World Tree MUSH

For reasons unknown to Iota she had this pull to to this location. She wasn't sure why she just had to go there. So on the safe side she ask a few people to come along with here.

After a bit of traveling she lead the group to a seddy warehouse area of a city. "Okay I have to go there..", the artifical girl said pointing at non descpit wearehouse.

For reasons unknown to Iota she had this pull to to this location. She wasn't sure why she just had to go there. So on the safe side she ask a few people to come along with here.

After a bit of traveling she lead the group to a seddy warehouse area of a city. "Okay I have to go there..", the artifical girl said pointing at non descpit wearehouse. (repots for Nort and Scar)

Of course the artifical Halloween themed girl got Holly's attention. She wanted to learn more about her but the only way was to take along. "So what's inside the there? Is that where you were created?" Of course the setting didn't draw any suspicion from the witch.

Mirage Mouse of all people has been asked to come along. She is not wholly sure why Iota wants her along, since Mirage is somewhat of a inter-dimensional mercernary, but she figures it has to do with their previous run in.

Mirage, to her credit, shows up in a long black overcoat and gas mask over the usual black undersuit and long boots she normally uses for ops. She looks a little confused after a few moments of Darth Vader breathing through the masks filter before pulling it up.

"I hope you didn't ask us to come out here just to sight-see, I got places to go, things to steal," she raises a brow at the created girl.

Emily wasn't part of the group; she was actually out for a night about town in this particular world and then wandered over to the warehouse district because they're always interesting. ... Usually, she doesn't get into trouble.

Her current form is a completely bald woman with demon horns and glowing purple eyes, carrying an ice cream cone and dressed in an outfit which looks like she started with a cheap red cocktail dress, then spent some time grinding for EXP until she could level it up a few times. It's basically Advanced Tacky.(TM)

She sees the group, and comes up behind them in time to catch Holly's comment. "Created, hmm?" she says cheerfully, looking at Iota with interest; her voice, if nothing else, would be recognizable, since she hasn't changed it.

She just chuckles at Mirage's comment, and nods in apparent approval.

Iota turns and looks at Holly and pauses. "..I don't know... No I was created in a castle.. I think. That my first memories are anyway. I never been here before. I just have to there..", she sighs. "I don't know why but I just do", she looks are Holly again. "Are you one of The Professors creations too?"

 "I'm not sight .what you said Mirage!", she looks a bit frustated now. She pouts and walks towards the building heading toward a large pull up style door, big enough for a car to pull up to it. She reaches down trying to open it. 
"It's locked..."

"Well, I'm pretty sure I didn't summon her! Though I do black out sometimes." Holly's unaware that her ghostly companions take control of her body at times. "Nope, I was born to a family of mages!" She's not an artifical creation. "Hello Emily and other person I don't know!" She watches as Iota struggles with the locked door. "That's a bit strange maybe we have the wrong place?" Why would the door be locked if they told Iota to come here?

"I'd hope you weren't created in a place like this anyway, it looks like a dump," Mirage would look around, finding the door that Iota was already heading toward. With her telekinetic might, she'd begin to pull the steel sliding door upwards with a fairly nasty screech of metal--also attempting to break any locking mechanism that might have been keeping it down.

<Just like breaking into a dept store after hours, pity about the noise, though,> Mirage broadcasts around herself telepathically, as the noise is a thing.

Emily nods in greeting to Holly. "Long time no see," she says. "Been keeping yourself occupied?"

Screeeeeech.

She takes a lick from her ice cream, and watches Mirage work. <I mean, we could just knock,> she replies, in a tone which suggests that this is very much a plan B and she has no actual objections to Mirage's way of doing things. For some reason, her telepathic voice sounds like it's coming from a radio speaker.

The minute Mirage gives her an opportunity of less noise, she calls out, "Hello! Anyone in there?" Her tone and expression are simply entirely amused about this whole scenario.

