Session Start: Sat Jun 18 15:17:51 2005 Previously, on Hunters: Somehow or other, the US Navy tracked down Lady Royal's normal identity, and paid her home a visit. This led, after meetings and phonecalls and conferences and sneaky deliveries to the US Embassy, to a somewhat formal agreement between the team and the Navy for mutual... assistance. But that's for later tonight. This morning, Leena has this little itch she needs to scratch. She tossed the Mallet away in an attempt to... uh... do something about the bomb at Takeuchi Memorial, and she'd like to get it back. [Thursday, March 10, 2004 - 1030 local time] [The Blossom Detective Agency] [Session start!] I still can't believe you left it there. * LadyMallet grumbles. "And I keep telling you that it just kinda happened." Things always kinda happen with you around. Yeah, well, you guys are the one's who left ME with the bomb! * Maya chuckles. "The situation didn't help, either... but this is something we're going to have to do, so let's just take care of matters." You shouldn't have TOUCHED the bomb! I didn't leave you with it. No, you decided to stay with it. Take that! If you guys had left someone else with it, I wouldn't of been there and it wouldn't have happened! *ahem* Ladies...? I was busy being shot thank you! ... because no one else would stay with it! It does not really matter why it got left behind, or whose fault it is. ... yes, Rin? * LadyMallet just YELLS. "GRRRRRRAGH. I DON'T NEED THIS RIGHT NOW." * Kyouko knocks on the door of the Agency, because she doesn't expect it to be open. The fact remains Lady Mallet needs her weapon. Recriminations serve no purpose at this juncture. Lady Mallet, please, calm down. ^^; * Minami rolls her eyes. Mallet, I can't believe you're forgetting the sacrifice the Dragon Lord made for you! * Lord_Darkmoon gets up and opens the door. Feel lucky that I -don't- have it right now! Rargh. * Taki sighs and goes to get the door. * Minami gets to the door, and is beat to it by Rin and Taki. * Kyouko looks rather sheepish as she waves. * Lord_Darkmoon grits his teeth at the mention of the Dragon Lord, but doesn't say anything. * LadyMallet blinks, and her eyes open wide, when the Dragon Lord gets mentioned. ...Hi? * Lord_Darkmoon bows. "Greetings, Kyouko. How have you been? Please, come in." He steps out of the way, holding the door. Hey, look who's still alive. * Maya is still chuckling a little. This all seems to amuse her... and then Kyouko shows up. "... you!" ... Kyo-chan? Hey hey! Long time no see, Kyouko! My dad got transferred to England and I had to go with him, but since my English is terrible I got to come back... * Kyouko comes inside. KYO-CHAN! * LadyMallet GLOMPS Kyouko. I heard about the school and...hi Leena. *is somewhat bowled over by the glomp!* * Lord_Darkmoon chuckles quietly and closes the door neatly. * Maya smiles, brightly. "Ohman, is it good to have you back." Coincidentally, Kyouko, we were just discussing visiting the school... Kyouko! Damn straight. Areyouokayit'sbeensolongsincewe'veseenyouandtheschoolblewupandthequeensoutandwe' vegottogobacktoshcoolandWHERE WERE YOU!? So...England? Wow. Leena my dad got transferred to England because he works for Sony and he's pretty important. * Taki goes back into the room to sit down. * Lord_Darkmoon bites his tongue, trying not to crack up at Leena's stream of verbiage. And only succeeding in keeping quiet as his face contorts with amusement. Why do we have to go back? Isn't everything destroyed? Leena misplaced the Mallet. ... Oh. Someone forgot to bring something with them... Well, it is kind of heavy. You'll have to tell me about England! * LadyMallet doesn't let go of Kyo-chan just yet. "We'll explain over tea! You must have had a lot of that there, right?" * Minami rolls her eyes again. * Lord_Darkmoon bows shallowly. "I shall go prepare the tea, then." He heads into the kitchen. It was really pretty and it's so different from Tokyo, but I couldn't handle learning everything in English. ... yeah, really. We should catch up really quick. A lot's gone on as of late. A lot. I've heard some... but only rumors and stuff that's been on the news. ... we've been through hell and back, and it looks like we're gonna make a return trip before this is all over. * LadyMallet sighs. "Come in, sit down. There's a lot." Okay. * Lord_Darkmoon makes now-familiar sounds of tea preparation in the kitchen. * LadyMallet lets go of Kyo-chan so she can do that. =p * Taki idly turns on the TV and flips channels. * Kyouko goes and finds an empty spot to prepare for whatever she's about to hear. * Lady_MakeBelieve joins the crowd of listening and questioning. * LadyMallet grins to herself, looking at Kyouko. "... god, where to start?" We should probably take turns or something so as not to overload her. Or at least not have her try to listen to all of us at once. * Kyouko hears all about the horrible, awful trauma that occurred while she was in jolly old England. Mmm-hmm. * Lord_Darkmoon , after a while, comes out with the tea tray, and serves everyone. * Kyouko has real tea, for the first time in a long time. It is nice to see you again. Will you be rejoining our little club? *being more than a little ironic in his terming it a 'club'* * Minami winces at the mention of "club". * LadyMallet starts filling in Kyo-chan, sometimes slipping into the reallyfasttalkingwithnospaces, but mostly staying legible. I think so, mom doesn't really like England either. So we're going to be living in Tokyo again. * Taki mostly just lets everyone else talk while she distracts herself with tea and TV. Oh, excellent! * LadyMallet snaps her fingers, and lets out a deep breath. "... so, that should be all of it. Well. Except for..." *she glances at Darkmoon.* Did you meet any nice guys there? ...yeah. Um... hm. * Minami eyes Darkmoon. * Maya looks over to Rin as well. That's horrible... I did meet one or two really cute guys, but they were all English so I couldn't talk to them. What? ...*sigh* * Kyouko looks at Rinada too. * Minami coughs lightly. Did something happen to Rinada? One other thing... the others found out in a stressful situation...and there's little reason to keep it from you, either.... it's not like they wouldn't tell you. It's just very...embarrassing. I think it'd be best if you told her, rather than one of us, in any case. You're gay!? * LadyMallet giggles. * Lady_MakeBelieve gets a pensive look on her face Something else? * Lord_Darkmoon closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and grips the Tessen. Lord Darkmoon dissolves, shrinking just slightly and filling out in other places, leaving the lovely young woman, Rin, sitting demurely in the clothes Darkmoon was wearing. * Minami suppresses a SUPERSNORT and pointedly does not look at Maya or Rin, at that. * Kyouko was hoping he was gay. You're a GIRL!? * LadyMallet closes her eyes, to avoid gawking at either Kyo-chan or Rin. That's really weird, I've never heard of a girl turning into a Lord before. * Rin hides behind her Tessen, unfolding it and turning her clothes into a kimono at the same time. "I am, Mizui-san." * Kyouko notes to self to change that Kenji/Rinada doujin. ... Magic will as magic does. Well. I believe I am the only one to undergo this particular unfortunate transformation. I am sorry. * Maya looks downright baffled. * Kyouko is taking this far too calmly, as she moves on rather than actually considering the implications of it all. ... yeah. Anyway, you've probably heard a fair amount on the news about the latest mess. * Rin closes her Tessen as she places it in the belt of her kimono, and gracefully pours more tea for those whose cups are more than half empty. You should have told us sooner, *to herself* that way I wouldn't have wasted all that paper... I am sorry, Mizui-san. I wished to avoid... I do not like my transformation. Forgive me for using it to hide the reason. *bows formally* It's okay, we all have things we don't like about our powers. I guess that's why we're here. So, are we going to get Leena's mallet back soon? * LadyMallet nodnods. "Soon as we're all ready." Pretty much. That, or someone doesn't like them for us----yes, we need to before the evening. Who's going? All of us? All you need to do is find it and touch it, right? I'd prefer that we keep things to as few people as possible. They may be watching over the schoolgrounds, still. I'm counting on the fact