Mechagogue

Helper: *looks from his cards to Ryuji* Go Fish, sir.

"I can certainly try," Kefetasura nodded at Acid.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kefetasura stood on the hood of the car next to H'tead. The fact that the car was speeding at well over 300 mph didn't seem to bother him in any way. His colorful robes swished gently as if in a summer breeze.

"You're not helping things, you know," he said disdainfully at the stow-away. "My associate is trying to pilot this vehicle and you're blocking his field of vision. How about you go be on the ground? It's much safer down there. I can help you get there if you need," the demon said with a cryptic grin.

That's when he noticed they were speeding towards and energy barrier. Kefetasura sighed.

"I'll be right back," he said. In a flash he was in front of the car, both arms outstreched. A wave of telekinesis clipped the car, urging it to turn it's momentum away from the rapidly approaching barrier. Even with his help, Acid was going to have to be a damn good pilot to keep from crashing into the wall.

The demon spoke in a normal tone, but Acid could hear him as if he was still sitting in the passenger seat. In a way, he was.

"If you have a miracle in your pocket, now would be the time to turn it out."

((I dunno about that, republican senator aren't exactly an obscure reference. =p Oh, and btw: Happy Birthday Diov! ^_^ ))

"Yeah baby!" Kreigg cat-called over at Anna, swiping the Malibu from the table and tossing out more gold-foil wrapped chocolate coins. "Pirates rule!"

Flashes of light erupted from the west of the Rikti's position like a string of fireworks. A metallic wave crashed into the invaders flank, and it seemed very helpful indeed. Scores of Helpers barraged the Rikti with electrical blasts and kinetic hinderances. Of course, the most upsetting thing about the kinetic attacks was that not only did they weaken the Rikti, they strengthened the Helpers. The most dangerous thing about the wave of Helpers was that they had no fear, no sense of self preservation. They were more than willing to be destroyed to save a single human. So their advance was irrepressible.

The Rikti, however, would not let that stop them. The flank turned thier shields against the assault. Leaders began debating the necessity of sending the reserves to surround the bothersome robotic interlopers even as the enlisted returned fire.

"Ah! It would appear that my plan has in fact worked," Even Helper said at maximum volume. Even still, amoung the sounds of battle it would have en dificult to hear him unless you were right next to him.

Even Helper assisted in the battle as much as he could, layering Speed Boosts and Density Increases and Fulcrum Shifts as often as he could. If a single bullet so much as grazed a Rikti he'd be severly wounded! In between those he siphoned off the speed and power of any nearby Rikti. He made sure to blast a healing or refreshing wave out of any enemy engaged in melee with a defender. Let them worry about firepower, he would keep them fighting long past the point when a normal person, or even a super hero, would have long since been exhausted.

((My lack of clarity strikes again. I need to stop posting things at weird hour in the morning when I can't sleep. They come out all wonky. Edit the post for the sake of that darned elusive clarity.

Of coure, feel free to keep making Kef's life miserable. It just wouldn't be lichworld without misery! ^_^))

((Ok everybody, sorry about the delay. I've talked to Openursoul and he's having some internet related problems which he's working to resolve. So, for now, if everyone would be so kind as to PM me a detailed description and background of your character that would be great.

We're going to skip ahead from the Warden's one-on-one's segment and continue on with the tour very soon, and I'd like to thank all of you for your patience!

~Mecha.))

Kefetasura waved at the troopers with a manic smile as the car flew away, laughing in utter delight at the confusion below.

Of course, the troopers below would never have noticed. As far as they could tell Kefetasura and Acid had stormed out of the car with guns blazing. Unfortunately for the soldiers, they thought their robot allies were the bullet-sprayng Kefetasura and Acid.

The demon sighed happily.

"Nothing like a little Mass Confusion to cover a retreat," he said whimsically. "I also managed to find out what the guards look for to spot fake ID's. It's possible we could use that knowledge to make our own ID cards. Of course, heir is a computer scane, so to complete the deception we're going to have to plant files in their systems that match the stories the ID's tell. That part I can't help you with. I'm afraid I'm not what you'd call computer savvy.

"This is all, of course, assuming that you'd be interested in that kind of thing," he said with a casual wave of the hand and a grin. He then looked out behind them to see what was going on with his minature pandemonium.

