<div></div><br> <br>The Classifed Report went out to those that were considered the most likely to survive the task before them. The Ideal group was requested to meet in the Lab Six area of Zypher, Inside there was a human in full military dress holding a Manlina folder.  He looks at those gathered, He didn't say a word as he waited for them to all gather his face was hard and his hair was grey and black. In the middle of the room was a photograph of a bleeding man with half of his face missing.<br> <br>Arano walked into the lab: Zephyr had sent him another job to do, only this one had a bunch of 'hush hush top secret' stuff attached to it. While he was no stranger to compartmentalization of information and other such hazards. So he got himself dressed in his uniform, applied camo-paint to dull the shine of his scales, and marched into the lab area. He knew why he was here: he was a bigass solar dragon with a massive gun - capable of doing whatever job was set before him but ultimately replaceable, an ideal merc really. On seeing somebody else in a uniform he instinctively came to attention, "Good evening sir," he stated out of old habits before finding himself a seat at the table, setting his rifle down next to him and waiting for the others to gather.<br> <br>Not long after Arano, a semi-formally dressed and somewhat large silver lion strolls into the Zephyr lab with a confident and shimmering smile upon his leonine muzzle. Perhaps not dressed very well for a potentially dangerous mission, at least he'd probably look quite well should they need to bury him in the near future. Upon his back clanks a somewhat large riot shield, more than likely scavenged somewhere out there in the wastelands. Perhaps not too great on stopping high powered rounds, it would help a bit when trying to get those pushy ferals to back off. But more curious is perhaps the feline just atop his shield and clinging to his back. Hopefully it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for the poor lady. He gives the human a short bow and soon takes a seat, placing his common looking shotgun upon his lap as he awaits his briefing. "Gentlemen," he nods.<br> <br>Cookies has her hands clinging to Dio's shoulder, feet pressed up against the riot shield as though she were riding it. She actually looks like she's kind of having fun, and that riot shield is bigger than her so she's not likely to make it budge any time soon, in fact vice versa if push came to shove. As Dio takes his bow the cat leans up a bit and offers a quick wave to the other folk. She was kind of looking forward to this, she felt like a secret agent or something, although the photo made her wince slightly. That certainly didn't bode well.<br> <br>Arimia slithers into the room, wearing her trench coat, various bits of tech able to be seen in the pockets, and a belt around her waist. Hanging from that belt is a a scabbard holding a thin, straight sword, a jian. She looks around at those gathered, then reaches into a pocket, pulling out a metal case. She pops it open and takes a hand rolled cigarette from it, bringing it to her lips, but not lighting it yet. She studies the photograph without any apparent shock or disgust. "Assuming that's a stiff, not a survivor. Or you'd have them here for us to talk to, instead of a picture to stare at."<br> <br>Run-run-run-run-LEAP! A wee figure no larger than the span of someone's hand springs up onto the table. The fairy-sized incubus scans about, a pair of goggles settled atop his head and decked out in a variety of gadgetry and gizmos aplenty. He's certainly got hoozits and whatsits gallore. From guns to performance equipment, Nutshell's decked out for whatever may come his way when he's arrived, even the grasshopper stilts on his legs to aid in moving as fast as, if not faster than, many who're twelve times or more his size. He knew why he'd been called in... he was a specialist with all things technical, proficient in fighting both within a bubble... and without a bubble. He didn't need no stinkin' thinkin' mutant powers.. he was a gadgeteer! Gandering over the photograph that was on display, the wee fellow squinted, scrutinizing the face, "Someone met the business end of something," in a piping, small voice.<br> <br>"Did they die outside of a bubble? Otherwise, I'd've thought they'd have regenerated."<br> <br>Pulling up the rear, the tiny plant walks in calmly, though a bit unsure about what she's getting into. Dressed in what resembles a robe crossed with a gilie-suit, her vined hair pulled back in a ponytail and her surprisingly large assortment of weapons, the minute flora soldier brightens noticably when she sees a few faces she recognizes. With this group she can only surmise the mission will be bloody. This is going be a great day. "Saviante here and ready sir." with this wispered comment the tiny flower salutes and tries hard to look imposing.<br> <br>The Man wastes no time in speaking, "I'm glad you all came, Time is of the essence so I will be brief. This is a classified mission, Any attempt to disseminate this information to the improper organization's will result in your imprisonment and possibly death by gullitone. Now that the that matter is spoken for I will introduce myself. I'm General White of the RSX Faction, I'm here as a liason to the Zypher coperations for this mission. This mission is critic for our shared interests so I'll get down to brass tacks. We have Reports of a nanite bubble in Redding, California. The behavior of this bubble is strange, The scouts report that its almost completely shielded from most outside eletronics. The bubble itself is said to be different than our own fairhaven bubble, The nanite saturation is much lighter, and yet everything inside that bubble seems to follow a strange rule. The soldier in the picture was taken from the bubble in this condition, one thing to note that whatever did this didn't do it from the outside...." He looks at the group, "Unlike him, you are all much more prepared for dangerous combat and unknown forces. We would like to warm you of this though, take nothing you have learned about Fairhaven to this bubble, The rules are different, powers of the scouts barely worked out there and someone is actively pulling the strings. If there are no question we would like to dispatch you as soon as possible while we still have an ideal of where the Server is. Redding is a city with a population just under 100,000 people, that can mean many many enemies so try to be careful. And off the record if they aren't sane, eliminate them with extreme prejudice. We have a helicopter on the top floor waiting for you all." He ends his report waiting for questions and spreading out the pictures of the dead soldier.<br> <br>Arano looked over the paperwork, he scoffed at the threat, "Good know RSX isn't a fan of overkill there General," he didn't know who the man was, but his initial deference vanished: not in the military anymore, so now respect has to be earned for him and he doesn't mind showing when he doesn't respect somebody... and right now he didn't respect the General, but he'll be glad to take his money, "You said whatever did this to him didn't do it from the outside, that implies something got inside the poor bastard's head somehow - will you be providing any sort of safeguards against unpleasant and/or lethal infections? Hazmats suits, perhaps some APCs that haven't been torn apart, just something to keep us from breathing in a lethal head-exploding nanite if that is what we're dealing with here?"<br> <br>As the others promptly file into the room, he gives them all a respectful nod and removes the feline from his back and sets her down upon the floor. The lion needed a break from carrying all that extra baggage! Briefing flows through his leonine ears as they perk with interest, him leaning in to look at the picture and observe in compliment. "Outside of the bubble, huh? I've had a few missions in the such a condition. While I do use my powers here and there, I mostly look towards my equipment these days." He pats the shotgun upon his lap in emphasis and nods at Arano's questions. "Certainly a dangerous prospect we're heading in. Protection would be appreciated, but I'm sure we can handle what comes our way. Personally, I'm concerned as to who might be "pulling the strings" as you've put it."<br> <br>Cookies whines quietly as she's set down, listening carefully and letting out a soft sigh. Guillotines, huh? She was so very tempted to make a snark-assed comment but she knew better than to piss off someone who could make her day suck with or without harming her directly. An ear twitches in Arano's direction. "If you're worried about nanites I can switch on my radio pack but I can't guarantee that won't make life suck a little worse for us. For me, at least, I don't like how it feels," she murmurs out. "On the flipside, s'a good thing I swore off mutant powers a looong time ago." She nods confidently in a real hoity toity holier-than-thou sort of way, crossing her arms. "So why are we looking at the dead guy if basically all the info we have is 'Yep, that guy is dead!'