Finn keeps pondering buying a Mac. "I could care less about system 9, but OS X is pretty keen. It's Unix. That rocks. And it's not PC hardware. That rocks too." Kanna OOCly be now ready. John SCREAMS EVIL CURSES AT FTP!!!!!! John froths, chewing off his own limbs. John says, "Okay, Phil, let's rumble." ====== ====== You page, "Oh, on the me-art page... you forgot to put up the Kanna sparring with Julia Diggers pic (which -is- continuity), and the Julia-duelling-with-Juri pic, which isn't quite continuity but has a better chance nowadays." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Aaargle." to you. ================================= ================================= You wake up the next morning. Your roommate, Naru, is up and getting dressed at the moment. "Good morning, Kanna." Kanna mrrrrgs, yawning and stretching as she sits up from where she crashed the previous night, still in her clothes (but not the jumpsuit.) "...myargh.... mornin', Naru..." Naru says, "I'll be heading down to Breakfast in a few minutes. Want me to wait for you?" Kanna nods, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, and stretching more. "'d be appreciated..." She smiles a bit. "Still don't have the hang of the layout 'f the place; 'mazed I managed to get to the room last night." Kanna rummages in her pack for a fresh change of clothes. Naru says, "Alright." She plops down on her bed, having finished getting dressed. "I hear things got a lot more exciting with you guys than with us." Kanna does the thing of getting changed into fresh clothes, stripping out of her gi and tights and wrinkling her nose. "... must find laundry service down here..." She looks up, and hehs. "To put it mildy..." She shakes her head, and sighs. "Man... don't know WHAT some of Serpent's Horn was thinking... we were able to get to the prisoners, but ... they were all rigged to explode." Kanna shudders at a memory. "Primal Chaos bombs in all of 'em. If it hadn't been for Robert Wapole warning us, we prolly wouldn't have thought to look..." Naru laughs. "I'd never have imagined Robert Walpole saving anyone's life. Unless he got paid for it, anyway." Kanna hehs a bit at that, pulling on her fresh clothes. "Well, we didn't know he was originally down there in the -first- place... Uncle Miki went to tell Aunt Nanami, tho, so we'll see what happens on that front. Mebby this'll help me and Bey and Lian with our 'little' KTC problem..." She shrugs, sits down, and pulls on her boots (okay, so she removed those last night, as well.) Naru nods. "I hope so. So what are you planning to do now? Are you going tohead back to Amber or stick around here a while?" Kanna hrms, thoughtfully. She scratches her cheek before stuffing her dirty clothes in a special section of her pack. "Not quite sure, Naru... part of me wants to take a long-deferred vacation in fast time before the -next- set of crisises come up... but I also want to check that things are okay down here, touch base a bit more on some issues brought up with the assault from yesterday... by midday, I should have a better idea what I'll be doing." Kanna looks down at the sheathed Merehallow. "... though at least one task definitely comes to mind..." Naru nods. "Well, I hope you have more luck than Morgan did with that." She sighs. "That sword hasn't brought any of its bearers much good fortune so far." ===== ===== The_Prof pages, "You gonna want company?" to you. The_Prof pages, "After *almost* making it there, I admit I'm curious to see it finally, and to meet her..." to you. You page, "Probably, yes. :) (I'm thinking Kanna, Bey, Lian, Lily, and Naussica. Departure for Cathuria will likely be after the fast-time vacation, which should be somewhere between wrestling match and Grand Convocation, or a little after.)" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Well, Bey's staying for the Grand Convocation as long as Lily doesn't mind." to you. You page, "Then prolly right after that, likely. As Kanna might need to toss a brick in the abyss, etc." to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "John seemed to want him to stay... which could be interesting, or could be nervous-making. ^_^" to you. ===== ===== Kanna hrms, and unsheathes her loaner sword, setting it aside. She shifts Beryllina from Ring form to 'Hackmaster' form, and sheathes it in the loaner sword's sheath. "... No kidding. Though I suppose Morgan thought she was doing what she thought was best, but...." She shakes her head. "... all for a riddle game. Or taking out other people before they reached the Tower... but those all are might-have-beens." Naru nods. "Yep. Well, the mess is all cleaned up now, as much as it ever will be." Kanna says, "And, for what it's worth, we gained potent allies, and Daffyl now helps guards the borders of the World with Phoenix." ===== ===== Akemi pages, "Did your advances. You goteverything" to you. You page, "*blink* Including Shadow Short Cut?" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yep." to you. ===== ===== Kanna pulls on her sword-belt, and hangs both Beryllina and Merehallow on the one side, caine dagger sheathed on the other, and after a moment's consideration, slings the loaner staff on her back, along with her pack. "Right. Well, I'm ready as I'll ever be... I'll probably have to borrow Bey's bag for a bit to get some of my gear back and return some of my loaner stuff. Lead on towards Breakfast, Naru." She smiles, looking better refreshed already. Naru nods. "Alright, let's go get some food." You head down to the breakfast area, which is remarkably empty. Perhaps most people had food sent to them or something. However, Shinobu Major is here. She waves to the two of you. Kanna hehs, and waves to Shinobou Major as she goes and gets breakfast -- food, and lots of it. "Heya, Cousin Shinobu... how'd it go on your end?" Shinobu Major says, "Well, it was perhaps the worst battlefield for Cavalry I've ever suffered through. More of a siege operation, really. And, as it was, they gave up before we got to breach their walls. All in all, a success though." She continues, "Have you met Lian's furry boyfriend, Kanna?" Kanna ughs a bit at that, but nods. "Sounds like it..." She then grins. "Thropan? Yeah, I introduced her to him." Kanna says, "Thropan's a cool cat, if I do say so myself. They're well-matched." Kanna then blinks. "Wait. You've -met- Thropan?" Shinobu Major blinks. "Oh, didn't realize that. He and Lian helped me and Touga deal with a Red Death infestation in Arden. And Tylor's appointed me acting Warden of Arden until the current crises or over, or until I'm really needed to direct cavalry." She blinks. "Um, yes, I met him." Kanna blinks at that, and grins. "Hadn't realized she was going to get Thropan and you to help her out... and congratuations. How'd the cleanout go?" Shinobu says, "The turtles have pretty much finished off the last of it, although we managed to sort of...umm...lose some of Arden's air supply." Kanna blinks, and winces. "-ugh-." She sighs. "This just has NOT been a good year for Arden, damnit." She groans slightly, and munches some pancakes. "How'd the air loss happen?" . o O (Turtles? Sounds like Lian's doing...) Shinobu says, "I believe that Vector responded poorly to having multiple logrus tendrils inserted into one of his boomtubes. He was knocked off line and a rift to deep space opened. Naru winces. "Ugh. Thus causing the air loss?" Kanna says, "..." Shinobu nods. "It was ugly. Touga had to use the Eye of Metal to close the rift." Kanna says, "-argle-." Kanna says, "Well, I'd have to say -somebody's- playing for keeps up there..." She shakes her head. "I hope to hell Lucien's up to dealing with this... has Uncle Miki or Duchess Yumi been informed yet? As this gives added weight to the possible Bloc-Chaos connection." Shinobu Major says, "Well, the Red Death is not itself Chaosian in origin, so far as I know; it seems to have Outsider connections." She continues, "Although it may well have been given to the Bloc by Chaosians." Kanna nods. "I knew that much, yeah. There's arguments for both. But the presence of the Red Death... massive Logrus use..." She shakes her head. "Definitely need to relay this some more, perhaps hunt down Motoko or Moriya, as I don't think I'll be able to hang around here for too long." Kanna eats more food. Shinobu Major nods. "Well, I've told the King and Queen and I told Miki about it during the operation." Kanna says, "Okay, cool." She nods. "I'll see what I can do about finding Motoko or Moriya and relaying the info..." She looks around the relatively-empty breakfast area. "... which will prolly take some hunting." She quirks a slight smile. Shinobu nods. "I suspect a lot of people simply haven't gotten up yet." Kanna says, "Yah." She eats more food, looking remarkably more content as she finally fills up. Shinobu Major eats for a while, then asks, "Oh, did you hear about the naval battle in Ashante?" Kanna blinks. "No... I'd