Session Start: Sat Jul 09 15:34:44 2005 Previously, on Hunters: As the world spun madly around them, the team found itself in an unlikely alliance with a foreign country. The US Navy needed some help with their sunken carrier, and with protecting its forward base of operations from raiding Ningyo. This has gone pretty smoothly so far, if only because the Ningyo have not made an actual raid since the team started showing up at the base in the evening hours. It's starting to get a little boring, frankly, and they haven't even been doing it for half a week. [Monday, March 14, 2005 - 2035 local time] [The team's trailer at USC] [Session start.] * LadyNightshade totally whups Leena's ass at Soul Calibur 2 on the Xbox. * LadyMysteria is sitting down, having gone through every little parlor trick she had on her at least fifteen or sixteen times by now. At this point, she's just playing plain ol' solitaire. * LadyRoyal is sitting across from Maya, building a house of cards with her infinite deck. * LadyMallet makes a flat face at the TV screen, muttering something. Haha. See? It's not that hard. I just had to figure out my flow. * Lord_Darkmoon sits cross-legged, Katana across his knees, eyes closed. He's not snoring, so maybe he's not asleep. But who knows what he's actually doing. * Lady_MakeBelieve is reading a magazine, waiting for her turn on the console * LadyMallet tosses the controller to MB. "Here, you kick her ass." I wish to play the winner of the next match. ... how are we going to keep this up? I should've brought a book or something. * LadyMallet also totally ignores Darkmoon, since MB was waiting longer. * LadyNightshade picks, of course, Taki. * Lady_MakeBelieve picks Talim * LadyMallet goes to a section of wall, and starts doing stretches. * LadyRoyal starts on her 4th story. "Patience and focus." I have the former, but this is pushing it. * Lord_Darkmoon said it after MakeBelieve was handed the controller. Hence the 'next' match. :P * LadyMysteria flips an ace over to the side and steadily whittles down at another row of cards. ...we could always play another round of poker. I could use more money for lunch tomorrow. * LadyHeat fiddles around with a drawing pad in the corner. * LadyRoyal smirks No, I'll pass. * LadyMysteria smirks back. I told you guys not to play with her. :P I'm not one for gambling. I'm not good at cards. * LadyMallet flips into a headstand. This is a bit interesting as she's wearing a black skirt with silver spirals, in a similar style to her MG fuku. "Focus, shmocus." * LadyMallet also has the gun holster in plain view on one of her thighs, too. * LadyNightshade takitakitaki's around the screen, trying not to look as bored as she is. Is it wrong to hope for Ningyo to attack? * LadyRoyal chuckles and whips out another two cards from, seemingly, nowhere, finishes off the 4th story, and starts on some extensions. Little-known fact, even houses of cards can have balconies. Probably, yeah. Maaaaybe a little. * Lord_Darkmoon is not watching Leena. His eyes are closed. So he doesn't have to be embarrassed at seeing the girl's legs. * Lady_MakeBelieve plays defensively while trying to remember one of her favorite moves. Eventually, we will have to bring this fight to them. * LadyMallet starts doing exercises and stretches while in a headstand. "Nothing wring with it... in fact, I'm looking forward to seeing how well I can kick their ass without the Mallet." You're strong enough to carry it, so I'm sure you can do something. * LadyMysteria seems to have come to a dead end, grunts, and snaps all the cards up before shuffling them no-look. "... this is bound to turn up something." You could make a Ningyo-mallet! * Lord_Darkmoon 's face briefly contorts with anger, but he doesn't say anything at the mention of the lack-of-Mallet. * LadyMallet gets a dark, feral grin. Practice for what I'll do to the one who stole it. * Lord_Darkmoon suppresses a malicious chuckle. Mm. * LadyNightshade counters and throws! Booyah! * LadyRoyal finishes the balcony, pauses to think, and starts turning it into a 4th-floor deck by starting an outdoor staircase. Just make sure to leave enough for the rest of us. I'm sure we all want a piece of him. * Lady_MakeBelieve finally remembers the combo she wanted and air-juggles Taki to death. ... Oh come on, that is so cheap. * LadyMallet giggles, darkly. "... I'll make sure you all get a piece." ... mn. Just... something needs to happen. I hate waiting thing long. ...I believe I'm fighting MakeBelieve, then. Unless you would care to spar outdoors, Lady Mysteria? *opens one eye and looks at her, a fond smile creeping across his face* Look on the bright side, we don't have to worry about being inconspicuous while following a bunch of other girls around. * LadyHeat goes back to drawing for her doujin. This coming from the Ninja? :P ... spar, you say? ^_^ At least we fight with honor and junk. * LadyNightshade tosses the controller at Darkmoon. I hope he ring outs you. * Lord_Darkmoon catches the controller one-handed right before it hits his face. The coolness is ruined when it slips out of his hand and drops in his lap, though. * LadyMysteria chuckles a little. "Almost, Rin." Hey, ring outs are different from juggles! What~ever! Pfft. I'm gonna go out and stretch my legs. I'm tired of sitting in