many as I can handle if you want them to actually do stuff," he said. "Honestly, this should suffice." Override gave AVD a thumbs up, starting to hover slightly. "Let's have them fly and we mix em up a bit." Without a second to lose, he and the two other Overrides began to fly around and move quickly, much to the patterns and styles of a bunch of flies. Soon, the three would separate and fly to different areas of the room. The real one, would eventually make it to one of the cameras (as did the other two) and he proceeded to hack his way into the camera. It was simple for him, interfacing with such a simple type of machine. 0v3rr1d3 connected to address ########## username: ******* password: ********** Access granted... Beginning trace... It only took a few moments before he finally got through, which was a good thing too. The moment he finished his hacking through the camera's system, he was struck by the geyser, which apparently struck him and the two illusions. The geyser definitely seemed weaker than the very first one, but it was still an issue nonetheless. Once Override got his bearings and immediately landed down back with the others, he got the nanomachines in his suit to begin work on expelling the water from the NOVA Armor. "Alright...where's she located?" he muttered, pulling up the results...though they weren't anything he liked to see. "...damnit... The control room is underground. It's situated in a half floor between basement floors -1 and -2, strangely localized beneath the casino's restaurant. Damn...they thought this through." he shook his head. "Anyone else got any brilliant ideas on how to fix this?"
  9. The castle, Gene had to admit, was pulled straight from the shows and games he always played…least in his mind. If one had to guess, he figured it also seemed like something that came from his dreams, then again…everything at this point had that feel to it. But even that feeling had a bit of a worry to it. And rightfully so, considering the Drengr that were at this castle specifically. It made Gene's stomach queasy just seeing the Drengr standing at attention at the gate. Nevertheless, Gene only sat there with the others, watching the scene before them. He was abnormally quiet, not really saying much up till this point, until he heard Marshall speak up to the group. “...Don’t attack yet,” “N-No arguments there…” he muttered. “Every other enemy has attacked us on sight, or made themselves out to be aggressive in some manner. They have not, which suggests one of two things. Either they know something we do not, and have some sort of defensive measure set-up-- or worse: know themselves to be strong enough to not need to come after us. ...Regardless, charging through and attacking will do nothing but give them the upper-hand, which leaves us with some options.” This was some sound logic from the conductor for sure. And she only kept making sense, bringing up basically the choice of either fighting to get stronger and more experience OR avoid the conflict completely. It made Gene rub his chin slightly. “S-Sounds like basic gaming logic.” he nodded, looking at the Drengr then back to Marshall. “A choice between conflict and avoiding it. …part of me, at least the gamer in me, wouldn't mind getting more experience.” he said with a slight sigh. “H-However…considering the fact that, like Marshall said, we'd just be wearing ourselves out before we even get inside, I thiiiiink we may need to side with the side of caution and just not fight yet.” He didn't want to make it sound like he was chickening out on this, but Gene was thinking he was. He had to immediately rectify this. “T-That is to say…well…in most fantasy based games…and even anime…they normally want you to waste your energy to brute force it. N-N-Not that that's a bad thing! It's just…m-maybe we should go the optional stealth route. M-Maybe there could be bonuses to a stealthier strike against them?” Gene was fairly sure he was probably talking himself into a corner at this point, but hey, he had to at least try and persuade them to Marshall's non-combat side of things.
