-krssssssht-

[Mendi-chan]

*Backing through he checks the other two files briefly, searching for anything that looks to be of value.*
These guys have quite the racquet going on, it would appear... But there's gotta be some dirt in here somewhere.

[Vomica]

Merah gets a bit flustered at that hug! She realizes she's getting sympathy for something that isn't necessarily true. But... she can never deny an embrace, and so she nestles into that snug, then squeezes the woman in return. After a second she pulls back, "...I know about living machines, but I..." She shakes her head, "...I can't remember what's going on..."

The girl says, "I think I got hit in the head, or something!"

[Anonymouse]

--CTC, A Rational Response--

Kirk flashes the woman another shining smile, and offers her a hand, nodding to Peggy. "We won't be long, Peg! Just going for a little...walk."

Assuming that the scientist takes his hand, or at least his lead, Kirk whistles lightly, stretching as they part from the other three. "So...uh, what do you think of sublimation, miss...ah--I'm sorry, I didn't catch your first name?"


Peggy meanwhile looks between them, clearly excited to be left alone with the two boys! She gives them a biiig smile,

"So, uh, while they're gone, wanna go get some ice cream? I totally know a great place!"


--Blaze, Chronicle of Magic--

The words seem to echo through her, coming not from her throat, but the core of her body, building and burning...before, with a -BOOM-, fie seems to helix from her weapon, curling through the air like a beautiful burning snake, striking the creature square in its side, and sending it skreeching and tumbling, black blood sizzling onto the blacktop!


--Chisame, Chronicle of Art--

Ah, sharp objects, the most wonderful of weapons! Dashing forward, her shoes getting slick with paint, the girl leaps...and is met by the creatures clawing hand trying to snatch her mid-flight! Oh nooo


--Mendo, Chronicle of Chance--

'Games' seems to be a number of, well, games, like one might expect--from roulette to poker. They're all stacked a bit in the casino's favor, but then, that's normal, isn't it?
Salvage is...a bit more interesting. Somehow, it seems to be the case that this casino is built on something of a dimensional fracture--one which things sometimes tumble through. Like himself, for instance. To be converted into staff, prizes or games-. Waste not want not, after all...


--Merah, Chronicle of Smoke--

The woman tilts her head very slightly to the left. "...Well. That kind of thing can happen in high-pressure situations..." She frowns, and shakes her head. "Did you see any of..these, in action?" She motions to the dead, or mostly dead machines. "Most people don't like to remember that."

[Blaze]

Blaze's jaw drops at the spiraling fire streaks from her wand and impacts on the beast!

"H-Holy crap!"

[KonokoHasano]

Ah, sharp objects, the most wonderful of weapons! Dashing forward, her shoes getting slick with paint, the girl leaps...and is met by the creatures clawing hand trying to snatch her mid-flight! Oh nooo

Yeeps as she closes her eyes, pushing the sharp object forward towards the hand that was coming for her!

[Vomica]

Merah slowly shakes her head at that, "I'm afraid I didn't. The last thing I remember was this explosion and then, then Shrapnel pulled me into her jeep." The girl looks up at the woman for a few seconds, down to the bots, and up to her for a second "How did this all being? Honestly? ...do they have a command structure? And... what state is the rest of humanity in...?"

[Jello Shot Mischa]

--CTC, A Rational Response--

Kirk flashes the woman another shining smile, and offers her a hand, nodding to Peggy. "We won't be long, Peg! Just going for a little...walk."

Assuming that the scientist takes his hand, or at least his lead, Kirk whistles lightly, stretching as they part from the other three. "So...uh, what do you think of sublimation, miss...ah--I'm sorry, I didn't catch your first name?"


Peggy meanwhile looks between them, clearly excited to be left alone with the two boys! She gives them a biiig smile,

"So, uh, while they're gone, wanna go get some ice cream? I totally know a great place!"

The doctor follows Kirk's lead, although she doesn't take his hand. "It does seem like an intruiging community," she admits. "As I said before... I have a number of questions about how it came to be, and such. Even the name is a rather interesting choice -- while psychology isn't my strong suit, isn't sublimation typically a sort of a defense mechanism where socially unacceptable ideations are converted into more acceptable forms of behavior?" She chuckles. "Of course, a name is just a name... And speaking of which, my full name is Erika Serilde."

She pauses, tilting her head as she looks at Kirk curiously. "So what did you wish to discuss?"

Meanwhile, back with Peggy...

Sergeant Meinhard lets out a soft chuckle. "Sorry, ma'am, but I'm currently on a diet."

Private Leverett feels somewhat confused, however, wondering exactly what he's supposed to do. "Er... what kind of place is it?" he asks.

[Mendi-chan]

*The ninja furrows his brow... Dimensional fracture?... Well, if that thing was inside the casino grounds then he could use it to escape. Hopefully... He tries to see if there's any information on where the fracture is located, and checks to see the full list of "staff" and "prizes" procured through the anomaly*

[Anonymouse]

--Blaze, Chronicle of Magic--

The beast's claw digs into the ground next to it, pushing it up, its black eyes glittering dangerously in the midday sun, as the ground all around it is stained dark with its blood.The other girl...squees!

"Oh wow, you did it! Great job!"


--Chisame, Chronicle of Art--

There is a sickening -SKLURP-, as she feels the handy object of sharpness--presumable the broken off leg of the easel--impale its hand, eliciting a roar of fury as the creature jerks back!


--Merah, Chronicle of Smoke--

The woman purse her lips, frowning.

"Such big questions from such a small girl...but, ah. These are what we've termed the 'Relentless', for fairly evident reasons."

She motions to one in the far corner which is jerking lightly even now.

