The Ghostblood Ball

[Sherlock Holmes]

"Teens?!" Tena yelled after Klasten. "Seriously? Teens?! It's a weak E! T-eh-na!" She trailed off, then rolled her eyes and regarded the beavers hostilely. She checked her watch and saw that Klasten hadn't gone far at all. "Good." She peeked around the chimney and saw the handwriting of the message. "Somebody clearly has some fancy stuff going down, namely the handwriting." She knew that Klasten didn't write like that, which meant that he had been using a spanreed, which meant that he got messages from whoever it was often enough that he needed a spanreed for it, and she'd memorized a lot of people's handwriting and didn't recognize this person's... which left her with the conclusion that the person wasn't anybody currently in TUBA or the Ghostbloods. "Nice. That only means that it could be about three hundred million other people. Great." 

She checked the Tia card that was linked to Klasten's beacon signal, and noticed it was red, which accounted for the fact that if she teleported to him now, she'd be interfering with something else. She tucked the card back into its slot, not fancying getting caught inside a wall. She hopped off the chimney and leaned against it, viewing the battle between Mac and Ioc without particularly feeling inclined to help either. 

[I think I am here.]

Vaisin saw everyone running, and then he saw the Mustbeabers. “Aw, hell.” He started shaking, grabbing onto the person he was talking to’s arm.

“Man,they have Hemalurgy! And they want to convert me. I’m scared, dude. Is there any way you could hide me or something?”

@MetaTerminal

[Archer]

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Tena is pronounced with a short E? Good to know. I've been saying it as 'TEEnah' or 'Tina'. 'Ten-a' makes a lot more sense.

Klasten nibbled on the apple crisp. It was good, but it needed chocolate. "No," he said with his mouth full. "Not yet, at least. Trouble is, we've had trouble with apples. They keep rusting whenever we slice them up. Good idea though. We could use a bright fellow like you around, spouting good ideas."

He put his viking helmet on. "Got any mayonnaise?" he asked. "Nevermind. I can do without." As they talked, he began to attack the beavers in the traditional way of his people. 

[Sherlock Holmes]

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If her name was Tina, I'd call her Tina. Also, by the laws of English, I'd need an E after the N to make it long, so yeah. 

That's the grammar lesson for today, folks!

 

[PrinceDusty]

7 hours ago, MacThorstenson said:

Four beavers ran out to the garden, and jumped on Althea and Night. Both began to try to shove the loyalty spikes into their necks.

 

Quote

Things like this and the attached image are what make me unsure about these spikes. If it was a peaceful alliance, sure, I'd be down for some more hemalurgic power. But this does not bode well.

As the Ghostblood Representative, it is my duty to obey the orders of the council, as I have sworn. But older oaths say that it is also my duty to protect fellow Ghostbloods, and I can see nothing good coming from a hostile takeover.

1

"Althea, I can't go until I'm sure all the Ghostbloods are safe." Night sighed. "Or until they have taken the spikes as a choice of their own, not forced upon them by a storming beaver. Don't come back for me unless you want to risk getting spiked." Night jumped into the ballroom.

Vaisin, a man he didn't know well, looked frightened. Tena could hold her own for a while. Ski had been spiked- Night knew her, she was Mr. Amber's niece. KoTiel, eating popcorn, and Nogard eating apple crisps and cookies while walking towards the exit. conversing with Klasten. They didn't seem to be in any danger. Ioc was holding his own against the DA representative himself. 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Tena strolled into the ballroom after jumping off the side of the building. She glanced around and noted various people allowing the beavers to spike them. “Y’all are crazy,” she muttered. She saw Klasten and walked over to him, plucking the food he held out of his hands and stuffing it in her mouth. “Ah, apple crisp. It’s pretty good.” She gave Klasten a double thumbs up and said, “How’s it going, Klaysten?”

A beaver tried to attack her, but she flipped it off. The beaver backed away.