  10. Prior to Triumvirate Meeting True to his word, he and John went museum hopping, namely to the one that his prize lay waiting for him. But to the outside and even to John, Neal was simply acting like an enthusiastic tourist. Of course, it was a facade that he played well, considering he had done it so many times…and yet, just enjoying the sights as a tourist was a fun thing too. It would give him nothing really to strive for, a sort of time to just enjoy himself and the atmosphere around him. Unfortunately, one of his “grails” resided here in this museum and he wasn't leaving Rome until it was in his grasp. After walking around with John, Neal saw it: the room where his prize lay…the Spearhead of the Lance of Longinus. The room was a big one, that went without saying, as well as having a mixture of both Roman history and some Christianity exhibits. Only natural, considering that according to texts, this spearhead was the very one that pierced the side of Christ during the Crucifixion. Something that had to do with Christ, it was definitely a big deal, least from what Neal thought. Nevertheless, the focal point with the spearhead exhibit was directly in the middle…naturally. Just looking around nonchalantly, Neal noticed that the room in question had a balcony-like second floor. It had Roman related historical items, but nothing religious like it was down here in the main room, but no staircase to said balcony…curious. The wall that Neal noted was facing towards the museum's front door had an arched doorway to two other rooms on the right, and one in the back…he noted that. There were no windows, but the room only had the two stories and NovaRoman architecture really liked skylights. The big one overhead…neat. Neal thought, appreciating the exhibit and the architecture present. Of course, Neal was already aware of the next part: guards and security. He was able to sneak a peek at a schedule he happened to see by “accidentally” walking into the wrong room thinking it was a bathroom…stupid tourist stuff, the usual. From what he noticed, it was well guarded at all hours. He'd have his work cut out for him for sure. Plus there was also the enigma of WHAT these security guards had at their disposal in the terms of abilities. Regardless, Neal had gathered the information and was set. Now he needed to formulate a strategy and plan for this heist. It would be a challenge, but the fact that his heart was beating as much as it was…he knew he wanted this…he NEEDED this. “This was an educational experience here for sure.” Neal smiled, looking over at John, chuckling. “Now, let's get to the Triumvirate, before Austin has a freak out.” And thus, the two proceeded to rendezvous with the others at the appropriate meeting place. "Finally, you're here! I've been twiddling my thumbs here for like an hour waiting for at least some of you to show up! Come on, I already got us arranged, and I doubt the Triumvirate will be happy we've left them hanging for so long." "But we made it, nonetheless!" Neal stifled out a chuckle, already following after Fay. Meeting the Triumvirate As he and the others stepped into the office of the Triumvirate, it immediately was apparent to Neal specifically... "...is this an office or a throne room?" he whistled to himself, getting a good look at the digs in this place. The room was large, featuring an oval table with numerous chairs in the middle of the room, and a glass roof to let the sun illuminate the room directly, setting though it was. At measured intervals around the walls of the room, the flag of Novaroma hung proud, often flanked on either side by its vertically-oriented cousin, the national standard. And of course, against the back wall, atop a quarter-circular set of stairs, were three thrones, the bases and surroundings of which were intricately carved in different fashions. Truth be told, if he wasn't on business nor having his eyes on a different piece of treasure...he'd be on this place and everything inside like his life depended on it. Just a handful of this would make him richer or maybe as rich as any Caesar. "Thus does the pride of Roma return to us. And you've brought the American agents with you, no less! As much as we'd love to have Íroas regale us with stories of his adventures abroad, and hear how the rest of you are finding our city, we have more pressing matters at hand with the Americans. Business that does concern the intelligence we promised your people, make no mistake." Neal was brought back to the current moment, seeing two out of the three Triumvirate speak...and noticed that the third throne was vacant...and for the reason why. He winced a bit at hearing something like that. And the fact that the MIRROR forces attacked during the centennial...which was why Vox Ingenium was no longer around. The young thief shifted his position, his hands in his pockets as he started thinking. ...it was well orchestrated...masterfully orchestrated at that. he thought, his left foot tapping slightly and silently. Does this mean that MIRROR took the time to carefully and methodically attack not the centennial, but moved in a way to also strike other locations? That's a risky gamble...but damn, that sounds like a pretty hefty pay out if that's indeed what happened... Naturally, he was lost in his thoughts, only to be brought back out of them by the conversation at hand yet again. "You say that as if you came up with it all on your own. When a Triumvir dies, replacing them is top priority. In the case of Vox Ingenium, the process is simple: The other two Triumvirs must agree on who will sit upon the throne, and what we hope they can bring to Roma. And not only do we have our candidate, but by good fortune, we have an associate of his as well. This is Avis Alba. She should be able to help you track down our target, Doctor Frederick Carson." Neal glanced over, seeing this 'Avis Alba' in question... "Nice to meet you! I've already been introduced by the Vox Populi, so I will say that I was recently interning with Dr. Carson and the now deceased Vox Ingenium. I may have some ideas as to where the good doctor has gone, though... I wasn't privy to much information, but I paid attention to some stuff I probably should have forgotten, hehe...But all is well that ends well, you know?" ...she seemed...alright...for the most part. Least that was the first immediate reaction of meeting her. But she was an intern for Dr. Carson, which was an impressive little bit of trivia that he decided to log away. "A pleasure to meet you, Avis." Neal shot her a smirk. "I'm Neal. I'm sure we'll get along swimmingly." He didn't feel like giving too much away about himself right now, least...not yet anyway. But after a bit, they were finally dismissed. "Fay just sent me orders from the boss. We head out tomorrow at o'-six-hundred, so be sure to rest up and do whatever else needs doing in town tonight!" Neal took that into consideration, noticing that John gave him a small nudge with his shoulder and a slight nod. He knew what this meant. The thief gave a slight nod back with a quick smirk, before returning to his poker face like facade. "Also, he said to tell all of you that if he knew it would take so long for you to meet up with the Triumvirate, he would've done it himself. Between you and me, I think he's just talking a big game and is just as eager to check out the town as anyone else." “He's just like the rest of us, I'd venture to guess.” he said with a shrug. “Then again, I can sympathize with his worries. After all, he let a ragtag team just go meet the Triumvirate rather than someone higher up. The last thing he'd want is for anyone to say something wrong or out of line. Thankfully for us, that didn't happen.” As they exited the lobby, Neal gave the group a bit of a wave. "I'm gonna do some more sight seeing. John here had some more places he wanted to show. We'll catch you all later." With that, with John in tow...Neal proceeded to return to the museum. He had a job to do...and one hell of a heist to pull off.
