Personification Life: EPIC (IC Thread XI) [CLOSED]

[Torsiedelle]

Torii managed the faintest bit of a smile. She found MB's antics amusing, and she could never ignore an animal.

She couldn’t be rude to the guests, however. She gave Sully a respective nod, then Lawson. "Torii Dimitrov. Pleasure to meet you, too. I, um...yes, I think it should be easy enough to find your rooms. I think the rabbit needs something.", She said, backing away.

She still felt empty, though MB had at least distracted her. That was worth something. She reached and scooped up the bunny in her arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

[Danceria]

Torii managed the faintest bit of a smile. She found MB's antics amusing, and she could never ignore an animal.

She couldn’t be rude to the guests, however. She gave Sully a respective nod, then Lawson. "Torii Dimitrov. Pleasure to meet you, too. I, um...yes, I think it should be easy enough to find your rooms. I think the rabbit needs something.", She said, backing away.

She still felt empty, though MB had at least distracted her. That was worth something. She reached and scooped up the bunny in her arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

Sully nodded and watched her go away.
Damn...who did she lose in that fire...? he wondered as he went up to his floor. How can I help with it? I'll have to talk with rabbit later, or maybe a counselor, do they even have counselors here?
He recognized those eyes anywhere, that look, the way she carried herself, her voice. That was the voice of someone who hit rock bottom and wasn't sure how to get back up.

For a moment, his mind was back in Dubai, as the wide eyed boy who was scared to death. Lost under countless tin huts of the migrant workers who slaved away for the higher ups who enjoyed the luxuries of the city. He saw the stories of the sad faces of each member of the slums...and later ran through those very same streets, laughing and playing with the other kids, learning how to smile and live like a king, even though he wasn't in a palace.

He remembered returning to the more silent, the strict, and confining palace of his childhood. Of asking questions on where his sister was, and being ignored.

Sully remembered the years he spent abroad, sleeping and singing with the homeless, wandering the "rougher" sides of town, dining on sardines and spam with the whores, the disenfranchised, the downtrodden.

No matter where he was, listening to the words of wisdom from a cynical hobo, inhaling the scent of cheap tobacco as he told him the tale of investments gone wrong...
Or whether he was speaking with an Italian hitman, trapped in the never-ending cycle of killing and contracts, in a high rise casino. Despite the hitman's wealth and prestige, he felt like he couldn't have fallen any further from success.

From love.

It was what he spent the better part of his life searching for, the person he cared about. During that journey he's found people searching, already found, or in Torii's case, reeling from the loss of what they love. No matter how successful a person's become, if he doesn't have the person he cares about, or a reason to keep going, it means nothing.

He had no idea what prompted him to follow Torii, or to investigate the seventh floor. Something about Torii's loss was both physically evident...and emotionally so.

Sully already lost a sister, and her tone hit too close to home to not do something about.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Amanda was baffled by Volker's hug, his disappearance, and his decision to put her in charge. But how hard could the last be? Knowing the way the Building worked, the apartment keys would simply appear as people signed their leases.

He then looked at the list which contained his name and where he will be residing. Henry then looked at Sully. "By the looks of it, we're on different floors mate, so you're gonna be on your own." He said chuckling.

Amanda glanced at the leases and confirmed Henry's statement. "Yes, you're all on different floors. And good to meet you, Henry." She then turned to Sully, waiting patiently for him to sympathize with Tori. She must have missed something... the reason for her to look so poorly and for Volker to hug her. She gave them a moment of quiet, which the two need young men filled with their own conversation.

She let them finish, then added a caution. "You'll need to sign your leases before you can go upstairs. The Building's security system only lets Residents up. We sometimes get very interesting visitors."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Bella. My name is Venla. Legal counsel? Does the building as a whole need enough that it has someone for it on staff for the purpose?" She asked, curiously. "I'm a xenologist myself. Sadly it looks like I won't quite be able to finish what humans call a doctorate though, since my assignment was interrupted.... I do suppose you're from a different version of the universe as well? The planets of Nova Terra, Germania, and Alexandria don't ring a bell, do they?"

Amanda tried to make sense of the xeno's appearance, but she merely found it confusing. Biology wasn't her strong suit. She was, however, pleased that she could answer Venla's questions. "Welcome, Venla. I'm needed in my official capacity only once in a while, but when we need a lawyer, we tend to need one in the worst way. We sometimes get ourselves into the oddest forms of trouble."

"My Earth has barely mastered spaceflight; we're not starfaring. 'Germania' is an old name for a country where I'm from, and 'Alexandria' is the name of several cities. Coincidentally, my husband will be visiting one soon, but deep in our past."

Amanda addressed Sully and Henry too. "I used to live in Philadelphia, in the United States, which may mean something to you. When I left, the year was 2014 -- it should be 2016 on Earth now -- which was about 70 years after the end of vast conflict called 'World War Two'. If you're from Earth, those events may help you decide if we're from the same Earth."

Damn...who did she lose in that fire...? he wondered as he went up to his floor.

He might have wondered that, had he been able to reach either the elevators or the staircase. Instead, as he moved towards them, he found himself back at the desk.

Amanda looked at Sully with sympathy. "You'll need to sign the lease first. I imagine you want to get settled, but the Building's security doesn't permit exceptions."

[Danceria]

Amanda was baffled by Volker's hug, his disappearance, and his decision to put her in charge. But how hard could the last be? Knowing the way the Building worked, the apartment keys would simply appear as people signed their leases.

He then looked at the list which contained his name and where he will be residing. Henry then looked at Sully. "By the looks of it, we're on different floors mate, so you're gonna be on your own." He said chuckling.

Amanda glanced at the leases and confirmed Henry's statement. "Yes, you're all on different floors. And good to meet you, Henry." She then turned to Sully, waiting patiently for him to sympathize with Tori. She must have missed something... the reason for her to look so poorly and for Volker to hug her. She gave them a moment of quiet, which the two need young men filled with their own conversation.

She let them finish, then added a caution. "You'll need to sign your leases before you can go upstairs. The Building's security system only lets Residents up. We sometimes get very interesting visitors."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Bella. My name is Venla. Legal counsel? Does the building as a whole need enough that it has someone for it on staff for the purpose?" She asked, curiously. "I'm a xenologist myself. Sadly it looks like I won't quite be able to finish what humans call a doctorate though, since my assignment was interrupted.... I do suppose you're from a different version of the universe as well? The planets of Nova Terra, Germania, and Alexandria don't ring a bell, do they?"

Amanda tried to make sense of the xeno's appearance, but she merely found it confusing. Biology wasn't her strong suit. She was, however, pleased that she could answer Venla's questions. "Welcome, Venla. I'm needed in my official capacity only once in a while, but when we need a lawyer, we tend to need one in the worst way. We sometimes get ourselves into the oddest forms of trouble."

"My Earth has barely mastered spaceflight; we're not starfaring. 'Germania' is an old name for a country where I'm from, and 'Alexandria' is the name of several cities. Coincidentally, my husband will be visiting one soon, but deep in our past."

Amanda addressed Sully and Henry too. "I used to live in Philadelphia, in the United States, which may mean something to you. When I left, the year was 2014 -- it should be 2016 on Earth now -- which was about 70 years after the end of vast conflict called 'World War Two'. If you're from Earth, those events may help you decide if we're from the same Earth."

Damn...who did she lose in that fire...? he wondered as he went up to his floor.

He might have wondered that, had he been able to reach either the elevators or the staircase. Instead, as he moved towards them, he found himself back at the desk.

Amanda looked at Sully with sympathy. "You'll need to sign the lease first. I imagine you want to get settled, but the Building's security doesn't permit exceptions."

That moment he stopped.

He froze and his mind went from focusing on helping him, to silently reminding him that there were responsibilities first. Looking down at the papers, then to Mrs. Amanda, then back to the papers.
A mirthless laugh made its way outside of his body, a small foretaste of what the young man was thinking about.

It was just like him, to focus more on the people and the big picture rather than the fine print and details. That alone was a reason for most of his injuries over the years.

Once the half-hearted laugh concluded, he sighed and picked up the paper, not even skimming through the papers. "Sorry." he stated as picked up the pen to sign "I'd forget my own head if it weren't screwed on..." he feigned ignorance when he really was concerned about something else rather than trivial things, such as signing papers.

He almost signed it "Saib", the moniker he used during travels across the world, but now he used his "royal signature" in the flowing thuluth calligraphic script.

