The Last Oddetsey

[kodster]

*Eudial makes no indication to leave this sordid group, though the thought of what her cohort would say if they saw her in such company makes her shudder (Mimete in particular would have much to poke fun at her about), and it is with an ill grace that she welcomes Gaunt back into the fold*

I thought you were destroyed. What happened to you...?

*Mimete's stupid face comes to the forefront of Eudial's mind, making annoying, taunting expressions; Eudial seethes and (in a cartoonish, caricature moment) imagines herself taking a mallet to Mimete and bashing her head in. She tries to push such things out of her mind as Gaunt rejoins the group*

[playzooki]

(I thought he was destroyed)

Playzooki looks out of the door.

[NWOWWE]

"What happened to me? Very little of interest I must confess. Though there are some very things going on here. That platform took me to a rather large and rundown room at the top of this mountain. Let me tell you however, there is a lot more going on here than you realize. There is a city back that way..."

Gaunt pointed down the path behind him.

"And there is something very wrong. There are giant forms and other obviously magical things putting all there effort into keeping a barrier up, and there is something coming this way. Something destructive."

Gaunt finished as dramatically as he could imagine satisfied he'd conveyed the general idea without giving away too much as to why he knew. Then he returned to his more friendly business tone.

"But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. I left that first room in such a hurry that I never introduced myself. I hope you won't mistake that for deserting the group, but it was dreadfully cold in there. My name is Leland Gaunt and I'm a humble shop-owner."

He decided to leave out the details of Earth Zero for the present and see what they knew.

"Since you've managed to find another way out from wherever we started from I hope you may have come across some details about what is going on. Unfortunately I wasn't able get more than what my own observation could tell me."

[kodster]

(mkay, from now on, I'll leave out the asterisks and try and role-play in a more novel format like the others, it's getting confusing for me :P)

"What happened to me? Very little of interest I must confess. Though there are some very things going on here. That platform took me to a rather large and rundown room at the top of this mountain. Let me tell you however, there is a lot more going on here than you realize. There is a city back that way..."

Gaunt pointed down the path behind him.

"And there is something very wrong. There are giant forms and other obviously magical things putting all there effort into keeping a barrier up, and there is something coming this way. Something destructive.

"But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. I left that first room in such a hurry that I never introduced myself. I hope you won't mistake that for deserting the group, but it was dreadfully cold in there. My name is Leland Gaunt and I'm a humble shop-owner.

"Since you've managed to find another way out from wherever we started from I hope you may have come across some details about what is going on. Unfortunately I wasn't able get more than what my own observation could tell me."

Gaunt's voice seemed to work its magic and goad Eudial into talking; nonetheless Eudial raised her eyebrows. "Hmph. Well in any case, Gaunt, you didn't miss much, except that..." Eudial shuddered again. "...that sideshow freak with the awkward fashion sense just sent out an alert upon our arrival. Apparently me and that... cat are threats too, although I gathered that I would be a threat." Eudial smirked. "I have no clue what the other prisoners are up to and to be quite honest I really don't care. I just want to get well shot of that Professor maniac."

There was a silence. Eudial sighed, knowing she'd have to introduce herself. "I suppose you'd want my aliases, huh? Well I've been given a full name, though it wasn't of my choosing. Now what was it..." Eudial had to pause and think for a moment... "It's been way too long since I've used it... agh... Oh! Oh yeah. Yuko Arimura, that was it. It was given to me by the leader of my group... I don't expect secrecy to go over well in this place, though, so you can call me Eudial. Named after a gemstone mineral, you see.

You want to know what I do? I collect energy. I may be human, but my home is not Earth. My goal is to collect energy for my home, the Tao Nebula, enough so that we may invade other galaxies..." Eudial smirked again, letting the words sink in. "Now, I only picked up my powers of fire quite recently, but I have already adapted to them, so I am not a mere inadept henchman, like some would like to believe." Eudial cast an arrogant glare in the other direction, presumably where Prof. Vengeance would be, far behind.

"So now you know who I am and what I stand for. All the same... it was that insolent Professor that triggered the alarm, so I think we should be wary of him."

Eudial frowned. "But now, what of this destructive force arriving?"

[majinb]

Aurelia glides downwards towards those still in the building. She tells them what she learned from Caspasian, what she saw, and how up above is a way out of their current location.

She also looks wary towards the Professor... a supervillain... this can't be right...

[playzooki]

(Destruction? That can't be good.)

"Yeah, tell us what this destruction magical thingy is. Oh, by the way, my name's playzooki"

[NWOWWE]

Gaunt took a few moments to ponder what Eudial had said and how best to continue. Plainly she didn't seem the type to value working with groups, but at the same time she did seem susceptible to his own brand of persuasion, at least to a degree. And that was a start.