that they are. I don't know if I should go... I guess I'd like to see what's happened, but all of you know the area better right now. * Minami nods at Maya. "Good." If that is so, the ones who risk the least in going are Lady Royal and myself, Maya-sama. Well if we get everyone else watching for people watching us, then Leena and I can sneak in ourselves. * Taki turns to Leena. "You can sneak, can't you?" ... kinda? I'm no ninja... Just don't draw attention to yourself. ... shouldn't be an issue if everything goes well. * LadyMallet sighs. "But then again, how often is that?" We should probably try to avoid a confrontation in any case. * LadyMallet nods. "Yeah." Please, Rin... just Maya. But you have a point. * Rin nods, once, slowly. * Maya sighs. "I imagine it would raise a few eyebrows if we showed up for our little appointment a bit messed up." I need to go, though. I need to get it. No problem there, but I'm also assuming I'm going to be tracked out. So a few people out to get it, and the rest of the team on surveillance and counter-surveillance? Maybe you should borrow the tessen? Yeah. The least amount of people we have going in there the better I think. Less likely to get noticed. So I think where the fun part comes in is if you guys kept an eye out to make sure I'm not followed, and let me know when I'm in the clear. Especially since they've been getting even sneakier, right? Tsubasa would be helpful as overwatch, if his services are desired. ... snipers, even. Who knows what kind of unpeopled auto- surveillance they have. The animals would be a great help in keeping an eye on things. We'll find out when we find out, as always. * Maya sighs. "Even now, so little changes." Yeah. So. * Minami works out numbers and powers in her head. "Leena and one other going in directly, probably either Darkmoon or Taki, three on surveillance, two on counter-surveillance?" I don't think Darkmoon can sneak in and control his pets at the same time... * LadyMallet crosses her arms. "We got a plan? Darkmoon and Taki keep their eyes open, I grab the Mallet, and we all get out of there. I'll detrans when I know I'm safe to do so to completely shake any mobile tracking and surveillance." Point. * Minami was talking to Taki, not Leena. Do you have any way to track it at all or are we just digging through rubble until we get lucky? Aka and Tsubasa are not Pets, so cannot contact Lord Darkmoon's mind without his concentration. I cannot move quickly while communing with them. Will you be able to find it right away in the rubble, or will you need to search ar--yeah. There's a knocking at the door. ... kinda the second one. * LadyMallet blinks, and looks at the door. I didn't mean Pets with a capital P. I just meant like pets. You know. * Minami does a quick headcount before looking at the door. * Lady_MakeBelieve gets up and opens it, since no one else seems to be Hello? Well that'll be fun. * Taki looks over at the door. "Who is it?" It can't be me again. * Mayuki ducks into the back. "Hey, guys." * Minami snerks at Kyouko. Hi. Oh. Hey. Hello Mayuki Unless we're in some kind of bizarre time-warp where I keep knocking on the door and multiplying. Hi? Oh, hello! Come in, come in! ...oh, right, you're Heat? * LadyMallet peeks her head out, and sticks her tongue out at Mayuki, grinning. "Got away from the baby diapers, huh?" Yeah. Are you new to the team? * Taki laughs. ...that's Princess Squeegee, Kyo. ... OH. * Taki just laughs and laughs. I'm so sorry! * Mayuki grimaces. "I thought we had plenty of space, but the Palace is starting to stink a little. The maids are going bonkers." Is the Queen doing any better? That many people? Mn. Are there any other options as far as moving people? The Queen seems recovered. And we are ordering some prefabricated housing. ... sounds like you guys are handling that. * Rin bows politely to the untransformed Princess, but does not speak. That's awful... This place isn't smelling any better. * Minami suppresses a smug snerk. It's the job... ah ha. Rin, so you took my advice, then? We do what we must for the time being. * Lady_MakeBelieve throws an air-freshener at Taki :P * Taki ducks. ...? * LadyMallet blinks. "YOU knew, too? Grrrr." * Rin smiles sadly. "Not by choice, Mayuki-sama." We're always the last to know, Leena. That doesn't count, then. *sigh* Just keep what I said in mind, okay? Leena-san, most princesses know my shame. Many were there when I was Ordered to continue Transforming. .... * Maya snickers at Taki's comments. "Always the la---" She twitches at that last bit. * Minami makes a face at that. ... *ordered*?! ... * LadyMallet closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath. "Okay. Next subject." Squeej, what brings you about? I assume she got the message about the Americans wishing to use her. * Minami bites her lip to keep from laughing at that. * Mayuki smacks Leena with a notebook as she perches on the back of the couch. "Only Sakura gets to call me that." * LadyMallet pouts, and rubs her head. "I've got other nicknames for you, you know!" * Rin 's smile becomes less sad at that, and more amused. * Rin goes to the kitchen and retrieves a new tea cup, which she fills with tea and silently offers to Mayuki. Anyway, yeah. Sakura told me about the meeting last night, but I had a few questions. * Kyouko sits back and watches. What about? * Maya sighs, scratching at her temple. "Shoot." Well... did you find out how they tracked Lady Royal? They tracked her?! I uh... *looks over to Maya* ... they mentioned something about the workstudy program, but they didn't flat-out -say- anything. Yeah. Little worrying. I didn't bring it up at the meeting because we were discussing other things at the time. No, but I assume they're just using much better surveillance then even the assassins. The work-study program contained all of our names. I would hope that theirs is better. ...we agreed that you would ask, damn it! Wait, who tracked her? * Minami winces and gulps her tea down scalding. It didn't come up! And I really, really need to know, since I'm the person who is setting up all these fake ID's. * Maya winces. "It didn't cross my mind for some reason! Sorry... I'll try to ask tonight." * Minami rubs her forehead. "I will if she doesn't. My family, my responsibility, etc." * LadyMallet nods. "Ditto." * Rin moves over next to Kyouko, and explains in a low, polite voice. ... Ooooh. Are you sure they don't want to kidnap us and make Magical American Super Soldiers from our powers? ... kidnapping? * LadyMallet shrugs. "If their offer is still open when this is over, I might take them up on it." I, for one, would like to understand this whole phenomena better. Well they are interested in our powers... ... I doubt modern technology can even being to touch what the Earth magic is, but I'd not like to take chances. Yeah. Indeed. Some basic research into the Earth Magic would be nice. It would be, but... as far as we're going, I wouldn't trust them with that. We should be able to supervise it though. Even if they do mean well, its just not right. * Maya sighs. "I'd much rather it be our own, but that's just me." I'd worry a little about letting the American military be the ones doing that research, but as long as we got everything they got out of it... It is not the gaijins' place to examine a Japanese phenomenon. What if the magic doesn't like the technology and destroys it or something. We know it can be picky. Right. * LadyMallet glowers at Rin. * Taki rolls her eyes at Rin. * Rin returns Mallet's glower with a calm, friendly one. Heh. Maybe we could get them a Ningyo to play with. I'll keep that in mind! We did talk about that. I... would like to trust them first. Although *that*, Squeegee, is an excellent idea! And about letting them do an autopsy on some of our attackers. * Maya smiles. "Hell, if they can develop something mundane that will actually hurt them with some regularity, I'd be content." We should have plenty for them to play with, right near their locations, assuming everything works out well in that part. Unfortunately, we don't have any leftover bodies, Taki - I heard about that part from Sakura, but our methods of body disposal tend to be pretty... permanent. Well uh... We can always get more... Incineration? ... we'll just have to get more, then. Uh, not exactly. * Maya nods, leaving it at that. I was thinking there might be some in the city morgues. * Kyouko imagines. Ewwww. So then we have another place we need to break into. Lovely. Yeah... think about that one a little, though, since we don't want police casualties. Police casualties? * Mayuki eyes Rin. "Well, gee, if you break into city facilities..." They shouldn't find out till we're gone anyway. If we do it right. The police will show, and they just might be armed... or Mallet might accidentally bump into a wall and knock it over. * Minami grunts. Quite. ... * LadyMallet sighs. Just think what Tiara would say. I are a moron who's, like, actually 7! I'm joking, I'm joking! "Blah blah blah, I'm stupid bitch."