PL IC Thread IX++ //Oddsbodikins & Atomic Kittens//

[Highfort]

Sentia paused as she observed two nearly-naked individuals - their scents confirming them as her cyborg master and the lizard girl he seemed to enjoy hanging out with, though strangely appearing human - unlocked the door and proceeded inside. She stretched her limbs before scampering after them, squeezing past the couple before letting out a meow to alert them to her presence and proceeding to the bathroom. The door slammed shut and the distinct clicking of a lock could be heard before Septimus could react.


"Just us," Septimus locked the front door to the apartment before turning back to admire Neste in her lizard form, bumper stickers and all, "Though I think Sentia has different ideas about who gets to use the bathroom tonight. I'll get a bucket and towels, we'll need to do this in the kitchen. Not the most romantic of interludes, I apologize."

Leaving the lizard to ponder just how Sentia had learned to lock the door - a feat Septimus himself didn't quite understand, as he knew for a fact that the little undead kitty lacked thumbs - Septimus grabbed the mop bucket from the corner of his bedroom as well as several towels from the closet, wincing as he felt the plastic stretching and contracting on his body. Every single one of those stickers was going to hurt when they were pulled off, hot water or not, and he was gonna feel it in the morning.

He shrugged - or, at least, tried to, though the bumper stickers stopped him. They felt more rigid, the adhesive on them was drying. If he wasn't careful he might end up needing skin grafts. It would be worth spending the night with Neste, though. Although needing skin grafts would probably dampen the mood, he wagered.

Returning to the kitchen, he set the bucket in the sink and pulled on the tap for hot water, setting the towels on the table, "I don't suppose you know how to get these things off without it hurting, would you? Picked up a trick or two in service to the Diplomaticum?"

[Cerillium]

Primordial's sticks would reveal nothing. Literally. There was nothing there, although he remained imprisoned in the total dark. No words reached him from outside, nor would his prayers register on any god's ears. It was sensory deprivation at its finest; A pocket dimension where magic could not function. It was a sign of the sphere's owner's fatigue that they hadn't wicked the trapped atmosphere out if it to leave the Luxan desperate for air.

Unbeknownst to the prisoner, a quiet conversation began to take place outside the sphere. The USiPo had long ago put together a dossier on the Luxans but this was the first chance they'd had to taste the magic behind them. Every pantheon had its treasure trail when lending power between the void and material plane. The more planes accessed, the better the trail for tracking.

"This was one of those that brought Yellow King here?" a voice asked.

"One of the same," came the reply.

"Bring him to the edge of the city that he might see for himself, and assign a blip to him."

No further orders were required. Primordial was a homing pigeon and they would use his talents in order to travel the trail. They had done the same with the Cultists, and even now were gnawing on Chaos' back gates.

A half hour later, the sphere would dissolve and the Luxan would discover that he was miles north of the park, standing along the shoulder of the highway that served as the main artery for Bielefeld City.

[Fvaarniimar]

Sinuses burning from the chlorine, Kwa'a went upstairs to sleep it off; after accidentally pressing the button for the seventh floor and getting off without realizing that she had done so, she headed for the actual stairs - and Rmwtyliin, spotting her, followed after a quick, "Goodnight!"

[Nick stuff moved to later post to resolve paradoxical situation]

[Torsiedelle]

Torii chuckled. "Yeah, we should. I don't think it'll help, though."

the girl jumped at the sound of animals. It was sudden. What the hell? This night was getting too weird...

"See the sunrise?", She asked. The idea was....romantic, but kind of dumb, too. She shook her head, but she did end up taking the boy's hand. "I'd rather not. Actually, I need to show you some stuff. Let's go to my room, okay?"

"Stuff to show me?" He asked, knowing it was rude to ask too many questions before being explained to, but with the random feelings of affection, confusion, and tiredness floating around in his head, he'd dropped most of the pretense of social cues. "I'd be fine with heading back inside." He nodded. "If . . . If you can hold on, we could always fly there, though I suppose we aren't too far away, now are we?" His smile narrowed a bit, into a grin.

"Yeah, but I doubt flying would be...you know what, never mind.", Torii huffed as she ran along, leading Drova towards their home. "We can hang out at my place, and, uh, I got two windows to watch the sun, but, um..."

What the hell could she say? "So, uh, you like me or something?"

[Tiltjuice]

The House

They were an implacable force. An endless legion of them that made of bright colors and delicate features. They moved as though blessed with the grace of the wind and they dance upon their feet, barely stirring the dust in their fancy footwork, playing with him as with each dodged swing of his fists. Never had the Klingon encountered such a formidable enemy, one that kept its arms wide open with a smiles of warmth and welcome, no trace of fear and a disturbing emotion of happiness stuck upon their faces. It was all a farce, somewhere deep inside him knew that, it had to be. They were the most insidious of p'taQ'pu he'd ever face and Mezran swore silently that he'd die before submitting to them.

A string of curses only the gatekeeper of Gre'thor could make out escaped the Klingon's mouth, roaring as he charged with arms wide and tackled the tubemen with barely a grip to to them. He landed upon the grass in a heavy thud, the full impact jarring him and doing nothing against the happy-faced clown figurine. Impossible!

He punched it, hard, the spiked ends of his leather gauntlets ruptured the inflatable, letting loose a whistle of air while it crumpled upon itself into a wrinkled mess of plastic and rubber.

"Hah! The y'Intagh'pu do die!" Mezran bellowed in triumph as he got back to his feet and readied himself to face the rest.

Someone smacked his head from behind and all enthusiasm for the ongoing war against the army of flailing-arm tubemen dissipated with it.

"You dumb targ, these are toys, they are not even real! They don't bleed! How do you defeat an enemy when you can't break bones?" Tavana huffed, though her jagged grin gave away her amusement, complete with twinkle in her eyes. She stepped up, letting her heavy boots settle upon the one unfortunate slain tubemen and narrowed her eyes across the remaining they still faced.

