[center][h3][color=tan]Courier 6[/color] and [color=orange]Ratchet[/color][/h3] [b]Level 4[/b] - (39/40) EXP (+3), [b]Level 4[/b] - (9/40) [b]Location:[/b] Castle Kitchen -> BJ’s Room and Peach’s Room -> Castle Library -> Dungeon Lab Castle Kitchen [b]Word Count:[/b]3418 Collab with [@Lugubrious] as the Master of Masters[/center] Courier Six listened and observed after making his own declarations, suggestions, and an offer to make some chems for the others, but sadly his presence as a whole seemed to have gone completely ignored. Even the creatures that had followed him from the outside garden were too preoccupied with their own meals to pay him any mind. [color=tan]”Fine then. More for me,”[/color] he muttered under his breath, honestly a little disappointed. Just like the good old Dr. Mobius had taught back at the Big Empty, he was well versed in the science of sharing! Oh well. Sometimes people just sucked. The Courier took another bite of his turkey leg, then wandered off on his own. Big groups weren’t exactly his thing anyway, so it worked out. Meanwhile, Ratchet was hard at work with the teleportation device that Blazermate had constructed. Together they worked on bits and pieces, moving odds and ends around. He had studied both ends pretty thoroughly and now had a good idea of what parts did what, which ones could be spared and replicated, which ones were superfluous, and so forth. It took him a good long time, but as far as his little mechanic’s brain could tell both ends of the teleporter were now perfect (albeit a bit Frankenstein in appearance) copies of one another. Now each one could serve as both an entrance, and as an exit. Of course, they couldn’t serve as both at once, so they’d need to have a way to switch the settings. [color=orange]”I think we can test it again, Blaze,”[/color] he commented. Ratchet threw his omniwrench at the nearest table like a boomerang. A steamed mushroom got caught up in the wrench, which pulled back to his hand thanks to the magnet glove. The lombax placed the fungus in one end, the one that used to exclusively be the end point, and hit the switch to startup the machine. Nothing. [i]Whack![/i] The teleporter roared back to life with a good smack from the wrench and Ratchet gave Blazermate a cheesy thumbs up. The rest of the testing was on her. [hr] The Ghost of the Mojave wandered around the castle halls idly, snacking on the turkey leg he had grabbed, keeping an eye out for anything useful. This place felt so… Anachronistic. It was clearly medieval in design, yet seemed to have modern amenities. Plumbing was clearly established, as apparently were gas stoves if that kitchen was any evidence, but electronics were conspicuously absent. And, most telling of all, there was absolutely no sign of any atomic technology. [i][color=tan]Good.[/color][/i] Coming to some stairs, the Courier opted to climb up as he explored. He still needed some plastic to go with that fertilizer if he was going to cook up some jet (and he’d need a lot of jet since it was a base ingredient in more useful chems on top of that). From what he had seen around the place he wasn’t worried, confident that some plastic would show up eventually. His confidence was rewarded as he came to two open rooms on the upper floor. Both were bedrooms, though they clearly housed two very different owners. One looked like a child’s playroom or nursery, while the other was… Very pink. Very. Very. Pink. First he explored the child’s room, figuring it belonged to Bowser’s son (though why his son had a room in the castle of their sworn enemy he couldn’t possibly fathom, unless it was designed that way by the other Bowser). Jackpot, plastic galore! All these toy blocks, actions figures and the like, he immediately went to swiping as much as he could stuff into the vine basket Din had made for him. He was even lucky enough to find some turpentine! Why the kid would need industrial paint thinner he had no idea, but then if Junior were as bright a bulb as his dad, well, who knows what could be going through those heads? Content with his findings in Bowser Jr.’s room, Six moved on to the second, which he assumed to belong to the princess. Immediately it became apparent that it had been ransacked recently, what with all the clothes and belongings just strewn all about the floor. Who could have done this? That was the thought that he didn’t care enough to have, instead joining in on that action. He spied some fascinating little figures of the Mushroom Kingdom residents and, recognizing them as a valuable resource, swiped them up. He then descended upon the study desk, covered with parchment (they could produce high quality plastic figures but still wrote on parchment with quills?!) and snagged up a number of the princess’s writings. He didn’t bother reading any of them or checking their content, not yet. That would be saved for when he had more time. For now, he was simply grabbing whatever wasn’t nailed down. Whether he could sell it for some caps or use the information to become more familiar with these strange lands, the documents could prove valuable. That’s when something struck him. No, not the constant headache of withdraw, though that was still a pounding pain in the ass, but information. He needed more, and someone in their group didn’t fit. Someone who had brushed him off earlier. Someone with an overly grandoise title and inflated sense of ego: the Master of Masters. Stuffing the parchment into his travel pack, the Courier vowed to look for that man and continue his line of questioning from earlier. Something about him simply felt… [i]Wrong.