Extrication

[Brian]

<Brian> When last we left our heroes, Bigfire had hauled Eb to Texas, where they're expecting to catch the MiBs in the act of capturing someone else, even though they all think it's a trap.
<Ebiris> We're crazy and desperate!
Halbarad suspects nothing.
<Brian> After an interesting (if not entirely eventful) night of sleeping in the hayloft of someone else's barn (also, more restful than had been expected), David wakes everyone up and whispers for them to follow him outside.
Ebiris silently follows as told, looking around a bit nervously.
<Brian> The other three (Carlos, David, and Ryan) are pretty light-footed, but there's no cows in this barn.  It's a bit chilly out, and there's frost all over the ground.
<Brian> It's probably about 5:30 AM or so ... you're not entirely sure.  But it's before sunrise.
Ebiris shivers slightly, hefting his duffel bag over his back while looking at the others expectantly.
<Brian> The area immediately around you is covered with short grass, frost, and the occasional haystack.  In the distance, through some light fog, you can see a herd of cows all bunched together for warmth.
<Brian> David peers about for a second, and then looks at Carlos.  Carlos blinks, and then points roughly towards the cows, saying, "That's north."
<Brian> David nods, and heads off at an angle.  The others follow him.
Ebiris likewise follows, trusting the others to know where they're going.
<Brian> Very shortly, you reach a road, which they then follow.
<Brian> "A nice quiet morning," Carlos says after a few minutes of walking.  "Gah.  I miss regular showers."
<Ebiris> "No kidding," Daniel mutters. "I could really do with a hot shower right now...."
<Brian> David and Ryan nod glumly in agreement, and then David says, "If this is the end of the trail, like we expect, we can meet up with the others and find a place to stay for a while."
<Ebiris> "We'll see, whatever we find in Austin..." Daniel says thoughtfully, not really sure that he can say anything meaningful, being rather new to the 'fleeing a terrorist conspiracy with claws in all levels of global government' thing.
<Brian> David nods, and you walk on towards what signs shortly reveal to be the city itself.  Either they've been here before, or David really knows his way around.
<Ebiris> "Whereabouts in Austin is the address we got, yesterday?"
<Brian> "A state institution for mental health," David says, examining the scrap of paper.  "Which makes sense.  People who are ... 'different' ... often exhibit some form of minor power."
<Brian> "We're looking for someone named Kyle Defoe.  I'm not sure who it is, yet ... but I imagine we'll find out."
<Brian> It doesn't actually take too long to begin walking through a sort of sporadic suburbia, interspersed with empty fields, and then, suddenly, you're in downtown proper, the sun is up, and businessmen are walking around in casual clothing, but still carrying briefcases.
Ebiris nods, continuing to follow the gang through town, although wondering exactly what they're going to DO at the institution...
<Brian> Before you get to the institution, Carlos stops at an ATM.  He puts in a library card, pushes a few buttons, there's a power surge, he looks both confused and innocent, and then shrugs as he accepts four hundred dollars in cash.
<Brian> Then, Carlos gives everyone one hundred dollars.  Ryan nods, and says, "Breakfast?"
<Ebiris> Going slightly goggle-eyed, Daniel resists the urge to laugh out loud. "Sounds good to me," he says as he accepts the cash.
<Brian> David nods in agreement, and explains, "Visiting hours are probably not until ten.  We should make sure we're at our best in case something goes wrong."
<Brian> After that, David picks out a Denny's, which is not the best restaurant, but it's busy enough that no one will really stick out.
<Brian> And ... we now cut to Halbarad.
<Brian> Halbarad.  You have just entered the office and sat down at your desk, looking over your paperwork.  And trying to make sense of your interesting, if bizarre dream.  (Also, that lipstick doesn't seem to come off your collar-bone.  You're wearing a high-necked shirt today.)
Halbarad pulls at his collar uncomfortably as he sorts through which clients he's supposed to meet with today.
<Brian> Your current project is a young man -- about fourteen years old -- named Kyle Defoe.
Halbarad looks for the previous case worker's notes, as he hasn't visited with Kyle before.
<Brian> Apparently he suffers from some mental disorder.  But the previous case-worker doesn't know which one.  He's disassociative, and apparently perceives everything in a fuge-like state.  He's sluggish, and his reflexes are slowed ... but there's nothing physically or chemically wrong with him.  The notes indicate he might just be autistic, but he doesn't respond to the same stimuli that many autistic children do.
Halbarad frowns a bit at the odd diagnosis, but gets his things together for the visit anyway. Maybe a first-hand visit with the boy will reveal a bit more.
<Brian> And maybe the previous case-worker didn't even bother to try -- that's a half-assed report if you ever saw one.
<Brian> As you leave the office and pass briefly through the lobby, one of the attendants flags you down, jogging a bit to catch up.  "Tim!" she calls.
<Halbarad> "Hmm? What's up?" Tim stops for a moment.
<Brian> Ah, Susan -- the gossip.  Catching her breath, she explains, "There's two men here to visit Kyle -- they want to withdraw him from the program and take care of him themselves.  They claim to be his father and his uncle, respectively."
<Halbarad> "Have they provided any identification?" Tim asks, frowning a bit.
<Brian> "Well," Susan says, fidgeting a bit with some piece of knitting she was working on.  "Yes ... but he was dropped off last week by his father and his mother.  And the man in the lobby is not his father."
<Halbarad> "That's odd," Tim muses. "Well, if you can stall them I'll try to take care of it after I get back. I was just about to head over to the hospital to give him a visit. I can get them sorted out after that."
<Brian> "They're really demanding, though," she says, shaking her head.  "And I can't legitimately tie them up for long -- their ID matches.  It's almost like ... like the people who dropped him off were lying about their identities."
Halbarad grumbles to himself. "They're going to HAVE to wait. I'm not going to release him until I can get a chance at a better diagnosis, and I can't do that until I have a visit with him. And they're going to have to wait for me for a release, unless Ella transferred his case to someone else already?"
<Brian> "No," she says slowly.  "But they are threatening to call the police."  Making up her mind, she nods.  "I'll do what I can to stall them."  With that, she turns around and starts jogging back to the lobby.
Halbarad sighs, hurrying out to his car. Susan might be a bit of a gossip, but she's good about favors.
<Brian> And now, we cut to a local Denny's....
<Brian> Ebiris!  The food was ... really not spectacular.  Not awful.  Just really ... unimpressive.  The service was pretty lousy, though, and David is currently debating in a low voice with Carlos over leaving a hundred dollar bill (their only currency) to pay for the bill, or just walking out.
<Ebiris> "It's probably not worth drawing attention to ourselves like that," Daniel suggests. "Just pay. Not like it's our money."
<Brian> Carlos breaks off mid explanation about how its their moral duty to leave a tip, since the waitress depends on that money to survive when he suddenly sits up straight, and blinks.  "They're moving in," he says, glancing at Ryan.  "I caught one of their transmissions -- they mentioned 'Kyle'."
<Brian> David swears, and throws down a hundred dollar bill, since the waitress isn't going to offer to make change any time soon, and swiftly heads towards the exit, Carlos and Ryan only a half-step behind.
Ebiris follows right behind the trio!
<Brian> You step outside into the daylight.  It's probably about ten, maybe ten thirty in the morning.  Still pretty chilly.  Carlos points to a nondescript van (looks like a blue Chevy Astro) as it rounds a corner.  "That's them," he says.
<Ebiris> "So, what's the plan?" Daniel asks, unzipping his duffel bag to take out the tazer and put it in his coat pocket.
<Brian> David nods.  "Let's see what they're up to.  Daniel, stay with me, Carlos and Ryan will circle around and get them from behind."  Ryan and Carlos nod, and run off, and David moves to follow the van, which goes another block and then stops in front of an government building ... looks like an administrative office for something or another.
Ebiris keeps a hand in his pocket with the tazer, feeling rather nervous as he walks alongside David.
<Brian> David has his hands in his pockets, too, and you follow the van from behind.
<Brian> And now ... we break to Halbarad.
<Brian> Halbarad!
<Brian> You're not sure what's going on -- you've gotten to the hospital, but those two men are right behind you, and look furious.
