Scene #9712: Rising Horizon

Owner	Pose
Shira	It's been a bit of a haunting experience being in a big city like San Francisco but there being not much in the way of people present. The entire south peninsula district has been evacuated either north across the Bay Bridge towards Sausalito, east into Oakland, or further south towards San Jose. The only signs of live for the past few hours has been the occasional AKF Humvee, broadcasting that the area is under 'GA Protocol' and advising all citizens to proceed to the designated 'Blue Zones', which would be those very same North and South evacuation routes. The little stakeout Shira has decided to do is two blocks away from the sinkhole and a bit uphill from it; a little sidewalk cafe that has enough cover to duck behind when patrols are spotted while giving a good overview of the sinkhole itself. And it's quite the uncanny thing; not just circular but a perfect circle-shaped bowl, like a ball pressed into clay. It strains the buildings at the edges of the intersection it's consumed and seems likely to collapse them before long, which may be at least part of the reason the AKF ordered a kaiju-scale evacuation. The other part being that nobody's quite sure what's caused it, and the 'weight' of the sinkhole makes investigating it pretty much impossible. She's currently crouched, watching through a gap in the cute little decorative hedge and fencing where she wouldn't have to move even if one of those Humvees passes by, limbs all bunched up beneath her body and her tail coiled around herself like a nest of spines. Its been a time of small talk and stories and she apparently broke into a major chain bookstore before anyone else got here because there's a handful of novels scattered around her that she must've been reading for the past few days. There's a faint rumble which causes her to tense up. In the sinkhole's center, a dome just sort of... manifests, as if it were there all along but just wasn't in the visible spectrum. A sphere of pure vantablack with no light escaping whatsoever, turning fuzzy and purple at the edges like it has no true border. "Something's happening..!"
Shira	( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58BrhtqsK3U ) What emerges is-- an arm. Enormous, covered in dull black scales and an even darker shade to the skin underneath. The hinge joints of the fingers feature overlapping scales, while the more agile wrist shifts to non-overlapping, quite similar to Shira's own though the opposite in color. The clawed hand grasps, sinking fingers into one of the buildings and growing tense as another arm emerges, groping for the other side and digging into the street in deep furrows. With these handholds the monster pulls itself free-- pulls herself free. As soon as her head emerges from the crater, it's obvious she's a similar sort of being to Shira, a kaijusapien, but also somehow fundamentally different not just in size or coloration but some inscrutable factor scratching at the back of the mind. Looking at her almost hurts as she hauls herself out of the sinkhole and slams into the street hard enough to crack the asphalt, the bioluminescence showing between the scales and spines a sickly, unstable crimson. The colossal creature spends just a few seconds recovering, before she gets her legs under herself and pushes, rising to her feet-- towering over the squat buildings in this part of San Francisco's mission district. Every movement creaks and groans, like the hull of a submarine deep underwater, as she lifts her clawed hands to look at them, flex them. Something explodes against her back, prompting a stumble but not a fall. The kaiju woman catches herself by planting her leading foot, whirling around. That long spike-covered tail smashes into the buildings behind her as she turns. The noise she lets out is distinctly inhuman; a screech like tearing steel that swiftly drops in octaves until it rumbles through the bones. When another shell bursts in the air near her shoulder, she starts off after the distant source. This whole time, Shira has been still as a statue, staring, wide-eyed. The soft rattle of her spines shaking is lost on her. But once the freshly emerged kaiju's attention is drawn towards the sea, she swallows and mutters, "I think this is our chance."
Regulus	Regulus is accustomed to San Francisco being huge. Theoretically evacuating all those people, well, it's hard for Regulus to imagine America successfully evacuating that many people but most versions of San Francisco don't have kaiju in them. Regulus is a little uneasy about the idea of dealing with kaiju and honestly even not that much less uneasy about investigating where the kaiju emerged from, but at the very least with the latter she could probably run away. She's tiny! Easy to miss. Which is a good thing and a bad thing when dealing with building sized people, but--well--she trusts Shira won't just let a building drop on her or something. Regulus stopped and got a chicken sandwich for herself--she didn't get a chicken sandwhich for everyone else because she wasn't sure who would even be here and she wasn't sure if Shira liked chicken, but the real reason she got the sandwich at all is because Regulus doesn't want to do this on an empty stomach. So-- SLURRRRP She's finishing up a portable cup of Dr. Pepper, normal sized instead of like a Big Gulp or anything like that, and shoving the remains of that sandwich in her mouth while ducking down by Shira. "I don't want things to happen. Things shouldn't be happening..." She hiss-whispers to Shira when-- --okay!! A giant kaiju pops out of the giant sinkhole. She tries not to look directly at her and says, "Wait, that's---That's not just a kaiju, that's a kaijusapien as you called it?" She sees the tail going for the buildings and she quickly slides on some headphones to do what she can to protect her precious hearing. Rock and roll should make her death, not destruction! "U-uh iti s?" She swallows anxiously. "Okay...okay... Uh. Please don't let my bike get crushed..." She did, in fact, drive over here in her motorbike! She doesn't really want to do this slowly though since the kaiju might just run back so after taking a breath to calm herself she hurries off to the pit to try and see if there's a way down. She brought some rope and can be a flashlight herself, but she's not exactly someone who usually enters chasms.
