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Post by Zane on Feb 14, 2020 4:11:56 GMT -8
Once she put on the communicator, she was able to hear the orders for why the others were moving out. And it also showed imagery of what was going on as well: a sight Feint knew about as well. Those were clearly denizens from the Dark Colony spreading out across Creamland from the same starting point. They were starting their attack on various areas all about Netopia, explaining the scramble order as it were. And the clear one that was their ringleader holding his ground in that starting position, another face Feint would know of: Xion.
"Go and eliminate as many of those invaders as possible and drive them out. We'll deal with their leader with proper discretion."
It was clear why the agents weren't exactly to engage him head on based on their proper discretion. It was a matter of if they were ready for a direct confrontation with him or not. So based on their discretion, they could engage him first or engage him last. Either way, Feint would be able to make that call herself once she was out there on the scene.
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Post by Warrior on Feb 14, 2020 19:12:28 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png Feint was casually absent from the invasion of Creamland a few years back, or as it was formally dubbed: The Autumnal Assault. She heard witness of the event though, so the description of the denizens from that Dark Colony checked out.
Xion she'd never really crossed paths with before, probably heard a story of him once from Warrior concerning the Autumnal Assault's closure, but truth be told most of those stories were just salty recollections of how Jake and his derpy friends got bodied by a big pumpkin man that "cheated". An event she wasn't sad to have missed out on, really.
All that said though, she'd received her orders so now was time to perform. Taking on the head honcho sounded great in her mind, but Grom seemed to have his own plans in mind, so the lower ranking troops would have to do for now.
" ... "
Feint never really gave much acknowledgement when receiving direction, but rather just acted on it immediately rather than wasting the breath to let the other person know she heard and understood, as it would be plainly obvious by her next course of action that she had.
So with stoic silence, she made her way to the scene as ordered to assist in driving back the invading forces.
(Feint -> Netopian Invasion)
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Post by Warrior on Mar 3, 2020 20:10:19 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png Feint returned from her mission successful, though not satisfied. Still, Netopia was safe for now and that was enough to at least be happy about when she thought about it that way. She made her way back to Grom and went straight to debriefing -- a bit of a jumped gun really, but it'd show passiveness to wait to be asked.
" I'm back, Grom. Their leader ended up picking a fight regardless, but seemed to be restraining himself considerably. Some other brute showed up, took the leader's sword, and left, then said leader called back his troops and left as well. It was nothing illustrious, but, well... they're out of our hair for now. "
Nothing illustrious indeed. Sometimes that's just how things went, she figured.
" Wish I could say where they went off to, but I'm not entirely gifted in portal magics unfortunately. The damage turned out to be pretty minimal considering other recent events. "
Next to New Life and Rammount, "pretty minimal" was an understatement. Which was another thing to be grateful for in the end: she ultimately contributed in the prevention of another catastrophe when viewed at that angle.
" ... "
And her silence indicated that she was finished, waiting either new tasks or further questioning as it was Grom's turn to speak now.
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Post by Zane on Mar 12, 2020 5:16:20 GMT -8
So she managed to make it back without too much of an incident compared to the previous attacks. Except he couldn't help but feel that kind of report was a bit off. The leader was restraining himself? And yet he recognized the imagery of the leader all too well. And calling it "portal magics" was a rather appropriate way to refer to it now. It might look similar, but fundamentally they would operate rather differently than their more scientific ways would use to explain them away. A distraction then? Would Xion ever use himself as a decoy? ...Doubtful.
"Good work. If the issue is gone, it's gone. Whatever their objective was either was thwarted or not as dangerous as their appearance led us to believe. Either means it won't be a problem for our next move."
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Post by Warrior on Mar 13, 2020 12:51:54 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png " There is... one more thing. "
It was more of a hunch, which was a feeling she rarely trusted, but she figured Grom's judgement would know whether or not it'd be best to follow it if she'd shared it.
" Goon Squad was from the Dark Colony -- the one from Creamland's invasion a little while back -- that much was impossible to deny. But to my knowledge, the Dark Colony has been absent for quite some time now and I doubt that this was the first place they decided to suddenly show up. "
It was becoming more obvious what Feint's hunch was by this point: not being gifted in portal magics didn't prevent her from being able to put pieces together and build a hypothesis out of them on the fly. Contrarily, the mysterious presence she had felt before leaving the previous scene went completely unmentioned -- whether she had simply brushed it off or just forgotten about it was anyone's guess.
