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The Sereni-Tree and New Arrivals

POSTED BY: TheRealMe
UPDATED: Thursday, January 26, 2006 06:13
VIEWED: 38931
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 4:15 PM


Time for Thread 36: The Sereni-Tree and New Arrivals

For the complete “Guide to the Clubhouse / Treehouse / Sereni-Tree Threads”, see:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=11&t=11877

Here is a summary of the previous thread at:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=11&t=16179

With Mai missing from the Sereni-Tree, TheRealMe organized Mai-Quest 2 to find her. Other Questers included Ath, Serenity, Jake7, Rat, and PsychicRiver. Considering her condition as a mommy-to-be, Jazaf suggested that Serenity should refrain from going. The gaze she returned was painful, and he backed down. SimonWho stopped by to see everyone off. Everyone was somewhat surprised at the sudden appearance of LightMeDark just before their departure on the quest. TheRealMe put on his attire of protective black ribbons and opened a dimensional portal to wherever Mai was. The Questers jumped through, one by one.

The other end of the portal opened in some other reality right next to Mai, who was at that moment walking a plank on a pirate ship, being encouraged to do so by some nasty-looking pirates. Since the dimensional portal opened in mid-air over a long drop into the ocean, the Questers mostly fell, one by one, into shark-infested waters. The exceptions were Serenity, who could fly, and LightMeDark, who used his rather bizarre banana powers to get himself wedged in one of the ship’s cannons.

Serenity flew up to Mai, only to find that Mai was somewhat nuts, thinking that she was playing around in the Sereni-Tree’s water park. Mai jumped off the plank and made a fine dive.

In the shark-infested waters there were, naturally, sharks. TheRealMe was saved from being bit in half by his protective attire. Rat turned a number of sharks into pinkish froth with his Spamgun. Jake7 remained safe and dry (and unable to do much), bobbing about inside her force field bubble. PsychicRiver managed to climb up onto the ship, and tried ineffectively to lasso various people (and sharks). The pirates fired the cannon containing LightMeDark, propelling him a good long way.

On the deck of the pirate ship, a captive elf woman named KellyofLuthien was sent to the plank like Mai. At that moment, Cozen somehow appeared, flying in on a helicopter piloted by his under-paid and intoxicated Russian associate. In his usual manner, Cozen’s arrival made matters worse. He accidentally knocked Kelly into the water and then fell in himself.

Ath had been swimming over to rescue Mai (who had mistaken a shark for one of Bluefishie’s cute pets) when suddenly he experienced great pain and a pair of bat wings sprouted from his back. Ath rescued Mai, Kelly, and Cozen and (after handing Mai off to Serenity) flew to the deck of the pirate ship where a standoff began. Kelly used her Ring of Fire to herd some pirates into the ocean, but others appeared. In the water, Rat sprouted bug wings!

Meanwhile, on the Sereni-Tree: Lissa popped out from behind a door and said, “Boo!” Also, both Jazaf and Bride3 went to investigate some odd banging sounds in the cargo hold, during which they had a chat about Bride2’s determination to be a swordmaster. The banging turned out to be Bluefishie, stuck in a box.

Meanwhile, on Boros: Safe, Jack, Citizen, Bride6, and Bride7 all met in the tunnels while explosions were occurring above them. It seems that Bride6 and Citizen knew each other. Alliance soldiers may be looking for Jack and Safe, and Citizen wanted to know what was going on. They all went to a place Citizen knew and the Brothers Grimm told their story. The pair were former Alliance special ops soldiers who didn’t take kindly to the torture of innocent folk, so they killed their commander and went on the run. They had come to Boros because they had tracked another member of their old unit there. The Boros plotline continues.

Back on the Pirate ship, everyone made it up on the ship except LightMeDark, who was still flying about on a winged banana. Other pirates appeared and there was a stand-off. The pirates threa

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 4:16 PM

THE REAL ME’S GUIDED TOUR OF THE SERENI-TREE, V4

Hello! I am TheRealMe. We’ve had some new folks join us lately, so I will provide another tour of the Sereni-Tree, my fourth. I have paid careful attention over time, and I believe that this layout is consistent with all the stories that have occurred in the Sereni-Tree to date.

WARNING: This post is very long.

Below, I also list the crew that we seem to have now, without bothering to track down every poster we have ever had. At least, this list should include everyone who has added to the story since we departed the Arkham. If I have missed crew or if anyone would like to change my one-line description of them, let me know. There is always the possibility that some missing folks have just been sleeping in their quarters for the last dozen threads, or perhaps they have been placed in the secret cryogenic freezing chamber of the Insidious Doctor Rat. CageyBee? CosmicFugitive? BadgersHat? Apple? ManiacNumberOne? KaySky? Knibblet? Aramina? ImEarly? Needy? GreekToomey? PyreFX?