heard rumors of raiders down there with working cannon, but not the outcome of that, since that was about the time Uncle Saionji got kidnapped." She scratches her cheek. "Most of my past few months have been running around Shadow, haven't been able to keep up with Golden Circle news." "Apparently, Yamamoto botched things up and got his ass handed to him on a plate. He even lost his trumps, and so it wasn't until his boat drifted up to Five Mirror City in Hang-Kung that anyone found out what happened." Kanna facepalms. "that's.... -bad-. Argh." ===== ===== The_Prof pages, "Damn. Now I feel even worse." to you. The_Prof pages, "Must not let Lily kill me... must not make Lily kill me..." to you. ===== ===== Shinobu says, "And the Northern fleet's busy with the Sea Peoples and can't help. And the Ungols have invaded Cathay again." Kanna groans. "Damn. I'll have to see if Ember can free up any resources from the Lava or Plasma fleets to aid Amber... though I don't know what current Lava Circle developments are, -either-." She sighs, and sits back to chug some orange juice. Kanna says, "Or... I don't know..." She hrms quietly, lookign thorughful as she scratches her cheek with her free hand. Shinobu says, "Not a clue myself as to what's up there. Just keeping track of Amber is as much as I can manage." Kanna hehs a bit, and nods. "Don't worry 'bout it." She hrms, cleaning off her plate. "Pyricorn and Serpent knows with everything going on these days it's hard to keep tabs on -everything-..." She chuckles softly, stands up, and stretches. There is an odd whirring noise somewhere behind you. Shinobu Major, who is looking past you, stares off at whatever it is in confusion. Kanna blinks, and turns around. "Eh?" ===== ===== You page, "(oh, am I still in Good Stuff?)" to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Yes." to you. You page, "Cool." to Akemi. ===== ===== You see 790 floating in the air with a small rotating helicopter blade coming out of the top of his head. He has a human-scaled arm attached to the bottom of his neck. "Kanna, beloved of my creator! There you are!" Kanna says, "..." Naru begins to laugh. Kanna exclaims, "790, what are -YOU- doing here?!" 790 whirs over to you. "I am supposed to..." His eyes glaze over. "Gaze upon your beauteous visage until my visual sensors melt from PURE DELIGHT!" Kanna stares, clearly surprised at 790 even -being-, you know, down in the Courts of Chaos. ===== ===== The_Prof pages, "Oh, this is gonna be just *too* much fun for you... ^_^ John did bring the first Lexx movie over last weekend, so now I know the true evil." to you. You page, "Oh joy and rapture.... :)" to The_Prof. You page, "(I am not bringing 790 along on the vacation.)" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Dang straight. :)" to you. ===== ===== Kanna looks like she wants to facepalm. Instead, she snaps her fingers in front of his optics. "Yo, 790, what -are- you doing down here?" Kanna says, "Not that I'm flattered that you somehow managed to get all the way down here, but..." "I am hovering in the air, approximately 3 feet off the ground, utilizing principles similiar to a helicopter!" Kanna says, "Besides that." "I am observing the most beautiful and intelligent lifeform in all the universes!" Kanna coughs, and blushes a tad at that. "I mean, -besides- the obvious, 790." She quirks a grin. "After all, last -I- knew, you were up in Ember.... save that now you're here. You sightseeing, or trying to relay a message?" 790 blinks and his eyes clear. "I am 790-A, sacred messenger of love and shadow messenger servant of 790-Prime! Yes, I have a very important message for you..." His eyes glaze again. "Hair red like a dancing flame...lips so soft and kissable..." ==== ==== Motoko OOCly sings "Robot Love" to the tune of "Muskrat Love". ==== ==== You hear more whirring noises in the distance. ===== ===== The_Prof pages, "Frito> Akio snickers. "Giving 790 a body was one of my better ideas."Frito> Bishou says, "Yes, nearly as good as wrestling the Logrus in a steel cage."Frito> Akio says, "No idea will ever be that good. ^_^"" to you. You page, "*sigh*" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "I wonder if we can find a local cult that's skilled at reprogramming while he's down here..." to you. The_Prof pages, "Good an idea as any." to you. ===== ===== Shizumaru pages, "Send me a log of this. o.o I'm heading home now. :)" to you. You page, "That I will. *wl*" to Shizumaru. ===== ===== Kanna . o O (Oh Dear.) Kanna looks at Naru and Shinobu Major. "Either of you got a kercheif or bandanna on you?" Shinobu Major passes you a bandanna. Kanna takes the bandanna, and expertly ties it around 790-A's head so it covers his optics. "Okay. Now. Message please, 790-A?" Kanna . o O (Perhaps if he can't see me, he won't zone.) Two more 790 heads with arms whir into the room. They seem to be battering each other with their arms. "No, I will deliver the message! No, I will!" Kanna NOW facepalms. Kanna whistles, sharply. Kanna exclaims, "Boys! BOYS! Calm down, stand down, I've got an easy solution!" 790-A says, "Oh, yes, the message." There's a brief pause. "Prince Lucien, because he can't even manage to go to the bathroom by himself, and since he's so pathetic that Derith would be crying in shame if he wasn't dead, has turned to me, since I am not pathetic, to ask you to come to his aid so that he doesn't die horribly trying to recover Annadil's giant underwater war machine. I beg of you to come and help him, because if you don't, then he'll likely get killed, and I'll be stuck watching over his stinking corpse and never see your lovely face again." ==== ==== Lucien OOC reaches through shadow and mallets 790-A ==== ==== The other two 790s stop fighting. "Kanna!!!!!!" They zoom over to you. Kanna blinks at that, and then rubs her brow. "Oh, right, that. Where is he now, in Shadow or still in Amber? And has there been any word from Lian?" She groans, inwardly. Kanna . o O (here comes the prioritization headache again...) ====== ====== The_Prof pages, "Yah. ;_;" to you. You page, "oh, for only a day or so of delay... as Kanna would REALLY LIKE that vacation now... :P" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Yah. Like I said, 'don't make Lily kill me'... as I suspect she would if Bey put off the vacation one more time. As when Bey hears about Ashante, he's going to be strongly tempted to rush off and try and fix things." to you. You page, "Might have to push vacation to right after Steel Cage Match, but before Convocation... with Fast Time, IC, it'd be feaesable. *pause* Of course, nobody ELSE will be willing to WAIT for us to adress the business IN the fast time vacation. :P" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Yah. x.x Gonna have to make the vacation after the convocation... it's tomorrow game-time, anyway." to you. The_Prof pages, "Yah... But it can wait until after the Convocation, really." to you. ====== ====== 790-A says, "Lian was fighting fungus in Arden the last I knew. But 790-L is the one supposed to find her, not me. Lucien has gone off into shadow to find some mages to help protect his miserable ass from being annhilated." 790-A continues, "Or he may just be looking for cheap sex. Pattern's good for that." ===== ===== Lucien OOC growls and makes Greyswandir take on mallet form ===== ===== 790-A says, "You'd think four women would be enough, but some people want a harem, I guess." The other two 790s buzz about, trying to get your attention. Kanna says, "Ah." She nods at this, ignoring the harem comments. "Well, if he can afford to wait a day or so, I may be able to assist... the situation down here has developed differently than what I expected, and I need to touch base with several people before leaving Chaos for a while." Kanna then looks at the other two 790's. "Yes?" ===== ===== Autolyca pages, "Mistake! Don't encourage them! :)" to you. You page, "Well, she doesn't know if they have different messages. *wl*" to Autolyca. ===== ===== The second 790 says, "That fink! I wanted to deliver the message to you! But he sicked a bunch of serpents on me, and I got slowed down!" The third says, "Liar! You were supposed to take the message to Shinobu Major! I was supposed to go see Kanna!" The first says, "You were supposed to go find Naru, whoever that is, you idiot! I'm the one supposed to find Kanna!" They all start bickering loudly. Naru is laughing and laughing and laughing. Kanna WHISTLES. "YO! 790-A, C, D, WHATEVER -- PLEASE BE QUIET!" she veratibly bellows. Everything goes quiet. Except for hysterical Naru laughter. ===== ===== Rod pages, "well, if kanna's had doubts about her feminine allure, having a horde of 790s calling her the sexiest thing in the realities certainly can't hurt :)" to you. ===== ===== Kanna takes a deep breath. She picks up the second 790, and puts it in front of Shinobu Major. "This is Shinobu Major." Kanna then directs the third 790 in front of Naru. "And this is her daughter, Naru." That 790 says, "Ahh, Princess, I have a message from Prince Lucien for you." The third one says the same thing to Naru. Kanna then looks at 790-A, pointing to him. "And as for -you-... if it is at all possible for you, please relay to Prince Lucien that I will get in touch with him as soon as I get various affairs settled in both Chaos and Amber, hopefully within two days time, or a little more. If he wishes to discuss further before then, once I am in Shadow proper, he can trump me. I do wish to assist him, I -will- see things through as I have promised, but I also have missions of my own to accomplish, and only a limited amount of time to perform them in." She pats the hilt of Merehallow. 