Session Start: Sat Nov 12 16:34:33 2005 Last time, on Hunters: Sakura came over, with a new mission for the team. One of her "regulars", Lady Fork, is being stalked by a very familiar girl in a hardhat. This is a pretty straightforward protection mission... except that it would be an awful shame to have to kill someone who should be your ally, wouldn't it? Sakura had her Lady staying in a hotel over the weekend to minimize the danger, but starting this morning, you're expected to do something about it so that she can get back to her normal life. [Monday, March 28, 2004 - 800 local time] [The Blossom Agency] [Session Start] * Taki sits idly on the couch, waiting for everyone else to be ready. Inouye-sensei, having been informed of your duties, is sleeping in this morning. * Haruko is sitting in the corner, continuing to edit old notebooks. Should we be transformed for this, you think? * Lord_Darkmoon is already transformed, seeing as this is official business, and dressed in blue jeans with a black t-shirt. His shirt, for once, has a logo on it - a poison mushroom with the phrase "Game Over" printed underneath it in white block print. * Taki looks around at DM and Mallet already transed and nods her head. "It'd probably be a good idea." * Taki stands up and quick transforms, keeping her black shirt and slacks unchanged. * Haruko doesn't look up from her notebooks, but asks, in a flat voice. "So are we leaving now then?" No, we're going to call her first. Transform too, please. I'll transform right before we leave. I'm editing right now. Fine, whatever. * LadyNightshade reaches down to dial the phone and set it up on speaker. * LadyMallet peeks out from one of the side doors, reading something- another textbook. She's got a plain, white tennis hat on with a pink shirt, that has a tiara on it with the inscription "MOON DUSTED" on it in English, coupled with a black skirt that's -just- on the short side. "We ready?" Hello? Hi, Lady Fork? ...who is this? This is Lady Nightshade from the Hunters team. Sakura asked us to make contact with you. Oh, okay. We have to be careful these days, you know. Yes, of course. I'm glad that you're being careful. So... you're going to do something about this Hardhat girl? That's the plan. Can you tell me exactly what's been going on? We wanted to contact you by phone first in case she might be watching. We're hoping to maintain the element of surprise. * LadyMallet comes into the room proper, marking her page and closing the book. Yeah... well, last Monday, I noticed her. You don't see many girls wearing hardhats, and Sakura had mentioned something about her... Has she tried to talk to you at all or has she just been following you? The first time, I didn't really think about it, but when I saw her in the same store I went into later, I realized what was going on. Anything at all unusual, anything else? Got anything scheduled or coming up in the next few weeks? No, she hasn't approached me at all. Did you see that picture of her? I got that on Thursday, after Sakura gave me a camera. It's like she thinks she's hiding in plain sight, but with that hat on... She has gotten... closer to me through the week. As if she's getting braver. * LadyMallet frowns. Well we know she's not exactly thinking clearly. Hm. Has she been following you while transformed, untransformed, or both? While you are transformed or not, I mean, not her. School starts in a week for us, but otherwise there's nothing in my schedule. ...untransformed. There haven't been any Ningyo, so why would I have transformed? * Haruko sighs Indeed. Still, it is information worth knowing. So you've met her before and she knows your untransformed identity? ...I'm not sure. She looks familiar, like maybe she went to my junior high, but in a different class? And... assuming she's following me because I'm a Lady, I guess she does. * Kyouko reads. Did she really try to kill another Lady? ... do you have an old schoolbook? Skim through it, see if you recognize a name. Hmm... Yeah, she did. Yes, she did. It was bad. If you can name her, that'd be a huge help. Thus far, she has not tried to do anything to you save follow, correct? Sakura told me that, and I guess I should believe my Princess, but... It can be hard to accept. Pie used to be your old Princess, right? Yes, she was. Have you seen Hardhat out of Pie's area? And yes, this girl has only followed me. Have you seen her in the past day since you've been put in the hotel? Well, I went into central Tokyo on Tuesday, and she tried to follow me there - I know she was on the same train, but I seem to have lost her at the station. She didn't find me until I had to return there to come back to Soka. Sakura told me to stay in this room, and not go out at all. So... If