Sidetracking, hitchhiking, and chickens

[Zenthor]

Jade blinked.  "Well that was weird," she commented.  

"Thanks, and everything, but...  who are you?"

[Brian]

"I'm Miao," Liao replies around a mouthful of chicken.  "I'm fwom Deswet viwwage."  Liao paused for a moment to swallow, then proffered some of the other chicken to the other two kids.  "Hungry?"

[Zenthor]

"Meow?  Like a cat?  Fwom Deswet Viwwage?  Are you hunting wascally wabbits?" she mused at the starved boy, and denied the offering of chicken.  Like hell she was eating something that just tried to kill her.  She  then looked at Phil.  "And what is your name, nerd-boy?"

[Halbarad]

Phil frowns, swallowing a bite of chicken. "Phil, Miss I-hide-from-chickens. What about you?"

[Brian]

"Liao," Liao corrects.  "From Desert Village."  Slowing his rate of chicken consumption to more reasonable levels, he asks, "Why were you getting chased by chickens, anyway?"

[Zenthor]

"Like you wouldn't do the same.  And the name's Jade."

"As for why I was being chased, I think it has something to do with me throwing a rock at a random chicken.  And that's still not the weirdest thing that's happened in the past three days.  What with that Alien factory and everthing."  Good idea to blurt that out to total strangers?  Maybe, maybe not.

[Brian]

"Alien factory?" Liao asks.  "Wait.  Why were you throwing a rock at a chicken?"

[Zenthor]

"Yeah, there's a huge alien weapons factory up on the Evermount,* she points at the mountain she was climbing not three days ago.

"And he was there, but that's not important."  

Then she got an idea.  These boys... well, at least Meow, knew something similar to what she knew, with the flashy blind stuff.  Maybe they came to deal with the aliens?  "Wait, is that why you've come such a far way?  To deal with the aliens up there?"

[Brian]

"I guess," Liao says speculatively, considering things.  "We've got some zombies and a ... comp...."  Liao frowns at this, and then raises an eyebrow speculatively.  "Do you happen to have one of these?" he asks, pulling out the star he found in the darkened room.

[Zenthor]

"Er.." she blinks at the star.  "Yeah, I think."  She rummages through her backpack and pulls what the alien dropped into her hands.  "I think they're the same type of thing, anyway."

[Halbarad]

'Wait... a weapons factory up on a mountain? They're building ships in the mountains near Sixton!" Phil looks up in surprise from his chicken.

[Dracos]

