Archive Mutants & Masterminds: Legacy - Issue #2 - Hellgate Part 2 - The Mouth of Madness

[Celestial Centurion]

In the darkness Herak slowly regained control of himself. He still felt fear, an emotion he had been divorced from for some time. He stood up, using the crumbling wall to support himself initially he found that his new form was both too massive and too strong for the wall to support him. His eyes now adjusted to the total darkness soon found that the darkness was not total in fact. There were shards of light emanating from cracks in the wall. With a grunt of effort, that Herak noted sounded like that of a great beast, he began to assail the wall.

[SalmonMax]

A look of astonishment appeared on Serene's face, and Echo cried out as she went to her knees, almost falling over.

"Wha...?! I...it's not ME. What is this feeling?! Everyone, I think...no, I feel...there's someone nearby who's terrified. It's not me. It's NOT ME."

With visible effort she got back to her feet, fists tightly clenched.

"I'm not sure but whoever it is may be near, or even in, the pyramid. I'm sorry for my outburst. The emotions were...incredibly intense."

[MegaGirl]

Karra immediately went to her friend's aid, at least to the woman who looked like her best friend, helping her to her feet. It felt odd. Serene's body was now taller than her, and it took effort to pull the stunningly captivating woman to her feet.

"Echo, are you alright? Can you determine from whom the emotions are emanating, one of our parents or the Celestial Centurion or another transient lost in this dimension?"

While waiting for an answer, Karra used the League ring, trying to get a signal from any other rings in range. The ziggurat was with range, so there was a chance to get a message through. *Any Ring Bearers in range, please identify yourself.*

"Perhaps, we should make haste. There is an ingress to the ziggurat at the mid-level, suggesting that the portal - if there is such - is in the interior, rather than at the pinnacle."

Suiting action to words, Karra used her league ring to raise herself into the air, waiting impatiently for the others to follow.

[Tesstarossa]

Tessa Followed suit using her ring, but didn't wait for the others, instead heading straight for the opening into the Ziggaurat.

[Djane]

"Aright, rings it is." Djane activate her and lurched upwards, unused to flying by its aid... or, flying, period.

[Rorx]

Hype nods and checks his new Djane-like clothing as he takes off, trying to subtley make sure he doesn't end up flashing anything at anybody.

God, I will be so glad to get my own body back! I could murder some chocolate now though...

[Joani]

Originally Posted By: Celestial Centurion

In the darkness Herak slowly regained control of himself. He still felt fear, an emotion he had been divorced from for some time. He stood up, using the crumbling wall to support himself initially he found that his new form was both too massive and too strong for the wall to support him. His eyes now adjusted to the total darkness soon found that the darkness was not total in fact. There were shards of light emanating from cracks in the wall. With a grunt of effort, that Herak noted sounded like that of a great beast, he began to assail the wall.

Each punch tore down the wall piece by piece until Herak broke through the concrete structure. The ‚light’ behind was swallowed mostly by the surrounding darkness. Herak recognised the shape of a humanoid body locked in a cube like prison and next to it his armor. It shimmered faintly with the light of Haelios but it was too weak to actually pierce the darkness.

As he got closer to the body he recognised himself, stripped of most of his clothes. His shape was seriously beaten and bruised and he bled from some cuts. His armor was immaculate – unblemished and it’s light made his skin burn the closer he got to it. Now that he was seeing more he looked at his arms and chest again. His arms were heavily muscled and huge, his chest broad and mighty. His hands ended in long claws and his odd gait was because of his legs… which ended in hooves. Herak eyes went wide as he realized what he has become – he looked like the demon they fought atop the pyramid…

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

A look of astonishment appeared on Serene's face, and Echo cried out as she went to her knees, almost falling over.

"Wha...?! I...it's not ME. What is this feeling?! Everyone, I think...no, I feel...there's someone nearby who's terrified. It's not me. It's NOT ME."

With visible effort she got back to her feet, fists tightly clenched.

