Character Capital

Old City - Old Arena

Samantha snarled as Naoko dodged her next attack.

Her response this time was to stand her ground and wait for her opponent to come to her instead. When Naoko's attack came within a hair of hitting, she warped behind her and slashed diagonally at Naoko's back to rip through any shadow barriers that might get in her way, followed up by a straight kick aimed at Naoko herself.

If by some fluke the sword made direct contact with Naoko, it would not cut her or leaving any lasting damage. However, it would still sting quite a lot.

---

City Center - Spire (60th Floor Conference Room)

Eliza nodded. "I was planning on doing so anyway. After all, they will recognize my voice at least."

A short while later, they reached the room where Darius and Iao were supposedly waiting. She raised an eyebrow; she was expecting some drones to be stationed outside to act as bouncers, but there were none present. Maybe the local security didn't want them entering the building or something?

She didn't dwell on it. She reached up to the door and knocked. "We have arrived," she said simply.

"Come in," came the voice she recognized as Darius's from the other side of the door, and then the door automatically opened. Eliza nodded at Moreena and Lara before she entered.

Much like the other conference rooms in the Spire, this room had a back wall that was nothing but a window with a grand view of the rest of the city visible through it. A long black table stretched out across the middle with numerous chairs surrounding it.

On the side of the table opposite to the doors stood the young man and the dark-skinned man, who watched the group enter. Once they had come in and the door had shut behind them, the former smiled pleasantly.

"Welcome," he said, "I am Darius, the current Master of the Bleaksteel forces."

"And I am Iao," said the dark-skinned man, "the second Archon of the Bleaksteel and Master Darius's right hand."

They both offered the group a formal bow.

"You must be Moreena and Lara. Eliza has told me much about you," Darius said once their introduction was finished, before motioning to the seats. "Feel free to take a seat, and we can get down to business."

---

West Side - Near Whitehall Motel

"All right, then," was all the mech said to the bird creature, actually sounding rather disappointed that she (as far as it could tell) decided not to blame it for the distraction.

After that it stopped paying attention to the other proceedings; there really was nothing more to see there. It instead focused squarely upon the two on the rooftops, which amusingly it could see without having to move an inch when the pair was apparently hidden from those on the ground.

If it so desired, it could simply attempt to snipe the pair right there and then. However, the machine wanted a true and proper fight, and those two, the woman especially, could likely give it one. Why try to kill such promise before they could even show it? Besides, there was a bunch of riffraff in the way right now, and although it was confident that no one here could actually hurt it it didn't want the interruption.

Instead, it remained where it was, waiting for the pair to depart. Then it would track them down later, when there would be little chance of interruption.

---

There was absolutely no change in the overall weather as midday arrived. Things might have gotten slightly warmer, but otherwise the differences between this hour and the last were minimal at best and not likely to be noticed by most.

Current time: Noon (~12:00 PM)
Current weather: Mostly clear

edited 28th Jun '15 6:30:46 PM by Yomegami

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

[SPIRE-6OTH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM]

"And we've heard about you." Lara returned, walking inside with her attention briefly occupied by the oversized window.

"I am Lara, and the other one is Moreena." She introduced herself, nodding curtly and taking a seat a few chairs down from where the interested party was.

edited 29th Jun '15 4:33:00 AM by TroPartner

Bus - Market Street Bus Stop

Kyana blushed a bit at Akira's response and replied, "Yeah...It's going to be interesting for sure how I manage..." She tilted her head a bit, thinking what was a ex-soldier doing with a cyborg now and wondered if they used to work together and decided to hang out after quitting. Or they were dating. That seemed possible too. "I see." she said and looked out the window.

They were approaching the bus stop to Market Street now and she could see Miyuki waiting for them. "Looks like we are here. Let's go!" she exclaimed with a grin and hopped off the bus. "Hey! We're here! Sorry if we kept you waiting." Kyana called out to Miyuki.

