Character Capital

[Waterfront - Crazy Gary's]

Angua blinked once, then twice, nictitaing membranes sliding over her eyes. Her head canted to the side, her eye ridges' furrow deepening. Then, her eyes widened. "Oh." she said. "Okay. Um. So, you wanna go pick something out now?"

yey

[West Side -> Visitor's District (Seon and Gwion's Taxi)]

As the taxi headed directly through the city center and towards the Visitor's District, Seon found himself growing increasingly frightened. This wasn't just his normal tendency towards jitters and anxieties. He'd long since grown used to, and able to push past, that sort of thing; they were only natural reactions for someone in his profession. (Certain other people he knew had claimed not to experience them to the same degree, but he'd never really believed that).

This, though, was something more. As they got further away from the pursuing vehicle, he found himself having more time to consider the situation in detail. And once he thought about it, the tracking ability one of their opponents - most likely one of the humans, as the shvuim was from his own reality and so probably couldn't have anything supernatural about her - had shown was one of the most threatening things he had ever imagined. That someone could know where he was no matter what he did or how well he tried to stay quiet... it was very literally like something out of a nightmare. It seemed that in the end, the Capital had actually somehow wound up being even worse than he had worried.

I will never, never ever leave etis-tra space again.

But he still had to push past and focus, at least until he was safe. He made the calls on his handphone, one after another - first instructing the hotel to have all of his possessions sent to the Visitor's Terminal to await his arrival, then contacting the Resistance to let them know the negotiations were off. The spokesbeing said something about being thankful that he had chosen to call off the meeting rather than risk compromising their security, and he almost laughed - that particular reasoning hadn't crossed his mind at all.

As he looked up again once the call finished, he saw that the taxi had reached the Visitor's District. Hotels passed by on either side, but they weren't quite to the terminal yet.

And the terminal didn't necessarily mean safety, either. He looked at Gwion. "Umm. What - what's our plan if there's somebody or something, er, waiting at the terminal for me?"

[West Side]

Lawyers? We're trying to apprehend a terrorist agent and all you two can think about is not pissing off the lawyers?

Gev tried not to get too angry. At least this whole mess seemed to be over now - but unfortunately, it wasn't the only thing that was over. They were finished. She was finished. Barring a miracle there was simply no way to catch Seon before he made it to the portal.

And what made it worse was that there was no way for her to blame it, mentally or in her report, on the humans. This whole disaster was her fault. Sure, technically speaking Kevin had fucked up much worse than she had, but she had had her doubts about the human detective right from the start. She shouldn't have relied on him, she should have found her own transportation - heck, maybe the pedantic flatfaces were right and she should have contacted the local authorities from the beginning. She'd wanted to keep things quiet, but that sure hadn't worked out.

"Well," she said to Roderick as they walked away from the local officers, "we're screwed. Unless there's more to your... your bag of tricks than that viewing ability, we'll never catch Seon and his flunky before they make it to the portal out of here."

[Waterfront (Crazy Gary's)]

Qrlil blinked back at Angua. I wonder what that was all about?

Then she tilted her head, shedding off the thought, at least for now. "I suppose," she said, then amended it to a more definite "Certainly." She led the kasuar off into the store's rows of beach clothing, keeping one slightly wary eye out for the store's eponymous 'Crazy Gary' as she did. Just in case.

Finding something that fitted her was slightly easier than it had been for Angua, since her physiology more closely matched that of the humans - and certain other two-armed bipeds - that seemed to make up the majority of the Capital's population. After a few moments, she picked up a slightly elongated one-piece swimsuit, colored in a pattern of light and dark blue, and bobbed her head. "I think this should do fine," she said, "unless you have any thoughts to the contrary?"

West Side —> Visitor's District - Seon and Gwion

As the cab made its way through the maze of streets, Seon made the necessary calls and Gwion focused his attention on the situation.

The officer had said that the outworld LEOs would be stopped and questioned, but there was no way to know how long they would be delayed - perhaps enough, perhaps not - and there was no guarantee that those were the only pursuers.

If Gwion had been stalking Seon, he would have had at least three teams in radio contact or, failing that, at least have someone staking out the portal. There was a good chance that there was another car or two converging on them or a welcoming committee at the exit.

