Elfen High 2: Skin to Bone, Steel to Rust

[Nationstatelandsville]

Minh just stared. "I think I'll figure out exactly what just happened here sometime later today. But right now my brain's wondering what the hell just happened." He shook his head. "Alright. We have the bears. Do we need to do something else or are we done here? Also, Lewis, you owe me vodka. A lot of vodka." he sighed, taking a seat.

"Well, no," Lewis replied.

"Yes!" one of the bears objected in a heavy Canadian accent, "There are ceremonies in place! Inaugurations! Rituals passed down from our forefathers! We can't go ignore this, eh?"

"No time," Lewis said, "We have to be ready immediately. I've fought Azazel before, and he does some really weird shit to his prisoners."

"This is a hostage situation now?!" the Spanish bear roared, "You are a fool, Jameson! We should not be involving ourselves in this!"

"Eh, go fuck yourself," Lewis sighed, "As for ye', Damien, Megan can't be in charge. That's kinda' my job description. 'Course, Crowley will get a say... maybe."

"You can't appoint an Echelon!" the same bear protested, "It is an overreach of the Bear-King's power! It is unconstitutional!"

Megan placed her finger on the trigger.

"All in favor of a constitutional amendment allowing the Bear-King to do what Oso just said, say 'aye'," one of the bears said. Everyone said aye, including Rosalind, which was adorable.

"I think we're done here, then," Lewis said, "Minh? Damien? Anythin' to add?"

[Nude East Ireland]

"There is the fact that we need to head to India," Damien said. "It'll be a short trip, since I do have a plane. Well, we, really. Nevertheless, you're going to have to wait until you can properly sleep on that throne, Bear-King Lewis." Turning, Damien made his way back into the council chamber, and climbed up into his new seat. "Then again, we could always stay here a bit longer. I am a politician now." He clapped, and looked at a passing Bear.

"Bring me some food," he ordered it.

[Rupudska]

Deep in the annals of Elfen High lies its garage. The room is massive, the size of some high schools, large enough to hold all of Crowley's and Yuzuki's various cars, and all of everyone else's, too, except Pierre's which has to stay outside.

In the back was car modification class, which was what Yuzuki almost got except that nobody actually takes car modification class unless they reek badass, and not many of the PC students could say that.

Yuzuki was there right now, building her next car. Times were a-changin', and everybody and their third cousin was throwing LS engines at anything and everything with four wheels. Seriously. Screw that, she wanted an AMC now after having a Bentley. Everybody loves old AMCs, especially fast ones. Watching Gremlins zip down dragstrips is hilarious, especially if they do a wheelie without exploding (piece of shit stock, really, but not as ugly as the Pacer, thing looked like a glass factory left a turd on a compact.)

She pulled the cover off a modified '69 Javelin. The front end was from a '70 version (The 1970 Javelin was the sexiest version by a factor of a lot), and a wagon rear end, and a candy coat in glistening red (Candy coat being a base metallic coat, then a translucent color coat, then a clear coat). With a blacked-out grille, five-point rims and red striped tires, it was one bitchin' car.

It also featured bulletproof glass, handwavium body (Same stuff the Bentley was made of, but mixed with fapium for extra lightness and strength), and dual machine guns under the hood that popped up next to the engine. The V-8 gas engine was custom-built by Yuzuki herself, it produced 1550 horsepower, almost 2000 with the nitrous, thanks to hot vapor technology, which is basically wizard magic, since the only one in existence in real life was built by Smokey Yunick and stuffed in a Fiero. It also made 50 mpg and handled 1.5 times as well as a Ferrari.

Now, why go through the effort to make such a car, when the Bentley was just fine?

To help in the invasion of Hell, of course.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Minh did stuff in the bear world. I have nothing to say here.
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Meanwhile in the Amazon, Demeter nodded and hummed to herself, clearly happy to think about dwarfs dying. So a hole opened in the wall and plants grabbed all of the PCs by the stomachs. Crowley tensed but didn't move. That could end badly. Maybe this psychotic bitch would decide to squeeze and burst his stomach. He'd recover, but he would dislike having to explain everyone else's death.

But Demeter fortunately did no such thing, but they shot down the hole like a rollercoaster. zooming through the dark underground and barely avoiding the sharp rocks down there. Demeter finally released them after what felt like hours, but was really just a minute. The dazed Crowley shook his head, regaining his balance.

"Right above us is the dwarf's main building." Demeter explained. "Have fun. I'll open a hole, rest is on you."