Riku Asakura	Riku heard about the emerging kaiju and wanted to help the world deal with it. Ultraman needed to save lives, especially from monsters intent on destroying the world. Riku would use his Paladins credentials first, radioing them to the local responders, because he didn't want to cause a problem for people trying to save lives accidentally. He doesn't transform right away either; it was still in a city. Riku makes sure to rush towards the bay itself, wanting to try and find a good place to transform. It looks like the kaiju, which looks eerily similar to Shira. Already, Riku was seeing the damage that the kaiju in question could do with her tail, as buildings fell from just being sliced by it. On the bay itself, Riku reached towards his belt to pull out two Ultracapsules. "Standing around doing nothing won't get us anywhere..." he says and pulls out the Fusion Riser. "You go!" he states, activating the capsule as an image of a Giant of Light appears next to him. He slides the capsule into a holder for them before going for the next one. "I go," he states again, activating the capsule as a giant of darkness appears next to him. "Here we go!" he continues, bringing the Fusion Riser across the top of each capsule, scanning them into the Riser itself. He brings the Riser above his head before stating, "Time to get ready!" Then back down over his chest. "GEEEEEEEEEED!" he shouts as white energy pours from his body like a fire, covering his form quickly. FUSION RISE ULTRAMAN ULTRAMAN BELIAL ULTRAMAN GEED PRIMITIVE Rising into the air, the form of Ultraman Geed takes shape and turns to face the new kaiju, making sure to step into the bay as he grows. However, he doesn't attack her immediately, instead moving into a defensive stance and instead... "Who are you? What are you trying to do here?" he states, trying to question the kaiju.
Sarracenia	Ever since she heard Shira on the radio, Sarracenia has been curious. Another monster who is also a person. Perhaps someone like Rita? So, she had joined Riku when he made his way here. His use of his Paladin credentials made Sarra hesitate before she presented her own. Concord, of course. As there was no real trouble yet, Sarra left the Sundew Sovereign floating at the nearest harbor. It must certainly have been a sight though, having a 250ft wooden galleon sporting propellers instead of sails in amongst the other ships and boats. Sarra had flown here under her own power after that. Forgoing a suit power up, she had donned a feather power-up and been granted a golden cape. Sarra was quite surprised when she saw Shira for the first time. She had heard something about monsters, but the princess still wasn't expecting an actual monster-looking person. But, after the initial surprise Sarra was cheerful about meeting Shira. She plied the monster girl with many questions. Where did she come from? How did she become a monster? Was she always one? Did she ever decide on whether to get a dress or not? Sarra also took note of the books scattered around and, after realizing or finding out they were stolen, giving Shira a bit of a scolding and offering to pay for them and any other future books. Regulus is also someone Sarra has talked to but has not met before. When she does find out it is Regulus, Sarracenia blinks in surprise before offering a happy smile. "It is lovely to meet you in person, Regulus! I must admit I have been quite curious about you." Despite the situation, Sarra is still wearing her typical princess outfit. Red, royal gown, small golden crown, burgundy metal flower pin in her hair, and her large red satchel purse. And those who know Sarra might notice that...she is not wearing her eyepatch. And for some reason, the eye that was covered is now green instead of blue. And looks...off, somehow. Even after being on Riku's world for a kaiju attack, Sarra isn't quite prepared for the giant arms and the creature that comes with them. Especially when it turns out to be a creature not too unlike Shira but...giant. Sarra stares upward for a few moments as Riku starts asking questions. 'I think this is our chance.' Sarra blinks, then looks toward Shira. "To fight her? Or..." She is a bit unsure of the objective now, since this kaiju looks like she could be another monster-person.
