Session Start: Sat Apr 16 15:33:39 2005 Last time, on Hunters: Things got progressively more grim. The simple hit on Reaper and Judo turned out to have some considerable backup, and the team found themselves pinned down in a dark alley behind the ^HARD BITE^. Darkmoon showed up just in the nick of time to demonstrate his new gun fu skillz, allowing the group to close and finish the attackers off. The whole team was finally on scene, and rode off with the Secretary, Lady Reaper, and a somewhat mangled prisoner. ...of course, that's when the Queen called. Anzu is next on the list this evening, and she sounded like there was more she wanted to say, but whatever it was, she was so disturbed that she fainted. The team changed course - eastwards across downtown to Anzu's new condo - and the Secretary started driving like she normally does. [Thursday, March 4, 2004 - 1905 local time] [In the van, hurtling through Tokyo] [Session start!] * Lord_Darkmoon sits tensely, holding Mysteria practically in his lap. It's crowded. * LadyMallet flips her phone closed, muttering something. "She's always so busy now." * Secretary's driving makes sitting in anyone's lap a challenge! * LadyNightshade is mostly done healing by this point and has Lady Reaper in her lap although much less voluntarily. * LadyMysteria still looks like she's about to just pop. Something about that phone call rattled her, and she's not shaking it. If she notices (or cares) how the Secretary drives, she isn't showing it as she dials. * LadyMallet isn't on anyone's lap! Lady Mysteria, shouldn't you call Anzu? *gently* Doing so right now... Akahara residence! * LadyRoyal is squished on the floor, tapping her leg irrhythmically and narrowing her eyes speculatively at the maimed guy. Hello? Is Anzu in at the moment? This is Lady Mysteria... I need to speak to her immediately. It's important. Anzu is in the shower at the moment, and we were going out in a little bit... Can I help you? Is there anyway you can peek outside and see if you see anything unusual? We've good reason to believe you and Anzu are in serious danger. You've got to let her know as quickly as you can... we're on our way right now. You can hear Anzu's mother walking quickly across the room. Um... what sort of danger? I don't see anything outside, no one on the street anyway... What if it's Hardhat again? Maybe we should get them out of the house... What if it's more people with guns? We've already had someone attack other magical girls today... they might be coming your way, too. Tell Anzu, please. We can't tell them what to do because there's no telling what could happen. *more walking* * LadyMallet turns back to listen better. "Tell them to get somewhere safe. Or public, like a mall. And hopefully not followed." Getting them out could expose them to fire. Leaving them in could trap them. There's no telling what to do; when we get there, we do our best to keep them covered while we get them somewhere ELSE. ANZU! ANZU! It's your, uh, friends, they say it's an emergency! They can wait for us, try and bunker themselves while waiting for us, or get the hell out of there. Hard Bite was public and that didn't help much, did it? That was a different situation. They were attacked untransformed- tell her to tell Anzu to transform, too. Good advice. There's some girlish muttering in the background. She needn't wait until she's dried off and dressed, then. They say we're in danger! If nothing else, it'd be safer for her if something *does* happen. Hello? How long till we get there anyway? Maya-chan...tell her to get her daughter to transform, please. *whispered, so as not to be heard over the phone* Fifteen! * LadyMysteria nods, apparently having the conversation in the van. "Anzu, it's Maya. Transform as soon as you can... we've already lost someone, and the Queen believes you're next in line. And get your mother someplace safe and out of sight." Speed limits be damned! Assuming they don't want to kill her mom she should at least leave somewhere... * LadyRoyal is thrust about the floor, but seems not to notice. Omigod. * LadyMallet nods exultantly in response to the Secretary's cry. "They're only there for people who don't know how to drive, anyway!" * LadyMysteria is starting to calm; worry's giving way to hard determination. "We're on our way... just be safe." * Lord_Darkmoon tightens his grip on Mysteria and braces himself in his seat, holding them both as steady as possible. There's no actual sound involved in Handcuff's transformation, but you can still feel the claustrophobic feeling radiating out of Maya's cell. * LadyNightshade amplifies her ignoring of Reaper bouncing around on top of her as they race