Going to market

[gale_force]

Gale did not expect it to be raining. Weather proceeds as usual, apparently, even if life does not. Through the wet smack of raindrops, he can barely hear the sea breathing a few blocks away. The dust from the millions of bodies, trees, plants, and animals seeded the clouds and dragged down moisture from the sea. The precipitation has turned the

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[teradyne]

She was expecting dusty, dry air, and the sort of heat that sucks moisture out of anyone that steps into the sun. So, when she's hit in the face with cold water, Argilla goes from wary to on edge in a second. Her hand breaks away from Gale's at about the same time, and goes to her gun instead.

The first and obvious thought that comes to her head is that this isn't Old Portland. The second is that finding those answers to what's happening is going to be a lot harder.

"This is..." She trails off as she takes in the scenery; the faceless statues, the overcast sky, and the silt of dubious content that is now running up against her boots.

"...Wrong." It's the only word that comes to mind; it's like they've PINpointed into a combination of Junkyard and Old Portland, with all the bad traits from both mixed together.

[gale_force]

If they were anywhere close to Portland, they could immediately make their way to some of the portals Vic mapped during their earlier visit. (In fact, Gale jotted down a loose copy which is neatly folded in a pocket. And will remain there, useless now.)

"We are north of Portland. Quite a great distance if my knowledge of United States geography is correct." The rain isn't too wet; the drops are small and don't drench so much as dampen. Nothing a Junkyard expatriate can't handle.

"That is, not a distance we can easily close without transportation." He only unsnaps the strap holding his handgun in its shoulder holster, ready and waiting for an excuse to draw it. The gun is only useful for slowing another tuner, anyway. Otherwise it'll boil down to an inevitable fire-with-fire scenario.

[teradyne]

"Another result of the sun?" Argilla has to bite down on a groan when she hears that. The name 'Seattle' is starting to sound familiar, mostly thanks to interactions with the Multiverse; and what little she knows about it shows that, yes, it is a long way north of Portland.

"Then, traveling back towards Old Portland and Karma City is out of the question." Or at least only a desperate last resort. "Which means..." She looks around the square again, at the statues. Some clutching at where their faces would be, if any features were left, others standing straight up, as if confused or not quite aware that they're stuck in stone. "We're stuck here, until we can find a way out."

[gale_force]

"Most definitely the sun, yes." As if it couldn't be more of a monumental nuisance.

"We must search for a portal immediately." This is about when he recalls the fresh PINpoint model he invested in and the new tools it boasts. The technology is a little new, perhaps a little flawed, but it's their best shot at speeding up this needle-in-a-haystack search. Again, hinging on whether the sun screws this up or not.

Gale begins tapping away at the device (now a slick little number with a touch screen . . . possibly manufactured by a multiversal branch of Apple). The screen eventually appears empty, but it periodically flashes red and emits a soft beep, like a radar. Gale alters the function, setting it to vibrate instead. Even the smallest noise is shattering in this silence.

"This is a portal detector. The current technology cannot determine the exact location, but it can tell us if we are approaching one. At least, in theory."

Gale walks a slow circuit, north-south, then east-west, paying careful attention to the frequency of the

[gale_force]

A few spikes of earth pierce all the way through the rival Atma, and Vayu arches his torso out of the way, still managing to keep his jaws clamped tight and his feet firmly planted. The demon keeps struggling for a few moments, doing more damage to itself on the spines of rock. The movements finally slow, and the demon slumps back, blood crawling outward across the floor. Vayu holds his position until then. The nostrils on his chin flare to take in full breaths of the pungent smell of fresh Atma blood. Saliva creeps from his mouth in strings.

He's only half-aware of the sound of others approaching as he begins dismembering their shared kill (which Vayu considers entirely his, thank you.) The famished demon is choking down a hunk of arm when the second wave of rogue Tuners comes into his view down the tunnel. His sense of sight is poor down here, still as the air is, but so long as the demons keep moving, they're easy to spot

[teradyne]

Prithivi makes an odd, high pitched whine as the demon stops struggling. Both of her mouths are gaping open, breathing in the rich smell. Occasionally, one bites at the air, and leaves a few strings of saliva between the teeth when it opens again. She starts moving forward...And then she catches Vayu's display.

There's a loud audible hiss from Prithivi, more like the air is being shredded in two, when she sees that the wind based Atma is blocking her from the kill. Her arms uncoil, and she practically bristles in challenge

[gale_force]

Vayu half-heartedly tries to tug the first Atma's carcass along as he shuffles out of harm's way, but it's still firmly stuck on the stone spires. He gnashes his teeth in hungry dismay and leaves it for later.

Debris from the Atma-made earthquake clatters down into the tunnel, making an imperfect barrier of wooden beams, plumbing, and bricks. Imperfect in that it still has enough holes for the nagas' flexible bodies to slither through. The first gets rather ungracefully stuck, while the second quickly coils through.

In his frustration, the first settles for conjuring up an explosion of fire that disintegrates the lumber and turns fragments of brick and pipe into potentially dangerous projectiles. This maneuver grants him his freedom from the wreckage, to continue his advance with the second. It also sets some of the other fibrous structural elements on aflame.

Vayu responds to the volley of shrapnel by tossing it back with a charged burst of air, made all the more concentrated by the enclosed space. It also fans the growing flames

[teradyne]

Prithivi gives the an angry snap when she feels the air move. Her upper arms give a slight twitch, and then the lower parts form back from being whips. The knives in her hands are still folded outward, flicking back and forth across the backs of her hands as she stalks forward.

Once she gets close to Vayu, Prithivi hesitates, stalking a few paces forward before scrabbling back. The Atma hates the idea of putting Vayu at her back...But she likes leaving him to make another kill even less. In a moment, she gives up trying to get directly ahead, and kneels down.

There's fresh earth underneath her, newly exposed thanks to the earthquake. It's enough to let her bury her hands...and her arms...And in a moment, the Asura is suddenly gone, sunken underground.

There isn't much of a warning for what happens next; no noises, no disturbance in the ground, save for a few cracks that suddenly branch out from under the Naga still crawling out of the debris. That's the only sign before the ground underneath it explodes in a hail of concrete