Monday, December 2, 2069 - 6 PM
"We are The League of Extraordinary Beings," Treasa says with determination. "We bring Balance to the Universe. The Wild Hunt has gone too far, and needs to be brought back into balance no matter how many of their skulls need cracking."
Bold words, but with Cadena's ability to find Mike Dexter curiously obstructed, the three towers that comprise Potemkin loom over the adventurers. Somewhere in there should be the Face Reality staging grounds, where they might even now be preparing their next strike. Or searching for their wayward hacker, whose time is running out as virtual molecules replace his real body. Cait looks up at the skyscrapers, then sweeps a hand toward Treasa, giving her a raised eyebrow as if to say wordlessly, Lead the way, boss!
On the outer edges, it seems similar to Metropolis - they did just get dropped off by the Rose of Galilee, after all - but as they descend, it's as if they've crossed into the real world, and only occasional sightings of werewolves, heavily armed mercenaries in London steampunk attire, and vampires strutting about in full Renaissance attire remind them that they're still in the Gloaming. They check taco stands and Duamutef's Donuts in search of anyone who's seen Mike Dexter, and keep their senses alert for active portals, but their search seems fruitless...
Until they hit the ground floor, when a street vendor nods at their description of the man. "Yeah, poor kid looked lost," the old Irish man says. "Gave him an extra taco for the road." And an extra slice of doom, but it's not the vendor's fault.
Cadena is able to pick up Mike Dexter's trail this time... But it leads into the open streets. In Metropolis, this would be practically a death sentence - that's where the Underpeople live, mutated homeless people that feed on flesh when they can get it. But here in Potemkin, he just might have a chance, if they copied the fortified and patrolled suburbs as well as the towers themselves.
Overhead a carriage thunders, drawn by winged horses. "That's so not North Bend," Cait comments as they walk down what seems like a typical street, lined by shops and apartment buildings. Wait, up ahead - are those crunching noises from the alley?
Treasa slips on her brass knuckles and draws her knife, then gestures for the others to get up against the wall, so they'll see whatever or whoever leaves the alley before being seen.. unless the noise maker just peeks around the corner, that is.
Brother Cadena quietly takes in a breath and presses up against the wall - checking to make sure his staff is at the ready.
The noises die away, to be replaced by what sounds like rummaging, and metal and plastic things bouncing off the pavement.
Putting a finger to her lips to indicate silence, Treasa sneaks up towards the corner so she can peek into the alley.
As Treasa peeks around the corner, she sees three hunched over humanoid figures, searching through the remains of a large metal garbage can, which used to be locked against raccoons and similar pests. Evidently it doesn't hold up to these guys.
One of the trashpickers crows with glee as he fishes up a half-empty bottle of mayonnaise. The others grab for it as well! They fall into grabbing and wrestling at one another, showing diseased-looking green skin and yellow, decaying teeth.
Backing back onto the street, Tracy motions to the others to just sneak past the alley, and leads the way while the creatures are occupied with one another.
The little faerie flits overhead, keeping to the overhang.
Brother Cadena takes up the rear, ears perked and eyes cautiously scanning around and occasionally up, in case of other surprises.
Cadena's staff leads them on through the suburbs, but they move more warily now that they know this area isn't entirely free of the many threats that the Gloamings sprinkles in to keep players on their toes. They pass several other packs of Underpeople... And then up ahead, they hear a voice yelling. "Hey! My food! Back off, jerks, get your own!"
"That sounds promising," Treasa notes, and hurries towards the commotion.
Brother Cadena picks up his pace as well, rushing toward the sound. "It sounds a rather naive reaction to the locals, given what I've heard so far."
Cait mutters, "You didn't tell me this guy you were following was an idiot!"
"He's just.. new," Treasa claims. "It's complicated."
As they come up on the alleyway, they can see six of the distinctively green-tinged Underpeople, and behind them, a slightly built blonde man, his pseudo-leather jacket and pants torn and ripped. That must be the elusive Mike Dexter.
While the Underpeople are focused on Mike, Treasa dashes across to take position on the opposite side of the alley.
Crinkle! An already-crushed plastic can rustles under Brother Cadena's foot as he hurries forward after Treasa and Cait. Several of them turn to face him. "Meat," one says. Another agrees, "Dog meat! Mmm, mmm, goooood."
The others lurch toward Mike Dexter as he hugs his Duamutef's Donuts bag protectively against his chest.
The two Underpeople that have advanced toward him reach out with long gangly arms, trying to grasp him... Presumably so that they can then feast upon his still living flesh!
Brother Cadena interposes his staff between himself and the grasping hands. "Mike Dexter!" he cries out. "Please don't risk your life for those pastries! We are here to help you - so please abandon them and keep yourself safe! We will try to distract these miscreants and meet up with you at first opportunity!"
"Doooggy," one Underpeople croons as he tries to reach around Cadena's staff.
"But-- but--" The wayward hacker looks torn. The lumbering undead coming straight for him do make a compelling case for Cadena's argument.
"You shouldn't eat the food in here anyway Mike!" Treasa calls out, and tries to shift into her panther form. She didn't want to scare Mike with it, in case he'd already encountered Moonlight.. but Underpeople aren't likely to run from just a girl.
Leather turns to skin as Treasa's trenchcoat wraps around her, sprouting black fur as she the girl falls forwards onto her hands. But they aren't hands anymore, but feline paws. Big ones, with claws that look more like talons. Her panther form is bigger than normal, looking more like something long extinct with bulked up shoulders and massive, long-toothed jaws. She charges down the alley towards the quartet of Underpeople, roaring as she goes!
"It is ... (grf) ... with regret ... (ngh) ... I must use force if you ... (nk) ... continue hostilities!" Brother Cadena lurches back, pulling his staff free. He then swings it into the midsection of the first of the Underpeople assaulting him (making a quick and perhaps arbitrary judgement of which one seemed the most intent upon violence at the time).