around the streets. Mom? Mom, go to the basement. Yeah, now! Do we have any sort of weapons here? * LadyMysteria grits her teeth a little at the sensation. "Have you heard anything from Sakura today?" She was going on a afternoon date with her boyfriend. She wanted to take him to the firing range, and there was nothing on the radar... ...I didn't think so. Lock the doors, maybe barricade them too? Gah, we don't have enough furniture yet. Make sure we can get at least one or two of us in there with them. Just in case. * LadyMallet frowns, looking at her hands. She flicks one finger up. "Assassins." She flicks up another. "Hardhat." And a third. "... that Lord." I was just wondering. I seriously need to talk to her about something... for now, just hold on. We're coming. We don't know what the threat is... Don't forget, "assassins" probably has several subcategories. But they all have the same approach. Come in in groups with guns. Hardhat is not a threat that can be ... defended against so easily. Or the third. ...yeah. We're going in the basement - you just get here before they can storm the place. * LadyMysteria pauses. "... need to hang up. If things go wrong and you can, call back." Seriously, I think Leena's the only real potential def against Hardhat right now. Croquette with hardhat projectiles. Well knowing it's coming gives us time to dodge. Right. Okay, yes Mom, you can have the stupid phone no- * LadyMallet loses the counting fingers, and makes a fist, cracking her knuckles. "If it is her, I need to knock some sense into her." * LadyMysteria snaps her phone closed and stows it away. The jitters slowly come back, and she practically presses herself against Darkmoon for support. * Lord_Darkmoon gives up any pretense, and hugs Mysteria, offing all the support the young man is capable of. He seems pretty calm, all told. * Secretary careens through a cloverleaf, then guns it on the freeway. Maya is pressed even harder into Rinada. * LadyMallet pauses, blinking slowly at Darkmoon and Mysteria. * LadyRoyal notices the Rinada/Maya byplay and smiles a little in spite of everything. ... * LadyNightshade tries really hard not to vomit. * Lord_Darkmoon turns a bit red, but only for a moment, as Maya is pushed harder into him. * LadyMallet forces herself to look back up front. She doesn't quite realize her grip has tore a chunk out of the side of the front passenger seat. ... I hate this job sometimes. Somebody, unfortunately, must do it. Go, go, go. * LadyReaper is starting to look a little wild-eyed. * LadyRoyal's tapping is starting to grow even faster, though even less rhythmic. * LadyMysteria doesn't say much else, but she does have her rings in hand, working on them nervously. The ride to Anzu's new home seems rather short, despite the stench after Lady Reaper lost her lunch while they wove through traffic. * LadyNightshade tries really hard to ignore the smell and cracks a window. This part of Tokyo is a high-rent neighborhood of low-rise condos. They are, astonishingly, single-family residences, though only a meter of lawn separates them. The van pulls onto the right street... Um. Looks like they turned off the lights. Hm. * LadyNightshade looks around the area for like anything suspicious. * LadyMallet stands up, looking. ...I'll look inside. If they've mice, at least. *eyes glow purple* ... hrm. Alright. Let's just get out of this van. Best to look around instead. Or as well. There's nothing, yet... except for that dark SUV flying around the next corner down the street. Fuck. Let's beat them there. What do I do? Go go go! * Lord_Darkmoon blinks, clearing his eyes. "The house is clean of mice, at least." * LadyMallet eyes narrow. "Let me out. Time to play some hockey." ...what's going on? Everyone out! * LadyRoyal fumbles around behind her and opens the door. * Secretary floors it again, then just seconds later hits the brakes and the parking break, spinning the van to a stop in front of the condo's abbreviated driveway. * LadyNightshade bounces around the van one last time before forcing her way out the door. * LadyRoyal half-falls out, lands on her feet, whirls, and zips it to the house, her legs jerky from being cramped. Ms Secretary. Stay out of it if you can, and keep an eye on our prisoner. Just stay low. Don't worry about me! * Lord_Darkmoon has the Tessen in hand and is pulling the gun from its bracelet form into his free hand. * LadyMysteria is jostled a good bit, but is collected enough to start on out. "Someone has to..." * LadyMallet waits for Reaper to get out, pulling out her gun and checking it over quickly. * LadyReaper suddenly has her scythe in hand as she launches out the passenger door and sprints