I'm Sorry, But the King You're Looking For is....

[Albert Wesker]

It took him longer than he would have like, but steadily his breathing lost the ragged edge. The heat and blistering environs did little to make him feel any better about that accomplishment, what with the pain and discomfort he was still very much unused to experiencing at all. As he lowered his hand back to his side, he briefly turned his eyes back out to the horizon, realizing with a displeased scowl that his means of transportation had very likely been lost among the lava flows. It was either going to be risking the several minutes of focus to summon something else, and risk another eruption of lava, or face a very long, unpleasant trek to...somewhere.

Neither option was very welcoming or pleasant to imagine.

Once Zack spoke up again, Colonel's eyes darted back to the black-haired man. He listened for a moment, mulling over and trying to make sense of what he was being told. The names of Bowser, and the Koopas, meant nothing to him; this was the first he was hearing of them. But he knew what bandits were. And if they were out looking for them, then they were at least doing the right thing, regardless of any moral compulsions or if they were solely working for the possibility of the mentioned reward.

"....didn't really have any destination in mind. Just happened to pick the gate that lead me here." Looking out at the lava, he huffed a deep, annoyed breath. "In hindsight, I kind of wish I hadn't." He turned his gaze down, placing his left hand on the saber emitter where his right should have been. "....but I don't have any particular fondness for bandits and their kind. Been feeling a little...off since I got to this place, but should still be capable of holding my own in a fight, if and when that comes up." He turns partially to Zack. "I'd be glad to lend a hand."

He was indeed more than happy to lend his help in disposing of bandits. The term had fallen out of use in his own day and age, but the meaning of the word was clear and evident, even in the midst of net society. Disposing of such nuisances was practically a given for someone like him.

....the only problem would be his distinct lack of combat programming. He'd been working on it in the back of his mind, trying to piece together the fragmented, corrupted data that made up his combat abilities, since he had set off on his way to reach the gate that lead him to this hellish locale. A few brief taps on the sensors and setting on his blade emitter, and it produced a much more intense hum, sparks dancing briefly along the blade. In Colonel's internal database, a notification was brought to his attention: Screen Divide functionality partially restored.

That would have to do for now.

The sound of a rumbling noise in the distance, of a different pitch than the grating rumble of erupting lava caught his attention. Peering through the haze of heat in the air, it didn't take him long to spot the source of the noise: some kind of hover-vehicle, skimming along over the lava. The strange little creature piloting it was unknown to Colonel, but the lone passenger was recognizable enough.

As the craft came to a halt at Miranda's direction -- she nearly got thrown off in the process, if the way she grabbed hold of the railing was any indication -- Zack started up the ladder. Colonel took one last look at where he assumed his own means of transportation had been before the lava had gotten greedy with it, before turning back as Zack spoke up to him again. "....sure. Count me in."

He awaited the black-haired man to climb the rest of the ladder, before he placed one hand on it and scaled up it himself.

[Miranda Frost]

Hmmm, two out of three. Not bad at all.

The skiff had hovered over the lava lakes rather smoothly. What wasn't smooth was the jerky handling of the vehicle. Each change in course or turn was nervously made, leading Miranda to wonder if the Koopa was still intimidated by her. A quick glance through this theory out the window. The control panel stood at four feet, with no chair or stool to boost the poor creature up. The craft obviously was intended for... taller species. It probably was the result of trade between some of the mining towns. The turtle being was standing on top of a stack of various books, which slipped from the stack with each turn.

As much as Miranda would love to take control of the craft, she had no idea how to pilot something like this. She gripped the guard rails tightly to the point of leaving her hand print into the steel-like metal. She had to keep her balance or she would be Miranda-soup. Since she has been here nearly every way she ventured nearly turned her into the same ash she tread upon. The landscape failed to kill her, so how embarrassing would it be to die accidentally to bad driving.

Thank the red lord that cursed at them from the sky that the two other members of her party were safely on board. She let go of the guard rail and stepped forward to Zack, scanning him up and down. No burns or scrapes on his visage. He must have been quick to his feet. The other didn't seem to have any damage either, but she was sure he wasn't even human. Humans had certain limitations. Of course these could be overcome with technology, so she wasn't very surprised he managed to escape that.

She breathed deeply and adjusted her eye-patch. She had noticed lately that she had become increasingly irritable. She hadn't felt like this since she was back at home, preparing to strike against Coliseum. She knew after Coliseum's grand event, the Grand Tournament, she had obtained some fierce, strange power. It only came about when she became very irritated or even downright angry. When she came here she lost that feeling and now it was slowly returning.

Miranda believed it was a scaler of sorts. She once was an avid reader when escaping the day to day horrors of training. She knew each world she read about had various.. instances that contradicted from the world she lived in. Super powers, lower gravity, and amazing strength were a few of these anomalies. She seemed stronger than she did back home. The koopa's cracked shell and the bent rail were testaments to that.

"If either of you know how to pilot this craft, I recommend you take the controls before this Koopa gets us killed.", she asked coldly, glaring at the turtle who ducked behind the controls to avoid being hit by her icy look.

"If not you two better hold on tight"

[Zack Fair]

Zack smiled as Colonel agreed to join up with them. The more the merrier, as far as Zack was concerned. He pulled himself the rest of the way onto the skiff, with Colonel stepping up beside him. Miranda made her way over, and it appeared to Zack that she might be inspecting them for damage. Zack just flashed a cocky grin in response.

"Nothing to worry about," he cheerfully replied, then glanced over to their newest teammate. "Miranda, this is Colonel. Colonel, Miranda Frost. He's going to help us out with the bandits."

He stepped over to the Koopa as the two of them made their introductions. He couldn't help but think about the two odd characters that had attacked them, earlier. He also knew that he and Miranda would definitely need to debrief and discuss them and Mayor Orange. Whatever their connection was to their mysterious traveling companion was, they needed to figure it out. For better or worse, it was safe to say that Mayor Orange had been more than he appeared.

Again Zack shoved the thoughts from his mind, knowing he couldn't do anything about it now. They'd discuss it on solid land, or what passed for such in this hellscape of a verse. For now, he addressed the the Koopa that was attempting to be at the controls for this skiff.

"Thanks for the lift, buddy!" Zack said as he put a hand on the control panel, wondering how in the world this guy managed to steer it. He didn't wonder for too long, because he suddenly remembered Miranda hanging on for dear life.

The Koopa nodded in response to Zack's kind words, though it was obviously a little on edge, still. Zack noticed the crack in the creature's shell, and had a pretty good guess where that might have come from. Hopefully roughing up a soldier of Bowser's in a time of crisis wouldn't make things difficult for them down the road.

He looked back to Miranda and Colonel, taking a moment to focus on Colonel. He'd noticed the man had done something before they'd boarded the skiff, some sort of fidgeting with his electronics. He'd almost wanted to ask if everything was alright, but figured that might be considered rude. Really, he had no way of telling. His companions each had a fair amount of robotic apparatus, more than anyone he'd held with in the past. They were obviously signs of very different worlds.

Miranda suddenly made the suggestion that they hold on, unless someone knew how to drive. Zack glanced back to the controls, and the Koopa that was clearly uncomfortable behind them. That same mischievous grin that he'd displayed at the bar, before, appeared on his face and he walked over to the controls.

"I'll take a turn. Can you direct me back?" Zack asked the small Koopa.

"Yes, but are you sure...?" the Koopa asked, the uneasiness apparent in his voice as he stepped back and tightly grabbed the side of the skiff.