"I...we're still not sure where they came from, or why, but it's been nearly two years now since the first of them started appearing. Far as we can tell they're getting their commands relayed somehow from a complex to the far south--where the City of Lights used to be--but we haven't been able to find what wavelength they're communicating on, if any. As for humanity, well..."

She waves a hand.

"Depends where you live. We've lost communication with a lot of places to the south now, and more people are starting to even evacuate Mupheen even as we speak, though the city hasn't been touched yet."

--CTC, A Rational Response--

Kirk gives the doctor a...look. It's hard to read Worry?

"You're a smart one. But...well, yeah. That's the basic idea. Or, it was. See..." He frowns. "There was an independent research group that made their way here, following faint readings of an...otherwordly source of power.The idea was that it could be used to stop crime--convert dangerous impulses into healthy ones." He shrugs. The...power source had other ideas."

Peggy brightens at Leverett's question. "Well, an ice cream place, duh! We have chocolate, vanilla, and swirl, c'mon!"

She giggle, tugging lightly at his arm, pressing against him.


--Mendo, Chronicle of Chance--

Unfortunately...the where doesn't seem to be clear. The list however is illuminating. He's on there, for one--as is Entropy. Most of the rest of it seems to be a hodgepodge of items that don't mean a whole lot to him--strange otherworldly gizmos and paraphena--

"Snooping, are we?"

The voice is coming from the door--it's the man from before!

[Blaze]

Blaze looks more than a little proud of herself, but glares at the beast.

"Celebrate later. Let's finish this thing off first."

[Jello Shot Mischa]

--CTC, A Rational Response--

Kirk gives the doctor a...look. It's hard to read Worry?

"You're a smart one. But...well, yeah. That's the basic idea. Or, it was. See..." He frowns. "There was an independent research group that made their way here, following faint readings of an...otherwordly source of power.The idea was that it could be used to stop crime--convert dangerous impulses into healthy ones." He shrugs. The...power source had other ideas."

Peggy brightens at Leverett's question. "Well, an ice cream place, duh! We have chocolate, vanilla, and swirl, c'mon!"

She giggle, tugging lightly at his arm, pressing against him.

Professor Serilde notices Kirk's look, and listens quietly as he starts to explain where Sublimation came from. "Interesting..." she murmurs. "We'd detected a source of power towards the center of this island, but hadn't been able to determine any details about it. You say it comes from an 'otherworldy' origin?" She strokes her chin. "Although it sounds at least semi-sentient..."

Her eyes narrow a bit, and she glances sidelong at Kirk. "Is Azurus related to this power source, by any chance? And were you and Peggy both members of this team you mentioned?"

Meanwhile, Private Leverett hesitates a bit. "Err... but we shouldn't get too far away from our friend," he explains, his body armor not quite able to completely prevent him from feeling the heat and pressure of Peggy's body pressing against his. "How far away is this ice cream place?"

[KonokoHasano]

--Chisame, Chronicle of Art--

There is a sickening -SKLURP-, as she feels the handy object of sharpness--presumable the broken off leg of the easel--impale its hand, eliciting a roar of fury as the creature jerks back!

Managing some rather fine acrobatics off of the embedded easel leg, Chisame leaps off and kicks the creature's orb!

[Mendi-chan]

*Mendo turns back around, greeting the man with a smile*
Snooping is such an awful world... Learning, perhaps, is more appropriate.
But that aside, we apparently have some more business to attend too. You've caused some trouble for an old friend of mine, and I'll have to address that...
*He takes a few steps closer to the man*

[Vomica]

Merah just watches the woman talk with wide eyes, slowing taking it all in. After she finishes, the teenager just stares in disbelief for a second "Did you say 'Mupheen'?" She then looks down at the ground, and up at the woman "I... I think I get it now! What happened!" She narrows her eyes, and murmurs something about trans juxtapositioned dimensions beneath her breath. The girl peeks up once more, "Tell me. Where is this Mupheen city located on the globe?" The tone she uses is direct, and very different then her normal demeanor.

After a few seconds, she adds "And it's possible they are not communicating on any wavelength, there exists far many different forms of communication -- the four natural forces of physics are not the only forces that exist."

[Anonymouse]

--Blaze, Chronicle of Magic--

The girl blinks. "Oh! Right-right! C'mon--we can do it in one blow! Hold my hand."

She holds out her hand--the one with the mace in it still.


--CTC, a Rational Response--

Kirk swallows dryly, and gives a little nod. "Azurus...is the power source, yes. And...as I said, it had other ideas."

He lowers his voice. "I had to pull you away because if only the two of us, Azurus will probably be paying more attention to the larger group of minds--more of a...psychic imprint, if you understand. I'm not the expert, I fear...but, the project leader, Professor Margaret Zero..." The man shakes his head. "Well, you've already met her. I was just a project assistant."


Meanwhile, Peggy blinks. "Oh, uhm....Like, not far at all!"

The buxom blonde wiggles in closer. "And it's nice and frosty!"


--Chisame, Chronicle of Art--

The orb cracks again, this time more severely! The girl can see something else--a smaller orb, more sedate, and about teh size of a fist--floating within....but she may also see one of the creature's claws snatching at her!


--Mendokusee, Chronicle of Chance--

The man tut tuts...his hand sliding into his pocket.

"Does the phrase 'emergency shutoff switch' mean anything to you, my robotic friend?"


--Merah, Chronicle of Smoke--

The woman raises one eyebrow, giving Merah...a look.

"On the globe...? It's fairly central in the P'aztrelands. I could get you a globe, but I'm sure you've heard of Mupheen...? What are you talking about?"