here. * Lord_Darkmoon goes over to the game console. "Spar. We're not exactly under cover here, so your magic won't draw unwanted attention. We could all use some practice." He picks 'random', and gets Necrid. * LadyMallet cartwheels to her feet. * LadyNightshade heads for the door. I'll go with you. More room. * Lady_MakeBelieve picks Seigfried this time. * LadyMallet heads after Taki. Well, true. But... hrm. I think we should avoid too much of a display, in case any USC watchers are around. * Lord_Darkmoon button-mashes as his opening, getting in a series of unpredictable blows, easily blocked if one knows what they're doing. Good point. * Lady_MakeBelieve isn't really familiar with Nightmare, so more of them get through than they should. Perhaps an exercise of your lesser-used telekinesis, then? You could attempt to make me miss with my Bokken, and disarm me. * LadyNightshade opens the door and steps out onto the concrete, stretching and looking around. Hm. Perhaps... I do need to hone that a bit in case I'm disarmed myself. * Lord_Darkmoon slows down his button-mashing, trying each button individually. It's clear he doesn't know what he's doing, though his positioning on the field makes him a more difficult target than he should be. ...he's got a point. You haven't really tested the limits of your teek yet. * Lady_MakeBelieve gives up on special moves and just returns to the basics. * Lord_Darkmoon falls back into blocking, trying to gauge MakeBelieve's rhythm. He's being pushed around as well as damaged, though, when she mixes up highs and lows. * LadyMallet cartwheels after Taki, and breathes in the moist sea air. ...how are you hitting me when I'm blocking? what determines if it blocks successfully? Um, there is high and low blocking. Are you going to be cartwheeling all night? And that *last* move was unblockable. Nah. Just until I've burned enough energy. All this waiting around... well, getting antsy, ya'know? * Lord_Darkmoon winces as Necrid takes all but a sliver of health. He tries a button combo, but is interrupted and killed. "Ah. Controlled with the position of the stick, right?" Can you even burn enough energy? You seem to have a limitless supply. * LadyMallet shrugs. "I dunno. Wanna see how long I can keep it up?" Mallet; perhaps you should practice, too. See what you can do without the Mallet. Other than use your gun. Our firearms won't be of much use against a Ningyo. Yeah. No? * LadyMallet giggles. "Okay then." * Lord_Darkmoon sets down the controller, and slides to his feet. "Thank you for the game, Lady MakeBelieve." I can teach you how to play sometime, or you might want to use Practice mode. Mmmmn... I know what you mean about getting antsy though. All this waiting around is maddening. You've got your morning workout, right? It feels like by now we should know who's targeting us so we can be hunting them down. I don't want to wish the Ningyo had a schedule, though. Maybe you doing yours will help you out... * LadyMysteria idly tosses down the cards and starts to manipulate them with a bit of telekinesis here and there, working on getting them back into a single deck. Apparently she likes to (or needs to) use hand-motions. Thank you. I may take you up on that later this evening, MakeBelieve. And my afternoon workout... And my evening work out... All there is to do lately is train. * Lord_Darkmoon gets distracted, watching Mysteria and her cards. Mm. Okay, not that. What relaxes you? ... * LadyRoyal actually looks somewhere else than her house (mansion, really), and watches Maya's card-teeking with interest. Not *professional* interest, of course not. <.< * LadyMallet GRINS. "Maybe Maya can give you a teke massage." * LadyNightshade hops up on top of the roof of the trailer. ...Ma--, *cough* Mysteria? Would you like to try an...experiment? When I get real restless I like to lie down and just look up at the stars. If people are tired of video games, I'd be up for a card game as long as there was no betting. Mmmmmn. Experiment? * LadyMallet hops up there after her. * LadyMysteria loses focus, and the cards that were airborne flutter to the floor. Can you lift the trailer? ... gyah, I doubt. But... hm. * Lord_Darkmoon has a look on his face like he's planning something. Tsk. It's no fun without betti--wait, what, now?! Specifically...can you lift it while you're still inside? Well, Taki, I think you should relax. * LadyRoyal stares at her card mansion in consternation. Lie down. We got a good view here, anyway. Um, I'm not sure I want to be in a flying trailer. * LadyNightshade lies down and crosses her arms behind her head, looking up at the sky. I dunno if I should be relaxing though. People are still in danger. * Lord_Darkmoon doesn't reply to MakeBelieve's statement, instead looking intently at his girlfriend. People are always in danger, though. * LadyMallet sits down herself, hugging her knees. "Yeah. But ... that's not going to change right this minute." If we burn ourselves up worrying about it... we'll be too broken and exhausted to do something about it when they time comes. ...waitasec, this thing isn't anchored, is it? I'm worried, too, but... I'll do what I can, when it comes up. Bah, I'm fine. 