She made a slight nod as though satisfied of her death glare upon the inflatables, "Let us retired for the night, I do not care to be outside so late and these... things are not worthy of anymore attention than you've given it."

"Bah, they all deserve a quick death!" Mezran argued, though the hardened stare from Tavana caved the proud warrior and he grumbled his acceptance with a shake of his mane. He turned to see see Chrys and Hans had similarly fought against the tubemen, though likely they knew it was harmless.

"First the tribbles, now this p'taQ'pu, the next thing you know it will be the Ferengi," he rumbled under a thin veneer of disgust. His stomach was growling, perhaps Tavana's insistence was a blessing in disguise. He looked up to the rest of them, "Come, my friends, let us head back. I would have you join us for morning breakfast, if you like."

The rhythm of the verdant arm flailing was hypnotizing. It was firmly on that note that Chrys would blame tumbling like an acrobat with one after the other of the tubemen, in an elaborate roughly spiraling motion. Careful to set them back on their feet afterward, the smile she habitually wore rotated in and out of view with her whirls. That came to an end as she saw that Mezran had ceased his combat with the hollow figures. Rolling to a stop backwards at Hans' feet, she stood up at his side in a flurry of golden.

"Early morning breakfast? I wouldn't mind the hospitality. Hans?"

[The BranRiech]

"Yeah, but I doubt flying would be...you know what, never mind.", Torii huffed as she ran along, leading Drova towards their home. "We can hang out at my place, and, uh, I got two windows to watch the sun, but, um..."

What the hell could she say? "So, uh, you like me or something?"

Drova's ears drooped slightly, his smile gone somewhat, and a confused look on his face. He wasn't confused in the slightest about how he felt towards Torii, considering he'd come to from the party wrapped in a wonderful kiss that he almost wished never ended. "I-I do." He smiled, regaining a bit of confidence in himself. "I appreciate you as a wonderful friend, though . . . Nothing more."

He couldn't do anything but lie at that point, not wanting just yet to admit his attraction for Torii. He knew it would look bad on his part, but there was nothing else the poor boy could do.

As they reached the building, Drova stepped ahead a bit and opened the door, the warm air from inside seeping out over them.

[Torsiedelle]

"How cute.", Torii thought. "Well, I appreciate being appreciated. I usually just feel like I'm third wheel for whatever reason.", She said, as she stepped through the door. She didn't know if it would count for anything, or why she would do it in the first place, but she leaned in and pecked his cheek. "I also appreciate a good kiss. Makes me feel special.", She said.

"I mean, like, that, anyways. You know people don't do that unless they like each other, you know. I mean, we both kissed, and that has to count for something, I don't know. I know I like to hang our with you a lot, so maybe there's something I don't know about myself, but we shouldn't try and forget it, you know?", She tried rationalizing herself. "And it was fun, anyways. Was that too much? Maybe I'm just going crazy from being up so long, so excuse me. I, uh...", She cleared her throat. "Let's just continue on to my place, okay?"

She pointed at Drova. "That little thing never happened, okay? Maybe? Nobody saw it. I'm just trying to not make things awkward, because I don't know how to go with it right now. I've never had a boy really be this way to me, and it's been a long, long time since I've even, like, been kissed."

[Primordial Luxa]

Primordial flinched as the light streamed into the recesses of his eyes and the five lobed organ that was his brain. He was surprised by the sudden and unexpected light of outdoors, he had expected to appear inside somewhere, most likely a dark cell. He didn’t know many creatures, people or groups who could create a prison as total as the one he was just in and he knew of even less that could make one that evaded his Phantasm sticks. That lack of information was an information of itself but such a revelation was still very jarring.

He resolved to focus on discovering who was behind it as well as dealing with them at the next possible moment. However he also realized as he had been sitting in the sphere that his disappearance wouldn’t be as keenly felt if he had disappeared. Aegis and Insidious would always look for him, he thought, but he needed to become a more known and respected by the community at large. He needed to be something that couldn’t be so easily lost, use the public as a safety net and shield.

Once he realized this he had thought about why more Luxan’s didn’t adopt such an approach. His time in the Sphere had given him and his five lobes a lot of time to think but his ability to follow five trains of thought meant he could considered many topics. As he began walking towards the city his third lobed answered his question by reminding him most other Luxa’s were reviled in their community for being witches while in Bielefeld…

Primordial had a brief epiphany here regarding a few things another of his lobes began focusing on the process.

[Swith Witherward]

Hans had forgotten the liberating feel of being just a cultist. His obligations had tripled once he accepted Klaus' offer to be his Second. And now, with running the USiPo, he found he had absolutely no joy in his life. No time for joy. No time for friends. No time for inflatable tube men waving their empty arms at him. He was no better nor different then they - empty inside, blow by air, flailing here and there in the hope of standing upright. In his drunken state, he fought them because he fought himself, and each jab carried significance. The tubeman in front of him rolled and rippled, and occasionally smack him upside his head, and he accepted the sting because the alternative was...

No, he wouldn't think about that.

He blinked as the drunkenness abruptly came to an end. The tubeman still failed, heedless of the cultist's mental state. Hans laughed and turned his head to find Mezran still engaged with his nylon foe. Tavana's slap brought him out of it, and Chrys rejoined them in the Land of the Sensible.

"Breakfast would be nice," Hans rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "And then maybe watch the dawn, although I'll probably fall asleep while still chewing my toast."

His thoughts were on his life's path as they walked. For the first time in his long life, Hans wished he could get fired from a position. He was ready to wash his hands of the USiPo.

