[Day: Saturday, Oct. 27th. Time: 10:00 p.m.] [It's been one hell of a day. Almost literally. First you visited a top secret Russian base in Lithuania. Then you returned to England and fought Valmont and, apparently, Beezlebub. And it's still not over. Now you're heading to the Dancing Fiend to speak with Togo's cloaked old-guy friend(?), who has Important Words To Say.] [Mikaela comes along just 'cuz.] (Thank god!) [Things look pretty happenin' tonight at the pub. Lots of people and/or creatures there.] (Is COGF an official acronym?) [Lukas has the hots for his sister.] [Session Start] (Like hell. c.c) (.... we're headed to our favorite bar. Life could not get better.) * NeremWorld has quit IRC (Read error: Connection reset by peer ) (He's got the cold for his sister) ( Wouldn't it be... the COLDS for his sister? *rimshot* ) ( ... ) ( Outta my head, RDM ) (Got there first! o/~) ( ;_; ) (You people are sick, I tells ya.) (Jesse's pun-fu is insufficient.) (FUCK ALL Y'ALL) * Lukas is only... sorta bleeding now, right? Something like that after getting near-beaten to death. Didn't even get time to clean! So he looks like an extra in a cyberpunk version of Braveheart. * Ashley is, for lack of better words, working on getting insanely plastered. * Togo is looking better than he was, though there're a few pretty nice sized gouges torn into his shirt and pants. His coat, thankfully, is intact. * Herman is there. Him and his pipe, and he looks fine. Yup. "Can't wait 'till we get there to get smashed, can you?" * Ten changed clothes and hair in Lukas's saddlebags and looks much happier and less bedragled! She also looks very, very blue because that's the in color right now. I... actually really want coffee more than I want alcohol. Lots of coffee. * Khalil is human!...ish. But still looks fairly sore and beat-up. Err, stung- up. Whatever-the-bugs-did-to-him-up. He's rubbing his shoulder fervently. ...Are you -sure- this cut isn't gonna make me turn into a bug? * Ashley is holding a bottle of premixed mojito. "No. Any other questions?" They were bugs, not vampires. If it does, we are all turning into bugs. ...and having two sets of wings would just be too much to deal with. * Lukas chuckles to himself, "I don't really feel like being a lightning bug, thanks." Alcohol will solve your problems. I'm sure of it., Alcohol solves all problems! Alcohol will stop her from becoming a bug? Yes. I have more faith in coffee. It will kill the parasites and evil spirits. ~ I can't drink! But I don't have any othe problems! So it all works! ~ * Khalil rubs his head. "...I would go for coffee as well." * Herman sighs. Cold coffee okay? ( Are we in the bar? Near the bar? ) [You are!] * Lukas rubs his temples and glances to 'Kaela. "This is one of the dumbest conversations I've been in... off the internet." As long as you don't turn into a fish, Ten. Anything that is not trying to kill me is fine. [Finora's serving drinks.] [Mikaela glances back. "Are they like this all the time?"] ~ I don't wanna be a fish! They can't wear clothes! ~ * Ashley tosses the mojito bottle in an alley. "ALRIGHT! Finora! Six mojitos and six shots of Ouzo! ASHLEY'S ON TAP TO PARTY!" * Herman reaches into his backpack and pulls out a couple of bottles of water. He frowns at them and mutters a few words, and eventually the clear liquid turns into a blackish brown. * Lukas smiles a little. "Depends how killed we all got that day." Today? Pretty killed. * Togo walks over to the bar, pulling a case of fine Canadian maple syrup out of his coat and plopping it down on the counter. "Finora, I'm in a good mood tonight. Give me a bottle of your finest shitty vodka, and whatever my friends want." * Herman tosses a bottle each to Alys and Khalil. "There. Wake up." * Khalil looks at the bottle. "You carry this on you often?" [Finora nods. "Crappy vodka coming right up."] * Alys eyes the bottle. "...It's cold. God help me, I don't really care." She opens it and takes a swig. * Khalil decides he doesn't really either, since he takes a chug. Really hot, really strong, really large cup of coffee, please! * Togo !looks down towards the end of the bar, to see if Old Man Winters is there. * Lukas shakes his