but you need your rotten heart, your dazzling pain like diamond rings

Welcome to Dreadmorne Township.



Obviously, this town has seen better days.



It's not just the eels, there's bodies in the water, too.



The eels are getting bigger...



And what's with the flowers?



That water can't be good for them...unless...



This is why I came, though. I first heard about it on Twitter, and read through everything it asked for. I have a Maitreya body, and the Regalia body. I now own Happy Paw's Lynx ears, Sugarcult's Fennex legs just in case, and Cerberus' Kisa head.

It retails for L$599. A bit more than I intended to spend--way more than I intended with all the accessory parts--but...new forms sometimes require sacrifice, don't they?

At least this one did.



And of course, in the center of town...the maw from the deep. Perfect, really.

Dreadmorne runs until...some point?? Finding information on it is very, very thin on the ground right now? But I'll update this when I can.

alternate of alternate timestreams (part VI)

(Continued from part V.)

Justine jumped down from the mech to the street, then grinned, and climbed up the legs again to jump down a second time. Emilly heard things rattling in the office above. The blonde woman just shook her head, grimacing.

"It's a good thing the Governor is off on business, or else the jails might be full."

Justine tried to look chagrined. The crinkling of her eyes betrayed her inner glee.

The Duke simply shrugged. "For what, Doctor? Nothing has happened...no one's hurt..."

The dark-haired woman called up to the blonde as she headed towards the raised sidewalk. "Don't worry, Doc...wherever they ask me to go it can't be worse than L̸͎̠̼͑͗̏o̵͈̹͙̼̱̅̓̆̏͜š̸̛͈̗̞͍̝̉͐͂t̶̟̄̒̽̄̚ ̴̦̺͗́͂͝͝S̷̢̪̿h̵̲̦̾̾ǫ̶͎̞̳̔͂̋͒̚ŕ̴̠̱͒͊͘̕̕è̶̢̺̞͚͊͛̄̄͠s̶̲̱̳̃̕ͅ!"

That was another phrase that hurt, Emilly thought, putting a hand to her temple. Hiro briefly looked at her, then walked forward.

"No one's hurt," he repeated, then his voice lowered to a murmur. "Except me..."

Emilly casts a glance back at the blonde on the balcony, then back at Hiro. "Don't tempt her..."

The blonde, meanwhile, threw her arms up, sighing volubly. "Well, I am going to have to pick BULLETS out of the walls near the radio station...MINOR complication..."

"You don't want to go destroy killer clowns," Hiro muttered. Emilly peered at him again.

"Who doesn't?"

He just shook his head, and she sighed.

"Let's go see this painting," she said, following after them.

Hiro nodded once, decisively. "Mr. Companion Detective--"

She tilted her head at that. Detective? She thought he was a doctor.

"--Lady Orr--Duchess," he corrected, and again she tilted her head. Why had he said 'Lady' to begin with?

"--I'll summon a portal."

The dark-haired woman tilted her head now in puzzlement. "Not the painting first?"

He paused, blinking.

"Duke?" Emilly asked carefully. Down the street, Justine had finally finished packing the mech back into the small case.

"Wait for me!" she yelled, running towards them.

Hiro looked at her, then back at Emilly. "We need the painting?"

Emilly shrugged. "Dunno."

It didn't take them long to get to the weathered hotel the woman was apparently staying in. She unlocked the front door, heading up a very similar set of stairs to their office. She paused just before opening the door to her room.

"No judging," she said, and Emilly blinked.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

(Continued in part VII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLVI.)

A *click* as the comms opened, followed by Justine's voice. "To All Duchy Citizenry. I'm going to make an attempt to retrieve the eldritch Warhead. All assistance welcomed."

Laurence’s voice on the channel: "Message received, support is now on its way, over."

"Ruhroh," said the bard.

"Oh, no," said the Duchess. "Okay, I'll change."

"All units, report?" she heard Justine say, as she found an outfit and flew to Darktow, diving into the Dark Sea.

"Swift here," said Thomas.

"Alive and well," said Laurence. "All units accounted for."

"No work for me?"

That was a new voice. Emilly struggled to place it as she approached the site. Doctor...Anael? No. Azazel? No. Something...

"No work for me?" he said, and it clicked into place. Araphael! That was it!

She approached, seeing the flashes of light through the water. Right, there was still an active hostile. Thankfully, she had found a working weapon in the interim.

She heard Laurence laugh. "Don't sound too disappointed Doc, there are plenty of life forms here to study."

She approached, landing on the sea bottom, weapon held at the ready, and as soon as her feet were beneath her she started firing. And firing. And firing. Bolts of green sang through the dark waters, landing too far away for her to tell if she'd truly hit the remaining hostile--but the fact she wasn't getting shot back made her hopeful.

"If the Duchess isn't too busy blasting them to pieces," Laurence said, laughing.

"No, no, that was the tentacle star. We've alreeady examined one of those--up close. We don't need to capture another one."

"I'm actually relieved," said the doctor.

"Best be on guard," Laurence aded grimly.

"I think I will be fine, I am partially tentacle as well," the doctor added, and Emilly blinked. Partially what?

"All I know is, I'll be happy when we get this thing back to Tannhauser. The water right now tastes FOUL."

She watched a large flat carrier vehicle move through the waters as she walked towards the smoking husk of the last hostile.

"The sky truck seats three, if anyone else wants a ride," Justine said over the comm.

"Laurence? I can swim back up and meet you at the station?" she asked, watching Araphael climb into the back seats.

"Take the Duchess, I will secure the area," Laurence said.

"All right, then." She climbed onto the truck, watching the servos help Justine drag the eldritch thing to the back of the vehicle.

"No problem at all," Justine said. "I'm going to bring this to the hangar on level eight, and we can figure out what to do with it from there."

"Who know if there's anything else lurking down here," Laurence said darkly. She sighed, nodding.

"That's what worries me." She checked the map again, brow furrowing. "The Dark Sea ghost is still reading on the map, so be careful along the border, Laurence."

"Get back safe," he said.

Up they went, through layers of dark water, breaching into air. She coughed for a bit, converting back to breathing oxygen, and they went up, until the air became very thin. Justine touched a button and a bubble shield sprang up around the truck. It took a bit of jockeying, but finally, the cargo was in the hangar, they dismounted, and Justine flew off to park the sky truck.

"The cargo is secure in the classified hangar on deck eight," Justine said.

"Copy that," Laurence replied. "Were there any issues on the way back?"

"Not at all. Everything is five by five."

She grinned ruefully at the doctor, as the hangar doors closed, and they walked back into the station. "The one thing that went according to plan."

The doctor smiled back.

"Yes," said Laurence. "It was a nice, smooth operation."

Justine laughed. "Well, after how rough the first half of the operation was, we needed something to go right!"

"Too true!" She waved at the doctor at the lift, and went up to the command deck to leave a report for the Duke.

(Continued in part CLVIII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CLIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CLII.)

Eventually, they all had something that fit, at least save the Duchess. Who frowned at the round vintage pistol she held. She wasn't even sure it would fire underwater.



Briggs looked puzzled. She shrugged. "The one gun I KNOW I have is fairly useless--Derringer-sized palm pistol. But I have been rated to carry it."

Briggs looked dubious. She didn't blame him.



"Duchess, can you keep an eye on the scanners, please? Take us in, Briggs."



