Nexus and a pocket reality. Haylin's backyard and beach. The Choice.

[firra]

Takes place immediately after this.



Haylin: *enters the house with little of her usual bravado, pushing the door open with her foot. Under one arm is her picnic basket, still mostly intact. Under the other is Meatball, her other half's fat little pet dragon. Meatball has a ripped, deflated beachball on his head. Haylin looks a little like she lost a fight with a small lawnmower* *sighs* ...I'm hooooome. Eff? TC? Anybody here?

house: *silent* *no kids back yet* *Fireflight's giant stuffed bunny sits in his chair and looks at her forlornly*

Haylin: *stares into the bunny's glass eyes* Ugh. I know, man. *flaps up and drops Meatball unceremoniously into the bunny's lap*

Meatball: *small wiggle, and then asks for food*

Haylin: *fist on her hip* Oh, what, the butterflies you were snappin' up in the bushes weren't enough? Wait fer yer supper.

Meatball: *loves you, nottamama! Even if he can't see you!*

Haylin: *suppressing a smile* Nerd. *takes the mess of plastic off of his head*

Meatball: *there you are! Coooooo*

Haylin: Yeah, yeah, I'm the best. *pets his head roughly, as though rumpling hair that isn't there*

Meatball: *cuddle! And ask for noms*

trumpet: *sounds out in the yard just before someone knocks on the front door*

Haylin: *looks back over her shoulder* Huhn? *she glides back down, pulling up shy of the door and dropping her basket before opening it* Yeah?

splendidly uniformed lackey: *bows before her* My master, the Dark Lord Vincent, wishes an audience with you.

Meatball: *looks at the lackey and makes a little confused sound*

Haylin: *the blankest of looks. The deadest of pans* What.

lackey: *indicates the huge and glittering litter being held aloft by eight weary looking musclemen* My master would have an audience with you.

Haylin: *eyebrows slowly raise as the situation dawns on her* Wha- what? An'... what? Y'want me to ride in that? *blinks* Wait, who's this Vince guy? I ain't heard of 'im.

lackey: My master has chosen to honour you with his presence. His August Majesty is Emperor Immortal of the world of Lok. Defender of Evil, and Shatterer of Innocence.

Haylin: *blinks again* Huh. Ok. Cool. Well, uh, Haylin, Mistress of the House, Ruler of Newbs, Chaos an' Darkness, uh, Incarnate, needs some pants if she's gonna go out. Wait a sec.

lackey: *stiffly* As you wish.

Haylin: *shuts the door and flies up to her room, shedding her bikini on Autumn's half of the floor before returning a few minutes later, dressed in that little glittering top and shorts she picked up from Ana's husband's shop awhile back. The one with no back, and the boots, and the built in smoky-eye*

lackey: *looking rather frightened*

Haylin: *she smiles cruelly. This is apparently the desired effect* *she leans in and pushes his mouth shut with one clawed, bejeweled finger* I'm ready, skinny. Lessee what your boy wants with lil' ol' me.

lackey: As you wish. *turns and escorts her toward the litter, which is surrounded by armed toughs and scantily clad females*

Haylin: *grinning at everything, somewhere between being amazed and feeling entitled*

two men in glittering chains: *step forward and put a set of steps in front of her so that she can get into the litter with no inconvenience*

Haylin: *waggles her eyebrows at them as she steps up, folding her wings neatly in behind her*

litter: *interior holds two wide seats facing one another over a comfortable space. One is piled with glittering cushions, the other holds a wiry man with a hard face and very rich garments that are cut for one who likes freedom of movement*

man: *nods toward the seat with the cushions*

Haylin: *tosses herself back into the pile of cushions, managing to slouch into a comfortable lounge with zero effort. She grins lazily at the man* Hey.

man: *without preamble* I've heard of you and your situation.

Haylin: Hello t'you, too. I guess yer the guy? Figured I was goin' to some kinda cool palace or something. Whatever - My... livin' with robots situation? My... radness situation?

man: *mouth quirks slightly at one corner as a sort of grim humour shows in his otherwise flat eyes* According to my research you can't be taken from this place until you break all ties with it. I've come to offer you a chance to break those ties and better your situation. *offers her a sealed drink bottle* This is your favourite, right?

Haylin: Hold up. You mean leave the Nexus? *she leans forward and takes the bottle* This is... *she looks back up at him* This is from my world.

Vincent: I can offer you everything you desire. A palace. Slaves. Free rein, and no one to answer to but me.

Haylin: You... you know this is comin' out of nowhere, right? Like, I never heard of you until today.

