Fallen Empire

[albatross]

The cat girl smiles and plays with the lynx for a bit until she senses the young animal is restless and then she bows to Aki, "Thank you for the introduction. Let me know if there is anything you require."

Watching the preparations, Aki can sense the bunny girls are more than a bit animal like, just like their larger Gigante cousins.

[albatross]

Through the wonders of time travel, Beatrix returns almost instantly with everything Jourdan asked for both from his apartment and new items.

She steps in close to Jourdan, her black vinyl jumpsuit smells intoxicating for some reason, and she puts one arm around him as she sweeps her hand theatrically, "Your wish, is my command."

Fakir smiles, "Beatrix, put your helmet on, I don't think our new friends have the tolerance and I need them sober for now. You can flirt later." Beatrix sighs and puts her helmet on, and Jourdan realizes that she didn't smell intoxicating in a figurative sense, but that her scent was having a slow, subtle effect on him. It would take a while for this level of exposure to equal even one drink, but he realizes that it would be possible for him to get drunk off of exposure to Beatrix.

Her voice sounding seductive and playful even through the helmet. Beatrix asks Jourdan, "Is that everything? How will you carry it all? Oh, you could use my dimensional pocket!"

[thorley]

"That doesn't clarify things to the extent I'd like. I also asked you a VERY straightforward question, *WHY* *DOES* *DARYL* *WANT* *YOU* *DEAD*. He seems to know you fairly well, and to be certain killing you is for the best. He's the one who brought me into this, and obviously I trusted him enough to come this far. If you expect me to aid you, I don't think a straightforward answer is unreasonable"

Bellephoebe also makes note that she never mentioned being from Dweamor or who she consulted with.

Watching the Pygmy Gigante it increasingly irritates her that Fakir was willing to sacrifice such comparitively innocent creatures.

[shiivster]

Aki's eyes follow the girls as they move about. she still has trouble reading people, but these ones are easier due to the fact that they seem to have 'instincts' that she can relate too.

*she secures her gear and then settles to the side and caresses Mao's ears and shoulders, putting him at ease. her eyes watch the birds and knows now that they travel with her out of 'duty'. the larger male that sits on Ora's shoulder seems content to be there looking things over. even the messanger bird seems to have settled in to the flitting and carrying messages about.

'it is alright little sister and little brother. our space and time will come. we will do what is needed when it is needed. stay safe and do not die on other lands'

[albatross]

"One of the great ironies of my life is that I kill so seldom and yet so many want me dead. Take after my master I suppose. Are you sure he wants me dead?" Fakir asks, "Or did he tell you that because he knew if you didn't go all out that you'd fail in your mission?"

"Daryl is a lone magi. He barely warrants the term Harrier. He really doesn't know very much. Perhaps he heard some stories about my master or my Father and decided I was following in their footsteps and needed killing - that is the response I usually get. To be fair, my father wasn't a stand up guy and we share the same name, so I expect a little animosity."

[yendor]

"Survival Food Factory, Survival Watch, communicator, Environmental sleeping bag, backpack, 50 feet of lightweight nylon cord, Filtration canteen, gripboots, splat piton. Barring those, regular ones will work." [ahh GURPS, how I dislike your system, but love your tech]

[albatross]

Ginger smiles and bows to Malone, her beer hall dress isn't loose, but the angle is quite a sight. "As you wish," she says.

She leaves and returns a few moments later with all the items Malone has requested with everything that will fit already neatly packed into the backpack.

Her angelic wings flutter as she leans forward to kiss Malone on the cheek in greeting. "This should be all the survival gear you asked for, though I've never heard of some of these brands."

[thorley]

"Fakir, I knew Daryl well enough to teach him magic and learn Temporal magic from him, he's hardly an idiot or one to jump to conclusions. As far as your reputation goes, let's see... you had the Knights Of Camelot here to oppose you, and oh yes... you were willing to murder minions that adore you in order to open a dimensional portal.

In other words, I want you to be straight with me, your not some cuddly, misunderstood do gooder. That's fine, few people are, and you'd probably be shocked at some of the people I've worked with, and what I'm capable of doing for the greater good. If you want my help, or at least not to try and stop you, I want all the facts here, even the unpleasant ones. King Arthur doesn't generally drop everything and show up with his elite because of a few rumors."

Yes, it does occur to Bellephoebe that pissing off Fakir might not be the wisest course, but she isn't going to blindly follow him. What's more she figures if she's going to win a throw down with him it's probably now since she's had all this time to prep and recover and technically only a few minutes have passed for Fakir.

Bellephoebe considers her options, right now she's leaning towards casting an ID Alter Ego (page 141, magic book) to create a dulicate of Fakir with the opposite alignment and point of view and a desire to undermine him. With all of his knowlege it would be interesting to see what such a duplicate has to say.