Emilly pulled out her pad, watching. "Readings are...confusing. I can pick out the ship parts. I think. But there's...organics down there? I thought Hiro said the crew was rescued?"

Justine mused, "The organics could be the hostiles, or the...well, it could be the cargo."

Laurence asked, "What exactly were they transporting down there?"

"We don't know," answered Emilly. "The cargo was classified."



Laurence offered, "So what if the threat and the cargo turn out to be the same thing? God only knows what they were transporting. What are our rules of engagement if that does turn out to be the case?"

"Our mission is to neutralize the hostiles and retrieve the cargo," Justine replied, somewhat unhelpfully.

"Understood."

STAN's vaguely mechanical voice came over the gunship's speakers. "Additional intel and new secondary objective. There appears to be one survivor still on the ship. Passenger was not on manifest."

Emilly rolled her eyes again. "Oh, great."



"Hold on, here we go!" And with that, the Varyag dove beneath the waves. The crash site was barely visible through the murky waters of Dark Sea when the ship came under fire. "Retreat, retreat! What now?"

"Forget the guns, we need someone with a nuke," offered the Duchess.

John replied grimly, "I got artillery."

"Is the Prometheus in the area?" Emilly asked.

"Yeah, that one," said the Chief. "Ask Hiro, it's got big orbital cannons on it."

Justine nodded. "Okay, Briggs, head to Gearhaven and set up the artillery. Laurence and I will get you coordinates."

Emilly looked up from the scanners, alarmed. "We have bigger problems. TOTS is moving."

A mechanical voice came from her pad. "Core Computer: Ten seconds to core failure. Core Computer: Nine..."

"Damn it, ship, slow down!" cried Emilly. She unbuckled and flung herself into the cargo hold, opening the ramp, following the out of control remnants of TOTS.

(Continued in part CLIV.)

and if you court this disaster, I'll point you home (part CL)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLIX.)

"We need to get TOTS out of this space. We can't lose the payload it brought back to an explosion now. It cost too much to acquire."

Hiro and Rusty leapt from the truck as soon as the hanger doors sealed behind them and they rushed to the bridge of TOTS, bringing the reactor core online and starting the pre-flight procedure. Hiro tried entering coordinates but found the automatic system unresponsive.



"I'm going to manual."

"Is that safe?" asked the Bard with his usual mien of worry.

"Nope. But it's what we've got." The TOTS began to move.

Behind them the Gate flashed, putting out a bubble of energy that was then sucked back in. The Gate went dark.

TOTS sped away from Tannhauser Gate Station, precious cargo and three members of the Gearhaven Court aboard. The Duke struggled to keep it under control as the descended towards the Dark Sea. Alarms began to sound in the ship.

Warning! Core safety limits exceeded! You have 120 seconds to return to safe operating limits before core failure!

"I'm going to fly us closer to Gearhaven and New Alexandria," said the Duke, wrestling with the ship's controls.

Inside the ship infirmary, the pod holding the Countess opened in response to the ship-wide alarms. Her eyes fluttered open and, hearing the shrill call of the klaxons, she hurried to the bridge. Hearing the door open, Hiro turned, spotting her. "Justine! Get strapped in!"

The Countess hurried to a station and buckled herself securely seconds before TOTS hit the water of the Dark Sea and plunged to the depths.

Warp error. FTL drive not responding.

The bridge went dark.

Core offline. Flight Systems inoperable. Auxiliary power activated.

Justine threw off her seatbelt and stumbled to the door, squinting for the emergency lights through the smoke. She tripped, going sprawling, then realised she'd tripped over Rusty. Grabbing him by the coat she pulled him clear of the bridge, searching frantically in the back for an emergency evac pod. She found one, partially inflated it, shoved Rusty in, then herself, before she looked back. She could see Hiro amid the flames still on the bridge.

"Hiro!! Get out of there!!"

30 seconds to core failure.

She pushed the evac pod out into open water, the partial inflation keeping them on the sea floor for now. A hatch opened on top of TOTS and a shuttle emerged, Hiro at the controls. It had barely cleared the crash site when the rear of the ship exploded.



"Get in," shouted Hiro, bringing the shuttle down beside Justine and Rusty.



Coughing, Rusty climbed in. "The cargo?"



Hiro shook his head grimly. "It's still down there. But there's no way we can get close to it now."



The shuttle raced away, barely ahead of the blast wave.

(Continued in part CLI.)

your confession means nothing (part V)

(Continued from part IV.)

The dark-haired woman smiled faintly. "My mother is not my creator. My creator...was someone else."

Emilly turned in the chair, puzzled. "Do you, ah...know your creator?"

The dark-haired woman's eyes flashed. Rage? Pain? Hard to tell.

"She was a horrid woman who ran a hotel...on a lost island that was geared only for killing...Both her daughters were made to aid in such."

"That does not sound pleasant. Or fun," Emilly murmured, then paused. But it did sound familiar...

The dark-haired woman frowned. "Mother found me when I escaped...helped me get past certain...dark things."

"That was kind of her," Emilly said, in a tone she hoped was reassuring.

The woman nodded. "And when my sister escaped she did the same for her...We both live here now."

"Mm," Emilly said. "I don't believe I've met your sister."

The dark-haired woman smiled. "I'm sorry to say, your husband may eat her."

"May--pardon??"

Hiro blinked at her, eyes wide.

She just giggled, shrugging. "Sorry, poor joke. She's modeled after a harpy."

Emilly looked from the woman, to the Duke, and back again, before the penny dropped. Oh. Bird. Cat. Got it.

Zack, meanwhile, knelt close to Justine, murmuring softly to her.

The woman nodded. "Cosette has the wings of a bird and legs of a bird, instead of normal appendages."

Justine looked up, then stared fixedly through the balcony slats at the building opposite theirs. "Everything okay out there?" she asked in a strained voice.

"I have a plant based diet," Hiro murmured, and Emilly's head whipped back towards him. He had a WHAT?!

"Is there any way to banish the remaining clown? Or...the visible clown, at least?" she finally said. One baffling thing at a time.

Justine made some gulping, hitched sound. "THERE'S STILL A CLOWN LOOSE?!"

"Oh, my gods...Hiro, she's going to have permanent trauma if we don't fix this!"

"Yes, that's what I was saying. There's one still out there," the woman in pink called up. Emilly sighed.

"You're not helping!"

Zack took Justine's arms suddnely, pulled her into a standing position, and wrapped her in a tight hug. "You are safe," he whispered, over and over.

Emilly rolled her eyes. This was obviously some new definition of 'safe'.

She turned back in time to see the Duke leap from the balcony.

"Well. That's one way to get down to street level, I suppose..."

The dark-haired woman sighed. "Well...I was hoping to ask Justine for help with the painting...But I'm afraid she may be too traumatized."

Justine squared her shoulders, stepping away from Zack. "Wait," she muttered. "I know what I need. I got this--"

Oh, no.

Emilly watched her walk resolutely towards the railing, then half-screamed, lunging from her chair. "Justine!" she cried out. She reached off the balcony as Justine launched towards street level, missing her by a good foot.

"Are you okay?"

Zack just sighed. "What is she up to, now?"

Justine staggered to her feet, seemingly uninjured from the jump, pulling out a small case. She threw it to the ground, stomping on a button. A tarnished, dark gold exoskeleton unfolded from the case. Justine swung into the pilot's seat, and they all heard the guns spin up. The shots were loud, and rapid.