"I'm not sure but whoever it is may be near, or even in, the pyramid. I'm sorry for my outburst. The emotions were...incredibly intense."

Echo had a hard time shaking off the emotional wave she just felt. It was unlike anything she ever experienced before. It had a smell… a taste and it was almost palpable for her. As she slowly came to terms with that new experience she also felt something different slowly creeping up her spine and itching somewhere in the back of her brain. She looked at her friends and saw them all in a new light. Suddenly everything around her was saturated with the heavy scent of emotion. There was uncertainty and fear but also determination. They were all carrying a personal note and Echo could easily tell who felt what… it would be easy to do something about it.

She saw MegaGirl approaching her trying to give her some support. It felt odd watching herself helping her up – like an outside body experience but she knew it was just MegaGirl who had was in her body. The ‚real’ MegaGirl was just taking off and flying towards the pyramid. Who was MegaGirl again? She couldn’t quite remember. Things were slowly getting out of control and that constant nagging in the back of her mind slowly drove her crazy.

Originally Posted By: MegaGirl

"Echo, are you alright? Can you determine from whom the emotions are emanating, one of our parents or the Celestial Centurion or another transient lost in this dimension?"

While waiting for an answer, Karra used the League ring, trying to get a signal from any other rings in range. The ziggurat was with range, so there was a chance to get a message through. *Any Ring Bearers in range, please identify yourself.*

Karra concentrated on the ring but aside from the immediate bearers around her there was no response. She DID sense a faint presence though – as if there was a ring within range inside the Pyramid but no one answered. Maybe he or she was unconscious or unable to use the ring. One thing was clear – they had to get into the Pyramid.

As everyone was lifting off and approaching the Ziggurat the feeling that something was wrong increased steadily. It was as if someone or something slowly invaded their minds and twisted their thoughts – or maybe their perception was just skewed? There was a short moment before they arrived at the middle entrance to the Pyramid when the young hereos looked at each other and forgot that they had actually switched bodies…

Click to reveal..

OOC: The moment you reach the Pyramid you briefly forget who you actually are and thing you’re really the person who’s body you inhabit. It’s an odd feeling and hard to point a finger at. You all are confused (except for Djane and Hype) and think that someone is trying to make you believe you are someone else. I’ll make save rolls for all of you on my next update, till then you are confused but suspicious

[Celestial Centurion]

Herak stared at his body and, astonishingly, his armor. The golden plate dazzled his eyes and he shied away. Realization crept into his mind; some power had cursed him to wear the body of the demon he had helped to defeat. He would not be able to regain his body or powers until he passed some test or canceled some dark magick. He scanned the room, looking for any sign or clue that would allow him to leave, or show him what must be done to lift this curse.

[z-Watchwoman]

Serene flew up the stairs, wondering if she could find Watchman's prototype jet pack and convince him to get it working for her. Flying was awesome.

But at the pyramid, she was distracted again by the eerie sensation that something was wrong. She thought oddly, that someone was trying to make her believe she was someone else, then she wasn't sure who she was anymore.

Find the way out of here! was her only coherent thought; the rest was confusion.

[Tesstarossa]

Tessa made her way to the door. "Anybody Else get the feeling somebody's messing with their minds?" She looked at TK, knowing her mother was capable of doing that easily wondering breifly if it was something the daughter could do...

[MegaGirl]

"I am detecting a trace from a Legacy Ring with the ziggurat, however there is no response. It is conceivable one of the people we are looking for lies inside, but lacks the capacity to utilize his or her ring."

Karra followed the towering, immensely powerful figure of MegaGirl to the doorway, peering in, using the DRUID to its fullest extent to perceive anything inside the ziggurat's dim interior. She had a disjointed feeling that she couldn't quite analyze. It was the random series of images and sensations of a dream wherein she was not quite herself - she was different somehow, but she couldn't comprehend how she was changed.

[Joani]

The plattform was barren and dusty. Everything looked abandoned and long forgotten. The entrance into the Ziggurat gaped like a huge hungry mouth and there was a subliminal current dragging the scarce wind around inside – as if it was swallowing the air around them.