"Woow a magic user?", Iota say to Holly. "Neatttt..", she ohs watching Mirage. "Cool. Does this now make me a criminal now?", she pauses loooking at the entrace. "I say something cool right now but I can't think of anything neat to say.", she heads in assuming everyone will follow her. 
 As the enter the a blinding light and then there in some plains, grass around them up to there kness it seem to go forever the sun is shining and it pretty pleasant whever they are! Iota looks around. "But we we're someplace dark and dirty now we someplace clean?"

 She notice in the distatance someone sitting at a glass table with a few chairs around this person. 

"P-professor!!", Iota shouts out and start running towards him!

"That's right, I can use magic!" In theory at least, "I don't think so, they must have just forgot to unlock the door..." Holly trails off as the door is busted open by Mirage. It takes a moment for her eyes to adjust and the ghosts following her float back a bit. "Wait a moment, something is odd here. We were just outside a warehouse...this may be illusion." Servis warns anyone who can here him.

 "This is kind of weird." The witch looks around for any signs of magic in their sudden change of setting. She's not the most aware person but this doesn't seem like something that would be inside of a warehouse.

"No, well, maybe, by aiding and abetting me, but it's not like I give a shit," Mirage Mouse does not care about breaking law. She breaks minds. Those are a lot more serious matters.

"Well, look alive everyone, I can only protect so many people at once," Mouse flicks her wrist and out of holographic motes appears a strange long gun in her hand, with weird circular grips. FN-P90, for those that are curious. Of course Mouse has created a simulacrum of the device, she seems capable of wielding it like a pistol.

"So whoever owns the place is capable of illusions, but I see it too, interesting," she looks around in the now grassy environment, her tail flitting through the grass behind her.

At the sudden change of scenery, Emily's eyes turn blue and flash brighter. She looks around. "Yeahhhhhhh," she says, scanning the field around them, trying to detect illusions.

She grins at Mirage. "I can protect myself just fine," she says dryly. "Releasing capacitor seal three." She's surrounded by three distinct auras, one gold, one silver, and one pearlescent; the silver one shatters, and the other two fade.

And she's watching Iota like a hawk as she runs over to the alleged professor.

The person sitting at the glass table looks up and stands up seeing Iota running towads him. He dressed in a white lab coat, thought it has a number of different coloured stains on it. He smiles as Iota gets close. "No hugs Iota.", she stops and awws. "Why not?? I haven't seen you in forever Professor!!!",she pouts a bit. He smiles and takes off her hat then pat her on the head for a bit then put her hat back on. He looks over at the other people. "Oh freinds of your Iota? I see. I see. You made some freinds. How amazing.", he hms seeing Emily aura shift. "..intersting."

Holly's not picking up any strange signs of magic but Mirage gets a second look from her, "Are you a mouse turned into a woman or a woman turned into a mouse?" The witch isn't that familar with anthros but her attention turns back towards the professor, "So someone kidnapped you to help them do experiments?" Are there are others like Iota? Maybe I can summon them here, I'm sure they would be happy to see you!" If they're halloween-themed like Iota she might be able to pull it off. Keyword here being might. Her attention then towards back to Mirage wondering if she was one of them too.

"Iota pour some tea for our guests..", The Professor says. Iota nods and then looks around for something. "Oh silly me we need tea first!", he fumbles around and pulls out what looks like remote from his jackt and presses a button and from the ground cabinet rises opens up relazing a tea set cup and some tea! Iota ohs. "That's handy.", she starts taking out some of the items out of the cabinet putting them on the table. 
 "Now sit", The professor says. "I'm sure you have many questions.", he chuckles looking at Holly. "No thank you one Iota is enough.", she hms. "You are magic user of some sort? I never could get my head around magic. The payoff can be huge but are too many variables.."

"Glad to hear it, less work for me," She looks toward Holly. "Always was a mouse, what, you've never seen a mouse person before, honey?" she low-key taunts and grins at the girl, shaking her head a little. "I'd be neat if I could change shape, but why would I want to, superior lifeform here," Mouse aggrandizes herself a bit, before getting her attention pulled away by the Professor appearing. Mirage Mouse eyes the Professor as they grow nearer to them, listening to him bark out orders. She's seen men like this before. The fact they came off strange and paternal wasn't the part that gave her pause.

