[Day: Monday, December 21. Time: 3:30 p.m.] [Keiko and Luana are chillin' in the Rec. Room with Sebastian and Zarina while they await word from their guardians on what the situation is. In case you forgot, Roseli and Karin were driving through town when a bomb blew up, and you captured two suspects. When you got back, Lydia called in all the guardians for a debriefing. The results of that will be forthcoming soonish. Probably.] [Session Start!] (...we might be having more family visiting in a bit. ^^;) (._.) ( .... >.< How long? ) (Well, it's not an issue now. And it's a maybe. And since it IS my last weekend... ^^;) ( orz man. ) ( You gonna be able to play? If not, we'll have to wait for Ard. ) (For now, I'm fine. I don't want to cancel it on a maybe. But if they do show, I'll let you know.) ( Ok ) * Keiko is chillin'? Sweet. She chillin'. She's nearer Zarina, whatever she's doing, since she's around, and seems pleased with herself. * Luana is sitting on the couch and watching tv. Her posture is very stiff, and she seems to be concentrating on things that aren't Zarina and Sebastian. [Zarina is also watching TV. Everyone's watching TV! Except Sebastian. He's building some mechanical thing. ] [The TV is currently advertising the new Emperor gaming console. On sale today!] (Wall of Fiiiiiiiire) * Keiko will be watching TV too! But she'll lean on the couch's back over peoples' shoulders instead. The duck is being held atop her head. [It shows clips from a photo-realistic 3rd-person Kirby game. Kirby: Crystal Road. Zarina beams. "Wow! I want one of those."] * Keiko glances over at her and smiles faintly. "I thought you would." [The TV then advertises a new Hamburger. The "Triple Decker". You can use your imagination for that one.] [Zarina nods. "They say it's going to be the biggest gaming console for the next ten years."] (And we're in Germany! So they may actually come from Hamburg!) (BUR-GER) ["Limited time only! Get 3 pretzels when you buy a Somy Camcorder!"] * Keiko tilts her head, then asks, "Who says?" [Zarina shrugs. "You know. 'They'."] * Keiko looks back to the TV. "I don't think I trust They. They sound shifty." A slight side-glance down to Luana. [For once, Zarina's not in her leotard. But her civilan clothes aren't much better: Skimpy shorts and a strapless top. And this is winter.] * Luana looks somewhat smaller, younger, by about two or three years. Her clothes are big on her. * Heinrick enters into the Rec Room. He's here to spoil everyone's party! Muahaha. Well, he doesn't look it. He's got his general scientist/detective/authoritative appearance going on here. * Luana looks up at him hopefully and her appearance suddenly goes back to normal. "Hello, sir. Any news?" * Keiko thinks at Luana, ~You were looking as nervous as you felt for a second there, Luana.~ * Heinrick looks to Luana for a moment, only starting momentarily at her new appearance. "About?" [The TV goes back to... oh, the news. "Hi, I'm Herman Bachmann. Tonight's headlines: United States President Alan Carradine angers the U.S. congress. How? By paying off a great portion of the national debt."] ~I, I what!?~ * Luana is starting to look nervous again. "I... I'm sorry, sir, I was under the impression that you were being debriefed, but I guess I was mistaken..." * Keiko maintains her smile as she runs a finger along her collar. ~You'd... changed young.~ ["Then: Fighting in Bosnia. Next, conflict in the Middle East."] ["And finally, dog still in a tree."] * Heinrick shakes his head slowly. "You were not. But I'd always like to make certain if there was something...specific you had in mind first." He clears his throat. "Actually, we've been put in charge of interrogating the passenger of the car." ~Oh... I hope I've never done that before. I have to make sure it doesn't happen again... although it does mean my control's getting more instinctive....~ * Keiko perks up and looks over her shoulder, duck floating into her arms. "We are?" * Heinrick nods curtly. "Actually, Ms. Tavares was interrogating the driver earlier. We're still awaiting her report." He turns to Luana. "There is still that matter to discuss with you as well..." He glances at Keiko. "Actually, I do not think it'd be a problem if you both knew about it. So if you'll meet me in my office shortly..." * Heinrick starts to walk off out of the rec room. But they can probably still get a word in if they talk fast. * Keiko is still smiling, although the smile fades slightly when he wants them to both be in his office. * Luana stands and, after a quick, nervous glance towards Zarina and Sebastian, follows him out. [Sebastian glances up, but quickly looks back down again.] * Keiko waves at Zarina, saying with a smile, "See you later," before she follows after Luana, thinking, ~More instinctive? It wasn't before?