Vincent: *calmly* I know. I would have spoken to you sooner, and under more pleasant circumstances, but this is the first time I've been able to enter this nexus.

Haylin: 'Been able to'? *she dangles the bottle* Fer a guy who can apparently get to worlds that've been scoured from the face of the universe, that's kinda... impressive? Pathetic? *grin* Charlie's got you on lock, hasn't he?

Vincent: *eyes harden* Charlie is his name?

Haylin: You don't know? *leans forward onto her knees* How about you start from the start. How'd you learn about me if you can't get to the Nexus? Why are you interested in me at all?

Vincent: My servants can come and go here freely, and they've been searching the information channels for someone who could further my goals. And I'm interested in you because I need someone with power enough to break past the guardians protecting the world next to mine. I need an ally. *holds up a hand, and suddenly the litter is filled with an image of a massive, ornate, and looming stronghold, surrounded by fertile fields and hard toiling slaves. The world is plainly large, not a planet, and there is clear proof of a mixture of science and other technologies* This is my realm. You will be treated as a god there, if you so wish.

Haylin: *looks around the panorama, clearly impressed but managing to keep from gawping like a fish at the trick* ...Huh. I, uh, I see.

Vincent: My domain is huge, so your own will not be small. And none will challenge your authority.

Haylin: Could be... kinda fun... *she starts to grin her menacing grin*

Vincent: *smiles, and it is a perfect compliment to her own*

Nemo: *makes her phone buzz*

Haylin: *looks down at the little four-legged sphere buzzing politely against her ankle* *glances at Vincent* *picks up the sphere* Uh. Hang on, I gotta take this.

Vincent: *smile fades* Very well. *turns his attention to one of his attendants outside the litter*

Haylin: *grumbling as she lifts the little sphere. Its legs spin out, forming a little four-sided screen* This better be good.

Nemo: *as his phone has no screen, Haylin's screen shows a candid shot of Nemo with his mouth full, clearly not ready for the picture* *sounds tired* //I need an assist.//

Haylin: *frowns* Are you serious? *glances behind her at Vincent, then turns even further away from him, trying to hide her phone conversation from him* I got somethin' going on!

Nemo: *still weary, with no trace of snark* //Pulled something.// *recites coordinates*

Haylin: *flushes, remembering her conversation with Shirt Girl earlier that day* I'm not, like, your mom, Nemo.

Nemo: *silence*

Haylin: *grunts, frowning furiously* A-an' where were you earlier anyway? Didja hurt yourself goin' to the beach without me this morning?

Nemo: //No.//

Haylin: Yeah, I bet. ...Don't expect me to come get you. *she hangs up and flops back in her seat, crossing her arms*

Vincent: *glances toward her quizzically, checking to see if she's ready to interact again*

Haylin: *shrugs at him* Just... dumb stuff.

Vincent: *inclines his head with understanding* Do you want to be free of that?

Haylin: *snorts, a shadow of a grouchy little grin on her face* Yeah, only all the time.

Vincent: You will be, if you accept my offer.

Fireflight: *pings her phone!*

Haylin: Oh for scrap's sake, what is this?? *answers, already whining* Whaaaaaat?

Fireflight: *happy sound, and look. It's the picture of him hugging the giant kitty at the amusement park that you told him to get when he set out this morning!* *except that TC's standing behind him and grinning like a loon as she gives him bunny ears*

Haylin: *snerk* Dork.

Fireflight: *excited and happy* //I got you a hard copy too! It's got Snugzilla's noseprint on it!//

Haylin: Cool. *glances up at Vincent* Lissen, Eff, I'm kinda in the middle of somethin'.

Fireflight: //Oh, sorry! I'll go eat junk food for you, like you said. See you tonight, Haylin!// *sound of a communicator being dropped, and the line goes dead*

Haylin: *still looking up at Vincent through the screen, looking... strangely tense* Right.

Vincent: *once more glances at her. Notices her expression and lifts a brow* Is something wrong?

Haylin: Nope. *puts her phone down beside her, gently rolling it back and forth with her finger* So. This offer. All I do is kill some sentries between your world and this other one? And you take over? And I get... stuff? *she watches her phone roll, thinking*

Vincent: The world that I'm targeting at present is only the beginning. Our power will grow with every world that we take.

Haylin: Hnn. *roll. roll. roll*

Vincent: There will be no one to oppose your will, unless you should set yours against mine. *lifts hand again and shows her an army of muscular men bowing as though to her*

Meatball: *distinct sound of a small fat dragon falling off a balcony into a flowerbed*

Haylin: *apparently not hearing Meatball* Right, that part. I'm, like, your lackey. *roll, roll*

Vincent: No. You are my asset.

