Lamentable Nights: Act 03 - "Cloudy with a chance of ______"

[Pasonia]

Date: June 5, Saturday
Time: Early Morning
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Sanae's Home
PCs: Sanae Fujiwara
======================

POSITION AVAILABLE: Nice crosser wanted to bond with for cool stray! Interested applicants, please approach Sophia for interview.

So read the paper stuck at Sanae's bedroom window. Sanae inwardly heaved a sigh of relief that the piece of paper stuck outside of her bedroom window rather than her compatriots'; if it were them, they would have thrown away a "weird piece of paper with nothing but gobbledygook."

"早苗ちゃん，おはよう！"
(morning, Sanae-chan!)
"おはようございます、千原先輩。"
(Good morning to you, Chihara-senpai.)
"｢千原｣はいいですよ。ジャ、あなたは今日どこに行く？"
("'Chihara' is fine. Well, where you headed for today?"
"多分　囲碁センターに行きます。"
("Most probably the Go Center.")
"そうか。あれ？早苗ちゃんの手の物ーー"
("I see. Eh? That thing in Sanae-chan's hand...")
"い、いや！　何でもない、先輩。"
("N-nah! It's nothing, senior.")
"本当か？" ("For real?")
"ホンマや！あ、すみません、｢本当｣ーー"
("f'course, yea! Er, wait, I mean 'yea, for real'--")
"はい、はい 分かった！ジャ、公園に行きます！"
("Okay, okay, I got it! Well, off to the park I go!")
"お気を付けて、千原先輩！"
("Please take care, Chihara-senpai!")

Sanae heaved a sigh of relief. Why did she have to keep this a secret? The answer was quite immediate - it would scare her housemates if they realised she could see ghosts, and next thing in the morning her luggage and all would be in the pavement.

Still... the note was kind of weird. What is a "bond"? To this new Crosser lady, she doesn't really understand the meaning of bonding with a Stray because her idea of "bonds" stemmed from the idea of friends sharing bonds.

"I should go to Martin-san's house to ask him."

She picked up a small slingbag that she got from Telston, and quickly put her makeup and water into the bag before leaving the house.

"あれ、早苗ちゃんどこにーー"
("Eh? Sanae, where are you--")
"また夕飯、明日香先輩！"
("See you at dinnertime, Asuka-senpai!")
"ま、ま。。。"
("W-well then...")

**************************************


Time: Morning
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Martin's Home
PCs: Sanae Fujiwara, Martin Chang
Other PCs: M, Sophia (Oriole)
======================

Martin woke up lazily with a loud and drawling yawn, as he had been for the past two days. Having nothing to do is not really a good sign, but interviews are not a come-and-go affair and Martin can only wait.

He had once again decided against making his coaching job a full-time career, as there was way too much to consider, running the gamut of qualifications to notability, to the feasibility of moving to another town; the other town was still willing to open their posting to Martin, but a one-and-a-half-hour commute to and fro is not a good idea at all, given that the Pebbleton town center still has postings he over-qualified for.

Besides, there is a clear shortage of people to jobs, so people are more than willing to populate Pebbleton more than get out of it. Why should he be any different, he had thought.

"You're awake, Mister Goatee-Grouch."
"Morning, kid. So where's the girl?"
M pointed to the balcony window, where Sophia was fast asleep... in mid-air. Martin, however, has gotten used to not mentioning that peculiarity anymore.
"She out the whole day yesterday?"
"Yea, I guess... she's just not willing to see you act all grumpy on her, I guess."
"Technically speaking, I'm not at fault," Martin maintained. "She just needs to understand I'm acting in all of our best interests."
"Well, I don't know whether 'not giving a damn' is an act of best int--- guh!"

M then suddenly collapsed to the floor with a thud, sending alarm bells ringing in Martin's head.

"What the... Sophia, wake up! Help me out here, the kid's in trouble here!"

Martin's shouting jolted the floating Sophia awake. She awoke to see the kid half-conscious, and was scared by the Ether scattering around the Mad Hooder.

"Sophia, what the heck's happening to the kid?!"
"Oh no... Mister Mad Hooder is very low on Ether now... He will disappear if nobody gives him Ether..."

Martin thought, oh great, now what the hell am I supposed to do?

Getting M patched to a Crosser is an immediate and direct solution, but he doesn't know Randall's address, nor that of Sanae's. Whether either of them are willing to bond with a 'ghost' is also another problem, too.

"I see Miss Sanae! Across the street, at the bus stop!"
"Huh?!"

Martin looked out the window, and found Sanae crossing the street to his block. Apparently, she was here to look for him.

"Sophia, could you go and get Sanae -- STOP CRYING! It won't help the kid; go get Sanae's help NOW!"
That shouting woke Sophia from her crying stupor, as M slowly entered a trance-like state. He was clearly conserving what little he has now, but at the rate his Ether is leaking it wouldn't last.
"Don't you Strays, like, disappear when you run out of Ether? Now go and get Sanae before it's too late!"
"O... okay, Mister Martin! I have to save Mister Mad Hooder!"

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

And so, Sophia tried to contain her tears before she reached Sanae, but couldn't help it as her tears flowed freely in her panic for M. She ran her fastest-ever, but still was quite slow compared to everyone else around her.

"Miss Sanae! Miss Sanae! Mister Mad Hooder, he... he..."

Taking note that it was a Saturday morning, there was considerably less people walking about the area. Sanae, who had seen the little ghost girl float towards her, quickly waved at her to stop running towards her.

"Hai, hai! What is the matter, Sophia-chan? Why are you crying?"
"Help! Help Mister Mad Hooder... he's gonna disappear... please..."
"Huh? Why? Can I do anything to help him?" Sanae inferred that Sophia was referring to the kid ghost who explained to her a little about good Strays and bad Strays, but other than knowing he's in trouble, she doesn't know how else she could help.

Then she remembered the piece of paper in the morning.
Maybe she had just arrived in time to save the kid ghost.

"Sophia-chan... I need to bond with him, ne?"
"Uuuuu..." Sophia could only nod, being confused and very sad at the same time.
"Then bring me to him! Hayaku, hayaku!"

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

It didn't help that the auntie from the floor below was staring at a girl she had never seen before or heard from Martin, but Sanae couldn't care for the glance.

"Martin-san! Martin-san!"
"Great, you're coming! Quickly, bond with him!"

Sanae couldn't even find time to kick off her shoes as she dashed into the kitchen, where M had fallen.

"Martin-san, how do I help him?"
"I... I don't know, I just know you will need to bond with the kid..."
"That's all? Honma?"
"Hai!"

M weakly rose his hand, the Ether still scattering all over. Sanae was in a pure state of confusion, completely befuddled by this process of making a bond with a stray. It felt like being in a Buddhist cult with some sort of weird ceremony, but without the chanting and the fanfare surrounding them.

"Sophia, do you actually remember how we bonded?"
"We make contact... and ermm... you gave me a... name."
"Is that right--- Oh, I know now! Sanae! Just give him a name you could think of!"

Sanae copied that quickly without responding to Martin.

Clarity, truthfulness, directness... youthfulness.
Words that came to her mind without a second thought, and all of a sudden.

It was then that her surroundings suddenly sparkled in a dance of flower petals, literally from out of nowhere, and the flowers spiraled above her head in a mix of a yin-yang pattern with a torii pattern. She found herself raising her hand above M, her hand generating a sort of strange, mist-like energy she could not comprehend.

Around her, suddenly, line after line of pink energy sprang; from those lines, various other ghosts of all ages and types began appearing before her, seemingly in unison. When they had stopped, everybody around the vicinity of the bonding ceremony could only open their mouth agape, utterly awe-struck.

"We interact, we beseech, and we hail thee, New Lady of Nether.
We are nothing; we are everywhere; we will heed thee call."

"What the bloody hell...? Are these Strays? I've never seen them before!"
Sophia didn't respond; she just hid behind Martin, scared stiff, daring only as much as to peek her head out from behind him.
"You hang on to me this tight, but I'm also that close to fainting..."

"We beseech thee to bestow upon the Nether Knight, a name that springs forth from the bottom of thee heart..."

The word that sprang to her mind - rather involuntarily, she would later note - was a simple "truth".

"Makoto (誠)... the name I... call my Knight," answered Sanae, rather hesitantly.

"The name that springs only of truthfulness! It is a grand name!
We accept thy name, and we shall heed your commands from this point forth...
...Your Netherness!"

"W...whoa... This feeling..."

The rose petals that spiraled above the newly-minted Lady of Nether, Sanae, slowly landed themselves all over the newly-minted Nether Knight. Bit by bit, those petals - themselves manifestations of Ether that blossomed from the dormant Sanae - infused themselves into newly-name Makoto, as in slight alarm he gazed at the flush of energy flowing from the outside to his inside.

To add to the faux grandeur of the situation, the petals then sprang forth and, bizarrely, converted M's clothing from plain clothing into flashy samurai armor. Even Makoto was pretty surprised.

"God-fucking-damn, that looks so cool!"
"Wow, Mister Mad Hooder, you look awe--"

Makoto, as though he was in a trance, then smiled slightly at Sophia as he raised his fingers before Sophia's lips.

"Sophia, my name... is now... Makoto."
"Yes, Mister Makoto!"

"All hail, thy Lady and her Knight! All hail, thy Lady and her Knight!"

