<Brett> [Day: Friday, April 22nd.  Time: 5:30 p.m.]
<Brett> [Weather: It's a chilly night.  Only it's not night yet, but it's 
getting there.]
<Brett> [You're raiding the drug lord's HQ! Katie and Kyon charge bravely into 
the basement, with Haruko close behind.  Kaede, Taki and Satoshi remain outside.  
Man, I don't wanna run a combat tonight.]
<Brett> [But I have no choice!  Because although surprised at the sudden attack, 
the two guys in the basement: A tall, spikey-haired kid and a boy with a 
peculiar scythe-shaped mark on his cheek both seem like they're not just going 
to give up off the bat.  You may as well roll init while I finish typing 
description.]
<Brett> <<Now Loading>>
<Katie> d6+6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (d6+6) and gets a natural 4 for a result 
of 10.
<Katie> (Do we recognize the first one?)
<Haruko> d6+6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (d6+6) and gets a natural 5 for a result 
of 11.
<Kyon> d6+6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (d6+6) and gets a natural 1 for a result of 
7.
<Brett> [You sure do! It's Mr. Chariot.  Whatever his name is.  The basement is 
a large rectangular  room supported by two columns in the center.  It's 
cluttered, to say the least.]
<Brett> <<Still loading.  GM has a lot to process.>>
<Brett> [Cluttered with what? People, mostly.  There's ten people sitting in 
chairs in two columns along the walls: Five men, five women.  Most are 
unfamiliar faces, but a few you recognize: Ryuji Hazuki, Fuyuko Kageri, Reiji 
Ozora, and way in the back, Saki Morikawa.]
<Kyon> (My. Well then.)
<Brett> [They're obviously captives, being manacled in the chairs by both their 
wrists and ankles.  But they seem too out of it to do anything even if they 
weren't; they're all topless, each stuck with numerous needles drawing out some 
strange pinkish substance too light to be blood.]
<Haruko> (<Haruko> Sweet, topless Ryuji!  I mean, I am horrified by these 
conditions.)
<Kyon> (Yeah. I mean, lots of topless women? I hope Kaede brought some sweaters 
with him.)
<Brett> [The substance passes through machines nearby the captives, where it's 
apparently processed, and a single gel-like substance comes out a funnel on the 
other side, where it's collected into a jar.]
<Katie> (Kaede's all about removing sweaters.)
<Brett> ( That enough description for you? )
<Haruko> (Shit, this is a clue, Kaede set this all up, he's going to backstab 
us. ^_~_
<Haruko> (Yup!)
<Kyon> (That depends if there's more that's relevant. =P)
<Haruko> (Also, the floor is lava <Haruko> Doh!)
<Brett> [There is, actually! Saki's off by herself in the far corner of the 
room.  Oh, and the captives aren't compeltely unconscious, there's a very 
unpleasant collective groaning and moaning about the room.]
<Haruko> (Are they wearing any sort of power suppressers like the one Katie 
had?)
<Brett> [And there's some more jars in the back of the room, too.  Filled and 
empty.  They've all got labels on them.]
<Brett> [And that too!]
<Katie> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-2) and gets a natural 7 for a result 
of 5.
<Katie> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 
6.
<Haruko> ( Oh yeah, water source?  Pipes or such?)
<Kaede> (If we capture a bottle and sell it as perfume, could we call it "Eau de 
Saki"?)
<Brett> ( It tastes like gummi bears. )
<Brett> [And there are pipes overhead.  Hurray!]
<Brett> [Aight well, Haruko, Katie, Kyon, Scyther, Chariot]
<Brett> [Haruko, go! And don't take all night, I gotta get up early tomorrow for 
a doctor's appointment.]
* Haruko gasps at everything and tries to pull water from the pipes.
<Brett> ( It's actually those guys before you, but you got the drop on them. 
Yay. )
<Haruko> 2d6-1
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6-1) and gets a natural 8 for a result 
of 7.
<Haruko> (What's the stat?)
