SV vs. Sonic '06

[Takoe]

Right by the far wall sat a decently large desk, behind which sat an old human lady. Physically, she looks around 80 years and rather short and wrinkled, but the way her eyes twinkle from their sockets are at conflict with her wizened state. "Well, you certainly are an interesting group," She finally says after a long few seconds, voice high and strong. "What you brings you to this fortress on the edge of this dead continent?"

Click to shrink...

"Hello." Sam drawled, seemingly careless but sizing her and the room up with a metaphorical spyglass. He was about to go off on the umpteenth introductory rant of the day, when...

"We're not from around here." Vile said, turning back to see the old woman. "We all came from other worlds through portals, and joined up in an abandoned city a bit away. We found a soldier of yours called Kerry in a boat, and he suggested we come back here. Well, not like we have anywhere else to go, so we accepted. We came here because we were told that's what new arrivals do.

Click to shrink...

...It was conveniently done for him. "What he said." He added as not to have looked too stupid with his mouth hanging open and his arm mid-gesture. "Dealt with some of those lava monster too. I'm supposing those are the reason the world's gone to shit, right?"

 

[Laplace]

This makes Vess blink however. "You're carrying around shipboard artillery?" She asks, confusion evident.

Click to shrink...

Rene Petit
-------------
He threw back his head and laughed. "I wish! I wish. No, I have here in my hand a compact plasma pistol that has the rough power of a stream of warm piss. My companions also have such weapons, moderatly more powerful. I was wondering if you had power packs for these weapons."

Right by the far wall sat a decently large desk, behind which sat an old human lady. Physically, she looks around 80 years and rather short and wrinkled, but the way her eyes twinkle from their sockets are at conflict with her wizened state. "Well, you certainly are an interesting group," She finally says after a long few seconds, voice high and strong. "What you brings you to this fortress on the edge of this dead continent?"

Click to shrink...

He shrugged. "Kelly did. By boat."

 

[GradeonMagus]

Xan had nothing to add, and seeing that it was, yet again, a human... wanted nothing more than to blend into the wall and hope her nausea would pass. She decided to do the next best thing and stand within earshot outside of the room, leaning against a wall with her eyes closed as she slumped back.

 

[Dust and echoes]

@Dust and echoes
@Lunaryon
@Takoe
@GradeonMagus
@Malbutorius

The fox girl blinked. It was a long, slow blink, filled with a certain level of dislike and contempt for you and your rudeness. Not even the sight of the mug person could completely blunt that.

At Lilac's far more polite question, she raised a hand to push a button on the desk. "Commander Andonov? Eight new arrivals to meet you."

"Send them in," an aged voice crackles through. The door clicks, the lock on it disabling itself.
This makes Vess blink however. "You're carrying around shipboard artillery?" She asks, confusion evident.

Once everyone heads in, you find yourself in a simple room, with bookshelves built into the walls. Skimming the titles of the books filling them would reveal records of fortresss upkeep with such books such as Reflections on The Century of Darkness, The Tale of The Gold, and Reflections of Chaos.

Right by the far wall sat a decently large desk, behind which sat an old human lady. Physically, she looks around 80 years and rather short and wrinkled, but the way her eyes twinkle from their sockets are at conflict with her wizened state. "Well, you certainly are an interesting group," She finally says after a long few seconds, voice high and strong. "What you brings you to this fortress on the edge of this dead continent?"

Click to shrink...

Mox followed the others into the room, giving the...thing...at the front dest an "I'm watching you" glare. Due to his helmet, it likely conveyed none of the warning, or even the intent he meant it to, but if this bothered or even occured to Mox, he didn't show it.

As for the "commander" well....Mox wasn't sure wether to be happy, or worried. On one hand, she was indeed- or at least appeared to be at this point- human. On the other, she was ancient. She looked ready to keel over at any moment. This was not a good quality for a leader to have.

Taking a moment to scan the bookshelf, Mox noted vaguely that he had never heard of any of the books there. But then again, the only books he'd ever read were weather-stained books kept by XCOM, and Alien propoganda pamphlets, so that wasn't saying much.

Shifting his shoulders slightly, Mox moved to place his back against the wall.

He shrugged. "Kelly did. By boat."

Click to shrink...

A deep chuckle escaped Mox's helmet, which he quickly attempted to stifle by coughing. Can't give that bastard any ammunition.

 

[Lunaryon]

Luna listened to the various reasons that her companions gave for the reasons why they were here, from the simple to the more complex. Which is all well and good.

But it isn't enough.

The girl glanced to the others in the room, before stepping forward. "You said the continent is dead." It wasn't really a question. "What the hell happened here? What caused all of this?"

 

[The Fourth Monado]

@Mew
@Dust and echoes

Vile would have smirked if he had a mouth. He turned back to the fox girl when they'd passed on their way to the door. His right hand vanished, showing his Buster, which he pointed at the Lt and made an exaggerated recoil motion with his arm in time with the first word of his next sentence. "Pow. No more Speedster Fox. Heh."

Click to shrink...

You notice her tense, one hand shooting under the table in reach of some weapon, but as you don't actually fire and instead walk away she doesn't draw her weapon.

Rene Petit
-------------
He threw back his head and laughed. "I wish! I wish. No, I have here in my hand a compact plasma pistol that has the rough power of a stream of warm piss. My companions also have such weapons, moderatly more powerful. I was wondering if you had power packs for these weapons."

Click to shrink...

Still tense from the whole 'having weapons pointed at her face' thing, Vess still somehow managed to look confused at that. "Our only plasma weaponry ammunition is big enoug to barely fit lengthwise on this desk, so I doubt a pistol would be able to hold it... give me a bit, and I could figure out something?"

"We're not from around here." Vile said, turning back to see the old woman. "We all came from other worlds through portals, and joined up in an abandoned city a bit away. We found a soldier of yours called Kerry in a boat, and he suggested we come back here. Well, not like we have anywhere else to go, so we accepted. We came here because we were told that's what new arrivals do.

