Union Roleplayers - Recaps, Plots and Banter.
By
Aethan_Romn,
Posted on: 2006-10-24 18:53 in Roleplaying
Few days ago, the Sword of Truth met a peculiar person in Pocket D.
Alone, lost, somewhat frightened, the blue-green skinned woman called Zian approached her.
Intrigued by Sword skin colour, Zian asked why Nadia skin wasn't "whiteish" as others.
After a short confused moment, it appeared that Zian was from a completely different world and was suddenly sent to ours without an ounce of explanation. The process itself being mysterious.
Sword discussed with Zian and it looked that many, before, already suggested to Zian to go to Portal Corps and ask for help.
Yet, the lost girl didn't have, maybe because she was scared in this unknown world and reluctant to leave Pocket D.
Sword led Zian outside to Peregrine Island and the Portal Corps offices.
On their way, Zian expressed her dislike of the sea, which might be better explained by the problem of salt water for her skin, salt looking to be burning Zian skin.
Both managed to go to the offices without incidents. Sword filled a form, asking questions to Zian to see if her world description would match to any registered by Portal Corps.
Zian, who was able to write in english (and able to speak, due to a device or a kind of amulet she is wearing), was more and more depressed and somewhat angered by the questions.
After the first comparisons with the Corps database returned a negative answer, Sword tried to know a bit more on Zian condition.
The woman was, as said, alone but also homeless and hungry (only allowed to sleep in Pocket D and given some basic food there).
Sword decided to offer Zian to rest at the Tempest base while Portal Corps was comparing the informations she gave with their files.
When both arrived, they met Mesoc and Love Angel , the later being truly pained by the recent death of Bone Fire Havoc.
Angel still agreed to use her culinary talents and prepared a meal (without salt !) for Zian.
Zian finally went to get rest in the Tempest base.
Alien from another dimension or alien from another planet in the universe ? One thing is certain, Zian is an alien in our world.
Yesterday, the boss of Boa Personel Services, Jan Boa teamed up with friend (and admirer) Eco System for some assisstance in raiding one of Dr. Aeon's labs. The two and their retinue of associates left no man standing in the base, before stealing some skin samples for one of Jan's employees. The two enjoyed some bantering and joking, and thoroughly enjoyed giving the Arachnos troops inside a case of, as Eco put it, Acute Lead Poisoning.
Yesterday, Roselin set out to find the missing Sarah2... and stuck immidiate luck by just calling her.
It seemed she wasn't missing, just avoiding a certain person. Having an apartment to spare as well as several guest rooms, Roselin offered one to Sarah if she needed it. Sarah accepted, not feeling safe in the place she found.
When they met at Rose's place they had a drink and a chat before heading to the other apartment to allow Sarah to settle in... without clothes as she passed her costume to Roselin for fixing as it needed that badly. It was no bother for Sarah, as she was planning on staying in for some rest for a few days.
Roselin also provided some things to help pass the time before returning home to get her sewing kit out, and skipped Pocket D all together.
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Bone Fire Havoc and his following death, assassinated by Mugon and his henchmen, had started turmoil in the Silent Tempest.
From a kind of understanding his desire for revenge, to a rejection of the said revenge, as bloody as it could end, from the need to protect someone who was a victim to the rejection of someone intents making him not unlike the people he was trying to get revenge from... the whole event left the team in a ptetty bad shape.
Happening just after the return from the dimension where Coile and the Sword of Truth were lost, following the whole "Tempest virus" affair, maybe it was too much for a couple of members.
Coile, having lost his powers, went away for a time. On a one month "vacation time" as set by Sword.
Bart (Hand of Sorrow) was already expressing his will to have a break after the virus thing. With no doubt, the havoc incident just confirmed his decision.
On sunday, Sword, Love Angel and Mesoc came for the funeral of Bone Fire Havoc.
Some faces, known and unknown, were also present.
The funeral was quite quickly interrupted by a man who revealed to be One Eye Havoc , Bone Fire Havoc's brother, who was said dead.
'One Eye' contested the death of 'Bone Fire' and was almost ready to go over Father MacKay who was leading the ceremony at the site (Platinum Lake, Steel Canyon).
'One Eye' said his brother wasn't dead and was willing to open the coffin.
This proved to be too much for Sword and Love Angel who retreated away, Angel being quite shaken by such lack of respect for the deads.
While Sword was trying to comfort Angel, flames and bursts of fire happened at the burial place.
Soon, the news, brought by Tygerboy was revealed : Bone Fire Havoc wasn't dead (or resurrected, it's a point of view).
The newly alive Havoc brother was quickly carried to the local hospital, while Love Angel, Mesoc and Sword left for Nadia's place in Skyway, Astral District.
While commenting with troubled minds what happened, Sword tried to get news of 'Bone Fire' condition, in vain.