Shira	Riku embiggens. Ultraman Geed, upon reaching his full size, can see over the buildings. This part of San Francisco only has the odd high-rise, and overall more low three or four-story buildings around them. In the direction the newborn kaiju is stomping, ankle-deep in the marina, is-- another kaiju woman. This one more closely resembles Shira even in color scheme, though the pearlescent white scales have more of a silvery base color in addition to the rainbow sheen of iridescence. Her hair is a blue-white and also runs down her back and her tail, amidst the spines with the vibrant blue bioluminescence. The end of her tail is distinctly different, just a single axe-like blade that doesn't seem to be articulated in the same way. While she has multiple sets of horns, they're all perfectly straight, as opposed to the graceful curves of Shira's horns or the exaggerated hoop-like shapes formed by the newborn's dull black horns. Curiously, all of her body scales are polygons, rather than rounded, giving her a distinctly technological look. This is further hammered home by the cannon currently emerging from the underside of the wrist of her extended right hand. When Geed appears, Metariza immediately acknowledges his presence with a swift glance of bright yellow eyes and the slightest pull up on her right arm to draw it off target. He questions the kaiju rather than presenting as a kaiju himself; and so she returns her attention to the newcomer. By the news footage, this appears to be Automated Anti-Kaiju Unit Metariza, the Anti-Kaiju Force's ace in the hole. Their very own Kaijusapien, or some sort of artificial recreation? > "Who are you? What are you trying to do here?" "Emergence confirmed. Assigned codename: Horizon. Objective: Remove from civilian sectors." The mystery woman stops, wobbling slightly in place, "Who am I?" That groaning pressure grows louder as she shifts her posture to glance over her shoulder towards the newly emerged Ultraman; when viewed from front or back, the dramatic curve of her horns forms a circle open at the top and bottom, but from the side it makes her head resemble something else entirely, especially with her dramatically longer single forehead horn. The color of her eyes is... unstable, flickering between red and violet in bursts of glitchy effects. "...What am I doing?" Even with the scales and horns altering the way her face expresses, Horizon is clearly under immense strain for some undiscernible reason. Her gaze shifts back to Metariza blocking her path, "...Sink. I need to... sink... equalize..." Horizon steps out into the marina, dipping her posture and presenting her horns-- Metariza braces-- and the pair collide in a clash of metal and organic metallic compounds. Horizon's tail, ending in a broad flat wedge like an arrowhead and covered in spikes, swings in a way clearly meant to ward Riku off of approaching her while she tries to overpower the Automated Anti-Kaiju Unit.
Shira	> "To fight her? Or..." "Riku is going to fight her, or at least push her out of town. Regulus and I are checking where she came from." is the quick breakdown Sarracenia gets from Shira. Shira accompanies Regulus to the crater once Horizon is at a safe distance, trotting initially on two legs and then, as she draws closer, dropping to all fours. Regulus pauses at the crater edge and Shira just-- goes right over the side and down the face of it, "Here, toss me the end of your rope, I'll anchor it while you climb down." "She's definitely a kaijusapien like me... I had a feeling when something happened in the middle of a town, that it might be one." Shira glances up as Ultraman Geed challenges the newcomer, "This must be one of her labs... Feral kaiju come from the wilderness or the ocean, since they used to be animals. They come from where the animals are." Beneath the center of the sinkhole is an underground chamber, almost perfectly sphereical, which Regulus' rope is also pretty handy for getting into safely. And down here is what's left of some subterranean prefabricated room, mangled by the gravity field of Horizon's birth. At the edges of the 'sphere' are a pair of tunnel corridors, virtually unscathed, connecting to the rest of whatever hidden facility this is. The lighting still works, and Shira points out, "If there's still power... think any computers survived further in? Research notes? Anything like that?"
Regulus	"Is it possible there are kaijusapiens who can't get small?" Regulus asks, once again thankful for Riku's ability to keep very big things from crushing her and generally for his assistance in life and whatnot. Regulus is a little confused when Sarracenia approaches her--it takes her a moment to realize who this is speaking to her. "Wait ... are you ... Sarracenia?" She's eyeballing that crown. Is she supposed to be getting along with actual royalty here? It feels weird to be warmly greeted by a Queen Princess or whatever. But she isn't really hostile to Sarracenia because Regulus doesn't trend to hostility just because they had argument over semantics. "oh, hey, uh, I guess I am Regulus, yeah." Regulus is wearing black cap with her shades resting above the bill, with small studs dotting the perimeter of said hat. She's wearing a black leather jacket and skorts with a slight side-slit, red stocking that cut up to near the hips, and similarly black studdedboots. She has a belt on with a star patterned buckle and a light green shirt with a collar and a dark green fastener around the neck. A peace-sign bangle is dangling off her belt. "Um, well, i'm a little busy but uh--hey! Nice to meet you. We're gonna try to investigate this hole, please don't tell Petra I said it like that." Regulus is confident in Shira's ability to hold a rope and not drop Regulus to her death so she unspools the rope and tosses ione end to Shira. "If it gets real bad I can summon a platform to break my fall but I'd rather avoid using arcane skills on that when I might need it for hiding.or running away." 5rBut still, she can clamber down so long as Shira is willing to--not especially quickly, Regulus is a little more athletic than she was when she first showed up in this world, but she still doesn't have the best diet or the best exercise regimen even if she's running around a lot. Eventually they drop down before the tunnels and Regulus waits for Shira and/or Sarracenia to make it down before adding, "Well, I doubt they're gonna be net connected, but if we find one I can get it working--or at least pop it open and take out what's useful and try plugging it into another storage device and draw everything out from there." She ehas no idea if there's anything worth finding though. "What are you hoping to fnid here?" She asks Shira.
Riku Asakura	Ultraman Geed takes a quick look at Metariza, having heard of it before from Shira's talks about her own world. He isn't sure if it's a robot or a synthetic kaijusapien, but whatever it was, it spoke like RE.M. So they were going to call this new kaiju Horizon? He doesn't get the naming scheme, but right now there are more important things to worry about. Geed also noticed that the Sundew Sovereign was nearby, which means Sarracenia was also nearby. Regulus and Shira were going to check the hole Horizon came from, so... that just leaves Horizon herself, to which Geed turned to face fully. She could speak, which means she was intelligent. Maybe she could be reasoned with. However, the look in her eyes looked unnatural. Was she affected by something? He didn't know... '...Sink. I need to... sink... equalize...' "What do you mean by sink? Equalize? What do you need to sink to? What do you need to equalize?" Geed continued, but almost immediately, she charged Metariza. The tail comes for his body, so Ultraman Geed rolls underneath it, before attempting to wrap an arm around the less lethal parts of her tail He moves to swing her, aiming to try to aim her away from both Metariza and the city itself.