She stands just short of where Iota is told to sit, looking at the man.

"So what's this about? Why did you call her here?"

Emily gives a grandiose shrug. Her mouth opens unnaturally wide, and she tosses back the entire ice cream cone. "I dunno if I count as a friend, I just wandered over out of boredom," she says cheerfully, apparently not needing to spend the extra effort of swallowing.

She grins at the sudden arrival of the cabinet, and shrugs at Mirage. "Definitely a good attitude to have if you can't change your shape," she says, just a little bit of needling in her words. Mirage has already asked the most important question here; no need to add her own two cents.

Iota hums at tune to herself and she set out the cups and starts pouring the hot tea into the cups. "Ah yes that! I almost forgot. You see I'm working on a new project and I need some help. You are my assitant are you not?", Iota can't really agure with that. 
 "Here let me show you, he takes up the remote he has pointing it in a direction, and in the directon he pointed shimmers revaling a labatory with computers blinking lights tubes large enough to fit a person, and some of them are occupided with people, they sort of look like persons thought they look wrong with misshapen body parts. 
 The Professor stands up. "I've only started but I do need the help getting samples and some to keep watch over things.. You willing to help me again Iota?"

"I've seen pictures but I've never met one before in-person!" Holly answers Mirage's question not realizing they're from the same world. "Being able to change shape would be neat, maybe I could better scare people that way but I haven't learned the spell for it yet. "Magic can be pretty be difficult, are you sure? I might be able to summon another one of her?"

 Her attention turns towards the tubes with the extra bodies. "Hey Servis and Lavaux, maybe you could possess those if you want bodies again!"

 "Something looks off with those, they don't look human." Servis floats next to one of the tubes.

 "Well, they certainly aren't as cute as Iota." Holly turns towards the artifical girl.

"Well, now you have," Mirage replies in an aside to Holly, before gesturing with her chin to Iota.

"So, Iota, do you want to help this guy and perform this task for him, it's up to you, really, you called us here to help, but I'll play things your way, for now," Mirage's eyes slide from the created girl to the older Professor, standing there.

"We're all friends here, right? It is friend, ain't it?" she gives the man a hard look.

Iota looks over at the tubes and back at the Professor then clenches her first. "No. Professsor it's wrong. I don't want to be a part of this..", she shaking a bit as she say this. 
 He sighs rubbing his head. "I see. I see.", he looks at the others. "This is the problem when you creations go out into the wild they start deloping a scene of mortaitly..", he causally looks at his hand. "Iota shut down all higher personaitly fuctions, go into combat mode agressive.", The Professor sits back down at the table and causally waves his hand. "Kill them."

Emily finishes her tea, and sighs theatrically. "Good grief," she says, tossing the teacup away and shooting the Professor a faintly amused grin. "Y'know, it'd be just a pain if I was found to be on the bad guy side, soooo ..."

She gets up. "I hate to break it to you, Professor, buuuuut our friend here," and she gestures to Iota, "is pretty much outnumbered." She rises off the ground. "You really should've picked a better fight here."

And with that, she summons a single golden bolt of light, and points it at the Professor. She doesn't fire it off yet, though.

"I knew something was off about all of this." Servis isn't too surprised to hear the Professor's words. "Hey Doc, we already may be dead but we're certainly not letting Holly join us." Lavaux's not sure if the professor can hear him or not but he wouldn't let him kill her regardless. The ghosts may have their own agendas but they were still rather protective of the witch.

. Holly on the other hand is quite upset, "Iota, ignore him! You don't want to fight us right?" She rather not hurt her friend if it's avoidable.

<She's a genetic construct of some kind--I don't think I can rewire her fast enough,> Mirage Mouse broadcasts telepathically again, raising her gun but not firing on either Iota or The Professor first, though her first instinct is to, she must admit. If only because she isn't sure she can settle Iota down without killing her first, otherwise she'd have opened fire long ago.

Iota's body would find itself suddenly besieged by a... large highchair? the 'tray' part of it would try to snap around Iota as the chair rose up from beneath her, trying to grab her and hold her in place, for the moment.