[MetaTerminal]

5 hours ago, I think I am here. said:

 “Man,they have Hemalurgy! And they want to convert me. I’m scared, dude. Is there any way you could hide me or something?”

Alum watched the swarm of creatures advance, spiking any unfortunate Ghostblood in their paths. It was an unprecedented power move - now only TUBA and the Liebrarians stood between the DA and total domination.

 “Yes,” he said. “Grab my arm.” As Vaisin held his arm, he shifted into Shadesmar, the conflict faded into abstract movements and glowing lights. The mistbeavers seemed almost violently bright in this Realm, the Investiture glowing sharp.

“So much for your heroes,” Alum remarked. “Didn’t seem to be doing much defending. Let’s see if those beavers can follow us in here.”

Edited October 17, 2018 by MetaTerminal
Synonyms

[Silva]

Ten heartbeats was all it should take. Or that's what she'd been told. She didn't try to summon Lei as a Shardblade since she knew it wouldn't work - her intent wasn't strong enough. Instead she hit the beaver hard on the head, hoping to make it lose hold as she tapped the card.

Mejin and Le TaiRu vanished, heading for Devaan's training ground.

@Arlin

@MacThorstenson

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Mac, do you want the beaver to have come along?

[MacThorstenson]

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So there is a lot here. Sorry if I missed someone.

Axe. All you needed to do to get them to stop was to verbally tell them not to, so Axe, after you said no, no more beavers try to spike you. Unless you tell other people to say this however, they should proceed under the assumption that the beavers are attacking them, unless saying no is something that would occur to them.

Life&Death, sorry I missed your post, but Amber's niece wouldn't get spiked. The beavers only spike ghostbloods, and they have been trained to recognize the ghostbloods.

Also, in case anyone is wondering, the spikes only make one feel like they are a member of the DA first and the GB's second. instead of thinking I am a GB, they think I am a Lurker in the Dark Alley.

@AxeliustheGreat

After tena yelled at the beaver that she spikes herself, he dropped the spike on the ground and pointed to his neck. He flew back downstairs.

@Arlin @Silva

The beaver held on  as it was smacked in the head. Nobody was going to dislodge this pewter enhanced beaver. Once they arrived at the training grounds, he grabbed his spike and inserted it into TaiRu's neck.

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Gancho, what do you mean when you say balefire obeys cosmere laws?

Also, I don't know of anyone who's shirt/armor got hit and didn't get hit themselves, Maybe if Mac was only trying to hit the shirt that could happen, but he was aiming for Ioc. Finally Balefire is a continuous stream, so one blast would go through your shirt and take Ioc with it.

I will let you edit your post to result in Ioc dodging it somehow, if you want, because otherwise I think he's dead. I will have Mac react to the Edited Post.

@Gancho Libre

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Dusty, to answer your concerns, Mac is under the impression that this was going to be an easy transition, that the big Ghostbloods were aware that this was happening, and that he was the main attraction and sent to seal the deal. He was doing this in his characteristic efficiency and briskness, and wasn't expecting this level of resistance from everyone in the GB's. He was expecting resistance from the grunts, but not the leaders.

But yes, this is indeed an accquisition. The GB's could all be assigned to the same department, and run that department like they did the GB's, but this an acquisition.

 

Edited October 16, 2018 by MacThorstenson

[I Am Witless]

2 hours ago, Archer said:

Klasten nibbled on the apple crisp. It was good, but it needed chocolate. "No," he said with his mouth full. "Not yet, at least. Trouble is, we've had trouble with apples. They keep rusting whenever we slice them up. Good idea though. We could use a bright fellow like you around, spouting good ideas."

He put his viking helmet on. "Got any mayonnaise?" he asked. "Nevermind. I can do without." As they talked, he began to attack the beavers in the traditional way of his people. 

Quote

NO

THIS IS NOT HOW APPLE CRISP WORKS

YOU DO NOT EAT IT WITH CHOCOLATE SINCE IT ALREADY HAS 2 CUPS OF SUGAR IN IT.