<Brett> ( Mmm, average soul/mind )
<Brett> [Haruko cracks a pipe, causing water to leak out.]
<Brett> [Katie!  And then Kyon go, too, 'cause I gotta afk a min.]
* Katie glances over the scene, hesitates on something near the back, and then 
says quietly, "Blow out the power." She walks down the stairs and shoves her 
hand towards Chariot, the air stirring into a wind that rushes at him.
* Haruko nods. "Right."
<Katie> 2d6+2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6+2) and gets a natural 9 for a result 
of 11.
<Katie> (Should be zero, but still fail.)
<Brett> [There's a light breeze. It feels kinda nice.]
<Haruko> (Three more elements and captain planet will come and help us!)
<Katie> (What?  Who's got Heart?)
<Kaede> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6-2) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 4.
<Taki> (Heart's either Taki or Kaede... we're fucked.)
<Brett> [The lights go out suddenly!  However, low lighting stays on in the 
basement, along with the machines, thanks to an auxiliary generator I was 
supposed to mention but forgot.]
<Brett> [Still, you're at a +2 to hit stuff if you don't have Blind fighting.]
<Kyon> (Kyon's carrying his own light, though.)
<Katie> (Yeah, Kyon's a light bug. ;P)
<Brett> ( K, +2 to hit stuff unless you've got blind fighting or you're Kyon or 
you're targeting Kyon. XD )
<Taki> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 
4.
<Kaede> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6-2) and gets a natural 7 for a result 
of 5.
<Haruko> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6) and gets a natural 5 for a result 
of 5.
* Kyon scowls as he enters the room, and stalks quickly over to Scythe boy, and 
grits out "Remember me?" as he rocks back and swings forward with his light 
hand, sprouting bright new flames as it goes.
<Kyon> 2d6-3
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-2) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 4.
<Brett> ( orz, I'll just make a new one for him. )
<Katie> (Ah, that's classic Brett. ^_~)
<Brett> ( Well really... >.> )
<Brett> [The punch hits Scyther completely by surprise.  He staggers and nearly 
topples, then snarls. "Son of a bitch! You're gonna regret that!"  A scythe 
appears in hands, growing seemingly from nothing, and he swings right back at 
Kyon.]
<Kaede> d6+6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (d6+6) and gets a natural 2 for a result 
of 8.
<Kyon> (The fire part didn't take, then?)
<Haruko> d6+6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (d6+6) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 12.
<Brett> ( It did! He's on fire! He just seems kinda pissed. )
<Taki> d6+7
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (d6+7) and gets a natural 2 for a result of 
9.
<Kyon> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-2) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 4.
* Haruko flinches at the guy on fire. Guy who nearly killed her before and is 
now on fire. Yeah, shield is totally going up between her and him.
<Brett> [Kyon deftly -- DEFTLY, mind you -- dodges the scythe.  It strikes one 
of the columns instead, taking a good sized chunk out of it.]
<Brett> [Meanwhile, the Chariot (who should totally be the Russian, but isn't), 
stomps forwards towards the stairs, using a massive hand to try to shove Kyon 
aside.  His eyes focus on Katie.]
<Brett> ( Gimme an unarmed defense roll, Kyon! )
<Kyon> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-2) and gets a natural 3 for a result 
of 1.
<Brett> ( For the record, running two combats at the same time totally blows, 
and I'll never do it again. )
<Brett> [Kyon avoids being shoved, but the big man pays him no mind.  Hey, when 
you're invincible....]
<Brett> [Your turn!]
* Kyon swings up his other arm with the sword in it, and tries to drive the 
point home through the shoulder of whichever of Scyther's arm is holding the 
scythe.
* Haruko puts up her wall between the good guys and the bad guys, particularly 
on fire guy. She frowns as she realizes she's not watery, but what'cha gonna do? 
She'll try to maximize the number of prisoners on her side of the wall, but 
that's secondary.
<Kyon> 2d6-3
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-3) and gets a natural 8 for a result 
of 5.