? You did a bad thing but it's okay because I are do dumber stuff! Be like me, be like me! Anyway. * LadyMallet sticks out her tongue and makes a gagging motion. ...yeaaaah. Tiara would say that she was the heroine, of course. * Kyouko giggles. * Maya snickers a little as well. "Guys, really..." ...I see that I've touched on a raw nerve. Did you give any thought to helping them with their disposal methods? Who what? With destroying the rest of the carrier. So the Ningyo don't get the nukes. Oh. Well... Well? They seemed really interested in your powers. I maybe shouldn't tell you, but Sakura has some uneasy suspicions about how they plan to do that. ...oh...? Why? And just how is that? We would benefit from the wise suspicions of those wiser than us, Mayuki- sama. Well, how could they be absolutely, completely sure that one bomb will do it? Yeah. Because they built them? .. oh. Anything is better than the Ningyo getting their hands on the weapons. One destroys a weapon the best, when one uses the weapon. Sakura thinks that they plan to use a small nuke on it, yes. By they way, they wanted your help specifically in delivering the bomb. Are you suggesting nuking Japanese water Rin?? A... small nuke? Whatever works though, right? ... I thinking, though, that we could do it ourselves, without a bomb. Figured. How's that, Leena? I suggest nothing, Lady MakeBelieve. Provided we had sufficient backup. Going down there would be suicide. Not with Squeej here with us. Get in, get em, get out. She can only hold the water back for so long, Leena. It's still a possibility. And there's the problem of moving the water around and within the ship. * LadyMallet turns to Squeej. "Could you?" If we can do it without risking our lives I think we should go for that. I could get rid of a lot of water, but it could hurt people. I rather like that idea better. It's got less... collateral damage than the American's plan. AND how we get you down there. And, yeah, it would be an awfully short amount of time. I'm the only person who could survive inside it. If you are the only one who can survive, then the Ningyo cannot threaten you. ... you can do that, Kyo-chan? The Americans are more experienced in disposing of their own weapons. We should just do it their way. It would take a while, because I can't do that much water at once. But I could boil a lot of it away. ... that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and come up with a better way! Your way is suicide, Leena! I didn't say it would work! I was just discussing it! If someone comes up with a sane solution, then maybe. I'd rather do it the Americans' way, but I'll admit to being nervous about being that close to a nuclear explosion, and also being involved in doing that in Tokyo Bay. But I'm not going to settle for one answer if there's a chance we can come up with a better one! ... this is... complex. But, what other options are there? I wouldn't want a nuclear explosion in the bay. Think how many people it would kill with fallout. Tokyo would become unlivable... Squeegee and Kyouko would be the best equipped to deal with things in the water...start from there and figure something out? It'll all be underwater. So it'll just ruin the water-based economies then. At most it'd hurt the Ningyo. ... yeah. * Mayuki shakes her head. "If it were a small one, and out where the ship is... well, I already don't eat fish from the Bay." It would still get into the air. But think of all the people who do. ... something to think about, at the least. Besides, there's already the bombs and four whole reactors down there. Think of all the people that will die of the Ningyo set off one of the bombs on land. Which have to go, no matter what. And better them being destroyed than in Ningyo hands. Exactly. Radiation slaying all the fish in the bay would result in many dead Fish, as well. The Americans have a solid plan, at least. And we'll go with that if we can't come up with a better one. If we can come up with something, though.... Is our government okay with a nuclear explosion that close to Tokyo? Our government wants to kill us. * Rin nods agreement with Kyouko's question. Probably not, but then again our government isn't okay with Magical Girls, either. Can you arrange a meeting between me and the Americans like the one you had yesterday? I think I need to go over this plan with them at some length. So screw'em. ... I'm sure we could. We have their number. We can call them anytime. That shouldn't be a problem, no. * Rin sips her tea with icy calm. If they want us dead, I don't see why we need to bother with their permission to go ahead with making sure our cities don't get nuked. They sounded rather interested in talking with you anyway. We still don't know that the government was after us, just that some people claimed it. It would be bad to have *both* of them after us. Leena... we do need to make nice with the government. They could cause us no end of trouble. You raise a good point, Lady MakeBelieve. They already are causing us enough people. No end of more trouble, at least. And in any case it's not the *entire* government, or we'd probably all be dead already. We didn't go into hiding for the fun of it. * LadyMallet sighs, and shakes her head. It seems like the Ningyo would want the Bay irradiated to me. What if they could make more Ningyo and stuff that way? I don't think any of us here have enough detailed knowledge on nuclear weapons to be able to judge how safe this is going to be. We should let the Americans worry about the legality of it. They have much more bargaining power than we do. But what if they aren't worrying about it, and expect us to take the blame? That's a bit of a stretch. It's their bomb dropped with their equipment. Then we have learned a valuable lesson about the Americans. That being? ... Like I said, much discussion. I will not be participating without complete agreement from the Hierarchy. I'm just saying we should let the government know. ... and what if the assassins catch wind of this and try to interfere? Or Sakura should anyway. Then we stop them. ... with a live, if small nuke, as the prize of that particular struggle. And the US Navy. These assassins have been entirely conventional to date. We can tell them afterwards. The threat should not be there to begin with. It would be bad enough if they showed. Who knows if the Ningyo might try to stop things as well? Of course they'll try to stop them. * Minami rubs the bridge of her nose. "Is this really for *us* to decide?" We don't need assassins, and Ningyo, and the US Navy, -and- us all there. That's why they need Squeegee to hold them back. * Rin rises, gracefully as ever, and begins clearing up any tea cups that are empty, and the now-empty tea pot, onto the tray, which she takes into the kitchen with her. * LadyMallet pauses, and watches Rin go, a mixed expression on her face. This all seems like we're being set up to destroy everything. No, not for you. But... for us. * Minami nods. But it's something that needs dealing with! We can't just ignore the carrier under the water. Okay. Maya, set up that meeting with them. It'll be me and... someone with a little more offensive power than I as escort. The faster it's dealt with the better. I'll get right on it. Would you like me to go, since I'm fairly fluent in English? * Maya digs around for her phone. That doesn't mean that *we* have to deal with it, Taki. There are other Ladies around, you know. No, I'm quite fluent myself. Yeah, but none of the other Ladies have been... broke in for this kind of stuff. * Mayuki opens up her notebook and jots down some notes. That will really have to change, Leena. * LadyMallet slouches. "It's just us who've been that lucky, so far." If it comes to that, I must have missed the meeting where we all suddenly became certified nuclear waste disposal experts. ^Oh Mayuki, have you been overseas?