"Pfft" Gyser muttered to himself under his breath.

"Ok, so that at least explains the *** part of Ultra... But still, he has to be stopped..." The hedgehog thought to himself.

"So...what's been happening? I've been kinda preoccupied as of late. I mean, what's got you looking for Ultra-slash-Redley?" Sailor Ultra asked, snapping Gyser out of this thoughts.

Gyser too had a story to tell, but he tried to make it quick so he could resume his search for Ultra. He told Sailor Ultra of an expedition to Segan Ruins which both he and Ultra were a part of. He told her of how Ultra had betrayed the group, and left them to die by siding with Georgia Stahlmansche, mega-** extraordinaire. He continued, explaining about the Frizonian attack on the city. He then explained how only hours before hand, Ultra had thrown him into a building and abandoned the group, when every man was needed.

"I don't trust him, he doesn't deserve to be trusted, he has to be stopped, I'll be the one to do it and I'm a prick for holding grudges. Please, you have to have some idea where he might be!"

Sailor Ultra blinked as Gyser finished explaining things. Well. That'll do it. And an alien invasion?! Why couldn't it have happened WHILE she was outside of her closet? "Ugh..."

"I don't trust him, he doesn't deserve to be trusted, he has to be stopped, I'll be the one to do it and I'm a prick for holding grudges. Please, you have to have some idea where he might be!"

The Sailorness Scout frowned, thinking hard about what could be done. I don't know how Redley's mind works...how would I know...? Who would know? Only Ultra and Redley would, in all honesty...she couldn't think of anyone else in a similar situation. Redley. Redley.

...hold up.

"I remember..." Sailor Ultra frowned as the thoughts began to click and synapse. "When Ultra returned, the battle between him and Ultra Shadow occurred because the mind of Redley had been siphoned out of Ultra Sonic and into Ultra Shadow...but the assassin's psyche still managed to claw its way through Ultra's ego. It somehow remained."

THAT sentence put Gyser on edge...precisely because of what it entailed. "Two Redleys?"

"I'd wager."

"Great." Just the lovely kind of thought I DON'T need.

"I wouldn't be aware of where Ultra might have gone...but his evil clone might." She quickly ran into her closet.

Gyser blinked at the sight of the Hammerspace Closet, marvelling at the expanse within. Wow. No wonder she was in the closet for so long...heh.

It was minutes later that the Sailorness Scout emerged, her gloved hands holding a type of handheld device with a...pig snout attached to it. "A Pork Radar."

"...a WHAT radar?"

"Built by the FPA a long time ago during its heyday, designed for the purpose of tracking down Ultra Shadow's Piggy Armada!" An infomercial about it had been on some years ago. Then the Box of Randomness had done its duty...and voila! "Look for the largest concentration of pork in the forum...that should lead you to him."

Gyser looked at the odd device in his hand, marvelling at how...'goofy' the situation was becoming. Now I'm about hunt down the evil clone of the guy whose ass I'm going to kick...this evil clone happening to be a serial invader whose tried to take over the MoFo with an army of pigs. Sure, he could dig that. Sounded a lot more pleasant than the Frizonians, at nay rate. Even with the possibility of facing ANOTHER Redley. "Hmm..." There were red blotches clustered about in a particular subarea. "Looks like I'm off to the RP Guild."

"Gyser."

The neon hedgehog looked up, frowning at Sailor Ultra's suddenly apprehensive look. "What?"

The violet-haired girl was suddenly frowning. She didn't know if this was tactful or not...but even some hints as to Ultra's past could prove useful in grounding him, in keeping Redley at bay. "Do you ever know what happened to Ultra's wife....Sailor Pandemonium? And their children, Saffron and...Alexia? Please...I'd like to know."

OOC: Certainly not to discourage character development and sidetracking, but I need to know if Gyser will end up going to the briefing or not. Right now it looks like not, but I want to check before I go ahead with the "morning after" briefing - which will set the stage for the second chapter of this story. Ultra himself is too far away to be feasibly back in time for the briefing since he's already at the Mobile Glacier. It might make things more interesting if not all of the characters are at the briefing, leading to confusion and misperceptions that could make the story more interesting and developed, so I guess it's ultimately up to you.

I'm going to finish writing up the briefing portion, as well as provide for an explanation from one of the resident experts of time/space (owned by another player), and then the group will be equipped and sent off toward the Mobile Glacier. It should be posted up sometime in the next week. In the meantime, anyone who hasn't gotten their character(s) settled down for the night or finished their conversations yet can do so.

IC:
"It's about Modesty." The way those words were said gave the red hedgehog a slightly uncomfortable feeling.
"What about her?" he replied, slightly suspiciously.
"When did you last hear from her, Jase?"
"Well... that would've been just a few days ago, right before she left to help out with an Administration project."
"Do you know anything about the project she's involved in?"
"Not much." Jason frowned a bit. "Is she likely to be in some sort of danger, Captain? Your cagey-ness is making me edgy."
"There's... a possibility she might be. I don't know one way or the other yet. But recent events have me a little nervous about the wellbeing of herself and the others with her. That said, it could just be a problem with communications systems..." he sighed. "I know it's a bit glib of me to say this after saying that, but try not to think about it too much, OK? If something has happened, we'll know about it."
Jason nodded slowly. "Right... Well, that will be easier said than done. But I'll try."

From the moment Ash asked about Modesty, Jason had started fidgeting uncontrollably. His friend looked at him sympathetically.
"Jase, Modesty's a tough lass. You know that. She's probably right now wishing she could be home with you."
Jason shifted on his seat and sipped his drink. "Sometimes, I wonder about that intense sense of duty she's got. I wish I could talk her into retirement, but she'd get so restless she'd probably start cooking."
A mental image of a mushroom cloud over Sega City formed in Ash's mind. "Yeah...that wouldn't be a bright idea."
The two smiled and relaxed for a time, basking in the low-key atmosphere of the bar and the smooth jazz playing in the background, all of which contrasted vividly against the intensity of the day's events. To the tinkling of a piano, they reminisced happily about bygone days and the adventures, and misadventures, they had shared. Eventually, their conversation turned to the present.
"So, we're in for it tomorrow, aren't we?" Ash posed rhetorically. "A big Mobile Glacier is what Vec called it. You going to be there?"
"I think I owe it to the Frizonians. Punishing thugs like them is part of a prosecutor's duties."
"Well now, who's the one with the intense sense of duty?"
Jason chuckled before throwing some rings down at the bartender. "I guess maybe that attitude of hers is contagious. If I'm going to be ready for them, I may as well get some sleep."
"Ah, right. Want me to bring you back to your place?"
"You men and your one-track mind. Heh, no thanks. I'll be fine. We ought to do this again, only with the wives, Captain."
Jason slipped off the bar stool and casually headed for the door, calling, "Catch you tomorrow."
"Later, man."

ooc: I suppose Kairus is still here somewhere. I think he got to toe tower, timelinewise, about the same time the couch exploded.

Sailor Ultra blinked as Gyser burst off, heading off to face Ultra Shadow 007 (catching a glimpse of the frozen, yet thawing expanse of SEGA City beyond). "..."

In all honesty, she was feeling a bit...confused. With a side of sobering sadness.

So...his wife died a few years ago...

Right around the time Ultra had left for the Archie Star Forum World...before or after? Most likely after; despite the warnings of the ASFW's Admin Macbeth, she doubted Ultra would have left with him if it had meant that his children would have been without a parent. And given what little he had heard about Ultra's children, the son (Saffron) had been a somewhat modest yet adventurous blue hedgehog, who had inherited the abilities of Sailor Pandemonium (what those abilities were, she wasn't sure). The daughter (Alexia), had been a little blue-haired girl exhibiting sides of snarky sarcasm and a side of cautious risk-taking (if that made any sense), who had inherited the super-speed of her father Ultra.

I wonder...

She should meet those children. If what Gyser said had been true regarding the invasion...

I won't let anything happen to them.

There was no doubt that Ultra would have tried to check up on his wife and children after returning home...yet as far as she knew, Ultra hadn't made one effort to try and see his children again. Why? It had to be because of Redley...it had to.

That damn assassin...

Feeling a bit of righteous anger, Sailor Ultra made a decision to pursue Gyser. If nothing else, to ask Gyser where this 'Gya' fellow lived (was he referring to...what was his name, Gya Le?), and to meet up with the children. It was long overdue anyway.

With that said, she quickly went back into the closet.

Minutes later, she came back out of the closet.

"That joke's run its course!"

(Sorry.)