Old City - Arena

Samantha's plan worked for the most part, Naoko's shadows swarmed to protect her backside and were cut in the process and her kick got Naoko in the upper stomach. She flew back and bit, only to have more shadows catch her. It was like the shadows were sentient, protecting and obeying Naoko's every command like trained dogs. She stalled for a second to catch her breath then charged again, this time leaping high in the air and coming down with a flying kick, her shadows enveloping her leg.

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

Neriad Hotel (Sub-basement Level)

"Alright then," Garkin said, watching Sazed pick something up from the floor. He removed the grappling hook attachment from his gun, the side of the barrel folding away to let the wire loose, and secured it to his belt.

"Grab hold of me and I'll get us up there."

Gault, you can have them reach the banquet hall in your next post if you want to.

The Spire (6th Floor Conference Room)

Moreena gave the two men a polite nod before taking a seat as well. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I was told you would have questions."

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

[Neriad Hotel - Sub-basement Level -> 20th Floor Banquet Hall]

Sazed held himself tightly to Garkin, arms around the alien's waist. As the two of them began their ascent, Garkin felt that Sazed's weight seemed to be far, far less than it looked. He was a fully grown man- a good deal larger than most, even- and yet he held on easily, seeming to weigh only a fraction of what must have been his true weight.

Given this, the two of them made it up the shaft to the Banquet Hall in record time and with no difficulty. Sazed, with his long limbs, reached over to the elevator doors and pulles himself across, then assisted Garkin.

"Well," he said, smiling, "That was easier than I had expected."

yey

Neriad Hotel (20th Floor Banquet Hall)

After getting the elevator doors open, Garkin stepped out into the banquet hall, scratching the side of his head. He was still feeling uneasy, and the strange man's odd lack of weight hadn't helped. What's up with this guy?

"We're not out yet," he said, before pointing towards the large double doors of the banquet hall. "This way."

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

[Neriad Hotel -> Embassy Row (Sidewalk)]

Qrlil made her way out of the elevator and into the hotel's lobby. She stopped for a moment to offer a polite bow of farewell to Axuiotl Saklaxiuoilikam (assuming he was still working there), then made her way out onto the street. The clearer - and more importantly, warmer - weather brought a pleased hiss from her mouth, but it was only after she had walked a few blocks away from the Neriad Hotel that she finally, finally felt the weight of nervousness she'd been carrying all day begin to truly lift.

I can't believe that worked. I mean, I suppose it didn't, not entirely - we still don't know where Wesley is, and I'm still somewhat worried by that communications failure. But I had... I hadn't really expected that whole ruse of negotiations to not make them at least a little suspicious, but it seems as though it might have actually gone over as intended.

I just hope it actually did some good.

She wanted to call Zerrimus again, but without knowing his current situation she couldn't take the risk of interrupting during a situation he needed to focus. So instead she thought of the other person she wanted to hear from right now. Taking the communications device off her robe where it was attached, she put in a call to Angua.

"Hello. I'm, er, finished for now, heading back to the suite. Is... everything else all right?"

[Alley Near Whitehall]

Roderick shrugged and muttered, "It happens. At least he found Francisca." His voice was a little distant, but controlled.

"Don't know what an... etis-tra looks like, so couldn't tell you if I saw your target. You wouldn't happen to have a picture of them, do you?" I hope so. Why do these 'I'm tracking someone' guys never seem to have pictures?

He glanced at the security force gathering near the end of the alley. "And, you know, I should talk with them; I'm a police officer, after all. Could get information leading to your target-" He nodded to Gev. "-or get them to start looking for Echo. Cops don't like cop killers or the people associated with them. And if they get Kommissar, too, all the better."

Old City - Old Arena

Samantha backed off after finally managing to land a hit on Naoko and once again waited for her opponent to make a move, carefully noting just how her shadow abilities appeared to function.

She responded to Naoko's next attack by again warping behind her to both avoid it and to attempt to send Naoko flying straight down towards the ground with a midair stomp.

