Insane Cafe 4: The Insane Frontier

[brekclub85]

Oliver and Other Oliver were sitting next to Arlene, eating their breakfast. Oliver had been given the gift of a shirt, and he was wearing this happily at the meeting. "Thanks for the breakfast and the gift, mom," he said softly.

"We'll do our best in saving as many lives as we can, won't we?" Kiara asked Kovu, the royal lion couple having their armor ready for activation.

[Serris]

(Spire of Winter)

"Speaking of Kaocho," Ms. Swimmer asked as she finished her meal of fruit. "How can we evacuate the inhabitants? From what I've heard King Wo is not interested in letting anyone leave the city."

"I say we openly land in his city and allow people to board and evacuate. King Wo's permission be damned," Prince Ryu Kou replied.

Mr. Bigmouth shook his head. "A battle during the evacuation is not a good idea. We must find a way to persuade him to allow his people to leave."

It was then Tyrell and Sveta entered.

"Sorry for being late, but we had to identify some artifacts in the science area," Sveta replied. "Anyways, what's on agenda?"

"Currently, Stripetail is trying to find a way to the Apollo Lens," Ms. Swimmer said.

Sveta shook her head. "The light there is so intense anyone without Umbra Gear will die. Had it not been stolen from the Belinsk Museum, I would have loaned it to you or gone into the Apollo Sanctum itself. As it were, Chong has a complete set."

--------------------------

(Phoenix)

A sealed metal box was placed on Chong's desk by one of his officers. Said officer opened the box and removed several items: a set of gauntlets, goggles, a cloak and a hat. The clothing set was made of a fabric so dark that they looked almost like shadows were it not for the violet glyphs running across them. At the bottom was a lead case.

"The Umbra Gear you requested sir," he said. The officer then opened the lead case briefly, revealing a shimmering purple crystal that glowed with an intense light. "Also, we found this in one of the caves we explored. According to the research performed at the Tonfon Library, it's a psynergy stone." He then shut the case to prevent the radiation it gave of from sickening him.

[Nick22]

so this gear will allow me to reach  the lens' Chong said looking at the gem with interest.' we'll have to test out this gem, on  some prisoners." He said as he began  putting on the gear, one piece at a time.
- Arlene handed out gifts to to Other Oliver, flash, mona and gave a Tshirt to Oliver. ' So how do you prpose we tackle the lens/' stripetail said to Sveta " we dont have the gear, Chong Does. which gives him an advantage in this contest. we are going to have to create our own gear, an equivalent of the Gear. and whoever wears, knows that going to the lens is almost certainly a 1 way trip. whoever we send, wont be coming back.

[Serris]

(Phoenix)

"Erm, Sir," the officer said as he watched Chong donning the gear. "Preliminary reports suggest that it can only be worn by Beastmen. Or at the least, its full power can only be unlocked by them."

--------------

(Spire of Winter)

"If you have technology to evacuate everyone from Weyard, do you not have technology to withstand light at Apollo Sanctum?" Sveta asked, her ears twitching slightly.

It was then Captain Carson spoke. "We do have ships that are heavily shielded for use near a planet's star. We use them mainly for mining planets that are close to their star. The equipment used on those planets is completely automated for safety reasons. However, they have never been tested in conditions as extreme as that of Apollo Sanctum."

"Robots are probably the most feasible option," Mr. Bigmouth replied. He then turned to Sveta. "Does it require manual aiming?"

"Psynergy is used to aim it. Rods used to control Apollo Lens are located inside cave in sanctum itself," Sveta replied. "But firing it requires user to be outside on control panel."

Mr. Bigmouth sighed. "Looks like robots aren't helpful either. Unless we can get them to use magic."

[Nick22]

 Chong took off the cloak " and what exactly is a "Beastman"? " He Demanded.

