Naoko pages: Late last night, around 2:30 am, a really bizarre paradox ripple fluttered over the town. The epicenter seemed to have been from somewhere far off in the woods, about 10 miles outside of town.
Naoko pages: Is that bait enough?
Gabbi State Park - Park Entrance(#675RJs)
The tall buildings may be seen off in the horizon, but obviously this area is not one of static business. Instead, the only real remains of city life are seen in the often crowded parking lot of the state park, vehicles of all sorts packed into the small parking spaces. It is one of the few parking spots that automobiles of every price can be found, everything from the latest BMW to the old Honda with a rusty bumper.
Up ahead, adjacent to the parking lot the actual entrance to the park is visible. A small ranger station is the first thing visible, where a ranger can be seen at all times manning the station and answering any question that may come up. Smaller booths are set up as well, selling various overpriced camping gear, t-shirts, as well as maps of the area.
Contents:
Naoko
Obvious exits:
Gravel Road to Cabin GR South S East E North on Gabbi N
It's night. It's breezy out. It's a bit chilly. Of course, the gal walking up the street seems to pay no heed to this. She's wandering, a bit confused, stopping from time to time and looking at the sky. When she does, she holds some sort of weird-looking binoculars up to her eyes. A frown, and she shakes her head. "God! Another five miles, at LEAST." Japanese accent; English definately not the first language.
Naoko is looking at you.
The stillness of the night air is threatened by the sound of wet gravel being displaced from the road. Halogen brights tear the darkness apart as a behemothic Hummer meanders into view. The rain slick roads are no match for its traction but the driver doesn't seem to be the most competent, swerving and meandering over the road for no apparent reason. The vehicle slows as it nears the gates, a window lowering to allow the crisp air to enter and consequently push out the stale noxious smoke from within the cabin.
The girl leaps and almost drops her binoculars, catching them at the last minute. "Ohmigod. A car!" She stuffs the binoculars in the large duffel bag at her side and goes running, top speed, for it, waving her hands wildly. "WAIT! WAIT!" she yells, at the top of her lungs.
There is a crunching as brakes engage, the SUV grinding to a halt just in front of the woman. The interior is dark, windows tinted. Up close and out of the direct view of the blinding lights its easy to notice that the relatively new vehicle is banged up, scratched and not in the best of states. Smoke is exhaled through the open window and a tired voice calls out from within. "Awright there?"
The girl gasps, a bit out of breath, and takes a moment to get her bearings. "Yes.. no... I mean.. I guess so... Uhh... Hi." Naoko smiles oddly. "I.. uh... " She stops, and her eyes roam toward the sky, "Could I get a ride? I... I am kind of stuck."
Brilliant! That's the first word that usually pops to one's lips upon looking at this spry teenager: brilliant in her actions, brilliant in her speech, and, my god, brilliant in her appearance. Wherever this girl goes, she's always walking on sunshine. First, the basics. She's young, a teenager, around 15 or so years old. The heritage is clearly Japanese, for all of the features tell it true - the warm shade of her skin, the delicately sloped eyes of deep brown, the pert and gentle nose. China Girl, at first glance one might think, but unmistakably, she's Japanese. When she speaks, her accent most certainly confirms the ethnicity, while the times that she has to pause for her words confirms that English isn't her first language, either. A gal of small stature, she's only about 5'1" tall, and can't weigh more than 95 pounds, dripping wet. However, she more than makes up for that with the bold manner with which she presents herself. The jet black hair is cut short, feathered in the front like a flock of seagulls, and with an unhealthy amount of serious gel, she wears it spiked in every which direction, so that her silhouette looks like a starburst. Furthermore, the hair is streaked with vibrant electric blue, adding color to the mix. Her every action seems as if it were driven by a live current, with the setting cranked all the way up to "hyper-manic."
