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His breathing has become ragged, he knows that his life is fading, but still he keeps his eyes open. Those around him are unnerved, but they can sense it too. They can feel his energy fluctuation. In the low moments the kick and beat him, trying to bring him further down, but every time a small surge goes through his body as his mind and heart rebel against the idea of such pathetic weaklings thinking they could even make him feel pain. Though, he does feel pain, loads of it, but they wouldn't know looking at him, and he likes it that way. He will not give in. He will not give up. And all these little mites around him will wither and blow away on the breeze before they are given the satisfaction of seeing the mighty Master Seishu flinch.

~*~*~*~*~

They have been gathered, the greatest of the Dread Slayers under his command. No others would do. 'He will not slip between our fingers again. I won't let him. He will fall, by my hand, as it was meant to be. . .' His fingers run over the handle of the blade at his side as he looks to the gathered minions, the pulse of power from his marking seeming t feed the pulse inside the blade itself. 'The will be the day it ends, I swear to it. . .' Moving through the group he glares around, his steely eyes letting each of them know what's waiting for them should they fail, then with one final hiss he takes off, ripping open the realms and creating a portal to the human realm. There's only one reason for both seconds to be on earth, and that's if their masters are there as well. . . .

~*~*~*~*~

It's today, she can feel it. 'The creature is so close to falling' she thinks wickedly, smiling in a sickeningly peaceful way as she slips into the medical ward unseen. Grabbing a tray of carefully prepared syringes she tucks them away under her cloak, not bothering to “come back from break” and instead heading right back for the exit point. She's far too excited to see this evil beast leave the world to bother with her daily dues, and instead allows the twisted peace guide her to hasten Seishu's destruction. Humming softly to herself she leaves her home realm and with ease makes her way into the establishment nearby that houses the monster, not noticing her portal stying open far longer than it should have.

~*~*~*~*~

Sitting quietly as he watches the shocking reunion Kaila begins formulating a plan. Clearing his throat once there's a moment's peace he speaks softly, but with clear intent. “Humans have begun being able to see us, and I get the feeling that even at our most careful the people in here would notice our presence. Not to mention Jentou and I sport enough negative energy to bring this place to a screeching halt, and I am unwilling to lower it this close to where Master Seishu is being held.” Jentou lets out a small coo, shifting a little closer to his brother protectively as he notes the tenseness in Kaila's voice. Harper nods in agreement and motions for Kaila to go on. With an nod he looks at the front door to the establishment.

“I think Sir Harper and Rue, along with you two in the back,” he points at Rasha and Crios, “should go in and find out how to get to lower levels and should open a portal for us once you have a clear place to do so.” He eyes the creatures on the sign, recognizing the kind of place this is from any a child's nightmare. “This place seems to have animal and non human humanoid creatures wandering around in there, and since you are all exuding positive energy you'll fit right in. You should have very little trouble. . .” His eyes go back to the group, the orbs glowing fiery violet as he looks around at them all, adding a half bow to Enasi as he adds, “That is my opinion at least, and I request you make your decision quickly as we can feel Master Seishu's energy. . . .” he leaves his sentence unfinished, unable to bring himself to say that his master is getting weaker by the minute.
*Giggles* *Feeds more brains* *Sings lullaby to keep Mega Zomboid from becoming evil overlord*
Giiiiiii! *Rides Mega Zomboid into battle*
Hiro's hand tightens within his own and for the first time Akito realizes that it's there. Not wanting to suddenly pull away however, perhaps giving the impression that he was disgusted or something, he continues to hold the man's hand as he keeps his eyes on the two older en. His cheeks however have a persistent flush that doesn't clear up completely from his embarrassment from before, though now it settles there for an entirely different reason. He listens to the man talk and at the mention of a carriage long buried images flash behind his eyes and he can feel himself baulking at the idea. He doesn't want to get into a carriage. . .

Looking down out of the corner of his eye at their linked hands Akito begins formulating a plot. His eyes go to his father as he feels the man's eyes on him and at the cocked eyebrow Kaura wears it's clear he can see that Akito is planning something. His mind flickers over the advice given to him by the general, about trying to do things he enjoys, to do things to try and open up a little more to the man he is to marry, and to show interest in what the prince wants, and with a slight nod he confirms his father's suspicions that he's planning something, and that everything will be okay.

When the horses are brought around Akito moves around to the side of the palace horse, looking as if he's going to help the prince mount the beast. 'It is now or never' Gritting his teeth he smoothly mounts the beast himself, in the same smooth movement drawing Hiro up with him, settling the slightly taller man in front of him and smiling down at the steward. “We will see you back at the palace.” Saying this with another nod at his father, who nods back approvingly – though his smile at the steward's mortified expression gives the impression that he's enjoying his son's antics far too much – he kicks the horse into a decently fast pace, his free arm sliding around Hiro's waist to make sure he doesn't fall at the sudden movement.

The sound of horse's hooves are enough to scatter the men of the camp, most of which call out approvingly when they see who it is driving the steed through the busy camp along with who he has ridding with him. Akito does his best to ignore these calls however, instead focusing on getting them out of camp without incident. He's not sure if Hiro will actually enjoy this little taste of freedom, but as it is, it's all he can really offer his betrothed. They clear the camp in good time and once they pass the last camp Akito turns them towards the village, wondering if there's anything Hiro wants to see in particular while they have this little bit of time off palace grounds. Slowing them down enough so he can focus on speaking he asks softly, “Where would you like to go? We will have to return soon, but I am sure a little time away will not hurt. . .”
*Hugs zombie* *Feeds brains*
Aoba sweetly accepts his word and he can feel his temperature rise as the angel blesses his cheek with his lips. Much of the fire that had been on the lowest burn possible without going out completely flares back to a raging inferno and he feels very torn about leaving his Little Mouse alone right now. Not counting Dani or Kyou's presence, and indeed he'd rather they were not about right about now, he feels that leaving now is the hardest thing he's ever had to do. 'I have him back. He's right here, smiling at me, kissing me, I can't just leave him. . .My Little Mouse came back to me, how could I ever even consider doing anything but sticking by his side and showing him why he should never ever leave again!?' With a soft whine he has to hold himself back from just kidnapping Aoba away into the house, instead focusing on Dani and his usual none to veiled attempt to get some time alone with Aoba.

With a sharp look he allows his older brother to steal away the angel he loves, giving Kyou an equally sharp one that sends him skittering off after th demon and angel with a frightened look over his shoulder. Letting out a long sigh he pushes himself to his feet, crying out lightly as for the very first time he actually feels his wounds. “Ow, ow ow ow. . . .” he whines, shaking his head at himself with a light smile on his lips. “I need to take better care of myself. . .” Laughing at echoing Aoba's own worries for him his hand goes to his chest, pressing over the pendant hanging there and opening a portal to hell. With one last look at the gray mass of feathers vanishing around the corner of the barn the demon lets out a long sigh before stepping through the portal and vanishing from the face of the earth.

Stepping out the other side of the portal he looks around and sees nothing out of the ordinary. Souls being tormented, demons having fun with one another and with the odd soul thrown into the mix on occasion as a torment, fire, brimstone, pools of sludge. Yeah, it all looks like “home”. Moving quickly he hisses away a few demons wanting to “play” with him and instead makes for the nearest healing pool. He knows Dani's right, and that their father will likely beat him senseless, but he'd rather not be openly bleeding during the beat down.

The pools smell as nasty as ever and as he strips down to slip in he can't help but wonder if there's a way to recreate their effects in a none smelly manner he can use on earth for quick heals. No one bothers him, his black flam keeping everyone at bay as he bathes, but once he's done he finds that someone managed to get close enough to steal his clothing. With a light growl he summons his natural clothing, black Athenian style robes, and stalks towards the palace. As soon as he's through the door he knows that Pops is at least not in a horrible mood as the halls are still filled with all manner of sexy beast. Slipping through them he finds his father taking his pleasure with one of them and he waits patiently for him to finish.

He's been told repeatedly that as his son he's free to interrupt at any time, but he found out through trial and error that doing so normally left him having to pleasure his father as well before being allowed to speak. . . .Or required to do so while being intimate, and while he has nothing against being with the fallen angel, he wants to get back to earth as soon as possible. Thankfully the two finish quickly and the busty succubus departs the throne room swiftly, not wanting to be around for this father son talk. Moaning lightly Lucifer rises, letting his robes drop back into place as he stands. Walking slowly down the steps that lead up to his throne he smiles at his son in such a way that Kuro feels uncomfortable.

'He's not in the mood to beat me, so what. . . .?' He tenses as his father moves around behind him, running his finger over the now sealed back wound before pressing on that pleasant spot between his shoulder blades and forcing out his wings along with a soft sound from Kuro. Tenderly he runs his claws over the still tattered wing before leaning in and licking it gently. Moving back around Kuro his wraps his arms around his son's waist and looks up at him with soft, placid eyes that send Kuro into a near panic.

“What's my baby boy been up to, hmmmm?” he murmurs softly, a teasing note in his voice. The note along with the smell on his father's breath helps him relax a bit.

'Oh, that's why he's so calm. . . He's been hitting the nectar today. . . .' Smiling down at his sire Kuro murmurs softly, “Nothing of too much import in the affairs of hell Pops. . .” He winces as the angel bites his neck, hard, drawing blood at the statement.

