Lamentable Nights: Act 02 - "Welcome to Pebbleton"

[AYC]

(Next arc, start! Well, kind of, not really.)

Date: June 1, Tuesday
Time: 9:30 pm, Night
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Dawnview Park Beach
PCs: M, Sophia
================

It's been a long time since he's set foot outside of the Telston Mall, now that he thinks about it. It's been an even longer time since he's actually talked to another person, be them Stray or otherwise - actually, he might not have ever talked to anyone since he first woke up. This might be the first time.

And M can't really say it's all that bad. For a first time, he's laughed quite a bit, so it has to be a good thing, right? Maybe he hadn't bothered thinking about it before, but now he realizes just how lonely it had been. No amount of humans walking around in the mall could've changed that.

With that in mind though, he's definitely not sure about what to do when Sophia suddenly starts to cry, cradling a tattered yellow garment in her arms. Does that piece of cloth have some sort of sentimental value to her or something?

Awkwardly, he pats Sophia on the head a few times in what he hopes to be comforting way. "Uh. It's okay, don't cry. What's wrong?"

The smaller Stray sniffles a little and looks at him with big, teary eyes - M's almost taken aback by how emotional she's gotten. "Uuu... this is Mr. Nice Hat's... sniff... jacket..."

"It is?!" Now that he looks carefully at it, it does seem more like a jacket than your ordinary shirt - but that doesn't really explain why she's tearing up over the supposed Mr. Nice Hat's jacket. M pulls a thinker pose and racks his head for any reason, and glosses over the story that she's filled him in on before. Let's see... from her point of view, he was a nice, big brother type Stray who was looking for his hat. Then they parted ways... and she had seen him fighting the Train later. And then he got knocked out by a flying gavel.

Hmm...

It can't be... that she thinks he's -

"You think he's dead?"

By the way that Sophia's teary eyes get more watery, he assumes that's a yes. M sighs and rubs the back of his neck in weariness. Even if he usually doesn't concern himself with the business of others, it's not like he particularly fond of seeing kids cry.

He stoops down to her eye level and gives her the firmest, most reassuring look her can muster. "Think about it, Sophia. This Mr. Nice Hat of yours... he seems pretty strong, right?"

When she gives him a small, timid nod, he cracks a toothy grin. "Then do you really think he's dead?"

"No...?"

"That's right. Maybe he purposely left his jacket behind because it just got too messed up, and he's wandering around somewhere, as lively as ever."

His grin widens and he ruffles the hair on her head playfully when her face brightens up. "Yeah! Mr. Nice Hat can't be beat so easily!"

His laughter is abruptly cut off however, when M spots a pair of glowing orange eyes peering out at them from the darkness of the trees. Somehow they don't look very friendly, and the fact that they can actually see them means only one thing.

You've got to be pulling my leg here.

"Mr. Nice Hat might not be able to be beaten so easily, but that doesn't mean we're the same. Run!"

Sophia barely has time to register the weight of his words before he suddenly yanks her after him in a sudden sprint.

"Ahh! What's wrong Mr. Mad Hooder?!"

"Less talk, more run! It's another Blight!"

God dammit, how many times does he have to get chased today? First it's a giant Train Blight and now it's a-a... what is it, anyway? M spares a quick glance back, and his jaw nearly drops in shock.

It's... it's... it's that Blight.

It's the dog-lamp post Blight.

Although he's never been certain of its fate since the little skirmish that had happened a while ago, he hadn't exactly expected it to... get bigger, so to say. Or get scarier-looking.

Because what had once been an rather simple and comical-looking-dog-impaled-by-a-lamp-post Blight was now a fairly large, wolf-like monster holding a fiery lamp between sharp, black incisors of teeth. It might not be the most accurate comparison, but it now it looks more like the dog impaled the lamp post rather than the other way around. M is almost ready to laugh at how funny it seems, but the fact that it's gaining on them quickly - despite being considerably slower than the Train - is the only thing that prevents him from doing so.

It's not like he has an inexhaustible supply of ether at the moment, and Sophia herself isn't particularly fast; but at this rate, they're going to get caught and turned into puppy chow, and that doesn't seem like a particularly inviting prospect. Time to do some more quick thinking.

Uh.

Uh.

Aw shit.

"Sorry about this Sophia, but it's to save our asses." In an instant, he sweeps a surprised Sophia into his arms, and the next, he tosses the grubby yellow jacket over the Blight's head, obscuring its vision - and then M makes a run for it, as fast as he can possibly compromise with his limited store of ether.

When they finally arrive outside of Martin's house, M drops to his knees and tries to get his thoughts straight.

"Alright... I think it's gone."

Sophia gives him a worried look, and M holds up a hand to show that he's more or less unscathed, and gives her a serious look.

"Not a word of this to Martin."

"But - "

"Just for now, at least. I think that grouch probably has had enough on his plate today."

Although she doesn't look entirely comfortable with putting it off, Sophia gives a small nod in agreement. M gives her a reassuring grin, and straightens up, giving one last look over his shoulder.

"Let's just go in there smoothly, act like nothing's happened." He briefly pauses, and Sophia is surprised to see his grin light up suddenly.

"And hey, at least we can be thankful that it was Mr. Nice Hat's jacket that saved us, yeah?"

[Pasonia]

(Let me start the new day with an exposition! =S)

Date: Wednesday, June 2
Time: 6.30am
Weather: Clear
Location: Martin's Home -> Mycroft Holdings
PCs: Martin Chang, Sophia
Other PCs: Noco Berry
NPC: Lanette
================

Brrrrrirrrrirrrrrirrrrinnnnngggggg----SMACK!

Sophia was startled awake, having gone to sleep just over 4 hours ago at the behest of a "do-not-want-any-more-trouble" Martin Chang, despite the fact that the clock is in his own room. Rubbing her eyes, she went to check on Martin by going to his door. Martin had, for reasons unknown to Sophia, already bolted from bed and was about to rush out of his room when he tumbled right into Sophia.

CRASH! FLINGBANGTUMBLEDOO------...

"... Good morning, Mister Martin... are you all right?"

******

Martin was rather crossed at having to wake in the morning bolting right out of his bed, but he had no choice.

Since he had lost his bicycle the previous day, he has to catch the unreliable bus to work.
Since he has to report early today to complete a draft report at work, he had to wake earlier.
In his fatigue-induced stupor from yesterday, he completely forgot to set the alarm forward.

Therefore, Martin started his day on the wrong foot. Again.

"I'm sorry, Mister Martin... I didn't know..."

Martin tried really hard to get angry, but couldn't. Even though he doesn't really like that Sophia's reaction time is rather slow for a child, he or she who does not know, is innocent.

So all he did in response to Sophia was to ruffle her hair around while he slurped on instant noodles with egg.

******

"The higher-ups have told me to investigate, but they made it sound so easy..."

Noco Berry wasn't really fond of recon work - she's a Sentry, not a grunt - but the higher-ups have told her to follow up on this directly because they didn't want to alarm too many people not involved last night. A gag order has already been issued to every Panzer who had been involved in the Train Blight incident, which speaks volumes of the higher-ups' concern.

The eyeball-recons - recons that act as the eyes to what the MPUDs cannot respond to, especially in scenarios with too little known information - have reported the presence of a salaryman in the Train Blight, bespectacled and sporting a goatee, hanging around two Strays.

The issue, firstly, was with the salaryman description. This probably describes about 60% of this town's workforce, which is still quite a heck of a lot of people. Even when one factors the goatee and spectacles in, the number of people matching this description is so staggering, 'finding a needle in a haystack' is an understatement.

The other question, which she swears she will smack the recons for when she meets them next time...

"Which bloody salaryman Crosser on earth will bring their Stray to work?! How did these incompetent fools come up with this fantastic idea at all?"

And thus, Martin Chang the Concealer speeds past Materion Towers at full speed...
Without incident, without a trace of Ether, and without his breath.

******

Nearby at Eden Organisation, however, was Lanette Hindfell, wanting to look for Martin.

The night before had been rather horrible, but if it wasn't for Martin showing her his timely concern, she wouldn't be here with her confidence restored, if to a limited extent. She swears, the ramen bowl was an accident... waiting to happen, given the circumstances.

Although the way she and Martin started off was horrid, Lanette conceded that a swear-toad salaryman such as Martin can still be a nice guy.