Haylin: But still, like, your thing. *leans her head back lazily, crossing her legs* I take orders from you.

Vincent: *soft snort* I know better than to expect that. I just hope you wouldn't be too hard to find when I needed you.

Haylin: *grins* S'good. Cuz I, like, hate authority figures. You ever gonna take the Nexus?

Vincent: *looks out the window with distaste* It holds little appeal. I'd rather destroy it, if only to spite this Charlie.

Haylin: Z'at so? Yeah. It's pretty terrible. *smiles, brushing her hair out of her face* 'Cept. You know. It's mine.

Vincent: *quizzical frown*

Haylin: It's mine. *her smile widens* All my stuff is here. My robots an' my house an' my dragon an my... my fish. *leans forward* It's mine. My world. An' maybe they didn't tell you when you came, but me? I'm a protector. *she licks her lower lip, her hair starting to crackle with black fire*

Vincent: *calmly* I could give you better.

Haylin: Prob'ly not, Vince. *she stands up* An' anyway, they'd all be lost without me. *puts two fingers in her mouth and whistles loud and clear* Hey, Chaaaaaarlie!

Charlie: -Have a Mornbein.-

Mornbein: *white-skinned girl with bright blue eyes that seem to glow under the shadow of her black hair. Has a safety pin stuck through the septum of her nose, and a barbell industrial pierced through the point of one ear is only the most noteworthy of an impressive collection of metal in both ears* *sticks her head in through the litter door* Hey, bastiche, what'd Chucky say 'bout you messin' where ya ain't wanted?

Haylin: *grins, eyes wide, fire between her teeth* Have fun, Vince.

Vincent: *is far from looking calm now!*

Mornbein: *wicked smirk at Haylin* Don'chu got places ta be, beeotch?

Haylin: Y'know what? I do! *pops the top on the bottle she was given* Thanks for the drink, Vince! *takes a swig as fire engulfs her, licking up her body like a wave as her wings outstretch above her, pressing into the ceiling, the walls, the edges of Vincent's illusion* *and with one huge, fiery flap she's gone, along with the whole roof, trailing fire shot with strange colors, pieces of the litter, and a long, evil laugh* *she streaks like bizarre comet across the sky of the Nexus. She loops over the Dog, buzzes shoppers outside the Mall, and finally climbs as high as she can, spinning, shooting off gouts of flame... and she's gone, her teleporter homing in on Nemo's coordinates*

Nemo: *in a tiny pocket reality, laying on an island that is only a strip of white sand in an azure and sparkling ocean. Is near the cluster of palm trees that shadow a tiny, rocky hill that's alive with ferns and birdsong*

Haylin: *appears high up, still twirling slowly for a second before she dives, falling like a star into the little strip of white sand with a crash and a spray of fire and sand, a safe distance away* *slowly unfolds from inside a shining semi-circle of fresh, hot glass, grinning like she's come to kill someone* Hey, dummy, I'm here. Still alive?

Nemo: *lifts his head, but then winces and puts it down again. Is showing clear signs of having strained himself doing some sort of hard physical work* Yes... *wheezing sound. Is too far out of the water to breath*

Haylin: Pssh. You goof. What'd you do t'yourself? *saunters over and gets her arms under his armpits* Help me out, you weigh like a million pounds.

Nemo: *tries to move, but only succeeds in wincing again* Beach... is yours. *turns his head slightly as the sound of sizzling from the crater stops*

Haylin: *dragging him towards the water* ...Wha?

Nemo: *opens one hand to show her one of Aoife's land deeds* Your beach.

Haylin: *starts smiling, disbelieving, confused, her arms still under his, still... kinda... hugging???* *blushes, suddenly, and in a fit of embarrassed proactivity, she locks her arms, gripping one wrist with the other hand across his chest, and takes off with one solid flap, throwing them both backwards and into the ocean, a good twenty feet off shore*

Nemo: *startled flail, but then his gills are moving as he sucks in the clear sea water*

Haylin: *immediately lets go as they hit the water, getting herself to the surface*

Nemo: *is that white form that can clearly be seen drifting among the bright fish and weeds as the ocean moves him toward shore*

deed: *floats past on the little waves*

Haylin: *spitting seawater, she grabs the deed, tries to read it but starts sinking as soon as she stops trying to tread water. She'd probably be better at this if she weren't wearing boots. And maybe retracted her wings. And her phone wasn't trying to climb into her bra*

phone: *WANNA HIDE!*

Haylin: *bites onto the deed and manages to tread back to the shore, rising out of the ocean like a wet, sparkly rat*