Until 'One Eye' finally called her.
The raised brother was in more or less healthy condition but was still lacking a home, a shelter.
After a discussion with 'One Eye', Sword made a point to know what 'Bone Fire' was asking. And he was asking the Tempest help.
Love Angel, still deeply disturbed by the event, stayed at her request at Sword's apartment when Mesoc and Nadia left to the Tempest base.
There, they welcomed the Havoc brothers, 'Bone Fire' and 'One Eye'.
'Bone Fire' apparently had to suffer a kind of injuring feedback and was barely able to speak, his throat sounding damaged.
In the base, 'One Eye' started the tale of the Ghosts team, the team of the Havoc brothers. Hunted, tricked and trapped by Mugon, killed one by one, separated.
Each of the brothers thought the other was dead.
'Bone Fire' looked to have lost his will to get his revenge, something that could only smooth the relationships with the Tempest and noticeably Sword.
'One Eye' was ready to leave and leave his brother to the care of the Tempest.
Yet, Sword pointed that if he was spotted and/or recognized by Mugon, not only the villains could try to finish the job once and for all but he might also reconsider the idea 'Bone Fire' was dead.
Finally, later in the night, when Sword left the base, both Havoc brothers were given shelter by the Tempest.
(( Just for the hell of it, you understand. ))
War Crow has been sighted in Paragon City again after an absense of several months. Those who read the business pages will have noticed that he was made Chief Operating Officer of the company he used to work for, Paragon Secure Couriers. Since then, he and his wife have rarely been in the city. It's currently unknown whether Stargazer will be returning. Those who read the hero press may have seen that Crow was among those who were placed on the reserve list for the Freedom Phalanx in the last month. Exactly why Crow has returned to Paragon is unknown, but most suspect business reasons.
Anastasia Kade has spent a lot of the last six months in a villa in the south of France, near Aix. She recently returned to Paragon and is once again living in her flat in Founders' Falls. Velvet Vengence has also been seen on the streets of Skyway and Steel Canyon, though dressed differently than before she left. A few women who have been rescued by her commented on a determined look in her eye. The men rescued by her looked slightly dazed. One man was quoted as saying, "It was worth being mugged."
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
Jolanda "The French Maid" St.Clair hasn't been seen for a while now...
Mostly because of two reasons:
1) I prefer playing Roselin at the moment
2) I'm a bit stuck on the bit of plot I've been cooking up.
To be continued!
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Well, I for one am looking forward to Jolanda popping up again - just yell if you need Tricky-Dicky involved at all, because he is actually trying to find her. Your teaser on the IC story thread looks fascinating!
The wisdom of Shadowe: Ghostraptor: The Shadowe is wise ...; FFM: Shadowe is no longer wise.
; Techbot_Alpha: Also, what Shadowe said. It seems he is still somewhat wise 
; Bull Throttle: Shadowe was unwise in this instance...; Rock_Powerfist: in this instance Shadowe is wise.; Techbot_Alpha: Shadowe is very wise *nods*; Zortel: *Quotable line about Shadowe being wise goes here.*
After some patriotic chest beating over EVIL's comms, it was decided to take it to the monkey bar's arena to settle the matter.
Echo Hammer, the psychopath ex-hero from london, beat Laugh Riot, the mentaly unstable powerhouse from chicago, while Lunk beat up an arena terminal for crashing on him.
Riot accused Echo of 'cheating' by not standing still in a fight.
Lunk offered to show him how its done, and Riot agrees, and bets a shaved head to the best of 5 falls.
Riot left the bar with a bloodied nose, and returned with a shaved head.
Oh man! That would have been something I wanted to see! 
Next time EVIL is settling scores be sure to sell tickets!
it wont happen untill riot hits 50 now, but i'll let you know when it happens.
i love IC arena fights, because my brain ends up interprating it in more detail than there actualy is.
Like the final takedown, with riot stumbling forward as lunk leapfrogs him, and smacks him in the back of the head
Bart (Hand of Sorrow), Coile, Dustine, Kitalia, Phiseeque, so many Tempest members away, busy, having a break (or in Kitalia case, being in coma !).
During their weekly meeting, the Silent Tempest members Love Angel, Marisol (ShadowWoman), Mesoc, Subaiku and Sword of Truth discussed briefly about the situation in Kings Row (Leaflet!), troubles that Mesoc is trying to identify, fix, fight back.
Sword asked to keep an eye on Coile who, without powers, could be an easy target for past and present enemies.
Then, the meeting was about Zian and the Havoc brothers, namely Bone Fire Havoc and One Eye Havoc, also present at the meeting.
The purpose being mainly to make sure those three guests are no longer "unknown" by the Tempest members.
Sowrd then proposed what she called "something unorthodox", leaving the conference room and having a more informal chat in the base living rooms.