[The Inritus Extraho]

Minh did stuff in the bear world. I have nothing to say here.
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Meanwhile in the Amazon, Demeter nodded and hummed to herself, clearly happy to think about dwarfs dying. So a hole opened in the wall and plants grabbed all of the PCs by the stomachs. Crowley tensed but didn't move. That could end badly. Maybe this psychotic bitch would decide to squeeze and burst his stomach. He'd recover, but he would dislike having to explain everyone else's death.

But Demeter fortunately did no such thing, but they shot down the hole like a rollercoaster. zooming through the dark underground and barely avoiding the sharp rocks down there. Demeter finally released them after what felt like hours, but was really just a minute. The dazed Crowley shook his head, regaining his balance.

"Right above us is the dwarf's main building." Demeter explained. "Have fun. I'll open a hole, rest is on you."

Jade shook herself, terrified by the closeness of the walls and the power of the vines. She understood how strong this was, and apparently some kind of time dilation as well. Her shields hadn't felt any kind of dilution, like the sort that normally happened after hours of abject terror. So she concluded it must not have lasted more than a minute. She grinned, smiled, and then 'drew' a sword. If Dwarves were such impressive smiths, then she'd be able to nick a really awesome sword. Or so she hoped.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Ciel listened to what the scarred rat said, and, at the end, nodded, and shook his hand, smiling. "I understand, Randan. My name is Ciel, and I hope for the same thing." She stated as she shook the rat's hand, and then looked around the room once more. The morning's light had crept into the abandoned place while she and Randan talked, and by now, more or less everything was visible. She could easily see all rats, great and small alike, massed there. Where she first saw angry telepathic vermin, however, now she saw allies and warriors that could be a deciding factor in the battle that was yet to come.

After that, she turned to Randan again. "I will heed your advice. I can think of a few people I can ask to come and assist me in recruiting other tribes of creatures that dwell down here, and it would certainly help if you spoke to someone who holds actual authority in the school." She stated. "So, lead the way."

Randan walked, moving upwards easily in the dark. Ciel was carried by a large rat, one who was the size of Randan. Eventually they came upon a flickering light and rabbits learning kung fu.

That wasn't too out of place here. Randan blinked, seeing a catgirl. He tensed instinctively as a rat does when it sees a cat, but relaxed a bit. "Ciel, do you know her?" he asked, gesturing to Sari, who would see rats seemingly come out of nowhere.

[Olthar]

"...Now that you've all painted mean demon faces onto your wooden boards, I want you jump up and kick them as hard as you can!" Sari-chan ordered the rabbits.

After setting down their brushes, the rabbits hopped up and flew at the planks of wood, snapping the boards in half.

"Great job! Now let's do it once more! And remember to make the demon faces really ugly. That way you can more easily focus your power towards breaking them!"

Just then, Sari-chan noticed Ciel being carried by a horde of rats emerging from the shadows. Immediately, she ran over and picked up the girl, hugging her tightly.

"Flute-chan! I haven't seen you since we defeated the robots and saved the school! How have you been?"

[Ende]

Meanwhile in the Amazon, Demeter nodded and hummed to herself, clearly happy to think about dwarfs dying. So a hole opened in the wall and plants grabbed all of the PCs by the stomachs. Crowley tensed but didn't move. That could end badly. Maybe this psychotic bitch would decide to squeeze and burst his stomach. He'd recover, but he would dislike having to explain everyone else's death.

But Demeter fortunately did no such thing, but they shot down the hole like a rollercoaster. zooming through the dark underground and barely avoiding the sharp rocks down there. Demeter finally released them after what felt like hours, but was really just a minute. The dazed Crowley shook his head, regaining his balance.

"Right above us is the dwarf's main building." Demeter explained. "Have fun. I'll open a hole, rest is on you."

Ivy crossed her arms.

"I think that I shall do that instead, grandmother." she said, rather annoyed, and she lifted her arms up. She could feel plant-life in this place. It was hard to tell, and non-distinct, seeing as they were underground, but it was there. There were roots nearby.

And suddenly, a hole burst in the ceiling, scattering dirt and rocks everywhere. A long root like a rope coiled down, landing in a heap at the floor.

Ivy looked up at the hole for a moment, and then turned to Crowley.

"Headmaster Crowley, may I suggest letting Jade or Edward take the lead up? They should be the first to head forth, in case of a threat. In the long term, they are the most expendable, and thus, they should go first."

She shrugged.