'Cause then that would be a bad idea. ... no, probably not. I can lift people, but that takes effort. * LadyNightshade suddenly suppresses a yawn. * LadyRoyal sighs in relief and continues construction. Maybe you could test some other aspect of your power? For example, d'you need to see what you're moving, or do you just have to know where it is? Hm. Also good. * LadyMysteria thinks. "Or, rather, a person. Not too heavy of one, though. And I'd like to, I just haven't seemed to have the time or let it cross my mind... and I don't know. Hold on... point something out for me." * LadyRoyal smirks, and uses the card in her hand to gesture subtly at Darkmoon's tessen. I just don't like all this waiting around. Ninja are trained to strike first. * LadyMysteria nods, shuts her eyes, and makes a gesture in Rinada's direction, brow furrowing a little. ... yeah. neither do I. Waiting sucks, when we could be doing something. ... there's an idea. ... no, wouldn't work. What now? Oh, just had an idea of taking a boat out and actively trying to hunt down Sea traces. * LadyMysteria pauses... then clenches her fist and 'tugs', grasping the Tessen with her power and pulling it towards her. They sunk a carrier. What makes you think some random boat is gonna stand up to them? And we don't have Squeegee with us to keep us from drowning either. Lord Darkmoon goes sprawling, as Mysty does her best to pull the item through him. Enough water projected at a point with the power that the Ningyo can generate could potentially hack through a building. ---whoops. Did I knock something over? * LadyRoyal goes all wide-eyed. "Uhhh." Yes. ... oh. Sorry. * Lady_MakeBelieve sticks her head out the door. "Anyone want anything to drink?" ...well, that'd be useful, anyway. * Lord_Darkmoon carefully picks himself up, and retrieves his Tessen from his belt behind him, rubbing at the spot where it dug into his back. * LadyMallet calls back down, "Nah, I'm fine." ...some ice water, please, MakeBelieve. * LadyMysteria opens her eyes, a tad reddened, and bows from where she's sitting. "Sorry, Darkmoon..." * LadyMallet turns back to Taki. "Yeah, like I said, wouldn't work." No, thank you, Make-Believe. I'm alright, MB. * Lord_Darkmoon offers a small, careful smile. "Forgiven, my Lady. I wonder, does your grasp count as you holding it? Levitate my Tessen, if you would, somewhere between the two of us." He holds it out on his palm. * Lady_MakeBelieve comes out with a glass of ice water in one hand and a coke in the other. Here you go. * Lord_Darkmoon accepts the water. "Thank you." * LadyMallet sighs, and looks up at the stars. So what was that thud I heard? Me. * Lord_Darkmoon sips, still holding the Tessen out with one hand. Huh? * LadyMysteria nods, and makes another gesture. This time, she takes with finely-tuned grace and brings it between her and Darkmoon smoothly. * LadyNightshade yawns again. Ninja wake up on a dime, don't they? * Lord_Darkmoon smiles. "Excellent. Now, it can change its form to a limited extent, when held by magical girls. Please, think of it changing into a weapon." Anyone can. It just takes training. Can you? Most of the time... * LadyRoyal raises an eyebrow skeptically at that, but is back to working on the card mansion. * LadyMallet nods to herself. "Okay." It's another one of those Ninja things I sorta let slip while living on my own. Hrm. Let's see... * LadyMysteria thinks of a dagger, and watches what happens. Or doesn't happen. Nothing does. Have you started yet? * LadyMallet finally gives in, and lies down herself, arms behind her head and one knee propped up. ... nope. Hm. Still, I'm curious. The form of the weapon it can assume seems to depend on who holds it. Would you take it and try it, holding it in your hand? * AmericanGuy hops up the steps and sticks his head in the door. ...oooh! * LadyRoyal whips around. "Who are you!" * LadyHeat looks up from her pad. * LadyNightshade rolls over to the edge and looks down at the guy. * Lord_Darkmoon turns to look at the intruder. ^Good morning. Help you can we?^ ... Eh? * LadyMallet turns her ears to down below. * LadyMysteria glances over as well, and the Tessen drops. "Eh?!" ^Whoa, there. I'm Chris Sadler. I'm on the engineering staff.^ ^Hey there Chris, next time, don't sneak up on us like that, okay?" ^More slow, please. My English bad.^ * LadyMallet stands up, and lightly hops down off the top of the trailer, behind the 'merkin. * LadyNightshade looks up for anyone else who's around. * LadyRoyal frowns and hisses to Haruko or Darkmoon, whoever answers first. "Who'd he say he was?" ^I'm a nuclear devices expert, sort of the staff scientist in that stuff.^ What's he want? "Chris Sadler, an engineer" I think he said his name was Chris--what MakeBelieve said. I'm still working on my English. Oh. What's he doing here? Looking around, or did someone send him? * LadyRoyal silently wonders about the efficacy of ninja lookouts. :P ^Is there something you need from us, or are you just looking around?^ ^What with we can help you?^ * LadyMallet waits patiently behind the 'merkin, listening. She's not trying to spook him! Really! Why is he here? ^Was that thing with the fan part of your magic? Wallace keeps telling us you're the real thing, and I have something of a bet with some of the other staff...