OoC: Collab between the SODAK HEROES

It was only after a short period of time (it was growing gradually darker, actually) that Team Henshin arrived at what appeared to be a rather large building, with even more spectacularly humongous buildings atop it, laid out like brightly-lit candles on a cake. Even from what had to have been three or four stories down to ground level, there was a faint hum of sound and excitement. One could almost swear a few balloons could be seen drifting away from the hubub and drifted away into the darkening skies a fact which certain fish could not resist pointing out.
After the "oohs" and "aahs" had been worked out of their systems, they filed their way into the elevator that would take them up into the land of well-lit criminal activity. Aside from a very angry-looking (and extremely short) fellow who smelled faintly like beer and smoke, who stood in the corner and refused to speak, the elevator ride was fairly uneventful. A few dings and pings later -- quite a short time, not even enough for the muzak to start up! -- and the doors opened with a faint pssssh noise, and light of a hundred colours spilled into the compartment.
A thousand flashing lights and signs awaited any comers, beyond what was a walkway, all but on-rails into what seemed to be a reception area. Regardless, the bright splendor of the area could be spied, if from a distance.

This was not lost on Mako, who, even as he was unceremoniously shoved past (and almost knocked over) by the aforementioned short, angry man, ogled at the sights around him. He may or may not have mouthed the word 'whoa'. With lights reflecting in wide orange eyes, he was one awestruck shark.
Or at least he was, until he turned to Sheffer beside him.
"Hey, Sheffie," he said, grinning wide.

Having been busy staring at the lights and colors of the complex, the hedgehog did not hear the shark's small take at yet another nickname for him, but once the words took a few laps in his mind, they finally registered. Sheffer turned to Mako with a brow raised, not exactly insulted by the use of the name, but more surprised at how feminine it sounded coming from the shark.

"Er... yeah?"

"Y'fit right in," the fish replied, putting his hands behind his head. "I mean, this place is shiny. Y'might say, it's even..." (he paused for dramatic emphasis) "Sparkly."
He paused again, as though for applause.
"It's like a match made in... ... a place where good matches are made. I mean, 'ya even look less irate than usual!"

Sheffer actually gave a smirk to the shark's comment, his mood lightened in the pulsing life of the complex.

"And you're just as giddy as ever, Mako," he said jokingly, taking a moment to look around a bit more.

Suddenly, he raised his arm before him, and, more for the entertainment of the shark beside him, covered it in the familiar crystal. The lights of the complex immediately began to flicker and shine through the somewhat clear rock, playing a variety of colors, mostly with a greenish hue, across the two and the ground beneath him.

"Guess this place is a little sparkly."

"Dude."
Well, at least he wasn't whining about being mugged.


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"Oh, ah, excuse me! Excuse me, sir!"

Before the two individuals could take any steps towards the receptionists' desk, a spotted dalmatian clerk hurriedly made her way over, pointing quite insistingly at Sheff.

Uh oh. Did somebody already break a rule?

She seemed to have rigid posture, judging by how straight and tall she stood once she came to a stop. Gloved hands clasped in front of her, the young miss gave the two new patrons a polite bow, before resuming her stiffened stance. Wearing a straight black office suit, with a bright red cravat flowing from the collar, the only way anybody could tell she was even -employed- here was the bright, shiny badge on the pocket of her jacket. It, too, seemingly shared in the festivities, as the border was adorned with seven brightly colored jewels, a single gold star stamped in the middle.

Clearing her throat, she gave Mako a smile, before motioning over to Sheff with her gloved hand. "I'm very sorry, sir, but we do not allow the cashing in of crystallized arms from statues in the Hot Constellations Gambling District. We only accept transactions that include cash-to-casino-credit, or casino-credit-to-cash. Any valuable items that you have on your person must be taken back to your vehicle in the parking garage, or up to your hotel room for safe-keeping. After all, safety from any unfortunate mishaps in regards to your valuables is our host's number one concern!"