The chanting continued until the petals, one by one, disappeared into nothingness. With that, the ghosts and the lines that led them to the bonding ceremony, also faded away.

Makoto then heaved a huge, huge sigh of relief.
"Ah... I'm saved... yokatta... eh, what? Did I just speak Japanese?"
"What's the matter, Makoto-han?"
"E, to... I just heard myself speak Japanese - again! What the heck? I don't remember speaking Japanese!?"

Martin slowly recorded a few of his own observations from Makoto's response in his mind, sure that the information would come in handy in future.

Firstly, how a bonded Stray acts becomes influenced by its linked Crosser's personality and experiences; this apparently extends to usage of language as well, though for some reason Sophia hadn't become as foul as Martin, hinting at a limited degree of influence.
Secondly, how a bonding ceremony works depends on the Crosser's preference. Given the abstract stylishness of Sanae's game, Martin could safely assume that Sanae likens every go game to be a participation in the creation of beauty itself, and that manifests into her eventual ceremony.
The third and more worrying observation, was that Strays and Blights are technically ghosts, but they're not the only kinds of ghosts around. Not even Redmist and his stupid information from PDFs and whatnot, hinted that much to him.

"Mister Martin, are you recording all these?"
"Yes, Sophia... why are you asking?"
"Because, one day, we can look at the ceremony again!"

Martin could only have smiled in response.
The ceremony was so dang lush, it made him green with envy.

"Yea, we will. It's so beautiful."

And then, from way outside the apartment...

"Martin, boy ah! Don't anyhow bring other woman to your house lah!"

Oh boy, here we go again.
"Auntie! Don't just say things ah!"

[Pictor]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 12:00PM - High Noon
Weather: Cloudy, Breezy, and.... ????
Location: Nameless Cliff
PC: Jacket, Mirto
NPC: Lanette
============

In the distance, the familiar ringing of the fountain clock rambunctiously told the whole town it was mid-day. On a nameless cliff extending over the seas, a certain Crosser girl and her hapless pet Stray waited for a guest of honor.

"Grrrrr... again. Late again. Noon sharp? Yea right!"

Mirto paced back and forth, periodically stopping to take a quick glance at her watch. It was clear that she was rather irritated. If there was one thing Mirto could not tolerate, it was tardiness. Lanette had made the schedule for "Crosser Training", not her! It's logical then, that she should adhere to her own timetable! It was the same for yesterday's "session", too! And the day before that!

Would it kill some people to simply be on time? Mirto could not recall even one instance in which she herself was late to anything. Why can't the whole world be as punctual? So many problems caused, so much resources wasted, all because people can't be bothered to keep up with the clock.

"How utterly irresponsible.... how childish... how...---"

As the young girl continued her dizzying march, a bright yellow tussle of nylon cloth flapped above her in the warm summer breeze. Sitting up in the lone tree decorating the grassy bluff, Jacket could not care less about any wannabe superheroes at the moment. Laying with his back against the trunk, and one arm propped up on his raised knee, the Stray stared out onto the glistening seas with a glazed eye. He had other things on his mind.

Silvery hair, laced with striking streaks of red. Softly glowing eyes, red and blue. How mysterious... silhouetted against the moonlight. And her voice...

(Oh! And if you're concerned about your appearance, why not make a disguise for yourself? Hehehe... like a hat or something!)

Yeaaaa... that's what she had said. And the thing was? He did have a hat! A nice one too! Or... at least he thought it was nice... what if it's actually not nice at all? Should he get a new hat? Hmmmm...

Aw, wait. None of this is important...

Sighing deeply, Jacket sank back further into his bark-filled seat.

"Maaaaaaan... Who was she...?"

Truth be told, he did try to sneak after her, but he had been stunned on the spot for so long it was obviously too late. By the time he got out onto the street corner, there was no one in sight.

"Jacket....!"

"Hnnnn.... a name. At least I could have gotten a name..."

"Jacket!"

"Oh! She mentioned it... on that radio thingy she had on her wrist... dammit... what was it? Can't remember..."

"Hey!!"

"Nah. I was a mess back there... I couldn't even have given my own name if I wanted."

"JACKET!!"

"Wha--"

Jacket abruptly snapped back to Earth only to find that half his body was hanging off the branch, in mid air.

"---WHOooaaaaAAAAAH!!"

With a painful sounding slump, the Stray clumsily tumbled a a few feet to the ground.

"Owowowow...."

Mirto grumbled and placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh... honestly, what the heck were you doing?"

"Hehehe... yea! Don't zone out before class even begins!"

Jacket looked over to see the familiar, taunting face of an even more familiar orange-haired girl.

"Sh-Shut up!"

"Yes, I wouldn't be talking if I were you, Lanette. It's hardly a proper class if the teacher herself is late."

"Ah... sorry. I um..."

Mirto huffed impatiently and crossed her arms tautly against her chest.

"No need for excuses. Let's just get started, hmm?"

"R-Right! Class number three of Crosser training is now in session!"

Rushing over to the tree, Lanette threw down her bag and began rifling through it for miscellaneous things. While the two girls got busy setting up, Jacket wandered over to the peak of the cliff.

He'd never been to this part of Pebbleton before. In fact, before Mirto had suggested it as the location for all these training sessions, Jacket never even knew it existed! He simply assumed there was nothing more than forest beyond the ravine in the park. What a pretty little place. It doesn't look like many people come here, either. Jacket wondered what the cliff would be like at night.

"Heh... great view of the stars, I'll bet!"

Maybe he ought to check it out tonight. Who knows... he might even meet that Panzer girl again. Yea... that'd be swell...

Another light bout of breeze swept in from the ocean, gently shifting the greenery around him.

"Ack!"

Jacket suddenly recoiled in surprised as he felt an icy sting on the back of his neck. Reaching back, he wiped off a tiny speckle of wetness.

"What the...?"

As he looked up, the Stray was awestruck to see millions of tiny white flakes descending upon him. He reached out and caught one in his palm, and watched as it quickly disintegrated into a small droplet of water.

"Hey, I know this! It's... snow? It's snowing?"

[SavviG]

Date: June 5, Saturday
Time: Early Morning ~>10:00
Weather: Cloudy
Location: PeddingtonbLane 2 (home)~>Tranquile Drive 6
PC(s): Graciel Flay
~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bedroom is dark, only a beam of light shined through the gap of the curtain.
The man in the bed rolled around facing the table top alarm. Only the ears of a animal can be seen until he pull the sheets down from writhin so he can see the time.

It was almost time to get up. He reach out to slap the alarm off. Sat up, pulled out a mini remote and pointed to his black shiny player. A single click and the radio came to life. Songs played while he dressed and cleaned.

He pull open the curtains and opened the Window, A breeze came through and he sniffed the air. 'Auugh caough cak cak, ooorr KAAAAgh!' The air changed horrible, on the ledge was a dead fish. The day before, Graciel was chasing a cat with a yellow jacket, what's left on the jacket was probably a smell trace of Ether left over from Jacket in which it was making use of.

Graciel punched the dead fish out onto the pavement, 'do Blights eat?!'

Down at the kitchen table Graciel had his breakfast, the usual toast, cornflakes and orange juice. He turned on his MPUD to check some email, just some advertisements on rifles and hand guns that was new stocked. He deleted all the email. He checked the time, it was almost 9:00. He made his way to the basement to re-equip his gear onto the MPUD. Handgun, rifle, med pack and the occasional sweets.

He leaves the house for work, as he made it to the dead fish, he picks up a near by twig and jabs the fish and cleverly picks it up to a near by trash can. A few morning passer-by's greeted Graciel with good mornings and waves. Every Saturday morning he would leave out his cat ears and tail. It was, safe to do so and people tend to recongnise him for this.

Now, outside of a corner of many shops. He enters through one particular pattiserie shop (? Stray Cats), and he was greeted with staff members with cat ears and tail similar to himself.

'Morning Graciel, nice to see back, how was the week?' asks one cute staff member, she was carrying a large black board.

'Ah, let me help with that - my week has been, quite good.' Said Graciel as he took the board off the girl 'How was yours?'

'Good - I saw the huge commotion with that Phantom Jacket the other day, did you?'

Graciel came back through the doors, 'Me? No, saw it on tv though.' It was a lie, he was there with the crowd, as a cat. Then it was the sewers where he got wet and missed some panty's.

