Symeril turned to spot Dyna... trot up and whinned in a tone that meant trouble.  But Symeril knew she was herself moving on borrowed time her body was broken.. and ONLY because of her cyber armor repairing itself was she moving at all.

Stopping, "I hear you Dyna... hang on... I'll get help to Cole."

Triggering her cybernetic radio, +"Argent! Cole is in need of rapid transport to the WR-5050... we are almost there already.  Dyna will lead the way!"+

There was an almost immediate reply, +"Acknowledged Battle Angel.  There is no need I have already identified his location. Evacing him immediately."+

----

A shadow and the whine of thrusters powering down came across Cole.. and the silver skinned Draco-Mecha descended with the beat of its great wings.  Argent's Bio-Scanners had identified the location of most of the team but was close to retrieving Sam when Dyna freed Cole and he moved that way instead.  Reaching out his talloned forelimbs it gently scooped Cole up and beat its wings to take flight again turning tail to glide around on course for the Wr-5050 Transport... rushing over Symeril and Chaplin's position  toward the transport.

Our heroes, bloodied and beaten, some near death, emerge from the dust and rubble as Argent and Dyna find them all. Dyna also finds the remains of Agrus and Robert.

The ghastly mess of dead demons and vampire dust fills the air.

GM: What do you do?

Everyone Gathered... Symeril speaks, "Look, we are all fucked up.  We need a place to hide, heal and repair our gear and armor... at least two weeks I'd think."

"Robert... that hidy hole you have back in Alcapolco.. is it still available? Cause we need some place hidden!"

When Cade woke up she took stock of everything she couldn't see through her other senses.  She was pleased that nothing seemed to need any immediate attention.

The stone, sand, and dust of the dead that entombed her was nice and comfy.  Being buried always was.

So she allowed herself to doze a bit until the sounds coming from above were persistent enough to prevent her from getting any other rest.

Reluctantly she shrugged, shifted, and strained against the material above her compacting and grinding the earthen matter to fine dust so that it began to slide around her and take on a viscosity necessary for her to shimmy her way through it.

With no real urgency she worked at unburying herself until finally she burst through the surface.  What remained of her armor and gear was completely trashed or damn near but she herself looked no worse for wear save for the dust and dirt.

If anything she seemed in a better mood as she stretched as if just waking up from a lovely afternoon nap.



Cade wandered over to where everyone had gathered and listened as Symeril spoke.  She then looked at the woman, then looked at where what was left of Robert had been laid and sniffed, then turned back to Symeril and sniffed again.

Vaguely she remembered someone once telling her it was easier to meet the simple and the insane on their own level rather than try to challenge however it was they saw the world.  It was obvious the woman's injuries had temporarily, or perhaps permanently, knocked her askew.

So Cade took a few steps over and knelt down next to Robert and pressed her ear against his face, then looked up at Symeril.  "He said the shop probably collapsed into the sink hole like the rest of the city when the underground lair blew up and caved in.  He thinks we should head north since anyone left alive in this area is going to find out what happened quick and come looking to scavenge, or take over, or both."

Cade looked at Robert again as if she'd heard something and once again leaned down to listen to him.  She then turned back and stated, "He also mentioned something about ice skating up hill, but I have no idea what the fuck he's talking about."

Joran awakens taking inventory of his aching body.  He can tell that his armor is pretty much shattered, even the Psychic Body Field he had called up destroyed in the explosion, and he is lying upon some of his equipment.  He is battered and bruised, with chunks of debris pressing upon him.  Luckily, he can feel a source of air, dusty as it is, coming in.
He opens his eyes to see light filtering in from somewhere, likely passing between several pieces of debris in a jagged path until just enough reaches his eyes to illuminate a bit of the darkness in which he finds himself.
Focussing his mind upon his aches and pains, he goes into a healing trance that suffuses his body with warmth.  He can feel the aches and pains receding a bit as bruises and lacerations begin to heal somewhat.  A couple of minutes later, he does it again, feeling all of his injuries fade away with the additional warmth.
He focusses again, bring up one of his Telekinetic Forcefields, surrounding his body with it fitting as a second skin, but then expanding it outward to much of its full diameter as it takes to force the rocks and debris away from him.  Floating in the middle of the field, along with his weapons, and his armor falling off of him in shards, as the debris falls away, he looks at the world around him before he deactivates the field, gathers his weapons, and climbs out of the crater he had used it to create.
Standing at the edge of his crater, he looks around to see his companions pulling themselves free of shattered pyramid, and to hear Symeril singing an old song by a band once know as Blue Oyster Cult.  However, a better song comes to mind, one just as fitting to the situation.  And he begins to sing, loud, and proud, and strong in his amazing baritone voice, the song rising like thunder from within his barrel chest.