The discussion was first about Zian, her life on her homeworld, her condition as slave (even if apparently well treated).
Sword suggested Zian could be stuck permanently on our Earth and then she might try to start to learn more on her new environment.
After the lost girl left to rest (imitated by a tired Love Angel some times after), the discussion was again about the Havoc brothers and Mugon.
Bone Fire Havoc described again his nemesis and the influence network the villain is having, something apparently mainly based in Japan.
Sword disliked the idea to "strike at home" (Japan) that Bone Fire was promoting. She didn't see it as truly possible, efficient, or even needed to apprehend Mugon (who spend most of his time in the Rogue Isles).
Later in the night, One Eye showed a tech gadget he received from Freedom Corps (Sword having tried to get him a list of devices he provided). The said gadget was allowing to project a kind of stealthy field around him.
Used for himself and his brother Bone Fire, it looked the gadget was allowing them to leave the base with minimal risks to be spotted by Mugon agents (if any of them is still searching for two brothers supposedly dead).
Mesoc, who should already get the help from Marisol in Kings Row, was expected to benefit from One Eye past relationships with a group of hidden mutants, whose haven is in remote corners of Kings Row sewer system.
[ QUOTE ]
i love IC arena fights, because my brain ends up interprating it in more detail than there actualy is.
[/ QUOTE ]
Having played around with IC arena fights a few times now, I'm slowly coming to appreciate how much fun it can be.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i love IC arena fights, because my brain ends up interprating it in more detail than there actualy is.
[/ QUOTE ]
Having played around with IC arena fights a few times now, I'm slowly coming to appreciate how much fun it can be.
[/ QUOTE ]
We did the "War Crow vs The Vigil" Arena fight a while back. Considering it was about six against one, I thought I managed to survive reasonably well. We got the roleplay objectives right, and Crow didn't go down without a fight. Would have been cool if I'd managed to nail Nevermore, but you can't win 'em all. 
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
I still remember Nevermore and Ravensclaw's training session in the arena, where my ickle level 19 MA/SR trounced the level 32 Claws/SR several times in a row. That was fun.
And the Rooftop Generation (Go teen Mutants!) versus (evil Rikti Catherine) Catch!
The Tempest also has done some "training sessions" in arenas, on the occasion.
Last night...
Jessica "The Grav Mistress" Stoneberg was called and made her way to Founder's Fall hostpital to see if she could help with the curse put on Sophie "Ebon Tear" ... forgot the last name
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
Sometime yesterday, at The Garden Jewels in Port Oaks.
Jan dropped by as she said she would, and had an asortment of items to sell to Roselin, or rather 'the shop'.
They talked amicably about things, including leather clothing, being busy and what made them happy...
Jan got a fair deal for her items.. and a job too, as Roselin asked her about her other services.
They talked about possibilities and cost and so Jan got the job.
Both being content with the business that has been done.
@ShadowGhost & @Ghostie
The Grav Mistress, Mistress of Gravity
If you have nothing useful to say, you have two choices: Say something useless or stay quiet.
After a period of intense activity and deep emotionnal and heroic involvement, many Tempest members felt the need to get some time away.
Coile left, cut all contact with his team.
When Freedom Corps informed Sword of Truth that the leader of the Silent Tempest was now without a license, the temporary leader of the team agreed to remove Coile from the roster (all Tempest members are registered).
While things are a bit unclear here, it looked some people at Freedom Corps were zealous to proceed in Coile license revokation.
However, Coile didn't reacted well to the news of being removed from the roster of the registered members of the team.
Again, the information about all of this spread like a wildfire between Andre and Nadia when actually, nothing could have happen truly.
Sometimes, fate helps a bit to move things ? Or is it fate ?
Facing what Nadia now see as hostility coming from Andre, she more or less abandonned the idea to patch up things or try to appease Andre.
Trying to change her mind, Nadia deicded to invite two friends for dinner, namely Diana Bright (Love Angel) and Malcolm (Mesoc).
But Diana, while happily helping in the preparations of the meal, made her strategic retreat and fled from the dinner scene quickly, invoking unexpected and mandatory schoolwork or other familial duties.
Such matchmaker tactic didn't prove to be useful however. While Nadia and Malcolm had their dinner together (due to Diana cowardly departure), it's finally only a loss for the "little brat".
An idea of having a party emerged in Nadia mind but the difficulty to get in touch with her team members recently made it impossible.
The Havoc brothers (Bone Fire Havoc and One Eye Havoc), using the Tempest base as a haven, had found a way to finally operate, concealed from view, outside.
One Eye helped Mesoc on the Kings Row riots problem.
Lately, Havoc (Bone Fire Havoc) decided to "stop hiding" and opted for Pocket D as his first night out since his revival. This, against Sword advice who was counseling to keep a very low profile and stay hidden for now.
