World Tree MUSH

The tidally locked world of Anatonia VII is an odd vine to fall into. In addition to having one half of it's surface eternally sun-scorched and the other clad in darkness, it's an ancient world with Hive Cities stretching to the sky on the sunny half, and the ruins of a long-ago bombed-out older civilization on the dark half. This makes it /prime/ territory for intrepid adventurers, criminals, and all sorts of scavengers interested in plumbing it's ruined catacombs and buildings for ancient pieces of technology or other such things. 

Hence a young man clad in dark, fur-lined robes and insulated underclothing stands before the entrance to a long-ruined, gargantuan factory. It's architecture is a combination of crude, ugly metals accentuated with angelic figures, and mottos extolling the virtues of work and duty. The entrance is a giant busted-open industrial doorset leading to the destroyed cranes, rusting tank parts, tracks and long-picked-over munitions crates of a once thriving weapons factory on a gigantic scale. The upper offices are picked clean as well, with only barely-working emergency lights keeping any sort of light in the area. None of it is natural. 

In the center of the massive factory is a giant hole leading downwards into the bowels of the facility. Signs everywhere read 'Do Not Enter By Order of the Planetary Governor'. Oddly there's no one actually guarding the place. 

Chrollo long ago 'dealt with' anyone who might get in the way of his plundering, bodies safely tucked away beneath rubble outside. 

He waits, having put feelers out for anyone brave or foolish enough to join him on this thieving adventure, the Spider not only seeking reasure, but potential recruits!

    Blackheart has been wandering about through various worlds, sometimes at night and other times into worlds without sunlight for whatever reason. At present she's perched atop a ruined portion of a building; her clothing made in the same Meso-American style resembling the outfit she wore when she was first revived. Upon seeing Chrollo arrive in the area below however, she makes a few short leaps from cement crag to cement crag before kicking off the side of a building to land next to him. Of note to him however, may be the fact that the wall she kicked off of was both some distance away and /crumbled/ after the leap.

    Blackheart hasn't particularly said anything, but is leaning in perhaps a bit too close for personal space as she examines Chrollo wordlessly... Including sniffing. Awkward. Leaning back, she then raises her hand. "Heya!" she says cheerfully. "-Or was that too casual?" she asks. "I'm still learning about social stuff in this era. And place, actually."

The robed young man, rather than seem put off by the odd behaviour of the tall Pillar Person, tilts his head up enough to look her in the eyes even as he's being sniffed. His interest definitely seems more in how effortlessly she leapt all the way here and the destruction she left behind. And yet, he didn't see a touch of Nen! Chrollo is still getting used to the idea of non-Nen users with such absurd abilities, but this nevertheless is still enough of an oddity that he can't help but have his curiousity piqued. 

What else can this bizzare woman do? And what darkness lurks in her heart? 

He offers a laugh with a warm affectation. "Miss, in a world that's half collapsed, I don't think anyone is going to care about being casual. Call me Crow. They'll be more interested in your capabilities." 

And then he motions towards the far-off crumbling remains that she leapt from as if to prove his point. Before taking out a pair of flashlights, offering one over. A second glance at her garb? Hmm. 

He demonstratively flicks the thin beam of light on, ties a rope to a sturdy looking twisted up tank engine, and starts neatly rapelling down the massive hole. 

"We'll be exploring the fifth level. According to the technologists I spoke to, this section recently opened up in a debris collapse. Most of the other levels are picked over, but they say the tunnels and levels go at least two hundred floors deep." Offers Chrollo of what knowledge he's picked up from the locals. 

And the spritely young man leaps off to the side of what was once a massive loading bay, a rather dubious looking hole opened up as a rusting spacecraft's hull as shuddered open under the weight of accreted factoria above. At least that's how it /should/ look, but one look at the edges and a person can see it's been blasted through with something hot. It's cool now, but these wounds look /recent/. 

Through the spacecraft hole, one can traverse into a very dark tunnel, with enough room for about three large tanks to drive across. Faded symbols on the floor might have once been more factory designations for the workers, warning signs and somesuch. Now they're just old markins from a bygone era. There's enough junk lying around, but it's all rusted and beyond repair. Chrollo stops occasionally to inspect a piece of junk, but never for long. Blackheart might notice how he tends to keep towards cover even now. 

Odd too for a human to not have any visible weapons. 

Cue uneventful trudging, until the duo get to a split in the factory floor, one corridor left and one right. Down the right corridor there's the sounds of something /grinding/. The left? Blue-ish lights in the distance, and only the sharpest eyes can catch something moving back there. 

"I'd recommend we stick together." Offers 'Crow', before curiously considering his options. 

"We may have a better time outside of the light. Although that may be functioning technology." Muses the man openly, and quietly.

    "...Did we meet earlier? I've met a lot of people in the past few days. Sometimes I lose track of acquaintances." Blackheart says, "I hope I didn't agree to something you're invoking now." she says, tapping the side of her chin with a fist lightly." her confusion does seem odd if she is, in fact, here for the job. "I'm Blackheart." she adds, "-Though I keep on hearing that means, 'Evil' to a lot of people. I don't really blame you, humans have always had a fear of the dark." she observes, "But you don't burn in light either, so it's not a big deal." then looks over at the entryway. "I'd still be interested in exploring this place, though!.. I mean, even if I didn't talk it out beforehand."