head slightly and says, "Just hit me with something on tap." He glances to 'Kaela and grins faintly. "Scotch in a mug?" * Khalil sits on a stool and sighs slightly before looking back at Herman. "I should check in on Naila soon. She is probably going to have a time of it once she wakes." [Mikaela nods. Meanwhile Finora returns with the drinks. "Here ya go."] [The Old Man is in his usual spot. He's got several empty glasses around, though.] * Ashley takes a shot of Ouzo, then starts sipping on a mojito. "There's little better in life than cultural liquor, Lukas." * Togo opens the bottles and takes a large swig. "... damn that's shitty vodka." *turns to Finora* "Send a pint over to the old man, and tell him I'll be right over." * Lukas replies, "Turning Japanese, Ashley? Sure don't look it." [Finora nods. "Gotcha. Y'know, he's usually gone around this time each year. Kinda strange."] Ouzo's Greek, Lukas. [She goes off to do that.] OPA! Oh. Right. Whatever. * Herman has a seat. "A beer and a whiskey, please." He turns to Khalil and Alys, who are drinking the coffee. It's water. Well, it *was* water. WHATEVER? It's a vast world of alcohol, my friend! Experiencing it all is your DUTY. * Herman snickers. It is caffeiney goodness, now. 'xactly. And probably safer than whatever the fuck comes out of Togo's coat. * Khalil looks at Herman pointedly. "I repeat. It is not trying to kill me." No offense, man. None taken. Though I do have a fairly well-stocked cooler in there. [Herman gets teh beer and whiskey. He must be really thirsty.] * Herman wants to get drunk, that's what, and he starts on the beer. * Togo taps Volt on the shoulder, and points down the bar towards Old Man Winters. "No rest for the wicked. Let's go talk to him." * Lukas just sips his beer when it comes, glances to Togo, and says with a groan, "If I'm your second in command, I want more pay." He stands up. * Ashley finishes the mojito, and picks up the next shot of Ouzo. "Hm. Delicious anise-based liquor, how would Greek culture have evolved without you?" I was thinking more along the lines of 'faithful sidekick'. Sockets and Volt. Dynamic duo. * Herman finishes off half his beer, plunks it down, and flips open his phone. He dials Sarah. * Ten sends to just Lukas and Togo's earpieces. ~Hey! I'm his faithful sidekick! And sidekicks don't get sidekicks! ~ * Lukas chuckles. "Kiddo's right. Sorry. I'm already in a dynamic duo." [Mikaela sighs. "I wish I knew what was going on."] We all do, trust me. * Herman keeps the phone to his ear and waits. Considering the more we know, the more likely we are at getting killed, I believe blissful ignorance might be a little nice. Ah well. *takes another swig* We just killed the head of Asahara. He killed my unit, burned out my eyes, massacred Khalil's village, and did all sorts of other Ashaara-type stuff. He's dead, we're getting drunk. Hey, this is Herman. * Togo grins at Mikaela. "That's what's going on." I'm not sure I -really- want to know what's going on, you know? It just gets worse and worse. I'm happy to just be pointed one way and told to go forth and kick ass. * Lukas hovers his hand a foot over 'kaela's shoulder and looks at her face a moment. No touchy! Then he heads towards Winters. Dante didn't show at Stonehenge. We got Valmont and a bunch of demon bug things instead. Xuan's alive and okay; she's at my place. * Togo heads down towards Winters as well. * Khalil snickers at Alys. "You really are one of simple pleasures, yesno?" * Herman turns away from the others and has another gulp of beer. [The Old Guy is at his table! When you walk over, he stops drinking and folds his arms. "You've come."] Yep. Books and coffee, and sometimes beating things up. I'm not hard to please. And plenty to draw with? We're gluttons for punishment, sir. I have my body for that. Ooh, unless you want to volunteer yours!? Nope. It was Valmont and bugs. He said we weren't supposed to be there, I think... anyway, he had some sort of soul contract with Beelzebub going. Separated from Xuan and should be dead now. * Lukas runs his hand through his hair, takes a sip, then responds, "Them's the orders." * Khalil eyes Alys. "I said *with*, not *on*." Oh. Yeah, I