we can evacuate people ' Stripetail said to Sveta ; but dealing with intense light and heat the lens produce is something that  we simply dont have the resources for.  the ionly way , then is through magic." he turned to Bigmouth ' robots can use magic, but the magic powers needed would be enormous." What if we used time bombs on the Lens" Clank proposed ' it would slow down time enough to avoid the beam . '" how long does a single time bomb slow down time for ? stripetail asked  " a few seconds " Clank said ' so you'd need a constant supply of it and be throwing a new one every few seconds." so you;d need someone who could run or fly very fast' Skylands said, looking around the table.' and give him plenty of those time bombs " well. only  one time bomb can exist at a time.' clank said.' once a new one is thrown the old one vanishes. Ratchet and i have experience with it.'  The problem is the intensity of the light, and the heat it generates, is fatal to anyone who does not have very strong magical protection. like the gear or the armor my team wears.' Stripetail said.
_ you mean  we cant just fly around it? Young Spyro said. " if it were that simple, spyro. i would send you and the other dragons to deal with it. Unfortunately. its not that simple."" stripetail sighed.
_ well if you're heading back to the surface < we're coming with " skylands said ' count us in too " dulcy and samia said." well we wont be lacking for dragons" agumon said, smirking."i'll take the skylanders for a ride in the racer Old spyro grinned to warfang. ' how about a race/ Warfang grinned. ' i could go for a leisurely ride " skylands sadid " this is busness everyone. Pleasure will have to wait until after vaalbara is repositioned and Chong is driven off." stripetail said.

[Serris]

(Phoenix)

The officer did not flinch at Chong's harsh command. "Beastmen," he began, "are the humanoid animals that are native to Weyard. Specifically, Morgal in the north."

------------------

(Spire of Winter)

It was then Tyrell spoke up. "Wait, I recall Kraden saying that the Alchemy Machines were built by Adepts and non-Adepts working together. Why can't we do the same thing to access the Apollo Lens?"

Mr. Bigmouth smiled. "Tyrell raises an excellent point. Our best bet is to probably combine Stripetail's Omniderate armor and Captain Carson's shieldships."

Captain Carson rubbed her chin. "That might work but as I stated, the shieldships will work in relatively close proximity to a star but they have never been used inside an atmosphere because they're designed to cope with heat transfer by radiation."

"It's our only chance."

"Very well, I'll see if I can requisition a shieldship."

[Nick22]

how long could this shieldship endure in the vicinity of the lens?" stripetail asked. ' the longer, the better
_
 chiong sighed as he put the garments back " then bring me some of them, so that i can send them to the lens!" he said " and be quick We need to get to that lens and turn it on the wizard and his ship!
_
 so what exactly will we  be doing? Scooby asked " stopping the planets erupting voklcanos from causing too much havoc" stripetail said. " we.. really cant stop erupting volcanoes. nature and all that" Ratchet said "how many of you have freezing powers?" Stripetail said ' Old Spyro, tiger and tigress raised their paws, followed by Gabumon' Gabuna dont you have similar powers to Gabumon?' agumina Asked " i';m not nearly as powerful as he is ' Gabuna demurred.' well, we need you Gabuna ' stripetail said. " those with freezing abilities can cool the lava once it erupts. water can also do that. anyone have water abilities?" kiara does' Vitani said. ' wind can redirect lava flows' Warfang said.' i have that' vitani said. i can cover lava with earth, so that it would cool under pressure' kopa said." does fire have any use at all/ Dulcy asked ' because thats what most dragons have, fire.' I dont' Skylands said " i have lightning, and ghost powers. not much good at  calming volcanoes.' well ' stripetail mused '  you can consume anything in the lavas path that might be flammable.
_
 so a control burn?' Nick said  'like firefighters do?" precisely' Stripetail nodded " what about the earthquakes? Young Spyro asked.

[Serris]

(Phoenix)

The officer saluted and went off to the prison cells to grab some Beastmen they had captured when they raided the Belinsk Museum several weeks ago.

---------------

(Spire of Winter)

"The shieldship's ablative heat shield lasts about twenty four hours in standard use. As a result, they are used in fleets so the mining craft are minimally exposed to radiation," Captain Carson said. "As for the living planes, I'll have them assist in either controlled burns or delivering explosives to divert lava flows."

"Pardon us for interrupting but we believe we may be able to offer assistance." Mr. Bigmouth turned around to see the two Vaalbaran diplomat-scientists entering the tavern. As the atmosphere was both toxic and far too hot for them, they were both wore armored space suits that gave them a roughly humanoid shape.

"We need all the assistance we can get," Mr. Bigmouth said. "What are your ideas?"

"We can use lasers to cool the lava," the first diplomat said.

"Laser cooling like that used in ultra-low temperature quantum physics but on a macro scale...I'll need to see a demonstration before I approve." The Saurolophus swirled his glass of water and drained it.

He continued. "We can use earthmoving equipment as well as spare heat shielding to redirect lava flows. Water or cryogenic gas can be used to freeze the lava and delay its advance."