As soon as the young hero’s reached the plattform confusion settled in. Everyone looked around finding themselves dispaced and oddly detached. They had a mission on their minds and it was important – very important but it was slowly slipping away from their conscious thoughts.

MegaGirl was the first to snap out of the dreamlike state they were losing themselves in. She blinked several times and shook her head to clear her thoughts. Taking a few laboured breaths realisation manifested in her mind. Someone was messing with them or something. MegaGirl looked at her arm where the DRUID array reconfigured itself to enhance it’s ability to pick up the faint resonance of the trace they’ve been following. Her body felt frail and alien to her – everything was out of proportion and wrong. Frantically she looked around recognising herself? towering over her friends and looking at the entrance of the Ziggurat.

Tessa stole her body! With rising anger MegaGirl picked up speed and charged MegaGirl crashing against the statuesque and invulnerable body and feeling much pain herself. As she came to Tessa noticed that something had hit her – it was barely noticeable but still she felt something. She looked down and recognised Echo lying on the floor helplessly flailing with her arms like a little kid. Reaching down to her Tessa briefly stopped staring at her large and muscled arm that felt nothing like her body. Echo felt like a feather in her hand and she held the smaller girl at arms length looking at her with a mixture of confusion and curiousity. “What is…?” going on?, she wanted to ask but her voice sounded alien and not like hers at all.

Shaking off the cobwebs that were clouding her mind Tessa realised what was going on. She stared down her body – MegaGirl’s body and gasped with shock. Instantly she tried to access her powers but felt her mind was different. Unable to manipulate the forces that were inherent to her. Even though she had managed to break free from the mental control she still felt slower… dumber.

“Echo… I’m sorry – this is wrong. I’m Tessa, not MegaGirl.”, she put the angry Echo down and hoped she wouldn’t assault her again.

“I know!”, Echo barked at her. “I’M MegaGirl! Give back my body!!”, Echo screamed shaking her fist angrily at Tessa.

Meanwhile Serene and Echo watched MegaGirl and Echo arguing about something that didn’t made much sense to them. Switched bodies? Obviously they were losing their minds – everything was ok. They were on a mission… or at least that’s the last thing Serene remembered.

Serene looked around trying to figure out why they’d come here. A tiny voice in the back of her mind told her that she should be taking charge of things. That the others would expect her to tell them what to do but it faded into the background until it was gone. Serene sighed relieved, that was annoying and she felt much better now that it was gone. Looking back down the stairs of the Ziggurat the view was actually quite nice. Did they live here? Nervously she turned back to the others not wanting to blame herself by asking something stupid. Maybe Serene would know what to do. Wasn’t she their fearless leader?

Echo felt blissfully at peace… she watched her friends and that tiny tempting voice in the back of her mind getting louder and louder. Why should she hold back? Why limit herself – her very nature? She turned around and smiled and then the air got filled with a heavy scent of roses that made everyone close to Serene tingle and lightheaded.

Click to reveal..

Alright – chaos abounds. MegaGirl and Tessa – you passed your Will-Saves and are back to “normal” – just in the wrong body. Serene and Echo failed theirs and currently feel as if everything is just the way it’s supposed to be. Djane and Hype are unaffected by this problem but the cloud Serene just emitted is about to engulf you, too. You already start to feel lightheaded. You can act normally but at a -1penalty on your rolls which I will administrate. Just tell me what action you take and I do the mechanics in the background for you. No reason for initiative right now unless someone really starts a fight

Originally Posted By: Celestial Centurion

Herak stared at his body and, astonishingly, his armor. The golden plate dazzled his eyes and he shied away. Realization crept into his mind; some power had cursed him to wear the body of the demon he had helped to defeat. He would not be able to regain his body or powers until he passed some test or canceled some dark magick. He scanned the room, looking for any sign or clue that would allow him to leave, or show him what must be done to lift this curse.