Clad in a large, brown parka, the Sailorness Scout quickly walked outside - Boxing Glove Staff and another Pork Radar in hand - and pulled out a little Dinocap. With a click of a button and a toss...

PSSSH!!!

...out emerged a small white hovercraft with blue lining, capable of seating five. The curved windshield already began to frost over as Sailor Ultra turned the engine on and zoomed off towards the RP Guild.

xxxx

Still nighttime.

Gyser's breath frosted over as he calmly came to a stop at the RP Guild. The various domes - all bearing some measure of frost - remained standing, having been further away from the epicenter of the icesteroid crater (thus having been spared of much of the fighting). If there had been any people frozen here, they were gone by now.

Save for Ultra Shadow, apparently.

Gyser stood quietly outside the RP Guild Lobby, the enclosed complex where forumers waited for a dome to open up. Though it too bore some icicles, the doors had been opened (judging by the frost that had been cleared away). "Well...here goes nothing."

He opened the door.

"BUI!!!"

"SHUT THE DAMN DOOR, IT'S COLD OUT THERE!!!"

Gyser immediately shut it behind him, briefly boggling at what he saw.

Pigs.

Hundreds of them.

The pork calmly waddled about, taking full advantage of vending machines to stuff their faces. Several of the more autonomous pigs had managed to get the Food Court up and running (which was saying something, given that they had HOOVES). The lights were dimmed (a sign of low power output from the generators?), and the overall atmosphere was dark, cramped, and noisy. It was a never-ending sea of swine.

It was surprisingly clean, given the sheer number of pigs.

But Gyser's attention turned towards the black hedgehog sitting...atop the back of a giant, cyborg pig. ...okay.

The pig's cybernetic eyes glowed red as Ultra Shadow gauged the newcomer. His eyes were hidden behind shades; unlike Ultra Sonic, he still clung fast to the '007' wardrobe. "Well well well...Gyser, if I recall correctly. What brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same question," remarked Gyser. Despite his questions regarding Redley - odd how different a vibe this guy gave off compared to Ultra Sonic - he wanted to know WHY an Evil Forumer had set up shop in a public establishment. "Not exactly the most conspicuous place for your...'Piggy Armada'."

Ultra Shadow shrugged, tearing into a chicken sandwich. "Just got back in town. Noted that it was frozen too, and decided to hide away in here until things warm up."

"...frozen 'too'?" Gyser recalled how Ultra Sonic had mentioned 'other icesteroids' after the destruction of the other one. "Did you see another icesteroid outside SEGA City?"

Ultra Shadow smirked. "Yep. Managed to take care of it too. NOTHING IS BEYOND THE PIGGY ARMADA!!!"

Two childish voices rang out.

"You only got to do it because it landed near an active volcano."

"And you lost over half of your armada just pushing it there!"

Ultra Shadow sweatdropped as two kids walked towards the cyborg pig. "You two brats are certainly pressing your luck."

Gyser would've said something...had his eyes not widened immediately, had his voice not died.

Holding a tray full of pepperoni pizza was a 4'0" hedgehog, bearing a body of blue fur clad in a long-sleeved red shirt and black sweatpants. Gray sneakers with white shoelaces adorned his feet, and his hands bore no gloves...obviously due to the myriad of tentacles emerging from the wrists, holding his tray for him. A shade of soft red coated his irises, a somewhat kind color...eyes that mirrored his mother's.

Holding a plate of teriyaki cuisine was a blue-haired 4'0" girl, almost a mini-version of Pande. A gray bodysuit clad her form - from the neck down to the wrists and ankles - with a blue knee-length skirt and a blue denim jacket. Given her super speed, it was no surprise that she wore classic red-and-white speed shoes...and her green eyes were a spot-on mirror of her father's, carrying both a sense of light-heartedness but a stern determination when times got tough.

Saffron and Alexia.

"Uncle Gyser!" exclaimed Saffron. "Hi!"

"What...are...what are you two DOING here?!" exclaimed the flourescent hedgehog.

"Remember the icesteroid?" reminded Ultra Shadow as he slid down the side of the massive cyborg pig (a NATURAL KILLER CYBORG! :O ). "That Gya fellow was frozen by the time I got there. And since he was going to be out of commission for a while, I dropped his frozen body at a nearby hospital and invited my dear nephew and niece to stay with me for the time being!" His tone was syrupy sweet. Mockingly so.

Alexia sardonically stated, "You actually came by to kidnap us and hold us for ransom."

Saffron added, "It's why you brought the Piggy Armada."

"And I freely admitted it!" exclaimed the Evil Forumer as he patted the heads of the shorter-by-a-foot children. "Besides, given the situation, I figured it'd be a good time to do some bonding with Uncle Shadsie..." Ultra Shadow lowered his shades just a hint, showcasing red eyes. "Don't you agree?"

The sight of red eyes propelled Gyser forward with a punch.

A punch that was caught by one hand.

"Hey now." The five-foot-tall hedgehog stared quietly at his more brightly-colored counterpart, his red eyes taking on a quiet quality. It was also how Gyser noticed...that the right eye was just a shade darker than the left. It was a blood red, as compared to the lighter, more 'maniacal' red of the other. "What's this now?"

Gyser bit his tongue. He needed answers. "I need to talk about...a certain assassin."

Ultra Shadow's lips curved into a wicked smirk. "I see...kids, your uncles need to talk. Why don't you scoot along and eat?"

Alexia frowned. "I want to hear."

Saffron sighed as he extended several tentacles, wrapping them around his sister's waist. "Let's just go Alexia."

"HEY! L'EGGO!"

The two children - not even at the age of 10 yet - walked away, bickering all the while until they left the Food Court. Now it was just Gyser and Ultra Shadow.

And a bunch of pigs.

"Why'd you want them to leave?"

Ultra Shadow chuckled. "For one thing, they don't even know that their dad's back in the MoFo. They still think he's outside the Mobius Forum World, just like he said so in that note to his wife."

Gyser frowned, recalling how upset Pandemonium had been over Ultra's sudden disappearance. The destruction of the FPA had been one thing...the cryptic note that had just said 'There's something I have to see to outside the Mobius Forum. I will return one day. Love, Ultra' had merely been icing on the cake. Given how Ultra was...it was unlike him to just not SEE his children again. "...why?"

"Would YOU want to bring home an assassin's alter-ego that can take over at any time to your children?"

"...good point."

"So. Tell me why you want to talk about Jonathon Redley."

Mobius was taking some time out to himself - he'd seperated out from the group to head back to the jeep to just get some bearings on the situation, since they had already dwindled in number somewhat given that there was nothing much to do here for the time being.

What he'd witnessed here today so far was one hell of an intense scenario - it was a bleakly cold time to be in Sega City, he thought grimly, noting that more and more forces of some bitter evil were determined to make their pleasent place a living hell.
He lit up a small cigar, and sighed - deep in a train of thought...

He had to stay in the front lines - there was no choice about it.
He wasn't necessarily a full time resident, sure, but damn it the place was still his second home...it was good here, and he damn well wasn't going to let some 2-bit punks from the planet Freezeatron or where-the-heck-ever it was just stomp all over it as though it were some 'Welcome' mat.

Taking a deep drag from the cigar, he savoured the taste of the smoke before blowing it out sharply in a hard exhale...it had been too long, he thought to himself with a smirk.

Climbing behind the wheel of the Jeep, he started the engine up - and took it to quickly make a small stop at an undisclosed MIA location - it was time to grab some more supplies for the long day that still lay ahead...

{{ He'll make it back - I just figured he needed a little extra something to be doing in the meantime. 😛 I'll figure/detail his supplies/Inventory when we resume }}

Gyser sighed inwardly.

"Do I really have to explain this again?" The hedgehog asked himself.

Yanking his hand free from Ultra Shadows grip, Gyser accepted his fate, and explained about the trip to the Segan ruins and Ultras betrayal of the group, and about what had happened earlier that day.

"I guess what started as a grudge has evolved into something a little more serious. Part payback, part protecting everyone else" Gyser grinned. He knew there was a part of this Redley in there as well, and honestly, was hoping to beat it out of Ultra Shadow. But not yet. For starters, the full Redley was in Ultra Sonic, not his counterpart. That was his main priority. Oh, and stopping the Frizonians was ranking in there somewhere too.

"So... I've answered your question, now you answer mine, and it's a pretty simple one... What more do you know about Redley?"

Ultra Shadow chuckled as he scratched the head of a nearby pig. "Well well...he's been quite busy." An invasion. Some good old-fashioned backstabbing...

"...What more do you know about Redley?"