The future's so bright, you gotta wear shades - and the same is true for her clothing. She's dressed like she's ready to party like it's 1999. A white ringer t-shirt with the Pac-Man logo on it, and the words "Pac-Man Fever" is worn across her chest, decorated with red rings at the neck and sleeves. Over that, she wears a screaming neon yellow shirt, patterned with aqua blue swooshes that look like they were streaked on with quick strokes of a paintbrush. The skirt she wears is a bold black-and-white checkerboard pattern, and it flares out from her hips, reaching down to a few inches above her knee. Looking lower, she's got matching yellow leg warmers, pulled up to her knees, and stopping just above a pair of very retro-looking Keds - white with neon pink stripes, and neon pink shoelaces. The accessorizing is mostly in neon pink, from the Swatch Watch on her wrist that tells the time with artistically crooked hands over a light-up face, complete with a clear pink jelly-style wristband, to the giant neon pink plastic hoops that dangle from her earlobes. On each wrist is no less than 50 jelly bracelets in a rainbow of colors, intermixed with a few hand-woven friendship bands. Finally, the outfit is completed by blinding you with science: the overcoat that sweeps airily down to her knees is made of that technologically-innovative HyperColour (TM) fabric - the kind that changes color with changes in temperature. This one is in screaming orange, with spots of bright purple on it, indicating the warmer spots, and it's finished off with a chartreuse button on the lapel that reads, "Doc Brown was an amateur!" And that is Naoko - more fun than ninety-nine red balloons. Well, what do you expect? Girls do just wanna have fun!
The door opens, and the driver hops out. A cigarette hangs precariously from between his thin fingers and is ashed with the movement, grey rain floating down across his coat. He wrinkles his nose as he looks the girl over, then peers past her towards the sky with a curious expression as he takes a long slow drag. "Folks go home without you?" he enquires distantly.
View items have been set on the following objects in your area:
If it were possible to shade such a sunny disposition, it did just happen. A wave of distress over her face, and the young woman nods. "Uh.. Yeah.." she trails off, reaching over to zip up her duffel bag. "Something like that."
Pobble nods slowly, needlessly tapping his dwindling cigarette. He seems preoccupied with the night sky, staring up at it past the girl. The clouds are pregnant with heavy rain fall, and he steps past you towards the gates slowly. "Awful that is mate." he mumbles. Strangely, smoke continues to drift from the hummer, as if another ciggy had been left burning within. Or maybe there's more people inside. "Where'd you live?"
Her wide eyes shiver a little. "Uhm... Reno? Nevada?" Spoken as if she, herself, weren't sure about the detail. "I... yes, that was the last place I lived.. I.. I do believe."
"Christ on a bike." murmers the man. He's tapping his cigarette in a rythmic pattern, silver tipped thumb hitting the filter where the four corners of a square about it would be. As he does so he shifts it up and down, up and down. "Maybe they left you here on purpose." he observes, the blunt suggestion being stated with the same dreamy air. He's not really paying full attention to the conversation. Something else is more interesting.
Pobble rolls 3 (3 dice) at a difficulty of 4:
9 5 9
Achieving 3 successes, resulting in a complete success.
OOC Naoko says, "what is that for?"
OOC Pobble does a Prime sense, to check for anything going on in the foresty area. You could make an Awareness roll..
About ten miles to the south and west of here, there's the fading away of a source of primal energy... like a battery draining the last of its juice.
Naoko rolls perception+awareness vs 6 (3 dice) at a difficulty of 0:
8 7 9
Achieving 3 successes, resulting in a complete success.
OOC Naoko says, "weird. it only rolled half my dicepool. ah well."
OOC Pobble says, "Hrm. Either way"
The japanese kid shakes her head tightly, "No. They'd never, ever, ever do that. My parents love me very ... very.. much..." And she can barely choke out the last word, before tears start streaming out of her eyes.
Crying teenagers. The sound of sadness seems to draw Pobble from whatever trance he was settling into and he sucks the last from his cigarette before flicking it into the night. It skitters on the wet road and fizzles quietly. Turning, he moves to stand next to the girl, going to put a hand on her shoulder but seeming unsure and deciding against it at the last moment. "Hey. Sorry." He looks about sideways, searching for backup. Finding none, his lips twist into an uncertain grimace. "It'll be okay?"
Sniffly and still sobby, she replies, "Truth... truth is... I don't know where they are... something terrible happened... and... I don't even know where -I- am. In a big stupid forest or something... I don't like it out here."
In the vehicle, something scrabbles at the rear window. It's impossible to make out a shape inside with the darkness and the tinting. Pobble ignores it and settles back against the wet Hummer. "So eh.. How did you get here?" he asks, sounding almost curious.
She turns and peers at the window, taking a step away to try to glance inside. "I.." She sniffs. "I sort of... sort of.." She chews on her lip for a moment, "Wrecked my car." Not a very good liar.