Sarracenia	'Riku is going to fight her, or at least push her out of town. Regulus and I are checking where she came from.' "Right. I shall join Riku, then. I am not much for investigating." Sarra says before she takes off flying again. She follows after Riku and...Horizon? Geed notices the Sundew Sovereign, and not only is Sarracenia close...but she is flying close to his head! "Hello R-...Ultraman Geed! What is the..." Horizon charges at Metariza, and Geed moves to swing Horizon like some plumber swinging a giant turtle dragon. Sarra can't do a whole lot with this size difference, and she doesn't want to get the cannons of the Sovereign involved if they can resolve this without hurting the kaijusapien too much. So, instead of moving to attack immediately, Sarra...pulls out an ice flower. "Geed! Try this!" she calls out, then flies up to him and presses the flower to his arm. Her intention? To give him ice powers! In his Geed state this is sure to provide plenty of frost power to slow Horizon down. '...Sink. I need to sink... equalize...' That this is accompanied by an attack makes Sarra frown lightly. "Sink? What are you going to sink? Please do not sink things!" she calls out. Since they are on the attack, Sarra does start tossing a bob-omb every now and then and keeps herself on the sea side of Horizon, using herself as a sort of bait if for some reason Geed losses Horizon's attention.
Shira	Shira patiently waits for Regulus to climb down and even catches her if needed; the kaiju girl is pretty obscenely strong, it turns out. When it comes to entering the underground chamber, Shira just lowers Regulus on the rope and follows after, "I won't drop you, I promise!" > "...if we find one I can get it working--or at least pop it open and take out what's useful... Shira scuttles down the wall after lowering Regulus in, the way her body moves really is like a fast-moving lizard, even with the side-to-side sway, "That would be fantastic..! If we can pull the drive, we can just investigate the contents later rather than stay here where it's dangerous." > "What are you hoping to find here?" "If that girl is really a kaijusapien, then she was created here. We could find more info about her, and-- and who made her." Standing in the mouth of one of the two tunnels, she hesitates, then adds, "She might be...one of the Doctor's children. B-but if she isn't, then someone else is imitating her work and that could be extremely bad." Picking her way through the wreckage-strewn corridor, Shira returns to something Regulus asked earlier, "She seemed to be upset or hurt, maybe that's why she came out in her big form... I didn't. My, um. My little sisters didn't either." Oh, Shira never mentioned the other two, did she? "Incinera and Voltarion," she quickly explains, "They, uh... The Doctor made them, based on the experiment that made me. And, um-- they hate me."
Shira	AT THE SURFACE: Metariza and Horizon wrestle, neither one getting anywhere in terms of outmatching the other. The stalemate ends when Geed grabs Horizon's tail. She braces a foot to resist him pulling at her, metallic scales creaking under the strain. With her hands tied up keeping Metariza's hands tied up and her head lowered, Horizon lets out another of those metal-tearing, bone-rattling roars. The straight horn from her forehead darkens from a matte black to that light-absorbing vantablack, emitting faint violet radiation, and she jerks her head up in a way that buries that horn into Metariza's left armpit. It doesn't stop there. It just goes through as if she wasn't even there. Ultraman Geed gets the leverage he needs to pull Horizon away just as Metariza's left arm crashes into the harbor amidst a spray of silvery, mercurial fluid and sparks. The pained grimace on the artificial kaijusapien's face is clear, but her voice is still level and measured, "Critical damage. I can still fight." Horizon's tail does not break off, though one might think it should with the insane forces involved. Geed does manage to swing her around, smashing through an overpriced high-rise before he lets her loose directly out into the Pacific Ocean. The water where she lands is shallow enough that when the water settles, Horizon is still visible, picking herself back up. "Commencing deterrent bombardment," What a trooper; Metariza's forearm scale panels lift open. On the underside of her wrist is one of those big cannons, on the top; a multi-missile launcher. She might only have one arm suddenly but this doesn't stop her from opening fire, keeping her distance. By the maneuver's name, she means to drive Horizon out to sea by being more of a hassle than she's worth to fight. "...Is this it..?" Horizon mutters under the shells and Bob-ombs exploding against her back and spines. Dipping forward, the mystery kaiju slooshes into the sea, thrashing her tail up at the Sundew Sovereign to drive it away as she starts moving further out to sea. Eventually, Metariza ceases fire, lifting her right arm up and folding the in-built weaponry back into concealment, "Enemy is in retreat. Thank you." She doesn't look at the airship or at Geed, but it's clearly directed at them, "The Anti-Kaiju Force picket fleet shall be notified in case of resurgence."
