Log:Cool Shades

2013/05/29 	 Bulldozer Danyelle Ghost-2 Lorelei Anthony Quinn|Quinn Scrapper Sukeban Titan 1

Ghost has returned to the Embassy after a lengthy period in Undermoon. She once again got the sunlamp out in the common room and is dozing under its rays on a couch. She looks frazzled, deeply worn out and has the look of someone who's missed meals and sleep.

Lorelei, too, is recently back from Undermoon, after an even more extended stay. She's called for a team meeting this afternoon, largely to catch up, though she hasn't appeared at the team HQ yet.

Sukeban walks and heads right for the snack table after a perfunctory wave.

Titan shows up at the embassy, for the meeting. He's been quiet as of the last few weeks, and today clearly is no different. He waves to the others around without saying anything, and takes a seat in one of the chairs.

Danyelle enters the embassy, with an eye out for the princess. Spotting her easily, she approaches. "Your Highness," she says with a greeting nod. She takes a glance at the other folks in the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I was hoping for an audience."

Cecila has also managed to make it to the meeting on time, which is rare. Thankfully the embassy isn't too hard to find her way around and as for snacks... Yes please!

Lorelei is a bit surprised by Danyelle. "Oh - in fact I was just going to meet with the Princesses' Guard."

Danyelle nods. "I can wait, if you don't mind my hanging around."

Lorelei pauses and looks at Danyelle. "Unless it's urgent. What do you want to talk about?"

Danyelle shakes her head. "It'll keep."

Lorelei nods. "You can make an appointment over there...." and she hurries off to the meeting.

Lorelei enters the HQ, looking about to see who's present.

Ghost is physically present, although someone needs to wake her up if her active presence is required.

Cecila is also present and munching on snacks as she waits for the meeting to start.

Lorelei thinks. o O (Lia left.... and no Scrapper. I wonder if after that injury incident she's having second thoughts...)

Lorelei smiles. "Sorry I've been away so long....."

Titan nods to Lorelei, "It's understandable."

Lorelei looks a little awkward as Titan says that. "Well, er - good news! Your surprise in the basement is finished. Well, not really *finished*, but usable."

Scrapper slides into the meeting a bit late, but does her best to be subtle about it. She looks a bit like she slept on the beach and washed her clothes in the ocean.

Danyelle makes an appointment with the princess and waits outside the HQ. She watches, curious, as Scrapper passes by to enter the meeting room.

Outside, as the afternoon draws on, it gets a bit cooler and a mist rises from the sea.

Lorelei smiles. "If someone could wake Ghost up?"

Cecila tilts her head as she hears the Princess and smiles some "What... there was a surprise in the basement and no one told me? Well that sucks"

Lorelei says, "I've mentioned it before. And you must have noticed all the dwarves traipsing through to work on it, if nothing else."

Titan grabs one of the throw pillows, and tosses it at Ghost.

Ghost wakes after the thrown throw pillow whaps her in the face, "Huh..?" She says, not with it for a few moments. Then she gathers her senses and looks around, "Oh. The meeting? I guess I was more tired than I thought."

Lorelei smiles at Ghost. "Not surprising, with all the work you've been putting in!"

Titan chuckles quietly.

Ghost stands and goes over to Titan, "Thank you. I didn't get the chance to thank you at the time for coming to my aid, and I've been on Undermoon for the last six months. Undermoon time that is."

Lorelei says, "Anyway - the surprise! Well, assuming you haven't peeked.... Follow me!"

Danyelle's eyes narrow as she looks out on the mist rising from the water. She turns an walks up to the door to the headquarter. She raps on the door solidly. "Your Highness, you might want to see this..."

Titan smiles and says to Ghost, "On the beach? You're welcome. Though...it's something I'd have done for anyone here."

Cecila shrugs a bit as she follows "Not like I could peek anyways" she jokes, but hey, cool stuff!

Lorelei is about to head downstairs when Danyelle comes to the door. ".... Now what?"

Ghost smiles, "That doesn't mean I should take it for granted, Titan."

"That mist," Dany says, nodding back over her shoulder. "It's giving me the creeps. Are you expecting company?"

Lorelei says, "Not really...."

Lorelei isn't sure Danyelle doesn't give her the creeps. She glances at the others to see if anyone knows her.

Titan nods to Ghost, still smiling, "Well...you're welcome." He gets up and looks to Lorelei, "What's up?"

Sukeban looks up from the snack bar, crumbs on her chin, "Mwuh?"

Ghost sits on the floor and to all visible appearance, goes as limp as if she were unconscious. Meanwhile her astral self is speeding out to give the creepy mist a closer inspection.