? Kind of weird it only took that much, sure, but in-bubble deaths are far from unheard of and if mutant powers aren't working right it's within reason to assume that nanites responsible for keeping you together aren't going to play along too well either. Just saying."<br> <br>Arimia finally gets around to lighting her cigarette before saying to Arano, "That is only a concern for those of you who must breathe." She stares at the picture some more before continuing. "I am not sure how much use I will be, with limitations placed on my abilities. I would still have my blade, but that is the only weapon I carry. When I need to kill something my body has generally been sufficient, in conjunction with my sword. Further my technical abilities mostly stem from the NICE unit I had installed. I've some without it, but nowhere near as effective."<br> <br>"Have there been any attempts to suppress the nanites using NICE units at all? It might prove to be a life-saving asset in an area with oddly coded nanites," pipes the miniature figure as he strokes his chin with a minute hand. Nutshell looks about to the others collected about, "Anyone here have a NICE installed that can perform as much?"<br> <br>Saviante tries hard not to show how nervous she actually is, not remembering any other form she has become aquainted to her powers as part of normal life, not to mention her job. Sliding tow vines out from her robe, she takes the talons of the tips and mounts them on her wrists, in the off chance more than just her powers cease to work. "When the scythe comes the scythe comes." Savi whispers to no one at all and everyone at once. "We all get reaped eventually, might as well be for the right reasons. With another glance around she settles on the officer, expecting more.<br> <br>"Reguardless of what you think of my organization, Arano. We don't have many safe guards to the unknown. Gas masks will do little against nanite, We are unsure of what infections are about, the scouts reported mushrooms being a common sight in the bubble, APC and the like are completely useless due to the nanite in the bubble being programmed to strip the engines from any craft that enters. Otherwise we would have already just flown in with a team." He turns to Dio and nods, "Unlike this bubble where the rules and conditions are static, it seems that the other bubble can change on a whim. This is why we can't offer you much protection but this is too valuable of a resource just to leave alone or to just attempt to level the whole town." He takes off his hat and wipes his brow. "You must understand how big this find is." He turns to Cookie and points to particular part of the man skulls that missing, "I apologize, I forget that many of you are not RSX. This soldier is a hero and he died such a pitiful death so I wanted to push the message that this will not be a cake walk. I can't speak for the uses of NICE units none of our scouts have them." He presses on a intercom build into the table. "Get the chopper ready, We are sending them out." He looks at the group with a smile, "I'm not going to give you some speech about why you need to do it just understand this... Do not fuck up. The server is top priorty. Kill anything that interfears with that mission." He says before dismissing the group. On the rooftop a large tranport chopper takes the group in before flying to the outside of Redding, Californa. There is a strange sense in the air as the bubble is nearly invisible to the naked eye but everyone can feel the strain of the something being off in their bodies. The pilot smiles to them, "I won't leave here till you come back. If you can get to the Item and call me I'll land in the city itself to get you. " The pilot is a bunny boy dressed in a camoflauge uniform. He shuts the doors behind the group and waves from the window.<br> <br>Arano mutters to himself, "Bastard didn't even tell us what the pay is..." as he was suddenly hurried out the door. He was somewhat silent the ride over, checking his equipment, making sure his gun was in one piece. During the trip, he decided to strike up some conversation, "My name is Arano by the way... I know Dio here, and I know Savi, but I don't think I've met the rest of you," he says. After arrival, as they were hurried off the transport Arano had his weapon in hand and was sweeping the immediate area, checking for threats, that sort of thing.<br> <br>"I'm sure we'll get plenty of hush-hush money by the end of the mission, assuming we come back alive," Dio nods as he's shuffled out of the room. The lion gives his shotgun a good once over, making sure it's nice and loaded and ready to fire when need be. Satisfied, he gives a tuck at his suit and boards the helicopter and sleeps most of the way to the mission location. With a cough, he breaks from his nap and climbs out, combing down his mane and taking out his riot shield from his back. "I do have Anti-Nanomagic, but we shall see how things work without it for awhile. If it's not needed, then I shall not activate it as it does have a drain upon myself. If I do activate it, I'll need a bit of protection as well."<br> <br>Cookies stays more or less quiet the entire time, staying snuggled as close to Dio as she possibly can, the clingy thing. In answer to Arano, she cheerily pipes up, "The name is Monroe," she says with a confident smile, "First name Marilyn. Pleased to meet you." As they step out of the helicopter she looks around, stretching out a bit and frowning slightly. She takes a deep breath of the air and, waiting for her head to explode or something for a moment, she shrugs slightly and retakes her position next to the lion as always. "Mmh. Anybody else feel just a little off?"<br> <br>Arimia pulls out her cigarette case and takes another cigarette from it. She raises it to her lips and lights it before saying, "Feel off? Apparently I'm in the presence of an idol thought long dead. So what's a little oddity in the air next to that?" She draws her sword and looks around. Let's get to high ground. See the lay of the land from a bit closer than that chopper offered. And in regards to the pay, if they don't offer enough we take what we find elsewhere. They'll try to kill us for it, I'm sure. But things have been trying to kill me for a while. They haven't succeeded. Yet."<br> <br>"I'd sooner you test the functionality to see if it DOES work so that, should it come to a necesssity, we can rely on it," comments the incubus wryly, rolling his wee shoulders to adjust the satchel on his back, "After all, 'tis better to be prepared and not need it that it is to need it and not be prepared." He looks around and lowers his gogles over his eyes and puffs his cheeks out for a moment, exhaling out his anxiety to level his calmitude, "Alright, then... Just don't die, folks... Heh... wonder how this'll turn out for dedicant boons, too, but I'm sure none of you want me to test that right now."<br> <br>Pulling up behind Dio and Cookies, Savi frowns. "Savi always feels a bit.. off." Deciding to get it over with she opens her mouth wide, tilts back her head and takes a deep breath through both her mouth and nose, holds it for a moment and tastes the air, or at least the carbon dioxide, expelling a breath of air she hopes that wasnt a bad idea. While waiting to see if there is any side effect she does a double check of her gear. "This is going to get messy I think."<br> <br>The moment the party leaves the chopper and presses foward they notice something amiss with the city, Their are no trees in the ruins of the cite, There are only large mushrooms in the area they have entered. Large grubs crawl up and down the mushrooms ocassionally taking and feasting on the unnatrually large fungus, A small mouse like creature with fur in the patteren of a tuxedo is currently feasting on one of the snake size gurbs while another similar anthromorphic mouse is sleeping on a nearby park bench. The only vantage point close by seems to be a ruined building with a second floor, on the second floor is a blow out window which seems to be the reminants of a childs room.  Further down the street is a large black skycraper that seems completely undamaged while the rest of the city is in ruins. The grass even has a strange effect as it seems to change a different colors as creatures walk over it. A small cat approaches the group and begins to nuzzle along Dio's leg.<br> <br>Arano sweeps his rifle around, something in the back of his mind clicking into place, "I don't like this..." he comments, "...I feel like I'm about to walk into a trap..." he remarks. The soldier's mind working as it takes in all the information and picks it apart, pointing out the nearby two-story building he says, "We should head there for now and get our bearings, perhaps use it as a base of operations. I'm going to make a wild guess and say the big black skyscraper is our target location." Glancing over to the strange cat near Dio, he is once again not at ease, "Alright you, get out of here," he says to the animal... hoping it can understand him.