<Brett> [Kyon does just that!  He grimaces, glaring at Kyon with a look of pure 
hate, and lifts his scythe with his other hand.  But with only one hand, even a 
magic scythe is hard to wield.]
<Brett> ( And here I thought this would be a challenge. )
* Katie smiles a little at the crazy Chariot guy. "I'm glad you remember me," 
she says as he approaches. When he comes within striking distance, she does 
strike him - with the Sword.
<Katie> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6) and gets 2, a CRITICAL SUCCESS!!! "A 
WINNER IS YOU!"
<Katie> (Hey, I kick ass!)
<Brett> ( Hoo.... )
<Taki> (I think she wins)
<Kaede> (<Chariot> I'm invincible!  Invinci-bwaugh. <looks down> ...oh.)
<Haruko> (Tell me it's vorpal. :P)
<Brett> ( Mmmm.... Kyon, gimme a body roll! )
<Brett> ( Acrobatics helps. )
<Kyon> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 
5.
<Brett> [Katie strikes the Chariot! The sword howls as it slices through the 
air, and the moment it connects there's a tremendous gale, powerful enough that 
even Kyon and Scyther feel its effects.  Kyon manages to stay on his feet, but 
Scyther flies back, crumpling against the jars stacked at the far wall.  He 
falls to the ground and is knocked out, or maybe dead.  Who can say?  <more>]
<Brett> [As for Chariot, he joins Scyther shortly, hitting the far wall with a 
huge gash on his chest.  The gale apparently goes with him, as he's kept up 
against the wall by the unseen force.  Well, not just kept up; he's actually 
bored (born? Whatev') into the wall, hard enough so that he's leaves a nice 
Chariot-sized impression when the gale dies down and he falls to the ground.]
* Katie walks after them. "Better free them," she comments as she goes to make 
sure the two are dead.
* Kyon steadies himself, and nods quickly. He keeps his sword out to be wary, 
and his light going, and goes to Reiji first.
* Haruko lets the wall fall and rushes over to Ryuji. She removes his headband.
<Katie> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-2) and gets a natural 9 for a result 
of 7.
<Katie> 2d6-2
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-2) and gets a natural 3 for a result 
of 1.
<Brett> [Ryuji is hot.  He's not a muscular stud, but still has his charming 
good looks.]
* Haruko will save this mental image for later, but for the moment she has other 
priorities.
<Brett> [And Scyther's scythe seems not there now.]
* Kyon undoes Reiji's headband, and starts pulling out the wires.
* Katie kneels and checks on Scyther, then the Chariot. After spending a brief 
moment to evaluate their status, she pulls out her knife and shoves it under 
Scyther's chin, pushing the blade up until it hits his brain.
<Brett> [Reiji slumps over as the wires are pulled out.  "Ugh.... Where... 
Where...?"  His vocabulary seems weakened.]
<Brett> [Meanwhile, Katie commits homicide.]
* Haruko glances at Katie as soon as she gets the headband off. "Here, you can 
surpress! No! He was down!"
* Katie pulls out the knife, wipes it off on his clothes, and makes a mental 
note to dump it somewhere. Seriously. "Hm?" She glances at Haruko. "Oh, good 
idea."
* Katie walks over, pulls the suppressor off of Reiji, and heads on to the 
Chariot, slapping it on his head.
* Kyon smirks. "Osaka. Not going to win any vocabulary contests." He glances 
over at Haruko, then to Katie. He pushes himself up off the ground, and makes 
his way over to Saki in the corner.
<Brett> [Katie can't.  Kyon's done that already.]
<Katie> (Oh, well then!)
* Katie realizes that isn't there and pulls it off of one of the nameless dudes.
* Katie slaps THAT on Chariot's head!
<Brett> [Huzzah!]
* Haruko just stands there for a moment. "We'll talk later." She then proceeds 
to get to work on picking figuring out how to undo Ryuji's manacles. 
Specifically whether it will be easier to pick the locks or have someone crush 
them.