Also, I think that your base and troops..." Here he paused for a few more seconds than needed. "Are well organized considering the circumstances. You've done a good job as leader, my congratulations."

Click to shrink...

"Why thank you!" The commander chirped, eyes twinkling behind smile lines. "Such compliments from people such as yourself are rare."

"Hello." Sam drawled, seemingly careless but sizing her and the room up with a metaphorical spyglass. He was about to go off on the umpteenth introductory rant of the day, when...



...It was conveniently done for him. "What he said." He added as not to have looked too stupid with his mouth hanging open and his arm mid-gesture. "Dealt with some of those lava monster too. I'm supposing those are the reason the world's gone to shit, right?"

Click to shrink...

"They have been a factor, yes," she nodded.

Xan had nothing to add, and seeing that it was, yet again, a human... wanted nothing more than to blend into the wall and hope her nausea would pass. She decided to do the next best thing and stand within earshot outside of the room, leaning against a wall with her eyes closed as she slumped back.

Click to shrink...

The fox girl, still a little on-edge, notes how sickly you look. "...Hey," You hear her ask. "Do you need a doctor?"

Luna listened to the various reasons that her companions gave for the reasons why they were here, from the simple to the more complex. Which is all well and good.

But it isn't enough.

The girl glanced to the others in the room, before stepping forward. "You said the continent is dead." It wasn't really a question. "What the hell happened here? What caused all of this?"

Click to shrink...

The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

 

[Laplace]

Still tense from the whole 'having weapons pointed at her face' thing, Vess still somehow managed to look confused at that. "Our only plasma weaponry ammunition is big enoug to barely fit lengthwise on this desk, so I doubt a pistol would be able to hold it... give me a bit, and I could figure out something?"

Click to shrink...

Rene Petit
--------
Ah, here was a dillemma. To trust her and hand over his pistol, his sole- ahahahaha he wasn't kidding anyone. He could be dropped into a battlefield with a L shaped stick and make pew pew noises and have roughly the same effect. It was his mind that was his asset- his mind that can think up lightning bolts. So he shrugged and carefully placed the weapon on her table. He didn't throw it, he knew gun saftey.

"Don't lose it. I might be pissed," he noted casually, "Oh, and if you could figure out a way to upsize that to rifle and sniper calibur, that would be wonderful."

The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

"Did I step into a fantasy novel?" Rene asked sceptically. "Hey, Mox! Fufill your lifelong dream and slap me a good one."

 

[Takoe]

The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

"Well that's a suitably dramatic course of events." Sam muttered under his breath before frowning as something she said clicked in his head.

"Say, this Shadow the Golden guy doesn't happen to be an antropomorphic hedgehog, does he?." he inquired to confirm he sneaking suspicion.

 

[Lunaryon]

@Mew
@Dust and echoes

You notice her tense, one hand shooting under the table in reach of some weapon, but as you don't actually fire and instead walk away she doesn't draw her weapon.
Still tense from the whole 'having weapons pointed at her face' thing, Vess still somehow managed to look confused at that. "Our only plasma weaponry ammunition is big enoug to barely fit lengthwise on this desk, so I doubt a pistol would be able to hold it... give me a bit, and I could figure out something?"

"Why thank you!" The commander chirped, eyes twinkling behind smile lines. "Such compliments from people such as yourself are rare."

"They have been a factor, yes," she nodded.

The fox girl, still a little on-edge, notes how sickly you look. "...Hey," You hear her ask. "Do you need a doctor?"
The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

"Iblis..." The plant girl says quietly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Where have I heard that name be..." She trailed off, eyes closed as she rested her head in her hands. "Right. Of Course. Iblis, leader of the Shaytan, that which was known as the Great Deceiver. Or as Christianity came to know of him, Lucifer goddamned morningstar. The devil himself. Thank you Jacob, it's been years, but you never shutting up about Mythology has actually come in useful."

 

[Mew]

@Mew
@Dust and echoes

You notice her tense, one hand shooting under the table in reach of some weapon, but as you don't actually fire and instead walk away she doesn't draw her weapon.
Still tense from the whole 'having weapons pointed at her face' thing, Vess still somehow managed to look confused at that. "Our only plasma weaponry ammunition is big enoug to barely fit lengthwise on this desk, so I doubt a pistol would be able to hold it... give me a bit, and I could figure out something?"

"Why thank you!" The commander chirped, eyes twinkling behind smile lines. "Such compliments from people such as yourself are rare."

"They have been a factor, yes," she nodded.

The fox girl, still a little on-edge, notes how sickly you look. "...Hey," You hear her ask. "Do you need a doctor?"
The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

Carol and Lilac had actually prepared to intercept Vile but thankfully, he retracted himself and became more pleasant.

Rene Petit
--------
Ah, here was a dillemma. To trust her and hand over his pistol, his sole- ahahahaha he wasn't kidding anyone. He could be dropped into a battlefield with a L shaped stick and make pew pew noises and have roughly the same effect. It was his mind that was his asset- his mind that can think up lightning bolts. So he shrugged and carefully placed the weapon on her table. He didn't throw it, he knew gun saftey.

"Don't lose it. I might be pissed," he noted casually, "Oh, and if you could figure out a way to upsize that to rifle and sniper calibur, that would be wonderful."

"Did I step into a fantasy novel?" Rene asked sceptically. "Hey, Mox! Fufill your lifelong dream and slap me a good one."

Click to shrink...

As Rene spoke up, Carol joined her hands behind her head and glanced nervously at him. "Sorry buddy but sometimes, things just go awful. Torque told us about many horror stories of what happen to worlds that fall to bad guys. Our world also got its share of close calls. If anything, I wish things were more like in a novel. In novels, the heroes actually succeed in stopping the bad guys."

Lilac briefly bowed to the commander in respect. "I am sorry to learn of what happened to your world." She then gained a hopeful smile that she wished would look more confident. "It may seem odd but I and my friend, and many others, come from another world. I and Carol, in particular, are in contact with an organization known as the Coalition of Planets. I don't know if they would be able to help with a crisis as big as what you're describing but if anything, I'm sure they would be able to help you get off the planet if they can't help you get rid of that Iblis thing."