---

"Naphtha, or a rubbing alcohol dip?" Neste's mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Some years ago, we conducted operations on a planet rife with tarry tree sap. It got into everything. Our handlers spend hours removing it from us. I thought they'd rub all my scales off by time they were done."

She wet a dishrag with hot tap water and spread it out across Septimus' chest, pressing it here and there to seal the warm steam against him. "I suppose we could score them with a blade to let more moisture in, but I'd be afraid of cutting you. Alternatively, I could render you unconscious and peel them off once you were out. I'd do my best to preserve your skin but I can't make any promises about body hair. Take heart: at least you haven't any on the top of your head!"

There were too many unanswered questions for her liking. Who had put the stickers on them? Someone had to have done so, because they didn't stick themselves to the fountain. Neste racked her brain and prodded her processor, and found both had blank spots. Typical. She had too many of those than was good for her. She highly doubted anyone had the presence of mind to photograph them - explaining how one came to be taped to a nude female wasn't something any public official should have to face! - and even if there were photos out there, it could only increase the public opinion that Septimus was one of them. Their official had endured their same fate and come out of it with his chin held high. Apparently his cat had, also.

Neste breathed out a long sigh. Poor man. It was times like these that she firmly believe the universe held a vendetta against him. The lizard lifted her snout and gently brushed the tip against his cheek. "I love you, stickers and all."

---

"It's not invading, I promise," Marcus smiled, and then gently adjusted Giovenith's cowl to conceal her face in shadow. The look didn't suit her, and he was glad of it. He preferred her as her carefree self rather than looking like a Novice.

They didn't have far to trek. Down a passage, up a flight of stairs, across another hall. Marcus had walked the path a hundred times and could navigate in his sleep. In fact, there were times he had done just that, so fatigued was he from his work the night before. He opened worn mahogany doors and brought her onto a balcony already populated by other Novices. Brothers and Sisters were silently gathering in the chapel below, their whispering robes and purposeful movement reminiscent of flaming tongues flickering against the dark marble floor. The priestly body spread out to stand in an orderly rank and file, leaving only a narrow pathway between the two sides of the chapel.

"There aren't any chairs or pews," Marcus murmured into Giovenith's ear. "Fatigue is overcome by the mind. Some of the oldest brothers can stand unmoving for days on end, their bodies fueled by internal batteries or small power generators. But if your feet get tired, you can lean on me. I don't mind."

The movement stopped and absolute silence was only broken by the heavy steps of single priest. He was tall and overly lanky, a scarred and bald slenderman with a body concealed by scarlet. Marcus didn't dare whisper his name or explain his physical state; it was unwise to screw around once things had begun. The priest began to pass down the single row, each footfall somewhat muffled by the figures surrounding him. A thurible, suspended from chains and held aloft by a spindly augmented limb that seemed to erupt from the priest's back, swayed slightly and belched out sweet smelling incense. The scent reached their noses just as the priest took up position behind an ornately designed ambo. The podium's surface began to softly glow as the mornings recitations appeared on its recessed screen, but the priest didn't bother to look down. He merely raised his hood to conceal his face, and then the first notes broke from him.

Marcus sighed as the priest's rich, bright tenor filled the sanctuary with Latin plainchant. The simple six-note sound of each canticle, so reminiscent of Gregorian psalms from a bygone era, was answered in kind by a two-toned affirmation from the gathered body below. The boy's curled into a smile that increased with each passing round. It wasn't the prayers that buoyed him, as heretical as that seemed. He drew in his breath and his fingers sought Gioveniths, tenderly capturing them and enfolding them in his own. The priest's chant reached a new intensity and then quivered, and the sun broke through the windows to the east, casting tender rays along the far wall. The assembly responded, branching into angelic harmony as the novices' lighter, youthful voices joined with them. Marcus exhaled and allowed the vibrations of the chant to rumble in his chest once the simple chant turned into glorious hymn.

They couldn't stay, however. Marcus could explain his presence amongst the Novices, but Giovenith didn't physically belong and was probably too fatigued to deal with priest bluster. The boy tipped his head to indicate they should leave, and used the singing to mask their departure noise.

"We sing praises to our god to focus our thoughts for the day," Marcus quietly explained as he shut the heavy door behind them. His smile revealed itself as he lowered his hood. "We're the only order I know of that does it, and we don't allow anyone outside our order to see that human side of us. But you're not just anyone. You're a godling."

A new thought stuck him, and his happiness twisted into internal fretting. "I, um, hope I didn't offend you, Giovenith. I suppose it could be kinda insulting to you... bringing you into a chapel to see another god venerated... and uh, yeah."

He cast a sheepish glance at her. "I just wanted to share the thing that brings me joy with the person that always reminds me to look for it."

---

Bielefeld's streets slowly emptied as people stumbled back to their homes. Hollow's body was removed. Ocho and Nila sheepishly retired to their apartment. Street cleaners roll out of city garages to sweep up streamers, litter, bottles, and other small things, and cultists lagged behind to tackle the larger items such as flying pigs, angry green blobs, and other whimsy dreamed up by the population. The mountains to the east seemed to lighten into shades of violet and blue, and then the sun broke over their crowns, casting the first morning rays towards the city.

[The BranRiech]

"How cute.", Torii thought. "Well, I appreciate being appreciated. I usually just feel like I'm third wheel for whatever reason.", She said, as she stepped through the door. She didn't know if it would count for anything, or why she would do it in the first place, but she leaned in and pecked his cheek. "I also appreciate a good kiss. Makes me feel special.", She said.

"I mean, like, that, anyways. You know people don't do that unless they like each other, you know. I mean, we both kissed, and that has to count for something, I don't know. I know I like to hang our with you a lot, so maybe there's something I don't know about myself, but we shouldn't try and forget it, you know?", She tried rationalizing herself. "And it was fun, anyways. Was that too much? Maybe I'm just going crazy from being up so long, so excuse me. I, uh...", She cleared her throat. "Let's just continue on to my place, okay?"

