The Nexus

[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...

[Psionics Training]

LB-M stares at Geneva like a confused kitten, which is not far from what she is, really. ~I haven't got the faintest~, she broadcasts.

[Pontius' Custom Constructs] For her part, Lia has remained observing the entire time. She seems unaware of the passage of time, sitting in the same position for hours as Sandels works. The heat seems to have taken its toll however, as by the end of the night she's looking especially gray and exhau...

[Empty Beach] Hoshiki rubs his chin. "I think Aaron-kun will be fine in a moment" , he says, loud and clear, but he is not trying to beat Aaron's deafness by yelling. "I think... a thought occurred to me when I watched you spar, and this reinforces it. I would guess Aaron-kun's curse...

[Psionics Training] LB-M tilts her head. ~You don't?~ She looks at the weight, then back at Geneva. ~Well it isn't complex enough object to receive signals or move on its own. Are you just... pelting it with some kind force? Kind of like... spitting?~ She can't think of a better analogue out of the...

[Pontius' Custom Constructs] Sandels works through the night, without once stopping to drink or to take a break. Sometimes, when he walks past Ser Persyval's ghost, he causes the drops of sweat on the floor to boil and evaporate. It seems that, though he does not burn, he does absorb and radiate he...

[Empty Beach] "Interesting..." , Hoshiki mutters as he begins to walk towards Aaron. He gestures at TASbot to tell it's safe to follow. "Did the sound spook you?" , he asks when he gets closer. "You can hear me, right? Are your ears fine?" He is almost certain he knows...

[Psionics Training] LB-M shuffles her feet. ~Not usually. Not unless I'm trying to do something particularly difficult~ , she answers Geneva's first two questions, ~but normally it's kind of automatic.~ As for the last? ~See, we had a talk of this with my sisters. Back when I was... a simulation, m...

[Pontius Custom Constructs] "Then the pact is made" , Sandels says, moving his hands through the air. In truth, he is grasping the silver cord attaching the knight's spirit to his armor. Ser Persyval might feel an uncomfortable tug as the bandaged man wraps it around his fist. Sandels goe...

[Pontius' Custom Constructs] Sandels pushes the wheelbarrows through the magic doors, the horse following at his heels. He plunks the wheelbarrow down in the middle of the metalworking area and takes a look around, appraising the displayed tools. He ends his circuit before the forge itself, examini...

[Psionic Training]

~I really focused on lifting it up~, LB-M explains, ~like, really tried to imagine it soaring up. But it didn't feel like I was exerting any force on it. Just got my forehead all wrinkly.~

[Psionic Training] LB-M perks up. ~Ooh! That sounds really convenient!~ But then she consider it further, rubbing her nose. ~Hmmm. But on a second thought... I'd actually like to figure it out myself? It's sort of like a... puzzle. Seeing the solution before giving it a good try on my own would be....

[Outside Pontius' Custom Constructs] Sandels listens to the ghostly knight's words with half an ear and opens his mouth to respond, but decides against it on the last moment. It wouldn't make sense to Lia, or anyone else who can't her Ser Persyval. The ghost is not wrong, exactly. But, where the ba...

[Psionic Training] ~I just kind of do?~ , LB-M answers, ~like, how do you move your tail... ummm, hand? It doesn't feel much different from that. It was different the first time, but I was still inside your dream then. It's not the same in the waking world.~ She stops tele-babbling for a moment to ...

[Outside Pontius' Custom Constructs] Sandels gives Lia the side-eye again, refraining from noting that in his last moments Quixano realized his quests for justice and happiness had brought neither to anybody, and told to disinherit his niece should she marry a man who reads chivalrous romances. Ins...

[Psionic Training] ~Ummm...~ LB-M sniffs the tiny weight, then looks at Geneva. ~I've not given this part much thought, to be honest.~ Psychokinesis is definitely a natural ability for a mew, but one they develop quite late on their own. Indeed, since mew are so apt at copying and learning from oth...

[Psionic Training] Now that she knows what to look for, LB-M has little difficulty reaching a 100% accuracy on the Zener test. ~I think this is a really silly test~ , LB-M notes at the end of it, ~I'm not sure psionic powers are at all important for doing well in it. But I guess it wouldn't matter ...