A small shillouette vanishes down away from the window. Pobble just stares, looking close to sympathetic but mostly confused and awkward. He's obviously not used to crying teenage girls in the middle of the road at night. "Where at? Want me to call the police?" he asks after a few moments silence, and not sounding too set on the idea.
Pobble rolls 3 (3 dice) at a difficulty of 4:
5 4 10
Achieving 3 successes, resulting in a complete success.
She's clearly all sparkly. That much is obvious. But the most prevelant emotions are confusion and fear. Confusion, specifically. This girl has no idea where she is, what she's doing, what day it is... none of it. She's afraid, really afraid - afraid of what she'll do next, what'll become of her, and especially afraid for her parents. Underlying it all is a clearly highly creative and intelligent young woman who far surpasses most her age with her innovativeness.
Naoko shakes her head tightly, and says, "No... No sir... I... I was driving without a license, see... and... I don't want to go to jail." More terrible lies, the kind that she can barely keep a lid on. "I.. I just want to go someplace where.. where I can make a long-distance phone call, and... and figure out what to do."
Pobble looks less confused. Just a little. Silver tipped fingers fidget and to counteract this, they're sent on an errant into a pocket to pull out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. "Look, kid." begins Pobble evenly, "How about we make a deal?" The tiny figure is back in the rear window of the hummer, just an outline. "You tell me the truth, and I'll give you a phone and sort out anything you need to get yourself back on track?" He spreads his gloved palms openly, after popping a smoke between his lips and replacing the pack in pocket.
She rocks from foot to foot, and shakes her head tightly. "You'd not believe the truth if I told you, sir... no disrespect or anything meant, but... " Naoko smiles oddly, curiously, and then says, "I'm not a kid. My name is Xenon."
Pobble smirks at that, "Well, I am Dr. Steve. You can call me Pobble if you like." He sparks the cigarette, taking his time with the first inhalation. "You'd be surpised at what I'd believe." He smiles, but it's a serious smile. Cigarette is jutted out towards the invisible anomaly. "You'd also be surprised to know that other people will probably have noticed that, and they're definately not as nice as me."
"But... it..." She bites her lip again, and then forces a smile. "They won't find anything. In less than two hours, it'll all have reduced itself to its base elements anyhow, and sunk down into the ground."
Pobble shakes his head sadly, "Just because something isn't there anymore, doesn't mean people can't see it." The way he says this makes it sound obvious. Noting that he's maybe being harsh he manages a smile, trying to look reassuring. "I'm no stranger to bizarre shit. Trust me. You should come clean though Xenon, I can help you. Honest like."
She draws a deep breath. Her eyes roam skyward. She folds her hands at her waist. "I'm from the future..." she breathes, letting those words hang in the air, all dramatic-like and everything. "The future, Pobble." She looks to you and waits to see what you have to say to that. PLease please don't take her to the loony bin.
The shocking revelation leaves the Doctor looking unphased. "Right." he says, much like someone would say 'Fair enough.'. He nods, taking another nicotine dose and flicking ash off to the side where it sticks to the wet yellow body of the hummer. "How did you get here?" he asks, cigarette still between lips and waggling up and down as he talks.
Naoko shakes her head and draws back a little. "You don't believe me.. do you?" she asks, with that same wide-eyed expression. "I'm from the future. January 23, 1985," she tries to explain, and then looks down at her hands. "This is stupid. There's no way in hell you're going to believe me." Though every word she says is completely earnest. This broad must be out of her gourd.
Pobble laughs, inappropriately. This causes the cigarette to fall from his lips and fizzle out in a puddle near his feet. No loss. Someone inside the vehicle laughs too, a higher pitched but muffled sound. "I hate to break this to you," Pobble says honestly, "But 1985 is not quite the future." Standing up for this long is causing him to become a little unsteady, and wobbling to the side he twists and resteadies himself on the bumper.
Naoko looks you over once again, and says with a certain amount of certainty, "Sir," and waves a hand over your clothing, "Given your general apparel and demeanor, it is most evident that we are in the Vietnam-war protest era. Such people as you I studied in my American History classes."
There is sniggering from within the SUV. Pobble rolls his eyes, "Xenon.. When you were studying your American History classes, I was learning what fractions were." He shakes his head, smiling crookedly. "Also, being English I diddn't really give a fuck about the Vietnam war. I was too little to care about it."
"What time is it then?" she asks, now further confused at it all. "Funny. I thought... well, nevermind what I thought..." She regards you in a most curious fashion, and adds, "I... I've had...a hell of a day. I apologize. I'm.. I'm having a bit of trouble with my reality today."