Meatball: *just appeared with a flash, and then bellyflopped on the soft sand* *grunts, and then looks around and makes happy sounds. Found nottamama, and a pretty place!*

Haylin: *grins at him despite her bedraggled state, taking the deed out of her mouth and tucking it into her dress* Oh yeah, you! Did you hurt yourself fallin' in my flowers, you dork? *picks him up and starts blowing raspberries into his fat belly*

Meatball: *wriggles and grunts and chirps. Such a happy little fat lump*

Haylin: *plops Meatball into her lap and digs the deed back out of her dress, opening it to have a look* *I mean, it's not, like, seriously hers, right?*

deed: *clearly states the dimensions of the little island, and the Backwater portal used to reach it. Says that island, water around island, things growing on the island, and access to the portal are Haylin's. But that she may not block the portal so as to impede other peoples' access to the portal*

Haylin: *a weird mix of horror, joy, and utter confusion have a long, slow battle over her face*

Meatball: *chirps and looks toward her landing crater as a large "ploop!" comes from it*

Haylin: *still looking like her face is doing glorious battle, she looks over*

Nemo: *his tail shows in the shallow water where the lip of the crater is low and opens the crater to the sea. Seems you inadvertently made a quiet place for a hurt guy to sleep, Haylin*

Haylin: *LOOKS BACK AT THE DEED I'M NOT LOOKING AT YOU I'M NOT TURNING COLORS I'M NOT INCAPABLE OF PROCESSING THIS*

Meatball: *chirps and yawns and talks, and then goes and flops down on the sand where the edges of the waves can tickle his belly*

Haylin: *I AM LOOKING AT THIS DEED I AM GOOD AT READING WOW READING IS GREAT*

waves: *lap softly against the sparkling white sand*

birds: *twitter happily among the ferns on the little hill*

crab: *beetles by*

coconut: *lands behind Haylin with a thunk*

Haylin: *yelps, a lance of black fire torching the coconut* ... *relaxes* This is stupid.

bananas: *sweet smell on the sea breeze*

Haylin: *with an effort to get back to her lazy, nonchalant self, she gets up, picking over a couple little crabs on their way to the banana plant. She comes to the lip of the newly created resting pool and splashes the water with her hand* Yo.

Nemo: *laying on the smooth glass bottom of the pool, but at the splashes his eyes open partly and he looks upward*

Meatball: *soft chirp from where he's laying on the beach. Is watching the nottamama with his neck stretched out and laying on the moist sand*

Haylin: ...You gonna come up anytime soon? I can't, like, come down an' talk to you. *catches sight of her reflection in the pool and pulls a hand-sized splinter of the litter out of her hair with a self satisfied grin*

Nemo: *frowns, though it looks more like trying to understand what she wants instead of his usual adverse scowls*

Haylin: *pokes the water with the splinter* Dude. Hey. Y'can't give someone an island and then just take a nap.

Nemo: *frown deepens, and then he's turning to his front and pulling himself shakily up the curved side of the pool so that he can hear what Haylin's saying*

Haylin: There 'e is.

Nemo: *sighs and lays his head down on the smooth pool edge* *quietly* What?

Haylin: *settles down, dipping her feet into the pool as she gestures with the deed* What's the deal?

Nemo: *still quiet, and sounding so weary* Owe you...

Haylin: For what?

Nemo: *gives her a funny look, wondering if she's serious with that question*

Haylin: *grinning* You gonna buy me an island errytime you stand me up?

Nemo: *there's the scowl* Stand you... what?

Haylin: *laughs* An' there's his face. *looks at the deed* So, this is for my flower bed?

Nemo: *puts his head down and shuts his eyes* Saving my life.

Haylin: Hm. Yeah, ok. I guess this'll do. *smiles and tucks the deed away in her dress again* If you want.

Nemo: *no reply. Has passed out there with his head on the edge of the pool, his gills being washed with the soft current*

Haylin: Pssh. Loser. *but she's still smiling, less cruelly than normal* *she gives him a gentle shove, sliding his head back under the water*

Nemo: *slides down and settles at the bottom of the pool. Is still for a moment, but then moves his arms under his head and curls slightly*

Haylin: *looks back out to sea* Yeah. ...Totally lost without me.

crab: *falls off a palm tree and bounces off her beehive*

Haylin: *picks the crab out of her hair* Let's go find some side dishes for you. *she gets up and walks out into the trees*


((Co-written with random_xtras))