^ It's going to change, whether we want it to or not. ^Yes, though only on vacation. But I do much business in English.^ ...you can't make money in our stock market - not quickly, anyway. Definitely. We need to break in other people. Just us... well, I bet once our enemies get organized, just us will be overwhelmed. * Lady_MakeBelieve sighs "I want to travel someday" As do I. * LadyMallet giggles. "I AM going to travel." What, we're not already? * Maya gets to dialing. "As do I. One day, after this all blows over." Maya gets voice mail. I did, I could barely understand anyone. ... I don't know what I want to do. I want to be in the Olympics. I don't think I really have a choice in the matter, honestly. * LadyMallet giggles. "Meet a nice ninja boy, and have lots of big, healthy ninja babies!" Aww, ninja babies! ... ghn. Voice mail. What is it? ... Yeah. So leave a message. ... That doesn't sound pleasant for the mother. Fine, fine. I'd rather speak to someone in person, but... Well, if Taki's so insistent on kneeling down and taking it without at least trying to make her own choice, then she gets to make LOTS of ninja babies! Oh, geez. * Maya sighs and gets to down to leaving said message, but also notes that she'll try again later so that she can speak to a human being. As she hangs up, she *STARES* at Mallet. Leena, could you not, please? ... I think we're not the best candidates for motherhood. Leena, not everyone is just like you. Try and keep that in mind at least some of the time? * LadyMallet blinks. "... alright. I'll stop." Can we not talk about this? All right. I'll be expecting a call from you, Maya, to let me know. You can... tell them about my rank. * LadyMallet 'hrms' and makes a thinky face, then turns to Squeegee. Anything else? * Mayuki climbs off the couch, and readjusts her slacks. "No, just do your best tonight, okay?" * Rin returns. * LadyMallet pops up, and powerposes. "Yosh! Then we get to finish getting ready and head out! GANBATTE!" Right. I will, I will. Yeah. Our best. *sighs* And we will! We... sort of don't have a choice, do we? Sayonara, Mayuki-sama. There are always choices. Just not always the ones you want. Seeya! * LadyMallet waits for Mayuki to get out of melee range. "Take care, Squeej!" ...often not the ones you want. It was nice to meet you out of costume! * Mayuki ducks out the lobby door. Later. She's really not that bad, all in all. Nah. Just gotta get past her rank. I guess... She could be worse I guess. She's nicer than I thought. So are you going to get the Mallet soon? Yeah. She is the Queen's right hand. But people are not entirely their position. Yeah, as soon as we're all ready! Man I never thought I'd have to break _into_ school. She could be Tiara. * LadyMallet hasn't moved from her powerposing position yet. * Rin shudders involuntarily at Maya's comment. Has the plan to rescue Leena's Mallet been solidified yet, Maya? So Leena and I go in and everyone else keeps watch? Taki's idea is fine enough for me, so long as you all agree. Hmmm. * LadyMallet points at Darkmoon. "Counter-surveillance, with Royal. Me alone, or me with Taki, to find the Mallet, and the rest of you on surveillance." * Taki tries not to smile too proudly. I think Taki would be more helpful as counter-surveillance, though. * Rin executes a motion somewhere between a nod and a bow. ...that sounds good, though. I don't know if I should go, it's been a while since I've transformed or done anything like this. I think someone needs to keep Leena in line though... ... from what? I want to get in and out as fast as possible. Just use Darkmoon's tessen to disguise yourself... I'll be followed after stashing the Mallet away into thin air, for sure. No amount of disguise will help with that. If they see quite that much detail. And there's always misdirection. Just... It's better if someone is with you. Alright. Any objections to taking that spot, Taki? Of course not. We've got a plan, then. * Maya listens on, idly rubbing her chin and looking Rin's way. Let's do this. * Rin rises. "If Leena-san is to borrow my Tessen, then I should make use of it now." She pulls it out, and points it at the ground. One clock-hand motion and accompanying rising purple moon later, Lord Darkmoon uses the Tessen to turn his uniform into something less conspicuous. * LadyMallet goes to get her gun. Right. * Minami goes off to transform and change. * Taki stands up and transforms as well in an explosion of blackness. Her body transforms but she keeps her street clothes intact. * Lord_Darkmoon offers the Tessen to Lady Mallet with a friendly smile. "Here, my Lady." * Kyouko transforms just because. ... It's been a while. This feels so good. * LadyMallet returns with gun, takes hold of the tessen for a moment, and appears in a completely different outfit, aiming for the 'old bent-over nanny with cane' look. You wear it well, Leena. * LadyRoyal raises her eyebrows, but shrugs. Effective enough. Leena has a stupid dress on now, but she still looks like a little girl. ... did it work? * LadyMallet heads for a mirror. "Was hoping for something a bit more effective..." ... you're still short and cute. ...why the ill-fitting dress, Leena? Just wear something casual. That wouldn't fool anyone who had seen you before, but it might fool someone operating off a description. It's easier to blend in when you look normal. As Leena studies herself in the mirror, she begins to get the posture right. But her face is still young. * LadyMallet adds an Old Lady Hat to it, with a hanging facenet thing. Lady Mallet, why would an old woman be searching the ruins of a high school? ...now, maybe - maybe - she could pass. Who knows? She's looking for her cat? But it's a harder question to answer than why a young girl would be, and certainly harder to pin down. * LadyMallet hmms, and lets it stick at that. "I might be able to pull this off." I'm prepared, everyone else? Not bad, actually! If it doesn't raise suspicions enough to cause them to suspect a disguise. If it gets to that point, we're screwed anyway. But it is your call, and your Mallet. *concentrates a moment, eyes turning purple* Tsubasa will meet us there. Aka could not make it on foot in a reasonable time frame. * LadyMallet nods, in a slow, old-lady fashion. "Let's go." * LadyNightshade just shakes her head. It's a perfect day outside - still early March, so it's a bit brisk, but the sun is shining, the sky is blue, the birds are singing, and a decent number of people are out in the streets. * Maya nods, rises, and slips off to transform and get into streetwear. "Yes, let's." * LadyHeat wants to come, but also thinks she should stay. Internal Dilemma! * LadyHeat decides to go after all, and changes. * LadyNightshade walks along with Mallet cause she's walking with her grandma to the destroyed school! Or something. * LadyMallet looks about, eyeing the crowds. "... start about where the auditorium was" * LadyMysteria stays back and does the whole 'watching from a distance' thing. * LadyRoyal drops into step beside Darkmoon/behind both other groups. * LadyHeat hums to herself and does some idle rubbernecking at the school. * Lady_MakeBelieve just trails along behind, chatting with Norcliff * LadyMallet heads straight for the school's rubble. * LadyNightshade eyes the crowds around the area before rushing into anything. The streets approaching the school are all blocked off to traffic. Some heavy equipment is parked around the fringes of the building, though little of it is in use. The site itself is roped off. There are a number of rescue workers in its midst, and a small but notable number of gawkers surrounding it. * LadyMysteria keeps her voice down and sticks back some. "... lots of people. Might not be easy to get close." Well they're not going to let us just walk in. * LadyMallet pauses at the perimeter, and glances around again, and whispers to the mic, and to herself, "Here goes. Gonna get as close as a crazy old lady who's finding their cat can get." Leena, I don't think drawing attention to yourself is going to get you in. * LadyRoyal taps Darkmoon and points up surreptitiously. Let us know when you're ready to for us to go in. ... well, let's try the legit way first. * LadyHeat softly sings into her radio "I'm going to be a gawker I guess~" to the tune of