The one clown remaining giggled again, and scampered up the street.

"THAT'S RIGHT," Justine yelled. "YOU BETTER RUN, CLOWN!"

The woman in pink tsked. "There's that contraption again. Don't damage any buildings! They have heavy mortgages on them!"

Justine stomped down the street in the mech.

"And haven't recouped their construction cost!"

The dark-haired woman just shook her head. "I should put her to work on the docks..."

Emilly stood, leaning over the railing again, careful not to support herself on the strutwork. "Justine! You have full permission to crush clowns! But JUST clowns, all right? Not actual people!"

That seemed to strike some dim memory, too. Of when Justine had...what? It involved the mech.

"GOOD LORD!" cried the blond. "How did she get that thing!?"

Emilly rubbed her forehead, groaning. "Ask Hiro."

"It's not ours," the dark-haired woman murmured. "I locked up all the island equipment after the last incident."

Zack frowned, now shouting over the railing as well. "She's not supposed to crush anything! Companions are not fighters! She should not be on the field risking her life!"

The clown seemed to disappear, or perhaps the rapid fire took it out. Emilly couldn't be sure. Justine whooped in victory.

The dark-haired woman looked confused. "Companions?"

"Mm," Emilly said, looking at Zack. "Companions are not fighters by design, dear. They're mediators, peacekeepers, diplomats on occasion, but not warriors."

Zack nodded at her words. Bella just looked more confused.

The platinum blonde sighed. "Justine--get out of that thing!"

"Em," Hiro suddenly called up. "Can you bring me an oat latte and a soy wrap from up there?"

What?

No, wait...this could work....another dim bell of memory went off. She rose from the table and walked into the office, calling over her shoulder. "I'll let Zack, or Kaneha, or Justine explain the Companions' Guild to you."

She heard Hiro sigh from street level. "This plant based diet is killing me," he murmured. "My doctor said..."

Which doctor? She thought Zack was the doctor. Was there another doctor? Wait, WHEN was Zack the doctor??

"Be right down, Hiro!" she called.

Hiro tensed, eyes narrowing, looking at the building to the right. "There is a rat next door," he whispered.

"Justine, get OUT of that thing!" the blonde cried.

Emilly heard the mech powering down. "UGH!" Justine yelled. "FINE!"

"I...rat..." Hiro whispered. "RAT..."

"The rat is normal," snapped the blonde. "That's the H̶̭͗̀̄ǫ̸͕̝̿̔̚͝t̴͚̩̮̑͆̅e̶̥̲̒ļ̸̰̬̩͂̈́͊͝ ̶͍̪̰̪̎D̸̻̝͐͛͜ȅ̷̞̩̥͕̅͗s̸͇̠̓͐͌͠ ̶̯̟̞͐̚F̸͖̹̿̀l̶̯͆ͅo̸̧̅ṟ̶̻͋̉͒̏e̸̔̊̏̀ͅs̸̳̖̦̾̑̃."

Emilly just shook her head, pulling a cup from the tea set on the table, murmuring as she pulled on the rim, creating a taller cup. Her words were soft, and slow, and dark, and she watched it fill with oat latte. She slid out a very small vial from the strap of her dress, briefly wondering what it was, then tipping itinto the drink. She made a stirring gesture with her finger, watching the liquid swirl. Then she carried it, and a tofu and spinach wrap, down to street level, handing both to the Duke.

He accepted them with a murmured thanks. "I do think we should return this watch to the Ringmaster..." he said after a sip.

She nodded. "Yes, I agree."

"B̸̤̺̫̦̼̹͊ȩ̴̼̮̦͉͇̙̌̈́̽͘͝l̴̡̛̛̜͂̑͂̈́ḽ̸̀ą̸͙̳͈̐̀̄̔͘, would you do it for us? We'll pay you--"

"Is that--a good idea?" she asked, her voice faint. The dark-haired woman shrugged.

"Get the painting off my wall, and I'll be happy to help. What do you need me to do?"

"We can't send Justine..."

"No," Emilly agreed. "Obviously not."

"I could go in the mech!" Justine said, swinging down from the pilot's seat. "And return the watch! AND STOMP ALL THE CLOWNS!"

Emilly watched Hiro drink, wondering when the medication would kick in. Then wondered what medication it was. She could almost remember...a hospital room, sun slanting through the bars, the Duke in--human form?--slumped on a narrow hospital bed. She was...doing...something...Did she have the watch?

"YOU need to stay away from mechs!" the blonde said, shaking her head vigorously.

"Yes," Emilly finally said, looking at the dark-haired woman. "The painting. We should attend to that, I think."

The dark-haired woman smiled brightly again, and gestured with a thumb over her shoulder. "It's this way."

(Continued in part VI.)

this ain't my goddamn cup of tears (part IV)

(Continued from part III.)

"This thing..." Hiro trailed off, staring into the distance. Emilly tried another incantation, sighing when it did nothing.

The woman at street level called up to the balcony. "D̷͖̦̟̮̦̬́̇̀́̈́̾̏͝o̶̻̝̱̤̞̞̠͎͚͑̅̔̎̇̿ͅç̸̪͓̭̳̩̪̺̒̈̿͆̕͘̚͝ͅ, Mom would love this--EEK--"

Emilly watched, vaguely horrified, as the clown on the street below danced forward, batting the gun out of the woman's grasp. Grinning.

"I know you would not tell her, B̸̛͙̮͍͌̆̾̈̽͗͆ḝ̴̘͖̙͕̳̳̮̀̂̏͠͝l̶̢̰̙̬̥͙͕̪̎̽̅͠l̶̛̬̪̗͇͂̄͐̀̋̀̈͆͜ą̵̦͓̫̌͠, and do you really think that would matter?"

It was getting easier to hear the bursts of distortion. That, or she was starting to lose her mind. Her brow furrowed, though, seeing the actions of the clown.

"My guns are useless!" the woman said, throwing the second aside in frustration.

"Oh, NO--"
Emilly exclaimed. Now she was worried--if her spellcraft couldn't banish them, and guns wouldn't work, then what was left? She snarled under her breath.

"He's so irritatingly smug."

The platinum-haired...doctor? Was she a...stepped forward, leaning over the balcony. "Okay, B̵͇̼̙͓͆͗̆̕̚͝͝è̴̮͛̀̈̂l̵͚̋̕͘̕ͅḷ̵̡͕͉̻̼͌͒̋̿ą̷̧̗̳̞͉̾̔̚͘, stand back, I am about to try soemthing--"

The dark-haired woman obligingly stepped back. "If I do the other thing, I'll get in trouble."

What other thing? That was less than helpful.

The woman in pink piped up from behind them, where she leaned against the doorway. "You can't kill illusions with bullets."

The dark-haired woman called up. "Illusions?"

Emilly frowned, looking from the scene on the street, to the woman in pink, and back again. Were they--just illusions?

"That's what psychotherapy is for," the woman said dismissively. "Though it doesn't work all that well."

"Oh, are they not real clowns?" Emilly asked. Then tilted her head. She had asked that before, hadn't she? When they were...where were they? Where had they been?

"Wait..."

The woman shrugged. "Best just to enjoy the show."

Emilly looked at the Duke, hearing someone pound up the stairs. Soon the dark-haired woman burst onto the balcony.

