The World Assembly Strangers' Bar

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

Having sat here the whole time, takes a moment to access the situation before taking a good swig of champagne

"Sometimes a person can't believe just how much of a family forms between the people you least expect, as well as the places." I say to myself, then turning around again facing the bar. While turning, my dark red cloak gets stuck between me and the chair, making it as to when I fully turn the glass I hold begins to fly out of my hand and towards the counter, however in a somewhat inhuman way my other hand grabs it before a single drop falls out. "Wew, that was a close one.", I then pull the cloak from out under me and back to draping fully around the stool like a curtain.

"That just saved the last half of a good glass." Somewhat pridefully yet gleefully swigs down the rest of the champagne before placing the now empty glass back down onto the counter.

[Naqil]

Drane laughs. "Wow, Number 53, way to kick a man when he's down." Still talking to the car, he points in the direction of the Skylus representative in her Bavarian dress. "So, is that what it takes to get a ride? Interesting. Well, my new mechanical friend, I must get home for the weekend, I shall see you in a couple days. Maybe when I get back, you'll give me a ride too." He winks at Herby, then leaves the bar.

"But we were having such a nice conversation!" calls Ixhua after him.

[Herby]

Ehhhh look at the time, it's almost Halloween! I gotta get my costume pronto. 'Scuse me folks!

Herby exits the bar.

[Araraukar]

(A familiar form approaches Bell and whispers in his ear.)

AHUME: Herby's right, I could use another husband.

OOC: Of course you do this when Janis isn't around... You evil thing, you.
(I'll get you a post with PPU soon, though.)

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

Ehhhh look at the time, it's almost Halloween! I gotta get my costume pronto. 'Scuse me folks!

Herby exits the bar.

As Herby mentions this, I suddenly remember that Halloween was around the corner, considering how cold the weather has been made me forget. "Damn, what am I going to wear?" I sit there contemplating in between sips of champagne, while tapping the counter with the sound as if I was tapping a small steel pole against the counter top, yet muffled by my glove. After thinking long and hard for a few minutes, an idea pops in my head, mumbles something to myself, but the word "head" manages to slip, I then take a insane quick swig of my champagne then head off with the look of confidence for whatever idea I had just conceived.

[Separatist Peoples]

Lighten up a bit Benny will ya wait wait wait ehhhhhh oh. Ehhh. Sorry bud, I didn't know that you and Kate okay okay no I don't wanna pry, Benny, none o' my business. Tell you what, buddy, lemme make it up to you, I'll buy you a drink, 'kay? YO! Neville! You heard the man, he been turned down by six gals, a dude, and a goat, he needs a refill on me, pronto!

(A familiar form approaches Bell and whispers in his ear.)

AHUME: Herby's right, I could use another husband.

Bell jumps, turns around, and immediately hugs Wad Ahume.

"You gotta get me outta here, these people are insane!"

Ehhhh look at the time, it's almost Halloween! I gotta get my costume pronto. 'Scuse me folks!

Herby exits the bar.

"See what I mean? They're making up days!"

[The Puddle Jumping Wads of Wrapper]

Bell jumps, turns around, and immediately hugs Wad Ahume.

"You gotta get me outta here, these people are insane!"

(Ahume very gently, with his two index fingers, pushes Bell away.)

AHUME: You do realize I was kidding about the husband thing, right? (He winks.) Speaking of which, Ambassador Bell, what is this that I'm hearing about wedding proposals?

Ehhhh look at the time, it's almost Halloween! I gotta get my costume pronto. 'Scuse me folks!

"See what I mean? They're making up days!"

AHUME: What, Halloween? It's real, it's a holiday in some Tau'ri nations, an excuse to dress up in costumes and party. Unless you have children, in which case it's an excuse send them into the street to go begging for sweets. Not my thing really. Oh, speaking of "children", Wad Ari sends his regards from some tropical planet in the Milky Way galaxy. (He looks up at the stained glass window.) Oh my. Wish I had seen that in person.

