Insane Cafe 4: The Insane Frontier

[Serris]

"Shouldn't we help Nick?" Ms. Swimmer asked.

Mr. Bigmouth put one of the metal spikes into a guard's head. "We are helping him. Without is, those guards would just shoot Nick." He staggered back as a stray bullet hit his helmet. He shook his head to clear it and shot the offending guard.

Ms. Swimmer nodded and tossed her club at one of the guards. She couldn't penetrate the guard's armor but because of the club's magic, it kept on attacking and throwing off the guard's aim. That was enough for Tyrell to set fire to the guard with one of his spells.

Another ice crystal appeared as Amiti froze yet another guard. Karis raised her arm and summoned a small tornado that scattered the guards about.

Prince Ryu Kou had shown a knack for stealthy attacks in contrast to his fiery personality. Guards would seemingly lose body parts or just fall over at random.

[Nick22]

Thanks Saba' Nick whispered to the saber, after parrying Chongs attacks. ' I owe you a ton."Well, saving people and fighting evil is my job. ' Even though you are not a ranger, you fight evil, and so I help you. for now, focus on vanquishing your foe ' Saba said, returning to Nick's free hand with a flourish. Nick swung the sword and blocked a thrust by Chong's staff. the staff  glowed brightly, causing Nick to recoil, the flash had temporarily blinded him. but before Chong could strike, a veil of shadow surrounded Nick. Cynder had disposed of her guard and was lending a claw to her long-time friend " You wont take him that easily Chong.' she snapped. ' a duel must be free of such meddling , if it is to be valid ' Chong retorted. 'Remove your shield and I will grant him a few seconds to recuperate."  You have no honor Chong. why shouid I do as you say.? Cynder said. " because if you do not remove it willingly, I will break it, and in doing so, Nick will be impaled by the shards. Do you want that on your conscious? " Cynder growled then relented.

Nick charged out of the disappearing mist, and forced Chong to parry. Nick had gotten a second wind, and was taking it to Chong, Chong was forced to make a number of last second blocks and parries, , but was unable to keep himself from being cut, as Nick struck him with Saba. Nick shuddered as the cuts he had suffered were starting to take a toll on him.  blood dripped down on the ground from his cuts, and Chong stood a good distance away, blood staining his robes, and his face working in anger."AHH!" the mage screamed and charged Nick again, and this time Nick slashed him on his sword arm, sending Chongs blade flying out  his grasp and skittering on the floor. Chong collapsed to the floor, blood dripped on the floor from his fresh cut and he scowled at Nick, a mixture of fear and surprise on his face. '  Time to face the music Chong." Nick said, Sheathing both of his blades, and going over to pick the ice blade Chong had been using against him. Ironic, isn't it?"Nick said, going over to Chong, who was  still slouched on the ground. ' ended by your own weapon" he said pointing the blade at him and made a swing at his head . But before Nick could deliver the killing blow . a magical shield of green energy appeared around Chong. " Saving your butt with magic? Nick panted ' This shield isnt mine" Chong gasped.
_
 Its MINE" said a cold and menacing voice, and out of the air stepped a large green squirrel. In his paws he held a pitch black staff and in the other a sword that glowed with 3 different kinds of energy. 'Chong may be an obnoxious and insufferable fool, but he DOES have his uses. And I cant let you tilt the board in your favor by killing him, now can I? Now, for the simple niceties. Mertavius, at your- ahem- service' Mertavus bowed very slightly and a wave of fear spread over Nick ' and lets get rid of that silly disguise, shall we? You're not fooling anyone with more than two brain cells to rub together, now, are you?" Mertavius stretched forth his left paw, and   Nick was returned to his normal form in the blink of an eye. ' There, that's better.  You've fought valiantly, Nick, I will grant you that. But- well Its one thing to fight Chong, quite another to  face me. After all,  the number of foes that have bested me can be counted on one claw. Not a paw, even, a single claw. Our mutual friend, the seer. And he's not here to protect you, now, is he? ' Mertavius pointed his staff at Nick. "I'm going to derive GREAT  pleasure in destroying all 8 of you" He said in a voice which made Nick's hair stand on end. "Yes, all 8 of you. Nick, Bigmouth, Swimmer, Spyro, Cynder, Karis, Amiti and Prince Ryu Kou, all of you will meet your end, in the next 5 minutes or so. Depends on how long I enjoy the sport" Mertavius said.