~ [Zarina waves.] [Shortly, you're at Heinrick's.] ~It was somewhat, but just on a small scale. De-aging myself without thinking about it is a bit bigger than making my eyes darker when I'm upset.~ * Heinrick is already sitting at his desk when they enter. He looks up and smiles slightly. "If you would shut the door and take a seat..." He gestures to the seats before them. Keiko's probably gone through this procedure enough times before. * Luana does so on both counts. * Keiko heads into his office too. Hey, Luana shuts the door! Saved effort. ~That's funny. I'm kinda supposed to be learning the other way.~ She takes a seat too, resting the duck on her lap. [* it's not actually funny] (My sense of humor is my own!) * Heinrick takes off his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose before letting out a slow breath and standing. "First of all, I have some rather unfortunate news. Control asked me to involve you in the decision, however, Ms. Hall, which is why you are here." * Luana nods slowly. * Keiko pets her duck quietly and waits. * Heinrick puts his glasses back on and starts pacing. "Your guardian, Dr. Kerner, has officially tendered his resignation." * Luana inhales sharply, then breathes out more slowly after a moment. "But... but why? Why didn't he tell me?" * Heinrick gauges her reaction but replies rather impassively. "That, I cannot tell you. I am only going by the information that Control has given me." She did say that he did not wish to discuss his reasons for leaving, however, so anything I tell you would be mere speculation. * Luana folds her hands in her lap and lowers her head. After a moment, she says slowly, "Yes, sir. Thank you for informing me, sir." * Keiko flinches at the revelation, and gripts her duck tighter. She thinks at Luana softly, ~Luana, don't...~ * Luana sniffs and wipes away a few tears. Without looking up, she asks, "Is there anything else, sir?" * Heinrick nods. "At current, they have no replacement guardian in line. They are currently trying to find a replacement, whether their methods...well, that is not important. What it does put you in is a position to choose, however. I had wished Ms. Tavares had been here as well to discuss this but I felt it was a matter that could not wait any longer." * Keiko grits her teeth and shudders, squeezing her eyes shut as Luana sniffs and wipes. "Choose?" she asks Heinrick. So you can choose which of us you would prefer to have as your guardian. Or....you may have us both have an equal share. Personally, I see you as part of the team more than either one of ours. But if you have a preference, now would be the time to voice it. It wouldn't be an...official connection. They wouldn't bond you to us in the same way that you were to Dr. Kerner. In essense, nothing would be different about how it has been operating lately. * Luana breathes deeply. "I... may I..." She shakes her head and looks up. "Sir. I would prefer to be... to be trained by both of you, if you have the time for it." * Heinrick nods. "I will discuss the matter with Roseli. Although, I am sure she would have no objections over that. I, personally, have no objections either." * Heinrick takes in a deep breath. "If you would like some...time to allow the information to sink in, I'll allow it. You may join us for the interrogation if you wish, but I will not order it." * Luana has stopped crying for now, and she finishes wiping her eyes. "Thank you, sir. I'd like to attend the interrogation." * Keiko bites her own lip and looks between the two of them, before thinking at Luana, ~You... decided quickly.~ * Luana thinks bitterly, ~I'm less likely to be hurt again if I spread my trust across two people, aren't I?~ * Heinrick bows his head slightly, his face expressionless. "I'll respect your decision then. I'll meet you down in the interrogation rooms. Take your time." * Heinrick makes his way out. * Luana buries her face in her hands and breathes deeply. "Why would he do that? Why does....?" She looks up at Keiko. "What's wrong with me?" (And gotta go out for dinner makings stuff. So really! Take your time!) * Keiko laughs , not quite equally bitterly, at Luana's response, but waits for Heinrick to leave before she thinks back, ~Luana, I'm... sorry. I...