"Okay, I'm sorry, what are those things? I just put in enough bullets to kill a football team--"

Meanwhile, Emilly watched the Duke sit down at the small cafe table on the balcony. Pretty mosaic pattern, she thought. She took the seat next to him, one hand idly tracing the patterns. "When was the last time you took your medicine?" she murmured, then blinked. Why had she asked that?

The dark-haired woman looked at them. "May I ask you a question?"

Emilly looked up. "Of course. What is it?"

"What the heck are you people, and why is your husband calling for spirits of the East in Enochian?"

The woman in pink turned and walked back into the room. Emilly heard heels striking the stairs down. She saw the woman emerge thorugh the slats in the ornate iron railing. She walked up to the striped clown, poking it in the chest. It just grinned at her.

Emilly watched for a moment, then turned her attention to the dark-haired woman. "That is...rather a long story. How best to sum up...We're a shipping company," she began, then paused. Yes. They were a shipping company. That's what she'd told people, when they were...where?

Justine staggered out to the balcony, bracing one hand on the wall. "What's going on?" she whispered. "I think I passed out..."

Emilly looked, concerned, at Justine, then continued. "We mostly deal in...rare artifacts, spices, occasional objects of desire of various kinds...you know how it is."

Zack appeared behind Justine. "A shipping compagny that is specialized in interdimensionnal exchanges," he muttered.

"Did..." Justine swallowed. "Did someone say...'clown'?"

Hiro looked up at that. "Uh...Don't look down, Justine..."

Justine blanched.

Hiro leaned in, his paw covering her hand. "Em..."

"Hmm?"

"The Ringmaster...at the Dark Circus..."

Her attention was briefly drawn from Hiro, as the woman in pink walked up to the larger of the two clowns on the street, poking that one, too. It...giggled.

"He sent them," he whispered urgently.

Wait. Who sent who?

"The...Ringmaster?" she asked, tilting her head. "He's not supposed to be able to do that!"

Do what, she thought. What was he not supposed to be able to do?

Hiro leaned in closer, still whispering. "...and I think--I think he's after Justine..."

Justine screamed at that, running back into the office. "No no no no NO--"

Emilly blinked. "Why would he be--this doesn't make sense," she started.

The dark-haired woman looked at them. "All right...everything up to talking about a Dark Circus I understand...more than I like to admit...But why is this Ringmaster after Justine? And how dangerous is it going to be for the ȉ̶̡̢̱̜̪͍̠͕̫̺̪̮͛̔̍́̂̏͛͐ŝ̷̨̛͍̞͈̙̫͈̽͠ḷ̸̨̨͔͙͓̰͍͇̠͇̩̓̽̐̆͌̽̇̒̄͘a̴̢̨͈̫̯̰̝̮̞̒͂̌̈́̔̐͋̽̕͜͝ņ̵̠͖̭̲͉̦̣̫̲̠̼͑̓̎̈́͘d̸̛̻̪̖̘̭̲̱̳̭̭̭̀́̀̓͛̊͐̀͊͊̓̐̿̋̓?"

Oof. That burst was particularly bad. Emilly sighed. "Well, my Duke, that does move up the timetable, doesn't it? We have to find at least that portal...and close it."

Ah. Portals. Yes. She remembered that. They'd gone to...wherever this was...to investigate rifts that had appeared there, portals to...or from...other places. Hoping it would help them solve the problem of...of...

She blinked, sitting upright. Tannhauser Gate! She remembered now. The Rift they'd managed to stabilize, the station that they'd built in sections, as they needed them, to investigate. Yes. Okay. Some things were starting to come back.

"One more clown on the loose," the woman in pink called up from street level.

"Another one?" Emilly asked. Bella glanced down.

"I like clowns," she said slowly. "But I don't understand..."

"B̶͕̖̭̥̀͆̓̓́͜͝e̴̘̻͇͆̂̆̽̍͂l̸͎̪͇͍̫̣̗̅̈͠l̵͓͉̋͑̾̿͜a̶̧̤̹̹̰͉̳͊͂...we found an old castle," Hiro said slowly. "Which has many...elder...things..."

Meanwhile, the woman in pink nodded up at them. "Yes, there's one down by the radio station. Maybe looking for a better career."

Justine staggered out to the balcony again, seemed about to look down to the street, then slid down the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees, rocking.

"So there's three now?" Emilly asked. "But--wait, where did the striped one go?"