She pointed at Drova. "That little thing never happened, okay? Maybe? Nobody saw it. I'm just trying to not make things awkward, because I don't know how to go with it right now. I've never had a boy really be this way to me, and it's been a long, long time since I've even, like, been kissed."

"Third wheel?" Drova lingered on the phrase longer than he wanted to admit. As far as he knew it, all 4 wheels were as important as the other. "O-oh." He finally caught onto what the girl meant. "You're definitely important, Torii." He reassured her, as the two entered the lobby, tired and exhausted from a night of drowsy partying that he wouldn't soon remember, if not for the single event of the two kissing for the first time. "I-I well, I suppose we did kiss, didn't we." He chuckled nervously, nearing the elevator. "So what did you want to show me, anyways? And you do have my solemn word that that never happened."

His cheeks were red still, in stark contrast to his pale blue skin, perhaps made more so from her most recent peck on the cheek.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Of course, the body wouldn't be there when they arrived, but that wouldn't stop them from snooping around. Neil and Gretta walked into the area where Hollow had died carrying assorted equipment. Their goal was to find out more about USiPo's tactics and tech. After one of their contacts reported the incident they got what they needed and came here. Neil had left a message for his contacts at the city morgues to inform him if the body was sent there.

Neil looked through a chronoscope to watch what had occurred earlier, starting with Hollow taking gorilla traits. He advanced the scope to the point where she was shot and then looked for the bullet. Gretta had a medical scanner out and was surveying the wildlife. She found some insects dead from explosive tumors in the browned grass.

---

Arthur pulled up beside Primordial in his black 1965 Chrysler Imperial and rolled down the window. "We need to talk, I think you'll be interested in our offer." he said as he unlocked the door. He had changed and taken a shower to get the cocaine off of himself. He drove out here to avoid the meddlesome lackey that had denied him entry to the DEiMOS last time. How had he known Primordial would be here? Raptors got time travel, which makes certain things a whole lot easier.

---

Velocidoctor had returned to his apartment to sleep the party off. However, he was surprised when closing the door, a Raptor claw flew into the doorway to keep it from closing. The surprise made him step back and draw his laser spanner as NVE forced his way in. "What do you want this time Neil? Come back to taunt me?" Velocidoctor asked as NVE closed the door behind him. "Not quite Neil, but not that it matters." NVE replied menacingly as he slapped the spanner out of the old Half-Raptor's claw and onto the floor. "It was only a matter of time before it came to this." Velocidoctor sighed then hit a button on the faux navigation console that spat out hot steam into the room.

NVE recoiled back towards the front door as Velocidoctor made a run for the bedroom where he planned to escape through the window. "As much as I would love that, there are still plans for you." NVE informed as he drew his Stasis Projector and shot Velocidoctor. Halfway into the bedroom Velocidoctor froze, paralyzed in time by the infernal weapon. NVE then casually shut off the steam distraction and then proceeded to wrap his defeated foe up in tacky Christmas wrapping paper, adding the final touch of a hideous yellow bow on the snout.

[Torsiedelle]

"Oh, right. Well, I just, uh, well, I don't think I talk about it a lot, and I want to let you see something about me.", She said.

Torii led the way, and, once up the elevator, took the turn and walked up to her apartment. She cracked the door open and peered in for a moment, and was surprised that her sister wasn't fast asleep. "Coast's clear.", She mumbled, stepping in. She waved the boy in before closing the door, and allowing him to sit on the bed. The little windows one on either side of the bed, allowed a view of the sunset, and let some light into the room besides that already provided by the room's lights. As always, thanks to the Sisters' never cleaning up, the right side wall was where they set their guns and gear. Torii nodded towards it all; she was a little nervous. "I know you've seen all those before, I know.", She said. "I always laugh a little, Gio's not really into them, and I think Kale is one of those pacifist types. Tsu's into them, though. All of those guns, I've had for years. They're from Russia."

She sat down cross-legged in the floor, next to her guns, and looked at Drova. "I guess I just wanted to show you something special about me. You know where I come from? Before I came to this city?"

[Highfort]

"Being knocked out or cut doesn't sound pleasant," Septimus shuddered as Neste pressed the rag against his chest and the heat and steam began to peel the stickers off of him, "Let's try the rubbing alcohol dip. Can't be too bad, we don't have any big cuts."

As Neste brushed her snout against him, the cyborg turned his face so he could kiss the tip briefly before offering a warm smile and a chuckle as he met her golden eyes, "And I love you, stickers and all. Now, let me get the alcohol so we can get these nasty things off. Excuse me."

He found it odd how easily the words slipped off his tongue. With Ophelia admitting that he liked her, let alone loved her - he wasn't sure now if he did - was an arduous task that required rehearsal, not in small part because she was human and he'd still had his little social impediment. With Neste it felt natural.

She'd been right at the Dystan Banquet. All he had to do was date a lizard girl. Briefly, he wondered if President Ironhorn had found a nice human woman to return his affections, it would've been a poetic fate. Though the universe was rarely so symmetric and poetic, he supposed.

Taking the warm rag from her hands to keep it pressed against his chest, Septimus strolled to the bathroom door before knocking several times, waiting for the cat to acknowledge him. He heard the toilet flush, followed by an annoyed meow, "Sentia, I just need to go in for a moment to get something. Are you done?"

He was met with the clicking of the door as the cat within jiggled the handle around to unlock it, quickly scampering out before turning toward the kitchen to assess what was going on. Septimus slipped past her, bare legs rubbing against fur as warm water from the rag dripped onto the undead kitty's back. Sentia shook herself and let out another annoyed meow before her body followed her eyes and took her to the kitchen.