---

City Center - Spire (60th Floor Conference Room)

"Indeed," Darius replied as he and Iao sat down opposite of the three women, "As Eliza has no doubt told you, I wish to judge your interest in helping us with a few things. By no means are you obligated to anything I might ask of you. Even ignoring the morals of forcing you to do my bidding, I do not have the means nor the desire to try my luck against a goddess."

He clasped his hands together. "But before we get to that, let me ask you this: What, if anything, has Eliza told you about our organization in her time with you?"

Eliza opted to sit with Lara and Moreena rather than with her fellow Bleaksteel members and opted to remain silent.

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

[Market Street ~ Bus Stop] (???, Miyuki)

As Miyuki descended upon the bus stop, the figure was busying itself with something on its arm; a rare moment where its expressionless mask was turned down, away from the street and away from the skies. It adjusted the cloth around its arm, loosening or tightening, or twirling between its fingers, and slowly lifted its head back to the city street, raising its arms so as to adjust its mask and cowl as well.

Once it seemed settled, the figure resumed its watch of the street, though it only lasted a few seconds. Either by seeing her out of the corners of its eyes—or at least, its mask's eyes—or sensing someone's own intense stare upon its person, the figure finally took notice of the girl. At first, only the mask turned, swiveling in place like an owl's head, until it reached a point where the figure's upper body had to give way to turn any further. But that apparently wasn't enough for the figure. Eventually, the figure turned its whole body to face Miyuki, meeting her stare—or at least appearing to meet her stare—directly.

The figure was silent for a few seconds, to the point where one might expect it to turn away and act as though nothing was happening. But something was happening. With no prior indication, no hand gestures, no clearing of the throat, and forgoing even a word of greeting, the figure posed a question.

"Are you a charitable soul?" it asked. It's voice was slightly muffled, but still came through surprisingly clear. The voice was masculine, but soft, or at least smooth. The kind of mellow voice that could read a phone-book for a live audience without getting a single heckler.

A bus rolled up to the stop, but the figure's mask remained fixed on Miyuki.

this place needs me here

[SPIRE-6OTH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM]

Lara leaned forward in scrutiny, growing wary thanks to the man's words. The phrase "Forcing you to do my bidding" concerned her, to say the least.

Stowing these concerns away in the back of her head, Lara moved onto the next question.

"What we've learned so far-" She was interrupted by a tiny buzzing noise. When it stopped, Lara looked down to see a fly crawling to and fro on her fire bracelet.

Scorching the insect into nothingness by heating up said bracelet to a considerable degree, the girl continued.

"Well, to point out the elephant in the room, she's told me about this Sabaoth character, and that he's the best fighter you have. Otherwise, you're having trouble with girls using certain relics."

[Market Street] (Bus Stop)

The bus pulled up to the stop, people spilled out of it, Kyana and Akira included. But Miyuki didn't take her eyes off the stranger. Kyana called out to her, but she gave no response. Akira walked over to her, and she barely acknowledged him.

"Hey!" He said.

"Hi." She replied, quickly, never taking her eyes off the masked man.

"I missed..." Akira began. Then he followed her gaze and saw the eerie figure she was staring at. He found the stranger to be quite intimidating, and involuntarily took a few steps back. "Uh..." He said, nervously. "Who's that?"

"I don't know." She muttered, under her breath. Slowly, she turned her whole body towards the stranger, and finally answered his question.

"No." She said.

Not really, anyway. She thought.

Akira gulped. "'No' what?" He asked, softly.

"He asked me if I was charitable." She said. "I'm not."

Akira wasn't sure where all this was going, and although he still held some hope that the scary-looking individual before them was totally benign and was simply dressed that way for interesting cultural reasons, the situation still made him terribly uneasy. He hastily beckoned for Kyana to come closer and join them (and assuming she does so), then said "I don't suppose you know this guy, do you?"

Not entirely dead.