she has not taken any hostile action thus far... * Lord_Darkmoon lapses into a contemplative silence. ... has she been hostile? I have a yearbook at home. ...I think. I could look later today, I guess. And you haven't seen her out the window? Hopefully she doesn't know you're there. You said building up courage... maybe she's just trying to talk to you, maybe not start a fight? I haven't looked out the window. Sakura was downright paranoid, and she's the Princess... We know for a fact she has long-range attacks, she wouldn't need to be close to you to fight... I don't know! Heh. I understand. Mallet, you don't need to scare her. Would you against playing bait for us to draw her out? I'm not meaning to. But... why would she be afraid to approach her? If she was just gonna start a fight, she wouldn't have to approach her. Exactly. She wants something. Whatever we do, we want to avoid provoking her to violence if at all possible. And it would be great if you looked through your yearbook. Sakura told me to do what you told me to... * Lord_Darkmoon laughs a bit. "We still want your input; any ideas or thoughts you might have can only help." I'm thinking, though, that if she is getting braver, as you said, and we could arrange for a moderately controlled environment, perhaps you should confront her. Non-hostilely, at least at first. We would, of course, be hiding nearby to back you up. Thoughts? *directed both at the phone and at the other Hunters* ...me? Um... What's a controlled environment? I think we should neutralize her first. I don't think it's worth the risk. We should get her a pair of headsets. At least, before we do something like that. Once she gets Pie's orders out of her she'll tell us everything we need to know. ... ...neutralize? A controlled environment is one we choose, to let her follow you into. And... We want to knock her out so we can get her some help. Either order her down or knock her out. ... how are we gonna knock her out? ...the whole thing I'm trying to avoid here is unnecessarily provoking her to combat us. We have seen how lethal she can be; the first time we faced her, she matched the Mallet. Not really. Just slowed me down for a second. That's why we need to get the drop on her. If we can get her attention focused on Lady Fork, then I shouldn't have a problem sneaking up on her. ... I still want to talk to her. And, if she does not intend Fork harm, we may discover something we can use to talk her down, safely. Provided she is still a Lady, I should be able to *shivers* Order her down. And you can do that after when we have her under control. Darkmoon, you can't be afraid to Order her. She's already under bad Orders as it is. That's the reason she's like this. You can't talk her out of it because it's beyond her control. ... Pie wouldn't have left Lords uncovered unless we're really, really lucky. That's why we had Sakura give us an overriding order. If that doesn't work, we'll call the Queen herself. Um... so what should I do? When we get there and set up... just go for a walk. We'll have something in mind better when we get there as to where. You know any specific places she'd be likely to be looking for you? Hm. What sorts of places might you typically hang out, Lady Fork? Did Sakura give you counter-Orders regarding her? * Lord_Darkmoon cracks a smile as he and Nightshade blurt out almost the same thing at the same time. We should probably check out the areas she calls out ourselves, first, before we cut Fork loose. Good plan, Lady Mallet. Yes, she did, though I didn't really understand them. If we're gonna do this under controlled conditions, let's pick a spot to set up. Basically, Lady Fork, the counter-Orders are to ignore any attempts by Lady Hardhat to give you Orders. So. Lady Fork, where do you typically hang out? In particular a place she might be more comfortable 'getting closer' to you as she follows you. Oh. I... well, I don't hang out much of anywhere. I go shopping, but it's different places. I'm at the local library sometimes, I guess... really, after Spoon died, I mostly hang out at home. Where is the shop you mentioned you saw her twice? ... Did you see her at your home? Huh? She seems to have picked up my trail outside my home several days. We might have to have to stop by your home first then. Do you think we can arrange it so your parents are not there when you get there? Just in case? Um. I'm already probably in trouble for disappearing all day yesterday, and staying out without getting permission first. Alright. Offhand, you know any good spots you could lead Hardhat to that'd be good for a confrontation? * LadyNightshade sighs. "I'm sorry about that. If you went home do you think your parents might not let you leave?" It's possible. I