The black-and-red tuxedo-clad hedgehog glanced at his brighter counterpart, quirking an eyebrow as he lowered his shades. "Tell me, what do you see in these eyes of mine?"

Gyser looked. Compared the darker shade of bloody red with the more stereotypical 'evil' red. "They differ in color."

Ultra Shadow grinned. A very toothy grin. "Good eyes...you see, although I share many aspects with my 'original self'...he does tend to do things the hard way." The Evil Forumer stood up, flexing his fingers while he spoke. "You see, when Redley's mind was transferred into me...he wasted no time making himself at home. Despite what you may think, that mind-transfer doohickey that Vector used to do the job...it was very precise. There should've been no way for the assassin to remain an Ultra Sonic's psyche..." He turned back towards Gyser. "Of course, you've probably sent plenty enough to disagree, hm?"

Gyser rolled his eyes. Come on, get to the bloody point...

"But then again, for one who is a native of a world where a psionic Force permeates all, perhaps it's not too surprising...where even things of the mind can bind to that which is physical..." Ultra Shadow chuckled. "Ultra Sonic may have made a deal with a Redley...bartered with him, treated him as an equal...but given how he is now, he most likely saw him as a colony would see its far more powerful mother country...he defers to him, yet feels that he can afford to act snippy. As for me?" Ultra Shadow turned towards Gyser. "Redley is a tool...yet he is a partner...yet he is a superior. I've done more than accept his presence in my world...I've embraced him and all that he has to offer."

Gyser blinked.

Part of him wondered if this was about to get really really ugly.

"It's one of the strange quirks about where Redley hails from; one who embraces all aspects of themselves - good and bad - is one who can truly master themselves. Redley has mastered himself...but Ultra has not. I have. And with that in mind...I have a pretty good idea of where Redley would go."

Gyser's eyes narrowed. Finally, what he had come here for. "Spill it."

"Jonathon Redley is not just an assassin. He has a way about him concerning challenges; his entire existence is hinged on the fact that he is the best at what he does. Which is why he only does anything for money...or for sport. The weird thing is the total lack of bloodlust, but you kind of get used to it..." Ultra Shadow calmly grabbed a soda perched atop the head of a piggy wearing a monocle and a butler's outfit. "Ah, thank you Reginald."

Gyser sweatdropped.

"Anyhow...given this 'Frizonian invasion'...I'd wager that he's gone to where the head honchoes are. He will test himself against their best. Should he fall, he will either die or accept his defeat and strive to become stronger without complaint. Should he be victorious...well, judging by what he said before taking off, he'll be expecting a hefty payment."

The flourescent hedgehog scowled...but now he had some clue about where Redley was. Going after the biggest prize of them all, hm? Well, it seemed that he had little to do now until tomorrow's debriefing; there was no doubt that there, he'd be able to determine where the main Frizonian force was located...once he knew that, he'd know where Redley was. "I see." Now there was only the question of defeating him.

"And given Ultra's current wussification regarding his situation with Redley, I have JUST the solution of getting his goody-two-shoes butt in gear!" With a sip of his coke, Ultra Shadow walked toward the doors of the Food Court and swung them open, where Saffron and Alexia were eating patiently. "Hey kids!"

Alexia sighed; her 'Evil Uncle's' antics were quite infuriating at times. "What is it?"

"Remember your dear old dad?"

Saffron and Alexia frowned; it was a sore subject for them for a number of reasons; for one, there father was still missing...two, he hadn't been there when their mother had died...and three, they really had no idea of WHERE he had gone. Saffron had been mostly sad, but Alexia bore a little bitterness over it all.

"Turns out that he's back...and under the control of the psyche of an assassin from another forum world!"

Cue widening of the eyes by both children.

Ultra Shadow grinned. "And since I'm always one for getting people to owe me favors, what say we save his hide?"

Gyser performed a facepalm. No subtlety...whatsoever...

Chapter 2:
Dangerous Mission!
Assault of the Mobile Glacier!

(soundtrack - Aquatic Base, Level 2, from Sonic 06)

The harsh wind of the mountains blew through crags in the rocks, howling as they blasted the air with snow and ice. Redley stood on a rocky cliff, letting the chill wind blow past him as he carefully observed what sat in the bowl-shaped mountain valley ahead of him.

The Mobile Glacier was an angular structure that looked like it was composed of four different triangular pyramids - three of which were smaller and fitted into the corners of the larger, central pyramid - of pure white ice with various viewports and crystal-tipped gun turrets mounted on its sides. Underneath the central section was a gigantic beam that pulsed into the ground, flashing brighter with each pulse and lighting up the valley with blue-white energy. Various smaller vehicles of the Frizonians were flying or rollong in and out of vehicle bays set into the smaller corner pyramids, as patrols of armored Frizonian Troopers made their rounds securing the perimeter.

It appeared that there were more of the flyer vehicles coming in from other locations, and Redley tracked the flying transport that he had followed here as it approached the Mobile Glacier. At a certain point in the air surrounding the Glacier, he saw a ripple of energy as the flyer passed through an invisible force field. To Redley's trained eyes, he could tell the Frizonians were better prepared with this location; an aerial strike would be useless against a shield like that. It might even block entry into the pyramid itself.

But he had to test that.

Leaping from the cliff's edge, he dashed down the side of the rocky precipice all the way down into the valley at supersonic speed. Frizonian patrols were confused when the snow kicked up suddenly in a line toward the Glacier, and they tried to converge on it, only to see it change direction and circle the entire Glacier before making a direct beeline for it.

And Redley suddenly stopped, his adamantium arm out in front of him, his hand outstretched through the rippling field. The hand was frozen solid, and had it not been for his reflexes, the rest of him would have been through the field and frozen as well. Withdrawing his hand, he sped back the way he came and up into the mountains, deliberately taking the time to make a few false trails so the Frizonians wouldn't be able to track him so easily. The cold in the mountains helped to hide his heat, which was what he counted on - he guessed that they used thermal vision to see.

That field was impenetrable without some kind of protection, or without shutting down the field - but what could he use to batter down the field? Assuming of course it could be overloaded or otherwise defeated by the proper application of outside force...

(Music soundtrack - World Navigation, from Armored Core: Nexus)

It was the following day in Sega City. The sun shone brightly as the last of the snow melted all the way to the outskirts of the city, and only a light jacket was necessary for most of the inhabitants. But outside the city, snow stretched in all directions, and it didn't seem to be melting anytime soon. It was colder outside the city than in it, much colder.

In an auditorium in the HQ Tower, the assembled forumers were gathered in their seats as Marcus stood behind the podium, with Vector sitting in a chair to one side. Marcus's blonde hair was combed neatly as always, and he looked around at the forumers with his usual friendly, if somewhat empty, smile. He was dressed in a more formal navy blue military uniform now, without any embellishments indicating his rank or organization.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome," he began. "This is the briefing for our next move against the Frizonian threat. We have confirmed that the Frizonians have landed icesteroids all over the planet, with some of them being destroyed by various resistance groups that have formed at the crash sites. But there are still over an estimated one hundred still on the planet, and each one seems to be generating a field that lowers the ambient temperature rapidly. However, there is an energy signal being transmitted to each of the icesteroids that we've discovered after collaborating with other survivors of the attacks."

A white screen unrolled behind him, and an image was projected of the planet in red wire-frame against a black background, with the icesteroids represented by glowing blue dots, and energy waves being transmitted to each other icesteroids from a single location. "We have determined that the Frizonians have landed a much larger base onto the planet - their HQ. This central base is generating the energy necessary to power the icesteroids, but it also appears to be equipped with a similar freezing ability - one that is reaching into the planet's core itself to sap all the heat from it. Their objective is clear, if the current rate of freezing keeps up as it is."

The wireframe image showed a beam hitting the hot core and freezing it over, until ice had grown all over and through the planet. "Total cryostasis of the planet. Life as we know it will end. And this will happen inside of a week if nothing is done to slow it down."

Marcus pointed to the screen, which now showed an image of a non-frozen planet, with an arrow traveling over a computer-generated map of terrain to a mountain valley. "Your target is this valley. You will be flown there by aerial transport; I will be accompanying you as tactical advisor. We are issuing devices to all of you called AEGIS - All-Environment Geothermal Insulation Shield. They will generate a field that will protect you from ambient temperature - you will be able to walk into a blizzard in your underwear and not feel the cold at all, although you will still feel snow and rain. And these shields certainly won't protect you from freeze rays. But at least while they are active, you will be protected from the cold. We are also issuing any smallarms or other extra weaponry that you desire for the mission objectives."