[Market Street ~ Bus Stop] (???, Miyuki, Akira, Kyana)

The figure was silent as Miyuki's company departed the bus and came over to greet her. Though he still seemed to have her attention locked well enough onto his person, he waited until the other two also took notice of him before continuing.

Drawing one arm out slowly from beneath his short cloak, the figure gestured in Akira and Kyana's direction. "...and your friends?" He asked, in the same patient tone. The voice certainly had age to it, yet each word was presented so carefully that it generated an illusion of near immaculacy. Even through the mask. Even across the several feet of distance between them. The voice fit flush into the air that carried it.

this place needs me here

City Center - The Spire (60th Floor Conference Room)

Moreena raised an eyebrow. Darius was apparently both relatively honest and straight to the point. She glanced over at Lara before speaking.

"I've heard that you are a 'scientific organization focusing on robotics with the ultimate goal of improving the world.' I'm not sure how the army of giant mechanical suits fits into it all though."

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

Old City - Arena

Naoko had missed her target but was quick enough to turn around and had some of her shadows cushion her fall but sent others straight at Samantha in attempts to grab her, it's form changing to look like hands.

Market Street - Near Bus Stop

Kyana slowly crept off the bus, a brow raised as Miyuki seemed to be staring at someone. She turned her head and froze at the strange man who seemed to be returning her stare. She followed Akira as they joined up together and Miyuki said the man was asking if she was charitable.

Kyana jumped a little when the man suddenly asked her and Akira the same question. Looking to Akira she shook her head. "I...don't know him no. And um, I don't have a whole lot of money sorry sir." she said, whispering first to Akira then speaking out to the cloaked figure. She was curious who he was, his outfit odd and his voice even more so.

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

[Neriad Hotel - 20th Floor Banquet Hall]

Sazed followed close behind Garkin, his bald head on a swivel. He said, "I'm not quite sure just what you have in mind for an escape plan. I doubt the Commonwealth guards will just allow me to walk out the front door- and furthermore, if they see me with you, they are likely to make the connection that you are responsible for my escape. This would no doubt hamper your efforts to find who you were looking for, which would be a less than ideal outcome to this rescue. I do not wish for my freedom to come at the expense of your friend's."

---

[Quantum Hotel - Alliance Suite]

Angua answered immediately.

"Qrlil! Yeah, yeah- things are fine. Well- okay, not really. Things didn't go like we thought. Wesley wasn't there, the Commonwealth were keeping someone else down in that freezer jail. But- good news! He seemed to have heard something about a Commonwealth safehouse in the West Side where they were keeping someone else."

She spoke hurriedly, sounding more excited than scared. "Listen, I'll meet you back at the hotel. Garkin still needs to get out, but after that, we should be good."

yey

Neriad Hotel (20th Floor Banquet Hall)

"Yeah, we can't let anyone see you," Garkin answered. "I reserved a room close by. I say we get there first. Then we'll um, find you a disguise or something. Or maybe just climb out through the window, though that might not be very discreet. There's a safe place down the street that we should head to."

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

[Neriad Hotel - 20th Floor Banquet Hall]

Sazed nodded and followed behind Garkin to his room.

yey

[West Side (Near Whitehall Motel)]

Gev nodded. "Yeah, that's him." Or probably him, at least - it wasn't a very common surname and she hadn't seen any other etis-tra in this place, so a coincidence was very unlikely. "Rah-Klev Seon, procurement agent for the Etis-Tra Dissident Movement. Or one faction of it, anyway, universe knows there's like a thousand of them."

She blinked at Roderick's response, before remembering that he was from a different reality, one that might not have etis-tra. "Oh, yeah, sure. Gimme a moment..." She fiddled with her armor's controls for a moment, then held a hand out, palm up and claws spread. It projected a short, full-color image of her target, or at least as he had appeared at the time when last seen by FLS.