Riku Asakura	Geed releases Horizon towards the ocean. If things were going to get rough, he would rather she be farther away than close to the city. Especially after that poor high-rise. The ice flower lands on Geed, slightly altering his colors to be more blue than red. He turns to brace himself against a retaliation that... Doesn't come? Geed watches Horizon, who seems more interested in her surroundings than fighting. "Is... that what you wanted?" Geed asks, but is more surprised when the kaijusapien seems more interested in only retaliating and getting away than fighting them. He's certainly not used to this, not without at least using Smash Moon Healing on them first. "I guess she just wanted to go to the ocean? Maybe that's her natural habitat. Which means she'll hardly be a threat to this world," Geed muses, and turns toward Metariza. He winces at her arm and nods to her. "Ultraman Geed is my name. You must be Metariza? Do you, uh, need help with your arm?" he asks, not sure if she's a super robot or just some sort of metal kaijusapien.
Regulus	''I am not for investigating.'' Regulus has a lot of thoughts about this, like, 'what do you mean?' and 'you shouldn't be so harsh on yourself, bud.' and 'well you won't really learn much about me that way' but she ultimately says, "Well more people keeping me from getting squished the better." instead of any of those. She has fought normal sized Manus Vindictae members enough that like if a normal-sized enemy appeared, she's somewhat optimistic she could run away. ''If we can pull the drive--'' "Sounds like you know a bit about computers." Regulus says to Shira, because she was honestly expecting Shira to maybe only have a vague understanding of what one was let alone knowing about the pieces and parts. She really wasn't expecting her creators and mentors to give her a basic tech education let alone a proper one. "Finding out about her would be nice. Maybe could use that to calm her down." Regulus's primary goal is, like, fewer smashed buildings and more people willign to spend most of their time person-sized. "Makes sense she'd be upset. Underground labs aren't exactly the best place to be." She thinks for a moment and adds, "She may have actually started small and just got big to get outta here though. It's certainly one way to go about it." ''Shira has sisters!'' Regulus remembers her mentioning there were others. "Huh? Why would they hate you?" She asks, carefully watching her step at first and then just sort of clambering along. "I swear if it's because 'you were the prototype and the favorite' or something I'll lose my shit." She frowns a little. "Incinera and Voltarion? Man..." She sighs.
Sarracenia	'Well more people keeping me from getting squished the better.' Sarra lets out a haughty 'hmmhmm~' and smirks. "That is why I do this. To keep people from getting squished!" Sarra says, probably meaning for it to sound heroic. But, it probably just sounds silly thanks to the phrasing. Geed throws Horizon, and Horizon...is glad to be out there? Sarra floats there just watching, pretty confused as to what just happened. The Sundew Sovereign takes a tail swipe, opening a hole in the hull. But, luckily it is an airship. So, it just floats offshore until Sarra's business in San Francisco is done. 'Enemy is in retreat. Thank you.' Sarra blinks and looks toward Metariza, then smiles. "Glad to help!" she calls out loudly, as one does toward a giant. She then floats over and holds out a green mushroom. "Here! I am not sure this will work for you but...it is worth a try, right?" she says before floating toward Metariza's mouth. "Open wide~" Does Metariza have a mouth? "It will heal you!" After that, she lands on Geed's shoulder. "Nice work, Geed! You handled that almost as well as Mario would have!" Sarra says with a smile. "That is another checkmark on the hero checklist~"
Shira	> "I swear if it's because 'you were the prototype and the favorite' or something I'll lose my shit." "Uhhhh..." The way Shira trails off is telling, but she does eventually get to, "You're... half-right? I am the prototype. But I wasn't the Doctor's favorite." Geed announces on the radio that, through virtue of just trying to get Horizon away from a place where fighting her could cause more damage, he just threw her where she wanted to go in the first place so she just left of her own volition. Shira digs her claws into a metal door and wrenches it aside, exposing an office that is in somewhat better condition than whatever used to be the lab Horizon emerged from. "Your idea might be what we have to do after all, if our time is already running out..." Slithering into the doorframe, she uses this leverage to push it open further for Regulus, then scuttles in properly. Immediately, she homes in on the desk and the laptop computer sitting on it. The gravity distortion cracked the screen into an unreadable mess, but she closes it up and slides it over so they can take it when they leave. "They both hated me pretty much right away... When they left so they wouldn't have to look at me anymore, the Doctor went with them... so I think she liked them more, too." She pauses in digging through folders strewn across the desk, letting out a sigh, "They're stronger, better-coded, and she actually made them... I'm the prototype, someone else made me and she just... studied me, to make them." The sad tone in her voice disappears when she recognizes something, "This was her lab!" With a clawed finger, she points at inscrutable handwriting and a chicken-scratch of a signature, "Doctor Shimazawa was here, these are her-- That must be her computer!"