OOC: Rough copy instead of a cleanup.  Two failures make dracos caring not. ^^;
IC:
[20:41] * Liao blinks in surprise, and looks between Jade and Phil. "So, you think the zombies and the aliens might be working together?"
[20:42] <Jade> Zombies?
[20:42] * Phil shakes his head. "I don't know about the zombies, but I bet the robots and the aliens are..."
[20:44] <Liao> "Well, the policeman at the hall of the city mentioned zombies, too," Liao says.  "I must have gotten them mixed up with the robots."
[20:46] <Phil> "Yeah, having both at once is confusing enough," Phil replies. "Just ONE would be bad enough." He shakes his head for a moment, then looks at Jade. "You said they're building weapons near here? What kind of weapons?"
[20:46] * Jade shakes her head. "I couldn't tell. They had mounted guns firing at me while I was escaping though."
[20:47] <Phil> "I just wonder if they're supposed to be for the ships - I didn't get to see much other than a big dog-thing that was watching the robots build the ships. I couldn't get into any of them."
[20:48] <Jade> "Big... dog thing?"
[20:49] <Liao> Liao chews on his chicken thoughtfully, and watches Jade and Phil; his own town was not molested by any foreign horror, so he didn't have as much to contribute to the conversation.  Come to think of it, he didn't know very much about these 'Aliens' or 'Zombies' or 'Robots' ... not so speak of their fighting styles, which could all vastly differ.
[20:49] <Phil> "It looked like a giant dog, and it was watching the robots build the ships. I had to be REALLY careful to keep it from seeing me when I went to get a closer look."
[20:52] * Jade scratches her head. "Were there any other aliens there, or just the dog and some robots? And did those aliens have tentacles for legs and arms and stuff?" She asked, curious as to whether these were even the same aliens now.
[20:53] <Phil> "I didn't see anything but the robots and the dog," Phil replies. "I saw something metal land there in a meteor shower so I went to check it out, and there were a TON of spaceships there. I found one of those stars while I was looking around there." The brown-haired boy holds the emblem up for inspection.
[20:56] <Jade> "So, what should we do?  Sitting here talking about the aliens is doing no good, and if they're building weapons and ships..."
[20:58] <Liao> "Well," Liao says, looking up at the star and squinting slightly, his own star already in his hand, "it seems to me that it was fate that fumbled my footsteps and brought us here, not mere chance.  I think the three of us together can do something, though."
[20:59] * Phil frowns. "The first thing I want to do is get Sixton back to normal. I don't want to leave my dad a zombie any longer than I can help it."
[21:01] <Dracos> Liao, you notice something while staring, considering the crest you've seen, like they might fit together.
[21:02] <Liao> "Well....  I kind of have a plan, actually," Liao says.  "Or, an idea, anyway.  But ... do you think these stars could fit together?"
[21:02] * Jade looks at her star. "Er. Maybe?"
[21:03] <Phil> "I don't know.... let's see." Phil holds his hand out for the others' crests, attempting to see if and how they might fit together.
[21:03] * Liao holds out his star. "Let's see."
[21:04] * Jade holds hers out as well.
[21:04] <Dracos> Phil finds that Liao's guess is right.  They look almost like puzzle pieces put near each other.  He'd be able to put them together in a few moments.
[21:05] * Phil takes a few moments to do so, matching the edges of the star-shaped emblems together carefully.
[21:06] <Dracos> The larger crest, placed together, began to glow in his hands the second he finished.
[21:07] <Phil> "Whoa..." Phil looked on in surprise as the assembled crests began to react. "What's making them glow like that?" He turns over the object in his hands, trying to see where it's coming from.
[21:07] * Jade jumps back a bit as it glows. "What the?"
[21:08] <Dracos> It seemed to be coming from the center as the lines of it slowly vanished away, the crest growing warm in his hands.
[21:09] <Phil> "It's warm, too," Phil says, still examining the crest to try to figure out HOW it's doing what it's doing.
[21:10] * Liao stares at the star, a bit surprised.
[21:11] <Dracos> The center of it starts to glow brighter, a light flowing out from it, almost like a sci-fi display.
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[21:14] <Dracos> Glowing up in the center, an image slowly formed.  "Greetings, saviors of the world!"  it was short.  It was stumpy.  It had a big nose.  It also was little more than a head.  "I am Dr. Saturnious!"
[21:15] * Phil blinks. "Saviors of the world?" Phil turns his head on one side at the odd apparition. "What IS that thing?"
[21:15] * Jade steps back from the thing. "What the? Dr. Saturnious? Who... what... are you?"
[21:16] * Liao just stares wordlessly.
[21:17] <Dracos> "You've discovered my holographic super projector mark twenty seven point five two three that I sent out to locate those who would have the capabilities to help combat the forces endangering our world!"
[21:18] <Phil> "Can you hear me?" Phil asks, turning the projector around in his hands to see if it moves the image around (possibly revealing something more than a disembodied head, with any luck).
[21:19] <Dracos> "This is, unfortunately though, just a recording.  So I cannot answer your questions."  The image shifted to a map with a blinking spot.  "Though, I'd be glad to if you came to Saturn Valley.  Ahem..." The creature reappeared and coughed, now wearing a monocle of all things.  "Ah yes, you've been chosen by fate.  Undoubtedly, alongside finding this recording, you've also encountered other weirdness in the world."
[21:19] <Dracos> "Things that simply cannot be easily explained."
[21:19] <Dracos> "This is the sign of their work!  They've already arrived and and working even now to conquer the world."
[21:20] <Phil> "They?" Phil looks briefly puzzled, then brightens up. "He must be talking about the aliens!"
[21:23] * Liao nods.
[21:23] <Jade> "So they're causing everything weird that happens?  So were those chickens aliens, or something?"  Jade talks to herself, either not hearing or just not caring about the fact that it's just a recording.
[21:23] <Dracos> "Your friends, your family.  They, unfortunately, will be of little help to you in this great quest.  Don't worry though, this device is also my SuperDuperAuraEnhancer mk BetaPreAlpha!  It should, if tests indicate right, help protect you slightly from their influence so you can combat them.  Only you can help to prevent forest..no, wrong card... Ah, yes, You'll have to work to disrupt their activities!"
[21:23] <Dracos> "If they are allowed to continue unhindered, they'll take over the entire world."
[21:24] <Dracos> "When you receive this, remember, I can help you if you arrive at Saturn Valley."
[21:24] <Dracos> "This is Doctor Saturnious, signing off!"
[21:24] <Dracos> The glowing light faded and pulled back into the crests...which split off into three again.
[21:25] * Phil shook his head a bit. "That was really weird," he comments unnecessarily, handing the crests back to their respective owners.
[21:25] * Liao nods again, eyes fairly wide.
[21:26] <Jade> "No weirder than anything else that's been happening recently."
[21:28] <Liao> "Okay," Liao says, using some water from his backpack's canteen to wash his hands after putting his star away.  "I think I have an idea."
[21:29] <Phil> "What did you have in mind?" Phil says, looking at his companion.
[21:30] <Liao> "If Mr. Saturnious thinks we're the ones who have to take care of the robots and aliens and stuff ... we're going to need to figure out their weaknesses.  The best way to do that is to spy on them.  As long as we have enough room for me to run, I can get us all away from them if they spot us."
[21:31] * Phil nods thoughtfully. "You could do that up in the mountains near Sixton, but they'd probably see you if you did. It's all hills and stuff without a lot of trees, so there's plenty of room but not a lot of places to hide."
[21:32] <Jade> "The Evermount factory's just the opposite.  Plenty of places to hide, nowhere to run."
[21:33] <Liao> Liao frowns.  "Well, that's going to make things trickier," he mumbles.  "We'll need to figure out a way we can find our more about these guys, though."
[21:35] <Jade> "Why not go to that Saturn Valley place?  That uh... Saturnious guy seemed to know enough about what was going on.  And he did provide a map."
[21:35] <Phil> "Well, the way I see it right now we've got two- no, three options. One, go to this Saturn Valley place and meet with this Dr. Saturnious guy. Two, head up into the mountains near Sixton and try to figure out what's going on there - Evermount sounds like it'll be too tricky, at least right now. And three, try to figure out what's making the people in Sixton act like zombies and stop it."
[21:38] <Liao> Liao nods thoughtfully.  "I think we might have to put off saving Sixton until after we find out more," he says slowly.  "Sorry, Phil ... but maybe we should talk to Dr. Saturnious, first.  With any luck, we can get there quickly.  And I'm pretty sure once I know my way there I can get back here really fast."
[21:38] * Phil nods. "I think you're probably right, even though I don't like it," he sighs. "We just don't have enough to go on yet to do anything about Sixton."
[21:40] <Liao> "I think we can do it," Liao says encouragingly.  "But let's not waste time.  We should probably hurry."
[21:41] <Jade> "Well, let's go!"
[21:41] <Phil> "All right then," Phil says, standing up and packing his crest away in his backpack. "Let's get moving - next stop, Saturn Valley!"