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		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=32012</id>
		<title>Lost in Cyberspace</title>
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		<updated>2013-07-01T01:34:15Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Kori]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mazurek]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Cerris]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ryusho]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mickey]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Foxheart]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Smokie]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The communique had some basic directions to the Giza headquarters, and once anyone draws near the building, it is easy to see. A large pyramid logo on a three-story building is lit up by a neon GIZA sign. The first floor has another, smaller sign that says, &amp;quot;AWOL Bar and Grill&amp;quot;. Once you enter the first floor doors, the smell of food assaults you and you can see a small restaurant with a bar. It&#039;s mostly deserted save for a surly-looking bartender and a few agents with Giza uniforms. Once inside, you are directed to the second floor stairway and then to a meeting room at the end of the hall. Inside the room it is dimly lit, with only a single hanging light over the table. A figure in a heavy trench coat sits at the head, the tall-eared silhouette of Darkwyrm. He has a folder in front of him, fat with papers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has been to this place at least once before, but it has been a very long time since then.  The desire to visit his old friend actually comes just before the comms are inundated with the request from the company.  So... he goes and meets with the group in question.  The large Komodo with four arms lets himself be escorted, taking the time to enjoy the sights he can and ignoring the scents of all the food.  Distractions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Sometimes rats just need money. Sometimes to get that money, they have to moonlight about doing questionable things for questionable people. Not acting as a rep for mallkind today and actively avoiding the rare rat outside the walls this time around; Mickey is here incognito. Not a horribly clever disguise to pick. She&#039;s still a rather cool rat sporting thick, reflective aviator goggles that just barely hide the sign of a glow around its edges. At least she&#039;s not jingling. She arrives in the boardroom just after Mazurek, and even with her eyes covered the mirth on her face is clear. &amp;quot;Heeey there big guy. Been a bit,&amp;quot; she smirks and lingers beside. &amp;quot;Good to see a familiar face here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: It was always this deja vu with the little Coyote woman.  She swore she&#039;d done this all before.  All of it.  The AWOL bar, she&#039;d been to years ago, but today she felt like she&#039;d already been here on this day before, for the same purpose.  The sign, the room, that sexy bartender that she winks at.  Didn&#039;t she just do that the other day?  It must&#039;ve been one of those weird premonitory dreams that Coyotes get.  She went through teh hallway, up the stairs, to the waiting room, where the sexy jackal she knew waited.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: And then comes savagery. The shadow cast by the familiar to some form of a massive feathered serpent passes over the intended mustering grounds, occluding all but local street lighting briefly before it passes over and is gone.  Shortly there after a team of four military clad beings march up in a wedge formation behind what most would describe as a gaudy neon attention whore decorated in glowing piercings and various jewelry and regalia, all of which lights up at various moments or simply emits a constant scintillating radiance.  Once inside, the subordinates fan out and take attentive postures while a woman with lieutenant&#039;s ranking and a name tag marked &#039;Ripley&#039; speaks up.  &amp;quot;U.S. Hard Corps. Alpha contingent reporting to assist.&amp;quot;  The neon clown remains silent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly makes his way into the area slowly peering around slowly, as he was curious from hearing the call for others to do something at least, though he was slower to enter and find his way up there, as he probably got distracted from good smelling food for a moment, even though he wasn&#039;t hungry, just curious what the scent was actually, before he would head upstairs where he had been pointed peering into the room after everyone else had entered, as he then makes his way in quietly, to be off to one side, ,even if in some ways he is not as quiet as he tries to be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Glad you all could come.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says after clearing his throat. &amp;quot;I see some familiar faces and some others new. Nonetheless, you&#039;re all here, I&#039;m sure, to volunteer as subjects for our training room experiment. As such..&amp;quot;, he pauses as he opens his folder and passes a sheet of paper to each person. &amp;quot;This is a waiver that signifies you understand Giza holds no fault for problems that may occur during testing. It also outlines the safety precautions and your tidy sum. Please sign on the bottom and return them to me so we may get started. Also, any questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles to his old friend when he spots the Anubis, and even the incognito rat.  The latter he scoops up into his arms for a hug before shifting him to cradle in his double sets of arms, &amp;quot;Hello to you as well, Mickey.&amp;quot;  The lizard just might be the oddball of this group, wearing nothing at all.  When it comes time to sign the waivers, he does so without fuss, though he does need to borrow a writing tool.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: An X here, an X there!  So familiar.  She slides the paper back to the jackal, and gives him a wink, too.  Maybe he was in on it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would of thought Cerris and entourage were their hosts at first from the way they stomped on in. &amp;quot;Assist?&amp;quot; She headtilts as she happily accepts her new perch, then watches as the others file on in. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s say, imperfect world, what sort of problems would ya expect?&amp;quot; she asks as she scans the papers, then uses Maz&#039;s broad front to scribble a quick scribble. &amp;quot;We talkin&#039;, Total-Recall mental freakout? Or Star Trek Holodeck malfunction?&amp;quot; She hands it back, adjusts her goggles, then pats the lizard. Least there were friends. And money.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: The military group, for their part discuss the document they are signing in hushed tones.  The Lt. conferring with the glowing individual amongst them before Cerris, the man with the ability to stupid sparkle vamps sim dim and lackluster in comparisson, speaks up. &amp;quot;Gimme a sec here champ, I know a few people over in Zephyr that have been looking for a place to sink some extra funding so they don&#039;t lose it next cycle.  I think this here playground sandbox of your&#039;s will be just up their alley.&amp;quot;  Without waiting for a reply, the rest of the soldiers sign and return the documents to the Lt. before she brings them all up, Cerris having stepped off to the side to make a quick radio chat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he reads over it slightly, though he was just glancing for anything that might look like annoying small print, but he is not much of one for being skilled with...legaleeze or whatever they want to call The party of the first part and second part declare the party of the third part, not in conjunction with the fourth part or..whatever the crap it is called, as he rumbles and then slowly would shift to begin to sign it after trying to vaguely decipher any ..whatever you want to call that doubletalk...but since mazurek didn&#039;t bother much with it, he feels no real reason to worry too much since he does help Mazurek with another bit of work he does, though the dragon does at least wear &#039;clothes&#039; though they are definately tailored to fit his rather....large form, and..well large forms that he has on his large form.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori took hir time wandering hir way here. So saying shi was late to the party is very accurate. Even when catching up with the group shi took hir time in reading the papers from top to bottom (excluding fine print too small to read), slowing hir down further. This rounded up to a slow walk around the halls following clues and voices in a passive manner while shi was focused on the paperwork. &amp;quot;Sounds like Total Recall... But they have quality assurance groups for pre-testing before making something public.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm glares as the soldiers fan out in his meeting room. &amp;quot;I can assure you, there are numerous safety protocols in place, and I will be monitoring the program the entire time.&amp;quot;, he says to Mickey without taking his gaze away. He gathers up the signed papers and stuffs them back into the folder. &amp;quot;Your posse can stay in here.&amp;quot;, he says to Cerris, not bothering to note if he is listening or not. &amp;quot;The test is not calibrated for that many personel.&amp;quot; He gets up out of his chair and nods to the group before gesturing to the hallway and stepping out into it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is, assumingly, still being carried by Maz as they all files out. &amp;quot;Oh, /you/ personally? Well that calms my fears..&amp;quot; I mean, she looks like she could toss Dark pretty far trustworthy wise. &amp;quot;S&#039;long as there&#039;s no mention of derezzing, I guess we&#039;ll be alright..&amp;quot; she mulls, then watches the others to judge their reaction.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie stands up an follows.  She&#039;s oggling the Jackal mostly, but keeps glancing over at Cerris.  Is that Cerris?  Whatever.  She can&#039;t contain this huge toothy grin on her face as her claws click on the tile.  Surrounded by all these sexy people...  Damn.  At least one of them she was sure of she knew, but she was still trying to figure out what she remembered the Jackal from.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris snorts when he hears the news, but that just means that he switches the radio conversation over to the L-T to handle, seems she was about to have some free time on her hands while he was off getting potentially skull fucked. &amp;quot;Posse, ha!  That makes me sound like some sort of Strange Modern Cowboy...How...Needless.&amp;quot;  Now free from his call though he is finally able to turn his attention upon Smokie and to a lesser degree, Mickey and her...steed.  Mickey would be no problem, maybe a bit sassy, but that is often fun...Smokie on the other hand...that smile of her&#039;s made him worry.  Chances were, she&#039;d end up over his knee at the very least by the end of this game.  All the same, there he was, bringing light and levity to the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks over, &amp;quot;Well, I mean, if Mazurek Trusts you, I suppose it should be alright, I mean, He seems to be a decent judge of character for the most part from what I have seen.&amp;quot; he says softly, nodding a bit as he adjusts his position and rumbles in thought, but looks around a bit more in thought at the others who were going to go into this as well&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm shakes his head. &amp;quot;No. We have special headbands you will wear. And the room is programmed with sensors and projectors and all sorts of other stuff I hardly understand build into it.&amp;quot; Darkwyrm says. He pulls open the metal-bound wooden door labeled &amp;quot;Proving Grounds&amp;quot; and ushers everyone inside. The large, dim room is massive, taking up more than half of this floor of the building. Plain white walls extend as far as the darkness allows you to see them. Behind you, a control panel and a shelf are all that is on the wall besides the exit. On the shelf rests several interesting metal headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone take a neural interface and put it on.&amp;quot;, the jackal instructs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;He&#039;s awesome,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters in agreement to Ryu as she enjoys the break from always scurrying about. Not biased in one bit. The rodent turns her hidden sight over to Cerris when she feels that Glare on her. It&#039;s easy to imagine her winking behind it. &amp;quot;Awesome, too,&amp;quot; she adds when Darkwyrm mentions just how much he understood. She slips off her ride after a cheek kiss of thanks to take up a headset and examine it closely. &amp;quot;Fancy,&amp;quot; she remarks as she replaces her goggles, then turns to show it off. Bright blue eyes glow fierce. &amp;quot;S&#039;how it look? Could use some style..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The rat and the lizard she looked toward, but took no interest in their conversation.  Her grin did not leave as she sniffed the air in the room, walking around the group there, her tail swaying.  Eventually the jackal&#039;s voice stole the coyote&#039;s interest, and she went to him to take her headset.  She looked at it, and laughed a little.  &amp;quot;Trying to show up the Prommies and their lightbulb sombreros, eh?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris, for his part simply studies the headset long enough to make certain he doesn&#039;t understand it much more than his does quantum physics or medical biology and thus simply cavemans his way through placing the thing on his head.  This of course requires he observe others and mimic their actions before finally grunting his relief.  Then he settles in to splitting his attention between their host and the coyote.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho quietly takes a look at one of the bands, as he holds it, looking it over, just partly checking out and making sure what side seems to be -up- then carefully putting it on when he could chuckling, &amp;quot;This almst feels a little silly to wear..reminds me of some sort of...old...show or comic book thing one might see somewhere...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Very good.&amp;quot;, Dark says with a nod as he watches the volunteers put on the headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone stay in here and mil about, I&#039;m going to excuse myself to the control room.&amp;quot; With a short bow, he heads out the door and closes it behind him. About a minute later, a speaker crackles on and you can hear his voice again. &amp;quot;Alright, everyone just stand still while I calibrate this..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie had been standing still the whole time, arms crossed, hips cocked.  She occasionally shifted her weight to the other paw.  A sigh.  Damn.  She thought she caught Cerris looking at her a few times, but did not say anything, or otherwise react except to look away.  She was being fairly unsociable this time, she realized.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek had remained the silent giant of a lizard throughout the introductions following the signing of the documents.  When Mickey goes to slip off of him he squats to futher help her do so and he grabs a headband of his own.  Putting it on as instructed he turns to Ryusho and smiles, &amp;quot;I trust Darkwyrm for the simple reason that he is a very close friend, and at one point my mate.  He sired a few children with me, too.  Some you&#039;ve seen during the days you&#039;re around the Reservation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Hey really?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after she finishes fine-tuning the headgear. She&#039;s a rather good source of added light as her searchlight-gaze sweeps about; the visor causing a gaussian blur that softens the light, but makes her look something strange. &amp;quot;That actually does help a bit. Must be some pretty awesome kids if they&#039;re there,&amp;quot; she hums as she chills with the group, then does her best to freeze. &amp;quot;Bet I get high score,&amp;quot; she chitters under her breath in jest. Really, she had no clue if there would even be such a thing..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris&#039;s blazing gaze can&#039;t help be felt by the coyote, it practically spotlights her local or at least it does as long as the lighting remains low.  Tracing streamers of light with every movement of his hands, he halts about halfway to his intercept of Smokie, remaining still as the host requests.  Each moment ticking through another spectrum of light his hair goes through in it&#039;s carefully braided state.  A million things lance through his head to lash out at the coyote with, most filled with bile, spite and outrage.  But one of the few others wins through and so he says in a low tone that he is certain those...that sharp ear will pick up. &amp;quot;She asked about you, Rouge was pleased with your visit.&amp;quot;  That said, he grunts again when Mickey makes a challenge of things, of course he rises to the occassion, he&#039;s the manliest of men afterall.  &amp;quot;Little lady, if you beat me, I will owe you an IOU for anything you want.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit towards Mazurek, &amp;quot;Well, I may have some on my one someday, though I may need to figure out and eventually return myself to a..more reasonable size as some would say, or find one who would like be the mate of one as...rather large as I am...&amp;quot; he says with a chuckle &amp;quot;But that is for a future time I know, but this I feel will be interesting at the very least, a new experience.&amp;quot; He says as he waits, glancing around the room while they wait&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori continues to examine the headband, ignoring most of the people chattering or goofing of. This is science. Science needs some seriousness. ... Okay not everyone was goofing off, but it was a bit too chatty. &amp;quot;I guess going human would help with these contacts. We&#039;ll see how it goes.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s mumbling to hirself while fitting it around hir head. &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to want to see our kids after this, Dark. So.. Now what. Any chairs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;No chairs.&amp;quot;, the voice in the speaker crackles. &amp;quot;There&#039;s gonna be a bright flash of light, and you&#039;ll then be &#039;transported&#039; to the training grounds. Just.. a military-style obstacle course to begin with. Just a moment.. starting it up..&amp;quot; About a minute later, the room humms with hidden machinery behind the walls and the dim light flicks and finally go out, leaving the room completely dark. Moments later, the entire room flashes white... but then it flickers again. The room&#039;s lighting seems to start doing some sort of strobe effect. Then strobe turns to static, like you would see on a television set with no input. Then, it stops. Everything is quiet for a moment. You don&#039;t know when it appeared, but you find yourself in a city. Wait, didn&#039;t he say military obstacle course? Further investigation reveals that this city looks much like pre-promethean Fairhaven. The buildings are intact, there are people walking down the sidewalks, though they are all turned away so you cannot see their faces. The sky is.. wait.. The sky is NOT normal. The sky is the same static you saw, but there is a black crack down the middle of it, as if it were made of glass. The lighting in the entire city seems off too.. like the sun were giving off grey light instead of yellow-white. You are all standing in a group in the middle of a street next to each other, and the room you were previously in is nowhere in sight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head to gaze up to where the nearest speaker should be to him, &amp;quot;Military style course, eh?  Anything like what I was in when I helped you test your holographic projectors quite a number of months ago?&amp;quot;  Has it been a year?  Two?  He doesn&#039;t really recall the amount of time, but it works.  He flinches as the scenery changes, groaning softly from all the distortions and such.  When the changes are all finished he can&#039;t help but look around in amazement, &amp;quot;Wow.  This is even better than before.  Where exactly is the training ground from where we currently are?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie seems to stand still, complacent, though her  tail crooks to the left and she sniffs to the right a little at the first change in scenery.  Not so bad, that.  It was the second one that stunned her, though.  The sky was fake, and there were no smells, but in the rest...  What?  WHAT?  Oh lord...  There was a sight she never thought she&#039;d see.  Pre-Pday city...  The coyote almost dropped to her knees, as she becomes visibly...  upset?  She steps back a little, her arms come uncrossed and her knees bend.  What is this?  She knows in her mind it&#039;s fake, but it&#039;s so shocking...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Mickey flashes a thumbs up, but quickly wishes she took it away. The rat is a user. She&#039;s no stranger to weird sights, sounds, or surreal events. Hell, she&#039;s invented her own color once on an acid trip. She named it Gruave. Sensory overload is quite a bitch however, and she&#039;s rather sure the dull pain in her jaw is her clenching her teeth as she fights the urge to seek a point to fix herself. &amp;quot;Baad trip, man,&amp;quot; she grumbles when finally &#039;normal&#039; seems to return..then she likewise takes in the sight with the others. &amp;quot;Funny..I think there&#039;s a few skybox issues,&amp;quot; she says. Her attention is upward, not on the figures around them. &amp;quot;And it doesn&#039;t look much a course..&amp;quot; Shit. Pretty sure this is how the Holodeck always started to go whackers..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he looks away from Smokie, watching the other reactions around him to verify that he is not suffering alone, that this time everyone else was in on the weirdness.  Reassured he wasn&#039;t about to suffer a personality break he weathers the storm, though occasionally looking around to be certain nothing was going to melt out of the environment to drag him into the ground.  &amp;quot;This is not an obstacle course and the sky appears damaged...Operator, are you aware of our current urban setting?&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Yes he is speaking to no one in general, expecting a response, doesn&#039;t everyone?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as he looks around &amp;quot;Uhh..this..doesn&#039;t look like a..Military..training course.....this looks more like a city to me..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts slowly, scratching his head as he glances around, and turns around in a circle slowly to get a better look of the area before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;Oh...You have done this kind of stuff before? So I guess maybe we are not supposed to be right on top of it....maybe?&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes disoriented by the strobes of static. This persisted until it settled down and hir new environment stopped looking fuzzy. &amp;quot;... So is this what the city looked like? Kinda makes me miss the college campus back home. Wonder if its fallen to ruin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: In response to Cerris&#039; inquiries, there&#039;s a garbled, distorted sound that seems to come from everywhere. It sounds like a voice.,. but it&#039;s impossible to make out. Seconds later, however, it cuts out abruptly with some static noises.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek can&#039;t help but burst out with some laughter upon realizing something, &amp;quot;Well, it seems that the program has malfunctioned.  Not only that, but we can&#039;t get in touch with the programmer.&amp;quot;  He looks to the others and shrugs, &amp;quot;So...  Who&#039;s up for some exploring?&amp;quot;  Seems someone isn&#039;t paying attention to the others&#039; distress, and he begins to wander down the street.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances down and around. Smokie&#039;s sight sends up the next red flag, and the voice confirms it. &amp;quot;Wh-wait. Is that..ok? Jus&#039;..wandering off like that?&amp;quot; She takes a few steps. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think the &#039;yote is alright.&amp;quot; Her hands go to her pockets as she wonders. Were her smokes here? She could use one. Suddenly the &#039;game&#039; attitude was fading away and replaced with mild worry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The panicking coyote stands in the middle of the road, staring in awe and terror at all the people.  They had to be fake but she was frightened at the prospect.  She was trying to repress her memories.  This kind of stuff she hadn&#039;t counted on.  She thought about all of the things she&#039;d tried to forget, the memories in her brain of a life passed.  She tried to get a grip of herself.  Shaking.   Ears pinned, tail &#039;tween her legs, she gritted her teeth.  Just seeing a city not in ruins, it confronted her very sense of self, and made her wonder if her whole person was just a charade.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Oh thank god her smoking tin. The rat quickly snaps it open, selects one of her fattest spliffs, and quickly sparks it up to clear her nerves. It&#039;s abnormal just how long she holds the smoke in before finally expelling it as one thick cloud. &amp;quot;Ok, ok..let&#039;s chill.&amp;quot; She&#039;s saying it for Smokie&#039;s sake, not her own. Honest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he listens to the sounds of the digital equivalent of their evac copter being shot down just outside of the landing zone.  &amp;quot;Okay, this extraction point is shot, let&#039;s move out!  This is a video game of some sort right?  If it&#039;s not on some sort of timer, then it should end if we complete it or crash it.  So let&#039;s play along until we can reestablish contact with our operator and get a new LZ out of here.  Hey, don&#039;t wander alone!  Group up, we have no way of maintaining ccomms once separated!&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Crazy as it was, he was already in motion to gather up Smokie, his arms sweeping the yote up to shoulder level to be carried either seated or draped across them, he didn&#039;t care, but from there he was heading to get Mickey and start exploring.  &amp;quot;Come on pretty hippy, let&#039;s go see the sights.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, as he looks around slowly, &amp;quot;SO..uhm.....That doesn&#039;t seem like the best situation....that didn&#039;t sound good either..&amp;quot; he says softl as he slowly shifts from side to side....it has been ...a long time since he has seen anything like this..and had gotten quite used to this as it had become and..in one way enjoyed it more in some ways, but..he slowly rubs his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well...&amp;quot; He says softly as he scratches his head a bit more then notices Mazurek wandering off, &amp;quot;HEy..hey! Now wait a moment...&amp;quot; he says as he starts to take off after Mazurek.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The streets are clear of vehicles. There is no traffic to speak of. There are only the strange, destination-less pedestrians that are always.. walking away from you. In the distance down the main street, you can see the original Zephyr building in all of its pre-promethean glory towering above most of the other buildings.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts looking around, examining the fake humans walking up and down the sidewalks and then the sky. So they&#039;re having technical difficulties. Great. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t know what the goal is, dude. Its supposed to be an obstacle course, but this is clearly not what they intended. So we don&#039;t know where to go. I suggest we start at the Zephyr building or get a map so we can identify the extraction point. Oh.. And be careful, these Non-Player-Characters might be hostile if they&#039;re also banjaxed. Those of us cap[able of looking human should do so now so they won&#039;t take notice as easily.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek does, indeed, stop when called out to do so, and actually rejoins the group almost immediately.  Talk about the Zephyr building finally makes him look around much more closely than before and he grins upon finally spotting it, &amp;quot;Ah.  Yes, Zephyr.  If this is the case, then the only logical assumption would, indeed, be to check out the more familiar structure, eh?  Let&#039;s just hope it isn&#039;t some Zombie Horror Game.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Classic,&amp;quot; Mickey mumbles as she puffs along with her smoke. She makes it a point to stay away from the figures even as they&#039;re actively moving away, and with Smokie being cared for in trusted arms the rat is more at ease. At least if the game corrupts and everyone dies, it wouldn&#039;t be bullshit picking them off one by one. &amp;quot;Righto..wait, he has that?&amp;quot; Mickey asks Maz, then rubs her chin. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think flight would be handy. There&#039;s a ceiling up there huh?&amp;quot; She looks up again as they walk.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: Yes, that&#039;s it.  A lie.  It&#039;s a lie!  The Coyote puts her paw on Cerris, and says, &amp;quot;Put me down, you,&amp;quot; in a shaky voice.  &amp;quot;I&#039;ve got legs and I can run on my own.&amp;quot;  Of course, she&#039;s still shivering all over.  She can&#039;t help it.  This was all too unnerving.  She frowns at Kori&#039;s suggestion.  &amp;quot;I will not turn human.  I never was, I never will be again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris played a few zombie games in his time, hell soldiers on down time play a LOT of games in between working out and jerking off.  Unless they are off duty, then they chase ass and get in fights. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s assume we are temporarily immune to the corruption or anything that develops, if attacked by anything give an alarm and defend yourself, even if that thing was a previous friendly.  And no, Smokie, I&#039;m not putting you down just yet, my shoulder is cold, you are temporarily drafted as an all weather garment...deal with it.&amp;quot;  As flimsy an excuse as it was, it was the closest thing he was going to offer the coyote to plausible deniability.  So onward to Zephyr he marched, eyes and ears tuned for any deviations in their environment as they go, his memory working to try and steer them towards something that will bring his crew into solid footing.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho shifts slightly, looking up and away, &amp;quot;If they were hostile, I think they would be looking at us and moving towards us, but I have never seen a single one move towards, or look towards us, but...well who knows, and...well I was human I believe at one point, but....I changed to this form because Ilike it better, and don&#039;t think I can become human again if I wanted too...&amp;quot; he says after a bit, shrugging as he does want to head towards the zephyr building since at least it is a &#039;known&#039; landmark...&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori turns to face the direction of Zephyr, taking in its surprisingly clean splendor. Until Smokie starts up an act. &amp;quot;Well fine, wild one. If they do decide to go crazy nd attack us because we&#039;re different in some way, don&#039;t cry about it. They are passive now, and walking away constantly, but that could change at any moment in this glitchy environment.&amp;quot; Hir features start shifting less furry and more human before shi begins walking in Zephyr&#039;s direction. &amp;quot;Gonna need shoes and a proper pair of pants I guess. Already have the jacket.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The people don&#039;t seem to be afraid of you, they dont even look at you. In fact, have you even seen any of their faces? They don&#039;t seem to have picked up their pace at all either. They are just casually walking down the streets. As you pass one as you move down the street, he suddenly turns down another street even though it didn&#039;t seem like that was where he was going. You don&#039;t even glimpse his front, as fast as the turn was. Something definitely seems.. wrong with the citizens. The tower seems to grow exponentially in size as you grow closer to it. Perhaps a small error in the perspective scaling? It looms overhead, windows dark and mirrored glass reflecting the static of the sky above.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey leaves behind her trail of smoke as she walks beside the two lizards. Occasionally she glances over to check on Cerris and Smokie, but when the building starts to loom up above her glowing eyes are quick to follow. &amp;quot;Creepy..&amp;quot; she mutters, looks to her barely finished spliff, then quickly deepens her hits. Even if it was fake, it would of been rude to just outright smoke indoors. She&#039;d have to scout it out first. &amp;quot;Welp, let&#039;s find out what&#039;s behind door number one.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek watches the ever-increasing size of the building they&#039;ve all come to know and (maybe) love over the years.  Or is it months?  Whatever.  It&#039;s there, they&#039;re here, and it&#039;s growing.  He even misses the sudden, abrupt turn of the programmed creature down the side street because of it.  Even though Mickey is smoking, or at least was until a moment ago, the iguana picks up the not-rat again and holds her, cradling once more to try and make her at ease again during the trip.&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris sets the coyote down and points at an alley up ahead before calling over to the other three. &amp;quot;Hey I just remembered a shop that might be around here that can help with weapons and maps...gonna dip down this alley real quick and check.&amp;quot; And just like that he is off, this too good to delay forward progress for.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho misses the person turning away instantly because of watching the building seem to get larger and larger as it seems to get bigger the closer they get before looking around &amp;quot;Are we getting smaller or is it getting bigger..&amp;quot; he says quietly, before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;And I hope you friend can fix this ...soon, this is starting to seem really creepy to me..&amp;quot; he says as he looks up again and mrphs in thought....&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You&#039;re worried about a building growing taller in a virtual world whose population seems content to walk away and never turn to look at you? These people may not have a front for all we know, being just half a man or half a woman, literally.&amp;quot; Shi moves closer to the door and nudges it open. &amp;quot;Ten credits on the interior of this building being a big pit of nothingness. Second best destination is the mall up north.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As everyone else is awed by the looming tower, Cerris ducks down an alley. The alley is between two tallish buildings that do not let a lot of light into it. As he passes one shop, a closed electronics store, the television sets in the front display click on. The white-grey static illuminates that part of the alleyway, demanding attention.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek stops when attention is called to the fact that there&#039;s a possible shop close by and actually proceeds to follow Cerris into the alley.  Of course, he&#039;s a few dozen paces behind when those televisions suddenly flicker on and it would be only natural that he gravitates toward the light generated by them.  There must be an insect strain of DNA in him or something.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey squeaks as she&#039;s hoisted up once again. This time there&#039;s no real rush in trying to get back down from her. Although her flushing cheeks show her embarrassment, it is too comforting to protest the treatment. To prevent offending she flicks the smoke away just as Maz suddenly turns about. &amp;quot;Really? Would that kind of thing actually translate here?&amp;quot; She nearly topples when Maz changes course again, and as she changes to a more proper perch on his shoulder she follows his gaze. &amp;quot;Huh? Something on?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote happily came to her feet.  The shakes were going away, but she still was shivering.  She was trying to play it off.  She was smiling and whispering to herself that it wasn&#039;t real and that everything didn&#039;t go back to normal and in awhile she&#039;ll be back in her broken bed and her musty blankets in her dirty office in the decrepit, rusted warehouse....  She looks up at the Zephyr building, and laughs a yapping laugh.  &amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris jerks around, a snarl on his lips when Smokie laughs and lights flare up.  &amp;quot;Damnit Smokie don&#039;t fuck arou...&amp;quot;  Doubling back he practically runs to the lit screens, his eyes quickly scanning the storefront for any security devices or alarms before he ventures any closer seeing as it appears to be closed.  Damnit if he doesn&#039;t want all the intel he can get in any given situation.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs as he looks over, noticing one moving away, but he kinda stays there as he looks up, then around again rubbing his head, &amp;quot;SHouldn&#039;t we...stay together incase something goes wrong? What if this is a glitch and a sudden change to the environment might make it so a place we could go is not accessible...so then we would we stuck not able to get there and if someone was in there they would need another way out...&amp;quot; he says quietly, as he rubs the back of his head more and slowly turns around and looks the way they came, then back and looking up at the..strangely big buillding, he doesn&#039;t remember it being that tall..or even the same scale for what he does remember -exists- for what they know now...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: For a moment there.. wait, there it was again. The pyramid logo of Giza flashed on each of the television screens briefly before fading out again. Could it be a sign?&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek blinks, staring a bit more at the screens as they flicker and fade.  He is quick to point it out to the others, &amp;quot;Alright.  Darkwyrm, if you are still able to monitor us, your company&#039;s logo is only barely coming through.&amp;quot;  He steps into the building and begins to explore the interior, still holding Mickey against him.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears perk up. Not that much with all the metal weighing them down, but still enough. Before they vanish out of sight she turns her head to call out to Ryu. &amp;quot;I think we got an objective marker!&amp;quot; Her tail flickers and, in an attempt to not become totally useless, keeps a watchful lookout from her perch. +5 to swag, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: Everyone is going into that little shop.  Damn.  Must the band of heroes always have the shared attention span of a goldfish?  The coyote sighs and brings up the rear, not liking the enclosed space of not-so-decayed buildings.  That static is killing her eyes and her ears.  She grumbles to herself a little.&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris actually goes no further than the shop&#039;s entrance, looking for any other activated electronics.  &amp;quot;Look for something to use to supplement this comms failure.  If TVs are giving images, speakers and mics may be doing the job as well.  I&#039;ll secure our point of egress.&amp;quot;  In this situation, his experience as a field officer shines through, overshadowing those moments in which he may or may not have been thinking about how many dicks he could sink into that college girl&#039;s ass.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs as he turns and looks before sighing as he slowly begins to wlak after the others, &amp;quot;Well you know you all could I don&#039;t know, DISCUSS IDEAS before suddenly running off randomly like chickens with their heads cut off!&amp;quot; he calls out as he walks to catch up...&lt;br /&gt;
Kori wanders away from the doors of Zephyr and closer to the light show that attracted so many of the group. &amp;quot;If you can figure out how to supplement this stuff, I&#039;ll try to whip together something to use as a blueprint. Then we gotta figure out how to connect it and get it working.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Inside the dark store, it is mostly what you would expect to see inside of an electronics store. Shelves full of various electrical doodads, keyboards, accessories and the like. None of them are turned on. What really catches your eye is the terminal behind the counter. A pyramid logo is rotating in the center of the screen like a screen saver, almost as if waiting for input.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek has used enough computers in the past, and really still does when it comes to his Reservation, that when he discovers the little screensaver with the logo on it...he simply taps the screen to see if anything happens.  If there&#039;s a mouse or keyboard nearby, he does something with those if that fails.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey&#039;s glowing eyes are darting about like they&#039;re in a candy shop. So many electronics! So much salvage! Goddamn and it was all fake. Glowering at the lack of real fortune, she watches Maz tap away on the screen. The rat waits for several minutes, then when she can&#039;t wait any longer she reaches over to point. &amp;quot;Think you gotta unlock it? Try the Trifecta. Ctrl-alt-del.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote resigns herself to a corner of the shop, looking out the window.  She figures it&#039;s best to let the people with know how do their thing, instead of getting in their way.  She does marvel at some of the pre-Pday stuff, and wonders if there&#039;d be anything left in the real world of this store.  She&#039;d love to salvage things.  Though, most other folks salvaged things to make them work again.  Smokie just salvaged them to make them into jewelry or to take out little parts she might need.&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris quietly ducks back out of the shop, hailing Ryusho as he does so. &amp;quot;Hey, watch the alley, I have something else to take care of.&amp;quot; In a moment, Cerris is gone, his considerable athletic ability put into a sprint to carry him swiftly to the gunshop he was hoping to find while everyone else is occupied with getting communications up and running. Note cool speed lines left behind due to glowly stuffs.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho blinks as he turns around and looks at Cerris charging off, &amp;quot;WAIT! ...What...WHY DON&amp;quot;T YOU TELL US THIGNS!&amp;quot; he sighs and shifts to lean against the wall, as he hears a gurgle down below as he glances down, &amp;quot;Oh quiet down you four, I will take care of you when we are not in this mess....&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris arrives at the arms shop, all right. But if he were to look up at the sign designating the shop, it looks like a crudely drawn gun with the word &amp;quot;Gunz&amp;quot; on it as if it were added only as an afterthought. Peering inside the windows would reveal that the store is just completely black. In fact, there is no door. Once someone fiddles with the terminal, the screen goes black for a few moments before a tall-eared canine head silhouette appears on a background of blue. &amp;quot;Sheesh. Thought you guys would never find a terminal.&amp;quot;, a crackling voice says. &amp;quot;I suppose you&#039;ve gathered by now the program isn&#039;t quite working right.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho slowly slips more into the building as he hears the one on the screen talking as he mrphs softly, &amp;quot;...Lovely...So we are in a program...that is affected by a virus?&amp;quot; he shifts a bit, &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t that mean that it could be possibly....well...risky to be stuck in here? Sinc eyou can&#039;t turn it off?&amp;quot;  he guesses from what he is hearing....&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey glances over her shoulder to Ryu and ushers to him to join around the display. &amp;quot;Sounds troublesome. And us without a security..&amp;quot; wait, never mind. Tron jokes were getting old, truly, and this was actually sounding serious. Like, she wouldn&#039;t be getting paid serious. &amp;quot;Soooo..what then?&amp;quot; She chirps, glancing between the screen and others.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: A virus?  That very well IS a predicament.  She growls softly to herself.  &amp;quot;Wait, if we&#039;re in a virus, can the virus...  Infect us?&amp;quot;  She dramatically emphasizes the last word.  It was a momentary idea, but it was just too good to not say.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek listens to the others speak their concerns.  Instead of voicing his own concerns he instead asks, &amp;quot;I will run under the assumption that you can see everything that is going on around us, from the half-rezzed population all the way to the oddly gigantic Zephyr building.  So, what is this program&#039;s objective and what is it that we are supposed to do to complete it?  Best get this information out in the open before we face the possibility of this virus preventing us from communicating.  Also, the last time I was engaged into this system it was more a prototype.  Are the safties still operational or will this be lethal to the losers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is a long period of silence after all of the questions are asked. Finally, Darkwyrm activates his mic again and says, &amp;quot;I am unwilling to terminate the program at present, as there is a possibility of damage if turned off prematurely. Uhh.. as far as infection goes, I am unsure of the extent the virus has spread into the system. I would exercise caution. I am surprised you have not seen signs of it yet.&amp;quot; He clears his throat as you can hear the sound of typing through the speaker. &amp;quot;This seems promising though. If you can destroy the virus within the program, I can safely shut down the system and get you out. I can get more help for you if you can wait a few minutes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs quietly, &amp;quot;...I guess all we -can- do is wait in one regard, we have no weapons other then ourselves and...some of us don&#039;t look like we are very much &#039;naturally combat built&#039; ...&amp;quot; he says softly, with a hum in thought, &amp;quot;....that being said we don&#039;t even know if what we can do would be able to hurt a virus depending on how it is in the system.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey&#039;s ear gives a little flick at that, and she shoots a glance to Ryu. &amp;quot;Hey, not all of us are built with bulk in mind.&amp;quot; She gives the dragon a slight tilt of her head, then wiggle of her eyebrows. &amp;quot;Whatever you guys think&#039;ll get us out of this wonderland fast enough, I&#039;m game for.&lt;br /&gt;
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Smokie listens keenly with her ear-and-a-half.  Hm, this was definitely something.  She loves over at the dragon, frowning.  &amp;quot;I&#039;m not so big or brawny, but I&#039;ve been in my fair share of fights-&amp;quot; she points up at her half-ear, &amp;quot;-As you can see.  I think we&#039;ll be able to get in there and take out the Master Comp-- I mean virus.  Yeah.  Just leave it to us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori heaves a loud sigh. Great. Virus, frozen shutdown. Pulling its plug the hard way could be a lobotomy. The impending sarcasm would have to wait however. &amp;quot;Or they could pull Matrix on us and appear as hostile people in suits. We&#039;d have to Matrix them back. Its a program, we&#039;re digital representations of ourselves so the rules aren&#039;t as clear. Hell for all I know we could all be able to fly in &lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek smirks, &amp;quot;No information regarding where we need to go or anything like that, eh?  As far as corruption goes, the sky is the most obvious thing we&#039;ve seen so far.&amp;quot;  Then to Kori, &amp;quot;Some of us can fly just by thinking it.  It just takes the appearance of wings in some cases.&amp;quot;  To Mickey he picks her up into his arms yet again, &amp;quot;I know nothing of the powers of the Mall Rats.  Do they have any combat powers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blicks off and goes black It stays that way for several minutes, threatening to stay off and leave you without any more help from the jackal. But just then, it flicks back on. &amp;quot;Alrighty. I&#039;ve arranged for some help you you.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;Stand by.&amp;quot; A peculiar glow light up the room as a green silhouette appears in the middle of the floor, and slowly becomes more resolved, gaining depths and finally details. A Foxheart has entered the game. However, it seems her appearance has overloaded this station. &amp;quot;Fffzzzt ff-ffiind other... Ssshhhhzzzzzcomputers to contact me.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says through the static before the screen cracks and smokes, turning off forever.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho blinks a bit as the console seems to begin to short out as he cringes a bit, &amp;quot;Lovely, There....goes our contact with the real world...&amp;quot; he says softly, shaking his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I suppose now our first goal is to begin trying to find another computer console, so we can contact him for what to do next, now that ...well apparently our re-enforcements have arrived....&amp;quot; He says as he looks over Foxheart and nods slightly to them.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey&#039;s wings flutter for balance like a scooped up bird, then transfers over to a sidelong perch along Maz&#039;s shoulder. Give her some green wings and a cracker and she could pass for Polly. &amp;quot;Not &#039;xactly. We mostly shine in avoiding trouble. It&#039;s a Zen kinda thing; don&#039;t bother it, it won&#039;t bother you.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, then pats the Komodo&#039;s chest. &amp;quot;But I&#039;ll keep an escape route open for all of us in case we gotta leg it. Got your back.&amp;quot; Literally; it&#039;s a great view up here. Foxheart is eyed curiously, but any help is accepted at this moment. &amp;quot;Howdy. Welcome.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Smokie looks over at the glow  Reinforcements, huh?  No one like Ahnuhlled.  But that&#039;ll do.  She sighs and moves over to the door, looking out again.&lt;br /&gt;
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Foxheart shakes her head and pulls herself together, hands placed at their blade handles before she realizes she recognizes one of the people here...vaguely at least, then stands her guard down. &amp;quot;Darkwyrm, you owe me for this...&amp;quot; She puts a hand over a breast in a salute. &amp;quot;Foxheart. Darkwyrm said you needed some combat backup.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori scans her eyes up and down the new arrival, then the terminal the cat thing came from. &amp;quot;... You&#039;d think they could just recompile the environment code in this spot to repair the terminal. The hardware on their end must&#039;ve blown. So... Now what. We still need to know where to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mazurek(#22948)]: Those several minutes seem to drag onward while the Komodo is awaiting the next bit of information.  He looks over to the new arrival when it finally happens, only to snap his attention right back to the terminal when it breaks, groaning a bit after the final transmission.  With the newcomer&#039;s introduction he nods toward her, &amp;quot;Not everyone here is combat ready.  The more involved the better.&amp;quot;  He makes sure Mickey is safe on his shoulder, holding his legs if he needs to.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: An unusual sound outside gathers your attention, and a strange shifting of color. The lights in the electronics shop go out, leaving you in darkness.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho looks around, &amp;quot;Crap, we need out of this area..or something...I think something thinks this is a good area to mess with..and ...I guess they can&#039;t since that would also affect the area -we- are in and could mess us up...&amp;quot; he says with a cringe, and then shifts, a defensive stance of sorts, &amp;quot;We...need to get out of here, and find another console...so we can get more help, as I said, I don&#039;t think we can fight it with what we have access too right now....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey drapes her tail over Maz&#039;s back as she sits with her legs secure. Good thing too, because she would of given a startled jump once the lights cut off. That blue search-light gaze of hers sweeps around quickly, looking right away for either a back way out or large enough window. &amp;quot;Yeah, I kinda second that idea. Get the feeling the longer we stay in one place the more danger we&#039;re in.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote opens the door and peers into the alleyway outside.  Nothing seems to have changed, as far as she can see.  She sighs, and turns back inside, leaving the door slightly cracked.  &amp;quot;Well, I dunno what&#039;s up.  I suggest we go to the big attention-stealing tower, and not get caught up in fetch-this sidequests.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Foxheart(#27136)]: A spark of life flitters from the kitsune&#039;s tails as she draws her short sword and lets it guide the wisp like a lantern, giving her just enough light to see a nearby surroundings. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll forgive me if I can&#039;t make this any brighter. Don&#039;t want to burn anyone. Lead the way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori shrugs at said kitsune, holding up a hand of hir own which promptly ignites. Show-off. &amp;quot;Having a fiery hide can be more useful than giving some ferals a case of hot-foot.&amp;quot; But since they now have two light source, the group should feel fairly comfortable moving on. &amp;quot;So lets just get going.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek has his own searchlights!  Well, not really, but they work fairly well.  He uses Mickey&#039;s light to help guide him around the shop, heading toward the exit that Smokie is by.  Well, the room lights up enough thanks to some flaming light anyway, so he shouldn&#039;t bump into anything...maybe.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Outside of the shop, the light emitted from the defective, cracked, static skybox has shifted from gray to a pale crimson. Everything looks threatening now from the slight color change. The crack in the sky has widened too.. and inside of the crack a glowing pupil is partially visible.. creepy. You cant see much else from here, being in an alley and all.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho peers around and up, &amp;quot;...we need to find the next terminal, so we can get something to protect ourselves with hopefully in this world....because I think something knows we are here now...&amp;quot; he says quietly,  &amp;quot;I think thta should be our first priority...plain and simple...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around still in a partly defensive stance.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps the light turned down towards the floor so that Maz can step cleanly, although when she chances a glance outward and sees the huge eye she quickly shuts them and hurriedly yanks her goggles back up. &amp;quot;Whoo, ok, now /that&#039;s/ fucking creepy,&amp;quot; she shivers and hunches down. &amp;quot;Good idea man. Keep something between us and that..thing, try not to make a fuss. Let&#039;s hit up that building.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The coyote looks up at the sky, and freezes.  She recalls some lore, but she shakes her head.  That is not Coyote&#039;s eye, no, Coyote never had red eyes.  She advances up the alleyway, in the front of the formation, tense.  She&#039;s short enough that everyone behind her can see over her...  A pause.  She lifts her head up, looking up at the red broken sky, and takes a few deep breathes through her nose, and then delicately tries to scent the area.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart draws her other sword, and the longer katana bursts into flame as she readies her technique. She&#039;s far better versed at smashing things, not fixing them, and with a few graceful steps, walks to the front of the group. &amp;quot;Looks like we&#039;re being watched. We might have company...&amp;quot; Her tails furl up and fold into half to make it easier for her to dash if she had to, fur bristling everywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks up with a sharp scowl. Well forget about looking like everything else in here. The light shows down on the ground would draw that thing&#039;s attention up there. &amp;quot;Well fuck. We&#039;re going to stick out like a christmas tree in an orange grove now.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would be one of those that has a distinctive scent to Smokie, though whether it would be good or bad depends on the situation.  It is outside the shop that the sky&#039;s change can be seen clearly, not inside.  Gazing up at the eyeball gazing down at them brings about a simple quip from the large reptile, &amp;quot;Well, looks like we have an idea of what the virus is that we need to destroy.  GladOS, welcome home.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As you step out of the alley, you KNOW something&#039;s changed. The large, prominent Zephyr tower that was tall and pristine before is now covered in pulsing blue and purple tentacles. The very top of the tower is completely covered, with tendrils grasping downward from there and finally blocking entrance to the entire first floor. The tentacles don&#039;t necessarily look fleshy, but they have glowing veins that seem to pump a light blue fluid through them. The stores lining the streets are now destroyed, looking as if they exploded outwards. Those pedestrians you saw before.. well they&#039;re still around, but now they&#039;re facing towards you.. and advancing. There is no wonder why they were facing away from you before. They have no faces. Where their facial features should be is smooth, pale flesh. They don&#039;t seem to be in any rush, but if you move, then they adjust their direction. Walking.. slowly from all sides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts, &amp;quot;Start moving, now, and No, the Zephyr building is -not- our goal right now, that&#039;s probably our -end- goal as the virus is working -from- there, not to there, we gotta find the one place...just..try to keep moving..so they don&#039;t actually -reach- us hopefully...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts..and..decides to glance around &amp;quot;Anyone recall major places that might be nearby, local area?&amp;quot; he shifts as he glances around though walking slowly,&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pages, &amp;quot;how would they take to a blinding sunburst gold flare of light from someone shifting back to their dedication form?&amp;quot; to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ooh-kay..Yeah, good man,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters to Ryu, again her gaze more focused on what&#039;s upward then what&#039;s actually around at ground level. When she finally does notice her hand goes right for her vest pocket. &amp;quot;It&#039;s infecting the city..except these ain&#039;t nanites.&amp;quot; She looks around, tries to quickly count, then picks a direction that she figures could more or less be random. &amp;quot;This is the city, right? Mall is thataway, I know for sure.&amp;quot; You do not question a rat on this, regardless of form.&lt;br /&gt;
tell kori Try it and find out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie turns suddenly, to follow Mickey.  She glances around at the faceless things.  They didn&#039;t really scare her.  It was like some sort of zombie movie without the gore.  But these were never alive.  Now, if she started seeing familiar faces...  THAT would scare her, but it&#039;d take quite a bit, because no one whose face she remembers was human.  She spits in their general direction, and laughs, following the rat.  Suppose they were going to the mall?  This IS turning into a zombie movie.  Of course, what she smelled earlier, it was...  Strange.  Very strange, and she didn&#039;t like it that it was playing with her brain like that, to be putting smells in her mind.  Perhaps this whole thing was planned from the beginning?  That seemed like more of a Zephyr trick, but she never put anything past anyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart keeps her wisp lit anyway as her eyes follow each of the strange figures in turn, looking around, utterly confused. It doesn&#039;t scare her one bit though, considering all that she&#039;s seen before, and then looks at the group once before she shakes her head. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll get through with ease. They don&#039;t look like a threat.&amp;quot; A tail points at the large infested building. &amp;quot;We are here to destroy the virus, aren&#039;t we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shifts hir feet while bending down into a predatory crouch. The eye was watching them, the Zephyr building was being tentacle raped, the &#039;people&#039; were converging slowly on them and the surrounding buildings had exploded form the inside. The virus knew they were there, knew where they were, and didn&#039;t seem to want them to leave. &amp;quot;That&#039;s half the plan. The other half is getting out of here. I suggest closing your eyes. This is kind of bright...okay, very bright. Won&#039;t bother these faceless things much, no eyes.&amp;quot; Hir body begins glowing soon after those words, a glow of yellow-white light like the sun that quickly increases in intensity until it hits a painfully bright radiance. See, hir magic was being used again. Only unlike turning human, returning to hir patron&#039;s lioness form was unfortunately flashy. It wasn&#039;t nearly this bad in the real world though, so this flare of light was only a pain in the ass within this virtual world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is the one being followed, for Mickey is still on his shoulder.  Where the Rat points, the Komodo heads toward, &amp;quot;The things are taking their time, folks.  Let&#039;s just head where instinct says should be perfectly safe.  Can you blame me that I am even more attracted to the Zehpyr building now than before with how it looks now?&amp;quot;  Sensitive noses, this one&#039;s currently in heat here, though has enough self control to keep it visually hidden, &amp;quot;Let us try to survive the in-game night before we try taking on the tentacle building.  Maybe once we get to the mall can we use its resources to do what&#039;s required.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Unsurprisingly, the advancing faceless threat is unaffected by the bright flash. As for the others in the group, that is another matter. Other than the scattered walkers all over the place, the streets are mostly clear of debris. Obviously the first floor of the tower is inaccessible, so if the party wanted to try and get in, they would require an alternate entrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterranean entrance?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho covers his eyes and looks away, &amp;quot;Yes, I know, we need to take out the virus, but for one, we can&#039;t get in the tower easily if you looked at the front door, and two, I don&#039;t see anything that we have that might -actually- be able to work as an anti virus or something...&amp;quot;  he says simply, &amp;quot;It would be hard to remove a virus, when we don&#039;t have anything that is able to remove a computer virus from a computer program, and since we are -in- a computer program....well...&amp;quot; he kinda motions with a hand, thats how logic is working for him right now&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;If it&#039;s something like that, we&#039;ll need to either find it or have it sent,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters to Ryusho, then looks over her shoulder to Fox. &amp;quot;Unless Dark gave ya anything before he zapped you in here?&amp;quot; Pointing out turns as needed, she keeps the party on track. &amp;quot;Either way, it&#039;s only like; two blocks. Maybe we can find something useful left over from the orignial programing. Or a terminal.&amp;quot; She rubs her whiskers. &amp;quot;It&#039;s just right up here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?  (Repose in right spot)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anyone got a drone or two they&#039;re willing to send into sure death?&amp;quot; Foxheart isn&#039;t sure herself if she&#039;s saying this seriously, eyes still kept on the figures on the streets. &amp;quot;I...I think we should find cover as soon as possible. Would be easier to fight from...&amp;quot; Mentally, the kitsune remains fixated on combat and dangers, most of the technology-related stuff completely over her head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori straightens up and starts walking again at a normal pace. The faceless ones weren&#039;t bothered, as expected. The eye in the sky however couldn&#039;t possibly miss it. On the other hand it likely didn&#039;t care. &amp;quot;You&#039;re right. We don&#039;t have an anti-virus. But what if we&#039;re supposed to /be/ the anti-virus? We&#039;re certainly foreign, and this thing has an unhealthy interest in us. Wither we realize it or not, we&#039;re a threat and a curiosity to it. Probably more the latter than the former for the moment.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek pipes up, &amp;quot;Ot it is just watching the whole place all at once?  Does it really matter one way or the other whether it wants something or not?  I have nothing to help with being a decoy other than myself.  Not going that route here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Closer and closer the walkers approach. It isn&#039;t certain what will happen if they reach the party, but who wants to wait and find out? The sprawling strip mall lurches closer as the party quickly outpaces the ominous corrupted citizens. The storefronts are not blown out, but all of the glass is cracked, and most of the windows and doors are boarded up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would motion lightly, &amp;quot;Lets see if we can find a door or something, that is not boarded up, or if we have too I guess we can break in, but....Hopefully this is part of the &#039;atmosphere&#039; this ..virus is causing, not something to try to keep us out of a place the program is not capable of keeping track of.&amp;quot; he says nodding as he mrphs, glancing back at the left behind -mass- of ..faceless things....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey flutters her wings in mild worry when she sees most of the openings covered up. &amp;quot;There&#039;s an electronic&#039;s storefront, maybe another terminal in there. There&#039;s gotta be something useful here..&amp;quot; She mumbles, more to herself, and tries to peer into one of the windows as they pass. &amp;quot;They do look breakable.. Anything beats the welcome party back there.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is following the lizard-mounted rat, glancing behind herself.  Huh.  that wasn&#039;t so bad, those faceless dude.  Yeah, not bad at all!  Of course, her fur&#039;s all on end with fright now.  Blegh.  She keeps going along, looking through the windows.  &amp;quot;I can try and kick one in, if these aren&#039;t static meshes, of course.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart skitters over to the back of the group and keeps both swords at the ready, swinging them if the creatures get too close and snarling. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s be careful, shall we?&amp;quot; She begins to prime a charge in her tails too, ready to blast a path through a currently non-existent horde.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek notes the numerous cracked windows and gets the same idea that most of the others are having about them.  Growing, he takes it one step further and actually calls out, &amp;quot;Mickey!  Brace yourself, we&#039;re going in!&amp;quot;  So saying, he rushes headlong toward one of the windows, only to shift at the last second to a shoulder-rush...the shoulder pair that doesn&#039;t have the rat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is in fact a store with a broken sign over it that reads &amp;quot;EL-CT-ONICS&amp;quot;. The windows all have plywood over them and the door is covered by several 2x4s. When Maz slams into the plywood, he finds himself repelled backwards and sprawled on the ground. The plywood suffered some cracks, but did not fully break. The noise created by this impact, however, is loud enough to wake the dead. Moments later, an unearthly warbled shriek is heard from... somewhere. You can&#039;t pinpoint it, but it doesn&#039;t sound far.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth and cringes as mazurek -slams- into the wood and it cracks, &amp;quot;I think we need to try to -remove- the wood and..&amp;quot; he freezes as he hears the shriek, &amp;quot;We might need to protect ourselves, or try too soon enough....so why don&#039;t someone keep a look out while we try to get the woo dout of the way...without burning the place up preferably....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey looks to Maz, and the window in uncertainty. &amp;quot;Not sure this is the be-&amp;quot; Oh nevermind, he&#039;s going for it anyway. Hopping around, the rodent clings to the far side of Maz&#039;s back. She&#039;s light enough that she herself does no harm to the Komodo when she&#039;s jarred roughly forward against him, but she is forced to scramble quickly in order to prevent herself from ending up trapped below. &amp;quot;Hurry,&amp;quot; she grunts. &amp;quot;Try ripping it..Maz you A&#039;rite?&amp;quot; There&#039;s concern; now they got something else after them too..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie jumps and spins around, ready in a fighting stance with her paws up, one made into a fist, the other holding with her claws out.  Her eyes peer around the lot, growling, her good ear down.  Yeah, she didn&#039;t want to lose her other ear.  For a moment, she forgets it&#039;s a game, and she is seriously worried.  She hasn&#039;t been in too much of a real fight in awhile.  Yeah, she hunts gryphons, but a gryphon with a hole or three in his chest from a 5.56x45 FMJ is hardly much of a fight.  &amp;quot;Sounds like the sub-boss fight&#039;s coming up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Still, to fight a virus...&amp;quot; Foxheart steps a short distance away from the run down store to put up a literal fire wall in front of her with a slash of her flaming blade, hoping that it&#039;ll ward the zombified things from trying to approach too aggressively...and a little less the large opponent she can&#039;t yet see. &amp;quot;The technology stuff is...up to you guys...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls hir eyes at the mention of &#039;sub-boss&#039;. &amp;quot;Seriously, its not a game right now. if that thing beats one of us down it might be able to infect us. Then what happens when it finds a way out of this program? Our bodies will be its new host with it in control. So if we get attacked, shoot to kill.&amp;quot; Speaking of, shi&#039;s engaging hir fiery hide to full blast just in case. &amp;quot;Yay magic firewalls...just don&#039;t touch me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: REBOUND!  The Komodo can feel his body wanting to mash against the boards when he connects with them, but they force him to bounce back!  At least he didn&#039;t break anything in his attempt...other than the boards.  He collapses to the ground face-up, which would have Mickey scrambling to lay on his front instead.  Sprawled out, he groans a little, though that is quickly drowned out by the screech of the unknown thing.  He stares up at the sky and the eyeball above, suddenly finding himself quite dizzy thanks to the impact.  Did he even hear the rat&#039;s question aimed his way?  He&#039;s going to need help up soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Around from the back of one of the buildings, something appears. What that something might be is quite questionable. It looks like a cloud of static mist.. but it is constantly shifting and morphing. Along with it comes a most unusual and disconcerting sound. Like a mashup of the growls and calls of several beasts warbles together and distorted. At one point, it looks like there are some appendages sticking out of it at random points, but then you blink and it&#039;s suddenly sporting hundreds of eyes all over it. Mouths, teeth, horns and a large variety of eyes morph in and out of this cloud. Then it &#039;sees&#039; the party. And flies straight towards it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks, &amp;quot;..Oh Lovely, we have Glitchthulu after us...or maybe this is Bug-rog...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts, &amp;quot;INCOMMING!&amp;quot; he sayas though he shifts and tries to break off one of the boards on the window, if anything to use as an impromptu weapon to keep it farther away then hands reach..&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey shakes herself sensible, then freezes when that..thing comes into view after Ryu&#039;s warning. &amp;quot;Aww fuck, C&#039;mon big guy,&amp;quot; she quickly stoops on Maz&#039;s chest and tugs her goggles down to shine the bright blue light in his face. They needed fighters now, and having one on his back before they even started was not good. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go, doubletime,&amp;quot; she tries a little shake then swats his cheek. Should he still be dazed, she&#039;d flash him full in the face with those volitile eyes to try and shock him on his legs with a squeaky command. &amp;quot;Get up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Oh shit, nope, she wasn&#039;t expecting that.  With a yip she skitters back for a moment, before shaking her head out, and running to the flank of the team.  Firepower all around.  She isn&#039;t sure right away waht it&#039;s supposed to be but she can&#039;t help but try and throw her best at it.  She sure as hell doesn&#039;t want it to touch her, no knowing what it&#039;ll do.  Time for some fire breath!  With a quick little prayer to Coyote she opens up her maw and snarls viciously, a burst of flame spews forth.  Spicy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart takes her short sword and drags her wisp forcibly back into her tails before yelling, &amp;quot;Get down!&amp;quot; She twirls her edge once in a flurry of blades and tails, jagged ice spikes forming from condensation and being shot like arrows, aiming the try to disperse the mist with sheer brute force.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori whips around to the shriek of the new contact. It was a little ways off before. But now its right here and charging the party. Not a good time. Not at all. Shi bends hir legs and squats, putting one fist on the ground. Within a second hir flesh turns shiny and semi-solid, taking on a rubbery jelly quality yet it remained opaque. Hir weight shifts creating a bulge in hir calves that quickly travels up hir legs and into hir body. The flames shi already wore stoked hotter still as it seemed to begin turning the digital water vapor into steam. All the while shi keeps hir eyes on the target. &amp;quot;I always wanted to do this shit. Gear...second.&amp;quot; Another second or two passes as shi watches Ryu, Mickey and Smokey begin to fight it before shi makes hir own move in a literal blur of motion which was quite hard to follow with the naked eye. This sudden acceleration launched hir into the air, allowing hir to cock back a fist that was already on fire, the afterimages making it look a lot like hir arm stretched quite a distance in its jelly state. &amp;quot;Gum gum...Red Hawk!&amp;quot; Incoming high velocity fire punch for mister Eldritch Horror Of Eyes And Mouths!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: The rodent&#039;s tactics work to an extent, and thankfully it&#039;s before the second flashing of the eyes.  The first flash to the eyes, even though only one of them can really be affected thanks to them being wide-set, is enough to break through the daze that the screech somehow did not.  Having Mickey on his chest helps even more and he wraps his arms around her before getting to his feet.  He immediately notices that others are attacking...something.  He&#039;s the only one that isn&#039;t attacking right now, besides Mickey, and he instead shouts out, &amp;quot;Alright, who brought the God Of Decay, Moander, out of the Forgotten Realms?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The fire breath seems to go right through the glitching abomination. However, the ice shards make contact with a sickening crunch, causing large spots of it to disappear into deresolution where the chilledf spikes pass through. It makes another loud, disorienting shriek and pulses, heading straight for Foxheart!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks for several seconds as he shfits, &#039;PHysical force! Use Physical force!&amp;quot; he calls out as he shifts and does eventually work and pry at least part of one of those boards off to try and shift so he can fling it at it in a way if it is not big enough to &#039;wield&#039; as it gets closer...well if he can otherwise -forget it- he will just do something else...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s body spreads out, creating a hole whch Kori flies right through, though not without the creature stinging hir on the way out. The spots on hir back and ass where it makes contact start to crackle with black sparks and sting with corruption.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey, being a fire-type rat, has no real chance of being much use in a straight fight. &amp;quot;We did. Glad you&#039;re up. Be careful.&amp;quot; And she scurries on over to the storefront entrance. She assumes that, best case, they would have a few seconds, so without much time spent looking for ways to arm herself she instead works on finishing up the job Maz started. She figures Ryu&#039;s ripping boards to work his way in, and starts muscling at the plywood covering. It&#039;s less brute force, more trying to leverage up from the sides and pop it from its fastenings to form a way in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Her attack was ineffective.  She snarled.  Well, suppose it&#039;s time to jump into it.  It didn&#039;t really like the solid ice chunks...  Maybe if she tried to claw at it, she could do -something-.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anything you can hit with a piece of ice...you can frag with enough energy...&amp;quot; Foxheart smiles, and then with a bit of added flair, the long sleeves of her kimono crackle with energy and disintegrate into ashes once the large, purple flames start, and then she charges the being with enough force to dry and crack the ground she&#039;s standing on. It isn&#039;t long before she&#039;s howling out in pain from the heat, though the flames are so incredibly intense...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies right through the thing, and clear through the hole in its body. Momentum of the flight carried hir a bit further until shi hit a building. Jelly body or not, impact still hurt. And the dust cloud it created is enough indication that shi needs a moment to get out from the rubble and self assess hir condition.&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the effects of the various attacks by the other &#039;players&#039; and grimaces on noting one of them not affecting while another..having some sort of effect.  He snorts after that and turns his back toward the creature and raises his tail, &amp;quot;CLEAR THE AREA!&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t give much time for a response, for two seconds later, out comes a powerful spray of skunk liquid aimed right for the creature!  (Skunk Blast)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho and Mickeyu manage to pry off one of the large plywood boards covering a window. It&#039;s heavier than it looks though, being hard-packed wood and all. Foxheart flies through the glitch similarly to Kori&#039;s attack. The heat does singe and derez some of its mass along the edges, however Foxheart also gets whipped by a few corrupting tendrils as she passes. Smokie&#039;s attack rips off a chunk of it, but the physical contact with it causes her entire hand to start burning with electrical corruption. The skunk cloud attack appears to have little effect on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts as he grunts, using his size to try to weild it, but doing his best to keep off to the side, as maybe he just needs to swing it and -break- the damn board first, but either way, he would get ready and if mickey helps him, he would try to either swing it himself ot smack it or &#039;clothesline&#039; it with mickey moving on one end and him the other if it was that big, but...well, &amp;quot;STOP GETTING INTO CONTACT WITH IT!&amp;quot; he yells out, &amp;quot;..If thats not obvious enough from watchign whats -happening- when you get in touch with it!&amp;quot; ..at least he is observant....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey oofs softly as the wood finally comes off, and she holds the one side as Ryusho has the other. When she looks between the dragon and the virus, it seems the rat is having the same ideas. And with the window now uncovered..well; &amp;quot;Go! Get inside!&amp;quot; she squeaks out, then braces herself. &amp;quot;Get over here!&amp;quot; If the Virus started to follow, Ryu and her could wall it off in the face..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;There is no room for fear, dragon.&amp;quot; Foxheart growls, and continues her dance with fire, though visibly starting to get winded as she has to focus on dodging any counterattacks to, blades twirling in tandem with her feet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns around after his blast is finished expelling from him...and notices that there&#039;s absolutely no effect.  Unable to hold back a snort he calls out, &amp;quot;Everyone inside, now!  This is not about fear!  Do NOT be a hero!&amp;quot;  He rushes to the aid of whoever needs it and will be the last one in even if it means being the creature&#039;s target&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Sensing movement, the glitch makes a swipe at Foxheart before thrashing towards the fleeing portion of the group. It makes its terrible, confusing noise again as it tries to decide what to do. Those who make it into the electronics can see empty shelves, but a powered on terminal on a table towards the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would stay with mickey, if they kept holding the board, &amp;quot;SHUT UP AND GO INSIDE MAZ!&amp;quot; he calls out, as he shifts, &amp;quot;We can&#039;t try to get in and &#039;block&#039; the way in so it won&#039;t come through with this thing if you are still out here!&amp;quot; at least thats what came to mind for him....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Jus&#039; Go, go!&amp;quot; Mickey edges on those that made the break for it, then looked between Ryu and the others. &amp;quot;Maz just grab her and let&#039;s go.&amp;quot; She keeps a firm grip on her side and tugs to place herself and Ryu at least somewhat infront of the door. Just enough room is left for them to make a break for it, or clothesline the beast; whichever oppertunity reared its ugly head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is already inside.  She looks up at the terminal, then back at the opening.  She doesn&#039;t want to touch it.  Whatever that thing did to her hand...  Did it corrupt her data?  Jeez.  Now was she just making herself scared?  She went back to the opening, and stuck her head out.  &amp;quot;Come in, it&#039;s safe!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek follows the two down without a word or action of dissent.  He does give the two below him quite the view of his privates in the process, given he never wears a thing, &amp;quot;That sounds very intriguing.  I don&#039;t think it&#039;s the virus causing the mist.  If the smell is to be believed, it&#039;s the sewer itself.  Still, we&#039;ve all been in a lot of worse environments.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has been..strangely quiet, though he -did- comment, and didn&#039;t seem to be heard about the corruption thing with an &#039;well -obviously- we shouldn’t touch it, it is a -virus- that corrupts what it touches,  he assumed that before now...especially from what was seen before we were warned, but he was wondering why he was not being noticed, though that might be noticed when he may seem to almost spaz and pop beside where mazurek is after saying a -bunch- of stuff at high speed, before he shakes himself off and looks around blinking, &amp;quot;Holy -crap- what the heck was that? ...&amp;quot; ...okay, so maybe he had a bit of a &#039;lag spike&#039; or something but..well he is back in sync with the group by now!&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to look up at Maz, ignoring the dangling junk. More than half of &#039;modern&#039; scociety in the state wanders around naked or half naked anyway. Nudist civilization. &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t explain why we&#039;re perceiving smells down here. We&#039;ve got a split path here. Shall we go to the left?&amp;quot; Shi keeps walking, thinking that left is south in this case and south is where Zephyr is.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;That way,&amp;quot; Mickey says after sweeping her eyes to the left, sees Kori already seems to know, then chuckles as she glances back to see...whoa, did Ryu just teleport several feet down the stairs? &amp;quot;Dude, check your ping,&amp;quot; she chitters as she looks to the right, then starts the walk after Kori. &amp;quot;Watch the water..ya&#039;never know,&amp;quot; she mutters as she steps carefully forward.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks up the moment he sees movement above him, blinking a bit upon seeing just who has rejoined them.  He is about to say something but Mickey beats him to the punch, &amp;quot;And here I thought you were amongst those who was lost to us.&amp;quot;  He proceeds to follow Mickey, &amp;quot;I&#039;m nowhere near as good as Mickey at directions.  I&#039;ll follow him whereever.  Also, Ryu and I don&#039;t need to breathe if it gets down to it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods slowly as he then shakes hismelf out, &amp;quot;Sorry if...&amp;quot; he says then shakes himself out, and then mrphs, &amp;quot;Huge....fricking lag spike it seems..&amp;quot; He laughs...and shrugs&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to the right, recalling the basements of Zephyr and the access tunnels. &amp;quot;That way.&amp;quot; Shi turns then and points to Ryu and Maz. &amp;quot;You two keep watch to our six o&#039;clock flank. I heard that noise just as everyone else. Its sneaking up on us.&amp;quot; And to the right shi goes!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Yeah, seems to be a pretty common nanite effect,&amp;quot; Mickey muses as she scans the wall before her, the looks to the right when Kori moves on ahead. &amp;quot;If we&#039;re right, eventually we&#039;ll start seeing the main water pipe. We can follow it right to the base..&amp;quot; she stops, then looks back. &amp;quot;You heard something?&amp;quot; She tries to squint to narrow and strengthen her eyebeams; the rat acting as spotlight for the reptiles.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks back just like everyone else after the sounds echo through the sewer tunnel.  While he can&#039;t exactly see very well in the mist he can hear just fine.  Still, he follows the direction Mickey goes, trusting completely in the rat, &amp;quot;Well, we know we can&#039;t beat whatever it is supposed to be.  Let&#039;s just continue and let it think it is herding us.  We have places to be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey&#039;s eyebeams, if anything, make the fog worse. The light refracts off the thick haze, making it even more difficult to see through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he shifts slightly and cringes at the light, &amp;quot;Well, Lets just..Just head what directino you want to go..or think we should go, then we ..can head that way, I don&#039;t know where we hsould head, just..that we should keep moving I think because I don&#039;t like what sounds like it is behind us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party continues to the right. The sound of the pursuer behind them seems to keep up, keeping that sense of looming danger with it. The walls seems to look newer as you continue, as Mickey does eventually spot a large pipe following the ceiling.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to hir large lion ears as shi follows the path. &amp;quot;Yes I did. These aren&#039;t just for show.&amp;quot; Hir flaming hand remains out in front, the illumination being of little help in the mist beyond the ten foot radius. &amp;quot;If I remember the Zephyr blueprints right, the water pipe should be above us soon. And then just follow it to the access ladder.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey has already pointed upwards to the pipes. &amp;quot;Come along now. Pick up the pace. No need to linger,&amp;quot; she whistles, sounding as casual as she can be, as she shifts from a brisk walk to a slight jog. &amp;quot;Getting stuffy down here anyway.&amp;quot; She hides the fear well; not so much the bristling in her fur and feathers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not show any fear on the outside at all.  In fact he is acting as if nothing out of the ordinary is even happening.  Perhaps he is getting overconfident that the group is going to be able to succeed?  Either way, when the pace picks up he begins to take larger strides, keeping up with their rodent friend and all.  He does NOT pick him up this time around, for it would not exactly be the right moment.&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he walks alongside, though he mrphs, &amp;quot;I still wish we could of gotten something to help with fighting the virus, but I guess they don&#039;t have enough data yet...but I still dislike how it feels down here right now..&amp;quot; he mumbles as he walks along with them, glancing back every now and again but overall staying near where mazurek is in the group&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Finally, they reach a dead end. There are numerous drainage pipes along this segment of wall, along with a single metal ladder leading straight up. There is no light coming from above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb the ladder. In order to avoid heating it to skin-burning temperatures, shi had to put hir fire out. &amp;quot;Okay, be careful. The building&#039;s likely corrupted since the lights are out. We know ice stalls the cuppruptions so if you got it, use it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey skids to a stop. &amp;quot;Weird..&amp;quot; weren&#039;t there supposed to be stairs? Since she wasn&#039;t allowed in the lower levels of Zephyr anyway, she wouldn&#039;t know. &amp;quot;Right, right, just get on up there quickly, would ya?&amp;quot; She&#039;s second on up, but she&#039;s a quick scamper and is forced to wait behind Kori. It&#039;s a nice view..until she realizes she&#039;s got the same. &amp;quot;C&#039;mon guys,&amp;quot; she squeaks, looking back as she climbs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek actually chooses to go up last, coaxing Ryusho to go up ahead of him....if only because he might be interested in gazing at the dragon&#039;s junk.  In fact he does it so he can try to catch a glimpse of their persuer.  Not like he&#039;s going to be able to do anything with it, but...it&#039;s the sight that counts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho does walk infront of him as he rumbles softly, though even as he walks he doesn&#039;t seem to mind if maz spends his time enjoying the sway of the dragons four huge orbs as he walks, though quite used to the weight even though he pprobably could really hurt someone if he got a bit of momentum with those in the right way as he mrphs, climbing up carefully as well.....but it is a decently nice view climbing up too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: THe only thing MAzurek can see as he makes his way up the ladder is a dark cloud of shadows enveloping the tunnel. The sensation of fear and forboding increases exponentially as it draws nearer. Those who make it up the ladder find themselves in a replica of the Zephyr basement.&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Lukas has connected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls off the ladder and onto the floor. Shi expects the basement to still be dark as before, so some new lighting is needed. And to be honest shi didn&#039;t give a rat&#039;s ass (no pun intended) if people could see hi intersex junk, there were more important matters to deal with. &amp;quot;Double time people. Can&#039;t let that thing catch up with us. Once we get up, close the damned lid and freeze it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;You got something to do that with?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after pulling herself up and out, then turns around to offer a hand to Ryu and haul him up. &amp;quot;Theeeere we go big guy,&amp;quot; she chitters, then dangles a thin arm back down for their final party member. It was almost comical, she thinking she could help him up. But it was the thought! &amp;quot;I gotta give it to your guy, this is a workout..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek gets a chill in his body from witnessing whatever it is that is hunting them.  In fact he almost falters in his climb to just stare and watch it advance.  Mickey&#039;s voice actually helps him come back to reality and he climbs up as quickly as possible, &amp;quot;Whatever it is...just reminds me of a game I once played before the nanites infected everything.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Mrphs lookign back at Maz, &amp;quot;Well at least ......Lets just try to get this over with..I don&#039;t want to be here either and I hate how this feels..&amp;quot; he says quietly, shuddering a bit as he glances back down there, but he smiles and looks at the others, &amp;quot;...At least I know I will be glad when we get out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes a little huffy. &amp;quot;Ice shards. I know someone has those. Because fire sure as hell won&#039;t work.&amp;quot; You know what, nevermind. Shi&#039;ll light up the room and get hir ass moving for the stairwell. Elevators are a no-no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey perks her ears, and shivers as she sees just how solid that darkness really was from up here. &amp;quot;Really? Which?&amp;quot; She chitters as she &#039;helps&#039; haul the Komodo up, then quickly close the latch behind them. &amp;quot;So..what exactly are we looking for, anyway?&amp;quot; she asks after standing and brushing herself off, then follows. &amp;quot;Or ya think we&#039;ll know when we see it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since I&#039;ve played it.  I don&#039;t recall what it was called.  Basically it had a giant wall of shadow approaching you while you tried to save several allies.&amp;quot;  He shrugs and looks around with the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly in thought as he he glances around, &amp;quot;Well, this doesn&#039;t sound similar at all..&amp;quot; he sighs, and squirms, &amp;quot;Hopefully we won&#039;t have to try to escape like that...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...as he rubs the back of his head, &amp;quot;Well now...lets see.....so we need..to find the virus now and..destroy it sometime..?&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A staircase leading up to where the lobby should be can be spotted on the opposite side of the room where it would normally be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori proceeds across the room at a quick jog. Jiggle tits, jiggle tits. Ignore the kiggly tits. &amp;quot;They got the internal layout wrong. The stairs are on the wrong side of the room. Hup! C&#039;mon, let&#039;s go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey grunts as she brushes herself off and shuffles her wings. &amp;quot;Really?&amp;quot; She squeaks as she follows along up the stairs. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think the whole building is like that, do you? I mean, this isn&#039;t real. We can&#039;t get trapped on a neverending staircase can we?&amp;quot; She looks back to the reptiles. &amp;quot;Like..are we actually /climbing/..?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shrugs while following up the stairs, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever been this far down so I have no idea.  Anything that might be below the Triage center is unknown to me.&amp;quot;  He climbs behind the group, still taking up the rear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly walks apparently just infront of maz, so he continues getting a wonderful view, but ryusho mrphs, &amp;quot;I remember a game with a never ending staircase, but it was only untill you got enough stars or..something that it would do that, then it would turn to a normal staircase, I remember I ran up it ten minutes randomly for no reasonk because the instant you turn around after trying to run up it like that your righ tback at the very start of the stairs....no matter how far you went up...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: When the party reaches the first floor and what should be the lobby, something very different and very unusual is what awaits them. A vast expanse of blackness extends as far as you can see downward where the floor should be. Laws of physics and space are defied as the top of the stairs abruptly ends. There does not sppear to be a ceiling or walls to this room. In this expanse are a series of platforms that lead to the other side where another staircase can be seen. Some of the platforms are slowly moving back and forth, or rotating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops dead at the top of the stairs. So sudden in fact that everyone else could collide with hir back if they weren&#039;t careful. &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; There&#039;s a long pause of ten to fifteen seconds before hir ears flatten. &amp;quot;FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!&amp;quot; Shi clearly hates platform games.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey nearly bumps into Kori, but stops herself with a hand on her back. &amp;quot;What is it?&amp;quot; She squeaks, then looks past her. &amp;quot;Oh you gotta..&amp;quot; Instinctively she unfurls her wings, then slowly puts them away. She never had her previous question about flight answered, and that looked like a long way down to nothing to risk any sort of actual test. &amp;quot;So we&#039;re jumping then. Awesome&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as maz bumps into him, and of course that makes him &#039;slosh&#039; as he shifts a bit, as he glances around slowly, &amp;quot;Well, Lets see..&amp;quot; he says softly, ..as he rubs his head, &amp;quot;Part of me wants to take a wild guess, a nd assume it is...just like..-everything- is colored the exact same shade of black, so you can&#039;t see the difference between walls, ceiling and floor.....it just looks like it is..all a bunch of nothing but is actually there...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;..but I don&#039;t want to test that realy...&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The nearest platform is static, and just a short jump away from the top of the stairs. The next is a little further, and slowly moves back and forth. The third platform is a staircase block which must be ascended before leaping down to a thin, long rotating platform. This must be crossed before it turns too much and tips anyone on top of it off. After that there&#039;s a ledge on which the exit staircase lies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori growls at the platforms, even HISSING at them. Hir first actual test of the room was to fling a fireball at the blackness under hir toes (since shi is at the very edge of the staircase) and watch it fly down and down and further down until it vanishes into the darkness. &amp;quot;Fucking bottomless fuckpit. Fuckity fuck shit damn fuck!&amp;quot; This takes a moment before shi calms down enough to make the first hop to the nearest platform. &amp;quot;I. Hate. Platform. Games. This has to be the obstacle course part.&amp;quot; And then the next platform. Yeah, harder since its moving and a bit further out. Can&#039;t all pile up on one of those platforms. Has to be single file.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey whines. &amp;quot;One at a time?&amp;quot; She mutters, mostly worried about the more narrowed one. &amp;quot;Then what, one slip up then what, game over? After all that?&amp;quot; She rubs her head. &amp;quot;Fricken..not like our lives and minds are on the line here. Any volunteers?&amp;quot; She asks as she keeps peeking over the edge. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hears something about platforming games and gets an inkling of what is going on even as he reaches up to idly fondle the shadow dragon, &amp;quot;Sounds like it&#039;s going to be fun.  We are supposedly in a game, after all.  Come on, what do we have to lose?  It could be one of those sorts where if you fall you do it all again.&amp;quot;  Someone actually sounds eager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shivers a bit as he gurgles a bit at the fondle, well, -part- of him does anyway, and gets slightly heavier as he looks to mazurek, &amp;quot;...Please, lets not make this any harder for me then it might be, I don&#039;t know if I can even use my wings to aid in the jumps..&amp;quot; he shifts, &amp;quot;And..well it could be, but it could be like....one of those cruel games you could play where you have -one- chance and thats it....but...hopefully it is what you said..not what I said..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts and does his best to begin working behind the others, Leaping to the first plaftorm when it is clear, and then to the next when possible as well...making his way carefully but making sure to keep it -one at a time- so to speak, waiting on the safe platforms obviously&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots aside to make room on the platform. Space is a premium so shi started feeling crowded before long. &amp;quot;Please don&#039;t talk about falling. I don&#039;t want to think about it. I&#039;m too unnerved as things are.&amp;quot; Hir legs bend as shi waits for the right moment to jump, muscles tensing. It wasn&#039;t long before shi made the attempt to leap for the next platform. Someone better have a rope to help if shi misses. Wait..they don&#039;t have ropes. Crap.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori lands safely on the staircase platform.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is third up this time around, and after a brief stretch of her legs she takes a step back. &amp;quot;Seeya on the other side, then,&amp;quot; she mutters to Maz, blows a kiss, then takes the first little leap. Kori goes right on ahead; Mickey waits first for Ryu to perform the more tricky jump and makes sure he sticks it before going herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek waits for the dragon ahead of him to go, so he can study the platforms with as much detail as he can.  He rubs his muzzle just before he leaps onto the first platform to join Mickey.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb restroom&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as he would land on the first platform and then the second with some difficulty as he was trying to progress, keeping up to not fall behind, but he knows he is going to dread the third and fourth jumps..that he is going to have to actually take, though he may let the more nimble or sure go first, unless they would rather he step ahead..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: The winged rat is far from nimble, but at least her time picking through the city help only somewhat with balance. She joins Ryu on the moving platform, flashes him the same kiss for good luck, then makes the third, then last jump in quick succession.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori waits for a moment to get hir wits back about hir. The final jump is the hardest, and it seems that with no solid ground nearby, shi seems to be aquiring a fear of heights. Just don&#039;t look down. don&#039;t look down. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. &amp;quot;When we get out of this one I am going to Sock Darkwyrm for this. Virus be damned, these platforms were deliberate.&amp;quot; One breath, two breaths, three breaths and JUMP!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks but does not comment.  Instead he makes his turns at the leaping.  He works to time it just right to get to the second platform...only to try and leap instantly to get to the staircase-block.  Komodo Leap, go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would grit his teteth slightly, though Mickey may not see it, ...he might of needed that lucky kiss at a better time, because as he gets himself ready for the third jump he waits, and waits, and gets his timing he watched the others, he is certian he can do it, as he leaps, high and ..using his wings he spreads them to try to make the distance, his toe claws staring to touch though he realises,, he is not far enough as they slip off, and his wings slip, making him scrabble to grab, &amp;quot;ShitSHITSHIT!!&amp;quot; ...and completely fails to stop himself from falling....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho manages to completely miss the jump as the platform moves away from where he was jumping to. He falls into the murky blackness...   ....    .... and then reappears falling from the ceiling, landing hard on another small platform that had just materialized next to the staircase.&lt;br /&gt;
tell ryusho Any injuries you sustained from the fall are up to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori lands on the platform with a loud thump. Hir large mass started to tip the platform, proving there wasn&#039;t any ground underneath them more visibly. Shi did not stick around to let that platform finish tipping before making a mad dash to the other staircase where shi skids to a halt to wait for the others. And Ryu ends up missing completely only to fall from the sky and smack into a new platform. That looked damn painful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey lands her jump, turns and squeaks out a note of surprise, then just..stares when Ryu reappears. &amp;quot;Oh well..huh.&amp;quot; She shrugs, and with a bit more ease and less stress she goes for the final jump and lands it. Woo. Awesome. Who needs athletics.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek lands with notable grace on the staircase platform and looks behind just in time to see the dragon miss the platform.  He peers off the side to watch him fall only to squeak upon the dragon landing rather close by.  He can&#039;t help but giggle and rub the dragon&#039;s head, &amp;quot;See?  It wasn&#039;t so bad.  Now to finish this game!&amp;quot;  Onward he goes, studying the rotating platform and finally leaping when he senses the time is right!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would...of probably wanted to bite maz&#039;s hand off as he apparently didn&#039;t hear the -CRACK- as he hit the platform..since he had not expected that and..well had found himself falling -backwards- ...though he lies there gritting his teeth...and saying enough curse words that heck, the -game- bleeps him out...from how bad he is cursing, ...even -if- it has a virus thats pretty bad...as he slowly gets to his feet and well...it is easily visble what is the problem, ..the right wing is not going to be of any more use durring this challenge...at least untill the nanites get a chance to fix it back up....if he decides to wait there, but he does slowly scoot to try to at least look at the next jump, still mumbling curses under his breath..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s senses were off! He makes the jump, but as he scrambles to get up after landing, he doesn&#039;t have enough time to make it across the long platform! It rotates too much, and Maz slips right off the side and plummets into the darkness, only to land on the spot Ryu had just recovered from with a loud smash.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho curls his neck to look at maz..and rather snidely spits out, &amp;quot;Awwww, IT&#039;s not so bad MY ASS&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;...serves your smart mouth right..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori winces, several times. Pain is real in here. So noted. &amp;quot;In case you haven&#039;t forgotten, that thing is still following us. Brush it off and get moving. I don&#039;t like playing leader.&amp;quot; UPSTAIRS! Go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ouch..looked like that stung,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters; she had taken a seat along empty space to sit and rest. Hard not to giggle, but still. &amp;quot;You two gonna join us?&amp;quot; She waves over. It&#039;s meant to be in good-natured jest, but the rat has an annoyance in her tone that directed at their puzzling situation. It&#039;s clear, she&#039;s getting sick of the digital world. It was a shroom trip with no anchor, and she wants off the ride already. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go bust us a virus.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: He had miscalculated.  The Komodo thought he had the timing just right, but there was something amiss.  Something about the platform just wasn&#039;t right!  It isn&#039;t until he steps in it that he realizes what it was and it causes him to lose his footing.  There&#039;s a wet spot on that thing!  He squeals a bit when he begins to fall, only to try and level himself out a bit so he can land on his back.  What he was not expecting was the sudden 180 that happens when he appears from the ceiling.  Instead of landing on his back like he wanted, he instead crashes to the platform front first!  His head struck hard enough on the platform that those watching can see some blood fly after the impact.  He is slow to get to his feet after that, spitting out several teeth while he is doing so.  He&#039;s developed a bloody nose to boot, streaming down his snout.  This has not daunted him in the slightest and he tries again after several seconds pass, getting his head cleared up as much as possible in that short time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth as he looks at the new, or next jump before he leaps, almost closing his eyes, but then landing on it as he scrambles wildly, almost slipping on that wet spot but keeping his footing as he makes a wild scrambling run to get to safety and hold his sore wing to begin coaxing the nanites to begin working at fixing it back up...if he can&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not wait so long this time around on that platform.  He is hurting yet tries his best to not show it to the others even though there&#039;s some notable light gasping to his breath.  He makes it with flying colors this second time, and he actually begins to stumble up the stairs without waiting for the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase that everyone has now reached seems to lead up into nothingness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops at the top of the stairs, huffing angrily and from sprinting too much. &amp;quot;Goddamnit. Enough with the pits of nothingness already!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek somehow manages to get ahead of the dragon and even the rat after making it to the stairs.  He groans and works his way upstairs while wiping his bloody snout, spitting out more teeth along the way.  Hopefully he&#039;ll have them again after the virus is taken care of.  Near the top of the stairs he peers over, around, or however he can at the next room, &amp;quot;Empty space.  Do we jump in and see what we find?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears droop. &amp;quot;Really? Nothing?&amp;quot; she tries to peek around, then rests a hand on Maz&#039;s lowest arm. &amp;quot;You&#039;re hurt. If anyone&#039;s gonna jump, it&#039;s gonna be someone who hasn&#039;t already plunged,&amp;quot; she chitters with a furrow of her brow. &amp;quot;If this wasn&#039;t all fake I&#039;d offer you a drink, but didn&#039;t Dark say we could heal at those machines? Wonder where one would be.&amp;quot; In the darkness? Peeking over the edge, the rat hawks a loogie down. It was just a lame excuse to spit, maybe, in frustration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As Mickey nears the top of the steps, she appears to the rest of the party to disappear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori staps away from the edge of the stairs. &amp;quot;Oh hell no. Not taking a fall. Flying is one thing, falling is another.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s very tempted to push Mickey off the edge, but that would be very unfriendly. Like a Portal2 situation of shoving one&#039;s teammate into a pit to see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was actually watching Mickey at the time she had disappeared, about ready to respond.  His mouth is open and he utters a single syllable..only to go silent once more.  He steps further up the stairs to see what happens when he, too, steps into that particular spot Mickey was in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: It comes as a surprise to Mickey when she sudden hears a wet splat, blinks, and looks around. &amp;quot;Wait..huh?&amp;quot; She could of swore.. &amp;quot;I think you gotta get your eyes checked..guys?&amp;quot; She looks behind her, then frowns. &amp;quot;Was..that a loading screen?&amp;quot; Or did she just glitch out? She steps back and waits; hopefully it wasn&#039;t just a one-frame event.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party can hear Mickey&#039;s voice coming from the top of the stairs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori squints, dumbfounded, at the top of the stairs. &amp;quot;What the hell? I can hear you, but I can&#039;t see you.&amp;quot; Shi shoves Maz further up then where he stopped. &amp;quot;Go on, find out what&#039;s going on here.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;ll follow.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb nature&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek already intended to go further, and the shove makes him stumble a bit.  He continues upward as far as he can, even dropping to all sixes to be alerted to any sort of pitfalls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks, &amp;quot;C&#039;mon up. It looks like another safe area.&amp;quot; I mean, it&#039;s obviously Mickey, right? Sounds just like her. Not quite wishing to touch anything, the rat sorta looks around, eyes the terminal, and chills up against the wall with a simple cross of her arms. Out pops a smoke..yup. Even in the middle of a virus manhunt between sanity and insanity, a rat&#039;s gotta chill.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As son as anyone else reaches the top of the stairs, they suddenly find themselves inside a small room. Here there is a bench for sitting, and a computer terminal with the Giza pyramid logo spinning on the screen.  Another set of stairs leading up is on the opposite side.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori goes right to the terminal, now quite angry at Dark&#039;s choice of...obstacles. Tappity Tappity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks around after he makes it to the next room and just stares at Mickey while he&#039;s lighting up.  Snorting, he shakes his head and follows Kori to the terminal and waits with crossed arms nearby.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: There&#039;s a faint cough as Mickey clears her throat. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t forget to ask for a pickmeup,&amp;quot; she chitters, then blows a few tight smoke rings. It likely doesn&#039;t even have an effect on her mentally, being questionably real; but hell, she couldn&#039;t do that in the real world. Now she could say she did, she nods happily before waving the rings away. &amp;quot;Hopefully this is the last of it. Riddle: Just how do you purge a Virus while inside a program?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho had been stalled at the bottom of those stairs a bit longer then others as he was tending upon his wing as he made his way up and looks around, though only partly as he mrphs, &amp;quot;..Weird..Loading screens...&amp;quot; he asys softly, &amp;quot;Well..loading zones..or something..whatever..&amp;quot; he says softly, as he looks around and makes his way over to everyone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blinks on and Dark&#039;s silhouette appears. &amp;quot;Hello.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;How is everyone faring?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares at the monitor. The first words being &amp;quot;I AM NOT MOTHERFUCKING MARIO!&amp;quot; &amp;gt;___&amp;lt; &amp;quot;No. More. jumping. Puzzles.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek rests one claw on Kori&#039;s closest shoulder, &amp;quot;Shouting at the one we are working for to clear this is not going to help matters.  Keep in mind that we are in an infected zone and it shouldn&#039;t be his fault?&amp;quot;  He huffs and turns his head to one side to spit out yet another tooth, &amp;quot;It doesn&#039;t look like our nanites are helping us heal this time around.  Ryusho and I ended up failing hard on the jumping platform puzzle &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori&#039;s yelling at you about.  I lost teeth and got a bloody nose and Ryusho broke a wing.  We are not infected this time, so hopefully we can save this terminal&#039;s healing power?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Isis has disconnected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey tips her hat when Ryu appears, saying; &amp;quot;Yeah, good thing we didn&#039;t run into ugly on the way up.&amp;quot; Letting the others get the four-one-one from dark, Mickey wanders nonchalantly towards the other stairs to peer upwards and try to peek at their next destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stares over at Kori, &amp;quot;.Do you even THINK that it is POSSIBLE that the puzzle is -NOT- something Dark made but something the Virus may of caused?&amp;quot; He says with a roll of his eyes, &lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You call jumping platforms like a mario game the virus&#039; idea of defense? I don&#039;t. Its acting self aware for crying out loud in this sense.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek sighs, &amp;quot;I didn&#039;t...ask for the healing power to be used for the terminal, but I guess being at peak efficiency is best.&amp;quot;  He removes his hand from Kori&#039;s shoulder after a brief squeeze, &amp;quot;Any ideas what we might be able to do to get rid of this thing, or even the shadow monstrosity that seems to be chasing us?  We know ice works to a point, but we no longer have that capability.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey gives a slight roll of her eyes, then pinches her tonguetip to wet her fingers. The talk of Mario just brings up distracting nostalgia, and she imagines a version of the simulation just across rooftops. Be good training.. &amp;quot;Hmph, I wonder what this would be like if it was actually, you know. Cleaned up and well.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit with mazurek, &amp;quot;I was going to ask if it was possible to help us as in..I don&#039;t think much that we actually have acess too -can- hurt the virus...phsycial contact won&#039;t and wil hurt us, fire and stuf seems to do minimal to nothing...&amp;quot; he shrugs slightly, then looks aorund, &amp;quot;..So I am not sure what to do...&amp;quot; ...he shifts his stance as he thinks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Well, my best advice is to look around the hub carefully once you get there. I&#039;m sure the virus has a weak point somewhere that you can exploit.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says. &amp;quot;If you can destroy the core, the whole thing will deresolve.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori humphs. &amp;quot;And how do we do that? Physical contact doesn&#039;t work. Ice impedes but doesn&#039;t really hurt it. Fire totally doesn&#039;t hurt it though it does make the impacted parts of it de-res.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods, &amp;quot;Then it will need to be fire that we use to open its weak spots, and then someone goes in and pummels it for as long as possible.  I will need to do the latter while someone needs to flame it to death.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Strange,&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she pinches out her smokeable with a sizzling hiss. &amp;quot;Typically in computers it words the other way. Firewalls impede, and I&#039;m sure I heard security programs being called ICE before.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, suddenly lost in her own tangent. &amp;quot;Still, we won&#039;t know just what we&#039;ll be able to do till we actually see what we&#039;re up against.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks and looks at Kori, &amp;quot;..That swhat I just said...&amp;quot; he said softly, with a sigh, as he rumbles a bit, &amp;quot;I suppose I could burn it for impacted spots as needed....at least help since I don&#039;t need to get in direct onctact....&amp;quot; he says quietly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The silhauette of the jackal can be seen poking his head with an index finger. &amp;quot;Use your brains. I cannot pull up a map or information about the hub, so you&#039;ll need to play it by ear.&amp;quot;, he says.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back at Ryu. &amp;quot;Notice he ignored those points both times we brought them up? Unless you have an ice gun. All I got nhere is my crowssbow and fire, some milk based weapons,&amp;quot; cue six-pack breast wiggle, &amp;quot;and a skunk spray. Sure I have physical attacks but we all know how well those work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods slowly, &amp;quot;Alright.  We can&#039;t get any further with the questioning as we stand.  Oh, you had said that you&#039;d be able to do something, or see something, with each terminal we use.  I take it nothing like that will help?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t expect a true answer, so he heads over to the stairs leading up, but does not yet ascend.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey blinks, then glances back to the terminal. &amp;quot;Why? Has it changed that much from whatever you designed it as?&amp;quot; Crap. That means more jumping. Or..shudder, stealth. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s just, ya&#039;know, make sure there&#039;s not a big red button that&#039;s labeled &#039;PURGE&#039; first, then see where we go from there.&amp;quot; She&#039;s voting for wires. She could damn well use a good wirechew right now. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shrugs a bit as hmrphs softy, shrugging a bit, &amp;quot;Well...I guess we will just do what we can...&amp;quot; he says softly rubbing his head a bit&lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori sighs and facepalms. &amp;quot;Right. So no weapons, no antivirus thingie. Just &#039;there is a hub go find it go kill it&#039;. Kill it with what? Fire plus fire is still fire.&amp;quot; Ugh. Fine. Move on, walk and find the exit. &amp;quot;This is going to suck. Milk and crossbow are the only things I have left. What about you three?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek responds before he heads up the stairs, &amp;quot;I am pure physical combat with only a couple of ranged attacks.&amp;quot;  he gets a thoughtful expression and peers down at whoever is immediately behind him, &amp;quot;I&#039;ve never tried the Sharpshooter power without anything physical.  Think I could use my dicks for that?&amp;quot;  Yes, he went there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Feels like a neverending staircase,&amp;quot; mumbles Mickey as she waits to pick up the end of the line. It&#039;s amazing how quickly her mood went from faux high to sulk, but the reminder of yet another room just..well, irks her. &amp;quot;I can blink quickly, maybe sieze it out,&amp;quot; she chitters sourly. Didn&#039;t have anything before, she didn&#039;t have much else now. Please be wires..please..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly turns his head and gives mazurek a look, &amp;quot;If that was possible, I would say that you might have rifles, but I have a cannon.&amp;quot; H esays after a moment...with a shake of his head, laughing quietly...as he walks towards the stairs with the others to head up with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and the party finds themselves in a large, dim office floor. Tendrils of virus corruption are penetrating through the ceiling and floor in some places. A major eye-catcher is a bright red EXIT sign on the opposite side of the room. However, to get ot it, it seems like our asventurers must first pass through this floor which appears to be guarded by shifting sentry lights and laser sensors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a large sigh. &amp;quot;This...is not going to be a good day. Anyone have a smoke grenade?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;No grenades for me.&amp;quot;  He moves in a few feet and studies the lasers and sentry lights, &amp;quot;However, this should be fairly easy.  Do not cross through the lights and you won&#039;t get lasered.  Ryu and I are both black, so that MIGHT help us out.&amp;quot;  He searches for a rock, or other object close by, and sees what happens when he tosses it into the nearest light.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Son of a..&amp;quot; Damnit! Mickey smacks her hand on her face. Stealth. Rockin&#039;. At least she left the shiny swag at home. A glance is given to the other members of their party. &amp;quot;Nope. And no giant box either.&amp;quot; She looks back to the sentries, then cracks her knuckles. Alright, shit&#039;s getting real. &amp;quot;Lettme go first. Don&#039;t wanna be speciest, but--&amp;quot; She stops, then watches Maz toss the rock. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn&#039;t help but feel like she&#039;d next expect a klaxon to start blaring.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori, &amp;quot;Wouldn&#039;t the smoke be thick enough to set -off- the lasers anyway...?&amp;quot; he asys with a quirked brow... though he sits there fore a moment before he then adds, &amp;quot;All this needs now is the Metal Gear Solid sneaking theme...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around, &amp;quot;...not to mention be dressed in a dark grey tight fitting body suit, and a nice head bandanna....&amp;quot; he adds with a chuckle to himself......Then looks to mickey, &amp;quot;Exactly, we need a giant box to crawl in, then just freeze when a light comes nearby...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The rock clacks as it hits and bounces off the floor a few times and passes through the light. Immiediately, a warped tentacle of corruption slices through the ceiling and destroys that segment of floor, leaving a glitching hole sparking with black lightning in the program.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hops backward in complete surprise, definitely NOT having expected the appearance of one of the ceiling tentacles!  He settles to one knee and leans forward to rest one hand on the ground, looking about ready to dash in, &amp;quot;Well, I guess being hit by lasers is not our worry today.&amp;quot;  He studies the lights a little more, looking to see if they are moving or if they are actually stationary.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey twitches. Ok, it wasn&#039;t an alarm. Buut. &amp;quot;Ma..maybe..&amp;quot; wait, no goddamnit. Can&#039;t pussy out. &amp;quot;Ri-right. Well.&amp;quot; She clears her throat and eyes the shifting safe spots carefully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll try to take the largest way through for ya guys.&amp;quot; And before she allows the others a chance to stop her she&#039;s off; doing what rats do best. Scurry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly, &amp;quot;..Why is it that challenges keep appearing, that I literally have no skills that would help me in such situations...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey nimbly moves through a series of lights and hops over and ducks under a few lasers, deftly making it to the exit sign on the other side of the floor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would totally boogie down if it wasn&#039;t completely uncalled for. Instead she breathes a sigh of relief, makes sure she didn&#039;t drop her hat along the way, then looks around to wave along the others. &amp;quot;Keep moving. Stay in one place too long and they&#039;ll sweep ya.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori examines the tentacle and the destroyed part of the floor. &amp;quot;First guess, de-res the tentacle if it shows up. Second guess, dart through like a rocket and pray.&amp;quot;  Shi watches Mickey dip and dance around the traps, feeling kind of flustered by the display. It didn&#039;t trip a tentacle, so that&#039;s good. And the visur doesn&#039;t seem to care much for keeping the environment intact. But soon it was hir turn and shi didn&#039;t have as much know-how on hir side. All shi had was agility, speed, and reflexes. If that did trip a tentacle, she still had fire and hopfully being ignited like the Human Torch would force it to de-rez enough to make dealing with it easier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Perhaps being down on one hand and a knee at the time was a good idea.  This helped the large Komodo watch the rat intently, watched how she bobbed and weaved and made things easy for herself.  Snorting once she makes it through, he proves his Readiness (2) by going next.  While he isn&#039;t as quick as the rodent, he does have some Endurance on his side that should help him keep going and not tire quickly.  Bob and weave, skitter and pounce.  Go the way of the Komodo and charge after the prey!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s quick reactions and initating Mickey&#039;s movements see him safely through the gauntlet of security.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks after them and rubs his head slightly, &amp;quot;..You know...I think I will go last..with how my luck was...just for the sake of not catching up to someone and making them have bad luck....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at Ryu, already in a crouch. &amp;quot;Suit yourself. This might hurt... God I hate this place.&amp;quot; Can&#039;t rocket across the room like shi did in the street. &#039;Gear Second&#039; did that and it was a bad idea. So shi is going to hoof it instead. Right... NOW! Full sprint. Keep those senses sharp!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s speed and nimble dodges allow her to skirt past the lights, though not without a few close calls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek manages to dodge, weave, and dart through the obstacle course.  He makes it looks like it is extremely easy with how he bobs and weaves and...ok, you&#039;re repeating yourself.  Komodos may be squat creatures but they are still very quick when they need to be.  Whee....  Oh, hello, Mickey!  Komodo passes by and gooses her rear with his snout!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is waiting on the other side, watching anxiously and hoping she doesn&#039;t have to pick up important pieces. She doubts she could haul back something if, say, Ryu accidently swung left instead of right at a key point. There&#039;s a squeak of surprise as, by the time she&#039;s actually seeing the others making their runs. Wait, where was-- &amp;quot;H-hey!&amp;quot; She squeaks, hikes her tail, and looks around and down with a smirk. &amp;quot;/Damn/..there goes my next question for that tour. Guess I&#039;m in trouble if I ever gotta bolt,&amp;quot; she laughs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho takes a deep breath as he grumbles softly, &amp;quot;Why do I always get caught with situations I am not prepared for...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;Thats it...after this I am going to start trying to learn some thing usefull...and remembre things I did before this whole damn mess..&amp;quot; he grumbles softly as he looks it over..though at least he keeps remembering the games he played...but then mrphs, of course it&#039;s not similar at all...as he then gets ready to go..pray for the best prepare for the worst and GO!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho somehow manages to stumble his way through the trips and traps without tripping anything!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stumbles though but at least to him it feels awesome...I mean to him he just kinda was remembering all sorts of random games he had before the crisis, as he had been watching the room and possibly subconciously noticed a pattern, as he moves, though he almost seems to stop, backtrack, and swerve..a few times even taking some steps that probably get cringed at for &#039;he had to be seen&#039; because of like, brushing almost the edges of -two- different spotlights squeezing between as they went past eachther then around the other side in another suqeeze, a few times even seeming to somehow -miss- lasers even though it looked like it -had- to of brushed him....I suppose all the subconcious game mentality that got to him here basically made him well &#039;see&#039; it as a game..and he was &#039;playing&#039; it as one in his mind...but either way it works!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The door under the EXIT sign glows ominous red from the neon. A dark stairway lies beyond..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori brushes herself off, looking back the way they came. &amp;quot;Everyone in one piece? Yes? Okay.. Lets get the fuk out of here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles and noses right under the raised tail again, even licking back there to the hidden attributes he knows are present already.  It doesn&#039;t last long as he draws back quickly enough to watch the others make it through the maze without problems.  Despite the exit sign making things glow that ugly red, like it&#039;s supposed to anyway, he pushes or pulls the doors open and steps right through them.  Overconfidence makes him not look before he steps through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s whiskers quiver as Maz steals the tongueflick, elicting another squeak and a hurried reach back to try and tug her dress back down. &amp;quot;Yeah yeah, you&#039;re impressive,&amp;quot; she yields, watches Ryu, then throws her hands up in the air. &amp;quot;Awesome. Rat&#039;s gonna be outta a job now.&amp;quot; Well, no one got spiked. It was enough to lift her spirits and smile as she turns to follow Maz a bit more slowly. &amp;quot;Yeah, lets.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blushes  abit as he made his way through &amp;quot;...I guess I just kinda..got into the right mindset or something for that...&amp;quot; he says glancing back and then shrugging, &amp;quot;Well, Forward Bound it seems..&amp;quot; he says after a bit, well at least he is not....humming...a...oh damn it he is like..humming some stealth game related tune...