The other issue was that, belonging to a family of noble Crossers, she is very much obliged to warn Martin about the issues that will face him in future.

Still, a young woman is a young woman, and patience for young women like Lanette is as durable as a sheet of ice.

"Where on earth is that goatee?!!?!"

[SavviG]

Date: Wednesday, June 2
Time: 7:17am
Weather: Clear
Location: ???
PCs: Graciel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day is breezy and the sun is up. The roads are starting get cars heading one direction or the other. The birds are tweeping and one little bird fell from the a high tree. The long grass padded its fall. As Graciel approached to help it a awaiting cat was quick on its toes and nabbed the little bird. Graciel watched the cat taking off across the road when a mini-cooper hit it. The cooper went straight on and the cat on the road started to desolve into the air. Stupid Blight thought Graciel.

Graciel crossed the road and picked up the uninjured bird, a few moments later he set the bird back in its next along with its siblings.

Graciel looked around the scenery and took in a deep breathe, so freshing. Then, he noticed that his stroll has taken him somewhere not familar to him. He looked down to the floor, it was pretty high up and there wasn't really a good branch to settle onto while scaling back down.

From that moment, Graciel felt a cold shiver all over knowing his current situation ... "I'm, I'm stuck in a tree ..." ~_~;

[MidNightMagnificent]

Date: Wednesday, June 2nd

Time: 1.34am
Weather: Cool cloudy night

Location: Pebbleton Docks
PC: Alex Diamond


It was late at night. The black waves lapped lazily against the sides of a ship in the docks. A black-clad figure stealthily scaled down the sides of the ship and disappeared amongst the crates lying haphazardly around.

Safe in the shadows where she was most comfortable, Alex unfolded a map and checked her location. "Oh fuck." She swore under her breath. The library/museum was all the way on the other side of the town.

"Best make a start,"Alex squared her shoulders and made her across the town, keeping to the shadows of the buildings until she arrived at her destination, the Herston Public Library and Museum. Blinking red lights alerted her to the presence of surveillance cameras and the alarm system in place. A flash of teeth in the dark showed briefly as Alex concentrated on the water vapour in the air around these devices to condense and short circuit its systems.

Alex watched as the red lights blinked off one-by-one, when the last one had blinked off, she confidently strutted into the dark building, not noticing as the back-up system kicked into place half a minute later.

Following her map instructions, she made strode directly to the bowels of the old building where the panzer artifacts were being stored, safely in the archives.

An alarm went off unbeknownst to her, streaming live feed from the cameras that Alex thought were dead.

Alex strolled around the archives, browsing idly. She picked up a shiny gold sceptre, mentally calculating how much she would be able to pawn it for, when a spotlight was suddenly trained on her.

"Put down the scepter and raise your hands into the air."


Alex froze, unsure of how to orchestrate a dramatic escape as she was entirely unarmed today.

[AYC]

Date: June 2, Wednesday
Time: 7:30 am, Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Lagann Street
PC: Mirto
Other PCs: Graciel
================

"Haaahh..."

Man, she feels more tired than she usually is today, despite the fact that she had gone to bed at a reasonable time last night. Even though her aunt and uncle had interrogated her about the fate of her supposedly "suicidal friend" at dinner table when she had returned, and the fact that the Caputain had spent about half an hour whining and pawing at her door later, she had managed to go to sleep at her usual time - though she had had to sacrifice squeezing in additional studying or reading a book in exchange.

With that in mind, her lack of vitality could only be constituted to the number of crazy events that had happened yesterday. As much as she'd like to think it was a dream, there was more than enough evidence to persuade her otherwise.

Like the lingering, throbbing pain in her forehead, for instance.

Or her uncle puzzling over the disappearance of the brand new, yellow jacket he had gotten from his best man at his wedding.

Or the fact that, as soon as she had opened the curtains after getting out of bed, she had caught a glimpse of a head of unruly red hair flitting around the courtyard outside. Which would have been perfectly fine, had there not been a long scarf trailing after the girl, and what suspiciously looked like a very familiar gavel in her hand.

Note to self, tell Jacket that his supposed ex-arch enemy Lanette is staying somewhere nearby. Probably at the White Waters Hotel.

Mirto stretches her arms over her head, and fights back the rising urge to yawn again. At the very least, she gets out of school earlier today due to finals, and afterwards, she'll have a few hours of free time before she's expected at work at three. It'll be a well-deserved break, as short as it is, and she's looking forward to using that time to finally, finally be able to crack open one of her new books.

Hopefully all will go well, and there won't be some sort of crazy Blight chasing her around today, or even worse, Jacket comes running in with one on his tail. Mirto takes a brief moment to imagine the worst case possible, and the aspect of anything barging into the middle of her finals sends a shiver of horror down her spine. It'd be too much for her to handle - unless her whole class was made up of Crossers, she'd be the only one to see and be targetted by a Blight.

The sheer thought of using the excuse "but ghosts are after me!" makes her cringe in distaste. Not only would no one believe her, but the whole ordeal would probably end with her getting carted off to the psychiatric ward at the hospital, what with their shoddy meals and stiff white sheets. Hardly fun.

Her inner lamentations over crappy hospital conditions is cut short, however, by the sudden flurry of leaves dropping all over her head and shoulders, and the loud "meow" coming from the tree branches above. Picking out a few leaves tangled in her hair, Mirto looks up to see a brown cat sitting on an angular branch, looking oddly uncomfortable on its high perch.

Is it scared to come down or something?

With a sigh, she extends her arms out towards the nervous animal. "Come on, jump. It's okay, I'll catch you, you don't have to worry."

Despite its clear unease and hesitation, it takes the leap and lands neatly into her arms. For a second it almost looks stunned to have made it in one piece, before fixing its big blue eyes on its savior.

Mirto blinks in realization - this is the same cat that stole Jacket's cap yesterday. Judging by how the cat suddenly jumps out of her hold and scurries away, it seemed to have come to the same realization.

She watches its tail disappear into a bush before readjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. It's too bad, but she would've like to hold onto a bit longer.

Mirto pouts a bit.

It would've been nice to have a cat instead of a dog follow me home.

[AYC]

(M is pure evil. 'Nuff said.)

Date: June 2, Wednesday
Time: 7:00 am, Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Martin's Home
PCs: M, Sophia
================

By the time M returns to Martin's apartment from his quick walk outside, the man in question was already gone.

"I'm guessing the grouch's already left, huh? Late for work and the like?"

Sophia looks up in surprise, and a smile brightens her face when she sees him standing in the doorway. No doubt that she thought that he had already went on his own way, and that she would be left all alone until Martin returned.

"How did you know?"

"Well, I'm good at watching people, and..." He scans his eyes around the room, and stops in particular at a recently discarded cup of instant noodles. "The dude's not particularly good at covering his tracks. Look at the mess he left behind."

The smaller Stray follows his gaze, and giggles when she realizes how right he is. "Yeah... Mr. Martin woke up in a rush today."

Even though it doesn't make much of a difference to a dead ghost, M narrowly sidesteps a pile of old newspapers as he walks towards the center of the room. "Well, since he's been so nice to us thus far, we might as well do him the favor of cleaning this place up for him." With a quick swipe of the hand, he cleanly knocks the empty noodle cup into the trashcan.

Although Sophia proceeds to follow the other Stray's suggestion and neatly stacks a pile of papers on a nearby table, she seems a little put out over M's comment. "Mr. Martin is nice. He just doesn't like you very much... because Mr. Mad Hooder isn't very nice back."

M pulls a stern look, and tosses a dropped pillow back to its place on the bed. "Are you saying I'm mean, Sophia?"

At her suddenly apologetic look, he seamlessly transforms his frown into a grin, and motions her over to help him with the pile of bedsheets on the ground. "I'm just messing with you. Though, personally, it's not like I like him much either, that lolicon."

Sophia gives him a puzzled look at the name, but M cleverly decides to wave it off nonchalantly. As evil as he could be, there are some things that are better left unknown; though, it might be just as evil to leave things in the dark, now that he thinks about it. But at the moment, it's not much to be concerned with; as long as Martin himself doesn't hear him say it, all is well.

"I think that's all we can do for now. It's a good thing none of his relatives decided to pay a visit, because I don't think they can see us. They'd probably think that some ghosts or something decided to mess with poor Martin here."