Lorelei says, "Creepy mist apparently, according to - I'm sorry," she asks Danyelle, "what's your name?"

Danyelle says to Lorelei. "You're a mage, right? What does your gut tell you?" She glances past Lorelei to the others for just a moment. "Root. Danyelle Root."

Lorelei says, "I'm far from the best of magicians..."

Danyelle shakes her head. "I'm not talking about what you know... it's more a feeling. I'm going to check it out. Just thought you should know..." She turns and behinds to head towards the water.

Lorelei nods. "Probably best to have a look - come on... Hm... or maybe someone should stay to watch Ghost."

Ghost stirs and opens her eyes, "We have unwelcome company, Highness, folks. A half dozen or more 'shades'. Magical creatures summoned by Goblin shamans. In the mist coming this way."

Sukeban finishes stuffing her mouth, "Yeafh? Coorf. Safes uf the troufble of finding a fight."

Titan grimaces. "'Shades'? I'm not going to be able to hurt these things, am I?"

Ghost says, "I think you can, Titan. I don't know mush about them but although their natural haunt is the astral plane they'll have to manifest onto the material plane to do anything.""

Lorelei frowns. "It's not good if they can attack us on Earth!"

Ghost says, "My guess is there's a shaman or two in the mist behind them. I'm afraid this is probably the answer to my suggestion to the Goblin King that he could talk."

Lorelei nods to Ghost. "Maybe. But goblins may not be the only people who can summon such things."

Danyelle reaches into a pocket along her belt. She produces a set of brass knuckles and slips them on over her gloved right hand. Well, maybe not brass knuckles precisely -- it's a silvery kind of mettle. "Alright then. Should we even bother talking with them?"

Ghost says, "If I get to vote, no. They're here to attack. Probably with the intent of killing the Princess. Take them out. Now."

Lorelei nods. "Usually I'm in favour of talking - but in this case I agree."

Sukeban chugs down some water and wipes her mouth, "Works for me. If he just came to chat, and brought a few guards with him instead of walkin' in defenseless, it's his problem."

Scrapper nods, "The boss has spoken. Let's get 'em guys."

Titan nods. "Fine. Let me act as bait. I can't imagine they can hurt me much." He goes to step outside.

[To Scrapper] Lorelei says, "And I imagine you're going to tell me to get to safety?"

Scrapper grins, "I wouldn't dream of it."

Scrapper says, "But I would suggest subtle support spells over jumping in the thick of it. That's my job."

Sukeban snerks, "Don't worry, next to me, Tii-tan looks subtle."

Ghost looks to Sukeban, "Let's go. If my sight can spot them in the mist I can point them out and you can lay down some fire-power. What do you say?"

Sukeban says, "Ryoukai!"

Sukeban ignites her flames and flies out.

Lorelei nods. "I'll stay in the castle. That should provide some protection, and my powers can be as effective from there."

Ghost follows, also flying but quite a bit slower than Sukeban. Six months in Undermoon, some of that time studying with a Fae mage.

 Sukeban says, "Uh, Oujo-sama, O-Chibi-chan. Goblins got any sort of ice troops"

Scrapper summons her armor as she flies close.

Titan is back where Ghost is, for the time being, sticking close to some of the folks who can sense better than he can.

The shades look like vaguely humanoid thicker parts of the fog to normal vision.

Out for an afternoon jaunt Anthony's path cuts out over the bay as he swings wide in order to admire the girls on the northern beach as they sunbathe. Spotting the strange patch of mist moving towards the embassy he alters course. There's always the possibility that the mist men of Shangradoopy are coming to pay their respects to Lorelei, but somehow he doubts it. Still, prudence dictates that he not just come in blasting, so instead he opts to buzz the people hidden within the cloud to see what their reaction is.

Diving down from the clouds above he sets his speakers blaring as he makes a low, high speed pass. The music is eclectic and fast featuring instruments more traditionally associated with folk music that accompany the crashing, grinding electric guitars as a voice with a thick brogue shouts;


 * ♪♫ Well she took me by the hand 
 * ♫♪ I could see she was a fiery one 
 * ♪♫ Her legs ran all the way 
 * ♫♪ Up to heaven and past Avalon 
 * ♪♫ Tell me somethin' girl, what it is you have in store 
 * ♫♪ She said come with me now 
 * ♪♫ On the Devil's Dance Floor 


 * ♫♪ Well swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o 
 * ♪♫ Swing a little more, a little more next to me 
 * ♫♪ Swing a little more, little more o'er the merry-o 
 * ♪♫ Swing a little more, on the Devil's Dance Floor 
 * ♫♪ Swing a little more, on the Devil's Dance Floor 

 Ghost says, "Honestly, I don't know, Sukeban. Can you detect some?"