guess. * Herman rubs at his eyes with two fingers. "No Dante, though, so we didn't get the magic damper." * Khalil knocks Alys's head with his knuckle and gives her a quick noogie. * Alys eeps and giggles, then flattens her hair back down. * Khalil takes a breath and leans back slightly in the stool, looking upward. "Sometimes, I wish life were that simple. I wonder if it would have been if I had not gotten cursed." No use wondering, right? Unless you figured out how to time travel. * Khalil looks down in his bottle. "And Naila too, apparently. I am still not sure how to react to that..." [The Old Man leans back. "Right now, England faces a crisis unprecedented in history."] * Khalil chuckles. "Knowing me, if I encountered myself time travelling, I would not trust myself." She's unconscious but okay. Also occupying the couch in my apartment right now. * Herman grins a little. "It's the place to be." He finishes off the rest of his beer. * Togo pauses, takes a swig... pauses, takes ANOTHER swig... "Okay, I'm ready. Lay it on me." Naila'll be fine. She's got all of us to help out. * Lukas smirks a little, but is silent. No need for speech. No idea. I think he might've wanted to get rid of Valmont. Why... fuck if I know. * Khalil smiles weakly. "That does help. Although..." Yeah? * Khalil shakes his head and looks back at his bottle. "Just...thoughts. Lots of... thoughts." I dunno, Sarah. Maybe he wasn't. [He continues! "The calamity originates in the Umbral Realms. The Shadowlands."] You need more coffee, and possibly some of the bad vodka. * Herman shrugs, not that Sarah can see him. "Could just be trying to play their game. Or could be totally evil. Could even have been under his control and broke it somehow." * Ashley downs the second shot of Ouzo, and relaxes in his bar stool. "Aaaaah." * Khalil looks at Alys. "Is that not just running away from things?" * Herman rubs at his forehead. "You know him better than I do, so you're probably right." He grabs the whiskey and drinks that. Why the hell should you bother thinking after the day we've had? It's procrastinating, not running away. ["There, a mortal is attempting an unthinkable feat. One that would mean the end to everything."] (He's trying to beerslam cats and dogs!) * Khalil looks downcast. "I have been wondering myself. Sometimes I believe it would be better if I DID simply get pleasure from "beating things up." [The old guy decides to put the weight on your shoulders. "And only you are capable of stopping him."] Probably. It's not like we've had a lack of opportunity. What do you usually do for fun? * Lukas glances over to the people, glances back to the man, and grins sarcastically. "Well, world's fucked." Who's doing what, why, and with what do I have to shoot him? ["To be more precise, only 15 people are capable of stopping him."] * Khalil snorts slightly. "Usually log in. Though..." He shakes his head slightly. * Togo pulls out a pad and pen, and hands it to Volt. * Lukas blinks. "What's this for?" We're trying to find him now, Sarah. Or do *something*. How're you guys doing over there? 15 people. We want names. Hopefully they can have their turns at getting shot or half-eaten by bugs. We have a walking computer. Worry less. Point. * Lukas looks to the guy. "Lay 'em on us, if you can describe each in less than 10 words." * Ten waves at Togo. She in danger of dying? [The old man names in a list! "Alys Onedyr, Herman Jensen, Justinius Stanton, Mariah, Lukas Raske, Sarah Fallsworth, Tobias Goronov, Xuan Fang Ueda, Ten, Liadan McCann, Khalil bin Harith, Ashley Norwich, Hiyoko Taltosh, Mitsuji Chao Ueda, Asanjya Mikigawa.] " (!) (... _Asanjya_?) (Why are two of me on that list?) ["But practically speaking, many of those are unavailable."] * Lukas glances to 'Kaela and back to the man. "... how'd my sister get out of this, huh?" * Alys looks over at the old guy. "Thanks for naming me first! I think I should be thanking you. It's a good list, right? Is having to save the world good or bad?" ... Yeah. We'll do what we can. I'll let you know if anything else comes up. Hang in there. Actually saving it is good. *Having* to save it is debateable. [Mikaela nods. The Old Man answers, however: "There is a magical barrier set up around the Umbra, designed to keep anyone other than those I mentioned out. Dispelling it would take time. Therefore, only those fifteen could breach the barrier, and only seven are available to do so."] ... okay, what kind of an idiot designs a shield that allows 15 people through who they know are gonna fuck with 'em? Wait, how is Hiyoko on the list in the first place? She's very dead. * Togo shakes his head. "Lazar's couldn't be on the list? He's made of rock. That'd be handy." Why don't they name, 'Bob Jones'? Bob Jones doesn't know how to do anything. * Herman snerks. "Sarah, you saved the world once already. It's not like you haven't helped everyone enough as is." [The Old Man doesn't answer that one. Either he doesn't know or he doesn't wanna tell you.] Don't bother, Volt. He's not big on explaining. Not your fault Dante sucked the magic out of you. We'll get it back, and then we can throw a party and talk about what bastards our families are. * Togo turns back to Old Man Winters. "Okay. So we're the only ones who can get through the barrier. Fine. Who's doing what, and how do we stop them?" [Mikaela frowns. "I don't like it. Hasn't my brother done enough already?"] We all have. We are used to thankless work. (He said seven people. Who's no. seven?) ["That will be revealed in time. Until then, in order to enter the Umbra, you must mix holy blood with demonic."] (We're 7.) (Oh, right. There's no plus by your name.) ( That's 'cause it's actually Dicesuke ) Thanks. Call me if you guys need anything. We'll be over fast as we can. ( Gimme awareness checks ) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 3. ... uh... right... 2d8-6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8-6) and gets a natural 15 for a result of 9. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8-2) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 6. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2d8) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8) and gets a natural 13 for a result of 13. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Khalil (2d8-2) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 9. [Those who made it hear murmurs. It sounds like someone overheard your conversation, and the story is rapidly making its way throughout the bar.] [Those who don't hear the band. It's a bunch of skeletons playing skeletal instruments.] (Oh, fantastic.) * Khalil sips his coffee-water. He doesn't seem to care much. Maybe he didn't hear it. * Lukas groans slightly and mutters, "Fucksakes." * Togo taps his foot to the (un)Death Metal. [The old guy seems to be through talking.] ... right. So we have to find an angel, find a demon, punch both of them in the noses, and rubs their faces together. No problem. * Lukas pauses, then goes, "... angel? Or God?" * Herman hangs up and closes the phone, tucking it away. He picks up his whiskey and heads over to the others. "So, what's the deal?" [Togo is suddenly glomped from behind by a hawt hawt waitress! "Tooogoooo.... If it's a sexy demon you're needing, I can provide."] Nothing good. * Khalil stares at Togo and takes another sip. "Unexpected though." Bloody shocking. How are things on the other end? Liadan's in pain, but she's not dead yet. Claire's gone back to England. Everyone else is hurt or unconscious or useless without magic. * Togo smirks. "Hey Bella. Filling up for a long night?" ["You know it."] ~ Aww, that sucks. ~ * Khalil takes in a deep breath. "Dante trully made a mess of things then?" Yup. Do they know how long Xuan's gonna be unconscious? It's not the comatose kind, is it? ( Just until the game ends :O ) Well, I dunno if I need a 'sexy' demon. Just a demon, I think. But if need should arise for a demon with special talents, I know who I'll call first. * Lukas tries to pokes the guy. "We needs some clarification here, man. What makes blood holy?" ( Blood cells shaped like a crucifix. ) (Blood cells with halos) (If that's what we need!) ["Pure, untainted, and dedicated to God."] Oh, good. We'll never find that. Possibly Naila and Xuan will awaken at the same time. They can keep each other company. [Just to prove Lukas wrong, a voice from