Whap! The green-skinned man roars at the impact, but seems only pained rather than put out of action.
"Cait, take care of Cadena!" Treasa calls to her companion as she runs past.
The faerie darts a look toward Treasa as she shifts, then at Cadena being attacked by two Underpeople. She draws her rapier, a slender dagger-sized stiletto glyphed in glowing blue, and creeps up upon the nearest one, preparing a deadly strike.
Stab! The Underperson howls in pain as the rapier jabs in and out, leaving crackling blue energy writhing around the wound.
He clutches at his side. "Someone hit me! I don't like it when someone hit me!"
Mike Dexter makes a decision... He flings the bag at the zombies and runs headlong!
The bag lofts over the head of the Underpeople, causing several of them (drooling) to watch it skittering in Treasa's direction.
Cait follows up her rapier strike with a deadly slash!
The strike lands true! Blue fire lashes through the Underperson, which proves to be too much for his already pain-addled senses. He goes down in a heap.
Mike, for his part, beats feet, not waiting to see if his donuts ploy worked.
A terrible clattering fills the alleys as Mike trips over one of the security-locked garbage cans. "Ow! FROTZ IT!"
The remaining Underperson on Cadena glances over at his fallen comrade... Then grins hugely. "MORE DOGGY FOR ME!"
He gropes at the air where Cadena was just a second ago - but fortunately, the dog's bodyguard trainers have taught him how to elude such a slow attack.
In the meantime three of the Underpeople have turned to the donut bag and are now grabbing at it, reducing it to shreds as they scrabble after the delicious soy-based pastries... But the fourth continues after Mike himself, seeing no opening in his comrades' barrier of flailing body limbs.
Figuring the donuts will keep the three scavengers busy for now, Treasa tries to just run past them to chase the one that is still following Mike!
Brother Cadena brings his staff crashing down on the Underperson's exposed back. "No, sir," he says, "no doggy for you."
WHACK! The Underperson thuds to the ground under Cadena's mighty strike. "Ooh... Pretty stars," he says staring into empty space.
Brother Cadena calls out, "Miss Cait! We must reach Mike Dexter before the others do!" And with that, he bolts down the street.
Cait looks up. "Right with you!" she says, springing into the air after him.
"No, wait!" whines the Underperson that Cadena struck down. He struggles to his feet. "Doggy, don't leeeave me!"
Between them, the three underpeople gathered around the donut bags demolish it, jamming huge hunks of nearly-as-tasty-as-real-flour pastries into their mouth. "Ungh... Mmm... So good." But one of them is still in hot pursuit of Mike. "Come back... Meeeat."
Mike screams, as he's only a few steps away from this slavering monstrosity.
Brother Cadena, too busy to spare a moment of pity for the poor, poor cannibal, bolts for the street intersection, hoping to cut around and intercept Mike Davis and his pursuers without having to brave the faux-donut feeding frenzy.
With a burst of speed, Treasa rounds the corner and bolts for the Underperson pursuing Mike, managing to get next to it before taking a claw-swipe at it!
Cait calls to Cadena as she flits close behind, "You're pretty fast for a dog in robes!"
Mike screams as he flees.
SLASH Blood gouts into the air as the panther's immense claws rip through the Underperson. He crashes into the ground, clearly out cold.
"AHHH! GIANT CAT!" yells Mike.
With her target down, Treasa lets her monster-form fade back into her 'normal' panther shape. "Mike!" she murrowls, "Are you hurt? It's me, Tracy from before. I'm here to keep you safe."
"Tracy? Since when are you a cat?" complains Mike, but at least he slows down a bit, backpedaling instead of fleeing headlong.
"You're in The Gloaming," Treasa reminds, padding up to Mike. "You were a werewolf this morning - in the real world."
The Underpeople break into a run as they see their prey fleeing!
Brother Cadena comes running around the corner from a side street, looking back to Cait, but seeing that she's keeping up with him easily.
Mike backpedals, crossing the dividing lane of the street and reflexively looking both ways. "I was deceived!" he protests. "They told me it was just a game! That we'd just be waking people up!"
Cait darts toward Mike but from above, where he's not looking, intent on sticking close to their quarry before he runs off.
Green-tinged Underpeople lurch toward their prey, hurrying their pace!
Grotesquely, two of them actually glance toward the fallen body. Could they be considering consuming their own?
"It was very brave the way you shut them down," Treasa calls. "Especially when you tasered Sasha!" She stops at the corner, turning to keep a watchful eye on the Underpeople.
Brother Cadena sees Cait flit off, but quickly loses track of her in the gloom. His ears perk as he hears Treasa's voice, but also the lurching cannibal still pursuing him. He quickly presses himself against the wall, just around the corner so that the edge is within his staff's reach.
"How'd you know about that?!" exclaims Mike, put on edge again. "You're with them, aren't you? Here to bring me back?"
"Jason hacked in and got the security footage," Treasa notes. "We're here to get you out. Soon as these guys stop following us, we can try to get ahold of your brother. He must have built a secure or secret room somewhere in Potemkin.."
Mike backs up, until he's against the wall of the brownstone apartment behind him.
As Mike looks around desperately, trying to find a clear path, the faerie flies over his head and looks at Tracy, as if wondering if she should put Mike out cold and save them a great deal of arguing.
The Underpeople lurch after their live and fleeing prey! More meat for later, presumably, beats some (poor quality) meat now.
"Just make sure nothing gets to him, Cait," Treasa calls to the fae, as she growls in warning at the lurching lunatics.
The Underperson rounds the corner... Right into the waiting Cadena's clutches! He attempts to grapple with the dog, moaning, "Miiine..."
The panther growls... Hack! Ack! Cough. Hairball! The Underpeople are undeterred; one takes a wild swing at her.
Brother Cadena makes a sweep with his staff for the kneecaps, knocking the running Underperson onto his face into the pavement. "On the contrary, I already seem to have several claims on my ownership. You'll just have to wait your turn like everyone else, I suppose."