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and through the door, but what lies beyond is hardly an exit. As the party steps into the tower antechamber, the first thing they notice is a huge mass of glitching purple corruption with a huge red eyeball in the middle of it... staring. right. at. them. Tentacles stretch outward from it, encompassing the entire room. Before they know it, the exit is blocked off behind them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back, then directly at the virus. Its behaving like a nanite infection, or a self aware thing. So the first thought to come out of hir mouth was...&amp;quot;Alright, what are you and what the hell are you doing fucking up this simulation?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head slightly after everyone has entered the chamber and causes the doorway to seal.  Now is the time that they need to work together or they will fail.  The final boss approaches, and will it have minions?  Crossing his arms again he cocks his head and asks, &amp;quot;So, now what?  We&#039;re here, and this is where we pass or fail.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Aaah..the &#039;ol &#039;Fake Exit&#039; ruse..&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she stares at their &#039;host&#039; in the middle of the room. She went through fear, anger, and just plain silliness. Now she was back in the zen with the end in sight. She lift up a half-cocked finger, then taps it on her cheek as if in thought. &amp;quot;Hardly the first digital abomination to pull that, I think..&amp;quot; She starts to draw in breath, figuring that whatever happens next it&#039;d be best to have a flaming comeback.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly looks around with a mrph, trying to figure out where the weak spots are as he scratches his head some more, &amp;quot;Oh boy...now the fun begins big time....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The virus core makes no reply, only fixes it huge, terrible eye on the party. Some of the mass shofts, and a large tentacle drops down the wall and down to the ground, sweeping in a wide arc towards the party! At this moment also a generator is revealed under the purplish glitchy mass, but only for the moment during which the tentacle is attacking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori doesn&#039;t trust this thing. It may not have replied verbally, but it sure did answer physically with that sweeping tentacle. Jumping would just give it an excuse to counter, so shi just... Spat fire at the tentacle sweeping the ground at them. Literally. &amp;quot;Yol Tor Shul!&amp;quot; FWOOSH. This..probably was much tougher code than that thing on the streets, so her second move was to backpedal to try and get out of its reach for the time being. It will adapt and try again with something else VERY soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori as she did fire before he could as he had scrambled to get out of the way, or jump and flap out of the way, as he then looks over, &amp;quot;Just shoot an Arrow Into it&#039;s OH WAIT It has no Knee&#039;s THEN ITS EYE Or something! &amp;quot; He says at that, as he rolls his eyes and then woudl turn to begin breathing fire himself towards it in a nice small inferno &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek grimaces, unable to help spot that overlarge tentacle barreling toward the group.  He is about to act when familiar words reach his ears and he looks back at Kori just as she is launching the fireball, &amp;quot;Seriously?  You chose now to reference...THAT?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t have anything that will harm the thing, so he does what the flamers do not.  He looks for an opening in the tentacle and merely leaps over/through it.  Well, tries to anyway.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey decides to put her own little firework show on hold since Kori already has the flames spitting. &amp;quot;Less shouting!&amp;quot; She squeaks as she skitters to break from the group a bit, choosing to worry more about the dull *thud* of something dropping near by. She spots the thing the virus is attached to, then refocuses on the swinging limb arcing towards them to dodge it with a roll and tumble. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Most of the party dodges the swiping tentacle, but Kori gets snapped in the knees, leaving behind a burning black corruption on the front of both legs. The parts of the viruys hit with fire quiver slightly and shrink ever o slightly, but it is mostly negligible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scored a hit. It was a slightly withering hit, but it proved more effective than previously. But it cost hir, as hir backpedaling didn&#039;t give enough distance to keep it away and next thing she feels is a burning feeling. First thing hir natural combat instinct tells hir to do is HEAL it, so up comes a tit and..*suckle suckle suckle* Everyone else has to handle this next few seconds on their own while shi tries to &#039;heal&#039; this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would offer to help heal her but he doesn&#039;t think it would be beneficial to their cause.  He instead bounds toward the virus core while remaining on all sixes, keeping very alert to what is happening around him as much as possible.  He&#039;s ready for another assault, though not knowing what form it will be in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey catches sight of Kori out of the corner of her eyes, winces, and resists the urge to follow after Maz. The other two showed them the more agile and stronger anyway. So she best serves as a distraction. &amp;quot;Oi! C&#039;mon ya ugly fucker!&amp;quot; she taunts when she circles within view of that eye, turns to whip her tail in its sight, then run in the other direction. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve fought Influenza stronger then you!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts his position, to scoot around to try to burn again well use the flamethrower ability he has, as he looks, &amp;quot;Oh hey, Try..Try to hit the stuff he keeps hiding behind him..If you can see it.I thought I saw it a bit ago..&amp;quot; he says, though hey, fire can loop around things as he tries...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The giant eyeball flicks between the party members. A mass on its left recongeals to cover up the generator holdfast that it was clinging to. A mass on its right seems to wind upo before unleashing a large fist-shaped mass of corruption towards the party at high speed, though leaving its generator vulnerable.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots back a little further, dragging hirself along. Legs were feeling rather sluggish. Fragile even. When the milk drink did nothing to cancel out the burning feeling, shi got angry. And boy howdy. First, hir speed got crippled. Second, it was resisting the fire more than the things outside. Third, shi wanted OUT already. This is where those tattoos around hir eyes started glowing. Magic is hard to define even in a digital world. It may have unpredictable results here. But shi was determined to BURN it with holy fire and force it to open up its weak spot. Ra&#039;s Fire would see to that. It just...took time to chant out the summoning spell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was ready.  He had made certain of that.  The side the attack had come from was opening up and he cries out while darting away to outright avoid it, &amp;quot;Strike it!  Mickey!  Strike it now!&amp;quot;  Teamwork was the key here, and they definitely needed to make use of it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder and skids to a stop as the beast goes for Maz and Ryu. Crap. She&#039;s possibly the worst distraction ever. She&#039;s about to start panicking again when she realizes the generator&#039;s exposed on her side as a result. Were there wires? Maybe she cou--No, nevermind; best to join the fire motif. She summons up her own inner flame, then spits out a molten blast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Already had figured out that the weak spot is the generators it is -hiding- when it can, but exposes when attacking as he tries to point that out, but instead, works to get around and closer, so he can focus and try to breath that firey dragon breath &#039;onto&#039; the generator that was uncovered if he could get into position fast enough...since to get -close- to it beyond a certian distance would require risking stepping onto corrupted data..and that might be bad too.....thats what made sense to him...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The metal generator turns red how and then white from the molten blast, and finally explodes. The corrupted fist manages to smash a black hole into the floor before it dissolves into frayed lines of code. The eye seems to spin around wildly for a few moments, almost as if in pain. The left side winds up for an attack again, this time a higher sweep, towards the party&#039;s midsections.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs another few moments. That&#039;s all shi needs. Another few moments. Hir hands and pose and muttering. Totally spell casting. Totally. Keep it busy a moment longer!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek never rose from his hexapedal stance after dodging the first fist, and in those few moments of the eye spinning about he looks away to see how the others were doing.  When the next attack comes he can&#039;t help but groan, &amp;quot;Another weak spot has opened up!  Study it!&amp;quot;  If only he could blast it with a fireball of his own.  Instead of leaping over the new attack head on, the lizard makes an attempt at being rather acrobatic by working to leap onto the side of a wall or whatever is close with a hard surface and launching in a flying leap to try and get over it.  No ducking under for him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: As quickly as she skips into range, Mickey darts back out. There&#039;s still too much fear for a quick retribution to keep close as she circles around the creature once again, picks the wrong rotation, and is forced to slide as the corrupted limb comes around. She&#039;s small, but even if her hat is knocked off she&#039;ll consider it a major loss.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs someone to block those damned tentacles, because moving means breaking concentration from the spell! You know its times like this that hir magic spark is a bit of a disadvantage. But this was also the most complex summoning spell shi had.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho himself might spin and promtly -dive- onto the ground folding his wings tight around him to cover himself partly as he was trying to not be hit, smaller then maz, but still bigger then the others he just had to take a chance, and well, diving was easier with the limited time he had to react then leaping over it, &amp;quot;GAh!..SOMEONE HIT THE DAMN THING!&amp;quot; he says &amp;quot;BUrn it or something! The generator!&amp;quot; he says as he scrambles wildly along the ground trying to stay under the attack before he gets up again...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tentacle passes cleanly over those who had ducked down flat. However for those who didn&#039;t have the ability to duck or dodge, such as Kori, are smacked right in the gut with a thick band of corrupting material and thrown against the wall. After it finishes it swining arc, the tentacle starts to pull itself back to gather over its generator.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies. Not the pleasant kind. you&#039;d think if people heard that chanting they&#039;d think SITTING DUCK. But no. Well see if shi helps YOU again. Thankfully it finished at the point of impact and there was a bright flare of light. In the ceiling. It looks like rays of sunlight for everyone, forming a circle, a portal of sorts. And behind the brigh light is a silluette (typo I know) of a figure dressed up in old egyptian robes and gold shoulderpads. The face is blocked by the light, but it didn&#039;t matter who this was. What mattered was the sun rays turning to focus on this big virus thing much like focusing light through a magnifying glass to burn something. And burn it did... And how. Fire everywhere. Just how much damage that is going to do is entirely beyond even hir guess, because this is a digital world not the real world. It doesn&#039;t work quite like this in the real world; it doesn&#039;t set things around the target on fire, just the target itself. But ask hir later. Shi&#039;s trying to roll over and get another gulp of milk down, for all the good that would do. &amp;quot;F...F..FUCK OFF!&amp;quot; Damn that thing. Why can&#039;t shi just magic this injury away like normal? .. Oh wait.. Maybe magic doesn&#039;t extend in here and what&#039;s happening now was the system&#039;s enterpretation of the devine interference.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Poor Komodo.  What he had wanted to do was to leap over the thing, pole vault it if you would.  Well, wall-kick-leap over it anyway.  Unfortunately for him he wound up miscalculating the speed of the thing by a very wide margin.  As a result, what the thing wanted to do to them proves to be quite different for the large lizard.  He ends up getting struck...everywhere on his front side thanks to being quite literally horizontal at the time of impact.  He goes flying as a result, right into a wall.  If they all have tentacles, he just might be wrapped by one.  If not he slides down to the floor slowly, struggling to remain awake.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jumps back up onto her feet when the overhead is clear, glances around, and winces. Two down, one critical; it&#039;s really hard for her not to panic at this point. One generator left, and she starts scrambling on over to prep another gout of flame. Although it already feels way to hot. Dangerously so. In face when she realizes that there&#039;s already a sharp raise in heat nearby, she quickly scurries away to try and get to cover. Or at least distance&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would be busy scrambling to maz &amp;quot;MAZ! MAZ! Stay with us!&amp;quot; He calls out, as he scrambles and..thenk thinks a moment, wondering if he can help as he takes a risk by moving close, though trying not to touch the corrupted areas, he has an idea and begins to try to help poor Maz so he can keep helping.....hopefully.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s chest is now a mass of sizzling back and purple sparks, matching her shins. Mazurek is in a similar situation. Kori&#039;s spell that she managed to get off starts riddling the giant eye and its peripheral tentacle with light beams. These beams sear through the &#039;flesh&#039; of the virus, leaving gaping holes. The generator is overloaded and explodes, causing the tentacle arm to melt down into nothingness. The eye starts vibrating and wriggling angrily, making the familiar glitchy warbled sound. It finally detaches itself from the ceiling and lands on the floor about 20 yards from the party, looking ready to charge.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares back at it, panting and hissing at this point. You&#039;ve no idea how much energy doing that spell can take out of hir. The most she can do now was shove hirself off to the left and hope contact with the ground doesn&#039;t make this pain flare worse. Whatever is going on right now, science was trumping magic as far as the black patches were concerned. But at least shi has some emergency defense active. Yup, more fire. Shi ignited hirself and started emitting a massive skunk spray. Sorry other fightrs, self preservation responces!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is barely kept awake by the burning, stinging sensation that covers his entire front.  His genitals actually join in the fiery burning feeling.  If only it had struck his back and not the front! He&#039;s going to need some assistance and quickly, for the corruption will be spreading unchecked without aid.  Then again, he tries to focus his last bits of strength on his healing abilities.  He seeks to get the nanites to respond and Reconstruct the critical areas, just like Rtysho is doing already.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is apart from the others, but she&#039;s already tucking her wing away from shielding her face as she scrambles to make the intercept. Ryu&#039;s on Maz, Kori&#039;s rolling, and what does she have beside fire? Nothing. So what will she use? More fire. Drawing even up to the virus just as it starts to roll, Mickey darts past spewing out the flames and keeps pace to leave the fire cooking. It takes a pretty deep breath, and she&#039;s straining hard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has no clue if he is helping maz at all,but he certianly is trying as he shifts, glancing over his shoulder, but half bracing himself, he can&#039;t stop the work to try to help to attack untill he either knows it is working or if it is not, and if working he would keep working but if not then he would tryt o help end this even faster because then they would get out hopefully.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The eyeball sprouts some tentacles underneath it that seem to give it some locomotion. It starts slowly closing the distance between it and the party, though quickly gaining speed. Its eyeball is red and glaringly angry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flops onto hir back against the wall, grabbing one breast of squeezing it HARD. So hard it hurt. MILK! Milk Squirt in fact. Maybe if it can be blinded by milk, shi can grab hir crossbow and poke that eye out with it from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek whimpers a little from the pain that is much worse than anything he&#039;s ever gone through.  To Ryu he croaks out, &amp;quot;F-fire...Ice...whatever...  Spit in its eye.&amp;quot;  Poor lizard can&#039;t hold on any longer, passing out right there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jogs to keep up along with it, then runs. She&#039;s gotta refill her lungs after each mighty gasp, and she leaves a trail of fire under the virus&#039;s path as she keeps a constant slow roast going; squinting eyes keeping an eye out for tentacles in her step.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would shift, turning as he feels he is not doing any good, meaning the only thing he can do then is to try to help and fight, finish it as he lets out a roar, beginning to let loose another inferno from his maw as he shifts, though he does aim it for the eye, he also makes sure Mickey is not in the way before it goes roaring through the air and begins to cause a case of Dry Eye, that I doubt any ammount of Clear Eyes could help...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Garbled sounds of potential pain sound off as the eyeball moves over the trail of fire. The projectiled milk in its &#039;face&#039; causes it to close its eyelids and shake itself off. Parts of it slowly dissipate off as the ticks of damage do their thing. It it hit by the blast of fire just as it was opening its eye again, only to be roasted and forced shut again. Squares of its mass flake off and poof as it is nicked away at.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pulls the crossbow out of hiding, slow and hampered by the burning pain. At least the corruption is slow. If they kill this thing it might reverse some of the damage. On the other hand, it might not. With a loaded crossbow ready and pain making it hard to move around quickly, shi had to take hir time aiming it. Wait for it to open its eye...FIRE! *twang!*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps herself even, steadily blowing and constantly applying the heat. The rat doesn&#039;t need to breath to worry about passing out, she she&#039;s a bellows. In, out, over and over with her face matted damp and fur well-singed. She likely has some burns under her fur, and if she didn&#039;t have her goggles her eyes would of been cooked. Doesn&#039;t matter. In with the superhot air, out with the even hotter. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would simply shift his position, taking a minute to regain some of his breath, and re-heat within him as he would then roar out another blast of fire as he could, already kind of..mad , or should I say heated, at the fact that Mazurek was down...and was partly trying ot take it out before it could possibly make mazurek be in such -bad- condition! It needs to DIE! DIe you damn eyeballthing! and stop soundling like a crazy enraged computer core!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The sustained fire stops the eyeball in its tracks as it quickly loses mass to the assault. It shakes and quivers as its purple-black parts slough off of it and dissipate. It gives a last, warbled cry as the whole of it collapses into cubic code and divides and divides until it is no more. The corruption affecting the various party members fades with the demise of the virus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori drops the crossbow on the ground. The holes in the ground were vanishing, which was good. And the pain was fading too along with the black spots on hir body. That was...well, great. Shi&#039;d feel more enthusiastic if the entire ordeal didn&#039;t wear hir out. &amp;quot;About time...&amp;quot; Now PLEASE open the exit. Shi wants to take a nap, but not in here. No, hell no, and fuck no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Sighs softly as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I h ope they can get us out of here now..this is ..really, I think we need to get out of here..&amp;quot; he says though he shifts and..randomly feels his head for a headband to remove incase he coudl just do that..as he sighs quietly, &amp;quot;.....Maz needs a checkup out of here, muckey and kori probably need one to be safe..I at least didn&#039;t get corrupted..but...well may as well give us all a checkup when we get out just -please- get us out of this thing now please....&amp;quot; he says sighing...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The whole world seems to start glitching and then rows of the background start ro go black, and then you are shrouded in complete darkness... and then the dim lights of the virtual training room flicker on. &amp;quot;Welcome back!&amp;quot; comes Dark&#039;s voice over the speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stays in the chair. Not certain if it would be smart to move. Wait.. There were no chairs. Then... Oh. Ground. Right. Stay still on the ground then. &amp;quot;...Once is enough thank you... Is there a couch I can nap on...That hurt a lot, and I feel really tired after using all that energy to coax a magical being into a digital plane...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho sighs softly, as he slowly takes that headpeice off and sets it aside, &amp;quot;Thank goodness...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he looks around, &amp;quot;....I would suggest you check up on Maz...&amp;quot; he says softly as he looks around and then goes over to remove his headband carefully, &amp;quot;He..is kind of out cold right now actually...&amp;quot; he says softly, as he begins to check mazurek over as he could himself...while he was going to stay if he could to help make sure his friend was alright.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained are no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30411</id>
		<title>Lost in Cyberspace</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30411"/>
		<updated>2013-04-22T10:56:26Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Kori]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mazurek]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Cerris]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ryusho]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mickey]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Foxheart]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Smokie]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The communique had some basic directions to the Giza headquarters, and once anyone draws near the building, it is easy to see. A large pyramid logo on a three-story building is lit up by a neon GIZA sign. The first floor has another, smaller sign that says, &amp;quot;AWOL Bar and Grill&amp;quot;. Once you enter the first floor doors, the smell of food assaults you and you can see a small restaurant with a bar. It&#039;s mostly deserted save for a surly-looking bartender and a few agents with Giza uniforms. Once inside, you are directed to the second floor stairway and then to a meeting room at the end of the hall. Inside the room it is dimly lit, with only a single hanging light over the table. A figure in a heavy trench coat sits at the head, the tall-eared silhouette of Darkwyrm. He has a folder in front of him, fat with papers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has been to this place at least once before, but it has been a very long time since then.  The desire to visit his old friend actually comes just before the comms are inundated with the request from the company.  So... he goes and meets with the group in question.  The large Komodo with four arms lets himself be escorted, taking the time to enjoy the sights he can and ignoring the scents of all the food.  Distractions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Sometimes rats just need money. Sometimes to get that money, they have to moonlight about doing questionable things for questionable people. Not acting as a rep for mallkind today and actively avoiding the rare rat outside the walls this time around; Mickey is here incognito. Not a horribly clever disguise to pick. She&#039;s still a rather cool rat sporting thick, reflective aviator goggles that just barely hide the sign of a glow around its edges. At least she&#039;s not jingling. She arrives in the boardroom just after Mazurek, and even with her eyes covered the mirth on her face is clear. &amp;quot;Heeey there big guy. Been a bit,&amp;quot; she smirks and lingers beside. &amp;quot;Good to see a familiar face here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: It was always this deja vu with the little Coyote woman.  She swore she&#039;d done this all before.  All of it.  The AWOL bar, she&#039;d been to years ago, but today she felt like she&#039;d already been here on this day before, for the same purpose.  The sign, the room, that sexy bartender that she winks at.  Didn&#039;t she just do that the other day?  It must&#039;ve been one of those weird premonitory dreams that Coyotes get.  She went through teh hallway, up the stairs, to the waiting room, where the sexy jackal she knew waited.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: And then comes savagery. The shadow cast by the familiar to some form of a massive feathered serpent passes over the intended mustering grounds, occluding all but local street lighting briefly before it passes over and is gone.  Shortly there after a team of four military clad beings march up in a wedge formation behind what most would describe as a gaudy neon attention whore decorated in glowing piercings and various jewelry and regalia, all of which lights up at various moments or simply emits a constant scintillating radiance.  Once inside, the subordinates fan out and take attentive postures while a woman with lieutenant&#039;s ranking and a name tag marked &#039;Ripley&#039; speaks up.  &amp;quot;U.S. Hard Corps. Alpha contingent reporting to assist.&amp;quot;  The neon clown remains silent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly makes his way into the area slowly peering around slowly, as he was curious from hearing the call for others to do something at least, though he was slower to enter and find his way up there, as he probably got distracted from good smelling food for a moment, even though he wasn&#039;t hungry, just curious what the scent was actually, before he would head upstairs where he had been pointed peering into the room after everyone else had entered, as he then makes his way in quietly, to be off to one side, ,even if in some ways he is not as quiet as he tries to be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Glad you all could come.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says after clearing his throat. &amp;quot;I see some familiar faces and some others new. Nonetheless, you&#039;re all here, I&#039;m sure, to volunteer as subjects for our training room experiment. As such..&amp;quot;, he pauses as he opens his folder and passes a sheet of paper to each person. &amp;quot;This is a waiver that signifies you understand Giza holds no fault for problems that may occur during testing. It also outlines the safety precautions and your tidy sum. Please sign on the bottom and return them to me so we may get started. Also, any questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles to his old friend when he spots the Anubis, and even the incognito rat.  The latter he scoops up into his arms for a hug before shifting him to cradle in his double sets of arms, &amp;quot;Hello to you as well, Mickey.&amp;quot;  The lizard just might be the oddball of this group, wearing nothing at all.  When it comes time to sign the waivers, he does so without fuss, though he does need to borrow a writing tool.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: An X here, an X there!  So familiar.  She slides the paper back to the jackal, and gives him a wink, too.  Maybe he was in on it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would of thought Cerris and entourage were their hosts at first from the way they stomped on in. &amp;quot;Assist?&amp;quot; She headtilts as she happily accepts her new perch, then watches as the others file on in. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s say, imperfect world, what sort of problems would ya expect?&amp;quot; she asks as she scans the papers, then uses Maz&#039;s broad front to scribble a quick scribble. &amp;quot;We talkin&#039;, Total-Recall mental freakout? Or Star Trek Holodeck malfunction?&amp;quot; She hands it back, adjusts her goggles, then pats the lizard. Least there were friends. And money.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: The military group, for their part discuss the document they are signing in hushed tones.  The Lt. conferring with the glowing individual amongst them before Cerris, the man with the ability to stupid sparkle vamps sim dim and lackluster in comparisson, speaks up. &amp;quot;Gimme a sec here champ, I know a few people over in Zephyr that have been looking for a place to sink some extra funding so they don&#039;t lose it next cycle.  I think this here playground sandbox of your&#039;s will be just up their alley.&amp;quot;  Without waiting for a reply, the rest of the soldiers sign and return the documents to the Lt. before she brings them all up, Cerris having stepped off to the side to make a quick radio chat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he reads over it slightly, though he was just glancing for anything that might look like annoying small print, but he is not much of one for being skilled with...legaleeze or whatever they want to call The party of the first part and second part declare the party of the third part, not in conjunction with the fourth part or..whatever the crap it is called, as he rumbles and then slowly would shift to begin to sign it after trying to vaguely decipher any ..whatever you want to call that doubletalk...but since mazurek didn&#039;t bother much with it, he feels no real reason to worry too much since he does help Mazurek with another bit of work he does, though the dragon does at least wear &#039;clothes&#039; though they are definately tailored to fit his rather....large form, and..well large forms that he has on his large form.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori took hir time wandering hir way here. So saying shi was late to the party is very accurate. Even when catching up with the group shi took hir time in reading the papers from top to bottom (excluding fine print too small to read), slowing hir down further. This rounded up to a slow walk around the halls following clues and voices in a passive manner while shi was focused on the paperwork. &amp;quot;Sounds like Total Recall... But they have quality assurance groups for pre-testing before making something public.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm glares as the soldiers fan out in his meeting room. &amp;quot;I can assure you, there are numerous safety protocols in place, and I will be monitoring the program the entire time.&amp;quot;, he says to Mickey without taking his gaze away. He gathers up the signed papers and stuffs them back into the folder. &amp;quot;Your posse can stay in here.&amp;quot;, he says to Cerris, not bothering to note if he is listening or not. &amp;quot;The test is not calibrated for that many personel.&amp;quot; He gets up out of his chair and nods to the group before gesturing to the hallway and stepping out into it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is, assumingly, still being carried by Maz as they all files out. &amp;quot;Oh, /you/ personally? Well that calms my fears..&amp;quot; I mean, she looks like she could toss Dark pretty far trustworthy wise. &amp;quot;S&#039;long as there&#039;s no mention of derezzing, I guess we&#039;ll be alright..&amp;quot; she mulls, then watches the others to judge their reaction.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie stands up an follows.  She&#039;s oggling the Jackal mostly, but keeps glancing over at Cerris.  Is that Cerris?  Whatever.  She can&#039;t contain this huge toothy grin on her face as her claws click on the tile.  Surrounded by all these sexy people...  Damn.  At least one of them she was sure of she knew, but she was still trying to figure out what she remembered the Jackal from.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris snorts when he hears the news, but that just means that he switches the radio conversation over to the L-T to handle, seems she was about to have some free time on her hands while he was off getting potentially skull fucked. &amp;quot;Posse, ha!  That makes me sound like some sort of Strange Modern Cowboy...How...Needless.&amp;quot;  Now free from his call though he is finally able to turn his attention upon Smokie and to a lesser degree, Mickey and her...steed.  Mickey would be no problem, maybe a bit sassy, but that is often fun...Smokie on the other hand...that smile of her&#039;s made him worry.  Chances were, she&#039;d end up over his knee at the very least by the end of this game.  All the same, there he was, bringing light and levity to the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks over, &amp;quot;Well, I mean, if Mazurek Trusts you, I suppose it should be alright, I mean, He seems to be a decent judge of character for the most part from what I have seen.&amp;quot; he says softly, nodding a bit as he adjusts his position and rumbles in thought, but looks around a bit more in thought at the others who were going to go into this as well&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm shakes his head. &amp;quot;No. We have special headbands you will wear. And the room is programmed with sensors and projectors and all sorts of other stuff I hardly understand build into it.&amp;quot; Darkwyrm says. He pulls open the metal-bound wooden door labeled &amp;quot;Proving Grounds&amp;quot; and ushers everyone inside. The large, dim room is massive, taking up more than half of this floor of the building. Plain white walls extend as far as the darkness allows you to see them. Behind you, a control panel and a shelf are all that is on the wall besides the exit. On the shelf rests several interesting metal headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone take a neural interface and put it on.&amp;quot;, the jackal instructs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;He&#039;s awesome,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters in agreement to Ryu as she enjoys the break from always scurrying about. Not biased in one bit. The rodent turns her hidden sight over to Cerris when she feels that Glare on her. It&#039;s easy to imagine her winking behind it. &amp;quot;Awesome, too,&amp;quot; she adds when Darkwyrm mentions just how much he understood. She slips off her ride after a cheek kiss of thanks to take up a headset and examine it closely. &amp;quot;Fancy,&amp;quot; she remarks as she replaces her goggles, then turns to show it off. Bright blue eyes glow fierce. &amp;quot;S&#039;how it look? Could use some style..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The rat and the lizard she looked toward, but took no interest in their conversation.  Her grin did not leave as she sniffed the air in the room, walking around the group there, her tail swaying.  Eventually the jackal&#039;s voice stole the coyote&#039;s interest, and she went to him to take her headset.  She looked at it, and laughed a little.  &amp;quot;Trying to show up the Prommies and their lightbulb sombreros, eh?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris, for his part simply studies the headset long enough to make certain he doesn&#039;t understand it much more than his does quantum physics or medical biology and thus simply cavemans his way through placing the thing on his head.  This of course requires he observe others and mimic their actions before finally grunting his relief.  Then he settles in to splitting his attention between their host and the coyote.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho quietly takes a look at one of the bands, as he holds it, looking it over, just partly checking out and making sure what side seems to be -up- then carefully putting it on when he could chuckling, &amp;quot;This almst feels a little silly to wear..reminds me of some sort of...old...show or comic book thing one might see somewhere...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Very good.&amp;quot;, Dark says with a nod as he watches the volunteers put on the headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone stay in here and mil about, I&#039;m going to excuse myself to the control room.&amp;quot; With a short bow, he heads out the door and closes it behind him. About a minute later, a speaker crackles on and you can hear his voice again. &amp;quot;Alright, everyone just stand still while I calibrate this..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie had been standing still the whole time, arms crossed, hips cocked.  She occasionally shifted her weight to the other paw.  A sigh.  Damn.  She thought she caught Cerris looking at her a few times, but did not say anything, or otherwise react except to look away.  She was being fairly unsociable this time, she realized.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek had remained the silent giant of a lizard throughout the introductions following the signing of the documents.  When Mickey goes to slip off of him he squats to futher help her do so and he grabs a headband of his own.  Putting it on as instructed he turns to Ryusho and smiles, &amp;quot;I trust Darkwyrm for the simple reason that he is a very close friend, and at one point my mate.  He sired a few children with me, too.  Some you&#039;ve seen during the days you&#039;re around the Reservation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Hey really?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after she finishes fine-tuning the headgear. She&#039;s a rather good source of added light as her searchlight-gaze sweeps about; the visor causing a gaussian blur that softens the light, but makes her look something strange. &amp;quot;That actually does help a bit. Must be some pretty awesome kids if they&#039;re there,&amp;quot; she hums as she chills with the group, then does her best to freeze. &amp;quot;Bet I get high score,&amp;quot; she chitters under her breath in jest. Really, she had no clue if there would even be such a thing..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris&#039;s blazing gaze can&#039;t help be felt by the coyote, it practically spotlights her local or at least it does as long as the lighting remains low.  Tracing streamers of light with every movement of his hands, he halts about halfway to his intercept of Smokie, remaining still as the host requests.  Each moment ticking through another spectrum of light his hair goes through in it&#039;s carefully braided state.  A million things lance through his head to lash out at the coyote with, most filled with bile, spite and outrage.  But one of the few others wins through and so he says in a low tone that he is certain those...that sharp ear will pick up. &amp;quot;She asked about you, Rouge was pleased with your visit.&amp;quot;  That said, he grunts again when Mickey makes a challenge of things, of course he rises to the occassion, he&#039;s the manliest of men afterall.  &amp;quot;Little lady, if you beat me, I will owe you an IOU for anything you want.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit towards Mazurek, &amp;quot;Well, I may have some on my one someday, though I may need to figure out and eventually return myself to a..more reasonable size as some would say, or find one who would like be the mate of one as...rather large as I am...&amp;quot; he says with a chuckle &amp;quot;But that is for a future time I know, but this I feel will be interesting at the very least, a new experience.&amp;quot; He says as he waits, glancing around the room while they wait&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori continues to examine the headband, ignoring most of the people chattering or goofing of. This is science. Science needs some seriousness. ... Okay not everyone was goofing off, but it was a bit too chatty. &amp;quot;I guess going human would help with these contacts. We&#039;ll see how it goes.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s mumbling to hirself while fitting it around hir head. &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to want to see our kids after this, Dark. So.. Now what. Any chairs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;No chairs.&amp;quot;, the voice in the speaker crackles. &amp;quot;There&#039;s gonna be a bright flash of light, and you&#039;ll then be &#039;transported&#039; to the training grounds. Just.. a military-style obstacle course to begin with. Just a moment.. starting it up..&amp;quot; About a minute later, the room humms with hidden machinery behind the walls and the dim light flicks and finally go out, leaving the room completely dark. Moments later, the entire room flashes white... but then it flickers again. The room&#039;s lighting seems to start doing some sort of strobe effect. Then strobe turns to static, like you would see on a television set with no input. Then, it stops. Everything is quiet for a moment. You don&#039;t know when it appeared, but you find yourself in a city. Wait, didn&#039;t he say military obstacle course? Further investigation reveals that this city looks much like pre-promethean Fairhaven. The buildings are intact, there are people walking down the sidewalks, though they are all turned away so you cannot see their faces. The sky is.. wait.. The sky is NOT normal. The sky is the same static you saw, but there is a black crack down the middle of it, as if it were made of glass. The lighting in the entire city seems off too.. like the sun were giving off grey light instead of yellow-white. You are all standing in a group in the middle of a street next to each other, and the room you were previously in is nowhere in sight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head to gaze up to where the nearest speaker should be to him, &amp;quot;Military style course, eh?  Anything like what I was in when I helped you test your holographic projectors quite a number of months ago?&amp;quot;  Has it been a year?  Two?  He doesn&#039;t really recall the amount of time, but it works.  He flinches as the scenery changes, groaning softly from all the distortions and such.  When the changes are all finished he can&#039;t help but look around in amazement, &amp;quot;Wow.  This is even better than before.  Where exactly is the training ground from where we currently are?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie seems to stand still, complacent, though her  tail crooks to the left and she sniffs to the right a little at the first change in scenery.  Not so bad, that.  It was the second one that stunned her, though.  The sky was fake, and there were no smells, but in the rest...  What?  WHAT?  Oh lord...  There was a sight she never thought she&#039;d see.  Pre-Pday city...  The coyote almost dropped to her knees, as she becomes visibly...  upset?  She steps back a little, her arms come uncrossed and her knees bend.  What is this?  She knows in her mind it&#039;s fake, but it&#039;s so shocking...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Mickey flashes a thumbs up, but quickly wishes she took it away. The rat is a user. She&#039;s no stranger to weird sights, sounds, or surreal events. Hell, she&#039;s invented her own color once on an acid trip. She named it Gruave. Sensory overload is quite a bitch however, and she&#039;s rather sure the dull pain in her jaw is her clenching her teeth as she fights the urge to seek a point to fix herself. &amp;quot;Baad trip, man,&amp;quot; she grumbles when finally &#039;normal&#039; seems to return..then she likewise takes in the sight with the others. &amp;quot;Funny..I think there&#039;s a few skybox issues,&amp;quot; she says. Her attention is upward, not on the figures around them. &amp;quot;And it doesn&#039;t look much a course..&amp;quot; Shit. Pretty sure this is how the Holodeck always started to go whackers..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he looks away from Smokie, watching the other reactions around him to verify that he is not suffering alone, that this time everyone else was in on the weirdness.  Reassured he wasn&#039;t about to suffer a personality break he weathers the storm, though occasionally looking around to be certain nothing was going to melt out of the environment to drag him into the ground.  &amp;quot;This is not an obstacle course and the sky appears damaged...Operator, are you aware of our current urban setting?&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Yes he is speaking to no one in general, expecting a response, doesn&#039;t everyone?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as he looks around &amp;quot;Uhh..this..doesn&#039;t look like a..Military..training course.....this looks more like a city to me..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts slowly, scratching his head as he glances around, and turns around in a circle slowly to get a better look of the area before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;Oh...You have done this kind of stuff before? So I guess maybe we are not supposed to be right on top of it....maybe?&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes disoriented by the strobes of static. This persisted until it settled down and hir new environment stopped looking fuzzy. &amp;quot;... So is this what the city looked like? Kinda makes me miss the college campus back home. Wonder if its fallen to ruin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: In response to Cerris&#039; inquiries, there&#039;s a garbled, distorted sound that seems to come from everywhere. It sounds like a voice.,. but it&#039;s impossible to make out. Seconds later, however, it cuts out abruptly with some static noises.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek can&#039;t help but burst out with some laughter upon realizing something, &amp;quot;Well, it seems that the program has malfunctioned.  Not only that, but we can&#039;t get in touch with the programmer.&amp;quot;  He looks to the others and shrugs, &amp;quot;So...  Who&#039;s up for some exploring?&amp;quot;  Seems someone isn&#039;t paying attention to the others&#039; distress, and he begins to wander down the street.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances down and around. Smokie&#039;s sight sends up the next red flag, and the voice confirms it. &amp;quot;Wh-wait. Is that..ok? Jus&#039;..wandering off like that?&amp;quot; She takes a few steps. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think the &#039;yote is alright.&amp;quot; Her hands go to her pockets as she wonders. Were her smokes here? She could use one. Suddenly the &#039;game&#039; attitude was fading away and replaced with mild worry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The panicking coyote stands in the middle of the road, staring in awe and terror at all the people.  They had to be fake but she was frightened at the prospect.  She was trying to repress her memories.  This kind of stuff she hadn&#039;t counted on.  She thought about all of the things she&#039;d tried to forget, the memories in her brain of a life passed.  She tried to get a grip of herself.  Shaking.   Ears pinned, tail &#039;tween her legs, she gritted her teeth.  Just seeing a city not in ruins, it confronted her very sense of self, and made her wonder if her whole person was just a charade.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Oh thank god her smoking tin. The rat quickly snaps it open, selects one of her fattest spliffs, and quickly sparks it up to clear her nerves. It&#039;s abnormal just how long she holds the smoke in before finally expelling it as one thick cloud. &amp;quot;Ok, ok..let&#039;s chill.&amp;quot; She&#039;s saying it for Smokie&#039;s sake, not her own. Honest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he listens to the sounds of the digital equivalent of their evac copter being shot down just outside of the landing zone.  &amp;quot;Okay, this extraction point is shot, let&#039;s move out!  This is a video game of some sort right?  If it&#039;s not on some sort of timer, then it should end if we complete it or crash it.  So let&#039;s play along until we can reestablish contact with our operator and get a new LZ out of here.  Hey, don&#039;t wander alone!  Group up, we have no way of maintaining ccomms once separated!&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Crazy as it was, he was already in motion to gather up Smokie, his arms sweeping the yote up to shoulder level to be carried either seated or draped across them, he didn&#039;t care, but from there he was heading to get Mickey and start exploring.  &amp;quot;Come on pretty hippy, let&#039;s go see the sights.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, as he looks around slowly, &amp;quot;SO..uhm.....That doesn&#039;t seem like the best situation....that didn&#039;t sound good either..&amp;quot; he says softl as he slowly shifts from side to side....it has been ...a long time since he has seen anything like this..and had gotten quite used to this as it had become and..in one way enjoyed it more in some ways, but..he slowly rubs his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well...&amp;quot; He says softly as he scratches his head a bit more then notices Mazurek wandering off, &amp;quot;HEy..hey! Now wait a moment...&amp;quot; he says as he starts to take off after Mazurek.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The streets are clear of vehicles. There is no traffic to speak of. There are only the strange, destination-less pedestrians that are always.. walking away from you. In the distance down the main street, you can see the original Zephyr building in all of its pre-promethean glory towering above most of the other buildings.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts looking around, examining the fake humans walking up and down the sidewalks and then the sky. So they&#039;re having technical difficulties. Great. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t know what the goal is, dude. Its supposed to be an obstacle course, but this is clearly not what they intended. So we don&#039;t know where to go. I suggest we start at the Zephyr building or get a map so we can identify the extraction point. Oh.. And be careful, these Non-Player-Characters might be hostile if they&#039;re also banjaxed. Those of us cap[able of looking human should do so now so they won&#039;t take notice as easily.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does, indeed, stop when called out to do so, and actually rejoins the group almost immediately.  Talk about the Zephyr building finally makes him look around much more closely than before and he grins upon finally spotting it, &amp;quot;Ah.  Yes, Zephyr.  If this is the case, then the only logical assumption would, indeed, be to check out the more familiar structure, eh?  Let&#039;s just hope it isn&#039;t some Zombie Horror Game.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Classic,&amp;quot; Mickey mumbles as she puffs along with her smoke. She makes it a point to stay away from the figures even as they&#039;re actively moving away, and with Smokie being cared for in trusted arms the rat is more at ease. At least if the game corrupts and everyone dies, it wouldn&#039;t be bullshit picking them off one by one. &amp;quot;Righto..wait, he has that?&amp;quot; Mickey asks Maz, then rubs her chin. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think flight would be handy. There&#039;s a ceiling up there huh?&amp;quot; She looks up again as they walk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Yes, that&#039;s it.  A lie.  It&#039;s a lie!  The Coyote puts her paw on Cerris, and says, &amp;quot;Put me down, you,&amp;quot; in a shaky voice.  &amp;quot;I&#039;ve got legs and I can run on my own.&amp;quot;  Of course, she&#039;s still shivering all over.  She can&#039;t help it.  This was all too unnerving.  She frowns at Kori&#039;s suggestion.  &amp;quot;I will not turn human.  I never was, I never will be again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris played a few zombie games in his time, hell soldiers on down time play a LOT of games in between working out and jerking off.  Unless they are off duty, then they chase ass and get in fights. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s assume we are temporarily immune to the corruption or anything that develops, if attacked by anything give an alarm and defend yourself, even if that thing was a previous friendly.  And no, Smokie, I&#039;m not putting you down just yet, my shoulder is cold, you are temporarily drafted as an all weather garment...deal with it.&amp;quot;  As flimsy an excuse as it was, it was the closest thing he was going to offer the coyote to plausible deniability.  So onward to Zephyr he marched, eyes and ears tuned for any deviations in their environment as they go, his memory working to try and steer them towards something that will bring his crew into solid footing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts slightly, looking up and away, &amp;quot;If they were hostile, I think they would be looking at us and moving towards us, but I have never seen a single one move towards, or look towards us, but...well who knows, and...well I was human I believe at one point, but....I changed to this form because Ilike it better, and don&#039;t think I can become human again if I wanted too...&amp;quot; he says after a bit, shrugging as he does want to head towards the zephyr building since at least it is a &#039;known&#039; landmark...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to face the direction of Zephyr, taking in its surprisingly clean splendor. Until Smokie starts up an act. &amp;quot;Well fine, wild one. If they do decide to go crazy nd attack us because we&#039;re different in some way, don&#039;t cry about it. They are passive now, and walking away constantly, but that could change at any moment in this glitchy environment.&amp;quot; Hir features start shifting less furry and more human before shi begins walking in Zephyr&#039;s direction. &amp;quot;Gonna need shoes and a proper pair of pants I guess. Already have the jacket.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The people don&#039;t seem to be afraid of you, they dont even look at you. In fact, have you even seen any of their faces? They don&#039;t seem to have picked up their pace at all either. They are just casually walking down the streets. As you pass one as you move down the street, he suddenly turns down another street even though it didn&#039;t seem like that was where he was going. You don&#039;t even glimpse his front, as fast as the turn was. Something definitely seems.. wrong with the citizens. The tower seems to grow exponentially in size as you grow closer to it. Perhaps a small error in the perspective scaling? It looms overhead, windows dark and mirrored glass reflecting the static of the sky above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey leaves behind her trail of smoke as she walks beside the two lizards. Occasionally she glances over to check on Cerris and Smokie, but when the building starts to loom up above her glowing eyes are quick to follow. &amp;quot;Creepy..&amp;quot; she mutters, looks to her barely finished spliff, then quickly deepens her hits. Even if it was fake, it would of been rude to just outright smoke indoors. She&#039;d have to scout it out first. &amp;quot;Welp, let&#039;s find out what&#039;s behind door number one.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the ever-increasing size of the building they&#039;ve all come to know and (maybe) love over the years.  Or is it months?  Whatever.  It&#039;s there, they&#039;re here, and it&#039;s growing.  He even misses the sudden, abrupt turn of the programmed creature down the side street because of it.  Even though Mickey is smoking, or at least was until a moment ago, the iguana picks up the not-rat again and holds her, cradling once more to try and make her at ease again during the trip.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris sets the coyote down and points at an alley up ahead before calling over to the other three. &amp;quot;Hey I just remembered a shop that might be around here that can help with weapons and maps...gonna dip down this alley real quick and check.&amp;quot; And just like that he is off, this too good to delay forward progress for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho misses the person turning away instantly because of watching the building seem to get larger and larger as it seems to get bigger the closer they get before looking around &amp;quot;Are we getting smaller or is it getting bigger..&amp;quot; he says quietly, before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;And I hope you friend can fix this ...soon, this is starting to seem really creepy to me..&amp;quot; he says as he looks up again and mrphs in thought....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You&#039;re worried about a building growing taller in a virtual world whose population seems content to walk away and never turn to look at you? These people may not have a front for all we know, being just half a man or half a woman, literally.&amp;quot; Shi moves closer to the door and nudges it open. &amp;quot;Ten credits on the interior of this building being a big pit of nothingness. Second best destination is the mall up north.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As everyone else is awed by the looming tower, Cerris ducks down an alley. The alley is between two tallish buildings that do not let a lot of light into it. As he passes one shop, a closed electronics store, the television sets in the front display click on. The white-grey static illuminates that part of the alleyway, demanding attention.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek stops when attention is called to the fact that there&#039;s a possible shop close by and actually proceeds to follow Cerris into the alley.  Of course, he&#039;s a few dozen paces behind when those televisions suddenly flicker on and it would be only natural that he gravitates toward the light generated by them.  There must be an insect strain of DNA in him or something.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks as she&#039;s hoisted up once again. This time there&#039;s no real rush in trying to get back down from her. Although her flushing cheeks show her embarrassment, it is too comforting to protest the treatment. To prevent offending she flicks the smoke away just as Maz suddenly turns about. &amp;quot;Really? Would that kind of thing actually translate here?&amp;quot; She nearly topples when Maz changes course again, and as she changes to a more proper perch on his shoulder she follows his gaze. &amp;quot;Huh? Something on?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote happily came to her feet.  The shakes were going away, but she still was shivering.  She was trying to play it off.  She was smiling and whispering to herself that it wasn&#039;t real and that everything didn&#039;t go back to normal and in awhile she&#039;ll be back in her broken bed and her musty blankets in her dirty office in the decrepit, rusted warehouse....  She looks up at the Zephyr building, and laughs a yapping laugh.  &amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris jerks around, a snarl on his lips when Smokie laughs and lights flare up.  &amp;quot;Damnit Smokie don&#039;t fuck arou...&amp;quot;  Doubling back he practically runs to the lit screens, his eyes quickly scanning the storefront for any security devices or alarms before he ventures any closer seeing as it appears to be closed.  Damnit if he doesn&#039;t want all the intel he can get in any given situation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks over, noticing one moving away, but he kinda stays there as he looks up, then around again rubbing his head, &amp;quot;SHouldn&#039;t we...stay together incase something goes wrong? What if this is a glitch and a sudden change to the environment might make it so a place we could go is not accessible...so then we would we stuck not able to get there and if someone was in there they would need another way out...&amp;quot; he says quietly, as he rubs the back of his head more and slowly turns around and looks the way they came, then back and looking up at the..strangely big buillding, he doesn&#039;t remember it being that tall..or even the same scale for what he does remember -exists- for what they know now...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: For a moment there.. wait, there it was again. The pyramid logo of Giza flashed on each of the television screens briefly before fading out again. Could it be a sign?&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek blinks, staring a bit more at the screens as they flicker and fade.  He is quick to point it out to the others, &amp;quot;Alright.  Darkwyrm, if you are still able to monitor us, your company&#039;s logo is only barely coming through.&amp;quot;  He steps into the building and begins to explore the interior, still holding Mickey against him.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears perk up. Not that much with all the metal weighing them down, but still enough. Before they vanish out of sight she turns her head to call out to Ryu. &amp;quot;I think we got an objective marker!&amp;quot; Her tail flickers and, in an attempt to not become totally useless, keeps a watchful lookout from her perch. +5 to swag, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Everyone is going into that little shop.  Damn.  Must the band of heroes always have the shared attention span of a goldfish?  The coyote sighs and brings up the rear, not liking the enclosed space of not-so-decayed buildings.  That static is killing her eyes and her ears.  She grumbles to herself a little.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris actually goes no further than the shop&#039;s entrance, looking for any other activated electronics.  &amp;quot;Look for something to use to supplement this comms failure.  If TVs are giving images, speakers and mics may be doing the job as well.  I&#039;ll secure our point of egress.&amp;quot;  In this situation, his experience as a field officer shines through, overshadowing those moments in which he may or may not have been thinking about how many dicks he could sink into that college girl&#039;s ass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he turns and looks before sighing as he slowly begins to wlak after the others, &amp;quot;Well you know you all could I don&#039;t know, DISCUSS IDEAS before suddenly running off randomly like chickens with their heads cut off!&amp;quot; he calls out as he walks to catch up...&lt;br /&gt;
Kori wanders away from the doors of Zephyr and closer to the light show that attracted so many of the group. &amp;quot;If you can figure out how to supplement this stuff, I&#039;ll try to whip together something to use as a blueprint. Then we gotta figure out how to connect it and get it working.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Inside the dark store, it is mostly what you would expect to see inside of an electronics store. Shelves full of various electrical doodads, keyboards, accessories and the like. None of them are turned on. What really catches your eye is the terminal behind the counter. A pyramid logo is rotating in the center of the screen like a screen saver, almost as if waiting for input.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has used enough computers in the past, and really still does when it comes to his Reservation, that when he discovers the little screensaver with the logo on it...he simply taps the screen to see if anything happens.  If there&#039;s a mouse or keyboard nearby, he does something with those if that fails.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s glowing eyes are darting about like they&#039;re in a candy shop. So many electronics! So much salvage! Goddamn and it was all fake. Glowering at the lack of real fortune, she watches Maz tap away on the screen. The rat waits for several minutes, then when she can&#039;t wait any longer she reaches over to point. &amp;quot;Think you gotta unlock it? Try the Trifecta. Ctrl-alt-del.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote resigns herself to a corner of the shop, looking out the window.  She figures it&#039;s best to let the people with know how do their thing, instead of getting in their way.  She does marvel at some of the pre-Pday stuff, and wonders if there&#039;d be anything left in the real world of this store.  She&#039;d love to salvage things.  Though, most other folks salvaged things to make them work again.  Smokie just salvaged them to make them into jewelry or to take out little parts she might need.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris quietly ducks back out of the shop, hailing Ryusho as he does so. &amp;quot;Hey, watch the alley, I have something else to take care of.&amp;quot; In a moment, Cerris is gone, his considerable athletic ability put into a sprint to carry him swiftly to the gunshop he was hoping to find while everyone else is occupied with getting communications up and running. Note cool speed lines left behind due to glowly stuffs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks as he turns around and looks at Cerris charging off, &amp;quot;WAIT! ...What...WHY DON&amp;quot;T YOU TELL US THIGNS!&amp;quot; he sighs and shifts to lean against the wall, as he hears a gurgle down below as he glances down, &amp;quot;Oh quiet down you four, I will take care of you when we are not in this mess....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris arrives at the arms shop, all right. But if he were to look up at the sign designating the shop, it looks like a crudely drawn gun with the word &amp;quot;Gunz&amp;quot; on it as if it were added only as an afterthought. Peering inside the windows would reveal that the store is just completely black. In fact, there is no door. Once someone fiddles with the terminal, the screen goes black for a few moments before a tall-eared canine head silhouette appears on a background of blue. &amp;quot;Sheesh. Thought you guys would never find a terminal.&amp;quot;, a crackling voice says. &amp;quot;I suppose you&#039;ve gathered by now the program isn&#039;t quite working right.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly slips more into the building as he hears the one on the screen talking as he mrphs softly, &amp;quot;...Lovely...So we are in a program...that is affected by a virus?&amp;quot; he shifts a bit, &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t that mean that it could be possibly....well...risky to be stuck in here? Sinc eyou can&#039;t turn it off?&amp;quot;  he guesses from what he is hearing....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder to Ryu and ushers to him to join around the display. &amp;quot;Sounds troublesome. And us without a security..&amp;quot; wait, never mind. Tron jokes were getting old, truly, and this was actually sounding serious. Like, she wouldn&#039;t be getting paid serious. &amp;quot;Soooo..what then?&amp;quot; She chirps, glancing between the screen and others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: A virus?  That very well IS a predicament.  She growls softly to herself.  &amp;quot;Wait, if we&#039;re in a virus, can the virus...  Infect us?&amp;quot;  She dramatically emphasizes the last word.  It was a momentary idea, but it was just too good to not say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek listens to the others speak their concerns.  Instead of voicing his own concerns he instead asks, &amp;quot;I will run under the assumption that you can see everything that is going on around us, from the half-rezzed population all the way to the oddly gigantic Zephyr building.  So, what is this program&#039;s objective and what is it that we are supposed to do to complete it?  Best get this information out in the open before we face the possibility of this virus preventing us from communicating.  Also, the last time I was engaged into this system it was more a prototype.  Are the safties still operational or will this be lethal to the losers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is a long period of silence after all of the questions are asked. Finally, Darkwyrm activates his mic again and says, &amp;quot;I am unwilling to terminate the program at present, as there is a possibility of damage if turned off prematurely. Uhh.. as far as infection goes, I am unsure of the extent the virus has spread into the system. I would exercise caution. I am surprised you have not seen signs of it yet.&amp;quot; He clears his throat as you can hear the sound of typing through the speaker. &amp;quot;This seems promising though. If you can destroy the virus within the program, I can safely shut down the system and get you out. I can get more help for you if you can wait a few minutes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, &amp;quot;...I guess all we -can- do is wait in one regard, we have no weapons other then ourselves and...some of us don&#039;t look like we are very much &#039;naturally combat built&#039; ...&amp;quot; he says softly, with a hum in thought, &amp;quot;....that being said we don&#039;t even know if what we can do would be able to hurt a virus depending on how it is in the system.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ear gives a little flick at that, and she shoots a glance to Ryu. &amp;quot;Hey, not all of us are built with bulk in mind.&amp;quot; She gives the dragon a slight tilt of her head, then wiggle of her eyebrows. &amp;quot;Whatever you guys think&#039;ll get us out of this wonderland fast enough, I&#039;m game for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie listens keenly with her ear-and-a-half.  Hm, this was definitely something.  She loves over at the dragon, frowning.  &amp;quot;I&#039;m not so big or brawny, but I&#039;ve been in my fair share of fights-&amp;quot; she points up at her half-ear, &amp;quot;-As you can see.  I think we&#039;ll be able to get in there and take out the Master Comp-- I mean virus.  Yeah.  Just leave it to us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a loud sigh. Great. Virus, frozen shutdown. Pulling its plug the hard way could be a lobotomy. The impending sarcasm would have to wait however. &amp;quot;Or they could pull Matrix on us and appear as hostile people in suits. We&#039;d have to Matrix them back. Its a program, we&#039;re digital representations of ourselves so the rules aren&#039;t as clear. Hell for all I know we could all be able to fly in &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks, &amp;quot;No information regarding where we need to go or anything like that, eh?  As far as corruption goes, the sky is the most obvious thing we&#039;ve seen so far.&amp;quot;  Then to Kori, &amp;quot;Some of us can fly just by thinking it.  It just takes the appearance of wings in some cases.&amp;quot;  To Mickey he picks her up into his arms yet again, &amp;quot;I know nothing of the powers of the Mall Rats.  Do they have any combat powers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blicks off and goes black It stays that way for several minutes, threatening to stay off and leave you without any more help from the jackal. But just then, it flicks back on. &amp;quot;Alrighty. I&#039;ve arranged for some help you you.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;Stand by.&amp;quot; A peculiar glow light up the room as a green silhouette appears in the middle of the floor, and slowly becomes more resolved, gaining depths and finally details. A Foxheart has entered the game. However, it seems her appearance has overloaded this station. &amp;quot;Fffzzzt ff-ffiind other... Ssshhhhzzzzzcomputers to contact me.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says through the static before the screen cracks and smokes, turning off forever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as the console seems to begin to short out as he cringes a bit, &amp;quot;Lovely, There....goes our contact with the real world...&amp;quot; he says softly, shaking his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I suppose now our first goal is to begin trying to find another computer console, so we can contact him for what to do next, now that ...well apparently our re-enforcements have arrived....&amp;quot; He says as he looks over Foxheart and nods slightly to them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s wings flutter for balance like a scooped up bird, then transfers over to a sidelong perch along Maz&#039;s shoulder. Give her some green wings and a cracker and she could pass for Polly. &amp;quot;Not &#039;xactly. We mostly shine in avoiding trouble. It&#039;s a Zen kinda thing; don&#039;t bother it, it won&#039;t bother you.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, then pats the Komodo&#039;s chest. &amp;quot;But I&#039;ll keep an escape route open for all of us in case we gotta leg it. Got your back.&amp;quot; Literally; it&#039;s a great view up here. Foxheart is eyed curiously, but any help is accepted at this moment. &amp;quot;Howdy. Welcome.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie looks over at the glow  Reinforcements, huh?  No one like Ahnuhlled.  But that&#039;ll do.  She sighs and moves over to the door, looking out again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart shakes her head and pulls herself together, hands placed at their blade handles before she realizes she recognizes one of the people here...vaguely at least, then stands her guard down. &amp;quot;Darkwyrm, you owe me for this...&amp;quot; She puts a hand over a breast in a salute. &amp;quot;Foxheart. Darkwyrm said you needed some combat backup.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scans her eyes up and down the new arrival, then the terminal the cat thing came from. &amp;quot;... You&#039;d think they could just recompile the environment code in this spot to repair the terminal. The hardware on their end must&#039;ve blown. So... Now what. We still need to know where to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Those several minutes seem to drag onward while the Komodo is awaiting the next bit of information.  He looks over to the new arrival when it finally happens, only to snap his attention right back to the terminal when it breaks, groaning a bit after the final transmission.  With the newcomer&#039;s introduction he nods toward her, &amp;quot;Not everyone here is combat ready.  The more involved the better.&amp;quot;  He makes sure Mickey is safe on his shoulder, holding his legs if he needs to.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: An unusual sound outside gathers your attention, and a strange shifting of color. The lights in the electronics shop go out, leaving you in darkness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks around, &amp;quot;Crap, we need out of this area..or something...I think something thinks this is a good area to mess with..and ...I guess they can&#039;t since that would also affect the area -we- are in and could mess us up...&amp;quot; he says with a cringe, and then shifts, a defensive stance of sorts, &amp;quot;We...need to get out of here, and find another console...so we can get more help, as I said, I don&#039;t think we can fight it with what we have access too right now....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey drapes her tail over Maz&#039;s back as she sits with her legs secure. Good thing too, because she would of given a startled jump once the lights cut off. That blue search-light gaze of hers sweeps around quickly, looking right away for either a back way out or large enough window. &amp;quot;Yeah, I kinda second that idea. Get the feeling the longer we stay in one place the more danger we&#039;re in.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote opens the door and peers into the alleyway outside.  Nothing seems to have changed, as far as she can see.  She sighs, and turns back inside, leaving the door slightly cracked.  &amp;quot;Well, I dunno what&#039;s up.  I suggest we go to the big attention-stealing tower, and not get caught up in fetch-this sidequests.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: A spark of life flitters from the kitsune&#039;s tails as she draws her short sword and lets it guide the wisp like a lantern, giving her just enough light to see a nearby surroundings. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll forgive me if I can&#039;t make this any brighter. Don&#039;t want to burn anyone. Lead the way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at said kitsune, holding up a hand of hir own which promptly ignites. Show-off. &amp;quot;Having a fiery hide can be more useful than giving some ferals a case of hot-foot.&amp;quot; But since they now have two light source, the group should feel fairly comfortable moving on. &amp;quot;So lets just get going.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has his own searchlights!  Well, not really, but they work fairly well.  He uses Mickey&#039;s light to help guide him around the shop, heading toward the exit that Smokie is by.  Well, the room lights up enough thanks to some flaming light anyway, so he shouldn&#039;t bump into anything...maybe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Outside of the shop, the light emitted from the defective, cracked, static skybox has shifted from gray to a pale crimson. Everything looks threatening now from the slight color change. The crack in the sky has widened too.. and inside of the crack a glowing pupil is partially visible.. creepy. You cant see much else from here, being in an alley and all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho peers around and up, &amp;quot;...we need to find the next terminal, so we can get something to protect ourselves with hopefully in this world....because I think something knows we are here now...&amp;quot; he says quietly,  &amp;quot;I think thta should be our first priority...plain and simple...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around still in a partly defensive stance.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps the light turned down towards the floor so that Maz can step cleanly, although when she chances a glance outward and sees the huge eye she quickly shuts them and hurriedly yanks her goggles back up. &amp;quot;Whoo, ok, now /that&#039;s/ fucking creepy,&amp;quot; she shivers and hunches down. &amp;quot;Good idea man. Keep something between us and that..thing, try not to make a fuss. Let&#039;s hit up that building.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The coyote looks up at the sky, and freezes.  She recalls some lore, but she shakes her head.  That is not Coyote&#039;s eye, no, Coyote never had red eyes.  She advances up the alleyway, in the front of the formation, tense.  She&#039;s short enough that everyone behind her can see over her...  A pause.  She lifts her head up, looking up at the red broken sky, and takes a few deep breathes through her nose, and then delicately tries to scent the area.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart draws her other sword, and the longer katana bursts into flame as she readies her technique. She&#039;s far better versed at smashing things, not fixing them, and with a few graceful steps, walks to the front of the group. &amp;quot;Looks like we&#039;re being watched. We might have company...&amp;quot; Her tails furl up and fold into half to make it easier for her to dash if she had to, fur bristling everywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks up with a sharp scowl. Well forget about looking like everything else in here. The light shows down on the ground would draw that thing&#039;s attention up there. &amp;quot;Well fuck. We&#039;re going to stick out like a christmas tree in an orange grove now.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would be one of those that has a distinctive scent to Smokie, though whether it would be good or bad depends on the situation.  It is outside the shop that the sky&#039;s change can be seen clearly, not inside.  Gazing up at the eyeball gazing down at them brings about a simple quip from the large reptile, &amp;quot;Well, looks like we have an idea of what the virus is that we need to destroy.  GladOS, welcome home.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As you step out of the alley, you KNOW something&#039;s changed. The large, prominent Zephyr tower that was tall and pristine before is now covered in pulsing blue and purple tentacles. The very top of the tower is completely covered, with tendrils grasping downward from there and finally blocking entrance to the entire first floor. The tentacles don&#039;t necessarily look fleshy, but they have glowing veins that seem to pump a light blue fluid through them. The stores lining the streets are now destroyed, looking as if they exploded outwards. Those pedestrians you saw before.. well they&#039;re still around, but now they&#039;re facing towards you.. and advancing. There is no wonder why they were facing away from you before. They have no faces. Where their facial features should be is smooth, pale flesh. They don&#039;t seem to be in any rush, but if you move, then they adjust their direction. Walking.. slowly from all sides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts, &amp;quot;Start moving, now, and No, the Zephyr building is -not- our goal right now, that&#039;s probably our -end- goal as the virus is working -from- there, not to there, we gotta find the one place...just..try to keep moving..so they don&#039;t actually -reach- us hopefully...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts..and..decides to glance around &amp;quot;Anyone recall major places that might be nearby, local area?&amp;quot; he shifts as he glances around though walking slowly,&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pages, &amp;quot;how would they take to a blinding sunburst gold flare of light from someone shifting back to their dedication form?&amp;quot; to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ooh-kay..Yeah, good man,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters to Ryu, again her gaze more focused on what&#039;s upward then what&#039;s actually around at ground level. When she finally does notice her hand goes right for her vest pocket. &amp;quot;It&#039;s infecting the city..except these ain&#039;t nanites.&amp;quot; She looks around, tries to quickly count, then picks a direction that she figures could more or less be random. &amp;quot;This is the city, right? Mall is thataway, I know for sure.&amp;quot; You do not question a rat on this, regardless of form.&lt;br /&gt;
tell kori Try it and find out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie turns suddenly, to follow Mickey.  She glances around at the faceless things.  They didn&#039;t really scare her.  It was like some sort of zombie movie without the gore.  But these were never alive.  Now, if she started seeing familiar faces...  THAT would scare her, but it&#039;d take quite a bit, because no one whose face she remembers was human.  She spits in their general direction, and laughs, following the rat.  Suppose they were going to the mall?  This IS turning into a zombie movie.  Of course, what she smelled earlier, it was...  Strange.  Very strange, and she didn&#039;t like it that it was playing with her brain like that, to be putting smells in her mind.  Perhaps this whole thing was planned from the beginning?  That seemed like more of a Zephyr trick, but she never put anything past anyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart keeps her wisp lit anyway as her eyes follow each of the strange figures in turn, looking around, utterly confused. It doesn&#039;t scare her one bit though, considering all that she&#039;s seen before, and then looks at the group once before she shakes her head. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll get through with ease. They don&#039;t look like a threat.&amp;quot; A tail points at the large infested building. &amp;quot;We are here to destroy the virus, aren&#039;t we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shifts hir feet while bending down into a predatory crouch. The eye was watching them, the Zephyr building was being tentacle raped, the &#039;people&#039; were converging slowly on them and the surrounding buildings had exploded form the inside. The virus knew they were there, knew where they were, and didn&#039;t seem to want them to leave. &amp;quot;That&#039;s half the plan. The other half is getting out of here. I suggest closing your eyes. This is kind of bright...okay, very bright. Won&#039;t bother these faceless things much, no eyes.&amp;quot; Hir body begins glowing soon after those words, a glow of yellow-white light like the sun that quickly increases in intensity until it hits a painfully bright radiance. See, hir magic was being used again. Only unlike turning human, returning to hir patron&#039;s lioness form was unfortunately flashy. It wasn&#039;t nearly this bad in the real world though, so this flare of light was only a pain in the ass within this virtual world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is the one being followed, for Mickey is still on his shoulder.  Where the Rat points, the Komodo heads toward, &amp;quot;The things are taking their time, folks.  Let&#039;s just head where instinct says should be perfectly safe.  Can you blame me that I am even more attracted to the Zehpyr building now than before with how it looks now?&amp;quot;  Sensitive noses, this one&#039;s currently in heat here, though has enough self control to keep it visually hidden, &amp;quot;Let us try to survive the in-game night before we try taking on the tentacle building.  Maybe once we get to the mall can we use its resources to do what&#039;s required.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Unsurprisingly, the advancing faceless threat is unaffected by the bright flash. As for the others in the group, that is another matter. Other than the scattered walkers all over the place, the streets are mostly clear of debris. Obviously the first floor of the tower is inaccessible, so if the party wanted to try and get in, they would require an alternate entrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterranean entrance?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho covers his eyes and looks away, &amp;quot;Yes, I know, we need to take out the virus, but for one, we can&#039;t get in the tower easily if you looked at the front door, and two, I don&#039;t see anything that we have that might -actually- be able to work as an anti virus or something...&amp;quot;  he says simply, &amp;quot;It would be hard to remove a virus, when we don&#039;t have anything that is able to remove a computer virus from a computer program, and since we are -in- a computer program....well...&amp;quot; he kinda motions with a hand, thats how logic is working for him right now&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;If it&#039;s something like that, we&#039;ll need to either find it or have it sent,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters to Ryusho, then looks over her shoulder to Fox. &amp;quot;Unless Dark gave ya anything before he zapped you in here?&amp;quot; Pointing out turns as needed, she keeps the party on track. &amp;quot;Either way, it&#039;s only like; two blocks. Maybe we can find something useful left over from the orignial programing. Or a terminal.&amp;quot; She rubs her whiskers. &amp;quot;It&#039;s just right up here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?  (Repose in right spot)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anyone got a drone or two they&#039;re willing to send into sure death?&amp;quot; Foxheart isn&#039;t sure herself if she&#039;s saying this seriously, eyes still kept on the figures on the streets. &amp;quot;I...I think we should find cover as soon as possible. Would be easier to fight from...&amp;quot; Mentally, the kitsune remains fixated on combat and dangers, most of the technology-related stuff completely over her head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori straightens up and starts walking again at a normal pace. The faceless ones weren&#039;t bothered, as expected. The eye in the sky however couldn&#039;t possibly miss it. On the other hand it likely didn&#039;t care. &amp;quot;You&#039;re right. We don&#039;t have an anti-virus. But what if we&#039;re supposed to /be/ the anti-virus? We&#039;re certainly foreign, and this thing has an unhealthy interest in us. Wither we realize it or not, we&#039;re a threat and a curiosity to it. Probably more the latter than the former for the moment.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek pipes up, &amp;quot;Ot it is just watching the whole place all at once?  Does it really matter one way or the other whether it wants something or not?  I have nothing to help with being a decoy other than myself.  Not going that route here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Closer and closer the walkers approach. It isn&#039;t certain what will happen if they reach the party, but who wants to wait and find out? The sprawling strip mall lurches closer as the party quickly outpaces the ominous corrupted citizens. The storefronts are not blown out, but all of the glass is cracked, and most of the windows and doors are boarded up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would motion lightly, &amp;quot;Lets see if we can find a door or something, that is not boarded up, or if we have too I guess we can break in, but....Hopefully this is part of the &#039;atmosphere&#039; this ..virus is causing, not something to try to keep us out of a place the program is not capable of keeping track of.&amp;quot; he says nodding as he mrphs, glancing back at the left behind -mass- of ..faceless things....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey flutters her wings in mild worry when she sees most of the openings covered up. &amp;quot;There&#039;s an electronic&#039;s storefront, maybe another terminal in there. There&#039;s gotta be something useful here..&amp;quot; She mumbles, more to herself, and tries to peer into one of the windows as they pass. &amp;quot;They do look breakable.. Anything beats the welcome party back there.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is following the lizard-mounted rat, glancing behind herself.  Huh.  that wasn&#039;t so bad, those faceless dude.  Yeah, not bad at all!  Of course, her fur&#039;s all on end with fright now.  Blegh.  She keeps going along, looking through the windows.  &amp;quot;I can try and kick one in, if these aren&#039;t static meshes, of course.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart skitters over to the back of the group and keeps both swords at the ready, swinging them if the creatures get too close and snarling. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s be careful, shall we?&amp;quot; She begins to prime a charge in her tails too, ready to blast a path through a currently non-existent horde.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek notes the numerous cracked windows and gets the same idea that most of the others are having about them.  Growing, he takes it one step further and actually calls out, &amp;quot;Mickey!  Brace yourself, we&#039;re going in!&amp;quot;  So saying, he rushes headlong toward one of the windows, only to shift at the last second to a shoulder-rush...the shoulder pair that doesn&#039;t have the rat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is in fact a store with a broken sign over it that reads &amp;quot;EL-CT-ONICS&amp;quot;. The windows all have plywood over them and the door is covered by several 2x4s. When Maz slams into the plywood, he finds himself repelled backwards and sprawled on the ground. The plywood suffered some cracks, but did not fully break. The noise created by this impact, however, is loud enough to wake the dead. Moments later, an unearthly warbled shriek is heard from... somewhere. You can&#039;t pinpoint it, but it doesn&#039;t sound far.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth and cringes as mazurek -slams- into the wood and it cracks, &amp;quot;I think we need to try to -remove- the wood and..&amp;quot; he freezes as he hears the shriek, &amp;quot;We might need to protect ourselves, or try too soon enough....so why don&#039;t someone keep a look out while we try to get the woo dout of the way...without burning the place up preferably....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey looks to Maz, and the window in uncertainty. &amp;quot;Not sure this is the be-&amp;quot; Oh nevermind, he&#039;s going for it anyway. Hopping around, the rodent clings to the far side of Maz&#039;s back. She&#039;s light enough that she herself does no harm to the Komodo when she&#039;s jarred roughly forward against him, but she is forced to scramble quickly in order to prevent herself from ending up trapped below. &amp;quot;Hurry,&amp;quot; she grunts. &amp;quot;Try ripping it..Maz you A&#039;rite?&amp;quot; There&#039;s concern; now they got something else after them too..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie jumps and spins around, ready in a fighting stance with her paws up, one made into a fist, the other holding with her claws out.  Her eyes peer around the lot, growling, her good ear down.  Yeah, she didn&#039;t want to lose her other ear.  For a moment, she forgets it&#039;s a game, and she is seriously worried.  She hasn&#039;t been in too much of a real fight in awhile.  Yeah, she hunts gryphons, but a gryphon with a hole or three in his chest from a 5.56x45 FMJ is hardly much of a fight.  &amp;quot;Sounds like the sub-boss fight&#039;s coming up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Still, to fight a virus...&amp;quot; Foxheart steps a short distance away from the run down store to put up a literal fire wall in front of her with a slash of her flaming blade, hoping that it&#039;ll ward the zombified things from trying to approach too aggressively...and a little less the large opponent she can&#039;t yet see. &amp;quot;The technology stuff is...up to you guys...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls hir eyes at the mention of &#039;sub-boss&#039;. &amp;quot;Seriously, its not a game right now. if that thing beats one of us down it might be able to infect us. Then what happens when it finds a way out of this program? Our bodies will be its new host with it in control. So if we get attacked, shoot to kill.&amp;quot; Speaking of, shi&#039;s engaging hir fiery hide to full blast just in case. &amp;quot;Yay magic firewalls...just don&#039;t touch me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: REBOUND!  The Komodo can feel his body wanting to mash against the boards when he connects with them, but they force him to bounce back!  At least he didn&#039;t break anything in his attempt...other than the boards.  He collapses to the ground face-up, which would have Mickey scrambling to lay on his front instead.  Sprawled out, he groans a little, though that is quickly drowned out by the screech of the unknown thing.  He stares up at the sky and the eyeball above, suddenly finding himself quite dizzy thanks to the impact.  Did he even hear the rat&#039;s question aimed his way?  He&#039;s going to need help up soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Around from the back of one of the buildings, something appears. What that something might be is quite questionable. It looks like a cloud of static mist.. but it is constantly shifting and morphing. Along with it comes a most unusual and disconcerting sound. Like a mashup of the growls and calls of several beasts warbles together and distorted. At one point, it looks like there are some appendages sticking out of it at random points, but then you blink and it&#039;s suddenly sporting hundreds of eyes all over it. Mouths, teeth, horns and a large variety of eyes morph in and out of this cloud. Then it &#039;sees&#039; the party. And flies straight towards it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks, &amp;quot;..Oh Lovely, we have Glitchthulu after us...or maybe this is Bug-rog...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts, &amp;quot;INCOMMING!&amp;quot; he sayas though he shifts and tries to break off one of the boards on the window, if anything to use as an impromptu weapon to keep it farther away then hands reach..&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey shakes herself sensible, then freezes when that..thing comes into view after Ryu&#039;s warning. &amp;quot;Aww fuck, C&#039;mon big guy,&amp;quot; she quickly stoops on Maz&#039;s chest and tugs her goggles down to shine the bright blue light in his face. They needed fighters now, and having one on his back before they even started was not good. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go, doubletime,&amp;quot; she tries a little shake then swats his cheek. Should he still be dazed, she&#039;d flash him full in the face with those volitile eyes to try and shock him on his legs with a squeaky command. &amp;quot;Get up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Oh shit, nope, she wasn&#039;t expecting that.  With a yip she skitters back for a moment, before shaking her head out, and running to the flank of the team.  Firepower all around.  She isn&#039;t sure right away waht it&#039;s supposed to be but she can&#039;t help but try and throw her best at it.  She sure as hell doesn&#039;t want it to touch her, no knowing what it&#039;ll do.  Time for some fire breath!  With a quick little prayer to Coyote she opens up her maw and snarls viciously, a burst of flame spews forth.  Spicy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart takes her short sword and drags her wisp forcibly back into her tails before yelling, &amp;quot;Get down!&amp;quot; She twirls her edge once in a flurry of blades and tails, jagged ice spikes forming from condensation and being shot like arrows, aiming the try to disperse the mist with sheer brute force.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori whips around to the shriek of the new contact. It was a little ways off before. But now its right here and charging the party. Not a good time. Not at all. Shi bends hir legs and squats, putting one fist on the ground. Within a second hir flesh turns shiny and semi-solid, taking on a rubbery jelly quality yet it remained opaque. Hir weight shifts creating a bulge in hir calves that quickly travels up hir legs and into hir body. The flames shi already wore stoked hotter still as it seemed to begin turning the digital water vapor into steam. All the while shi keeps hir eyes on the target. &amp;quot;I always wanted to do this shit. Gear...second.&amp;quot; Another second or two passes as shi watches Ryu, Mickey and Smokey begin to fight it before shi makes hir own move in a literal blur of motion which was quite hard to follow with the naked eye. This sudden acceleration launched hir into the air, allowing hir to cock back a fist that was already on fire, the afterimages making it look a lot like hir arm stretched quite a distance in its jelly state. &amp;quot;Gum gum...Red Hawk!&amp;quot; Incoming high velocity fire punch for mister Eldritch Horror Of Eyes And Mouths!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: The rodent&#039;s tactics work to an extent, and thankfully it&#039;s before the second flashing of the eyes.  The first flash to the eyes, even though only one of them can really be affected thanks to them being wide-set, is enough to break through the daze that the screech somehow did not.  Having Mickey on his chest helps even more and he wraps his arms around her before getting to his feet.  He immediately notices that others are attacking...something.  He&#039;s the only one that isn&#039;t attacking right now, besides Mickey, and he instead shouts out, &amp;quot;Alright, who brought the God Of Decay, Moander, out of the Forgotten Realms?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The fire breath seems to go right through the glitching abomination. However, the ice shards make contact with a sickening crunch, causing large spots of it to disappear into deresolution where the chilledf spikes pass through. It makes another loud, disorienting shriek and pulses, heading straight for Foxheart!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks for several seconds as he shfits, &#039;PHysical force! Use Physical force!&amp;quot; he calls out as he shifts and does eventually work and pry at least part of one of those boards off to try and shift so he can fling it at it in a way if it is not big enough to &#039;wield&#039; as it gets closer...well if he can otherwise -forget it- he will just do something else...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s body spreads out, creating a hole whch Kori flies right through, though not without the creature stinging hir on the way out. The spots on hir back and ass where it makes contact start to crackle with black sparks and sting with corruption.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey, being a fire-type rat, has no real chance of being much use in a straight fight. &amp;quot;We did. Glad you&#039;re up. Be careful.&amp;quot; And she scurries on over to the storefront entrance. She assumes that, best case, they would have a few seconds, so without much time spent looking for ways to arm herself she instead works on finishing up the job Maz started. She figures Ryu&#039;s ripping boards to work his way in, and starts muscling at the plywood covering. It&#039;s less brute force, more trying to leverage up from the sides and pop it from its fastenings to form a way in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Her attack was ineffective.  She snarled.  Well, suppose it&#039;s time to jump into it.  It didn&#039;t really like the solid ice chunks...  Maybe if she tried to claw at it, she could do -something-.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anything you can hit with a piece of ice...you can frag with enough energy...&amp;quot; Foxheart smiles, and then with a bit of added flair, the long sleeves of her kimono crackle with energy and disintegrate into ashes once the large, purple flames start, and then she charges the being with enough force to dry and crack the ground she&#039;s standing on. It isn&#039;t long before she&#039;s howling out in pain from the heat, though the flames are so incredibly intense...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies right through the thing, and clear through the hole in its body. Momentum of the flight carried hir a bit further until shi hit a building. Jelly body or not, impact still hurt. And the dust cloud it created is enough indication that shi needs a moment to get out from the rubble and self assess hir condition.&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the effects of the various attacks by the other &#039;players&#039; and grimaces on noting one of them not affecting while another..having some sort of effect.  He snorts after that and turns his back toward the creature and raises his tail, &amp;quot;CLEAR THE AREA!&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t give much time for a response, for two seconds later, out comes a powerful spray of skunk liquid aimed right for the creature!  (Skunk Blast)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho and Mickeyu manage to pry off one of the large plywood boards covering a window. It&#039;s heavier than it looks though, being hard-packed wood and all. Foxheart flies through the glitch similarly to Kori&#039;s attack. The heat does singe and derez some of its mass along the edges, however Foxheart also gets whipped by a few corrupting tendrils as she passes. Smokie&#039;s attack rips off a chunk of it, but the physical contact with it causes her entire hand to start burning with electrical corruption. The skunk cloud attack appears to have little effect on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts as he grunts, using his size to try to weild it, but doing his best to keep off to the side, as maybe he just needs to swing it and -break- the damn board first, but either way, he would get ready and if mickey helps him, he would try to either swing it himself ot smack it or &#039;clothesline&#039; it with mickey moving on one end and him the other if it was that big, but...well, &amp;quot;STOP GETTING INTO CONTACT WITH IT!&amp;quot; he yells out, &amp;quot;..If thats not obvious enough from watchign whats -happening- when you get in touch with it!&amp;quot; ..at least he is observant....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey oofs softly as the wood finally comes off, and she holds the one side as Ryusho has the other. When she looks between the dragon and the virus, it seems the rat is having the same ideas. And with the window now uncovered..well; &amp;quot;Go! Get inside!&amp;quot; she squeaks out, then braces herself. &amp;quot;Get over here!&amp;quot; If the Virus started to follow, Ryu and her could wall it off in the face..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;There is no room for fear, dragon.&amp;quot; Foxheart growls, and continues her dance with fire, though visibly starting to get winded as she has to focus on dodging any counterattacks to, blades twirling in tandem with her feet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns around after his blast is finished expelling from him...and notices that there&#039;s absolutely no effect.  Unable to hold back a snort he calls out, &amp;quot;Everyone inside, now!  This is not about fear!  Do NOT be a hero!&amp;quot;  He rushes to the aid of whoever needs it and will be the last one in even if it means being the creature&#039;s target&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Sensing movement, the glitch makes a swipe at Foxheart before thrashing towards the fleeing portion of the group. It makes its terrible, confusing noise again as it tries to decide what to do. Those who make it into the electronics can see empty shelves, but a powered on terminal on a table towards the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would stay with mickey, if they kept holding the board, &amp;quot;SHUT UP AND GO INSIDE MAZ!&amp;quot; he calls out, as he shifts, &amp;quot;We can&#039;t try to get in and &#039;block&#039; the way in so it won&#039;t come through with this thing if you are still out here!&amp;quot; at least thats what came to mind for him....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Jus&#039; Go, go!&amp;quot; Mickey edges on those that made the break for it, then looked between Ryu and the others. &amp;quot;Maz just grab her and let&#039;s go.&amp;quot; She keeps a firm grip on her side and tugs to place herself and Ryu at least somewhat infront of the door. Just enough room is left for them to make a break for it, or clothesline the beast; whichever oppertunity reared its ugly head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is already inside.  She looks up at the terminal, then back at the opening.  She doesn&#039;t want to touch it.  Whatever that thing did to her hand...  Did it corrupt her data?  Jeez.  Now was she just making herself scared?  She went back to the opening, and stuck her head out.  &amp;quot;Come in, it&#039;s safe!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek follows the two down without a word or action of dissent.  He does give the two below him quite the view of his privates in the process, given he never wears a thing, &amp;quot;That sounds very intriguing.  I don&#039;t think it&#039;s the virus causing the mist.  If the smell is to be believed, it&#039;s the sewer itself.  Still, we&#039;ve all been in a lot of worse environments.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has been..strangely quiet, though he -did- comment, and didn&#039;t seem to be heard about the corruption thing with an &#039;well -obviously- we shouldn’t touch it, it is a -virus- that corrupts what it touches,  he assumed that before now...especially from what was seen before we were warned, but he was wondering why he was not being noticed, though that might be noticed when he may seem to almost spaz and pop beside where mazurek is after saying a -bunch- of stuff at high speed, before he shakes himself off and looks around blinking, &amp;quot;Holy -crap- what the heck was that? ...&amp;quot; ...okay, so maybe he had a bit of a &#039;lag spike&#039; or something but..well he is back in sync with the group by now!&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to look up at Maz, ignoring the dangling junk. More than half of &#039;modern&#039; scociety in the state wanders around naked or half naked anyway. Nudist civilization. &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t explain why we&#039;re perceiving smells down here. We&#039;ve got a split path here. Shall we go to the left?&amp;quot; Shi keeps walking, thinking that left is south in this case and south is where Zephyr is.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;That way,&amp;quot; Mickey says after sweeping her eyes to the left, sees Kori already seems to know, then chuckles as she glances back to see...whoa, did Ryu just teleport several feet down the stairs? &amp;quot;Dude, check your ping,&amp;quot; she chitters as she looks to the right, then starts the walk after Kori. &amp;quot;Watch the water..ya&#039;never know,&amp;quot; she mutters as she steps carefully forward.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks up the moment he sees movement above him, blinking a bit upon seeing just who has rejoined them.  He is about to say something but Mickey beats him to the punch, &amp;quot;And here I thought you were amongst those who was lost to us.&amp;quot;  He proceeds to follow Mickey, &amp;quot;I&#039;m nowhere near as good as Mickey at directions.  I&#039;ll follow him whereever.  Also, Ryu and I don&#039;t need to breathe if it gets down to it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods slowly as he then shakes hismelf out, &amp;quot;Sorry if...&amp;quot; he says then shakes himself out, and then mrphs, &amp;quot;Huge....fricking lag spike it seems..&amp;quot; He laughs...and shrugs&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to the right, recalling the basements of Zephyr and the access tunnels. &amp;quot;That way.&amp;quot; Shi turns then and points to Ryu and Maz. &amp;quot;You two keep watch to our six o&#039;clock flank. I heard that noise just as everyone else. Its sneaking up on us.&amp;quot; And to the right shi goes!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Yeah, seems to be a pretty common nanite effect,&amp;quot; Mickey muses as she scans the wall before her, the looks to the right when Kori moves on ahead. &amp;quot;If we&#039;re right, eventually we&#039;ll start seeing the main water pipe. We can follow it right to the base..&amp;quot; she stops, then looks back. &amp;quot;You heard something?&amp;quot; She tries to squint to narrow and strengthen her eyebeams; the rat acting as spotlight for the reptiles.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks back just like everyone else after the sounds echo through the sewer tunnel.  While he can&#039;t exactly see very well in the mist he can hear just fine.  Still, he follows the direction Mickey goes, trusting completely in the rat, &amp;quot;Well, we know we can&#039;t beat whatever it is supposed to be.  Let&#039;s just continue and let it think it is herding us.  We have places to be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey&#039;s eyebeams, if anything, make the fog worse. The light refracts off the thick haze, making it even more difficult to see through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he shifts slightly and cringes at the light, &amp;quot;Well, Lets just..Just head what directino you want to go..or think we should go, then we ..can head that way, I don&#039;t know where we hsould head, just..that we should keep moving I think because I don&#039;t like what sounds like it is behind us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party continues to the right. The sound of the pursuer behind them seems to keep up, keeping that sense of looming danger with it. The walls seems to look newer as you continue, as Mickey does eventually spot a large pipe following the ceiling.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to hir large lion ears as shi follows the path. &amp;quot;Yes I did. These aren&#039;t just for show.&amp;quot; Hir flaming hand remains out in front, the illumination being of little help in the mist beyond the ten foot radius. &amp;quot;If I remember the Zephyr blueprints right, the water pipe should be above us soon. And then just follow it to the access ladder.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey has already pointed upwards to the pipes. &amp;quot;Come along now. Pick up the pace. No need to linger,&amp;quot; she whistles, sounding as casual as she can be, as she shifts from a brisk walk to a slight jog. &amp;quot;Getting stuffy down here anyway.&amp;quot; She hides the fear well; not so much the bristling in her fur and feathers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not show any fear on the outside at all.  In fact he is acting as if nothing out of the ordinary is even happening.  Perhaps he is getting overconfident that the group is going to be able to succeed?  Either way, when the pace picks up he begins to take larger strides, keeping up with their rodent friend and all.  He does NOT pick him up this time around, for it would not exactly be the right moment.&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he walks alongside, though he mrphs, &amp;quot;I still wish we could of gotten something to help with fighting the virus, but I guess they don&#039;t have enough data yet...but I still dislike how it feels down here right now..&amp;quot; he mumbles as he walks along with them, glancing back every now and again but overall staying near where mazurek is in the group&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Finally, they reach a dead end. There are numerous drainage pipes along this segment of wall, along with a single metal ladder leading straight up. There is no light coming from above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb the ladder. In order to avoid heating it to skin-burning temperatures, shi had to put hir fire out. &amp;quot;Okay, be careful. The building&#039;s likely corrupted since the lights are out. We know ice stalls the cuppruptions so if you got it, use it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey skids to a stop. &amp;quot;Weird..&amp;quot; weren&#039;t there supposed to be stairs? Since she wasn&#039;t allowed in the lower levels of Zephyr anyway, she wouldn&#039;t know. &amp;quot;Right, right, just get on up there quickly, would ya?&amp;quot; She&#039;s second on up, but she&#039;s a quick scamper and is forced to wait behind Kori. It&#039;s a nice view..until she realizes she&#039;s got the same. &amp;quot;C&#039;mon guys,&amp;quot; she squeaks, looking back as she climbs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek actually chooses to go up last, coaxing Ryusho to go up ahead of him....if only because he might be interested in gazing at the dragon&#039;s junk.  In fact he does it so he can try to catch a glimpse of their persuer.  Not like he&#039;s going to be able to do anything with it, but...it&#039;s the sight that counts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho does walk infront of him as he rumbles softly, though even as he walks he doesn&#039;t seem to mind if maz spends his time enjoying the sway of the dragons four huge orbs as he walks, though quite used to the weight even though he pprobably could really hurt someone if he got a bit of momentum with those in the right way as he mrphs, climbing up carefully as well.....but it is a decently nice view climbing up too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: THe only thing MAzurek can see as he makes his way up the ladder is a dark cloud of shadows enveloping the tunnel. The sensation of fear and forboding increases exponentially as it draws nearer. Those who make it up the ladder find themselves in a replica of the Zephyr basement.&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Lukas has connected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls off the ladder and onto the floor. Shi expects the basement to still be dark as before, so some new lighting is needed. And to be honest shi didn&#039;t give a rat&#039;s ass (no pun intended) if people could see hi intersex junk, there were more important matters to deal with. &amp;quot;Double time people. Can&#039;t let that thing catch up with us. Once we get up, close the damned lid and freeze it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;You got something to do that with?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after pulling herself up and out, then turns around to offer a hand to Ryu and haul him up. &amp;quot;Theeeere we go big guy,&amp;quot; she chitters, then dangles a thin arm back down for their final party member. It was almost comical, she thinking she could help him up. But it was the thought! &amp;quot;I gotta give it to your guy, this is a workout..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek gets a chill in his body from witnessing whatever it is that is hunting them.  In fact he almost falters in his climb to just stare and watch it advance.  Mickey&#039;s voice actually helps him come back to reality and he climbs up as quickly as possible, &amp;quot;Whatever it is...just reminds me of a game I once played before the nanites infected everything.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Mrphs lookign back at Maz, &amp;quot;Well at least ......Lets just try to get this over with..I don&#039;t want to be here either and I hate how this feels..&amp;quot; he says quietly, shuddering a bit as he glances back down there, but he smiles and looks at the others, &amp;quot;...At least I know I will be glad when we get out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes a little huffy. &amp;quot;Ice shards. I know someone has those. Because fire sure as hell won&#039;t work.&amp;quot; You know what, nevermind. Shi&#039;ll light up the room and get hir ass moving for the stairwell. Elevators are a no-no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey perks her ears, and shivers as she sees just how solid that darkness really was from up here. &amp;quot;Really? Which?&amp;quot; She chitters as she &#039;helps&#039; haul the Komodo up, then quickly close the latch behind them. &amp;quot;So..what exactly are we looking for, anyway?&amp;quot; she asks after standing and brushing herself off, then follows. &amp;quot;Or ya think we&#039;ll know when we see it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since I&#039;ve played it.  I don&#039;t recall what it was called.  Basically it had a giant wall of shadow approaching you while you tried to save several allies.&amp;quot;  He shrugs and looks around with the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly in thought as he he glances around, &amp;quot;Well, this doesn&#039;t sound similar at all..&amp;quot; he sighs, and squirms, &amp;quot;Hopefully we won&#039;t have to try to escape like that...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...as he rubs the back of his head, &amp;quot;Well now...lets see.....so we need..to find the virus now and..destroy it sometime..?&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A staircase leading up to where the lobby should be can be spotted on the opposite side of the room where it would normally be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori proceeds across the room at a quick jog. Jiggle tits, jiggle tits. Ignore the kiggly tits. &amp;quot;They got the internal layout wrong. The stairs are on the wrong side of the room. Hup! C&#039;mon, let&#039;s go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey grunts as she brushes herself off and shuffles her wings. &amp;quot;Really?&amp;quot; She squeaks as she follows along up the stairs. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think the whole building is like that, do you? I mean, this isn&#039;t real. We can&#039;t get trapped on a neverending staircase can we?&amp;quot; She looks back to the reptiles. &amp;quot;Like..are we actually /climbing/..?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shrugs while following up the stairs, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever been this far down so I have no idea.  Anything that might be below the Triage center is unknown to me.&amp;quot;  He climbs behind the group, still taking up the rear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly walks apparently just infront of maz, so he continues getting a wonderful view, but ryusho mrphs, &amp;quot;I remember a game with a never ending staircase, but it was only untill you got enough stars or..something that it would do that, then it would turn to a normal staircase, I remember I ran up it ten minutes randomly for no reasonk because the instant you turn around after trying to run up it like that your righ tback at the very start of the stairs....no matter how far you went up...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: When the party reaches the first floor and what should be the lobby, something very different and very unusual is what awaits them. A vast expanse of blackness extends as far as you can see downward where the floor should be. Laws of physics and space are defied as the top of the stairs abruptly ends. There does not sppear to be a ceiling or walls to this room. In this expanse are a series of platforms that lead to the other side where another staircase can be seen. Some of the platforms are slowly moving back and forth, or rotating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops dead at the top of the stairs. So sudden in fact that everyone else could collide with hir back if they weren&#039;t careful. &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; There&#039;s a long pause of ten to fifteen seconds before hir ears flatten. &amp;quot;FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!&amp;quot; Shi clearly hates platform games.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey nearly bumps into Kori, but stops herself with a hand on her back. &amp;quot;What is it?&amp;quot; She squeaks, then looks past her. &amp;quot;Oh you gotta..&amp;quot; Instinctively she unfurls her wings, then slowly puts them away. She never had her previous question about flight answered, and that looked like a long way down to nothing to risk any sort of actual test. &amp;quot;So we&#039;re jumping then. Awesome&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as maz bumps into him, and of course that makes him &#039;slosh&#039; as he shifts a bit, as he glances around slowly, &amp;quot;Well, Lets see..&amp;quot; he says softly, ..as he rubs his head, &amp;quot;Part of me wants to take a wild guess, a nd assume it is...just like..-everything- is colored the exact same shade of black, so you can&#039;t see the difference between walls, ceiling and floor.....it just looks like it is..all a bunch of nothing but is actually there...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;..but I don&#039;t want to test that realy...&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The nearest platform is static, and just a short jump away from the top of the stairs. The next is a little further, and slowly moves back and forth. The third platform is a staircase block which must be ascended before leaping down to a thin, long rotating platform. This must be crossed before it turns too much and tips anyone on top of it off. After that there&#039;s a ledge on which the exit staircase lies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori growls at the platforms, even HISSING at them. Hir first actual test of the room was to fling a fireball at the blackness under hir toes (since shi is at the very edge of the staircase) and watch it fly down and down and further down until it vanishes into the darkness. &amp;quot;Fucking bottomless fuckpit. Fuckity fuck shit damn fuck!&amp;quot; This takes a moment before shi calms down enough to make the first hop to the nearest platform. &amp;quot;I. Hate. Platform. Games. This has to be the obstacle course part.&amp;quot; And then the next platform. Yeah, harder since its moving and a bit further out. Can&#039;t all pile up on one of those platforms. Has to be single file.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey whines. &amp;quot;One at a time?&amp;quot; She mutters, mostly worried about the more narrowed one. &amp;quot;Then what, one slip up then what, game over? After all that?&amp;quot; She rubs her head. &amp;quot;Fricken..not like our lives and minds are on the line here. Any volunteers?&amp;quot; She asks as she keeps peeking over the edge. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hears something about platforming games and gets an inkling of what is going on even as he reaches up to idly fondle the shadow dragon, &amp;quot;Sounds like it&#039;s going to be fun.  We are supposedly in a game, after all.  Come on, what do we have to lose?  It could be one of those sorts where if you fall you do it all again.&amp;quot;  Someone actually sounds eager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shivers a bit as he gurgles a bit at the fondle, well, -part- of him does anyway, and gets slightly heavier as he looks to mazurek, &amp;quot;...Please, lets not make this any harder for me then it might be, I don&#039;t know if I can even use my wings to aid in the jumps..&amp;quot; he shifts, &amp;quot;And..well it could be, but it could be like....one of those cruel games you could play where you have -one- chance and thats it....but...hopefully it is what you said..not what I said..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts and does his best to begin working behind the others, Leaping to the first plaftorm when it is clear, and then to the next when possible as well...making his way carefully but making sure to keep it -one at a time- so to speak, waiting on the safe platforms obviously&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots aside to make room on the platform. Space is a premium so shi started feeling crowded before long. &amp;quot;Please don&#039;t talk about falling. I don&#039;t want to think about it. I&#039;m too unnerved as things are.&amp;quot; Hir legs bend as shi waits for the right moment to jump, muscles tensing. It wasn&#039;t long before shi made the attempt to leap for the next platform. Someone better have a rope to help if shi misses. Wait..they don&#039;t have ropes. Crap.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori lands safely on the staircase platform.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is third up this time around, and after a brief stretch of her legs she takes a step back. &amp;quot;Seeya on the other side, then,&amp;quot; she mutters to Maz, blows a kiss, then takes the first little leap. Kori goes right on ahead; Mickey waits first for Ryu to perform the more tricky jump and makes sure he sticks it before going herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek waits for the dragon ahead of him to go, so he can study the platforms with as much detail as he can.  He rubs his muzzle just before he leaps onto the first platform to join Mickey.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb restroom&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as he would land on the first platform and then the second with some difficulty as he was trying to progress, keeping up to not fall behind, but he knows he is going to dread the third and fourth jumps..that he is going to have to actually take, though he may let the more nimble or sure go first, unless they would rather he step ahead..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: The winged rat is far from nimble, but at least her time picking through the city help only somewhat with balance. She joins Ryu on the moving platform, flashes him the same kiss for good luck, then makes the third, then last jump in quick succession.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori waits for a moment to get hir wits back about hir. The final jump is the hardest, and it seems that with no solid ground nearby, shi seems to be aquiring a fear of heights. Just don&#039;t look down. don&#039;t look down. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. &amp;quot;When we get out of this one I am going to Sock Darkwyrm for this. Virus be damned, these platforms were deliberate.&amp;quot; One breath, two breaths, three breaths and JUMP!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks but does not comment.  Instead he makes his turns at the leaping.  He works to time it just right to get to the second platform...only to try and leap instantly to get to the staircase-block.  Komodo Leap, go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would grit his teteth slightly, though Mickey may not see it, ...he might of needed that lucky kiss at a better time, because as he gets himself ready for the third jump he waits, and waits, and gets his timing he watched the others, he is certian he can do it, as he leaps, high and ..using his wings he spreads them to try to make the distance, his toe claws staring to touch though he realises,, he is not far enough as they slip off, and his wings slip, making him scrabble to grab, &amp;quot;ShitSHITSHIT!!&amp;quot; ...and completely fails to stop himself from falling....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho manages to completely miss the jump as the platform moves away from where he was jumping to. He falls into the murky blackness...   ....    .... and then reappears falling from the ceiling, landing hard on another small platform that had just materialized next to the staircase.&lt;br /&gt;