"However, it is your decision. It is highly unlikely that there is a direct threat within a near proximity to us, so perhaps selecting a scout is a pointless and futile maneuver. Yet, as every wise man knows, there is no such thing as being exceedingly careful.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel noticed that one of Randan's comrades picked her up, but did nothing about it as the two rads led her up. When they came upon the lights and the rabbits that were kicking dummies with demon faces in half, she raised an eyebrow, but then realized that this must be the basement she had been looking for when she stumbled upon Randan and his race.

"Yes, don't worry. She's Sari-chan, a classmate of mine." Ciel said. That was all she could do before Sari-chan ran over and picked her up to hug her.

"I've been fine, Sari-chan. This is Randan, he is the leader of a rat race. They agreed to help us in the war." She explained. "And you?"

[Erinkita]

Ellywick jumped at the appearance of the goddess in the middle of the jungle, but her shock soon gave way to awe. Encountering two (possibly three; she'd have to look up Heimdall later) gods in one day fell somewhat beyond the expected parameters of her life, but these expectations were formed before she came to Elfen High. She didn't say anything the the Olympian deity. Her moss green gaze was frightening in a way Thor's drunken ferocity hadn't been. She considered trying to find her genetic information, but decided against it. Thor's had been hard to get a hold of in an enclosed environment made of gold. It would be impossible here.

Ellywick eagerly let herself be lifted up by the vines, shivering with excitement. The entire breakneck journey was punctuated with her hysterical giggles. How could she not enjoy herself with the hot, moist air buffeting her face and the brown blur of the underground whizzing past her? Ellywick had been born beneath the earth. Before the electronic hell of her captivity by SAM, this environment had been her one and only home. Plus, she was being barrelled through a tunnel at potentially lethal speeds. Some things are just inherently fun.

And since all good things must come to an end, they came to a stop in a small, dank cave. The only sourec of light was Demeter's unearthly glow, but Ellywick had excellent nightvision, which she could actually use to see once the world stopped spinning and she was able to stop stumbling around dizzily. Pumped from the ride, she rushed forward and grabbed Ivy's rope. "I'll scout!" she shouted immediately so no one else could claim that job "Thank you, Ivy." she said as she shimmied up the rope. "Thank you, Demeter." She blew the goddess a kiss, still drunk on adventuring spirit and adrenaline.

The gnome found herself in a stone hallway with a steel floor, ending in corners at both ends. The ceiling was about five feet high, which suited her fine, but the others might have some trouble. "Mind your heads!" she called down the hole.
Ellywick knelt down and and gave the metal floor a few experimental taps with her hammer. Stone, metal, dirt, carbon-based lifeforms in both directions. She could hear the electrical signals running through the place. There were computer hard drives nearby. And the camera at the end of the hall... Ellywick had an affinity for this kind of thing. It was easy to edit herself and the hole in the floor out of its vision. Nothing out of the ordinary would be recorded here. She could hear something unusual in the hammer's ring. She slowly shifted her tempo, feeling out the phantom signal. It was close by. Down the hallway to the right, too... She almost had it now...
"Uru!" she cried in delight "It's a giant slab of uru!" Cackling with mad excitement, Ellywick dashed off down the hall, her companions forgotten.

[Olthar]

"I'm doing great!" Sari-chan answered, "Well, as great as I can be considering the circumstances. I mean, teaching the rabbits is fun, but whenever I think about what I'm teaching and why...I just can't enjoy it. Plus, I've been so busy lately that I haven't even been able to get Raye-Raye-chan alone for some good, hard... So rats, huh? They're so adorable!"

Sari-chan immediately hugged Randan and rubbed her cheek against his hairy body.

"And so soft, too! This school has the best animals in the world! I wonder if there are any cute kitty-cats or puppies! Ooo! Do you know if there are horsies! I would love to ride a horsie around the school!" she exclaimed, still rubbing herself against the rat.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel listened to what Sari-chan said, and then looked around, first at the shattered dummies with demon faces that were lying on the ground, and then at the innocent, fluffy, cute rabbits that had only moments ago kicked said dummies in half with a kung-fu kick more stylish than any fighting move she could hope to pull off.

"So, that is why they were kicking dummies before." Ciel said, more to herself than to Sari-chan, ignoring her comment about Rayne.

Clearin her mind, she spoke to Sari-chan again, while also trying to gently pull her away from Randan, hoping that she wasn't making the rat demon uncomfortable. "Ah, yes, rats. I got lost while trying to follow you to the basement and happened to end up within their domains." She explained. "Do you know who of authority we could talk to in regards to our alliance with the rats?" She asked afterwards.