((Edited for sake of clarity))

"Oh dear, my boy," Kefetasura said to Acid, "It does appear they've outsmarted us. I guess there's nothing left to do but surrender."

A tiny white flag appeared in his hand and he waved it quickly back and forth.

Dahlia smiled at the girl for a moment. Her smile seemed to be a mask of barely contained sadness, but for the Nurse that was normal.

"It's nothing to worry about, Lily," she said, putting a hand on the girls shoulder. She seemed to have a very good idea what the look on the younger girls face meant, "It's just a checkup."

And with that she excused herself and went about her original agenda.

It just so happened that Dahlia Shepherd, the infimary nurse, was passing through the hall when she caught sight of Lily. The nurse apparently changed her mind as to where she was headed, as she turned and walked to the Nictus girl.

"Glad to see you're not smoking," she said in a distant voice. She seemed sincere, but Nurse Shepherd was so aloof most of the time it was hard to imagine that she was paying any attention to what she was doing. "I'd like you to make a point to stop by the infirmary for a check up. Can never be to careful with. . ." her voice trailed off for a moment and she glanced from side to side to make sure nobody was eavesdropping, "Well, with your health." There was no special emphasis on any particular word. It was a generic statement which would hold no special significance to anyone who wasn't aware of the girls condition.

Dahlia may have seemed lost in her mind, but she was very discreet.

[ QUOTE ]
Acid sighed. Well, there went the easy way.

[/ QUOTE ]

((Just to clarify, and I realize now that I could have been more clear about this originally, but Kef didn't actually do anything. He was just offering a solution and guaging Acid's reaction to it.))

[ QUOTE ]
Acid smirked. Now he'd see what sort of world Archlich had really created.

with the flick of a switch, the mirror effect on the windows vanished as the one-way opaque material repolarized, becoming transparent to both sides.

Acid just grined toothily as he spoke, the car's speaker system conveying his voice outside flawlessly, "Howdy, boys. Sorry, I'm afraid i don;t have any ID on me. Then again, even if I did, it probably wouldn't be the one you're looking for. I'd like to speak with your bos, the Over..."

He stopped for a moment, turning to Kefetasura, "Okay, seriously, was it magus or magnus now...?"

[/ QUOTE ]
"I do believe it's magus," Kefetasura said smiling widely at Acid, "Not that I imagine these apple-polishers would really care, since it is so very late at night and I imagine they're getting extremely tired," the demon giggled as he glanced down at the clock on the dashboard, "Why, look at that! It's so very close to nap time already!"

A patrol of three Longbows walked out into the garden, but it was empty of people by that point. They all looked around very closely, just in case. The defender of the group searched through the area with the flytraps.

"Hey, you guys," she called out.

"What is it?" the blaster asked.

"You ever wonder why Sergeant Rayden lets the kids grow a garden with flytraps in it? I mean, a lot of those plant-type villians like to use them as pets."

"I dunno," the tanker replied, "Maybe he thinks it calms 'em down or something."

They all shrugged, the tanker reached for his radio.

"That's a big negative on the garden. Our gardener probably thought better of herself and went back to her cell after all," he announced to the other guards.

"Copy that," came the distorted voice of the cafeteria guard, "Thanks for looking."

The Longbow patrol moved along. Jaws was still safe. . . for now.

"I am sorry, sir, but the saying does not typically include provisions for three persons. I was simply reciting the commonly accepted proverb," Helper explained calmly as he drew open the door of the laboratory.

"Oh yes, please do accompany us Mister Zero," Helper said as he led the way towards the tinker's workshop, "Two heads are better than one, as the old addage states."

Katsumei moved awkwardly up the stairs to the office, the chains on her arms and legs made strangely cheerful noises compared to her obvious discomfort. She pushed the door open with her shoulder when it became apparent nobody was going to open it for her and slipped inside.

Helper approached Experiment at that moment, his shoulders castdown in a meek posture.

"It would appear, sir, that my plan failed. For that I apologize. Perhaps you would care to examine the laboaratory they have set up in the entertainment wing? Though it most likely is not the top-of-the-line sort of work space to which you and I are acustomed, we may still be able to think up some interesting projects nonetheless."

"I'm not so foolish as to imagine you actually wanted me around," he replied dryly, "But I'm afraid that for now, you're right. While I image that Vern would be just as suitable a stabilizer as you, Vern's not here. And there's something going on here that I need to know." Kefetasura looked around the car as he strapped on his seatbelt. A distant look glazed across his handsome features for a moment, and a tiny HUD appeared on the upper left portion of Acid's windshield.