<br> <br>"I'm not quite sure I wish to drain my energy by activating it now," he replies to Nutshell, taking an initial glance at all the strange figures and infections around the area. For now however, it would seem that things were safe for the time being. "I've never seen anything quite like it," he comments, and obviously so seeing as how the group has ventured into the unknown. "Very well, we shall head towards the building immediately. Don't want to draw too much attention around u- Hey..." The lion looks down at the little feline on his leg and begins backing away slowly, trying to analyze her infection but coming up with little off the top of his head. "Perhaps I should activate it then... See how it goes." After a short moment, Dio activates the anti-nanomagic program upon his NICE unit to help prevent any unwanted changes. "Now then little one... Can you speak," he says to the nuzzling feline.<br> <br>Cookies is almost too busy staring at the weird mushrooms and grub-things 'til her gaze falls on the feline. She slaps her hands onto her cheeks and lets out a mewl! "OhmygoshitisaCAT! A normal looking kitty~! I don't even remember the last time I saw one!" She's so giddy and she looks horribly horribly tempted to just scoop the critter up and bathe it in attention, but instead she just practically bounces in place with excitement and peers up at Dio. When he engages the anti nanomagic, her muscles feel terribly sore, and a familiar hunger for nanites start to well up. She bounces slightly less, though she still seems excited as all hell. "I wanna pick it up lemme pick it up can I pick it up please!" At least she's asking for permission.<br> <br>Arimia looks around, then pauses as her eyes fall on the ruined building. She opens her mouth to say something, only to be silenced by Cookies' outburst. She blinks and stares at the anthro feline before shaking her head and saying, "I'll be going to get a view of the area." That said she turns toward the building, making her way toward, then up into it. Once she reaches the room she looks around, assessing it for threats, before turning her attention out. She pulls out some paper and a pencil and starts to sketch a rough map, marking a few spots on it. That done she starts to make her way down and back toward the group. <br> <br>"Guys," pipes up the wee incubus, "this doesn't look good. Notice that every bit of manmade material's degraded rapidly? Like... moreso than we'd get in a decade back in our normal bubble environment? The nanites here might be starving... Or, all of it was used up to build that skyscraper over there. I'm thinkin' there's something really important over there," Nuts concurs with Arano. The minute man grimaces and combs through his own tousled red hair. "I also suggest we don't linger too long before our own gear starts to get gobbled up. Stop playing with that pussy and let's get going."<br> <br>Under the strain of all the anti-nanites and the odd atmosphere, Savi's petals look droopy and mildly wilted. Smiling her disturbing sidways smile she lets her eyes flow over the entrance to the building nearby, scanning from point to point watching for the slight signs that glaringly tell of tripwires or explosives. Feeling secure about their temporary destination, Saviant turns her back towards it as she begins to back up, planning to pull up the rear. "We don't know how long we are going to be here. We need to shore up the openings or post watch, sweep the building and set up any defences we can. We need a place we can at least pretend to feel safe." Glancing at the group briefly, her eyes always return to the giant grubs, the huge grubs. Reaching down and pulling a metal tube from her robe in a small shaking hand she whispers to herself absently. "Lots of defences." Then, turning to nutshell for a moment she raises her voice. "Charging in will be death, like it or not we need to try and find out as much as we can before we take on this thing. We need to move fast, but only as fast as we can safely." With a small frown she goes on "Savi for one wants to go home unplucked."<br> <br>The moment Dio's anti-nano magic the feline gives a pitiful wail and tries to crawl away it doesn't make it very far before its fur starts to fall off in nasty patchs. Its muscles can be seen as green fluid spurts out of each of its muscles. It does manage to drag itself away from the twenty feet range before looking at Dio with a vicious hiss in its throat. The Cat leans back and lets out a roar that sounds better at home on a lion than a house cat. The mouse creatures try to run away but are quickly sliced into ribbons by something that is almost invisible to the naked eyes. The air is quiet as the almost perfectly clear creature licks the blood off its claws, The air is tense and silents before the large fourlegged creature breaks into a large bloody smile with its razor sharp teeth. The only thing that can be easily seen on it is its smile. The strange light bending effect doesn't effect its internal organ or teeth. The Air around Dio is displace by a large feline that steps into his anti-nanomagic field attempting to slice him to ribbons as quick as lighting the Lion Beast dodges the blow by moving to the side and placing the shotgun under the large felines chin and pulling the trigger sending the horse-sized cat brains upward in a shower of gore. Another feline attempts to skewer Nuts but is distracted by the death of its fellow creature and only manage to give the Painted incubus a slight graze with its claws as its tries to run back out of the field. The black feline roars again and sever thump are heards as more and more creatures are heard around the group.<br> <br>Arano regally proclaims, "WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!!!"<br> <br>Saviante sinuates, "Take it, take it HARD"<br> <br>The Cats doesn't do much to the group as they are dispeacted with frightening ease, The small black feline that started the engage med is laying with half its torso blown off. The feline twitches for a moment before its lower half starts to regenerate and its looks very pissed at the group and around at its dead companions. Its starts to press a paw on one of them and gives a pitiful meow trying to awaken the larger creature who can easily be seen as the nanite stop working in them. The feline gives a pain cry and darts off in the crowds of mushrooms and color-changing grass. For now its seem there are no more felines near by.<br> <br>With a snarl, Arano raised his rifle to terminate the threat once and for all, he carefully lined up his shot. His breathing steady, no trembling, blocking out all distraction, irons lined up on the target... then, just as his finger tightens around the trigger, a sudden cloud of smoke goes up. He fires at where he thinks target was, not sure if he hit or missed - he considered trying again but didn't want to waste the ammo. Turning on the smaller medusa - puny thing only half his size, but the everybody seemed puny - eyes full of rage, but he bites it back, and instead keeps his tone low with barely contained fury: though his tone clearly indicated he was ready to snap, like a high-tension wire restrained by only loose bolts, "What... the hell... was that?" he intoned towards Arimia.<br> <br>"It would appear that anti-nanomagic has a rather strange impact upon these bubble inhabitants," Dio observes as he takes a moment to flick a bit of blood of his shotgun from his previous close-range encounter. "Perhaps some of these individuals are more reliant upon these specific nanites than us? More testing may be required. I'm even more curious about these mushroom men." Smoothing and straightening out his suit in his typical behavior, the lion looks up and notices a bit of internal interference as someone attempts to take a shot at the fleeing opponent. "Perhaps the lady desires to follow it? It could lead to something interesting, good or bad. Either way, we should probably get moving before we get ambushed again."<br> <br>Cookies puts away her fancy pry bar after the battle, panting to catch her breath, and sighs softly. "Man, and I thought it was gonna be an awesome real cat too. Of course it wasn't. Silly of me to hope otherwise." The shot of the gun makes her flinch slightly and she frowns over at Arano and Arimia. She glances back to Dio and does her usual climbing onto his back routine, or at least tries to, reaching to scramble up. "All I want to do is find the server and get the fuck out of here, and our best bet is that it's hiding in the big ol' building Arano pointed out to begin with. Please let me up. I do not want to be near the things on the ground."<br> <br>Arimia plucks her cigarette from her mouth and frowns at it. It seems to have been consumed by flame while she was fighting. She tosses the remnants aside and reaches into a pocket to pull out her case, getting another smoke and lighting it. She seems entirely unconcerned with the dragon looming over her. She takes a languid drag from the smoke before replying. "It is called mercy. A thing that, I understand, those in possession of empathy display from time to time. However, that is not why I displayed it. We are being watched by a woman in red. If she is neutral or potentially an ally, displaying mercy to those obviously weaker is likely to increase our standing in her eyes and encourage an approach. And if she is opposed to us it may make her hesitate to pull the trigger, knowing we are not callous and cruel. Or it may cause her to underestimate us. Either way it is a potential gain for minimal risk, as we have wiped out the things pack. It may have more of it's pack that it can run to and bring to bear against us, but that is also a small risk and one, I felt, worth taking." She holds out the map she sketched then and points to a couple marks. "This is where the watcher was. This is that big building. Likely our goal. Let us go."