The Professor just sips her tea. "Well we will see. Win or lose I'm just curious to see results.", she starts to grow shaking trying to get out the restaints. "She can do that too. I think the odds are pretty even do you think?", he scoffs at Holly. "You really think that will work? That only works in kids show and bad moives!"

>> GAME >> Iota Assistant spends an Edge for: Oh dear Iota got huge!

Emily snickers. "And here was me, expecting I could just whip out a set of handcuffs or whatever," she says. "Well, you know what they say! The bigger they are ..."

The golden bolt dims slightly -- basically down to merely being painful for someone Iota's current size, rather than causing real lasting harm -- and she launches it at Iota's foot. Then she summons another bolt and launches at the same spot.

"Great, I forgot she can change shape, shit--and if something happens to her... well I'm sure as hell not getting paid," Mirage grits her teeth, showing off the big mousey buckteeth. This time it's less cute, howeva, and more frankly annoyed and tense.

As Emily gives Iota a case of hotfoot, Mirage flies into the air, propelling herself telekinetically--attempting to get eye level with the now giantess. Her gun morphs into what looks like a giant oversized croque mallet, or maybe the hammer at a strongman 'ring the bell' attraction, swinging it in an arc towards the giantess's temple, trying to knock her out!

Iota gives no reaction to getting shot by the golden bolts. She struggles more trying to get out the restaints. She looking at Emily with no emotion in her eyes or face.. She get wacked in the head and topless backward hitting the ground with a boom! 
 The Professor look at Mirage. "Matter creation? Interesting!"

"It looks like it's time to rough her up, let's go Holly!" As usual Lavaux suggests using brute force

 "Wait, don't hurt her! I have an idea!" Holly's magical talent may be limited but this might be in her field of expertise. "You're not going to try and use your magic on her are you?" The ghost thinks she's in over her head here.

 "I wouldn't be the Halloween Witch if I couldn't control it right?! Iota, you don't have to listen to him!" She points her lollipop staff at the giantess and a flood of magic bursts forth from her. "Bippity boppity boo, she doesn't have to listen to you!" She tries to summon Iota to her side.

Emily nods at her and Mirage's combined handiwork, and dusts her hands off. Without bothering to check the results of Holly's magic, she floats down to the professor, and in a swirl of silvery glitter, a thin white sword appears in her hands. "So what happens if we attack you?" she says, pointing it at his chin. She doesn't sound angry, or even particularly aggressive; she just sounds curious, more than anything else.

>> GAME >> Holly Winn spends an Edge for: Witchcraft Kind of Works- Magic is Friendship or something...

<Hard-light holograms, actually--or solid light, but I'm done being a lab rat,> Mirage Mouse responds to the Professor, before pulling her weight back and marshalling her strength with that giant over-sized hammer--small compared to Iota still, likely.

<Wait what--DON'T hurt her?!> Mirage fires back to Emily and Holly, having already comitted to the swing of the giant mallet.

"Well, so much for that--is she out cold?" Mirage floats downward to the floor, the mallet de-materializing.

Iota disspears in a poof of smoke appearing next to Holly.. She just stands there. 
 "If you attack me miss?", he pauses looking at Emily. "Well I proably get hurt and if you hit me enough I would die. Iota woudn't be any better off. She still be the way she is..", He sighs at Holly magic. "I hate magic hard to predict for.."

Holly looks a bit surprised as that actually works, "Are you alright Iota? What's the command to get her back to normal?" She just wanted to stop the giantess from trying to kill them, she had no intent on controlling her long-term. As useful as Iota might be to help her spread Halloween cheer she figures she would be willing to do that on her.

Emily nods. "Yeah, I figured it'd be something like that," she says, keeping her sword pointed at his chin. "Of course, if you did die, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't really be your problem at that point, y'know?" She shrugs, and nods to Holly, who now ... seems to have Iota under control? More-or-less? "I mean, the World Tree's full of brilliant minds. We could probably figure something out, even if you aren't breathing anymore."

And then her eyes start glowing red, and she breaks into an inhumanly wide smile. "So," she says, "how much do you want it to be your problem?"