Also since they are still around, what do the other former PCs (Tesla, etc..) have to say about any of this?

(( OOC-> if I'm supposed to have some back knowlege from anime or the Torchwood TV show or something I as a player happen to lack it, which might be the problem. I've neither seen Inuyasha, or Torchwood ... I'm not trying to be difficult, simply trying to find some reason why Bellephoebe should work with this bozo given that killing him was originally our purpose and she apparently trusted Daryl's judgement enough to take action originally even if we never RPed that.

I can get the direction you apparently want the campaign to go in, and saving this dimension is a good motivator, but from where I'm sitting Fakir hardly seems to be doing a good job of selling himself as suddenly being the good guy )).

[albatross]

Fakir raises his eyebrows. "Your questions are excellent. Like everything I've heard about you and more. All of them are worth answering. A long story to be sure, but worth telling. Let us retire to the conference room along with any of your friends who are interested in the telling. I will tell you the shortest version I can and then you can ask Sarah or use truth magic on my minions to collaborate."

A section of the ship has a large conference room with perhaps twenty-five chairs. Fakir sit on the table, and a couple of bunny girls stand near the door. One of Talon's warrior nuns also joins the conference.

Once everyone who wishes to hear has arrived, Fakir begins. "One of the most important facts to keep in mind when examining my history is that I have a father with the same name who was quite an infamous temporal wizard. My father trained with a temporal raider and stole items of incredible value from many worlds, Atlantis, Palladium, and so on. The spears I wield were his, and he first trained the Pygmy Gigantes in temporal magic to be his minions."

"More than 400 years ago, my father was stealing something from Fallen Empire and in the process he met the young knight Talon - who happened to save his life and the two of them became friends. The temporal raider who trained my father is a menace - a king among thieves - but he had a twisted sense of honor and recruited like minded apprentices, my father included."

"My father longed to repay Talon in some way, and after he retired from thieving, he came to Fallen Empire and eventually died on a quest to reverse the fate that destroyed his friend's world."

"His last will and testament was delivered to me on another world, where he had abandoned my mother. He had no idea he had fathered a son, but his minions had orders to deliver his will to his next of kin and they scoured time until they found me and did so. At the time, me and my mother needed money, so I decided to accompany the messenger in order to retrieve my father's wealth listed in his will."

"I sent the money back to my mother, but I was young and dumb and joined the same temporal raider my father had as an apprentice. My master thought it was very amusing to pretend that I was my father for various schemes and his own general entertainment."

"Eventually, I met Mikalah whom my master loved and I left his service to be the captain of her ship with his blessing. Not long after, while investigating my father's death I discovered the disaster on Fallen Empire."

"I began training under a martial artist whom my master had mentioned - though she opposed him really - in order to mimic my father's fighting style. He was said to have mastered both Aikido and Zanji-Shinjinken Ryu. My new master forced me to swear off my old master's ways and to fulfill the Fakir prophecy as penance for my evil deeds. I accepted...."

"But in the meantime, Talon had also learned time travel and had discovered that his best friend, my father, was not who he seemed to be. Paranoia gripped my father's friend Talon - it happens a lot in time travelers - and I barely rescued his wife before he killed her. Sarah joined my crew as a healer, and when her daughter was old enough Sarah hid her daughter with my second master without telling even me. When it was said I kidnapped Sarah, it would be more accurate to say I saved her from false execution."

"With Talon and his warrior nuns hunting me, I had tremendous trouble investigating the Fallen Empire sequence. I had rescued many of my father's old minions from captivity. Learning of my plight, some of the ones who had known my father swore a blood oath to help me find the cause of the disaster. I know they hardly look it, but wild pgymy gigantes can be very dangerous and my second master had been very firm that I should not go around killing knights or other evil deeds. So part of the blood oath was that the bunny girls would not harm, or permit harm, to knights, nuns or other champions of light if they could prevent it."

"Also, while vast resources were required to fund various endeavors, we worked to make sure that the money came from evil doers, or people who plainly had too much, or by taking resources that would later lead to tragedy."

"For hundreds of years, we worked to find out information on Fallen Empire, while Talon and his nuns worked to find out the same information - and also to kill us. Hundreds of my minions died because they kept to their oath and refused to kill - except on rare occasions where the oath did not apply."

"King Talon wanted to kill me because he thought that the Fakir prophesy was about his best friend and that the reason it did not come true was because a time traveling imposter replaced my father. The reality was that Talon's friend had always been a time traveling imposter so naturally his search for the "real Fakir" was bitterly disappointing. I was viewed as the imposter's son."

"Talon has the ability to summon any knight even most champions, as long as he knows their names, using his Scroll. Arthuu and the others he summoned did not know anything more about me than what Talon told them, which was that I was an evil wizard with subhuman minions preventing him from saving Fallen Empire."