  11. BGM True to his plan, Ziun Castir attempted to find any leads on the Apati family's whereabouts from any who could potentially help him. Unfortunately...his search wasn't panning out like he had hoped or planned...at all. By either not wanting to talk about them, much to his chagrin, or just wanting to complain...even MORE to his chagrin. "For two years, two years I thought she was a redhead but turned out it was actually grey this whole time!" "Truly a saddening thing to hear, good sir..." "That little devil girl keeps stealing my bread and making it look like nothing was gone. Then I go to grab one for a PAYING customer and poof, gone." "I-I...see...perhaps you misjudged your hand?" "Don't get me started, but let me get started...." "Oh! Would you look at the time, I really must be going. Another time then!" This went on for a while, so long in fact that Ziun was already starting to wonder if he'd ever get into what he'd wanted. The young bard rubbed the bridge between his nose, sighing slightly. "...one would think this would be easier than it is. No one wants to point me in the right direction..." he sighed again, looking up to the sky somewhat. "My sweet Goddess of Poetry and Music, Xara...please aid me in this trying time." He was planning to head on back to his room at the tavern, but however...someone took interest. Albeit, this was a young little girl of seven or eight years old...this was unorthodox to say the least, but if this was his goddess' will...maybe it would be alright with that. "Mister. Why do you wanna find them? Do you wanna arrest them like the scary guard lady?" "Nothing of the sort, little one." Ziun gave a small smile, crouching down to be at eye level. "Quite the contrary actually. I wish to meet with them to inquire about potentially working for them. They're a family of renowned illusionists, and I also wish to better myself along with help my newfound allies as we dive further into the Dungeon. Having them as a sponsor for the expedition could prove beneficial for all parties involved." He chuckled, shaking his head slightly. "But, alas, that's only if I can find them. I only found Zion on a passing whim the first time." "U-um...does that mean you are a really strong loo-zun-est?" "To an extent..." Ziun rubbed the back of his neck a bit sheepishly. He shifted slightly and waved his one hand in front of him to make an illusory butterfly fly from his hand and around the young girl. "I will say, I am no where near their level. My previous dive into the dungeon definitely showed me that. But, it's a trick of the trade I was given. Perhaps while working with the Apati's...perhaps I can learn even more from them and become better myself." The girl put a finger to her chin and tilted her head "If you're not as good what are you gonna do for them?" "Whatever I can, if I'm to be really honest." Ziun sighed a bit, waving his hand slightly as the butterfly slowly began to dissipate. "Fact of the matter is I'm simply doing anything I can to help those I've allied myself with. My normal method of doing things proved to be...unfruitful...so much to the point where I lost a dear comrade. I went through there haphazardly and it costed us dearly. Therefore, I have to be better prepared, and I feel as if the only way to do that...is to seek out one of the families and try to get them to sponsor myself and my allies." He paused, sighing again. "I know not much of the other families, but I have had the pleasures of talking with the Apati head at least once..." The girl looked confused "You talk a lot, mister..." He paused, before chuckling. "Apologies, I guess I do." Ziun was actually surprising himself...why was he talking so much to this child to begin with? Honestly, he felt like he was giving a bit too much information to the young child. "But but...but mister, if you can't...if you can't do somethin for them then a-are you just trying to t-take advantage of t-them?" she asked, and began to cry. Ziun noticed the young girl start to cry, as he immediately pulled his lute out and began to play just a few chords, having quite a few small cute illusions dance around the two of them. "It's more of, I know not what I can really contribute to them. This bard can only provide what he can, and I'm not even sure that'll even be enough. But no, I assure you, I'm not taking advantage of them." "B-but d-daddy says" she sniffled. "Daddy says that if you want somethin from someone you hafta have something to offer..." "Well, your father would be right." Ziun nodded. "I'm simply afraid I