Licking at the wound Lucifer hums softly. “What a qualified statement. . . .” Pulling back he looks up into Kuro's eyes, all signs if playfulness gone as his hands clamp down firmly on his youngest son's hips. “It, however, is very important for my baby boy though, is it not?”

Grinding his teeth a little as he feels his hips threatening to fracture he nods. “Yes Pops, very important to me. . .” Looking straight into the angel's eyes he lets Lucifer see everything. His turmoil, his pain, his joy, all of it, while keeping the actual events thoroughly hidden. The smaller male snarls openly, glaring off toward the door.

“Laying claw on my little one. . . .” Kuro's hands come up and he rubs his father's back gently. Lucifer relaxes instantly and cuddles into his son's arms, purring contentedly. After a little while however he pulls back and begins walking around the room slowly. Kuro simply watches as he does this, the angel's scowl coming and going as he thinks. Finally he stops right in front of Kuro once more and with a hard poke he presses his finger of Kuro's pendant and the half breed has to grit his teeth against the pain as he adds an extra sigl into the object, making the aura around it shift so it's more threatening. “There. . .” he murmurs, smiling in satisfaction.

Kuro looks down at it, nodding in approval even as he pouts at his new shiny burn that appeared on his chest in the same shape as the pendant. Looking back at his father he smiles warmly before pulling the angel into a bear hug, kissing him deeply. Lucifer melts into it before sending Kuro flying across the room with backhand and clucking his tongue at his 'naughty little boy'. Taking that as his dismissal Kuro picks himself up off the ground and makes his way out the door and back towards the nearest place to portal out of the fiery depths.

~*~

Back in the throne room the king of hell settles back into his throne, preening over the lovely kiss even while he shakes his head at his son being so inappropriate. From behind the high backed chair a figure steps out, looking down at the smaller, gentler looking version of himself. Without looking up – having far too much fun thinking about who he wants to eat today – he murmurs softly, “Follow him.”

“Yes father,” the figure murmurs softly with a very slight bow, his arm crossing his leather clad chest. The coat is quite revealing, and resting over one of the many natural gaps between the straps of the leather jacket he wears the pendant, very similar to Kuro's, glows gently. Turning on his heel the figure, his black horns gleaming in the firelight lining the halls, follows behind his youngest brother at a distance, not wanting to alert the Black Little Storm Cloud to his presence.
BubblegumcAndi: With the one door ‘alarmed’ and the other door closed, Andi takes a few minutes to organize herself. She fixes the hairspray gun, and uses a strife card to get it labeled as aerosolkind. She does the same with her crowbar, so she won’t lose them again. She tests a theory by throwing the crowbar across the room (away from the computers), and tries to see if she can use the strife card to call it back, and to her surprise, it works. That means she can keep throwing the crowbar, and keep getting it back—though it still isn’t the best weapon for ranged attacks. While she is getting situated, Andi keeps an eye on Fire Lord, making sure that he isn’t getting into more trouble than she can handle.

The fact that she was inclined to throw the crowbar tells her that she needs something more ranged. A bow and arrows would work great, and she makes a mental note to check out the prop closet. They should have something that actually shoots. Still, she opens the manual once more to see about creating things. If she could make her own bow and arrows, then she could attach all sorts of things to use for ammunition. Reviewing her updated instructions, Andi gets the impression that she needs something 3D to combine a sketch with. If she goes with a crossbow, they already have one in the prop closet, but it doesn’t fire. Then she would just need a sketch with her (working) modifications, and then to make a bolt.

The down side is that all of these steps will cost Grist, and she hasn’t killed that many imps. She goes to the prop closet to get the crossbow, seeing two different options that she grabs, and brings them both back to the workroom. There, she starts with the larger hand-held design and begins a sketch for what she wants it to look like.
Dream Crossbow

Andi decides that her sketch might be a little too adventurous for the moment, however, and sets it aside. What she really needs is something light and easy, like a wrist-mounted one. The other prop she had grabbed was for a wrist-mounted dagger, which was cool, but she preferred to keep things further away. In a few minutes, she had a solid, and yet simple, design for a wrist-mounted crossbow. This was one of the few times she felt like her study of monsters and villains was actually paying off.

With the sketch finished, Andi excitedly goes over to the machine and selects for the actual wrist-mounted tool to be dominant. She sets the machine to blend, and then hopes for the best of both of these things—and that she has enough grist for it to turn out.

Wrist Crossbow

The crossbow looks beautiful, the only thing missing is a bolt to test it out. It goes on her third strife card, bowkind, and then she is securing it on her left wrist. The bolt is easy, and she grabs a wooden dowel, drawing out what she wants the bolt to look like, and then goes through the process again. She isn’t sure how many times she will have to make bolts in order to refill the thing, but when she launches the first across the room to test it, she finds that the crossbow is already reloaded. fantastic!

Having written down the codes for the wrist-mounted crossbow and bolt, Andi sends a quick group message. She is one of the only people putting messages there, but she doesn’t let that bother her too much. They can ignore her all they want.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: I think we should make another chat to dump our neat codes. I made a wrist mounted crossbow (####) and bolt (####), and projectiles reload automatically. :)

After she sends the message she sees one she missed from Stithis about combining sprites. “Right… I need to do that, too.” She says aloud to herself. She had been so wrapped up in the cool weapon that she hadn’t gotten around to the second prototyping.

Stithis sends a message to the group about making an awesome sprite by combining it with a figurine. It is an interesting idea, and gives her another one. If the machine can read intention rather than composition, then she should be able to use some of her sketches, as well as her molds, to enhance her own.

With the weapon idea taken care of for the moment, Andi pulls out all of her sketches and begins to thumb through them, looking for the right one to combine with Georgesprite. She can’t just throw anything with it, and wants to stick with the reptilian look. “I can go with a hydra…or a dragon…or some sort of sea creature.” She muses aloud, looking at her best sketches. She doesn’t really feel the need for a huge blade, and wonders what sort of things she can build into the design. One of her hydra designs catches her eye. She was assigned proverbs, and she chose the three wise monkeys, except they were more like dragony lizard heads. One was a dragon that breathed fire (speak no evil), and the second was an almost robotic snake with laser eyes (see no evil). The third one had been the hardest to conceptualize, and she had gone with something that could deafen a room with its scream, but her teachers hadn’t ‘loved’ it.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the can being knocked over in the large workroom, and Andi jumps up from her spot and goes over to the door. She sees 4 imps, and she grins, for the first time kind of excited to try her stuff out. She summons the aerosol weapon with one hand, but starts with the bolts, killing three before the other two get close. The two are clustered, however, and she is able to aerosol them both with ease. “Cool.” She grins, ignoring the mild disturbance at the ease with which she was able to take those 5 lives.

The door to the sculpting room doesn’t lock—it’s been busted for years, but Andi grabs some rope and wraps it around the handles a few times to slow the next guys down. She puts the tin can back with some of the beads shoved back into them, and then turns to Georgesprite. “I know, you need some attention.” she says.

Andi checks her phone once more, and sees a message from Skip (of all people) asking if anyone could draw or sculpt. She looks around her workshop and laughs out-loud, then looks down to see Fire Lord volunteered her as well.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: I can probably help. Need to second prototype my sprite too, but I am in my workshop, so I have some fun stuff. PM me if you still need help, Skip.

She sends the message, and then goes to the back room once more to look at her three-headed hydra design. Another sketch she had done for an ‘underwater’ theme is sitting near it, and gives her a great idea. For the third head, Georgesprite’s main head, she changes his tongue into a long octopus leg that has spikes on the end. Hear no evil. The snake opens his mouth, and the ‘tongue’ lashes out, right through an imp’s ear and head... the attack completely silent. It is perfect, and completes the trifecta of the concept.

With a brief thought about her teacher being impressed with her, Andi shows Georgsprite the design, wanting his nod of approval as well before she chapalogues the card--because one can never have too much information, right? She has one brief moment of hesitation as she remembered Edward Hiss-orhands… and wonders what kind of imps they are going to face once she finishes this prototyping. She could pull back on the design, just give him a regular weapon instead…But this design is way too cool to pass up, and she begins the second prototyping.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: “It’s over…? Oh good.” Tim looked over the rolling pin he had, noticing the small dents in it. “Good thing I bought the expensive one.” It was still pretty sturdy, but he’d probably need to upgrade his weapon like suggested. With a smile, Tim nodded to Charro. “I promised we’d get food after so of course.” He locked the bakery before heading back up the steps. “I think a snack break is well deserved anyway. Food, the one thing around here that makes sense.” He chuckled. Messages started coming in, or at least he started to realize they were there so he checked them out. Stithis and FireLord seemed to have really cool sounding sprites- The picture of Stithis’ confirming it. “Wow.” He looked over at Charro and smiled. “Nah, I like you like that. Nothing too flashy and yet still cool. The flames are a nice touch.”

He skimmed over the message from Skip about needing an artist. Sure he made cakes and baked goods, but he was no artist. Not the kind she was looking for. Fortunately for her, Andi could help out.

