The P-Files

XandZero2 wrote:"YOU CAN'T WIN!"

The aura of electricity around the Captain of the PWDF discharges again in another bolt of lightning - arcing towards Blade with primal energy.

Hearing the now almost familiar crackle of Airborne's attack Blade spins in the air and grabs the bolt with his front hooves.

Spoiler:

"YES I CAN!" He redirects the attack right back at Ace with more force than it had before and spins back around to keep going.

XandZero2 wrote:

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Inside the University...

Cardbo wrote:
"Well I do have one kink. One particular turn on...but no...but if you promise to put my needs before you're own, I'll tell you." Coffee holds his chin in his hoof.

"Hmm..." Captain Force seems to seriously think it over for a moment - then she laughs and shakes her head, "Tempting though it sounds Hotshot, I think I'll pass on that promise... You see, I usually try not to make promises I can't keep..." She tosses back her mane and gives you a sly, sidelong glance, "...A good habit I'd say, especially when you never know if that promise might be of the-" she raises an eyebrow, "magically binding persuasion..." She gets up and paces over to you, "That's right Handsome. Did you know? Officers on the NOPPD are quite familiar with Pinkie Promises. We use 'em all the time to help with interrogations."

"Now, just some friendly advice big boy, from one pony to another? If you want me to promise you anything?" she leans in close and whispers in your ear, "You better make it worth my while."

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Coffee leans in and kissed Captain Force passionately on the lips

OOC:Persuasion Check
Roll(1d20)+5:
10,+5
Total:15
Substitution! Going to use my Natural 20 from earlier.
Roll(1d20)+0:
20,+0
Total:20

After pulling back, Coffee asks "How about now?" and winks.

Gleeda nods to the others in the room, just lurking next to Whisper for the moment...

Out on the Street...

Yawnmon wrote:

XandZero2 wrote:"YOU CAN'T WIN!"

The aura of electricity around the Captain of the PWDF discharges again in another bolt of lightning - arcing towards Blade with primal energy.

Hearing the now almost familiar crackle of Airborne's attack Blade spins in the air and grabs the bolt with his front hooves.

Spoiler:

"YES I CAN!" He redirects the attack right back at Ace with more force than it had before and spins back around to keep going.

"TCHA! DON'T YOU EVER LEARN DUDE?!"

The electricity arcing along Airborne's coat begins to expand outward in every direction, jagged lines of lightning reaching out like roots from a seed. Pegasi are knocked from the sky, wind and rain are blasted back. The ever-expanding storm-aura engulfs the lightning arcing back at Airborne, then continues to expand further, overtaking Blade as well.

Blade finds himself caught in an electrical storm - the force of the elemental energies biting into him deep, slowing him down, but not disabling him. Ahead, he can just make out the underpass from before. The race isn't far from over. If he can manage to stay ahead of Airborne for just a little longer... He could win.

That thought gives him strength and he goes into a tight spin, stirring up a cyclone barrier between himself and Airborne's electric storm. The forces of wind and lightning clash as the two pegasi race on, neck and neck going into the underpass.

Spoiler:

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In the University...

Cardbo wrote:

Captain Force wrote:
"Now, just some friendly advice big boy, from one pony to another? If you want me to promise you anything?" she leans in close and whispers in your ear, "You better make it worth my while."

Coffee leans in and kisses Captain Force passionately on the lips.

Force's blue eyes go wide with shock, she tenses up, raising a foreleg in protest - then realization dawns on the Captain, and she relaxes. Her eyes close shut. She wraps her foreleg around Coffee's neck, embracing him - and then she seems to completely forget herself in the moment - holding Coffee's kiss as long as it lasts.

Cardbo wrote:After pulling back, Coffee asks "How about now?" and winks.

The Captain shakes herself, looking a little weak in the knees, "Woah..." She breaths, staggering back, falling against the opposite wall. "THAT was interesting..."

She looks Coffee slowly up and down, "You're just full of surprises..." Then she gives you a sly smirk, "I like that in a mane. If this keeps up, think we might just need to get ourselves a room Handsome." Force glances at the dimly lit office she'd come from only minutes before, "That would work."

She glances back at you and gives a wink of her own.

((I'm going to wait and post an update for the Labyrinth's United peeps tomorrow, as it's getting late on my end.))

XandZero2 wrote:"TCHA! DON'T YOU EVER LEARN DUDE?!"

The electricity arcing along Airborne's coat begins to expand outward in every direction, jagged lines of lightning reaching out like roots from a seed. Pegasi are knocked from the sky, wind and rain are blasted back. The ever-expanding storm-aura engulfs the lightning arcing back at Airborne, then continues to expand further, overtaking Blade as well.

Blade finds himself caught in an electrical storm - the force of the elemental energies biting into him deep, slowing him down, but not disabling him. Ahead, he can just make out the underpass from before. The race isn't far from over. If he can manage to stay ahead of Airborne for just a little longer... He could win.

That thought gives him strength and he goes into a tight spin, stirring up a cyclone barrier between himself and Airborne's electric storm. The forces of wind and lightning clash as the two pegasi race on, neck and neck going into the underpass.