[Olthar]

Though she was far stronger than Ciel and could ignore her tugging, Sari-chan let go of Randan, anyways, assuming that Ciel wanted to talk in a more face-to-face situation, and considering what she said next, that assumption seemed rather accurate.

"Why, you would talk to Crowley-sensei, of course! You're so silly!" Sari-chan giggled, "Though, he isn't here right now, so you could always leave a note. That's what I did when I came up with the idea for weekly team building seminars for the school to strengthen our bonds of friendship and loyalty! See, I was talking to this other guy earlier—You know, Minh-sensei's kid, Daisy-chan?—So, anyways, I was talking to him, and he reminded me that friendship is the best weapon we have against these nasty demon monsters. But Crowley-sensei wasn't there, so I left him a note, and that's what you could do, too! So that way, when he gets back from Ass-Guard, he can come talk to you about the cutesy widdle rats."

After finishing her little speech, Sari-chan immediately embraced Randan in another hug and continued rubbing her cheek against him.

[Constaniana]

Ivy crossed her arms.

"I think that I shall do that instead, grandmother." she said, rather annoyed, and she lifted her arms up. She could feel plant-life in this place. It was hard to tell, and non-distinct, seeing as they were underground, but it was there. There were roots nearby.

And suddenly, a hole burst in the ceiling, scattering dirt and rocks everywhere. A long root like a rope coiled down, landing in a heap at the floor.

Ivy looked up at the hole for a moment, and then turned to Crowley.

"Headmaster Crowley, may I suggest letting Jade or Edward take the lead up? They should be the first to head forth, in case of a threat. In the long term, they are the most expendable, and thus, they should go first."

She shrugged.

"However, it is your decision. It is highly unlikely that there is a direct threat within a near proximity to us, so perhaps selecting a scout is a pointless and futile maneuver. Yet, as every wise man knows, there is no such thing as being exceedingly careful.

William shrugged. "I don't have a problem going up first," he said, gripping the root in his hand and starting to climb up, although pausing before going through the hole. "And I think I can take the most punishment, physically speaking. Well, except for you Crowley, but you're in an entirely different category altogether than the rest of us."

While he normally would have been a bit miffed about being casually labelled as expendable by a girl who didn't even get his name right, in a way she was right. Since they were in the biggest jungle on earth, manipulating plants was an invaluable asset for them. Although beyond that she wasn't as helpful. He was stronger and faster than her, not to mention he had the durability of a diamond-studded titanium tank with built in jetpacks and lightsabers, built by giant cosmic Polar Bear Overlords, while she was...well....like a flower. Pretty and nice to look at, but you step on it and it's wrecked.

William then felt a pang of guilt for thinking of someone like that. Even if he didn't say it aloud, he had essentially thought "Once we get out of this bloody jungle she's useless". Even though he had changed over the last two years, he still always felt awful about being mean to other people. And she's more than just a girl who can move vines around and stuff, she's a better healer than you for one thing William continued inside his head. Interesting.... Sheila murmured. What are you talking about? William thought. Even though she technically insulted you, you still feel regret about something you thought about her that was entirely accurate Some of us aren't completely emotionless you know, Sheila made a mental shrug. Well excuse me for not being programmed with emotions The A.I had made a valid point. Who programmed you anyway? William asked mentally. Sheila was silent for quite some time. I'll tell you one day...let's just focus on getting Thor's hammer back for now

[Zarkenis Ultima]

Ciel was about to explain to Sari-chan that she meant to ask if there was anyone of authority other than Crowley so that said person and Randan could discuss the alliance between the rat demons and Elfen High, but instead she simply sighed and smiled at the scene of the catgirl hugging the rat demon. She didn't have the heart to break it up again, so she simply turned around.

"I will go see if Crowley appointed someone else to be in charge of the school in his absence, Randan." She said to him as she walked over to the basement door. After that, she stepped out and then headed down the hallway, fairly sure that she could find her way around this time. She headed for the offices to see if anyone had been appointed.

[Nightkill the Emperor]

Randan looked awkward as the catgirl hugged him, but he shook his head. "Good to meet you, Sari." he said gruffly. "What is the state of this school's military and what are your own capabilities in combat?" he asked, switching to "pack leader" mode.
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Crowley followed William and Ellywick up, sending Ivy in front. He agreed with her logic- he was a bit of a utilitarian himself, as long as the person making sacrifices wasn't him. Which defeated the purpose, like he cared much. He was the most important person in the world, as far as he was concerned. Everyone else was there as an annoyance that he had to deal with.