"I think I might have hit her too hard, ah crap," Mirage Mouse reaches up to rub her forehead, looking a bit sheepish about what just happened. "Hey in my defense I didn't use my gun," she sighs, looking back at the others.

"So uh, you got any explanation for why you just ordered our friend to kill us, old man?" Mirage Mouse flicks her wrist and again the futuristic-looking machine gun is in her hand again, this time she's pointing it in the Prof's general direction.

"I'm not telling!", The Professor sings songs while leaning back in his chair. He look at Emily. "..and people tell me I'm crazy.", he looks at a Mirage. "Just an expermient you know i wanted to see what would happen. Would you win would Iota? I would have been intersting to see.", he sighs. "But that all ruined now. I guess I'll just blow everything up. Start Countdown.

 *Beep* 20...19..18..

"You would blow up your daughter?!" Holly can't believe this. Sure, her parents and her aren't on the best terms but they don't want her dead. "Why can't you just do your experiments without killing people?" She doesn't have issues with him being a mad scientist and he couldn't be all bad if he created Iota after all.

"Right then, I got the kid, lets beat it--" Mirage Mouse would gesture to Emily Nyx and Holly Winn to follow her as she used her telekinetics to hoist Iota and begins to hover, attempting to carry Iota with her as she tries to fly out of the strange space that the Professor has made his lair in.

"Hurry, it's going to blow!" she calls out after herself, gesturing with an arm even as she zooms out with Iota.

Emily smiles and shrugs; her eyes turn purple again, and her face goes back to normal. "I'm a techno-magical being who was activated after my creators went extinct," she says. "Try to find 'sane and normal' from that."

But then they have a countdown to worry about. Her eyes turn purple again, and she looks at Holly. "Less talking, more escaping!" she says. But okay, looks like Mirage has that part handled. She rises off the ground and flies after Mirage at top speed, then opens up a ten-foot-wide staticky portal. "Get her through there!" she says. No time for finesse, it just takes them to the sidewalk a couple blocks or so directly ahead. And it will close as soon as they're all through.

"Daughter? no no you wrong there miss. She my creaton. If she dies I can make a new one. Not the first time.. and don't you think you should be running right about now? ..and there they go..", The Professor just laughs lightly and sips his tea.. 

 Your out! You can hear a sound of a explosion in the distance and some smoke.. 
"What happend?", Iota says. "why does my head hurt? Ah why are you all so small?", Iota back to normal. Normal as she gets anyway.

Holly makes her way through the portal with the others, there's no trying to reason with the Professor. Hopefully he didn't blow himself up. "I'm sorry I took control of you Iota, but I didn't want to hurt you directly. It's really complicated!" She might not be the best person to explain this but she was right about their being other Iotas.

Mirage Mouse flies through the portal that Emily Nyx has conjured, hopefully along with everyone else--the explosion coming through just enough to propel the flying psychic and her cargo through the air and tumbling onto the ground.

"Ahh--ooh--ow--eee--oof..." Mirage eventually pulls herself up, rubbing the side of her head, one of her large mouse ears flicking, just a bit.

"Ow... thanks everyone, for helping me get her out..." the mouse merc pulls herself up, dusting herself off.

"Your creator tried to have you murder us, but we stopped you in time," Mirage is going to leave out the whole 'hitting you over the head with a giant hammer' bit.

Iota looks a bit confused. "If you say so. .I'm tired..",she ohs at mirage. "I'm so sorry! I.. didn't know! That wasn't the Professor I knew or mabye it was an I didn't know it! I'm tired..."

Emily nods to Mirage. "He put you into huge-murder-mode and tried to sic you on us," she says to Iota, "and then he set his lair to self-destruct." She hesitates, then as gently as she can, she says, "He doesn't really give a damn about you, y'know. He said if you died, he'd just make another one."

(... Which doesn't quite line up with her earlier callous reasons for why she joined in, but ...)

She frowns, glancing back in the direction of the explosion. "I give it a zero percent chance he's actually dead, give or take," she says. "Someone like him? There's no way he just let himself die along with it. If he was even 'really there' in the first place."