"But we are ghosts."

"Exactly. They'd be terrified." Sophia nods in agreement, and M stands up to survey the now neater room. "Though... speaking of ghosts. I didn't think he was going to leave so early, otherwise I would've warned him about that Blight we met yesterday."

"Oh... yeah."

(Just in case there's confusion, M and Sophia don't know that Martin's a Concealer. Maybe they just didn't notice that even after bonding, he doesn't give off an ether signal?)

There's an awkward pause, but M can tell by the increasingly nervous look on Sophia's face that she's quite worried for her partner's well being, even if the man is a bit... rough around the edges. Not that he can blame her; if he was bonded with a Crosser, he'd be pretty damned worried to, especially if they were a complete newbie at all this ether and Enomena business. Although he can't say for sure, Martin doesn't seem like the type of guy to be able to hold his own in ordinary, human fight either. Just look at him, he lives off of a diet of ready made food and... pies made from his... cousin or whatever. That can't be healthy.

M's made up his mind. Even if he doesn't like Martin the grouch as much as Sophia does, that doesn't mean he should just let the poor Stray beat herself up in worry over her partner.

"Alright, let's go find him."

"Eh?"

He flashes her an assuring grin, and tugs her towards the door by the hand. "You heard me, let's go find that guy and warn him about that Blight. There's no point sitting around here and doing nothing - whether we sit in here or not, that Blight will still be able to get to us if it wants to anyway. Might as well get out there and try to tell Martin while we can, right?"

Sophia seems to ponder the circumstances for a while before smiling and giving an energetic nod in response. "Yeah, I guess you're right, Mr. Mad Hooder. Let's go!"

At least she looks enthusiastic over the prospect. In a sense, he's kind of jealous of her connection to her Crosser, despite the fact that they've only bonded for a day, in such a spur-of-the-moment way. While Sophia is being fueled by her desire to help and protect her Crosser, M needs to find something to motivate him in this... little mission.

The main objective is to find the guy and let him know about the Blight from yesterday. But while they're at it... why not mess with him a bit? M struggles to hide the wide, sinister grin breaking out on his face from his oblivious partner in crime.

Yeah. As whimsical as it is, that's good enough motivation for him.

[marcien]

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: 0159
Weather: Cloudy night
Location: Block 44 #12-108
PC: Z. Redmist
Other PCs: Alex Diamond, Martin Chang, Graciel
================

Redmist was still soaking in his bathtub when he heard his computer speaker make a warning sound. He lifted his wet hand and places it on the antenna affixed to the bathroom wall.

What the...? So all the cameras in the museum short-circuited or something. Redmist did not like anyone messing with any hardware connected to him, even if they didn't belong to him. Thankfully, the cameras in the archive came back to life shortly after. Redmist resisted the urge to send the museum curator an anonymous email complaining about their lapse in security.

And Redmist stiffened a snicker. So a burglar had broke into the museum. And the archives, of all places. He then noticed traces of ether in the screen. Someone is using enomena on the cameras. That could only mean that there was a new crosser in town. The archives are the panzers' business, so Redmist decided he would leave it to them and find out more about the new crosser later.

-- -- -- -- --

• Mail sent to Martin Chang at 0311:
  
  You are welcome. Your efforts in the destruction of the Train blight is also deeply appreciated.
  
  You will find attached in this email the information you are looking for. I hope that it answers your questions. However, if you still do have any queries, you may buy a lighter, go the top of any high building before sunset, and shout "I call for the accursed bird above" and a panzer should answer to you.
  
  Attachments: Ether_Basics.pdf (2.3MB)

-- -- -- -- --

• Mail sent to Graciel and Noco Sue Berry's MPUD at 0745:
  
  I apologize for my sudden departure yesterday after you entered the mall. I have had other matters to address. While I am unsure of what reward would interest a panzer, I would be happy to share with you what I have found out about yesterday's Train blight.

[Sentrovasi]

Date: 2nd June, Wednesday
Time: 12.55 AM
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Herston Public Library and Museum, Observatory
PCs: Kayte Aios
Other PCs: Alex Diamond
NPCs: Heisel

"I... I can just go?"

Heisel seemed genuinely surprised, but there was no real relief in his haunted eyes. Kate watched him with an odd sense of pity. The man hadn't even struggled when drowning.

"Your continued existence is punishment enough." She turned away from him. "Fiat justitia ruat caelum."

The room was silent for a moment. Heisel had no real place in this world, and his very past was reason enough for execution. Turning him over to High Command would be almost more merciful, something which they both knew.

"Who are you, Panzer?"

Heisel stood from the armchair he'd been laid on, his clothes still dripping a little from the wet. His gaze never wavered from the young woman, trying to figure out what she was.

"... A poor player," Kate intoned without turning around, "that struts and frets her hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more." She turned, this time speaking to Heisel. "There are many lives you have pulled into this conflict by your own failing. I am but one."

The Crosser was dissatisfied with her evasiveness. "And yet... you are too young to know the things you do."

Kate smiled wearily. "And you are too old to be making the same mistakes. Si jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait. Leave, now." Moving to the door, she opened it for him. "After what you've told me, there is only so much I can spare you."

As Heisel moved past her, she paused a moment, her left eye switching into its Ether spectra. Somebody was actively using Enomena close by. Half a second later, her suspicions were confirmed when the decoy security systems shut down.

"Stop. Wait here." She pushed Heisel back into the room, shutting the door behind him. The man seemed just a trifle surprised as he fell back into the chair, but he accepted the order with little protest.

The Panzer security systems were now online. Motion sensors detected the intruder's every movement, scanners giving Kate a fully three-dimensional schematic of the entire museum and its current occupants. There: Ether scanners detected a Crosser in the Atrium. Kate noticed from the scans that she was holding what appeared to be a map.

"Fools rush in..." she complained to herself. Randall Kayne wasn't back yet (nor did he seem in any condition to return for the next few days), and calling for her team wasn't a viable option. Fortunately, the Crosser appeared to be unlinked, which put him at close to no real threat.

Jumping down from the fifth floor balcony, she activated her gravity matrix, landing in the atrium on the ground floor without a sound. Sensors indicated that the Crosser was making a rather erratic line towards the archives. Kate groaned inwardly. The stasis fields were still deactivated from when she had let Randall in.

"Il n'y a point de sots si incommodes que ceux qui ont de l'esprit."

She took the security flashlight from Randall's guard post before turning into the left hallway. She watched the intruder seem to wander about the archives as she neared its entrance. At least it looked like he wasn't commissioned.

Stepping into the darkness of the archives, she flicked the flashlight on before issuing the sternest security-guard warning she could muster.

"Put down the scepter and put your hands in the air."

The Crosser seemed to freeze. That was a good sign. Kate thought briefly of activating the archive's lights, but decided against it. It helped that she was the only one with light, and would help keep her human facade. She decided to play the role of a Crosser, since whoever this intruder was, he seemed to know enough about Ether to find this place, anyway.

"You are in an Ether-sealed area. Attempting to use Enomena while in this room is useless." Her voice had slipped back into her quiet monotone: she found it hard to keep up the whole security guard thing, anyway.

She quickly switched through a plethora of spectra on her MPUD's scanner. Nothing. The Crosser was unarmed, at least. Also female.

[Pictor]

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: 7:40 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Shinetail Bridge
PC: Jacket, M, Sophia

============

As the two-lane passage along Shinetail Bridge began to slowly fill up with traffic, no one succeeded to notice the peculiar, masked individual lying down lazily on the high supports of the structure.

"You'd be surprised at how often people forget to look up."

Kicking back with legs crossed and arms behind his head, a familiar black-and-yellow visage basked comfortably in the risen morning sun. With all that he went through yesterday, Jacket figured he deserved a reprieve of sorts. Imagine that. Me, getting a break! He almost chuckled at the thought, but then realized just how depressing it was that he actually managed to find it amusing.

After Jacket had his sudden encounter with Lisken'Pell the night before he had planned to spend the night at the lighthouse again, thinking he could use his new powers to pick the lock on the door. As Jacket discovered, just because you could generate a lock-pick doesn't necessarily mean you'd be an expert lock-picker. His next stop was the library. Jacket didn't know exactly why he thought it would have been a good idea, but it didn't hurt to try. Besides, didn't Mirto work there? It'd be a convenient meeting place. When Jacket finally arrived at the building, he saw one side of it covered in tarps and scaffolding.

