The Emperor Arrives! [Open]

The young emperor was shocked at first when the demon suddenly shifted his tone for something much more serious than the arcosian was prepared for. While he had been cryptic and strange since he arrived, he had never quite delved into the 'creepy' territory before, so this felt like a huge change of pace. The point he raised when speaking in this new manner was fair, it was expected from people to be at least worried that Azoth would interfere in official affairs, but he did not exactly see how him being seen closely with an associate of one of the candidates fixed that at all.

Then, while the man seemingly called for a ride, the interview with Mel kept going, and sure enough, Azoth saw for a fleeting moment, the interest in the Tuffle spike. It appears Cheri did not do her best to assure that he was an ally, maybe she did not trust him that much, which was a displeasure for certain. It seemed the Arcosian would have to inform them himself, although now, he did not know what to think of the military leader of the Tuffles anymore... they were supposed to work together, but if she did not trust him, then that was compromised.

'' I know of the conflicts on Plant and Namek. As much as I would want to get involved heavily, I intend on keeping a neutral position as long as no side openly attacks the other. I have contacts with both the Saiyans and the Tuffles in this war, so I do intend on being a mediator in some peace negotiations in the future. I was actually in contact with your military leader, Cheri, but she seemed to have forgotten to mention that to her people... either that or you've been away for a long time perhaps?''

Of course, the emperor wanted to hope she was not scheming behind him, or giving him no trust. After all, she did seem like someone he would like to confront himself within ideologies, the woman being quite against the fact that emperors existed.

When the ship of this Alaistair fellow arrived, everyone in the park seemed to turn to look at it, and the emperor gave a chuckle. For the most part, he agreed with Mel however, there was never mention of a ship, and this was seeming increasingly suspicious. It's not like Azoth ever had a problem going around, even if he was flightless still. There was also anger in the demon's eyes, he was visibly unhappy with the way his coworker was behaving himself.

'' I got to side with my interviewer here, you did never mention a ship. You have to understand I cannot just get into random ships from strangers, being who I am, right? It's also hard to trust someone who does not have any energy signature, I am not prone to paranoia, but I believe right now, doubt is fair game. ''

After saying this, Azoth would whistle very loudly towards the sky, and after a few seconds, a patch of yellowish cloud would zoom in, leaving some sort of line of light behind it. The emperor, with an amused look, would turn to Mel.

'' Magic, you love to see it.''

Yeah, he still had no idea how and why this thing was there, but he sure understood how it worked in the past months.

It appeared Azoth had picked up on what he'd been thinking because he brought up Plant of his own volition! Tarine didn't necessarily agree with the choice to stay neutral, the Saiyans were invaders in his mind so why wouldn't a reasonable person side with the Tuffles? Though Azoth seemed more anti-war than truly neutral and Tarine did find himself in agreement somewhat, if it was possible to end the conflict peacefully then it was much preferred compared to another fifty years or however long the war had been going for. As long as the Saiyans responsible for keeping war going weren't getting off scot-free then he'd gladly support Azoth in this particular situation. From the sounds of it Azoth was already trying to contact both sides, he'd even talked to... his leader?

This statement confused him at first but after realising what was implied he was alarmed, how did Azoth know he was a Tuffle? Was it because he was too interested in Plant? The people he knew only knew him as human, he couldn't exactly explain someone suddenly changing species and personality in a way that wouldn't make the Tuffles look bad. Well, neither of them knew that part so maybe Tarine didn't need to panic yet, Azoth probably thought he was a regular Tuffle, maybe in the same situation as Korado, leaving because of the war? It wasn't like either of these people would care enough to look into the life of a random interviewer so it wasn't like they'd spot the contradictions. 

He was still uncomfortable answering Azoth's question, he also had no clue what was going on on Plant aside from some of the stuff picked up by the news here, so he'd try to give a vague answer and hope Azoth wasn't curious enough to push him for anything else, it was hard for him to meet Azoth's gaze but he shrugged and said "...I guess you could say that." He stayed silent after that.

