Prologue: TGC Past
The voice of DeathStar begins to narrate as we see the old Hunter station, Cheryl and Ariel passing the time, Seraphna and Slasher bickering, DeathStar takes in the sight of his friends being themselves. Garland a child again, seemingly innocent. When all hell breaks loose. Crucifixion somehow on the station, launches an attack, sending most of the team out into a vacuum. DeathStar leaps out after Ariel...
Stardate: 10-587.12.11
DeathStar continues to narrate, but now he is Darien Starr, and in prison. A Dark One attacks him in his cell but quickly vanishes, he decides now is a time for action and calls on the one person he can trust and rely on to get him out. He calls Angela to a visitation where he asks her to break him out and she agrees, giving him a homing device and sending Montana to destroy the wall of his cell and blast him out of jail. Bless her insane soul.
Erevis at night is visited by an obscured figure who wonders if she dreams of it, she seems to believe it is Xan and it promises they'll be together again... very soon.
Angela takes Darien to Cassandra's house as he cleans up and discusses the legal ramifications with his lawyer, X3, who despite her insanity is somehow good at her job. He notes he was already in jail 6 months past his sentence and lets X3 brush off the authorities as they park and come to join the others, only to find Warren waiting for them, having figured out their plans. Darien asks Billy what is at a certain location in hyperspace, the exact position of Hunter HQ in The Old Reality. Billy is shocked, because at that very location is a soul harvester the Dark Ones are using to collect all the souls of the Galaxy and mass print Dark Ones for their invasions.
Warren proposes they all work together, with some other people they know and take the fight to the Dark Ones. Darien decides not to shiv Warren, Prison changes people dude.
As the group gathers, Warren calling on Katrina's group with faces like Marcus, Dias, Chad, Terra, Lilith, Raquel, and Chii, they gear up and get ready to go. Warren distracts Jen who seems insistent on going to help, but ends up beaming the team up without her. So Jen goes back to watching TV. Angela's mood sours as she informs Marcus that she's late, Cheryl and Warren begin to plan the death of Marcus. The group heads out to the PAX.
Stardate: 10-587.12.13
The group arrives at the PAX and shares what they know with the council, Darien able to successfully convince them, even the Dark One hating Atleans who resist Billy's testimony to rend aid in the coming conflict. Things are going well, until a Dark One Spade enters the room and tries to warn them all away from resistance. When no one seems interested in complying, he introduces another Dark One friend, and it is here that it becomes apparent that the Dark Ones can draw on the old reality when Weindigo attacks. Angela and Theron escort the Ambassadors to safety while the rest of the team attempts to fight back against the Dark One clones. In the end, Darien is able to stab the demon reborn in the throat while taking a gruesome belly stab in the process. '
Megumi rushes to heal him, but Darien seems to take a large shift in personality as he pulls himself up, refusing to die just yet, saying he has work to do.
A short time later, the team approaches the planet in hyperspace, but they are met with Dark Ones who attack them while still in the extradimensional space. Explosions breeding more explosions, the team decides on the single most crazy tactic they can think of, blow up everything and land on the planet to get away. It mostly works, however another Dark One ship tears theirs apart after they land (by series standards, a crash that doesn't kill them). They get out just in time thanks to Billy and Raquel shifting them off ship.
Here, they are met with a small resistance group already at work, noneother than John McCormick being that resistance. The group is at first put back at his apparent survival, but when a larger number refuse to beleive it, he attempts to kill Katrina, revealing that the Dark Ones held back using his soul just to get in close. But as the team tries to decide what to do, they are interrupted yet again by ANOTHER John and a 16 year old Michiru at his side, those from the Dark Future. The team, even more perplexed, and Warren, wishing he had more pain killers, eventually just settle to trust this future, less homocidal version of John.
They begin to strike out when they come across their first challege, Logos, the last surviving of the Three Fates. He reveals he is at the center of driving the souls into recreation, at the behest of his Dark One masters. In perhaps extreme overconfidence, he summons Dark Spade, Cran and John to battle the team. Dark Xanatos is brought out to try and entrap Erevis. Kane, Avalon, Cole, Eve, and other fallen of the team rise up to fight them. Each team member literally grapples with their past demons. But something happens Logos did not expect, the team resists successfully, beginning to overcome their past demons and even awaken in new powers, Dias bringing out Blackheart and Erevis tricking her own trap into exposing itself for a kill. Logo begins to learn rage as even his own creations begin to turn on him, the unpredictable Weindigo actually joining Darien in an assault on Logos.
Logos dies, but a turning tide doesn't come, Setsuna is shot in the gut by Dark Adam, Angela stabbed in the stomach by Dark Spade, Katrina cut through the side by Dark Shiva, and Darien asks Weindigo to kill him in order to get to Garland. These blows, while not fatal, however, ignite others in the team to come to their aid. Marcus wolfs out on Spade, and Angela finds herself saved twice when a greedy Cran meets the fists of Cheryl. Theron beheads the false Xanatos, and Warren, almost slaughtered, finds Freyja coming to save him.
The rising tide is beaten back once more however, as more clones come out to attack the team, but time after time, they lift themselves back up and face their former friends turned enemies. Until at last, Billy, or Andrea as she is really called, unleashes a power that decimates most of the clones. She then reveals she's using the last of her strength and dying, because her spirit was born from Garland Hianule, who's soul is now fading. While they were all fighting, Darien went through Death's Door to destroy him and free the Soul Collective. The Clones, now freed of Dark Control, are given a moment to say their goodbyes to the team, the heroes rewarded for the moment with a last chance to say goodbye to their loved ones and find closure with them.
The Dark Ones, having lost Logos and the Soul Collective, have lost the power to use the Souls of the Dead to bring back clones. DeathStar returns in spirit and instructs Megumi to heal Darien's body, explaining that his soul has returned and he will be his own person from now on. In spirit, several old souls are returned to the group for a moment, DeathStar, Garland, Slash, and Weindigo among them.
Just in time, as Kyouki rises from the depths of the planet, a Dark Angel at the head of a Dark One army, deciding to crush the team for their arrogance. He summons their ancient foes, Xevil (and his many clones), Crucifixtion, and others and charges into battle. The team, now reforged from their encounters, reassured about themselves, and joined by Ancient Hunters race into battle to fight back. They are beyond what Kyouki could ever have imagined and he and his Dark One Remnants are literally beaten back through the rift, sealed away in another reality forever.
With the Dark Ones sealed away, the heroes part ways with the Spirits of the Fallen Heroes, who walk into the rift themselves, to move onto whatever comes after death. DeathStar asks Angela to carry on protecting and caring for the new world, and the freed Kyouki says goodbye to Erevis, unlike the others, she seems to simply vanish away somewhere, instead of moving on. The world begins to collapse, and X3 aboard a new ship beams them all out to safety at the last moment. The team left to lick their wounds, reflect, and realize they have fully inherited their new world.
Session 265: The Day of Beginnings Part I
Pre-Session Act 1:
After the events of A Lonely Place of Dying, Angela talks with Marcus while Chii cradles a wounded Katrina in her arms gaping at Angela while she talks with Marcus about the baby situation with him. Katrina wakes up a little and calls her name, making Chii hesitate at first, struggling and saying that it is better to think of her as Freyja right now as she heals Katrina; Katrina murmurs softly, looking unsure what to say, that she is glad they reunited. Katrina then watches as Chii/Freyja begin to talk to herself, looking like she is having a crisis, while Marcus and Angela have their own off to the side, with Marcus noting it might not even be his, making Angela have a panic attack at the idea. While he notes he's kind of young to have a kid and notes they could have an abortion, since Angela is 18, causing Angela to stare at him shocked. Angela vows even if she has to raise the kids alone, she'd do it.
Erevis ignores their drama for her part and helps the hurt Megumi to medical so it can help heal her body. Theron offers Chii some water as she begins to claw at her own chest in panic, asking for it, where she does some ritual and her own reflection begins to attack herself, making Theron and Katrina freak out. Marcus just calmly watches the scene while he talks with Angela, saying he doesn't want kids, but if they are his, he'll help out however he can. Katrina shouts for the two "Chiis" to stop and Chii turns and stops choking on the other, letting her go and steps away; it turns out that Chii and Freyja have split somehow due to the ritual and Chii was choking out Freyja, refusing to become one again and follow Freyja's orders. Theron notes they should kill them before they turn on them but Katrina tells him to go away while Freyja tries to recover.
Freyja looks at Chii, confused at her rejection, and Chii tells her that she enjoys seeing and thinking for herself, despite Freyja saying they are the same person. Katrina asks why they are fighting each other, and Chii tells Freyja to stop chasing after someone who has been dead for over 10,000 years and that she is done following her as her shadow and that she is no longer "the same person". Katrina gently points out that she is being a little harsh, even if she is telling the truth. As Katrina holds Chii, Freyja seems a bit lost at Chii's feelings before addressing Katrina, thanking her for taking care of Chii while she was gone. After that she states maybe it is time to bury Mizukaze Hisui, which makes Chii nod in approval and Chii states that Harusame was cuter anyway.