tell ryusho Any injuries you sustained from the fall are up to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori lands on the platform with a loud thump. Hir large mass started to tip the platform, proving there wasn&#039;t any ground underneath them more visibly. Shi did not stick around to let that platform finish tipping before making a mad dash to the other staircase where shi skids to a halt to wait for the others. And Ryu ends up missing completely only to fall from the sky and smack into a new platform. That looked damn painful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey lands her jump, turns and squeaks out a note of surprise, then just..stares when Ryu reappears. &amp;quot;Oh well..huh.&amp;quot; She shrugs, and with a bit more ease and less stress she goes for the final jump and lands it. Woo. Awesome. Who needs athletics.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek lands with notable grace on the staircase platform and looks behind just in time to see the dragon miss the platform.  He peers off the side to watch him fall only to squeak upon the dragon landing rather close by.  He can&#039;t help but giggle and rub the dragon&#039;s head, &amp;quot;See?  It wasn&#039;t so bad.  Now to finish this game!&amp;quot;  Onward he goes, studying the rotating platform and finally leaping when he senses the time is right!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would...of probably wanted to bite maz&#039;s hand off as he apparently didn&#039;t hear the -CRACK- as he hit the platform..since he had not expected that and..well had found himself falling -backwards- ...though he lies there gritting his teeth...and saying enough curse words that heck, the -game- bleeps him out...from how bad he is cursing, ...even -if- it has a virus thats pretty bad...as he slowly gets to his feet and well...it is easily visble what is the problem, ..the right wing is not going to be of any more use durring this challenge...at least untill the nanites get a chance to fix it back up....if he decides to wait there, but he does slowly scoot to try to at least look at the next jump, still mumbling curses under his breath..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s senses were off! He makes the jump, but as he scrambles to get up after landing, he doesn&#039;t have enough time to make it across the long platform! It rotates too much, and Maz slips right off the side and plummets into the darkness, only to land on the spot Ryu had just recovered from with a loud smash.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho curls his neck to look at maz..and rather snidely spits out, &amp;quot;Awwww, IT&#039;s not so bad MY ASS&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;...serves your smart mouth right..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori winces, several times. Pain is real in here. So noted. &amp;quot;In case you haven&#039;t forgotten, that thing is still following us. Brush it off and get moving. I don&#039;t like playing leader.&amp;quot; UPSTAIRS! Go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ouch..looked like that stung,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters; she had taken a seat along empty space to sit and rest. Hard not to giggle, but still. &amp;quot;You two gonna join us?&amp;quot; She waves over. It&#039;s meant to be in good-natured jest, but the rat has an annoyance in her tone that directed at their puzzling situation. It&#039;s clear, she&#039;s getting sick of the digital world. It was a shroom trip with no anchor, and she wants off the ride already. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go bust us a virus.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: He had miscalculated.  The Komodo thought he had the timing just right, but there was something amiss.  Something about the platform just wasn&#039;t right!  It isn&#039;t until he steps in it that he realizes what it was and it causes him to lose his footing.  There&#039;s a wet spot on that thing!  He squeals a bit when he begins to fall, only to try and level himself out a bit so he can land on his back.  What he was not expecting was the sudden 180 that happens when he appears from the ceiling.  Instead of landing on his back like he wanted, he instead crashes to the platform front first!  His head struck hard enough on the platform that those watching can see some blood fly after the impact.  He is slow to get to his feet after that, spitting out several teeth while he is doing so.  He&#039;s developed a bloody nose to boot, streaming down his snout.  This has not daunted him in the slightest and he tries again after several seconds pass, getting his head cleared up as much as possible in that short time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth as he looks at the new, or next jump before he leaps, almost closing his eyes, but then landing on it as he scrambles wildly, almost slipping on that wet spot but keeping his footing as he makes a wild scrambling run to get to safety and hold his sore wing to begin coaxing the nanites to begin working at fixing it back up...if he can&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not wait so long this time around on that platform.  He is hurting yet tries his best to not show it to the others even though there&#039;s some notable light gasping to his breath.  He makes it with flying colors this second time, and he actually begins to stumble up the stairs without waiting for the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase that everyone has now reached seems to lead up into nothingness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops at the top of the stairs, huffing angrily and from sprinting too much. &amp;quot;Goddamnit. Enough with the pits of nothingness already!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek somehow manages to get ahead of the dragon and even the rat after making it to the stairs.  He groans and works his way upstairs while wiping his bloody snout, spitting out more teeth along the way.  Hopefully he&#039;ll have them again after the virus is taken care of.  Near the top of the stairs he peers over, around, or however he can at the next room, &amp;quot;Empty space.  Do we jump in and see what we find?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears droop. &amp;quot;Really? Nothing?&amp;quot; she tries to peek around, then rests a hand on Maz&#039;s lowest arm. &amp;quot;You&#039;re hurt. If anyone&#039;s gonna jump, it&#039;s gonna be someone who hasn&#039;t already plunged,&amp;quot; she chitters with a furrow of her brow. &amp;quot;If this wasn&#039;t all fake I&#039;d offer you a drink, but didn&#039;t Dark say we could heal at those machines? Wonder where one would be.&amp;quot; In the darkness? Peeking over the edge, the rat hawks a loogie down. It was just a lame excuse to spit, maybe, in frustration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As Mickey nears the top of the steps, she appears to the rest of the party to disappear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori staps away from the edge of the stairs. &amp;quot;Oh hell no. Not taking a fall. Flying is one thing, falling is another.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s very tempted to push Mickey off the edge, but that would be very unfriendly. Like a Portal2 situation of shoving one&#039;s teammate into a pit to see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was actually watching Mickey at the time she had disappeared, about ready to respond.  His mouth is open and he utters a single syllable..only to go silent once more.  He steps further up the stairs to see what happens when he, too, steps into that particular spot Mickey was in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: It comes as a surprise to Mickey when she sudden hears a wet splat, blinks, and looks around. &amp;quot;Wait..huh?&amp;quot; She could of swore.. &amp;quot;I think you gotta get your eyes checked..guys?&amp;quot; She looks behind her, then frowns. &amp;quot;Was..that a loading screen?&amp;quot; Or did she just glitch out? She steps back and waits; hopefully it wasn&#039;t just a one-frame event.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party can hear Mickey&#039;s voice coming from the top of the stairs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori squints, dumbfounded, at the top of the stairs. &amp;quot;What the hell? I can hear you, but I can&#039;t see you.&amp;quot; Shi shoves Maz further up then where he stopped. &amp;quot;Go on, find out what&#039;s going on here.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;ll follow.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb nature&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek already intended to go further, and the shove makes him stumble a bit.  He continues upward as far as he can, even dropping to all sixes to be alerted to any sort of pitfalls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks, &amp;quot;C&#039;mon up. It looks like another safe area.&amp;quot; I mean, it&#039;s obviously Mickey, right? Sounds just like her. Not quite wishing to touch anything, the rat sorta looks around, eyes the terminal, and chills up against the wall with a simple cross of her arms. Out pops a smoke..yup. Even in the middle of a virus manhunt between sanity and insanity, a rat&#039;s gotta chill.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As son as anyone else reaches the top of the stairs, they suddenly find themselves inside a small room. Here there is a bench for sitting, and a computer terminal with the Giza pyramid logo spinning on the screen.  Another set of stairs leading up is on the opposite side.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori goes right to the terminal, now quite angry at Dark&#039;s choice of...obstacles. Tappity Tappity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks around after he makes it to the next room and just stares at Mickey while he&#039;s lighting up.  Snorting, he shakes his head and follows Kori to the terminal and waits with crossed arms nearby.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: There&#039;s a faint cough as Mickey clears her throat. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t forget to ask for a pickmeup,&amp;quot; she chitters, then blows a few tight smoke rings. It likely doesn&#039;t even have an effect on her mentally, being questionably real; but hell, she couldn&#039;t do that in the real world. Now she could say she did, she nods happily before waving the rings away. &amp;quot;Hopefully this is the last of it. Riddle: Just how do you purge a Virus while inside a program?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho had been stalled at the bottom of those stairs a bit longer then others as he was tending upon his wing as he made his way up and looks around, though only partly as he mrphs, &amp;quot;..Weird..Loading screens...&amp;quot; he asys softly, &amp;quot;Well..loading zones..or something..whatever..&amp;quot; he says softly, as he looks around and makes his way over to everyone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blinks on and Dark&#039;s silhouette appears. &amp;quot;Hello.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;How is everyone faring?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares at the monitor. The first words being &amp;quot;I AM NOT MOTHERFUCKING MARIO!&amp;quot; &amp;gt;___&amp;lt; &amp;quot;No. More. jumping. Puzzles.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek rests one claw on Kori&#039;s closest shoulder, &amp;quot;Shouting at the one we are working for to clear this is not going to help matters.  Keep in mind that we are in an infected zone and it shouldn&#039;t be his fault?&amp;quot;  He huffs and turns his head to one side to spit out yet another tooth, &amp;quot;It doesn&#039;t look like our nanites are helping us heal this time around.  Ryusho and I ended up failing hard on the jumping platform puzzle &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori&#039;s yelling at you about.  I lost teeth and got a bloody nose and Ryusho broke a wing.  We are not infected this time, so hopefully we can save this terminal&#039;s healing power?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Isis has disconnected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey tips her hat when Ryu appears, saying; &amp;quot;Yeah, good thing we didn&#039;t run into ugly on the way up.&amp;quot; Letting the others get the four-one-one from dark, Mickey wanders nonchalantly towards the other stairs to peer upwards and try to peek at their next destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stares over at Kori, &amp;quot;.Do you even THINK that it is POSSIBLE that the puzzle is -NOT- something Dark made but something the Virus may of caused?&amp;quot; He says with a roll of his eyes, &lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You call jumping platforms like a mario game the virus&#039; idea of defense? I don&#039;t. Its acting self aware for crying out loud in this sense.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek sighs, &amp;quot;I didn&#039;t...ask for the healing power to be used for the terminal, but I guess being at peak efficiency is best.&amp;quot;  He removes his hand from Kori&#039;s shoulder after a brief squeeze, &amp;quot;Any ideas what we might be able to do to get rid of this thing, or even the shadow monstrosity that seems to be chasing us?  We know ice works to a point, but we no longer have that capability.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey gives a slight roll of her eyes, then pinches her tonguetip to wet her fingers. The talk of Mario just brings up distracting nostalgia, and she imagines a version of the simulation just across rooftops. Be good training.. &amp;quot;Hmph, I wonder what this would be like if it was actually, you know. Cleaned up and well.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit with mazurek, &amp;quot;I was going to ask if it was possible to help us as in..I don&#039;t think much that we actually have acess too -can- hurt the virus...phsycial contact won&#039;t and wil hurt us, fire and stuf seems to do minimal to nothing...&amp;quot; he shrugs slightly, then looks aorund, &amp;quot;..So I am not sure what to do...&amp;quot; ...he shifts his stance as he thinks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Well, my best advice is to look around the hub carefully once you get there. I&#039;m sure the virus has a weak point somewhere that you can exploit.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says. &amp;quot;If you can destroy the core, the whole thing will deresolve.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori humphs. &amp;quot;And how do we do that? Physical contact doesn&#039;t work. Ice impedes but doesn&#039;t really hurt it. Fire totally doesn&#039;t hurt it though it does make the impacted parts of it de-res.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods, &amp;quot;Then it will need to be fire that we use to open its weak spots, and then someone goes in and pummels it for as long as possible.  I will need to do the latter while someone needs to flame it to death.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Strange,&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she pinches out her smokeable with a sizzling hiss. &amp;quot;Typically in computers it words the other way. Firewalls impede, and I&#039;m sure I heard security programs being called ICE before.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, suddenly lost in her own tangent. &amp;quot;Still, we won&#039;t know just what we&#039;ll be able to do till we actually see what we&#039;re up against.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks and looks at Kori, &amp;quot;..That swhat I just said...&amp;quot; he said softly, with a sigh, as he rumbles a bit, &amp;quot;I suppose I could burn it for impacted spots as needed....at least help since I don&#039;t need to get in direct onctact....&amp;quot; he says quietly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The silhauette of the jackal can be seen poking his head with an index finger. &amp;quot;Use your brains. I cannot pull up a map or information about the hub, so you&#039;ll need to play it by ear.&amp;quot;, he says.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back at Ryu. &amp;quot;Notice he ignored those points both times we brought them up? Unless you have an ice gun. All I got nhere is my crowssbow and fire, some milk based weapons,&amp;quot; cue six-pack breast wiggle, &amp;quot;and a skunk spray. Sure I have physical attacks but we all know how well those work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods slowly, &amp;quot;Alright.  We can&#039;t get any further with the questioning as we stand.  Oh, you had said that you&#039;d be able to do something, or see something, with each terminal we use.  I take it nothing like that will help?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t expect a true answer, so he heads over to the stairs leading up, but does not yet ascend.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey blinks, then glances back to the terminal. &amp;quot;Why? Has it changed that much from whatever you designed it as?&amp;quot; Crap. That means more jumping. Or..shudder, stealth. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s just, ya&#039;know, make sure there&#039;s not a big red button that&#039;s labeled &#039;PURGE&#039; first, then see where we go from there.&amp;quot; She&#039;s voting for wires. She could damn well use a good wirechew right now. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shrugs a bit as hmrphs softy, shrugging a bit, &amp;quot;Well...I guess we will just do what we can...&amp;quot; he says softly rubbing his head a bit&lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori sighs and facepalms. &amp;quot;Right. So no weapons, no antivirus thingie. Just &#039;there is a hub go find it go kill it&#039;. Kill it with what? Fire plus fire is still fire.&amp;quot; Ugh. Fine. Move on, walk and find the exit. &amp;quot;This is going to suck. Milk and crossbow are the only things I have left. What about you three?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek responds before he heads up the stairs, &amp;quot;I am pure physical combat with only a couple of ranged attacks.&amp;quot;  he gets a thoughtful expression and peers down at whoever is immediately behind him, &amp;quot;I&#039;ve never tried the Sharpshooter power without anything physical.  Think I could use my dicks for that?&amp;quot;  Yes, he went there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Feels like a neverending staircase,&amp;quot; mumbles Mickey as she waits to pick up the end of the line. It&#039;s amazing how quickly her mood went from faux high to sulk, but the reminder of yet another room just..well, irks her. &amp;quot;I can blink quickly, maybe sieze it out,&amp;quot; she chitters sourly. Didn&#039;t have anything before, she didn&#039;t have much else now. Please be wires..please..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly turns his head and gives mazurek a look, &amp;quot;If that was possible, I would say that you might have rifles, but I have a cannon.&amp;quot; H esays after a moment...with a shake of his head, laughing quietly...as he walks towards the stairs with the others to head up with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and the party finds themselves in a large, dim office floor. Tendrils of virus corruption are penetrating through the ceiling and floor in some places. A major eye-catcher is a bright red EXIT sign on the opposite side of the room. However, to get ot it, it seems like our asventurers must first pass through this floor which appears to be guarded by shifting sentry lights and laser sensors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a large sigh. &amp;quot;This...is not going to be a good day. Anyone have a smoke grenade?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;No grenades for me.&amp;quot;  He moves in a few feet and studies the lasers and sentry lights, &amp;quot;However, this should be fairly easy.  Do not cross through the lights and you won&#039;t get lasered.  Ryu and I are both black, so that MIGHT help us out.&amp;quot;  He searches for a rock, or other object close by, and sees what happens when he tosses it into the nearest light.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Son of a..&amp;quot; Damnit! Mickey smacks her hand on her face. Stealth. Rockin&#039;. At least she left the shiny swag at home. A glance is given to the other members of their party. &amp;quot;Nope. And no giant box either.&amp;quot; She looks back to the sentries, then cracks her knuckles. Alright, shit&#039;s getting real. &amp;quot;Lettme go first. Don&#039;t wanna be speciest, but--&amp;quot; She stops, then watches Maz toss the rock. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn&#039;t help but feel like she&#039;d next expect a klaxon to start blaring.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori, &amp;quot;Wouldn&#039;t the smoke be thick enough to set -off- the lasers anyway...?&amp;quot; he asys with a quirked brow... though he sits there fore a moment before he then adds, &amp;quot;All this needs now is the Metal Gear Solid sneaking theme...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around, &amp;quot;...not to mention be dressed in a dark grey tight fitting body suit, and a nice head bandanna....&amp;quot; he adds with a chuckle to himself......Then looks to mickey, &amp;quot;Exactly, we need a giant box to crawl in, then just freeze when a light comes nearby...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The rock clacks as it hits and bounces off the floor a few times and passes through the light. Immiediately, a warped tentacle of corruption slices through the ceiling and destroys that segment of floor, leaving a glitching hole sparking with black lightning in the program.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hops backward in complete surprise, definitely NOT having expected the appearance of one of the ceiling tentacles!  He settles to one knee and leans forward to rest one hand on the ground, looking about ready to dash in, &amp;quot;Well, I guess being hit by lasers is not our worry today.&amp;quot;  He studies the lights a little more, looking to see if they are moving or if they are actually stationary.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey twitches. Ok, it wasn&#039;t an alarm. Buut. &amp;quot;Ma..maybe..&amp;quot; wait, no goddamnit. Can&#039;t pussy out. &amp;quot;Ri-right. Well.&amp;quot; She clears her throat and eyes the shifting safe spots carefully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll try to take the largest way through for ya guys.&amp;quot; And before she allows the others a chance to stop her she&#039;s off; doing what rats do best. Scurry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly, &amp;quot;..Why is it that challenges keep appearing, that I literally have no skills that would help me in such situations...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey nimbly moves through a series of lights and hops over and ducks under a few lasers, deftly making it to the exit sign on the other side of the floor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would totally boogie down if it wasn&#039;t completely uncalled for. Instead she breathes a sigh of relief, makes sure she didn&#039;t drop her hat along the way, then looks around to wave along the others. &amp;quot;Keep moving. Stay in one place too long and they&#039;ll sweep ya.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori examines the tentacle and the destroyed part of the floor. &amp;quot;First guess, de-res the tentacle if it shows up. Second guess, dart through like a rocket and pray.&amp;quot;  Shi watches Mickey dip and dance around the traps, feeling kind of flustered by the display. It didn&#039;t trip a tentacle, so that&#039;s good. And the visur doesn&#039;t seem to care much for keeping the environment intact. But soon it was hir turn and shi didn&#039;t have as much know-how on hir side. All shi had was agility, speed, and reflexes. If that did trip a tentacle, she still had fire and hopfully being ignited like the Human Torch would force it to de-rez enough to make dealing with it easier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Perhaps being down on one hand and a knee at the time was a good idea.  This helped the large Komodo watch the rat intently, watched how she bobbed and weaved and made things easy for herself.  Snorting once she makes it through, he proves his Readiness (2) by going next.  While he isn&#039;t as quick as the rodent, he does have some Endurance on his side that should help him keep going and not tire quickly.  Bob and weave, skitter and pounce.  Go the way of the Komodo and charge after the prey!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s quick reactions and initating Mickey&#039;s movements see him safely through the gauntlet of security.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks after them and rubs his head slightly, &amp;quot;..You know...I think I will go last..with how my luck was...just for the sake of not catching up to someone and making them have bad luck....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at Ryu, already in a crouch. &amp;quot;Suit yourself. This might hurt... God I hate this place.&amp;quot; Can&#039;t rocket across the room like shi did in the street. &#039;Gear Second&#039; did that and it was a bad idea. So shi is going to hoof it instead. Right... NOW! Full sprint. Keep those senses sharp!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s speed and nimble dodges allow her to skirt past the lights, though not without a few close calls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek manages to dodge, weave, and dart through the obstacle course.  He makes it looks like it is extremely easy with how he bobs and weaves and...ok, you&#039;re repeating yourself.  Komodos may be squat creatures but they are still very quick when they need to be.  Whee....  Oh, hello, Mickey!  Komodo passes by and gooses her rear with his snout!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is waiting on the other side, watching anxiously and hoping she doesn&#039;t have to pick up important pieces. She doubts she could haul back something if, say, Ryu accidently swung left instead of right at a key point. There&#039;s a squeak of surprise as, by the time she&#039;s actually seeing the others making their runs. Wait, where was-- &amp;quot;H-hey!&amp;quot; She squeaks, hikes her tail, and looks around and down with a smirk. &amp;quot;/Damn/..there goes my next question for that tour. Guess I&#039;m in trouble if I ever gotta bolt,&amp;quot; she laughs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho takes a deep breath as he grumbles softly, &amp;quot;Why do I always get caught with situations I am not prepared for...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;Thats it...after this I am going to start trying to learn some thing usefull...and remembre things I did before this whole damn mess..&amp;quot; he grumbles softly as he looks it over..though at least he keeps remembering the games he played...but then mrphs, of course it&#039;s not similar at all...as he then gets ready to go..pray for the best prepare for the worst and GO!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho somehow manages to stumble his way through the trips and traps without tripping anything!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stumbles though but at least to him it feels awesome...I mean to him he just kinda was remembering all sorts of random games he had before the crisis, as he had been watching the room and possibly subconciously noticed a pattern, as he moves, though he almost seems to stop, backtrack, and swerve..a few times even taking some steps that probably get cringed at for &#039;he had to be seen&#039; because of like, brushing almost the edges of -two- different spotlights squeezing between as they went past eachther then around the other side in another suqeeze, a few times even seeming to somehow -miss- lasers even though it looked like it -had- to of brushed him....I suppose all the subconcious game mentality that got to him here basically made him well &#039;see&#039; it as a game..and he was &#039;playing&#039; it as one in his mind...but either way it works!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The door under the EXIT sign glows ominous red from the neon. A dark stairway lies beyond..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori brushes herself off, looking back the way they came. &amp;quot;Everyone in one piece? Yes? Okay.. Lets get the fuk out of here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles and noses right under the raised tail again, even licking back there to the hidden attributes he knows are present already.  It doesn&#039;t last long as he draws back quickly enough to watch the others make it through the maze without problems.  Despite the exit sign making things glow that ugly red, like it&#039;s supposed to anyway, he pushes or pulls the doors open and steps right through them.  Overconfidence makes him not look before he steps through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s whiskers quiver as Maz steals the tongueflick, elicting another squeak and a hurried reach back to try and tug her dress back down. &amp;quot;Yeah yeah, you&#039;re impressive,&amp;quot; she yields, watches Ryu, then throws her hands up in the air. &amp;quot;Awesome. Rat&#039;s gonna be outta a job now.&amp;quot; Well, no one got spiked. It was enough to lift her spirits and smile as she turns to follow Maz a bit more slowly. &amp;quot;Yeah, lets.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blushes  abit as he made his way through &amp;quot;...I guess I just kinda..got into the right mindset or something for that...&amp;quot; he says glancing back and then shrugging, &amp;quot;Well, Forward Bound it seems..&amp;quot; he says after a bit, well at least he is not....humming...a...oh damn it he is like..humming some stealth game related tune...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and through the door, but what lies beyond is hardly an exit. As the party steps into the tower antechamber, the first thing they notice is a huge mass of glitching purple corruption with a huge red eyeball in the middle of it... staring. right. at. them. Tentacles stretch outward from it, encompassing the entire room. Before they know it, the exit is blocked off behind them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back, then directly at the virus. Its behaving like a nanite infection, or a self aware thing. So the first thought to come out of hir mouth was...&amp;quot;Alright, what are you and what the hell are you doing fucking up this simulation?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head slightly after everyone has entered the chamber and causes the doorway to seal.  Now is the time that they need to work together or they will fail.  The final boss approaches, and will it have minions?  Crossing his arms again he cocks his head and asks, &amp;quot;So, now what?  We&#039;re here, and this is where we pass or fail.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Aaah..the &#039;ol &#039;Fake Exit&#039; ruse..&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she stares at their &#039;host&#039; in the middle of the room. She went through fear, anger, and just plain silliness. Now she was back in the zen with the end in sight. She lift up a half-cocked finger, then taps it on her cheek as if in thought. &amp;quot;Hardly the first digital abomination to pull that, I think..&amp;quot; She starts to draw in breath, figuring that whatever happens next it&#039;d be best to have a flaming comeback.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly looks around with a mrph, trying to figure out where the weak spots are as he scratches his head some more, &amp;quot;Oh boy...now the fun begins big time....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The virus core makes no reply, only fixes it huge, terrible eye on the party. Some of the mass shofts, and a large tentacle drops down the wall and down to the ground, sweeping in a wide arc towards the party! At this moment also a generator is revealed under the purplish glitchy mass, but only for the moment during which the tentacle is attacking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori doesn&#039;t trust this thing. It may not have replied verbally, but it sure did answer physically with that sweeping tentacle. Jumping would just give it an excuse to counter, so shi just... Spat fire at the tentacle sweeping the ground at them. Literally. &amp;quot;Yol Tor Shul!&amp;quot; FWOOSH. This..probably was much tougher code than that thing on the streets, so her second move was to backpedal to try and get out of its reach for the time being. It will adapt and try again with something else VERY soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori as she did fire before he could as he had scrambled to get out of the way, or jump and flap out of the way, as he then looks over, &amp;quot;Just shoot an Arrow Into it&#039;s OH WAIT It has no Knee&#039;s THEN ITS EYE Or something! &amp;quot; He says at that, as he rolls his eyes and then woudl turn to begin breathing fire himself towards it in a nice small inferno &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek grimaces, unable to help spot that overlarge tentacle barreling toward the group.  He is about to act when familiar words reach his ears and he looks back at Kori just as she is launching the fireball, &amp;quot;Seriously?  You chose now to reference...THAT?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t have anything that will harm the thing, so he does what the flamers do not.  He looks for an opening in the tentacle and merely leaps over/through it.  Well, tries to anyway.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey decides to put her own little firework show on hold since Kori already has the flames spitting. &amp;quot;Less shouting!&amp;quot; She squeaks as she skitters to break from the group a bit, choosing to worry more about the dull *thud* of something dropping near by. She spots the thing the virus is attached to, then refocuses on the swinging limb arcing towards them to dodge it with a roll and tumble. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Most of the party dodges the swiping tentacle, but Kori gets snapped in the knees, leaving behind a burning black corruption on the front of both legs. The parts of the viruys hit with fire quiver slightly and shrink ever o slightly, but it is mostly negligible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scored a hit. It was a slightly withering hit, but it proved more effective than previously. But it cost hir, as hir backpedaling didn&#039;t give enough distance to keep it away and next thing she feels is a burning feeling. First thing hir natural combat instinct tells hir to do is HEAL it, so up comes a tit and..*suckle suckle suckle* Everyone else has to handle this next few seconds on their own while shi tries to &#039;heal&#039; this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would offer to help heal her but he doesn&#039;t think it would be beneficial to their cause.  He instead bounds toward the virus core while remaining on all sixes, keeping very alert to what is happening around him as much as possible.  He&#039;s ready for another assault, though not knowing what form it will be in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey catches sight of Kori out of the corner of her eyes, winces, and resists the urge to follow after Maz. The other two showed them the more agile and stronger anyway. So she best serves as a distraction. &amp;quot;Oi! C&#039;mon ya ugly fucker!&amp;quot; she taunts when she circles within view of that eye, turns to whip her tail in its sight, then run in the other direction. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve fought Influenza stronger then you!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts his position, to scoot around to try to burn again well use the flamethrower ability he has, as he looks, &amp;quot;Oh hey, Try..Try to hit the stuff he keeps hiding behind him..If you can see it.I thought I saw it a bit ago..&amp;quot; he says, though hey, fire can loop around things as he tries...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The giant eyeball flicks between the party members. A mass on its left recongeals to cover up the generator holdfast that it was clinging to. A mass on its right seems to wind upo before unleashing a large fist-shaped mass of corruption towards the party at high speed, though leaving its generator vulnerable.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots back a little further, dragging hirself along. Legs were feeling rather sluggish. Fragile even. When the milk drink did nothing to cancel out the burning feeling, shi got angry. And boy howdy. First, hir speed got crippled. Second, it was resisting the fire more than the things outside. Third, shi wanted OUT already. This is where those tattoos around hir eyes started glowing. Magic is hard to define even in a digital world. It may have unpredictable results here. But shi was determined to BURN it with holy fire and force it to open up its weak spot. Ra&#039;s Fire would see to that. It just...took time to chant out the summoning spell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was ready.  He had made certain of that.  The side the attack had come from was opening up and he cries out while darting away to outright avoid it, &amp;quot;Strike it!  Mickey!  Strike it now!&amp;quot;  Teamwork was the key here, and they definitely needed to make use of it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder and skids to a stop as the beast goes for Maz and Ryu. Crap. She&#039;s possibly the worst distraction ever. She&#039;s about to start panicking again when she realizes the generator&#039;s exposed on her side as a result. Were there wires? Maybe she cou--No, nevermind; best to join the fire motif. She summons up her own inner flame, then spits out a molten blast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Already had figured out that the weak spot is the generators it is -hiding- when it can, but exposes when attacking as he tries to point that out, but instead, works to get around and closer, so he can focus and try to breath that firey dragon breath &#039;onto&#039; the generator that was uncovered if he could get into position fast enough...since to get -close- to it beyond a certian distance would require risking stepping onto corrupted data..and that might be bad too.....thats what made sense to him...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The metal generator turns red how and then white from the molten blast, and finally explodes. The corrupted fist manages to smash a black hole into the floor before it dissolves into frayed lines of code. The eye seems to spin around wildly for a few moments, almost as if in pain. The left side winds up for an attack again, this time a higher sweep, towards the party&#039;s midsections.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs another few moments. That&#039;s all shi needs. Another few moments. Hir hands and pose and muttering. Totally spell casting. Totally. Keep it busy a moment longer!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek never rose from his hexapedal stance after dodging the first fist, and in those few moments of the eye spinning about he looks away to see how the others were doing.  When the next attack comes he can&#039;t help but groan, &amp;quot;Another weak spot has opened up!  Study it!&amp;quot;  If only he could blast it with a fireball of his own.  Instead of leaping over the new attack head on, the lizard makes an attempt at being rather acrobatic by working to leap onto the side of a wall or whatever is close with a hard surface and launching in a flying leap to try and get over it.  No ducking under for him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: As quickly as she skips into range, Mickey darts back out. There&#039;s still too much fear for a quick retribution to keep close as she circles around the creature once again, picks the wrong rotation, and is forced to slide as the corrupted limb comes around. She&#039;s small, but even if her hat is knocked off she&#039;ll consider it a major loss.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs someone to block those damned tentacles, because moving means breaking concentration from the spell! You know its times like this that hir magic spark is a bit of a disadvantage. But this was also the most complex summoning spell shi had.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho himself might spin and promtly -dive- onto the ground folding his wings tight around him to cover himself partly as he was trying to not be hit, smaller then maz, but still bigger then the others he just had to take a chance, and well, diving was easier with the limited time he had to react then leaping over it, &amp;quot;GAh!..SOMEONE HIT THE DAMN THING!&amp;quot; he says &amp;quot;BUrn it or something! The generator!&amp;quot; he says as he scrambles wildly along the ground trying to stay under the attack before he gets up again...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tentacle passes cleanly over those who had ducked down flat. However for those who didn&#039;t have the ability to duck or dodge, such as Kori, are smacked right in the gut with a thick band of corrupting material and thrown against the wall. After it finishes it swining arc, the tentacle starts to pull itself back to gather over its generator.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies. Not the pleasant kind. you&#039;d think if people heard that chanting they&#039;d think SITTING DUCK. But no. Well see if shi helps YOU again. Thankfully it finished at the point of impact and there was a bright flare of light. In the ceiling. It looks like rays of sunlight for everyone, forming a circle, a portal of sorts. And behind the brigh light is a silluette (typo I know) of a figure dressed up in old egyptian robes and gold shoulderpads. The face is blocked by the light, but it didn&#039;t matter who this was. What mattered was the sun rays turning to focus on this big virus thing much like focusing light through a magnifying glass to burn something. And burn it did... And how. Fire everywhere. Just how much damage that is going to do is entirely beyond even hir guess, because this is a digital world not the real world. It doesn&#039;t work quite like this in the real world; it doesn&#039;t set things around the target on fire, just the target itself. But ask hir later. Shi&#039;s trying to roll over and get another gulp of milk down, for all the good that would do. &amp;quot;F...F..FUCK OFF!&amp;quot; Damn that thing. Why can&#039;t shi just magic this injury away like normal? .. Oh wait.. Maybe magic doesn&#039;t extend in here and what&#039;s happening now was the system&#039;s enterpretation of the devine interference.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Poor Komodo.  What he had wanted to do was to leap over the thing, pole vault it if you would.  Well, wall-kick-leap over it anyway.  Unfortunately for him he wound up miscalculating the speed of the thing by a very wide margin.  As a result, what the thing wanted to do to them proves to be quite different for the large lizard.  He ends up getting struck...everywhere on his front side thanks to being quite literally horizontal at the time of impact.  He goes flying as a result, right into a wall.  If they all have tentacles, he just might be wrapped by one.  If not he slides down to the floor slowly, struggling to remain awake.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jumps back up onto her feet when the overhead is clear, glances around, and winces. Two down, one critical; it&#039;s really hard for her not to panic at this point. One generator left, and she starts scrambling on over to prep another gout of flame. Although it already feels way to hot. Dangerously so. In face when she realizes that there&#039;s already a sharp raise in heat nearby, she quickly scurries away to try and get to cover. Or at least distance&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would be busy scrambling to maz &amp;quot;MAZ! MAZ! Stay with us!&amp;quot; He calls out, as he scrambles and..thenk thinks a moment, wondering if he can help as he takes a risk by moving close, though trying not to touch the corrupted areas, he has an idea and begins to try to help poor Maz so he can keep helping.....hopefully.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s chest is now a mass of sizzling back and purple sparks, matching her shins. Mazurek is in a similar situation. Kori&#039;s spell that she managed to get off starts riddling the giant eye and its peripheral tentacle with light beams. These beams sear through the &#039;flesh&#039; of the virus, leaving gaping holes. The generator is overloaded and explodes, causing the tentacle arm to melt down into nothingness. The eye starts vibrating and wriggling angrily, making the familiar glitchy warbled sound. It finally detaches itself from the ceiling and lands on the floor about 20 yards from the party, looking ready to charge.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares back at it, panting and hissing at this point. You&#039;ve no idea how much energy doing that spell can take out of hir. The most she can do now was shove hirself off to the left and hope contact with the ground doesn&#039;t make this pain flare worse. Whatever is going on right now, science was trumping magic as far as the black patches were concerned. But at least shi has some emergency defense active. Yup, more fire. Shi ignited hirself and started emitting a massive skunk spray. Sorry other fightrs, self preservation responces!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is barely kept awake by the burning, stinging sensation that covers his entire front.  His genitals actually join in the fiery burning feeling.  If only it had struck his back and not the front! He&#039;s going to need some assistance and quickly, for the corruption will be spreading unchecked without aid.  Then again, he tries to focus his last bits of strength on his healing abilities.  He seeks to get the nanites to respond and Reconstruct the critical areas, just like Rtysho is doing already.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is apart from the others, but she&#039;s already tucking her wing away from shielding her face as she scrambles to make the intercept. Ryu&#039;s on Maz, Kori&#039;s rolling, and what does she have beside fire? Nothing. So what will she use? More fire. Drawing even up to the virus just as it starts to roll, Mickey darts past spewing out the flames and keeps pace to leave the fire cooking. It takes a pretty deep breath, and she&#039;s straining hard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has no clue if he is helping maz at all,but he certianly is trying as he shifts, glancing over his shoulder, but half bracing himself, he can&#039;t stop the work to try to help to attack untill he either knows it is working or if it is not, and if working he would keep working but if not then he would tryt o help end this even faster because then they would get out hopefully.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The eyeball sprouts some tentacles underneath it that seem to give it some locomotion. It starts slowly closing the distance between it and the party, though quickly gaining speed. Its eyeball is red and glaringly angry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flops onto hir back against the wall, grabbing one breast of squeezing it HARD. So hard it hurt. MILK! Milk Squirt in fact. Maybe if it can be blinded by milk, shi can grab hir crossbow and poke that eye out with it from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek whimpers a little from the pain that is much worse than anything he&#039;s ever gone through.  To Ryu he croaks out, &amp;quot;F-fire...Ice...whatever...  Spit in its eye.&amp;quot;  Poor lizard can&#039;t hold on any longer, passing out right there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jogs to keep up along with it, then runs. She&#039;s gotta refill her lungs after each mighty gasp, and she leaves a trail of fire under the virus&#039;s path as she keeps a constant slow roast going; squinting eyes keeping an eye out for tentacles in her step.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would shift, turning as he feels he is not doing any good, meaning the only thing he can do then is to try to help and fight, finish it as he lets out a roar, beginning to let loose another inferno from his maw as he shifts, though he does aim it for the eye, he also makes sure Mickey is not in the way before it goes roaring through the air and begins to cause a case of Dry Eye, that I doubt any ammount of Clear Eyes could help...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Garbled sounds of potential pain sound off as the eyeball moves over the trail of fire. The projectiled milk in its &#039;face&#039; causes it to close its eyelids and shake itself off. Parts of it slowly dissipate off as the ticks of damage do their thing. It it hit by the blast of fire just as it was opening its eye again, only to be roasted and forced shut again. Squares of its mass flake off and poof as it is nicked away at.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pulls the crossbow out of hiding, slow and hampered by the burning pain. At least the corruption is slow. If they kill this thing it might reverse some of the damage. On the other hand, it might not. With a loaded crossbow ready and pain making it hard to move around quickly, shi had to take hir time aiming it. Wait for it to open its eye...FIRE! *twang!*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps herself even, steadily blowing and constantly applying the heat. The rat doesn&#039;t need to breath to worry about passing out, she she&#039;s a bellows. In, out, over and over with her face matted damp and fur well-singed. She likely has some burns under her fur, and if she didn&#039;t have her goggles her eyes would of been cooked. Doesn&#039;t matter. In with the superhot air, out with the even hotter. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would simply shift his position, taking a minute to regain some of his breath, and re-heat within him as he would then roar out another blast of fire as he could, already kind of..mad , or should I say heated, at the fact that Mazurek was down...and was partly trying ot take it out before it could possibly make mazurek be in such -bad- condition! It needs to DIE! DIe you damn eyeballthing! and stop soundling like a crazy enraged computer core!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The sustained fire stops the eyeball in its tracks as it quickly loses mass to the assault. It shakes and quivers as its purple-black parts slough off of it and dissipate. It gives a last, warbled cry as the whole of it collapses into cubic code and divides and divides until it is no more. The corruption affecting the various party members fades with the demise of the virus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori drops the crossbow on the ground. The holes in the ground were vanishing, which was good. And the pain was fading too along with the black spots on hir body. That was...well, great. Shi&#039;d feel more enthusiastic if the entire ordeal didn&#039;t wear hir out. &amp;quot;About time...&amp;quot; Now PLEASE open the exit. Shi wants to take a nap, but not in here. No, hell no, and fuck no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Sighs softly as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I h ope they can get us out of here now..this is ..really, I think we need to get out of here..&amp;quot; he says though he shifts and..randomly feels his head for a headband to remove incase he coudl just do that..as he sighs quietly, &amp;quot;.....Maz needs a checkup out of here, muckey and kori probably need one to be safe..I at least didn&#039;t get corrupted..but...well may as well give us all a checkup when we get out just -please- get us out of this thing now please....&amp;quot; he says sighing...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The whole world seems to start glitching and then rows of the background start ro go black, and then you are shrouded in complete darkness... and then the dim lights of the virtual training room flicker on. &amp;quot;Welcome back!&amp;quot; comes Dark&#039;s voice over the speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stays in the chair. Not certain if it would be smart to move. Wait.. There were no chairs. Then... Oh. Ground. Right. Stay still on the ground then. &amp;quot;...Once is enough thank you... Is there a couch I can nap on...That hurt a lot, and I feel really tired after using all that energy to coax a magical being into a digital plane...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho sighs softly, as he slowly takes that headpeice off and sets it aside, &amp;quot;Thank goodness...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he looks around, &amp;quot;....I would suggest you check up on Maz...&amp;quot; he says softly as he looks around and then goes over to remove his headband carefully, &amp;quot;He..is kind of out cold right now actually...&amp;quot; he says softly, as he begins to check mazurek over as he could himself...while he was going to stay if he could to help make sure his friend was alright.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30410</id>
		<title>Lost in Cyberspace</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30410"/>
		<updated>2013-04-22T10:49:22Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Kori]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mazurek]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Cerris]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ryusho]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mickey]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Foxheart]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Smokie]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The communique had some basic directions to the Giza headquarters, and once anyone draws near the building, it is easy to see. A large pyramid logo on a three-story building is lit up by a neon GIZA sign. The first floor has another, smaller sign that says, &amp;quot;AWOL Bar and Grill&amp;quot;. Once you enter the first floor doors, the smell of food assaults you and you can see a small restaurant with a bar. It&#039;s mostly deserted save for a surly-looking bartender and a few agents with Giza uniforms. Once inside, you are directed to the second floor stairway and then to a meeting room at the end of the hall. Inside the room it is dimly lit, with only a single hanging light over the table. A figure in a heavy trenchcoat sits at the head, the tall-eared silhouette of Darkwyrm. He has a folder in front of him, fat with papers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has been to this place at least once before, but it has been a very long time since then.  The desire to visit his old friend actually comes just before the comms are inundated with the request from the company.  So... he goes and meets with the group in question.  The large Komodo with four arms lets himself be escorted, taking the time to enjoy the sights he can and ignoring the scents of all the food.  Distractions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Sometimes rats just need money. Sometimes to get that money, they have to moonlight about doing questionable things for questionable people. Not acting as a rep for mallkind today and actively avoiding the rare rat outside the walls this time around; Mickey is here incognito. Not a horribly clever disguise to pick. She&#039;s still a rather cool rat sporting thick, reflective aviator goggles that just barely hide the sign of a glow around its edges. At least she&#039;s not jingling. She arrives in the boardroom just after Mazurek, and even with her eyes covered the mirth on her face is clear. &amp;quot;Heeey there big guy. Been a bit,&amp;quot; she smirks and lingers beside. &amp;quot;Good to see a familiar face here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: It was always this deja vu with the little Coyote woman.  She swore she&#039;d done this all before.  All of it.  The AWOL bar, she&#039;d been to years ago, but today she felt like she&#039;d already been here on this day before, for the same purpose.  The sign, the room, that sexy bartender that she winks at.  Didn&#039;t she just do that the other day?  It must&#039;ve been one of those weird premonitive dreams that Coyotes get.  She went through teh hallway, up the stairs, to the waiting room, where the sexy jackal she knew waited.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: And then comes savagery. &lt;br /&gt;
 The shadow cast by the familiar to some form of a massive feathered serpent passes over the intended mustering grounds, occluding all but local street lighting briefly before it passes over and is gone.  Shortly there after a team of four military clad beings march up in a wedge formation behind what most would describe as a gaudy neon attention whore decorated in glowing piercings and various jewelry and regalia, all of which lights up at various moments or simply emits a constant scintilating radiance.  Once inside, the subordinates fan out and take attentive postures while a woman with lieutenant&#039;s ranking and a nametag marked &#039;Ripley&#039; speaks up.  &amp;quot;U.S. Hard Corps. Alpha contingent reporting to assist.&amp;quot;  The neon clown remains silent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly makes his way into the area slowly peering around slowly, as he was currious from hearing the call for others to do something at least, though he was slower to enter and find his way up there, as he probably got distracted fromgood smelling food for a moment, even though he wasn&#039;t hungry, just currious what the scent was actually, before he would head upstairs where he had been pointed peering into the room after everyone else had entered, as he then makes his way in quietly, to be off to one side, ,even if in some ways he is not as quiet as he tries to be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Glad you all could come.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says after clearing his throat. &amp;quot;I see some familiar faces and some others new. Nonetheless, you&#039;re all here, I&#039;m sure, to volunteer as subjects for our training room experiment. As such..&amp;quot;, he pauses as he opens his folder and passes a sheet of paper to each person. &amp;quot;This is a waiver that signifies you understand Giza holds no fault for problems that may occur during testing. It also outlines the safety precautions and your tidy sum. Please sign on the bottom and return them to me so we may get started. Also, any questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles to his old friend when he spots the Anubis, and even the incognito rat.  The latter he scoops up into his arms for a hug before shifting him to cradle in his double sets of arms, &amp;quot;Hello to you as well, Mickey.&amp;quot;  The lizard just might be the oddball of this group, wearing nothing at all.  When it comes time to sign the waivers, he does so without fuss, though he does need to borrow a writing tool.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: An X here, an X there!  So familiar.  She slides the paper back to the jackal, and gives him a wink, too.  Maybe he was in on it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would of thought Cerris and entourage were their hosts at first from the way they stomped on in. &amp;quot;Assist?&amp;quot; She headtilts as she happily accepts her new perch, then watches as the others file on in. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s say, imperfect world, what sort of problems would ya expect?&amp;quot; she asks as she scans the papers, then uses Maz&#039;s broad front to scribble a quick scribble. &amp;quot;We talkin&#039;, Total-Recall mental freakout? Or Star Trek Holodeck malfuction?&amp;quot; She hands it back, adjusts her goggles, then pats the lizard. Least there were friends. And money.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: The military group, for their part discuss the document they are signing in hushed tones.  The Lt. conferring with the glowing individual amongst them before Cerris, the man with the ability to stupid sparkle vamps sim dim and lackluster in comparisson, speaks up. &amp;quot;Gimme a sec here champ, I know a few people over in Zephyr that have been looking for a place to sink some extra funding so they don&#039;t lose it next cycle.  I think this here playground sandbox of your&#039;s will be just up their alley.&amp;quot;  Without waiting for a reply, the rest of the soldiers sign and return the documents to the Lt. before she brings them all up, Cerris having stepped off to the side to make a quick radio chat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he reads over it slightly, though he was just glancing for anything that might look like annoying small print, but he is not much of one for being skilled with...legaleeze or whatever they want to call The party of the first part and second part declare the party of the third part, not in conjunction with the fourth part or..whatever the crap it is called, as he rumbles and then slowly would shift to begin to sign it after trying to vaguely decipher any ..whatever you want to call that doubletalk...but since mazurek didn&#039;t bother much with it, he feels no real reason to worry too much since he does help mazurek with another bit of work he does, though the dragon does at least wear &#039;clothes&#039; though they are definately tailored to fit his rather....large form, and..well large forms that he has on his large form.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori took hir time wandering hir way here. So saying shi was late to the party is very accurate. Even when catching up with the group shi took hir time in reading the papers from top to bottom (excluding fine print too small to read), slowing hir down further. This rounded up to a slow walk around the halls following clues and voices in a passive manner while shi was focused on the paperwork. &amp;quot;Sounds like Total Recall... But they have quality assurance groups for pre-testing before making something public.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm glares as the soldiers fan out in his meeting room. &amp;quot;I can assure you, there are numerous safety protocalls in place, and I will be monitoring the program the entire time.&amp;quot;, he says to Mickey without taking his gaze away. He gathers up the signed papers and stuffs them back into the folder. &amp;quot;Your posse can stay in here.&amp;quot;, he says to Cerris, not bothering to note if he is listening or not. &amp;quot;The test is not calibrated for that many personel.&amp;quot; He gets up out of his chair and nods to the group before gesturing to the hallway and stepping out into it.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey is, assumingly, still being carried by Maz as they all files out. &amp;quot;Oh, /you/ personally? Well that calms my fears..&amp;quot; I mean, she looks like she could toss Dark pretty far trustworthy wise. &amp;quot;S&#039;long as there&#039;s no mention of derezzing, I guess we&#039;ll be alright..&amp;quot; she mulls, then watches the others to judge their reaction.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie stands up an follows.  She&#039;s oggling the Jackal mostly, but keeps glancing over at Cerris.  Is that Cerris?  Whatever.  She can&#039;t contain this huge toothy grin on her face as her claws click on the tile.  Surrounded by all these sexy people...  Damn.  At least one of them she was sure of she knew, but she was still trying to figure out what she remembered the Jackal from.&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris snorts when he hears the news, but that just means that he switches the radio conversation over to the L-T to handle, seems she was about to have some free time on her hands while he was off getting potentially skull fucked. &amp;quot;Posse, ha!  That makes me sound like some sort of Strange Modern Cowboy...How...Needless.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 Now free from his call though he is finally able to turn his attention upon Smokie and to a lesser degree, Mickey and her...steed.  Mickey would be no problem, maybe a bit sassy, but that is often fun...Smokie on the other hand...that smile of her&#039;s made him worry.  Chances were, she&#039;d end up over his knee at the very least by the end of this game.  All the same, there he was, bringing light and levity to the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks over, &amp;quot;Well, I mean, if Mazurek Trusts you, I suppose it should be alright, I mean, He seems to be a decent judge of character for the most part from what I have seen.&amp;quot; he says softly, nodding a bit as he adjusts his position and rumbles in thought, but looks around a bit more in thought at the others who were going to go into this as well&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm shakes his head. &amp;quot;No. We have special headbands you will wear. And the room is programmed with sensors and projectors and all sorts of other stuff I hardly understand build into it.&amp;quot; Darkwyrm says. He pulls open the metal-bound wooden door labeled &amp;quot;Proving Grounds&amp;quot; and ushers everyone inside. The large, dim room is massive, taking up more than half of this floor of the building. Plain white walls extend as far as the darkness allows you to see them. Behind you, a control panel and a shelf are all that is on the wall besides the exit. On the shelf rests several interesting metal headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone take a neural interface and put it on.&amp;quot;, the jackal instructs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;He&#039;s awesome,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters in agreement to Ryu as she enjoys the break from always scurrying about. Not biased in one bit. The rodent turns her hidden sight over to Cerris when she feels that Glare on her. It&#039;s easy to imagine her winking behind it. &amp;quot;Awesome, too,&amp;quot; she adds when Darkwyrm mentions just how much he understood. She slips off her ride after a cheek kiss of thanks to take up a headset and examine it closely. &amp;quot;Fancy,&amp;quot; she remarks as she replaces her goggles, then turns to show it off. Bright blue eyes glow fierce. &amp;quot;S&#039;how it look? Could use some style..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The rat and the lizard she looked toward, but took no interest in their conversation.  Her grin did not leave as she sniffed the air in the room, walking around the group there, her tail swaying.  Eventually the jackal&#039;s voice stole the coyote&#039;s interest, and she went to him to take her headset.  She looked at it, and laughed a little.  &amp;quot;Trying to show up the Prommies and their lightbulb sombreros, eh?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris, for his part simply studies the headset long enough to make certain he doesn&#039;t understand it much more than his does quantum physics or medical biology and thus simply cavemans his way through placing the thing on his head.  This of course requires he observe others and mimmic their actions before finally grunting his relief.  Then he settles in to splitting his attention between their host and the coyote.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho quietly takes a look at one of the bands, as he holds it, looking it over, just partly checking out and making sure what side seems to be -up- then carefully putting it on when he could chuckling, &amp;quot;This almst feels a little silly to wear..reminds me of some sort of...old...show or comic book thing one might see somewhere...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Very good.&amp;quot;, Dark says with a nod as he watches the volunteers put on the headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone stay in here and mil about, I&#039;m going to excuse myself to the control room.&amp;quot; With a short bow, he heads out the door and closes it behind him. About a minute later, a speaker crackles on and you can hear his voice again. &amp;quot;Alright, everyone just stand still while I calibrate this..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie had been standing still the whole time, arms crossed, hips cocked.  She occasionally shifted her weight to the other paw.  A sigh.  Damn.  She thought she caught Cerris looking at her a few times, but did not say anything, or otherwise react except to look away.  She was being fairly unsociable this time, she realized.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek had remained the silent giant of a lizard throughout the introductions following the signing of the documents.  When Mickey goes to slip off of him he squats to futher help her do so and he grabs a headband of his own.  Putting it on as instructed he turns to Ryusho and smiles, &amp;quot;I trust Darkwyrm for the simple reason that he is a very close friend, and at one point my mate.  He sired a few children with me, too.  Some you&#039;ve seen during the days you&#039;re around the Reservation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Hey really?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after she finishes fine-tuneing the headgear. She&#039;s a rather good source of added light as her searchlight-gaze sweeps about; the visor causing a gaussian blur that softens the light, but makes her look something strange. &amp;quot;That actually does help a bit. Must be some pretty awesome kids if they&#039;re there,&amp;quot; she hums as she chills with the group, then does her best to freeze. &amp;quot;Bet I get high score,&amp;quot; she chitters under her breath in jest. Really, she had no clue if there would even be such a thing..&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris&#039;s blazing gaze can&#039;t help be felt by the coyote, it practically spotlights her local or at least it does as long as the lighting remains low.  Tracing streamers of light with every movement of his hands, he halts about halfway to his intercept of Smokie, remaining still as the host requests.  Each moment ticking through another spectrum of light his hair goes through in it&#039;s carefully braided state.  A million things lance through his head to lash out at the coyote with, most filled with bile, spite and outrage.  But one of the few others wins through and so he says in a low tone that he is certain those...that sharp ear will pick up. &amp;quot;She asked about you, Rouge was pleased with your visit.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
That said, he grunts again when Mickey makes a challenge of things, of course he rises to the occassion, he&#039;s the manliest of men afterall.  &amp;quot;Little lady, if you beat me, I will owe you an IOU for anything you want.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho nods a bit towards mazurek, &amp;quot;Well, I may have some on my one someday, though I may need to figure out and eventually return myself to a..more reasonable size as some woudl say, or find one who would like be the mate of one as...rather large as I am...&amp;quot; he says with a chuckle &amp;quot;But that is for a future time I know, but this I feel will be interesting at the very least, a new experience.&amp;quot; He says as he waits, glancing around the room while they wait&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori continues to examine the headband, ignoring most of the people chattering or goofing of. This is science. Science needs some seriousness. ... Okay not everyone was goofing off, but it was a bit too chatty. &amp;quot;I guess going human would help with these contacts. We&#039;ll see how it goes.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s mumbling to hirself while fitting it around hir head. &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to want to see our kids after this, Dark. So.. Now what. Any chairs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;No chairs.&amp;quot;, the voice in the speaker crackles. &amp;quot;There&#039;s gonna be a bright flash of light, and you&#039;ll then be &#039;transported&#039; to the training grounds. Just.. a military-style obstacle course to begin with. Just a moment.. starting it up..&amp;quot; About a minute later, the room humms with hidden machinery behind the walls and the dim light flicks and finally go out, leaving the room completely dark. Moments latewr, the entire room flashes white... but then it flickers again. The room&#039;s lighting seems to start doing some sort of strobe effect. Thne strobe turns to static, like you would see on a television set with no input. Then, it stops. Everything is quiet for a moment. You don&#039;t know when it appeared, but you find yourself in a city. Wait, didn&#039;t he say military obstacle course? Further investogation reveals that this city looks much like pre-promethean Fairhaven. The buildings are intact, there are people walking down the sidewalks, though they are all turned away so you cannot see their faces. The sky is.. wait.. The sky is NOT normal. The sky is the same static you saw, but there is a black crack down the middle of it, as if it were made of glass. The lighting in the entire city seems off too.. like the sun were giving off grey light instead of yellow-white. You are all standing in a group in the middle of a street next to each other, and the room you were previously in is nowhere in sight.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek turns his head to gaze up to where the nearest speaker should be to him, &amp;quot;Military style course, eh?  Anything like what I was in when I helped you test your holographic projectors quite a number of months ago?&amp;quot;  Has it been a year?  Two?  He doesn&#039;t really recall the amount of time, but it works.  He flinches as the scenery changes, groaning softly from all the distortions and such.  When the changes are all finished he can&#039;t help but look around in amazement, &amp;quot;Wow.  This is even better than before.  Where exactly is the training ground from where we currently are?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Smokie seems to stand still, complacent, though her  tail crooks to the left and she sniffs to the right a little at the first change in scenery.  Not so bad, that.  It was the second one that stunned her, though.  The sky was fake, and there were no smells, but in the rest...  What?  WHAT?  Oh lord...  There was a sight she never thought she&#039;d see.  Pre-Pday city...  The coyote almost dropped to her knees, as she becomes visibly...  upset?  She steps back a little, her arms come uncrossed and her knees bend.  What is this?  She knows in her mind it&#039;s fake, but it&#039;s so shocking...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: Mickey flashes a thumbs up, but quickly wishes she took it away. The rat is a user. She&#039;s no stranger to weird sights, sounds, or surreal events. Hell, she&#039;s invented her own color once on an acid trip. She named it Gruave. Sensory overload is quite a bitch however, and she&#039;s rather sure the dull pain in her jaw is her clenching her teeth as she fights the urge to seek a point to fix herself. &amp;quot;Baad trip, man,&amp;quot; she grumbles when finally &#039;normal&#039; seems to return..then she likewise takes in the sight with the others. &amp;quot;Funny..I think there&#039;s a few skybox issues,&amp;quot; she says. Her attention is upward, not on the figures around them. &amp;quot;And it doesn&#039;t look much a course..&amp;quot; Shit. Pretty sure this is how the Holodeck always started to go wackers..&lt;br /&gt;
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Cerris frowns as he looks away from smokie, watching the other reactions around him to verify that he is not suffering alone, that this time everyone else was in on the wierdness.  Reassured he wasn&#039;t about to suffer a personality break he weathers the storm, though occassionally looking around to be certain nothing was going to melt out of the environment to drag him into the ground.  &amp;quot;This is not an obstacle course and the sky appears damaged...Operator, are you aware of our current urban setting?&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Yes he is speaking to no one in general, expecting a response, doesn&#039;t everyone?&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho blinks a bit as he looks around &amp;quot;Uhh..this..doesn&#039;t look like a..Military..training course.....this looks more like a city to me..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts slowly, scratching his head as he glances around, and turns around in a circle slowly to get a better look of the area before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;Oh...You have done this kind of stuff before? So I guess maybe we are not supposed to be right ontop of it....maybe?&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
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Kori becomes diasoriented by the strobes of static. This persisted until it settled down and hir new environment stopped looking fuzzy. &amp;quot;... So is this what the city looked like? Kinda makes me miss the college campus back home. Wonder if its fallen to ruin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: In response to Cerris&#039; inquiries, there&#039;s a garbled, distorted sound that seems to come from everywhere. It sounds like a voice.,. but it&#039;s impossible to make out. Seconds later, however, it cuts out abruptly with some static noises.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek can&#039;t help but burst out with some laughter upon realizing something, &amp;quot;Well, it seems that the program has malfunctioned.  Not only that, but we can&#039;t get in touch with the programmer.&amp;quot;  He looks to the others and shrugs, &amp;quot;So...  Who&#039;s up for some exploring?&amp;quot;  Seems someone isn&#039;t paying attention to the others&#039; distress, and he begins to wander down the street.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances down and around. Smokie&#039;s sight sends up the next red flag, and the voice confirms it. &amp;quot;Wh-wait. Is that..ok? Jus&#039;..wandering off like that?&amp;quot; She takes a few steps. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think the &#039;yote is alright.&amp;quot; Her hands go to her pockets as she wonders. Were her smokes here? She could use one. Suddenly the &#039;game&#039; attitude was fading away and replaced with mild worry.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: The panicking coyote stands in the middle of the road, staring in awe and terror at all the people.  They had to be fake but she was frightened at the prospect.  She was trying to repress her memories.  This kind of stuff she hadn&#039;t counted on.  She thought about all of the things she&#039;d tried to forget, the memories in her brain of a life passed.  She tried to get a grip of herself.  Shaking.   Ears pinned, tail &#039;tween her legs, she gritted her teeth.  Just seeing a city not in ruins, it confronted her very sense of self, and made her wonder if her whole person was just a charade.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: Oh thank god her smoking tin. The rat quickly snaps it open, selects one of her fattest spliffs, and quickly sparks it up to clear her nerves. It&#039;s abnormal just how long she holds the smoke in before finally expelling it as one thick cloud. &amp;quot;Ok, ok..let&#039;s chill.&amp;quot; She&#039;s saying it for Smokie&#039;s sake, not her own. Honest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he listens to the sounds of the digital equivalent of their evac chopter being shot down just outside of the landding zone.  &amp;quot;Okay, this extraction point is shot, let&#039;s move out!  This is a video game of some sort right?  If it&#039;s not on some sort of timer, then it should end if we complete it or crash it.  So let&#039;s play along until we can restablish contact with our operator and get a new LZ out of here.  Hey, don&#039;t wander alone!  Group up, we have no way of maintaining ccomms once seperated!&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Crazy as it was, he was already in motion to gather up Smokie, his arms sweeping the yote up to shoulder level to be carried either seated or draped across them, he didn&#039;t care, but from there he was heading to get Mickey and start exploring.  &amp;quot;Come on pretty hippy, let&#039;s go see the sights.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs quietly, as he looks around slowly, &amp;quot;SO..uhm.....That doesn&#039;t seem like the best situation....that didn&#039;t sound good either..&amp;quot; he says softl as he slowly shifts from side to side....it has been ...a long time since he has seen anything like this..and had gotten quite used to this as it had become and..in one way enjoyed it more in some ways, but..he slowly rubs his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well...&amp;quot; He says softly as he scratches his head a bit more then notices Mazurek wandering off, &amp;quot;HEy..hey! Now wait a moment...&amp;quot; he says as he starts to take off after Mazurek.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The streets are clear of vehicles. There is no traffic to speak of. There are only the strange, destinationless pedestrians that are always.. walking away from you. In the distance down the main street, you can see the original Zephyr building in all of its pre-promethean glory towering above most of the other buildings.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori starts looking around, examining the fake humans walking up and down the sidewalks and then the sky. So they&#039;re having technical difficulties. Great. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t know what the goal is, dude. Its supposed to be an obstacle course, but this is clearly not what they intended. So we don&#039;t know where to go. I suggest we start at the Zephyr building or get a map so we can identify the extraction point. Oh.. And be careful, these Non-Player-Characters might be hostile if they&#039;re also banjaxed. Those of us cap[able of looking human should do so now so they won&#039;t take notice as easily.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek does, indeed, stop when called out to do so, and actually rejoins the group almost immediately.  Talk about the Zephyr building finally makes him look around much more closely than before and he grins upon finally spotting it, &amp;quot;Ah.  Yes, Zephyr.  If this is the case, then the only logical assumption would, indeed, be to check out the more familiar structure, eh?  Let&#039;s just hope it isn&#039;t some Zombie Horror Game.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Classic,&amp;quot; Mickey mumbles as she puffs along with her smoke. She makes it a point to stay away from the figures even as they&#039;re actively moving away, and with Smokie being cared for in trusted arms the rat is more at ease. At least if the game corrupts and everyone dies, it wouldn&#039;t be bullshit picking them off one by one. &amp;quot;Righto..wait, he has that?&amp;quot; Mickey asks Maz, then rubs her chin. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think flight would be handy. There&#039;s a ceiling up there huh?&amp;quot; She looks up again as they walk.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Smokie(#26254)]: Yes, that&#039;s it.  A lie.  It&#039;s a lie!  The Coyote puts her paw on Cerris, and says, &amp;quot;Put me down, you,&amp;quot; in a shaky voice.  &amp;quot;I&#039;ve got legs and I can run on my own.&amp;quot;  Of course, she&#039;s still shivering all over.  She can&#039;t help it.  This was all too unnerving.  She frowns at Kori&#039;s suggestion.  &amp;quot;I will not turn human.  I never was, I never will be again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris played a few zombie games in his time, hell soldiers on down time play a LOT of games in between working out and jerking off.  Unless they are offduty, then they chase ass and get in fights. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s assume we are temporarily immune to the corruption or anything that developes, if attacked by anything give an alarm and defend yourself, even if that thing was a previous friendly.  And no, Smokie, I&#039;m not putting you down just yet, my shoulder is cold, you are temporarily drafted as an all weather garment...deal with it.&amp;quot;  As flimsy an excuse as it was, it was the closest thing he was going to offer the coyote to plausible deniabiity.  So onward to Zephyr he marched, eyes and ears tuned for any deviations in their environment as they go, his memory working to try and steer them towards something that will bring his crew into solid footing.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho shifts slightly, looking up and away, &amp;quot;If they were hostile, I think they would be looking at us and moving towards us, butI have never seen a single one move towards, or look towards us, but...well who knows, and...well I was human I believe at one point, but....I changed to this form because Ilike it better, and don&#039;t think I can become human again if I wanted too...&amp;quot; he says after a bit, shrugging as he does want to head towards the zephyr building since at least it is a &#039;known&#039; landmark...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to face the direction of Zephyr, taking in its surprisingly clean splendor. Until Smokie starts up an act. &amp;quot;Well fine, wild one. If they do decide to go crazy nd attack us because we&#039;re different in some way, don&#039;t cry about it. They are passive now, and walking away constantly, but that could change at any moment in this glitchy environment.&amp;quot; Hir features start shifting less furry and more human beore shi begins walking in Zephyr&#039;s direction. &amp;quot;Gonna need shoes and a proper pair of pants I guess. Already have the jacket.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The people don&#039;t seem to be afraid of you, they dont even look at you. In fact, have you even seen any of their faces? They don&#039;t seem to have picked up their pace at all either. They are just casually walking down the streets. As you pass one as you move down the street, he suddenly turns down another street even though it didnt seem like that was where he was going. You don&#039;t even glimpse his front, as fast as the turn was. Something definitely seeems.. wrong with the citizens. The tower seems to grow exponentially in size as you grow closer to it. Perhaps a small error in the perspective scaling? It looms overhead, windows dark and mirrored glass reflecting the static of the sky above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey leaves behind her trail of smoke as she walks beside the two lizards. Occasionally she glances over to check on Cerris and Smokie, but when the building starts to loom up above her glowing eyes are quick to follow. &amp;quot;Creepy..&amp;quot; she mutters, looks to her barely finished spliff, then quickly deepens her hits. Even if it was fake, it would of been rude to just outright smoke indoors. She&#039;d have to scout it out first. &amp;quot;Welp, let&#039;s find out what&#039;s behind door number one.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the ever-increasing size of the building they&#039;ve all come to know and (maybe) love over the years.  Or is it months?  Whatever.  It&#039;s there, they&#039;re here, and it&#039;s growing.  He even misses the sudden, abrupt turn of the programmed creature down the side street because of it.  Even though Mickey is smoking, or at least was until a moment ago, the iguana picks up the not-rat again and holds her, cradling once more to try and make her at ease again during the trip.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris sets the coyote down and points at an alley up ahead before calling over to the other three. &amp;quot;Hey I just remembered a shop that might be around here that can help with weapons and maps...gonna dip down this alley real quick and check.&amp;quot; And just like that he is off, this too good to delay forward progress for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho misses the person turning away instantly because of watchign the building seem to get larger and larger as it seems to get bigger the closer they get before looking around &amp;quot;Are we getting smaller or is it gettin gbigger..&amp;quot; he says quietly, before looking to mazurek, &amp;quot;And I hope you friend can fix this ...soon, this is starting to seem really creepy to me..&amp;quot; he says as he looks up again and mrphs in thought....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You&#039;re worried about a building growing taller in a virtual world whose population seems content to walk away and never turn to look at you? These people may not have a front for all we know, being just half a man or half a woman, literally.&amp;quot; Shi moves closer to the door and nudges it open. &amp;quot;Ten credits on the interior of this building being a big pit of nothingness. Second best destination is the mall up north.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As everyone else is awed by the looming tower, Cerris ducks down an alley. The alley is between two tallish buildings that do not let a lot of light into it. As he passes one shop, a closed electronics store, the television sets in the front display click on. The white-grey static illuminates that part of the alleyway, demanding attention.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek stops when attention is called to the fact that there&#039;s a possible shop close by and actually proceeds to follow Cerris into the alley.  Of course, he&#039;s a few dozen paces behind when those televisions suddenly flicker on and it would be only natural that he gravitates toward the light generated by them.  There must be an insect strain of DNA in him or something.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks as she&#039;s hoisted up once again. This time there&#039;s no real rush in trying to get back down from her. Although her flushing cheeks show her embarrassment, it is too comforting to protest the treatment. To prevent offending she flicks the smoke away ust as Maz suddenly turns about. &amp;quot;Really? Would that kind of thing actually translate here?&amp;quot; She nearly topples when Maz changes course again, and as she changes to a more proper perch on his shoulder she follows his gaze. &amp;quot;Huh? Something on?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote happily came to her feet.  The shakes were going away, but she still was shivering.  She was trying to play it off.  She was smiling and whispering to herself that it wasn&#039;t real and that everything didn&#039;t go back to normal and in awhile she&#039;ll be back in her broken bed and her musty blankets in her dirty office in the decrepit, rusted warehouse....  She looks up at the Zephyr building, and laughs a yapping laugh.  &amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris jerks around, a snarl on his lips when Smokie laughs and lights flare up.  &amp;quot;Damnit Smokie don&#039;t fuck arou...&amp;quot;  Doubling back he practically runs to the lit screens, his eyes quickly scanning the storefront for any security devices or alarms before he ventures any closer seeing as it appears to be closed.  Damnit if he doesn&#039;t want all the intel he can get in any given situation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks over, noticing one moving away, but he kinda stays there as he looks up, then around again rubbing his head, &amp;quot;SHouldn&#039;t we...stay together incase something goes wrong? What if this is a glitch and a sudden change to the environment might make it so a place we could go is not accessable...so then we would we stuck not able to get there and if someone was in there they would need another way out...&amp;quot; he says quietly, as he rubs the back of his head more and slowly turns around and looks the way they came, then back and looking up at the..strangely big buillding, he doesn&#039;t remember it being that tall..or even the same scale for what he does remember -exists- for what they know now...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: For a moment there.. wait, there it was again. The pyramid logo of Giza flashed on each of the television screens briefly before fading out again. Could it be a sign?&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek blinks, staring a bit more at the screens as they flicker and fade.  He is quick to point it out to the others, &amp;quot;Alright.  Darkwyrm, if you are still able to monitor us, your company&#039;s logo is only barely coming through.&amp;quot;  He steps into the building and begins to explore the interior, still holding Mickey against him.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears perk up. Not that much with all the metal weighing them down, but still enough. Before they vanish out of sight she turns her head to call out to Ryu. &amp;quot;I think we got an objective marker!&amp;quot; Her tail flickers and, in an attempt to not become totally useless, keeps a watchful lookout from her perch. +5 to swag, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Everyone is going into that little shop.  Damn.  Must the band of heros always have the shared attention span of a goldfish?  The coyote sighs and brings up the rear, not liking the enclosed space of not-so-decayed buildings.  That static is killing her eyes and her ears.  She grumbles to herself a little.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris actually goes no further than the shop&#039;s entrance, looking for any other activated electronics.  &amp;quot;Look for something to use to suplement this comms failure.  If TVs are giving images, speakers and mics may be doing the job as well.  I&#039;ll secure our point of egress.&amp;quot;  In this situation, his experience as a field officer shines through, overshadowing those moments in which he may or may not have been thinking about how many dicks he could sink into that college girl&#039;s ass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he turns and looks before sighing as he slowly begins to wlak after the others, &amp;quot;Well you know you all could I don&#039;t know, DISCUSS IDEAS before suddenly running off randomly like chickens with their heads cut off!&amp;quot; he calls out as he walks to catch up...&lt;br /&gt;
Kori wanders away from the doors of Zephyr and closer to the light show that attracted so many of the group. &amp;quot;If you can figure out how to suppliment this stuff, I&#039;ll try to whip together something to use as a blueprint. Then we gotta figure out how to connect it and get it working.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Inside the dark store, it is mostly what you would expect to see inside of an electronics store. Shelves full of various electrical doodads, keyboards, accessories and the like. None of them are turned on. What really catches your eye is the terminal behind the counter. A pyramid logo is rotating in the center of the screen like a screen saver, almost as if waiting for input.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has used enough computers in the past, and really still does when it comes to his Reservation, that when he discovers the little screensaver with the logo on it...he simply taps the screen to see if anything happens.  If there&#039;s a mouse or keyboard nearby, he does something with those if that fails.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s glowing eyes are darting about like they&#039;re in a candy shop. So many electronics! So much salvage! Goddamn and it was all fake. Glowering at the lack of real fortune, she watches Maz tap away on the screen. The rat waits for several minutes, then when she can&#039;t wait any longer she reaches over to point. &amp;quot;Think you gotta unlock it? Try the Trifecta. Ctrl-alt-del.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote resigns herself to a corner of the shop, looking out the window.  She figures it&#039;s best to let the people with knowhow do their thing, instead of getting in their way.  She does marvel at some of the pre-Pday stuff, and wonders if there&#039;d be anything left in the real world of this store.  SHe&#039;d love to salvage things.  Though, most other folks salvaged things to make them work again.  Smokie just salvaged them to make them into jewelry or to take out little parts she might need.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris quietly ducks back out of the shop, hailing Ryusho as he does so. &amp;quot;Hey, watch the alley, I have something else to take care of.&amp;quot; In a moment, Cerris is gone, his consiiderable athletic ability put into a sprint to carry him swiftly to the gunshop he was hoping to find while everyone else is occupied with getting communications up and running. Note cool speed lines left behind due to glowly stuffs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks as he turns aroudn and looks at Cerris charging off, &amp;quot;WAIT! ...What...WHY DON&amp;quot;T YOU TELL US THIGNS!&amp;quot; he sighs and shifts to lean against the wall, as he hears a gurgle down below as he glances down, &amp;quot;Oh quiet down you four, I will take care of you when we are not in this mess....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris arrives at the arms shop, all right. But if he were to look up at the sign designating the shop, it looks like a crudely drawn gun with the word &amp;quot;Gunz&amp;quot; on it as if it were added only as an afterthought. Peering inside the windows would reveal that the store is just completely black. In fact, there is no door. Once someone fiddles with the terminal, the screen goes black for a few moments before a tall-eared canine head silhouette appears on a background of blue. &amp;quot;Sheesh. Thought you guys would never find a terminal.&amp;quot;, a crackling voice says. &amp;quot;I suppose you&#039;ve gathered by now the program isn&#039;t quite working right.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly slips more into the building as he hears the one on the screen talking as he mrphs softly, &amp;quot;...Lovely...So we are in a program...that is affected by a virus?&amp;quot; he shifts a bit, &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t that mean that it could be possibly....well...risky to be stuck in here? Sinc eyou can&#039;t turn it off?&amp;quot;  he guesses from what he is hearing....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder to Ryu and ushers to him to join around the display. &amp;quot;Sounds troublesome. And us without a security..&amp;quot; wait, nevermind. Tron jokes were getting old, truely, and this was actually sounding serious. Like, she wouldn&#039;t be getting paid serious. &amp;quot;Soooo..what then?&amp;quot; She chirps, glancing between the screen and others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: A virus?  That very well IS a predicament.  She growls softly to herself.  &amp;quot;Wait, if we&#039;re in a virus, can the virus...  Infect us?&amp;quot;  She dramatically emphasizes the last word.  It was a momentary idea, but it was just too good to not say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek listens to the others speak their concerns.  Instead of voicing his own concerns he instead asks, &amp;quot;I will run under the assumption that you can see everything that is going on around us, from the half-rezzed population all the way to the oddly gigantic Zephyr building.  So, what is this program&#039;s objective and what is it that we are supposed to do to complete it?  Best get this information out in the open before we face the possibility of this virus preventing us from communicating.  Also, the last time I was engaged into this system it was more a prototype.  Are the safties still operational or will this be lethal to the losers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is a long period of silence after all of the questions are asked. Finally, Darkwyrm activates his mic again and says, &amp;quot;I am unwilling to terminate the program at present, as there is a possibility of damage if turned off prematurely. Uhh.. as far as infection goes, I am unsure of the extent the virus has spread into the system. I would exercise caution. I am surprised you have not seen signs of it yet.&amp;quot; He clears his throat as you can hear the sound of typing through the speaker. &amp;quot;This seems promising though. If you can destroy the virus within the program, I can safely shut down the system and get you out. I can get more help for you if you can wait a few minutes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, &amp;quot;...I guess all we -can- do is wait in one regard, we have no weapons other then ourselves and...some of us don&#039;t look like we are very much &#039;naturally combat built&#039; ...&amp;quot; he says softly, with a hum in thought, &amp;quot;....that being said we don&#039;t even know if what we can do would be able to hurt a virus depending on how it is in the system.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ear gives a little flick at that, and she shoots a glance to Ryu. &amp;quot;Hey, not all of us are built with bulk in mind.&amp;quot; She gives the dragon a slight tilt of her head, then wiggle of her eyebrows. &amp;quot;Whatever you guys think&#039;ll get us out of this wunderland fast enough, I&#039;m game for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie listens keenly with her ear-and-a-half.  Hm, this was definitely something.  She loves over at the dragon, frowning.  &amp;quot;I&#039;m not so big or brawny, but I&#039;ve been in my fair share of fights-&amp;quot; she points up at her half-ear, &amp;quot;-As you can see.  I think we&#039;ll be able to get in there and take out the Master Comp-- I mean virus.  Yeah.  Just leave it to us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a loud sigh. Great. Virus, frozen shutdown. Pulling its plug the hard way could be a lobotomy. The impending sarcasm would have to wait however. &amp;quot;Or they could pull Matrix on us and appear as hostile people in suits. We&#039;d have to Matrix them back. Its a program, we&#039;re digital representations of ourselves so the rules aren&#039;t as clear. Hell for all I know we could all be able to fly in &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks, &amp;quot;No information regarding where we need to go or anything like that, eh?  As far as corruption goes, the sky is the most obvious thing we&#039;ve seen so far.&amp;quot;  Then to Kori, &amp;quot;Some of us can fly just by thinking it.  It just takes the appearance of wings in some cases.&amp;quot;  To Mickey he picks her up into his arms yet again, &amp;quot;I know nothing of the powers of the Mall Rats.  Do they have any combat powers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blicks off and goes black It stays that way for several minutes, threatening to stay off and leave you without any more help from the jackal. But just then, it flicks back on. &amp;quot;Alrighty. I&#039;ve arranged for some help you you.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;Stand by.&amp;quot; A peculiar glow light up the room as a green silhouette appears in the middle of the floor, and slowly becomes more resolved, gaining depths and finally details. A Foxheart has entered the game. However, it seems her appearance has overloaded this station. &amp;quot;Fffzzzt ff-ffiind other... Ssshhhhzzzzzcomputers to contact me.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says through the static before the screen cracks and smokes, turning off forever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as the console seems to begin to short out as he cringes a bit, &amp;quot;Lovely, There....goes our contact with the real world...&amp;quot; he says softly, shaking his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I suppose now our first goal is to begin trying to find another computer console, so we can contact him for what to do next, now that ...well apparently our re-enforcements have arrived....&amp;quot; He says as he look sover foxheart and nods slightly to them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s wings flutter for balance like a scooped up bird, then transfers over to a sidelong perch along Maz&#039;s shoulder. Give her some green wings and a cracker and she could pass for Polly. &amp;quot;Not &#039;xactly. We mostly shine in avoiding trouble. It&#039;s a Zen kinda thing; don&#039;t bother it, it won&#039;t bother you.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, then pats the Komodo&#039;s chest. &amp;quot;But I&#039;ll keep an escape route open for all of us in case we gotta leg it. Got your back.&amp;quot; Literally; it&#039;s a great view up here. Foxheart is eyed curiously, but any help is accepted at this moment. &amp;quot;Howdy. Welcome.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie looks over at the glow  Reinforcements, huh?  No one like Ahnuhlled.  But that&#039;ll do.  She sighs and moves over to the door, looking out again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart shakes her head and pulls herself together, hands placed at their blade handles before she realizes she recognizes one of the people here...vaguely at least, then stands her guard down. &amp;quot;Darkwyrm, you owe me for this...&amp;quot; She puts a hand over a breast in a salute. &amp;quot;Foxheart. Darkwyrm said you needed some combat backup.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scans her eyes up and down the new arrival, then the terminal the cat thing came from. &amp;quot;... You&#039;d think they could just recompile the environment code in this spot to repair the terminal. The hardware on their end must&#039;ve blown. So... Now what. We still need to know where to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Those several minutes seem to drag onward while the Komodo is awaiting the next bit of information.  He looks over to the new arrival when it finally happens, only to snap his attention right back to the terminal when it breaks, groaning a bit after the final transmission.  With the newcomer&#039;s introduction he nods toward her, &amp;quot;Not everyone here is combat ready.  The more involved the better.&amp;quot;  He makes sure Mickey is safe on his shoulder, holding his legs if he needs to.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: An unusual sound outside gathers your attention, and a strange shifting of color. The lights in the electronics shop go out, leaving you in darkness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks around, &amp;quot;Crap, we need out of this area..or something...I think something thinks this is a good area to mess with..and ...I guess they can&#039;t since that would also affect the area -we- are in and could mess us up...&amp;quot; he says with a cringe, and then shifts, a defensive stance of sorts, &amp;quot;We...need to get out of here, and find another console...so we can get more help, as I said, I don&#039;t think we can fight it with what we have access too right now....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey drapes her tail over Maz&#039;s back as she sits with her legs secure. Good thing too, because she would of given a startled jump once the lights cut off. That blue search-light gaze of hers sweeps around quickly, looking right away for either a back way out or large enough window. &amp;quot;Yeah, I kinda second that idea. Get the feeling the longer we stay in one place the more danger we&#039;re in.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote opens the door and peers into the alleyway outside.  Nothing seems to have changed, as far as she can see.  She sighs, and turns back inside, leaving the door slightly cracked.  &amp;quot;Well, I dunno what&#039;s up.  I suggest we go to the big attention-stealing tower, and not get caught up in fetch-this sidequests.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: A spark of life flitters from the kitsune&#039;s tails as she draws her short sword and lets it guide the wisp like a lantern, giving her just enough light to see a nearby surroundings. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll forgive me if I can&#039;t make this any brighter. Don&#039;t want to burn anyone. Lead the way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at said kitsune, holding up a hand of hir own which promptly ignites. Show-off. &amp;quot;Having a fiery hide can be more useful than giving some ferals a case of hot-foot.&amp;quot; But since they now have two light source, the group should feel fairly coomfortable moving on. &amp;quot;So lets just get going.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has his own searchlights!  Well, not really, but they work fairly well.  He uses Mickey&#039;s light to help guide him around the shop, heading toward the exit that Smokie is by.  Well, the room lights up enough thanks to some flaming light anyway, so he shouldn&#039;t bump into anything...maybe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Outside of the shop, the light emitted from the defective, cracked, static skybox has shifted from gray to a pale crimson. Everything looks threatening now from the slight color change. The crack in the sky has widened too.. and inside of the crack a glowing pupil is partially visible.. creepy. You cant see much else from here, being in an alley and all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho peers around and up, &amp;quot;...we need to find the next terminal, so we can get something to protect ourselves with hopefully in this world....because I think something knows we are here now...&amp;quot; he says quietly,  &amp;quot;I think thta should be our first priority...plain and simple...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around still in a partly defensive stance.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps the light turned down towards the floor so that Maz can step cleanly, although when she chances a glance outward and sees the huge eye she quickly shuts them and hurriedly yanks her goggles back up. &amp;quot;Whoo, ok, now /that&#039;s/ fucking creepy,&amp;quot; she shivers and hunches down. &amp;quot;Good idea man. Keep something between us and that..thing, try not to make a fuss. Let&#039;s hit up that building.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The coyote looks up at the sky, and freezes.  She recalls some lore, but she shakes her head.  That is not Coyote&#039;s eye, no, Coyote never had red eyes.  She advances up the alleyway, in the front of the formation, tense.  She&#039;s short enough that everyone behind her can see over her...  A pause.  She lifts her head up, looking up at the red broken sky, and takes a few deep breathes through her nose, and then delicately tries to scent the area.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart draws her other sword, and the longer katana bursts into flame as she readies her technique. She&#039;s far better versed at smashing things, not fixing them, and with a few graceful steps, walks to the front of the group. &amp;quot;Looks like we&#039;re being watched. We might have company...&amp;quot; Her tails furl up and fold into half to make it easier for her to dash if she had to, fur bristling everywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks up with a sharp scowl. Well forget about looking like everything else in here. The light shows down on the ground would draw that thing&#039;s attention up there. &amp;quot;Well fuck. We&#039;re going to stick out like a christmas tree in an orange grove now.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would be one of those that has a distinctive scent to Smokie, though whether it would be good or bad depends on the situation.  It is outside the shop that the sky&#039;s change can be seen clearly, not inside.  Gazing up at the eyeball gazing down at them brings about a simple quip from the large reptile, &amp;quot;Well, looks like we have an idea of what the virus is that we need to destroy.  GladOS, welcome home.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As you step out of the alley, you KNOW something&#039;s changed. The large, prominant Zephyr tower that was tall and pristine before is now covered in pulsing blue and purple tentacles. The very top of the tower is completely covered, with tendrils grasping downward from there and finally blocking entrance to the entire first floor. The tentacles don&#039;t necessarily look fleshy, but they have glowing veins that seem to pump a light blue fluid through them. The stores lining the streets are now destroyed, looking as if they exploded outwards. Those pedestrians you saw before.. well they&#039;re still around, but now they&#039;re facing towards you.. and advancing. There is no wonder why they were facing away from you before. They have no faces. Where their facial features should be is smooth, pale flesh. They don&#039;t seem to be in any rush, but if you move, then they adjust their direction. Walking.. slowly from all sides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts, &amp;quot;Start moving, now, and No, the Zephyr building is -not- our goal right now, thats probably our -end- goal as the virus is working -from- there, not to there, we gotta find the one place...just..try to keep moving..so they don&#039;t actually -reach- us hopefully...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts..and..decides to glance around &amp;quot;Anyone recall major places that might be nearby, local area?&amp;quot; he shifts as he glances around though walking slowly,&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pages, &amp;quot;how would they take to a blinding sunburst gold flare of light from someone shifting back to their dedication form?&amp;quot; to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ooh-kay..Yeah, good man,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters to Ryu, again her gaze more focused on what&#039;s upward then what&#039;s actually around at ground level. When she finally does notice her hand goes right for her vest pocket. &amp;quot;It&#039;s infecting the city..except these ain&#039;t nanites.&amp;quot; She looks around, tries to quickly count, then picks a direction that she figures could more or less be random. &amp;quot;This is the city, right? Mall is thataway, I know for sure.&amp;quot; You do not question a rat on this, regardless of form.&lt;br /&gt;
tell kori Try it and find out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie turns suddenly, to follow Mickey.  She glances around at the faceless things.  They didn&#039;t really scare her.  It was like some sort of zombie movie without the gore.  But these were never alive.  Now, if she started seeing familiar faces...  THAT would scare her, but it&#039;d take quite a bit, because no one whose face she remembers was human.  She spits in their general direction, and laughs, following the rat.  Suppose they were going to the mall?  This IS turning into a zombie movie.  Of course, what she smelled earlier, it was...  Strange.  Very strange, and she didn&#039;t like it that it was playing with her brain like that, to be putting smells in her mind.  Perhaps this whole thing was planned from the beginning?  That seemed like more of a Zephyr trick, but she never put anything past anyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart keeps her wisp lit anyway as her eyes follow each of the strange figures in turn, looking around, utterly confused. It doesn&#039;t scare her one bit though, considering all that she&#039;s seen before, and then looks at the group once before she shakes her head. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll get through with ease. They don&#039;t look like a threat.&amp;quot; A tail points at the large infested building. &amp;quot;We are here to destroy the virus, aren&#039;t we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shifts hir feet while bending down into a predatory crouch. The eye was watching them, the Zephyr building was being tentacle raped, the &#039;people&#039; were converging slowly on them and the surrounding buildings had exploded form the inside. The virus knew they were there, knew where they were, and didn&#039;t seem to want them to leave. &amp;quot;That&#039;s half the plan. The other half is getting out of here. I suggest closing your eyes. This is kind of bright...okay, very bright. Won&#039;t bother these faceless things much, no eyes.&amp;quot; Hir body begins glowing soon after those words, a glow of yellow-white light like the sun that quickly increases in intensity until it hits a painfully bright radiance. See, hir magic was being used again. Only unlike turning human, returning to hir patron&#039;s lioness form was unfortunately flashy. It wasn&#039;t nearly this bad in the real world though, so this flare of light was only a pain in the ass within this virtual world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is the one being followed, for Mickey is still on his shoulder.  Where the Rat points, the Komodo heads toward, &amp;quot;The things are taking their time, folks.  Let&#039;s just head where instinct says should be perfectly safe.  Can you blame me that I am even more attracted to the Zehpyr building now than before with how it looks now?&amp;quot;  Sensitive noses, this one&#039;s currently in heat here, though has enough self control to keep it visually hidden, &amp;quot;Let us try to survive the in-game night before we try taking on the tentacle building.  Maybe once we get to the mall can we use its resources to do what&#039;s required.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Unsurprisingly, the advancing faceless threat is unaffected by the bright flash. As for the others in the group, that is another matter. Other than the scattered walkers all over the place, the streets are mostly clear of debris. Obviously the first floor of the tower is inaccessible, so if the party wanted to try and get in, they would require an alternate entrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho covers his eyes and looks away, &amp;quot;Yes, I know, we need to take out the virus, but for one, we can&#039;t get in the tower easily if you looked at the front door, and two, I don&#039;t see anything that we have that might -actually- be able to work as an anti virus or something...&amp;quot;  he says simply, &amp;quot;It would be hard to remove a virus, when we don&#039;t have anything that is able to remove a computer virus from a computer program, and since we are -in- a computer program....well...&amp;quot; he kinda motions with a hand, thats how logic is working for him right now&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;If it&#039;s something like that, we&#039;ll need to either find it or have it sent,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters to Ryusho, then looks over her shoulder to Fox. &amp;quot;Unless Dark gave ya anything before he zapped you in here?&amp;quot; Pointing out turns as needed, she keeps the party on track. &amp;quot;Either way, it&#039;s only like; two blocks. Maybe we can find something useful left over from the orignial programing. Or a terminal.&amp;quot; She rubs her whiskers. &amp;quot;It&#039;s just right up here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?  (Repose in right spot)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anyone got a drone or two they&#039;re willing to send into sure death?&amp;quot; Foxheart isn&#039;t sure herself if she&#039;s saying this seriously, eyes still kept on the figures on the streets. &amp;quot;I...I think we should find cover as soon as possible. Would be easier to fight from...&amp;quot; Mentally, the kitsune remains fixated on combat and dangers, most of the technology-related stuff completely over her head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori straightens up and starts walking again at a normal pace. The faceless ones weren&#039;t bothered, as expected. The eye in the sky however couldn&#039;t possibly miss it. On the other hand it likely didn&#039;t care. &amp;quot;You&#039;re right. We don&#039;t have an anti-virus. But what if we&#039;re supposed to /be/ the anti-virus? We&#039;re certainly foreign, and this thing has an unhealthy interest in us. Wither we realize it or not, we&#039;re a threat and a curiosity to it. Probably more the latter than the former for the moment.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek pipes up, &amp;quot;Ot it is just watching the whole place all at once?  Does it really matter one way or the other whether it wants something or not?  I have nothing to help with being a decoy other than myself.  Not going that route here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Closer and closer the walkers approach. It isn&#039;t certain what will happen if they reach the party, but who wants to wait and find out? The sprawling strip mall lurches closer as the party quickly outpaces the ominous corrupted citizens. The storefronts are not blown out, but all of the glass is cracked, and most of the windows and doors are boarded up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would motion lightly, &amp;quot;Lets see if we can find a door or something, that is not boarded up, or if we have too I guess we can break in, but....Hopefully this is part of the &#039;atmosphere&#039; this ..virus is causing, not something to try to keep us out of a place the program is not capable of keeping track of.&amp;quot; he says nodding as he mrphs, glancing back at the left behind -mass- of ..faceless things....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey flutters her wings in mild worry when she sees most of the openings covered up. &amp;quot;There&#039;s an electronic&#039;s storefront, maybe another terminal in there. There&#039;s gotta be something useful here..&amp;quot; She mumbles, more to herself, and tries to peer into one of the windows as they pass. &amp;quot;They do look breakable.. Anything beats the welcome party back there.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is following the lizard-mounted rat, glancing behind herself.  Huh.  that wasn&#039;t so bad, those faceless dude.  Yeah, not bad at all!  Of course, her fur&#039;s all on end with fright now.  Blegh.  She keeps going along, looking through the windows.  &amp;quot;I can try and kick one in, if these aren&#039;t static meshes, of course.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart skitters over to the back of the group and keeps both swords at the ready, swinging them if the creatures get too close and snarling. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s be careful, shall we?&amp;quot; She begins to prime a charge in her tails too, ready to blast a path through a currently non-existent horde.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek notes the numerous cracked windows and gets the same idea that most of the others are having about them.  Growing, he takes it one step further and actually calls out, &amp;quot;Mickey!  Brace yourself, we&#039;re going in!&amp;quot;  So saying, he rushes headlong toward one of the windows, only to shift at the last second to a shoulder-rush...the shoulder pair that doesn&#039;t have the rat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is in fact a store with a broken sign over it that reads &amp;quot;EL-CT-ONICS&amp;quot;. The windows all have plywood over them and the door is covered by several 2x4s. When Maz slams into the plywood, he finds himself repelled backwards and sprawled on the ground. The plywood suffered some cracks, but did not fully break. The noise created by this impact, however, is loud enough to wake the dead. Moments later, an unearthly warbled shriek is heard from... somewhere. You can&#039;t pinpoint it, but it doesn&#039;t sound far.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth and cringes as mazurek -slams- into the wood and it cracks, &amp;quot;I think we need to try to -remove- the wood and..&amp;quot; he freezes as he hears the shriek, &amp;quot;We might need to protect ourselves, or try too soon enough....so why don&#039;t someone keep a look out while we try to get the woo dout of the way...without burning the place up preferably....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey looks to Maz, and the window in uncertainty. &amp;quot;Not sure this is the be-&amp;quot; Oh nevermind, he&#039;s going for it anyway. Hopping around, the rodent clings to the far side of Maz&#039;s back. She&#039;s light enough that she herself does no harm to the Komodo when she&#039;s jarred roughly forward against him, but she is forced to scramble quickly in order to prevent herself from ending up trapped below. &amp;quot;Hurry,&amp;quot; she grunts. &amp;quot;Try ripping it..Maz you A&#039;rite?&amp;quot; There&#039;s concern; now they got something else after them too..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie jumps and spins around, ready in a fighting stance with her paws up, one made into a fist, the other holding with her claws out.  Her eyes peer around the lot, growling, her good ear down.  Yeah, she didn&#039;t want to lose her other ear.  For a moment, she forgets it&#039;s a game, and she is seriously worried.  She hasn&#039;t been in too much of a real fight in awhile.  Yeah, she hunts gryphons, but a gryphon with a hole or three in his chest from a 5.56x45 FMJ is hardly much of a fight.  &amp;quot;Sounds like the sub-boss fight&#039;s coming up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Still, to fight a virus...&amp;quot; Foxheart steps a short distance away from the run down store to put up a literal fire wall in front of her with a slash of her flaming blade, hoping that it&#039;ll ward the zombified things from trying to approach too aggressively...and a little less the large opponent she can&#039;t yet see. &amp;quot;The technology stuff is...up to you guys...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls hir eyes at the mention of &#039;sub-boss&#039;. &amp;quot;Seriously, its not a game right now. if that thing beats one of us down it might be able to infect us. Then what happens when it finds a way out of this program? Our bodies will be its new host with it in control. So if we get attacked, shoot to kill.&amp;quot; Speaking of, shi&#039;s engaging hir fiery hide to full blast just in case. &amp;quot;Yay magic firewalls...just don&#039;t touch me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: REBOUND!  The Komodo can feel his body wanting to mash against the boards when he connects with them, but they force him to bounce back!  At least he didn&#039;t break anything in his attempt...other than the boards.  He collapses to the ground face-up, which would have Mickey scrambling to lay on his front instead.  Sprawled out, he groans a little, though that is quickly drowned out by the screech of the unknown thing.  He stares up at the sky and the eyeball above, suddenly finding himself quite dizzy thanks to the impact.  Did he even hear the rat&#039;s question aimed his way?  He&#039;s going to need help up soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Around from the back of one of the buildings, something appears. What that something might be is quite questionable. It looks like a cloud of static mist.. but it is constantly shifting and morphing. Along with it comes a most unusual and disconcerting sound. Like a mashup of the growls and calls of several beasts warbles together and distorted. At one point, it looks like there are some appendages sticking out of it at random points, but then you blink and it&#039;s suddenly sporting hundreds of eyes all over it. Mouths, teeth, horns and a large variety of eyes morph in and out of this cloud. Then it &#039;sees&#039; the party. And flies straight towards it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks, &amp;quot;..Oh Lovely, we have Glitchthulu after us...or maybe this is Bug-rog...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts, &amp;quot;INCOMMING!&amp;quot; he sayas though he shifts and tries to break off one of the boards on the window, if anything to use as an impromptu weapon to keep it farther away then hands reach..&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey shakes herself sensible, then freezes when that..thing comes into view after Ryu&#039;s warning. &amp;quot;Aww fuck, C&#039;mon big guy,&amp;quot; she quickly stoops on Maz&#039;s chest and tugs her goggles down to shine the bright blue light in his face. They needed fighters now, and having one on his back before they even started was not good. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go, doubletime,&amp;quot; she tries a little shake then swats his cheek. Should he still be dazed, she&#039;d flash him full in the face with those volitile eyes to try and shock him on his legs with a squeaky command. &amp;quot;Get up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Oh shit, nope, she wasn&#039;t expecting that.  With a yip she skitters back for a moment, before shaking her head out, and running to the flank of the team.  Firepower all around.  She isn&#039;t sure right away waht it&#039;s supposed to be but she can&#039;t help but try and throw her best at it.  She sure as hell doesn&#039;t want it to touch her, no knowing what it&#039;ll do.  Time for some fire breath!  With a quick little prayer to Coyote she opens up her maw and snarls viciously, a burst of flame spews forth.  Spicy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart takes her short sword and drags her wisp forcibly back into her tails before yelling, &amp;quot;Get down!&amp;quot; She twirls her edge once in a flurry of blades and tails, jagged ice spikes forming from condensation and being shot like arrows, aiming the try to disperse the mist with sheer brute force.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori whips around to the shriek of the new contact. It was a little ways off before. But now its right here and charging the party. Not a good time. Not at all. Shi bends hir legs and squats, putting one fist on the ground. Within a second hir flesh turns shiny and semi-solid, taking on a rubbery jelly quality yet it remained opaque. Hir weight shifts creating a bulge in hir calves that quickly travels up hir legs and into hir body. The flames shi already wore stoked hotter still as it seemed to begin turning the digital water vapor into steam. All the while shi keeps hir eyes on the target. &amp;quot;I always wanted to do this shit. Gear...second.&amp;quot; Another second or two passes as shi watches Ryu, Mickey and Smokey begin to fight it before shi makes hir own move in a literal blur of motion which was quite hard to follow with the naked eye. This sudden acceleration launched hir into the air, allowing hir to cock back a fist that was already on fire, the afterimages making it look a lot like hir arm stretched quite a distance in its jelly state. &amp;quot;Gum gum...Red Hawk!&amp;quot; Incoming high velocity fire punch for mister Eldritch Horror Of Eyes And Mouths!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: The rodent&#039;s tactics work to an extent, and thankfully it&#039;s before the second flashing of the eyes.  The first flash to the eyes, even though only one of them can really be affected thanks to them being wide-set, is enough to break through the daze that the screech somehow did not.  Having Mickey on his chest helps even more and he wraps his arms around her before getting to his feet.  He immediately notices that others are attacking...something.  He&#039;s the only one that isn&#039;t attacking right now, besides Mickey, and he instead shouts out, &amp;quot;Alright, who brought the God Of Decay, Moander, out of the Forgotten Realms?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The fire breath seems to go right through the glitching abomination. However, the ice shards make contact with a sickening crunch, causing large spots of it to disappear into deresolution where the chilledf spikes pass through. It makes another loud, disorienting shriek and pulses, heading straight for Foxheart!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks for several seconds as he shfits, &#039;PHysical force! Use Physical force!&amp;quot; he calls out as he shifts and does eventually work and pry at least part of one of those boards off to try and shift so he can fling it at it in a way if it is not big enough to &#039;wield&#039; as it gets closer...well if he can otherwise -forget it- he will just do something else...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s body spreads out, creating a hole whch Kori flies right through, though not without the creature stinging hir on the way out. The spots on hir back and ass where it makes contact start to crackle with black sparks and sting with corruption.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey, being a fire-type rat, has no real chance of being much use in a straight fight. &amp;quot;We did. Glad you&#039;re up. Be careful.&amp;quot; And she scurries on over to the storefront entrance. She assumes that, best case, they would have a few seconds, so without much time spent looking for ways to arm herself she instead works on finishing up the job Maz started. She figures Ryu&#039;s ripping boards to work his way in, and starts muscling at the plywood covering. It&#039;s less brute force, more trying to leverage up from the sides and pop it from its fastenings to form a way in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Her attack was ineffective.  She snarled.  Well, suppose it&#039;s time to jump into it.  It didn&#039;t really like the solid ice chunks...  Maybe if she tried to claw at it, she could do -something-.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anything you can hit with a piece of ice...you can frag with enough energy...&amp;quot; Foxheart smiles, and then with a bit of added flair, the long sleeves of her kimono crackle with energy and disintegrate into ashes once the large, purple flames start, and then she charges the being with enough force to dry and crack the ground she&#039;s standing on. It isn&#039;t long before she&#039;s howling out in pain from the heat, though the flames are so incredibly intense...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies right through the thing, and clear through the hole in its body. Momentum of the flight carried hir a bit further until shi hit a building. Jelly body or not, impact still hurt. And the dust cloud it created is enough indication that shi needs a moment to get out from the rubble and self assess hir condition.&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the effects of the various attacks by the other &#039;players&#039; and grimaces on noting one of them not affecting while another..having some sort of effect.  He snorts after that and turns his back toward the creature and raises his tail, &amp;quot;CLEAR THE AREA!&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t give much time for a response, for two seconds later, out comes a powerful spray of skunk liquid aimed right for the creature!  (Skunk Blast)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho and Mickeyu manage to pry off one of the large plywood boards covering a window. It&#039;s heavier than it looks though, being hard-packed wood and all. Foxheart flies through the glitch similarly to Kori&#039;s attack. The heat does singe and derez some of its mass along the edges, however Foxheart also gets whipped by a few corrupting tendrils as she passes. Smokie&#039;s attack rips off a chunk of it, but the physical contact with it causes her entire hand to start burning with electrical corruption. The skunk cloud attack appears to have little effect on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts as he grunts, using his size to try to weild it, but doing his best to keep off to the side, as maybe he just needs to swing it and -break- the damn board first, but either way, he would get ready and if mickey helps him, he would try to either swing it himself ot smack it or &#039;clothesline&#039; it with mickey moving on one end and him the other if it was that big, but...well, &amp;quot;STOP GETTING INTO CONTACT WITH IT!&amp;quot; he yells out, &amp;quot;..If thats not obvious enough from watchign whats -happening- when you get in touch with it!&amp;quot; ..at least he is observant....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey oofs softly as the wood finally comes off, and she holds the one side as Ryusho has the other. When she looks between the dragon and the virus, it seems the rat is having the same ideas. And with the window now uncovered..well; &amp;quot;Go! Get inside!&amp;quot; she squeaks out, then braces herself. &amp;quot;Get over here!&amp;quot; If the Virus started to follow, Ryu and her could wall it off in the face..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;There is no room for fear, dragon.&amp;quot; Foxheart growls, and continues her dance with fire, though visibly starting to get winded as she has to focus on dodging any counterattacks to, blades twirling in tandem with her feet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns around after his blast is finished expelling from him...and notices that there&#039;s absolutely no effect.  Unable to hold back a snort he calls out, &amp;quot;Everyone inside, now!  This is not about fear!  Do NOT be a hero!&amp;quot;  He rushes to the aid of whoever needs it and will be the last one in even if it means being the creature&#039;s target&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Sensing movement, the glitch makes a swipe at Foxheart before thrashing towards the fleeing portion of the group. It makes its terrible, confusing noise again as it tries to decide what to do. Those who make it into the electronics can see empty shelves, but a powered on terminal on a table towards the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would stay with mickey, if they kept holding the board, &amp;quot;SHUT UP AND GO INSIDE MAZ!&amp;quot; he calls out, as he shifts, &amp;quot;We can&#039;t try to get in and &#039;block&#039; the way in so it won&#039;t come through with this thing if you are still out here!&amp;quot; at least thats what came to mind for him....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Jus&#039; Go, go!&amp;quot; Mickey edges on those that made the break for it, then looked between Ryu and the others. &amp;quot;Maz just grab her and let&#039;s go.&amp;quot; She keeps a firm grip on her side and tugs to place herself and Ryu at least somewhat infront of the door. Just enough room is left for them to make a break for it, or clothesline the beast; whichever oppertunity reared its ugly head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is already inside.  She looks up at the terminal, then back at the opening.  She doesn&#039;t want to touch it.  Whatever that thing did to her hand...  Did it corrupt her data?  Jeez.  Now was she just making herself scared?  She went back to the opening, and stuck her head out.  &amp;quot;Come in, it&#039;s safe!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek follows the two down without a word or action of dissent.  He does give the two below him quite the view of his privates in the process, given he never wears a thing, &amp;quot;That sounds very intriguing.  I don&#039;t think it&#039;s the virus causing the mist.  If the smell is to be believed, it&#039;s the sewer itself.  Still, we&#039;ve all been in a lot of worse environments.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has been..strangely quiet, though he -did- comment, and didn&#039;t seem to be heard about the corruption thing with an &#039;well -obviously- we shouldn’t touch it, it is a -virus- that corrupts what it touches,  he assumed that before now...especially from what was seen before we were warned, but he was wondering why he was not being noticed, though that might be noticed when he may seem to almost spaz and pop beside where mazurek is after saying a -bunch- of stuff at high speed, before he shakes himself off and looks around blinking, &amp;quot;Holy -crap- what the heck was that? ...&amp;quot; ...okay, so maybe he had a bit of a &#039;lag spike&#039; or something but..well he is back in sync with the group by now!&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to look up at Maz, ignoring the dangling junk. More than half of &#039;modern&#039; scociety in the state wanders around naked or half naked anyway. Nudist civilization. &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t explain why we&#039;re perceiving smells down here. We&#039;ve got a split path here. Shall we go to the left?&amp;quot; Shi keeps walking, thinking that left is south in this case and south is where Zephyr is.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;That way,&amp;quot; Mickey says after sweeping her eyes to the left, sees Kori already seems to know, then chuckles as she glances back to see...whoa, did Ryu just teleport several feet down the stairs? &amp;quot;Dude, check your ping,&amp;quot; she chitters as she looks to the right, then starts the walk after Kori. &amp;quot;Watch the water..ya&#039;never know,&amp;quot; she mutters as she steps carefully forward.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks up the moment he sees movement above him, blinking a bit upon seeing just who has rejoined them.  He is about to say something but Mickey beats him to the punch, &amp;quot;And here I thought you were amongst those who was lost to us.&amp;quot;  He proceeds to follow Mickey, &amp;quot;I&#039;m nowhere near as good as Mickey at directions.  I&#039;ll follow him whereever.  Also, Ryu and I don&#039;t need to breathe if it gets down to it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods slowly as he then shakes hismelf out, &amp;quot;Sorry if...&amp;quot; he says then shakes himself out, and then mrphs, &amp;quot;Huge....fricking lag spike it seems..&amp;quot; He laughs...and shrugs&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to the right, recalling the basements of Zephyr and the access tunnels. &amp;quot;That way.&amp;quot; Shi turns then and points to Ryu and Maz. &amp;quot;You two keep watch to our six o&#039;clock flank. I heard that noise just as everyone else. Its sneaking up on us.&amp;quot; And to the right shi goes!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Yeah, seems to be a pretty common nanite effect,&amp;quot; Mickey muses as she scans the wall before her, the looks to the right when Kori moves on ahead. &amp;quot;If we&#039;re right, eventually we&#039;ll start seeing the main water pipe. We can follow it right to the base..&amp;quot; she stops, then looks back. &amp;quot;You heard something?&amp;quot; She tries to squint to narrow and strengthen her eyebeams; the rat acting as spotlight for the reptiles.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks back just like everyone else after the sounds echo through the sewer tunnel.  While he can&#039;t exactly see very well in the mist he can hear just fine.  Still, he follows the direction Mickey goes, trusting completely in the rat, &amp;quot;Well, we know we can&#039;t beat whatever it is supposed to be.  Let&#039;s just continue and let it think it is herding us.  We have places to be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey&#039;s eyebeams, if anything, make the fog worse. The light refracts off the thick haze, making it even more difficult to see through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he shifts slightly and cringes at the light, &amp;quot;Well, Lets just..Just head what directino you want to go..or think we should go, then we ..can head that way, I don&#039;t know where we hsould head, just..that we should keep moving I think because I don&#039;t like what sounds like it is behind us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party continues to the right. The sound of the pursuer behind them seems to keep up, keeping that sense of looming danger with it. The walls seems to look newer as you continue, as Mickey does eventually spot a large pipe following the ceiling.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to hir large lion ears as shi follows the path. &amp;quot;Yes I did. These aren&#039;t just for show.&amp;quot; Hir flaming hand remains out in front, the illumination being of little help in the mist beyond the ten foot radius. &amp;quot;If I remember the Zephyr blueprints right, the water pipe should be above us soon. And then just follow it to the access ladder.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey has already pointed upwards to the pipes. &amp;quot;Come along now. Pick up the pace. No need to linger,&amp;quot; she whistles, sounding as casual as she can be, as she shifts from a brisk walk to a slight jog. &amp;quot;Getting stuffy down here anyway.&amp;quot; She hides the fear well; not so much the bristling in her fur and feathers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not show any fear on the outside at all.  In fact he is acting as if nothing out of the ordinary is even happening.  Perhaps he is getting overconfident that the group is going to be able to succeed?  Either way, when the pace picks up he begins to take larger strides, keeping up with their rodent friend and all.  He does NOT pick him up this time around, for it would not exactly be the right moment.&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he walks alongside, though he mrphs, &amp;quot;I still wish we could of gotten something to help with fighting the virus, but I guess they don&#039;t have enough data yet...but I still dislike how it feels down here right now..&amp;quot; he mumbles as he walks along with them, glancing back every now and again but overall staying near where mazurek is in the group&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Finally, they reach a dead end. There are numerous drainage pipes along this segment of wall, along with a single metal ladder leading straight up. There is no light coming from above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb the ladder. In order to avoid heating it to skin-burning temperatures, shi had to put hir fire out. &amp;quot;Okay, be careful. The building&#039;s likely corrupted since the lights are out. We know ice stalls the cuppruptions so if you got it, use it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey skids to a stop. &amp;quot;Weird..&amp;quot; weren&#039;t there supposed to be stairs? Since she wasn&#039;t allowed in the lower levels of Zephyr anyway, she wouldn&#039;t know. &amp;quot;Right, right, just get on up there quickly, would ya?&amp;quot; She&#039;s second on up, but she&#039;s a quick scamper and is forced to wait behind Kori. It&#039;s a nice view..until she realizes she&#039;s got the same. &amp;quot;C&#039;mon guys,&amp;quot; she squeaks, looking back as she climbs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek actually chooses to go up last, coaxing Ryusho to go up ahead of him....if only because he might be interested in gazing at the dragon&#039;s junk.  In fact he does it so he can try to catch a glimpse of their persuer.  Not like he&#039;s going to be able to do anything with it, but...it&#039;s the sight that counts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho does walk infront of him as he rumbles softly, though even as he walks he doesn&#039;t seem to mind if maz spends his time enjoying the sway of the dragons four huge orbs as he walks, though quite used to the weight even though he pprobably could really hurt someone if he got a bit of momentum with those in the right way as he mrphs, climbing up carefully as well.....but it is a decently nice view climbing up too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: THe only thing MAzurek can see as he makes his way up the ladder is a dark cloud of shadows enveloping the tunnel. The sensation of fear and forboding increases exponentially as it draws nearer. Those who make it up the ladder find themselves in a replica of the Zephyr basement.&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Lukas has connected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls off the ladder and onto the floor. Shi expects the basement to still be dark as before, so some new lighting is needed. And to be honest shi didn&#039;t give a rat&#039;s ass (no pun intended) if people could see hi intersex junk, there were more important matters to deal with. &amp;quot;Double time people. Can&#039;t let that thing catch up with us. Once we get up, close the damned lid and freeze it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;You got something to do that with?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after pulling herself up and out, then turns around to offer a hand to Ryu and haul him up. &amp;quot;Theeeere we go big guy,&amp;quot; she chitters, then dangles a thin arm back down for their final party member. It was almost comical, she thinking she could help him up. But it was the thought! &amp;quot;I gotta give it to your guy, this is a workout..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek gets a chill in his body from witnessing whatever it is that is hunting them.  In fact he almost falters in his climb to just stare and watch it advance.  Mickey&#039;s voice actually helps him come back to reality and he climbs up as quickly as possible, &amp;quot;Whatever it is...just reminds me of a game I once played before the nanites infected everything.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Mrphs lookign back at Maz, &amp;quot;Well at least ......Lets just try to get this over with..I don&#039;t want to be here either and I hate how this feels..&amp;quot; he says quietly, shuddering a bit as he glances back down there, but he smiles and looks at the others, &amp;quot;...At least I know I will be glad when we get out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes a little huffy. &amp;quot;Ice shards. I know someone has those. Because fire sure as hell won&#039;t work.&amp;quot; You know what, nevermind. Shi&#039;ll light up the room and get hir ass moving for the stairwell. Elevators are a no-no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey perks her ears, and shivers as she sees just how solid that darkness really was from up here. &amp;quot;Really? Which?&amp;quot; She chitters as she &#039;helps&#039; haul the Komodo up, then quickly close the latch behind them. &amp;quot;So..what exactly are we looking for, anyway?&amp;quot; she asks after standing and brushing herself off, then follows. &amp;quot;Or ya think we&#039;ll know when we see it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since I&#039;ve played it.  I don&#039;t recall what it was called.  Basically it had a giant wall of shadow approaching you while you tried to save several allies.&amp;quot;  He shrugs and looks around with the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly in thought as he he glances around, &amp;quot;Well, this doesn&#039;t sound similar at all..&amp;quot; he sighs, and squirms, &amp;quot;Hopefully we won&#039;t have to try to escape like that...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...as he rubs the back of his head, &amp;quot;Well now...lets see.....so we need..to find the virus now and..destroy it sometime..?&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A staircase leading up to where the lobby should be can be spotted on the opposite side of the room where it would normally be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori proceeds across the room at a quick jog. Jiggle tits, jiggle tits. Ignore the kiggly tits. &amp;quot;They got the internal layout wrong. The stairs are on the wrong side of the room. Hup! C&#039;mon, let&#039;s go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey grunts as she brushes herself off and shuffles her wings. &amp;quot;Really?&amp;quot; She squeaks as she follows along up the stairs. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think the whole building is like that, do you? I mean, this isn&#039;t real. We can&#039;t get trapped on a neverending staircase can we?&amp;quot; She looks back to the reptiles. &amp;quot;Like..are we actually /climbing/..?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shrugs while following up the stairs, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever been this far down so I have no idea.  Anything that might be below the Triage center is unknown to me.&amp;quot;  He climbs behind the group, still taking up the rear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly walks apparently just infront of maz, so he continues getting a wonderful view, but ryusho mrphs, &amp;quot;I remember a game with a never ending staircase, but it was only untill you got enough stars or..something that it would do that, then it would turn to a normal staircase, I remember I ran up it ten minutes randomly for no reasonk because the instant you turn around after trying to run up it like that your righ tback at the very start of the stairs....no matter how far you went up...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: When the party reaches the first floor and what should be the lobby, something very different and very unusual is what awaits them. A vast expanse of blackness extends as far as you can see downward where the floor should be. Laws of physics and space are defied as the top of the stairs abruptly ends. There does not sppear to be a ceiling or walls to this room. In this expanse are a series of platforms that lead to the other side where another staircase can be seen. Some of the platforms are slowly moving back and forth, or rotating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops dead at the top of the stairs. So sudden in fact that everyone else could collide with hir back if they weren&#039;t careful. &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; There&#039;s a long pause of ten to fifteen seconds before hir ears flatten. &amp;quot;FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!&amp;quot; Shi clearly hates platform games.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey nearly bumps into Kori, but stops herself with a hand on her back. &amp;quot;What is it?&amp;quot; She squeaks, then looks past her. &amp;quot;Oh you gotta..&amp;quot; Instinctively she unfurls her wings, then slowly puts them away. She never had her previous question about flight answered, and that looked like a long way down to nothing to risk any sort of actual test. &amp;quot;So we&#039;re jumping then. Awesome&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as maz bumps into him, and of course that makes him &#039;slosh&#039; as he shifts a bit, as he glances around slowly, &amp;quot;Well, Lets see..&amp;quot; he says softly, ..as he rubs his head, &amp;quot;Part of me wants to take a wild guess, a nd assume it is...just like..-everything- is colored the exact same shade of black, so you can&#039;t see the difference between walls, ceiling and floor.....it just looks like it is..all a bunch of nothing but is actually there...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;..but I don&#039;t want to test that realy...&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The nearest platform is static, and just a short jump away from the top of the stairs. The next is a little further, and slowly moves back and forth. The third platform is a staircase block which must be ascended before leaping down to a thin, long rotating platform. This must be crossed before it turns too much and tips anyone on top of it off. After that there&#039;s a ledge on which the exit staircase lies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori growls at the platforms, even HISSING at them. Hir first actual test of the room was to fling a fireball at the blackness under hir toes (since shi is at the very edge of the staircase) and watch it fly down and down and further down until it vanishes into the darkness. &amp;quot;Fucking bottomless fuckpit. Fuckity fuck shit damn fuck!&amp;quot; This takes a moment before shi calms down enough to make the first hop to the nearest platform. &amp;quot;I. Hate. Platform. Games. This has to be the obstacle course part.&amp;quot; And then the next platform. Yeah, harder since its moving and a bit further out. Can&#039;t all pile up on one of those platforms. Has to be single file.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey whines. &amp;quot;One at a time?&amp;quot; She mutters, mostly worried about the more narrowed one. &amp;quot;Then what, one slip up then what, game over? After all that?&amp;quot; She rubs her head. &amp;quot;Fricken..not like our lives and minds are on the line here. Any volunteers?&amp;quot; She asks as she keeps peeking over the edge. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hears something about platforming games and gets an inkling of what is going on even as he reaches up to idly fondle the shadow dragon, &amp;quot;Sounds like it&#039;s going to be fun.  We are supposedly in a game, after all.  Come on, what do we have to lose?  It could be one of those sorts where if you fall you do it all again.&amp;quot;  Someone actually sounds eager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shivers a bit as he gurgles a bit at the fondle, well, -part- of him does anyway, and gets slightly heavier as he looks to mazurek, &amp;quot;...Please, lets not make this any harder for me then it might be, I don&#039;t know if I can even use my wings to aid in the jumps..&amp;quot; he shifts, &amp;quot;And..well it could be, but it could be like....one of those cruel games you could play where you have -one- chance and thats it....but...hopefully it is what you said..not what I said..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts and does his best to begin working behind the others, Leaping to the first plaftorm when it is clear, and then to the next when possible as well...making his way carefully but making sure to keep it -one at a time- so to speak, waiting on the safe platforms obviously&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots aside to make room on the platform. Space is a premium so shi started feeling crowded before long. &amp;quot;Please don&#039;t talk about falling. I don&#039;t want to think about it. I&#039;m too unnerved as things are.&amp;quot; Hir legs bend as shi waits for the right moment to jump, muscles tensing. It wasn&#039;t long before shi made the attempt to leap for the next platform. Someone better have a rope to help if shi misses. Wait..they don&#039;t have ropes. Crap.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori lands safely on the staircase platform.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is third up this time around, and after a brief stretch of her legs she takes a step back. &amp;quot;Seeya on the other side, then,&amp;quot; she mutters to Maz, blows a kiss, then takes the first little leap. Kori goes right on ahead; Mickey waits first for Ryu to perform the more tricky jump and makes sure he sticks it before going herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek waits for the dragon ahead of him to go, so he can study the platforms with as much detail as he can.  He rubs his muzzle just before he leaps onto the first platform to join Mickey.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb restroom&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho grunts as he would land on the first platform and then the second with some difficulty as he was trying to progress, keeping up to not fall behind, but he knows he is going to dread the third and fourth jumps..that he is going to have to actually take, though he may let the more nimble or sure go first, unless they would rather he step ahead..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: The winged rat is far from nimble, but at least her time picking through the city help only somewhat with balance. She joins Ryu on the moving platform, flashes him the same kiss for good luck, then makes the third, then last jump in quick succession.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori waits for a moment to get hir wits back about hir. The final jump is the hardest, and it seems that with no solid ground nearby, shi seems to be aquiring a fear of heights. Just don&#039;t look down. don&#039;t look down. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. &amp;quot;When we get out of this one I am going to Sock Darkwyrm for this. Virus be damned, these platforms were deliberate.&amp;quot; One breath, two breaths, three breaths and JUMP!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks but does not comment.  Instead he makes his turns at the leaping.  He works to time it just right to get to the second platform...only to try and leap instantly to get to the staircase-block.  Komodo Leap, go!&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho would grit his teteth slightly, though Mickey may not see it, ...he might of needed that lucky kiss at a better time, because as he gets himself ready for the third jump he waits, and waits, and gets his timing he watched the others, he is certian he can do it, as he leaps, high and ..using his wings he spreads them to try to make the distance, his toe claws staring to touch though he realises,, he is not far enough as they slip off, and his wings slip, making him scrabble to grab, &amp;quot;ShitSHITSHIT!!&amp;quot; ...and completely fails to stop himself from falling....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho manages to completely miss the jump as the platform moves away from where he was jumping to. He falls into the murky blackness...   ....    .... and then reappears falling from the ceiling, landing hard on another small platform that had just materialized next to the staircase.&lt;br /&gt;