Suleiman Saladin Ahmed bin-Salah, though he dropped the formal "Prince of the Arabs" for obvious reasons. He was no prince, and renounced that title as soon as he searched for his sister.

With a satisfied smile, he turned to Amanda "That'll do it."

[Saldinado]

Turning red in embarrassment from Sully's comment, Henry tried to play it off by laughing. "Ummm.....Yes. Thank you. I'll be sure to come and check up on you sometime today. Now get away." He said playfully while finishing up chuckling.

After finishing his conversation with Sully, Henry then turned his attention towards Torii and Amanda. "Hello Mademoiselles. And thank you all for everything.". He watched as Torii backed away and pick up the rabbit and listened to Amanda talk about her time on Earth and the certain time and events that took place. With a slight nod, Henry answered her. "Why yes Madame, I do know what you're talking about. With those words, I might conclude that we did come from the same planet Earth."

"And to change the subject, you said that we needed to sign the least, no? Well let's start.". And with that, Henry looked over the leasing papers about two or three times before signing them. "Thank you." He said giving a faint smile to Amanda.

[Holy Lykos]

"What were the cultures that named those things? I have a feeling if they were the names given to the planets humans colonized after their diaspora from their dead homeworld, they must have been important. Humans themselves seem to have forgotten, since most records from before the unification wars of Nova Terra were lost. Incredibly tumultuous wars, between old autocracy and newer democratic orders that banded together. Interesting stuff, though never studied it very much."

Venla did notice few were able to properly make sense of her appearance, just from how they were looking at her. Made sense, It took Huvidu-Zaan a while to recognize anything not symbiotic as them as truly intelligent. Couldn't fathom intelligence without cooperation. So humans still seemed weird to her, especially with their overall lack of fur and overly expressive faces.

"United States, name reminds me of one of the nations I heard of from those wars though. Was the nation that brought about the prevalence of Human Standard over the old.... Latin I believe it was called? Still used for Human Science and on many of the colonies if I remember correctly."

She glanced over at the darker skinned human again, mumbling something in her own language. She was finding this human exceedingly strange, and not very likable so far. This Amanda was much more approachable.

---

OPERATION: Sonora Justice
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

The synth coughed, pulling himself up from the sand and the dust with a grimace. "Oh hell, I'm going to have to spend another day washing out my parts once this is done. Sand just does not agree with me!" He complained, glancing towards the others before pushing up his shirt sleeve and flicking up a panel. A ticking noise sounded out at a good clip and the synth scowled. "This certainly is home, Geiger counter here tells me double the rads of pre-war, though its not outside of healthy limits. You three will want to get properly scrubbed down once this is done to help remove radiation, but shouldn't develop any sort of mutation or anything from this trip unless we go somewhere we shouldn't.

"Unfortunately this also means we're post-war, and I don't remember any deserts in the Northwest. So I have no idea where we are, and built in GPS isn't showing me any damn information. Then again that might have broken a long time ago, I can't remember. Either way, Town's best best, so lead the way Audette."

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Why yes Madame, I do know what you're talking about. With those words, I might conclude that we did come from the same planet Earth."

Amanda broke into a huge smile. "No need to 'madame' me. Amanda will do, or Mrs. Bela if you want to be formal."

"And to change the subject, you said that we needed to sign the least, no? Well let's start.". And with that, Henry looked over the leasing papers about two or three times before signing them. "Thank you." He said giving a faint smile to Amanda.

As the two young men signed their leases, Amanda went behind the desk. She'd never been back there before, and she took a few seconds to check around before reaching for anything. She caught the golden keys' appearance out of the corner of her eye, one on each clipboard. "Now you'll be able to go upstairs. The Building's security is intelligent, and it just saw you sign."

"What were the cultures that named those things? I have a feeling if they were the names given to the planets humans colonized after their diaspora from their dead homeworld, they must have been important. [...]"United States, name reminds me of one of the nations I heard of from those wars though. Was the nation that brought about the prevalence of Human Standard over the old.... Latin I believe it was called? Still used for Human Science and on many of the colonies if I remember correctly."

Amanda hesitated before answering. "I'm not sure who named Germania, or modern Germany. Alexandria was named by its founder, a man named Alexander. He was Macedonian, though I'm not sure if that was a nationality or culture back then. If you want an answer to that, try asking my husband Sandy. He's a historian."

She had to stop and think to remember the other question. "I think you mean 'United Kingdom', though the United States was once one of their colonies. For a while, they controlled about a third of Earth's land surface. Or around that much. But Sandy would know the specifics of that too. And yes, English -- what we're speaking now -- did supplant Latin in places."

[Holy Lykos]

Venla accepted her key, a small tendril wrapping around it and tactily examining it. Golden, small, a bit gaudy. Definitely old style human from before digitization. Interesting little trinket for sure.

"I'll have to speak with your mate then for sure sometime. I'd be interested to figure out what similarities your earth has to what I know of Nova Terra. Its unlikely but possible that in your version they forgot it wasn't their real homeworld. Alexander doesn't sound familiar though, except for the modern people by those names...

"Anyway, does this building have human-styled lifts? I doubt they'd have water ones like my people use." She asked simply, though didn't assume they would understand what exactly she was referring to without the second part. Her nose twitched as she sniffed a bit, trying to familiarize herself to the scents of this place. Strangely reminiscent of home, actually, with the sea salt on the air.

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Anyway, does this building have human-styled lifts? I doubt they'd have water ones like my people use."

"Yes, they're over there." Amanda pointed them out, then shifted her gesture to indicate a silvery square on the ground near them, with a number pad by it. "That's the teleporter pad. It also only works for Residents. It's much faster than the elevators, but there's only that one, so you'll have to take an elevator or the stairs down."

She turned to include Sully and Henry in the conversation, since her next statements could be a matter of life or death. "If you're injured or sick, just get onto the teleporter. It'll automatically send you to the hospital, which is on the fifth floor. We have a large healer group in the Building, with both magic and advanced technology. Sandy is their Coordinator. If you have any medical training, please let him know. He's not in the Building now, but there's a way to page whoever is on duty, and you can tell them."

[Swith Witherward]

Someplace

"Oh, it's no intrusion at all," Ms. Jerid insisted, pressing her hands together with a smile. "I like it when people come to visit me, they hardly do anymore. I was just helping feed dearest Jubilee's babies while she rests for the day."

At this, the soft features of the goddess' face suddenly contorted inhumanly as a hissing hack arose from her, followed shortly by a large hunk of half-digested meat pealing out from her mouth and landing in her hands. Barely a second passed after the shocking display that an impossible amount of what appeared to be flying, squeaking lizards swarmed out of her hair and covered the meat, nipping away at it for but a moment before swarming out the still open front door, leaving the goddess' hands empty.

Ms. Jerid smoothed her hair. "But it has been such a long time since we brought any other gods home for supper!"

Giovenith stared up at her mother, unsure of how to initiate the point of the emergency that she and Klaus were in. The young artist looked between the Greater Being and her blue-garbed quasi-twin, whose critical gaze was burrowing into her with cold intensity. She apparently wasn't as casual about a Nazi war god being plopped into their home by her never-home sister.

The toddler, on the other hand, took a similar attitude as Ms. Jerid. She tried pushing her meat carton into Klaus' hands while making strange coos that seemed like a cross between child's speak and lizard gurgling. Either way, it seemed friendly.

Groundtown

The Chancellor was not a very intimidating pony. She was just a bit shorter than most, had a pinch of plump, and the puffy brown and pink clouds that made up her mane and tail practically swallowed her form up if kept unchecked. Her clothing was bright and silly for an official's get-up. But in spite of all that, her expression was cold. Her eyes neither twitched nor glazed as she kept them locked on Rache, as if totally ignorant of the plainly evident fact that he could rip her to pieces in seconds. In spring or winter, a stone was still a stone.

She listened to all four speak their pieces despite never moving her gaze. Once they were all done, she allowed what felt like an eternal second to make sure that was all they had to offer, before speaking up.

"Do you really think we'd sit miles away from them for hundreds of years and never think of anything for if they ever went rogue?" the Chancellor asked plainly in a measured tone.

It was in response to Rache's assessment of the pegasi's military against the residents of her tribe. 'Not from the city' - no, he was still just like the rest. The only difference is this one veiled his condescension through concern rather than hostility. Chancellor Puddinghead did not desire the pegasi's respect though, thus she allowed the implication to hang without going into detail, no ridiculous chest beating, that was all for her to know and for them to hopefully never find out.

