Skyside Prime

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"Aw, thanks, hon." Rose gives Raven a dry little smirk before turning her attention back to the fight. "...Not that this isn't fun or anything, because it definitely is, it's like watching a rodeo, a samurai film, and a slapstick comedy all at once... but I'm assuming there's more to this plan than just sitting and waiting for Beefcake to mash our would-be heroine into ground chuck." She glances back up at Dorota. "Oh, right, I need to call Liv and let her know to get the jacuzzi ready for tonight. Don't want to put that off to the last minute. Wait... shit, no, Liv got 'fired' last week, it's Gerald n- no, May, that's right." She shrugs and resumes watching the fight, popping open her hotbox and offering its contents to Raven. "Popcorn?"

Hey, she's contributing. And she might also be distracting Raven at a critical moment, which might be helping Mina in the near future.

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

"Sharp teeth means I'm worse at grinding greens , but I can digest it fine. My mouth structure deals with meat the easiest, but I can still handle everything a normal person eats - plus some extra stuff actually, since I can digest bone," Emily says with a shrug as she starts cutting the cheese, "I can make this cheese work, don't worry. Might taste a little odd for this kind of meal compared to cheddar, but edible."

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"You think I'm just watching?" Raven frowns, her red eye gleaming. "What's wrong with the plan?" Smearing a hero all over the ground is a great plan! The Empress steps away from Rose a little as she questions the plan and focuses even more on the fight than she was. "No thanks," She replies sulkily. Popcorn was stupid anyways!

Beefcake proves a little faster this time now that he knows where Mina's targeting her attacks. One armored hand rises up to catch Mina by the ankle before the blow can connect and redirect/fling her into the nearest conveyer belt, scattering rainbow filled bottles to the ground, wrecking part of the valuable production process! He follows with a charging overhead swing to ensure this section needs a total overhaul and replacement of its equipment... though he's aiming for Mina with his weapon and all else is just collateral.

[Keeper]

Mina's Place

"Alright, well let me know if you need anything. The spice rack is over there." Mina points, settling down onto a bar stool at the counter.
"So did your dad teach you how to cook, too?"

Black Abyss Milk Factory

Mina is sent flying into the conveyor belt, smashing a number of bottles and leaving her with a nasty cut or two from the broken glass. Ouch.
She desperately rolls for dear life as the machine is smashed to pieces by the zombie's swing. Picking up one of the bottles she hurls it right into Beefcake's face. A zombie probably isn't affected by the potion but let's see if its eyes (sensors?) can handle getting it all over.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"...Oh!" Rose starts, glancing at Raven, and then down at Beefcake, bapping her forehead with her palm. "Right! I keep forgetting you can do that. Somehow." She grins and scoops up a fistful of the starchy snack food in her Hotbox, popping a few kernels into her mouth. "Well, that's different. I thought you'd made Beefcake fully autonomous. Or at least, that you were leaving him that way just now. Do you get sensory feedback on that thing? It's got to be so much more satisfying when you're doing it yourself, more or less."

Rose settles in to watch the fight more closely, now that she's aired out what was no doubt a crucial detail about the mechanics of the fight. As Mina goes flying into the machine, she winces, exaggerating the gesture to comical levels. "Ooh, that one had to hurt!" She comments, cracking another grin at Raven. Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eye, she looks up to see Dorota about halfway down to the vat, the presumed time limit in this interaction ticking away the entire time Mina and Beefcake play "remodel the factory".

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

While Emily is an experienced hand at cooking, her player is not. As such, we'll be skimming over precise ingredients for Emily to make things with.

"Well, he's part of why I started learning, but he's terrible at cooking. He once baked me a cake and forgot to take the eggshells out. When you eat as much as I do good meals are more important, so I started cooking for myself when it became clear he'd poison me through mistakes eventually," Emily lets out a rumbling chuckle, "I convinced my babysitters to teach me how to cook properly, and then I started making lunches for my dad. My babysitters were actually fantastic people - they ran a biker bar called The Tailpipe. Surprisingly wholesome place for a kid like me to grow up."

[Zefir]

[Groundtown]

The goblins have no way to stop the rocks, but they do spring into action. Two of them throw bright flares in the direction the rock came from, hoping to illuminate the area. Olvisin, using her cybernetic arms, has another trick. She throws a balloon full of paint. She hopes that the paint will splash anything that hides there, making it easier to track.