Moving on, Alaistair's ship was here, he didn't like it, nor did Azoth and now according to Alaistair the ship itself was his associate, and it was alive? That made this even worse, now he really didn't want to get inside that thing. Oh, and Azoth didn't like Alaistair concealing his energy, yeah, that was really suspicious of him, it looked like Tarine wanted to comment but decided against it. The reveal of Alaistair's energy actually caused him to recoil, not just because it was another huge signature but something about it felt off in a way he couldn't describe. Add that to the list of reasons he didn't like this guy. And then Azoth summoned a cloud, he was to confused to respond. Then they both said something about magic tricks and being able to ride the cloud? And now Alaistair was set on moving on but there was still a problem he was forgetting about.
"Hold on, you said the ship was alive or something didn't you? That really doesn't sound safe and I am not getting in there. And what I wanted to say before was I can't fly anyway so I can't even reach wherever you wanted us to go." And to Azoth: "...I'm guessing you've got your own way to get there? The cloud's an interesting trick by the way."


Antisense is still btw since Azoth only picked up on Alaistair's use of it.
WC - 556
Total - 2973

The interviewer went on about their gripe about the ship, on top of not being able to fly like Alaistair could. Azoth, who so delicately threatened Alaistair about being threatened, offered a ride to the interviewer. Alaistair firstly applied declarative to Tarine, saying, "I was in the assumption that Azoth would be assisting in that department. Exhibit A: His ride offer..."

Alaistair put up two fingers with a brief pause.

"Secondly," he continued, "I request you understand that this was how he wished to be viewed. The reasoning had been that he got painted on so often on different vessels in the past that he chose to bring about this intimidating visual. By all means, he could've made himself more pleasant looking to see, but he's an old thing that doesn't like being touched with a paintbrush or a spray without his permission. This is something my crew and I can relate to, having been treated as evil, monstrous things of myth despite, or maybe even in spite, of us correcting people so much!"

He then pointed to the Nimbus cloud before holding up a third finger on his hand. He elaborated, "Lastly, those clouds are known as the Nimbus Clouds. They're magical in nature, themselves. Tales exist about them all over this world about what they are. Regardless of whatever origin you choose to believe, they all share a few things in common: They choose their riders, they are incredibly fast, and they've got a strange connection to the afterlife. So, we ought to get going up to, at least, the rooftop next to the ship!"

The two were awfully keen on pressing a situation that did not exist! Perhaps this was just Azoth's means of weaseling in seeds of control on this world, using Tarine to spread it around.

Damage Taken: ?/250%

Current WC: 2,996

This Alaistrai fellow felt contradictive to Azoth. On the first hand, he was polite, and always willing to dispel any doubts on him, offering whatever might remove confusion on his part. This was nice, and the young emperor identified with him on that part, being the representant of the species known for conquering and murdering people. But on the second hand, he seemed on the defensive about EVERYTHING, even things that they did not really mention at all. This reeked of someone who could not afford to have anything dug up or found out about him, and the fact that he was a demon intertwined with a politician was not exactly a good look on his part... Azoth was trying really hard not to be too suspicious, but the oni was not exactly helping.

'' I've seen my fair share of designs for ship anyway. This one does scream 'pirates' for me, but other than that, I really don't see what's wrong with it. I do admit that a ship that's alive is a little unsettling, although I do have small versions of my second in command as crew on mine, so perhaps it's a matter of perspective, like most things.''

Yeah, he had been told before that Mini-Paladions were kind of weird, but her just found them practical, cute, and efficient. Even if he was not expecting at first to pay for robots, the fact that they were sentient changed that for him pretty quick, kind of like Paladion herself.

When Mel finally asked Azoth how that thing 'worked', the arcosian would briefly look alarmed, although he would pat the cloud under him and act like he totally knew how that worked.

'' See, as long as you're in contact with the thing, it acts as a somewhat solid matter holding on to you.''

To prove that, Azoth would stand up on the thing, which did not even seem to notice the change, and the cloud would shift upside down, leaving Azoth unmoved.

'' So there is no danger of falling off, except if, of course, expelled by a force greater than the cloud itself.''

He switched back to right side up, then, hovered around a bit, changing elevation and speed, before coming back.

'' I kind of just command it mentally. ''

The emperor lied, as he was just improvising with whatever the cloud seemed to want to show to the young Tuffle. To be perfectly honest, he did not even know he could be upside down on the thing.

'' So what say you, fancy a ride?''

He finally said as the cloud approached closer to Mel, almost nudging him to get on.

Seeing Tarine carefully get on the nimbus recalled to Azoth his first encounter with the thing. Yeah, of course with new people, his little cloud was being nice, but the first time HE got a ride, he almost felt like he was attacked! Guess there was a good reason for it, perhaps those above decided to send him some help after seeing he couldn't fly... or maybe it was all just random, and he was just at the right place and time. Regardless, he was glad Mel was getting the easy way onto this little magic flying cloud, and after a few seconds, the nimbus began to hover a little higher.