Like the dwarfs, who were rather surprised to see a gnome burst into their blacksmithing room. There was a door at the end of the fifty square metre room, from where Ellywick sensed the uru. After a brief moment of surprise, one tackled the gnome to the ground, careful not to break anything. The short warrior pulled the gnome up roughly by the scruff of her neck, but not completely unkindly. "Who the hell are you?" the bearded dwarf asked, speaking in a rather bemused manner with still carrying a very heavy axe in one hand.

Unfortunately, this was lost on the other group members who saw several dwarfs converge around a dwarf holding a gnome in the air while carrying said axe. Crowley immediately raised one hand and every dwarf froze. "Let the gnome go." he ordered. The dwarf did so, releasing his grip.

"Now, you're capitalists. Let's talk this out."

[Olthar]

Breaking away from the hug, looked at Randan, with a puzzled look on her face.

"I...I don't know," she responded hesitantly, "I don't know anything about that. Crowley-sensei just told me to train the bunnies. I don't really know what else people are doing. Crowley-sensei took some people to Ass-Guard, and Lewie-sensei went off to see some bears or something. But that's all I know."

She then paused for a moment before continuing, now with more enthusiasm.

"But I'm a great fighter! I can tell you that! In fact, I can show you, too!"

After excitedly hopping into the air, Sari-chan ran back several feet and made sure that she wasn't near anyone. She then dropped into a fighting pose and began fighting against an invisible foe, swiftly punching and kicking the air. She performed many different techniques, many of which were completely foreign to planet Earth, being the result of the training from her home planet.

[The Nuclear Fist]

"She has not responded to our orders." The words rang through the Other Realm with pervasive authority, touching all that existed within. Somewhere, somewhere in the centre of everything, a swirling, seething, nuclear chaos as soothed into a permanent sleep by bestial pipers, whose forms danced and jigged, and indeed formed a full orchestra, for the sleeping beast's amusement. For what was once in many a millennia, the pipers fell silent. All that seemed to exist in the Other Realm seemed to reverberate and shake as great, humming tendrils emerged from the beast, howling with rage and confusion, waves of entropy ebbing from them. The pipers played once more, soothing the tendrils and causing them to decay, their essence falling back into the great beast. But the dancers, covered in bells and instruments, cut a small piece from the tendril. It was a small shard, quivering and without consciousness. A sinister hand stroked it, beams of light striking its oily surface, penetrating it. Suddenly, a consciousness was born. The thing formed into a black orb, a single golden eye bubbling up to its surface, its 'body' cracking open and revealing a wide, cheshire grin, mouth filled with alabaster teeth.

"Know your purpose, find her and destroy whatever it is that keeps her mind from our grasp." The voice came from nowhere, and yet seemingly came from everywhere. The creature shook with fear at hearing the voice, its purpose falling on deaf ears. Pain struck the newborn thing, the first feelings it felt being terror and agony. "You are nothing but my puppet." The creature nodded violently, and the pain and terror left its body. The pipers crafted a shell of crystal around it, encasing the Shard. As the pipers fully resumed their tune, a jester, his single talon long and sharp, pierced the astral plain, pulling back their realm's shroud. It picked up the shell containing the beast and, with all its might, cast it out into the black abyss of space. With a flick, the thing took off, now engulfed in a pillar of flame. The thing had a vast expanse of space and time to cross before it reached its intended destination. Traveling at speed only just below that of light itself, the crystal comet burned through the expanse, crashing through asteroids and stars and other things alike, seemingly only gaining mass as debris built up around the crystal core. As it neared the solar system, bells and whistles began to go off on Earth, as many scientists believed it to be the doomsday event that would wipe out the human species.

But there was something odd about this comet, yes indeed. It seemed to slow as it neared Earth, stabilizing its trajectory, as if it was alive, and indeed was targeting a specific location. It was estimated to strike somewhere in rural Britain, not terribly far from London itself. As it bore down on Earth, piercing the atmosphere, those with some sort of hidden magical ability would see it as a moving, glowing, twinkling, violet star falling to Earth. Those without said magical ability wouldn't see it at all, and indeed it was as if it disappeared. The weak rays of the sun pierced the dawn as it struck the ground with earth shaking intensity, creating a smoldering crater in the pasture of an English farm. The farmer, tending to his pasture, crept up on it very slowly, looking into the crater and wafting away the clouds of oily, black smoke. What he saw inside was remarkable. Beams of light broke through the cracked surface of the comet, and eventually the rocky shell burst open. The farmer's eyes were wide as saucers at seeing the glowing crystal, his mouth watering at the prospect of what he assumed to be a very valuable discovery. He placed his hands upon its surface, staring deep into its mirror-like form. Surprisingly, it wasn't hot, it wasn't even warm. Indeed, it was actually quite cool.