She didn't wait for a response and finally turned to place her gauntlet on her desk. "Moolisa is an idiot. Normally I'd let her little schemes fail of their own accord and have her own stupidity be her punishment, but I am not in the mood to have her test my limits. I will send somepony for her when things are sorted here."

SkyWishes narrowed her brow in concern and exchanged a look with her friends. This was a darker Chancellor than the insistent, bouncy eccentric they'd been dealing with so far, somepony she wasn't used to. We all worse a mask sometimes though, she supposed.

"Now what are you going on," Puddinghead marched up to Aegis, looking up at him in the eye and bopping his nose with the tip of her pink hoof. "About your spooky-spooky undead? Witches' black sorcery ya sayin'?"

"No, no," Sky was quick to jump in. "Not unicorns, like Grimmig Rache said!"

"Bah." The leader was growing sick of all her underlings futilely making excuses for the non-Earths. Pacifistic nonsense. She turned from Aegis with a woosh of her wide hat and kicked away the sitting pillows from the middle of the floor, fetching an oil lamp while she was at it. "Come with me, all of you." She bent low and opened up the hatch in the floor from whence she had first crawled when meeting the Residents.

Hazelle shrieked and ruffled her feathers with agitation as the floor door swung open and filled the room a distant but terrible screaming and roaring. SkyWishes was jarred considerably and staggered back.

"What is that?!" the girl squeaked.

"Golden Cornucopia," the Chancellor answered, turning on the oil lamp.

"Who?"

Puddinghead lead the way downstairs without answer, leaving the others little choice but to follow. For such a simple looking cabin on the outside, the chambers underneath were a vast and winding thing made of packed and fossilized dirt that made the rest of the home above seem puny. There were dark halls around several corners, and the only illumination the Chancellor's lamp. Sky looked around and folded her ears.

"I... did not know all this was down here," she said, flinching again as the screaming continued.

Onward the short elected leader went through the halls until they came across the source of the screaming: The original cannibal pony from before, all locked up in some contraption that restrained his legs, torso and head. SkyWishes almost screamed herself, thinking this was some kind torture device, before being hushed by the Chancellor.

"He is not being hurt," she insisted. "We put him here so he cannot hurt others or himself and we can investigate. We identified him, a colt named Golden Cornucopia who went missing a few weeks ago when looking for firewood. The physicians say that he is not dead, not like your undead creatures, but merely... mad? Mad. We know not why."

Sky shook her head and sniffled, feeling a lump in her chest. All of this was getting to her.

"This might all be connected," the Chancellor said, turning back to the others. "But speculation means nothing without action. If you have truly seen something, we will need to put Groundtown on a lock down and hunt down whatever is causing this vile witchery. What about you?" She pointed to Rache. "Has your city seen similar incidents?"

The trash heap

Pansy felt a mixture of sickness and intrigue at what the unicorns considered "trash." She'd been raised to value efficiency and a lack of waste, and that wasn't exactly exemplified when pulling out a three-foot long pearl, silver, and sapphire necklace from the snow that she couldn't even find anything wrong with (there wasn't - it merely had gone out of style!). Even for a relative moderate, the whole scene was fairly infuriating, but at the same time, it was hard to say that digging through the stuff wasn't interesting. Along with jewelry, clothes, and baubles, there were many old books as well, most of which had been thrown out due to some new edition coming out or too much wear and tear. Flipping through a few, much of what laid within was beyond Pansy's understanding.

" 'Synanthropy of calliphoridae and sarcophagidae in the city of El Dorado,' " she read off the cover of one heavy tome, or at least tried to, butchering most of the bigger words. She slowly lowered it to begin searching for clues again.

"Look what I found!" Cloud Duster appeared out of nowhere and shoved a hideous doll in her face.

"WAAH-!" Pansy stumbled backward from the unwelcome surprise, falling torso-first to the ground then, out of instinct, snapped out her hind legs through the air just missing Duster's face and sending the doll flying. They watched as it sailed through the air before crashing to the ground.

"Mamaaaaaa..." some broken sound box growled in a deep voice, one of its eyes popping out of its head.

Cloud Duster snapped attention back at Pansy. He pointed at her. "Baby killer!"

"What?!" Pansy wasn't amused.

"That's enough, both of you!" Willow snapped at both of them, emerging from behind a pile of silk dresses. "We can't waste time getting distracted by this stuff, we have to find Smart Cookie and protect her!"

"Why?" Pansy asked, still not entirely sure what the whole purpose of their mission here was.

"Because..." Willow trailed off, trying to think fast. "Because if Groundtown goes crazy, we'll never find the rest of the members of the traveler clan." For good measure: "Not to mention that if they do go crazy, it could mean trouble for the food supplies. And it's the right thing to do."

Pansy sighed and nodded, turning to make amends with Cloud Duster... only to find him gone again. The two whipped their heads around in search of their blue companion and found him digging at the snow near the mountain's edge with his front hooves like an excited dog. Willow sighed with frustration and pulled Pansy along to see what he was up to this time.

"What are you doing?" the artist asked, annoyance clear in his voice. "Did you just hear what I sai-"

The grey young stallion was interrupted by the distinctive scratchy clunking and rumbling of large rocks hitting other large rocks, the three flying upward to avoid stumbling into the large hole that fell away beneath their feet in the spot Duster had been digging. They listened as the rocks fell down into a deep darkness within the hole, indicating that opening was some kind of tunnel. Willow looked between it and Duster.

"How did you find this?" he asked.

The Private merely pointed to what neither of them had noticed before: Red blood and green hair in the snow, smeared toward the hole. Not too far off against the trees was a splash of dark green ghouling blood, and the slightly covered tracks in the snow around them showed some kind of struggle to the trained eye.

"Even before he dug it up," Pansy said, suddenly realizing. "Somepony could have easily stumbled down there!"

Willow's stomach lurched in panic at this prospect. A dark rocky slide? Horrible images of broken skulls and a future ended before it could begin flashed through his mind, fearing that Smart Cookie was already dead and their mission failed, but was calmed slightly by the simple fact that he still existed. Either his ancestry was some total miracle or there was still time.

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure that nopony did," he declared, ruffling his feathers slightly.

Pansy widened her eyes and shook her head. "No, don't you know what this is?" She pointed upward toward the fading peaks of the mountain. "This is unicorn territory. We don't have a token to come here like we did with Groundtown! The most the Earth ponies could do is lynch us, but there's no telling what the magicians and sorcerers would do to us if they caught us sneaking around!" Pansy's own imagination flashed scenarios of them being turned into rats, or incinerated, or bled out to make potions.

"All the more reason to go down and check," Willow said sympathetically. "What if Smart Cookie was caught?"

Pansy caught herself from outright thinking, Who the fuck cares? and felt deep shame at her fear. She had already promised Yuna that she would be of service and bring the secretary home. How fast she was to forget duty in light of threat to herself! If there were a superior here, they would surely strike her, and rightly so! Sighing, she straightened her posture and nodded.

"I agree," Duster said simply.

"But how are we going to see?" Pansy asked, squinting her eyes down at the tunnel. "The dark, it's as thick as pea soup!"

Willow looked back around at the trash piles around them to see if anything would help. He zipped off to a scattered box of jewelry and began to dig through it, hoping that perhaps he would find... aha! He picked up a light blue sapphire with etchings in it and began to slap it with his other hoof a few times before it slowly lit up like a glow stick. Luminescent gems! One of his old unicorn friends back in modern Equestria had shown them to him before. The painter returned to the others and nodded. "Let's go!"

Slowly, one by one, they eased their way down the hole and began the precarious slide into the labyrinth below.

Caer Gloriana

Riiiiiiiiiiip!

It was unmistakable and yet totally alien, the tearing apart of an unseen force as Mirare was taken up by it's new wielder; as the blade ran through the air via Chrys swining it around from back to front, the edge of the blade literally cut the air and left a gap glittering edges in its wake. Within that gap was reality - the dark, cold, caverns, and outside the gap, the garden fantasy. The illusion was exposed.

"The Bitch Witch-Queen's weapon," the false Hans hissed in a completely different voice, the edges of his form beginning to fuzz out like a static TV broadcast. "That conniving apprentice! We will wrangle her in front of Argenta's spawn!"

The same curdling voice from the nightmare the two travelers had shared the other night split force from the rapidly deforming Hans figure. The Nazi illusion melted like a candle, his whole back bending backward and his limbs liquefying until he resembled roadkill on the fading garden stones. Smooshed-Hans further disintegrated even then, this time, what was left gathering into a black cloud that rose upward as the last of the fantasy shattered, leaving the Conservator once again in her unicorn form.