Vector stood up and coughed, and Marcus stood aside to let Vector stand at the podium. "Your primary objective," the crocodile growled in his typical friendly voice, "is to enter their HQ and plant explosives inside it that will blow it to smithereens. Without that HQ, the icesteroids won't be able to keep freezing the planet. However, I'm adding a secondary objective...a rescue mission. We detected the planetfall of this HQ two days ago, and sent a team of SONIC operatives to investigate it. We have not heard from that team since. The leader of that team was..."

Vector looked purposefully at Jason. "Modesty Rapidfire."

Vector quickly continued on, not giving a chance for an outburst. "But, the freezing is also creating another problem - which I'll allow the resident expert on that problem explain before we send you out." He turned to the side door. "Will you please step in?"

OOC: Hold off posting for just another bit - I've already asked someone in particular to post after this post to involve their character in the situation briefly.

IC:
Attention was focused then on the side door the crocodile had looked toward. A figure walked in, appearance masked by a loose cloak wrapped around them, with a hood drawn over the head. As the figure walked, there was a slight muffled clinking of metal.
Thank you, Vector. the figure spoke, his voice causing a slight atmosphere of unease. These creatures you are facing. These... Frizonians. The cryogenic extremities they are exposing your world to are not of an entirely ordinary nature.
As he said this, the figure reached back and pulled back the hood of his cloak, revealing a dark silver and jet black furred vulpine face. Where an ordinary creature's eyes would be white, his were as black as night, and he had silver irises that gleamed now and then with an otherworldly sheen. He kept the cloak over his shoulders though, revealing only that underneath he was wearing some sort of ornate coat, and that he was wearing some ornately crafted gauntlets.
Hmm. I believe I have met some or even all of you at least once... maybe more. That, of course, is irrelevant at this point. Your world is in danger in more ways than one. I shall not go into any great detail as to how or why, but I am considered an expert in matters temporal... and I can tell you that these Frizonians intend not only to freeze your world thermally, but to freeze it quite literally in time also. Pausing only for a second to let that sink in, he continued. By this I refer to the fact that should they succeed in their mission, this world will be frozen eternally. Such a matter would result in very dire consequences - not only for this world, but for those in it's immediate vicinity - and further beyond.
With a thoughtful look, he then held up a hand, holding a captured Frizonian freeze gun. You are all familiar with these by now. he stated matter-of-factly. These freeze guns seal the unfortunate victim in an eternal state of... well, whatever emotion they happened to be experiencing at that point. Fear, more often than not. This can be reversed, however. If someone is thawed out of their frozen state, they are unfrozen from time also. This same technology is being used on a larger scale, as Vector just finished outlining to you. It is these creatures' method of ensuring the worlds they choose to enslave are kept eternally "perfect".
He set the weapon down, a stern look on his face. I'm not about to discuss the ins and outs of why, but I cannot allow them to take control of this particular planet. However... at present, it would be unwise for me to take direct action in the matter. Hence my coming here to disclose the information that I have done so today - I believe it important that you know what you are up against, and why you must succeed. That said, he pulled his hood back over his head.
I believe that concludes all that I may say on this matter currently. Should my presence be required in any capacity I can act during the next several hours... I shall be ready to act. If there are any questions about what you are about to undertake, now is the time to ask them. He stepped back from the podium, having directed a brief glance in the direction of Vector and Marcus when he'd mentioned questions, before stepping down and standing in the background near where Vector was sat.

A hand rose. "I don't have so much of a question...more of a little 'difficulty' to raise."

"And what 'difficulty' are you speaking of?" asked Marcus, watching as a black-and-red hedgehog stood; he had not been among those at the SEGA City icesteroid yesterday.

Ultra Shadow 007 smirked as he stood, leaving the row of seats that Gyser, Saffron, Alexia, Sailor Ultra, and several pigs sat in. "Not so much regarding the Frizonians themselves...but more regarding a wild card." He looked at the rest of those gathered in the auditorium. "I take it some of you were present when Ultra Sonic decided to flip out and toss ol' Gyser here into a building?"

Gyser bit back a snarky retort.

"I remember that," Kayla spoke with a frown. "He just suddenly went berserk and took off."

"Well, there's a bit of a history behind that...but I imagine ya'll don't want to be bored with the silly details. Long story short, Ultra Sonic's mind is currently under the control of an assassin by the name of Jonathon Redley." Ultra Shadow glanced briefly at his rival's children; Saffron's arms were crossed, his eyes set into a stern stare. Alexia's leg was twitching, her lips tightened into a straight line. Needless to say, there was no keeping them back from this mission. Spunky brats...lovable though. "And I'd bet plenty of money that he's gone straight towards this 'Frizonian HQ' on his own."

"A highly risky endeavor," remarked Marcus.

Ultra Shadow shrugged. "Ultra's good on his own, but Redley's in an entirely different league. All actions are for his sake...so don't be surprised if he might turn on you if you run into him. Thus, for the duration of this little 'mission', I'd figure you all should treat Ultra Sonic as an enemy." HAH! Now you're the villain about to be pounded on! Role reversal is always a nice change of pace.

Sailor Ultra and Gyser didn't let the twitching of Saffron and Alexia escape their notice. Given the sudden 180 of 'long-time missing, law-enforcement father' into 'now-has returned, but is now acting out as assassin' was...well, just a little jarring.

"Duly noted," responded Marcus.

xxxx

Hmm...there are few options at this point.

Jonathon Redley quietly removed his arm from within the mountain rock; his hand had mostly thawed (despite the chill of the ambient temperature, the mountains had yet to fully freeze over...and the hardy earth beneath the surface was still warmer than the immediate atmosphere) by now, so it would be serviceable. A brief inspection of the hand-launcher, the flamethrower, and the taser showed them to be in good working order.

As for those 'few options'...

One was to try and subdue a few Frizonians...then to immediately test out the effects of the force field on their specialized armor. If they proved impervious to the freezing effects of the field, he would go for the larger Frizonians and then try to fit their armor on (it would be a tight fit for his spikes, but they could be pulled down in a sufficient manner).

Another was to test one of the vehicles. Hijack it as it was about to cross the field. Test the field as before by pushing his hand through it whilst inside the vehicle. Should the vehicles be susceptible to the field, he would immediately retreat from the inevitable attention such a hijacking would bring. Should the vehicles be shielded, he would still retreat...then hijack another vehicle without causing such a ruckus.

The most pragmatic option was to simply wait. He had no doubt that the other forumers would come here, to the invaders' base of operations. They would also provide a method of entry, no doubt. All it would mean in the long run was that he would have to work quite...swiftly, at that point, if he were to convince the administrators of the forum world to pay him sufficiently.

It was a new day.

Jonathon Redley quietly emerged from the cold cave he had sought shelter in for the duration of the night, emerging into the more frigid open air. His red eyes situated themselves upon the Mobile Glacier. His target.

Time to begin.

"Okay, bored now..."

Mobius smirked, and rose from his chair to leave despite a few odd glances and questioning expressions in his direction - the whole thing about Ultra Shadow and Sonic was, to say the least, not something he personally had much care for and he wasn't about to sit here and wait for them to finish up.

However, preparing himself for the tough times ahead was all the motivation he needed - He'd monitor the activity that occured from this area when he came back in a while...but he wasn't about to let his entire method of operating be affected by having to fall in line with the masses. He enjoyed being the somewhat quiet and unseen factor, and knew that if anything was worth doing, it was worth doing with a little personal scouting ahead and a vague idea of what to expect...only then would Mobius consider taking his place among the ranks.

" I'll be getting prepared - Forward the details of locations to my Contact link...I was never big on briefings anyway, heh "

He tipped his hat and gave a thumbs up to the crowd , who were at this point entirely bemused by his abrupt departure for a moment or two, before order was quickly restored as the briefing resumes after the doors closed behind the Leaving Eagle.

Mobius smirked, as he headed in the direction of his intended destination...It was finally time to start bringing out the good stuff!

"Finally! That was the smartest thing I've heard all day!"

Several forumers turned to a row of seats near the front where a Chibi Sonic sat with his feet crossed on the back of the chair in front of him, "digging" in his ear.

"CSR!" Kaze hissed from his left. Saya, who had Pikku sitting her lap on the hedge-bot's right, gaped at him.

"Come on," he went on, "While we're sittin' here, those Frizonis or whatever they're called are messin' up the planet, right? All we gotta do is take 'em out, right?"

"See, this is why I didn't want to bring you here. You act so immature, and you expect to come with me on the mission?"

"Yeah."

