Just Another Day In Prohibition Megatokyo

[Arella]

Slender Nights
And Family Days

Timestamp: a Saturday night, and the following Sunday
Location: the Manor
Authors: Arella and Oblivion

"Deeeeeev!" a once again Ruby-costumed Whisp was hollering as she clomped down the hall in her black and red Ruby-boots. "Dev, c'mon, it's movie night, and the popcorn's ready!" Because clearly this couldn't actually wait until she was actually at his door - she needed to be hollering from the other end of the hallway.

Devin had just finished planting a bug in the Tokyo City power grid; if he should ever need to enshroud all of Tokyo in a blackout, he now had that power. He perked his ears at the sound of Whisp calling for him. He then stood and opened his door. "Coming." It would be a waste of effort to resist. "What would you have us watch?" He then asked as he approached her.

"I dunno yet," she admitted with a shrug. "But it should be something scary - I wanna watch something scary."

"How about Marble Hornets? Nothing like a little Slender Man to make you want to not sleep." Devin suggested with a shrug.

"Okay," Whisp agreed, not having the faintest idea who or what Slender Man was, as she claimed Devin's hand and began to lead him back to the multimedia room the Manor had long since provided them (complete with a popcorn machine that made actual movie theatre popcorn).

Once in the multimedia room, Devin pulled up youtube on a tv screen that he had linked to a pc tower. He then typed in Marble Hornets, clicked the , put it in full screen, hit play, and sat on the couch next to Whisp, who was already helping herself to the giant bowl of buttery and delicious popcorn (but also managed to remember to share, rather than hog it all to herself).

The introduction, of course, was just a bit of text over video of someone driving, and began thusly:

The following clips are raw footage excerpts from Alex Kralie.

A college friend of mine.

In 2006, Alex was in the process of shooting his student film, entitled Marble Hornets.

Over the three months that this took place, his film crew complained of his increasing levels of stress and irritability.

Near the end of shooting, Alex halted production indefinitely and dropped the unfinished project.

He told me it was due to the "unworkable conditions" on his set, which was less than a mile away from his house.

I asked what he planned to do with the countless number of tapes he had filled.

"Burn them."

Being a film student myself, I hated to see all of his work go to waste.

And after some coercing he agreed to give them to me.

Under the condition that I never mention it to him again.

Initially, Whisp seemed to find herself somewhere between bored and intrigued, though she never complained about the slow start (she trusted Devin's recommendations, after all). Eventually, however, the seemingly random and sudden appearances of the inexplicable tall man in a suit and seemingly no face began to get to her, and without realizing it, she ended up sitting so close to Devin she was in danger of ending up right in his lap - it was the dread of never knowing when Slender Man would appear that made Marble Hornets great, after all, and she was definitely starting to feel it.

As the movie progressed Devin felt more and more uneasy. In an attempt to calm both of them a bit he clasped Whisp's hand in his - and she clung to his right back.

One of the best moments was a good ways into Marble Hornets, when the sudden appearance of Slender Man finally proved enough to cause the teen girl to not only outright scream, but also to jump enough that the bowl of popcorn went flying, spilling what remained of the buttery treat all over the room. She then firmly attached herself to Devin's side, and half hid her face against his shoulder (though she still peeked at what was happening).

Whisp's scream in tandem with Slender Man's appearance caused Devin to jump a bit, though her attaching herself to his arm served to quell the panic. He moved his arm around her shoulder to provide her with a better sense of security, which in turn caused her to further nestle up against him.

Later, when Whisp declared the need for a bathroom break, Devin was required to stand right outside the door in case Slender Man came after her (just what he would do in the event of a Slender Man attack she didn't know, but he was Dev, so she knew he would do something, and that everything would therefore be okay). Whisp also stood guard for him, without even having to be asked.

Then, of course, they needed to go get fresh drinks from the kitchen (Whisp wanted more of her grape soda, and of course she wasn't about to go alone, so Dev had to go too - not that he didn't enjoy the company), and then more popcorn had to be made, and butter added, and Whisp decided she wanted a blanket this time (because everyone knows keeping your feet up and covered during a scary movie will keep you safe) - all in all, it took a while for them to get back to Marble Hornets, and while this served to help them both calm down a bit, it didn't take long before they were practically clinging to each other and half hiding under the blanket once they got it started back up again, either.

As they clung to one another, Devin couldn't help but feel strangly comfortable. He wasn't normally a fan of being scared of something, but it wasn't so bad as long as there was someone to share in the experience.

Plenty of screaming and jumping and clinging later, Whisp had finished her introduction to Slender Man... and knew there was no way in hell she was gonna be able to sleep now, no matter how late (or early) it was.

"...Wanna watch RWBY?" she eventually suggested, as that was clearly the best way to calm down. Ruby could totally kick Slender Man's ass!

Devin nodded to Whisp before realizing how tightly they were clinging to one another. "We're probably going to have to let go first."

"But I don't wanna," the teen girl complained, grinning a bit.

"I don't either, but I need to get to the computer to play the videos." Devin explained as he placed a finger on her forehead.

Whisp rather sulkily released him... and then proceeded to throw popcorn at him as he headed over to the computer, grinning madly.

Devin actually laughed as he walked to the computer and brought up RWBY chapter one volume one, which he had downloaded onto the computer for Whisp, and by the time he was sitting back beside her, the intro had already started.

"Ruby would totally kick Slender Man's ass," the RWBY fangirl commented as he rejoined her, and she rather automatically curled back up against him, claiming his shoulder as a pillow. "And she'd look awesome while doing it, too."

Devin nodded to her with a smile. "Do you really find me to be that good of a pillow?" He then asked.

"Yup~" was her prompt reply, as she further made herself comfortable.

"Good, I prefer it when you are happy." He said as he turned his attention to the show.

Feeling utterly comfortable and safe and warm and happy, Whisp absently proceeded to provide scritches just behind his ears.

When she first touched his ears, Devin was slightly startled, but after a few second he realized that it actually felt really good. He leaned towards her slightly and began to softly purr, which in turn earned a rather delighted giggle from her.

It took less than half an hour for the two to fall asleep, still curled up together and snoring ever so slightly.

* * *The Next Morning* * *

Tiffaney had spent the morning gathering Alexis, Johnathan, and Evangeline. "Ok everyone, we're gonna go meet Devie's girlfriend!" She called as they entered the SUV.

"So be it." Consented Johnathan, reguardless to his confusion as to why they had to.

"This is gonna be awesome." Said Alexis, who couldn't help but chuckle at how awkward Devin would be in a relationship.

"Yay!" Cheered Evangeline, who had been looking forward to meeting Whisp from the first time Tiffaney mentioned her.

The ride to the Manor was of decent length, and upon arrival the group walked up to the front door. "You sure this is the right place? It's a little... Fancy for Dev." Alexis commented as she examined the building.

"Yup!" Assured Tiffaney as she rung the doorbell.

No one answered, of course, as the teens were still asleep on the couch - but the Manor was kind enough to open the door for them anyway, and even went so far as to shift the multimedia room to one of the first doors they would encounter.

"Did that door just open on it's own?" Evangeline asked as she pointed to the inside of the Manor.

"Thank you sweetie." Tiffaney said as she gently ran her fingers across the doorframe as she entered, the others following after her. "Could you be a dear and take me to the kids?" She then asked as she opened a random door.

It ended up leading to a walk-in linen closet filled entirely with purple linens - but another door also opened up behind her, to reveal the desired room, where the television was still on, but RWBY had long since ended.

Tiffaney giggled before closing the door she had opened and walked over to the room that actually contained the duo she was after. "Aww." She cooed as she saw the two curled up against one another and fast asleep.

"Do we wake them up?" Johnathan asked as he examined the duo.

"No!" Evangeline said in a hushed tone. "It's way too cute."

"Not gonna lie, I'm impressed." Whispered Alexis as Tiffaney took a picture of the two.

"Brrrrains!" Bob objected as he rounded a nearby corner and discovered that his mistress had an audience. Fred, who had been riding about atop his head, shared his opinion of this as well (though of course, no one could understand him).

Johnathan drew his blade and leapt at Bob, though he was cut short by Tiffaney grabbing the collar of his shirt in the middle of his jump. "Don't kill the zombies~." Tiffaney chimed.

Johnathan, who was surprised that Tiffaney had actually managed to physically stop him in his tracks, sheathed his blade. "Understood."

"Zombies, huh? Coool." Alexis said as she examined the undead from a distance.

"Ummm. Hello?" Evangeline greeted with a hesitant wave.

"Brains!" the zombie replied, not sounding particularly happy about them watching his mistress.

"Booooob, shut up!" a sleepy voice hollered from the couch, as Whisp attempted to hide from the light of day by curling up even closer to Dev and turning her face into his chest (which she'd been using as a pillow, after her head slipped from his shoulder during the night).

Devin didn't even so much as stir at the sound, as Tiffaney who deemed them to be absolutely adorable took another picture, and Alexis chuckled slightly.

Apparently deciding that it was time for the teens to get up, the Manor chose this moment to turn all the lights in the room on, earning an angry sound from Whisp.

Devin awoke with a groan and the cracking of bones that had been still for too long. "What's going on?" He asked in a half-daze.

"Good morning!' Tiffaney cheered as they stirred, while Alexis began to laugh at their awkward awakening.

This, of course, resulted in Whisp letting out a startled squeak and promptly falling off the couch; unfortunately, as she was still largely attached to Dev, this meant he got dragged along with her.

Devin let out a surprised yell before he suddenly found himself hitting the ground directly next to Whisp.

Alexis hunched over in laughter as Johnathan watched the event unfold with curiosity, and Evangeline moved to help them up (starting with Whisp). "Are you okay?" She asked in a concerned tone.

Rather than accepting the offered assistance, Whisp just stared at the stranger with wide eyes, looking more than a little alarmed. "Dev?" she asked anxiously, her hand automatically reaching out to claim his.

"Eva? When? How did you get here?" Devin asked from the ground.

"We took the front door." Alexis said before Evangeline could answer, just getting over her laughing fit.

"So you are Whisp. We've heard a fair bit about you." Johnathan said as he watched Whisp without moving.

"Let me help you up." Evangeline offered as Tiffaney took a seat on a chair and watched the five of them interact.

Looking more than a little hesitant, Whisp finally allowed Evangeline to help - which in turn meant Devin ended up back on his feet as well, since the teen was still clinging to his hand.

"Um... hi?" the still rather socially inept girl tried.

"Hello!" Evangeline said cheerfully. "I'm Evangeline, one of Devin's older sisters."

Alexis leaned over the back of the couch, her tail swaying as she did. "I'm Alexis, the other older sister."

"I am Johnathan Edward Havloc, Devin's older brother, a pleasure to meet you." Johnathan said with a curtious bow.

"Welcome to the family!" Tiffaney happily announced.

Looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, Whisp realized she really didn't know what to say next, and so ended up repeating herself. "Hi?"

"Relax!" Alexis said as she hopped over the back of the couch to take a seat. "We don't bite... Much." She couldn't resist the cliche.

Not being familiar with said cliche, Whisp now stepped closer to Devin, almost seeming to try to hide behind him without looking like she was trying to hide behind him.

"You're scaring her!" Said Evangeline scoldingly to Alexis, who shrugged it off.

"I apologize for my sister, she's... Excitable. None of us will bite you." Assured Johnathan who moved to stand behind the couch.

Not looking entirely reassured, Whisp just looked to Dev for reassurance and help.

"She won't bite you." Devin assured. "Though I do want to know why all of you are here."

"We wanted to see yer girlfriend!" Alexis announce as she leaned back into the couch.

"The others had me come." Said Johnathan, who opted to remain standing.

"You two are a very cute couple." Evangeline commented.

"What's a couple?" Whisp wanted to know.

"It pretty much means y'all are in love." Alexis said, humoring the question.

Devin's ears perked, and his cheeks took on a shade of red.

"And what's that mean?" the teen girl now wanted to know, looking a bit bewildered by Dev's sudden change of colour.

Devin leaned to Whisp and whispered, "An intense feeling of deep affection, or to feel a deep romantic or sexual attachment to someone," into her ear.

Whisp promptly joined him in changing colour, becoming very red herself. "We're friends!" she declared, in a tone that rather suggested her word was law. She was, of course, still holding his hand.

"Sure are, girfriend and boyfriend, forever in love." Said Alexis with a chuckle, for she found their reactions to be funny.

Still not understanding the significance of 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' as single words, the teen just cast a confused glance at Devin.

Devin proceeded to Google the words in question; his face turned a deeper red, then he whispered into Whisp's ear. "A regular female companion with whom a person has a romantic or sexual relationship, and a regular male companion with whom one has a romantic or sexual relationship."

"We're friends!" the teenaged girl objected again, rather more loudly (and perhaps ever so slightly panicked) this time.

"There's nothing wrong with it sweetie." Tiffaney assured. "We all fall in love at some point."

Wide amethyst eyes turned on Devin, definitely looking a bit panicked now. "Dev!" she exclaimed, clearly demanding that he do something.

Devin looked back to her with equal panic; he didn't know what to do.

"It's perfectly natural." Evangeline said in a gentle tone.

Not possessing the world's greatest problem solving skills, it was at this point that Whisp weighed her options, decided that kicking Dev's family members was probably out, and finally offered in a whisper, "I could get the zombies to chase them out."

"For the zombies' sake I don't think you should." Devin whispered back, for he was full aware of how dangerous his family was.

"Eat their brains, then?" she suggested.

"Also not a good idea." Was Devin's response.

"Blow them up?" Whisp was quickly running out of solutions.

"No." Said Devin flatly

"Admit it's true?" Asked Alexis who used their distracted state to get close.

Giving up, Whisp finally just hid her face against Dev. "Make them stop," she requested softly.

Alexis rested her hand gently on Whisp's shoulder. "It's okay, I have a boyfriend too." She said in a gentle tone, to help comfort her.

Whisp just made a noise that seemed to say she was officially out of ideas, and it was still Dev's job to do something about it now.

Devin looked to Tiffaney for help.

"Let them be, they'll let us know when they are ready." Tiffaney said, earning a confused glance from Evangeline and Alexis before Alexis returned to the couch.

Whisp's face appeared again, though she stuck close to Dev, and still had hold of his hand. A rather awkward silence then descended, as the teen's social skills failed her and she realized she had no idea what to do now.

"I do have a question though." Tiffaney asked after a bit of pondering. "Who looks after the two of you here?"

Whisp blinked. "Um... nobody?" she offered, sounding a little unsure of the subject.

Tiffaney leaned forward in her chair. "So you are telling me you two are living alone?" She asked, sounding bothered by this fact.

"...Yes?" Whisp replied, looking to Dev as though for help.

"Saeko checks in every now and again, but she's not exactly a supervisor." Devin explained.

Tiffaney leaned back in her chair. "We can't very well have a teenage boy and girl living alone..." She contemplated for a moment.

"Why not?" Whisp asked, genuinely confused.

"Hormones, I'll be going over them in class next week." Said Tiffaney. "Evie would you mind staying?" She then asked.

"Sorry, but the Largoists would be disappointed if I were to leave." Evangeline said regrettably.

"Johnny?" Was the next person Tiffaney asked.

"Apologies, but I feel that would hinder my goal to attain knighthood; besides, I trust Devin not to make any regrettable decisions." Johnathan respectively declined.

"And when I'm not teaching I need to tend to Largoists that go and hurt themselves." Said Tiffaney in a defeated tone.

"What about me?" Alexis then asked, for she was not mentioned.

"No." Said Tiffaney quickly.

"What are hormones?" Whisp whispered to Dev in the meantime, not overly concerned with nobody being able to stay with them.

"You'll find out next week, and Devin, don't tell her, maybe she'll pay more attention in class if I leave her curious." Tiffaney said with a grin as Devin nodded in consent.

"We're okay on our own," the teen girl informed instead, sulking a bit over being denied an answer.

Tiffaney tapped a finger on the arm of the chair in contemplation before letting out a sigh. "Fine, but I'd better not wind up with any grandchildren from you two until after I see a wedding."

Whisp blinked in confusion at this. Then blinked again. Then turned to Dev for help.

"Marriage is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. ..." Devin read off of Google.

Unfortunately, this didn't really serve to help Whisp's confusion much. Sighing, the teen pretty clearly just gave up on the whole conversation. "Anyone wanna watch RWBY?" she offered instead.

Alexis shrugged. "Why not?"

Johnathan walked around the couch and took a seat as Tiffaney let out a small laugh.

"I'll bake some cookies!" Evangeline cheered before setting off to find a kitchen.

Summary:
-Whisp and Devin are having a movie night.
-Marble Hornets shall be tonight's feature!
-Marble Hornets is scary.
-Whisp and Devin are quite possibly the cutest couple TC has ever seen, in spite of not actually being a couple. :p
-RWBY makes everything better!
-They fall asleep together on the couch.
-Dev's family arrives the next day!
-AWWWW, the teens are so cute!
-And socially awkward.
-And a bit clueless.
-Tiff discovers they're actually living in the Manor unsupervised!
-But nobody can stay with them, so unsupervised they shall remain.
-No really, RWBY makes everything better.

Title: Encounters of the Faction Kind
Location: All over Tokyo
Time: The day after Mimi visits the bar (Friday)
Character(s): Yuuta, Mimi, Mary, Skorpion, Darktan, Arella, Lola
Author(s): Notsonoble, DarkTan, Skorpy, Arella

"Nevar....again..." Mimi groaned as she fell off her couch. The hang over from visiting the bar not treating her well. With a great deal of effort, she dragged her self to the kitchen and down a hand full of aspirin and tylenol with a bottle of some caffeinated beverage before staggering off the shower. On her way she noticed the clock, "Fsck! I'm supposed to meet Yuuta!" The officer ran to the bathroom, promptly forgetting that the door opened outward, not inward, and smacking herself in the face with it.

---

A couple of hours later...

Mimi and her 'Cuda roared up the street and slid to a stop in front of Piscary's Ice Cream Parlour. She killed the engine and got out, waving to one of the roller skating waitresses before scanning the area for someone who looked out of place.

At a corner table, was Yuuta, in a t-shirt, jacket, and bluejeans, nursing some sort of milkshake. He had a small smudge of grease on his cheek, obviously the KLE-tuning was still an ongoing project.

After spotting Yuuta, Mimi made her way over, dropping a leather jacket on the chair back, before flipping it backwards and straddling it. "Bike or brawl?" She asked pointing at the grease mark.

"<The KLE, but I think I got her back in shape. I'm on my personal RZ today though. Long night?>"

"<Ugh, never drink with a dark magical girl,>" Mimi muttered, "<Also, don't remember I said that.>"

"<Oookay>" Yuuta looked at her while struggling with whether or not he wanted to pry, then decided it'd just be better to keep on task. "<You want a bite to eat before you start sneaking me into places where our saner cohorts fear to tread?>"

"Sneak?" Mimi asked, "We're walking right through front doors. And I ate on the way."

"<Then by all means, show me to these doors."> Yuuta stood and extended his hand in a gesture for her to lead on.

"Well, the first door you already walked through," Mimi said as she stood up, "But we're going around back." She led him outside over to a parked, unmarked semi in the back of the diner.

---

Behind the truck were a gang of rough-looking youths sitting on the bonnets of various modified hatchbacks and small sports cars, as a few Largoists in bulky overalls obviously put on over body armour unloaded the contents truck into the backs of the cars. Directing operations was a bunnygirl in a lacy gothic dress, standing atop a picnic table to shout instructions.

"And that would be Lola," Mimi waved to the bunny-girl.

Lola waved back enthusiastically, hopping down from her perch to walk over to Mimi. "<Hello, officer! How are you today? Doing well, I hope? How're the tomatoes coming along?>"

"I ate them, they were delicious," Mimi responded, "Unless that was code for something I forgot about."

Lola giggled. "No, I was just asking about the ones growing on your balcony. Who's this?" She gestured at Yuuta with the package in her hand. "Stuck training a newbie?"

"Not exactly," the officer replied, "This is Yuuta, he's transferring over the SCU, he's good." Mimi was referring to the fact that Yuuta was not a complete asshole like most of the force seemed to be. "Showing 'im around a bit."

"Lola-san." Yuuta bowed. "<Officer Saneki is helping me get acquainted with some citizens my new position will mean interacting with.>"

"Mimi," Mimi interrupted.

Lola eyed him critically, walking around him to examine him properly. "Hmmmm. <I've not seen you around before, and you're not a regular visitor to my club.>"

Yuuta put his left hand on the back of his head and chuckled. "<I'm originally from Ueno district's bike patrol. I've never been much of a club-goer. I confess I spend most of my off time working on my personal and patrol bikes.>" Yuuta tried to hide his nervousness in laughter.

Lola nodded. "<Interesting.>" She turned to Mimi, stepping over to her and wrapping her in a hug, surreptitiously tucking a small package into her back pocket. "Is he any good?

"Rides good enough to keep up with me, good under fire," Mimi ticked them off on her finger, "He met Luc and didn't instantly want to shoot him, and he's an honest cop. Been harassed for being a 'sympathizer.'" Mimi made air quotes as she said the word.

Lola smiled brightly, releasing Mimi. "Good! That means we can work with him. No need for any unfortunate embarrassing incidents." She turned back to Yuuta. "<So, you're a newbie to the TPCD, then?>"

"<Yes.>"

"<Met the Largoists yet? Other than Lucius, I mean. He doesn't really count. Spends more time in my club than at FGTL HQ, and he's a Yukiite these days as well.>"

"<I'm afraid the closest to a factionite I've met is Mimi here.>" He looked at Mimi a little leary. "<Well, at least, the closest that any have admitted to me about.>" He finished, wondering just how many of the people he knew might be more involved in what he'd originally thought of as just some criminal underworld.

"<Factionist,>" Mimi corrected, "<We aren't from Biblical times middle east.>" She turned back to Lola, "<I'm taking him by ORAZ and was gonna see about setting up a meet with Skorp. If only to get him on the warning list for convoys. Don't need 'im stuck to the front of a big rig, right?>"

Lola nodded. "<Oh, of course not! It'd be tragic to lose one of the few Good Cops in this city to an act of Largoist. I'll tell DT to expect you, by the way.>" Lola winked. "<Wouldn't want him to think you're health inspectors or anything.>"

Yuuta looked at the two women with a hint of fear and confusion, but shook it off. He considered asking about what was going on behind him, then decided against it. He knew things were going to get really grey over the next few days, best to live in ignorance for the moment. "<Lola-san, I suppose we should let you get back to your task. Unless there's something we can do for you today?>"

Lola considered the offer carefully. "<Actually, there IS. If you could lay off these fine upstanding gentlemen for the next, oh, 24 hours or so, that'd be just dandy~>" She leaned over, peering up at him with cute bunny eyes framed by her ears, and also incidentally giving him a very good shot of her cleavage in the low-cut dress.

So much for ignorance. "<I'm a street cop ma'am. I have no reason to actively bother them. If they violate a traffic law; I will treat the encounter as any other traffic violation. I can only suggest they not do anything suspicious if pulled over.>"

"<Where they running?>" Mimi asked.

"<Various places. Not to the factions, but to their usual haunts. No specifics; they don't tell, I don't ask.>" Lola shrugged. "<Just don't search them too hard, and go for the racers the Largoists ARE after, rather than the ones they avoid.>"

"<I think I'll be around the corner. Come get me when you're ready.>" Yuuta said has he stepped back the way him and Mimi came.

"He's a little touchy about the grey areas," Mimi turned to Lola, "So, usual crew running?"

Lola nodded, her ears bouncing. "Of course."

"Usual stuff right," Mimi asked, "Nothing special?"

"Just a few kilos of hentai in each vehicle. Nothing beyond that."

Mimi nodded. "Okay then, gonna take him over to The Cathedral. Get all the trauma out in one day".

Lola giggled. "Oh, that's going to be fun. Planning on taking him to Skorp after? Introduce him to our very own nuclear power?"