the crowd says, "Yes you will."] * Herman turns to eye this pure, untainted, dedicated to God whatsit. [A tall, handsome man makes his way to the table. He's got neck-length black hair, and he's wearing a white habit with a gold cross on the front. And shades.] [Following shortly behind is a more familiar face: Jacqueline Kusanagi. "Um, hi."] (Great. We're encountering Croix.) * Herman looks him over appraisingly, then turns to Jacqueline. "What're you doing here?" * Lukas looks at the voice and smirks. "... yeah, you're definitely the untainted sort. Come here to convert everyone to the side of good?" ( Oh, good. So all we hafta do is have Bella have really kinky sex with this priest dude! ) (Does he still have his awesome cross shaped guns of awesome?) (That'd make his blood invalid!) (I was gonna say.) [Jacqueline explains! "Father Kage and I were chasing Dante and Valmont from the Vatican. Sarah said you already stopped him, though."] ( Not if she makes him bleed early! ) Not easily. Just Valmont. It looks like we're going after Dante, still. * Alys smiles happily at the priest. "Hi, I'm Alys." [He bows. "Karasu Kage, at your service."] [Jacqueline nods. "I wanna help."] * Togo turns to Old Man Winters. "So, what, we take a pint from each, mix them, and a portal opens?" [He nods. "Something like that."] Good. We can do that when we're not drunk. Should we collect now, before she has sex with him? * Lukas thumbs towards the holy man helpfully. * Alys blinks. "Oh man, you're one of the ones who isn't supposed to have sex, aren't you? It kind of looks like I'm going to end up having Evan's pretty babies." [Karasu looks reproachfully at Lukas. Kinda hard, with shades and all, but he does. "Do not think such impure thoughts."] Yup, looks like one of those. [Bella pouts. "Pity."] You'd have better luck with Khalil, Ward Girl. * Khalil just stares at Alys, then STARES at Herman. * Alys looks at Khalil speculatively. "You'd make pretty babies, too." [Meanwhile, another guy pushes his way through the crowd (which seems to be focussing on your table, at this point). This guy's blond, and pretty handsome, wearing a dark cloak. But his face looks so sad :( "Ummm... Hi."] ..s-since when did the conversation turn to me having children? * Lukas glances to Alys's attempts to get babies, then looks to the guy. "Sorry, born evil. Well, if you two are interested..." he trails off and looks at the new cloaky. * Togo digs around in his coat and pulls out a pair of syringes. Another cute guy! Hi, I'm Alys! Wow, I hope I'm not subconsciously trying to turn that into a pickup line. That'd just be sad. He would make pretty babies. I-it would definitely be one of the weirdest... pick-up lines? ["I'm Leroy. I come here a lot. Um... I kind of heard what's going on."] * Herman looks at this guy. "Like everybody else." Yeah, fucking seriously. ( "Hi, I'm Troy McLure. You may remember me from such MC sessions as "Rosetta Stones: Delicious But Deadly" and "Don't Touch That Sword!" ) ["Yeah, well... It probably doesn't matter and you probably won't care, but even though the world is a dark and sucky place, I kinda don't want it to end."] That's... very enlightened of you... ~ Yeah, world ending is bad! ~ Good for you, man. * Khalil looks at Leroy carefully. "You are not a...what are they? Wear all black? Talk about...sadness a lot?" * Lukas glances to winter. "So he's our dark blood, not Boobs McDemon?" Goth. He's a cute Goth, though. Good at wearing it. That is the word. ["Yeah, so, like, I kinda do some alchemy.... I've got these stamina potions, you know? 