* Kyon looks over Saki, then shakes his head quickly, smirks, and starts undoing 
her power suppressor headband.
<Brett> [The manacles are undoable easily if your hands aren't in them.  They're 
not locked with a key lock.]
* Katie shoves the same knife into Chariot, the same way she did with Scyther, 
beneath his chin and to his brain.
<Brett> [Katie commits another homicide.]
<Taki> (Steak: 3)
<Taki> (Streak even)
<Kyon> (So... do we have Saki revival?)
<Brett> [Saki looks pretty out of it.  The jar in the machine next to her is 
only about a quarter full.]
* Katie removes the knife again, again wipes it off, and takes a step back. She 
reaches up, adjusting her ear helpers to suppress sound, and pulls a gun from 
beneath her jacket. One bullet for the Chariot's head and one for his chest.
<Brett> [Katie commits.... I'm not even sure what it's called.  What's the crime 
term for maiming a corpse?]
<Kaede> (Necrocide?)
<Taki> (Desecration?)
* Haruko undoes Ryuji's manacles. When she hears the gunshots she stares over at 
Katie. "This is a rescue mission!! Stop! If you try to finish the people 
upstairs, it will be after you've gone through me."
* Katie rolls her eyes as she puts the gun away, then sheathes the Sword. "I'd 
rather not them come after us later."
<Brett> ( Necrocide. That could be our session title! )
* Kyon smirks as he pulls the lines out of her body, then starts a bit and looks 
over at Katie sidewise and scowls. He unfolds his crouching form and goes over 
to Katie. "Where's the gun from?"
<Katie> Tenjirou.
<Katie> I'll have to send him a thank you card.
* Katie goes to help free people.
<Katie> 2d6-4
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-4) and gets a natural 4 for a result 
of 0.
* Haruko scowls and Katie can probably hear the rain rapidly picking up outside. 
The water in the center of the room is agitated as if it's ready to stop more 
desecration. "Then you have a choice to make. They aren't Tenjirou or your 
doppleganger. If you *ever* want me to fight at your side again, you will stop 
this."
* Kyon rolls his eyes. "Stabbing wasn't enough?" He looks down at the body 
briefly, before he turns to look at Haruko. "Not now. Get everyone free first. 
Deal with internal issues later."
* Katie glances at the jars. "Hm. Maybe I can send him the jar with his jelly 
instead." And she removes another person's power suppresser, freeing him from 
his bindings.
<Katie> Not really.  It is the Chariot, so I figured two more insurances 
wouldn't hurt.
* Haruko nods. "Alright, but I will not let her kill the others." She focuses on 
removing the rest of the headbands and manacles.
* Kyon looks over the two bodies, shrugs quickly, sets his shoulders, then turns 
and goes to helping the captives, just like everyone else.
<Brett> [Eventually you get everyone free.  Some of them are unconscious, some 
of barely conscious and miserable.  Saki eventually comes to, herself. 
"What...?"]
<Katie> Drugs.  They didn't get you very much.
* Kyon turns to glance in Saki's direction. "Came to free you."
<Brett> [Saki grimaces and tries to get up, but that sure as hell doesn't work. 
"Shit."]
<Haruko> (Is Ryuji conscious?)
* Kyon shakes his head quickly. "Just stay there. Take you home with everyone 
else when we're ready."
<Brett> [Ryuji is not conscious.]
* Katie nods.
<Katie> Do you remember what happened to you?
* Kyon glances from where he is in front of Reiji to Haruko. "Contact the 
others; tell them we won down here, and get a status report."
<Brett> [You hear gunfire from above! Yay!]
* Haruko nods. "Already have, they're finding Eriko... shit!"
* Kyon blows out a breath. "They need help?"
<Haruko> Satoshi's shot, he's okay, but there's a guy with a gun on Eriko.
* Kyon thinks for a second, then nods tersely. "Is he Arcana?"
<Haruko> He apparently... okay, Satoshi's got him disarmed.
<Haruko> Let's get these people out.  They'll get Eriko.