don't have much. All I can offer is my services as a bard. I'd offer my life, but something tells me the Apatis may not find it worth much. That and I don't believe they're in the business of slave labor...least, not to my knowledge." ...why did he say that? "Your life mister? You'd go that far?" She looked fascinated by the statement. Ziun did notice the fascination behind the girl's eyes and was a bit worried, but he relented. "...aye, if that's what it took to make sure my allies were taken care of and not be in the situation we found ourselves within the dungeon earlier, I suppose I would." He paused playing, the illusions fading around them. "I'd rather not lose another like I lost the dread pirate Robin...not again." Again, why did he even say that? What was possessing him to say that? Or was it...he actually wanted this that bad? Either way, perhaps it was for the best that he stop while he was ahead. The girl nodded, and then she spoke, in a less childish voice, "Might be able to arrange that." She started to fade away and then Ziun felt something hit the back of his head and everything went dark. ...fuck...
  12. "Ayyyyy Gobby! Been a bit! What's the plan this time? Drag me into a new dimension, attempt to squash the spider? Ooooh! Or are you planning to open that Goblin themed restaurant you've always wanted??" The shout came from a nearby water tower that stood atop a building, almost level with where Oren hovered upon his glider. Spider-Goblin pivoted in the air, instantly locking onto the target. Another Spider-Man. Lowering himself into a crouch, he clutched the front of his glider and rocketed toward the new arrival, "Can't say this was my doing. That mean you're from another world as well, Spider-Man?" Despite his ostensibly cordial greeting, Oren had already pulled out and armed a pumpkin bomb, just in case. "..." Multi-Threader looked inquisitively at the "Goblin", tilting his head and squinting slightly. "...you're not Norman, I take it. Let's see, Goblin Glider...check. Pumpkin Bombs...check. Weird spider themed outfit? Yeah, you definitely ain't Norman. The spider theme would definitely clash with his fairy/goblin totem shtick." He rubbed his chin, looking directly at the stranger. "Also...Spider-Man? That sounds kinda...bland. The Magnificent Multi-Threader, at your service." he gave a bit of a bow. Oren narrowed his eyes at this 'Multi-Threader' who seemed comfortable abandoning everything about Parker's moniker but the hyphen. Hell, I don't even think he has a shocking clue who Parker is. The spider spoke of fairies and totems, which Oren immediately discounted as some kind of nonsense superstition from Multi-Threader's native world. The strange spider gave a bow, and as he brought his head back up the two spider-men made eye contact (albeit through lenses) for the first time. It was then that Oren felt it. His spider-sense, or Arachnofrequency as Richards had once called it, was buzzing in a way he had never felt before. He could feel it bouncing off of and interacting with a similar signal coming from this strange person. In a second, he could feel how different the worlds they came from must be, and at the same time felt how the two young men were the same. "You're... Like me." | BGM | "You're... Like me?" Multi-Threader was surprised, feeling the same sort of feeling he felt while fighting Mysterio, and yet...it was bouncing off and interacting with this "Goblin". "...wait...there's others like me? Er...like us?" "Seems so." Oren stood up straight, disarming his pumpkin bomb and dropping it back into his pack. "Spider-Goblin, by the way. Think there are many more of us here?" "Spider...Goblin..." Multi-Threader had that name roll off his tongue, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, that's a combination that I didn't think would work...buuuuut that would explain why you're rocking the Goblin's tech." he shrugged, before looking around. "Honestly, if I had to guess, I'd say there might be. This Manhattan lookin' location of Metro City may actually hold some more answers about it." "It's something of a hand-me-down. Trust me, the name's got some baggage where I'm from, too." Looking out over the city, Spider-Goblin rolled his shoulders, culminating the motion in a clap in front of him. "You got that buzz from me too, right? I'm thinking if we tune our arachnofrequencies together we might be able to pick up the locations of any others like us. You and I make for two antennae, with a bit of math we should be able to track any others down easily