The cat found the lizard woman, who Septimus seemed to enjoy cavorting with very much, standing in the kitchen with a bucket and wet towels. Deducing that she and Septimus probably wanted to be alone, the Sentia nevertheless scratched at the refrigerator before turning to meow at Neste. The cat required sustenance before she would creep away for the evening to spend the night curled up near a hallway vent. She didn't mind - Septimus needed his alone time and as long as she was kept fed and supplied with proper toilet paper, she was willing to grant him this time.

Septimus sifted through the medicine cabinet inside the bathroom, through bandages and soaps and shampoos - oddly, there was a facial cream which he figured Demens must've bought anticipating Septimus' election and thus need for a clear face - before eventually finding rubbing alcohol and calling out, "Neste! What else do you need besides the alcohol?"

[Giovenith]

In Giovenith's 18 years as the daughter of a prominent goddess, she was not unfamiliar with the prestige and grandeur of sincere worship. Even if it came in the form of many different rituals, practices, and rites, there was still a bonding flair among mortals when it came to those special little things to remind their deity that they were present and ready to serve. Though she blended in in her disguise, Giovenith silently took an onlookers' appreciation, mentally nodding and clapping for the hymns that soared around them. Glancing at Marcus she smiled endearingly, happiness welling inside herself merely from seeing him so very at peace at and right where he belonged. That was one thing about caring for someone, even if you were an outsider to a certain part of them, you still loved the fact that they had a place in it.

When the exited the service, she pulled down her hood and shook her head with a smile at him. "Ohhh, it's not an insult at all. I'm happy for other gods when they have such loyal followers doing beautiful things for them. I'm also happy when I see people doing things they really love." Her eyes grew a little moist at his last remark, and she pulled him into an embrace. "I never thought anyone would ever be able to make me happy the way you do, Marcus. I never believed I'd love."

[The BranRiech]

"Oh, right. Well, I just, uh, well, I don't think I talk about it a lot, and I want to let you see something about me.", She said.

Torii led the way, and, once up the elevator, took the turn and walked up to her apartment. She cracked the door open and peered in for a moment, and was surprised that her sister wasn't fast asleep. "Coast's clear.", She mumbled, stepping in. She waved the boy in before closing the door, and allowing him to sit on the bed. The little windows one on either side of the bed, allowed a view of the sunset, and let some light into the room besides that already provided by the room's lights. As always, thanks to the Sisters' never cleaning up, the right side wall was where they set their guns and gear. Torii nodded towards it all; she was a little nervous. "I know you've seen all those before, I know.", She said. "I always laugh a little, Gio's not really into them, and I think Kale is one of those pacifist types. Tsu's into them, though. All of those guns, I've had for years. They're from Russia."

She sat down cross-legged in the floor, next to her guns, and looked at Drova. "I guess I just wanted to show you something special about me. You know where I come from? Before I came to this city?"

"Russia?" Drova asked as he sat down, having stood in the door of the room for a moment to contemplate where Torii lived. It was nowhere near as lavish and well-furnished as his room, though he thought it was perfectly befitting for Torii. He smiled, and crossed his legs together, idly bapping his heels against the bedframe underneath him. "That large nation in Europa, yes?" He looked confused for but a moment. "Very cold, hardy people, right?"

He eyed the guns and gulped slightly. The girl of his dreams seemed to have quite the collection of them, all very intimidating. Drova wasn't against the idea though, for he too possessed a small collection of various arms. He was the proud owner of a sword given to him by one of his teachers, and for sport, he owned a Pyersai service rifle.

"One of these days, I'll need to show you my rifle. It's pneumatic, so it uses air to fire a bullet." Drova nodded, appreciating Torii's honesty. "Can't really use explosive chemicals in the caves. It's too risky."

[Torsiedelle]

"Pneumatic guns are really cool.", Torii chuckled. "Well, yeah, the biggest country in the world.", Her eyes lit up. "Russia is an amazing nation, with amazing people and an amazing leader. Right now, they're fighting in Ukraine, and my country is helping them.", She said. "Lemme show you...", She reached for her phone. She spent the next few second looking up a map before hopping up and getting close enough to show her friend the map of East Europe.

"See? It's a little map. The orange is Branreich, where the Nikanors come from, and it's also where you and Yuna are from.", She said. "The grey countries are allied to my homeland: Russia, Astrakhan, Syria, Iran, Crimea...", She pointed at the red. "That's Ukraine, who we're fighting right now alongside Russia.", She said. Her finger slid over to the deep blue. "And that's my homeland, Torsiedelle. We're mostly Russian. We used to hate Russia until after World War Two. We had a mutual enemy then, and, well, today we like each other. A lot of Russian soldiers like to visit. We also fought alongside the Russians in Ossetia, Afghanistan, and they helped us in the Chechen wars and a rebellion in my homeland around the time of the Ossetian war.", She said. "We thing it was espionage. Anyways, I actually remember the Ossetian war and the insurrection.", She said.

She left the phone with her friend to look at, hopping off of the bed and picking up one of the rifles. "This is a Kalashnikov. AK-74M, used by my country, Russia, a lot of others. I don't get to use it a lot. I prefer our other rifle.", She nodded to her old Torsiedellie-made semi-auto. "But the insurrection turned to some pretty dark shit, like kidnapping kids and women, or bombing civilian areas. I mean, that's also a tactic used by my country's army - we learned that way back in World War Two, and kind of had to do it in Afghanistan - and, well, I was one of the kids. I was, oh...just a kid. I try not to remember it too much.", She said, "But yeah, let's just say I've been acquainted with guns for a while."

"Anyways, it didn't last long. Our army got'em from the west, Russians from the east, we cornered them in Elista, in Kalmykia, where I was born, and then they ran in and killed just about every single rebel. The ones who survived the battle were executed, made examples out of, real hardcore stuff. Of course, the Russians didn't carry that part out. I spent the next few years in some confused state, either with my dad or with government people, like a lot of other kids who were taken. In the end, I just got tired and managed to be allowed to come here. I think I've grown a lot since then."