AND YOU DO

NOT

EAT

IT

WITH

MAYONAISE

 

[Sherlock Holmes]

Tena had picked up the spike and stored it with the one other she had in a large vial of goat blood. 

[Ink]

53 minutes ago, I Am Witless said:

NO

THIS IS NOT HOW APPLE CRISP WORKS

YOU DO NOT EAT IT WITH CHOCOLATE SINCE IT ALREADY HAS 2 CUPS OF SUGAR IN IT.

AND YOU DO

NOT

EAT

IT

WITH

MAYONAISE

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Archer, Klasten is crazy we already knew that nevermind.

But MAYONNAISE?!?!?!? that guys needs help. he's almost as bad as Pearl. 

Don't ever mistake mayo for yogurt. not recommended for tastebuds or stomachs. EVER.

 

[old man moomba]

Dwig was done waiting, he snapped his fingers, activating a ter'angreal hidden on his other wrist. His ride appeared in the sky above the mansion, it was a massive ship, looking a bit like a WW2 battleship, albeit a battleship with massive slag cannons mounted on the bottom. Held in place by six massive hybrid vertical lift engines, Fate's Purpose rumbled deafeningly as it hovered over the battle, awaiting a command. Dwig smiled, now this was awesome. He Pushed up on the nail, rising about ten more feet before stopping again. He proceeded to whisper to his watch, 

"Reorient ventral cannon twenty-two to directly below my current location, then fire, normal payload."

One of the bottom-mounted cannons began to move, shifting so it pointed just below Dwig. Then it fired. The massive lump of molten metal sailed through the air, cooling as it flew. Dwig waited until it was directly below him then Pushed. He sailed upwards, to the deck of Fate's Purpose. He landed softly on the catwalk around the main tactical center and walked in.

[PrinceDusty]

2 hours ago, Inklingspren said:

But MAYONNAISE?!?!?!? that guys needs help. he's almost as bad as Pearl.

Quote

excuse please, Pearl just has personality whoah who woulda thought lol sorry I had to after Octo Expansion

 

1 hour ago, Dwig Jigdens said:

His ride appeared in the sky above the mansion, it was a massive ship, looking a bit like a WW2 battleship, albeit a battleship with massive slag cannons mounted on the bottom. Held in place by six massive hybrid vertical lift engines, Fate's Purpose rumbled deafeningly as it hovered over the battle, awaiting a command.

 

Quote

dude, that's snazzy

Ghostblood recruits of the lowest rank, not allowed to carry weapons in public themselves- certainly not at an intraguild event such as this- ran about defenselessly. Night jumped to their defense. "They won't attack you if you tell them to stop!" Night thundered. Storming noob recruits[NPCs].

He turned to Mac, willing to give him a chance. "What is the meaning of this?"

Edited October 17, 2018 by PrinceDusty

[old man moomba]

Quote

And Dwig has two more like it. 

 

[Archer]

Another time. Another place.

It was dark. He was thirsty. He had battled tirelessly all day, fighting monsters that had seemingly been ripped straight out of his most scarring childhood nightmares.  

“But did he stop fighting? No! Not for a minute. Five, ten, fifteen Kolossals he slew, mechanically incapacitating them one by one.”

In the dark cabin, the firelight flickered on young Lance Klasten’s awestruck face. “Uncle,” the boy asked, “what about the dogs?”

The older man laughed. He grinned, his white teeth reflection the yellow light. “You’ve heard this story too many times. You know it so well…”

He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to think. For the longest time, he didn’t say a word. Lance had just begun to think he had fallen asleep when he suddenly his uncle began to speak again in a slow, dulcet tone.

“He got lucky. I don’t know if it was feruchemically induced or just fate, but for some reason the beasts stopped coming. He could see them in the distance, gathering together, preparing another assault. But for a few brief moments the Kolossals stopped advancing across the roof.”