" I'd wager Creamland was either their first stop or their next one now that they're gone. Whether or not the two continents decided to play Red Rover with each other again is on the table too I guess, but I'm less concerned with their well-being and more interested in getting to the bottom of what inspired them to pay Netopia such a sudden visit. "
While she was working with much less information than Grom, she was certainly eager to get more of it.
" I'm not opposed to going snooping around enemy lines if you think it'd be worth the time. "
Now that she had the Isolator, she could more or less go as far away as she wanted to and still be in touch. Naturally, she was fine sticking around as well since Grom didn't seem as concerned now that they had left Netopian soil, but the call was his to make.
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Post by Zane on Mar 13, 2020 13:27:53 GMT -8
This information was why he was going to leave Creamland up to their fate again. They had wholly different views on matters, but putting that aside, it had been gone for some months now. If it returned usually it would just mean more trouble for Creamland and if they intended an attack of larger scale, Xion wouldn't have pulled out without much of a fuss if he was already leading the charge. If they played 'Red Rover' together would be a tad preferable, but he didn't imagine they had that kind of good fortune. Of course given the size of Creamland and the like, she would likely be spending quite some time behind enemy lines to find whatever they had done. Time they had at least. Their borders with Creamland wouldn't be an issue for her anyway, so it would just be a bit more time spent with the coming and goings of the matter.
"If you can find out what they were after, that will work well for us. Any number of excuses could keep the Knights off of you. In the meantime we'll be sending some forces to Electopia as well. With the ONB debunked, we can handle the situation and get it under control our way without any issue."
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Post by Warrior on Mar 13, 2020 14:42:45 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png " Understood then. "
Being that NIA's vision directly contrasted with that of the Creamland Knights, it likely wouldn't be in her best interest to go waltzing through their front door. Ideally, she was still recognizable as "NIA's Troublemaker" since her newly acquired acceptance into their ranks wasn't necessarily publicized yet, but being a human at all sort of put her at odds with the 'Knights.
Being a human also had advantages though -- she could use her "back doors" to get around digital borders, which was precisely her plan here, as Grom would probably deduce.
With her orders received, she Pulsed Out and made way to Creamland for her investigation -- her NIA Isolator found itself stored as an application for her PET in the event that she needed to be contacted while in the Real World.
(Feint -> Pride Castle)
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Post by Warrior on Jul 1, 2020 14:19:05 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png Returning once more, Feint squared up to Grom's quarters having arrived from Creamland, likely a bit sooner than expected considering the scope of the investigation.
" I've returned. "
She'd wait to be addressed this time, understanding that it was more likely she would have shown up in the middle of something than the last because of how short her trip was as opposed to how long it should have been. It wasn't necessarily a bad sign, just that she found something worthy of reporting before searching the entire continent was all.
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Post by Zane on Jul 1, 2020 15:27:24 GMT -8
Grom was looking at a screen this time, though from Feint's position she couldn't make out what was on the other end. It was after she arrived and announced herself that he looked away from it, dismissing the screen after. Whatever it was could be considered to be less important than Feint's report from her trip to Creamland.
"That's quicker than expected. What do you have to report?"
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Post by Warrior on Jul 1, 2020 16:07:58 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png The screen was none of her business, so she didn't even try to steal a glance. Obedient and loyal as a hound, she may as well have worn an collar inside these halls.
" I didn't search around as much as I'd like to admit before a strange BBS Post led me to the Pride Castle where a mysterious artifact suddenly appeared. "
Honesty to a fault, to boot. She wasn't opposed to going back and finishing her search, of course, but her presence here undoubtedly indicated that whatever she found was certainly something she deemed important enough to report before completing her last assignment.
" It looked like a globe, but with additional continents than our own on it. I didn't find any signs of the Dark Colony in Creamland, but I wanted to discern whether or not the new artifact could have been related considering the coincidences. "
The object's appearance was as sporadic as the attack on Netopia just hours prior, not to mention that it was within virtually the same time frame. Combined with the undefined continents on the globe possibly correlating to the Dark Colony, a continent in and of itself, and the almost ominous aura that the object projected, the parallels became impossible to ignore.