'' You can go on it as you wish. If I'm honest, I've tried plenty of stupid ways to sit or stand on it, but it seems to correct its course and even hold onto you by some fluke of nature. I bet you could even fight on it if someone was crazy enough to try that sort of thing.''

The emperor said as their ride truly began, with Nimbus tailing quickly behind the giant ship. The arcosian would wave at Alaistair, then send him a message telepathically, as to not shout like a maniac.

'' Lead the way man, we're right behind you!''

He took that opportunity to turn to Tarine, a serious look on his face, then spoke.

'' If he tries something weird, stay close to me. I doubt he will, but we never know. ''

He would then nod to the assumed journalist, hoping they had an understanding. Azoth would not have a bystander be hurt in his shenanigans after all. Besides, he would make for a great witness of things DID get out of hand.

Without too much issue he managed to sit on the nimbus, Tarine was still nervous he'd fall off so kept his hands firmly stuck to the surface of the cloud. At first he was only half listening to Azoth, he gave a couple of glances or a nod but most of his attention was spent adjusting his weight and checking where the edge of the cloud was. Honestly as this thing continued to move up it wasn't nearly as fun as Azoth made it look. Ugh, just had to keep holding on and he'd be fine. Though if he was pushed on how he felt about the ride at any point he'd straight up deny it, if anyone could fly one of these things, why couldn't he?

As they moved closer to the ship, Alaistair stopped and brought up an important question, or at least one for him. He hadn't properly introduced himself to the man yet, that was easy enough, Tarine would just use the name people were already using. He glanced from the nimbus to Al a few times before shouting across, "Oh- yeah, it's Mel!" Not technically a lie. Legally, that was his first name, even if he liked using a different one in his head, though that was a complicated situation that these two probably wouldn't understand.

At Azoth's request to come to him if Alaistair tried anything, he didn't say anything just returned the nod. He didn't have a reason to go against Azoth here, based on how little he trusted Alaistair he probably would've done that even without being asked.

What a time to discover you don't like heights
WC - 266
Total - 3990

The interviewer's name had been Mel, and from what Alaistair could see, they had a fear of heights..! He could see them glancing down warily, before returning to them. They at least were able to land on the rooftop, with rope railed gangplank of Al's ship laid out for the 3 to walk on! Although, it seemed the two were still wary to walk onto the Shako Cayenne, even with the sturdy metal gangplank with metal rails at the side leading to the ship.

They got to asking not about the ship, but the hotel Al's ship went to. The 3 guys that were upstairs drinking before had long since shifted, leaving these new 3 to take their place. Since it was empty, for the moment, Al sought fit to explain in much more private company, although a tad irritably.

"Well," he began, "For starters, this hotel's not where we're having the talk. It's nice, but Shako Cayenne's much safer and more diverse in the stock of drinks and food we go. That being said, back to the matter of why this secret hubbub... Literally what I said down below was truth! You just came zipping to my world on a whim, without us having any sort of warning at such a crucial time. Earth's a melting pot planet, when it comes to our culture and our people! A little bit of yours, a little bit of his, a little bit of mine, and a little bit of eeeeverything else on this planet. Strong guy like you showing up means that people who are... How do I put this?"

Alaistair paused for for a moment, thinking of how to ease his comment in.

"... Obsessive, to the point of Zealotry! You moving in can cause Zealot-based chaos on this planet. Ergo, I need to talk to you and ensure that we can make sure people are civil when Derry takes over and we negotiate much more on what our respective governments will do for one another. From what that self-proclaimed scientist, Faustus, spoke of you and how you are so far, I can see a whole lotta good with working with you, and a whole lot of nastiness. Granted, this was months ago, but the comments he made are matching thus far, and it's positive, Emperor Azoth."

He was genuine in his words. He wasn't intending anything sinister at all. He was measuring Azoth on whether he'd be a problem or if he were something of a partner they, both Derry and Alaistair, could make! He added on, "Don't mistake me for being a puppeteer, though. It's better to view me as someone who doesn't want to be linked to the maddening mythology being the damned demons... Again, we take that in stride because we cannot hide what we are born as. We don't use those powers unless absolutely necessary, and that's why I am working for Mister Derrick, or Derry as I've been calling him by. He's offering peace to people who're not being given a chance by letting someone like me assist his campaign."

Current WC: 3,735

Damage taken: ?/250%