BakerGroup: What’s this coding thing you guys are talking about? I may have missed something…

Truth be told, every time he read over the manual (as many times as he pulled it out) he only skimmed through each part. More so out of a panicky race for time. “Oh yeah.” Tim snapped a quick picture of Charro and sent it to the group, since they were sharing sprite pictures. He set his phone down afterwards and rummaged through the fridge. “Hm, well I know what I can eat,” He took out the other half of a sandwich he had made and sat it on the counter before searching again. “As for you, I suppose I could give you tuna. I normally gave Zorro that, or random pieces of-” He looked over to see Charro nibbling on the sandwich that was left. “Or you can eat that. That’s fine too.” He shook his head and took out a small box of donuts.

He decided to peek in and check on Stithis, sitting on the counter next to Charro.

BakerGroup: So what are you guys trying to accomplish now? It would probably give me idea of what I should do next… I do suggest snack breaks though.

“Geez, I sound like a mom….Still, better to make sure they’re okay and remember to not fight until their dead. Besides, breaks give you time to think. They give you time to plan.” Tim was now just motivating and convincing himself at this point. “Yeah, this is a time to relax. And a time to think of a new plan. Soo..I have a few of those jewel things. There’s that CD I need to get. Oh and upgrading weapons. I think I’ll do that.”

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: Andi is waiting for Skip’s reply, pulling out some paper and a water bottle, when she sees a message from Baker. He is asking about the coding thing, and she waits a few moments to see if Stithis is sending a message before she replies.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: I think we are all missing a few things :P

BubblegumcAndiGroup: Here’s the gist of the whole grist thing, hehe. The code is on the back of the chapalog cards. You can put one of your blank cards in the punch designix machine, type in the code that someone shared, and then it will punch the card to make the item. Like when you came into the game, you take the card and put it in the lathe to make the totem, and then the Alchemiter to have the totem made into an actual item. If you have an actual item that you want the code of, like the figurine Stithis used, then you put it on the card, then put it in the punching machine. He can’t get his figurine back, but if he typed that code in a blank card, he could have a new one made.

She sends the message to see that baker has sent a picture of his sprite, so she turns to her…now 3-headed snake/dragon/lizard creature and takes a quick picture of it to share with the group as well. She is pleased that the snake head still has his Mexican sombrero on, even though it seems a little weird now.

The next message from Baker is about what they are all trying to do. He suggests snack breaks, and Andi chuckles. Then she realizes that while she has snacks, she is pretty sure she will eventually need real food.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: Speaking of snacks, do you think if you made food using the card system and send us the codes, we could make actual food? What I wouldn’t give for a cupcake right now…

BubblegumcAndiGroup: More importantly though, if your sprite is done, I would focus on weapons. I showed you the pictures of what I made. Make sure you can defend yourself. And check on the person you are hosting to make sure they don’t need any support or equipment. I don’t want to rush getting out of this level, but don’t forget you need to build a path up to those weird Spirograph things in the sky for your player…

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Laurra is blasting her way through her fifth wave of imps when her phone pings. Spotting a response from the aforementioned “BubblegumcAndi” she puts down the last imp with a shot to the head before returning to the hotel room, which is now what she calls her base of operations. Sitting down at the desk she ignores all other postings to the group for now, wanting to deal with her sprite issue first and foremost.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: Thanks for getting back to me. When you got time, I need help with making something for my sprite. . . .It's kinda personal, but I suck at art.

Looking over at Alexi she sighs softly before turning back to the computer and watching her player putter around the kitchen.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Fire Lord: Letting out a huge yawn James spins his chair back and forth, reading the messages as they come in and wondering if he should reply. “They seem to have it all well in hand. . .” Normally drawn to games where co-op is always optional, he's not exactly confident that he will be able to contribute anything to the conversation other than talking about himself. Which normally he's always up for, but as he yawns once more he's quite sure that it would not be his finest moment. When the subject of snacks comes up however, he lets out a soft curse and looks over at his little fridge. “I love all the food I have, but I don't think I want to spend months eating only that. . . .” Letting out a sigh he pulls out and chapalogs one of each of the snacks he owns and sends the codes to the group chat.

Fire LordGroup: Here is what I have for food. Some OJ(####) some Apples(####) some Chocolate Covered Raisins(####) and some Coke(####). It was to be shopping day the day after tomorrow, so I am a bit low on food items. . .

He doesn't want to sound like he's begging, but even he knows that these things will not get him very far. After a few seconds however, he rotates slowly in his chair and stares at his Alchemiter. “I wonder. . . . .”

_+_+_+_+_+_

BakerGroup: Oh! Thanks Andi. That clears up some stuff.

Tim was looking at his cards as she spoke. He didn’t have many items, save for the knives he collected before the game. He’d probably need more of those. It made him realize the other reason he hadn’t been playing games for awhile- besides being busy- was he even good at them?? ’Well I’ve got no choice to be good at it now.’

“What items would I need…” He looked over at Charro’s makeshift gun. It was more of a defensive weapon to keep creatures at a distance, and Charro was much better with its claws anyway but it still may have needed to be refilled every once and awhile. He’d get to it later. There were weapons that needed to be upgraded. He hopped off the counter, when Charro declared he was finished. “Come on buddy, we’re headed downstairs for the upgrade.”

Again, he checked on Marcus to make sure he was okay. The guy was able to handle his own, and his sprite seemed more than capable of helping out. Another message appeared and both Andi and Fire mentioned food.

BakerGroup: Oh, I can be of use there. My place is a literal bakery.

Without further question, he starts to put some of the food he has in the chapalog and sent the codes.

BakerGroup: Croissants(#####), Rolls(#####), Basket of Muffins(#####). Don’t worry, this stuff is fresh. They were orders from customers, buuut yeah I don’t have customers. Cinnamon rolls(#####) That’s all for now. It’s not the healthiest, but it’s still variety in it. Thanks for yours FireLord.

He continued his search through the workspace, looking for products that would work. “Oh! This could work.” He pulled out a grater, touching the ragged edges of it before looking at the rolling pin. That would be quite a painful hit. And cut. Blending the two together caused the pin to have longer handles and the surface to feel like the grater. "Success! This should be able to hold them off until my next upgrade is needed."

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: Andi receives Skip’s message that asks for something for her sprite, but she still hasn’t gone into detail on what it is she needs. She peaks out the door to make sure nothing is coming, and then settles back in the chair.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: I’ve got time. What kind of thing you want? More human with weapons, or some sort of creature? Gimme the deets.

She glances over to her sketches, but realizes that it won’t be helpful to just send random things, and she had better wait until she knows what Skip is actually looking for it.

Fire Lord then sends the group the food items he has. It isn’t a full diet, but at least he has soda. Most of Andi’s food is upstairs, and while she can fight a few imps to get there and check out the cabinet, for now she sticks with what she has.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: I don’t have much in the way of food. I’m not at home. But I have some bottled water (####) and granola bars (####). Together, we can make a college kid diet!

Baker’s addition to actually being in a bakery is a huge relief, and Andi reads the codes he has provided, already envious and wanting all of that.

BubblegumcAndiGroup: Wow Baker, I have suddenly decided who my favorite person is….Speaking of what we have and don’t, I don’t know if we will have to sleep in this game, but I definitely don’t have much in the way of blankets/pillows. Actually… I think the office upstairs has a couch in it.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Laura chews her lip, unsure of how to put the “deets” as the artist puts it. Looking back at Alexi she sighs softly. Pulling out her phone she readies a photo before responding.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: Hmmmm. . . .I'm not completely concerned with what to add, but more with what I want to keep. . .

Sending the photo of her and her little brother, the last one she has of him, she waits until it goes through before typing again.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: That's my little brother, and. . . .I used a lock of his hair for my sprite. . .And, I don't want to do anything that will, y'know, make him less him? If that makes any sense. . . .I have some ideas, but I guess I just need for now to know you can at least do human faces, or something. . .

She knows she sound weird, but she can't help it. It's her brother after all.

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: The picture catches Andi a bit off-guard, and she isn't sure what she is supposed to be looking at until she gets the next message from Skip. It says that this boy was her brother, and she used a part of him to make the sprite. By Andi's logic, that means that the sprite looks like her brother, and she doesn't want to lose that.

It's a tough situation, and Andi glances over at her sprite, wondering how pissed Skip will be if this just...doesn't work.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: I can do human faces, and I think this stuff works more off intent rather than literal anyway. What do you want to equip him with?

BubblegumcAndiSkip: Or instead, if he could have had any super power, what would it be?

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Laurra tries to think of her little brother mentioning anything like that, super powers or whatnot were never all that big with him, but he did like playing video games with her on occasion.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: I don't know about super powers, but we used to play a lot of Assassin's Creed. Ever seen that game? I found it kind of ironic to be playing an assassin game with him, and the guy in it's human enough. . .Let me ask him.

Turning to her brother she raises an eyebrow at him and with a silent giggle he smiles and nods. Smiling back she turns back to the computer.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: Yeah, he likes the idea. If I send you a picture, do you think you could somehow work Alexi into the outfit the main guy has or something?

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndiSkip: I know the series a bit, but go ahead and send a picture. Do you have a printer there for me to send you one back, or should I chapalog it here?