Meanwhile, in the tunnel, the voices accosting Brit silenced for a moment.

"The sword," one of them suddenly hissed, this time in a much more warped and darker tone.

"Her..."

"No! We killed her!"

"It is not her."

"It is someone with kindred soul."

They all began to talk, then squabble, then scream incoherently over one another in a massive choir of horror. Suddenly, the darkness behind Brit exploded and propelled her forward the rest of the tunnel's way and into the opening where Chrys stood. Her body skidded and slid across the ground smoother than expected, revealing that beneath the garden illusion, the floor of the chamber was completely covered in ice. From behind the tunnel where Brit emerged, the darkness flooded outward and joined the smokey remains of false-Hans in gathering among the pointed chamber ceiling. The same creatures spotted before now loomed over them in full nightmarish glory, screaming and roaring at the puny residents.

Outside, Platinum was giving Clover CPR. Or, at least, what she thought CPR was, which mostly consisted of desperately but pathetically giving little taps to her friend's abdomen. The princess was yelling for her magician's sake and nearly on the verge of crying when Clover suddenly gasped, opened her eyes, and rose to her legs.

"Clover?!" Platinum gasped, scrambling up and attempting to reach out a hoof to the younger pony, but pulled back in fear at her condition. Clover's eyes had been taken over completely by the sinister green glow, and a new purple haze played at their edges. Magical static popped and zapped violently in black and purple bursts around her eyes and horn. "Clover..."

A stream of the dark magic shot out from the little unicorn causing the princess to scream and stumble backward. It was not aimed at her however, but the invisible wall between them and the travelers. The magic hit and the whole entry way suddenly glowed with the same eerie blacklight as before, before round patches blotched up upon it one by one and slowly disintegrated away the force field, leaving them free to pass. It was only then that the magic shorted out and fizzled from Clover, leaving her horn and returning her eyes to their normal state, causing the mage to swoon slightly. Platinum helped her stay standing, but was quick to turn her attention to the chaos that Brit and Chrys had found themselves in.

Something in the royal girl shifted now that the barrier was gone. Her eyes narrowed and her teeth gritted. Not anymore!

Leaving Clover the Clever to the safety of the tunnel, Princess Platinum ran into the chamber while simultaneously pulling something from her bags with her telekinesis. She began to slide across the room as her hooves hit the ice, and while doing so, pulled an archer's arrow from her bag, aimed it mid-slide, and shot a glowing arrow up at the gathering shadows before slowly to a stop next to Brit. The arrow flew up and caused the shadow creatures to reflexively twist away from its magic light, but quickly ran back over it once the glow ran out. Platinum was not deterred.

"Mirare, Chrysanthemum!" she ordered. "Everything you have, Brit! Let us exile these ruffians to whence they came!"



Smart Cookie's head throbbed as cold stone materialized beneath her cheek. She squeezed her eyes tight to take a moment to assess her pain before slowly fluttering them open. Her dazed mind wondered briefly at why a flower was growing out of her hoof. It was quickly that things cleared and she reasoned that there was no plant on her, as she twisted and moved her hoof and saw the image remain still, she realized it was colored light shining down on her.

The secretary rolled off of her tummy to her hooves and shook herself into full awareness. She looked around her and found her hat a few inches off to her side on the floor, picked it up, set it upon her head, and gave the wide rim a nice, long stroke before taking note of her surroundings.

"Figs' sake," Cookie breathed quietly in shock, backing up a bit in astonishment as her eyes were drawn upward.

The source of the flower-shaped light on her hoof was yet another stained glass window. This one, however, put the ones up above where the Princess and her mage lived to shame (not that the Earth pony was able to compare). It was at least four times bigger, roughly as tall as a three-story building and as wide as two and half cars, making Smart Cookie feel like an insignificant speck and sending her brain into a frenzy over where on Earth anypony would even be able to find that much glass. These feelings only intensified as she slowly turned around in a circle and saw that the window was just one in an equally colossal full set.

One, two... five... she counted and found six windows total, each covering the wall in the rounded - or rather, hexagonal - chamber in which she had landed. They were considerably more abstract than the windows upward in the modern palace, though not imprecise as to what was being depicted on each one. It was not so incomparable to the evolution of human art: the further forward in time one went the closer to reality artists attempted to keep to, the further backward, the more liberties taken and a larger focus on the evocation of emotion and deeper understanding than perfect rendition. Exempli gratia, the difference between that of the Medieval renderings of Jesus performing miracles on church ceilings versus the twisting runes and picture stones of the ancient Europeans, with this piece of pony history leaning towards the latter. Each window seemed to be depicting the same twisty unicorn mare figure in various positions and situations, and each had their own label written in curly letting interlaced with the complex glassy patterns.

"La Audition": The lovely unicorn figure, dressed in sparkling blue dress, stood mid-prance as many instruments floated around her and crystals jangled from her mane.

"La Toucher": The figure, this time in equally beautiful green dress, nuzzled and wrapped her forelegs around the long strands of her mane and of the long silks that trailed from her dress.

"Les Odorat": The figure now in yellow garb sat serenely, showing no alarm at her body being entangled in vines of exquisite flowers.

"Le Goût": The figure gathered up her tasteful dark red skirts in order to keep them from falling into the sparkling stream she knelt to drink from.

"La Vue": The figure's dress was as pleasantly orange as the sunset (or sunrise?) she gazed upon with wide, wondering eyes.

The last one was notably different from the other five: "À Mon Seul Désir." Keeping with the apparent rainbow theme, this one had the figure and primary color scheme as purple, and merely showed the unicorn figure draped in an abstract shimmer and the glow from her horn dominating as she looked upward with certain smile and peacefully closed eyes.

Each of the windows seemed to have light shining through them, and it didn't take the clever Cookie to realize how this should have been impossible, given she seemed to be underground. Perhaps there was a way out yet? The wonders didn't stop at the windows though. Looking beneath her hooves, Smart Cookie saw that the rounded, elevated platform that made up the large floor was inscribed with some very ancient language. The wording all ran in one line that spiraled down into the middle of the floor. Miraculously, this was actually something Cookie had researched once in her own raids of the unicorn trash, and she was able to make out the meaning behind the first few words at the beginning of the spiral.

" 'When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain,' " she read aloud, doubting it sounded quite as regal from her mouth. " 'And the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain, In the shadow of the forest though she...' " The Earth pony trailed off, looking down at the long way she'd have to go to read the whole thing and decided it wasn't worth it. There were more important things at hoof - like getting out of here before whatever unicorns tended this place found her. Surely it must have been very holy. Though, from the sheer amount of dust and quiet, it wouldn't be hard to assume that nopony had been here for a very long time... no need to take chances though.

Cookie ran across the platform to see if there were steps downward and cringed - there may have once been steps, but they had broken away and there was now a steep drop into unknown places. She wasn't risking it.

"Shoot," the mare huffed to herself, pinning her ears low in worry and looking around her. Come to think of it, how had she even fallen in here? She didn't see any entry ways that she could have stumbled into. Heck, when she woke up, she had woken up right in the perfect center of the platform. Had somepony taken her here and left her? Why?

Smart Cookie closed her eyes and sighed once again in frustration. She wasn't paid anywhere near enough for this shit.

Mount Anemoi, 4,282'

Frozen flesh, biting winds, and piling snow were all legitimate burdens, but they were the minimum of what the fury of winter had to offer. All of that happened at least within the company of community where suffering could be shared and acknowledged. Such things should never be underestimated. It was out here, away from that small but potent light, where one came face to face with the true giants of sorrow.

It was easy to imagine their journey as an escape from madness itself, always just a mile or two behind them, a hunter that could never be outmatched, only outrun. He had the advantage, for these were truly his grounds; the never ending vastness of undisturbed snow and white sky looked for the life of them as if the world they knew had been little more than a drawing, concocted by some unfathomable greater mind for leisure, and they had wandered off the edge onto the blank side of the paper. Stranded were they from even the illusion of certainty or consideration from that nameless artisan now. It was just them, the hunter, and their own hunted, a three-way race to see who could swallow whom first, with that drawing - reality - home - a far, out-of-reach endgame that all had known better than to feel privileged to once they first stepped outside the outlines.