"And, well," Hiro continued, "I suspect...the Ringmaster is actually...Ń̵̴̷̷̵̷̵̸̴̷̡̡̡̧̢̢̛̛̛̠̹̥̞̻̤̺͓̱̦͕̱͖̙̗̯̰͍͈̝̜̥̲̭̲͔͎̣͓̤̣̬̥̞͍̮̝̩͆̾̀̊̓̇͒͑̈́͑́̐̀̌̉͗̍̿͌́̆͒͐̄̃̈́̇̀̓̊͆̏̿̇́̚͜͜͠͝ͅͅy̴̷̴̵̷̶̴̷̢̡̡̛̛͖̞̥̝̣̰̤͙̣̬͎̩̭͎̦͔̤͕̘̼̯͈̪͖̯̺̝͚̹͇͋͑̈́́̂̂̓̓̉̍͋̋̓̿̏̇͗̇̄̊͑̿̋̌̄̎́̚ä̶̶̷̵̵̸̸̸̴̷̴̶̷̸̶̴̸̧̨̛̛̠͈̥̝̤̙͚̦̹͚̫̱̰̯̘̖̼̼̠̗̥̺͉̥̤͇̹̦͈͉͉̠̙̹̳͇̪͔̗͖̥̼̟̭̖̯̮̻͙̳̤̂̔̈͐̎͊̒͑̃̉́͋͊͌̃̈́͋̋̉͂̏̈̈́̅̀̐͛̃͋̀̈͗̓͗́̀̑̋͐̿̋̈́́́̓̊̅̂́̉̿͘͘̕͘͜͜͝͝͝͝ͅr̷̵̵̴̷̶̷̷̵̸̷̢̛̞̝̟̖̲̞̝͕̠̝͍̹̰̱̦̣̮̖̪̟͖̰͔̹̟͙̤͓͎̙̬̅͋̊̌̈̿͆͆̆̈́̈́̌̐͋́̌̾̊̈́̋̇͐̓̿̓̈́͋̍̀̍́̃̈́̔̂͘̚̕̕͘̕̕͝͝͠ͅl̷̷̴̵̴̶̵̵̴̵̴̴̵̸̷̷̢̨̡̨̛̬͓̻̻̬̫͔̱͍̯̭͙̗̭̙̠̭͓̳̗̱̟͓͓̤͇͚͍͎̮̤̼̞̮̖͉͚̖̮͎̯̙̟͕̩̙͍͔̻̬̺̜̺̘͔͔͙̲̙͙̬͓̤̺̥̋̑̀̈̍̿̿͆̔̓͆̾̀́̽̔́̔̌́̃̒̋͗̍̅͌̇̊̃̐̍͐̀̈̈́̈́̌͒̈́͛̃̓̾͛́̀̔͐͑̍̈͒̾̎̊̂͒̚̕̚͘͜͝͠͠a̵̴̶̶̶̶̴̸̷̧̧̢̛̝͇̻͙͈̮̠̯̦̺̬͍̖̞͇͎͍̰̪̜̻͈̿̅̀̌̈́̏͛̐̓̍͒͌̊̓̒̀̐̋̍͗͋̀̕͘͜͝͝t̴̶̵̵̶̶̶͔͖͉͍̙͕͕̭̦̻̤̫͕͔̪͎̖̫̠̳̗͓̹͇̼͈͛̊̈́͌͛̓͌̃̏̔̈́͆̍͐̎̈́̐͝͠ͅḩ̴̴̸̶̸̶̵̷̶̴̵̴̵̴̢͓̯͇̳̫̣̠̲̝͚̳̭͙̬͙̰̼͉̗̘̜̲̘͉̩̙̟͎̗͎̞̳̹̝̞͇̫̳̹̪̥͕̺͖̩̻̪͔͇͉̼̝͕̺̘͇̠̽̈́͐̀̽̀̓̃̀̌̋͑́́͋͌̑̈̉͊̂̿̐͋̀̃̆̓̎̀͒́̓̑̈͛̂̿̔̑̇̋͘͜͠͝ͅơ̴̸̷̵̶̶̶̶̸̸̴̷̵̴̵̧̨̡̡̢̢̡̨̨̧̨̛̛̳̦̮͇̜̝̱̼̥̙͖̟̼̹̹̲̜̙̖͓̥̯͙̝̺̖͎̜̠̤̦͖̦̞̬͈̺̘͔̦̻͎̘͓͙͔̱̳̤͓̟̟̬̦͙̻̅̃́͊̀͋͗̄́͗̀̅̏̽̓̂̓͗̏̔̈͋̄̃̃̒͛̊̊̓͊̓̌̊̿̎̿̅̆̽̈̇̅̕̕̕͝͝͠͝͠͝ͅţ̶̷̵̷̵̸̵̴̸̶̶̴̨̢̡̧̡̛̤͉͇̰͍̼̭̜̘̬͔̝̗̜͕̪͎̼̘͈͉̫̱̗̻̼͍̪͉̠̖͇͎͍̳̮̟̥̲̣̋̓̈͛̊̓̈́͂̂͋̅̃́͂̎̃͐̏̂͌̐̏̾̔͛̾͋̂͗̎̉̿̽̎͂̓͌͛͒̿̊̎̋̾̿͊́̕̕̚̕͘͜͝͠͠͝ę̴̴̴̶̶̵̶̵̶̷̶̨̛̛̟͈̦̞̞̝̲̮̹̦̤̝̞̩͍̠͇̦̰̩̘̪͕̪̫͈̮̜̬̱͍̣͕̮̩̳̇̔́̈́̅̇͂͋͊̌͆̿̃̉͆̉̾̊̉͑̄͐̽̾̉͐̌̀̐͘̚̚̕͜͠͠͝ṕ̴̸̷̴̶̷̷̶̢̝̙͈̰͇̪̪̫̬̼̭̪̞̳̘͔͉̞̮̬̞̫̲̻͓̗̩̱̟̝͈͓͐̇̔̄̎̏̄̌̾̇̃́̎̀̂̑̇̊̎͑̋̍̊͗̿͊͌̈́̓̐̓͂͌̕͜͠͠͝..."

Emilly winced. That burst of sound had--hurt.

The dark-haired woman looked grim. "You know better than to speak the name of any elder god."

Emilly turned back to the Duke, all color drained from her face.

"Miss V̵̞̰͋͒̚͝ạ̴̘̲̺͒ͅl̶̫͎̮̩̠͛̄̔o̴̡̧̙͚̘̻̐̈́͗̆͛r̵̢͖̠̤̀͘i̸̢̯̥͒͒̾͠s̸̛͚̀̈́̍͒͒͝," Hiro began patiently. "We just met, but..."

"Hiro, you can't be serious!" Emilly said, her tone urgent. "We weren't looking for him! We were looking for--"

"There are a lot of things about us, you might not understand," Hiro finished, interrupting her.

Emilly looked at the others on the balcony. "...Something...else," she finally finished, weakly.

The dark-haired woman tilted her head. "I'm sorry, I'm being too nosy again, aren't I?"

"No, no," Hiro reassured her. "Your mother has been a great help..."

Emilly's head hurt. She couldn't parse this right now, there was too much dissonance. "All right all right all right," she said, shaking her head. "Clowns first, everything else--later."

"Duchess..." Hiro began. Emilly shook her head, waving her hands as if sweeping the thoughts away.

"No. First things first. Make sure they're all gone."

(Continued in part V.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CXLIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from CXLVIII.)



Hiro turned away from the station, taking them to the freighter named "The One That Says 'Bad [M*therf*cker]' On It", which had just returned that day with a highly classified payload. TOTS had a top of the line infirmary on it, which was fortunate, seeing as the station med bay was definitely not safe.

Hiro laid Justine on an infirmary bed, lowering the isolation lid as Rusty arrived.

"Bard," he said, glancing over his shoulder, then back to the control panel on the bed. "She's stabilizing."

Rusty looked on with concern. "What do we know so far?"

"She was in the black but shielded. Running out of oxygen. She should be okau, I think I got her in time."

Satisfied with the readouts on the bed, he turned to Rusty. "We need to get the thing off the station." Stepping to the door, he turned down the main corridor towards the shuttle pod bay. "Come with me."

"Here's the plan. We take the shuttle down to the station, go in with drones and take the thing out. Buckle up." Bringing the systems on the shuttle online, Hiro opened a channel to the station.

"STAN: Send all drones to level three."

"Acknowledged."

Hiro docked the shuttle at his private bay on Level 3 and the two of them rushed to the containment module. The alien inside the tank was awake, staring at them with one baleful yellow eye. The two of them could feel the influence of the creature as it tried to convince them to let it out, that they were being attacked again.



Knowing that it was all illusion, they fought against it, maneuvering the containment cell with the aid of the droids back aboard a truck.



"Make sure it's fastened down tight, we’re heading for the Gate."



The Gate was...occupied. Tentacles emerged from it, threatening the space around it.



Hiro piloted the space truck as close as he could get without becoming entangled. "Rusty, now! Push it off!"



The Bard scrambled to unhook the containment cell, pushing it off the back of the truck and towards the tentacles and the Gate. The tentacles wrapped around the pod, pulling it back through and the Gate began flickering and sparking. "Ohhhhh [f*ck]," said Hiro, turning the truck away from the Gate and putting the throttle down.

"STAN: We're heading back to TOTS. The Gate is going unstable. Shields up over the station!"

"Acknowledged."

(Continued in part CL.)

but I'm not convinced by your costume (part III)

(Contined from part II.)

The blonde woman sighed. "OK, B̸̨̧̜̬̜̮̘̈͑̍̂̂e̵̤͚̦̻͓͗͛̆̽͐̋̎̈́ĺ̵̛̥̼̣͚̪̇̽̐̕ͅḷ̵̨͉͓̗̻̜̞͗̆́ả̶̲͍̰̖̱̽̌, since you can give the whole version, let me summarize...B̸͖͎͔͕͕̅̀̔̄̄͝e̶͎͂͆̇̐͆̅̕l̷͍̟̏̇̀̀l̴̛̮͇̖͚̦͆͆͊͜͝ȧ̸̡̧̝̟̜̙̰͓̘͜ was a 'vessel' at one point." She looked at the dark-haired woman. "That a fair way to state it?"

Justine slowly crawled out from under the desk. "A vessel for...?"