"I'm actually approving with this plan for once!" went Carol, much to Lilac's surprise (and displeasure). "I don't know about you but if that Iblis guy is as strong as you say, why not let him have this rock? I meant, if it's truly just one big burnt wasteland by now, might be best to let this Iblis dude have it and just settle down elsewhere."

"Oh and by the way... Shadow the Golden? No offense but what kind of name is that? Must have been some kind of codename or nickname, right?"

That last comment earned Carol a glare from Lilac. Carol blinked a few times. "What?"

Lilac sighed deeply, rolling her eyes.

 

[Malbutorius]

Mugman

Mugman hums to himself in thought as he thinks about what he just learned.

Their whole world was nothing but rock and magma. Oh dear, what a hellhole.

"Iblis..." The plant girl says quietly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Where have I heard that name be..." She trailed off, eyes closed as she rested her head in her hands. "Right. Of Course. Iblis, leader of the Shaytan, that which was known as the Great Deceiver. Or as Christianity came to know of him, Lucifer goddamned morningstar. The devil himself. Thank you Jacob, it's been years, but you never shutting up about Mythology has actually come in useful."

Click to shrink...

Mugman hated The Devil. After his brother gambled their souls away he was stuck as a debt collector fighting all kinds of debtor baddies for the cruel being.

"Oh gosh. I just got over fighting The Devil before I came here and I have to deal with him again already? Can this day get any worse? I wish Cuphead was here." Mugman finished sadly when he thought about his brother, he was probably worried sick about him, same with the elder kettle.

 

[Takoe]

"Iblis..." The plant girl says quietly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Where have I heard that name be..." She trailed off, eyes closed as she rested her head in her hands. "Right. Of Course. Iblis, leader of the Shaytan, that which was known as the Great Deceiver. Or as Christianity came to know of him, Lucifer goddamned morningstar. The devil himself. Thank you Jacob, it's been years, but you never shutting up about Mythology has actually come in useful."

Click to shrink...

"Yeah, no. If I think this is what I think it is, it's not going to be pretty." Sam had never been much of a gamer, his life was game-like enough that it didn't do much for him, but it was hard not to know about this one given the everlasting shitstorm. "But honestly? I'm more concerned of clipping through the ground and falling into infinity right now."

 

[EternalStruggle]

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

Vile drummed his fingers along his arm as he listened to the exposition. "So." He looked at the mountain range out the window, and the crimson glow behind them. "What I'm hearing, is that no more Iblis means no more problem. I'll have to keep that one in mind going forward." He paused, and considered another question. "But that does raise one last issue. Why were we summoned here? Well, no. I think I can guess. Who summoned us here, and where? We have reason to believe it was deliberate, and due to someone on this side." He glared in the direction of the ruined city. "Although if that is true then they really botched it to have us land in the middle of nowhere."

 

[Dust and echoes]

"Did I step into a fantasy novel?" Rene asked sceptically. "Hey, Mox! Fufill your lifelong dream and slap me a good one."

Click to shrink...

At the mention of his name, Mox's head snapped around. Frankly he had been paying more attention to his temporary allies than to old woman, which perhaps wasn't the best course of action. For the life of him however, his mostly-ignoring of the briefing hadn't gained him very much. His early reads of the others remained mostly unchanged. Ludicrously powerful, both physically and in..other ways. Rene might know more. He would have to ask him later.

Speaking of the Templar....at his request, Mox shrugged, and straightened off the wall he had crammed himself against. His earlier trepidation about being near his new "friends" seemed gone and he shouldered his way through to be closer to Rene. The movement was calm, collected, as if he hadn't heard the Templar clearly, and was moving closer to get a better listen. However, then the fist drew back.

There was a resounding crack of armor-on-armor as the Gene-enhanced super-soldier slammed his fist across his compatriots face. Beneath his helmet, Mox wore the biggest grin he had worn in a long while.

Shaking out his striking hand, the he looked down at his compatriot, responding as if nothing had happened.

"This place definitely is...strange. You read more books than I though. Does this resemble them?"

 

[Laplace]

Speaking of the Templar....at his request, Mox shrugged, and straightened off the wall he had crammed himself against. His earlier trepidation about being near his new "friends" seemed gone and he shouldered his way through to be closer to Rene. The movement was calm, collected, as if he hadn't heard the Templar clearly, and was moving closer to get a better listen. However, then the fist drew back.

There was a resounding crack of armor-on-armor as the Gene-enhanced super-soldier slammed his fist across his compatriots face. Beneath his helmet, Mox wore the biggest grin he had worn in a long while.

Click to shrink...

Rene Petit
---------
The force of the blow sent Rene sprawling across the floor, where he laid there, moaning pitiously. "Gah!" he groaned. "You brainless brute! I said slap, not punch. This is police brutality! My beard! That was my beard, asshole! I'll file a complaint against you!"

Then, he stood back up, cupping his cheek gingerly. "Alright. This isn't a dream. Sadly. Now, let me test that on you, my friend," he said to Mox.

 

[GradeonMagus]

The fox girl, still a little on-edge, notes how sickly you look. "...Hey," You hear her ask. "Do you need a doctor?"

Click to shrink...

Xan wanted to ignore the fox girl, but considering the already nasty reception the poor thing had gotten, and...

The woman sighs. "And this confirms it," you all barely hear her mutter, before she hauls herself up from behind the desk and moves over to the window, opening it to reveal a nice view of the fort... but mostly the mountains further inland, and the hints of crimson light behind them.

"Over three hundred years ago, by our reckoning, a great cataclysm happened," she began. "In seven days, all the world's great works - great nations, armies capable of blotting out the horizon, shining cities, great forests, and weapons capable of laying waste to millions - all were wiped away, with no way to fight back. The source of this was a spirit of destruction and flame, known to us as Iblis. It is the source of those monsters you've encountered.

