[Day: Friday, Oct. 27th. Time 3:00 p.m.] [You gather at your headquarters, just because it's more convenient than hanging out at Herman's apartment. Jacqueline and Claire are there, too, to discuss the situation in the Byzantine Empire. And yes, Ashley. You and Lukas can still be drunk. Guess Togo holds his liquor better.] [S'alright? S'alright. Session Start] (I had 6 pints in session and prly more out! WOO) (Ashley's beer intake has more volume than I do!) (I only had an Irish coffee. I'm not drunk. :P) (Lukas was staying away from drunk. He finds it a bad place to be.) * Ashley is lounging in a hammock hanging from thin air, dressed in a pirate outfit. He's idly sipping from a bottle clearly marked "GROG". * Lukas looks a bit haggard. S'what happens when you don't get to go home. He runs a hand back through his hair. * Alys is sitting in the corner with a Japanese book and a pencil. She keeps switching between reading and making notes in the book. Her hair is in a bunch of little ponytails held in place by the colored rubber bands that are usually on her arm. Arrrrrrr. * Togo holds his liquor very well, thankyouverymuch. In fact, he's currently reloading the revolver barrel attachment for his shotgun. * Ten looks just the opposite of Lukas and even managed to change out her clothes again. Black with burgundy trim. She's also sitting on a table with the vacant look she gets when she's playing games online. * Togo looks up at Claire and Jacky. "So you two were going to look into getting us into the Byzantine Empire? Would that be before or after Halloween?" * Herman walks in, *not* drunk, freshly showered, and clean-shaven. It's a whole new Herman! No, wait, he's still wearing leather and old clothes, still has a pipe, and his hair's still gelled into spikes. Never mind. (RAWK.) * Herman eyes Ashley. "Avast?" (NOT drunk? Pfft. Time to ignore this session.) [Jacqueline is sitting in a seat playing some kinda puzzle game. Claire does the talking, "Before. As to how, I still think you'd be able to take a public flight in, as long as you were discreet about not announcing yourselves to Mitsuji and the others.] Yarr, if ye must. * Khalil lounges on the couch, looking about uneasily. He doesn't have a study book today and can't seem to sit quite still. * Togo frowns. "That could leave us out of town for Halloween. Can Interpol get some people in to cover for us?" [Jacqueline raises a hand. "I'll do it." She doesn't look up, and continues to play with her other hand.] Is that really part of our...*tries to think of a word but fails and settles for* area? * Lukas snorts. "No." Then why are we worried about it? * Khalil looks at Togo and revises. "Why is *he* worried about it?" [Claire frowns a little. "I don't know if that's a good idea." She looks over at Togo. "Interpol technically does have clearance to operate in England, although since they were involved with HESO until just recently, we haven't had anyone stationed here."] We're pretty much the most organized group trying to contain paranormals in England nowadays... which is pretty fucking sad, granted, but still... we've got a responsibility. If you want us to investigate Mariah and Sarah and company, fine. But someone's gotta make sure things don't get out of hand around here. Good lord, ye swab. * Lukas smirks and glances to Herman lazily. "Fuckin' sad, yah?" Tis not like London fair has not weathered such a storm in yer absence. [Claire nods. "Understandable. But I'm wary about sending you into the Byzantine Empire alone."] * Khalil stares at Togo. "Wait. We are the most what again? [Jacqueline does look up this time. "They wouldn't be alone. You could- " Claire cuts her off with a quick, "No. I'm not leaving you to handle everything alone."] * Herman grins a little at Lukas. "Pretty fuckin' sad." He grabs a chair next to him and turns it backwards before having a seat. * Lukas grins back and then rubs one of his temples. "Yeah. Longest rip-off I've ever been in, too. Shit, this isn't even worth a half-mil, and nobody here's getting that." Ye possess insufficient booty! * Herman props his pipe against his chair, then leans his arms on the back. "C'mon, Ashley, you'd do him if you got half a chance." ... arr, 'struth. * Lukas chuckles and says, leaning back in his chair slightly. "S'nice to be wanted." Does that mean ye'll be me cabin swabbie? I'm gonna take a wild stab at what the fuck you meant and say 'no'. Awwwww. * Togo grins at Claire. "If we're going to go in there and, with a subtlety none of us actually possess, figure out if they're planning to summon Lucifer, I think bringing random backup might set off suspicions." * Lukas protests, "Hey, don't lump me in with that." * Khalil looks at Togo for a minute. "You are speaking of yourself, yesno?" [Claire nods. "That's true, but... theoretically, Justinius has the entire Byzantine army at his disposal."] And a turban. ["Are you sure you can handle it?"] 