~ and then she outbursts. (Hee) Keiko. Keiko, am I not good enough? * Keiko reaches up from her duck weakly, her hand shaking as she reaches out towards Luana. "Luana, nothing... nothing's wrong with you. At least, that's not wrong with the rest of us." Her eyes are actually shimmery, as if she's on the verge of tears as well. I thought someone finally wanted me. My parents didn't want me, the rest of my family tossed me aside... what can I.... (Okay, so. Quick heads up. Family just did show up before we left. :/) ( orz ) (Sorry about this. If Ard shows up, you can have Heinrick called to another briefing or something.) ( Aight. You guys, um, talk or something til then. ) (Is she going to show up at a certain time?) * Keiko flinches visibly again, and then grits her teeth and says, "No." She stands up, with a bit more confidence, and walks over to Luana, standing in front of her. She looks down to her and says in a quiet tone, "Luana, I... I want you. Here. You're too good to..." she trails off, then finishes quietly, "Remember the flower?" ( Supposedly 9:30 CST. Whcih was 15 mins ago. ) (Sadly, that wasn't meant to come out like it did. But Luana's the one who used want!) * Luana looks up at her. "Um... kind of? I think." More deep breathing. "Blitzkrieg still needs me, or they'd throw me away too. And you want me here, you... you said so." * Keiko crouches to eye level as she reaches out to grip her hand. ~I don't know what's wrong with your former guardian, but he... he doesn't matter.~ As she maintains contact with Luana, her fascade of calm breaks and she sniffles in sadness. ~A lot of people suck. Dont... don't let the bad ones define you.~ I have to be stronger, don't I? I'm needed. It'll just keep happening, over and over, unless I can be strong enough. * Keiko swallows, then tilts her head a moment, saying out loud, "Luana... it hurts. I know it hurts. That's... not a bad thing. But you don't... don't deserve it." * Luana 's voice is much quieter as she says, "Keiko..." After a moment, she looks Keiko in the eyes. "I'm fairly certain I killed me parents." (*my) * Keiko is silent in response, mentally and physically, as she squeezes Luana's hand just slightly, a little awkwardly. Then she thinks quietly, ~The... idea had crossed my mind. From the flames. You... you didn't know. an accident.~ They were arguing. Dad cheated on my mom. The woman was there too... I remember that she was pretty. *** Roseli (ardweden@c-24-15-245-98.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined channel #mc4 (Sorry! Traffic!) (Hey there Ard!) ( Huzzah! We can do something now! ) (HOORAYE. I'm really sorry about that.) ( You guys finish talking so we can get this shoe on the road. ) (Class went long and then there was traffic and then etc.) *** Syzix (zegon@c-24-15-245-98.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined channel #mc4 ( Ehh... It wouldn't have been so bad if Heinrick didn't take off, too. But he did, so we had to wait for a guardian. :P ) *** Syzix is now known as Te *** Te is now known as Ten * Luana shakes her head. "We have to get to the interrogation, come on." She gets up and heads out. (No more angst for now!) *** Hotaru (zegon@c-24-15-245-98.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined channel #mc4 (LOTS OF PEOPLE. :O) (They're coming for you.) * Keiko starts to say something outloud, but then suddenly Luana stands up! She almost gets knocked over, from her crouching position, but then her hand grips Heinrick's desk and she steadies herself. She stands up slowly, after that, and stares after her, petting her duck. * Keiko then shakes her head firmly and drifts after Luana, with far less purpose in her stride. (And now we're... heading way downstairs!) (And while Brett figures out how that works, Cham kicks me out. Boo. *** Signoff: Keiko (Quit: Zoom?) (I'll be fifteen minutes, Mom is ganking the computer.) ( D:! ) ( /twiddles thumbs ) (My thumbs don't work!) ( orz... ) (Oh norz.) [Meanwhile, a guy flies a plane. Er, somewhere.] *** Mechalink (Mechalink@ip68-13-21-94.om.om.cox.net) has joined channel #mc4 *** Mechalink is now known as Keiko (SWEET. PLANES.) (Were there snakes on it?) (Snakes are required hardware.) [Hurray! Ok. Keiko heads down to the