790-A says, "Yes, beloved Kanna, goddess of infinite sexual ecstasy! I will faithfully relay your message!" 790-R says to Shinobu Major, "The message is 'Cousin, I have learned of a weapon developed by Annadil that could prove decisive in freeing Rebma from the hands of the Usurper Dolphin. Please contact me in Ember. Signed, Lucien, Prince of Rebma.'" ===== ===== Lucien OOC knew he should have asked Gabrielle for help instead of 790 You page, "save that while in Chaos, Kanna's got her Gaby manifestation off for safety's sake. *wl* So it wouldn't have helped." to Autolyca. Autolyca pages, "Well, if Gaby had helped me make messengers, they wouldn't be proclaiming their love for Kanna while portraying me as lower than the lowest lifeform in Shadow" to you. You page, "This is true." to Autolyca. ==== ==== 790-Q says to Naru, "The message is 'Cousin, I have learned of a weapon developed by Annadil that could prove decisive in freeing Rebma from the hands of the Usurper Dolphin. Please contact me in Ember. Signed, Lucien, Prince of Rebma.'" ===== ===== Lucien OOC 790-ZZ Top flies by, sporting a long fake beard and a keychain ===== ===== Kanna . o O (... I get the song and dance and attempts at macking, they get the breif not-very-helpful summary.) Kanna . o O (... this is evidence that the Universe is Not Fair.) ===== ===== Lucien OOC Night all! Motoko says, "OOC Night, Jeff." Beowulf says, "OOC Seeya, Jeff." Autolyca pages, "Send me the log of the 790s, please? :)" to you. You page, "That I will. *wl*" to Autolyca. ===== ===== Shinobu Major says, "Tell him I'll give him a call once I return to Amber." Naru says to her 790, "I'm not sure what my plans are, but I'll try and trump him soon." Kanna says, "And, I think that'll be all." 790-A says, "I will return to 790-Prime at once!" He turns and flies at high speed into the wall, since he's still wearing the bandana. He bounces along the ground, then wobbily gets back up. The other two 790s laugh and fly off. Kanna sighs, and removes the bandanna. "Sorry 'bout that." Kanna straightens out his propeller blades, if they got damaged. "There you go." 790-A says, "A miracle! The blessed Kanna has restored my sight!" His hand comes up and takes yours and squeezes it for a moment, then it takes off and flies off at high speed. Letting go of your hand, thankfully. Kanna has the feeling if she had kept holding, it would not have gone -anywhere-, and likely lost its arm in the process. Kanna lets out a -long- breath, and hands the bandanna back to Shinobu Minor. Kanna says, "I... really, REALLY have to wonder what Uncle Derith was smoking when he decided to keep 790 on as an advisor." Naru says, "Those things used to advise Derith?" Shinobu Major says, "Well, if they did, we finally understand why he screwed up and sank Rebma. He probably did something it advised." Kanna says, "One did. It was hidden down in his secret place in Nedra, and was asleep until Lucien and his team and I and Ruka went past it." Kanna shrugs. "I haven't asked him on that score. For what it's worth, 790 -is- helpful, if you can put up with his... excenntricities." Kanna sighs. "Well. I better go and find Beowulf or Motoko or somebody who I can let know I'll be running around again likely very soon..." She rolls her eyes. "... yeesh." Shinobu Major says, "It never stops, eh?" Kanna nods. "I hope to squeeze in a fast-time vacation in here -somewhere-, but..." She goes and deposits her dishes wherever they should be deposited. "... well, we'll see. Take care, you two?" Naru nods. "Will do. See you later!" ====== ====== John asks, "OOC Where to next?" Kanna OOCly says, "Hunting down Motoko or Beowulf, whoever's available to discuss things with. Checking their rooms in Gainax first, then the infirmary or other places, asking around if they've been seen. If they're not there, then perhaps trumping to Yig and trying to contact before heading up to Ember to check in on the Eowyn situation." John says, "OOC Travis, you alive enoguh for me to let Phil find you? :)" Beowulf OOCly nods. :) Beowulf says, "OOC Should be looking for Lily." ====== ====== You soon find Beowulf wandering the halls, also looking for people. Kanna lets out a breath of releief. "Beowulf!" Beowulf blinks as he sees Kanna. "Ah? Hey." He smiles. "Was just looking for Lily, to see if she minds staying for the Great Convocation." Kanna blinks, and ohs. "Oh? When's that again? Tomorrow?" She scratches her cheek, rueful. "Mind if I tag along on your search?" Beowulf smiles. "Nope. What's up?" His smile loses a little force. "Went to see Lady Yumi to make sure she was all right, then we went to visit Mitsune, Moriya, Saionji, and Michelle in the infirmary." Kanna mmmmms. "Should've figured everybody would've been clustered around there... the breakfast area was practically empty save for me and Naru and Shinobu Major." She shakes her head, and sighs. "Man, I'm -still- surprised we all managed to -survive- that thing yesterday..." Beowulf nods, with a 'Did-we-really-do-*that*?' expression. "Yes. I think we're the only ones who got out of there without taking actual wounds." His expression darkens as he thinks of the ones who took the wounds. Beowulf says, "Fortunately, it looks like everyone's going to live." Kanna closes her eyes. "Thank the Pyricorn and Serpent we -got- there in time..." She opens them again. "At least they'll recover. Yeah." Kanna says, "Still, though... I get the feeling the roughest parts are going to be up ahead. Not long until High Summer, anymore." She frowns. "-damn-, but the time flies..." Beowulf says, "Yes. Though Moonshade's going to be in trouble getting that arm back." His eyes darken. "Remind me not to trust my tactical instincts when I'm going up against someone who's better than I am." You hear a whirring noise in the distance. Kanna says, "... oh no..." Beowulf raises an eyebrow at Kanna. Kanna has a 'what did I do to offend the Universe' expression. Kanna glances at Bey. "Hell... is it bad enough that Lian's skills won't help?" Kanna then turns towards the whirring noise. A human-sized mechanical arm with a mechanical head on top that flies by way of a helicopter blade, flies round the corner. "Prince Beowulf, I have a mess..." It sees Kanna. "Oh great goddess! I am blessed by the Narwhale that I have encountered you on my way to deliver a message to Prince Beowulf! Let us dally together in the fields of love!" Beowulf says, "I don't know. Someone needs to check." Beowulf BOGGLES. Beowulf asks, "Um, sis..." His eyes slide sideways to Kanna. "Is there something you ought to be telling me?" Kanna waves, halfheartedly. "Hello, 790-whatever-your-letter-is. Please deliver your message to Prince Beowulf with all due haste, so that you and I can dally somewhere else afterwards in some unspecified future time." Kanna. o O (Like after the Outsiders are defeated and ground into dust.) Beowulf waits, looking at Kanna, his eyebrows practically screaming the question. 790-E says to Beowulf, "The message is 'Cousin, I have learned of a weapon developed by Annadil that could prove decisive in freeing Rebma from the hands of the Usurper Dolphin. Please contact me in Ember. Signed, Lucien, Prince of Rebma.'" It turns to Kanna. "Now, let us float together in defiance of natural law through the multi-colored heavens above this place!" Kanna says, "Prince Beowulf, meet 790-somethingorother, a remote unit of 790, Derith's advisor that we discovered during our mission to Rebma." She looks at 790-E. "Sorry, have to take a raincheck, no flightspells on me, see me another time about it?" Kanna seems to have gotten a rather resigned expression on her face and a rather tired tone to her voice. Beowulf nods. "Thank you for delivering the message, 790." He bows *very* slightly. "Please let cousin Lucien know that I got his message, and I'll try to get in touch with him as soon as I finish taking care of some things down here; it may be a day or two." Beowulf sighs, and then smiles slyly. "After all, surely you cannot in good conscience dally with your love until your duty is completed?" "Duty is NOTHING! Love is everything! Nike!" it shouts. Kanna facepalms. Again. "To leave the presence of the one I worship with all my heart is agony beyond measure! Surely, you would not wish such a thing upon me." Kanna says, "I believe that will be all, 790." She pauses a moment. Beowulf hmms, and then continues, as if to himself. "...after all, there's no doubt that a servant that fails its duty will be rent asunder by the fates, never to see his love again..." 