The woman in pink shrugged. "I would not worry about it so much, Bella. Next thing you know these interesting folk will be telling you the undead walk the earth, that zombies and Vampires are real, and you'll be wary of the cemetery."

Emilly arched an eyebrow at 'interesting folk'.

The blonde woman nodded. "And there is a difference between being a lovely, stable vessel like she is now, and a CRACKED one."

Justine stared at the ground and muttered, nearly inaudibly. "Nothing good. No one is ever a 'vessel' for anything good..."

The dark-haired woman blinked. "A vessel for me, if that makes sense."

Hiro rubbed the back of his neck. "Vampires and zombies are real..."

Emilly sighed. "Well, it may not necessarily matter, if she was, and she hasn't sealed the gaps, so to speak, summoning and unsummoning spirits may affect her. That, I understand."

The woman in pink nodded. "See, just as I said."

Emilly shrugged. "Well, of course they are."

Hiro looked at her, nodding. "And they are least of your worries..."

The dark-haired woman smiled. "<̶̧̼̲̆͋͝b̶̮͚͎̟͐̒͆̋r̴̳̠͈̻͖̤̺͌̽͑̇̿̃͗ͅ ̵̧̡̡̛̥̖͚͇̳̏͗̒͂̚/̶̹̣̘̪͕̤̾̉̕̚͝>̶̤͍͘ has a very powerful ability that borders on magic...she doesn't see anything that can be described as beyond belief."

Emilly rubbed her ear. Was the distortion on certain words getting worse?

Justine nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes. I met the MOST polite vampire ever the other day..."

"Duke," Emilly said slowly. "Let me test my understanding. Did the clown arrive...before, or after, the door was opened?"

Justine blinked, her words trailing off. Emilly smiled tremulously at her. Hiro touched her arm, pulling her attention towards him.

"After," he said softly.

The dark-haired woman agreed, nodding rapidly. "After!"

Great...

"Would anyone like to come visit their neighbor for tea?" the dark-haired woman said.

There was an almost artificial brightness in her voice that was unnerving. She watched Hiro shrug.

"Most vampires are fine," he murmured.

She nodded, but was still concerned. "Even those with...vampiric tendencies."

"Posers!" said the woman in pink. "Ha!"

Hiro took out a tin of what looked like mints, until she peered closer. The pressed letters in the top of the tin said "EXTRA STRONG GARLIC MINTS". Emilly sighed and arched an eyebrow.

"Mint?" he asked calmly, holding them to the woman in pink, who just stared at him contemptuously and sniffed.

Meanwhile, Zack frowned. "Yes...They're fine until they show their true nature, which was to lure you in and suck you up until you die...that is their 'vision' of good."

"Not all of u--them!" Emilly protested. She watched as Hiro looked off into the distance.

"I need to get some air..."

"Well, don't wander too far off, Hiro," said the blonde.

Emilly watched Hiro move away. "He is...safe...at this point, to wander off?"

The dark-haired woman smiled again, brightly. "Well, I could use some help at home...I was hoping one of you would help. I--have a painting that need taken down, and I can't get it off the wall."

"Doc...Em...Girl who speaks Enochian," Hiro said, that odd, faraway tone in his voice again. Emilly looked around.

"Who speaks Enochian?"

"You need to see this," he finished, moving back to the balcony.

"Oh, what now..."

She joined him. She heard the dark-haired woman call after her.

"Don't look, Emilly!"

But of course she did, and saw two more clowns on the street below. She sighed.

"I've seen them before," she muttered. "Especially the fellow in stripes."

"B̴̦̜̯̋̋̏̚͠é̸̡̫̟͓̱̘̒͘͝͝l̷̢̗̩̯͍̼͚̄̊͌͝͝ļ̴̛͙̪̲̀͐͛̚͝a̷͓̲̩̲͉̭̠̽ translated...what I was speaking..."

"Oh, good for her!" Emilly replied.

"After the thing...spat me back out..."

"Spat you..." She peered at the Duke. "You're not telling me everything, I have a feeling.

The dark-haired woman--a native speaker of Enochian, or had she just memorized that one passage that Hiro quoted? So hard to tell--drew a weapon, then yelled up to the balcony. "Okay, WHAT ARE THESE THINGS?!"

Emilly reached out, concentrating, watching the light from the woman's weapon arc towards the clowns. She murmured the spell she used the last time they were here. Nothing...happened. Her eyes widened.

"Hiro! It's not working!"

"Justine...took the watch...it was something....I took..." Hiro mumbled.

"Yes, yes, I know," Emilly muttered, butr he wasn't done.

"...from the Ringmaster at the Dark Carnival..."

She sighed. She was losing him again. And...that set off a bell, somewhere...had she lost the Duke before? Where was that?

While she was struggling to remember, the blonde woman joined them on the balcony.

"Hiro...Duke...allow me to tell you something...you may be wlelcome here...but if H̷̺̹̜͇̱͈̋̅e̷̞͈̬͈̬̾̐̕l̸̢̙̗̝̯͉̄̈́̈́ę̵̨͈͖͎͇̤̔̒̚n̶̦͓̗̈́̈́ͅą̸̻̯̬̟̫̾̔̊̄ thinks you are a threat to the island, things can get unpleasant, and I am not even speaking of B̸̞͕̺͚̩̕͜ė̶̡̳͔͔͎̓̒̂͘l̶͍͓̞͙͙̻̀͐͠l̴̩͙̣̏̂͋̎͐͜a̷͎͒̆̆̆͑'s mother, who has an uncanny ability to know EVERYTHING!"

"Doctor," Hiro started.

The dark-haired woman called up from the street below. "And don't look at me, I'm not the one who tells her!"

(Continued in part IV.)

so, where is the Duke, exactly? (part CXLVII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from CXLVI.)



"Wait, I know this, I've...I...seen....have...." Emilly stumbled away from the creature, intoning, "Tsathoggua...Astaroth...Shub-Niggurath..." Panting, she slumped to the floor.



"Emilly, what is that--I've heard those names..." the poet asked. "What the hell is that? A message?"



"A warning. Hiro? Where are you??"



Hiro’s voice came from all around them. "Em...the alien...it is a telepath...maybe transdimensional."



Emilly rose into the air, surrounded by a purple energy haze. "Hi--ro--It's happening again..."



Rusty managed to get himself to a medical bed, weak from loss of blood, he looked up at Em in alarm. "This has happened before? Duchess! You are floating..."

(Continued in part CXLVIII.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CXLVIII)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLVII.)



Emilly shook herself free, shifted to a form with wings, and flew for help.



Hiro watched her fade, reaching for her weakly. "We have to get the thing off the station. [F*ck], we lost Emilly."



Rusty rolled over and got to his feet with difficulty and immediately found himself attacked by another monster. Desperately he struggled to get away from the monster, crawl off to the elevator and get out.



Hiro rose and followed him, catching up and putting a hand on his shoulder. "We have to get that thing off the station, but we have to find Justine."

"STAN: Locate Justine."

The voice came from the ceiling speakers. "Justine is outside of the station, nine meters south."

Hiro starts running, “What the [f*ck]?? Stan, I'm heading to my private hangar on Deck 8. Get my flyer ready."



Scanning outside the station, Hiro spotted Justine floating above the medical bay. Carefully lowering the flyer, he opened the hatch and tethered himself to the landing strut. Leaping from the flyer, Hiro grabbed Justine and pulled her into the flyer.



