The Pizza Dreadnaught

Opening:

The session picks back up in combat with the Pizza Oven Space dreadnaught. Green rushes over to heal Nathan most of the way, and Circeth quickly closes the distance between themselves and the Pizza Oven and heals Nathan.

Nathan takes a shot against the dreadnaught, dealing some damage. Barnabus watches from above, twiddling three coins between his fingers. They are emblazoned with a yellow, blue, and red hood each.

The oven dreadnaught yells out, saying that the party were the three who ate its brethren. It enters a rage and makes a swing at Circeth with its pizza cutter buzzsaw, narrowly missing and then taking a swing at them with its shield hit.

Usagi casts scorching ray on the oven, all three rays deflect off its shields.

Circeth walks up into touch range. Muttering over quotes, until they come across it, "An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

As they attempt to cast blindness on the dreadnaught, though it manages to avoid being blinded.

Nathan follows up "I have an addition to that -- if an eye for an eye makes the world blind, you better be the one to blind em first!" he says, as he shoots at it, hitting it again.

The machine focuses on Nathan, making a charge attack on him, landing it, stunning him and knocking him prone before making another attack with its shield, making a nearly fatal blow.

Green makes some attacks of his own, taking the top off his staff and a hit of the bong, a lightsaber fires out of the body of the staff as casts shadowblade.

Barnabus ignites one of the coins, casting fireball. Green turns and fingerguns it out of the air, dispelling the magic in the coin, as it falls to the ground. Green then turns to the fight at hand, telling the dreadnaught to pick on someone his own size.

Usagi makes her way closer to Nathan. Circeth takes a swing at the dreadnaught, taunting it as they do, mentioning that its friends lacked nutritional substance and were only eaten for emotional satisfaction. They hit and draw its attention

The dreadnaught makes another charge attack, this time against circeth, hitting and stunning them.

Green takes a turn, throwing his lightsaber at the dreadnaught.

Usagi attempts to shoot her crossbow at him, missing. Circeth breaks out of their stun, and Nathan gets up off the ground.

The dreadnaught strikes Circeth with the axe and they crumple. Struggling to hold together. Circeth is panicking.

Green interrupts. Asking Circeth if they still have one in the chamber. They reply they're not done. He replies that they better make it count, before casting compelled duel on the dreadnaught, pouring the rest of his sorcerer points into it.

The dreadnaught charges Green, who slowly walks toward the dreadnaught. His leather gauntlets are removed and the spell that was hiding his hands fades, revealing steel weights. His kneepads drop and his bulletproof vest gives way.

For the first time since his fellow gangmembers died, his robe flows freely. The scene around him fades to white, sounds fade away -- the dreadnaught's warcry, the laboured breathing of Nathan and Circeth -- it fades as a flashback is shown.

Four men sit in a discreet corner of the food court, a veldalken</tooltip in a blue puffy jacket drinking a smoothie, a bugbear with ginger fur and a red leather biker jacket restlessly leaned back in his chair with his legs on the table, A human with spiked hair wearing a yellow turtleneck counting money and a firbolg with a baggy green shirt rolling joints.

A letter sits on the table in middle of the four of them as Red comments about the caster society's request for Green to return home now that his college studies are over. Green laments that he's not going anywhere but has no options for any other place to take him, not wanting to bring problems to the coven or elsewhere.

Blue makes an offhand joke about just joining a gang so that his family wills see him as a worthless lowlife. This idea excites red, who exclaims that they could make their own gang and cast whatever spells they want as yellow laughs it off saying there's no way just four people would be able to stand up to an institution like the caster society to which blue responds that they could if their gang was anonymous "Who would know exactly how many members would be in a secret society?"

Blue then dons his signature robe, obscuring his identity completely as Red excitedly exclaims that's how they'll do it! They'll each wear old-school robes and call each other by their color to seem like a legitimate gang, then the four of them could do whatever they wanted as green says they should claim the mall as their turf. The scene closes as the four of them fist bump, the moment transitioning back to a modern day Green as he lands his first singing bell strike on the pizza dreadnaught.

Usagi casts burning hands on the creature, in a moment of clarity, searing into him. Circeth, for a brief moment appears as if they're going to buckle and fall on their cane, yelling "Wake up, wake up" to themselves. They feed their symbiotic entity and cast healing word on themselves, moving closer to the dreadnaught so their halo of spores can affect it. They call out "She doesn't want me to leave, for some reason." sarcastically.

Nathan in a fit of anger, pulls his mask off, and for the first time shifts in front of everyone. His upper body grows, arms bulging out of his jacket, his face extends forward into a snout as he gets on all fours and charge the dreadnaught.

Slashing him with his claws and then biting down on his neck, ripping the head off, tossing it into the air, and clamping his maw on it, crushing it.

Usagi seems disappointed at the desensitization Nathan, Circeth, and Green have to the senseless killing, and sighs.

Nathan apologizes to everyone for showing himself that way, and then talks to Usagi, mentioning he doesn't like to show that side of him, though it comes out when it needs to. He continues saying he hides because his race is usually stigmatized and hunted for sport, or because they look different. And many cannot control their nature.

Green wraps himself back up and prepares to leave. Circeth unknowingly reached out to grab Green's arm. He mentally responds back to the spores, saying that they should let her out sometimes. They seem to agree.

Later in the night, back at the Toys 'R' Us, Circeth wakes Usagi up and asks to talk in private. They take Usagi to the roof as they have been mulling over everything and everyone.

They struggle to form the words to ask, but they ask Usagi what her connection is to Moki. Usagi responds that Moki is her partner. Someone who saved her life. In her own words, Usagi had made the choice to die alone, Moki had disagreed, and Moki had saved her life.

Circeth responds, asking if that's the reason she's here, putting herself in danger. Usagi asks if Circeth had ever been in love.

Circeth responds, saying that they may come across as dense, but they mention that Usagi and Moki cannot reproduce. Usagi asks if this is about her species?

Kimmy pipes up, asking if that's what this whole talk is about.

The two look in shock as they try to exit the scene.

Eventually Kimmy pulls the two in, wrapping their arms around the pair and almost forces them to talk. Circeth explains their predicament. They mention the other half they have. The person who existed before -- the real Circeth. They explain that the person controlling now is the spores. They mention that the arrangement is consensual, and it puts her at ease.

They mention that during their fight, despite it being advantageous for them to retreat, as the others had the situation well handled, a part of them was discordant. It didn't wish to leave. Usagi points out that it might be the Circeth underneath is caring about people. This was their concern about not reproducing.

Eventually, Kimmy falls over and nearly makes them crash into the ground. They escape as Circeth needs to repair themselves.

The two eventually make their way back down, and head to bed.