Fortuituously, it misses.
Since her growl didn't work, Treasa resorts to a more physical approach, and slashes at the Underperson who is first in line.
The Underperson looks unphased as the claws rip through its clothes, exposing its decaying greenish flesh. "Bad cat!" he growls. "Naughty!"
Cait hovers near Mike's cheek. "Don't run off, dearie," she says. "We went to a lot of trouble to find you, and I'm going to be really ticked if I have to track you down again." She darts toward Treasa, who looks like she's about to be mobbed by Underpeople.
The three surviving Underpeople gather around the cat. "Cat... Foood," one suggests. The other agrees. "Tasty mew mew."
They grab at the cat... But she proves just elusive enough to be able to avoid them, though she loses a bit of hair to the last one's grab.
Treasa growls and hisses, then slashes back at her first tormentor!
Sweat beads on Mike's forehead as he watches the Underpeople surround the cat. "What a day," he moans. "What. A. Day."
Brother Cadena spares a moment, staff at the ready, in case his pursuer suddenly leaps up to resume the attack ... but as the attack fails to come, and the sounds of combat at the alley mouth remind him of the other enemies, he turns about and dashes down the street.
"Heeheehee! Tickles," says the Underperson as her claws, less lengthy since she's no longer monstered out, fail to do more than scrape his skin.
"Get off her, you morons!" yells Cait as she charges into the fray. Her rapier gleams silver with streaks of blue light as she strikes.
The strike doesn't look like much, a pinprick, but it's as if the Underperson was jolted by a taser as he convulses. "ARGH! It burns, make it stop burrrrning!"
Mike looks around for something, anything, he can use as a weapon. Just in case things don't go well for his unlikely rescuers.
"Joining in from behind!" Brother Cadena warns his allies, just to make sure he doesn't earn any reflexive swipes by surprising someone inadvertently. With that, he readies his staff....
... slamming the metal headpiece of his staff right into the Underperson's midsection, and exploiting the opening made by the diminutive fairy's rapier attack.
CRUNCH Bones shatter. He goes flying! The remaining two underpeople are given pause by the ferocity at which their comrade was eliminated.
One of the Underpeople flees, trying to withdraw into the shadows! The other one gamely sticks it through, trying to grab at least a handful of tasty, tasty cat.
With just one harasser to contend with now.. Treasa of course attacks! It's a matter of panther pride!
SLASH! Third try's the charm. The Underperson stares at the slashes left in his belly by Treasa's bloodied claws, and then collapses. "Bad... Kitty... Stay... Outside..."
Mike, breathing hard, holds a rock that he looks prepared to throw at any attackers. Except that it looks like all the Underpersons are down or fleeing.
Brother Cadena does a quick check to ensure that there are no gaping wounds on Treasa, and that the blood on her is not her own, and then he turns toward Mike. "Are you injured? I am trained in the healing arts, if you have been hurt by these miscreants or whatever else you've run into down here."
"So, why did we want this guy again?" whispers Cait to Tracy. "You said he was the Wild Hunt's numero uno target."
Mike appears uninjured, except for bruises and scrapes, presumably from his earlier misadventures.
Brother Cadena, seeing the state of decay of this place and ample evidence of the ultimate progress of infection as witnessed in the Underpeople, promptly digs out his first aid kit, serious injuries or no.
"Ack! Werewolf!" Mike says, noticing Cadena's muzzle poking out of his robes.
"I assure you," Brother Cadena says, "I am no werewolf. Please, there is no need to panic."
After returning to her human form, Treasa digs out her communication orb. "It's complicated, but we have to get him to a certain portal," she tells her friend, then tries to raise Aldestre on the orb.
The stray hacker eyes Cadena warily. "You sure look like one. Prove it, turn into... Aw, no, if you turned into a human, that'd prove you were a werewolf, and if you were trying to convince me you weren't, you wouldn't." He sighs and puts the rock down. "'sides, I'm all tuckered out and those jerks ate my lunch. Which you told me to throw away! Not that I'm blaming you, I guess it was my lunch or me, and I'd pick me any day."
The orb flickers between glowing and darkened states, showing it's attempting to reach Aldestre.
Brother Cadena cautiously approaches, first aid kit at the ready, pulling out some disinfectant to treat the wounds. "I have no ability to turn into anything. I apologize for my freakish appearance, but I mean you no harm. I cannot say the same, however, for whoever might find us here, so once we have a look at these scratches and make sure they're not infected, we had best move along. A few whacks with a stick are not likely to keep all of these ruffians down indefinitely."
"How much have you eaten already, Mark?" Treasa asks as she heads off, hoping Adam connects soon. "And more importantly, when you went to your first meeting, did you step through a door into a mall area or something else that shouldn't have been there?"
Mike looks up from where Cadena is treating his cuts. "Only had a taco, it didn't agree with me. And how'd you know that? It was crazy, totally not the way they brought us in," he confirms. "Like they completely rebuilt everything outside when we weren't looking! 'Cept I didn't hear any construction noises."
Brother Cadena quietly finishes checking Mike's scratches, applying a bit of disinfectant here, and giving him a bandage there. "All right then. You seem to have come through this reasonably well," he says, and then he packs away his supplies and stows the first aid kit. He spares a cautious glance back to the fallen ruffians.
"You said you'd had a bad taco in your message to your brother Adam," Treasa notes. "Please tell you me barfed it up? You want as little of this world's matter inside of you as possible. And could you recognize the area you were brought through if you saw it again?"
As Cadena watches, the flow of blood from Treasa's tormentor stops. The wound is healing by itself! The Underperson twitches.
"Let us make haste!" Brother Cadena says with urgency. "These people are unnaturally resilient!" He moves to help Mike back up onto his feet.
Mike nods. "Threw the rest away after I horked it up, figured I got a bad batch. Uh..." He looks up at next skyscraper over. "I dunno, I was concentrating on-- hey, what's the matter?"