"I've got you," he said, kissing her. "Rusty, I have her. I'm going to get her to safety."

(Continued in part CXLIX.)

someone else will pay for your sins (part II)

(Roleplay entry. Not entirely connected to the main. Continued from part I.)

Emilly blinked rapidly. "NO funhouse! You want to take her to--NO!"

The dark-haired woman perked up. "Funhouse?"

Hiro just nodded. "We have to take the watch back."

Watch. She remembered something about the watch. Something about...a hospital? Getting Hiro of the hospital? Pocketing the watch and leaving the rest of his possessions, and taking him back to...to...where?

She looked at Hiro in consternation. "Why??" Then the penny dropped, and she hissed at him. "She's afraid of CLOWNS, and you want to take Justine to a place where the CLOWNS ARE ARMED?!"

Hiro nodded, seemingly oblivious to what she'd said. "If he knows I took it--"

"Sorry," said the woman. "I'm a bit childish, but--did you say funhouse?"

Zack, meanwhile, knelt and took Justine's chin gently. "Justine...breathe...look at me. Focus only on me..."

The dark-haired woman looked puzzled. Emilly just shook her head.

"Oh, my gods," she finally muttered. "This is a disaster."

Justine opened her mouth, and Emilly flinched at the sound from her. "f̶̗̼̒Ư̷͖̐̈́̈̃̎͜N̷̼̘̩̳͇̫͍͔̏̇̄̊ḩ̶̨̢͙̰̪͋̌̒́̆̅͋͝o̵̠͖̠͔̠̗̽U̴̟͍̩͌̑̐͐̐͊̋͝š̶͉̖̯̔͝ȩ̸̩͓̟̪̞̰̖̍͐̈́ ̷̤̹̯̹̦͂̋͌̉̎̒̒͝i̶̒͒͜S̵̢̹͕̠̮̼͔͐̊̏ ̴̛̥͇̩͎̃́̆̑̊ń̶̡̛̖̈́͋Ǫ̷̨͓̭͓̳̻̪̉͒͑̀T̷̙̤̘̗͂͒̃̓͒͝ ̸̨̩̱̳́͂́̏̀̏͑ḟ̶̠̟͍̬͈͗͆̏̽ͅỤ̷̥̭̩̔̓̌̄̓̍͝N̵͓͇̖͖̄," she intoned, trembling.

Dear GODS, what WAS that??

"We have to give it back!" Hiro thundered. "Or he will keep looking..."

Emilly nodded at Justine, watching her carefully. "Right. It's not fun. You're right."

The dark-haired woman looked on, confused.

Justine looked up, blinking. "The...watch. The watch? The one I found? What?"

Emilly nodded. "Yes, the watch you..." She paused. "Where did you find it? Exactly?"

Justine looked down, concerned. "I...don't know," she finally murmured. "I was...exploring...it was..." She trailed off, eyes going blank.

The platinum-haired woman rolled her eyes. "I will try to summarize, B̴͈̱̞̖́͂̚ę̴̛̳̤̳̘̓́͆͆͜͝l̸͎̯̱̇̉͛̾̾ͅḽ̸̲̆a̸̡͙̜͇̓̋--"

Emilly winced at the burst of sound again, only slightly less strident than what Justine had intoned.

"Certain foolish people like to play with artifacts...They brought it here, disaster ensued, the end--" She abandoned the polite tone she reserved for the woman, and gave Justine an Hiro a look that could freeze vodka.

Zack turned towards her and Hiro. "I will take care of Justine, while you take care of...this mess....It is my responsibility as her gege to make sure she is safe."

The dark-haired woman looked uneasy. "So...it's NOT safe for one like me here."

Emilly inhaled, chanting a minor spell under her breath, changing outfits to something closer to 1930's evening wear. It was far from era-perfect, but it should work for now.

"Good of you, Zack, thank you," she said. She looked at the platinum-haired woman. Who frowned.

"Let's just say Ḃ̴͙͇̺̑͗͘͜é̸̲͆̏̽͋̈͆̂l̶̜͓̬̝͒̆̿l̸̟͚͗a̸̡̖͉͕͈͎̹͑ is...allergic to some of this."

It was getting easier to deal with the bursts of discordant sounds. "Define safe," she asked cautiously.

Well....define safe...What is--" She paused. No. She wasn't up to trying to make those sounds herself. "--she allergic to?"

The dark-haired woman shifted, looking down. "Anything that tampers with spirits."

Emilly walked over to the the blonde, pocketing the vial she held out. "Anything that tampers with--you might need to be clearer than that?"

The woman stared at her.

"Banishing, you mean? Or summoning?"

The woman blinked. "Yes," she said softly.

"Oh..." Emilly thought that through. "Then...possibly."

The woman sighed. She looked at the blonde woman. "Am I going to have to shoot myself in the head again to explain? That gets annoying."

Emilly widened her eyes. "No no no no--"

The blonde shook her head vigorously. "No, don't, please."

Emilly agreed. "No dramatic gestures, I do believe we've had enough of those."

(Continued in part III.)

so, where is the Duke, anyway? (part CXLVI)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLV.)



Rusty laughed ruefully, slumping to the floor. "Is that all?" Lifting his hand from his abdomen, they could see blood seeping through his clothes.



Emilly knelt beside him, trying to stop the bleeding. "That's not enough?



Behind them, whatever had been holding Justine began to pulse widely and before they could react, appeared to lift her up to and through the ceiling where she disappeared.



"Where is Justine?" Rusty asked in a choked whisper.



"Gone." Emilly pulled out her pad, scanning the vicinity.



Before either of them had a chance to recover at all, the attacks renewed, and Hiro's body floated above the table, just as he regained consciousness. "Em..."

(Continued in part CXLVII.)

hold your breath and just wait (part I)

(Roleplay entry. Separate from the main chain. Part one of...?)

The Duchess was elsewhere when the pull came. Dressed in a black plastic skirt, a corset top in red and black, and neon blue earrings, she had a notepad out at the rave and she was talking to the kid who said he'd seen the walker in the woods.

"And that's when you dove under the bush?" she asked, and the world dissolved around her. When it resolved, she swayed a bit, placing her hand on a stained wooden wall. She frowned, looking around the room.

She recognized no one but the Duke, but...he didn't look...quite...right? He walked past her to a folding gated door, opened it, and left the room. She followed.

"Hiro?" she asked faintly, and heard a loud "HA!"

She walked away from the rest of the strangers standing around the room, and walked through the still-open door. She found herself on a narrow balcony with an ornate--steel? Iron? railing. She kept her distance, but there wasn't a lot of room to stay back from it. Bending forward, though, she saw two people on the ground. One she'd never seen before, a small woman, lithe in build, dark-haired, and the other one was--Justine? Was that Justine?

Why was Justine here?

The dark-haired woman took a knife from under her skirt, and threw it. She followed the trajectory and saw it hit the dark red nose of a clown. She blinked. Why was there a clown on whatever side street this was?

Hiro leaned over the railing, shouting. "Justine! Give it back!"

She blinked. Give what back?

Justine yelled and threw something shiny and round up towards the balcony. Hiro snatched it out of the air, sighing. "Justine..."

From the room behind her she heard muted voices. "...is going to have a bloody fit."

Another voice. "Clowns need psychiatric help more than killing. Though it is a tough call."