"Most of the people who want me dead falsely believe that I am my father."

"Darrell is a decent temporal wizard, but much of his information was leaked to him by Talon's minions in the hopes that harriers would hunt me down. Much of Darrell's other research on 'me' is not me at all - it is my dear old dad - who is already dead. I cultivate the same image because it helps me in my work, but I no more know him than Darrell does. By most accounts he was a bad person who happened to feel a debt of gratitude to Talon."

"As for my callous disregard for my loyal servants," Fakir's eyes flash, "I don't think you know them or me. You and your friends have been under their protection for quite some time. Beatrix's sister insisted I let Streetwise live in the arena. And when your group crashed on Otataral, my minions cast spells upon all of you so you would stay alive and they would not be guilty of breaking their oath. After they sacrificed themselves, you and your friends didn't even bother to bury them." Fakir seems disappointed, as if he had expected the Torchwood team would have been won over or at least touched by the selfless act.

"To us it appears perfectly logical to use Tesla, Sapphire, Jourdan and Malone... and Talon's immortals in the magic to break through the seal, to the bunny girls it is a grave risk that they could accidentally violate their oath. They have a very different attitude towards death than most humans. Hundreds of them have died, but they are very proud that they have kept their oath. To them, they are risking the fulfillment of their oath over eight noble sacrifices. Obviously I would never risk Sapphire and the others if I thought they would die, but the bunny girls do not see it that way. They experience facts primarily through the senses and not through books. They would rather Sapphire take no risks at all."

"However, Talon's nuns would shamed by such a sacrifice and would not use my minions to break the seal - and my minions would be horrified if any nuns were to die breaching it. Centuries of waiting made us eager to go at once, but after careful discussion there can be no death sacrifice. When Talon and my forces were separate such a thing might have happened, but together our forces will not stand for it."

"If I have not convinced you, then ask my former enemies. Doubt they will embellish the truth on my account. Brilliant questions. Hope that I have answered them in part. Are there other questions?" Fakir fidgets. He is eager to go, yet Bellephoebe's group has brought three immortals and there will be further delay if they won't consent to the ritual. Also he is nervous about the Grey Seers prophesy - why tell Bellephoebe if she isn't needed? He is worried hundreds of years of efforts might go to waste if he cannot convince her.

[kurff]

"Hmmm have any more of those belts and some nifty armor that can be covered by a long coat?" Tesla asked, "An armored long coat preferably."turning away from his pebble test on the forcefield. Reasonably satisfied it would suit his need a belt would be good. the armor would be for more open affairs. Weapons wise he went with his abilities and any he had now. a handgun might help but was not a real concern.

[albatross]

Victoria nods to Tesla, her hair the blue of sky at the moment, her blue eyes regarding him with curious wonder, "I will get them for you." Her voice is cheery and bright and Tesla feels better able to think just listening to her - an odd response. She is human in appearance other than her shifting hair color.

She leaves, returning a short time later with a Triax plain clothes armor and a plain clothes overcoat. She also gives him one of the shield belts. "We will have to train you so that the shield does not disrupt your movements. When we make camp, find me and I'll show you how to make sure your knives don't get caught."

[shiivster]

Aki seems to be in her own world now as she drifts among the various people. the Mongoose and Lynx trail behind. they sniff here and there and make and odd noise to her. she turns and after looking at it will make some odd noise back then continues again.

*Yumi pauses to stare at someone and chirps at him. Mao the Lynx, pauses to make a low cry and licks the mongoose. that sparks an imprompto wrestling match. the mongoose chirps , having gotten on top of the lynx and refuses to budge, until Aki moves closer and scrambles up the small human to perch on the shoulders.

Aki comments to the Mongoose 'shame. dusty now. slow packing to watch.', and is rewarded with a cold wet nose giving her cheek a kiss. 'little brother nice. he knows little sister is brave, but has short legs' and gets a headbutt in return

[yendor]

Grins when kissed, watching the wings unfurl. "Time and space my dear introduce you to many a new thing, though I *am* surprised you had them at all."

At the conference, listens intently, no doubt taking mental notes of the history.

[shiivster]

Aki pauses to look at what has caught her companions attention. she will go and listen to the many words that fly over her head and confuse her more. she studies the various people that have arrived. now her attention focuses on the male that has some female with wings . . . wings? shakes hte head and resumes watching that odd one

'not sure. am thinking they bite faces? no want know why' *she will ponder what that face biting thing was about and will sit down and wait. the many words confuse her

[kurff]

"Sounds good, My Psionics should usable through it. I can create a charge outside of the field and manipulate that." he nods, "and I need a language tranlator so I can understand every one. thanks, Victoria" he grinned.