Groundtown

Sian can't avoid the pelting stones, and yelps as she's struck. She pulls her hand from her pocket and reveals the... weapon she's holding in it. It's a dazzler; a non-lethal pistol-shaped device consisting of a very powerful electric light extending into the infrared spectrum. Against humans, all it does is temporary blindness and disorientation. Against a beast made of shadow... Well, it may prove more effective.

Groundtown

The flares do illuminate tha area and for a short amount they will cast shadows of the creature. The shadows have a disturbing look. The creature seems to be big as the shadows are extremly big if the goblins can make that out, but what is more strange is that it's body is close to that of a big ca like a lion while tentacles come from his back.
In addition the monster seems to be in pain or extremly dislikes the flares as it hisses and screams while running straight through one of the corrugated iron huts. The paint seems to hit it as well as it leaves a track. For now it seems to escape the flares.

[Keeper]

[Mina's Place]

While Emily is an experienced hand at cooking, her player is not. As such, we'll be skimming over precise ingredients for Emily to make things with.

"Well, he's part of why I started learning, but he's terrible at cooking. He once baked me a cake and forgot to take the eggshells out. When you eat as much as I do good meals are more important, so I started cooking for myself when it became clear he'd poison me through mistakes eventually," Emily lets out a rumbling chuckle, "I convinced my babysitters to teach me how to cook properly, and then I started making lunches for my dad. My babysitters were actually fantastic people - they ran a biker bar called The Tailpipe. Surprisingly wholesome place for a kid like me to grow up."

Mina's Place

"That sounds nice. Mom taught me how to cook. Not that either of us are great at it but we do what we can. It's probably for the best that Sai got me this place and his savings, though. With me tripled in size I'd have drained Mom's savings dry in groceries alone.
And shampoo." Mina shudders. "I go through so much shampoo."

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

"You know you can probably get away with using less," Emily says, "Thin fur tends to be cleaned by brushing just as much as through chemicals. Certainly easier than shedding via loofah."

[Morty]

[Groundtown]

"It worked! Quick, after it!" Olvisin spurs her siblings and Sian to action.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"They're still... no, no why would anyone ever include sensory feedback on... GAHHH!!" As Raven turns her head towards Rose, Beefcake gets a bottle of milk in his face. It probably doesn't help he was trying to dislodge his weapon from the debris. Beefcake's hand moves up towards his face, awkwardly wiping the milk out of his eyes which is exceedingly difficult with an armored hand.

"You be quiet before I toss you into the vat in her place," Raven hisses at Rose for distracting her with inane subjects and prepared to switch hostages if need be. Dorota can be the one eating popcorn instead. "And stop lowering her in so damn quick," Raven adds, her tail flicking with agitation as she turns her attention back to the fight, moving along the catwalk. With Beefcake's eyes all milked over, she has to see for him and there are only so many angles up here that aren't blocked in one way or another so she's going to have to constantly adjust her position.

[Earl of Purple]

Groundtown

Sian also gets up from where she was slumped against a wall and follows, She puts on some night-vision goggles, as well, though she's also got the dazzler held and ready to fire it again.

[Zefir]

Groundtown

The creature is fast and it's likly that the goblins on foot won't be able to catch up especially since it's not wounded. Still the color makes it easy to follow.
First the creature seems to go straight away from the city. At the edge it makes a turn to the left. Depending on the hunters they will notice that it slowed down after a bit. Should they continue to chase it they might catch up to it very soon depending how stealthy they try to be.

[Morty]

[Groundtown]

The goblins are faster than they look on their short legs, but they will still struggle to keep up with the creature.

"Our plan is working, but we must be careful," Zaalmin says. "It could be trying to lay a trap for us right back."

[Earl of Purple]

Groundtown

Sian nods, but doesn't speak to keep running. She's not got a great deal of endurance when it comes to running, being a gunslinger and fighter at short ranges and for relatively short periods of time. Her training's been more focused on improving her reaction speed and accuracy with handheld firearms. She does keep her dazzler up.

[Keeper]

[Mina's Place]

"You know you can probably get away with using less," Emily says, "Thin fur tends to be cleaned by brushing just as much as through chemicals. Certainly easier than shedding via loofah."

Mina's Place

"Oh trust me, I've consulted the magazines. I'm just used to those stupid bottles lasting a YEAR. That's long gone." The issue may be that Mina is still a little cheap...

Black Abyss Milk Factory

Pretty much the second Raven sticks her head out of cover she's getting a milk bottle hurled at her face too since it worked so well last time.

