Somewhere, a Mittens is sharing Joe's world view on proper Robotnic disposal.  "Thanks Emerald."  He wonders what it says about the world when they will question many things, but 'I have portal gun plans' is taken at face value even by himself.  Oh, right, it's a crazypants world.

  "I think he was taking your claims of keeping the plans inside your head in a literal fashion.  Clearly her head opens up like a cookie jar instead of it being imbedded on a computer chip, duh Phillip."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:15, Tue 22 Nov 2011.

Valin listens to Glados' reply still thinks something is strange about the situation as he asks, "Okay what is so great about this gun that they felt they had to exile you because you know now to build it but that they wouldn't care if it fell into the wrong hands since if they did you'd be dead by now and they'd probably dispose of your body where no one would ever find it? With a name or nickname like portal gun, it sounds like it blows holes in walls. Were they afraid you'd destroy the city with it by filling the city with so many holes they'd have to rename Jarlton to Swiss-Cheese-Ville?"

After all if Glados isn't being forthcoming about where she is from or why they kicked her out, maybe another approach could be used to try and figure out if she is safe or too dangerous to let near Channelwood.

Samuel looks at Mittens and then after Katy looks at both Mittens and himself, Samuel calmly says, "Unfortunately until we learn how to reverse the robotization effect and save those we have lost, we can't simply kill him. We could very well need knowledge that only he has to reverse the process. And even then he wouldn't give us that knowledge unless we first broke him. He's sadistic enough he'd want to take those secrets to the grave out of spite, so we'd have to change his mind about that. Hence the turn him into a toilet concept as the only weakness I can see in Robotnik is his ego, well that and he's a heart-attack waiting to happen, but that won't help in this situation. And if the only way to break him and save those I've lost is to do something so horrible that people would think I am even worse than Robotnik... if it got my crew members and myself back home safe and sound... then I could live with that on my conscious. Hypothetical situation, if you were placed in a situation where you had two choices, one where you would save your friends, family, and loved ones and stop Robotnik forever, but to do it required getting your hands dirty by doing something so contemptible that even Robotnik would hesitate to do it, or the other option where you maintain the status quo... could any of you look them all in the eye and tell them all sorry but your freedom is not worth me getting my hands dirty? Yes some may hate you for it, but at least they would be free to express that hatred instead of being Robotnik's slaves."

By the tone in Samuel's voice it is obvious that he is quite serious in that he'd do whatever it took to save those Robotnik has taken from him, and with how he looks around he is also not directing the question simply at Mittens, but at everyone present. Of course Samuel suspects that its a loaded question since to disagree would be to claim that it would be better for someone to be enslaved to Robotnik and he cant' see anyone saying that someone would be better off roboticized and slaving away for Robotnik. Samuel smirks slightly as he wants to see someone squirm out of having to admit that yes in that situation they would do the deed, but he expects most to be pansies and say that the situation could never occur.

Philip blinks a few seconds, his sleepy head spinning that the question asked of him was answered for him faster than his brain could even process it, much less think of a reply.  Not to mention the confusion of an adult who talks like a care-free child in spite of facing death.  This followed by more confusing not-to-be-taken-literally commentary that in this crazypants world could be taken literally.  Philip narrows his eyes and tries to discreetly find a hint of a seam on her head that would suggest that it has a cookie-jar like lid.

"Let's have a look at these plans, then," Philip says, figuring that maybe his request's answer might answer Valin's question.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Wed 23 Nov 2011.

Mittens is so completely convinced that she was clearly not arguing but rather offering helpful advice that she infers that Katy has a third opinion but would rather not voice it for fear of starting an argument.  She sweatdrops at the sudden invitation to leave.

"How 'bout a snowball fight?  All work and no play makes for a stressed out dragon-kicking hero.  Or maybe a cookout?  May Ling here makes some exotic dishes.  Or maybe both?  It's not often I get to stretch my legs, much less at an awesome tree village."

She considers Samuel's mini speech.

"Good points.  Then I suppose it would be wise to also work on unlocking the secrets of roboticization in addition to working on overcoming Robotnic.  In fact the one might be the reason the other is accomplished as opposed to the other way around.

"If that wasn't a rhetorical question, my answer is no.  If I had to make a hard choice, I'd likely regret the choice regardless of which decision I made.  But I don't think anyone has the right to expect you or anyone else to do what is immoral in order to rescue them.  And if they love you more than themselves, they would ask you not to.  If you would sacrifice your freedom to shield those you love from shame, allow them to sacrifice as much for you."

Shelly says, "I think a lot of people are willing to do a lot of things. But becoming evil is definitely not on my list."

Mei Ling is quiet, pondering how to answer.

Pierson says, "Thankfully, my loyalty is to the crown as they are the closest thing I have to family. So all my moral misgivings of a situation fall on Shelly's shoulders if she orders me to do something contemptible."

Shelly folds her arms. "Gee. Thanks, Pierson."

Pierson glances at Shelly. "Not that she would order me to do anything contemptible."

Shelly squirms slightly, feeling the weight of her responsibility a bit more. HER actions matter more than just to herself. As a leader, she has less choice in the matter and has to act responsibly or else.

