Free City, Truce - Fountain
A tiered fountain marks the center of Truce, water gushing from its
summit and trickling into a deep, wide basin, wrapped by a ring of benches.
Roads flow like rivers away from the fountain, and houses sprout like weeds
all around them. Not far to the east, the ocean roars in the harbor.

The days are getting shorter as the summer evenings are coming to a close, with dusk rapidly falling upon the Fountain of Truce. A boy, looking to be very early teens in age, sits on the edge of the fountain basin, washing his face with complete ignorance to those around him. A leather-scabbarded longsword, pearled pommel gleaming in the last of the sun's light, rests nearby, a few drops of water spattered atop it.

The boy makes somewhat obnoxious bubbling noises as he runs his hands over his face amidst the water, apparently just happy to be alive.

Nagol walks in from the North and sits down a bench.

Mogwai walks in from the south end of town. She's wearing a fez now. Fezes are cool.

A hollow clacking noise sounds from the bench Zerstorung is seated on, as the boy racks a shell through the feeding tube and into the chamber of a shotgun. Apparentally pleased with this, he pumps it again, catching the shell as it flies out and nodding. With the chamber empty, he pulls the trigger and sets the weapon inside the bag he always seems to carry with him before casting his gaze about. His eyes lock on the boy at the fountian, and he has the feeling he knows him from somewhere.

Amid the quickly disappearing light, there's a glimmer from the metallic Vinyl Scratch, as she looks around the square.

It's Saturday, so that means it's time to congregate at the fountain! Considering the last few times have actually not been COMPLETELY life-threatening, Finn's decided that he's no longer going to be so wary about heading down to the fountain because, well, his curiosity will inevitably get the better of him anyway. He spots Mogwai and Vi, and quickly takes a moment to wave. "Hey."

The sound of an engine would fill the streets of Truce as Riko, aboard Shadowmere, rode into the city. The moogle would drive past the fountain with a lady moogle in his arms, and the engine noises would cease somewhere south of the fountain.

Eevee is sitting on a bench in the fountain, staring into the water. It seems he's been deep in thought for a while, which is kinda surprising. Hey, he can think, he's just not smart about it.

Helios flies in from the north with the M85 in tow, as usual. "Construction on the M82 is almost complete, then we can go on longer trips for the Mana shards. But not before." Helios seems to be lecturing the M85 as they walk. He stops and looks at the boy washing his face. "Hey, isnt that..."

Qupoma makes her way to the fountain area of Truce once again, taking a seat on a bench by the fountain. Her hands immediately shift to her lap, keeping her skirt pressed down, for the sake of modesty naturally. She allows one hand to lift to wave at Mogwai and Finn before reclaiming it's place. "Hi Mogwai, Finn. Glad to see you at the fountain today." She calls out as she sits there, listening to the water splashing against the basin of still water

Ambience shakes his head stiffly, probably getting a few drops of water on poor Eevee nearby, but then, he didn't even see him. (Whoops!) Water droplets sparkle in his short, spiked midnight-blue hair, and he grins brightly at nothing in particular. He wipes the majority of his now-clean face on his sleeves, and hops down from the basin, noting the collection of figures coming into the vicinity. Where did they all come from? Only one or two of them were here just a minute or so ago! Weird.

Mogwai says 'Hi Qupoma, glad to see you're feeling better. Did Riko take good care of you?'

Helios brightens up as the sight of the boy's face confirms his suspiscions. "Ambience, you have returned! It is good to see you whole and sane again. How are you?" The M85 waves cheerfully from behind Helios and makes a happy chirrup.

"Hey, Qupoma," Finn offers once he gets closer. "Pretty soon we're gonna be drowning in Moogles," he muses playfully, moving to settle on the edge of the fountain, relaxing comfortably. "Yeah, I'm with Moggers. How're you feelin'? Last I saw you you were unconscious." Actually, he's not sure that was her. All Moogles look the same to him. It's confusing as heck.

[SCANNING...] Even with the single word scrolling horizontally across her goggles, Vinyl Scratch turns - with a faint whirring - to nod at Finn and Mogwai, before moving her gaze onto Ambience. "Yo."

Nagol stands and says, "Hi Mogwai, Finn, Eevee, and Qupoma!" Nagol looks over to Eevee and notices that he doesn't have his Sunglasses or his translator. He says to Eevee, "What happened to the translator and those awesome sunglasses I gave you?"

Eevee's eyes twitch a little as the droplets of water land on him. He glances up towards Ambience and drops his ears a little before turning his attention back to the fountain.

Zerstorung purses his lips, obviously deep in thought. In his mind, he runs over the last few days, trying to remember where he had seen this boy. Nothing really clicks though, not even when Helios says his name. He mentally shrugs, and continues his hobby of people watching. The new robot thing interacting with Finn was a bit creepy, and that small guy was here again. This crowd kept Zerstorung on edge a lot.

Qupoma blushes, her cheeks turning a soft tint of pink which is extremely noticable against her sea of white, fluffy fur. "Yes, he did Mogwai. I'm not sure why I all of a sudden decided to pass out, I felt ragged..and then all of a sudden my body ecided to shut down, so to speak. I awoke in Riko's arms as he drove away on a motorcycle...I'll have to ask him where he got that.." She says as she regains her composure. "Did I miss anything while I was out cold?"

Meanwhile, a little west of the fountain, an odd man going by the name of Giglamesh is attempting to haul something rather shiny from the windows, oblivious as to what the others at the fountain are doing.

Giglamesh says 'Just...a...little..more...'

Kupenreich "Shadowmere is the manifestation of Shade's blessing to me," Riko explained as he headed toward to fountain, a fresh loaf of bread in his hand. He sat down and took a bite out of the loaf, adjusting his glasses and nodding to the group afterward.

Ambience looks up at the... lens, approaching him, and his grin drops, but only slightly, and only into something more of.. confusion. "Huh? Whattaya mean?" He pauses, letting the gears turn for a moment, before coming up empty. He looks at Vinyl as she acknowledges him, but seems a little... weirded out by it. He turns back to the lens and its mech cohort. "What, uh.. are you, anyway? And how come y'know who I am?"

A drop of water encircles the out floral rim of the black rose entwined in his hair above his ear, sliding down into its interior and disappearing. Ambience looks genuinely confused by that which is addressing him, to be sure.