It was now getting close to 10:00 for the shop to open.

~~~
Outside across the streets from Stray Cats perched a black cat in the tree. Watching ever so intensely as if was also smiling ...

[AYC]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 12:00 pm
Weather: Cloudy, Breezy... then Snow and mini-Blizzard?
Location: Nameless Cliff
PCs: Jacket, Mirto
NPC: Lanette
============

"Jacket!"

Still no response. Honestly, what's been up with him lately? He's been like this for the past two days or so; first, he had seemed a bit troubled and off, but more recently, he's become more... more... distracted... and misty? Mirto's not sure if she should be concerned or weirded out by the unexpected shifts in mood he's been having, but she hasn't mustered the courage - or interest, perhaps - to ask yet.

So for now, she just rolls her eyes at his dangling body and calls him out again.

"JACKET!"

She watches with a thinly veiled expression of triumph as he drops painfully out of the tree and hits the ground, head first, with a loud thump.

"Owowow..."

"Honestly now... what in the world were you doing?"

Lanette, who had finally arrived while Jacket had been daydreaming, snickers and chimes in mockingly, "Hehehe..! Don't zone out before class even begins!"

"Sh-shut up!"

It's not like Miss Shadow Buster is any different though, and Mirto promptly scolds the shorter girl as well. Lanette rubs the back of her neck as she laughs nervously, and hurriedly starts rifling through her bag for the materials needed for today's lesson... or demonstration rather. Although the girl's efforts are all there, her teaching hasn't actually yielded any results of ether wielding on Mirto's part. If she was to guess the reason why, it'd be because Lanette had grown accustomed to using her powers from an early age - it had become so natural to her that her method was just incompatible with newbie, completely inexperienced Crossers.

At the very least though, Mirto had picked up a large handful of new information about the world of ether from Lanette's explanations - which meant that her original request was getting fulfilled. And at the moment, that was just fine and dandy with her. Even though she really would like to utilize her powers soon.

Despite Lanette's instructions, her own powers don't come to her on instinct - not like all the other Crosser things she's done - nor do they seem to come to her by sheer willpower. It's quite frustrating.

Argh, if only I knew what exactly it was...

With a sigh, she leans over to survey the younger girl's work just as Jacket exclaims loudly in the distance.

"It's snowing?"

Both girls turn to face him, and Mirto curtly replies mid-turn, "What are you talking about? Why would it be snowing in Ju- "

A cold white fleck drops and melts on her forehead as she looks up. An involuntarily shiver racks her body at the suddenly frigid air while Lanette looks on with a gaping mouth of awe.

"Oh my God, it is snow - "

"Why is it snowing at this time of year?!"

"Your guess is as good as mine, princess."

Mirto fights the urge to shudder at the dropping temperature, to little avail. Ugh. The fact that she had only worn a light jacket and shorts was not helping in the slightest, and it only makes her discomfort more obvious when she wraps her arms around herself to maintain the warmth in her body. Judging by the way Lanette's knees keep knocking together, she's not that much better off either.

Ugh... so annoying... why is this happening?

It's been cloudy and slightly windy all day, but there's no reason for it to suddenly start snowing, not when it had been at a relatively moderately temperature a few minutes before. A brief glance back at the buildings of Pebbleton in the distance tells her that the weather seems more or less within the norm - although Mirto can't say she's regular visitor to this cliff, it's not like this place is usually on the receiving end of bizarre weather, right?

Right?

Mirto violently shudders again when a strong gust of wind and snow blows past, and Jacket moves forward, a hand on the lapels of his coat as if he was going to offer it to one of the freezing Crossers - but it's at the moment that she suddenly sees something moving behind some jutting rocks in the distance.

It's... human? Or at least, human-shaped...

Jacket jerks forward and is sent tumbling into the two girls when Mirto suddenly pulls him down by the collar. "Whoa, princess what do you think you're doing -?!"

"No, look!"

His eyes widen, then squint as he eyes the figure she's pointing at. "What... Who...?"

"Hey... I think that's a Stray..." Lanette's eyes are wide with shock, and her hands tightly grip the fabric of her scarf as she stands up to get a closer look despite the increasingly fierce wind. It's hard to see with all the snow flying around them, but Mirto's almost certain that the pale figure seems to be fluctuating in shape. In fact, it almost looks like the flurry of snow is denser around the Stray - actually, it really does look like it's all coming from the Stray in the first place, like a madly leaking container.

Ether...?

Mirto blinks when a faint shadow of black starts to seep through the curtain of ice, and Jacket abruptly pulls her back and behind him.

Hate - Despair - Sadness - Anger -

"Wha- ?!"

"What the hell?!"

Kill - Kill - KILL - Hunger - so HUNGRY -

The previously standing Lanette comes stumbling into Mirto from the sheer force of the wind as the gusts are suddenly sucked in towards the dark shadow like a vacuum, then spit out in a sudden explosion of condensed air and ice, showering the trio with flecks of grey-colored snow.

EATEATEATEAT -!

MUST - EAT -!

Mirto's shoulder rams painfully against the trunk of the tree as the sharp gusts literally pick them up and sweep them in turbulent spiral. With a quick twist of the body, Jacket manages to cage her and Lanette between him and the tree, using himself as a shield from the maelstrom of ice shards. His hand splinters the bark of the tree when he digs his fingers into the wood to prevent them from being blown out to sea from a frighteningly strong blast of air, and sets his jaw as a large chunk of ice hits him in the back of the head.

"What the hell is going on?!"

"Shit, that's what I'd like to know!"

Lanette is hesitant when she answers.

"I think... I think that was a Stray... that just turned into a Blight."

And then, with an nervous laugh, "Oh wow, talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time!"

You don't say.

[Pictor]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: Morning
Weather: ???
Location: ???
NPC: ???
============

"...My, my~ And you're certain of this?"

"Yes. I saw it with my own eyes."

Somewhere, in a small but oddly well-furnished room, two shadows sat around a glass coffee table. The room was completely dark, save for a scarce blue glow provided by the artificial lighting in a nearby fish tank.

The more feminine of the two shadows reached behind her and pulled out two objects before gracefully tossing them onto the table. As she did, her eyes glowed unnaturally in the dark. Sliding into the light, the two items revealed themselves to be a set of hardcover novels with plain, featureless covers. The second shadow, appearing much more like the figure of a man, yet still mysteriously refined, smiled wryly as he laid his eyes on the volumes.

"I did as you said and ... Apparently it had been rifling through these."

The manlier shadow laid back onto his seat and gave a bemused chuckle.

"Hnn hnn hnn hnn... My, my~ It's begun to awaken, then? This town really is quite full of surprises. They don't call it the place of risen spirits for nothing, I suppose!"

"... Does the ART know about this?"

The new voice that piped up belonged to that of a young boy. From the corner, standing against a window with the shutters tightly down, another, much younger-looking shadow stirred.

"I doubt that they are completely clueless to the fact. After all... their commanding operative in this area has... shall we say... quite a history. But it's also obvious that they don't know enough to explicitly act. If that were the case, our bounty would be beyond reach by now."

"I see. Let us hope it stays that way, then."

PI PI PI PI PI PI PI---!!

The older male shadow reached into his suit pockets and retrieved a ringing cell phone.

"My, my~ Hello, hello~?"

A slightly gruff-sounding voice answered through the phone's speakers.

"It's me. I've found it. Heh... wasn't too hard at all!"

"Ah, of course, good job! Having an animal's nose is quite handy for such a time, no~? But... I don't have to remind you what you have to do now, do I?"

"Tch. What do you think I am, a kid? No need to tell me twice. You know... no matter how many times I gotta answer to your voice, it still manages to piss me off every time."

"My my~ Let's save that tenacity for the target, shall we? Oh, but don't overdo it this time, yes? I know you Panzers have a tendency to go wild... but we really need this in one piece! Just engage according to plan, and everything will be dandy!"

"Pfffft. Don't lecture me about restraint just to be a hypocrite. You damned Crossers are more twisted than I'll ever be."

"Hnn hnn hnn... sweet-hearted as ever, I see. Just making sure, of course~! As a treat, why don't you take one of Benzene's new pets out for a spin? I heard you've been getting along with them quite well recently."

"Heh. I woulda snuck one out even if you hadn't told me. Those things are just plain awesome. Catch ya later... and when I do... it'll be with a delivery."

*--clop--*

The male shadow snapped his phone closed and swiftly tucked it back into his pockets.

"So... it's happening at last, huh?"

"Indeed. Of course, this is just one piece of the grand design."

"The Fragment of Callos... after this, it'll be..."

"Sending just one agent to retrieve something so vital? It is not exactly offering itself up to be taken. In its current form... it might even be quite dangerous."

"Worried, Miss. Care Taker? Do not fret. I assure you, our Mr. Ears-and-Tail is quite a capable individual. And of course... that is why we have you as the fail-safe, hmm?"

The feminine shadow tensed up slightly and grit her teeth.

"Do not forget about our agreement. If she is really with that... thing, then..."

The male shadow sighed and leaned forward in his seat, meshing his fingers together in front of him.

"I assure you, your precious little lady will not come to harm. Hindfell or not, civilian casualties would strictly be against our best interest. Of course, in return for your co-operation, the girl will be released from our watch and returned to you, as promised."