"The lines are streets, the red dots are roadblocks or other places of regime related unpleasantness. Hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of mind-snooping the locals." His gaze turned outward, past the passenger side window and out into the city streets as they whizzed by. Though the demon didn't seem content, he was at least being quiet.

Kefetasura started noticeably and straightened up for a moment. Though he could not say how it had happened, he suddenly lost control of one of his duplicates and it dissolved. He looked from side to side in a paranoid fashion and quickly got to his feet, making his way for the door.

"Pardon me," he said to the room, paying no heed to the scene unfolding between Vern and Midas. It was highly unusual for him not to have tried to instigate a confrontation or at the very least make some kind of sarcastic remark. The door closed behind him.

"Don't you think it's kind of ironic to have a black testarossa?" Kefetasura's voice echoed out from behind the firewall of a very nice sportscar. The demon dragged himself up into the passenger seat. "And, no, that's not why I'm bothering you. As much as I hate to admit it, the fact that you haven't been altered by Archlich makes your presence a stabilizing influence on me."

[ QUOTE ]
An odd feeling of chill creeped down Jon's spine as Afte-Image forced herself into semi corprality.

I can assit you in determining the status of Office Wincutt if you wish it. Rikti can not see me. A faint smirk crossed the ghosts face. Even if the did, what could they do, kill me? I will have your answer shortly.

[/ QUOTE ]
"Holy hell! You're a ghost!" Jon shreiked in suprise, "I . . . uh. . . Sorry bout that, but you kinda freaked me out for a second."

He looked from the direction of Skyway to the Hollows and back, then glanced towards Steel Canyon. He was only about a block from the Eastgate quarantine barrier.

"Hey, can you do me another favor instead? Do you think you could look after my son and the refugees headed for Independence Port? Those people really need the presence of some heroes to reassure them, and like you said; It's not like the Rikti can kill you or anything."

[ QUOTE ]
The Longbow just stood there.
"Hmf. Fine. Off to work then," she said.

[/ QUOTE ]

((OOC: ?!?!?! What just happened? The Longbow Guard was supposed to just keep people out of the kitchen and keep them in their cells so everyone could meet at once when the new kids were brought in! Please don't speak for NPCs run by either the GM or co-GM, as they are doing what they do for a reason.

I understand that waiting for other people to post can be a serious pain in the neck when you have something you really want to do, but we must all be considerate of the fact that every person who posts has a different schedule. We have not forgotten about you! We just haven't had a chance to catch up to you yet.))

------------------------------------------------------------------------
BIC:

The procession lead by Mr. O'Shea entered the building, slowing to a reasonable pace to accomodate those in chains, or people like Ragrok, who just seemed like they were having a hard time keeping up.

Gates of metal bars were opened for them, and locked behind them, and they made their way into a large and open area. Off to the left was a narrow metal stairway leading up to a walkway overlooking the interior space. A quick glance around the room would reveal a door halfway along the walkway, another line along the center of the floor, and two additional exits; one behind the stairway to the left, and a large double-door to the right. And, of course, a liberal sprinkling of Longbow Guards.

"Line up and wait here," Meatwagon said jogging up the stairs and letting himself into the door.

"Tell the boss the kids are ready for inspection," he said to the secretary without a hint of manners.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lone Longbow guarding the cafeteria sighed. At first he was just glad to be rid of the two kids who were acting tough in prison. Dang kids. But slowly a strange burning sensation welled up in his gut. That puffed-up little tough-girl was up to no good, he was sure. He grabbed his radio and called out across the general frequency.

"One of the students assigned herself garden duty. Somebody swing by and get her and her tag-along back in their cells. And they've already been told to return to their cells once and have disregarded the order, so let's see if we can give 'em both KP or something."

He dropped his radio again, the urge to hit something rising in his chest.

Kreigg arrives at the party dressed in a pirate costume, complete with a sack-full of gold foil wrapped chocolate coins, he gives a handful to Essex.

"So, uhm... what's it yer supposed t'say on this holiday? Trick er Treat?"

Trick or Treat!

((Yep, for those keeping track we're up to 10 Helpers. Even, Odd, Row, Island, and six more un-named copies. I'm totally going to cut this off at the knees in a bit, or else it would be awfully unbalancing. Not that the Rikti deserve it, but. . . Well, whatever.))

