Session Start: Sat Jan 14 16:34:48 2006
<Ked> Previously, on Hunters:
<Ked> Moving Mina and her family to the Palace got quite exciting, as there
was someone following her father.  The second trip, to get Minami herself, was
exciting too... but only for certain people.
<Ked> Afterwards, it was nearly two in the morning.  A couple of folks went
home, a couple slept over at the Palace... and a couple didn't get any sleep
at all.
<Ked> The Secretary let everyone sleep in, not ringing the phones until just
before noon... to schedule a dinner meeting with Sakura to go over "something
that's come up".
<Ked> [Tuesday, March 29, 2004 - 1740 local time]
<Ked> [A pizzeria just outside Kisarazu Air Force Base, not far from the
Palace]
<Ked> [Session start]
* LadyHeat hungrily eats pizza.
* Lady_MakeBelieve nibbles on some breadsticks, distractedly.
* LadyMysteria seems... a bit apprehensive, poking at her pizza and otherwise
looking distracted.
* LadyNightshade has a salad. Without the dressing.
* Lord_Darkmoon has a half-eaten slice of pizza in front of him. He doesn't
seem very hungry, though he's as animated as he ever is.
* LadyNightshade isn't really eating it though and is staring off at nothing
in particular.
<Ked> The team has been seated in a corner round-booth.  The dim lighting and
background music make it hard to overhear anyone, which is good, since now
that the food has arrived it looks like Sakura is finally going to get down to
business.
<Ked> ...after she finishes stuffing this slice of pepperoni into her face,
anyway.
<PrincessSakura> MmmmmMmf.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Obviously. *said with a joking grin*
* LadyNightshade tries not to giggle at that. She's being aloof, damn it.
* PrincessSakura gestures with her free hand at the Secretary, pointing to the
table... or through it?
* LadyNightshade tries to figure out what Sakura is trying to tell them.
* Secretary pouts a little before putting her chopsticks down beside her plate
of spaghetti and reaching for a small case at her feet.
<Secretary> Oookay.
<LadyMysteria> ... so.
* Lady_MakeBelieve looks over at the Secretary's case.
* LadyHeat wonders what's in the case
* PrincessSakura looks around one more time, and decides that the place is
private enough.
* Lord_Darkmoon raises an eyebrow.
<PrincessSakura> Well.  You might have noticed that Taki did a little
disappearing act last night when you were packing Mina up.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Might have, but didn't.
* LadyNightshade blushes and looks down.
<Lord_Darkmoon> A fairly common activity for her. Was there something unusual
about last night's performance?
<LadyMysteria> Well, that's not too unusual for her, but... what's up, Sakura?
<Secretary> I hear Leena carried a 200 kilo trunk across town...
* Secretary smiles, but doesn't continues.
<Lord_Darkmoon> That -is- unusual. Though believable. *chuckles*
<LadyMysteria> ... that sounds like her. Somehow, it does.
* LadyHeat looks at Taki and imagines dirty dirty things.
<PrincessSakura> Taki was doing some lookout duty - actually, she was watching
for people following you guys.
* Lord_Darkmoon nods.
<LadyMysteria> Mmm-hmm. Good idea on her part.
<LadyHeat> Oh.
* PrincessSakura glares at Taki.
* LadyNightshade is still looking down. She doesn't see anyone looking at her.
Nope. >_<
* Lady_MakeBelieve isn't look at Nightshade at all
* Secretary goes back to her spaghetti - chopsticks work for the noodles, but
the sauce is proving a challenge.
* Lord_Darkmoon slides a fork over to the Secretary while tilting his head to
look between Sakura and Taki.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Perhaps you should...elaborate...Sakura? Unless this is Taki's
tale to tell?
<PrincessSakura> Good idea... but there was this little complication.
* LadyMysteria sighs. "Oh, boy. I imagine this is where things get
interesting."
<LadyHeat> What happened?
<PrincessSakura> There WAS someone following you.  And she had to intervene...
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Is it all taken care of, or do we now have another problem?
* Lord_Darkmoon waits in silence for the telling to continue.
* LadyNightshade blushes harder. "I'm sorry..."
<PrincessSakura> Did you have to try to be so CLEVER?
* PrincessSakura rubs her forehead.
* Lord_Darkmoon 's eyebrow rises once more.