'tis a bloody fine turban. [Jacqueline grins. "I always liked the turban."] * Lukas leans forward and protests, "Hey, hey, I didn't sign up for taking down an army. I'm not that sort of hacker." * Alys doesn't look up from her book. "We can always just kick him in the shins." If we can't draw them out, the only option, if we're gonna do this, is to go in. And it's not like we can sneak in the 82nd Airborne. Well, we could. [Claire shrugs. "Well, it's only in theory. Chances are he just has a few hand picked soldiers at his disposal instead. The summoning ritual isn't something you'd want to advertise."] You're murderers. Level the whole fucking country to save the world. [Claire eyes Lukas.] * Togo looks at Claire. "You're sure there's a mole in the group? That there's someone in the group who isn't ready to go along with what you say is going on?" ( Sounds like Lukas has a case of the Mondays! *runs* ) (Ha.) * Herman blinks at Lukas. "Uh. When were they talking about taking out a whole country?" (Monday monkey lives for the weekend, sir.) (I LOVE FOR THE MONKEY WEEKEND) * Lukas shrugs. "They want to do the save the world thing, there's your fucking solution. I think it's crap, but we don't have the firepower for this, pure and fucking simple." ["That's not acceptable."] ... Look, we're at least even. Maybe *you're* not, but I want to talk to Sarah before she's blown up, or whatever the hell. In person. * Lukas glances to Herman and shrugs. "Sounds rational to me, but we're not going on rational here, are we?" He rolls his eyes and then closes them. * Rowyn has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) [Claire glares at Herman. "We won't be blowing ANYONE up!" She turns back to Lukas. "As for you, what the hell is your problem, you self-centered bastard?!"] Steady as she goes, lass! [Jacqueline shuts off her game. "Uh oh."] * Lukas smirks and looks at Clare. "You're the omega-class mutant here, kiddo, you tell me. We're not a strike force. Togo's a strike force. We're infiltration. We don't slit throats, and especially not just because you say so. We don't fight off armies either." * Alys rests her book on her lap and watches what's going on. ["Nobody told you to fight an army, you moron."] * Lukas rolls his eyes. "What likely worst case scenario fantasy book have you been reading?" [Claire clenches her fists, then takes a deep breath. "This isn't...." She turns to Togo. "This isn't going to work out. Evidently not everyone in your group understands -- or cares -- how desperate the situation is."] * Alys has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) [Jacqueline stands up. "Claire..."] * Lukas snorts and stands himself, snapping, "If it's desperate, put something the fuck forward. You call me self centered, but you're not doing a damn thing to help." You're just ordering us around and telling us to solve your shit for us. You're the goddamn super-secret fucking organization. We should not have to have the balls in the relationship. [Claire turns to Lukas "I wouldn't have asked for your help if we didn't need it. Believe me, I wouldn't. But if you were paying attention, you'd have heard me when I said Justinius probably has people everywhere in the Empire looking for Jacqueline and myself, as well as anyone else from Interpol."] (...) ( *Eyes Claire and Jackie* Actually, by basic physiology, we'd have to be the ones with the balls, Lukas. ) ["I thought maybe you could help, since he wouldn't be expecting you, but evidently that's too much work and too much danger for the likes of you."] ["If nothing else, one thing's for certain: We can't leave such a delicate operation in your hands."] * Herman seems to ponder this, then shrugs to himself. "I'll go." Ditto. S'a fucking lousy situation, options-wise... but when the hell isn't it? If Claire's wrong, we feel pretty silly. If she's not, we stop Lucifer from bringing hell to earth and all that jazz. * Ashley lolls in the hammock. I want to see Xuan and find out how good my Japanese is and how she's doing and if