((8 (roll) + 18 (bonuses) + 11 (pips) = 37 and I'll throw in my magic point to make it a 47. Hope I don't need to use kindness after this. No boost this time.))

Noticing the couple pegasi getting knocked around by Ace's counterattack Blade yells, "YOU'RE HURTING OTHER PONIES ACE! CUT IT OUT NOW!" as threateningly as possible. Blade doesn't attempt to increase his speed beyond keeping up with Airborne, and instead prepares to attack.

Chitin simply smiled in response. "Thanks! And sorry again about...that" She said, pointing to the scar with a hoof. "How did things go for you after the train? Seems like everypony here's heard about the incident at the station." She thought for a moment. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Theorycraft would you? Or maybe a zebra named Z-Rock?" She asked, remembering the incident at the restaurant.

XandZero2 wrote:
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In the University...

Cardbo wrote:

Captain Force wrote:
"Now, just some friendly advice big boy, from one pony to another? If you want me to promise you anything?" she leans in close and whispers in your ear, "You better make it worth my while."

Coffee leans in and kisses Captain Force passionately on the lips.

Force's blue eyes go wide with shock, she tenses up, raising a foreleg in protest - then realization dawns on the Captain, and she relaxes. Her eyes close shut. She wraps her foreleg around Coffee's neck, embracing him - and then she seems to completely forget herself in the moment - holding Coffee's kiss as long as it lasts.

Cardbo wrote:After pulling back, Coffee asks "How about now?" and winks.

The Captain shakes herself, looking a little weak in the knees, "Woah..." She breaths, staggering back, falling against the opposite wall. "THAT was interesting..."

She looks Coffee slowly up and down, "You're just full of surprises..." Then she gives you a sly smirk, "I like that in a mane. If this keeps up, think we might just need to get ourselves a room Handsome." Force glances at the dimly lit office she'd come from only minutes before, "That would work."

She glances back at you and gives a wink of her own.

Coffee shakes his head.

"Sorry love, but that was just a trial version, if you want the full version.. that was just a sample. Its not my policy for hanky-panky on a first, or even second date. That's just one of my rules. If you want more, I'll need to see and understand a whole lot more about you."

In the University...

"Hanky-panky?" Captain Force muttered to herself, letting loose a whiny of laughter, shaking her head and looking at Coffee Mug incredulously, "Oh, I know you didn't just say - " She laughed again, "Just say- HAH HAH - just say..." She rolled on the floor, laughing her flank off. When the fit had finally subsided, she glanced up, looking Coffee Mug in the eye, biting her lip to keep a straight face...

"Hanky...PANKY?!"

Then she burst out in another fit of laughter, covering her face in one foreleg, beating the ground with one hoof, still shaking her head in disbelief.

Finally, Force took a deep breath, looked up, and grinned.

"You're... you're a NERD!"

Then the Captain frowned.

"Wait a second..."

Her eyes went wide.

She gasped.

"I just kissed a nerd... twice... and liked it... a lot..."

Force shook her head slowly, "I... I don't know who I am anymore."

The Captain closed her eyes, took a deep breath - then got up and dusted herself off.

"See and understand a whole lot more about me, huh?" She repeated Coffee's words thoughtfully - then muttered under her breath, "Just what a nerd would say..." She looked at Coffee Mug over her shoulder, then shrugged, "Well. Your loss Handsome." She strutted back into 'her' dimly lit office, shaking her head all the while. "I say life's too short for such niceties, but have it your way... Nerd."

When she reappears, she has the straps of Coffee's saddle bags in her teeth. She tosses them over to you. "Here ya go, as promised. Don't go losing those again now..." She gives you a smug look, " I might not be around to cover your flank next time."

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Back at Labyrinth's United...

Ramsus wrote:Whisper tells Water Wings a tale of how she gained psychic powers and met their alien boss with various little twists of weirdness to what people said or did, especially including everypony referring to Chitin as a different name every time they spoke to her. She ends on the note of Chitin stealing her pair of shades for some probably weird changeling reason.

While Whisper told her story, Water Wings listened intently - alternating between gasps of shock and laughs of approval.

At the mention of psychic powers, W2 was like, "OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! You are like, sooooooo lucky Whisper! You're totally a super-hero! I wish I had, like, super powers an' junk!"

When Whisper mentioned their alien boss, W2 gasped, "I always thought, like, that his acting was out of this world! I, like, can't believe I never thought of it before, ya know?! Big Mike, an alien? That totally makes sooooo much sense."

Then as Whisper ended with talk of the stolen glasses, W2 added, "Like, I bet she's totally planning to, like, lay eggs in them an' junk. Changelings do that, right?" Then her eyes go wide, "OH. MY. GOSH!" She says each word slow and deliberately, "Whisper? Chitin's pregnant! -And we soooooo totally put her through all that strain in the fight! Oh, I feel, like, such a horrible pony right now... She, like, should've told us something!"

Then Water Wings paused, covering her snout with her fins, "OH! I totally forgot!" She smiled, wresting her flippers back down on the rim of her tank, "Like, congratulations girlfriend! I'm, like, so tooooootally looking forward to working with you."