<LadyNightshade> I was trying to do what I was supposed to do...
<Ked> There's a strange noise under the table.
<LadyHeat> ...What was that?
* Lady_MakeBelieve looks under the table
<Secretary> Nothing, nothing...
<Lord_Darkmoon> ...
* LadyNightshade just goes quiet and looks down more.
<Lord_Darkmoon> That sounded rather large to be a rat. *said quietly, so as
not to upset other patrons or any employees of the establishment*
<Norcliff> I'll get him!
* Norcliff strikes a fighting pose and heads under the table.
* Lord_Darkmoon suppresses a laugh.
* LadyNightshade reflexively pulls her legs tight underneath her. She doesn't
want it touching her even if it has proved to be useful.
* Norcliff scampers along, brushing past everyone, but nothing finding
anything, returns to the top of the table,
<PrincessSakura> Taki got the guy, uh, pinned, and then proceeded to tell
him... how did that go again?
<LadyMysteria> ... gheh?
<Norcliff> Musta run off when he heard me.  Coward.
<Lord_Darkmoon> It would take a brave rodent to face you mouse-to-sugar
glider, Norcliff. *overly seriously and gravely*
* LadyNightshade looks up again at Sakura and swallows.
* Lord_Darkmoon continues eyeing the Secretary, Taki, and Sakura.
<PrincessSakura> Go ahead, you probably should tell them, so we all get the
proper nuance.
<LadyNightshade> I...
<Lady_MakeBelieve> This can't end well.
* Lord_Darkmoon focuses his full bishi attention on Taki.
<LadyNightshade> I tried to convince them I was working against the palace...
* Lady_MakeBelieve mutters something
* LadyMysteria tenses, slightly. "... what in the world."
<LadyHeat> ...
<LadyNightshade> No but, there was... I... *looks again at Sakura*
<PrincessSakura> It was an odd situation, I'll grant you that much.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Please, continue.
<LadyNightshade> I thought maybe I could use it to find who was in charge. I
didn't expect him to just believe me, but I was trying to raise doubt...
* LadyNightshade sighs.
<LadyNightshade> I'm sorry.
<Lord_Darkmoon> And the end result of this encounter?
* Lady_MakeBelieve holds a slow clap for about two counts.
<LadyNightshade> He got away.
* Lady_MakeBelieve starts, hooray timing.
* Secretary looks oddly at the clapping girl.
* LadyHeat isn't horribly surprised, unfortunately.
<PrincessSakura> Now, Taki tells me that this guy didn't believe her, but...
he'll go back to his superiors, and it's going to make things a little odd.
* LadyNightshade shoots Makebelieve a nasty look.
* Lady_MakeBelieve looks Nightshade in the eye, and waits a bit, then stops
clapping.
<Lord_Darkmoon> How so, Sakura?
* LadyNightshade slides her salad out of the way and just lays her head on the
table.
<PrincessSakura> Well... the exact way it played out would make me more
cautious about moving forward, were I in their shoes.
<PrincessSakura> And we want them to be less cautious, not more.
<LadyMysteria> ... well.
* Secretary reaches over and grabs one of Taki's hands, and squeezes.
<Lord_Darkmoon> I see.
<LadyMysteria> What's done is done, even considering what impact this will
have.
* LadyNightshade reacts a bit, but lets her hand be grabbed.
<PrincessSakura> It's not the end of the world, Taki, don't worry.  Well,
worry a little.
* PrincessSakura grins evilly.  "We're going to have to do some cleanup, but
we can make this work for us."
<LadyMysteria> You might have drawn more attention to yourself than you will
like or need, but... yes, it's not the end.
<LadyNightshade> I told you I'd do whatever you wanted me to to make it
better.
<PrincessSakura> Mmm-hmmmm.  And so... what we're going to do is kill you
rather spectacularly.
<LadyNightshade> ...
* LadyMysteria sighs. "I think that would require basically killing everyone
in this organiza----gah?!" Maya *starts* at that.
* Lady_MakeBelieve looks up, trying to conceal a look of hope.
<LadyHeat> Do we get to gruesomely murder her or something?
<LadyNightshade> If you must...
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I'm sure this is all going to be a stage act, isn't it.
<LadyMysteria> I'd like to hope so!
