The Last Oddetsey

[andrewj]

"Vortigon, I am Cleo. Was it you who sent the telepathic message warning us to leave the mountain area?"

It suddenly occurred to her that she had left all of her items behind rushing out of the mountain. She noticed that Twitch had been struggling with his items too and decided that a bag would be useful to keep the contents of the metal casket in.

"Mr. Cucumberoo, do you have a bag that I could use, please?"

At that moment, a mouse scuttled into the room dragging a small carrier bag along with its tail containing the items that were previously in Cleo's tube.

"...Oh, thanks!"

The mouse responded by squeaking expletives that only Cleo could understand.

[shadowflare]

Marisa grabbed her additional belongings, put on the watch (and being momentairly facinated with the changing numbers. They just don't have stuff like this in Gensokyo!) and stowing whatever else she could in her pockets and in her hat. She then carefully reached into the bag just in case something neat came out of it. She didn't want to wreck the thing, who knows how long it's been sitting there. She may yet need a bag for her bag, but that can wait.

Probably.

She joined the others, and observed the goings on. stared at the Alakazam a bit. Weird fellow, with them spoons.
The Angel is awfully good with that bike too.
From there everything just kinda melted together in her mind, with the spoon guy telling angel lady to go to some club (It sounds like a neat place at least) and Vengance saying something about a relic, dumping his hat on poor Eudial and hoofing it out of there.

"Uhmm, bye?" Marisa called out as the prof took off, and then looked to Eudial, feeling a bit bad for the responcibility that had just literally been dumped into her hands.

"Do you fancy some a capella singing Vortigon?"

Oh dear. We're in a musical now. Marisa hurriedly assembled her thoughts and mumbled with a straight face, as if just realizing it, "Wow. This place is really weird, ze."

[playzooki]

Playzooki folded the jacket up, put it into his left pocket and zipped it up. He put all his l
other belongings in his right pocket, except the gun, which he carried.

[alex_holt]

The Cucumberoo brings another bag of holding appropriate for the psycat over. He also brings a collar with a tiny house built into the bottom of it for the accountant-mouse to live in. Why exactly he has these things ready and gives them away freely is a mystery of the universe.

"Cleo the Feline, you made quite the impressive dent in our composure field, and we apologise that we applied it to you, if we had known you were there we would have made sure to exclude you. However, as such we would like to extend an invitation to become a member of the Psi-corps, at the moment we could use a mind of your potency as I'm sure you can see. I would be honoured to show you around our headquarters to help you make your mind up if you want. You may bring 2 companions should you wish.

As to your question, it was another member of the Psi-corps, but not me personally, I believe possibly it might have been the Brain of Krull. She tends to be assigned to alert duty due to her projection range."

**********************

Marissa reached into the bag and pulled out... a strange clockwork fish made of brass. It appeared to be alive and not requiring water to live but flapped around helplessly.

**********************

*SOME TIME LATER, AT THE CATHEDRAL*

Vengeance strides up to the front of the Cathedral after a battle against the evil forces of Melded's bizarre public transport, which had involved a number of changes including a giant ladybird, a Da Vinci style helicopter, and, for some reason, a sledge pulled by aubergines.

The Cathedral is the biggest free-standing building that Vengeance has ever seen, and this for a man who has owned his fair share of massive secret complexes. It somewhat resembles what would happen if you took Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, multiplied it by the Taj Mahal, Notre Dame and an overgrown patch of brambles and had it be so massive that the stones of the first few floors had been compressed into crystals by the weight.

As Vengeance enters inside he discovers that the innards of the place are designed as as if was grown of great stone trees, and the floor was alive with a living mosaic which moved in radiant fractal patterns in brilliant colours spinning around a central hub in the centre of the room. Vengeance walked towards this hub cautiously, but even as he neared the centre point he suddenly began to grow dizzy until he could no longer distinguish anything... and then.... he was elsewhere.....

************************

[NFX]

The macaw gave a quick thanks to the Cucumberoo, returned to the casket, and began scooping the currency into his new bag. It was a relatively small bag, but then Twitch didn't have too much to carry around with him, and he was probably the smallest of the ragtag clan at the moment. It would definitely look wierd if the bag was larger than he was.

Eventually, all 100 pieces of currency were inside the bag, along with his stringed magnet and that cassette of whoever "Abba Gold" was. Grabbing the bag's handles with his feet, he suddenly shot up into the air, much further than he had intended. Twitch looked down at the bag, expecting it to be weighing him down at least a little, but it was like he wasn't carrying anything at all! He could have started raving on about it for some time, but his attention was caught at that point by a tinny rattling sound. Marisa appeared to have found a small clockwork fish from somewhere. Gliding down, Twitch landed alongside the fish, curiously examining its workings. "Where'd you find that?" he asked?

[kodster]

"Excuse me?! Who the HELL do you think you - "

But Vengeance was already gone.

" - are."

Eudial just stared after the Prof. in disbelief. She was now saddled with the responsibility... of taking care of a hat. A hat! And Vengeance, powerful as he was, would curdle her like fresh milk upon... upon the slightest nick in it.

Well, that boosted her confidence... not.

Eudial gazed at everyone else in amazement, but she could tell from their faces: better you than me. She wondered if the Prof. had purposely done this because of her earlier cowardice. An extreme longing to rip the hat into microscopic shreds pounded through her, and her hands trembled in boiling anger. What she would give to see the look on his face if she went through with her urge... !!!