[Serris]

Mr. Bigmouth and Ms. Swimmer instinctively backed down, knowing the power of Mertavius. Even so, they kept their weapons at the ready.

Tyrell, Prince Ryu Kou, Amiti and Karis were unknowing of the mage's power and they stepped up.

"Even so, is it better to fight to the end than to surrender?" Amiti asked. His hands were wreathed in the shimmering light blue aura of his psynergy.

Karis unleashed Spark Plasma, just as Tyrell unleashed Pyroclasm. The entire hangar was filled with the roar of a miniature volcano erupting and the deafing explosions of multiple lightning strikes.

[Nick22]

mertavius laughed coldly as a shield similar to the one he had placed around Chong appeared around him, and Amiti and Tyrells attacks were deflected harmlessly away. "There is knowing when to struggle and when to recognize that fighting will only delay the inevitable for so long' Mertavius replied."observe' Metavius gestured and the disguises that the group wore vanished returning them to thier normal forms. Cynder and Spyro were still wearing their armor, fortunately the dark mages magic hadnt affected that.' Ah. Omniderate armor ' Mertavius said looking at the two dragon. ' been a long time since I saw anyone wearing it. immensely powerful , when worn by one who knows all of its powers and secrets. I'm surprised the seer would entrust such powers to two mere dragons." I'm no ordinary dragon ' Spyro replied ' I've saved the world many times " nor am I" Cynder said. " "Lie to yourselves as much as you like, dragons have always had an inflated sense of self importance.Flying and being able to breathe fire is not that impressive" Mertavius said. Cynder fired  a glob of fear at Mertavius, but it dissipated almost as soon as it left her mouth. Spyro tried shooting fireballs at him, and found that they disappeared almost immediately. even ring-created attacks fared no better. " I said, you were no match for me' Mertavius said, pointing his staff at the pair ' Umluk" the mage commanded in a fiery voice and the duo were pinned to a nearby wall and  cage of white hot fire encased the both of them.

' in case you are wondering how hot that stuff is,  it measures at about the temperature of lightning, about 50000 degrees, give or take. the only thing keeping the two of you alive right now  is that armor, and even it has its limits' Spyro tried freezing the cage about them, to no avail. Cynder tried phasing out of it- again to no avail. ' damn. we are in major trouble now ' Spyro' Cynder said, sweating in the helmet from the immense heats. ' how long did stripetail say this could keep us cool/" about 2 hours' spyro said.
_
 NIck pointed his blade at Mertavius' Let them go' He said harshly ' rather poor choice of words , Nick" Mertavius said 'I could send them right now out of this ship and into the vacuum of space, trapped inside that cage. if the heat of the cage doesn't kill them, the cold  and lack of air in space will. that armor only protects its wearers for so long after all. Its not a "get out of any and all danger" card . And , in that scenario, I would indeed be ' letting them go". With wizards, boy, always choose your words carefully, when we deign to speak to the likes of you at all." " I'll fight you' Nick said and Mertavius just laughed ' Empty words nick. you dont have a weapon that can harm me, and Reartir here can break any blade you possess, with a single swing. But if you are suicidal enough to cross blades with me, who am I to deny a quick death to one who wants it so badly? Draw your blade of choice, and watch as i destroy it' Mertavius said.  Nick paused, and sheathed the blade her had been wielding. He considered Saba, but he figured that the magics of that blade would not be enough- and Saba would likely refuse to be drawn anyway, the sentient sword could not fail to recognize  the power of their enemy.  