During all this, Angela tells Marcus she will talk to Warren about removing the chip since the damage has already been done and Marcus notes he might punch her or do something to her next, not knowing Warren is already there behind him, leading to a three way confrontation between them. After staring at them for a while and giving off a single grunt that Angela makes a joke out of, he leaves just as mysteriously as he appeared. Marcus notes pregnant women do not tickle his fancy and when Angela asks to hang out more, he tells her that she should rest for the next nine months. From there the two move on to discuss various things about Angela's condition and werewolf children, when Cheryl finds Marcus and gives him an evil smile.
While Megumi begins to wake up in medical with the healing light shines in her eyes, Chii suggests that Katrina and her teach Freyja some things about being a "good girl". As Katrina jokes that she wouldn't want to reject Chii since they are twins, she follows after Chii as she picks up Freyja over her shoulder into the bedroom as Freyja flails comically. During all this, Cheryl spends her time trying to intimidate and grill Marcus over Angela, noting he plans to go the "paycheck route" when Angela notes he claims to be there for her. After some talking, Cheryl promises Marcus she'll be there to give him physical pain if he causes Angela physical pain and Marcus points out why she doesn't do anything about Dias, leading to Cheryl to eye Dias, noting that is something Angela should deal with herself, but Marcus and Angela have an emotional connection. After a bit Cheryl gives up and leaves, but not before giving Dias a look.
While Freyja, Katrina, and Chii have their antics, Megumi tries some mild training and wakes Erevis who was nearby looking over Megumi. The two discuss the Dark Ones and how they do not believe the conflict to be over yet, with each other looking at each other grimly. Megumi also notes that the toll of her using her manifestation and other powers to their limits are beginning to have a toll of her body and Erevis notes she should refrain from using her powers. The two go back and forth on if Megumi should tamper with her body, since Megumi claims she is a weakling if she does not do such methods. They go in circles, but at least this time it seems to be in a healthy manner - Erevis wanting Megumi to take care of herself and Megumi wanting to stay by her side since she wants to protect the one she loves.
Marcus and Angela discuss their baby situation still as well as well as love and depressing matters. So Angela goes over her history as Angela Bennet, before Cran turned her into Serena Cran. And how she is trying to embrace her original self. On other matters, Freyja lays there with her mind blown and Chii jokes on if they should keep her to Katrina. After jokingly saying perhaps, leading to Freyja to panic, so Katrina tells Chii she should "work" it out, which translates to Chii that she should work it out - sexually. While the two twins work it out, Katrina just watches as Chii pleasures Freyja, until afterward Freyja uses her power to freeze Chii to "punish" her back. Finally Katrina has Freyja stop and tells the two they are both devious - if they wish to be. Of course, this proves to be true when the twins turn the tables on Katrina.
Megumi tells Erevis she thinks she has figured out what she can do to do less damage to herself - she will do external manifestations instead of internal ones that she has been doing, which makes Erevis pleased. The two hug and promise to enjoy themselves back at their house in Tokyo. They opt to get some food and Erevis reads the menu to Megumi - who still cannot read Basic at this point. As Megumi gets drunk on sake, she tells Erevis she is cute and after some pushback, she finally gives in - quietly noting that Megumi is the second person besides Xanatos to tell her that. And with that Megumi falls asleep against her while Angela and Marcus finish up their conversation.
Pre-Session Act 2:
Marcus goes to confront Warren on the bridge while Freyja explores the ship and learns more about it and Megumi works on her new form of manifestation. After trying to reason with him, Warren just shoots him down and lets Marcus storm off into Freyja, before moving onto watch Megumi. Angela then moves to try her hand with Warren. He notes that there is no proof they are criminals so he will try to fix that when they return to Earth. The two then move onto other topics, like food, and Warren seems to remain curt and quiet otherwise. When asked if Warren has anyone to talk to, he notes everyone loves to talk to him. She asks how he is holding up, noting that he is living the Warren of this timeline's life and has two kids dumped on his lap and all that, and Warren notes if he gets the urge to shoot himself, he'll let her know.
As Chii returns into Billy (Andrea), the Dark One sniffs Chii and immediately notes she has been having sex, unnerving the Kitsune, before she tells her one shouldn't have sex before marriage. When Chii rejects the idea of marriage, violently, Billy notes she heard marriage makes sex feel better. When asked how does she know that, Billy claims she has definitely had sex - in every position, leading into a pissing contest until Chii asks how does it feel to have a soul again. After saying it is same ol' same ol, she gets swatted by Chii's tail and told not to take it for granted. The two seem to have an understanding before Billy's dark side comes out and she says Katrina will grow bored of her since she is not Shiva. Chii mutters she knows this but she doesn't plan to be a puppet or souless forever and will get a soul one day, from one of these godlike beings, and Billy eyes her, acting like she will tell Katrina on her.
Marcus asks after Megumi and how she is holding up and Megumi notes she is doing well, but when it comes to Erevis, Megumi wonders - saying she seemed happy when they first boarded the ship, but worries it is fading. She wonders if it had to do with seeing Xanatos briefly and Marcus asks if she is certain on her mood fading. Megumi notes she is not smiling as much lately and the first time she kissed her without prompt was during the incident and Marcus points out that Xanatos told her to be happy. Marcus wishes her well in her quest for Erevis' affection before leaving. Megumi then goes to see Warren and asks him if he wants to have a board game of wits, when Warren asks her if she wouldn't rather try to sexually conquest Erevis, leading to her say she already kissed her. The pure answer of a kiss leads Warren to genuinely begin to laugh, but then begins to go over scenarios with Megumi of the board - as if each have won. After this goes on a while, Megumi pauses and asks if they actually ever played a game before getting the answer of no.
Billy sneakily tries to throw a piece of red fruit in Chii's mouth, but the Kitsune catches it easily, leading to Billy trying to backpedal as Chii advances on her. Just as Chii tackles Billy, Marcus comes in to save the day, leading Billy to sigh in relief. The two have a moment where he tells her he was worried he lost her, before Billy takes the fruit back and tries to get Freyja to eat it before going to see Drake since she is looking for him. After taking a slight nibble of it, Billy gives directions to the room and begins to scamper off but Freyja begins to follow her. However, it backfires since Chii is experiencing the effects of the fruit, too. This leads to a japanese horror movie as they stalk Billy around the ship.
Warren meanwhile hands Megumi documents on what sexual means to help with her education, letting her flip through them. After trying to get answers out of Warren of why he would show this to her, and getting the standard Warrenese, she finally storms off to show it to Erevis to see if she can make sense of it, before deciding against it since she got bit last time they even kissed and throws it all away. She joins Erevis and purrs, making Erevis blink and wonder if Megumi is purring like a cat, who notes she learned it from Siawase. Megumi asks to kiss and brings up the papers Warren gave her, making Erevis a little nervous, but the Progenitor agrees to the kissing. After some work on Megumi's part, the two finally kiss - even with tongue - while Warren watches from the bridge at the sight, wondering about those two. After they finish kissing, Megumi remains flustered and murmurs about enjoying being pinned maybe, while Erevis wonders if she is sick.
As the two talk, Megumi admits that she feels safe around Erevis, and though she doubts she would fully understand it, she thinks she wouldn't mind giving up control to Erevis due to that. Megumi puts it like this - in this certain situation, she would not mind "losing" to Erevis, hence the pinning comment. As the two do more things beside kissing, Erevis finally grows uncomfortable, putting an end to it, and they decide to just talk for now until Megumi grows tired. Deciding she was being silly, she decides to grope Megumi back in her sleep until she wakes up Megumi and tells her they can do a little more "petting" like that if she likes, while Warren has Chii and Freyja set up illusions on someone.
Pre-Session Act 3:
Megumi sits on Darien and rearranges him beside Marcus while they are all sitting at a viewport to look outside space when Vyssa shows up, noting this is the second time she has been part of something too big for her. As they all discuss how Dark Ones taste like, before discussing life and how it changes things and people, leading to Chii and Marcus to eye each other and Vyssa wondering what is going on. When asking what is up, Chii asks Vyssa questions about what makes her tick and why she is there, since fighting Dark Ones surely has nothing to do with peacekeeping and being an ambassador. Vyssa admits she is there to learn more about Earth and this group so she can report back her findings, so she signed up to investigate; during all this Marcus begins to sneak off. Chii lays into Vyssa a little, noting this group isn't the best to hang out with if she wants to learn about Earth, and that Vyssa should probably find something to believe in fast if she wants to remain with them - for her sake.
