World Tree MUSH

    A practice game of 'Hide and Seek', an easy victory for those present, but now...?

    Now it's for Keeps.

    "Alright, now we're playing for real! You gotta count to fifty before you open your eyes - No cheating!" announces Hook... once the adults cover their eyes and start counting, the sound of scampering children can be heard, before it fades into the bustle of the small town.

    The Square, where the group begin, has a few places a child could hide.
    The Stack, where Geomarrow is being stored in crates for transport, might be a good place to tuck ones self into.
    The Alley is dark and has some nooks for a kid to slip into undetected.

    Seek and find! For the Glory of the Moles!

    Right then, cover your eyes and count to fifty, that's easy enough with Rebecca's massive hands. She covers her face right up.
    "One... Two... Three..." Some time later: "Forty-eight. Forty-nine... Fifty!" She calls out.
    "AITE LITTLE CHOOMS, I'M COMING FOR YA!" She calls out and...
    Rebecca turns on her thermal vision to start tracking little footprints.

    Talia lets Rebecca count. And she meditates in the meantime. It's hard to find any signs of life down here, there's very little life underground. So she lets Rebecca handle the actual searching, following when the solo's finished counting. "I've been wondering something; What does choom exactly mean? I know it's a word for friend, but I'm just curious about the etymology."

    Well, Jessica is definitely trying to be fair! At the count of fifty, the girl uncovers her eyes and looks around... ears twitching. She was probably at least LISTENING since that isn't really cheating, right? And she can't cover her eyes AND ears anyway!

    "Here we come!" She calls out lightly, heading for the stacks of crates because that's totally where a cat would go. She's not going to be as... loud about it as Rebecca though.

    It's silly, for someone of his skill level, but Bi De avoids the dark. Shaking his feathers out the chicken hmms, starting in a different direction once the countdown is done. It seems he CAN count, interesting huh?

    "It is a curious word, but many words are strange," he agrees. "Much of what I say seems to be foreign to those here." He is probably going to check the square first.

    Rebecca spots three sets of prints from tiny feet. One goes straight to the Stacks, another goes down the Alley, and the third... stops right where an adult is loitering. He's wearing a miner's outfit with work goggles.

    Jessica, on approaching the Stacks would easily tell there's a giggling sound coming from behind a couple of the crates. The quiet girl of the trio is back there, and blinks up at her owlishly. "Aww shoot."

    Bi De's energy senses might just lock onto the strange adult loitering around. His energy doesn't 'feel' right... like it's a much smaller source inhabiting a larger vessel.

    Stelle and March, meanwhile, head toward the alley.

    SO GUESS WHAT.
    A few tactical hand signals that Jess might know are flung her way.
    'One target. Inside. Crates.'.
    Or maybe she might just be flinging gang signs at Jessica. It's hard to tell while Jess goes to catch the quiet girl.
    She squints at the adult figure REAL HARD... That's boggling, she'll let the rooster handle that as she follows Stelle and March for the alley.

    Talia peers over Rebecca's shoulder as she sees the adult is noticed. "That can't be one of the Moles, can it?" She whispers to Rebecca, carefully hovering a hand over her lightsaber's hilt. "You look lost, friend." she says aloud, approaching the stranger carefully.

    Well, Jessica giggles too as she peeks over. HEr ears wiggle, "You might have done better being a bit quieter. These aren't just for show!" She gestures atop her head and then climbs atop the box, grinning at the girl while waving her tail. Too distracted to look for the others it looks like?

    Hmm. Bi De seems to be on the case, though! His Qi sense isn't normally quite that sensitive... but the discrepancy, along with the generally Qi-starved area, helps him catch some more minute differences. Head tilting, the rooster continues his walk and then...

    Gives a polite bow to the 'adult' there. "Greetings. This one cannot help but notice that something is amiss." Said with a tinge of humor in the tone.

    Jessica has found a pouty girl, who clambers out of the crates and joins the cat atop one. "Boss Hook is gonna be so mad." she blubbers, sniffling.

