Naomi covered her comm unit, and then looked up at Herston.

"Huh? There's no reason to be suspicious of me.

And what thing? Whoever brought us here, or this little guy?"

She points at the chubby snipe on her shoulder, which seems to be asleep already...

Gallon turned his nose up at the greeting, and just grunted a "Hmph", as he walked past with Lilith. He could allow himself to not strike out at one of the Monsterous invaders of his Cradle home, but being kind, even as a cherade, was now too much to have asked. Gallon just raised up the collar of his coat, and continued to walk alongside his new-found companion.

Gallon whispered over, to make sure other Knights did not hear, "This isn't even Haven, and yet they've already started to branch outwards. Furthermore, if they have had enough time to set up turrets, we can only assume the secrurity surrounding Haven, and thus the Arcade will be heavier. What should we do if we require clearance of some sort for when they invade the Arcade altogether? Fake IDs? or-" Gallon motioned his head behind him, toward his Lance & Shield -"a more direct solution".

Gallon kept walking up the stairs toward the settlement, to see a few familiar faces, who he hoped did not recognise him back.

Bowie heard the hissing lift and turned around, spying another Valkyrie taking a seat. Somewhat surprised to see another of his kind appear on Cradle, he strolled over to the now unshocked Valkyrie. Giving a friendly wave, he settled in beside the other Valkyrie. Smiling in his helm, he looked over at the Valkyrie and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey there, I'm Bowie. Mind telling me your name, fellow Valkyrie?", he asked nicely, wondering what he should tell her if asked about why he was here. He also mused on whether this Valkyrie had heard of his exploits in the High Realms and if he would be allowed to speak of them at some appropriate time.

He felt his stomach rumble and laughed softly, forming a new plan. "I'm a little hungry, want something to eat? It'll be on me.", he asked invitingly, his gaze friendly and warm. As he waited for an answer, a Snipe landed near him. He eyed it intently, knowing better than to disturb it. He'd have the Strangers all over him if he so much as laid a finger on it. So he settled for watching it hop around and flutter it's wings as it looked for a place to roost.

I was slowly waiting to restore my energy and health from that mecha knight hit. I then see a male Valkyrie sitting near me which was a bit creepy and what made it even more creepy was when he put his hand on my shoulder. The male Valkyrie said in a nice tone "Hey there, I'm Bowie. Mind telling me your name, fellow Valkyrie?" I was thinking what to do and then Bowie said "I'm a little hungry, want something to eat? It'll be on me." The way he said it was in a inviting tone which really made scared me.

I took Bowie's arm off and I stood up and started to have a look around. As I was looking around, I saw a helm on the ground and when I looked at it, it was an almirian crusader helm. I look in the distance and see the female crusader from before. I run towards the crusader and turned her around to check her pulse and see if she had any injuries. I looked carefully but never noticed any cuts and when I checked her pulse, it was fine. I thought "I wonder if she run out of energy...

Fennel raced out of the Arcade, deftly leaping over the city fountain. He passed a few - Valkyries? Whatever, he had no time to lose. He felt strangely protective of that Kattie. In his left hand was the cage, still with the Spiral Order insignia. As he landed from his nearly impossible jump, the cage clattered to the ground. Luckily, no Snipes were hurt.

Retrieving the cage, Fennel noticed a line scribbled on the cage. Seraphynx.

Huh. That's a better name than Kattie, at any rate.

Fennel exited Haven and thought about where the knights might be. It had to be easily accessible, as they needed Strangers to supply them with food, and it couldn't be too... aha! The old elevator, where Haven's road ended and the forest began!

Reaching the site, the Stranger wheezed for breath. A moment later, he leapt aboard, and hit a button. Nothing. The lights were out, the buttons didn't respond...

RAH! Stupid power outage...

Since the Arcade elevators were still functioning, he supposed the loss of power was on the other side, where the knights probably were. After all, he hadn't seen any save for Cypreus and the injured knight, and the bomber apparently wasn't in the town either. If there was any relatively safe location save for Haven itself, it would be where the elevator led. A small clearing, which had a fair share of constructs but at least not many Wolvers.

Sighing in annoyance, Fennel trudged back to the Arcade elevator, searching for a Gremlin Deconstruction Zone. Maybe he could at least find out where that Seraphynx had went.