<Brian> You've got no idea why, unless Susan did something she really shouldn't have.  Though, the large coffee stain on one of the men suggests that she just might have.
<Brian> The two of them look relatively similar, enough so that you might believe them being brothers, but both of them really look a bit too young to have a fourteen-year-old son.
Halbarad glances back at the two men, scowling a bit. At least they can't get into the hospital proper without authorization. Quickening his already fast walk a bit more, he heads for the entrance.
<Brian> You make it to the entrance first, and are through, though they're gaining on you.  Just after you clear security and look back, both of the men draw guns and badges from their pockets and force their way through security.
<Halbarad> 'What the hell?' Tim breaks into a jog through the corridors of the hospital, heading for Kyle's room. Whoever these guys are, they're sure not interested in his well-being - not with guns.
<Brian> You sprint.  When the men see you running, they yell, and run after -- but all their muscle seems to slow them down, so you get ahead of them.
<Brian> In a few seconds you reach Kyle's room, short on breath but otherwise okay.
Halbarad ducks inside quickly, looking at Kyle as he tries to regain his breath. "Kyle?"
<Brian> You see something odd when you enter the room.  For a moment, your vision is doubled.  Kyle is sitting at a table.  In one sense, you see a very sleepy, but otherwise normal looking teenager.  In another, you see the same kid wearing gold armor and a pair of golden revolvers with silver handles.  But when you blink, the secondary image vanishes, and he looks at you sleepily.  "Doctor?" he asks, his voice slightly slurred.
<Brian> He's of average height, and has short but unkempt black hair, and brown eyes.  There's a scar on one cheek, just below his left eye, though it's relatively small.  That's about his most distinguishing feature.
<Halbarad> "No, my name is Mr. Maus. I'm your new case worker," Tim answers, locking the door behind him. It probably won't hold the two outside for long, but hopefully it'll give security enough time to catch them. "It's nice to meet you, Kyle," Tim says, giving the young man a smile.
<Brian> "Oh, hello," he says, smiling dreamily.  "Pandora says she met you last night."
<Halbarad> "Pandora?" Tim says, taking a seat at the table. "Who's that?"
<Brian> "She's the woman you talked to on the mountain prison," Kyle says, seeming to gain awareness the more he speaks.
Halbarad blinks. "Wait... huh? Mountain prison... I only dreamed about that last night, I didn't actually GO anywhere like that," Tim says, his fingers unconsciously moving to his collarbone.
<Brian> He blinks, like he's just waking up, and then rubs at an eye.  "She said that Pax Arcana would come to try and kill me today, because I'm one of the last anchor-points for the Brothers of Morpheus."
<Halbarad> "Wait... Pax Arcana? Brothers of Morpheus? Who are they?" Tim asks, barely keeping his composure. This sure doesn't match the diagnosis in the boy's file at all.
<Halbarad> And the fact that he's talking about Tim's own dreams as if he was there isn't helping much, either.
<Brian> And ... we cut to Ebiris here.
<Brian> Ebiris: As you approach the building, you see two men emerge from the van, and draw guns.  David swears, and breaks into a run for the building, but they vanish inside while he's still headed towards it.
Ebiris bolts right after David. 'Guns?! Oh, shit... America sucks.'
<Brian> You both run up to the door, where flustered security guards refuse to let you pass.
<Brian> "You can't come in without authorization," the chief guard growls, his face slightly red, and looking very angry.
Ebiris glances at David, hoping HE has some bright idea.
<Brian> David chews his lower lip angrily for a moment, then whips a badge out of his pocket.  "I'm with Interpol," he says tersely.  "Two known terrorists claiming to be FBI have just broken into this facility with drawn weapons."
<Brian> The security guard's eyes widen, and he says, "I ... can't let ... we ... I have to process your badge numbers to verify your identity," he says.
<Brian> "Of course," David says aloud, then dropping his voice so low you can barely hear it, and saying, "close your eyes."
Ebiris dutifully does so.
<Brian> roll 14#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 14#1d6 --> [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=6 ]{6}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}
<Brian> There's a flash so bright that you flinch with your eyes closed.
<Ebiris> "Eeehh..." Daniel winces, taking a moment to recover before he opens his eyes, blinking.
<Brian> When you open your eyes, the guards are staggering around with their eyes open wide, unable to see anything.  "Security!" one of the guards yells, before he trips over another guard.
<Brian> David is already moving through the metal detector -- which goes off the second he passes through it.
Ebiris bolts after David, hoping Ryan can get them out of this place. The front door doesn't look like an option, now.
<Brian> David seems to know where he's going, and you rush down a corridor, then a hallway (or was it the other way around?), rounding a corner, and confronting a pair of men.  One of them fires his pistol as you see him, shooting through the lock on a door.
Ebiris pulls out his tazer right away, aiming at the man not currently shooting up the lock. 'Oh, God, I am so dead...'
<Brian> Halbarad, the lock of the door to your room has just exploded.  Blinking dreamily, like he's going back into his fuge state, Kyle whips what looks like a solid gold revolver with a silver handle out of literally no-where, and hands it to you before he dives to the floor.
<Brian> We'll call this phase 0.
<Halbarad> "What the hell...." Tim gapes at the gun in his hand.
<Brian> Everyone except the MiB who shot the lock off is assumed to have a held action.
<Brian> The door is now swinging open.  Ebiris has declared his action, so he will act first.
<Brian> Go ahead and make your roll to attack.
<Ebiris> roll 3d6 for Zap!
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Ebiris ... : 3d6 for Zap! --> [ 3d6=10 ]{10}
<Brian> This is good enough to hit -- roll your damage.
<Ebiris> roll 7#1d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Ebiris ... : 7#1d6 --> [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=1 ]{1}, [ 1d6=4 ]{4}, [ 1d6=3 ]{3}, [ 1d6=5 ]{5}, [ 1d6=2 ]{2}
<Brian> Your shot causes the man to spasm, drop his weapon, and fall to the ground.
<Brian> It's now David's action, and he just gestures with one hand at the shooter.
<Brian> roll 3d6
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=16 ]{16}
<Brian> His shot goes wide -- you think you see the knife from the Denny's you were at (among other things) shoot into the floor at his feet.
<Brian> He swears.
<Brian> Halbarad, the door has just swung open, leaving you facing a man with a drawn gun, the barrel still (faintly) smoking.
Halbarad readies the gun that just came out of nowhere and fires back - he doesn't like people shooting at him.
<Brian> Go ahead and roll to hit.
<Halbarad> roll 3d6 for Bang!
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Halbarad ... : 3d6 for Bang! --> [ 3d6=6 ]{6}
<Brian> roll 3d6 for hit location
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Brian ... : 3d6 for hit location --> [ 3d6=9 ]{9}
<Halbarad> roll 1d6+1d3
<Chibi-Suu> them bones was tossed for Halbarad ... : 1d6+1d3 --> [ 1d6=3 1d3=2 ]{5}
<Brian> You tag him in the shoulder -- he spins around, falls to the ground, and impales himself on the culinery impliments lying there.
Ebiris yelps at the sound of gunfire from inside the room, wincing at what just happened to the unfortunate MiB.
<Halbarad> "Oh my god...." Tim says, his arm going limp. "What the hell just happened?"
<Brian> For the moment, it looks clear -- his partner (there were two of them) is lying on the ground and twitching.  Though, a wire does lead from his chest and then away....
<Brian> The gun in Tim's hand vanishes into nothingness.
<Halbarad> At the moment, this only registers as a slight weirdness, considering that he just shot someone.
<Brian> "We have to go," Kyle says sleepily.  "They'll try and kill me again.  And if I die, the Brothers of Morhpeus will lose an anchor."
<Brian> David looks around the corridor, and then cautiously peeks into the room.
Ebiris winces as David does that, hoping he doesn't get his head blown off.
<Brian> Halbarad, you see a very tall, thin, blond-haired man peeking into the room at you and Kyle.
<Brian> "We're friends," he adds, thoughtfully, when he sees no weapons between Halbarad and Kyle.
Halbarad shakes his head, Kyle's words breaking him out of his shock. "Right.... come on then, we'll try to get you someplace safer." He glances up at the man, moving to position himself between Kyle and the doorway. "What do you want?"
<Ebiris> Seeing that hostilities seem to be over, Daniel scoops up the gun belonging to the MiB he just tazered, also retracting the wires from the device. Not that he plans on shooting anyone with a gun of course, he'd just rather it was in his possession than the MiBs...