Mogwai hmms at Qupoma "Well... you were there when we all got a blessing from Shade. I believe you may have been blessed as well, but time will tell just how it affects you

As he hears Nagol's voice, Eevee's ears perk up as he finally notices the crowd of people gathering. Hey, where'd they all come from? His ears drop once more as attempts to respond in vain, "Vee..(Oh, Nagol..they broke..both of them.)" By this time, Eevee finally notices the crowd actually consisted of familiar faces. He supposes he should go greet them, but it seems he hasn't shaken off whatever has been upsetting him.

"How's the robot life treatin' ya, Vi?" Finn inquires the mecha-pony, moving to lean comfortably against her. At least she's way sturdier and harder to knock over like this! And still comfortable. Again, what wonders this world holds! He listens to Qupoma's words, and he nods a little bit at her. "Yeah, Qupoma. For example, I get some sweet sword stuff. It's really awesome. Need to get some of the last ones to round things out, myself."

Helios hangs in the air, staring at Ambience. "You don't remember us? It seems they had to do much to return your sanity." Helios begins scanning Ambience as the figure down the street attempting what looked like theft. "Oh, M85, go grab him for us, would you?" The M85 nods and begins tromping down the street towards Giglamesh.

Riko nods at Finn. "I'll probably be going with him to do that. This whole blessing business has proven useful thus far."

Zerstorung frowns. It was obvious that he was a bit confused by what was going on, given the robots. He begins slipping into a mental fantasy where he helps the boy out, but suddenly his eyes widen as he pulls himself out of it. He stands up a bit abruptly, and after re-assuring himself, he walks over to Ambience with his bag slung over his shoulder. "Hey, uh... Ambience. That's what this guy called you right? Hi, I'm Zerstorung. Do you want to, uh" he spares a glance to Helios. "Do you wanna go somewhere el

[TARGET IDENTIFIED: AMBIENCE] Pointedly dismissing the advisory, Vinyl Scratch sits down amid a bit more whirring, pulling the goggles off her eyes to reveal the ruby-colored optics underneath. "It's goin' well, yo."

Nagol says to Eevee, "Really? Hmm...don't feel bad! I thought that might happen, so here you go!" Nagol puts another Translator Necklace and Sunglasses down next to Eevee. Nagol waves goodbye and walks southward.

Zerstorung says 'Do you wanna go somewhere else? I have a thing I want to ask you about.'

Qupoma glances to Mogwai "Really? Hmm, maybe I should see how that actually worked on me." She taps her chin, but then she notices Riko. "Oh, hi Riko! I didn't notice you come into the fountain area." She says.

Just Giglamesh almost managed to pull out a bar of gold, he was rudley interrupted by a mechanical object.

Giglamesh says 'Wah--HEY! LEMME GO, DARN IT!'

Riko nods and hands her a loaf of bread. "Sorry I wasn't right behind you. Figured I'd get breakfast."

Giglamesh was understandably upset to be taken by this rather odd robot.

That Giglamesh didn't immediately go screaming and attempt to slice it down spoke much of his character.

That, or the shock of seeing such a thing didn't really sink into Giglamesh's head yet.

Ambience looks down at his sword for a moment, momentarily wondering if he was going to need it. But without thinking on it too hard, he looks back up at Helios, still confused. This thing new who he was, but he didn't have a clue why or how. Before he could say anything, though, Zerstorung had confronted him. So many people! However, this guy's name rings a bell, at least. His grin broadens, and he looks up at him excitedly. "Hey, you're that guy! The one mama was talkin' about! The one Sylvan and Layla aren't 'fraid of." Ambience pauses, for a moment. "What'cha need?"

Zerstorung is a little bit shocked that that worked so well, but regardless he was going to take advantage of it. "Uh, There's this job that I need some help with, and I figured you looked like a pretty..." He looks around at the crowd. "Normal guy. So, what do you think? We could go to the Inn and grab some food while we talk it over."

As Nagol heads off, Eevee stares at his presents. That was thoughtful of him, but Eevee wasn't sure he even wanted others to hear him right now. Or see, for that matter. There was an idea. Eevee leaned over and stared into the water once more. As he does so, his body gradually becomes viscuous until he simply 'melts' onto the bench. After a couple seconds pass, Eevee's body rises up from the puddle as an entirely different creature!

Bearing blue scales, a tail fin, and a dark blue 'cap' around his head, Eevee leaps into the fountain out of sight. One could blame Eevee for overthinking his situation and to just chin up. But those with such logic generally don't have the instincts that a creature born in the wild does. Brief happiness can bring him peace, but if nature is causing him such depression, it may be for a reason.

"Well, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." Mogwai says to Qupoma and Riko as she heads over to Eevee. Meanwhile, dark clouds roll in overhead, thunder booms "Shit shit shit shit SHIT! Not again, kupo!" shouts a voice as a new individual falls into the Truce fountain.

Qupoma took the bread and broke up a small piece and popped it into her mouth, quietly chewing. "Thanks Riko. I guess I forgot to eat before I left this morning.." She says, in between small bites. She then looks over at Eevee for a brief moment, wishing she can help, but she doesn't know what's wrong, nor can she really communicate with him.

[STANDING BY...] With a shrug, Vinyl Scratch turns her attention back to the rest of her group, robotics whirring as she moves closer to talk with them.

Finn blinks a little, and shrugs, before he notes the clouds.. and a new arrival, it seems. He peers up to notice the Moogle. Considering Moogles don't weigh much, he doesn't move away from the fountain, since it likely won't make a huge splash. When Vi moves, he adjusts himself to stand tall again and follow along, moving back over to.. oh, wait, where's Eevs go? Hm.

Helios's lens flickers at his sudden dismissal. "Well, your energy signature is the same as the previous Ambience's was." The M85 trundles back to the group with the Squirming Giglamesh trapped in its pinscer. "Oh, good. You brought him back, thank you M85. Now..." Helios hovers close to the thief. "Just what did you think you were doing?"

Giglamesh glares at Helios. "You jerk! I was making a...rather heft withdrawl from the bank for various gear!"

Ambience seems to disregard Helios even if he's still being spoken to. He doesn't know who the talking lens-mass is, and robots go on the fritz all the time; it's entirely possible this is what is happening now. Instead, he turns to face Zerstorung. "Well, see, I'm not really hungry at all; me an' Mama just had dinner a bit ago 'fore I came down for a bit from the Holyland. But if there's somethin' I can help with, sure! I'm not watching Effie tonight, so I might be able to help."

Ambience turns to grab his sheathed longsword at that time, swinging it over his back and attaching it as needed at the front, before nodding affirmingly, little soldier that he is.