"I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand
Kicked in my face
But I've come through

And we mean to go on and on and on and on

We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the World

I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls
You brought me fame and fortune
And everything that goes with it
I thank you all
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise
I consider it a challenge before
The human race
And I ain't gonna lose

And we mean to go on and on and on and on

We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the World

We are the champions, my friends
And we'll keep on fighting till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions of the World...."



02:12, Today: Joran rolled 65 using 1d100.  Sing @ 98%.

02:00, Today: Joran rolled 8 using 2d6.  MD bioregeneration.

01:59, Today: Joran rolled 3 using 2d6.  MD bioregeneration.

Symeril turns her gaze to see Joran proudly singing and is relieved the Ogre lives... she doesn't recognize the song but his voice is inspiring anyways.

Then she looks at Cade, frowns slightly and then looks at Robert.

"I cannot hear him breathing which is no indicator ~ he is a vampire, of some sort, but I know he said nothing my cyber-enhanced hearing tells me that; so what are YOU hearing?"

She shuffled over and slowly crouched down to regard him, her expression grim...

Then she asks the party, "Is Robert an ally?  He fought for us to the end, and never betrayed our trust or turned on us.  Is he considered a comrade?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:14, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

Cade picked up what was left of Robert's head and gave it a little shake as if to see what was rattling around inside the very obviously empty skull.

She then put it back down on top of what was left of the rest and gave a shrug.  "It's a dead person thing.  You're too alive to understand."

"For blazing, thorned heart's sake, Cade. Unless he's some weird vague speaking oracle like the one I heard about from Tolkeen, bury that, ideally with the rest of him. We'll pay our respects later." Chaplain was simply trying to catch his breath and running on willpower, but he was annoyed at the idea she was carrying his head. He was too tired to be more than indignant, though. "I am, however, glad that I am not the sole survivor this time. We need to find the vehicles, and once we do, if they work, we can dig the others out quickly. If not, we at least have their shells we can strip down for whatever we need."

It finally occurred to him that not everyone was dead. He tapped into his headjack. +"Roll call. Who's alive?"+

This wouldn't be everyone. This would merely be those with working radio. Not only might the rubble block it, but if helmets were sufficiently damaged, that usually took out the radio. Still, it might give him an idea of who to dig out.

He continued his search for the vehicles. Without standing structures, his references were non-existent. Everything had been shifted.

OOC: 08:39, Today: Chaplain Wolf rolled 81 using 1d100.  Land Navigation. TN 73. That would be "no."

Symeril points, "The Vehicles are THAT way... Argent has seen them from the air and is delivering Cole there now.  I'll.. take care of Robert."

She will pick up Robert's remains and turns around heading for the pyramid and ascend the now much more reduced slope.

A the top she will clear a bare spot out of sight from the base of the ruined structure and lay Robert's remains at rest placing his weapons in his hands and his head in place.

"You didn't have to help us but you did.  You fought to the bitter end when you could have run but you didn't.  I don't know if this will help... but I hope it does. The world still needs men of your courage and integrity."

She has little strength left but she will enter a healing trance herself... activating her own Bio-Regeneration after a minute's concentration...  She feels the tingle of healing fill her bolstering her body with her psychic reserves of energy.

10:49, Today: Symeril rolled 8 using 2d6.  Bio-Regeneration [2d6 HP]. – 8

With that Symeril will remove her battered Flying Titan gauntlet and let fresh blood from her injured arm trickle into Robert's mouth.

"Rest well... 'Razor' Robert and I hope I will see you again someday ~ continue fighting the good fight!"

[Bleed - 1 HP of damage]

Symeril will then cover his remains with dirt and moderate rocks from the pyramid structure ~ maybe...just maybe the nexus that the pyramid is no longer blocking will feed mystical & psychic energy into 'Razor' Robert's body and accept the willing blood she sacrificed to charge his vampiric bio-regeneration.

She is certain... weird, extra-planar, day-walking Vampire that he was... he was also a hero and good man.

Standing she will call Argent to come pick her up and fly her to the WR-5050 Transport.

"Stella" crawls up her leg and perches again on her shoulder as the Draco-Mech swoops down to allow her to climb on his back.

With the beat of his wings thrusters still off it is only a short trip to the Transport.  Symeril will dismount and order Argent to continue recovery operations for her comrades to bring them back to the transport vehicles.