Ramsus wrote:Once Whisper was done telling her tale she asked timidly, "So, like, yeah. Do you, like, want to hang out sometime or something? I'd like totally like to get to know you better and stuff."

Water Wings' ears flicked up. "Hang out?" She straightened up in her tank and tapped her chin with one flipper, suddenly growing serious, "Hmm... Hang out... Hang out... Let me, like, think about it..."

She paused.

-Then grinned.

"Alright - like - thought about it!" She giggled, covering her mouth with one fin - then she leaned forward to get a good look down at Whisper over the rim of her tank, "Ya know, we should, like, so tooooootally hang out!"

Ramsus wrote:Whisper then tried to mentally thought project I hope they have a room with a kitchen. (Though I don't know if that extends to this room so it's possible that Chitin just randomly gets the message and nobody else does.)

*********************

Dr Blight wrote:Chitin simply smiled in response. "Thanks! And sorry again about...that" She said, pointing to the scar with a hoof.

"Aw," Mook made a dismissive gesture with a wave of his own hoof, "This scar is nothing."

"You should have seen the one he got when we tried to calm Mr. Buck down during his last episode." Minion added.

Mook shook his head. "We don't take beatings personal."

"-Comes with the job description."

"We get paid well too, so we really can't complain."

Minion shrugged, "It's a living."

Dr Blight wrote:"How did things go for you after the train? Seems like everypony here's heard about the incident at the station."

"Oh, I think they went pretty well," Mook said, looking to Minion for confirmation, "Wouldn't you agree?"

Minion nodded, "Quite."

Mook nodded back. "Sure."

"Yes."

"Indeed."

Then Minion lowered his gaze and scratched the back of his head with his hoof, "Wellllllllllll..."

Mook sighed. "Okay, so we did run into a bit of a situation on the ride back to Labyrinth's United..."

"A bit of a situation?" Minion asked.

"-Okay. A big situation." Mook corrected himself. "But it was nothing we couldn't handle..."

"After ten guards went down..."

Mook cleared his throat and grinned, "Like I said... nothing we couldn't handle..."

Minion shrugged, "We'd kind of prefer not to talk about it..."

"If you don't mind," Mook added politely.

Dr Blight wrote:She thought for a moment. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Theorycraft would you? Or maybe a zebra named Z-Rock?" She asked, remembering the incident at the restaurant.

"Theorycraft?" Mook muttered, glancing at Minion.

"Z-Rock?" Minion muttered, glancing at Mook.

They both scratched their heads, then shrugged again. "Sure," they both said in unison, "What do you want to know?"

Before Chitin could respond, she heard a disembodied voice echo in her head, I hope they have a room with a kitchen...

((Does that answer your question, Ramsus?))

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Out on the Street...

Yawnmon wrote:Noticing the couple pegasi getting knocked around by Ace's counterattack Blade yells, "YOU'RE HURTING OTHER PONIES ACE! CUT IT OUT NOW!" as threateningly as possible. Blade doesn't attempt to increase his speed beyond keeping up with Airborne, and instead prepares to attack.

"MAKE ME DUDE!" Airborne yells back over the tempest-tossed underpass that's quickly becoming a make-shift wind tunnel. "YOU SHOULD BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT YOURSELF!"

As the two of you blast through the underpass, wind and lightning roars about you like unbound beasts, smashing against each other with the force to send even wagons skidding backwards out of your way. You and Airborne glare across the storm at one another, keeping up pace for pace, even through the crashing thunder and the raging cyclone.

Airborne's eyes quickly turn wild, glaring back at you with unchecked indignation as he finally seems to realize that he really could lose this. He shakes his head violently, shutting his eyes tight, the lightning around him beginning to close in and wrap into a tight ball.

"WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, LITTLE MANE!" he roars, his front hooves clopping together,"THERE WON'T BE ENOUGH LEFT TO SCRAPE OFF OF THE STREET!"

The Captain's eyes open wide, he grits his teeth, then throws his hooves out wide. The tight ball of electricity around him explodes in a flash of light and streaks of lightning that cut through the tunnel, ricocheting off of everything in the tight space, leaving scorch marks everywhere - and hitting both you and him with massive amounts of energy. The cyclone around Blade protects you from the brunt of the onslaught, but some bolts of electricity still get through, shocking Blade and causing your every muscle to burn with searing pain.

Spoiler:

XandZero2 wrote:Back at Labyrinth's United...

Ramsus wrote:Whisper tells Water Wings a tale of how she gained psychic powers and met their alien boss with various little twists of weirdness to what people said or did, especially including everypony referring to Chitin as a different name every time they spoke to her. She ends on the note of Chitin stealing her pair of shades for some probably weird changeling reason.

While Whisper told her story, Water Wings listened intently - alternating between gasps of shock and laughs of approval.

At the mention of psychic powers, W2 was like, "OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! OHMYGOSH! You are like, sooooooo lucky Whisper! You're totally a super-hero! I wish I had, like, super powers an' junk!"

When Whisper mentioned their alien boss, W2 gasped, "I always thought, like, that his acting was out of this world! I, like, can't believe I never thought of it before, ya know?! Big Mike, an alien? That totally makes sooooo much sense."