"Only islands in the middle of the oceans managed to escape unharmed, and even then Iblis has called forth orbs of flame to strike them from many thousands of miles away. Most of mankind were reduced to nomadic tribes, hugging the coastlines of continents and barely finding enough food and water to survive. The one place that managed to escape such a fate was... is Angel Island - once under the rule of Shadow the Golden, who's spirit still watches over us to this day.

"This fortress is an outpost created bythat nation, for the purpose of beginning to reclaim this land - though we cannot stray too far inland, for fear of the Sea of Fire," The woman concluded, turning to face you all. "I hope that answers your question?"

Click to shrink...

...all... that... bullshit... she was a bit faint.

"...Just... just food... some protein's best...", the haggard woman croaked as she stared at the old human woman with horror. A fucking... GOD just...

Why the hell was she here?! She's just a homeless drifter turned fucking snake monster, not something that can fight a GOD!

 

[The Fourth Monado]

"Don't lose it. I might be pissed," he noted casually, "Oh, and if you could figure out a way to upsize that to rifle and sniper calibur, that would be wonderful."

Click to shrink...

"I'm not a tech person, but I'll see what I can do," You hear her say as you enter the room.

"Well that's a suitably dramatic course of events." Sam muttered under his breath before frowning as something she said clicked in his head.

"Say, this Shadow the Golden guy doesn't happen to be an antropomorphic hedgehog, does he?" he inquired to confirm his sneaking suspicion.

Click to shrink...

"His form was like that of a hedgehog, from what has been recorded of the Century of Darkness, yes," The woman replies, nodding.

"Iblis..." The plant girl says quietly, a thoughtful look on her face. "Where have I heard that name be..." She trailed off, eyes closed as she rested her head in her hands. "Right. Of Course. Iblis, leader of the Shaytan, that which was known as the Great Deceiver. Or as Christianity came to know of him, Lucifer goddamned morningstar. The devil himself. Thank you Jacob, it's been years, but you never shutting up about Mythology has actually come in useful."

Click to shrink...

Mugman

Mugman hums to himself in thought as he thinks about what he just learned.

Their whole world was nothing but rock and magma. Oh dear, what a hellhole.


Mugman hated The Devil. After his brother gambled their souls away he was stuck as a debt collector fighting all kinds of debtor baddies for the cruel being.

"Oh gosh. I just got over fighting The Devil before I came here and I have to deal with him again already? Can this day get any worse? I wish Cuphead was here." Mugman finished sadly when he thought about his brother, he was probably worried sick about him, same with the elder kettle.

Click to shrink...

"So your worlds have had to contest the beast's power? Curious."

Lilac briefly bowed to the commander in respect. "I am sorry to learn of what happened to your world." She then gained a hopeful smile that she wished would look more confident. "It may seem odd but I and my friend, and many others, come from another world. I and Carol, in particular, are in contact with an organization known as the Coalition of Planets. I don't know if they would be able to help with a crisis as big as what you're describing but if anything, I'm sure they would be able to help you get off the planet if they can't help you get rid of that Iblis thing."

"I'm actually approving with this plan for once!" went Carol, much to Lilac's surprise (and displeasure). "I don't know about you but if that Iblis guy is as strong as you say, why not let him have this rock? I meant, if it's truly just one big burnt wasteland by now, might be best to let this Iblis dude have it and just settle down elsewhere."

Click to shrink...

"Leaving, eh?" The woman chuckled. "Would that we could, but until fifty years ago we lacked ships capable of leaving Angel Island and sailing the skies, much less leaving the atmosphere. And now? Well... the ash cloud hanging over the continent isn't just there to blot out the sun. Should a ship-or anything, really- reach a certain height, great gouts of fire and lightning shall spring from the cloud, wiping the ship from existence."

"Oh and by the way... Shadow the Golden? No offense but what kind of name is that? Must have been some kind of codename or nickname, right?"

Click to shrink...

"It's the name he chose to go by," She answered, shrugging. "Like many of the Kin, he named himself."

Vile drummed his fingers along his arm as he listened to the exposition. "So." He looked at the mountain range out the window, and the crimson glow behind them. "What I'm hearing, is that no more Iblis means no more problem. I'll have to keep that one in mind going forward." He paused, and considered another question. "But that does raise one last issue. Why were we summoned here? Well, no. I think I can guess. Who summoned us here, and where? We have reason to believe it was deliberate, and due to someone on this side." He glared in the direction of the ruined city. "Although if that is true then they really botched it to have us land in the middle of nowhere."

Click to shrink...

"As to why you appeared here instead of someplace more habitable, I have no idea," The woman finished off. "One back on Angel Island may know, however; a young hedgehog who has taken the name of Wrench."

...all... that... bullshit... she was a bit faint.

"...Just... just food... some protein's best...", the haggard woman croaked as she stared at the old human woman with horror. A fucking... GOD just...

Why the hell was she here?! She's just a homeless drifter turned fucking snake monster, not something that can fight a GOD!

Click to shrink...

The fox studies you for a few moments, before nodding to herself and getting up, pocketing the gun before walking over to you. "Then let's get some food into you," She says, voice low and soft as she begins leading you away from the room. "The kitchen will be preparing dinner now - they should have some ham or beef available."

 

[Mew]

Lilac winced as one of the party members got slapped. She resisted the urge to groan and facepalm. They were in the middle of a crisis! Now isn't the time for slapstick! Still, those were... bad news.

"Great. So we can't leave until we beat the thing. Figures." went Carol, quite annoyed. If only things could have been so easy for once. Still, she looked around, noting the reactions of many. She blinked a few times before turning to Mugman. "Hey, Muggie. Any reason half of the group is freaking out or giving that 'Devil' guy a dozen nicknames? I mean, he sounds nasty and all that but if you could beat him, surely we can all take on this guy?"

Lilac put a hand on her chin for a moment. She tapped her foot, deep in thought. "The Devil... where did I hear that name before?" she whispered to herself before smiling as she remembered. "Oh I got it!"