[/i] [hr] A smidgen of indolence - a tuft of brattiness - a sprig of curiosity - a heart of light - a pang of love - and plenty of soft, short fur. “Voila!” exclaimed a deep, yet cheerful voice from within the library, the door to which lay ajar. “Looks like the Master’s still got it!” Within, the black-robed eccentric bent over a table, strewn haphazardly with all manner of vaguely sciency and magical balderdash, much of it collected from Kamek’s dungeon laboratory. Multicolored smoke drifted about him, and a pungent, animalistic smell haunted the air. When the Master of Masters straightened up, he held a globe-bottomed flask with a tiny catlike creature inside, barely bigger than a hamster and much sillier in proportion. It rubbed its eyes sleepily and tried to get up, only to stumble over all roly-poly. Its creator set its container down on the table in the middle of the strange assortment, took up a tiny hammer, and prepared to break the [url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/kingdomhearts/images/7/79/Chirithy_KH2.8.png/revision/latest?cb=20180722204523]cat-thing[/url] free. A thick aroma of tobacco and whiskey wafted through the stacks as the Master of Masters prepared to free his experimentation, signaling the arrival of someone new. Several books, all of which were in far better condition than any come across in the wasteland, found themselves stuffed into a travel bag as the Courier finally laid eyes on his target. [color=tan]”Evening pardner. We got unfinished business.”[/color] Six spat to the side, no doubt staining the otherwise lovely carpeting, and adjusted his hat with one hand. The other rested on his pistol holster. For a split second, the Master of Masters was still, his expression inscrutable even if his back wasn’t turned. What did the Courier’s voice send through his mind? Surprise? Alarm? Amusement? Disgust? “Hm?” He turned halfway around, still holding the bottled kitten-thing in one gloved hand and the little tapper in the other. “And what might that be? I don’t remember asking for any help throwing up. Got that handled all on my own, thanks.” [color=tan]”Cute as a pygmy mole rat, ain’t ya?”[/color] he chuckled, but never blinked. [color=tan]”I’m just takin ya up on yer offer to talk later, Mom. Ya never did answer me as to why you weren’t crazier than a starved cazadore. While we’re at it, let’s add on just what in tarnation that thing is, eh?”[/color] For a moment the stranger seemed puzzled, but at its end he let out a chuckle. “Hey, that’s not half bad! Surprised nobody came up with it before, really. Then again, none of my apprentices would’ve dared say something like that, eh?” He went ahead and bopped the bottle with the hammer, setting the wee beast free. “So, ascending order. This cutie little tootie here’s a Chirithy. A special kind of Dream Eater. Back when I first made them, I gave one each to my apprentices for companionship, and because they’re super sensitive to hearts. If their masters fall to the darkness, they’ll become Nightmares. But I don’t suppose my jargon’s making much of an impression on you, huh?” With a careful hand he swept the glass into a neat little pile. Once he finished, his hands -seemingly unable to hold still- went to work gathering and messing with other things on the once-immaculate library table, but the Master of Masters spoke as he worked. “Anyhoo, as for the crazy business, the answer’s pretty simple, though I’m not exactly happy about it. Galeem’s big ol’ lightshow took out everything in existence, but our puffy friend’s Warp Star let him...how do I put this in layman’s terms? Phase out of existence?” He shrugged. “As for me, I didn’t exist at all.” Six cocked his head a bit, processing the words this man was saying. It didn’t make a ton of sense, he had to admit. Many strange things had happened since these worlds had been smushed together and many of their aspects, he imagined, couldn’t be compatible. Different histories, rules, laws of physics, Magic seemed to be commonplace to most of his compatriots to boot. Still, he was a quick study. It wouldn’t take long to get acclimated. [color=tan]”Dream Eater? Darkness? Nightmares? You’re not making a lick of sense… if I take you literally. I reckon they bond with people, mind or soul. Is that what you’re getting at?”[/color] he frowned, adjusting his hat. Damn thing wasn’t fitting right since the Bowser fight. [color=tan]”Then they change to reflect their master’s corruption or somethin’. Fine. So explain what you mean by not existing, because I can’t rightly put that one together to save my life.”[/color] “Well, I used to live in a place called Daybreak Town. And one day I disappeared.” … … [color=tan]”And?”[/color] The Master of Masters’ shoulders shook in silent laughter. “And what? What do you do after you vanish? Dim? Fade...? Nothing. Nothing at all. I guess it was kinda like sleeping without dreaming.” He looked over his shoulder at 6. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what I mean?” Without waiting for a reply, he turned back and continued. “Bah, I dunno how to explain it. Then I existed again, in this world. The whole shebang, already over with. No idea why.” A heavy sigh filled the room. “And it could happen again. Not hypothetical anymore. Any day now I could disappear again, vanished, dimmed, faded, at the drop of a hat. Here today, gone tomorrow. Heheh. The knowledge is kinda heavy, but in a way, also light. Nothing weighs me down.” Now this was an incredible development. Bizarre, unbelievable, and incredible. If true, that is. [color=tan]”And you have no idea how that happened? How or when it could happen again? You seem awfully well adjusted for a man just suddenly someplace else. Least I have foggy memories and a notion of how I got here.”[/color] How the man responded to this would be very crucial. “Right on the money,” the hooded one replied, casual as ever. “Though you’re forgetting, I think, that my world was full of magic. Amazing stuff every day, yours truly no small contributor. That about get everything ironed out for you?” That wasn’t nearly as helpful as Six had hoped it would be. Still, there was more he could draw out from this encounter. [color=tan]”Not quite, Mom,”[/color] he said, speaking the Master of Masters’ acronym phonetically the second time. [color=tan]”You said something before about being able to see everything your eye has seen, even through time. That means you’d be experiencing your entire lifetime all at once, constantly. Hell, the way I see it, that means you could see outside your lifetime too. That means you already knew I’d be coming to you, so tell me… What am I going to say next?”[/color] The Master if Masters shrugged with a helpless shake of his head at first, clearly disinclined to try and explain it to 6. His final question, however, evoked a both palms slapped against the side of his head. Then, pretending to get serious, he admonished, “Sounds like someone's been skipping classes. First, my eye's not here. It's in a keyblade on the other end of the world. Second, it's a gazing eye, not a gazing ear. No sound.” He tapped the side of his head with an index finger. “Got that down?”” [color=tan]”Don’t talk to me like I’m some punk kid under your mastership,”[/color] the Courier spat back, unable to contain the vitriol of being talked down to. [color=tan]”Coming from a completely different world, this being my first experience with your brand of brahmin shit, I’m thinkin’ I’m doing pretty well acclimating and piecing together. Besides, I’ve seen under yer hood, mystery man. Yer already just one giant eye.”[/color] He let that delusion hang in the air for a second, as though he just revealed some horrifying, masterful revolation, unaware of his own hallucination. [color=tan]”So it’s like a camera you got linked right into yer brain, totally separate from yer body. ‘Cept it works across time. Good to know. But somethin’ still don’t sit right with me, oh great and powerful Mom. That eye of yours. Was it able to see the events of what happened while you were ‘disappeared?’ What I’m getting at is, now and before it happened, were you aware of the time period yer body was missing?”[/color] The Master crossed his arms. “You're asking for an awful lot of explanation for someone who doesn't want to be taught now, aren'tcha? Make up your mind! Unless all those chemicals fried it.” He sighed, then in a bored, resigned tone replied, “I disappeared a long, long time ago. My apprentice passed my keyblade, and the eye in it, down to his, then he to his, and on and on and on. I know everything my eye ever sees, up until Galeem wiped everything out, then brought the keyblade and my eye back for whatever purpose. From what I saw of that map the squirt found, its at The City Without a Name.” All the while he persisted with his characteristic gesticulations, only settling down at the end. Shaking his head, he sat on the table and planted his hands. Onto his lap clambered the Chirithy, which he duly patted. “Aaaalrighty! That's all I've got for a nutjob who dissed my Foreteller. Run along now, 'kay?” He made a shooing motion. Jesus, this guy had as inflated an ego as Mr. House did, didn’t he? As if to press the point, the Courier took another couple steps forward, not so much that he closed the gap between them, but enough to have a more noticeable, impactful presence. He wasn’t going to be ignored. [color=tan]”Y’know there’s a happy medium to talking to folks without puttin’ yourself on a pedestal right? I don’t object to learnin’, it’s what I’m here for. I object to bein’ treated like a child. Got a real problem with that attitude, but all is forgiven if you can treat me like a colleague.”[/color] He spoke with the most even, calm tone he had in some time. His anger had completely subsided, thanks to the prolific mood swings he was known for. [color=tan]”What I’m getting at here is that before you ever vanished, from the moment you made that eye, you had to have known shit was hittin’ the fan. I can’t imagine you didn’t prepare before you disappeared. Plans. They work best when you let your posse in on them. Secrets are nasty things. Fester, like a disease. Lies beget more lies. So I’m askin’ ya now, politely, to come clean and let us all know what you’ve known. What you’ve put in place to help get us out of this mess. You come off as a real chessmaster type, but me? I ain’t nobody’s pawn. I want in. Plain and simple. But if yer still holding onto yer reservations, then how about a drinking contest?”