she can visit. Unless she's being evil, but I still really doubt that. We make up some cover story about how we need their help with something. Ask them to come back to England. If Claire's right about them, they'll refuse. If they do, we ask to meet them there. * Lukas says bitterly, "And then we die to the entire Byzantine army." If they're right, this is flat out suicide. There is no way out. * Togo eyes Herman. "What's the range limit on your teleportation?" [Claire eyes Lukas, then shakes her head. "Forget it. Maybe...." She considers. "Maybe HESO can send a team in." She draws a cell phone, like a sword! Only not.] Wow, the pessimism is so very not hereditary. Cheer up! Don't exactly have one, but I haven't been there. * Togo grabs the cell phone from Claire. "Stop throwing a hissy fit. We're talking this through." * Lukas glances to Alys, then shakes his head. "Basic law. You don't go in if you can't get out. Herman's not an instant solution, and these people know every single thing we can do." [She eyes Lukas again, then back to Togo. "Are you?"] *nods at Herman* So if we were there, could you teleport us out of there? To, say, somewhere back in Europe? Maybe here? * Herman presses a finger to his forehead, then looks at Lukas. The hell is *with* you? You don't even have to go. If you don't want to, just leave. * Ten suddenly jumps to her feet and shakes her fist at the window. "Curse you Griggix! Drop my boots already! I so need that point seven percent DEE PEE ESS set bonus!" If we let them send people, they might cut them down without even finding out what the hell is up. I'm not going to do that. You can do it, Ten! I have no idea what you're doing, but you can do it! * Herman ignores Ten. She's just crazy. * Togo tilts his head at Claire. "Don't make me show you my sockets. Seriously. Shut up for a minute." *looks back at Herman* Can you, in theory, teleport us out of there? [Claire is silent! But she looks >< this close from storming out of there.] * Lukas opens his mouth to respond to Herman, but then looks away to Ten instead. "Jesus Christ, Ten, pay attention once in a while." He looks back to Herman a moment, tense. * Herman glares at Lukas, then bites out, "In theory, if you give me a door and five minutes of not being bloody shot at." * Ten shakes her fist again. "It's gonna be hours!" Then she looks at Lukas. "Like, why? Something happen? We're not gonna get shot at again are we?" Well, presumably they're not going to be summoning Lucifer in the town square of the capital city. * Khalil just stares at Lukas. Then jumps and stares at Ten. "Griggix?" [Claire nods. "I have my suspicion of where the ritual will take place, if you want to hear."] * Lukas sputters, "Five minutes! Jesus Christ, Herman, you're the first target if they want us dead. I'm all for planning by the seat of my pants, but..." he rubs his temples. "Jesus Christ." It's gonna be somewhere semi-hidden. Private. Somewhere where we might have five minutes after a potential fight which I'd REALLY hope to avoid... *eyes Claire* ... that would have been an excellent thing to mention FIFTEEN MINUTES AGO. [She glances at Lukas. "Sorry, must have slipped my mind somehow."] * Herman gets to his feet, himself, and looks up at Lukas. "Yeah, and you don't think I bloody know that?" * Ten looks at Khalil and nodnodnods. "Like yeah! Four hours just to get too him and then all he drops are bone knives and his eyes! SUCK!" Like I said, if you don't want to go, don't go. No skin off any of our noses, least of all yours. * Togo !eyes Claire. "Unslip it." ["Anyhow... You might have heard about the fortress they're building around the Hagia Sophia to protect it from 'terrorist attacks'? My guess is it'll be there."] ["An enclosed place where they can protect it from opposition, with guards already stationed there."] * Lukas looks away and mutters, "Yeah, yeah." A small break as he listens to Claire and then he says, "How the hell you gonna sneak around without Ashley, Ten and I, huh?" I dunno, I figured I'd knock. ["The actual ritual will probably take place in the Hagia Sophia itself."] Okay... try this out for size. We get there under some to-be-determined cover story requiring us to meet with them. If there's a mole, hopefully they'll put two and two together and figure out we're not there by coincedence. The actual ritual place is going to have to be somewhere away from the guards... again, can't have people watching while you summon Lucifer. We sneak