[Wallenburg]

AHUME: What, Halloween? It's real, it's a holiday in some Tau'ri nations, an excuse to dress up in costumes and party. Unless you have children, in which case it's an excuse send them into the street to go begging for sweets. Not my thing really. Oh, speaking of "children", Wad Ari sends his regards from some tropical planet in the Milky Way galaxy. (He looks up at the stained glass window.) Oh my. Wish I had seen that in person.

"That almost sounds like the Spring Rose Festival," says Helen. "Although children aren't usually allowed to participate. Not in everything."

[Separatist Peoples]

Bell jumps, turns around, and immediately hugs Wad Ahume.

"You gotta get me outta here, these people are insane!"

(Ahume very gently, with his two index fingers, pushes Bell away.)

AHUME: You do realize I was kidding about the husband thing, right? (He winks.) Speaking of which, Ambassador Bell, what is this that I'm hearing about wedding proposals?

"See what I mean? They're making up days!"

AHUME: What, Halloween? It's real, it's a holiday in some Tau'ri nations, an excuse to dress up in costumes and party. Unless you have children, in which case it's an excuse send them into the street to go begging for sweets. Not my thing really. Oh, speaking of "children", Wad Ari sends his regards from some tropical planet in the Milky Way galaxy. (He looks up at the stained glass window.) Oh my. Wish I had seen that in person.

"It was quite spectacular, you should totally have been there. What, did he manage to book passage to Risa? Lucky duck.

"The C.D.S.P. has no such holiday. There is an old pagan holdover from long ago where people go out in the dead of night on the winter solstice to carve, or more recently, paint, terrifying faces on trees. To ward wolf spirits away. Lupercalia. Apparently, it could only be done on nights with nearly full moons.Why they chose to do it then is utterly beyond me, but some time ago, people took to wearing masks and pretending to be wolf spirits chasing the tree painters. That's kind of a costume, right?"

[Wallenburg]

"Wh...what?" stammers Helen as her eyes land on a crucial element of the EKI assessment. Loudly and in a panic, she exclaims, "This can't be true. This can't possibly be true!"

"What's wrong, Helen?" asks Kelvin. He looks over at the paper in an effort to glean from its text whatever has bothered Helen so much.

"The EKI...it's...it can't be gone! The entire thing disbanded? There must be a mistake!" She skips to the next page and skims over it. The text details more of the same news. "No. No. No! I will not stand for this! Ogenbond is going to wish he were dead!"

She stands up and makes for the exit to the bar. However, as she steps across the threshold, she begins to flicker. She stops looking down at her hands. She turns to Kelvin, who looks at her in horror as he dematerializes and is replaced by a greying, grim man in a dark military uniform and wire-frame glasses. Then she too dematerializes.

Within seconds, gunfire erupts in the hallway outside the bar. Nearly twenty Wallenburgian soldiers pour into the bar, several of them discharging their weapons at targets down the hall. Three of the men close the doors and hold them tightly shut as others grab chairs and tables to create a barricade.

"Ambassador Paulson, they have overrun the office! The portal did not deactivate!" shouts one of the soldiers, running toward the grey man. He holds out a revolver and places it in the man's gloved hand. "Here, take this. We need every person we can get to be armed and ready."

Paulson scoffs and pushes back the pistol. "Private, the nullifiers will most likely make these useless. Even against the dead. Now have some dignity and stop panicking." He looks at the other troops, who are at work sealing the entrance. "And that goes for all of you!"

The private shakes his head in disbelief. "How are you not taking this seriously, sir? We don't even have the offices anymore. They took the portal and then made their way--"

"No, you gave them the offices! You and the rest of the damned Wallenburgian army are completely incompetent! No wonder a bunch of shambling corpses took the homeland. People like you couldn't wait to run away and hide!" snaps Paulson. "Give me that gun, then. You two, open the doors."

He grabs the revolver from the private and walks to the doors, glaring at the soldiers to pull down the barricade. Reluctantly, they pull away enough furniture to leave an opening for one of the doors. The ambassador turns the handle, pushes the door open, and steps outside.

"One!" He fires a shot. "Two!" He fires a shot. "Three!" Another shot. "Four! Five! Six!"