"Yep~" Mimi giggled, "See you around the Cathedral, ja ne~" She headed back for Yuuta, "<Ready?>"

Yuuta didn't say anything, he just put his helmet on and straddled his bike. Then he waited for her to start up the 'cuda and lead the way.

Lola waved to the officers as they headed off. "<Bai bai, Mimi-chan~ Bring him by the club sometime, free dances for both of you~>"

Mimi chuckled and waved back to Lola, before dropping into her car.

---

Mimi threw the 40 year old American muscle car into a slide and parked neatly, facing outwards in a spot between a Panhard VBL and a Smart Car. She gave a disdainful look at the lunchbox with the three cylinder engine as she got out of her vehicle. She waited for Yuuta to park and come over, before leading him to an side entrance with a keypad. "This is the Cathedral, used to be the ORAZ Cathedral and Snack Bar, but after it got demolished right after the demon invasion, they remodeled. Mostly because the CD refused to give them permits to rebuild," Mimi explained as she punched in the code, "This door leads to the kitchen, don't touch or make eye contact with anything, and we'll move to the Catacombs from there." She held the door open for him.

Yuuta followed quietly. Between the health inspector comment and warning, he was positive he didn't want to know.

Mimi escorted her fellow officer through the kitchen, around flaming....things, under swinging blares and around a giant cauldron with active jet engines heating it. "<It`s best not to know,>" she told him as they exited the kitchen and entered a maintenance hall. After three key coded doors, two sets of guards and one adorable kitten with a not so adorable smirking habit, they finally entered the club.

"<Or eat, apparently,>" he replied. "<Who are we meeting?>"

"That guy," Mimi pointed as a man with blue hair in a dark suit was struck by a bolt of electricity from the Tesla coils set up around the dance floor. "And possibly her as well," She continued as an equally blue haired woman landed on top of the aforementioned blue haired man. "DarkTan Canto, and his sister Katrina," Mimi explained.

Yuuta stared at the two for a moment, and dancers through out the room. It was going to take some maneuvering to get to them. Yuuta didn't really feel like walking anywhere near where he could potentially get zapped. "<Sooooo, is there somewhere we should wait?>"

"<Nah,>" was the only reply as Mimi plowed through the crowed to reach DarkTan, she paused a moment to look behind her, "<Coming?>"

Yuuta sighed, straightened his posture, and followed in the wake Mimi had created. Every now and then he'd apologise to someone he bumped into, but no one seemed to notice.

Mimi, for her part, flowed through the seething mass of humanity as if she belonged there. She moved and swayed not only with the beat, but in complete harmony with those around her. Eventually she reached DarkTan and hauled him to his feet.

"Evening officer," DarkTan coughed a puff of smoke, "I swear to drunk I'm not god."

The MTPD officer rolled her eyes and gave him a solid slap, "I didn't pull you over, I picked you up."

"Oh, well," DarkTan shook his head, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"New guy," Mimi gestured back to Yuuta as her fellow officer still struggled through the dancers, "Got anywhere quieter?"

DarkTan nodded and lead the way to Yuuta and then to his office. After sitting down he motioned to a waitress, "Drinks?"

"Just a coke, I'm driving," Mimi answered.

Yuuta watched the exchange, and followed the two. He stood beside Mimi and replied "<I'm fine, thank you.>" to what he assumed was some officer for refreshment.

The waitress nodded and left, she had returned by the time everyone had sat down with a glass of b33r for DarkTan, Mimi's Coke and a bottle of water just in case.

"So," the leader of ORAZ started, then remembered his manners, "<Starting over at SCU huh?>" He took a drink and leaned back with his feet on the desk.

"<Mimi here suggested that I'd have be able to serve citizens better as part of the SCU. My previous assignment didn't have many people who shared my views about citizens who are different.>" Yuuta explained. "<Then there was the riot.>"

"<Yeah, I saw that," DarkTan replied, "<And the SCU does do a good job of serving the people, since they are focused on real criminals.>"

"<One hopes, but either way Mimi also felt it would be good to let me meet some people inside the factions. Since finding allies in the rest of the force may be... Difficult.>" Yuuta replied in a voice of frustration.

"<That is unfortunately true,>" DarkTan said, "<And due to the nature of our...enterprises, the factions are a great source of intelligence for the good officers of the SCU. We have a mutually beneficial relationship.>"

After the previous encounter, Yuuta had his doubts, but nodded quietly anyway.

"<I see you aren't quite in agreement with that,>" DarkTan smiled. "<I assume you have a question or three?>"

"<I feel too lost to even know the questions to ask at the moment. The woman arranging some kind of shipment seemed to smuggling something. I didn't ask. I come here and what I see is a bizarre kitchen and a dance hall.>" The frustration in Yuuta's voice seemed harder to hold.

"<That was Lola and they were running trunk-loads of hentai to underground distributors.>" DarkTan began to explain, "<The kitchen is not for the faint of heart, usually only highly trained personnel are permitted. And this,>" He pointed outside, "<It really nothing more than a dance club. Most of the people down there are completely normal. I'm sure you saw a few ears and tails as well.>" He paused for another drink, "<As far as your concern of smuggling goes, which do you see as the greater threat, cartoon porn or narcotics?>"

"<None of this even hints at how any of it can help serve the citizens of tokyo better. How is any smuggler improving the abuse by other officers? Am I expected to turn a blind eye, and trust that they're really smuggling smut in exchange for some information that could be the truth, or could be bogus information to make their smuggling easier?>"

"<Of course I wouldn't expect you to just take the word of any random idiot you see on the street,>" DarkTan replied, "<Hell I've had to bail out six guys last week that Officer Mimi here arrested. They mouthed off and they got the boot to go with it. There is a difference between informants and some slob in a ricer with a box of porn.>" DarkTan finished his b33r and set the glass down, "<I wouldn't expect you to treat informants any different than any other officer with a CI.>"

"<I'm not looking for a handful of snitches. I'm looking for a way to clean the rot out of the TPD. There are district chiefs, and chief inspectors in that rot. Some snitch's information about one of them abusing a meta isn't going to get the backing to investigate.>"

"<Ah, you're on the hunt for dirty cops,>" DarkTan mused, "<You could have Kami-sama come down here and testify against one, but as long as the men at the top are there, it wont change a damn thing.>" DarkTan set his feet on the floor and leaned forward, "<The only thing that will get Sonada to back down is a miracle. Or a catastrophe.>" He laned back again, "<In the meantime, we do our best to help the ones affected the worst and in order to do that, we frequently need to operate outside the law. Hence why we trade other criminals as a toll for passage.>"

Yuuta thought about that for a minute. He knew there'd be some kind of grey to all this. It wasn't so much that he was on the hunt for dirty cops either, he just knew the cops were the problem, not a symptom of it. "<How do you help those affected?>" He asked bluntly. He still didn't feel like anyone had told him anything useful.

DarkTan looked to Mimi. "<If he wasn't good, I wouldn't have brought him,>" the officer replied.

The leader of ORAZ nodded and stood up, "<Follow me,>" He said as he pressed his hand against the wall. A door that wasn't there a minute ago slid open, and the trio entered an elevator. "<Only one cop has even seen this elevator and only one cop has ever seen where it leads.>" He touched his thumb to the control panel and held it there. There was was ding, the door closed, and the elevator began to descend.

When the doors opened, they are emerged at what looked like a very family-friendly hotel lobby. There were children running about playing. There was a long counter on one wall where several clerks were speaking with what appeared to be patrons. One could see several corridors to the right that seemed to be lined with room. Judging from the spacing of the doors, they look rather spacious. To the left was a large cafeteria with several line cooks on duty and plenty of food. As they stepped out, other elevators could be seen, one labeled "CATastrophe. 18+ ONLY" another proclaimed to go back up to the Catacombs. There were guards at and in that elevator.

The one thing that distinguished this all from any other hotel was that nearly every single person there had ears and a tail. "<Some call this the railroad,>" DarkTan said, "<These are all metas that either work here or are in the process of moving to areas more...tolerant. These are the ones that can't afford to stay here any longer.>" He paused to scan the room, "<The desk clerk in the center for example. Fox girl, one ear. Beaten to a bloody pulp just for being who she is. I think you might know of her fiance, a former Officer Koukin.>"

Yuuta noded, "<Right before my transfer, my section chief changed my patrol because Koukin hadn't come back after some family issue. I never heard what it was. I'm not surprised this was why. I never met the guy, but we shared a name amongst the other officers.>" he paused and looked at Darktan. "<Freak-lover>"

DarkTan nodded slowly, "<I heard. He works for me now,>" DarkTan checked his watch, "<Should be on guard duty upstairs for the Catacombs Elevator. Any way, there's living quarters, a school room and gymnasium set up for the little ones,>" As if on cue, Darktan suddenly found him self an obstacle in a the most dangerous game. Tag. After three or four loops around his legs the children vanished down a hallway, "<Not that they actually play in there, the lobby is much more fun. You should see it on Wednesdays.>"

Yuuta considered what he saw, "<A safe haven. How do people know to come here?>"

"<Word of mouth and propaganda,>" DarkTan said, "<Mostly word of mouth. A lot come through the clubs.>"

"<And they're all bound for other places? Don't get me wrong, this is awe inspiring, and good work. I just hate to think that the only answer for these people is to hide or run.>" He remembered his last encounter with the Kitsune on his old patrol. "<I can think of one or two who wouldn't take that answer any better than accepting what's going on on the surface.>" His mood improved drastically as he considered this place.

"<Oh no,>" DarkTan replied, "<There are plenty that stay. Our cargo ship that runs my cooking show, a smattering of contraband and takes them where they want to go is run almost entirely by metas. And Ahab, whatever he is.>" DarkTan waved his hand dismissively, "<Story for another time. We also have licensed teachers, cooks, and other staff than remain here. Lola runs a club called the CATastrophe. It's not really a strip club, but it's not far from it either. Some of the girls, and boys, live here as well. And there have been quite a few transfers over to The Principality of Sealand. I understand their monarch has been considering handing out duchies.>"

"<I see.>" Yuuta responded in wonder, when Darktan continued on he caught Mimi's eye for a second, then bowed in silent apology.

Mimi gave a slight smile and nod in response.

"<And I'm thinking you're wondering how all of this gets paid for, right?>" DarkTan asked Yuuta.

"<It seems like a huge undertaking, in money and manpower...>" He confessed.

"<Well after employees are paid, the profits from the clubs go towards it, as well as the sale of my cooking show and books," was the reply, "Also the profits from smuggled contraband anime, manga and video games,and related matters like Tentacle Grape Soda and certain... toys." DarkTan gave a wink at that.

Yuuta remembered manga and games as a kid, and didn't exactly understand the ban on them, but the hints about other material bugged him a little. He shrugged it off though, "<Alright, I can see that. It's also definitely not the horror bullshit that's being passed around to the public.>" He bowed slightly to Darktan, "<Is there something else we need to discuss?>"

"<Not really, unless you have any questions?>"

"<I think I need to let some of this sink in, I may have a few questions in the future.>" he replied, then turned to Mimi. "<You said we had several places to go today?>"

"<Yeah,>" Mimi replied then turned to DarkTan, "<Mind calling over to Skorp and letting him know we're coming?>"

"<No problem,>" DarkTan said, "<Make sure he stays off the grass though. See ya later>" DarkTan shook Yuuta's hand and made his exit. Right into a laundry cart.

Yuuta watched the cart for a second and turned to Mimi, who showed no reaction what so ever, then they headed back the way they came.

---

"<Okay, seriously, stay off the grass. It's mined,>" Mimi told Yuuta as the two slowly drove up the road to the FGTL headquarters. It was obviously paining her greatly to be driving less than 90km/h.

Yuuta raised an eyebrow under his helmet, then replied "<Sure.>" over the radio. He let her park, then pulled his bike in behind her. When she got out of the car, he followed her closely. He figured if the grass was mined, than other deviation before meeting someone would probably also be hazardous. "<So, who are these people again?>"

Skorpion chuckled softly as he cut into their radios. "Why, we're the Followers of Great Teacher Largo, of course. And she really does mean it about the grass."

Mimi rolled her eyes as she lead Yuuta past the Thing That Goes-

KL4|\/G

-and up to the front door. She opened it up and waited for him to enter first before following. "Hi, Mary," the officer waved to the cat girl receptionist.

Mary returned the wave, offering a plate of cookies with the other hand. "Hey, Mimi. He's expecting you! Head for the lift, and push the red button. The one painted red, not the one with the guard over it, unless you want to get fired." She paused, eyeing Yuuta and dropping a hand down under the desk. "Who's that with you?" She said coldly, eyes narrowing into a glare. "If he's here to make a 'surprise inspection', so help me..."

It was here that Yuuta snapped, he'd taken a lot in today; smugglers, a restaurant kitchen that looked like it was designed to kill its patrons, some group who decided to mine their grass like some kind of war zone, and now this receptionist was about to tirade on him or his partner over some sudden unseen slight. No wonder Sonoda hated and feared these guys, they were nuts! "<Enough! We came here on our off time, because she thinks I need to know some of you people so I can do my job. If you threaten every off duty officer who makes a courtesy call then its you're fault they're all bigoted idiots! I came here because I thought you people might help. Thank you for showing me how wrong I was. Good Day!>" He turned to walk back out the door he'd come in through.

Mary set the cookies down and stood up, fire in her eyes. "<GET. BACK. HERE.>" She said, in a voice that gave no possibility of compromise.

Yuuta kept moving, and pushed the door open to leave.

Mary hmph-ed, before turning on Mimi. "<GO AND GET HIM.>"

"Yes, Ma'am," Mimi said without thinking before reaching out the door and yoinking Yuuta back in, "<No visitor pass, no escort means Yuuta gets ventilated.>" she pointed to various shrubberies that were in fact poorly disguised turrets.

Yuuta was too flustered to care, "<Then escort me out of this asylum!>" He continued to struggle towards the door.

Mary sighed sadly, before quick-drawing something pistol-shaped and firing, hitting Yuuta square in the back. Since said something was a taser, he was floored rather than ventilated. "<You're walking out on an appointment with possibly the most powerful man in this city. This building has more equipment than the JSDF, and you were OFFERED a COOKIE.>" She punctuated the last part with another squeeze of electricity. "<If you value your career at all, you're going to go down there and see him.>"

Yuuta simply continued to convulse for a moment, then laid there until things started working again. In physical and mental defeat, he stood, then simply waited for someone to lead the way.

Mary yanked the wires out of him with a 'hmph' of satisfaction, and sat down again, calmly reloading her taser. "<Now take a cookie, both of you, and get going.>"

Yuuta's hand picked up a cookie off the plate, and he followed Mimi toward the elevators.

---

Skorpion grinned broadly as the two entered his new office through the airlock he'd installed. "<Mind the walls, there. Paint still isn't dry in places, and I'm pretty sure it's toxic. But hello, welcome to my not-so-humble abode.>" He extended a hand in greeting, nodding to Mimi. "<Mimi-chan. Always a pleasure to see you here. Backslid into being a filthy Mihoist yet?>"

Yuuta traded hands with the as yet untouched cookie, and returned the handshake with what little strength had returned. The comment irked him a little, but the taser was still messing with him. He decided to let Mimi defend herself if need be.

"<Slowly,>" Mimi nodded back, "<I've only traumatized one person so far, but I'm still working the kinks out.>"

Skorpion nodded amiably. "<Well, at least you're trying.>" He turned to Yuuta, his grin turning predatory. "<Ah, and who do we have here? Officer Yuuta, recently transferred, and still oh so innocent about the corruption in the TPCD.>"

Yuuta's eyes narrowed. "<I know how rotten it is. The point was to find help fixing it. Not get yelled at and shot by some crazy woman.>" He replied. He was pretty sure at this point someone could blow on him and knock him out, but he was still an officer who was angry about what the MPD and TCPD had become, not blind to it.

Skorpion looked between Yuuta and Mimi, chuckling softly. "<Judging by the cookie, I assume you mean Mary? She's just cranky about the TPCD lately. They keep insisting they have a right to inspect us here when they don't, and they threatened her kids last time.>" Skorpion sighed. "<They're not going to be around here for a while, though. She didn't take well to it, and shot them with a weapon designed for intimidation rather than actual use.>" He waved to the chairs in front of the bulky metal desk. "<Please, take a seat. They're not mined, and Mary's cookies are delicious, but harmless.>"

"<She can be ticked as hell about that, I didn't threaten anyone. I just took offense and chose to leave. She's the one who used unnecessary force.>" He continued to stand. "<Just because Sonoda's goons try to abuse their positions gives her no right to attack and detain someone against their will. Now, I'd like to leave.>"

"<I hadn't heard about Mary and the kids,>" Mimi said apologetically, "<Would have warned her before hand.>" She turned to Yuuta, "<Skorp's probably the most reasonable of the bunch here...that isn't actually saying much...is it?>"

Skorpion shook his head. "<Sadly, not really. The talent here is unmatched, but we're low on sanity and common sense. Somewhat unfortunate, but sanity tends to get in the way of getting the job done in our line of work. And no, you will stay, and you will listen.>" He gave Yuuta a Look, before continuing. "<So, what can I do for you today?>"

"<Not a damned thing.>" He replied.

Mimi turned to Skorp, "<Today was supposed to be a meet and greet. I think there's been a little too much trauma. We were at The Cathedral earlier.>"

Skorpion nodded. "<So I hear. Did the food get to him, or was it just the ambience?>"

"<I think it's been too much shock for one day,>" the officer replied.

"<About fifteen-thousand volts too much.>" Yuuta responded.

Skorpion shrugged. "<Rule #1 of business is 'never piss off a receptionist'.>"

"<Screw you.>" He interrupted.

Skorpion raised an eyebrow, standing up to lean over the desk. "<Look behind and to your right, Officer. What do you see there?>"

"<I don't much care what's behind me. You're calling me to fault when you're the one who's people are nutcases. Now, you can let me leave, hold me here, or kill me, but at this point I don't give a shit.>" His voice was thin with anger, but his legs were shaking in an obvious suppressed fear.

Mimi sighed and facepalmed, "<He wants you to look at the coat rack.>" She was hoping her casual reference to a city destroying nuclear device propped up in the corner like...well like a coat rack, would possibly cause her fellow officer to calm down. This wasn't how she envisioned this day ending. In hindsight, she should really keep better tabs on the various receptionists around town.

Yuuta's face turned to Mimi, and the anger in his face began to shift to a look of confusion. His head slowly tracked from her to the direction the 'Skorp' had described, there was no coat rack. There was, however, a coat tossed over what looked like a nuclear warhead he'd seen in a documentary once. "<Is that?>"

Skorpion nodded. "<A nuclear warhead? Yes, yes it is. THAT is why this building is sovereign territory of the Principality of Sealand, why my forces patrol your city, and why you are here. There used to be another, but I needed to close a portal to Hell a few years back.>"

Yuuta stood there for a second, he processed what he'd just heard, and realized this man wasn't just nuts, but he was holding the entire city hostage. Yuuta was in something way over his head. He looked to Mimi, his face shifted from anger to something just shy of panic.

"<He's telling the truth,>" Mimi said, "<They tend to come in handy.>"

Yuuta closed his eyes, and brought his thoughts into order. You're a dead man, Yuuta Fujishima, these people will kill you. Your only hope is to make them not want to kill you today, and hope they'll let you outside long enough to let the few citizens who trust you know to run. After a moment, he turned to the two people in the room who'd completely suckered him, and with as straight a face as he could manage, sat down in the chair. "<Alright, I'll hear whatever you have to say.>"

Skorpion grinned and nodded, sitting down again. "Gets them every time. <So. You know we have a larger army than most countries, and a bigger GDP as well. And more land than some European countries; thanks to recent extensions to our airfield, we recently overtook Belgium.>" He pointed to the wall, on which appeared a set of graphs. "<While we don't pay taxes, we do, however, fund urban redevelopment and utilities improvements.>" He paused. "<More than we blow them up, might I add. We're not like the Americans, who level the place and don't fix it afterwards. Also, we're attempting to patch foreign relations issues with Russia. My disagreements with their oligarchy aside, we're engaging in a pretty thorough looting of their arms stockpiles, mostly funded by American corporate warfare and paranoia.>" He snapped his fingers, the graphs changing. "<The latest trend in LA is for pimped armoured vehicles.>" He shuddered briefly. "<Ugly as sin, but lucrative. Gold-plated BTRs with spinning rims and sound systems that cause minor earthquakes. Pastel pink Strykers with disco balls inside. And, of course, we offer transport contracts as well, for when they want to visit New York for a few weeks.>"

Yuuta tried to listen like all of this was important to him, but mostly he was thinking about what to do once he was away from here. He'd already discarded transferring back to Ueno MPD, and disappearing wasn't going to work either. He was a cop, not a spy, but trying to look like he accepted this was his best bet. He just hoped his new 'partner' didn't catch on and shoot him when he wasn't looking one day. "<So this money is used to stand up to Sonoda?>"

"<Partly. Most of it goes on payroll, the Railroad, upgrading equipment, and ammunition. In fact, the vast majority goes on ammunition, to the point where we run a factory in the Ukraine just to supply our needs. But standing up to Sonoda takes a fair chunk of our profits, yes. Political lobbying, bidding for contracts, propaganda, and smuggling illicit materials past his blockades of the city.>"

"<I see.>" Yuuta responded. Translation, you could take Sonoda out anytime you want, but all of this makes you money. He pushed the thought back, Gotta like this if you want to live. "<So we keep your people from being searched, and you help keep the people running things we really don't want in the city, and help with Mr. Canto's projects?>"

Skorpion nodded. "<That's the long and the short of it. Plus, we actually keep crime down in the city, despite what appearances suggest. We don't tolerate drug dealers, or the Yakuza. And we ARE trying to cut corruption in the TPCD and local politics. Even if it means going all the way to the top.>"

"<I can see I misjudged all this. It's still shadier than I really want things, but I knew when I agreed to meet you that not everything would be black and white.>" he responded. It was all true, but for none of the reasons he wanted to say that when he was fooled at the Cathedral.

Skorpion nodded. "<Everything is shades of grey, especially these days. But here, you're only seeing one side of what we do. You don't see people's faces as they step into a world where they AREN'T being oppressed every second of their lives. You don't see villages freed to actually grow food instead of drugs. But, of course, the best is yet to come. You see, I have Plans.>"

Yuuta didn't know how to respond, should he want to hear the plans? or realize that something like that wasn't asked about in a conversation like this? He was positive his next words would give him up, so he did the only thing his self preservation instincts said to do, stay shut up and nod like this all made perfect sense.

Skorpion stood up, grinning almost ear-to-ear. "<Afghanistan. Vast mineral wealth, terrorists and fundamentalists everywhere stopping people getting to it, ridiculously remote. Bandit country since before Roman times. Alexander the Great couldn't keep it pacified. However...>" He started to pace back and forth, waving his arm at the wall as it shifted through infographics and satellite images. "<He wasn't able to beam power from space. He didn't have an air force. Everyone since him has been beholden to a democracy and popular opinion, or political ambitions.>" His grin widened, eyes almost shining with passion. "<But we don't need to PACIFY it. Just the areas we're mining, and the people working for us. Eventually, the bandits will just run out of resources, no matter who's backing them. After that, we can start using the minerals there for the good of humanity. And since it's fairly close to the equator, maybe even anchor a space elevator there. Or nearby, at least; maybe over Singapore or Somalia.>"

Yuuta listened to the rant in quiet fear. This guy's crackers. That's when he noticed the man had stopped really talking to Yuuta and had begun ranting ideas, not simply his plans for the city or Sonoda. He hoped now was a good time to interrupt. "<That all sounds extremely down the line. I'm afraid I'm more worried about the people I can't protect here in tokyo at the moment. Is there something I can be doing for you or with you to help them?>" Sound like you're focused or still naive. Maybe he won't go into a tirade and have Saneki shoot you now.