790-E sweatdrops. "Really, Prince Beowulf?" Beowulf gives 790-E his best sincere look. "Of course. The fates simply cannot abide those who are derelict in their duties." Which he actually believes, but oh well... 790-E says, "Then I must go at once! But soon, love muffin, I will return to you!" And then it zooms off. Kanna *sighs*, and leans against Beowulf. Though not enough to topple him. Beowulf gives Kanna a quizzical Look. "Well? So?" Kanna says, "Bey? 790 may have his uses... and he's sweet, in a flattering, exasperated way... but before too long, I may soon join Lucien in desiring to chuck him into the Abyss." Kanna mutters, wondering what Derith was smoking when he took on 790 as an advisor... and what her sister was smoking when she apparently decided to give 790 a -body-. Kanna exclaims, "... mobile. whatever possessed sis to make him *mobile*?!" Beowulf says, "Ahhh." His eyebrows raise. "Sweet?" He shakes his head, grinning slightly. "Well, I'm glad Lucien let me know what he had going, but that was a rather generic message." He seems slightly put-out. "After all, I'm only the one who sought him out to show him the battleship plans..." Beowulf grins wryly. "At this point, I've stopped trying to figure out what possesses your sister." Kanna sighs, looking wry and straightening up. "Well, Lucien still doesn't trust trumps... and I'm getting the feeling these 790's were churned out to deliver a generic request of help to the family." Kanna says, "As both Naru and Shinobu Major got messenger 790's as well." Beowulf sighs, shaking his head. "Oh, lovely. If the man doesn't learn some politeness soon, he's going to end up the King of Rebma all by his lonesome." Kanna says, "But yeah, that was part of what I was coming down to try and mention to you... looks like Lucien's going to push for trying to find the battleship, and he's asked for help, and he doubtlessly will need it.... but I sincerly don't know if I can prioritize that." Kanna shrugs helplessly. Beowulf grins a bit wickedly. "You know... I'm almost tempted to see if we could force him to sign up for an apprentiship with Lady Yumi. As I know no one better for putting some sense into headstrong minds." ===== ===== Kima pages, "Ahh, and now three 790s have flown into Anno's breakfast room, spotted Dios, and are attempting to strangle him, thinking he's Annadil. :)" to you. You page, "... *nod*" to Kima. You page, "Lemme guess, Motoko's there? :)" to Kima. Kima pages, "And Lucien has apparently sent these to absolutely everyone. Including people like Motoko, with whom he parted on lousy terms at Marches. No, she isn't; Thoric, Mutsumi and Jacqui are. I'm just watching." to you. You page, "*facepalm* Who should we strangle? Jeff or Merc? :)" to Kima. Kima pages, "Merc had nothing to do with it. :)" to you. Kima pages, "Lucien asked 790 how Derith used to contact many of the family at the same time, and because 790 hates Lucien's ass, he didn't just say, 'Trump'. :)" to you. You page, "Ahhhh so. :)" to Kima. Kima pages, "It's like Amberite Spam. :)" to you. Kima pages, "As Dan said, 'Hi. I send you this flying head to ask your advice.' :)" to you. ===== ===== Kanna says, "As I've got Merehallow to get to Aunt Juri... Sumire's ninjas to take care of... sis to keep from doing a stupid with that Steel Cage Match... and pyricorn and serpent knows what -else-...." She rolls her eyes. Kanna snrks a bit. "That might be worthwhile, beowulf... that might be very worthwhile." Beowulf nods. "I see... I do feel some obligation to help, since I did show him the plans, but Lily's probably going to kill me if we rush off on a mission right away." Kanna says, "Yeah. We're all strung out, quite frankly." Kanna says, "You with Leng and Serpent's Horn and stuff, me with Akasha and Rebma and Serpent's Horn... we NEEEEEEEEED a vacation. And damn soon." Beowulf nods. "Frankly, I'm tempted to sneak off in fasttime and hopefully come back a few weeks later the next morning and be in a better mood." Kanna says, "That was my plan, yes." She quirks a slight smile, but then sighs. "But with sis's steel cage match thing, and the capture of that Eowyn... I want to make sure those matters are resolved before moving further on things, or even vacationing." Beowulf says, "And there's Mobius to take care of, but hopefully I can have some fun with the Lucasfolk on that." He sighs, then makes an obvious attempt to smile and get in a more cheerful mood. "So. What else has been " Beowulf asks, "What else has been going on with you this morning? Have a good breakfast?" Kanna nods. "Plus any stragglers, which I'm sure there are out there... And oh, breakfast was good, save for the 790 interruption. Food good. And heard from Shinobu Major the Red Death's been cleared out of Arden." Beowulf grins, obviously not forced this time. "*Good*. That's a fungus that we owe a bad turn or fifty to." Beowulf says, "She have any other news from Amber? I didn't get much chance to pick up on things when I stopped through there night before last." Kanna says, "Mind you, in the process, there was a temporary loss of atmosphere -from- Arden, as Vector Boomtubes and Logrus Tendrils apparently do not mix. But Uncle Touga sealed the rift into deep space that had opened, and the rest of the stuff has been pacified." Beowulf says, "...into deep space?" He boggles a bit. "Right." Kanna scratches her cheek, and ers. "The only other news I got from Shinobu Major was that the southern fleet got their asses handed to them on plates." She sighs. "Didn't find out until Yamamoto's ship -drifted- to Cathay." She sticks out her tounge. "Other than that, damned if I know, need to get caught up myself." Beowulf asks, "Southern fleet? The one Saionji leads -- er, led until he was captured?" Kanna nods. "Yeah, that one." She mmms. "May need to check some resources of my own to see if we can hustle reinforcements down there." She shakes her head. "-I- don't know, eveything's just going weirdly kilter now." Beowulf covers his eyes for a moment, before looking back at Kanna guiltily. "Damn." Beowulf says, "That came up about the same time as the expedition to Mystara... I was going to see what I could do to help Saionji out, and conjured up a surveillance network for him to track the invaders with, but the report of a Lion Spikard heading to Mystara came in at that point." He sighs. "So I quickly finished planting the devices and gave the tracking map to Saionji, and left things." Beowulf sighs. "One more thing to take care of." Kanna sighs, and rests a hand on Bey's shoulder. "And I was, hell, on Jade at the time, and then after that, Akasha... there was no way you could've realistically -known-, Beowulf, not with how far-spread-out the family's been runing around as of late." Beowulf sighs. "I suppose so. Still, it hurts to think that you might have been able to do something." Kanna hehs a bit softly at that, and pulls beowulf into a gentle hug. "Part of being human, bro. But second-guessing every little thing in life just leads to premature ulcers and a lifetime supply of pepto." Beowulf sighs. "Anyway. What else is up?" Beowulf relaxes into the hug for a moment. Beowulf asks, "Are you going to be staying around for the Grand Convocation, at least?" Kanna lets go after some moments. "Other that that... was going to try and see Motoko, let her know 'bout the Bloc/Chaos/Outsider things, as she's in MUCH better position to investigate than I am, really; since I recall, I think, that Tsuwabuki was being targeted by them at one point." Beowulf nods. "Yes. That would be a very good idea." Kanna considers. "Not sure... if you're going to be staying around, I prolly will, but I'll also be going to that match, just to make SURE mom and dad don't get offed and Yig doesn't get blasted..." Kanna says, "But given Tremere prolly still isn't happy with me, and all the houses'll be there, it prolly won't be a good idea overall." Beowulf says, "Well, pop up there, then drop back by here. It should be all right." He grins slightly. "I'd be there, except I'd be too nervous." Kanna nods. "I'd be more nervous if mom was nervous, quite frankly." Kanna says, "But, since she wasn't..." She shrugs. Kanna says, "But I have no idea what mom and sis said while we were down here, soo..." Beowulf says, "Yes. Your mother being that cheerful about it... well, it surprised me, but also reassured me. Otherwise, I'd be up there trying to keep them apart." He grins. Kanna says, "Let's go find Motoko. I was planning to talk to her about this part as well, anyway." Beowulf says, "The Grand Convocation is going