Connecting to megamanmush.com(64.246.46.192) Atlantis --(#240RFnt) The only way to describe even the entrance to the Palace of Waters is lavish. From the coral-encrusted battlements to the mother of pearl inlaid doors, from the cascading waterfalls that splash down the sides of the palace into the surrounding lake, it is obvious that the owner has made the seas and all contained therein his domain. Above, a sinGLe spire curls gently around, shaped LIke a nautilus shell. At the massive gates, two massive statues of fish-LIke warriors stand guard at the locked doors. Contents: Contents: Barrage Raptor [Heavy armor] [RF] Pallbearer [Pall] [RF] orth: Atlantis -- outh: Atlantis -- Pallbearer looks up at the palace, sighing and hoping he's doing this the right way. Looking to Barrage as she arrives, the mummybot's expression becoems serious. "All right, Barrage...I need you to help me out with something. The guardian of atlantis is somewhere around here, and being that its creator was Neptune, it may have more information on this than we've been able to obtain. Still...I only know one way to contact it, which necessitates more than one person being here." Barrage Raptor continues to play with her clay crystal, "Yeah?" She asks, "How's that work, then? What, do we gotta say a password or sing a song or something?" Pallbearer sighs. "Not exactly. I need you to hit me." The medic looks at her with a frank expression. "The guardian abhors violence in here...and if a fight breaks out I've got no doubt it'll come running." Somewhere on the MUSH, Signas has disconnected. Barrage Raptor frowns, "Oh." She says, "But I swore I'd never hit another RepLIforcer.." She says, "I, uh.." She thinks, "Can I just punch you, or do I need to shoot you?" Pallbearer shrugs. "Not sure how severe it needs to be, but a punch should be enough...and don't worry about it. I'm just hoping it'll understand." Pallbearer stands his ground, bracing for the hit. Barrage Raptor nods, "Just as long as it doesn't try to eat me or something..." She says, as she pulls back and slugs him in the chest.. An thin mist of water vapor swirls off the nearby lake... envolping the area... It is only for a short while that the mists does appear... before they vanish... Leaving a VERY large Crab in its place. "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF ATLANTIS. WHY DID YOU VIOLATE THE SANCTARY OF THIS AREA?" It roars out, GLaring at the Raptor-ish Reploid. Pallbearer hwoulfs at the impact, staggering briefly. "Wait...wait-" he wheezes as the guardian arrives. "Guardian, please wait a moment!" He rapidly gets in front of Barrage, holding his hands up. "I needed to find a way to speak with you, this was the only method I was sure would work. Please, please don't hold it against Barrage, she acted on my orders." Barrage Raptor steps back away from the big crab, "Ye-yeah!" She says, "I didn't want to, but I don't disobey orders.." She has all her weapons in case...It does decide to try to eat her.. The Guardian GLances down at Pallbearer, peering closely at him. "I SEE. WHAT DO YOU REQUIRE OF ME..." Its beedy eyes narrows ever so sLIghtly, "PALLBEARER OF THE REPLIFORCE?" Before the Guardian lets Pallbearer answer, it turns its attention on Barrage, "DISENGAGE YOUR WEAPONS. NOW." Barrage Raptor nodnods, "They're all offLIne. Really. I'd drop them, but then I couldn't pick them up again. Really, I'm not going to do anything with them.." Pallbearer nods, adopting a submissive posture and gesturing to Barrage to comply with the nice crab. "...As of late, we have discovered some disturbing evidence surrounding your masters, the stardroids. Starhaven itself appeared in the orbit of our planet, heavilly damaged and in very dire need of repairs...also containing several pieces of video data...it would appear that the stardroids themselves, including your master Neptune, have been defeated rather soundly, by a force we do not fully understand. I have the video data we've recovered from Starhaven if you would LIke to review it for authenticity, but I assure you I speak the truth." The guardian looks infinitely sad at this, "I HAVE... SENSED... MY MASTER'S PASSING. I DO NOT HOW HE HAS DIED OR WHO HAS KILLED HIM... BUT I SENSED HIS