Skorpion stopped pacing, having been jerked back to reality. "Huhwhat?" It happened again... "<Yes, in fact. Steer people to the Railroad. Hinder the activities of the officers who aren't working for the common good. Falsify your beating quota.>"

"<Why do I get the feeling I don't even want to know what you're talking about?>" a new, younger voice observed from the doorway; Arella had arrived just in time to hear something about beating quotas, after all.

Skorpion looked over, and headed to the doorway to greet her. "That last part was a joke, by the way. What brings you all the way down here?"

"Need some more arrows, figured I'd pay a visit," the ex-magical girl replied, offering a quick hug in greeting. "Are you scaring people again?"

Skorpion returned the hug, picking her up off her feet briefly. "Not intentionally. But where are my manners? <Arella, this is Officer Mimi Saneki, and Officer Fujishima Yuuta. Respectively, the only reasonable officer in the TPCD, and new meat she's taking around to meet the factions so he doesn't listen to his superiors too much. Officers, meet Arella Silverstone; Former magical girl, former bartender, potential teacher, and volunteer with the Railroad.>"

"Konnichiwa~" Arella greeted cheerfully, with a polite bow. "<I hope you'll forgive Skorp, he doesn't mean to scare people. He's really very nice!>"

Yuuta bowed to the newcomer, "<I'm sure its merely raised alertness from an earlier misunderstanding. It left us all on our toes, but things are better now.>"

Arella got a rather exasperated look on her face. "<What happened?>" she asked, looking from Skorp to Yuuta, clearly expecting to hear that a Largoist had been... well, acting like a Largoist again.

Skorpion sighed. "<He talked back to Mary, refused a cookie, and ignored her Mom Voice. So, she tazed him.>"

And that definitely wasn't what she was expecting, if the shocked look on her face was anything to go by. "<Mary tazed him? Mary?>"

"<The last TPCD lot through here threatened her kids, so she's a little tetchy still.>"

The ex-magical girl mouthed Mary's name again a few more times, clearly still trying to wrap her head around the concept of Mary tazing someone. "<Wow...>" she eventually managed to say. "<I am very sorry to hear that. Are you alright, Officer?>" There was no mistaking the genuine concern in her voice.

"<Oh I'll be alright.>" He responded in an attempt to blow the whole thing off. It seemed that perhaps there might be at least some truth to the idea that the receptionist was out of sorts. Or this poor woman is totally brainwashed. He looked to Officer Sankei, "<I think we should go. Miss Arella obviously needs a moment of Mister Skorp's time.>"

"<Oh, please don't let me interrupt!>" Arella exclaimed, clearly distressed to think she'd interrupting something. "<I didn't mean to interrupt - I can wait. Sorry!>"

"<It's quite alright Miss. Today was a day of introductions.>" He turned to Skorp, "<Unless, of course, there's someone else I should meet before I go.>"

Skorpion nodded. "<There is indeed, as it happens. And the name's Skorpion, by the way. 'Skorp' is merely a shortening adopted by various people.>" Which, the subtext implied, he was not entitled to use.

"<Consider me informed, Mister Skorpion.>" He bowed again.

Skorpion nodded, merely accepting the bow; he'd never gotten the hang of the habit himself, and he preferred to keep people on edge anyway. "<I suggest you go see the principal of the CMGY Academy at some point. Lucius Ogilvy. You'll find him at the school itself, or at the CATastrophe club. Or I'm sure you can pull his address from the traffic citations you've issued him.>"

"<They met,>" Mimi stifled back a chuckle, "<Sort of.>"

Skorpion nodded. "<Yes, but you should probably introduce them properly, when he's not busy rescuing magical girls from riots. Incidentally, have you made any progress on that bunnygirl you're after?>"

Mimi shook her hand in the universal "so-so" gesture, "<Got a list of frequent drop zones, but it's completely random.>"

"<Elusive things, bunngirls.>"

"<Almost as bad as Scottish cat-boys that speak Japanese like schoolgirls.>"

Skorpion chuckled. "<True. Even I have trouble getting hold of him when I need him sometimes. That so-called whisky he drinks can eat clean through RFID tags, and he's hardly around to slip them into his meals anyway.>"

"<We really should be going then.>" Yuuta inserted.

Mimi stood up, "<Been a long day, thanks for meeting with us,>" Mimi said.

Skorpion nodded. "<Very well. See you around, officers.>"

"<Don't forget to eat your cookie!>" Arella rather unhelpfully added to Yuuta, who was still carrying his around.

Yuuta bowed again, and moved toward the door. Looking at his cookie like it might still be some kind of monster.

Skorpion grinned. "Oh, one last thing, Mimi. Could I interest you in some new weaponry, perchance? We just got a shipment of AKM carbines in, and I figured you might want first dibs."

"Oooh!" Mimi turned back to Skorpion with big, happy eyes, "7.62 or the 5.56 variants?"

"The latter. Less tendency to go through walls you don't want them to." He grinned. "Check your E-mail; I've given you the usual law enforcement discount."

"Ten percent over?" Mimi cocked an eyebrow at him.

Skorpion chuckled. "Not for you, my dear. You're actually reasonable, unlike the rest of those bigoted mooks."

Mimi chuckled as well, "I'll get back to you on that. <Okay, ready to go?>" She turned back to Yuuta. "<And even if the equipment comes from Russia, the food will not eat you.>"

Yuuta nibbled a little on his cookie as they walked out the door by Mary's desk.

"Bai-Bai Mary-chan~" Mimi said and waved as the two exited. She turned to Yuuta when the door closed behind them, "<You okay? I'm really sorry about the tasering part, I had no idea.>"

"<I'll live.>"

"<You hungry? I'm buying.>"

Yuuta really wanted to head home, but he was also convinced this woman was his keeper now, and didn't think it was a good idea to refuse, and he was hungry. "<i could eat.>" He said while picking up his helmet off the back of his bike.

"<Anna Millers?>" Mimi suggested, "<Pie sounds like a good idea.>"

"<Never been there. They have coffee?>"

"<Never...,>" Mimi blinked, "<And yes they do, not as good as Irving's, but a fine brew none the less. Let's go.>"

---------------------------------------

Summary
- Mimi oversleeps, because Saeko drank her under the table
- Mimi and Yuuta meet, then head out
- First is Lola, she tries to seduce Yuuta into letting some smuggling happen
- Yuuta gets annoyed, and steps away from the conversation
- Next is the Cathedral, DarkTan shows him the part of the Railroad
- They go to FGTL, where Yuuta's probably the only person to make Mary angry on first sight.
- Yuuta gets tasered. He doesn't take it well. The cookie isn't helping
- Skorpion and Yuuta aren't getting along either
- Nuke spotted
- Yuuta becomes convinced that he's screwed up horribly by transferring, and that the FGTL and TCPD are working together to keep everything crazy, Skorpion's holding the city hostage, and Mimi's in on it
- Yuuta switches to "just say what it takes to not die" mode
- Arella overhears something, introduces herself
- Skorpion suggests meeting Lucius and visiting CMGY
- Guntrading talk
- Yuuta's really ready to go
- Plans for food are made

Title: Traffic Laws
Location: Kitama Street
Time: Two days after Encounters of the Faction Kind
Character(s): Yuuta, Valdez, 15th AI's Mech Killers, 1st Lieutenant Tabata Yoshihiko.
Author(s): Notsonoble, Arsenal

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Valdez spouted as he popped the driver's hatch and climbed out. Lieutenant Crowly was already half out of the Tank Commander's hatch of the Bradley, looking at the Toyota pickup that had hit them, head on.

"Valdez, whiskey tango foxtrot!" he shouted, the rear hatch opening.

"I didn't see him! He came at me!" Valdez shouted, the driver climbing out his window as the driver's side of the car was compacted and the door jammed shut.

"Baka gaijin! <You better have insurance!"> the driver shouted, Valdez just staring at him.

"Excuse me?! Tu eres el pendejo! Porque no me vistes?!" he shouted, going Ricky Ricardo as Lieutenant Yoshihiko ran out of the Bradley.

"Oh, shit, this is not gonna look good on my report..." he swore, a siren drawing near.

"Valdez, I am going to straighten your ass out when we get back, you hear me?" Topper snarled, cars honking.

"It wasn't my fault!" Valdez shouted back.

<"Who is going to pay for this?!">

"...collison, traffic congestion building quickly.>" said the dispatcher.

"<Roger, responding to ten-fifty on Kitama street.>" Yuuta responded and turned the corner. He was already into the backed up traffic. He turned his siren on and weaved the KLE through the stopped vehicles. <"On scene, will investigate. Request assistance for traffic managment.>"

"<Officers on the way.>" He heard over the radio as he pulled to a stop behind the massive tank. What the hell is this? He kicked out the stand and killed the bike, then walked around the side. There were several men in a uniform he didn't recongnize, but he saw what looked like rank stripes on one arm. He walked up to the one with the most stripes and tapped him on the shoulder. "<Excuse me, who's in charge of this... vehicle.>"

Topper turned, left hand up to push the person behind him back and his right gripping his M-16.

"Sir, I need you to step-" He stopped upon seeing it was a cop. "El-Tee, I need translation!" Yoshihiko came running, very stressed. As he ran over Lieutenant Crowley was contacting the CP at Yokota.

"CP, CP, this is Lieutenant Crowley of 15th AI." he said.

"El-Tee Crowley, CP, go ahead."

"Yeah, my driver just ran into a local. Fender bender." Crowley reported. "The Bradley's okay but I've got a feeling we're gonna have a legal shitstorm on our hands..."

"Understood. We'll contact the JAG and send a wrecker out just in case." The 'wrecker' would be a CH-47M Chinook Chief.

<"I am so sorry, officer, the driver still hasn't gotten the rules of our roads down yet..."> Yoshihiko said, bowing apologetically.

Yuuta groaned, he didn't like the sound of this. "<I need around this to see the other vehicle, and see if anyone's injured, will you make that clear so I can pass?>" Yoshihiko translated for Topper.

"Alright, we'll let him through." he said, keying his radio. "Platoon, dismount and set up a perimeter... Got a cop here. Goleb, front an' center, just in case." The other Bradley disgorged it's occupants, as did the Stryker. The soldiers fanned out and set up a perimeter around the crash site, a few setting off road flares.

<"They'll let you through. They also seem to be bringing their medic up."> Yoshihiko said to Yuuta.

"<Good, but if their men don't speak japanese I must insist they stand down. They'll only make the situation with the rest of traffic worse.>" He said as he heard the honking and yelling increase. He began to move around to see the collision.

"First Sergeant, he says that if your men don't speak Japanese then he wants you to have them stand down or it might make the situation worse." Yoshihiko cautioned. Topper looked at Yuuta and pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Tell him we're keeping our perimeter as we have explosive ordinance and can't afford to have someone waltz up and 'borrow it.'" he said. Yoshihiko relayed it to Yuuta.

"<I don't care if they've got a nuke, they can either step back into the vehcile. Or consider themselves under arrest once other officers arrive. Then they can take it up with JSDF and impound!>" He looked at the smashed toyota and the man screaming. "<Just calm down, and tell me what happenened.>"

<"I was pulling into the intersection when next thing I know this tank comes right at me! Damned Americans think they own the road!"> the driver shouted. Topper gripped his rifle tighter.

Yuuta looked at the toyota and the tank. It was pretty obvious the tank was in the wrong lane. But what the hell are they doing in a tank anyway? "<Alright, I'll hear the tank driver's story.>" he turned to Yoshihiko.

"Corporal Valdez, recount the collision and I'll translate."

"Okay, look... I ain't been here but two weeks an' change an I ain't used to this country's assbackwards traffic laws. I keep wanting to do what feels natural, which means driving like I was back home. Or Iraq. Or Afghanistan... Iraquistan..." Valdez explained, the SDF officer translating. "I do what felt normal when all of a sudden this pinche puto cabron comes from outta nowheres an' I hit him!"
Yoshihiko tripped up on three words, not knowing what they meant. His Spanish was quite lacking.

"<So you admit, Mr Valdes, that this was your fault?>" Yuuta waited for the translation. Valdez listened to the translation.
"Que?! No, no, no, you're puttin' words in my mouth now!" he said defensively. "I didn't see him until he hit me!" Yoshihiko gave his translation.

Yuuta was confused, "<Did you know you were on the wrong side of the street?>"

Valdez was about to speak up when Lieutenant Crowley interjected. ""He's been doing that every so often but he usually corrects himself." Crowley explained. "He was about to do so when we were hit."
<"In his defense he has been fairly decent at getting back into the right lane..."> Yoshihiko added.

"<Were they given any training or chance to practice away from traffic.>" Yuuta didn't really care at this point. He was only taking down details for his report.

<"Unfortunately, no... They were only here for a joint exercise with the SDF then that mecha was stolen and they started sending out Mech Killers to find it."> Yoshihiko said, two soldiers running back to the perimeter and throwing plastic bags into the back of the second Bradley. <"All I was told was to translate for them. This is really out of my scope of training.">

Yuuta facepalmed, this was some emergency mobilization, meaning they likely weren't going to be held to their tickets. He considered the situation. "<Alright, Point out their officer in charge, and the direct superior of the driver. I'm going back to my bike to get an ETA on a traffic team and my citation book.>"

Yoshihiko translated that, a Chinook Chief arriving, escorted by a pair of Apache Longbows. He then pointed to Lieutenant Crowley. <"That's First Lieutenant Crowley. He's in charge of the lead Brad, what they've come to call the 'White Horse.' I don't get the name either...">

Yuuta picked up the radio mic on his bike and spoke "<Dispatch, this is Fujishima. Violator is an American military vehicle in response to an emergency situation. Update eta on traffic team, and number of officers.>"

"<What, there's no report of military emergency traffic! That's cra--- oh, here it is. Timestamped just..." there was a pause, then the woman's voice changed to that of resignation "thirty minutes ago... Eta on traffic responders is two minutes, four cars and one motorcycle.>"

"<Roger, begin clearing of streets per the emergency report.>" Yuuta groaned. Then picked up his ticket book. He doubted any of them would stick, but he was going to write them. He returned to Yoshihiko's side while scribbling on the pad. "<Alright, here's the wrong way citation for Mr. Valdez.>"

Valdez looked the citation over then jammed it into a pocket aet as one of the soldiers used a pair of road flares to direct the winch of the Chinook Chief. Once the hooks were low enough they were attached to cargo hooks on the IFV.

"Topper, CP says to RTB. You're in charge of the platoon until we reconvene at Yokota." Crowley shouted over the sound of the rotors. "Valdez, button back up. We're gettin' outta here!" Valdez looked at Yuuta, sighed, then went into the back of the Brad, the rear hatch closing.

"Sorry for the mess." Topper said, Yoshihiko translating. "Platoon, wrap it up! Sardine time!"

"Rostok, you better not have gas while we're in there." Hannigan shouted, climbing into the Stryker.

"Pah... It only happens when I eat the Menu No. 666." he said, soldiers piling into the remaining Bradley and Stryker.

"Happens when you eat ANY MRE..." Topper muttered. "El-tee, wanna gather the citations then tell us what they mean later?"

"I guess I have no choice." Yoshihiko replied, the Chinook Chief hoisting the Bradley off of the pickup. <"Officer, I've been asked to collect the citations for later...">

"<Alright, here's the ones for the sergeeant and Mr. Crowley. Rekless endangerment for both, and granting motor vehicle use to a third party without proper training or supervision to Mr. Crowley. Be sure to give the other party some information for collecting damages before you go.>" Yuuta handed the man the citations.

<"Ehh... Okay..."> Yoshihiko sighed, the cargo helo flying the Bradley back to Yokota. He went to the Bradley, which was full, then went to the Stryker.

"Seat's taken, El-Tee." Hannigan said, her M-16 occupying a spot on the bench.

"Then where do I sit?" Topper got up from his spot then muscled his way past Petro SWAT Officer, Switalski, and Guerra.

"I'm manning the fifty cal." he said, popping the hatch and sitting behind the large machine gun. Yoshihiko took his seat as the rear hatch closed then wrinkled his nose. Hannigan was already pulling a gas mask on.

"What... is that smell..." he asked. This time he heard it, that low growl normally associated with the fetidness that is waste byproducts forced through the large intestine and out the colon.

"Oh, that is grody..." Petro said, donning his gas mask, the rest of the soldiers doing the same. Yoshihiko's eyes watered and his stomach turned.

I'm in hell...

Yuuta watched the Americans mount up, and start to head out. He felt bad for Yoshihiko, but his report would clear any issues with JSDF on his part. He only wished he could see the Americans faces when they got the translations of their citations.

"<Welcome to Tokyo.>" He said as he went back to the man with the smashed toyota.

---------
Summary
-It finally happened.
-Valdez collided with someone else.
-Traffic jam building.
-Officer Yuuta, TPCD!
-Translations abound.
-Valdez still doesn't have the roads mastered.
-Bradley picked up, tickets handed out.
-Platoon mounts up and rolls out.
-Biological Warfare is in effect.

TimeStamp It Was Night
Location: Various instances of various locations.
Characters: DarkTan
Musical Ambiance:
Caution, this is one kinda messy.












DarkTan put his key in to the door handle and realized the door was not locked. He pushed the door open slowly, the room was chaos. There was definite signs of a struggle. The able was broken, the mirror shattered and flowers from the vase were all over the floor. And there was blood. A trail of it.

His breath caught, “No,” came a ragged whisper. DarkTan reached behind him and drew a heavy looking dagger. He held the weapon ready as he followed the trail in to the next room. Bloody hand prints on the wall and smeared pictures lined his way until he found her.

She was laying in a pool of her own blood, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. Her skin was grey and there was a long silver dagger protruding from her chest. It was her own blade. Given to her by her father, and his father before him. DarkTan dropped to his knees, smearing the partially dried blood with a sob in his throat.

“It's your own damn fault,” A voice told him. He looked up to see this womans killer. “You should have listened.”

“You,” DarkTan said as he slowly stood, “You...son...of...a...BITCH!” He roared as he tacked the man, driving his dagger in to the intruders throat as they fell through a door and down the stairs. They landed in a heap and DarkTan wrenched his blade from the mans neck and spat on his still grinning face.

---

DarkTan bolted awake and nearly fell of his chair. He looked around confused for a moment before realizing he was in the kitchen. He couldn't believe he had fallen asleep there. Worse yet, he couldn't believe those dreams were coming back to him. He stood up and washed his face with cold water and dried in on a towel. He didn't notice the towel was covering a blood splattered knife as he dropped it with out looking and exited the kitchen in to the Cathedral proper.

The door slammed back behind him with a hollow bang that echoed in the silent, darkened room. DarkTan stood there, his jaw agape at the scene in front of him. Bodies laid all over the restaurant. Families out for dinner, sprayed with bullets. Their blood painting the walls and tables like grotesque graffiti. Everyone in the room had been slaughtered with out warning. No one had any chance to fight back. Many were face down, shot in the back.

DarkTan knelt down to check the body of a waiter. It was still warm. He reached behind him and drew his gun, pulled back on the slide to make sure it was loaded and stood back up. He would find who did this and they would pay. They would pay dearly.

He stepped over the fallen carefully, he would tend to them later but first he would avenge them. He pushed open the door leading to the lower levels and made his way down the stairs, something nagging at the back of his mind that this wasn't right.

He saw someone at the landing. Black hair, tight jeans, two knives in her hands. “It can't be,” DarkTan whispered to himself, “Mariko?!” He rushed to the woman to find her body cold. Colder than usual. She was dead. Again. DarkTan howled in rage as he kicked the door off it's hinges and stormed out to see a firing squad facing two woman on their knees. One had blue hair, the other had bunny ears. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the pair looked at him and then he noticed the blade swinging at his neck.

---

DarkTan lurched awake in bed. The sheets tangled and clinging to him with cold sweat. He fought to get his breathing under control as his heart pounded in his chest. He looked over to the other side of the bed to see nothing but a sea of red. He yelled and jumped out of the bed, hitting the flood hard. As he stood up he saw Lola sleeping peacefully. She murmured something and stretched out, her nightie shifting rather lewdly, and snored cutely.

The bewildered damphir stood up and made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with cold water before looking in to the mirror. His reflection sneered back at him. It's skin was grey and eyes a darker read than DarkTan's own.

“And now I know how to break you,” The reflection said, “I know what you care about. I know what is precious to you.”

“Don't even dare think about it,” DarkTan growled, “I'll end us both.”

“You? Kill yourself?” The reflection laughed a cruel, hateful laugh, “You've already killed one girlfriend. You expect me to believe you'd sacrifice yourself for this one? Hypocrisy doesn't suit you.”

“That isn't how it happened and you know it!” DarkTan spat, “What do you want anyway? Is this your idea of a sick joke? You're stronger with me and you know it.”

“Maybe that's how it used to be,” The reflection acknowledged, “But there's three of us now. And I like the other better. You're growing weaker. That little tattoo is falling right apart.” The reflection sneered and grinned, revealing two fangs instead of one, “And when it does, we'll be there.”

“Mother-” DarkTan pulled out a gun and fired three round in he mirror before staring dumbfounded as the reflection was also holding a gun but unharmed. He looked down to see three fresh holes and read spreading from them. “H-how...?”

“Ever wonder if you are the reflection?”

---

DarkTan bolted awake yet again. He looked around himself frantically, wondering why he was seeing the city skyline. Then he remembered. He had gone out for a walk. Which ended in a small police chase. He took to the building for cover.

“What the hell is happening?” DarkTan pulled his shirt up to check the seal. It looked the same as before. He took a moment to steady his breathing and make sure he was really awake. There weren't any bodies, so that was a plus. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a random number.

“Moshi moshi?”

“Uh, who is this?” The confused damphir asked.

“Mōshiwakearimasenga, eigomasen,” was the reply.

“<Er, sorry, who is this?>” DarkTan replied in Japanese.

“B&B Pension Hakodatemura Hakodate,> The woman replied.

<Sorry, wrong number,>” DarkTan replied somewhat relieved, “I've never even been to Hakodate,” he said after putting away his phone. “I need to find that damn N!NJ4 and fast.”

Summary
Blood.
Body.
Blade.
More blood.
More Bodies.
Look another blade.
Blood again.
Okay not really.
Talking to one's alter-self.
Shots fired.
Which side of the mirrior are you on?

Post inspired by picture here

After Action Review

Time Stamp: Two hours after Traffic Laws.
Location: Yokota Air Base, Camp Nerima
Characters: Captain Ramirez-Kisaragi, Major Jenks Wylder, Brigadier General Rosoft, Colonel Mark August, Colonel Douglas DeLaMater, members of 15th AI.
Recommended Listening: In a Day, Tsukasa Saitoh, Armored Core V

Major Wylder sat through the third play through of First Sergeant Topper's 'grunt cam,' a camera fitted to his flak jacket that was similar to ones many law enforcement agencies in America had taken to outfitting their officers with in order to better improve accountability on the part of the officers involved. He watched the goings on and listened to the audio, the men under his command and Lieutenant Yoshihiko standing at attention. The SDF lieutenant was sweating bullets, fearing for his career. The Major stopped the video and leaned on the desk, clasping his fingers.

"There will be a protest from the SDF." he said, tapping his fingers together. "And most certainly from the locals, if precedent about anything related to the United States military and Japan is anything to go by."

"What do we do about it, sir?" Topper asked.

"15th AI's Mech Killers will go on temporary stand down while an investigation is conducted." Jenks said. "We will comply."

"So that's it? We're out of action? The guy hit us!" Lieutenant Crowley said, losing his military bearing.

"Video will exonerate Valdez, however I have a feeling the locals are going to try and twist it and conspiracy theorists will say it's all part of our sinister plan." The Major paused to reach for his bottle of Jameson then thought better of it. "As a stopgap I want Valdez moved to 'Jim Adler' and Smith to take his duty over on the 'White Horse.' Corporal Smith seems to have the rules of Japanese roads down pat."