Torii didn't seem too happy to be telling Drova information like that, but she managed to find a way to look away from it all. "By the way, I said I was born in Kalmykia? It's the only Buddhist region in Europe. My country accepts Christianity and Buddhism as state religions, because the Kalmyks fought so well in World War Two, and in the revolution."

"B-but anyways, I just wanted to tell you all of that.", She said. "Because all that is who I am. I mean, I just didn't know if you liked me or anything, and if you didn't know that much about me, but that's who I am. I had an unfair childhood, and now I tend to get in trouble because, I guess, I'm not as quiet or rule-followy as other kids, and I always feel like I need people to pay attention to me because I want to know that I'm actually there. I mean, I've had to kill people before, even after moving here, and I guess it really messes with me, to think that I'm not there, like I'm dead. I don't know what I'm saying, forget it."

She had nothing more to say. Well, nothing more beyond rambling. "So..."

[Primordial Luxa]

Of course, the body wouldn't be there when they arrived, but that wouldn't stop them from snooping around. Neil and Gretta walked into the area where Hollow had died carrying assorted equipment. Their goal was to find out more about USiPo's tactics and tech. After one of their contacts reported the incident they got what they needed and came here. Neil had left a message for his contacts at the city morgues to inform him if the body was sent there.

Neil looked through a chronoscope to watch what had occurred earlier, starting with Hollow taking gorilla traits. He advanced the scope to the point where she was shot and then looked for the bullet. Gretta had a medical scanner out and was surveying the wildlife. She found some insects dead from explosive tumors in the browned grass.

---

Arthur pulled up beside Primordial in his black 1965 Chrysler Imperial and rolled down the window. "We need to talk, I think you'll be interested in our offer." he said as he unlocked the door. He had changed and taken a shower to get the cocaine off of himself. He drove out here to avoid the meddlesome lackey that had denied him entry to the DEiMOS last time. How had he known Primordial would be here? Raptors got time travel, which makes certain things a whole lot easier.

Primordial was hesitant to enter the car due to his paranoia surrounding all of these events. It reminded him of his time in the Mad DEiMOS when the Yellow Thing of Madmen Dreams would trick them all into thinking they were saved only to pull back the veil and make them feel even more trapped than before. He knew that he was still recovering emotionally, physically and spiritually from that encounter but he tried not to let it get in the way.

He reasoned that if someone could teleport him with ease who’s to say they can’t disguise themselves as his friends. Such a tactic would be a smart way to get information out of someone, strand them and they give them one friend that they trust to talk to. Primordial resolved to remain tight lipped until Arthur displayed some vestige of his trademark personality. That and the fact that the last time he had entered a car in the middle of nowhere it hadn’t turned out that well.

However he leaned into the car resting his arms on the bottom of the window and glaring at Arthur looking for some small trueborn hydra flaw that could give away a shape shifter or any traces of a spectral surrogate. But seeing none he opened the door and asked Arthur “And what offer might that be?”

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

"One moment, gotta make sure they didn't replace you with a doppelganger. You were only held for half an hour out here, quite unusual don't you think?" Arthur said frankly with a slight tone of distrust as he aimed a sensor at Primordial. With a bit of a wave the wings popped out as he took a reading. He pulled his file on Primordial off of the dashboard and consulted it then he consulted a legal Pad with a chart on it. "It's you as far as I can tell. Wish I hadn't awaken in that cocaine." Arthur concluded as he lifted his sunglasses to double check the chart, revealing his usual reptilian eyes for a bit.

"The offer is a position in the think tank we're assembling. An organization we're starting to garner public trust and publish research that can benefit them. There will be certain benefits to both of our factions from pooling our resources. Things that we can't discuss in public. There is a reason we are approaching you and not any of the others, they have morals that get in the way of certain things. So do you want to hear more or do you want to walk home?" Arthur stated bluntly, a passing tanker truck caught his attention for a second before he looked back at Primordial.

[Primordial Luxa]

"One moment, gotta make sure they didn't replace you with a doppelganger. You were only held for half an hour out here, quite unusual don't you think?" Arthur said frankly with a slight tone of distrust as he aimed a sensor at Primordial. With a bit of a wave the wings popped out as he took a reading. He pulled his file on Primordial off of the dashboard and consulted it then he consulted a legal Pad with a chart on it. "It's you as far as I can tell. Wish I hadn't awaken in that cocaine." Arthur concluded as he lifted his sunglasses to double check the chart, revealing his usual reptilian eyes for a bit.

"The offer is a position in the think tank we're assembling. An organization we're starting to garner public trust and publish research that can benefit them. There will be certain benefits to both of our factions from pooling our resources. Things that we can't discuss in public. There is a reason we are approaching you and not any of the others, they have morals that get in the way of certain things. So do you want to hear more or do you want to walk home?" Arthur stated bluntly, a passing tanker truck caught his attention for a second before he looked back at Primordial.

Primordial trusted the raptors quite a bit more than he trust the other denizens of the apartment, maybe second only to perhaps Naomi or Gio. Even in his heightened sense of paranoia he knew that the only real difference between any of them and his own people was cold blood and a difference of spirituality. Primordial had always thought that if he travelled to the raptors universe he could find evidence to support a thesis based on alternate timelines and dimensional similarities between them and one of the Luxan Core Worlds.

So when Arthur started talking like his regular self he grew more relaxed and opened the car door stepping inside. “A think tank you say?” He asked “An intriguing idea to say to the least. Please elaborate.”