* Lord_Darkmoon laughs, almost villainously. "Oh, Sakura, that's just evil."
<LadyHeat> Can we do something like on the American show CSI?
* PrincessSakura grabs the case from in front of the Secretary, and pulls some
overhead photographs of the Palace neighborhood from it.  She passes them
around, and the team sees that two locations are circled.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I thought they just investigated murders there.
<LadyHeat> But the murders can get pretty weird.
* Lord_Darkmoon takes the photos and looks them over.
<PrincessSakura> Something a little more... active, I think.  It's not like
there's going to be forensic examination of the scene.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> What do you want her to do, conceal memory polymers in a
can of soda to trigger when she drinks it and burst her stomach open or
something?
* Lord_Darkmoon eyes MakeBelieve, his expression looking downright incredulous
for a moment.
<Ked> One is a hill about three hundred meters northeast of the Palace,
another is a large house a block down the road from the Palace grounds.
* LadyNightshade mumbles a little wtf to herself at that.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I dunno, it was the weirdest thing I could come up with on
short notice.
<Norcliff> I'm not drinking any sodas you give me from now on.
<PrincessSakura> No, see, thanks to some more work from Taki and her loyal
retainer, we know that the Tokko is watching from these locations already.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Hm. He trusted her enough to share this, or she did
some...extracurricular escorting for him?
* Lady_MakeBelieve dreams up a can of soda a shakes it at Norcliff, who goes
scampering away
<LadyNightshade> She means Mitsuko. *mumbled from the table*
<Lord_Darkmoon> Ah.
* LadyMysteria is still just... mildly shocked by all this. "This is...
just... uh. I understand why, but... gyah."
<PrincessSakura> I have some Ladies watching them watching us already... but
what I want to do is for Taki to go out to one of them and try to make
contact, then the rest of you go after her... and them.
* PrincessSakura looks at her watch, grabs another slice of pizza and starts
munching.
<Lord_Darkmoon> And put down our traitorous little ninja? *nudges Taki,
teasing*
<PrincessSakura> Mmfffk.  Convincingly enough to make sure that any survivors
will report so.
<LadyNightshade> Yeah... *edges away from the nudging*
<PrincessSakura> Take your pick on location, and I'll leave the details up to
you...
<LadyNightshade> Would the men in the hill even see us if we were in the
house?
* PrincessSakura takes one more slice and stands up.  "I'm running a little
late for the all-Princesses conference.  Maya, can you handle this?"
<LadyNightshade> I think if it was out in the open, they'd be less likely to
come investigate...
<LadyNightshade> So you can uh... dispose of my body.
<Lord_Darkmoon> There -are- to be survivors, then? *tilts his Tessen as if it
were bladed, just like it's more lethal form*
<PrincessSakura> Mmmm.  Good pizza.  Yeah, definitely.
<LadyNightshade> Yeah, if they think we're onto them they're more likely to
attack sooner rather than later...
<LadyNightshade> Now that they know we're here, we know for sure that it's
coming...
* Secretary twitches, but says nothing.
<LadyNightshade> And with the Queen's... vision we know it's going to be big.
<LadyNightshade> So we should make it happen on our terms.
* LadyNightshade is almost not looking down at the table anymore.
<LadyMysteria> ... I can handle it. I think.
<PrincessSakura> Right, right...  you guys have a pretty unlimited budget, by
the way, for the duration of the emergency.  Just don't try to sneak anything
past Mayuki...
<Lord_Darkmoon> Neeeeeeever. *sarcastically, winking*
<LadyMysteria> I know better than that, Sakura. She likes me as it is.
* PrincessSakura zips up her jacket, and leaves a big wad of bills on the
table.  "So let me know what happens, all right?"  Zooooooom.
<Lord_Darkmoon> So, Madam Secretary. What -was- that earlier? Hm?
<Secretary> Nothing.  Nothing.
<Secretary> Taki-san, I'm sorry we put you in such an awkward situation.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I wonder if the military is ever going to let me look at
those grenades....
* LadyNightshade sighs. "I did it to myself."
<Secretary> We have some samples at the Palace, Haruko.  If you need to try
them out, that could be harder.
<LadyMysteria> It's going to be alright. We just... need to figure out how to
reconvince these people. And where to go from there.