But as the farmer touched it, he felt the surface begin to bubble and hiss, turning soft and melting away. Not wanting to fall into a puddle of whatever this was, he backed up, falling down as he scrambled out of the crater. The steam and smoke disippated after about a minute, revealing a glass flask, the top of it sealed with a simple cork. The glass itself was covered in soot, obscuring whatever was inside. Thinking it was some sort of prize, the farmer cautiously stepped into the crater once more, reaching down and picking up the glass flask with both hands, as it was somewhat heavy. He wiped away the soot with his sleeve and peered inside, seeing a swirling, black orb with a single golden eye and wide, alabaster white smile. Tiny tendrils poked and prodded the glass, trying to find a way to escape. The farmer smiled. He had found himself a space alien, and it wasn't even threatening or spooking looking. Indeed, it was down right adorable! He could here the creature making gurgling sounds, almost like a baby. He put his ear to the flask and strained himself, trying to properly hear what sounded like words.

"C-could you f-free me, m-mister?" The thing said, its voice soothing and high pitched, like a toddler that had just learned to talk. "Well sure, little guy." The farmer said, setting the glass flask open and pulling out the cork. The creature's body slowly rose out the flask, not unlike the smoke from the crater. The smoke found its way to the farmer, tendrils slipping under his sleeves and up the legs of his pants, as down his shirt. This produced a peculiar ticking sensation, and the farmer began to laugh and chuckle. "Stop, stop little fella." He said, his voice jovial and kind. The smoke rose around his face, slipping into his nostrils and ears and mouth and eyes.

"You will do." The creature whispered, oozing into the farmer's body. The farmer shrieked in agony as the thing took root in his body, rapidly overcoming his defences and taking root in his very soul, latching onto it as a parasite would latch onto a host. The man shrieked and clutched his head as his skin became a pale, sickly grey, his body producing cold sweat in sheets. He swung at imaginary ghosts, shouting prayers to his god for mercy and respite. He received nothing. Swinging wildly, like a madman, he lost his balance and fell into a crater, where he died. His body contorted as the parasite assumed full, direct control over its host, its massive presence and powers nearly overwhelming the body. Finally, the heart began to beat once more. What had once been a farmer was no more, having perished. The soul within was no more, little else but a shell to house a parasite, one that would be sent to the other side as soon as the host body was no longer able to support the malignant spectre within. The creature, now in control of its new body, climbed out of the crater and dusted itself off. It placed its hat upon its head and looked in a seemingly random direction. Several kilometres away, she was there. His heart was filled a hunger to terminate whatever blocked his masters' leash upon her, a righteous terror boiling over at the thought of her defying the Great Old Ones. The air was pierced by an ear shattering crack as it moved with blinding speed towards her. It, or rather he, would find her. He would find her, and he would destroy her.

The Hound of Azathoth was set upon Nyarlathotep. He was undaunted, incapable of fear or pain or empathy, and he would not stop until his purpose had been fulfilled.

And anyone who stood in his way or resisted would die by his hand.

[The Inritus Extraho]

Randan looked awkward as the catgirl hugged him, but he shook his head. "Good to meet you, Sari." he said gruffly. "What is the state of this school's military and what are your own capabilities in combat?" he asked, switching to "pack leader" mode.
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Crowley followed William and Ellywick up, sending Ivy in front. He agreed with her logic- he was a bit of a utilitarian himself, as long as the person making sacrifices wasn't him. Which defeated the purpose, like he cared much. He was the most important person in the world, as far as he was concerned. Everyone else was there as an annoyance that he had to deal with.

Like the dwarfs, who were rather surprised to see a gnome burst into their blacksmithing room. There was a door at the end of the fifty square metre room, from where Ellywick sensed the uru. After a brief moment of surprise, one tackled the gnome to the ground, careful not to break anything. The short warrior pulled the gnome up roughly by the scruff of her neck, but not completely unkindly. "Who the hell are you?" the bearded dwarf asked, speaking in a rather bemused manner with still carrying a very heavy axe in one hand.

Unfortunately, this was lost on the other group members who saw several dwarfs converge around a dwarf holding a gnome in the air while carrying said axe. Crowley immediately raised one hand and every dwarf froze. "Let the gnome go." he ordered. The dwarf did so, releasing his grip.