With his brother One Eye (One Eye Havoc), Havoc had to run into Big Lunk and Echo Campbel from E.V.I.L..
Made aware of Havoc survival (revival) after Mugon (also from E.V.I.L.) attempts, Lunk renewed his threats while Echo barked at Sword, believing it was a proper way to get an answer.
Despite Havoc claims saying he "felt better" as he now stopped hiding, Sword soon expressed her angerness about this move, saying how it ruined many possibilities to learn more about Mugon while Havoc was believed to be dead.
However, Havoc was backed by One Eye and Fridan (Fridan V2).
Fridan is a warshade, according to his own terminology. Expressing his interest for the Tempest team, he had met Sword and Love Angel about half a week earlier.
However, the very nature of Fridan (a nictus-human hybrid), added to the fact he is following his instincts are making his presence in the team a bit unlikely on the long run.
From personnal reluctance to expected opposition, Sword still accepted Fridan offer to help, got him a communicator and access to the team channel. And now wait for feedback from other members.
The same can now be said about the Havoc brothers. Havoc and One Eye sounded to be willing to join the team.
One last guest at the Tempest base is Zian. Lost on our world, the girl was given shelter by Sword since they met in Pocket D.
Facing the possibility Zian might never find a way back home, Sword tried to persuade Zian to start thinking about her imediate future.
Zian, being a slave on her world, didn't really have a direction to follow.
Sword finally offered her to do menial tasks at the base or serve as a cook, all of this only to give something to do to Zian and hope she will learn and feel more at ease on Earth with time.
Time passes. Now it seems redundant to recap anything to do with Coile being held captive by EVIL or the Tempest virus even if the repercussions echo still.
After those events Coile has been very much on his own, with minimal contact to others. And I'm not quite sure what to write out about his whereabouts to retain IC surprises, and what can be told. Then again, I have included some crucial bits into a few stories that I have written meanwhile which makes utter secrecy more or less stupid, and also makes me being hidden from global friends needed less. So, I figure I can recap something but also leave some aspects vague. It's good to keep people guessing.
Raise what's left of the flag for me
"Hell says hello, well it's time to I should go
To pastures green, that I've yet to see
Hurry back to me, my wild calling
It's been the Worst Day Since Yesterday"
- Flogging Molly
Right after returning from the other dimension Coile was captured by EVIL. After they let him go he ended up in a quarantine until it was clear that he didn't have the Tempest virus either. Finally back in the normal life the first thing to do was to go to his wife who was, to put it mildly, ticked off by Coile having vanished for three weeks without much word. Things were patched up, for the moment, after a long discussion.
In addition to Melanie also some people in Tempest were angry and displeased about Coile and his way of doing things. Disrespect was the word Mesoc used to describe the situation. On the edge from all the stress Coile didn't react well to Bone Fire Havoc seeking asylum within Tempest while the man could not guarantee not taking innocent lives purposefully in his quest for revenge. The situation deteriorated and lead Bone Fire Havoc walking out much to the dismay of others who did not regard Coile as reasonable. Even Sword of Truth who had been the main reason of Coile taking his current stance altered her opinion to let Bone Fire Havoc stay, to be watched.
After the meeting Mesoc read Coile the riot act making the leader feeling quite unwanted and uncertain of his fitness to lead the team. While he maybe hoped for encouragement the only thing he got from Sword and Love Angel was the truth. Their recommendation was for Coile to take a month off. He agreed, seeing it as the only viable course of action.
This also made him feel rejected by the whole team. Maybe once upon a time he could have been more sensible about it but the deaths in Tempest, the deteriorating personal relationships to other Tempest members and the rather taxing exile in a hostile world made the bald emo kid too gloomy for his own good. After learning that Bone Fire Havoc had been murdered after leaving the base and been told in advance by some Tempest members that the blood would be in his hands if something happened he felt gutted and guilty, and decided not to make contact with Tempest. Meanwhile Melanie persuaded Andre to invite his dad over for a visit.
Being on his own Andre started to think about his life and goals. One thing that he had wanted to do for long but just somehow had failed to do with Tempest was go after Crown. Allying himself with Subaiku, the longest surviving comrade-in-arms from the very beginning he tranferred inside Hero Corps from counceling to intelligence division and started making real work towards bringing Crown down. A few days later also his co-worker 'Mitch' tranferred from counceling to intel.
One day Freedom Corp made a contact and asked if they could revoke Andre's hero license since he had lost his powers. Without much thinking, as is his way, Andre told them to go ahead. This lead to him being removed from Tempest roster and since the matter was cleared with Sword, it was marked as her order. The true reasons for this are in a powerplay inside a mysterious group called Hand of Andros in which Andre's father belongs. Who knows, maybe he even started it, a long time ago? In any case Andre saw the other love of his life stabbing him in the back, quite unexpectedly.