 Sukeban says, "Uh, just that the things in that mist are really cold."

 Scrapper says, "anybody in the castle got anything for the mist better than a big hand fan?"

 Ghost says, "They're from a dark part of the astral. Probably best to avoid letting them touch you. Hopefully they'll be vulnerable to your heat attacks, Sukeban."

 Sukeban says, "Ryoukai."

Relived of the need to act as spotter for Sukeban, since she can obviously see the shades on her own, Ghost waits for the closest to come to the extreme range of her Spetdod and as soon as it does she opens fire, selecting a stinger needle to start with.

It turns out these creature aren't totally without wile - half of them were hiding in advance of the obvious force. They spring up, close to Sukeban, two succeeding in touching her. The touch of one is freezing cold, while the other seems to sap her very life force.....

Sukeban coughs, "Urk!!!?"

Sukeban snarls, "Sneaky little bakemeno!" She flies 15m up and snaps her fingers, sending a spark that detonates into a fireball between the two that attacked her.

 Scrapper says, "Titan, can you see their leader from your vantage?"

The two shades are blown off-balance, each ending about 4m from where they started - it might have been more, but half the blast seems to pass through them.

 Titan says, "Afraid not."

Ghost opens fire as soon as the closest Shade comes within 50m, accepting the extreme range in trade off for getting a another shot or two before they come close enough to need she to avoid their attacks. Bracing her arm out straight she shoots. However, having seen Sukeban's fire partly passing through them, she switches to her enchanted needles.

The enchanted needles are capable of striking the whole of the shade's being - and so it tears through its misty body and even knocks in back 12m!

 Ghost says, "Titan, know how to use a sword? Silver Lady is itching to join in."

Back on the wall, Lorelei strikes one of her stunning poses, but the shades don't seem to react to it.

Danyelle grips a white feather in her left hand. It glows white in her finger as she uses it to float out into the mist. She targets the other Shade that Sukeban hit, closing with it and aiming to slam her right fist into it.

 Titan says, "How hard could it be?"

 Scrapper says, "The pointy end goes in the opponent."

 Ghost says, "You hold the handle. Poke enemies with the pointy end. It's about all I know of sword use. Back home Silver Lady did the swordplay. I just held her."

With the apparent ethereal nature of the attackers along with the sheer numbers Quinn decides to try to see what he can do to shift the odds in favor of the good guys. Unfortunately with the opposition forces already split he is unable to target the entire group at once but given that some of those forces have already engaged Sukeban, that's probably for the best. Jets roar as he soars into the air above the body of shades that are furthest from the castle and his chest emitter glows brightly for a moment before a beam streaks forth to land in the center of the shades where it erupts in a veritable explosion of sound and fury.

Ghost blinks, far enough away to not be affected, but close enough to see and hear the thunderclap detonate. oO(That has to be Q. He has a wonderful habit of being around when needed.)

The mist lights up brilliantly for a moment, and the sound shakes the bedrock. But the shades still seem to know where the warm, living creatures are....

Scrapper, instead of flying back toward Sukeban from her advance position, flies above the mist even farther from the castle, close enough to catch the scent of the spell controlling or summoning the shades but not close enough to interact with them.

Scrapper catches the scent and points toward the bridge, for those that can see her above the mist.

 Scrapper says, "He's near the bridge, but is not actively controlling them."

Scrapper heads that direction with her armor still up.

Titan jumps in the direction that Scrapper indicates, which is also toward Sukeban, et al.

 Sukeban says, "While yer up there O-Chibi-chan, look for anyone else. These guys aren't enough to do more than distract us, or maybe test the defenses. Unless the goblins are as dumb as they look, they might have a second pincer."

<Guard> Ghost says, "Goblin shaman, or what? Be careful, if it's Palamir he's a capable mage and swordfighter."

<Guard> Titan says, "Meh. Don't give him more credit than he's due. He's fled twice from me."

<Guard> Ghost says, " Titan, if you got angry I'd flee from you."

<Guard> Scrapper laughs, "Been there, lived to talk about it."

Most of the shades close on the embassy - or perhaps Ghost, it's hard to tell yet. However, of the closer ones, two engage Danyelle and two engage Titan.... And one is just recovering itself.

The shades don't seem to make themselves solid enough to hit Titan.

Titan winds up for a big swing...perhaps if he hits the thing hard enough it'll disperse.