Finally Nick  reached inside his jacket, and his hand came on the hilt of the MidEarth dagger he had found at the weapons shop. 'He drew it out and its glowed bright blue. " break this if you can ' Nick said to mertavius who exited his shield, his blade clasped firmly in paw.' A simple dagger? Pity' Metavius raised his blade, and Nick swung his dagger. The blades met and to Nick's shock the blade held up against the immense power of Mertavius sword, indeed the wizard recoiled from the parry. Mertavius, got up from his knees and gestured ' Let me see that blade!" he demanded and the dagger flew from Nick's grasp  to hover in front of  Mertavius face " ah, a blade from the High Elves of MidEarth, I should have known. they were famous for crafting blades from materials that were nigh unbreakable, and inlaid other magics within to increase the blades strength still further. They often named their blades for the prowess they showed in battle. This one is named Sting. the runes read  Maegnas aen ester nin dagnir in yngyl im' In common tongue, ' Sting is my name. I am the spider's bane"' Mertavius gestured and  tossed Sting back to Nick. "Put it away.  You have no idea how rare it is that my blade does not destroy its enemy. Nick, Relieved to be alive still, Did as ordered.

[Serris]

There were two molten patches of metal on the ceiling of the hangar bay from where Karis and Tyrell's attacks had been deflected.

Prince Ryu Kou stood ready to fight with his hand on his sword.

Mr. Bigmouth racked his brain for any options to escape. Fighting was clearly useless. And that left only fleeing. He reached inside his messenger bag and pulled out his radio. Hoping that Mertavius's interaction with Nick were a distraction, he radioed Stripetail.

[Nick22]

Stripetail was in the middle of discussing an agreement with the vaalbaran ambassadors when Bigmouths call came through' Excuse me gentlemen, but i have an important call to answer ' oplease give me a few minutes' He said getting up and answering the call ' What is it Bigmouth? I'm in the middle of some delicate negotiations with the Vaalbarans. What do you need?

[Serris]

"We managed to rescue Karis and Amiti but Mertavius showed up. Nick's keeping him occupied for the time being, but we don't have much time." Mr. Bigmouth looked over his shoulder.

Mertavius was still busy taunting Spyro, Cynder and Nick. If he could just sneak away...

[Nick22]

go quickly, put a tracker on something, something that wont get noticed. so we can track  the phoenix's location after this. i'll be there shortly." just hold on until then' Stripetail said.
_
 nick was fighting Mertavius as best he could, which is say, the mage was tossing him backward with little effort. nicks arms and legs ached, and blood  ran down both his legs and arms from his wounds incurred fighting Chong.' Any last words mortal' Mertavius said firing off a spell at NIck ' Shieldus!' came a cry' and a split second before the  spell hit Nick- which would have certainly  killed him- Nick found himself surrounded by a white , glowing shield, Mertavius'  spell dissipated against this shield harmlessly.  NIck turned and saw Stripetail step out of thin  air, staff and sword drawn.' get to the Show cruiser, all of you that are  free and able.' the wizard said.Mertavius was surprised but only briefly ' come to save your pets, wizard?" he taunted.

[Serris]

"Go! Go! Go!" Mr. Bigmouth ordered. He quickly led his group through the main entrance to the hangar bay. When the last person went through, he plugged his computer into the card reader and locked the blast door. It wouldn't stop Mertavius but it would hopefully slow him down enough for them to escape.

He turned to the rest of the group. "I'll meet you at the cruiser. Stripetail has tasked me with something."

Before anyone would protest, the Saurolophus headed down a corridor that lead to the main concourse of the mall.

Tyrell looked at Nick's injured state. "Anyone know a healing spell?"

"I do," Amiti said. He raised his arm and a series of blue sparkles flowed into Nick.

[Nick22]

we.. need to get to the cruiser' Nick said' you can heal me fully once we are out of danger' Nick said trunning towards the ship, which was parked in row 8.' NIck clambered board, gasping  with exertion, and finally collapsed on a nfree seat..
_
 Stripetail looked up at the cage holding spyro and cynder ' get us out of here! Cynder called out desperately  as mertavius approached ' why you bother with these fools, I'll never understand. giving those two Omniderate armor? surely there were more worthy  claimants SOMEWHERE in the cosmos?. dragons, digital creatures, was the neighborhood dog unavailable?"
 you have never understood loyalty Mertavius, you know only dominance and control." stripetail said shaking his head.' these are mortals Stripetail, in 100 years, even if everything else goes right, they will still be gone. You'll be alone, again. So what good is friendship, if it is so fleeting? " it is the experience that matters. friends are worth having, even if they pass on. a life fully lived, has meaning." "you sound like a mortal greeting card, Stripetail. What next, 'Its the thought that counts'? You're better than this. those mortals seem to be turning you into a sentimental old coot. Come now, is this REALLY what the Great Seer is reduced to? Show me " Mertavius demanded.
_ very well" stripertail said ' i'll attend to you in a moment, but first . Wernicarus" he intoned, and the glowing hot cage surrounding Spyrov and Cynder  cooled then split into shards. the pair collapsed hard to ground then slowly got to their feet ' go join the others, and get out of here ;' Stripetail said to them.