He began to accompany his narration with hand gestures. “But the sea of seekradors had no such reservations. They knew where he was. He could see in their eyes that they were on the verge of charging him, to swarm him and gobble him up.”

The man clapped his hands together, causing the startled Lance to jump. “What did he do, Uncle? Tell me. Please!”

The old man was on a roll now. He moved so he could look the boy in the eye. Speaking softly, he continued. “He was a smart one. He knew the beasts were coming for him, so he did the only thing he could do. Bodies of Kolossals lay strewn on the rooftop around him. He smeared their blood on his clothes, then prepared to store heat to lower his body temperature. He would lower it so low he’d appear to dead.”

Lance looked skeptical. He was about to interrupt, but the other man held up a finger to shush him. “Then, he took the body of a dead Kolossal and pushed it over the edge, into the pack of dogs! As he lay on the roof, not daring to move, he could hear them tearing it to shreds. Gnashing and tearing and lapping up every last bit. By the time they were done, even they couldn’t tell what they’d just eaten. There was nothing left but strips of cloth.”

“So, how’d you get here?” Lance asked. His uncle had never gone into so much detail before. Excitement built in him as he sensed he was about to learn something new about his mentor.

“I hitched a ride,” came the cryptic reply. “This ranch may have been trashed, but I rebuilt it. The important parts, at least. There’s no limit to what one can do with a little time and a strong will.”

The two of them fell into a companionable silence. The old man rocked in his chair, watching the fire dance in his nephew’s eyes. He didn’t know that this would be the last night he would get to spend with him. He wasn’t aware of the half-buried rock on the pathway home that his nephew would fall upon and crack open his head. He didn’t know that the boy possessed great powers of his own, inherited from his mother, that would one day be used to alter the fate of the Alleyverse.

No. As he watched the boy slowly drift off to sleep, all he saw was a child-like wonder and a strong will. A will that reminded him of his own. A will that would be tested in the days and months to come as the boy fought for his life in a drab hospital room, a thousand miles away.

*******

Modern Day.

“REMEMBER.”

The old man often began his missives with the word. It was important to him. Just as helping his friends was important to him. That’s why, after nearly two decades of living peacefully in retirement, he’d agreed to return for one last run.

He stood outside the front door of the mansion housing the Ghostblood Ball, debating when to make his entrance. He heard screams coming from inside, so he knew it was almost time. As he stood on the front porch, he waved over some mimes and slipped them a bribe. Just in case I need to make a Weird Al reference. Or are beavers and weasels too dissimilar?

The mimes facepalmed, then quickly patched the hole in the fourth wall he created.

A pair of beavers was sniffing at his leg, so the old man picked them up, one in each hand. He was a strange sight. He looked about sixty years old in his faded brown clothes and Kevlar vest that just pinched his scruffy white beard, but he carried himself with confidence. He had dozens of earrings and a few bracers, but no visible weapons.

The screams were dying down, so the man squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, then kicked down the door.

******

The front door shattered, frightening those who were trying to escape through it. A spry old man stepped through, into the brightly lit room. The sporadically burning fires around the room cast an eerie glow upon his face.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” he roared with the voice of an experienced commander. “My name is Mace Klasten. Who wants a beaver?”

Mace lobbed the beavers in his hands at the nearest Ghostbloods. As the crowd around him panicked, he started memorizing faces. Even if they escaped, he would hunt them down. He would find them. And he would give them a beaver.

[Ink]

13 minutes ago, PrinceDusty said:

excuse please, Pearl just has personality whoah who woulda thought lol sorry I had to after Octo Expansion

Quote

I was talking about what he was doing with Mayo. I hated pearl before Octo. Now, i think she's pretty well developed for a 21 year old singer with a massive forehead.

 

[xinoehp512]

Nogard frowned. No apple cookies? He must remedy this situation. "I'll come with you, then. I still don't know where everything is, so you'll have to show me."  He slowed. "In the meantime, do you need help with the beavers?"