The chao buried her face in her hands, too embarassed to speak. The ball over her head morphed into a swirl as she muttered, "For the love of..."

The only reaction Jason had when Vector had spoken to the group was a barely perceptible bat of his eyelids. The news hardly came as a surprise to the hedgehog, who perambulated in his own little world for a moment while Ultra Shadow's words floated on the very edge of his conscious hearing.
So, Modesty's in a mission gone awry, Frizonians have begun a hostile takeover, and SilverShadow is reminding us that it's in everyone's best interests to keep the world from being destroyed. Add in two fabulously dressed jester angels and a lodge full of self-absorbed, ill-bred plebeians and I may as well be reliving last year. How very quaint. I marvel at how the MFW is so important to all kinds of insane apparitions and demons that it's the subject of innumerable attempts at conquest and destruction.
"Okay, bored now," Mobius smirked, disrupting his thoughts. Jason blinked and scanned the others' faces for their bemused reactions. He could not blame Mobius, though; a majority of whatever it was that Ultra Shadow had just detailed was lost on him because the situation had just turned personal--highly personal.
"If I may just pose a few questions," Jason said, raising his paw, "number one: how many SONIC operatives are we looking to rescue? Number two: do we have any idea of where in this nebulous headquarters we should plant these explosives for maximum yield? Number three: how are the Frizonians capable of freezing the dimension of time itself?"

Marcus still had his almost absent-minded smile on as he answered Jason. "First, there are five SONIC operatives to be rescued, counting Major Modesty Rapidfire and Tachikoma as two of them. Second, since we can't get direct satellite scans of the target, we are unable to determine the best place at this time, but part of the reason I'm going along is to analyze the situation and determine that on-site. I would hypothesize that, like the icesteroid, there will be a "cold" fusion plant inside the base to which we can attach the explosives. Third...I won't even pretend to fully understand how the Frizonians can do that, with my hypothesis only being that since the colder something gets, the slower its particles travel, then they simply freeze things to the point at which no particles move at all - a state that creates no friction between particles, so no natural breakdown can occur. That is simply my best guess, so I'm afraid it'll have to do."

He then looked out after Mobius. "Oh, dear...I guess I should have mentioned the contract earlier. Everyone has to sign one before they go on this mission."

This immediately brought more questions, but Marcus waved them down as he handed out copies of a contract to everyone. "I'll explain: the purpose of SONIC is to train agents who can, when the situation calls for it, recruit forumers for civil defense or for military operations against a threat to the Mobius Forum World. This is why SONIC has few actual operatives, since they can rely on the skills of the forumers they recruit to assist in Group Mission objectives. However, because of practicality and other reasons, we also require - as soon as reasonably possible - signing a contract which, in essence, says that you will take orders from military superiors while in the field, and that the mission comes first. This means that all other considerations during the mission must be considered secondary to finishing the mission. If, for example, it became a choice to save a forumer's life, or to accomplish the mission..."

Marcus shook his head. "Though, that's a very extreme example. You aren't signing away your life, after all, only for the duration of the mission. If you don't sign, you may still come along on the mission, but you will be entirely responsible for yourself - SONIC nor the Administration can guarantee equipment, information or safety. But signing it makes it so that we can cover expenses more easily. I'll send an electronic copy of it to Mr. Springheart and anyone else who may not be present here at this time, so they can have that opportunity."

OOC: This contract business may seem kinda funky, but it was introduced at the same time as the SONIC organization by Mobius TetherBlood (not to be confused with Mobius Springheart), and even though I sort of glossed over it in Group Mission: Exodus on the Eliteboard, I still want to keep up that tradition. Everyone who gets involved will have a copy of the contract sent to them; I honestly don't really know the full consequences of not signing it, but I figure that the signing or not signing of it is up to the characters and that it could add another aspect of the RP to deal with if those who sign may have to make personal choices to honor that contract or break it as circumstances dictate it in the field.

Jason, dumbfounded, stared at Marcus as he handed a contract to the hedgehog. It was two or three seconds later that Jason threw his head back and burst out into seemingly inappropriate laughter.
"Right, right; correct me if I'm wrong," he began, "but just looking through these many, many, many 'whereas' clauses and so forth and the ambiguity of this document, the expectation is that we are expected to take orders from military dogs of your ilk? Administration must not value the existence of its SONIC operatives, or indeed much of anything at all, if it is only providing volunteers with aid and equipment because of a contractul obligation."
"If that were true," responded Marcus, "Administration would not be so heavily involved in the rescue of its agents or the intricacies of preserving our world."
"Administration also wouldn't have much popular support if it ignored the rest of the world being frozen," Jason retorted. "As a warrior and as a lawyer, I cannot, in good faith, sign something so repugnant."
"That is entirely your decision. You have been made aware of the ramifications of failing to sign the contract, Mr Rapidfire."
Jason rose and rent the document into halves. "As well as the ramifications of daring to sign the contract."

Ultra Shadow snorted. "I won't sign up for anything like that." He then tapped his foot, causing a burly three-foot pig to waddle forth on all fours. "However, Duke is perfectly willing to sign up." Thus serving as a future conduit for access to SONIC and its hidden technologies! BWAHAHAHA!

Marcus arched an eyebrow. "...is he capable of signing anything?"

Duke snorted. "Bui." He grunted gutturally as he swiped a contract and began filling in his signature. Which was impressive, given that he had just hooves.

Sailor Ultra dearly wanted to yell 'HOW?!?!'. But this was the MoFo. Asking such obvious questions would result in her being dubbed a 'n00b'. Thus, turning her attention back to the contracts, she merely handed it back. "I'll be fine on my own." Besides, if all else failed, her Hammerspace Closet was bound to have a good substitute for any equipment that SONIC and the Admins could've provided.

Saffron and Alexia merely stepped back. "We're...kind of here only because of our dad." The blue hedgehog glanced over at his sister before finishing, "So...I don't think I'm going to sign it."

"Neither am I," replied Alexia, becoming somewhat wary of the contract due to Jason's objections.

Marcus nodded as he grabbed Duke's contract. "Very well."

OOC: Needless to say, Piggy Armada = Cannon Fodder. 😛

Kaze looked the contract over and over again as it was handed to her. Glancing at her friends, she noticed Saya and Pikku read carefully over their copies while CSR simply fanned his on himself.

"TL;DR," the robot hedgehog said flatly. "Anybody gotta pen?"

"CSR!"

"What? I don't wanna read it!" CSR protested. "It's way too long."

"It's still very important," Saya told him as Pikku climbed onto her shoulder.

"She's right. This isn't a game CSR. In fact, I'd rather you hand that over to me." Kaze reached out and grabbed CSR's contract.

"NO FAIR! I always come with you on adventures an' stuff!"

"This is an entirely different situation," Saya said grimly. "Kaze, you fear for our safety, don't you?"

The chao turned away and crossed her arms, nodding once.

"Don't think you're signing that thing, either, Saya, Pikku," she said. "I'm going. And not just because I'm a mod. This world has been my home for three years now, and I'm not giving it up without a fight."

Picking up a small pen off the floor nearby, Kaze unrolled her copy of the contract and signed it. CSR made a grab for it, but Saya and Pikku stopped him at the last second. The robot pouted, then plopped back down in his seat and glared angrily at Kaze.

"You'd better not lose," he muttered, "or I WON'T EVER forgive you, Kaze. You hear me?!"

-------
OOC: If it's alright, I'll introduce my second character at another point.

Kayla and Dead End mulled over the contract for a few moments.

"So," commented Dead End, "We sign and risk having to break our moral code, or we don't sign and risk losing our lives."

"It seems that way," said Kayla.

"Well, personally, I'm not ready to meet Primus just yet, so I say sign it. Worst case scenario, we get yelled at for not following orders. But I'll go with whatever you decide."

Kayla closed her eyes in thought for a moment.

"All right," she said, "We'll sign it. I wonder if this is how Ariel felt."

She pulled out a pen and handed it to Dead End.

"One Minicon John Hancock," he quipped, passing the pen back to Kayla.

Kayla took a deep breath.

"We will do what they want, but if it comes down to it, our hearts outrank anything else."

With that statement, she signed her name.

OOC:
I can already tell this contract business is gonna make things a LOT more interesting.

IC:
Ash snickered. "Hmm... so the ramifications of not signing are the possibility of not being provided certain info or equipment, and causing perhaps slightly more difficulty in covering expenses?" he grinned as he leaned back in his chair a bit. "No need for me to worry then. After all, I'd be somewhat shocked if the Administration were to keep one of it's own out of the loop for something this important. We're going to need all the help we can get, after all."
"Don't get me wrong," he adeed as he rose from his seat, "it's not that I don't want to help. I do, obviously - but I'll think for myself and help as I see fit." He headed toward the exit, adding "I'll be waiting in my ship for directions." over his shoulder.