Then as Whisper ended with talk of the stolen glasses, W2 added, "Like, I bet she's totally planning to, like, lay eggs in them an' junk. Changelings do that, right?" Then her eyes go wide, "OH. MY. GOSH!" She says each word slow and deliberately, "Whisper? Chitin's pregnant! -And we soooooo totally put her through all that strain in the fight! Oh, I feel, like, such a horrible pony right now... She, like, should've told us something!"

Then Water Wings paused, covering her snout with her fins, "OH! I totally forgot!" She smiled, wresting her flippers back down on the rim of her tank, "Like, congratulations girlfriend! I'm, like, so tooooootally looking forward to working with you."

Ramsus wrote:Once Whisper was done telling her tale she asked timidly, "So, like, yeah. Do you, like, want to hang out sometime or something? I'd like totally like to get to know you better and stuff."

Water Wings' ears flicked up. "Hang out?" She straightened up in her tank and tapped her chin with one flipper, suddenly growing serious, "Hmm... Hang out... Hang out... Let me, like, think about it..."

She paused.

-Then grinned.

"Alright - like - thought about it!" She giggled, covering her mouth with one fin - then she leaned forward to get a good look down at Whisper over the rim of her tank, "Ya know, we should, like, so tooooootally hang out!"

Gleeda was just lurking next to Whisper... Wondering to whatever powers that be that Griffon's believe in WHY DID SHE CHOOSE TO STAY NEAR WHISPER OF ALL PONIES??? WHY!!! And right now she feared one of them now noticing her and trying to spread the crazy onto her as well... So the Griffon tries to stealthfully leave to two do their thing. And try to chat with anyone else... Maybe Major Badass was still around... After all talking with a superior would be kinda nice right now. Help make her forget the madness she just overheard...

stealth check:

Perception: 9 + 10 = 19. Apparently you escape?

(OOC: Assuming that Gleeda does get away)

The Griffon Princess finds herself wondering over to Chitin's chat while just half looking for Major Badass, really she'd be happy talking with anybody right now.

XandZero2 wrote:"MAKE ME DUDE!" Airborne yells back over the tempest-tossed underpass that's quickly becoming a make-shift wind tunnel. "YOU SHOULD BE MORE WORRIED ABOUT YOURSELF!"

As the two of you blast through the underpass, wind and lightning roars about you like unbound beasts, smashing against each other with the force to send even wagons skidding backwards out of your way. You and Airborne glare across the storm at one another, keeping up pace for pace, even through the crashing thunder and the raging cyclone.

Airborne's eyes quickly turn wild, glaring back at you with unchecked indignation as he finally seems to realize that he really could lose this. He shakes his head violently, shutting his eyes tight, the lightning around him beginning to close in and wrap into a tight ball.

"WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU, LITTLE MANE!" he roars, his front hooves clopping together,"THERE WON'T BE ENOUGH LEFT TO SCRAPE OFF OF THE STREET!"

The Captain's eyes open wide, he grits his teeth, then throws his hooves out wide. The tight ball of electricity around him explodes in a flash of light and streaks of lightning that cut through the tunnel, ricocheting off of everything in the tight space, leaving scorch marks everywhere - and hitting both you and him with massive amounts of energy. The cyclone around Blade protects you from the brunt of the onslaught, but some bolts of electricity still get through, shocking Blade and causing your every muscle to burn with searing pain.

Spoiler:

"MAKE YOU!?! FINE! YOU ASKED FOR IT!"

Blade alters his course completely and rams right into Airborne at full force ignoring the lightning strikes. After making contact Blade begins violently punching and kicking Ace one after another all while the roaring cyclone around Blade's body tears at every inch of Airborne, ripping at his flight suit, coat and skin.

"NO... WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU YOU'LL BE BEGGING FOR MY FORGIVENESS!!!" he shouts in-between blows.

XandZero2 wrote:In the University...

"Hanky-panky?" Captain Force muttered to herself, letting loose a whiny of laughter, shaking her head and looking at Coffee Mug incredulously, "Oh, I know you didn't just say - " She laughed again, "Just say- HAH HAH - just say..." She rolled on the floor, laughing her flank off. When the fit had finally subsided, she glanced up, looking Coffee Mug in the eye, biting her lip to keep a straight face...

"Hanky...PANKY?!"

Then she burst out in another fit of laughter, covering her face in one foreleg, beating the ground with one hoof, still shaking her head in disbelief.

Finally, Force took a deep breath, looked up, and grinned.

"You're... you're a NERD!"

Then the Captain frowned.

"Wait a second..."

Her eyes went wide.

She gasped.

"I just kissed a nerd... twice... and liked it... a lot..."

Coffee grinned. "Thats right. You did. Me too, by the way."

Force shook her head slowly, "I... I don't know who I am anymore."

The Captain closed her eyes, took a deep breath - then got up and dusted herself off.

