The Nexus

[Day of the Duel] Hoshiki walks closer as Bunny and Michalson exchange words. Sandels is left standing some distance behind the swordsman, though the tip of Hoshiki's sword remains leveled at him. "I respect the sentiment" , the swordsman says, having heard Michalson's words, "but I ...

[Day of the Duel] [Day of the Duel] "Yes. It is quite perplexing" , Sandels comments Michalson's remark about loyalty, without a hint of irony. Meanwhile, the swordsman has lost his patience with this discussion. When Michalson confirms he's not here as representative of law, Hoshiki unsh...

[Day of the Duel] "Yes. It is quite perplexing" , Sandels comments Michalson's remark about loyalty, without a hint of irony. Meanwhile, the swordsman has lost his patience with this discussion. When Michalson confirms he's not here as representative of law, Hoshiki unsheathes his longer ...

[Day of the Duel] From her hiding place, Bunny glares daggers at Lia when she present the fabric to Sandels. For his part, the man looks down at the object like it's something radioactive, his face twisting with conflicting emotions under his bandages. "You are wrong. This kind of act carries ...

[Day of the Duel] Day of the Duel Lia follows Sandels to the pub, spending the rest of the day mostly wrapped in her own thoughts. She's sitting there when the reaper goes to sleep, and is still there in the morning. It's been a few days since she's rested now, and although she looks a little drain...

Wandering the Streets "I hope she doesn't take it too badly," muses Lia as she steps back from the phone booth. She glances over at Sandels questioningly. "So the duel is going to be soon? Where are you having it?" The thought of it makes a pit in her stomach, but it would do no...

[Empty Beach] "I admit such turn of phrase does not make much sense to me" , Hoshiki comments the idle musings, "so-called laws of physics merely describe what has been seen to happen. They can be broken or proven false, but repelled?" He shakes his head, slowly turning around. ...

[Wandering the Streets - On the phone] "Don't hold your breath" , Sandels replies dryly to Michalson's comment about Bunny. "Anyways, you can forget about my earlier request. It may be close to showtime, but it's not your circus and not your monkeys, so don't make a clown of yourself...

[Wandering the Streets - On the phone] "Yes" , Sandels answers to the phone, "in a quite silly and naive way. Tell her to stop, it's not going to work." Then Lia starts giggling. Sandels covers the horn with his hand and looks at her. "It may have been obvious to you, but I...

[Wandering the Streets - On the phone] Fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately if Sandels would have found the alternative amusing), Michalson does pick up the phone promptly. A tired man's voice answers. "Detective Michalson Barring here." Lia watches curiously as Sandels dials. She unders...

[Wandering the Streets] Sandels give Lia a side glance, then looks away shaking his head. He doesn't say more before Lia points out the phone box to him. "Hot damn! Haven't seen one of these in years!" , he exclaims as he walks to it. "Doesn't look like it's been maintained very well...

[Wandering the Streets] Sandels laughs. "For most people who care about such things, it is Hell. But you'd be surprised how many people fear Heaven, or at least their conception of it. One girl explained to me once how anxious the thought of eternity made her, and how happy she was knowing the...

[Psionics Training] ~Makes some amount of sense~ , LB-M replies, ~a creepy amount of sense, really. My sister told me of a discussion she had with Doctor Bu, about... what did she call them? Modem genes. Her point was that a lot of genetic, ah, potential for psychic power doesn't really have anythi...

[Wandering the Streets] "Persistent, that's me. Better get used to it," says Lia with a grin, falling into step next to Sandels as he launches into his story. She listens attentively, not interrupting. "I like your stories. That one's funny," she says after he's finished, "...

[Empty Beach] When Hoshiki tells Aaron to brace himself, the skittish man places his hands on his ears in anticipation. Of course, the attack works as expected, causing Aaron to mutter in surprise, "Guh..." He seemed distressed by the sound still, though evidently not as hurt by it this t...