Katy puts her fists on her hips and says, "Even hypothetically, Robotnik would not hesitate to do anything contemptible. As for your question, I don't know my limits. There is always such a thing as going too far. An old saying goes; Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. It means just because something is dirty, you don't throw everything in the trash to get rid of it since that defeats the purpose. What is love anyway, Samuel? Is love about how angry you are at evil? Or is it about how much you want to protect people? Well I ask myself that every day and for good reason. Your question is a very valid one and deserves a lot of thought. I hope you meditate on it more and come to the same conclusion that I have; if I rescue my family's bodies and not their souls, then I've destroyed them and Robotnik wins."

Katy glances at Mittens. "...a snowball fight sounds good. I'm up for it if the rest of you are."

Mei Ling is thankful she got out of answering Samuel's question.

GLaDOS says, "Like I said, Mr Gorilla, I don't know what those meanypantses are thinking! I'm not psychic!" she huhs at Philip. "Oh! OK!"

She immediately goes for the nearest stick and begins drawing in the snow. She draws what look like the beginnings of extremely complicated plans and says, "This is a very rough picture of it, but snow doesn't make for the kind of canvas I can draw on in much detail without the use of other materials like ink or lasers. Now to explain some of the theory behind it: A basic equation, y(t)=2h(1/3 - ∑∞(1-^2(-1)_n over n2π2)cos(nπt√g over 2h..." and she is going on from there in stuff the people present don't understand.

(OOC: appologies for the sloppy attempt at making her say advanced math, but at a certain point, you can't type that kind of math on a normal keyboard. But here's the equation I was trying to type out: http://drdavedangerous.files.w...-equations-paint.png )
This message was last edited by the player at 02:33, Sat 26 Nov 2011.

El Edit: Oh, Math AND plans.  Duuur.

  "Well, the assembly instructions are at least more generally comprehensible than the math involved.  But then, that's normally the case in any mechanical structure."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:45, Sat 26 Nov 2011.

As if Philip weren't confused enough, the girl goes from "meanypantses" to incomprehensible science jargon so fast it makes his head spin.  He holds his hand up and mutters, "Please stop..."

He rubs his temples with his other hand.

Mittens smirks at Shelly.  "I too would do latrine duty for you because you've earned my trust and respect enough that I know that whatever seemingly contemptible request you may make, it would be for the greater good.  If you ever gave a command clearly against what you believe in, I Pierson, and everyone else would know right away that you were under the influence of mind control and would immediately storm the tower of the long-fingernailed sorcerer responsible to break his spell!  In other words, you can rely on us to do the right thing just as much as we can rely on you!"

She grins at Katy then begins to act all formal.

"That's rather deep, Madam Dragonkicker.  Deeper even than the reserves of snow I shall unleash to defeat thee and thy team at wintry combat in the field of valor!  I have not a gauntlet to throw down, so I shall improvise..."

She grabs herself and forward flips herself, landing on her back at Katy's feet!

"The mitten has been thrown down!"

Valin arches an eyebrow as Glados begins explaining the mathematics and drawing in the snow as he asks, "Does anyone have any paper or and a pencil or something? Writing on snow is rather limiting." Valin knows that he doesn't understand the mathematics, but if the plans and be put on paper and then taken back to someone in Channelwood or Aquarius who does understand it, then they can at least find out of the gun actually does something, or if this is all just some strange hoax or trap.

Valin glances to Emerald as he wonders what the group should do, since they still have to get the supplies and get back to Channelwood. But he finds Glados to be rather strange but knows it isn't his place to make a decision regarding her.

Samuel looks at Katy and says, "Love has nothing to do with anger, and if you save someone's body but not their mind, then you haven't saved them. Thus in the hypothetical situation I proposed, to save them would be to save them would include freeing their minds and souls from Robotnik..."

Samuel is then interrupted when Mittens throws herself onto the ground as a precursor to a snowball fight. And Samuel groans at Mitten's pun as he mutters, "Guess she wants even more snow dropped on her. Either that or her brain may still frozen from the last brief snowball fight."

Shelly and Mei-Ling both giggle from Mittens' display. Pierson just gives her a "what... the..." look.

Katy looks down at Mittens and says, "So is it going to be team Aquarius vs me and some Channelwood Freedom Fighters?"

Shelly says, "Sure!"

Katy looks up at Samuel. "In a snowball fight, Samuel has an unfair disadvantage of being a bigger target. Sure, he can throw larger snowballs, but still. I'm wondering if there is something I can do to give Team Aquarius a handicap." she gives Mittens a challenging glare. "You'll need it."

Shelly says, "Now, now! Sam can handle himself quite nicely. Let's just pick some people and play!"

Katy says, "Meet you all on ground level. I'll get my 4 other team members to match you bunch."

She has Benji (the hamster who usually has lookout duty) escort the Aquarius group to the elevator. Then goes looking for Michael. Once she finds him, she informs him, he now has the important task of taking a break from work and defending Channelwood's honor with a snowball fight challenge. She then goes to find other Channelwood FF's to join the snowball fight. Amy, Autumn, Benji and maybe Lucky.