<br> <br>"Obviously it's something held together by nanites, if I'm not mistaken in that being an anti-nanomagic bit being activated from teh feel of it. On being harmed, it retaliated in kind by calling for assistance," Nutshell says with a mildly miffed expression, "Great field test, Tex," he pipes up at Dio and quirks a grin, "At least we know that something works marginally correct here. That'll be a useful asset... I think I'm going to stick close to you,' and follows suit by sticking in Dio's shadow for the most part. "And, by the by... notice the green matter and how the glass-like critters' fur there seems to have similar striations to a fibrous, grass-like leaf? Those weren't actually animals... those were plants parading as animals. Whatever's at work here, the bubble about is weaker... and plants seem to be the best supported life forms in this environment, but the anti nanomagic, well... Without what little nanites they do use functioning right, they fall to pieces."a<br> <br>Savi hears the information about the woman in red and grows very stern. Snapping of her energy blade and watching the area closely she tries to work out a few things before voicing a growing idea. Assuming the idea is still to move up the building she backs towards the wall. At Nutshell's words she nods. "I agree. This is like the lab I was... born into after P-day, but... not. I feel like I'm even smaller than before, if that makes any sense." Edging to the doorway Savi glances in and waits by the doorway, motioning the others in, she seems intent on waiting on the others before entering. "We need a defensible position first, then a plan."<br> <br>From the Vantage point that Arimia was looking at a single creature in a red hood just gazes back at the group from a large mushroom. There a moment where the creature looks to the group and points to the distance where the group came from. "Leave." The voice is oddly feminine the creature turns around and jumps off the towering mushroom and dashes down a path that has a crudely painted sigh above it that says 'Beware of Grandma." From the distance its hard to tell if the sign is painted in blood or red paint. There is beachball sized catipillar that is simply spitting out small rings of smoke from many small holes in its back. Its moves lazily and eyes the group curiously before shooting smoke in the shape of flowers at Saviate and crawling back along its path.<br> <br>Arano ignores the sights and sounds around him - none of it especially relevant at this time. He looked at the medusa whose name he never learned and stated bluntly, "I'd ask who put you in charge, but have seen enough movies to know how that turns out, and frankly we don't have the time to get into a pissing match over pecking order. You want to be in charge? Fine - you're in fucking charge. Now that we've sorted that out, if you want my tactical assessment..." his tone indicates that even if it was unwanted he was going to spill it anyway, "...we currently have one known hostile, has unknown reinforcements and resources, terrain is urban but unknown. Said hostile knows our position, numbers, combat tactics, and weapons loadout. Whether the hostile is capable of relaying that information to friends, or again if it has friends, also unknown. But even animals remember where prey is - and that building is the first place anybody would look, intelligent or not. Therefore - I recommend we relocate to another position to minimize the chances of another hostile encounter before we can figure out a plan of action," after getting all that information out, he then glances over to where the lady in red was and comments, "And I'm willing to bet we will be encountering a lot more hostiles here soon if we don't move NOW."<br> <br>"Of course, my sweet kitten. Of course." Dio crouches down and allows Cookies to scramble up on his back, giving her a nice position to see over his shoulder. The lion listens to Nutshell's explanation with interest, idly rubbing at his chin and looking about at the area. "Plants you say? Now that is interesting. Very well, I shall keep up my nanomagic for an appropriate time. Please be sure to protect me as best you can so I can keep the effect operational." His attention is soon caught by the lady in red, quirking an eyebrow to her warning. "What a fascinating fantasy land. But yes, we should certainly get moving and take a look at that server before we become overwhelmed." Noticing the caterpillar, he shrugs his shoulders and continues on, not caring to make any conversation of sorts.<br> <br>Cookies clambers up onto Dio's back and hugs her legs around him tightly, using her arms to mess around with her backpack briefly. While Arano speaks, she produces a small vial of builder nanites, opens it up and just straight-up downs it, letting out a satisfied sigh as her muscles start to feel less sore, the nanite reinforcement net in her body restabilizing. She also makes a point of rifling through the top part and bringing out a big nanite cannon- even for a nanite cannon. She rests it over her shoulder akin to the way one might a rocket launcher, holding it in similar fashion, but the barrel suggests it's more akin to a rifle than anything. "Weee, I can shoot anything from up here!" she declares cheerfully. She looks over at Arano and lets out a huff. "Now then. I don't think ferals are going to come skittering back here any time soon, and if they do, well shit, we sure handled those ones pretty gracefully, didn't we? I don't want to sit around all day, I wanna get my hands on the server. You have no idea how long I've waited for a chance like this."<br> <br>Arimia takes her time enjoying her cigarette while waiting for Arano's outburst to pass. Once he finishes talking she asks, "Are you quite finished? Look at the remnants of that things pack. I hardly think that it will consider us prey. Further, it seemed feral, and ferals are not known for tactical genius. What it knows is that it attacked us with what seemed, to it, to be equal strength, and lost." She drops the remains of her cigarette on the ground and turns to face the woman in red, reading the sign. "Now, I'd no intention of being leader. Simply stopping an idiot more bloodthirsty than me from making a mistake. I suggest we move on to the tower as it is our only lead. We undoubtedly will encounter more hostiles. That was a given going in. And upon finding that we were being watched, setting up a camp and taking our time to scout the area was an option already nullified. Since that point our largest asset has been speed. Hit hard, fast, get what we came for and get out. And preferably avoiding grandmother."<br> <br>"Plants, not animals, though they seem to like mimicking them, to a degree. Rather theme-y, if you think about it... So, who's up for killing a plant dressed as a wolf dressed as a granny?" Nushell rolls his shoulders and looks around, "What?" he pipes with those small vocal chords, "Were the less than subtle references not clue enough?"<br> <br>Shrugging at Arano's suggestion Savi relents with no argument, she now understands the target is down the path. With an envious glance the seriously co-dependant plant crushes down a stab of pain over her teammates, whom she hasn't seen in longer than she can recall. "I''m not sure the antimagic is a great Idea. We weren't attacked until your feild melted the cat, then we were hit instantly. I'm betting that field will have that affect everywhere here. While it may help out in a pinch this is obviously fairytale land, a land of magic and dreams. We may not want to piss everyone off." Pointing down the path Red ran she continues, "That way is Nutshells wolf in a dress, but it may also have any number of benovolent creatures like ol' who-are-you up there" glancing his way she tosses him a greeting. "Klaatu Barada Nikto." before looking back towards 'Deeoh'.<br> <br>With their notions of setting up dismanteled by the first wave of attacks. The group starts to move further towards the tower going to the only path that seems open. The Mushrooms hears are tall and do a excellent job of flitering out the light. For the most part the walk is peaceful, There are fairly like creature having mock sword battle with mushrooms, there is a large Spider web in the middle of path. On the web is seven small sacks of webs with one human sized sack, The is a large half woman half spider tangled in her own web, "Oh no oooooh no. A Little help please." A bunch of small anthro rabbits with spears are attacking the spider creature. The Rabbits appear to resemble the clock work foxes of Fairhaven as they lodge a spear into the spiders ladies hand. "AAAAAAHHHHH. PLEASE STOP!!" She screams desperately.<br> <br>"If you don't want the responsibility, then don't get in my way again," Arano says to the medusa before they set off - he deliberately takes point as he reloads his weapon. It was going to be a loooooong day...  