"Hahaha.... Oh. Right."

Jacket had conveniently forgot the large hole he busted through the side of the attic wall during his tussle with the train. Wisely, Jacket chickened out of his intrusion. Wouldn't want to be caught twice in the same place, that'd be embarrassing... even for him.

With no other ideas left, Jacket finally decided to hide out in the alcoves along Shinetail River. The convenient nooks and crannies in the surrounding cliffs weren't the most comfortable place to crash, but beggars shouldn't be choosers. And so, Jacket spent the majority of last night tossing and turning in a cooped-up rock hole meters above the thrashing waters. Jacket have been happier when he saw threads of light rising beyond the horizon.

At first Jacket was considering going to reunite with Mirto, until he realized that unlike him mortals actually needed sleep for logical reasons. Eh, maybe he'll just find her at the library a bit later... that book-worm. So now, relaxing on the metal bridge-beams slowly heated by the summer sun, Jacket wallowed in his lack of cares in the world. No Trains, no killer super heroines, no lack of Ether. It was as he first suspected; he had found paradise in Pebbleton.

Just as he was about to drift-off into a light nap, Jacket spotted something out of the corner of his eyes. On the other side of the bridge below him, past the whizzing morning traffic, were two people of which one was very familiar. Long, gold-and-brown locks of hair, chocolate-dark skin, and twinkling pleasant blue eyes.

Jacket bolted upright so fast that he nearly fell of his beam.

Oriole, it was Oriole! The Stray-girl who had returned his hat to him... he'd almost forgotten all about her. Argh, what kind of older brother was he? Jacket breathed a sigh of relief. So she was safe, at least. Someone like her would have been more than a morsel for that monstrous Train.

Hmmm, but who was her weird-looking friend? Judging by how they both seemed to be unnoticed by the passing population, Jacket surmised that Oriole's companion was a Stray. What's he doing with her? He looked kinda suspicious... It wouldn't hurt to check... you know, just to make sure Oriole wasn't hanging with anyone she shouldn't be around.

============

One the other side of Shinetail Bridge, past the whizzing morning traffic and traveling pedestrians, M and Sophia were experiencing a particular conundrum.

With a defeated-looking expression, the hoodie-wearing Stray turned to his nervous-look partner.

Oi... Sophia. He never did tell us where he worked, did he?

The golden-haired girl said nothing, only shook her head and then looked down despondently. Uh oh, looks like the waterworks are building up. Thinking fast, M gently pat Sophia on the head and smiled.

It's okay, Sophia. We'll find him somehow. We'll search the whole town if we have to!

M mentally congratulated himself when Sophia returned a determined smile and nod. But yeesh, what did he get himself into this time? It was a spur-of-the-moment white lie, but searching the whole town for one person hardly seemed like the ideal way to go about things. Ugh, he couldn't believe he's spending his whole day looking for that goatee'd loser! Suddenly, M felt Sophia tug at the folds of his sleeve.

"Um... c-can we go somewhere else, though? There's so many people here..."

"Ah, you don't like crowds, do you Sophia? Okay then, we'll get out of he-"

M paused mid-sentence as he spotted something odd. There was a face... order rather a head, peaking out from just under the edge of the bridge. Right between him and Sophia.

"......"

It took M a full three seconds to process this observation. Then, as the realization hit him at full force, he let forth a surprised yell and nearly tumbled into nearby traffic.

[marcien]

onii-chan battle, START!

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: Early Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Shinetail Bridge
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), M, Jacket
================

Oriole really dislikes crowds. M on the hand, seem to be completely at home in the streets bustling with people. He was even "walking" on his feet, a movement which amazed her. Sophia herself was only able float along beside the older-looking stray with her hand tightly grasped around the long sleeve of his hoodie.

"Um... c-can we go somewhere else, though? There's so many people here..."

"Ah, you don't like crowds, do you Sophia? Okay then, we'll get out of he-"

M stopped speaking mid-sentence. In fact, he stopped walking mid-floating and very nearly lost his balance. Oh no, not again... How many times now? He grabbed her wrists and began running in the opposite direction.

"What is it, Mister Mad Hooder?"

"Yet ANOTHER blight!"

But Oriole tugged away. Or rather, tried to, but could not since her feet was not grounded. This feeling is not the same as the one yesterday. "No!"

M stopped in surprise at her exclamation. "...Not... a blight..." She managed to breathe out.

"What are you talking about?" He responded, still not letting go of her. He looked over to the bridge again, and saw that the white face was really connected to a black body. And that blight had somehow jumped his way to the their end of the bridge, and now with a rather inscrutable expression in his blank eye holes, looks like it is preparing to jump down at--

Uh oh.

Crap.

"It's coming for us!" M picked up Sophia up in his arms ignoring her protests and ran.

[MidNightMagnificent]

Date: 2nd June, Wednesday
Time: 2.00am
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Herston Public Library and Museum Archives
PC: Alex
Other PCs: Kayte Aios

Alex froze. She had no idea what the person holding the torchlight in her face meant, but she figured that was the reason why the security cameras were still working. She could see that now, the stupid red light of a camera high up in the ceiling blinking merrily, mocking her.

Alex's mind worked furiously, as she considered how to squirm her way out of this mess. This had to be a new record for her. New town, within the hour, one big screw up?! A glance behind her showed that this security guard appeared to a lone woman. Perhaps she could cook up some kind of a sympathy story?

Squeezing a few crocodile tears out of her eyes, she carefully put the scepter down and turned to face the woman squarely.

"I'm so sorry,"Alex sobbed, watching the security guard's face carefully. "I just needed some cash. Look, I've put it back. Just let me off. I won't do this again."

"In this town." Alex added mentally. She was a thief, and she had known no other way of life since living on the streets after running away from her family at the tender age of ten.

She watched Kayte Aios carefully, trying to guess what the stern looking woman might be thinking and planning her next move. Fight, or flight? She did so hate to run from a fight, but anything was better than a jail cell.

[Pictor]

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: 7:42 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Shinetail Bridge
PC: Jacket, M, Sophia

============

"H-Hey! Wait!"

Jacket didn't realize how loud he'd shouted, because instantly all surrounding eyes were on him. A peculiar, mask-wearing character in the middle of broad daylight.

Jacket was used to being on the escaping end of a pursuit, so he was stunned when the strange young man swept Oriole into his arms and took off into the distance. What the hell?! Recovering from his split-second awestruck stupor Jacket instinctively gave chase, dashing after the two.

"God dammit!! I dunno what that guy's problem is, but if he's doing anything weird to Oriole..."

Whoever Oriole's apparent kidnapper was, he was one crafty son-of-a-bitch! The guy took Sophia and dove head-first into the crowd, which of course melded right through their ethereal bodies. Blatantly disregarding the morning commuters, Jacket weaved as fast as he could through the growing jungle of people on the bridge's walkway. Irritated grunts and shocked gasps perforated the crowd, but he paid no heed to anything other than his two escapees, unseen to the rest of the world.

"S-Sorry... pardon me... ugh- darnit... oops..."

There was no choice, he could very well just jump his way out of the crowd... it would actually have been incredibly easy! But given the attention he's already drawn to himself Jacket doubted it would have been the smartest thing to do. He could only hope to move so fast that nobody would have the chance to properly identify him. Finally after what seemed like eternity, Jacket literally tumbled out of the bridge, performing a mini-somersault onto the pavement that nearly knocked a woman's purse away. He mumbled one last half-hearted apology before taking off as fast as he could away from the bridge.

"...Uh oh."

In what was a clear definition of "out of the frying pan and into the oven", Jacket found himself in the middle of a downtown cross way filled with people and cars. There was literally nowhere to hide! The very air of the scene seemed to freeze as Jacket and his surprised audience uttered not a word. Then, a single noise broke the abrupt silence.

*Click Whrrr---!*

Whirling around, Jacket's very soul turned to ice when he realized the source of the sound. A young man in a High school uniform, eyes wide, cellphone raised.

"Welp, shit."