The wedge between Andre and the rest of the Tempest grew wider just as he stumbled into something interesting and useful. New means of carrying on with his work. Back home things were growing worse and the distrust between Andre and Melanie seemed to be on the rise, which initially prevented Andre from sharing the discovery with the woman he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with. Then a huge rift occurred when Melanie told Zirgei something that Andre considered to be a big secret and this directly lead Andre from telling Melanie nothing about his current schemes. The situation remains and the two haven't talked in ages.
On the Crown front things are moving and Andre has been visiting Rogue Isles in his cunning guise of Captain Carmine of Cardinal Force. He has also been visiting a [censored] bar a lot, and being on a blind date with a bunny man called Red Hand D. The less said, the better. However now the real intel channel about Crown affairs is open.
With his new means of offense Andre enlisted back into Octavo, his secretive Omega task force that has some insidious ideas about how to solve the Rikti problem. He did this knowing how badly he had been screwed by Octavo in the past. The motives for this can be a dedication to the goal or a lust for revenge. Who's to say?
After a talk with Melanie Zirgei has come to a conclusion that there is something seriously wrong with Andre. Either the giuy is not his son at all and has been replaced by something else along the way, or his mind has been tampered with. Whatever the case it caused Zirgei to distance himself from the man who claims to be his son and this set a malicious plan on a fast track. A small cabal inside Hand of Andros has now decided to move with their own plans and possibly start a war within the group of the rogue scientists. One pawn in this game is son of Zirgei, who is the leading force of the opposite faction.
As things now stand Andre is quite separated from almost all support that he previously had and is poised to take a sharp fall in the near future. Whether or not that is the final chapter of his tale remains to be seen.
Honestly, I can't yet see how it turns out. Maybe Andre patches things up with Tempest and returns as a leader. Maybe he is locked up in a lab someplace. Maybe he becomes a brainwashed assassin. Maybe he dies. Whatever the outcome I'll ride the high wave until the end and have a blast.
Apropos, and this is with the grain of salt about whether or not the tale comes to a sordid end within the next two weeks, I might be interested fleshing out my two NPC groups. Both Octavo (the militaristic superteam of weirdoes who all share a deep hatred towards the Rikti) and Hand of Andros (a collective of sharp minded immoral scientists within which a constant struggle for power is taking place) could become more interesting if even a few of the characters were directed by other players than me.
However, both groups have a strickly defined purpose and already introduced characters, so any of them would require going along with pre-set guidelines. This might be less exciting than it looks. Also, I am not quite certain if this is a good idea to begin with, so it might happen that I withdraw the idea. Also, as a GM of the said groups I should be OOC aware of most dealings that the characters engage in.
With those parameters, would anyone be interested? If so, reply on the Union Banter thread or send a PM, and we'll see if anything happens.
Relevant stories that set at least a part of the background can be found on Tempest forum in Shards of A thread, a few posts down from the top. The tales are: Face of evil, Need to know, Octavo, Riftwork, Back in the fold and Andre of Andros.
Scrollback
"Fall across the sky into the fear.
Cold star flies by, now we're here."
- Tarot
The pursuit of Crown has started. Red Hand D provided information about a location in Hollows where the low profile mystic cult Silver Crescent was after a powerful scroll. They would bring Crown forces with them as soldiers and this was enough to propel certain people into action. When the shadows grew longer in the decimated zone under constant struggle between various criminal elements Subaiku and a new hero called A-Struck met on a roof of a house and after ascertaining the location entered a building.
There they met Corvus Corone who was working for PPD and his interests were in getting possible bystanders out of a hot zone. As introductions were made a fourth person appeared, bearing only the name Nick. His main goal was to bust up Council troops that were the dominant force inside the large office building. In truth the insidious Night's Child was also after the scroll.
The place belonged to IP Speed Cargo, a transportation company that had been tasked with delivering the scroll out of city. That same scroll had been under the threat of capture already once in an auction house but the efforts of A-Struck and Phonos foiled the plans. Now there was a second attempt and it was perhaps possible to engage Crown troops directly. Prisoners meant information.
Enemies fell left and right as the quartet waded their way through the cannon fodder. One cargo company guard knew that two of his co-workers were still held somewhere and as the group advanced further into the offices in search of the remaining hostages everyone kept their eyes open for a suitably sized crate. Finally all civilian people who were in the house against their wishes had been liberated and the Council's Archon been taken captive.
While Nick interrogated the Council main man with constricting shadow tentacles A-Struck and Subaiku attended to another man that had been present. A badly beaten prisoner of Council's that belonged to another group. Crown. He didn't want to talk at first but Subaiku's ability to instill fear into the man's mind and dreams proved to be a powerful enough persuasion. He didn't know about Ripmind but the scroll had fallen into the hands of Crown already. However he knew where the strike team was headed. This was enough.