"It'll be alright," Zack said, despite obviously having no way of backing up that statement. "Just hang on."

He looked at the controls, seeing several buttons and two levers. He didn't really understand what each one might be, but he had a pretty general working knowledge of machinery. This skiff didn't really resemble anything he'd operated before, but that was no excuse to him. Like always, he was eager to learn.

So he compared the skiff to other machines he'd operated in the past, and assumed the right lever would be the throttle. With nothing to lose, Zack pressed it forward, expecting it to take the craft straight forward.

Instead, the right thruster was the only one that engaged, and the skiff immediately cut a hard left and began spinning in circles with great velocity. Zack stumbled back, but managed to force himself forward and throw himself onto the control panel, gripping it in a tight bear hug. As soon as he grabbed it, he quickly reached up for that lever and pulled it back, causing the skiff to stop at a hover once more. He took a breath and looked up. Miranda and Colonel appeared to have expected some level of disaster, so they were tightly gripping the side railings, as was the Koopa that had made it all the way over to them in that brief moment of chaos. All three of them, even the Koopa, looked a little less than amused at Zack for essentially cutting donuts for a few seconds, directly above a lake of lava.

Zack just gave a sheepish grin and scratched his head. "So the right lever is the right thruster...left is the left! That sure makes sense. Take two!"

With little warning other than his spoken thoughts, Zack pushed the levers forward, this time taking the skiff in a straight trajectory. He gave a thumbs up to Miranda and Colonel, half apologetically, but also hoping to give them a bit of comfort with his driving ability. The Koopa, meanwhile, eased it's way back and pointed Zack in the proper direction to it's fort.

Zack simply pushed the levers down and the skiff accelerated a little bit more. Within no time they would be at the fortress, and then they could regroup and get back to work.

[Tearen Wover]

Drake watched the distant volcanic eruptions of the Ashen Plains with distant interest as he soared over the soot-choked plains. He was quite glad to have the hermetically sealed, climate controlled cockpit of the UNIbike to cruise in, as opposed to the poor saps that had to actually walk through all this crap. Drake did have to avoid some of the more dense clouds of ash so as to avoid damaging the UNIbike's engine intakes, but otherwise it was a pretty smooth flight.

Jeltz's instructions had been rather vague; assist in eliminating the bandit threat to the plains. Obviously this was because Jeltz wanted things in the Ashen to be nice and calm whenever he decided to mount his assault on Volvagia's lair, but what exactly was meant by the word 'bandits'? Rogue Primes? Random bands of idiots blowing shit up? There was no exactly telling what Drake was going to run in to out here in the wastes. That being said, Drake did see signs of trouble along the road he was following from high above. It looked as if there had been a battle that had taken place, and he had also seen a few abandoned vehicles, half buried in lava. It was a path of destruction that easy enough to follow.

As Drake kept following the road, it eventually turned alongside a massive lake of roiling hot lava. The UNIbike's sensors picked up movement on the surface of the lake, and a moment later, the screen's HUD targeted a slow moving skiff of some sorts that was heading towards a rather...well...it was a fortress. Pretty much as stereotypical fortress as could be imagined. Either way, these were his targets, or, they were locals who would know about what was going on.

Drake couldn't exactly swoop down to investigate, however. His UNIbike wasn't insulated against the convection from the molten rock like the lava skiff was, so he would have to wait until the group disembarked to find out. As such, he contented himself with circling them from high above, keeping an eye on them using the UNIbike's magnified optics. He could see their faces turned up to see him, watching him with a great deal of suspicion. He couldn't blame them exactly, though they were certainly an eclectic bunch themselves. In fact...well they were most likely primes from the looks of them. Except for the Koopa. Probably.

It was in this instant that the UNIbike's systems registered another mobile contact. Drake turned to look at the beacon just in time to get a face full of ugly. A dragon was diving at him from five hundred feet at seven o'clock high. It was an oafish looking, brown-scaled beast that flew with all of the grace of projectile vomit. The smuggler's piloting instincts immediately kicked in and he pulled the UNIbike into a sharp climb to meet the predator head on. While the vehicle didn't have any armaments of its own, Drake could more than make up for this with his own skill as a pilot. The two cruised passed each other in a vertical merge, at which point Drake rolled over into an inverted loop and mirrored the dragon's dive pull-out before opening the cockpit on the UNIbike and summarily plummeting through the sky. The smuggler stuck his arm out directly in front of him to control the rate of descent before pressing his thumb against his pointer finger twice to command the UNIbike to track his descent, which it did with obedient precision.

The dragon, having since reacquired its control, was beating the air furiously to regain altitude. It spied the vulnerable target that was Drake and paused mid-air as it switched targets. Drake smiled a crazed grin as the dragon sped towards him, matching his falling velocity, its jaws wide open to snatch its succulent prize. Drake quickly ripped plasma derringer out of his satchel and twisted upside down in mid-air before firing two volleys into the dragons maw. The creature roared in pain and streaked past Drake as it shook its head, giving the smuggler a chance to switch to holding his gun in his mouth and snag the creature's wing join with his powerful hand as it streaked past. The beast shrieked in fury as Drake clung to its back like a pleather-clad limpet. Using his legs, Drake was able to hold on to the dragon's wing arm long enough to spike his katana into the joint, causing the brown monstrosity to buck wildly and shake itself free of the human pest. The UNIbike was instantly on top of Drake, and the smuggler remounted his mechanical savior moments before belly flopping into the molten rock below.

He quickly pulled up as the dragon pulled over to continue its pursuit. Drake was about to end the fight when the beast shot a goddamn flaming boulder from its mouth, of all things, and pegged the UNIbike in its right thruster. Drake worked with the damage and pulled the bike into a tight right-hand roll, using the yaw thrust to make a mad dash towards the lava skiff that was still puttering along. Miranda, Zack, and Colonel all got into a ready stance as the shining black vehicle screamed towards them, belching smoke out of its right side. As it streaked overhead, Drake quickly dismounted with a rear somersault and landed squarely in the middle of the skiff's deck in a low crouch. The UNIbike continued to fly past, spinning out of control until it smacked into the lava lake with a momentous explosion.

Drake slowly stood up, only to see several weapons pointed in his direction. He adopted an annoyed expression.

"Yeah okay. One moment, alright?" he said in his gravelly voice. He turned around slowly to watch the dragon flying away with a roar of triumph before using his thumb to tap his pinky once and pointer finger twice. Drake then held his hand up into the air and snapped his fingers, causing a bright flash of light to burst from the dragon's body. Whatever explosion had just been triggered was enough to blast the brute's right wing off of its body, sending it plummeting into the lake of molten stone as well. Serves the damn thing right. Drake wouldn't be able to get another UNIbike until Jeltz saw fit to make him one, and who the fuck knew when that would be? Whatever. Time to deal with these clowns, whether they were bandits or not. Seeing as how he was pretty much disarmed at the moment, however, Drake rose his eyebrows at the metal-masked chick.

"I'll take your questions now."