He had to be careful about alternating between flight, walking, and breaks. Flying would bring them faster towards their destination, but they were far more prone to frost, and it was easier to lose track of one another whenever the blizzard stirred the skies. They'd lost two ponies so far that way (he hadn't abandoned them - when Silver Glow and Windy Wisp went down, they'd dropped everything to retrieve them, but there was only so long they could fruitlessly search the endless frozen expanses before he was putting the rest of them at risk and they had to move on), and so it was that even at the slightest hint of storm he immediately ordered them all to the ground to trudge on foot. Trudging faced its own issues with pushing through the thick snowy build-up, but it offered a slightly elevated peace of mind for him, as it came with everypony buckling themselves to a long rope so that nopony else was blown off from the group. The trick to survival in the cold was to keep moving, but that didn't negate the need for rest, especially when the winds became too harsh even for them and they needed to barricade in order to avoid frostbite.

There was, of course, also the monsters to worry about. Their main deterrent, unpleasant as it was, seemed to have been serving them well so far: ghoulings provided no shortage of their noxious green blood when they fell, and it was in continuously coating themselves in in a packed supply the stuff so that its rotten stench would disguise their own that they were able to avoid detection for the most part. It was a known fact that the creatures relied mostly on scent and had poor eyesight, so on the rare (but always heart stopping) occasion that they came near one by chance, it was largely as simple as burrowing into the snow or clouds until it passed them by. Still, none dared to let his or her guard down, and none forgot the stories and memories of the screams ponies made when they were being filleted alive by filthy nails.

All of this was the minimum of what he had to worry about though, the basics of the march forward, simple survival even reduced to everyday habit. Fly, speed, walk, keep head count, rest, eat, drink, hide, don't look over your back, keep your wits in check, keep everypony else's wits in check. This constant checklist of struggle was daunting on mind, body, and spirit, and yet as they drew closer and closer to their ultimate destination he found himself savoring it, for even it became a security blanket in light of what he would have to face at its end. Not that he let that slow him. Not that it had to have slowed him for everypony else to still know exactly what was on his mind. Not that they'd dare acknowledge it out loud.

Except for one.

It was an exchange about fourteen years in the making. Even those who did not believe in destiny acknowledged some degree of foreseen inevitability in this life, often with no small degree of dread on their part, and the trick seemed to either be to stall it as long as possible or accept it as soon as possible so that the rest of the waiting period felt like a stall. He wasn't sure which he'd been trying, but it didn't matter now that it was here, slipping into his cloud tent and staring at his back as he pretended to sleep, grip around the cold treasure beneath his blankets tightening.

"I am so sure Star Catcher sent you off with her blessings," the visitor said coldly.

"No," he responded, still laying down. "She knows her place and keeps it well."

'Blessing' implied permission given, a chance to abstain, insubordination. Star Catcher was no insubordinate. That was the correct answer anyway; he was the Commander and she was a Lieutenant. Of course, correct wasn't always necessarily true, and truth was that he was nothing without her. He knew that, his visitor knew it more.

"The ponies have passed around that you will dent their faces if they bring up my being here from an angle of poetic irony," the visitor said, taking a seat.

"They're smart, that's why I brought them along."

"If they're smart for that, then you've come a long way."

He wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or a subtle challenge. Once upon a time, Lieutenant Star Catcher had protected him, and once upon a time, it had been the visitor here who had been one of the primary forces he had needed protection from. Not anymore. He didn't answer, making it clear he did not need nor want the visitor's approval.

"We all learn to wear masks over time," the visitor said. "But you can't just bring me on board for this and then expect to spend the whole time wearing yours. You know it is transparent to me."

"I brought you because you deserved it. Not so we could have a heart to heart."

The visitor raised his eye. "I don't want a heart to heart with you. I want to avoid absurdity by acknowledging the obvious." A moment of silence without answer. "I've heard you've done well, but right now, you are confusing being strong with being childish. Fir-"

"Don't you say it." It was a warning. Not against being called childish, he could take that. Fir... - not even that far.

The visitor refrained from rolling his eyes but the same sentiment was still clearly written on his face. "Of course. I shouldn't have bothered. You have fun with whatever all this is, I'm going back to rest." The visitor stood up, briefly scratched behind his ear with a back leg, and turned to take his leave and be a visitor no more.

The tent's owner finally stirred and sat up. "Heat Lightning."

The former Lieutenant paused and looked over his back at the now-standing leader. Little had objectively changed about him over the years. He was still an astoundingly pale thing, easily overlooked in a crowd, if not for the striking hallmark that was his mane: the candlelight yellow gently interlaced with whispers of color, shifting and flashing in the light like iridescence. They'd learned once during a diplomacy trip that the unicorns had a name for it, opal hair, and that it was among the rarest of the countless colored trends that ponies were capable of inheriting, just slightly less common than the also stunning and elusive rainbow hair (they were "connected to and influenced by the same genes," whatever the Tartarus that meant, sounded like some smartass wizardry bullshit). He had the same turquoise eyes. It was beneath the superficial traits that things had truly shifted.

Those eyes, once filled with bashful cluelessness and naivety, were now hardened and sharp, and stayed narrow as their owner spoke again. "I never wanted to make it seem like you no longer had a place in our system."

The visitor turned back around. There was a moment of silence. "I know. I never held any ill will towards you. I didn't like what they were using you for, but you were always an innocent to me. I wanted to save you just as much as Star Catcher. Just differently."

"And you were wrong," the younger stallion stated bluntly, despite the relatively kind words. "You left anyway when you lost because you didn't believe I could do it. And you were wrong."

Heat Lightning shook his head slowly. "It wasn't about believing that you couldn't do it."

"Then what?"

"I have always known when I did and did not have a place in things. I do not stay because something is ambitiously sound; I stay because I can contribute. I go when I cannot. When you rose, my era ended. And so I went." He sidelonged his gaze slightly. "It is not a matter of condemnation of you or anypony else. Things simply end sometimes, with nopony to accuse or blame. We must learn to recognize and accept this when it comes."

The younger leader's eyes and ears shifted to trace the deep whistling of the wind outside. He wasn't sure he believed that. Ponies did not look to a leader to tell them to submit to fate, but to make demands of fate on their behalf. Even if those demands were hopeless, foolish, you stood for them regardless, and pretended that it did not agonize when fate lashed back. His eyes flicked back to the elder.

"Then why did you agree to come along now?" he asked.

"Same reason you asked. Closure. Obligation."

It was a dreadfully simplistic summary of the swirling maelstrom of memory, emotion, guilt, and pride that stormed beneath both the stallions' skins - beneath the skins of every pony here and back in their city awaiting their news of either victory or demise. And that was best, in their eyes. It didn't need to be in some long, vein-popping, tear-jerking speech for them to understand and be united by it. Sometimes that which was most powerful was that which words were a disgrace to; that which only action could properly honor.

And that was good enough for both of them. The two nodded simultaneously, momentarily at a kind of peace before being interrupted by the arrival of another Lieutenant, out of breath and eyes wide.

They were soon off. Tents disintegrated, armor dawned, they took to the skies and flew in silence and cold preparation for what was to come. They all knew what they were to do, not a day in the journey had gone by where he hadn't made sure they knew it better than their own language or names. But even as he felt himself shifting into that cold place of mind, he couldn't help but spare a thought to the piece in his bag...

" 'I am not a pony,' * " the young stallion struggled to keep his voice steady with the melody. " 'Thunder in my veins, And cold rain in my brain, It's killing the flowers in my soul...' " He shook the older mare on his back in what was meant to be encouragement. It was hard to be encouraging to somepony who'd had half their face marred and a leg ripped off. "C-Come on, you taught me this one..."

She taught him so much over the few days.

" 'Grey cloud eyes, And Hurricane in my heart...' "

It was only a mile or two, then the medics, they could save her. He'd seen plenty of honored veterans before with false limbs. She was strong, she could live like that. She just had to stay awake till then.

"Come on, sing it!" he begged. " 'I am unpredictable and dangerous...' " He felt like anything but. " 'Lightning strikes my words, Searing where they land...' "

He didn't initially hear it over the screams of war and death in the distance. That song had reached its crescendo, so loud, so merciless, it blew them to pieces. And he didn't hear it. Didn't hear the sound of friend becoming object.

" 'Constant rumbling, And high speed winds, I always leave a mess... behind-' "

What about her baby?

"AH-!" He stumbled and brought her down with him, his own strength depleted. He was rapidly losing his sight and hearing. No! Don't be weak! Just a little further! She needs it!

She didn't need anything anymore.