The Sereni-Tree’s Past

The Sereni-Tree is our home. Originally, it took the form of a tree house built by Ebonezer, and this is the image it has on our flag, the Flag That Shw Made. The tree house was the immediate successor to “The Forgotten Not a Guy/Girl Clubhouse”. Later, PsychicRiver and a few others, including myself, modified the tree house to make it an air-ship, floating through the sky on numerous butterfly-shaped reactionless thrusters. In this form, the converted tree house was named and christened “Sereni-Tree” by Mal-licious, and we left the actual Tree behind as we flew off. Later, TheGreyJedi made even more modifications, and the Sereni-Tree became a starship. We have since been traveling the ‘verse, leaving the destroyed planets of Rukus and Black Diamond in our wake (we REALLY have to stop that). We returned to Earth-That-Still-Is to fight the Evil / Enemy Invaders and to face our own dark selves. After relaxing among dandelions and facing some Reavers, we boarded the nightmare ship Arkham, where we lost SoulofSerenity and all the clones. After that, we recovered ThatWeirdGirl and went on a second Mai-Quest. But there were pirates!


The Sereni-Tree on the Inside

The Sereni-Tree is a structure much larger on the inside than it appears on the outside, thanks to my ability to fold space-time in higher dimensions. On the outside, the Sereni-Tree is perhaps the size of a modest two-story house. On the inside, it is larger. MUCH larger.


The Common Room

The Common Room is the center of life in the Sereni-Tree. It is a huge cylindrical room perhaps 20 yards/meters across and three levels high. There are two encircling balconies, one above the other, around the Common Room. Equally spaced around the Common Room’s curving walls are the exits to the North, East, South, and West Wings. While it is true that the Sereni-Tree can move about and adopt any orientation, the names are traditional, coming from the time it was still a stationary tree house. There will be more about the Wings later.

In the center of the Common Room sits the pool table. In many ways, it is the critical nerve center of the ship, and battles have been waged for its possession. Underneath the pool table is the nest of Captain Ebonezer, where she piles her stuff (although the Captain has a designated room in one of the Wings, that room is rarely used). Also under the pool table are the remains of Cozen’s Pleasurable Torture Chamber, which includes “the Chair”. The top of the pool table is where the Captain sometimes climbs to address the crew. Note that the pool table is missing its eight-ball, which Rat once traded for more Spam. Its cue-ball is stained purple from travel through the purple dimension. Above the pool table is an anti-gravity chandelier.

On the wall between the North and East Wings (and in that general area)

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 5:33 PM

**jake7's stomach rumbles loudly.**

Oops! Guess I'd better go get some food before it's gone!

**jake7 runs to the common room and fills up a plate with potatoes, chicken, and pizza. She hunkers down and starts stuffing her face -- making growling noises something like a barn cat with a gopher. As food drips from her chin, she looks up to see everyone staring at her with stunned expressions. She becomes more cognizant of her behavior and is totally *mortified*. She thinks to herself...*

What in the sphincter of Hell just happened? I never eat like this! I mean, yeah, I was beyond starving as we haven't had a decent meal in months, but this is crazy!

**She looks around wide-eyed and opens and closes her mouth like a fish, totally at a loss as to what to say to her companions. Finally she chokes out:**

Forgive me! I don't know what just happened, but I'm going to go eat in my room in case this happens again.

**she looks down on her jumpsuit to see it covered with food.**

Plus, I need a shower and another change of clothes...

**she turns and runs to her room in disgrace. Meanwhile, the Phantom floats in the corner giggling. The Phantom controls himself and wipes a tear from the corner of his eye.**

Phantom: That was too much fun! I wonder what *else* I can do?

--------------
MAL: Everybody's makin' a fuss.
***********
"They just float out there, sending out raver breeding parties..."

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MAI
Tuesday, January 17, 2006 6:07 PM

Quote:

Mai, sweetie, is something wrong?


Hey you. No, its nothing. No big deal. *half smiles* nothing a little chocolate, scratch that a whole lot of chocolate ice cream won't fix.

Right now I've got to deliver this and talk to one of the newcomers for a bit. I think we maybe on to something. Maybe after supper you could come join us? You see I had this dream that wasn't a dream... and we'll I'll explain it all later, ok? I could really use your insight on this one.

*wings become droopy and wilt away to nothing*

Ah well. It's going to be one of those days.


Mai, Secretary of Unmentionables.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 6:28 PM

*After her announcement, KellyofLuthien waits in the kitchen, wringing her hands as she worries about the meal. Soon she hears the pattering of many feet in combat boots heading her way. Everyone heads towards the food like they haven't eaten in a month. Kelly finds herself bustling around the kitchen, finding more silverware, helping serve the salad, and generally keeping busy. She pauses only for a moment to witness some ravenously messy eating by Jake7 before getting back to work. Mai comes in pushing a cart and begins loading food for those in the infirmary. Kelly sees that Mai wants to introduce herself, but suddenly she feels eyes upon her. She looks around to see Ath staring at her, clearly at a loss for words. Vaguely realizing that she is being a bit rude to Mai, Kelly locks eyes with Ath and for a long moment neither of them move. A growl from the corner where Jake7 is eating snaps Kelly back to her present task. She walks up to Ath and smiles.*

"I never properly thanked you for saving my life back there. Please forgive me for not showing my appreciation sooner."