suppose I could trick them into going somewhere, but that would REALLY get me in trouble... ... Could be worse. We don't want that. They do not know where you are now? We'll do what we can to help explain things to them after we're done. I did call them... but they don't know where I am, no. Hmm... Well first off I think we should check around your neighborhood and the places you usually shop. If we don't find her, we'll contact you and arrange something further. Hm. They must be very worried. We will see what we can do about that, too, then. Do they know you're being stalked? ...how could I explain that to them? And it's Hierarchy business, and we're not supposed to talk about that! But you don't have to say it's a Lady. * Nami sounds distressed at this whole mess, even more than she is about Hardhat. If she went to your school, you could say it's an underclassman who's become obsessed with you. Say it's some weird creepy boy and you think you saw a gun. No. All of those, she would have gone to her parents about before anyone else. You'd be surprised... We'll worry about explaining it to them after it's over. Yeah. And if I say that now they'll think I'm making it up. There are ways and ways of attempting to handle that. For now, we should concentrate on making sure you are safe. So... what do you want me to do? So can you give us a list of places you saw her and we'll start from there? * LadyNightshade prepares to take notes. ...it was a couple dozen. Wherever I went. Just list them all. She may be patrolling them, wondering where you are. Well... We can scout them out, and decide which is the safest environment. * Nami starts listing different streets and stores and public transit stations... ...but there were more than that. I mean she was just plain following me. * LadyMallet goes to pull up a map on the computer. Lemme see that sheet, wouldja? I wanna plot these and see if something pops out. * LadyNightshade hands over the paper. * LadyMallet starts doing that. Typity typity type. Maybe it forms some weird mystical shape and she's trying to summon some kind of demon to kill us all. And the last place you saw her? What time was that exactly? If that's the case, Kyo-chan, I'm going to hurt you. A lot. She was in the street outside the hotel here when I went in. It probably isn't, but she could THINK that she is. She's crazy, after all. Leena quickly finds that the pattern is "places that girls like to go to". * LadyMallet shrugs, and leaves it up. "Pfffff." It was... late Saturday evening. Maybe 10, 10:30. * Lord_Darkmoon peers over Leena's shoulder, picturing those locales that he's been to on the map and trying to decide "--late, you say?" He looks at Nightshade appraisingly. Alrighty. We'll start from there. We'll call you again after we scout out the area. Just sit tight until then. Stay inside like Sakura told you. ...she told me that I'd be able to go home today! My parents will kill me if I'm not back soon! Lady Fork, your safety is our highest priority. We'll help you with your parents as best we can as soon as this is all cleared up. Oh, man... For now we need you to stay out of sight. I'm sorry. * Lord_Darkmoon ponders. But doesn't say anything while the phone's still on about whatever he's pondering. Look through your yearbook. Call if you recognize something. My yearbook is at HOME! ... oh! Let me give you my cellphone number in case something comes up. * LadyMallet blinks, muttering something about books and smarts. Yeah, right, I carry my yearbooks everywhere I go! Sheesh. Okay... and I'll give you mine as well. Call soon? Please? They exchange numbers quickly. Yes, of course. I am sorry, Lady Fork. We will do everything in our power to help you. I will call you by tonight with an update, if nothing else. * LadyNightshade remembers to set her phone to vibrate. Is there anything else you can think of? ...no? Alright. You'll hear from us soon. Keep your phone handy in case there's trouble. *sullen* All right. Goodbye and be safe. * Nami hangs up. The click even sounds huffy. ... you know, she probably hates being trussed up like a incompetent victim who can't do anything. She's just as powerful as we are... We should get right on this investigation. Ideally, she can go home tonight, as Sakura promised. Let's book. We'll treat it as a standard protection mission after that. * Lord_Darkmoon rises, and opens the door for the Ladies. I know she doesn't like it, but there's not really much we can do about it right now. It's not a standard protection mission. Time to go then? Yes. * LadyNightshade doesn't even look at Haruko as she answers, heading out the door. The aggressor is Hardhat, and she's important too. We can't just fight and get it over with. * LadyHeat quickly