The newcomer's a moogle clade in dark armor. She takes off her helmet, showing a red pom-pom and long, rabbit-like ears "...hey, Mogwai! It's me, Gizmo! Listen, that damn monster sent me back in time again, I'm going to need you to do that thing again and... you have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Mogwai nods her head dumbly. (c)

Zerstorung nods, hoping dearly that the boy wouldn't be angry when he learned that it was all a ruse. Zerstorung hadn't had a job in a week! "Cool, this way then!" He gives the boy a small smile before turning and walking to the south, away from all the insanity ongoing.

Yawning more out of reflex than necessity, Vinyl Scratch rises to her hooves, moving to speak with Helios now.

As Eevee glides effortlessly through the water, his brief moment of peace is disturbed as an individual invades the serene water with their violent fall. Eevee quickly swerves to the side as he examines the newcomer from underwater. As she leaves the fountain, Eevee swims over to the edge and peeks his head out slightly to watch the scene unfold.

Gizmo nods "Right, ok, so I guess that makes this our first meeting. My name's Gizmo. I'm an unwilling time traveler, and I don't always go in the right order. You get to help me make a time machine to go back to the future." "Why do I have to help make the time machine?" asks Mogwai. "Spoilers!" chimes Gizmo.

Helios stares blankly at the thief in the M85's grasp. "Yes, because the bank deals in gold bullion on a regular basis through their back window." He notices Vinyl walking up to him. "Ah, hello Vinyl..." He turns to face her and trails off for a second or two before snapping out of his trance. "Uh, yes, how are you? Ans what's this about a time machine?" Helios calls over to the moogle in the fountain.

Something clicked inside Riko, and he held the rusty shield up behind him. A soft yellow light flashed in front of the shield, and the wave of fountain water that was gunning for him, and probably Qupoma depending on how close the two were sitting to each other, crashed against the light. Riko looked back, expecting an enemy, but he soon pieced together what had happened. With that, he put the shield back on his back and continued eating.

Qupoma rests an arm on Riko's shoulders and is about to speak when she sees him raise his shield suddenly, when she hears the splash, then she knew what it was. "Nice reflexes, Riko." Is all she said as she continued small bites on the loaf of bread, scooting just a bit closer in case anybody else decided to fall from the sky into the fountain today.

[DISENGAGING...] Vinyl Scratch nods in response, metallic horn flaring briefly as her goggles go dark. "Thanks for pullin' me out of that whole fiasco yesterday."

Giglamesh has NO idea what the moogles are talking about with the time machine and time travel, but he does notice Helios has his eyes off him, giving him the chance to attempt to--"GnGH!"--to--"GNNGH!"...well, maybe he could try escaping later. Damn thing had a good grip on him.

Nagol walks in from the south, but he has strange look in his eyes...something is not right with Nagol tonight...

"No problem," Riko said, silently noticing a bit of soreness in his left arm. This whole 'blessings use his energy' thing was going to get annoying quick, he realized. Good thing Shadowmere wasn't like that.

Mogwai shrugs helplessly.

Vinyl Scratch, with a sigh, shakes her head and turns to head back for the treehouse, the whirring of her robotic joints gradually fading as she leaves. "See you guys."

Vinyl leaves north.

Finn blinks as Vi heads north for the tree fort, and he tilts his head a bit. Figuring that there's little reason to stay, he flips after her, moving to catch up with her as she heads out. Seems he's leaving early tonight..

Finn leaves north.

Gizmo hops out of the fountain "Anyway, I say build, but you've got most of the stuff on hand. I'll need your bus, that crystal your carry around... oh, Helios, perfect! I'm building a... well, it's not time machine really, more like reversing time travel. Like making a pulled rubber band snap back. Know anything about that kind of technology?" Mogwai strolls over to the fountain and sits down "Hey Eevee, feeling any better?"

Nagol starts to stumble and is starting to glow red...

Qupoma drifts her eyes over to the new arrival and Helios as they talk about...well, whatever it was they were talking about. Technology? Not her strong suit. Air currents? She knows more about them. Uselss, yes, but she does. "Who is that Moogle..and what are they talking about?" Qupoma asks Riko as she whittles the bread doiwn to about half of it's size by now.

Helios' lens flickers at the suggestion. "Reversing time travel? Ummm..." Helios clances after Vinyl and Finn for a moment before shaking his central core. "Yes, we have been working on something similar to that. The concept could be repurposed for that sort of thing, we think. Given enough power, we could pull it off. Why?" The M85 seems confused by its master ignoring the prisoner in its grasp. After a moment, it shrugs and hurls the guy into the fountain face- first, aiming to knock him o

Eevee glances up as Mogwai approaches, seems he wasn't insidious enough. Well there was no point in giving Mogwai the depressing treatment, she'd just school him again. He dips back underwater for a few seconds and before launching himself out of the fountain and on to the ground, landing on all fours. As water drips from his scaly blue body, Eevee turns his head towards Mogwai. "Undineon! (I guess..who's that?)" he asks as he looks towards Gizmo.

Riko listens to Mogwai, Helios, and the newcomer, but since his hearing is similar to other moogles', he doesn't hear much. "Beats me. Something about ...time travel? I don't know." he shrugs.

A few clouds drift by overhead, covering the first stars that begin to peek out in the approaching-night sky.

Giglamesh is thrown through the air! "YOU SONOVA--:SPLOOSH!:

Mogwai shrugs "Some nutjob weirdo would be my guess. Speaking of which, Nagol's acting weird over there. Wanna check it out?" Meanwhile, Gizmo continutes explaining to Helios "Where I come from, I'm in the middle of battling a horrible monster. It keeps knocking me backwards in time. If I simply take the long road back, I'll die of old age before I can defeat it."

Nagol has now change from blue to red. He seems to be thinking about something...

Eevee glances towards Nagol and tilts his head a little before looking back at Mogwai and giving her a nod. "Undineon! (Sure! I need to apologize for breaking his things before..)"

Qupoma has a confused look on her face, her pom flicking somewhat as it dangles there just above her eyes. "So...time travel? That makes no sense..even I know that's impossible." She muses as she takes another small bite of her bread. At this rate, that one loaf will last her the rest of the day. Hey, Riko~ What do you say we head on over there and see what's going on? I'm kinda curious now, actually." She says, as she moves to stand.

Helios becomes thoughtful. "Well, you have an interesting story, certantly worth looking into..." Helios looks upwards slightly, thinking. "Movement to another dimension takes more power than moving forward along the timeline..." Helios' gaze snaps back to Gizmo. "Alright, we can help. You said that Mogwai's bus is the vehicle to be used? So be it."