[Nick22]

a portal opened in the corner and out of it stepped a pink dragoness with blue eyes ruby red lips a large pink chest and bright pink claws ' Hi guys! she beamed merrily as she came up to Warfang and Old Spyro " Volteer sent me to give you an update on how those magic folk are settling in '  the dragoness, named Ember said as she waved a scroll. ' wheres that wizard guy?"
 lord Stripetail, Ember' old spyro said. ' and hes over there. Have you been drinking volteer shakes again ?" Maybe" ember goggled, and warfang rolled her eyes ' See , Ember this is why we don't bring you along when stripetail calls us. You're too.. hyper." ' says miss Sour' Ember stuck out her tongue at Cynder ' come on Cynder, i'm the only girlfriend you have.. and you know it.' actually i've met a number of dragoness who like me' warfang said " thats skylands- her name is also Cynder, and that green dragoness over there is Dulcy. but if you want t help us past give stripetail and update. you can have any more volteer shakes.
 the portal stayed open abnd a female koopaing entered ' wheres  Junior? she demanded in a feminine voice. ' i demand to see him at ONCE" wendy stomped her foot. ' have yopu troed the movie theater' Stripetail said.

[Serris]

Captain Carson looked at the two arrivals thanks to the camera in the display podium in the center of the meeting table. "Friends of yours, Stripetail?" she asked.

"Shouldn't we get moving now?" Mr. Bigmouth said. He checked his PDA. "It appears the seismic activity is getting worse. And if the calculations are correct, new volcanoes could be opened by the gravitational effects."

[Nick22]

yes, in a manner of speaking" stripetail said getting to his feet. ' Wendy, I'd suggest if you want to find Junior, I suggest you try the movie theater, thats the last place i saw him. Ember, that scroll please' stripetail said as one by one every got out of thier seats. Nick handed the pieces of the Midearth Dagget to Stripetail, and held on to Sting, Saba,  and paused to long t the long blade and noticed writing on its scabbard ' just a moment stripetail. this one has writing on it too." stripetail turned away from the scroll ember had given him, and took a look at a blade, which glowed a brilliant blue ' By the ancients,,; he breathed " Ringil. the blade of the Noldor High King, which maimed the Great Enemy. this blade, Nick, has been lost to history for more than 2 Ages of MidEarth. Its not luck that you have found two great blades Nick, Fate has smiled on you. keep them well.Now, i must be off to Tonfon, there is a place called the apollo Ascent, which warrants study."
_
 Nick sheathed Ringil, and nodded to Stripetail ' I will help with logistics onboard here, as much as possible. i also need to heklp with cooking."
_ Dulcy, Samia And Korin were preparing to help the group sent to Tonfon to deal with the volcanos. Young Spyro, Skylands and ember were going as well. " everyone' Stripetail said " we are headed to Tonfon, after which we will split into 2 groups.
_
 Can we at least rider our racers?' Agumina asked ' Yes, they will be at your disposal' Stripetail said. " tELEPORTIUs" He intoned, and in a flash he teleported the entire group away.
-
 in a twinkling, stripetail reappeared in the middle of the city of Tonmfonm, which had been virtually empty now for more than a week.

[Serris]

(Weyard)

All that was present in Tonfon were the seismometers that Captain Carson had placed after the city's evacuation. Several buildings were damaged, hinting at the seismic activity that had taken place.

Unfortunately for Mr. Bigmouth, he did not have time to put on his anti-radiation suit before teleportation and he was exposed to the intense magic of Weyard. As a result, he began screaming that he was on fire.

Ms. Swimmer dashed over and reached into his bag, pulling out what looked remarkably like a small fire extinguisher. It was a actually an anti-magical foam developed with the assistance of Twilight Sparkle.

She was unaffected due to the the shielding charm around her neck that also doubled as a nice piece of jewelry.

Soon, Mr. Bigmouth was buried in a mountain of shimmering white foam. "Ow," Mr. Bigmouth moaned from within the mountain of foam.

"Jeez, what happened to him?" Tyrell asked.

"Shall I try to heal him?" Karis asked.

------------------

(Spire of Winter)

Twilight entered Winterville Tavern and ordered some oatmeal. She took a seat at one of the tables.

"Say, where is everypony?" she asked.

"You mean the wizard guy and the group with him?" a miner asked as she sipped her coffee. "They headed planetside."

She turned to Spike. "Also, the Captain has message for you."