As Vyssa and Chii get into it a little over what Vyssa believes is important - her learning about the universe and this group - before leaving to go back to Katrina, noting if she wants to learn about illusions she should find Freyja. After she is gone Marcus steps back in, who begins to discuss with Vyssa about sexual relations with alien races, mentioning Ridiariums and Atleans having kids and such before asking Vyssa if she ever thought about doing such a thing.
Megumi goes back to her training when she spots Erevis meditating nude once again so she ambles over to her trying to get her attention, while Chii asks Katrina why this particular group is together. When Katrina gives her answer that a force of nature brought them together and if they stopped there would be nothing to do, Chii glares at her since it makes too much sense. While Megumi kisses Erevis who almost attacks her on instinct, she stops seeing it her, startling the poor Famfrit. While Erevis tries to teach Megumi how to meditate, Chii asks Katrina how she kept her from being taken into EarthGov custody. Katrina jokes she did sexual favors, freaking the Kitsune out until Katrina informs her she was joking and that she and Warren did some political manuevering to make it happen. When Dias interjects she has to get one like her, Katrina notes to him that Chii is her's.
As Freyja arrives on the bridge and notes she is done with the errand he wanted with the illusions, wondering what was for, Warren is evasive and makes up a lie. During this, Megumi does another kiss during the meditation and gets pinned by Erevis to the floor. As Erevis and Megumi do their thing, Chad arrives on the bridge and he and Freyja make peace, drinking on it, though Freyja admits she has no control over Chii anymore. As Chad leaves, whatever was in the drink affects Chii even as Warren warns her to spit it out, Freyja telling him "fool her once". Chii curses meanwhile as whatever was in the drink affects her, noting that if Freyja didn't have the one soul between them, she'd kill her. As the illusion activiates and messes with Chad, Warren's plan goes forth - the game continues.
As Chii searches for someone to mate with due to the drink, she chases poor Drake down and more "comedy" ensues. He tells her she should protect her womanhood and all that jazz, which seems to snap Chii out of it due to how droll he is and upsetting Drake until she returns to Katrina, thinking she did it, which confuses her. Realizing that Freyja did it to her for falling for the fruit again, Chii gets in a bad mood while Erevis and Megumi talk about various things, and the rest of the group do their antics. Finally Erevis and Megumi spar while Katrina gets Chii something safe to drink.
Marcus and CHIP spar verbally over food while Marcus hangs out with Angela while the two continue their sparring, even doing some kissing of boo boos. Finally Erevis does a hyperspace attack, much to Megumi's surprise, not thinking she was capable of doing such an attack. Megumi chides her a little, saying couples do not hide things from each other, which catches Erevis off guard, though her reaction does depress Megumi a little since she hoped for something more definitive than a question of them being couples. After some calls to smile as Erevis seems depressed herself when she did not surprise the way Megumi wanted, Marcus shows up, clearing his throat. As Dias also runs in, Billy walks in with the manual Megumi ditched and shows a page to Erevis, and she and Dias argue about it, noting that woman on woman action is "meant to feel good" when Dias states he never got the point of it. After some back and forth, this leads to Billy stating that he should go do the r-word with a woman if then, leading to Marcus ooing and holding his fist up and Erevis walking off disgusted, perhaps due to her own incidents.
As Billy and Marcus discuss what evil they can do, Billy begins to get meaner and meaner when it comes to Angela, and some of it splashes onto Katrina as well. Oddly, Dias shows some concern for Zephyr when all this nonsense goes on, and due to their ruckus Angela wakes up nearby. She sees Cheryl hugging Chad for the last brownie in the messhall, leading to sibling hijinks, while Megumi and Erevis do their thing elsewhere. As Cheryl and Chad give Angela opposing advise on the baby and how much weight she should gain, Chad stops Cheryl from eating a spiked brownie as Cheryl continues to eat brownies, which she proceeds to do so anyway and get high, calling Angela a blob, angering her sister.
Cheryl walks around seeing words and groping the air, all high, and runs into Marcus, with Angela and Chad following after her. She licks his face and comments that he tastes like green and begins to sniff him. As they talk, Cheryl sneaks off and loses the group and begins to hunt imaginary Ridiariums - which are Darien and she is wrapping her whip around his neck. Marcus thankfully finds her and stops her in time, which leads to more sniffing and licking which Angela walks in on. As Chad tries to drag the stripping Cheryl off, who fights it by grabbing chairs, Angela leads Marcus away, until Cheryl passes out.
Erevis issues Megumi a challenge, so Megumi does one back regarding telling people they are a couple, which Erevis accepts. They begin to kiss each other, seeing who can last the longest as they do so. Megumi begins to have problems first, being smaller and having the smallest lungs of the two, so she uses her tongue and panics Erevis, who bites her tongue and ends the kiss, winning through sneaky tactics. Giving her one more bite for good measure she returns to the bed they share and after some antics between the two, they go to sleep when Marcus enters the room to get away from Angela after saying a hurtful comment, seeing Erevis naked and surprising her and waking Megumi.
Marcus begins to ask personal questions of Erevis after learning from Megumi they are now a couple and Erevis admits she has cared about Megumi for some time, but when pushed for an intimate answer, Erevis notes that since she was with Xanatos that would not have been something to even consider. During this Billy listens to Angela talking to the unconscious Darien and holds a recorder and talks with her. As she listens, Billy hands her something, some pills, and notes that Marcus stated he'd be part of the kids' lives, not her's, and Angela is seeking someone to fill a void, even if it makes the other person unhappy, leaving Angela unhappy and sad. Erevis and Marcus discuss Angela and other topics, despite her state of clothing, Marcus also admits he worries about Erevis, which surprises her and she assures him he need not do so, though he tells her they are friends and Erevis agrees to the friendship.
Darien finally begins to wake and comments that he feels as if his body has been abused lately. While Freyja discuss Warren and the fact she never got to read his mind back in the day, she asks how "Phenomenae like the progenitors, creation, hyperspace, things that the dark ones were given and that which the Erusians take for granted". Warren simply shrugs in response, not really having an answer to that, but worried about the answer himself. As Darien and Angela talk about things, getting caught up, she asks how much he remembers and he admits just about everything. After asking if they are still friends, Darien looks a little confused but seems to be fine with the concept, while Warren gives Freyja one piece of advise - not to piss with the big dogs.
Freyja confesses to Warren that she and Chii will take what they want, or need, in this new world, while Marcus asks Erevis what she thinks they will do from here on out. Erevis admits she does not know and Marcus wonders if he will still work for Katrina. When Erevis notes she must appreciate someone like him on the team, Marcus wonders, stating she probably doesn't feel much of anything these days after losing Shiva and doing anything she can not to feel the pain; this earns a look to the side by Erevis, who refuses to comment further. As they talk, Warren notes he is not Freyja's love, earning a shrewd look from the Kitsune, but she admits that is probably not possible but wonders if Chii has been talking, but admits she would laugh if it was him, but wonders if one of the team could be the one she seeks, leading to Warren wondering if she has considered moving on, making the Fairlight frown in thought.
As Marcus talks about Katrina and that as long as she keeps the memories of her loved ones, she will move on and be fine, Erevis frowns, since the talk leads to Xanatos between them, and she admits she would not like to replace the memories she has of Xanatos. As Marcus tells Erevis about his situation with Erevis, asking what she thinks about it, and his situation in general, Angela seeks out Cheryl to sleep with her, wanting company. After telling her a bit, he stops without going into the full details, but Erevis notes she will not judge his situation without all the facts, either, or jump to a conclusion.
Pre-Session Act 4:
Stardate: 10-587.12.20
As Marcus trains in the training room, Freyja approaches Warren looking a little worse for wear, with her eyes sunken and her fashion suffering lately as she asks him what he proposes she do to move on. As Chii wanders the ship, Angela sits quietly in one of the rooms, thinking to herself about everything lately. Warren suggests Freyja talk with a counselor about everything and after offering her some poor suggests, notes he will hire her as his secretary. Angela approaches Marcus and asks if they can talk, while Chii acts a little strange and seems to be doing so because of Zephyr, despite the fact she is asleep and across the ship. They both wonder what she is up to when Chii nears Chad and freaks out and retreats for now. Angela tells Marcus about what Billy said and that she can't do this anymore, leaving Marcus confused.
After Marcus and Angela have a silly moment together to let off some steam and freak out Drake and make Dias sniffle, the two talk a bit while Cheryl eyes Chad playing himself at a game. He notes he is studying ways to beat Warren, so Cheryl moves a piece and checkmates him, before moving off to get food, showing that Cheryl has brains - though she rarely reveals it. Angela asks if he'll take her out on a date on her birthday and they'll see if there is anything from there and Marcus notes he'll see. Angela and Dias get into a shouting match about her weight and other things while she tackles him and tries to show him pictures of naked Katrina to get the chip in his brain to zap him.