OOC: Seriously, Yuku ate my post.

IC:

As the briefing continued on its way, and the assemblage of Forumers each ratified or ignored the contract that they were given, a dark shadowy substance crept in from the back of the room, underneath a slew of chairs being sat in by the pigs. It passed under Kayla's feet giving her toesies a definite chill. Looking down, all she would spot was the darkness.

"What in Primus's name..."

Vector canted his head silently, to watch the darkness come to a stop near the screen that outlined the plan. The shadow would then slide to the podium and a small object was instantly raised nup out of the shadow by what seemed to be a pillar of smoke. The electronic object had a green light that flickered for about three seconds, before it turned red. Once the light changed, the object was sucked back into the darkness, and began to head on out.

Jason, already put off by this contract, was even more put off by this...thing that just came in and seemingly stole vital information! "Hey Vec, should we stop that?"

Vector laughed. "How quickly you forget Jason. I believe you've met one of the shadowdwellers already. Though, the use of that PDA does leave me uneasy. Can I assume we have your assistance, Templar?"

"You may assume so-as I've dealt with SONIC operations before. This ragtag bunch is going to need some help." the shadow said, as it passed under Duke. Duke squealed in uneasiness, and jumped out. His belly felt very cold; his hooves brittle for the moment.

"Is that you Ryan?" Kayla piped up, as the shadow was beginning to slide under the doorway. However, she go no reply.

"No. I believe we're working with Derek at this point in time." Yet another wildcard to the mix Vector mumbled to himself as he looked on to everyone else in the room. Marcus walked over to Vector jsut then, slightly put off by the sequence of events that just happened.

"Sir, how did that..person? just access our files on the information?" Vector rested one hand on Marcus's shoulder and shook his head. "He's actually a brilliant person-when he's in the right state of mind. Besides, he probably was under your feet the whole time and figured out how to download it before you released it.

CSR raised his foot, just to make sure there wasn't anything there. To his surprise, there was a dark spot!

"AHH IT'S UNDER MY FOOT!" He jumped onto his chair, ready to try and stomp the ground. Kaze raised both hands and waved them furiously. "STOP CSR! That's your own shadow!"

"Oh... yeah. Right."

Gyser gave a small glare to most of the people around him.

"How can most of you act the way you are when there is a situation like this? You aren't the only ******* person in this city, you know?" He angrily thought to himself.

Gyser signed the contract without a thought or a readthrough, and passed it back.

"Can we get moving? We're just wasting time here." He folded his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. Speedster stereotype or not, all this sitting around and doing nothing was driving him insane. They had to save this city and the people in it, "And most of you gits are acting like spoiled brats."

He casted a glance over at Saffron and Alexia. "I wish you kids weren't coming... But I know I can't stop you, so I'll do my best to protect you. I promise you that."

Arikyrenne looked at the contract, reading through and making sense of it the best that she could.

If, for example, it became a choice to save a forumer's life, or to accomplish the mission...

Marcus's sentence still echoed in her mind, and it didn't help that some of the people she knew had chosen to tear apart or otherwise not sign the document.

Still, it sorta sounded like they were expected to sign it - even if they didn't have to - and she'd rather help try to keep things more organized, as well as be with a group instead of going by herself.

Plus he had said Modesty and Tachikoma were part of SONIC, right? She used that thought to try and reassure herself, the familiar names having stood out when Marcus had answered Jason's questions.

After a bit more hesitation, she got out a pen and signed the contract. She closed her eyes for a few seconds after that was done, and just hoped that nothing would come down to the kind of extremes that had been mentioned.

She didn't want to have to think about the kind of decisions that would have to be made if it did.

Mobius arrived at his offices quicker than he'd anticipated - no real big deal, but he had been in a hurry since he figured it was better to act now and get ahead of the game. Walking over to the desk, he pressed a small discrete button just under the desk.

Something clicked, and whirred - before the desk itself moved and divided neatly in two through the middle - revealing a small circle platform-lift.
Mobius stood on the platform lift before he banged on the desk twice, placing both hands in his pockets as the lift moved downward, taking him out of view...the desk making itself whole again shortly afterwards.

The elevator platform stopped in Mobius's underground hanger - where his personal new aircraft of recent times, the Stealth Eagle X-wing, was located. This was Mobius's ace in the hole - the one thing that Mobius had counted on nobody really remembering all that well, since he hadn't used it in plain sight for a long time. Since nobody knew how or when He was arriving at the battlefield, nobody would be able to give it away or reveal that information by mistake or torture. This plane, and it's current anonymity was his edge.

Admittedly, it was not the most sleek or technological of planes, but it had a fair bit of technowizardry inside it regardless...and it could move at a pretty nifty pace. The small Heat-based Dispersion cannons, and Basic Miniature-load missile launchers on either wing also gave it a pretty considerable bite, too - in all, this was a triumph of speed and practicality over over complicated technical nonsense.

He patted the nose of the small aircraft, and chuckled quietly to himself...noting the small film of dust that lay there.
" Guess I shoulda cleaned you off, old girl... " He mutters out loud, stretching for a moment before checking the time - there was still good time in the day for him to make sure that everything here was in order...system checks and other such things.

His small hangar wasn't exactly heavily equipped either - one small functioning laptop on a desk hooked up to a worldwide satelite system, undetected by the network it was linking to because of heavy security softwares and diversion codings.

" You have received 1 email, huh? " He blinks, looking at the screen...wasting no time in looking at the info that was now loaded on.
" SONIC Contract....you agree to...blah blah blah, conditions, team...mission first priority? Ha, Not for me, thanks... "

Mobius wastes no time in clicking the delete button - missions weren't about the figures, statistics or the official regulations of a conforming unit...To Mobius, it was about the working towards a common goal, no matter what has to be done, or what sacrifices had to be made. A contract of this nature simply irked him beyond belief, simply because he knew that it meant that common comeradery and assistance was compromised by rules that had never been enforced upon them in situations like this beforehand - so why start now?

With that small caretaking business out of the way, Mobius made a start with arranging an inventory check for what was looking to be a huge undertaking...the biggest mission he'd been involved with for the longest of times.

He was determined to be prepared for the dangers ahead, no matter what.

OOC: I'm in the middle of finals this week, so it's not really the ideal time for me to pick this back up, but I wanted to at least apologize for the delay here and to explain why it might take me a little longer to get the next post up. It's about time we got the party moving.

I think part of my conundrum is what to exactly do with this contract business now that I've taken the time to go through with it. I have to admit that I can't remember any real valid reason plotwise or otherwise for the contracts in past GMs it was involved in, and it's been a struggle to figure out how to handle it. However, I feel that part of this GM might be made more interesting later on by the contracts, so I'm going to keep them in and we'll see how the plot rolls out as we go along.

Now of course, I should say at least this much: the shield around the Mobile Glacier is nearly impenetrable, having been designed to keep hotbloods out entirely. However, Ultra doesn't have one of the AEGIS devices last I checked, and there's also the matter that the shield may need some heavy firepower to take down...firepower that might have to be provided by a third party. And nope, Frizonian weapons certainly won't help against their own shield. 😛

Just rescuing this from the 2nd page, and seeing how much interest is left here.

EDIT: I'm out of finals now, but my time at the moment is focused on preparing to head back home for the holidays. But since I don't think I'll have anything else immediately pressing, I should be able to turn out another post sometime next week.

In the meantime, post here if you're still interested in continuing; how have you felt about your GM experience so far? I can't help but feel somewhat inadequate running this because it seems like we've lost a lot of the initial gusto, and with it we've lost a few people. Is there anything I can do to try to make things easier plotwise so you can feel more free to do things?

OOC:
Still here, still interested. Best tip I could give? Don't over or undersimplify. =P (Yes, I'm aware that's harder than it sounds)

OOC: Don't count me out. I've still got another character I wanna stick in here at some point. Can't do that if the GM is dead.
I'm off for the holidays as well, and I've got plenty of time on my hands.

OOC: Oh yeah, still here and ready to rock. Don't doubt that for a second baby. =D

Don't stress your pretty little head about things Tergy. I'm sure you know as well I as do that people can and do drop out of things like this all the time. It'll all work out.

OCC: only have a bit of time online right now, so quick post to say that I'm still here/interested^^

(Home for the Holidays (internetwise) = dial-up + less online time for me, but still trying to keep up with everything as best as I can!)