[Nick22]

the magic burned him ' Stripetail said as foam dropped off of Bigmouth, so that he looked like a large , misshapen sheep.' Get him inside so he can start to heal .My apologiees , Mr Bigmouth. I should have given you more notice  that i was going to send you here."
_
 Looks like this place was hit by earthquakes' Agumon said as he loked at the larges cracks in buildings. " well lets check and make sure everyone is safe around here' Gabumon said, As KOrin, Dulcy And samia took flight and looked around. as dixie walked around a corner she came to a house which had partially collaosed and her sensitive ears picked up moaning froom within ' Come on Agumina' She said to the Duiigimon whjo was walking next to her ' Lets get in there and get those folks out."

[Serris]

"S--- happens, Stripetail," Mr. Bigmouth said. He winced as the ambient magic touched the areas where the foam had dripped off.

"You know, while Mr. Bigmouth is healing," Tyrell said as he looked at Ms. Swimmer carefully reapplying the foam to spare the Saurolophus any additional magical injuries. "Karis and I could lead a group to the Apollo Sanctum."

Ms. Swimmer had put the foam sprayer aside and used her radio to call for a medevac. "They''ll be here in ten minutes. Luckily, it looks like the magic burns are just superficial. They'll heal quickly but they're very painful until then."

"Seer," Sveta said. "Amiti and I would like to speak to King Wo. Perhaps this event will cause him to change mind?"

[Nick22]

feel free to try' Stripetail nodded to Sveta" I get the sense from the reports Kopa gave me that hes extremely proud and stubborn." he turned to Tyrell " How many will you need? I have 18 members of my team' stripetail said.
_
This place would be nice' gabuna said as she Dixie and Agumina entered the building " if it didnt look like it would collapse at any second." it got hit by an earthquake' dixie said as she climbed some stairs." I'iIm surprised its still standing. still, theres people in here, and we need to get them out. come on girls" Gabuna climbed the stairs and passed Dixie. Agumina had found some wood and was using a piece as a torch, which she held in her claw.' just be careful about bumping into me' Agumina said as she eached the second floor ' i think we've got people above us.. theres moans coming from up there.
_
 tigeress. Skylands and Warfang, entered what looked to be a diner of some kind..' pity thats theres nobody here' Skylands said ' i could go for some roast meat or mutton." we're not here to have an eating contest " tigress said ' pity, I could go for some face stuffing after that rescue mission ' Warfang said "  Well, did you get the prisoners out?' tigeress asked ' Yeah, but we ran into Mertavius in the process." Warfang said." is he as bad as stripetail said he is? Skylands asked, concern in her voice ' Every bit as bad, Cynder, and worse" Warfang said " he threw Spyro and me into a fiery cage and that thing was HOT. like being thrown into a volcano hot..' Tigeress and Skylands audibly shuddered. " were you able to get any hits on him?' Skylands asked. ' no. and believe me, we tried. spyro and I used all 4 powers , and our rings, and not only did we not get any hits in,  he blocked the magic as soon as it left our mouths.' so how did you get out?" Tigeress asked ' Nick kept mertavious occupied, and then stripetail showed up and got us out.' Warfang said. Tigeress looked behind the counter, oking for anything that might be edible ' Looks like whoever lived here took everything' the Purple wolf sighed.

[Kor]

Spike sat down and started looking at the menu.  He looked up from his menu said.  "Really, what sort of message?   A place where some tasty gems can be found?" He asked hoping.  "Or some really cool old mint comic books?"

[Nick22]