<Katie> We need Taki, really.  We can't take them on the subway.
* Katie goes about checking on the machine or whatever the heck that created the 
drugs. Is it broken, at least?
<Brett> ( Six half-naked girls on the subway? Nah, won't draw attention. )
<Brett> ( Actually, only five of 'em. )
* Kyon goes over to where Katie is, examining the machine. "I'll torch it when 
we leave."
<Haruko> Maybe I should just steal a van.  I don't think Taki's getting us all 
the way home.
<Brett> [The machine is not broken, but oddly enough doesn't seem to be working 
right now, either.  Neither does the generator, actually.  Now it's all dark, 
except for the light Kyon has.]
* Katie nods.
* Katie walks over to inspect the jars. "Look at these."
* Haruko looks.
<Brett> [It's a pinkish gel.  You might confuse it with some kind of soap or 
skin cream under other circumstances.  All the jars have labels with names; many 
you recognize, some you don't.]
* Kyon stalks over to the jars, and stands over Katie looking at them.
<Kyon> (Katie, did you ever sheath the Sword?)
<Brett> [Suddenly the lights are back on and the generator and machines are 
working!]
<Haruko> Want me to go find one now?  We may need to get out of here fast.
<Brett> [The Sword, by the way, looks pretty ordinary unsheathed.  Not at all 
like the stuff of RPGs.]
* Katie picks up one of the jars and peers at the name. "Hiro Kasuga."
<Haruko> Poor guy.
<Katie> That's... the boy the other Saki said she was eating, back then.
* Katie frowns.
* Kyon nods quickly to Haruko. "Yeah. I'll book us a suite at a hotel here." He 
looks down at Katie, then at the jar. "She got the leftovers?"
* Katie nods. "I think so."
* Haruko heads out to the stairs and then turns back to Katie. "I've told 
Satoshi. I wasn't bluffing about working with you again." She then heads out.
* Katie glances at Haruko as she walks out.
<Katie> I didn't think you'd thank me.
* Haruko lets Katie get the last word.
<Brett> [Haruko meets with Eriko halfway there!]
* Haruko hugs Eriko. "Thank the Kami you're alright. They're all safe."
* Katie puts that jar down and picks up another one. "<What in the world do we 
do with these?>"
<Brett> [Eriko hugs back. "Hey, thanks for coming, I don't...." She trails off 
as she gets a look at the room. "Oh... oh God... This is what they were doing?"]
<Haruko> The drugs were made of Arcana.
* Haruko doesn't not rub in that she called this. Also I think other people did 
too, so it's not a huge deal.
<Brett> [Eriko pushes past Haruko, rushing into the cellar. "Saki! Saki!!"]
* Kyon picks up a jar at random, checks the name, then turns and hurls it at the 
far wall, away from all the people so it can break harmlessly. "<That.>"
* Haruko lets the girl go with a bemused sigh. She then leaves.
<Brett> [The jar shatters on the wall, leaving a gooey stain.]
* Katie doesn't wince, because fortunately she has her earplugs in. "<I wish we 
could give it back,>" she says as she hands Kyon another jar.
<Brett> [Eriko kneels down and grabs Saki in a hug. "What did they do to you?!"]
* Kyon watches Eriko bemusedly, shakes his head quickly, then takes the jar from 
Katie with a smirk. "<Good at chemistry, but I'm not trying to invent that.>" He 
tosses the jar at where the first one landed, aiming for the same spot.
<Brett> ( Gimme a throwing roll, Kyon! )
<Kyon> 2d6-4
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-4) and gets 8, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! 
"Hey, a failure. Oh, by the way... I heard what you've been saying about me."
<Katie> (Oops.)
* Kaede glances in to make sure it's clear before sighing, rubbing his eyelids. 
"Well that went better than expected."
<Kyon> (Oh, fine. DR.)
<Kyon> 2d6-4
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6-4) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 2.
<Brett> [Kyon throws it, and it strikes almost the same spot.]
<Katie> <You know, I've never seen you pitch before.  Weird that it'd happen 
now.>
* Katie gives Kyon another jar.