in, stop them somehow, teleport the fuck out before the guards come in and check. It's barely even a skeleton of a plan, I know, but it's something to start off from. I have a question! What the heck would we need their help for that would need to be done in person and can let us still travel all the way there? I'm trying to think of something, but nothing's coming to mind. I mean, maybe possession or something, but that could be fixed by someone in the UK area, right? I'm no good at plans so I thought I'd try and come up with the cover story, but.... * Herman scratches at the back of his neck. "I can cure possession. Sarah knows it." A horrible case of the scurvy? ( Cover story is easy ) Lemons fix scurvy. ( "Sarah, I'm not gay anymore! I need you to come to England right away for hawt sexx0rz" ) ("Sarah, I turned straight FOR YOU!") * Khalil has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) Tis tragically short of lemons! And oranges, and limes, and maybe kiwi but I'm not sure about that, but anything with citrus works. * Lukas glares at Clare a moment, then snorts and sits back in his chair, muttering, "You people are so damn ready to throw your lives away, but you don't have a single plan to actually succeed in a fight where we're outnumbered two- to-one in combat capability, in the best case." No, the best case is that she's wrong. Like, maybe we can get to Mitsuji's computer and find out what's up without having to go all the way there and get shot at and stuff? [Claire hmphs. "If I was this wouldn't be a problem."] Although the best case may not apply in this case, I would like to get to the end of this. You may have noticed the part where you have no proof, and I therefore don't have to believe you. [Claire starts to respond, then shakes her head and glances at the door.] [Jacqueline, meanwhile, sits back down. She doesn't turn on her game, though, but instead leans back in her chair and watches.] (PWA) Maybe less if there's actually a mole... *eyes Volt* ... and if you come along and are willing to cut loose. * Khalil looks at Claire. "Are you certain it is Justinius in particular who is involved in this?" One day I'll write a novel about this. It'll be a best-seller and I'll donate half the profits to some kind of charity for kids with tragic pasts. And if there's not one, I'll start one. Dick Grayson might have been able to lead a normal, productive, non-heroey life if he had had something like that. [Claire turns to Khalil. "What do you mean?"] ( There you have it. The organization in MC4 is funded off Alys's books. :o ) * Khalil gestures vaguely. "All this mention has been of contacting him. What else?" ["I'm not sure I follow. I mention him because Justinius played a key roll in the war a few years ago. He's a war hero to the people there."] (Brett, that makes no sense. ;P) There is a difference between a 'mole' as you call it and the group working as a whole. If it is a true 'mole,' then the rest of the group would not know of it, yesno? Or am I misleading? ( What part of it? ) ["We suspect someone is a mole, yes. We don't know who it is for certain."] So focusing our attention on one individual specifically may give the other advance notice of our motive. (There's no reason an evil organization in Germany would be funded by the profits of books sold based on a different organization in England? ^^) (Since when has anything in Mystery Club made sense? Or had to make sense?) (Since we had to parse it!) [Claire nods. "It's possible. But at the same time you might alert the others, as well."] ...that is just what I said. ( Unfortunately Alys's books could only be published in Germany for some reason! Oh noes! ) [Claire tilts her head. "Is it?" Our best bet is that the mole contacts us. Which, even if they don't think we know what's going on, they might if this thing's coming up and they're desperate. ... and I've got an idea for a cover story. [Claire nods. "That's possible. But there's no guarantee they could manage that, either. Especially if you consider Mitsuji's telepathy.] ( Oh good, it's fin- fuck, did I just write the whole thing in German?) (Brett: ... It still makes no sense. ;P) ( What doesn't? >.