* LadyMysteria looks at Taki intently, eyes slightly narrowed.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Secretary: I don't need to.
<Secretary> Cool.  Stop in after the mission, then.
<Lord_Darkmoon> So. What is the premise for your contact with them, Taki? What
will you supposedly be bringing them, this time?
<LadyNightshade> I don't know... I'd have to convince them to trust me.
<LadyNightshade> I think the only way to do that would be to kill another Lady
right in front of them.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I don't think we have any to spare.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Mm.
* LadyNightshade looks up at MB. "We know someone who makes them though."
<Lady_MakeBelieve> The Queen?
<LadyNightshade> Not quite.
* LadyNightshade looks over to Maya.
<Lord_Darkmoon> ...somehow, I don't think this is going to be easy.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> What are you people talking about?
* Lord_Darkmoon looks at MakeBelieve, then Taki, then Maya. And reaches over
to rest his hand on top of the last girl's.
<Secretary> I don't know... she doesn't need to bring them anything at all.
<LadyNightshade> We need something so they don't just shoot me when they see
me.
* LadyMysteria grits her teeth, looking at the half-eaten pizza in front of
her. "No, it's not going to be easy at all.... uh? Wha?"
<LadyMysteria> Wait a second.
* LadyMysteria straightens the hell up. "It's... okay. From an objective point
of view, it's not a bad idea. But... how do we pull that off?"
<Secretary> What if she simply warns them that they've been spotted?
<Lord_Darkmoon> You have a suggestion, Madam Secretary? I fear that most of us
don't know the full details of the situation. As if certain people's
sheepishness is keeping things from being revealed. --ah.
<LadyMysteria> Well, if she does warn them, it's got to be in a believable way
that doesn't compromise anything more.
<LadyNightshade> I shoot one of them right in front of them. ... That's not
going to work. They'll still shoot me. I can't disarm them all before they do
that. I'll be dead before anyone else can intervene.
<LadyNightshade> I think a hostage would be the best option.
<LadyMysteria> ... that can turn sour, quickly.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Indeed. The warning is perhaps a..safer idea.
<LadyNightshade> If we use one of the Sailors then I'm still only risking
myself though.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Would Mitsuko be up for play-acting as a magical girl? She is
the only one I know who could believably track you as you stealth.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Only risking yourself?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> What about her?
* Lady_MakeBelieve is suddenly *pissed*
<Lord_Darkmoon> If you sneak in - best if even they don't see you coming - and
she denounces you from just outside -their- range, you can mock-fight her a
bit until our reinforcements - that is, the rest of us hunters - arrive to
deal with the traitor...and the assassins.
* LadyNightshade pointedly ignore Haruko.
<LadyMysteria> Not bad, not bad. But... so many things can go wrong.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Regardless, I'm sure none of them would agree to do it.
<LadyNightshade> We shouldn't be putting on show for them. Why would they
trust someone who brought them a MG that wasn't even restrained?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> You got yourself into this mess without their help, you can
get out of it without it.
<LadyMysteria> Haruko, that is out of line.
<LadyNightshade> I didn't-- Goddamn it.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Enough.
<Lord_Darkmoon> We are not using anyone as a sacrifice.
<LadyMysteria> No matter who does what, we are still a team. And we will fix
this as best we can *as a team*.
* Lord_Darkmoon nods, backing Mysteria.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> They are not on this team though.  They are my friends.
<LadyMysteria> Then they don't have to help. Simple as that.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> And I don't like people volunteering them as though they
were some sort of pawns you can move around.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Now if I have to help bail her out, fine.  BUT LEAVE THEM
OUT OF IT
<LadyNightshade> All the man on the train wanted was the kill me when he
learned what I was. These men aren't going to be any different.
* LadyMysteria shrugs, sounding a tad exasperated. "I would say something, but
you would just ignore it. In any case... building Taki's credibility."
<LadyNightshade> All their going to understand is a body count.
<LadyMysteria> There's the issue of making it believable.
* Lady_MakeBelieve slumps back in her chair and starts petting Norcliff
<LadyNightshade> So then I should have someone already bound and gagged and
bloody.
<LadyMysteria> But what if they try to finish the job?
<LadyNightshade> Then that's why we use... you know.
<LadyMysteria> ... I don't want Haruko going into hysteric over this. Let's
leave them out of it.