" I didn't get it. It seemed to have a will of its own and was pretty selective of who its next owner would be -- and I think it goes without saying that my appeal is a bit of an acquired taste. "
Blunt, but factual. Her persona in a nutshell. The extra details with the 'Knights was probably easy enough to deduce given where this all went down, and some explanations were more thorough than they were worth when they didn't affect the outcome of the important details.
" The artifact ended up in the possession of the cat navi you showed me earlier: Nightshade. To be completely honest, I'm... not able to subdue him. "
Even without the artifact giving him a protective field and some other unpredictable abilities, he was far too passive for her weapon to work against him, as demonstrated when Shine confronted him first. Feint's own striking power was directly limited by whatever struck her first; if the enemy was too tactful or even too cowardly, she posed no actual threat. She didn't say this outwardly, but whether or not Grom was able to deduce this after her encounters with "Xion" and Joker before was an unspoken mystery as well.
" ... but I do know where he's heading. "
This much was certain: the BBS Post specified an exact location in its request. If Nightshade were to comply with it, as he had been doing so far, he'd inevitably have to end up at the predetermined destination.
" The artifact wanted to be taken to Element City. If he's as obedient to it as he's been showing, we could wait for him and confront him there -- arresting him and the artifact to determine if it's related to the Dark Colony, or what it is at all otherwise. I knew this one should be your decision since it's beyond my individual ability to succeed here, and it goes a bit outside of the original tasking. "
Her pride was certainly being tested, but it went to show that she could admit a shortcoming when it mattered. Netopia may not have been at stake, but her mission was important to her nonetheless. Either outcome worked for her here: going back to continue her investigation would have been fully justified in her mind if the words came from Grom's mouth, as it would have simply meant that he knew something beyond her and that the artifact was of no importance for what she had been sent after.
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Post by Zane on Jul 1, 2020 16:31:38 GMT -8
Considering someone of her loyalty was willing to derail from the message meant that it was important enough to matter more than the colonists. They had driven them away so in comparison that did make it not as much of a problem in the grand scheme of things. The description of the globe itself was telling enough that it didn't belong here. And the last time this happened was a result of one who was no longer among their ranks from the look of it as they couldn't find that one and put him away for his idle curiosity. It was either a roadmap to more of what related to the Colony, or in another scenario, much like various others who came from yonder... they had at least four to five confirmed cases of that as it were. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility.
"Considering last time a mysterious object with a will of its own arrived, it resulted in the Dark Colony, I imagine we already have an idea where this is headed."
Did he have an idea about what it was exactly? Not quite. But he did know that it meant they would have more uninvited guests. The last time those guests came uninvited they were the reason Creamland remained a shadow of its former self. Given it felt like making Element City its mark, that at least meant it would start as Electopia's problem and then become their problem later. How bothersome...
"And if they were here for decent enough reasons they certainly wouldn't have chosen a fool like Nightshade to be the herald of that descent. They chose him because he's desperate and naive enough to fall for anything you tell him. So I suppose that means we're on our way to Element City. It's about time this game of cat and mouse with him came to an end. Let's go."
This was one of the few moments he felt annoyance in that they were short a secretary that he could have sent instead. He got up himself, sending a message out as he prepared for departure as well. He didn't fancy having to do field work himself, but there were always occasions where one had to step outside and do it themselves. That and at the moment he wasn't in range to just drag the cat to him here and save themselves the trouble.
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Post by Warrior on May 13, 2021 19:37:41 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/tfMIaZp~png Seemingly out of the blue, a Poison Anubis with a strapped-on NIA Isolator appears within the building, coming from who knows where and letting pour its poisons instantly.
Countermeasures were likely in place for events such as these, depending on where precisely each Isolator's teleportation coordinates would land its holder, but it was no doubt an either greatly disturbing or greatly obnoxious situation to behold.
While the Isolator could likely be traced back to its original owner, it was left to question whether this was intentional or accident, and whether it spelled that its owner was in a perilous situation or not. Questions would need to come later, of course, as it would only take so long for the poisonous gas to infiltrate the facility's ventilation system if it were to go unresponded to.