L'arc~en~ciel's Driver's High. * LadyNightshade idly glances around the perimeter looking for spots they could sneak in from. * Lady_MakeBelieve lets Norcliff out of her purse to scamper along * LadyMallet ambles over to where people are supposed to get in and out. The school is rather a mess, in the middle of a yard. The fences have all been knocked down, and the approaches are all equally exposed. * LadyRoyal takes Darkmoon, goes to the roof of a nearby building by semi-legit means, and starts keeping an eye out. "Might wanna call Aka and Tsubasa now..." * LadyHeat gawks. * LadyMallet ambles right on in, then. "Better idea. Looking for Akira. He's supposed to be helping out here, grandson, I'm going to bring him his wallet he forgot so he has money for food." Leena... Just hold on. * LadyNightshade puts a hand on her shoulder. ... right. A rescue worker grabs Leena's arm. "Hold on, ma'am, it's not safe in here!" No, wait. Don't go in until you have an idea where the thing's at. Let's let Norcliff and Tsu-- Hi, sir, don't mind my grandmother. She's getting old. Come on Grandma. *drags Leena off* * LadyMallet coughs, shoving her voice to her best approximation of a grandma voice, "Oh, dearie, but I thought... oh, my..." Thanks, miss. This is why I wanted to go with you. *sticks her tongue out* Can you have Norcliff and Tsubasa scout the area? * LadyMallet grumbles. The less searching we have to do the better. I think we're getting Aka and Tsubasa to work up here. Or, well, he's got that look, so I'm guessing that's what it is. Didn't he say Aka couldn't make it? Hell if I know who he's bringing up. I just know he's all tranced-out. (through the radio) Norcliff isn't finding anything Great. That probably means it's buried pretty deep. Which means we're going to need more time than what we'll get with running in saying we're looking for a cat. * Photographer bumps into Kyouko, and stumbles away from her, blinking. oops! Pardon me, miss. I'm so sorry! I kinda know where it might be? It'd be near where the auditorium was, away from the bombblast. ...um. * LadyHeat apologizes for being in the way, then moves away from the photographer. * Photographer raises his camera. "You're Lady... Lady... uh..." There's a lot of auditorium, Leena. Let's just work on getting in there without being noticed first. I'm not a magical girl. * Photographer snaps pictures. "Yes, you were with that team that walked in off the street!" What? * LadyHeat tries to hide from the camera. ... That's really rude, I have epilepsy! I could have a seizure! ... * LadyRoyal tries not to crack up too much at that. I'm with the card publishers. No you don't - you were great at the studio. * LadyHeat covers her face and tries not to look at the flashing camera. * LadyMallet frowns. "Oh, great." Tell me, how do you feel about your secret school being demolished? Come on, Leena. *drags her around looking for a spot away from where everyone would be looking at Kyouko. ...oh, hell. I didn't go to school here, I was overseas for weeks. Seriously. Please leave me alone? * LadyMallet nods, and let's Kyo (regretfully) take the heat. * LadyMysteria sighs heavily. Just go with it. Create a distraction so we can get in. But... what are the Ladies going to do about this? I don't know, I'm not a Lady! Can I card him? I should be able to get at him, even from here...or I can do a flurry somewhere else? ... Card his camera. A few other people are starting to gather around, but they don't recognize Lady Heat out of costume. If you're that accurate. Don't card him! I think I could give it a shot. Think it's discreet? * LadyNightshade shakes her head. Don't card him? I'm underage, isn't it illegal to do this minors? C'mon, can't I have an interview? *lowers the camera* It would make my career! Well we can't have people realizing that MG's can go around out of uniform and taking PICTURES of it! No, I don't do interviews because I'm NOT a Lady! Ugh, right. That's a big point, that we can be out of costume. Magical Girls can't take off their uniforms, everyone knows that! Sure, sure, but I know your face. We have to study the girls so we know what's happening... Tell him you have a twin? At the least, try and get closer to here, to where it gets peoples attention. You're too far out. Lots of people look alike! I've seen guys that look exactly like Tetsu from Laruku but it wasn't him, it was some random salaryman. He can't say you don't have a twin or a cousin or something... The little knot of people begins to disperse. Crazy photographer... Please??? No, I'm not a Lady so I can't give you any sort of interview or anything about it. That would be lying. * Photographer gets on his knees. "You don't know how important this is for me!" Royal, you feel like taking the heat off of ... Heat? They already know you. Why don't you find some a real Lady and interview her? You already did the stupid magazine thing. Just go with it so we can get in. I wouldn't care except for the uniform thing. And no way am I going down there--for all we know, it could be a purposeful distraction. I can card his camera if you want, but other than that... Yeah, like the assassins are working for the magazine. ... I could throw a jelly-fish at him. * Photographer looks sad. No, but they could've set this dweeb on her. Or I could call up one of the Sailors, and distract him with another magical girl. ...oooh. Possibilities. Oh, well. If you ever change your mind, here's my card. If I were a Lady I'm sure I would give you an interview, but I'm not. I guess I just look like one. * Photographer proffers a card! * LadyHeat takes the card and pockets it. * LadyHeat moves away from the crash site now, since she got spotted like that. * Photographer backs away, still snapping photographs of Lady Heat. Nothing... seems... 'sptious... here... Heat... okay. * LadyHeat mutters. "He's still taking pictures!" ...want I should do something about the camera in any case, though? Turn around then! * LadyNightshade sighs. * LadyMysteria chuckles softly. "Back to the matter at hand..." * LadyNightshade goes back to watching the workers and security people. * LadyRoyal stays looking out, checking for...uhhh...other lookouts. Did anyone spot anything yet? ...no... No. * LadyMallet grumbles. "I doubt you're gonna find it at the surface. Just... keep an eye out for anyone keeping an eye on me?" That's our job... Well. Actually our job is keeping an eye out for anyone keeping an eye out for anyone keeping an eye on you, but anyway. ... uh, yeah. What you said. @_@ * Lord_Darkmoon chuckles distractedly. "One... too... many... Royal." * LadyRoyal snickers. ... I think I'll just keep an eye out for anyone suspicious. Sounds like a plan, yes. Um, guys... bad news. * LadyHeat walks along looking out for suspicious people and trying to look normal and nonmagical. What? * LadyMallet grumbles. "... man. Patience, patience... what is it?" what happened? The Dragon King is here... he's watching us. What? * LadyRoyal sighs. "...and how do you figure that?" Let us have i---oh. Right. If anything odd happens on that end, let us know. Who? ... he survived? * LadyMysteria sounds as seriously as she can manage. YES! * Lord_Darkmoon snaps back to the present, losing connection with Tsubasa as his eyes return to normal. "What!?" Not the Dragon Lord, Mallet, the King. ... oh, dear. The *very* not nice one... So tell him to find the mallet or go away. Huh. Who? ... um, that's, uh, notgood. I hope he waits until I get re-armed. * LadyHeat is confused. What makes you say that? We'll explain later. Okay. Where? *sets his eyes to glowing as he re-establishes connection with Tsubasa* Norcliff.. can... tell... me... where? Anyone looking up at the sky at that moment sees a shape circling the school at a very high altitude - if they squint really hard, it *does* look like a dragon. * Lord_Darkmoon sends Tsubasa circling -wide-, and then up, keeping a distance between the bird and the mysterious shape, but trying to get a better angle of view on it. * LadyNightshade curses barely under her breath. Anything yet? We don't fucking need this right now Haruko. Hold on, maybe she's seeing something else? I know... he always turns up at the worst time. I need to call Dani. Something... frightening... * Lady_MakeBelieve sounds scared Tsubasa... fighting... doesn't want... to approach... ... looks like we got our distraction. * LadyHeat thinks to herself 