((OOC: First paragraph is a dream sequence))

The sprites knew I wasn't understanding them so they showed me something. I look at it and see a map for a hidden location that wasn't anywhere else. I look at the top corner and see some rust on it. I said "Must be a stronger robot if they can capture the sprites." The ground started to shake which made me trip up.

I slowly started to wake up and see I was on the ground. I struggle to stand up and even when I did, I fell back onto the ground. I look around and see a knight with wings and the other one who helped me before but didn't have her pets. I took out my spear and used it to keep my balance. I noticed the female from before holding my helmet.

I said to the female "Sorry for leaving you behind but I needed to get out and to think I could have been in a worst place when I run out of energy. Anyways, my name is Gardevoir, Almire's first female crusader and can I get my helmet back?"

Gallon nodded, almost impressed by what Lily had been able to pull off. Still, he knew that she had to be special in some way other than being a creator of flowery trails. At least he now had some idea of what to expect from her. Walking alongside her casually, he pressed forward into the hall of the arcade.

It seemed they had appeared at one of the far-sides of the large area. Gallon looked around as he walked, making sure there weren't any who would recognise him, and if there were, to make sure he didnt get within spotting distance. The last thing he needed after getting this far into the plan was to be held up and draw un-needed attention. He noticed slightly to his right were the doorways leading back into the Square and Bazaar. By these was the patronising leader of the Knights, Feron. The Lancer veered away tp the left, toward an elevator that was being set-up, with some maintainence checks going on around it. Gallon and Lily kept walking along the line, as a couple of knights raised their heads and gave a little wave in greeting. Their goal and main focus was not shifted.

A new elevator was being set up a couple of openings down, where a lone engineer could be seen with his back turned, making ticks and crosses on a clipboard. Gallon saw the opportunity that arose, and paced away from Lily, toward the Engineer. In a hushed whisper behind the Technician, he placed one hand on his mouth, and another on the other side of his face, and said "Be at peace, Beast". A soft snap was made, as the Knight's eyes fluttered and body went limp. Gallon laid down the Engineer softly, as not to draw attention. The killing of his 1st Knight made him almost feel joyful. Like his new mission had had its 1st success. He patted down the body, and found a keycard. It seemed to be of a lowish rank, but hoped that an Engineer's card would get them access. In silent prayer to unknown gods, he swiped the card through a slot by the elevators monitor, making it flicker to life. He turned to Lily to walk over, and as she did so, whispered a few words for departure. Gallon thought of the few he had come into contact with, and decided to leave them a token of his departure as well.

He removed his helmet, revealling his face for the 1st time in an era. Black wavy hair connected up with a 5-oClock shadow. His light skin made it stand out even more, with his 2 green eyes highlighting his face. A scar ran across his left cheek and through his eye, where a story must have laid behind it. He knelt down and placed the Bronze helmet by the side of the Knight, and got up, offering his hand out to Lilith as he arose.

"Ready to descend, Beautiful?". Gallon pressed the button as she took it, and the elevator shook into motion, whistling faintly as it slid down into the depths.

Scanning the contents of the pod was fairly difficult, everything scrambled about from the disorientation and impact. Pulling out a sturdy metal box, I uncovered what appeared to be a seat, but my eyes lingered on the straps attached to it, hanging limp. Once again, my mind refused to produce the simplest of answers, but instead further pushed my curiosity of the strange capsule that I had emerged from.

Lodged in a corner, were two swords with a guard and blade that appeared to taper to sharp tip. Attempting to pull them out was harder than I thought, considering the width of their tips. Grunting as I forced them out, a snap sounded as the two swords finally flew out. I stumbled back, falling over in the small space, the swords clutched in my hands. I instantly realized that they were damaged, their tips bent and charred. The hole they left was buzzing slightly an occasional blink of blue light visible.

Frowning, I put them aside, and continued my search. The wall was a bit scratched and dented in some places, but a small rectangle near the opening of the pod attracted my attention the most. It was seperated like a grid, with numbers in each of the boxes, along with a small strip above it. To the immediate right was a large red button, with the word 'LAUNCH' written in bold black letters. To the left of the exit, placed in the same spot as the rectangle, was the red light that I had touched to open the pod with equally large words displaying 'EMERGENCY LOCK RELEASE'.