"Major... P..." he coughed, tears choking his facing voice. Everything was a blur, and at the time, he became convinced he was hallucinating when he felt a hoof brushing his veins and a large hourglass pressed into his hoof.

We've come full circle, like precipitation.

" 'I am not a pony, " Commander Hurricane stated. " 'I am a storm with skin.' "

Mane strands stood on end as electricity filled the air before being smoothed down by helmets.

Someplace

Never judge a god or greater being by their actions... while standing in their heaven. It was just proper etiquette. But Klaus wouldn't have judged Ms. Jerid poorly if he judged her at all. She'd healed him and for that he was grateful. That she spat hunks of meat out for hair dragons to nibble... well, that was obviously what she did, and he couldn't see any fault with that. The small dragons drew a curios glance, however. They reminded him of puks. He'd just made up his mind to inquire about Jubilee and whether or not her offspring brought stolen things to the head of the house, and to politely explain why he and Giovenith were even there, when something pressed against his hand.

The small godling's face reminded him of his own daughter's, though Sophie was truly human and not divine by any means. The sounds coming from the godling reminded him of a retching iguana, or something close to it, but he'd heard far more bizarre sounds coming from Ogoti's offspring. Chuckling, Klaus squatted down to speak with Giovenith's sister.

"Is this for me?" he politely accepted the box from her. "Thank you." He understood just how quickly feelings were crushed by uncaring adults when they refused gifts. Klaus took a sip of the strange meat mixture, kept it down, and then allowed his lips to curl into a playful smile. A hand dove into a pocket to retrieve a small wrapped piece of hard candy.

"Humbug?" he tilted his head and sought the mother's approval before offering the peppermint treat to the child. He caught the other sibling's disapproving stare, however. The candy lowered.



Groundtown

The fuck is with this mare? Rache ignored her attitude and kept his own thoughts private as they descended into the tunnels. At least these felt familiar. Underground, away from cheerful voices and colorful settings, this place was every bit as foul as the Catacombs and broken subway tunnels in the Ruins.

His interest in the setting intensified as they drew nearer to the screams. Whereas Aegis was beginning to think back to the stories of his faith were situation like this always ended badly. Rache reveled in the fact that his kind were usually the bastards bringing a holy and divine (from their perspective) experience to those foolish enough to muck about foreboding tunnels. Yuna's squeal broke this delicious train of thought. He paused to watch the princess puke into an old, cracked bucket, and then he stepped forward to stand with Aegis.

The Chancellor's question wasn't overlooked though Rache didn't immediately answer. Instead, he peered more closely at the shackled pony. Invisible hairs as sensitive as a kitten's whiskers pricked towards the hapless creature, though perhaps only Aegis would be able to sense the vibrations within the Void as they swept in search of supranatural answers. If the pony was possessed, Rache would know; if the pony's mind was shattered by something chaotic, he'd also know.

"Not dead, not undead," the daemonpony murmured to himself. A soft snort, and then, "Don't be foolish, Madam Chancellor. You judge me by my wings. I am not from the Pegasi city." Rache's upper lip curled, lending a feral look to his equine face. "I can appreciate your desperation to find answers to this harsh weather, and to what caused this pony's madness, but we aren't going to accomplish anything until you grasp that some shit isn't caused by ponies at all. Not intentionally. For example-"

Rache explained the battle with the creature that had attacked the pegasi city the night prior, though he downplayed his own actions. "Starvation drives them to seek food."

"As for this current problem," a hoof waved towards the shackled colt, "I suppose Aegis and I can try to ferret an answer out of him. But tell me, if you can, has anything like this been witnessed before by earth ponies, or by unicorns? I honestly can't speak for the pegasi, though my companions Willow and Cloud Duster could."



Lobby

It should be a matter of record that the area under the reception desk's counter was remarkably well organized. It contained plenty of paperclips, post-it note pads, staplers, business cards for the Building, pens, pencils, and a weensy wire cage filled with hundreds of frightened eyes. These belonged to the parakeets, of course, though it was impossible to tell what they were given how dark it was inside the cage. It was as though light simply stopped at the wire only to be replaced by black fog. Or chaos. Yes, perhaps it was like looking right at chaos itself.

The birds jostled... supposedly. I mean, it's hard to tell by just the shifting eye positions, you know. For that matter, the cage wasn't much bigger than a box of staples. The longer Amanda looked, the more the eyes seemed to look back, and the more convinced she might have become regarding untended tea kettles or electric irons mistakenly left on. This was, of course, absolute nonsense. She blinked and the cage was nothing more than a matchbox advertising the Wilting Succubus Pub. Should anyone attempt to lift it, they'd find that tiny box resolutely stuck to the desk itself.

Canon is canon.

[Primordial Luxa]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaurfry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

Primordial nodded at Sandy. He had brought a good amount of currency to potentially buy something for himself but I was nice to know that we would have the opportunity. He had his eyes set on some artifacts and relics from this dimension that would allow him to better use his arcanotech in this realm. Something he could study to make sure that things worked as well here as they did back home.

He was not entirely pleased about having to go through a biometric scan but he wasn’t so unhappy that he would refuse. He followed Lumba’s instructions and complied as he entered the establishment. Primordial didn’t have the religious or moralistic qualms some people he knew did about having your eyes, fingers and veins scanned. His body was merely a canister for his mind and if he needed to change those features later through surgery he wouldn’t feel any remorse. But he still didn't like the invasive nature of the scan for something that seemed so mundane to him. He expected Lumba to have quite a stash for all this effort.

[Torsiedelle]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

Audette waved the others along. Thankfully, the desert landscape wasn't hot, and the walk not far. In fact, the walk was only about four minutes, and the temperature was actually quite cold; wherever they were, it wasn't too far north, though one could assume having tons of dirt and pollution thrust into the atmosphere would lower temperatures some.

The town sign itself read "Sonoyta", with a second "new" sign haphazardly propped up behind it. The town looked alive, with lights on, and music heard in the distance, though the streets were, for the most part, abandoned. Many of the buildings were intact, though clearly worn down with age and abuse; a few sheetmetal shacks and slightly bombed out sheds were present, though they were hardly an eyesore.

Wherever the music was coming from, it was down the street; a woman's voice. Audette continued forward, weapon drawn.

[Ganonsyoni]

OPERATION: Sonora Justice
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

Kale got off the ground, dusting off her leather attire. "Sacagewea...princess" She grumbled under her breath with a frown as she dusted, still maddened by Audette' off-hand comment. First off, she was Lakotah not Newe. Second, they're attire wasn't the same. Only someone who had no knowledge of either people could not tell the difference. And third, PRINCESS?!?!?!? This was normal, everyday attire of her people, not some royal dress. She wasn't some royal native princess from ignorant fiction books, she was a normal girl in normal clothes.

"Where the hell she from, Canada?!" She mumbled, recalling the ignorance within her nation's northern neighbor, slapping the last bits of sandy dust off her clothes. It was funny, Audette and Katya acted like they were very different people yet they had a lot more things in common than they knew. Like racism.

Finally getting the chance to look around, she was surprised by it all. Desert all around, with dry heat and sandy dunes all over. "This isn't the High Desert..." Kale said, recalling the only desert she had the chance to travel through. A two week trip through the most popular areas and not much deviation off the guided path. Plenty of food and water throughout the trip and a guide to make sure they never got lost. No real challenges or hardships. So this, being in a much more barren desert with no guide or preparation, was virgin ground for her. Not to mention the irradiation in the air and ground Sakarias spoke of. So, irradiated desert territory she had barely any experience in. Wonderful start!

Kale turned her head to the town Audette spotted in the distance. Kale sighed with relief, knowing at least they weren't in the middle of nowhere. "We should head there first. They'll know where we are," Kale said, "And hopefully whatever supplies we need." Kale's mind was already on leaving as soon as possible and getting out of this barren effort. Sakarias might have felt a bit at home here, but she was not getting homey vibes. This was as far away from home for her, especially the added radiation.

Kale followed along directly behind Audette, her pace just enough so that she wouldn't bump up on the woman. She wanted to get this done as quickly as possible and get out. And even moreso when coming up on the "town". It looked like one of the forested slums on the outskirts of Powhatan. Except replace the forest with desert and most of the wood with sheetmetal. Memories from home, but definitely not positive ones. The music and empty streets sent creepy vibes down Kale's back. "I don't like it here...." Kale commented, looking back and forth between the buildings on each side of the street, continuing to follow Audette just behind her.