Marcus watched with impassive interest at the reactions to the proposed contract. He let on no emotion that displayed any displeasure with those who rejected the contract, nor particular joy at those who signed it willingly - he seemed more interested in the spectacle in action than anything else.

He turned back to Vector, who gave a nod once the contracts were dealt with, and turned back to the crew. "Now that the formal business is dealt with, you all know the risks involved here," he announced, cutting through the remaining chatter among the forumers and bringing an authoritarian silence back into the room. "We are going to move out. According to the limited radar systems we are bringing up to bear, it is clear that the Frizonians have a strong air force present. That, and the fact that our own Prower Airfield requires too much time to be cleared, means we are going to use a hovercraft vehicle that can travel over snow and ice easily. The Snow Raker is downstairs ready to take us all to the target area; our goal is to travel quickly, but the Snow Raker is equipped for a fight if it comes down to that. Follow me."

All the willing forumers followed Marcus the Third down to the elevator, which took them to the base of the HQ Tower in a flash. Outside the lobby doors, parked on the street, was a blue and gray hovercraft big enough to fit the entire group inside, with side-loading entrances and a top hatch that led to the deck. The Snow Raker had two missile launchers mounted on it, as well as a front-facing raygun to one side of the bridge. It felt smooth and sleek and swift.

"All aboard! I'll drive, if no one else has experience piloting hovercraft," offered Marcus.

OOC:

The Snow Raker is a hovercraft vehicle that acts as an Armored Personnel Carrier over slick terrain. It is equipped with two missile launchers on top, which can swivel to face approaching enemies. The raygun on the side is a heat ray - forward facing only, but capable of blasting snow and ice obstacles aside and clearing the way, and potentially could be used in combat as well. Each weapon needs to be manned by a separate person. Also, there is a hatchway that lets characters up onto the top of the Raker, allowing them to add their own weapon fire to the fray if necessary.

The Snow Raker is comfortably equipped with its own AEGIS device, making it quite comfortable inside. It is armored well enough to stop smallarms weapons, but it only has a limited heat shield that can melt any accumulated ice from freeze rays over time. If it is frozen too much by Frizonian weapons, it will break down and the Raker can be frozen solid.

IC:
Ultra Sonic, or Redley, had made little progress with the ice shield.

He hijacked enemy vehicles, but they too would not let him get through the field without himself being effected. Grabbing a Frizonian and stealing his armor didn't work either - it was as if the field worked automatically to freeze anything within its radius, constantly. The Frizonians weren't affected because they too were actually subzero beings.

Shots from his weapon hit the ice shield like a force field, forcing a small part of it to energize enough to prevent his hot weapon from penetrating it. But his blaster alone didn't have the continuous output necessary to overpower the shield. Frizonian freeze rays simply passed through it and had no effect on any of the Frizonian equipment - it was literally absorbed by the Frizonians' armor.

Redley was calm, though, as he waited for the Frizonians to calm down after his last incursion against them. Even though they were emotionally dampened creatures, they were still vigilant about intruders. And he was sure that an opportunity would open itself up soon to him.

Jason gnawed absentmindedly on his tongue. Were it not for the magnitude of the problem, he doubted his willingness to participate with some of the others present. He resigned himself to recalling an event almost two years ago in Sony City that felt a bit like this and conceded that all the resources that could be scrapped together would be necessary.

Inside the Raker, he stood beside one of the walls with a haphazardly stony expression. It was not that he was trying to appear unfriendly, but his default countenance exuded a degree of contempt. The hedgehog tapped his foot and waited for it to be showtime.

Gysers face still held a scowl as he picked up Alexia and Saffron, sitting one on each shoulder. Despite being frustraited at the behaviour of some of the others, he still kept his head enough to not leave the two kids alone with Ultra Shadow. Saffron appeared quite content to let his uncle do all the leg work, while Alexia has inherited her uncles urge to run on her own two feet.

Leaning in to whisper, Alexia asked "Are you alright Uncle Gyser?"

"Yeah... Just frustraited that some of these people are acting like dammed kids..." Catching himself, Gyser added "If you'll excuse the expression."

Alexia nodded, and kissed her uncle on the cheek.

"Hey, now I want you two to listen to me." Gyser stated, keeping his voice to a volume only the kids could hear. "Now if anything, and I mean anything, goes wrong here, I want you two to get the hell out of there. Understand?" Alexia began to voice a protest, but the fluroscent hedgehog cut her off "I mean it! Whether it's these Frizonians, or 'Unca Shadow'" Gysers voice dripped with pure disdain at that part, "you two are to run, as fast as you can. If I let anything happen to you two, your mother would ressurect herself just to whoop my ass. Now, do I have a promise from both of you?" The kids nodded, knowing full well that their uncle was serious.

"Good." Gyser nodded, satisfied his message had gotten through to them.

As they entered the Raker, Gyser nodded at Jason, a nod of respect and understanding. He had never personally had much to do with the other hedgehog, but he knew enough about him to show some courtesy. As for pretty much everyone else, Gyser wasn't really sure who he could count on. He at least knew of most of the people, but to trust them? He wouldn't go that far.

"Mang... I don't even have Spiner here to have my back..." Gyser thought grimly. "That's never a good sign..."

Mobius's current Inventory:

Monoculors - Night/Thermal/Xray (Strong Sunlight = susceptible weakness)
1 X Shotgun (belt contains 15 rounds, Internal jacket Strap have an extra 15) = 30 Rounds
Pistol: 17 Bullets {Loaded into pistol} x 3 spare Clips
2 Grenades ( 1 x Chaff Computer disruption cloud and 1 x Explosive Fragment Grenade )
Thermal Suit {No additional features}
Wrist-sized GUI-Dev (General User Interface Device) Can control X-wing so long as distance = no greater than 1 mile or transmission is intercepted/blocked.

Anything else: Seize at site.

Method of travel: Eagle X-wing <Stealth plane - mostly untested>
Features: Light Machine gun with limited ammunition, Cloaking capability, passenger room of 2 people total, solar recharging ability for basic systems,
self destruct {Unknown as to it's 'payload'}
General Vidlink Communications Relay {Encrypted on various channels}

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

He'd made it to the office - knowing that time was of the essence and thus had very little to waste sitting around doing nothing at all.
Mobius wasn't one to let others totally take all the fun, nor was he one to allow some book-nosed Official tell him how to run a mission.
Sega City meant too much to him to allow some frozen popsicle clowns run the place like their own personal playground...so now it was war.

He sighed quietly, and then sat down behind the desk...opening a drawer next to him and fumbling around a little in it as he looked for something...
Finally, a faint 'click' sounded as he located the hidden switch. Within seconds, A faint hum filled the air - he stood up from the seat, and stood aside as he let the desk split down through the middle and seperate in opposite directions, revealing a circular hole beneath. A small lift platform arrived shortly after, and Mobius stood on it...the pressure pad activating and immediately the lift started it's slow descent back down into the hole.

Mobius tapped his hat slightly in thought, as he descended - before disappearing from view, and the desk sliding back into it's 'proper' location once again.
" So, we have their location...I've gotta keep tabs on the others, establish my own miniature assault distraction to help them get in - then closely follow behind to watch them from behind. Sounds like a fair plan to me... "
He muttered quietly, speaking to himself just to get a fair idea as to what he would be doing...and mostly to hear it out loud, at least.

The lift stopped in his real self-styled hangar, which contained his own comms and radar equipment, coupled with some other gizmos and suchlike to keep tabs on goings on. He knew that the Admins wouldnt fully approve if they knew about some of what he had down here...but he had a feeling they probably suspected but kept quiet. Heck, they probably realised it worked well enough.

He looked over at the email system he had hooked up - something about a SONIC Contract. He mused briefly about opening it, but decided not to waste any time on it right now. If anything, it gave him plausible denial for anything it may contain...and since this was more of a backup solo mission FOR their behalf, he knew they'd probably appreciate somebody NOT on the books being around...when he was at least in a position to reveal his presence to them. For most of the time he was there, however, he knew he had to remain low-profile to all.

From what he knew of their mission location, he established it would be pretty cold out there, so he made sure to change into something designed to keep him a little warmer - A thermo-rubber suit that would at least maintain a suitable temperature for him to keep himself from freezing too much to do anything effectively...then putting his jacket and hat back on after, simply because he had a style he liked to maintain.

After having packed a relevent amount of goods and items to allow him to carry out what he intended into an ammo satchel, he then turned his attention to the Eagle 'Stealth' X-Wing. Currently It was in an experimental phase - he'd not really needed to use it since the last Group Mission he'd been on and so had spent time tinkering to improve upon it's functionality...but now was launch day and anything that was needed testing was going in for a complete field experiance, first hand.