Consequently, when Seon asked what the plan was if someone was waiting at the terminal, he at least had something of an answer. "I never have plans - plans are those things that famously don't survive first contact with the enemy. I do, however, have strategies and a number of tactics. Our current strategy is 'evasion' but I have a number of other strategies we can fall back on if there's a welcoming committee at the terminal - which strategies we put into play, and what particular tactics we'll use will depend on what the situation is when we get there."

He looked out the window at the hotels and the altogether tidier surroundings of the Visitor's District. "Our goals are to get your stuff and get you through the portal. Failing that, our goal becomes 'get you to some other place of safety' and I've already made arrangements against that possibility."

It occurred to him that there was one more thing he could do. He took out his Portable Office, brought up his contact list and dialled a familiar number.

edited 25th Jul '15 4:03:49 AM by Wolf1066

Waterfront (Southeast Bazaar -> Crazy Gary's)

Eventually, Garkin stepped in through the doors of Crazy Gary's, his head turning left and right in search of Qrlil of Angua. He had quickly finished his shopping after the encounter with the overenthusiastic merchants, and was currently wearing a pair of knee length, khaki colored bathing shorts, and what looked a lot like a red Hawaii shirt with a white flower motif.

"Oh, there you are," he said once he finally caught sight of the others.

West Side (Near Whitehall Motel)

"At least the whole thing is over for the time being," Moreena said. "I would have liked to teach that guy some humility..." She glanced down at the talon like nails on one of her hands. "But I suppose it might be better to just focus on something else for now." She looked up at Lara and Eliza. "What do mortals do for fun in your worlds?"

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Waterfront - Crazy Gary's]

Angua shook her head, looking pleased. "Naw, I'm sure you'll look great." Then, she looked off to the side, seeming to notice something, and spotted Garkin. "Hey! Yeah, the two of us are just about done here, we just need to pay for these." She held up her bright yellow swimming trunks, complete with a hole for her tail.

yey

[Waterfront (Crazy Gary's)]

Qrlil smiled at Angua. "Thank you. Then I suppose - "

She tracked the kasuar's gaze to Zerrimus, and found her head tipping almost of its own accord at the sight of his new clothing. "Here we are," she agreed. "And don't you look - er - striking."

She hissed slightly, then held up the swimsuit she'd picked up for his inspection. "As I was saying, I suppose we can simply buy these now." Despite her mild skepticism about Crazy Gary's, she could already tell that, unlike the vendor earlier, it wasn't restricted to taking cash.

"Shall we go?"

Feel free to skip over the checkout process. Think I'll hold off on Seon until I can post for Gev as well.

[Bazaar-Bakery]

"Sounds like a plan." Nick said, before turning to his friends. "Come on, "chaps", if that's how you say it!"

"...Leave that slang to actual British people, please." Jackson said, visibly cringing.

"Agreed." Marie said.

Adam tried to hold back a chuckle.

Nick shrugged, "Well, I tried."

Waterfront (Crazy Gary's)

"Oh, thanks," Garkin said, seemingly oblivious to the slightly skeptical nature of Qrlil's reaction. "And you've both found something as well? Good, let's get going."

Not sure what more to add right now, sorry.

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[NEAR WHITEHALL MOTEL]

At Eliza, Lara returned the shrug. "Fair enough."

Lara stared at Moreena for a brief moment before answering.

"Well...I'm what you would call a 'moviegoer'." She replied hesitantly, not sure if whatever place Moreena came from had such conveniences.

West Side - Near Whitehall Motel

As Moreena and Lara started discussing other things, Eliza glanced in the direction Sabaoth marched off in. She briefly looked back towards her companions, before staring down at the ground, curling her hands up into fists, and sighing.

"...I'm going after Sabaoth," she said, "He's up to something, and the last thing we need is to have him wrecking havoc when Darius and Iao are trying to make us look good." She turned to Moreena and Lara. "If you want to come with me, you're welcome to. But I'm not forcing you to continue on with this."

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

Market Street - Open Air Bazaar —> Mall

"Chaps?" Teri looked at Nick. "Sir Archibald might use that term, but that's only 'cos he's a toff and a Victorian one to boot."