<div></div><br> <br>The Classifed Report went out to those that were considered the most likely to survive the task before them. The Ideal group was requested to meet in the Lab Six area of Zypher, Inside there was a human in full military dress holding a Manlina folder.  He looks at those gathered, He didn't say a word as he waited for them to all gather his face was hard and his hair was grey and black. In the middle of the room was a photograph of a bleeding man with half of his face missing.<br> <br>Arano walked into the lab: Zephyr had sent him another job to do, only this one had a bunch of 'hush hush top secret' stuff attached to it. While he was no stranger to compartmentalization of information and other such hazards. So he got himself dressed in his uniform, applied camo-paint to dull the shine of his scales, and marched into the lab area. He knew why he was here: he was a bigass solar dragon with a massive gun - capable of doing whatever job was set before him but ultimately replaceable, an ideal merc really. On seeing somebody else in a uniform he instinctively came to attention, "Good evening sir," he stated out of old habits before finding himself a seat at the table, setting his rifle down next to him and waiting for the others to gather.<br> <br>Not long after Arano, a semi-formally dressed and somewhat large silver lion strolls into the Zephyr lab with a confident and shimmering smile upon his leonine muzzle. Perhaps not dressed very well for a potentially dangerous mission, at least he'd probably look quite well should they need to bury him in the near future. Upon his back clanks a somewhat large riot shield, more than likely scavenged somewhere out there in the wastelands. Perhaps not too great on stopping high powered rounds, it would help a bit when trying to get those pushy ferals to back off. But more curious is perhaps the feline just atop his shield and clinging to his back. Hopefully it wouldn't be too uncomfortable for the poor lady. He gives the human a short bow and soon takes a seat, placing his common looking shotgun upon his lap as he awaits his briefing. "Gentlemen," he nods.<br> <br>Cookies has her hands clinging to Dio's shoulder, feet pressed up against the riot shield as though she were riding it. She actually looks like she's kind of having fun, and that riot shield is bigger than her so she's not likely to make it budge any time soon, in fact vice versa if push came to shove. As Dio takes his bow the cat leans up a bit and offers a quick wave to the other folk. She was kind of looking forward to this, she felt like a secret agent or something, although the photo made her wince slightly. That certainly didn't bode well.<br> <br>Arimia slithers into the room, wearing her trench coat, various bits of tech able to be seen in the pockets, and a belt around her waist. Hanging from that belt is a a scabbard holding a thin, straight sword, a jian. She looks around at those gathered, then reaches into a pocket, pulling out a metal case. She pops it open and takes a hand rolled cigarette from it, bringing it to her lips, but not lighting it yet. She studies the photograph without any apparent shock or disgust. "Assuming that's a stiff, not a survivor. Or you'd have them here for us to talk to, instead of a picture to stare at."<br> <br>Run-run-run-run-LEAP! A wee figure no larger than the span of someone's hand springs up onto the table. The fairy-sized incubus scans about, a pair of goggles settled atop his head and decked out in a variety of gadgetry and gizmos aplenty. He's certainly got hoozits and whatsits gallore. From guns to performance equipment, Nutshell's decked out for whatever may come his way when he's arrived, even the grasshopper stilts on his legs to aid in moving as fast as, if not faster than, many who're twelve times or more his size. He knew why he'd been called in... he was a specialist with all things technical, proficient in fighting both within a bubble... and without a bubble. He didn't need no stinkin' thinkin' mutant powers.. he was a gadgeteer! Gandering over the photograph that was on display, the wee fellow squinted, scrutinizing the face, "Someone met the business end of something," in a piping, small voice.<br> <br>"Did they die outside of a bubble? Otherwise, I'd've thought they'd have regenerated."<br> <br>Pulling up the rear, the tiny plant walks in calmly, though a bit unsure about what she's getting into. Dressed in what resembles a robe crossed with a gilie-suit, her vined hair pulled back in a ponytail and her surprisingly large assortment of weapons, the minute flora soldier brightens noticably when she sees a few faces she recognizes. With this group she can only surmise the mission will be bloody. This is going be a great day. "Saviante here and ready sir." with this wispered comment the tiny flower salutes and tries hard to look imposing.<br> <br>The Man wastes no time in speaking, "I'm glad you all came, Time is of the essence so I will be brief. This is a classified mission, Any attempt to disseminate this information to the improper organization's will result in your imprisonment and possibly death by gullitone. Now that the that matter is spoken for I will introduce myself. I'm General White of the RSX Faction, I'm here as a liason to the Zypher coperations for this mission. This mission is critic for our shared interests so I'll get down to brass tacks. We have Reports of a nanite bubble in Redding, California. The behavior of this bubble is strange, The scouts report that its almost completely shielded from most outside eletronics. The bubble itself is said to be different than our own fairhaven bubble, The nanite saturation is much lighter, and yet everything inside that bubble seems to follow a strange rule. The soldier in the picture was taken from the bubble in this condition, one thing to note that whatever did this didn't do it from the outside...." He looks at the group, "Unlike him, you are all much more prepared for dangerous combat and unknown forces. We would like to warm you of this though, take nothing you have learned about Fairhaven to this bubble, The rules are different, powers of the scouts barely worked out there and someone is actively pulling the strings. If there are no question we would like to dispatch you as soon as possible while we still have an ideal of where the Server is. Redding is a city with a population just under 100,000 people, that can mean many many enemies so try to be careful. And off the record if they aren't sane, eliminate them with extreme prejudice. We have a helicopter on the top floor waiting for you all." He ends his report waiting for questions and spreading out the pictures of the dead soldier.<br> <br>Arano looked over the paperwork, he scoffed at the threat, "Good know RSX isn't a fan of overkill there General," he didn't know who the man was, but his initial deference vanished: not in the military anymore, so now respect has to be earned for him and he doesn't mind showing when he doesn't respect somebody... and right now he didn't respect the General, but he'll be glad to take his money, "You said whatever did this to him didn't do it from the outside, that implies something got inside the poor bastard's head somehow - will you be providing any sort of safeguards against unpleasant and/or lethal infections? Hazmats suits, perhaps some APCs that haven't been torn apart, just something to keep us from breathing in a lethal head-exploding nanite if that is what we're dealing with here?"<br> <br>As the others promptly file into the room, he gives them all a respectful nod and removes the feline from his back and sets her down upon the floor. The lion needed a break from carrying all that extra baggage! Briefing flows through his leonine ears as they perk with interest, him leaning in to look at the picture and observe in compliment. "Outside of the bubble, huh? I've had a few missions in the such a condition. While I do use my powers here and there, I mostly look towards my equipment these days." He pats the shotgun upon his lap in emphasis and nods at Arano's questions. "Certainly a dangerous prospect we're heading in. Protection would be appreciated, but I'm sure we can handle what comes our way. Personally, I'm concerned as to who might be "pulling the strings" as you've put it."<br> <br>Cookies whines quietly as she's set down, listening carefully and letting out a soft sigh. Guillotines, huh? She was so very tempted to make a snark-assed comment but she knew better than to piss off someone who could make her day suck with or without harming her directly. An ear twitches in Arano's direction. "If you're worried about nanites I can switch on my radio pack but I can't guarantee that won't make life suck a little worse for us. For me, at least, I don't like how it feels," she murmurs out. "On the flipside, s'a good thing I swore off mutant powers a looong time ago." She nods confidently in a real hoity toity holier-than-thou sort of way, crossing her arms. "So why are we looking at the dead guy if basically all the info we have is 'Yep, that guy is dead!'