Halbarad sighs. "I am SO lost here." He looks over at David. "You're not here to hurt Kyle, are you?"
<Brian> "No," he says, shaking his head.  "We're trying to stop the MiBs."
<Brian> "Speaking of which," Carlos interjects, "this place isn't such an awesome area to hang out.  I think it's time to make operation number thirty seven a reality."
<Brian> Ryan and David stare at Carlos blankly, until he adds, "Operation 'book like fuck'."
<Halbarad> "If you mean those guys that just shot the door, I'm grateful. Right now I want to get Kyle out of here - I don't understand what's going on, but this place isn't safe for him anymore."
<Ebiris> "Yeah, making an exit sounds good to me," Daniel nods as he pockets the gun.
<Brian> "Oh," David says, as you hear footsteps rounding the corner.  "Carlos -- the lights.  Ryan, get us to Jim and Sterling."
<Brian> And then everything happens at once.  The lights overhead pop, shedding a sprinkle of sparks across the floor, and when your eyes adjust, you're standing in the same positions, but you're outside, behind a building, and it's the dead of night.
<Brian> There's no clouds, you're next to a warehouse, which has a light flicker on, struggling to shed any light, and you can see the stars.
<Halbarad> "What the hell?!" Tim asks, looking around rapidly. "What just happened? Where are we?" he fires off in rapid succession.
Ebiris nods approvingly at Ryan. "Nice work. Where in the world are we, now?"
<Brian> Ryan just grunts and passes out -- David catches him before he hits the ground.  You notice you're still standing on the tile floor ... Ryan even brought the bed and the table with him.
<Brian> "I kind of wonder what it looks like we left behind," Carlos mutters.  "We should be in Australia, somewhere near ... uh ... Melbourne.  Sterling, Jim, and Walker came here to chase down some of the other terrorists.  This seemed like a good time to meet up with them."
<Ebiris> "Fair enough," Daniel shrugs, already getting used to this wackiness.
<Halbarad> "Australia?" Tim says, his mouth gaping. "That's halfway across the world!"
<Brian> David nods.  "Okay, well, this isn't going to be too subtle, but we need to find someplace safe to hole up and get some rest.  Ryan's going to be out for probably a good day -- teleporting this far takes a lot of effort."
<Ebiris> "You guys know anywhere around here we can use?" Daniel asks, giving Tim an apologetic look.
Halbarad just looks rather stunned... in the space of half an hour he's been shot at, shot someone else, and transported halfway across the world to the middle of a continent half a world away. "What the hell is going on?" he says to no one in particular.
<Ebiris> "We're being chased by a psychic global terrorist conspiracy with claws in all levels of government. I think," Daniel replies succinctly. "Sorry that we got you mixed up in it, but we heard they were after Kyle... and I guess we were right."
<Halbarad> "Normally I'd look into having you admitted to the program after hearing you say that, but after the past twenty-four hours I'm not so sure about what sanity IS anymore." Tim sighs.
<Brian> "Well, first things first," David says, putting Ryan on the bed he teleported from Texas.  "Let's see if we can use this warehouse."
<Ebiris> "Yeah, my life was normal a day ago, too," Daniel replies with a grimace. "I'm Daniel, by the way."
<Brian> Carlos and David prowl around one of the doors, leaving Daniel and Tim together with Kyle, who's now sitting up right and rocking back and forth slowly, humming to himself, and Ryan, who's quite passed out.
Halbarad sticks out his hand. "Tim Maus," Tim introduces himself. "Kyle's case worker, which is I think what got me mixed up in this whole mess."
<Ebiris> "Tim... Maus..." Daniel repeats slowly. "Oh, shit... Hal?"
Halbarad blinks. "That's the name I go by online, yeah. Been using it for years." He narrows his brows, giving Daniel a critical look. "How did you know it?"
<Ebiris> "It's me, Ebiris!" Daniel says, stunned. "Crap, I should've known... that being Austin, and all..."
<Halbarad> "Eb?!" Tim says, gaping. "This is just getting weirder by the minute. Always wanted to meet you, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind," he says with a slight grin.
<Ebiris> "Yeah, a far cry from going to A-kon with Merc, I bet," Daniel snorts. "Well, I guess this saves me the trouble of getting online to tell you how I'm fleeing a global psychic terrorist conspiracy and will be afk for a while," he chuckles, trying to make light of the situation.
<Brian> In the distance, you hear the sound of something heavy and metal breaking, followed by the sound of an aluminum warehouse door rolling up.  "Jackpot!" Carlos calls.  "We've got a crash-space."
<Brian> The two return, Carlos hauling Ryan onto his shoulders and heading inside, and David looking at Halbarad and Ebiris in turn.  "How are you two holding up?" he asks.
<Ebiris> "Just filling Tim in on what's going on," Daniel explains. "Turns out we actually know each other on the internet."
Halbarad looks over towards the warehouse. "About as well as you'd expect from someone who just got ripped out of his life," Tim says with a sigh. "I'll manage, but it's hard to get used to the idea. I'm guessing you can't get me back to Austin anytime soon?" he says without much hope.
<Brian> "Small world," David says, scratching his head.  "We can take you back, probably in a day or two.  And normally, if you're not involved, we'd try and help you out.  But you did shoot an MiB, so that's liable to make things difficult."  He looks apologetic at this last.
<Ebiris> "Ryan could probably manage it tomorrow," Daniel shrugs. "I was back in Britain, yesterday, myself." Grimacing at David's words, "Yeah... those MiBs tried to kidnap me. Apparently I'm psychic, now."
<Halbarad> "Figures," Tim says with a sigh. "Guess I'm stuck whether I like it or not." He looks back at Kyle. "You need any help getting inside?" he asks the half-catatonic boy.
<Brian> Kyle stands up again, and again Halbarad has an eerie double-vision of him being some golden-armored warrior, briefly.  "I'm okay," he says, grabbing the edge of his bed and wheeling it towards the warehouse.  "But I'm stronger when I'm dreaming.  This is a good place for dreams."  He pauses, and frowns.  "You should dream about Pandora," he says, nodding at Halbarad.
<Ebiris> "Who's Pandora?" Daniel asks, falling in step with Kyle towards the warehouse.
<Brian> "Who's Pandora?" David asks.
<Halbarad> "That woman in the sphere?" Hal asks, for confirmation. "How am I supposed to choose what or who I dream about?"
<Brian> David looks at Daniel, and then scratches his head.  "Huh?" he manages.
<Brian> Kyle stops pushing the bed, and shakes his head.  "You learn it, as you go on.  You've got potential."
Ebiris shrugs. "Some psychic ability involving dreams?" he hazards to David.
Halbarad idly rubs at his shirt where the lipstick is concealed. "If you say so," he says dubiously. "Although with everything else that's happened so far today, it's as likely as anything else."
<Brian> "Well, it's about three in the morning.  I figure no one will come by for a bit ... but when they do, this table is going to stick out.  Maybe the tile floor, too.  But we can move the table inside," David reasons, flipping it over and folding the legs underneath it.  It's just a card table, so collapses easily.  "Let's head in."
<Brian> With that, he trundles into the warehouse, and Kyle follows with his bed.
Ebiris likewise follows them inside.
Halbarad follows along behind, his steps a bit heavy.
<Brian> The inside of the warehouse is pretty spacious.  Carlos pulls the door down once everyone's in.  There's a large number of couches and sofas scattered across the massive room, most of the far half being filled with sofas stacked end on end.  Nearby, Carlos and David have pulled a few aside to relax on, and Ryan's sleeping on one.  There's also a carboard box full of clothes and M.R.E.s, along with a scrap of paper with something scribbled on it in dark brown ink.
<Brian> Kyle moves his bed next to a couch, climbs in, and dozes off almost immediately.
Ebiris ambles over to take a glance at the paper on the box.
Halbarad flops down on a couch himself, still trying to sort through what's just happened - from the dream to the craziness of the day after.
<Brian> It appears to be a note.  It reads:  "Bitches:  Here's some crap.  Take care of yourselves.  Peace out -- Sterling D."
<Brian> David says, "That's just Sterling and Walker's way of reminding us that they still care.  Help yourselves to an MRE if you're hungry, and even though it's early, try and get some sleep to adjust to the new day-night cycle.  I think we might be here a few days until Carlos can get in touch with Jim."
<Halbarad> "Sleep... actually sounds good," Hal admits. "I feel like a nervous wreck right now. I just don't know if I CAN get to sleep."