pulls on pants, a shirt, and a light sweater before head out. * Haruko stands up and transforms, but her typical try is without enthusiasm. * LadyMallet grabs her gun, her leg-holster, and heads out. * Haruko follows the others out, quietly. Hardhat can heal. The important thing is that we don't lose her this time. I guess. I still think that we should have Lady Fork confront her, and find out what she wants. It's a perfectly reasonable response to being followed. Perhaps this need not devolve into a fight at all. * Lord_Darkmoon does not sound hopeful of that last part. She'll tell us what she was trying to do after we get her orders in order. She wouldn't have any reason not to. * LadyMallet blinks, and freezes in her tracks. Maybe she does just want help. Darkmoon, lemme see your tessen real quick. And we're going to help her when we can locate her and bring her in. I, uh, need to, uh, detransform. And change. If we don't want her recognizing me. * Lord_Darkmoon hands Mallet his Tessen. If she recognized you, she'd recognize any of us that were in that fight. She might not recognize me; I was the Feral Beast for the majority of the fight. Though she may have seen me when she struck Handcuff's home. It's safer for us to stay transformed. * LadyMallet grabs it, running off out of sight for a second, coming back in a low-cut blouse, and a pearl-ish dress, and black hair, loose, tied up with a hairtie at the bottom foot or so to keep it all together. I don't look that different either way... Should I detransform? No. Leena, stay transformed, please. Too late. * Leena flicks her wrist, and adds a fake rose with two ribbons streaming off of it as a hair ornament, then tosses the Tessen back to Darkmoon. * Lord_Darkmoon raises an eyebrow as he deftly catches his transformation object. "...Keep up, Leena-chan. And remember, going out in public like this means someone might realize you are not, in fact, dead." The day is looking bright and warm as you board the train north towards Soka. ... Fine, whatever. ... I'll take that risk, for now. Hardhats more likely to recognize Mallet. * LadyRoyal just shakes her head. ...and more likely to squish Leena. *tousles Leena's head, being careful not to muss her hair too badly* I just worry about you, kiddo. The hotel is an old-looking four-story affair on a busy street. If it were in downtown Tokyo, it probably would be hundreds of thousands of yen for a night's stay. Here, in the metro sprawl, it's probably merely exorbitant. * Leena sighs. "I guess." Now spread out and don't draw attention to yourselves. * LadyNightshade keeps her eyes alert for Hardhat hiding nearby as she approaches the Hotel. * Leena does that! She heads out in some direction, spinning once with her eyes closed and going the direction she ends up looking. * LadyRoyal raises her eyebrows. "Sure thing, Sakura. Anything else we've already been doing that you'd like to tell us?" * Lady_MakeBelieve buys a newspaper, goes to the corner, and begins to read it. Not get all pissy when we're trying to work? * LadyHeat wanders down the street. * LadyRoyal shakes her head again and ambles off, idly. "Some people just can't take a joke." Whatever. * Leena pulls out a Gameboy, attaching to the nearest thing to lean on, and starts playing something or other. * Lord_Darkmoon puts on a pair of sunglasses, and turns to Lady Royal. "I shall request a partner to search with. I won't be immediately attentive." A faint purple flare behind the sunglasses indicates why, as he seeks out a nearby animal with which to spy. * LadyNightshade steps into the Hotel lobby looking around for any Hardhat wearing people. * LadyRoyal nods at Darkmoon, not that he can see her. Leena manages to press Start before a flash of orange catches her eye from only meters away. Beyond the fence she's leaning on is a cafe, and sitting in the open, sipping a large beverage, is a girl with a hardhat. * LadyHeat sings softly to herself. "Anyone see her?" * Leena whispers, "Bingo." * Hardhat has a magazine that she's pretending to read, but she spends more time looking around than at it. Sitting out here, close to me. Real close. * Leena looks at her Gameboy as she talks. * LadyRoyal makes like she's talking to Darkmoon. "...oh? Where, relative to the hotel?" Where at? * LadyNightshade heads back out of the Hotel, looking for Leena. * Leena gives directions from where they all split up, shifting position so it's not so obvious she's talking quietly from Hardhats angle, and squinting at her toy. * LadyRoyal puts a hand on Darkmoon's elbow and walks with/guides/drags him along, slowly heading in the direction that Leena described, looking away from the location she's putting Hardhat at. * Hardhat has a spring jacket and jeans on, but