? Kind of weird it only took that much, sure, but in-bubble deaths are far from unheard of and if mutant powers aren't working right it's within reason to assume that nanites responsible for keeping you together aren't going to play along too well either. Just saying."<br> <br>Arimia finally gets around to lighting her cigarette before saying to Arano, "That is only a concern for those of you who must breathe." She stares at the picture some more before continuing. "I am not sure how much use I will be, with limitations placed on my abilities. I would still have my blade, but that is the only weapon I carry. When I need to kill something my body has generally been sufficient, in conjunction with my sword. Further my technical abilities mostly stem from the NICE unit I had installed. I've some without it, but nowhere near as effective."<br> <br>"Have there been any attempts to suppress the nanites using NICE units at all? It might prove to be a life-saving asset in an area with oddly coded nanites," pipes the miniature figure as he strokes his chin with a minute hand. Nutshell looks about to the others collected about, "Anyone here have a NICE installed that can perform as much?"<br> <br>Saviante tries hard not to show how nervous she actually is, not remembering any other form she has become aquainted to her powers as part of normal life, not to mention her job. Sliding tow vines out from her robe, she takes the talons of the tips and mounts them on her wrists, in the off chance more than just her powers cease to work. "When the scythe comes the scythe comes." Savi whispers to no one at all and everyone at once. "We all get reaped eventually, might as well be for the right reasons. With another glance around she settles on the officer, expecting more.<br> <br>"Reguardless of what you think of my organization, Arano. We don't have many safe guards to the unknown. Gas masks will do little against nanite, We are unsure of what infections are about, the scouts reported mushrooms being a common sight in the bubble, APC and the like are completely useless due to the nanite in the bubble being programmed to strip the engines from any craft that enters. Otherwise we would have already just flown in with a team." He turns to Dio and nods, "Unlike this bubble where the rules and conditions are static, it seems that the other bubble can change on a whim. This is why we can't offer you much protection but this is too valuable of a resource just to leave alone or to just attempt to level the whole town." He takes off his hat and wipes his brow. "You must understand how big this find is." He turns to Cookie and points to particular part of the man skulls that missing, "I apologize, I forget that many of you are not RSX. This soldier is a hero and he died such a pitiful death so I wanted to push the message that this will not be a cake walk. I can't speak for the uses of NICE units none of our scouts have them." He presses on a intercom build into the table. "Get the chopper ready, We are sending them out." He looks at the group with a smile, "I'm not going to give you some speech about why you need to do it just understand this... Do not fuck up. The server is top priorty. Kill anything that interfears with that mission." He says before dismissing the group. On the rooftop a large tranport chopper takes the group in before flying to the outside of Redding, Californa. There is a strange sense in the air as the bubble is nearly invisible to the naked eye but everyone can feel the strain of the something being off in their bodies. The pilot smiles to them, "I won't leave here till you come back. If you can get to the Item and call me I'll land in the city itself to get you. " The pilot is a bunny boy dressed in a camoflauge uniform. He shuts the doors behind the group and waves from the window.<br> <br>Arano mutters to himself, "Bastard didn't even tell us what the pay is..." as he was suddenly hurried out the door. He was somewhat silent the ride over, checking his equipment, making sure his gun was in one piece. During the trip, he decided to strike up some conversation, "My name is Arano by the way... I know Dio here, and I know Savi, but I don't think I've met the rest of you," he says. After arrival, as they were hurried off the transport Arano had his weapon in hand and was sweeping the immediate area, checking for threats, that sort of thing.<br> <br>"I'm sure we'll get plenty of hush-hush money by the end of the mission, assuming we come back alive," Dio nods as he's shuffled out of the room. The lion gives his shotgun a good once over, making sure it's nice and loaded and ready to fire when need be. Satisfied, he gives a tuck at his suit and boards the helicopter and sleeps most of the way to the mission location. With a cough, he breaks from his nap and climbs out, combing down his mane and taking out his riot shield from his back. "I do have Anti-Nanomagic, but we shall see how things work without it for awhile. If it's not needed, then I shall not activate it as it does have a drain upon myself. If I do activate it, I'll need a bit of protection as well."<br> <br>Cookies stays more or less quiet the entire time, staying snuggled as close to Dio as she possibly can, the clingy thing. In answer to Arano, she cheerily pipes up, "The name is Monroe," she says with a confident smile, "First name Marilyn. Pleased to meet you." As they step out of the helicopter she looks around, stretching out a bit and frowning slightly. She takes a deep breath of the air and, waiting for her head to explode or something for a moment, she shrugs slightly and retakes her position next to the lion as always. "Mmh. Anybody else feel just a little off?"<br> <br>Arimia pulls out her cigarette case and takes another cigarette from it. She raises it to her lips and lights it before saying, "Feel off? Apparently I'm in the presence of an idol thought long dead. So what's a little oddity in the air next to that?" She draws her sword and looks around. Let's get to high ground. See the lay of the land from a bit closer than that chopper offered. And in regards to the pay, if they don't offer enough we take what we find elsewhere. They'll try to kill us for it, I'm sure. But things have been trying to kill me for a while. They haven't succeeded. Yet."<br> <br>"I'd sooner you test the functionality to see if it DOES work so that, should it come to a necesssity, we can rely on it," comments the incubus wryly, rolling his wee shoulders to adjust the satchel on his back, "After all, 'tis better to be prepared and not need it that it is to need it and not be prepared." He looks around and lowers his gogles over his eyes and puffs his cheeks out for a moment, exhaling out his anxiety to level his calmitude, "Alright, then... Just don't die, folks... Heh... wonder how this'll turn out for dedicant boons, too, but I'm sure none of you want me to test that right now."<br> <br>Pulling up behind Dio and Cookies, Savi frowns. "Savi always feels a bit.. off." Deciding to get it over with she opens her mouth wide, tilts back her head and takes a deep breath through both her mouth and nose, holds it for a moment and tastes the air, or at least the carbon dioxide, expelling a breath of air she hopes that wasnt a bad idea. While waiting to see if there is any side effect she does a double check of her gear. "This is going to get messy I think."<br> <br>The moment the party leaves the chopper and presses foward they notice something amiss with the city, Their are no trees in the ruins of the cite, There are only large mushrooms in the area they have entered. Large grubs crawl up and down the mushrooms ocassionally taking and feasting on the unnatrually large fungus, A small mouse like creature with fur in the patteren of a tuxedo is currently feasting on one of the snake size gurbs while another similar anthromorphic mouse is sleeping on a nearby park bench. The only vantage point close by seems to be a ruined building with a second floor, on the second floor is a blow out window which seems to be the reminants of a childs room.  Further down the street is a large black skycraper that seems completely undamaged while the rest of the city is in ruins. The grass even has a strange effect as it seems to change a different colors as creatures walk over it. A small cat approaches the group and begins to nuzzle along Dio's leg.<br> <br>Arano sweeps his rifle around, something in the back of his mind clicking into place, "I don't like this..." he comments, "...I feel like I'm about to walk into a trap..." he remarks. The soldier's mind working as it takes in all the information and picks it apart, pointing out the nearby two-story building he says, "We should head there for now and get our bearings, perhaps use it as a base of operations. I'm going to make a wild guess and say the big black skyscraper is our target location." Glancing over to the strange cat near Dio, he is once again not at ease, "Alright you, get out of here," he says to the animal... hoping it can understand him.