Ebiris nods. "I'll sleep in a bit, maybe," he says, sitting down. "Barely been up a few hours..." shaking his head. "This is some pretty crazy shit, Hal. But I don't know if you'll have to get mixed up in it as deeply as I have."
<Halbarad> "Sounds like I am whether I want to be or not," Hal grumbles. "You heard him - I actually SHOT someone back there. If they figure out it was me, what the hell am I supposed to do?" He leans back on the couch. "This is just seriously messed up, period."
<Ebiris> "Well, yeah... shooting people isn't cool," Daniel agrees, "But at least they've got no reason to pick your brain, so to speak."
<Halbarad> "Okay, so they want revenge on me instead of sticking me in a lab somewhere. Which would YOU prefer?" Tim shoots back. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that. I'm just... really on edge right now."
<Brian> Carlos nods solemnly, and says, "Well, I'm turning in.  See you when it's light out."  With that, he sacks out, though David prowls around the edge of the circle of couches for a few minutes more before finding a spot to sit and watch the door.
<Ebiris> "Eh, can't be helped," Daniel shrugs, not entirely unsympathetic. "It's a shitty situation all round." Nodding over at Carlos, he adds "'Night."
<Halbarad> "'Night," Tim calls over automatically. "So yeah. Like it or not, I'm stuck in this now." He looks over at Daniel. "How'd you get caught in this anyway? Last I heard from you, you weren't psychic." He grins a bit. "You just played one on IRC."
<Ebiris> "Heh, yeah," Daniel chuckles. "Apparently I can now see the future. Albeit only when said future pertains to my grisly demise..." he snorts, "Since I've never really been in a life threatening situation before, I guess that explains why I never knew about it..."
<Halbarad> "Something I wouldn't really want to be useful myself, either," Tim agrees. "Things have just been weird for me since that dream last night. I actually remembered my dream - which is weird for me. I dreamed of being in a room with a lot of doors, and I went through one of them into the mountains. There was a woman there - Pandora, I guess. We talked for a few minutes, she blew me a kiss, and I woke up - with lipstick on my chest."
<Ebiris> "Huh... weirdness," Daniel replies succinctly. "I guess that's more fun than picturing the building you're in blowing the fuck up about 2 minutes before said building really does blow the fuck up." He shakes his head, "Remember I mentioned going to that psychic testing thing on IRC the other day, probably a few hours before I Peered and didn't come back?"
<Halbarad> "Yeah, figured your connection just crapped out again," Tim agrees. "Seemed kind of weird, but hell, I'd do it if I had the time. Sounded like it was good money."
<Ebiris> "So I figured," Ebiris nods sourly, well aware that he was NOT paid for his time. "Place just went up like it had a bomb in every room..."
<Halbarad> "Huh. Explains why you never signed back on, at least," Hal says wryly. "At least you made it out okay, or you wouldn't be here."
<Ebiris> "Yeah. I saw a sequence of events in my head leading up to the explosion, and after several of those events happened in reality... well, I made a quick excuse and got out." He sighs, "I feel bad for not warning anyone, but... I hardly believed it myself. Why would anyone else believe me? Then I ran into David and went to my place, which was being raided by a gang of MiBs..."
Halbarad sighs. "And I bet I can guess the rest after what just happened. How'd you end up in Austin, though?"
<Ebiris> "Yeah, we knocked out two of them and tied the other two up at knife-point - that was when I met Carlos and Ryan. They were carrying papers with my name and address, as well as an address in Austin for Kyle," he gestures at said sleeping kid. "After having the whole 'psychic government terrorist conspiracy' bit explained to me, Ryan teleported us all over to Austin before we ran into you."
<Halbarad> "If I wasn't in the middle of it, I'd say it sounds like the plot of a really cheesy movie," Hal sighs. "Cheesy or not, though, we're here."
<Ebiris> "Ain't that the truth," Daniel nods glumly. "David can explain more about the MiBs than I can, but even then... we know pretty much bugger all. Think they might be connected to Forge, though. Maybe."
<Halbarad> "Great. So somehow my dreams are tied up with one of my clients, who's being hunted down by a bunch of terrorists. And not only that, but one of the people I know from IRC is involved too." He groans. "I think I'm going to take that guy's advice and get some sleep. Maybe it'll make more sense when I wake up, although I'm not too hopeful."
<Ebiris> "And if not, at least you might get to have a fun dream, right?" Daniel suggests, grinning. "I guess I'll try and get some sleep myself," he adds, shrugging before taking off his coat and using it as an impromptu blanket as he stretches out on his chosen couch.
Ebiris frowns, sitting up and taking the tazer and gun out of his coat pockets and placing them in his duffel bag before lying down once more. '"Night, all."
<Halbarad> "Night," Hal says, stretching out on the couch. At least it's fairly comfortable.
<Brian> Both of you fall asleep instantly.  And also end up having a dream.  Which is interesting, and a bit eerie, because it's the same dream.  Both of you are in the room with the doors that Halbarad remembers from the night before.
Ebiris glances askance at Hal. "Are you a figment of my dream, or are you the real Hal and this has something to do with your apparent psychic power relating to dreams?"
<Halbarad> "Again with the doors," Hal mutters, looking around the room before he spots Eb. "And Eb's in.... wait, are you real?"
<Ebiris> "I hope so..." Ebiris shrugs. "We're both in the same dream?"
<Halbarad> "Sure looks that way," Hal admits. "This is the way my dream started last night."
<Ebiris> "Uh... if any girl's start kissing your chest, I'll find somewhere else to be..." Ebiris says awkwardly, looking for likely escape routes.
Halbarad snorts. "Ha ha." Shaking his head, Hal heads over to another door at random, figuring he might as well look around while he's here again.
Ebiris follows Hal, really hoping that the dream doesn't turn in that direction. That would just be too damn awkward...
<Brian> All of the doors are blank, except for the one marked with a plaque.
<Brian> They look like nice, solid wood, with polished brass finishes, though.
Ebiris reads the plaque.
Halbarad heads for the one with the plaque, reading it as he opens the door. It's the only one that really stands out.
<Brian> To Ebiris's eyes, the plaque is lined with gibberish, like the 'language' of old 80s cartoons.  To Halbarad, it says, "Pandora" in a large gothic font with nice little curly scrawls around it.
Halbarad chuckles. "Well, he DID say to dream of Pandora again," he says, opening the door. "You coming?" he asks Eb.
<Ebiris> "Sure," Daniel shrugs. "Not much else to do around here."
<Brian> When the door is opened, it opens onto the same place it did last time, a mountain path with stairs carved into the side leading up towards the peak.  The mountain is particularly desolate, just barren stone, no sign of plants, and the top is wreathed with clouds.
<Brian> Something still glints and shines above, through brief breaks in the cloud cover.
<Halbarad> "Looks like it's still up there," Hal says, beginning the climb. Although he does wonder what happened to the snow from the last time.
Ebiris follows Hal up the mountain, not really concerned with his surroundings. It's just a dream, after all.
<Brian> Halbarad blurs and zips forward, moving halfway up the distance in a single step.  Ebiris finds himself restrained to mortal movement, which turns out to be a bit annoying, as it's a good kilometer up the stairs to the top.
Halbarad notices that Eb isn't behind him anymore, and looks back to see what the holdup is.
Ebiris makes a face. "Joy..." he mutters, trudging tediously up the mountain.
<Brian> You look down the mountain and see Ebiris trudging up after you ... you can also see down below him.  You never looked back the last time you were here.
<Brian> The stairs lead down some distance -- your door is gone, but would have been on a landing.  Each kilometer-long segment of the stairs is interspersed with a landing, ostensibly as a rest area.  But the stairs stretch away through a good ten landings before vanishing into deep and dark clouds below.
<Brian> Looking around, you can see a number of similar peaks; this one doesn't seem to be any taller or shorter.  But you think there are switchbacks and stairs visible on some of those other distant peaks, as well.
Halbarad whistles, looking out across the clouds. "How high up ARE we?" he wonders aloud. This is a dream, so anything's possible, but it's pretty wild-looking.
<Brian> Ebiris: It's a long trudge, but at least it's a dream, so you don't feel tired.
Halbarad waits for Eb before going on. Might as well avoid getting separated.
<Brian> Ebiris arrives after probably twenty minutes of Halbarad admiring the view (and noticing, incidentally, the lack of any birds, wolves, or any other animals).