She gave the white machine, which had seemingly lost interest in everything, a curious look with one eye. Then she turned and began walking over towards the local security gathering at the end of the alleyway.

Not sure how to handle interacting with them.

[Embassy Row (Sidewalk)]

Qrlil found her mouth twitching into a smile at Angua's voice, almost without even intending it. How odd. I should consider that further - but later on. The news itself wasn't quite as good, but it was not as if she hadn't already known or guessed most of it. And at least we do have a... a lead, I suppose.

"Very well," she said into the communications device. "I will be there soon."

She re-attached it to her robe and set off down the street in the direction of the Quantum Inn.

Very short, but I have to go now. She'll arrive when I'm back.

Didn't want to double-post, but since no one else has done so in several hours...

[Embassy Row (Sidewalk) -> Quantum Inn (Alliance Suite)]

As Qrlil made her way down Embassy Row towards the hotel, she decided to take the moment for an emotional self-assessment. The results proved to defy simple analysis. Her immediate feelings of relief still remained, but they were rapidly beginning to flake away in favor of renewed anxiety; while a part of it was still about Zerrimus (and also the prisoner he had rescued - who she was now somewhat curious about) escaping safely from the Neriad, increasingly that was joined by concerns about the future. Some of those concerns were of a similar nature to those she'd already had, regarding how to safely rescue Wesley from this safehouse in the West Side.

But there were also concerns about what would come next in general. For one thing, she was uncertain how and when she'd resume her "normal" life, something that was not helped by the mysterious loss of contact with Skrahsis. What would she do if it couldn't be established again? Go back through the Gate? But would time here pass the same way as it did there? It seemed like a risk, especially considering her current circumstances.

And on that note... She still wasn't at all certain about this attempt at trying to maintain a romantic relationship with two people at once, and each of them posed problems on an individual level as well. Even now, she didn't know Zerrimus that well, and events had completely cracked the casual and exploratory ideas she'd initially hoped for. Angua she did know well, but that was troublesome on its own - she felt on very uncertain ground trying something like this. It was all very... frustrating.

Still, she couldn't deny that she was looking forward to trying to figure some of this out.

Deciding that what she needed most right now was to release a bit of stress, she looked at the buildings she was passing as she approached the Quantum Inn. She hadn't really been able to see them very well last night, considering the unfortunate weather, and she was curious about them now. Some were bland-looking metallic blocks of the type apparently all too common among human settlements, but there was also some interesting and alien new designs. Here was a sprawling complex that looked almost like a small park, with exotic vegetation and little falls of water going down its sides and onto its grounds. There, a towering red obelisk with small glowing signs in many languages around it.

It was almost enough to make the Quantum Inn look somewhat prosaic - at least from the outside. Once inside, she paused a moment to admire its own decorations, especially the sparkling crystal that seemed common and the glass elevators going up the sides of the main lobby. Both reflected the light in attractive ways, at least to her mind.

She made her way over to the elevators, and after a quick trip up, to her suite. After rattling off the admission phrase, she opened the door.

"Angua? I am back now."

[Market Street] (Bus Stop)

Miyuki stood firm. She didn't see any weapons on the stranger, so she kept her hand by her side, and not on the hilt of her sword. For now.

Akira was just about quaking in his boots. "Am - am I... Ch-charitable?" He stammered. "Oh, uh, well, um... I guess so? I mean, I, uh, um, I've never, y'know, really thought about it." He smiled nervously and gave a timid shrug. "Oh, but, I don't have any money either." He added. "None to spare, I mean. If that's what you were asking about."

Not entirely dead.

Old City - Old Arena

Samantha had started moving the second Naoko's shadows had cushioned her fall, and she was even faster in the air than she was on the ground. All the same, she warped to just below Naoko to ensure that she avoided the shadow hands and to get into a better position.

"Are all your attacks this obvious?" she asked of her opponent. It was intended mostly as a taunt, but try as she might she wasn't able to keep the sheer frustration out of her voice.