"Yah!" Danyelle cries out as the icy tough of the Shade chill her to the bone. She collapses to her hand and knees, reeling from the pain.

Titan swings through one of the shades...and would have connected solidly, had it been....solid.

Titan still manages to send the shade reeling back a good thirty meters, perhaps just due to the air flow following his arm?

Sukeban swoops back down toward the ones that attacked her, stopping short and firing a point blank firebolt at one of them.

Sukeban's blast goes wide as the specter evades.

It remains unclear if Lorelei is achieving much.

Ghost sees the shades can move faster then their approach speed and drops the brace, Staying where she is at 20m she fires at the shade closest to her, holding until it comes to about 15m away.

With the thunderclap charge failing to slow the marauding shades Quinn decides to go for a more basic attack. Since things like fists seem to pass through them with little resistance he elects for a more diffuse attack in the hopes of having some sort of effect. With jets screaming he gains more altitude about the shades he previously attacked, his chest emitter glowing once more before unleashing a shockwave blast at the center of the shades.

<Guard> Scrapper says, "It could be a female fae and it could be a disguise, but I think I see the instigator of this mess."

Q catches the hindmost 7 of the shades: the most coherent bunch - clearly inflicting some damage, from the wail on the wind, though none seems physically disrupted.

Titan takes a swing at the other shade right next to him. He shouts out into the mist, "Seriously? Is this the best you've got? Summon a dragon or something next time."

The shade is knocked back some 8m. But doesn't seem especially fazed.

Scrapper's force armour starts to balloon out into an aerodynamic force bubble, but then she reconsiders and the force power disappears completely as she concentrates on spell-casting.

Titan connects again with the shade in front of him, but not quite as well. Mostly, he's hoping to just get the shades to go after him.

Ghost is standing ready as as the Shades approach she fires another enchanted needle into one when it triggers her smartlink targetting system.

Ghost misses, frowning as the waste of a valuable resource.

Most of the shades continue to close. The one Ghost misses will be upon her soon, but most are now in the vicinity of Titan and Danyelle - plus a couple have been knocked some way away. Only two get there in time to attack though: one goes for Titan and one for Danyelle.

The shade put its arm through Titan's head - but to no effect. Make what one will of that. :)

Titan raises a brow, "Was that supposed to do something?"

Ghost sees one of the shades is about as close she ever wants to see one. So it's her target as she quickly raises her finger to trigger her weapon.

The needle, alas passes straight through the wispy creature doing little damage.

Ghost says something, fortunately it's in a language nobody knows, but the sentiment is pretty obvious.

Suddenly, there seems to be a change in the shades' tactics. They swarm past Titan and Danyelle, all heading toward Ghost! Though only the one she fired on reaches her, and the two laggers are only level with Titan.

Fortunately, the shade fails to make contact.

Ghost ducks away from the grasping hand of the shade. But she's not very happy to see so many of the others heading for her. And, you know, she's made so many enemies she still can't tell if that reaction is an angry Goblin King or Palanir. Because it's likely both want her dead equally strongly.

Scrapper completes her teleport spell and vanishes, appearing mere inches in front of the 'fae' that started all this with a whuf of displaced air and a loud "Boo!"

<Guard> Scrapper says, "Nice disguise, whoever you are."

<Guard> Ghost says, "Judging from the reaction when one got close enough to identify me I'd say the summoner is in communication with the shades."

Well, the explosion worked well enough, but unfortunately the misty figures have closed the distance so that Quinn is no longer able to utilize it without catching his allies in the effect. With the shades closing in on Ghost he decides to try another attack in the hopes that its diffuse nature will negate some of their insubstantial nature. He points his fist at Ghost and the back of his wrist and arm pops open. Within the armor lie a pair of small missiles, one of which goes streaking down toward the surrounded girl.

Ghost doesn't believe it for a moment. .oO(I'm on your side!) crosses her mind as the missile screams down towards her position. Then the missile detonates, not in an explosion but a spray of force beams shooting out at the shades. "Neat!" she exclaims, mostly in relief it has to be admitted.

Two of the shades, including the one by Ghost, dissolve into the ether under the shock of the force beams.

Titan jumps back in the direction of Ghost, and does his best to take a swing at another one of the shades menacing her.

That shade too dissipates under the sheer force of the blow!

Titan grimaces, "This is more annoying than anything else. I agree with Sukeban. This might be a feint."

Ghost quickly changes targets, and choice of weapon. For the first time on Earth she draws Stormcast in earnest. "Help me, Silver Lady." she whispers in the Derwood language. The to Titan, "To you a irritation. To me they're pretty scary. I'm not a street warrior. I'm a hacker."