"What, let Valdez tailgate him?" Topper suggested.

"Precisely. Now, if you don't mind I have to finish this report. Dismissed." Crowley, Topper, and Yoshihiko left Jenks' ad hoc office, leaving him to finally procure his bottle.

Unfortunately that was when one of Brigadier Rosoft's colonels knocked on the door and entered.

"Can I help you?" Jenks asked, rising.

"Not me, the Brigadier. He wants you to headline a press conference." the colonel said. Jenks furrowed his brow.

"Why me? I'm not media savvy."

"He said something about Green Berets and winning hearts and minds." the colonel said. "Either way, you're up. Wear something nice." Jenks sighed as the colonel left then finally reached for his bottle, uncapping it and bringing it up to his lips.

The bottle was empty.

What the hell? I couldn't have already gone through this. he thought, going to a toolbox and taking a rag out. He wrapped the bottled in it then stomped it into pieces, discarding it and the rag in the trash. He would have to fall back on a spare but not before he cleaned up for a press conference.

On the other side of the base, Brigadier Rosoft was standing at attention at a change of command ceremony for Colonel August. Prior to the exercises he had been preparing to turn command over to another officer, one Colonel Douglas DeLaMater. He only felt it proper to show respect for both men as command was transferred and the two officers exchanged a salute. According to what he had read Colonel DeLaMater was with 386th Expeditionary Operations Group prior to coming to the 374th Airlift Wing and had flown T-37 trainers, two versions of the C-130, the 'E and the 'J, and KC-10 refueling planes and had logged in over 2500 flight hours.

The Brigadier sat waited until one of his own colonels tapped his shoulder.

"He'll do it. Is it wise to use him for a press conference though?" the officer asked Rosoft.

"He'll manage. He'll give them the facts and nothing more. That's why I want him to do it." he replied.

"Won't it rile the locals up though? He's a cold man."

"I am well aware of that, but I'm counting on him being nonplussed by the media. Now shut up, I want to listen to the new Colonel." Rosoft said, giving DeLaMater his undivided attention.

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(Recommended Listening: Decadence, Yoshito Hirano, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin)

Camp Nerima CP
Nerima, Japan

Major Watanabe watched the press conference from his office, hoping this would be the incident he needed to protest American presence in Japan. He listened to a certain Major Wylder talk and watched his mannerisms to try and figure him out. Doing so proved a difficult exercise as the man kept a poker face during the entire exchange, even when a small time reporter insinuated that the tank driver involved had intentionally tried running a civilian vehicle over. The Major debunked the theory, citing on board cameras and traffic camera evidence. Watanabe picked up his phone.

"Captain Kusanagi, I need you to dig up any information you can find on a Major Jenks Wylder. He's with First Cavalry but the beret he's wearing indicates him to possibly be Special Forces." he said to his subordinate. "Yes, anything you can find." He hung up and resumed watching the conference.

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(Recommended Listening: The Dragonfly Who Thought He Was a Mockingbird, Akufen, Appleseed)

15th AI Barracks(Provisional)
Yokota Air Base, Fussa-shi

Major Wylder rummaged through Lieutenant Crowley's footlocker, cataloging the placement of the items in order to make sure nothing appeared out of order when the El-Tee returned. The Major had seeded spare bottles of Jameson among the belongings of his subordinates for occasions when his primary bottle runs dry, typically without their knowledge. He found the bottle jammed in a roll of socks.

"There you are..." he mused, rolling the socks up then preparing to restore the footlocker to it's original configuration when the El-Tee entered the compartment.

"Major, what in the hell are you doing to my stuff?" Crowley demanded. He was wearing PT shorts, a PT shirt, reflective belt, and cross trainers. Major Wylder stood up, taking his phone out.

"Ahh, Lieutenant, I was hoping to catch up with you. Listen, I need to take your picture right quick." he said, setting the bottle on the ground and taking out a sunglasses clip and putting them on his glasses.

"What? No, hell no. Superior officer or not, I will pound your face in, sir!" Crowley snarled, advancing on the Major as Jenks opened a special app on his phone.

"If you could just stand right there sir..." Jenks advised, holding the phone up.

"No. I am gonna rip y-" The phone flashed and Crowley stopped dead in his tracks, looking around. Jenks pocketed his phone and took the sunglasses off then held up the bottle of Jameson.

"El-tee, what in God's name were you doing creeping on the females?" Jenks asked, Crowley looking at him then pointing at himself.

"I... was what?"

"You were creeping on the females, Coporal Guerra in particular." Jenks said. "I know the divorce was a nasty one but seriously? If I do recall she and Corporal La Pointe are an item. Also, what was this doing in your footlocker?" Crowley looked at the bottle of whisky in the Major's hands.

"I... don't... know...?"

"El-Tee, you know damn well you get the liquid shits when you drink. If I recall Top Khukov said he saw you down six beers and four shots at the base club. You ought to be feeling it about now." Jenks said. Crowley looked at him then cringed, hands going to his belly.

"Oh, Jesus, I gotta poop!" he shouted, turning and running for the latrine. The Major smiled and pocketed his Jameson.

"Do I feel bad about this? Not at all." he said to himself as he walked out of the barracks. "Do feel good about myself? Of course I do." Across the base at the hangar Captain Ramirez-Kisaragi was doing a quick systems test of the YLM-27, complete with Dani's usual snarkiness. Once the results lined up with what the tech pub said they should Eikichi climbed out of the cockpit, greeted by Sergeant Major Mackall.

"Workin' late, Cap?" the Sergeant Major asked. He had a folder in one hand.

"Just doing daily's. The usual humdrum of maintenance." Ei replied, perching at the end of the torso.

"Well, you're gonna love what I have for you." Mackall said, opening the folder and taking a sheet out. "You've been granted a pass, but not for a few days. Plan ahead, Cap. The shit with Valdez running into that pickup has us on Safety Stand Down."

"Yeah, I'm amazed no one was killed." Ei replied as he descended his Lancer. He took the paper from Mackall and read it over. "This means I have to call some cousins I've never spoken to before."

"Yeah, that's never fun. I've got a cousin, twice removed, that I don't talk to because of that." Mackall said with a grin.

"Being twice removed is enough of a reason to not talk to them?"

"Naw, it's cuz a' somethin' that happened when my mom died. Long story, won't bore you with the details." Sergeant Major replied. "Maybe some day I'll tell ya."

"I'll hold you to that." Ei said, walking away from his machine and out the hangar.

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Summary
-After Action Review of the collision.
-The Major is tasked with a press conference.
-Why is the whisky gone?
-Brigadier Rosoft attends a change of command ceremony.
-Major Watanabe watches Major Wylder's press conference and asks Captain Kusanagi to get any information of Jenks as he can.
-Major Wylder recovers a spare bottle.
-Lieutenant Crowley isn't happy to see the Major.
-MIB, mofos!
-Where will you be when diarrhea strikes?
-Jenks is an evil son of a bitch.
-Eikichi is granted pass to visit family, but not until after a Safety Stand Down.

[Arella]

Whisp And Devin Get To Class (Finally)

Timestamp: immediately after Whisp and Devin Go To School

Location: CMGY Academy

Authors: Arella, Oblivion, and Skorpy

Lucius stood in front of the class, with Whisp and Devin in front of him. '<Good morning, classroom-chan. We have new transfer students today! They're new to Tokyo as well as the Academy, so please help them settle in and feel welcome!>'

The students stood up, bowing politely first to Lucius, and then to the two newcomers.

Lucius grinned, before leaning down to talk quietly to Whisp and Devin. 'If ye two could introduce yeselves to the class? Names, where ye're from, an' yer hobbies?'

Devin glanced to Whisp before deciding that it would be easier for her if he went first. "<Greyson Devin, born in America, I build robots and various other machines.>" He stated after a brief hesitation.

The class nodded, chorusing 'Ohayo, Greyson-san!'

For a good two minutes, Whisp just stared out at the classroom of people, amethyst eyes wide with what might have been panic. What was she going to say? She didn't want to tell them all she was from Endgames, it was none of their business where she came from, but she was going to have to say something, and she didn't have the faintest idea what. As her hand rather unconciously found Devin's, however, the answer seemed suddenly obvious - she could just lie! Or be vague, maybe vague would be better.

"<I'm Whisp, and I come from all sorts of places,>" she finally said, with something that might have been confidence now that she was over her panic. "<I like horror movies, and RWBY, and playing video games.>"

The class, who had been holding their breaths for a suitably dramatic silence, relaxed and chorused 'Ohayo, Whispu-san!'

"Ohayo," the teen girl rather reflexively replied, before looking first to Devin and then to Lucius for some clue as to what she should be doing next.

'No last name, huh? You should probably adopt one, if only tae make my paperwork easier.' Lucius pointed to a pair of empty seats near the back of the class, next to the window. 'Take your seats, an' we can get on wi' the class.'

But Whisp didn't move - she was now looking at Devin, a question in her eyes. "What about Greyson, then?" she rather impulsively asked, not even realizing she was still holding his hand.

Devin's heart skipped a beat at the request for reasons he didn't understand. "G- Greyson will do." Devin consented before guiding her to the seats, gently grasping Whisp's hand. "Do you want to sit towards the front or back?"

"Back." Because that meant she could poke or throw things at him to get his attention.

"Alright... Um, you're going to have to let go." Devin said as he looked to the seat, then to Whisp.

Whisp, of course, looked mildly confused for a second, before looking down at their joined hands - at which point she blushed for some unknown (to her) reason, and promptly released his hand before claiming her own seat.

Lucius watched them, clearing his throat once they'd gotten settled, and starting to go through the register. A few minutes later, the bell rang just as he finished, and the students instantly jumped up to flock out the door to their next lesson. Kawasaki lingered, looking longingly at Devin's ears. "<You guys should follow along; first class is Science. And Jawoh-sensei is an awesome science teacher. AND she's not a mad scientist like Lucius-sensei says the previous teacher was. I asked her and everything!>" She grinned proudly.

Whisp had somehow ended up with Devin's hand again, now that they were standing, and rather obediently moved to follow Kawasaki. Were all classes that short? It didn't seem like you could learn very much, if they were, but maybe that was just how school worked?

"<I should hope she's not; she is my mother after all.>" Devin commented as he returned Whisp's grasp on his hand. "<Kawasaki-san, why do you keep staring at my ears?>"

Kawasaki blushed slightly. "<They look so soft and pettable, and Whisp-chan won't let me touch them.>"

After a short walk across campus, the students arrived at the science lab, now with most of the ceiling back to normal, rather than charred and stained. The class settled down into small groups at the desks, with Kawasaki and Yakashima near the back. Seeing everyone settling into groups, Whisp promptly attached herself to Devin even more firmly to ensure they didn't end up separated.

"<Hello class! For those of you who have yet to meet the new students I'd like for you to meet Greyson Devin and...>" Tiffaney pondered for a moment. "<Whisp-chan, what was your last name?>"

"Greyson," was Whisp's prompt reply; she sounded much happier, now that that had been settled.

Tiffaney looked at Whisp in confusion for a moment before continuing. "<And Greyson Whisp!>" She would ask on the drive back. "<Devin-kun, Whisp-chan, please take a seat by Kawasaki-chan and Yakashima-chan.>"

Devin nodded before leading Whisp to the table and taking a seat, leaving a space between him and Yakashima for Whisp, which she promptly filled, almost as if she was afraid someone might try to steal the spot from her.

"<Ok, class, today we'll be going over chemistry!>" Tiffaney announced, before diving straight into the lesson.

Devin, who was already familiar with the material, was already looking rather bored; Whisp, on the other hand, had never learned any science whatsoever, and as a result was looking more than a little bewildered. She also wasn't taking notes, as she hadn't yet realized that was a thing she was meant to be doing.

Kawasaki was almost as lost as Whisp; divided between listening, taking notes, and looking things up on her phone, and steadily getting more and more behind.

Yakashima looked over at Whisp while taking notes, and leaned over to whisper to her. "<Are you doing okay? You look lost.>"

The bewildered teen now turned confused eyes upon her neighbour, and whispered back, "<What is she talking about? And what's chemistry?>"

Yakashima sighed softly. "<You don't know anything about science? Oh dear.>"

"Chemisty is basically the science equivalent of potion making; here, I'll show you." Devin opened Whisp's notebook and wrote down easy to understand notes, while answering any questions Whisp asked, as well as underlining probable test material.

Yakashima nodded in satisfaction, turning back to her own notes; Much as Whisp needed help, she still needed to get her own notes in order, or her grades would drop. And Kawasaki might fail the class without her help; the poor girl was getting somewhat panicky over getting behind. Yakashima leaned over to her, rolling her eyes in mild frustration. "<Kawa-chan, focus on learning what you can now. You can copy my notes later, okay?>"

Kawasaki nodded. "<Thankyouthankyouthankyou~>"

Hearing Kawasaki's thank yous, Whisp finally remembered to voice her own. "Thank you," she whispered to Dev, still feeling a bit bewildered by all this science and school stuff, but also feeling much better knowing that he understood it and was helping her.

Devin nodded to Whisp; he had already managed to write down most of what she would need to know to get nothing less than an A on any test covering the subject matter in simple, easy to understand instructions, while explaining what Tiffaney was going over currently.

Lunch, when it finally came, proved a huge relief to Whisp - finally, she could have a break from all this school stuff! She was also rather ridiculously hungry, and craving chocolate chip pancakes for some unknown reason. Perhaps some had been included in the lunch Devin's mom had packed her? She certainly hoped so!

Yakashima led the group off towards the cafeteria, with Kawasaki chattering away about what she was planning to eat. Which, judging by the amount of chatter, was going to be half the cafeteria. As they arrived, Kawasaki shot to join the line for food, while Yakashima picked out a table near the wall, with a good view of the rest of the room. "<Whisp-san, Devin-san, do you have lunches packed, or do you want to join Kawasaki in the food line before she eats everything on offer?>"

"<Would they have chocolate chip pancakes?>" Whisp rather impulsively asked; she might have become a little fixated on the desired food item for the moment.

"<I don't need to eat.>" Said Devin, who was already busy ordering parts to continue construction on the several projects he had backed up.

Yakashima sighed. "<No, you do need to eat. You're as bad as my brother, and he forgets to sleep for days on end and passes out in class.>" She pulled her lunchbox from her bag, opening it and offering a piece of sushi to Devin, delicately balanced on chopsticks. "<Here. Eat.>"

Meanwhile, Kawasaki returned, bearing a tray in each hand with a third balanced between them, miraculously un-dropped despite being laden with plates and bowls. She settled down, taking up half the table as she arranged her lunch. "<Anyone want a pancake? I found chocolate chip ones!>"

Whisp was on her feet so suddenly, she couldn't even remember how she got there. "<Where?>" she demanded, eyes already scanning for the source.

Kawasaki pointed to the line with her chopsticks. "<Queue there, wait until you get to the hatch, then get what you want. Simples!>"

Apparently having missed all but where the pancakes were, Whisp actually seemed to disappear for a moment... before suddenly reappearing back at the table next to Devin, with a plate piled high with chocolate chip pancakes which had been smothered in maple syrup, looking utterly delighted to have found the desired food item.

Devin, meanwhile, stared at the proferred sushi with a confused expression; he looked to Whisp for help, but she was too enthralled by pancakes to respond. "I- I have my own lunch." He muttered quietly, folding back his ears as he did.

Yakashima gave Devin a Look, waggling the sushi at him. "<Then if you have your own lunch, eat it! Don't just sit around playing on your phone, or you won't have any energy for gym classes later! We can't have you...>" She trailed off as she spotted Kawasaki eyeing the piece of sushi hungrily. "<And you have your own lunch right there.>"

Devin shrunk in his seat as he was being yelled at, unintentionally making the expression of a sad kitten. "Sorry." He said in a barely audible tone, as he pocketed the phone and pulled out his boxed lunch, even as Whisp almost unsconsciously seemed to slide her own plate of pancakes a bit closer to him, as if to share.

Yakashima nodded in satisfaction, bringing the piece of sushi back to eat it, only to find her chopsticks empty. She sighed softly, and set about eating her own lunch, slowly and delicately.

This was, of course, in contrast to Kawasaki putting away her food like it was going out of style, soon amassing a stack of plates and bowls.

Devin opened his lunch box to reveal three chicken salad sandwiches, a cookie, and a mixed berry juice of sorts; it was then that he noticed the rather large stack of pancakes. "Ummm, Whisp... Did you steal those?" He whispered to her ear.

Whisp, of course, just blinked at him; while she had done a rather exceptional amount of stealing after running away from the Instigators, she wasn't actually aware of exactly what stealing was, or that it was bad, and therefore didn't really understand the question.

"You're supposed to offer money as recompense for the food over in the line I believe." Devin said, clearly understanding her 'I clearly don't understand' look.

"...Why?" was her rather inevitable response.

"So they can use the money to buy more food." Devin answered logically. "For example, everything Kawasaki just ate probably earned them a fortune."

Whisp thought about this for a moment, before seeming to conclude that that made sense - which just served to present a new problem. "I don't have any money," the teen pointed out.

Devin reached into one of his pockets and pulled out several credit cards that he had made. He shuffled through them and ultimately selected one from the group, and handed it to Whisp. "This substitutes for cash. I'll show you how to use it later."

Whisp nodded her acceptance of this, a mouthful of chocolate chip pancakes preventing her from otherwise answering. Did this mean she would have to start paying for things, like... all the time now? Because that seemed like an awful lot of work, and she sort of enjoyed the sneaking at times... especially when it meant sneaking into places, like concert halls.

Yakashima sighed. "<You mean, you don't know you have to pay for things? It's official, you're worse than Kawa-chan.>" She gestured to the empty seat recently vacated by Kawasaki, who had gone back for seconds, despite the slightly goopy nature of the food.

The criticized teen responded to this in the only way she could think of, and stuck her tongue out at Yakashima before returning to her pancakes, grumbling something about evil cults not teaching some things.

"I'll go pay for it." Devin said as he stood up and counted the pancakes, before walking to the line, while trying to decide which card to use.

On his way, Kawasaki walked straight into him, trays, plates, and bowls flying into the air. Most of them landed magically back on the trays (helped by a few spells from Yakashima), but one bowl of chocolate pudding landed square atop Devin's head. "<Ah... Whoops?> Gomenasai?"

Devin blinked at Kawasaki a couple times before removing his phones and tablet from his person to place them on a nearby table. He then lifted the bowl from his head, which released the remainder of its contents on him. "Brilliant... <It's fine. I'll just see to getting a uniform or something to wear. Are you okay?>"

Kawasaki paused her efforts at apologising profusely and salvaging the remaining dishes. "<I'm fine, I'm used to it by now anyway. Oh, you have something on your cheek!>" She reached out, swiping a finger through the chocolate sauce dripping off Devin before licking it clean.

And then Whisp was suddenly there, looking torn between staring at Dev in shock over what had happened, and glaring at Kawasaki (and possibly dumping some food on her head, it was certainly what Yang would have done). Poor Devin looked a mess - a very sticky mess. "Well... I can get you clean," she finally said. "But it's basically gonna involve dumping water on you, then using wind to dry you off."

Kawasaki eep-ed at the mention of water, and quickly scampered back to the table with her salvaged seconds.

Devin sighed; he looked like a fool anyway, so he might as well concede. "So be it." He muttered in defeat.

A moment later, and he was being doused in a sheet of water from above, soaking him all the way through, but also removing all traces of the chocolate. This was then followed by a quick flick of Whisp's hand, at which point the water was replaced with a gale of wind nearly powerful enough to knock a person off their feet (but not quite - she was being careful). Of course, it was more than powerful enough to send any unguarded lunches flying, but Whisp was too focused on getting Dev dry to notice. What she lacked in finesse, she more than made up for with raw power.

The wind was, naturally, met with an angry clamour as skirts were flipped, lunches sent flying, and hairstyles messed up and scattered with food.

Devin's misery in his current situation was evident from the moment the bowl had landed on his head, and as events unfolded it only proceeded to get worse, for now he would need to locate his devices as well. "Thank you." He said in a monotone voice as he refused to turn around due to fear of a 'hentai baka' moment.

It took the grinning Whisp a few moments to remember how she was meant to respond to that. "You're welcome," she finally told him, still too focused on Devin to realize what chaos her solution had reaped.

The room suddenly fell silent as Lucius walked in to investigate the noise. He stepped up behind Whisp, glaring at the back of her head, ears flattened back. 'What.'

Suddenly getting the brand new feeling of being in very big trouble, Whisp seemed to shrink into herself a bit even as she turned to face the headmaster, wondering what she'd done (she still hadn't actually noticed the mess she'd made, after all). "What what?" she asked, not sounding quite so confident as she might have liked.

Lucius sighed, and reached out to take her by the shoulders, turning her around gently to face the damage she'd done to lunchtime. Kawasaki was a little windblown nearby, chattering up a storm about various things around and between mouthfuls of cafeteria 'food'. Behind them, there was food scattered everywhere. One of the few boys was sprawled on the floor, being kicked repeatedly by a pair of magical girls shouting about how perverted he was. Tables were upturned, uniforms splattered with the glop commonly known as dessert, walls, floor, and ceiling splattered, and general chaos. 'Bad Mihoist. Nae magic in school, wi'out proper permission, y'ken?'

"She was only trying to get that pudding that wound up on my head after a collision with Kawasaki." Devin attempted to explain, hoping to prevent Whisp from getting into too much trouble.

The appreciative and more than a little nervous teen promptly moved closer to Devin, her hand once more finding his; she seemed to be trying to shrink into herself to the point of disappearing, but of course it wasn't working - the ground never opens up and swallows you when you want it to, after all.

'Ye caused even MORE mess with yer spells, lass. Plus...' Lucius reached out, swiping chocolate sauce from Whisp's hair. 'Ye missed the splash damage.' He wiped the finger off on Whisp's cheek, before wagging it at her. 'Ye've been warned. Donnae be doin' tha' again, lass. It's yer first day, so I'll give ye a by, but it's still a warning.'

Whisp nodded in understanding, now staring down at the floor as she gave up on shrinking in on herself and appeared to try to shrink into Dev instead.

Lucius patted her on the head gently, before turning to glare at Kawasaki. 'An' I've told ye tae watch where ye're going, lass.'

Kawasaki nodded sheepishly, murmuring an apology around a mouthful of pudding.

Lucius sighed, facepalming gently before walking off to help with the cleanup.

And then Whisp was suddenly gone, having rushed off to hide in the nearest bathroom (and to wash off the chocolate, but mostly to hide).

Kawasaki blinked in surprise. "Mmmprphl? Mmph!"

Yakashima looked around, frowning. "<Don't talk with your mouth full. I know where she's probably gone, though. Stay put, I'll go find her.>" She got up from her seat carefully, stepping away from the table before pausing and turning back to point at Kawasaki. "<Stay! Sit. Good Kawa-chan.>"

Kawasaki nodded, turning her attention back to shoveling food into her mouth.

Yakashima headed off to follow Whisp, sparing a glance to Devin as she passed. "<Since this is your fault, you'd better come along to back me up.>"

Devin, who was still surprised by Whisp's disappearance, nodded and followed after her. "Is this my fault? I hope she's okay..." He though to himself as they walked, his ears folded back as he watched the ground. He didn't know why he felt so bad, but he did.

Yakashima led the way to the ladies' room, stopping just short of the door to point at Devin. "Stay. No boys!" She ordered, before turning and pushing through the door to scan for Whisp.

Devin looked to Yakashima for a moment, then nodded and waited by the entrance, returning his view to the floor.

Yakashima's quick scan, of course, didn't reveal anything - perhaps she had been wrong about Whisp taking refuge in the ladies' room? A second scan, however, revealed that one of the stall doors had been closed and locked, in spite of no feet being visible on the floor.

Whisp was sitting on the back of the toilet, with her booted feet propped up on the seat, feeling quite upset and not entirely sure why (which, in turn, made her more upset).