^ * LadyRoyal nods at Kyouko's question, seconding it. * Lady_MakeBelieve sighs He's here to win a bet apparently. Then tell him to go away. ...unless he wants to give us a cut of the--uh. * LadyRoyal attempts to look innocent, though still watchful. ^What fan?^ * LadyMallet pokes Sadler from behind. * LadyMysteria blinks a few times, mildly baffled. * Sadler seems to be a civilian, and about forty years old. He looks like a professor, as much as anything. a bet? * Sadler blinks and turns around. ^Hello!^ Something about whether we have real magic or not. * LadyMallet bows cutely, then slides past him, going inside. Heh! Of course I do, but I don't just want to go around showing off like a stage magician... well, now, anyway. Should I just tell him to go away? Yeah, unless he's got something else to speak to us about. ... yeah, unless it's important. We shouldn't have to prove ourselves... * LadyRoyal suddenly grins predatorily. "Or unless he wants to play a friendly game of poker." ... Mina-chan... ^Unless you have other business, or you want to lose all of your money in a game of cards, we'd appreciate if you went back to your business^ He's a creepy old man, and we're a bunch of girls. I think NOT. What? What's wrong with taking his money? He's obviously a betting man, after all. Gambling isn't a good idea. * LadyRoyal snorts. "Says you." * LadyMysteria chuckles a little, looking rather amused all of a sudden... but she does look at the guy, trying to remember his features. I think I just did. * LadyRoyal rolls her eyes. "Are you trying to tell me I'd lose against this techie?" ^...poker? Well, I could be persuaded. But I was hoping you could... you know, do something.^ Lady Mysteria, you said you could sometimes levitate a person? *grins mischievously* Hey, hey, hey! We don't want to scare him... yeesh. ^We're not here to do shows, sorry^ Less attention we draw, the better. * LadyHeat can't play poker, so she goes back to her drawing. I'm guessing he just said he's only in it for the magic. Tell him my magic is winning his money. * LadyRoyal 's grin this time rivals Feral's for sheer wolfishness. ^My greedy comrade here says that "her magic is winning your money"^ * LadyRoyal summons a pack of cards and shuffles it, also not looking. * Lord_Darkmoon listens carefully to MakeBelieve and the guy, seeing how well his understanding matches any translations MakeBelieve does. ^...suuuuure. I'll take her up on that, though it's not what I came for.^ Well, he says he's up for poker. Do you have enough people to make a game though? * LadyMallet is soooo lost. ;_; * LadyRoyal shrugs. "If anyone else wants to join in, they can. But two will do. " Unless Lady Mysteria wishes to continue our exercises outside, or despite our guest's presence, I would not be adverse to joining in a game with the American and our inimitable Lady Royal. * LadyMallet shoots up a hand. "I'll play!" ^Can I invite some of the tech staff? They're bored as hell, which is why I ended up over here.^ He's asking to invite some more people. ...how many? ... uh. That's a good question. * LadyRoyal is looking around the trailer, gauging space. * LadyNightshade just rolls her eyes and rolls back of and goes back to looking up at the sky. ^How many is "some of"?^ * LadyMysteria pauses... then sighs, making a rather sweeping two-handed gesture on Sadler's direction. "Well, I suppose I could humor him." And thus she attempts to empty out his pockets. "No, not yet. Not without the Captain's go- ahead." ^I know two that would want to for sure... maybe a couple more if the stakes are not too high.^ Something like 2-4.... That'd be tight in the trailer. * Lord_Darkmoon walks over next to Mysteria. "I still am curious what form of weapon the Tessen will assume in your hands, m'Lady. I know it becomes a katana for me, and a squeaky-mallet for Mallet. It was Mallet's use that caused me to realize it did not always assume the same forms for all users." That's true. * LadyMallet piku's, then curtsies adorably when Darkmoon mentions her name. *^_^* Oh, well, perhaps we can do it outside. Or something. ... wait, what? Are we inviting all these people...? * LadyRoyal glances over at Maya. "Leader's call." Indeed. * Lord_Darkmoon looks to Mysteria, as well. ... seems silly for the 'merkins to come over just to ask to play poker, or about our powers. * LadyMallet casts an annoyed look at Sadler, then stalks out the door past him. He says they were bored. I mean, *we* were. * Sadler blinks as his wallet floats out of his pocket and in front of his face. He grabs it. ^HEY! You can have that if you clear me out, maybe...^ * LadyRoyal snerks. * LadyMysteria giggles a little. ^_^ I'm still don't think its a great idea, but its up to you Maya. Why? Would you not 'come over' to see magical girls, did you know nothing of them save rumor? *to Mallet* * LadyMallet flicks Darkmoon off on her way out. * Lord_Darkmoon actually looks hurt by that before hiding it behind a sternly formal mask. Mmmn. Mallet... beh. So little changes. And... mn. To be honest, it couldn't hurt, but... I don't want to take too many chances. * LadyRoyal looks around. "We can always find a table and set up outside?" Should I tell him he's fine, but no others then? Or that? *shrugs* * LadyMallet jumps back up to the top of the trailer, huffing annoyedly. ^If you'll wait a moment, we're discussing things^ ^Okay...