Helios says 'We will need a mana shard for power, but we can build the rest as soon as you want.'

Riko sighs and rises to his feet, somehow knowing this would end in a headache. He says nothing, however, silently following Qupoma to Mogwai's side.

Giglamesh slowly gets up from the fountain, attempting to salvage what little dignity he has left. "Oh, that tears it! You are going DOWN! Draw your weapon!"

Sean yawning as he drifted into the area, pretending to play with a strand of hair as traced his blue eyes went about from individual to individual, looking to find a pattern in those he laid eyes on. Most those he might have bumped into days ago. Standing about as he found his comfortable spot upon edge of fountain waters without pardoning a greeting as he simply folded on leg over the other as he hummed to himself. Strangely enough, he looked to be in cheerful mood. Grinning ear to ear, it were as if he hoped to use his very happiness as method of disruption.

Mogwai heads over to Nagol "Hey there. Eevee wanted to apologize for some broken toys. You feeling quite alright man?" she's suddenly distracted by Gizmo plucking the fez off her head "Sorry, need this. You got a mana shard? Helios needs it?" Mogwai fishes a black chunk of rock from wherever she keeps her inventory "Here, it's his anyway." "Perfect, we can get started immediately then."

Helios blinks at the sudden procurement of the shard. "What? you mean you had that the entire... No, we refuse to get into this now. Just bring in the bus while we call in the repair drone. We will need its assistance for this." Helios picks up the shard with a magnetic field and begins scanning it.

Nagol looks at Mogwai, but doesn't seem to think much about what she said. He walks over to the Fountain and looks into it. He studies his reflection in the Water.


Qupoma walks over to where Gizmo and Mogwai were, although she didn't really say anything. She kind of looked between thre two, Helios included, as they were..building...something. She idly bats at her pom as she watches "Um...what's going on over here?" She asks, as she sees this other Moogle running back and forth, and talking about building something and rubber bands?

"HAHAHAH! Let us see how you fare, when I, Giglamesh, unleash the blade of Odin on you!" Pulling from an unknown region of space, he pulled forth the Zantetsuken!...Or Something like it.

Behind them, the M85 begins squaring off with Giglamesh. The light coming from its arm cannon switches from the usual sickly, radioactive green color that it usually was to an errie electric blue color. The pincer locks together and begins revving up into the buzz-saw.

Giglamesh then charged forth with a shout, holding the blade in both hands, ready to reduce the odd robot to nothing more than useless spare parts.

Eevee sticks with Mogwai as they check on Nagol. He would probably been concerned even in his normal form, but the kindness aspect of Undineon compelled him to worry. The look on his face clearly shows his concern, especially after Nagol shrugged her off and headed for the fountain. Eevee glances back towards Mogwai, "Undineon? (What could be wrong? Was he upset that I broke his things?)"

As Eevee says that, he turns his gaze to the ground and paws sadly at it. He didn't mean to, it was an accident.

Nagol mumbles to himself in a differnt voice than normal, "If he is not going to get stronger, I'll just have to force him to! I need to see what his full power is capable of." Nagol turns around and looks at the crowd of people, most likely searching for someone to fight with.

Mogwai approaches Nagol warily "I don't think he's upset about that. Better be ready to throw down." Gizmo seems to be ignoring all the other action going on in the square "Saving the future, that's what's going on here. I'd worry about the present if I were you, this is a big day for you... or did that already happen?" she pauses for a second to think "No, definitely WILL happen, sorry. You should be good now, just, ya know, survive and all that." she says before turning back to Helios "Lemme know if you need anything else."

Riko stares at Gizmo, eyebrow raised. "Who are you and what are you on?" he asks a bit rudely.

Qupoma silently places this one in the 'Mental and in need of institutionalizing' and she backs off a little bit, still not sure what to make of all this. "Riko! That was rude of you. We don't even know who this person is, and you go blurting out those things?!" She says, staring at him.

Nagol finds the Mech. to be the best challenge. He notice the Man fighting it and mumbles to himself, "I give that guy 3...no 2 minutes until the Robot defeats him." Nagol takes a step towards the two fighters.

Helios watches as a small, multilimbed drone flies in from the north using a helicopter- like attachment. "Ah, the repair drone is here. Did you bring the supplies?" The drone warbled something before following it up with a string of rapid clicks. "Good. Ok, it has the parts we will need. Where is the bus?"

Eevee seems confused. Throw down? What'd that mean? Mogwai seemed to be on her guard. Was something about to happen? Eevee stuck beside her as she approached.

The M85 seemed to snarl as it primed the arm cannon. It abruptly fired out a gobule of some sort of glowing blue goopy substance that splatters everywhere on impact. Steam begins to rise from the goop as it begins dissolving whatever it touches. The M85 narrowed its lens triumphantly, try standing up to pure, liquid Ether now, wimpy thief- boy.

Mogwai taps Nagol on the shoulder "Hey, mind not placing bets on the lives of my friends? And anyway I bet the kid gets to live." Meanwhile Gizmo looks up and down the streets "I told you, I'm a time traveler. Belated... err, early congratulations by the way now where did she park today... ah." she says as she runs off to the north, around a corner, and comes back driving the Bus.

Riko's gaze only became more quizzical at Gizmo's response, though he stops short of replying again when Qupoma scolds him. "Sorry," he says. "Look, I-" he starts to say, but Gizmo had left by then.

Qupoma raises an eyebrow and looks at Riko, mouthing off: "Belated congratulations? For what? Is there something your not telling me, Riko?!" As she looks at Riko again, wondering what the heck that was all about. To be honest, she still thinks that Moogle is a fiar bit more then bonkers.

Eevee still looks pretty damn confused. Regardless, he follows Mogwai around. What could the problem be?

Nagol puts his arm up and starts to charge up a LBA...but it looks more like a Dark Beam Attack... Nagol thinks to himself, "Let's go for a test drive, shall we?"

Riko sighs, facepalms, then turns to Qupoma, only then noticing the night sky. "That's what it is," he says. "I have no idea what he's talking about," he added. "That, and he said early, so I probably won't for a while. Anyway, I haven't slept in over a day, so I'm going to go rent a room with what little money I have left."

Helios looks over the bus. "Ok, so were is the core located in the future? We can base the rest of the machine off of that." As Helios talks, the repair drone unfolds its spidery limbs and hovers closer to the bus.