A grizzled-looking short-haired man with an eyepatch appears in Treasa's orb, with one of the Potemkin towers behind him. "Aldestre," he identifies himself. "Treasa? What's the news? I've been out looking for Mike."
"If we don't move on," Brother Cadena says, "we're going to have to deal with hungry, hostile scavengers all over again."
"I've got him right here!" Treasa says, bringing the orb and standing next to Mike, unsure if that will actually let Adam see him or not. "We're on the ground. Please tell me you have a secure room somewhere in Potemkin we can bring him to? Keep in mind there will be Hunters after him."
"Yeah, count me out of that," Mike agrees as he scrambles to his feet. He looks around for an escape route.
"If you are experiencing any stomach ailments as a result of the local food," Brother Cadena says, "I may have some treatments for that."
"Don't give him anything like that, Cadena; it'll make him sick later," Tracy notes.
Aldestre's visible eye widens. "Oh my God, Mike! I'll be right there," he says. "Can you give me a beacon?"
Treasa makes the arcane inscription on the nearby wall with the orb to send the beacon.
"Got it, on my way," Aldestre says.
"We are in hostile territory, Underpeople rezzing around us - so come in force if possible!" Treasa says before the connection breaks.
"Fascinating," Brother Cadena observes, watching the inscription process.
"Cait, can you hide us at all?" Treasa then asks the sprite.
Mike says nervously, "That sounded like my brother, but since when did he turn into a Captain Hawk wanna-be and wear an eyepatch?"
"You sound as disoriented as I was upon coming to this world," Brother Cadena says sympathetically. "I can't say my reception was any friendlier, either."
"It's just his game face," Treasa notes. "Like Yappy... unless you've seen him before and his Avatar doesn't look like that?" she then asks, just in case the link had been intercepted somehow.
Cait peeks out of Mike's jacket pocket with lint on her hair. "This guy's got NOTHING," she informs Treasa gravely. "Not even a knife! Um, sure, take us thataway. To the park!"
"Okay, let's move," Treasa says, ushering Mike and Cadena in the indicated direction.
Mike shakes his head, "I don't pay much attention to his games. I know he's a Believer, but really, that's just crazy... talk..." He pauses. "Okay, maybe he is onto something."
Brother Cadena looks mildly confused as he examines Mike's face. "Pardon me, but have we perchance met before?"
"Pretty sure I'd remember-- hey! What're you doing in my pocket," Mike complains as he tries to fish Cait out. She hides with a giggle.
"Careful!" Brother Cadena warns. "She looks fairly small and delicate. Not a toy."
"You met on the landing platform outside the restaurant," Treasa reminds Cadena. "He's Mr. Cheap Flycycle, remember?"
The two Underpeople nearby stir. They roll over, eyes to the ground temporarily as they try to find their footing. Still, just a bit more time and Treasa and her friends will be away and safely out of sight.
Mike leaves off of trying to extricate Cait. "Hey, it's all I could afford," he says defensively as he jogs after the cat-turned-human.
Brother Cadena blinks at Treasa, looking completely confused, but his attention is quickly diverted by the sight of the Underpeople rising. He draws his staff again, and takes a defensive stance, putting himself between the underdwellers and his companions.
"Just keep moving," Tracy says to Cadena, frowning that he's falling so deeply into his virtual role. Sure, he's probably made for that, but it's still worrying.
At the park, Cait gets out of Mike's pocket voluntarily, then sets up what looks like a net of magic. The space between the lines of force shimmers, then becomes a projection of grass, shielding them from the view of the Underpeople milling around.
"Okay, hopefully Adam and his Explorers will find us before someone else," Treasa notes. "Then we just need to get Mike someplace safe, scope out the likely portal zone.. and.. uh.." She trails off, since she has no idea how a portal is triggered, only the signs to look for. But if Sasha was using that one regularly - she hopes - then maybe it's a 'fixed' portal or one that opens up regularly.
The orb shows Aldestre's proximity. It grows brighter, brighter... And there he is, handling what looks like a gondola, except with wings and nacelles on each side to provide lift and thrust. A flame-winged hawk wings down and then scouts around the park in circles, searching for Treasa and Mike... And whooshes right over them. Cait giggles.
"He's got a vehicle?" Treasa boggles, then steps out from beneath Cait's camouflage to wave it down.
Mike's stomach grumbles. "I hope wherever we're going has food," he mutters.
Brother Cadena looks a bit hesitant at the sight of a flaming bird. The flying gondola seems to cause him hardly any consternation by comparison. "How long has it been since you stumbled into this place?" he asks Mike.
"Sorry, you can't eat anything in here safely," Tracy warns. "Not if you want to get back to the real world in one piece."
"Ahoy!" Aldestre calls to Treasa. He raises his hand and whistles, calling Kyriel to perch on his falconer's gauntlet. "Where's Mike?"
From outside, it looks to Tracy as if there's just grass next to them. Cait's illusions are eerily good.
"Right here, hidden," Treasa answers, and looks around to see if anyone or anything else is lurking. "You've got a safe place for him?"
Aldestre nods. "There's a League chapter we've been using as our base when we were building this place," he says. "Not exactly secret, but at least it'll be safe."
Mike shakes his head to Cadena, fishing out his PDA to check. "Not long... Um. Half a day maybe? Feels like forever though!"
"It'll have to do until we can find a real-world portal," Treasa says, waving for Adam to land. "How many people have you got available? We'll need to secure any portal we find on this side, along with the path to it."
Aldestre sets the sky-bark down by Treasa. "People?! Um. Eight if I call the guys in. They were just talking about where to eat. Time zone difference," he reminds her.
Brother Cadena nods to Mike, and then frowns, regarding his staff. He bows his head in prayer, holding onto the staff, and whispers a short prayer, adding, "I seek a portal to take Mike Dexter back to where he was, before coming to this realm."