Yakashima sighed softly, moving over to the door of the suspicious stall. "<Whisp-san, are you okay?>"

"<Go away,>" the upset teen replied.

"<No. You're upset, and we need to talk through it. Not only does the magical girl code demand it, but we have class after lunch, and you need to get your attendance up to a good standard before skipping classes.>" Yakashima leaned on the partition between the stalls. "<So, let's try this again. Are you okay, Whisp-san?>"

Whisp was silent for a moment, struggling with all those confusing emotions she wasn't used to (many of which she didn't even know the names for, and likely had something to do with all those confusing teenage hormones she found equally mystifying). "<I don't wanna talk about it,>" she finally replied, more than a little stubbornly, her voice thick with emotion (though she was trying to hide it).

"<I figured that. But this isn't about what you want. This is about you needing to unburden yourself, before I have to suffer the indignity of breaking in there and hugging you. Or blasting you with magic until you start to admit you're an emotional person after all. The Code isn't too clear on that, but magic and bathrooms don't mix well.>" Yakashima sighed. "<So, stop being evasive and tell me.>"

"<No,>" was Whisp's rather sulky reply - which was actually intended as an answer to Yakashima's earlier question, provided without realizing it could also be taken as a continued refusal to talk.

"<Was that a 'no, I'm not okay', or a 'no, I'm continuing to be evasive whether you like it or not'?>" Yakashima glared at her foot as it tried to tap impatiently.

There was another brief silence, before Whisp finally decided on a preferred answer (so long as she was being given an option). "<Both.>"

It was progress, at least. "<Why aren't you okay? Is it because you messed up? Because Lucius-sensei scolded you? Because Kawasaki finds Devin-san cute? As if it's the latter, she only wants him for his ears. She loves cats. Boys, not so much.>" Yakashima sighed again, checking the time on her phone; this was like pulling teeth.

"<...I don't know,>" the poor girl was forced to admit, though at the mention of Kawasaki finding Devin cute, she rather found herself wanting to break something. Or possibly blow something up.

Helpful, but the emotional waves were at least readable. "<Okay, I'll tell her to back off. Maybe get her a kitten or a date or something. Otherwise, you DID make quite the mess. You're not in any trouble, though. Nothing really broken; the plates have been plastic since the food fight frisbee incident anyway. And they'll probably serve the spilled food like usual next week anyway, so you'll be fine.>"

"<I didn't mean to,>" the teen said, very quietly. Whisp was blushing, though she wasn't aware of it. That had been so embarrassing, and everyone had been staring at her, and she really hadn't meant to make a mess, she was just trying to help Dev, and she'd never been scolded before, and she just never wanted to see any of those people ever again.

Yakashima rolled her eyes. "<Too bad. You're going to school, you're stuck with them. They'll forget about it when the next bit of gossip happens. Memories are short. And of course you didn't MEAN to. You were just trying to help, and don't know how to dial down the power level of your spells yet. Well, next class is Magical Studies, so maybe you can ask Jawoh-sensei to help you work on control?>" This girl REALLY needed to get used to people. Was she raised by wolves or something?

Whisp didn't respond this time - she was too busy trying to disappear through the wall behind her, or at least curl in on herself until she managed to disappear that way. She didn't like that Yakashima, who was practically a stranger, could have picked up on all of that - she might not always understand her emotions, but they were still hers, and she shouldn't have to share them unless she wanted to.

Devin, meanwhile, was curled up on the floor against the wall by the door, internally debating what he should do; he didn't have time to find his phones, and therefore couldn't Google what to do. Waiting couldn't be the right thing though. He thought for a moment longer before standing up and looking to the door; he didn't know why Yakashima didn't want him to go into that room, but surely apologizing to Whisp would make it okay - it was his fault she was hiding, or at least that was what Yakashima had told him. He slowly opened the door and walked inside to see Yakashima leaning against the stall walls. "<Is-is she in here?>" He asked from just inside the door, with his ears folded back.

Yakashima looked up in surprise, eyes wide. "<Y-You can't come in here! This is the girls' bathroom!>"

"<But, you said this was my fault. Shouldn't I be the one to fix it?>" Devin asked as he cautiously approached Yakashima. "<So, is she in here?>"

"<Y-yes, but you still can't be in here! Help me get her out of there, then you can help fix her, okay?>" Yakashima frowned; it just wasn't DONE for a boy to be in here, but she wasn't having much luck with Whisp-san herself.

As Devin approached, a girl wandered in, set eyes on him, screamed, and ran out again. Yakashima sighed, pressing a palm to her forehead. "<Quickly, please?>"

Devin nodded before moving in front of the stall. "Ummm... Whisp, I'm sorry I got you in trouble... Could you come out please?" He asked while placing a hand on the stall door, with a concerned expression upon his face and his ears still folded back.

A pair of black and red boots appeared on the floor as Whisp relinquished her perch. A moment later, the stall door opened a crack - just enough to reveal a single amethyst eye and sliver of her face. "It wasn't your fault," she said, very softly.

Devin offered his hand to the open slot of the door. "Even if it's not, I let you get upset." For some reason seeing Whisp sad made his chest hurt.

"Still not your fault," the teen girl mumbled, just loudly enough for him to hear. She shifted a little, as if thinking about opening the door the rest of the way.

Yakashima rolled her eyes impatiently; just kiss already!

Devin looked Whisp in the eyes with genuine concern. "Please, take my hand. I don't want you to be sad." He said in a caring and gentle tone that not even he knew he was capable of using.

The stall door finally opened, but instead of taking Devin's hand, Whisp (very impulsively) claimed a hug instead, wrapping her arms around him and hiding her face in his chest.

At first Devin was startled, but after a moment he wrapped his arms around her, gently stroking her hair. "Do you feel better?" He asked after a couple minutes.

Whisp nodded, though she rather notably did not release her hold on him.

Yakashima watched them. Cute, but there was still a boy in the girls' bathroom. And that couldn't stand. After letting them stay together for a short while, she pushed them gently in the direction of the door. "<Okay, she's out now. You can make out in the corridor if you want, but we can't have boys in the girls' bathroom!>" She gave them another gentle push for emphasis.

"<I don't have my phones, so you're gonna have to tell me. What's 'making out'?>" Devin asked as he guided Whisp to the exit.

Yakashima sighed exasperatedly. "<Look it up when you get home. I'm sure Kawa-chan would love to show you, but that would make Whisp-san mad again.>"

Devin looked to Yakashima with evident confusion. "<Okay?>" It wasn't long before the trio was once more in the hallway.

Outside, Kawasaki had resorted to an MP3 player waiting for them, and was swaying in place, lip-syncing along with the muffled rap music coming from her headphones. On seeing Yakashima, she looked up and tugged her earbuds out. "<Whassup, Y-chan? How's it hangin'?>" She paused, looking to Whisp and Devin. "<Whisp-san, you're back! How's it hangin' wid you, biznatch?>"

"<No.>" Was Devin's only reply.

Whisp, who was now back to holding Devin's hand, just stared at the other girl in utter confusion; she honestly had no idea what she'd just said.

Kawasaki, oblivious to the awkward silence, put up her hand for a high five. "<C'mon, put 'er there!>"

"Ummm." Devin hesitantly raised his hand for a high five (half expecting to explode on contact), while Whisp continued to look confused (having no idea what a high five was).

Kawasaki high-fived Devin enthusiastically, before offering the hand to Whisp. "<C'mon, bro, don't leave me hangin'!>"

Looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car (as well as utterly confused), Whisp finally raised her free hand as Devin had done.

Kawasaki high-fived her as enthusiastically as she had Devin, before offering the hand to Yakashima.

Yakashima glared, before high-fiving Kawasaki. "<Fine, you got your high-five. Can we go now? Class is about to...>"

She was cut off by the bell ringing loudly.

"That's... Not good. Is it?" Devin asked as he looked to a speaker which had produced the sound.

"<That means it's time for class.>" Yakashima explained. "<The bells say when we move, basically.>"

Kawasaki nodded, hopping from foot to foot as she wound her headphones back up and pocketed them. "<Magic next!>"

"<Magic?>" Whisp repeated, brightening up instantly - finally, something she was good at!

"<Magic...>" Repeated Devin - great, something he was bad at.

"<Magic~>" Cried Kawasaki, never one to miss out on a meme.

"<Magic!>" Said Yakashima, making a shooing motion, indicating that they should really get to class already.

Whisp, still holding Dev's hand, promptly began to half lead, half drag him down the hall in her excitement to get to the class she would be good at - only to stop a few doors down, upon realizing she had no idea where she was going.

Yakashima sighed, shaking her head sadly as she started to lead the way, in the opposite direction from Whisp's foray. "<This way.>"

Poor Devin ended up being more dragged than led this time, as Whisp hastened to make up for her mistake and get to class.

Devin offered small resistance as Whisp dragged him to class. "Why magic. I could build a machine that could do the same thing at half the effort." He complained within his mind.

---

Yakashima opened the door, stepping slightly inside before bowing to the teacher. "Gomanasai, Jawoh-sensei! <I apologise deeply for daring to be late to your generously-offered class!>"

"<Ahhh, the volunteers are here.>" Tiffaney announced as she took one of four bottles that she had prepared for them. "<Okay class, I will be demonstrating Glamours. These are a type of illusion magick that would typically increase one's appeal, though we'll be using them for shape-shifting to a degree. Don't worry about messing up, I've created roughly fourty nullifiers for said effects, so if you don't want to have the effect you choose for class, please see me.>" She said as an introduction to the lesson. "<Now then, if the four of you would line up in front of the board.>" She said with a smile to the group in the doorway.

And then Whisp was promptly stepping up, having determined that she didn't appear to be in trouble, with a heretofore unseen confidence that came from knowing this class was about magic, which she could totally do. That Devin got dragged along with her, of course, hardly need be said.

Yakashima paled, stepping up to the board, feet feeling as heavy as lead.

Kawasaki simply danced up to the board enthusiastically, standing next to Whisp.

Devin stood at the opposing side of Whisp, already wanting the class to be over.

After a couple moments of Tiffaney examining the group she came to the purrrfect conclusion. "Girls, if you could come over here." Tiffaney said with a little too much happiness.

Whisp lead the way, of course, with an attitude that seemed to say bring it on - because this was magic, and she could totally handle it.

Kawasaki stepped up eagerly, head held high. Yakashima, on the other hand, was somewhat more apprehensive. "<Is that safe? Lucius-sensei warned us about drinking strange things, after all...>"

"<Drink?>" Tiffaney asked as she handed the bottle she was currently holding (which was now slightly glowing) to Whisp; handing two of the others to Yakashima and Kawasaki, waiting a moment for the bottles to glow before releasing them. "<If you would kindly open those bottles.>"

"<Don't worry, Yakashima - it's magic! What's done can always be undone,>" Whisp assured, before ammending, "<Well, usually. Wellll, sometimes. But this wouldn't be permanent unless she majorly screwed up mixing the potions, so we'll be fine.>" The teen then promptly uncorked her own bottle, immediately becoming enshrouded in a purple fog.

Kawasaki enthusiastically uncorked the bottle, surrounding herself in purple fog.

Yakashima was less than enthusiastic, carefully uncapping it before the fog surrounded her. "<Lucius-sensei's never been able to undo HIS...>"

A faint giggle suddenly escaped Whisp, no doubt startling a great many people, as she suddenly discovered that she now possessed kitty ears and a tail - just like Dev! Though hers were a purple-black, to match her hair, of course.

The smoke cleared around Kawasaki, who swished her tail with glee. "<I'm a kitty!>"

Yakashima's smoke cleared, and she reached up to feel her newfound ears. "<This... This is EXACTLY what Lucius-sensei warned us about!>"

"<Oh, calm down, it's just a glamour,>" Whisp told her, before the teacher could say anything.

"<I've been brewing potions for over twenty years, and glamours are amateur level brews.>" Tiffaney reached into a crate and handed a bottle to Yakashima. "<If you don't feel comfortable, here's a nullifier.>"

Devin looked to the three with an obviously startled expression. "I could make a machine for that." He thought to himself.

Yakashima eyed the bottle. "<I'm more concerned by the lack of ethics involved, frankly. You can't just alter people without telling them. This isn't Hogwarts!>"

Kawasaki stepped closer to Yakashima, reaching over to pet her friend's kitty ears. "<Shhh. Stop protesting and enjoy being fluffy for a while.>"

"<Is there a potions lab here?>" an excited Whisp was suddenly asking Tiffaney, tail swaying back and forth in her excitement. "<Do we get to brew potions? Is that a class?>" Because she would be awesome at that class!

"<This class will cover potions and spells.>" Tiffaney assured as she took the final bottle to Devin, choosing to ignore her ethics being called into question; she was a Lagoist after all. "Here you go." She said as she handed the glowing bottle to Devin.

"No-no thank you." Devin tried, with his ears folded back, though Tiffaney's smile had him comply. He opened the bottle and after five seconds of being enshrouded in a purple fog, it cleared to reveal him with the black portions of his hair replaced with a bright blue, and the white portions replaced with pink.

This, of course, caused Whisp to giggle again.

Yakashima and Kawasaki looked at Devin, then at each other, then back at Devin, before collapsing into fits of giggles, accompanied by the rest of the class.

"What?" Devin asked as Tiffaney pulled out a mirror for him to see. He examined himself for several long seconds. "Why did you make me blue and pink?!"

"Because you were late." Tiffaney said between giggle fits as she walked back to her chair and took a seat. "<Okay class, now I'm going to teach you how to make your own. Please bring them to me before use, and you four can take your seats now.>"

"<Where are the ingredients?>" Whisp wanted to know instead of taking her seat, already looking about the room for them. She wanted to get started - she totally already knew this one!

"<The ingredients are at your tables.>" Tiffaney said as she pointed to an assortment of herbs and other such things at a table with four vacant seats. "<The rest of the class has already formed teams, so the four of you will be working together.>"

Reclaiming Devin's hand, Whisp practically raced over to the table, where she promptly began measuring the ingredients, working entirely from memory.

Kawasaki and Yakashima followed, Yakashima batting Kawasaki's hand from her ears on the way. "<Stop that!>"

By the end of the class, every student leaving the room possessed kitty ears and a tail - as did their teacher, Tiffaney. Whisp's group also now happened to have dark red hair, like Ruby's in RWBY.

---

Lucius cocked an eyebrow and ear as he approached Tiff, on her way out of the staff room. 'Tiff, wha'd ye do tae yer magical studies class? Kitty ears everywhere, and nae sign of consent forms.'

"I told you I was working with glamours today, and most of them chose to be a nekomimi for the day." Tiffaney said in a friendly tone with a sway of her tail.

Lucius sighed. 'An' the parental consent forms? Did ye even tell them afore ye changed them?'

"Why would I ask permission for an illusion potion?" Tiffaney asked with a rather confused expression. "I figured something like that would be for legitimate transformations."

Lucius sighed. 'If it looks real an' feels real, people will take it as such. Includin' the PTA.'

"Well, it would hardly be a proper illusion if it didn't appear real." Objected Tiffaney as she placed her hands on her hips and perked her ears.

Lucius' eyes rolled in protest. 'Ye cannae jus' go changing the students wi'out permission! Or anyone, fer that matter. Illusion or nae, it's unethical.' He sighed. 'Typical Largoist, ye are.'

"It'll wear off by midnight, but if you want, I could recall the students and pass out nullifiers." Tiffaney offered.

Lucius nodded. 'That'd be good. An' hand out a note tae parents if they choose not tae revert. Jus' remember tae ASK next time, an' give warning.'

"Yes sir." Tiffaney said in a defeated tone as she sulked down the hallway towards her classroom, her ears folded back.

Lucius nodded, and turned to head back to his office, tail twitching in irritation.

Summary:
Whisp and Devin FINALLY get to class.
Homeroom, with Lucius-sensei. (Who still speaks japanese like a schoolgirl.) Good morning, classroom-chan~)
Introductions! (Ohayo, Devin-san! Ohayo, Whisp-san!)
Whisp forgot to have a last name, so she borrows Devin's.
They take seats, by the window. So Whisp can smack Devin upside the head should she want his attention.
First class: SCIENCE! Taught by Jawoh-sensei.
Whisp has no idea of science at all, and is lost.
Devin knows everything already.
Kawasaki's a little slow at science as well, but she's trying to keep up!
Yakashima lets Kawasaki copy her notes so she can at least learn.

Lunchtime.
Kawasaki is excited! Lunchtime means FOOD!
And she's instantly off to the line.
Yakashima tries to feed Devin when he doesn't pull out lunch quick enough.
Kawasaki returns with a pile of food, and directs Whisp to the chocolate chip pancakes.
Whoosh! Whisp is back with said pancakes.
NOM NOM NOM. Kawasaki is not a delicate eater. Turns out, all that genki? It runs off sugar.
Whisp has no concept of paying for things. So Devin gives her a credit card.
Let's hope she's more responsible with it than Lucius was with his collection of them.
Kawasaki goes for moar food.
On returning, she walks smack into Devin going to pay for Whisp's pancakes.
And chocolate pudding lands on him. Mm, chocolate. Devin-san is tasty!
Whisp is Angry.
And proceeds to soak Devin with a small rainstorm. Then dry him with a windstorm.
CHAOS ENSUES. She's not very restrained with her magic.
Lucius-sensei arrives to lay down the law; 'Bad Mihoist. Nae magic in school, wi'out proper permission, y'ken?' Whatever that means.
Whisp is also covered in sauce.
She flees for the bathrooms, Yakashima gives chase, Devin in tow. Kawasaki is told to Sit and Stay.

Yakashima proceeds to try and talk Whisp out of the stall she's hiding in.
Whisp doesn't like magical girl emotional hacking. Or Kawasaki's obsession with Devin's ears.
Kawasaki really needs a kitten or a date or something.
Devin wanders in to help. OH NOES! A boy! In the girls' bathroom!
He has more success, despite someone discovering them and running away screaming.
HUG.
Finally.
So Yakashima shoos them out the girls' bathroom.
Into Kawasaki, who is talking in rap, and goes for high-fives all around.
'<Whisp-san! How's it hangin', biznatch? Don't leave me hangin', bro!>'
TIME FOR CLASS
No, not that way...

MAGICAL STUDIES with Jawoh-sensei!
Oh noes, they're late!
And summarily used as test subjects.
(Was Tiff working for Aperture Science before, or something? Or is Skorp's lack of ethics rubbing off?)
The girls are turned catgirl.
Soon, so is everyone in the class!
And courtesy of Whisp's magical prowess and skill with potions, her group gets dye-jobs as well.
Well, obviously, Devin's not a catgirl. Amusing as that would be.
Turns out, piratepad will only allow 100 saves.

Lucius-sensei snags Jawoh-sensei for a discussion of ethics.
'Ye cannae go changin' people wi'out permission, warning, an' parental consent forms! The PTA'll go nuts! Typical Largoist, y'are.'
Tiffaney doesn't like being made to be ethical, but recalls the class to be issued with antidotes.

Airmail!
Authors: Skorpy, DarkTan
Characters: Skorpion, Darktan, Katrina, Lucius
Timestamp: After 'Crossbowgram!'
Location: ORAZ Cathedral.

The Su-25 pulled up from it's attack run, fire, smoke and debris rising behind it as smoke trailed from the rocket pods and cannons mounted to it's wings. As it rose, it took aim on the cathedral in the distance, which was rapidly becoming a cathedral in the foreground.

A short while later, it rose up and dived again, loosing a single bomb into the road next to it, before pulling up and away again, and back to circling the city.

The bomb smacked hard into the road, punching deep into the surface and sticking there, half-buried. It settled, pinging as it cooled.

DarkTan wiped the dust from his face and flicked the debris from his shoulders as he looked at the (apparently) inert 500lb bomb not twenty feet away from him. He scowled at the device, attempted to straigthen his hair, and then walked over to it and took a closer look.

As he approached, the bomb gave an electronic bleep. A door in the casing popped off with a hiss, and dry ice smoke poured from the opening to creep along the floor. The dark chef quirked and eye brow and frowned; he had been hoping Korea had mis-fired one and he could restock his Hellfire Chilli ingredents.

Inside the bomb was a blister pack containing a scroll wrapped around a spindle in the center, as well as the remains of the rapidly-sublimating dry ice, and a large lump of plastic explosive.

DarkTan "Hrm'd" to himself as he reached in through the fog and picked up the scoll and un-rolled it to see what is said.

"Dear Darktan. I hope this letter finds you well, and didn't land on your building. I'm planning to raid SHIELD, and I want you to come along and help. Possibly Lola as well. Come see me. I'll pay you in store credit. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds, and the capsule in 20. Run. Yours, Skorpion." The bomb bleeped again, a red light switching on inside the case, as the paper started to heat up.

DarkTan nodded to himself before tossing the scroll behind him and reaching into the casing to yank out the block of C4. No point in wasting good ingredients.

The scroll immolated itself in fairly short order, melting a hole through the road surface as it did so. The detonator inside the casing exploded with a sharp 'pop' and a wisp of smoke, leaving the explosive in Darktan's hand unharmed.

---

Outside the back door of the CATastrophe Club, a pair of dancers perched on a bench, sipping from bottles of water and gossiping as they watched the neon lights play on the smoke that still lingered from where the road had been patched earlier. One (A tall, slender lop-eared bunnygirl) looked up as a figure entered their alleyway. "<Oh gods, another creepy stalker.>"

Her companion, a short, flat-chested catgirl with an exceedingly fluffy tail replied. "<That's not a creeper. Don't you know who that is?>"

"<Well, obviously not...>"

"<Smartass. That's Skorpion. Y'know, the Largoist guy?>"

"<Big guy, guns, coat, seems about right. The hell's he doing here?>"

"<Shutupshutup he's coming over>"

"We're on break. You want anything, go inside!"

"<I can't believe you said that...>"

Skorpion sighed, rolling his eyes. "<All I ask is a favour.>"

The dancers looked at each other, and broke into giggles.

"<Not one of THOSE favours.>" He held up a small container. "<I need you to get this onto the person of Lucius Ogilvy, one of the regulars here.>"

The catgirl cocked her head at him. "<Just tell him yourself?>"

Skorpion sighed. "<I need you to plant it on him, so his girlfriend will find it when he heads home. The message is for her, and it needs to be kept secret.>"

"<So, you're going with boyfriend-mail? Cute, but what do we get for it?>"

Skorpion grinned, and produced a handheld tazer. He flipped a switch, and a pair of metal prongs snapped out of it, electricity crackling between them and out a few inches.

The bunnygirl's eyes widened. "<You're going to torture us until we promise to do it? Lola won't like that...>"

Skorpion facepalmed. After a few seconds, he managed to force the hand away from his face again after realising he'd facepalmed with the hand holding the tazer. "Ow. <No, you get one of these each for doing that for me. Effective out to six inches, concealable, and carries 15 seconds of charge. One zap'll put a guy on his back pretty much instantly.>"

The girls looked at each other, then back to Skorpion. "<Deal>" they replied simultaneously.

---

Lucius stepped through the door of the apartment, leaving Nicole in the utility closet outside. As he shut the door, he swayed slightly before noticing Katrina lounging on the couch and waving. 'Hey, Kat. I'm back~'

Katrina craned her neck back and waved, while revealing that she was wearing little more than rope and a smile. "What took you?"

Lucius grinned widely. 'Bunnygirl an' a catgirl, I think.' He padded over to her, purring as he kissed her, his hand straying down to fondle her.

Katrina arched to his hands as she returned the kiss, "Oh really? And you didn't bring one home for me?" She pouted playfully.

Lucius chuckled, leaning down to kiss at her neck softly, his hands roaming. 'Aye, I wanted tae, but they were on the job. Complimentary playtime, or somethin'.'

"Mmmmaybe I should talk to Lola about getting some of that," the damphir grinned and squirmed under his attentions before doing some groping of her own as well. "Eh? What's this?" she asked, a touch puzzled as she pulled out a blue ribbon. "Well, I see they gave you first pri-" she was stopped short by the sound of papper hitting the floor. Katrina reached down and opened the note.