tell ryusho Any injuries you sustained from the fall are up to you.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori lands on the platform with a loud thump. Hir large mass started to tip the platform, proving there wasn&#039;t any ground underneath them more visibly. Shi did not stick around to let that platform finish tipping before making a mad dash to the other staircase where shi skids to a halt to wait for the others. And Ryu ends up missing completely only to fall from the sky and smack into a new platform. That looked damn painful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey lands her jump, turns and squeaks out a note of surprise, then just..stares when Ryu reappears. &amp;quot;Oh well..huh.&amp;quot; She shrugs, and with a bit more ease and less stress she goes for the final jump and lands it. Woo. Awesome. Who needs athletics.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek lands with notable grace on the staircase platform and looks behind just in time to see the dragon miss the platform.  He peers off the side to watch him fall only to squeak upon the dragon landing rather close by.  He can&#039;t help but giggle and rub the dragon&#039;s head, &amp;quot;See?  It wasn&#039;t so bad.  Now to finish this game!&amp;quot;  Onward he goes, studying the rotating platform and finally leaping when he senses the time is right!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would...of probably wanted to bite maz&#039;s hand off as he apparently didn&#039;t hear the -CRACK- as he hit the platform..since he had not expected that and..well had found himself falling -backwards- ...though he lies there gritting his teeth...and saying enough curse words that heck, the -game- bleeps him out...from how bad he is cursing, ...even -if- it has a virus thats pretty bad...as he slowly gets to his feet and well...it is easily visble what is the problem, ..the right wing is not going to be of any more use durring this challenge...at least untill the nanites get a chance to fix it back up....if he decides to wait there, but he does slowly scoot to try to at least look at the next jump, still mumbling curses under his breath..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s senses were off! He makes the jump, but as he scrambles to get up after landing, he doesn&#039;t have enough time to make it across the long platform! It rotates too much, and Maz slips right off the side and plummets into the darkness, only to land on the spot Ryu had just recovered from with a loud smash.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho curls his neck to look at maz..and rather snidely spits out, &amp;quot;Awwww, IT&#039;s not so bad MY ASS&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;...serves your smart mouth right..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori winces, several times. Pain is real in here. So noted. &amp;quot;In case you haven&#039;t forgotten, that thing is still following us. Brush it off and get moving. I don&#039;t like playing leader.&amp;quot; UPSTAIRS! Go!&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ouch..looked like that stung,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters; she had taken a seat along empty space to sit and rest. Hard not to giggle, but still. &amp;quot;You two gonna join us?&amp;quot; She waves over. It&#039;s meant to be in good-natured jest, but the rat has an annoyance in her tone that directed at their puzzling situation. It&#039;s clear, she&#039;s getting sick of the digital world. It was a shroom trip with no anchor, and she wants off the ride already. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go bust us a virus.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mazurek(#22948)]: He had miscalculated.  The Komodo thought he had the timing just right, but there was something amiss.  Something about the platform just wasn&#039;t right!  It isn&#039;t until he steps in it that he realizes what it was and it causes him to lose his footing.  There&#039;s a wet spot on that thing!  He squeals a bit when he begins to fall, only to try and level himself out a bit so he can land on his back.  What he was not expecting was the sudden 180 that happens when he appears from the ceiling.  Instead of landing on his back like he wanted, he instead crashes to the platform front first!  His head struck hard enough on the platform that those watching can see some blood fly after the impact.  He is slow to get to his feet after that, spitting out several teeth while he is doing so.  He&#039;s developed a bloody nose to boot, streaming down his snout.  This has not daunted him in the slightest and he tries again after several seconds pass, getting his head cleared up as much as possible in that short time.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho grits his teeth as he looks at the new, or next jump before he leaps, almost closing his eyes, but then landing on it as he scrambles wildly, almost slipping on that wet spot but keeping his footing as he makes a wild scrambling run to get to safety and hold his sore wing to begin coaxing the nanites to begin working at fixing it back up...if he can&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek does not wait so long this time around on that platform.  He is hurting yet tries his best to not show it to the others even though there&#039;s some notable light gasping to his breath.  He makes it with flying colors this second time, and he actually begins to stumble up the stairs without waiting for the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase that everyone has now reached seems to lead up into nothingness.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori stops at the top of the stairs, huffing angrily and from sprinting too much. &amp;quot;Goddamnit. Enough with the pits of nothingness already!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek somehow manages to get ahead of the dragon and even the rat after making it to the stairs.  He groans and works his way upstairs while wiping his bloody snout, spitting out more teeth along the way.  Hopefully he&#039;ll have them again after the virus is taken care of.  Near the top of the stairs he peers over, around, or however he can at the next room, &amp;quot;Empty space.  Do we jump in and see what we find?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey&#039;s ears droop. &amp;quot;Really? Nothing?&amp;quot; she tries to peek around, then rests a hand on Maz&#039;s lowest arm. &amp;quot;You&#039;re hurt. If anyone&#039;s gonna jump, it&#039;s gonna be someone who hasn&#039;t already plunged,&amp;quot; she chitters with a furrow of her brow. &amp;quot;If this wasn&#039;t all fake I&#039;d offer you a drink, but didn&#039;t Dark say we could heal at those machines? Wonder where one would be.&amp;quot; In the darkness? Peeking over the edge, the rat hawks a loogie down. It was just a lame excuse to spit, maybe, in frustration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As Mickey nears the top of the steps, she appears to the rest of the party to disappear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori staps away from the edge of the stairs. &amp;quot;Oh hell no. Not taking a fall. Flying is one thing, falling is another.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s very tempted to push Mickey off the edge, but that would be very unfriendly. Like a Portal2 situation of shoving one&#039;s teammate into a pit to see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was actually watching Mickey at the time she had disappeared, about ready to respond.  His mouth is open and he utters a single syllable..only to go silent once more.  He steps further up the stairs to see what happens when he, too, steps into that particular spot Mickey was in.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: It comes as a surprise to Mickey when she sudden hears a wet splat, blinks, and looks around. &amp;quot;Wait..huh?&amp;quot; She could of swore.. &amp;quot;I think you gotta get your eyes checked..guys?&amp;quot; She looks behind her, then frowns. &amp;quot;Was..that a loading screen?&amp;quot; Or did she just glitch out? She steps back and waits; hopefully it wasn&#039;t just a one-frame event.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party can hear Mickey&#039;s voice coming from the top of the stairs.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori squints, dumbfounded, at the top of the stairs. &amp;quot;What the hell? I can hear you, but I can&#039;t see you.&amp;quot; Shi shoves Maz further up then where he stopped. &amp;quot;Go on, find out what&#039;s going on here.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;ll follow.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb nature&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek already intended to go further, and the shove makes him stumble a bit.  He continues upward as far as he can, even dropping to all sixes to be alerted to any sort of pitfalls.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey squeaks, &amp;quot;C&#039;mon up. It looks like another safe area.&amp;quot; I mean, it&#039;s obviously Mickey, right? Sounds just like her. Not quite wishing to touch anything, the rat sorta looks around, eyes the terminal, and chills up against the wall with a simple cross of her arms. Out pops a smoke..yup. Even in the middle of a virus manhunt between sanity and insanity, a rat&#039;s gotta chill.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As son as anyone else reaches the top of the stairs, they suddenly find themselves inside a small room. Here there is a bench for sitting, and a computer terminal with the Giza pyramid logo spinning on the screen.  Another set of stairs leading up is on the opposite side.,&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori goes right to the terminal, now quite angry at Dark&#039;s choice of...obstacles. Tappity Tappity.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek looks around after he makes it to the next room and just stares at Mickey while he&#039;s lighting up.  Snorting, he shakes his head and follows Kori to the terminal and waits with crossed arms nearby.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: There&#039;s a faint cough as Mickey clears her throat. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t forget to ask for a pickmeup,&amp;quot; she chitters, then blows a few tight smoke rings. It likely doesn&#039;t even have an effect on her mentally, being questionably real; but hell, she couldn&#039;t do that in the real world. Now she could say she did, she nods happily before waving the rings away. &amp;quot;Hopefully this is the last of it. Riddle: Just how do you purge a Virus while inside a program?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho had been stalled at the bottom of those stairs a bit longer then others as he was tending upon his wing as he made his way up and looks around, though only partly as he mrphs, &amp;quot;..Weird..Loading screens...&amp;quot; he asys softly, &amp;quot;Well..loading zones..or something..whatever..&amp;quot; he says softly, as he looks around and makes his way over to everyone&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blinks on and Dark&#039;s silhouette appears. &amp;quot;Hello.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;How is everyone faring?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares at the monitor. The first words being &amp;quot;I AM NOT MOTHERFUCKING MARIO!&amp;quot; &amp;gt;___&amp;lt; &amp;quot;No. More. jumping. Puzzles.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek rests one claw on Kori&#039;s closest shoulder, &amp;quot;Shouting at the one we are working for to clear this is not going to help matters.  Keep in mind that we are in an infected zone and it shouldn&#039;t be his fault?&amp;quot;  He huffs and turns his head to one side to spit out yet another tooth, &amp;quot;It doesn&#039;t look like our nanites are helping us heal this time around.  Ryusho and I ended up failing hard on the jumping platform puzzle &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori&#039;s yelling at you about.  I lost teeth and got a bloody nose and Ryusho broke a wing.  We are not infected this time, so hopefully we can save this terminal&#039;s healing power?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Isis has disconnected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey tips her hat when Ryu appears, saying; &amp;quot;Yeah, good thing we didn&#039;t run into ugly on the way up.&amp;quot; Letting the others get the four-one-one from dark, Mickey wanders nonchalantly towards the other stairs to peer upwards and try to peek at their next destination.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho stares over at Kori, &amp;quot;.Do you even THINK that it is POSSIBLE that the puzzle is -NOT- something Dark made but something the Virus may of caused?&amp;quot; He says with a roll of his eyes, &lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You call jumping platforms like a mario game the virus&#039; idea of defense? I don&#039;t. Its acting self aware for crying out loud in this sense.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek sighs, &amp;quot;I didn&#039;t...ask for the healing power to be used for the terminal, but I guess being at peak efficiency is best.&amp;quot;  He removes his hand from Kori&#039;s shoulder after a brief squeeze, &amp;quot;Any ideas what we might be able to do to get rid of this thing, or even the shadow monstrosity that seems to be chasing us?  We know ice works to a point, but we no longer have that capability.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey gives a slight roll of her eyes, then pinches her tonguetip to wet her fingers. The talk of Mario just brings up distracting nostalgia, and she imagines a version of the simulation just across rooftops. Be good training.. &amp;quot;Hmph, I wonder what this would be like if it was actually, you know. Cleaned up and well.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho nods a bit with mazurek, &amp;quot;I was going to ask if it was possible to help us as in..I don&#039;t think much that we actually have acess too -can- hurt the virus...phsycial contact won&#039;t and wil hurt us, fire and stuf seems to do minimal to nothing...&amp;quot; he shrugs slightly, then looks aorund, &amp;quot;..So I am not sure what to do...&amp;quot; ...he shifts his stance as he thinks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Well, my best advice is to look around the hub carefully once you get there. I&#039;m sure the virus has a weak point somewhere that you can exploit.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says. &amp;quot;If you can destroy the core, the whole thing will deresolve.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori humphs. &amp;quot;And how do we do that? Physical contact doesn&#039;t work. Ice impedes but doesn&#039;t really hurt it. Fire totally doesn&#039;t hurt it though it does make the impacted parts of it de-res.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods, &amp;quot;Then it will need to be fire that we use to open its weak spots, and then someone goes in and pummels it for as long as possible.  I will need to do the latter while someone needs to flame it to death.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Strange,&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she pinches out her smokeable with a sizzling hiss. &amp;quot;Typically in computers it words the other way. Firewalls impede, and I&#039;m sure I heard security programs being called ICE before.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, suddenly lost in her own tangent. &amp;quot;Still, we won&#039;t know just what we&#039;ll be able to do till we actually see what we&#039;re up against.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks and looks at Kori, &amp;quot;..That swhat I just said...&amp;quot; he said softly, with a sigh, as he rumbles a bit, &amp;quot;I suppose I could burn it for impacted spots as needed....at least help since I don&#039;t need to get in direct onctact....&amp;quot; he says quietly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The silhauette of the jackal can be seen poking his head with an index finger. &amp;quot;Use your brains. I cannot pull up a map or information about the hub, so you&#039;ll need to play it by ear.&amp;quot;, he says.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back at Ryu. &amp;quot;Notice he ignored those points both times we brought them up? Unless you have an ice gun. All I got nhere is my crowssbow and fire, some milk based weapons,&amp;quot; cue six-pack breast wiggle, &amp;quot;and a skunk spray. Sure I have physical attacks but we all know how well those work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods slowly, &amp;quot;Alright.  We can&#039;t get any further with the questioning as we stand.  Oh, you had said that you&#039;d be able to do something, or see something, with each terminal we use.  I take it nothing like that will help?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t expect a true answer, so he heads over to the stairs leading up, but does not yet ascend.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey blinks, then glances back to the terminal. &amp;quot;Why? Has it changed that much from whatever you designed it as?&amp;quot; Crap. That means more jumping. Or..shudder, stealth. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s just, ya&#039;know, make sure there&#039;s not a big red button that&#039;s labeled &#039;PURGE&#039; first, then see where we go from there.&amp;quot; She&#039;s voting for wires. She could damn well use a good wirechew right now. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shrugs a bit as hmrphs softy, shrugging a bit, &amp;quot;Well...I guess we will just do what we can...&amp;quot; he says softly rubbing his head a bit&lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori sighs and facepalms. &amp;quot;Right. So no weapons, no antivirus thingie. Just &#039;there is a hub go find it go kill it&#039;. Kill it with what? Fire plus fire is still fire.&amp;quot; Ugh. Fine. Move on, walk and find the exit. &amp;quot;This is going to suck. Milk and crossbow are the only things I have left. What about you three?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek responds before he heads up the stairs, &amp;quot;I am pure physical combat with only a couple of ranged attacks.&amp;quot;  he gets a thoughtful expression and peers down at whoever is immediately behind him, &amp;quot;I&#039;ve never tried the Sharpshooter power without anything physical.  Think I could use my dicks for that?&amp;quot;  Yes, he went there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Feels like a neverending staircase,&amp;quot; mumbles Mickey as she waits to pick up the end of the line. It&#039;s amazing how quickly her mood went from faux high to sulk, but the reminder of yet another room just..well, irks her. &amp;quot;I can blink quickly, maybe sieze it out,&amp;quot; she chitters sourly. Didn&#039;t have anything before, she didn&#039;t have much else now. Please be wires..please..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly turns his head and gives mazurek a look, &amp;quot;If that was possible, I would say that you might have rifles, but I have a cannon.&amp;quot; H esays after a moment...with a shake of his head, laughing quietly...as he walks towards the stairs with the others to head up with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and the party finds themselves in a large, dim office floor. Tendrils of virus corruption are penetrating through the ceiling and floor in some places. A major eye-catcher is a bright red EXIT sign on the opposite side of the room. However, to get ot it, it seems like our asventurers must first pass through this floor which appears to be guarded by shifting sentry lights and laser sensors.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori heaves a large sigh. &amp;quot;This...is not going to be a good day. Anyone have a smoke grenade?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;No grenades for me.&amp;quot;  He moves in a few feet and studies the lasers and sentry lights, &amp;quot;However, this should be fairly easy.  Do not cross through the lights and you won&#039;t get lasered.  Ryu and I are both black, so that MIGHT help us out.&amp;quot;  He searches for a rock, or other object close by, and sees what happens when he tosses it into the nearest light.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Son of a..&amp;quot; Damnit! Mickey smacks her hand on her face. Stealth. Rockin&#039;. At least she left the shiny swag at home. A glance is given to the other members of their party. &amp;quot;Nope. And no giant box either.&amp;quot; She looks back to the sentries, then cracks her knuckles. Alright, shit&#039;s getting real. &amp;quot;Lettme go first. Don&#039;t wanna be speciest, but--&amp;quot; She stops, then watches Maz toss the rock. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn&#039;t help but feel like she&#039;d next expect a klaxon to start blaring.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho looks at Kori, &amp;quot;Wouldn&#039;t the smoke be thick enough to set -off- the lasers anyway...?&amp;quot; he asys with a quirked brow... though he sits there fore a moment before he then adds, &amp;quot;All this needs now is the Metal Gear Solid sneaking theme...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around, &amp;quot;...not to mention be dressed in a dark grey tight fitting body suit, and a nice head bandanna....&amp;quot; he adds with a chuckle to himself......Then looks to mickey, &amp;quot;Exactly, we need a giant box to crawl in, then just freeze when a light comes nearby...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The rock clacks as it hits and bounces off the floor a few times and passes through the light. Immiediately, a warped tentacle of corruption slices through the ceiling and destroys that segment of floor, leaving a glitching hole sparking with black lightning in the program.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek hops backward in complete surprise, definitely NOT having expected the appearance of one of the ceiling tentacles!  He settles to one knee and leans forward to rest one hand on the ground, looking about ready to dash in, &amp;quot;Well, I guess being hit by lasers is not our worry today.&amp;quot;  He studies the lights a little more, looking to see if they are moving or if they are actually stationary.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey twitches. Ok, it wasn&#039;t an alarm. Buut. &amp;quot;Ma..maybe..&amp;quot; wait, no goddamnit. Can&#039;t pussy out. &amp;quot;Ri-right. Well.&amp;quot; She clears her throat and eyes the shifting safe spots carefully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll try to take the largest way through for ya guys.&amp;quot; And before she allows the others a chance to stop her she&#039;s off; doing what rats do best. Scurry.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs softly, &amp;quot;..Why is it that challenges keep appearing, that I literally have no skills that would help me in such situations...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey nimbly moves through a series of lights and hops over and ducks under a few lasers, deftly making it to the exit sign on the other side of the floor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would totally boogie down if it wasn&#039;t completely uncalled for. Instead she breathes a sigh of relief, makes sure she didn&#039;t drop her hat along the way, then looks around to wave along the others. &amp;quot;Keep moving. Stay in one place too long and they&#039;ll sweep ya.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori examines the tentacle and the destroyed part of the floor. &amp;quot;First guess, de-res the tentacle if it shows up. Second guess, dart through like a rocket and pray.&amp;quot;  Shi watches Mickey dip and dance around the traps, feeling kind of flustered by the display. It didn&#039;t trip a tentacle, so that&#039;s good. And the visur doesn&#039;t seem to care much for keeping the environment intact. But soon it was hir turn and shi didn&#039;t have as much know-how on hir side. All shi had was agility, speed, and reflexes. If that did trip a tentacle, she still had fire and hopfully being ignited like the Human Torch would force it to de-rez enough to make dealing with it easier.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mazurek(#22948)]: Perhaps being down on one hand and a knee at the time was a good idea.  This helped the large Komodo watch the rat intently, watched how she bobbed and weaved and made things easy for herself.  Snorting once she makes it through, he proves his Readiness (2) by going next.  While he isn&#039;t as quick as the rodent, he does have some Endurance on his side that should help him keep going and not tire quickly.  Bob and weave, skitter and pounce.  Go the way of the Komodo and charge after the prey!&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s quick reactions and initating Mickey&#039;s movements see him safely through the gauntlet of security.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho mrphs as he looks after them and rubs his head slightly, &amp;quot;..You know...I think I will go last..with how my luck was...just for the sake of not catching up to someone and making them have bad luck....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori shrugs at Ryu, already in a crouch. &amp;quot;Suit yourself. This might hurt... God I hate this place.&amp;quot; Can&#039;t rocket across the room like shi did in the street. &#039;Gear Second&#039; did that and it was a bad idea. So shi is going to hoof it instead. Right... NOW! Full sprint. Keep those senses sharp!&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s speed and nimble dodges allow her to skirt past the lights, though not without a few close calls.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek manages to dodge, weave, and dart through the obstacle course.  He makes it looks like it is extremely easy with how he bobs and weaves and...ok, you&#039;re repeating yourself.  Komodos may be squat creatures but they are still very quick when they need to be.  Whee....  Oh, hello, Mickey!  Komodo passes by and gooses her rear with his snout!&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey is waiting on the other side, watching anxiously and hoping she doesn&#039;t have to pick up important pieces. She doubts she could haul back something if, say, Ryu accidently swung left instead of right at a key point. There&#039;s a squeak of surprise as, by the time she&#039;s actually seeing the others making their runs. Wait, where was-- &amp;quot;H-hey!&amp;quot; She squeaks, hikes her tail, and looks around and down with a smirk. &amp;quot;/Damn/..there goes my next question for that tour. Guess I&#039;m in trouble if I ever gotta bolt,&amp;quot; she laughs&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho takes a deep breath as he grumbles softly, &amp;quot;Why do I always get caught with situations I am not prepared for...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;Thats it...after this I am going to start trying to learn some thing usefull...and remembre things I did before this whole damn mess..&amp;quot; he grumbles softly as he looks it over..though at least he keeps remembering the games he played...but then mrphs, of course it&#039;s not similar at all...as he then gets ready to go..pray for the best prepare for the worst and GO!&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho somehow manages to stumble his way through the trips and traps without tripping anything!&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho stumbles though but at least to him it feels awesome...I mean to him he just kinda was remembering all sorts of random games he had before the crisis, as he had been watching the room and possibly subconciously noticed a pattern, as he moves, though he almost seems to stop, backtrack, and swerve..a few times even taking some steps that probably get cringed at for &#039;he had to be seen&#039; because of like, brushing almost the edges of -two- different spotlights squeezing between as they went past eachther then around the other side in another suqeeze, a few times even seeming to somehow -miss- lasers even though it looked like it -had- to of brushed him....I suppose all the subconcious game mentality that got to him here basically made him well &#039;see&#039; it as a game..and he was &#039;playing&#039; it as one in his mind...but either way it works!&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The door under the EXIT sign glows ominous red from the neon. A dark stairway lies beyond..&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori brushes herself off, looking back the way they came. &amp;quot;Everyone in one piece? Yes? Okay.. Lets get the fuk out of here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek smiles and noses right under the raised tail again, even licking back there to the hidden attributes he knows are present already.  It doesn&#039;t last long as he draws back quickly enough to watch the others make it through the maze without problems.  Despite the exit sign making things glow that ugly red, like it&#039;s supposed to anyway, he pushes or pulls the doors open and steps right through them.  Overconfidence makes him not look before he steps through.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey&#039;s whiskers quiver as Maz steals the tongueflick, elicting another squeak and a hurried reach back to try and tug her dress back down. &amp;quot;Yeah yeah, you&#039;re impressive,&amp;quot; she yields, watches Ryu, then throws her hands up in the air. &amp;quot;Awesome. Rat&#039;s gonna be outta a job now.&amp;quot; Well, no one got spiked. It was enough to lift her spirits and smile as she turns to follow Maz a bit more slowly. &amp;quot;Yeah, lets.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blushes  abit as he made his way through &amp;quot;...I guess I just kinda..got into the right mindset or something for that...&amp;quot; he says glancing back and then shrugging, &amp;quot;Well, Forward Bound it seems..&amp;quot; he says after a bit, well at least he is not....humming...a...oh damn it he is like..humming some stealth game related tune...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and through the door, but what lies beyond is hardly an exit. As the party steps into the tower antechamber, the first thing they notice is a huge mass of glitching purple corruption with a huge red eyeball in the middle of it... staring. right. at. them. Tentacles stretch outward from it, encompassing the entire room. Before they know it, the exit is blocked off behind them.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori looks back, then directly at the virus. Its behaving like a nanite infection, or a self aware thing. So the first thought to come out of hir mouth was...&amp;quot;Alright, what are you and what the hell are you doing fucking up this simulation?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek turns his head slightly after everyone has entered the chamber and causes the doorway to seal.  Now is the time that they need to work together or they will fail.  The final boss approaches, and will it have minions?  Crossing his arms again he cocks his head and asks, &amp;quot;So, now what?  We&#039;re here, and this is where we pass or fail.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Aaah..the &#039;ol &#039;Fake Exit&#039; ruse..&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she stares at their &#039;host&#039; in the middle of the room. She went through fear, anger, and just plain silliness. Now she was back in the zen with the end in sight. She lift up a half-cocked finger, then taps it on her cheek as if in thought. &amp;quot;Hardly the first digital abomination to pull that, I think..&amp;quot; She starts to draw in breath, figuring that whatever happens next it&#039;d be best to have a flaming comeback.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho slowly looks around with a mrph, trying to figure out where the weak spots are as he scratches his head some more, &amp;quot;Oh boy...now the fun begins big time....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The virus core makes no reply, only fixes it huge, terrible eye on the party. Some of the mass shofts, and a large tentacle drops down the wall and down to the ground, sweeping in a wide arc towards the party! At this moment also a generator is revealed under the purplish glitchy mass, but only for the moment during which the tentacle is attacking.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori doesn&#039;t trust this thing. It may not have replied verbally, but it sure did answer physically with that sweeping tentacle. Jumping would just give it an excuse to counter, so shi just... Spat fire at the tentacle sweeping the ground at them. Literally. &amp;quot;Yol Tor Shul!&amp;quot; FWOOSH. This..probably was much tougher code than that thing on the streets, so her second move was to backpedal to try and get out of its reach for the time being. It will adapt and try again with something else VERY soon.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho looks at Kori as she did fire before he could as he had scrambled to get out of the way, or jump and flap out of the way, as he then looks over, &amp;quot;Just shoot an Arrow Into it&#039;s OH WAIT It has no Knee&#039;s THEN ITS EYE Or something! &amp;quot; He says at that, as he rolls his eyes and then woudl turn to begin breathing fire himself towards it in a nice small inferno &lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek grimaces, unable to help spot that overlarge tentacle barreling toward the group.  He is about to act when familiar words reach his ears and he looks back at Kori just as she is launching the fireball, &amp;quot;Seriously?  You chose now to reference...THAT?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t have anything that will harm the thing, so he does what the flamers do not.  He looks for an opening in the tentacle and merely leaps over/through it.  Well, tries to anyway.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey decides to put her own little firework show on hold since Kori already has the flames spitting. &amp;quot;Less shouting!&amp;quot; She squeaks as she skitters to break from the group a bit, choosing to worry more about the dull *thud* of something dropping near by. She spots the thing the virus is attached to, then refocuses on the swinging limb arcing towards them to dodge it with a roll and tumble. &lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Most of the party dodges the swiping tentacle, but Kori gets snapped in the knees, leaving behind a burning black corruption on the front of both legs. The parts of the viruys hit with fire quiver slightly and shrink ever o slightly, but it is mostly negligible.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori scored a hit. It was a slightly withering hit, but it proved more effective than previously. But it cost hir, as hir backpedaling didn&#039;t give enough distance to keep it away and next thing she feels is a burning feeling. First thing hir natural combat instinct tells hir to do is HEAL it, so up comes a tit and..*suckle suckle suckle* Everyone else has to handle this next few seconds on their own while shi tries to &#039;heal&#039; this.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek would offer to help heal her but he doesn&#039;t think it would be beneficial to their cause.  He instead bounds toward the virus core while remaining on all sixes, keeping very alert to what is happening around him as much as possible.  He&#039;s ready for another assault, though not knowing what form it will be in.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey catches sight of Kori out of the corner of her eyes, winces, and resists the urge to follow after Maz. The other two showed them the more agile and stronger anyway. So she best serves as a distraction. &amp;quot;Oi! C&#039;mon ya ugly fucker!&amp;quot; she taunts when she circles within view of that eye, turns to whip her tail in its sight, then run in the other direction. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve fought Influenza stronger then you!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho shifts his position, to scoot around to try to burn again well use the flamethrower ability he has, as he looks, &amp;quot;Oh hey, Try..Try to hit the stuff he keeps hiding behind him..If you can see it.I thought I saw it a bit ago..&amp;quot; he says, though hey, fire can loop around things as he tries...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The giant eyeball flicks between the party members. A mass on its left recongeals to cover up the generator holdfast that it was clinging to. A mass on its right seems to wind upo before unleashing a large fist-shaped mass of corruption towards the party at high speed, though leaving its generator vulnerable.,&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori scoots back a little further, dragging hirself along. Legs were feeling rather sluggish. Fragile even. When the milk drink did nothing to cancel out the burning feeling, shi got angry. And boy howdy. First, hir speed got crippled. Second, it was resisting the fire more than the things outside. Third, shi wanted OUT already. This is where those tattoos around hir eyes started glowing. Magic is hard to define even in a digital world. It may have unpredictable results here. But shi was determined to BURN it with holy fire and force it to open up its weak spot. Ra&#039;s Fire would see to that. It just...took time to chant out the summoning spell.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek was ready.  He had made certain of that.  The side the attack had come from was opening up and he cries out while darting away to outright avoid it, &amp;quot;Strike it!  Mickey!  Strike it now!&amp;quot;  Teamwork was the key here, and they definitely needed to make use of it.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey glances over her shoulder and skids to a stop as the beast goes for Maz and Ryu. Crap. She&#039;s possibly the worst distraction ever. She&#039;s about to start panicking again when she realizes the generator&#039;s exposed on her side as a result. Were there wires? Maybe she cou--No, nevermind; best to join the fire motif. She summons up her own inner flame, then spits out a molten blast.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho Already had figured out that the weak spot is the generators it is -hiding- when it can, but exposes when attacking as he tries to point that out, but instead, works to get around and closer, so he can focus and try to breath that firey dragon breath &#039;onto&#039; the generator that was uncovered if he could get into position fast enough...since to get -close- to it beyond a certian distance would require risking stepping onto corrupted data..and that might be bad too.....thats what made sense to him...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The metal generator turns red how and then white from the molten blast, and finally explodes. The corrupted fist manages to smash a black hole into the floor before it dissolves into frayed lines of code. The eye seems to spin around wildly for a few moments, almost as if in pain. The left side winds up for an attack again, this time a higher sweep, towards the party&#039;s midsections.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs another few moments. That&#039;s all shi needs. Another few moments. Hir hands and pose and muttering. Totally spell casting. Totally. Keep it busy a moment longer!&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek never rose from his hexapedal stance after dodging the first fist, and in those few moments of the eye spinning about he looks away to see how the others were doing.  When the next attack comes he can&#039;t help but groan, &amp;quot;Another weak spot has opened up!  Study it!&amp;quot;  If only he could blast it with a fireball of his own.  Instead of leaping over the new attack head on, the lizard makes an attempt at being rather acrobatic by working to leap onto the side of a wall or whatever is close with a hard surface and launching in a flying leap to try and get over it.  No ducking under for him.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mickey(#8826)]: As quickly as she skips into range, Mickey darts back out. There&#039;s still too much fear for a quick retribution to keep close as she circles around the creature once again, picks the wrong rotation, and is forced to slide as the corrupted limb comes around. She&#039;s small, but even if her hat is knocked off she&#039;ll consider it a major loss.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori needs someone to block those damned tentacles, because moving means breaking concentration from the spell! You know its times like this that hir magic spark is a bit of a disadvantage. But this was also the most complex summoning spell shi had.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho himself might spin and promtly -dive- onto the ground folding his wings tight around him to cover himself partly as he was trying to not be hit, smaller then maz, but still bigger then the others he just had to take a chance, and well, diving was easier with the limited time he had to react then leaping over it, &amp;quot;GAh!..SOMEONE HIT THE DAMN THING!&amp;quot; he says &amp;quot;BUrn it or something! The generator!&amp;quot; he says as he scrambles wildly along the ground trying to stay under the attack before he gets up again...&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tentacle passes cleanly over those who had ducked down flat. However for those who didn&#039;t have the ability to duck or dodge, such as Kori, are smacked right in the gut with a thick band of corrupting material and thrown against the wall. After it finishes it swining arc, the tentacle starts to pull itself back to gather over its generator.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori flies. Not the pleasant kind. you&#039;d think if people heard that chanting they&#039;d think SITTING DUCK. But no. Well see if shi helps YOU again. Thankfully it finished at the point of impact and there was a bright flare of light. In the ceiling. It looks like rays of sunlight for everyone, forming a circle, a portal of sorts. And behind the brigh light is a silluette (typo I know) of a figure dressed up in old egyptian robes and gold shoulderpads. The face is blocked by the light, but it didn&#039;t matter who this was. What mattered was the sun rays turning to focus on this big virus thing much like focusing light through a magnifying glass to burn something. And burn it did... And how. Fire everywhere. Just how much damage that is going to do is entirely beyond even hir guess, because this is a digital world not the real world. It doesn&#039;t work quite like this in the real world; it doesn&#039;t set things around the target on fire, just the target itself. But ask hir later. Shi&#039;s trying to roll over and get another gulp of milk down, for all the good that would do. &amp;quot;F...F..FUCK OFF!&amp;quot; Damn that thing. Why can&#039;t shi just magic this injury away like normal? .. Oh wait.. Maybe magic doesn&#039;t extend in here and what&#039;s happening now was the system&#039;s enterpretation of the devine interference.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Mazurek(#22948)]: Poor Komodo.  What he had wanted to do was to leap over the thing, pole vault it if you would.  Well, wall-kick-leap over it anyway.  Unfortunately for him he wound up miscalculating the speed of the thing by a very wide margin.  As a result, what the thing wanted to do to them proves to be quite different for the large lizard.  He ends up getting struck...everywhere on his front side thanks to being quite literally horizontal at the time of impact.  He goes flying as a result, right into a wall.  If they all have tentacles, he just might be wrapped by one.  If not he slides down to the floor slowly, struggling to remain awake.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey jumps back up onto her feet when the overhead is clear, glances around, and winces. Two down, one critical; it&#039;s really hard for her not to panic at this point. One generator left, and she starts scrambling on over to prep another gout of flame. Although it already feels way to hot. Dangerously so. In face when she realizes that there&#039;s already a sharp raise in heat nearby, she quickly scurries away to try and get to cover. Or at least distance&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho would be busy scrambling to maz &amp;quot;MAZ! MAZ! Stay with us!&amp;quot; He calls out, as he scrambles and..thenk thinks a moment, wondering if he can help as he takes a risk by moving close, though trying not to touch the corrupted areas, he has an idea and begins to try to help poor Maz so he can keep helping.....hopefully.&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s chest is now a mass of sizzling back and purple sparks, matching her shins. Mazurek is in a similar situation. Kori&#039;s spell that she managed to get off starts riddling the giant eye and its peripheral tentacle with light beams. These beams sear through the &#039;flesh&#039; of the virus, leaving gaping holes. The generator is overloaded and explodes, causing the tentacle arm to melt down into nothingness. The eye starts vibrating and wriggling angrily, making the familiar glitchy warbled sound. It finally detaches itself from the ceiling and lands on the floor about 20 yards from the party, looking ready to charge.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori glares back at it, panting and hissing at this point. You&#039;ve no idea how much energy doing that spell can take out of hir. The most she can do now was shove hirself off to the left and hope contact with the ground doesn&#039;t make this pain flare worse. Whatever is going on right now, science was trumping magic as far as the black patches were concerned. But at least shi has some emergency defense active. Yup, more fire. Shi ignited hirself and started emitting a massive skunk spray. Sorry other fightrs, self preservation responces!&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek is barely kept awake by the burning, stinging sensation that covers his entire front.  His genitals actually join in the fiery burning feeling.  If only it had struck his back and not the front! He&#039;s going to need some assistance and quickly, for the corruption will be spreading unchecked without aid.  Then again, he tries to focus his last bits of strength on his healing abilities.  He seeks to get the nanites to respond and Reconstruct the critical areas, just like Rtysho is doing already.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mickey is apart from the others, but she&#039;s already tucking her wing away from shielding her face as she scrambles to make the intercept. Ryu&#039;s on Maz, Kori&#039;s rolling, and what does she have beside fire? Nothing. So what will she use? More fire. Drawing even up to the virus just as it starts to roll, Mickey darts past spewing out the flames and keeps pace to leave the fire cooking. It takes a pretty deep breath, and she&#039;s straining hard.&lt;br /&gt;
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Ryusho has no clue if he is helping maz at all,but he certianly is trying as he shifts, glancing over his shoulder, but half bracing himself, he can&#039;t stop the work to try to help to attack untill he either knows it is working or if it is not, and if working he would keep working but if not then he would tryt o help end this even faster because then they would get out hopefully.....&lt;br /&gt;
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[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The eyeball sprouts some tentacles underneath it that seem to give it some locomotion. It starts slowly closing the distance between it and the party, though quickly gaining speed. Its eyeball is red and glaringly angry.&lt;br /&gt;
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Kori flops onto hir back against the wall, grabbing one breast of squeezing it HARD. So hard it hurt. MILK! Milk Squirt in fact. Maybe if it can be blinded by milk, shi can grab hir crossbow and poke that eye out with it from here.&lt;br /&gt;
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Mazurek whimpers a little from the pain that is much worse than anything he&#039;s ever gone through.  To Ryu he croaks out, &amp;quot;F-fire...Ice...whatever...  Spit in its eye.&amp;quot;  Poor lizard can&#039;t hold on any longer, passing out right there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jogs to keep up along with it, then runs. She&#039;s gotta refill her lungs after each mighty gasp, and she leaves a trail of fire under the virus&#039;s path as she keeps a constant slow roast going; squinting eyes keeping an eye out for tentacles in her step.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would shift, turning as he feels he is not doing any good, meaning the only thing he can do then is to try to help and fight, finish it as he lets out a roar, beginning to let loose another inferno from his maw as he shifts, though he does aim it for the eye, he also makes sure Mickey is not in the way before it goes roaring through the air and begins to cause a case of Dry Eye, that I doubt any ammount of Clear Eyes could help...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Garbled sounds of potential pain sound off as the eyeball moves over the trail of fire. The projectiled milk in its &#039;face&#039; causes it to close its eyelids and shake itself off. Parts of it slowly dissipate off as the ticks of damage do their thing. It it hit by the blast of fire just as it was opening its eye again, only to be roasted and forced shut again. Squares of its mass flake off and poof as it is nicked away at.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pulls the crossbow out of hiding, slow and hampered by the burning pain. At least the corruption is slow. If they kill this thing it might reverse some of the damage. On the other hand, it might not. With a loaded crossbow ready and pain making it hard to move around quickly, shi had to take hir time aiming it. Wait for it to open its eye...FIRE! *twang!*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps herself even, steadily blowing and constantly applying the heat. The rat doesn&#039;t need to breath to worry about passing out, she she&#039;s a bellows. In, out, over and over with her face matted damp and fur well-singed. She likely has some burns under her fur, and if she didn&#039;t have her goggles her eyes would of been cooked. Doesn&#039;t matter. In with the superhot air, out with the even hotter. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would simply shift his position, taking a minute to regain some of his breath, and re-heat within him as he would then roar out another blast of fire as he could, already kind of..mad , or should I say heated, at the fact that Mazurek was down...and was partly trying ot take it out before it could possibly make mazurek be in such -bad- condition! It needs to DIE! DIe you damn eyeballthing! and stop soundling like a crazy enraged computer core!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The sustained fire stops the eyeball in its tracks as it quickly loses mass to the assault. It shakes and quivers as its purple-black parts slough off of it and dissipate. It gives a last, warbled cry as the whole of it collapses into cubic code and divides and divides until it is no more. The corruption affecting the various party members fades with the demise of the virus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori drops the crossbow on the ground. The holes in the ground were vanishing, which was good. And the pain was fading too along with the black spots on hir body. That was...well, great. Shi&#039;d feel more enthusiastic if the entire ordeal didn&#039;t wear hir out. &amp;quot;About time...&amp;quot; Now PLEASE open the exit. Shi wants to take a nap, but not in here. No, hell no, and fuck no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Sighs softly as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I h ope they can get us out of here now..this is ..really, I think we need to get out of here..&amp;quot; he says though he shifts and..randomly feels his head for a headband to remove incase he coudl just do that..as he sighs quietly, &amp;quot;.....Maz needs a checkup out of here, muckey and kori probably need one to be safe..I at least didn&#039;t get corrupted..but...well may as well give us all a checkup when we get out just -please- get us out of this thing now please....&amp;quot; he says sighing...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The whole world seems to start glitching and then rows of the background start ro go black, and then you are shrouded in complete darkness... and then the dim lights of the virtual training room flicker on. &amp;quot;Welcome back!&amp;quot; comes Dark&#039;s voice over the speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stays in the chair. Not certain if it would be smart to move. Wait.. There were no chairs. Then... Oh. Ground. Right. Stay still on the ground then. &amp;quot;...Once is enough thank you... Is there a couch I can nap on...That hurt a lot, and I feel really tired after using all that energy to coax a magical being into a digital plane...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho sighs softly, as he slowly takes that headpeice off and sets it aside, &amp;quot;Thank goodness...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he looks around, &amp;quot;....I would suggest you check up on Maz...&amp;quot; he says softly as he looks around and then goes over to remove his headband carefully, &amp;quot;He..is kind of out cold right now actually...&amp;quot; he says softly, as he begins to check mazurek over as he could himself...while he was going to stay if he could to help make sure his friend was alright.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30409</id>
		<title>Lost in Cyberspace</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Lost_in_Cyberspace&amp;diff=30409"/>
		<updated>2013-04-22T10:47:22Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;==Participants== * Kori * Mazurek * Cerris * Ryusho * Mickey * Foxheart * Smokie * Darkwyrm (cameo) ==Director== * Darkwyrm ==Log==  [Darkw...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Kori]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mazurek]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Cerris]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ryusho]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Mickey]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Foxheart]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Smokie]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The communique had some basic directions to the Giza headquarters, and once anyone draws near the building, it is easy to see. A large pyramid logo on a three-story building is lit up by a neon GIZA sign. The first floor has another, smaller sign that says, &amp;quot;AWOL Bar and Grill&amp;quot;. Once you enter the first floor doors, the smell of food assaults you and you can see a small restaurant with a bar. It&#039;s mostly deserted save for a surly-looking bartender and a few agents with Giza uniforms. Once inside, you are directed to the second floor stairway and then to a meeting room at the end of the hall. Inside the room it is dimly lit, with only a single hanging light over the table. A figure in a heavy trenchcoat sits at the head, the tall-eared silhouette of Darkwyrm. He has a folder in front of him, fat with papers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has been to this place at least once before, but it has been a very long time since then.  The desire to visit his old friend actually comes just before the comms are inundated with the request from the company.  So... he goes and meets with the group in question.  The large Komodo with four arms lets himself be escorted, taking the time to enjoy the sights he can and ignoring the scents of all the food.  Distractions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Sometimes rats just need money. Sometimes to get that money, they have to moonlight about doing questionable things for questionable people. Not acting as a rep for mallkind today and actively avoiding the rare rat outside the walls this time around; Mickey is here incognito. Not a horribly clever disguise to pick. She&#039;s still a rather cool rat sporting thick, reflective aviator goggles that just barely hide the sign of a glow around its edges. At least she&#039;s not jingling. She arrives in the boardroom just after Mazurek, and even with her eyes covered the mirth on her face is clear. &amp;quot;Heeey there big guy. Been a bit,&amp;quot; she smirks and lingers beside. &amp;quot;Good to see a familiar face here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: It was always this deja vu with the little Coyote woman.  She swore she&#039;d done this all before.  All of it.  The AWOL bar, she&#039;d been to years ago, but today she felt like she&#039;d already been here on this day before, for the same purpose.  The sign, the room, that sexy bartender that she winks at.  Didn&#039;t she just do that the other day?  It must&#039;ve been one of those weird premonitive dreams that Coyotes get.  She went through teh hallway, up the stairs, to the waiting room, where the sexy jackal she knew waited.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: And then comes savagery. &lt;br /&gt;
 The shadow cast by the familiar to some form of a massive feathered serpent passes over the intended mustering grounds, occluding all but local street lighting briefly before it passes over and is gone.  Shortly there after a team of four military clad beings march up in a wedge formation behind what most would describe as a gaudy neon attention whore decorated in glowing piercings and various jewelry and regalia, all of which lights up at various moments or simply emits a constant scintilating radiance.  Once inside, the subordinates fan out and take attentive postures while a woman with lieutenant&#039;s ranking and a nametag marked &#039;Ripley&#039; speaks up.  &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;U.S. Hard Corps. Alpha contingent reporting to assist.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
The neon clown remains silent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly makes his way into the area slowly peering around slowly, as he was currious from hearing the call for others to do something at least, though he was slower to enter and find his way up there, as he probably got distracted fromgood smelling food for a moment, even though he wasn&#039;t hungry, just currious what the scent was actually, before he would head upstairs where he had been pointed peering into the room after everyone else had entered, as he then makes his way in quietly, to be off to one side, ,even if in some ways he is not as quiet as he tries to be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Glad you all could come.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says after clearing his throat. &amp;quot;I see some familiar faces and some others new. Nonetheless, you&#039;re all here, I&#039;m sure, to volunteer as subjects for our training room experiment. As such..&amp;quot;, he pauses as he opens his folder and passes a sheet of paper to each person. &amp;quot;This is a waiver that signifies you understand Giza holds no fault for problems that may occur during testing. It also outlines the safety precautions and your tidy sum. Please sign on the bottom and return them to me so we may get started. Also, any questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles to his old friend when he spots the Anubis, and even the incognito rat.  The latter he scoops up into his arms for a hug before shifting him to cradle in his double sets of arms, &amp;quot;Hello to you as well, Mickey.&amp;quot;  The lizard just might be the oddball of this group, wearing nothing at all.  When it comes time to sign the waivers, he does so without fuss, though he does need to borrow a writing tool.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: An X here, an X there!  So familiar.  She slides the paper back to the jackal, and gives him a wink, too.  Maybe he was in on it?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would of thought Cerris and entourage were their hosts at first from the way they stomped on in. &amp;quot;Assist?&amp;quot; She headtilts as she happily accepts her new perch, then watches as the others file on in. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s say, imperfect world, what sort of problems would ya expect?&amp;quot; she asks as she scans the papers, then uses Maz&#039;s broad front to scribble a quick scribble. &amp;quot;We talkin&#039;, Total-Recall mental freakout? Or Star Trek Holodeck malfuction?&amp;quot; She hands it back, adjusts her goggles, then pats the lizard. Least there were friends. And money.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Cerris(#26550)]: The military group, for their part discuss the document they are signing in hushed tones.  The Lt. conferring with the glowing individual amongst them before Cerris, the man with the ability to stupid sparkle vamps sim dim and lackluster in comparisson, speaks up.  &lt;br /&gt;
 &amp;quot;Gimme a sec here champ, I know a few people over in Zephyr that have been looking for a place to sink some extra funding so they don&#039;t lose it next cycle.  I think this here playground sandbox of your&#039;s will be just up their alley.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Without waiting for a reply, the rest of the soldiers sign and return the documents to the Lt. before she brings them all up, Cerris having stepped off to the side to make a quick radio chat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he reads over it slightly, though he was just glancing for anything that might look like annoying small print, but he is not much of one for being skilled with...legaleeze or whatever they want to call The party of the first part and second part declare the party of the third part, not in conjunction with the fourth part or..whatever the crap it is called, as he rumbles and then slowly would shift to begin to sign it after trying to vaguely decipher any ..whatever you want to call that doubletalk...but since mazurek didn&#039;t bother much with it, he feels no real reason to worry too much since he does help mazurek with another bit of work he does, though the dragon does at least wear &#039;clothes&#039; though they are definately tailored to fit his rather....large form, and..well large forms that he has on his large form.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori took hir time wandering hir way here. So saying shi was late to the party is very accurate. Even when catching up with the group shi took hir time in reading the papers from top to bottom (excluding fine print too small to read), slowing hir down further. This rounded up to a slow walk around the halls following clues and voices in a passive manner while shi was focused on the paperwork. &amp;quot;Sounds like Total Recall... But they have quality assurance groups for pre-testing before making something public.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm glares as the soldiers fan out in his meeting room. &amp;quot;I can assure you, there are numerous safety protocalls in place, and I will be monitoring the program the entire time.&amp;quot;, he says to Mickey without taking his gaze away. He gathers up the signed papers and stuffs them back into the folder. &amp;quot;Your posse can stay in here.&amp;quot;, he says to Cerris, not bothering to note if he is listening or not. &amp;quot;The test is not calibrated for that many personel.&amp;quot; He gets up out of his chair and nods to the group before gesturing to the hallway and stepping out into it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is, assumingly, still being carried by Maz as they all files out. &amp;quot;Oh, /you/ personally? Well that calms my fears..&amp;quot; I mean, she looks like she could toss Dark pretty far trustworthy wise. &amp;quot;S&#039;long as there&#039;s no mention of derezzing, I guess we&#039;ll be alright..&amp;quot; she mulls, then watches the others to judge their reaction.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie stands up an follows.  She&#039;s oggling the Jackal mostly, but keeps glancing over at Cerris.  Is that Cerris?  Whatever.  She can&#039;t contain this huge toothy grin on her face as her claws click on the tile.  Surrounded by all these sexy people...  Damn.  At least one of them she was sure of she knew, but she was still trying to figure out what she remembered the Jackal from.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris snorts when he hears the news, but that just means that he switches the radio conversation over to the L-T to handle, seems she was about to have some free time on her hands while he was off getting potentially skull fucked.  &lt;br /&gt;
  &amp;quot;Posse, ha!  That makes me sound like some sort of Strange Modern Cowboy...How...Needless.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 Now free from his call though he is finally able to turn his attention upon Smokie and to a lesser degree, Mickey and her...steed.  Mickey would be no problem, maybe a bit sassy, but that is often fun...Smokie on the other hand...that smile of her&#039;s made him worry.  Chances were, she&#039;d end up over his knee at the very least by the end of this game.  All the same, there he was, bringing light and levity to the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks over, &amp;quot;Well, I mean, if Mazurek Trusts you, I suppose it should be alright, I mean, He seems to be a decent judge of character for the most part from what I have seen.&amp;quot; he says softly, nodding a bit as he adjusts his position and rumbles in thought, but looks around a bit more in thought at the others who were going to go into this as well&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm shakes his head. &amp;quot;No. We have special headbands you will wear. And the room is programmed with sensors and projectors and all sorts of other stuff I hardly understand build into it.&amp;quot; Darkwyrm says. He pulls open the metal-bound wooden door labeled &amp;quot;Proving Grounds&amp;quot; and ushers everyone inside. The large, dim room is massive, taking up more than half of this floor of the building. Plain white walls extend as far as the darkness allows you to see them. Behind you, a control panel and a shelf are all that is on the wall besides the exit. On the shelf rests several interesting metal headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone take a neural interface and put it on.&amp;quot;, the jackal instructs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;He&#039;s awesome,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters in agreement to Ryu as she enjoys the break from always scurrying about. Not biased in one bit. The rodent turns her hidden sight over to Cerris when she feels that Glare on her. It&#039;s easy to imagine her winking behind it. &amp;quot;Awesome, too,&amp;quot; she adds when Darkwyrm mentions just how much he understood. She slips off her ride after a cheek kiss of thanks to take up a headset and examine it closely. &amp;quot;Fancy,&amp;quot; she remarks as she replaces her goggles, then turns to show it off. Bright blue eyes glow fierce. &amp;quot;S&#039;how it look? Could use some style..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The rat and the lizard she looked toward, but took no interest in their conversation.  Her grin did not leave as she sniffed the air in the room, walking around the group there, her tail swaying.  Eventually the jackal&#039;s voice stole the coyote&#039;s interest, and she went to him to take her headset.  She looked at it, and laughed a little.  &amp;quot;Trying to show up the Prommies and their lightbulb sombreros, eh?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris, for his part simply studies the headset long enough to make certain he doesn&#039;t understand it much more than his does quantum physics or medical biology and thus simply cavemans his way through placing the thing on his head.  This of course requires he observe others and mimmic their actions before finally grunting his relief.  Then he settles in to splitting his attention between their host and the coyote.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho quietly takes a look at one of the bands, as he holds it, looking it over, just partly checking out and making sure what side seems to be -up- then carefully putting it on when he could chuckling, &amp;quot;This almst feels a little silly to wear..reminds me of some sort of...old...show or comic book thing one might see somewhere...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Very good.&amp;quot;, Dark says with a nod as he watches the volunteers put on the headbands. &amp;quot;Everyone stay in here and mil about, I&#039;m going to excuse myself to the control room.&amp;quot; With a short bow, he heads out the door and closes it behind him. About a minute later, a speaker crackles on and you can hear his voice again. &amp;quot;Alright, everyone just stand still while I calibrate this..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie had been standing still the whole time, arms crossed, hips cocked.  She occasionally shifted her weight to the other paw.  A sigh.  Damn.  She thought she caught Cerris looking at her a few times, but did not say anything, or otherwise react except to look away.  She was being fairly unsociable this time, she realized.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek had remained the silent giant of a lizard throughout the introductions following the signing of the documents.  When Mickey goes to slip off of him he squats to futher help her do so and he grabs a headband of his own.  Putting it on as instructed he turns to Ryusho and smiles, &amp;quot;I trust Darkwyrm for the simple reason that he is a very close friend, and at one point my mate.  He sired a few children with me, too.  Some you&#039;ve seen during the days you&#039;re around the Reservation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Hey really?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after she finishes fine-tuneing the headgear. She&#039;s a rather good source of added light as her searchlight-gaze sweeps about; the visor causing a gaussian blur that softens the light, but makes her look something strange. &amp;quot;That actually does help a bit. Must be some pretty awesome kids if they&#039;re there,&amp;quot; she hums as she chills with the group, then does her best to freeze. &amp;quot;Bet I get high score,&amp;quot; she chitters under her breath in jest. Really, she had no clue if there would even be such a thing..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris&#039;s blazing gaze can&#039;t help be felt by the coyote, it practically spotlights her local or at least it does as long as the lighting remains low.  Tracing streamers of light with every movement of his hands, he halts about halfway to his intercept of Smokie, remaining still as the host requests.  Each moment ticking through another spectrum of light his hair goes through in it&#039;s carefully braided state.  A million things lance through his head to lash out at the coyote with, most filled with bile, spite and outrage.  But one of the few others wins through and so he says in a low tone that he is certain those...that sharp ear will pick up. &lt;br /&gt;
  &amp;quot;She asked about you, Rouge was pleased with your visit.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 That said, he grunts again when Mickey makes a challenge of things, of course he rises to the occassion, he&#039;s the manliest of men afterall.  &lt;br /&gt;
 &amp;quot;Little lady, if you beat me, I will owe you an IOU for anything you want.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit towards mazurek, &amp;quot;Well, I may have some on my one someday, though I may need to figure out and eventually return myself to a..more reasonable size as some woudl say, or find one who would like be the mate of one as...rather large as I am...&amp;quot; he says with a chuckle &amp;quot;But that is for a future time I know, but this I feel will be interesting at the very least, a new experience.&amp;quot; He says as he waits, glancing around the room while they wait&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori continues to examine the headband, ignoring most of the people chattering or goofing of. This is science. Science needs some seriousness. ... Okay not everyone was goofing off, but it was a bit too chatty. &amp;quot;I guess going human would help with these contacts. We&#039;ll see how it goes.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s mumbling to hirself while fitting it around hir head. &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to want to see our kids after this, Dark. So.. Now what. Any chairs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;No chairs.&amp;quot;, the voice in the speaker crackles. &amp;quot;There&#039;s gonna be a bright flash of light, and you&#039;ll then be &#039;transported&#039; to the training grounds. Just.. a military-style obstacle course to begin with. Just a moment.. starting it up..&amp;quot; About a minute later, the room humms with hidden machinery behind the walls and the dim light flicks and finally go out, leaving the room completely dark. Moments latewr, the entire room flashes white... but then it flickers again. The room&#039;s lighting seems to start doing some sort of strobe effect. Thne strobe turns to static, like you would see on a television set with no input. Then, it stops. Everything is quiet for a moment. You don&#039;t know when it appeared, but you find yourself in a city. Wait, didn&#039;t he say military obstacle course? Further investogation reveals that this city looks much like pre-promethean Fairhaven. The buildings are intact, there are people walking down the sidewalks, though they are all turned away so you cannot see their faces. The sky is.. wait.. The sky is NOT normal. The sky is the same static you saw, but there is a black crack down the middle of it, as if it were made of glass. The lighting in the entire city seems off too.. like the sun were giving off grey light instead of yellow-white. You are all standing in a group in the middle of a street next to each other, and the room you were previously in is nowhere in sight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head to gaze up to where the nearest speaker should be to him, &amp;quot;Military style course, eh?  Anything like what I was in when I helped you test your holographic projectors quite a number of months ago?&amp;quot;  Has it been a year?  Two?  He doesn&#039;t really recall the amount of time, but it works.  He flinches as the scenery changes, groaning softly from all the distortions and such.  When the changes are all finished he can&#039;t help but look around in amazement, &amp;quot;Wow.  This is even better than before.  Where exactly is the training ground from where we currently are?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie seems to stand still, complacent, though her  tail crooks to the left and she sniffs to the right a little at the first change in scenery.  Not so bad, that.  It was the second one that stunned her, though.  The sky was fake, and there were no smells, but in the rest...  What?  WHAT?  Oh lord...  There was a sight she never thought she&#039;d see.  Pre-Pday city...  The coyote almost dropped to her knees, as she becomes visibly...  upset?  She steps back a little, her arms come uncrossed and her knees bend.  What is this?  She knows in her mind it&#039;s fake, but it&#039;s so shocking...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Mickey flashes a thumbs up, but quickly wishes she took it away. The rat is a user. She&#039;s no stranger to weird sights, sounds, or surreal events. Hell, she&#039;s invented her own color once on an acid trip. She named it Gruave. Sensory overload is quite a bitch however, and she&#039;s rather sure the dull pain in her jaw is her clenching her teeth as she fights the urge to seek a point to fix herself. &amp;quot;Baad trip, man,&amp;quot; she grumbles when finally &#039;normal&#039; seems to return..then she likewise takes in the sight with the others. &amp;quot;Funny..I think there&#039;s a few skybox issues,&amp;quot; she says. Her attention is upward, not on the figures around them. &amp;quot;And it doesn&#039;t look much a course..&amp;quot; Shit. Pretty sure this is how the Holodeck always started to go wackers..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he looks away from smokie, watching the other reactions around him to verify that he is not suffering alone, that this time everyone else was in on the wierdness.  Reassured he wasn&#039;t about to suffer a personality break he weathers the storm, though occassionally looking around to be certain nothing was going to melt out of the environment to drag him into the ground.  &lt;br /&gt;
  &amp;quot;This is not an obstacle course and the sky appears damaged...Operator, are you aware of our current urban setting?&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 Yes he is speaking to no one in general, expecting a response, doesn&#039;t everyone?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as he looks around &amp;quot;Uhh..this..doesn&#039;t look like a..Military..training course.....this looks more like a city to me..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts slowly, scratching his head as he glances around, and turns around in a circle slowly to get a better look of the area before looking to Mazurek, &amp;quot;Oh...You have done this kind of stuff before? So I guess maybe we are not supposed to be right ontop of it....maybe?&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes diasoriented by the strobes of static. This persisted until it settled down and hir new environment stopped looking fuzzy. &amp;quot;... So is this what the city looked like? Kinda makes me miss the college campus back home. Wonder if its fallen to ruin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: In response to Cerris&#039; inquiries, there&#039;s a garbled, distorted sound that seems to come from everywhere. It sounds like a voice.,. but it&#039;s impossible to make out. Seconds later, however, it cuts out abruptly with some static noises.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek can&#039;t help but burst out with some laughter upon realizing something, &amp;quot;Well, it seems that the program has malfunctioned.  Not only that, but we can&#039;t get in touch with the programmer.&amp;quot;  He looks to the others and shrugs, &amp;quot;So...  Who&#039;s up for some exploring?&amp;quot;  Seems someone isn&#039;t paying attention to the others&#039; distress, and he begins to wander down the street.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances down and around. Smokie&#039;s sight sends up the next red flag, and the voice confirms it. &amp;quot;Wh-wait. Is that..ok? Jus&#039;..wandering off like that?&amp;quot; She takes a few steps. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think the &#039;yote is alright.&amp;quot; Her hands go to her pockets as she wonders. Were her smokes here? She could use one. Suddenly the &#039;game&#039; attitude was fading away and replaced with mild worry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The panicking coyote stands in the middle of the road, staring in awe and terror at all the people.  They had to be fake but she was frightened at the prospect.  She was trying to repress her memories.  This kind of stuff she hadn&#039;t counted on.  She thought about all of the things she&#039;d tried to forget, the memories in her brain of a life passed.  She tried to get a grip of herself.  Shaking.   Ears pinned, tail &#039;tween her legs, she gritted her teeth.  Just seeing a city not in ruins, it confronted her very sense of self, and made her wonder if her whole person was just a charade.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: Oh thank god her smoking tin. The rat quickly snaps it open, selects one of her fattest spliffs, and quickly sparks it up to clear her nerves. It&#039;s abnormal just how long she holds the smoke in before finally expelling it as one thick cloud. &amp;quot;Ok, ok..let&#039;s chill.&amp;quot; She&#039;s saying it for Smokie&#039;s sake, not her own. Honest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris frowns as he listens to the sounds of the digital equivalent of their evac chopter being shot down just outside of the landding zone.  &lt;br /&gt;
 &amp;quot;Okay, this extraction point is shot, let&#039;s move out!  This is a video game of some sort right?  If it&#039;s not on some sort of timer, then it should end if we complete it or crash it.  So let&#039;s play along until we can restablish contact with our operator and get a new LZ out of here.  Hey, don&#039;t wander alone!  Group up, we have no way of maintaining ccomms once seperated!&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
Crazy as it was, he was already in motion to gather up Smokie, his arms sweeping the yote up to shoulder level to be carried either seated or draped across them, he didn&#039;t care, but from there he was heading to get Mickey and start exploring.  &lt;br /&gt;
 &amp;quot;Come on pretty hippy, let&#039;s go see the sights.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, as he looks around slowly, &amp;quot;SO..uhm.....That doesn&#039;t seem like the best situation....that didn&#039;t sound good either..&amp;quot; he says softl as he slowly shifts from side to side....it has been ...a long time since he has seen anything like this..and had gotten quite used to this as it had become and..in one way enjoyed it more in some ways, but..he slowly rubs his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well...&amp;quot; He says softly as he scratches his head a bit more then notices Mazurek wandering off, &amp;quot;HEy..hey! Now wait a moment...&amp;quot; he says as he starts to take off after Mazurek.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The streets are clear of vehicles. There is no traffic to speak of. There are only the strange, destinationless pedestrians that are always.. walking away from you. In the distance down the main street, you can see the original Zephyr building in all of its pre-promethean glory towering above most of the other buildings.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts looking around, examining the fake humans walking up and down the sidewalks and then the sky. So they&#039;re having technical difficulties. Great. &amp;quot;We don&#039;t know what the goal is, dude. Its supposed to be an obstacle course, but this is clearly not what they intended. So we don&#039;t know where to go. I suggest we start at the Zephyr building or get a map so we can identify the extraction point. Oh.. And be careful, these Non-Player-Characters might be hostile if they&#039;re also banjaxed. Those of us cap[able of looking human should do so now so they won&#039;t take notice as easily.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does, indeed, stop when called out to do so, and actually rejoins the group almost immediately.  Talk about the Zephyr building finally makes him look around much more closely than before and he grins upon finally spotting it, &amp;quot;Ah.  Yes, Zephyr.  If this is the case, then the only logical assumption would, indeed, be to check out the more familiar structure, eh?  Let&#039;s just hope it isn&#039;t some Zombie Horror Game.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Classic,&amp;quot; Mickey mumbles as she puffs along with her smoke. She makes it a point to stay away from the figures even as they&#039;re actively moving away, and with Smokie being cared for in trusted arms the rat is more at ease. At least if the game corrupts and everyone dies, it wouldn&#039;t be bullshit picking them off one by one. &amp;quot;Righto..wait, he has that?&amp;quot; Mickey asks Maz, then rubs her chin. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think flight would be handy. There&#039;s a ceiling up there huh?&amp;quot; She looks up again as they walk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Yes, that&#039;s it.  A lie.  It&#039;s a lie!  The Coyote puts her paw on Cerris, and says, &amp;quot;Put me down, you,&amp;quot; in a shaky voice.  &amp;quot;I&#039;ve got legs and I can run on my own.&amp;quot;  Of course, she&#039;s still shivering all over.  She can&#039;t help it.  This was all too unnerving.  She frowns at Kori&#039;s suggestion.  &amp;quot;I will not turn human.  I never was, I never will be again.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris played a few zombie games in his time, hell soldiers on down time play a LOT of games in between working out and jerking off.  Unless they are offduty, then they chase ass and get in fights. &lt;br /&gt;
  &amp;quot;Let&#039;s assume we are temporarily immune to the corruption or anything that developes, if attacked by anything give an alarm and defend yourself, even if that thing was a previous friendly.  And no, Smokie, I&#039;m not putting you down just yet, my shoulder is cold, you are temporarily drafted as an all weather garment...deal with it.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 As flimsy an excuse as it was, it was the closest thing he was going to offer the coyote to plausible deniabiity.  So onward to Zephyr he marched, eyes and ears tuned for any deviations in their environment as they go, his memory working to try and steer them towards something that will bring his crew into solid footing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts slightly, looking up and away, &amp;quot;If they were hostile, I think they would be looking at us and moving towards us, butI have never seen a single one move towards, or look towards us, but...well who knows, and...well I was human I believe at one point, but....I changed to this form because Ilike it better, and don&#039;t think I can become human again if I wanted too...&amp;quot; he says after a bit, shrugging as he does want to head towards the zephyr building since at least it is a &#039;known&#039; landmark...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to face the direction of Zephyr, taking in its surprisingly clean splendor. Until Smokie starts up an act. &amp;quot;Well fine, wild one. If they do decide to go crazy nd attack us because we&#039;re different in some way, don&#039;t cry about it. They are passive now, and walking away constantly, but that could change at any moment in this glitchy environment.&amp;quot; Hir features start shifting less furry and more human beore shi begins walking in Zephyr&#039;s direction. &amp;quot;Gonna need shoes and a proper pair of pants I guess. Already have the jacket.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The people don&#039;t seem to be afraid of you, they dont even look at you. In fact, have you even seen any of their faces? They don&#039;t seem to have picked up their pace at all either. They are just casually walking down the streets. As you pass one as you move down the street, he suddenly turns down another street even though it didnt seem like that was where he was going. You don&#039;t even glimpse his front, as fast as the turn was. Something definitely seeems.. wrong with the citizens. The tower seems to grow exponentially in size as you grow closer to it. Perhaps a small error in the perspective scaling? It looms overhead, windows dark and mirrored glass reflecting the static of the sky above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey leaves behind her trail of smoke as she walks beside the two lizards. Occasionally she glances over to check on Cerris and Smokie, but when the building starts to loom up above her glowing eyes are quick to follow. &amp;quot;Creepy..&amp;quot; she mutters, looks to her barely finished spliff, then quickly deepens her hits. Even if it was fake, it would of been rude to just outright smoke indoors. She&#039;d have to scout it out first. &amp;quot;Welp, let&#039;s find out what&#039;s behind door number one.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the ever-increasing size of the building they&#039;ve all come to know and (maybe) love over the years.  Or is it months?  Whatever.  It&#039;s there, they&#039;re here, and it&#039;s growing.  He even misses the sudden, abrupt turn of the programmed creature down the side street because of it.  Even though Mickey is smoking, or at least was until a moment ago, the iguana picks up the not-rat again and holds her, cradling once more to try and make her at ease again during the trip.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris sets the coyote down and points at an alley up ahead before calling over to the other three. &lt;br /&gt;
  &amp;quot;Hey I just remembered a shop that might be around here that can help with weapons and maps...gonna dip down this alley real quick and check.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
 And just like that he is off, this too good to delay forward progress for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho misses the person turning away instantly because of watchign the building seem to get larger and larger as it seems to get bigger the closer they get before looking around &amp;quot;Are we getting smaller or is it gettin gbigger..&amp;quot; he says quietly, before looking to mazurek, &amp;quot;And I hope you friend can fix this ...soon, this is starting to seem really creepy to me..&amp;quot; he says as he looks up again and mrphs in thought....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You&#039;re worried about a building growing taller in a virtual world whose population seems content to walk away and never turn to look at you? These people may not have a front for all we know, being just half a man or half a woman, literally.&amp;quot; Shi moves closer to the door and nudges it open. &amp;quot;Ten credits on the interior of this building being a big pit of nothingness. Second best destination is the mall up north.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As everyone else is awed by the looming tower, Cerris ducks down an alley. The alley is between two tallish buildings that do not let a lot of light into it. As he passes one shop, a closed electronics store, the television sets in the front display click on. The white-grey static illuminates that part of the alleyway, demanding attention.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek stops when attention is called to the fact that there&#039;s a possible shop close by and actually proceeds to follow Cerris into the alley.  Of course, he&#039;s a few dozen paces behind when those televisions suddenly flicker on and it would be only natural that he gravitates toward the light generated by them.  There must be an insect strain of DNA in him or something.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks as she&#039;s hoisted up once again. This time there&#039;s no real rush in trying to get back down from her. Although her flushing cheeks show her embarrassment, it is too comforting to protest the treatment. To prevent offending she flicks the smoke away ust as Maz suddenly turns about. &amp;quot;Really? Would that kind of thing actually translate here?&amp;quot; She nearly topples when Maz changes course again, and as she changes to a more proper perch on his shoulder she follows his gaze. &amp;quot;Huh? Something on?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote happily came to her feet.  The shakes were going away, but she still was shivering.  She was trying to play it off.  She was smiling and whispering to herself that it wasn&#039;t real and that everything didn&#039;t go back to normal and in awhile she&#039;ll be back in her broken bed and her musty blankets in her dirty office in the decrepit, rusted warehouse....  She looks up at the Zephyr building, and laughs a yapping laugh.  &amp;quot;Hah!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris jerks around, a snarl on his lips when Smokie laughs and lights flare up.  &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Damnit Smokie don&#039;t fuck arou...&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 Doubling back he practically runs to the lit screens, his eyes quickly scanning the storefront for any security devices or alarms before he ventures any closer seeing as it appears to be closed.  Damnit if he doesn&#039;t want all the intel he can get in any given situation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks over, noticing one moving away, but he kinda stays there as he looks up, then around again rubbing his head, &amp;quot;SHouldn&#039;t we...stay together incase something goes wrong? What if this is a glitch and a sudden change to the environment might make it so a place we could go is not accessable...so then we would we stuck not able to get there and if someone was in there they would need another way out...&amp;quot; he says quietly, as he rubs the back of his head more and slowly turns around and looks the way they came, then back and looking up at the..strangely big buillding, he doesn&#039;t remember it being that tall..or even the same scale for what he does remember -exists- for what they know now...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: For a moment there.. wait, there it was again. The pyramid logo of Giza flashed on each of the television screens briefly before fading out again. Could it be a sign?&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek blinks, staring a bit more at the screens as they flicker and fade.  He is quick to point it out to the others, &amp;quot;Alright.  Darkwyrm, if you are still able to monitor us, your company&#039;s logo is only barely coming through.&amp;quot;  He steps into the building and begins to explore the interior, still holding Mickey against him.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears perk up. Not that much with all the metal weighing them down, but still enough. Before they vanish out of sight she turns her head to call out to Ryu. &amp;quot;I think we got an objective marker!&amp;quot; Her tail flickers and, in an attempt to not become totally useless, keeps a watchful lookout from her perch. +5 to swag, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Everyone is going into that little shop.  Damn.  Must the band of heros always have the shared attention span of a goldfish?  The coyote sighs and brings up the rear, not liking the enclosed space of not-so-decayed buildings.  That static is killing her eyes and her ears.  She grumbles to herself a little.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris actually goes no further than the shop&#039;s entrance, looking for any other activated electronics.  &lt;br /&gt;
 &amp;quot;Look for something to use to suplement this comms failure.  If TVs are giving images, speakers and mics may be doing the job as well.  I&#039;ll secure our point of egress.&amp;quot;  &lt;br /&gt;
 In this situation, his experience as a field officer shines through, overshadowing those moments in which he may or may not have been thinking about how many dicks he could sink into that college girl&#039;s ass.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he turns and looks before sighing as he slowly begins to wlak after the others, &amp;quot;Well you know you all could I don&#039;t know, DISCUSS IDEAS before suddenly running off randomly like chickens with their heads cut off!&amp;quot; he calls out as he walks to catch up...&lt;br /&gt;
Kori wanders away from the doors of Zephyr and closer to the light show that attracted so many of the group. &amp;quot;If you can figure out how to suppliment this stuff, I&#039;ll try to whip together something to use as a blueprint. Then we gotta figure out how to connect it and get it working.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Inside the dark store, it is mostly what you would expect to see inside of an electronics store. Shelves full of various electrical doodads, keyboards, accessories and the like. None of them are turned on. What really catches your eye is the terminal behind the counter. A pyramid logo is rotating in the center of the screen like a screen saver, almost as if waiting for input.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has used enough computers in the past, and really still does when it comes to his Reservation, that when he discovers the little screensaver with the logo on it...he simply taps the screen to see if anything happens.  If there&#039;s a mouse or keyboard nearby, he does something with those if that fails.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s glowing eyes are darting about like they&#039;re in a candy shop. So many electronics! So much salvage! Goddamn and it was all fake. Glowering at the lack of real fortune, she watches Maz tap away on the screen. The rat waits for several minutes, then when she can&#039;t wait any longer she reaches over to point. &amp;quot;Think you gotta unlock it? Try the Trifecta. Ctrl-alt-del.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote resigns herself to a corner of the shop, looking out the window.  She figures it&#039;s best to let the people with knowhow do their thing, instead of getting in their way.  She does marvel at some of the pre-Pday stuff, and wonders if there&#039;d be anything left in the real world of this store.  SHe&#039;d love to salvage things.  Though, most other folks salvaged things to make them work again.  Smokie just salvaged them to make them into jewelry or to take out little parts she might need.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris quietly ducks back out of the shop, hailing Ryusho as he does so. &amp;quot;Hey, watch the alley, I have something else to take care of.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
 In a moment, Cerris is gone, his consiiderable athletic ability put into a sprint to carry him swiftly to the gunshop he was hoping to find while everyone else is occupied with getting communications up and running. Note cool speed lines left behind due to glowly stuffs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks as he turns aroudn and looks at Cerris charging off, &amp;quot;WAIT! ...What...WHY DON&amp;quot;T YOU TELL US THIGNS!&amp;quot; he sighs and shifts to lean against the wall, as he hears a gurgle down below as he glances down, &amp;quot;Oh quiet down you four, I will take care of you when we are not in this mess....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Cerris arrives at the arms shop, all right. But if he were to look up at the sign designating the shop, it looks like a crudely drawn gun with the word &amp;quot;Gunz&amp;quot; on it as if it were added only as an afterthought. Peering inside the windows would reveal that the store is just completely black. In fact, there is no door. Once someone fiddles with the terminal, the screen goes black for a few moments before a tall-eared canine head silhouette appears on a background of blue. &amp;quot;Sheesh. Thought you guys would never find a terminal.&amp;quot;, a crackling voice says. &amp;quot;I suppose you&#039;ve gathered by now the program isn&#039;t quite working right.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly slips more into the building as he hears the one on the screen talking as he mrphs softly, &amp;quot;...Lovely...So we are in a program...that is affected by a virus?&amp;quot; he shifts a bit, &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t that mean that it could be possibly....well...risky to be stuck in here? Sinc eyou can&#039;t turn it off?&amp;quot;  he guesses from what he is hearing....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder to Ryu and ushers to him to join around the display. &amp;quot;Sounds troublesome. And us without a security..&amp;quot; wait, nevermind. Tron jokes were getting old, truely, and this was actually sounding serious. Like, she wouldn&#039;t be getting paid serious. &amp;quot;Soooo..what then?&amp;quot; She chirps, glancing between the screen and others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: A virus?  That very well IS a predicament.  She growls softly to herself.  &amp;quot;Wait, if we&#039;re in a virus, can the virus...  Infect us?&amp;quot;  She dramatically emphasizes the last word.  It was a momentary idea, but it was just too good to not say.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek listens to the others speak their concerns.  Instead of voicing his own concerns he instead asks, &amp;quot;I will run under the assumption that you can see everything that is going on around us, from the half-rezzed population all the way to the oddly gigantic Zephyr building.  So, what is this program&#039;s objective and what is it that we are supposed to do to complete it?  Best get this information out in the open before we face the possibility of this virus preventing us from communicating.  Also, the last time I was engaged into this system it was more a prototype.  Are the safties still operational or will this be lethal to the losers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is a long period of silence after all of the questions are asked. Finally, Darkwyrm activates his mic again and says, &amp;quot;I am unwilling to terminate the program at present, as there is a possibility of damage if turned off prematurely. Uhh.. as far as infection goes, I am unsure of the extent the virus has spread into the system. I would exercise caution. I am surprised you have not seen signs of it yet.&amp;quot; He clears his throat as you can hear the sound of typing through the speaker. &amp;quot;This seems promising though. If you can destroy the virus within the program, I can safely shut down the system and get you out. I can get more help for you if you can wait a few minutes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs quietly, &amp;quot;...I guess all we -can- do is wait in one regard, we have no weapons other then ourselves and...some of us don&#039;t look like we are very much &#039;naturally combat built&#039; ...&amp;quot; he says softly, with a hum in thought, &amp;quot;....that being said we don&#039;t even know if what we can do would be able to hurt a virus depending on how it is in the system.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ear gives a little flick at that, and she shoots a glance to Ryu. &amp;quot;Hey, not all of us are built with bulk in mind.&amp;quot; She gives the dragon a slight tilt of her head, then wiggle of her eyebrows. &amp;quot;Whatever you guys think&#039;ll get us out of this wunderland fast enough, I&#039;m game for.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie listens keenly with her ear-and-a-half.  Hm, this was definitely something.  She loves over at the dragon, frowning.  &amp;quot;I&#039;m not so big or brawny, but I&#039;ve been in my fair share of fights-&amp;quot; she points up at her half-ear, &amp;quot;-As you can see.  I think we&#039;ll be able to get in there and take out the Master Comp-- I mean virus.  Yeah.  Just leave it to us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a loud sigh. Great. Virus, frozen shutdown. Pulling its plug the hard way could be a lobotomy. The impending sarcasm would have to wait however. &amp;quot;Or they could pull Matrix on us and appear as hostile people in suits. We&#039;d have to Matrix them back. Its a program, we&#039;re digital representations of ourselves so the rules aren&#039;t as clear. Hell for all I know we could all be able to fly in &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks, &amp;quot;No information regarding where we need to go or anything like that, eh?  As far as corruption goes, the sky is the most obvious thing we&#039;ve seen so far.&amp;quot;  Then to Kori, &amp;quot;Some of us can fly just by thinking it.  It just takes the appearance of wings in some cases.&amp;quot;  To Mickey he picks her up into his arms yet again, &amp;quot;I know nothing of the powers of the Mall Rats.  Do they have any combat powers?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blicks off and goes black It stays that way for several minutes, threatening to stay off and leave you without any more help from the jackal. But just then, it flicks back on. &amp;quot;Alrighty. I&#039;ve arranged for some help you you.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;Stand by.&amp;quot; A peculiar glow light up the room as a green silhouette appears in the middle of the floor, and slowly becomes more resolved, gaining depths and finally details. A Foxheart has entered the game. However, it seems her appearance has overloaded this station. &amp;quot;Fffzzzt ff-ffiind other... Ssshhhhzzzzzcomputers to contact me.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says through the static before the screen cracks and smokes, turning off forever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks a bit as the console seems to begin to short out as he cringes a bit, &amp;quot;Lovely, There....goes our contact with the real world...&amp;quot; he says softly, shaking his head as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I suppose now our first goal is to begin trying to find another computer console, so we can contact him for what to do next, now that ...well apparently our re-enforcements have arrived....&amp;quot; He says as he look sover foxheart and nods slightly to them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s wings flutter for balance like a scooped up bird, then transfers over to a sidelong perch along Maz&#039;s shoulder. Give her some green wings and a cracker and she could pass for Polly. &amp;quot;Not &#039;xactly. We mostly shine in avoiding trouble. It&#039;s a Zen kinda thing; don&#039;t bother it, it won&#039;t bother you.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, then pats the Komodo&#039;s chest. &amp;quot;But I&#039;ll keep an escape route open for all of us in case we gotta leg it. Got your back.&amp;quot; Literally; it&#039;s a great view up here. Foxheart is eyed curiously, but any help is accepted at this moment. &amp;quot;Howdy. Welcome.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie looks over at the glow  Reinforcements, huh?  No one like Ahnuhlled.  But that&#039;ll do.  She sighs and moves over to the door, looking out again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart shakes her head and pulls herself together, hands placed at their blade handles before she realizes she recognizes one of the people here...vaguely at least, then stands her guard down. &amp;quot;Darkwyrm, you owe me for this...&amp;quot; She puts a hand over a breast in a salute. &amp;quot;Foxheart. Darkwyrm said you needed some combat backup.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scans her eyes up and down the new arrival, then the terminal the cat thing came from. &amp;quot;... You&#039;d think they could just recompile the environment code in this spot to repair the terminal. The hardware on their end must&#039;ve blown. So... Now what. We still need to know where to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Those several minutes seem to drag onward while the Komodo is awaiting the next bit of information.  He looks over to the new arrival when it finally happens, only to snap his attention right back to the terminal when it breaks, groaning a bit after the final transmission.  With the newcomer&#039;s introduction he nods toward her, &amp;quot;Not everyone here is combat ready.  The more involved the better.&amp;quot;  He makes sure Mickey is safe on his shoulder, holding his legs if he needs to.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: An unusual sound outside gathers your attention, and a strange shifting of color. The lights in the electronics shop go out, leaving you in darkness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks around, &amp;quot;Crap, we need out of this area..or something...I think something thinks this is a good area to mess with..and ...I guess they can&#039;t since that would also affect the area -we- are in and could mess us up...&amp;quot; he says with a cringe, and then shifts, a defensive stance of sorts, &amp;quot;We...need to get out of here, and find another console...so we can get more help, as I said, I don&#039;t think we can fight it with what we have access too right now....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey drapes her tail over Maz&#039;s back as she sits with her legs secure. Good thing too, because she would of given a startled jump once the lights cut off. That blue search-light gaze of hers sweeps around quickly, looking right away for either a back way out or large enough window. &amp;quot;Yeah, I kinda second that idea. Get the feeling the longer we stay in one place the more danger we&#039;re in.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The Coyote opens the door and peers into the alleyway outside.  Nothing seems to have changed, as far as she can see.  She sighs, and turns back inside, leaving the door slightly cracked.  &amp;quot;Well, I dunno what&#039;s up.  I suggest we go to the big attention-stealing tower, and not get caught up in fetch-this sidequests.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: A spark of life flitters from the kitsune&#039;s tails as she draws her short sword and lets it guide the wisp like a lantern, giving her just enough light to see a nearby surroundings. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll forgive me if I can&#039;t make this any brighter. Don&#039;t want to burn anyone. Lead the way.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at said kitsune, holding up a hand of hir own which promptly ignites. Show-off. &amp;quot;Having a fiery hide can be more useful than giving some ferals a case of hot-foot.&amp;quot; But since they now have two light source, the group should feel fairly coomfortable moving on. &amp;quot;So lets just get going.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek has his own searchlights!  Well, not really, but they work fairly well.  He uses Mickey&#039;s light to help guide him around the shop, heading toward the exit that Smokie is by.  Well, the room lights up enough thanks to some flaming light anyway, so he shouldn&#039;t bump into anything...maybe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Outside of the shop, the light emitted from the defective, cracked, static skybox has shifted from gray to a pale crimson. Everything looks threatening now from the slight color change. The crack in the sky has widened too.. and inside of the crack a glowing pupil is partially visible.. creepy. You cant see much else from here, being in an alley and all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho peers around and up, &amp;quot;...we need to find the next terminal, so we can get something to protect ourselves with hopefully in this world....because I think something knows we are here now...&amp;quot; he says quietly,  &amp;quot;I think thta should be our first priority...plain and simple...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around still in a partly defensive stance.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps the light turned down towards the floor so that Maz can step cleanly, although when she chances a glance outward and sees the huge eye she quickly shuts them and hurriedly yanks her goggles back up. &amp;quot;Whoo, ok, now /that&#039;s/ fucking creepy,&amp;quot; she shivers and hunches down. &amp;quot;Good idea man. Keep something between us and that..thing, try not to make a fuss. Let&#039;s hit up that building.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: The coyote looks up at the sky, and freezes.  She recalls some lore, but she shakes her head.  That is not Coyote&#039;s eye, no, Coyote never had red eyes.  She advances up the alleyway, in the front of the formation, tense.  She&#039;s short enough that everyone behind her can see over her...  A pause.  She lifts her head up, looking up at the red broken sky, and takes a few deep breathes through her nose, and then delicately tries to scent the area.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart draws her other sword, and the longer katana bursts into flame as she readies her technique. She&#039;s far better versed at smashing things, not fixing them, and with a few graceful steps, walks to the front of the group. &amp;quot;Looks like we&#039;re being watched. We might have company...&amp;quot; Her tails furl up and fold into half to make it easier for her to dash if she had to, fur bristling everywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks up with a sharp scowl. Well forget about looking like everything else in here. The light shows down on the ground would draw that thing&#039;s attention up there. &amp;quot;Well fuck. We&#039;re going to stick out like a christmas tree in an orange grove now.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would be one of those that has a distinctive scent to Smokie, though whether it would be good or bad depends on the situation.  It is outside the shop that the sky&#039;s change can be seen clearly, not inside.  Gazing up at the eyeball gazing down at them brings about a simple quip from the large reptile, &amp;quot;Well, looks like we have an idea of what the virus is that we need to destroy.  GladOS, welcome home.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As you step out of the alley, you KNOW something&#039;s changed. The large, prominant Zephyr tower that was tall and pristine before is now covered in pulsing blue and purple tentacles. The very top of the tower is completely covered, with tendrils grasping downward from there and finally blocking entrance to the entire first floor. The tentacles don&#039;t necessarily look fleshy, but they have glowing veins that seem to pump a light blue fluid through them. The stores lining the streets are now destroyed, looking as if they exploded outwards. Those pedestrians you saw before.. well they&#039;re still around, but now they&#039;re facing towards you.. and advancing. There is no wonder why they were facing away from you before. They have no faces. Where their facial features should be is smooth, pale flesh. They don&#039;t seem to be in any rush, but if you move, then they adjust their direction. Walking.. slowly from all sides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts, &amp;quot;Start moving, now, and No, the Zephyr building is -not- our goal right now, thats probably our -end- goal as the virus is working -from- there, not to there, we gotta find the one place...just..try to keep moving..so they don&#039;t actually -reach- us hopefully...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts..and..decides to glance around &amp;quot;Anyone recall major places that might be nearby, local area?&amp;quot; he shifts as he glances around though walking slowly,&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pages, &amp;quot;how would they take to a blinding sunburst gold flare of light from someone shifting back to their dedication form?&amp;quot; to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ooh-kay..Yeah, good man,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters to Ryu, again her gaze more focused on what&#039;s upward then what&#039;s actually around at ground level. When she finally does notice her hand goes right for her vest pocket. &amp;quot;It&#039;s infecting the city..except these ain&#039;t nanites.&amp;quot; She looks around, tries to quickly count, then picks a direction that she figures could more or less be random. &amp;quot;This is the city, right? Mall is thataway, I know for sure.&amp;quot; You do not question a rat on this, regardless of form.&lt;br /&gt;