    The man standing in the square is staring directly at the group, he's not being very discreet about it. When Talia speaks to him he shuffles awkwardly, looking away and tries whistling nonchalantly. And then the rooster comes up, and the 'man' speaks up. "I'm a grown man! Ask anyone!" in a voice that's clearly a young boy putting on a gruff 'adult' voice.

    Stelle, March and Rebecca head into the alley, and the bright yellow of Hook's hat can be seen slipping into a little alcove just as the trio round the corner, though March seems to have missed it. "Ooo, where is she?"

    Talia sighs and yanks on the coat, just enough to pull it off, not yank the poor 'man' to the floor. "Cheap tricks won't work on me, I'm afraid."

    Man Becca doesn't even need her hax thermal vision when she sees Hook's cap vanish. She looks at March. She looks at Stelle.
    "Man and I thought we'd have a challenge." She snorts, rounding her way into the alcove.
    "Gotcha, li'l choomba."

    "It's fine, it's just a game!" Jessica says lightly, and gives a smile. She fishes into her jacket and pulls out a candy bar, snapping it in half to offer one half to the girl. Then she waves to the others, letting them know she's gotten one of the little scamps.

    "Here, have a consolation prize! I think if it had been someone else it might have worked!"

    "I see..." Bi De chuckles, then flaps his wings, looking upward. "It would seem that you are the height of a man, but what makes a man? Also, your voice is that of one of those I am seeking. Would you hop if I pecked your toe, I wonder?" He chuckles.

    "Argh!" the 'man's disguise comes loose, and the boy is left struggling out of the remains, huffing. "But, I'm Julian of a Thousand Faces!" He sighs. "Why did you have to talk to me?! My reputation is ruined! What will the boss thing?" he looks supremely affected by this failure.

    Hook doesn't come out when called on by Rebecca. Stelle, looks back at the Smolo and then approaches where Hook is hiding, leaning over and just smiling smugly at the little girl. "But... how!? Pitch-Dark Hook the Great has never been beaten at Hide and Seek before!"

    Jessica's capture is about to put on the waterworks, trying to manipulate the catgirl into forgetting she found her... when the candy is brought out and that plan seems to get scrapped entirely. The blubbering, dejected facade is dropped and the girl smiles up at Jessica. "You're alright... for an adult." she says.

    "Looks like you just lost, now." Becca points out, setting her hands on her hips and looking smug like the cat that caught the canary.
    Or in this case the Solo that caught the kid in hide and seek.
    "And your little chooms? We got them too."

    Jessica grins, "Well I try to be! You can't ever forget how to have fun, when you're getting into some real serious trouble. I... um, try to!" She remembers not to talk about what she does that is so high stress it needs a playful venting!"

    "Consider it a learning experience." Talia ruffles the boy's head playfully. "In any case, we should get your friends all organized and find the boss, hm?"

    Bi De chuckles, and struts to the side to give Julian a wing-pat. "One should never rely wholly on one trick, when up against an unknown foe. Think of it as a way to assess your weaknesses so that a more dangerous foe will not take you unawares."

    Gathering up all the caught Moles, March says. "So, Pitch-Dark Hook the Great, you can tell us now, right?"

Hook sighs, and nods. "Ummm... Yes. The boss of The Moles is true to her word! Hook saw the blue-haired guy take your dark-haired friend to the Fight Club."

    March asks, "The Fight Club?"

    And Stelle pipes up, "I thought the first rule was..." earning a glower from March, "This isn't any time for jokes... Pitch-Dark Hook the Great, can you show us the way to the Fight Club?"

    Hook gets a smug look. "Hmm~ But it's an obvious building, grown-ups are just useless~. Come with Hook. I'll take you over."

    A short walk later, and the group come upon a brightly lit, very rowdy sounding structure. "Hooks gonna go fight, see ya later!"

    March blinks. "Wait, they let kids fight too? Who knew undergrounders were so brutal. Who's in charge of this anyway?"

    "The Moles of course! Uh, but only of the kids. Wildfire's in charge of the adult business. Anyway, see ya!" The girl then darts off around to the side, where a couple of other kids seem to be waiting.