As Marcus and Angela work on trying this out, the real Katrina stands there and eyes them and calls them the f-word before walking out of the room, leaving Angela an opening to knee Dias in the nuts. As Angela tries to apologize to Katrina through the locked door, Chii walks along the hallway, sulking over mistaking Chad for Zephyr and Marcus chides Dias for just not looking at the picture and getting the zap over before Katrina arrived. Angela finally gives up and walks off, dejected, while Katrina adds Angela and Marcus to her mental notes in her room.
Main Session:
Stardate: 10-587.12.20
Location: The Ship
Warren, Cheryl, Theron, and Darien stand on the bridge as the ship nears the Sol System finally and Freyja notes it feels nostalgic to be returning to Earth even though she was there just a short time ago, while Erevis slips on the gloves to her outfit in medical with Megumi. As members of the team begin to join the others on the bridge, and SPoc betting they won't make it past Neptune, Warren purposely exits them past the planet just to spite her. Warren and Cheryl state they plan to take the heat for the situation to spare the others, jokingly bringing Darien into it as well, though Cassandra points out that Darien is suppose to be legally dead, though Darien seems a little off in the head, looking at things blankly and staring off. As Megumi and Erevis join them as well as they pass Mars, Megumi giving them a nude show like Erevis usually does, they begin to grow concerned as there is no response back from EarthGov.
As they reach the Earth, suddenly the orbital stations attack and take out most of the ship in a few strikes, sending them into freefall toward the planet as the ship begins to break apart. As the team is sent flying about the ship, Megumi attempts to try to find the heat shields, but Cheryl states almost everything has been blown away in the attack. As Angela and Megumi work together, Megumi works in the panels and repairs what connectors need to be done so the heat shields work upon re-entry, though Warren sarcastically remarks that they won't burn up as they crash now. Theron mutters that he should have remained with Myira as Megumi glares at Warren about them solving one problem at a time.
As CHIP wails for them to save his memory as they go down, strong-arming Angela to save his memory with threat of self-destructing. Megumi though cuts him at the knees and cuts power to CHIP and redirects power to their remaining engine so Cheryl can fly the ship down and save them, but it fails, though while doing it a blinding white light somehow shoots the ship higher up and Erevis looks exhausted afterward, falling asleep. And with that the ship crashes into a Tokyo street and tears through it before coming to a complete stop, banging some of them up and Freyja cheerfully asking who died.
As EarthGov mechs begin to surround the ship, Katrina arrives on the bridge at last to witness what is going on. Freyja has illusions of the team exit the team and the mechs fire on them while the group begins to exit the ship, Angela making sure to pocket the CHIP memory core. As Warren hotwires a van, some of the team is captured by the mechs - Vyssa, Drake, Terra, Setsuna, Lilith, Raquel, Billy, , and Ariel, freaking Lilith out as they are flown way as the team hops into or onto the van. As Warren begins to drive, a chase battle ensues as some of the mechs go after them and Angela even brings in Montana to aid them. As the van begins to take more and more damage, Warren even uses Cassandra as a meat shield to protect himself since her body can withstand a blast and they head for the sewers after some of them are injured; sadly the three mechs blow up and take out Montana.
As they take a moment to recover in the sewers, and noticing maybe Zephyr is among the taken, they try to patch up Katrina while deciding what to do next while Erevis remains out of it. They discuss rescuing their teammates and Cassandra and Darien seem a little against going into the hornets nest, while Angela wonders if it is Talon. While Darien seems to think they need months of planning, getting scorn from Marcus, Cheryl and Megumi seem to want to storm and get their friends and family back, Megumi not wanting to leave Zephyr or Ariel behind, getting Chad, Angela, and Marcus backing her. Darien storms off to investigate - alone, rejecting Theron's help.
The team heads for the base, Katrina thanking Freyja for the healing, and they work their way through the sewers. After a while they reach an area that Warren begins to do red light, green light with the group, beginning to annoy everyone and confuse them. However, since a few of them are walking with their eyes classed, Chii, Megumi, and Erevis zap themselves in some sort of forcefield, and Warren then uses Cassandra's arm to short it out, even if it hurts himself, taking it down. Erevis, who is already running a fever, seems to be in even worse shape as they reach a guard station in the sewers. As the group talks about how to take them down, it is decided to use a naked illusion of Katrina, much to her chargin since Freyja has personal experience with her body. As Cheryl blushes watching it, a first sign of something in the future, the guards stare and are distracted, they take them down - and Dias, since he saw the illusion.
They have to drag Cheryl along as she keeps kicking one of the soldiers in the junk, calling them perverts. The team then has to cross many other challenges, like motion detectors and imaginary landmines (which there are none), guards, base alarms, and prison walls. After shattering the wall and raining down debris on Terra, they free Terra and Vyssa, as well as the others, though it seems some others are still missing - like Ariel and Setsuna. As Marcus and Theron and others hold back the guards, the team wonders where the others in the team could be located. When suddenly the guards treat, a giant mech lands in front of the prison, firing missles into the cells and sending the group scattering and Cassandra saving her daughter and ditching the team.
As the mech pilot targets Dias and the others scatter from him, leaving him to deal with the mech until it refocuses on them. Using team work, the team begins to attack the mech, with Cheryl leading the charge and Chii blowing up it's missles, and Angela firing rounds into it's weapons. Dias and Megumi attack the joint and knock it over, while a shuttle flies overhead, throwing a railgun overhead for them to use, though the team opts to just beat the hell out of it, and trying to blow it up with explosives as Vyssa rushes or the rail gun. As Cassandra returns and helps out, Billy clinging to her, Vyssa takes aim and fires the rail gun, taking out an elbow due to how powerful it is. During all this, the thing is raining down missiles and making the team fly about and battle all out on it. Cassandra has Vyssa hand it over to her as it recharges it and takes out the other knee.
As the mech begins to grow wings, the team just stares at it in disbelief, already beaten up to hell. As Chii tries to freeze the wings, and Terra flings fire, Zephyr tries to do her dragoon bustah with Angela's help, and manages to fire off and damage one of the wings before she is deaged again and knocked out. Freyja focuses on the pilot's insanity as Cassandra fires for the cock pit with the rail gun and the mech drops like a rock, making the team scatter. Freyja protects Katrina as it self-destructs and Cassandra protects Billy; the team heads over to the shuttle and finds the pilot is Darien, who apparently returned. As they move to enter the ship, Erevis' power seems to be acting up as the air is filled with "electric" power and Megumi seems worried about her, so she pulls her glove on.
When Darien announces his sensors picked up something, Erevis tells them she feels a rip in time, making the team worry that there might be another timeline divergence, but Erevis assures them this one is more natural. When Freyja questions this, Erevis admits that is not usually the cause, but it is definitely not a divergence, but this is self-contained, meaning whatever is happening, is meant to happen. As Katrina and Chii hug on each other, when an energy burst knocks everyone backwards and sweeps over Erevis.
Standing before them is a beast of a figure, standing at a height of 6'5, with blue skin and red eyes; having black hair, and his body armor black like a Dark One, with twisted tendrils all over it. The group feels killing intent coming off of him and his mere presence gives off ripples of power, but most of all there is the Rune Blade, pierced right through his chest, and clinging to him is Erevis, wearing her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a strange armor tactical suit herself. And she has Megumi's hair pin, at least from what's visible, to keep her ponytail up, and seems like she has been in a fight already - even though it's only been a few seconds.
While the group, especially Chii, freak out at the power coming off the beast, they wonder what it means when he breaks the Rune Blade in two before their eyes and drives the broken blade into the other Erevis' gut. While Marcus wonders how one breaks the Rune Blade so easily, Theron thinks the beast is Xevil and Megumi panics over Erevis. The man forms a crystal zanbanto and a dark matter ball in the other and promises to gather the grail once again, as he promises this will be their last battle. As Megumi gathers up half of the Rune Blade, the monster calls itself Legion. Warren and Darien opt to retreat, since Erevis is dying with half of the Rune Blade inside her, still confused what happened during that flash of light that swept her up and changed her clothes and hair style. Noting that for a wound of that size, Erevis will need to be taken to a hospital for nano treatment so they head off to get it.
Session 266: The Day of Beginnings Part II
Darien scans the radio frequencies while Erevis bleeds out, Freyja sneaks around the shuttle, and Billy sucks her thumb. While Chii sits by Katrina shaking like a leaf, who tries to comfort the distressed Kitsune, Megumi kneels by Erevis and Marcus looks concerned beside her, Terra looking over them. The entire group is hurting and wounded from their many battles so far today while Warren looks for a safe place to patch Erevis up, while Cassandra worries about Setsuna, and Ariel, Darien announces they got enemy coming in for them and everyone buckles in. As they deal with the enemy pilots, their own EarthGov, Megumi does visual attacks with her abilities and Darien opens the ramp so Cassandra can do attacks from the back of the shuttle.