"Wait.. Cadena, look for one to take him home, not where he came from," Treasa urges. "Dropping him back into Sasha's lap is not what we want to do.."
Sparks of magic shimmer, rising from the earth to float around his staff.
Brother Cadena nods, and tries again. "A correction. Instead, I must find a portal that will take him back home."
While the divination goes on, Treasa tries to hand her trenchcoat to Mike. "See if you can wear this, it's like armor and will keep you from standing out too much."
The sparks shift. More appear out of nowhere, and then more, and... FOOM! The tip of Cadena's staff is now brightly glowing, too bright to look at directly. Cait's illusion vanishes, or perhaps the magic that made it has been conscripted to a higher purpose.
"Wow," Mike says looking at Cadena's ritual and missing the trenchcoat being handed to him.
The staff blazes, unleashing a line of raw magical energy! It arcs into the distance, between two of the Potemkin Towers, straight through buildings, though it appears purely visual: there's no burning or destruction caused by the beam's contact with material objects.
Aldestre looks startled. "What's this?" he says urgently to Treasa. "Whatever it is, we'd better get loaded up, fast."
Brother Cadena continues to pray, at last raising his face to gaze off to follow the line, and opening his eyes. "I believe we should go ... that way."
"That looks promising!" Treasa notes. "Everyone in the boat, and follow that line!" she declares, and pushes Mike towards the craft to get him going.
As soon as everyone is aboard, Aldestre lifts the skybark up. Mike clings to the brass rail.
The skybark whooshes up through the air, following the staff's gleaming trail to the apparent destination, an anonymous mall... But as Treasa and Cadena look around, they notice that Aldestre appears to have a follower: a highly polished black wooden carriage, drawn by a team of six winged horses.
"Tell me you know who that is following us, Aldestre," Tracy says, trying to see if the carriage has any telltale markings.
Brother Cadena spares a look, but notices that Treasa seems to have already spotted it as well. He remains at the fore of the ship, kneeling, staff in hand, praying in the hopes of keeping "on the trail."
Aldestre peers around. "I haven't any notion, but the beam of light is rather attention-getting," he theorizes.
More flying vehicles appear on the horizon. Fighter crafts, giant dirigibles, hippogriffins and wyverns - though not like Mara at all in that they appear completely reptiline - it's a race's worth of mounts and vehicles, all heading on an intercept course for Aldestre's skybark. "This looks bad," he says. "Hold on!"
Treasa twitches, recalling the playback of events from her mother's adventure. "We don't have any silly string or giant space squids," she mutters. Louder, she says, "If you can call in any reinforcements, now would be a good time."
"Someone take the helm," Aldestre urges, looking for anyone willing to step up.
Since her skills are all melee-based, Treasa takes over flying. She doesn't have anything to offer if it comes to aerial combat! "Mike, watch your PDA! Tell me as soon as you get any sort of carrier signal," she tells the blond man.
An armored woman on a large horse in barding sounds her horn. Taran-tara! "Tally ho!" she yells, swooping down toward the skybark. "I name Mike of house Dexter the prey of the Wild Hunt! Elude us and we shall grant a boon! But fail, and you will be ours 'til the sun rises."
Mike sweats. "Wild Hunt what? Hey, I'm one of you guys!" he yells. His PDA is out though it's still showing No Carrier.
"No way, I claimed him first!" Treasa calls out. "He's under the protection of the League!" To Mike, she says, "Have you got a signal monitor on that? We should see some EM interference as we get close."
"Then let the League protect him, if it dares to try," the woman calls back, laughing.
Aldestre has the blank look of the AFK.
"Cait, see if you can raise Irielle for some support?" Treasa asks her friend. "I don't think Cadena knows how to use the orbs yet, and he's sort of concentrating.."
Cait clings to Treasa's shoulder. "This looks bad," she says. "Fake right, I'll throw a decoy." She gets out a seed and prepares to throw it. "Irielle-who? Oh, that angel? Did you get her number?"
Brother Cadena, while still praying and holding the staff with one hand, digs into his robes and pulls forth a black card with the other, holding it out.
Treasa jinks right as requested. "Just her name.. or we can call the Shadows.." she suggests, wondering how much it'd cost for safe passage. "I wish I had some more contacts or clout here, but it's not like being Tracer of House Trudeau carries any water in The Gloaming!"
Cait flings the seed to the right... And in a few seconds, it inflates into an image of their own skybark that mirrors their actions! As Treasa pulls left, it veers away to the right, drawing away some of the Wild Hunt.
Brother Cadena prays furiously, begging for a less overt means of showing him the way to the portal, so that he might better protect Mike Dexter from those who seek him.
The light mutes considerably. It still glows, but at least now it only extends a few feet away, as opposed to being an immense ray of light calling their attention out to everyone around.
Brother Cadena breathes out a prayerful thank-you, as he keeps concentrating on the lead.
The skybark zooms just over the buildings, and the VR mall is coming up fast. If Cadena has it right, wherever his staff is pointing should be in there.
Treasa also has to focus more on the shortened line as she steers the craft.. and looks for a landing place. "How many are still following us?" she asks Cait.
The flying carriage draws up close, pulling ahead, and for a heartstopping moment Treasa veers the wrong way, so that they thump heavily against its side. The door pops open and a flaming skull-headed man in Victorian finery prepares to jump out-- but then she pulls away, just in the nick of time.
Lord Skull, or at least that's a convenient nickname, shrieks in rage. He draws an archaic dueling pistol and takes aim at Treasa.
One of Cadena's eyes opens at just that moment, and he cries out, "No!" The chain markings on his face writhe briefly, but nothing more interesting than that comes of it.
BANG! The gun cracks, but the shot goes wild.
Lord Skull scowls, the flames wreathing his skull-face contorting to supply the expression that the fleshless skull alone might lack.
Treasa turns and glares for a moment at Lord Skull. "I'm worth a lot more than Mike, you know," she tells him, then makes a gesture that the game blurs out before taking more evasive action. "Hold onto your stomachs!" she warns.