"See and understand a whole lot more about me, huh?" She repeated Coffee's words thoughtfully - then muttered under her breath, "Just what a nerd would say..." She looked at Coffee Mug over her shoulder, then shrugged, "Well. Your loss Handsome." She strutted back into 'her' dimly lit office, shaking her head all the while. "I say life's too short for such niceties, but have it your way... Nerd."

"Personally, I plan on living forever." Coffee said non-chalantly.

When she reappears, she has the straps of Coffee's saddle bags in her teeth. She tosses them over to you. "Here ya go, as promised. Don't go losing those again now..." She gives you a smug look, " I might not be around to cover your flank next time."

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

"Thanks, I'll try not to. Hope to return the favor sometime."

Coffee pauses for a moment.

"But you know its not like nerds can't be awesome. Just look at the Daring Doo novels."

OOC:Perception check. Does Captain Force react when I mention Daring Doo? Trying to figure out if she's a closet Daring Doo fan or something.
Roll(1d20)+5:
5,+5
Total:10
Substitution! Going to use a 17 here. New total 22

Chitin was silent for a moment, frowning slightly when they mentioned something had happened. She considered pressing the issue further, but decided she didn't want to upset her friends. Just as she was about to respond she stopped and shuddered. A sudden overwhelming feeling that somewhere nearby, something incredibly ridiculous was happening that would involve her. As if on cue the words 'I hope they have a room with a kitchen...' drifted to her mind in a familiar voice. She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling an overwhelming urge to bring her hoof to her face but shook it off and turned her attention back to Mook and Minion.

"Theorycraft then? Does he have some sort of ability that allows him to move around in plain sight undetected by any chance?"

Chitin asked, thinking back to earlier today in the restaurant. Considering what was in the letter, Theorycraft would've had to have been close enough to hear her whispering, but she hadn't noticed anything. He'd also mentioned the incidents at the station and Whispers house, meaning he'd been following them. Even if she didn't know what he actually looked like, she was fairly sure she'd be able to pick out a super hero or some random pony who always seemed to be around wherever they went. It bothered her quite a bit, at least in part professionally, that she hadn't.

Chitin blinked for a moment noticing Gleeda and gave a somewhat tired smile as the griffin walked over. "Whisper's being Whisper I take it?"

Back at Labyrinth's United...

"Hmm..." Mook mutters in response to Chitin's question about Theorycraft.

"This could take a while..." Minion adds.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation..."

"When we get off shift tonight..."

Then as Chitin talks to Gleeda, Box Cars buzzes up from the shadows and lands between Mook and Minion. He nods to you, then motions to the two ponies in black.

"You sure?" Mook asks the Changeling.

"We've still got a couple more hours in our shift." Minion adds.

Box Cars nods resolutely and gives the two of them a slight smile.

"Thanks," they both nod in synch.

Box Cars waves one hoof in a dismissive gesture - an obvious sign for, Don't mention it.

Mook smiles, "Okay. Box Cars is going to take care of our guard duty..."

Minion nods, "So we can have a break to talk a bit more..."

The two ponies walk a little ways down the hall, then motion for Chitin and Gleeda to follow.

Spoiler:

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Inside the University...

Cardbo wrote:
Coffee pauses for a moment.

"But you know its not like nerds can't be awesome. Just look at the Daring Doo novels."

OOC:Perception check. Does Captain Force react when I mention Daring Doo? Trying to figure out if she's a closet Daring Doo fan or something.
Roll(1d20)+5:
5,+5
Total:10
Substitution! Going to use a 17 here. New total 22

"Daring Doo?"

Watching the Captain carefully, Coffee notices that Excessive Force's eyes do indeed light up at the mention of the pony archaeologist - though she quickly frowns and looks away, trying to play it cool.

"She isn't bad... I suppose..." Force turns back to Coffee with a haughty expression, her eyes narrowed, her voice low and challenging, "But everypony knows she's not real. Those are just a bunch of made up stories some nerd put together in their spare time."

((Well... Force rolled a 3 on her Persuasion check - which means Coffee still only barely beat her, actually, buuuuuuut...))

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Out in the Street...

As Blade lay into Airborne, lightning scorched his coat and singed his feathers, but he ignored it, fighting on through the electrical storm with a flurry of relentless strikes.

Blade punched and Airborne threw up a hoof to block.

Sparks flew when the two connected, the shock of the collision tearing a swathe of fabric from the foreleg of the Captain's flight suit.

Blade kicked and Airborne intercepted with one leg.

The air crackled around them, the force of the contact blasting the hind sleeve off Airborne's suit as well - the fabric practically disintegrating on contact.

The underpass was completely cleared out now - wagons and pegasi blown back by the fury of the storm and the rage of the two pegasi at work. Winds roared, clawing at Airborne, slashing his suit to ribbons - while lightning arced wildly across the tunnel, ricocheting in every direction, blasting both combatants with bolts of sheer elemental force.

Blade and Airborne locked hooves, grappling again as they continued to spiral on through the tunnel at incredible speed.

Straining against each other, the wind whipping up their manes - their teeth set in matching snarls of steadfast determination, their eyes locked, their muscles tensed - both Pegasi struggled to gain the advantage.

Then Blade reared his head back - and headbutted Airborne square in the face.