As Darien and Chad go at it, Chad mocking Darien that he thought he was a better pilot than this since it looks like he is having trouble and Darien noting he is a better investigator, pointing out he figured out Chad was a traitor, Marcus holds onto Erevis while those in the back deal with the enemy pilots. Marcus fires over the other two at the missile launched while Cassandra fires at the sensors on the planes, but sadly it does nothing, but Angela's manages to take it down, making Marcus cough at her, but Megumi also uses her attack to knock it down; who knows which did it. As it goes on, with more missiles and enemy bullets, Megumi begins to redirect their own missiles back and takes out one of the enemy ships, blowing it up, getting the others to freak out on her since they didn't want to kill EarthGov personnel, though Terra and Megumi point out it is them or the team.
Cassandra manages to take out the other sensor on the other ship and it spins off, so Darien closes the ramp, but not before Katrina is knicked by enemy bullets and Terra and Warren glare at each other. As Angela patches Katrina up, Marcus and Megumi are at odds with each other when Warren points out that they are innocent men being order to bring them in because they think they are the enemy, so Megumi tells Terra to stand down, since he is not wrong. As tensions remain high in the shuttle as they reach the hospital, Warren knocks Terra out with a needle and catches her, since it looks like Terra isn't going to let it go.
As they enter the hospital, feelings running bitter now, they carry Erevis inside and Katrina goes along with them since she has been beat up a little as well today. Darien remains behind to guard the shuttle when Vyssa notes she thinks she's had enough of all this, feeling like she can't take much more, so Darien tells her she can go and find a place where she'll not be caught up in all this, which will be offworld. As Vyssa takes off, they discuss how fearsome Legion is while the others in the hospital find a doctor and a machine to repair Erevis, Marcus pulling out the Rune Blade shard in her stomach. Megumi seems to be having a crisis of faith as she lets Marcus have her half of the blade and Erevis slowly is repaired.
Terra begins to stir and asks after Megumi when he detects more enemies on the radar, and Chii tries to get a doctor to help Katrina some, who is ignoring his order as a doctor - what even. As Darien warns the group, Angela tries to wake Zephyr with energy, the enemy lands on the roof and Darien lets Freyja play with them. As she has them damage each other and draws them into her realm, Chii begins to get angrier at the doctor and rages about humans, hurting Katrina a little, causing Chii to jerk a little. As Freyja goes to check on the pilots to see if they are okay after Theron states they are no doubt dead after wrecking from her attempts, the troops nearby open fire gleefully on her while Chad yells down at them to stop please, having joined the group on the roof.
Seeing the pilots are indeed dead, unless it's a trick, an exciting battle happens off screens and Erevis is finally healed. As the Rune Blade pieces are handed back to Megumi, and the doctor keeps harrassing Chii, screams of the remaining troops are heard outside. Glancing outside they see it is Legion ripping the soldiers apart as he heads for the hospital and Chii begins to shake again. As Warren comms Chad and the two have a back and forth about telling him to please tell him it's the Tsivrixsh Armada or something, Chad tells him it is - and it's climbing up the side of the hospital wall. Being told to delay Legion while those inside move to rejoin the shuttle group, Cheryl leaps and tackles Legion, sending them both tumbling as they arrive.
While Cheryl catches herself before she lands by whipping a post, Darien begins to start up the shuttle to get everyone out of there. As he lifts off, Legion blows the roof up seconds later and shakes the shuttle around with them in it, leaving Megumi wondering how that thing has all their moves. As it jumps onto the shuttle, dragging Cheryl along, Chad manages to throw Cheryl inside the shuttle. Darien opts to fly the shuttle upside down, knocking people around with the tactic, and flies around the streets this way, then remembers to warn everyone what he is doing - too late.
As Chad battles Legion outside the shuttle, Erevis looks around and asks when they are, making Megumi narrow her eyes as Chad gets bashed around against the shuttle. As Chad puts something against Legion's chest, he mutters something about not again and is blown away while Cheryl crawls outside to whip Chad into the shuttle. As Terra gives the date, Erevis stares blankly out the shuttle hanger as the two come inside. Legion tries to chase them on foot, catching up, so Marcus suggests they go higher, which works - they escape Legion once again and Warren has them head for Erevis' house.
Along the way Erevis studies Megumi's face curiously while Chii claws at her own shoulder. Warren announces they have to pick up their children and as they fly along, Megumi notes they finally have time to get some questions answered, asking Erevis some things. Erevis tells them that thing is called Legion but she admits she does not remember much more than that, straining to think, her memories clearly jumbled, eyeing her house like it is something she did not expect to see again, Angela taking note of that. As they approach they call for the children - Ben, Aya, and Jennifer. Megumi gathers some clothes, having put the Rune Blade pieces in her sash and picks up their cat Siawase, as well as sake, when a van crashes into the shuttle. Inside the van is Ariel and Setsuna, apparently having escaped the prison on their own.
During all this Erevis walks through the house, studying it and running her hand through it all like she is re-learning it. Erevis admits she did not expect to see it again to Megumi, though she cannot recall why she thought that. As Erevis holds Siawase, petting him, when the house is destroyed by a dark matter attack in front of the group, with Terra muttering that is why. Erevis shields Siawase from the debris of the house as Legion lands in a kneeling position near the group. As it begins to demonstrate TK abilities, the group attacks and retreats for the shuttle. Erevis forms her emerald scythe and notes this thing has to be stopped, even as Terra saves Megumi from an attack and the others try to hammer it uselessly. While this is going on Darien tries to start the shuttle up with Angela's help.
Megumi's cry for Erevis distracts her to take a hit from Legion, bleeding from it, while Cheryl, Dias, and Terra do a trio attack. Marcus manages to damage his armor with the Ripple Blade as the shuttle starts up finally and Marcus calls for Megumi to get Erevis to the shuttle no matter what. Finally after all of Angela's attempts, Zephyr opens her eyes as the others do another combo attack and stuns him briefly. As Erevis obeys Megumi surprisingly and reteats for the shuttle, he opts to chase Terra around instead as she jumps up to grab the ramp; Cheryl pulls Terra up as Darien begins to fly up out of range as Dias drops a bowling ball on his head. As he tries to yank Megumi down with him, Terra, Ariel, and others pounce on him, and even Darien slams him into a building, leaving Legion behind for a third time.
While Erevis hugs onto Megumi tightly, Darien follows Warren's new directions to a wooded area outside Tokyo. Megumi wonders if she is dead in the future and Erevis seems confused at that statement, dropping it as the group notes they are getting tired of running and think they should get far away from Tokyo. As Cassandra and Setsuna hold each other, glad to be back together, Warren notes if they run away, they'll be hunted down slowly; Marcus agrees he rather fight then die running. Erevis confesses to Megumi as they all agree to fight that she is from a future point but cannot remember clearly all the details yet, leading to Megumi to ask what happened to the current Erevis; Erevis turns away at that question, perhaps remembering more than she lets on, and tells her that she is at another time point. Megumi then pulls her close and whispers to her, questioning her on the origins of the ring she has, stating that she gave it to her Erevis, and that she wears it as well, and Erevis remains vague on the details
She also announces she needs to leave and do something important, and feels like Legion will track her down, so the group should be fine. Warren notes he will remain in Tokyo and look into the conspiracy going on here with EarthGov, but Darien notes he is out - he'll follow Erevis, wherever she is going, feeling Tokyo is too hot. Zephyr eyes Chad, and opts to go with Erevis since her powers are out of whack lately. Angela decides to stick with Zephyr and Chad goes as well, taking Aya, making Warren a little sad. Warren leaves the shuttle for Erevis' group since he has a base nearby and his team steps out, Erevis looking nervous what Ariel's decision will be, but she opts to sit down on the shuttle with them. As Angela and Marcus say an awkward goodbye and Terra asks if they need a shuttle pilot meekly, the Erevis team prepares to head off with this new future Erevis while Warren's team prepares to stay and deal with EarthGov.
Warren, Marcus, Cassandra, Setsuna, Jennifer, SPoC, Cheryl, Chii, and Freyja, versus EarthGov in Tokyo, while Erevis, Megumi, Zephyr, Chad, Aya, Terra, Ariel, and Angela head for Los Angeles. Follow the adventures of Erevis in the new series:
Erevis the Progenitor Session 1
Session 267: A New Team, A New Mission
Warren brings the crew to his secret base, a shack in the woods. As they all collect themselves and take in the dust, Warren steps into the back room. Chii loudly practices her moves while most of the others recuperate and try to shut her up. SPoC climbs a tree to keep a lookout. Warren doesn't come out of the back for some time so Theron investigates and finds he left them all at the entrance to a hidden bunker.