basement. Luana has to get something or do something first, so she doesn't go with. Waiting outside the interrogation room is NOT Heinrick, actually Roseli. Ten was there, too.] (I am so totally there! Like wow! Wait, wrong Ten.) (GRR. I HATE PEOPLE. WORSHIP ME. There, that's more like it.) (Yes!) ( Ten vs. Ten would be soooooooo... something. ) (So breaking my head for having to play three insane people at the same time) * Keiko seems shaken... for reasons which are thorughly unclear to the other two. She's petting her duck. She slowly blinks at them, then says, also slowly, "Heinrick already inside?" * Roseli is leaning against the wall, one foot against said wall and arms folded. She shakes her head at Keiko. ( He had to go. His home planet needed him. ) * Hotaru stands stiffly beside her holding Ten and her tray. * Keiko nods slowly, and is quiet. She says, after a moment, "No Luana either." * Luana gets there too! "Sorry I'm late." (I have return-ed!) (Ha.) ( Hurray! ) (Surprise, right behind you!) Luana, good. Heinrick's busy, so it's us. * Roseli stops her leaning and goes about opening the door to the interrogation room. Hooray! * Keiko looks over her shoulder, surprised a moment, then looks back forward. She responds to Rose's question with, "... changed his mind, huh." Looks like. * Roseli gestures for the girls to enter. * Luana heads in with a stoic expression. * Hotaru follows after her roommate. * Keiko falls in after her, still petting the duck. * Roseli enters last. Girl power? [Inside the room is the bomber. He's maybe mid-thirties, mostly bald, with a crescent moon of brown hair. His eyes are beedy, his nose is pudgy, and he probably won't be a recurring character.] (MC4 is Bewbs ONRLY) (We haven't had many female captives.) (We're 0 for 3.) ( Oh snap, uh, ok. ) [Retcon! Actually you didn't capture that guy. The real bomber was a hawt chick in a bikini.] (c.c;) (I can't remember. Is this the one that we captured or Rose captured?) (I think it's ours.) [And the driver was another hawt chick, also in a bikini ( It's yours. Rose got the driver. ) ( Bikini's are the fashion rave in Germany these days. Especially in winter. ) (Oh yeah. Fashion sense and common sense, combine! And then go elsewhere!) (Clearly Ten2 took it all with her.) * Keiko manages to give the captive a faint grin before saying softly, "Good to see you again." ( Also, most of 21a is missing D: ) [All he says is, "I want to talk to my lawyer."] ( Especially, the part of 21a with this guy's name. ) * Roseli closes the door behind her. "Can't do that for you." (Omar?) * Ten tilts her head. ( I dunno >.> ) ( He actually had a first and last name. ) (He can have a new one!) ["I've got a right to have a lawyer."] (Fixed.) * Roseli raises an eyebrow. "Thought of that when you bombed that building?" ( Aight, his name is Otis Kappa. ) ( I mean Otis Kappel ) (Right, thankee.) ["I won't say anything without my lawyer."] I'm sorry, you seem to under the mistaken impression that you still have rights. * Keiko just hangs back, petting her duck. (Nrg. I'm sorry if I'm subpar this session, but that drive seems to have made me VERY tired. I almost fell a-Z here.) ( D:!!!!!!!!!!! ) (*cry*) ( I guess this session's going to be shorter than anticipated >.> ) (Sorry, traffic had some bad spots. There was this one semi that held us up for, like, ten minutes while it tried to cut across three lanes to get to the iPass lanes) * Keiko says, quietly, "You're really caught on that lawyer thing." * Luana smiles slightly at the bomber and lets her eyes turn red. ["And I'm not speaking until I get one!"] * Keiko replies, still quiet, 'Why not? You're speaking now." You keep saying that like you have a choice. ["You can't force me to talk."] * Roseli smirks. "Of course not. Keiko?" * Keiko smiles a bit more, and reaches out to his mind with mind control, tenatively, while she continues quietly, "Is talking so bad, really? I wanna talk. Let's talk." 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keiko (2d8-3) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 7. (Make by 3.) [He considers. "Okay, what do you want to talk about?"] (I think Rose just fell off) ( Fell off what? >.> ) *** Rose (ardweden@c-24-15-245-98.