Paulson steps back into the bar and closes the door. "For the record, those doors open outward. A barricade won't do much. Pay attention to your surroundings. This gun needs six bullets. Fill it."

Paulson hands the revolver to a soldier and returns to his bar stool. "Goddamned incompetent, all of you. That's what I get for choosing the World Assembly, though. Couldn't even hold a goddamned portal."

[Herby]

The doors burst open, and in zooms a '63 Volkswagen Beetle. The front third of the car is painted black; the remainder, a bright red, with black spots.

TA DAAAAA! Look you guys, I'm a Lady Bug! Get it? Heh heh..... Hey! Helen! Whadaya think o'

She stands up and makes for the exit to the bar. However, as she steps across the threshold, she begins to flicker. She stops looking down at her hands. She turns to Kelvin, who looks at her in horror as he dematerializes and is replaced by a greying, grim man in a dark military uniform and wire-frame glasses. Then she too dematerializes.

Oh no no no no you come back here missy we ain't doin' that shit again this year, we gonna party all week instead and ehhhhh

Within seconds, gunfire erupts in the hallway outside the bar. Nearly twenty Wallenburgian soldiers pour into the bar, several of them discharging their weapons at targets down the hall. Three of the men close the doors and hold them tightly shut as others grab chairs and tables to create a barricade.

Goddammit.

[Groot]

Groot enters the bar. In one hand he carries a kite with a giant bite-shaped piece missing. In the other hand he carries a small stuffed doll; it's a mostly bald boy wearing black shorts and a yellow shirt with a black zig-zag pattern around the midsection. "I am Groot!" he announces as he enters. He approaches Herby. "I am Groot," he says, nodding at approval at Herby's ladybug costume. He then presents himself to Herby and strikes a pose. "I am Groot?"

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

Runs back into the bar by front flipping over the barricades, then putting my gun away, said gun is a long barreled pistol with the power to blow a mans head clean off, the words "Free Fire" are written along the barrel. I am wearing black clothing which consists of a late 1700's horseman clothing, there are little spots of blood not part of the costume but from the undead hordes from outside the bar. I have a large pumpkin mask on, as I walk inwards more I pull my head off, mask and all, and hold it to my side.

"So, what do you think? Great costume right?"

[The Puddle Jumping Wads of Wrapper]

"The C.D.S.P. has no such holiday. There is an old pagan holdover from long ago where people go out in the dead of night on the winter solstice to carve, or more recently, paint, terrifying faces on trees. To ward wolf spirits away. Lupercalia. Apparently, it could only be done on nights with nearly full moons. Why they chose to do it then is utterly beyond me, but some time ago, people took to wearing masks and pretending to be wolf spirits chasing the tree painters. That's kind of a costume, right?"

AHUME: Similar enough, yes. So have you seen Janis around? I've been trying to contact her but to no avail, I was hoping to see her while I'm here.

TA DAAAAA! Look you guys, I'm a Lady Bug! Get it?

AHUME: (smiling) Most impressive. That's not permanent, I take it. Seems too shiny for a water-based paint. A vinyl wrap?

[Herby]

"I am Groot," he says, nodding at approval at Herby's ladybug costume. He then presents himself to Herby and strikes a pose. "I am Groot?"

Why thank you Groot! Ohhh ehhhh okay looks so familiar oooh oooh you're Charlie Brown an' the Kite Eatin' Tree! Very nice, very nice. Neville! Drink for Groot, on me!

"So, what do you think? Great costume right?"

Hi ehhhhhh okay I got no idea who you are. Ehhhh same for the costume.

AHUME: (smiling) Most impressive. That's not permanent, I take it. Seems too shiny for a water-based paint. A vinyl wrap?

Well the dots are vinyl but the paint is a water wait wait wait WAIT Wad Mumbles! How ya doin'? What the hell are you doin' here?