is definitely transformed. From her seat, she can see the entrance of the hotel easily. On the other hand, someone coming out of the hotel is likely to see her, and Taki does, immediately. So do you really want to try and have Fork talk to her? * Lord_Darkmoon sends his bird winging that direction. "Hold...back..a bit. Sending...bird....to look." * Lady_MakeBelieve continues to read, just waiting for orders * LadyNightshade moves in her direction, but is careful not to draw attention to herself. Just another bystander wandering the streets. * LadyRoyal nods and slows down even more. * LadyHeat looks for somewhere she could stop plausibly. We can take her here or wait for her to move somewhere more private. If we have Nami come out of the Hotel we could maybe draw her into an alley... * LadyNightshade scans the nearby neighborhood for a good spot. ...still not sure it's all that safe... She'll...follow...Fork. So much for finding a good spot to try and set this up. So find a good spot. It doesn't look like she's going anywhere. * LadyNightshade continues looking. Can con..troll...things...that way. Sending...bird...to find...good...place. * LadyRoyal shrugs in acquiescence. We want a relatively safe, private place, where we can control the entrances and exits, and if things go bad, the magical crossfire won't draw too much attention. o/~ Nothing like a good alley o/~ Alley might work. Dead end alley would be great, especially with a twist. * LadyNightshade moves to a position behind Hardhats view, so she's close enough to get to her if need be. Darkmoon doesn't find anywhere that meets all of Leena's criteria. There is a park several blocks away which is relatively deserted at this time of day, but it's not precisely controllable. There are plenty of tight streets around here, but they have people in them. Anything? Alleys don't exist here - the property values are too high and every bit of land is used. Some stores have access roads behind them, but those are quite exposed. ... Taki. I don't like this option, but you suggested it. If you can get the drop on her now, knock her out, now's your chance. Call her out, and sack her as she gets up to meet her. Found...park...deserted. Doing it in public is going to draw unwanted attention though. * LadyRoyal chokes, and tries to make it look discreet. "Sort of noticeable, don'tcha think?" That may be our best option though... You shouldn't have any trouble getting into position, and a little bit of attention won't be too big a deal if that finishes it. We just need to make sure she doesn't run. Because of course attacking someone in the middle of a street is only going to get a little bit of attention. I say go for the park. That's what I'm saying. * Lord_Darkmoon blinks, and shakes the purple out of his eyes. "Nightshade, do you have that radio for Fork?" 'kay. Yeah. Someone should meet her in the lobby to pass it to her. I'll keep a watch on Hardhat. Leena, come meet me at... Right. * LadyNightshade gives her location. Heat, MB, can you head over to the park first to make sure it stays the way we want it? * Leena stands up off the wall, and holds out her Gameboy at arms length, then flips it off, pockets it, and starts walking, looking away from Hardhat as she nears her. "On my way." * LadyNightshade dials up Nami while she waits for Leena to meet up with her. Yeah? Do you guys wanna be there and I'll follow her? It'd be better to set up that way. Hello? Hi, this is Lady Nightshade. * Lady_MakeBelieve starts walking towards the park, still reading the paper. Norcliff is looking from her shoulder, ready to tell her if she's about to bump into anything. Can I go home? Please? Good plan, Nightshade. It's this way. *heads that way, leading Royal and giving directions over the radio* Should I head towards the park for you? o/~ * LadyNightshade ignores the question. "You know the park at *location*?" Uh... yeah? Well, she's outside watching the hotel right now. What we want you to do is leader to that park. We'll try and catch her there. We have a radio for you to listen in on. Lady Mallet will pass it to you in the Hotel lobby before you leave. Oh. Okay... * LadyRoyal lets Darkmoon go. "Could be problems here or en route if our helmeted friend gets suspicious. * Leena pats Taki on... well, hops up and taps Taki on the shoulder. "Hey." * LadyHeat heads towards the park anyway, ambling along. Quit being so tall. * LadyNightshade puts her hand over the phone for a second and says into the radio. "That's why the few of us following her the better. I'll be able to stay out of sight. * LadyNightshade passes the radio over to Leena. Then I should come down? * Leena slips the radio set into a pocket, and says, into the mike, "Heading into the hotel." * Leena