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Post by Warrior on May 24, 2021 19:03:32 GMT -8
#s://i~imgur~com/U4Xclbh~png Having used her own NIA Isolator's teleportation function just after Pulsing In, Feint found herself in the same vicinity as the Poison Anubis, but it had been here for quite some time, probably arriving only a couple hours after her own departure earlier this morning -- it was late at night, now. Fortunately, that at least meant that the building was minimally staff, but evacuation procedures for fully ventilating a toxic-gas space were still likely in order.
~*Bang!*~ ~*Bang!*~ ~*Bang!*~ ~*Bang!*~ ~*Bang!*~
The Moral Paragon was nothing if not resourceful in allowing her weapon to fire off critical blasts without requiring siphoned energy, and that made short work of the now completely destroyed Anubis that had been there just moments prior.
" ...? "
Another NIA Isolator sparkled in the debris of the Anubis, Feint picking it up to inspect it and see who's signature it was.
" Of course. "
" Cher-Bear! At long last, we're reunited! "
As if on queue, the accidental assailant herself came waltzing through the door: Shine.EXE, Feint's leverage into the NIA. It was no secret by now that Feint's real name was Cherish Pele, and also no secret that she wasn't fond of Shine's nickname for her.
" I warned you what'd happen the next time you called me that. "
" It'll have to wait! I've got something for Grom! "
Shine pointed to the object that she had remarkable still been towing by means of windbox all the way from Creamland; its corrosive properties leaving a very visible trail behind it as it slid across the ground.
" You're ruining the floor. "
" It hurts to touch! "
" Stop being so dramatic. "
Unconvinced of Shine's warning, Feint reached down to grab the object anyway -- unconsciously gauging whether any number of combined factors would have made her attempts any different than Shine's: the fact that she was Human, her significant interference with Wave Matter that had occurred throughout the day, or even just the influence of the OOPArts that still clung to her body just as they had in the Real World.
How that interaction resolved wouldn't divert her attention from Regis, who'd recognize Cherish from Pride Castle earlier that day, and the unconscious stranger that they had in tow.
" I see you've brought your friend with you, too. And who's your luggage? "
They'd all be moving forward to meet with Grom, next, assuming he was even still in office, but a preliminary exchange of information was in order first.
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Post by Regis on May 24, 2021 20:27:09 GMT -8
Regis let Shine lead on, looking around in slight curiosity, and wonder at the area. Definitely not somewhere he was expecting to be at. He looked over in the direction of the vaguely familiar voice that he heard, trying to figure out why it was so familiar. ...Ah. It was the angry lady. Or rather, aggressive lady? Hard to say, given the few times that he'd seen her, but he felt that either was pretty fitting with her. "Careful." He figured he'd try to give her a warning, even if it seemed like she was the type of person to not listen anyhow. He was curious to how it would interact with her, given what he had seen. Although, she had made mention of himself and their 'luggage'.
"Good question." Is what the weapon user opted to answer with. Because... He didn't really have a good response to that in all honesty. Shine might have a better one, given that she had been doing a bit more research than himself. But hard to say if it was something that was fully answerable at the current time.
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Post by Zane on May 24, 2021 21:08:48 GMT -8
While the methods to deal with the Anubis was intact, Feint destroying it was still a better outcome than leaving it to go at its work. And as Feint reached down to pick it up, she was right to assume that it wasn't as bad of an influence on her as it would be to Shine or Regis. She could still feel a bit of pain from holding it, but between the OOParts and the Wave Matter she was able to carry it at least instead of leaving it to continue its disruption of the floor. To which a voice spoke up then to meet them halfway, one could say.
"That object is rather bothersome. What is it?"
His voice had a bit of agitation to it, as if between it and the Anubis he was becoming a bit irate. Ordinarily he wouldn't have even had to have the Anubis dealt with, but Shine just so happened to find a very specific loophole that he would have to see to so she wouldn't make that into a habit. That or he would have to be a bit more thorough to remind her not to use it in such a manner. On top of this he recognized the other one that they were carrying, as he was on file. One of the rebels to the system as one would have it during the Revolution's push against the ONB. It wasn't as though he was aligned with the Revolution but honestly speaking, everyone who didn't agree with the License System may as well have been. But seeing Feint returned as well and still remembering his thoughts from hours ago about a certain matter she was assigned to, he would do this properly, showing Regis a map as he started to head back to his office. He'd want their reports now so he could be up to date on the various situations.
"You can take your luggage, namely the Navi there, to the infirmary. Your reports are important, so come with me."
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