to be a historic event, though; I seriously doubt Tremere would do anything at the convocation itself." Beowulf nods. "Fine by me." Kanna says, "Yeah, well, they're natives on home soil, I'm not, and I don't have sis for backup down here." She looks rueful. "Forgive me for having my paranoia sensors a little sensitive." Beowulf says, "After the convocation might be another story, but there shoudln't be any problems during it... still, if you're not comfortable, you're not comfortable." Kanna then stretches, and presumably she and Beowulf start the search for the wily Motoko. "Oh, part of me -wants- to be comfortable, bey... mom raised me to accept that despite worldview differences, Chaos and Amber -can- be quite the same in some ways... and I fully admit curiosity about the place. But that conflicts with the stranger-in-a-strange-land sensation I sometimes get." She quirks a smile. "Mebby after all this blows over, I'll end up getting tasked to help establish Ember relations with Chaos." You hear a whirring noise in the distance. It's pretty loud. Beowulf smiles. "Could be. Well, the first time I came down here, I was halfway expecting to be ambushed around every corner... but I spent some time dropping off all that stolen artwork, so I'm not *quite* so nervous. Even going to House Alars didn't turn out to be bad, even after Lord Alars had trump-attacked me." Beowulf asks, "...your admirers?" Kanna twitches at the whirring noise. Beowulf quickly opens the bag. "Dive in?" Three 790 heads whir round a corner. Beowulf closes the bag. "...too late." Kanna says, "... pyricorn and serpent deliver me from this..." Beowulf gives Kanna a 'sorry, but they'd just chase you *in* there, and what would the poor Stooges think? Kanna starts pondering playing Boccee Ball with 790 heads. Beowulf says, "Your friend seems quite persistent." "Hey, we're in luck, the most beneficient and lovely Kanna, shining star of the heavens, happens to be HERE!" one of them says. They whir towards you. ===== ===== The_Prof pages, "Did you acquire some Bad Stuff that I didn't know about? ^_^" to you. You page, "I asked john, and he said I was still in Good Stuff..." to The_Prof. ===== ===== Kanna sighs. "Hello, boys... what brings you down to Chaos?" "We had to deliver messages to Princess Mutsumi, Princess Jacqueline, and Princess Thoric." Another one says, "Prince Thoric." The third says, "Whatever sex he is. Anyway, we delivered our message, and Princess Mutsumi gave us a turtle, and now we're about to fly off to take their replies to Prince Lucien." The first says, "Once we bathe in your glory for a few days." "Weeks." "Years." Kanna says, "..." Kanna asks, "790?" The first one says, "Yes, oh scrumptious one?" Kanna asks, "Question. Whatever possesed Lucien to send all -you- guys down here to Chaos??" He says, "One of us per Amberite Prince or Princess. Since we didn't know where anyone was." Kanna asks, "Yes, yes, but why -you- guys physically, instead of, say, Trump? Or a single messenger moving along the line?" 790 says, "Because trump has limited range, and we do not." Another says, "Because it would take a very LONG time for just one of us to travel to each and every person." "Because our all-wise creator, 790, advised Lucien to send us." Kanna says, "..." ==== ==== The_Prof pages, "Ack. Merc... argh. :p" to you. The_Prof pages, "Frito> Akio says, "Hey, yeah. In fact, the Narwhale owes me a favor. I'll get it to endorse Mutsumi."Frito> Akio exclaims, "Then I'll laugh, and force Lucien to make us both PIE!"" to you. You page, "I have it on good authority that Merc is not responsible for the 790-plauge.... oh." to The_Prof. You page, "(and I thought *I* had problems seperating characters from self.)" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Uh-huh." to you. ==== ==== 790-X says, "Has the one designated to find you already found you, Kanna?" Kanna says, "Yes, 790-A already has. And so has the one assigned to send a message to Prince Beowulf." "Very good. We'll just attend to your needs, then! how can we bring you pleasure?" ==== ==== The_Prof pages, "Bey can probably hit 'em with a virus that would infect the whole fleet and get 'em infatuated with someone else... only thing is, he can't think of anyone he dislikes enough to do this to who isn't a security risk." to you. You page, "Not worth it, in Kanna's opinion." to The_Prof. ==== ==== Kanna says, "... you can bring me pleasure by departing as quickly as possible to return your messages to Prince Lucien. And then to stay waiting there with 790-Prime until I return." Kanna smiles, sunnly. "After all, Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder, yes?" "As you desire, oh great goddess!" They fly off. Kanna lets out a -long- sigh. Kanna says, "beyyyyy... hellllllpp...." Beowulf says, "Tell me again what you did to deserve this?" He quirks an eyebrow. Kanna says, "I think I was the first female thing it saw in over 40 years." Kanna says, "At least Ruka was good-humored about it when we first met... THIS, though, might be pushing it." Kanna makes a mental note for Lian to add Anti-790 defenses to the vacation shadow whenever they find it. Beowulf says, "Joy. Hm. Well, I could probalby redirect them to someone else with a computer virus, but I can't think of anyone I dislike *that* badly." Kanna says, "Well, once Lucien realizes this was not exactly the best ways to contact people... well, I wouldn't want to be 790." Kanna says, "Let's find Motoko. Hopefully she hasn't been ambushed." Miki comes round the corner. "Hello, there!" Beowulf GRINS. "No. As this is likely to cause him a lot of bad fallout." Beowulf smiles. "Ah, hello, Uncle Miki." Miki says, "How are you two today? Beowulf sighs. "Ready to do some damage control for Lucien?" Kanna says, "Though by now, it's probably too late... hey, Uncle Miki... you seen Motoko around?" She brightens a bit, though she's leaning against a wall. "... been better. What's word up from Amber-way?" He says, "She and Moriya have gone to the Keep to heal up, I think. You should give them a trump call." Beowulf nods. "Ah... that makes sense, Moriya was taking Mitsune up there to regain body mass." Kanna ahhhs, and nods. "Sounds good. If they're in fast time, so much the better, too." Beowulf asks, "Did you have a chance to talk to Aunt Nanami or anyone else up there about Robert Walpole?" Miki says, "I've passed on the news. Not sure what Nanami and Tylor will want to do about it." Beowulf nods. "Well, perhaps Daffyl was able to get to him and give whoever's posing as him The Talk, perhaps not... but at least someone knows." Kanna nods. "Understandable, 'spose." She looks at Bey. "We'll have to check in on him, one of us, before the Convocation thingie. Make sure he's all right, find out how long ago he was caught, etc." Beowulf nods. "What's been going on with you?" Beowulf asks Miki, "I'm guessing you're going to be playing a leading role in the Convocation?" Miki nods. "Yes, I will." He says, "I'm going to write some speeches for it this afternoon." Beowulf hms. "Right. What exactly is it going to be like? I know it's going to be a historic gathering of the people of Chaos, about Hel's invasion, but I'm not sure what else." He says, "Basically, it's a massive assembly of all the nobles, called for certain unusual events." Kanna says, "And this would definitely count." He continues, "Yes." Beowulf nods. "Everyone gets up and makes speeches, then? Big official ceremonies, and the like?" "And a lot of debating. It's somewhat Parliamentary. People will present petitions, and so on." ===== ===== You page, "'lo, Chris. Should've been in bed an hour+ ago, but trying to get things to a point where I can bail. *wl*" to Chris. In a page-pose to you, Chris hehs. "Again? It's becoming a habit, it seems." ;) You page, "I'm trying to get it NOT be. :P" to Chris. You page, "Things dragged on longer than I thought they would." to Chris. Chris pages, "Hey, if that means you won't get too far ahead of me, I don't mind. ;>" to you. You page, "Heh. Well, hopefully we'll be in the Keep in fast-time for a little bit to chat with Motoko and Moriya about Bloc/Chaos/Outsiders and SisBeingAWrestlingIdiot." to Chris. Chris pages, "Whee." to you. ===== ===== Miki says, "It usually drags on for days." Kanna says, "Wheee." Beowulf nods. "I see... well, I would at least like to attend the opening. I've been down here enough that I would like to see how it all comes together." "It will be quite a sight to see, I think." Kanna nods. "Prolly will have to bail past the opening ceremonies, too, if I decide to stay. *wl*" Beowulf chuckles. "Assuming someone doesn't unleash giant flying wombats on the gathering, or something." Beowulf says, "Then we might get stuck cleaning up again." Miki nods. "You never know." ============= ============= John says, "OOC Unless you have anything else major to ask him, we might want to move on to y'all trumping Motoko, so we can