'Since when are dragons sea creatures?!' * Lady_MakeBelieve pulls out her trademark translucent cell, and starts dialing. ... ...huh. * LadyNightshade calls out, disguising her voice, "Hey, what's that in the sky?!" There is something, I guess. A few other people around the block here have spotted it as well, but they think it's just a large bird or something. Dragons don't really exist, do they? * LadyHeat looks up. That does look a lot like a dragon. Ohmygodwe'regoingtodie. I swear if I get turned into anything again... So high... Oh, I remember that. That was... not fun, yes. * Lord_Darkmoon lets Tsubasa turn away from the creature, retreating back to safer distances and altitudes. * LadyRoyal spares a glance for the thing in the sky, but focuses on counter-s. ... I'm going in. If there's something incoming, can't waste a minute to get the Mallet before it comes in. * Lord_Darkmoon lets his connection with Tsubasa laps again, and switches off his microphone for a moment. "Lady Royal," he whispers, "I do not think that is strictly a creation of MakeBelieve's." Leena just wait for it. ...oh? We're going to use it to get in. Alright, Dani should be here in a few minutes, and the rest of the Sailors are on there way as soon as they can get here. Tsubasa was terrified of it. * LadyRoyal covers the mic, since Darkmoon is doing so as well. "Any other indicators?" ... wait, what? * LadyMallet stops, again. "This patience thing is killing me, Taki. It really is." * LadyMysteria blinks a few times. "Use what when where? That doesn't sound smart." * LadyNightshade holds Leena back. "I know, I know." It's big... and Tsubasa does not fear earth magic. Not like that. From some ways down the street, there's an aggrieved voice shouting "Hey! HEY! THAT'S NOT YOURS!" How big? It's as big as my house. ...SHIT. Bird? ...I would have to agree with MakeBelieve. Dragon. Be careful guys. The Dragon King isn't wholly of this world.... Holy hells. * LadyNightshade looks around for the source of the shouting. * LadyRoyal uncovers the mic. "Ermm...so...Darkmoon's getting the feeling that, er...hm. That something might be...supplementing the Dragon King." * LadyMysteria glances over as well, momentarily distracted. * LadyRoyal tries to imply that "hey, this thing is real, man." * LadyMallet blinks. "Well, that patience thing just got a lot easier. I'll be right back." It seems to be...more powerful than we were thinking, if you catch my drift. Taki spots a teenage boy running away from her towards the next intersection. ... Oh My. * LadyMallet heads towards the shouting, away from the school. * Lord_Darkmoon switches his mic back on, and re-establishes his link with Tsubasa as his eyes purple over once again. Stop! Stop! That's a really big bird...thing. ...dammit! So to speak. ...Seiryu... * Boy comes to a halt out of breath. * LadyNightshade just watches for the moment, trying to figure out what he's chasing. So. It's Sea Magic? Or just Not-Earth magic? Whatever he was chasing, it's out of sight. Can't...tell... ...hn. Resuming... watch... Thanks. The Dragon King isn't of the Sea... though I fear he may be allied. No one feels Sea Magic. If you focus on it closely, you can feel *something*, though. What... is... of...? Make...Believe...? * LadyMallet stops next to the boy, and looks up at him, grinning. "Hey, Alfy. What's the trouble?" What? The Sea has dragons now? * LadyMysteria shivers a little of the odd feeling, then glances back towards the boy... and Mallet. ...doesn't seem to *feel* like that. * Joey almost dislocates his neck snapping his head in Leena's direction. * Lord_Darkmoon circles Tsubasa around, glancing periodically at Mallet and her friend, since he's watching for people watching them. I'm in disguise, but don't worry, it's me. What happened? OH MY GOD! LEENA! I THOUGHT... I thought... He is otherworldly... from a realm of pure magic. * Joey collapses over the smaller girl, crying. * LadyRoyal winces at the screaming of the Leena's name and whatnot. * LadyMallet catches him. "Shh. What happened?" ...what? * LadyNightshade just keeps her distance and watches for now. You're... you're not dead?! ... nah, I'm too tough for that. You know that. It's good that you thought I was, though. ... mmmn. Dammit, if only we could just home in on Mallet's magic and find the damn thing. I mean, we can sense the Sea... * LadyRoyal leaves that to the people there and goes back to watching for watchers watching our watchers. Norcliff...is...Pet.... sense... magical... girls. That works, then. *sniff* Leena... I'm okay. I'm here. And if you ever get a silly thought like me dying in your head, Alfalfa, drop it, cuz it ain't never gonna happen. * LadyNightshade idly watches the sky. Y-your parents told me that... but... oh my god, Leena, someone just took your Mallet! ...! Which way? We-elll, at least we know what happened to it. Wait, who took it? Where? * Lord_Darkmoon 's bird tightens in upon hearing that, and listens for the answer. * LadyMallet hisses, "Nightshade, got a lead. We're going that way soon as I find out which way." He went north, I saw him pick it up and run away with it... * LadyNightshade heads off in that direction. ... wait. Just... pick it up? * LadyMallet blinks. Yeah! I'd... I'd built a little shrine by it. * Joey blushes. * Lord_Darkmoon has Tsubasa rise, his own expression darkening as he mouths "so...dead...", and sends the bird up and North, trying to spot someone carrying the Mallet. But I stepped away to get some food, and I saw him as I was walking back... ...that photographer dweeb...could he have...? * LadyMallet blinks. "And he just went and wrecked all that work? ... I'm so going to kick his ass." * LadyNightshade moves as quick as she can, hoping to catch up before whoever it is can get too far. Forget the shrine, he has your Mallet! Though, he'd have to be a lot stronger than he looked for that. * LadyMallet helps Joey to his feet. "Stay here, okay? I'm going to go get it back." * LadyMallet glances up. "And... be careful. Something big might be going down, you know the procedure for that kind of stuff." Rogue...Lord...Sure of it... Mallet... don't... take... ...alone... please... Leena, where are you living? Oh hell. ... eh? What in the... ...dammit... where... * LadyMallet RIPS off the Granny Suit, to just the sleeveless undershirt. "Ugh, that thing is annoying to wear." Taki speeds down the street, but sees no Mallet. Nightshade, Mallet, hear that? Watch out. If you can let me know his position, I can try and head him off from up here, but..... Not... finding... him... I don't see him either. He must've gone in somewhere. * LadyMallet stretches, and pauses. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm staying at the Blossom Detective Agency. If people think I'm dead, let them keep thinking that." * LadyNightshade scans the surrounding buildings. I'll be back. * LadyMallet JETS towards the north. But... LEENA!!! Can... Norcliff... sense... Lord...? --told him!?-- *suppresses an annoyed sigh* ... oh, God. Leena... * LadyMysteria facepalms for a moment. Agh! * LadyRoyal facepalms with a "slap" sound audible from the radio. * LadyMallet twitches. "Not so loud..." * LadyRoyal snorts. As Leena runs, she passes by a Mallet-shaped indentation in the foundation of a stone building where the Mallet mush have been lodges as it was blasted out of the school by the bomb. * LadyMallet stops, and touches the dent for a moment, recalculating North, and then takes off again. * Joey watches LadyMallet run away. * Lord_Darkmoon pulls Tsubasa back around and has him tail Leena, keeping bird's-eye overwatch for anyone coming after her as she jets along. * Dani runs up, out of a nearby subway terminal Dani! Do you see him? Just hope I can get it back before the Big Baddie shows up... * Dani looks up... yeah. This is big. The girls should be here before too long... you might want to stay out of this one though. Ok, I'm going to go with Norcliff and see if we can track down a stolen mallet. Wait, mallet? As in a Giant Wooden Hammer? * Dani does her best to pronounce that with capital letters. Yes, why. Oh geez, I saw the guy as I was getting off the subway. I could have stopped him if I had known. Following... Mallet... ...If needed... will...Feral...dragon thing. Guys, the thief got on the subway station! Take care Dani... I worry about you. The subway? You too. Whoa, whoa... Feral now