Symeril enters the cargo bay where Cole has been left and will render first some simple paramedic triage...
11:02, Today: Symeril rolled 42 using 1d100.  Symeril - Paramedic on Cole [80%]. – 42

She smiles as he begins to respond to her binding his injuries and splinting his fractured limbs.  But her psychic reserves are so low.. no more healing can be attempted until she herself has had at least a few hours meditation.

She picks up Cole and places him in a bunk in the crew quarters... not really paying attention to which, then returns to the cargo bay.

Symeril then slowly gets out of her Flying Titan PA.. securing it to the cargo hold... its critically damaged but not utterly destroyed it can be repaired with time, with her psychic talents restored... but that is for later.  She gathers all her attached gear from the shut-down powered armor and drags her gear and weapons to her cabin.

Taking up a 'lotus' meditative seating..she enters a restorative trance to recover her psychic power and strength a prayer of thanks to ATHENA for the victory she made possible today.

Unconscious/Sleep [1hr] - Recover 2 ISP
Bio-Regeneration - 6ISP

Symeril -
Hp 83 / 8, SDC 79 / 0
Bio-Cyber Armor MDC 5
ISP: 87/ 85 spent
PPE: 68/ 67 spent
This message was last edited by the player at 16:16, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

He woke up again and this time instead of being covered in rubble, he was covered by a blanket. He was also naked, save for his underwear. "My head is pounding but my mouth don't taste like booze so thats not the answer" he thought to himself. He moved his head and thats when he saw the bandages and leg splints. "Now how'd that happen?" he muttered out loud.

He struggled to remember since it seemed like an important thing to know, how he had gotten so badly hurt. It took several minutes but it came back to him in flashes; the demons, the vampires, the pyramid exploding. He was feeling pretty good about being able to remember...and then he passed out again.

OCC
Healing at normal mortal human (atlantean) rate without serious medical aid from 1HP is going to take Cole a while guys. Thanks to Symeril's first aid he won't die from blood loss but it will be a long, slow road to recovery without other measures.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:11, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

So indue course Argent retrieves Sam, John-Smythe, Nathaniel, and Ezekiel returning them to the WR-5050 Super-Cargo hauler...

He applies first aid to all, binding wounds and setting splints...

14:03, Today: Symeril rolled 65 using 1d100.  Argent - First Aid [90%]. – 65

Argent -
MDC: 620 / 234 {damage}
This message was last edited by the player at 19:29, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

"Also too alive to understand."  Cade stated as she pointed accusingly at Wolf.

After Symeril suddenly decided Robert wasn't going to answer her questions and also decided to get rid of him instead, which was oh so typical, Cade wandered over to where the bits of Agrus had been found and unceremoniously re-covered the hole.  No use not making the scavengers work for it, and you never knew anyway.

As our heroes regroup they notice a group of figures coming toward them from the east. They wear white robes, and their faces are hidden behind the cowls.

One comes forward slowly, hands raised, palms out. "Are you those that cleansed the land?" The voice is deep and feminine.

GM: What do you do?

Sooner or later the beam of light erupts from the edge of the pyramid rubble. It is a very short blast, followed by another short blast, and another. Eventually all of the rocks and ruble in that area have been turned into dust and sand. From the rubble emerges a t-shirt and shorts wearing Nathaniel Ferrari, hauling a very battered and mostly broken set of power armor.

On the other side of the ruins for everybody else, where the vehicles might still be, a cloud of dust can be seen being flung into the air. The clone-brothers are blasting rubble, rocks, and whatever, around the vehicles to get them free and able to maneuver. Eventually, all of them converge on the APC along with Nathaniel who has collected even more dust as he sweats in the Mexican sun hauling a hundred pounds of broken metal, ceramics and circuitry.

"Well I think this thing has been vigorously field tested. Given that I am still alive after having half of that pyramid dumped on me, I would say the prototype has proven it's worth. How are the rest of ya'll doing?"

As the white robes come near Nathaniel answers them, "Yes, yes we are, after a fashion. We had some divine intervention..."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:55, Fri 29 Jan 2021.

"Indeed," the woman says to Nathaniel.

Dyna walks slowly to the woman and and whinnies lightly. The woman strokes the golden horse's mane. She tilts her head as though listening, then nods slightly.

"You all need rest. You may come to our sanctuary if you choose."

Dyna looks to Cole as though vouching for the woman and her group.

GM: What do you do?

"The last time we holed up, we got overrun."  Cade pointed out.