tell kori Try it and find out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie turns suddenly, to follow Mickey.  She glances around at the faceless things.  They didn&#039;t really scare her.  It was like some sort of zombie movie without the gore.  But these were never alive.  Now, if she started seeing familiar faces...  THAT would scare her, but it&#039;d take quite a bit, because no one whose face she remembers was human.  She spits in their general direction, and laughs, following the rat.  Suppose they were going to the mall?  This IS turning into a zombie movie.  Of course, what she smelled earlier, it was...  Strange.  Very strange, and she didn&#039;t like it that it was playing with her brain like that, to be putting smells in her mind.  Perhaps this whole thing was planned from the beginning?  That seemed like more of a Zephyr trick, but she never put anything past anyone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: Foxheart keeps her wisp lit anyway as her eyes follow each of the strange figures in turn, looking around, utterly confused. It doesn&#039;t scare her one bit though, considering all that she&#039;s seen before, and then looks at the group once before she shakes her head. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll get through with ease. They don&#039;t look like a threat.&amp;quot; A tail points at the large infested building. &amp;quot;We are here to destroy the virus, aren&#039;t we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shifts hir feet while bending down into a predatory crouch. The eye was watching them, the Zephyr building was being tentacle raped, the &#039;people&#039; were converging slowly on them and the surrounding buildings had exploded form the inside. The virus knew they were there, knew where they were, and didn&#039;t seem to want them to leave. &amp;quot;That&#039;s half the plan. The other half is getting out of here. I suggest closing your eyes. This is kind of bright...okay, very bright. Won&#039;t bother these faceless things much, no eyes.&amp;quot; Hir body begins glowing soon after those words, a glow of yellow-white light like the sun that quickly increases in intensity until it hits a painfully bright radiance. See, hir magic was being used again. Only unlike turning human, returning to hir patron&#039;s lioness form was unfortunately flashy. It wasn&#039;t nearly this bad in the real world though, so this flare of light was only a pain in the ass within this virtual world.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is the one being followed, for Mickey is still on his shoulder.  Where the Rat points, the Komodo heads toward, &amp;quot;The things are taking their time, folks.  Let&#039;s just head where instinct says should be perfectly safe.  Can you blame me that I am even more attracted to the Zehpyr building now than before with how it looks now?&amp;quot;  Sensitive noses, this one&#039;s currently in heat here, though has enough self control to keep it visually hidden, &amp;quot;Let us try to survive the in-game night before we try taking on the tentacle building.  Maybe once we get to the mall can we use its resources to do what&#039;s required.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Unsurprisingly, the advancing faceless threat is unaffected by the bright flash. As for the others in the group, that is another matter. Other than the scattered walkers all over the place, the streets are mostly clear of debris. Obviously the first floor of the tower is inaccessible, so if the party wanted to try and get in, they would require an alternate entrance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho covers his eyes and looks away, &amp;quot;Yes, I know, we need to take out the virus, but for one, we can&#039;t get in the tower easily if you looked at the front door, and two, I don&#039;t see anything that we have that might -actually- be able to work as an anti virus or something...&amp;quot;  he says simply, &amp;quot;It would be hard to remove a virus, when we don&#039;t have anything that is able to remove a computer virus from a computer program, and since we are -in- a computer program....well...&amp;quot; he kinda motions with a hand, thats how logic is working for him right now&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;If it&#039;s something like that, we&#039;ll need to either find it or have it sent,&amp;quot; Mickey chitters to Ryusho, then looks over her shoulder to Fox. &amp;quot;Unless Dark gave ya anything before he zapped you in here?&amp;quot; Pointing out turns as needed, she keeps the party on track. &amp;quot;Either way, it&#039;s only like; two blocks. Maybe we can find something useful left over from the orignial programing. Or a terminal.&amp;quot; She rubs her whiskers. &amp;quot;It&#039;s just right up here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie following the large lizard around, the scent of his heat only annoyed her.  She frowns a little, looking between here and the tower and the walkers and the Eye of Sauron.  Damn.  What a hoot.  Really, she wasn&#039;t in the mood to dilly-dally, but no, no one ever listens to the Coyote...  The first floor looks inaccessible, but...  What about a subterrainian entrance?  (Repose in right spot)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anyone got a drone or two they&#039;re willing to send into sure death?&amp;quot; Foxheart isn&#039;t sure herself if she&#039;s saying this seriously, eyes still kept on the figures on the streets. &amp;quot;I...I think we should find cover as soon as possible. Would be easier to fight from...&amp;quot; Mentally, the kitsune remains fixated on combat and dangers, most of the technology-related stuff completely over her head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori straightens up and starts walking again at a normal pace. The faceless ones weren&#039;t bothered, as expected. The eye in the sky however couldn&#039;t possibly miss it. On the other hand it likely didn&#039;t care. &amp;quot;You&#039;re right. We don&#039;t have an anti-virus. But what if we&#039;re supposed to /be/ the anti-virus? We&#039;re certainly foreign, and this thing has an unhealthy interest in us. Wither we realize it or not, we&#039;re a threat and a curiosity to it. Probably more the latter than the former for the moment.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek pipes up, &amp;quot;Ot it is just watching the whole place all at once?  Does it really matter one way or the other whether it wants something or not?  I have nothing to help with being a decoy other than myself.  Not going that route here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Closer and closer the walkers approach. It isn&#039;t certain what will happen if they reach the party, but who wants to wait and find out? The sprawling strip mall lurches closer as the party quickly outpaces the ominous corrupted citizens. The storefronts are not blown out, but all of the glass is cracked, and most of the windows and doors are boarded up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would motion lightly, &amp;quot;Lets see if we can find a door or something, that is not boarded up, or if we have too I guess we can break in, but....Hopefully this is part of the &#039;atmosphere&#039; this ..virus is causing, not something to try to keep us out of a place the program is not capable of keeping track of.&amp;quot; he says nodding as he mrphs, glancing back at the left behind -mass- of ..faceless things....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey flutters her wings in mild worry when she sees most of the openings covered up. &amp;quot;There&#039;s an electronic&#039;s storefront, maybe another terminal in there. There&#039;s gotta be something useful here..&amp;quot; She mumbles, more to herself, and tries to peer into one of the windows as they pass. &amp;quot;They do look breakable.. Anything beats the welcome party back there.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is following the lizard-mounted rat, glancing behind herself.  Huh.  that wasn&#039;t so bad, those faceless dude.  Yeah, not bad at all!  Of course, her fur&#039;s all on end with fright now.  Blegh.  She keeps going along, looking through the windows.  &amp;quot;I can try and kick one in, if these aren&#039;t static meshes, of course.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart skitters over to the back of the group and keeps both swords at the ready, swinging them if the creatures get too close and snarling. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s be careful, shall we?&amp;quot; She begins to prime a charge in her tails too, ready to blast a path through a currently non-existent horde.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek notes the numerous cracked windows and gets the same idea that most of the others are having about them.  Growing, he takes it one step further and actually calls out, &amp;quot;Mickey!  Brace yourself, we&#039;re going in!&amp;quot;  So saying, he rushes headlong toward one of the windows, only to shift at the last second to a shoulder-rush...the shoulder pair that doesn&#039;t have the rat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: There is in fact a store with a broken sign over it that reads &amp;quot;EL-CT-ONICS&amp;quot;. The windows all have plywood over them and the door is covered by several 2x4s. When Maz slams into the plywood, he finds himself repelled backwards and sprawled on the ground. The plywood suffered some cracks, but did not fully break. The noise created by this impact, however, is loud enough to wake the dead. Moments later, an unearthly warbled shriek is heard from... somewhere. You can&#039;t pinpoint it, but it doesn&#039;t sound far.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth and cringes as mazurek -slams- into the wood and it cracks, &amp;quot;I think we need to try to -remove- the wood and..&amp;quot; he freezes as he hears the shriek, &amp;quot;We might need to protect ourselves, or try too soon enough....so why don&#039;t someone keep a look out while we try to get the woo dout of the way...without burning the place up preferably....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey looks to Maz, and the window in uncertainty. &amp;quot;Not sure this is the be-&amp;quot; Oh nevermind, he&#039;s going for it anyway. Hopping around, the rodent clings to the far side of Maz&#039;s back. She&#039;s light enough that she herself does no harm to the Komodo when she&#039;s jarred roughly forward against him, but she is forced to scramble quickly in order to prevent herself from ending up trapped below. &amp;quot;Hurry,&amp;quot; she grunts. &amp;quot;Try ripping it..Maz you A&#039;rite?&amp;quot; There&#039;s concern; now they got something else after them too..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie jumps and spins around, ready in a fighting stance with her paws up, one made into a fist, the other holding with her claws out.  Her eyes peer around the lot, growling, her good ear down.  Yeah, she didn&#039;t want to lose her other ear.  For a moment, she forgets it&#039;s a game, and she is seriously worried.  She hasn&#039;t been in too much of a real fight in awhile.  Yeah, she hunts gryphons, but a gryphon with a hole or three in his chest from a 5.56x45 FMJ is hardly much of a fight.  &amp;quot;Sounds like the sub-boss fight&#039;s coming up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Still, to fight a virus...&amp;quot; Foxheart steps a short distance away from the run down store to put up a literal fire wall in front of her with a slash of her flaming blade, hoping that it&#039;ll ward the zombified things from trying to approach too aggressively...and a little less the large opponent she can&#039;t yet see. &amp;quot;The technology stuff is...up to you guys...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls hir eyes at the mention of &#039;sub-boss&#039;. &amp;quot;Seriously, its not a game right now. if that thing beats one of us down it might be able to infect us. Then what happens when it finds a way out of this program? Our bodies will be its new host with it in control. So if we get attacked, shoot to kill.&amp;quot; Speaking of, shi&#039;s engaging hir fiery hide to full blast just in case. &amp;quot;Yay magic firewalls...just don&#039;t touch me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: REBOUND!  The Komodo can feel his body wanting to mash against the boards when he connects with them, but they force him to bounce back!  At least he didn&#039;t break anything in his attempt...other than the boards.  He collapses to the ground face-up, which would have Mickey scrambling to lay on his front instead.  Sprawled out, he groans a little, though that is quickly drowned out by the screech of the unknown thing.  He stares up at the sky and the eyeball above, suddenly finding himself quite dizzy thanks to the impact.  Did he even hear the rat&#039;s question aimed his way?  He&#039;s going to need help up soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Around from the back of one of the buildings, something appears. What that something might be is quite questionable. It looks like a cloud of static mist.. but it is constantly shifting and morphing. Along with it comes a most unusual and disconcerting sound. Like a mashup of the growls and calls of several beasts warbles together and distorted. At one point, it looks like there are some appendages sticking out of it at random points, but then you blink and it&#039;s suddenly sporting hundreds of eyes all over it. Mouths, teeth, horns and a large variety of eyes morph in and out of this cloud. Then it &#039;sees&#039; the party. And flies straight towards it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks, &amp;quot;..Oh Lovely, we have Glitchthulu after us...or maybe this is Bug-rog...&amp;quot; he says as he shifts, &amp;quot;INCOMMING!&amp;quot; he sayas though he shifts and tries to break off one of the boards on the window, if anything to use as an impromptu weapon to keep it farther away then hands reach..&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey shakes herself sensible, then freezes when that..thing comes into view after Ryu&#039;s warning. &amp;quot;Aww fuck, C&#039;mon big guy,&amp;quot; she quickly stoops on Maz&#039;s chest and tugs her goggles down to shine the bright blue light in his face. They needed fighters now, and having one on his back before they even started was not good. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go, doubletime,&amp;quot; she tries a little shake then swats his cheek. Should he still be dazed, she&#039;d flash him full in the face with those volitile eyes to try and shock him on his legs with a squeaky command. &amp;quot;Get up!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Oh shit, nope, she wasn&#039;t expecting that.  With a yip she skitters back for a moment, before shaking her head out, and running to the flank of the team.  Firepower all around.  She isn&#039;t sure right away waht it&#039;s supposed to be but she can&#039;t help but try and throw her best at it.  She sure as hell doesn&#039;t want it to touch her, no knowing what it&#039;ll do.  Time for some fire breath!  With a quick little prayer to Coyote she opens up her maw and snarls viciously, a burst of flame spews forth.  Spicy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Foxheart takes her short sword and drags her wisp forcibly back into her tails before yelling, &amp;quot;Get down!&amp;quot; She twirls her edge once in a flurry of blades and tails, jagged ice spikes forming from condensation and being shot like arrows, aiming the try to disperse the mist with sheer brute force.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori whips around to the shriek of the new contact. It was a little ways off before. But now its right here and charging the party. Not a good time. Not at all. Shi bends hir legs and squats, putting one fist on the ground. Within a second hir flesh turns shiny and semi-solid, taking on a rubbery jelly quality yet it remained opaque. Hir weight shifts creating a bulge in hir calves that quickly travels up hir legs and into hir body. The flames shi already wore stoked hotter still as it seemed to begin turning the digital water vapor into steam. All the while shi keeps hir eyes on the target. &amp;quot;I always wanted to do this shit. Gear...second.&amp;quot; Another second or two passes as shi watches Ryu, Mickey and Smokey begin to fight it before shi makes hir own move in a literal blur of motion which was quite hard to follow with the naked eye. This sudden acceleration launched hir into the air, allowing hir to cock back a fist that was already on fire, the afterimages making it look a lot like hir arm stretched quite a distance in its jelly state. &amp;quot;Gum gum...Red Hawk!&amp;quot; Incoming high velocity fire punch for mister Eldritch Horror Of Eyes And Mouths!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: The rodent&#039;s tactics work to an extent, and thankfully it&#039;s before the second flashing of the eyes.  The first flash to the eyes, even though only one of them can really be affected thanks to them being wide-set, is enough to break through the daze that the screech somehow did not.  Having Mickey on his chest helps even more and he wraps his arms around her before getting to his feet.  He immediately notices that others are attacking...something.  He&#039;s the only one that isn&#039;t attacking right now, besides Mickey, and he instead shouts out, &amp;quot;Alright, who brought the God Of Decay, Moander, out of the Forgotten Realms?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The fire breath seems to go right through the glitching abomination. However, the ice shards make contact with a sickening crunch, causing large spots of it to disappear into deresolution where the chilledf spikes pass through. It makes another loud, disorienting shriek and pulses, heading straight for Foxheart!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks for several seconds as he shfits, &#039;PHysical force! Use Physical force!&amp;quot; he calls out as he shifts and does eventually work and pry at least part of one of those boards off to try and shift so he can fling it at it in a way if it is not big enough to &#039;wield&#039; as it gets closer...well if he can otherwise -forget it- he will just do something else...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s body spreads out, creating a hole whch Kori flies right through, though not without the creature stinging hir on the way out. The spots on hir back and ass where it makes contact start to crackle with black sparks and sting with corruption.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey, being a fire-type rat, has no real chance of being much use in a straight fight. &amp;quot;We did. Glad you&#039;re up. Be careful.&amp;quot; And she scurries on over to the storefront entrance. She assumes that, best case, they would have a few seconds, so without much time spent looking for ways to arm herself she instead works on finishing up the job Maz started. She figures Ryu&#039;s ripping boards to work his way in, and starts muscling at the plywood covering. It&#039;s less brute force, more trying to leverage up from the sides and pop it from its fastenings to form a way in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Smokie(#26254)]: Her attack was ineffective.  She snarled.  Well, suppose it&#039;s time to jump into it.  It didn&#039;t really like the solid ice chunks...  Maybe if she tried to claw at it, she could do -something-.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;Anything you can hit with a piece of ice...you can frag with enough energy...&amp;quot; Foxheart smiles, and then with a bit of added flair, the long sleeves of her kimono crackle with energy and disintegrate into ashes once the large, purple flames start, and then she charges the being with enough force to dry and crack the ground she&#039;s standing on. It isn&#039;t long before she&#039;s howling out in pain from the heat, though the flames are so incredibly intense...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies right through the thing, and clear through the hole in its body. Momentum of the flight carried hir a bit further until shi hit a building. Jelly body or not, impact still hurt. And the dust cloud it created is enough indication that shi needs a moment to get out from the rubble and self assess hir condition.&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek watches the effects of the various attacks by the other &#039;players&#039; and grimaces on noting one of them not affecting while another..having some sort of effect.  He snorts after that and turns his back toward the creature and raises his tail, &amp;quot;CLEAR THE AREA!&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t give much time for a response, for two seconds later, out comes a powerful spray of skunk liquid aimed right for the creature!  (Skunk Blast)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho and Mickeyu manage to pry off one of the large plywood boards covering a window. It&#039;s heavier than it looks though, being hard-packed wood and all. Foxheart flies through the glitch similarly to Kori&#039;s attack. The heat does singe and derez some of its mass along the edges, however Foxheart also gets whipped by a few corrupting tendrils as she passes. Smokie&#039;s attack rips off a chunk of it, but the physical contact with it causes her entire hand to start burning with electrical corruption. The skunk cloud attack appears to have little effect on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts as he grunts, using his size to try to weild it, but doing his best to keep off to the side, as maybe he just needs to swing it and -break- the damn board first, but either way, he would get ready and if mickey helps him, he would try to either swing it himself ot smack it or &#039;clothesline&#039; it with mickey moving on one end and him the other if it was that big, but...well, &amp;quot;STOP GETTING INTO CONTACT WITH IT!&amp;quot; he yells out, &amp;quot;..If thats not obvious enough from watchign whats -happening- when you get in touch with it!&amp;quot; ..at least he is observant....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey oofs softly as the wood finally comes off, and she holds the one side as Ryusho has the other. When she looks between the dragon and the virus, it seems the rat is having the same ideas. And with the window now uncovered..well; &amp;quot;Go! Get inside!&amp;quot; she squeaks out, then braces herself. &amp;quot;Get over here!&amp;quot; If the Virus started to follow, Ryu and her could wall it off in the face..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Foxheart(#27136)]: &amp;quot;There is no room for fear, dragon.&amp;quot; Foxheart growls, and continues her dance with fire, though visibly starting to get winded as she has to focus on dodging any counterattacks to, blades twirling in tandem with her feet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns around after his blast is finished expelling from him...and notices that there&#039;s absolutely no effect.  Unable to hold back a snort he calls out, &amp;quot;Everyone inside, now!  This is not about fear!  Do NOT be a hero!&amp;quot;  He rushes to the aid of whoever needs it and will be the last one in even if it means being the creature&#039;s target&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Sensing movement, the glitch makes a swipe at Foxheart before thrashing towards the fleeing portion of the group. It makes its terrible, confusing noise again as it tries to decide what to do. Those who make it into the electronics can see empty shelves, but a powered on terminal on a table towards the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would stay with mickey, if they kept holding the board, &amp;quot;SHUT UP AND GO INSIDE MAZ!&amp;quot; he calls out, as he shifts, &amp;quot;We can&#039;t try to get in and &#039;block&#039; the way in so it won&#039;t come through with this thing if you are still out here!&amp;quot; at least thats what came to mind for him....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Jus&#039; Go, go!&amp;quot; Mickey edges on those that made the break for it, then looked between Ryu and the others. &amp;quot;Maz just grab her and let&#039;s go.&amp;quot; She keeps a firm grip on her side and tugs to place herself and Ryu at least somewhat infront of the door. Just enough room is left for them to make a break for it, or clothesline the beast; whichever oppertunity reared its ugly head.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie is already inside.  She looks up at the terminal, then back at the opening.  She doesn&#039;t want to touch it.  Whatever that thing did to her hand...  Did it corrupt her data?  Jeez.  Now was she just making herself scared?  She went back to the opening, and stuck her head out.  &amp;quot;Come in, it&#039;s safe!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pushes hirself out of the rubbel, lashing hir tail in irritation at the glitchy thing. Ice sort of worked, fire made most of it vanish, and phsyical contact was outright impossible. This required a distraction. Hir best thought at that time was to utilize a skunk mist to cover hir movements while she ran for the store to get inside. Not a normal mist of skunk spray, but a thick one. Of course the glitch has no nose, but its still a thick chemical cloud. It has eyes, sort of.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: With everyone else inside, Mickey steps into the shop and jams the plywood panel back behind her. Turning to set her back hard against it, she squeaks to Kori; &amp;quot;Help me brace this!&amp;quot; She likely figures Maz could contact Dark, but right now she&#039;s just hoping her lean is enough to buy time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is definitely tempted to be the one who holds the board in place to help the rat, but with the sudden notice that everyone else has just vanished to whereever this place is sending them he moves back to the activated terminal instead and works to operate it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The glitch&#039;s horrible, warbled cries are heard muffled from behind the plywood. However, after a minute or so, the sounds stop and it appear to have given up its pursuit. The terminal blinks on with a beep once Mazurek approaches it and the golden pyramid logo of Giza spins in the center of it as it loads. Moments later, it is replaced with the black silhouette of Darkwyrm again. &amp;quot;Oh, good. You found another. I see you are in the mall district now. Good. Here&#039;s what I&#039;ve found out. TRhe virus has latched itself into the section of the program that makes up the Zephyr Tower portion of the code. From there, it is sending out its tendrils of corrupting code to the rest of the system. You gotta make it in there and destroy it. GOOD NEWS. There is a entrance to the Zephyr tower from this building, through the sewer. Look in the back room. Oh, by the way, try not to make physical contact with any of the corruption, it might do bad stuff. If you do happen to get infected, then you can use these terminals to cleanse it, once per computer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori calls from the doorway shi&#039;s blocking. &amp;quot;Oh NOW you tell us! It has mini avatars walking aorund out here. They look like Chuthlu horrors with lots of eyeballs and lots of teeth! Ice seems to be effective, but fire is not. Tried it myself and it went right through it without slowing it down. .. Plus my back itches like hell from the attempt!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey remains leaned up against the wall for several long moments until she is sure the thing is gone. &amp;quot;Well..good thing we came here then,&amp;quot; she mumbles inbetween a sigh, then straightens up to look around for anything useful. &amp;quot;Might as well use it then,&amp;quot; she chitters to Kori; adding. &amp;quot;I know that way, but it&#039;s collasped in the real world..&amp;quot; Would make sense it would be intact if it was simulation, tho&#039;. &amp;quot;Alright, well, just /how/ do we off it once we get there?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek describes in full detail what happened after the first signal was lost, leaving nothing out at all.  Afterward he asks, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t suppose your headbands malfunctioned in some way?  We only have tree of us left to do this with.  Cerris tried to locate an armory as well, but that turned out to be nothing.&amp;quot;  Turning his attention to Mickey he smiles, &amp;quot;Lead us to it after we clear Kori of her infection.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A clear &amp;quot;DING!&amp;quot;, is heard, and a cool, refreshing mist pours out of the computer, enveloping the party. Any corruption is cleansed, and wounds are healed. &amp;quot;There y&#039;go. Well.. to be honest, I don&#039;t know much about the virus. If you can activate more terminals, I can download more information. I&#039;ll unlock the access door to the sewers. Good luck!&amp;quot; And with that, the terminal blinks off. A metallic clink is heard from the room behind the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks at the odd mist and the back of the store. The itches in hir back are gone now and that thing outside is as well. This was a good time to get to the back of the store and look for that door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey doesn&#039;t appear to see anything worth taking along, and after taking a heady breath of the mist she relaxes, regains her cool, then nods. &amp;quot;Righto,&amp;quot; she whistles as she leads the way to the door, then the path to the sewers past that. &amp;quot;I really hope it didn&#039;t start growing down as well as out..I should be able to lead us there, still.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek finds his attention attracted toward the metallic noise right behind him after the contact is terminated.  Even so he doesn&#039;t move toward it until their resident rat starts leading the way, &amp;quot;Just how much knowledge do you gain by being a Mall Rat, anyway?  I never noticed anything out of the ordinary, really.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Opening the door reveals a metal staircase leading down into darkness. A mysterious fog seems to seep out of this hole in the earth. Not unexpectedly, a funky smell also emanates from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb down the stairs, holding up an ignited hand as a light source. Hir nose wrinkles at the odor, though there shouldn&#039;t be any smells in a virtual environment. &amp;quot;Alright, any idea what the mist is? The smell makes only a little sense...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Well, as I understand, once you&#039;re a rat, you get drawn here if you&#039;re not already. Also see things..&amp;quot; Mickey stops at the top of the stairs, furrows her brow and wrinkles her nose, then starts her way down; her eyes also help light the way. &amp;quot;Differently. Shinier. Rod requires us to know the sewers, and always be aware, for those that chill there. Something about his previous gig having something evil that corrupted rats down there. This mist..dunno. Could just be the virus?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek follows the two down without a word or action of dissent.  He does give the two below him quite the view of his privates in the process, given he never wears a thing, &amp;quot;That sounds very intriguing.  I don&#039;t think it&#039;s the virus causing the mist.  If the smell is to be believed, it&#039;s the sewer itself.  Still, we&#039;ve all been in a lot of worse environments.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has been..strangely quiet, though he -did- comment, and didn&#039;t seem to be heard about the corruption thing with an &#039;well -obviously- we shouldn’t touch it, it is a -virus- that corrupts what it touches,  he assumed that before now...especially from what was seen before we were warned, but he was wondering why he was not being noticed, though that might be noticed when he may seem to almost spaz and pop beside where mazurek is after saying a -bunch- of stuff at high speed, before he shakes himself off and looks around blinking, &amp;quot;Holy -crap- what the heck was that? ...&amp;quot; ...okay, so maybe he had a bit of a &#039;lag spike&#039; or something but..well he is back in sync with the group by now!&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase ends and the group finds themselves on the edge of a sewer. A long and wide walkway extends in two directions on the edge of a slow-flowing and shallow stream of mud and muck. The fog permeates the area, limiting vision to about ten feet. There is very little sound, save for the distant dripping of water and the subtle sounds of flow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori turns to look up at Maz, ignoring the dangling junk. More than half of &#039;modern&#039; scociety in the state wanders around naked or half naked anyway. Nudist civilization. &amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t explain why we&#039;re perceiving smells down here. We&#039;ve got a split path here. Shall we go to the left?&amp;quot; Shi keeps walking, thinking that left is south in this case and south is where Zephyr is.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;That way,&amp;quot; Mickey says after sweeping her eyes to the left, sees Kori already seems to know, then chuckles as she glances back to see...whoa, did Ryu just teleport several feet down the stairs? &amp;quot;Dude, check your ping,&amp;quot; she chitters as she looks to the right, then starts the walk after Kori. &amp;quot;Watch the water..ya&#039;never know,&amp;quot; she mutters as she steps carefully forward.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks up the moment he sees movement above him, blinking a bit upon seeing just who has rejoined them.  He is about to say something but Mickey beats him to the punch, &amp;quot;And here I thought you were amongst those who was lost to us.&amp;quot;  He proceeds to follow Mickey, &amp;quot;I&#039;m nowhere near as good as Mickey at directions.  I&#039;ll follow him whereever.  Also, Ryu and I don&#039;t need to breathe if it gets down to it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods slowly as he then shakes hismelf out, &amp;quot;Sorry if...&amp;quot; he says then shakes himself out, and then mrphs, &amp;quot;Huge....fricking lag spike it seems..&amp;quot; He laughs...and shrugs&lt;br /&gt;
spoof The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tunnel continues for some time, but the party eventually comes to a T-junction, preventing them from proceeding any further in that direction. Another &amp;quot;Left or Right&amp;quot; decision is upon them it seems. On top of that.. a shuffling sound comes from far behind where the party had just come form. Nothing can be made out in the darkness and fog, but a feeling of danger washes over everyone&#039;s senses.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to the right, recalling the basements of Zephyr and the access tunnels. &amp;quot;That way.&amp;quot; Shi turns then and points to Ryu and Maz. &amp;quot;You two keep watch to our six o&#039;clock flank. I heard that noise just as everyone else. Its sneaking up on us.&amp;quot; And to the right shi goes!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Yeah, seems to be a pretty common nanite effect,&amp;quot; Mickey muses as she scans the wall before her, the looks to the right when Kori moves on ahead. &amp;quot;If we&#039;re right, eventually we&#039;ll start seeing the main water pipe. We can follow it right to the base..&amp;quot; she stops, then looks back. &amp;quot;You heard something?&amp;quot; She tries to squint to narrow and strengthen her eyebeams; the rat acting as spotlight for the reptiles.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks back just like everyone else after the sounds echo through the sewer tunnel.  While he can&#039;t exactly see very well in the mist he can hear just fine.  Still, he follows the direction Mickey goes, trusting completely in the rat, &amp;quot;Well, we know we can&#039;t beat whatever it is supposed to be.  Let&#039;s just continue and let it think it is herding us.  We have places to be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey&#039;s eyebeams, if anything, make the fog worse. The light refracts off the thick haze, making it even more difficult to see through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he shifts slightly and cringes at the light, &amp;quot;Well, Lets just..Just head what directino you want to go..or think we should go, then we ..can head that way, I don&#039;t know where we hsould head, just..that we should keep moving I think because I don&#039;t like what sounds like it is behind us.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party continues to the right. The sound of the pursuer behind them seems to keep up, keeping that sense of looming danger with it. The walls seems to look newer as you continue, as Mickey does eventually spot a large pipe following the ceiling.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori points to hir large lion ears as shi follows the path. &amp;quot;Yes I did. These aren&#039;t just for show.&amp;quot; Hir flaming hand remains out in front, the illumination being of little help in the mist beyond the ten foot radius. &amp;quot;If I remember the Zephyr blueprints right, the water pipe should be above us soon. And then just follow it to the access ladder.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey has already pointed upwards to the pipes. &amp;quot;Come along now. Pick up the pace. No need to linger,&amp;quot; she whistles, sounding as casual as she can be, as she shifts from a brisk walk to a slight jog. &amp;quot;Getting stuffy down here anyway.&amp;quot; She hides the fear well; not so much the bristling in her fur and feathers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not show any fear on the outside at all.  In fact he is acting as if nothing out of the ordinary is even happening.  Perhaps he is getting overconfident that the group is going to be able to succeed?  Either way, when the pace picks up he begins to take larger strides, keeping up with their rodent friend and all.  He does NOT pick him up this time around, for it would not exactly be the right moment.&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly as he walks alongside, though he mrphs, &amp;quot;I still wish we could of gotten something to help with fighting the virus, but I guess they don&#039;t have enough data yet...but I still dislike how it feels down here right now..&amp;quot; he mumbles as he walks along with them, glancing back every now and again but overall staying near where mazurek is in the group&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Finally, they reach a dead end. There are numerous drainage pipes along this segment of wall, along with a single metal ladder leading straight up. There is no light coming from above.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori starts to climb the ladder. In order to avoid heating it to skin-burning temperatures, shi had to put hir fire out. &amp;quot;Okay, be careful. The building&#039;s likely corrupted since the lights are out. We know ice stalls the cuppruptions so if you got it, use it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey skids to a stop. &amp;quot;Weird..&amp;quot; weren&#039;t there supposed to be stairs? Since she wasn&#039;t allowed in the lower levels of Zephyr anyway, she wouldn&#039;t know. &amp;quot;Right, right, just get on up there quickly, would ya?&amp;quot; She&#039;s second on up, but she&#039;s a quick scamper and is forced to wait behind Kori. It&#039;s a nice view..until she realizes she&#039;s got the same. &amp;quot;C&#039;mon guys,&amp;quot; she squeaks, looking back as she climbs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek actually chooses to go up last, coaxing Ryusho to go up ahead of him....if only because he might be interested in gazing at the dragon&#039;s junk.  In fact he does it so he can try to catch a glimpse of their persuer.  Not like he&#039;s going to be able to do anything with it, but...it&#039;s the sight that counts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho does walk infront of him as he rumbles softly, though even as he walks he doesn&#039;t seem to mind if maz spends his time enjoying the sway of the dragons four huge orbs as he walks, though quite used to the weight even though he pprobably could really hurt someone if he got a bit of momentum with those in the right way as he mrphs, climbing up carefully as well.....but it is a decently nice view climbing up too!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: THe only thing MAzurek can see as he makes his way up the ladder is a dark cloud of shadows enveloping the tunnel. The sensation of fear and forboding increases exponentially as it draws nearer. Those who make it up the ladder find themselves in a replica of the Zephyr basement.&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Lukas has connected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori rolls off the ladder and onto the floor. Shi expects the basement to still be dark as before, so some new lighting is needed. And to be honest shi didn&#039;t give a rat&#039;s ass (no pun intended) if people could see hi intersex junk, there were more important matters to deal with. &amp;quot;Double time people. Can&#039;t let that thing catch up with us. Once we get up, close the damned lid and freeze it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;You got something to do that with?&amp;quot; Mickey chirps after pulling herself up and out, then turns around to offer a hand to Ryu and haul him up. &amp;quot;Theeeere we go big guy,&amp;quot; she chitters, then dangles a thin arm back down for their final party member. It was almost comical, she thinking she could help him up. But it was the thought! &amp;quot;I gotta give it to your guy, this is a workout..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek gets a chill in his body from witnessing whatever it is that is hunting them.  In fact he almost falters in his climb to just stare and watch it advance.  Mickey&#039;s voice actually helps him come back to reality and he climbs up as quickly as possible, &amp;quot;Whatever it is...just reminds me of a game I once played before the nanites infected everything.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Mrphs lookign back at Maz, &amp;quot;Well at least ......Lets just try to get this over with..I don&#039;t want to be here either and I hate how this feels..&amp;quot; he says quietly, shuddering a bit as he glances back down there, but he smiles and looks at the others, &amp;quot;...At least I know I will be glad when we get out&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori becomes a little huffy. &amp;quot;Ice shards. I know someone has those. Because fire sure as hell won&#039;t work.&amp;quot; You know what, nevermind. Shi&#039;ll light up the room and get hir ass moving for the stairwell. Elevators are a no-no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey perks her ears, and shivers as she sees just how solid that darkness really was from up here. &amp;quot;Really? Which?&amp;quot; She chitters as she &#039;helps&#039; haul the Komodo up, then quickly close the latch behind them. &amp;quot;So..what exactly are we looking for, anyway?&amp;quot; she asks after standing and brushing herself off, then follows. &amp;quot;Or ya think we&#039;ll know when we see it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since I&#039;ve played it.  I don&#039;t recall what it was called.  Basically it had a giant wall of shadow approaching you while you tried to save several allies.&amp;quot;  He shrugs and looks around with the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly in thought as he he glances around, &amp;quot;Well, this doesn&#039;t sound similar at all..&amp;quot; he sighs, and squirms, &amp;quot;Hopefully we won&#039;t have to try to escape like that...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...as he rubs the back of his head, &amp;quot;Well now...lets see.....so we need..to find the virus now and..destroy it sometime..?&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: A staircase leading up to where the lobby should be can be spotted on the opposite side of the room where it would normally be.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori proceeds across the room at a quick jog. Jiggle tits, jiggle tits. Ignore the kiggly tits. &amp;quot;They got the internal layout wrong. The stairs are on the wrong side of the room. Hup! C&#039;mon, let&#039;s go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey grunts as she brushes herself off and shuffles her wings. &amp;quot;Really?&amp;quot; She squeaks as she follows along up the stairs. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t think the whole building is like that, do you? I mean, this isn&#039;t real. We can&#039;t get trapped on a neverending staircase can we?&amp;quot; She looks back to the reptiles. &amp;quot;Like..are we actually /climbing/..?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shrugs while following up the stairs, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think I&#039;ve ever been this far down so I have no idea.  Anything that might be below the Triage center is unknown to me.&amp;quot;  He climbs behind the group, still taking up the rear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly walks apparently just infront of maz, so he continues getting a wonderful view, but ryusho mrphs, &amp;quot;I remember a game with a never ending staircase, but it was only untill you got enough stars or..something that it would do that, then it would turn to a normal staircase, I remember I ran up it ten minutes randomly for no reasonk because the instant you turn around after trying to run up it like that your righ tback at the very start of the stairs....no matter how far you went up...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: When the party reaches the first floor and what should be the lobby, something very different and very unusual is what awaits them. A vast expanse of blackness extends as far as you can see downward where the floor should be. Laws of physics and space are defied as the top of the stairs abruptly ends. There does not sppear to be a ceiling or walls to this room. In this expanse are a series of platforms that lead to the other side where another staircase can be seen. Some of the platforms are slowly moving back and forth, or rotating.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops dead at the top of the stairs. So sudden in fact that everyone else could collide with hir back if they weren&#039;t careful. &amp;quot;...&amp;quot; There&#039;s a long pause of ten to fifteen seconds before hir ears flatten. &amp;quot;FFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!&amp;quot; Shi clearly hates platform games.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey nearly bumps into Kori, but stops herself with a hand on her back. &amp;quot;What is it?&amp;quot; She squeaks, then looks past her. &amp;quot;Oh you gotta..&amp;quot; Instinctively she unfurls her wings, then slowly puts them away. She never had her previous question about flight answered, and that looked like a long way down to nothing to risk any sort of actual test. &amp;quot;So we&#039;re jumping then. Awesome&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as maz bumps into him, and of course that makes him &#039;slosh&#039; as he shifts a bit, as he glances around slowly, &amp;quot;Well, Lets see..&amp;quot; he says softly, ..as he rubs his head, &amp;quot;Part of me wants to take a wild guess, a nd assume it is...just like..-everything- is colored the exact same shade of black, so you can&#039;t see the difference between walls, ceiling and floor.....it just looks like it is..all a bunch of nothing but is actually there...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;..but I don&#039;t want to test that realy...&amp;quot; he says quietly&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The nearest platform is static, and just a short jump away from the top of the stairs. The next is a little further, and slowly moves back and forth. The third platform is a staircase block which must be ascended before leaping down to a thin, long rotating platform. This must be crossed before it turns too much and tips anyone on top of it off. After that there&#039;s a ledge on which the exit staircase lies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori growls at the platforms, even HISSING at them. Hir first actual test of the room was to fling a fireball at the blackness under hir toes (since shi is at the very edge of the staircase) and watch it fly down and down and further down until it vanishes into the darkness. &amp;quot;Fucking bottomless fuckpit. Fuckity fuck shit damn fuck!&amp;quot; This takes a moment before shi calms down enough to make the first hop to the nearest platform. &amp;quot;I. Hate. Platform. Games. This has to be the obstacle course part.&amp;quot; And then the next platform. Yeah, harder since its moving and a bit further out. Can&#039;t all pile up on one of those platforms. Has to be single file.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey whines. &amp;quot;One at a time?&amp;quot; She mutters, mostly worried about the more narrowed one. &amp;quot;Then what, one slip up then what, game over? After all that?&amp;quot; She rubs her head. &amp;quot;Fricken..not like our lives and minds are on the line here. Any volunteers?&amp;quot; She asks as she keeps peeking over the edge. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hears something about platforming games and gets an inkling of what is going on even as he reaches up to idly fondle the shadow dragon, &amp;quot;Sounds like it&#039;s going to be fun.  We are supposedly in a game, after all.  Come on, what do we have to lose?  It could be one of those sorts where if you fall you do it all again.&amp;quot;  Someone actually sounds eager.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shivers a bit as he gurgles a bit at the fondle, well, -part- of him does anyway, and gets slightly heavier as he looks to mazurek, &amp;quot;...Please, lets not make this any harder for me then it might be, I don&#039;t know if I can even use my wings to aid in the jumps..&amp;quot; he shifts, &amp;quot;And..well it could be, but it could be like....one of those cruel games you could play where you have -one- chance and thats it....but...hopefully it is what you said..not what I said..&amp;quot; he says as he shifts and does his best to begin working behind the others, Leaping to the first plaftorm when it is clear, and then to the next when possible as well...making his way carefully but making sure to keep it -one at a time- so to speak, waiting on the safe platforms obviously&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots aside to make room on the platform. Space is a premium so shi started feeling crowded before long. &amp;quot;Please don&#039;t talk about falling. I don&#039;t want to think about it. I&#039;m too unnerved as things are.&amp;quot; Hir legs bend as shi waits for the right moment to jump, muscles tensing. It wasn&#039;t long before shi made the attempt to leap for the next platform. Someone better have a rope to help if shi misses. Wait..they don&#039;t have ropes. Crap.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori lands safely on the staircase platform.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is third up this time around, and after a brief stretch of her legs she takes a step back. &amp;quot;Seeya on the other side, then,&amp;quot; she mutters to Maz, blows a kiss, then takes the first little leap. Kori goes right on ahead; Mickey waits first for Ryu to perform the more tricky jump and makes sure he sticks it before going herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek waits for the dragon ahead of him to go, so he can study the platforms with as much detail as he can.  He rubs his muzzle just before he leaps onto the first platform to join Mickey.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb restroom&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grunts as he would land on the first platform and then the second with some difficulty as he was trying to progress, keeping up to not fall behind, but he knows he is going to dread the third and fourth jumps..that he is going to have to actually take, though he may let the more nimble or sure go first, unless they would rather he step ahead..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: The winged rat is far from nimble, but at least her time picking through the city help only somewhat with balance. She joins Ryu on the moving platform, flashes him the same kiss for good luck, then makes the third, then last jump in quick succession.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori waits for a moment to get hir wits back about hir. The final jump is the hardest, and it seems that with no solid ground nearby, shi seems to be aquiring a fear of heights. Just don&#039;t look down. don&#039;t look down. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. &amp;quot;When we get out of this one I am going to Sock Darkwyrm for this. Virus be damned, these platforms were deliberate.&amp;quot; One breath, two breaths, three breaths and JUMP!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smirks but does not comment.  Instead he makes his turns at the leaping.  He works to time it just right to get to the second platform...only to try and leap instantly to get to the staircase-block.  Komodo Leap, go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would grit his teteth slightly, though Mickey may not see it, ...he might of needed that lucky kiss at a better time, because as he gets himself ready for the third jump he waits, and waits, and gets his timing he watched the others, he is certian he can do it, as he leaps, high and ..using his wings he spreads them to try to make the distance, his toe claws staring to touch though he realises,, he is not far enough as they slip off, and his wings slip, making him scrabble to grab, &amp;quot;ShitSHITSHIT!!&amp;quot; ...and completely fails to stop himself from falling....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho manages to completely miss the jump as the platform moves away from where he was jumping to. He falls into the murky blackness...   ....    .... and then reappears falling from the ceiling, landing hard on another small platform that had just materialized next to the staircase.&lt;br /&gt;
tell ryusho Any injuries you sustained from the fall are up to you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori lands on the platform with a loud thump. Hir large mass started to tip the platform, proving there wasn&#039;t any ground underneath them more visibly. Shi did not stick around to let that platform finish tipping before making a mad dash to the other staircase where shi skids to a halt to wait for the others. And Ryu ends up missing completely only to fall from the sky and smack into a new platform. That looked damn painful.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey lands her jump, turns and squeaks out a note of surprise, then just..stares when Ryu reappears. &amp;quot;Oh well..huh.&amp;quot; She shrugs, and with a bit more ease and less stress she goes for the final jump and lands it. Woo. Awesome. Who needs athletics.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek lands with notable grace on the staircase platform and looks behind just in time to see the dragon miss the platform.  He peers off the side to watch him fall only to squeak upon the dragon landing rather close by.  He can&#039;t help but giggle and rub the dragon&#039;s head, &amp;quot;See?  It wasn&#039;t so bad.  Now to finish this game!&amp;quot;  Onward he goes, studying the rotating platform and finally leaping when he senses the time is right!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would...of probably wanted to bite maz&#039;s hand off as he apparently didn&#039;t hear the -CRACK- as he hit the platform..since he had not expected that and..well had found himself falling -backwards- ...though he lies there gritting his teeth...and saying enough curse words that heck, the -game- bleeps him out...from how bad he is cursing, ...even -if- it has a virus thats pretty bad...as he slowly gets to his feet and well...it is easily visble what is the problem, ..the right wing is not going to be of any more use durring this challenge...at least untill the nanites get a chance to fix it back up....if he decides to wait there, but he does slowly scoot to try to at least look at the next jump, still mumbling curses under his breath..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s senses were off! He makes the jump, but as he scrambles to get up after landing, he doesn&#039;t have enough time to make it across the long platform! It rotates too much, and Maz slips right off the side and plummets into the darkness, only to land on the spot Ryu had just recovered from with a loud smash.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho curls his neck to look at maz..and rather snidely spits out, &amp;quot;Awwww, IT&#039;s not so bad MY ASS&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;...serves your smart mouth right..&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori winces, several times. Pain is real in here. So noted. &amp;quot;In case you haven&#039;t forgotten, that thing is still following us. Brush it off and get moving. I don&#039;t like playing leader.&amp;quot; UPSTAIRS! Go!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Ouch..looked like that stung,&amp;quot; Mickey mutters; she had taken a seat along empty space to sit and rest. Hard not to giggle, but still. &amp;quot;You two gonna join us?&amp;quot; She waves over. It&#039;s meant to be in good-natured jest, but the rat has an annoyance in her tone that directed at their puzzling situation. It&#039;s clear, she&#039;s getting sick of the digital world. It was a shroom trip with no anchor, and she wants off the ride already. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s go bust us a virus.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: He had miscalculated.  The Komodo thought he had the timing just right, but there was something amiss.  Something about the platform just wasn&#039;t right!  It isn&#039;t until he steps in it that he realizes what it was and it causes him to lose his footing.  There&#039;s a wet spot on that thing!  He squeals a bit when he begins to fall, only to try and level himself out a bit so he can land on his back.  What he was not expecting was the sudden 180 that happens when he appears from the ceiling.  Instead of landing on his back like he wanted, he instead crashes to the platform front first!  His head struck hard enough on the platform that those watching can see some blood fly after the impact.  He is slow to get to his feet after that, spitting out several teeth while he is doing so.  He&#039;s developed a bloody nose to boot, streaming down his snout.  This has not daunted him in the slightest and he tries again after several seconds pass, getting his head cleared up as much as possible in that short time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho grits his teeth as he looks at the new, or next jump before he leaps, almost closing his eyes, but then landing on it as he scrambles wildly, almost slipping on that wet spot but keeping his footing as he makes a wild scrambling run to get to safety and hold his sore wing to begin coaxing the nanites to begin working at fixing it back up...if he can&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek does not wait so long this time around on that platform.  He is hurting yet tries his best to not show it to the others even though there&#039;s some notable light gasping to his breath.  He makes it with flying colors this second time, and he actually begins to stumble up the stairs without waiting for the others.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The staircase that everyone has now reached seems to lead up into nothingness.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stops at the top of the stairs, huffing angrily and from sprinting too much. &amp;quot;Goddamnit. Enough with the pits of nothingness already!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek somehow manages to get ahead of the dragon and even the rat after making it to the stairs.  He groans and works his way upstairs while wiping his bloody snout, spitting out more teeth along the way.  Hopefully he&#039;ll have them again after the virus is taken care of.  Near the top of the stairs he peers over, around, or however he can at the next room, &amp;quot;Empty space.  Do we jump in and see what we find?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s ears droop. &amp;quot;Really? Nothing?&amp;quot; she tries to peek around, then rests a hand on Maz&#039;s lowest arm. &amp;quot;You&#039;re hurt. If anyone&#039;s gonna jump, it&#039;s gonna be someone who hasn&#039;t already plunged,&amp;quot; she chitters with a furrow of her brow. &amp;quot;If this wasn&#039;t all fake I&#039;d offer you a drink, but didn&#039;t Dark say we could heal at those machines? Wonder where one would be.&amp;quot; In the darkness? Peeking over the edge, the rat hawks a loogie down. It was just a lame excuse to spit, maybe, in frustration.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As Mickey nears the top of the steps, she appears to the rest of the party to disappear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori staps away from the edge of the stairs. &amp;quot;Oh hell no. Not taking a fall. Flying is one thing, falling is another.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;s very tempted to push Mickey off the edge, but that would be very unfriendly. Like a Portal2 situation of shoving one&#039;s teammate into a pit to see what happens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was actually watching Mickey at the time she had disappeared, about ready to respond.  His mouth is open and he utters a single syllable..only to go silent once more.  He steps further up the stairs to see what happens when he, too, steps into that particular spot Mickey was in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: It comes as a surprise to Mickey when she sudden hears a wet splat, blinks, and looks around. &amp;quot;Wait..huh?&amp;quot; She could of swore.. &amp;quot;I think you gotta get your eyes checked..guys?&amp;quot; She looks behind her, then frowns. &amp;quot;Was..that a loading screen?&amp;quot; Or did she just glitch out? She steps back and waits; hopefully it wasn&#039;t just a one-frame event.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The party can hear Mickey&#039;s voice coming from the top of the stairs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori squints, dumbfounded, at the top of the stairs. &amp;quot;What the hell? I can hear you, but I can&#039;t see you.&amp;quot; Shi shoves Maz further up then where he stopped. &amp;quot;Go on, find out what&#039;s going on here.&amp;quot; Shi&#039;ll follow.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc brb nature&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek already intended to go further, and the shove makes him stumble a bit.  He continues upward as far as he can, even dropping to all sixes to be alerted to any sort of pitfalls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey squeaks, &amp;quot;C&#039;mon up. It looks like another safe area.&amp;quot; I mean, it&#039;s obviously Mickey, right? Sounds just like her. Not quite wishing to touch anything, the rat sorta looks around, eyes the terminal, and chills up against the wall with a simple cross of her arms. Out pops a smoke..yup. Even in the middle of a virus manhunt between sanity and insanity, a rat&#039;s gotta chill.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: As son as anyone else reaches the top of the stairs, they suddenly find themselves inside a small room. Here there is a bench for sitting, and a computer terminal with the Giza pyramid logo spinning on the screen.  Another set of stairs leading up is on the opposite side.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori goes right to the terminal, now quite angry at Dark&#039;s choice of...obstacles. Tappity Tappity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek looks around after he makes it to the next room and just stares at Mickey while he&#039;s lighting up.  Snorting, he shakes his head and follows Kori to the terminal and waits with crossed arms nearby.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: There&#039;s a faint cough as Mickey clears her throat. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t forget to ask for a pickmeup,&amp;quot; she chitters, then blows a few tight smoke rings. It likely doesn&#039;t even have an effect on her mentally, being questionably real; but hell, she couldn&#039;t do that in the real world. Now she could say she did, she nods happily before waving the rings away. &amp;quot;Hopefully this is the last of it. Riddle: Just how do you purge a Virus while inside a program?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho had been stalled at the bottom of those stairs a bit longer then others as he was tending upon his wing as he made his way up and looks around, though only partly as he mrphs, &amp;quot;..Weird..Loading screens...&amp;quot; he asys softly, &amp;quot;Well..loading zones..or something..whatever..&amp;quot; he says softly, as he looks around and makes his way over to everyone&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The screen blinks on and Dark&#039;s silhouette appears. &amp;quot;Hello.&amp;quot;, he says. &amp;quot;How is everyone faring?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares at the monitor. The first words being &amp;quot;I AM NOT MOTHERFUCKING MARIO!&amp;quot; &amp;gt;___&amp;lt; &amp;quot;No. More. jumping. Puzzles.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek rests one claw on Kori&#039;s closest shoulder, &amp;quot;Shouting at the one we are working for to clear this is not going to help matters.  Keep in mind that we are in an infected zone and it shouldn&#039;t be his fault?&amp;quot;  He huffs and turns his head to one side to spit out yet another tooth, &amp;quot;It doesn&#039;t look like our nanites are helping us heal this time around.  Ryusho and I ended up failing hard on the jumping platform puzzle &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori&#039;s yelling at you about.  I lost teeth and got a bloody nose and Ryusho broke a wing.  We are not infected this time, so hopefully we can save this terminal&#039;s healing power?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Somewhere on the muck, Isis has disconnected.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey tips her hat when Ryu appears, saying; &amp;quot;Yeah, good thing we didn&#039;t run into ugly on the way up.&amp;quot; Letting the others get the four-one-one from dark, Mickey wanders nonchalantly towards the other stairs to peer upwards and try to peek at their next destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stares over at Kori, &amp;quot;.Do you even THINK that it is POSSIBLE that the puzzle is -NOT- something Dark made but something the Virus may of caused?&amp;quot; He says with a roll of his eyes, &lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Yeah.. what Ryu said there, Kori.&amp;quot;, Dark chuckles. &amp;quot;I don&#039;t exactly have control over what defenses the virus enacts around itself. Anyway, healing? Yeah. I can do that.&amp;quot; The tak-takking of keys is failntly heard before the computer terminal fills the small room with a blue mist, fully healing and refreshing everyone. &amp;quot;You&#039;re getting close to the vorus hub.. which means security&#039;s gonna be tight.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori murrs, &amp;quot;You call jumping platforms like a mario game the virus&#039; idea of defense? I don&#039;t. Its acting self aware for crying out loud in this sense.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek sighs, &amp;quot;I didn&#039;t...ask for the healing power to be used for the terminal, but I guess being at peak efficiency is best.&amp;quot;  He removes his hand from Kori&#039;s shoulder after a brief squeeze, &amp;quot;Any ideas what we might be able to do to get rid of this thing, or even the shadow monstrosity that seems to be chasing us?  We know ice works to a point, but we no longer have that capability.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey gives a slight roll of her eyes, then pinches her tonguetip to wet her fingers. The talk of Mario just brings up distracting nostalgia, and she imagines a version of the simulation just across rooftops. Be good training.. &amp;quot;Hmph, I wonder what this would be like if it was actually, you know. Cleaned up and well.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho nods a bit with mazurek, &amp;quot;I was going to ask if it was possible to help us as in..I don&#039;t think much that we actually have acess too -can- hurt the virus...phsycial contact won&#039;t and wil hurt us, fire and stuf seems to do minimal to nothing...&amp;quot; he shrugs slightly, then looks aorund, &amp;quot;..So I am not sure what to do...&amp;quot; ...he shifts his stance as he thinks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;Well, my best advice is to look around the hub carefully once you get there. I&#039;m sure the virus has a weak point somewhere that you can exploit.&amp;quot;, Darkwyrm says. &amp;quot;If you can destroy the core, the whole thing will deresolve.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori humphs. &amp;quot;And how do we do that? Physical contact doesn&#039;t work. Ice impedes but doesn&#039;t really hurt it. Fire totally doesn&#039;t hurt it though it does make the impacted parts of it de-res.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods, &amp;quot;Then it will need to be fire that we use to open its weak spots, and then someone goes in and pummels it for as long as possible.  I will need to do the latter while someone needs to flame it to death.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Strange,&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she pinches out her smokeable with a sizzling hiss. &amp;quot;Typically in computers it words the other way. Firewalls impede, and I&#039;m sure I heard security programs being called ICE before.&amp;quot; She tugs on her whiskers, suddenly lost in her own tangent. &amp;quot;Still, we won&#039;t know just what we&#039;ll be able to do till we actually see what we&#039;re up against.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blinks and looks at Kori, &amp;quot;..That swhat I just said...&amp;quot; he said softly, with a sigh, as he rumbles a bit, &amp;quot;I suppose I could burn it for impacted spots as needed....at least help since I don&#039;t need to get in direct onctact....&amp;quot; he says quietly...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The silhauette of the jackal can be seen poking his head with an index finger. &amp;quot;Use your brains. I cannot pull up a map or information about the hub, so you&#039;ll need to play it by ear.&amp;quot;, he says.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back at Ryu. &amp;quot;Notice he ignored those points both times we brought them up? Unless you have an ice gun. All I got nhere is my crowssbow and fire, some milk based weapons,&amp;quot; cue six-pack breast wiggle, &amp;quot;and a skunk spray. Sure I have physical attacks but we all know how well those work.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek nods slowly, &amp;quot;Alright.  We can&#039;t get any further with the questioning as we stand.  Oh, you had said that you&#039;d be able to do something, or see something, with each terminal we use.  I take it nothing like that will help?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t expect a true answer, so he heads over to the stairs leading up, but does not yet ascend.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey blinks, then glances back to the terminal. &amp;quot;Why? Has it changed that much from whatever you designed it as?&amp;quot; Crap. That means more jumping. Or..shudder, stealth. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s just, ya&#039;know, make sure there&#039;s not a big red button that&#039;s labeled &#039;PURGE&#039; first, then see where we go from there.&amp;quot; She&#039;s voting for wires. She could damn well use a good wirechew right now. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shrugs a bit as hmrphs softy, shrugging a bit, &amp;quot;Well...I guess we will just do what we can...&amp;quot; he says softly rubbing his head a bit&lt;br /&gt;
spoof &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: &amp;quot;I told you about the hub, didn&#039;t I?&amp;quot;, Dark says with a shrugging gesture. The next room should be your final challenge before you reach the hub. Good luck.&amp;quot; The screen blinks off.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori sighs and facepalms. &amp;quot;Right. So no weapons, no antivirus thingie. Just &#039;there is a hub go find it go kill it&#039;. Kill it with what? Fire plus fire is still fire.&amp;quot; Ugh. Fine. Move on, walk and find the exit. &amp;quot;This is going to suck. Milk and crossbow are the only things I have left. What about you three?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek responds before he heads up the stairs, &amp;quot;I am pure physical combat with only a couple of ranged attacks.&amp;quot;  he gets a thoughtful expression and peers down at whoever is immediately behind him, &amp;quot;I&#039;ve never tried the Sharpshooter power without anything physical.  Think I could use my dicks for that?&amp;quot;  Yes, he went there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Feels like a neverending staircase,&amp;quot; mumbles Mickey as she waits to pick up the end of the line. It&#039;s amazing how quickly her mood went from faux high to sulk, but the reminder of yet another room just..well, irks her. &amp;quot;I can blink quickly, maybe sieze it out,&amp;quot; she chitters sourly. Didn&#039;t have anything before, she didn&#039;t have much else now. Please be wires..please..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly turns his head and gives mazurek a look, &amp;quot;If that was possible, I would say that you might have rifles, but I have a cannon.&amp;quot; H esays after a moment...with a shake of his head, laughing quietly...as he walks towards the stairs with the others to head up with them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and the party finds themselves in a large, dim office floor. Tendrils of virus corruption are penetrating through the ceiling and floor in some places. A major eye-catcher is a bright red EXIT sign on the opposite side of the room. However, to get ot it, it seems like our asventurers must first pass through this floor which appears to be guarded by shifting sentry lights and laser sensors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori heaves a large sigh. &amp;quot;This...is not going to be a good day. Anyone have a smoke grenade?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek shakes his head, &amp;quot;No grenades for me.&amp;quot;  He moves in a few feet and studies the lasers and sentry lights, &amp;quot;However, this should be fairly easy.  Do not cross through the lights and you won&#039;t get lasered.  Ryu and I are both black, so that MIGHT help us out.&amp;quot;  He searches for a rock, or other object close by, and sees what happens when he tosses it into the nearest light.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Son of a..&amp;quot; Damnit! Mickey smacks her hand on her face. Stealth. Rockin&#039;. At least she left the shiny swag at home. A glance is given to the other members of their party. &amp;quot;Nope. And no giant box either.&amp;quot; She looks back to the sentries, then cracks her knuckles. Alright, shit&#039;s getting real. &amp;quot;Lettme go first. Don&#039;t wanna be speciest, but--&amp;quot; She stops, then watches Maz toss the rock. In the pit of her stomach, she couldn&#039;t help but feel like she&#039;d next expect a klaxon to start blaring.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori, &amp;quot;Wouldn&#039;t the smoke be thick enough to set -off- the lasers anyway...?&amp;quot; he asys with a quirked brow... though he sits there fore a moment before he then adds, &amp;quot;All this needs now is the Metal Gear Solid sneaking theme...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he glances around, &amp;quot;...not to mention be dressed in a dark grey tight fitting body suit, and a nice head bandanna....&amp;quot; he adds with a chuckle to himself......Then looks to mickey, &amp;quot;Exactly, we need a giant box to crawl in, then just freeze when a light comes nearby...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The rock clacks as it hits and bounces off the floor a few times and passes through the light. Immiediately, a warped tentacle of corruption slices through the ceiling and destroys that segment of floor, leaving a glitching hole sparking with black lightning in the program.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek hops backward in complete surprise, definitely NOT having expected the appearance of one of the ceiling tentacles!  He settles to one knee and leans forward to rest one hand on the ground, looking about ready to dash in, &amp;quot;Well, I guess being hit by lasers is not our worry today.&amp;quot;  He studies the lights a little more, looking to see if they are moving or if they are actually stationary.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey twitches. Ok, it wasn&#039;t an alarm. Buut. &amp;quot;Ma..maybe..&amp;quot; wait, no goddamnit. Can&#039;t pussy out. &amp;quot;Ri-right. Well.&amp;quot; She clears her throat and eyes the shifting safe spots carefully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll try to take the largest way through for ya guys.&amp;quot; And before she allows the others a chance to stop her she&#039;s off; doing what rats do best. Scurry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs softly, &amp;quot;..Why is it that challenges keep appearing, that I literally have no skills that would help me in such situations...&amp;quot; he says quietly with a sigh...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mickey nimbly moves through a series of lights and hops over and ducks under a few lasers, deftly making it to the exit sign on the other side of the floor.&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey would totally boogie down if it wasn&#039;t completely uncalled for. Instead she breathes a sigh of relief, makes sure she didn&#039;t drop her hat along the way, then looks around to wave along the others. &amp;quot;Keep moving. Stay in one place too long and they&#039;ll sweep ya.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori examines the tentacle and the destroyed part of the floor. &amp;quot;First guess, de-res the tentacle if it shows up. Second guess, dart through like a rocket and pray.&amp;quot;  Shi watches Mickey dip and dance around the traps, feeling kind of flustered by the display. It didn&#039;t trip a tentacle, so that&#039;s good. And the visur doesn&#039;t seem to care much for keeping the environment intact. But soon it was hir turn and shi didn&#039;t have as much know-how on hir side. All shi had was agility, speed, and reflexes. If that did trip a tentacle, she still had fire and hopfully being ignited like the Human Torch would force it to de-rez enough to make dealing with it easier.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Perhaps being down on one hand and a knee at the time was a good idea.  This helped the large Komodo watch the rat intently, watched how she bobbed and weaved and made things easy for herself.  Snorting once she makes it through, he proves his Readiness (2) by going next.  While he isn&#039;t as quick as the rodent, he does have some Endurance on his side that should help him keep going and not tire quickly.  Bob and weave, skitter and pounce.  Go the way of the Komodo and charge after the prey!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Mazurek&#039;s quick reactions and initating Mickey&#039;s movements see him safely through the gauntlet of security.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho mrphs as he looks after them and rubs his head slightly, &amp;quot;..You know...I think I will go last..with how my luck was...just for the sake of not catching up to someone and making them have bad luck....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori shrugs at Ryu, already in a crouch. &amp;quot;Suit yourself. This might hurt... God I hate this place.&amp;quot; Can&#039;t rocket across the room like shi did in the street. &#039;Gear Second&#039; did that and it was a bad idea. So shi is going to hoof it instead. Right... NOW! Full sprint. Keep those senses sharp!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s speed and nimble dodges allow her to skirt past the lights, though not without a few close calls.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek manages to dodge, weave, and dart through the obstacle course.  He makes it looks like it is extremely easy with how he bobs and weaves and...ok, you&#039;re repeating yourself.  Komodos may be squat creatures but they are still very quick when they need to be.  Whee....  Oh, hello, Mickey!  Komodo passes by and gooses her rear with his snout!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is waiting on the other side, watching anxiously and hoping she doesn&#039;t have to pick up important pieces. She doubts she could haul back something if, say, Ryu accidently swung left instead of right at a key point. There&#039;s a squeak of surprise as, by the time she&#039;s actually seeing the others making their runs. Wait, where was-- &amp;quot;H-hey!&amp;quot; She squeaks, hikes her tail, and looks around and down with a smirk. &amp;quot;/Damn/..there goes my next question for that tour. Guess I&#039;m in trouble if I ever gotta bolt,&amp;quot; she laughs&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho takes a deep breath as he grumbles softly, &amp;quot;Why do I always get caught with situations I am not prepared for...&amp;quot; he says softly, &amp;quot;Thats it...after this I am going to start trying to learn some thing usefull...and remembre things I did before this whole damn mess..&amp;quot; he grumbles softly as he looks it over..though at least he keeps remembering the games he played...but then mrphs, of course it&#039;s not similar at all...as he then gets ready to go..pray for the best prepare for the worst and GO!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Ryusho somehow manages to stumble his way through the trips and traps without tripping anything!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho stumbles though but at least to him it feels awesome...I mean to him he just kinda was remembering all sorts of random games he had before the crisis, as he had been watching the room and possibly subconciously noticed a pattern, as he moves, though he almost seems to stop, backtrack, and swerve..a few times even taking some steps that probably get cringed at for &#039;he had to be seen&#039; because of like, brushing almost the edges of -two- different spotlights squeezing between as they went past eachther then around the other side in another suqeeze, a few times even seeming to somehow -miss- lasers even though it looked like it -had- to of brushed him....I suppose all the subconcious game mentality that got to him here basically made him well &#039;see&#039; it as a game..and he was &#039;playing&#039; it as one in his mind...but either way it works!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The door under the EXIT sign glows ominous red from the neon. A dark stairway lies beyond..&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori brushes herself off, looking back the way they came. &amp;quot;Everyone in one piece? Yes? Okay.. Lets get the fuk out of here.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek smiles and noses right under the raised tail again, even licking back there to the hidden attributes he knows are present already.  It doesn&#039;t last long as he draws back quickly enough to watch the others make it through the maze without problems.  Despite the exit sign making things glow that ugly red, like it&#039;s supposed to anyway, he pushes or pulls the doors open and steps right through them.  Overconfidence makes him not look before he steps through.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey&#039;s whiskers quiver as Maz steals the tongueflick, elicting another squeak and a hurried reach back to try and tug her dress back down. &amp;quot;Yeah yeah, you&#039;re impressive,&amp;quot; she yields, watches Ryu, then throws her hands up in the air. &amp;quot;Awesome. Rat&#039;s gonna be outta a job now.&amp;quot; Well, no one got spiked. It was enough to lift her spirits and smile as she turns to follow Maz a bit more slowly. &amp;quot;Yeah, lets.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho blushes  abit as he made his way through &amp;quot;...I guess I just kinda..got into the right mindset or something for that...&amp;quot; he says glancing back and then shrugging, &amp;quot;Well, Forward Bound it seems..&amp;quot; he says after a bit, well at least he is not....humming...a...oh damn it he is like..humming some stealth game related tune...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Up the stairs and through the door, but what lies beyond is hardly an exit. As the party steps into the tower antechamber, the first thing they notice is a huge mass of glitching purple corruption with a huge red eyeball in the middle of it... staring. right. at. them. Tentacles stretch outward from it, encompassing the entire room. Before they know it, the exit is blocked off behind them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori looks back, then directly at the virus. Its behaving like a nanite infection, or a self aware thing. So the first thought to come out of hir mouth was...&amp;quot;Alright, what are you and what the hell are you doing fucking up this simulation?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek turns his head slightly after everyone has entered the chamber and causes the doorway to seal.  Now is the time that they need to work together or they will fail.  The final boss approaches, and will it have minions?  Crossing his arms again he cocks his head and asks, &amp;quot;So, now what?  We&#039;re here, and this is where we pass or fail.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: &amp;quot;Aaah..the &#039;ol &#039;Fake Exit&#039; ruse..&amp;quot; Mickey churrs darkly as she stares at their &#039;host&#039; in the middle of the room. She went through fear, anger, and just plain silliness. Now she was back in the zen with the end in sight. She lift up a half-cocked finger, then taps it on her cheek as if in thought. &amp;quot;Hardly the first digital abomination to pull that, I think..&amp;quot; She starts to draw in breath, figuring that whatever happens next it&#039;d be best to have a flaming comeback.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho slowly looks around with a mrph, trying to figure out where the weak spots are as he scratches his head some more, &amp;quot;Oh boy...now the fun begins big time....&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The virus core makes no reply, only fixes it huge, terrible eye on the party. Some of the mass shofts, and a large tentacle drops down the wall and down to the ground, sweeping in a wide arc towards the party! At this moment also a generator is revealed under the purplish glitchy mass, but only for the moment during which the tentacle is attacking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori doesn&#039;t trust this thing. It may not have replied verbally, but it sure did answer physically with that sweeping tentacle. Jumping would just give it an excuse to counter, so shi just... Spat fire at the tentacle sweeping the ground at them. Literally. &amp;quot;Yol Tor Shul!&amp;quot; FWOOSH. This..probably was much tougher code than that thing on the streets, so her second move was to backpedal to try and get out of its reach for the time being. It will adapt and try again with something else VERY soon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho looks at Kori as she did fire before he could as he had scrambled to get out of the way, or jump and flap out of the way, as he then looks over, &amp;quot;Just shoot an Arrow Into it&#039;s OH WAIT It has no Knee&#039;s THEN ITS EYE Or something! &amp;quot; He says at that, as he rolls his eyes and then woudl turn to begin breathing fire himself towards it in a nice small inferno &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek grimaces, unable to help spot that overlarge tentacle barreling toward the group.  He is about to act when familiar words reach his ears and he looks back at Kori just as she is launching the fireball, &amp;quot;Seriously?  You chose now to reference...THAT?&amp;quot;  He doesn&#039;t have anything that will harm the thing, so he does what the flamers do not.  He looks for an opening in the tentacle and merely leaps over/through it.  Well, tries to anyway.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey decides to put her own little firework show on hold since Kori already has the flames spitting. &amp;quot;Less shouting!&amp;quot; She squeaks as she skitters to break from the group a bit, choosing to worry more about the dull *thud* of something dropping near by. She spots the thing the virus is attached to, then refocuses on the swinging limb arcing towards them to dodge it with a roll and tumble. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Most of the party dodges the swiping tentacle, but Kori gets snapped in the knees, leaving behind a burning black corruption on the front of both legs. The parts of the viruys hit with fire quiver slightly and shrink ever o slightly, but it is mostly negligible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scored a hit. It was a slightly withering hit, but it proved more effective than previously. But it cost hir, as hir backpedaling didn&#039;t give enough distance to keep it away and next thing she feels is a burning feeling. First thing hir natural combat instinct tells hir to do is HEAL it, so up comes a tit and..*suckle suckle suckle* Everyone else has to handle this next few seconds on their own while shi tries to &#039;heal&#039; this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek would offer to help heal her but he doesn&#039;t think it would be beneficial to their cause.  He instead bounds toward the virus core while remaining on all sixes, keeping very alert to what is happening around him as much as possible.  He&#039;s ready for another assault, though not knowing what form it will be in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey catches sight of Kori out of the corner of her eyes, winces, and resists the urge to follow after Maz. The other two showed them the more agile and stronger anyway. So she best serves as a distraction. &amp;quot;Oi! C&#039;mon ya ugly fucker!&amp;quot; she taunts when she circles within view of that eye, turns to whip her tail in its sight, then run in the other direction. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve fought Influenza stronger then you!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho shifts his position, to scoot around to try to burn again well use the flamethrower ability he has, as he looks, &amp;quot;Oh hey, Try..Try to hit the stuff he keeps hiding behind him..If you can see it.I thought I saw it a bit ago..&amp;quot; he says, though hey, fire can loop around things as he tries...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The giant eyeball flicks between the party members. A mass on its left recongeals to cover up the generator holdfast that it was clinging to. A mass on its right seems to wind upo before unleashing a large fist-shaped mass of corruption towards the party at high speed, though leaving its generator vulnerable.,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori scoots back a little further, dragging hirself along. Legs were feeling rather sluggish. Fragile even. When the milk drink did nothing to cancel out the burning feeling, shi got angry. And boy howdy. First, hir speed got crippled. Second, it was resisting the fire more than the things outside. Third, shi wanted OUT already. This is where those tattoos around hir eyes started glowing. Magic is hard to define even in a digital world. It may have unpredictable results here. But shi was determined to BURN it with holy fire and force it to open up its weak spot. Ra&#039;s Fire would see to that. It just...took time to chant out the summoning spell.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek was ready.  He had made certain of that.  The side the attack had come from was opening up and he cries out while darting away to outright avoid it, &amp;quot;Strike it!  Mickey!  Strike it now!&amp;quot;  Teamwork was the key here, and they definitely needed to make use of it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey glances over her shoulder and skids to a stop as the beast goes for Maz and Ryu. Crap. She&#039;s possibly the worst distraction ever. She&#039;s about to start panicking again when she realizes the generator&#039;s exposed on her side as a result. Were there wires? Maybe she cou--No, nevermind; best to join the fire motif. She summons up her own inner flame, then spits out a molten blast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Already had figured out that the weak spot is the generators it is -hiding- when it can, but exposes when attacking as he tries to point that out, but instead, works to get around and closer, so he can focus and try to breath that firey dragon breath &#039;onto&#039; the generator that was uncovered if he could get into position fast enough...since to get -close- to it beyond a certian distance would require risking stepping onto corrupted data..and that might be bad too.....thats what made sense to him...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The metal generator turns red how and then white from the molten blast, and finally explodes. The corrupted fist manages to smash a black hole into the floor before it dissolves into frayed lines of code. The eye seems to spin around wildly for a few moments, almost as if in pain. The left side winds up for an attack again, this time a higher sweep, towards the party&#039;s midsections.&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs another few moments. That&#039;s all shi needs. Another few moments. Hir hands and pose and muttering. Totally spell casting. Totally. Keep it busy a moment longer!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek never rose from his hexapedal stance after dodging the first fist, and in those few moments of the eye spinning about he looks away to see how the others were doing.  When the next attack comes he can&#039;t help but groan, &amp;quot;Another weak spot has opened up!  Study it!&amp;quot;  If only he could blast it with a fireball of his own.  Instead of leaping over the new attack head on, the lizard makes an attempt at being rather acrobatic by working to leap onto the side of a wall or whatever is close with a hard surface and launching in a flying leap to try and get over it.  No ducking under for him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mickey(#8826)]: As quickly as she skips into range, Mickey darts back out. There&#039;s still too much fear for a quick retribution to keep close as she circles around the creature once again, picks the wrong rotation, and is forced to slide as the corrupted limb comes around. She&#039;s small, but even if her hat is knocked off she&#039;ll consider it a major loss.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori needs someone to block those damned tentacles, because moving means breaking concentration from the spell! You know its times like this that hir magic spark is a bit of a disadvantage. But this was also the most complex summoning spell shi had.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho himself might spin and promtly -dive- onto the ground folding his wings tight around him to cover himself partly as he was trying to not be hit, smaller then maz, but still bigger then the others he just had to take a chance, and well, diving was easier with the limited time he had to react then leaping over it, &amp;quot;GAh!..SOMEONE HIT THE DAMN THING!&amp;quot; he says &amp;quot;BUrn it or something! The generator!&amp;quot; he says as he scrambles wildly along the ground trying to stay under the attack before he gets up again...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The tentacle passes cleanly over those who had ducked down flat. However for those who didn&#039;t have the ability to duck or dodge, such as Kori, are smacked right in the gut with a thick band of corrupting material and thrown against the wall. After it finishes it swining arc, the tentacle starts to pull itself back to gather over its generator.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flies. Not the pleasant kind. you&#039;d think if people heard that chanting they&#039;d think SITTING DUCK. But no. Well see if shi helps YOU again. Thankfully it finished at the point of impact and there was a bright flare of light. In the ceiling. It looks like rays of sunlight for everyone, forming a circle, a portal of sorts. And behind the brigh light is a silluette (typo I know) of a figure dressed up in old egyptian robes and gold shoulderpads. The face is blocked by the light, but it didn&#039;t matter who this was. What mattered was the sun rays turning to focus on this big virus thing much like focusing light through a magnifying glass to burn something. And burn it did... And how. Fire everywhere. Just how much damage that is going to do is entirely beyond even hir guess, because this is a digital world not the real world. It doesn&#039;t work quite like this in the real world; it doesn&#039;t set things around the target on fire, just the target itself. But ask hir later. Shi&#039;s trying to roll over and get another gulp of milk down, for all the good that would do. &amp;quot;F...F..FUCK OFF!&amp;quot; Damn that thing. Why can&#039;t shi just magic this injury away like normal? .. Oh wait.. Maybe magic doesn&#039;t extend in here and what&#039;s happening now was the system&#039;s enterpretation of the devine interference.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Mazurek(#22948)]: Poor Komodo.  What he had wanted to do was to leap over the thing, pole vault it if you would.  Well, wall-kick-leap over it anyway.  Unfortunately for him he wound up miscalculating the speed of the thing by a very wide margin.  As a result, what the thing wanted to do to them proves to be quite different for the large lizard.  He ends up getting struck...everywhere on his front side thanks to being quite literally horizontal at the time of impact.  He goes flying as a result, right into a wall.  If they all have tentacles, he just might be wrapped by one.  If not he slides down to the floor slowly, struggling to remain awake.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jumps back up onto her feet when the overhead is clear, glances around, and winces. Two down, one critical; it&#039;s really hard for her not to panic at this point. One generator left, and she starts scrambling on over to prep another gout of flame. Although it already feels way to hot. Dangerously so. In face when she realizes that there&#039;s already a sharp raise in heat nearby, she quickly scurries away to try and get to cover. Or at least distance&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would be busy scrambling to maz &amp;quot;MAZ! MAZ! Stay with us!&amp;quot; He calls out, as he scrambles and..thenk thinks a moment, wondering if he can help as he takes a risk by moving close, though trying not to touch the corrupted areas, he has an idea and begins to try to help poor Maz so he can keep helping.....hopefully.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Kori&#039;s chest is now a mass of sizzling back and purple sparks, matching her shins. Mazurek is in a similar situation. Kori&#039;s spell that she managed to get off starts riddling the giant eye and its peripheral tentacle with light beams. These beams sear through the &#039;flesh&#039; of the virus, leaving gaping holes. The generator is overloaded and explodes, causing the tentacle arm to melt down into nothingness. The eye starts vibrating and wriggling angrily, making the familiar glitchy warbled sound. It finally detaches itself from the ceiling and lands on the floor about 20 yards from the party, looking ready to charge.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori glares back at it, panting and hissing at this point. You&#039;ve no idea how much energy doing that spell can take out of hir. The most she can do now was shove hirself off to the left and hope contact with the ground doesn&#039;t make this pain flare worse. Whatever is going on right now, science was trumping magic as far as the black patches were concerned. But at least shi has some emergency defense active. Yup, more fire. Shi ignited hirself and started emitting a massive skunk spray. Sorry other fightrs, self preservation responces!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek is barely kept awake by the burning, stinging sensation that covers his entire front.  His genitals actually join in the fiery burning feeling.  If only it had struck his back and not the front! He&#039;s going to need some assistance and quickly, for the corruption will be spreading unchecked without aid.  Then again, he tries to focus his last bits of strength on his healing abilities.  He seeks to get the nanites to respond and Reconstruct the critical areas, just like Rtysho is doing already.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey is apart from the others, but she&#039;s already tucking her wing away from shielding her face as she scrambles to make the intercept. Ryu&#039;s on Maz, Kori&#039;s rolling, and what does she have beside fire? Nothing. So what will she use? More fire. Drawing even up to the virus just as it starts to roll, Mickey darts past spewing out the flames and keeps pace to leave the fire cooking. It takes a pretty deep breath, and she&#039;s straining hard.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho has no clue if he is helping maz at all,but he certianly is trying as he shifts, glancing over his shoulder, but half bracing himself, he can&#039;t stop the work to try to help to attack untill he either knows it is working or if it is not, and if working he would keep working but if not then he would tryt o help end this even faster because then they would get out hopefully.....&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The eyeball sprouts some tentacles underneath it that seem to give it some locomotion. It starts slowly closing the distance between it and the party, though quickly gaining speed. Its eyeball is red and glaringly angry.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori flops onto hir back against the wall, grabbing one breast of squeezing it HARD. So hard it hurt. MILK! Milk Squirt in fact. Maybe if it can be blinded by milk, shi can grab hir crossbow and poke that eye out with it from here.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mazurek whimpers a little from the pain that is much worse than anything he&#039;s ever gone through.  To Ryu he croaks out, &amp;quot;F-fire...Ice...whatever...  Spit in its eye.&amp;quot;  Poor lizard can&#039;t hold on any longer, passing out right there.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey jogs to keep up along with it, then runs. She&#039;s gotta refill her lungs after each mighty gasp, and she leaves a trail of fire under the virus&#039;s path as she keeps a constant slow roast going; squinting eyes keeping an eye out for tentacles in her step.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would shift, turning as he feels he is not doing any good, meaning the only thing he can do then is to try to help and fight, finish it as he lets out a roar, beginning to let loose another inferno from his maw as he shifts, though he does aim it for the eye, he also makes sure Mickey is not in the way before it goes roaring through the air and begins to cause a case of Dry Eye, that I doubt any ammount of Clear Eyes could help...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Garbled sounds of potential pain sound off as the eyeball moves over the trail of fire. The projectiled milk in its &#039;face&#039; causes it to close its eyelids and shake itself off. Parts of it slowly dissipate off as the ticks of damage do their thing. It it hit by the blast of fire just as it was opening its eye again, only to be roasted and forced shut again. Squares of its mass flake off and poof as it is nicked away at.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori pulls the crossbow out of hiding, slow and hampered by the burning pain. At least the corruption is slow. If they kill this thing it might reverse some of the damage. On the other hand, it might not. With a loaded crossbow ready and pain making it hard to move around quickly, shi had to take hir time aiming it. Wait for it to open its eye...FIRE! *twang!*&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mickey keeps herself even, steadily blowing and constantly applying the heat. The rat doesn&#039;t need to breath to worry about passing out, she she&#039;s a bellows. In, out, over and over with her face matted damp and fur well-singed. She likely has some burns under her fur, and if she didn&#039;t have her goggles her eyes would of been cooked. Doesn&#039;t matter. In with the superhot air, out with the even hotter. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho would simply shift his position, taking a minute to regain some of his breath, and re-heat within him as he would then roar out another blast of fire as he could, already kind of..mad , or should I say heated, at the fact that Mazurek was down...and was partly trying ot take it out before it could possibly make mazurek be in such -bad- condition! It needs to DIE! DIe you damn eyeballthing! and stop soundling like a crazy enraged computer core!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The sustained fire stops the eyeball in its tracks as it quickly loses mass to the assault. It shakes and quivers as its purple-black parts slough off of it and dissipate. It gives a last, warbled cry as the whole of it collapses into cubic code and divides and divides until it is no more. The corruption affecting the various party members fades with the demise of the virus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori drops the crossbow on the ground. The holes in the ground were vanishing, which was good. And the pain was fading too along with the black spots on hir body. That was...well, great. Shi&#039;d feel more enthusiastic if the entire ordeal didn&#039;t wear hir out. &amp;quot;About time...&amp;quot; Now PLEASE open the exit. Shi wants to take a nap, but not in here. No, hell no, and fuck no.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho Sighs softly as he looks around, &amp;quot;Well, I h ope they can get us out of here now..this is ..really, I think we need to get out of here..&amp;quot; he says though he shifts and..randomly feels his head for a headband to remove incase he coudl just do that..as he sighs quietly, &amp;quot;.....Maz needs a checkup out of here, muckey and kori probably need one to be safe..I at least didn&#039;t get corrupted..but...well may as well give us all a checkup when we get out just -please- get us out of this thing now please....&amp;quot; he says sighing...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: The whole world seems to start glitching and then rows of the background start ro go black, and then you are shrouded in complete darkness... and then the dim lights of the virtual training room flicker on. &amp;quot;Welcome back!&amp;quot; comes Dark&#039;s voice over the speaker.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kori stays in the chair. Not certain if it would be smart to move. Wait.. There were no chairs. Then... Oh. Ground. Right. Stay still on the ground then. &amp;quot;...Once is enough thank you... Is there a couch I can nap on...That hurt a lot, and I feel really tired after using all that energy to coax a magical being into a digital plane...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ryusho sighs softly, as he slowly takes that headpeice off and sets it aside, &amp;quot;Thank goodness...&amp;quot; he says quietly as he looks around, &amp;quot;....I would suggest you check up on Maz...&amp;quot; he says softly as he looks around and then goes over to remove his headband carefully, &amp;quot;He..is kind of out cold right now actually...&amp;quot; he says softly, as he begins to check mazurek over as he could himself...while he was going to stay if he could to help make sure his friend was alright.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
[Darkwyrm(#8190)]: Strangely, any injuries or fatigue (other than mental) the party had sustained is no longer present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25767</id>
		<title>Builds</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25767"/>
		<updated>2013-01-12T02:55:43Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Herein lies some recommended build types that can be utilized in Flexible Survival. They are by no means something telling you what you -should- build, but should be read as helpful guides to show you what builds are available.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Simple Builds==&lt;br /&gt;
Simple, proven guides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tank (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Healer (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[DoTs Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Repeats Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Direct Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Advanced Builds==&lt;br /&gt;
Some more advanced options for people willing to diversify.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solo (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanky Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Vampire (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Supporter (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Key to Build Statuses and Terminology==&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25766</id>
		<title>Builds</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25766"/>
		<updated>2013-01-12T02:54:53Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Herein lies some recommended build types that can be utilized in Flexible Survival. They are by no means something telling you what you -should- build, but should be read as helpful guides to show you what builds are available.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Simple Builds==&lt;br /&gt;
Simple, proven guides.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Tank (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Healer (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[DoTs Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Repeats Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Direct Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Advanced Builds==&lt;br /&gt;
Some more advanced options for people willing to diversify.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Solo (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Tanky Damager (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Vampire (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Supporter (build)]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Key to Build Statuses and Terminology==&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25764</id>
		<title>Builds</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Builds&amp;diff=25764"/>
		<updated>2013-01-12T02:37:13Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;Herein lies some recommended build types that can be utilized in Flexible Survival. They are by no means something telling you what you -should- build, but should be read as h...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Herein lies some recommended build types that can be utilized in Flexible Survival. They are by no means something telling you what you -should- build, but should be read as helpful guides to show you what builds are available.&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14880</id>
		<title>Return of Esmerelda</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14880"/>
		<updated>2012-06-13T06:08:48Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of course, had its downsides as far as fatigue. The commons grow quiet, except for the occasional sound of an employee walking downstairs for one reason or another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is here, too, fussing with the internal workings of some comm device she&#039;s been carrying around. The fennec has a small screwdriver tucked behind her ear, and is otherwise dressed in her PJs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A light scuffling noise can be heard near the doorway before the lights in the sublevel commons go out with a click.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec sits up in bed, both ears perked for sounds from outside. She looks around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. &amp;quot;... hello?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The sound of claws on metal is heard as a dark silhouette scrambles up the stairs to the first floor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec steps lightly out of bed, setting her comm unit aside. She bears her tiny claws and begins to follow silently, an expression of concern painted on her face...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scene upstairs is the same. The bar is deserted, closed to the public for the night. Saul had likely gone home for the night. The lights, however, normally kept on, are also off here. A power outage perhaps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello?&amp;quot; calls Fleur, looking around. She doesn&#039;t know where the circuit breaker box is, but she might have some strong suspicions, with her history in security engineering. She&#039;s a bit easier to spot in the darkness than many, with light, creamy fur. Upon hearing no response, Fleur decides to head a bit deeper into the building and see if she can take care of the problem herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Fleur&#039;s intuition leads her towards the back of the building, towards the rear exit to the parking garage. Back there is a utility area where the fuse box, backup generator and other things are located. Upon reaching there, she finds all of the breakers flipped off, and the metal door to the garage ajar. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tosses a glance behind her, then sighs. She begins to flip the breakers back on. Click, click, click, click... eventually, she finishes, and then makes motions to investigate the garage door. A security breach...?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lights flicker back on slowly as the power surges to them once more. The door is held open with a large rock, obviously placed so it wouldn&#039;t lock someone out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur frowns, slipping through the door and looking around. &amp;quot;Alright. We&#039;re onto you. Come out with your hands over your head and nobody gets hurt, capiche?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door slams shut behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... I should have expected that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The garage is only lit with a few precariously placed lights. Seems like Giza didn&#039;t want to waste too much power lighting this place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec glides between a few of the Giza vehicles, looking around for signs of trouble. She briefly considers fleeing, but really, she can&#039;t imagine a group that powerful that would want Giza dead. She listens carefully...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Fleur passes one of the vehicles, a tail lashes out from behind one of them, attempting to trip her!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tumbles forward, spins around, and raises both her hands, ready to strike!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All she can see is a large dark shape, roughly seven feet tall, black in this poor lighting. It looks roughly reptillian, but this is confirmed when it charges at her, whipping one of its wings at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vixen is bowled over! And she has a moment of terror. She recognizes that species! Fleur feels herself hit one of the garage walls, and her head begins to spin. With focus, she makes jagged splinters of light leap from her fur and begin blasting everything in the garage, inflicting some collateral damage as it bombards the arena.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon takes a large breath and exhales, creating a dazzling display of dancing shadows as fire blasts from its mouth, engulfing the splintering attacks and dissipating most of them. The rest bounce off the thing&#039;s scales, causing minor cuts as it charges again, attempting a tackle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THUD! If there&#039;s one thing Fleur is not, it&#039;s large, and the shadow dragon is definitely that. Familiar, oily black scales pin the fennec to the ground as Fleur writhes under her assailant! She attempts to inflict some pain with her claws - but it&#039;s not nearly as effective. It&#039;s only after a few seconds of fighting that she suddenly freezes, her ears pressing flat against her head. &amp;quot;L-lilian?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The large, block scaled head leans in, showing off a menacing, toothy grin. &amp;quot;Hello mother..&amp;quot;, she says. &amp;quot;How good to .. see you again.&amp;quot;, she says. The dragon uses her weight to her advantage, and effectively pins the much smaller Fennec.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec begins to kick wildly, and a shudder goes through her. &amp;quot;Wh... what are you doing here?&amp;quot; she asks, with wide, frightened eyes. &amp;quot;... let me go, Lilian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shakes her head. &amp;quot;Not this time, mother.&amp;quot;, she hisses. &amp;quot;You&#039;ve been too long denying your desires.. I&#039;ve come to correct that.&amp;quot; She flaps her mighty wings over her, creating a brief draft of air. Her eyes glow menacingly against her dark silhouette. &amp;quot;I want.. my REAL mother back.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s voice lets out a panicked squeak, and she grits her teeth, beginning to struggle against the stronger and highly advantaged woman. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she pleads, &amp;quot;Lilian, please, I... j-just let me go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon seems to delight in your futile strugging. &amp;quot;See how weak you are. You&#039;re powerless. Useless. Unable to even assert your wants and needs. I&#039;m going to help you mother, return you to how you SHOULD be.&amp;quot; A grinding sound of glass against pavement is heard as Lilian uses her tail to pull something out of a satchel at her side. A small vial of whoknowswhat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The small desert fox draws a sharp breath, beginning to shake her head. &amp;quot;L-Lilian,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;N-no. That... it-it&#039;s going to turn me into a monster...&amp;quot; tears begin to form in her eyes, and she begins kicking, futily. &amp;quot;P-please, Lilian...!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian lets out a wicked laugh. &amp;quot;If you really wanted to stay as you are, nothing should stop you. Surely not your own daughter.&amp;quot; Her tail raises up and lifts the vial between you and her, the faintly glinting glass container reflecting the glowing color of Lilian&#039;s eyes. &amp;quot;See this? This will save you from your frailty.. &amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares into the glass container as though she were staring into the depths of a nightmare, her heart hammering in her oversized ears. She looks up into Lilian&#039;s eyes, then over to the bottle again, and shakes her head. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she chokes out, attempting to push the dragoness off of her. Lilian&#039;s stronger.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But.. it&#039;s not complete.&amp;quot;, Lilian continues. &amp;quot;No, I need to add the perfect last ingredient.. I, your daughter, carry half of your genes, and with my essence this tincture will return you to your form when you brought me into this world.. bring me back my mother.&amp;quot; She moves her tail between her legs and rubs it against her nethers a few times. She shivers slightly and lets out a breath before she pops the cap of the vial off with her tailtip and a drop of fluid falls into it. She regains her composure and bring the vial forth again, shaking it with her tail and letting it mix.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eye twitches slightly. She manages to pull one arm out from under Lilian, only to be swiftly pinned down again in the bat of an eye. She clenches her jaw shut and begins to shake her head, tears dribbling down her cheek. Someone would come in and find her. They had to have noticed the power outage. Someone will come in and find her...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shifts her weight to free one of her arms and grabs your head with her powerful claws. &amp;quot;Stop resisting, Mother. I&#039;m trying to help you. Open wide..&amp;quot;, she growls. &amp;quot;You&#039;re not going to make this any easier for either of us by resisting, and I don&#039;t want to hurt you because you know, of course, that I love you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec continues to sob. She keeps her teeth clenched and shakes her head. &amp;quot;Y.you&#039;re crazy,&amp;quot; she murmurs through gritted teeth. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t just... do this... to people... p-please...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian tilts her head and leans in close, one of her eyes within inches of your own. &amp;quot;Oh? Can&#039;t I? And who&#039;s going to stop me?&amp;quot;, she asks. &amp;quot;Besides, it&#039;s not like I&#039;m hurting you.. ideally. I&#039;m helping you.. realize your potential again.&amp;quot; Her clawed hand lightly rakes your cheek enough to scratch your flesh, but not draw blood. She starts to squeeze your jaw tightly until it quickly becomes very painful to keep your jaw shut.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur puts up a fight, she really does. In the end, though, she&#039;s forced to open her mouth, and she begins panting for breath, even as she feels those powerful hands slip inside her tiny, vulpine muzzle and force it open. The fennec shudders, beginning to shake her head. Her eyes fix squarely on the concoction in Lilian&#039;s scaly hand...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s good Mother.&amp;quot;, the dragon says, changing her voice to a more soothing tone. &amp;quot;Now drink up, and don&#039;t spill..&amp;quot; With those words, she turns her tail, tipping the contents of the vial over your mouth. As soon as the foul mixture is drained, she quickly clamps her claw over your muzzle, holding it shut. Her tailtip moves under your chain and starts to stroke your throat, trying to relax your gag reflex.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur grunts weakly, struggling some more... she finds herself swallowing a little of the vile mixture in her mouth, though, and panic flares up in her eyes. She kicks at Lilian&#039;s thighs, pulls at her pinned down arms, sheds a few more tears. After what feels like an eternity, she feels her body betray her, imbibing the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian growls approvingly when she feels your throat finally give out and down the elixir. She releases your head, letting you breathe regularly. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t try to cough it up, it won&#039;t work.. as we speak, it&#039;s already assimilating into your bloodstream.. it recongises your DNA, and it knows what form to bring you to.&amp;quot;, the wicked dragon says as she picks herself up off of you and takes a few steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur shudders, rising shakily to her feet. She stares down at the floor, at her body, and at the empty flask. She feels the bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Her eyes look up at the shadow dragoness who pinned her and forced her to down this. ... so far, nothing&#039;s happening, but she feels... no, wait, something&#039;s definitely happening. Her heart skips a beat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That tingling, it starts to spread through your body, but first it focuses on your hindquarters. Your fluffy fennec tail loses its hair and lengthens, grows shining black scales. Lilian looks on approvingly and sits on her haunches, watching eagerly. &amp;quot;Oh Mother, look, your beautiful tail has returned.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tail is long, wrong on a fennec&#039;s body. Fleur looks down at it, and as she does, tears practically break out of her eyes anew. &amp;quot;Lilian,&amp;quot; she whispers, her tail sinking, &amp;quot;do you even realize what you&#039;re doing? I&#039;m going... I&#039;m going to do horrible things...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who cares what you do?&amp;quot;, the cruel dragon asks. &amp;quot;At least you be doing.. exactly what you want. Unfiltered by weakness, untaintned by inhibition. You&#039;ll be my True mother, who sought her desires out on another, and conceived me. That is who you&#039;ll be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s head is next, and she&#039;s beginning to take on height as well. Fur falls from her like it was never really part of her, and the structure of her bones cracks until a feminine, scaly, and horned head forms from her fennec face. She pants, and there&#039;s a faint shimmer in the air in front of her as she does so. &amp;quot;... Well...&amp;quot; she murmurs, feeling her internal organs shift. &amp;quot;... may... maybe I&#039;ll do more, but...&amp;quot; she draws a sharp breath. The infection continues.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s it.. give into your desires..&amp;quot;, Lilian chants as she watches on. She spreads her wings, making her black silhouette look large and intimidating, as if showing you an example of what power you&#039;ll soon wield again. Your arms and legs seem to change in sync, the infection spreading down your limbs, ripping out your fur as it travels and leaving scales behind.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rapidly rising Fleur falls on her knees, her scaled, clawed hands reaching up and grabbing her head in resistance. This... skin is so familiar! It&#039;s so frightening! And soon, she&#039;ll be trapped in it again, sauntering all over town, taking what&#039;s hers... she breathes deeply through clenched teeth, but slowly, her agitation seems to be settling. The world, and her entire world view, spins around her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your body moves quickly after that.. the infection moving through your bloodstream at an accelerated pace. The rest of your fur dissolves as the dragon&#039;s taint rushes over the surface of your flesh, and with a mighty crack of bones and sinew, your prominant leather wings break free above you.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The figure - gone from tiny to imposing - still stays on her knees, drawing deep, fierce breaths, her pajama bottoms in rags, her form nude, black scales glistening in the dim light... she lets out a cry as her new wings burst forth, and with it, draws a powerful breath. ... she falls forward on all fours, her mind spinning. Her wings fold slowly behind her back. She is now completely a shadow dragon ... from horn to toe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mother.. my mother..&amp;quot;, Lilian says, crawling on all fours slowly towards you. &amp;quot;Are you unharmed? Your scales look beautiful on you..&amp;quot; The now-slightly smaller dragon looks over you approvingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Slowly, ever so slowly, Fleur uncurls her wings, looking up. Her expression shifts from confused to bemused, and slowly, she begins to stand to - dang. She stands to a good 6&#039;9&amp;quot;, almost one and a half times the size of her previous form. Now, instead of looking up, she can look her daughter in the eyes, slightly down. She smirks cruelly and raises a clawed finger to stroke her child&#039;s scales. &amp;quot;You did the right thing,&amp;quot; she coos, in a voice that is so sultry and feminine that it&#039;s hard to imagine it coming from the fox she had been two minutes ago. It drips with honey. &amp;quot;I should have some form fixatives in that bag over there. Let me make sure that we&#039;re never separated again this time, dear...&amp;quot; half-closed, sultry bedroom eyes glow with malice, and her entire form screams unashamedly for breeding, for eggs... she takes this moment to remove the collar from her neck and stow it away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, Mother, right away!&amp;quot;, Lilian says, her voice changing from the previously aggressive, to a more obedient and childlike tone, showing she obviously knows who her superior is now. She walks over on all fours to your bag and noses through it, pulling a single vial out with her teeth and carefully carrying it over to you, offering it eagerly. &amp;quot;I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re back!&amp;quot;, she excitedly chimes in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Esmerelda breaks the seal on the flask, reads the label, and knocks it back. She smiles. &amp;quot;So am I,&amp;quot; she replies. Waves of heat escape her nostrils with her breaths. She closes her eyes, allowing the fixative to flow through her, and then she hauls up her bag. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since we&#039;ve bonded, little one. Let&#039;s find a boy. Have you made me a grandmother since I&#039;ve been gone? I fear Fleur never did bother to ask about you~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ve not had time to bear children..&amp;quot;, Lilian says disdainfully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve spent months looking for the proper ingredients, and the ideal time to bring you back to me.&amp;quot; Her eyes light up at the prospect of bonding, though and a happy grin spreads over her face.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shadow dragoness&#039; midnight black hand strokes Lilian&#039;s head, and she kisses her. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s fix that right now,&amp;quot; she says, guiding her out with a sway of her hips and a grin. &amp;quot;We&#039;re going to be so happy, you and I~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14879</id>
		<title>Return of Esmerelda</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14879"/>
		<updated>2012-06-13T05:54:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of course, had its downsides as far as fatigue. The commons grow quiet, except for the occasional sound of an employee walking downstairs for one reason or another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is here, too, fussing with the internal workings of some comm device she&#039;s been carrying around. The fennec has a small screwdriver tucked behind her ear, and is otherwise dressed in her PJs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A light scuffling noise can be heard near the doorway before the lights in the sublevel commons go out with a click.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec sits up in bed, both ears perked for sounds from outside. She looks around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. &amp;quot;... hello?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The sound of claws on metal is heard as a dark silhouette scrambles up the stairs to the first floor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec steps lightly out of bed, setting her comm unit aside. She bears her tiny claws and begins to follow silently, an expression of concern painted on her face...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scene upstairs is the same. The bar is deserted, closed to the public for the night. Saul had likely gone home for the night. The lights, however, normally kept on, are also off here. A power outage perhaps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello?&amp;quot; calls Fleur, looking around. She doesn&#039;t know where the circuit breaker box is, but she might have some strong suspicions, with her history in security engineering. She&#039;s a bit easier to spot in the darkness than many, with light, creamy fur. Upon hearing no response, Fleur decides to head a bit deeper into the building and see if she can take care of the problem herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Fleur&#039;s intuition leads her towards the back of the building, towards the rear exit to the parking garage. Back there is a utility area where the fuse box, backup generator and other things are located. Upon reaching there, she finds all of the breakers flipped off, and the metal door to the garage ajar. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tosses a glance behind her, then sighs. She begins to flip the breakers back on. Click, click, click, click... eventually, she finishes, and then makes motions to investigate the garage door. A security breach...?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lights flicker back on slowly as the power surges to them once more. The door is held open with a large rock, obviously placed so it wouldn&#039;t lock someone out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur frowns, slipping through the door and looking around. &amp;quot;Alright. We&#039;re onto you. Come out with your hands over your head and nobody gets hurt, capiche?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door slams shut behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... I should have expected that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The garage is only lit with a few precariously placed lights. Seems like Giza didn&#039;t want to waste too much power lighting this place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec glides between a few of the Giza vehicles, looking around for signs of trouble. She briefly considers fleeing, but really, she can&#039;t imagine a group that powerful that would want Giza dead. She listens carefully...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Fleur passes one of the vehicles, a tail lashes out from behind one of them, attempting to trip her!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tumbles forward, spins around, and raises both her hands, ready to strike!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All she can see is a large dark shape, roughly seven feet tall, black in this poor lighting. It looks roughly reptillian, but this is confirmed when it charges at her, whipping one of its wings at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vixen is bowled over! And she has a moment of terror. She recognizes that species! Fleur feels herself hit one of the garage walls, and her head begins to spin. With focus, she makes jagged splinters of light leap from her fur and begin blasting everything in the garage, inflicting some collateral damage as it bombards the arena.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon takes a large breath and exhales, creating a dazzling display of dancing shadows as fire blasts from its mouth, engulfing the splintering attacks and dissipating most of them. The rest bounce off the thing&#039;s scales, causing minor cuts as it charges again, attempting a tackle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THUD! If there&#039;s one thing Fleur is not, it&#039;s large, and the shadow dragon is definitely that. Familiar, oily black scales pin the fennec to the ground as Fleur writhes under her assailant! She attempts to inflict some pain with her claws - but it&#039;s not nearly as effective. It&#039;s only after a few seconds of fighting that she suddenly freezes, her ears pressing flat against her head. &amp;quot;L-lilian?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The large, block scaled head leans in, showing off a menacing, toothy grin. &amp;quot;Hello mother..&amp;quot;, she says. &amp;quot;How good to .. see you again.&amp;quot;, she says. The dragon uses her weight to her advantage, and effectively pins the much smaller Fennec.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec begins to kick wildly, and a shudder goes through her. &amp;quot;Wh... what are you doing here?&amp;quot; she asks, with wide, frightened eyes. &amp;quot;... let me go, Lilian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shakes her head. &amp;quot;Not this time, mother.&amp;quot;, she hisses. &amp;quot;You&#039;ve been too long denying your desires.. I&#039;ve come to correct that.&amp;quot; She flaps her mighty wings over her, creating a brief draft of air. Her eyes glow menacingly against her dark silhouette. &amp;quot;I want.. my REAL mother back.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s voice lets out a panicked squeak, and she grits her teeth, beginning to struggle against the stronger and highly advantaged woman. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she pleads, &amp;quot;Lilian, please, I... j-just let me go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon seems to delight in your futile strugging. &amp;quot;See how weak you are. You&#039;re powerless. Useless. Unable to even assert your wants and needs. I&#039;m going to help you mother, return you to how you SHOULD be.&amp;quot; A grinding sound of glass against pavement is heard as Lilian uses her tail to pull something out of a satchel at her side. A small vial of whoknowswhat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The small desert fox draws a sharp breath, beginning to shake her head. &amp;quot;L-Lilian,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;N-no. That... it-it&#039;s going to turn me into a monster...&amp;quot; tears begin to form in her eyes, and she begins kicking, futily. &amp;quot;P-please, Lilian...!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian lets out a wicked laugh. &amp;quot;If you really wanted to stay as you are, nothing should stop you. Surely not your own daughter.&amp;quot; Her tail raises up and lifts the vial between you and her, the faintly glinting glass container reflecting the glowing color of Lilian&#039;s eyes. &amp;quot;See this? This will save you from your frailty.. &amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares into the glass container as though she were staring into the depths of a nightmare, her heart hammering in her oversized ears. She looks up into Lilian&#039;s eyes, then over to the bottle again, and shakes her head. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she chokes out, attempting to push the dragoness off of her. Lilian&#039;s stronger.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But.. it&#039;s not complete.&amp;quot;, Lilian continues. &amp;quot;No, I need to add the perfect last ingredient.. I, your daughter, carry half of your genes, and with my essence this tincture will return you to your form when you brought me into this world.. bring me back my mother.&amp;quot; She moves her tail between her legs and rubs it against her nethers a few times. She shivers slightly and lets out a breath before she pops the cap of the vial off with her tailtip and a drop of fluid falls into it. She regains her composure and bring the vial forth again, shaking it with her tail and letting it mix.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eye twitches slightly. She manages to pull one arm out from under Lilian, only to be swiftly pinned down again in the bat of an eye. She clenches her jaw shut and begins to shake her head, tears dribbling down her cheek. Someone would come in and find her. They had to have noticed the power outage. Someone will come in and find her...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shifts her weight to free one of her arms and grabs your head with her powerful claws. &amp;quot;Stop resisting, Mother. I&#039;m trying to help you. Open wide..&amp;quot;, she growls. &amp;quot;You&#039;re not going to make this any easier for either of us by resisting, and I don&#039;t want to hurt you because you know, of course, that I love you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec continues to sob. She keeps her teeth clenched and shakes her head. &amp;quot;Y.you&#039;re crazy,&amp;quot; she murmurs through gritted teeth. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t just... do this... to people... p-please...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian tilts her head and leans in close, one of her eyes within inches of your own. &amp;quot;Oh? Can&#039;t I? And who&#039;s going to stop me?&amp;quot;, she asks. &amp;quot;Besides, it&#039;s not like I&#039;m hurting you.. ideally. I&#039;m helping you.. realize your potential again.&amp;quot; Her clawed hand lightly rakes your cheek enough to scratch your flesh, but not draw blood. She starts to squeeze your jaw tightly until it quickly becomes very painful to keep your jaw shut.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur puts up a fight, she really does. In the end, though, she&#039;s forced to open her mouth, and she begins panting for breath, even as she feels those powerful hands slip inside her tiny, vulpine muzzle and force it open. The fennec shudders, beginning to shake her head. Her eyes fix squarely on the concoction in Lilian&#039;s scaly hand...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s good Mother.&amp;quot;, the dragon says, changing her voice to a more soothing tone. &amp;quot;Now drink up, and don&#039;t spill..&amp;quot; With those words, she turns her tail, tipping the contents of the vial over your mouth. As soon as the foul mixture is drained, she quickly clamps her claw over your muzzle, holding it shut. Her tailtip moves under your chain and starts to stroke your throat, trying to relax your gag reflex.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur grunts weakly, struggling some more... she finds herself swallowing a little of the vile mixture in her mouth, though, and panic flares up in her eyes. She kicks at Lilian&#039;s thighs, pulls at her pinned down arms, sheds a few more tears. After what feels like an eternity, she feels her body betray her, imbibing the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian growls approvingly when she feels your throat finally give out and down the elixir. She releases your head, letting you breathe regularly. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t try to cough it up, it won&#039;t work.. as we speak, it&#039;s already assimilating into your bloodstream.. it recongises your DNA, and it knows what form to bring you to.&amp;quot;, the wicked dragon says as she picks herself up off of you and takes a few steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur shudders, rising shakily to her feet. She stares down at the floor, at her body, and at the empty flask. She feels the bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Her eyes look up at the shadow dragoness who pinned her and forced her to down this. ... so far, nothing&#039;s happening, but she feels... no, wait, something&#039;s definitely happening. Her heart skips a beat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That tingling, it starts to spread through your body, but first it focuses on your hindquarters. Your fluffy fennec tail loses its hair and lengthens, grows shining black scales. Lilian looks on approvingly and sits on her haunches, watching eagerly. &amp;quot;Oh Mother, look, your beautiful tail has returned.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tail is long, wrong on a fennec&#039;s body. Fleur looks down at it, and as she does, tears practically break out of her eyes anew. &amp;quot;Lilian,&amp;quot; she whispers, her tail sinking, &amp;quot;do you even realize what you&#039;re doing? I&#039;m going... I&#039;m going to do horrible things...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who cares what you do?&amp;quot;, the cruel dragon asks. &amp;quot;At least you be doing.. exactly what you want. Unfiltered by weakness, untaintned by inhibition. You&#039;ll be my True mother, who sought her desires out on another, and conceived me. That is who you&#039;ll be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s head is next, and she&#039;s beginning to take on height as well. Fur falls from her like it was never really part of her, and the structure of her bones cracks until a feminine, scaly, and horned head forms from her fennec face. She pants, and there&#039;s a faint shimmer in the air in front of her as she does so. &amp;quot;... Well...&amp;quot; she murmurs, feeling her internal organs shift. &amp;quot;... may... maybe I&#039;ll do more, but...&amp;quot; she draws a sharp breath. The infection continues.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s it.. give into your desires..&amp;quot;, Lilian chants as she watches on. She spreads her wings, making her black silhouette look large and intimidating, as if showing you an example of what power you&#039;ll soon wield again. Your arms and legs seem to change in sync, the infection spreading down your limbs, ripping out your fur as it travels and leaving scales behind.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rapidly rising Fleur falls on her knees, her scaled, clawed hands reaching up and grabbing her head in resistance. This... skin is so familiar! It&#039;s so frightening! And soon, she&#039;ll be trapped in it again, sauntering all over town, taking what&#039;s hers... she breathes deeply through clenched teeth, but slowly, her agitation seems to be settling. The world, and her entire world view, spins around her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your body moves quickly after that.. the infection moving through your bloodstream at an accelerated pace. The rest of your fur dissolves as the dragon&#039;s taint rushes over the surface of your flesh, and with a mighty crack of bones and sinew, your prominant leather wings break free above you.&lt;br /&gt;