[Imperial Polk County]

The doors to the bar open. In steps a blonde, wearing a blue and white dirndl, a wide smile, and a bit of a five-o'-clock shadow, carrying six plastic mugs of fake beer, three in each hand. The costumed ambassador steps carefully around the Wallenburgians and their barricade, and approaches the "Lady Bug" and speaks with a baritone voice and not a trace of a German accent. "Guten Abend, Fräulein Dreiundfünfzig! Glückliches Oktoberfest!" Drane smiles awkwardly. "I hope I said that right, I've been practicing all day."

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

"So, what do you think? Great costume right?"

Hi ehhhhhh okay I got no idea who you are. Ehhhh same for the costume.

Realizes that I still haven't addressed what my name was, but also astonished as to how nobody caught onto the costume.
"My name is Victor Montes, delegate for the Iberian Union, also my costume is of the Headless Horseman." Victor then raises the pumpkin, whose his head is in, into the air and makes a somewhat loud but sinister laugh as small flames emit from the eyes.

[Herby]

"Guten Abend, Fräulein Dreiundfünfzig! Glückliches Oktoberfest!" Drane smiles awkwardly. "I hope I said that right, I've been practicing all day."

Herby stares for several seconds before her engine begins to cough and sputter.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Ohhhh Q-Bert you're a live one, ain't ya? Ho ho hohoho marvelous, just marvelous! Neville! The Polker gets a shot, no no no two shots on me too! Ohhhh that's awesome dude but ehhhhhhh no still not revvin' my engine if you know what I mean. Heh. Heh heh.

"My name is Victor Montes, delegate for the Iberian Union, also my costume is of the Headless Horseman." Victor then raises the pumpkin, whose his head is in, into the air and makes a somewhat loud but sinister laugh as small flames emit from the eyes.

Hi Vic! Ehhhhh sorry not ringin' a bell there OOOH oooh oooh that's one o' them Scooby Doo characters, ain't it? Heh. Heh heh.

[Deropia]

The sounds of automatic weapons fire, coupled with the sound of a high caliber pistol can be heard outside the doors. Moments later the door to the bar bursts open, eleven Deropian soldiers rush into the bar followed closely by Jason who fires several more shots down the hallway before slamming the door shut behind him. MacAlisters' normally pristine uniform is ripped in places and stained with blood.

Quickly assessing the situation around him, MacAlister seems to relax slightly at the sight of others who are still among the living.

"Thank goodness...I thought we were the only ones left...I'm glad everyone is alright..." He says, ejecting the magazine from his pistol, replacing it with a fresh clip and chambering the first round before reaching behind him and returning the firearm to its' holster. Looking to the only remaining officer in his dwindling party he continues. "Lieutenant, you and your men take up defensive positions, help the Wallenburgians however you can. This is likely the last place we have to fall back to, I don't want a single one of those corpses getting through that door..."

"Yes, sir." is all the man says before setting to work, barking orders to some of his subordinates to start reinforcing the barricade, while ordering others to take up defensive positions along the perimeter.

"So, our impending doom aside, how's everyone holding up?" MacAlister asks the room.

[The Puddle Jumping Wads of Wrapper]

Well the dots are vinyl but the paint is a water wait wait wait WAIT Wad Mumbles! How ya doin'? What the hell are you doin' here?

AHUME: Doing well. I'm here with a contingency of Wads to clean out our old office and retrieve the Stargate that no one knows about, wink wink. Oh, Arya sends her regards, as does Ari, although in his case I believe it was, "Say hi to the mechanical hosebeast."

"My name is Victor Montes, delegate for the Iberian Union, also my costume is of the Headless Horseman." Victor then raises the pumpkin, whose his head is in, into the air and makes a somewhat loud but sinister laugh as small flames emit from the eyes.

AHUME: Impressive. And Herby's just pulling your leg, we all recognize the costume. (He notes the activity behind them.) Looks like Neville's spiked the punch with hallucinogens again. Or are the zombies real this year?

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

"My name is Victor Montes, delegate for the Iberian Union, also my costume is of the Headless Horseman." Victor then raises the pumpkin, whose his head is in, into the air and makes a somewhat loud but sinister laugh as small flames emit from the eyes.