They follow down to find a worn out old base without much going for it, but it's a step up from absolutely nothing. Warren then fill the team on a need to get into the government archives for evidence of the coup and to start exhonerating them. The team piles into a van and drives out to the city.
Once there, the team piles out to work on breaking into the building, leaving Jennifer in the van to watch it. They sneak in through an upper window out of sight of the guards and begin to work their way up to the archive room. It's about this time that the Van is lifted into the air and Jennifer leaps out to find Legion there, swinging the vehicle at her. She narrowly dodges but is soon caught up in the monster's grasp.
He begins to rant about the timeline, and how if it cannot be changed, then Jennifer will die there and now and no one will arrive on time to save her. He disintegrates her hand in dark energy and mocks her even as the police arrive and point their guns. Cassandra alerts the team of the Legion attack and most of them make it out of the building to come help, just as Cassandra strikes him down with a Railgun blast. Jennifer drops and rolls, but Legion quickly recovers and not only grabs her up again, but Setsuna who is trying to follow up an attack.
Cassandra blows some explosives on Legion's arm that Setsuna sets, blasting her free, and a sniper shot from SPoC frees Jennifer again, who is caught and brought to safety by Cassandra. The rest of the team makes it over to start lending in their own attacks, the police dumbfounded as to who they should be attacking at this point. March wolfs out but in the end only loses an arm as well for his efforts, and Warren, who follows up everyone with another van, starts extracting them to safety.
Stardate: 1 day later. 10-587.12.23
Patching up with an illegal doctor, the team is at least able to continue to live for now. They agree they need to lay low for a while and Warren seems to decide that the hidden bunker may be their best bet to keep out of sight and mind for a few weeks. Cassandra and Setsuna begin to solidify their relationship. Chii flirts more with Katrina while Marcus makes friends with a Squirrel. Warren attempts to Dad with Jennifer and the awkwardness is one for the annuals of history.
Session 268: The Christmas Spirit
The team arrives in a dark woods, getting out of the van and approaching a long abandoned bunker of the now deceased Venerator. As the team gets out to explore, Warren leads the refugee heroes inside and begins to get things set up. With it being the night before Christmas, everyone decides to settle down, picking bunks and working to get what systems they can online. A snowball fight breaks out among those who are spending the cleanup time outside and as expected, Marcus and Dias engineer it.
Stardate: A Minute Before Midnight
When most are asleep, except the eternally working like Warren and Theron, the snap of the generator going out is enough to wake most and have them stumble about in the dark. Warren sends Cheryl to check on people, finding Jennifer confused but alright in her room, and then hearing a shout from Dias, she finds him gone, moving on to Marcus' room, she's joined by others such as Theron and Cassandra on search to find a ghostly woman straddling Marcus and totally not giving him ghost sex. Freyja exorcises her with a ward and the lights come back on. Allowing all those disturbed to go to sleep, Jennifer having yet another reason to be traumatized by what she saw.
Stardate: 10-587.12.25
The team awakened and begins to exchange gifts as Myria arrives to help with the plot... or repair the base, but she insists probably that this will progress the story. It's Myria. Katrina hands out small symbolic gifts to everyone and Warren even gives his kid a present, a pair of earrings that once belonged to his fiance. Katrina and SPoC begin to bond while SPoC tries to avoid Jennifer, Katrina deciding after a bit of talking to her to teach SPoC how to socialize and act more like a person. Billy appears to give gifts to her favorite people such as Cassandra, Setsuna, and even Dias, though his is a gag gift.
Chii begins to bother Warren about how he's raising Jen and he encourages his psuedo-child to learn to ignore Chii. A squirrel arrives to share in the cheer and may or may not cause chaos and terror to reign that day. Billy spends the rest of the day pranking Marcus and Dias.
A meteorite crashes to the Earth not too far from the Bunker. Warren decides the Team should try and check it out before the authorities arrive. Piling into the van the group makes their way out to the site to find an odd looking piece of space rock buried in a crater. Cheryl, Marcus, Dias and Myria slide down into it to look closer while the rest keep their distance. Chii slides in after Cheryl just as the meteor glows and sends out a strange pulse of energy. The team looks on in shock as Cheryl slides into battle mode, Marcus goes Werewolf, Dias transforms into DarkHeart and Myria starts to act strange, breathing hard.
Warren quickly splits the team up and commands each of them to go after one of them, taking Myria for himself. Weirdly, he asks Jennifer to take on Cheryl, though this naturally means SPoC joins her as a bodyguard and sniper. Chii, Setsuna, and Katrina go after Marcus. After a rather confusing chase in which Chii finally shows she too was effected by the wave, Katrina is left to snap sense into Chii while Setsuna blasts Marcus back to his senses. He is thankfully snapped back to reality in time because this frees him up to leap into battle with the others.
Theron, Cassandra, and Freyja have their hands full taking on DarkHeart. In fact their chances seem almost impossible until a feral Marcus barrels into the possessed Dias and gets in close with him. With his help the three are able to turn the tide and pin him down long enough to snap some sense into him. Which is also a very good thing because the now empowered DarkHeart / Dias is able to also leap into battle to take on the most terrifying of the targets, a very pissed off Cheryl.
Cheryl, who needs three or more people fighting her to overwhelm her defenses, seems to have very good chances when faced with only Jennifer and SPoC. However the two are both surprisingly accurate shots (at least surprising with the teenage Jennifer) and more than willing to get in and fight dirty. Jennifer starts to show exactly what Warren has been teaching her when she employs a flash bomb which heavily slows and disorients Dragoons. She in fact ends up holding Cheryl in melee combat for a short time before DarkHeart suddenly arrives on scene, giving them the numbers they need to start winning.
Cheryl is however, only actually stopped when lured into fighting on the ice by Jennifer, she drops into the icy water and Jennifer leaps in to save her, dragging out a now calmed down Cheryl. Cold showers always work.
Which would have been a good idea for Warren, who solves the Myria problem in a very practical way. Her heat activated, Warren takes her in a manly fashion, rescuing her from the depths of lust and desire. (Totally.)
Later, the team has retreated to the bunker, more than a few of them needing to recover from wounds and some major bruising. Theron scolds Marcus and Dias for being extremely over the top wild boys. Myria seems back to her semi-crazy self. Chii has grown closer to Katrina during their ordeal. Cheryl decides she's going to teach Jennifer how to fight better. The team rests and readies for the next insane day in their lives.
The team awakened in a big empty room, not remembering the last 10 hours. They should probably question all of the heavy drinking they've been doing on this journey. However, they instead find the exit is sealed and the windows shuttered with metal like a really bad SAW ripoff. Warren takes more pills.
The group is soon informed they are in a death game. Warren finds a note seemingly written by a child, and the voice that greets them all is none other than Ghoul, who has given them an hour and a half to live, if they can escape his house of traps. They work their way through the house, Chii and Dias being taken out by exploding traps and the team nearly being run over flat with a ball of death. Warren's hands are pierced with stair spikes, but they mostly make it out of the house thanks to taking a plunge out the open second story window they find.
They get in the van which thankfully does not explode, and just when they think they can drive to safety the car itself seems to go wild, hitting the gas and taking out the breaks, Cassandra must drive them down busy streets till they get to another house where they find a vial claiming to be the cure. Outside, Warren seems to drop dead and while Jen and Myria rush to save him, Ghoul pops out of the van and starts to cut people.
Everything seems to be going to shit when they take down Ghoul and everything explodes! And the simulation ends, everyone coming out of the VR test with time to spare, for once.
The group relaxes afterwards, Jen trying to convince Dias and Marcus to train her, who brush her off. They fail to flirt with Cheryl, but Freyja makes great waves with Katrina.
With Raquel and Lilith having miraculously escaped off camera, the team meets in the Command Center, Warren informing the group that General Johnson was who set them up to be taken and there's possibilities that it was in tandem with General Steel. After sending Jennifer out of the room he informs the group that their next plan is to invade Johnson's home and get information out of him, and since they're already branded as criminals, they should feel free to do whatever they need to to get them.
Entry is simple, as Freyja makes the team "invisible" to get across the grounds, and therefore the team, appearing as adorably, cuddly kittens, crosses the yard. The team heads out shortly after and are able to get into the house which has a laughably small amount of security for the home of a man that croassed Warren. They soon have the guards out and the General tied to a chair. He is anything but helpful, and pretty racist and definitely Xenophobic, but seems to believe that the team really is guilty of everything.
Warren and SPoC, with assistance from Freya, torture him with gunshots, knives and even good old fashioned limb breaking to squeeze his boss' name out. When he doesn't relent Freyja stands in as Johnson's wife to get threatened and break him. He finally tells them that General Steel and the President were both behind it, they want Warren dead, as well as the team.
