[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ziR5Pse.png[/img] [b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 2118 (+3 exp) (+1 rapport) [b][color=SpringGreen]Bowser Jr: Level 14 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=SpringGreen]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](297/140) [b][color=Aqua]Rika: Level 10 [/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aqua]///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](213/100) Lvl 14 Geralt (12140) -> (130/140) Lvl 10 Roxas (23/100) -> (26/100) [/center] [hider=for seekers] 30 brown apricorns [/hider] The gang’s leisurely ride/drive to the abandoned truck stop was interrupted at the last moment by its current occupiers who yelled at them rather rudely to leave and then shot at them. Or near them Not at all familiar with the concept of a warning shot, Rika leapt off of her steed and had it bank around to act as cover while she called out for the others to get [color=Aqua]”Behind the whale!”[/color] to use it for cover. As it came to a stop and she crouched behind it, the ship girl began to turn the whale’s turrets towards the building, intending, it seemed, to simply level it rather than worry about where they were being shot from exactly. With her brother having been a bit away from them in his own ride, it was down to the other two to allow or stop this behavior at their own discretion. Geralt let out a long-suffering sigh at the warning shots, but his exasperation turned to alarm at Rika’s reaction. As the whale's turrets turned towards the shack, Geralt called out to her. “Rika, wait! Those were just warning shots. They're just trying to keep us out. Warn us that if we try to come closer, they'll shoot for real.” [color=Aqua]”Huh?”[/color] Was Rika’s confused reply, but she did stop turning her turrets, and just in time too. A few more degrees and they’d have been shot at for real. [color=Aqua]”But we do wanna go in though, right?”[/color] Rika asked with a confused cock of her head, before pointing out that [color=Aqua]”My brother needs a wall to paint on”[/color] The brother in question had wheeled around the other way when they’d been shot at with Roxas sprinting to follow, and was now driving his way over, a metal shield raised between him and the building in case they decided that stopping their approach wasn’t good enough. Geralt just sighed at Rika's question, shrugging. “Up to you, but I usually don't make a habit of killing folk unless they really need it.” Punctuating the reality of the situation, he gestured over to the outpost. “Unless you think we can knock them all out without getting ourselves killed, that is.” Ultimately, it was up to them. He'd protect them if they decided that they needed this wall to draw on, but he wasn't going to start the fight, either. [color=Aqua]”Huh”[/color] Rika replied, curling up a big metal fist, popping it under her chin, and going [color=Aqua]”Hmmm”[/color] as she tried to think of doing this, at which point jr rolled in and asked [color=SpringGreen]”Hey, what we doing?”[/color] Once he’d been filled in, he said [color=SpringGreen]”I mean I’ve got a spell that puts things to sleep, and Dazzle can do the same with singing. But I kinda need to know where they are to do that”[/color] before adding that [color=SpringGreen]”also we could just go back to the cliffs and I could paint on those, but that’s booooooooring”[/color] [color=gold]”So you’d rather… pick a fight… with strangers?”[/color] Roxas asked between heavy breaths after he caught up with the group. He was with Geralt on this one, not wanting to get into any fights they could avoid. He’d certainly still act in defense of his friends if they decided to go through with fighting. But he wouldn’t feel particularly great about it, either. [color=gold]”If it’s a wall we need, then I can just make us one with my virtual cubes.”[/color] The Nobody offered. [color=SpringGreen]”I mean, bad guy, remember”[/color] Jr began to rely, only for the loudspeaker to blare “I repeat. Turn back. You have ten seconds to comply” over him, the building holders clearly not satisfied with them simply stopping their advance, before beginning a countdown of “nine, eight, seven” [color=SpringGreen]”Uuuuurgh, fine, we can go and try and make a wall!”[/color] the prince groaned, before starting up his car’s electric engine and setting off away from the gas staging muttering about how they couldn’t blame him if the art came out bad. [color=Aqua]”Couldn’t we fire our own warning shot and make our own demands that they leave? We are stronger n stuff, right? I could, like, make a big explosion or something to scare em”[/color] Rika suggested, even as she followed her brother in moving away from the building, a whale trailing behind them in case the occupiers decided to try and shoot them in the back anyway (They didn’t). As they started moving away, Geralt leaned over to Rika. “If we shot back, that might have triggered Galeem's influence and forced them to fight us to the death. I'm not exactly sure how it works with warning shots, but better to be safe I think.” [color=Aqua]”I guess”[/color] she replied with a sigh Roxas started to jog away but got the idea to ride on Turbo instead. He released the Revavroom from her Poke Ball and hopped on. Once her passenger was secured, Revavroom began accelerating forward in order to catch up with Jr’s clown car. Once they were a distance away, the Nobody hopped off of Turbo in thought. He wasn’t sure how big the wall needed to be exactly, and there were limits to the number of virtual cubes he could generate at a time. Ultimately he decided on a five foot by five foot square wall to start with. If needed, he could always dispel the wall and generate one with slightly different dimensions if it wasn’t tall or wide enough for Jr’s painting to fit on it. Roxas grasped the triangular Phantom Ruby necklace he wore and proceeded to generate the five-by-five wall in question. The red virtual cubes were packed solidly together, and hopefully that was enough of a solid surface for the portal to be painted on. [color=SpringGreen]”I guess this’ll work”[/color] the prince decided before snapping his fingers while thinking and saying [color=SpringGreen]”Now, uh, what did it look like again? … oh, right!”