* LadyMysteria rubs her temples, elbows on the table. "There's got to be some
other way."
<Lord_Darkmoon> Imagination is a wonderful thing, but when it turns real, it
becomes more than imagination. So for harmony's sake, let us pretend that it
is reality. Now, as for credibility...
<LadyNightshade> She can deal.
* LadyNightshade sighs.
<LadyNightshade> Fine. Just keep coddling her.
* Lord_Darkmoon sighs, and pulls out a pen and scribbles something on a
napkin. Which he hands to Taki. "Try to keep this in mind when we're planning
this mission. It may be helpful on future ones, too."
<LadyNightshade> It'll have to be one of you then.
<Lord_Darkmoon> A hostage, as a peace offering, seems quite contrived. What
exactly did you tell him? Why, according to your story, are you turning
traitor?
<LadyMysteria> It's not coddling, Taki.
<LadyMysteria> ... it's stress prevention.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Why would you bring them a hostage anyway?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> What do you expect them to do with it?
* Lord_Darkmoon moves his hand up Maya's arm to her neck, and starts absently
rubbing at a knot.
* LadyNightshade scribbles something back. "I just told them I wanted to talk
to someone so I could help them with what they were doing. I wanted to be free
of the Palace and its influence."
<Lord_Darkmoon> Unless they asked you to bring them one as proof of your
changed loyalties, they have every right to question why you'd just elect to
kidnap someone to kill in front of them.
<LadyNightshade> That's the _idea_.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> You've already said their way of acting on superstition is
to shoot first.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I mean suspicion
<Secretary> I think... what Sakura is worried about is what if they did
believe her, even a little.  If that were the case, they'd probably tell their
scouts about her.
* Lord_Darkmoon looks confused at Nightshade's statement, and wipes up some
water stains on the table with his napkin.
<LadyNightshade> They have to believe me. This is the only way this is going
to work.
<LadyMysteria> And that means... she becomes a lightning-rod.
<Secretary> In that case, they might not just try to kill her.  And if they do
just shoot at her, then perhaps it isn't a real problem, and you can just go
through the mission.
<LadyNightshade> So then you just want me to go get shot at?
<LadyMysteria> Maybe we just need to gauge their actual belief first before
taking any serious actions.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Why shouldn't you get shot at, its not like there'd be
anyone in danger.
<LadyMysteria> Haruko!
<Lord_Darkmoon> Depends on where they shoot her. And how quickly we could
help.
<Secretary> Well, it'll be dark out, you should have no problem hiding if they
don't hit you right away...
* LadyNightshade would stand up were she not pinned in the back of the booth.
"I'm not going to do this if she's going to push for me getting killed."
<Lord_Darkmoon> If you two don't stop bickering like schoolgirls, I'm going to
take both of you to the Agency and paddle your backsides with my bokken. *said
dead seriously*
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I don't think Maya would approve.
<LadyMysteria> I'd order it if it got you two to act civil.
* LadyMysteria *glares* at Haruko.
* Lady_MakeBelieve sighs. "I try to make a joke."
<LadyNightshade> So what, I get myself shot at, you guys hear it kill them and
me and everyone wins?
<LadyMysteria> You weren't joking before. Anyway, both of you... listen. We
are a *team*. This needs to stop, and it needs to stop now, or we're just
going to crash and burn horribly. And that means we all scatter back to our
little cells, rejects once again.
<LadyMysteria> ... you can be angry, but save it for your personal time.
<LadyNightshade> I'm not the one with the problem.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Look, I won't get into a "who started it" thing.  But I'm
not going to sit here and listen to her threaten my friends.
* Lord_Darkmoon mutters something too quiet for anyone but Taki and Mysteria -
sitting to either side of him - to make out.
* Lord_Darkmoon clears his throat.
<LadyMysteria> Fine, fine. Then don't make suggestions like you did, even in
jest.
<LadyMysteria> Understood?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> As long as she understands it too.
* Lady_MakeBelieve tosses her head in Taki's direction
<LadyMysteria> ... that does apply to you too, Taki. We're all going to have
to grin and bear it until this is done and over with.
* LadyNightshade doesn't even acknowledge that with a response.
<LadyMysteria> ... please. If only for the grand scheme of things.