<Ebiris> "Bleah," Ebiris says succinctly as he catches up with Hal. "How come you get to go so fast?"
<Halbarad> "Beats me," Hal says. "Maybe it's because I've been here before? Maybe if I hold on to you I can bring you with me."
<Ebiris> "Eh, there's no rush," Ebiris shrugs, looking to see how much farther they have to go.
<Brian> You're about halfway there at this point.
Ebiris continues his journey up the mountain!
<Halbarad> "See you at the top then, I guess," Hal says apologetically, before continuing on.
<Brian> Halbarad reaches the rim of the large bowl that contains Pandora's (one supposes) glass sphere.  It's still filled with cloudy, murky ... stuff.
<Halbarad> "Pandora?" Hal asks, moving closer to the sphere.
<Brian> Ebiris manages to catch up before there's any response -- apparently Pandora was waiting for both of you to arrive.  But once Ebiris crests the top of the staircase and enters the Greek-looking architecture (just pillars, actually -- there is no roof) Pandora emerges from the mist inside the sphere, and presses her hands against it, blinking at the pair.
Ebiris approaches the sphere, eyeing it curiously.
<Brian> "Hello," she writes on the side of the sphere, smiling at both Ebiris and Halbarad.
<Halbarad> "Hello again," Hal says, giving Pandora a slight smile. "So this was real... but what's going on?" Hal asks.
<Ebiris> "Hi," Ebiris waves. "Pandora?"
<Brian> She nods, and turns to Halbarad, quickly writing: "The Brothers of Morpheus are quite weakened from the time of their prime ... only five anchors remain, and they've lost the way to me.  I am the fourth oracle ... but ... there are forces that seek to eliminate the Brothers of Morpheus."
<Ebiris> "Kyle... he said he was an anchor of... the Brothers of Morpheus. What are the brothers of Morpheus?"
<Halbarad> "That sounds like what Kyle said today - he's an anchor? But who are the Brothers of Morpheus?"
<Brian> "The Brothers of Morpheus exist in dreams, and protect the sleeping world from what lies beyond the reality those within it know.  But they do not live ... so they rely on those who exist in the world of dreams and the waking world at the same time to keep them from fading."
<Brian> This is, of course, written, not spoken.  The silver letters fade after both Halbarad and Ebiris read them.
<Halbarad> "Is that what I saw when I looked at Kyle? He looked like a man in gold armor for a minute. A couple of times, actually."
<Ebiris> "What lies beyond reality?" Ebiris blinks. "Sounds a bit Lovecraftian... are there elder gods and things like that?" Well, when you discover you're psychic, anything's possible...
<Brian> "We call what lies beyond the Enemy, for it seeks to destroy what lies within," Pandora explains slowly.  "The Brothers of Morpheus know that in dream, style is valued over substance.  Strength of will defeats other strengths."
<Brian> "So Kyle would appear as a Brother of Morpheus, for he is one.  But he also exists in the waking world."
<Halbarad> "That makes sense if this is a dream," Hal agrees. "Seems like you could change the way things are here just by thinking about them."
Ebiris nods slowly, digesting that. "And... the Enemy, is connected with the Men in Black?"
<Brian> "No.  The ... the Men in Black are one of two other factions, which seek to either kill three quarters of humanity, or to abandon this world, and move on to a new one.  They do this to hide or flee from the Enemy."
<Brian> "And yes, in a dream, everything is mutable by will.  But it all depends on who ... or what ... maintains that dream.  In your own dream, anything is possible.  It is one of the two axioms of the Brothers of Morpheus:
<Brian> "Anything is possible.  And nothing is forever."
Ebiris nods. "More complicated, still... so there are two factions that David and his friends are dealing with, and then this third Enemy?"
<Halbarad> "Running and hiding don't seem like they'd do much good for long," Hal muses. "Although I'm not sure what else you could do against an Enemy that's outside reality."
<Brian> "The Enemy has not yet acted within your world, beyond making it cold.  That is their first strike.  They will cause global warming, which results in two possible situations.  Either people die, or flee.  The Enemy is held at bay by the anchors we still have."
<Ebiris> "Damn..." Ebiris shakes his head. "But it can only be held at bay by the anchors? It can't be defeated or... negotiated with?"
<Brian> "The other anchors haven't realized their own potential yet ... there is a young man in Japan named Takeshi," she writes, looking thoughtful.  "And another, in America, named Paul Durant.  Should either of these -- or the other two anchors, which I have not yet found -- perish, then the Brothers of Morpheus become weaker, perhaps unable to stop it."  She thinks for a moment at this last question.  "The only beings who could confront the Enemy and not be destroyed by it are Alan, and the Wanderer."
<Halbarad> "Who are they?" Hal asks. "And is there any way for us to help against this Enemy?"
<Brian> "The Wanderer?  I do not know ... I think ... he was one of the Enemy.  Or perhaps ... he was from this world and left.  But either way, he is not from this world.  Alan is the current leader of the Brothers of Morpheus, who rallied them from a dying band of lone warriors into the organized force they are today."
<Brian> "To help ... you would want to contact the Brothers of Morpheus ... or perhaps find a way to resurrect the Order of Symmetry."
<Halbarad> "How would I go about doing either of those?"
<Ebiris> "We," Ebiris interjects.
<Brian> "You are a dreamer," she writes, looking at Halbarad.  "You could search for them in dream, with practice.  They could train you, and in time, you could become another anchor, like Kyle.  The Brothers of Morpheus are doing what they can ... but they have lost me, their oracle."  She smiles wryly.  "I'm not exactly able to get to them easily.  Kyle is aware of me ... but can't contact the other Brothers of Morpheus yet.  They are simply too few to find him."
<Halbarad> "I can definitely give it a shot," Hal says. "Since I'm caught up in this anyway, I might as well try to do something useful."
<Brian> Pandora nods.  "The Order of Symmetry is bound by its Oracle.  The last I saw of her, she was stolen from the Vatican by someone who lives in the southern continent.  If you can find her, or whoever has her, then she could refound the faction, and you could strive for the third possibility.  Instead of fleeing, or killing your own, you could return respect of the world around them to humanity."
<Ebiris> "Someone in Australia?" Ebiris asks, noting that she hasn't said squat about how he can contribute to this grand endeavor.
<Brian> Pandora turns to Ebiris and nods.  "Yes.  He is shielded, though.  Cassandra doesn't remember me, and therefore tries to hide her presence from me."
<Halbarad> "That's... actually a pretty handy coincidence, since we're in Australia now," Hal says wryly. "Although a little more to go on than that might help."
<Ebiris> "Hmm... no clues? I take it Hal would be able to find her through dreams with his power or something, then?" Ebiris asks hopefully.
<Brian> She looks thoughtful.  "There ... is a group that calls themselves 'great flame', or the like ... their path will take them to the one you seek in the waking world.  And in dream, you can help seek the Brothers of Morpheus."
<Ebiris> "Great flame..." Ebiris nods, filing that away.
<Brian> She looks apologetic.  "That is all I know now."
<Halbarad> "I'll do my best, although it'd help if I can get more information on HOW. Do I just start looking through my dreams at random, or what?"
<Brian> "You must learn to dream," she writes.  "You have doors in your dream library.  You should change that room to suit you ... it is your dream, after all.  Then practice creating dreams.  That will attract the attention of the Brothers of Morpheus.  Simply open the books or doors you haven't yet touched, and create a dream for them."
<Halbarad> "All right, I'll start working on that," Hal agrees. "Will I just dream myself into that 'library' from now on?"
<Brian> "Yes," she writes, nodding.  "But, too, don't forget that sleep without dreams is more restful."  She turns again to Ebiris.  "You would be a powerful ally for anyone, with your ability to know danger when it is coming.  Your aid could very well shed the light of hope on an otherwise doomed mission."
<Ebiris> "Thanks," Ebiris nods, "I guess it is pretty handy to know with certainty just when you would be doomed... This is far bigger than I would have imagined."
<Halbarad> "Well, I'm used to sleeping without dreams... it'll take some time to get used to this, I expect," Hal admits. "But at least I know I can do something to help. Thanks for the information, Pandora."
<Brian> "It's ever been the way," she writes, her handwriting becoming a little sloppy as she gets a distant look in her eyes.  "I wish you both luck," she adds, focusing on writing again, "and pray for you."
<Brian> ...and you wake up.