enough." "Archnofrequencies? So that's what you call it?" Multi-Threader asked, chuckling some. "May have to add that to my lexicon now...in any case, you're right. We may be able to get our Spider-Senses to link up with others, iiiiiiif there are any others." Multi-Threader was going to suggest a pair of particularly tall buildings to potentially hold up for the moment and see if they could potentially find more like them…cause if there were two, perhaps there were more. It was pretty sound logic if anything. But the key of all this was: he WAS going to do that. The original plan was thrown out the window, because of one thing. "GOBLIN FLYER!!!! TODAY WAS MY DAY! HOW DARE YOU TRY TO FINISH HIM INSTEAD OF LETTING ME?!" Whipping his head around, Multi-Threader found the source of the yelling: a man clad in rhino garb and paraphernalia. This looked like the Rhino, all things considered, buuuuuuuut his Rhino from his universe came from…technically was a full on man turned rhino. Crazy how that worked, but even still. Oh, there was also the fact that the cars were being launched their way. “Alright, I’m going to take it that this ain’t a friend of yours.” he chuckled, cracking his knuckles a bit. “Let’s do a quick split up between the two of us. I’ll keep Aleksei occupied, you head to those tall skyscrapers over there…wait…crap, is he even Aleksei? I shouldn’t assume.” Multi-Threader was about to leap into action, but was stopped and tossed a little radio at him. “A radio, that’ll definitely keep us in contact. Sayonara for now, ‘Gobby’.” he gave a two-fingered salute as he jokingly called Spider-Goblin this before leaping off the water tower, narrowly dodging another car as he swung towards the rampaging nutjob. “Bonjourno!” he laughed, shooting a web right into the Rhino Ruler’s face. “Allow me to properly introduce myself…the Magnificent Multi-Threader, at your service!” "Wait, which are you?" Rhino Ruler roared as the webs covered his eyes. "You sound too girly to be Scarlet-Rider, but too manly to be Ghost-Rider!" He swung blindly at the air, trying to swat Multithreader like a fly. "Eh, it doesn't matter! GIVE ME SPIDER-RIDER!" "Scarlet-Rider?” It definitely checked out that this wasn’t the same Rhino he was used to. Never even heard of a Scarlet-Rider. However… “Ghost-Rider? We talking about the one with the flames on his head?" Multi-Threader dodged the blindly swinging Rhino-man. "And girly? That's just rude!" He swung around towards Rhino Ruler's back and stuck to him. "Now how about we just take a deep breath and calm you and your well defined suit muscles down?" "Calm down? Calm down?!" Rhino Ruler tried to reach Multithreader, but the hero was just out of his reach. "Even if you're some new Spider, you know the rules, and so do I! A full commitment is what I was thinking of! I won't get satisfaction from crushing other guys!" "Wait...are you..." Multi-Threader was silent for a moment. He almost had a dumbfounded look on his face…or, at least from what one would be able to tell on a masked vigilante. "...did you just Rick Roll me?" "... Oh! That's a great idea!" Rhino Ruler smirked as he fell to his stomach. He began to roll around, trying to crush the spider on his back. "I dunno who Rick is, but I shoulda rolled a long time ago!" "Me and my big mo-WOAH!" Multi-Threader yelped as he immediately jumped off landing on the wall of a nearby building. "Sheesh, and I thought Mysterio ripping off both Mick Jagger and Elivs was bad...you're just a plain ol' hater of music from the sounds of it." "Music is for the weak!" Rhino Ruler growled as he rolled around. "It's for people with delicate fingers that strum strings, or... people without super strength that don't break the drums... or..." He paused, laying on his back as he suddenly heard a new voice cry out. “The SPIDER is swinging into action, baby!! Whoo!!” "Another new Spider?!" Rhino struggled to get back on his feet, tugging at the webs at his eyes again. "Where is... SPIDER-RIDER?!" A new Spider entered the fray, so his general assumption was correct. Seems like the spiders attract one another. Ooooooh, that would be a great hook for a novel! Chosen warriors found and brought together by a singular common factor... Multi-Threader thought, glancing down at his hand, seeing a spider seeming to look like it was writing down notes. "Mental notes, for sure. Gotta love the mental link." he nodded, looking in the direction of this new Spider. "Buenos días! Or would it be Buenas noches? Can't tell with this locale...came to help with the Rhino over here?"