At that very moment, the intersection of Gurren Street and Shinetail River Road became a light-show sea of cellphones and cameras, as if everyone else just suddenly remembered they even had an imaging device. If Jacket was still capable of doing so, he would probably have pissed his pants. And so, he did just what every panicked, handicapped Ghost would do; JUMP. Summoning all his strength, Jacket made an almighty leap of faith, landing smack-dab onto the helicopter pad of the nearby Saint Jeremiah Hospital (which thankfully bore no helicopter). In retrospect, it probably would have saved him so much trouble if he'd just done that begin with. Mentally lynching himself for his own stupidity, Jacket ran like a madman away from his screaming fans below.

"AAAAAAARGH!!!! WHAT DID I GET MYSELF INTO?!"

Meanwhile, back among the riotous crowd, the High-schooler was swarmed by his fellow classmates.

"Oh man, did you really get him?!"

"He really exists! The Phantom Jacket!"

"Idiot, it's just some weirdo in a costume!"

"Did you see that jump? That wasn't human!!"

The boy waved his new-found groupies away with a haughty grin.

"Now, now, guys and gals, calm down. Let's see how this baby turned out."

With a quick flurry of clicks, the teen brought up his latest masterpiece.

"....."

Well, this was completely unexpected. On the tiny cellphone screen, was a picture of the intersection for sure but... no Phantom Jacket? In fact, there wasn't anyone in the picture! Only a floating tussle of yellow cloth and a mangy hat of some sort.

===========

After ducking into an alley and making sure they were alone, M finally released his death-grip on Sophia, gently letting her onto the ground.

"Oh geez... oh crap.... I think... I think we finally lost it."

If Strays could feel out of breath, M would be on the floor right now. Collapsing against a brick wall, he took a moment to calm himself.

"What the hell is with this town?! There's Blights everywhere! Boy did I ever pick a bad place for a vacation..."

Sophia, on the other hand, was not in the joking mood. As she whimpered with tears welling up in her eyes, M realized his fatal error.

"Oh... oh no! No, no, no, no! I forgot! You don't like crowds, do you? And I dragged you through all those people! Dammit, I'm so stupid! Sophia, I'm sorry, please don't cr-"

A moment too late. M braced himself as a pitiful wail pierced the air. A sonic outburst which would make the hearts of savage beasts melt with mercy.

"Waaaaaaaaaaahh~!!"

M could do nothing but hold the poor Sophia in his arm as she bawled in her tiny hands, cursing himself all the way. Oh crud, not good! What if that Blight were to-

*WHUD - CRNNCH*

M's train of thought was interrupted by the loud crunching of asphalt, kicking up debris in the tiny alleyway. A single, glowing white eye was the first to appear as the dust settled. Then... a masked face whose expression looked like they belonged to the most pissed-off person in the whole world. M barely had time to gulp.

"Sophia... you gotta run! I'll hold this thing off!"

It took M a moment to realize that he was talking to no one. The girl was no longer in his arms, she had broken free and was instead dashing toward the Blight!

"Sophia! What are you doing?!"

Of course, M was speechless when his young companion threw her arms around their foe's neck and wept quietly into his shoulders.

Jacket gently swept Sophia up with one hand, and raising the other, threw his palm straight into the alleyway wall.

*SMASH!!*

Chipped bricks and cement chunks fell to the floor as Jacket slowly withdrew his hand from the hole he'd just punched, and balled a dust-covered fist at the hoodie-wearing Stray.

"Kid... I am going to kick your ass so hard."

[Pasonia]

Date: 2 June, Wednesday
Time: 7:30am
Location: Martin's Office, Mycroft Holdings' Finance and Administration Department.
Weather: Clear outside, pretty hot on the inside.
PC: Martin Chang
Other PCs: Graciel

==========================

Martin made his final dash to the office. All that separated him from being fired was the ever-imposing metal gate gantry. It scans automatically for the person's worker ID. Handy, but that means no one could cheat for work since there's that pesky security camera is there, its minders ever ready.

And it was at this time that, for some very odd reason, a cat decided to get in the path between him and the office building's entrance.
Martin swore, he didn't knew why but the cat suddenly gave him ominous goosebumps.
Nevertheless, in order to avoid stepping on the cat he had to swerve really hard.

Ten seconds before the digital clock flashed 7.30am, Martin stumbled his way into the building, and had clearly lost his balance. But he willed himself into not falling down - somehow - and as he swung his body wildly in his most incredible endeavor to avoid falling down...

...he made a guy spill his morning coffee...
...the cleaning lady lose her footing...
...and the security guard trip over, before his whole body crashed haplessly past the metal scanner that separated him and the lifts.

BEEP!

"Good morning, Mister... Chang," spoke the computerised voice, as joyous and natural as ever.

"You have checked into Mycroft Holdings at...
Seven-Twenty-Nine-and-Fifty-Nine."

Martin couldn't believe his luck.
He stood up hastily and was ready to punch the air in jubilation...
...when he saw the unlucky people give him one of the scariest death stares he's seen in a while.

"Err... oops. Sorry."

=================

"...I see, Mister Chang. So you are able to prove that you have checked in on time, is that it?"
"Yes, Mister Tinkelmann, I did."
"Well, if the computer said you came on time, you did. I can't say much. But I must warn you that your tardiness will cost you if you don't keep it up."
"Yes, Mister Tinkelmann!"

When the portly man disappeared from his sights, Martin uttered a "fuck you" under his breathe. If there was one thing he hated, it's being a yes-man, but any other way is no-go for that man he calls his "boss".

"And to think that he was once a fellow colleague," snapped Martin, dumping his suitcase onto his working table. "Now he's above me and riding his air on top of me."

"Hey, what's up man? Someone pissed you off?"

Martin swung around to see who was talking; it was the busybody gossiper, Chen Liang. Without a second thought, Martin knew exactly how these people will succeed in Mycroft - by kissing some asses in high places.

But not replying would give such a person fuel for gossip.

"Ah, no, well, the suitcase slipped out of hand."
"Ah, I see. The great on-time tumbler tumbles his suitcase into his cubicle by accident. Hey, cool story bro."

Martin wished he didn't even try to construct a lie, but decided against railing at Chen for it.

"Um, Chen, I'm a bit busy here. Could you please get out of my cubicle?"
"Okay, sure. Mmm... and is a bit pissed, oh my."

Fuck off wussy, seriously, swore Martin under his breath as the gossiper skipped to the back of the office. By the looks of it he must be linked with Tinkelmann, since it wasn't long between the time he had spoken to Tinkelmann and when he flung his suitcase.

"So, first thing in the morning is my email... hmm?"

Then Martin opened his eyes a little wider.
The information guy has answered his mail around the time he went to sleep.

"He attached... oh, god, no, not a PD-Fucking-F," groaned Martin yet again.
He had an absolute loathing for Adobe products since they released Adobe Reader 9, and now this. Can't people learn how to just send him raw Word files instead?

"Ah, hell, Adobe, I will use your reader today only because this contains important information," he muttered under his breath. "I can't repeat enough times how I don't like you at all... ugh."

Martin willed himself to read through the PDF while swallowing his hatred against Adobe. He cheated, actually, by skimming through the pages very quickly while he uses his newfound ability to memorise the whole message through. Given that he still has a report to rush, this will have to suffice for now.

Of course, among what he remembers is a rather interesting message that he was consciously intrigued about; to get a lighter and "call for an accursed bird".

Looks like lunch will be at the rooftop.

[SavviG]

[Secret uncovered! Can you spot it? ^^]
Date: Wednesday, June 2
Time: 7:23am
Weather: Clear
Location: ???
PCs: Graciel
Others: Mirto, Hailey??, Noco, Redmist
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graciel was still in the tree, sat with two legs dangling about. He heats fluttering sounds from behing and he spun his head round to see what bird made the sound. A crow perched 4 branches away was standing still, staring at Graciel. For a moment it was a stare off contest and Graciel blink. "RAWR! I lost!" and the crow opened its mouth like it was about to say something then it just turned away. Graciel narrowed his eyes on it. "Shoo". Nothing. "Hi". It looked liked it shaked its head. It took off.

The streets will soon have students crawling about so he turned into a cat. Not long after he sees a student, he was quite tall and Graciel tried to get his attention by meowing at him. The guy looked up and walked pass. This was harder than he thought. He spotted another student, this time female. I'm sure she'll help a cat in distress. He meowed when she got closer and russled a few leaves down to catch her attention.