...but no. A modicum of calm was passing through her, and she stopped shaking. No, blind rage wasn't the way to go here. Now wasn't the time for petty squabbles. The situation was too serious for that, and called for professionalism, even with all these freaks and yahoos around. And then an even better idea came to her mind; a devilish grin crept onto her face. Instead of tearing the Prof.'s headwear into subatomic particles, or scalding it into ash, she merely tipped it on her own head and put a hand to her hip, smirking.

"Not my usual choice for a hat, but it'll do," remarked Eudial. "Now, our next course of action..." She cast a withering look at Vortigon, still smirking.

[majinb]

Aurelia, standing besides Cleo now:"Exactly what would the Old Worlds Society desire from me, dear Alakazam?"

[shadowflare]

Marisa blinked at her newfound fish, she expected it to slip out of her hands but it wasn't slippy enough. But on the other hand it obviously wasn't dying either.

"Where'd you find that?"

"Oh, I pulled it out of my bag." Marisa said, still looking at the fish with mild shock, "I wonder what I should do with it. Maybe find him some water or something? Oh, but wait, it might rust, uhm..." not being able to think of anything else to do with it, she tried to pet it and see if it would calm down while half hoping the cucumberoo would point her to the nearest fish tank.

[alex_holt]

"I don't know that they would have a use for you, I'm just following the Star's request that I introduce you to them"

************************

Upon petting the fish it suddenly collapsed inwards in a neatly designed way into a small brass cube which seemed inert. A second tap brought it fully back to life again and it continued purposefully wiggling as before, though not in an especially stressed way.

[andrewj]

Cleo thanked the Cucumberoo for the bag and the collar and began to pack her collection of items together.

(Composure field... that must have been what I felt earlier. I guess I can't turn down the opportunity to meet some fellow psychics while I'm stuck here.)

"Okay, Vortigon, I would like to accept your invitation to look around the psi-corps headquarters."

Cleo assessed the others to determine who to take with her. The only members of the group that she hadn't really connected with yet were Eudial, Leland Gaunt and Playzooki, but she wanted to stay as far away from Playzooki as possible.

"I would like to bring Leland Gaunt and Eudial with me, please."

[alex_holt]

"VERY WELL"

The Alakazam's eyes being to glow brightly and the metal in the spoons it carries begins to ripple as if it were the surface of water. An instant later Cleo, Eudial and Leland Gaunt find themselves in somewhere entirely different as Alakazam uses some form of teleport to send them to the headquarters of the Psi-corps.

What they find is not quite as severe an environment as you'd expect, its an open plan area filled with ergonomic colourful seating. There are areas with games, books, and a private restaurant and a number of other amenities. Each individual seems to have their own personal little room - apparently each psychic gets their own little space to be at comfort in while they are working.

A few individuals are milling around - a huge being in a tank of orange gas is talking to a robed octopus headed creature, a Mewtwo is laughing (very creepily) at a joke made my a blue alien in a saffron robe. However you are approached by a young, attractive human woman who appears incredibly normal."

"Ah you must be Cleo and friends - welcome to the psycorps! We have much to discuss, would you follow me to my office? Please ask any questions on the way!"

_____________________________________________

Meanwhile the Vortigon asks who would like to accompany Aurelia to the Old Worlds Society.

[majinb]

"Dear Alakazam, I shall chose the ones known as Twitch and Marisa to come with me to what you call the Old Worlds Society, and they shall oblige!"

[alex_holt]

"Very well"

With that, Alakazam concentrates for a second and Aurelia, Twitch and Marisa suddenly find themselves elsewhere - in a house done up comfortably in a Victorian style will walls covered in all manners of bizarre objects - all dominated by the stuffed and mounted head of a T-rex at the end of the room. The room itself is furnished with a ring of twenty chairs or varying heights and sizes, and also a large pine tree where you could expect a 21st tree to be all around a doughnut shaped table where objects of interest or people presenting could stand.

Most of the ring of chairs are dusty, and only a small number appear to have seen recent use, with some the dust appears to be caked in to the point where you wonder if anyone has sat there in centuries.

A large figure walks into the room who looks somewhat familiar, although the fact they are clearly female and ancient and craggy looking is very much at odds with the one you briefly encountered.

"I am Spodra, and you could say I've been expecting you - welcome to the Old Worlds Society!"

__________________________________

Meanwhile Khloe and Playzooki are left back at the church, and with the Alakazam seeming done with his task he looks ready to teleport away, however, just as he begins to enter the pose for doing so, he freezes for an instant, and suddenly an entirely different voice comes out of its mouth. Or more precisely, dozens of a voices trying to speak at once, and bickering with each other before meeting a consensus.

"Mortal oooonnnes, we have not much time, but we offer you an opportunity and ask a favour. Seek out the the PantheUrn, and smash it to little pieces and perhaps you might be able to survive all of this"

It then simmers back down into bickering before the Alakazam, seemingly oblivious to what just transpired, teleports away, leaving Playzooki and Khloe at the church.

[majinb]

A large figure walks into the room who looks somewhat familiar, although the fact they are clearly female and ancient and craggy looking is very much at odds with the one you briefly encountered.

"I am Spodra, and you could say I've been expecting you - welcome to the Old Worlds Society!"

Aurelia wonders exactly what this figure is somewhat familiar to.

[alex_holt]

OOC: Aurelia doesn't remember a certain missing party member?