And she just... kept smiling. Shiny teeth, even...

The clerk's pose -frozen- in place, the dalmatian watched with... one of those expressions on her face, the smile gradually wilting as the pieces of one of her patrons clattered to the hard, tiled floor. Eying the mess of arm crystal on the floor, the canine simply gazed back at Sheff, with a look of utmost... confusion, really. Her left eye clearly twitched a bit, but it wasn't too much longer before she gave the hedgehog a half-lidded expression, and a meager sigh.

"Well, can't really say that that was the strangest thing I've seen while on-shift."

After a moment's pause, however, she stood straight up once more -- took a long, deep breath -- and gave the two an apologetic bow. "Please forgive me for my... erroneous judgment. It is clear that you are -also- one of our, ah... guests?" The cheerful smile reappeared upon her face, and the shine returned to her eyes as she waved a gloved hand towards the many lines up at the Receptionists' booth. "If this is your first time here, you will need to head to the middle line to purchase your entry fee. However, if you are one of our honored guests for the upcoming Boxing Tournament, all you simply have to do is provide your identification to the empty line off to the left. Once you've been given clearance, merely board one of the Monorail vehicles, and head to the hotel for further direction!"

Hands behind her back, the dalmatian tilted her head to the side, and again, gave them her a most welcoming smile. "Are there any questions? I will be happy to assist to the best of my ability!"

My, someone... was really enthused about her line of work... And she apparently paid no mind to the mess once she was back in her groove -- although, it wasn't as if she had to worry about the objects at all, as a couple of -very- short janitors, clothed from top to bottom, appeared and shoveled what clutter there was into their respective scoops, before almost vanishing from sight once more.

Five more guests were not far behind those already being assailed by the over-courteous greeter. Rock, Jam, Ace, and Caz were skulking down the main hall, on their way to the elevators along with their fifth addition: The odd, drugged-up bird chick (Bird chick, haha, okay, it's not that funny). At some point on the journey there, as she became ever more lucid, Rock had managed to at least glean her name, but hadn't yet pressed for any details about what happened.

"For now, you can just come with us until you're thinking a little straighter—we'll just say you're in our party," Rock had offered at some point earlier in the walk. But, as they actually arrived, and stepped onto the largest and most central of the elevator platforms, and began their ascent into the pandemonium of the casino glitz and glamor, Rock wondered if the disorienting situation would really help matters any.

"I hope there ain't no... burnin' bull$*#% hoops to jump through for this registration," he remarked seconds before the elevator cleared the top and they were free to step off. "He seems like a bull#$%*er. To me."

Minor continuity issue underway. Just pointing it out before any more confusion arises.

Aah, sorry about that. I sort of misread Hoji's part about him being in crystal form, and thought "wait a minute, Sheff is still a walking rock and IN the hotel?" Its all good, I'll just make a minor edit and clear it up since nobody's posted yet.

"Hneh. Heh. Heh. Smell-o-vision. Crazy."

"Y'know what'd be a real sh**ty thing t'do?" asked Ace with some amusement, stretching his shoulders as he spoke. "Anyone is allowed in, no hassle, no loopholes, but only if your criminal record is squeaky clean." He smiled lowly for a second or two, but stopped upon the realization that every single one of his party would have suffered being haunted by ghosts and sharing a plane ride with Sheriff Jack for nothing... except for Ember. "...Hope that's not the case," he mumbled.


Elsewhere, as the third and final elevator DINGed into place (woe be to the people on the bottom floor, three elevators in use at once), out stepped a giant tortoise who was all too happy to get out of his ride as quickly as possible. Rare as it was to see Tank in an irritable mood, prolonged exposure to elevator music and robo-farts seemed to do the trick.

He huffed his giant frame over to the shark and hedgehog combo, striving valiantly to transmute frustration into determination. "Hai em prleparled," he said to the two of them, and turned to the empty line where Hoji stood. "Aye ass-oom thet ees hwere we go."