for the suspicious van, which itself seems to be doing a crash stop. What's the plan Maya? Charge them or wait for them to come out and intercept them? The less time they have, the better. We stop them before they ever get close, so they don't have time to plan and adjust. Yeah. We need someone in there with Anzu and her mother, as well. Right. * LadyNightshade charges at the SUV. * LadyRoyal turns around and whips a card at the SUV, aiming low for the tires. The card seems to skip off the pavement on its way to the right-front tire, and the SUV spins out in that direction, coming to a halt sideways on the street. * LadyMysteria promptly steadies herself and aims her wand at the van. "... strike while the iron's hot... Mystery Star Gun, FIRE!" The usual gout of light and heat streaks out... The shot streaks through the passenger window, past the two startled men in the front seat, and out the driver's side. ... damn it. Both men bail out their doors, the driver swinging up two pistols as he scrapes across the pavement. The other man ducks behind the engine compartment. * LadyRoyal takes a round in the side and falls to the ground, clutching it. She makes to narrow her eyes. * LadyMallet is scant seconds after Reaper- she dives out the door, snapping her fingers, and catches the Mallet with her free hand, spinning once with the momentum to orient herself, then stops and snaps a shot off with her pistol. The snapshot was too quick, and the gun's recoil is for once more than she was prepared for. The shot goes high, and probably lands somewhere in the Bay. The gun skitters under the van. * LadyReaper screams with animalistic fury. She's going straight for the SUV, and doom awaits for whoever she meets when she gets there. * LadyMallet curses loudly, and shakes her head. Over the gunfire, you can hear the sound of the far rear cabin door of the SUV opening and booted men jumping out. * Lord_Darkmoon pushes himself between Mysteria and the guns, bringing his own to bear on the pistol-wielding driver and calmly firing. The man takes the shot in his thigh, and grunts as he collapses to the pavement and lets go of his pistols. * Secretary revs the van's motor as the last of her passengers get out, then burns rubber as she loops the back of the vehicle around and accelerates towards the SUV. There's an odd flickering light in the van as it moves away, but no one can see inside to tell what it was. The near rear cabin door of the SUV flies open, and two more gunmen with assault rifles pop out. They dash opposite ways as they see the onrushing van, but open up at the crowd on the street in front of them with their guns anyway. * LadyReaper sways around a near miss, undeterred. One of the guns stutters strangely, then stops shooting. The sound of an approaching helicopter cuts through the night, and a spotlight flips on from a half kilometer away, casting long, but so-far dim shadows. Taki reaches one of the visible attackers, and her fists fly - seemingly pinker than ever, in the dimness of evening. The man is almost surprised by the first blow, but immediately twists expertly in an evasive fashion around the following strikes. * LadyRoyal holds out her hands from her position on the ground and shoots out a flurry of cards ahead of her. The SUV takes a few cards, completely trashing its interior and pounding the hurt assassin in front of the van into the pavement real hard-like. He completely stops moving. The SUV may still be drivable. Maybe. * LadyMysteria looks up a moment at Rin, smiles... and then draws a bead on a second assassin and fires with a yell. The man who ran left from the SUV is potshotted right through the belly - you think you can see through the hole it burned through him - but somehow he stays on his feet. ... how in the world... The man who jumped out the driver's side has taken up a firing position, kneeling behind the engine compartment for cover, and draws a bead on Lady Mallet. * LadyMallet swings the Mallet up in front of her, crouching behind it's bulk for a moment. A few shots bounce off the supposedly wooden Mallet. * LadyMallet then stands up, twirls the Mallet for a moment, and then WINGS it at the van. The girl herself follows closely after the impromptu projectile. Once again, the girl underestimates her strength, and the Mallet flies long, ten meters past the van, before embedding itself in the pavement. * LadyReaper gets to the van and catches one of its passengers trying to step out from behind it. For once, the scythe misses everything. She lets it whirl around her body switching hands as it passes behind her back, but the second strike is just as ineffective. The man steps out to the side, and