* LadyMysteria exhales, and a lot of angry bleeds off of her. "We still need a
plan. Taki, I think we should see just how much attention you've garnered
before making any sudden actions."
<LadyNightshade> And how do we do that?
<Lord_Darkmoon> Make you accessible. But not in a quietly killable way.
<LadyNightshade> And how do we do _that_?
<Lord_Darkmoon> That is the question.
<Lord_Darkmoon> He's only seen you transformed, so we can't have you 'out and
about' with 'causal friends' too easily.
<LadyNightshade> Are we talking about me seriously playing a double agent?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Scrawl your name on a bathroom wall with the message "Call
for a double agent"
<LadyMysteria> That really is. And... the way things are looking, that may
well have to be the in-route for you, Taki.
* LadyNightshade gives MB a look.
* LadyMysteria patently ignores Haruko, but her eyebrow twitches.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Maybe, but I am not thinking it should last that long. We just
need them to want you to do something for them, or have some reason for you to
seek them out. Right now, you've no legitimate reason to warn them they've
been spotted; you've no reason to trust -them- enough, or to realize their the
same as that one guy who followed us.
<Secretary> Um... I think Sakura wanted this wrapped up faster than that.
Like tonight-fast.
<LadyMysteria> ... *tonight*?!
<LadyNightshade> The idea is that I want them to trust me.
<LadyNightshade> They have to believe I'm not just lying to them.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I don't think you can earn trust of someone who is an enemy
of your entire organization in 8 hours.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Indeed, you cannot. Not unless they're fools.
<LadyNightshade> The enemy of your enemy is your friend... That's why I
thought if I had a hostage...
<Lord_Darkmoon> No.
<Lord_Darkmoon> This can still work.
<LadyMysteria> We... why so little time? That's what I don't get.
<Secretary> Things are HAPPENING, Maya-sama.  The Queen spazzing out has put a
time limit on things, and Sakura is... pushing for as direct a resolution as
she can get.
* LadyMysteria eyes the Secretary... then sighs. "Then we're not going to have
much of a choice but to attempt a direct approach."
<LadyMysteria> This is not going to go well, I can feel it.
<Secretary> I've got a van here, and it's loaded with all your gear.
<LadyNightshade> It would be best if they came from the Palace and I came
from... somewhere else.
* Lord_Darkmoon holds up his hands in fists, save for index finger and thumbs
held at right angles to each other as he pretends to be looking through a
camera at Taki. "Here's your motivation. You know these guys are your last
chance to get 'out'. We're planning a massive assault to remove the base we've
discovered from our territory. You run, desperate, to warn them, to get them
out."
<Lord_Darkmoon> We come in, hot on your tail, a full fledged 'sneak attack'
that you've ratted out.
<LadyNightshade> Why would I know that?
<Lord_Darkmoon> You were supposed to lead one of the assaults.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Or take part in one.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> You could come in all roughed up, because they found out
you were planning on ratting us out, and we turned on you before you could
warn them.
<Lord_Darkmoon> After all, this is a major mobilization. They dared enter -our-
territory, and we're a bunch of arrogant kids.
<LadyNightshade> If I'm hiding from the palace than why would I know anything
they're doing?
<Secretary> Did you tell them you're hiding from the Palace?
<Lord_Darkmoon> ...you didn't say you told them you were hiding from the
palace. I thought you were trying to betray them.
<LadyNightshade> Yes. I said I went into hiding after the attack on the
school.
<Lord_Darkmoon> What, exactly, did you say to him?
* LadyMysteria leans forward, making sure she catches this.
<Secretary> Hmmm.
<LadyNightshade> I don't know if they know anything about orders, but if they
suspect anything like that, they'd know that I'd never try to contact the
Palace if I wanted to hide from it.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Did you say -why- you were supposedly hiding from the Palace?
<LadyNightshade> Because I believed what they had to say at the school.
<Secretary> In that case... maybe you don't even need to approach them.
<Secretary> We just need to make certain they see it happen.
<LadyNightshade> Why would I go anywhere near the Palace if not to see them?
<Lord_Darkmoon> We caught you.
<LadyNightshade> I thought the idea was that we were supposed to prompt their
attack.
<Lord_Darkmoon> We're bringing you in, and you try to make a break for it.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Feral eats you.