The man's words did little to ease the female's worried grimace. But having resorted to this, there was nothing she could do now.

"Young Miss... please stay safe. I will fetch you soon..."

==========

At Martia's request, here's some footnotes:
Older Male, 30+. Crosser. A refined individual.
Young woman, early 20's. Class unknown. Straight and professional.
Young boy, 10 ~ 13. Class unknown. Stern and cold.
Male. Panzer. Speaks rather proudly. [martia edit: this is Cyanate]

[Pasonia]

(AYC or martia please help me write up on whether you want help, and if so, how)
Date: June 5, Saturday
Time: Late Morning
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Pebbleton Community Center
PCs: Martin Chang, Sanae Fujiwara
Other PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Makoto (M)
NPC: Abigail Kotsworth (one-time only?)
======================

After Martin had suggested going over to the Community Center yet again, this time to personally coach a student, the two Crossers and their Strays moved to the Go center, which wasn't too far out from Martin's home area.

Two hours in, the intensive session involving tactics, tesujis and sight-reading was about to reach an end.

"Alright, your class is over for today Abigail. Play a few more games and train up your calculating ability with the steps I taught."
"Wow... that seems like a lot to ask, sir..."
"The national qualifiers are coming soon, so train hard. Your committee is the strongest I've seen since my batch, so I have great confidence in you guys."
"Yes, sir... thank you, sir."

She's somewhat overjoyed by my compliments, eh... but it's true! Martin smiled, clearly deriving it from a capable student.

"You're welcome. By the way, are you guys handing over any time soon? I remembered you took the treasurer position around this time last year, too."
"I don't know yet, but it seems they have fixed a date for the Hand-Over Investiture Ceremony. Sometime in the next two weeks, I think."
"I see. Thanks, Abby --- Ah, Sanae, sorry for making you put up with me!"

Sanae, who had been teaching some visiting kids basic movement techniques, turned around and shook her head.

"Daijo--- I mean, no, it's okay, Martin-san, I have nowhere in particular to go, too."
"Miss Sanae, Miss Sanae, please come here again soon!"
"Ah, yes, I will come here again!"

Beside the two Crosser/Go teachers all these while, were two slightly interested Strays; one was plain excited at the black and white stones making a 'clak' sound whenever Martin strikes hard to make a point, whereas the other was a teenager listening to Sanae, semi-interested.

"Wow! Mister Martin can hold that stone very well and strike the board so hard!"
"Hmm... so this game's pretty much about surround other stones. It just reeks of so much strategy in a simple game."

Well, well, you can do that with nearly two decades of experience... thought Martin, directing that message at Sophia.

"Mister Martin... you are rather boring that way."
Huh? Why?
"You played the same game for more than twenty years! Don't you play other things as well?"
Well... It's kind of hard to explain, but to me, this game is enough.

"I'd be bored playing the same game everyday!"

That's not surprising. "Sanae, wanna get something to eat at the canteen later?"
"Sure, Martin-san, it'll be my pleasure!"

"...Note to Newspaper Club - Notable Alumni Finally Getting a Girlfriend!" The girl Abigail began mumbling to herself while furiously texting on her mobile phone.

Martin groaned at Abigail, who then giggled when she saw Martin's funny sneer. Sanae blushed red with embarrassment.

"Abigail, since when did the Newspaper Club become an Evening Tabloid Club? Don't you go around saying weird stuff like that, little girl!"

"Da------me! You can't stop me saying what I want! Freedom of speech, banzai!"

Martin cringed, feeling totally embarrassed at Abigail's Japanese abuse.

"なんでやねんや！それは冗談！"
("The freakin' hell? That's a joke!")
"Eh? You... speak Japanese?"
To Martin, it seemed as though Abigail had just been delivered a mild taser stun.

Martin witnessed for the first time, an exasperated look in Sanae. Still, she retracted that quickly and patiently answered.

"Yes, Miss, I shall be Japanese language module teacher for Herston Public School's summer classes."
"Oh... that's just great."
"What's wrong with that, Abigail?"
"I just messed with my teacher-to-be. Please, Ma'am...?"
"My name is Sanae Fujiwara... Abigail-san. You can call me Miss Fujiwara."
"Yes... Miss Fujiwara! Moushiwake arimasen, sensei!"
"いや、大丈夫！"
("Nah, it's okay!")

Martin glared at the two excited Japanese-speaking ladies with a flustered face.

"You two, please stop speaking in Japanese... you two are losing me."

Makoto snickered. Maybe that was the whole point.

************************
Time: 12:05pm
Location: Pebbleton Community Center canteen

The two Strays could only watch in amusement, that being derived from Abigail Kotsworth's refusal to sit too far off from Martin and Sanae.

"Sophia, tell me what that lass over there's doing, will you?"

Sophia giggled as she watched the club treasurer clicking away furiously on her mobile phone.

"She's clicking very fast on her mobile phone, Mister Martin! I wonder what she is doing... hee hee."

"Figures! She's just taking pictures of us both like crazy! Sorry you had to deal with this mess, Sanae-san!"
"Sanae's fine! You suddenly dropped back to using the suffix, Martin-san!"
"Same to you! Just call me Martin, it's fine."
"Look at you, being all so friendly and such... Sanae doesn't yet know you have a habit of swearing, eh?"

"Kid... I mean, Makoto, there's a time and place for everything," growled Martin, careful to face Sanae while he speaks just in case he ends up looking like a mad man talking into thin air.

"Damn, this sandwich's starting to taste a little weird! It's the taste of excruciating voyeurism!"
"Surely, it isn't as bad as you say so, Martin?"
"With gossipy kids these days, you can't tell! Just acting on the safe side!"
"Mister Martin, Madam Abigail is still clicking very fast!"

Martin tried to maintain an obviously forced smile as he turned at Abigail, sure that she was snapping pictures of himself and Sanae.

"Abigail, you mind?! If you want to take pictures of us, at least ask for our permission!"
"Says who I'm taking pictures! I'm in a group chat with friends!"

Martin didn't buy that, so he sternly walked his way to Abigail's table. Abigail paid him no attention until Martin began grabbing at her phone. A worried Sanae and the two other Strays quickly got to Martin's side.

"Mar... Martin-san, it's okay..."
"Come on, little lass, stop now..."
"SERIOUSLY! LOOK!"

Martin took the mobile phone from Abigail, and then his jaws dropped in utter surprise.

"We're discussing the appearance of this weird scene at the cliff near the private school! You see? These pictures just came in!"

Martin scrolled through the mobile phone quickly and found the pictures as exactly stated. Students who were returning to the private school for various reasons on a weekend, had spotted a duo and a rather familiar-looking flying-jacket-with-hat-combo at the Unnamed Cliff, apparently fighting against thin air and leaping about like hyperactive monkeys, and thus were furiously discussing their appearance.

The original sender had appended a message:

"I saw sth wearing that jacket n hat, but it didn't appear on e phone! It's gotta be tt Phantom Jacket OMGGGGGGGG!"

"Kyaa! It's Mister Jacket! He must be in trouble!"
"Say what?! Who's this 'Mister Jacket'?"
"Jacket is a Stray cool dude we're friends with, grouchy."
And I am apparently not cool enough, then.
"Is this guy the same mysterious figure as in the news lately?"
"Yea, pretty much."

Martin's head quickly turned away from the rest as it rewound to Tuesday morning, comparing what he saw that morning to what he saw on the phone, and near his taxi.
After three seconds, he got himself a positive match on all three jacket images.

It is indeed that Jacket thing.

"Mister Mad Hoo... Mako..."
"If you're not used to calling me Makoto, you can call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Sophia. I don't really care. As long as it's not something that comes out of Martin's mouth."
"Um! Uh, Mister Mad Hooder! Could you please go help him now? He seems to be in some trouble..." It was pretty obvious Sophia's voice was laced with concern.
"Eh... why don't you ask the grouch instead?" Makoto had blurted nonchalantly.
Because this is none of our business, is it?Despite knowing what that was, Martin still didn't really like the idea of helping people he didn't already know.
"Hmm... because he'll say 'this is none of our business'..."
Thanks, Sophia... Martin wished he had a hole to dig himself into right about then.
"I don't know why you're thanking me, but thank you, too, Mister Martin!"

Martin then slipped his palms into his face, grasping the problem at hand.

To help, or not to help?

[Pictor]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: ~12 PM
Weather: Snowstorm
Location: Nameless Cliff
PC: Jacket, Mirto
NPC: Lanette, Cyanate
============

"----Tch!"

Jacket winced as another ice chunk nicked him along his back.

"Jacket!"

"I'm fine! Damn... why do these guys always have to show up at the worst times...?"

The howling winds suddenly shifted direction once again, pulling the trio in this time. Lanette let out a surprised "Wah!" as Jacket quickly grabbed his two companions and dashed to the other side of the tree to prevent the storm from sucking all of them in.

"Grrr... we're just sitting ducks out here!"

"What's with that stupid thing?! Is it trying to blow us away or suck us up?!"

Lanette seemed fine... but Mirto shuddered slightly under his arm. Ugh... not good. Hardly the ideal type of weather for humans. At this rate...

"Alright, Lanette... listen up."

"Hmmm?"

"... Before that monster switches the wind direction again, I'm gonna jump in and create a diversion. Take the princess and get outta here!"

Mirto stirred against Jacket's firm hold in objection.

"What?! Jacket, that's--"

"You're in no shape to fight right now! I'm not putting you in any trouble like with that Train!"

"He's right, Mirto. A battle's nothing to be taken lightly. Especially without mastering your powers... you can get hurt really easily!"

"But--!"

"Alright, here we go! Get ready, Miss Super Hero!"

Before Mirto had any time to protest, Jacket was gone in an instant. Lanette quickly grabbed her and braced the two of them against the (thankfully large) trunk of the tree.