Cait clings to Treasa's neck!
Brother Cadena braces himself, trying to keep as close as he can to Mike and Treasa, just in case.
As Aldestre snaps back to alertness, the skybark lurches and dives wildly! "WHOA!" He grabs for hold of a railing.
"This is worse than my driving test!" Treasa complains, hoping Adam will take over now that he's back.
Despite the lurching as the skybark slews wildly, Aldestre manages to keep his feet and relieve Treasa at the helm! "They're on their way now," he reports. "Just hope we can hold out!"
"If it comes to it, I might be able to draw them off," Treasa claims. "The bounty on me is ridiculous."
As more Wild Hunt vehicles and mounts close in, Aldestre tries to pull them out - but to no avail. Even halved by Cait's decoy, there are still enough of them to bracket the skybark. The armored woman laughs again as she takes the forward position, her mount treading air tirelessly next to them. "Surrender Mike, and the rest of you may go," she says.
"Can't do that, he's a real person and we have to get him out," Treasa calls back.
Brother Cadena tries tapping the black card he's holding against the staff, pressing it to his forehead, blowing on it, turning it over in his hands ... all with no discernible result.
As Cadena stares into the black card, its depths seem to shimmer... It's as if it were a picture of some bottomless pit. If he had enough time, he might be able to get it to work.
Aldestre launches Kyriel into the air toward the woman. "Fan of Feathers!" he yells.
KaTHWOOM! Phantasmal flaming feathers fly in the air, bursting in a cone shape toward the armored woman!
"ARGH!" Dazzling feathers burst against her helmet, blinding her, and her mount rears up as more feathers snap and crackle and burn against its barding-exposed hide. She peels off with unexpected speed, trying to get her steed back under control. "You'll pay for that, mongrel!"
Mike calls, "Go get 'em, birdy!" Aldestre gives him a look. "Her name is Kyriel, not 'Birdy'," he says with infinite patience.
Kyriel dances in the air around the skybark, trying to interpose herself between it and the Wild Hunt vehicles, but still it seems like thye're drastically outnumbered.
"Damn, I miss Fuselli," Treasa mutters with a pang of nostalgia for her old flying nightmare. She then focuses on the mall ahead. "Mike, getting a signal yet?"
Brother Cadena sighs and at last cries out, "I pray, can someone please assist me with this card? If it offers any chance of help, I have no clue as to how it works!"
Mike looks down at his PDA. "Nah. Still nada!" He punches a few buttons, having to use willpower to focus on it rather than the imminent threat.
"Give it here," Tracy asks, since she's the only one with attention to spare. She holds her hand out for the card.
Brother Cadena obligingly rises enough to hand the card over to Lady Treasa Truclaw.
Cait fishes out another seed. "Feint left, then dive," she says to Aldestre as she gets it ready.
Taking out her orb, Treasa touches the card to it. "Through shadows I call to you, Jack Fisher," she intones. "Now's your chance to really impress me."
More vehicles come into view, hovering over the mall. There are several skybarks like Aldestre's own, and a longer sky-yacht with sails of shimmery light, and behind them, a giant balloon that carries what looks like a multi-armed construction robot of some kind.
The orb shades into mist and then Jack Fisher's face appears, calculatedly average looking and hard to pick out of a crowd. "Lady Truclaw. What may I do for you?"
Brother Cadena sights the collection of vehicles, but doesn't look terribly surprised - just resigned. After all, that brilliant white "rainbow" had two ends.
Treasa rotates the orb around to give Jack an idea of the situation. "I've got a person that I absolutely have to get safely to a very special portal," she explains. "And the entire dimension seems to be after us, as the Hunt has targeted him. Can you arrange to clear a path for us? I'd be really grateful."
Aldestre swerves the skybark, and Cait launches her second decoy. The Wild Hunt is halved once again... Though the previous decoy seems to have fizzled, so that their numbers are coming about to rejoin them. "Hang on," he yells as he takes them down low, so low that they're all but scraping the street beneath.
"There'll be a fee for that of course," Jack Fisher says, looking not at all surprised. "One hundred thousand gold."
Brother Cadena just shakes his head and sighs upon hearing the amount of the fee.
"I don't have that much," Treasa says, gritting her teeth. "But my real name is Tracy Trudeau, and I'm worth a 10 million gold bounty to the Wild Hunt. Check their forum channel. You'll also be saving someone's life, literally, and giving the Hunt a huge wedgy."
The carriage comes down low for another shot at them... Too low. Its wheels jounce and clatter against the asphalt sending sparks in every direction.
Jack Fisher's eyebrows go up. "I see. Well, then, you and your delightful friend Cadena shall owe me one, shall we say?" His eyes go toward Cadena.
"A favor, certainly.. but not allegiance," Treasa notes, watching for low-hanging signs or other obstacles to duck as they race through the mall.
Above the Wild Hunt, a giant armored dirigible follows the proceedings with interest, painted space black with skullbones painted upon its sides. Just what they needed, pirates.
The dirigibles parked over the mall float in their direction. Tiny specks of light suggest magic of some kind.
"And you, Brother Cadena? Do you agree you will owe me a favor for this favor?" Mr. Fisher prompts.
Lord Skull gnashes his teeth - especially obvious with no lips to get in the way - and pulls his carriage up back into the sky. He tries to draw a bead on the skybark.
"That is fair," Brother Cadena says, startled to realize that he's part of this conversation. "If I can find you treasure or relics or other such valuable things, I shall endeavor to do so. But please be warned - it seems that sometimes there are ... unfortunate side effects, as we have just discovered."
"We have a deal then," Jack says.
"I'm going to assume you already know where we are and where we're going, if you've got agents in Metropolis," Treasa says into the orb.
The chain markings on Cadena's face shift again, but, again, nothing comes of it save for a seemingly random and gratuitous display.