* Secretary goggles.
<LadyNightshade> What?
<LadyMysteria> ... gnah?!
<Lord_Darkmoon> You'd fit almost entirely in its mouth. You'll look quite
dead, with just a leg or two hanging out. We will, of course, need someone to
make sure they don't see when it drops you out of sight of their base a little
later.
<LadyNightshade> Didn't you almost kill a princess with that?
<Secretary> I, uh, also have some blood in the van.
<Lord_Darkmoon> If Make Believe can cause a fake leg to drop to the ground,
which Mysteria burns up in contempt....it could add to the realism.
<Secretary> For special effects.
* Lord_Darkmoon looks at Nightshade. "I -have- killed a princess with that."
<LadyNightshade> Just how sick do you intend to make this?
<Lord_Darkmoon> Enough to convince them that we are very much the monsters
they fear.
<LadyNightshade> It should look like you had no other choice, not that you're
killing me and desecrating my corpse.
<LadyMysteria> ...
<LadyMysteria> That would work, but... God.
<LadyNightshade> That'll only cause them to respond with more force.
* Lord_Darkmoon nods. "You'll beat me up a bit as I'm the only one who can
physically catch up. ...just...don't hurt Feral, and I promise it won't hurt
you. It's...gotten smarter, since the school."
<LadyNightshade> Just shoot me.
<Secretary> But... that's what we want.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I could probably make one, but I'm not sure how real it
would look.  You've seen the things I create.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Shooting you only wounds you. They'd know that.
* Lady_MakeBelieve holds out the vaguely translucent can of soda from before
* Lord_Darkmoon smiles at Haruko. "Ah, but this will be at night, from a
distance. It just needs to be good enough that they can't tell it's fake under
those conditions."
<LadyMysteria> They do know that by now. And shooting you more than once risks
actually killing you.
<Secretary> It'll be dark.  It just has to look realistic for a moment.
<LadyNightshade> And letting him eat me doesn't?
<LadyMysteria> If the beast is in control, you could probably fake it well
enough.
<LadyMysteria> ... probably.
<LadyNightshade> No!
* LadyMysteria mmmns. "Then what are our other options?"
* LadyNightshade sighs and rubs her temples.
<Lord_Darkmoon> I will -not- let it bite down. It will just carry you. That's
why we need a fake limb to drop.
<LadyNightshade> No.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Very well.
<Secretary> C'mon, Taki, live dangerously!
<LadyNightshade> You go in that thing's mouth!
<Secretary> Oh, I'd love for Lord Darkmoon to eat me.  *ducks*
<LadyMysteria> ... mn!
<Lady_MakeBelieve> What happened to "I'll do whatever you want me to to make
it better."
* LadyNightshade KICKS her under the table for that.
* LadyMysteria gives the Secretary a look.
<LadyNightshade> NO.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Or was that all just pretty words?
<Lord_Darkmoon> ... *actually blushes, even though he won't admit it*
<LadyNightshade> Shut the fuck up, Haruko.
<Secretary> Sorry, Maya-sama, sorry.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Should have known better than to trust anything you say.
<LadyMysteria> Haruko, if you can't contribute a solution or an alternative,
contribute nothing.
* LadyNightshade clenches her fists.
<LadyMysteria> ... Taki, lose the language. We have work to do.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> My solution is she does what she says and goes along with
the plan.
<LadyMysteria> And if she freaks out during it because of something she's not
telling us, it all goes down the tubes.
<LadyMysteria> No point in putting her through something she can't stomach to
the point where it ruins the entire matter. We can find an alternative.. we
just have to do it quickly.
* LadyMysteria returns to temple-rubbing.
<Secretary> Okay, if you're too scared to let Feral eat you, then how do you
want to die?
<LadyNightshade> How do we know he can even control it?
<Lord_Darkmoon> I said I could.
<LadyNightshade> How do you know?
<Lord_Darkmoon> It doesn't want to hurt you any more than do I.
<Secretary> Maybe you could have a trial run?
<LadyMysteria> ... that sounds off, for some reason.
* LadyMysteria cocks her head to the side.
<LadyNightshade> Can't... Can't Maya shoot me with her beam thing or
something? She's good enough to make sure it hits a spot that doesn't kill me.
All I have to do is play dead.