"It's a good thing you want us so bad! I owe you monsters one for making a fool of me in public!"

Letting the inward force of the storm add to his momentum, Jacket leapt straight at the pair of eyes, glowing from beyond the tempest.

"HaaaaAAAA!!"

*BAM!*

At a hundred miles per hour, the Stray-Blight was smashed with a fist made of steel.

"GRRRRRKEH-KEH-KEH.."

With a sickening gurgle, the Blight flew back, spinning awkwardly in mid air until disappeared into the darkness of the forest trail.

"Jacket!"

From behind two girls came running to the scene.

"H-Hey! I thought I told you to run away!"

The Stray shifted his gaze accusingly to Lanette, who simply gave a defeated shrug.

"Don't treat me like some kind of burden! You said so yourself, right? We're watching each others backs!"

Jacket let out a sigh and shifted his hat with one hand.

"Well... fine. As long as neither of you are hurt... But that thing isn't gonna be finished just yet! You gotta--"

*--SHIFFF--*

"---!"

In a flash of bright yellow, Jacket pulled Mirto aside and blocked some sort of projectile that suddenly shot out of the woods with his own arm. Looking down, the object that had pierced through his arm was... some type of knife?

"Ungh...."

Grunting painfully, Jacket reached to pull the damned thing out. But before he could do so, it suddenly began to emit high-pitched whine, glowing a blinding yellow.

"What the---!"

*KA-PEW!!*

A powerful burst of energy erupted from the knife, blowing it and Jacket's arm to smithereens.

"W-Whoa!"

"G-Guh!"

The Stray was sent tumbling across the frost-covered ground from the sheer force of the explosion, spraying a trail of black liquid and smoke as he went.

"Hey, hey, hey~!! Not bad! It's not everyday someone bests one of Benzene's pets with one blow."

"Huh? When did he...?"

Standing on the cliff with the trio, where no one was before, was a man wearing a strange leather coat. Though the hood pulled over his head obscured his face, there was a distinct set of ears poking through holes at the top.

"Animal ears? Wait a minute, he's not---?"

"Yea. A Panzer. That knife must have been loaded with Ether..."

With a labored heave, Jacket grimaced and tightened his grip around his wound. Black liquid seeped through his fingers and evaporated into the frigid air.

"Ho! Strong, and perceptive! But obviously, I'd expect no less from the fragment itself!"

The hooded Panzer turned his gaze on Lanette, and nodded slightly in greeting.

"Ah. You must be the Hindfell girl. Your care-taker lady's been looking for you."

"... Lin? She's here...?"

Mirto rushed over and helped pick Jacket off the ground.

"You okay?"

"Yea. It's healing already."

"...Eh?"

The Panzer stared at the two blankly before recoiling in some sort of shock.

"Hey...! H-Hold a second! You two aren't... bonded, are you?"

"So what if we are? Who are you anyway, and why did you call Jacket a 'fragment'?"

"Is that so...? Well, I'll be damned."

Tugging on the hem of his hood, the male Panzer whispered into a mic hooked onto its folds.

"The situation's changed... the fragment's bonded to some teenaged brat. You said nothing like this would happen!"

From the other end, a buzzing voice replied in a stern tone.

"Calm down. Nothing's changed. We can still utilize it as planned. Though... it's always best to clear out any tethers. Catch my drift?"

"HEH! Loud and clear."

The Panzer released the grip on his hood and relaxed his hands on his waist.

"Weeell... bad news, girly! Boss's decree! Looks like I'm gonna have to kill ya. Can't have any useless things bogging down the fragment, after all!"

"Kill me...?"

Placing a hand on Mirto's shoulders, Jacket firmly ushered his Crosser behind him. The expression on his face was a new one to Mirto... one of dead seriousness.

"... Like hell you will. I dunno who you are, but you're not touching a hair on this girl."

"How sweet. A knight in shining armor, eh? Can't say you exactly look the part, though."

The mysterious Panzer chuckled lightly, then snapped his fingers.

"GRRRRoooGGNNgggghh...."

In a puff of black smoke, the Stray-Blight from before materialized at his side. Without the veil of the shadows, the group finally got a chance to look at its full form. The hulking creature appeared vaguely humanoid, with fearsome, ghoulish face. Sharp spines covered its entire back, starting from the nape of its neck. Its bared teeth glistened bits of frost as it heaved ice-cold vapors from its frothing maw.

"...Unfortunately for you these things tend to be kinda sturdy! Though, if you turn yourself over quickly, I'll make sure it offs the kid as quickly and painlessly as possible. Sound good?"

Shit. Whoever this guy is, he's not joking around. If only he'd gotten her out of here sooner...

"Tch... you bastard. How about I just kick both of your faces in and call it a day? Besides.... it looks like you know something about me, don't you? Calling me a fragment or whatever. I'll beat that out of you, too!"

"You seriously think you can take us, two-on-one? I meant... the fragment's powerful, sure, but that's just stupid."

"Hardly! Hiyaaaaa--!!"

Lanette piped up as she jumped into the fray. In a shining burst of light, the girl produced a gigantic mallet in her hand, spinning it above her before brandishing against their new foe. Jacket stared nervously at the dangerously huge weapon.

"T-That thing.. ungh... W-What're you doing?!"

"Don't worry... I'm not using it on you this time. Besides... that guy looks like he has some info for me, too! Don't count me out of this yet!"

Jacket couldn't help but smirk at this situation. Who'd have thought, just weeks ago this girl wanted him dead?

"Heh... teaming up with a villain? Are you sure?"

"The stories where the hero teams up with the villain are the most exciting ones!"

"Oh ho... is that so? Then, I'll look forward to it!"

"Oi, oi!! You lovebirds done? I think you're forgetting about somebody here! I have strict orders not to harm you, Miss. Hindfell... but if you kids wanna play rough, don't blame big brother if you get hurt!!"

[SavviG]

[My bad, I must of misread something, didn't know the snow was infact Ether! I changed the story. ^^;]
Date: June 5, Saturday
Time: 11:40
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Tranquile Drive, Stray Cats
PC(s): Graciel Flay
NPC(s): Stray Cat Staff, cute customer #1
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graciel balanced a tray of cakes and drinks. Walking to the customers and finally served them with a smile 'bon appetit~' and he walked to the doors to greet the next customer. A single girl who came through the door was shivering slightly. 'Hi~, it's a abit cold today I think ' in a sing song tone and she took off her coat then pressed it into Graciel who then hanged it by the others. 'Just one.' she was brushing her hair to straighten out the nots. He escorts the girl to a single table then handed her the menu.

He turned around and looked at the rare occasion of a snow fall. He felt Ether seeping through the door and he wondered what was going on.

'excuse me dear!', she prodded Graciel in the side, his jumped and looked around. 'I'm sorry~ What would you like?'. she was still pointing to the menu, 'I'd like this cake and a hot chocolate!' She folded the menu and smiled at Graciel, 'Thankyou'.

Graciel behind a showcase of cakes, cut a slice from a cherry and chocolate cake, his colleague prepped the drink. Graciel gave the cake to his colleague to serve out. He looked at the girl who seem to have watched him all this time. She waved and he waved back.

It is now 12:00, the weather is colder and more snow fell.

'It's cold Graciel!' The owner came out from the back and prodded the dazed Panzer. 'Watch'a thinkin' about?'

'Nothing in particular, just that it started to snow.'
She looked out the front, 'hhmm~ is too? I don't see anything. - Look at that cat out there, it must be stuck in the tree' she made a aw'ing sound. Graciel has now gained confirmation that the snow is infact Ether. And the cat, the black cat in the tree looked familiar.

Graciel went to get a closer look, standing by the door, he noticed something was off, the cat in the tree is almost jet black in colour. It gave off small amount of smoke like substance. It wasn't too clear from the interferring snow fall. 'Why is it following me?' And how come the owner can see it? The Blight stayed motionless. The cat Blight may have become slightly visible to people from Jackets Ether that it took in. But how much did it take in..?

A couple of private school students walked pass laughing and enjoying themselves. One spoke so loud that Graciels cat ears caught every word. "Did you see them three?" he laughs, "Wasn't one of them the crazy Phantom?" and the laughing trails off.

Something was happening out there, something causing the freak weather and people (including Jacket) are already war. At this moment, he can't leave the shop to find out for himself. Maybe if he checked his MPUD at the back to see if any orders or messages were sent (text Cassius maybe). He peered out again to the tree and the Blight was gone.

CLANG! KSSSHHH!

Graciel turned around to see that the girl recently came in has dropped her cup of chocolate to the floor. The cup was smashed. She apologised over and over again. She bent down and attempted to pick up the pieces but Graciel was quick on his toes. He crouched by her and held onto her arm to stop her. She looked at Graciel at a close proximity. She blushed at looked away. Graciel let her arm go, 'We'll get you another one, please, sit and relax.' And he smiled at her. She was still blushing and while she sat back down she muttered 'T-thanks'. The other people stopped staring and resumed their small talks.

Graciel picks up the pieces of the broken cup. And another member of staff began to mop the remains of the drink.

There isn't much time to think about all the problems happening at this moment, things in the shop is keeping him busy.

[AYC]

(Long, overdue M post. Sorry.)

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 11:00 am
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Martin's Home
PCs: M, Sanae, Martin, Sophia
============

M is absolutely terrified.

One second he's out on the ground, fading away before his very eyes, and the next, someone's holding his hand and there's flying pink flowers everywhere.

And then there are ghosts. A huge, freaking army of them.

For a long moment, M briefly ponders if he's passed on and gone to Heaven.