I took a second to ponder the meanings of the peculiar messages. Launch was pretty self explanatory, but launch from what was the big question. Thinking instead about the more obvious emergency lock release, it was clear that the pod was meant as some sort of protection, being made of thick metal. An idea rose up, but in the interest of not getting distracted, I looked back at the numbered grid. A nagging feeling made it irresistible it reach out and press the number 1. The grid yielded, and my mind clicked with the sound of the button. It was a keypad, but why I had not known such a simple thing frightened me. Its purpose, however, remained unclear. Perhaps it was used to open the exit, as the red light had?

Rolling my eyes, I decided that it was useless to me, and returned to my search. It was a moment before I found some scraped words stating 'Proto Gear' underneath the seat. Lifting up the bottom, I uncovered a relatively small suit of green armour tucked inside. Seeing no need to burden myself with another set of armour I placed it back down. Taking another look, I spotted an orange object secured to the left side of the seat. Removing it, I held a bright orange gun, with a wide barrel. It weighed quite a bit, but not enough to fatigue the wielded too quickly. Laying down on the tilted seat, I sighed exasperatingly. Nothing in the pod was of too much help.

I remembered the metal box, secretly hoping that it contained so much as a name tag or something of the like. Getting back up after a moment of pained rest, I retrieved the damaged blades, the metal box and heavy gun. Glad to be back outside in the sun, I rested the box on the grass, opening it to find various survival objects, much to my disappointment. I hesitated, concentrating furiously, it may not have been what I had hoped for, but it was still a major clue. I had the pieces of the puzzle, I just needed to put them together. After it was obvious that my adamant mind was refusing to give me anything, I gave up.

I decided that perhaps if I strolled around the area I might find something to assist me. Turning around, I gasped, my eyes widening and my heart rate racing.

Another metal spherical object lay in the near distance.

Should I go?

An unwarranted fear welled up in me, despite the possible opportunity for answers. Cautiously, I approached the pod. Staring at it a moment more, I walked up and brought down the two swords on its surface, and with a loud crack, the two swords broke in half.

Hearing sounds on Naomi's comn, I gestured to her helmet, and said, "I'm pretty sure I'm suspicious of the yellow fatty there.... but the big guy too."

"Honestly, do you even know how the Skylark crashed? It might be because of those THINGS!"

"Then again, one of these fatties would have flown up and grinded on of our engines."

"Or..... they made a cannon to blow us our of the sky!"

" And now we're stranded here, with no weapons, and there's that thing maybe plotting our deaths as we know it!" He flung his arms wildly to emphasize, and accedeintally landed sideways of his bed, smashing onto the floor. He cried out in pain, as struggled to get back up with no avail.

Gallon jumped off the Elevator as it stuttered to the floor. Smoke began to eminate from various panels, which seemed to be from areas that had not been done up properly upon construction. That at least explains why that Tech was there. Gallon caught a sense of abandonment in the area they had arrived in, and it unsettled him. A small explosion followed by a large tuft of black smoke eminated from behind both of them, sealing the path for anyone that may have wanted to recall the elevator. Gallon & Lily did not turn around for the machine's breakdown, instead slowly pacing forward into the mysterious mechanical place.

Gears and Cogs could be seen in the distance, and below them when Gallon took a glance over the edge. It was all more or less the same from when he escaped the Gremlin Laboratory, just a different setting on the current level. Metal plating, vents and steam-pipes covered the walls as they walked along, scanning the area constantly for any threats. As they approached a corner, something ahead of them moved. A grate placed on the ground lifted up, and a spider like contraption crawled out. Its singular green eye observed The Lancer and The Lady for a moment, before clattering towards them in a make-do charge attempt.

The spider stopped, its eye broken and cracked as a Lance had penetrated its head. Gallon placed his foot on the broken down bot and yanked his weapon out of the metalic corpse. He smirked as he sheathed his spear. He said over to Lilith afterward,

"If this is all that this level can throw at us, we should be fine. Still, guard up none-the-less". Gallon waited for Lily to start walking, as he stepped alongside her, progressing deeper into the level. He would ask later about who she was, and how she came about her powers that seemed atuned for Assassination...