might not be a good idea. If anything, it'd be a huge sign for our 'friends' that we're in the area. Subway? Gotcha. * LadyNightshade looks around for the nearest subway entrance. Wait, isn't the Mallet really heavy? Then it had to have been the rogue Lord! * Dani stays keeping watch over the skies while she waits for her team to show up. For... dragon... only... m'Lady... Said...that...Heat... * LadyHeat heads to the Subway, since she could actually carry it. * LadyMallet continues jetting, changing course for the nearest subway entrance. Up in the sky, the Dragon seems to be circling farther and farther out from the school. * Lady_MakeBelieve heads off towards the local subway, picking up Norcliff on the way... Yeah! I think I can carry it, I'll head after him. ...Mysteria... I should... follow? If ...rogue Lord... need my...rank...? It's been mentioned that he can theoretically order Princesses. It wouldn't matter if you were there, and we need to keep a few people here to see what happens. * LadyMysteria darts her eyes up. "... if things above clear out, maybe. Then again, it might be too late." Taki is the first to the subway. There is barely anyone in the station, and certainly no Mallets. Yeah... Yes...m'Lady.... *has Tsubasa continue to follow them* I dunno if it matters for us being up here anymore, though, since the rest of us are going. Damn it. Did she see him get on a train? No, she didn't. There's still the big thing in the sky, Royal. And if it comes down to make a mess, you get three guesses as to where it's gonna land. Is... dragon... coming... down? * LadyNightshade looks around for someone to ask if they saw anything. There is a family waiting at one end of the platform, and a few guys near the center. Point. * LadyNightshade runs up to the nearest one. "Hey did you see a guy come down here with a big mallet?" What? * LadyHeat looks around for any evidence of damage by the guy accidentally smacking the Mallet against something. * LadyMallet takes the fast way down the subway stairs, jumping down, adrenaline pumping. A big... hammer. Made of wood. Did you see it? Oh, yeah, man that thing jammed in door for a second. ... the subway? ... What train did he get on? It was the southbound. * LadyMallet starts reading the route signs, trying to determine which train was just by. That must be really awkward. * LadyRoyal fidgets and watches the dragon thing. Southbound. Got it. Thanks. It was funny, yeah. * LadyNightshade looks around for an indication of when the next train will be in. The schedule is on the wall, and the next train... is in two minutes. Funny? *looks back* Was he having trouble carrying it? Sure, you know, the train didn't start on time, and the stationmaster had a fit. Hey, guys. Me and Taki, *glances back at Heat* and maybe Heat are taking the next train. We got a bead on it. How's the big baddy in the sky doing? Same as. He didn't say where he was going, did he? No sign of actual activity yet. Naw, he was laughing himself. * Lord_Darkmoon has Tsubasa land on Mallet's shoulder. * LadyNightshade looks at where all the stops for this train are. Great. Figures he would enjoy it. * LadyHeat walks away from the guy. "It seems like the thief was having trouble carrying it." * LadyMallet glances at the bird. "And make sure Alfy stays out of the area if something goes down!" Looks to be the same, yeah. And... was that the boy you were talking to? Yeah. Outside in the street, Lady MakeBelieve blinks as three men in ski masks and black jumpsuits bang through a door fifty meters in front of her and sprint for the subway station. They have some sort of guns on them, though she doesn't know enough about guns to recognize them. Ladies! There are three men in black with guns sprinting for the subway! ... Great. * LadyMallet curses something in accented American. As the wise men say, "Oh shit." Mysteria... Royal and I... pursue? Damnit. Damn it all. Let's go! Right. Local team can handle a monster. I hope. * LadyHeat opens up her backpack and pulls out a waterbottle. On our way! * LadyRoyal proceeds to be, indeed, on her way. * Lord_Darkmoon nods, losing his connection with Tsubasa, and readies his Tessen as he turns to run. Nightshade, what stops are on his line? * LadyMysteria disengages from her position and goes to pursue. Same way we came, MB? * LadyNightshade repeats what she read earlier. Thanks. Which way did you all go? Darkmoon--follow them? Attempt an intercept? What d'you think? Follow, ready to execute when they go for their guns. I think we need to keep following the mallet in any case. * LadyMallet wheels around, getting ready to draw and shoot. "If they're after us, I don't want to lose the Mallet, and me and the flying squirrel will take the subway." They will not be permitted to fire on Mallet or the others. Gotcha. If they're after ... him, which is possible, trail them. Either way I'm getting on the next train. * LadyNightshade casually ducks out of sight from the main entrance behind a pillar. I'm in agreeance there. The men are already to the stairway down to the subway, and they charge down in coordinated fashion. * Lady_MakeBelieve tosses a string of lit firecrackers after the men, hoping to distract them. * Lady_MakeBelieve then ducks behind a corner * LadyMallet has her gun out and held at the ready, if not aimed right at them yet, when she spots them incoming. Loud Noises in a second girls. * Lord_Darkmoon chases as fast as his Lord-empowered self can, ready to pull his gun with the Tessen at a moment's notice. The firecrackers go off, and the last man pauses and spends ten seconds looking around before following. * Lady_MakeBelieve continues following after noticing the lack of shots. Down in the station, the train announces its arrival with a roar and much screeching, Heat, Mallet, get on the train. Let's go. Leena, hide your gun. * LadyNightshade ducks into the train as soon as the doors open. * LadyMallet tucks her gun away, and runs for the train. ... this is gonna get messy, dammit. The men stage down the stairs, long rifles pointing into the station. They open fire at anyone they see moving to get on the train. Norcliff, you go with them, help them find the mallet! * Norcliff runs down through the confusion, and manages to make it on the train. Both Lady Heat and Lady Mallet are hit before they duck - well, now it's tumble - into the train. The gunmen move off the stairs, and run for the nearest doors onto the train. * LadyHeat tries not to scream, and almost fails. She's lucky she's tough. * LadyMallet grins and bears it. She's a tough girl, and one that raises her gun and gets to her feet as soon as she makes it on. The last gunman, delayed by MakeBelieve's firecracker distraction, barely squeezes through the door, and actually loses his rifle in the process. Speakers chime as the doors close. "This is the semi-express from Tokyo Station to Kawasaki Central. The next stop is Omori North." * LadyNightshade moves towards the front of the car, whispering into her comm. "Are you two still conscious?" Norcliff, make sure we get off on the right stop, tell us if you sense anything! I'm fine. Heat? I'm... okay. Haruko, do me a favor and talk to the station manager. See if you can find out where the mallet gets off this train. I'm sure they'd keep track of something like that. I think I'll live, it just hurts. A lot. There are some screams from the few other passengers as they see the bloodied girls. It's a mixed group - the lunchtime non-crowd, since most of them take local trains. * LadyHeat nervously drinks from what's left of the open water bottle she was carrying. ... sorry, Heat. It had to happen sometime. Just remember that we'll heal. I don't think it went in very far. * LadyMallet waves her gun and addresses the crowd. "All of you, back that way! There will be guys with guns coming, and there will be a firefight!" Just don't detransform until it comes back out and you'll be fine. Get your asses to safety THAT *she gestures* way! There's more screaming, but no arguing, as the passengers start moving. * LadyNightshade hits the door button, and moves into car 4. Lets start moving forward. The more people we can get behind us, the better. * LadyMallet heads for car #4. * LadyHeat readies another waterbottle for combat and tosses aside the other as she heads forwards. Car #4 is more crowded, and there seems to be a group of girls about your age