[Demetri Malius]

Demetri discovered a barren land full of molten rocks and lava as he sped through the gate. The retracted wings his vehicle shook with anticipation at the heat from below. For now, he would keep them this way, there was no use taking any higher altitude, which would most likely reveal his position. In the distance he could see some small commotion, whatever it was, it had stirred up plenty of the molten lava. Demetri continued to hit the gas he rocketed across the hot floor, the heat from the red hot liquid rock surrounding his entire body. Not the most comfortable of situations, but he could manage. His chains rattled as the vehicle shook from the rough, uneven ground, and began to annoy Demetri. Surely there was a better way to store the damned things. Once he arrived at the remnants of molten magma and smoke, Demetri slowed to a stop for a few minutes as he scanned the area with his eyes and senses, but there was nothing as far as he could tell. Perhaps this wasn't the right direction. While he was stationary, he figured he should think of some kind of mechanism he could use for his chain kunai. With all that he had done so far, it came to him rather easily. A small mechanism formed on each of his wrists, which then continued to suck up the two chains into it, leaving the ends which held the kunai dangling a short length, but not long enough to cause jingles.

Alas, he could ride in peace, or so he thought. Just then, Demetri noticed something in the sky. Was that...a dragon? It couldn't be possible. He had heard legends of the vicious beasts from local storytellers in his home world, but he never figured them to be real, let alone heard of in this world. However, there seemed to be something else up there, much smaller than the dragon but seemingly strong enough to be giving it a hard time. Demetri watched as a small being plummeted from the sky, landing somewhere behind the thickets of smoke before him. But this was not his immediate concern, as now it seemed that the dragon was heading this way. Just as Demetri was about to speed away in the opposite direction, an explosion was heard from above. Demetri watched as the dragon lost its wing and plunged to the ground, incapacitated and beaten. Although it was clearly wounded and weak, Demetri wasn't one to test his might against such a beast. He quickly resumed his pace and circled around the dragon, which tried to lash out at him, but couldn't quite reach him. Demetri then noticed a vehicle in the distance, and began to hear in their direction. Perchance whatever, or whoever fell from the sky could be on it, or maybe even the primes IRIS told him would be here. Either way, he was going to find out soon. But he would be easily spotted from this distance, and if those were the bandits, he would be a sitting duck. If only he could somehow cloak himself.

Or can he? After all, this world is different than what he used to know.

He took a moment to focus his energy, willing himself to blend with the shadows and become unseen, and watched as his image started to fade. Had he been in his home, anything of this nature would be considered blasphemy or witchcraft. Oh, was he ever so glad to be here. Now that he was invisible to those before him, he needed to be quiet too. Once he was close enough, the steam engine of the bike would give him away. However, it was a good thing he packed a backup plan. As he kept his top speed, Demetri released a lever on the steam powered bike, opening the hatch behind him that contained the retracted wings. He took one deep breath before releasing the handles of the bike and grasping the wings with lighting speed, pulling them over his head and strapping them on before it lifted him into the air, sending the bike crashing over, tumbling as pieces flew off of it. Demetri gripped the handles of the wings with such force that his knuckles were bright white. His heart pounded with fear and he soared through the sky, the ground falling past him. This was like nothing he had ever felt before, the rush, the adrenaline, no mission that he had ever done in his home world felt as good as this while doing it. Oh, he was going to be so deadly here. No one would be able to hide from him.

Demetri slowly loosened his grip on the handles as he began to feel more comfortable in the air. Now, to focus on his targets. He steered towards the vehicle, careful to not be seen, although there was very little chance of that since he was, in fact, invisible. He gained enough momentum from the bike to keep a fast speed, and the heat from the lava created excellent updrafts, but soon he would lag behind, he was chasing an actual vehicle, after all. As he approached the hovercraft, it seemed that all the occupants were now distracted by someone standing in the middle of the it. Perchance that could be the being that fell from the sky. No matter, now was his chance. He quickly shot out his chain, with a kunai at its end, which swiftly swing around a part of the railings, making the tiniest klink as it hooked on. From this distance, he could start to get readings from the group below him, but he couldn't focus enough to get any solid data. From what he could tell, at least a few f them were primes. Whether or not they were bandits could not be completely discovered, and although they had a koopa with them, which IRIS described to him to be the occupants of this verse, the crack in its shell told Demetri that it wasn't exactly on "good terms". For now, he would wait and see where they head to.

[Albert Wesker]

Once situated on the skiff, Colonel merely inclined his head at the introduction Zack handed out. "Don't know the whole story of why you're out here taking on bandits in this hellhole, but I don't suppose it really matters. Helping on something like that beats wandering around in this heat, waiting for one slip-up to spell your death." With that cheery thought, he turned his focus momentarily to the...odd little creature attempting to pilot the skiff. It took only a brief glance to ascertain the reason for the difficulty he was having: the height difference.

Clearly the controls were designed for someone more...vertically gifted.

As Mirdanda spoke up, suggesting one of them take over the controls, he witnessed the koopa recoiling from her icy glare. And he also noticed the cracks spreading through the turtle's shell. Slowly he was beginning to piece together facts that might become useful about who he had taken up arms with. He'd fought alongside much more....colorful allies before, so it wasn't of any great concern to him. He had more pressing concerns to focus on, anyway.

Like not falling off of this contraption that passed for a vehicle.

Sparing another look at the controls, Colonel briefly debated taking his turn to see if he could ease their going, but any thought of that was quickly dashed. It was clearly designed to be steered with two hands, and Colonel was distinctly lacking in that department. He spared a sour look at his blade emitter for a scant second, wishing the thing had been optional. Having two hands free for situations like this would definitely come in handy.

Luckily enough, it seemed like Zack was willing enough to step up to the task, though the grin plastered on his features as he strode up to the controls was less than reassuring. Colonel's expression didn't quite turn grim, but it did grow more serious, and he shifted ever so slightly closer to the railing, within easy arms' reach. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

Almost before he had finished speaking, his concerns were realized, and the skiff lurched into motion, turning with a suddenness that nearly threw the soldier navi off his feet. As quickly as he was able to, he grasped hold of the railing of the craft, already knocked to one knee by the sudden jolt of movement and trying to refrain from skidding right off the thing with its far from insignificant spinning momentum. When Zack managed to pull the skiff back to a stop, Colonel remained where he was, holding tight to the railing and crouched for stability, his expression now gone all the way to grim. His stare at Zack wasn't exactly accusing, but it was definitely disapproving.

When Zack tried to dismiss the incident with his realization of the control method of the skiff's engines, Colonel only sighed. This was going to be an eventful endeavor...

Now on a proper, more easily-controlled and stable course, Colonel ventured to return to a standing posture, but maintained his position near the railing, ready to hold on if things got...rocky again, for whatever reason. With his attention free, for the moment, the soldier navi could let his gaze wander, keeping an eye on their surroundings for anything...out of the ordinary. Telltale signs of another euption, or any sign of those attackers he'd come upon originally.

But what he caught sight of first was something else entirely. Though he had a hard time spotting it at first through the ever-present haze of heat so close to the lava, and the less dense now, but still present clouds of, ash, when he finally did take note of it he made sure to keep his eyes on it, tracking it as it cut its way across the sky. If he didn't know better, Colonel might almost say that whoever or whatever it was seeed to be circling overhead, possibly keeping watch on them. "Don't suppose that's a friend of yours?" he voiced, and with his free hand indicated the circling craft overhead.

Of course the predicament was soon shifted in an entirely new direction as a dragon came barelling out of left field, and engaging in a....rather spectacular midair confrontation with the pilot of the small vehicle. Who soon saw fit to join them on the skiff, in what Colonel could only assume was not a planned landing. For his part Colonel made no move, save for subtly shifting his stance and bringing his saber to bear in a neutral stance, ready to attack or defend at a moment's notice. He noticed Miranda lookin ready to break the interloper's skull open, and the soldier navi reminded himself to not give her cause to turn that look on hm. Zack, momentarily distracted from the controls, turned around, one hand going for his sword, but Colonel waved him off with a simple "keep moving" signal. If things got bad, they could easily let Zack's fancy driving get rid of their new guest.