She thinks that's probably enough to make Raven duck even if it doesn't hit, so while Beefcake is blinded and she's distracted (thanks for implying how this works out loud, Raven!) Mina goes for a riskier move: she lunges forward for a grapple on Beefcake's torso. If his head is his only vulnerable part she has to crush it (as gross as that is). If he's grabbed she's going to hurl the two of them backwards as hard as she can, looking to smash his face on the floor.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

...Wow.

Okay.

Rude.

Rose isn't exactly shocked by Raven's response, but it serves her purposes to be visibly taken aback by the threat, standing there with her hand over her heart and a thousand-yard stare in the empress's general direction, left temporarily speechless by the sudden onset of vitriol.

At least, until the milk bottle goes flying in Raven's direction, at which point she dives at the empress to avoid having her take so much broken glass and questionable chemicals to the face.

Once the danger's passed, in one way or another, Rose awkwardly scrambles off of Raven and points over her shoulder to the control center. "I'm... I'm going to just go." She mutters, her voice shaking with an apparent excess of adrenaline and sadness. Then, she'll follow through on the declaration, starting toward the control booth, stopping just long enough to adjust a knob on Dorota's crane, halving the speed at which she's being lowered into the milk. That shouldn't affect her contingency plan, thankfully; it's built on total rotations of the pulley above, not the time the motor is running.

With that, she's leaving, giving a sad little wave to Raven, Mina, and Dorota as she goes.

[Halae]

Mina's Place

"Oh trust me, I've consulted the magazines. I'm just used to those stupid bottles lasting a YEAR. That's long gone." The issue may be that Mina is still a little cheap...

[Mina's Place]

"Nothing ever seems to last as long as we want it to, huh?" Emily asks with a chuckle. She starts pulling the enchiladas off the stove, and onto plates, where they're wrapped up properly to be carried to the table for the both of them. Emily's made sure to make a large enough meal to satisfy the both of them.

[Keeper]

[Mina's Place]

"Nothing ever seems to last as long as we want it to, huh?" Emily asks with a chuckle. She starts pulling the enchiladas off the stove, and onto plates, where they're wrapped up properly to be carried to the table for the both of them. Emily's made sure to make a large enough meal to satisfy the both of them.

Mina's Place

Mina seems happy with her meal, that's for certain.
"Well, it's nice to share a meal with someone. Who isn't Sai. He's around of course but ever since his temporary mortal body gave out I've been mostly eating without another living person in the room."
She looks down at the food.
"This is good. Uh. How long were you planning on staying?"

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

Raven Ebondark's head was never in cover and she's more than prepared to deal with an errant milk bottle, flicking her- oof! Or Rose could toss herself at Raven. That works too, to a less effective degree. Much as Raven normally loves Rose tossing herself onto the Empress of Everything, it leaves Raven scowling today as she has to get back up and stare at Rose's trembling lip. The catgirl seems unmooved. "You do that," Raven replies, turning back towards the action. "... Mind the black button," she calls over her shoulder.

Speaking of the action, it's a bit of a mistake to think Beefcake incapable of acting without Raven's guidance. Why, he seems more than capable of swinging that weapon of his in a wide arc at random, which is indeed what he's doing. Flailing about with that deadly kanabo in horizontal arcs. It is admittedly, completely without aim. If Mina is truly just lunging forward she's pretty liable to run into the onslaught, but if she's able to move around or under the swings and time her attack, then she'll be able to complete her maneuver and accomplish her wrestling dreams. Maybe not the intimate contact with a minotaur she desired, but it will be quite memorable.

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

"Depends on how long it takes me to find a paying job," Emily states, "I don't like imposing on someone's good nature, so once I've got paying work I'll likely go off on my own."

[Keeper]

Black Abyss Milk Factory

Well, in the face of getting hit in the head by a huge club Mina takes the safe option of jumping over the zombie's head and trying the maneuver from behind. It's a better position to try it anyway.
Wham!

...the smell of getting that close to the zombie is probably horrific.

Mina's Place

"Well uh, what kind of day job are you looking for? I could try to help. I've lived here a while."
And of course, there are a few things that Mina would be glad to pay her to do herself if it meant not living alone with a talking fork.

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

"My first thought is cooking. I know how to do it professionally, even if the food I'm used to cooking isn't terribly high grade," she indicates the food they're eating now, "big batches of macaroni, stuff like that. There's always some place that needs a cook."