<Brett> [Meanwhile, Eriko removes her leather jacket and wraps it around Saki.  
Saki's now the only non-half-naked captive.]
* Kaede glances around the room, surveying it all. "Messy." It's unclear whether 
he's talking about the bloody bodies, the situation of having a bunch of half-
naked Arcana, or at the now gooey mess at the wall. He puts away his wrench. 
"Everyone down here alright?"
* Katie nods at Kaede. "Everyone who isn't dead." She picks up yet another jar 
to hand to Kyon.
<Brett> [Kaede is here, so naturally there's a bunch of half-naked women.  Half-
naked men, too, but they don't count.]
* Kyon takes the jar, and throws towards the same spot again, and smirks. 
"<Better with actual balls.>" He reaches for the next jar after that from Katie.
<Haruko> (<Haruko> They do too!)
<Kaede> I was kind of excluding those who were dead, thanks.
* Taki starts to walk down the stairs. "...Dead?"
<Kyon> (Awww. No more topless Saki. Ah well.)
* Katie grins at Kaede, almost impishly, and says to Kyon, "<Maybe I'll go to 
your next game. When is that?>"
<Brett> [And suddenly there's a cloud of smoke in the center of the room! When 
it clears, there's a furious-looking Sho in its place. "How?! How was this 
blocked from my sight?! How could this happen?!"]
* Kaede glances at Taki. "Apparently." He walks further in and sighs, rubbing 
the back of his neck. "I don't suppose there's...any...cloth or....shit."
* Katie coughs. Gah, smoke!
<Kaede> (In his defense, he's appearing like a true Magician.)
<Taki> (How far is he from the stairs?)
<Brett> [He takes a step towards Saki, and Eriko instantly gets up and adopts a 
defensive stance.  But rather than move, Sho just observes instead. "What have 
you done?" He asks, almost in disbelief.]
<Brett> ( Center of the room. )
* Kyon rocks back on his heels, blinks a few times, and keeps the jar in his 
hand. "You were watching?" The smoke doesn't seem to bother him much.
* Satoshi arrives at the bottom of the stairs and takes a defensive stance.
<Brett> ["No! I couldn't Something was blocking me! Someone...." He stops, with 
a sudden realization. "It was her.  That woman.... I'll tear her apart for 
this!"]
<Katie> (How close is Sho to me?)
<Haruko> (And here I thought the world was not enough)
<Brett> [Halfway!]
<Haruko> (For that sort of thing)
* Kaede doesn't say anything. For once, someone's not wanting to tear them 
apart. Until that changes, this is a good thing.
<Kyon> (So same for me, then.)
<Brett> ( Yep )
<Brett> [Sho looks around furiously, as if suddenly remembering you were there. 
"You! You're responsible for this!"]
* Taki takes her second flying leap off a stairwell tonight, and tries the same 
trick again.
<Taki> 2d6-3
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6-3) and gets a natural 11 for a result 
of 8.
<Taki> (DR2)
<Taki> 2d6-3
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6-3) and gets a natural 5 for a result 
of 2.
* Haruko flows down the stairs a bit after Satoshi. Apparently she decided 
watery form was appropriate for this one.
* Kyon looks at Sho coolly. "Which woman?" He gestures curtly at Katie to be 
ready. "Who's responsible?"
* Katie draws the Sword at Kyon's nod. Again.
* Satoshi is still standing by. Now's probably not the time to try a talk down, 
so he stays quiet.
<Brett> [Sho turns towards Kyon, heedless of Taki's attack. Never the less, Taki 
finds herself slowing as she approaches.  Then she stops, and then she's 
launched backwards.  Suddenly, he laughs. "It doesn't matter... It doesn't 
matter anymore.  There's no more time."]
* Kaede looks at Satoshi a moment and taps him on the shoulder.
* Satoshi scans Kaede's mind. He doesn't want to look away at this point.
<Brett> ["A week, maybe.  Maybe a few more days, maybe less.... After that it's 
over. It's done.  It's finished."]