^ * LadyMysteria rubs at her temples a little. "... I suppose setting up outside wouldn't be such a bad thing. At the very least we can get an idea what the Americans think about us on the ground level. That could come in handy." * LadyRoyal nods. So friends or not? If we're setting up outside, might as well, I suppose. Friends, yes. * LadyMallet lies down on the roof, lightly growling under her breath. ^Sure, bring them all along.... do *any* of them speak japanese?^ * LadyNightshade looks over to Leena. "What now?" I don't know! I'm just annoyed! * LadyNightshade shrugs. "Alright." Hurry UP, you stupid Ningyo! I find it helps just to not think about it too hard. Let them do what they're going to do. Err... Not the Ningyo. The Ningyo can bleed, for all I care. Darkmoon, do you speak English well enough to facilitate the poker game? * LadyRoyal chuckles. "There's no language barrier in poker, once you've got the game rules down." If they speak slowly enough. Well that's where we come in, you see. * Sadler pulls a cell phone out of a rear pocket, and makes a call. ^Well, they had a slightly different idea...^ ^What kind of idea?^ I've played tournaments before where the only words ever spoken were "Welcome" and the name of the game. A couple of minutes later, three more scientist-looking people - one even has a lab coat on - show up. * LadyMallet only glances down at their arrival, and huffs. I don't think these guys are here for fun, I think they might be trying to examine us. ^This was your idea all along, wasn't it? There never was going to be any magic.^ * Lord_Darkmoon suppresses a snicker. * LadyRoyal mutters to Make-Believe. "Which is why, if all they're doing is playing cards, they won't be able to get anything out of us." How long are you going to be doing that? Until I calm down! * LadyMallet growls, then takes a deep breath. ... sorry. Am I annoying you? They've gotta have a gym around here or something. I'll go there. * Lord_Darkmoon peers out the window up at Mallet. "Would you care to spar with me, then?" ^And how could I have? I just want to *do* something.^ * LadyMysteria proceeds to boggle a little at the other arrivals, especially the one with the coat. "Um. Scientists?" * LadyMallet stands up, not waiting for Taki to confirm or rebuke that, and jumps off the trailer, NOT on the side the 'merkins are on. Later Mallet. ...I'll take that as a 'no'. * LadyNightshade sorta half-waves at Leena's departing form. * Sadler turns to the group. ^This is it - the other guy was reading or something.^ ... well. Shall we, then? * LadyMallet changes her mind about 30 feet off, and changes course to go sit at the edge of the water. * LadyRoyal scoops out a couple decks of cards and the visor from her uniform out of her satchel. "Let's, please." Well, you guys have fun, I'm going to go for a walk. Good evening, MakeBelieve. Anyone who doesn't want to play poker is welcome to come with me. Alright, Make-Believe. Stay sharp. I'll come with you, MakeBelieve! * Lord_Darkmoon finishes off his water, and takes the glass back into the kitchen-area. * LadyHeat hides her sketchpad somewhere and gets up to go with Haruko. * LadyNightshade gets up after a couple moments of thought and decides to chase after Leena. It's probably not a good idea to leave her alone. * LadyNightshade hops down and heads after her. * LadyMysteria sticks by Royal and preps to lose with grace and dignity. * Sadler goes in the trailer, and sits down at the table. * LadyMallet is sitting at the edge of the bay, idly swinging her legs. The other three follow him in, and the game is on! * Lord_Darkmoon returns to the main room, and joins the Ladies and Americans at the poker table. * LadyMysteria offers each American a smile and a polite nod. * Sadler looks at the girl who's shuffling. ^Game?^ * LadyRoyal understands the tone if not the words, and nods, mini-dealing a replica of Texas Hold'em and raising her eyebrows inquisitively. He asked what game this is, Lady Royal. I believe the name is "Texas Hold Them." * Sadler seems to get that, and nods. And I fear I may have to ask for a quick primer on the rules for that variant. * LadyNightshade sits down next to Mallet, not saying anything. Ah! No problem. * LadyMysteria simply nods, apparently having an idea what she's playing. ^Is this fair, taking these kids like this?^ * LadyRoyal reaches into her satchel again and sorts through several light books before finding the one she wants, and tosses it over to DM. "I always come prepared for those who don't know the rules." ^The game's not even started. Don't get cocky.^ So Heat, you been drawing for long? ^Fair, no.^ *grins, not glancing at Royal* ^Not fair.^ * LadyRoyal also brings out some chips, puts on the visor, and deals them and the cards at about the same rate. ^I wonder what they're doing here, anyway.^ * Lord_Darkmoon takes the book, and looks up the basic rules. He looks ready to use the book throughout the game. ^I told you, they're Wallace's magical warriors. And they did show me a couple of things...^ * LadyRoyal glances at Maya, who is probably to her left. "Do you know the Big and Small rules?" I... think so. Yeah, yeah I do. Let's get to it. * LadyRoyal nods. ^Suuuuure. Just another fish story, like this bullshit about attacking mermaids.