When the new arrival made no move of open hostility, merely finishing off the dragon he had engaged, Colonel didn't relax his ready posture, but did turn his gaze to Miranda. "I'm just along for the ride here. Your call, ma'am."

[Miranda Frost]

Thank the burning god of this verse that she didn't have a gag reflex

It haven't been that long since Zack and Miranda had a drink, but now she wished she had brought one to go. Miranda could have sworn without a doubt that Miranda had suggested someone take the controls IF they knew how to control this think, not if the wanted to give it a try. At first it made the turtle being seem much better when it came to piloting this thing. She had to grip the bars tighter as the skiff surface didn't do well to keep her warn boots to the floor. Besides that whey weren't crashing, dying, or burning so that was an upside.

To make matters worse another damned dragon seemed to be following the skiff. Great. Fantastic. She couldn't quite get a good look at it, but the roars and flaps of its wings told her of its position. She hoped it couldn't breath fire like the last one. It wasn't a very appealing thing to be lizard dinner. There was nothing she, personally, could do. She lacked any range weaponry and having Zack or Colonel launch her towards it would probably result in her death, especially if she missed.

Gradually the bumpy ride smoothed out, allowing Miranda to collect herself and get back on her feet to assess the whole "Dragon Problem" behind them. They seemed to go a little faster, which probably would only delay the inevitable. However if the beast got any closer within Miranda's jumping distance, the dragon would a piece of cake.

Before any of that could happen another man seemed to drop from nowhere, landing in a cat-like grace. Miranda folded her arms and was about to speak when the man pretty much silenced her. She glared at him but let him do what was going to do: take care of their dragon dilemma. In a puff a orange smoke the dragon fell. Impressive. She had not seen any with that kind of ability since she had been here.

Miranda looked over him before she spoke. Someone of his appearance would fit in well back at home, where fit (and probably scarred and mutilated) men and women were plentiful, especially in her profession. He seemed to carry himself as a warrior would, calm and collected yet hard to read. She sat down on the skiff surface to rest even if for a short while while they approached the fortress and crossed her arms, resting her forehead against her knees. It wasn't that she was tired, physically. A lot has happened since she had came here.

She had: become stuck in a cavern while some battle happened above her, been chased by lava, grouped with Zack and "Weegee", Separated from "Weegee", been chased by lava again, attacked by a flock of dragons, been chased by lava, had a drink with Zack, been chased yet again my a river of lava, punched in the face by someone she had never met before, and chased by lava again. If another lava flow happened to come her way it will be too soon.

She didn't have any questions for the newcomer, and stayed silent as a result. She assumed he was heading to see Bowser as well. After all the good King had sent out notices. It was likely he probably got his hands on a copy. The more the merrier as long as they kept their hands off of her and avoid trying to pick a fight with her. She decided to put Colonel on her "Nice List" along with "Weegee" and Zack. "Ma'am" appealed to the little captain in her heart. She didn't know enough about the newcomer to know how to treat him. She assumed that either Colonel or Zack would meet and greet with him.

On another note she wondered how Zack knew exactly which way they were going. All signs of the road were burned away for a good while. She hoped the Koopa was directing them or they would be lost, again.

[Zack Fair]

Zack was definitely surprised by the newest arrival on the skiff, and even more so by his manner of boarding. He had seen the battle with the dragon as he drove the craft, but given his lack of experience with operating this odd vehicle, he was counting on Miranda and Colonel to take care of any combat that might stir up from the ridiculous battle that was going on above them. It looked pretty crazy, watching a dragon go against that other strange vehicle, but he was approaching the point where this place just didn't surprise him, anymore.

It was on that thought that the man had landed, paused, and finished off the dragon in the most spectacular way. Seriously, Zack was over it. Anything really could happen here. Just the same, though, he didn't know this man's intentions. Even without an arm it was clear as could be that this guy was good, relaxed even. Zack was quick to reach for the Buster Sword, but Colonel was just as quick to call him off. He wasn't sure if it was due to his lack of concern over this stranger, or possibly fear of Zack's driving. No one else had seen any humor in his learning curve, so Zack decided to leave it be. Just the same, he lowered his hand and continued to drive, content with Colonel's apparent battle readiness.

When Colonel deferred the conversation to Miranda, she didn't seem to thrilled or interested. Zack saw a slight change in her posture, which he read as her own surprise at such an arrival. It wasn't much, but he was beginning to learn her tics.

Since Miranda didn't have much of a reaction, Zack figured it was on him. He didn't know what to make of this guy, but he knew the easiest way to find out. So, Zack gave a shrug and gestured with one hand briefly.

"Come on aboard! Have a seat on the bus!" Zack cheerfully said. "What's your name, friend? And what brings you to these parts?"

Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet. It was an old warrior mindset that served Zack well over the years, and so far had done pretty well for him in the Omniverse.

As he addressed this man, the Koopa pointed into the distance at a stone fortress. They were getting close, and would be arriving very shortly. That would let them regroup and figure out the next step, as well as talk to this man on more stable ground. Then again, maybe it was good that they weren't there just yet. Zack knew just as well as Miranda and Colonel that his driving alone could fix this problem very quickly if things went south.

[Tearen Wover]

There were a few tense moments before people seemed content to lower their myriad implements of death, which was a good sign to the smuggler. It was definitely an indicator that these people were not bandits, at least. Three of them had 'prime' written all over them, but Drake didn't recognize any of them off hand. Maybe the information that Jeltz had so generously pumped into his head was a little out of date? Or...maybe they were just new around here. At any rate, they couldn't be that new since they had all retained control over their masticatory muscles during Drake's entrance, which, he had to admit, was a tad more flashy than he had really been aiming for. The guy with the mullet seemed friendly enough, though, so Drake decided to stuff his hand in his pocket and adopt a more casual stance.

"I'm Drake Oneir. Not Oneir like with an Irish apostrophe, I'm pretty sure my heritage is Swiss-Italian. My father always told me that we had a touch of Australian blood in us too, but I never quite understood that. I mean, does that mean I'm part Aboriginal? Sorry, native Australian? Or do I just have settler's blood, in which case I'm actually part British? Dunno man. Dunno." Drake said, getting an absurd look of introspection on his face. Everyone else on board the skiff just gave him blank stares. He couldn't blame them; these randos probably weren't even from Earth, maybe? Drake decided to keep talking, in the event that he started sounding sane again.

"Anyway, I've come here to try and kill a bunch of rumored bandits 'round these parts. Seeing as you haven't threatened to suck my eyes out 'ma head with bendy straws yet, I'm gonna assume you're not...them. Also..." Drake said, pointing a thumb at Colonel, "...that guy is just WAY too shiny to be any sort of volcano raider."

More silence.

"So uh...hi."

Wow, way to be a spaz, dude. Hey shut up, you know I get like this after surges of adrenaline. God.

[Albert Wesker]

The situation seemed to have defused itself rather quickly. Colonel held his ready stance for a handful of seconds, his attention divided between listening out for what should be done with their newly-arrived guest, keeping an eye on said guest, and being on the lookout for any...other problems. He kept a basic routine thought in the back of his mind to be ready to react to any more fancy maneuvers from Zack's driving. He seemed to have it under control for now, but if things got messy -- either thanks to the environment in general or their guest needing to be removed -- it wouldn't be a bad thing to be ready to hang on.