Wolfe grinned. "What ho! Chaps, offleh nice to see you. Pip pip! Huzzah, and all that." He looked at the group of youths. "I suspect you can all do your Iron Man stuff, but the Mall's a fair hike from here on the other side of the Arch, so we'd better take the bikes." And besides, he could stow his purchases in the panniers rather than lugging a plastic bag full of DVDs around.

Before James could open his mouth, Kris got in first. "I bags Teri's bike this time."

Wolfe looked at James. "Then I guess you're stuck with the crazy Kiwi."

"One of them, yes. Teri's stuck with the other."

They strolled back to where they had parked the bikes and Wolfe stowed the DVDs in one case and James' hat in the other. "This is where my bike's superior - Teri's is too cool to have a place to stick your hat. Apparently."

Kris beat Teri to the bike and held out her hand. "I've let you ride my bike."

Teri tried her hardest to look annoyed as she handed over the keys - an endeavour thwarted by the fact that she didn't really mind at all.

They set off back down Market Street towards the mall, Wolfe's bike in front, Kris following behind as she didn't know the way.

Not far past the Arch Center, Kris spotted a shop and abruptly pulled over and stopped. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up," she said as she put down the side stand and slipped off the bike.

Teri looked at the shop and grinned. "Gotcha!" She slid forward on the seat and turned the key on. "It's just up the road a bit on the same side. Our bikes will be parked outside." She took off in pursuit of Wolfe's bike.

Wolfe parked up outside the mall and he and James wandered into the bike shop and headed for the shelves and racks bearing the helmets.

James' eyes took in the wide array of helmets on offer and found himself attracted to the novelty ones. "What are these?"

Wolfe wandered over. "Lemme see, Batman, Predator, Master Chief, Tron, Spider Man, Iron Man, Imperial Storm Trooper..."

James pointed at one. "That one looks like the helmet Karl had when we met him, only black."

Teri strolled up. "You're not seriously looking at those are ya?"

"Oh come on, can't you just see him in that 'Demonic Skull' number? Where's Kris?"

"She'll be here shortly."

"Fine, but stop calling me 'Shortly', I'm nearly five-foot-seven."

James turned to Teri. "Actually, I would like one like yours with the front that lifts up."

"In that case, this way, please."

Kris spotted the bikes parked outside the mall. This must be the place. She slowed the rental motorcycle and parked it behind Teri's bike. Now to join the others and find a decent helmet.

I presume that the Not-Chaos-Hunters will fly to the Mall, so they may well have spotted Kris stopping at the rental place and would probably beat her to the Mall.

edited 26th Jul '15 2:39:58 AM by Wolf1066

[Waterfront]

Angua nodded to the both of them. "Right. Let's."

---

The three of them had paid for their goods and taken the short walk down the boardwalk onto the beach. Numerous beings of all clades and kinds were around, relaxing under the sun or enjoying the water. At present the weather was fair, with the sun partially hidden behind a bank of clouds.

"Well," said Angua, "this is real nice! Sun's not out, but it's still pretty warm."

yey

[West Side]

Kevin nodded at the officers, pretending he gave a shit. Sometimes there was nothing else he could do. Once they were dismissed, he adjusted his gun holster. He put his weapon in another section of his coat. He trailed behind Gev.

He already considered what he'd do once the deal with Seon was over, in fact, before they even set off for him. He caught up to them and said, "Hey Roderick, I uh, need to talk."

He looked down, towards his hands with the printed ticket. "I screwed up. Badly. I jeopardized Gev's mission, and I- I couldn't help your partner," he drawled, "I thought I could help. But I didn't. So uh, I think it's best for me to move on. I'm sorry."

He glanced around the impoverished area. "I'm thinking my target, Kommissar, is somewhere in this area. Probably with that woman Echo. You think you could find them on your sheet? I think I could do something about them."

Life is hard, that's why no one survives.

Waterfront

"It sure is," Garkin said, and bent down to take off his boots. "You feel like taking a swim?" he asked the others while looking out across the (very blue) waves. He put the boots inside his backpack, together with his folded up uniform, and felt the warm sand between his eight clawed toes. For a moment, he felt oddly at peace.