And then he realizes he's a Stray. And Strays don't go to Heaven when they disappear, as far as he knows. Which means.

He's one screwed sucker.

So this is what happens when Strays disappear. A bunch of freaking ghosts come out of nowhere to cut me up and wipe me off the face of the Earth.

As hazy as his vision is, M eyes a particularly ugly and balding ghost in the background, holding what looks to be a large cleaver in his gnarled hands. It takes him a while to realize it, but the stumpy little man - along with its odd, mismatched group of fellows, ladies and children around it - look to be saying something, but what, he's not really sure. It's not like he was ever good at reading lips. M can only vaguely make out a few words with his withering strength.

"Hail thee... Lady of Nether..."

Although weak, M spares a few minutes to contemplate what he's just heard.

Oh hell. They're bringing their queen? Shit.

Despite his increasingly transparent, fading body, a ghostly cold sweat breaks out on his face. He's really getting the short end of the stick today, oh man. Not only is he going to get mauled by a mob of hideous old men, strangely buff guys and a motley crew of women and children, but he's also going to get beat on by the queen bee? Shiiiett.

Amidst his disarrayed thoughts, M suddenly reels back into reality just in time to hear the ghosts muttering again in their low voices.

"... thee... Nether Knight..."

...

Whether or not anyone's around to see it, M knows he must look pretty stupid right now. Especially since his face just turned absolutely blank in flat out horror.

... Oh fuck. Now we got the queen's knight too? Fuck no. Please just kill me already.

While M fails to keep out horrible, colorful thoughts depicting his very imaginative, gruesome death of existence, the young lady holding his hand - that the poor Stray had just so conveniently neglected in his haste - has finally come to a decision.

"Makoto... the name I... call my Knight."

M's non-existent heart nearly jumps out of his chest when the swirling mass of pink petals comes pouring down on him out of nowhere - needless to say, he panics but barely manages to give more than a sudden jerk and a bunch of twitching in his attempts to free himself from the glowing shower of prettiness due to his severe lack of energy.

ARGH THEY'RE COMING TO GET ME OH HOLY FUCKING SHIT GET OFF AGHJDGJSF -!

...

Wait a second.

Why does he feel... all tingly? It's almost like his energy is all coming back to him. Actually, if the fact that he can actually feel his fingers again is any indication, he really is getting refueled.

THE HELL?!

By the time his vision clears of fancy pink flowers and glowy sparkles, M is surprised at the lack of ghost and apparitions. But at the sight of heavy armor and a bulky hat on his head, he's even more appalled at what he's wearing.

Where the FUCK did my hoodie go?!

"God fucking damn, that looks so cool!"

As M laments the lack of his trademark sweater and struggles to pull himself into a sitting position with all the new metal doodads and shingdings covering his body, he also notices that a certain Japanese lady is holding his hand. Staring at him with wide, awe-filled eyes.

The first thought that goes through his head is that she must be marveling at the sheer amount of ridiculous he must be made up of at the moment. Honestly, such big, flashy armor on his scrawny ass? Hilarious. What is this anyway, a Japanese samurai movie?

...

Japanese samurai armor?

As soon as he thinks that though, all other thoughts are temporarily suspended, and his mind comes to a grinding halt.

He suddenly got refueled.

This Japanese chick - Sanae, right? - is holding his hand.

He's wearing a set of Japanese armor.

Doesn't this woman have some sort of power to do with making paths for ghost spirits or something?

Just as quickly as his thoughts had stopped, they suddenly take off again, going a million miles per hour in M's stunned state of mind. Slowly, he turns his head towards the dark-haired woman sitting beside him.

It can't be... that she bonded with him? Even now, she clutches his hand tightly, and gazes at him with a slightly worried, but simultaneously relieved expression.

Surely enough, he can feel a small flow of ether passing through him from her body. Yup. He's definitely bonded. Oh man. M's not sure whether or not to be stunned into oblivion or mind-numbingly elated. At the moment, he's kind of a mix of both.

But if that's the case, what's his name? Er...

Inwardly, M berates himself for panicking so idiotically over Sanae's very glamorous and showy bonding pact with him - though honestly, who could tell? But nonetheless, he still needs to shuffle through his iffy memory for his name. Come on, he must've heard it somewhere amidst his rabid hysteria...

And lucky him, it easily comes to him.

Ahaha... oh yeah.

"Wow, Mr. Mad Hooder, you look awe - "

With a slightly nervous, slightly crazed smile, he cuts her off. "Sophia, my name is now... Makoto."

"Yes, Mr. Makoto!"

Sophia claps her hands in glee, and beams at him. And then -

"All hail, thy Lady and her Knight! All hail, thy Lady and her Knight!"

Oh fuck, they're still here? SHIIIET -!

----

After many, many attempts, he's finally reduced the giant mass of metal and padding known as samurai armor down into a few pieces on his shoulders and arms. Best of all, he's back in his normal apparel and familiar orange hoodie sweater, and damn, is it good to be back. Honestly, him and that helmet? No way. If you want hats, go bother a certain yellow jacket-wearing Stray, thanks.

Sanae, of course, had looked particularly disappointed when he had expressed his disdain towards his new design. With his newfound Japanese skills, he managed to decipher her timid mumbling as "I thought it looked good..." while Martin scolded him a few times with surprising little vulgarity over upsetting his new partner and his lack of appreciation for the beauty that was involved in making his bonding pact.

Yeah, you go make goo goo eyes at your pretty little lady, grouchy. You weren't the one half-Stray-dying in the middle of it all.

With a roll of the eyes, M silently relishes the red blush breaking out on Mr. Grouchy's face as he asks Sophia to investigate the actions of a smarmy high school girl typing away on her cell phone.

"She's clicking very fast on her mobile phone, Mr. Martin! I wonder what she is doing... hee hee."

"Figures! She's just taking pictures of us both like crazy! Sorry you had to deal with this mess, Sanae-san!"

"Sanae's fine! You suddenly dropped back to using the suffix, Martin-san!"

"Same to you! Just call me Martin, it's fine."

"Look at you, being all so friendly and such... Sanae doesn't yet know you have a habit of swearing, eh?"

"Kid... I mean, Makoto, there's a time and place for everything."

Pffft, yeah right. Says the man who got himself fired - resigned, whatever - and his ass kicked for steppin' out of line.

Luckily, Martin doesn't notice it when M snickers at the memory of a certain Panzer oh-so kindly kicking the man in a special place below the belt. Sure, he wasn't there to see it in person, but what Sophia has told him before is more than enough for him to utilize his imagination and get a few laughs out of it.

Suddenly, Sophia nudges his shoulder as she bends over to view the pictures on Martin's newly acquired cell phone.

"Kyaa! It's Mister Jacket! He must be in trouble!"

"Say what?! Who's this 'Mister Jacket'?"

"Jacket is Sophia's other nii-san, grouchy."

Martin takes a brief moment to give him a scrutinizing look before continuing.

"Is this guy the same mysterious figure as in the news lately?"

"Yea, pretty much."

M leans over to sneak a glance at the pictures on screen, and surely enough, there are still images of what looks to be a floating jacket and hat and a pair of girls huddling around a tree, and the jacket appearing to be jumping into the air to attack a supposedly invisible enemy.

"Mister Mad Hoo... Mako..."

"If you're not used to calling me Makoto, you can call me whatever you feel comfortable with, Sophia. I don't really care. As long as it's not something that comes out of Martin's mouth."

"Um! Uh, Mister Mad Hooder! Could you please go help him now? He seems to be in some trouble..."

"Eh... why don't you ask the grouch instead?" Considering he doesn't know much about his brand new powers yet, nor much about his new buddy Sanae's as well, it might not be such a good idea for him to jump in without planning anything.

"Hmm... because he'll say 'this is none of our business'..."

M raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"I don't know why you're thanking me, but thank you, too, Mister Martin!"

M raises both eyebrows in surprise. Oh yeah, their telepathic connection, right.

He watches as Martin buries his face in his hands, likely contemplating what to do. Sanae looks plain confused, and Sophia is probably nothing short of worried right now. It's not like he can't do anything, but it's whether or not it's worth it and safe for him to use his newly unlocked potential without any practice before. He has no idea about what Sanae or Martin can do thus far, and he doesn't want Sophia getting hurt while he uses his powers - especially in tandem with hers.

As the group mulls solemnly, M suddenly hears a small tap tap sound on a window above them.

And above them, is a large black bird, pecking the glass surface with an urgent, oddly fearsome aura emanating from its feathery form.

"..."

[marcien]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Weather: Windy
Location: Block 44 #12-108
PCs: Z. Redmist, Hailey
Other PCs: Mirto, Jacket, Sophia
NPCs: Lanette Hindfell, Cyanate
================

Time: 1214

Twelve storeys above ground, a large bird - a black raven pecked impatiently at the glass window.

Through the curtains behind the window, slept a man with his face down against the pillow. He stirred at the constant tapping sound coming from his window. He pulled his quilt over his back and his pillow over his head to muffle out the annoying sound.

The black raven outside clicked her tongue in irritation. She tapped at a device attached under her wing, and morphed into a human woman, fully clothed. She cut a small hole in the pyrex glass window and stretched her hand in to unlock the window. A beeping sound came from the wall, but her fingers flitted quickly over the keypad, and she disabled the burglar alarm.

However, the alarm was not a simple one. The moment the glass had been cut, a notification was sent through the cables into the brain of the previously sound asleep man. He peered out from underneath his pillow.