Shira	Horizon slinks further out to sea and eventually submerges, disappearing from sight. Only then does Metariza fully stand down; jets of steam hiss out from behind her shoulders and hips, venting excess heat. "Ultraman Geed. No databank entry found. No G-Cell or G-Fluid integration detected." Her eyes close for a moment. When she opens them, she turns towards Geed more directly, "Correct. I am Metariza, of the Anti-Kaiju Force." Crouching when he mentions her severed arm, she's in the process of collecting it in her free hand, "Repairs will be administered at the nearest Anti-Kaiju Force facility." In her grip, the severed arm swiftly reduces in size. When it's approximately the same size as if she were a human, Metariza exercises absolutely no hesitation when it comes to popping it into her mouth like a gummy worm. "You are not a kaiju as defined by my database. Working hypothesis: You are from offworld. I will generate a new dossier category for offworld kaiju-scale beings." > "Here! I am not sure if this will work for you, but..." > "Open wide~" Metariza does have a mouth, and the unsureness that whatever Sarracenia is holding will even be helpful in the first place does not inspire confidence. There's a curl of her lip, revealing interlocking rows of sharp triangular teeth each taller than Sarracenia herself is. Despite the annoyed expression, her tone is as evenly measured as always, "I respectfully decline. Repairs will be administered at the appropriate hanger."
Riku Asakura	Sarracenia lands on his shoulder, and he lets her stand there. He does his best to keep that arm even, however, so that she doesn't have to focus on her balance. 'You handled that almost as well as Mario would have!' Geed can't make facial expressions, but he would probably have something between a frown and a half smile given the compliment. He doesn't try to take it too hard, but being compared to another world's hero in such a way does sting just a little when he was trying so hard. "Uh, thanks, Sarracenia." 'No G-Cell or G-Fluid integration detected.' Ultraman Geed tilts his head slightly. "Sorry, but I don't know what that is..?" It's another good thing that he can't make a facial expression when Metariza eats her own shrunken arm. "Yes, I'm from the Multiverse, that's correct. Ultramen, like me, are aliens to planet Earth. I help protect worlds from kaiju rampaging in cities, just like here. Protecting life is what we're all about." When Metariza rejects the mushroom, Geed tries to speak up for Sarracenia. "Uh, the mushrooms actually are really good for you; they help speed up healing by quite a lot. Though I'm not sure if... that's something you have to worry about?" he asks curiously.
Regulus	Regulus looks over to Shira, "I mean, it's bullshit for you to be blamed for being the first, or look down on you because yuo're the first. It's..." She shakes her head. "Nevermind. I guess it's not important since we're not about to run into them today." Regulus of course doesn't seem to think their time IS running out though this is probably because she doesn't really understand what like the AKF is really up to or if they'll come back or whatever. She's honestly trying not to think too much about that. "I mean I can't really get into the mindset of a mad scientist like that." Despite arguably being one. "But there may have been other reasons. I wouldn't jump to conclusions about, like, who likes you or not based on how people treat each other in a mysterious lab." She sighs. "I don't know. I guess I'm talking out my butt." Oblivious to possible new dangers that Riku might be finding himself in-- She quirks her head as she examines the laptop. "Well a cracked screen might just mean we need to replace the screen, but this sort of portable computing device--it'd probably be easier to just transfer the data. But it looks pretty lightweight, I can just hold it." She collects the laptop and looks down at the handwriting. "Could be..." Regulus admits. "Let's take it, then. Wonder why she's going around making more kaijusapiens all of a sudden." She fiddles around some folders herself just to see if there's anything neat she can steal. Hey, she's a curious lady.
Sarracenia	'I respectfully decline. Repairs will be administered at the appropriate hanger.' The annoyed expression combined with the refusal cause Sarra's smile to fade, then it turns to an annoyed expression of her own. Even though Geed speaks up on her behalf, Sarra is already putting the mushroom away. "No no. It is fine. I can handle my help being refused. I am fine." she says a bit too quickly. And the stuffing of the mushroom back into her purse is a bit too grumbly. Sarra also doesn't consider that being only almost as good as another hero could be a bad thing when that hero is Mario. No other hero has come close to Mario's exploits in Pipeland. No one could be as good as Mario to someone who idolizes heroes and comes from that world. So, when she is thanked, Sarra just giggles. "Of course! I believe in recognizing heroics when they happen!" Sarra also tilts her head when Metariza talks about G-cells and fluids. Geed gives a bit of information about his world, and Sarra blinks. "Oh. Forgive me, I did not introduce myself. I am Princess Sarracenia, Ruler of the Sundew Kingdom." She gives a curtsey as usual, but seems less enthused than she usually would during one of her introductions. "Where is your repair hanger? We could escort you if you would like."