Noticing the arm cannon's power, Giglamesh leaps into the air, and with a mighty slash, manages to cleave off the tip of the pointy green-ish right arm of the robot, laughing like a maniac...:crick:...until he noticed his sword breaking, with rather audible shatter. "...Ah damn it! This cost me 20,000 gold! I knew I should've spent it on that Excalibur!" He then turned towards the robot with one still viable, and deadly head. "Well. Shit.

Qupoma nods "Very well, Riko. Good night. I should be gettin some sleep as well.." She pauses to look at the sky "Oh my, it's that late already?! I guess I should be heading back to the cafe myself." With that, she pulls Riko along "Come on, I'll pay for a room for you tonight." She says, pulling him away, whether he wants to be or not..

The M85 stared at the wrecked cannon, puzzled as to why it wasnt working anymore. It's lens narrowed with the realization that he had cut the tip off. The Buzz- saw's already painfully loud whine kicks into kigh gear is the M85 lunges forward, swinging at the foolish challenger.

"Thanks" Riko says, following Qupoma.

Mogwai readies a glowing energy whip "I think Nagol's gone a bit schizo." Meanwhile, Gizmo parks "Core? It's... not a stationary time machine. Technically... I guess you could say I'm the core. It sends me..." she catches herself "Spoilers. I was up near Wutai when I was attacked, I can say that much."

Helios rolls his core. "No, we meant the power core. You know what, forget it. Repair drone, go wild." The drone brightened up at that and began tearing apart the engine block for the bus. "First, that needs to go. Horrible for the enviroment anyway." Helios states as he pulls out the pieces.

Nagol looks back to Mogwai. He then runs over, jumps, and shoots the DBA into the side of the M85. He lands and says, "Not too shabby...but it's not enough."

Thankfully, for Giglamesh's sorry hide, the M85 was blasted by the rather unstable Nagol. Hopefully, this would give him the chance to fl--erm, make a tactical retreat.

The M85 is knocked out of its lunge by the beam slamming into it's side. It screeches as it rolls along the ground before it gets up, reassigning the threat targeting index to Nagol. Oh, its on! It roars and jumps at nagol, heedless of the smoking black burn on the armor.

Eevee's eyes widen as he observes Nagol's stance. This was that 'new technique' he showed him before! Granted, Eevee got a little distracted and didn't see the whole thing. But Nagol was pretty excited about it at the time. It took time to charge, so maybe there was time to stop him. But why would Nagol do this? Was there a fight going on that he had totally missed? Eevee finally turns his gaze towards the M85 and its victim. Oh. How long have they been there?

At the same time, Eevee watches Nagol make his move. So that's what was going on. Maybe he should help? Wait..that was the machine that hurt Mogwai! And now it's trying to hurt someone else? Eevee was not about to let Nagol fight it alone, especially after what it did before. He takes a minute take in a deep breath, just -eyeing- the hulking machine.

"Good, Good. Let's see what you can do!" Nagol runs over to the M85 and attempts to use a Shoryuken on it!

Mogwai slashes her whip at Nagol, leaving after-images of crescent moons "Eevee... the machine's on our side, trust me on this. Yeah it shot me but... Nagol's the one flipping out here!" Gizmo dodges out of the way of the battle as it heads in her direction "Shit, I forgot all about this part, kupo. We need to hurry."

Helios nods. "We are working on it! give us a little bit more time, we are installing the warp panels and still need to break them." The repair drone picks up the pace as well.

The M85 SMASHES nagol with the side of it's buzz-saw as the rim begins to glow golden. It then attempts to stab him with the broken end of its cannon, hoping for a quick finish.

Yep, they seemed to be busy duking it out alright. With Nagol distracting the kill bot, Giglamesh decided to run back to the bank window he was stealing from, climb in, close it, and hope the whole thing would blow over.

The repair drone, assisted by Helios, finishes installing the panels along the roof of the bus. The then begin to systematically snap them in half and bolt the pieces to the sides.

As Mogwai's words ring through his ears, Eevee wasn't quite sure how to process this. Why did she insist on being friendly with that monster? Did she forget how much pain it caused everyone? And then it hit him. Eevee was a monster too, losing control and hurting his friends. He exhales for a second as he settles on this. There was only one answer: Eevee's friends were just as out of control as he was.

This struck Eevee as a chance of redemption. If he couldn't stop himself from losing control, maybe, just maybe he could stop others. And so Eevee inhaled deeply again and turned his gaze towards Nagol. "Undineon! (Don't worry..I'm here to help you!)" he lets out quickly as he fires an icey beam towards Nagol in an attempt to freeze him in his tracks.

Helios says 'and... done!'

Nagol dodges the M85's stab, and then lands back onto the ground. "Not that good with the Shoryuken, huh? I'll make sure you can break through steel when I'm done with you!" Who is he talking to? Nagol notices the whip, and dodges it. He counter-attacks Mogwai with a mini-DBA.

Gizmo nods in thanks "Thank you. I knew you could get it done, I just got a little nervous you see... Mogwai will trust me later, but this time? She's gonna realize I'm borrowing her house." she says before driving off. Mogwai is oblivious to that going on as she rolls out of the way "Bad Kirby! You don't attack friends!"

Helios watches the bus drive off. "Well, this must be a new record." He looks over at the brawl. "Nope, not getting in that. You need to go back to the ship and you need an escort. Come on!" Helios drags the repair drone behind him as he makes a break for the north. "M85, take care of these guys, would you?"

Nagol didn't notice the ice beam coming at him. He hits the Ice beam, but is only hit on his right side. Ice covers the right side of Nagol's body. "This does this not good..." Nagol continues to fire mini-DBA's in his free hand.

As the M85 observes Eevee's beam freezing Nagol in place, it thrusts forward toward him and attempts to grab him with its saw arm. As it does so, Eevee grimaces as he watches Nagol's counter attack. Hey, what'd Mogwai do to deserve that?! Easy, Eevee..she wasn't hurt. Eevee then disperses into a puddle of water that seems to approach both the M85 and Nagol.

Giglamesh , in a moment of stupidity (yes, apparently he can be even stupider, who'd of guessed?) decided to see if he could haul the gold out through the vault. What followed was the Truce guards being alerted, and headed his way, and possibly to the fountain's.

Through its charge, the M85 doesn't seem too concerned about the miniature blasts.

Mogwai flips into a pose, spotlights shining down to blind Nagol "By the power of the moon! Begone foul possession before I beat it out of you!"