<br> <br>"I'm not quite sure I wish to drain my energy by activating it now," he replies to Nutshell, taking an initial glance at all the strange figures and infections around the area. For now however, it would seem that things were safe for the time being. "I've never seen anything quite like it," he comments, and obviously so seeing as how the group has ventured into the unknown. "Very well, we shall head towards the building immediately. Don't want to draw too much attention around u- Hey..." The lion looks down at the little feline on his leg and begins backing away slowly, trying to analyze her infection but coming up with little off the top of his head. "Perhaps I should activate it then... See how it goes." After a short moment, Dio activates the anti-nanomagic program upon his NICE unit to help prevent any unwanted changes. "Now then little one... Can you speak," he says to the nuzzling feline.<br> <br>Cookies is almost too busy staring at the weird mushrooms and grub-things 'til her gaze falls on the feline. She slaps her hands onto her cheeks and lets out a mewl! "OhmygoshitisaCAT! A normal looking kitty~! I don't even remember the last time I saw one!" She's so giddy and she looks horribly horribly tempted to just scoop the critter up and bathe it in attention, but instead she just practically bounces in place with excitement and peers up at Dio. When he engages the anti nanomagic, her muscles feel terribly sore, and a familiar hunger for nanites start to well up. She bounces slightly less, though she still seems excited as all hell. "I wanna pick it up lemme pick it up can I pick it up please!" At least she's asking for permission.<br> <br>Arimia looks around, then pauses as her eyes fall on the ruined building. She opens her mouth to say something, only to be silenced by Cookies' outburst. She blinks and stares at the anthro feline before shaking her head and saying, "I'll be going to get a view of the area." That said she turns toward the building, making her way toward, then up into it. Once she reaches the room she looks around, assessing it for threats, before turning her attention out. She pulls out some paper and a pencil and starts to sketch a rough map, marking a few spots on it. That done she starts to make her way down and back toward the group. <br> <br>"Guys," pipes up the wee incubus, "this doesn't look good. Notice that every bit of manmade material's degraded rapidly? Like... moreso than we'd get in a decade back in our normal bubble environment? The nanites here might be starving... Or, all of it was used up to build that skyscraper over there. I'm thinkin' there's something really important over there," Nuts concurs with Arano. The minute man grimaces and combs through his own tousled red hair. "I also suggest we don't linger too long before our own gear starts to get gobbled up. Stop playing with that pussy and let's get going."<br> <br>Under the strain of all the anti-nanites and the odd atmosphere, Savi's petals look droopy and mildly wilted. Smiling her disturbing sidways smile she lets her eyes flow over the entrance to the building nearby, scanning from point to point watching for the slight signs that glaringly tell of tripwires or explosives. Feeling secure about their temporary destination, Saviant turns her back towards it as she begins to back up, planning to pull up the rear. "We don't know how long we are going to be here. We need to shore up the openings or post watch, sweep the building and set up any defences we can. We need a place we can at least pretend to feel safe." Glancing at the group briefly, her eyes always return to the giant grubs, the huge grubs. Reaching down and pulling a metal tube from her robe in a small shaking hand she whispers to herself absently. "Lots of defences." Then, turning to nutshell for a moment she raises her voice. "Charging in will be death, like it or not we need to try and find out as much as we can before we take on this thing. We need to move fast, but only as fast as we can safely." With a small frown she goes on "Savi for one wants to go home unplucked."<br> <br>The moment Dio's anti-nano magic the feline gives a pitiful wail and tries to crawl away it doesn't make it very far before its fur starts to fall off in nasty patchs. Its muscles can be seen as green fluid spurts out of each of its muscles. It does manage to drag itself away from the twenty feet range before looking at Dio with a vicious hiss in its throat. The Cat leans back and lets out a roar that sounds better at home on a lion than a house cat. The mouse creatures try to run away but are quickly sliced into ribbons by something that is almost invisible to the naked eyes. The air is quiet as the almost perfectly clear creature licks the blood off its claws, The air is tense and silents before the large fourlegged creature breaks into a large bloody smile with its razor sharp teeth. The only thing that can be easily seen on it is its smile. The strange light bending effect doesn't effect its internal organ or teeth. The Air around Dio is displace by a large feline that steps into his anti-nanomagic field attempting to slice him to ribbons as quick as lighting the Lion Beast dodges the blow by moving to the side and placing the shotgun under the large felines chin and pulling the trigger sending the horse-sized cat brains upward in a shower of gore. Another feline attempts to skewer Nuts but is distracted by the death of its fellow creature and only manage to give the Painted incubus a slight graze with its claws as its tries to run back out of the field. The black feline roars again and sever thump are heards as more and more creatures are heard around the group.<br> <br>Arano regally proclaims, "WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!!!"<br> <br>Saviante sinuates, "Take it, take it HARD"<br> <br>The Cats doesn't do much to the group as they are dispeacted with frightening ease, The small black feline that started the engage med is laying with half its torso blown off. The feline twitches for a moment before its lower half starts to regenerate and its looks very pissed at the group and around at its dead companions. Its starts to press a paw on one of them and gives a pitiful meow trying to awaken the larger creature who can easily be seen as the nanite stop working in them. The feline gives a pain cry and darts off in the crowds of mushrooms and color-changing grass. For now its seem there are no more felines near by.<br> <br>With a snarl, Arano raised his rifle to terminate the threat once and for all, he carefully lined up his shot. His breathing steady, no trembling, blocking out all distraction, irons lined up on the target... then, just as his finger tightens around the trigger, a sudden cloud of smoke goes up. He fires at where he thinks target was, not sure if he hit or missed - he considered trying again but didn't want to waste the ammo. Turning on the smaller medusa - puny thing only half his size, but the everybody seemed puny - eyes full of rage, but he bites it back, and instead keeps his tone low with barely contained fury: though his tone clearly indicated he was ready to snap, like a high-tension wire restrained by only loose bolts, "What... the hell... was that?" he intoned towards Arimia.<br> <br>"It would appear that anti-nanomagic has a rather strange impact upon these bubble inhabitants," Dio observes as he takes a moment to flick a bit of blood of his shotgun from his previous close-range encounter. "Perhaps some of these individuals are more reliant upon these specific nanites than us? More testing may be required. I'm even more curious about these mushroom men." Smoothing and straightening out his suit in his typical behavior, the lion looks up and notices a bit of internal interference as someone attempts to take a shot at the fleeing opponent. "Perhaps the lady desires to follow it? It could lead to something interesting, good or bad. Either way, we should probably get moving before we get ambushed again."<br> <br>Cookies puts away her fancy pry bar after the battle, panting to catch her breath, and sighs softly. "Man, and I thought it was gonna be an awesome real cat too. Of course it wasn't. Silly of me to hope otherwise." The shot of the gun makes her flinch slightly and she frowns over at Arano and Arimia. She glances back to Dio and does her usual climbing onto his back routine, or at least tries to, reaching to scramble up. "All I want to do is find the server and get the fuck out of here, and our best bet is that it's hiding in the big ol' building Arano pointed out to begin with. Please let me up. I do not want to be near the things on the ground."<br> <br>Arimia plucks her cigarette from her mouth and frowns at it. It seems to have been consumed by flame while she was fighting. She tosses the remnants aside and reaches into a pocket to pull out her case, getting another smoke and lighting it. She seems entirely unconcerned with the dragon looming over her. She takes a languid drag from the smoke before replying. "It is called mercy. A thing that, I understand, those in possession of empathy display from time to time. However, that is not why I displayed it. We are being watched by a woman in red. If she is neutral or potentially an ally, displaying mercy to those obviously weaker is likely to increase our standing in her eyes and encourage an approach. And if she is opposed to us it may make her hesitate to pull the trigger, knowing we are not callous and cruel. Or it may cause her to underestimate us. Either way it is a potential gain for minimal risk, as we have wiped out the things pack. It may have more of it's pack that it can run to and bring to bear against us, but that is also a small risk and one, I felt, worth taking." She holds out the map she sketched then and points to a couple marks. "This is where the watcher was. This is that big building. Likely our goal. Let us go."