She looked up, picking some leafes off her head. She stretched out her arms and called for the him to jump. He took a leap towards her. She cuddled him in breaking the fall and she looked down into him as did Graciel looking up to his saviour. "AH! She's that girl with Jacket!" and he leapt of her and scurried to a near by bush and uttered the words "thanks" in a low voice.

~~~~~~~

Graciel rand further in the bushes and he felt a call. He poked his collar and the MPUD beamed out. It was now 7:45, email recieved 1.

To: Noco Sue Berry, Graciel Flay
From: Redmist

I apologize for my sudden departure yesterday after you entered the mall. I have had other matters to address. While I am unsure of what reward would interest a panzer, I would be happy to share with you what I have found out about yesterday's Train blight.

Graciel wasn't sure if he should go beyond his duties, after all he was sent to clean up the town only. Wouldn't hurt to know what I'm up against right?

Graciel pawed in a reply.

To: Redmist, Noco Sue Berry
Subject: RE:
whdere sdhouldf we3 ,m3eett?@

It was hard to paw in the letters, before he could rewrite the email he has sent it already. "Great, now they think I'm a mentally challenged cat." ~_~;

[Pictor]

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: 7:50 - 8:00 AM
Weather: Clear
Location: Alleyway on Renner Avenue
PC: Jacket, M, Sophia, Mirto

============

"You know this guy?!"

"You know this guy?!"

Jacket and M both pointed to each other simultaneously. Around them, dust perforated the rubble-filled remains of what was, up until a minute ago, a brick alleyway. Sophia clung onto Jacket's arm for dear life in an effort to stop the skirmish. She nodded meekly back at the two surprised Strays.

"Um, yes. M, this is Mr. Nice Hat. I told you about him before! And Mr. Nice Hat... this is M, I met him yesterday night. He wasn't trying to kidnap me!

Jacket finally relaxed and withdrew his readied arm.

"Hahaha, why didn't you just say so, Oriole? Man, that was a close one."

"I'll say, asshole! You almost killed me."

"Hey. Watch your mouth around the kid. Besides you're already dead."

"Tch... you're one to talk, coming in with fists flying. Look how much you shook her up!"

"Yea? Then why was she crying when I first came? What were you doing to her?"

Sophia felt the tension in the air thicken. She swore she could see sparks flying off her two older acquaintances, careening against each other and ricocheting off the walls.

"Uuuu... Don't fight again..."

As soon as the quiet little voice piped up, both parties immediately agreed to a cease-fire and jumped to Sophia's side.

"O-Oh no, we're not fighting? See?"

"Yea Sophia! We're getting along just fine, so don't cry okay?"

The golden-haired girl smiled and wiped the dwindling tears from her eyes.

"Okay!"

Jacket and M both breathed synchronized sighs of relief.

"Sophia, huh? You told me your name was Oriole last time, right? Does that mean you got yourself a Crosser?"

Sophia nodded happily back in reply.

"His name is Martin! He's kind of weird but... really nice. I met him when I got swallowed up by a scary Train monster."

"Y-You got WHAT?!"

Sophia, when M's help, explained her side of Train catastrophe from the day before. When she finished her story, Jacket could only cross his arms anxiously and mentally beat himself up for not having ensured her safety earlier.

"I saw you there too, Mr. Nice Hat! From inside the Train. I couldn't reach you though..."

"Hmmm... I guess, the important thing is that you're safe now. Anyway, what are you doing with this M guy here?"

"We're trying to find Martin, her Crosser. We saw another Blight last night and Sophia's worried about his safety."

"Another one of those monsters huh? There sure have been a lot of em popping up recently... I wonder what's going on?"

M simply returned a clueless shrug.

"But hey! If you're trying to find your Crosser pal, there's a neat trick I can show you that will tell you exactly where he is!"

"R-Really? Oh, thank you Mr. Nice Hat!"

"Hehe, no problem!"

Playfully ruffling the girl's hair, Jacket shot a cheesy grin in M's direction. Realizing he'd been one-uped, the hoodie-wearing Stray could only return an annoyed scowl. Tch, jackass... it's not like this is a competition or anything.

"See, Ori- uh, Sophia. I have a Crosser partner too! Her name is Mirto and she's a really grouchy girl. Not nice like you at all! But I gotta make sure she's safe right?"

Sophia, listening intently, nodded back in silence. Her hands were held tightly together in concentration. Cute. Uhm, anyway...

"Now, everybody knows that when bonded together, the connection between a Stray and a Crosser transcends time and space. All I have to do is use that connection, and I can instantly know exactly where Mirto is and what she's doing! Eh, it's kinda hard to describe so I'll show you."

Closing his eyes, Jacket raised two fingers to his temple and grimaced in concentration as both M and Sophia watched on curiously.

"Now, just... kinda feel the ether stream bonding you to your Crosser... and... let your mind wander. Hmmm..."

Sophia seems to be rather intrigued as Jacket mumbled and hummed, tilting his head this way and that. M, on the other hand, was doing his best not to laugh. This guy looked like an idiot! M's concerns about finding a Crosser partner just dropped a little lower in priority.

"Eeeeh... almost there... AHA! There we go, I've got he-"

Suddenly, Jacket froze mid-sentence.

"Um... Mr. Nice Hat? What's the matter?"

"....."

Lowering his fingers, Jacket slowly turned away from his audience and lowered his cap over his eyes.

"Uh... you okay? Did you connect with your Crosser?"

"... Y-Yea."

Jacket's voice trembled and stuttered. If M didn't know any better, he would have sworn he saw cold sweat trickle down the side of Jacket's masked face, somehow flushed with embarrassment.

"So yea Ori-Sophia. Um... J-Just do that and you'll be fi-"

"FREEZE! On the wall, hands behind your back, buster!!"

============

Meanwhile, halfway across town, Mirto cursed lightly under her breath as she sauntered out of the girls' change-room. She hadn't even written her first exam, and already disaster had struck! Some absentminded ignoramus had been running in the hallway and came crashing into her right as she turned a corner. The result? A uniform drenched in spilled coffee. Good thing she had a spare set in her locker. The profusely apologetic freshman was awkwardly surprised when the older girl was more concerned with lecturing him about speeding through the halls than her ruined clothes.

Mirto briefly glanced at her watch... exactly 8:00 AM. Her first exam began at nine, so she still had an hour of time to kill. To the study hall it is. Oh, how she'd miss that place once summer vacation hits! Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. Just because her day started out on a bad note, doesn't mean it has to remain that wa-

"This just in! A mysterious figure was just spotted in downtown Pebbleton..."

Blah blah blah, boring news. Mirto walked past the brand new LCD television that the school had installed in the foyer. It only plays the news... an effort to get students more aware of social happenings. As if there's anything interesting to report in this tiny town.

"...eye witness reports state that the figure was wearing a grey newsboy hat and a yellow sports jacket... roughly 175 cm tall...

"Kuh---!!"

Mirto stumbled as she nearly choked on her own throat. Clenching her fists with enough force to tear apart a phonebook, she seethed through gritted teeth.

"Jacket.... What. Did. You. Do...?"

[AYC]

(If Jacket is ham, then M is jerky. Because he's very dry and... jerk-y. And the poor Strays never get a break.)

Date: June 2, Wednesday
Time: 8:00 - 8:30 am, Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Alleyway on Renner Avenue
PCs: M, Sophia, Jacket
================

Despite being more or less clueless about what's transpiring around him, M finds the entire situation quite funny. Whether it's because the supposed Mr. Nice Hat's frozen expression is quite hilarious to watch or because he's but an observer to the whole thing, it doesn't really matter - all he knows is that this is quite the entertainment.

His two companions on the other hand, don't seem to share his sentiments at all. Sophia in particular looks confused above all else, and tugs at the end of her near petrified Stray buddy's jacket, her eyes widened and fixed on the number of people blocking the alleyway. For some reason, they seem to be staring rather intensely at Mr. Nice Hat...

He's almost one hundred percent certain that there's no Blight or Stray hidden in their midst - meaning that they're all human. Although he's puzzled by the fact that they seem to be transfixed on Mr. Nice Hat alone, it doesn't look like they can see Sophia or himself either, and that automatically rules out the possibility of any of those uniformed men being a Crosser.

What does that leave though? As unbelievable as it is, M has an inkling feeling...

Meanwhile, the masked Stray in question has yet to make a move, and the irritated cops slowly start edging into the alleyway, tasers and stun batons in hand. Getting intimidated and worried, Sophia pulls more insistently on Mr. Nice Hat's jacket, but only gets a twitch of the jaw in response. Damn, it's like the poor guy has the entirety of Pebbleton out to get him or something. Beneath the rim of his hat, M can make out a tic of frustration forming on his masked forehead - and it almost, almost makes him want to pity the guy.