Corvus Corone was left to deal with the present situation while the rest three headed into a cave structure in Hollows. It seemed to be a Tsoo hideout and even after all the opposing forces had been quelled there was no sign of Crown anywhere. Not until a hidden door beneath a flimsy sheet of rock was discovered. A-Struck dug the door to view but the job of getting through of it was handled by Nick with his ominous, corroding darkness.
Behind the door was a jackpot. A crown safe house inside Paragon City. The regular gun toting goons fell swiftly enough but two super-powered operatives proved to be a tougher case. With their support waning mook by mook the end was inevitable. A-Struck and Subaiku were content to take Tigerstrike and Monsoon captives to be interrogated and Nick found the scroll. Even share, all agreed.
In a secret location somewhere in Independence Port the next morning came and with it the bleak reality for the two men who had remained cuffed throughout the night. They were faced with Subaiku who put the fear of death into them and Andre who seemed to be willing to make one of them an example of a messy demise just to persuade the other one to talk, if necessary. Luckily there was no need to find out if it was a convincing bluff or a real threat as Subaiku enhanced Andre's words with some apt feeling of doom.
The men ended up telling everything there was to tell that they knew about. List of full operatives, as they themselves were only on the rise, locations, times, plans. Not nearly everything to form a concise picture of Crown but a command structure nonetheless and enough details to plan further offensives on. Then there came the point of what to do with them, after their usefulness expired. Letting them go would have meant releasing criminals and also letting Crown on that they had been compromised. Turning them over to authoroties would have blown the secrecy open as well. Detaining them in a warehouse, two super-powered indivuals, was not feasible. Quite a dilemma. The result: both men vanished without a further trace.
Later on Andre gave a few orders for the future. For one they needed everything that was put on file about Crown in Silent Tempest databases, and they needed money in order to oprerate. Red Hand D wasn't working out of the goodness of his heart. Subaiku was left to go into Tempest base to gather the data and sometime soon she and A-Struck would start confiscating valuables belonging to criminals whom they would encounter during their strikes against Crown, and others.
There'd be a few paragraphs to write about Andre's mental, emotional and physical condition but I'm not going to. Instead I'll tie them into a nice ball and fling towards a hig hspeed fan. Estimated time of impact: tonight.
Intervention
Youre looking beat but you say: no, oh, no, no
Im all messed up and Im ready to go!"
- The Ark
It was late at night when Andre visited his home once more. Awaiting was his wife Melanie who unceremonously handed him a stack of papers and asked if Andre might want to sign them. Divorce papers. Andre tossed them away with some scorn. That night things never once got better from there.
After some shouting, snapping, accusations of drug usage and Andre being in general an insufferable [censored] Mel laid out three options. The first was to talk and offer a damn good explanation to the crappy way Andre had been treating her and in fact everyone else. The second was to get out of the house. The third was a somewhat more physical approach and Mel made it clear that only one of them would be left standing, perhaps alive as well.
A few words later Andre lied on the floor, arm bent in a lock and almost dislocated, forehead split open and bleeding. A few more insults from the man and well-placed hits by the woman later Mel dragged unconscious and beaten Andre to a guest bedroom and tied him up in a very professional manner. When he came to Andre proceeded to continue laying out the facts, like how he preferred Nadia to Melanie any day and offered a few hints about what really took place between him and Nadia in the other dimension.
Melanie had already gathered that something was more wrong than just Andre getting disillusioned and she called to Mesoc, the only Silent Tempest member available at the time. Then the bondage boy started to suffer from some rather violent seizures which sort of ate away the rest of his credibility about 'being alright'.
When Mesoc arrived he got his share from the man Mel had dubbed 'Andrevil', starting from his darker shade for a skin colour and continuing about his tenure as a leader of Tempest. At the same price Andre also expressed his less appreciative views on some other Tempest members calling them with names that Paragon Inquirer would have paid king's ransom for to hear about.
During the talks it had become evident that Andre was less disillusioned with Tempest and more or less hated them all straight, everyone except Subaiku. This made Mel quite suspicious and she instructed Mesoc to discuss the situation with Tempest but not letting Subaiku know that something was up, or that Andre had been secured. Also his weird requests to get to 'his suit' in order to help with his seizures were noted. Mel thought it equally possible that Grinning Nightmare had gotten to Andre than that Subaiku was messing with his mind.
Ropes were not an optimal way of holding anyone as being tied tight was bad for circulation. A straightjacket and cuffed ankles worked far better. A webcam for observation and unpredictable checkups made sure the captive stayed put until Xan and Love Angel came to pay a visit. Both were quite shocked about the way their friend and leader was being treated and Andre did his very best to convince that he was held there against his will for no good reason at all. And didn't use his previous death threats because it would have been counterproductive.