* Satoshi isn't trying a deep scan, he figures Kaede will keep whatever he wants 
to tell at the surface.
* Haruko , the inquisitive puddle asks, "What's done?"
* Haruko is betting on "the end of the world." But good to know for sure.
* Taki goes flying from a teleport strike, she need a body roll, or is he just 
going to hold her up there?
* Kyon waits for any sign of further aggressiveness from Sho. He places one hand 
on his sword's pommel and rocks forward.
<Brett> [He laughs like a maniac some more. Muahahaha and all that. "You don't 
even know what you've done, do you? You don't even realize... The Hermit never 
told you THAT part of the prophecy, did he?"]
<Haruko> He told us enough!
<Katie> We'd never even heard of a prophecy.  People are generally bad at 
filling us in on these things.
<Haruko> Well, he told me enough.
* Kyon nods quickly. "Just got to act on the information we have. You know 
that."
* Haruko does her best to remember what it takes to keep a villain talking. 
She's seen lots of Bond movies, she can do it.
* Satoshi sighs and walks over to one of the machines near Kaede. He leans his 
stick against the wall and rests both hands on it.
* Kaede slowly makes his way towards the machines, keeping an eye on Sho.
<Taki> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Taki (2d6) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 
4.
* Haruko uses art of distraction to the best of her ability as a puddle. I'd pay 
attention to a talking puddle. How often does that happen?
<Kaede> (In Arcana?  Srsly.)
<Haruko> (Well, to Sho.)
<Haruko> (Not you guys. ;P)
<Brett> [Taki teleports above Sho and falls toward him.  But before she lands, 
he looks up at her with a furious look, and she flies upwards, striking the 
ceiling, then falls to the floor.]
* Kaede sighs. "You'd think she'd learn from the first time."
* Satoshi digs his fingers into the machine but doesn't do any more yet.
<Brett> [Sho grinds his teeth. "Let me spell it out for you.  A few days from 
now, They will come.  We get to fight the Battle.  If we lose, the world falls 
into their hands.  But..." he laughs again.]
* Katie waits.
<Brett> ["But even if we win, we... Hahaha.... We all... We all die! All of us, 
except for her!" He whips a finger at Saki.]
<Katie> ... Why, exactly?
* Haruko does not seem shocked by the idea of her impending death.
<Katie> (No Arcana should be shocked by this idea.)
* Taki stays on the nice comfortable ground.
<Brett> [He waves his arms. "It doesn't matter why! It just IS."]
* Kyon flicks his gaze to Taki irritatedly, then looks back to Sho, and blows 
out a breath. "And you're ready for that?"
* Kaede snorts and waves Satoshi down for a minute. No sense in agitating him.
<Brett> ["Now, SOME of us have tried to come up with an alternative over the 
past hundred years, seeing how technology is advancing so quickly and all."]
<Haruko> Extract the our power and use it against them?
<Kaede> So, you'd sacrifice others so we wouldn't have to fight the battle.  
Gee, that's *totally* not insane at *all*.
<Haruko> (Actually, it's not particularly insane)
<Haruko> (It's just evil. :P) 
<Brett> ["In fact, one of us did find a way to use her power-" he points at Saki 
again" - to save the rest of us.   But NO, thanks to YOU, that plan ended in 
failure! And now there's not enough time to try it again! So good job, you've 
screwed us all!"]
* Satoshi lightens up. He does look up regularly to make sure that Taki is 
alright.
* Katie shrugs. "We do our best."
<Haruko> So, who figured it all out?  Whose this genius you've got?
<Haruko> (who is)
<Kaede> Yeah.  Funny.  But I don't think you exactly consulted her on this idea.
<Brett> ( Gimme balance rolls! )
<Katie> 2d6-4
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Katie (2d6-4) and gets a natural 6 for a result 
of 2.
<Kaede> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kaede (2d6) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 
9.
<Haruko> (Does Haruko need to roll?  She's a puddle.)