Kelly takes Ath's head between her hands and kisses him lightly on his forehead.

"Are you hungry? I haven't eaten for two days, and would love to have some company."

Ath's blue eyes grow wide and he gives a slight nod. Kelly walks him over to the food and says,

"Oh, and I am called KellyofLuthien. Cormamin lindua ele lle." At a quizzical look from Ath, she translates: "My heart sings to see thee," and gives a small smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I love my Captain



Check out my Big Damn FF Icons at http://www.livejournal.com/community/bigdamnfficons/

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 6:30 PM

*A thought suddenly jumps into Kelly's head and she turns to look for Mai but she is nowhere to be seen. Kelly makes a mental note to find her later, if she can tear herself away from Ath. She wants to know why Mai was on that ship...*

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 7:09 PM

Nell stands stock still, a lettuce leaf wilting halfway to her mouth.

'that is not right... hell, something is actually very wrong, these folk are nothing if not overly civilised... and theres that wierd pressing feeling again'

she glances at PR, but he's staring at Jake,obviously not using his powers.

'theres is definitly something not right here, infact, something is very, very wrong. I wonder if.... no, not my place, not my issue, i'm just visiting. I wonder if the Elf would know...'

Nell turns to look at Kelly -

@well, no use going to her, the sadly-not-naked one is here and I doubt she's pickin' up anythin but pheremones'

Jake seems to come too, her eyes refocus, and she mumbles something, then runs out, frightened, the pressure seems to grow, then recede, like its getting further away..

'hey, PR, why don't we do that tour a little later, i'm tired, i'm gonna go dump my bag then get some shut eye.'

'Howzabout we meet nice and early tomorrow in the gym for a practice session at swordfightin'....'

'that is, ha ha... I assume you have a gym with a practice room in it?'

Nell leaves the kitchen, but can't feel the strange sensation, after wandering around the common room for a while she still can't feel anything.

'oh put it down girl, you couldn't do anything about it now anyway'

Sighing, she heads off to the west wing to find herself a room for the night.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 7:24 PM

Mmmmmmm..pizza!

Hey, Kelly! Do we have any chocolate sauce?



Serenity, First Officer of Destiny
President of the Juggled Gosling Chatroom

I have a live journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/callmeserenity/


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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 8:08 PM

Well, it's been loverly, but I'd best be gettin' back to me ship afore me 1st mate gets ideas in 'is 'ead.

*stops in at infirmary and says goodbye to Annie*

Take good care o' Jack for me, I'll be needin' 'im back in a bit. It was good to be seein' ye again, Annie. Ye've made a good life fer yeself 'ere. Not gain an' glory on th' high seas, but tis a good life none-th'-less. Be well.

*catches her sister in the commom room to say goodbye*

Stay too long an Mad Morty'll be takin' over. I'll try to keep the mutiny to a minimum whilst ye be gone. And don't ye be worryin' none, I'll be takin' good care o' ye cabin boy.

*find TRM in the dining room*

I'll be appreciatin' ye sendin' me back to me ship now. Tis a fine spaceship ye be havin', but I be missin' the sea beneath me boots and th' smell o th' salt air somethin' fierce. An' a word t' th' wise: be checkin' me sister's pockets afore ye be lettin' 'er return t' her ship. She 'as a tendency to be pickin' up odds an' ends, real accidental like. Savvy?

*and with that, TRM opens a portal and GeDunk Rose heads back to her ship, and to terrorizing unsuspecting landlubbers.*

Most Feared Piratess in 6 o' the 7 seas!

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Tuesday, January 17, 2006 8:37 PM

He floats away, back towards the infirmary. He can’t figure it out, but something is drawing him back. Making the girl in the kitchen eat like that had been funny, and he had found out that humor was a big part of his persona. Still, something was wrong. How can he really enjoy himself if he can’t have fun with anyone. No one can see him. A few seemed to recognize that he is there, but he can’t interact with them save for making them do a few silly involuntary movements, and it isn’t enough anymore. He passes the girl called Serenity, and something leaps inside him, something trying to tear it’s way out of him—

--And then the barrier hiding his memories cracks, and he suddenly knows what to do. As fast as he can, he flies to the infirmary and makes his way to the room holding the cryogenic tubes. On the way he reaches out to a girl – TWG - and makes her walk to the tube and activate the waking process. Then he lets the her wander back out of the room, now confused as to how she got in there.

The tube hisses open and warm saline solution begins to run into the veins of the body. Phantom stares at the prone figure and the barrier falls, all of his memories rushing back in a flood. He arcs his head back and screams, for once glad that no one can hear him; he races up to the ceiling as his true identity returns, and drops like a bomb, still screaming as he rushes to the body, inside the body, and—



___________________________________________

"That's my man" - Zoe

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