Instead he offered a theory that Melanie had stolen him away from Nadia only to get pregnant and was now holding him only because she knew that he would walk away, and possibly return to Nadia. However using expletives and the coldness seeping occasionally into facial expression as well as into the words made Xan suspicious and Angel scared. They were not going to just let Andre go as requested. Instead Xan insisted on taking a blood sample so that he could prove to Melanie that there was no drug usage and no reason to hold him there at all.
In the end, after a phone conference with Sword of Truth, it was decided to keep Andre where he was and not move him into Tempest base, much to his dismay. It would have been far easier for Subaiku to spring him free from there than from the penthouse. Being just a tad disappointed he voiced his opinions about useless friends and especially of Nadia whom he accused of betraying him, kicking him out of Tempest and otherwise being just a useless, selfish woman whose sacrifices in his behalf were worth nothing. Love Angel had not switched the phone off after the negotiations so Nadia got the words straight without middlemen.
During one of the seizures Xan took a blood sample even without a permission justifying it by the graveness of the situation. He proceeded to analyze the sample after Angel had left in tears, appalled by Andre's inexcusable behaviour. Through all the nastiness Andre maintained that these were his honest opinions about all the people he had once called friends, now he just had no reasons to hide them.
Melanie was a betrayer for telling Zirgei about Andre killing Nadia's clone. She was also a trickster for having stolen Andre from Nadia. Nadia on the other hand was an untrustworthy backstabbing fiend, Mesoc an usurper, Diana useless gutless friend, and among all the faulty, worthless ex-friends Subaiku stood tall and proud in Andre's mind, a true paragon of trust and friendship.
Meanwhile the mysterious, reclusive founding member of the Silent tempest had dreamwalked in Andre's mind and noticed troublesome alterations to how things had been during previous visits. She set out to conduct her own investigations, first about the battlesuit that Andre had been using for two weeks with the name A-Struck and then about his influential co-worker Mitch who was bound to know interesting details.
Elsewhere Xan's results from the samples were confirmed by an extensive analysis by Jane Bright - Andre was using several drugs in dangerous amounts, some of them affecting in how his body coped with the new form of combat that the suit offered and some affecting his mind. Also Subaiku had gotten a whiff, so to say, and smelled that Andre was being affected by some odorless gasous compounds from his suit. Mitch shed some needed light on the origins of the suit as well as his professional relation to Andre, and to a group that went by the name Hand of Andros.
It seemed that someone was out to get Andre, had manipulated him giving up the hero license, provided the suit and technical experts to get the A-Struck project going, had manipulated Tempest into seemingly kicking Andre out and feeding him drugs to some fiendish ends. The question was, how unwittingly was Andre involved in all this? Was he possibly acting out of his free will, after all? The other interesting question was all the hurtful spite that Andre had flung at anyone within earshot. Was it just some evil aspect talking, or were the words really his opinions, either subconscious or known?
As things were Andre would not be around to answer any more questions. He had figured a way to leave. After Dustine had taught him to whisper his wishes to the wind in order to contact her it had not required a great deal of intelligence (evidently, as Andre had thought of it) to try to use the same system for similar beings. Keening Banshee, known to her friends as Aria, was a fairy and had occasionally come to Andre's aid when called. Now he whispered to her, asked her to free himself from an unjust captivity.
And then he was on Talos Island, far away from his home in Founders' Falls. While Aria was freeing him from the shackles still binding him Andre briefly reflected on the amazement that Xan must have when his subject just blinked out of existence before his very eyes, and the rage of Melanie when the man she had tried so fiercely to protect found a way to escape. Then he was free!
He still needed his suit and Aria was his best shot at transportation. The kind woman who was worried over the health of her Lord Coile was more than willing to get Andre to Independence Port and to the suit that would save his life. Once there a more than mild shock was awaiting - the suit was gone. Beside himself and his flimsy facade of a man in need of help slipping he uncovered a second battlesuit, unmodified to bear his colours and insignia. Andre put the suit on but was left to discover that this other suit did not grant him with the feeling of intensity that the original did. This was of course due to the other suit being the only one equipped to dispense the powerful drugs.
Andre who now with the suit was A-Struck was aware of Aria's ability to interfere with his work, especially after his escape would spread the word how he was supposed to be a dangerous lunatic now. Such slander! He should maybe kill them all, but first serve Aria a stern warning not to cross his path again. When it began to dawn on the exiled fairy royalty that she had been entangled with something monstrous and foul indeed she sought to correct her mistake. That in itself was a mistake. Her status was upped from a possible nuisance to a genuine threat and the fight to settle the score then and there commenced.