> ) Telepathy only comes into play if he gets suspicious and starts poking around. A good enough cover story and he won't get suspicious. And I've got one. *pauses* Mariah was produced by Asahara. Along with others. She's a clone or something. [Claire blinks "How did you...? Oh. Right. Yes, she is."] Really? Wow. * Togo frowns. "We can call asking if they've seen Mariah. When they say she's there, say we ran into a squad of Mariah clones. We need their help here to deal with them. When they won't come here, say we might have a way to track or neutralize or give them long-range noogies, but we need to talk to and possibly get a blood sample from Mariah." Ooooh. * Khalil rubs his chin at Togo's statement, and sighs. "I am starting not to like this Asahara." Yeah. But this isn't something they did. [Jacqueline blinks. "But Mariah killed all the others except--" Claire grins, "That would definitely get their attention." She looks over her shoulder at her sister, "Mariah killed all the ones she knew about. Maybe there were a few off record?"] * Lukas looks to Togo a moment and then says, "Disingenuous, but it might get you in the door. Until you see Mitsuji." Ties in perfectly with our raid on the German Asahara base. Say they attacked us looking for something we stole, beat the fuck out of us before we managed to fight them off, and that we really need help. Good. Now if they start questioning... If we play it well, he might not get suspicious enough to start poking around our heads. ... I'm not what we call a "good liar", Togo. I do be. Then let me'n Volt talk. All you need to know is that Mariah was fast, ridiculously agile, could stick to walls, and could summon monsters. Work that into whatever stories you want to tell about them kicking the crap outta us. Getting beat up is so uncool, even in a lie. So, like, she's a ninja? We managed to fight them off, and Herman healed us up, but we're afraid that, with their sneakiness and... kinda, Ten... abilities, they'll start picking us off one by one. * Khalil looks at Ten for a moment. "Do they really exist?" * Lukas mms. I totaly exist! If she's a ninja, there should be squirrels in the story! Yes. But you are not ninja. Uhuh, that's 'cause ninja don't exist! ...I missed a leap in logic somewhere in there. Perhaps...5 leaps. That'll get us in. Hopefully, if there is a mole, they'll get in touch with us and we can work from there. Ninjas and squirrels go together like me and coffee, only with less creepiness. * Khalil looks at Togo. "Perhaps I should be in a mode best suited to hear them." He frowns suddenly and looks out the window. * Lukas chuckles and shakes his head at Alys. "You're crazy, girl." He then rubs his temples. [Claire nods. "It could work."] * Ten grins. "So, if I dress up like a squirrel we can't lose!" It could fail miserably. But it's worth a shot, because... well, Lucifer. [Jacqueline nods. "Yeah."] You'd be the prettiest squirrel ever. The prettiness would outweigh the creepiness, and then no one would really think you were a squirrel. * Ten pouts. "Wah, I'm too awesome for my own plans!" * Khalil looks at Alys, and then at Ten. "You two should not be allowed within 10 metres of each other." Who would enforce a silly rule like that? I did not say it was a rule. I wouldn't! That's one of the bad laws! * Alys looks at Lukas. "Hey, are you okay? Want me to grab you some coffee? It fixes everything, or it makes you hyper enough to forget you have problems." Don't suppose the new and improved Interpol has air strike capabilities in case things go bad? * Khalil just slumps back in the couch and half-looks at the floor. * Lukas glances to Alys and then snorts. "No, I'm not okay, but coffee won't help." [Claire shook her head. "We'd never make it past the border. The EU would see to that. As a last resort, I can contact HESO. But they don't know the situation. It could be..." She shakes her head. "I'd rather not do that, if possible."] * Alys gets up, walks over to Lukas, and hugs him. "Be better!" Ooh! Ooh! Can I get one of those Anrin AT-Max20 Bushwhacker mechs with the add on missile launchers? They fit inside most medium transports and totaly kick ass! * Khalil says, rather distantly, "Togo, you never answered my question." Which question? * Lukas looks surprised a second, as he's hugged, and then pushes Alys away. "It doesn't work like that, kiddo." Should I be in a position best to hear the others or would that garner suspicion? * Alys smiles at Lukas, then goes over to the table and sits on it, next to Ten. Stay in your normal form, I guess. * Ten looks up at Alys and whispers a bit too loudly. "They're so not gonna give me my own combat mech, are they? It'd be awesome and I could blow up demons and stuff." * Khalil looks out the window, staring at the