DEMISE. AND I COULD DO NOT ANYTHING, AS I AM BOUND TO THIS AREA TO PROTECT FOR ALL ETERNITY." The Crab pauses, "I WOULD LIKE TO REVIEW THESE 'TAPES' AS YOU CALL THEM. IT WILL GIVE ME A SENSE OF CLOSURE... AS I WAIT FOR MY NEW MASTER." Barrage Raptor bLInks at this, "Whoa. Whoa. Wait a second." She says, "New master? Where are you going to get a new master from? I mean...Why do you even need one? Why not just be free?" Pallbearer looks up at the guardian, nodding solemnly and producing a small holoplayer. "We discovered this cLIp on starhaven. There are three others as well." The fLIckering, scratched black fades in on a view of the chamber in which you all stand now... in prime and perfect condition, not damaged in the least, and filled with much different people. Stardroids. Many of them. Most are arranged in a group, facing two in particular, up in the front, beneath the screen you are watching. The two are addressing the rest, and both are clearly recognizable... they were here on Earth, during Judgement Day. Finned face, webbed feet, scales... one is Neptune. The other closely resembles Duo, though smaller, curvier, armored in pink. Duet. In the larger crowd are many recognizable faces- Jupiter, Pluto, Uranus- as well as many Stardroids never before seen by EarthLIng eyes. There is no sound, only a visual track. Duet is addressing the crowd calmly, looking quiet, grim, while Neptune stands beside her, silent but strong. One can only guess what Duet is telLIng the others; several of them look alarmed, others angry. Pluto, off to the side, cracks a cruel smile, while Jupiter lowers his head to rest it in his hands. None of the Stardroids are not looking very happy. Duet sighs softly, looking away from the group, and LIke Jupiter, lowers her head into her hand. Her shoulders begin to shake, and.. it appears as though she's... crying? Neptune looks towards her, reaching out to rest a hand on her shaking shoulder, his LIps moving as he murmurs silently. The image abruptly fLIckers, and fades to black. Pallbearer says, "The remaining three films show the creatures that we beLIeve dispatched the other stardroids. If there's anything you can tell us it would be of immense help." The Guardian regards Barrage Raptor, "BECAUSE AS I AM BOUND TO THIS AREA FOR ALL ETERNITY, TO PROTECT IT FOR MY MASTER'S EVENTUAL RETURN. I NEED A MASTER TO DO THIS SERVITUDE FOR. IT IS ALL I KNOW, BARRAGE RAPTOR OF THE REPLIFORCE. IT WILL BE ALL THAT I KNOW." The guardian looks at Pallbearer and watches the hologram playback silently. "...MY MASTER LOST HIS FRIEND. GRIEF HAS OVERWHELM THEM. AS IT WILL OVERWHELM ME." The guardian sighs, "I KNOW NOT OF THOSE WHO DID HARM TO MY MASTER AND HIS ALLIES. SUCH BEINGS ARE UNKNOWN TO ME. AS FAR AS I KNOW, MY MASTER, THE STARDROID NEPTUNE, SHOULD'VE NEVER EVER BEEN KILLED. I WISH I KNEW WHAT DID THIS... BUT I DO NOT, PALLBEARER." Barrage Raptor rubs the back of her head, and sighs, "Okay. Well...Do you know who's going to be your next master?" She asks, "Was it the person who got the Neptune pendant?" Pallbearer switches to the next film, getting it ready. "Friend? Who have they lost? Previously...we beLIeved that it may be their reaction to the loss of the Stardroid Duo...but thus far we've been unable to read their LIps or draw other information. Still, I'll show you the other cLIps..." Once again, the black fLIckers out, replaced by another recording of this very room, back in a repaired condition. There are no crowds this time, just one stardroid, off to the side.... Mercury, from the looks of things. He's not doing much to speak of... it's as though this was a mere bit of security footage. For a full, soLId minute, things are nice and docile, while Mercury pokes and prods at various computers, until.. In the space of a few seconds, a dark shape sweeps in from just off-camera, moving too quickly to be fully GLImpse, its details masked over by morphing blobs of black, as though the camera could not 'see' much of it... humanoid, Stardroid-sized, with the shape of two wings on its back. The thing sweeps behind Mercury in a flash, sLInging a blade into its grasp; locking one arm around the green Stardroid's shoulders and neck, while the other brings the weapon