Arlene hugged Oliver as she got up' sorry Oliver. i have to go to work. You behave for Luca, and do as she says." Arlene reached inside her uniform and pulld out a list' here is a list of some of olivers favorite foods. And heres some money to buy them. If they cost more than that, I'll cover the difference when i get back from work.' She said handing the red wolfess a stack of money." and i do appreciate you watching Oliver for me. Its good to know  that I can entrust him to others care> Arlene said." well, having friends Mona can play with helps a lot.'  Luca  pulled on the sheet of paper only to find out it rolled out onto the floor. it it rolled, and rolled and rolled, filling the room with paper.' Geez, Arlene is this ALL the foods Oliver likes?' Luca asked picking up parts of the list and reading them.' No, only about half.' arlene said and Luca shook her head." i'll get some apple piesto start, and get ice cream for the girls.' Luca sighed as she turned to look at Mona and flash, who were setting up a doll set with Other Oliver, which they had nicknamed Olie "Ollie" would be the "salecat to  the 'roommates' played by Mona and flash." be back in a bit kids.. no rough stuff' Luca said " no problem mom ' Mona smiled.
_
 Luca and Arlene headed out of the room and headed over to the stand where arlene worked.Nick was already there  deep-frying  breadsticks, with Saba assisting by cutting the breadsticks into halves. the saber even wore a small " chef's hat'' as he floated to and fro. Nick wore Sting at his right side, and ringil across his back. both blades were covered by his clothes and apron.
_
 sima sat in a crouched position in front of a small statue, featuring ozai wearing glowing robes, horns on the side of his head, and surrounded by souls pleading for mercy. ' in her lap floated a book ' the underworld and how it came to be. she moved a page with her claw. which showed the underking challenging the heavens in  a sumo match,. Sima was a lower-ranking Underking sect member, so the book only reveled so much to her. ' the underking, defeated the heavens,and reversed the fate of countless souls' Sima said,  breathing, as incense floated around her, shrouding her head in the process.
_
kovu was wandering around the center of town, looking at the damage inflicted by the earthquake " we got everyone out. didnt we?" He asked, before a tremor shook the town, and debris began falling on his head. ' geez' Kovu's eyes widened , as a large piece of debris fell towards it. the brown prince raised his paws and a twin pair of fireballs shot out of it at the debris reducing the debris to harmless ash.' man, these powers are cool. shame i'll be giving them, up when this adventure is over, but i have a kingdom to rule ' he said to himself as he entered the building, which once looked like it had been a upper middle class house. moans from the upstairs reached his easr ' don';t worry!" Kovu called out," help is coming!' he said looking for stairs.

[Serris]

(Spire of Winter)

Dr. Kerzach entered the stand where Nick and Arlene were working. "So what's cooking?" he asked.

He looked at the plate of breadsticks that had just come out of the deep fryer.

"Tonfonese oil sticks, huh?" he asked.He cracked his hands. "Welp, I guess I should get the wonton soup and porridge ready."

A Mawashiian chef helpfully placed a ball of dough on the table. "All yours," he said.

Dr. Kerzach looked at the "ball" of dough. It was as tall as he was and at least twice as wide. He sighed as he got his apron on and washed his hands.

---------------

"She's a got a job for you, Spike," the miner said. "You're going to be heading to Weyard along with another group soon to help keep the volcanoes from doing too much damage."

"Wait!?" Twilight exclaimed. "He's a baby dragon! Are you sure he should be working as hard as the others aboard?"

---------------

(Weyard)

The shuttle arrived and a group of armored medics arrived and helped Mr. Bigmouth into the shuttle. He winced with every step.

"We'll need four more but they'll all have to be Adepts," Karis said. She looked over the group.

"What about that Beastman woman?" Tyrell asked. "I've yet to see her use Psynergy but her aura feels very similar to that of a Venus Adept."

Ms. Swimmer, assuming they were referring to her approached the duo. "I'll be glad to assist. I'm Ms. Swimmer," she said warmly. "I'm technically not a mage or as you call them, an 'Adept' but I am capable of using various enchanted weapons and spells."

[Nick22]

so, magic users' tiger said ' well that cuts out half the team. Scooby, dixie and all the new team members, except for Gabumon and gabuna, dont have any natural powers. that leaves me, Tigeress, Gabumon, Gabuna, Agumon, Agumina, spyro, Cynder, Angel and stitch. which 4 of us do you want? uif you want sheer power, i'd go me, agumon, spyro and Gabumon " way to leave the girls out Tiger'" spyro said ' you're forgetting the skylanders too. ' not part of our group.' tiger replied ' its up to Karis to decide who she wants, if she picks some of the girls we'll get them alerted and have her meet up with them.'" gabumon said. ' i'm willing to go, if you need help' the blue digimon offered. ' anything to help.

[Serris]

Karis scratched her chin. "I guess Ms. Swimmer, Cynder, Spyro and Agumon will do."

Tyrell. "Well, we've got Mars, Venus and Jupiter Adepts. I assume your group has a Mercury Adept as well?"

Karis shook her head. "I do not know of their powers but I do not believe we have time for a demonstration."

The Mars Adept shook his head." Fair enough. Let's go then!"

-----------------

Meanwhile, a shuttle craft had taken Amiti and Sveta to Kaochao. Already, Vaalbara was visible as a bright star in the sky...even in daytime. One of Captain Carson's environmental sensors were hidden inside the local forest as to not alarm the locals of Kaochao.

"I do hope King Wo will be reasonable about this," Amiti said as he straightened up his outfit. He looked at the towering gates of Kaochao in the distance.

Sveta gave a snort. "If what Seer says is true, then he is willing to let his people die. All for ego."

"We might as well try. After all, those were strangers who met with him." Amiti and Sveta approached the town gates.