[Keeper]

[Mina's Place]

"My first thought is cooking. I know how to do it professionally, even if the food I'm used to cooking isn't terribly high grade," she indicates the food they're eating now, "big batches of macaroni, stuff like that. There's always some place that needs a cook."

Mina's Place

"Well..." Mina starts, looking awkward. She can feel her ears turning red. Well, the inside part that isn't covered in hair at least.
"If you wanted to stick around a little while to cook for the two of us I could pay you. That way you aren't just working on your savings while you look for something more professional."

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"Nyyoooo!!" Raven cries out as the superhero crushes Beefcake's head, face marred with trembling rage. "Damn you Tempest!" The catgirl curses, unleashing a bombard of bullets in the minotaur's direction while Brian steps up behind his mistress. The other mecha-zombies working the lines begin to shuffle away from the confrontation, giving the floor something of a deserted feeling as they steadily disappear.

[Halae]

[Mina's Place]

Emily blinks, "Oh! That'd be great, yeah. I'm not gonna cause any disruptions to your household by staying here, am I?"

[Keeper]

[Mina's Place]

Emily blinks, "Oh! That'd be great, yeah. I'm not gonna cause any disruptions to your household by staying here, am I?"

Mina's Place

"Well. I live alone besides Sai, who's a spirit. So uh. No, there's no one besides me to protest. I'd just have to trust you with the spare key." But Mina usually feels like someone who does superheroics willingly can probably be trusted not to rob the place

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"Nyyoooo!!" Raven cries out as the superhero crushes Beefcake's head, face marred with trembling rage. "Damn you Tempest!" The catgirl curses, unleashing a bombard of bullets in the minotaur's direction while Brian steps up behind his mistress. The other mecha-zombies working the lines begin to shuffle away from the confrontation, giving the floor something of a deserted feeling as they steadily disappear.

Black Abyss Milk Factory

With a yelp Mina pulls the corpse around in front of her as a shield, sliding her way behind one of the vats to take cover behind.
"Surrender, Raven! I just wasted your trump card! I'm going to come out from behind this vat, and if you're still shooting bullets at me I'm gonna kick your ass." she warns.

[Reinholdt]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"You're sorely mistaken if you think you have defeated me," Raven hisses. Brian throws off his labcoat revealing a jetpack strapped to his back. At the same time Raven aims her weapon... then suddenly shifts, taking shots not at Tempest, but at the crane lowering Dorota into the vat of rainbow love. The device sparks, the tip of the device buckling precariously. The rope starting to swing from the sudden shift of the contraption, an upper section of rope frayed from the graze of a bullet.

Raven steps back and sits daintily upon Brian's held out arm as the jetpack fires up and he just starts to lift off in the direction of the hole that was previously carved in the roof by lightning. "What will it be hero? Me or the Hostage?" In another moment the damaged rope will snap and send the alchemist plummeting, so hopefully Tempest has already made up her mind.

[Ironsmith]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory] (Control Room)

Oh, shit.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshit.

Rose watches the empress take her shots at the rope with her fist in her mouth. She hadn't planned for that! If the rope just breaks, Dorota will fall in and promptly be... well, whatever the appropriate passive participle is for describing what those liquids would do to her. Boiled and burned alive, most likely. It doesn't really matter; the point is, dead, almost certainly.

The minion's gaze flicks back and forth between the fight and the crane controls. If she acted quickly, she could swing over the crane so that Dorota would land somewhere relatively safe if the rope broke. But she doesn't have time to be subtle about it; saving Dorota's life means blowing what cover she has left, sacrificing all the progress she's made in getting close to Raven, and likely ending the whole operation.

On the other hand, maybe she doesn't have to; Tempest is a capable heroine, and maybe she can save Dorota without Rose's intervention. But that's a risk, and more importantly, it would play right into Raven's hands; there's every chance that letting the heroine take a dive to rescue the hostage would give Raven the clear shot she needs to waste them both.

Which is it, Rose? The hostage or the mission?



[Black Abyss Milk Factory] (Factory Floor)

Overhead, the crane head whirs to life, swinging its arm over toward a completely untainted tank of room-temperature potable water, resolving that particular conundrum for Tempest, leaving her free and clear to pursue the villain.

[Morty]

[Black Abyss Milk Factory]

"No, no, no, not like this! Please help!"

As soon as Raven shoots the rope, Dorota's fragile composure snaps and she's reduced to incoherent pleading for mercy or help. Which doesn't stop as she plunges into the water instead.