West Side - Near Whitehall Motel

"Oh, you are?" Moreena said, in a tone of mixed curiosity and recognition. "The mortals back home haven't reinvented film yet, but I've watched a few from the old days, and from other worlds of course."

She turned to Eliza. "I suppose that you could use some backup in that case," she said. "We wouldn't want that oversized mech of his to tear down the city, now would we?" She glanced over at Lara. "What do you say?"

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

[Market Street] (Bazaar)

"Fine." Said Miyuki. "Tell us what the man looks like, and what the rock looks like. And I presume you've already got something arranged with this man. Otherwise why would he abandon his trade with the other party for us?" She paused, briefly. "If this is likely to be dangerous, tell me now. I don't like surprises, and if things go poorly I will find you." She said, rather matter-of-factly.

Akira gulped and stayed quiet. He often forgot how intimidating Miyuki could be.

Not entirely dead.

[NEAR WHITEHALL MOTEL]

Lara looked to the side, thinking about Eliza's request for help. Almost a whole minute later, she nodded.

"Count me in." She confirmed. Then giving a smile that looked every bit sincere, she added, "Even if it's just to make sure he doesn't reduce you to a bloody smear on the sidewalk. Or vice-versa."

[Waterfront (Beach)]

For a moment, Qrlil felt unaccountably guilty at enjoying the pleasant weather. Or no, not 'unaccountably' exactly - she could tell fairly well what the problem was. It didn't seem right that she was here, enjoying a relaxing early afternoon and a date (of... some sort, at least), when there were so many responsibilities she needed to be fulfilling. The cosmos only knew what Wesley's conditions were at this moment, but they certainly weren't anywhere near as pleasant as this. And for her own part, she had come here with the intent of diplomacy, and she hadn't done as much of that as she had meant to.

Of course, there were perfectly rational reasons for her current activities. They needed to give it a bit of time before trying to rescue Wesley, and she needed to wait until she could contact Skrahsis again before she could resume her duties. (Off that thought, she checked her backup again: still nothing). But all the same, it was hard not to feel the pressure of responsibility upon her relaxation.

She sighed, fimrly resolving to shed off such thoughts and enjoy the moment while it lasted. She glanced over at Zerrimus. "If you want to, that is all right with me," she said, "but I think I will just lie here and bask in the sun for a moment."

She stroked the sleeve of her robes - which she was still wearing for the time being - and the fabric thinned a little further, letting in more sunlight and heat while still not appearing overly translucent. She gave Angua a glance, wondering if the kasuar would make a comment (and also if she wanted her to), then lay down on the warm sand and crossed her arms behind her head, resting it on them.

"Mmm. Sun or not, this is indeed fairly warm."

[Market Street ~ Open-Air Bazaar (Near Apothecary)] (Akira, Buso, Kyana, Luíseach, Miyuki)

Luíseach met the young woman's words with a piercing stare, her mouth slightly open in neither a smile nor a frown, her eyes unflinching. After a few moments, she broke into a wide, jack-o-lantern grin and said, "Oh, I very much doubt that." Slowly, she pursed her lips and let out a rather pent up breath. "As I've said before, this job isn't meant for you. You don't have to participate. If you don't want in, then feel free to leave at any time. But don't expect to be paid to take a walk in the park."

"Luíseach." Buso said, trying to interject. He succeeded in drawing her attention to him, but that was it.

"If it was a simple delivery, I could have any old chump off the street to do it. But it isn't, and that's why I've elected to have Buso handle it."

"Elected to have me handle it." Buso repeated in a mutter, turning his mask towards Kyana.

"Honestly speaking, Buso should be the one to pay you." Luíseach continued, eyeing the man up and down, "It's him you're helping, not me."

"Lets not start this, please, Luíseach." Buso said with a sigh. He was sounding less annoyed and more tired the further their talk with Luíseach wore on. "Why don't you just tell us who it is you want us to ste- ...hhghhh..." Buso let out another large sigh, "to... 'ree-treeve' this rock from? You've implied that I would know them." He crossed his arms again.

Luíseach shook her head slightly, a small, emotionless smile on her lips. "Not by name."

Buso's arms loosened. He was silent for a few moments, then said, "Describe him."