"Oh, you do?" went Carol, currently balancing herself on the tip of her feet.

"Yeah. The Devil is a foreign mythological figure from the Outer Nations. Apparently, he was some kind of ultimate evil who stole the souls of people or something." explained Lilac.

"Oh!" Carol went. Then, she blinked a few times and put two and two together. "Ooooh! And if Mugman over there and a few of our new friends took him on before, then it means..."

"He's not just a mythological being. He really exist. Just like the dragons were a real species that came from space, not just religious figures." Lilac completed for her. Though something bothered her. "But how would he be able to cause such destruction to this world? And if he did that, how come Mugman beat him?" She then smiled at Mugman. "No offense taken."

"... actually, this make sense." Carol said.

"It does?" Lilac went.

Carol, glad to be the one explaining for one, smiled widely. "Yep! Remaining the Kingdom Vortex? All living things have spirit energy. We call it 'ki', foreigners call it 'the soul'. The dragons used their technology and sacrificed much of their colony to create the original form of the Kingdom Vortex, a source of energy that sustained our civilization for millenia, to the point that we thought it infinite. Now let's just consider the legends. This Devil guy has a technology or a special magical ability to tap into souls. On our world, the dragons gifted us with the technology and the ability to control 'ki'. So if he tried anything funny, I'm sure he got his face punched out good. And Mugman obviously got the ability to fight people like that. But if you unleash someone who absorb ki like a sponge on a world and doesn't put a limit to how much power he can absorb..."

"... you'd get someone with enough power to torch an entire planet." Lilac completed.

Lilac thought to herself for a while. There was still something that bothered. "Still... how did that Devil or Iblis or Lucifer person make it to this world?"

"Did you forget why Lord Brevon wanted the Kingdom Vortex so bad?" went Carol, crossing her arms.

Lilac's eyes widened. "That's it!" she went, snapping her fingers... before a look of horror flashed over her features. "... oh no."

Carol blinked a few times and then, all of a sudden, her expression mimicked Lilac's. "Oh gosh."

"Ki is one of the few substances in the universe that can power up a faster than light drive. With enough of it, you can travel to other worlds. And if he did this to this world..."

Carol was silent for a moment... "We must find a way to kick that guy's butt."

Lilac was a bit surprised. Though she smirked. "What happened to ducking and letting the heat pass?"

"Hey! It's not because I don't have a suicidal obsession with playing the hero that I am a coward! Given this Devil has torched this world and has been fought on multiple worlds, it's not much of a stretch to think that he'll move on to other worlds once he's done with this one. For starters, I think he'd likely like to take revenge on Muggie's world for kicking him out. Beside, I kinda want to go home and well, if he's not going to let us, I guess that means we'll have to force him to."

The duo turned to the others. "So!" went Lilac, "What do you guys think?"

 

[Malbutorius]

Mugman

Mugman... Wasn't entirely sure what the two dames Lilac and Carol were talking about. Although, the Devil is a shapeshifter after all, and Mugman wasn't too sure if Hell came out in different places or not.

"Great. So we can't leave until we beat the thing. Figures." went Carol, quite annoyed. If only things could have been so easy for once. Still, she looked around, noting the reactions of many. She blinked a few times before turning to Mugman. "Hey, Muggie. Any reason half of the group is freaking out or giving that 'Devil' guy a dozen nicknames? I mean, he sounds nasty and all that but if you could beat him, surely we can all take on this guy?"

Click to shrink...

Mugman thought back to the Elder Kettle's Sunday Teachings.

"Well, back at the Inkwell Isles the bulk of his power was tied up in his Casino, considering it was the only place he could personally go on Earth. He had to rely on patsies to do anything anywhere else. My older brother Cuphead dragged me along on an adventure there once, ended up with him owning our souls, but since he had a bunch of debtors out and about Inkwell Isles we had the rest of the day to go out and gather them all. Had to beat up a bunch of nasty folk. From a trio of giant veggies to a huge firebreathing dragon to an entire train full of ghouls and ghosts. Then me and my brother managed to beat the devil into surrender and shredded all the soul contracts we'd been gathering to free the debtors. I was at the party where everyone was celebrating when I wound up here." Mugman says, remembering the sequence of events that brought him here.

"If they're the same ol' shapechanger, then he must have managed to break open Hell here. But those fire monsters I saw didn't look nothing like any demons I'd ever seen before." Mugman says, rubbing his chin in thought as he gives a hum.

 

[Takoe]

"His form was like that of a hedgehog, from what has been recorded of the Century of Darkness, yes," The woman replies, nodding.

Click to shrink...

"Oh Christ on a bike." Sam cursed. This was Sonic 06. "Fucking brilliant..."

"If they're the same ol' shapechanger, then he must have managed to break open Hell here. But those fire monsters I saw didn't look nothing like any demons I'd ever seen before." Mugman says, rubbing his chin in thought as he gives a hum.

Click to shrink...

"He's not." Sam interjected, exasperated for to them unknowable reasons. "It's not the biblical Satan either. I'm not 100% on what it really is but brute force works just fine. Took both Super Sonic and Super Shadow to kill it though and only Shadow's still around from the sounds of it. Either way we're going to have to gather those fucking Chaos Emeralds. I can guarantee it."

 

[EternalStruggle]

"Hey! It's not because I don't have a suicidal obsession with playing the hero that I am a coward! Given this Devil has torched this world and has been fought on multiple worlds, it's not much of a stretch to think that he'll move on to other worlds once he's done with this one. For starters, I think he'd likely like to take revenge on Muggie's world for kicking him out. Beside, I kinda want to go home and well, if he's not going to let us, I guess that means we'll have to force him to."

The duo turned to the others. "So!" went Lilac, "What do you guys think?"

Click to shrink...

"If they're the same ol' shapechanger, then he must have managed to break open Hell here. But those fire monsters I saw didn't look nothing like any demons I'd ever seen before." Mugman says, rubbing his chin in thought as he gives a hum.