heads there. Whoo. * LadyNightshade puts the phone back to her mouth. "Yes, meet Mallet in the lobby and she'll help you set up. Then we can have you head out when we're ready." All right. I'll be down. Okay, good. See you shortly. * LadyNightshade hangs up. So should we give Hardhat a chance to talk to Fork or should we just take Hardhat down? * Leena heads straight for the front door of the hotel, looking up at the sky, and holding her hands behind her back. * LadyRoyal gets a paper too and walks past the hotel entrance, in the direction that the park is, and leans idly on the far wall, skimming the headlines. It would be nice to know what she wants. Fork's protected from just words... I say let them talk first. I would like to see Fork confront her; perhaps she will not be violent. We -must- be ready, though. *pats his shoulder, where, presumably, his gun is transformed into some sort of clothing* Hardhat is -also- one of our goals in this mission. The more we know about her, the better. I just don't to put her in too much of a risk. I'll stay close of course. Be ready, of course. * Nami comes out of the elevator just a few minutes later. She heads over to the front desk and checks out, then starts looking around. Darkmoon, have you found a good place in the park for this to go down? Preferably some place with lots of shadows? * Leena waves to Nami as she enters, walking over to her. * LadyRoyal hums a bit. "Let me know right before you head out, Mallet." o/~ I'll make sure Nami does, too. Found you a nice copse of trees surrounding a gazebo, Nightshade. It's near a little pond. Can't miss it...at least from the air. I think it'll be pretty obvious from the ground, too, though. Hey, Nami, lemme see your hand! Might have a bit of trouble for about twenty feet where there's grass between those trees and the next nearest, but I have confidence in your abilities. * Nami blinks. "What?" Okay, when we get Fork on the radio, we'll inform her of the location. Right. *keeps heading for the park, himself, to get to where he plans to set up* * Leena holds out the headset. "This is for you. Put it on, okay?" Uh... right. * Nami puts the headset on, and taps the mike. TAP TAP TAP. * Leena winces. ... Please don't tap the mike. They're pretty sensitive. Oh! Sorry. * LadyRoyal clenches her teeth, managing not to wince, and continues skimming. They'll pick up whispers, too. Call it out to us right before you're about to head out. * Leena looks over Nami, making sure it's properly nearly invisible. Huh? I'm going now, aren't I? * Lord_Darkmoon doesn't wince. Honest. That was, um, a tic. Really. I guess. The others are outside and ready. Even if you don't notice us, we're there. We'll be with you the whole way. Are you against letting her talk to you or would you prefer it if we stopped her before she had a chance? * Leena pats Nami on the back. "Good luck." * Nami turns to the front door, and walks out into the street. She looks right at Hardhat, who looks back at her. ... Goddamn it. * Hardhat gets up as Nami walks away. Nightshade, lemme know when eyes are off the door so I can go. * LadyHeat finds a seat in the park and sits down. ...huh? What would I say to her? * LadyRoyal starts walking, a little ahead of Nami, face buried in the paper. I dunno. Find out what she wants. If she's aggressive we'll intervene. She's been following you, Lady Fork. Clearly she wants something. Ask her. We will be ready, as Lady Nightshade says. Darkmoon will tell you the location we want you to lead her to. * LadyNightshade trails Hardhat as close as she can while remaining unnoticed. There's a gazebo overlooking a small pond in the park. Do you know it? You can move Leena. Coming out of the hotel. * Leena heads out, and starts trailing Hardhat, as far back as she can get away with. I think so. I'll try to talk to her there, then. * LadyHeat enjoys nature! * Nami wanders easily up the street, taking her time, not letting Hardhat fall behind. If you can confront her just outside of it, on the path leading up, actually, it would be best. We don't want the gazebo itself separating her and you from us. * LadyRoyal continues walking, ahead of Nami so not so much in Hardhat's direct view. * LadyNightshade tries to stick to the shadows and keep her invisibility up as best she can. * Lord_Darkmoon heads to an area not visible from the entrance of the park, and takes up position near some trees. He readies his gun, and peers out at the area in front of the gazebo, waiting for the two girls to get there. * Hardhat trails along, her hat making her the simplest target to track ever. ... man, it's almost laughable how bad at this Hardhat is. ... ....mm. Possibly. * Nami swings into the park through the front gate, striding