"Gaunt, long black hair, eyes locked in a perpetual squint." She said, the same emotionless smile lingering on her lips. "Need me to go on?" When Buso said nothing, she went ahead. "Receding hairline. Pointy little beard and mustache. Long, gash-like scar right down the center of his forehead. Another on his nose."

Her smile widened very slightly and very slowly, as though she were reacting to some change in Buso's imperceptible expression. "...Need me to go on?" she said again, almost in a murmur. A sweet, insidious murmur.

Buso's head bowed slightly, hanging that way for a few seconds. "So that's it. That man." He raised his head again. "I've been on good terms with him. ...You know that?"

"Well then, maybe you can be diplomatic about it. Invent a new sob story of how that rock is your only ticket out of the birdcage. Or better yet, tell him that you'll die without it, or whatever crap you told your new groupies."

"Thirty ounces of buchu powder." Buso said, abruptly and firmly. "No strings. No ands. No buts. No onlys."

"Buso," Luíseach shook her head, "I have the entire city's salable stock of buchu. You could have-"

"Thirty ounces. Powder." Buso repeated. He turned to the others. "If you want to make a deal with Luíseach, you had better make it now. It would not be wise to try to bargain with her once she already has what she wants."

"Ugh, you talk about me like I'm some kind of swindler." Luíseach said with a groan, "So rude. And I always deal fairly. Buso baby, maybe you wouldn't have to be so decietful to get friends if you were just a little more polite to other people. Even if they are so so inferior to you."

Buso ignored her, but to the others, he added in a quiet voice, "I advise you not to ask for or accept too much. Even if she offers it herself."

this place needs me here

[West Side (Autocab)]

As the cops left, Roderick rubbed the bridge of his nose. Idiots. God. Damned. Idiots. The PD here must be desperate. Seriously, the earlier group followed protocol just fine. And they were responding to actual gunshots. And what may or may not have been nerve gas. And an actual dead body. But these dickheads were worked up about motherfucking SPEEDING? Someone needed to take a long walk off a short pier.

"No," he said to Gev. "Just remote viewing. We could try to just get to the portal before them and wait — it's the only way out, after all — but..." He groaned and said a great many colorful things that were largely various permutations and synonyms of varying levels of obscenity of "assholes".

He sympathized a bit with Kevin as he talked, in spite of the damage. It happened to everybody once or twice, bare minimum. Roderick gave a shrug that he couldn't quite get to look nonchalant. "It wasn't your fault. Well, not completely your fault. 25% your fault, maybe, at the most. But while those guys had some points, they also had sticks so far up their asses they were coming out their mouths. Seriously, all that talk about lawyers and lawsuits? They were more interested in covering their own behinds then actually, you know, catching criminals. Which they probably have plenty of experience in, considering they automatically assumed we'd spray bullets everywhere. Methinks somebody's got too itchy a trigger finger."

He glanced briefly at Gev, then muttered to Kevin, "But Gev's the one you should really be apologizing to, not me. And don't think I'll act as the go-between. So if you do that, I'll make the necessary calls to keep any more asswipes like those off our backs, and..." He shrugged. "Well, we'll see. No promises, but I've hardly got anything better to do."

[New City]

Koyel watched them flee for a bit, mildly amused. "Indeed," he said, "perhaps they have learned a valuable lesson in trifling with the unknown." Then he turned to Varnas and said, "hungry already? Your magic takes that much out of you? Or have I lost track of time in all this fun?" He shrugged. "I am told there is a cafe nearby. This may do; I could do with a bit of tea myself."

Waterfront

Garkin left his Hawaii shirt and backpack in the sand next to Qrlil and Angua - biometric locks activated just in case, of course - and walked down to the edge of the beach. After several months with only the ship's small pool available, the enormous ocean seemed a bit intimidating at first, but the weather was nice, and the water had a relatively pleasant temperature considering yesterday's thunderstorm. He let out a quiet sigh of temporary calmness, and went for a short swim, using his wings as makeshift paddles.

West Side (Sky)

Meanwhile, Glitch the drone hovered far above the western part of the Capital, scanning the buildings one at a time for any sign of the Commonwealth safehouse. It was momentarily distracted as it noticed some kind of giant robot step on a car, and what looked like a car chase a few blocks further away, but quickly returned to it's search.