Click to shrink...

"Now, I'm not sure how this works fully, but." Vile paused, and chuckled. "You're going to have to explain one thing to me. How does "Faster Than Light" travel work for you, really? I'm not a theoretical physics bot, but I do know that it usually affects time. Which might be needed to make your story work, since Mugman's Devil got fought yesterday, while this Iblis has been here for over three hundred years. Now, that does cause an issue with your timeline if we assume everything is synched up nice and linearly-"

"He's not." Sam interjected, exasperated for to them unknowable reasons. "It's not the biblical Satan either. I'm not 100% on what it really is but brute force works just fine. Took both Super Sonic and Super Shadow to kill it though and only Shadow's still around from the sounds of it. Either way we're going to have to gather those fucking Chaos Emeralds. I can guarantee it."

Click to shrink...

Vile looked rather annoyed. "Typical, I start on something impressive and somebody else has to show me up. I'll remember this." He turns more fully, data streams coming into view, connecting to the mercenary. "And how the hell do you know this anyway? Wait, don't answer. I might not like whatever answer you have."

 

[Mew]

Lilac and Carol thought on what the various others had to say on the subject. Quite a lot of info.

"To be fair, faster than light and space travel in general has a wonky effect on time due to how extreme speed distort time." Lilac says. "I'm intimately familiar with the concept, as a dragon. Unleashing my full power and in particular using my Super state cause odd effects on time. Beside, it may be us who have been shifted in time. On our end, we did end up accidentally using what was almost certainly a defective teleporter."

Carol turned to Sam. Why was he so frustrated and talking about such things all of a sudden? "Heeey! Do you know anything about the whole situation that we don't? Who's that 'Sonic' guy?"

Still, she turned to Mugman. "Still, now that I think about it, maybe it could be a guy using similar technology or magic? My bloodline killed about a dozen psychic dogs all calling themselves Tiangou through the ages, for example. If one guy can get power from spirit energy and use it to reshape the world into a glorified volcano filled with discount demon thingies, what's stopping other guys from doing it too?"

She tapped her foot for a moment, pondering about something. Then she decided to drop it and turned to Vile. "Anyway, FTL is kind of confusing and I'm a ninja-thief-robot smashing kind of girl, not a sciency one. So I can't tell you the specifics. But simply put, when you go reaaaaaally fast, time start to get wonky. Like, you don't arrive at the time that you logically should. Sometimes, it may even result in some incredibly surreal shenanigans. The good news is that unlike in the movies, you can't possibly break the universe with time shenanigans. The bad news is that, instead, you'll vaporize yourself if you mess up."

She then openly glared at Lilac. The dragoness blinked a few times.

"Carol, you know that I can't run that fast." Carol kept glaring despite Lilac's deadpan response, thus further annoying the lavender reptile girl. "Even in my Super state." More glaring from Carol. "I don't even know how and why that teleporter did what it did! And I'm not even sure if we can replicate whatever it did!" The feline was STILL glaring. Lilac clenched her fists and actually go angry. "Even if I could replicate it, I wouldn't! What do you take me for?"

"Gotta go fast!" went Carol derisively.

Lilac was openly glaring daggers at her supposed best friend, fuming furiously, her tendrils actually whipping the floor once slowly from sheer annoyance. The feline seemed not to care and smirked in that characteristic kitty-like way that cats tended to when they were trolling.

 

[The Fourth Monado]

"He's not." Sam interjected, exasperated for to them unknowable reasons. "It's not the biblical Satan either. I'm not 100% on what it really is but brute force works just fine. Took both Super Sonic and Super Shadow to kill it though and only Shadow's still around from the sounds of it. Either way we're going to have to gather those fucking Chaos Emeralds. I can guarantee it."

Click to shrink...

"Sonic? What sort of name is that?" The commander asked, staring at you like you'd grown two heads. "Such a being has never existed, according to the old tales."

(OOC: Please stop the metaknowledge, Takoe. It's annoying both other players and myself.)

 

[Dust and echoes]

Rene Petit
---------
The force of the blow sent Rene sprawling across the floor, where he laid there, moaning pitiously. "Gah!" he groaned. "You brainless brute! I said slap, not punch. This is police brutality! My beard! That was my beard, asshole! I'll file a complaint against you!"

Then, he stood back up, cupping his cheek gingerly. "Alright. This isn't a dream. Sadly. Now, let me test that on you, my friend," he said to Mox.

Click to shrink...

Mox helped the smaller man to his feet. "Is this what dreaming is like?" He grunted. "Wouldn't know. Now then..." He spread his arms, giving the smaller man a large target to strike at- it was only fair after all- but before he could finish the invitation, he was distracted by the woman.

"His form was like that of a hedgehog, from what has been recorded of the Century of Darkness, yes," The woman replies, nodding.

Click to shrink...

"A what?" The soldier muttered under his breath. Sounded like some sort of animal- Mox didn't have much experience with them, besides seeing them occassionally on the old videos and books he was occassionally tasked with seizing and destroying while still with advent. There weren't many of the real things left.

That said, if what he'd seen from all the people here so far, this "hedgehog" was probably some sort of anthropomorphized creature like the others. Which is to say, it was probably alien. Mox grimaced beneath his helmet.

"Leaving, eh?" The woman chuckled. "Would that we could, but until fifty years ago we lacked ships capable of leaving Angel Island and sailing the skies, much less leaving the atmosphere. And now? Well... the ash cloud hanging over the continent isn't just there to blot out the sun. Should a ship-or anything, really- reach a certain height, great gouts of fire and lightning shall spring from the cloud, wiping the ship from existence."

Click to shrink...

"Thats not normal weather." Noted Mox. Which was bad. He frowned in thought, as he begun for the first time considering the tactical position they were in. Hardly enough supplies, from what he'd seen to mount any offensive against the hostile force- whatever it was...