_+_+_+_+_+_

SkipBubblegumcAndi: I doubt this family brought a printer, so it would be best if you send me a code for it. Someone dropped off a card with that Designix thing on it. Don't know who, but yeah, that's a thing. There some dogooder running around here. . . .

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: Andi reread the next message from Skip a few times, unsure of what she meant.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: Dogooder? Like...you brought someone into the game with you?

_+_+_+_+_+_

SkipBubblegumcAndi: No, no, like. I was sanding in the room, I hear something like wind chimes, but by the time I turned with by gun whatever made the noise was gone. I found a punched card with the Designix thing on it along with a note. The note said that they were warned I would shoot first ask questions never so they dropped off the card without sticking around. I don't know who it is, but the card was signed 'Shenanigans'.

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblgumcAndiSkip: That's...bizarre. Isn't Shenanigans the name of our team? Maybe we have some sort of masco--Did you say you have a gun?

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Laurra saw that coming, but doesn't panic.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: We've all got histories, right? I'm not someone to kill teammates, so for now let's just focus on surviving, yeah? And yeah, I think that's what that Sandro guy called out team. . .

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: After seeing some of the profanity Skip used earlier, Andi feels like the woman is staying rather calm, which helps her relax a fair bit. She gives a small nod to herself, and then refocuses as she types her message.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: Alright then. I mean... I guess most of us have weapons now anyway. And I am not one to judge. I am pretty sure guns are legal in most states anyway.... If you send that picture I will do a quick sweep of my studio and then get on the sketch :)

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: The assassin smiles and sends the pictures of Altair she rotates as the background on her phone.

hdwallpapers.in/walls/altair_ibn_la_ah..
all4desktop.com/data_images/original/4..

SkipBubblegumcAndi: Thanks again. I'll pay you back some day. I promise.

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: Andi looks at the pictures and smiles. She knew of Assassins creed, but this will make it really easy. She moves over to the computer and moves Fire Lord's window to the side, then imports the pictures into the program. The Zbrush program makes her life really easy, because she doesn't have to recreate the pictures, only blend them together and make the edges work. She does take the time to change some of the proportions on the figure to make them more child-like, figuring that the child's face on a large frame looks a bit weird.

She takes a break after a few minutes to clear her workroom again, killing a few imps. Now that her sprite has been upgraded, he helps a fair amount too, which makes her life a lot easier. That, and her new wrist-mounted crossbow makes the job super quick, and once she sets up the barriers again, she goes back to work.

As she looks at it once more, though, Andi can tell that it just ... doesn't look right. She shrinks the window and opens a new one, starting from scratch. Grabbing the drawing tablet that is plugged into the computer, she begins quickly sketching the design. She doesn't need to focus on shading, since everything will be Skip's color anyway.

She spends the most time on the kid's face, making sure to keep the brightness in his eyes, the less-defined small nose, the round chin. The weapons and cloak come quickly to her, matching well with the types of things she likes to draw anyway. Still, the process takes a good deal of time, and she has to take two more breaks to stretch, kill some imps, and set up her traps once more before she sends back a picture to Skip to approve.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: I don't usually work so quickly, so let me know what you want me to fix before I chapalog it.

On the cloak, she has the longer sword, and she made sure to have the wrist knives as well as the colors and style of the assassin.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Knowing that art takes time Laurra leaves the computer, slipping her phone into her pocket as she sets about killing as many imps as she can in the interim. She avoids going outside, wanting to be close to the Alchemiter once the picture comes through. Alexi floats around behind her as she “works” and every once in a while she feels like she's doing something wrong. Faint flashes of her human kills go through her mind ever few kills and more and more guilt tries to make it's way into her heart. She pushes it away, focusing, trying desperately to keep them away. She'd always been careful to keep Alexi from finding out what she does for a living, but with him, here, watching her, he can't hep but feel that he's always known.

Then at last her phone goes off and she pulls it up quickly, slipping into the parent's room. Looking over the picture she sees that it was indeed done quickly, but over all it looks exactly like what she wanted.

SkipBubblegumcAndi: Looks good. Thanks a lot for this.

_+_+_+_+_+_

BubblegumcAndi: No one really knows how long art takes. Andi isn't really thrilled with the result, but she thinks that the machine works more on intent anyway, and it should be fine. Skip seems to approve, and so she quickly prints out the sketch and puts it on an item card.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: No problem! Nice for me to have some sense of normalcy in all of this :)

She sends brightly, and then remembers that she needed to send the code as well.

BubblegumcAndiSkip: Here's the code (####)

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Taking the code she sends a quick thanks to BubblegumcAndi before moving over to the machine to make her totem. Using the Designix she punches one of her blank cards with the new code and smiles as she watches the card immediately replaced in her inventory. 'Good, don't need to be running out of those. . .' Pulling out her newly punched card she carves her totem and within moments has her own copy of the picture drawn for her by BubblegumcAndi. Looking at Alexi she hesitates for a few seconds, looking at him with slightly sad eyes. He however takes the initiative in her hesitation and reaches out to touch the picture.

There is a bright flash and when at last it fades Laurra finds herself grinning like a fool. “My my little brother. Quite a costume you've got there!.” For the first time in years, she sounds somewhat happy as she circles the floating sprite. Basically a perfect copy of the sketch she pauses in front of him to peek under his hood. Finding her little brother's familiar face grinning back at her she lets out a soft sigh and nods.

Alexisprite: “Hello sister. It feels like it's been a long time. . .” He doesn't seem put-out by the thought, but after a moment he gives his big sister a tight hug.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Charrosprite → Baker: The sprite follows Baker downstairs and purrs deeply when he sees how happy Baker is over his creation. Like the large cat he is, he nuzzles the man before turning his eye towards the front door. “Want to try it out?”

_+_+_+_+_+_

Fire Lord: After six or seven experimental mixes, James finally figures out some useful uses for food game wise. Taking the failures (Such as the chocolate coated Coke bottle and the raisin with coke flavoring that tasted just awful) he decides to share what he's learned before his nap, which he definitely needs after consuming a particularly foolish mix of all his foods into one liquid chunky mess.

Fire LordGroup: Hello all. I did some experimenting and as it turns out, certain food mixtures will make creations that are not only palpable, but also have extra in game side effects. So far all I've managed to make are a couple things that fill you with energy, along with something akin to poison, but I thought I would share. Copple (####), Appange Juice, and this one is the nastiest thing I made – Beast Juice (####). I shudder every time I think of that taste. . . .But maybe you guys can make use of it. Well, I'm off to bed.

Reading the rest of the group posts he feels a slight pang of jealousy as Andi announces she likes Baker best, but he does his best to push the feeling aside. He doesn't need anyone's approval. So what if she's his Host? She can go ahead and favor whoever she wants. In a better mood he would likely send codes for his bedding, but as he is tired and Andi's comment having put him in a sour mood he silences his phone and crawls into bed.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Stithis: Marcus spends a good while having fun slaughtering things with his newly proto-typed sprite, ignoring all the pings from his phone and focusing on refining his skill with his weapon. At first he'd kinda sucked, simply swinging it around, bashing things to death more often than actually slicing them, but after a good hour of practice he's got the “swing” of it and feels satisfied with how much grist he's gathered. Retreating to his apartment he puts his scythe away and locks the door behind him. Sephillsprite slips through the door behind him, very ghost like, and drifts over to the kitchen to hover for a while.

The now exhausted young man looks over at the floating being and smiles. 'Yeah, I did good. . .' With a sigh he collapses on to the couch and takes a few minutes to just breath before pulling up his phone to check messages. He chuckles as Fire Lord fails to hide his own fanboy nature when it comes to the sword Sephillsprite now wields and quickly sends in the code.

Stithis: → Fire Lord: Here y'go guy. For the figurine (####). Good luck with your recreation!

Reading further he sees Bubble being innovative and grins. “Sweet. Nice job Bubbles.” he says to the room as he continues to scroll down. He hasn't made anything neat yet so he wants to see if there's any new developments to address before just breaking in with random chat and or ideas. He chuckles and smiles proudly as, after being volunteered, Bubbles offers up her help in the sprite making herself, and while he's at it he checks out the pics already submitted fro sprites. “These are awesome. . .” he murmurs, nodding in approval at his phone. Scribbling down all the codes on his phone's word app he lets out a huge yawn as he continues reading.

Once he's done he wanders over to his room, chapaloging his entire bed set, including his body pillow and fitted sheet. Managing to put it all on one card he quickly takes down the code before remaking his bed.

StithisGroup: Hey guys, just got done killing my way through several swarms. I'm a bit tired but I thought I'd drop this here for ya. I got a Bed Set (####) that I hope will do ya Bubbles, and thanks for the food shares. I think I'll chapalog my whole pantry later so we can add more variety and perhaps some healthier stuff to this mix. Heck, I may even cook meals, for fun.

Plopping back on to the couch Marcus pulls up his SBURB and idly begins building on to Andi's building. He doesn't want to use up her grist or anything, but he figures it will be a nice mindless task before he takes a quick nap. 'I've only been up a few hours, but I didn't sleep all that well last night. . . .'