As he listened he began going through his pockets to see what he had left over after the events of last night. Mostly he seemed to just be carrying bottles of illegal drugs and small arcano-tech trinkets, things like Blue Fire, adaptive accursed lances or voodoo dolls of people he didn't recognize. The only thing which really stood out was the fact he seemed to have taken a Yithian Stasis Cube from the vault, one of the small golfball sized ones which contained a marshmallow peep.

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Arthur rolled up the window ans pulled onto the highway. He flicked a couple switches, one to jam conventional listening devices and another to negate basic magic, he took care to ensure nobody was eavesdropping to the best of his ability. "Now that not just anyone could hear us, I can give you some more details." Arthur began as he handed Primordial a small manila envelope with a photo of a building and some papers with info intended to be released to the public and papers stamped "CLASSIFIED" outlining highly unethical experiments.

"The is a cost to operating in the shadows, one that is getting harder to maintain. The Pilkington Institute is a little buffer plan we cooked up. On the outside it does research in many fields, gathers the top minds in the city in one place for the greater good, does charity work, and takes investigative and containment contracts from the city." Arthur explained as he pointed to the press release scheduled to be distributed tomorrow.

"What the public won't know is that most of the researchers are our own people, Raptor scientists, living in the city in human guises under our command. We are hoping that the think tank will serve as a good front for our shadier operations lending plausibility to regularly meeting our agents. It also makes bulk purchases of regular equipment plausible so we can focus more resources concealing contraband shipments. In the gray area, a think tank is a good place to affect political power by advising policymakers." he continued while driving back to the apartment.

"Where you come in is that we need more diversity, not to mention an expert we can trust in the other things. We can hold our own against the arcane, but it's not enough. You can bring in trustworthy academics for both the public front and covert research. Hopefully, our combined forces will not only keep USiPo off our backs but perhaps we can replace them. It starts with a bounty here and there, but if enough trust is cultivated the public be coming to us first instead of them." He concluded smoothly, trying to entice Primordial and invoke some motivations.

[Primordial Luxa]

Arthur rolled up the window ans pulled onto the highway. He flicked a couple switches, one to jam conventional listening devices and another to negate basic magic, he took care to ensure nobody was eavesdropping to the best of his ability. "Now that not just anyone could hear us, I can give you some more details." Arthur began as he handed Primordial a small manila envelope with a photo of a building and some papers with info intended to be released to the public and papers stamped "CLASSIFIED" outlining highly unethical experiments.

"The is a cost to operating in the shadows, one that is getting harder to maintain. The Pilkington Institute is a little buffer plan we cooked up. On the outside it does research in many fields, gathers the top minds in the city in one place for the greater good, does charity work, and takes investigative and containment contracts from the city." Arthur explained as he pointed to the press release scheduled to be distributed tomorrow.

"What the public won't know is that most of the researchers are our own people, Raptor scientists, living in the city in human guises under our command. We are hoping that the think tank will serve as a good front for our shadier operations lending plausibility to regularly meeting our agents. It also makes bulk purchases of regular equipment plausible so we can focus more resources concealing contraband shipments. In the gray area, a think tank is a good place to affect political power by advising policymakers." he continued while driving back to the apartment.

"Where you come in is that we need more diversity, not to mention an expert we can trust in the other things. We can hold our own against the arcane, but it's not enough. You can bring in trustworthy academics for both the public front and covert research. Hopefully, our combined forces will not only keep USiPo off our backs but perhaps we can replace them. It starts with a bounty here and there, but if enough trust is cultivated the public be coming to us first instead of them." He concluded smoothly, trying to entice Primordial and invoke some motivations.

Primordial smiled a sly grin as Arthur continued to talk. He thought what a wonderful idea these reptiles had cooked, one that defiantly appeared to have its perks. “I like it. The good public image is something which I am very interested in, and the possibility of politically related growth is ideal. For too long I’ve been working on the most basic of transdimensional scientific testing, incursion theories, deity algorithms, I want to create a little slice of Luxa here.”

“I can help with the upfront purchases, me and the others have a complex network of black market sales and alchemist based financing that could purchase a small city at this point. Being able to turn wood into gold is much more profitable than it sounds, and it sounds pretty profitable. I could also use the DEiMOS to cut down transportation costs and hide most of our transaction by using some clever teleportation. Plus I could probably copy the dimensionally transcendent features it has into this building to add some very impressive features.” He says tapping the picture twice.

“Beyond that your PR looks good but I think I know a few cult leader friends who could add a charismatic touch to it. These people get rich billionaires to worship alien deities, I’m sure they have some advice on making the public drink up this wonderful idea.” He said speaking what came to mind as he surveyed the various aspects of the dossier. “Knocking USiPo out would be a very lofty achievement indeed, but I’m more than willing to help you, we might need something really heavy to take them out and Aegis had been working on some major contingency plans ever since the Hastur invasion some scare even me. This might prove to be useful.

“I expect to be able to bring in my own agents and assets however if we are going to commit to this partnership however. I need assurance on the safety and respect of my participation, and I expect this operation to be a true partnership.” He said before joking adding that “My ego doesn’t settle for second, if we do this we do it as equals as well as allies.”

[The New Velociraptor Empire]

Arthur chuckled a bit at the mention of costs. "Wood into gold? Definitely more legitimate than insider trading using data from the future." He joked about how the Raptors amassed virtually unlimited funds from the stock market. "Cult leaders will definitely come in handy as I'm the only one manning the PR department so far. Mad sociologists are a bit fixated on making things run mazes." he quipped thankfully as he made a turn.

"The building has been used for storage so far for one of our off-site construction projects. We have countermeasures installed and a minor specimen containment system. More space would be useful, especially for the secret labs. We are setting up some labs fit for government inspection and in case we need to be witnessed by anyone not in the know." He commented on the photo of the site. At this moment, minions worked to clean the place up and set up the labs in addition to a press conference room.