Granted, apparently there were other pockets of resistance, but this was where they were now, and with the skies locked off- and no real troop transports to be seen anyways- redeploying would be made difficult. Not to mention the enemy seemed to control the world around them, which made transport by land harrowing. Perhaps if they cleared some of the surrounding area...but no. XCOM's main advantage was its mobility, and the firehawk. They were currently stuck in one place with no mobility. Even if his companions were as strong as they seemed, they could not be everywhere at once. Clear one row of buildings, and another would be taken. Resistance cells could be in multiple places at once, but with such a small team....

No. It was impossible.

Which made what the dragon lady said next additionally surprising.

Lilac winced as one of the party members got slapped. She resisted the urge to groan and facepalm. They were in the middle of a crisis! Now isn't the time for slapstick! Still, those were... bad news.

"Great. So we can't leave until we beat the thing. Figures." went Carol, quite annoyed. If only things could have been so easy for once. Still, she looked around, noting the reactions of many. She blinked a few times before turning to Mugman. "Hey, Muggie. Any reason half of the group is freaking out or giving that 'Devil' guy a dozen nicknames? I mean, he sounds nasty and all that but if you could beat him, surely we can all take on this guy?"

Lilac put a hand on her chin for a moment. She tapped her foot, deep in thought. "The Devil... where did I hear that name before?" she whispered to herself before smiling as she remembered. "Oh I got it!"

"Oh, you do?" went Carol, currently balancing herself on the tip of her feet.

"Yeah. The Devil is a foreign mythological figure from the Outer Nations. Apparently, he was some kind of ultimate evil who stole the souls of people or something." explained Lilac.

"Oh!" Carol went. Then, she blinked a few times and put two and two together. "Ooooh! And if Mugman over there and a few of our new friends took him on before, then it means..."

"He's not just a mythological being. He really exist. Just like the dragons were a real species that came from space, not just religious figures." Lilac completed for her. Though something bothered her. "But how would he be able to cause such destruction to this world? And if he did that, how come Mugman beat him?" She then smiled at Mugman. "No offense taken."

"... actually, this make sense." Carol said.

"It does?" Lilac went.

Carol, glad to be the one explaining for one, smiled widely. "Yep! Remaining the Kingdom Vortex? All living things have spirit energy. We call it 'ki', foreigners call it 'the soul'. The dragons used their technology and sacrificed much of their colony to create the original form of the Kingdom Vortex, a source of energy that sustained our civilization for millenia, to the point that we thought it infinite. Now let's just consider the legends. This Devil guy has a technology or a special magical ability to tap into souls. On our world, the dragons gifted us with the technology and the ability to control 'ki'. So if he tried anything funny, I'm sure he got his face punched out good. And Mugman obviously got the ability to fight people like that. But if you unleash someone who absorb ki like a sponge on a world and doesn't put a limit to how much power he can absorb..."

"... you'd get someone with enough power to torch an entire planet." Lilac completed.

Lilac thought to herself for a while. There was still something that bothered. "Still... how did that Devil or Iblis or Lucifer person make it to this world?"

"Did you forget why Lord Brevon wanted the Kingdom Vortex so bad?" went Carol, crossing her arms.

Lilac's eyes widened. "That's it!" she went, snapping her fingers... before a look of horror flashed over her features. "... oh no."

Carol blinked a few times and then, all of a sudden, her expression mimicked Lilac's. "Oh gosh."

"Ki is one of the few substances in the universe that can power up a faster than light drive. With enough of it, you can travel to other worlds. And if he did this to this world..."

Carol was silent for a moment... "We must find a way to kick that guy's butt."

Lilac was a bit surprised. Though she smirked. "What happened to ducking and letting the heat pass?"

"Hey! It's not because I don't have a suicidal obsession with playing the hero that I am a coward! Given this Devil has torched this world and has been fought on multiple worlds, it's not much of a stretch to think that he'll move on to other worlds once he's done with this one. For starters, I think he'd likely like to take revenge on Muggie's world for kicking him out. Beside, I kinda want to go home and well, if he's not going to let us, I guess that means we'll have to force him to."

The duo turned to the others. "So!" went Lilac, "What do you guys think?"

Click to shrink...

Mox took a moment to stare at the two. Luckily, his helm kept them from seeing him staring open-mouthed with shock, but even that was beigninning to become to enclosed and stifling for this tiny space.

Grunting angrily, Mox popped the seal and removed it, hoping that the room wasn't filled with poison gas.



Two unnaturally large and red eyes, frames by a pale, hairless face scarred by countless implants and surgeries stares inwhat amounts to disbelief at the two. His voice, when he speaks, seems to have lost none of the distortion added by his helms speakers.

"I think you're insane."

He waits a beat before continuing.

"We're facing an enemy that can control inanimate objects, thats burned down practically an entire world. Outside of this spot-" He arrows a finger at the ground for emphasis. "Is enemy territory. They control the ground, and more importantly, they control the sky. We cannot redeploy without them knowing. We cannot mount an effective resistance with what we have-" He turns to the older woman. "No disrespect, but I'm surprised you've survived this long. You're working with ballistics! That creature I fought tanked half a magazine of plasma rounds! Half a magazine!"

His voice is raised now. The soldier shouts something in the alien language, before turning back to the two dragons.

"We're fighting an enemy that controls everything around us! This is a resistance action, a last holdout, and you want to go and punch their leader in the face?!"

He hisses from beneath genetically sharpened teeth. "I don't care how powerful you are, that is not how this is done. I don't know how it should be done, but its not like that."

 

[Mew]

@Dust and echoes

It was then that Mox launched himself in that rant. And the reaction of the duo was... very instant and very characteristic.

Lilac immediately got offended. She glared at him openly, her fists clenched, all of her annoyance at Carol now gone and burried under a genuine, actual anger at Mox's words. Meanwhile, Carol was a bit surprised that he would point that out... only to deflate visibly.

For a moment, Lilac seemed about to either punch him or go into a rant... but against all odds, she... calmed down? And then... sighed?