[Serris]

"Where's Mr. Bigmouth?" the pilot asked. He was a bit shocked at the battered state of everyone but he kept his voice neutral.

"He's attending to some other affairs," Ms. Swimmer said. She rummaged around for a first aid kit.

"How long will it take?"

"Dunno. He didn't tell us anything," Prince Ryu Kou said. "I do hope that he will be fine."

"I'll wait until he lets us know via radio." The pilot put his feet on the console.

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

Mr. Bigmouth took one of the elevators into the greenhouse. It was open to the public as a sort of open air park. Despite it being surrounded by trees and lush vegetation, it had a very small amount of soil unlike the greenhouse aboard the Spire of Winter, which was practically a farm. Nevertheless, the area smelled like fresh rain and the copious amounts of greenery provided the illusion of a forested plain. He looked around for someplace to put the tracker.

The Saurolophus finally decided to hide it inside the compost bin. He took out the tracker, activated it by giving a good smack with his palm and tossed into the bin. He turned it a few times to make sure it was hidden and made his way back to the elevator.

"Bigmouth here," he said into his radio. "I'm en route to the cruiser."

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

Several minutes later, when Mr. Bigmouth arrived at the cruiser, the vehicle was warmed up and ready for takeoff.

[Nick22]

Spyro and cynder limped their way aboard the cruiser and took off their helmets. both had borns on thier faces, and blood trickled from the burns. ' that cage was  pure torture ' cynder gasped as she slumped ionto a seat.' lets get out of here!! spyro called to thepilot ' we've got everyone onboard now.
_
 Attack the wizard! chong screeched from his bubble. those guards that hadnt akready been dealt with by the group ran up towards stripetail, weapons drawn.' Don't be a moron chong' mertavius barked at him ' all that will do is result in you cleaning up minion parts, and having to hire new ones."
- and chong was forced to watch as Mertavious was proven right, as the weapons and armors of chongs guards were shredded by Stripetail's powerful magic.   the hangar was filled with lightning and high pitched screams as the squirrell mage made quick work of his foes. 'money cannot buy competence ' stripetail said strolling towards CHong, only to have Mertavius sent a bolt of magic at him, a thrust that stripetail parried into a pile of debris, setting the debris aflame. " I'm not here to retake this ship, just yet Chong. if I had, well i would have sent more than 6 of my group. you would be facing a full scale invasion>" stripetail said to the  glowering mage, who looked on him with a palpable hate.
-
 i think you need to focus seer. stop wasting time with him, and pay attention to one who is worthy of it. not to mention  someone who can actually harm you! gurhasur! mertavius commanded and stripetail blocked it with a gesture  Sebndar! stripetail commanded and sent forth a lightning bolt at Mertavius, who in turn parried it with a spell of his own. the two immensely powerfuls mages threw spells and debris at each otherm forcing the other to respond. lightning and hail filled the hagar, mixed with clouds of a noxious vapor, as the battle turned nearby vehicles into useless junki. the heat generated by the pair was remarkable, it ws like stepping into a furnace. finally Stripetail sent a bolt that found its mark in Mertavius' side, sending the green squirrel sprawling to the ground. 'enough ' Mertavius spat, getting to his feet 'Those mortals are a weakness stripetail, your fondness for them is unbecoming of someone of your stature. they will cost you , in due time,. but for now, we';ll consider this a draw, a preliminary bout if you will. the main event is awhile off. then, wizard, i will show you no mercy ' mertavius gestured and vanished in a puff of green smoke. stripetail sighed heavily and teleported away. the shield around chong vanished shortly afterwards, leaving the mage beside himself with impotent rage as he saw the destruction wrought not only to the ship, the planes inside the hanger, but nearly all of his guards were dead.