skyline. "Alright..." (Hell in a handbasket. I'm positive my connection is only doing this because I don't want it to.) But after this, we look into Asahara. Agreed? I think someone might be required by law to give you your own tv show if you had combat mech, so unless you find someone to do that, you might be out of luck. ... you think I need any goddamn motivation to go after Asahara, Khalil? * Khalil closes his eyes. "I do not know your motivation. Nor do I much care. Only that we do it. So, agreed?" [Jacqueline raises a hand. "I'll look into Asahara too, while I'm hanging around here."] * Khalil looks at Jacqueline and frowns a bit. "I--" He doesn't know how to respond exactly, though. * Togo tilts his head down in Khalil's direction, and points to his sockets. "MOTIVATION." (Ahh, now it's making noise again. Is there some sort of long pause in this song?) [Jacqueline returns Khalil's glance. "Hmm?"] * Khalil glances at Alys, completely ignoring Togo. "And you?" * Alys blinks. "I kind of just go with the flow, if you hadn't noticed. I'll do whatever the group's doing." * Khalil closes his eyes. "That's not--never mind it then." He stands up. "Let me know what you decide. I need fresh air." He walks out the door. * Togo glares at Khalil as he walks out. "Ass." * Ten flails. "Waah! We're totaly falling apart!" * Alys mutters, "I refuse to think about my parents. I -refuse- to think about my parents. Coffee has caffeine and is more devoted to me." * Lukas reaches over to Ten and grabs her. "Shush, you." * Ten gets grabbed. [Jacqueline and Claire exchange glances.] We've got a plan. Herman, make the call to Sarah to get things rolling when you're ready. * Lukas looks to Togo a moment and says, "You realize this is still suicide, right? Six people and a doll enter, nobody leaves?" There's at least a one-in-ten chance of this working. * Lukas smirks a little and says, "You never took a probability class in college, did ya?" College? I enlisted outta high school. * Lukas laughs weakly and puts his hand to his forehead. "Right. Right." [Claire holds up her phone. "There's always HESO. And if they won't do it for some reason... I'll go myself. Even if there's the slightest chance of stopping it, I'll risk my life for it."] [Jacqueline hops to her feet. "Me too!"] Togo, didn't I tell you that I'm a piss poor liar? You don't want me making the call. * Ten looks at them from Lukas's arms. "Awesome, 'cause me'n Lukas totaly suck at that whole fighting thing!" Fine. Gimme the phone. * Lukas glances to Ten, then look at Clare. "I know you don't want my advice, but fucking get everyone, little girl. IF it's that important, get some damn backup. Now." * Lukas rubs his temples. "Goddamn crazy people." [Claire eyes Lukas. "There's no way I can just 'get everyone' here in time. The only people close enough are HESO. And if I call them, there's no going back."] But, like, summoning Lucifer and stuff! You should totaly get everybody and their siblings and their best friends sisters there! ["Not everyone can just teleport when it's convenient."] * Ten points at Herman. "Can too!" * Lukas replies dryly, "Even you and HESO should know the meaning of a threat. They should prepare to engage. Because it gives us something to fall back on besides dying in a bloody goddamn heap." Beat. "IF you won't do it, get me the number for Mikaela Raske and I will." Unless HESO is really a big fan of unilateral military action, anyway. [Claire turns to Lukas. "HESO won't accept being something to 'fall back on'. They'll demand we not get involved, then they'll likely invade the country. There's no guarantee they could stop the ritual, but there is a guarantee of a lot of innocent people being killed."] * Ashley has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) I am sincerely wondering how the hell the world hasn't exploded or imploded or been taken over by dinosaurs with mind-controlling devices by now. That totaly sucks, but like, what am I supposed to do about Lucifer? I mean, this isn't like a game where I can go grind to level one hundred in a few weeks and then solo him! We need a bigger raid! [Jacqueline smiles at Alys. "Because there's a lot of really nice people in the world."] * Lukas groans. "I should not ever have to agree with Alys, but I do. This is absurd. HESO will obliterate random countries on a mere threat? Christ, remind me to call them up and tell them that my least favorite brother is evil so they'll nuke him flat." [Session End]