The figure - gone from tiny to imposing - still stays on her knees, drawing deep, fierce breaths, her pajama bottoms in rags, her form nude, black scales glistening in the dim light... she lets out a cry as her new wings burst forth, and with it, draws a powerful breath. ... she falls forward on all fours, her mind spinning. Her wings fold slowly behind her back. She is now completely a shadow dragon ... from horn to toe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mother.. my mother..&amp;quot;, Lilian says, crawling on all fours slowly towards you. &amp;quot;Are you unharmed? Your scales look beautiful on you..&amp;quot; The now-slightly smaller dragon looks over you approvingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Slowly, ever so slowly, Fleur uncurls her wings, looking up. Her expression shifts from confused to bemused, and slowly, she begins to stand to - dang. She stands to a good 6&#039;9&amp;quot;, almost one and a half times the size of her previous form. Now, instead of looking up, she can look her daughter in the eyes, slightly down. She smirks cruelly and raises a clawed finger to stroke her child&#039;s scales. &amp;quot;You did the right thing,&amp;quot; she coos, in a voice that is so sultry and feminine that it&#039;s hard to imagine it coming from the fox she had been two minutes ago. It drips with honey. &amp;quot;I should have some form fixatives in that bag over there. Let me make sure that we&#039;re never separated again this time, dear...&amp;quot; half-closed, sultry bedroom eyes glow with malice, and her entire form screams unashamedly for breeding, for eggs... she takes this moment to remove the collar from her neck and stow it away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, Mother, right away!&amp;quot;, Lilian says, her voice changing from the previously aggresive, to a more obediant and childlike tone, showing she obviously knows who her superior is now. She walks over on all fours to your bag and noses through it, pulling a single vial out with her teeth and carefully carrying it over to you, offering it eagerly. &amp;quot;I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re back!&amp;quot;, she excitedly chimes in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Esmerelda breaks the seal on the flask, reads the label, and knocks it back. She smiles. &amp;quot;So am I,&amp;quot; she replies. Waves of heat escape her nostrils with her breaths. She closes her eyes, allowing the fixative to flow through her, and then she hauls up her bag. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since we&#039;ve bonded, little one. Let&#039;s find a boy. Have you made me a grandmother since I&#039;ve been gone? I fear Fleur never did bother to ask about you~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ve not had time to bear children..&amp;quot;, Lilian says disdainfully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve spent months looking for the proper ingredients, and the ideal time to bring you back to me.&amp;quot; Her eyes light up at the prospect of bonding, though and a happy grin spreads over her face.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shadow dragoness&#039; midnight black hand strokes Lilian&#039;s head, and she kisses her. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s fix that right now,&amp;quot; she says, guiding her out with a sway of her hips and a grin. &amp;quot;We&#039;re going to be so happy, you and I~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14878</id>
		<title>Return of Esmerelda</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14878"/>
		<updated>2012-06-13T05:52:01Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of course, had its downsides as far as fatigue. The commons grow quiet, except for the occasional sound of an employee walking downstairs for one reason or another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is here, too, fussing with the internal workings of some comm device she&#039;s been carrying around. The fennec has a small screwdriver tucked behind her ear, and is otherwise dressed in her PJs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A light scuffling noise can be heard near the doorway before the lights in the sublevel commons go out with a click.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec sits up in bed, both ears perked for sounds from outside. She looks around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. &amp;quot;... hello?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The sound of claws on metal is heard as a dark silhouette scrambles up the stairs to the first floor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec steps lightly out of bed, setting her comm unit aside. She bears her tiny claws and begins to follow silently, an expression of concern painted on her face...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scene upstairs is the same. The bar is deserted, closed to the public for the night. Saul had likely gone home for the night. The lights, however, normally kept on, are also off here. A power outage perhaps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello?&amp;quot; calls Fleur, looking around. She doesn&#039;t know where the circuit breaker box is, but she might have some strong suspicions, with her history in security engineering. She&#039;s a bit easier to spot in the darkness than many, with light, creamy fur. Upon hearing no response, Fleur decides to head a bit deeper into the building and see if she can take care of the problem herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Fleur&#039;s intuition leads her towards the back of the building, towards the rear exit to the parking garage. Back there is a utility area where the fuze box, backup generator and other things are located. Upon reaching there, she finds all of the breakers flipped off, and the metal door to the garage ajar. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tosses a glance behind her, then sighs. She begins to flip the breakers back on. Click, click, click, click... eventually, she finishes, and then makes motions to investigate the garage door. A security breach...?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lights flicker back on slowly as the power surges to them once more. The door is held open with a large rock, obviously placed so it wouldn&#039;t lock someone out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur frowns, slipping through the door and looking around. &amp;quot;Alright. We&#039;re onto you. Come out with your hands over your head and nobody gets hurt, capiche?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door slams shut behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... I should have expected that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The garage is only lit with a few precariously placed lights. Seems like Giza didn&#039;t want to waste too much power lighting this place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec glides between a few of the Giza vehicles, looking around for signs of trouble. She briefly considers fleeing, but really, she can&#039;t imagine a group that powerful that would want Giza dead. She listens carefully...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Fleur passes one of the vehicles, a tail lashes out from behind one of them, attempting to trip her!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tumbles forward, spins around, and raises both her hands, ready to strike!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All she can see is a large dark shape, roughly seven feet tall, black in this poor lighting. It looks roughly reptillian, but this is confirmed when it charges at her, whipping one of its wings at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vixen is bowled over! And she has a moment of terror. She recognizes that species! Fleur feels herself hit one of the garage walls, and her head begins to spin. With focus, she makes jagged splinters of light leap from her fur and begin blasting everything in the garage, inflicting some collateral damage as it bombards the arena.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon takes a large breath and exhales, creating a dazzling display of dancing shadows as fire blasts from its mouth, engulfing the splintering attacks and dissipating most of them. The rest bounce off the thing&#039;s scales, causing minor cuts as it charges again, attempting a tackle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THUD! If there&#039;s one thing Fleur is not, it&#039;s large, and the shadow dragon is definitely that. Familiar, oily black scales pin the fennec to the ground as Fleur writhes under her assailant! She attempts to inflict some pain with her claws - but it&#039;s not nearly as effective. It&#039;s only after a few seconds of fighting that she suddenly freezes, her ears pressing flat against her head. &amp;quot;L-lilian?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The large, block scaled head leans in, showing off a menacing, toothy grin. &amp;quot;Hello mother..&amp;quot;, she says. &amp;quot;How good to .. see you again.&amp;quot;, she says. The dragon uses her weight to her advantage, and effectively pins the much smaller Fennec.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec begins to kick wildly, and a shudder goes through her. &amp;quot;Wh... what are you doing here?&amp;quot; she asks, with wide, frightened eyes. &amp;quot;... let me go, Lilian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shakes her head. &amp;quot;Not this time, mother.&amp;quot;, she hisses. &amp;quot;You&#039;ve been too long denying your desires.. I&#039;ve come to correct that.&amp;quot; She flaps her mighty wings over her, creating a brief draft of air. Her eyes glow menacingly against her dark silhouette. &amp;quot;I want.. my REAL mother back.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s voice lets out a panicked squeak, and she grits her teeth, beginning to struggle against the stronger and highly advantaged woman. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she pleads, &amp;quot;Lilian, please, I... j-just let me go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon seems to delight in your futile strugging. &amp;quot;See how weak you are. You&#039;re powerless. Useless. Unable to even assert your wants and needs. I&#039;m going to help you mother, return you to how you SHOULD be.&amp;quot; A grinding sound of glass against pavement is heard as Lilian uses her tail to pull something out of a satchel at her side. A small vial of whoknowswhat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The small desert fox draws a sharp breath, beginning to shake her head. &amp;quot;L-Lilian,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;N-no. That... it-it&#039;s going to turn me into a monster...&amp;quot; tears begin to form in her eyes, and she begins kicking, futily. &amp;quot;P-please, Lilian...!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian lets out a wicked laugh. &amp;quot;If you really wanted to stay as you are, nothing should stop you. Surely not your own daughter.&amp;quot; Her tail raises up and lifts the vial between you and her, the faintly glinting glass container reflecting the glowing color of Lilian&#039;s eyes. &amp;quot;See this? This will save you from your frailty.. &amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares into the glass container as though she were staring into the depths of a nightmare, her heart hammering in her oversized ears. She looks up into Lilian&#039;s eyes, then over to the bottle again, and shakes her head. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she chokes out, attempting to push the dragoness off of her. Lilian&#039;s stronger.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But.. it&#039;s not complete.&amp;quot;, Lilian continues. &amp;quot;No, I need to add the perfect last ingredient.. I, your daughter, carry half of your genes, and with my essence this tincture will return you to your form when you brought me into this world.. bring me back my mother.&amp;quot; She moves her tail between her legs and rubs it against her nethers a few times. She shivers slightly and lets out a breath before she pops the cap of the vial off with her tailtip and a drop of fluid falls into it. She regains her composure and bring the vial forth again, shaking it with her tail and letting it mix.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eye twitches slightly. She manages to pull one arm out from under Lilian, only to be swiftly pinned down again in the bat of an eye. She clenches her jaw shut and begins to shake her head, tears dribbling down her cheek. Someone would come in and find her. They had to have noticed the power outage. Someone will come in and find her...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shifts her weight to free one of her arms and grabs your head with her powerful claws. &amp;quot;Stop resisting, Mother. I&#039;m trying to help you. Open wide..&amp;quot;, she growls. &amp;quot;You&#039;re not going to make this any easier for either of us by resisting, and I don&#039;t want to hurt you because you know, of course, that I love you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec continues to sob. She keeps her teeth clenched and shakes her head. &amp;quot;Y.you&#039;re crazy,&amp;quot; she murmurs through gritted teeth. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t just... do this... to people... p-please...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian tilts her head and leans in close, one of her eyes within inches of your own. &amp;quot;Oh? Can&#039;t I? And who&#039;s going to stop me?&amp;quot;, she asks. &amp;quot;Besides, it&#039;s not like I&#039;m hurting you.. ideally. I&#039;m helping you.. realize your potential again.&amp;quot; Her clawed hand lightly rakes your cheek enough to scratch your flesh, but not draw blood. She starts to squeeze your jaw tightly until it quickly becomes very painful to keep your jaw shut.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur puts up a fight, she really does. In the end, though, she&#039;s forced to open her mouth, and she begins panting for breath, even as she feels those powerful hands slip inside her tiny, vulpine muzzle and force it open. The fennec shudders, beginning to shake her head. Her eyes fix squarely on the concoction in Lilian&#039;s scaly hand...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s good Mother.&amp;quot;, the dragon says, changing her voice to a more soothing tone. &amp;quot;Now drink up, and don&#039;t spill..&amp;quot; With those words, she turns her tail, tipping the contents of the vial over your mouth. As soon as the foul mixture is drained, she quickly clamps her claw over your muzzle, holding it shut. Her tailtip moves under your chain and starts to stroke your throat, trying to relax your gag reflex.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur grunts weakly, struggling some more... she finds herself swallowing a little of the vile mixture in her mouth, though, and panic flares up in her eyes. She kicks at Lilian&#039;s thighs, pulls at her pinned down arms, sheds a few more tears. After what feels like an eternity, she feels her body betray her, imbibing the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian growls approvingly when she feels your throat finally give out and down the elixir. She releases your head, letting you breathe regularly. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t try to cough it up, it won&#039;t work.. as we speak, it&#039;s already assimilating into your bloodstream.. it recongises your DNA, and it knows what form to bring you to.&amp;quot;, the wicked dragon says as she picks herself up off of you and takes a few steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur shudders, rising shakily to her feet. She stares down at the floor, at her body, and at the empty flask. She feels the bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Her eyes look up at the shadow dragoness who pinned her and forced her to down this. ... so far, nothing&#039;s happening, but she feels... no, wait, something&#039;s definitely happening. Her heart skips a beat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That tingling, it starts to spread through your body, but first it focuses on your hindquarters. Your fluffy fennec tail loses its hair and lengthens, grows shining black scales. Lilian looks on approvingly and sits on her haunches, watching eagerly. &amp;quot;Oh Mother, look, your beautiful tail has returned.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tail is long, wrong on a fennec&#039;s body. Fleur looks down at it, and as she does, tears practically break out of her eyes anew. &amp;quot;Lilian,&amp;quot; she whispers, her tail sinking, &amp;quot;do you even realize what you&#039;re doing? I&#039;m going... I&#039;m going to do horrible things...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who cares what you do?&amp;quot;, the cruel dragon asks. &amp;quot;At least you be doing.. exactly what you want. Unfiltered by weakness, untaintned by inhibition. You&#039;ll be my True mother, who sought her desires out on another, and conceived me. That is who you&#039;ll be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s head is next, and she&#039;s beginning to take on height as well. Fur falls from her like it was never really part of her, and the structure of her bones cracks until a feminine, scaly, and horned head forms from her fennec face. She pants, and there&#039;s a faint shimmer in the air in front of her as she does so. &amp;quot;... Well...&amp;quot; she murmurs, feeling her internal organs shift. &amp;quot;... may... maybe I&#039;ll do more, but...&amp;quot; she draws a sharp breath. The infection continues.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s it.. give into your desires..&amp;quot;, Lilian chants as she watches on. She spreads her wings, making her black silhouette look large and intimidating, as if showing you an example of what power you&#039;ll soon wield again. Your arms and legs seem to change in sync, the infection spreading down your limbs, ripping out your fur as it travels and leaving scales behind.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rapidly rising Fleur falls on her knees, her scaled, clawed hands reaching up and grabbing her head in resistance. This... skin is so familiar! It&#039;s so frightening! And soon, she&#039;ll be trapped in it again, sauntering all over town, taking what&#039;s hers... she breathes deeply through clenched teeth, but slowly, her agitation seems to be settling. The world, and her entire world view, spins around her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your body moves quickly after that.. the infection moving through your bloodstream at an accelerated pace. The rest of your fur dissolves as the dragon&#039;s taint rushes over the surface of your flesh, and with a mighty crack of bones and sinew, your prominant leather wings break free above you.&lt;br /&gt;
The figure - gone from tiny to imposing - still stays on her knees, drawing deep, fierce breaths, her pajama bottoms in rags, her form nude, black scales glistening in the dim light... she lets out a cry as her new wings burst forth, and with it, draws a powerful breath. ... she falls forward on all fours, her mind spinning. Her wings fold slowly behind her back. She is now completely a shadow dragon ... from horn to toe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mother.. my mother..&amp;quot;, Lilian says, crawling on all fours slowly towards you. &amp;quot;Are you unharmed? Your scales look beautiful on you..&amp;quot; The now-slightly smaller dragon looks over you approvingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Slowly, ever so slowly, Fleur uncurls her wings, looking up. Her expression shifts from confused to bemused, and slowly, she begins to stand to - dang. She stands to a good 6&#039;9&amp;quot;, almost one and a half times the size of her previous form. Now, instead of looking up, she can look her daughter in the eyes, slightly down. She smirks cruelly and raises a clawed finger to stroke her child&#039;s scales. &amp;quot;You did the right thing,&amp;quot; she coos, in a voice that is so sultry and feminine that it&#039;s hard to imagine it coming from the fox she had been two minutes ago. It drips with honey. &amp;quot;I should have some form fixatives in that bag over there. Let me make sure that we&#039;re never separated again this time, dear...&amp;quot; half-closed, sultry bedroom eyes glow with malice, and her entire form screams unashamedly for breeding, for eggs... she takes this moment to remove the collar from her neck and stow it away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, Mother, right away!&amp;quot;, Lilian says, her voice changing from the previously aggresive, to a more obediant and childlike tone, showing she obviously knows who her superior is now. She walks over on all fours to your bag and noses through it, pulling a single vial out with her teeth and carefully carrying it over to you, offering it eagerly. &amp;quot;I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re back!&amp;quot;, she excitedly chimes in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Esmerelda breaks the seal on the flask, reads the label, and knocks it back. She smiles. &amp;quot;So am I,&amp;quot; she replies. Waves of heat escape her nostrils with her breaths. She closes her eyes, allowing the fixative to flow through her, and then she hauls up her bag. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since we&#039;ve bonded, little one. Let&#039;s find a boy. Have you made me a grandmother since I&#039;ve been gone? I fear Fleur never did bother to ask about you~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ve not had time to bear children..&amp;quot;, Lilian says disdainfully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve spent months looking for the proper ingredients, and the ideal time to bring you back to me.&amp;quot; Her eyes light up at the prospect of bonding, though and a happy grin spreads over her face.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shadow dragoness&#039; midnight black hand strokes Lilian&#039;s head, and she kisses her. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s fix that right now,&amp;quot; she says, guiding her out with a sway of her hips and a grin. &amp;quot;We&#039;re going to be so happy, you and I~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14877</id>
		<title>Return of Esmerelda</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14877"/>
		<updated>2012-06-13T05:51:08Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of course, had its downsides as far as fatigue. The commons grow quiet, except for the occasional sound of an employee walking downstairs for one reason or another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is here, too, fussing with the internal workings of some comm device she&#039;s been carrying around. The fennec has a small screwdriver tucked behind her ear, and is otherwise dressed in her PJs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A light scuffling noise can be heard near the doorway before the lights in the sublevel commons go out with a click.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec sits up in bed, both ears perked for sounds from outside. She looks around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. &amp;quot;... hello?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The sound of claws on metal is heard as a dark silhouette scrambles up the stairs to the first floor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec steps lightly out of bed, setting her comm unit aside. She bears her tiny claws and begins to follow silently, an expression of concern painted on her face...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scene upstairs is the same. The bar is deserted, closed to the public for the night. Saul had likely gone home for the night. The lights, however, normally kept on, are also off here. A power outage perhaps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello?&amp;quot; calls Fleur, looking around. She doesn&#039;t know where the circuit breaker box is, but she might have some strong suspicions, with her history in security engineering. She&#039;s a bit easier to spot in the darkness than many, with light, creamy fur. Upon hearing no response, Fleur decides to head a bit deeper into the building and see if she can take care of the problem herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Fleur&#039;s intuition leads her towards the back of the building, towards the rear exit to the parking garage. Back there is a utility area where the fuze box, backup generator and other things are located. Upon reaching there, she finds all of the breakers flipped off, and the metal door to the garage ajar. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tosses a glance behind her, then sighs. She begins to flip the breakers back on. Click, click, click, click... eventually, she finishes, and then makes motions to investigate the garage door. A security breach...?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lights flicker back on slowly as the power surges to them once more. The door is held open with a large rock, obviously placed so it wouldn&#039;t lock someone out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur frowns, slipping through the door and looking around. &amp;quot;Alright. We&#039;re onto you. Come out with your hands over your head and nobody gets hurt, capiche?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door slams shut behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... I should have expected that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The garage is only lit with a few precariously placed lights. Seems like Giza didn&#039;t want to waste too much power lighting this place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec glides between a few of the Giza vehicles, looking around for signs of trouble. She briefly considers fleeing, but really, she can&#039;t imagine a group that powerful that would want Giza dead. She listens carefully...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Fleur passes one of the vehicles, a tail lashes out from behind one of them, attempting to trip her!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tumbles forward, spins around, and raises both her hands, ready to strike!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All she can see is a large dark shape, roughly seven feet tall, black in this poor lighting. It looks roughly reptillian, but this is confirmed when it charges at her, whipping one of its wings at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vixen is bowled over! And she has a moment of terror. She recognizes that species! Fleur feels herself hit one of the garage walls, and her head begins to spin. With focus, she makes jagged splinters of light leap from her fur and begin blasting everything in the garage, inflicting some collateral damage as it bombards the arena.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon takes a large breath and exhales, creating a dazzling display of dancing shadows as fire blasts from its mouth, engulfing the splintering attacks and dissipating most of them. The rest bounce off the thing&#039;s scales, causing minor cuts as it charges again, attempting a tackle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THUD! If there&#039;s one thing Fleur is not, it&#039;s large, and the shadow dragon is definitely that. Familiar, oily black scales pin the fennec to the ground as Fleur writhes under her assailant! She attempts to inflict some pain with her claws - but it&#039;s not nearly as effective. It&#039;s only after a few seconds of fighting that she suddenly freezes, her ears pressing flat against her head. &amp;quot;L-lilian?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The large, block scaled head leans in, showing off a menacing, toothy grin. &amp;quot;Hello mother..&amp;quot;, she says. &amp;quot;How good to .. see you again.&amp;quot;, she says. The dragon uses her weight to her advantage, and effectively pins the much smaller Fennec.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec begins to kick wildly, and a shudder goes through her. &amp;quot;Wh... what are you doing here?&amp;quot; she asks, with wide, frightened eyes. &amp;quot;... let me go, Lilian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shakes her head. &amp;quot;Not this time, mother.&amp;quot;, she hisses. &amp;quot;You&#039;ve been too long denying your desires.. I&#039;ve come to correct that.&amp;quot; She flaps her mighty wings over her, creating a brief draft of air. Her eyes glow menacingly against her dark silhouette. &amp;quot;I want.. my REAL mother back.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s voice lets out a panicked squeak, and she grits her teeth, beginning to struggle against the stronger and highly advantaged woman. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she pleads, &amp;quot;Lilian, please, I... j-just let me go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon seems to delight in your futile strugging. &amp;quot;See how weak you are. You&#039;re powerless. Useless. Unable to even assert your wants and needs. I&#039;m going to help you mother, return you to how you SHOULD be.&amp;quot; A grinding sound of glass against pavement is heard as Lilian uses her tail to pull something out of a satchel at her side. A small vial of whoknowswhat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The small desert fox draws a sharp breath, beginning to shake her head. &amp;quot;L-Lilian,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;N-no. That... it-it&#039;s going to turn me into a monster...&amp;quot; tears begin to form in her eyes, and she begins kicking, futily. &amp;quot;P-please, Lilian...!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian lets out a wicked laugh. &amp;quot;If you really wanted to stay as you are, nothing should stop you. Surely not your own daughter.&amp;quot; Her tail raises up and lifts the vial between you and her, the faintly glinting glass container reflecting the glowing color of Lilian&#039;s eyes. &amp;quot;See this? This will save you from your frailty.. &amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares into the glass container as though she were staring into the depths of a nightmare, her heart hammering in her oversized ears. She looks up into Lilian&#039;s eyes, then over to the bottle again, and shakes her head. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she chokes out, attempting to push the dragoness off of her. Lilian&#039;s stronger.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But.. it&#039;s not complete.&amp;quot;, Lilian continues. &amp;quot;No, I need to add the perfect last ingredient.. I, your daughter, carry half of your genes, and with my essence this tincture will return you to your form when you brought me into this world.. bring me back my mother.&amp;quot; She moves her tail between her legs and rubs it against her nethers a few times. She shivers slightly and lets out a breath before she pops the cap of the vial off with her tailtip and a drop of fluid falls into it. She regains her composure and bring the vial forth again, shaking it with her tail and letting it mix.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eye twitches slightly. She manages to pull one arm out from under Lilian, only to be swiftly pinned down again in the bat of an eye. She clenches her jaw shut and begins to shake her head, tears dribbling down her cheek. Someone would come in and find her. They had to have noticed the power outage. Someone will come in and find her...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shifts her weight to free one of her arms and grabs your head with her powerful claws. &amp;quot;Stop resisting, Mother. I&#039;m trying to help you. Open wide..&amp;quot;, she growls. &amp;quot;You&#039;re not going to make this any easier for either of us by resisting, and I don&#039;t want to hurt you because you know, of course, that I love you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec continues to sob. She keeps her teeth clenched and shakes her head. &amp;quot;Y.you&#039;re crazy,&amp;quot; she murmurs through gritted teeth. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t just... do this... to people... p-please...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian tilts her head and leans in close, one of her eyes within inches of your own. &amp;quot;Oh? Can&#039;t I? And who&#039;s going to stop me?&amp;quot;, she asks. &amp;quot;Besides, it&#039;s not like I&#039;m hurting you.. ideally. I&#039;m helping you.. realize your potential again.&amp;quot; Her clawed hand lightly rakes your cheek enough to scratch your flesh, but not draw blood. She starts to squeeze your jaw tightly until it quickly becomes very painful to keep your jaw shut.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur puts up a fight, she really does. In the end, though, she&#039;s forced to open her mouth, and she begins panting for breath, even as she feels those powerful hands slip inside her tiny, vulpine muzzle and force it open. The fennec shudders, beginning to shake her head. Her eyes fix squarely on the concoction in Lilian&#039;s scaly hand...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s good Mother.&amp;quot;, the dragon says, changing her voice to a more soothing tone. &amp;quot;Now drink up, and don&#039;t spill..&amp;quot; With those words, she turns her tail, tipping the contents of the vial over your mouth. As soon as the foul mixture is drained, she quickly clamps her claw over your muzzle, holding it shut. Her tailtip moves under your chain and starts to stroke your throat, trying to relax your gag reflex.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur grunts weakly, struggling some more... she finds herself swallowing a little of the vile mixture in her mouth, though, and panic flares up in her eyes. She kicks at Lilian&#039;s thighs, pulls at her pinned down arms, sheds a few more tears. After what feels like an eternity, she feels her body betray her, imbibing the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian growls approvingly when she feels your throat finally give out and down the elixir. She releases your head, letting you breathe regularly. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t try to cough it up, it won&#039;t work.. as we speak, it&#039;s already assimilating into your bloodstream.. it recongises your DNA, and it knows what form to bring you to.&amp;quot;, the wicked dragon says as she picks herself up off of you and takes a few steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur shudders, rising shakily to her feet. She stares down at the floor, at her body, and at the empty flask. She feels the bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Her eyes look up at the shadow dragoness who pinned her and forced her to down this. ... so far, nothing&#039;s happening, but she feels... no, wait, something&#039;s definitely happening. Her heart skips a beat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That tingling, it starts to spread through your body, but first it focuses on your hindquarters. Your fluffy fennec tail loses its hair and lengthens, grows shining black scales. Lilian looks on approvingly and sits on her haunches, watching eagerly. &amp;quot;Oh Mother, look, your beautiful tail has returned.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tail is long, wrong on a fennec&#039;s body. Fleur looks down at it, and as she does, tears practically break out of her eyes anew. &amp;quot;Lilian,&amp;quot; she whispers, her tail sinking, &amp;quot;do you even realize what you&#039;re doing? I&#039;m going... I&#039;m going to do horrible things...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who cares what you do?&amp;quot;, the cruel dragon asks. &amp;quot;At least you be doing.. exactly what you want. Unfiltered by weakness, untaintned by inhibition. You&#039;ll be my True mother, who sought her desires out on another, and conceived me. That is who you&#039;ll be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s head is next, and she&#039;s beginning to take on height as well. Fur falls from her like it was never really part of her, and the structure of her bones cracks until a feminine, scaly, and horned head forms from her fennec face. She pants, and there&#039;s a faint shimmer in the air in front of her as she does so. &amp;quot;... Well...&amp;quot; she murmurs, feeling her internal organs shift. &amp;quot;... may... maybe I&#039;ll do more, but...&amp;quot; she draws a sharp breath. The infection continues.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s it.. give into your desires..&amp;quot;, Lilian chants as she watches on. She spreads her wings, making her black silhouette look large and intimidating, as if showing you an example of what power you&#039;ll soon wield again. Your arms and legs seem to change in sync, the infection spreading down your limbs, ripping out your fur as it travels and leaving scales behind.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rapidly rising Fleur falls on her knees, her scaled, clawed hands reaching up and grabbing her head in resistance. This... skin is so familiar! It&#039;s so frightening! And soon, she&#039;ll be trapped in it again, sauntering all over town, taking what&#039;s hers... she breathes deeply through clenched teeth, but slowly, her agitation seems to be settling. The world, and her entire world view, spins around her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your body moves quickly after that.. the infection moving through your bloodstream at an accelerated pace. The rest of your fur dissolves as the dragon&#039;s taint rushes over the surface of your flesh, and with a mighty crack of bones and sinew, your prominant leather wings break free above you.&lt;br /&gt;
The figure - gone from tiny to imposing - still stays on her knees, drawing deep, fierce breaths, her pajama bottoms in rags, her form nude, black scales glistening in the dim light... she lets out a cry as her new wings burst forth, and with it, draws a powerful breath. ... she falls forward on all fours, her mind spinning. Her wings fold slowly behind her back. She is now completely a shadow dragon ... from horn to toe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mother.. my mother..&amp;quot;, Lilian says, crawling on all fours slowly towards you. &amp;quot;Are you unharmed? Your scales look beautiful on you..&amp;quot; The now-slightly smaller dragon looks over you approvingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Slowly, ever so slowly, Fleur uncurls her wings, looking up. Her expression shifts from confused to bemused, and slowly, she begins to stand to - dang. She stands to a good 6&#039;9&amp;quot;, almost one and a half times the size of her previous form. Now, instead of looking up, she can look her daughter in the eyes, slightly down. She smirks cruelly and raises a clawed finger to stroke her child&#039;s scales. &amp;quot;You did the right thing,&amp;quot; she coos, in a voice that is so sultry and feminine that it&#039;s hard to imagine it coming from the fox she had been two minutes ago. It drips with honey. &amp;quot;I should have some form fixatives in that bag over there. Let me make sure that we&#039;re never separated again this time, dear...&amp;quot; half-closed, sultry bedroom eyes glow with malice, and her entire form screams unashamedly for breeding, for eggs... she takes this moment to remove the collar from her neck and stow it away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, Mother, right away!&amp;quot;, Lilian says, her voice changing from the previously aggresive, to a more obediant and childlike tone, showing she obviously knows who her superior is now. She walks over on all fours to your bag and noses through it, pulling a single vial out with her teeth and carefully carrying it over to you, offering it eagerly. &amp;quot;I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re back!&amp;quot;, she excitedly chimes in.&lt;br /&gt;
Esmerelda breaks the seal on the flask, reads the label, and knocks it back. She smiles. &amp;quot;So am I,&amp;quot; she replies. Waves of heat escape her nostrils with her breaths. She closes her eyes, allowing the fixative to flow through her, and then she hauls up her bag. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since we&#039;ve bonded, little one. Let&#039;s find a boy. Have you made me a grandmother since I&#039;ve been gone? I fear Fleur never did bother to ask about you~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ve not had time to bear children..&amp;quot;, Lilian says disdainfully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve spent months looking for the proper ingredients, and the ideal time to bring you back to me.&amp;quot; Her eyes light up at the prospect of bonding, though and a happy grin spreads over her face.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shadow dragoness&#039; midnight black hand strokes Lilian&#039;s head, and she kisses her. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s fix that right now,&amp;quot; she says, guiding her out with a sway of her hips and a grin. &amp;quot;We&#039;re going to be so happy, you and I~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14876</id>
		<title>Return of Esmerelda</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Return_of_Esmerelda&amp;diff=14876"/>
		<updated>2012-06-13T05:49:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;==Participants== * Fleur * Darkwyrm (cameo) ==Director== * Darkwyrm ==Log==  Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of cou...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm had returned to his bunk and drifted off into a sleep. Being pregnant, of course, had its downsides as far as fatigue. The commons grow quiet, except for the occasional sound of an employee walking downstairs for one reason or another.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is here, too, fussing with the internal workings of some comm device she&#039;s been carrying around. The fennec has a small screwdriver tucked behind her ear, and is otherwise dressed in her PJs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A light scuffling noise can be heard near the doorway before the lights in the sublevel commons go out with a click.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec sits up in bed, both ears perked for sounds from outside. She looks around, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. &amp;quot;... hello?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The sound of claws on metal is heard as a dark silhouette scrambles up the stairs to the first floor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec steps lightly out of bed, setting her comm unit aside. She bears her tiny claws and begins to follow silently, an expression of concern painted on her face...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The scene upstairs is the same. The bar is deserted, closed to the public for the night. Saul had likely gone home for the night. The lights, however, normally kept on, are also off here. A power outage perhaps?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello?&amp;quot; calls Fleur, looking around. She doesn&#039;t know where the circuit breaker box is, but she might have some strong suspicions, with her history in security engineering. She&#039;s a bit easier to spot in the darkness than many, with light, creamy fur. Upon hearing no response, Fleur decides to head a bit deeper into the building and see if she can take care of the problem herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Fleur&#039;s intuition leads her towards the back of the building, towards the rear exit to the parking garage. Back there is a utility area where the fuze box, backup generator and other things are located. Upon reaching there, she finds all of the breakers flipped off, and the metal door to the garage ajar. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tosses a glance behind her, then sighs. She begins to flip the breakers back on. Click, click, click, click... eventually, she finishes, and then makes motions to investigate the garage door. A security breach...?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lights flicker back on slowly as the power surges to them once more. The door is held open with a large rock, obviously placed so it wouldn&#039;t lock someone out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur frowns, slipping through the door and looking around. &amp;quot;Alright. We&#039;re onto you. Come out with your hands over your head and nobody gets hurt, capiche?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door slams shut behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... I should have expected that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The garage is only lit with a few precariously placed lights. Seems like Giza didn&#039;t want to waste too much power lighting this place.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec glides between a few of the Giza vehicles, looking around for signs of trouble. She briefly considers fleeing, but really, she can&#039;t imagine a group that powerful that would want Giza dead. She listens carefully...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Fleur passes one of the vehicles, a tail lashes out from behind one of them, attempting to trip her!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur tumbles forward, spins around, and raises both her hands, ready to strike!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All she can see is a large dark shape, roughly seven feet tall, black in this poor lighting. It looks roughly reptillian, but this is confirmed when it charges at her, whipping one of its wings at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The vixen is bowled over! And she has a moment of terror. She recognizes that species! Fleur feels herself hit one of the garage walls, and her head begins to spin. With focus, she makes jagged splinters of light leap from her fur and begin blasting everything in the garage, inflicting some collateral damage as it bombards the arena.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon takes a large breath and exhales, creating a dazzling display of dancing shadows as fire blasts from its mouth, engulfing the splintering attacks and dissipating most of them. The rest bounce off the thing&#039;s scales, causing minor cuts as it charges again, attempting a tackle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
THUD! If there&#039;s one thing Fleur is not, it&#039;s large, and the shadow dragon is definitely that. Familiar, oily black scales pin the fennec to the ground as Fleur writhes under her assailant! She attempts to inflict some pain with her claws - but it&#039;s not nearly as effective. It&#039;s only after a few seconds of fighting that she suddenly freezes, her ears pressing flat against her head. &amp;quot;L-lilian?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The large, block scaled head leans in, showing off a menacing, toothy grin. &amp;quot;Hello mother..&amp;quot;, she says. &amp;quot;How good to .. see you again.&amp;quot;, she says. The dragon uses her weight to her advantage, and effectively pins the much smaller Fennec.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec begins to kick wildly, and a shudder goes through her. &amp;quot;Wh... what are you doing here?&amp;quot; she asks, with wide, frightened eyes. &amp;quot;... let me go, Lilian.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shakes her head. &amp;quot;Not this time, mother.&amp;quot;, she hisses. &amp;quot;You&#039;ve been too long denying your desires.. I&#039;ve come to correct that.&amp;quot; She flaps her mighty wings over her, creating a brief draft of air. Her eyes glow menacingly against her dark silhouette. &amp;quot;I want.. my REAL mother back.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s voice lets out a panicked squeak, and she grits her teeth, beginning to struggle against the stronger and highly advantaged woman. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she pleads, &amp;quot;Lilian, please, I... j-just let me go!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon seems to delight in your futile strugging. &amp;quot;See how weak you are. You&#039;re powerless. Useless. Unable to even assert your wants and needs. I&#039;m going to help you mother, return you to how you SHOULD be.&amp;quot; A grinding sound of glass against pavement is heard as Lilian uses her tail to pull something out of a satchel at her side. A small vial of whoknowswhat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The small desert fox draws a sharp breath, beginning to shake her head. &amp;quot;L-Lilian,&amp;quot; she says. &amp;quot;N-no. That... it-it&#039;s going to turn me into a monster...&amp;quot; tears begin to form in her eyes, and she begins kicking, futily. &amp;quot;P-please, Lilian...!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian lets out a wicked laugh. &amp;quot;If you really wanted to stay as you are, nothing should stop you. Surely not your own daughter.&amp;quot; Her tail raises up and lifts the vial between you and her, the faintly glinting glass container reflecting the glowing color of Lilian&#039;s eyes. &amp;quot;See this? This will save you from your frailty.. &amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares into the glass container as though she were staring into the depths of a nightmare, her heart hammering in her oversized ears. She looks up into Lilian&#039;s eyes, then over to the bottle again, and shakes her head. &amp;quot;N-no,&amp;quot; she chokes out, attempting to push the dragoness off of her. Lilian&#039;s stronger.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;But.. it&#039;s not complete.&amp;quot;, Lilian continues. &amp;quot;No, I need to add the perfect last ingredient.. I, your daughter, carry half of your genes, and with my essence this tincture will return you to your form when you brought me into this world.. bring me back my mother.&amp;quot; She moves her tail between her legs and rubs it against her nethers a few times. She shivers slightly and lets out a breath before she pops the cap of the vial off with her tailtip and a drop of fluid falls into it. She regains her composure and bring the vial forth again, shaking it with her tail and letting it mix.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eye twitches slightly. She manages to pull one arm out from under Lilian, only to be swiftly pinned down again in the bat of an eye. She clenches her jaw shut and begins to shake her head, tears dribbling down her cheek. Someone would come in and find her. They had to have noticed the power outage. Someone will come in and find her...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian shifts her weight to free one of her arms and grabs your head with her powerful claws. &amp;quot;Stop resisting, Mother. I&#039;m trying to help you. Open wide..&amp;quot;, she growls. &amp;quot;You&#039;re not going to make this any easier for either of us by resisting, and I don&#039;t want to hurt you because you know, of course, that I love you.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fennec continues to sob. She keeps her teeth clenched and shakes her head. &amp;quot;Y.you&#039;re crazy,&amp;quot; she murmurs through gritted teeth. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t just... do this... to people... p-please...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian tilts her head and leans in close, one of her eyes within inches of your own. &amp;quot;Oh? Can&#039;t I? And who&#039;s going to stop me?&amp;quot;, she asks. &amp;quot;Besides, it&#039;s not like I&#039;m hurting you.. ideally. I&#039;m helping you.. realize your potential again.&amp;quot; Her clawed hand lightly rakes your cheek enough to scratch your flesh, but not draw blood. She starts to squeeze your jaw tightly until it quickly becomes very painful to keep your jaw shut.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur puts up a fight, she really does. In the end, though, she&#039;s forced to open her mouth, and she begins panting for breath, even as she feels those powerful hands slip inside her tiny, vulpine muzzle and force it open. The fennec shudders, beginning to shake her head. Her eyes fix squarely on the concoction in Lilian&#039;s scaly hand...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s good Mother.&amp;quot;, the dragon says, changing her voice to a more soothing tone. &amp;quot;Now drink up, and don&#039;t spill..&amp;quot; With those words, she turns her tail, tipping the contents of the vial over your mouth. As soon as the foul mixture is drained, she quickly clamps her claw over your muzzle, holding it shut. Her tailtip moves under your chain and starts to stroke your throat, trying to relax your gag reflex.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur grunts weakly, struggling some more... she finds herself swallowing a little of the vile mixture in her mouth, though, and panic flares up in her eyes. She kicks at Lilian&#039;s thighs, pulls at her pinned down arms, sheds a few more tears. After what feels like an eternity, she feels her body betray her, imbibing the rest.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Lilian growls approvingly when she feels your throat finally give out and down the elixir. She releases your head, letting you breathe regularly. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t try to cough it up, it won&#039;t work.. as we speak, it&#039;s already assimilating into your bloodstream.. it recongises your DNA, and it knows what form to bring you to.&amp;quot;, the wicked dragon says as she picks herself up off of you and takes a few steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur shudders, rising shakily to her feet. She stares down at the floor, at her body, and at the empty flask. She feels the bitter aftertaste in her mouth. Her eyes look up at the shadow dragoness who pinned her and forced her to down this. ... so far, nothing&#039;s happening, but she feels... no, wait, something&#039;s definitely happening. Her heart skips a beat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
That tingling, it starts to spread through your body, but first it focuses on your hindquarters. Your fluffy fennec tail loses its hair and lengthens, grows shining black scales. Lilian looks on approvingly and sits on her haunches, watching eagerly. &amp;quot;Oh Mother, look, your beautiful tail has returned.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tail is long, wrong on a fennec&#039;s body. Fleur looks down at it, and as she does, tears practically break out of her eyes anew. &amp;quot;Lilian,&amp;quot; she whispers, her tail sinking, &amp;quot;do you even realize what you&#039;re doing? I&#039;m going... I&#039;m going to do horrible things...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Who cares what you do?&amp;quot;, the cruel dragon asks. &amp;quot;At least you be doing.. exactly what you want. Unfiltered by weakness, untaintned by inhibition. You&#039;ll be my True mother, who sought her desires out on another, and conceived me. That is who you&#039;ll be.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s head is next, and she&#039;s beginning to take on height as well. Fur falls from her like it was never really part of her, and the structure of her bones cracks until a feminine, scaly, and horned head forms from her fennec face. She pants, and there&#039;s a faint shimmer in the air in front of her as she does so. &amp;quot;... Well...&amp;quot; she murmurs, feeling her internal organs shift. &amp;quot;... may... maybe I&#039;ll do more, but...&amp;quot; she draws a sharp breath. The infection continues.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That&#039;s it.. give into your desires..&amp;quot;, Lilian chants as she watches on. She spreads her wings, making her black silhouette look large and intimidating, as if showing you an example of what power you&#039;ll soon wield again. Your arms and legs seem to change in sync, the infection spreading down your limbs, ripping out your fur as it travels and leaving scales behind.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rapidly rising Fleur falls on her knees, her scaled, clawed hands reaching up and grabbing her head in resistance. This... skin is so familiar! It&#039;s so frightening! And soon, she&#039;ll be trapped in it again, sauntering all over town, taking what&#039;s hers... she breathes deeply through clenched teeth, but slowly, her agitation seems to be settling. The world, and her entire world view, spins around her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your body moves quickly after that.. the infection moving through your bloodstream at an accelerated pace. The rest of your fur dissolves as the dragon&#039;s taint rushes over the surface of your flesh, and with a mighty crack of bones and sinew, your prominant leather wings break free above you.&lt;br /&gt;
The figure - gone from tiny to imposing - still stays on her knees, drawing deep, fierce breaths, her pajama bottoms in rags, her form nude, black scales glistening in the dim light... she lets out a cry as her new wings burst forth, and with it, draws a powerful breath. ... she falls forward on all fours, her mind spinning. Her wings fold slowly behind her back. She is now completely a shadow dragon ... from horn to toe.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Mother.. my mother..&amp;quot;, Lilian says, crawling on all fours slowly towards you. &amp;quot;Are you unharmed? Your scales look beautiful on you..&amp;quot; The now-slightly smaller dragon looks over you approvingly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Slowly, ever so slowly, Fleur uncurls her wings, looking up. Her expression shifts from confused to bemused, and slowly, she begins to stand to - dang. She stands to a good 6&#039;9&amp;quot;, almost one and a half times the size of her previous form. Now, instead of looking up, she can look her daughter in the eyes, slightly down. She smirks cruelly and raises a clawed finger to stroke her child&#039;s scales. &amp;quot;You did the right thing,&amp;quot; she coos, in a voice that is so sultry and feminine that it&#039;s hard to imagine it coming from the fox she had been two minutes ago. It drips with honey. &amp;quot;I should have some form fixatives in that bag over there. Let me make sure that we&#039;re never separated again this time, dear...&amp;quot; half-closed, sultry bedroom eyes glow with malice, and her entire form screams unashamedly for breeding, for eggs... she takes this moment to remove the collar from her neck and stow it away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Yes, Mother, right away!&amp;quot;, Lilian says, her voice changing from the previously aggresive, to a more obediant and childlike tone, showing she obviously knows who her superior is now. She walks over on all fours to your bag and noses through it, pulling a single vial out with her teeth and carefully carrying it over to you, offering it eagerly. &amp;quot;I&#039;m so glad you&#039;re back!&amp;quot;, she excitedly chimes in.&lt;br /&gt;
Esmerelda breaks the seal on the flask, reads the label, and knocks it back. She smiles. &amp;quot;So am I,&amp;quot; she replies. Waves of heat escape her nostrils with her breaths. She closes her eyes, allowing the fixative to flow through her, and then she hauls up her bag. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been too long since we&#039;ve bonded, little one. Let&#039;s find a boy. Have you made me a grandmother since I&#039;ve been gone? I fear Fleur never did bother to ask about you~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ve not had time to bear children..&amp;quot;, Lilian says disdainfully. &amp;quot;I&#039;ve spent months looking for the proper ingredients, and the ideal time to bring you back to me.&amp;quot; Her eyes light up at the prospect of bonding, though and a happy grin spreads over her face.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shadow dragoness&#039; midnight black hand strokes Lilian&#039;s head, and she kisses her. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s fix that right now,&amp;quot; she says, guiding her out with a sway of her hips and a grin. &amp;quot;We&#039;re going to be so happy, you and I~&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]][[Category:Darkwyrm Events]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Uber_Fox_(dedication)&amp;diff=12649</id>
		<title>Uber Fox (dedication)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Uber_Fox_(dedication)&amp;diff=12649"/>
		<updated>2012-03-19T17:04:00Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Monster&lt;br /&gt;
|arms=&lt;br /&gt;
|tail=&lt;br /&gt;
|groin=[[Deep Healing]]&lt;br /&gt;
|head=[[Transfixing Gaze]]&lt;br /&gt;
|legs=[[Charge]],[[Feline Agility]]&lt;br /&gt;
|skin=[[Furry Hide]]&lt;br /&gt;
|torso=[[Solid Frame]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}The Uber Foxes are a race of cursed fox like beings. They can leech the will to fight from their chosen prey, and are reinvigorated in victory, leeching the very same energy for their own gain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Grants [[Forgetful Nibble]] and [[Lustful Musk]]. Uber Foxes recover a small amount of energy upon defeating an enemy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The fox&#039;s den can be found in the Dark Forest. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Dedications]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Nekomata_(dedication)&amp;diff=12403</id>
		<title>Nekomata (dedication)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Nekomata_(dedication)&amp;diff=12403"/>
		<updated>2012-03-13T07:19:25Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Monster&lt;br /&gt;
|head=[[Purr]]&lt;br /&gt;
|torso=[[Mirage]]&lt;br /&gt;
|arms=[[Raking Claws]]&lt;br /&gt;
|legs=[[Feline Agility]], [[Pounce]]&lt;br /&gt;
|tail=&lt;br /&gt;
|skin=[[Furry Hide]]&lt;br /&gt;
|groin=&lt;br /&gt;
|location1=Point Zero: Den&lt;br /&gt;
|level1=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
==Description==&lt;br /&gt;
Twin-tailed cat-spirits of Japanese lore, nekomata are minor shapeshifters with a penchant for trouble. Followers of these beings gain their form and some of their powers, and are capable of eating anyhing that gets in their way. They are fiercely loyal, and betrayal of one never ends well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Abilities==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Feline Grace]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
It costs 50 mako to dedicate to this supernatural deity.  The Den is found in Fairhaven near Point Zero.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Dedications]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Nekomata_(dedication)&amp;diff=12402</id>
		<title>Nekomata (dedication)</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Nekomata_(dedication)&amp;diff=12402"/>
		<updated>2012-03-13T07:19:06Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{Monster&lt;br /&gt;
|head=[[Purr]]&lt;br /&gt;
|torso=[[Mirage]]&lt;br /&gt;
|arms=[[Raking Claws]]&lt;br /&gt;
|legs=[[Feline Agility]], [[Pounce]]&lt;br /&gt;
|tail=&lt;br /&gt;
|skin=[[Furry Hide]]&lt;br /&gt;
|groin=&lt;br /&gt;
|location1=Point Zero: Den&lt;br /&gt;
|level1=&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
==Description==&lt;br /&gt;
Twin-tailed cat-spirits of Japanese lore, nekomata are minor shapeshifters with a penchant for trouble. Followers of these beings gain their form and some of their powers, and are capable of eating anyhing that gets in their way. They are fiercely loyal, and betrayal of one never ends well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Abilities==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Extreme Omnivore]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Feline Grace]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Notes==&lt;br /&gt;
It costs 50 mako to dedicate to this supernatural deity.  The Den is found in the Fairhaven near Point Zero.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Dedications]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Rave_Snax&amp;diff=12081</id>
		<title>Rave Snax</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Rave_Snax&amp;diff=12081"/>
		<updated>2012-03-11T04:06:40Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;==Participants== * Smokie * Nicky * Kain ==Director== * Darkwyrm ==Log==  [RP] Rumor has it that everyone&amp;#039;s favorite mall rats have set up a little stand and a...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Smokie]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Nicky]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Kain]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[RP] Rumor has it that everyone&#039;s favorite mall rats have set up a little stand and are giving out free samples of something to passersby. Whatever it is that they&#039;re peddling, it&#039;s bound to be 101% awesome. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A small stand has been set up aside from the other stores in the mall. Behind it stands a mall rat in a black leather jacket, wearing mirrored shades and displaying every ounce of cool that he can.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky wobbles down from a far off street, her arms flapping about in excitement, &amp;quot;Food food food food!&amp;quot; She crashes down over a curb as she nears the stand, &amp;quot;This a food stand right? Awww....bawwa...so hungry...&amp;quot; She mounts the curb before ploping down on her rear, clucking quietly while she rests.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With an air of coolness to perhaps even rival the mallrats, (without dissing, of course,) the quadruped hyena lopes along, perusing the wares with her keen eyes.  Shiny biker leathers, a matching jacket and pants, reinforced with silver rivets, slim her form down and add a feminine air to her, despite her wide, hunched shoulders and her toned, muscular frame.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain looks around, window shopping at the moment as shi sees the hen make a somewhat noisy enterence.  Curiosity peaked, shi wanders over to the stall that the hen managed to make her way to and investigates the stall. &amp;quot;What exactly ARE you selling here?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The mall rat behind the stand gives a big double thumbs up to Nicky and Kain and grins. &amp;quot;That&#039;s right! The name&#039;s Chad! I&#039;m handing out free samples of our new snack food, which is bound to be totally killer when we&#039;re done perfecting the recipe!&amp;quot;, the rat says, rather enthusiastically. &amp;quot;We grew the main ingredient ourself, if you&#039;ll believe that. First homegrown mall rat snacks, woo hoo! Wanna try some of this stuff?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky perks her head up dumbly at the rat, &amp;quot;Uhh...of course! Wai...wait...a minute...this...I&#039;ve seen this before...that stuff isn&#039;t gonna...do weird stuff to me or something...I mean...it would be obvious if it did...too...obvious.&amp;quot; She pulls herself back onto her two talons and struts over to get a better view of the stand and it&#039;s so called Mall Rat Snacks, &amp;quot;Baaawww....lets see...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie swivels her ears around at the echoing sound of &#039;free samples&#039; and &#039;snacks&#039;.  She licks her lips, and trots toward the stall, whhere folks were already starting to gather.  Yes, she beat most of the crowd, too!  Yesss!  &amp;quot;I heard free, and snacks.  Sounds like this is the place to be!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chad pulls out a small plastic bag from behind the stand in which appears to be some edibles that look like cookies. He opens the bag and pours a few of them onto a plate. &amp;quot;Here you are! They&#039;re made from sugar, flour, some other cool stuff, and our special awesome ingredient.&amp;quot; He claps his hands when he sees Smokie approaching. &amp;quot;Ahh, excellent! Another interested patron! Please, take one!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky goes to peck slightly at the surface of the cookie, &amp;quot;Ya...ya...but whats the special awesome ingredient...bawwwkaaa....don&#039;t tell me its secret also...you...possible trickster mall rat guy!&amp;quot; She adopts a pose of distaste, turning her fleathery flank to him, &amp;quot;But....I am hungry...&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie presses her forepaws up onto the stand, and sniffs at the cookies.  She gets a sly grin on her face, and winks at Chad.  &amp;quot;Special, home-grown ingredient?  Might I happen to be familiar with it?  I mean, they call me Smokie for a reason...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain looks at the cookies for a moment before picking one up.  Looking over it shi doesn&#039;t really notice anything out of the ordinary. &amp;quot;Huh, well it can&#039;t be any worse than the shit they feed us at Zephyr&amp;quot; shi mutters before tossing it into her mouth and devouring it&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hey man, it&#039;s cool.&amp;quot;, Chad replies, not phased at all by the skepticism. &amp;quot;We&#039;re not ready to reveal our awesome ingredient yet, but rest assured it&#039;s 100% natural, 100% nontoxic, and of course 100% cool. We rats strive for the best!&amp;quot; He nods approvingly when Kain takes a bite and waits a moment before asking, &amp;quot;Well, you like it?&amp;quot;, he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky paces restlessly from Kain to the stand, giving each of them equal attention. At seeing Kain eat one of the snacks, she clucks out in suprise, eyes dead set on watching for the reaction, &amp;quot;Oh dear...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie wags her tail, &amp;quot;Hey, bro, if&#039;n ya&#039;ll trust it, I do too.&amp;quot;  She ever-so-carefully takes a cookie in her teeth, without touching any of the others, and tastes it a bit before tossing it into the air and chomping it in one bite.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain munches on the cookie some more before swallowing it and turns to Nicky with a surprised expression on hir face. &amp;quot;You need to try this, it&#039;s one of the best things I&#039;ve ever eaten.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
tell smokie It&#039;s probably the best cookie you&#039;ve ever tasted. It&#039;s chewy but also lightly crispy, sweet and flavorful. There&#039;s something that you can&#039;t place though.. something.. awesome about it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Good, good! Glad you like them!&amp;quot;, Chad says, looking quite pleased. With your input, I think we&#039;ll be ready to start selling them so--&amp;quot; He pauses for a moment then looks at Kain. &amp;quot;Did your mouth always glow neon blue like that?&amp;quot;, he asks.  &amp;quot;Rock on!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky stares to each of them in complete shock, &amp;quot;You two are nuts....baaacawwwwk....nuts! Uhh...uhh...&amp;quot; She eyes her immedient area hesitantly, &amp;quot;Do...need...food though...&amp;quot; He glances back to the plate longingly, just a ounce of resistance holding her back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The hyena&#039;s legs shake as she eats the cookie, then, with eyes halfclosed, she lets her tongue lol out.  &amp;quot;Oh dog...  I think I just came...  Mmm, awesome..&amp;quot;  She rests her head a moment, happy, before her eyes dart open and she looks at the Kain beside her.  &amp;quot;Woah, glowy?  Cool!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain holds a paw up to her mouth and notices the glow Chad mentioned. Attempting to keep it cool, shi looks up at Chad. &amp;quot;That&#039;s uh, normal... right?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The rat whips out a notepad and starts furiously scribbling notes into it. &amp;quot;We haven&#039;t seen this reaction before, but then again, you&#039;re the first person to test it out besides us rats!&amp;quot; He keeps his eyes locked on Kain for a few moments, gauging her reaction. &amp;quot;And hyenas give a pink glow? Duuuuuuude!&amp;quot;, he says, far too enthusiastically when he eyes Smokie.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky pulls her beak back away from the plate in a near instant, propelled by a quick little hop, &amp;quot;See...bawkkk...see! It did do something...umm...weird...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The hyena&#039;s ears sink a little.  &amp;quot;Pink?  Aww, is it like, at least a rad pink?  I mean, not that it&#039;s bad.  Rrou...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain looks at Nicky and shakes hir head. &amp;quot;Relax, it doesn&#039;t hurt or anything.  You should totally try it, I wanna see what color your mouth turns.&amp;quot; shi says before turning to Smokie and giggling. &amp;quot;You know, this would be pretty fun at something like a rave&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Dude, that&#039;s a killer idea. We could, like, call them rave snacks or something..&amp;quot; He coughs, realizing how uncool that name was then shrugs. &amp;quot;Alright, well I&#039;m not the best at marketing, but we&#039;ll work off that idea.&amp;quot; He looks up at Micky and smirks. &amp;quot;You gonna try one, kiddo?&amp;quot;, he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky&#039;s body rumbles physically as her insides turn, the pain in her face evidence for her growing hunger pains, &amp;quot;Damn this straving body..&amp;quot; And without further pestering, she pecks at the cookies until they are throughly crumbled. Taking one last moment to consider the possible outcomes, she takes it in her beak and moistens it until she swollows, &amp;quot;Whoa...baawka...thats...umm...&amp;quot; She remains in stunned silence.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie does her best to cross her eyes to see her pink luminescent tongue hanging out of her mouth, but fails.  She&#039;s still wagging her tail, though, as she turns her attention back to Nicky.  &amp;quot;See?  It&#039;s...  beautiful!  Oh man.  I just feel so...  Dunno, that was a great pickmeup!&amp;quot;  She yips happily, a little hyena laugh, &amp;quot;We should totally, like, have a rave...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain nods at Smokie excitedly, hir tail wagging at the idea. &amp;quot;Hey, Chad, got any more of those cookies? I could really go for a bag or two of em&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hey man, gotta save some for the other awesome people bound to come &#039;round!&amp;quot;, Chad chuckles to Kain. &amp;quot;But I can spot you all each one more, for sure.&amp;quot; He pulls out another bag and dumps three more cookies onto the plate. &amp;quot;Enjoy! And please, tell your chums about me, we wanna get everyone interested!&amp;quot; Almost as an afterthought he adds, &amp;quot;Hey, green for the lovely chicken. Killer.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky clucks quite vocally, and soon finds herself snatching up more of the crumbled cookie bits, &amp;quot;So good! Oh...oh...why did I ever doubt you mystical cookie maker ratman?!&amp;quot; She churrls happily, practically not even hearing the Mall Rat continue.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie yips loudly and jumps at her cookie, snagging it off the plate without hesitation.  &amp;quot;Mmf!  Fffankff, dude!&amp;quot;  She holds the coveted artifact in her maw for a few moments, cutely smiling and wagging her short, bushy tail.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain quickly picks up the cookie and throws it into hir mouth, chewing it noisily and smiling at Chad as shi smiles a bright blue smile as she swallows. &amp;quot;Bro, if you sell these you&#039;re gonna be stinking rich.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chad shrugs and gives Nicky another thumbs up. &amp;quot;Hey, doesn&#039;t bother me. We might be some awesome dudes, but peeps still gotta have their caution, y&#039;know? How else would we survive, eh?&amp;quot; He claps his hands together and rubs them excitedly. &amp;quot;Duuude. I hadn&#039;t any idea you all liked them THAT much. If we can turn a good profit on these, It&#039;ll certainly make my research look way rad.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky tilts her head up in confusion, &amp;quot;Research...cluck...cluck...cluck...&amp;quot;She takes a moment to down a few peices of Mall Rat Snack, &amp;quot;Like...mmm...what kind? Flavor research? I think you can write a doctor&#039;s writ...or whatever...if these cookies are any evidence.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie thoroughly enjoys her cookie, as she holds it in her paws and lovingly licks it.  It&#039;s actually kind of suggestive-looking, but the hyena is blissfully unaware of her cookie-fellatio.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Kain licks hir lips and sniffs the plate in an effort to gather any remnants of the cookies before looking back up at Chad and tilting hir head. &amp;quot;Research?  What kind of research?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Research involving our awesome super ingredient of course!&amp;quot;, Chad chuckles. &amp;quot;We didn&#039;t just grow it out of nowhere, after all. Took a bit of fandangling. But you&#039;ll hear all about that once we release the product officially.&amp;quot; He grins at Smokie and adds, &amp;quot;Looks like she realllly likes those cookies.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nicky nods a few times, and having found her full with the cookies, aimlessly wonders around the area, having muttered something about it being, &amp;quot;Soon.&amp;quot; She scratches at a patch of dirt in peace, quite contently too, by her cheerful clucking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Smokie finally finishes off her cookie, before she finally picks her head up from her now cookie-flavored paw.  Her pink glow looks even stronger now, if possible.  &amp;quot;Rrou..  Thanks, bro!&amp;quot;  She reaches out a paw to Chad, to bropaw.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Chad gives Smokie some broknucks and nods. &amp;quot;Rock on!&amp;quot;, he says then gives her a big thumbs up before starting to tidy up his stand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=San_Leandro&amp;diff=11315</id>
		<title>San Leandro</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=San_Leandro&amp;diff=11315"/>
		<updated>2012-02-29T06:18:53Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: /* Log */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Loki]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Redd]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Caeli]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Solixis]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The RSX briefing room is cleaned, sanitized and smells faintly of citrus. A skinny human woman sits at the head in a white labcoat and a stern look on her face. The volunteers are shuffled into the room and asked to take a seat. &amp;quot;Welcome to Rsx Solutions, and thank you for responding to our call.&amp;quot;, she says, greeting those present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis sits at the table, flyer in hand as she leans towards the woman, anxious and excited to be on a mission. She hasn&#039;t been getting many interesting ones since she lost her rank at Zephyr for non-compliance during a year-long sabbatical.&lt;br /&gt;
time&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli sits as instructed, her ponytail hanging over the back of the chair and her wings folded tightly against her back to avoid too much discomfort. Despite the potential for danger she is apparently unarmed, with only a handheld radio clipped to the waist of her jumpsuit for equipment.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc RP guidelines: Don&#039;t wait for me to pose, but wait a respectable time (about 5 mins) for other participants to make their poses before proceeding with another one of yours.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd grumbles as he sits, seeming somewhat upset that briefing had to begin right at the start of his customary lunch break. &amp;quot;Afternoon, couldn&#039;t have scheduled this to be an hour earlier or later?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shuffles in place, the giant armoured dragon seated beside Caeli, apparantly deep in some sort of tangential thought, his tail coiled around the legs of his chair. He looks up when the lady speaks and offers a nod. &amp;quot;Not a problem. Was in the area and decided to help. Though I probably would have volunteered if it was of the way too.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis stretches, her twin tails finding difficulty being comfortable as she looks at her comrades gathered. &amp;quot;Only person I don&#039;t know here is the winged girl in the jumpsuit.&amp;quot; She smiles at Redd and Loki.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As soon as everyone is seated, the woman stands up. &amp;quot;Thank you again for coming. My name is Dr. Jess, and I will be briefing you.&amp;quot; She shoots a small frown at Redd before replying. &amp;quot;You weren&#039;t required to attend this meeting, and this mission is important and time-sensitive, so honestly, one or two people skipping lunch wasn&#039;t really our concern.&amp;quot; She walks over to the door and shuts it, before dimming the lights. The projector clicks on and brings a white glare before it shifts to show a photo depicting the ruins of a city. &amp;quot;This is San Leandro.. or at least what&#039;s left of it. I&#039;m going to keep this nice and direct. We need you to go there and recover the Point Zero.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis raises a hand, confused. &amp;quot;Recover? Isn&#039;t a point zero just the location of a first outbreak? Correct me if I&#039;m wrong on the first. What exactly are we looking for?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki casts a wave to Solixis, offering a smile in turn. &amp;quot;Hey Sol! Been some time since I have seen you around!&amp;quot; he says, then turning his attention as the woman in front speaks. &amp;quot;Recover point zero?&amp;quot; he inquires, tongue flitting out of his mouth. &amp;quot;What happens when we remove it?... and as Sol said. What does it look like?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&#039;Recover&#039; the Point Zero? How does one recover a point in space? Isn&#039;t point zero the term for where the center of an explosion is?&amp;quot; Redd&#039;s face shows a mix of concern and confusion. &amp;quot;At least, that&#039;s what oint zero is considered in the case of atomic attack...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess clicks a button on a remote in her hand and the projection switches to show the front of a building. It looks to be a Pre-P-Day as it looks in pristine condition. A four-pointed logo running across the top reads, &#039;Tetra Laboratories&#039;. &amp;quot;This is a research and development firm located in the heart of the city. This is believed to be the location of Point Zero.. but what we&#039;re after is something more specific. We want the hardware located within that was the sole cause for that city&#039;s destruction.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to Redd for a moment. &amp;quot;Point Zero is typically the point of origin for something, and such a point in space could be an object, and thus, can be moved.&amp;quot; he says, then looking to Jess, the dragon much more interested than he was a while ago. &amp;quot;Destruction? How was the city cast into ruin? Mutations like other bubbles?&amp;quot; he inquires, leaning forward in his seat. &amp;quot;And hardware you say?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Hardware. Well, at least it is a tangible object that we should be able to find. I hope. Can you give us more details of what caused the destruction? I&#039;m curious to know what dangers we face.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd&#039;s jaw drops, quite understandably, &amp;quot;Does this mean there was a 3rd party involved in the development of the nanites? And is this hardware you want us to find still active? Is it what sustains the nanite cloud? If it is, I can&#039;t imagine a very safe way to suddenly shut it down...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki leans back in his seat, looking to redd for a moment. &amp;quot;Mutations can still function outside the cloud. Typically. Usually. Some have difficulty, and the clouds also help prevent death.&amp;quot; he states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess clicks her remote again, and the projector displays a something entirely different. It appears to be a reconnaissance photo of some creature.. from what you can make out in the fuzzy photo, it looks like a horribly mutated being with barbs sticking out all over its body and its (face?) is covered in greenish slime and blood. It walks on two scythe-tipped arms and crawls on a snake-like body. Jess taps the wall and frowns. &amp;quot;There are many of these and other things running around the city. I hope that answers your question as to what caused the destruction. And yes, Hardware. A supercomputer, specifically, along with a module for housing nanites.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli remains mostly quiet, staring intently at the projection as she listens to the other volunteers&#039; questions. Her silence is finally broken by one of her own: &amp;quot;The outbreak ocurred some time ago. Has something changed to make recovery of this hardware time-sensitive?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to the screen, the dragon quite curious, a small grin on his face as he views the mutation. He then seems to snap out as Caeli speaks, then looking to the girl. &amp;quot;Ah.. I would have never thought of that. Still, much to study.&amp;quot; he murrs, tail flicking behind him as he rises out of his seat and stretches himself out. &amp;quot;What is the data on these mutations?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis snerks a bit as she sees the creature. &amp;quot;Reminds me of my favorite card game &lt;br /&gt;
and the creatures within.&amp;quot; She puts the flyer away, increasing her level of interest. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Winged girl has a point.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What do we know about these things? Hah! Well, we know they&#039;re aggressive, and don&#039;t like YOU.&amp;quot;, Jess says, a bit smart-assed. &amp;quot;They&#039;ll eat you if you give them the opportunity, so don&#039;t. Engage from a range if possible or not at all. They&#039;re fast despite how they look. Now, WHY this mission is time-sensitive is mostly none of your concern. RSX doesn&#039;t want to dabble much longer on it because of the dangerout nature of that region, so we want this done soon.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shifts his stance a little more and offers a nod. &amp;quot;Indeed. Though I would hazard a guess it would be to make sure there are less of these things if they are as dangerous as you say they are.&amp;quot; he murrs, thinking some more. &amp;quot;What if I was to bring one back here for testing? Or at least aquire a fluid sample?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shifts uncomfortably in his seat, &amp;quot;And how are we going to get the device out of there, if we have to deal with these creatures meanwhile... And only reason I can think RSX would be asking for outside help is if the first team they sent in... didn&#039;t return with all it&#039;s members.&amp;quot; He glances around, wondering if the image was taken by one of the survivors of a previous retrieval team.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t get killed, grab the computer, get back here. Straightforward. seems like a good mission. I&#039;m ready unless you have anything else to add.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess frowns. &amp;quot;No. Absolutely not. Do not attempt to aquire a sample of those things. We don&#039;t want any chance of spreading.. whatever they are.. to here. In fact, each one of you will undergo deep-sanitation upon your return to ensure no chance of cross-contamination. When we&#039;re good and ready, we&#039;ll do further research on them. Which brings us back to the point of this mission in the first place, to aquire the Point Zero which itself will reveal a lot about the creatures in that hellhole.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli nods once. &amp;quot;Understood. Will we be given transport to the area? Will it be possible to enter the building from the roof? An aerial insertion may avoid unecessary conflict with the local inhabitants.&amp;quot; She seems fully engaged now, as though this type of assignment comes naturally to her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd takes another glance at the creature, &amp;quot;Anything you&#039;d suggest that is effective is removing them? Fire? Ice? Blunt physical trauma?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki frowns a little at the mentions of cross contamination, spreading, and the like. He huffs a little and shakes his head. &amp;quot;If I gathered a sample it would be quite contained.&amp;quot; he counters, then seems to relent. &amp;quot;All right. Well, if you say so, I will not press the matter.&amp;quot; he says, then looking to Caeli and nods. &amp;quot;Though it might also alert them of our presence. Though it would also likely made for the safest and quickest mission.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Transport will be provided via a helicoptor. It will drop you off-NOT LAND- on a nearby building rooftop, but the closest we can get you is several city blocks away. You&#039;ll have to get to the location from there on your own.&amp;quot; Jess says as she walks back over to the switch and turns on the lights. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll have to find your own way into the building as well, if the front door isn&#039;t to your liking. As far as those.. things.. we don&#039;t know of anything that&#039;s particularily useful against them.. try whatever you normally would? I&#039;m no combat expert.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd grins a bit, &amp;quot;Getting us out wouldn&#039;t be too hard, any equipment is another matter entirely, How big is the machine you want us to bring back anyhow?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We aren&#039;t entirely sure on the size.&amp;quot;, Jess says, turning to Redd. &amp;quot;Though we believe it shouldn&#039;t be anything too much for you four to carry, if carefully dismantled.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli tilts her head slightly to one side, inqusitively asking, &amp;quot;Tetra Laboratories does not appear in any of my records. Do you have further information on their projects? Are we likely to encounter hazards from such projects within their facility?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No and Yes.&amp;quot;, Jess curtly replies to Caeli, frowning slightly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Caeli, the dragon then looking expectantly at Jess, tongue once again flitting from his mouth. &amp;quot;The more information you give us, the more we can guarantee a successful operation and the safe return of the equipment we need to procure.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Loki&#039;s got the right idea. I, however, am itching to go. I&#039;d rather not make this a night mission. If they are as blind as they seem, they will function far better in the dark than we can.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof Jess says, &amp;quot;We have no more information about the firm. It wasn&#039;t all that well known before P-Day, and we&#039;ve only recently discovered it and tracked the source of the infection there. None of our agents are willing to venture anywhere close to the city to dig up records.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess says, &amp;quot;We have no more information about the firm. It wasn&#039;t all that well known before P-Day, and we&#039;ve only recently discovered it and tracked the source of the infection there. None of our agents are willing to venture anywhere close to the city to dig up records.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If you have no more questions..&amp;quot;, Jess says, starting to sound impatient, &amp;quot;That concludes the briefing. Jonathan in the hallway can lead you to our helipad for immiediate departure.&amp;quot;,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shifts a little more in place and then nods. &amp;quot;Well, what if we could recover some more records about the company? Would that be appreciated?&amp;quot; he inquires. &amp;quot;And if so, where do you think we could find them?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis gets up and head out of the room, looking for this &amp;quot;Jonathan.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof Jess sighs. &amp;quot;If you feel you must, then look in their storage room, assuming they have one. If not, then the information that this mission requires is located on the hardware you&#039;ll bring back.&amp;quot; She makes a shooing gesture with one of her hands then waits for everyone to file out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess sighs. &amp;quot;If you feel you must, then look in their storage room, assuming they have one. If not, then the information that this mission requires is located on the hardware you&#039;ll bring back.&amp;quot; She makes a shooing gesture with one of her hands then waits for everyone to file out. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli rises to her feet. &amp;quot;Understood,&amp;quot; she says again, seemingly eager to begin. However, she doesn&#039;t move away from Loki, apparently waiting for him before continuing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd slowly stands, and follows Solixis out towards the Helicopter landing pad.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Jess, the dragon a little surprised that Caeli waits for him, though he then does begin moving out of the room and towards the helicopter pad, the dragon making sure she is following along before he really starts walking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You are led to the rooftop of RSX where a large chopper is already prepped and waiting for departure. There&#039;s room enough for all of you, despite size variations. There is room for a human-sized person in the front with the pilot, and everyone else will need to file into the cabin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stares between the cabin and cockpit as though weighing the options, then nods to Solixis. &amp;quot;Very well,&amp;quot; she says, choosing a place in the cabin close to the exit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki hopes into the Cabin, the dragon taking a seat beside Caeli as he plunks down, awaiting transport to the zone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd hesitates a moment before climbing in. After all, if it were dangerous for him to be onboard, they&#039;d stop him, Right?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis climbs into the co-pilot&#039;s seat, keeping her tails away from the door and trying to keep the from getting smooshed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello hello!&amp;quot;, the pilot says into the radio over the hum of the blades. You can&#039;t see most of his face, as it&#039;s obscured by his helmet and shaded visor, but he does have a beard, and is wearing a blue jumpsuit. &amp;quot;My names&#039;s Chuck and I&#039;ll be your pilot today. We&#039;re expecting a smooth transit, so make yourselves comfortable, and we&#039;ll be there in about two hours!&amp;quot; Redd finds himself pointed to a spot specifically for him, away from everyone else, where a fine mist of water is constantly being jetted from a little spout at him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis giggles. &amp;quot;Redd, you knew they&#039;d consider you a fire hazard...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki offers a small nod to the pilot, the dragon yawning a little as he then looks to Caeli. &amp;quot;So, how have you been recently? I hope you are enjoying yourself. Find anything interesting at the tower?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns at the comment, before curling up around his bag of gear, in an attempt to keep it all dry. He doesn&#039;t complain though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli fixes Loki with her crystal-green stare as she answers, &amp;quot;I am still unable to connect to external devices, but I am otherwise well. The tower itself is very interesting, but I have been instructed to avoid it while on assignment to prevent distraction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki offers a smile to Caeli, tongue flitting out of his mouth again. &amp;quot;Really? Well, I suppose I should take that as a compliment.&amp;quot; he grins, then shifting a little more in place. &amp;quot;What is your favorite thing at the tower? And what is your favorite section?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd raises his head upon hearing a comment about connecting, &amp;quot;Another inorganic? Or am I mistaken in that? I heard something about connecting to devices, and I know not of one organic agent who can do that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The chopper takes off and starts heading northeast towards the destination. After a boring flight, where Chuck incessantly talks about current events and how annoying his wife is, you finally come into view of San Leandros. The silhouette of the city is monolithic and somehow ominous. No vehcles are moving about, no real signs of life are visible. Many of the buildings are damaged, windows shattered, or even large chunks blown out of the walls. As you get even closer, you can even see numerous year-old human remains--picked clean and gnawed skeletons hanging out of car windows or littering the streets. Chuck hovers the Chopper over a wide rooftop about 5 feet up and signals for everyone to get out. &amp;quot;Tha&#039;s as close as I&#039;ll get.&amp;quot;, he said. &amp;quot;Radio when you&#039;re ready for pickup and I&#039;ll swing by to pick you up.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki raises his hand to Redd. &amp;quot;I can connect as well. Though it is largely because of the armour I wear and recent advancements in other things. I wonder if I may be able to replicate some sort of connection organically. It should prove interesting.&amp;quot; he murrs, the dragon peering out the window as he views the age old carnage, a small frown on his face. He quickly hops out when instructed, the quick snap of his wings making his landing much lighter than it would have been. He shifts in place and surveys the city, casting a small wave in response to Chuck&#039;s mention of radio for pickup.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli answers Loki first, hesitating for a moment before deciding, &amp;quot;The laboratory is the most interesting section, and the one I was unable to explore thoroughly before leaving.&amp;quot; To Redd she simply nods. As the closest to the door she&#039;s also the first out of the helicopter, dropping to land in a crouch before rising up to scan her immediate surroundings for threats.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis hops out as well, her own three-point landing allowing her to spring into action if need be. &amp;quot;First order of business, how far are we from the lab, and what&#039;s the status of the nanite bubble?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd stands from his seat on the floor of the cabin, the floor underneath heavily covered in scorchmarks, but still mostly intact, he proceeds to follow Loki and Caeli out the door, carrying his bag over a shoulder,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A quick surveying shows that you&#039;re on top of a four-story office building, and there&#039;s a convenience hatch leading down into the top floor of building in you want to head down that way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis takes the map, scanning the marked landing zone and the destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to the one with the map, the dragon stretching his wings. &amp;quot;I say we fly to the building. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd snickers at the mention of flight, &amp;quot;I call not being transit!&amp;quot; At this he leaps off the side of the building, and lets his wings catch a thermal, bringing him above the level of the building.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis begins to lead towards the building at a steady run, sticking to rooftops where possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stares down over the side of the building, focused on the streets below. &amp;quot;I agree. Be prepared for flying threats.&amp;quot; Her wings expand greatly, her wingspan quickly growing long enough to look functional for one of her size. She also murmurs a series of rpaid, unintelligible words, her lips moving impossibly fast. Moments later the air around her begins to crackle with electricity. Fully prepared, she launches herself from the buildingtop and takes flight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki watches Solixis run towards the building. He would have offered to carry her in flight. He watches Caeli with interest as she takes off, the dragon seemingly amused by this development, the dragon shrugging as he spreads his wings and takes to the air after the others, the dragon keeping an eye for both groundbound and airbound threats, monitoring both Caeli and Solixis.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The city is a grim sight, indeed. Most don&#039;t notice any signs of life, but Caeli spots a humanoid figure standing in the middle of one of the side-streets as she passes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli says, &amp;quot;Possible survivor detected,&amp;quot; and deviates from her flight path, displaying impressive maneuverobility as she swoops lower to get a better look at the strange figure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man is facing away from you, and slowly shambling down the street. He&#039;s wearing what appears to be a roughed-up RSX uniform, at leats that&#039;s what you think from the logo on the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki spirals in the air as Caeli deviates, the dragon circling around above, trying to spot what she has, the dragon flying ahead of the girl, trying to get a better look at the man from the front.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis hears Caeli over the comunitcation device. &amp;quot;Loki or Redd, stay with her. Whoever doesn&#039;t go, wait here. We can&#039;t be splitting off.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd goes into a dive towards Solixis, and lands a few feet away, &amp;quot;Waiting,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man has short, although disheveled brown hair. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted down at the street. He walks as though he has no purpose or destination.&lt;br /&gt;
The man has short, although disheveled brown hair. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted down at the street. He walks as though he has no purpose or destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli shows little concern for her own safety, flying ahead of the figure and spinning about as she lands, killing her momentum with uncanny ease to land before him. &amp;quot;Survivor exhibits strange behavior. Attempting contact.&amp;quot; A bit louder she says, &amp;quot;Greetings. Are you in need of aid?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd asks over the communicators, &amp;quot;Can you see any mutations or oddities about him?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki lands upon the nearest roof to the group, the dragon&#039;s tongue flitting out of his mouth as he tastes the air, a sniff following shortly after. He peers at the two, the dragon watching like a hawk for any signs of something amiss. His vision seems to scan a wide area, and he does have a few other modes than just plain sight, the dragon switching between them on occasion- Mainly thermal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The figure stops when Caeli speaks. He stands completely still for several awkward moments before he raises his head. And then he opens his eyes. And reveals dead, empty sockets. His neck cracks and then he opens his mouth wide.. too wide. Wider than a human should be able. His jaw unhinges, and .. something wriggles out. A brown tentacle of some sort, oozing with greenish slime. Suddenly his chest bursts apart and writhing scythe-tipped tentacles energe from his innards. The man emits an ear-pierinc screech and lunges at his would-be savior.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli&#039;s protective shield of nanites simultaneously electrocutes and attempts to tear apart the attacker as it comes into range, even as she throws herself backward, a powerful sweep of her wings attemping to push her into the air and out of range of the beast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd hears the screech from his position and pushes back up into the air, torn between staying still and trying to help.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki watches Caeli take to the air, the dragon swooping down from the building as he delivers a powerful dual legged kick to the beast in an attempt to knock it away from Caeli, the dragon literally springing off the beast upon impact as he uses the force once again to regain altitude, his wings adding momentum as he climbs higher in the air. His tongue flits once again through the air as he seems to still, listening for anything that may respond to the screech. Sighs. Smells. Sounds. Movements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis makes a mental note of the location. &amp;quot;Snafu, got a rogue xeno attacking one of the team, disguised as a human survivor, going in for backup.&amp;quot; She nods to Redd, giving him the okay to assist and joining the other two herself, the glow on her tails becoming actual fire.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dessicated man seems to shrugs off the electricity, but the field manages to rip apart several of the tentacles. The tentacle writing in its mouth manages to lob a blog of what you would assume is acid in Caeli&#039;s direction before it&#039;s knocked to the pavement by Loki&#039;s crushing kick. It&#039;s shoulder and arm are crushed, but it uses it&#039;s still-good arm to start righting itself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli spins in the air, avoiding part of the acidic assault. What manages to hit her burns through the shoulder of her jumpsuit, but has a tougher time with her flesh, which seems to not only resist the effects but repair itself as well. In retaliation she utters another stream of indechipherable words, and several pinkish feathers falling from her wings are rapidly nanite-converted into tiny missiles which lance out to impact all around the creature in a series of small explosions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The pinpoint explosions tear away at the former man&#039;s flesh and then at muscle. The tentacles quickly regenerate themselves, but all that&#039;s left of the host is a gorey torso with blood anf flesh piled around. The tentacles thrash at any movement, but are otherwise immobile.&lt;br /&gt;
The pinpoint explosions tear away at the former man&#039;s flesh and then at muscle. The tentacles quickly regenerate themselves, but all that&#039;s left of the host is a gorey torso with blood anf flesh piled around. The tentacles thrash at any movement, but are otherwise immobile.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki lunges forward at the assault of Caeli&#039;s, the dragon waiting until the beast has weathered the storm, and upon seeing the state of the tentacles, the dragon slicing a hand sized piece off of one, then backing away with the tiny bit of flesh, the dragon turning it over in his hands- a strange glow escaping the slice as it seems to be broken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The bit of flesh that Loki attempts to recover, upon being separated from the rest of it&#039;s being, immiediately decomposes into green slime. Loki&#039;s analysis comes back as &#039;Organic, no nanite pattern detected&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finally having spotted the fight, Redd enters a steep dive, claws and teeth bared, on impact, he bites down hard, and begins to shred at the body&#039;s remains with his claws. As soon as he tastes the tentacles, he spits the chunk of flesh in his mouth back out. No point trying to make a meal from these things, they taste worse than zombies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls at the analysis. &amp;quot;The nanties self destruct and the creature breaks down when seperated. This is quite an odd predicament. Makes analysis and extratction of nanite strains impossible.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis catches up to the others, leaping off the building, following Redd&#039;s lead. She turns a little lees than one full flip, her tails striking the creature as the nanite simultaneously increase the density of those limbs temporarily greater than osmium, while also cushioning the impact on her bones and joints.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tentacles thrash and writhe at Redd as he bites into the remains of their host, using his close proximity to try and slice him up something good. They are quickly silenced, however, when Solixis more or less obliterates the remains of the torso with her tails, splattering the body and the tentacles all over the pavement and her fur.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli remains hovering nearby, scanning bother her comrades below and the surrounding area for additional threats that might be on the move. &amp;quot;We should leave quickly. We may have attracted additional threats.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a water canteen from his bag, and proceeds to try to wash the bad taste from his mouth. &amp;quot;Bleh, biting these is not a good idea.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis grabs a branch from a nearby bush or tree to scrape the slime off her tail. &amp;quot;I did not expect that to explode like that.&amp;quot; Her skin loses it&#039;s hardened appearance as she collects herself. &amp;quot;We need to keep moving.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
ooc back, and posing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ominous skitterings from indistinguisable directions alert everyone to the necessecity to move on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The buildings rising on either side of the party seem to echo these noises back and forth. You can&#039;t make heads or tails of whether they&#039;re coming from an adjacent street, from inside a door or from the dark, broken windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Satisfied the taste in his mouth is now gone, Redd puts the canteen away, and takes off again, this time staying closer to the middle of the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki as the howling starts, the dragon immediately takes to the air, the dragon rapidly gaining altitude, then hoising Solixis from the tree despite what she may protest. &amp;quot;Which way? Time is of the essence. The faster we are in and out the better. I do not wish to fight a whole cities worth of things.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli appears to be waiting for the others to move on before she leaves the scene, but upon hearing the sounds of approach she swiftly launches another barrage of micro missiles, the little weapons arcing off in all directions to create a cacophany of explosions, many within the buildings themselves via the open windows. She then takes off at full speed, following Loki.&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis speaks into the comm unit, keeping a mission record. &amp;quot;Xeno destroyed, got ourselves several boogies. Heading direct-ACK!&amp;quot; She squirms in Loki&#039;s grasp. &amp;quot;Loki! I can fly myself...&amp;quot; She dutifully points in the direction of the compound, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You fly the rest of the several blocks to where the map mark indicates your destination to be. What you find is the remains of a two-to-three story building. A shattered neon sign detatched from the roof and laying crooked against the wall. It reads, &amp;quot;T TRA La   atories.&amp;quot;, and is accompanied by a diamond-shaped symbol.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first floor seems to be intact enough to enter, but the upper floors are completely caved in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki immediately sets Solixis on the rooftop despite her protest. &amp;quot;If you could fly you should have done so over running.&amp;quot; he murmurs, then hastily looking for a way in from above, eyes scanning the rooftop before he gets another idea and then clings to the walls over the edge, peering inside any windows he can to get a better look inside. If there are any windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd swiftly lands infront of the building, and tests the doors, with a small package of high explosive ready just in case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis walks along the edge of the rooftop, heading inward at every standing wall. She looks for a safe passage into the building and down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli makes a graceful landing at street level just before what appears to be the main entrance, still peering about her surroundings alertly as Redd checks the doors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki the dragon seems to quickly take note of something on the first floor, and with a careful act, the dragon slowly carves a hole in the window using one of his claws. &amp;quot;We enter this way. Quietly as we can.&amp;quot; he says to the others, the dragon dissapearing inside. Should he have trouble entering, or his frame be too large, the dragon shifts his size to something more managable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis clears the entrance to the stairwell above. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;m going in from above. Stairwell is intact, but there&#039;s no light. Lucky I can make my own, but I&#039;m painting a huge target on myself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The interior is completely dark save for a small amount of light filtering in from the dirtied windows and the large hole Loki just made. You&#039;ve broken into a hallway. To your right, you see some more light and what might be the front lobby, to your left the hallway fades into darkness. Three doors line this hallway, two of which are likely to be restroom facilities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli sweeps her gaze across the street one last time before hastily following Loki and beginning to investigate her new surroundings. Her eyes glow faintly green in the low light.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki quickly crawls along, as quiet as he can be. Which is surprisingly so for a giant metallic dragon skittering rapidly down the halls on all fours, quickly moving towards the light, the dragon also taking note of the walls, seeming to be looking for something. &amp;quot;There is still power here. The wires are hot. They lead to something.&amp;quot; he murmurs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You enter the lobby and reception area of the building.. or what&#039;s left of it. A curved security desk is at the back of the room, and is decked with a menagerie of smashed electronics and screens. The front door is collapsed, and the surrounding windows are caked with years of dirt and dust.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis heads into the stairwell, her tails lighting the passage and possible drawing attention to herself. She pads slowly, keeping an eye out for danger and the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Circling the building several times, after giving up on entering via the window, Redd looks for a back entrance, or someway used to get large equipment in and out of the building.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis walks into pure black as soon as she rounds a few corners, but with help from her glowing tails, she&#039;s able to navigate the murky passage. The exits to the second and third floors are obviously inaccessible, nothing remaining of them but a pile of rubble, but she&#039;s able to clamber over those and make her way down to the first floor exit where she hears voices coming from the other side of the door. Redd finds a single truck loading dock and a normal-sized metal door accompanying it, likely used for deliveries of research materials. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki peers at the wall opposite of them, the dragon skittering across the lobby- over rubble, dirt, grit, and smashed refuse until he meets the opposite side, the dragon then peering at the walls. He presses his hand to the place, running his claw along the surface as if searching for something. &amp;quot;More power is here. A higher concentration of power is here.&amp;quot; he murrs, trying to search for where it leads.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis gently opens the door, hoping to not make a sound. She tenses, readying a defensive position.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli follows closely behind Loki, alternating between staring around at their surroundings and mimicking his actions, touching the wall as he does, though the act doesn&#039;t seem to be of any particular significance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis opens the door and see the trailing tail of Loki as he passes past on his way to the other side of the lobby. Loki&#039;s thermal vision leads him to the thick metal doors of an elevator. Through the walls, he can see the power conduits run up where they end abrutly. Strangely, they also go down. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis whispers into her comm unit. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;m right behind you.&amp;quot; She takes up position, hoping her light doesn&#039;t throw him off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd starts to claw at the shipping port&#039;s door, intent on either destroying the lock or making a hole large enough to enter. There is a fair amount of noise created by this action, although, opening the door would have been fairly loud as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki grins as he finds the location, the dragon prying open the elevator doors. &amp;quot;Well, now we go down.&amp;quot; he says, the dragon staring down into the elevator shaft, tongue flicking out, and shortly after he sniffs the air as he tests for smells, also tilting his head as he listens intently, seeing what else he may pick up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The screeching and rending of metal caused by Redd continues for a good two minutes before he&#039;s able to create a hole wide enough in the door for himself to fit though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods as Solixis speaks. &amp;quot;All right. Glad to hear it.&amp;quot; he replies, though he does frown as Redd tears his way in. &amp;quot;Well, now we are going to hope that nothing heard that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof When loki peers down the elevator shaft, he sees a distance far greater than what he would expect for a basement. No, it&#039;s deep enough that you can&#039;t even see the bottom as the shaft disappears into blackness far before the bottom is visible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When loki peers down the elevator shaft, he sees a distance far greater than what he would expect for a basement. No, it&#039;s deep enough that you can&#039;t even see the bottom as the shaft disappears into blackness far before the bottom is visible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli waits passively as the others gather, nodding her agreement to Loki&#039;s suggestion. &amp;quot;I will go first,&amp;quot; she offers, her wings expanding once more as she slips past Loki&#039;s larger frame and follows his gaze down the shaft. Without further ado she steps over the edge, wings spread as wide as the shaft allows and personal nanites working overtime to help slow her fall. Small jolts of electricity arc off her shield as she drops, providing a bit of light on the way down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks adown the shaft, a small whistle escaping him. &amp;quot;Well, it seems to be a long way down.&amp;quot; he murrs, blinking as Caeli passes him and drops down. The dragon then hops inside the shaft and braces himself against the walls with his limbs and begins to slide down as best he can, using claws to slow his fall when needed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Tap. Tap. Tap.      Caeli hears something very disturbing coming from below her as she descends. Then it grows faster.. and closer. Taptaptaptaptaptap! Something is climbing up the wall towards her! Two red eyes peer up from far below, growing closer. Then it opens two more eyes. And two more. A hideous face of six eyes accompanied by its growing heat pattern surges up the wall using two bladed arms to grasp at the coils and wires.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon sighs a little, growling at the creature. &amp;quot;Hostile?&amp;quot; he asks, then frowns again, remembering intel and what was said. &amp;quot;Ceali! To the side!&amp;quot; He calls out, still far above the girl, poised and ready, the dragon braced inside the elevator shaft, waiting for her response.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis puts on a pair of heavy leather goves and begins descending the elevator cables. &amp;quot;I really wish I knew where the elevator was...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli decides against using her missiles within the confined space, instead angling herself directly toward the incoming creature and folding her wings, straightening out her body with her feet pointed toward the eyes. A sudden burst of acceleration launches her downward even quicker just before she reaches it, surrounded as always by her swarms of electrified and disassembler nanites.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki blinks, quite surprised at Caeli&#039;s maneuver, the dragon perhaps a little stunned. he looks up to solixis. &amp;quot;No top floor anymore. Likey at the bottom Sol!&amp;quot; he calls out above him, the dragon then following Caeli down in a similar manner, though he keeps to the side of the shaft- either to smash the creature in a different area, or simply pass it and pull the creature down from below.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Redd has burst into a storage room with plenty of piles of knocked over boxes and shelves. Navigating through here will be a little difficult, but he can see a door on the opposite end of the room labeled with &#039;ENTRANCE&#039; in paint. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The creature, in a startling act of dexterity, uses it&#039;s tail to push itself off from the wall and leap to the opposite side to avoid Caeli&#039;s lunge. It effortlessly clings to the beams before whipping its barbed tail at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd sees the door at the far end of the room, and scrambles over all of the debris, once at the door, he pauses, and tries to punch a view hole in the door with a claw, in hopes of seeing what was beyond it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having already committed fully to the attack Caeli doesn&#039;t have much room to dodge, though she does manage to see the attack coming a split-second before impact. She braces herself and takes the hit, slamming hard into the side of the shaft.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Caeli&#039;s nanites attack the thing in an attempt to tear it apart, but are somehow unable to cohesively form their attack routines, as their programming is being scrambled by something. The creature is likewise resistant to electrical influence, its hide seems to resist the currents like rubber. It leaps off the wall again, attempting to grasp her and tear into her neck with its mouth full of vicious teeth. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon, who much like Caeli before him continues to rocket down into the darkness finally manages to catch up with the creature as it begins to grasp Caeli, the dragon landing upon the beast, the full force of his weight hitting the creature as he jams his claws within its hide, attempting to pry it away from the winged girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces as she jumps the remaining distance. &amp;quot;Loki, give me an opening! I&#039;m falling fast!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Certain that the door wasn&#039;t a dead end, Redd smashes the door with his full body weight, rather than using the handle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The thing is knocked away, though not without giving her some deep cuts from its bladed claws as it&#039;s torn away from her.. It starts falling, but wraps its tail around Loki&#039;s ankle and pulls him down with it. IT lets out deathly hisses of frustration as it claws at the walls, seeking a grabhold, pulling Loki with it. The three in the elevator shaft can hear a sudden and loud crash from above them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Caeli tumbles down the shaft a half-dozen free feathers from her wings harden and shift, becoming another missile barrage that lances toward the creature&#039;s open mouth. Interestingly, she seems to have left out the explosives this time around, making them more akin to steel bolts than missiles. Blood - or something that looks very much like it - pours from her wounds, but her resilient body begins repairing itself almost as soon as the gashes appear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki begins to grapple the creature, even as it thrashes with him. Tail around his ankle? He is also clinging to the beast, and they seem to have a mutual goal of dragging eachother down. Though the beast seems more worried than the dragon at this point, and he continues to keep the creature occupied as best he can- trying to keep it struggling to cling to the walls. He never relents the clawing or smashing- then he gets an idea. He attempts to jam his claw beneath the creatures hide and lets loose a torrent of electricity. Zap it from the inside!&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis continues her impromptu base-jumping, hurtling past the other two as she falls. She crashes to the bottom, landing forcefully in a perfect three-point landing, her body absorbing the impact.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Loki grasps it with his claws, he feels a peculiar fluid thicker than blood leaking through the punctures. This creature feels unnatural.. like it was fused together with a hideous amalgamation of flesh, bodyparts and vile purpose. Parts of its body are covered with chitinic plates, while other parts are rippled muscle and dense bone. The ridges alond its tail are razor sharp and tear into Loki&#039;s ankle as it squeezes. The attempted electrical surge finds no conductive materials within the beast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis lands on the remains of the elevator cabin.. or rather IN it. The carrier is badly smashed, likely from the impact with the bottom of the elevator&#039;s shaft. She can see a metal door firmly closed on the wall about five feet above her. )&lt;br /&gt;