[Brian]

<Brian> We'll begin with the mighty C-Rat, who is enjoying his van ride of DOOM! with his newfound allies, and headed ... north.
<Brian> A night passes, and C-Rat wakes up the next morning a bit stiff from sleeping in the van.  Jim has switched places with Sterling, who is now driving.  "This is our warehouse," Sterling says, pulling the van to a halt outside some run-down looking buildings.
<Brian> There's a heap of tile lined up next to a dumpster, positioned as though the tile was still meant to be a floor.
<C-Rat> "Nice place," comments Carthrat, extricating himself from the car.
<Brian> The buildings are solid enough, though the signs indicate that they really belong to some furniture company.
C-Rat glances around, looking for other cars/signs of people.
<Brian> "Thanks," Walker says, climbing out of the van, and grabbing the box of weapons and random junk.  "Jim, can you get the door?"  Jim grunts, and opens the sliding door to the warehouse.
C-Rat walks towards the door, shivering somewhat; it's too damn cold for midsummer.
<Brian> When the door is opened, light floods in, shining on a number of people lounging on couches.  There's a short guy with dark hair, sitting up like he just woke up, who kind of blearily blinks at the doorway.  There's a guy with an unruly mop of black hair and glasses next to him.  In front of them is a tallish guy with fine, straight blond hair who's holding a number of throwing knives.
C-Rat lets someone else do the talking!
<Brian> Halbarad, Ebiris: The door slides open, and you see four people -- an average height, somewhat overweight looking man with a poof of frizzy dark blond hair and a beard, his skin tinged gray for some reason.  An extremely tall man wearing a 'Harvard Law' T-shirt who's got a goatee, long black hair that looks like it could use a wash, and another man with medium-length blond hair and no facial hair at all.
Ebiris glances over at his newfound companions to see how they are reacting to the latest arrivals before he does anything himself.
<Brian> David blinks at the men who're standing in the doorway, and asks, "Did you bring food?"
Halbarad looks up at the sound of the door. "Uh..." Seeing that none of their hosts seem particularly concerned, he takes a few moments to look over the new arrivals.
<Brian> "Love for everyone," Sterling says, eyeing Halbarad and Ebiris, and then hefting a huge bag.  "I brought some take-out."
C-Rat rubs a hand through his hair, yawning again. Too damn *early*!
<Ebiris> "Coolness," Daniel looks at the bag hungrily. "So, the gang's all here, huh?"
<Brian> "So," Sterling continues, turning to C-Rat.  "This is most of the rest of the team -- David," the fair-haired and thin man, "Carlos," the man with glasses, "Ryan, and ... these guys, who I've never seen before."
<Brian> Jim then glances at the wheeled hospital bed in the corner, where Kyle's still sleeping.  "Oh, and a guy in a comma.  Who wants a croissant sandwich?"
<C-Rat> "Yo," says Carthrat to the Room In General.
<Ebiris> "Daniel," Daniel supplies helpfully with a lazy wave.
<Halbarad> "Tim," Hal volunteers, "And he's not in a coma, but... hell, anything's going to be a long story at this point."
<C-Rat> "Huh. And I'd be Tom," replies Carthrat, shrugging.
<Brian> "Awesome," Walker says.  "Let's all introduce ourselves.  I'm Walker Pennington, this is James 'Will Kick Your Mechanical Ass' Erickson, and our esteemed colleague, Sterling Dubert, esquire."
<Brian> Sterling blinks, and eyes Walker.  "I don't even know what-- no, no.  Shut up and eat.  Just-- Speaking privileges revoked!  No more."  Walker shrugs, and begins parceling out breakfast sandwich rolls.
<C-Rat> "You guys sound almost ... dignified," comments Carthrat, rolling his eyes.
<Brian> "You don't know us as well as you ought to," Carlos opines, taking a sandwich for himself.  "Ooh, bacon."
Ebiris helps himself to a roll, eyeing the new arrivals. "So, what psychic powers do you guys have?" he asks curiously. "I can tell the future, but only if the future involves my grisly demise. Which is kind of helpful, recently, I admit."
Halbarad accepts a sandwich for himself, as well as trying to get another one for Kyle - assuming he can wake the boy up long enough to eat.
<Brian> Kyle does indeed wake up long enough to eat, wander into the restroom, and then go straight back to sleep.
<C-Rat> "I call bullshit," comments Carthrat. "It can't involve your grisly demise if you're still alive."
Halbarad quirks an eyebrow at the odd turn of phrase.
<Ebiris> "That's because I saw it and kind of got the hell out of the building before it mysteriously blew up. And blow up it did," Daniel nods.
<Brian> "Useful," Ryan says, between bites of his own sandwich.
C-Rat shrugs. "I'll bet."
<Brian> "I work with computers," Jim supplies.  "Walker, who's been silenced by the Mandate of Dubert, can only speak for the team pledge.  But he can fix most things that are broken."
<Brian> "I use electricity," Carlos adds, nodding at the lighting rig which is currently illuminating the room.
<Brian> "Shadowy teleportation magic," Ryan adds helpfully.
<Halbarad> "Apparently I've got the ability to dream or something," Hal chips in, glancing over at Daniel. "What exactly that MEANS yet, I don't know. But I'm going to find out if I can."
<Brian> "I am unstoppable and can't be killed.  Despite numerous efforts," Sterling says.  "Also, I can command Walker to be quiet, which even his mother couldn't do."
<Brian> Walker eyes Sterling, and says nothing, merely chewing on his breakfast roll.
<C-Rat> "I'm ... uh ... capable of knowing when I'm in over my head?"
<Brian> "That's also useful," David says.  "I just throw things.  Really well."
<Brian> "Well, that was a productive palaver," Sterling then adds.  "So, we've pretty much covered the fact that we're all abnormal and have these awe-inspiring if unasked for powers.  The question is what to do now."
Ebiris glances over at Hal, wondering if he's going to tell anyone about the funky dream with Pandora and all the stuff she told them.
<Halbarad> "I've got a question for you guys, if you don't mind," Hal says. "Does the name Brothers of Morpheus or Order of Symmetry mean anything to any of you?"
<Ebiris> 'Damn, I'm good,' Daniel thinks to himself.
<Brian> Sterling grunts, and looks thoughtful.  "Never heard of them before," he says slowly.  "Uh ... nope.  I don't think I have.  I only know of, like, three groups of people who gave themselves names."
<Brian> "Orbis Magus," Jim supplies.  "Who knew that old hermetic men in their basements with circles of chalk would hate us?"
C-Rat has an expression of cheerful ignorance!
<Brian> "Then there was the group, what, the Sons of Judea?  I can't remember what their deal was, but they didn't seem to want to kill us, and they gave David flowers, so that was probably okay," Sterling adds.
<Brian> David shrugs and nods.
<Brian> "The third group is us," Ryan finishes quietly.
<Halbarad> "Pandora mentioned two other groups too, along with the Order of Symmetry. Didn't give any names though," Hal muses.
<Brian> "Who's Pandora?" David asks, wrapping up what's left of his sandwich and tossing it to Walker.
<Halbarad> "An oracle of some kind," Hal says absently, still thinking. "I've had dreams about her twice now - she gave Daniel and me a lot of information while we were asleep last night."
<Brian> "Well, that's nice," Jim says between bites.  "Anything useful?"
C-Rat grabs some takeout, and munches away, listening intently.
<Ebiris> "Yeah, said that those two groups are controlling the men in black, and they hate each other. Order of Symnetry is a third group which is extinct, though," Daniel adds helpfully.
<Brian> "Oh.  So, two bad guys, and some dead guys," Jim comments.  "Anything else?"