raises the assault rifle to his shoulder. He must have been spooked, though, as he only manages to spray bullets into the front of a nearby condo. The last man to have come out of the far side of the SUV is distracted by the rapidly onrushing van. He shoots at it, but only manages to put out a headlight. * Lord_Darkmoon steps forward, advancing slowly while keeping himself mostly between the bad guys and the house. His katana flashes ominously in the helicopter's spotlight as he takes careful aim with his pistol at the man with the hole in his abdomen, and looks to give it a small sibling. The man instinctively turns away from the ill-aimed blast. * Secretary has had the van's accelerator pushed to the floor, and she aimed the van at the front end of the SUV at the last second. The SUV is built pretty heavily so it doesn't exactly get spun around, but the man hiding behind the engine bay is knocked back a dozen meters and finally scrapes to a halt on the pavement. The man is shaken and badly shredded, but is able to stand and start looking for his rifle. The van... well, the motor is still running, but the rental agency will not be happy. Darkmoon's target fires back at him instinctively. None of the bullets hit the charging Lord, either. Must be a full moon or something. * Lord_Darkmoon 's eyes glow purple against his silhouette, with a tinge of silver around the edges. Taki's opponent backs off enough to raise his rifle, too. Somehow - SOMEHOW - he misses. But Taki thinks she may have to get her coat patched. Again. The helicopter is getting closer, but slowing down as it approaches, like it doesn't want to get caught up in the scene. * LadyNightshade knows he missed cause she's too good for him to hit. She grins a bit as she prepares for her next attack. The Dragon Lord and I are going inside, call me on the radio if you need more backup. * Lady_MakeBelieve looks around, reassures herself that she'd be more useful inside, and gestures for the Dragon to follow her * Lady_MakeBelieve tries to open the door, but finds it locked. Dragon Lord, could you slip under and open it from the inside? * Dragon_Lord eyes the door for a moment Hurry! * Dragon_Lord concentrates, squeezing down very thin and flat, before squirming under the door Fortunately, no one is shooting at them through all this - probably because they're not shooting at the people who would be shooting at them. * Lady_MakeBelieve pulls a can of oil from nowhere, and starts applying it to where door meets Dragon * LadyNightshade 's preparation paid off as she recovers from rolling out of the way of his burst to deliver half a dozen blows to his body, taking the man out of the fight as he crumples to the ground a broken mess. Her attention immediately turns to the next nearest target. * LadyRoyal surveys the situation and tosses a card at the one guy who seems to be free at the moment. He twitches his head to one side, and loses hair rather than brains. * LadyMysteria growls at he twitches, and snaps her wand his way. Another sparkling burst of light seeks to make him lose more than some hair. She's getting that vague scared/enraged look in her eye, frowning as he falls. Mysteria's Star Gun merely wings him, a second later, but that's enough to knock him on his butt. The driver scrambles around, and eventually finds his rifle and picks it up. He's looking a little shaky on his feet, though. * LadyMallet doesn't slow down so much as put her hands out and bang into the SUV. Which is right where she wants to be. She digs her hands into it's frame, crouches down for a second, and then lifts it over her head. Alright! FREEZE OR YOU GET SMASHED. RIGHT NOW! Reaper slashes upward at her man... target... victim... with the scythe once more, and manages to whiff. Again. The man chuckles and begins to lift his rifle, but the girl almost seems to lift off the ground as she directly reverses her swing, impaling the guy through head, neck, and torso. * LadyReaper sweatdrops as she finds the weapon stuck. Again. Further down the road, the Secretary gets the van in motion again, but doesn't bring it back to the fight. There's that strange flashing in the windows again. * Lord_Darkmoon continues advancing on the holey man, the rhythm of his gun shots hopefully keeping him focused on the pistol, and not the katana that is suddenly in reach as the Lord brings it up in an arc towards the man's midsection. * Dragon_Lord stops creeping for a second as a loud "CRACK" is heard, and the door shifts up and sideways, twisting the hinges. ...except the arc is too high, and the injured man simply stumbles under the swing. * Dragon_Lord finishes working his way inside quickly, and the door