ooc The cabin is basically a twisted pile of metal, and you managed to not land on any sharp bits somehow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis shakes off the impact, and jumps towards the closed door, hoping to break through. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;ve got a door down here, I&#039;m going to try to see if I can get through. Hopefully I&#039;ll find the computer on this floor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki continues to grapple the beast, and when the electricity proves inneffective he seems to growl. Irritating, and though the beast is unnatural, he quickly takes a sample of the fluids for further analysis- a collection device built into the forarm of his power armour, the nanites in the air around him also doing some minor scans. After having a sample, he then quickly does something- The dragon forcing in a stream of nanties and chemical components. The small devices then attempt to deconstruct the beast from within- or at least begin reconfiguring the materials into chains of harmful chemicals and toxins.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli twists her body around in mid-air, righting herself and flaring her wings to slow her descent. Seeing Loki&#039;s plight she directs the majority of her healing efforts toward him, ignoring her own slowly closing injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The creature hisses as it whips one of his scythe-arms at Loki, stabbing and jabbing with surprising force for anywhere to impale him. Its other arm finally latches onto something, but is subsequently torn off as Loki&#039;s nanites cause it to destabilize. The thing screams in fury as it tries to drag Loki down with it into the twisted pile of debris.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis bounces off the reinforced steel elevator doors, not accomplishing much more than bruising her shoulder. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces as the nanites begins cleaning up the wound. &amp;quot;direct force won&#039;t work. How about pulling them apart? The pneumatics SHOULD be shot.&amp;quot; She wedges her fingers into the seam and attempts to pull the door open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls as the creature flaying him, the dragon taking some damage as some of the scythe jabs make it through is armour as others glance off. As they twist about in the air, only then does Loki realize just how far they have fallen, the ground hurtling towards him. He roars, not noticing the pain, nor the healing, and he reaches out to slow the descent, a claw grabbing for the wall if he can reach it, the dragon trying to keep the creature below him should he fail to grasp the edge and slow the descent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd staggers a moment after passing through the door, and sees the room is now empty, although the elevator doors are open. He rushes towards them and falls in before he can come to a stop, not accounting for the tiled(?) floor of the lobby being smooth.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis gets her claws in between the cracks and tries to tug with all her might, but isn&#039;t able to budge the doors with her strength alone. Loki&#039;s claws grind against cement and metal, dulling the tips of his nails and cracking some off. The beast writhes under him, still trying its best to destroy the dragon it&#039;s attached to until the moment of-- CRUNCH! Loki and the creature slam into the twisted debris with a sickening splatter. The monster twitches a few times, impaled by several long metal shapes, then grows still. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki seems a little dazed, the dragon in the midst of rubble, dust, grit, and splattered mutant abomination. He rises to his feet, and gives his head a shake, the dragon wobbling in place as he looks around. He seems to be doing a kind of check to see how much damage he has endured. Some of his wounds are already healing, and he seems to mentally wince when he looks at his damaged claws even as they reknit. Would hurt like hell if he could feel it. He seems satisfied, and goes to take a step, but only manages such with one leg, his other impaled clean through with a jadded metal pole. He growls as he looks back at the leg, the dragon grabbing ahold of the metal and then springs in place, tearing it free so he can better tend to his wound.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis&#039; efforts yield dents in the door, but it&#039;s firmly built and isn&#039;t even the slightest bit phased by those attacks. Redd can likely see the others below him by now, gathering themselves from their arrival on the ground, or in Caeli&#039;s case, still falling. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli touches down on the clearest patch of solid surface she can spot, absorbing the impact of her greatly slowed fall with a crouch as her wings retract again. Even with the damage she&#039;s sustained she doesn&#039;t stay down for more than a second, pushing herself up and approaching the stubborn door with an unshakable calm. &amp;quot;Redd is coming,&amp;quot; she states matter-of-factly, wedging her own fingers between the doors and pulling with all her might.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis sighs. &amp;quot;Damn it. I was hoping I could do something here...&amp;quot; She backs off, giving the winged woman room to manuever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shrill screech of grinding metal and gears echoes up the shaft as Caeli pulls and pulls, and eventually the badly damaged give and the doors slide open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Caeli, the dragon then looking to Solixis and frowns. &amp;quot;Well, I am sure your time will come. You do provide some light after all.&amp;quot; he smiles. &amp;quot;Better directiontional sense and a map.&amp;quot; he offers, then hobbling through the door as best he can, the dragon wrenching the piece of metal bar free, then focusing intently as he works about reknitting his wounds.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis scrambles into the door, getting the hall lit as bright as she can.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd slams into the pile of metal, his body relatively unscathed, but the rifle he had out has been crushed and punctured by several pieces of metal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Beyond the elevator is a hallway, but this sub basement appears remarkably preserved. This area is dimly lit by flickering emergency lighting. The walls are painted white with a blue stripe, and in several places the familiar diamond-shaped logo is visible. To either side, you can see several doors, but the room on the right has windows looking into it, and you can see that it&#039;s a testing lab of some sort.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli shrugs off the left sleeve of her jumpsuit, which between the acid and claw attacks is no longer actually attached to the rest of the outfit anymore. As it falls to the floor she begins moving down the hall, saying, &amp;quot;Switching to low-light vision.&amp;quot; She turns to stare into the windows as she draws close.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks around the room, the dragon listening intently. He walks through the halls, looking from place to place. Many doors. Many things. &amp;quot;Electronics. Everywhere.&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;I think we found it.&amp;quot; he says, wandering the halls. He slowly begins opening doors, ignoring the ones that would lead to the one with the window within, perhaps saving that for last or not at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns as he examines his ruined weapon, he&#039;ll have to make another, but not now, although he&#039;s left without a weapon for a while. He sees the open door and climbs up, pulling himself inside.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis continues looking for the computer, ready to disable any locks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Loki finds first a meeting room with torn-up and toppled-over chairs, as well as a large circular table with a deep gash in it. The second door he opens is a storage room with metal shelves holding all manner of utilities, chemicals and miscellaneous supplies, many of which have been broken or spilled. The laboratory to the right looks to be in a state of disarray, with lots of things cluttering the floor as well as what is probably a pool of dried blood. The testing benches are filled with bits of shattered test tubes and tools. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli switches between thermal and nightvision as she scans the lab and hall one last time before trying the door leading into the windowed room, concluding that anything with indoor windows must be important.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis grumbles. &amp;quot;How are we going to know when we&#039;ve found it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd trails down the hallways, watching for anything with a monitor or a powerbutton at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lab feels eerie.. like something horrible happened here. An unsettling silence fills this room, as does a thick layer of dust. Upon closer inspection, there are some cabinets, but most of them are missing their doors, which are laying on the floor. Inside are replacement bits for some of the equipment; cables, tubes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki quickly moves inside the lab, the dragon sifting through the various assorted tubes and cables, searching for whatever it is they connect to.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stands passively near the doorway, watching the dragon closely as he investigates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the rest of the party draws nearer to the end of the hallway, the elecric presence grows stronger, a faint humming becoming a whirring, more wires seen through the walls leading into here. A single door is at the end of the hall, half knocked off it&#039;s hinges. A sign on the front reads, &amp;quot;CONTAMINATION HAZARD&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cables are just that. Wires and cables likely used in the case where the ones for computers and equipment were damaged or lost.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd stops when he sees the sign, and turns towards the others, &amp;quot;I&#039;ll go in first, I&#039;m least likely to be mutated by whatever may be beyond there...&amp;quot; He sighs and begins to approach the door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll stick close behind. Suppressive fire is one of my specialties.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli leaves the lab behind, curious to investigate whatever Redd was talking about. &amp;quot;I am immune to nanite contamination,&amp;quot; she offers from further down the hall, in no particular hurry but moving to enter with Redd.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door creaks open and reveals a decontamination room, complete with power sprays and hazmat suits (most of which are destroyed) and a shattered glass wall beyond that. It appears to be another testing lab, this one much smaller than the other, but this one has a single table in the middle with a dome-shaped device, attatched to it all manner of cables leading to various sides of the room and plugged into tall servers or running through to the walls. The skeletal remains of one person lay on the floor next to the table, and the hum of machinery and electronics pervades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls a little in the room he is in and shifts uncomfortably, the dragon rising to his feet and quickly leaving as he closes the door behind him. He looks to the others and quickly follows after them, stepping into the room and looking around, seeing what he can discern.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Upon seeing the clean room beyond the door, Redd freezes in places, and turns to look for some sort of label out next to the door. &amp;quot;I hope we didn&#039;t just stumble into a virology or epidemiology lab&#039;s clean room. otherwise this could get ugly real fast...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces. &amp;quot;Not good.&amp;quot; She takes a hankerchief out of her pack a wraps it over her mouth, trying to protect herself from airborne infection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli seems unconcerned by the potential hazards of the room, moving past Loki to the table and dome-shaped device to get a closer look. She breathes deeply as she does, green lights flickering over the black bands on her metal &#039;ears&#039; as she attempts to detect any conventional airborne hazards.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dome object looks, upon close inspection, like a high-tech petri dish. It doesn&#039;t look particularily heavy, but it&#039;s surely quite delicate, in fact the glass dome has a hairline crack in it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki approaches the dome, the dragon circling the device as he examines it, trying to commit much of it to memory, and also trying to see how the wires connect and if there may be any ports. He also looks to the various machines hooked up to the device and seems to think again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The device seems inactive, but a pretty good guess would be that this was the &#039;module&#039; that Jess was referring to, one of the objects that RSX requested be brought back. The wires look like they can be removed with not too much difficulty. As for the other hardware.. there are several computers around the room, and at least two large servers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding no indication of what was supposed to stay isolated in the room, Redd cautiously reenters, stepping over the shattered glass and doors. He spots the device on the table, and goes to search the far side of the room, those servers couldn&#039;t have been brought in through the clean room&#039;s regular entrance...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blinking LEDs and the barely-functioning emergency lighting is all that brings light to this room. With some ingenuity, Redd can ascertain that the large server blocks aren&#039;t necessary, but perhaps the harddrives contained within.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blinking LEDs and the barely-functioning emergency lighting is all that brings light to this room. With some ingenuity, anyone with good computer skills can ascertain that the large server blocks aren&#039;t necessary, but perhaps the hard drives contained within.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis looks around in the room. &amp;quot;If you can find anything small that I can fit in my bag, I&#039;ll carry it, Redd.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Loki immediately turns his attention to the server drives, the dragon quickly plodding over to the monolithic data storage units and quickly takes a wire from his armour, the dragon quickly plugging it in and attempting to access its systems.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd nods, and hunts for the power cable to the servers, &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to unplug them, no way I&#039;m disassembling them while their connected. Hopefully the bubble won&#039;t fade quite for at least a little while.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Loki is rewarded with the humming of drives uploading data into his storage. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki seems satisfied once the download finishes, the dragon len looking to Redd. &amp;quot;It is probably for the best.&amp;quot; he murmurs, then peering around the room some more, the dragon then striding over to the dish, examining it. &amp;quot;Wonder if we should dissassemble it before leaving. Or we could simply carry it out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The servers have an inch-thick wire running from each of them directly into the wall.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I don&#039;t know about you,&amp;quot; Redd speaks inbetween cables being sheared, &amp;quot;But I&#039;m taking the processors and drives. If RSX doesn&#039;t need it all, I&#039;m planning to keep as much as possible...&amp;quot; Satified the servers were powered down, he pulls a tool kit from his bag, and starts to open the machines.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks over to Redd as he prowls about the room, the dragon striding over to the other server. &amp;quot;If they don&#039;t need it, I claim half the components if you do not mind.&amp;quot; he murmurs as he begins to assist the flaming crystal dragon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The server comes apart pretty easily. The components aren&#039;t particularily unique or anything, but they&#039;re at least top-of-the-line server components circa 3 years ago.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki systematically dismantles the computer along with redd, the dragon dividing the loot evenly among those who wish claim, offering some to Solixis as well, the dragon gathering his share and starting towards the dish. He thinks for a moment and takes out a silvery gob of nanites and stretches it across the crack, sealing the dome once again. He then sets about freeing the wires and other things keeping it in place so that it may be transported out, the dragon also radioing RSX telling them that they have completed the mission and are on their way out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli helps Loki to rapidly unplug each of the cables connected to the device at the heart of the room, and once it&#039;s unattached from everything she picks it up, handling it with care. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis ends up with most of the hard drives and several heat sinks, the boards ending up in other &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls out ram chips, processors and drives and carefully places each in a static-proof baggy, generously borrowed from the neighboring rooms. &amp;quot;Think there&#039;s anything else worth taking?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli begins moving toward the exit with purpose. &amp;quot;We should leave before any other creatures arrive. Our entrance will have drawn attention.&amp;quot; When she reaches the shaft she elects to use the ladder, climbing up one-handed with impressive agility and speed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis follows Caeli, moving quickly. &amp;quot;Long way to go...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd follows out, and starts climbing directly on the wall, his claws punching holes in the sides of the shaft for grip&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shakes his head, helping the others haul the goods out. &amp;quot;No. Do not think so. Let&#039;s hope this all goes without further incident.&amp;quot; he murmurs, assisting Caeli with the devices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The party makes their way up the broken shaft, carefully climbing for a good ten minutes before they reach ground level. From there, they beat tracke from the building before their presence can attract more mutated horrors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd climbs one of the buildings in an attempt to improve reception for his communicator, and to try to spot the helicopter as soon as it appears over the horizon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sure enough about five minutes after the signal is given, Chuck&#039;s coptor comes into view and hovers over the same building as last time. The party helps each other back into the trasport just as a flock of flying, multi-eyed bat creatures emerges from an adjacent building&#039;s windows. Chuck lurches the coptor frward and flies the opposite direction as fast as he can. Several hours later, after turning in the proper equipment and data. The party is personally commended by Doctor Jess and rewarded for their accomplished mission.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=San_Leandro&amp;diff=11314</id>
		<title>San Leandro</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=San_Leandro&amp;diff=11314"/>
		<updated>2012-02-29T06:17:35Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;==Participants== * Loki * Redd * Caeli * Solixis ==Director== * Darkwyrm ==Log==  The RSX briefing room is cleaned, sanitized and smells faintly of citrus....&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Loki]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Redd]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Caeli]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Solixis]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The RSX briefing room is cleaned, sanitized and smells faintly of citrus. A skinny human woman sits at the head in a white labcoat and a stern look on her face. The volunteers are shuffled into the room and asked to take a seat. &amp;quot;Welcome to Rsx Solutions, and thank you for responding to our call.&amp;quot;, she says, greeting those present.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis sits at the table, flyer in hand as she leans towards the woman, anxious and excited to be on a mission. She hasn&#039;t been getting many interesting ones since she lost her rank at Zephyr for non-compliance during a year-long sabbatical.&lt;br /&gt;
time&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli sits as instructed, her ponytail hanging over the back of the chair and her wings folded tightly against her back to avoid too much discomfort. Despite the potential for danger she is apparently unarmed, with only a handheld radio clipped to the waist of her jumpsuit for equipment.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc RP guidelines: Don&#039;t wait for me to pose, but wait a respectable time (about 5 mins) for other participants to make their poses before proceeding with another one of yours.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd grumbles as he sits, seeming somewhat upset that briefing had to begin right at the start of his customary lunch break. &amp;quot;Afternoon, couldn&#039;t have scheduled this to be an hour earlier or later?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shuffles in place, the giant armoured dragon seated beside Caeli, apparantly deep in some sort of tangential thought, his tail coiled around the legs of his chair. He looks up when the lady speaks and offers a nod. &amp;quot;Not a problem. Was in the area and decided to help. Though I probably would have volunteered if it was of the way too.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis stretches, her twin tails finding difficulty being comfortable as she looks at her comrades gathered. &amp;quot;Only person I don&#039;t know here is the winged girl in the jumpsuit.&amp;quot; She smiles at Redd and Loki.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As soon as everyone is seated, the woman stands up. &amp;quot;Thank you again for coming. My name is Dr. Jess, and I will be briefing you.&amp;quot; She shoots a small frown at Redd before replying. &amp;quot;You weren&#039;t required to attend this meeting, and this mission is important and time-sensitive, so honestly, one or two people skipping lunch wasn&#039;t really our concern.&amp;quot; She walks over to the door and shuts it, before dimming the lights. The projector clicks on and brings a white glare before it shifts to show a photo depicting the ruins of a city. &amp;quot;This is San Leandro.. or at least what&#039;s left of it. I&#039;m going to keep this nice and direct. We need you to go there and recover the Point Zero.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis raises a hand, confused. &amp;quot;Recover? Isn&#039;t a point zero just the location of a first outbreak? Correct me if I&#039;m wrong on the first. What exactly are we looking for?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki casts a wave to Solixis, offering a smile in turn. &amp;quot;Hey Sol! Been some time since I have seen you around!&amp;quot; he says, then turning his attention as the woman in front speaks. &amp;quot;Recover point zero?&amp;quot; he inquires, tongue flitting out of his mouth. &amp;quot;What happens when we remove it?... and as Sol said. What does it look like?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;&#039;Recover&#039; the Point Zero? How does one recover a point in space? Isn&#039;t point zero the term for where the center of an explosion is?&amp;quot; Redd&#039;s face shows a mix of concern and confusion. &amp;quot;At least, that&#039;s what oint zero is considered in the case of atomic attack...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess clicks a button on a remote in her hand and the projection switches to show the front of a building. It looks to be a Pre-P-Day as it looks in pristine condition. A four-pointed logo running across the top reads, &#039;Tetra Laboratories&#039;. &amp;quot;This is a research and development firm located in the heart of the city. This is believed to be the location of Point Zero.. but what we&#039;re after is something more specific. We want the hardware located within that was the sole cause for that city&#039;s destruction.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to Redd for a moment. &amp;quot;Point Zero is typically the point of origin for something, and such a point in space could be an object, and thus, can be moved.&amp;quot; he says, then looking to Jess, the dragon much more interested than he was a while ago. &amp;quot;Destruction? How was the city cast into ruin? Mutations like other bubbles?&amp;quot; he inquires, leaning forward in his seat. &amp;quot;And hardware you say?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Hardware. Well, at least it is a tangible object that we should be able to find. I hope. Can you give us more details of what caused the destruction? I&#039;m curious to know what dangers we face.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd&#039;s jaw drops, quite understandably, &amp;quot;Does this mean there was a 3rd party involved in the development of the nanites? And is this hardware you want us to find still active? Is it what sustains the nanite cloud? If it is, I can&#039;t imagine a very safe way to suddenly shut it down...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki leans back in his seat, looking to redd for a moment. &amp;quot;Mutations can still function outside the cloud. Typically. Usually. Some have difficulty, and the clouds also help prevent death.&amp;quot; he states.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess clicks her remote again, and the projector displays a something entirely different. It appears to be a reconnaissance photo of some creature.. from what you can make out in the fuzzy photo, it looks like a horribly mutated being with barbs sticking out all over its body and its (face?) is covered in greenish slime and blood. It walks on two scythe-tipped arms and crawls on a snake-like body. Jess taps the wall and frowns. &amp;quot;There are many of these and other things running around the city. I hope that answers your question as to what caused the destruction. And yes, Hardware. A supercomputer, specifically, along with a module for housing nanites.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli remains mostly quiet, staring intently at the projection as she listens to the other volunteers&#039; questions. Her silence is finally broken by one of her own: &amp;quot;The outbreak ocurred some time ago. Has something changed to make recovery of this hardware time-sensitive?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to the screen, the dragon quite curious, a small grin on his face as he views the mutation. He then seems to snap out as Caeli speaks, then looking to the girl. &amp;quot;Ah.. I would have never thought of that. Still, much to study.&amp;quot; he murrs, tail flicking behind him as he rises out of his seat and stretches himself out. &amp;quot;What is the data on these mutations?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis snerks a bit as she sees the creature. &amp;quot;Reminds me of my favorite card game &lt;br /&gt;
and the creatures within.&amp;quot; She puts the flyer away, increasing her level of interest. &lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Winged girl has a point.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What do we know about these things? Hah! Well, we know they&#039;re aggressive, and don&#039;t like YOU.&amp;quot;, Jess says, a bit smart-assed. &amp;quot;They&#039;ll eat you if you give them the opportunity, so don&#039;t. Engage from a range if possible or not at all. They&#039;re fast despite how they look. Now, WHY this mission is time-sensitive is mostly none of your concern. RSX doesn&#039;t want to dabble much longer on it because of the dangerout nature of that region, so we want this done soon.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shifts his stance a little more and offers a nod. &amp;quot;Indeed. Though I would hazard a guess it would be to make sure there are less of these things if they are as dangerous as you say they are.&amp;quot; he murrs, thinking some more. &amp;quot;What if I was to bring one back here for testing? Or at least aquire a fluid sample?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shifts uncomfortably in his seat, &amp;quot;And how are we going to get the device out of there, if we have to deal with these creatures meanwhile... And only reason I can think RSX would be asking for outside help is if the first team they sent in... didn&#039;t return with all it&#039;s members.&amp;quot; He glances around, wondering if the image was taken by one of the survivors of a previous retrieval team.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Don&#039;t get killed, grab the computer, get back here. Straightforward. seems like a good mission. I&#039;m ready unless you have anything else to add.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess frowns. &amp;quot;No. Absolutely not. Do not attempt to aquire a sample of those things. We don&#039;t want any chance of spreading.. whatever they are.. to here. In fact, each one of you will undergo deep-sanitation upon your return to ensure no chance of cross-contamination. When we&#039;re good and ready, we&#039;ll do further research on them. Which brings us back to the point of this mission in the first place, to aquire the Point Zero which itself will reveal a lot about the creatures in that hellhole.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli nods once. &amp;quot;Understood. Will we be given transport to the area? Will it be possible to enter the building from the roof? An aerial insertion may avoid unecessary conflict with the local inhabitants.&amp;quot; She seems fully engaged now, as though this type of assignment comes naturally to her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd takes another glance at the creature, &amp;quot;Anything you&#039;d suggest that is effective is removing them? Fire? Ice? Blunt physical trauma?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki frowns a little at the mentions of cross contamination, spreading, and the like. He huffs a little and shakes his head. &amp;quot;If I gathered a sample it would be quite contained.&amp;quot; he counters, then seems to relent. &amp;quot;All right. Well, if you say so, I will not press the matter.&amp;quot; he says, then looking to Caeli and nods. &amp;quot;Though it might also alert them of our presence. Though it would also likely made for the safest and quickest mission.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Transport will be provided via a helicoptor. It will drop you off-NOT LAND- on a nearby building rooftop, but the closest we can get you is several city blocks away. You&#039;ll have to get to the location from there on your own.&amp;quot; Jess says as she walks back over to the switch and turns on the lights. &amp;quot;You&#039;ll have to find your own way into the building as well, if the front door isn&#039;t to your liking. As far as those.. things.. we don&#039;t know of anything that&#039;s particularily useful against them.. try whatever you normally would? I&#039;m no combat expert.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd grins a bit, &amp;quot;Getting us out wouldn&#039;t be too hard, any equipment is another matter entirely, How big is the machine you want us to bring back anyhow?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We aren&#039;t entirely sure on the size.&amp;quot;, Jess says, turning to Redd. &amp;quot;Though we believe it shouldn&#039;t be anything too much for you four to carry, if carefully dismantled.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli tilts her head slightly to one side, inqusitively asking, &amp;quot;Tetra Laboratories does not appear in any of my records. Do you have further information on their projects? Are we likely to encounter hazards from such projects within their facility?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;No and Yes.&amp;quot;, Jess curtly replies to Caeli, frowning slightly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Caeli, the dragon then looking expectantly at Jess, tongue once again flitting from his mouth. &amp;quot;The more information you give us, the more we can guarantee a successful operation and the safe return of the equipment we need to procure.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;Loki&#039;s got the right idea. I, however, am itching to go. I&#039;d rather not make this a night mission. If they are as blind as they seem, they will function far better in the dark than we can.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof Jess says, &amp;quot;We have no more information about the firm. It wasn&#039;t all that well known before P-Day, and we&#039;ve only recently discovered it and tracked the source of the infection there. None of our agents are willing to venture anywhere close to the city to dig up records.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess says, &amp;quot;We have no more information about the firm. It wasn&#039;t all that well known before P-Day, and we&#039;ve only recently discovered it and tracked the source of the infection there. None of our agents are willing to venture anywhere close to the city to dig up records.&amp;quot; )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;If you have no more questions..&amp;quot;, Jess says, starting to sound impatient, &amp;quot;That concludes the briefing. Jonathan in the hallway can lead you to our helipad for immiediate departure.&amp;quot;,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shifts a little more in place and then nods. &amp;quot;Well, what if we could recover some more records about the company? Would that be appreciated?&amp;quot; he inquires. &amp;quot;And if so, where do you think we could find them?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis gets up and head out of the room, looking for this &amp;quot;Jonathan.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof Jess sighs. &amp;quot;If you feel you must, then look in their storage room, assuming they have one. If not, then the information that this mission requires is located on the hardware you&#039;ll bring back.&amp;quot; She makes a shooing gesture with one of her hands then waits for everyone to file out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Jess sighs. &amp;quot;If you feel you must, then look in their storage room, assuming they have one. If not, then the information that this mission requires is located on the hardware you&#039;ll bring back.&amp;quot; She makes a shooing gesture with one of her hands then waits for everyone to file out. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli rises to her feet. &amp;quot;Understood,&amp;quot; she says again, seemingly eager to begin. However, she doesn&#039;t move away from Loki, apparently waiting for him before continuing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd slowly stands, and follows Solixis out towards the Helicopter landing pad.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Jess, the dragon a little surprised that Caeli waits for him, though he then does begin moving out of the room and towards the helicopter pad, the dragon making sure she is following along before he really starts walking.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You are led to the rooftop of RSX where a large chopper is already prepped and waiting for departure. There&#039;s room enough for all of you, despite size variations. There is room for a human-sized person in the front with the pilot, and everyone else will need to file into the cabin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stares between the cabin and cockpit as though weighing the options, then nods to Solixis. &amp;quot;Very well,&amp;quot; she says, choosing a place in the cabin close to the exit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki hopes into the Cabin, the dragon taking a seat beside Caeli as he plunks down, awaiting transport to the zone.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd hesitates a moment before climbing in. After all, if it were dangerous for him to be onboard, they&#039;d stop him, Right?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis climbs into the co-pilot&#039;s seat, keeping her tails away from the door and trying to keep the from getting smooshed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hello hello!&amp;quot;, the pilot says into the radio over the hum of the blades. You can&#039;t see most of his face, as it&#039;s obscured by his helmet and shaded visor, but he does have a beard, and is wearing a blue jumpsuit. &amp;quot;My names&#039;s Chuck and I&#039;ll be your pilot today. We&#039;re expecting a smooth transit, so make yourselves comfortable, and we&#039;ll be there in about two hours!&amp;quot; Redd finds himself pointed to a spot specifically for him, away from everyone else, where a fine mist of water is constantly being jetted from a little spout at him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis giggles. &amp;quot;Redd, you knew they&#039;d consider you a fire hazard...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki offers a small nod to the pilot, the dragon yawning a little as he then looks to Caeli. &amp;quot;So, how have you been recently? I hope you are enjoying yourself. Find anything interesting at the tower?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns at the comment, before curling up around his bag of gear, in an attempt to keep it all dry. He doesn&#039;t complain though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli fixes Loki with her crystal-green stare as she answers, &amp;quot;I am still unable to connect to external devices, but I am otherwise well. The tower itself is very interesting, but I have been instructed to avoid it while on assignment to prevent distraction.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki offers a smile to Caeli, tongue flitting out of his mouth again. &amp;quot;Really? Well, I suppose I should take that as a compliment.&amp;quot; he grins, then shifting a little more in place. &amp;quot;What is your favorite thing at the tower? And what is your favorite section?&amp;quot; he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd raises his head upon hearing a comment about connecting, &amp;quot;Another inorganic? Or am I mistaken in that? I heard something about connecting to devices, and I know not of one organic agent who can do that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The chopper takes off and starts heading northeast towards the destination. After a boring flight, where Chuck incessantly talks about current events and how annoying his wife is, you finally come into view of San Leandros. The silhouette of the city is monolithic and somehow ominous. No vehcles are moving about, no real signs of life are visible. Many of the buildings are damaged, windows shattered, or even large chunks blown out of the walls. As you get even closer, you can even see numerous year-old human remains--picked clean and gnawed skeletons hanging out of car windows or littering the streets. Chuck hovers the Chopper over a wide rooftop about 5 feet up and signals for everyone to get out. &amp;quot;Tha&#039;s as close as I&#039;ll get.&amp;quot;, he said. &amp;quot;Radio when you&#039;re ready for pickup and I&#039;ll swing by to pick you up.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki raises his hand to Redd. &amp;quot;I can connect as well. Though it is largely because of the armour I wear and recent advancements in other things. I wonder if I may be able to replicate some sort of connection organically. It should prove interesting.&amp;quot; he murrs, the dragon peering out the window as he views the age old carnage, a small frown on his face. He quickly hops out when instructed, the quick snap of his wings making his landing much lighter than it would have been. He shifts in place and surveys the city, casting a small wave in response to Chuck&#039;s mention of radio for pickup.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli answers Loki first, hesitating for a moment before deciding, &amp;quot;The laboratory is the most interesting section, and the one I was unable to explore thoroughly before leaving.&amp;quot; To Redd she simply nods. As the closest to the door she&#039;s also the first out of the helicopter, dropping to land in a crouch before rising up to scan her immediate surroundings for threats.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis hops out as well, her own three-point landing allowing her to spring into action if need be. &amp;quot;First order of business, how far are we from the lab, and what&#039;s the status of the nanite bubble?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd stands from his seat on the floor of the cabin, the floor underneath heavily covered in scorchmarks, but still mostly intact, he proceeds to follow Loki and Caeli out the door, carrying his bag over a shoulder,&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A quick surveying shows that you&#039;re on top of a four-story office building, and there&#039;s a convenience hatch leading down into the top floor of building in you want to head down that way.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis takes the map, scanning the marked landing zone and the destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks to the one with the map, the dragon stretching his wings. &amp;quot;I say we fly to the building. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd snickers at the mention of flight, &amp;quot;I call not being transit!&amp;quot; At this he leaps off the side of the building, and lets his wings catch a thermal, bringing him above the level of the building.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis begins to lead towards the building at a steady run, sticking to rooftops where possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stares down over the side of the building, focused on the streets below. &amp;quot;I agree. Be prepared for flying threats.&amp;quot; Her wings expand greatly, her wingspan quickly growing long enough to look functional for one of her size. She also murmurs a series of rpaid, unintelligible words, her lips moving impossibly fast. Moments later the air around her begins to crackle with electricity. Fully prepared, she launches herself from the buildingtop and takes flight.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki watches Solixis run towards the building. He would have offered to carry her in flight. He watches Caeli with interest as she takes off, the dragon seemingly amused by this development, the dragon shrugging as he spreads his wings and takes to the air after the others, the dragon keeping an eye for both groundbound and airbound threats, monitoring both Caeli and Solixis.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The city is a grim sight, indeed. Most don&#039;t notice any signs of life, but Caeli spots a humanoid figure standing in the middle of one of the side-streets as she passes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli says, &amp;quot;Possible survivor detected,&amp;quot; and deviates from her flight path, displaying impressive maneuverobility as she swoops lower to get a better look at the strange figure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man is facing away from you, and slowly shambling down the street. He&#039;s wearing what appears to be a roughed-up RSX uniform, at leats that&#039;s what you think from the logo on the back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki spirals in the air as Caeli deviates, the dragon circling around above, trying to spot what she has, the dragon flying ahead of the girl, trying to get a better look at the man from the front.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis hears Caeli over the comunitcation device. &amp;quot;Loki or Redd, stay with her. Whoever doesn&#039;t go, wait here. We can&#039;t be splitting off.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd goes into a dive towards Solixis, and lands a few feet away, &amp;quot;Waiting,&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
 The man has short, although disheveled brown hair. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted down at the street. He walks as though he has no purpose or destination.&lt;br /&gt;
The man has short, although disheveled brown hair. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted down at the street. He walks as though he has no purpose or destination.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli shows little concern for her own safety, flying ahead of the figure and spinning about as she lands, killing her momentum with uncanny ease to land before him. &amp;quot;Survivor exhibits strange behavior. Attempting contact.&amp;quot; A bit louder she says, &amp;quot;Greetings. Are you in need of aid?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd asks over the communicators, &amp;quot;Can you see any mutations or oddities about him?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki lands upon the nearest roof to the group, the dragon&#039;s tongue flitting out of his mouth as he tastes the air, a sniff following shortly after. He peers at the two, the dragon watching like a hawk for any signs of something amiss. His vision seems to scan a wide area, and he does have a few other modes than just plain sight, the dragon switching between them on occasion- Mainly thermal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The figure stops when Caeli speaks. He stands completely still for several awkward moments before he raises his head. And then he opens his eyes. And reveals dead, empty sockets. His neck cracks and then he opens his mouth wide.. too wide. Wider than a human should be able. His jaw unhinges, and .. something wriggles out. A brown tentacle of some sort, oozing with greenish slime. Suddenly his chest bursts apart and writhing scythe-tipped tentacles energe from his innards. The man emits an ear-pierinc screech and lunges at his would-be savior.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli&#039;s protective shield of nanites simultaneously electrocutes and attempts to tear apart the attacker as it comes into range, even as she throws herself backward, a powerful sweep of her wings attemping to push her into the air and out of range of the beast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd hears the screech from his position and pushes back up into the air, torn between staying still and trying to help.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki watches Caeli take to the air, the dragon swooping down from the building as he delivers a powerful dual legged kick to the beast in an attempt to knock it away from Caeli, the dragon literally springing off the beast upon impact as he uses the force once again to regain altitude, his wings adding momentum as he climbs higher in the air. His tongue flits once again through the air as he seems to still, listening for anything that may respond to the screech. Sighs. Smells. Sounds. Movements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis makes a mental note of the location. &amp;quot;Snafu, got a rogue xeno attacking one of the team, disguised as a human survivor, going in for backup.&amp;quot; She nods to Redd, giving him the okay to assist and joining the other two herself, the glow on her tails becoming actual fire.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dessicated man seems to shrugs off the electricity, but the field manages to rip apart several of the tentacles. The tentacle writing in its mouth manages to lob a blog of what you would assume is acid in Caeli&#039;s direction before it&#039;s knocked to the pavement by Loki&#039;s crushing kick. It&#039;s shoulder and arm are crushed, but it uses it&#039;s still-good arm to start righting itself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli spins in the air, avoiding part of the acidic assault. What manages to hit her burns through the shoulder of her jumpsuit, but has a tougher time with her flesh, which seems to not only resist the effects but repair itself as well. In retaliation she utters another stream of indechipherable words, and several pinkish feathers falling from her wings are rapidly nanite-converted into tiny missiles which lance out to impact all around the creature in a series of small explosions.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The pinpoint explosions tear away at the former man&#039;s flesh and then at muscle. The tentacles quickly regenerate themselves, but all that&#039;s left of the host is a gorey torso with blood anf flesh piled around. The tentacles thrash at any movement, but are otherwise immobile.&lt;br /&gt;
The pinpoint explosions tear away at the former man&#039;s flesh and then at muscle. The tentacles quickly regenerate themselves, but all that&#039;s left of the host is a gorey torso with blood anf flesh piled around. The tentacles thrash at any movement, but are otherwise immobile.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki lunges forward at the assault of Caeli&#039;s, the dragon waiting until the beast has weathered the storm, and upon seeing the state of the tentacles, the dragon slicing a hand sized piece off of one, then backing away with the tiny bit of flesh, the dragon turning it over in his hands- a strange glow escaping the slice as it seems to be broken down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The bit of flesh that Loki attempts to recover, upon being separated from the rest of it&#039;s being, immiediately decomposes into green slime. Loki&#039;s analysis comes back as &#039;Organic, no nanite pattern detected&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finally having spotted the fight, Redd enters a steep dive, claws and teeth bared, on impact, he bites down hard, and begins to shred at the body&#039;s remains with his claws. As soon as he tastes the tentacles, he spits the chunk of flesh in his mouth back out. No point trying to make a meal from these things, they taste worse than zombies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls at the analysis. &amp;quot;The nanties self destruct and the creature breaks down when seperated. This is quite an odd predicament. Makes analysis and extratction of nanite strains impossible.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis catches up to the others, leaping off the building, following Redd&#039;s lead. She turns a little lees than one full flip, her tails striking the creature as the nanite simultaneously increase the density of those limbs temporarily greater than osmium, while also cushioning the impact on her bones and joints.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The tentacles thrash and writhe at Redd as he bites into the remains of their host, using his close proximity to try and slice him up something good. They are quickly silenced, however, when Solixis more or less obliterates the remains of the torso with her tails, splattering the body and the tentacles all over the pavement and her fur.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli remains hovering nearby, scanning bother her comrades below and the surrounding area for additional threats that might be on the move. &amp;quot;We should leave quickly. We may have attracted additional threats.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a water canteen from his bag, and proceeds to try to wash the bad taste from his mouth. &amp;quot;Bleh, biting these is not a good idea.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis grabs a branch from a nearby bush or tree to scrape the slime off her tail. &amp;quot;I did not expect that to explode like that.&amp;quot; Her skin loses it&#039;s hardened appearance as she collects herself. &amp;quot;We need to keep moving.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
ooc back, and posing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ominous skitterings from indistinguisable directions alert everyone to the necessecity to move on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The buildings rising on either side of the party seem to echo these noises back and forth. You can&#039;t make heads or tails of whether they&#039;re coming from an adjacent street, from inside a door or from the dark, broken windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Satisfied the taste in his mouth is now gone, Redd puts the canteen away, and takes off again, this time staying closer to the middle of the group.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki as the howling starts, the dragon immediately takes to the air, the dragon rapidly gaining altitude, then hoising Solixis from the tree despite what she may protest. &amp;quot;Which way? Time is of the essence. The faster we are in and out the better. I do not wish to fight a whole cities worth of things.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli appears to be waiting for the others to move on before she leaves the scene, but upon hearing the sounds of approach she swiftly launches another barrage of micro missiles, the little weapons arcing off in all directions to create a cacophany of explosions, many within the buildings themselves via the open windows. She then takes off at full speed, following Loki.&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis speaks into the comm unit, keeping a mission record. &amp;quot;Xeno destroyed, got ourselves several boogies. Heading direct-ACK!&amp;quot; She squirms in Loki&#039;s grasp. &amp;quot;Loki! I can fly myself...&amp;quot; She dutifully points in the direction of the compound, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You fly the rest of the several blocks to where the map mark indicates your destination to be. What you find is the remains of a two-to-three story building. A shattered neon sign detatched from the roof and laying crooked against the wall. It reads, &amp;quot;T TRA La   atories.&amp;quot;, and is accompanied by a diamond-shaped symbol.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The first floor seems to be intact enough to enter, but the upper floors are completely caved in.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki immediately sets Solixis on the rooftop despite her protest. &amp;quot;If you could fly you should have done so over running.&amp;quot; he murmurs, then hastily looking for a way in from above, eyes scanning the rooftop before he gets another idea and then clings to the walls over the edge, peering inside any windows he can to get a better look inside. If there are any windows.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd swiftly lands infront of the building, and tests the doors, with a small package of high explosive ready just in case.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis walks along the edge of the rooftop, heading inward at every standing wall. She looks for a safe passage into the building and down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli makes a graceful landing at street level just before what appears to be the main entrance, still peering about her surroundings alertly as Redd checks the doors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki the dragon seems to quickly take note of something on the first floor, and with a careful act, the dragon slowly carves a hole in the window using one of his claws. &amp;quot;We enter this way. Quietly as we can.&amp;quot; he says to the others, the dragon dissapearing inside. Should he have trouble entering, or his frame be too large, the dragon shifts his size to something more managable.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis clears the entrance to the stairwell above. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;m going in from above. Stairwell is intact, but there&#039;s no light. Lucky I can make my own, but I&#039;m painting a huge target on myself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The interior is completely dark save for a small amount of light filtering in from the dirtied windows and the large hole Loki just made. You&#039;ve broken into a hallway. To your right, you see some more light and what might be the front lobby, to your left the hallway fades into darkness. Three doors line this hallway, two of which are likely to be restroom facilities.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli sweeps her gaze across the street one last time before hastily following Loki and beginning to investigate her new surroundings. Her eyes glow faintly green in the low light.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki quickly crawls along, as quiet as he can be. Which is surprisingly so for a giant metallic dragon skittering rapidly down the halls on all fours, quickly moving towards the light, the dragon also taking note of the walls, seeming to be looking for something. &amp;quot;There is still power here. The wires are hot. They lead to something.&amp;quot; he murmurs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You enter the lobby and reception area of the building.. or what&#039;s left of it. A curved security desk is at the back of the room, and is decked with a menagerie of smashed electronics and screens. The front door is collapsed, and the surrounding windows are caked with years of dirt and dust.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis heads into the stairwell, her tails lighting the passage and possible drawing attention to herself. She pads slowly, keeping an eye out for danger and the computer.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Circling the building several times, after giving up on entering via the window, Redd looks for a back entrance, or someway used to get large equipment in and out of the building.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis walks into pure black as soon as she rounds a few corners, but with help from her glowing tails, she&#039;s able to navigate the murky passage. The exits to the second and third floors are obviously inaccessible, nothing remaining of them but a pile of rubble, but she&#039;s able to clamber over those and make her way down to the first floor exit where she hears voices coming from the other side of the door. Redd finds a single truck loading dock and a normal-sized metal door accompanying it, likely used for deliveries of research materials. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki peers at the wall opposite of them, the dragon skittering across the lobby- over rubble, dirt, grit, and smashed refuse until he meets the opposite side, the dragon then peering at the walls. He presses his hand to the place, running his claw along the surface as if searching for something. &amp;quot;More power is here. A higher concentration of power is here.&amp;quot; he murrs, trying to search for where it leads.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis gently opens the door, hoping to not make a sound. She tenses, readying a defensive position.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli follows closely behind Loki, alternating between staring around at their surroundings and mimicking his actions, touching the wall as he does, though the act doesn&#039;t seem to be of any particular significance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis opens the door and see the trailing tail of Loki as he passes past on his way to the other side of the lobby. Loki&#039;s thermal vision leads him to the thick metal doors of an elevator. Through the walls, he can see the power conduits run up where they end abrutly. Strangely, they also go down. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis whispers into her comm unit. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;m right behind you.&amp;quot; She takes up position, hoping her light doesn&#039;t throw him off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd starts to claw at the shipping port&#039;s door, intent on either destroying the lock or making a hole large enough to enter. There is a fair amount of noise created by this action, although, opening the door would have been fairly loud as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki grins as he finds the location, the dragon prying open the elevator doors. &amp;quot;Well, now we go down.&amp;quot; he says, the dragon staring down into the elevator shaft, tongue flicking out, and shortly after he sniffs the air as he tests for smells, also tilting his head as he listens intently, seeing what else he may pick up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The screeching and rending of metal caused by Redd continues for a good two minutes before he&#039;s able to create a hole wide enough in the door for himself to fit though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods as Solixis speaks. &amp;quot;All right. Glad to hear it.&amp;quot; he replies, though he does frown as Redd tears his way in. &amp;quot;Well, now we are going to hope that nothing heard that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
spoof When loki peers down the elevator shaft, he sees a distance far greater than what he would expect for a basement. No, it&#039;s deep enough that you can&#039;t even see the bottom as the shaft disappears into blackness far before the bottom is visible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When loki peers down the elevator shaft, he sees a distance far greater than what he would expect for a basement. No, it&#039;s deep enough that you can&#039;t even see the bottom as the shaft disappears into blackness far before the bottom is visible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli waits passively as the others gather, nodding her agreement to Loki&#039;s suggestion. &amp;quot;I will go first,&amp;quot; she offers, her wings expanding once more as she slips past Loki&#039;s larger frame and follows his gaze down the shaft. Without further ado she steps over the edge, wings spread as wide as the shaft allows and personal nanites working overtime to help slow her fall. Small jolts of electricity arc off her shield as she drops, providing a bit of light on the way down.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks adown the shaft, a small whistle escaping him. &amp;quot;Well, it seems to be a long way down.&amp;quot; he murrs, blinking as Caeli passes him and drops down. The dragon then hops inside the shaft and braces himself against the walls with his limbs and begins to slide down as best he can, using claws to slow his fall when needed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Tap. Tap. Tap.      Caeli hears something very disturbing coming from below her as she descends. Then it grows faster.. and closer. Taptaptaptaptaptap! Something is climbing up the wall towards her! Two red eyes peer up from far below, growing closer. Then it opens two more eyes. And two more. A hideous face of six eyes accompanied by its growing heat pattern surges up the wall using two bladed arms to grasp at the coils and wires.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon sighs a little, growling at the creature. &amp;quot;Hostile?&amp;quot; he asks, then frowns again, remembering intel and what was said. &amp;quot;Ceali! To the side!&amp;quot; He calls out, still far above the girl, poised and ready, the dragon braced inside the elevator shaft, waiting for her response.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis puts on a pair of heavy leather goves and begins descending the elevator cables. &amp;quot;I really wish I knew where the elevator was...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli decides against using her missiles within the confined space, instead angling herself directly toward the incoming creature and folding her wings, straightening out her body with her feet pointed toward the eyes. A sudden burst of acceleration launches her downward even quicker just before she reaches it, surrounded as always by her swarms of electrified and disassembler nanites.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki blinks, quite surprised at Caeli&#039;s maneuver, the dragon perhaps a little stunned. he looks up to solixis. &amp;quot;No top floor anymore. Likey at the bottom Sol!&amp;quot; he calls out above him, the dragon then following Caeli down in a similar manner, though he keeps to the side of the shaft- either to smash the creature in a different area, or simply pass it and pull the creature down from below.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Redd has burst into a storage room with plenty of piles of knocked over boxes and shelves. Navigating through here will be a little difficult, but he can see a door on the opposite end of the room labeled with &#039;ENTRANCE&#039; in paint. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The creature, in a startling act of dexterity, uses it&#039;s tail to push itself off from the wall and leap to the opposite side to avoid Caeli&#039;s lunge. It effortlessly clings to the beams before whipping its barbed tail at her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd sees the door at the far end of the room, and scrambles over all of the debris, once at the door, he pauses, and tries to punch a view hole in the door with a claw, in hopes of seeing what was beyond it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Having already committed fully to the attack Caeli doesn&#039;t have much room to dodge, though she does manage to see the attack coming a split-second before impact. She braces herself and takes the hit, slamming hard into the side of the shaft.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Caeli&#039;s nanites attack the thing in an attempt to tear it apart, but are somehow unable to cohesively form their attack routines, as their programming is being scrambled by something. The creature is likewise resistant to electrical influence, its hide seems to resist the currents like rubber. It leaps off the wall again, attempting to grasp her and tear into her neck with its mouth full of vicious teeth. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dragon, who much like Caeli before him continues to rocket down into the darkness finally manages to catch up with the creature as it begins to grasp Caeli, the dragon landing upon the beast, the full force of his weight hitting the creature as he jams his claws within its hide, attempting to pry it away from the winged girl.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces as she jumps the remaining distance. &amp;quot;Loki, give me an opening! I&#039;m falling fast!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Certain that the door wasn&#039;t a dead end, Redd smashes the door with his full body weight, rather than using the handle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The thing is knocked away, though not without giving her some deep cuts from its bladed claws as it&#039;s torn away from her.. It starts falling, but wraps its tail around Loki&#039;s ankle and pulls him down with it. IT lets out deathly hisses of frustration as it claws at the walls, seeking a grabhold, pulling Loki with it. The three in the elevator shaft can hear a sudden and loud crash from above them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As Caeli tumbles down the shaft a half-dozen free feathers from her wings harden and shift, becoming another missile barrage that lances toward the creature&#039;s open mouth. Interestingly, she seems to have left out the explosives this time around, making them more akin to steel bolts than missiles. Blood - or something that looks very much like it - pours from her wounds, but her resilient body begins repairing itself almost as soon as the gashes appear.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki begins to grapple the creature, even as it thrashes with him. Tail around his ankle? He is also clinging to the beast, and they seem to have a mutual goal of dragging eachother down. Though the beast seems more worried than the dragon at this point, and he continues to keep the creature occupied as best he can- trying to keep it struggling to cling to the walls. He never relents the clawing or smashing- then he gets an idea. He attempts to jam his claw beneath the creatures hide and lets loose a torrent of electricity. Zap it from the inside!&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis continues her impromptu base-jumping, hurtling past the other two as she falls. She crashes to the bottom, landing forcefully in a perfect three-point landing, her body absorbing the impact.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Loki grasps it with his claws, he feels a peculiar fluid thicker than blood leaking through the punctures. This creature feels unnatural.. like it was fused together with a hideous amalgamation of flesh, bodyparts and vile purpose. Parts of its body are covered with chitinic plates, while other parts are rippled muscle and dense bone. The ridges alond its tail are razor sharp and tear into Loki&#039;s ankle as it squeezes. The attempted electrical surge finds no conductive materials within the beast.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis lands on the remains of the elevator cabin.. or rather IN it. The carrier is badly smashed, likely from the impact with the bottom of the elevator&#039;s shaft. She can see a metal door firmly closed on the wall about five feet above her. )&lt;br /&gt;
ooc The cabin is basically a twisted pile of metal, and you managed to not land on any sharp bits somehow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis shakes off the impact, and jumps towards the closed door, hoping to break through. &amp;quot;Loki, I&#039;ve got a door down here, I&#039;m going to try to see if I can get through. Hopefully I&#039;ll find the computer on this floor.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki continues to grapple the beast, and when the electricity proves inneffective he seems to growl. Irritating, and though the beast is unnatural, he quickly takes a sample of the fluids for further analysis- a collection device built into the forarm of his power armour, the nanites in the air around him also doing some minor scans. After having a sample, he then quickly does something- The dragon forcing in a stream of nanties and chemical components. The small devices then attempt to deconstruct the beast from within- or at least begin reconfiguring the materials into chains of harmful chemicals and toxins.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli twists her body around in mid-air, righting herself and flaring her wings to slow her descent. Seeing Loki&#039;s plight she directs the majority of her healing efforts toward him, ignoring her own slowly closing injuries.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The creature hisses as it whips one of his scythe-arms at Loki, stabbing and jabbing with surprising force for anywhere to impale him. Its other arm finally latches onto something, but is subsequently torn off as Loki&#039;s nanites cause it to destabilize. The thing screams in fury as it tries to drag Loki down with it into the twisted pile of debris.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis bounces off the reinforced steel elevator doors, not accomplishing much more than bruising her shoulder. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces as the nanites begins cleaning up the wound. &amp;quot;direct force won&#039;t work. How about pulling them apart? The pneumatics SHOULD be shot.&amp;quot; She wedges her fingers into the seam and attempts to pull the door open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls as the creature flaying him, the dragon taking some damage as some of the scythe jabs make it through is armour as others glance off. As they twist about in the air, only then does Loki realize just how far they have fallen, the ground hurtling towards him. He roars, not noticing the pain, nor the healing, and he reaches out to slow the descent, a claw grabbing for the wall if he can reach it, the dragon trying to keep the creature below him should he fail to grasp the edge and slow the descent.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd staggers a moment after passing through the door, and sees the room is now empty, although the elevator doors are open. He rushes towards them and falls in before he can come to a stop, not accounting for the tiled(?) floor of the lobby being smooth.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis gets her claws in between the cracks and tries to tug with all her might, but isn&#039;t able to budge the doors with her strength alone. Loki&#039;s claws grind against cement and metal, dulling the tips of his nails and cracking some off. The beast writhes under him, still trying its best to destroy the dragon it&#039;s attached to until the moment of-- CRUNCH! Loki and the creature slam into the twisted debris with a sickening splatter. The monster twitches a few times, impaled by several long metal shapes, then grows still. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki seems a little dazed, the dragon in the midst of rubble, dust, grit, and splattered mutant abomination. He rises to his feet, and gives his head a shake, the dragon wobbling in place as he looks around. He seems to be doing a kind of check to see how much damage he has endured. Some of his wounds are already healing, and he seems to mentally wince when he looks at his damaged claws even as they reknit. Would hurt like hell if he could feel it. He seems satisfied, and goes to take a step, but only manages such with one leg, his other impaled clean through with a jadded metal pole. He growls as he looks back at the leg, the dragon grabbing ahold of the metal and then springs in place, tearing it free so he can better tend to his wound.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Solixis&#039; efforts yield dents in the door, but it&#039;s firmly built and isn&#039;t even the slightest bit phased by those attacks. Redd can likely see the others below him by now, gathering themselves from their arrival on the ground, or in Caeli&#039;s case, still falling. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli touches down on the clearest patch of solid surface she can spot, absorbing the impact of her greatly slowed fall with a crouch as her wings retract again. Even with the damage she&#039;s sustained she doesn&#039;t stay down for more than a second, pushing herself up and approaching the stubborn door with an unshakable calm. &amp;quot;Redd is coming,&amp;quot; she states matter-of-factly, wedging her own fingers between the doors and pulling with all her might.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis sighs. &amp;quot;Damn it. I was hoping I could do something here...&amp;quot; She backs off, giving the winged woman room to manuever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The shrill screech of grinding metal and gears echoes up the shaft as Caeli pulls and pulls, and eventually the badly damaged give and the doors slide open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki nods to Caeli, the dragon then looking to Solixis and frowns. &amp;quot;Well, I am sure your time will come. You do provide some light after all.&amp;quot; he smiles. &amp;quot;Better directiontional sense and a map.&amp;quot; he offers, then hobbling through the door as best he can, the dragon wrenching the piece of metal bar free, then focusing intently as he works about reknitting his wounds.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis scrambles into the door, getting the hall lit as bright as she can.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd slams into the pile of metal, his body relatively unscathed, but the rifle he had out has been crushed and punctured by several pieces of metal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Beyond the elevator is a hallway, but this sub basement appears remarkably preserved. This area is dimly lit by flickering emergency lighting. The walls are painted white with a blue stripe, and in several places the familiar diamond-shaped logo is visible. To either side, you can see several doors, but the room on the right has windows looking into it, and you can see that it&#039;s a testing lab of some sort.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli shrugs off the left sleeve of her jumpsuit, which between the acid and claw attacks is no longer actually attached to the rest of the outfit anymore. As it falls to the floor she begins moving down the hall, saying, &amp;quot;Switching to low-light vision.&amp;quot; She turns to stare into the windows as she draws close.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks around the room, the dragon listening intently. He walks through the halls, looking from place to place. Many doors. Many things. &amp;quot;Electronics. Everywhere.&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;I think we found it.&amp;quot; he says, wandering the halls. He slowly begins opening doors, ignoring the ones that would lead to the one with the window within, perhaps saving that for last or not at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns as he examines his ruined weapon, he&#039;ll have to make another, but not now, although he&#039;s left without a weapon for a while. He sees the open door and climbs up, pulling himself inside.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis continues looking for the computer, ready to disable any locks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Loki finds first a meeting room with torn-up and toppled-over chairs, as well as a large circular table with a deep gash in it. The second door he opens is a storage room with metal shelves holding all manner of utilities, chemicals and miscellaneous supplies, many of which have been broken or spilled. The laboratory to the right looks to be in a state of disarray, with lots of things cluttering the floor as well as what is probably a pool of dried blood. The testing benches are filled with bits of shattered test tubes and tools. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli switches between thermal and nightvision as she scans the lab and hall one last time before trying the door leading into the windowed room, concluding that anything with indoor windows must be important.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis grumbles. &amp;quot;How are we going to know when we&#039;ve found it?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd trails down the hallways, watching for anything with a monitor or a powerbutton at all.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The lab feels eerie.. like something horrible happened here. An unsettling silence fills this room, as does a thick layer of dust. Upon closer inspection, there are some cabinets, but most of them are missing their doors, which are laying on the floor. Inside are replacement bits for some of the equipment; cables, tubes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki quickly moves inside the lab, the dragon sifting through the various assorted tubes and cables, searching for whatever it is they connect to.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli stands passively near the doorway, watching the dragon closely as he investigates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
As the rest of the party draws nearer to the end of the hallway, the elecric presence grows stronger, a faint humming becoming a whirring, more wires seen through the walls leading into here. A single door is at the end of the hall, half knocked off it&#039;s hinges. A sign on the front reads, &amp;quot;CONTAMINATION HAZARD&amp;quot;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cables are just that. Wires and cables likely used in the case where the ones for computers and equipment were damaged or lost.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd stops when he sees the sign, and turns towards the others, &amp;quot;I&#039;ll go in first, I&#039;m least likely to be mutated by whatever may be beyond there...&amp;quot; He sighs and begins to approach the door.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis nods. &amp;quot;I&#039;ll stick close behind. Suppressive fire is one of my specialties.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli leaves the lab behind, curious to investigate whatever Redd was talking about. &amp;quot;I am immune to nanite contamination,&amp;quot; she offers from further down the hall, in no particular hurry but moving to enter with Redd.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The door creaks open and reveals a decontamination room, complete with power sprays and hazmat suits (most of which are destroyed) and a shattered glass wall beyond that. It appears to be another testing lab, this one much smaller than the other, but this one has a single table in the middle with a dome-shaped device, attatched to it all manner of cables leading to various sides of the room and plugged into tall servers or running through to the walls. The skeletal remains of one person lay on the floor next to the table, and the hum of machinery and electronics pervades.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki growls a little in the room he is in and shifts uncomfortably, the dragon rising to his feet and quickly leaving as he closes the door behind him. He looks to the others and quickly follows after them, stepping into the room and looking around, seeing what he can discern.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Upon seeing the clean room beyond the door, Redd freezes in places, and turns to look for some sort of label out next to the door. &amp;quot;I hope we didn&#039;t just stumble into a virology or epidemiology lab&#039;s clean room. otherwise this could get ugly real fast...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis winces. &amp;quot;Not good.&amp;quot; She takes a hankerchief out of her pack a wraps it over her mouth, trying to protect herself from airborne infection.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli seems unconcerned by the potential hazards of the room, moving past Loki to the table and dome-shaped device to get a closer look. She breathes deeply as she does, green lights flickering over the black bands on her metal &#039;ears&#039; as she attempts to detect any conventional airborne hazards.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The dome object looks, upon close inspection, like a high-tech petri dish. It doesn&#039;t look particularily heavy, but it&#039;s surely quite delicate, in fact the glass dome has a hairline crack in it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki approaches the dome, the dragon circling the device as he examines it, trying to commit much of it to memory, and also trying to see how the wires connect and if there may be any ports. He also looks to the various machines hooked up to the device and seems to think again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The device seems inactive, but a pretty good guess would be that this was the &#039;module&#039; that Jess was referring to, one of the objects that RSX requested be brought back. The wires look like they can be removed with not too much difficulty. As for the other hardware.. there are several computers around the room, and at least two large servers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finding no indication of what was supposed to stay isolated in the room, Redd cautiously reenters, stepping over the shattered glass and doors. He spots the device on the table, and goes to search the far side of the room, those servers couldn&#039;t have been brought in through the clean room&#039;s regular entrance...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blinking LEDs and the barely-functioning emergency lighting is all that brings light to this room. With some ingenuity, Redd can ascertain that the large server blocks aren&#039;t necessary, but perhaps the harddrives contained within.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Blinking LEDs and the barely-functioning emergency lighting is all that brings light to this room. With some ingenuity, anyone with good computer skills can ascertain that the large server blocks aren&#039;t necessary, but perhaps the hard drives contained within.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis looks around in the room. &amp;quot;If you can find anything small that I can fit in my bag, I&#039;ll carry it, Redd.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Loki immediately turns his attention to the server drives, the dragon quickly plodding over to the monolithic data storage units and quickly takes a wire from his armour, the dragon quickly plugging it in and attempting to access its systems.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd nods, and hunts for the power cable to the servers, &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to unplug them, no way I&#039;m disassembling them while their connected. Hopefully the bubble won&#039;t fade quite for at least a little while.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
( Loki is rewarded with the humming of drives uploading data into his storage. )&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki seems satisfied once the download finishes, the dragon len looking to Redd. &amp;quot;It is probably for the best.&amp;quot; he murmurs, then peering around the room some more, the dragon then striding over to the dish, examining it. &amp;quot;Wonder if we should dissassemble it before leaving. Or we could simply carry it out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The servers have an inch-thick wire running from each of them directly into the wall.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I don&#039;t know about you,&amp;quot; Redd speaks inbetween cables being sheared, &amp;quot;But I&#039;m taking the processors and drives. If RSX doesn&#039;t need it all, I&#039;m planning to keep as much as possible...&amp;quot; Satified the servers were powered down, he pulls a tool kit from his bag, and starts to open the machines.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki looks over to Redd as he prowls about the room, the dragon striding over to the other server. &amp;quot;If they don&#039;t need it, I claim half the components if you do not mind.&amp;quot; he murmurs as he begins to assist the flaming crystal dragon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The server comes apart pretty easily. The components aren&#039;t particularily unique or anything, but they&#039;re at least top-of-the-line server components circa 3 years ago.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki systematically dismantles the computer along with redd, the dragon dividing the loot evenly among those who wish claim, offering some to Solixis as well, the dragon gathering his share and starting towards the dish. He thinks for a moment and takes out a silvery gob of nanites and stretches it across the crack, sealing the dome once again. He then sets about freeing the wires and other things keeping it in place so that it may be transported out, the dragon also radioing RSX telling them that they have completed the mission and are on their way out.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli helps Loki to rapidly unplug each of the cables connected to the device at the heart of the room, and once it&#039;s unattached from everything she picks it up, handling it with care. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis ends up with most of the hard drives and several heat sinks, the boards ending up in other &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls out ram chips, processors and drives and carefully places each in a static-proof baggy, generously borrowed from the neighboring rooms. &amp;quot;Think there&#039;s anything else worth taking?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Caeli begins moving toward the exit with purpose. &amp;quot;We should leave before any other creatures arrive. Our entrance will have drawn attention.&amp;quot; When she reaches the shaft she elects to use the ladder, climbing up one-handed with impressive agility and speed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Solixis follows Caeli, moving quickly. &amp;quot;Long way to go...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd follows out, and starts climbing directly on the wall, his claws punching holes in the sides of the shaft for grip&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Loki shakes his head, helping the others haul the goods out. &amp;quot;No. Do not think so. Let&#039;s hope this all goes without further incident.&amp;quot; he murmurs, assisting Caeli with the devices.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The party makes their way up the broken shaft, carefully climbing for a good ten minutes before they reach ground level. From there, they beat tracke from the building before their presence can attract more mutated horrors.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd climbs one of the buildings in an attempt to improve reception for his communicator, and to try to spot the helicopter as soon as it appears over the horizon.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sure enough about five minutes after the signal is given, Chuck&#039;s coptor comes into view and hovers over the same building as last time. The party helps each other back into the trasport just as a flock of flying, multi-eyed bat creatures emerges from an adjacent building&#039;s windows. Chuck lurches the coptor frward and flies the opposite direction as fast as he can. Several hours later, after turning in the proper equipment and data. The party is personally commended by Doctor Jess and rewarded for their accomplished mission.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=The_Boat&amp;diff=10966</id>
		<title>The Boat</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=The_Boat&amp;diff=10966"/>
		<updated>2012-02-26T09:14:12Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Unnatural]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ahri]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Redd]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Balina]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[RP] The mercenary group known as Giza Security has seeded some information through the networks. Apparently they are in need of some volunteers to fill in for their current lack of active field agents on a simple contract. From what you can make out in the rumors being circulated, this particular contract involves investigating  some sort of boat that was seen off the coast hours ago. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Location]: Giza Security - Corporate Offices Meeting Room&lt;br /&gt;
A meeting room with dark green painted walls. The room is dimly lit by a light that hands over a long conference table. Papers are scattered across the table in a sort of haphazard manner as if no one had a chance to do any real organization prior to this meeting. Some funny (de)motivational posters hang in random places on the wall, as well as some group photos depicting some of the Giza staff in various situations. A prominant poster stops an action shot of several people with the caption: GIZA SECURITY: For all of your professional needs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After making your way to the Giza headquarters, one way or another, you are led to the second floor by the secretary and shown to the first door on the left. The door is politely shut after everyone is inside. Sitting on the opposite side of the table is a jackal in a tidy black and gold uniform. He silently watches everyone file in and then gestures for everyone to have a seat once the door is shut. &amp;quot;Welcome to Giza.&amp;quot;, he says, &amp;quot;I am Darkwyrm, head of the Department of Operations..&amp;quot; He pauses for a moment and forces a smile. &amp;quot;I take it you didn&#039;t have too much trouble locating us here?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri saunters over and takes a seat at the conference table. Hana pads up alongside her and leans in against her. Ahri looks over to Darkwyrm and shakes her head. &amp;quot;No, no problems at all. Thank you for calling us in for this contract. Do you mind if I inquire about any further details you may have?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina takes her seat, the wolfcow obviously more at ease than her young bovine escort. &amp;quot;Much easier than the last random call, sure,&amp;quot; she says, wiggling herself into a more comfortable position, &amp;quot;Didn&#039;t read the posting as well as I should have, but desperate times, and all that. Mercs putting out an open call says this is either incredibly dull or incredibly dangerous, though. What did I sign up for?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural joins the others in the room, silently slipping into her seat. the bulky feeling sitting with her forearms resting on the table, her paws pressed together and digits meshed as she looks to the jackle, studying him closly while her ears swiveled forward to face him as he spoke&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A scrawny, male alley cat named Fleur fidgets in his seat. He&#039;s dressed in a slightly dirty dress shirt that looks like he threw it on at the last minute. He&#039;s wearing some sort of thin protective suit underneath that that looks like it was cobbled together in a workshop. He carries a heavily-worn courier bag around his shoulder with a faded patch of some pre-apocalyptic cartoon character on it. He doesn&#039;t speak, just keeps his ears perked at attention.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ll stand, but no, no trouble finding a street address,&amp;quot; Redd glances around the room several times, noting a few faces.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm nods at Ahri and reaches under the table for five thin folders. He places them on top of the table before sliding one to each of the volunteers. &amp;quot;Well, I&#039;m not completely sure what you&#039;ll be up against, to be honest. We got this contract wired to us from one of our clients, but we just don&#039;t have any available agents to take care of it today, so here you are. Those folders there are of a few satellite photos of what appears to be a boat of some kind driftin&#039; towards the coast. We were unable to get any clear pictures, so we don&#039;t know if there are any pasengers. It will have reached the shore by now. Also included in your folder are the projected coordinates.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm clears his throat then adds, &amp;quot;Your objective is simple. Investigate.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur bites his lip and looks at the pictures curiously. &amp;quot;So, uh... nobody&#039;s seen this thing from land? No information on if it has, y&#039;know, markings or such?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri raises her eyebrow and tilts her head to the side, absently chewing on her tongue ring for a moment before speaking. &amp;quot;So just information gathering? What information specifically? Cargo, living crew?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd blinks, and coughs, &amp;quot;When did satellite imagery become available again? I was told none of them could be reached...&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina leafs through the surprisingly light briefing, before sliding it to her daughter. &amp;quot;Awful vague, there,&amp;quot; she mutters, suspiciously. Looking over to Darkwyrm, &amp;quot;So how afraid are you to break client confidentiality? You&#039;ve got an unknown vessel and word from someone we don&#039;t know who wants us to look at it. What part of that doesn&#039;t say &#039;this is going to blow up in our faces&#039;?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural parts her hands and reaches out to take the offered folder, pulling it across the table to rest in front of herself before flipping it open. her head bows, her eyes moving over the contents, the big cat studying the contents as she listened to the others before adding hew own question asked &#039;You have a means of getting us to the vestle or do we make our own way?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm crosses his arms and gives Redd a skeptical look. &amp;quot;I&#039;m not at liberty to reveal any information regarding our client.&amp;quot; He opens another folder in front of him and scans a page. &amp;quot;There will be a vehicle provded for you, if there are members here that do not have a means of flight, but we do not have any choppers, so you&#039;ll get to pack into a van. How fun.&amp;quot; He closes the folder and grins. &amp;quot;Regarding the mission itself, that&#039;s all the information I have for you. If you still wish to participate, I will need you to sign these waivers indicating Giza holds no responsibility for anything that might happen as a result of undertaking..&amp;quot; He slides five sheets to each person, of about 3 pages each of legal text.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes the contract and begins leafing through it, running her eyes across the lines of text quickly, scanning for anything that looked out of the ordinary without getting too bogged down in the exact wording of the document&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks up as the papers are slided to him, then looks up at the contract giver. His gaze lingers on the Giza man, and then he looks down at the papers and begins to flip through the papers with a clueless expression on his face. He tugs at his collar and takes slow, steady breaths.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc Oh, and it&#039;s not written in a way that a lawyer would do write. It looks like it was all typed in in an hour or two.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finally, the scrawny alley cat pulls out a pen and scribbles his name - a woman&#039;s name? - on the signature line. With a sheepish smile, he pushes the paper back.&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural sighs, shaking her head as she says &#039;I am guessing we arent going to be covered by employee health insurance?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina flips through, recognizing half the verbiage as being similar to her own mercenary contracts, and quite extremely close to what she read last time Zephyr updated their TOS on the comms. Sniggering, she signs off. &amp;quot;You are damned lucky that I&#039;m in such dire straits, you know,&amp;quot; she says, passing the form off to her daughter for the little sub-signature before sliding it back over. &amp;quot;Feeling lazy enough for a van ride, but I call shotgun unless people want their seat frozen over.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural finding nothing particularly worrying in the contract the big cat draws a pen from her coat pocket and begins to scribble her signature across the consenting line&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts her eyebrow and a tiny smirk dances across her face. &amp;quot;Well, I see the contract, but what exactly am I getting out of it? You want your information, but we all got needs, honey.&amp;quot; She closes the dossier and sits it down tapping it with a fingernail and quirking an eyebrow. &amp;quot;With a contract this shady, show me the money, so to speak.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That would be a no. As you aren&#039;t actually active members of our organization, if we even had health insurance benefits, you wouldn&#039;t be included.&amp;quot;, Dark says with some amusement to Unattural. He presses his fingers together and rests his hands on the table as he turns to Ahri. &amp;quot;Rest assured, you will be paid the full sum that any Giza employee would receive for this type of contract. You may view that amount on page 2, section C of your contract.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural slips her pen back into her pocket before sitting back in the seat, taking a moment to adjust her coat and shirt collar, popping upper the upper button to loosen it about her neck and finally taking the time to check just what her companions were&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;unless there is any further pressing information we need to know, shall we get under way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods and sighs, before flipping it open, reading it quickly and then sighing and scribbling her signature on it. &amp;quot;Fine, I reserve the right to drop the contract at any point however and get the hell out of dodge without further liability to myself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is a common-as-dirt alley cat, apparently. He&#039;s dressed in a slightly dirty dress shirt with a non-matching pair of dress pants, has hair that covers one of his eyes in erratic clumps, and big, expressive eyes. He seems to be wearing some sort of basic, amateurishly-crafted armor under his business clothes. He keeps taking discreet glances at the jackal across the table.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm accepts the signed contracts and folds them up neatly into then folder in front of him. &amp;quot;Alrighty. Now that we got that crap outta the way..&amp;quot; He stands and straightens his collar before giving a slight bow to each person. &amp;quot;If you&#039;ll follow me, I&#039;ll lead you to your vehicle.&amp;quot; He leads you down the stairs and back into the bar before opening the back door and ushering everyone through to the parking garage behind the building. Several battered cars are still in there, but the most noticeable vehicle here is a van painted completely in black that looks like it&#039;s been cleaned recently. &amp;quot;There you are, please bring it back in one piece.&amp;quot; He throws the keys to the nearest person, which happens to be Redd and stands by. &amp;quot;Directions are in each of your folders, the section of coast is remote, but not hard to reach by road, and a bit of hiking.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances around at the others. &amp;quot;Would you like me to fly over-watch for now and descend if I see anything of note approaching as we travel?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural rubs her chin thoughtfully as she looked over the van, then back at the gathered participants then back tot he van saying &#039;This is going to be a close and intimate experience&#039; before moving toward the back doors of the parked vehicle&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina does in fact help herself to the shotgun position, while her daughter piles in shortly thereafter, passing the folder back up so the wolfcow can navigate. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t drive vans to save my life, anyhow. You going to be okay, Shiny?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur flicks his tail, looking through the folder one last time... he bites his lip and casts another wayward glance in Dark&#039;s direction. Finally, he tucks the folder under an arm and makes for the van. &amp;quot;... who&#039;s driving?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural polls the back doors of the van open and climbs inside, the added weight of both larger than average persons Balina and herself raising questions over how good the vans suspenshoun is&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd glances at the keys in his hands, then tosses them to Fleur, &amp;quot;You are, I haven&#039;t been behind the wheel of any vehicle for more than two years.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur laughs awkwardly. &amp;quot;Well, I... had a driver&#039;s license, I guess...&amp;quot; ... he takes a moment to register who his other companions are, then nods finally. &amp;quot;... guess I&#039;m it then.&amp;quot; He twirls the keys in one hand and makes for the driver&#039;s seat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm gives a nod and a smile to Fleur as he notices the lingering glace and gives a short, official sort of wave. He then crosses his arms again and straightens his back with a few pops of his spine as he watches the group make preparations for departure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri closes her eyes, muttering under her breath and dark shadows flicker across her eyes. A feral smirk crosses her lips and her hackles rise. Some sort of force, whether arcane or nanite induced, causes the air to whip about herself and Hana for a brief moment before going still, and the pair slowly float into the air. &amp;quot;Alright, ready to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural makes herself comfortable in the back of the van, waiting on everyone else to get their act together and get the mission under way&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You find that the tank of the van is full of gas, and there&#039;s even a gas can full of emergency fuel in the trunk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is seated, and ready to begin barking directions. That is, she is in her natural element. &amp;quot;Steady as she goes,&amp;quot; she says, to nobody in particular.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur reviews the road plan, nods to himself, and then pulls it out of the garage. He begins on his way to the coast, passengers in tow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Assuming you follow the directons to the tee, without any major pit stops, the trip goes pretty smooth. Aside from the occasional feral running across the street, the drive is boring. After about an hour and a half, you reach the coast, and another half hour after that before you reach the point at which you need to hoof it. You arrive at a coastal resort parking lot and start making your way across the deserted area towards the sandy beach.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural draws a deep breath of cool, salty ocean air before bursting into a fit of coughing, pulling a handy tissue out of her pocket and cupping it over her mouth until the fit passes. Clearing her throat and straightening up the big cat looks about with a wary grin thankful for being furry enough not to show off a blush &#039;I guess the city air agrees with me more&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd sees that the van has stopped, and goes into a steep dive, landing a bit too fast, and leaving marks in the asphalt about 20 feet away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri frowns at the vague shape of the boat, about nine football fields in the distance, before descending close enough to shout down, &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to approach at a distance from the air, and see if I can get us any advanced information, then report back. Does that work for you?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares up at Ahri. The flying skunk seems to make his brain misfire. &amp;quot;Uh...&amp;quot; He glances to the others. &amp;quot;If you think it&#039;s safe. I mean, your risk.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina shrugs, and starts trudging along towards the vague shape. &amp;quot;Long enough walk that you can get there and back before we&#039;re within minimum safe distance. Let us know how it goes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural peers out toward the horison while folding her arms across her belly, leaning back slightly as her toes curl, digging into the soft sand beneath them &#039;Maybe we should send a swimmer out to see too. check it out at and below the water line&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other than a large amount of debris and litter scattered around the parking lot and most of the beach, the area is pretty pristine. The soft sound of the crashing waves against the shore is almost calming. There are a number of vendor kiosks lining the edge of the sands, and plenty of leftover umbrellas, towels, and tattered bathing suits around.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd glances around the resort area, before speaking up, &amp;quot;Think we should make some fortifications or the like while we wait for her to return? After all, there has to be someone, or something here...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural quirks a brow as she looks over a shoulder at Redd &#039;Fortifications? I wasn&#039;t planning on being here long. I don&#039;t see a need to dig in. If we meet resistance we fall back, reevaluate and call for aid or scrub the mission.&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks to Unnatural. &amp;quot;I think he just wants to move to a more defensable position, uh...&amp;quot; ... it occurs to him that he doesn&#039;t know his teammates&#039; names. &amp;quot;... ma&#039;am.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri approaches the parking lot again, returning from her over-flight. Her feet touch lightly on the hood of the van and she drops down into a sitting position. &amp;quot;Alright, it looks like what we spotted earlier is just a private motorboat with nobody there. There were a bunch of empty gas cans on its deck though, and lots of empty food and drink wrappers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur chuckles awkwardly. &amp;quot;Name&#039;s Fleur, by the way. Or at least, it has been since the world changed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Sounds like a dead end, then ... thanks for checking it out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina and her daughter come jogging back, once it becomes clear nobody else was going. &amp;quot;So,&amp;quot; she pants, &amp;quot;do we have any idea if there was anything more important? For that matter, was the engine warm? Could have been it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural humms softly to herself, head bowing down &#039;Could be whoever was there joined the fishes... is it a big boat? is there any way someone could be on board?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri frowns slightly, &amp;quot;It wasn&#039;t just a couple of gas cans on the deck, it was enough of them that it looked unnatural. Something about that&#039;s bugging me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur squints and digs out the satellite photos to examine them again. Could that be a private motorboat?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri softly churrs, &amp;quot;I did also see some foot prints in the sand too.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina grabs the top of her muzzle. Some gestures are hard these days. &amp;quot;See, that sounds more important than anything else. Footprints going which way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts an eyebrow. &amp;quot;We were hired to look for the boat, not people who walked away from it. But they were headed toward one of the kiosks nearby, since you were wondering.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur wets his lips. &amp;quot;I think &#039;investigate&#039; is pretty liberal, really. If there were people in it, they probably want to know.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural turns her back on the water, looking to her companions &#039;We should send at least one person to check out the boat at close range. For all we know it used to be a person. stranger things have happened. The rest of us should see about this person. Even if he isnt from the boat he may know something&#039; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Footprints in sand never last very long,&amp;quot; Balina observes, glancing back towards the distant shape that may or may not be akin to a boat. &amp;quot;Mirta and I&#039;ll go take a closer look, see if I can at least pick up the smell of whoever we&#039;re apparently going to start tracking. Anyone want to skip ahead and start at the kiosk?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks content with, and packs the satellite photos back into his courier bag. &amp;quot;... you think Mr. Handsome back there was leading us into a trap?&amp;quot; he asks, tail flicking. Then, to Belinda, he adds, &amp;quot;I can skip ahead if you like.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shakes her head, gesturing toward Redd with a thumb &#039;He has a kind of point. we should check otut he ship quickly, giving it the once over, then head to check for survivors&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances around the group. &amp;quot;Want me to stay on watch and rapid response overhead?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur fishes about for something in his bag. He pulls out a small bundle of processed snacks and puts one in his mouth. Snap. &amp;quot;... do mercenary teams always work like this? This isn&#039;t quite how I imagined these things.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes another, long, deep, though slightly more reserved breath. Stepping back and raising her arms she begins to pop open the buttons first on her suit coat then on her shirt, turning her back on the assembled group as she begins to pull her clothing off &#039;Pardon me, but I think We&#039;ll be needing wings for this&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is already loosening straps and buckles while doffing her backpack; tracking is easier with the right equipment, and within a few moments there is a large wolf where a Balina used to be. Her daughter pulls a large blanket of the discarded pack, draping it over Balina while she dons the backpack herself and mounts up. The Fenrir turns her head back to the group, nodding at Fleur. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We&#039;ll be fine like this, thanks. I&#039;ll be along to the kiosk, assuming that&#039;s where the trail goes. Anything else before I get moving?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nervously munches one of his snacks, eyes wide. &amp;quot;... very well. I&#039;ll just, uh...&amp;quot; ... he hesitates. &amp;quot;Watch the area.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks at Fleur as she stands up, before stepping off the roof of the van and beginning to rise once more. &amp;quot;You&#039;re guarding the van? Cool. I&#039;ll be sure to let anyone know if the others need help.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural strips down into her rather peculiar underwear (it isnt often you see someone wearing an armoured bra) folding her suit up carefully before beginning the process of adapting her form for flight, broad feathery wings surrounding from her shoulders. Making sure she is no more exposed than is necessary, she turns back to her companions, with a grin as she stretches out her new wings &#039;So, plan of action?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a small rifle from his bag, and shakes his head, &amp;quot;You folks check out the boat, or kiosks or wherever, I&#039;ll stay here and guard the van.&amp;quot; He climbs to the roof of the van, and glances around. &amp;quot;If I found somebody they&#039;d not live long anyway, with my nerves.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shrugs her shoulders again, which turns out to be a rather surprisingly difficult task with her new found appendages &#039;Right. I will go check out the boat, see if there are any clews on board as to what happened. Any company is welcome though I don&#039;t foresee problems&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks up at Redd. &amp;quot;Ah, if you&#039;re covering the van, then...&amp;quot; the cat looks uncertain, flicking his tail. Everyone else can fly. He&#039;s not really prone to swimming that entire way. &amp;quot;... I&#039;m on the kiosk,&amp;quot; he says finally, looking over to Balina.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finds herself missing her ability to shrug when she&#039;s like this most of all. &amp;quot;Fine, then. I&#039;ll see folks in a bit. Anyone who wants to help can tag along at their own pace.&amp;quot; With that, the wolf turns around and starts charging into the distance, slightly less smooth than usual thanks to the terrain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cat adjusts the seating of his courier bag on his body before making his nimble way across the terrain. The processed snacks are stowed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural breaths a long soft sigh, her shoulders falling as her body slumps forward and her head bows down with eyes half closed &#039;so we are splitting into three groups... OK. This could work... but I reserve the right to be the one that pulls the mask off the villain at the end before they say &#039;and I would have got away with it too if it hadn&#039;t bee for you needling... whatever&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural turning back toward the water suddenly and kicking up a small cloud of sand as she brakes into a run, the wing feline picks up speed before launching herself into the air with broad stokes of her wings, rising up only a short distance before heading out toward the distant vestal&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The beach is devoid of life other than yourselves; there aren&#039;t even any birds flying about. Those who are running need to dodge discarded coolers, benches, toys and other leftover things from the families that are no more. After several minutes of running, those who went to investigate may reach either the boat or kiosk. The boat is firmly run aground int the sand and looks like it&#039;s been there for at least an hour, but it looks like some other force other than the waves was responsible for pushing it this far. The boat smells of moldy rations, gasoline and unwashed human, and off of these things are present except the human. The gas meter on the boat reads empty, and further investigation of the cans reveals the same.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The nearest kiosk is a bit bigger than the other ones nearby. It looks like a mini-bar/restaurant long deserted. You can barely make out footprints in the sand, and the shape of them indicates whatever made them was running. The trail of sand leads up to a back door with a hinge that was busted off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finds no reason to deviate from the plan. Presuming neither she nor Mirta find anything (investigation is easier with hands), the wolf begins following the trail, paying less attention to her eyes than to her nose. Given the circumstances, it&#039;s fairly easy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops down onto the boat with with all the persision of someone that has never flown before in their life but does manage to avoid landing in the water. casting a quick glace back toward land to be sure no plumes of smoke were rising and no open warfare had broken out before setting about the task of going over the entire boat carefully, moving the empties cans about, shaking them to be sure nothing was stashed inside and even checking the wrappers to see what sort of food had been consumed and try to judge just how old it was&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur presses up near the door and listens for sounds on the other side of it. He makes no attempt to open it, just yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur hesitates at the threshold, sniffing the air. After a moment&#039;s consideration, he looks out to the beach, and, assuming he can spot Balina incoming, makes his way towards her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural carries on rooting through the objects on the boat, checking presses and shelves and any scraps of paper she could find for notes, logs or anything that would give a clue as to the origin of the ship or the nature of whoever had been on board it&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina meets up with Fleur, barely giving a nod as she keeps going. &amp;quot;No surprises,&amp;quot; she mumbles as she paces along. Reaching the door, she looks up and casts a questioning eye to the cat. &amp;quot;Anyone down there yet?&amp;quot; she asks, before quickly checking the area to make sure that, yes, the obvious &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There&#039;s somebody in there,&amp;quot; says Fleur. &amp;quot;Moving stuff around. Possibly furniture. ... Or bodies. You know, that would be creepy. Thought I&#039;d wait until you arrived to crack open the place, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Balina and Fleur start talking, they can hear some sudden and excited movements from inside the kiosk. Perhaps even frightened movements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mirta slips off of her mother&#039;s back, stashing the blanket and standing ready at the door, ready to slam (or kick) it open and get out of the way at a moment&#039;s notice. Balina, grinning to her feline compatriot, gives a questioning tilt of her head towards the door. She seems a little too eager to hear that someone is afraid of her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eyes widen as he sees the look on her face. &amp;quot;Woah, woah,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;w-we want this to be a peaceful confrontoation, right, Balinda?&amp;quot; ... wait, how does he know her name? &amp;quot;... right?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural continues a fairly exhaustive search, even taking the time to look over the edge of the boat and check the condition of the engine, though at this point she didn’t expect to learn anything more than she already knew&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;My penmanship is atrocious. It&#039;s Balina, by the way. But fine, we&#039;ll do it your way.&amp;quot; Turning to the door she yells, &amp;quot;Anyone in there? We got a distress call, figured we&#039;d pop by. Everyone okay? Need food, medicine, maybe some gas? I&#039;m sure those hot dogs are pretty rank by now!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri hears Belinda&#039;s shout and flies off to alert Unnatural of the developments as quickly as she can.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;... they had hot dogs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some heavy breathing comes from behind the door and a little slat opens and shuts almost immiediately afterwards. &amp;quot;Fora com você, demônios vil! Vou vê-lo morto antes de ceder a sua corrupção!&amp;quot; comes an agitated voice from the other side.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shifts his position on top of the van, noting his claws had punched holes in the flat paneled roof. Damn flimsy aluminum body panels... &amp;quot;Anything yet from the searchers?&amp;quot; Redd&#039;s voice came in over the comm. &amp;quot;No signs of motion from my position at the parking lot.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina turns to Fleur. Her expression doesn&#039;t say &amp;quot;I told you so&amp;quot; so much as it says, &amp;quot;Que porra?&amp;quot; Her voice, however, says, &amp;quot;So. Wanna call to see if anyone knows any moonspeak, or should we just go back to plan A?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur fishes into his pack and gets the snacks again. He raises the stale snack to his lips and snaps it between his teeth. &amp;quot;Now now. Let&#039;s not overdo it. That wasn&#039;t a -happy- voice.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural had just about covered the entire boat in her search when she heard Ahri&#039;s call and dropping the few papers she had been examining she steps up to the side of the boat and with a glance down at the shifting waves and a another look skyward she rather hesitantly behind flapping her wings, shaking unsteadily as the boat rocks beneath her before finally plucking up the courage to leap into the air, flapping furiously to prevent herself falling back toward the waves as she struggled to get height and speed without a running start.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fora! Ou eu vou acabar com você!&amp;quot;, comes another shout from the same voice from the other side of the door. &amp;quot;Eu estou armado!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri quickly approaches the parking lot and descends next to Redd, with Hana landing lightly beside her. &amp;quot;Kiosk group encountered people. Unnatural is en route. Shall we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina gestures with her head to bring Mirta over, then mutters something into the cow&#039;s ear. Her daughter nods, then quite carefully works her way back, standing off to the side of the door. Balina herself carefully pads over to the other side, hunkering down and gesturing to Fleur to join her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural is managed to make good time considering she is an extremely large cat with wings, barley keeping herself airborne over a massive body of water&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods to Balina and takes a position on the side of the door. He holds up a finger to wait and looks off in the distance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Found someone? Which kiosk?&amp;quot; Redd jumps off the top of the truck before getting airborne himself. Once airborne he glides towards the kiosks, hoping to spot at least one of the searchers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri quickly takes Hana by the hand and takes to the air once more, leading the way. When she spots Unnatural coming she grins before shouting over to Redd and pointing at Balina and Fleur&#039;s last location. &amp;quot;We&#039;re converging on them there. Hopefully it&#039;s time to break out the white flag, and see if they&#039;re gonna play nice.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops down to all fours on the soft, yet reassuringly non-liquid sand as soon as she is clear of the water. The sigh of relief from the large feline audible at some distance as she catches her breath, wings folding up against her back before she rises up on her feet. Pausing to regain her nerve and questioning herself on what she was thinking as she brushed a hand across her arms and legs sweeping some clinging sand loose before beginning to make her way in the same rough direction as Redd&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods to Unnatural. &amp;quot;Angry foreigners. Probably gonna shoot on sight. We&#039;re gonna knock on the door. Very hard. Questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd lands a few feet from the kiosk with the stranger inside, &amp;quot;Ok, I&#039;m told you found someone, anyidea who?&amp;quot; He glances at the door, before moving out of view should it suddenly open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural moves at a slow pace, her eagerness for the job rather blunted at this point as she looked to Fleur, only giving a nod in reply to their words following by a long groaning grunt as she closed on the assembled group of her fellows. Looking about the scene and wondering just what had gone on she raised a hand to her mouth before clearing her throat loudly in an effort to get everyone’s attention before saying in a clear and deep voice &#039;Maybe we shouldn’t surround the cornered human with large scary monsters? We need to keep this person in one peace. They could have valuable information about other parts of the country&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina keeps her eyes on the door, but answers, &amp;quot;Smelly. Unwashed. Probably uninfected. Oh, and doesn&#039;t speak English. Just a second, let me GET HIM TO SAY SOMETHING AGAIN!&amp;quot; her volume rising, nearing a shout by the end.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I not care what you speak!&amp;quot;, that same voice yells back. &amp;quot;I not let demons corrupt me, will shoot!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural looking to read unnatural answers his question with &#039;the boat cant have come from too far away. It had a lot of fuel canisters but it isn&#039;t of the sort that could get across a whole ocean and it is more  a fishing boat than an escape vehicle so it likely didn&#039;t come from a bigger ship. In short it has to be fairly local but it looks like someone set themselves up for a long trip. They are out of food and fule&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lands on the sand a distance behind Fleur and Balina, slightly behind Redd. She puts a steadying hand out for Hana who lands beside her. She glances at Balina and her features ripple back to human.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur clucks his tongue. &amp;quot;... he was cuter when he yelled in a foreign language. Anyway, we want to keep this one alive, right? I mean... you know. In theory.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur pauses and stares blankly in Ahri&#039;s direction. This is apparently the first time he&#039;s seen someone go back to human. His jaw drops. He blinks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snorts, then pads away from the door, turning around and lying down a safe distance away. &amp;quot;No demon here. Just a big tracking dog. Not going back to human, and Mirta can&#039;t. We&#039;ll just be inconspicuous.&amp;quot; Mirta, for her part, steps away from the door, but remains plastered to the wall of the kiosk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t speak English, eh?&amp;quot; Redd glances at Unnatural, then the boat in the distance, &amp;quot;Sounds to me like either a fisherman or somebody who took a lifeboat from a larger ship.&amp;quot; He glances at the door, &amp;quot;wonder what sort of gun he&#039;s got, if it&#039;s a pistol it won&#039;t hurt too much...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural hangs her head breathing yet another sigh &#039;If they speak english we can get the information we need from them and let them go on their way. We can even help them gather supplies if need be&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri sighs and grabs her corset and a pair of pants from her pack, donning it to conceal her multiple breasts, and other features in an attempt to pass as normal at least for a short time. She approaches the door. &amp;quot;We&#039;re just here investigating the origin and nature of the ship, as it was spotted by our client. We just want our information, then we&#039;ll leave.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Demon trickery!&amp;quot;, the man growls from inside.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts her head and glares at the door before speaking, &amp;quot;Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. There, Lord&#039;s prayer for you. Not a demon. Can we cut the bullshit and talk business now?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What? You speak jibberish!&amp;quot; The reverberating sound of a heavy object hitting the door is heard. &amp;quot;I won&#039;t listen to your chants! I won&#039;t be bewitched!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina remains where she is. Just an ordinary, gigantic friendly dog, tail idly thumping in the sand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural leans against a wall arms folded across her chest. Her gaze was cast low tot he floor though her ears remained perked and attentive to the conversations ongoing as she considered the options available to her for a few moments before asking &#039;Is there perhaps a back door or window... or maybe we can just ask him where he&#039;s from, what he has encountered, and what conditions are like in the areas he has seen&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd leans on the door a bit, seeing how much give it has, &amp;quot;Alright, may want to move to the side, I&#039;m going to try to force the door open,&amp;quot; He waits a moment, for the immediate area to clear.&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur remains pressed against the wall of the kiosk, apparently wrapped up in fantasies that he&#039;s James Bond, if James Bond were a dirty mutant cat. He just gives a nod to Redd, waiting for blood to start flying.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t enjoy being shot. You can have fun, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri sighs and steps back, her attempt at negotiation foiled, moving over to stand behind Fleur, up against the wall. She motions for Hana to move even further back, and she does.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural lets out a soft growl as she steps away from the wall, arms cast back as she says &#039;Why? Why torment the man? We can just let him go. We fulfilled our contract, endangering the life of a human and ourselves isn&#039;t necessary. Just offer him help, if he says no, we leave him be. We aren&#039;t thugs&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Alright, on the count of 5, I&#039;m going to knock this door down, I&#039;d advise you be clear from behind it, and don&#039;t try to shoot, it&#039;ll just ricochet to lord knows where,&amp;quot; Redd shouts the best he can through the door, before waiting a minute, for the man to process this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina idly starts circling the stand, looking for an amusing thing to burst through when Redd makes his move.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
There is no reply from within, despite the warning Redd gave.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this rate, he&#039;s just going to end up as another feral in a few days anyway,&amp;quot; says Fleur, flicking his tail. &amp;quot;The least we can do is knock him senseless and drag him to a safer place where someone BETTER at these personal things than us can talk some sense in to him.&amp;quot; He frowns. &amp;quot;I mean, I wasn&#039;t counting on this being a rescue mission, but hey.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri&#039;s lip curls in frustration and a low growl emerges from her throat. &amp;quot;If you don&#039;t drop your shit, and get your ass out the kiosk and on the ground, then you&#039;re gonna be dealing with a group of much larger, much more durable and deadly, demons, who by merely fighting you will likely become like. So if you don&#039;t wanna end up all fucked up and mutated, or assuming we&#039;re in a really bad mood, dead as a doornail? Drop your weapons, get your ass out here, and lay face down on the ground. Last chance.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd passes a small object to Unnatural, &amp;quot;See if you can get that inside before I knock down the door, should blind him, or at least ruin his aim.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes the small offered object rather curiously looking it over in her hand &#039;cant we just set it off here then bash the door in?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finishes circling. &amp;quot;You haven&#039;t gone in yet? C&#039;mon, getting bored out here. Icewolves don&#039;t like bright sunny days.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural raises her free hand to par Reed on a flank before slipping past him toward the door. standing to one side to avoid any bullets comming through the door she raises a hand to knock lightly on the obstacle before calling out &#039;escuse me Sir? are you still in there?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Go Away! I shoot!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural speaking as softly as she can mange the big cat leans toward the door &#039;You are trapped in a small room with the exit guarded. If we were here to hurt you we would have done it all ready, we just want to find out where you came from and what conditions are like there. If you can supply us with the needed information we can help you get gas and fresh rations. I also must warn you this will be the last offer before my colleague comes through the door one way or another&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a second out, and ignites it, letting the fuse go down, &amp;quot;Ok, One, Two, Three!&amp;quot; At three, Redd smashes a hole in the top of the door, and tosses the smokebomb in, &amp;quot;Lets see how long it takes for him to open it from the inside. He&#039;ll have to open it if he doesn&#039;t want to worry about smoke inhalation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina sits herself down, about ten feet from the door. Easy pouncing distance, but she&#039;s more concerned with watching the chaos that&#039;s about to unfold. You can tell by the small dust cloud forming behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fits of coughing start from inside, and then wheezing. Soon afterwards, the hum of something being turned on and then smoke being blown out one of the other sides of the building as a fan starts to filter out the smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina mutters, then calls Mirta over. The cowgirl nods, going around back and stuffing the blanket from earlier into the vent.&lt;br /&gt;