He sensed a current of air coming from the north face of the room which was roughly square in shape. Somehow he knew that the corridor up the stairs would lead out of this place but fear kept him from following the stairs up and out. There were 4 Pillars of blackness that seemed to hold the ceiling of the room and his human body was in the relative centre of it. Taking a few steps backwards partly to ease the itching and pain the light of his armor cast on him he slowly recognised a pattern on the floor. It was a huge pentagramm with uncountable runes and carvings along the lines and he could smell it was made of blood… blood that seemed to pour out of the pillars…

[Tesstarossa]

Ok, So You're in Echo's body, I'm in yours, That means the others are switched too. "We have to figure out how to fic this." She looks to the others, including Djane 1 and 2. Come on we have to go inside maybe that will help us get back to normal." Without further word she strode into the Zigguraut.

[Rorx]

"Hold it!" Hype shouted, although it came out higher pitched than he liked.

"Everyone one just slow down so we can clear up the confusion a bit." He said at a more normal volume, although pitched to carry to them all.

"Right to recap, we have come here looking for our parents and other members of the League, but when we arrived most of us got swapped around. I'm Hype, but I've ended up with a copy of Djane's body. MegaGirl is in Echo's body, Tess is in Megagirl's, Echo is in Watchwoman's and Watchwoman is in Tess's body. We have a mission, but we have to stay focussed and remember who we are despite whatever body we might be in at the moment."

Hype pauses, looking for any sign of comprehension in the rest of the team, "Are we all clear on that now? Oh, we had another guy with us as well but he had vanished when we arrived here. Guy in gold armour, went by the name of ..., damn I can't remember! Something Centurion...Cosmic, Galactic... something big like that anyway. we should keep an eye out for him on the way as well."

[Djane]

"What I - what Hype said. You all need to stay clear-headed because this place is messing with our - heads - "

Djane sniffed the cloud, and then inhaled it more deeply. Her eyes unfocused and drifted towards Watchwoman - or Echo, in Watchwoman's body. "Oh. Oh."

I have to stay focused here - I have to - have to - do - what master wants...

Djane smiled, narrowing her eyes invitingly. "What do you wish of me, master?" She sashayed towards the owner of her lighter with a sway to her hips and desire in her eyes. "I am yours to command. Forever."

[SalmonMax]

(...I'm so confused And I don't know who has the lighter.)

Serene, or an Echo of Serene, looked around in some confusion at the pink misty stuff. It felt kind of nice to let it go like that...fulfilling...but she had no idea what it actually WAS. People were talking about minds being in other bodies, some were fighting, others were being sexy...it all felt completely surreal.

She put a hand to her head and tried to force herself to think through the distractions and the confusion. Was she really someone else? Or had she just lost her memory somehow?

That's when she realized Djane was talking to HER. She squinted at Djane, taken aback by the change in her tone and manner. "That isn't funny," she grumbled. "I don't understand why everyone's suddenly gone insane. And I don't even know what this..." she waves her hand through the mist. "...this is!"

[MegaGirl]

"I'm well aware of the conundrums confounding us, Hyperion. The preeminent one being that Tessa has stolen my body, leaving me with this," Karra scowled, gesturing at her considerably more petite form, then gave the Watchwoman-embodied Echo a slighty apologetic nod. "No offense, Echo, but your... configuration very much... differs from what I am accustomed to and would very much prefer...."

Karra trailed off eyes lingering on the person wearing her best friend's flech, chemical receptors in her nose detecting an intoxicating fragrance, almost like rose petals, but somehow... more. Unwillingly, Karra took a step closer, inhaling deeply, noticing, but not caring, about her elevated heart rate, the shallowness of her rapid breathing. With an effort, she recalled her with a shake of her head and followed the body-thief into the ziggurat, taking two steps to Tessa's every one. She didn't want Tessa to do anything to it.