[Holy Lykos]

OPERATION: Sonora Justice
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

Sakarias really never felt like home in the wasteland. It was more that he'd adapted to it.His home war pre-war, before everything fell to shit for good. This was like stepping back into the ruins of home, after a nasty fire. Seeing what had once been beautiful, breathtaking, and perfect in his eyes and smashing it so thoroughly it would never be right again. Like a badly set broken bone it would never heal up right ever again, as much as the Synth would wish it so. In truth, it was hell being back.

But still, they had things to do. Namely right now it was time to figure out just what to do about this town, or where to look for supplies. They obviously didn't have much,so it might be best to recall and try somewhere else rather than rob a town of what it had.

But where was everybody?

"Very creepy for sure.... Audette, holster your gun, you don't want the people who might be here to think we're raiders and shoot us on sight. Its a town, have a bit of respect okay?" He requested of her, knowing enough wasteland etiquitte that he might be the best first one to talk to him. No need to frighten these good people.

He drew his scarf fight around his neck to block view of the destroyed part of it, and frowned. It was great to be home, he supposed. If this world could even be called anyone's home anymore. "I'll never get used to living here..." He whispered to himself, looking over the distant horizon for any sign of green in the baked dead desert.

[Tiltjuice]

MB twitched both ears, one to each of the men, and then both at Venla, before disappearing. The second-floor apartment retained its supermodern feel, with glass and metal fixtures and appliances scattered throughout. The only visible wood was in the floor paneling, and in the slanted wine bottle holder and cutlery rack. Cuisine looked up from where he was elbows deep in a complicated-looking instrument still in its cardboard box. The big chef had been on his knees, but he got up and rolled his sleeves down.

"Hello, Torii," he said, gesturing at the floor right in front of the box where a large sheet had been unfolded. "Please mind that, it's the instructions to the new laboratory equipment I ordered just before we switched places. I still haven't figured out how to properly work it yet." He shuffled his feet and fiddled a bit with the starched white hat that currently sat a little askew. "Not many people, I think, know how to properly work this thing - perhaps I should have thought of that first, wouldn't you say? I was trying to experiment a little more with applied food science. Molecular gastronomy, if one wants to be fancy about it."

MB chuffed, but 'said' nothing.

[Danceria]

Suleiman wasted no time in going up to his room and surveying the interior.

It was small, but cozy and enough for a few friends to comfortably be fitted inside. Sully's was more pragmatic in terms of space being used, and enjoyed the large dining room and living room facing the outside. Looking out into the world, he began to realize that he was a stranger in a strange land. Not so much that he had back up bank accounts, some semblance of how things worked, or even a general goal. He was quite literally and figuratively, an outsider.

It bothered him slightly.

Resolved to have the basic necessities of life resolved, he quickly went back downstairs to find Mrs. Amanda.

He had numerous questions for her, first and foremost "What is this place exactly...?"

The adolescent Arab's mind was flooded with questions, ranging from the pragmatic Where's the bank? Where's the grocery store? How does money work here? Are there any rules in the Building? to the personal How long have you been working in the Building? Are there any spots you'd recommend for entertainment?

Suleiman's mind was focused when he was mobile and working on a project, and was rarely one to "sit and think". He was an active man, and wanted answers soon.

[Saldinado]

Smiling back, he nodded at her. "Okay; Amanda it is then." He said letting out a little chuckle.

Looking at the golden keys, Henry was intrigued by them; he haven't seen such things other than the time his parents unveiled a new housing units or condominiums. He hesitantly reached out and grabbed the key, fearing that something might happened. But nothing did. "Huh." Henry said as he held the key in his hand and looked at it. carefully observing it to see if there was something off about it. Nothing was visible to him so he put it in his pocket for later on. "Thank you again mad-I mean Amanda. I'll hopefully see you later" He said as he began to leave.

Henry looked back at the rabbit and in return, nodded in response to their ear twitching. With a soft sigh, he made his way up towards his room. If there was a elevator, he took it and traveled up to his room. Once he made it to the correct floor, he began to repeat his room number to himself quietly to remember it. "Ah! I see. Here we go." He said as he stood in front of apartment room. Taking the key out of his pocket, he placed it in the keyhole and turned it; as expected, the door was unlocked and Henry walked inside.

As soon as he walked it Henry looked around in a panoramic view of the apartment. It was quiet modernized. Like something his parents would've made or he would've seen on those home design shows. The kitchen, which was pretty large for an apartment, looked updated with the latest appliances and granite counter tops and a beautiful shade of brown wood for cabinets. There was even an nice-sized island. Perfect for the little chef. Daniel will be so jealous of me right now. At least, I think...Wherever he is.

"Wow. This place is awesome!" Henry said as he fully walked in and closed the door behind him and locking it. Walking through it, he could see that there was a dining table seated for four people and a pretty large living space. Some might say that this was perfect for entertaining guest. But not for Henry. He would most likely use this as a space to rock out to his music and dance around. Maybe play his instruments. Alone.

Walking towards the couch, Henry plopped down on it and spread his whole body out on it. He haven't felt this comfortable since the incident. After all those years of sleeping and sitting on hard, springy, and cheap sofas and beds, that he forgot what comfort and style felt and looked like. Was this real? Am I even in the right room? Maybe this is all a trick; this is too good for me. He thought as he laid looking at the ceiling. With a deep sigh, he continued to look at the ceiling, thinking about all that has happened this whole day. He was exhausted and right now needed to sleep. Maybe this was all a dream or a fiction of his imagination; sure, it sounded like a cliche thing to think, but for all he knew, this was all just too good to be true. Laying on his couch, he began to think about this as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

[Torsiedelle]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

Audette sighed. "But what if they're all raiders themselves?", She said, obviously bullshitting with the group. Katya cleared her throat, and that cause Audette to sigh again. "You really piss me off with your damn manners. I swear, I'm gonna-"

A click from behind them - Audette froze in her tracks. "Fuck."

The breeze lapped around the figure. A long, leather duster swayed with the breeze. Their face was concealed behind a filtration mask, while two glowing red lenses stared at the group's back. A .44 revolver was cocked and aimed right at the back of Audette's head. She let her weapon fall to her waist, and slowly raised her hands. The two stood in dead silence for what seemed like an eternity.

"Just what the hell are you doing in this town?"
"What? Not open to strangers?"

The Ranger kept his piece raised. He slowly studied them all, from tiny Kale, to Katya in her fancy clothes, to the synth, then at Audette, decked out in her tactical gear. He lowered his weapon and stepped forward. "You ain't no raiders, that's for sure. The hell are you people?", He asked himself aloud. The man, if Sakarias was familiar with the region (though most likely not), clad in mask and helmet, the iconic duster over his riot vest, was a Desert Ranger, an elite soldier of the Republic of New California. His reason for being there must have meant that something big was going down around town.

"This is NCR territory, though I assume you already know that; the Misses there looks like she's from the cities, and I assume you're a tribal?", He adressed Kale. He seemed half-interested in them, and half immersed in his own thoughts, mumbling "This ain't right." to himself as he pondered them.

Audette at least looked relieved. For the first time Katya could note, she looked a bit nervous. It was amusing.

[Holy Lykos]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Some Desert?
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

"Not familiar with the NCR, what part of the States is this, if it even is in the former US?" Sakarias asked, hoping he wasn't shot just for what he appeared like. Even without the broken off pieces of his skin, the synth looked enough inhuman to raise eyebrows. And maybe guns if they were anywhere near the institute. If they weren't he could pass himself off as an advanced prewar robot no question asked. He'd managed to do that before, but it always felt weird saying he was something he was not.

He sincerely hoped that was an option. If not he might not escape this alive.

"We aren't from around here, sir, not at all. But we just came here to trade, maybe get a bit of work before we head on. Not mercenaries, but just some wanderers of the wastes." The synth continued, his Finnish tinged Bostonian accent likely being hard to place by the people here, given they seemed to be nowhere near Boston.

[Mincaldenteans]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaufry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

---

"This one thanks you for your cooperation," said the alien in its lilted voice, although its mien was inscrutable as it conducted a quick scan on each member of the group as quickly as possible. With nothing detected, Oecammi Ret Ata-EE, the genetically modified alien known as a Tzenkethi, moved away in a silent glide across the room and back to her administrative console, chiming for Lumba that it was safe for the business owner to make her rounds. The Ferengi knew of them, how could she not, it was good business to know her customers before they walked into her parlor, but she never had the pleasure of doing business with them until now.