'Cause you look tired and shit, so I thought... Eh, whatever. You can use 'em if you want. Or not. They probably won't be very helpful anyhow."] * Herman takes this moment to down the rest of his whiskey. Awesome! ...this is very much like an Arr Pee Gee. Uh... ... healing would be nice, yes. [Jacqueline giggles. "Hey, don't look a gift horse, you know?"] ~ It so is! We've got a quest NPC and everything! But I can't use mana pots! ~ * Khalil rubs his head. "Next thing you know, the final merchant will appear to sell us things." Sorry, I don't get fucking PAID enough on this gig to buy shit. Thank you, pretty goth boy. None of us do. I got it. Then that merchant's gonna be damn sad. [He pulls out a briefcase from behind his cloak and opens it, revealing about 10 testtubes filled with a smokey green liquid. "So like... Yeah. Take 'em if you want."] Cool. Bella, please give this nice man a hug. He looks like he needs one. [Some enthusiastic guy with a white beard who was eagerly pushing his way through the crowd sulks as Lukas says that, and goes away. :(] (No! Extract the blood first!) (Too bad!) (No money! No merch!) ["Anything for you, Togo." She gives the guy a hug. He looks surprised for a moment. And almost grins, but stops himself and shrugs. "Whatever."] ...wonderful. A PRETEND Goth. ( ["I had these brand new eyes for sale, too."] ) * Lukas rolls his eyes. "Knock it after you've done it." ( NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ) * Lukas reaches for the briefcase. "Get us our blood, Togo, huh?" * Herman snickers. Sure thing. *turns to Bella* Hate to ask, but... could we borrow a little blood? [Karasu rolls up his sleeve. Bella... doesn't have any sleeves. She barely has a top at all, for that matter."] ( - " ) * Lukas gives Mr. Emo his card and then heads back to Herman. "So, how's the others? Any of them up for this?" [Jacqueline waves her arms. "So where we going?"] I do not think there is a "we" involved. * Togo looks at the syringes, then at Bella's arms... "I just realizes that, with no eyes, finding a vein could take a while. Someone wanna tag in for this?" ( s/realizes/realized ) [Jacqueline blinks at Khalil. *blink*] Ick. Not me. * Khalil sighs. "I could try. But I have never done medical procedures before." It's easy. Find a vein. They're blue. Stick needle in vein. Draw blood. Give person band-aid and lollypop. * DreFK is now known as Dreol ...I do not have a lollipop. [Bella grins at Khalil, "Hey, you're kind of a stud. I want you to do it."] * Khalil side-glances at Bella. "...now I am even more uncertain..." ~ I know a little about fixing people! ~ Oh, just get on with it, already. Stamina potions or not, Mikaela and I need some time if that stupid barrier really wants me to do this. * Khalil sighs and takes the equipment from Togo. "If you were so impatient, you should have done it yourself." Relax, Khalil. She doesn't bite. In public. Usually. * Togo smirks. * Khalil does the holy man first though. He's leary. * Herman looks at Lukas. "I dunno if we have the time." * Lukas looks at Winter. "Any ideas on the timeline?" [Oooooh, the Father doesn't look happy about a heathen doing it. But he doesn't say anything.] The only person who might be up for it is Mitsuji... I think he's still with it far as his powers go, but this whole thing's probably driven him nuts. (Pfft. Khalil's more holy than Togo. ;P) ["It is happening even as we speak."] (...Are any of us -not- heathens?) * Lukas winces slightly. "Mitsuji... man." Beat, then he snaps at Winter, "That's not what I asked, dammit." Do we need to go now? Tomorrow morning? Within the week? * Khalil holds the man's arm steady, searches for the vein and pricks. ["It is happening even as we speak."] ... great. Well, Ten needs a recharge. So that means we've got to wait anyway. [The Father doesn't even flinch.] * Shadur is now known as Shad-Asleep * Ten nods slightly. [Another nosey man pokes his way through the crowd. "Perhaps not."] ( HA! ) ... oh, for fuck's sake. I love this damn bar. * Khalil pulls it out and switches syringes. "It is the convenience of end- game." This is getting kinda weird. * Lukas throws up one of his hands and says in a loud exasperated voice, "This would be a lot easier if someone had a button that we can press to save the fucking world!" * Khalil takes hold of Bella's arm and looks at her for a moment. "Ready?" * Lukas pauses and waits for a response. ([A strange man hands Lukas a button with "I win" engraved on it.]) [Bella winks at Khalil. "For you? Any time, studmuffin."] (SWEET.) * Khalil mutters something mildly under his breath in Arabic. Something about why do I even speak? (An I WIN button!) [The man confronting Lukas is a 30-ish guy in a brown coat with a large briefcase. "Hello, Ten. Do you remember me? William Mooks."] (...) (......) (Does