_+_+_+_+_+_

GM → BubblegumcAndi: You hear what sounds like wind chimes from somewhere behind you. A flickering cloud of mist about large enough for a single human to stand in appears. After a seconds, the mist clears and a person is left standing there. It appears to be male, and a bit taller than you, wearing a dark red hoodie with a black skull and cross swords on the front and matching red pants. The hood is up but you can see his face rather clearly. He smiling at you like he knows you.

_+_+_+_+_+_

??? → BubblegumcAndi: “Hey Bubbles! How you doin'?” The guy smiles at Andi, standing in a clearly relaxed pose with his hands in the pocket of the hoodie.
*Peeks in* *Checks pulse*
Crios waves a hand at the dream, motioning him to calm down before tilting his head towards Inui. Inui tries to say he's fine but one look from the doctors critical glare and he hushes up. He doesn't more away though. Rasha obviously has big new. Big enough news to get Enasi to leave so he can deliver it. Not that he's tapped into his negative energy he can feel deception a lot easier now. For his part Rasha takes a calming breath before moving closer to Crios so he can speak more quietly. Inui leans in to listen. “I've been following a trail for a few days now. It's always eluded me though. It kept vanishing. It felt. . . .Just a bit off. It was the most off thing I could find and with it always vanishing on me, I thought it must be important!”

Crios takes a seat, steepling his hands in front of his mouth as he listens. A part of him wants to urge the prankster to get to the point, but he knows that would just agitate the dream further. Taking a deep breath, Rasha goes on. “Anyways, I finally managed to track the source today! It'd always vanished in one of two places, one being the medical win, the other a side door to the palace. Anyways, I felt it again, and ran to the outside door, and I watched, and I saw!” Crios sits forward, a painful ache in his stomach as he thinks it may be one of his team.

“I saw them, but they had a hood on. I could really see much, but it kinda looked like they had a really big head, but mostly human body. It was strange, maybe not a big head, but the hood was held out at the sides and stuff, and I was confused, but. . . .I. . . .Crios?” The dream and minion both look at Crios, the expression on his face bringing Rasha's rambling to a screeching halt.

The doctor looks disbelieving, confused, hurt, and angry all at once. Inui can feel himself feeling better as he leeches off the waves of negative and has to carefully tuck it in best he can to keep from hurting Rasha. The shapeshifter on the other hand transforms into a kitty and hops up into Crios' lap, trying to make him feel better with little kitty nuzzles to his chest and chin. After several long minutes of silence however Crios ask one question. “Is the person gone now?” Rasha pauses and nods. Without wanting Crios is on his feet and off towards the medical ward. He pauses at the door. “Go back to where they vanished and wait. Come inform me the moment it's safe to reach me. Inui, stay here, and stay under covers, please.” He knows he can't order the little nightmare minion around, but he also knows that Inui love his master and won't do anything to jeopardize getting him back.

Inui and Rasha both nod, doing as they were bidden. On his way to the spot the minion vanished Rasha worries about Crios, glancing over his furry shoulder every few steps. 'I really hope he'll be okay. He seemed really upset. . . .'

~*~

Crios is very upset, and while he prays that Rasha s somehow wrong, or that his translations of the facts are wrong, deep down inside he can feel the words ringing true. It's one of his. It would take a trained medical professional to subdue Seishu silently, not to mention lead him away from people to begin with. 'Seishu is smarter than that. Foolish, reckless, and on occasion downright moronic. . . But he's not stupid. . .If he was taken, ti was by surprise, and there are only a few minions with the talent to do something like that. . . .' With a sigh he slips into the main room of the medical wing and begins doing bed checks. The doctor on duty looks at him a little funny but says nothing. It always helps to have extra hands.

Having checked the chart on the way in to see who is working at this hour his stomach drops to see that the doctor is the only one in the room. Offhandedly he asks, “Where's your partner for this shift? They take the day off because of sigh a light load right now?”

The doctor looks at him, then looks around the room. “I didn't even notice she was gone! She's always so quiet, that Fuan. No, no, I don't know where she is. Should I call for her? Did you need her?” He seems sincere and Crios really hopes he can trust what he ears.

'But then again, I never suspected her. . . .And if I'm right, that means she deceived me. . . .' Shaking his head he smiles at his underling. “No, no, it's alright. I was just wondering.”

~*~*~*~*~

Harper looks back at the warrior, trying to think of a better plan, trying to come up with some way to keep going without having to take the time to bring Finn back. 'I know we have to do something. Maybe we can treat him. He could have just taken a hard knock, he may not be. . .' A faint continuous twitching out of the corner of his eye catches his attention, interrupting his thoughts. Turning to see what it is he stares openly as both Kaila and Jentou stand, heads up, eyes wide, hands linked. The movement comes from their wings, twitching almost rhythmically in tandem with one another. In a gentle voice as if trying not to break the almost trance like state he asks softly, “Seishu?”

His heart skips a beat as they both nod, their eyes locked on a distant point past one of the walls. Rue's wings let out a happy little flutter before stilling again. Finn lets out a groan and Starla is at his side in an instant. “Finn, are you okay? You should rest, I. . .” He shakes his head before grabbing it tightly.

“No, no, I'm okay, I just. . .I just need some water, and maybe a new head. I'm fine. . .” The siblings drop into a quiet fight about his current state and Rue leaves them to it, overing over to Harper.

Looking nervously happy he motions towards Kaila and Jentou, watching their fingers turn white as they grip one another's hands tightly in clear distress. “They found him. We should. . .Mister Seishu, he needs us. . .”

Harper nods, looking over at the plant siblings. He knows what needs to be done, but his basic instincts are at war. [i]'Finn is hurt, but I don't know how much, and part of me is sure that the best thing to do is to get him to safety first, but. . . But we don't know how much time we have, and I will need all the hands I can for this, even injured ones. The realms depend on this, on getting Seishu back, and we don't know how much time Night has left. . .” He looks at Finn, waiting for a break in the arguing before calling out, “Soldier, are you okay to continue on?”

Finn looks up at Harper, his general, his sister holding his arm tightly, and without hesitation nods. “Yes sir. I am still able to assist.” Starla lets out a small noise, but Harper disregards it.

'The point is that he's ready and willing to see this through. That energy is what we need right now' “On your feet then.” Finn complies as quickly as possible, taking a drink Starla supplied for him and downing it before giving the general another nod. Harper gives a sharp nod back before turning to his counterpart. Reaching out he gingerly places a hand on the second's shoulder. Kaila barely registers the touch and when Harper leans in and murmurs, “Lead the way.” he doesn't hesitate for an instant. He and his brother are off, through the walls, and on to the street before the slowest in the group clear the first room. Harper calls out for Rue to keep pace behind him while Harper himself moves at a bit of a slower pace behind his counterpart as to not lose the rest of their group. 'This is it. . . .We're almost there. . .We've almost found him. . .'
BubblegumcAndiFire Lord: Sure thing on the equipment. Will do asap.

She doesn’t answer his group message about having the first kill. It feels…sort of wrong to think about, when she thinks too much about it. They are just imps. Created by your imagination. They aren’t…even real, necessarily. Andi hears the sounds of things being moved, and turns back towards the computer room, seeing new equipment has appeared near the sculpting tables. The next message from Sthitis appears and she pauses to read the group message and then her individual one.

She smiles as she sees that this time he has done the hard task of summarizing the most recent update to make sure that they have all they need. Now she doesn’t have to feel like the mother of the group. He explains that they each need two pieces of equipment to move on, and communication was key. In the individual message, he says that he has already deposited the Designix, which she had noticed a few moments before. She opens up the message again from the game about how much Grist she needs for the Grist Torrent, but the 100 doesn’t mean a lot since she doesn’t know how much she earned from her earlier kills.

Getting an idea, however, she goes over to the computer and looks at the James’ Grist cache. He has enough for the Designix, and he has enough for the Torrent CD as well. Only one of them needs the Grist Torrent CD, and she doesn’t think he will mind using some of his Grist on it.

Looking around his dorm room, she doesn’t see a lot of space for the Designix. She considers revising the room, making it bigger, but she realizes that will take build grist to do, and she doesn’t want to waste it. She quickly gets the Designix situated in his gigantic closet (which might actually be the size of her old apartment), and then purchases the Torrent CD as well.

BubblegumcAndiFire Lord: Got your Designix in the closet and you had enough for the Torrent CD, so now we can all share Grist. Keep it up!

BubblegumcAndiStithis: Got Fire Lord the CD, so we can focus on other things. Thanks for the Designix.

Hearing another noise outside of the room, Andi looks up from her computer and sighs. More imps have gotten in the studio. She glances over to Georgesprite, but he doesn’t seem to be too much help at the moment. Perhaps she needs to do a bit more with it—like Fire Lord.

Since she needs her equipment in the studio for that, Andi grabs her can and opens the door to the lab, seeing one of the imps crawling on the painting table. This time, they are a bit spread out, with three over there and two a bit closer by the entrance to the molding room. She uses the fire on the pair of them, and then grabs the crowbar nearby as she turns to see one of the imps rushing towards her. She smacks it in the head, but the thing is way too close for comfort when it pops.