When Zack finally spoke up in his cheerful way, Colonel slowly lowered his saber. He looked less ready to immediately attack and or reduce something to bits and pieces, but his expression never changed. He still looked every bit ready to spring immediately into action at the drop of a pin.

He really needed to lighten up a little.

When the man that introduced himself as Drake Oneir babbled on incessantly about what his ancestry may or may not have been, Colonel's expression remained locked into its very convincing definition of a statue, staring at the man as if trying to figure out if he was being intentionally confusing and distracting, or if he was just completely nuts.

It was only when he mentioned being here to take care of some bandits in the area that Colonel relaxed even slightly, some of the tension and aggression draining out of his stance, downgrading him to merely 'cautious and on alert' as opposed to 'keeping watch and intently on alert'.

The comment about Colonel himself being 'way too shiny' to be a volcano raider earned an actual show of expression flashing across the soldier navi's face, something akin to confusion and very possibly mild amusement. "....well. I don't know the specifics, but you're not the only one out here after bandits, Oneir." Force of habit made him lapse into last name usage. "Might even be after the same group, assuming there's more than one out here."

A quick glance out at the hellish wasteland earned a rather rapid retraction. "....somehow I don't imagine there are, though."

[Miranda Frost]

It wasn't long before they had reached landfall, their craft cruising from the red and orange lights below over the white ashes that surrounded the blackened castle. Miranda stood and breathed. Two red-shell guards had taken over their green-shelled comrades in guarding the rust-less gates. They seemed a little more hardy than before, tougher if only slightly. Of course it could be the colors they wore upon their backs.

Miranda stood after a long day and turned towards the guardrail of the skiff. Her muscles ached. She hadn't seen this much action in sometime. It was wonderful but there was so much a lady like herself could take in one day. She was tired, hungry, and thirsty. She wondered if her companions were to. She smiled internally and looked over between Colonel and Zack.

Zack still had that stupid grin plastered on his face as if getting us here was his biggest achievement. He was carefree and kind yet he fought with the might of a thousand gladiators. He knew when to swing his sword and when not to.
Colonel however, had an aura of inhuman calmness about him. She didnt know much about him: how he fought, how he ate, drank, and be merry. He was a bit of a mystery to her.

Drake however came off as a nervous wreck. Social activity didn't seem like something he was good at, judging by his long rambling after his awkward appearance. Of course that could have just been a hard time to follow up with an introduction. With that she sympathised. The guy obviously knew how to fight despite missing an arm, which really wasn't uncommon back home. If he fought as good as he looked, he probably could hold his liquor as well.
If she would have her way they had all night, or what passes for night here in this wasteland, to rest, drink, and get to know about each other a little better. Allies were particularly useful, especially if they trusted you. A nice conversation could do well towards that end.

The only problem was the fact she really did not like to talk much. If allowed, their drinking would lower her "Walls" she had built up around herself a little better.

She nodded towards her comrades and dropped off the side of the skiff into the ashes before approaching.
"I don't suppose you would allow us to spend our night here... we did clear a group of dragons... and we are a bit weary from our journey to meet your King.", she stated, unfolding a flyer posting a bounty for the bandits they have come across on the way to the castle. Just thinking of them made her want to punch something, but she controlled herself nicely.

The red shelled guard examined the flyer before opening the gate for her and the party.
"Follow me Miss", it said before waddling along down the dark, torch lit corridor that led into the castle.
Miranda looked over her shoulder to see the others just now getting off. She exhaled roughly and turned around sharply, resting her fists at her hips. "Come... ON!", she commanded before turning on her heels to enter their destination.
It was such a long day.

[Zack Fair]

Zack lowered the skiff to the ground, fiddling with the controls a little bit while Miranda spoke with the newest guards. He didn't want to admit it, but he had no idea how to turn this thing off, and the Koopa that had taken the exciting ride with them didn't exactly walk over to offer any help. So he turned a few knobs and shifted a few levers, with a look that he thought would convince anyone of his confidence. He looked up to see Colonel staring at him, not buying the ruse.

He didn't let it get to him, though. Instead he looked back to the control board, wondering how something so simple looking could end up so complicated. Colonel was watching Zack intently, meanwhile. He knew they would need this skiff, as it was by far the easiest means of traveling through this lava filled portion of the Steppes. The last thing that they needed was for Zack to wreck it after arrival, especially in front of the people that had "loaned" it to them.

Zack gently pulled one lever, and turned a small knob counter clockwise. That was his best guess for deactivating the thing, but he kept his hands tight on the controls. After a few seconds of waiting, the skiff's thrusters were burning like normal. Zack grunted in annoyance, noting that Drake was hopping off the skiff as well. To say the guy had missed the exciting part of that trip was underselling the man's battle and arrival by a quite a bit, but having missed Zack's learning curve with the craft it was safe to say he couldn't fully understand the situation.

Zack looked away from Drake, only to see that Colonel was now standing significantly closer. Zack braced himself the best he could without making it look obvious, and slowly let go of the levers.

As soon as he did the skiff lurched forward, moving directly towards the side of the fortress. The second it did that, Colonel reached forward and tried to grab the controls, but Zack was also trying just the same. Partially in an attempt to maintain control of the craft, but mostly out of pride, Zack swatted Colonel's hands away from the levers as he grabbed them again, and the craft came to a stop.

Zack didn't understand much about this thing, but what he did know was that he had somehow altered the controls since the craft wanted to move forward on it's own now. He looked up to see the guards looking at them in pure amusement, and the original Koopa that Miranda had brought tightly gripping the railing. He was happy that he'd figured at least one thing out, and that was that Miranda had gotten one of the greenest recruits to escort them out there, given the poor creature's reaction and the lack of help from it's entertained cohorts. Who could blame them? It probably got pretty boring out here.

Zack went about undoing every lever pull, button press, and knob turn he'd preformed on the controls to the skiff, hoping that would deactivate whatever settings he'd managed to turn on. The thrusters stayed on, keeping the craft hovering slightly above the ground. Then, with real confidence, he took his hands off the controls again.

Pausing and tilting his head, Zack grinned in satisfaction. It was short lived, however, as the craft suddenly began to move forward again, this time with dangerous speed. Zack and Colonel were instantly both fumbling with the levers. It would be bad to anger their hopeful hosts, but it would be worse to be splattered on the side of the wall. Zack grabbed the levers and pulled them back again, once again stopping the craft.

The Koopa guards were outright laughing, at this point, but Colonel was completely tired of this thing. He picked up the ride along Koopa by the shell, lifting him off the ground and walking over to Zack with him. Zack looked at Colonel curiously, but Colonel simply held the Koopa in front of the controls. With nothing else he could do, the soldier deactivated the skiff with three simple button presses.

The craft lowered to the ground and the engines turned off, while Colonel set the Koopa down. Zack nodded in approval, but the soldier navi simply gave him the same disapproving look he had the last time Zack's piloting shenanigans almost got them hurt. Meanwhile, their passenger Koopa was getting as far away from the skiff as he could.

Miranda shouting at them attracted their attention. She was in such a hurry to get indoors that she might have missed all the chaos on the skiff, but Zack was admittedly fine with that.

They hopped off and the three of them made their way towards Miranda and the guards. Zack was just as ready to get inside, and was just hoping there was a bar or something similar in this fortress.