Shira	"I might have... been too pushy," Shira admits regarding her siblings' feelings about her, "I wound up starting a fight and Voltarion blew out the entire level 3 electrical grid and I kinda destroyed the whole cafeteria..." She lets out a sigh, "I-it's not just their fault, I mean." So that might be one reason she's so skittish. In the physical documents there's all kinds of folders about some sort of giant, horrendous centipede critters. They're all visibly different but each one is labeled a 'spine crawler' and some of them have specific spikes highlighted and labeled. Some of those same labels mark some of the cracked jars on the shelves lining one wall, though the only thing those jars contain now is rotting sludge. Whatever was in them decomposed. "She said they were the living remains of Galaxydra, the Cosmic Behemoth that exploded before I was born..." Shira murmurs, thumbing through similar files, "Spine crawlers. They fuse with animals and transform them into feral kaiju. Of course they'd have something to do with kaijusapiens too, but I never could read her handwriting..." The fact that the Doctor's unreadable chickenscratch is also in Japanese characters sure isn't helping. > "Let's take it, then." "Mm," Shira lets out that affirmative sound, tucking a handful of papers into a folder and taking that too, "Let's get out of here before the AKF starts cleanup. They'll be all over this place soon, I bet."
Shira	> "Sorry, but I don't know what that is..?" "It only confirms you are not of this world," Metariza states evenly. He confirms her hypothesis though and offers more details for the dossier she's building for 'Ultraman Geed', "I understand. Your assistance is appreciated." When Riku backs up Sarracenia's mushroom and Sarra grumpily accepts the declination, Metariza explains, "It is not yet known how my body may react to such things. The risk is not warranted or necessary at this time." > "Where is your repair hanger? We could escort you if you would like." "The Anti-Kaiju Force San Francisco Bay facility. Escort is not needed, transport has already been dispatched," She turns a bit towards the ocean, observing the arrival of some small boats and a pair of coast guard cutters bearing AKF livery. Only then does Metariza turn, keeping her tail low as she gingerly leaves the harbor and ventures into the city. Once her feet are on asphalt, her size begins to reduce. By five steps, she's perhaps six feet tall and already reporting her coordinates via an encrypted radio. Seems she's got a ride coming, but at least she's not enormous anymore. Still got one arm though.
Regulus	''I might have... been too pushy.'' "Ohh..." Regulus says, now imagining Shira's Kaijuliquency period. "Well, then maybe you can just apologize to them, I guess." One of the things Regulus isn't going to be greedy about is collecting rotting horrible centipede creature sludge until she thinks that maybe Sotheby might want some? She takes one jar and shoves it in her bag. Hopefully this doesn't result in Sotheby summoning a kaiju later, but that's not a problem Regulus is thinking about. For the most part she snags documents and the laptop and she starts rushing back the way they came. She really doesn't want to get caught by mecha kaiju or the government down here. "Sounds good," She tells Shira. MAYBE they'll think it was someone else, but she somehow doubts it. But well, so long as they don't pin the theft on REGULUS that's the best she can hope for. It's a bit of a tougher climb up considering everything she's carrying but some adjustments in her bag and she's eventually able to pull herself back up to the surface, turning herself and Shira invisible shortly thereafter.
Riku Asakura	"Well, it might be good to know things if we come back to help, you know?" Ultraman Geed states to Metariza. Though she does thank them for the assistance, "Well, you're welcome. I'm glad I could help at least," he replies to her. Metariza explains that her body might not react well, or at all, to the mushroom, and Geed nods, still keeping his shoulders still. "Well, you know your own body better than others, so that makes sense," Geed says, though really wondering how Sarracenia is really taking it. Probably not well at all. "Alright, Sarracenia, you might want to get off my shoulders. I'm going to turn back to human form," he warns the Princess before walking back towards the city. His body starts to glow brightly; the light that gives Ultramen their name shines before he starts to shrink. Soon, he's back in his normal form, as Riku. He gives Metariza a wave before heading towards the bookstore that was being used as a hidy hole. He doesn't want to go to the crater because that might give the position of Regulus and Shira away.
Sarracenia	'Escort is not needed, transport has already been dispatched.' Sarra looks toward the boats in the ocean with the AKF livery. At first Sarra thinks that is the escort and Metazira is going to swim out to sea like Horizon, but then instead she turns and heads inland. And...starts to shrink. Sarra's eyes widen as she watches. "Oooh. It seems the kaiju of this world are somewhat like you, Geed." Geed warns Sarra, and Sarra floats up off his shoulder. "Are you saying I am heavy?" she asks him with a giggle. She looks toward the Sovereign after that and sighs softly. "I did not even take the Sovereign into combat and it was -still- damaged." she says before following Riku back to the bookstore.
Shira	Ultraman Geed shrinks down and becomes Riku Asakura. Metariza observes this, documenting his new appearance and this similar ability to herself where changing size is concerned. There's the slightest change to the cant of her head as she considers him. His wave is absently returned, something that surprises Metariza once she realizes she's doing it. She takes a moment to examine her own hand, as if pondering the unbidden response. > "Well, then maybe you can just apologize to them, I guess." "Maybe," Shira accepts, even if her tone is a bit glum about it. Regulus has a bag which is a lot better for carrying stuff than Shira's Nothing is, so she hands her folders over too. The bright side of this is that she can help pull the other woman up and out with that Freak Monster Strength of hers. Regulus makes them invisible, which Shira finds a bit disorienting, but she does quickly wind up the rope and takes it with her, clutched in the articulated spines of her tail. Fortunately, the jar Regulus chose is intact enough to not leak all over everything. It's even more gross and grody-looking in good outside light, though. Shira never really established the shop from before as a meeting point, but she still kind of goes back there. If nothing else, he wants to pick up the books she stole and keep them. It's a bit of a surprise for her when Riku and Sarracenia show up there again, but she quickly recovers by shooting a look down the street at the sinkhole and the buildings damaged by Horizon's tail when she turned around, "Could've been worse, right? I'm sure the people appreciate that you were able to keep the damage fairly low and that you could get her to leave quickly."