The other two seem to be hesitating, which makes Andi a bit relieved—hoping that they will simply leave--but as she touches the Grist, the other two imps come at her again. She throws the crowbar, which missed—unsurprisingly. She turns to grab her makeshift flamethrower, but it smashes to the ground and breaks, eliciting a rather loud curse. Jumping over the table, Andi looks around for another weapon, and then as the first imp enters, she pushes her dragon-head mold off of the table and crushes it. She is pretty sure that her mold is ruined, but the imp is most certainly destroyed.

And that leaves just one. Andi looks around quickly, seeing a variety of things that might work, but before she can grab at anything, the mold that she had just dropped lifts up in the air and crushes the last imp. Andi breathes a sigh of relief and thanks Stithis, even though he can’t hear her. After assuring that she is clear of imps for now, Andi pulls out her phone and sends a quick message.

BubblegumcAndiStithis: Thanks.

She spends a few minutes fixing up her flamethrower, vowing to store it in the card instead of letting it fall to the floor and shatter in the future, and then clears her studio once more of imps. She goes upstairs, killing four more who had been wandering about, and then grabs a few more things she might want to consider for weapons, bringing them back down to the studio. Remembering a costume idea she had tried a few months before, Andi goes into the accessories room and grabs a handful of items, dragging them back to the computer room, where she can keep an eye on Fire Lord and hopefully get some helpful tools.

Before she settles down, though, she gets a tin can of beads and places it by the door. Next time it opens and imps come in, she will know right away.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: “Okay… So this Punch Designix and...this Grist Torrent.” Tim had sat down reading through the manual. There were a few pings, indicating he got messages, but he didn’t check them. There had been nothing in there about easy escapes of anything. They just had to go about getting these things listed in the manual. One by one. “Wonderful…” The sprite hovered a little closer as if to get his attention. So, Tim looked up and gave a questioning look. Somehow, through the silent communication, he managed to figure out the sprite wanted him to check his messages.

“Okay...updates from the group. I need to get you a prototype.” But what could he use to mix with the cat? “What else…” He merely sighed towards Skip’s vulgarities, and continued reading along. “Okay. Our new ‘team leader’.” Tim spoke out loud to himself in order to make mental notes of it, like when he mumbled names of orders from the bakery as he made them.

Stithis’ personal message came last and Tim frowned a bit. “Suck it up he says. Gee, I’m sorry for not being trained in the art of killing things.” Instead of saying that, he responded,

BakerStithis: Got it. Just let me know when you’ll need it. I’ll, yeah I’ll figure something out.

“Alright Zorro,” As he was going to keep calling the sprite. “we need to find you something to-” A loud noise downstairs made him jump up. The sound of dishes crashing made him rush to the door. “What on earth!?” Rushing downstairs, Tim reached for the nearest weapon, however just by a thought, the metal rolling pin appeared in his hand. To his surprise, imps littered his bakery. They were aimlessly ruining things. “Hey! Get out of here! You don’t know how hard I work to maintain this place!” There were six of them, all who turned their attention on the baker and sprite.

“Ohhh, no.” He planned to turn around, but the sprite seemed to block his path. It wanted him to fight too? With a groan, Tim swiveled around. Almost instantly, one leapt at him- and instinctively, Tim swung the rolling pin like a bat with as much force as he could. The imp went flying across the room and into the brick wall. The other three rushed at him and Tim panickly fought back- mostly just trying not to die- along with keeping them from going into his kitchen or up the stairs.

“It is off limits, go away!” Hitting the last one, Tim collected the gems that had fallen in the imps’ places. “...Well, that’s one thing. Um, again, back to this prototyping. Maybe you’ll be more useful if you can talk?” Going into the kitchen, Tim started to look around. However, before he did, he sent out a quick message.

BakerSkip: When you can, or I guess when I have the right items do you mind sending me my Punch Designix? I need it. Thanks!

He’d offer his assistance, but there was little he thought he could do for his host. He remembered the one called FireLord used weapons to prototype his sprite. Tim supposed that’d be useful, so he decided to find something suitable for the sprite. In one of the drawers there was a gun shaped decorating mechanism. Icing was supposed to be filled into it, however he replaced it with cleaning fluids. It may not have killed, but it would definitely slow the enemy down. (And if they drank it then they’d probably get sick.

“Okay buddy, now for the actual prototyping part. Well,” He looked at the cat. "You'll need to be able to hold this first..."

_+_+_+_+_+_

Fire Lord: Shoving his phone back into it's holster at his hip James makes his way into the first room at the end of the hall nearest the huge opening. He feels tempted to explore the world a little more, but after reading the update he's far more eager to begin playing with the alchemy mechanic. 'And for that, I need grist! And in order to get grist. . .' He grins as he finds a lone imp in the room, playing with some model planes. He takes it out before it spots him and he begins looking through the belongings of the once inhabitant trying to find anything useful to use when Alchemizing.

Looking down as his phone pings he pulls it up and looks at the message with a smile. 'She really is proving to be quite useful, and dare I say, competent?' Chuckling to himself he puts the phone away and begins digging under the bed. There seems to be a lot of things packed under there and he hopes at least one of them will be useful. Halfway through his digging however he gets another message. Peeking at it he flops back against the bed and types up a reply.

Fire LordBubblegumcAndi: My sincerest thanks. I will see about installing the disc as soon as I am able.

James isn't thrilled at the idea of having to share his hard earned grist, but he figures if he refuses he could turn all of them against him, and he'd rather avoid that if at all possible. 'If they all prove to be incompetent fools however, I will not hesitate to remove them. . .' His automated voice, the one he's grown used to listening to over the years of conditioning, rears it's ugly head again but he doesn't even really notice as a couple imps decide to stop by and hassle him. Nintorisprite takes one out without him having to lift a finger and he takes the other out swiftly before closing and locking to door to dissuade any more 'Visitors'. With a self satisfied nod he goes back to digging for goodies.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Stithis: The shop seems to be filled with little black buggers, the mix of animal parts and oddly human looking hair on some have him a little unnerved, but as he draws back his weapon the gamer in Marcus flares to life and he lets out a battle cry. In any other situation, he would feel foolish doing this, but as it is, it seems the right thing to do. 'And I'm partially right' he muses, watching as the imps all look around at him with startled expressions. He takes down three before they recover, their little black bodies exploding into the colorful “grist” gems. Stomping on a pile to pick them up he whirls on the spot and takes out the fourth. It's a real rush for him, being able to act out the “game” like this. Never really into LARPing, this is the first time he's ever been able to fight in real life without getting sent to detention.

Taking down the last one which had decided that it would rather hide in a corner than fight he chuckles to himself at the thought of all those LARPers in the part, throwing balled up paper and using foam swords to bop one another. Hearing his phone ping he hops up on to the counter and takes a seat, putting his weapon away so it's not sitting around awkwardly. Reading the message he nods happily. “Well that's good.” he murmurs, pulling up the SBURB window on his phone and seeking Bubbles out. It takes a moment, but when he finds her and he spots her fighting, he decides to just watch her for a little bit. 'It's good to get to know your teammates, right?' he reasons, watching her whip a crowbar across the room.

A moment later however he begins worrying as her weapon falls to the ground and breaks apart. “C'mon Bubbles, you can do it!” He knows she can't hear him, but he cheers for her none the less. Finally he can't take it however and whipping his finger across the screen he picks up the heavy thing she'd used on one imp and taking careful aim, he drops it atop the little black beast charging at her. Quickly rotating about the room he doesn't spot any more imps. He lets out a sigh of relief just as his Pesterchum pings and with a grin he centers on her before opening the chat. Reading the one word message he chuckles.

StithisBubblegumcAndi: Anytime Chika.

Message sent, he hops down off the counter and pulls out his weapon once more. 'Even with the torrent, we'll need to build up the reserves, and fast. I've got the feeling that this slow beginning is building up to a rather quick advance system. . .not sure why I think that, but I trust my gamer instincts. . . .' Nodding to himself he takes out a few more waves if imps while prowling the shelves looking for something to proto-type his sprite a second time. Baker's message comes in the middle of the slaughter and he finishes off the batch before grabbing his phone and checking it. 'Really need a better system for this. . . Maybe I can make those computer shades I saw in the guide some time. . .' It's a few minutes before he can reply as a group of imps decide to tip over one of the displays at the very moment he finishes reading. When he has a second he gets off his reply he does so before heading for the stairs to his apartment.

StithisBaker: I should be able to afford the Designix now. Just put it in the living room or something. Thanks man, and hang in there!

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: The light fades and Laurra looks over at the image of her brother still floating in the ball of light. She wants to reach out, to touch it, but after a few seconds the ball flashes and pulsates. She watches with cool eyes as the ball becomes three balls, one disappearing through the ceiling while the other smashes it's way out through the window. A cool breeze drift into the room through the new hole but she doesn't even notice as the ball left behind morphs into what looks unmistakably like a cartoon ghost. She looks it over, wondering what to make of it, then pauses as once more she catches those eyes, now violet when they were once a pure, clear blue in life.