Hi Vic! Ehhhhh sorry not ringin' a bell there OOOH oooh oooh that's one o' them Scooby Doo characters, ain't it? Heh. Heh heh.

Victor stands there for a moment giving a somewhat disappointed yet confused look, "Yeah sure, if that helps you understand it." Then turns and walks for the bar and takes a seat while setting his head on the counter. "Champagne please."

[Prusswitonsiakekingkailand]

"My name is Victor Montes, delegate for the Iberian Union, also my costume is of the Headless Horseman." Victor then raises the pumpkin, whose his head is in, into the air and makes a somewhat loud but sinister laugh as small flames emit from the eyes.

AHUME: Impressive. And Herby's just pulling your leg, we all recognize the costume. (He notes the activity behind them.) Looks like Neville's spiked the punch with hallucinogens again. Or are the zombies real this year?

"Thanks, not sure how well knowing a car is, so I wouldn't have known if he was pulling my leg or not" Victor then turns his attention towards the undead, "and hopefully the shambling idiots outside aren't fake, because I blew 30 of their heads off just trying to get back in here."

[Potted Plants United]

An unstoppable force rips one of the doors nearly off of its hinges, and then something pushes its way through the barricade. Some vicious-looking (and sounding) black wasps swarm around and above it, sounding like small buzzsaws. The... creature looks like someone crossed a tree with an octopus and a praying mantis and then turned it into an undead, glowing eyes and all. It walks slowly, but in the manner of an elemental force that will not be swayed from its path or mission by anything short of an extinction level event.

After shaking off the remnants of the barricade, the thing stands up straight, about three metres tall, and scans the room with its glowing eyes that shine with an unholy green inner light. Then it walks - completely ignoring any people or furniture in its path - towards Ahume, stopping to stand before him.

One of its many arms curls up its sharp, blade-like fingers and it stabs the hand through its own ribcage, grasping something and pulling it out, to the sound of splintering wood, then holding out its hand to offer the object to Ahume. It is Ari's discarded tablet.

When the apparition speaks, it is with a combination of the buzzing of the bees, creaking wood and hollow whisper:
...THIS BELONGS TO YOU...

[Wallenburg]

"So, our impending doom aside, how's everyone holding up?" MacAlister asks the room.

"Well, I've got plenty of alcohol, so I'm not doing too badly," mutters Paulson. "Maybe I ought to try some of that methanol stuff that my employees told me about. They say it could leave me blind or, better yet, kill me."

[Tzorsland]

And android whose head appears to be topped with a transparent bishop's miter that has Christmas tree lights wrapped inside enters the bar accompanied by a somewhat smaller human female.

"Oh," she remarked offhandedly, "It must be a costume party here. I think they think you came in costume, Lucifer."

"But Missy," the android replied. "This is how I always look." Pausing for a moment, he continued. "Look, I know the Master has sent us as an exploratory committee to see about the World Assembly, but if we did join, these people might not think of us as strange strangers. Why haven't we joined the World Assembly yet?"

"In the first place, Lucifer," Missy replied, "I am waiting for the appropriate moment, and a resolution with only a single comma does not count."

"There are actually four commas in the resolution," Lucifer added.

"Whatever," Missy replied. "Too long; didn't read. Besides out of the ten nations in The Pleiades, not a single one is a member of the World Assembly. You don't break tradition for resolutions like that."

'We can always relocate the nation," Missy added.

"And where are you going to put seven and a half billion people," Lucifer replied. "Somewhere in the middle of the ocean of the fictional planet Earth?"

"The Earth isn't fictional," Missy replied. "I've attempted to take it over on many an occasion. But you are right, Feeders are BORING. But anyway since the resolution is going down in flames."

"Apparently New Texas voted for it," Lucifer replied. "Do you think we should inform our puppet nation of Blue Booted Bobbies? They are in Texas too."

"I don't think that would be necessary," Missy replied. "They might decide to join the World Assembly and the last thing this body needs are Queen Victorian Loving Libertarians."

"Indeed," Lucifer replied. "The last thing." After a long pause he added "Who's 'Queen Victoria?'"