[Tearen Wover]

Drake vaulted over the sides of the shuddering transport that had delivered them to this...well...it was definitely a fortress. A grey stoned, bar-windowed, embattled fortress. If you spoke to some kid on the street, and asked them to draw you a picture of a fortress in the middle of a lava lake, this is what they would draw you. Oh, and the turtle-dudes. How had Drake failed to mention them? They were utterly adorable, especially when they were trying to be threatening and push him around.

The second Drake had disembarked from the skiff, a pair of red-shelled koopas had marched up to him and escorted him inside. Never mind the fact that they hardly even came up to his hip, but their spears didn't even look that sharp. No wonder they were looking for help dispatching these bandits...whoever they were.

The interior of the fortress was nice enough. Mostly just more grey stone walls and the occasional structurally superfluous lava pit, but it was more comfortable than the searing atmosphere of the Steppes themselves. Drake followed Miranda closely, trying to get a read on the enigmatic woman. She wore a heavy looking cloak, which concealed most of her movements, as well as any weapon she was carrying. The metal face mask that covered only her mouth intrigued the smuggler as well. She occasionally reached up and ran her finger along its rim, where it touched skin. Apparently it was not very comfortable.

Drake had no idea where those other two yahoos were. Finding a parking spot or something, probably. For now, Drake just kept his otherwise loose-cannon yap shut and followed the procession deeper into the, eh, literal fortress.

[Demetri Malius]

Demetri patiently waited as he kept an eye on the primes below him, cautious as to not alert them. They didn't seem to dangerous, and as he calmed he began to get small glimpses of their abilities, but they weren't too clear. He figured he would have to wait until they came to a stop for him to be able to fully gain some insight on them.

Luckily, he did not have to wait long, as a large castle came into view a short time after. As they approached the castle, Demetri could see more of the Koopas, like the one in the skiff. Perhaps these were the primes he was looking for, but still, he needed to be cautious. Most primes would probably not take kind to the fact that they were followed by an unknown stranger. Nevertheless, he should take to revealing himself before his extended stalking became too suspicious.

At last, they came to a full stop, and one of the primes, a woman it seemed, was able to deboard while the driver, another prime, began to shut down the engine. Demetri's feet ached to feel the safety of the ground once more, but as he descended, his anticipated fall was interrupted. The skiff jolted forward, launching the surprised Demetri into the air as the chains broke, leaving him floated high above. Great, the damn driver didn't know how to turn it off. Demetri watched, half-amused and half-annoyed as the skiff spun and bolted about, the nearby Koopas bellowing and laughing at the charade.

Demetri took a moment to aim his body towards the ground, accelerating his decent, as he made way towards a small clearing next to where the skiff took its final screeching stop. He was careful not to go to fast, but made sure he was fast enough to get down and clear before anyone noticed anything suspicious. Demetri's feet kissed the ground before he relieved himself from the glider, rolling on the floor. Unfortunately, his chain, still broken from the minute before, has not finished retracting, and made a imminent scraping noise as he came to a halt.

The prime covered in red metal armor turned his way, alert at the noise. The Koopa nearby shook with fear, thinking his suspicion was directed towards him. The turtle-like being scampered off before the prime resumed walking, looking around at his surroundings, unsure if a threat was present.

Demetri let out a small sigh of relief at his luck. The chain then finished retracted into its metal sleeve, and a low, almost inaudible mechanical whir began to emit from the device as it repaired his weapon. He needed to be more careful, or he may have had to fight three primes because of that. Now that he was on the floor though, he could read more into the primes.

The metal plated prime seemed to have a melee weapon, some kind of sword with ranged capabilities. The other man, also a prime, also had a sword, but he seemed a bit more powerful, with some superhuman abilities. The man that feel seemed to be a secondary, but powerful nonetheless. And lastly the woman. Once he read into into her abilities, he instantly jumped back. She seemed to be able to sense other just like he could. She must have been able to sense him while he was trailing in the air, there was almost no possibility that she couldn't have. But if she did, why do nothing about it?

No matter the answer, his sudden retreat would surely rouse suspicion with here, but Demetri wasn't sure if she would act on it. Perhaps she was tired, or maybe didn't care. Did he not seem like that much of a threat? Demetri felt slightly annoyed with the woman for her ignorance, but at the same time, felt a level of respect for her ability to give no hints of her awareness of him. He felt foolish for not thinking of this possibility earlier, and wondered if he could somehow conceal himself from peering senses as well. However, it was too late to try, as it was obvious that he was already detected. Although the others were still unaware, he figured that the time for stealth was over. These primes were at the castle, after all, where he was headed. Surely the Koopas wouldn't allow bandits to approach their king in such a casual manner.

Demtri found a small area out of sight of the guards and slowly revealed himself. He then walked out into the open, a few Koopas noticing his sudden appearance. One of the guards who became suspicious, came up to him, questioning his intentions.

" I simply wish to ask of your King the wheerabouts of a man named Joseph Gustav. Demetri spoke low and gazed into the Koopa's eyes. The guard seemed to accept his answer, both out of logic and a small bit of fear, and let him through.

Demetri soon saw the group heading inside the entrance, and quickly made his way over, making sure his hands were visible to show no signs of aggression. It didn't matter if they saw him or not, he had reached his destination. If they happened to be heading the same way he was going after council with the king, great. If not, that was fine as well, although he was curious about the woman with the mask. She seemed to have a deep history about her, which reminded him of a few of those he knew back home.

[Miranda Frost]

"Like what you see?", Miranda said with a half hearted chuckle. Ever since her mechanical eye, dubbed the "Crimson Eight" became operational again, she was able to be aware of the happenings around her. If she wanted she could push her awareness through walls or underground. It was something quite fascinating and completely unintentional when her Doctor designed it.

Speaking of which she had noticed a while back that a man was following them. She had thought about confronting the man but she just didn't have the energy at the moment, nor the care. His posture was careful, but not hostile. For all she knew the man was curious. If he made a wrong move though, she would be all over him. If he derided that stalking around this place and confront the group head on and get what he came for, good for him. In either case she would make him explain to the group of his shady actions.

"We have a man following us. Don't confront him. Let him come to us. Weak turtles or no, its stupid to do something rash alone in any military installation", she explained rather disinterestedly. She wasn't worried, but she felt like the others should know if they didn't already.

For a while of walking down the the neat, cool corridors, Drake and Miranda were shown to where they would be sleeping. One look and Miranda recognized it as a soldier's barracks, with men sized beds lined for several rows down the room. Windows shown in a soft warm red light. Sinister, but at the least the castle didn't smell of sulfur. To be honest she could have sworn she smelled freshly cooked meat, but could be the result of her stomach telling her to "Fil' it' up"! She eyed the room before turning to their red shelled guide.

"Is there any place to get a bite to eat here? I do not know of the others.. but I'm fairly famished." She said rather unusually softly, her posture reflecting a sort of exhaustion. Her arms slumped down and her eye drooped. The red shelled guard smiled and motioned onwards toward the hall.

"Yes just follow the hall down to the Mess Hall. The majority of the forces here are preparing to move on to a fortress not to far from here, so lines should be short.", The guide said before waddling out the door and into the hallway. She sighed and walked up to a bunk, examining its size. For an army full of short walking turtles, they looked fairly human sized. Did this castle belong to another at one time? Is this a guest room? Or is they employ humans into their military service?