She then aimed a slash right below Naoko to sever her from her cushioning. If this succeeded, her next move would be to launch another kick at her opponent's upper back much like one would punt a football.

---

City Center - Spire (60th Floor Conference Room)

Darius noticed Lara roasting the fly. He raised an eyebrow at this but offered no comment about it.

"I will get to both of those in due time," he said to her, "But to briefly address them, Sabaoth should pose no issue to you for as long as I am here. The latter..." he hesitated briefly, before frowning slightly, "...is a bigger problem, and in fact is the subject of a request of mine."

He then turned to Moreena, and sighed deeply. "I will not lie. The Bleaksteel were not founded with the intent of making the world a better place; that was merely the front we put on if anyone questioned us. What we really wanted was to dominate the world and hold it in fear. But I do not hold the same mentality. Our technology can indeed change the world significantly, but it needn't be through force." He nodded. "I fully intend on changing our organization from militaristic to truly beneficial. But alas, it is a long and rocky road when so many of our members are still used to our initial intent."

He sighed again. "Trust us, or don't. I will not judge you either way. But if you are willing to hear us out, I will try to make it worth your while."

Icon by Civvi the Civilian!

[Market Street ~ Bus Stop] (???, Miyuki, Akira, Kyana)

The figure's hand, still outstretched in its gesture, slowly closed into a fist. He took this fist and rapped it against the side of his head, striking the metal band with a soft clink. The motion was infrequent but rhythmic, like the swinging of a pendulum.

At the same time, the figure let out a quiet groan at Kyana and Akira's answers. His mask turned ever-so-slightly between both them and Miyuki, before finally settling on the redhead, though he seemed to address them all when he spoke.

"A small misfortune is bearing down upon this city." he said, releasing his hand from its clockwork pattern to wave it in the air. "Above your very heads. Below your very feet. In this very... spot. A small misfortune that can be prevented, but if it is not prevented, it may- it will grow and grow, and spiral into a greater tragedy." He drew his hand back beneath his cloak, and tipped his mask slightly upward. "The tragedy I speak of may never once touch your lives. It may not even weigh upon your mind a day from now. A bus fare from now. A cheap meal from now. But right now, any of you... all of you, can choose to prevent it."

He lowered his mask, turning it to Akira, "Are you..." the mask turned to Miyuki, "...a charitable..." the mask zeroed in on Kyana, "...soul?"

this place needs me here

Embassy Row - Neriad Hotel (20th Floor)

After a few nervous moments of sneaking through corridors and peeking around corners, Garkin and Sazed eventually reached the hotel room. After closing and locking the door behind them, Garkin hurried over to the nearest window and looked outside. The way down to the street would be shorter than the elevator shaft had been, but climbing down the outside of the building wasn't really the same thing.

He gave another call to Angua. "Um, we might have a bit of a problem," he said. "Could you keep an eye out for any guards who might be the near the windows on this side of the building?"

City Center - The Spire (60th Floor Conference Room)

Quite honest and straight to the point, indeed. For a fraction of a second, Moreena's black eyes seemed unfocused, as if she was thinking about something and not really looking.

"I am listening," was all she said.

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

Bus —> West Side.

Gwion had spent enough time in Seon's presence to start picking up some of his tells and it seemed that he was becoming increasingly nervous as they approached their destination - which was quite understandable. Here, Seon had no allies, no local knowledge and wouldn't be able to fade into a crowd as he could back home - and to cap it all off, he would be dealing with strange customs and body language with which he had no experience.

Gwion gave him full marks for bravery and dedication in going ahead with it despite these things.

Gwion kept a weather-watch on the streets and stops until he saw names he recognised as being close to their destination. "Next stop should be ours." His voice was pitched not to carry far, despite being an innocuous-enough comment - force of habit.

The bus drew to a stop only a few doors away from where he wanted to go, a small bar where, according to the information he had gathered, they were likely to find a "Mister Jackson" who may well have information to sell.