Both brows rise. "...You aren't here to salvage? I was being presumptuous. Then let's strike up an agreement. We split the profits of anything we find. We keep each other alive. Otherwise, no string attached, unless you /want/ to work together." Comes Crow! That is explicitly a deal! A glance back over to Blackheart. 

"Evil is such a loaded term. Self interest is natural to anyone. People who cry out 'evil' only want to judge other people." 

He explicitly doesn't answer whether she's met him before. Better to lead her on a bit! 

Then he ducks towards the dark tunnel with a wave. Out goes the flashlight, and if Blackheart can sense the supernatural? His eyes begin to lightly glow with the power of Nen. Fighting spirit, magic, it's that same power that so many martial artists use! Life energy! Luckily for her, there's no hint of the sun like a Hamon user would. If anything, it's closer to the darkness they find themselves in. He, too, is at home where the sun doesn't shine. 

After some cautious advance? The two come across something moving in the darkness! Two spider-legged, giant machines with multiple human skulls for a face scrape, cut, grind, and occasionally let loose with a red burning laser into the pile of junk before them. Each AI monstrosity is easily three times the size and width of Blackheart. 

They haven't noticed the two yet, but one stops, beginning to scan the area with sensors!

    "...I've seen a man who believed that killing everyone else would be justified if it meant he became more powerful. He sought omnipotence as a moral end, associating it with perfection." Blackheart says, then shakes her head. "But now isn't hte time to talk about right and wrong..." she observes, then looks at the light. "Cooooool." she says with a grin. "...How /are/ you doing that anyway?" she asks... But the machines catch her attention as her expression reads something between disgust and, "WTF". "If we have to break those things... I can, and will." she observes, setting her face into a serious stare.

"So short sighted." Mutters Chrollo at Blackheart's revelation! He can hardly agree with Kars' motives. Who would be left to take from if everyone was dead? And where would you find people to complete yourself? The thief doesn't have much time to contemplate further either. There are deathbots afoot! 

"A talent of mine." 

As for mashing the machines? Chrollo holds up his hand for patient, ducking against a piece of metal to dodge a searching sensor-laser! The robot seems distracted searching, while the other continues excavating. And excavating. And excavating! After half a minute, the thing manages to burrow enough space for itself to squeeze further down the tunnel it's making. 

And then Chrollo makes motions towards the remaining deathbot as it cautiously clanks up towards Blackheart and Chrollo. The thief doesn't immediately attack, happy to wait for the robot to notice the large ancient woman! 

Sorry Blackheart, he's using you as bait.

    Blackheart doesn't notice the motions, but sees the machine approaching slowly. Not wanting to take chances she rushes towards it and lands a hard punch on the skulls mounted on the machine causing them to shatter, before her fist finds its way into the chassis and the sound of crunching metal can be heard as it flies several feet back into a wall. "...I thought those metals would be tougher. Huh." she says.

Well! Chrollo had clearly underestimated the power of Blackheart, as the thief's eyes go wide while he leans out of cover. The monstrous A.I. smashes into the wall, legs swaying and flailing with sharp scrapers as it's insides spark and sputter! Skullheads turn and it's ocular sensors peer, laser-blasts slash an cut into the ceiling before it writhes, and goes still. 

The thief dusts himself off from a bit of debris that drops down the ceiling, turning from smashed robot to Blackheart herself. 

"I think...you must be used to far tougher materials. Impressive, Miss Blackheart." And not even a hint of Nen! 

And then the ceiling shudders, the damage done by the spider-bots causing more junk to fall. A junkalanche! 

"BACK!" He motions, grabbing one of the larger woman's arms and urging her away from the falling debris! His legs glow with life energy, and he makes a hard kick against a falling tank tread, cleaving it in two like he had an ultra-sharp blade on his leg! It falls away from them both, split as it is, and he /rushes/ in a blurr. He indeed isn't a normal human either! The area is collapsing, and they'll need to move in order to not get crushed!

    "Agh!" Blackheart says, grabbing Chrollo by the collar of his jacket and /running/. She's not going so fast initially as to tear it but she is moving at a pretty high speed out of the ruins. "SorryIdidn'tthinkI'dcausethis!" she says in a rushed apology as she careens out towards the exit.

Chrollo is snatched up like so much of a potato sack, and he grips the larger woman's shoulder as he's hauled along. When the final beam of steel and wing of ancient fighter craft slams closed the newly uncovered level? Well he leaps off of Blackheart, tossing her more of that rope he used to get down there to make sure she doesn't fall further! 

Dust and light debris follows them, their clothes are musty from ancient metals, but they're alive! Chrollo, clinging to the rope, sighs in relief. 

"It's fine. We're alive, and now we know that there's something worth dredging up, given it's guarded. I think we will need help to do this job." He offers to Blackheart. And then something to drink! 

Chrollo swallows some, clearing his dusty throat. 

"Let's head back up and reorganize."