^ * Lord_Darkmoon squints at the Labcoat, as if that will help him understand the guy's last sentence. He didn't follow all of it. * LadyHeat zones back into reality I've been drawing for a while...I'm not very good though. ^If you'd been here last week, you wouldn't say that.^ * LadyNightshade glances down at the water, not really looking at anything. It's better than I can do... I was wondering if you might be able to teach me, or maybe do some illustrations for my journals.... I want to publish them some day. * LadyMallet glances up at Taki inquisitively. "... hey." The game gets going slowly, as Darkmoon has to be nursemaided through each hand. Yeah? * LadyMysteria sighs, fishes out her bet and just tries to look like she's good at this. Just saying hi. Again. * LadyRoyal is in fullblown pro mode, though her face might not show it, since she's trying to make the techies think they're fleecing an upstart li'l girl. Oh. Figured you would've said that 5 minutes ago when I got here. I could try... I draw a lot looking at manga and magazines. It helps get people looking right. ... sorry, was bust being distracted by being annoyed. I could get the Sailors to model for you! Well stop it. * Lord_Darkmoon is not pretending he's being fleeced. He's taking a bit too long with each turn, as he makes references to the rules repeatedly. His formal mask makes for a great poker face, though. I usually draw guys, actually... * LadyHeat blushes a bit. Oh?... Oh! The language barrier doesn't prove to be a problem - the game takes care of itself. However, it does tend to segregate the conversation. * Lord_Darkmoon plays with dignity and grace. Despite his total inexperience, which is rather clear in the actual contents of his play. He's trying rather hard to follow the Americans' conversation, though probably only catches the gist roughly 2/3 of the time. * Lady_MakeBelieve lapses into silence after the revelation. * LadyHeat wanders around with MB, humming to herself. * LadyMysteria can obviously play, but she's not taking too many risks. Especially when it comes to wagers. * LadyMallet falls back silent, and stares out at the sea. * Sadler is teased relentlessly about thinking there's anything magical about these kids, though he teases them right back, as the other three are not doing very well. * LadyMysteria catches enough to have an idea what's going on, and ponders a quick bit of supernatural legerdemain... then thinks against it and keeps on playin'. * Lord_Darkmoon probably loses more than he wins, because he doesn't bluff often. Except for once, when he won the pot on a crap hand by steadily raising modestly no matter what people did. He only tried that once, though. * LadyMallet leans her head against Taki's side, and lets out a small yawn. And so the evening progresses quietly, though pleasantly. The darkness outside gets quieter and quieter as more of the Americans go to bed. * LadyNightshade rests a hand on Leena's head, petting her idly. * LadyMysteria is... coming out a bit behind. Being good is one thing; being lucky is another, and that seems to be Royal's schtick. * LadyHeat chats with MB awkwardly as they walk around. * Lady_MakeBelieve tries, but fails to make the conversation flow easier. It's after 2300 when everything is interrupted rudely by the encampment's siren. * LadyMallet jerks herself awake from Taki's side. "Gak!" * Labcoat tosses his cards into the air in utter startlement. "Gak!" !! * LadyHeat runs back to the trailer. * LadyRoyal starts. "Game over!" ... seriously. ^What the hell is that?!^ * LadyNightshade looks around, hopping to her feet. * Lord_Darkmoon calmly lays down his cards. Revealing he was not, in fact, bluffing this time. "^Our cue,^" he says, rising. * LadyMysteria sets her hand aside and rises. With a flourish, she's twirling her wand between her fingers on the way outside. ^That, you twit, is the mermaids attacking. Take cover or something.^ * Lord_Darkmoon pulls out the Tessen, and follows his leader. * LadyRoyal puts her hand down, still not showing the cards, and tosses the visor back on the table before dashing out. * LadyMallet jumps to her feet, nearly slipping backwards into the bay, then runs to the trailer. * LadyNightshade heads to wherever it is they're supposed to head when the sirens sound. * LadyHeat is a very good runner, so she gets there quickly. "Where are we going?" * Lady_MakeBelieve lags a bit behind Heat Everyone runs into each other outside the trailer. The sirens are coming from all around, but there is some shouting out towards the bay side of the encampment. * LadyMallet grabs the metal hulk that resembles a Mallet from the side of the trailer, hefting it's weight. "Let's see how well this thing works..." I guess we should go that way. * LadyMysteria proceeds to look for anyone who seems to be in command... or for noise, which is what she homes in on. * LadyHeat runs. * LadyRoyal points at the bay side. "Probably over there!" * LadyNightshade heads off in that direction. * LadyMallet then closes her eyes, and tries to pinpoint any Sea magic pings, seeing if they lie in the direction everyone is running. * LadyRoyal runs. * Lady_MakeBelieve pulls out her cell phone as she runs... * Lord_Darkmoon follows Mysteria to the command area where they were taking on the previous occasion. That's where they'll find out the most about the situation, after