it have "One Internet" on the back?) Hello. Mr. Mooks. It. Has. Been. Some. Time. * Khalil injects Bella, ignoring the convesation and sucks her blood. Ha. Ha. Ha. * Lukas looks at Mooks with a heavy frown, moving over towards Ten. "What the hell do you want," he asks in a cold, paranoid voice. [Bella moans. A lotta guys in the bar think it's hot.] * Khalil doesn't seem to have a reaction short of taking the needle out when he's done. * Togo hands a band-aid and a lollypop to Kage and Bella. ["I think you can guess why I came here."] * Khalil hands the syringes to Togo. How convenient. [Bella looks pleased. She unwraps it and licks it. Sloooooooooowly. A lotta guys in the bar think that's hot, too.] [Karasu doesn't seem particularly interested, though.] * Lukas replies, "No dice. And unless you're gonna take us out right now, it doesn't much matter." Get to why you bothered speaking up. * Herman doesn't seem particularly interested, either. * Lukas is too paranoid and angry to respond to Miss Moany. * Khalil doesn't either. He's not caught looking though. It's indecent. * Togo pulls out a cooler filled with dry ice, and sticks the syringes in there, and then back in his coat until they're ready. ["Actually, I came to ask you nicely. If you were to give her over, I would be able to keep Anrin from pressing charges. I admit, it wasn't easy to find your trail," he looks directly at Lukas, "but eventually, they will catch up with you."] [He pauses, then says, "But it seems something else has come up, hasn't it? Something more important than theft of property."] [Jacqueline blinks. "Theft?"] * Lukas frowns and says, "She doesn't want to go back. It's that fucking simple." He glances to Jackie. "Stay out of it." * Alys glaaaares at Mooks. [He looks at Ten. "Is that true?"] Yes. * Khalil puts an arm around Jacqueline. "Have you seen the bar? It has a fabulous selection. Let me show you." He takes her that way without waiting for a response. (... whoa.) (Khalil gettin' his groove on.) [Jacqueline is pulled away suddenly!] (Bow-chicka-wow-wow.) (This is the thanks he gets.) (See if I take the annoying girl away again.) [William asks, "Why not?"] * Lukas snort-laughs. * Khalil makes sure the bartender fixes Jackie up some fabulous drinks. On him. So long as they don't stop coming until she's plastered. I. Will. Stay. With. Volt. [William glares at Lukas. "Might I remind you I helped to build her? If you consider her a machine, you are the man responsible for stealing Anrin's property."] * Herman glances at Khalil and Jacqueline leaving. Wow, the world is crazy. [He takes a step forward. "But if you consider her a real soul, you KIDNAPPED MY DAUGHTER. You're quite lucky I don't tear your throat out right here and now."] [Mikaela steps in between William and Lukas. "Don't even think about it."] * Lukas looks down at him and says, with an annoyed voice, "If she's your daughter, she's never bothered mentioning it." ["And she never told us she was more than a machine."] * Togo steps up behind Volt, scowling. He doesn't *do* anything yet, but he's there for effect. [Father Kage folds his arms. "There will be no violence on anyone's part."] [Old Man Winters sips his drink.] * Lukas lets Mikaela fight his battles for him as she looks over his shoulder. "Trust me, Mister Mooks. You don't want to know what she really thinks of you. Just... tell us why you decided to speak up." * Ash is now known as Phantasm [He takes a deep breath. "I came to retrieve Ten. But having heard the situation here..." He gestures to his briefcase. "Power cells I developed for her, just in case you caused any damage. They could provide her with a temporary charge."] * Lukas is silent a moment, then says, "She stays with me, man. The best you can do is try to get her to like you again." Beat. "But if we're in such a damn hurry, we need those cells." [Leroy fades into the crowd. "Meh. Whatever. Nobody cares about me anyway."] (I gave him my card!) (People would care about him if his last name were Jenkins.) (I hope not.) ["If it's what she wants, then that's what she gets. No matter how much I detest you."] I. Stay. [He holds out the brief case. "Here. You'll need them."] * Lukas