((OoC: @Vinnydime, I would think of it more like 'Power Armor' in the since it protects the Knight inside by having a fully powered suite of armor that cycles the energy in the air (myst) to power it as well as acts like a computer or relay. Able to hook up to any kinda network attached to the Spiral order or ones they have control over. In this since it can also produce different effects and types. Not not all types work together. So you need the full body suite to be one, while the helm you can exchange. Now, on that the HUD would be relitive to the Type of helm, lesser helms having more simple HUD. More adanved Helms having a More Advanced HUD. Something along those lines. To that effect.))

Mortis started hacking more and more as he spit up the liquid fire. I think I am getting sick or something...

He pointed the finger at the Sniper in his eye and yelled aloud. "And your not helping!" His voice was a rather yelling hiss as he tried everything to get the Snipe out with our harming it. Even trying to pick it up seemed to be a problem as he pushed its self further back into the eye socket.

Giving up he started to slowly walk out of the little court yard into the more open area. Grumbling he stood by the fountain to see what was going on. All the while the Snipe tweeted and churped. Only to have the Almirian respond with Loathing hate in grumbling.

Nodding Mortis thanked the man, however his thanks was taken on deaf ears. Grand, clearly I am not wanted... He then looked around and saw some of the Sky Humans, or Knights as he has hear them refered to as. Placing his helm on his head Mortis set out to talk with some of them, maybe get some help.

Stumbling around for a bit Mortis had no luck finding any one in charge as it seemed these were mostly lower ranked members of this army. It would be nice to get some new gear...this stuff is formal but has a hole in the back... Reaching behind him Mortis remembered the feeling of having a knife in his back. Maybe if I am lucky I can talk them into getting me something nice...but I doubt it.

Giving up looking for some one to help him Mortis found himself in the Arcade with some knights working on the elevators. Nothing out of the normal, however the smell of Death was everywhere in his since of smell. Walking around a bit he found an Elevator. Hmm, looks used. I though these were out of commision till they got them completely fixed...Must be- Wait a minute.

Walking over Mortis found the body of a Knight who looked as if he was sleeping or something. But once he was atop the man he found he had a broken neck. Of course this was a hunch from the lack of motion and odd angle of the neck while he was laying down. Reaching down he turn the mans head and found it moved with little to no resistance till it was touching the Knights shoulder and bending a little more. The lowest form of Dishonor...You did not deserve this Knight. Who were you, so we can at least have a name to send parer for. After a quick turn of the body he could not find any ID. Nor the card he had seen others use to activate the Elevator. We have a murder...Judging by the attack it was done quick and quietly. To take it one step more Mortis placed his hand on the mans chest waiting for the respiratory system to respond.

Yet, the breathing of the Knight was non-present. Shaking his head Mortis took the Knights hands and crossed them over his chest and removed his helm. Reaching up he closed the Knights eyes and sighed. The others will be coming around here soon and find this poor soul...Might as well get some answers while I can.

Standing up Mortis took a deep breath and held his hands out. A purple ring appeared around him testing something, new to him but something none the less. Alright, arise if you can. Tell me who killed you or what your heard before death took you. Mortis asked as he used the Revival ability. Not that he really had control over who was brought back, but if it worked he would have had some clue. Even something like a voice would work.

who could have done this...

((OoC: Its a NPC, so I ahve to wait for Thin to do it :L))

I noticed Gardevoir starting to move towards Haven and I still noticed Bowie sitting there. I should talk to him and say sorry for my bluntness. I move towards Bowie who seemed to be eating some bread. I sit nearby and said "S-s-sorry Bowie. I-I-I know you were trying to be friendly but the way you introduced yourself and-and the way you put your arm on my shoulder creeped me out." I look onto the grass and waited for Bowie to say something and if he noticed, I was starting to blush a lot, so much it was over my cheeks which would have shown Bowie that this was the first time talking to a male...

((OOC: Got to wait for Bowie now...))

Bowie glanced over at the other Valkyrie now seated beside him. He inclined his head in greeting as he listened to her stammer out an apology. Grinning, he tossed her a fruit and chuckled to himself as he noticed her overly flushed cheeks. "Heh, she's just unaccustomed to speaking with strangers of the opposite gender.", he mused internally as he finished his lunch. He also figured he owed her an apology as well, for coming off a little too strongly initially. "It's okay, miss. I should have used a bit of restraint myself. We both made mistakes, so let's just forgive and forget. I'm Bowie, as you know, but I have yet to hear your name.", he replied calmly, hoping to ease the tension he could sense between them. He noticed something else about her, that her wings were gone.he shivered, imagining himself without wings before adding, "You don't have to, if you don't wish to. Also, who was that other Almirian?".