"Of course," Jack says with a smile. He calls to someone out of the field of his vision, "Open fire."
And with that... The pirate dirigible's cannons open fire on the Wild Hunt.
"Now that's sneaky," Treasa has to admit in awe. "I figured the Shadows would be mostly Ninjas.."
Aldestre pushes the throttle full open. "Let's get moving while they're distracted," he says in a low tone of voice to the others. As a stray round crashes into a building, causing it to creak alarmingly, he adds, "And before they totally wreck this place!"
"Mike, how's the phone looking?" Treasa asks. "Any bars yet?"
Brother Cadena flinches at the explosions and creaking, folding back his sensitive ears, but still keeping primarily focused on the path to the portal.
It turns out to be Aldestre's friends in the skybarks and sky-yacht! They take up escort positions, more Avatars like Kyriel deployed to screen them.
Mike peers. "That's weird. No signal... Getting a lotta EMF noise though." He points toward the mall. "Comin' from up ahead!"
"That's good!" Treasa says, no longer worried about plowing into a dead end. "Let's hope Sasha's crew isn't sitting on it. Soon as we can get a signal, I'll call my mom - she should be able to get some security and medics to pick you up on the other side and keep you safe."
The Wild Hunt swarms around the pirate dirigible, distracted from their pursuit. Tiny flyers fall from the sky, rendered indistinct by distance.
Brother Cadena cringes at the carnage. "I sincerely hope we have not oversold my ability to deliver them something to be worth all of this."
"It's not like the Shadows will be picking up the tab for repairs," Treasa points out, watching the way ahead for obstacles of the armed or spellcasting variety.
They settle onto the top of the mall and make their way past generic shop fronts to what appears to be yet another Duamutef's Donuts in the food court. The staff's beam points unerringly to what looks like a blank wall... But the EMF noise is off the scale. Treasa's and Aldestre's senses are both telling them that the potential for a portal is strong here - but whenever they try to envision where it will go, they can see only an endless tunnel, disappearing into infinity.
"Think we should try to open it ourselves?" Treasa asks Aldestre. "I'm not sure how this works..."
Brother Cadena says, "I believe I have the idea of how it works, though I hope I have not overly taxed my powers by this point."
Cait flits about and then orders a donut hole - one - from the counter jockey.
Mike's stomach rumbles, but then he checks his PDA. "Hey! There's a weak signal," he says. "I have HOW many messages?"
"Well, you've got the link to a higher intelligence, so I'll go with whatever your idea is, Cadena," Treasa notes, then blinks at Mike. "Hand it over, I need to try and get through to my mother so we have some support on the other side."
Aldestre shakes his head. "I'll defer to Cadena," he says. "I'd hate to screw it up and have Mike romping through yet another Gloaming world."
The canine cleric approaches the wall as indicated, and taps the staff testingly against the surface - then begins repeating the process he saw performed by a certain strange friend/enemy what seems now to him like ages ago, tracing out a doorway with the tip of the staff.
A line of light follows his staff tip!
Mike holds the PDA out, but his eyes are fixed on the display as if it were his last lifeline to a place called reality.
Tracy takes it and quickly taps out her mother's emergency number. "C'mon, mom, we need the cavalry.." she mutters.
Blit! The call comes through but the video is shot through with static, a sure indication that the signal is badly degraded. "Who's Mike-- who are you?" Holly says peering at the image. This may be the first time she's ever seen Treasa Truclaw.
Holly adds accusingly, "And what are you doing on my emergency line?"
Once the door is finished, Brother Cadena peers over at the device. "She sounds familiar. That ... is that your mother, Treasa?"
"Mom, it's me, Tracy," Treasa rattles off. "I'm calling from inside the Gloaming, next to a synecdoche that Cadena is trying to open. It'll be a Duamutef's Donuts in one of the tower food courts - maybe the same one that opened this morning. I've got Mike Dexter! We need security and a medic and probably a sandwich or something for him.. please tell me you can trace this signal!"
Donut hole in her mouth, Cait quickly weaves an illusion to screen them from the sight of the Duamutef's Donuts customers and employees!
"Tracy! Oh my God, what has Jason done to you?!" Holly peers at a side panel. "Stay on the line! I'll have a medevac on the way!"
A rectangular outline of light now shimmers in the wall.
Treasa hands the PDA back to Mike for now, saying, "Don't hang up." Then she turns her attention to the outline in the wall. "What next, Cadena?" she asks.
Brother Cadena returns his attention to the portal, and testingly taps it lightly with the staff.
It creaks open... Onto what looks like an identical mall, except that this one is dark and smells of dust and mold.
Aldestre winces. "Gods above, that portal's loud!"
Brother Cadena looks curiously at the realm beyond. "I suppose that this does not literally take us to his home?"
"What the.." Tracy says in surprise. "Wait.. Mike, when you stepped Yappy through into the real world, what did it look like to you?" she asks.
Distant thunder and explosions shake the mall floor. It sounds like the Wild Hunt is on its way... But the pirate dirigible is still in the fight.
Brother Cadena says, "Quickly - Mike Dexter. Let us put something through the portal that you brought with you, to make certain it can pass safely through. I have a sense that this is ... different somehow."
Mike says hesitantly, "Uh... Not like this! Had the same loud, y'know, feeling, kinda like a noise you can't hear, but it looked just the same on this side and the other."
He peers into the portal. "Looks like one of the abandoned malls near the Works."
"If the phone is getting through, it must be somewhere real," Treasa says, and sticks her hand through the opening to see what happens.
"A coin," Brother Cadena suggests. "Or that device of yours, or - I'm not sure if that is safe?"
Mike fishes around in his pockets and then brings out-- "Is her hand supposed to be smoking like that?"
Treasa's hand tingles, as if it were being held to something hot.
"Yes, it is!" Treasa says. "It should be real out there," she claims as she pulls her hand back. "Hold the PDA through it, your hand shouldn't smoke, but if it starts to hurt, pull it back. As long as they can track the signal, we'll hold out on this side until the medevac team shows up."