Miranda didn't dwell on those insignificant questions and shook them from her mind. She brought a hand up and and slowly unzipped her cloak, slipping out of it. Underneath she wore a sleeveless collared shirt, tucked into her black battle-dress uniform pants. Why sleeveless? It would be a shame to get her shirt caught in the exposed mechanical workings of her arms. Appearance wise, her arms resembled a human skeleton's arm, with various tubes and material stretching around it.

She draped her coat over her steel arm and folded it, but the sound of a book hitting the cold stone floor snatched her attention away. She lay her folded coat on her bunk and reached down, taking the bound book into her gloved hands. It was her old journal, full of the events of her childhood and the various stories and tales her mother prophesized. It would have brought a smile to her face, looking through reading and skimming through her various drawings. She closed it softly and set it atop her coat before turning to walk toward the door. She looked over at Drake, pausing for him.

"I'm heading to the Mess Hall for a bite to eat. You comin'?", she asked, motioning toward the doorless doorway. It was funny. Her short time in the omniverse had already changed her. Before all of this she ate in silence, but now she was quite used to something going on around her. She wasn't too tough for a little company. Whether or not she was accompenied, she made her way out of the barrack and towards the eating area.

"Hmm I wonder if they would allow seconds?.."

[Zack Fair]

Though Miranda and Drake had gone on inside during Zack and Colonel's shenanigans in front of the fortress, they all had the same destination in mind. Two Koopas now walked down a hallway, on either side of the ex-SOLDIER and the soldier navi. Zack had to admit that he was a little surprised by the Koopa Troop. They'd heard some pretty wild stories about Bowser and his minions on their journey here, but he couldn't help but notice that outside of a few understandable precautions by the foot soldiers, they were welcomed into the fortress with no trouble.

"Thanks for giving us a place to crash for the night," Zack said as they walked, just to break the silence.

"As long as you don't cause any trouble, you're welcome to stay here," the red shelled Koopa responded. "There's no sense in burning alive out there in the wastelands."

"No argument with that one," Zack agreed. "Just as long as you don't consider my parking job trouble."

"No, that's just funny," the blue shelled Koopa pitched in. Zack gave a laugh at that comment. So he'd been right with his assumption about these guys. Good entertainment was hard to come by out here.

"Well, we'll probably do it again tomorrow," Zack said with a shrug, dwelling momentarily on the fact that he had no idea what their ride along Koopa had done to turn it off.

"We certainly will not," Colonel spoke up as they walked. Zack laughed again, but the soldier navi just shook his head.

"Well, the mess hall is open if you'd like us to take you there. Or we can show you the visitors' bunks if you need to drop anything off, first," the Koopa with the red shell said.

Zack looked to Colonel, who simply held up his hand and beam emitter to gesture that he had no extra belongings. Zack touched the Buster Sword for a second, but decided he didn't want to be without it.

"Food sounds great. I'm starving," Zack voiced the duo's decision.

The Koopas looked back as Zack announced the verdict, but it was Colonel that held out his hand and gestured them to lead on. They continued to walk, and within a short time they entered the large dining area.

"Make yourselves comfortable. We need to help with a troop deployment," the red shelled Koopa explained.

Colonel nodded in thanks as the two Koopas departed, then looked over to where Zack had been standing only to see that he was gone as well. He shook his head and made his way over to a table with several chairs, and made himself comfortable in it. Once he did he calmly observed the few troops that were eating in this dining hall. They were of various species beyond the shelled turtles they had seen the most of.

Zack broke off his train of thought by sliding into a seat across from him at the table, expertly preventing his sword from getting caught on anything. It was obvious that he had a lot of experience maneuvering with the giant weapon attached to his back. Colonel looked down to see that Zack had not only a large plate of food, but had also managed to acquire a large mug of beer. Zack poked the meat a few times, as if to test it, before shrugging and beginning to work his way through the food.

"Hey, this isn't bad at all," Zack said aloud, looking to Colonel briefly. He received no response, but Zack expected as much. He was very used to the strong, silent type that didn't care for small talk. It never stopped him from trying, though.

At the same time, Zack scanned the room with his eyes and noted the various species as well. He had to admit he was impressed with Bowser's ability to unify multiple species that each likely had their own goals and agendas. Where he came from people of the same race couldn't get along, and yet it was no big deal here. He chuckled at the notion that Omni had created a perfect world.

Of course, since he was thinking to himself, Colonel looked at him oddly when he randomly laughed. Zack simply shook his head dismissively and took a large gulp of his beer. As he did, he shot his eyes towards the door, looking for the other two.

[Tearen Wover]

Drake eyed the new kid who had just kinda...you know...appeared outta nowhere. Based on how he looked, Drake was pretty sure this was Demetri. Jeltz had mentioned that another Institute member would be out here in the Steppes, but Drake hadn't expected them to be crossing paths. Whatever. It was nice to know that they would have each other's backs if stuff went to shit, but there was an equally large chance that Demetri was just passing through.

Drake lingered around the bunk rooms as Miranda made herself comfortable. He was tapping away on his UNI device when she asked him about dinner. At first Drake was tempted to ask why the Prime just didn't make her own food, but then again, there was something especially fulfilling about eating a home cooked meal using already existing ingredients. What was more important to Drake, however, were the gently hissing prosthetics that she had in place of arms. Now that her jacket was off, Drake could also see that her faceplate was actually hooked into her skin. Did she not have a normal mouth either? They locked eyes as she passed by him, and there was a depth held in the gaze. Nothing sort of mushy or romantic; Drake had not patience for that. But there was an understanding...an acknowledgement of a shared pain. Oh sure, amputees could be brave and broadcast their self-produced sense of security about their damaged bodies, but you never really quite got over it. It wasn't like having your tonsils or appendix removed...Drake was right handed and he only had a left hand. The smuggler shook his head and banished the heavy thoughts.

"Yeah, I'll grab summin'." Drake said, shrugging off his own jacket and satchel. The hipster also removed his hat, despite it being incredibly stylish. His own missing arm was much easier to notice with the jacket removed. The limb had been severed almost all the way up to the shoulder. Only a small stump, about three inches long, bounced listlessly with Drake's step. It was also heavily scarred, like it had been cut open multiple times...but then again, the right side of Drake's entire upper body was covered in vicious burn scars, so maybe it was nothing?

Drake sat at the table near the others of their small group after fetching a modest amount of food from where it was being served. A steamed root vegetable of some kind, nameless meat haunches, some canned corn. It was the food of a thrifty people, and Drake could respect that. It was cooked with skill and the seasoning was humble yet well suited to the different dishes. A large lava pit (for fucks sake) was bubbling away at the far end of the hall, serving as a sort of improvised fireplace. Drake supposed it made enough sense really; wood was probably a hard thing to come by around here. The dude with the black hair sure seemed chatty enough, and despite Drake's inherent dislike of big damn hero types, Zack was a pretty all right dude. Aside from the warrior, though, everyone else was pretty quiet. Drake didn't inherently have a problem with this, but something spurred him into speaking up.

"So uh...is Bowser's place close from here?" he asked, his words gradually getting more mumbled as the sentence went on. He was used to taunting and putting on airs of superiority. This sort of...genuine attempt at camaraderie thing was not his schtick...

[Demetri Malius]

The group hardly even noticed Demetri, a few simply giving acknowledgement of his presence and continuing forward, except for the one who was missing an arm. He seemed to have some kind of recognition of Demetri, but from what? Surely they hadn't met before, but still, Demetri had this feeling that the man knew who he was.