    Inside the building, an announcer is working the crowd to a frenzy. "BROTHERS AND SISTERS! ARE YOU READY FOR TODAYS SPECTACULAR, SPINE-TINGLING, EARTHSHATTERING CONTEST!?"

    "On one side - recommended by Tall, Blue and Handsome - the unsmiling pulverizing power of the new kid on the block: COLD DRAGON YOUNG!" this, is Dan Heng, who's looking dourly at a group of robots across from him inside of a cage in the center of the large, open room. "And his opponent is... none other than the unfeeling, iuncendiary, explosive might of Team Robomatic! All praise to Boss Svarog!"

    "... This place has a fight club?" Rebecca blinks owlishly. But then Hook bails to GO fight and the solo scratches her head.
    "Hardcore." She mutters before heading inside and.
    "Oh look. There's Dan Heng." ... "About to fight some robot mooks and..."
    EuroDollar signs flash in Becca's eyes.
    "'Scuse me, bee arr bee!" She declares before scramming off to look for the nearest bookie.

    "What on earth would they want with Dan?" Talia muses, rubbing her chin. She tries to rush after Hook when she leaves. "Wait, wait don't-!" A sigh. "No choice but to get in there.

    As they enter the fighting arena, Talia tries to get a look at Dan in the ring, surrounded by droids of some kind. She sighs again when Rebecca rushes off. "Stars' End." is all she can offer as she observes the fight.

    She may be watching for whether or not the fight is fixed.

    A fight club. How... brutal. Savage. Well, if Bi De thinks of it like a tournament, maybe he can get by. The fact that they've found their quarry helps, but now he too sighs.

    "I have the feeling this is not a competition to display skills and hone your techniques," he murmurs, walking up alongside Stelle. "Though I am curious, what is it of which you are not supposed to speak?"

    "Given that no other fighter was willing to take on the strenght of Team Robomatic, Cold Dragon Young will face off against these opponents alone! On learning his fate, the brave young fighter had one thing to say: "Whatever!"

    Dan is looking rather bemused at the over-the-top announcer... but says nothing. "And so, let the semifinals of the 1758th Fighting King Challenge... BEGIN!"

    Stelle is about to respond to Bi De, when March chirps, "Stelle, c'mon! Lets help him!" she says before darting off to barge into the cage. Stelle looks sheepishly at Bi De, before running off to catch up.

    The fight inside the cage is quick, brutal and very one-sided... the giant fists on spider-legs attempt one final effort to self destruct and take the human fighters with them, but quick thinking from March freezes them solid, causing the mechanical menaces to just topple over in useless heaps of scrap.

    Jessica is NOT going to jump in on a cage match! She's a pistol fighter and does not think that just kneecapping with her gun would be allowed! "Ah... ra ra? You can do it!" That'll be a good way to help, right?"

    Becca returns.
    Again she looks as smug as the cat that caught the canary.
    See, she bet on Dan Heng for the win against the robo hands. No one said anything about Dan Heng having help in winning against the robot hands.
    She returns to the party counting money in her big metal mitts.
    "Naisu naisu~. Good job, go team~."

    Talia nods as Dan had won handily. "As expected." She says with a little smirk. "Then again, I did expect a much nastier threat than mere droids. Looks like you won yourself quite a pretty penny, Rebecca."

    "Oh! What a beautiful performance! Cold Dragon Young and his last-minute admirers emerge victorious!" comes Dr. Dig's voice.
    March frowns. "Admirers? Where are our cool nicknames?"
    Stelle shrugs. "Cold Dragon Younger and Cold Dragon Youngest?" she suggests.
    March's dour gaze is matched only by the deadpan. "Our taste in nicknames is clearly different."

    Then, the eagle-eyed might notice a blue-haired man in a red jacket making a beeline for the exit, moving far quicker than someone without something to lose might. "Hey, there's Sampo!" cries March. Stelle punches one fist into her other palm. "Looks like we've got another butt to kick."