"Now, you're capitalists. Let's talk this out."

Jade grinned. As she looked around, she saw wonderful things. These dwarves really were the personification of industry itself. And as industry, of course they made things. "I agree... Capitalism is quite nice~ it means you're usually open for a bargain. And aren't you dwarves always looking for a deal?"

[Nationstatelandsville]

"There is the fact that we need to head to India," Damien said. "It'll be a short trip, since I do have a plane. Well, we, really. Nevertheless, you're going to have to wait until you can properly sleep on that throne, Bear-King Lewis." Turning, Damien made his way back into the council chamber, and climbed up into his new seat. "Then again, we could always stay here a bit longer. I am a politician now." He clapped, and looked at a passing Bear.

"Bring me some food," he ordered it.

"I am the representative from Northern Asia," it replied in a thick Russian accent, "I personally murdered each and every leader of the Soviet Union. Each. And. Every. One. I fought off an invasion of goblins that would have destroyed Moscow - single-handedly. I cured cancer and then destroyed the cure, making peace with cancer and turning it into my slave.

I am not your butler."

"Make the boy some food," Megan order calmly.

"I shall fetch you the freshest salmon immediately," the bear replied, before staunchly marching off towards a nearby creek.

"No time for food," Lewis said, "We've gotta' get out of here before sundown. We've broken every single of every single country ever here and not every human's smart enough to let the bears be. We'll take your plane. Meg, do ye' need us to take ye'? What are ye' even doing here, anyways?"

"You didn't come home last night," Megan replied, "so I immediately assumed you were here, playing with your little bear friends."

"They aren't my friends!" Lewis objected.

"You knew the guard's name," Megan said. Lewis simply stopped and glared.

"We'll be fine," she said, breaking the silence, "I'm going to stay with my grandparents in Trenton until you finish your little war. Rosie shouldn't be involved - not until she can kill us."

"This is such a wonderful family," the Russian said dryly, dropping a few salmon onto Damien's desk.

"This is a flagrant abuse against the bears!" Oso (the Spaniard) roared, "You have defiled our customs and our government! You have tricked our consitution and ignored it! You have raped the metaphorical virgin that is bearkind!"

"Fuck ye', I'm Nixon!" Lewis spat, giving Oso two middle fingers. The bear simply stared on in horror. With that, Lewis grabbed Megan and gave her a long kiss, before the two set-off up the stairs, followed by closely by Rosalind. Halfway up the stairs, she turned and repeated her father's gesture to Oso, who cried a single tear.

Soon enough, the plane lifted off, and they were gone - Rosalind and Megan having stomped off into the woods. Oso smiled to himself a bit when they left.

"Masterful, good Lords!" the Russian bear laughed, "Such easily played fools."

"Indeed," Oso sighed, "Ironhunter is dead now, as is the bastard king. That moronic nimrod shall soon destroy himself and his friend alike. Control shall be returned to the bears and the cataclysmic death of our armies shall shift a paradigm in the bears' consciousness. We shall soon rule uninhibited by that silly constitution and, then, my men, we shall be very rich indeed."

"Very good," the Russian chortled, "Lord Oso-Mountainclimber of Northern America."

"How lucky am I for my patronage," Oso replied, "A mother of European dynasty and a father of American. I live for this plan. My birth-right shall soon be mine."

[Nightkill the Emperor]

One dwarf shrugged. "Generally? Yes. What have you got for us?"
-------------------------------------------------
Randan nodded, looking impressed. "Good. That's quite well done. In fact, I would prefer you help teach us those skills as you have taught the rabbits. In the meantime, we will teach you some of ours. Deal?"

[Olthar]

Turning mid-flip to look at Randan, Sari-chan responded enthusiastically, "Sure! That sounds like—"

If her body wasn't so insanely durable, she would have snapped her neck as she landed right on her head, too distracted to catch herself. Instead, she immediately hopped back up, completely unphased by the event and continued where she left off.

"—A lot of fun! I'll have you pair off with the rabbits so that they can help you catch up with the lessons! I can even come up with different techniques to use both of your different powers and abilities together! The teamwork will really help us out!"

Pulling out her bullhorn, she did just as she had said she would, and soon the rats had been fully integrated into the class. Even Randan was paired off with Apple-chan. She then continued on with her teaching, occasionally going over something from previous lessons for the benefit of the rats. After a long while, she stopped to give the rats and rabbits a well-earned break. However, Sari-chan wasn't going to join them.