Ghost feels a familiar but recently lacking warmth in her hand as the sword corrects her slightly wide swing.

Ghost laughs as Stormcast carves the heart of a shade, or whatever they use for hearts. "Silver Lady, you're back!" She looks at the remaining shades, "Bring it on. Who's the next one to die?"

As ghost holds the sword the blade starts to glow with a silver sheen.

The remaining shade disperse themselves to the four winds!!!

... and with the danger gone the sword reverts to an inert albeit exquisitely crafted weapon. Ghost lifts the sword to her lips and whispers to it, cleaning it thoroughly before returning it to the sheath.

Scrapper reaches out to grab the spellcaster and purple force, madly swirling with black and red, flows out of her arms and grants her, literally, a vice-like grip. Her expression matches the wildness of her force powers for here, finally, is a villain: one who delights in the pain of others instead of a minion or dupe.

The magician, whoever she is, clearly has no stomach for a fight. She dodges and runs further under the bridge, where, you know, the portal is.....

Scrapper howls her frustration and her "vice" explodes into a host of arms that all burst toward the spellcaster in a swarm that is so thick that light doesn't pass between them.

Scrapper squeezes harder and harder until the spellcaster passes out. No teleporting today.

Scrapper returns to the castle at a slow walk with her unconscious prisoner behind her. Her expression triumphant but fierce. "Somebody get manacles. Magical ones. I am *personally* finding a dungeon to stuff this one in. No disguised police today."

Ghost smiles, "You made the catch of the day, Scrapper. Make it a deep dungeon."

With the last of the shades vanishing and Scrapper returning, prisoner in hand, Quinn lands next to Ghost, faceplate popping forward with a hiss as the atmosphere within his suit is released before the faceplate slides back up and over his head. "So what was that all about?" he asks.

Scrapper says, "We *will* find out."

The prisoner hasn't said a word, so far. But that may well change.

Ghost says, "For once, Anthony, I'm not sure. It might have been an attack on the Princess. The embassy in general. Or me. Hopefully Scrapper's coup in capturing the mage will yield that answer."

Anthony casts a quick glance over at the prisoner just for any information that can be quickly cleaned. You know, in case she's wearing a Die, Lorelei, Die! t-shirt or something.

Ghost says, "I'm betting on either Palanir or a goblin shaman. Palanir because I exposed him to the goblin King, and a shaman because I've been working with the Fae army to update their maps of Neatherworld, and the goblins know that."

Scrapper heads straight for the castle and its teleport wards. Inside, she tries to find a dungeon for the prisoner and locks the door behind her; locking herself in with the prisoner.

Quinn flashes a quick grin. "Well, whatever the reason at least it gave the the chance to finally test out the smartwave missiles in a combat setting," he says.

Ghost remembers, "Yes. That was incredibly neat, Anthony. But you might have, you know, warned me. I nearly wet my knickers when you fired the missile straight down to top of me."

Quinn chuckles a little. "Well, I hadn't realized they were going to close so quickly," he says, "but come on, the only time I would catch a teammate in an attack like that would be if I was sure they could already handle it. Like if they were Titan or something."

Ghost turns to look straight at Anthony, "I'm not complaining, Anthony. You probably saved my life. For which I'm very grateful. I just wish,... I wasn't having to say that to so many people recently."

Anthony gives a slight shrug of armored shoulders. "Hey, it's a dangerous job you're in," he says. "That's why you've got backup, right?:

Ghost nods. Lifting up on tip-toes she leans into Anthony's raised visor and if he permits, plants a chase kiss on his cheek. "This is two I owe you now. Don't forget that. I won't."

Anthony accepts although he looks slightly puzzled. "Two?" he says. "I can't recall what the first one was, and anyway, all I did was buy you a little room. You're the one who chased them all off when you pulled out your sword."

Ghost chuckles, "I'd have an empty weapon if not for you, Anthony. And... that wasn't me. I called on Silver Lady and she answered. I.. I don't know how much that took out of her. But she came through for me, as she's done so often in the past."

Scrapper pops the (I believe) conscious prisoner down inside the cell and locks the door behind herself. She doesn't save a key for herself. "I smell magic," she says, "and am good at it. You try to escape and I will hurt you. You try to make yourself food and I will hurt you. You so much as use a spell to comb your hair and I will hurt you. Do we understand each other? I do not require your accent."

Anthony blinks in surprise. "Oh, that," he says. "That was nothing. I mean, I didn't even have to do any design work or anything. Just duplicate something you already had. I think your help with my armor and Q-Drive probably more than outweighed that."