M has a sudden idea. Unnoticed by the other two, highly distracted strays, he slowly reaches over and picks up the nearest trashcan lid, passing it back and forth between his hands.

And then he starts to juggle.

It starts sluggishly, a half-assed toss in the air and a hand to catch it as it falls, but then gains speed and a circular shape. Watching the reactions is the best part, though. An evil grin splits his face when the first police officer notices the metal disk oddly twirling through thin air, supported by (seemingly) nothing, and reflexively steps back onto his colleague's foot in surprise. M tries to keep back a snicker when a younger officer turns glassy eyed by the mystifying scene, but fails completely when another drops his jaw entirely in shock.

Sophia and Mr. Nice Hat give him the most dumbfounded looks. M only raises in eyebrow in response.

"Well? Are you going to make your getaway or not?"

As soon as Sophia is snatched up and the two make a run past him, M chucks the dirty lid like a frisbee towards the still mesmerized humans before following the other Strays. To his sub-par, shoddy merit, he manages to relish the sound of the metal striking two poor men in the shoulder with a loud clang and "ACK!". It sounds horribly painful, but he can't really be bothered to care - it's not like they couldn't have just been unfazed by his crappy attempts at distraction, after all.

Mr. Nice Hat doesn't stop running until he manages reach the outskirts of a park after jumping from building top to building top. Maybe the other two Strays are bonded and have a shitload of vitality, but M is just your standard, weakling Stray. Despite his careful attempts to conserve his ether, as dead as he is, he's not exactly as energetic as the other two when they finally look over their shoulders to check for pursuers.

"I think we lost them."

With a sigh, Mr. Nice Hat releases Sophia from his hold, and falls into a loose sitting position on the grass. M on the other hand, straightens to his full height and crosses his arms.

"Quite the freak of nature, aren't you?"

Sophia stiffens immediately when the masked Stray seamlessly focuses his glowing white pupil on M.

"Haa? What makes you say that?"

The sudden amount of hostility in his voice is astounding, but M refuses to back down. "That's what you are, isn't it? What kind of Stray can be seen by normal humans?"

"The kind that has shitty luck, kid."

"Oh yeah? Is it really something that comes down to something like luck?"

"Uuuu... stop fighting..."

Sophia looks about ready to cry again, but for once, neither of the male Strays seem willing to stop. It's clear that someone's hit a nerve.

"I don't feel the need to recap anything to you."

"Really? In case you didn't notice, if I hadn't distracted those coppers back there, who knows what would've happened to you." A sinister smirk breaks across M's face. "You owe me."

The other Stray stands up and mirrors him with an equally malicious smirk. "What makes you think I couldn't have gotten out of that situation by myself?"

"I dunno, maybe the fact that you were standing there looking like you'd turned into a statue? That was real productive."

"How would you know, huh? Maybe I was thinking of the perfect way to escape -"

"The whole time? Then you're -"

Unnoticed by both of them, Sophia suddenly yanks hard on both of their sleeves, with tears welling up in her eyes. "Uuu... uuu... stop fighting... now..!" Much to their great surprise, as she wipes away the big, fat drops with one arm, she points with her other arm to a spot in between some nearby trees.

It takes them both a while to discern what exactly they're looking at, but when the shadows of the trees - holy shit - actually moves, they know exactly what it is.

"Oh - "

"SHIT."

[marcien]

that thing can cast a shadow...? hmm despite how it looks like, it's not what it seems!! ham, jerky, syrup and vinegar~ vinegar borrowed with permission, of course.

Date: 2 Jun, Wednesday
Time: Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Dawnview Park (lots of things happen here huh)
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), M, Jacket, Alex Diamond
================

"What the hell is this now," said the voice from the shadows. A human dropped herself to the ground from the low branches of a tree. She had short hair and looked rather much like a boy, but Sophia was sure she is a girl.

"Let's see you try to get out of this one yourself, Mister Perfect-way-of-escape," M mocked at Jacket in an almost whistling tone.

"Right. Uh..." despite the sheer amount of times he must have been chased since he met a certain hammer-wielding teenage girl crosser, Jacket did not appear to get any better at dealing humans-sighting. So he simply ran.

"Wait, why does he have to run from me while you two stay?" pondered Alex aloud. Then she realised something. That small girl, she is floating. M stared back at the girl for a few moments... Jacket paused in his running pose, "Hey, do you think that dude is a--"

"... crosser?!"
"Crosser!"
"Ghost!" They exclaimed at the same time.

"Well I suppose you could call us ghosts..."
"Second time today I've been called that, what the heck?"
"Mister Nice Hat, I think she's a girl." Again, at the same time.

"Us? That means all three of you are-"
"What, really?"
"Are you sure, Sophia? He looks like--"

"Will you guys all shut the fuck up while I'm trying to ask something??!" shouted an exasperated Alex.

You're really a girl?" quiped M, completely unstirred by her outburst. Jacket and Sophia had wisely decided to keep mum.

Any other time, Alex would have been proud to have been mistaken for a boy and continued playing along. Today was not the time. "Yes. I. Am. Female," she breathed in and out, "So, you lot ghosts or something?"

"Yea."
Jacket nodded silently. A scary teenage girl.

M laughed internally at how pathetic Jacket was acting. Having explained ether matters to Martin the night before, M had a sense of déjà vu as he repeated his drabble to Alex. When he got to the explanation on blights, she interrupted.

"Okay, I have these water psychics, so I'm called a crosser, and does that mean I have to fight those freaks?"

Oriole picked up on her thoughts. "Madam... You have met... something?"

"Why do you think I was up in a tree, girl? A friggin' walking lamp-post with a head and fangs in a yellow jacket was prancing about here all night!!"

Sophia let out a gasp. M felt cold despite the sun still being high in the sky.

"A yellow jacket, what...?" asked Jacket.

[Pasonia]

(you may ignore office politics if it is not your cup of tea ^^)

Date: 2 June, Wednesday
Time: 8:30am
Location: Martin's Office, Mycroft Holdings' Finance and Administration Department.
Weather: Clear outside, pretty hot on the inside.
PC: Martin Chang

==========================

"Hey, Martin!"

Martin turned around again. It was that gossiper, Chen.

"Y'know, being a good colleague and all, I told Mister Tinkelmann about your problems today. He wants to see you in his office now."

Martin gave Chen a quizzical look. "And exactly who are you to know what problems I have?"

Chen's eyes rolled around, avoiding Martin's gaze. "You know, I just told him you threw your suitcase very, very, very angrily into your cubicle, after he spoke to you just now. I was just exercising my concern as a fellow colleague, so I informed him about it."

If Martin knew anything about Chen, it wouldn't come to this. What Martin hadn't counted on was that Chen was way too adept at making up stories. This bitch... he knew Tinkelmann is very soft on the ears and would believe anything as long as it's logical and plausible.

"... yea, thanks for exercising your concern," retorted Martin once he had finished gathering the news coherently in his head and getting himself mentally prepared for the firing.

Martin, though, wasn't horribly fazed. At the rate this is going, Martin didn't even need to be worried about that report anymore, since he wouldn't be in the office to take care of it any further.

Besides, if Chen can titter, Martin can do a better tatter.

=============

So the journey in and out of the manager Tinkelmann's office, consisted of just seven exchanges of conversation.

"Mister Tinkelmann?"
"Ah, there you are. I was wondering---"
"Yes, sir, what Chen says is true. Every word of it."
"Oh? Then I guess I can't---"
"Don't worry, sir, I will be out of the office very soon. I will hand over everything as per protocol. I have no qualms about this, sir."
"Why do you seem so---"
"If there's nothing, I will tender my resignation first, so it doesn't look bad on you, sir. Chen is extremely capable, Mister Tinkelmann!"
"... erm... what? Okay... if you say so."

=============

"Hey, erm, Chen..."
"Yes, Martin?" By now, this backstabber's tone had changed completely into condescension; Chen knew that with what he said and with how Tinkelmann is like, Martin would probably be fired by lunchtime... the third person in Admin this week to be fired. Very soon, after Tinkelmann leaves his post Chen would be the next in line to take it; the less competition, the better.

Or is it really going to be that smooth?