Before pulling out one of her manga to read, she came up with a brilliant idea: cookies! She'd make cookies for the little critters to celebrate their hard work and to welcome the rats. Thus, she skipped out of the basement and towards the cafeteria. She just hopped there was enough soy sauce for all those cookies. She'd certainly have to make a lot of them.

[The Inritus Extraho]

One dwarf shrugged. "Generally? Yes. What have you got for us?"
-------------------------------------------------
Randan nodded, looking impressed. "Good. That's quite well done. In fact, I would prefer you help teach us those skills as you have taught the rabbits. In the meantime, we will teach you some of ours. Deal?"

"Well..." Jade murmured. "We are looking for Mjolnir, of course, but I am also in the market for the best sword you have." She laughed quietly, and then shrugged. "And what do I have? Sadly, nothing material. But if you want money, he has tons..." she said, looking pointedly at Crowley.

[Erinkita]

Ellywick had the wind knocked out of her when the dwarf tackled her, but she did care to notice that he held her gently, albeit very firmly, and she appreciated it. The dwarfs stood only about a head taller than her, but they were much more tickly set. Each one was a barrel-chested, wizard-bearded mini-hulk. But really, they were just window dressing. What held Ellywick's attention was the contents of the room. It was like that one part in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory where the pedophile slavedriver led the children into the room where everything was made of candy, except hopefully more than one of Ellywick's group would make it out of here alive.

While Jade sstarted to bargain, Ellywick took careful stock of the room. Aside from the hammer, there were a lot of interesting things here. I'm gonna go fot it. Time to clamber up onto Santa's lap, grab onto his beard and refuse to let go.
"Jade," she said "Before you start haggling, do you mind if I say something?"
Without waiting for permission, she cleared her throat and addressed the bearded assemly. "Please, friendly and understanding and very generous dwarfs, I want that mini cold fusion unit over there. And one of the nano-tanks too, and the phaseform integration engine, the blue one, and at least three of those cone-shaped things that make the pleasant humming sound. And I want the DNA fabrication array, the organo-metalloid synth-brain, the anti-grav boots, the robot monkey, and all of the government secrets you have filed away in those computers. Except I already opened and decrypted them, so thanks. There's no way you sell most of this stuff on the open market, so I figure you fund most of your projects by selling information. But information is kinda what I do, and I've always believed it should be free. I'm very generous, you know. And now I've accesse your buyers list. And in case you think I'm not walking out of here, the guy back there is Aleister Crowley."

She twisted her head upwards and flashed the astonished dwarf who still held her her widest smile. "I can make myself forget stuff. I can do that. You've got a full brain scanner over there, so you can make sure I do it properly. It's really hard, though. And it hurts. So for going to all this trouble to help you out, maybe instead of all the stuff I really want, I could take the giant 100% uru hammer over there that isn't even yours to begin with, so you haven't really lost anything. Oh, and a nice sword for Jade. So I guess you will lose something. Sorry."

[Ameriganastan]

Turning mid-flip to look at Randan, Sari-chan responded enthusiastically, "Sure! That sounds like—"

If her body wasn't so insanely durable, she would have snapped her neck as she landed right on her head, too distracted to catch herself. Instead, she immediately hopped back up, completely unphased by the event and continued where she left off.

"—A lot of fun! I'll have you pair off with the rabbits so that they can help you catch up with the lessons! I can even come up with different techniques to use both of your different powers and abilities together! The teamwork will really help us out!"

Pulling out her bullhorn, she did just as she had said she would, and soon the rats had been fully integrated into the class. Even Randan was paired off with Apple-chan. She then continued on with her teaching, occasionally going over something from previous lessons for the benefit of the rats. After a long while, she stopped to give the rats and rabbits a well-earned break. However, Sari-chan wasn't going to join them.

Before pulling out one of her manga to read, she came up with a brilliant idea: cookies! She'd make cookies for the little critters to celebrate their hard work and to welcome the rats. Thus, she skipped out of the basement and towards the cafeteria. She just hopped there was enough soy sauce for all those cookies. She'd certainly have to make a lot of them.

The only thing in the cafeteria at the moment was Laz, trying to pass the time with a little shadow boxing...unfortunately, he didn't quite grasp the concept, and was actually punching the wall where his shadow was, leaving a succession dents in it.

"Gotta stay sharp. Gotta stay fit. Can't get lazy before the shit goes down. I gotta...wait..."

He stop vandalizing the wall, and sniffed the air.

"Oh great, Sari's coming..."