Once.

Twice.

Three times he smashed his head against Airborne's, and the Captain's grip slackened, his head spinning as he reeled from the force of the head-on collisions. His vision blurred even as Blade reared back once more, letting go of the Captain while simultaneously bringing his forehead crashing down for the final time.

There was a sound like a thunderclap.

Airborne plummeted backward through the air, hitting the side of the underpass wall, the sheer force of his momentum sending him skidding back and skipping backward down the tunnel like a stone hurled across a pond.

Blade pulled ahead.

He didn't look back.

((... Or you can look back if you want. Either way...))

As he finally cleared the tunnel and went back out into the beating rain, Blade put on one final burst of speed going into the home stretch.

Spoiler:

XandZero2 wrote:Back at Labyrinth's United...

"Hmm..." Mook mutters in response to Chitin's question about Theorycraft.

"This could take a while..." Minion adds.

"Maybe we should continue this conversation..."

"When we get off shift tonight..."

Then as Chitin talks to Gleeda, Box Cars buzzes up from the shadows and lands between Mook and Minion. He nods to you, then motions to the two ponies in black.

"You sure?" Mook asks the Changeling.

"We've still got a couple more hours in our shift." Minion adds.

Box Cars nods resolutely and gives the two of them a slight smile.

"Thanks," they both nod in synch.

Box Cars waves one hoof in a dismissive gesture - an obvious sign for, Don't mention it.

Mook smiles, "Okay. Box Cars is going to take care of our guard duty..."

Minion nods, "So we can have a break to talk a bit more..."

The two ponies walk a little ways down the hall, then motion for Chitin and Gleeda to follow.

Spoiler:

((Well I thought I knew the layout, and didn't think to ask... Will try to ask next time. Was as Gleeda thought first going to try to chat with Major Badass, but then realized two things: One I didn't know what to have Gleeda say that didn't give The Solid Snake Expy a good impression of Griffon. Two I realized the fact that I didn't wish to split the party farther then it already is right now.))

Gleeda nods. "And then that seapony started mirror her madness too... It was crazy and kinda scary... Why did I follow Whisper anyway? I mean after she used those soul stealing puppets..." Then the griffon shutters recalling that weird part of the battle...

XandZero2 wrote:
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Inside the University...

Cardbo wrote:
Coffee pauses for a moment.

"But you know its not like nerds can't be awesome. Just look at the Daring Doo novels."

OOC:Perception check. Does Captain Force react when I mention Daring Doo? Trying to figure out if she's a closet Daring Doo fan or something.
Roll(1d20)+5:
5,+5
Total:10
Substitution! Going to use a 17 here. New total 22

"Daring Doo?"

Watching the Captain carefully, Coffee notices that Excessive Force's eyes do indeed light up at the mention of the pony archaeologist - though she quickly frowns and looks away, trying to play it cool.

"She isn't bad... I suppose..." Force turns back to Coffee with a haughty expression, her eyes narrowed, her voice low and challenging, "But everypony knows she's not real. Those are just a bunch of made up stories some nerd put together in their spare time."

((Well... Force rolled a 3 on her Persuasion check - which means Coffee still only barely beat her, actually, buuuuuuut...))

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"Granted. I've only read the first book myself, but I was thinking how lately my life has begun to resemble a Daring Doo novel. There was that exciting evening we had last night, but before you appeared earlier, tonight..."

Coffee paused and opened the door to his office so that the writing on the wall is visible. "Apparently, the former astronomy professor went mad. I hoping to avoid the same fate myself." Coffee's expression goes neutral for a moment, but brightens "but I was thinking that this rate, before the end of the month, I might be recovering some lost statue or battling evil cultists who want to summon some terror from beyond." finally grinning at that last part.

XandZero2 wrote:There was a sound like a thunderclap.

Airborne plummeted backward through the air, hitting the side of the underpass wall, the sheer force of his momentum sending him skidding back and skipping backward down the tunnel like a stone hurled across a pond.

Blade pulled ahead.

He didn't look back.

As he finally cleared the tunnel and went back out into the beating rain, Blade put on one final burst of speed going into the home stretch.

Blade flies on hard and fast but the pain of Ace's lightning strikes still persists. He has to yell at himself to try and ignore it.

"COME ON BLADE BLOCKER, YOU'RE TOUGHER THAN THAT! JUST A BIT MORE!"

Spoiler:

((11 (roll) + 18 (bonuses) + 9 (pips) + 4 (20% cooler) = 42
And I'll use one last boost taking me from 9 to 6 pips))

"Well hopefully whatever it is isn't too crazy." She sighed as she walked after Mook and Minion. "Puppets? What do you mean puppets?" She blinked a little confused trying to recall ever seeing Whisper with puppets.

Back at Labyrinth's United...

As Mook and Minion lead Gleeda and Chitin down the hallway separating Big Mike's office from his game room, the two ponies in black glance back at Chitin.

"So..." Mook begins.

"You want to know if Theorycraft..." Minion adds.

"Has some way of hiding in plain sight?"

Mook and Minion exchange a look, then shrug.

"To be completely honest..." Minion continues.