[Serris]

The shuttle sped out of the hangar at full throttle, setting more debris aflame.

"We need to make a trip to the medical bay immediately but I'll see what I can do." Mr. Bigmouth dug into his messenger bag and pulled out a silver packet of cooling gel as well as some wipes and gloves. He began cleaning the burns on Spyro and Cynder and applying the gel.

Amiti was tending to Nick and Ms. Swimmer using his Ply psynergy. Ms. Swimmer had actually been shot during the fight but her adrenaline was running so high, she didn't notice it.

"Who was that?" Tyrell asked.

"Mertavius," Mr. Bigmouth replied. "The only being equal to the Seer in power. But a being of pure evil."

[Nick22]

i never want to run into mertavius again ' Spyro winced as cooling gell was aopplied to his wounds.' he makes Malefor looks like gnasty gnorc.' we threw everything we could think at him ' cynder said ' and he didnt even blink. we were like toys to him..
- whoever managed to get in touch with Stripetail, a major round of thanks are in order' nick said ' we'd be dead now if stripetail hadnt intervened. and i thought i'd feel good about me finally giving chong  a punch in the nose. nope, he had help' NIck sighed.

[Serris]

"You're welcome," Mr. Bigmouth said as the ship docked into the hangar.

Once the Arkeyan Show Cruiser had powered down its engines, everyone exited.

Mr. Bigmouth helped Nick out of the ship while Ms. Swimmer did the same for Spyro and Cynder. A group of medics from the medical bay were on hand to receive the injured and usher them off to the medical bay.

Captain Carson was present as well. She smiled as she saw Amiti and Karis. "Welcome aboard my ship. I am Captain Carson."

Karis shook her hand while Amiti saluted. Captain Carson returned the salute.

"In any case, my friends are safe," Tyrell said. He gave Karis a brief hug. "In any case, I'm sure Stripetail wishes to see you."

"Indeed, we did not properly introduce ourselves," Amiti said. "Tyrell, Captain Carson, would you show us to his quarters?"

"I will be in the science bay cataloging the purchases," Mr. Bigmouth said. He watched as several workers carefully lowered the purchased items onto a skiff that would take them to the science bay where he could analyze them.

[Kor]

Sara stretched.  She walked over to where she thought Korin would be.

[Nick22]

There you are' Sara Korin said ' i was just geting ready to go for a flight around town. care to join me? korin asked her girlfriend. i hope the next world we visit wont be facing the threat of being destroted, because i'd like a chance to truly sretch my wings'
 NIck, spyro and Cynder were carted off to the medical bay.
 Struipetail had returned to his room aftter holding off mertavius.

[Serris]

Captain Carson knocked on Stripetail's door. Along they way, she had introduced them to herself and the ship.

"Commander Stripetail," she said. "Karis and Amiti wish to see you."

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

Mr. Bigmouth was examining a suit of armor that was clearly made for a quadruped. He scratched his chin.

It was then Twilight approached him. "Mr. Bigmouth," she said. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing," he said. "I am trying to ascertain the origin of this armor."

"Spike!" Twilight called. "Could you give us some help?"

[Nick22]

clome right in; stripetail saidf, opening the door and holding it open for amiti and Karis. ' please, have a seat.' he motioned to a table.' imagine the two of you  are tired from your imprisonment and have a lot of quesions. Ask away" stripetail said, taking a seat.
_
 Kiara won her race with li'ela, by a margin of 7.2 seconds.  ' We'll have round 2, next week Li'ella Said.
_
 Tigres found LUca and heklped carry her back to the convention room. LUca did not recover full feeling in her back legs until they reached the room, and Tigress pushed her into bed,

[Kor]

"Yea, sounds like fun."  Sara said.  She giggled at Korin's comment.  "yea, though my traveling with Jason, I got use to often appearing in some dangerous place, or a place that soon became dangerous, till we helped the locals.  Then we'd slip away before they'd usually notice." She said.   "Being able to stretch our wings does sound like fun."

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

"Yes, Twilight.  how do you want me to help?"  He said.  He had been chewing on a bit of a quartz crystal.