more quickly now. Does she have to wear the Hardhat all the time? Is it like, glued to her head? * LadyHeat pretends to talk to squirrels. Well she's obviously not in her right mind. * Lady_MakeBelieve does talk to a sugar glider * Norcliff talks back, quietly * LadyRoyal continues walking, and walks right past the gazebo, not looking behind her. She passes a bend in the road and doubles back quickly. * LadyNightshade sticks close to Hardhat, just waiting for the right time. * Hardhat picks up her own pace, keeping the distance close even though it makes her still more suspicious in the empty park. * Leena doesn't pick up the pace as fast- she knows where they're going. * LadyNightshade whispers into the mike, "Just take a seat under the trees. We'll see what she does." How you doing, Fork? * LadyHeat has a rather complex conversation about the nature of God with the squirrels. Almost there... * Lord_Darkmoon just keeps watching, carefully. Transform if a fight starts. Hopefully it won't get there, though. And remember, you've got a lot of help just seconds away. * LadyRoyal ends up behind the gazebo and crouches in the bushes there, careful not to be seen and waiting for something to happen. * LadyHeat heads closer to the gazebo. The gazebo looms threateningly in front of the pair. Nami goes right up its steps and through it... then stops and turns around as she reaches the opposing entrance. * Hardhat blinks, surprised, facing her quarry across the floor of the gazebo. * LadyRoyal goes superstill and waits. ...why are you following me? * LadyNightshade ducks under the cover of the trees, disappearing from sight. * LadyHeat waits a little ways away from the gazebo. * Lord_Darkmoon readies, taking aim. Thank heaven for modern, non-needing-to- be-cocked guns. * LadyNightshade is ready to attack the moment Hardhat even reaches for her hardhat. * Leena catches up on lost ground while they're talking, stopping just on the other side of the trees. * Hardhat starts, nonplussed. Damn it, answer me! You're wrecking my life! * Nami starts to stalk back across the gazebo, transforming as she does. The Fork of Doom materializes under one arm. Hey, keep it calm. Darkmoon, order her to stop. * LadyRoyal twitches her ready card. Don't provoke her, Fork...just be ready to defend yourself. *quietly, so only the radios can hear* * LadyHeat uhh... drinks some water. * Hardhat gestures, and suddenly there's a glowing orange hardhat in one hand in addition to the one on her head. * LadyNightshade charges at hardhat, attacking her immediately. Dammit! * Lord_Darkmoon pulls the trigger, emerging from hiding immediately after the report. * LadyHeat runs, readying water tossage. * Leena transforms, in a bright explosion of rainbow color. * Lady_MakeBelieve calls out for the Kirin. * LadyRoyal vaults into the gazebo, pushing Nami down. * Hardhat flinches as noise erupts all around her. Then she's hit by Darkmoon's gunshot and falls over. EEEEP! Lady Nightshade gets there just in time to bounce off a rapidly expanding hardhat - this one grows, and grows, until it brushes the gazebo's ceiling, pushing everything out of its way. Holy shit guys... You can hear a girl moaning inside the hardhat. God... Oh no... Hardhat, can you hear me? This is Lady Nightshade. This order is from Princess Sakura, she wants you to stop and come with us quietly. ... dammit. Hardhat, are you okay? Kirin, purify the wicked barrier! * LadyMallet kneels down, and tries to LIFT the HARDHAT. * Kirin shoots out the dazzling beam, as it has been seen to do twice before. STUPID BRAINWASHED LADIES! DESERT YOUR QUEEN, AND HELP ME PROTECT THIS CITY! * Lord_Darkmoon rushes forward. "Lady Hardhat, I Order you in the name of the Queen and Princess Sakura to stand down and surrender peacefully!" he practically shouts. * LadyRoyal gets off Nami, but stays between her and Hardhat, cards ready. Leena feels a back muscle begin to tear. The Kirin's beam strikes the helmet... and does nothing. * LadyMallet winces, and lets go, rolling her shoulders back. They can coexist! This is bad. ...why did you SHOOT me? Gods! Because we thought you were going to KILL SOMEONE. Ano... I hate to say this to you now.... but Pie was wrong. To keep you from attacking Lady Fork. Hardhat, we'll help you. Please just talk to us. * LadyFork eyes the hardhat. Protecting the city, this country, is the work of everyone. * Lady_MakeBelieve thanks the Kirin for its efforts, and lets it leave before it draws too much attention I wasn't going to attack her, I was going to recruit her! Lower the hardhat; surrender. We'll not hurt you any further. I didn't WANT to hurt you! *sounding actually pained* Is that why you destroyed Handcuff's home? ...Oh god... there's more of them? Guys, now