Outside Pontius' Custom Constructs Lia stops beside Sandels on the crossroads, scanning the dusty streets as she mulls over his words. "It's not the quest that made me follow you," she says finally, "It's you. Is that so hard to believe? Besides, I want to be there to cheer when you ...

[Empty Beach] A terrible smile spreads on the swordsman's face again. He draws his longer sword in a slow, careful motion. "TASbot-kun, I suggest you take your distance" , he says, grasping the sword with both hands, "I will aim my strike so that the force will be directed downward. ...

[Gaul DeGalles' Mansion]

The horse watches Gaul fail to shoot the bird and snorts in a manner that's best described as mocking. It then turns and begins trotting away, its work here done. If Gaul doesn't go out of his way to stop it, it will soon disappear behind a corner.

[Psionics Training] LB-M looks stupefied. ~Well I'm inclined to answer that the data isn't abstract at all and is in fact very concrete. The question only makes sense in presumed absence of a conversion process to satisfy all related conservation laws. I'm not sure what it has to do with moving wei...

[Psionics Training] How does anyone learn anything from any storage media? ~They read it, I guess~ , LB-M broadcasts, ~but I'd also guess these "technical machines are neither a natural occurrence nor invented by Pokemon themselves.~ Unless humans are a species of Pokemon, which is a discussio...

[Empty Beach] Hoshiki takes a deep breath, opening and closing his mouth several times, as if he's decided to explain but just can't find the words. He frowns and rubs the bridge of his nose. "... using TASbot-kun's words, you could say I'm a... paladin. Have been for a very long time" , ...

[Outside Pontius' Custom Constructs] Lia seems to accept the explanation. "Well, I'll remember to thank this DeGalles if I ever meet him," she says, taking a deep breath as they leave the shop. It's good to be outside again. "Seen enough, ha... oh, you're not joking?" Lia's init...

Pontius' Custom Constructs Lia barely had time to wave before Ser Persyval is carried away. Will they ever meet again? It depends upon who Gaul DeGalles is. "No, you didn't say. Nor did you tell me who DeGalles is. But I guess you can fill me in on the way." As charming as the construct s...

[Gaul DeGalles' Mansion] The horse nickers and turns so Gaul has easier time taking the suitcase from it. When the living cartoon retreats to the porch to open it and admire what's inside, the beast doesn't go anywhere. It stands there, looking at him with burning red eyes. The pistol resembles a G...

[Empty Beach] "I have been hit by lightning" , Hoshiki says defensively. He's been hit by a lot of awful things, and narrowly dodged even more, from fangs and claws of a dragon to diamond bullets to grenades thrown by hostile angels. But, TASbot asks a question before he can dwell too muc...

[Home (mansion?) of one Gaul DeGalles] Sometime ago, Gaul DeGalles, living cartoon and CEO of HAMMERSPACE Co., chanced up on a peculiar horse prancing through the streets of Inside. He caught that horse, and it lead him to the scene of a catastrophe, that of a Reaper fighting a horrible evil spirit...

[Pontius' Custom Constructs] Sandels raises an eyebrow at Lia's question. "Hmmm? I didn't tell you who it was for? Guess I didn't." He shrugs. Pontius on the other hand seems satisfied, which is good. "If that is what you think, you are more observant than most" , Sandels says t...

[Empty Beach] Hoshiki looks confused. "I did warn you" , he says, "or do you mean about the sound? It is just thunder. The sound was never going to hurt you. At least by my reckoning... " It's clear the swordsman didn't except someone as indestructible as Aaron to be this rattled.

[Pontius's Custom Constructs] Lia definitely partakes of the water that's offered, alternatively drinking it and splashing it over her mushroom cap while her gaze remains fixed on the forging process. When the armor is finally finished and the forge's magic fades away, she slowly rises to her feet,...

[Psionics Training] LB-M rubs her nose contemplatively. ~Best I can describe it, it was like being able to be my own outside observer... which was possible because my avatar and its consciousness was a subset of a larger simulation, which in turn was a reflection of an even larger consciousness, na...