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined channel #mc4 ( Oh. ) (the interwubs) (Recapped.) * Rose smiles at Keiko, then turns the smile to the man. "Let's talk about you. Your name's Otis Kappel?" ["Yeah, that's me."] What do you do, Otis? *** Signoff: Roseli (Ping timeout) * Keiko smiles a little at the man, too, but not at Rose. She continues to pet the duck softly. *** Rose is now known as Roseli ["I'm a hitman. People pay me to kill other people. I'm not one for guns, but I'm pretty good at making homemade bombs, you know?"] You are. Pretty impressive. Who were you trying to kill last? * Keiko thinks at Luana, while petting her duck, ~You do the red eye thing on purpose?~ ["I dunno. Some reporter guy." He taps his head. "Paul. Paul Bachmann was his name.] * Luana sighs quietly. ~I wanted to be sort of intimidating. I don't think I'm any good at that without a gun.~ She lets her eyes go back to normal. Yeah? And who wanted to kill Paul? (I'm evil! HAVE A PIZZA!) [He smiles. "Well, that's..." Then his smile vanishes, and he shakes his head. "No... No, can't tell you that."] Why not, Otis? * Keiko 's smile gets more eerie. ~They just don't know you well enough.~ She then frowns at him holding back. ["Because, he'll kill my mother if he finds out I talked. Adn you wouldn't believe me if I told you who it was, anyhow."] * Roseli unwraps a stick of gum and pops it into her mouth. "You'd be surprised by what I believe." Your mother's with him now? ["No, but she doesn't know what I do for a living. She's innocent. I don't want her to get hurt."] I see. * Ten tilts her head the other way. But you don't need to worry about him finding out you talked. Gum? (Rose bribes everybody with food!) * Roseli offers him a stick. (She semi-regularly offers people gum, since she's a habitual chewer.) [He blinks. "How you figure?"] I have it on good authority. * Roseli snaps her gum and withdraws the package, since he didn't take one. "If you like, we can protect your mother." [He frowns. "No... No, he'll know if he wants to. He's got a lot of influence."] Oh? What kind? ["Any kind." He looks nervous. "I've said too much."] * Keiko adds, quietly, since he's still MCed, "We have lots of influence too. You should tell her... before the guy gets nervous." [He frowns. "Can you really protect my mother?"] * Keiko moves a bit closer to Rose, in a very idle, unintentional manner. * Roseli nods. "Give me her name and we'll do everything we can." ( orz. Uhhh ) ["Gertrude. Gertrude Kappel. She lives in Frankfurt."] ( o/~ ) (I can't do everything we can!) ( Someone ought to do something. ) (Sorry, this whole kindness thing has blown my minds.) * Roseli nods. "All right." She contacts control, which should be more than easy to do from there: "We need undercover surveillance and protection for Otis Kappel's mother - Gertrude Kappel, in Frankfurt, ASAP." That done, she looks to Otis. [Otis looks back.] * Keiko , after Rose does that, steps closer to him too as she says, softly and invitingly, "Now... can you tell us who we're protecting her from...? That would be very helpful..." (The word 'coos' comes to mind.) ["You're not gonna believe me."] (Tell usssssssss) Try me. You would be amaized by some of the things that we can belive in. (s/amaized/amazed (it's not corn), and belive/believe) (Although the image of the guy turning into corn by learning what we believe in is hilarious.) ('MUTANT FREAKS ARE AMONG YOU' *corned*) [He shrugs. "It's Hector Cayil." And you can gimme, ohhh... cultural arts rolls, I guess.] 2d8-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Luana (2d8-1) and gets a natural 13 for a result of 12. (Ah well) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Roseli (2d8) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 10. (Spot on.) 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keiko (2d8-2) and gets a natural 12 for a result of 10. (... Bare make!) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2d8) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. (Made by 2) (I hate-a you all) [Hector Cayil's name is probably known to most of you. Back in the late 50s- early 60s, he was a huge pop star and movie actor. Even Luana's heard of him. What she hasn't heard, though, that the rest of you have is:] (It's a you, Luana-o?) (Spoiler Alert: The princess is in another castle! :o) (BOWSER IS THE LAST BOSS OF SUPER MARIO BROTHERS) [He's a White South African who was taken in by the parents of the German Chancellor, Wolfgang Bauer. They've been close friends for years, and it's thanks to Bauer's connections that Cayil got his start. After his singing career ended, Cayil worked for non-for-profit organizations aimed at restoring the environment, and became a proponent against violence.] [And most recently, he started his own hardware company: Cayiltech.] ( And gimme a gaming (video games) roll! ) (How's that company been doing? Aha.) ( Except Luana ) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Roseli (2d8) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 3. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Keiko (2d8-2) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 6. (Made by seven. GO RANDOM.) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2d8) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 8. (I so know my games.) (I uh, must have heard of it somewhere) [Cayiltech is the company behind the production of the Emperor, that ub3r console I've been describing in dumb TV adds the past few sessions.] ( You want any more information than that, you're gonna have to look it up :P ) * Keiko blinks, broken out of her slightly creepie reverie, then thinks her joke at the only person she can, Luana. ~... Zarina's not gonna be happy.~ ~Hm? Why?~ That's interesting. Did he say why he wanted Paul killed? ["Nope. And with five million Euros staring me in the face, I knew better than to ask."] * Keiko replies, mentally, as she fingers her collar, ~His company is the one making the Emperor console. Maybe that game'll get ported after all.~ * Roseli nods. "How did he arrange this?" ~Oh, that part would be nice.~ How did he contact you, arrange payment, discuss terms, and such? ["By phone. It was an unlisted number, so hey, maybe it wasn't THE Hector Cayil. But that was an awful lot of money."] I see. And how were you going to collect your money? (A bit of a bummer after all that buildup. I was thinking maybe Dracula had comissioned him or something.) ["The usual. He'd transfer the funds to my bank account in Zurich after the job was complete."] (He was comissioned by Elvis.) ( Cayil's as popular as Elvis, if not more so! ) And when did he commission you? ["Just yesterday moring. He provided the address, so all I had to do was build the bomb and convince my buddy Roth to be the getaway driver."] Nice of him. [He grins. "Most professionals would need more time, to get 'real' explosives. But those losers just don't know how to properly make a homemade bomb."] ["I can do it in a couple of hours, tops."] * Roseli considers this, then nods. She turns to the girls. "Hotaru, check for any and all information on Hector Cayil and Cayiltech. Luana, I want you to look up Paul Bachmann. Basic information, along with anything he's written recently, especially in relation to Cyril and anything that has to do with him." ( Cayil ) (Yeah, him.) (Sorry, v. tired.) * Ten nods. "As you wish it." ( orzzzzzz ) * Keiko thinks at Luana, ~The captive thinks that's really likely.~ Yes, ma'am. ~Should make my work easier, then. Thanks.~ * Roseli goes back to paying attention to Otis. "You have a lot of pride in your work. How did you get started?" (It's pretty much small talk from here, unless he says something particularly interesting.) * Keiko smiles a bit to herself, wanly. ~Sure. Means you'll have a good chance of being useful, right?~ ["Eh... I was kind of a deliquent in school. Got suspended a lot, which left me with a lot of free time to experiment. So I started mixing stuff around the house, and found out some compounds can explode."] (A hands on sort!) Nice. So it's natural talent. ["Then I looked up some recipes on the internet, and as I read them, I thought, 'Meh, I can do better than that.' So I started working that."] [He nods. "Yeah."] ( Waiting for Ten and Luana to do stuff :P ) Any experiments go wrong? (Sorry) * Luana murmurs, "Excuse me," and heads out to do research. ["Oh, sure. But I always practiced in deserted areas, so I never got caught. Never hurt anyone, either. At least, not until people started noticing."] That had to be messy. ( Luana, into #Research ) ( +log ) * Hotaru follows Luana out to do the searching. ["Yeah, well..." He sighs. "I didn't want to hurt anyone, you know? But mom and I were always so poor, and they offered so much money...."] * Keiko is still here! She turns her eyes now, to the guy. He's the only one left in the room she can mentally interact with! Poor him. So you took the money. Killing got pretty easy? ["Yeah. As long as I don't think too much about the person I'm killing, it's not too hard."] [End here too!]