Lucius looked down, cocking his ears in curiosity. 'I donnae remember tha'...'

Katrina looked over the paper and arched an eyebrow, "Oh reeeealy?"

The letter was a small scroll much like what DarkTan had received, only much smaller. "Dear Katrina. I hope this letter finds you well, and didn't suffer too much damage from the method of delivery. I'm planning to raid SHIELD, and I want you and Lucius to come along and help. Come see me for further details. I'll pay you in store credit, and Lucius in extra repair budget. This message will self-destruct in 10 seconds. Don't set fire to your catboy; I need him not angry. Yours, Skorpion."

"Skorp's planning a raid on SHIELD," Katrina said as she crumpled the paper and tossed it in the fireplace. Shortly there was a nice, romantic fire. "Wants us to help."

Lucius grinned widely, his chuckle returning with a slightly malicious edge. 'Oh, does he now? Tempted as I am tae tell him tae pike off, SHIELD do owe me a wee fair bit. Maybe I can collect it, accountin' fer inflation an' interest.'

I'll let him know later," Katrina grinned back, "You should go as the stallion again." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Lucius chuckled. 'Neigh, lass. I want them tae know who's taking their stuff~'

---

Summary:
Largoist air support!
A bomb, for no reason.
Oh look, it's a message to DT.
Summoning him to help raid SHIELD. And maybe Lola.
Self-destructing again? Naw, that's perfectly good explosives.

---

Skorp lurks in an alleyway by the CATastrophe club.
Kinda freaking out a couple of dancers.
He pays them to molest Lucius.
And leave a message on him.
For Katrina.
Tied where she'll find it.
And find it she does!
Lucius and Kat are recruited for the raid, too.

Summary
-Shinyai's been truly evicted, due to the fights and damages
-Alexis checks on Victoria, she's half naked
-Bandit the Cat returns for a cameo
-Alexis wasn't ready, but then again who is
-Victoria wants better clothes, they decide to go find them
-Shinyai goes looking for something that'll hide her katana
-Shinyai runs into Alexis and Victoria
-FROZEN YOGHURT!
-I can fight happily now the pain is gone
-More shopping


Disclaimer: As ToP and PFKR are not active, no humanoids were pied in this post.


Title: Girls Just Gotta Kick Butt
Location: Tokyo Alley
Time: A few hours after Girls Gotta Look Good
Character(s): Victoria, Shinyai, Arella, and Alexis, NPCs
Author(s): Notsonoble, Oblivion, Lonestar, Arella

The four were walking down the sidewalk carrying bags and laughing at some joke, each had a bag or two or three in tow. In most towns, this'd just be some batch of normal girls finishing a night on the town. This wasn't however, and these weren't normal girls.

The first hint something was amiss was the street light blinking out. Most girls would stop and look up, or just totally ignore it. These four all noticed, but said nothing. There was a subtle change in everyone's stride, and each began scanning part of the area for threats without turning their heads away from the conversation.

The second hint came when they rounded the corner. The quartet followed the redhead with a bushy tail into a wide, darkened alley. "Damn," she said "wrong turn."

The four started to turn in unison, slipping their bags to be dropped easily. The turn wasn't wrong; the platinum white haired woman with catlike ears had pointed out a hiding thug before they'd made the turn.

"The worst wrong turn you'll ever make." Said the not really hidden thug as he stepped out. He was joined by four more blocking the alley exit, and the rustle of another batch emerging from behind air conditioners, piping, and trash cans.

Not much of one for pretending (and not being terribly good at it, either), Arella was the first to abandon the 'no really, I'm just a totally normal girl' act and roll her eyes in annoyance. "You have got to be fscking kidding me. Don't you guys ever take a night off?" she demanded. "And do you always have to use such cliched lines? I will seriously buy you a book on how to avoid them if you need it, just say the word."

"You have ten seconds to run. Largoists have a tendency to put stupid people in hospitals." Alexis informed with a grin as she placed her bags on the ground and prepped for a quick draw. "Starting now."

Shinyai turned to see the group forming behind them, they already had swords, and nunchaku in hand. The four behind the talker looked at each other, then unsheathed various weapons.

"I think we might have to do more than send them to the hospital." Victoria said turning around with Shinyai.

"It's a greater show of force to leave them alive." Alexis quickly commented.

"Also, no killing the idiots." Seriously, how many times was Arella going to end up telling people that?

"Kill the the freaks!" Yelled the man in front of Arella and Alexis, and the ten punks charged in better than average unison.

Shinyai flung the bags she was carrying for VIctoria forward, and reached under her jacket to grab her sword. The arm was better from the strange spray. She blocked the two swords sweeping down at her with the scabbard, then stepped to the side putting a wall behind her. She rolled the sword to deflect the two from her opponent and stabbed at the taller one twice, but was handily dodged.

Alexis ducked under a sword, losing a few strands of hair, before hopping back and drawing one of her glocks and a bayonet. She shot at one's knee, but he suddenly changed direction before she pulled the trigger, causing her to miss. She clipped in the bayonet before her attacker was directly in front of her again.

Victoria dodged the vertical nunchaku slice but was met by a slice of sword through one of her shopping bags. Dropping the bags she grabbed her dirks from the small of her back and lashed out at the one with the longsword leaving a long cut along his chest.

Arella, for her part, simply gave another roll of her eyes (she was fighting idiots like this almost every night, after all, it was nothing to get excited about - even if she didn't have her bow on her this time), dropped all but one of her own shopping bags, firmly secured the other in hand, and smoked the first moron to charge her in the face with it. As said bag happened to contain five books, one of which was a rather heavy hardcover, this lead to a rather gross crunching noise as it broke the moron's nose, and the ex-magical girl briefly lamented the blood that would be left on the outside of the bag (she would have to be careful not to let that bag come into contact with her clothes), before an unexpected sword swipe from her other side forced her to duck and throw up her shield. That the momentum of her bag of books combined with her rather last minute duck caused her to lose her footing on the way down should have been irrelevant, since she'd managed the rest so nicely (in her opinion, anyway).

The talkative one had taken the bag to the face, his broken nose and taste of blood only made him angry. He rolled sideways while drawing a pair of sai, and plowed both of them into the dark energy surrounding his target. His partner came down again with his sword in a downward thrust. The pair going after Alexis ducked and dodged, and one rolled around her, they worked well together to attack in ways she couldn't defend well. The two swordwielders after Shinyai thrust in at her with deadly coordination, both stabbing her flanks. The sword wielder and nunchaku slinger pressed Victoria away from the melee.

Shinyai grunted, then smacked both swords away from her they left nicks in her chest. She responded with a thrust to one with the scabbard. She pulled the katana out and slashed at the other, cutting him across one arm, and again along the leg on the comeback.

The sword wielder that was attacking Alexis swung at her, cutting her arm a bit, though she managed to redirect the second attacker with the bayonet of her pistol. She then drew her second glock as she stepped to where she was no longer flanked by her attackers then fired eight shots, four at each attacker, though she did hit the one that had hit her previously, albeit barely, the other seven missed entirely. Man, I hate fighting in close quarters. Seriously, this is John's thing. She couldn't help but think to herself.

Still angry about the potential loss of new clothes, Victoria continued to dance about the sword wielder, cutting quickly into his arms and sides. Twice he grazed her trying to keep up with her feet, cutting her arm and side of her calf, and she stabbed him in his left shoulder as retaliation.

Arella sighed, still laying on the ground with her shield around her. "Seriously?" she asked of her attackers, sounding more than a little annoyed; she couldn't really get up when they kept wailing on her shield like that, and dropping it would likely mean her death, so there really wasn't a whole lot she could do at the moment. At least so long as they were attacking her, they weren't going after her friends (they had enough trouble of their own).

The the sai wielder shouted "Net!", and continued to pound on the energy shield. The other pulled a net from a large pocket, he kept his sword in one hand and stepped behind the sai wielder and went for something on his back. The coordination of the two fighting Alexis was off after the graze on the swordwielder. They couldn't maneuver to flank her anymore, but continued strike at her with sword and metal bo-staff. Shinyai's opponents pushed in again, one got a graze across her shoulder. The two going after Victoria continued to push her away from everyone else, the nunchaku slinger running interference for his partner.

Shinyai deflected the other attacker's sword and discarded her scabbard for better control. She cut up at the one who had just struck true, and left a nasty gash across his face. Then she brought the sword swiping towards the other one. He completely unprepared, and took the stroke along his shoulder. The return slash up also connected just below the waist, gashing both legs.

The sword wielder slashed at Alexis, leaving a notable gash on her torso, while the other who was using a four foot metal pole hit her left leg hard enough for her to lose feeling in said leg for a moment. This time Alexis decided to focus her shots on the one with the sword, firing another eight shots, one hitting soundly in his torso, another to his leg, and the third into his upper arm, the rest barely missing. "Get the fuck back!" She yelled.

The nunchuck grunt finally found himself of use and landed a solid hit on Victroia's stomach, causing her to stumble back and into the wall. The sword thug took advantage of this and stabbed at her cutting deep into her side. Playtimes over Victoria thought as stabbed the sword thug in thigh and need him in groin. As he fell to the ground she pounced the nunchuck grunt leaving two vertical gashes in his chest.

Mister Sneaky McSneakerson (as Arella was now calling him in her head) was making her very nervous, sneaking around like that - not for herself, as the ex-magical girl had never been terribly good at worrying about herself, but for her friends. What on earth did he think he was doing? "Guys? Is everybody okay?" she called out, just to be sure.

"I haven't even started hard on these guys yet!" Shinyai shouted back without looking.

"I've had worse!" Alexis announced.

"One down, one bloody pulp to go!" Victoria yelled focusing on her last target.

Glad that everyone was still relatively okay, Arella was still nervous about Mister Sneaky back there, which meant it was time to get up. Watching her currently active attacker carefully, the ex-magical girl but not-ex-heroine waited for the perfect moment... and then abruptly let her shield drop, just in time for her to drop him with a leg sweep and give her just enough time to put a bit of distance between them.

The thug who was stabbing the shield fell to the floor, clearing the way for the other to sling the net he'd just loosed in Arella's direction. He then blindly threw the other one in the direction of Alexis, falling horribly short. Alexis's opponents feinted and ducked while moving towards Shinyai and her opponents. Shinyai's opponents continued to press their apparent advantage compared to their allies.

Shinyai was still trying to keep an eye on the group moving Victoria away, she got a distracted from defending herself, and both men got their swords past her Katana, one embedded the tip deep into her shoulder, and ripped it loose with her late attempt to dodge. The other nicked her leg. Right, worry about yourself then. She thought, and focused on what was in front of her. She sliced up the man who tore at her shoulder's chest. The the cut went from his pantsline to his shoulder, and he stumbled a little, she side stepped and jabbed him in the leg. Finally she spun away from him and lopped off his sword arm just above the elbow. He stumbled over and passed out from the pain. Shinyai noticed two more coming down the alley at them. "More down the way!"

The man with the sword swung at Alexis, but she ducked under it, when she stood again the one with the metal pole sung at her head though Alexis blocked the blow with her forearm. Alexis then fired another eight shots, six missed, but one hit the swordsman in the torso near where the first one hit, and he finally fell unconscious, while the other one hit the pole user the round tore through his flesh with an unnatural effectiveness, shattering his collarbone, the resulting shock causing him to causing fall unconscious and fall to the ground almost instantly. "Vick, regroup with me!" She yelled, the two new thugs gave her a bad feeling.

Victoria began trading blows with the grunt, getting into a pattern of dodge, duck, and slice occasionally throwing in a stab to keep it seeming random. He landed twice on her leaving a red welt on her face and a knot in her thigh. She caught a quick glance of two new thugs coming over with what looked like riot gear and returned to her ongoing fight.

A rather rude word, not fit for young ears (not that there were any nearby), escaped Arella as she suddenly found a net coming straight for her; with an instinct that could only come from years of work as a magical girl and super heroine, she instinctively leapt for the nearest fire escape, clinging to the metal rails as the dreaded net fell harmlessly to the ground beneath her. Jumping back down, Arella then grabbed the net herself, throwing it right back at the thug, even as she retrieved her bag-of-books-turned-weapon. The net caught the man in the face, and he stumbled backwards attempting to pull and cut at it. The tripped man clawed his way upright and began to press towards Arella again.

The two men charged towards Alexis and Shinyai. Victoria's quick reflexes allowed her to slice at the leg of the naginata wielder, opening his pants and drawing blood but not slowing him down. There was already blood on the Naginata, and both of their suits of riot gear had blood on them. As they passed Victoria, the Katana sized stab wounds in the back showed that these men had acquired the riot gear very recently. The naginata slashed at Alexis's leg, nicking it. The katana joined in on Shinyai, cutting at her newly healed arm and slicing at her wrist.

The other thugs used their charging bruisers' entry to regroup. The netted one calmed himself and cut out of the net. Shinyai's remaining opponent backed away from her to regroup with Victoria's remaining opponent, while Arella's Sai fighter circled to place himself between her and the other fights.

Shinyai used this chance to pressure the new comer. She reached inside herself and used her anger to push away the pain and grip her sword. Her new swings were quick, and powerful. The first cut knocked his katana high, and she slashed down back along his shoulder,his movements and muscle softening the blow. She cut back up to continue, but again only grazed his chin.

Alexis took a step back and unleashed seven rounds upon the naginata user; although five of the shots missed, the two that hit carried their impacts through the armor and slammed at his insides. He stumbled back, face widening with shock. "Take that, ya ditzy bastard!" Said an equally surprised Alexis.

Victoria charged at stumbling thug in riot gear ignoring the two grunts that tried to bar her path. She leapt forward landing on the thug's back sinking both dirks into his collarbone. She rode him as he fell to the ground and rolled as he made contact placing her between Alexis and the grunts.

"You went and took the broken nose personally, didn't you," Arella commented (rather snarkily), once again tightening her hold on the bag of books, ready to move - and just in time, too, because his reply largely consisted of him charging at her and trying to hit her with his sai. The ex-magical girl dodged, of course (his weapon of choice rather lacked in reach), and hit him with her bag again, this time near his knee, with a nice, satisfying thwack. Dodging another swipe of the sai, Arella was pleased to note that her current thug was now limping, even if she didn't manage to get another hit in this time.

The fall of the man with the naginata spooked those still standing. "Scatter," said the Katana wielder, and they retreated from their opponents in various levels of controlled withdraw. Alexis shot off her final round at one of them, but missed. Shinyai moved with the new swordsman, keeping close for several seconds before he broke into a run. Victoria gave a disappointed 'aww' as she threw both of her dirks at nunchaku grunt. Arella, for her part, gave her bag of books another swing just as her opponent began to turn to flee, clocking him in the head with it and thoroughly knocking him out.

"Everybody okay?" the (no, really) ex-magical girl immediately asked of her friends, grinning with the high of adrenaline.

"Mostly, but some of these guys are likely to get up. I don't want to be here when they do." Shinyai said between heaving breaths.

"We're taking Burly McDouche-bag to FGTL." Alexis decided, as she examined the unconscious body, her own wounds not bothering her all that much.

"I'll be better after a martini." Victoria chuckled, very much feeling her own wounds.

There was a rumble of engine and tires, and a Largoist SUV pulled up across the entrance to the alleyway. In typical Largoist style, it knocked the katana-wielding thug to the ground, before parking on him.The doors on the side of the vehicle slid open, and a few troopers disembarked, toting various rifles and pointing them around as they checked the alleyway for survivors. On the other side, shots rang out towards the remaining runners, two dropping to rifle fire before the heavy machinegun on the ring mount opened up on the final one, scattering the street with fire before dropping him with a meaty *thwack*.

The lead Largoist (The one with stripes on his shoulders and the most accessories on his rifle) eyed the girls and the display of bleeding and unconscious thugs before walking down the alleyway towards them, rifle lowered. "Well, well, ladies. Someone's been busy. Good thing we were here to save the day, huh?"

Behind him, the remaining Largoists investigated the bodies; two poking them with boots and rifles, giving the odd kick, as one set about looting them. "Man, someone's really been arming these guys. This thing's sharp!"

One of the thugs stirred and looked up at him as the trooper took his weapon. "<Hey, that's mine, you round-eyed, freak-loving terrorist!>"

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" The looting trooper sneered back, before one of the others kicked him viciously in the head, knocking him back unconscious again.

"Fuck Head McDrops Fast over here, looks kinda important." Alexis said as she pointed to the naginata user. "We're taking him with us and interrogating him for information he may, or may not know... Might as well take Sir Runs Away A Lot with us too; as long as he's still alive, though you'd need a couple dudes to pull him out from under your ride." She directed as she shifted her pointing to the man under the SUV. "Aside from that, a few med kits for us, and the one who just became left-handed, and an ambulance for the rest."

The sergeant nodded, looking around at the indicated thugs, waving one of his troopers over. "Slap some bandages on the ones that're bleeding, maybe some medkit for them if they need it. No point wasting too much on these bigots." He turned to the other troopers, still looting bodies. "You two! Collect up the shopping bags and get them back to the ladies here!" He then pointed to the driver of the SUV. You! Back up! You're parked on someone important again!" Finally, he turned back to Alexis, smirking slightly. "So, little lady, you want us to load them up and drag them back to HQ for you as well? Save you four getting any more blood on your clothes."

"That would be perfect." Alexis said as she squatted in front of the naginata user. "I'm going to install a fear so deeply into your psyche, your descendants will have an instinctive fear of anything with a tail, until your family line dies out." She said with a nearly demonic chuckle that Victoria would have been used to.

The sergeant raised an eyebrow as the troopers deposited a stack of bags by the girls. "You want us to run your bags back as well, while we're at it?"

Meanwhile, one of the troopers sidled up to Shinyai, wearing a sly grin. "Hey there, fluffy ears. Nice sword you got there."

Arella, who had spent the past few minutes face-palming so hard she was in danger of leaving a hand-shaped mark on her face, finally let out an exasperated sigh, before heading over to Alexis, thwacking the Largoist hitting on Shinyai in the back of the head along the way.

Said Largoist looked up in confusion at the tap on his helmet, before shrugging; the perpetrator was already crouching down next to Alexis.

"Alexis?" the supposedly ex-magical girl said softly. "Are you okay?"

The look in Alexis' eyes were that of madness, as an unnatural smile made itself home upon her face, her tail swayed like that of a wolf who had just taken down its prey as horrific methods of instilling the fear she had mentioned crept through her mind.

Taking that as a no, Arella now tried waving her hand in the wolfgirl's face. "Alex!" she tried again.

Alexis' ears perked and she jumped slightly. "Huh?" She asked with a confused expression as she rose to her feet and checked her surroundings. "Did I miss something?" She then asked as her right ear tilted to the side in confusion.

"Nah, you're okay," Arella assured. "You were just having a moment. Ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think I am." Said a still confused Alexis.

Shinyai gave the flirt a toothy grin while putting her sword back in her scabbard, then walked over to check on Victoria and her bags.

The trooper sagged slightly as he was brushed off, sighing softly. At the end of the alley, the SUV backed up slowly, knocking over a parking meter before stopping.

Meanwhile, the medic finished patching the fallen thugs with a quick spray of nanites, straightening up before rounding on the girls, bandages in one hand and jet injector in the other. "Alright, which of you ladies is hurt, and how bad?"

"We could all use a little first aid." Alexis said as she looked to Shinyai, then Victoria.

The medic nodded. "Okay, then. Who's hurt worse? I got enough of these nannies to go around, and enough bandages to shibari a moose." He chuckled nervously, his tail lashing behind him. "Just don't shoot me or nothin' if it stings a little, okay? I'm sorry, but that's how this stuff works."

Summary:
The girls walk into a dark alleyway.
Which then gets darker as the street light conks out.
Thugs show up! With ACTUAL WEAPONS. SOME EDGED. Oh noes!
The girls aren't normal girls.
Fighting!
Stabbity!
Blam blam!
Banter!
Improvised Weapon Proficiency: Bookbag!
More shooting.
More stabbing.
More banter.
Arella knows some pretty bad words! Shocking!
Most of the bad guys are down, the rest flee.
Alexis decides to take a couple back to FGTL HQ.

Largoists arrive in the nick of time.
Well, not really.
They finish off the last of the bad guys, though. Somewhat lethally.
And park on someone important.
Insults are swapped with the thugs.
Alexis gives orders. The Largoists offer to haul the bad guys, the looted weapons, and the girls' shopping back to HQ.
Alexis then issues some threats to the bad guys.
Scaaaaary wolfgirl.
Arella snaps her out of it.
One of the Largoists hits on Shinyai, and is brushed off. Ouch.
Nanites and bandages, anyone?

Title: Knock some sense into him
Location: Anna Millers
Time: After Encounters of the Faction Kind
Character(s): Yuuta, Mimi,
Author(s): Notsonoble, DarkTan

"<Well, that went well,>" Mimi said as they took their seat in a booth by the windows. "<I am really sorry she tased you. She's not normally like that.>"

"<I'll live.>" He said while looking over his menu.

"<So,>" Mimi asked as she perused her menu as well, "<Thoughts?>"

"<Hamburger.>"

"<Now are you talking the metaphorical sense? The metaphysical sense? Or perhaps something that transcends both space and time to reach a discourse our mere mortal brains can not comprehend?>" Mimi asked, "<Or are you looking for page six of the menu?>"

Yuuta gave Mimi a look, then replied "<I'm just hungry.>"

"<Actually, you look pretty pissed off,>" Mimi commented before nodding to herself with her meal choice and setting the menu down.

How would you feel if you'd been suckered into joining the very thing you wanted to stop. was what Yuuta wanted to say, but he was still pretty sure that'd get him shot. He made a conscious decision to relax his shoulders <"Only at myself. I'll be better once I've absorbed today.>"

Mimi quirked an eyebrow but didn't say anything for now, instead she waited for the waitress to come for the drink order.

"<What can I get you?>" asked the waitress as she walked up.

"<I'll have the Lap Pour blend, iced,>" Mimi ordered and then waited for Yuuta.

"<Just black coffee, and a glass of ice water.>" Yuuta said without looking up. He was still swiping back and forth between pages in the menu.

The other officer gave a sigh as the waitress walked away, "<You act like your picking out your last meal over there. I've never seen a guy take this long to order.>" She smirked and chuckled a little.

Yuuta looked up, "<Oh, sorry.>" he turned to the waitress. "<Teriyaki Burger, with rice, please.>" He sat the menu down.

Mimi gestured with her hand to point out that Yuuta'd just ordered a meal from a balloon that had escaped a child's birthday a few booths over. "<She got the coffee dear, she'll be right back,>" she took his hand and gave it a pat like a mother reassuring a child, held a straight face for about three seconds and then giggled.

Yuuta just slumped in the chair and said nothing for a moment. Then leaned back and pinched his nose. "<I see why you drink.>"

"<Well it can be tasty,>" was Mimi's cheery reply.

"<How do you do manage it all?>" Yuuta asked without thinking.

"<Honestly?>" Mimi replied, "<I can't really imagine doing anything else. I mean I was one of them a long time ago, but after the petty infighting, I turned to the force. And now with the force acting more like the petty factionists of yore and the factions becoming a solid brotherhood like the police used to be, I find myself tiptoeing between them.>" She paused, "<Honestly, I don't think I could be a regular cop. I'd go nuts or rogue if it wasn't for Street Crimes. They expect us to be a bit crazy I guess.>"

"<What did he mean by dirty mihoist?>"

"<Oh the largoists have had a long standing feud with mihoists,>" was her reply, "<Well, they did. Mostly prank wars and the like. Nothing major. Well there was that Shirtless Wing'd Largo incident.>"

"<Are there any mihoists left?>"

"<I'm sure there is a few around, I know some frequent The Catacombs,>" was the reply, "<As far as active...>" Mimi paused, pondering if she and Whisp fell into the category. "<Not really certain.>"

The waitress returned, with drinks, and took Yuuta's order then turned to Mimi.