PROVE: Naoko has the stat or ability echoes at or above level 2.
OOC Naoko says, "From that, and all that she's been through, timepieces malfunction terribly in her presence."
Pobble pulls a phone from his pocket. It's a bizarre thing, like a borg cellphone that started out mini and then assimilated bits from other things to increase its size. It's wrapped in a cross of neon yellow tape and maked with strange patterns. He glances down at the screen and frowns. "Bloody phone is screwy." he mutters, and tries to think. "It's may something, 2004. Night time." He shrugs apologetically, "Sorry I can't be more specific."
Naoko quirks her head to the side, and then her eyes nearly pop out of her head. She jumps, about a foot in the air, and smacks her hand against her forehead, causing the blue spikes in her hair to wobble. "2004!!!??" she squeals, surprised, delighted, confused, all at once. "I have to get to a phone. Immediately! The future of the free world may well depend on it!"
Pobble offers the contraption in his hand. Although it may be unrecognizable as a phone. He smiles, perhaps at your enthusiasm. A whisper from the depths of the vehicle says, "She's fucking crazy mate. Loony. Maybe she's.. y'know. One of them."
She eyes the phone, and then goes "Ahh! My father was working on one like this! Let's see... now... if I can... just..." Naoko sets the duffel bag down on the ground and unzips it. Dig dig dig. She finds this weird thing that's a tiny monitor with wires sticking out of it, and sets that on her lap. "Red... red... blue goes with blue... yellow and yellow... " The girl is now unwiring your telephone.
Pobble wrinkles his nose, looking uncomfortable at this. "You should be careful with that. It ain't normal. Doesn't.. oh never mind. I can always patch up a new one. Don't fuck with it too much and it'll be a secure line." He sighs, and the voice inside reiterates, "Fruitloop."
"Shh. I know what I"m doing." The kid starts wiring the device into the phone, and then pulls a simple 9-volt battery out. She slaps that into the socket on the monitor, and flips a switch on the side. An eerie hum as it powers up.
Naoko rolls 3 (3 dice) at a difficulty of 5:
5 5 8
Achieving 3 successes, resulting in a complete success.
Pobble quirks a brow, which dissapears under the beanie. He doesn't look too suprised, but just leans there watching. Something moves in the open doorway, a tiny figure peering from the shadows. "Whatcha doing then?" he asks quietly.
"Shh..." There's an image that forms on the screen, for a moment. A bunker, like an old army base, out in the middle of the desert. She taps a few buttons on the side of the monitor and it zooms in. Cobwebs. Dust. Broken beakers and destroyed machinery. There's a big big gaping hole where some large piece of machinery was ripped out, and only the cords and connections left. The whole compound looks like it was a battlefield. Her face falls... and falls.. and falls some more... and she flips the image off. "Oh... my god... they've got it..."
Rising up on his toes, Pobble attempts to see what's on the screen better. The critter in the truck begins to creep out too, becomming visible in the backwash of the headlights. Dave Monkey clutches a cigar and the smoke trails up around him and back into the air conditioned vehicle. "What?" they ask in unison, "Something wrong?"
"The second prototype of the Tachyon Field Multiplexer... they took it... " Whatever this is, this is BAD BAD BAD, judging from the expression on her face. "The Russians..." she trails off, after stating the name of the most frightful boogeyman she can name.
Pobble half smiles despite the situation, "The Russians aren't so bad anymore you know." "Right." Agrees the monkey with the cigar. Pobble does look puzzled however, tapping his silver fingertips together with a hard almost metallic sound. "I have no idea what that thing is though.. is eh, that what bought you back here?"
"But they have it... that's... that's... oh god, the future of the free world... THe Russians.. the bomb... Oh god... It's all so... so... bad... " And that's enough stress for Naoko. The girl gets all flustered in her cheeks, and stumbles to the ground, planting her hand there so she doesn't completely bruise herself up. "I need to eat. I haven't eaten in over two days..."
Dave Monkey scampers back into the SUV and returns with an opened jumbo bag of potato chips. They scatter about as he offers them across, from his perch up on the seat.
Pobble sighs, becomming confused and awkward once more. "Look, kid. Lets get you out of here, in case anyone else comes along. We can get you settled and then figure out what we're going to do about it all.."
OOC Naoko says, "can we say she fell asleep in the car? I need to go."