"It seems the tables have turned on me..." Nagol watches, or tries to because of Mogwai's strange dance moves. He thinks to himself, "It seems I may have to bring out my own powers for this. Let's hope I can hold onto his body for a bit longer." Nagol starts to Darken with emensit power...

As the puddle of water that was once Eevee moves into place behind Nagol, it rises up to return to Undineon form. Hoping to catch him by surprise. Eevee quickly takes a deep breath and exhales icy air all over Nagol. Even though he had attempted attack Mogwai, the Undineon kindness carried his motive through. He really didn't want to hurt his friend, though he certainly needed to chill.

This plan was altered, however, as the M85 showed no signs of respite. Successfully grasping Nagol with its saw arm, it proceeds to violently smash him into the ground repeatedly. Eevee grimaced as it does so. 'What's the big idea? Maybe -you- need to chill too!' is a loose translation of what goes on in his mind as he tries to keep his frosty breath aimed at the M85's arm.

Mogwai yells out "Nagol, feeling any better?"

Meanwhile, Giglamesh is reenacting a scene from C.O.P.S., somehow managing to run from the guards while carrying a sack of gold. "Shit, shit, shit!"

"I will let them know my true power!" Nagol explodes in a giant ball of Darkness! Nagol disappears from the M85's Hand, and is seen standing on top of the Fountain. Darkness covers his body and the ice has been melted away by the explosion.

Nagol says 'You ready for a true fight?'

Eevee is taken back by Nagol's sudden maneuver. His Undineon form was already starting to fade, not that it was helping much. The M85 glances at its hand for a second and lets out a whirring noise as it turns its attention towards the fountain were Nagol stood. Clearly it needed to re-analyze the creature again.

After thinking to himself for a bit, Eevee realized another way he could contain his friend. He closes his eyes as his body forms into a puddle again, and his normal form rises up from it once more. He then concentrates on Lumina's blessing, summoning a brief flash of light around him! "Lumineon! (Nagol! I know what you're going through! You -can- fight this!)" he shouts as the light dies down, revealing Eevee in his Lumineon form!

Giglamesh and the guards gaze at the scene before them, their grievances with each other momentarily forgotten.

Mogwai sticks a foot out in Giglamesh's way as as responds "Sure, but all I see around here is you... speaking of which, where's that Gizmo girl? More importantly... where's my bus? And my fez?"

A voice seems to come from Nagol: It is faint, but it says, "Yeah! I'm trying the best I can to get control of myself again! Thanks Eevee!"

Nagol says 'Quick you!'

Nagol starts to fire off dark energy balls at everyone near the Fountain: Mogwai, Eevee, M85, Giglamesh, and even the Police!

Giglamesh says 'OH SHI--!'

"Lumineon!! (I know what it's like to lose control..to hurt those you care about. I won't let you be a victim too!)" shouts Eevee in response to Nagol's words.

As the M85 continues its analysis, it focuses on evasive maneuvers while still taking a random blast or two on its sides. Eevee growls as he charges towards the fountain, dodging and weaving around the blasts until one hits him and causes him to trip. Growling even louder, Eevee rises to his feet and leaps into the fountain. He just had to get a little closer..

Mogwai straightens into a narrow stance, swiping any dark balls that get close back with her whip as she advances slowly. As she gets closer, she pulls out her crystal with her free hand and focuses Lumina's blessing through it "Let's see... I know this works to purify items, let's see if it works on people too!"

"Like hell I'm dying here!" Dropping the money, and shoving some of the guards into the way of blasts that were coming for him (and insuring a guilty conscience later on), Giglamesh just BARELY manages to escape being blasted to smithereens.

Nagol slides down the fountain, attempting to ram into Eevee in the process. Once he gets down, he throws a energy ball at the M85. He charges a Giangantic Dark Energy Wave, hoping it will charge before Mogwai does what she is going to do.

Eevee hits the ground hard as Nagol rams him while the M85 thought it could deflect the ball for some reason using its saw arm. Suffice to say, its arm flies back, nearly causing a disconnect in its systems. As Eevee struggles to rise to his feet, he notices Nagol in a charging stance. '-Perfect-..just stay like that..' are Eevee's thoughts as he pours every ounce of energy he has into approaching Nagol.

Seeing the same opportunity, the M85 advances towards Nagol with its cannon arm out. "Lumineon! (No!)" he shouts as he dives for Nagol and concentrates, forming a powerful barrier around him. Not only to protect Nagol from the M85, but to protect Nagol from himself. As long as the vulnerable Eevee keeps his focus, nothing gets in..or out of the barrier.

And just in time, the M85 proceeds to go hammer Nagol repeatedly with the cannon arm. Though its blows harmlessly bounce off as Eevee grimaces with each hit. Just..gotta..concentrate..

Mogwai charges Nagol, holding his crystal forth like a holy symbol "Let's hope this works... blessed Luna, spirit of light and purity, CLEANSE THIS FOUL EVIL!"

As Eevee puts up the Barrier, Nagol says, "No!" Nagol tries to charge faster, but his energy is fading rappiedly. He starts to flash Blue!

As Giglamesh is leaving, he takes a look back, and shakes his head, a bit dissapointed in himself.

Eevee barely opens his left eye as he watches Nagol while gritting his teeth, "Lumin..eon! (It's okay..you're safe now..the rest is up to you..Nagol..you can fight this. You told me I could, too. Or were you just lying?!)" The M85 doesn't seem to let up, its orders were clear. Though it should probably stop to reassess the situation soon.

Mogwai focuses all the power she can through the gem, though she's not sure it's making a difference "Hey... mechon thingie... you trust me right? Will you obey me if I tell you not to attack the blue kirby?"

Nagol is hit by both attacks full force, and the Energy Wave had been destroyed in the attack! A dark energy flies out of Nagol, and Nagol falls to the ground his normal blue self. Nagol gives Eevee a thumbs up, and then goes uncosicous. The Dark Energy manafests into a Red Esper-like man, he is kneeling and is breathing very hard.

As Mogwai makes her request, the M85 stops for a second and makes a whirring sound. It turns its eye towards her then towards Nagol and Eevee, the latter showing clear signs of near exhaustion. It raises its saw arm slightly to examine the damage, as well as its cannon arm. Regardless of the masters orders, things here seem to have gotten out of hand. Literally.

And Eevee was indeed near exhaustion. Changing forms alone takes a lot out of him, especially when going from one form to another. But as he witnesses the change in Nagol's color, he feels as if a spike of energy begins to flow through him. Eevee then opens his other eye and his mouth as he prepares to fire a beam of light.