"I'm sorry!" Justine wailed. "It was pretty!"

Hiro just shook his head, flipping open the case with a clawed digit. She walked closer. It seemed to be some sort of timepiece, the size of his palm. It looked...familiar? He turned a dial on the watch...

...and she found herself on another stool next to a bar that looked cobbled together from abandoned doors and shelving pieces. She turned to her right, and there was another young man. She looked down. Her pen was glowing under the blacklight.

This was not the same rave.

She heard a click, and the balcony came into sharp, painfully bright focus. She fell to her knees, gasping.

"I can't be around too many types of magic!" the dark-haired woman called up from the street below. The Duchess reached out, trying to breathe, her hand closing around a bit of the balcony railing, and hissed at the sudden burn. Iron, then. She staggered upright, wide eyes turning to the Duke.

Hiro sighed. "Oh," he said softly. She narrowed her eyes. Justine screamed from the room behind her.
She turned, looking at the now-closed door into the room from the balcony. Wasn't Justine--she looked down at the street. What on earth--

Justine screamed again, and she threw the door open, running inside.

"Help," Hiro said softly, behind her. She blinked.

"Help with WHAT?" she cried.

"Uh...Justine opened the door..."

She peered at him, then into the room. There was a door, near dead center of the wall across from where she stood. It stood open. Darkness was all that was beyond the door. There was a disaffected pale-haired woman with heavy black glasses, dressed in vintage pink, tapping her foot. Justine was cowering under a table covered in--leaves? Herbs? There was a small possum's skull, several stones, and vials full of dark liquid. A woman with victory rolls in her platinum hair grimaced, hissing.

Hiro stepped forward, walking closer to the open door. "I guess I didn't lock up the watch from the circus..."

She blinked. Wait. That rang a bell. She thought for a moment.

"You always lock up the--"

"Just hocus-pocus," the woman in pink said. "No worries."

Justine screamed again. "I didn't know!"

Memories were slowly starting to coalesce. All right. The watch manipulated time. She remembered that. Did it pull the threads in straight lines? Because this didn't feel like the reality stream she was accustomed to.

The platinum-haired woman turned on her. "Your house guest made an unwelcome appearance. Give Hiro the same bath as last time--"

Last time? she thought, a tad hysterically.

"--though double the salt I gave you."

She blinked at the woman. The woman threw her hands up and stalked across the room.

She watched as a slim young man, dark hair bound up in a topknot, approached Justine, cowering under the desk. He leaned over, putting a hand on her arm. Wait. She knew him to. His name was...

"Justine," he said softly. "You...and I..." His words fell into inaudibility, then resumd. "Downstairs...outside..."

She nodded. "Probably wise..."

"It's all good but you--" Hiro started. Emilly blinked when the penny dropped.

"Wait. Who opened the door?!"

Justine remained crouched under the desk, seemingly too scared to move. This was a catastrophe.

"I think," Hiro began, then fell silent again. She narrowed her eyes at him.

The dark-haired woman looked confused, and worried, as she came through the archway on the far side of the room. "Will I have to worry much about you all unrooting me or being a direct hazard to my health?"

The Duchess blinked. "Unrooting you? You may have to define that?"

The woman just looked at her. She looked down at the woman's feet.

"Do you have roots?" she finally asked.

"I am still a little dis...disoriented..." Hiro murmured.

The woman shifted uncomfortably. "Perhaps another time...I think there is enough chaos...and I do not wish to be in a bad position while explaining."

"I don't think we shiould go to the funhouse," Hiro murmured. Her eyes flew wide. The FUNHOUSE?! But they'd taken that down, they'd sent the Circus far away, almost a year ago--

The platinum blonde looked at her. "Emilly, B̵͔̃́͛̆͛̚ȅ̶̛̤͍̅l̷̘̩̭̖̠̦͔̂̈́̏̂́̈́͝ḻ̸̹͓̍͂͒͂́̑͘ạ̵̢̣̗̠͍̇́͊͝ is not a mundane, and she can explain more later."

Emilly shook her head. That was almost like a burst of static in her head. What--"

"I do thei..." Hiro began, and she slowly turned her head to look at him. "Kwe needdd..."

Oh, gods, what now?

He stared fixedly at the door, whispering. "...to go to the funhouse..."

Oh no. NO no no no NO--

(Continued in part II.)

so, where is the Duke, exactly? (part CXLV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLIV.)



Emilly looks up. "Hmmm...there is something watching us."

Rusty looked up, spotting the floating green creature that appeared to be mostly eyeball.



Justine ducked, shooing the creature away from the Duke, and tending to him. The medical bay arrived as the same time as an alien apparition which began attacking the Bard.



"[F*ck]!" He shouted, running away.



"Em," Justine shouted from the Duke’s side, "help me get Hiro onto the bed, please?" The two of them wrestle the Duke's body up onto the table. Justine began maneuvering the bed out of the module, while Emilly returned to help Rusty.

"There's a lot of blood. I can't tell if it's Rusty's or Hiro's." Putting an arm around his waist, she helped drag him away from the alien. "Can you walk? Should Justine call another bed?"

Nodding, Rusty leaned heavily on her, following to the Medical Bay.

Once on medical level, the hover bed transported the Duke to an open bay. Before she could connect him to diagnostics, Justine found herself engulfed in a field of energy that threw her into the air. Emilly and Rusty arrived just in time to see her lifted and spun.



"Justine!"



"Emilly help!!!"



"I...can't move!"



Emilly struggled to free herself, dragging herself to Rusty and muttering, "This is...novel. Hiro's talking to something invisible, you've been wounded, Justine was wrapped up in tentacles, and I was pinned into the corner by....eyes."

(Continued in part CXLVI.)

so, where is the Duke, exactly? (part CXLIV)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXLIII.)

Emilly nodded slowly. "Yes..." she murmured, and heard the door iris open behind her.



Justine and Rusty walked into the containment pod.

"It is creepy," Hiro was saying. "Is this related to the mind flayers?"

Emilly tsked. "Oh, dear." Peering through the misted glass she added, "It could be..."

Justine stepped up to the box. "There are similarities between the creature and the visitors."

Emilly moved to the controls on the containment cell. "Fairly sure there are connects to sample the atmosphere without opening the cell, but not sure about taking physical samp--"



Her voice cut out as Hiro pulled out a gun and started shooting at the containment cell.

"Hiro!"

"Wait! No!" Justine wailed, ducking ricochets.

"Containment is solid," Hiro said, holstering his pistol, oblivious to the panic he'd just caused. He stepped up to the cell--and through the supposedly solid field.



"Ah, [f*ck]. Help."

Emilly and Justine ran to the cell, shouting. From inside, Hiro beat on the now-solid containment field.

Justine ran to the control panel and started mashing buttons. "Hiro!!!"



Inside the cell, Hiro was alternating between wrestling with the creature and trying to get out. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh...[f******k]...help."



Seeing an opportunity, Justine grabbed Hiro by the tail and pulled, getting him clear. Falling to the floor Hiro started throwing up, gasping for breath. "Uh, [f*ck]."

Emilly looked over at him. "Are--you--okay?"

"Uh I...uh...[f*ck]...I need to get to sick bay."



Speaking into her wrist com, Justine called for a hover bed from medical. "It's on its way. Hang in there, Hiro."

(Continued in part CXLV.)