[/color] Gingerly, the Master of Masters withdrew his hand, rested one arm across his torso, and the other’s elbow on his wrist. This guy just didn’t respect him one bit. “Hate to say it bud, but you got me all wrong. Sure, I left behind some instructions for my Foretellers, but that concerned their future. Galeem unmade everything, remember? Nothing that I ever did exists anymore, unless [i]he[/i] brought it here on purpose. Nothing I could have planned up would have made a lick of difference anyway. Do you really think someone -anyone- can change the future? No, no, no. We have to focus on what comes after.” Leaning back, he exhaled deeply. “I don’t have any plans, or pawns, or anything. Galeem’s destruction is my goal, and hey, we know how that turns out. I’m not even going with you when you leave here--adventuring just ain’t my shtick.” A chuckle. “As for drinking, nooooo thank you! Water’s all I need.” The Courier shrugged. [color=tan]”More for me, then. Speaking of which, I’ve got a lot of alcohol to distill and chems to cook up, so I best be moseying on.”[/color] He turned to leave, but stopped short as something popped into his head. [color=tan]”Those, what’d ya call it? Chirithy varmints? And that impractical looking sword you made for Din. Keyblade, was it? What’s stopping ya from helping out everyone with them? Final question, I swear.”[/color] When he looked, the Master had already gotten up and starting tinkering again. “Keyblades are picky about their wielders. Only a pure heart can wield one. Plus, they take a super long time to master. As for Chirithies…” he paused to think for a second. “Nothing I guess, but they’re just pets. You know...a liability on the battlefield? The more you love, the more you have to lose. Eh?” [color=tan]”Pure heart? No matter the world, nothing is so black and white.”[/color] He didn’t scoff, nor chide. Rather, he seemed wistful, hopeful, as though he desperately believes otherwise but years of personal experience had beat the opposite into his head. [color=tan]”Well, I better get going. Staying in one place for too long feels wrong to a Courier like me. Sorry fer bothering ya fer so long.”[/color] With that he tipped his hat and made his way down the stacks, and ultimately out of the library. Once the doors closed shut behind him, the Courier made his way down to the dungeons of the castle, navigating the dark stone corridors and noting that instead of being cold it felt rather warm. Hot, even. Eventually he came across Kamek’s lab, already pilfered by that hooded man in the library. Finding a good place to setup, he placed down the vine basket full of produce and emptied his travel bag of all the ingredients he had collected thus far. He gave pause, letting a heavy sigh hang in the air like a cloud of cigarette smoke. His hand drifted to the keypad on his pip-boy, pressing a few buttons. A small speaker jumped to life. [i][color=tan]”Evening pardner. We got unfinished business.”[/color] “Hm? And what might that be? I don’t remember asking for any help throwing up. Got that handled all on my own, thanks.”[/i] With another press of a button the playback ended. [color=tan]”No gods. No masters.”[/color] The Courier grit his teeth and spat. [color=tan]”And [i]definitely[/i] no Master of Masters. I’ll find out what yer planning.”[/color] But he’d need to be at his best, and he couldn’t be his best without first crafting up some chems. [hr] [b]Items Acquired:[/b] Desk Parchment - Various scrolls and parchments from Princess Peach’s writing desk. Who knows what could be on them? 4 library books - Stolen from the Mushroom Castle library, each one taken from a different section. 3 servings black coffee - Temporarily increases alertness and intelligence by minor amount. Suitable substitute for sleep. 2 swigs moonshine - Temporarily increases strength and charisma at the cost of intelligence, all three by minor amount. Minorly addictive. 2 large wasteland tequila - Temporarily increases strength, damage resistance, and poison resistance by moderate amount, increases charisma minor amount, moderate decrease to intelligence. Minorly addictive. 3 bottles rushing water - By mixing jet with purified water you get a chem that increases attack speed by 50%, while nullifying jet’s addictive properties. 6 stimpacks - Injection that stimulates fast healing. 5 vials of Inferno - A new chem made with the ashes of Megadragonbowser, water, and a bit of broc flower, it temporarily gives incredible resistance to heat while increasing internal body temperature to burning highs, but become highly irritable and violent. Minorly addictive. 4 jet inhalers - A drug manufactured in the New California Republic to grant heightened senses and increased stamina. Highly addictive. 3 packs coyote tobacco chew - Increases perception and agility, minorly addictive. 2 tins of Mentats - Pills that stimulate brain activity to heighten intelligence, perception, and charisma. Addiction insignificant. 4 beers - Yup. It’s beer. Leftover crafting material - The leftovers of chem crafting that weren’t enough to make more, mostly including fungus and turpentine.