"Come on Echo, Serene, what ever you prefer, everyone," Karra encouraged everyone over her shoulder. "I'm still picking up traces of a Legacy Ring signature. There is a chance my mother or our missing companion, the Celestial Centurion, is still inside. Hopefully, if we can proceed through to the next plane/dimension, everything with be restored to normal. Except for whatever effect the next place will inevitable have."

[z-Watchwoman]

She was very confused about what was going on, but her friends were insisting to go inside, so she did. She eyed Serene closely, drawn to her; when the darkly pretty woman looked at her, she winked at her. Part of her wanted to go to her; another preferred to make Serene chase her. And another part was sure that this was all wrong. But that part wasn't even sure what was wrong, so she ignored it. When Serene glanced nervously at her again, she licked her lips suggestively. Serene looked away, and she pouted.

If this didn't work soon, she was gonna go kiss her. See if Serene could ignore that.

[SalmonMax]

Serene...why would she want to be called Echo?...took a deep breath and nodded at Mega...Echo? She frowned, confused anew, but motioned at the door into the pyramid.

"She's right... We'll keep going. Maybe that presence I felt was coming from inside. You..."

She pointed at the towering girl who'd carried them all there. "Lets get these doors open and get inside...before we forget everything."

[Celestial Centurion]

Herak approached one of the pillars. Blood oozed from it, they repulsed him mentally the way his shining armor repulsed his current physical form. Repressing his revulsion he started to inspect the pillars and the circle hoping to find something, or better still hoping that this form would understand this evil in a way that he did not normally.

[Joani]

Tessa lead the way down the stairs closely followed by MegaGirl their confusion only slightly less than that of their friends. Normally Tessa couldn't recall having such perfect sight but the darkness didn't bother her at all. She felt confident and powerful and that was good.

Echo was confused beyond reasonable thought. Her emotions were totally out of control and the urge to release and let go was overwhelming. Djane with that lovely dress and enticing body of hers came closer and begged for more while Serene (in Echo's body) beckoned her with seductive looks. And why shouldn't she give in if it felt so good, so right?

Karra's words (in Echo's body) barely reached her nor did they sound much convincing. Yeah, there was this mission and something about their parents... parents? Parents!

Whatever it was - a short moment of clarity pierced the uncertainty and "sobered" the young heroes who knew in return that time was running out... quickly they followed their friends down the stairs hoping to finally find something more than another detour to find their parents.

In the mainchamber the creature looking like a Demon carefully examined the pillars which were oozing blood. The heavy scent and rich aroma didn't disgust him... no in the contrary he could imagine drinking it and enjoying it like a good meal. He felt his mouth water in anticipation and reached out with one mighty arm to touch the pillar's surface when he recognised something trapped inside. A woman... and she was... bleeding... but she could impossible fill the entire pillar with her own blood, yet it looked like she was floating inside the pillar. Was she dead? Who could survive this kind of torture - then suddenly her eyse opened and stared at him. There was a brief flash of defiance before she collapsed again, obviously too exhausted to go on.

Herak wasn't sure he recognised her but... but something about the woman reminded him of... MegaGirl? It must've been her mother! Trusting his intuition he quickly checked the other pillars finding 3 more prisoners who he didn't recognise but was positive about to be the Heroes parents. But what was going on here? What was this place and why was he trapped in the Demon's body? The hair on his chest and underarms tingled and stood away from his skin as if the room was charged with static. Right next to his mortal body a black oozing hole cracked the fabric of reality... and it was getting larger.

[Celestial Centurion]

Herak looked down at his hands, clawed beast-like things that they were. No, that wasn't right, these were not his. He was riding this body but it was not his. He curled the fingers, brought the claws into a converging formation. He breathed in deeply and then unleashed it in a great battle-cry as he struck at the pillar before him, the claws of this form striking at the construct, seeking to free the one inside.

[z-Watchwoman]

Serene was suddenly, blissfully aware of herself again. The uniform, the HUD in her vision and even the tingling patches of skin on her face, neck and body were familiar. Grinning, she clamped down on the desire to release herself and instead began to focus on the situation.