all. Soldiers are preparing frantically in the fortifications facing the sea. No one seems to have the time to talk to a bunch of kids, but then a machinegunner starts firing, and the line of tracers lights up a humanoid figure skimming above the waves towards the seawall. Well shit. * LadyRoyal peers and sees that. "Seconded." On the plus side, Heat's powers should be more than effective in these conditions. ...hope there aren't any others sneaking around. Well, we got what we were wishing for. * LadyMysteria smirks, slightly. "Let's put on a good show for our guests!" I can kinda see it, so we can try. Yes, my Lady. The sense of Sea Magic begins to grow - not so fast as you might expect, until it reaches shore and everyone's' sea-sense lights up. * LadyMallet heads to right where she thinks they're gonna land, grinning widely. * Lord_Darkmoon 's eyes flash purple for a moment as he flicks his Tessen into its Katana form. * LadyNightshade disappears from sight into the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike. * LadyMysteria wastes little time in heading to the point where her sixth sense is telling her that Bad Shit awaits. * Lord_Darkmoon is following the same track Leena is. Go melee fighters! * LadyRoyal goes a bit off center of where she senses it 1) 'cause she's a ranged fighter anyway and 2) in case something ends up happening back on shore. * Lady_MakeBelieve hangs back, still trying to get one of the Sailors on the phone. * LadyHeat just has to be able to see it, so she positions herself accordingly. The Ningyo surfs a raging column of water *over* the seawall, and the construction yard begins to flood. Bullets strike it, at least scratching it, until it summons a ball of brackish water around itself that more or less absorbs the projectiles. It wastes no time, but begins blasting water at the fortifications. * Lord_Darkmoon touches his ear-radio, making sure it's on. "Make sure there aren't others incoming. Mallet and I can probably take this one." * LadyMallet doesn't waste any time in trying to get to it and KICK IT'S ASS. Try to take this one down as quickly as we can! If others arrive, things might get ugly fast. Yes, my Lady. Right. We should check on any who are trying to sneak in... Er, for that is. Taki pops out of nowhere just behind the Ningyo, and pink light outflashes the tracer bullets for a second. The mermaid staggers strangely, and the water shield around it shatters. That's how it's done! * LadyMallet slows down a bit at the fortifications, pulling out her pistol, and taking a couple of potshots at the Ningyo, while weaving through the path. The Ningyo bobs out of the way - it's not dodging, in fact it looks vaguely nauseous. She raises a hand towards the fortifications, as if to blast them again, but barely gets more than a mist to appear. It shakes its head in confusion. Lady Heat stares at the Ningyo, and another puff of mist appears, this time around her head. There's a fishy shriek of pain. * Lord_Darkmoon runs around a path through the sandbags, moving to flank the Ningyo. He doesn't draw his gun, preferring to devote full attention to closing with the foe. * LadyMysteria stops once she's in range, squares her stance and aims the wand one-handed. "For my first trick, I'll make this Ningyo... disappear! Mystery Star Gun, FIRE!" Her arm snaps up a little as the starburst homes in on the thing with its usual unnerving accuracy. ...while the Ningyo doesn't quite disappear, surprisingly her head does. Entirely. Poof. Taki is sprayed with fish brains, but only lightly, as most of it seems to have disintegrated. ... * LadyMysteria simply blows a bit of smoke off of the tip of her wand, spins it a bit, then stuffs it into her pocket gunslinger-style. "Score one for Japan." Oh goddamn it. The body collapses, and suddenly there's silence as the soldiers realize they can stop firing. * LadyNightshade wipes Ningyo muck off her as best she can. ... oops. Sorry, Nightshade! Hey, we won. No need to apologize. And then... there's some cheering, though it's muted as the soldiers begin to try to rescue their comrades from the collapsed embankment that the Ningyo hit first. * LadyNightshade moves to help with clearing and pulling people out. * Lord_Darkmoon slows to a stop. "Check the water. Make sure more aren't incoming." And THEN, there's a sudden surge of Sea Magic, from back in the center of the encampment. ... Oh no. * LadyMallet doesn't relax just yet, because she's worri- yeah, that. Shit! Look out! Err... ^Look out!^ ...Let's GO. *turns and RUNS* * LadyNightshade heads off towards the source. * LadyMallet beelines for the flare of Sea Magic. ... oh, hell! * LadyMysteria turns and seeks out that one, wand out again. * LadyHeat runs! * LadyNightshade once again disappears into the shadows as she moves towards her next target. As they run, there's a huge surge of water - it's not so much an attack as a flood, and it's carrying several trailers back towards the Bay. Heat! Boil that water! Keep those trailers ON LAND. Shit! We need to stop them from getting those trailers! They were feeling us out! Dammit! * LadyMallet narrows her eyes, and changes running direction, taking a jump right into the water as soon as it gets too deep to run into. "Oh no you don't!" * LadyNightshade moves towards the edge, looking