... and then Carol spoke. And all of her playfulness, all of her childish tone from before was gone. She was calm, dreafully serious... so much that it didn't fit her young voice actually. Her stance was different too. Straight. Controlled. It... did not fit a girl as young as she.

"You're right. It's insane. We stand no chance." she said. "Taking on this guy with our current resources, with the info we have, can't be done. And as much as Lilac may be a heropants, she learnt the hard way that you are right. If we charge in blindly, with the resources we have, we will die. If we prepare, we will still likely die."

She paused for a moment, staring at Mox. And then she got awfully, dreadfully serious, actually glaring intensely at him. "We ARE facing a foe who is controlling the environment, who is preventing all attempts at leaving this world. If you want my honest opinion? We're gonna die. All of us. We don't stand a chance. Not even remotely."

That last one got Lilac to actually deflate a bit. "Carol, I know it may sound impossible but if we can somehow break Iblis's control of the environment long enough to escape or even beat him..."

"Do you have ANY awareness of what the terms 'impossible odds' means?!" Carol raised her voice at Lilac. She sounded aggravated. Actually aggravated. She wasn't merely annoyed this time.

"I know things are bad! I know we need all the help we can get! But we faced impossible odds before and we succeeded!"

"Yeah and I HAVE NO BLOODY IDEA HOW!" Carol actually yelled at Lilac. This actually caused the dragoness to stare at Carol in sheer confusion. But to her growing surprise, Carol did not retract and carried on. Well, she did lower her tone back to a non-yelling one but she didn't actually act sheepish like she usually did when Lilac gave her a harsh or confused look. "Do you have any idea how impossible what we managed was? Exposing a global conspiracy, uniting two warring armies in the middle of a world war, and then assaulting the single most secure military installation on the entire planet within 24 hours, while assaulting all by ourselves a city-sized starship, with a layout we know nothing about, with an entire army contained within, to try and recover an artifact protected by mind-boggingly advanced technology and personally guarded by a foe who has effortlessly defeated us at every turn in every direct confrontation! Do you have any idea of how INSANE it is that we succeeded, or even managed to walk away alive at all?!"

Carol was glaring at Lilac for a moment. She was... actually slightly trembling. Lilac blinked a few times. This only caused Carol to become angry.

"You have no idea, don't you?"

Lilac was silent for a moment more. But then, as the shock faded, she stared at her friend. She wanted to be angry. To force her to retract but frankly, she was just... too confused to really be angry. "Then why did you come? If the odds are so impossible as you say, why bother? So you constantly complain about how I'm putting all of us in danger and yet, you just go along?"

Carol actually, genuinely lost her temper. "Are you completely blind?! This world is dying! The very air is on fire! Do you have any idea how wrong that is?! There's lava monsters, almost invincible ones, pushing everyone back all the time! We have limited resources that are dwindling! And don't you dare pretend otherwise! You saw it when going through this fortress! They're on their last legs! Despair, everywhere! Damaged walls! They're clearly in no state for an assault, let alone lasting much longer! And we have no way out! If we stay here, we will die. And if we go out there, we'll face an invincible god-like thing with an invincible army and we'll die."

"... if it's that bad, why don't you suggest we duck down and hide?" Lilac said quietly.

An acid, mirthless laugh from the feline for a moment. "Hide where? Beside, 'impossible odds' and all that stuff. Story of our lives."

"I don't recall you being so negative before." Lilac shot back.

Carol's tail twitched for a moment. "Oh yeah? How long did you think we were going to last, after we got burnt by the Red Scarves?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Lilac asked.

"How long, Lilac?"

"What? I had things in hand! I managed to build us a treehouse and we had-" Lilac grew agravated as she saw Carol visibly groaning and facepalming. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Are you listening to yourself? We got burnt! BURNT! Every heist we did, every hideout we had, every resource we had was exposed to every government in the world! Every connection we had was cut, every contact had refused us, every single contract cancelled and then fed to the police! To the point that we had to build a makeshift house in the woods because no apartment in any nation, not even in the seediest regions, was willing to take us! And that's without taking into account that we had a list of hits on us longer than the number of times you ever had a recharge! And that was BEFORE we got involved in all that Brevon business!" Carol's tone actually increased in volume. "Oh and don't get me started there! 'Oh don't worry, mister alien! We'll totally get the Stone back!' Despite having to brave single-handly the army of the MIGHTIEST SUPERPOWER ON THE PLANET! And a conspiracy headed by an alien power! One that steamrolled hundreds of worlds! And has successfully dragged all of our nations into war! With us having no allies! No resources! No proof! NOTHING!"

"Yet we still won! We-"

"YOU! ARE! NOT! A! SUPERHERO!" Carol screamed at Lilac, interrupting her mid-sentence. She was now right next to the dragoness, index pushing against her muzzle. She whispered, her voice dripping with suppressed rage yet, audible to everyone in the room. "It is a fucking miracle that we are alive, Sash. Every day, Sash. Every day I wake up expecting it to be the last day of my life." Her rage was breaking away, her tone... strangely halting, as if she was on the verge of tears. "Do you have any idea how fucked up that is?! We're fighting tanks on foot, Sash. On foot. With our bare hands. Dozens of them at the same time. That is fucking insane. And here you are, thinking nothing can ever go wrong. That we'll just magically win because we're the 'good guys'. I thought that you'd get a clue after Brevon barbecued you within an inch of your life and mutilated you so bad you needed a full body Life Petal infusion to survive but hey, I guess I assumed you were remotely sane."

"... Carol... look... I..."

Carol walked away, stumbling a bit and then, just sat down on the floor, face in her hands, sighing deeply. "... just... forget it."

Lilac sighed, scratching the back of her head. Well, that... had been a thing. "Look..." she said slowly, clearly embarassed and disturbed by what had happened. "Can you please excuse her? It's... been a long day. She's not usually like this. Carol tend to act weird under pressure..."

"Oh and by the way, my name's Lilac. Carol had a slip of the tongue." She added, a second later. That last note caused Carol to sigh deeply a second time.