"Hudsy, status report," she ordered, delighted to be in charge of her body again.

[Rorx]

Hype was greatly relieved to get back into his own body, "Halleleuah! I'm me again!" He quickly ran a circle or two around his companions, "You all back to normal as well now?" he asked as he checked them while on the move.

[SalmonMax]

Echo's return to her body was a splash of ice cold water; partly a relief in that it returned perspective and focus instantly...but also a rude shock, just as she was starting to succumb to baser instincts of the flesh that she'd never explored before. So that, she mused in a millisecond, was what it would be like to be dominated by feelings and instincts. It seemed somehow both tremendously limiting, but perversely liberating.

She shook it off and raised her still-transformed arm to take in the scene before them. There would be time to think on the experience later.

(OOC - Using DRUID to scan for signals.)

[Tesstarossa]

Tessa simply smiled as a rock moved at her command without her ever touching it. "Now that's what i'm talking about."

She looked to Kara. "Let's find your mom and get the hell out of this crazy dimension."

She rose into the air using the ring's power and watched as the Demon attacked one of the pillars.

"Now that's a curious development."

[Djane]

Djane didn't even notice. She just draped her arms around Serene's shoulders. "Does Hudsy wish anything, then, master?" There was a slightly confused tint to her voice - possibly the cloud's effects were wearing off?

[MegaGirl]

Karra was following the Tessa the Body-Thief as closely as possible, getting knocked off her feet more than once when Tessa wasn't paying attention and bumped into her. Even glancing contact from that giant, powerful body sent the slight form she was inflicted with sprawling. She scampered after Tessa down the stairs and when she reached the pillared mainroom, everything suddenly changed.

A sudden dizziness assailed her and after shaking her head clear, she saw that her point of view was three feet higher, everything jumping back into sharp relief, the gloom chased away by the superior sight of glowing golden-green eyes. Even more importantly, all the buzzing of her racing brain doing brainy-type things had stopped. There was simply the warm hum of few worries or thoughts of consequences. It was much better.

She looked down and smiled her see her sleekly toned physique, muscles rippling beneath bronze skin, the impressive thrust of her chest. She pulled at a tress of hair and giggled to see the metallic hue of red and orange and yellow. She thumped the wall with a flat hand and laughed out loud as the walls and floor shook beneath the force of her floor. She felt strong and invulnerable again, not made of glass and wet cardboard.

"I'm ME again!" MegaGirl roar in her deep yet girlish voice.

She glanced down and saw the tiny figure of Echo next to her. A large hand grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and yanked her up to eye level, to meet a pair of angry glowing green-gold eyes and a long shaking finger that could poke holes in composite plate.

"Bad Tessa! That was very bad! Never, ever, steal my body again, 'kay? 'Cause if you do, we're not gonna be friends anymore." Echo was dropped back to the ground as MegaGirl was satisfied with her dire warning and ran into the mainroom.

The demon barely phased her from the exuberance of being herself again. She stood up tall and proud, hands on hips, righteous indignation flaring from every pore.

"Hey! Stupid-Demon-Thing, stop doing what ever it is you're doing. You're gonna tell me where my Mom is, or you're gonna get what the last demon got. And you won't like that, whatever it was!"

[Celestial Centurion]

Herak slammed the clawed hands of this form into the pillar of blood heedless of the potential damage to the form. When the others entered a brief concern of their reaction made him hesitate before he continued his assault. He thought it better to fall to his own comrades while doing the right thing than to survive by acting the part.

Originally Posted By: MegaGirl

"Hey! Stupid-Demon-Thing, stop doing what ever it is you're doing. You're gonna tell me where my Mom is, or you're gonna get what the last demon got. And you won't like that, whatever it was!"

"She's in here you dolt! Stop standing there and help me break these columns!" Herak barely looked up, instead focusing on breaking the captive out and maybe, just maybe, getting his own body and powers back in the process.