" Baby, we have permission for takeoff... "
He quipped with a grin, before opening the ceiling-bay door, which was disguised as part of the unused back-yard of the Office building.

Now It was truly time to fly solo...!

OOC: More serious stuff, sorry for disappointing those looking forward to direct continuation. But with school started up again, my retirement from being a moderator for the board, and general disinterest in the Mobius Forum, I feel like I'm only going to be holding this Group Mission back if I continue to run it. I just rescued this from the second page again, and after this I'm not going to post again in this thread to keep it afloat. I realize the holidays have impacted many of the RPers, but this is something I'd like to deal with now before we go too much further.

What I'm looking for is someone to take over this Group Mission who feels they have the time and the will to do so. I had a general plot in mind for this adventure, and I'd be willing to share that if desired, but if someone wants to run this in a different direction (taking into account what has already happened of course), then that would be good too. As long as you don't introduce something that totally contradicts ideas established in the MFW (you can get most of the gist of it from True Red's MFW info page), then anyone can run this Group Mission.

Marcus the Third is an NPC, as is Vector effectively (unless Vector sees this and wants to join in of course). Modesty will also be an NPC, but I may give permission to run her to Rapidfire due to his character's relationship with Modesty in the MFW. Anyone who wants to run the GM, or if you don't necessarily want to but have questions regarding the GM, then please send me board PMs - I may not be looking at this thread very much in the future, so questions here won't be seen as quickly.

EDIT: Okay, putting Rapidfire in charge since he asked first. Thank you for your time everyone.

OOC: *walks in to a room full of reporters, surrounded by past legendary roleplayers, and goes on about hope, change, and a stimulus package for the GM*

Right, that's out of the way; let's chat, people. Last month we took a roll-call to see how much interest was still with this GM. I know that people shall come and go with these things, and the holidays have been a bit of disruption to schedules everywhere. Hopefully, we will get back into some rhythm of abnormality once again, and I mean to do everything I can to make this GM as entertaining and fun as possible. I've already taken into account the suggestions made on page 24, but if any of you have any thoughts you wish to share with me on what I can do to enhance the experience for you, don't hesitate to express your opinions. This is applicable at all times; feedback is important. If there are more people who have felt reluctant to jump in, this is an ideal time to join. This whole thing only works because it's all of us together.

His rebus dictis, I look forward to providing you with an enjoyable experience in this GM.

OOC:
XD

You know the economy is bad when a forum thread needs a stimulus package.

It's not so much that I don't have a desire to participate, I often just can't think of anything to add. It's very frustrating.

The Snow Raker lifted off once the group had embarked. For a long time, dismal silence ruled the interior of the hovercraft, save for the occasional bit of chatter from Alexia or Saffron. The forumers were engaged in their own silent thoughts, anticipating the moment when the action began. Moments such as these were invariably tense; time for introspection always meant time for consideration of every unlikely catastrophe that might conceivably (and inconceivably) happen.

Kayla was having a hushed conversation with the Minicon by her side. After some time, and some elaborate hand gestures to make up for the volume, Kayla crossed over to where Marcus sat.

"'Scuse me, but when we get there, are we all going to jump into this big glacier and wing it from there?"

Marcus shook his head. "That would be inefficient. I will remain in the Snow Raker while the rest of you conduct this operation on the ground."

The forumers all physically reacted in their own way: scowling, turning their heads, rising to their feet, and expressing their discontent.

"The hell are you saying?" snapped Gyser. "You're dumping us in a glacier and telling us to figure the rest of this out? I thought you were supposed to be on our side!"

Marcus remained expressionless. "Oh, but I am. I did say I will be accompanying you as 'tactical advisor'. That does not mean I will be on the ground with you. I will be in the Snow Raker, monitoring your progress."

A brief note of silence was followed with Arikyrenne quietly inquiring, "How?"

"For those of you who signed the contract, you have been uploaded to a secure data network that will allow me to track your physical presence once inside the glacier. Once the mission in complete, naturally, this tracking system will be discontinued. Anyone who forewent signing the contract-those persons will essentially be untraceable by me. Since I will be monitoring the situation and able to see the movement of us warmbloods and the Frizonians, I will be able to inform the contract signers of enemy movement in their area."

Jason shuffled to the back of the Snow Raker, pulled his mobile from his pocket, and hastily phoned Ash. If ever there were a time to know that there is someone of sanity backing me up…

Erstwhile, the Eagle X-Wing was soaring toward the Mobile Glacier. Mobius was pleased, and even slightly surprised, at the smooth handling of the aircraft. All sensors and indicators were stable; a pilot could not ask for much more.

"Looks like they haven't arrived yet. I guess this bird'll just have to wait," he mused to himself. He hesitated when something red appeared on his thermal scanner. Intrigued, he zoomed in on the subject. It was someone calmly perched on the glacier itself.

"Well, I'll be," the eagle chuckled. "That looks like Ultra. What's he doing out here?"

Actually, Redley was waiting. There was a plan curling together in his mind. He sat near the base of the glacier patiently and silently. That was when he heard a voice address him.

"You! Lay down your weapons and surrender, hotblood!"

Redley did not bother to turn around to face his addresser. A Frizonian had just bought him a ticket inside, for better or worse.

IC:

Kayla frowned at Marcus's declaration, while Dead End let out a stream of angry beeps. Not for the first time was she been happy that she was one of the few who could understand the Minicon language.

"I agree," she said, "While I'm relieved that I'll be informed about any of those ice monsters, I can't say I'm too pleased with our tactical advisor staying all nice and safe while we're off fighting them on our own."

Dead End turned to her and gave her a reassuring beep. She let out a short burst of laughter.

"I really don't want to know how it could be worse," she replied, then sighed.

'I hope we all survive this,' she thought.

[NOT TO INTERRUPT] - I'd just like to point out that this thread should be immune to any SPAocity, unless you guys feel it's okay to add to it. I'll be deleting any insanity that might seep in here so we can keep this clean.

I play fair. =3

{ Jin: I think it just needs life of the RP'ing kind - but immunity is definately required, since that's not really what the theme of the GM itself is...So I'd say we probably all appreciate the idea }}

IC:
Inside the Delta Infiltrator, Ash noticed a flashing indicator on his ship's HUD - an incoming call. He flipped the craft onto auto-pilot - currently a good way up above the glacier - and leaned back inhis seat before answering.
"Hey there Jase. What's cooking?"

Jason animatedly explained the contract situation to Ash, who initially sat straight up, and then reclined again.
"That's the first I've heard of such a thing," the fox said at length. "All I can tell you is that you probably oughtta buddy up with someone who's signed when you go in."
"I felt that you ought to know our predicament," Jason grumbled. "Is Vector really trusting this cretin with all the personality of plywood to oversee an operation of such importance?"
Ash exhaled. "As long as I've known him, he hasn't been one for joking around like that."
"Fair enough. I don't like this, though. We're in for a rough time of it--I have a feeling. You don't see anything out of the ordinary, do you?"
"Besides the giant sheet of ice protruding from the earth? Nope. Hang on..."
Ash noticed something moving on the far side of the glacier. They appeared to be large mechs on the move...

OOC:

I hate to bump, but this thing really needs to get back on the first page. Is it dead or what?

OCC: I'm still around, anyway. Just been pretty busy/unsure of what to post @.@;

IC:
"Hang on..." Ash said as he peered more closesly at what his scanners were telling him. "Scratch that. You have company..." he squinted at the screen as the visual scanner he'd focused that way zoomed in. "...ugly company at that. Looks like some mechs with a thing for scopes. Let's hope they don't have rifles to match, unless they're on our side."
"Right now, as long as they aren't frigid alien invaders then I'm not really too bothered." Jason sniffed slightly derisively. "After all, currently anyone who isn't of Frizonian descent at the moment is essentially in danger."
"Too true, my friend." Ash replied grimly. "Any semblance of a plan down there yet?"

IC:
Kayla and Dead End glanced around at the frozen landscape. The black Minicon beeped when he saw the mechs.

"I really hope those aren't Frizonian mechs," she said.

The Minicon nodded.

"Now for the million dollar question," she said, "What do we do next?"

OOC:
Are we out on the glacier, or are we still in the ship? I can't really tell.

OOC: o_O Zounds! I thought interest in this had faltered completely. I apologise for not being more diligent, people.
To answer your question, the party is still in the ship, just outside of the glacier.