Maybe Aria was used to how Coile would move in battle. However Coile and his mutant powers were long gone and Andre had acquired this incredible suit that made him an effective fighter in close quarters. Two well placed kicks downed Aria before she wished herself to be behind the metallic suit and used both forcefields and her enigmatic voice to throw her opponent off-balance. Andre tried to change tactics and feigning a broken arm to lure the compassionate woman closer. However there was no fooling her twice and slowly Andre got up.
Then all of a sudden he activated the rocket motors in his boots and catching Aria quite offguard rammed her straight at the wall. This knocked her almost out and she was unable to prevent it when the steely fingers closed around her throat and tightened the grip to squeeze the life out of her for good. At the last moment however the familiar repulsion towards taking a life emerged and the would-be-murderer jolted up. Shaken beyond reason Andre rushed out and vanished into the night leaving his trashed and still mortally wounded rescuer to lie helplessly on the floor.
Now he is out there, somewhere, mad as a crazed goblin on withdrawal. Are you sleeping safe and sound?
Jan Boa and Eco System caused havoc for Arachnos earlier in the week, leading their teams through Arachnos facilities and generally causing mayhem. When Jan let Eco know that she knew the location of Arachnos Agent Domonic, who led a raid into Eco's warehouse and confiscated his DJ'ing equipment, Eco went off like a man possessed, with Jan hot on his tail. The two wasted everything in their path, but Domonic was a strong one, and Eco sustained heavy injuries, and had to be knocked unconcious by his friend Tropic, and taken to Hospital, but not before beating Domonic's face into a bloody pulp, then the pulp into mush, all with a stream of F-words coming from his lips. Even Jan's boys were somewhat taken aback by Eco's ferocity.
Afterwards, Jan was less than happy in the state of her friend and lover, and her boys noticed this as she lead an expanded number of her forces into a Longbow facility to take down a Longbow Agent who had played her off against Arachnos for his own gains. Many Longbow agents fell in the all out attack, to both bullets and Jan's poison and fists. The agent was delivered to Arachnos with breaks in most of his appendages.
Luckily, all was well with Eco, apart from faking his own death to remove one of his previous aliases from the picture. In fact, just last night, Jan went back to Eco's place.
For a romantic dinner of being fed a live rat by the eco-terrorist.
Nowt like love in the Isles, is there?
Number Nine visited Madame Midknight and Dark Stone on saturday for a nice indian dinner, coming with a bottle of wine to give the couple, chatting and a gift from Jane of the latest MMORPG she's playing, as her continuned campaign of corrupting the gynoid goes on. Much talk was had, about synthskin, intolerence (Damn those stupid people, decrying the love between an older not-a-demon man and a mid-twenties undead geek) and children.
With Jane getting a little broody at the thought of raising a roleplayer from birth, reading bedtime stories from the monster manual and teaching the sprog how to count using DC checks and dice rolls. She insisted to Jared she wasn't though, and after Nene left with her new game and some hugs, Jane and Jared discussed bodily heating spells and the need or not for them, before the washing and drying up and general clearing away from dinner ensued, and a quiet night in for them.
Meanwhile on that Saturday, Nightschild took Alraune on a tour of the Golden Giza, which was one of the many things she was impressed with that night.
And after shopping for a new suit late Sunday evening, Dinah turned up for her job interview at Garden Jewels in Port Oakes, armed with her CV and a list of references, ready to impress prospective employer Roselin Thorne. She got the job.
Sometime over the weekend, Hikari-Hime and Juan Ross went to a 2-bedroom apartment in Steel Canyon, checking it out before deciding that yes, they do want this place, and after some discussion of who gets what bedroom (Juan and Mina going for the one that gets the morning sun, seeing as Isaac often works nights and doesn't want to be blinded trying to get to sleep.), the need for a new, bigger and possibly stronger bed (oooer 
), and whether to get a sofa bed or leather sofa, the two called friend/partner/general bad influence Isaac Anderson. seeing as he was the one putting up the deposit for the place, and the three met outside the estate agents to get the papers signed. Now just waiting for them to go through so they can claim their keys (Egad, 3 other sets need to be cut), the three headed back to their current domicile to speak with Sophie Reynalds, celebrate, look in many IKEA and other catalogues, and occasionally pinching Mina to inform her that she wasn't dreaming.
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look in many IKEA
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(( Please tell me you weren't thinking and that really IKEA hasn't penetrated North America. ))
Disclaimer: The above may be humerous, or at least may be an attempt at humour. Try reading it that way.
Posts are OOC unless noted to be IC, or in an IC thread.
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but most of the sites ON there arent blocked so you can save a list and test them out :) hope that helps
((Posting on behalf of the lovely Zortel!))
((Thanks to ShadowGhost for posting this, seeing as College has clamped down on me accessing the forums. Going to try and find a fix somehow!))
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www.proxy.org/cgi_proxies.shtml
of course your college probably does the same as my did and blocks that site