get that done tonight without going too late. ^^;;;" John says, "OOC Assuming you want to do that tonight, as I don't know how much longer either of you wants to go." Beowulf says, "OOC Right. :) Didn't know if he was actually looking for something or not. :) I can go long enough to talk to Motoko, at least." John says, "OOC It's just a random encounter so the DM can let you know IC where to look for Motoko :)" Beowulf says, "OOC Ahhh. :)" Kanna OOCly says, "Right." Kanna OOCly says, "I've already been up 2 hours past intended bedtime, but want to get this out of the way... *sigh*" John says, "OOC Let's get on it, then :)" ============ ============ Beowulf says, "Well, we should probably call Motoko... I still need to check with Lily and make sure she doesn't mind staying. " Kanna asks, "Find her, and bring her along?" Miki waves goodbye and heads off. Beowulf asks, "Lot of things yet to do today. You want to do the honors, or should I?" Kanna says, "I'll do it." ====== ====== The_Prof pages, "Actually, now I'm confused about what you actually had in mind. o.o" to you. You page, "Kanna wants to talk with Motoko about the Bloc and Chaosian/Outsider ties, and to talk about sis's Wrestling match." to The_Prof. You page, "Unless you want us to find Lily first." to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "Ahhh, right. o.o Tired. No, I can find Lily on my own, after we're done." to you. Beowulf says, "OOC Lily was a reason to get this convo moving, not slow it down again. :)" The_Prof pages, "Hint hint." to you. ====== ====== Kanna asks, "Or did you mean me trump her, or you, or us find lily first and -then- trump?" Beowulf says, "No, that's fine; I can wait to talk to Lily long enough for us to finish talking to Motoko." Kanna nods. "Got it." Kanna pulls out her trump deck, and shuffles through it. "Got everything I need anyway, save for the barrier ring, and that's back up in Ember. Need to have sis trump it to me when we get to the Keep. I'll leave the sword that didn't get used down here, either." Kanna pulls out her trump of Motoko, and concentrates on it. A very bishounen young man with long black hair answers after a moment. "Hello, Aunt Kanna. What can I do for you?" You can see the Shadow of Water at the Keep of the Five Worlds behind him. Kanna blinkblinks. ".... Motoko?" . o O (Imagery parse failure) "...do you have some moments to talk about some recent developments with Beowulf and I at the Keep?" Motoko-kun nods. "Certainly." She extends her hand. "Please come through." ==== ==== Motoko-kun says, "OOC: He extends his hand. Stupid pronouns." ===== ===== Kanna gestures for Bey to put hand on shoulder, even as she extends her hand to male-motoko. Beowulf takes Kanna's shoulder, and waits to be pulled through. Motoko-kun pulls Beowulf and Kanna through to a rocky cliff overlooking the endless waters of the Shadow of Water. "Shall I have Kafuin get us some tea?" Beowulf raises a quizzical eyebrow at Motoko-kun. "Yes, please. That would be apprecated." Kanna says, "That... would be appreciated, yes." She tilts her head. "New look, I see..." ====== ====== You page, "(they're all turning into clones of Morgan! Aieee!)" to The_Prof. The_Prof pages, "That was scary sync. o.o" to you. ===== ===== Motoko-kun says, "Kafuin, tea, please." He pauses and looks down at himself. "Oh, yes; forgive me. Shapeshifting practice." Beowulf ahhs, and nods. "Well, you wear it well." Davros waves; he's meditating on a rock nearby at the moment. Motoko-kun says, "Mitsune-chan said I'm 'scrumptious'. I am not sure exactly what that means." Kanna hehs a bit. Kanna hrrrrrrrrms. Motoko-kun sits down crosslegged. "So what did the two of you want to talk about?" Beowulf raises an eyebrow. "I'm sure I wouldn't know, either." He hms. "I think Kanna wanted to talk to you about... Gabrielle's little wrestling match." Kanna considers, sits, pulls out a sketchpad from her pack, and sketches "Davros Meditating On The Fluidity Of Life." Kanna says, "That, and things dealing with the Bloc, which as I recall faintly had tried taking out your grandfather a while back...." Beowulf says, "We talked to Aunt Corrine about it for a little bit, and she seemed... well, surprisingly relaxed about the whole thing. I was halfway expecting her to pull out some popcorn." Kanna mmms at that, and nods. "Well, I doubt mom would go -that- far. But given father's going to be refferreeing the thing, and Great-Grandpa Fuyutsuki is building the cage...." She shakes her head. "I don't know what to make of it. I'd like to think they're taking all possible precautions." Motoko-kun says, "I am hardly comfortable with the situation, but even Anno-sama seems to think it might be good for the two of them to just blow off some steam." He sips his tea and shifts a little. "I worry more about an enemy taking the opportunity to attack, with so many of us gathered in one place at once; I recall the story of Aunt Kozue and Aunt Madoka's Rose Duel." Motoko-kun asks, "What is this about the Bloc?" Beowulf nods thoughtfully. "That is a very nasty thought, Motoko." Kanna nods. "I don't think everybody -will- be there... at least, I hope not." She sighs, and sets her sketchpad aside to accept tea and drink it. "But part of me -has- to observe, to make sure that sis doesn't get majorly damaged, and that mom and dad don't get hurt." Kanna says, "And as for the Bloc..." Motoko-kun says, "Anno-sama did say that most of our enemies would be smarter than to attack so many of us at once, but I fear the opportunity might be too tempting for some of them." She nods. "Yes; I will be attending as well, both to keep an eye on things, and to cheer on the Logrus." Kanna taps a finger against her chin. "Lucien and Ruka and I infiltrated Rebma several days ago, before Bey and I came down to Chaos to aid against Serpent's Horn. The information we managed to glean... was unsettling." Kanna blinks at that, and hehs. "You do that, Motoko." Motoko-kun asks, "Oh?" Kanna says, "Well, we encountered more than our share of chaosian-related patrols on the way there.... and a Black Road." Davros says, "It takes a very powerful Logrus Master to make a Black Road." Motoko-kun frowns very deeply. "Do you have any idea which House they were from? Did they fly banners, wear uniforms?" Kanna says, "Leading, as far as -I- know, all the way from Rebma to Chaos. We had to use Greyswandir and my own powers of the Pattern to cross it. The only banner I saw was of a shark... we encountered a patrol using the Road after we crossed it." ======= ======= You page, "What sorts of uniforms, etc, did I see the 200-being patrol use? And the Chaosians we killed in the ambushes? I should think Kanna can at least sketch them..." to Akemi. Akemi pages, "Blue uniforms with red trim, blah, blah, stuff the characters know but which we won't retain. I will tell Alan if he recognizes anything. :)" to you. Akemi pages, "Yes, you can draw the banner for her." to you. ======= ======= Motoko-kun asks, "Can you give me a sketch of exactly what the banner looked like, including colour?" Kanna considers, and pulls out the sketch of Davros, handing it to him, then taking a fresh page and starts sketching the patrol they saw heading into Rebma, including the banner... she also sketches a bit of the group that tried to ambush them. She mutters a bit, digs in her pack some more, and pulls out some colored pencils, which she then uses to fill in color details. Kanna says, "This is what they looked like, Motoko." Motoko-kun takes the finished sketch and shows it to Davros. "Do you recognize the heraldry, love?" he asks. Kanna says, "And once we got -inside- the city, it looked like a population of 200,000 all told... 40,000 of that being combat-ready rebmans, and 20,000 Chaosian." Davros examines it. "It looks to me like House Hammerhead, one of House Darios' subordinate Minor Houses, beloved." Kanna says, "As a rough estimate. We weren't about to try a full ambush and brain extraction, given we felt we were pushing our luck as it was." She smiles faintly. Motoko-kun says, "This confirms things I have long suspected about the backing of the Rebmaquois. The Black Road is the only solid evidence of Chaos involvement, though--anyone can make banners. Or uniforms." Kanna says, "Well, there's more." Davros says, "Only the most expert Logrus masters can make a Black Road. A minor house would be lucky to have one, even the Great Houses have at best only a few." Motoko-kun says, "Darios as their backer would explain a great deal, however, particularly the assassination attempts against my grandfather, whom they would probably think of as the most vulnerable member of House Belgalad." Kanna says, "It might not be -directly- related, but there was an outbreak of the Red Death along the coast between Arden and Rebma." Kanna says, "Mats of the stuff, spreading out to sea, up to the forest..." She shakes her head. "... and when Lian and several others