"Yes, USiPo is a tough nut to crack and we got little to no data on them. Neil and Gretta are at the park where you had that scuffle, trying to collect data on their tactics. The body is gone, but we got people in the morgues who will alert us if it turns up." He added, alluding to the network of informants and contacts.

"From a man of your stature I wouldn't expect anything less. Equal control of the institute, and we won't plot against you. No backstabs or double crosses, and we expect the same from you. " Arthur agreed as he pulled up to the apartment building and set the car into park behind an ambulance.

"One more thing, Neil will be having talks with that new representative Itum later today. Making sure he will work in our favor and perhaps getting government contracts in order. If you want in on the formal meeting, I'll tell Neil." He threw in as he turned off the countermeasures and unlocked the door.

---

NVE had dragged the gift wrapped Velocidoctor to the curb in front of the building. He ten loaded him into a black ambulance that had been stripped of logos and had been outfitted with a hodgepodge of sensors on the roof and empty equipment racks inside. He got in the cab and drove off as he dialed the Bielefeld government, asking to schedule a meeting with Representative Itum on behalf of the newly formed Pilkington Institute this afternoon. He added that he would like if Itum would come to their new headquarters, claiming that a surprise awaited him.

[Monfrox]

After getting back to reality, Flint and Kelly headed back to the building. They both needed to get some rest, but someone else moreso. Brit yawned with every step as she carried Nick on her head. After stepping into the lobby, she set him down on the desk.

"Heh...you look good in orange." She said, tiredly. "Welp, I'm 'onna hit the rack here right now. If you want to stay in my room or whatever, I dunno, I'll leave my door cracked. Night!"

And with that she went up the elevator to her floor, washed what dye out of her hair that she could to not stain the pillow blue, popped some ibuprofen, got changed, and went to bed.

[Primordial Luxa]

Arthur chuckled a bit at the mention of costs. "Wood into gold? Definitely more legitimate than insider trading using data from the future." He joked about how the Raptors amassed virtually unlimited funds from the stock market. "Cult leaders will definitely come in handy as I'm the only one manning the PR department so far. Mad sociologists are a bit fixated on making things run mazes." he quipped thankfully as he made a turn.

"The building has been used for storage so far for one of our off-site construction projects. We have countermeasures installed and a minor specimen containment system. More space would be useful, especially for the secret labs. We are setting up some labs fit for government inspection and in case we need to be witnessed by anyone not in the know." He commented on the photo of the site. At this moment, minions worked to clean the place up and set up the labs in addition to a press conference room.

"Yes, USiPo is a tough nut to crack and we got little to no data on them. Neil and Gretta are at the park where you had that scuffle, trying to collect data on their tactics. The body is gone, but we got people in the morgues who will alert us if it turns up." He added, alluding to the network of informants and contacts.

"From a man of your stature I wouldn't expect anything less. Equal control of the institute, and we won't plot against you. No backstabs or double crosses, and we expect the same from you. " Arthur agreed as he pulled up to the apartment building and set the car into park behind an ambulance.

"One more thing, Neil will be having talks with that new representative Itrum later today. Making sure he will work in our favor and perhaps getting government contracts in order. If you want in on the formal meeting, I'll tell Neil." He threw in as he turned off the countermeasures and unlocked the door.

---

NVE had dragged the gift wrapped Velocidoctor to the curb in front of the building. He ten loaded him into a black ambulance that had been stripped of logos and had been outfitted with a hodgepodge of sensors on the roof and empty equipment racks inside. He got in the cab and drove off as he dialed the Bielefeld government, asking to schedule a meeting with Representative Itrum on behalf of the newly formed Pilkington Institute this afternoon. He added that he would like if Itrum would come to their new headquarters, claiming that a surprise awaited him.

“Excellent” He said “I’ll start putting my assets in order and begin making my own necessary preparations.”

Primordial scowled at the mention of Hollow and the park. “If Hollow is gone then we have a very serious problem her body could be very dangerous in the wrong hands, she isn’t a real person she’s one of Insidious’s art projects with a very powerful set of abilities. We should dig up the dirt and area surrounding our fight, there’s bound to be some remnants that I can work with, either that or look for blood and tissue samples. She is state of the art anything we can recover we should.”

“I would like to talk to whoever Neil is meeting with.” He said staring off at apartment and exiting the Car “It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, I’ll make sure that I have some free time. Thank you Arthur for the lift and the assistance.”

[The BranRiech]

There wasn't simply anything Drova could say that would be likely to make Torii feel better, but he nodded understandingly to her situation. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, looking over the rifle in Torii's hands, noting the simplicity of it all. Maybe it was to take his mind off of the girl's dark past, or maybe he was generally interested in the gun, but either way, he didn't want to focus on her past.

His past was comparably mild, growing up a protective and sheltered life. The only danger he'd ever been in was learning to fly in the vast subterranean airspace of the palace cave. He'd learned to shoot as well, though it was far-less dangerous than the possibility of ramming into a wall, or goring oneself on a stalactite.

"Well . . . Obviously I suppose, my childhood wasn't like that at all." He admitted, knowing Torii already knew. His wings shuddered, and he frowned. Drova reached over and placed a tentative hand on Torii's thigh, comforting her. "I don't remember much about when I was really young, but my furthest memories are just boring to me. Half the day would be spent being tutored on various subjects, and that would give me the other half of the day to sleep. I never had much free time as a child."

He yawned, showing his exhaustion from the night's activities.

"Not as tedious as Yuna's childhood though. She would spend weeks at a time off in the Monastery, learning about our religion, or medicine, or anything they deemed fit." The prince rolled his eyes, failing to see how Yuna was able to endure.

"Now we live here, of course, but if, Gods forbid, my father passes away, I would have to go back. Same thing with the High Priest and Yuna."