Aldestre looks worried. "That's... I don't want my brother burning up!" he protests. Mike looks less than keen on this notion as well.
Obediently the would-be hacker puts his PDA through. Signal reception increases noticably, to two bars worth, and his hand doesn't smoulder. "We've got a fix," Holly reports. "Medevac's on its way!"
Brother Cadena nods. "Lady Treasa Truclaw is indeed experienced in these wonders, I see."
"He's been in here for hours, but last time there were some people who got sucked in near the Avatar's Theme Park for a day or more. They survived. It's just the air he's breathed that will evaporate.. which will probably hurt a lot, sorry, but you'll survive," Treasa explains.
Crashing noises issue from upstairs, then the rhythmic sound of hoofbeats.
"How soon, mom?" Treasa calls into the phone. "We think it's in the Works. And we've got incoming.. though I guess we could push them through the portal to get rid of them.."
"Treasa," Brother Cadena asks, "how long can I survive on the other side? I could accompany him and if there are any untoward effects, I could administer medical assistance until your mother's forces arrive."
Holly looks frantically at a panel off the side of the view pickup. "Two minutes," she says. "This is costing a bundle but I've rerouted a Valkyrie they already had out."
"I don't know," Treasa admits. "Something kept the Hunt together this morning when they came through. If you can cast a healing aura or something it might make you last longer."
The sounds of armored boots above mingle with the crack of pirate stunners and Hunt gunshots.
"I have no such power," Brother Cadena admits. "His life and yours are more important than my own, and we endanger you both if we tarry here for much longer."
"I'm in no real danger, only Mike is," Treasa notes. "If we get found, he goes through whether the medevac is there yet or not. Then we just have to defend this side."
Mike looks up. "What are we waiting on? It feels fine! C'mon through and close this door," he urges. "They're gonna catch up if we dither too long."
Chewing her lip, Treasa nods. "Okay, go through Mike, but just.. step through and take a deep breath. If you're okay, try to get out in the open to where the medevac can pick you up.. and don't hang up the phone!"
Brother Cadena makes up his mind, and steps through on his own, in front of Mike.
Instantly Cadena's fur is prickling everywhere, like he's being illuminated by spotlights or direct tropical sunlight, even though the abandoned mall interior is dank and dim.
Mike steps through, looking worried.
Brother Cadena scans the surroundings, looking for an egress to the top, hoping that the layout is something sensible.
Treasa follows next, gritting her teeth.
He coughs a few times, black puffs of smoke spilling out of his nostrils and mouth.. But seems to be fine. "See? It's all right! C'mon!"
Aldestre grins. "All right, close the door and I'll lead them off," he says. "Cait, you with me?"
Cait looks over at Tracy.
"It feels like fire," Brother Cadena remarks, "and ... I do not do so well with fire." Gathering his resolve, he nods. "We should head for the surface, so that we can be found by your mother's forces more quickly - and then, return as soon as possible."
"You've got the best chance of keeping them off our back," Treasa says to Cait, and eyes the odd door. "We can try to close it, but if it kills the portal, Cadena and I are going to melt a lot faster I think." Still, she gives it a try.
"I'm not sure closing the door is a good idea," Brother Cadena interjects.
Treasa stops. "Well, in that case let's get out into the open while we can," she says and tries to scout ahead after turning down the sensitivity of her VR headset in an attempt to mitigate the burning sensations.
Cait takes out two seeds and lays one on the ground. "I'll drop an illusion here," she says. "Cover up the portal. Then I'll fake you guys being with us."
Holly continues to monitor the line worriedly. "Tracy! Stay with me," she barks at her VR daughter. "Everything's going to be fine."
Brother Cadena says, "Treasa! Please - it is fine. Stay on the other side with your allies. I shall accompany him to the top. You ... you can close the door then." But without staying around to waste more time talking, he heads along, urging Mike on.
"Rrrrrrr," Tracy groans through gritted teeth. Turning down the feedback isn't helping, as she feels like she's being dipped in acid. "Mom.. it's not really me, it's my Avatar.." she manages to get out. "I'm still at Jason's.. not sure how much more of this I can take though."
Mike looks after Treasa, but stumbles along after Cadena.
Brother Cadena calls back to Treasa, "What is the call number to reach you on this 'PDA' device? We can let you know our progress!"
Treasa rattles off her number, hoping Mike's plan allows conference calling. "Don't break the connection to mom though, gonna try something.." she says, and then tries to shapeshift. Since there's no direct mapping of the panther body to human sensation, maybe the burning won't be as bad.
Cait and Aldestre linger at the door, watching Treasa with a shared look of worry.
The shapeshift is like nothing Tracy's ever experienced through her avatar. Fire lashes through every muscle. Her self-control breaking, she flees in catform back through the portal and into the depths of the mall.
To Mike, Brother Cadena says, "If I fall, do not stop to aid me, Mike Dexter. Please proceed to the roof, and tell them where to find me. I will accompany you for as far as I can." He cannot even spare a worried glance back - he can tell that time is running out.
"We got Mike out, that's what matters," Treasa thinks, feeling cooler now that she's back in the virtual world. "Just need to defend the portal. Then.. I can disconnect, and finally grab a shower. I hope Jason's date is going better at least.."
It's a nail-biting two minutes as Treasa plays distraction for the Wild Hunt, along with Cait and Aldestre, but Cadena rejoins them at the last, and closes the door behind him. With that, they are able to disconnect and return to the waking world.
Kimon chimes as they awaken. "Proximity alert: a large number of unidentified persons are gathering in the area surrounding Reality Check. Permission to open fire?"
"What?" Tracy asks, jerking herself up out of the papasan. "Show me some pictures!" she asks Kimon. So much for her shower.. but Jason would kill her if she let his castle be stormed! "Cadena, please be yourself again and call mom on your special channel!"