Emerald pulls out some paper and a pencil. GLaDOS gets to work on it. Emerald says, "So... can we finish sleeping? We need to have our rest to get to the storage. Valin, maybe you can keep Glados with you. You emit plenty of body warmth and if she tries to escape with our supplies, you are the strongest one here."

GLaDOS is humming a tune to herself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD3v1B_aXw0

  Conveniently, Valin and Joe had already gotten their sleep in already.  Though the double duty of keeping an eye no Glados, and dealing with her if need be would probably be easier to keep nonfatal for Valin...

  Speaking of worries she'd make off with limited supplies, "Valin would be a better choice than me when it comes to dealing with supplies. So, I guess me and others would be sticking around here with Glados when that gets dealt with."

  Unless of course, they wanted to show someone they just met who they don't fully trust where the 'saved in case we're close to starving to death' emergency food stash is.  Like morons.

Philip is more worried about the group being split during an ambush.

"I would recommend accepting her offer to be blindfolded and sticking together as one group if you don't trust her," he suggests, "But logistics can probably be better decided on after breakfast.  You know where to find me if I'm needed."

He returns to his tent.

Mittens grins at the reactions she got and turns a friendly challenge-glance back at Katy.

"Bring it on!"

She follows along with Shelly, excited to get started.

---

(( OOC: Lucky follows along if invited, but won't RP much.  2 alts in 1 thread is enough. ))

Upon hearing Katy think that he is at a disadvantage for being larger, Samuel grins as he tells says, "I may be a bigger target, but also remember, I'm wearing armor, and I do have a functional energy weapon that I can use to knock snow off tree branches, as Mittens learned first hand. So one possibility for a handicap is that I am not to use the weapon built into this armor to knock snow around in the fight, or to try and shoot the snowballs in midair." Samuel then watches as Katy heads off, no doubt to recruit others for her team in the snowball fight.

Instead of following Benji to the Elevator, Samuel heads back to the stairs to head back down since if it wasn't wise for him to use the Elevator to go up, he shouldn't risk trying to use it to go down either, unless he wanted to risk an uncontrolled descent before a crash at ground level.

Michael is indeed working when Katy tracks him down, and when she suggests a snowball fight. Michael is curious as that isn't something he'd expect Katy to come up with as he asks, "Well I don't see anything wrong with it... but out of curiosity, why a snowball fight? That doesn't sound like something you'd suddenly suggest."

Even before Katy responds, Michael starts getting to a stopping point in what he's doing so that he can leave the work in a state what won't be compromised when he returns.

Valin nods to Emerald when she gives her suggestion, although Valin arches an eyebrow as GLaDOS hums as it isn't a tune he recognizes.

When Joe speaks up Valin replies, "With my size, gettin the supplies from where they are stored could be problematic, however carrying and dropping them off will be another matter entirely. But if your volunteering to stay with her while I go and help gather supplies, I'll defer to Emerald for her decision on the matter.

Valin doesn't comment about Phillip's suggestion regarding a blindfold as he thinks it is a bit early to deal with that.

Katy simply nodded to Sam. But she thinks he's being silly about shooting snowballs mid-flight. The guy is a technician, not a marksman. "Snowball fights require the people involved to make snowballs and throw them. Anything else would be a violation of the rules anyway." she points out. "Nevermind the chance of actually hitting someone directly with your weapons." she heads off to Michael.

When Michael asks his question, Katy replies to Michael, "It isn't something I'd suggest normally. The hyper cat from Aquarius named Mittens suggested it. I figure... it's time we all take a break from the grind and do something like this."

Shelly looks over at Mittens and then Samuel. "Well let's get a snow wall fort ready!" she grins at Samuel. "And nothing dictates how that's built, so you could knock some snow down into piled clumps and we can pack it all together to have some "bases" to hide behind."

Emerald earpirks at Joe's point. She nods. "Right. That works. Just keep in mind, we will need to blindfold her at SOME point. We can't leave her in the cold, but revealing the location of Channelwood to a stranger isn't a good idea any more than the location of our grain storage. But she'll need a home. So yeah... let's be thinking on that. I'd honestly rather have her along to help with the grain, but I suppose it would be best for you guys to stay behind with her. Joe and... Raichel."

Philip grunts and returns to sleep.

---

"Hot dog!" Mittens cheers with a clap, "This is gunna be so epic!  I'll make some ammo!"

She gets to work making several piles of snowballs of various sizes.

"Having someone on our side who can launch artillery sized snowballs with a double size arm isn't against the rules either.  We're gunna cream the poor saps.  Nother ninja pun!  Tree folks are saps!"

  "The distance between locations is much larger than the distance in and out of storage several times anyways Valin.  It's like comparing a delivery truck to a forklift."

  Of course, Heavy Duty might not be too inconvenient to have around.  But that's a different kind of forklift.

  Of course, now Joe's view on the whole matter has resulted in him ending up with the job that has more responsibility involved.  Smooth.  "Sure Emerald, sensible not to leave just one of us in any situation these days."