<Lord_Darkmoon> I fear that would be...unconvincing. They may believe the
fighting was real, but they will also assume you still live.
<LadyMysteria> I'm rather accurate, but... well, the Star Gun is a killing
tool. We could do it, but...
<LadyNightshade> Why would they?
<LadyNightshade> You're attacking one of your own right in front of them.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Because people shot in most places don't die very quickly.
<LadyNightshade> Like you'd know.
<LadyNightshade> We have the blood.
<Lord_Darkmoon> They would likely, if the bought the act, assume that we
merely subdued you once again.
<LadyNightshade> We can make it look worse than it is.
<Lord_Darkmoon> They know we heal.
<LadyNightshade> Do they?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> NS: It's in the papers all the time. "So and so was shot,
and died 10 hours later in the hospital"
<Lady_MakeBelieve> You don't see a lot of "Was found dead on the scene"
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Unless they got shot a lot, or in the head or something.
<LadyMysteria> ... either Feral, or I will up and shoot you if I must. We have
to do *something*.
<LadyMysteria> Of course, the thought of actually hurting you makes me a bit
ill.
<LadyNightshade> They're not going to be close enough to see where I'm shot.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Why would they assume you were dead though.
<Secretary> What if they have binoculars?
<Lady_MakeBelieve> If the odds don't favor it...
<Lord_Darkmoon> The likely have binoculars, and better.
<LadyNightshade> Goddamn it, so I have to get eaten?
<LadyNightshade> Will that make you all happy?
<Lord_Darkmoon> ...Haruko? Can you make animate mannequins?
<LadyMysteria> Well... it looks like.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> I can't animate anything.
<Lord_Darkmoon> We could beat up one of those all we liked. --drat.
<Lord_Darkmoon> We might still manage to switch Nightshade for a dummy,
though, at the last second.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> And actual animate mannequins would probably be too big for
me to make anyway.
<Lord_Darkmoon> Then Nightshade vanishes, the dummy is massacred, and the rest
of us--damn.
<LadyNightshade> So what if I'm on the ground after I'm shot, then you all
walk up and obscure their view and make it look like you finished me off?
Shoot the ground next to my head then carry my body off before they have a
chance to see what actually happened?
<LadyMysteria> If they have the proper angle, that doesn't work. It's an idea.
* LadyNightshade doesn't sound scared, no...
<Lord_Darkmoon> Why would we finish you off, though, except in the heat of the
moment?
<LadyNightshade> That's why we know where they are ahead of time.
<LadyNightshade> Why are you killing me anyway?
<Secretary> Okay so... hmm.  The house location would work better for this
sort of plan.
<LadyNightshade> Let them figure it out,.
<Secretary> What if you burst out of the van, run away, the others run you
down and... *hand-waving*
<LadyNightshade> That's what I was thinking.
<LadyMysteria> You have a good idea going, Secretary-san.
<LadyNightshade> Maya star guns me to stop me.
<LadyNightshade> And while you're all around me Haruko can make a sheet or
something to put over me so then they can't see my body anyway.
<Lady_MakeBelieve> Why would I do that?
<Secretary> ...it has to be convincing, especially if the watchers aren't busy
with combat themselves.
<Secretary> And wow, would Feral eating you be convincing.
<LadyNightshade> Because you're gonna be walking down the street carrying a
dead body?
<LadyMysteria> I can hit you, but it should definitely hurt. It's mostly heat.
And Feral... I hate to say it, but it's the most convincing, but you don't
like the idea. Meh... I can do the gundown thing if need be.
<LadyNightshade> Fine! Eat me.
<Lord_Darkmoon> ...
<LadyNightshade> But if you kill me I'm never going to forgive you.
* LadyNightshade would almost sound like she was joking if her voice didn't
just shake a bit from that.
<Ked> A waitress passes by and hears Taki's exclamation.  She blinks, and
grins.  "Do you want your check now?"
<Lord_Darkmoon> Please. *voice unreadable*
<LadyMysteria> ...
* LadyMysteria just sort of blinks.
* LadyNightshade tosses the wad of cash Sakura left at the waitress.
<LadyNightshade> Yeah, leave us alone.
<Ked> The waitress does just that.
<Ked> [end session]
Session Close: Sat Jan 14 19:33:30 2006