When she first arrived with her aide, Oecammi, Lumba had been at a lost on what to do and where to start. Months of careful negotiation and observing market trends yielded satisfactory results: an Emporium that made a handsome profit every month, and one wholly owned by her and not through a male. The Emporium was near and dear to her heart and one she had painstakingly made sure never to fall under watchful eyes.

The chime rang softly, made and tuned specifically that only a Ferengi could hear and she quickly adjusted her vibrant scarf and earrings that doubled as a faux-necklace. The colorfully dressed high-heeled Ferengi sauntered out of her office and surveyed for her first would-be buyer. Thankfully for her heels, her five-nothing stature was easily addressed and Lumba had no problem looking over the myriad of displayed items that were littered across her store under the most generous lighting - and almost of all which did not belong to her universe (as far as she could tell).

Lumba spotted a middle aged hew-man. While her instincts told her that they had no smarts for profit (and thus a valueless customer altogether), they also had the ability to surprise her every so often.

"See anything you like?" Lumba greeted in a deep (and bad) sultry voice, her smile revealing a set of revolting crooked teeth among deep creases in her orange skin and noticeably large - though smaller than a male's - ears.

[Holy Lykos]

"Thank you for the information Amanda, though I do have one request..." The Huvidu-Zaan glanced around a bit, as if trying to find something briefly, before the slightly glowing eyes settled back on the human she was speaking too. "Is there any way for me to, how you say, return to where I came from? I was given a job that I'd be loathe to leave unfinished, its a very serious matter, fate of a planet and its people and all that. Plus I would like to inform my professors that I'm taking a... uh, vacation I believe its called? I'm in the middle of my doctorate research and project like I mentioned before. I wouldn't wish to leave them hanging while I'm dealing with whatever this business is, and I'm loathe to leave jobs unfinished."

The Alien retracted a bit more of the fungal mass on its form into itself, a Huvidu-Zaan way of showing deference by making themselves appear smaller. Though that would obviously be lost on Amanda, unless she happened to make a connection to animal behavior of Earth. "If I cannot I do understand, I suppose this Demens fellow had a reason to abduct us as it was. I don't believe it was actually explained to us, or I might have missed it." She gave another bow as she remembered the human likely wouldn't catch onto her species unique body language.

[Ganonsyoni]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Town only Big Enough for One NCR Ranger
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

Kale froze up from hearing the cocking of a gun, slowly turning to see who was holding the up with her hands held up in surrender. Tall person, armed with a revolver, decked out for battle with a mask obscuring their face. Their voice made it clear that they were a man. The lowering of his gun brought a sigh of relief from Kale, who lowered her arms.

A ranger of the NCR? She never heard of the place, but gave a quick look to Sakarias expecting him to know, only to shoot her look back to the ranger when he called her a tribal. Her face reddened, flustered and a bit angered by the comment. She didn't know what to say. It was true to an extent with her being part of the Oglala Lakota, but the way it sounded made it seem like at least a derogatory label.

Kale decided this time to take it as it is and not chew the ranger out, especially given that they were outsiders here and he was the person with the gun and power in town. "Yes. Oglala Lakota to be precise...." Kale said, still a bit nervous, "Uh... Sioux if that is a term you know better." She knew using the "European" name for her people would ring bells better for most European looking folk.

Kale nodded along with Sakarias. "Yes, we are here to trade. Traders of the wastes and all that..." Kale said, looking at the man's gun nervously again. She wasn't sure if adding on would do any good, but it felt better than remaining quiet. This was not her territory, not physically nor in experience, but doing nothing felt like the wrong thing to do. She didn't want to be too quiet.

[Fvaarniimar]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaufry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

From Sandy's shoulder, Nick nodded. It was bright here, greasy, sweaty-smelling. The shoulder felt a little bony, though not uncomfortably so. The cat was quite pleased that Sandy considered his keeping an eye out helpful, as well as intensely curious and very excited; all that of course was noticeable by Sandy. UA hadn't had a great reputation, but it was a bit tough mustering fear of people who'd not that long before been pelted with toast.

Biometric? Nick didn't quite recognize the term, but biology and metric were familiar. He guessed it might be - he nosed Sandy's ear - <similar to a checkup? But why would they do that for free?>

Though it was only a suspicion in Nick's mind, the scan found that no, his DNA was not standard feline. It was certainly cat-based, but there were tweaks; extra copies of some brain genes, elements transposed here and there. Some might have been mutation, but some would look more deliberate, if occasionally clumsy.

The rest of the cat looked normal, though, for a cat, save a disproportionate head containing a large, wrinkled brain. If Nick had intended to pose as a normal pet in Lumba's, the effort would quickly have failed. It also might have been apparent that nerves connecting Nick's brain to his nose and Sandy's ear to his brain were sending rather strong signals at a high rate on occasion.

Sandy would probably need a Herculean effort not to dissolve into mirth at one such communication. <Do you think she's part mouse, like Elka? Her teeth don't look human. She's not human, right? Is this Lumba?> He'd expected a guy. <I guess she could be modified...> He was rather skeptical that that was the case. <Whoa - modified. And not just surface changes, either. Maybe she can look at my deoxyribonucleic acid.> An image of Sapphire formed - a little blurry, recognizable enough if Sandy had actually met the neko. <said I could be genetically modified. She was guessing human - I'm guessing that...whoever (a barrel in a basement) started with cat.

<Breathing longer will be really cool! I can annoy everyone by meowing for hours -> Amusement, and a subtler knowing of intent, clued Sandy in. Nick was joking - probably. <I think I will look around! You're not worried it's dangerous in here, right?> If Sandy needed him to stick around, he would, but some of the wares looked fascinating - and oddly familiar.

[Torsiedelle]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: The Pioneers Used To Ride These Babies For Miles!
TEAMS: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

"Holy hell!"

The Ranger jumped. Sakarias definitely had an impression on the man! He was unique, and the Ranger had to do a double take before he could process it all. "A machine man, eh?", He grumbled. "Not your ordinary Mister Gutsy. And you...", He looked over Kale again, and heard her story. Amused, he shook his head a bit, and his voice lightened up as well. "Alright, you ain't raiders."

The revolver slipped into its holster at his side. "Sioux? That was an old Pre-War tribe. Well, they still exist, I guess. I mean, I'd guess they do, not a whole lot in the midwest to bomb out, eh?", He chuckled. "Indians were resilient folk. We have a lot of tribe 'round these part. So, you're all traders? And you're out west and don't know the NCR? You're pullin' my leg.", He said. He quickly moved up ahead, and waved for the group to follow him as he made his way down the street. "Western United States, or what used to be the west. Southwest, to be precise. This here is New Sonoyta, right on the pre-war Arizona-Mexico border. Scenic spot, eh?"

As he went on, Audette seemed more quiet than usual, while Katya, also silent, seemed rather unphased, even blank, like she was daydreaming. The Ranger didn't notice as he carried on. Down the street, the source of the distant music was clear - an old saloon with a neon sign out front that read "Gunsmoke Saloon", a kind of place you'd see in old American westerns, complete with the haze of smoke and the cry of country music, clacking glasses, and hushed chatter.

[Holy Lykos]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Justice★
DIMENSION: 544C
LOCATION: Between a Slightly Racist Rock and a Saloon
TEAM: Sakarias, Audette, Katya, and Kale

---

"Proper term's a Synth. Synthetic Human to be exact. Just as smart and intelligent as you folk but made of parts and robotics rather than flesh and blood.

"I'm from back east, up near Boston. No real contact back west, so this is the first I'm hearing of any sort of nation. Amazed they could pull their shit together better out here than we could back east, closest we have to a nation is the Minute Men Militias working together to protect the Commonwealth Settlements like Sanctuary and Diamond City. Hopefully they'll ban together more with time, now that what was dividing them has been destroyed." The synth explained, with a nod. He glanced over towards Kale and leaned in to whisper to her to explain a bit.

"Tribal in my world just means you're one of those who haven't retained civilization, who prefer a nomadic lifestyle or semi-nomadic. A good number of them are Native to regions, people who survived the war on the surface. Does mean many of them in certain areas are of Indian descent too, though most are mixed now due to being pretty cut off until more recent times. I can't say there's many left where I'm from, most settled down a good while ago." He did hope she wouldn't take things too badly, he knew many people of his world were nasty to those different but racism in general seemed to die with the old world. When you live through an apocalypse plenty changes for sure.

The synth leaned back up and glanced around, letting his scarf fall slack. No point hiding what he was while he was here, especially if they had no idea what a synth was.