"Three things for you before I miss the chance to see you again, maybe in a very long while," smiled Martin, in a way that made Chen shudder.

"Firstly... do you remember how many people are in this department?"

Chen did a deliberately slow headcount.

"About nine. Why? Does it matter to you in a few minutes?"

That was when Martin smirked a bit.

"You see, I'm currently the only person in the department who is qualified in handling draft reporting - that's the easy - and manage the DBMS (Database Management System) in the absence of the technicians - I actually bothered to qualify for the job and I got this task from higher places, before Tinkelmann became manager."

"Eh...?"

"Secondly, thank you so very much! I'm dying to get out of this company with a valid, favorable reason; I can't get out because the people who've been promoted to managers have all found ways and means to get me stuck in this two-thousand-dollars-a-month seat, which means I should be very, very, very happy that you're relieving me from my dead-end work. Which, of course, I am."

Chen was beginning to sweat.

"Lastly... as per protocol, the manager will refer to the reporter for every single detail from out-ing staff. I know now that you got Shirley and Merrick sacked, but those two are newbies and could easily find a job again. As for you, good luck doing my work."

Martin went back to his cubicle, then handed over all his reports to an astonished Chen. It was pretty hefty, coming in at about nearly one meter tall's worth of paper work. Chen's knees almost gave way.

"H-h-h-h-how do you get so much work? I don't ever see these papers on your table---!"

Martin looked back at the cubicle, one he called home out of home for two years. "Unfortunately, after years of getting stuck in mountain after mountain of paperwork, I know how to keep my workspace tidy and neat... most definitely unlike you, friend!"

Chen felt something sink in his throat. In Admin, he currently holds the most "impeccable" record of untidiness.

"Oh... and, since Tinkelmann knows now that you're so capable, you should be able to finish his draft report by afternoon, right? Unfortunately for you..."

At this time, the security guard - the same one Martin tripped in the morning - was beckoning for Martin to leave. Martin had already tendered his resignation, and by Mycroft Holdings regulations, he has to leave within the hour.

"Gimme a moment, old geezer! Ah, I think I forgot to tell you; Mycroft engineers recently installed a company-wide routine to the DBMS."

"What about it?"

That was when Martin flashed his victory smile.

"My draft report is in the desktop, and the desktop is controlled by the DBMS. You will get nothing to back you up, you can't access my information because it's actually illegal to do so under corporate law, and... I just threw whatever printouts I had of the draft report into the shredder, so good luck to you!"

Martin couldn't be happier. He flashed a final victory smile at the now shell-shocked Chen, who is now panicking internally like an ant, that looked for trouble and got what it wished. Much as Tinkelmann is soft to the ears, he is also very strict and demanding about the work-rate of the staff at Admin; Chen will very soon be the fourth person to be fired.

As Martin quickly stepped into the lift with the security guard, having to beckon the old geezer into hurrying up, Chen suddenly bolted after the lift.

"Martin dude! Martin dude! Don't leave! I can speak to Mister Tinkelmann, give you praises and a raise, a bonus, WHATEVER - please don't leave!"

Martin was close to laughing at the sad fuck's predicament, right as the lift door closed on him.

"Bye, sad fuck!"

As the lift rumbled all the way down to the ground floor where Martin will perform his out-processing, he heaved a huge sigh.

After blurting out everything he had done to stay at Mycroft, Martin felt a little tinge of sadness. For the past seven years, he had chosen to toil at a lousy company like Mycroft, one of the worst in Pebbleton when it comes to employee benefits, hoping that he would rise up to a better post and avoid the problems.

But time and again, he's played out by his colleagues, and at times, his work was outright robbed and the credit never given to him, he is the everyman that nobody bothers to take a second look. At least, on his way out he finally mustered the courage and words to out-play a colleague for once.

Now that he's fired, there were other things to worry about. For instance, the day to day expenses, along with the bills he'd had to pay. His part-time work as Go coach would have to become his full-time work, but he'd just turned down an out-of-town full-time job offer last month.

"Looks like I'll need to sign up for the Go Online Teaching Programme, then," sighed Martin aloud as he signed his last wave of paperwork dealt to him by the security guard.

"This just in! A mysterious figure was just spotted in downtown Pebbleton..."

"A mysterious figure...?"
Martin was quite sure that something is afoot, but this early?!

At this time, most of the people in the lobby listening to the news report began to erupt into a loud chatter.

"...eye witness reports state that the figure was wearing a grey newsboy hat and a yellow sports jacket... roughly 175 cm tall..."

"A yellow sports jacket... This can't be right... holy---"

Martin suddenly widened his eyes in realisation. It must be the same jacket thing - Blight maybe? - that Lanette's gavel had struck yesterday.

"Shit... this is no good. I gotta check on those two little Strays at home! Oi, old fuck, can you be faster? I don't have time for you all day long!"

"...what?"

"I HAVE AN EMERGENCY RIGHT NOW! MOVE YOUR ASS YOU OLD FUCK!"

[SavviG]

(Edited the time)
Date: June 2, Wednesday
Time: 8:35 am, Morning
Weather: Clear
Location: Shinetail River Road
PCs: Graciel
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting, waiting for email back from Redmist.

Graciel was out by the side walk with crowds of people walking past side to side. People didn't really look where they were walking on so he had to dodge oncoming foots left and right. All because they were talking about something, a piece of interesting news fell into his ears.

People whispered or openly talked about Jacket, the infamous Jacket. The one who I took the hat from. So he has made big public appearance...?

Graciel had to dart to a alley way from being walked on. People are getting excited and scared that they didn't care about the cat on the ground.

".... took a picture of him at Shinetail Bridge and he just not in the photo! can you believe...."

So he appeared not far from here. "Mostly gone some time ago... Might not be far at all" he thought. He decided to do a bit of stalking while waiting for Redmists email.

Graciel immediately took off to find high ground, a tall building that can act as a viewing tower.

[MidNightMagnificent]

Date: 2 June
Time: Middle of the night/Really early in the morning
Weather: Cool
Location: Outside the library
PC: Alex Diamond
Other PCs: Kayte Aios
NPCs: N/A


Alex burst out of the library doors, panting for breath. She glanced at the moon's position up the sky. She guessed that it was about 3am. Thankfully, the woman who stopped her did not decide to pursue her. She mentioned strange words that Alex was unfamiliar with: crosser, enomena...

"Well, not much chance of finding a nice bed in a hotel unexpectedly at this time of the night." Alex grumbled to herself as she wondered what she could do now. Besides, who knows how many people that librarian had already informed of her presence. A new thief in town hardly makes for the most welcome of house guests.

Alex wandered around the area surrounding the library dejectedly, wondering what she could do now when she heard some strange growling noises. The girl paused, wondering if she should get herself involved when there could be absolutely no profit to be gained from this.

This decision was taken out of her hands as the source of this horrendous howl revealed himself/itself to be a horrible-looking dog/lamp post wearing a brightly couloured yellow jacket heading in her direction. Alex wasn't about to push her luck twice in the same night and fight off this new monstrosity.

Turning, she quickly grabbed the lowest branches of the tree nearest her and skimmed up, not caring that she scraped herself in about a dozen places, high above the reach of this lamp post monster.

Safe in the high branches, she found a safe place where three branches intersected and she curled up to catch up on some shut eye, deciding to ponder on the rest of this strange town and whatever else new she could learn about this amusing "crosser and enomena" stuff that the librarian lady mentioned and how it all applies to her.


Disoriented for the moment, Alex nearly fell off her branch the next morning as she woke to the sounds of an argument in the branches below her. She listened closely. They seemed to be having an argument, but since she couldn't pick up on any keywords that indicated they were a hunting party out for her blood, she decided that now was probably as good a time as any other to meet up with some of the this town's residents.

Carelessly, she jumped a few branches down, swearing "What the hell is this now?" as she drew another long gash down her arm from a particularly annoyingly positioned branch low in the tree.