Riku Asakura	'Are you saying I am heavy?' "I wouldn't dare say such a thing to a lady, I promise," Riku says, recognizing that Sarracenia was just teasing him. "However, it might be hard to stand on shoulders that aren't as massive anymore!" He smiles at the waving Metariza before leaving. She was pretty nice for a robot lady, by all things considered. At the bookstore, Riku nods to Shira. "To be fair... Horizon seemed less focused on wanting to make a mess to begin with. She seemed more focused on defending herself than anything. I just think she wanted to go into the ocean." Riku crossed his arms. "So... did you find anything down there?"
Regulus	"Right you are, love." Regulus says, dropping her invisibility once Riku and Sarracenia return. "I'll need to get this laptop back to the Suitcase before I can properly check it out. We've got some folders and stuff, but I don't really want to check 'em out here. But so long as I can access the drive in the laptop I should be able to access what's on here. I can put up a report--" She remembers that Riku isn't Watch and that neither is Sarracenia actually and in fact aside from Shira, she is the only member of the Watch here. What gives?! Is every Watchman stuck in a coma?? She shakes her head to clear her thoughts. It's fine. "Well I can pass it on to Shira and she can share it with whomever." There that oughta do it, she thinks. "Good job stopping me from getting squished. I'm giving you both no-smushed-Regulus grades of S+." That means they're meta in the archetype!
Shira	Shira nods along to Regulus' assessment of their haul, "It's definitely one of Doctor Shimazawa's labs, I recognized her signature." That's about all she volunteers though, at least at the moment, "We'll sort through it and see if anything worthwhile came out of this." Collecting her books in both hands, Shira glances up and down the street, then back to Regulus, "I'll see you soon, ok? I want to get these dropped off where I've been living so I know they're safe." Yeah she wants to keep these, whether Sarra scolded or or paid for them or not. It makes sense though why she'd want to skip town as fast as possible, though. Being a kaiju lady and all, this world is pretty anxious about that.
Sarracenia	When Metariza waves back to Riku, Sarra feels like it would just be rude not wave as well. She offers a small wave to Metariza before the head to the bookstore. Riku asks what they found, and Sarra chimes in quickly. "Yes! Tell us what you have found!" she says just before Regulus says she will be passing that information on to Shira. Sarra huffs softly and her cheeks puff a bit in annoyance while she crosses her arms. "...well, I suppose that is fair." Then, they are given S+ ratings! Sarra blinks a few times, then smiles brightly. "Oh goodness! My first S+ rating!" she says happily. "Well, I am just glad I could be helpful! And nothing bad happened!" Sarra helps Shira collect those books, then offers a wave as Shira bids them goodbye. "Enjoy your books!" Sarra says. She'll settle up Shira's bill either way.
Regulus	''My first S+ rating!'' "Maybe I should lower it to S I'm a little nervous about being someone's first S+ rating." Regulus says completely honestly. 5r"Yeah, I'll see you around. Glad I could help." Well admittedly, Shira probably didn't need her help to GET the laptop but retrieving information off it with minimal information loss is probably more Regulus's deal than Shira's and, well, an extra pair of arms is sometimes plenty help in of itself.
Riku Asakura	Riku was about to say something about the books, but it seems Sarracenia beat him to it first by... well, handling it. He shrugs and waves Shira off. "Be careful out there, just in case someone knows you took the info." Riku smiles at the 'S+' rating, but then frowns slightly when Regulus demotes it to an 'S'. "Hey, that's not fair, you already gave the grade out. Taking it back is definitely unfair." "Well, I guess I'll see you all later. Unless you need me to get something for the rebellion, Regulus?"
Regulus	"If you can handle bringing food supplies back I'd appreciate it." Regulus says. "I really don't have the hands to do it today, I'll swap shifts for that with you that way I can get started on this ASAP for shira." ''hey, that's not fair'' "Okay just don't go telling nobody I gave you an S+, keep it between us."
Riku Asakura	"Alright, I can do that for ya," Riku says to Regulus. "This is pretty important. Also, it means I can get more stuff for curry." 'Okay just don't go telling nobody I gave you an S+, keep it between us.' "My lips are sealed," Riku says with a smile.
Sarracenia	'Maybe I should lower it to S I'm a little nervous about being someone's first S+ rating.' 'Hey, that's not fair, you already gave the grade out. Taking it back is definitely unfair.' Sarra smirks lightly and hmphs. "Exactly." she agrees. Regulus asks them not to go telling people, and Sarra raises an eyebrow. "...okay, I suppose. But...why not?"
Regulus	''But... why not?'' "Could be a hassle." Regulus says, deadpan, without further clarification.