isn't the time to challenge her beliefs. No one has to desert anyone else to protect! Handcuff betrayed the cause. She deserved what she got! You killed her FATHER, someone who has nothing to do with any of this! Heat. Stop it. * LadyHeat stops. * LadyHeat drinks water. ... Hardhat... * Lord_Darkmoon puts his gun back under his shirt's short sleeve with the help of the Tessen. We're sorry. Will you come out and talk to us? * LadyHeat mutters. "Zombie." ...it had to be done. And if I come out, you'll just try to kill me again! We promise we won't. So... GO AWAY! I promise I won't try to kill you. Cross my heart and hope to die. You can't stay in there forever. We don't want to kill you. I give you my word that we will take no hostile action if you neither try to attack us nor flee. Look. Let one of us in, untransformed. Above all, we just want to -talk-. It's an Order - it lashes against free will like a heavy whip, but your own Orders allow you to resist. * LadyRoyal hisses and glances at Nami. Hey Hardhat, can you tell me your title? ...damn. * LadyFork , less comfortable with her own Orders, finds herself walking away. * LadyHeat goes to get Fork. * LadyMallet blinks, and grabs Forks arm. * LadyRoyal pulls her back. ... you're safe now, I think. ...princess hardhat. PRINCESS! They killed my Princess and stole my friends, and I'm the only one left to fight! If you want to leave, that's your choice, but you don't have to if you don't want to either. ... Okay Princess. Well we want to help you. Just let us know how we can. * LadyNightshade pulls out her phone and dials the Palace. Just go away, please? No, Nightshade, not yet. Who are you trying to fight? You said you wished to recruit. We'll listen, if you'll then listen to us. You want to be alone? You won't listen, the Queen already has enspelled you. Not a spell. * Lord_Darkmoon laughs. "Less so than Princess Pie had you 'enspelled,' Princess." ...go away, please. I really don't want to hurt you. Nor we you. * LadyRoyal glances at Haruko, while still keeping an eye on the hat. * LadyMallet shakes her head. "As much as you call us puppets, consider your own thoughts when we call you one." Guys, back off. Why, are you going to hurt us if we stay here? I want to talk to her. * LadyRoyal nods at Haruko. "I think that would be a good idea." I will. Please believe me, I will. * LadyMallet shakes her head. "That's not right... dammit, Hardhat, this is Mallet! I was the one who beat you into the ground and left you for dead!" I want to apologize, but you're being too damned thick-headed! * Lord_Darkmoon winces. * LadyRoyal sighs. ...you couldn't help yourself. Just go away. * LadyNightshade just shakes her head and waits for someone to pick up. So why am I back now, trying to apologize? Think a puppet would do that? You were here, with the others, to trap me. We were hear to help you. The shooting was an accident. * LadyNightshade looks at Darkmoon pointedly. The purpose of the trap isn't to hurt you or kill you, though. * LadyRoyal spares a glare for Darkmoon. The purpose of this trap is to -talk- to you. Please, go away. ...you don't have much time left. Before what/ We've been looking for you since that fight with Pie so long ago. * LadyRoyal motions to Nami to back away. I've been looking for you. * LadyFork needs no encouragement. Guys, seriously. Back off. I've lost sleep for a month straight trying to find you, when I found you you were still alive! I was worried sick about you! She's right. * LadyRoyal follows Nami, keeping an eye on the huge hat. ...it's good that even under the Queen's spell, you still have a conscience. Maybe there's hope... There's always hope. But then, it's even more important that you hurry and leave. * LadyRoyal waves everyone else to move back as well. * LadyMallet stays right where she is. * LadyHeat isn't very close, luckily. I... I can't stop it now. Stop what? And I wouldn't, even if I could. GUYS. MOVE. * LadyNightshade keeps a safe distance while she waits for someone at the Palace to answer. I believe she's called down the sky. ...Oh great, another Hardhat meteor. ... oh, is that all? * LadyHeat moves further away. * LadyMallet snaps her finger, and summons the Mallet. * Hardhat yells, not sure how far away everyone is. "I've gotten better at it, too!" Leena, if you do anything, I fucking swear... * Lord_Darkmoon looks to the sky. * LadyMallet then hops up to top of the giant hardhat, gripping the Mallet with two hands like a baseball bat. Mallet, you're not allowed to die! ....MALLET.... Is that a fireball in the far, far distance? Darkmoon isn't sure. Who said anything about dying? I'm gonna knock it back where it came from! ...Can you even play baseball? I bet I could if I tried! Please pick up...