Upon returning to HQ, Jen can be found having her new hand worked on. Katrina also is there, informing them that Angela was shot and lost the babies. Warren's mood quickly darkens as he steps off to be alone, and Marcus reels from learning that his soon to be kids are dead. More than a few wonder what this will do to her, as they all know this new start was everything to her.
Warren fires Terra (who arrives from ETP Session 5) when she can't promise to follow orders. He sends her to go but she doesn't manage to leave without picking a fight and attacking Warren, Megumi and Katrina, the last of which personally kicks her out the door. SPoC inspects Jennifer's new hand and even gives it a free durability test, destroying the knife she uses to do so. Myria stalks Jen.
Things quickly begin to get weird though as small cute blue things appear yelling "Puu-Chuu!"... and firing Death Rays. One nearly takes Dias' manhood and Marcus' head, neither can decide which was the bigger loss. Chii shurikens one and in it's death it becomes ugly and deep voices, declaring it's horror. At this point everyone begins trying to kill them, except Jennifer and Myria, who are tunning away from a tentacle monster that's suddenly begun to flood the halls. Warren takes extreme joy in the murder of the fluffy things.
The group managed to cut down the tentacles and gather in the command center. As they do and Jennifer climbs out a vent to get there, they notice her school girl attire. Just before all the girls start getting a wardrobe change, which Cheryl decides she'd rather go naked than be subject to. Reports come in that Tokyo is under attack by magical girls and all sorts of weird anime. Seeing that as the source of their problems, they get the shuttle and head that way.
Anime cliches flood Tokyo's streets, a pop culture day of terror as treasured mascots and monsters from various shows attack. Dias is able to distract a good number of them by challenging them to a martial arts battle, the rules of anime seem to hold as a Goku like being focuses on him while an army of Catgirls flood the streets, consuming all innocent pedestrians in their path. Nearing the source the group moves towards a darkened house which seems to be where everything is coming from. Lilith blast the way in and is met with a return of the tentacles while Cassandra, Cheryl and Myria battle with magical girls in the streets.
Discovering however, that the tentacles avoid men like the plague, Warren and Theron are able to make their way forward into the house. Inside they find an emo looking boy with a sketchbook who draws a kitsune with a gattling gun to attack them. Knocking the sketchbook free seems to do little, but the team is able to take out the Kitsune and pin down the kid, who talks about a host and remainig pictures. Warren continues on to find a dark room filled with ink, at the center of which is a picture of Jennifer tied up and gagged somewhere. The boy back with the others holds up naother picture of Cassandra bound, and as she becomes bound he tries to escape only to be stomped by Cheryl.
Following the clues, Warren finds another bedroom and there a boy is sleeping. A strange box hovers over him. He also finds Jennifer bound there and quickly realizes the box is a bomb. He tosses the box out of a window after kicking through the illusion of a wall, the blast wakes the kid and it ends all of the attacking illusions. Warren whaps the kid and tells him to stop watching anime as he leads Jennifer out of the room. The group secures the emo copy of the boy, who seems to be a free entity now and secures his hands to prevent him from drawing anything else.
The group heads back to get drunk, high, and live in denial forever about that traumatic day.
Session 273: Darkness Begins, Light Ends
Cheryl is working on repairing a ship in the bunker's hangar as some of the team gathers around to hang out. Theron is there guiding with a manual and Jennifer is helping out with handing over tools. Cassandra attempts to avoid Myria who is on a mad modification spree. Warren enters the hangar and calls people to get boarded on his jet for a mission, telling Jennifer to stay behind.
Once in the air, he lets the team know that they're moving in to attempt to capture General Steel and turn the tables on the would be dictator. Attacking a convoy of cars, they begin to land on them and seek Steel out. Myria demonstates heretofor unseen skills at driving a car as she takes one over to drive herself. They eliminate car after car only to find that none of them in fact contain General Steel. Fighter Jets, well prepared, end up taking out Warren's jet and the team finds themselves trapped on the ground, the military moving in to take them out.
Meanwhile back at the base, Warren radios in asking who's available and Jennifer lets him know the rest of the team, all five total are on standby, using his name and acting like she's not related to him as he's instructed her. He walks in... but with a group of armed soldiers. They begin to seize the girls and handcuff them, Warren's demeanor changing quickly and after shooting Chii, he levels his gun on Jennifer, which lets them all know this is an imposter. Raquel after some conjoling puts on a distraction draining a guard and the girls begin to break free. Jennifer pulls a gun and Billy joins her in trying to stop the infiltration team. In the end, Billy is taken off with the others to flee while Jennifer is shot in the leg and captured. She reveals her relation to Warren in order to avoid immediate execution.
Back in Tokyo, Warren regroups the team under the cover of wreckage, but someone able to mimic the team's voices is taunting them, suggesting they surrender. Warren makes the call, they fight or die.
Session 274: And Ye Shall Fall into Darkness - 850th Session
Left with a warning and nothing but a tunnel ahead, Warren and the team move forward into the beleived danger zone. Almost immediately, Cassandra hits a trip wire and blows out her legs as a bomb goes off. Theron carries her on his back as they proceed further, soon being ambushed by a man with a gun who takes a shot at Warren's back. The team then faces off against this man, a ninja able to keep up with the best of them, however once they are able to join up and overwhelm him he makes a break for it and the team identifies him as Thomas Drake, one of those from then original group that was taken while the others were away.
Katrina wakes up in the back of a car with Dias, to her utter horror, and finds Myria driving. They are chased by a tank which Myria once again shows that she belongs in a high speed action movie by expertly driving them clear of danger. Somehow in the confusion, the tanks have shot each other out trying to get her and the three ride off to safety.
Those that ran into the forest find themselves stalked by soldiers, but thanks to a few well placed ripples and the three remembering they have superpowers, they're able to overwhelm the soldiers in time to see a ship taking off with the rest of the troops. They realize they must have Jennifer after doing a headcount, and begin to follow the ship.
Jennifer is interrogated by the man who posed as General Steel, a seeming mad man, who attempts to explain to her a framed version of Warren's actions as a criminal. Jennifer defends him, not looking all that impressed when he tries to scare and intimidate her, as only someone raised by Warren can.
Back with Warren's team, the group takes on barriers at the end of the tunnel, managing to overcome the soldiers but taking quite a bit of damage and shots to do so, as they come out of the tunnel they find themselves surrounded by Mechs, Tanks, and Soldiers. However, they also find speeding through the other barrieres, and many of the troops, a mad blue girl driving a car. The distraction gives the team time to split up and start fighting, and with Myria pulling several mechs and tanks off the team, odds begin to turn in their favor, right up until Scar in a ship above pushes a button, blasting down on the scene.
All is not lost however as a portal opens and the team is able to dive through to safety, narrowly avoiding to final defeat.
Assuming they are dead, Scar turns on Jennifer and readies to execute her when he's struck from behind by an Avenging Chii. Jennifer uses the moment to free herself from her cuffs and takes down the guard, the two begin to have a spat as they race out of the ship to freedom, winding up leaping from an open ramp straight out into the sky. As the team below begins to make their move and attack the remaining troops, they see Chii and Jennifer falling through the sky to their inevitable doom.
While the team valiantly takes on Mechs, an Angry Dark One and rogue soldiers, Jennifer and Chii continue falling to their deaths. As they in a panic try to figure out a way to live, Chii starts manuvering Jen to take the impact of the fall, and Jen straight faced turns them around for Chii to do so. Left with no other choice, Chii overextends her powers and creates an air pocket and water cushion to save them, the two taking heavy blows as they crater the ground, breaking bones but living.
Warren steps on Chii to check on his daughter, getting her up while the fight rages on behind them. Chii recovering enough to add to the fight as the others battle down a mech and the tentacles. However when the Dark One appears to be winning, Warren sets down his charge in a safe place and moves in, he launches himself at the Dark One and takes a stab through the chest, but only after managing to attach C4 to it's neck. As he lands it blows, killing the Dark One Giant.
Warren lays bleeding and a recovered Jennifer is joined by Chii trying to give him first aid. Warren however seems to be fading, and whispers something to Jennifer before handing her his gun, and passing out. Seemingly dead, Warren is left behind as the group loads up a tank and heads out to complete their mission, take down General Steel.
Sometime later, they arrive at the base which is on full alert. Fighting their way through tanks, mechs and more soldiers, the group makes a bloody fight to breach the base and succeeds, largely due to Myria's amazing driving skills once again. Here the team is made to face off against Steel's rear guard. Pope, Em and Drake mind controlled and made to fight them. The team takes them down, only knocking them out so they can be saved later, and fights on to Steel's office.