Reaching out she touches the sprite, a faint flicker of a smile crossing her lips as she finds she's actually able to touch it. Looking at him she murmurs softly, “Alexi?” Her heart skips a beat as the ghost thing nods. “Can, can you speak? Are you. . .” It shakes it's head and her heart falls. Then she recalls that he'll need a second proto-typeing. Looking at him sharply she asks, “If I put something else into you, will you be able to speak?” She gives an honest smile as he nods once more and with a sigh she finally lets her hand drop and looks at her surroundings. 'I know I need something else to put into him, but it can't be just anything. He's my brother. . .My dear little brother. . . .No, it must be just the right thing. . . '

The words 'Land of Stars and Ice' flash across her eyes as she looks towards the window and she snorts. “Such a pretty name. . . .I wonder it it's to make up for all the death the game just caused. . .” e phone pings along with the computer and with a growl she sits down to read all the BS she missed while trying to save her hide. She reads it all, taking down each word into her mental notebook before extracting what's important and giving them a little response for no particular reason.

SkipGroup: 'Land of Stars and Ice'. Thanks for the tips. See you when I see you.

Pulling up the window for her player she plans on closing it after making sure he's alive however her gaze lingers as she watches him fighting. Lacing her fingers together she settles her head upon them as she watches the show, interested in how the wuss she managed to torment with a book will survive the assault of a pack of the little creepy black things. She starts when she realizes that something about the imps are familiar. Looking over her shoulder her eyes trail down Alexi's hair for a moment before she looks back and confirms her suspicion. “Some of these buggers have your hair Alexi. Funny huh?”

He drifts closer, laughing silently as he nods. Her heart warms as she spots the laughing motion out of the corner of her eye. The fight is over rather quickly and she lets out a bored sigh, ready to close the window and begin hunting for suitable items. However as her cursor lands on the close button a message pops up from her player. Reading it over she checks his stores quickly before heading to his apartment and dumping the requested item in his bathroom. Not really caring about his convenience she figures he'll just have to make due until she has time to actually play with his house.

SkipBaker: Things in the bathroom. Way to take those suckers down. Keep it up and maybe one day I will stop thinking about you like one of those little dogs that always look about to piss themselves. . .Chihuahua, that's it. See if you can graduate from a chihuahua.

Message sent she stands once more and on impulse reaches out to touch her brother's shoulder. “Let's find you something good, huh Alexi?” He nods and smiles, and she can swear he has the same hero worshiping look in his eyes as he moves to follow her through the hotel room. Pulling out Hussie just in case any of those little black shits show up she opens the door to the parent's room and begins moving around it slowly, opening drawers and dragging out luggage so she can go through them after she's sure that there aren't any enemies around.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: “Says I have to put something into you. But you can’t use a weapon when you don’t have arms. That’s ridiculous.” Then again, what about this game wasn’t ridiculous at the moment? He was still hoping that this was some terrible dream and he’d wake up late to open the bakery. “What do I have with hands…” He worked his way to his bedroom and looked around. Spotting the Pusheen cat plush on the top of his closet, he first wondered where he got it. “Oh right, secret santas that one year.” The fat cat had a little baker hat on, and stubby arms. “I don’t think these arms will work.” He pulled up a desk chair and looked around the higher shelves. “Why don’t I have anything- oh!” He pulled out the Charmander plush further to the side. “Man, the memories of this…” He remembered not being busy all the time at one point in his life.

“This should work!” He hopped off the chair and grabbed the makeshift gun off the bed. “Let’s see. . .Put them together and-” He put the objects into the sprite and squinted as it flashed a bit. Instead of the floating ghost, the sprite looked more like a charmander with one eye and cat ears. That was interesting. It also charmander arms with kitty clawed fingers, and a row of little blue flames running down his bac which made the sprite look even cooler. Tim had used a broken lanyard to tie the plush and the gun together, so now it was strapped to the sprite's side. “Oh, I'm glad I used that to for the prototype. Now that that’s done…”

The ping of his phone made him check his messages. Stithis needed his Designix so, he dragged it around. He didn’t want one room to get too crowded, so he placed in in Stithis’ bedroom.

BakerStithis: It’s in your room and thanks!

Reading the message made Tim audibly go “Huh?” She could probably see the confusion on his face. “Skip is. . .interesting to say the least.”

BakerSkip: Odd place to put it, but thanks. And uhh. . .Thanks I think?

He wasn’t really sure how to react to some random person calling him a chihuahua. Grant it, he was a little insulted, but there was no time for that. Now he had to get the Grist Torrent, however to do that required him to fight more imps to get the jewels. Tim shuddered at the idea, but walked back down the steps. “I for one, still think it’s a terrible idea- all this fighting. What do you think?” He glanced over at the sprite still hovering about as he made his way back to his bakery. "Geez, I wonder if anyone else has to go through this much going up and down steps."

_+_+_+_+_+_

CharrospriteBaker: You're a nice guy, and I want to see you survive this, so I think that fighting is a great idea. Then maybe we can have some nibbles. . .I'm hungry.

_+_+_+_+_+_

GM → Baker: Your phone pings. It's not someone you recognize, nor are they a part of your team.

_+_+_+_+_+_

UnyieldingAmore → Baker: Hey cutie! How you doing? You look a little ruffled. . .You should get that sprite of yours to give you a massage! He looks like he's got good hands for it, though those claws look like it could be more than a little rough. . .

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: Tim paused and looked over at the sprite. “Did you just-” The baker shook his head. “Right, right. Once they’re prototyped they can- you can talk.” Really, he was going to have to stop being so surprised by these things. He was in some game for heaven’s sake! “You wouldn’t happen to know what Land of Rain and Thought means, sprite?” Before Charro could answer, his messages pinged. “Oh, hold on. I think someone needs something.”

Confusion crossed his face as he read the name. The message only helped to further confuse him too. “UnyieldingAmore? Never saw that name before. . .”

Baker → UnyieldingAmore: Thank you for the concern, but who are you? Sorry, I’ve never seen your name pop up before.

Tim looked over at Charro as if the sprite would know, but decided to wait for a message in return. Realizing he was called ‘cutie’, he gazed around the room, wondering if this random stranger could see him too- just like how Skip could see him.

_+_+_+_+_+_

UnyieldingAmore → Baker: Well of course you've never seen my name before. This is the first time that we've spoken! I've watched you though, and I thought you were just the cutest little thing, and I can relate to your unwillingness to fight. *Sighs* See, I'm a lover, not a fighter, but I had to learn to fight too. It was a real drag.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: Well that didn’t help much. It only made him paranoid actually. How many people were watching him!?

Baker → UnyieldingAmore: Watching me?? You’re not my host though. And that didn’t exactly answer the who of my question. Are you another player? Or are you some part of the game too?

_+_+_+_+_+_

UnyieldingAmore → Baker: Oh, sorry, sorry, my name's Cakal, and no, I'm not a player. Well, not anymore anyways. I played a while back. It's been a sweep or so since I played. Me and some of the others decided to check you guys out. Kinda relive old times through watching you guys play. Got one here who's really interested in your player. . .But enough about that. You asked about me watching you. Yeah, one of my teammates set up this program on our chat system which lets us watch you guys. It's neat. You still look tense. You should really get that sprite to do some work on you. Mine was exceptionally good at massages.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: “Why would anyone want to come back to this game?” Wait, did this person say them and ‘the guys’? Meaning there were more people stalking the group they made? “Just when you think there couldn’t be anything else to surprise you. Then there’s spectators. Spectators not worried about the-” He quickly typed out his next message.

Baker → UnyieldingAmore: Wait a minute, you said you finished the game a while ago? So that means this game can be beaten? Does that mean that our actual world is fine? We’re not in threat of actual death are we?? ...And I’m sure you’re probably not going to spoil the ending of this game, but since you’ve been watching do you think you can tell me what I should do next?

Waiting for the next message, Tim leaned against the nearest wall. “. . .What’s with the massages?” He watched as Charro did a grabby motion with its clawed fingers. “Uh, no thank you.”

_+_+_+_+_+_

UnyieldingAmore → Baker: Yeah, it what a little while ago, and yeah, the game can be “beaten” though I'm not sure that's the right word. As for your world. . . .No, sorry, it's toast. . .More like cheese actually, The holey kind, but instead of holes, it's full of craters. And please, believe me when I say that yes, this game is about life and death. Alternia was decimated the same as your world, and you guys need to keep moving forward if you want to survive. You're right I can't give up the ending but I can say th-

_+_+_+_+_+_

GM → Baker: UnyieldingAmore seems to be offline.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Charrosprite: “He's right you know.” Charro lets out a soft mew and lick his paws before using them to clean his face. “Gotta keep moving.” He tilts his head this way and that. “I think the first step is more grist, then perhaps you should upgrade your weapon before you get stronger and more fierce beasts show up.”

_+_+_+_+_+_

Baker: Tim eagerly opened the message. His face was crestfallen when he was told that not only his world had been destroyed, but he still had quite a high chance of death if he didn’t continue. That meant he was going to have to stop trying to find the easy way out of the game. He was going to have to get over his own morals and overall dislike for fighting if he wanted to survive. He had other questions! Like what was Alternia? But the message cut off. Tim frowned a bit when Amore was disconnected. “Figures…” He sighed and put his phone away. If there were more of Amore’s friends in the system, he was sure his group would be receiving messages from them at some point. There was no need to bother them while they were busy.