  13. The bard made haste to the marketplace, with his mind set on selling rapier. He wasn't hoping for a whole lot for this weapon, of course, but it should be enough to assist in purchasing some items for the next trek into the Dungeon. His mind, of course, was to purchase some healing potions. That was his main priority, that way they could mitigate the chance that people could not succumb to their wounds during their floor challenge. Ziun refused to have that happen again, he made sure of it. Nevertheless, when Ziun located the local Blacksmith, he proceeded to begin the selling process of the rapier...only to find that it sold for less than he would've generally hoped for. Ziun left the smithy and reevaluated his coin situation. He knew that with the rapier profit and his tips from the night before when playing his lute for the tavern's patrons would only bring up enough to pay for two healing potions...max. He lamented this conundrum, but he figured it was better than nothing at the moment. Regardless, the bard made his way to the magic shop, entering it and was entranced by the paraphernalia that lined the walls and shelves...quite the spread of potions, draughts, and tonics...along with many magical items. There, behind the counter, stood the shopkeep. The moment Ziun walked in, the shopkeep was basically already attempting to sell him as much as possible with all the magical items...simply to get a leg up over the other adventurers. It was an intriguing offer, but he had limited funds...he needed to remember that. He let him do his sales-pitch for the time being, knowing this was the man's bread and butter in a sense. "I appreciate the suggestion, my good sir." Ziun gave a half hearted smile. "But alas, I only have enough currently for the healing potions. My rapier did not bring the profit I originally hoped for, nor my tips for my music be enough." "There's plenty of ways to earn money if you look for them, trust me trust me with all the families working towards the Spark, a regular guy with no sponsor has quite the uphill climb. Perhaps you should try and get together as much as you can there's many fine choices when it comes to magic items." "Hmmm you seem to be knowledgeable in that regard." Ziun nodded, rubbing his chin. "Pray tell, how terrible is the uphill climb for one such as I? Surely it can't be as bad as you say." "Oh but it is, the other families send veritable armies of gifted mages and expensive mercenaries into the Dungeon after all. They all very badly want to be the one to find the Spark." "How many return?" he asked, inquisitively. "Aside from that, I'm afraid to say that my last dive into the Dungeon proved to be, less fruitful and full of coin as I would've liked." "Well, enough to keep the expeditions going at least. But it is rather dangerous...especially for those not armed with magic items." "I gathered as much..." he paused, sighing with a shake of his head. "Alas, before I decided to forego my blade and return to conjuration, all I had were my illusions, my lute and my rapier. I do agree with you that it is dangerous for those not armed with magical items." "I see I see. Well you can never go wrong with a powerful item or two you know. Make sure to keep that in mind next you find yourself a windfall of gold." "When I do, this will be the first shop I visit, no question on that." Ziun laughed, handing over the coin for the two healing potions. "In the meantime, perhaps there's a job around town that could befit my talents. Who knows, I may return quicker than you think, my good sir." "Why I would be delighted if that turned out to be true." Ziun handed the coins that he exchanged for the two healing potions, before bidding the shopkeep farewell for the moment. But what he said did stick within the bard's mind: the families had gifted mages and mercenaries that they sponsored to the Dungeon in order for glory as well in an effort to look for the Spark. This actually "sparked" something in his mind. While he didn't know very many of the other families outright...he knew one and what was more, he knew the head. The problem being? The Apati mansion location was an enigma. It would pop up here and there, but it was usually a fake mansion. They were a family of Illusionists, so naturally this would be the case. But Ziun was determined to figure something out...perhaps Zion and the Apati family could assist in some manner... "Aye...it wouldn't hurt to try." Ziun smirked, adjusting his hat and flipping his cloak's collar up before making his move through the marketplace...where he began to ask about the Apati family as best he could to anyone and everyone. He'd find them, he figured he would. After all, the last time he "found" Zion, he simply was enjoying the atmosphere of the city. This time, however, this time he was actually seeking him and his family out.
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