<Halbarad> "Just that she needs to find the Brothers of Morpheus, and supposedly I can help her with that. And we're supposed to look for another oracle who was taken by someone here in Australia - she said something about a group known as 'great flame' leading us to who  has her."
<Ebiris> "Um... there was some stuff about an 'Enemy' that wants to destroy the world, which is what's making things colder... one of the groups wants to flee from the Enemy, and the other group wants to kill a bunch of people," Daniel scratches his head. "I don't get that. Do they figure if they kill enough people, the Enemy will say 'Hey, you've done my job for me! I'll go home, now and leave you alone!'?"
<C-Rat> 'Well, that's a no-brainer,' thinks Carthrat, with his mouth full.
<Brian> "Oh," Jim says, grinning slightly.  "Great flame, eh?  That must be us."
Halbarad blinks. "It is?"
<Brian> All of the people in the room look at one another, except for Kyle, who is sleeping (already) again, and put down their sandwiches.  As one, they yell, "Together!  Allegiance or death!  BIGFIRE!"
C-Rat blinks.
<Brian> Shrugging, Walker picks up his sandwich and resumes eating again.
<Ebiris> "Bigfire ... like in Giant Robo?" Daniel asks, dumbfounded.
<C-Rat> "Hey, hang on, what's this about a supernatural force making the world colder?"
Halbarad snorts. "Bigfire... yeah, I guess that would fit."
<Brian> "It's based on Giant Robo, but we're not really terrorists," Jim says, shaking his head.  "We fight terrorists.  When we were all hanging out together in Silicon Valley before the bombs, we played a lot of games."
<Brian> "And one of our friends, who did not make it, always insisted that our teams in our games be named 'Bigfire'," Sterling adds, rolling his eyes slightly.
<Brian> "We kind of kept the name after we were put on the run and it stopped being a game," Walker supplies.
Ebiris nods. It's as good a reason as any, really.
<Brian> "You're not allowed to speak," Sterling says, pointing at Walker.  "Even though that is true."
<Brian> Walker eyes Sterling coolly.
<Brian> "Okay, you can talk again," Sterling says, looking away.  "Anyway.  I've never heard of anyone actually trying to make the world colder.  I guess anything is possible, though."
<Halbarad> "Sorry to hear that," Hal replies almost automatically. "But at least that's part of the riddle explained. Pandora said that you guys' path would take us to the one we're looking for in the waking world - although I have no idea what your path IS, to tell the truth."
C-Rat leans back against the wall, wondering where he'll fit in in all this.
<Brian> "Neither do we," David says, frowning.  "But, hell.  Any guidance has to be better than no guidance.  If we'll get some kind of actual goal to go after, then it won't be so bad."
<Brian> "Wow," Jim says, frowning.  "We haven't made friends in a long time.  Ever since that guy, what was his name?  The telekinetic, Bart.  He was cool."
<Ebiris> "She never really explained what the 'Enemy' was. It kinda sounded like Cthulhu or something like that to me... something beyond reality, she called it," Daniel offers, shaking his head. "She said the Order of Symmetry represents a third way, to stop the Enemy rather than fleeing from it or... killing a bunch of people for some reason?"
<Halbarad> "Well, Pandora said we should either look for the Brothers of Morpheus - which apparently I'll do when I dream, when I get a little more practice - or try to revive that Order of Symmetry that Eb just mentioned. How we'd do that, I have no clue."
<Brian> "You know a buttload more than we do," Walker says, somewhat regretfully.  "We've spent pretty much every moment from the time the bomb was dropped running away and trying to get a grasp of what our situation was.  We knew what it was before Nick got killed, but after that we were pretty much cast adrift and screwed."
C-Rat pauses for a moment, the cogs working slowly in his mind.
Ebiris shrugs, "I'm just parroting what Pandora told us. I don't have the first clue about what's going on, really..."
<Brian> "You think you could ask her more?" David asks, somewhat hopefully.  "Some direction ... or even a better understanding of our situation ... would make a huge difference."
<C-Rat> "Hey, how'd you two meet up with Bigfire?" he asks, curiously. "I mean, I think I can tell you're either not part of them, or you haven't been around for long."
<Halbarad> "Same here, really. About all I managed to really understand is that I can look for the Brothers of Morpheus in my dreams, which I'll definitely do if I can." Hal nods to David. "Yeah, I can try it. I think I can find her again the next time I dream - the place she was in was marked."
<Ebiris> "Just a couple of days ago when that building exploded," Daniel shrugs to Tom. "I met David right after, and then the Men in Black raided my house."
<Brian> "That'd be ... that'd be cool," David says to Halbarad, before falling quiet to let the non-BigFire members speak to one another.
<Halbarad> "Then David and his group managed to keep me from getting shot when I tried to stop the Men in Black from killing Kyle," Hal says, nodding towards the semi-comatose boy in the bed. "After that, we wound up here."
<C-Rat> "Why'd they want to kill Kyle?" asks Carthrat, glancing towards the kid.
<Halbarad> "Apparently he's an anchor for the Brothers of Morpheus. I'm not sure exactly what that would mean if they kill him, but I'd guess it's nothing good."
<Ebiris> "Pandora said they need anchors to hold off the Enemy," Daniel supplies. "Of course, if those groups are trying to flee the Enemy, wouldn't they want it to be held off as long as possible?" He shakes his head, "None of this shit makes sense to me..." he sighs.
<C-Rat> "That makes three of us, I think," comments Carthrat, shrugging. "Guess we'll just need to stick around and see what happens...."
<Brian> "Well," Sterling says, rubbing his hands together.  "I have a proposition for you gentlemen, then, if you're up for it."
Halbarad looks up at Sterling. "What's up?"
<Ebiris> "Least it won't be boring, I guess," Daniel mutters, before turning to Sterling with a curious look.
<C-Rat> "Shoot."
<Brian> "Well.  I think we could work well together," Sterling says.
Halbarad shrugs. "Sounds like as good an idea as any," Hal admits. "I sure can't go home after what happened in the hospital, and I have nowhere else to go."
<Brian> "More importantly, I think we've got a lot to offer each other.  We're good at this, because we've been doing it for a few years ... and you know a lot that could help us get out of our rut and either get something accomplished, or at least gain enough awareness of our real situation to TRY and do something about it."
<Brian> "Any port in a storm," David comments.  "Well, then, in that case, Tim, welcome aboard."
<Ebiris> "Works for me," Daniel nods. "I mean, I'd already pretty much thrown in with you guys when those Men in Black raided my house. Might as well see this through, if I can."
Halbarad grins wryly. "Thanks. I'll do the best I can to help, although I'm still new at all this stuff."
<C-Rat> "I'll bite," comments Carthrat. "Not that I know anything or have odd powers, but I can hardly go home, can I?"
<Brian> "Also very cool," Sterling says, "nice to have your help, Tim."
Halbarad glances over at Daniel. "Guess we're in this for good, then. Nothing I ever would have expected in my wildest dreams, though."
<Brian> "Alrighty," Sterling says.  "Then, I think this calls for drinks.  David, you got anything?"
<Brian> David produces a cooler of sodas from behind one of the couches, and offers everyone a drink.
Halbarad accepts one gratefully.
Ebiris helps himself, waiting for Sterling since he's presumably going to offer a toast.
C-Rat grabs a drink, nodding thanks.,
<Brian> "Here's to teamwork," Sterling toasts, once everyone's prepared.