for the Ningyo causing the flood. Mysteria, Nightshade, Royal, can you find and destroy the Ningyo? I think Feral can hold back a trailer or two! * LadyHeat tries to do what DM asked and keep the trailers on land. A couple of the trailers have lights still on inside, and you see a man trying to crawl out the window of another. * LadyMallet heads for one of the ones with the lights on. The Ningyo is barely visible, hidden in the shadow of another trailer at the source of the water flow. * LadyNightshade charges it as fast as her not so little legs will carry her. * LadyMysteria pumps her legs as fast as she can. "You'd think they would at least open fire..." * LadyNightshade gets to it as fast as she can, trying to position herself out of it's line of fire, even though it can't see her anyway. * LadyMallet makes as best speed as she can through the water, trying to make it to one of the lighted trailers. * LadyMallet plunks down the Metal Mallet into the ground, anchoring herself via it, and grabs the trailer. "Come to Leeee~ena!" The trailer, weighing far more than Leena *and* the faux Mallet, carries them with it. The Ningyo seems oblivious to the Ladies scurrying about it, and concentrates on summoning more and more water. * Lord_Darkmoon stuffs the Tessen into his belt, and mutters under his breath, "I need you, Feral. Keep control, and save the trailers. Please." With as deep a breath as he can manage while running, he declares: "Eclipse the mind...FERAL RAGE!" ...and the bipedal furry machine of death leaps into the water, digging its claws into the ground and fighting the current to stop the nearest trailer. The beast reaches the trailer with relatively little effort, and thanks to its better traction, succeeds in halting it where Leena failed. * LadyMysteria gets to the edge of the oncoming torrent, bites her lip, and presses onward, looking to get into killing range once again. "Damn it all... Ningyo, your days are numbered!" Once there, she waves the wand broadly, and a storm of streamers cuts through the air towards the fishbitch. The rainbow of entrapping light wraps around the Ningyo, then bursts back outwards as high pressure water forces them away. There's a few left draped about her, though, and the water surge slackens slightly as she peels them off. ... damn it. This one's strong. Taki reappears *above* the Ningyo, and proceeds to rather convincingly beat it down with a series of devastatingly pink impacts about the head and neck. The mermaid staggers and coughs up blood, but still manages to continue the flow of water. * LadyMallet struggles with the water and the trailer, lifting up the replacement Mallet high above, and driving it down into the ground, embedding it as far as she can, keeping a grip on it and the trailer. The mallet spikes into the pavement... shattering it badly, and the trailer lurches into the current for a horrible instant. Then the improvised weapon catches on some underground pipes, and Leena has it all under control. There there... that's a good trailer. Leena'll make it allll better. Lady Heat focuses on the Ningyo, and reaches out to boil it away. Water all around it puffs into superheated vapor, but then she realizes that the Ningyo itself is virtually dry. * LadyMysteria snarls, flipping the wand into her other hand. "Now hurry up and die!" A Star Gun bolt screams along the water, then snaps up at the Ningyo like a guided missile. The bolt blows off most of her left shoulder and she falls to her knees, but the Ningyo stretches out her other hand and the water surges once more. ... will this thing not fall down?! * LadyMysteria spits, obviously aggravated. * Feral_Beast snarls, perhaps in agreement, perhaps just in effort to get this big metal can thing to stop fighting it. * LadyNightshade beats down on the Ningyo, reducing it to nothing but a large mess on the concrete. "They all fall down eventually." Just never fast enough. * Feral_Beast continues to strain against the trailer as long as the water keeps pushing it. It knows it's supposed to do that. * LadyNightshade dwarfs the mess Maya got on her earlier, as she crawls out of the pile of Ningyo innards. ... gh. Might wanna shower before you head back in, Nightshade. The surging water slows, and the source trickles out, but there's plenty to wash the two unanchored trailers into the sea. The man on the roof of one jumps away from it as it pitches over the seawall - his splash is unheard over the sound of the trailers hitting the Bay. Uh yeah... I hope those weren't important. *eyes the falling trailer* * Feral_Beast lets its trailer come to rest, and looks around, sniffing the air, as if trying to decide what to do now. It's glowing silver eyes seem more...sane...than usual. The two being held ground themselves after a few seconds, and Leena realizes that she's holding *their* trailer. * LadyMallet makes a weak, forlorn sound as the other two trailers wash away. She doesn't let go of hers until it's safe to do so, though. The rest of the poker party peeks out the window at her. * LadyNightshade runs over to the trailer. * LadyMysteria checks on the other trailers, wand going back into her pocket. Is everyone alrigh-- ^Is everyone okay?^ * LadyMallet lets go of the trailer, and lets out a deep breath. ^Okay, I'm convinced.^ [end session]