[MacThorstenson]

13 minutes ago, PrinceDusty said:

Ghostblood recruits of the lowest rank, not allowed to carry weapons in public themselves- certainly not at an intraguild event such as this- ran about defenselessly. Night jumped to their defense. "They won't attack you if you tell them to stop!" Night thundered. Storming noob recruits[NPCs].

He turned to Mac, willing to give him a chance. "What is the meaning of this?"

Mac stepped back from the battle with Ioc, and used alleymatics to always warp Ioc back to the same spot every millisecond. He made that spot the center of the void.

"I was promised the Ghostbloods. 

I received a notice that the Deal had been signed and it was time to add the Ghostbloods to the DA. Last time it happened it took hours with all the waivers and health forms, so I decided to, expedite things. Evidently you all were not informed of my arrival. But the plan must go on."

[Archer]

10 minutes ago, xinoehp512 said:

Nogard frowned. No apple cookies? He must remedy this situation. "I'll come with you, then. I still don't know where everything is, so you'll have to show me."  He slowed. "In the meantime, do you need help with the beavers?"

Klasten nodded appreciatively. "But they don't seem to be bothering us anymore. Weird," he commented. 

Then his jaw dropped as Mace Klasten came into view. "Storms," was all he could say as he laid eyes on his uncle for the first time since childhood. "Storms."

Edited October 17, 2018 by Archer

[I Am Witless]

Quote

He has returned.

 

[MetaTerminal]

Quote

...Splatoon has character development? Huh.

The violence played out abstractly. Beavers swarmed throughout the room, targeting those who were not expecting it. Some tried to flee. Others held their ground.

Pyrus stood next to him, watching. A whisper. What is the truth, Alum? It is legal. But is it right?

Alum made a decision. “Wait here, Vaisin. I’ll be back. Probably. If I don’t return, take anyone who will come who you and make for the Perpendicularity. You know where that is, correct?” Not waiting for an answer, he shifted back into the building. Sounds of metal, the clanging of swords and spikes and the thump of thrown beavers became audible.

“Any Ghostbloods that wish to flee the building,” he shouted, raising an arm high, “should come with me. We can get you to a safe distance. Don’t let yourself get spiked.” Grabbing the hand of the nearest Ghostblood, he began to phase in and out of the Physicsl Realm, transporting as many people as possible.

[PrinceDusty]

10 minutes ago, MetaTerminal said:

Quote

...Splatoon has character development? Huh.

 

 

Quote

hey, just because its nintendo doesn't mean its bad, this isn't the Wii U era anymore

it's a well-made game

1

4 hours ago, MacThorstenson said:

He was expecting resistance from the grunts, but not the leaders.

Quote

okay, noted. To be fair, I'm not technically a leader of the Ghostbloods, just hosting this party; I was unaware

The Ghostblood underlings cleared out quickly. Others were helping the underlings who were in full panic, and the Beavers avoided Night. Who was the spry old man who had just entered?

[+Sorana]

Althea considered her situation for another moment. And then cursed slightly. Using her knowledge of Shadesmar to guide her, she moved over, to where the ball room would have been and switched back into the cognitive realm.

Looking around she saw some of the underlings getting escorted elsewhere, a part of them spiked. She found Night standing somewhere in the middle and ran over, barely avoiding another mistbeaver.

"Fine, I'll help you. What can I do?"

@PrinceDusty

[PrinceDusty]

"Everything's clearing up well. The weakness of the mistbeavers- tell them you don't want a spike and they'll ignore you. The DA hasn't thrown anything else at us... yet. But who's that old guy who just came in? We need to keep an eye on Mac as well."

Quote

@MacThorstenson I am totally not giving you an opportunity to introduce some nightmare hemalurgic DA monster because I want to know more about this Mace Klasten person that I think I missed in Era I

Which is to say, nightmare time