Mogwai focuses the power of Lumina through her whip and slashes it at the spirit. She may not have been much help elsewhere in the fight, but this one thing she can do!

Throughout his coughing, Eevee's fur begins to turn from its bright white back to its regular brown and white, the luminous cloud around him dissipating into the air. The M85 seems to be reassessing the situation.

Despite his intentions and the seeming rush of energy, Eevee just didn't have enough. What little bit of light he had charged 'falls' towards the ground, dispersing into nothing along the way. At the same time, Eevee starts to cough uncontrollably. He's never had an attack like that fizzle out on him before.

Throughout his coughing, Eevee's fur begins to turn from its bright white back to its regular brown and white, the luminous cloud around him dissipating into the air. The M85 seems to be reassessing the situation.

Mogwai continues to savagely attack the spirit, calling out to the mechon "Red thingie, hit it!"

As Eevee collapses to the ground, the M85 glances towards Mogwai and then towards the spirit, letting out a slight whirring sound. It raises the cannon arm up and thrusts it forcefully towards the esper.

The Red Esper is then lifted off the ground. He fades a bit, and then he says, "This........is............just............the...............begining............." A strange Symbol appears on Nagol's Head, the Red Esper is sucked up into the symbol. The Symbol fades, and the battle is finally over...

Mogwai hugs the M85 "Ok, you better let Helios know you're in one piece."

As Eevee's coughing subsides, he struggles to catch his breath. "..Eev..vee..(He was a victim too..a monster who lost control..Mogwai..please..don't ever let that happen..to me..)"

Eevee then closes his eyes, clearly fatigued. The M85 looks triumphantly at its cannon arm as it makes a whirring sound towards Mogwai. That was a good idea. It begins to head off, its frame clearly battered and damaged.

Mogwai casts a glance at Nagol to make sure he doesn't seem like he'll flip out again, before scooping up Eevee in her arms "Come on, we should probably get an inn room I guess..." There's a crack of thunder from the south and the Bus comes rolling in to a stop. Inside, there is no driver. "Huh... weird. Well, there's my bus. Still no fez."

Eevee seems to have passed out, though he appears to have a satisfied look on his face. Maybe this was the redemption he was looking for all along. One can't change the things that they've done. But they can always look towards the future and fight to do what's right.


[-----ELSEWHERE...-----]


Truce - Inn
Canned piano tunes drift through the inn, mostly adagio, unoffensive
muzak. Cheap-looking drapes have been strewn over the windows, which are
surrounded by floral wallpaper. A lot of dust has settled on the front
counter, but it looks like whoever works here doesn't really care. The
scent of alcohol strengthens to the east.

Zerstorung walks into the inn, a pretty easy task seeing as how he had spent the last weeks sleeping there. What complicates this is the fact that his mind was bristling with bad-case scenarios about what would go wrong if he ended up messing up here.

Zerstorung walks into the inn, a pretty easy task seeing as how he had spent the last weeks sleeping there. What complicates this is the fact that his mind was bristling with bad-case scenarios about what would go wrong if he ended up messing up here. Anyways, he turns to the boy once they reach the building and nods to him. "This is it. Do you want some water to drink real quick? Because I can get us some."

"Nope! Just had lots to drink from that fountain back there." Ambience gestures emphatically back in the direction from which they came. The low tavern light reflects off the shiny, pearlescent pommel of his weapon, now slung firmly over his back. "You're really kind, though, jus' like Mama said. What can I do to help you out?" Despite being a scant 13 or so years old, this boy's posture and at-attention stature is something even the most veteran knights could stand to reflect on.

Zerstorung deflates a bit, having his charade being called out upon so bluntly. With a sigh, he fidgets for a bit before answering. "Okay, so I don't exactly have anything that I need help with. You, uh, you just kind of looked a bit trapped back there, so I wanted to help out. Sorry if that makes you angry."

Ambience tilts his head, confused. Mildly, anyway. "No? That's a shame, but I guess it's okay. I wasn't feelin' overwhelmed, I just didn't know what's goin' on. When I was at Leires, there was a couple people there who seemed to know who I was, too. I'm kinda confused on why I seem t'be a celebrity 'round the area. That's all."

Zerstorung pulls up a chair to rest in, and then shrugs at Ambience. "I don't think I could tell you why you're so popular. It's a problem I have a lot of issues with. Well, actually the opposite of it." He rubs the back of his head and gives Ambience an awkward grin. "Maybe you should try being more like me? That could help with your problem."

You say 'That's kind of hard. I don't really know much about you, fer starters. Mama told me li'l bits and pieces about you and what you're tryin' to do, but that's all. It just seemed neat that Mama's Dryads aren't afraid of you. They're pretty good at judging characters.'

Ambience shifts somewhat, but still remains firmly upright. "I don't let it bother me, as you can see. Though I should go see how Agrias and th' Princess are doin', soon. It's been awhile since I've been to the Monastery, since Mama came back 'round. An' I haven't heard from Da since, either. Mama says he ran off somewhere, but isn't sure where."

Zerstorung gives Ambience a blank stare. "Uh, Dryads? Mama? I'm sorry, but I'm not exactl-" Suddenly Zerstorung's eyes widen as his mind finally clicks into place, and he stands up and points to Ambience. "It's you! The kid that I saw that one day I met Miss Aura again!" He realizes after a moment that he was pointing, and puts his finger down, but a puzzled expression remains on his face. "So, uh, is Miss Aura your mom?"

Ambience nods, happily. "Yeah! That's her. She's real popular in the Holyland. She's an Oracle, which is like, as close as you can get to bein' the Mana Tree itself, without actually bein' the Mana Tree itself." He doesn't seem to regard the whole talking-in-circles thing. "We live in the Holyland. I didn't use to, but I do now. I come down here to play sometimes, and explore. Mama says it's a good thing to know the surroundings, in case we need that knowledge someday."

Zerstorung tries very hard to not get cultural whiplash, but Ambience's explination is just so odd that it causes him to continue his blank stare. He shakes his head though. "I knew Miss Aura wasn't exactly human, so I guess it makes sense that you wouldn't be either." Not that he could tell though, besides the odd hair color, Ambience was as normal as he was! "So, one thing real quick. What's a dryad?"

Ambience almost looks like he might've been put off by the non-human comment, but doesn't show it too obviously. Instead, he nods. "We're part of a people called the Mana Tribe. We're keepers of the Holyland, and protect it from outside threats. The Mana Tree is the source of ALL mana in the world, and if something happens to it, all magic ceases to exist, until someone steps up to stand as the new Tree." He considers for a moment, suddenly realizing this wasn't the question asked of him. Oops.