bursts open a few moments later. It's open, lets go. The man is still aware enough to shoot, though, and Darkmoon tries to parry the gun. He barely needs too, though. Some grass gets shot real good. Surrender. You've lost. There is no surrender for us. DIE, traitors! * Lord_Darkmoon shifts into a kendo stance. "Hopefully one of you will explain this 'traitor' thing, eventually. If we don't kill all of you." * LadyHandcuff is heard from the basement stairwell. "Who's there?" * Lady_MakeBelieve runs inside with the Dragon, going to check on Anzu and her family I'll kill you if you come down! It's Me, Make Believe! Are you ok? ...okay, come down the stairs, slowly. The Dragon is with me. * Lady_MakeBelieve slowly walks down the stairs * LadyHandcuff is waiting at the bottom. ...so that's you guys out there fighting? Yeah, against some more of the endless flood of assassins. * LadyHandcuff trots up the stairs and peeks through the drawn shades. * Dragon_Lord takes up a guarding position near the shattered door and stairs * LadyHandcuff looks out just in time to see Lady Nightshade hammer the former driver to the pavement. * LadyRoyal rolls to her feet for a better shot and tosses a card at the guy with the hole in the middle, trying to hit something. The card sticks in his hip. With all the other pain he's in, he barely notices, though he is somewhat more wobbly. ... let me, Royal. Mystery Star Gun, once more! And this time... * LadyMysteria kneels, aims, and fires, arms recoiling back a little as the shot goes off. "Don't stay standing!" This one more or less takes off the man's left arm at the elbow. He staggers, but even manages to hold onto his weapon. ... ghn. ...my thoughts exactly. * LadyMallet blinks at the still-standing goon. "... well, here. You've earned it. You can have your van back." * LadyMallet shrugs, and casually drops the SUV on him. * Lord_Darkmoon looks up at the SUV just in time to be surprised... The assassin is satisfyingly squashed. So is Darkmoon's foot, under one of the huge wheels. What the FUCK, Leena? * Lord_Darkmoon grits his teeth, and would drop to his knees, except the SUV won't let him. His eyes are wide, and doesn't seem to be quite comprehending what just happened just yet. * LadyNightshade runs over to Darkmoon. Ah-- Ow. o_o * LadyMallet glowers at Darkmoon for a long second, and then rolls the SUV over off his foot. She silently stalks back to retrieve her namesake. Mallet! Honestly! The helicopter has taken up station about fifty meters away and fifty meters up. ... gh! Mallet! What in the world is wrong with you?! * LadyRoyal runs over to Darkmoon as well. * Lord_Darkmoon plants the Katana in the ground to support himself. * LadyNightshade tries to lift it off him, but Leena beats her to it. Take him into the house. ...how...disappointing. Hold still, you'll make it heal all crooked if you mess about with it. He'll not answer me...now... * LadyMysteria takes a step... then looks back and up at the chopper. "... it's still here." * LadyRoyal supports Darkmoon's upper half. "Take his legs, Nightshade." Is that it? We wouldn't get lucky enough that this is the Queen's helicopter, would we? * LadyMallet eyes the helicopter. * Lord_Darkmoon 's eyes turn purple again, with that hint of silver. * LadyNightshade helps lift Darkmoon with Royal. * LadyHandcuff elbows Lady MakeBelieve. * LadyRoyal moves towards the house. Is that all of them? * Lord_Darkmoon doesn't resist, though his hisses in pain. Girls, we should get inside until we know who that is... Gods, Leena, don't smash the cute Lord! * LadyMallet talks into the mic, ignoring Darkmoon's pain. "Any idea if that's a friendly in the copter?" MOM! I think it's safe for the moment! * LadyMallet deadpans, "It was an accident." I doubt it, Nightshade. But... they're not attacking, so let's pull back, yeah. Buck up, man, you're lucky you didn't get turned into a dark pancake. * Akahara-san comes up the stairs. * LadyMysteria starts towards the house as well... but the look she gives Leena is a most unhappy one. "And tell them to stay inside until this thing goes!" * Lord_Darkmoon manages a wan smile at Royal's quip. "Indeed I am." * LadyMallet puts the Mallet back down, and retrieves one of the assassin's rifles, hefting it's weight, testing it's grip for a moment, and aiming it generally at the helicopter. That was nicely aimed, Leena. * LadyNightshade takes Darkmoon into the house, looking for a couch to lay him on. Let's just leave him on the floor. * Akahara-san peeks out the window, and sees Mallet pointing the gun. That way he can't fall down. * LadyRoyal suits actions to words and begins lowering him. * Akahara-san runs out into the lawn. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" * LadyHandcuff follows her mother. Akahara-san! * Lord_Darkmoon says, through gritted teeth, "I'll be fine. Look after..." takes a breath, "...Handcuff and her mom." * LadyMallet pauses, and looks back at the mom. "Who are they?" * Lady_MakeBelieve runs out as well, with no reason to stay in the house Well, obviously. * LadyNightshade sets him down then. * Akahara-san has whipped out her cellphone and is dialing. "Did you get it? Did you get it?" * LadyRoyal lets him down and dashes out to follow Handcuff and her mother. ... wait. Do you know who's in the helicopter, ma'am? Ma'am? * Lord_Darkmoon is set down, and decides not to try to stand, instead waiting. * LadyMallet doesn't shift her aim, but she doesn't fire, either. I think it's her station's news chopper. ... Oh goddamn it. ...smooth move. Oh. Put it down, Mallet. * LadyMallet lowers her aim, and drops the gun. ... well, great. More publicity. * Akahara-san is jumping up and down with excitement. "Are the other two raids confirmed?" ... * Lord_Darkmoon works himself into a cross-legged position, and uses the Tessen to clear cloth and shoe and stuff out of and away from the remnants of his foot. * LadyMysteria relaxes finally, letting out a ragged exhale. That done, she makes her way to Rinada. * LadyNightshade just grabs the phone out of her hand. Stop it! Hey! This isn't some goddamn game! Just what we needed, footage of Magical Girls with guns. Guns are less dangerous than what most of us can do, Make Believe. ... Those men came here to kill you. They came here because they knew her real identity. *gestures at Handcuff* No, but it's my career, and your long-term safety. If we can show publicly that there is someone out to get you, we can muster public outrage and get something done! The public exposure has already done enough damage! They're coming after is in our homes now! They're not supposed to know who we are! We don't need to show you up close. We won't give out your names. * LadyMallet sighs, and goes to check on the Secretary. If the bad guys already know where we are, isn't it a good idea to let the good guys know too? The helo footage will be plenty. * LadyMysteria doesn't seem to notice the conversation. She's too busy kneeling next to Darkmoon. "... you alright? I mean, aside from the obvious." We don't even know HOW they know where we are. I'm doing this for Anzu, dammit! We shouldn't be giving them more information. * LadyRoyal turns and heads inside. "I'ma check for other entrances or exits." Did you tell anyone else about her? Is that how they knew? * Lord_Darkmoon looks at Mysteria, slightly dazed. "I think I'm fine... it doesn't quite hurt... like it looks like it should." But I don't think I could walk. I imagine that's the Earth magic kicking in. You just need time to heal... you'll be okay. Well, gee, our house got blown up by magic, and she got better real damn quick. It doesn't take a genius to put the pieces together. * LadyMysteria offers a thin smile, and another ragged exhale... before she pulls out her cell and ponders dialing up Sakura. * Lord_Darkmoon nods. "I'll be fine, my Lady." He brushes some hair off of her cheek. "You are uninjured?" ... Mmmm. I'm fine. Just... still worried. You're going to have to go into hiding now. We need to sort this out. Maya's phone rings, even as she's dialing. ... well. Everyone else alri-- sorry. Answer-- *pained hiss* that. * LadyNightshade looks over at Maya. "Now what?" * LadyMysteria answers. "Yes?" HELP! Does it look like we'll be needing the Dragon Lord any longer? ... good god. What's happening?! He has old enemies and I don't want him seen if possible. * LadyMysteria tenses again and stands upright. * LadyRoyal turns back from her exploration at that. "What?" There's the familiar crack of Sakura's Glock in the background. What's going on? * LadyNightshade moves over to Maya and tries to listen Wait, what's wrong Mysteria? Sakura's in trouble... everything's just going to hell... Sakura, where are you?! Buncha guys! Assaulting the apartment! Hurry! Where? * LadyNightshade turns to Anzu. "Do you have any idea where she is?" Sakura's apartment! We... we need a vehicle. * LadyMysteria looks back... and winces at the wrecks. Crap! ... The Secretary.. is here... with the van, isn't she? * LadyMallet blinks, and looks for a moment at the SUV, and then the van. * LadyMallet then looks up at the helicopter. It's not in very good condition, Darkmoon. ... Akahara-san...? * Akahara-san looks at Taki. "If you let me have my phone, I can get the helo to take you. Excellent. * LadyNightshade grumbles and hands over the phone. Guys...? [end session]