"<Triple burger, medium, everything and onion rings,>" Mimi said as she handed over the menu."<So, serious thoughts?>" Mimi asked.

"<About today?>" Yuuta looked back at Mimi. "<It's not exactly what I expected.>"

"<What did you expect?>"

"<Some mix of street gangs and vigilantes, convinced that there were demons and zombies just around the corner.>"

"<And what did you find?>" Mimi asked.

There was a long pause, followed by a very quiet "<Monsters>".

"<Well I know that Largoist band's singing was a little off key, but,>" Mimi pondered, "<Yeah actually it was horrible.>"

Mimi's response caught Yuuta totally by surprise. Shit shit shit, you just said that out loud. All ability to control his face was gone, he stared at Mimi with a look just shy of panic. Dead, dead, dead. Couldn't even keep it quiet for one fucking day. Now she's gonna shoot you.

"<Yuuta, you're creeping me out,>" Mimi said, looking somewhat worried, "<I can't tell if you're going to have a stroke or what. You look like there's a gun in your face.>"

Yuuta blinked, then closed his eyes and took a few breaths. She probably just doesn't want a scene here. Relax a little. Think of a way out.

"<I mean seriously, this is starting to look like a bad rip off of Men In Black 2.>"

"<Huh?>" The reference was lost to him, now he was just confused. Were they not in an ANFG field, his face would probably restructure to a dot for a nose and mouth, huge white eyes, and a question mark hover over his head.

"<Movie, guys makes a big scene saying he was brought to a public place so he wouldn't make a scene. Had the same exact expression on his face,>" Mimi turned to see the food on it's way. "w00t, <Food's here~>"

Yuuta looked up at the waitress headed there way with a tray. He watched until the food was placed on the table. Then smiled a little and started eating. There was a little shake in his utensils, but the it was gone by the second bite.

Mimi, for her part, made every effort to embarrass everyone in the establishment. "<Love this food,>" she said between mouthfuls.

Yuuta looked up at the comment with a forkful of rice headed for his mouth, he paused a second to watch the burger disappear. Now I know what they meant about Natsumi-sama. He shook himself and continued eating at a faster pace. <It's pretty good.>

Mimi finished her food, burped quietly and daintily wiped her mouth with a napkin before ordering seconds.

Yuuta finished his plate about the time Mimi's seconds hit the table. He wasn't about to order a second plate and pie, but pie was looking good now that he thinking she wasn't going to shoot him today. "<I'm starting to feel human again.>"

"Murfle perfle," Mimi attempted to reply while already cramming her second burger down her throat.

"<Um... sure, pie. Which one?>" Yuuta asked.

"Merflem," the other officer answered before devouring some onion rings.

Yuuta considered his options. He could attempt to sneak off by excusing himself to the toilet, in which case Mimi would either notice and come after him. Or, he could stay for pie, and hope that the woman in front of him would be too far into a food coma to remember to plug the potential leak in this secret organization he was just exposed to. Pie also had the advantage of tasting good. He decided on pie. He waved the waitress back and asked for a second coffee and pie menu.

Mimi scarfed down the rest of her food about the same time as the waitress returned with the pie menu. Before the young girl could even set the menu and coffee down Mimi ordered another drink and a combination pie plate. "<Cause then I gets a little bit of everything,>" She explained to Yuuta, "<What're you having?>"

<Do you think pump..kin ...cream would be good with coffee?>" He asked.

"<Everything pie is good with coffee,>" Mimi replied, "<But that is one of my favourites.>"

Yuuta shrugged and ordered a slice of pumpkin cream pie, then turned back to Mimi. "<So what happens now?>"

"<Well, now we eat our pie,>" Mimi said like it should be obvious, "<When are you transferring?>"

"<I'm supposed to be at SCU tomorrow.>" Yuuta answered with a bit of confusion. "<No one's told you?>" How could an organization like what she's just shown me not have told my new keeper where I'd be?

"<Nope, haven't talked to the Chief about you other than a recommendation,>" Mimi replied, "<Not that he feels a need to keep us updated on personnel changes. I'm likely the only other person in the unit that knows your joining.>"

"<So he doesn't know about all we saw today?>" He asked.

"<The Chief? Hell no. CIs are just that, confidential. Besides, it's my day off today.>"

"<Oh, after Skorpion's office, I expected there to be some higher ups involved as well.>" Yuuta said. "<Okay, well then we'll just see what tomorrow brings. I don't know much more than you do then. I was told to show up at SCU for orientation in the morning.>"

"<Well you pretty much know what to do,>" Mimi said, "<You're a cop after all. It's now that much different except we go looking for trouble instead of waiting for it to show up.>" She paused as the waitress arrived with the pie. Her's was essential an entire pie with eight thin slices, each being a different kind of pie. "<Orientation will pretty much cover that sort of thing.>"

Yuuta took a bite of his pie, "<Alright, so I can do that.>" The pie was good. I'll just go on being a cop. If those people ask me to do anything, I'll do what I can to still be a cop. his mood relaxed a bit more.

Mimi's sense of impending doom kicked in, "<Pot,>" she said nonchalantly as she shifted in her seat about three inches to one side.

Yuuta was lost in thought and setting down his coffee when he heard her say something, he looked up. "<Wha-->" before he could even finish the word, a waitress's coffee pot hit him square in the nose. His head whipped back, and despite the field, there was an anime-like noise of defeat and unconsciousness as a small amount of blood trickled out of his nose.

"<Duck, I meant to say duck,>" Mimi took another bit of her pie, "<Mmmmmm...pie~>"

---------------------------------------

Summary
-Yuuta's grumpy with himself, convinced he just joined some crime syndicate that holds control over the TPCD
-Food is ordered
-Mimi chats like a normal person
-Yuuta takes everything like an interrogation
-Yuuta lets slip what he thinks of Skorpion
-Mimi interprets it totally wrong
-Yuuta almost panics himself into a stroke
-Bad movie references
-Food shows up
-Small YUA references
-Yuuta starts to slowly return to sanity, but still convinced that he's unintentionally a double agent
-Pie
-Tomorrow is discussed
-Anna Millers Ballistic Coffee Pot
-"<Mmmmmm...pie~>"

Look-Alike or Clone?!

Timestamp: The week before Slender Nights.
Location: An Alley, a street, and FGTL HQ
Authors: Lonestar, Arella, Oblivion, Skorpion



Johnathan walked along the sidewalk, standing straight with his chin up and his ears perked; the occasional stink eye or sideways glance didn't bother him, as long as no one got in his way, no one would get hurt. Why did she not come up with a specific location in Tokyo to meet?" he thought to himself as he walked. It was after a few minutes of walking that his ears twitched at the sound of several thuds from a nearby alleyway, followed by a wisecrack from what he assumed to be a portly male. With a sigh, he investigated the noise to see a group of four men harassing a catboy who looked to be fresh from high school. "Great." He said to himself; why was it that he always needed to be bothered by these hindrances. "<Step away from the kid, and I won't cut you down where you stand.>" This was not a threat, Johnathan didn't threaten people - he gave people choices.

The portly one looked to Johnathan. "<Go ahead and try, freak!>" He scoffed as the four of them moved to encircle him, the boy taking advantage of their stupidity and running away.

"<Thank you for your cooperation.>" Johnathan said as the boy ran, which rather angered the skinny one with the wooden cane. In anger, the skinny one rushed Johnathan, though his attacker's face was swiftly met with the hilt of his sword. "<You wish to combat me regardless?>" He asked as he drew his sword.

"<Oh, honestly, can't you lot just give it a rest already?>" a rather irritated voice asked from a nearby rooftop, before four arrows promptly came flying down, transforming into nets to trap each thug one after another. "<At this rate, I'm going to have to start quoting Shakespeare at you when we meet, and you really aren't going to like that,>" the voice continued. It was eventually revealed to belong to a woman dressed all in blue, her face hidden beneath the shadows of her hood, and armed with a bow, as she jumped down from the rooftop to land next to Johnathan (where she rather absently prodded one of the thugs with her booted foot). "<Really, you'll call me a snob and everything, assuming you can even manage to realize who I'm quoting. It'll be terribly anticlimactic, and all rather predictable. And you,>" the hooded and masked heroine now turned to the wolfboy, feigning consternation as she pretended to scold, "<need to stop walking into trouble.>"

This, of course, was followed by a giggle to let him know she wasn't being serious, and a great big hug. It was during said hug that Raven rather inevitably noticed a distinct lack of boobs, which meant this was not, in fact, Alexis she was hugging. Pulling back (but not releasing him), she quickly examined his face, before letting out a small squeal of delight and hugging him again. "<You're not Alexis, you're Johnathan!>" she declared with more than a little excitement.

"<I take it you know where she is?>" Johnathan asked the strange woman who currently had him contained within an embrace; he didn't trust her, but she did have a pleasant scent.

"<Of course I do! Unless she's off getting into trouble again, in which case I know where she'll turn up afterwards,>" she assured. "<I'm Raven, at least at the moment, and you seem as bad about getting into trouble as your sister.>"

"<It's hereditary.>" Was Johnathan's response, as he examined Raven, making no attempt to escape the embrace. "<I'm under the impression you came across her the same way.>" He said, voicing his hunch.

"<Yes, but she managed to pick a fight with a much larger group for her first time,>" a grinning Raven informed, finally released him from the hug, only to promptly latch onto his arm to begin leading him back out to the street. "<We'll go find her, she's gonna be so excited to see you!>"

"<Right.>" Johnathan sheathed his blade before the duo entered the street. "<Who do you work for?>" He was curious about this rather odd girl. "<You don't look Japanese.>"

Raven gave a quick shrug, now leading him to the nearby sidewalk with a rather notable lack of haste; nobody was about to risk hitting the cute girl, after all. "<Nobody, at the moment. I'm about to be a Dame of the Principality of Sealand, I used to be an American, and I'm currently living in Japan. We are heading to the FGTL, 'cause that's where Alexis is likely to turn up.>" A brief pause, and then she added, "<The FGTL is also an embassy of Sealand. I think.>"

"<Sealand, huh. Interesting. Have you seen any other relatives of mine?>" Johnathan then asked; he wasn't expecting anything, though it was worth asking.

"<I don't think so, but I know Skorp was gonna try and find the rest of you for Alexis. Skorp is in charge of the FGTL, and Sealand,>" Raven explained.

"<I see. I take it you're something of a Batman?>" Johnathan said as he pointed to her outfit.

"<Sometimes,>" the heroine allowed. "<I even have an Alfred, though he's rather strangely addicted to root beer, and often carries around an ALF doll.>"

"<It would seem there are many odd characters in Tokyo.>" Johnathan said with a smile.

"<Watch out below!>" Kazumi yelled, shortly before landing on his back in front of the duo. "<Ouch, I might feel that one in the morning. Hey, I know you - and Alex?>" He said painfully as he pointed to Raven, then Johnathan.

Raven waved, utterly nonplussed by the falling N!NJ4. This was Megatokyo, after all.

"<Sup?> Johnathan said, mimicking Alexis's voice and attitude to humor him. "<So why are ya fallin' from the sky now?>"

"<Practice. I got to a minute and fifteen seconds for a standing position.>" Kazumi replied, picking himself up.

"<New record?>" Johnathan then asked, to imitate Alexis' social nature.

"<Close, but then I smelled wolf and a magical girl, and I got distracted.>" Kazumi said as he dusted himself off.

"<Good job.>" Johnathan said with a chuckle, forcing his tail to wag in a manner similar to Alexis.

Raven just raised an eyebrow at him, wondering if there was any particular reason he was pretending to be his twin rather than simply explaining the mistake to the N!NJ4.

"<Oh, and thank you, Raven, for saving me. I need to remember that you're supposed to catch sai with your hands and not your arteries next time.>" Kazumi said as he gave a bow to her.

"<Please do,>" the masked girl requested, trying and failing to suppress an amused grin at this.

"<That sounds like the healthier decision.>" Johnathan said, before passing an amused smile to Raven.

"<He got into a fight with Team Rocket,>" she explained, as though that was perfectly normal (because in Megatokyo, it was). "<I knocked out Jessie the ex-magical girl, and drove him to the hospital.>"

"<Interesting. Good thing for that. Friends are better alive.>" Johnathan joked, with an entertained smile.

"<It does tend to help, yes,>" Raven agreed, before rather jokingly adding, "<I'm afraid I don't see dead people.>"

"<Interesting fact.>" Interjected Kazumi. "<You're not Alex.>" Pointing to Johnathan.

"<And what makes ya think that?>" Johnathan said as he moved his hands to his pockets.

"<Alex already knows that story.>" Kazumi crossed his arms. "<So, who are you and why do you look like her?>"

Johnathan gave a small clap, much in the way a supervillan would. He didn't know why messing with people was supposed to be fun, but it was. "<Good job. I'm surprised she didn't tell you though.>" Johnathan said, whilst regaining his usual demeanor.

"<This is Johnathan, and he's Alexis' twin,>" Raven then explained, since he clearly wasn't about to.

The joke being over, Johnathan outreached his hand towards Kazumi in a professional manner, with his back straight, and shoulders back, maintaining eye contact as he did so. "<Johnathan Edward Havloc, a pleasure to meet you Mister...?>" He spoke calmly before waiting for the man in front of him to return the introduction.

Kazumi shook the hand firmly, mocking the same posture. "<Giichi Kazumi, the pleasure is mine. I thought you two would be fraternal not identical.>" He put more grip into the handshake, trying to test Johnathan's strength.

Johnathan detected the Challenger and gripped Kazumi's hand with equal force. "<I'm afraid that's not so, though it's worth the entertainment.>"

Kazumi threw in a bit more strength to see if John could keep up. "<It's probably just as much fun as scaring people from building walls.>"

Johnathan returned this by gripping his hand with force slightly beyond Kazumi's current grip. By this point the force behind this handshake would be enough to crush a mans skull instantly. "<That does sound like fun. I feel we will get along quite well.>" He said confidently with a smirk.

Kazumi pumped chakra into his hands to stop the bones from cracking and gripped with almost full force. "<Very well.>"

Raven, for her part, muttered something condescending about boys and rolled her eyes, before stepping around them and beginning to walk away.

Johnathan raised an eyebrow as Raven began to walk away. "<Apologies, but I have a family reunion to attend to, unless you would wish to accompany us.>" He said as he released his grasp.

"<Gladly, I haven't seen Alex in a few days.>" Kazumi flexed his hand slightly to get blood flowing as he followed both of them.

"<Are you quite finished grandstanding, then?>" the masked woman inquired from where she still walked a few paces ahead of them, arms crossed over her chest in a mark of (mostly) pretend annoyance.

"<For the most part. I apologize for the annoyance.>" Johnathan said with a courteous bow.

"<I'm not, that was fun. We should do it again sometime.>" Kazumi slapped Johnathan's back as he bowed. "<I need a nickname for you, Johnathan's a little long for my tastes. How about Johnny?>"

"<My mother often calls me that, so I have no quarrels.>" Johnathan stated as he glared at Kazumi and moved to catch up to Raven. "<Alexis probably refers to you as Kaz, so I suppose I'll do the same.>"

"<Fair enough. So Raven-chan, how have you fared since the Team Meta incident?>" Kazumi jogged shortly to catch to up with her.

"<Alright - keeping busy,>" she admitted, uncrossing her arms. "<How about you?>"

"<Recovering mostly. They let me out a few days ago, so I've been training so I can go back on patrols again.>" Said Kazumi.

"<And what have you been up to, Johnathan?>" the heroine now wanted to know, casting a curious glance his way.

"<Escaped from a genetic lab, fled to North Carolina, met a rather wealthy man whose daughter had been kidnapped, rescued said daughter, got free tickets to Tokyo, met a strange woman in a mask, followed up by a ninja.>" Johnathan listed factually, counting the events on his fingers.

"<N!NJ4>" Kazumi corrected. "<You need to lighten up, you sound too strict.>"

"<What do you mean? We engaged in 'joking around' mere moments ago.>" Johnathan said, casting a questioning gaze upon Kazumi.

"<It's... ah... well, you see... we'll talk later.>" Kazumi stammered, frustrated.

"<Very well.>" Johnathan said as he watched the clouds.

****WHENEVER THEY GET TO THE FGTL****

"Hi Mary!" Raven greeted as the three of them stepped into HQ, having luckily managed to avoid being blown up (Arella/Raven didn't know to warn people about the mines, after all).

"Ar-- Raven!" the FGTL's receptionist greeted, automatically pulling out a plate of her home-made cookies to offer them. "Who are your friends?"

"Kazumi the N!NJ4 and Alexis' brother Johnathan," the masked heroine promptly replied, accepting a cookie and munching on it. "Any idea where Skorp and Alexis are?"

"Skorpion is in his office, and I believe Alexis is in her room. Should I let Skorp know you're coming?" Mary was quick to reply (she was a good receptionist, after all).

Raven cast a thoughtful glance back at Johnathan before suggesting, "Maybe wait a bit before letting him know, I think we'll go find Alexis first. Thanks Mary!"

Waving to the catgirl behind the desk, the masked heroine promptly called for the boys to follow her as she began to lead the way to Alexis' room.

Alexis was, in fact, in her room reading book two of Game of Thrones; she'd never figured herself as much of a reader, but Arella had a point on how cool books could be. A sudden knocking of the door had the wolfgirl marking her current page and moving the book to its slot on a shelf that hadn't been overrun by plushies. "Coming!" She shouted as she walked up the door and answered it. "Hi Elle! Kaz? John?" She said starting off sounding cheerful, but sounded progressively more confused as she listed the names of her guests. "How long have you been in Tokyo?"

"Roughly three days." Johnathan replied promptly. "I see you've had no trouble finding your standing in the real world." The wolfboy took a glance into the room of his twin and found a shelf that had been overrun with plushies. "I also see that you've taken to more feminine habits in my absence."

"Shut up, come in, and if you or Kaz laugh I'll shoot you both somewhere unpleasant." Alexis threatened before allowing the three of them into her room. "Make yourselves comfortable."

Raven, of course, promptly claimed a spot on the bed, making herself comfortable to watch whatever happened next.

"I make no promises." Kazumi said, poking a stuffed turtle with a plushie booze bottle in hand.

"Quite the amount of eyes you have watching you at all times." Johnathan said as he stood beside the nightstand.

"So, what made you wanna pop by Kaz?" Alexis said as she sat on her bed next to Arella, holding a large teddy plushie.

"I kinda dropped in on Raven and Johnny and decided to keep tagging along." Kazumi walked about the room inspecting the other plushies.

Alexis shrugged. "At least no one had to get stabbed in the leg this time."

"Yeah, no one got stabbed, but I think we might've bruised finger bones." Kazumi flexed his hand trying to get the pain to settle.

"You're a big boy, you'll get over it." Alexis teased.

"So, Alexis what have you been up to since our departure?" Johnathan said as he examined Alexis' books.

"Mayhem as usual. Stole a U.S. mec not too long ago, can't think of a name for her, though." Alexis said cheerfully.

"Why am I not surprised..." Johnathan said with a sigh, some things never changed.

But Raven was looking suddenly thoughtful at the mention of a mech needing a name. A now-Largoist mech, that would no doubt go on to revel in mayhem and madness and provide a good time for all. "...What about Ash?" the masked girl finally suggested, unusually quietly.

Alexis' ear perked at the suggestion. "Isn't your kitty's name Ash?" She then asked, Arella's uncharacteristic quietness concerning her.

Raven nodded. "I named her after my best friend," she admitted. "Ash died in the demon invasion. She was the nicest, craziest person I'd ever met, and a great Largoist. Always coming up with crazy plans and running into trouble..." Raven was quiet a moment, before very softly adding, "I miss her."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad." Said Alexis who gave Raven a hug, gently petting the back of her head.

"It's okay," the masked girl promised, hugging her back. "I always miss Ash, but I have some great new friends, too. I wish you could have known her, though - it may have made for more insanity and mayhem than even this city can handle, but it would have been totally worth it."

"I'm sure it would have by the sound of it." Alexis agreed. "How about A5H?"

Raven grinned. "I think Ash would approve."

"Sweet! I'll tell her later." Alexis said with a grin, happy to have lifted Raven's mood.

"I can't help but notice a few bookmarks, when did you take up reading?" Johnathan asked as he checked Alexis' progress in Game of Thrones volume two (otherwise known as A Clash of Kings).

"Oh, that was me," the masked heroine who was totally not Arella was quick to claim credit, a bit gleefully. "I took Alexis book shopping."

"Oh? Congratulations; I tried to interest her in books for years." Admitted Johnathan as he returned the book to its place.

"You just made them sound sooo boring..." Said Alexis as she sprawled herself across the bed.

"Books aren't boring!" Raven objected, in defense of one of her favorite pastimes. "They're awesome! Or at least, the awesome ones are. I guess some books are boring, but we just ignore those."

"I'm not saying they aren't; his delivery just sucked." Commented Alexis.

Johnathan gave a quick, silent glare to Alexis, who stuck her tongue out at him in return.

"You two are very different," Raven observed (rather obviously). "Though I suppose you're both pretty good at getting into trouble, at least."

"It's hereditary." Said the twins simultaneously, resulting with the two glaring at one another and Raven giggling at them.

"As long as I'm not throwing Johnny and you into taxi cabs I think the world will be fine." Kazumi said, chuckling at the two.

"If they try to charge me double again, I'm burning the place to the ground, I don't care what you say." Alexis said, pointing to Kazumi without moving from her position on the bed.

"Racism is a problem here, mayhaps a culling of the hoard would prove beneficial." Johnathan pondered.

"We're done killing people if we can help it, John." Alexis said as she looked to the ceiling.

"Yeah, no killing people, please," Raven requested, sounding a bit tired and very much hoping the whole 'why it's bad to kill people' conversation wouldn't be needed yet again (she seemed to be having it a lot these days).

"So be it, not killing them presents a better challenge reguardless." Johnathan said, as though that were the logical reason.

"Wait, then what have I heard about all these Largoist vehicular accidents?" Kazumi said, remembering several exploding cars and flying bodies in the news the other day.

"One person at a time, Kazumi," the ex-magical girl replied with a sigh. "One person at a time."

"Oh, you mean when the locals attacked one of my convoys? That's because this city gets more and more like Bagdad every damn day. Ambushes, racially-motivated violence, US troops on the streets..." Skorpion stepped into the room, as if he'd been there the entire time. "Damn, that's a lot of plushies. Do I need to get you a second room to store them all?"

Looking a bit confused by this declaration, Raven proceeded to look about the room at Alexis' plushie collection; rather than relieving her confusion, however, this only seemed to make it worse. "She doesn't have that many plushies," the masked girl finally observed - something that would make sense to anyone who had seen her old room in HQ, which still contained piles of them (all carefully organized, of course).

"Maybe not by your standards, no, but..." Skorpion waved to the desk, which was nearly overflowing with plush aircraft on one side, along with various chibified figures. "Wait, is that..." He stepped over to the desk, leaning down to examine one of them, turning it over to check the label. "Well, looks like someone's getting a visit from the 'cease and desist' fairy soon." He held up the offending article. "Unless I actually licensed someone to produce Warrior Angel Elle plushies. I don't remember it, but then I don't remember a lot of things from the last few years." He shrugged, putting the plushie back down, before turning to regard the occupants of the room. "Why do we have two Alexises?"

"Clone." Alexis said as though it were obvious.

"Twin." Corrected Johnathan. "Johnathan Edward Havloc, a pleasure to meet you." He extended an arm to Skorpion in a professional manner.

Skorpion nodded, accepting the hand and shaking, squeezing with just enough force to let Johnathan know that he could exert a lot more should he feel like it. "Skorpion, Prince of Sealand, leader of the Followers of Great Teacher Largo. Likewise." He nodded amicably.

"I would like to request a position in your organization. " Johnathan said as he released Skorpion's hand in favor of bowing respectfully.