says, quiety, "'Kaela, let me past?" [Mikaela moves, but keeps her eyes on William.] * Lukas reaches out his free hand to take the briefcase. He looks to the man's eyes and says, "Look, it's not me, okay? She asked." Beat. "Hope we live. You might get another shot with her." [He ignores Lukas, looking down at Ten. "If only you'd told me you were more than just a machine, things could have been...." He sighs and shakes his head, looking back at Lukas. "If you do, you'd better take care of her."] Good. Bye. * Lukas smiles weakly. "Don't ask me how much of the money I make goes into doll clothes. I'd never live it down." ["Goodbye." He turns and fades away into the crowd like a ghost. Or maybe he just walks into the crowd and they close the gap after.] * Lukas watches him go, and then exhales. "Great. I really did like London. A little." So... Ten has a really lame dad too? * Lukas barks a laugh. "Yeah. Guess so." [Mikaela shakes her head. "Maybe I can put you under HESO's protection."] ~ Hey! Your dad is made of badass and win! He ganked an entire Russian army convoy by himself and I made him promis to fix your mom! ~ * Khalil glances back at the group noticing the guy has left and whispers something to Jacquline, before walking back. * Alys blinks. "He... what?" [Jacqueline comes back too, just 'cause.] ~ I totaly saw him in Russia! He was awesome! ~ * Herman notices the couple. "Drunk yet?" * Lukas looks to 'Kaela a moment, then says, "We'll worry about that after, sis." A weak smile. "Still need to pick your brain, though... any clues you got on how to work the powers, you know..." he trails off. ["Nope!"] * Herman snickers. Oh. About that. Guys. * Khalil rubs his head. "Not for lack of trying. I assume that everything is settled though? * Herman looks to Lukas. "Might have something for you soon." Huh. Well, I'll grant you, he's very kickass, but he's still lame and a sucky dad. ~ Which is why I made him promise to fix your mom! ~ * Lukas 's eyes widen. "You're k... damn. Uh." He looks over to Mikaela, sharing a look. * Herman wriggles his fingers, picks up his glass, and then frowns when he realizes it's empty. * Herman goes to the bar to remedy this. I've got contacts in just about every law enforcement agency in the country, Volt. I could prolly call in a few boatloads of favors if he tries anything. [Herman gets booze.] * Lukas says quietly, "I, uh, sorta asked him to look into helping make things easier for you." * Herman has boozahol! Life is good. [Mikaela blinks. "Me?"] * Herman returns. "Don't think it's long term. That'd take more time than I've had." * Lukas nods. "Yeah. With the look-but-don't-touch." [Mikaela looks surprised. Surprise!] [The Old Man continues to drink. His glass never seems to empty.] [Jacqueline speaks! "So when do we go?"] * Lukas smiles a bit and then says, "Yeah, I was wondering that too. We've, uh, gotta talk. And install the cells in Ten. When we wanna try out the goth potions and, uh, blood ritual?" * Khalil eyes Jacqueline but doesn't say anything. If she insists on going, she's welcome to try. (Poor girl wasn't even on the list.) Whenever you're ready. I'm going to pop home and make sure the girls are gonna be all right while we're gone and all, pick up more reagants, but then I should be set. * Lukas looks over at Ashley, passed out. "... you think this'll wake him up?" I would like to go with you. Meet back here in two hours? Midnight's as dramatically appropriate as anytime? * Lukas chuckles slightly. "In the back alley, or what? We're not gonna do it on the dance floor, are we?" * Herman nods to Khalil. * Khalil goes with Herman then. [Finora (who happens to be there) asks, "Why not? We'll clear a place for ya."] * Lukas looks at her. "... you're kidding. You're gonna clear a place on the dance floor for a portal into some unknown, uh, place?" ["It's that or I go out of business when the world ends, right?"] ... it's not like we need that much space... right? You're forgetting what kind of bar this is, Volt. Tuesdays are Strange Portal Nights. * Lukas groans. "But it's Saturday." Beat. "Fine. Whatever. Here. Two hours." Gotcha. C'mon, Khalil. * Herman goes to open the portal. [Session End!]