[z-Watchwoman]

"Wait! Stop, just a moment!" Watchwoman called. When everyone had ceased, she said, "MegaGirl, watch our backs - make sure no demons are sneaking up on us. Echo, please analyze that stone - tell us what it is, how to break it without injuring anyone else. Everyone else, spread out and examine the pillars. I know none of us are experts on the occult, but there might be something we recognize. Djane, please help the others as much as you can - no wishes!" She gently untangled the genie from her shoulders.

"And you, Demon... why are you trying to free one of our companions?" The last was delivered with a level gaze and a stern voice that seemed so out of place with the image of the young woman before him, even if she was masked and concealed almost head to toe.

[Tesstarossa]

Tessa's eyes blazed even as Megagirl picked up the wrong teammate. She waited for the Demon's response, prepared alternately to smash the demon with a pillar or blast it.

[Djane]

"I - " Djane blinked, the dreamy state leaving her. "I - sorry, I don't know what - yeah, I'm on it, mas - Watchwoman."

Djane's misty form flew about the room, examining the pillars.

[MegaGirl]

Originally Posted By: Demon Centurion

"She's in here you dolt!"

"Don't call me DOLT! I'm not stupid. You're... you are a dolt! A Dumb-Demon-Dolt, that's what you are!" MegaGirl raised a fist and was about to show the Dumb-Demon-Dolt what she does to Dumb-Demon-Dolts when...

Originally Posted By: Watchwoman

"Wait! Stop, just a moment!" "MegaGirl, watch our backs - make sure no demons are sneaking up on us."

"But - I was just gonna - awww!" Under Watchwoman's pointed, red-eyed stare, MegaGirl pouted and stomped over to the entrance to the chamber, the floor shaking beneath her unnecessarily heavy tread.

MegaGirl turned and intently stared at the backs of the other Legacy Leaguers doing whatever it was there were doing, determined not to miss any Demons crawling across them. She wanted to beat up the Mean-Dumb-Demon-Dolt, but Watchwoman told her to do this, so she would do this.

Originally Posted By: Watchwoman

"...how to break it without..."

"I could break them better'n anyone, I bet," MegaGirl muttered, arms folded, eyes boring into the backs of her friends to make sure she didn't miss any Sneaky Dumb-Demon-Dolts.

[Joani]

It was difficult to understand the Demon. It's voice was hoarse and guttural and it was almost as if he didn't know how to speak their language. It sounded much as if an animal tried to speak and just imitated the noises it heard. Herak realized that his tongue felt unusually heavy and speaking the galactic standard felt extremely alien to him - like a language he knows by hearing but never spoken himself.

Hudsy faithfully reported to Watchwoman that it couldn't find any unusual atmospheric changes. Air was breathable, no toxins or other alien or unidentifiable particles. It registered an anamoly in the center of the room which looked like a black hole.

Djane felt still very much compelled to fullfil Watchwoman's every wish and desire. She also was fantasizing what it would be like to kiss her - or how she looked like under that mask of hers. Why did you hide her face in the first place? Maybe because it was even more beautiful than her voice?

Originally Posted By: Watchwoman

"Djane, please help the others as much as you can - no wishes!"

Those words brought her a step back to reality. Her clouded mind cleared a little but she still felt some kind of... connection to Watchwoman. Help the others - but how?

Just as Djane looked around in the room she instantly felt two things. First - they were in the middle of a summoning ritual and whatever was about to slip through that hole which was opening and growing in the middle of the room, it felt like it came from the darkest pits of hell.

Second - The Celestial Centurions armor and body - both seperated from each other were close by. Something about his armor felt familiar to her, she could almost feel a connection between the source that gave her those amazing magical powers and the Centurions armor. It was hard not to drift towards it and reach out to it.