here. They're dressed grunge, and eye everyone else with hostility. HEY, PEOPLE! GET THE HELL THAT WAY UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET CAUGHT BETWEEN MAGICAL GIRLS AND AUTOMATIC WEAPONS! * LadyMallet gestures behind her. ... * LadyNightshade just keeps moving forward, ignoring Leena. * LadyHeat uses her superior lung capacity to shout as well. "MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE TRAIN." * LadyMallet says her piece, and starts cutting through the people. EVERYONE, YOU ARE IN DANGER, PLEASE MOVE TO THE BACK. The girls unknot themselves into the center aisle. One with multiple piercings steps forward. "This is our car, bitches." * LadyMallet simply shoves them aside. "And it'll be yours afterwards." As Taki gets near, one of them pulls out a knife. But it won't belong to a corpse. So move! There's a distorted, growling sound from the car in front of you. Is it automatic gunfire? ... Now really isn't a good time to be cute. Nightshade, Mallet, move. *holds up the water bottle menacingly, then tosses the water in a wide arc across the thugs* Leena charges through their ranks as the door at the front of the car hisses open. Hey! Don't attack civilians! *stops Heat* They need to move! Taki tries to jump over the obstructing girl, but manages only to jam her head against the ceiling and fall back down on top of her. The other girls move in to swarm their downed prey. * LadyHeat mutters "Boiling Point" and mildly boils any water she can see that isn't on Taki. Half of the girls start screaming and tearing at their clothing, at least until the first gunman lunges through the door and sprays bullets at everything teenage-girl-shaped he can see. Taki is under the line of fire. Kyouko has enough human shields in front of her that she's only sprayed with blood. Leena... is a sitting duck as the second gunman follows right behind. Somehow she finds cover in the seats. * LadyMallet rebounds right out of the seat, fury in her eyes as she sends bullets screaming by each of their heads. Leave us alone, you murderous freaks! Lady Mallet can see the third gunner behind the others, but he can't get around them to shoot with the pistol he has in hand. * LadyNightshade growls under the pile of girls. "Would you get the fuck OFF ME?! Unless you'd rather these men shoot you to death instead!" * LadyNightshade tries her best to push her way free from the other girls. * LadyNightshade regains her feet and charges to the front end of the train, attempting to put her fist into the front gunman only to be completely side stepped. Nightshade streaks into a pink blur reaching for the first gunman... and missing into the traincar wall beside him as he ducks. He's too far out of position for his return fire to do anything but shatter windows, though. The second guy burns through the rest of his clip in a panic, entirely missing Lady Mallet, and everything else. The right side of the traincar is looking pretty swiss-cheesed. * LadyMallet mutters. "There's three of them!" * LadyHeat shouts "Night, Mallet, DUCK!" and she tosses a still closed water bottle at the goonies and boils the water so hot the bottle explodes, spraying steam and boiling water all over everything. The bottle bursts right between the two front gunmen. They have lots of protective clothing on, but their heads are only covered with cloth, which soaks up the steaming spray like sponges... and of course their eyes are not covered, so they are suddenly blind. Taki twitched into the seating fast enough to avoid the blast, but she can feel the heat in the air and shivers. * LadyMallet reaches over, grabs one of the metal poles, and YANKS. She then sets it in front of her, horizontally, and bullrushes the lot of the gunmen at the waist. Mallet totally misjudges the momentum of the pole, and ends up spearing it through the floor of the car. At least she has the muscle to pull it back out. She's left standing in the middle of the aisle, and the third gunman strides past the other two, raises his pistol, and blasts her right in the center of the chest. She blinks and her mouth makes motions like she's trying to say something, but she collapses backwards onto the floor. Leena! Blood pumps furiously out of the wound. Ohmygod. * LadyNightshade growls viciously as she tears into the man with the pistol, hitting him so hard and fast that she doesn't even notice when he stops breathing, his battered skull flattened against the nearby seat. * LadyHeat goes for Leena and tries to keep pressure on the wound or something to keep her from losing too much blood. It doesn't make any immediate, obvious difference - Kyouko's hands get bloody, bloody. One of the remaining gunmen struggles blindly to switch clips - the other has some bullets left and fires them off randomly at chest level. * LadyNightshade beats the gunman with the loaded gun into unconsciousness before turning on his partner. * LadyNightshade prepares to knock the other man down, but the train shifts into a turn and she loses her balance momentarily. * LadyHeat boils the remaining gunman again to make sure he's fully incapacitated. He shrieks again, and finally starts trying to yank the facemask off - harder than you'd think, since his skin is melted into it in blotches. Kyouko's hands move out of position as she concentrates on the gunman for a moment, and when she looks back the blood is spurting again. * LadyNightshade knocks the guy out with a sharp blow to the back of the head. * LadyMallet eyes flutter open for a moment, then close again. She moans. Mallet, don't get up. * LadyHeat pushes back down onto Leena's chest. Don't move! As she does, they emerge from the tunnel, and sunlight floods the car highlighting all the blood strewn everywhere. ... not... planning... o-FUCK! Tell me that fucker's dead! * LadyHeat rips her skirt for bandages to wrap around Leena's chest. * LadyNightshade taps her radio, "Mysteria, can you hear me?" * LadyMysteria sounds faint, and occasionally a bit fuzzy. "Talk to me!" * LadyNightshade works on tying up the knocked out soldier as best she can using his belt or whatever's handy. The bleeding doesn't stop as Lady Heat bandages Lady Mallet, but Leena feels less like she's receding into oblivion. Nnnn... We... there almost? The attackers are down, Mallet got shot pretty bad. Can you guys take the next train and meet her and Heat there? ... God. We're on it. Norcliff...? As she speaks, they roll *through* the next station. This is an Express! ... Er. We just passed the next station. Norcliff nudges Taki's ankle. Oh shit. * LadyNightshade looks down at the little critter. Don't tell me... I think it was here - there's some magic heading west... No.... But there are so many magical girls, it's hard to be sure... ... damn it! Do you know where to? Night... shade? Take Norcliff, can you ... follow? Maya, looks like our Lord got off at the first stop. Unfortunately this train isn't stopping there. Jump the train? * LadyNightshade looks out the window and how fast they're moving. The train is speeding on, and now is rolling past another one at 80 kph. Something's wrong. * LadyNightshade heads to the front of the car. Oh my god. The Gunmen. They probably killed the conductor! Some of the girls who were only moderately wounded are starting to get up behind you. * LadyNightshade moves cars until she's in the first one so she can talk to the driver. The front of the front car is a blank wall - the driver's cabin is entirely separate. ... you sure? Look, we'll do what we can. Just make sure Mallet doesn't die. I'm going my best. * LadyMallet closes her eyes, and relaxes. "We missed... mi... missed it." We also sorta captured one of them. Him, had to be. * LadyNightshade looks for some way to stop the train or to get the drivers attention. There's an emergency button on the wall. * LadyMallet clenches a fist. "... failed." * LadyNightshade calls down the train and into the radio, "Hold onto something! I'm going to hit the E brake!" * LadyNightshade hits it. * LadyNightshade braces herself. * LadyHeat holds onto something while trying to hold Leena in place. The speakers chime. "The emergency button has been pushed. This train will proceed to the next stop. Please stay seated until the train comes to a complete halt. Thank you." Oh great. * LadyNightshade tries to figure out where the hell the next stop is anyway. I hope it's not too far away... [End session]