Skorpion stepped back, eyeing him critically. "Provisionally accepted, if your abilities are anything like your sister's. Here." He reached over his shoulder, drawing his chainsword and tossing it to the wolfboy. "Catch. Try this out."

"I would prefer my own, but so be it." Johnathan said As he caught the chainsword, his right eye glowing a blood red.His nose bled as Alexis' would, though aside from that there was no way to determine whether or not he was actually in pain. A few moments passed and he twirled the blade between his fingers with ease. "I would assume you wish me not to demonstrate on plushies."

"Do it, and I'll shoot you." Alexis threatened, still laying down on the bed.

Skorpion chuckled softly, raising an eyebrow. "Very good. Most people would simply have dropped that by now, maybe lost a limb or two. It seems you're as good as your sister claims."

"Alexis? Claiming me to be good? Either the world ended, or I've died somewhere along the lines..." Johnathan said with surprise, causing Alexis to laugh.

Skorpion chuckled again, reaching out. "My sword, if you please? But yes, between her and your mother, I seem to have a fairly accurate impression of you."

"Mother has arrived already?" Johnathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup! With you here, all that's left is Dev." Alexis said as she got up to sit on the edge of her bed.

"It is good to know that they are still alive." Johnathan said, sounding relieved.

Skorpion nodded. "Rumour has it that Devin is with what remains of the Mihoists, however. That is slightly worrying, especially with the news that Saeko is still around. Also, sword."

"Hmm?" Johnathan looked to his hand to see the chainsord still in his hand. "Right. My apologies." He handed the chainsword back to Skorpion, his eye returning to normal before he whipped the blood from his nose.

"When he syncs with something complicated, he sometimes forgets a few things." Alexis informed.

"So it seems." Skorpion switched the sword off, twirling it before putting it back in the scabbard. "Let's get you sorted out with a room and some armour. Which, by the way..." He pointed to Alexis. "You should remember to wear more often, if your little shopping trip is anything to go by. At least wear the solid armour, if only to save on the sheer amount of nanite spray you seem to be going through. I can only produce that stuff so fast, after all."

"Hey, those weren't normal thugs!" Alexis objected. "Speaking of which; did Douche-bag McDropsfast, and Sir Runsaway-A-Lot talk yet?"

Skorpion nodded. "Oh, indeed they did. Nothing useful yet; we're still getting past the '<I want a lawyer>', '<I know my rights>' which, incidentally, they don't actually HAVE, and with brief forays into the '<You can't get away with this!>', which I damn well can, and '<I want my mommy!>', which he might get if he told us anything useful.' He shrugged. "Interrogation just doesn't seem to work well enough, so I think I'm going to have to change tracks and resort to underhanded tactics, such as getting Arella to wibble at them, or persuading them with her baking." He grinned widely. "Because, seriously. Have you tried her cupcakes? They could make dictators lay down their arms, give up genocide, and submit to UN sanctions just for one more bite."

"Hehe, rights. I told them Largoists don't hold back, but hey." Alexis stood up and stretched. "Unfortunately I haven't had any of Elle's baked goods yet."

"I'm surprised Alexis took prisoners to begin with. Normally we'd just kill them on the spot." Johnathan said as he glanced towards Alexis for a moment.

Skorpion chuckled. "We don't go in for murdering prisoners here. For one thing, it's illegal, and for another, it's a complete waste of intelligence. And, of course, an enemy that knows you take no prisoners just plain won't surrender. I tried the approach myself for a few years, and it just keeps coming back to bite you. Plus, people are FAR easier to transport while still alive and moving."

"Our enemies didn't so much as know we existed until we were upon them, and prisoners were none of our concern, though that was the past." Johnathan informed in a monotone voice. "Now, you are the leader, and if you desire survivors, captured or otherwise; I will comply."

Skorpion nodded appreciatively; he was starting to like this kid already. "Good. Although, your attitude may need to be adjusted a little. Most action you'll see is in mercenary work; bounty hunting, assassination, theft, destruction of property, fun things like that, rather than pushing an ideology." He shrugged. "You'll still be doing someone's dirty work, but you're not really invested in it beyond the paycheck. Otherwise, I make a point of doing my OWN dirty work rather than delegating it."

"After spending the majority of my life as the voice of reason to a group consisting of two madwomen who don't know where to draw a line, a woman who disagrees with violence, and a boy who sees life as a plaything, I started to maintain myself in a perpetual state of calm to more easily make choices." Johnathan said, maintaining his professional demeanor. "But I do apologize if my personality offends or displeases you."

Skorpion sighed. "I mean more the 'following orders without question' part. We need a voice of reason around here sometimes. For example, your sister here has taken to Largoism like a duck to water. She's about average in terms of sanity for our troops here." He sighed again, bringing a hand up to his forehead in frustration. "And some of the snipers have gone a little round the bend, even for Largoists. I saw a man dressing his rifle up in a high school uniform and a wig last week, talking to it like it was able to talk back. At the very least, I'm hoping you can bring up the average sanity rating here to somewhere this side of 'je suis napoleon.' "

"Interesting, though if we are allowed to draw boundaries, I refuse to murder those who are incapable of defending themselves. There are exceptions, but for the most part, this is a line I would much rather not cross again." Johnathan said as though he had already crossed that line over a hundred times.

Skorpion nodded approvingly. "That's exactly the sort of thing we don't go in for here. Killing someone shooting back is one thing, but defenseless non-combatants are another entirely." He sighed softly, continuing. "Most of our recruits have already had too much of that as it is, and I'm in the business of opposing the sort of people who DO take part in that sort of thing currently in South America."

"It's good to know that my hand will not be forced on that matter." Johnathan stated simply. "On the opposing hand, should you require me I would expect you not to hesitate in calling me forth."

Skorpion nodded. "I will not." He smiled, turning to Kazumi. "Now that's taken care of, what the hell is that ninja doing in here?" His eyes narrowed as he frowned. "And yes, I can see you. Your ninja powers of stealth will not work on me."

After a few seconds of silence from the ninja, Skorpion prodded him. When the only response to that was a snore, Skorpion sighed, rolling his eyes. "Alexis, I think the ninja has succumbed to the plush horde, and fallen asleep."

"Ph43r the plushies!" Alexis said rubbing her hands together like a super villan as Johnathan face-palmed..

Skorpion chuckled, giving the ninja a gentle push deeper into the plushies, causing them to tumble over him and hide him from view. "Well, welcome to the Followers of Great Teacher Largo, Johnathan."

"Thank you." Johnathan said with a courteous bow.

Skorpion nodded. "I'm guessing that, like your sisters, you're arriving here with little more than your weapons?"

"I have a personal aircraft at the airport and roughly fifty thousand dollars." Johnathan stated, looking bothered by the fact.

Skorpion raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see. You're the organised one. We can supply hangar space for your ride at the airflield if you wish; save paying rent at the airport, and protection from anything short of a nuclear bunker-buster."

"I received them as payment for retrieving the abducted daughter of a rather wealthy individual, though I only asked for a way to Tokyo that didn't require paperwork." Johnathan sighed.

"Ah, okay. Well, I'll set you up with a room here and an equipment budget nonetheless. Get Alexis to call Arella if you want clothes other than what the printers will spit out; she's pretty much the personal shopper around here now." Skorpion winked at Raven, smirking slightly.

"I can make due with what is provided." Johnathan stated plainly.

"'Cause he's boring like that." Alexis added with a grin.

"Sure, you say that now, but we have an armoury. And a forge down in the labs, as well. Take a look at this." Skorpion reached over his shoulder, drawing a different sword; slimmer and longer than the chainsword, and with runes picked out in silver along it's length. "I made this one myself a few years back. As close as I could get to what Damascus steel was meant to be, nanoparticle grit for corrosion resistance, blessed and rune-inscribed for use against the undead, and based on the design of traditional medieval swords." He grinned proudly, offering the sword to Johnathan. "Just an example of what we have the technology to create here."

Johnathan took hold of the blade, examining it with the eyes of a practiced swordsman. "I'm truly impressed. This craftsmanship is incredible."

Skorpion grinned. "Thank you. Years of research, tracking down ancient swordsmiths, and even a failed attempt to get hold of a time machine went into it. It's nice to find someone who appreciates it beyond 'oooh shiney'."

"Truly, your work was not in vain." Johnathan said as he offered to return the blade.

Skorpion nodded, taking the sword and sliding it back into it's scabbard with a barely-audible 'shiiing'. "Oh, I knew that the first time I used it to cut through an engine block, but it's always nice to get feedback."

"Compared to that, my blade is nothing impressive." Johnathan drew his own sword and presented it to Skorpion. "It was forged from a titanium alloy."

Skorpion's eyebrow shot up again as he turned the sword over in his hands, watching as the light caught the blade. "Light for it's size, which is unusual. I take it you rely more on speed than on force?"

"Indeed, my eye shows me where my opponent is weak, and one need to be fast in order to exploit those split-second openings." Johnathan said with a hint of pride as Alexis rolled her eyes (Boys and swords...)"

Skorpion nodded. "Ah, I see; you cheat with magic. I prefer technology, myself. No use wasting effort finding weak spots when you can simply chew through your opponent's blade and sword arm in one good swing."

"Certainly a valid tactic, though I find it enjoyable to whittle down a good opponent. Why destroy them instantly when you can give them the illusion of victory." Johnathan paused for a moment. "I suppose that makes me a rather twisted individual, not that that is a concern with those I have aligned myself with."

"A minor concern. But efficiency tends to count more in a battle situation; finish your opponent quickly, and move onto the next without letting your guard down. Besides; I so rarely find opponents worth squaring up to, these days." Skorpion grinnned. "Maybe we should spar sometime?"

"I enjoy my limbs being attached to my body." Johnathan stated.

Skorpion waved a hand dismissively. "Ah, we can just stick them back on, these days. We have the technology."

"Looking at you, I'm not surprised." Johnathan said with a grin.

Skorpion grinned back. "Ah, but you should see the other guy!" He chuckled, his grin twisting a little. "Or the other guys, rather. Cut my way through most of a legion of demons, to get away from the nuke I'd just set off on a timer."

"Impressive." was all that Johnathan could think to say.

Skorpion grinned proudly. "Of course, I'm not entirely proud of dying in the process and having to be dragged back here to stick myself back together, but I WAS stuck on the other side of a portal I'd just closed with the nuke."

"And yet here you stand." Johnathan noted. "Though you fell, you still rose above the opposition."

Skorpion shrugged. "I got better. I still don't remember how I got there in the first place, or anything that happened while I was out, or why nothing fits like it used to. Or, in fact, why I ended up in charge around here, because I definitely wasn't before the demons invaded." He grumbled. "Anyway! Shall I show you around, and leave the girls to their..." He looked at Raven and Alexis. "Their whatever, and get you settled in?"

Alexis pulled out a black marker and began sifting through plushies to find Kazumi.

"Very well." Johnathan said. "Mayhaps I could order a new blade."

Skorpion nodded, opening the door and leading the way out; he didn't want to be witness to the marker-ing of a ninja. "We can manage that. Might have to borrow your current one for a while to analyse it, though."

"So be it." Johnathan removed his scabbard and handed it to Skorpion. "What shall be our first stop?"

Skorpion twirled the sword between his fingers before sliding it into a loop on his webbing. "The labs, I think. You seem the type to appreciate them, and I should drop this off with the techies with instructions before their morning coffee wears off."

"Lead the way." Johnathan said as he awaited a direction to move in.

Skorpion did so, leading the way through the maze of twisty corridors, all alike, before finally entering a lift. "I think you'll settle in well here, once you get used to it."

"I would hope so." Johnathan said, sounding at ease.

Skorpion jabbed at buttons, causing the door to slide shut and the lift to jerk into motion abruptly. "You're going to have to learn to loosen up a bit, though. We're quite informal here."

"I am used to informal company; after all, Alexis is my sister." Johnathan noted.

Skorpion chuckled. "Ah, but this is a whole building full of people like her, only less restrained, bigger than you, and some of them carrying railguns with them everywhere." The lift shook, seeming to change direction before slowing to a halt. "And here we are." The doors opened smoothly, revealing a combination of high-tech laboratory and low-tech workshop. Stripped-down engines and weapons competed for space with electron microscopes, mass spectrometers, and the desktop computers crowding every available surface. A jet engine sat in the corner, blades spinning slowly, fanning a fire in a wastebasket behind it.

Skorpion stepped out of the lift, collaring the nearest figure in a chemical-stained labcoat. "You! Who's in charge around here?"

The figure looked him up and down, before venturing a response. "Um. You? I think?"

Skorpion nodded. "Good answer, but I meant who specifically in this lab, right at this minute."

The figure looked around, scratching at a week's worth of stubble on his chin. "I think Jebediah over there is today." He pointed to a man sitting on a throne, floating atop a workbench with the assistance of a small jet engine.

Skorpion released the man, striding over to the throne. "You there! Stop defying physics and get down here; I have a job for you!"

The man on the throne nodded, vaulting down from his perch, which caused the throne to shoot up to the ceiling, snagging on it's tether and hovering a foot from the ceiling, the workbench dangling from the tether. "Yes?"

"Well that goes against everything I've ever learned about gravity." Johnathan said as he watched the throne.

Skorpion grinned. "Welcome to Largoist physics, padawan. You should see what happens when you stick a rocket engine onto it instead." He pointed upwards, to a gap of fresh concrete in the scorchmarked ceiling.

"Brilliant." Johnathan said as he stared at the gap.

Skorpion nodded. Jebediah grinned proudly. "Oh, it was glorious. A tragic waste of a chair, but glorious nonetheless. So!" He leaned down to peer closely at Johnathan, reaching out to poke an ear. "You'd be one of Tiff's boys, eh?"

Johnathan's ear twitched in response. "That is correct." He said calmly.

Jebediah nodded. "Ah, you see, she told us about you all. At length. Showed us pictures, as well. She's very proud of you, you know. Anyway!" He straightened up, stretching and extending a hand to Skorpion. "Biology later. Sword?"

"Sword." Skorpion handed over Johnathan's sword to Jebediah, who promptly pulled it from the scabbard and smacked it against the dangling workbench.

"Oh my. Titanium alloy right through, ever so light..." Jebediah grinned widely, the light catching his teeth almost audibly. "I'm going to enjoy working with this."

"If possible could you forge me a second blade of similar length and weight?" Johnathan requested.

Jebediah nodded. "Oh, of course, of course!. Anything special you want added? Engravings, blessings, enchantments, maybe even electroplating?"

"Heat resistance. As much as you can give it." Johnathan said as though it were a top priority.

Jebediah nodded, accepting it as a matter of course. "Very well. I shall load this one into the machines forthwith!" He turned, labcoat swishing, and stalked off. As he left, one of the jet engines holding the throne aloft sputtered and died, leaving the rest to throttle up to support the weight.

Skorpion eyed the contraption warily. "I think we should get away before that thing explodes."

"It would be wise." Johnathan said as he backed away from the hazard.

Skorpion stepped away as another jet flamed out, the whine from the rest rising to unbearable levels as they cut afterburners in to maintain altitude, the unbalanced load causing them to drift across the lab. He took another step towards the nearest door as the contraption picked up speed, heading for a tank wreathed in mist. "Oh no... Get down!"

Johnathan dropped to the ground as the contraption struck the tank, exploding violently in a vivid but brief fireball. Skorpion dived for cover behind a bench as the explosion happened, armour scraping a gouge in the concrete floor.

"That's it. I'm putting in safety nets down here." Skorpion sighed, as a stray jet engine careened off overhead.

"That would probably be a good idea." Johnathan said as bits of metal showered on him.

Skorpion sighed, standing up and brushing himself off, before reaching up to catch the jet as it looped around again. He stepped aside as it met his hand, steering it around and in on itself before releasing it again, leaving it to pull the newly-tied knot in it's fuel line taut, choking off it's own fuel supply. "Maybe some walls, too."

"Another good idea." Johnathan said as he rose to his fee and brushed off chips of metal.

Skorpion glared at the smoking mess of throne, jets, and liquid oxygen tank, before leading the way to the workshops. "Anyway. Through here, we have the more visceral tasks. In-depth maintenance, upgrades, and the updating of old Soviet hardware that's ended up as our core business, now." He gestured to the side, to where a MiG-21 jet fighter sat in pieces, surrounded by workbenches.

Johnathan nodded as he examined the variety of odd and dangerous projects. "This place keeps doctors busy doesn't it?"

Skorpion nodded. "Very. Even with everyone wearing body armour all the time, we still have to keep sticking people back together, patching holes, and the like. I don't know what we'd do if it wasn't for duct tape." He stepped over a comatose engineer, who seemed to have simply passed out at his desk while working on an engine. "But we do get some excellent work done, even if it's unrestrained by such things as sanity."

"It makes sense, in a way." Johnathan stepped around the engineer. "This armour, does it retain mobility?"

Skorpion nodded. "That was a key feature when I was designing it. The heavier versions do tend to restrict somewhat, but you can always just go lighter." He gestured to his own armour. "This is one of the prototype suits, before I realized that full suits were just going to be too heavy and complex for line troopers, but it demonstrates the joints used fairly well. I patterned it after medieval plate armours, and continued the ethic on to the regular armour."

"Sounds like you could take a few tank rounds." Johnathan commented as he observed a shelf of unlabeled liquids.

Skorpion chuckled. "The armour can take .50BMG rounds to the chest without penetration, but the transfer of momentum tends to knock me down. Beyond that, 23mm and 30mm rounds will be stopped almost dead if they go through the titanium chainmail in my coat first. Tank rounds would just go through without stopping. That..." He hefted his bookbag up, opening the flap to reveal a series of tubes inside. "Is why I carry rockets with me. Never know when you might run into an armoured vehicle."

"You have a point. I'll need to get something that can slice through mobile armour at some point." Johnathan said, making a mental note to do exactly that.

Skorpion nodded. "Sensible idea. I'm working on doing just that with forcefield technology currently. Otherwise, your best hope is a shaped charge on a hammer." He set off again, leading the way deeper into the workshops, eventually stopping again near a large assemblage of printers.

"Shame I can only carry so much." Johnathan said with a sigh as he looked at five daggers that were lined up in his jacket.

Skorpion grinned. "We can't solve that here, but look up Dot Plevices Plot Devices when you get settled in. They can add weaponspace enchantments to clothing and bags, so you can store whatever you want in there. They don't work for me due to a complete lack of natural magic, but you should have no problem." He moved over to lean on one of the printers, pressing a few buttons to call up a holographic display. "But here, we have images of the various levels of armour protection we can run off for you. We go from basic breastplates and backplates, right up to literal walking tank powered exoskeletons."

"Something simple that won't easily melt would be nice. I would assume you've seen my files and know why."

Skorpion nodded. "Ceramics don't melt easily, so don't worry." He tapped details into the keyboard of the printer, the images shifting to keep up with the entered data.

Johnathan silently watched a Skorpion worked.

Skorpion eventually finished, the display showing a breastplate with additional protection for arms and legs, focusing on protecting vital areas and ease of movement over sheer protection. "Does that look right for you? I tried to balance protection against mobility for the main protection, and the limb protection should allow for more flexibility with blocks and strikes."

Johnathan examined the display intently. "It should do, and I'll be sure to look up the Dot Plevices."

Skorpion nodded. "Alright. Now, if you can strip down to your underwear and get into the cubicle over there, I can get you scanned up for proper sizing."

"Very well." Johnathan said, doing as instructed.

Skorpion set the scanner running, before heading off to get coffee. By the time he got back, the scanner had finished, and the printer was starting work on the armour. "It's done, you can come out now."

Johnathan dressed himself before exiting the booth. "Is there anything more you wish to show me?"

Skorpion considered that briefly. "One last thing. Have to show you where you'll be staying. C'mon." He walked off, heading through the workshops and out into the garage area.

"It would be nice to know where I will be sleeping." Johnathan said as they began to walk, taking note of the fleet in the garage.

Skorpion led the way through the jumble of vehicles and helicopters, ducking under the wing of a Harrier and stepping over the trail of an artillery piece on his way to a staircase. "Sorry about the mess. Largoists aren't very organised, and giving them an overhead crane simply made them lazier."

"So, Evangeline's here?" Johnathan asked as he glanced at an absurdly large plate of cookies placed on top of a SUV.

Skorpion nodded. "Indeed she is. Don't touch those, though; they're bait. Just watch."

As they watched, a hand reached out from inside the SUV, groping around for the plate. As it grabbed at the cookies, a bear trap snapped shut around the hand, causing a scream of pain.

"Prank war among the mechanics." Skorpion reached out to catch the plate as it was flipped off the SUV, neatly fielding the cookies with it before offering it to Johnathan. "Want one?"

"Yes." Johnathan said before taking a cookie and eating it, his tail giving a barely noticeable sway as he did.

Skorpion flicked a cookie off the plate with a fingertip, catching it with the other hand to bite into it. "Mm, that's good cookie." He deposited the plate on a toolbox by the door as they proceeded into the staircase, heading straight down without pausing.

Johnathan followed after him, grabbing another cookie as he passed the tray; he never could resist Evangeline's baking.

As they headed down the stairs, there was the sound of a brief scuffle from the garage, trailing off as they descended flights of stairs, eventually emerging into a corridor seemingly identical to all the others, aside from marks chipped into the corners. Skorpion counted doors along one side, before opening a door to reveal a room.

Said room was basic, but comfortable; bed, desk, chair, plentiful sockets and a closet, with a roll of bedding on the bed, vacuum-sealed in plastic. "Here you go. One room. There's a QR code on the door; scan it with your phone and you'll get the mapping app loaded up. That'll help keep you abreast of any reconstruction that happens." He smacked the wall soundly, which gave off a series of echoes. "Someone dropped a message capsule straight through the flight deck, the garage, ten layers of basements, and my supposedly nuke-proof office, so we're engaging in a little reconstruction and relocation."

"Seems like a little false advertisement if a capsule got through." Johnathan noted as he checked his closet, along with any air vents for bugs, and under his bed for explosives.

Skorpion nodded. "Hence the rebuilding. If something can get in, it's obviously unsafe for storing nuclear weapons in, as well, so I may as well move down to the sub-sub basements, where all the other WMDs have been secure for years." He pointed to the mirror behind the desk. "Also, the bomb is behind that. Don't disarm it; it's your emergency claymore."

"Noted." Johnathan stood. "If you require me for nothing more I would like to make myself comfortable."

Skorpion nodded, turning and stepping out, closing the door behind him with a clang.

Johnathan took off his coat, leaving on a chair before laying down in his bed to stare at the ceiling.


Summary

Johnathan is looking for Alexis
He finds thugs.
Lucky Raven was there. (Those guys coulda died.)
Thugs are stupid.
A short case if mistaken identity leads to Raven learning Johnathan's true identity as Alexis' twin.
Small talk and N!NJ4!
Johnathan engages in 'joking around' by impersonating his sister to fool the N!NJ4.
He eventually catches on though.
A test of strength. (Boys)
Tallk of the (not so) dreaded Team meta!
John's been busy.
A talk with Mary and the trio head off to see Alexis.
Alexis is confused as to why she has so many guests.
More plushies than the last post.
Small talk, and A5H gets named.
Johnathan notices that Alexis has been reading, and Ravin happily takes credit.
Killing is bad!
A wild Skorpion has appeared!
Johnathan syncs with Skorpion's chainsword.
Talk of sainity.
Johnathan lets Skorpion know he won't kill civilians.
Kazumi falls asleep in the plushies, and Skorpion pushes him deeper into the pile, hiding him from sight.(from plushies we rise, in plushies we rest.)
Sword talk. (Boys)
Brief tour of the FGTL.
More sword talk.
Meet Jebediah. The least safe scientist ever, possibly.
Kaboom.
More tour.
Cookies!
Trapped cookies.
This place is a mess.
John gets a room!
Yes, there's a bomb in your room. It's there for emergencies.