[/color] before brandishing his brush, and painting a large M with two umlauts on top onto the wall, one that shimmered and revealed in it a vision of a bustling, non abandoned, truck stop [color=SpringGreen]”And done!”[/color] he declared, planting the butt of his brush against the sand, frowning, and then asking, [color=SpringGreen]”These gonna stick around after you go through? Coz I dunno what this vanishing while your going through would do”[/color] [color=gold]”It should be fine.”[/color] Roxas said as he recalled Turbo back into her Poke Ball. [color=gold]”The only times I’ve noticed them vanishing is if they’re destroyed in battle or if I generate a new set of cubes somewhere else.”[/color] He explained but then also added a warning, [color=gold]”That still means this’ll be a one-way trip, though. So are we sure we’ve got everything we were after?”[/color] Jr just sorta gestured around the landscape and its general lack of value to the likes of him before spotting one of the great gaaahrs way off back the way they had come and remembered an idea he’d had that they’d not acted on [color=SpringGreen]”Oh. We forgot to record one of the tall things. Oops”[/color] before simply shrugging and saying [color=SpringGreen]”oh well”[/color] [color=Aqua]”I mean I wanted a big treasure but I guess the rocks will do”[/color] Rika said, having joined them just in time for the question Geralt nodded. “I mostly just came to make sure you all didn't get eaten by a giant monster.” He said with a small smirk. [color=SpringGreen]”Alright, then let’s go already!”[/color] Jr said, before bunny hopping his clown car up in front of the portal. It hung in the air for a moment, no propeller spinning, simply suspended, and then both he and it transformed into a stream of bubbles that flowed into the painting. Within it, if the others looked closely, they could see a stream of bubbles pop into existence above near the entrance to the truck station, which then solidified into the form of the prince and his flying machine. Rika didn’t look, she just counted in her head for a few moments to give her brother enough time to get clear, and then followed suit, warping from here to there in the blink of an eye. Taking a deep breath, Geralt waited about as long as Rika had before jumping into the portal as well. Roxas was the last one to go. He counted fifteen seconds in his after Geralt left before approaching and jumping through the portal. He was not a hundred percent sure if his assertion about the cubes had been correct, but it was a relief when it turned out that it was. And just like that, the gang crossed the entire space they had just traveled, and a bit more, in only a fraction of the time it had taken them to get out to the outback. [color=SpringGreen]”Soooo. Wanna go for a snack? Place we ate at last time is gone, which is lame, but whatever that is might be good”[/color] Jr suggested, referring to the new Cheesetopia restaurant that had replaced Grillby’s, only for Rika to remind him that [color=Aqua]”Tora took all our money”[/color] [color=SpringGreen]”Oh. Right.”[/color] the prince replied, a little dejectedly, before glancing around and saying [color=Aqua]”Well there’s gotta be something to do round here till the others get back”[/color] Taking a few moments to get his bearing after the portal, Geralt shrugged. “If it isn't too late, we could always try to get something on board the Avenger.” Far be it from him to turn down food. [color=SpringGreen]”I guess we could just go right back rather than sticking around here”[/color] the prince replied, before asking [color=SpringGreen]”wanna?”[/color] Unfortunately Roxas was light in the pockets as well. He had some change from an earlier trainer battle he had won back in Port Meridia but that likely wasn’t enough to buy a meal, especially not for four people. [color=gold]”Wonder if there’s some other way to get a snack?”[/color] He pondered aloud. Geralt shrugged, looking around. “Unless we begged for it, or went back out to scavenge for food, can't think of many ways we could get our hands on something.” [color=Aqua]”Shoulda taken whatever those shooty people’s salvage was”[/color] Rika grumbled, while Jr looked over at the manufacturing set up and though out loud [color=SpringGreen]”I wonder if they’d wanna buy some of the rocks n stuff we found?”[/color] `A quick check in about that, and the total sum they could get was a total of 6,300 z, which was a fair amount, yet at the same time not so much. Certainly enough for a little snack however. Little, being the key word, given it was 400-500 for a coffee alone. Still. It was something. They got themselves settled down, and the kids grabbed themselves a pair of [url=https://i.imgur.com/uMfSN1K.png]‘Nitro Fuel’ juice boxes[/url] and one for Roxas as well. Geralt ordered an [url=https://i.imgur.com/MiaoYgB.png]“Uncle Henry’s”[/url] for his own drink. As for food, Rika more or less insisted they get a [url=https://i.imgur.com/MiaoYgB.png]Cheesetopia Platter[/url] due to it giving them the most variety in food possible on their budget. Plus it was good for sharing. Not a lot of food, but then the point really was to be able to sit down in the air conditioned restaurant and take another break while they waited for the other groups to get back. And all it cost about 2/3s of the money they’d just gotten then so be it. Still, it was a pleasant enough way to pass the time, and so the quartet engaged in low stakes smalltalk till the time to head back and meet the mysterious commander of the lost numbers arrived.