<Brett> ( Nah, Haruko doesn't. )
<Haruko> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Haruko (2d6) and gets a natural 9 for a result 
of 9.
* Taki doesn't roll; life is ow.
<Kyon> 2d6
* Dicesuke throws the bones for Kyon (2d6) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 
11.
<Brett> [Sho clenches his fists, and suddenly the whole building starts shaking. 
"So CONGRATULATIONS! All of the Arcana are going to die, and it's all thanks to 
you!"  He vanishes suddenly, his voice lingering, "I'll be watching.  Watching 
to see your reactions when you realize how hard you've just fucked yourselves.  
And once you do, I'll let the other Arcana watch as I crush you under my heel, 
personally AND literally."]
<Brett> [And everyone who failed is knocked down.  Woo.]
<Katie> Not that it matters, since you'll be dead, too.
* Taki started out on the floor and so can't fall over! Ha!
* Satoshi falls on his ass. So much for the machine plan. On the upside, he 
falls with a dancer's grace.
<Brett> [Eriko holds onto Saki so she doesn't fall.]
<Haruko> (Sure, that's why she holds on to Saki)
* Katie manages to keep her balance without too much effort.
<Haruko> (We all believe you Eriko. :P)
* Kyon falls roughly, then picks himself up off the floor, cursing in Chinese.
* Kaede staggers against the machine and then falls over with a grunt.
<Taki> (Of course!)
<Brett> [The shaking stops after a bit.  Hey, the place is still standing! 
That's good architecture.]
<Kaede> Well, this is excellent.  Wonderful.
* Kyon looks over the jars quickly, at the machine, and at Saki, and then he 
smirks. "Got him that upset. I'd say we won the day. Just got to work out the 
details now."
* Satoshi gets up. "There's a few shirts on thugs upstairs. We need to get out 
of the basement. Now."
<Katie> Take out the rest of the drugs first.
* Kyon nods tersely at Satoshi, then looks down at Katie. "<Move. Going to take 
down the rest of the jars.>"
<Brett> [Eriko stands up. "What did that mean? Everyone but Saki is going to 
die? Why?" She glances at Ryuji.]
* Kaede stands slowly. "Yeah. I'm pretty happy he got upset."
* Taki is still on the floor, her face blank, but for the tears.
* Kyon looks at the jars and answers Eriko. "Going to find out."
* Satoshi nods and begins taking the unconscious upstairs, he blushes when he 
handles females, but it's important.
* Katie nods to Kyon as she slips the Sword back into its sheath. She looks 
around, then walks over to Taki and kneels. "Taki?"
* Kaede sighs at Taki's reaction. "Someone get her up." He goes to help the 
people who can't walk out.
<Katie> Can you walk?
* Taki gives Katie a listless look, and then says quitly. "No point."
<Haruko> Currrses.  I was hoping some of you could live...  ::She rematerializes 
and rushes to the stairs, grabs her stuff, and then to go get a van.
* Katie shakes her head.
<Katie> Don't be stupid.  We're not dead now, and we're not going to die later.
* Kyon takes a few steps back from the shelf, then draws his sword. He rests the 
tip against the jars, and starts pushing them to cascade onto the floor.
* Katie holds out her hand. "Now, can you walk?"
<Kaede> Why does everyone think a prophecy is the same as a death sentence 
anyway?
<Brett> [Lots of shattering noises!]
* Katie hears the crashes and is immensely glad her earplugs are in.
* Taki tries, but there's a few unpleasant noises and she winces.
* Katie grasps Taki's hand and forearm, pulling her up and supporting her. 
"Haruko will heal you."
* Taki gasps and whimpers. "Why?"
* Kaede goes to helping people now! And secretly hopes Akemi doesn't spot him 
helping half-naked females. Err, actually, he starts with the men for that 
reason.
<Kyon> (Because... she likes you?)
<Katie> Because you're hurt.  Like I said, don't be stupid.
<Katie> It's not the end of the world.  Just close.
<Brett> [Session End!]