“I suppose you’re right. More of those jewels to get more items on the list.” He once again pulled his phone out to skim the manual. Once he was done, he headed back down the steps and opened the door of his bakery. The first thing he could see was the endless wall, next was just open space and various imps wandering about. “I suppose my kitchen- or the bakery kitchen would be best for a weapons upgrade…” The metal rolling pin appeared in his hand after he thought of it and with much regret Tim took a deep breath and yelled.

“Come and get me you freaks of nature!” Well, it didn’t take long for them to notice him, nor did it take long for them to start towards his bakery. “Alright Charro. The goal is to keep them downstairs and also out of the workspace.” As they came closer, he looked over at Charro. “Then when we finish, we’ll find you food.” Fortunately, only three came first so Tim didn't have to struggle with a crowd.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Stithis: Reaching his apartment Stithis locks the door behind him, prowling about until he's sure there are no imps. 'Good. Locking doors actually accomplishes something. . . .' Letting out a sigh he hears his phone ping. Pulling it up he looks at the message and nods gratefully.

StithisBaker: Thanks man. Let me know if there's anything I can help you with. I'm always here to talk to y'know.

Putting his phone away after checking on Bubbles again he goes into his bedroom to check out the Designix. It's a fairly simply machine, two buttons, a keyboard with all the letters and numbers they will need, and of course a slot for the cards along with instructions on how to insert the card properly. “Like a the check-out counter for using credit cards. . .” he murmurs, chuckling softly. This game really seems to make things as simple as possible when it comes to it's machines. Letting out a sigh he heads to the bathroom to relive himself before finally addressing the matter of his sprite. Walking around the thing a few times, it's empty eyes sockets following him as he does so, he wonders what exactly would actually make it more dangerous.

“I mean, you already look like death, except for the whole busted antler thing. . . .What could I add to make you even more awesome?” Walking around his apartment he hears the imps downstairs getting rowdy, but he ignores them. This is something very important, and he must give it long, hard thought, taking into account all the factors an- . . . .His gaze lands on one of his figurines and his eyes go wide. “Nooooo. . . . .” he hisses. “I couldn't. . . . .” Stalking over he picks up the figurine and simply stares at it for a long moment before turning around and looking at his sprite. He can feel his fingers itching to just toss it in, but then a thought occurs to him and he smiles.

Chapaloging the figurine he quickly grabs the card it's on and flips it over. 'I may want to use this in the future, for. . .Other things. . .' Smiling to himself he quickly writes down the code before calling the item back out and before he can question himself any further he tosses the figurine into the sprite.

Figurine - img03.deviantart.net/2c7c/i/2008/128/7..

The sprite flashes and pulsates, and moments later Marcus is staring up into a familiar face. His grin could not be wider. Where the skull had once been there is now the familiar face of Sephiroth, the antlers coming out from his hair – one still broken obviously – and the epic coat now hanging from his rather humanoid torso area. Marcus actually giggle happily at the sight of the six foot lone Masamune resting against it's side, and the single wing stretched out past his right shoulder is the icing on the cake. Looking closely he nodes the only other remnants of the deer that can be seen are the empty eyes and the hole in the forehead right at the bottom point of those radical bangs. “Sweet. . . .” he murmurs softly, earning a smirk from his sprite.

Sephillsprite: Looking himself over the sprite checks his blade before smiling down at Marcus. “I concur.”

Stithis: He has to suppress a fanboy squeal and simply nods, racing over to his computer to tell everyone about what he's done.

StithisGroup: THIS IS AWESOME! I just made the sweetest sprite ever! I just made a friggan Sephiroth sprite! One winged angel style, you know, the one with the single black wing, not the blue one, though of course he's all red, but who cares! WHOOP! He even likes the way he looks, which is just too sweet! What are you guys using? Hey, we should share pics!

Taking out his phone he snaps a shot of Sephillsprite and shares it in the chat before forcing himself to calm down and take a breath.

StithisGroup: Sorry guys, I just got over excited. I'm a huuuuge Sephiroth fan, and that six foot katana is legendary. I took down the figurine's card number so I can use stuff off of it some time later, so if you guys want anything off of him let me know and I'll send you the code. I got the feeling that you could actually make a REAL Masamune in this game if you worked it just right.

With a big grin on his face he looks over at his sprite and nods. “Ready for some action Sephi?” The sprite simply nods in response, drawing his sword with a smirk on his lips and once more Marcus has to stop himself from squealing. Pulling his own weapon he makes his way over to the door, determined to clear the shop a few more times before attempting to do any alchemizing.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Skip: Laurra doesn't bother responding to Baker's thanks, and instead hunts with all her might through everything in both rooms for anything that would be even slightly worthy of combining with her brother. However, after a good ten minutes she finds nothing should would even consider getting without a hundred miles of him. It's around the time she contemplates chucking the nearest chair out the window in frustration that another message comes through and she feels a faint flicker of hope. “Maybe I can. . . . .” she murmurs, quickly typing a message.

SkipGroup: Hey, is anyone here into artistic things? I need something specific for my sprite. Nothing around here even resembles something useful or even functional. . . . I need someone to draw or sculpt something. . . .

She bites her lip, knowing that cursing them out may have earned her some negative brownie points, but she hopes that at lease one of them is artistically inclined and doesn't already thing she's a douche. From behind she hears the sound of what she thinks are wind chimes, the small metal kind, and in an instant she's pulled her pistol and has it leveled at the sound. Before she can take aim however the figure is gone, leaving behind what looks like a punched card on the parent's bed. She approaches it with caution, staring at it for a long moment before picking it up gingerly. It's hard t see with the holes punched in it but aster staring at it for a long moment she recognizes the picture on it.

'It's that Punch Designix thing. . .' Glancing past the card she spots a small slip of notebook paper and curiously picks it up.

Thought you might need this,

Shenanigans


She stares at the name, recalling that the one, Sandro, had called them “Team Shenanigans”, and for a few seconds she wonders if this has anything to do with that. “Well, shenanigans or not, it seems we may have a little fairy looking over our shoulders. . .” Flipping the sheet over she notices a post script.

P.S.
I was warned that you'd likely shoot me when I showed up, so I didn't stick around. Sorry for not hanging around to chat!


Smirking she nods. “Yeah, I was ready to shoot anything that moved. . .” she chuckles, putting Hussie away. With her shiny new card she heads back into the kids room, moving over to the lathe and carving up a totem for the Designix, then chapalogs both items to keep them safe. Pulling out Hussie once more she smirks at Alexisprite. “Now we just need to do a a little hunting, right?” Alexisprite nods and her smirk widens. With that, she heads for the door that leads to the hall, the sounds coming from behind it indicating some sort of life lay beyond it. 'Get some of that grist crap, then we can come back and make that thing. . .' She knows she will need the Designix to actually make the thing she needs for Alexi if anyone actually agrees to help her out since it seems they can share items by sharing codes.

_+_+_+_+_+_

Fire Lord: With an armload of neat little things James returns to his own room, dumping them on the pile along with the things he's chapaloged for easy carrying. Letting out a sigh he goes back and locks his door before plopping down in front of his computer and letting out a sigh. Absentmindedly he puts the Grist Torrent CD into his computer's disc tray and after a few seconds the program is downloaded. He goes to pull the disc out only to find that it's vanished. “Oh good, a self cleaning disc. . . .” he mutters, looking over at the two discs for the game proper. Not sure what else to do with then he puts them back into the case they came in and puts them into his desk drawer.

Though things had become a lot easier, he's starting to feel the strain of the constant activity - taking break in his item hunting to fight more imps – and he wonders how sleeping works. 'I would rather it not be a necessity, but as I am beginning to tire, I think it may very well be about time for a kip' Letting out a sigh he looks at his computer as both it and his phone pings and groans softly. “So needy, these people. . .” Pulling up the messages he feels a wave of jealousy as Stithis speaks of having a sprite with the famous and historic Masamune blade, and without hesitation he types a message to the group.

Fire LordGroup: I have always had an avid fascination with Japan and it's history. Would you mind sending me the code for the figurine? I would very much like to try out making that sword. . .My own is nice, but I would still like to try.

Sitting back he reads the other messages and smiles.

Fire LordGroup: BubblegumcAndi is an artist. I have seen her work, It is fantastic. Maybe you should ask her?

James is satisfied with his own sprite, the ninja hummingbird awesome in it's own way, she he doesn't feel too crestfallen that he didn't think of asking BubblegumcAndi to do something special for him too, though he does mentally pout a bit. Sitting back in his chair he lets out a long yawn, gazing longingly at his bed, wondering if he should take a quick nap before “taking his Alchemiter out for a test drive” as they say.

_+_+_+_+_+_

CharrospriteBaker: The sprite joins the fray, taking out a decent amount of imps all on his own, assisting Tim when and where he needs it. His claws slice clean through the black carapace that comprises the imp's skin and his fire breath makes them explode one after another. He stays a bit away from Tim, wanting to give his partner a chance to fight, but not far enough that he can't darn in and help when needed. Every now and again he shouts out something supportive to his partner, adding in a thumbs up whenever Tim can see him. Eventually all the imps go down and Charro floats over to Tim and smiles cutely. “It will be a little while before more spawn. We have food now?” The tip of it's ghosty tail curls this way and that, much like the tail of a curious feline.
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