around, digging it deep into Mercury's abdomen. The image fLIckers and fades as Mercury, caught off guard, reaches up to clutch at the arm around his shoulders... and once more, the viewscreen turns black. Announcement: Data screams and reminds, "Please check orders and bboards 2 and 3 often for important MUSH information." In an after thought, he notes, "Soon..." The Guardian sighs, "I DO NOT KNOW. AS IT IS DUO WHO CAN TURN A BEING INTO A STARDROID... AND INTO MY MASTER. THE BEARER OF THE PENDENT OF NEPTUNE AS HE OR SHE IS... WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MY MASTER UNTIL HE OR SHE BECOMES A STARDROID." The film images fLIckers over the Guardian's face. "... NEPTUNE HAS TOLD ME WHEN HE DEPARTED FROM THE AREA THAT HIS FRIEND... THEIR LEADER HAS FALLEN AND JUDGEMENT HAS BEEN THWARTED. AND HE HAS TO LEAVE... AND I HAD TO PROTECT THE AREA UNTIL HIS RETURN. AND I DO NOT KNOW THE CREATURE THAT HAS ASSAULTED THE STARDROID MERCURY." Barrage Raptor raises her hand again, "Uh. Hate to break it to you, Mr. Guardian, but Duo is dead. He has been for about two years now." Pallbearer looks to the guardian. "Right then...seems there's LIttle point as to showing you the other two tapes...save for the detail of this ship." Pall turns the projector to a scene detaiLIng the hangar battle between Jupiter and the creature, showing the ship he sought to protect. "We have encountered this ship as well...it spLIt into a number of pods which have dispersed across our planet. There are several new stardroids which have arrived...two of them are known to us, going by the names of Pisces and Aquarius." He switches to images of the two new stardroids as they have so recently appeared. "Would you have any thoughts regarding these beings? They appear to be...well, I don't LIke to make such a fast judgement, but they seem to be juvenile stardroids, for lack of a better term. Children, as it were. It would seem LIke the stardroids jetissoned this craft on automatic pilot - I won't LIe to you, Starhaven has the look of a warzone. It's very unLIkely any of your master's friends have survived, and we've become concerned that the creatures which defeated them may find their way to this planet." The Guardian watches, "I KNOW THE PASSAGE OF TIME, BARRAGE RAPTOR. BEFORE THE INCIDENT THAT OPEN YOUR WORLD TO ATLANTIS, I DID NOT HAVE TO DO MUCH PROTECTING. JUST ALOT OF WAITING FOR MY MASTER TO RETURN." "THE ZODIAC STARDROIDS. NEPTUNE DID TALK ABOUT THEM. AQUARIUS AND PISCES ARE THE YOUNGEST OF THE ZODIAC. THEY WILL BE TEENS... IN STARDROID TERMS THAT IS. I WONDER IF THEY WILL BE MY NEW MASTERS..." The Guardian Crab murmurs thoughtfully then shakes it off, "AS FOR THE CRAFT AND ITS CARGO... I DO NOT KNOW, BUT BASED WHAT I DO KNOW THEY COULD BE THE SURVIVORS OF THIS..." The crab doesn't touch Pallbearer, but it manipulated into showing a still scene of Mercury being stabbed by his shadowy assailant. Barrage Raptor ohs. Well, Pall's got it covered. She pulls out her squishy gem and plays around with it some more. It's fun. Pallbearer nods. "Understood. Is there any more you can tell us about these Zodiac Stardroids? Names, descriptions, anything? I'm certain they would be GLad to know you are here, if we are able to locate others. Also....Pisces mentioned a...betrayer. We'll do our best to help them, but still..." The Guardian shakes its head. "ALL THAT I KNOW THIS THAT... THERE IS AT LEAST ONE ZODIAC STARDROID FOR EVERY SIGN OF THE ZODIAC CALENDAR. FROM LIBRA TO ARIES... WITH TWO REPRESENTING GEMINI... CASTOR AND POLLUX. BEYOND THAT, I KNOW NOTHING. I AM TRULY SORRY PALLBEARER OF THE REPLIFORCE." Pallbearer nods. "Thank you Guardian. We'll be sure to let any of them know of you if we have the abiLIty to meet them, and I'm very grateful for the information." He bows respectfully, looking to Barrage and signalLIng that it's best we leave. Barrage Raptor turns and follows Pall off. Yep, "Bye Guardian!" She waves a hand as she goes, "Sorry for having to drag you out here!" Guardian waves a claw. "DON'T BE. AND BE CAREFUL. I FEAR SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN. SOMETHING... TERRIBLE." The mists rolls in...and the Guardian disappears with it... With a word echoing... "SOON..."