<br> <br>"Obviously it's something held together by nanites, if I'm not mistaken in that being an anti-nanomagic bit being activated from teh feel of it. On being harmed, it retaliated in kind by calling for assistance," Nutshell says with a mildly miffed expression, "Great field test, Tex," he pipes up at Dio and quirks a grin, "At least we know that something works marginally correct here. That'll be a useful asset... I think I'm going to stick close to you,' and follows suit by sticking in Dio's shadow for the most part. "And, by the by... notice the green matter and how the glass-like critters' fur there seems to have similar striations to a fibrous, grass-like leaf? Those weren't actually animals... those were plants parading as animals. Whatever's at work here, the bubble about is weaker... and plants seem to be the best supported life forms in this environment, but the anti nanomagic, well... Without what little nanites they do use functioning right, they fall to pieces."a<br> <br>Savi hears the information about the woman in red and grows very stern. Snapping of her energy blade and watching the area closely she tries to work out a few things before voicing a growing idea. Assuming the idea is still to move up the building she backs towards the wall. At Nutshell's words she nods. "I agree. This is like the lab I was... born into after P-day, but... not. I feel like I'm even smaller than before, if that makes any sense." Edging to the doorway Savi glances in and waits by the doorway, motioning the others in, she seems intent on waiting on the others before entering. "We need a defensible position first, then a plan."<br> <br>From the Vantage point that Arimia was looking at a single creature in a red hood just gazes back at the group from a large mushroom. There a moment where the creature looks to the group and points to the distance where the group came from. "Leave." The voice is oddly feminine the creature turns around and jumps off the towering mushroom and dashes down a path that has a crudely painted sigh above it that says 'Beware of Grandma." From the distance its hard to tell if the sign is painted in blood or red paint. There is beachball sized catipillar that is simply spitting out small rings of smoke from many small holes in its back. Its moves lazily and eyes the group curiously before shooting smoke in the shape of flowers at Saviate and crawling back along its path.<br> <br>Arano ignores the sights and sounds around him - none of it especially relevant at this time. He looked at the medusa whose name he never learned and stated bluntly, "I'd ask who put you in charge, but have seen enough movies to know how that turns out, and frankly we don't have the time to get into a pissing match over pecking order. You want to be in charge? Fine - you're in fucking charge. Now that we've sorted that out, if you want my tactical assessment..." his tone indicates that even if it was unwanted he was going to spill it anyway, "...we currently have one known hostile, has unknown reinforcements and resources, terrain is urban but unknown. Said hostile knows our position, numbers, combat tactics, and weapons loadout. Whether the hostile is capable of relaying that information to friends, or again if it has friends, also unknown. But even animals remember where prey is - and that building is the first place anybody would look, intelligent or not. Therefore - I recommend we relocate to another position to minimize the chances of another hostile encounter before we can figure out a plan of action," after getting all that information out, he then glances over to where the lady in red was and comments, "And I'm willing to bet we will be encountering a lot more hostiles here soon if we don't move NOW."<br> <br>"Of course, my sweet kitten. Of course." Dio crouches down and allows Cookies to scramble up on his back, giving her a nice position to see over his shoulder. The lion listens to Nutshell's explanation with interest, idly rubbing at his chin and looking about at the area. "Plants you say? Now that is interesting. Very well, I shall keep up my nanomagic for an appropriate time. Please be sure to protect me as best you can so I can keep the effect operational." His attention is soon caught by the lady in red, quirking an eyebrow to her warning. "What a fascinating fantasy land. But yes, we should certainly get moving and take a look at that server before we become overwhelmed." Noticing the caterpillar, he shrugs his shoulders and continues on, not caring to make any conversation of sorts.<br> <br>Cookies clambers up onto Dio's back and hugs her legs around him tightly, using her arms to mess around with her backpack briefly. While Arano speaks, she produces a small vial of builder nanites, opens it up and just straight-up downs it, letting out a satisfied sigh as her muscles start to feel less sore, the nanite reinforcement net in her body restabilizing. She also makes a point of rifling through the top part and bringing out a big nanite cannon- even for a nanite cannon. She rests it over her shoulder akin to the way one might a rocket launcher, holding it in similar fashion, but the barrel suggests it's more akin to a rifle than anything. "Weee, I can shoot anything from up here!" she declares cheerfully. She looks over at Arano and lets out a huff. "Now then. I don't think ferals are going to come skittering back here any time soon, and if they do, well shit, we sure handled those ones pretty gracefully, didn't we? I don't want to sit around all day, I wanna get my hands on the server. You have no idea how long I've waited for a chance like this."<br> <br>Arimia takes her time enjoying her cigarette while waiting for Arano's outburst to pass. Once he finishes talking she asks, "Are you quite finished? Look at the remnants of that things pack. I hardly think that it will consider us prey. Further, it seemed feral, and ferals are not known for tactical genius. What it knows is that it attacked us with what seemed, to it, to be equal strength, and lost." She drops the remains of her cigarette on the ground and turns to face the woman in red, reading the sign. "Now, I'd no intention of being leader. Simply stopping an idiot more bloodthirsty than me from making a mistake. I suggest we move on to the tower as it is our only lead. We undoubtedly will encounter more hostiles. That was a given going in. And upon finding that we were being watched, setting up a camp and taking our time to scout the area was an option already nullified. Since that point our largest asset has been speed. Hit hard, fast, get what we came for and get out. And preferably avoiding grandmother."<br> <br>"Plants, not animals, though they seem to like mimicking them, to a degree. Rather theme-y, if you think about it... So, who's up for killing a plant dressed as a wolf dressed as a granny?" Nushell rolls his shoulders and looks around, "What?" he pipes with those small vocal chords, "Were the less than subtle references not clue enough?"<br> <br>Shrugging at Arano's suggestion Savi relents with no argument, she now understands the target is down the path. With an envious glance the seriously co-dependant plant crushes down a stab of pain over her teammates, whom she hasn't seen in longer than she can recall. "I''m not sure the antimagic is a great Idea. We weren't attacked until your feild melted the cat, then we were hit instantly. I'm betting that field will have that affect everywhere here. While it may help out in a pinch this is obviously fairytale land, a land of magic and dreams. We may not want to piss everyone off." Pointing down the path Red ran she continues, "That way is Nutshells wolf in a dress, but it may also have any number of benovolent creatures like ol' who-are-you up there" glancing his way she tosses him a greeting. "Klaatu Barada Nikto." before looking back towards 'Deeoh'.<br> <br>With their notions of setting up dismanteled by the first wave of attacks. The group starts to move further towards the tower going to the only path that seems open. The Mushrooms hears are tall and do a excellent job of flitering out the light. For the most part the walk is peaceful, There are fairly like creature having mock sword battle with mushrooms, there is a large Spider web in the middle of path. On the web is seven small sacks of webs with one human sized sack, The is a large half woman half spider tangled in her own web, "Oh no oooooh no. A Little help please." A bunch of small anthro rabbits with spears are attacking the spider creature. The Rabbits appear to resemble the clock work foxes of Fairhaven as they lodge a spear into the spiders ladies hand. "AAAAAAHHHHH. PLEASE STOP!!" She screams desperately.<br> <br>"If you don't want the responsibility, then don't get in my way again," Arano says to the medusa before they set off - he deliberately takes point as he reloads his weapon. It was going to be a loooooong day...