"We aren't quite sure ourselves."

"There's never been any indication that he actually has superpowers of any sort..."

"But he is very skilled at stealth and disguises."

"Perhaps too skilled for it to be natural..."

Minion rubs his head, "And I can tell you from first hoof experience, his bucks pack quite a kick too."

"Quite." Mook nods in agreement, "We were reminded of that last night, weren't we?"

Mook and Minion exchange another look, and then Minion continues.

"Well, a lot of ponies also think he's crazy."

"-And he's definitely that." Mook adds.

"But sometimes he just seems to know too much..."

"Indeed. Too much for a normal pony anyway..."

At this, you pass the golden double-doors leading back into the game room. All the Labyrinth's United board members look up as you enter, some of them nodding towards you or raising a glass before turning back to games of pool and dice. Near the center of the room, you catch sight of Whisper, still talking with Water Wings, and nearer at hand, you also notice Buck, standing off to the side - watching the Earth and Sea Pony like a hawk. He has a strangely grave look on his face, standing up on his hind legs with his arms crossed over his massive chest. He seems so focused on Whisper and W2, he doesn't even notice as you enter the room.

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Inside the University...

Cardbo wrote:
"Granted. I've only read the first book myself, but I was thinking how lately my life has begun to resemble a Daring Doo novel. There was that exciting evening we had last night, but before you appeared earlier, tonight..."

Coffee paused and opened the door to his office so that the writing on the wall is visible. "Apparently, the former astronomy professor went mad. I hoping to avoid the same fate myself." Coffee's expression goes neutral for a moment, but brightens "but I was thinking that this rate, before the end of the month, I might be recovering some lost statue or battling evil cultists who want to summon some terror from beyond." finally grinning at that last part.

When Captain Force got a good look at Coffee's office, a spark of recognition gleamed in her eye. "Oh yeah, the Night Light case... Wonder what happened to all the crime scene tape though? We cordoned the place off only a few weeks back..."

Then when Coffee goes on and finishes his bit, Force frowns. "Lost statue? Evil cultists?" She glances off to the side, muttering, "Well... funny thing about that..." But then she turns to you again and smirks, "Though, you just go on living in that dream world of yours Handsome. I'm sure your friend Theorycraft will swoop in anytime now and take you off to Never-Never Land..."

"Now then Mr. Mug..." The Captain trots back into 'her' office, retrieving a thermos and a couple coffee mugs. She places them down in the middle of the hallway, then sits down herself facing CM. "As promised," she nods to the thermos, using her hooves to unscrew the top, "That coffee I mentioned earlier. Hope you like it black big boy. Otherwise, I could always give you some sugar..." She gives you a sly look, pouring out equal portions of a dark brown concoction into the mugs before offering one to you.

She looks out the window at the far end of the hall and whistles, watching the rain beating against the pane.

"With all the action we've seen so far tonight, Handsome, didn't even notice it had started raining. Glad I'm not out there right about now... Looks like another stud of a storm from out of the Surefire..."

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Out in the Street...

Yawnmon wrote:Blade flies on hard and fast but the pain of Ace's lightning strikes still persists. He has to yell at himself to try and ignore it.

"COME ON BLADE BLOCKER, YOU'RE TOUGHER THAN THAT! JUST A BIT MORE!"

Spoiler:

((11 (roll) + 18 (bonuses) + 9 (pips) + 4 (20% cooler) = 42
And I'll use one last boost taking me from 9 to 6 pips))

As Blade speeds down the street, the good news is that the air traffic's pretty much cleared out by now - but the bad news is that the storm's gaining momentum as fast as Blade Blocker himself. Blade no longer knows if Airborne's still behind him - nor does he care. He doesn't dare look back, and it wouldn't do him any good even if he did. Rain's coming down in ever-thickening sheets, pounding Blade like a waterfall as the wind rushes past his ears and the thunder booms up in the sky. He's nearly deaf as well as blind in the near zero-visibility conditions - but he races on through the storm, and as he passes The Horse of Blues he knows he's getting close to St. Bernard and the finish line.

A bolt of lightning splits the sky as Blade begins to beat his wings faster.

He senses Airborne's not far behind him - and as if to confirm his suspicions, another bolt of lightning strikes the road ahead and Blade rolls to the side - beating his wings faster and faster even as he takes evasive measures.

Passing Mike's Horn of Theseus Music Store, Blade beats his wings even faster - and narrowing his eyes, clenching his jaw - he boosts forward with the last reserves of his strength.

The Marble Minotaur, How You Rock Theaters, The Attack the Day Cafe, The Horse Havoc Arcade - shop names go flying by in a blur - and Blade shoots past the finish line of cumulus before even realizing he's passed it. As it dawns on him that the race is finally over, he opens his wings wide like a parachute and breaks, screeching twenty feet across the sky before spinning on a dime.

Turning back towards the finish line, he's just in time to see Airborne screeching to a halt directly behind him.

For a moment Blade's taken aback by just how well he can make out the Captain of the PWDF in the vicious downpour - but then he realizes that the storm's greatly subsided - at least past the finish line anyway. Back out the way he and Airborne had come, the storm continues to rage on - but here, between City Hall and Labyrinth's United, a relative calm seems to have settled on Bon Bon Street.