Balina sniggers to herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural gives in to the less planned and more direct plan, offering the second smoke bomb up to red &#039;Want to double down?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur watches the smoke spilling out of the building and sighs. &amp;quot;... and that&#039;s why we&#039;re temps,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Is someone going to kick the door down already, or do I need to myself?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd takes the first smoke bomb, lights it as well, and pushes it inside the building just as the burning fuse was going into the casing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri takes a step back and glances aside at Redd. &amp;quot;If this doesn&#039;t work I&#039;m just gonna burn this thing down.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;Wait for it. Trust me on this, it&#039;ll be great.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A wail of despair echoes from inside as the occupant realises the smoke isn&#039;t being blown out anymore. The sudden crash of something heavy is heard before the door swings open and a wiry man leaps out, coughing and wheezing for breath. He has in his hands a broken paddle and a flare gun. He has tan skin, dark brown hair and mustache, is clothed in a white collared shirt and jeans, both horribly stained with sweat and grime. He weakly holds up the flare gun, weakly trying to aim it at whoever he can see while feebly protecting his head with the paddle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;Starved, exhausted,&amp;quot; She sniffs, &amp;quot;Filthy, probably has scurvy.&amp;quot; The wolf simply walks up to the prone man, stomping at the gun with one large, frigid paw. &amp;quot;Would you cut that out already? Gonna hurt yourself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s about this time that Fleur makes a leap at the man, too! He attempts to either disarm or immobilize him before he does try to shoot something - preferrably without infecting him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural continues to stay clear of the door, content to not be the one to clobber a malnourished human who may have managed to last this long without being infected. Remaining silent with her back against the wall, her attention of the man still standing with his back to a doorway into a room filled with black, blinding smoke with no other exit save that great big open door&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns somewhat, &amp;quot;And here I thought you had an actual firearm, well, least the lifeboat theory is confirmed.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man drops his paddle immiediately after he is disarmed and drops to his knees, covering his head with his hands. &amp;quot;Ahhh!&amp;quot;, he screams, &amp;quot;Don&#039;t kill me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri stares down at the panicky survivor and lifts an eyebrow. &amp;quot;You cognizant enough to tell us where your boat is from and how you got there? We can get you to food and safety, but we need to know the story behind how you got here and what&#039;s with the boat.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;More worried about the crystal dragon than the hungry-looking wolf. This is silly. Mirta!&amp;quot; The cowgirl returns, clutching the blanket. At a gesture, she drapes it around the half-prone lunatic, then fishes a pouch of milk out of the backpack, which is offered with a bright smile.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur picks up the flare gun and pockets it, glancing left and right. He decides to serve as a watch and body-guard for the survivor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man looks up and eyes the milk with a paniced gaze before shrugging away with it like it was poison. &amp;quot;My boat.. rode from Columbia.. you can take, if do not eat me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops into a crouch, remaining against the wall though shifting her weight and turning on her toes to face toward the man and after waiting for a break if the activity of the others as the human finally started to cooperate she spoke in a soft hushed tone saying &#039;Calm down. It was never our intention to hurt you. We just want to talk. We&#039;re from Woodfield city. There are other survivors there. Even a few humans left&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances at Unnatural and grimaces, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think he even knows about the nanites and the infection. It&#039;s damn impressive he survived out there on that boat this long.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Survivor.. yes. Only one I know from my town.. Columbia.. plague.. demons everywhere..&amp;quot;, the man rambles, &amp;quot;Followed shore for weeks.. lost track of time..&amp;quot; He starts sobbing. &amp;quot;You follow me.. to finish.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;I assure you, we didn&#039;t do that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur coughs. &amp;quot;That is, not me. Personally. Look, there&#039;s shelters for people like you, we... should probably get out of the open air, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is tired of this. Stepping away from the group, she begins packing herself together, returning to a proper Balina again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Returning, she asks, &amp;quot;Anyone here have any better ways to calm him down? He&#039;s surrounded by mutants, and still crazy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural gives a nod to ahri before looking back tot he human &#039;The least we can do is made sure he has a good meal.&#039; leaning a little closer and extending her arm, hand upturned toward the male &#039;Come on sir. We have no interest in hurting you but the infection didn&#039;t just hit one town, it hit almost everywhere. We&#039;re all survives of the disaster trying to rebuild civilisation&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri blinks. &amp;quot;So wait, until a few weeks ago the infection hadn&#039;t reached your town?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd snickers a moment, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t eat anything that&#039;s still alive, and you most certainly are still alive, and we intend to keep you that way.&amp;quot; He fishes something out of a pocket, a form fixitive, &amp;quot;This should prevent any reactions to the plague, as you called it, at least for the next few days.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The catboy frowns. &amp;quot;Surprised that there&#039;s still towns out there that weren&#039;t hit years ago... anyway, look. We&#039;re not crazy. Some of us want normal lives.&amp;quot; His eyes dart up to the form fixative, and he wets his lips and nods. &amp;quot;We studied the infection to find a cure. Some people just live with it. Some lose their minds, some remain themselves.&amp;quot; ... the cat pauses for a suspicious length of time, tail twitching. &amp;quot;... we have ways to fight the infection now, or to live with it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man snatches the pill from Redd and pops it in his mouth, swallowing quickly. &amp;quot;You are.. not from Columbia?&amp;quot;, he asks with a rough accent and wide eyes. &amp;quot;Then why do you look like demons?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It was probably silly of her to bother getting so close. Walking back towards the van, Balina gets about twenty paces before turning around and running full-tilt towards the delirious sailor, she gives a solid punch to his temple with as much practiced care as she can manage. With any luck, this is the most convincing Taggart impression anyone&#039;s seen today.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;Hero&amp;gt; Balina spends a Hero point!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man lets out a surprised gasp and crumples to the sands, unconscious.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur catches him before he hits the ground. He stares at Balina with a wide-eyed expression.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd gleams, &amp;quot;... Well, at least he got the fixitive down first...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... well, good. You know what? Wonderful! We got him. Let&#039;s grab a bunch of crap from the boat and haul his arse back to civilization.&amp;quot; Fleur throws his hand up in apathy, then slings the man over his shoulder. He&#039;s stronger than he looks...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri snickers at Balina before shrugging and glancing at Fleur. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s get him in the van and take him back. We can let Giza sort the rest of this out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is almost stunned that worked. Desperately trying to regain composure before anyone sees her own expression, she straightens an imaginary tie. &amp;quot;Boring conversation anyway. Giza&#039;ll be happy for this. We&#039;re not paid to do therapy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri soothingly hisses, &amp;quot;Amen&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural quirks a brow, looking to Balina then to the unconscious man and without a word the big cat pushed away from the wall, rising back up to her feed before declaring &#039;Well grab him and get him back to the van. We can deliver him to the hospital in Fairhaven. Perhaps humans will have better luck with him than we did&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur carries the man back towards the van. He checks for any ferals that might have stowed away in the van, and, assuming he finds none, places the survivor in the back. &amp;quot;... welcome to hell,&amp;quot; he mutters.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The van is exactly as you left it in the parking lot, and the rest of the beach and resort is as deserted as ever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural scoffs shaking her head &#039;the survivalist camp will be a hell of a lot better than being on that boat for weeks. Speaking of, maybe we should beach it&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri rolls her eyes. &amp;quot;God, so much hate for the gifts we&#039;re given. Kinda sad. Anyway. We&#039;ll take him to Giza and let them sort him out. He&#039;s part of the job, and probably the biggest source of information we can get.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina tries not to give a self-satisfied giggle as she takes her backpack from her daughter, packing things up and generally making ready to leave. &amp;quot;Think we&#039;ll get a bonus for taking him in alive?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur turns to Unnatural, tilting his head. &amp;quot;Was anything in the boat that we could bring back? I wouldn&#039;t want them to accuse us of... yanno, not doing a good enough job.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri grins to Balina, &amp;quot;Hope so.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shrugs before shaking her head &#039;maps, charts, it&#039;s a fishing boat. not a cruis liner or a military warship. nothing on it seemed all that special&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur pauses, pulling out his keys and twirling them. &amp;quot;... it got a motor?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances at Unnatural. &amp;quot;Did you get the maps and charts?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;I left them on the deck. I was more concerned with the survivor&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri soothingly hisses, &amp;quot;probably should pick those up so Giza can backtrack his point of origin, since it&#039;s somewhere the plague didn&#039;t touch until only a couple weeks ago. This kinda information is priceless.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri heads back to the boat to get the maps and charts, and hopefully memorize any marks he may have made that could reveal his point of origin, before turning them over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur waits for anyone visiting the boat to come back with materials before he heads anywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina and Mirta are already in the van. Where is everyone else?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri comes back and nods to Fleur. &amp;quot;I think that&#039;s it. Ready to go?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural leaves handling the survivor to everyone else, moving ahead tot he van and pulling the rear doors open to allow the valuable cargo to be loaded&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur gets in the driver&#039;s seat and revs the engine. &amp;quot;Desination, ladies and gentleman?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina moos, &amp;quot;Giza paid for the guy, let&#039;s get this turned in. No *clue* how long he&#039;s going to be out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Okay, let me put it this way. Anyone here know enough about medicine to check if this guy&#039;s got a cracked skull or something? If he&#039;s living, I think we can stop at Giza first.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods at Balina. &amp;quot;Screw the freaks at the hospital. Let&#039;s just take him to Giza, and if he really needs treatment, well, we all know a few people who have excellent healing mutations.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Sounds good to me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;If we get him to Giza we have done our job. if we make sure he gets propper medical care we are good people&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd nods, &amp;quot;Hopefully we can get there before he comes to. Although, I&#039;d avoid Chandler, as well. Ought to get him used to the new world, instead of isolated from it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur waits for the others to get on board, then makes his way directly to Giza - do not pass go, do not collect $200. Hopefully Dark will be happy with him...!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods to Redd. &amp;quot;No need to give the paranoid flatscans another idiot to buy their bullshit.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your trip back is, unfortunately, not much unlike your trip there. Boring, simple drive, no working radio. When you arrive back at Giza, Darkwyrm is waiting for you in the parking garage. &amp;quot;Alright, whatta you got for me?&amp;quot;, he asks, tapping his foot.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina bounds out of the van, in a repeat of her previous performance. &amp;quot;Depends!&amp;quot; she says, excitedly, in the middle of some calf stretches. &amp;quot;You want to tell us anything more about the boat, now that we&#039;re back?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri slips out of the van and takes up a spot leaning against one of the garage&#039;s supports, and listens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A lot more information than we expected, might we enquire who the client was?&amp;quot; Redd looks at the van, &amp;quot;Also, we found a live passenger. I think he&#039;s still out cold, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cat climbs out of the driver&#039;s seat and stretches. He flips the keys in his hand and hands them over to the handsome jackal, his gaze lingering on his eyes a little longer than necessary. He looks like he was about to say, but when Balina reacts with questions, he doesn&#039;t do anything to interrupt the flow. He just smiles politely and steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks at Redd, &amp;quot;The term is sedated. He&#039;s still sedated... with a fist.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural waits for the other&#039;s to dismount the van before making her own exit, still trying to have as little to do witht he handling of the survivor as she could&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm crosses his arms and sighs. &amp;quot;What I&#039;ve told you is what I know. If my client knows more than that, then they haven&#039;t felt the need to reveal it. What I want to know is what you have found out.&amp;quot; His ears twitch slightly as his head turns to Ahri. &amp;quot;Shall I take that as an affirmative that you located the passenger of that vessel?&amp;quot;, he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural looking to Dark the big lion flashes him a grin before reporting in a quick list &#039;the ship was a simple fishing vessel, looks like it was heavily stocked with food and fuel both of which were exhausted which forced the occupant which we believe was this man to beach the ship and go in search of supplies&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks lightly, &amp;quot;Would you believe it if I told you there were places left in the world the infection still hasn&#039;t hit?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shakes his head, &amp;quot;The not hit part isn&#039;t surprising, but hit within the last month or two is...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri reaches into her pack and pulls out the maps and charts. &amp;quot;We got the survivor, and we got his boat&#039;s charts. Pretty sure you can isolate his point of origin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina moos, &amp;quot;The guy&#039;s in the back. Get some proper folks out here to handle him, and he&#039;s all yours. We, uh, sedated him before he really had time to freak out. He might have a form fixative in him already, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hmm? Of course there are places the infection hasn&#039;t hit. You thought it was a worldwide thing? Ha! Wait..&amp;quot; his expression grows more serious. &amp;quot;Where did you say this man is from?&amp;quot;, he asks, before turning and whistling through the door behind him. A female husky appears in the doorway. &amp;quot;There&#039;s a man in the van, unconscious. Please see to it that he&#039;s placed in the commons on a cot, and that he can&#039;t run away.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd coughs, &amp;quot;Columbia, as in the country in South America&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods emphatically. &amp;quot;Columbia. Also, his grasp of English is...&amp;quot; he pauses, then wiggles his fingers back and forth. &amp;quot;... we can get by, but he&#039;s obviously not native. We brought some documents and resources from the boat, the passenger, and all the information we could get out of him.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural sits back down in the doorway of the van resting her arms in her lap &#039;Seems odd. I mean why were we needed to go check out a vestle. Seems like it was an innefficiant use of credits&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm&#039;s expression grows dark. &amp;quot;Hrmm.. then this would mean that the infection has spread to South America. This is worrisome, but not entirely unexpected. Very well, if you&#039;ll please leave all information that you gathered on the conference table upstairs, including your written reports, I can count your contracts as fulfilled. He takes a step back, first letting his husky agent step through, dragging the man with some strain and then stepping through the door and holding it open for everyone else.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur flicks his tail. He glances backwards at Unnatural. &amp;quot;Hey, it... could have been anything. Foreign military ... armed people. Crazy scientists. I&#039;ve seen some weird stuff.&amp;quot; ... with a sudden snap in his mood, he turns to Darkwyrm and smiles. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been a pleasure to work under y- uh, for you, sir. I... hope this information has been of use.&amp;quot; ... &amp;quot;If you need anyone to drive, yanno, I can never have too many credits...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural slips off the van, groaning softly as she stretched out with a crack of joins before allowing her arms to fall back to her sides with a clap &#039;true. We got some valuable information but nothing that couldn&#039;t really have been obtained using satellite imaging. I just hope the human has more detailed answers to offer&#039; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina was hoping that little line in the contract was just boilerplate. Oh well. &amp;quot;Fine, then. Short report, but we&#039;ll take care of it. Point the way, and tell us where the pencil sharpener is,&amp;quot; she says, heading towards the elevator, daughter in tow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm nods to Fleur. &amp;quot;I thank you for the offer, and your enthusiasm is duely noted.&amp;quot; His tail swishes back and forth once behind him. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll see to it that your friend is treated well. We&#039;ll hold him here until he&#039;s conscious and sane, then figure out where he wants to go from there.. after getting all the informtation he can out of him first, of course.&amp;quot; He points Balina towards the staircase that they used earlier to reach the second floor. &amp;quot;First door on the left.&amp;quot;, he murmurs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural reaches back to scratch the back of her neck, running her fingers through the thick crown of hair before beginning to follow Dark&#039;s gesture making her way toward the stairs &#039;It was a fairly interesting mission all things considered. No rape. Few ferals. No gun fights... I honestly wonder if we were in the right place at all&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur gives an awkward smile, then glances back at the door. &amp;quot;... it&#039;s been a pleasure,&amp;quot; he adds again, nodding to the jackal. He makes his way for the indicated door, rounds the corner ... and presses himself against the walls, covering his eyes. His face flushes. &amp;quot;You tactless, stupid kitten,&amp;quot; he murmurs to himself. Oh well... there&#039;s papers to file.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm gives a sly grin to the shy Fleur as he passes. &amp;quot;Thanks for the help.&amp;quot;, he says, &amp;quot;I do hope that we see each other again.&amp;quot;, before walking past the staircase and into the bar area to get a drink.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=The_Boat&amp;diff=10948</id>
		<title>The Boat</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=The_Boat&amp;diff=10948"/>
		<updated>2012-02-26T05:59:49Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: Created page with &amp;quot;==Participants== * Unnatural * Ahri * Fleur * Redd * Balina * Darkwyrm (cameo) ==Director== * Darkwyrm ==Log==  [RP] The independant group known as...&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;==Participants==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Unnatural]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Ahri]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Fleur]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Redd]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Balina]]&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]] (cameo)&lt;br /&gt;
==Director==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Darkwyrm]]&lt;br /&gt;
==Log==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[RP] The independant group known as Giza Security has seeded some information through the networks. Apparently they are in need of some volunteers to fill in for their current lack of active field agents on a simple contract. From what you can make out in the rumors being circulated, this particular contract involves investigating  some sort of boat that was seen off the coast hours ago. &lt;br /&gt;
spoof After making your way to the Giza headquarters, one way or another, you are led to the second floor by the secretary and shown to the first door on the left. The door is politely shut after everyone is inside. Sitting on the opposite side of the table is a jackal in a tidy black and gold uniform. He silently watches everyone file in and then gestures for everyone to have a seat once the door is shut. &amp;quot;Welcome to Giza.&amp;quot;, he says, &amp;quot;I am Darkwyrm, head of the Department of Operations..&amp;quot; He pauses for a moment and forces a smile. &amp;quot;I take it you didn&#039;t have too much trouble locating us here?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[Location]: Giza Security - Corporate Offices Meeting Room&lt;br /&gt;
A meeting room with dark green painted walls. The room is dimly lit by a light that hands over a long conference table. Papers are scattered across the table in a sort of haphazard manner as if no one had a chance to do any real organization prior to this meeting. Some funny (de)motivational posters hang in random places on the wall, as well as some group photos depicting some of the Giza staff in various situations. A prominant poster stops an action shot of several people with the caption: GIZA SECURITY: For all of your professional needs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
After making your way to the Giza headquarters, one way or another, you are led to the second floor by the secretary and shown to the first door on the left. The door is politely shut after everyone is inside. Sitting on the opposite side of the table is a jackal in a tidy black and gold uniform. He silently watches everyone file in and then gestures for everyone to have a seat once the door is shut. &amp;quot;Welcome to Giza.&amp;quot;, he says, &amp;quot;I am Darkwyrm, head of the Department of Operations..&amp;quot; He pauses for a moment and forces a smile. &amp;quot;I take it you didn&#039;t have too much trouble locating us here?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri saunters over and takes a seat at the conference table. Hana pads up alongside her and leans in against her. Ahri looks over to Darkwyrm and shakes her head. &amp;quot;No, no problems at all. Thank you for calling us in for this contract. Do you mind if I inquire about any further details you may have?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina takes her seat, the wolfcow obviously more at ease than her young bovine escort. &amp;quot;Much easier than the last random call, sure,&amp;quot; she says, wiggling herself into a more comfortable position, &amp;quot;Didn&#039;t read the posting as well as I should have, but desperate times, and all that. Mercs putting out an open call says this is either incredibly dull or incredibly dangerous, though. What did I sign up for?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural joins the others in the room, silently slipping into her seat. the bulky feeling sitting with her forearms resting on the table, her paws pressed together and digits meshed as she looks to the jackle, studying him closly while her ears swiveled forward to face him as he spoke&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A scrawny, male alley cat named Fleur fidgets in his seat. He&#039;s dressed in a slightly dirty dress shirt that looks like he threw it on at the last minute. He&#039;s wearing some sort of thin protective suit underneath that that looks like it was cobbled together in a workshop. He carries a heavily-worn courier bag around his shoulder with a faded patch of some pre-apocalyptic cartoon character on it. He doesn&#039;t speak, just keeps his ears perked at attention.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I&#039;ll stand, but no, no trouble finding a street address,&amp;quot; Redd glances around the room several times, noting a few faces.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm nods at Ahri and reaches under the table for five thin folders. He places them on top of the table before sliding one to each of the volunteers. &amp;quot;Well, I&#039;m not completely sure what you&#039;ll be up against, to be honest. We got this contract wired to us from one of our clients, but we just don&#039;t have any available agents to take care of it today, so here you are. Those folders there are of a few satellite photos of what appears to be a boat of some kind driftin&#039; towards the coast. We were unable to get any clear pictures, so we don&#039;t know if there are any pasengers. It will have reached the shore by now. Also included in your folder are the projected coordinates.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm clears his throat then adds, &amp;quot;Your objective is simple. Investigate.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur bites his lip and looks at the pictures curiously. &amp;quot;So, uh... nobody&#039;s seen this thing from land? No information on if it has, y&#039;know, markings or such?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri raises her eyebrow and tilts her head to the side, absently chewing on her tongue ring for a moment before speaking. &amp;quot;So just information gathering? What information specifically? Cargo, living crew?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd blinks, and coughs, &amp;quot;When did satellite imagery become available again? I was told none of them could be reached...&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina leafs through the surprisingly light briefing, before sliding it to her daughter. &amp;quot;Awful vague, there,&amp;quot; she mutters, suspiciously. Looking over to Darkwyrm, &amp;quot;So how afraid are you to break client confidentiality? You&#039;ve got an unknown vessel and word from someone we don&#039;t know who wants us to look at it. What part of that doesn&#039;t say &#039;this is going to blow up in our faces&#039;?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural parts her hands and reaches out to take the offered folder, pulling it across the table to rest in front of herself before flipping it open. her head bows, her eyes moving over the contents, the big cat studying the contents as she listened to the others before adding hew own question asked &#039;You have a means of getting us to the vestle or do we make our own way?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm crosses his arms and gives Redd a skeptical look. &amp;quot;I&#039;m not at liberty to reveal any information regarding our client.&amp;quot; He opens another folder in front of him and scans a page. &amp;quot;There will be a vehicle provded for you, if there are members here that do not have a means of flight, but we do not have any choppers, so you&#039;ll get to pack into a van. How fun.&amp;quot; He closes the folder and grins. &amp;quot;Regarding the mission itself, that&#039;s all the information I have for you. If you still wish to participate, I will need you to sign these waivers indicating Giza holds no responsibility for anything that might happen as a result of undertaking..&amp;quot; He slides five sheets to each person, of about 3 pages each of legal text.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes the contract and begins leafing through it, running her eyes across the lines of text quickly, scanning for anything that looked out of the ordinary without getting too bogged down in the exact wording of the document&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks up as the papers are slided to him, then looks up at the contract giver. His gaze lingers on the Giza man, and then he looks down at the papers and begins to flip through the papers with a clueless expression on his face. He tugs at his collar and takes slow, steady breaths.&lt;br /&gt;
ooc Oh, and it&#039;s not written in a way that a lawyer would do write. It looks like it was all typed in in an hour or two.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Finally, the scrawny alley cat pulls out a pen and scribbles his name - a woman&#039;s name? - on the signature line. With a sheepish smile, he pushes the paper back.&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural sighs, shaking her head as she says &#039;I am guessing we arent going to be covered by employee health insurance?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina flips through, recognizing half the verbiage as being similar to her own mercenary contracts, and quite extremely close to what she read last time Zephyr updated their TOS on the comms. Sniggering, she signs off. &amp;quot;You are damned lucky that I&#039;m in such dire straits, you know,&amp;quot; she says, passing the form off to her daughter for the little sub-signature before sliding it back over. &amp;quot;Feeling lazy enough for a van ride, but I call shotgun unless people want their seat frozen over.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural finding nothing particularly worrying in the contract the big cat draws a pen from her coat pocket and begins to scribble her signature across the consenting line&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts her eyebrow and a tiny smirk dances across her face. &amp;quot;Well, I see the contract, but what exactly am I getting out of it? You want your information, but we all got needs, honey.&amp;quot; She closes the dossier and sits it down tapping it with a fingernail and quirking an eyebrow. &amp;quot;With a contract this shady, show me the money, so to speak.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;That would be a no. As you aren&#039;t actually active members of our organization, if we even had health insurance benefits, you wouldn&#039;t be included.&amp;quot;, Dark says with some amusement to Unattural. He presses his fingers together and rests his hands on the table as he turns to Ahri. &amp;quot;Rest assured, you will be paid the full sum that any Giza employee would receive for this type of contract. You may view that amount on page 2, section C of your contract.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural slips her pen back into her pocket before sitting back in the seat, taking a moment to adjust her coat and shirt collar, popping upper the upper button to loosen it about her neck and finally taking the time to check just what her companions were&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;unless there is any further pressing information we need to know, shall we get under way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods and sighs, before flipping it open, reading it quickly and then sighing and scribbling her signature on it. &amp;quot;Fine, I reserve the right to drop the contract at any point however and get the hell out of dodge without further liability to myself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur is a common-as-dirt alley cat, apparently. He&#039;s dressed in a slightly dirty dress shirt with a non-matching pair of dress pants, has hair that covers one of his eyes in erratic clumps, and big, expressive eyes. He seems to be wearing some sort of basic, amateurishly-crafted armor under his business clothes. He keeps taking discreet glances at the jackal across the table.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm accepts the signed contracts and folds them up neatly into then folder in front of him. &amp;quot;Alrighty. Now that we got that crap outta the way..&amp;quot; He stands and straightens his collar before giving a slight bow to each person. &amp;quot;If you&#039;ll follow me, I&#039;ll lead you to your vehicle.&amp;quot; He leads you down the stairs and back into the bar before opening the back door and ushering everyone through to the parking garage behind the building. Several battered cars are still in there, but the most noticeable vehicle here is a van painted completely in black that looks like it&#039;s been cleaned recently. &amp;quot;There you are, please bring it back in one piece.&amp;quot; He throws the keys to the nearest person, which happens to be Redd and stands by. &amp;quot;Directions are in each of your folders, the section of coast is remote, but not hard to reach by road, and a bit of hiking.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances around at the others. &amp;quot;Would you like me to fly over-watch for now and descend if I see anything of note approaching as we travel?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural rubs her chin thoughtfully as she looked over the van, then back at the gathered participants then back tot he van saying &#039;This is going to be a close and intimate experience&#039; before moving toward the back doors of the parked vehicle&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina does in fact help herself to the shotgun position, while her daughter piles in shortly thereafter, passing the folder back up so the wolfcow can navigate. &amp;quot;Can&#039;t drive vans to save my life, anyhow. You going to be okay, Shiny?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur flicks his tail, looking through the folder one last time... he bites his lip and casts another wayward glance in Dark&#039;s direction. Finally, he tucks the folder under an arm and makes for the van. &amp;quot;... who&#039;s driving?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural polls the back doors of the van open and climbs inside, the added weight of both larger than average persons Balina and herself raising questions over how good the vans suspenshoun is&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd glances at the keys in his hands, then tosses them to Fleur, &amp;quot;You are, I haven&#039;t been behind the wheel of any vehicle for more than two years.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur laughs awkwardly. &amp;quot;Well, I... had a driver&#039;s license, I guess...&amp;quot; ... he takes a moment to register who his other companions are, then nods finally. &amp;quot;... guess I&#039;m it then.&amp;quot; He twirls the keys in one hand and makes for the driver&#039;s seat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm gives a nod and a smile to Fleur as he notices the lingering glace and gives a short, official sort of wave. He then crosses his arms again and straightens his back with a few pops of his spine as he watches the group make preparations for departure.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri closes her eyes, muttering under her breath and dark shadows flicker across her eyes. A feral smirk crosses her lips and her hackles rise. Some sort of force, whether arcane or nanite induced, causes the air to whip about herself and Hana for a brief moment before going still, and the pair slowly float into the air. &amp;quot;Alright, ready to go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural makes herself comfortable in the back of the van, waiting on everyone else to get their act together and get the mission under way&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You find that the tank of the van is full of gas, and there&#039;s even a gas can full of emergency fuel in the trunk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is seated, and ready to begin barking directions. That is, she is in her natural element. &amp;quot;Steady as she goes,&amp;quot; she says, to nobody in particular.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur reviews the road plan, nods to himself, and then pulls it out of the garage. He begins on his way to the coast, passengers in tow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Assuming you follow the directons to the tee, without any major pit stops, the trip goes pretty smooth. Aside from the occasional feral running across the street, the drive is boring. After about an hour and a half, you reach the coast, and another half hour after that before you reach the point at which you need to hoof it. You arrive at a coastal resort parking lot and start making your way across the deserted area towards the sandy beach.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural draws a deep breath of cool, salty ocean air before bursting into a fit of coughing, pulling a handy tissue out of her pocket and cupping it over her mouth until the fit passes. Clearing her throat and straightening up the big cat looks about with a wary grin thankful for being furry enough not to show off a blush &#039;I guess the city air agrees with me more&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd sees that the van has stopped, and goes into a steep dive, landing a bit too fast, and leaving marks in the asphalt about 20 feet away.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri frowns at the vague shape of the boat, about nine football fields in the distance, before descending close enough to shout down, &amp;quot;I&#039;m going to approach at a distance from the air, and see if I can get us any advanced information, then report back. Does that work for you?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur stares up at Ahri. The flying skunk seems to make his brain misfire. &amp;quot;Uh...&amp;quot; He glances to the others. &amp;quot;If you think it&#039;s safe. I mean, your risk.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina shrugs, and starts trudging along towards the vague shape. &amp;quot;Long enough walk that you can get there and back before we&#039;re within minimum safe distance. Let us know how it goes.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural peers out toward the horison while folding her arms across her belly, leaning back slightly as her toes curl, digging into the soft sand beneath them &#039;Maybe we should send a swimmer out to see too. check it out at and below the water line&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Other than a large amount of debris and litter scattered around the parking lot and most of the beach, the area is pretty pristine. The soft sound of the crashing waves against the shore is almost calming. There are a number of vendor kiosks lining the edge of the sands, and plenty of leftover umbrellas, towels, and tattered bathing suits around.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd glances around the resort area, before speaking up, &amp;quot;Think we should make some fortifications or the like while we wait for her to return? After all, there has to be someone, or something here...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural quirks a brow as she looks over a shoulder at Redd &#039;Fortifications? I wasn&#039;t planning on being here long. I don&#039;t see a need to dig in. If we meet resistance we fall back, reevaluate and call for aid or scrub the mission.&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks to Unnatural. &amp;quot;I think he just wants to move to a more defensable position, uh...&amp;quot; ... it occurs to him that he doesn&#039;t know his teammates&#039; names. &amp;quot;... ma&#039;am.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri approaches the parking lot again, returning from her over-flight. Her feet touch lightly on the hood of the van and she drops down into a sitting position. &amp;quot;Alright, it looks like what we spotted earlier is just a private motorboat with nobody there. There were a bunch of empty gas cans on its deck though, and lots of empty food and drink wrappers.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur chuckles awkwardly. &amp;quot;Name&#039;s Fleur, by the way. Or at least, it has been since the world changed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Sounds like a dead end, then ... thanks for checking it out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina and her daughter come jogging back, once it becomes clear nobody else was going. &amp;quot;So,&amp;quot; she pants, &amp;quot;do we have any idea if there was anything more important? For that matter, was the engine warm? Could have been it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural humms softly to herself, head bowing down &#039;Could be whoever was there joined the fishes... is it a big boat? is there any way someone could be on board?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri frowns slightly, &amp;quot;It wasn&#039;t just a couple of gas cans on the deck, it was enough of them that it looked unnatural. Something about that&#039;s bugging me.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur squints and digs out the satellite photos to examine them again. Could that be a private motorboat?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri softly churrs, &amp;quot;I did also see some foot prints in the sand too.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina grabs the top of her muzzle. Some gestures are hard these days. &amp;quot;See, that sounds more important than anything else. Footprints going which way?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts an eyebrow. &amp;quot;We were hired to look for the boat, not people who walked away from it. But they were headed toward one of the kiosks nearby, since you were wondering.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur wets his lips. &amp;quot;I think &#039;investigate&#039; is pretty liberal, really. If there were people in it, they probably want to know.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural turns her back on the water, looking to her companions &#039;We should send at least one person to check out the boat at close range. For all we know it used to be a person. stranger things have happened. The rest of us should see about this person. Even if he isnt from the boat he may know something&#039; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Footprints in sand never last very long,&amp;quot; Balina observes, glancing back towards the distant shape that may or may not be akin to a boat. &amp;quot;Mirta and I&#039;ll go take a closer look, see if I can at least pick up the smell of whoever we&#039;re apparently going to start tracking. Anyone want to skip ahead and start at the kiosk?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks content with, and packs the satellite photos back into his courier bag. &amp;quot;... you think Mr. Handsome back there was leading us into a trap?&amp;quot; he asks, tail flicking. Then, to Belinda, he adds, &amp;quot;I can skip ahead if you like.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shakes her head, gesturing toward Redd with a thumb &#039;He has a kind of point. we should check otut he ship quickly, giving it the once over, then head to check for survivors&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances around the group. &amp;quot;Want me to stay on watch and rapid response overhead?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur fishes about for something in his bag. He pulls out a small bundle of processed snacks and puts one in his mouth. Snap. &amp;quot;... do mercenary teams always work like this? This isn&#039;t quite how I imagined these things.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes another, long, deep, though slightly more reserved breath. Stepping back and raising her arms she begins to pop open the buttons first on her suit coat then on her shirt, turning her back on the assembled group as she begins to pull her clothing off &#039;Pardon me, but I think We&#039;ll be needing wings for this&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is already loosening straps and buckles while doffing her backpack; tracking is easier with the right equipment, and within a few moments there is a large wolf where a Balina used to be. Her daughter pulls a large blanket of the discarded pack, draping it over Balina while she dons the backpack herself and mounts up. The Fenrir turns her head back to the group, nodding at Fleur. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;We&#039;ll be fine like this, thanks. I&#039;ll be along to the kiosk, assuming that&#039;s where the trail goes. Anything else before I get moving?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nervously munches one of his snacks, eyes wide. &amp;quot;... very well. I&#039;ll just, uh...&amp;quot; ... he hesitates. &amp;quot;Watch the area.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks at Fleur as she stands up, before stepping off the roof of the van and beginning to rise once more. &amp;quot;You&#039;re guarding the van? Cool. I&#039;ll be sure to let anyone know if the others need help.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural strips down into her rather peculiar underwear (it isnt often you see someone wearing an armoured bra) folding her suit up carefully before beginning the process of adapting her form for flight, broad feathery wings surrounding from her shoulders. Making sure she is no more exposed than is necessary, she turns back to her companions, with a grin as she stretches out her new wings &#039;So, plan of action?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a small rifle from his bag, and shakes his head, &amp;quot;You folks check out the boat, or kiosks or wherever, I&#039;ll stay here and guard the van.&amp;quot; He climbs to the roof of the van, and glances around. &amp;quot;If I found somebody they&#039;d not live long anyway, with my nerves.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shrugs her shoulders again, which turns out to be a rather surprisingly difficult task with her new found appendages &#039;Right. I will go check out the boat, see if there are any clews on board as to what happened. Any company is welcome though I don&#039;t foresee problems&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur looks up at Redd. &amp;quot;Ah, if you&#039;re covering the van, then...&amp;quot; the cat looks uncertain, flicking his tail. Everyone else can fly. He&#039;s not really prone to swimming that entire way. &amp;quot;... I&#039;m on the kiosk,&amp;quot; he says finally, looking over to Balina.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finds herself missing her ability to shrug when she&#039;s like this most of all. &amp;quot;Fine, then. I&#039;ll see folks in a bit. Anyone who wants to help can tag along at their own pace.&amp;quot; With that, the wolf turns around and starts charging into the distance, slightly less smooth than usual thanks to the terrain.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cat adjusts the seating of his courier bag on his body before making his nimble way across the terrain. The processed snacks are stowed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural breaths a long soft sigh, her shoulders falling as her body slumps forward and her head bows down with eyes half closed &#039;so we are splitting into three groups... OK. This could work... but I reserve the right to be the one that pulls the mask off the villain at the end before they say &#039;and I would have got away with it too if it hadn&#039;t bee for you needling... whatever&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural turning back toward the water suddenly and kicking up a small cloud of sand as she brakes into a run, the wing feline picks up speed before launching herself into the air with broad stokes of her wings, rising up only a short distance before heading out toward the distant vestal&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The beach is devoid of life other than yourselves; there aren&#039;t even any birds flying about. Those who are running need to dodge discarded coolers, benches, toys and other leftover things from the families that are no more. After several minutes of running, those who went to investigate may reach either the boat or kiosk. The boat is firmly run aground int the sand and looks like it&#039;s been there for at least an hour, but it looks like some other force other than the waves was responsible for pushing it this far. The boat smells of moldy rations, gasoline and unwashed human, and off of these things are present except the human. The gas meter on the boat reads empty, and further investigation of the cans reveals the same.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The nearest kiosk is a bit bigger than the other ones nearby. It looks like a mini-bar/restaurant long deserted. You can barely make out footprints in the sand, and the shape of them indicates whatever made them was running. The trail of sand leads up to a back door with a hinge that was busted off.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finds no reason to deviate from the plan. Presuming neither she nor Mirta find anything (investigation is easier with hands), the wolf begins following the trail, paying less attention to her eyes than to her nose. Given the circumstances, it&#039;s fairly easy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops down onto the boat with with all the persision of someone that has never flown before in their life but does manage to avoid landing in the water. casting a quick glace back toward land to be sure no plumes of smoke were rising and no open warfare had broken out before setting about the task of going over the entire boat carefully, moving the empties cans about, shaking them to be sure nothing was stashed inside and even checking the wrappers to see what sort of food had been consumed and try to judge just how old it was&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur presses up near the door and listens for sounds on the other side of it. He makes no attempt to open it, just yet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur hesitates at the threshold, sniffing the air. After a moment&#039;s consideration, he looks out to the beach, and, assuming he can spot Balina incoming, makes his way towards her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural carries on rooting through the objects on the boat, checking presses and shelves and any scraps of paper she could find for notes, logs or anything that would give a clue as to the origin of the ship or the nature of whoever had been on board it&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina meets up with Fleur, barely giving a nod as she keeps going. &amp;quot;No surprises,&amp;quot; she mumbles as she paces along. Reaching the door, she looks up and casts a questioning eye to the cat. &amp;quot;Anyone down there yet?&amp;quot; she asks, before quickly checking the area to make sure that, yes, the obvious &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;There&#039;s somebody in there,&amp;quot; says Fleur. &amp;quot;Moving stuff around. Possibly furniture. ... Or bodies. You know, that would be creepy. Thought I&#039;d wait until you arrived to crack open the place, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
When Balina and Fleur start talking, they can hear some sudden and excited movements from inside the kiosk. Perhaps even frightened movements.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mirta slips off of her mother&#039;s back, stashing the blanket and standing ready at the door, ready to slam (or kick) it open and get out of the way at a moment&#039;s notice. Balina, grinning to her feline compatriot, gives a questioning tilt of her head towards the door. She seems a little too eager to hear that someone is afraid of her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur&#039;s eyes widen as he sees the look on her face. &amp;quot;Woah, woah,&amp;quot; he says, &amp;quot;w-we want this to be a peaceful confrontoation, right, Balinda?&amp;quot; ... wait, how does he know her name? &amp;quot;... right?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural continues a fairly exhaustive search, even taking the time to look over the edge of the boat and check the condition of the engine, though at this point she didn’t expect to learn anything more than she already knew&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;My penmanship is atrocious. It&#039;s Balina, by the way. But fine, we&#039;ll do it your way.&amp;quot; Turning to the door she yells, &amp;quot;Anyone in there? We got a distress call, figured we&#039;d pop by. Everyone okay? Need food, medicine, maybe some gas? I&#039;m sure those hot dogs are pretty rank by now!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri hears Belinda&#039;s shout and flies off to alert Unnatural of the developments as quickly as she can.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;... they had hot dogs?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Some heavy breathing comes from behind the door and a little slat opens and shuts almost immiediately afterwards. &amp;quot;Fora com você, demônios vil! Vou vê-lo morto antes de ceder a sua corrupção!&amp;quot; comes an agitated voice from the other side.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shifts his position on top of the van, noting his claws had punched holes in the flat paneled roof. Damn flimsy aluminum body panels... &amp;quot;Anything yet from the searchers?&amp;quot; Redd&#039;s voice came in over the comm. &amp;quot;No signs of motion from my position at the parking lot.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina turns to Fleur. Her expression doesn&#039;t say &amp;quot;I told you so&amp;quot; so much as it says, &amp;quot;Que porra?&amp;quot; Her voice, however, says, &amp;quot;So. Wanna call to see if anyone knows any moonspeak, or should we just go back to plan A?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur fishes into his pack and gets the snacks again. He raises the stale snack to his lips and snaps it between his teeth. &amp;quot;Now now. Let&#039;s not overdo it. That wasn&#039;t a -happy- voice.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural had just about covered the entire boat in her search when she heard Ahri&#039;s call and dropping the few papers she had been examining she steps up to the side of the boat and with a glance down at the shifting waves and a another look skyward she rather hesitantly behind flapping her wings, shaking unsteadily as the boat rocks beneath her before finally plucking up the courage to leap into the air, flapping furiously to prevent herself falling back toward the waves as she struggled to get height and speed without a running start.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Fora! Ou eu vou acabar com você!&amp;quot;, comes another shout from the same voice from the other side of the door. &amp;quot;Eu estou armado!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri quickly approaches the parking lot and descends next to Redd, with Hana landing lightly beside her. &amp;quot;Kiosk group encountered people. Unnatural is en route. Shall we?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina gestures with her head to bring Mirta over, then mutters something into the cow&#039;s ear. Her daughter nods, then quite carefully works her way back, standing off to the side of the door. Balina herself carefully pads over to the other side, hunkering down and gesturing to Fleur to join her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural is managed to make good time considering she is an extremely large cat with wings, barley keeping herself airborne over a massive body of water&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods to Balina and takes a position on the side of the door. He holds up a finger to wait and looks off in the distance.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Found someone? Which kiosk?&amp;quot; Redd jumps off the top of the truck before getting airborne himself. Once airborne he glides towards the kiosks, hoping to spot at least one of the searchers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri quickly takes Hana by the hand and takes to the air once more, leading the way. When she spots Unnatural coming she grins before shouting over to Redd and pointing at Balina and Fleur&#039;s last location. &amp;quot;We&#039;re converging on them there. Hopefully it&#039;s time to break out the white flag, and see if they&#039;re gonna play nice.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops down to all fours on the soft, yet reassuringly non-liquid sand as soon as she is clear of the water. The sigh of relief from the large feline audible at some distance as she catches her breath, wings folding up against her back before she rises up on her feet. Pausing to regain her nerve and questioning herself on what she was thinking as she brushed a hand across her arms and legs sweeping some clinging sand loose before beginning to make her way in the same rough direction as Redd&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods to Unnatural. &amp;quot;Angry foreigners. Probably gonna shoot on sight. We&#039;re gonna knock on the door. Very hard. Questions?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd lands a few feet from the kiosk with the stranger inside, &amp;quot;Ok, I&#039;m told you found someone, anyidea who?&amp;quot; He glances at the door, before moving out of view should it suddenly open.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural moves at a slow pace, her eagerness for the job rather blunted at this point as she looked to Fleur, only giving a nod in reply to their words following by a long groaning grunt as she closed on the assembled group of her fellows. Looking about the scene and wondering just what had gone on she raised a hand to her mouth before clearing her throat loudly in an effort to get everyone’s attention before saying in a clear and deep voice &#039;Maybe we shouldn’t surround the cornered human with large scary monsters? We need to keep this person in one peace. They could have valuable information about other parts of the country&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina keeps her eyes on the door, but answers, &amp;quot;Smelly. Unwashed. Probably uninfected. Oh, and doesn&#039;t speak English. Just a second, let me GET HIM TO SAY SOMETHING AGAIN!&amp;quot; her volume rising, nearing a shout by the end.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;I not care what you speak!&amp;quot;, that same voice yells back. &amp;quot;I not let demons corrupt me, will shoot!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural looking to read unnatural answers his question with &#039;the boat cant have come from too far away. It had a lot of fuel canisters but it isn&#039;t of the sort that could get across a whole ocean and it is more  a fishing boat than an escape vehicle so it likely didn&#039;t come from a bigger ship. In short it has to be fairly local but it looks like someone set themselves up for a long trip. They are out of food and fule&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lands on the sand a distance behind Fleur and Balina, slightly behind Redd. She puts a steadying hand out for Hana who lands beside her. She glances at Balina and her features ripple back to human.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur clucks his tongue. &amp;quot;... he was cuter when he yelled in a foreign language. Anyway, we want to keep this one alive, right? I mean... you know. In theory.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur pauses and stares blankly in Ahri&#039;s direction. This is apparently the first time he&#039;s seen someone go back to human. His jaw drops. He blinks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snorts, then pads away from the door, turning around and lying down a safe distance away. &amp;quot;No demon here. Just a big tracking dog. Not going back to human, and Mirta can&#039;t. We&#039;ll just be inconspicuous.&amp;quot; Mirta, for her part, steps away from the door, but remains plastered to the wall of the kiosk.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Doesn&#039;t speak English, eh?&amp;quot; Redd glances at Unnatural, then the boat in the distance, &amp;quot;Sounds to me like either a fisherman or somebody who took a lifeboat from a larger ship.&amp;quot; He glances at the door, &amp;quot;wonder what sort of gun he&#039;s got, if it&#039;s a pistol it won&#039;t hurt too much...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural hangs her head breathing yet another sigh &#039;If they speak english we can get the information we need from them and let them go on their way. We can even help them gather supplies if need be&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri sighs and grabs her corset and a pair of pants from her pack, donning it to conceal her multiple breasts, and other features in an attempt to pass as normal at least for a short time. She approaches the door. &amp;quot;We&#039;re just here investigating the origin and nature of the ship, as it was spotted by our client. We just want our information, then we&#039;ll leave.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Demon trickery!&amp;quot;, the man growls from inside.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri lifts her head and glares at the door before speaking, &amp;quot;Pater noster, qui es in caelis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. Adveniat regnum tuum. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in caelo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. There, Lord&#039;s prayer for you. Not a demon. Can we cut the bullshit and talk business now?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;What? You speak jibberish!&amp;quot; The reverberating sound of a heavy object hitting the door is heard. &amp;quot;I won&#039;t listen to your chants! I won&#039;t be bewitched!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina remains where she is. Just an ordinary, gigantic friendly dog, tail idly thumping in the sand.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural leans against a wall arms folded across her chest. Her gaze was cast low tot he floor though her ears remained perked and attentive to the conversations ongoing as she considered the options available to her for a few moments before asking &#039;Is there perhaps a back door or window... or maybe we can just ask him where he&#039;s from, what he has encountered, and what conditions are like in the areas he has seen&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd leans on the door a bit, seeing how much give it has, &amp;quot;Alright, may want to move to the side, I&#039;m going to try to force the door open,&amp;quot; He waits a moment, for the immediate area to clear.&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur remains pressed against the wall of the kiosk, apparently wrapped up in fantasies that he&#039;s James Bond, if James Bond were a dirty mutant cat. He just gives a nod to Redd, waiting for blood to start flying.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t enjoy being shot. You can have fun, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri sighs and steps back, her attempt at negotiation foiled, moving over to stand behind Fleur, up against the wall. She motions for Hana to move even further back, and she does.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural lets out a soft growl as she steps away from the wall, arms cast back as she says &#039;Why? Why torment the man? We can just let him go. We fulfilled our contract, endangering the life of a human and ourselves isn&#039;t necessary. Just offer him help, if he says no, we leave him be. We aren&#039;t thugs&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Alright, on the count of 5, I&#039;m going to knock this door down, I&#039;d advise you be clear from behind it, and don&#039;t try to shoot, it&#039;ll just ricochet to lord knows where,&amp;quot; Redd shouts the best he can through the door, before waiting a minute, for the man to process this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina idly starts circling the stand, looking for an amusing thing to burst through when Redd makes his move.&lt;br /&gt;
.&lt;br /&gt;
There is no reply from within, despite the warning Redd gave.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;At this rate, he&#039;s just going to end up as another feral in a few days anyway,&amp;quot; says Fleur, flicking his tail. &amp;quot;The least we can do is knock him senseless and drag him to a safer place where someone BETTER at these personal things than us can talk some sense in to him.&amp;quot; He frowns. &amp;quot;I mean, I wasn&#039;t counting on this being a rescue mission, but hey.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri&#039;s lip curls in frustration and a low growl emerges from her throat. &amp;quot;If you don&#039;t drop your shit, and get your ass out the kiosk and on the ground, then you&#039;re gonna be dealing with a group of much larger, much more durable and deadly, demons, who by merely fighting you will likely become like. So if you don&#039;t wanna end up all fucked up and mutated, or assuming we&#039;re in a really bad mood, dead as a doornail? Drop your weapons, get your ass out here, and lay face down on the ground. Last chance.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd passes a small object to Unnatural, &amp;quot;See if you can get that inside before I knock down the door, should blind him, or at least ruin his aim.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural takes the small offered object rather curiously looking it over in her hand &#039;cant we just set it off here then bash the door in?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina finishes circling. &amp;quot;You haven&#039;t gone in yet? C&#039;mon, getting bored out here. Icewolves don&#039;t like bright sunny days.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural raises her free hand to par Reed on a flank before slipping past him toward the door. standing to one side to avoid any bullets comming through the door she raises a hand to knock lightly on the obstacle before calling out &#039;escuse me Sir? are you still in there?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Go Away! I shoot!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural speaking as softly as she can mange the big cat leans toward the door &#039;You are trapped in a small room with the exit guarded. If we were here to hurt you we would have done it all ready, we just want to find out where you came from and what conditions are like there. If you can supply us with the needed information we can help you get gas and fresh rations. I also must warn you this will be the last offer before my colleague comes through the door one way or another&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd pulls a second out, and ignites it, letting the fuse go down, &amp;quot;Ok, One, Two, Three!&amp;quot; At three, Redd smashes a hole in the top of the door, and tosses the smokebomb in, &amp;quot;Lets see how long it takes for him to open it from the inside. He&#039;ll have to open it if he doesn&#039;t want to worry about smoke inhalation.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina sits herself down, about ten feet from the door. Easy pouncing distance, but she&#039;s more concerned with watching the chaos that&#039;s about to unfold. You can tell by the small dust cloud forming behind her.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fits of coughing start from inside, and then wheezing. Soon afterwards, the hum of something being turned on and then smoke being blown out one of the other sides of the building as a fan starts to filter out the smoke.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina mutters, then calls Mirta over. The cowgirl nods, going around back and stuffing the blanket from earlier into the vent.&lt;br /&gt;
Balina sniggers to herself.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural gives in to the less planned and more direct plan, offering the second smoke bomb up to red &#039;Want to double down?&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur watches the smoke spilling out of the building and sighs. &amp;quot;... and that&#039;s why we&#039;re temps,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Is someone going to kick the door down already, or do I need to myself?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd takes the first smoke bomb, lights it as well, and pushes it inside the building just as the burning fuse was going into the casing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri takes a step back and glances aside at Redd. &amp;quot;If this doesn&#039;t work I&#039;m just gonna burn this thing down.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;Wait for it. Trust me on this, it&#039;ll be great.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
A wail of despair echoes from inside as the occupant realises the smoke isn&#039;t being blown out anymore. The sudden crash of something heavy is heard before the door swings open and a wiry man leaps out, coughing and wheezing for breath. He has in his hands a broken paddle and a flare gun. He has tan skin, dark brown hair and mustache, is clothed in a white collared shirt and jeans, both horribly stained with sweat and grime. He weakly holds up the flare gun, weakly trying to aim it at whoever he can see while feebly protecting his head with the paddle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;Starved, exhausted,&amp;quot; She sniffs, &amp;quot;Filthy, probably has scurvy.&amp;quot; The wolf simply walks up to the prone man, stomping at the gun with one large, frigid paw. &amp;quot;Would you cut that out already? Gonna hurt yourself.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It&#039;s about this time that Fleur makes a leap at the man, too! He attempts to either disarm or immobilize him before he does try to shoot something - preferrably without infecting him.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural continues to stay clear of the door, content to not be the one to clobber a malnourished human who may have managed to last this long without being infected. Remaining silent with her back against the wall, her attention of the man still standing with his back to a doorway into a room filled with black, blinding smoke with no other exit save that great big open door&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd frowns somewhat, &amp;quot;And here I thought you had an actual firearm, well, least the lifeboat theory is confirmed.&amp;quot; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man drops his paddle immiediately after he is disarmed and drops to his knees, covering his head with his hands. &amp;quot;Ahhh!&amp;quot;, he screams, &amp;quot;Don&#039;t kill me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri stares down at the panicky survivor and lifts an eyebrow. &amp;quot;You cognizant enough to tell us where your boat is from and how you got there? We can get you to food and safety, but we need to know the story behind how you got here and what&#039;s with the boat.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina snarls, &amp;quot;More worried about the crystal dragon than the hungry-looking wolf. This is silly. Mirta!&amp;quot; The cowgirl returns, clutching the blanket. At a gesture, she drapes it around the half-prone lunatic, then fishes a pouch of milk out of the backpack, which is offered with a bright smile.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur picks up the flare gun and pockets it, glancing left and right. He decides to serve as a watch and body-guard for the survivor.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man looks up and eyes the milk with a paniced gaze before shrugging away with it like it was poison. &amp;quot;My boat.. rode from Columbia.. you can take, if do not eat me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural drops into a crouch, remaining against the wall though shifting her weight and turning on her toes to face toward the man and after waiting for a break if the activity of the others as the human finally started to cooperate she spoke in a soft hushed tone saying &#039;Calm down. It was never our intention to hurt you. We just want to talk. We&#039;re from Woodfield city. There are other survivors there. Even a few humans left&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances at Unnatural and grimaces, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t think he even knows about the nanites and the infection. It&#039;s damn impressive he survived out there on that boat this long.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Survivor.. yes. Only one I know from my town.. Columbia.. plague.. demons everywhere..&amp;quot;, the man rambles, &amp;quot;Followed shore for weeks.. lost track of time..&amp;quot; He starts sobbing. &amp;quot;You follow me.. to finish.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;I assure you, we didn&#039;t do that.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur coughs. &amp;quot;That is, not me. Personally. Look, there&#039;s shelters for people like you, we... should probably get out of the open air, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is tired of this. Stepping away from the group, she begins packing herself together, returning to a proper Balina again.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Returning, she asks, &amp;quot;Anyone here have any better ways to calm him down? He&#039;s surrounded by mutants, and still crazy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural gives a nod to ahri before looking back tot he human &#039;The least we can do is made sure he has a good meal.&#039; leaning a little closer and extending her arm, hand upturned toward the male &#039;Come on sir. We have no interest in hurting you but the infection didn&#039;t just hit one town, it hit almost everywhere. We&#039;re all survives of the disaster trying to rebuild civilisation&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri blinks. &amp;quot;So wait, until a few weeks ago the infection hadn&#039;t reached your town?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd snickers a moment, &amp;quot;I don&#039;t eat anything that&#039;s still alive, and you most certainly are still alive, and we intend to keep you that way.&amp;quot; He fishes something out of a pocket, a form fixitive, &amp;quot;This should prevent any reactions to the plague, as you called it, at least for the next few days.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The catboy frowns. &amp;quot;Surprised that there&#039;s still towns out there that weren&#039;t hit years ago... anyway, look. We&#039;re not crazy. Some of us want normal lives.&amp;quot; His eyes dart up to the form fixative, and he wets his lips and nods. &amp;quot;We studied the infection to find a cure. Some people just live with it. Some lose their minds, some remain themselves.&amp;quot; ... the cat pauses for a suspicious length of time, tail twitching. &amp;quot;... we have ways to fight the infection now, or to live with it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man snatches the pill from Redd and pops it in his mouth, swallowing quickly. &amp;quot;You are.. not from Columbia?&amp;quot;, he asks with a rough accent and wide eyes. &amp;quot;Then why do you look like demons?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It was probably silly of her to bother getting so close. Walking back towards the van, Balina gets about twenty paces before turning around and running full-tilt towards the delirious sailor, she gives a solid punch to his temple with as much practiced care as she can manage. With any luck, this is the most convincing Taggart impression anyone&#039;s seen today.&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;Hero&amp;gt; Balina spends a Hero point!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The man lets out a surprised gasp and crumples to the sands, unconscious.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur catches him before he hits the ground. He stares at Balina with a wide-eyed expression.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd gleams, &amp;quot;... Well, at least he got the fixitive down first...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;... well, good. You know what? Wonderful! We got him. Let&#039;s grab a bunch of crap from the boat and haul his arse back to civilization.&amp;quot; Fleur throws his hand up in apathy, then slings the man over his shoulder. He&#039;s stronger than he looks...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri snickers at Balina before shrugging and glancing at Fleur. &amp;quot;Let&#039;s get him in the van and take him back. We can let Giza sort the rest of this out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina is almost stunned that worked. Desperately trying to regain composure before anyone sees her own expression, she straightens an imaginary tie. &amp;quot;Boring conversation anyway. Giza&#039;ll be happy for this. We&#039;re not paid to do therapy.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri soothingly hisses, &amp;quot;Amen&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural quirks a brow, looking to Balina then to the unconscious man and without a word the big cat pushed away from the wall, rising back up to her feed before declaring &#039;Well grab him and get him back to the van. We can deliver him to the hospital in Fairhaven. Perhaps humans will have better luck with him than we did&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur carries the man back towards the van. He checks for any ferals that might have stowed away in the van, and, assuming he finds none, places the survivor in the back. &amp;quot;... welcome to hell,&amp;quot; he mutters.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The van is exactly as you left it in the parking lot, and the rest of the beach and resort is as deserted as ever.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural scoffs shaking her head &#039;the survivalist camp will be a hell of a lot better than being on that boat for weeks. Speaking of, maybe we should beach it&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri rolls her eyes. &amp;quot;God, so much hate for the gifts we&#039;re given. Kinda sad. Anyway. We&#039;ll take him to Giza and let them sort him out. He&#039;s part of the job, and probably the biggest source of information we can get.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina tries not to give a self-satisfied giggle as she takes her backpack from her daughter, packing things up and generally making ready to leave. &amp;quot;Think we&#039;ll get a bonus for taking him in alive?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur turns to Unnatural, tilting his head. &amp;quot;Was anything in the boat that we could bring back? I wouldn&#039;t want them to accuse us of... yanno, not doing a good enough job.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri grins to Balina, &amp;quot;Hope so.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural shrugs before shaking her head &#039;maps, charts, it&#039;s a fishing boat. not a cruis liner or a military warship. nothing on it seemed all that special&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur pauses, pulling out his keys and twirling them. &amp;quot;... it got a motor?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri glances at Unnatural. &amp;quot;Did you get the maps and charts?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;I left them on the deck. I was more concerned with the survivor&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri soothingly hisses, &amp;quot;probably should pick those up so Giza can backtrack his point of origin, since it&#039;s somewhere the plague didn&#039;t touch until only a couple weeks ago. This kinda information is priceless.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri heads back to the boat to get the maps and charts, and hopefully memorize any marks he may have made that could reveal his point of origin, before turning them over.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur waits for anyone visiting the boat to come back with materials before he heads anywhere.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina and Mirta are already in the van. Where is everyone else?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri comes back and nods to Fleur. &amp;quot;I think that&#039;s it. Ready to go?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural leaves handling the survivor to everyone else, moving ahead tot he van and pulling the rear doors open to allow the valuable cargo to be loaded&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur gets in the driver&#039;s seat and revs the engine. &amp;quot;Desination, ladies and gentleman?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina moos, &amp;quot;Giza paid for the guy, let&#039;s get this turned in. No *clue* how long he&#039;s going to be out.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Okay, let me put it this way. Anyone here know enough about medicine to check if this guy&#039;s got a cracked skull or something? If he&#039;s living, I think we can stop at Giza first.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods at Balina. &amp;quot;Screw the freaks at the hospital. Let&#039;s just take him to Giza, and if he really needs treatment, well, we all know a few people who have excellent healing mutations.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur meows, &amp;quot;Sounds good to me!&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural roars, &amp;quot;If we get him to Giza we have done our job. if we make sure he gets propper medical care we are good people&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd nods, &amp;quot;Hopefully we can get there before he comes to. Although, I&#039;d avoid Chandler, as well. Ought to get him used to the new world, instead of isolated from it.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur waits for the others to get on board, then makes his way directly to Giza - do not pass go, do not collect $200. Hopefully Dark will be happy with him...!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri nods to Redd. &amp;quot;No need to give the paranoid flatscans another idiot to buy their bullshit.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Your trip back is, unfortunately, not much unlike your trip there. Boring, simple drive, no working radio. When you arrive back at Giza, Darkwyrm is waiting for you in the parking garage. &amp;quot;Alright, whatta you got for me?&amp;quot;, he asks, tapping his foot.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina bounds out of the van, in a repeat of her previous performance. &amp;quot;Depends!&amp;quot; she says, excitedly, in the middle of some calf stretches. &amp;quot;You want to tell us anything more about the boat, now that we&#039;re back?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri slips out of the van and takes up a spot leaning against one of the garage&#039;s supports, and listens.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;A lot more information than we expected, might we enquire who the client was?&amp;quot; Redd looks at the van, &amp;quot;Also, we found a live passenger. I think he&#039;s still out cold, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The cat climbs out of the driver&#039;s seat and stretches. He flips the keys in his hand and hands them over to the handsome jackal, his gaze lingering on his eyes a little longer than necessary. He looks like he was about to say, but when Balina reacts with questions, he doesn&#039;t do anything to interrupt the flow. He just smiles politely and steps back.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks at Redd, &amp;quot;The term is sedated. He&#039;s still sedated... with a fist.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural waits for the other&#039;s to dismount the van before making her own exit, still trying to have as little to do witht he handling of the survivor as she could&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm crosses his arms and sighs. &amp;quot;What I&#039;ve told you is what I know. If my client knows more than that, then they haven&#039;t felt the need to reveal it. What I want to know is what you have found out.&amp;quot; His ears twitch slightly as his head turns to Ahri. &amp;quot;Shall I take that as an affirmative that you located the passenger of that vessel?&amp;quot;, he asks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural looking to Dark the big lion flashes him a grin before reporting in a quick list &#039;the ship was a simple fishing vessel, looks like it was heavily stocked with food and fuel both of which were exhausted which forced the occupant which we believe was this man to beach the ship and go in search of supplies&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri smirks lightly, &amp;quot;Would you believe it if I told you there were places left in the world the infection still hasn&#039;t hit?&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd shakes his head, &amp;quot;The not hit part isn&#039;t surprising, but hit within the last month or two is...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
Ahri reaches into her pack and pulls out the maps and charts. &amp;quot;We got the survivor, and we got his boat&#039;s charts. Pretty sure you can isolate his point of origin.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina moos, &amp;quot;The guy&#039;s in the back. Get some proper folks out here to handle him, and he&#039;s all yours. We, uh, sedated him before he really had time to freak out. He might have a form fixative in him already, though.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;quot;Hmm? Of course there are places the infection hasn&#039;t hit. You thought it was a worldwide thing? Ha! Wait..&amp;quot; his expression grows more serious. &amp;quot;Where did you say this man is from?&amp;quot;, he asks, before turning and whistling through the door behind him. A female husky appears in the doorway. &amp;quot;There&#039;s a man in the van, unconscious. Please see to it that he&#039;s placed in the commons on a cot, and that he can&#039;t run away.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Redd coughs, &amp;quot;Columbia, as in the country in South America&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur nods emphatically. &amp;quot;Columbia. Also, his grasp of English is...&amp;quot; he pauses, then wiggles his fingers back and forth. &amp;quot;... we can get by, but he&#039;s obviously not native. We brought some documents and resources from the boat, the passenger, and all the information we could get out of him.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural sits back down in the doorway of the van resting her arms in her lap &#039;Seems odd. I mean why were we needed to go check out a vestle. Seems like it was an innefficiant use of credits&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm&#039;s expression grows dark. &amp;quot;Hrmm.. then this would mean that the infection has spread to South America. This is worrisome, but not entirely unexpected. Very well, if you&#039;ll please leave all information that you gathered on the conference table upstairs, including your written reports, I can count your contracts as fulfilled. He takes a step back, first letting his husky agent step through, dragging the man with some strain and then stepping through the door and holding it open for everyone else.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur flicks his tail. He glances backwards at Unnatural. &amp;quot;Hey, it... could have been anything. Foreign military ... armed people. Crazy scientists. I&#039;ve seen some weird stuff.&amp;quot; ... with a sudden snap in his mood, he turns to Darkwyrm and smiles. &amp;quot;It&#039;s been a pleasure to work under y- uh, for you, sir. I... hope this information has been of use.&amp;quot; ... &amp;quot;If you need anyone to drive, yanno, I can never have too many credits...&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural slips off the van, groaning softly as she stretched out with a crack of joins before allowing her arms to fall back to her sides with a clap &#039;true. We got some valuable information but nothing that couldn&#039;t really have been obtained using satellite imaging. I just hope the human has more detailed answers to offer&#039; &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Balina was hoping that little line in the contract was just boilerplate. Oh well. &amp;quot;Fine, then. Short report, but we&#039;ll take care of it. Point the way, and tell us where the pencil sharpener is,&amp;quot; she says, heading towards the elevator, daughter in tow.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm nods to Fleur. &amp;quot;I thank you for the offer, and your enthusiasm is duely noted.&amp;quot; His tail swishes back and forth once behind him. &amp;quot;We&#039;ll see to it that your friend is treated well. We&#039;ll hold him here until he&#039;s conscious and sane, then figure out where he wants to go from there.. after getting all the informtation he can out of him first, of course.&amp;quot; He points Balina towards the staircase that they used earlier to reach the second floor. &amp;quot;First door on the left.&amp;quot;, he murmurs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Unnatural reaches back to scratch the back of her neck, running her fingers through the thick crown of hair before beginning to follow Dark&#039;s gesture making her way toward the stairs &#039;It was a fairly interesting mission all things considered. No rape. Few ferals. No gun fights... I honestly wonder if we were in the right place at all&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fleur gives an awkward smile, then glances back at the door. &amp;quot;... it&#039;s been a pleasure,&amp;quot; he adds again, nodding to the jackal. He makes his way for the indicated door, rounds the corner ... and presses himself against the walls, covering his eyes. His face flushes. &amp;quot;You tactless, stupid kitten,&amp;quot; he murmurs to himself. Oh well... there&#039;s papers to file.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Darkwyrm gives a sly grin to the shy Fleur as he passes. &amp;quot;Thanks for the help.&amp;quot;, he says, &amp;quot;I do hope that we see each other again.&amp;quot;, before walking past the staircase and into the bar area to get a drink.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:RPLogs]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9753</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9753"/>
		<updated>2012-02-11T03:47:30Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipe Modifiers with active and passive statuses will allow both halves to be applied to a subject.  For example, a [[Fast]] [[Banner]] and a fast [[Module]] would work together.&lt;br /&gt;
*Call HQ button on the web interface allows scavenging missions much like those Robert distributes in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mini factions has once again added to their unique recipes. [[PickMeUps]], [[Throwing Knives]], and [[Smoke Bomb]], were added to The Rats, The Skunks and The Survivalists, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Each of the three mini-factions have slightly expanded their inventory, adding 1 new recipe each!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats have added [[Cool]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists have added [[Amplifying]] to their shelves.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Skunks now sell [[Protective]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hooked]] deals its stated damage now, instead of three times as much.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zealously Conserved]] only reduces skill required by 5, but no longer counts as a mod in terms of skill inflation.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pregnancy progresses slowly while you are offline.  If it reaches zero, you will give birth when you next log in.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Slurp]] power added to [[Female Husky]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Bug fixed that was causing people to be spontaneously pregnant with no baby.&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeats got some tweaks, with [[Forced Milking]], [[Jelly Whip]], [[Prism Storm]], and [[Quad Punch]] all uptuned a little. &lt;br /&gt;
*Repeatattacks now apply statuses only on the first hit.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Size King]] merit, bundling all the break-size-cap merits into one, now exists!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], which is so famous people give you a stipend for holding it, coded but not yet placed.&lt;br /&gt;
*A bug was fixed that made Hard Boss- and Final Boss-rank monsters much easier.  They were then made to hit harder and apply statuses harder.  Please report on this ongoing fix.&lt;br /&gt;
*Two new merits for the new child system: [[Matron]] and [[Instructor]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Skunk faction shop now available, making all three mutually exclusive recipe shops in-game.  Contains [[Liquid Bandage]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Six Fingers Inn will now rent their private rooms for 1000 credits a day, down from 10k.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing updated: [if (item) possessed by (person name) = (number)] and [if (item) equipped by (person name) = (number)] now work! You can also use &amp;lt;, &amp;gt;, and !=, if you feel like it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9709</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9709"/>
		<updated>2012-02-10T01:22:17Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Each of the three mini-factions have slightly expanded their inventory, adding 1 new recipe each!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats have added [[Cool]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists have added [[Amplifying]] to their shelves.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Skunks now sell [[Protective]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hooked]] deals its stated damage now, instead of three times as much.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zealously Conserved]] only reduces skill required by 5, but no longer counts as a mod in terms of skill inflation.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pregnancy progresses slowly while you are offline.  If it reaches zero, you will give birth when you next log in.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Slurp]] power added to [[Female Husky]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Size King]] merit, bundling all the break-size-cap merits into one, now exists!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], which is so famous people give you a stipend for holding it, coded but not yet placed.&lt;br /&gt;
*A bug was fixed that made Hard Boss- and Final Boss-rank monsters much easier.  They were then made to hit harder and apply statuses harder.  Please report on this ongoing fix.&lt;br /&gt;
*Two new merits for the new child system: [[Matron]] and [[Instructor]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Skunk faction shop now available, making all three mutually exclusive recipe shops in-game.  Contains [[Liquid Bandage]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Six Fingers Inn will now rent their private rooms for 1000 credits a day, down from 10k.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing updated: [if (item) possessed by (person name) = (number)] and [if (item) equipped by (person name) = (number)] now work! You can also use &amp;lt;, &amp;gt;, and !=, if you feel like it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9707</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9707"/>
		<updated>2012-02-10T00:50:36Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Each of the three mini-factions have slightly expanded their inventory, adding 1 new recipe each!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats have added [[Cool]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists have added [[Amplifying]] to their shelves.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Size King]] merit, bundling all the break-size-cap merits into one, now exists!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], which is so famous people give you a stipend for holding it, coded but not yet placed.&lt;br /&gt;
*A bug was fixed that made Hard Boss- and Final Boss-rank monsters much easier.  They were then made to hit harder and apply statuses harder.  Please report on this ongoing fix.&lt;br /&gt;
*Two new merits for the new child system: [[Matron]] and [[Instructor]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Skunk faction shop now available, making all three mutually exclusive recipe shops in-game.  Contains [[Liquid Bandage]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Six Fingers Inn will now rent their private rooms for 1000 credits a day, down from 10k.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing updated: [if (item) possessed by (person name) = (number)] and [if (item) equipped by (person name) = (number)] now work! You can also use &amp;lt;, &amp;gt;, and !=, if you feel like it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9706</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9706"/>
		<updated>2012-02-10T00:30:37Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Each of the three mini-factions have slightly expanded their inventory, adding 1 new recipe each!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats have added [[Cool]]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Size King]] merit, bundling all the break-size-cap merits into one, now exists!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], which is so famous people give you a stipend for holding it, coded but not yet placed.&lt;br /&gt;
*A bug was fixed that made Hard Boss- and Final Boss-rank monsters much easier.  They were then made to hit harder and apply statuses harder.  Please report on this ongoing fix.&lt;br /&gt;
*Two new merits for the new child system: [[Matron]] and [[Instructor]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Skunk faction shop now available, making all three mutually exclusive recipe shops in-game.  Contains [[Liquid Bandage]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Six Fingers Inn will now rent their private rooms for 1000 credits a day, down from 10k.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing updated: [if (item) possessed by (person name) = (number)] and [if (item) equipped by (person name) = (number)] now work! You can also use &amp;lt;, &amp;gt;, and !=, if you feel like it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9705</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9705"/>
		<updated>2012-02-10T00:10:44Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Each of the three mini-factions have slightly expanded their inventory, adding 1 new recipe each!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Size King]] merit, bundling all the break-size-cap merits into one, now exists!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], which is so famous people give you a stipend for holding it, coded but not yet placed.&lt;br /&gt;
*A bug was fixed that made Hard Boss- and Final Boss-rank monsters much easier.  They were then made to hit harder and apply statuses harder.  Please report on this ongoing fix.&lt;br /&gt;
*Two new merits for the new child system: [[Matron]] and [[Instructor]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Skunk faction shop now available, making all three mutually exclusive recipe shops in-game.  Contains [[Liquid Bandage]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Six Fingers Inn will now rent their private rooms for 1000 credits a day, down from 10k.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing updated: [if (item) possessed by (person name) = (number)] and [if (item) equipped by (person name) = (number)] now work! You can also use &amp;lt;, &amp;gt;, and !=, if you feel like it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9679</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9679"/>
		<updated>2012-02-08T08:12:16Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Top Tier Crafts]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
*When gaining salvage, a message is now sent to the receiver, even if they&#039;re in a different room.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now &#039;list forms&#039; to see what forms you have unlocked, even if you&#039;re not an adept.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Basic Spread]] now applies spread rating to items.&lt;br /&gt;
*New store!  Mall Rats offer some no-trade recipes that will be mutually exclusive with the upcoming Skunk and Survivalist shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*The mall rats have started their own mini-faction, granting access to a unique store with a couple of unique recipes. There will be two other factions (Skunks and Survivalists), and all three will be mutually exclusive; each character can only join ONE of the three. Caution is advised until the other two are put in.&lt;br /&gt;
*Survivalists mini-faction added, and we&#039;ve discovered what the two released factions offer for schematics so far.&lt;br /&gt;
**The Rats come with [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]]&lt;br /&gt;
**The Survivalists offer [[Portable Dialysis]] and [[Uniform]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Prometheans no longer elitist jerks: Anyone can go through their gates to visit.  Overworld point now goes to the center of New Dawn.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Mutant Companion]] recipe coded, sold at New Dawn&#039;s Crossroads.  Powers and roles reported as follows:&lt;br /&gt;
**&amp;quot;Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Back row 2, Bewitched 2, Cure 3, Small Claws 4, Purr, Snap kick 1, and furry hide 1.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shield Drone]] recipe coded, to be added to a future web mission.&lt;br /&gt;
**Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;Front Row:3, Endurance:1, Taunting Strikes:3, Juggernaut:4 (DamageResistMag:1.0, Energy:-0.3), Abrasive Hide:1, Solid Frame:1, Stonewall:2 (PhysicalDamageResistDuration:2), Guarding Stance:3 (CoverChance:50), Strike:1&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing items via web interface now gives as much freecred as you would get in direct control.&lt;br /&gt;
*As part of the ongoing child changes, they (and other minions) no longer lose levels when you have more than one summoned.&lt;br /&gt;
*+census can now use the &#039;form&#039; command to check for mastered forms.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children and pets that use NotUser powers (like [[Evening Song]], or [[Delicious Treat]]) can now use them on their parents!&lt;br /&gt;
**The magnitude is reduced by 25%, however, when used on you. Full power on other people, though.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*DamageReturn now has soft caps at 50% and 75%, and a hard cap at 100%.&lt;br /&gt;
**Presuming this works like other mechanics, after 50% each point is worth half, halved again after 75%. You&#039;d need 200 DamageReturn to return 100% of damage dealt, which would be the hard cap.&lt;br /&gt;
*Your &#039;total&#039; badges (Total Skunk Girl, Total Blue Gryphon, Total Whatever) have vanished! This is not a drill. They&#039;re still there, just not clogging your badge list. This post will be updated once there&#039;s a good way to view them again. &lt;br /&gt;
**Please do not panic.&lt;br /&gt;
***No, really. Quit that.&lt;br /&gt;
****Sit down and be calm. Please. Don&#039;t make us get the hose.&lt;br /&gt;
*Children are changing.  This is an ongoing process.&lt;br /&gt;
**You can @force your children to do commands starting in :, ; and &amp;quot;.  This means they can act during RP.&lt;br /&gt;
**You may have ONE child or kangaroo pet out. Only one.&lt;br /&gt;
**Having out a child reduces your base action (that is, how much ATB you get per tick) by 30%&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Born Leader]] cuts this penalty by half, to a 15% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
***Having [[Backseat Driver]] cuts this penalty by a third, to a 20% penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
****Having both means you&#039;re only suffering a 10% ATB penalty.&lt;br /&gt;
**New Kangaroo pets must be equipped like normal children. Old ones can be converted, but will function as they have for now.&lt;br /&gt;
**Children can now be trained! Type &#039;train&#039; in front of Sandra in Zephyr&#039;s basement.&lt;br /&gt;
***Fresh outta the womb, children have 1 power: strike. They must use slots for anything else.&lt;br /&gt;
***New children only have 1 slot, but as they gain battle XP in combat they will work up to a maximum of 8 at &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;2757.68881863023&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 2758 XP.&lt;br /&gt;
****After combat, all children equipped (not just the active one) gain battle xp, spread out among themselves. This does NOT suck xp away from the player - testing has shown an equipped child gains the same amount (100%) of the XP the player does.&lt;br /&gt;
****Resetting their training sets them back to square one; be careful!&lt;br /&gt;
***Slots can be used either to master a power they have in their mutations, upgrade one of those powers (one upgrade per power), master a role, just like a player would have, or raise the cap on the distills they can use (with no levels spent in distills, they can only use level 1s; one level lets you use 2, then another for 3, then one more for 4).&lt;br /&gt;
****If they have a stronger distill, it acts at the strength they are trained for.&lt;br /&gt;
****Kangaroo pets can only have 3 roles, but children can use all 8 slots for roles, if you so desire.&lt;br /&gt;
*****Please don&#039;t give a child 8 roles.&lt;br /&gt;
**Now you can panic.&lt;br /&gt;
*Mako pool success stories:&lt;br /&gt;
**Tanuki can now buy a cock count leaf at the usual place.&lt;br /&gt;
**Quarterback role created! Reactive, Mastermind, Fast Loading.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Liquid Bandage]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web interface tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**The web shop interface will now let you know if you do or do not have an AI program.&lt;br /&gt;
**The web crafting interface should now be much smarter about loadout and upkeep.&lt;br /&gt;
**You cannot challenge people more than one level below you in PvP. You can challenge your betters all you want, though.&lt;br /&gt;
*Completing web missions from the MUD should stop spitting out a bunch of HTML, and you&#039;ll get the proper command to continue.&lt;br /&gt;
*There are occasional reminders about commending an infection when shifting. By the way, COMMEND MORE CREATURES.&lt;br /&gt;
*The Medicine professional skill now grants +10/20/30% more healing when out of combat.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9585</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9585"/>
		<updated>2012-02-04T05:30:29Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Liberated children now do +5% damage and status magnitudes on powers they have locked. It&#039;s like they were born to use these attacks!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Targeting]] mod coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Siphon]] and [[Soldering Iron]] added to token stores. Robert now stocks all five salvage-boosting schematics!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now vote for polls through the web interface over [[http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?polling here]]!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Portable Dialysis]], [[Superconducting Magnet]] and [[Attention Deficit Remedy]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaption Assimilator]] for sale with the mall rats. Allows non-liberated mutants to &#039;fix&#039; a nativized part&#039;s power to themselves, gaining that same +5% bonus.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
**Cooler, Metal Detector, and Chemical Extractor are all on grid, in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flexible, Hooked, and Overclocker added to the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9538</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9538"/>
		<updated>2012-02-03T03:39:08Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== February ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Abundant Supply]] power has been added to [[Rabid Squirrel]]s, bringing it to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Sexual Stabilizer]] and [[Nanite Gender Assigner]] added to elite store&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Chemical Extractor]] , [[Overclocker]], [[Metal Detector]] and [[Cybernetic Reflex Booster]] recipes coded&lt;br /&gt;
**Chemical Extractor and [[Cooler]] both uptuned to make them far better for their own salvage, but provide a small penalty to other types.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flexible]], [[Jagged]], and [[Invisible]] mods coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Staff characters can travel without restraint of river or water on the overworld map.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer taunt friendly targets. Phew!&lt;br /&gt;
*notuser abilities ([[Tears of Life]], [[Delicious Treat]], etc) are now smarter about not firing when there are no valid targets.&lt;br /&gt;
*Rooms you have set as your respawn point now say so, instead of asking you to bond there.&lt;br /&gt;
*Training no longer shows crafting options until at least level 15.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Energy Snack]]s have been massively buffed.  Also cost more to make.&lt;br /&gt;
**Harder to use in combat, too; longer charge and now has an 8-round cooldown.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mako pool for the [[Olfactory Sensor]] was created, then finished like an hour later. Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Gender Assigner]] and [[Sexual Stabilizer]] followed less than an hour after that!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Crossbow]] recipe added to Hidden Camp store.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9524</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9524"/>
		<updated>2012-02-01T05:37:35Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;31st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Items will now track how much xp they earn via combat for MYSTERIOUS future purposes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;30th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool for Sexual Stabilizer: allows Nanite Adepts to toggle gender-change immunity.&lt;br /&gt;
*Proper talk restrictions set on channels you shouldn&#039;t talk on, while still allowing you to turn them on and off and pull the history with #last.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;29th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The adjusted length/depths shown in +groin are now much less silly, though their function is unchanged.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Shred the Moon]] rebalanced drastically; it is much cheaper, but far less powerful. The concept of &#039;temporary toggles&#039; has been buried for good.&lt;br /&gt;
*You now get reward tokens randomly when RPing! Check for it on your RP ticks.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Crossbow]] mako pool is completed. Item is a recipe.&lt;br /&gt;
*Flunky&#039;s mako pool completed!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Resistor]] added to the elite store. Allows Nanite Adepts to decide not to be infected by anything today.&lt;br /&gt;
*Tanuki stores now stocked with the Leaf: Vaginal Control.&lt;br /&gt;
*More mako pools! If this keeps up, we&#039;re going to have to stop documenting them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Bows!&lt;br /&gt;
**Flunky role!&lt;br /&gt;
***More badges added to mako pools!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9316</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9316"/>
		<updated>2012-01-28T19:30:13Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;28th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Control Extender]] can now properly make use of the new size-changing Adept toy.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Nanite Carnal Equalizer]] can now bypass the &#039;lesser&#039; size merits, such as [[Maximum Depth]] or [[Tanuki Grade]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Size-shifting now actually obeys which badges you have, and accepts partial matches.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool started for Nanite Gender Assigner -- allows you to overwrite Male/Female Preferred with the Carnal Equalizer.&lt;br /&gt;
*Smaller-than-normal mutants now get a much stronger benefit/penalty to defense/HP. Fairies are now +/-32 instead of 4.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;27th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Long Burning]] and [[Nanite Cooling]] distillations adjusted.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Electrified Chainsword]] recipe lost a little damage due to budgeting concerns regarding its insane knockback.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] pool completed; the item is now in the elite stores.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size now factors into your actual penis length/vaginal depth. The numbers in +groin now reflect this; the old standard of being within 50% of your target still apply.&lt;br /&gt;
**By the way, different mutants are different sizes. +groin reports your relative body size. 5 is &#039;average&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*New pool list item: Tanuki vaginal control!&lt;br /&gt;
**The Tanuki female leaves poll has completed! That was fast.&lt;br /&gt;
*Body size has a mechanical component: Bigger creatures have more HP, but worse defense.&lt;br /&gt;
**For every point larger than 5, you gain +1% HP, but -1 Defense. Kaiju, at body size 50, have +45% health, but -45 defense. This goes the opposite way; Fairies have -4% health, but +4 defense.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tall]] and [[Short]] merits added, adjusting your scale by 20% in one direction or another. [[Human Sized]] added for people who want to skip this scale silliness entirely.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Hotdogger]] mutation added to the elite store.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Spatial Recalculator]] added to the elite store; allows you to change your size to that of other mutations.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Nanite Adaptation Cleanser]] added to the elite store; allows liberated children to forget a power once and for all.&lt;br /&gt;
*The [[Module]] pool has completed! The pool for [[Area Module]] has replaced it.&lt;br /&gt;
*The final boss of the pet store has been turned into a resummonable boss fight. It can be summoned once per day, and has a bunch of cool loot on it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;26th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?makopool allows you to view and bid on mako pools from the comfort of your own browser.&lt;br /&gt;
*A pile of new recipes and recipe modifiers coded but not yet available.  Like [[Hooked]].&lt;br /&gt;
*The first mako pool success story, the [[Heat Blocker]], has been unleashed upon the unsuspecting elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
*Repeat attacks no longer secretly diminished by DebuffResist.&lt;br /&gt;
*Some, but not all, recipes added as possible results for +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
**Right on its heels, the [[Dogged Reporter]] profession has occurred!&lt;br /&gt;
*Recipes and modifiers have been slotted into +reward.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Triage Kit]], [[Ultimate Fishing Rod]], [[Amplifier]], [[Blowhorn]], and [[Uniform]] recipes coded.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hooked]] and [[Stiffened]] modifiers coded. [[Amplifying]] reworked completely.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[Heavy Beam]], [[Polearm]], [[Automated Weapon]] and [[Light Melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updates, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Virtually all recipe mods have also been rebalanced. Your gear has probably changed!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Improved Laser Pistol]] and [[Gravity Cannon]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9268</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9268"/>
		<updated>2012-01-25T03:07:29Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;[[heavy beam]], [[polearm]], [[automated weapon]] and [[light melee]] have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updated, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents, or click on Aidan and die in two turns!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9267</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9267"/>
		<updated>2012-01-25T03:06:44Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*The +quest command now lists everything from your logbook and any repeatable quests on file.&lt;br /&gt;
*PvP fights now start with everyone at full buffs. Why yes, that does mean children start out ready to go.&lt;br /&gt;
*Nuku needs people to write advertisements. Inquire at your nearest Nuku.&lt;br /&gt;
*Four new badges added for tutors.&lt;br /&gt;
*Say and oSay fields added to monster entry. Define how they talk!&lt;br /&gt;
*Reward tokens can now be purchased in the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Busy Body Nuku softly churrls, &amp;quot;[[Adaptive Immunities]] now gives a more... reasonable... penalty.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
**Anyone have the new numbers?&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;heavy beam, polearm, automated weapon and light melee have been run through my calculator, enjoy the updated, especially how much heavy beam got buffed.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents, or click on Aidan and die in two turns!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9264</id>
		<title>Multiplayer Updates</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.flexiblesurvival.com/index.php?title=Multiplayer_Updates&amp;diff=9264"/>
		<updated>2012-01-24T22:41:43Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Darkwyrm: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The following is a list of updates made to the game since it entered open beta in 2011.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For planned future updates, see Nuku&#039;s six month plan at http://checkvist.com/checklists/97925-six-month-plan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== January ==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;24th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Steroid Injecting Unit]] and [[Laser Scope]] added to the reward store and mako store, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;23rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fiery Hide]] now actually protects you from environmental heat, as designed.&lt;br /&gt;
*[Public] Power Girl Sati jingle bells, &amp;quot;I updated the following recipes to my current balance-line, to see if they scale out of control and make sure my formulas are appropriate.  Go, test, have fun.  ([[Shield]], [[Physical Armor]], [[Light Energy Armor]], [[Heavy Armor]], [[Generic Armor]].)&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;22nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*A freak nanite storm has ripped through the city! All currently-equipped gear suddenly found itself brimming with nanites, filling its DV to the max!&lt;br /&gt;
**This totally was not a fix after a bug caused a lot of people to lose a lot of nanites in their equipment. Nope.&lt;br /&gt;
*Haste status and [[Hesitating]] flaw made to work correctly with negative-charge powers like [[Small Claws]].&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] cost reduced to 3 merit points.&lt;br /&gt;
*The germ of PvP has been placed in the petri dish of the &amp;quot;Who&#039;s Online&amp;quot; area of the web interface. Click the button to challenge opponents, or click on Aidan and die in two turns!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;21st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Winged]] merit now properly adds a generic note about wings to your description if your species doesn&#039;t normally have wings.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Reinforced Fishing Rod]], [[Aggressive Soup]], and [[Ergonomic]] schematics placed into Jack&#039;s Hardware, the Hidden Camp, and the Hidden Camp, respectively.&lt;br /&gt;
*Referral links enabled! Go to the &#039;Buy Mako&#039; area of the web interface to get a referral link. Anyone who signs up for the game through this will automatically declare you a tutor, allowing you to reap the benefits!&lt;br /&gt;
*HP 50 AI block coded, placed in the token shops.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scratch]] and [[Pincers]] coded as powers for low-level infections.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Masochistic Fury]] coded as a power for people who hate themselves.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Expert Angler]] merit added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;19th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Stainless]] and [[Nanite Absorbing]] distills actually do what they say on the can now. Sorry about that!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enhanced Lingering Hurt]] distill coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*&#039;poollist&#039; command added, offering mako drives for specific goals.&lt;br /&gt;
**Current goal: [[Module]] recipe!  When complete it will allow crafting a tiny thing to put [[Fast]] or [[Crippling]] on.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;18th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Do you like flaws? I like flaws. Have some flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adapted Metabolism]]: +5 Healing, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Fueled]]: +5 DamageBuff, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Adaptive Immunities]]: +10 DebuffResist, +2 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Nanite Reinforced]]: +1 PhysicalDamageResist, +1 EnergyDamageResist, +5 NaniteUse.&lt;br /&gt;
***All these flaws cause you to slowly munch through your stock of builder nanites. They are still used when in web combat, but NOT when you are assisting another player.&lt;br /&gt;
****The benefits go negative if you run out of nanites, by the way.&lt;br /&gt;
****They are totally the best flaws ever.&lt;br /&gt;
*+pregtime command added! Gives you a general idea of how soon your babby will be formed.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;17th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI will no longer try to use a power you do not have.&lt;br /&gt;
*Fishing bugs fixed.  +fish/info now shows your weight tolerance.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tactical Retreat]] merit added.  Run awayyyyy!&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer stack recipe mod statuses, such as Crippling, Fast, Insulating, etcetera. That means that if you have a Heavy Overwhelming Crippling Scuba Gear and a Crippling Generic Armor, you&#039;ll only get the Crippling bonus (modded by Heavy and Overwhelming) from the first one. You can stack whatever you want on active equipment (such as knives, polearms, medkits, and so forth), and may still use Overwhelming, Heavy, and others that simply modify existing statuses.&lt;br /&gt;
**As a side effect, your effects list is now much clearer about what gear is giving you what.&lt;br /&gt;
*You can no longer make italics in the public channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*New command: +totalkilled. Usage: &amp;quot;+totalkilled &amp;lt;mob&amp;gt;&amp;quot; gives you a readout of how many kills you&#039;ve accumulated on that particular mutant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;16th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bleeding AI condition added to reward store.  Allows you to specify a power to use when you are suffering from DOT or debuff effects.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Zebra]] infection in the elite stores!&lt;br /&gt;
**This infection introduces the [[Escape Manuever]] ability on its legs.&lt;br /&gt;
*New fishing spot along the shoreline of the beach.&lt;br /&gt;
*Pet Shop of Horrors added to NW Fairhaven, next to the OTHER pet store. Contains [[Female Widow Convert|Black Widow]]s, [[Slinking Ferret]]s, and [[Cuddlefish]]es.&lt;br /&gt;
**This brings [[Sharp Bite]] and [[Camouflage]] to the grid! A good day.&lt;br /&gt;
**If you&#039;re lucky (well, sort of), you might even find the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] down there!&lt;br /&gt;
***Oh, and the [[Walking Vagina|super secret boss]] has [[Enveloping Pain]] on it.&lt;br /&gt;
*If you collect ten [[Recursive (dedication)|Recursive]] badges, totaling 50 mako, you will get [[Nanite Adept (dedication)|Nanite Adept]] automatically.  Not retroactive; if you have ten or more already, you will need to get one more.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;15th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*The awarding of +reward is now account-wide. You cannot have alts just to farm rewards any longer. Sorry! :(&lt;br /&gt;
**On the plus side, you can now store up to 5 rewards at once, so you don&#039;t have to worry about missing one because you made the mistake of sleeping last night.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Solid Frame]] can now upgrade for knockdown resistance, while [[Conductive]] can upgrade for HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*Builder nanites are now used for constructing items. More details once we have any idea what we&#039;re talking about.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh yeah, and you&#039;ll now see &#039;Nanite mass&#039; listed in the web interface. This is part of it.&lt;br /&gt;
***Testing recipes now also lists the amount of builder nanites required to make the item. It is displayed in mg.&lt;br /&gt;
*Items made with the [[Insulating]] modifier now slowly drain your builder nanites when worn or used.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;14th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*You can now finger people without using the plus sign.&lt;br /&gt;
*The healing from Vampiric no longer works while dead. Sorry, but you&#039;re not REALLY a vampire.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaw: [[Bad Reputation]]: Fight more Promethean/Infected Agents!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Flash Freeze]] coded, if not yet balanced. You cannot have it!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;13th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AOE accuracy changed.  It should work...as it is supposed to now.  Continued testing on what that actually is.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Normal Physics]] now allows you to go a little over the cap on bodypart-modified powers, encouraging you to struggle with your giant breasts.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;12th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Front Row]] and [[Back Row]] combat skills buffed. The former grants an extra 10% cover per point on your allies, while the latter grants you an extra 10% per point on cover effects planted on you.&lt;br /&gt;
*More flaws!&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Backseat Driver]]: you are more fragile, but your gain an effect identical to [[Born Leader]], with which it can stack.&lt;br /&gt;
*Trashing (dropping) items is now counted as combat earnings, and is throttled accordingly.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Anubis Servant (dedication)|Anubis Servants]] now actually get the listed bonus for trashing items.&lt;br /&gt;
**Items now have a property listing who found them. Their trash value is diminished for anyone else. Early tests show it to be about -80%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;11th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Adrenaline Boost]], [[Hard as Scale]] and [[Superior Balance]] on linked cooldowns instead of slots.  You can master all of them, but only use one at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
*Similarly, [[Pounce]], [[Triage]] and [[Expansiveness]] on linked cooldowns.&lt;br /&gt;
*More monster role tweaks:&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters under level 20 half as likely to have a role.&lt;br /&gt;
**The first role of monsters above level 30 counts twice.  For example, a level 45 Behemoth Master Decoy now gets Avoidance, Warded and Front Row 2 before additional roles are checked.&lt;br /&gt;
**Powers granted by roles now have a chance to catch the random power upgrades monsters get.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Scattershot 2000]] more balanced.&lt;br /&gt;
*New flaws added, some removed.  Flaws are now intended to be game-changing choices with more negative than positive.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Compulsive Artist]], -40% salvage and +10% trinket rate.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Hesitating]], all powers gain +100 and then 20% more charge and +5% damage.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Heroic Enemies]] now has mechanical effects.  +5 levels for the chances of having roles, +1 mutant power improvement.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[All Natural]] now a flaw.  No change except for Merit Point cost dropping to zero.  Retroactive for previous AN people.&lt;br /&gt;
**[[Normal Physics]], Having oversized genitals will impede you. The larger, the worse the penalty.  Magnitude currently unknown.&lt;br /&gt;
*In-game mail will now be forwarded to your email account.  Previously the game was trying and failing to do this.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;10th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*AI now smarter: if you don&#039;t have enough energy to use a power, it will not attempt to.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damage modifying distillations applied to items with DoT effects now boost the DoT as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Controlled Burst]] 3&#039;s effect was apparently never coded and nobody noticed. This has now been rectified.&lt;br /&gt;
*Monsters with combat skills should get appropriate powers granted and used automatically.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;9th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Continued improvements in the new combat skills.  [[Vampiric]] drains even more health if a monster is defeated by your DOT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*Equipment upkeep is now rounded down to the next whole number, but [[Readiness]] is now applied to your upkeep as a whole rather than individually to each item.&lt;br /&gt;
**Check your equipment, your upkeep total has probably gone up!&lt;br /&gt;
*Self-damaging powers bypass cover, HPBuffer and vampiric effects.  If you&#039;re bleeding yourself, no one can stop you.  Your damagereturn won&#039;t trigger on it either, so at least you won&#039;t light yourself on fire.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Warded]] protects you from DOT effects now.&lt;br /&gt;
*Roles for EVERYONE!  Now you can fight Skunk Girl Cheerleaders, Math Teacher Determinators, and Behemoth Ninjas.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Mastermind gain a pet power.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters created with Healing get a heal.&lt;br /&gt;
**Monsters set with pre-existing combat skills won&#039;t get any roles.  Mantis with Flurry 3, for example.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Modular]] added to [[Survivalist (dedication)|Survivalist]] shop.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;8th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Rejoice, ye of few levels! Partying with someone of higher level than you will automatically mentor you up to 2 levels below the level of the highest party member!&lt;br /&gt;
*Web shop interface now displays whether or not you have the total badge for an infection vial.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Purifying Tablet]] recipe added to the library. Make use of those salmon!&lt;br /&gt;
*Subscribers now get access to all roles, as though every role has been learned.&lt;br /&gt;
**An option to make a role permanently known across your account has been added to the web interface roles page as well. Cost currently unclear, but expected to be a small amount of mako.&lt;br /&gt;
**To celebrate, have some new combat skills. [[Vampiric]], [[Bewitched]], [[Tar Baby]], [[Taunting Strikes]], [[Rage]], [[Sacrificial Fury]], [[Enduring Malice]] all added.&lt;br /&gt;
**A *lot* of [[Role]]s were added to make use of these new skills.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Speed]] role now makes your next turns come faster.  50/100/150 out of 1000 baseline.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fast Loading]] role now decreases the charge time of things like energy snacks and grenades by 300 ATB per point.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[:Category:Monsters|Ferals]] now show what combat roles, if any, they possess.&lt;br /&gt;
*Inputting a command while on auto combat will no longer get overridden by your AI settings.&lt;br /&gt;
*Holidays are over.  No [[Christmas Spirit]], [[Christmas Song]], [[Santa Little Helper]], or [[Spin the Dreidel]] until possibly next year!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;7th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Health bars should now auto-detect how wide your client window is.  To reject change, type &#039;healthwidth 30&#039;.&lt;br /&gt;
*Spread powers have a minimum spread of &amp;lt;del&amp;gt;1.5&amp;lt;/del&amp;gt; 1.0 now. This is simply to prevent Spread boosters (such as Controlled Burst at rank 2 or 3) from giving it absurd boosts against single targets. For most things, this will not appear to be a change.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Delaying]] distillation coded.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Totemic Spear]] tweaked to account for spread stat mod.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Poison Bite]] now can stack over multiple attacks for a more powerful DoT effect.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Field of Dread]] Mutant power added.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Tanuki]] just learned [[Bountiful Joy]]! Hooray!&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Fenrir]] dedicants can now smell your fear. Also your active dedication.&lt;br /&gt;
**Oh, and there is a set of badges for smelling active dedications. Expect to be sniffed a lot over the next few days.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;6th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Bozeman South Park added, containing [[Crested Wyvern]], [[Horned Wyvern]], and bringing both [[Magma Wurm]] and [[Crimson Wyrm]] to the grid!&lt;br /&gt;
*NotUser powers on a child or pet should be working as intended now. They no longer affect the summoner under any circumstances.&lt;br /&gt;
*+haz can now be targeted on any exit of a room, to look before you leap!&lt;br /&gt;
*Salvage purchases have been moved from the auction channel to the market channel.&lt;br /&gt;
*The ability to use the Auction channel to host auctions has been fixed.&lt;br /&gt;
*Perks can now be bought from from the web site at http://flexiblesurvival.com/merits&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Uncanny Scavenger]], [[Vigilant]], and [[Distillery Expert]] [[:Category:Merits|perks]] added.&lt;br /&gt;
**The obsolete Custom Work perk removed, as well.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;5th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[cock of target] and [cock size of target] work. This is not news. The news is that all the following work:&lt;br /&gt;
**[skin of target]&lt;br /&gt;
**[breast size of target]&lt;br /&gt;
*You will no longer accidentally cover for more damage that is being done.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Moist Towelette]] added to the mall. Clean up, you filthy mutants!&lt;br /&gt;
*Stacked damage introduced! For sake of example, &amp;quot;stacked5energydamage&amp;quot; with a magnitude of 4 and a duration of 5 will allow you to stack up to four copies of the same 5 DoT damage status, all of which are refreshed every time you layer the power on the enemies again. This particular example would stack all the way to a 20-magnitude energy DoT that lasts 5 rounds.&lt;br /&gt;
*InstantCooldown (and its associated debuff) coded! Every .1 turns, it tries to apply itself to a random power that is currently on cooldown, trading .1 mag for 100 ATB.&lt;br /&gt;
*TiredFriend status reports the ally with the least energy (even if it&#039;s yourself).&lt;br /&gt;
*Due to an error, &#039;&#039;&#039;your AI targeting preferences have been reset&#039;&#039;&#039;! Go back to the AI section of the web interface and re-fix those at earliest convenience.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;4th&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Coffee Hypo]] recipe added to Zephyr Employee Wellness Center.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enduring Effect]] recipe modifier added to the Hidden Camp in Bozeman, Montana. Head to Fairhaven Park to be flown there, or access it directly via the web interface.&lt;br /&gt;
**And if you&#039;ve missed any recipes, the web store now displays if you know them or not.&lt;br /&gt;
*All instances of negative HealResist have been renamed HealGain.&lt;br /&gt;
*The elite stores now stock profession skills! While in your inventory, they boost their specified profession skill by 1 point.&lt;br /&gt;
*Lumberjack [[Role]] added. Combat skills: Enduring Minions, Tactician, Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
**Someone is claiming that the SWAT Team Leader role has existed for a while, but the jury&#039;s still out. The important thing is that it has Mastermind, Controlled Burst, and Penetration.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Enveloping Pain]] coded.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;3rd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Web Crafting page now at least three times as useful.  http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?craft&lt;br /&gt;
**Displays calculated values on crafted items, such as how deadly your Heavy Improved Poisoned Aerosol really is.&lt;br /&gt;
**Expendable items now display quantity created.&lt;br /&gt;
*RSX now has a mission giver! Talk to Venice on the second floor, eastern room.&lt;br /&gt;
**New instances and new mission areas added as well, for Woodfield only. Woodfield gets love!&lt;br /&gt;
*Comm titles adjusted.  No comma after them, so chat appears like this: [Public] SCIENCE! Venator watches Nuku churn through her excessive number of requests.&lt;br /&gt;
*String parsing now supports [if (person) is/is not herm] or [if (person) is/is not neuter].&lt;br /&gt;
*A new area has been brought to Woodfield, containing the [[Nanite Mage]] infection!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;2nd&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Freecred throttling is now in effect! A freecred percentage of &amp;lt;30% gives 50% bonus cred, &amp;lt;150% has no bonus or penalty, and &amp;gt;150% divides your earnings by your percentage.&lt;br /&gt;
**This applies to trinket values as well.&lt;br /&gt;
*Damagereturn changed in good and bad ways:&lt;br /&gt;
**No longer triggers on damage auras like [[Slime Toss]] or [[Electric Field]].&lt;br /&gt;
**Ignores 66% of damage resistance instead of 50%.&lt;br /&gt;
*Healthwidth command: specify how long you want the health bars to be.  Useful for big screens and big clients.&lt;br /&gt;
*A mysterious masked essayist is writing help files about detailed combat topics! See http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips and be educated!&lt;br /&gt;
**Or, more directly, [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/power%20selection this one on power selection] and [http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/advanced%20combat%20tips/upgrade%20selection this one on upgrade selection]!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;1st&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! There&#039;s a badge for sale in the Mako shop! Today only!&lt;br /&gt;
*Happy New Year! You just got a lot more options in your AI list on the web client!&lt;br /&gt;
**Also in AI: Children now count as &#039;on cooldown&#039; if they are present. You can safely set the AI to always summon them.&lt;br /&gt;
**Autocombat priorities except for -1 removed.  Outdated information: http://flexiblesurvival.com/index?help/Auto&lt;br /&gt;
**AI now understands Equipment for free.  Other AI programs added to Rsx&#039;s shop.&lt;br /&gt;
*A whole lot of recipe mods were modified, including: [[Hair Triggered]], [[Rapid Cooling]], [[Poisoned]], [[Optimized]], [[Extra Lethal]], [[Sticky]], and [[Subtle]]!&lt;br /&gt;
**And [[Thunderous]].&lt;br /&gt;
*Fairhaven Park has been opened! It contains [[Honey Bear]], [[Honey Bee]], [[Parasitic Plant]], and releases the [[White Unicorn Mare]] to the general public. 6th Street 7500.&lt;br /&gt;
*[[Recursor]] added to the elite shops.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/December_2011|December]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/November_2011|November]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/October_2011|October]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/September_2011|September]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/August_2011|August]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/July_2011|July]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/June_2011|June]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/May_2011|May]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/April_2011|April]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==[[Multiplayer_Updates/March_2011|March]]==&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Archived. Header is linked to archived updates.&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Darkwyrm</name></author>
	</entry>
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