Across the room guarding the entrance MegaGirl angrily looked up in anticipation. She really wanted to beat up that Demon which was very familiar looking to the former they fought. Still it felt good being back in her body and she flexed and tensed her muscles for reassurance. Taking a deep breath she tried to concentrate and keep her fear and anger in check. There was a barely noticeable current of air that flowed from the outside and straight into this main chamber. MegaGirl wouldn't have noticed it if it didn't suddenly increase. Looking up and focusing her vision she saw something peek down the large stairway into the main chamber - shortly after that the entire entrance was filled with similar somethings... and they were charging down the stairs...

Click to reveal..

Ok - we're not in combat - yet. I'll roll initiative on my next update.

CC - you can barely speak galactic, if you try to say something it will sound more like you're having a speech impediment or your tongue has been cut out. You can perfectly speak demonic, though. You may stutter or grunt single words, but no sentences.

Djane - you can make a knowledge Magic roll if you want some more details about the ritual and CCs Armor.

MG can make a notice check to get more details about your attackers.

Smax/Echo - give me a search roll or whatever you can replace as substitute power/skill using the DRUID (higher bonus applies).

Everybody else - just tell me what you want to do in preperation of the combat, which will surely come by my next update. Keep it reasonable, you've got roughly 10 seconds to act/prepare/talk

[MegaGirl]

MegaGirl turned and looked up the stairs, surprised, but with rising anticipation. Watchwoman said the demons were coming from their backs, but she was wrong, the things were coming from her back. She smiled. She was allowed to break these... she hoped. She spread her legs some, stretched out her arms, blocking off as much of the entrance as she could with her large, powerful body.

There was a faint shrieking in the air as MegaGirl inhaled, compressing tonnes of air inside herself with immense power, getting ready to release a hurrican blast of frigid breath to freeze the things - whatever they are - in their tracks.

Click to reveal.. (Notice Roll)

Notice Roll: 1d20+8 = 15

[Rorx]

Hype sped into the room with the Demon, but kept well away from it while he waited for their leaders evaluation. He used those seconds to examine the whole room at great speed and in as much detail as he could so that when they did know what they were going to do he could report anything pertinent he had found straight away.

Once MegaGirl announces the presence of the approaching demons he moves back towards the entrance, but keep behind and to the side of MegaGirl until he sees what she is up to. After all he doesn't want to get stepped on by her, or have her large frame knocked back onto him.

Click to reveal..

Notice roll + 8

(16:05:24) ChatBot: (Hype) rolls 1d20 and gets 17.+8 = 25

[Celestial Centurion]

Herak tried to explain but what started as, Because I'm your ally and we need to stop this ritual! came out instead as, "Brekkoz iyaralli eedoztot isrrtuul." With a scowl that looked less frustrating and more intimidating he simply slammed a shoulder into the pillar, put the muscular demon arms around it and heaved.

[Djane]

"Uh. I feel CC in here. And CC's separated from his armor, and I feel that too. And this ritual's bad. It's calling up something from the depths of hell itself..."

Djane's knowledge of magical was instinctual, much like a bird's knowledge of modern aviation. But maybe that was enough...

Click to reveal..

Djane's Arcana Roll (1d20+14=15)

[z-Watchwoman]

Serene made an instant decision. Whatever its reason, the demon was trying to help them. This is what her father called 'a moment of choice', a moment when the rational failed and you just had to make a call based on your gut. Her gut told her to help the demon.

Watchwoman jumped forward and grabbed the pillar. With a grunt, she pulled with her human strength - and felt the gloves kick in with super-human boost. Flexing, she joined the demon in attempting to dismantle the pillar.

[SalmonMax]

Trying not to be distracted by the events going on all around her, Echo concentrated on trying to scan the room for evidence of their parents, using the DRUID and Legacy ring each. She took a quick sample of radio frequencies, scanned the room with the imaging radar, and searched the ring's mental link for clues.

Then the big demon hit one of the pillars, and she frowned. Acting on a quick hunch, she went over to one of the pillars NOT currently under assault by a giant demon and took some detailed reading of it.

(OOC - Here's a Notice check, though some things, like checking radio freqs doesn't usually require a roll unless there's jamming or other attempts to foil it in place. Notice 14. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2404014/ )