[Brian]

"Well, that's positive," Sterling decides.  "Now.  We're a team, we're in Oz, and we're pretty much without a clue.  What should we do?"

"Hook up with Mark and Wallace," Jim opines.  "If they're still around, anyway."

Sterling considers this, and then looks at Tom, Tim, and Daniel thoughtfully.  "You have any ideas?"

[Ebiris]

"Well, that oracle in the dream said you guys would lead us to the other oracle, so we might as well try and find your buddies and see what else we come across on the way," Daniel offers.

"Beyond that, she mentioned two other Anchors like Kyle," he gestures at said somnumbulent lad, "A guy in Japan called Takeshi, and a guy in America called Paul Durant."

Daniel looks a little bit thoughtful for a moment as he tries to recall just where he's heard that second name before, as it rings a bell... but a moment's digging still draws a blank.

[Brian]

Jim grunts.  "Any lead is better than nothing," he suggests.

Sterling shrugs, and lounges on a random couch.  "Alright.  I think Wally is in Arizona.  Maybe Colorado.  Mark should stick with him, because he's a lazy bum.  So when can we get there, Ryan?"

Ryan glances across everyone, including Kyle, and frowns.  "Early morning," he says after a moment.  "Maybe four A.M."

Walker grunts.  "Plan until then?" he asks.

Sterling scowls at him.  "What makes you think I know?  You come up with your own plans for your free time.  Me, I'm just going to kick back, unwind a bit."

[Carthrat]

"Huh. Paul Durant?" says Carthrat, musing. "Coulda sworn I know that name somewhere.. from some book or something.. what was it.. ah, well, fiction won't help us.

I think."

He stretches, and looks at his watch. "Hey, this dreaming thing. Has it happened like every time you've gone to sleep?"

[Halbarad]

"Well, so far for the last couple of days it has. But I've only gone to sleep twice in those two days, and it's happened both times. Pandora said I won't always, and it's probably best NOT to dream like that all the time, so it sounds like I have some measure of control over it. Damned if I know exactly how it all works yet, though."

Hal sighs. "I guess the thing to do for now is just to keep going the way we are. I just wish there was some more specific direction than that."

[Brian]

"It happens," Sterling says dismissively.  "Is there anything you guys want to take care of while we're not being shot at or on fire?"

[Halbarad]

"Since putting things in order back home isn't an option, I'll have to say no myself," Hal says with a wry smile. "I just hope the being shot at thing doesn't become TOO regular an occurrence."

[Ebiris]

"Eh," Daniel shrugs, "Might as well just kill time here until we're ready to leave. Unless more Men in Black show up or something."

[Brian]

"Hopefully not," Walker says.  "But do you need to learn how to handle yourself in a fight, or can you do that already?"

[Halbarad]

"I've had a couple of years of martial arts," Hal replies a bit dubiously. "Technically I know how to handle a short staff or spear, but that's not tremendously useful against a gun. Other than that... well, I've fired a gun before. That's about the extent of my combat knowledge."

[Brian]

"Better than most people," Sterling decides.  "It's not like you run into THAT many profesional soldiers, anyway."  He pauses for a minute, and looks thoughtful.  "Well.  We can teach you some more tricks, then."

[Carthrat]

"I can throw a punch and shoot a gun," replies Carthrat, shrugging. "Got a black belt in karate last year, though I havn't really kept it up since then."

The man looks somewhat shifty at that. "Heck, I wish I could contact my parents. I got into a.. well, sort of fight before I wound up here, and I want to let them know that I'm ok.

And apologize for not getting my mother a fricking birthday present. Gawd."

[Brian]

Sterling rubs at his jaw thoughtfully.  "I'd suggest writing a letter," he says after a moment.  "Harder to be tracked, and not as likely to be read.  Hell, if you want, Ryan can probably just drop it in their house directly."