went to remove it, they encountered resistance using Logrus." Motoko-kun says, "And House Darios has grudges against the family that date back to the Succession Crisis, particularly against Uncle Miki, and likely by extension to the Rebman branch of the family in general." Kanna sighs, and nods. "This is going to be nasty, any way you slice it." Beowulf nods. "And weren't they also the ones holding your father at one point, Motoko?" Motoko-kun frowns. "Yes, this is definitely very serious. Have you told Uncle Miki? He will probably want to speak to King Ishmael about this." Kanna nods. "I informed Uncle Miki of our infiltration efforts after we finished the first scouting mission into Serpent's Horn territory." Motoko-kun coughs and looks rather embarassed. "Yes," he says. "They were. After he was flung here. We rescued him rather forcibly. It was probably not the best way to handle it, but..." Kanna says, "Mom and Aunt Kozue have been informed as well, and Mom prolly forwarded the info to Uncle Tylor." Motoko-kun says, "If the Black Road can be found in Shadow, it can likely be traced back to the source in Chaos." Motoko-kun says, "I expect that they are rather difficult to hide, if they are such great workings of power." Kanna nods. "We could -feel- it halfway across Nedra." Davros nods. "Yes, Black Roads are pretty impossible to hide. And easy for a Logrus Master to find or follow." Kanna says, "And crossing it... well, it felt unsettlingly like walking the Pattern." Davros blinks. "How strange." Kanna says, "WEll, in that 'one step wrong and you are SCREWED' feeling." Beowulf ponders. Why build something that spectacularly obvious, then? He says, "Oh." Kanna says, "It could be just 'cause everybody on the team were beings of Order, save for Morrigan." Davros says, "Because while the power of the Logrus is good for many things, leading armies across vast expanses of Shadow without a Black Road is not one of them." Kanna ahs at that, and nods. Davros continues, "They allow hellride speeds with the safety to Chaosians of taking it very slow and easy." Motoko-kun says, "A House of Chaos giving backing to an anti-Amber terrorist organization involved with the Outsiders is very serious. I am sure once King Ishmael knows of it, there will be an investigation. You might also want to speak to Anno-sama--his great mastery of the Logrus might allow him to tell you more about this road, if it is so prominent a creation of the Logrus." "At the same time, the roads are hazardous to any non-Chaosian and thus defend themselves." Motoko-kun asks, "How can they be destroyed or broken?" Kanna says, "Which would explain the feeling we got. I'm not sure if I'll be able to pursue this line of inquiry, though... as we've still got too many tasks to do before High Summer..." She pats the hilt of Merehallow. Davros says, "Well, normally, it takes another Logrus master to unweave it. Even Primal Chaos just makes it stronger. I would imagine that sufficiently large scale use of Pattern could be made to damage or destroy it, though." Kanna says, "And the lack of the Water Pattern would make it easier for them to shove it up to Rebma's doorstep." Motoko-kun purses her lips. "I have a lot to do as well, and I must say that helping Uncle Lucien with his troubles is not exactly at the top of my list. Still, family is family, and the Bloc has struck against my grandfather, and may be receiving backing from House Darios." Kanna quirks an eyebrow. "You got visited by the floating 790 heads, too?" Beowulf groans a bit at that. Davros says, "Floating 790 heads? Motoko-kun says, "Given the research I've been doing into the higher-level interactions between the Pattern and--" Pause, blink. "No, I can't say I have the least idea what you're talking about." Beowulf says, "They might not have found the Keep's shadow. You might want to speak to Moriya about blocking the borders to them." Kanna says, "Um, yes." She sketches a flying 790 head. "This is what they look like." Motoko-kun says, "Err, perhaps." He stares at the sketch. "Err, what is it, exactly?" Beowulf says, "Basically, heads like that of a golem, intelligent and able to fly." Beowulf says, "And, unfortunately, all infatuated with Kanna." Motoko-kun twitches at the word "golem". Kanna says, "The original served as an advisor to Derith... he found it out in shadow... and the original is totally infatuated with me, and they -don't- like Lucien." Kanna says, "As in, barely tolerate him so they can try and be around -me-." She rolls her eyes. Davros frowns. "More golems." Motoko-kun says, "I cannot entirely condemn the tastes of anyone fond of you and not fond of Uncle Lucien, I must say, but that is neither here nor there." Motoko-kun says, "I do wonder why anything that advised Derith would dislike his son so much." Kanna says, "As far as Lucien's attidtude, etc... well, yes, that's neither here nor there. I just hope to prevent the formation of such an atmosphere that led to the alienation of Derith in the -first- place. But that's just my take on it." She smiles slightly. Beowulf says, "In any event... in Annadil's fortress, I found the plans to a giant undersea battleship. Lucien and Kanna found the map to locate a giant undersea battleship in Derith's vaults. When Kanna mentioned this to me, I checked with Lucien to see if it might be the same one. As far as we can tell, it is." Kanna says, "I'm not sure, myself." She shrugs. "It's also jealous of Ruka for him being my boyfriend, but fortunately Ruka was good-humored about it." She blushes slightly. Beowulf says, "And now he's planning on going after it -- which I can understand, and is probably wise, to keep it out of enemy hands if nothing else." Motoko-kun frowns. "Do you know what this giant undersea battleship looked like?" Kanna nods. "As it had outsider weaponry on it, as well as normal." Kanna says, "Bey has the construction plans, I think." Beowulf says, "Unfortunately, he decided to send messengers to *every* family member -- all those down in Gainax received one, at least -- asking for their help. This is not likely to help his image." Beowulf reaches into the bag and pulls out the plans. Kanna says, "Lucien has the map... it's a day's travel past Yig, or so." Motoko-kun says, vaguely, "I don't suppose these were messages personalized to every particular member of the family, were they?" Kanna says, "Annadil had other stuff, including the plans for the Abyss Sub that appeared on the Second Day of Darkness... and no, not really. Actually, rather generic." Motoko-kun looks at the plans and tries to figure out just what the finished battleship would look like. Kanna says, "Save for whenever they found -me-..." she eyrolls. Beowulf says, "Personalized in name only, as far as I could tell." Motoko-kun asks, "Ahh. 'Please come and help me, '?" Beowulf says, "The one I got said that he had found a battleship built by Annadil out in Shadow... which I already knew, as I was the one who told him that Annadil built it." Beowulf says, "Not very intelligent or personalized, no." Kanna nods. "I highly suspect 790's trying to get Lucien in trouble." Kanna says, "Next time one comes, I seriously ponder trying skeet-shooting it." Beowulf snorts. "I wouldn't be surprised if he is." Motoko-kun says, dryly, "Particularly not to one who parted with him last on such terms as I, no." She shrugs. "It may be so, Aunt, but the intentions behind the message would at least seem to be his." Kanna nods. "As it was something I knew that he was planning on." ======== ======== Motoko-kun asks, "OOC: John, what would the finished battleship look like, from these plans?" John says, "OOC Rather like a giant Killer Whale." Kanna OOCly says, "Oh man. Now I've got DuckTales flashbacks." John says, "OOC If Killer Whales bristled with magic weaponry, anyway :)" Beowulf says, "OOC Orca! Great. :p" Kanna OOCly says, "(there was a giant navy sub in one episode that ate all of scrooges's money shaped like an Orca.)" ====== ====== Motoko-kun says, "Ahh." Motoko-kun says, "There may be a problem, then." Kanna asks, "Hm?" Motoko-kun says, "As I have reason to believe this battleship may already be in the hands of House Darios." Beowulf says, "...drat. That could be a problem." Kanna asks, "Oh.... poopie?" Davros says, "Thinking of the Giant Space Whale?" Beowulf goes over the plans again, this time looking for weaknesses that could be exploited to get it back from them. Motoko-kun says, "Yes. Have you two heard about what happened with our group and the bounty hunters from Cowboy Bebop?" She nods to Davros. "Yes, exactly." Kanna says, "... well, I suppose the other desperation option would be to find a place in fast time to build ANOTHER one of these damn things just without the Outsidery stuff in fast time, throw them against each other, and let them throw down..." She shakes her head. "Not really, no, Motoko." Beowulf says, "Well, I do have the Nautilus... have