"... What are you doing in my room?"

"Can't I pay a visit to the house rat?"

"... Please... do not enter a man's room... without permission."

"I knocked. You didn't answer. So I let myself in."

Redmist was trying his very best not to give Hailey a reaction. Inside his mind, he imagined throwing his quilt over her, rolling her up and throwing her out of his window. But he likes his quilt.

"Oh, it has gotten more crowded since I was last here, hasn't it?" Hailey bent over Redmist's whirling server and peered at the wires between them.

"Don't touch that."

"Ah, a 35-inch screen," she slid her fingers over the display. "Why the heck would you need one so big--"

"Don't touch that either..."

"-- when you already have this many other--"

"No, in fact, please don't touch anything at all--" realizing that by now, his quilt was beginning to slide off his shoulders, he ducked back under it and mumbled, "And would you mind turning away while... I get dressed..."

"Ohohohoho shy now are you?!" Hailey walked over to his bed and tugged at the covers.

Redmist could have swore his heart rate doubled. "Do not... come near my bed... or me...."

"Ahaha! I'll let you off, or we'll never get down to business. Hurry up with it!"

You break into my room and then you give me orders? Stupid bitch bird. Redmist shuffled into his bathroom and slammed the door shut. He waited for a while before saying, "Just because I cannot see you now does not mean you may touch my things."

-- -- -- -- --

Time: 1223

When Redmist got out of his bathroom, he found Hailey sitting on his bed, wrapped in his quilt, with his notebook on her lap, with her MPUD plugged to it. Behaving as if his room was her house.

"Just why the fuck is your room so damn cold anyway?"

She is already in the quilt. Easier for me to roll her up and throw her out... "It has to be cold for the server to be running properly." No, doing that is useless. Accursed bird would just fly back here.

"Oh, so if I were to raise the the temperature--," smirked Hailey tossing his air-conditioner remote about in her hands,

She is touching it on purpose. Bloody feather-brained bitch. "Just what are you here for?"

Hailey angled the notebook such that he could see the screen: A floating yellow jacket and grey newsboy cap, and two teenage girls. He placed his gloved hand over the keyboard. "They're battling a stray-blight... wait. Why would there be a stray-blight, no way-- It's..."

"Oei, don't just squeak to yourself, rat. Let me know what's going on too!"

"Isn't this something you should be able to find out by yourself?"

"Panzers communications have been all wonky man, or I wouldn't have to be in your nest."

Useless easy-going over-trained animals can't maintain their network properly. Redmist opened the image in an editing software. He plugged one of the cables still attached to his spine into the notebook, and in an instant, Hailey saw what Redmist could see.

The battlefield was covered with snow. A huge stray-blight was battling the trio, dangerously near the edge of the cliff. "What? A stray-blight?! Just the afternoon before, there was nothing going on--"

"That's not the worse," Redmist pointed to a glimmer in the snow. By looking at it's ether signal, "a panzer weapon," he concluded.

Hailey stared at the screen and blinked. Without a doubt, somehow, a panzer was involved in this whole mess.

Redmist got up and sat at his workstation. After a few taps, the 35-inch LCD display showed footages from various cameras, some from the park and the private school nearby, others Redmist had planted in the area. Barely seconds later, a selected screen maximised and paused to show a panzer walking alongside the stray-blight in a forested area.

Hailey bit her lip. She recognised him. She got up to leave.

"Going to find out what he is up to?" Hailey did not reply. Redmist continued, "I doubt you'll be able to get any answers out of him without force. And I know it is neither your style nor mine to resort to physical combat."

"Tell me something more useful, house rat."

"I'll recommend you a useful tool."

"What."

"There is a stray who can read thoughts. She also happens to know Phantom Jacket. Use her to get your info."

"Where can I find her?"

"At the community centre."

-- -- -- -- --

Time: 1245

Redmist sighed at the sight of the hole in his glass window. He contemplated adding a doorbell beside it on the outside wall. No, what the hell? That'll just encourage her. No freaking way, thank you.

[Sentrovasi]

Date: 5th June, Saturday
Time: 10:40 AM
Weather: Cloudy
Location: 43 Oceanside Drive
PCs: Randall Kayne

Randall looked at the flyer in his hands. An interview?

He was dressed just how he would be for an interview, too. That is to say, in his standard, rather worn-out attire, replete with travelling cloak and faded pants.

He'd seen the message the night before, after washing the dishes (it was his turn) and then watching the late night show with Tethys. He had thought of going after the next show, but he decided against it, since you didn't really make house calls at one in the morning, and Martin would probably have shouted his ears off.

I wonder who the Stray will be, he thought to himself. The flyer said it'd be a cool one, so probably -

He'd been waiting there for a long while (an hour, actually). He'd done maybe a few hundred interviews in the last few years, but this one seemed different. How did one interview for a bond? Was there a written test? It seemed really weird for the interview to be conducted by Sophia, anyway. Maybe...

Randall's train of thought was broken as a wailing figure seemed to burst out of the ceiling just a few meters from him.

Wha... a Blight?!

Before he had time to react to the threat, however, it had sped off towards another nearby figure: a strange woman who seemed as surprised to see the figure as he was.

Wait... it's... Randall did a double-take as he recognized the floating figure. "Sophia...?"

Momentarily hesitant about what to do, Randall ducked behind a pillar and listened to the commotion as Sophia dragged the unfamiliar face into the elevator, hoping that an exlanation was forthcoming.

He could hear snatches of conversation between Sophia's wailing and the woman's Japanese exclamations. Definitely not a local.

"Mister Mad Hooder... he's going to disappear..."
"Huh? Why? Can I do anything to help him?"

... and then they were in the lift.

Randall took another look at the flyer, understanding coming just a moment too late.

"Huh, it sounds like the 'cool stray' was really just that arrogant brat." He paused for a moment. "Hmm. I guess I'm late to the interview after all."

Considering his options, Randall walked up to the elevator. "Only one car? This apartment has some terrible design flaws."

He looked around, but the only other way up seemed to be the stairs. Martin lived on which floor again? He didn't remember exactly. He really ought to have asked Sophia the last time he'd brought her here. Was it the fifth? But maybe it was the sixth...

Perhaps he could start at the seventh and work down?

"I really ought to help, but..." he looked between the stairs and the elevator. "Damn it."

He made a dash for the stairs.

Date: 5th June, Saturday
Time: 12:00 PM
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Pebbleton Community Center
PCs: Randall Kayne

And after all that climbing, it turned out they were going back to the ground floor after all. Out of breath, but still not wanting to spoil his chance for a dramatic entrance, Randall stalked them back to the ground floor.

It didn't take them long to get to the community center. The Blights were dormant in the day, and he doubted two bonded Crossers were going to be any incentive to them anyway. Randall had been observing the group ever since he had felt the Ether blast in the midst of searching the sixth storey. He'd come to the conclusion that Martin wasn't a pedophile, just a regular old pervert.

And so it was here that he found himself spying on a rather immature convention. The brat seemed well enough, anyway. That was as much as he could've hoped. Help was evidently not necessary here anymore.

It was then that Martin took the other girl's phone (was that anything for a gentleman to do?).

"It's Mr. Jacket! He must be in trouble!"

People were getting weirder and weirder names nowadays. But it was apparently enough concern for the other two Strays. Something was up, and it was Ether-business. That was enough to make it his concern.

MVD? The girl had mentioned a private school.

Noa...?

Two reasons for him to help were two more than he needed. Taking his leave from the undecided quartet, he hoped he was in time, this time.

[Pictor]

(Loooong post.)
Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: ~12:10 PM
Weather: Snowstorm
Location: Nameless Cliff
PC: Jacket, Mirto
NPC: Lanette, Cyanate
============

"GrrroooaaaaaaUUGGGH!!"

With a snap of the Panzer's fingers, the Blight let loose a mighty howl that sent a blast of icy cold air in the trio's direction. Grabbing Mirto by the waist, he dodged quickly to one side while Lanette jumped away in the opposite direction.

"Damn. This guy's tenacious!"

"Hahaha! Feradine here is no ordinary Blight, he once used to be a Stray Spirit like yourself He's on a whole different level than some petty normal Blight. It took a little bit of... persuasion, but suffice to say he's on my side now."

"Y-You forced a Stray to become a Blight?! That's terrible!"

"Alright, enough talk kiddies. Big bro here's got a deadline to meet! Feradine, take care of the fragment... I'll handle the Hindfell brat!"

Without a moment's hesitation, the Blight charged in Jacket's direction.

"That monster obeyed him just like that?! What kinda power does this guy have...?"

"--Jacket!!"

"W-Whoa!!"

The hulking beast lunged at Jacket with a mighty swipe of razor sharp claws. The Stray managed to duck out of the way in time, but the beast was relentless in its slashes. After three consecutive attacks, Jacket managed to spot an opening and rolled to a safe distance.

"Hey, you monster, why don't you pick on--"

"-- Someone your own size? I agree! But that monster's quite a bit larger than you, huh? I'd say I'm more of the right fit!"

"Tch..."

Lanette gripped her mallet tightly as the male Panzer suddenly slid between her and the Stray-Blight... or Feradine, as it's apparently named.

"You know Lin, don't you? My caretaker?"

"Ah. Did I say that? I'm sorry... if you want to know something, you'll have to beat it out of me!"

"Grrr... fine then, I'll do just that! HIIIIYAAAAH!"