Bowie was taken by surprise by her sudden outburst of tears. However it lit a fire in him, to bring that robot to justice. Placing his arms about the Valkyrie known as Eevee, he gave her a comforting hug. "Eevee, we'll get them back! And it's a shame about your wings... We'll deal with that scoundrel later... Once we get these refugees all sorted out.", he said to her softly, his expression one of genuine care. "That was quite honorable of you to rescue that Almirian, even though I haven't had the best experiences with them.", he added before letting her go from his grip. Shrugging his shoulders, he tilted his canteen to his mouth and drank before holding it out to her after wiping it with a cloth. "Well, the Almirian I spoke with was denied a true rest...", he said with a sigh, shaking his head. He pitied Mortis, for he was burdened with the curse of being undead.

I finished drinking my water when Eevee came by but I noticed she had been crying. She was asking a question about a girl with golden hair and she said "If you have, don't trust her." I said "Eevee, did someone hurt you? I see you have been crying and why should I not trust the girl with golden hair?"

I hear Gardevoir saying "Eevee, did someone hurt you? I see you have been crying and why should I not trust the girl with golden hair?" As I was going to talk, Bowie came and said to me "Sorry to interrupt, but when would you like to go after that pet stealing robot?" I see Bowie then turning around to Gardevoir and said "Sorry, where are my manners? The name is Bowie." He then bowed to us.

I said to Bowie "I-I-I would like to go after the-the robot but-but I-I lost it chasing after it..." I had a weird feeling something was watching us...

Fennel overheard the nearby conversation, which piqued his interest.

A pet-stealing robot? Maybe it was Gremlin!

Oh come on Fennel, you're making illogical decisions based on merely a desire to rescue that Seraphynx. You have no evidence of the robot being connected with it, and you don't even KNOW if it's Gremlin, for crying out loud! What, you think all Constructs are made by Gremlins?

His cold and calculating side, the scientists, jumped into his brain, brandishing a technological device. To counter, the more compassionate side tossed a bomb made of chocolate at the scientist.

Yes, but can you spare anything to NOT rescue that innocuous adorable creature? There could be HUNDREDS of them, all trapped by the creature!

The scientist was bested, faded away with only a snarky reply: You don't even have a name for it yet. How can you really care for it?

Name it? I'll name it...Tommy MK II. Not Tommy. No one likes Tommy.

"Excuse me, little ones" Fennel said, addressing the trio at the alchemy machine. He remembered his Stranger manners and bowed respectfully, hands clapsed together. "I heard you say something about a pet-stealing robot, little ones."

His mind raced for a good excuse before settling on, "Many Snipes have gone missing, little ones. I fear that machine may have taken them captive. My skills are at your disposal. Little ones, we must destroy this machine."

Drawing out his daggers, he gazed at the dull gems, both having a red glow inside signifying normal damage output. Concentrating, he used his arcane abilities to convert them into Elemental output. To save himself the effort, he channeled Energy into it, a swirl of blue enveloping the blades. When it faded, the gem had turned fully green, having shifted to diamond with a pulsing energy orb inside.

"Isn't it somewhere in your HUD? Just take a look around," instructed Naomi.

[Kora, are you on? Kora?]

Mostis looked at the knight and shook his head. "Shut up for a second, and we might...be able to know ho-" Mortis coughed rather sickly this time holding his hand over his mouth. "-How you died. Or rather who did it."

Looking around Mortis knew people would react to a man screaming like a child after finding the monster in his closet. Maybe I should have taken the body out side. Or some where with less people...Bah no since, his soul might have slipped by then.

Looking back at the now undead Knight Mortis spoke. "Tell me, what do you...remember before you're...neck, was broken? Voices, hands...anything."

The question was standered of getting basic knowledge of a crime. However this was a Fight against time, for the longer this person was alive an inside the unseen purple ring that was at least ten yards in radius around him, this Knight would slowly start to become a Minion. Of course the Knight could have seen the ring, those who have seen the other side were naturally able to see the Supernatural energies that bound.

"Come on Knight, tell me..."