to think for a moment about how it would stack up against this thing." Kanna says, "Bey? I get the feeling this thing would munch the Nautilus for lunch, and save the Yellow Submarine for an aparteif." Motoko-kun says, "To make a long story short, House Darios kidnapped a member of their team to make them pursue Moriya and Davros despite the lifting of the bounties. The Bebop tried an ambush to capture Moriya, which failed; we captured three of them, and got the story." Kanna ahs at Motoko. "Cute." Motoko-kun says, "We agreed to work together to rescue their friend, and succeeded in doing so." Beowulf says, "Actually, the Nautilus would do fairly well against it... I've put in some upgrades lately. Unless they got the Abyssal weaponry working, in which case it'd eat me for lunch." Motoko-kun says, "Near the end of the rescue attempt, a giant space whale with laser eyes attempted to devour the Bebop's ship. We were forced to abandon it and leave it to self-destruct." Motoko-kun says, "I did not see the whale myself, only heard it described. I would recommend talking to Grandmother, who should be able to put you in touch with Radical Edward of the Bebop; she should be able to provide an image of what the whale looked like." Beowulf asks, "It would also depend on how good the person piloting it was." He hmmms. "Was there anyone there who could give me an idea of how well the thing was handled?" Kanna ahhhhhs, and nods. "Hopefully they're not the same thing... as if it is, it's a wonder it hasn't stormed out to join the Bloc in assaulting Amber's shipping." She considers. "I was planning to check in with Aunt Nanami, anyway. Over the Robert Wapole thing." Beowulf nods. "That's sounding like a very good idea." Davros says, "They probably are holding it in reserve to use as a surprise." Motoko-kun says, "I suspect Edward will have all the data from the Bebop on her computer. We sent them back to Amber to work for Grandmother." Kanna says, "Excellent." Kanna taps on her fingers. "Check in with Ember to see what the fuck was up with 'Eowyn'. Check up with Aunt Nanami to try and get info on space whales and Robert Wapole. Attend wrestling match and try last-ditch attempt to talk sense into sis. Ask mom if she's gotten that contact information she had for Dread Pirate Demetrius. Attend the Grand Convocation if it's safe. And then a blipping -vacation- somewhere in fast time before figuring out what the hell to do next." Beowulf nods. "Right. Make sure you get some tactical information on the 'space whale', if you can." Kanna nods. Motoko-kun asks, "Was there anything more?" Kanna says, "... Yeah. Dunno if you know anybody to contact... but would you happen to know anybody moderately psuedo-sane on the Abyss side of things? As Bey and I got some information from Morrigan about how to -perhaps- rescue the souls of Hel's Harad Sisters... but it requires somebody with mastery of the Abyss. That, and trying to get the White Knight back would be a Very Good Thing right about now..." Motoko-kun says, "I have had some contact with the Abyss Monks. Davros might be able to tell you more." Davros says, "Well, you could try talking to the Abyss Monks. Most of them tend to be rather insane on the good days, but it would be worth a try." He gives you some contact information. Kanna says, "If not, we're probably going to have to chuck a brick into the Abyss and wait for Dread Pirate Demetrius to get back to us... if he even is able to be reached from here." Kanna nods. Motoko-kun says, "I understand that those skilled in the Logrus can 'fish' into the Abyss using it, but I am unsure if grabbing a Pattern Knight with a Logrus tendril is particularly safe." Motoko-kun twitches. "Pirate? As in Abyss Pirate?" Motoko-kun asks, "Does he have a beard?" Davros says, "I'd imagine not." Kanna says, "Just as long as I don't get Evil Black Tar in my head, I'm happy..." She nods. "Yeah, he was an Abyss Pirate from Avalon." She considers, and sketches him. "No, he didn't have a beard." Motoko-kun nods and blinks. "Oh, Davros, something I forgot to tell you--a Pattern Knight broke my nose." Kanna says, "This is what he looked like, according to mom." Kanna blinks. "Bwa?" Motoko-kun says, "Hmm. I suppose he doesn't look too unsavoury." Davros blinks. "Broke your nose?' Kanna asks, "Which one? Dad, Uncle Green, or Aunt Grey?" Motoko-kun nods. "The Grey Knight kicked open a door as I was opening it to see who was on the other side. It was when the Logrus came to visit Jacqui in Castle Amber, which was immediately after the Jacqui from another universe left." Kanna says, "... ah." Kanna says, "Yes, that'd make any Pattern Knight twitchy. The Logrus showing up, that is." Motoko-kun says, "Yes--it's rather like a Pattern Construct appearing in the Logrus's home, I imagine." Kanna sighs, and nods. "Yeah, yeah, should've shut off sis's manifestation before coming through, but I honestly didn't expect Bey to have already appeared there. And I -did- warn sis -not- to..." She rolls her eyes. "Next time I spar with her, I need to smack sense into her." Kanna says, "Most of the times, she's fine, but..." She shrugs. Kanna asks, "Sisters. What can y' do?" Motoko-kun looks sad for a moment. "I wouldn't know," he says quietly. Then it clears and he coughs as though to dispel the brief aura of gloom. "Well, good luck getting the White Knight out of the Abyss. You might want to talk to Anthy-sama about it, given her control over Tir'na'nog." Kanna nods. "Bey suggested that as well." She mmms, and reaches forward, and gives Motoko a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder, tentatively. Motoko-kun stiffens briefly, then relaxes, murmuring something under his breath. Kanna lets go, and sighs. "I apologize if I was too forward there." She shakes her head. "Anyway." Beowulf smiles sympathetically at Motoko-kun. "I can imagine." Motoko-kun says, "Ahh--no." He looks embarassed. Motoko-kun says, "It just feels slightly different when I am touched by people while male. It is hard to describe. It is nothing about what you did." Kanna quirks an eyebrow. "Ah. Heh. I wouldn't know... Uncle Green would, though." She shrugs. "Life. What an interesting thing it is." Davros says, "There are many subtle differences between being male or female." Motoko-kun says, "Indeed. We live in very interesting times." He says, "It is often a learning experience." Beowulf looks a bit uncomfortable, and blinks. "Um, Right." Motoko-kun says, "I seem to recall a Cathayan curse modelled along those lines." Motoko-kun nods and shifts again in his crossed-legs sit. "For one thing, it's more difficult to sit comfortably like this," she murmurs. ===== ===== Motoko-kun says, "OOC: he murmurs. Fuckin' pronouns. Muttergrumblebarbaragowdy." ===== ===== Beowulf looks a bit more uncomfortable. Kanna chuckles softly, and finishes her cooled tea. "Well, I think I'll get out of your hair now, so you can get back to practicing and meditating and stuff... I think I'll swing by Moriya and Mitsume, check how they're doing, make sure he's got Knife, still, then bop back to Amber-Ember before the Big Match Thing. Coming, Bey?" Motoko-kun nods. "Travel well. We'll see you at the match." Beowulf nods. "Yes; I still need to track down Lily." He looks at Motoko-kun and Davros. "Good luck with the training, Motoko. And very good to see you looking well, Davros." Beowulf says, "Take care, both of you." Kanna says, "Yeah, ditto." Kanna stands up and stretches. Motoko-kun nods and rises up smoothly from his sitting position. Davros smiles. "Thank you. Serpent bless and guide you both." ========= ========= Beowulf takes out his Gainax trump, and gestures Kanna to take his shoulder. "Ready?" Kanna OOCly points up above, to where he said he was going to check with Moriya/Mitsune before heading up to Ember/Amber, which would imply not going back to Gainax. :) Beowulf OOCly whoops. x.x Beowulf OOCly retcons. Kanna OOCly says, "(as Miki said Moriya was around here, too... and I NEED TO go to bed. *wl* )" Moriya OOCly says, "But that's for another night, as...right, Phil needs sleep." John says, "OOC Go bed, Phil, 'afore you die." John says, "OOC Okay, going to cut you, Beo, and do just a tiny bit more with Rod before I go bed." Beowulf OOCly nods. ========= ========= Beowulf pulls out his trump of Gainax, waves goodbye to the three, then trumps back to Gainax. Kanna watches Bey vanish in a rainbow shimmer, chuckles softly, and waves to Motoko and Davros. "Mebby if I get enough time, I'll be able to do a few paintings so you can see what you missed, Davros. Last night... man..." she shakes her head, rueful, and still a touch of awe in her voice. "But anyway, later." Kanna then hies herself into the Keep, leaving the sketch of Meditating Davros for the two to keep. ====================================== ====================================== Kanna OOCly and now... I BAIL. Kanna OOCly waves. John exclaims, "OOC G'nite!"