"Hello again, S-6. This is Helper Row. We have somewhat accidentally discovered a process by which we Helpers can duplicate ourselves. We are currently engaged in creating as many of us as possible to aid in the defense of Portal Corps. This unit, however, is currently in King's Row. I would very much like to return to the laboratory to consult with Dr. West, and was wondering if that course of action would be advisable at this time?"

Two identical copies of Odd Helper materialized in the King's Row Mediporter Emergency Care Center. One of the two techs had left already, and the one that remained had barely finished putting things back togther from the system reconfiguration that Helper had designed to send him to Peregrine Island.

"It appears the test was successful," one of them said immediately.

"What the heck...?!" the technician gasped.

"Indeed, and it is truly a boon to our allies. Now, you retain the title 'Odd Helper' and I shall assume the monier of Helper Row."

"Logical."

"There's two of you?" the technician questioned.

"We are up to three now, actually," Odd Helper said.

"Three...?"

"I shall telephone Repliforce Paragon and update S-6," Helper Row said, "You return to Peregrine and duplicate reinforcements for the Portal Corps defense."

"Understood," Odd Helper said, stepping back into the mediporter and disappearing.

"Mind telling me what the heck just happened in there?" the tech badgered Helper Row, following him as he shufled off for the telephone. "I mean, we rigged the system to send you to a different hospital and there's three of you now?"

"In fact, sir, I imagine, by now, there will be four."

"Four?! This is a transport system, how did you get it to clone you?"

"That is still unknown at this time, sir," Helper Row informed him pleasantly, "However, in light of recent developments in public safety we have chosen to forego careful testing in favor of providing the strongest front possible against the enemy invaders. Now, I truly hate to be rude, but I am afraid that I am in rather urgent need of updating my colleagues to our current status, so I would very much appreciate it if you could hold the remainder of your questions until after I complete a telephone call. Thank you for your patience, sir. I really do apologize."

Helper Row lifted up the phone and dialed into Repliforce again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Odd Helper returned to the Peregrine Hospital, and once again there was another copy of the robot in an adjacent mediport unit.

"Please remain where you are," Odd Helper said to the copy. "You shall be the template for the first batch, I will re-route the transport system to send you to the other side of the room instead of to a different hospital. That should save time."

"Agreed. A very good plan, sir."

Odd Helper fidgeted around with some wires and a few thousand lines of programming code, and a moment later there were two Helpers in the bays, then four.

"You there, in Mediporter bay 5, please exit the bay and assist me. You shall be called Helper Island. If you would be kind enough to monitor the duplication process, I think it would be wise for me to try and learn all that I can about the abynormality in the matter-stream."

"Understood, sir," Helper Island said. He shuffled over to the control panel, and three Helpers became six. A perfect copy of the original robot was in literally every single mediport bay. "Those on my left, please move to the elevators. Those on my right remain where you are," Helper Island instructed.

In unison, six genial voices all buzzed; "Of course, sir."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jon looked around at the assembled police just outside the presinct, he couldn't help but notice one very conspicuous absence.

"Where's Dave Wincott?" he asked.

Captain Wilson shook his head, "We don't know. We lost communications with the Trolls Task Force Command Center over an hour ago."

"Well, we have to try and find him! What if he's alive?"

"What if he isn't, Jon? We need to get to our position in Skyway as soon as possible."

"Alright fine. I understand," MacMaetor said, his eyes drifting off to the east.

"Mac. What are you thinking?"

A Rikti Drone flew overhead, spraying plasma-fire into men and buildings alike. The police all dropped for cover and returned fire. It exploded after a ew long moments under the concentrated barrage.

"Double-time it, everyone!" Captain Wislon shouted, "And let's try to save as many people as we can on the way."

"Yes, sir!" the police shouted in para-military unison.

"Look, Cap," Jon said quietly so the others would not overhear, "The Hollows run to Skyway City, too. Just let me go alone. If Wincott and his men are there we're going to need his help, and if not. . . Well, at least we'll know. And if I don't make it you'll still have everyone else."

Wilson nodded, knowing from the sound of his voice that Jon was going to go one way or the other.

"Hmph, tough talk from the hungry girl," the Longbow returned blandly, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned his back against the door, "I thought I told you to get back to your rooms. Don't make me tell you twice."