"I can see you're not one to lose sight of the greater issue at hand, and that's a good thing."

Gaunt gazed back at the sky to locate the black speck and continued.

"If you look nearly directly overhead you'll see it: a very small black mark in the sky. I doubt very much if whoever is inhabiting this place would devote so much energy to protect it unless it meant serious bad news. As it happens I was making my to the city to try and find out more."

He returned his gaze back to Eudial.

"I'm rather glad I ran into you. It would be good to continue on in the company of anyone who looks like they can take care of themselves and it would seem we're heading in the same direction anyway since you don't wish to deal with that foul Professor any longer."

[kodster]

Eudial was only slightly flattered by the last words of Gaunt. She knew full well this was a demon, as she saw the thing vanish before her very eyes in the freezing room. And she knew the thing would leave her in the lurch in an instant. As it was, she had no inclination to notify him she knew of his true nature.

However... there was something odd about that voice... Eudial couldn't put her finger on it. It didn't seem like the sort of voice that would lead one to betrayal, be they good, evil, neutral or whatnot.

She continued to frown as she gazed up at the sky. Sure enough, as Gaunt had pointed out, a small black thing far, far above, barely visible. It almost, almost looked like her home nebula if you looked from Earth, but it was completely black, not red/purple. Unfortunately it only reminded her of the others in her cohort, especially that annoying, vile - !

Eudial shook her head quickly to squash out any thoughts of Mimete, and replied to Gaunt, "I have no real idea what to do. That thing is clearly not a good omen. Now... you. You are a very cool customer, but plainly you are holding a great deal back. Still, I think I will trust you, at least for the moment, since you do speak the truth. Now, where is this city?" She was eager to get as far away from the Professor as possible - would this be her downfall as much as staying nearby such a threat, though?

[alex_holt]

(The city is all around you in every direction, for the sake of argument, you are in a bit of a small courtyard facing into the mountain, once you leave it you will be able to see it)

[playzooki]

"Ah, i can see it now."

(Good, ive fully woken up and my sights not playing up.

[Max]

Spod does quite trust Gaunt as he doesn't really trust anybody but decides not to mention it.

"As everyone is introducing themselves, my name is Charlie Charleston but everyone calls me Spod. I come from the year 2145 but am over 500 years old. I don't like the look of that professor guy either, he seems far to full of himself and thinks he is so clever so will probably do something stupid. I wonder if there is anything useful in any of the buildins in this city you speak of Gaunt?"

[shadowflare]

Well, since everyone else has buggered off without so much as a "TTFN" - and since I am still the cleverest man left in the room

Marisa snorted a little at that statement.

I suppose we'd better follow me and get after them, hadn't we? Besides, there's still too many questions that need answering about this place. I don't like people wandering off, especially if they might be in on the whole gag.

Well, come along, come along! Best get our beastly dull introductions out the way as we go! Professor Vengeance, professional super-criminal, snappy dresser, frightful wit, Napoleon of Crime, etc etc etc. You get the general idea.

"Following you is definately better then staying here, definately." she said, "I'm Marisa Kirisame, ordinary magician, youkai hunter, store owner, botherer of armpit shrine maidens, apparently also a mushroomancer, and blah blah blah~"

She notices Khloe. "Oh dear, are you gonna be ok? Let's get outta here quick, it can't possibly be as cold as in here, right? Wherever the heck here is, anyway."

[alex_holt]

At this point a message blares through directly into the minds of all the party - apparently some psychic is involved.

SENTIENT BEINGS! PLEASE CLEAR THE MOUNTAIN AREA IMMEDIATELY - A TEAM WILL BE ARRIVING SHORTLY TO EVALUATE THE VOID-ARCHON. ANY BEING STILL PRESENT WHEN THIS HAPPENS RENOUNCES ALL ABILITY TO CLAIM DAMAGES FOR PROBLEMS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: EXPOSURE TO BIZARRE COSMIC ENERGIES, GOING MAD FROM THE PRESENCE OF BEINGS AS OLD AS TIME AND BEING ACCIDENTALLY FLATTENED INTO A FINE PASTE. I REPEAT, PLEASE RETURN TO THE CITY AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

[majinb]

Aurelia flies upwards:"I advice you to listen to that voice's advice and find your way to the city mortals. I, however, wish to observe what will occur here. My experience in heaven shall guide me through the cosmic energies and divine beings that could threaten you, my flight shall protect me from being flattened. Once whatever occurs is over, I shall join you in the city."

[alex_holt]

With her Angelic senses, Aurelia can detect a small line of floating figures approaching the mountain, the others should be off the mountain in plenty of time unless they are foolish enough to tarry. They are not human whatever they are, and slight variations between them suggest perhaps several closely related species from the same niche in different universes.