Somewhere in the back of Blade's mind, he realizes that this is probably the work of Airborne's team - but the first thing that really occurs to Blade as he looks back out into the storm is this -

HE WON!

Spoiler:

XandZero2 wrote:
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Inside the University...

Cardbo wrote:
"Granted. I've only read the first book myself, but I was thinking how lately my life has begun to resemble a Daring Doo novel. There was that exciting evening we had last night, but before you appeared earlier, tonight..."

Coffee paused and opened the door to his office so that the writing on the wall is visible. "Apparently, the former astronomy professor went mad. I hoping to avoid the same fate myself." Coffee's expression goes neutral for a moment, but brightens "but I was thinking that this rate, before the end of the month, I might be recovering some lost statue or battling evil cultists who want to summon some terror from beyond." finally grinning at that last part.

When Captain Force got a good look at Coffee's office, a spark of recognition gleamed in her eye. "Oh yeah, the Night Light case... Wonder what happened to all the crime scene tape though? We cordoned the place off only a few weeks back..."

Then when Coffee goes on and finishes his bit, Force frowns. "Lost statue? Evil cultists?" She glances off to the side, muttering, "Well... funny thing about that..." But then she turns to you again and smirks, "Though, you just go on living in that dream world of yours Handsome. I'm sure your friend Theorycraft will swoop in anytime now and take you off to Never-Never Land..."

"Now then Mr. Mug..." The Captain trots back into 'her' office, retrieving a thermos and a couple coffee mugs. She places them down in the middle of the hallway, then sits down herself facing CM. "As promised," she nods to the thermos, using her hooves to unscrew the top, "That coffee I mentioned earlier. Hope you like it black big boy. Otherwise, I could always give you some sugar..." She gives you a sly look, pouring out equal portions of a dark brown concoction into the mugs before offering one to you.

Coffee just grins at that.

She looks out the window at the far end of the hall and whistles, watching the rain beating against the pane.

"With all the action we've seen so far tonight, Handsome, didn't even notice it had started raining. Glad I'm not out there right about now... Looks like another stud of a storm from out of the Surefire..."

Coffee chuckles. "Heh. One of my friends flew out into that earlier. I'm sure he's soaked by now."

While Captain Storm's back is turned, Coffee analyzes his coffee to make sure nothing is funny in it.

OOC:Arcane(17) + FK(Brewing)(5)
Roll(1d20)+22:
10,+22
Total:32

Blade takes a second to catch his breath. Breathing heavily he says, "Better *pant* than the Wonderbolts *pant* my flank." He looks around to see if there are any clocks nearby. "Hope Coffee's not *pant* waiting on me."

He looks angrily back at Ace expecting the same from him. "Hurting innocent ponies just to try and win huh? Is that's what it means to be the best around here Ace? If I'd known you were gonna sink that low I wouldn't have accepted this race in the first place."

((Thanks Xand. That was fun. If ya need another guinea pig sometime let me know.
Perception: 5 (roll) + 8 (stat) = 13 to look for a clock, as well as the pegasus Blade gave his training weights to.))

"After we were passed out in that combat with Box Cars... I swear to whatever powers you think there be, that Whisper pulled out these puppets, that she used to fight in our place... For me, that horrid thing also took my soul into it as well or something. I was totally aware of what my puppet did the whole time it happened... I felt like I was in the body of a bad parody of myself and couldn't do anything about it." Gleeda explains with a shutter. "I don't care if you believe me... To me that's what really happened. Though would be nice to HEAR that somebody else saw those cursed puppets..."

Chitin nodded silently listening to Mook and Minion and blinked when it seemed they'd finished. She was hoping for something a little more concrete but she guesses that would have to do. "There's nothing else? hmmm..." She looked away for a moment trying to figure something out with that, nodded in return at the greetings as she entered the room before looking at Gleeda. "All I remember was a really dumb dream." She shrugged. Noticing Buck she tilted her head slightly. "Think something's wrong over there?"

The Captain's eyes open wide, he grits his teeth, then throws his hooves out wide. The tight ball of electricity around him explodes in a flash of light and streaks of lightning that cut through the tunnel, ricocheting off of everything in the tight space, leaving scorch marks everywhere - and hitting both you and him with massive amounts of energy. The cyclone around Blade protects you from the brunt of the onslaught, but some bolts of electricity still get through, shocking Blade and causing your every muscle to burn with searing pain.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town...

Clue Seeker looked up from his cup of tea. "Did you hear anything?"

"I didn't hear anything." Indy Ploy managed to mutter in between bites of her second sundae.

"Sounded like lightning striking too close for comfort." Clue Seeker said with a worrisome face before taking another sip.

Indy Ploy suddenly dropped her spoon and grabbed her head with both hooves. "Owowowowowowowow..."

"Told you you'd get brainfreeze from shoveling down that second sundae."

"Totally worth it."
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Hey guys, just jumping in because I wasn't getting any update mails no more. Seems like you all are having a blast. Now to move over to said thread containing the racing rules.