You say 'Sylvan and Layla aren't with me right now, else I'd let you see for yourself. But Dryads are like... tiny, tiny tree girls. They look like little palm-sized trees, with big green eyes. They represent Nature/Wood mana power.'

Zerstorung nods along, doing his best to seem like he's understanding this all, but the truth is he was lost. Mana this and mana this, he had no idea what mana was! Still, it sounded cool, like something out of a couple of books he had read. "Hey, Ambience. Is there a way someone could be more a part of all that stuff? Like mana and whatnot? If not, that's totally fine, but..." He rubs the back of his neck again. "I look around and there's just so many weird things here. This is all completely different than what I'm used to and, really, I don't know if I belong here. Or anywhere.'

Ambience gives Zerstorung a look, as if he wasn't really sure what to make out of the request or following statement. Not belong? Why would someone be living here if they didn't belong? It was kind of sad. "Mana isn't really somethin' people have to try and be a part of. It's everywhere around us; it's like air. Jus' 'cause you can't see it doesn't mean it ain't there." He holds up one of his hands, looking at it for a moment. "But maybe I could help you get a feel for it. Not everyone knows how to address the spirits in th' right way. Y'just need to know how to ask them for help, when y'need it." Ambience lowers his hand, shifting again on one foot. "Th' fact that Sylvan and Layla aren't afraid of you is a good step to begin from."

Zerstorung examines Ambience for a little while, before looking down at one of his own hands. "Uh, okay? So, how do I ask them? I don't even know what Sylvan or Layla look like. I mean, the best I can figure..." Zerstorung shrugs. "I mean, I saw one guy doing all this crazy stuff once. He made fire come out of his hands, and it wasn't even a trick! Just, woosh, fire." The teen rubs the back of his neck again, suddenly realizing that he felt rather foolish for asking Ambience about all this. "Maybe this is a bad idea.'

"Well. Let's start with basics, then." Ambience eases up somewhat, letting his posture settle. "What do you feel most, inside? If you were to pick somethin' like, y'know, water, ice, fire... moon, light, wind... what feels "right" to you? This is called your "affinity", and it works best if you use mana spirits' help that best go with that affinity."

You say 'It also helps, starting out, to ask for specific things. Mana spirits like to hang around and play, but if they're just startin' to get to know you, they might not respond if you're jus' goofin' around.'

Zerstorung bites his bottom lip before exhaling. He closes his eyes and tries his best to look inside of himself, to feel any of the elemental sillyness that Ambience was talking about. But, really, all that stares back is just the darkness of his own closed eyes. He opens them again, and frowns before shaking his head. "I can't 'feel' anything. Besides just, empty. Like normal."

Ambience is smirking when Zerstorung opens his eyes, as if this is what he expected. "You said your name was 'Zerstorung', right? Well, I'm gonna call you 'Z', since it's easier. Anyway, that's how most people -expect- it to work. But y'know, affinities aren't just found in your soul. They're in what you do, how you act, what foods you prefer to eat. You very personality can be your affinity, Z. Does that make more sense?"

You say 'What do you do 'as a person'?'

Zerstorung leans back in his chair, and scratches the back of his head. "Uh, well, I like to help people out. Work with my hands and things like that." He purses his lips. It was odd to try and define yourself on the spot. "I also watch people a lot? I guess? Normally I think about what it'd be like if I could hang out with thim, but I usually don't end up doing that. Hanging out with them, I mean. I'm too nervous."

Ambience thinks for a moment, trying to assess this bit of information. "Hm. Working with your hands, like building things? Creating things from materials? That sounds like something Gnomes would be fond of. And hey, y'know." He smiles, brightly.

You say 'Y'don't have to be nervous 'round people so much. If you wanna be friends, they're never gonna know if you don't say nothin' to 'em. Like here, see? We'd never be havin' this chat her if you hadn't lied about needin' something!'

Zerstorung shrugs. It was the truth, but, those circumstances were different. "I only really get to working a lot because a lot of people need help with that. Things like replacing broken cobble stones, or replacing windows." He almost rubs the back of his neck again, but instead wrings his hands together. "And, the only reason I lied was because I thought you might want to get away from those scary looking robots."

Ambience smiles again. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Even up in the Holyland. People think that just 'cause I'm young, I can't take care of myself. Truth is, well..." He thinks briefly, then waves it away. "Nevermind, it's kind of a long story. You wouldn't under much of it, anyway, without first knowing how mana 'n' everything else works."

You say 'But it sounds like you might work best together with the Gnomes. So I'll tell you what. Lemme let Mama know what we talked about, and why don't I see if I can help you out? Maybe even give you some lessons in how it works, teach you a little bit, and maybe even Mama can help more if I get stuck, too. You seem like you just kind of want to fit in... and I know how that was, at one point.'

You say 'See, before Mama came back recently, I never even saw her face. Mama only had me when I was just born... then she had t'give me up. I didn't see her 'til 'bout a month or so ago, maybe a little more. It's kind of a hard deal.'

It's likely that there's more to this story, but Ambience kind of trails off, at that point.

Zerstorung nods along. In the end it boils down to 'sit and wait for a while'. No matter, he was more than used to that kind of thing. "Sure Ambience. I'll be around here, so take all the time you need to get everything dealt with. After all, I guess I've stuck around this long without wandering off, I guess I can do it a while longer." He nods to himself. He probably wouldn't end up going to the fountian again any time soon. Too many odd things out there.

Ambience looks toward the Inn door for a moment. "I have a hard time being afraid of things if they don't threaten me first. Bein' scared's okay, but even the big dark things might help more than hurt. Y'just gotta take a chance sometimes, Z." He looks back at him, and nods. "But it's gettin' late. So I'm going to head home and talk t'Mama 'bout what we talked 'bout here. We'll see if we can't help you out a bit in understanding how this world works. 'Kay?"

Zerstorung nods to his new... teacher? Friend? He wasn't all that sure. "Alright Ambience. I'll see you later." He gives the boy a small wave before looking back down, his mind running through things that had been said. It was all easy enough to say, but hard to swallow.

Ambience smiles. "You will, yes. We'll be watching you, Z." He offers a brief wave, before his body literally disperses into white orbs of light, flickering out and fading away individually until none of them remain.

Zerstorung stares blankly at the spot where Ambience had been. "I wonder if he knew how creepy that sounded..."