There they confront Steel, who feigns disinterest with them and offers them the chance to walk away and live free as long as they stop interfering. As he gets up to walk away however, Jennifer shoots his desk and warns she'll kill him if he doesn't stop. When he ignores her she readies to kill him, revealing she has orders directly from Warren to kill him. However, before she can, someone else shoots him, slaying the general who falls on top of her says it was her. It turns out to be Scar, laughing madly about how he's just made them true criminals and emboldened the military's alliance with his masters, the Dark Ones.
As they run they reveal that Warren and Katrina are alive and safe, being treated for their wounds, they make their escape through walls and narrowly avoid frying in the base when Scar's comandeered EarthGov spaceship blows it from Orbit. Cheryl then makes history by forming her mech without a pilot and helping everyone fly away. They reach their shuttle and head up to the ship to deal with Scar. Scar turns into a Dark One Monster and attempts to kill them as members of the team begin to disable and take out parts of the ship, soon having to evacuate, Chii and Cheryl managing to stop Scar and send him packing too. They make it out on a shuttle just in time to see the ship explode behind them, and you guessed it, Myria drove them to safety once more.
After escaping from the law, the group regroups at the hospital where all of those injured are being treated. Lilith and Raquel having gotten Warren and others there. Jennifer and Chii, as well as others injured after that, get quick treatment before they have to go. After Cheryl decks Lilith for risking Drake's life by removing his control device herself, she heads on to see Warren, Jennifer following. After finding him in a very critical condition, Cheryl makes the hard decision to move him along with Katrina, who is far more mobile.
Just as news about their crimes begins to get to the Hospital the team is on the move. Just as they secure Warren on the shuttle, Legion shows up to take his chances at altering events once again. Drake, somehow moving despite apparent brain death intervenes and begins to fight Legion, and as the group begins to take off to get out of dodge, Marcus and Dias show up to join Drake in the fight. The group brings the shuttle around and Billy gives Cassandra the Organ Grinder 3000 to fire at Legion. After handing them their own rears, Legion looks like he is about to win when he is forced back to the edge of the roof by Cassandra's shot.
As the team manages to get their injured saviors on the shuttle, they narrowly avoid death by a Legion beam and escape, Legion saying he will simply wait for them to reemerge. Dias and Marcus recount their adventure away from the group... which turns out entirely unhelpful as they can't remember anything except being swallowed by a black void. After... several failed attempts to get the two to be serious, they finally relate a dark void like graveyard where two powerful beings promised to take over their bodies as the two were corrupted. They of course refused this, they then escape when an unexpected rip in reality forms. After telling their tale, Cheryl gives Dias his kiss, then knees him in the balls.
Stardate: 10-588.2.1
Warren having mostly recovered, is able to take back his leadership position from a very relieved Cheryl who has relocated the team to an abandoned Janus Beta Facility. As those Ghost of Angela lingers over them all they gather for a meeting, where they decide to fight the Dark One infestation on their world despite the claims that EarthGov is working with them. The team then disengages to relax a little more before their next mission. Jennifer and Warren have a moment and Warren sets Jennifer on a path to train with each member of the team. Chii starts to get in closer with Cheryl while Cheryl boozes her way back to comfort. Marcus and Dias do their best not to think about consequences.
Session 277: Weapons of Destruction
Chii wakes after oversleeping, recovering from earlier events to find herself alone with Katrina. The two share a meal and bond, reavealing more about each other as they grow closer. Billy begins to experiment with Chii, in evil ways.
Stardate: 10-588.2.14
Warren sits in his new command center, the converted Beta Command Center now one of his usual spy reseach labs. As Katrina attempts to civilize a wild Chii, the rest of the group sits around waiting for Warren to plan out their next move. As he reviews new data, Jennifer goes to find people to train with, Dias and Marcus clown about, and Myria stalks Cassandra looking to tinker with her more. Warren calls in the team after a while to inform them that the Weapon Caesura has been spotted, assigning Cheryl to lead the team, they begin to move out to see if they can capture another enemy agent.
Cheryl leads the group into Mega City, following Warren's directions into a sewer. Here they encounter sewer zombies, a seemingly common occurance in Mega City. After they battle their way through, they are joined by a blade weilding Atlean named Darce who claims to be part of the resistance against the Dark Ones. He helps guide them to the abandoned V.I facility where they find evidence of the Weapon program, including broken and long unused creation tubes like the one Dias was found in. Raquel has flashbacks to her, Caesura and a third escaping this place together, just as they reach a crazed Caesura looking for her, only not seeing her for who she is. The team attempts to fight and overcome her without harming her, but Caesura is so lost in her dellusions she puts up quite a resistance. When they have her down, the systems warn that Weapon VIII is charging energy and unleashes Holy attacks on the group.
They have encountered Seraphim, Weapon VIII.
Session 278: Discarded Weapons
Just as Raquel and Caesura are beginning to find a middle ground, the wall explodes outward near them and another Weapon joins the fight. Facing off with them is a woman with glowing wings, she comes right for Dias, at first trying to seduce him, then outright drain him. She reveals she is weapon VIII, Seraphim, and she intends to have the weapons join her or be drained of their powers to fuel her. The group fights her off to some extend and tries to talk her down, but then she ups the lethal ante of the battle, even forcing Dias to assume his Blackheart form. He uses his power to keep her busy as Marcus and Darce force her into a hold and Cassandra gets a blast off right into her gut. Raquel attempst to take her spirit before she does but she resists and activates the base's self destruct.
The team manages to make it outside, with Chii and Raquel attempting last moment to save Seraphim, however she dies as she lived, and Raquel is only able to walk away having absorbed her spirit essence. This drives Caesure batty, and as she begins to go mad, Virulent steps onto the scene and poisons Chii with a power sapping virus. With that as a distraction, she takes Caesura and runs. The group is only able to flee, heading back to base with their tails between their legs and a lot of questions.
Warren consoles Cheryl about the mission failure and then goes to be alone, with Jennifer tagging along. After someone calls Warren and indicates there are multiple groups watching him, he has Darce called in to insert a chip to block his mind from Warren and a few others in order to maintain their agreement with the Atlean Underground. Myria does her best to help Chii, and Katrina tries some things as well. They manage to get rid of her fever but Chii's power has been severely deminished.
Session 279: The Truth Shall Set You Free
The group is apparently having a quiet day between missions. Katrina having gone out for a walk brings a cute furry creature into the base to keep as a pet while everyone else is starting their day. Cheryl is talking to Chii when the two start to say some harsh words to one another, and this only gets worse as Jennifer drops by and Cheryl and Jennifer find themselves lashing out with very mean things to say about each other. The bullied teenager flees to talk to her father. Marcus and Dias start talking to Katrina when Marcus stumbles over his words and his feelings about Katrina, but in saying some rather mean things about Angela he haphazardly turns her off to him and she suggests they spend some time apart.
The madness continues as everyone in the base begins to find they are speaking the truth to one another uncontrollably. The first to pick up on the weirdness is Jennifer who tries to test it on Warren, but because Warren is always pretty straight with her, it doesn't really confirm anything. As each person realizes what's going on, they begin to try and use the chance to get some truth out of those they're close to. Marcus and Dias have some strong bromance moments while Chii and Cheryl begin to reach an understanding with one another. Marcus and Dias end up saying some amazingly creepy things to Jennifer that messes with her inner security while she herself confesses that she's not really cared about such things until the point of being made aware of them.
As things wind down, Warren realizes the strange furry creature is behind everything and zaps it, but doesn't bother to tell everyone they're free of the effects. Letting them figure it out for themselves.
Another quiet day in the former Beta Manufacturing facility that the team calls home. Untill the missle strikes! Due to a confusion on her parts, Cassandra is simply unable to dodge the rocket that blows her apart. As the rest of the facility starts her day, something attacks Setsuna next, launching a cutting laser that takes her legs off as she tries to dodge around a corner. With two down and no infiltration alarms going off, Warren tries to figure out what's happening, when the mech attacking them strikes the base directly, he knows, a Beta is active and attacking the team. Taking injuries, the team leads the Beta out into the woods to avoid more damage.
Cheryl, without a pilot, forges a bond with Chii out of necessity and takes to the sky to battle the Beta. With the help of the rest of the team, some well placed fire arms and not any shortage of personal damage to everyone, the team eventually grounds the Beta and is able to take it out. They learn later that the Beta was an automated defense Beta with preprogrammed intelligence to destroy any unauthorized personell. It had laid dormant in the base for some time until restoring part of the place had given it a recharge. The team, and everyone, is made aware that Betas still exist out there, possibly buried and depowered like this one.
The team recuperates in the base as Warren decides whether or not to move them to a safer location.
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Session 282: The Unknown, Unseen Enemy
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Session 285: Hey, I'm Your Evil Duplicate
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Stardate: 10-588.3.18
Erevis Session 20 continues into:
Session 286: Eclipse - 875th Session
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*summaries by Death Star and Seraphna