Still a great "screw depression" song even after seven years.

Meiko's Cafe

"Ah very well Mademoiselle. Take your time to adjust, it is only your first day after well." she said and turned back to Kiyumi and Naoko who were helping a young couple to a table and had just come back. "Well that was easy, except Naoko really you should try to smile. That guy seemed a tad bit uneasy around you." Kiyumi said with a small chuckle. Naoko simply nodded. "Very well. I will try."

Bus - Old City

Midori nodded in agreement to Sophie's words to the strange figure. "I haven't seen any except you so far but I also will keep a sharp lookout for others of your race. Nice to have met you. Bye now!" she said and started walking with Sophie around Old City. Her eyes gazed over everything around and she looked a bit nervous. "Where do we even start?" she said. Old City was rather large, maybe not as large as New City but finding a piece of an artifact in a big city was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Market Street - Open Air Bazaar

So, a fight was expected with this exchange for the rock? Or at least Kyana had thought until Buso mentioned he knew the man she had described. Maybe they could just talk to him and let him know the situation. And perhaps he would be kind enough to simply hand over the rock. But the fire girl would prepare herself for anything. All of this was going to be a hassle no matter which way it turned. When Buso mentioned to negotiate with the woman Kyana had to stop and think. Did she want anything? More importantly, would this woman give her anything if she even asked? Looking back to the two of them she said, "I just want Buso to get what he needs. And for my companions to get their money. I...I don't want anything." What Kyana really wished for was something that wasn't physically obtainable anyway.

"Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie?"

[Waterfront - Beach]

Angua sat down cross-legged next to where Qrlil was relaxing, still dressed in her leather travel garb. She hadn't yet had the opportunity to change into her new trunks, which presently lay draped around her neck, a leg on each shoulder.

She was looking at the beach and it's inhabitants around them, but her gaze found Garkin and she watched him walk into the water.

"So uh," Angua said, not turning from her observation, "it's probably 'cause of your diplomat's expert poker face, but I haven't been able to get a read on which of the two of us you're- y'know."

yey

[Museum Park]

Orenue sighed and said, "I see. Well, we'll just have to finalize the details then. I'm ready to do my half, so once you're able to do yours..." she sighed, then looked around. "Hmm, we seem to have bored our friend. No matter." She bit her lip, considering. "Now," she said, "I dare say, we have the worst taste in conversation topics. It's all about business, xenophobia, and war. Throw in some alcohol and punching, and I might just start to get homesick!" She paused — maybe she'd just been a bit too candid, but was now curious to see if that merited a reaction.

[Desiccated Refinery]

Echo just shrugged and said, "pest control. All we can do. Can't build a better world. Would need better people. No good way to do that." She tilted her head. "Hope is a nice lie. Wish I were dumb enough to believe it." She was beginning to tap her foot to no particular rhythm, perhaps a sign she wouldn't mind being gone. The day was still young, after all. "Might want to move. Don't want mirror-man tracking us. Could be too late."

New City - Meiko's Cafe

Samantha just nodded, before turning to see Kiyumi and Naoko returning from their first duties.

It was then that it occurred to her just how stupid she was acting. She was supposed to be the leader of this merry band, and it wasn't very leader-like to mope about having to wear a silly outfit while her underlings acted completely mature about it. That was just setting a bad example; the sort of behavior she'd expect out of Sophie or perhaps Midori and not herself.

She shook her head, and said with her usual tone of voice, "...I do believe it's my turn. And as for you..." She pointed at Kiyumi and Naoko. "Let us never speak of that display again."

---

West Side - Near Whitehall Motel

Eliza chuckled in response to Lara. "Very well then. We best be heading off now."

She then glanced in the direction Sabaoth walked off in again. "Unfortunately, I don't have an easy way of tracking him down. Since he's an Archon unit he can override any orders I give the drones so those won't be of much help, and since I don't have an exact position we can't just warp to him. I think our best bet is just heading in the same direction as him; he'll probably take the most direct route to his destination and I doubt he's that concerned about anyone following him."

Waiting for nrjxll for Sophie.

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