"Though maybe we just got really really really lucky and everything that was out to get us is dead and dusted."

Opening his eyes and raising his head, John murmurs and peers at the woman.

“Ah hell,” Cole says. “Cade has a point; we ain’t got a good track record with hidey-holes. If’n it didn’t turn out to be a trap, no offense ma’am, we likely as not attract what you might call ‘unwanted attention’ your way.” He looks at his golden horse and sighs before continuing, “But Dyna’s got more sense than most people. If she says we should trust you, that’s good enough for me.”

Cole was only barely on his feet and clearly still in need of a lot of medical attention and time.

Nathaniel signals with flashes of light and those brothers of his get into action. The vehicles get piloted and those that need help get a helping shoulder or hand. Nathaniel himself goes and tries to help Cole while Niel gathers some gear. The brothers all speak just like Nathaniel as they offer aid and help to get the crew moving to somewhere supposedly safe.

"Sounds like good to me."

The aura of the woman and her companions indicates no malice or ulterior motives. She smiles at the group. "You have been through much hardship and loss. But perhaps a familiar friend will help ease your worries."

A figure comes forward and lowers his cowl. He appears to be human. He is handsome, appears to be in his thirties, and has a small goatee. He nods at Joran and smiles. "Hello, Joran. My name is Lewis DiBono. You know of me, yes?"

The woman also lowers her cowl, red hair falling to her shoulders. "And I am Susannah, his wife. Well, one of them."

GM: Joran - What can I say, you need and easter egg.

What do you do?
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:29, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

Chaplain smiled and actually gave a chilling laugh at the question, after a mental delay at answering it from sheer overload and exhaustion. He looked to the weapon he was dragging. "If by 'cleansed', you mean I blew hundreds of them into red mist, then yes."

He let out a breath. "Your offer is a good one. I'll take you up on it."

He was still processing Agrus's death, and it bothered him that he never fully trusted the D-Bee magus. He moved to the Walker, or what was left of it, and began hauling his equipment up the loading ramp. He had no backup suits of armor stored in this unit, so what he had was all he had - the cybernetic armor, his last line of defense.

Then Robert - he didn't fully trust the strange vampire either, because vampire. The gear worked well enough, when it mattered, and the lung might have bought him some time when he was buried. He needed to decompress for a bit.

"Nope, not really."  Cade said with a shake of her head.

"Whatever, shit happens I'm good to go.  Everyone else, maybe not so much, but that's on them."

Cade then headed off to see what state the cargo hauler was in.

Of course I know of you, the ogre rumbles in response.  You saved me from the Coalition when I first arrived, and I travelled with you a few months as you helped various settlement s, until you brought me to the monastery.  I took your last name as my own.
He looks thoughtfully at the man a few moments as he slings his weapons to carry them back to his Mountaineer.  But, the one who saved me looked older than you.  I assume you are one of his... Souls?
He looks at the woman with his once savior, and takes off the tattered remains of his Branaghan helmet.  Ma'am, he says respectfully.  He then asks Lew, Why have you come, sir?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

Argent perched like a statue observing the proceedings recording it all for later view by the Battle Angel but did not interact.  It followed the WR-5050 Cargo hauler protecting it from any hostiles that might present themselves.  The Draco-Mecha 'could' fit in the cargo bay but choose not too as its bulk and mass would unnecessarily burden the vehicle and it was not needed.

The Draco-Mecha just followed in silence.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 12:10, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

"Good," says Lewis to Joran with a smile. "Yes, I am one of his souls. He has moved on from this world, as he often likes to do. Something about visiting Phase World again. I am here because you all have broken down a dangerous webs of portals, and the multiverse is safer because of it."

The robed people take our heroes to their sanctuary. They are not sure how long they traveled to get there. It could have been moments, it could have been days. But regardless, they find themselves in a paradise sanctuary, where they rest and are healed.

This version of Lewis leads a group of mystics that traipse the multiverse looking to provide sanctuary to those who, knowingly or unknowingly, purge great evil from worlds. The compasses were devices created ages ago by followers of the Old Ones, and if brought together would have controlled the very leylines of Rifts Earth. This would have turned Earth into a weapon of vampiric conquest across the multiverse.

Days into their stay, Lewis approaches the group. He waves his hands and a soft, silver portal ripples next to him.

"This portal will take you wherever you want or need to be," he says. "It is a one way trip, though. Be assured, however, that walking through it is a reward. You will find what you need on the other side. But walking through is your choice. How do you choose?"

GM: Head to the final thread!