They approached some barracks, where it was assumed that they will be resting. The cold, stone floor and the barren beds hardly seemed hospitable, and Demetri wondered what kind of king left his 'koopas' in such conditions. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as it looked, after all, they did just look like giant turtles.

Demetri followed the others into the dining hall, where there was an assortment of food spread out. Nothing appealed Demetri directly, and he figured he could use om to summon his own food. Perhaps some fine broth from his home would satisfy his stomach. He held his hand upwards besides his waist as he began to focus on bringing his imaginary meal to life. He stuck to the edge of the room, preferring to observe the others and keep to himself. He wasn't much of the social type.

"So uh...is Bowser's place close from here?" The one armed man announced, seemingly trying to start a conversation. He didn't seem the type either. Nobody seemed to have the answer, and the Koopas did nothing to acknowledge his question. Silence followed his words as everyone seemed to have other things on their mind.

Once his meal was summoned, Demetri decided to check on his wrist communicator. Cat seemed to be in trouble, but Nealaphh was already sending some secondaries to help. IRIS seemed to have given him quite a few updates, with what seemed like within time frame of a few months. Interesting, so she was right about time being distorted here. He opened the first few, reading about her new friends, the closest being a pirate, a soldier, a scientist, and a nephilim, as they started out surviving together. He continued reading, taking small sips of his broth, until he came to the last message. He choked as he coughed in surprise, a small amount of broth spilling out of his bowl onto the floor, making a low splash. She didn't make it. Her remains were in the Tangled Green, in some kind of swamp. Damn, he should've known not to send her alone. He needed to go retrieve her, but first, he must finish this mission. Perhaps Nealaphh's secondaries can retrieve her while they assisted Ca, but he will have to ask that later, when he was alone. The others were looking at him, but he didn't want to make his distress too obvious. He waved his hand at them, clearing his throat before speaking in a hoarse tone.

"Sorry, broth went down the wrong hole." His answer seemed to satisfy them, but he figured he might as well try to make some kind of conversation. He might even be able to get some info on the man he was after. "Anyways, since we are all here, some of our objectives may align with others. Perchance any of you have heard of a man named Joseph Gustav?"

[Miranda Frost]

Its funny how things work out. Its as if a guardian angel was watching her. Either that or she had been accidentally summoning things that weren't on her during her eh.. "Omni-napping". It cold be the case but she didn't enjoy taking the easy route when it came to answering questions. The only theory she could think is that it was planted on her. However for that to be viable only those who have actually touched her were candidates, but she could count those on one hand. Of those, neither had a connection to her from the world she came from.

Too many... god-damned questions.

Time seemed to slip as she thought. She had picked something that would go down without dirtying her "Food Tube". She never really picked the name, its just Doctor was bad at such things. It provided the same basic utility that a normal jaw would, but Miranda just saw it as a glorified garbage disposal. She hadn't prepped her hose or her.. mouth replacement. Her mind was elsewhere. The soup she had chosen for her meal was warm and smelled great, but it wasn't enough to pull her back.

She sat there, continuously drowning out the world around her with the swirling of the red soup as she stirred it.
However when the others sat down with their meals with the stalker she couldn't help but turn her eye towards him. He looked as shady as his actions did, and although Zack may have given him the warm treatment, Miranda's was much the polar opposite. It wasn't her style, but answering his question with a question help vent the steam that was building inside her.

"Are you after the bandits? Feel free to shed some light on why you've been following us."

A simple question. If not there wasn't much to stop her from drilling the shady man's head into the ground. Had she had a proper jaw and mouth with the proper voice that came along with the package, her voice would have obvious contempt interlaced with her sound. However her voice was purely digital and somewhat mechanical as a result. No emotion through her voice, but the cold radiance from her rigid stature surely would speak for itself for those who know what to look for in such a thing.

On a second thought, she maybe was wrong about nothing stopping her from attacking the newest comer. Zack seemed much the heroic type. Friendly but not afraid to give out the edge of his blade when and where it was needed. Though she had seen him in action, she couldn't quite gauge his strength. She did know those skirmishes weren't entirely serious.

While the man formulated his answer she looked over to Zack and the other. The mechanical man was already a man of carefully chosen words, but Zack was a cheerful chatterbox. To see the man so collected was unnatural. Was he tired as well? Troubled?

She sighed and moved a gloved hand to her mask, carefully unbolting her mask before taking it off and setting it to the side. She winced, nearly forgetting about her minor injury earlier that day, when one of the bandits shared a piece of his mind with a heavy hitting fist. It had bent a bolt and chipped or possibly cracked the bone was secured to. The bleeding had stopped, but she let the scab that had caked along the holes along the right side of her cheek bone be, as much as an eye sore it was.

Her eye looked down toward her soup. She had forgot her hose. She reached toward her canteen, now empty from the day and carefully poured her red colored soup into it. She sloshed it around and poured into the circular entrance to what replaced her missing mouth, the liquid following the tube down into her throat connecting with the rest of her digestive tract.

Miranda wasn't an envious woman. She was simple. Though if there was one thing she wanted that everyone at the table probably had, it was the sense of taste. Not just taste, but the feeling of her mouth watering at the smell of her favorite foods. The feel of her teeth tearing and crunching her food to a mush. It sure made meals interesting. Her... device just made the whole concept of eating too easy. It was dull and boring.

An earlier thought flashed in her mind again and her eyes drifted back to the others. She disregarded whatever answer the new man had came up with, having lost interest. The mechanics to this new world were more important to whatever scheme the shady man was up to. At the very least it could wait. The others seemed to be primes. They stuck out quite well, except for the man across from her, but even then she didn't know for sure.

"Have any of you accidentally summoned anything during your time here?", she asked plainly, her mind drawn back to her journal. To be honest she hadn't thought about that book in some time. She had thought it to be destroyed or lost after the events of the Coliseum games.

[Zack Fair]

Zack fell into a bit of a silence as he ate, which was a clear sign that he was enjoying the food. As he sat there and chewed, he kept his mind off of what it might be made of by staring at the newest arrival. He had absolutely no idea who this person was that had taken a seat and started eating with them so casually, but he hadn't met a single person here in a way that made any sort of sense. He listened to the man's question, but he didn't have a clue who this "Josef" person was. In fact, Miranda responded with a question of her own, that was more in line with his own line of thinking. As soon as she asked, Zack had to speak up as well.

"Did...did you guys meet him in the hall?" Zack curiously asked as he pointed at the newcomer with his thumb, looking between Miranda and Drake, then back to the man before he made an introduction. "Zack, by the way."

He shrugged as he continued to work his way through his noodles and assorted food mixed in. He glanced over to see Miranda utilizing her strange food tube again, but casually looked away, so as not to stare or be rude. She was making less of an effort to hide it this time, it seemed, but he decided to be polite, just the same.

Zack then looked at her a bit curiously, with her question. Summoning something on accident wasn't something he'd even considered before, but granted, he had summoned very little upon his arrival in this place.

"No, I didn't know you could even do that," Zack admitted as he slowed down his food intake, getting a little full. He thought about making a joke about bringing across an unpaid parking ticket, but Miranda seemed a bit contemplative, so she might not get or appreciate humor like that in the moment. So, he kept it simple. "Why do you ask?"

As he asked that, he happened to glance over and notice that the new Koopas in the dining area were leaving, and no more seemed to be filling in. He didn't have much concept of time in this place, so he wasn't exactly sure if it was late or not. One thing he did know was that he was feeling the fatigue from their travels.