Charging the ground at her heels, Lanette propelled herself forward with a powerful explosion and swung her hammer in the Panzer's direction. However, a simple flip to the side was enough to completely avoid her assault.

"Tsk tsk tsk... what do you think this is girl? Some action film? Such a loud and rambunctious attack might work on a Blight but... not any normal person with a brain!"

=/=/=/=/=/=/=

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cliff, Jacket was busy being torn up by a storm of very sharp claws.

"G-Gah!!"

"Jacket, you gotta focus!"

"Easy for you to say! This guy's fast... and I have you under my arm!"

"Then... just let me go, I can take care of myself."

"No way. I'm not taking any chances. Besides, haven't you notice something strange?"

Jacket directed Mirto's attention to the savage shadow before them. It creature turned to meet their gaze with burning red eyes, huffing mouthfuls of frosted air with every lurching breath.

"Trying to keep you safe... I'm not exactly a difficult target. if it wanted to finish me off, it could have taken a dozen chances to do so. Besides, it's not using its hurricane breath anymore..."

Mirto stiffened up as she realized what he was implying.

"I... I get it. So you're saying..."

"Yea, and it'd make sense too. With what that Panzer said earlier... that monster's true target isn't me. It should be you."

As if on queue, the monster crouched down on all fours and sped toward the Crosser and Stray like some sort of animal. On its last step, the monster leapt off its hind legs and charged at the two. Unfortunately for the beast, Jacket already had a plan.

"Sorry, about this, Princess!"

With all of his strength, Jacket tossed the girl under his arm straight into the air.

"W-WAH! WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!"

With the beast still in mid-flight, Jacket took a little leap himself, grabbing onto a branch of the tree above him. Using it as a trapeze of sorts, he swung his legs at the monster and delivered a mighty kick made of hardened steel.

*THWAK!!!*

The blinding speed of "Feradine's" charge, plus Jacket's stunt kick made for quiet an impact, nearly knocking the masked Stray off the branch in the process. With an unexpectedly high pitched yelp resembling that of an injured animal, the icy Stray-Blight was hurled backward a considerable distance... straight over the edge of the cliff.

"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

As the Blight's roar trailed off into the waves below, Jacket breathed a sigh of relief. Letting go of the branch, he dropped onto the grass and walked over to a certain spot. Taking a few steps to gauge his placement, the Stray pat the residual bark and leaves off his sleeves and held out his arms.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--!!"

With a soft *plumff*, a familiar dark-haired girl dropped back out of the sky into Jacket's clutches.

"Welcome back, Princess. Was your trip pleasant?"

Kicking squirming, Mirto flailed herself out of Jacket's grasp.

"Was that really necessary?!"

"Hmmm... I dunno. But I did it anyway."

If his face were just a little softer, the girl would have no qualms about putting a fist-shaped dent in it.

"Tch. Score one for the rag-tag duo, huh? Guess I should't have commanded him to hold back. But don't celebrate just yet. You can't get rid of Feradine so easily... he's a spirit, remember?"

The hooded Panzer sauntered over to Mirto and Jacket.

"Here. I believe this belongs to you."

From behind him, the Panzer dragged out a distinctly human figure, hanging limply as he grasped it by the collar.

"Lanette!"

"Hmph."

With an irritated grunt, the Panzer tossed the Crosser girl in their direction. Jacket stepped forward and caught her before she tumbled to the ground. Mirto gently took the beat-up Lanette from Jacket's arms into her own. Softly, she parted the girl's messy bangs to reveal a face grimaced in pain.

"... Lanette! Are you okay?"

"Hnnngg... I..."

Even her voice was weak. Mirto grit her teeth and shot a death-glare at their foe.

"How could you?! Lanette's just a kid!"

"... Says the other brat, herself. Actually, I was specifically instructed not to harm her... but naughty girls need to be taught a lesson. They should just be thankful I didn't break her neck."

Raising a hand, the hooded Panzer snapped his fingers. Once again, in a burst of black smoke, the ice monster re-appeared at his side, with no apparent damage taken at all.

"What?! That monster's not hurt at all!"

"Now, fragment. Like I said before... you can't possibly take us two-on-one. I assure you, I alone would be more than enough of a match for you. But let's do this a bit more... diplomatically, shall we?"

".... Bastard..."

Why don't you give yourself up nicely? I'll still honor my promise of giving your little girlfriend a quick and painless death if you don't cause me anymore trouble. How 'bout it? I'll give you 'til the count of 100 to decide! Ready? Ooooone...

The Panzer began, slowly and deliberately enunciating each number. The smirk that was unobscured by his hood told of a predator toying with its prey. It made Mirto sick to her stomach. With one hand, the girl slowly propped a heavily-breathing Lanette against her lap.

"Twooooo..."

The Panzer stood, still counting away. Mirto tugged forcefully at Jacket's sleeve with her free hand.

"Jacket... what do we do?"

"......"

The Stray was silent, not even turning back to answer. Looking up, Mirto noticed that Jacket's entire body was tense, and his hands were clenched so hard that black smoke was wafting from his fingers.

"Jacket...?"

"... I... I'm Sorry."

"W-What?"

The Jacket turned and looked back down at Mirto with a solemn, defeated expression.

"It's my fault, I got you into trouble again. First it was the Train... and now... I thought that by sticking with you I could protect you from harm, but it looks like I landed you into something even more dangerous."

"That's all you have to say?! I made it clear to you already! We're partners! Now, think of something!!'"

"Yea... you did say that, didn't you? Partners..."

"...?"

"You know how happy I was when you came looking for me in that alleyway? Scared shitless about how you'd react, yea... but happy."

"Wha...--"

"--- Sure, I've only been around for four months. At least, that's the most I can remember as a Stray. The whole time, all I've been able to do was run. People were frightened of me. They thought I was a monster, and they hated me for that. Of course, I owe it all to this brat."

Jacket glanced down at the orange-haired girl lying against Mirto. But his look wasn't one of contempt, but rather a smile... as if reminiscing on "old times".

"... But thanks to you, I was even able to befriend her, too! We've only known each other for a few days. And even though I was supposed to be the one protecting you... I think you've done more for me than I'd ever deserve."

"What are you saying all this for...?"

"Mirto, I'm ending our bond."

"W-WHAT?!"

The girl nearly fell over in surprise, bringing Lanette with her.

"D-Don't joke around."

"I'm serious. Our original contract was that we help each other out until we were both safe from the Train. After that, I stuck with you in order to keep you safe. But I've violated that condition, I can no longer guarantee your safety... so that alone should be enough. The bond can end now."

Mirto tugged at Jacket's sleeve harder than ever, but he didn't budge from his stance.

"You idiot! That's not going to solve anything!!"

Mirto's protestation was abruptly cut short as a blinding flash of mint-green covered the scene.

"Oh ho... What's this? Some new trick?"

At first, when the light subsided, it seemed nothing has changed. But then, Mirto felt it. Or rather... didn't feel it. The "connection" between Jacket and herself was gone. The hooded Panzer looked around, scratching his head.

"Now what was that all about?"

Jacket tucked his hands inside the pockets of his torn attire.

"Good... it worked. Hey, you!"

"Eh?"

"I've severed my ties with this girl. We're no longer bonded as Crosser and Stray. There's no need to pursue her now."

"Ah, I see. That's what the lightshow was, eh?"

With a whimsical chuckle, the Panzer tugged once more on the mic in his hood.

"So? What's it look like?"

And once again, a voice responded through the cracklings of the radio.

"... It appears it's not bluffing. The scans do show it's clear. Hehe, I got all worked up too, but... you know what the big man's saying about unnecessary civilian casualties, right?"

"Yea, yea... better to avoid 'em. Damn, and I was so looking forward to spilling some blood."

"Same, but it looks like you're gonna have to save your appetite a little longer. Sorry, Cyanate~"

Letting go of the transmission device, the Panzer looked back up at Jacket.

"Well?"

"Heh! Looks like you're in the clear, ya lucky bastard. Of course, you'll come along nicely now, right?"

The masked Stray nodded obediently and began to step forward, but Mirto refused to relinquish her grip on his sleeve.

"D-Don't be stupid. Please, you have no idea what they're gonna do to you...!"

"Mirto."

"What?!"

"You were one of the first people to acknowledge me as something other than a monster. To me, the lonely idiot who can't do anything right... that meant the world. As long as you're safe, nothing else matters."

With another snap of his fingers, the Panzer ordered his Blight partner forward.

"Sorry to break you guys up but... I'm kinda in a hurry here. Feradine, let's show our new friend the way."

The Stray-Blight uttered a bestial grumble and stomped forward. With a small puff of freezing breath, Mirto flinched just enough for the monster to seize Jacket around the shoulders and tug him away from her grip.

"... From now on, you have nothing to do with me..."

What could she do? Just watch him be taken away? It's true, like he even admitted himself, he was an idiot. He couldn't do anything right. In these few days, he's caused her nothing but trouble. But still... a promise was a promise. They were partners. Yet, she was helpless! A Crosser was someone who could perform extraordinary things... even more so with a Stray by their side. Yet Lanette, lying in her arms, was more capable than her alone. Why... why wouldn't her powers work?!

"... take Lanette to safety... and... thanks for everything, Mirto."

"DON'T SAY THAT, YOU IDIOT!!"

...Was this it? Could nothing be done?

[Sentrovasi]

Date: 5th June, Saturday
Time: 12:13 PM
Weather: Snowstorm
Location: Nameless Cliff
PCs: Jacket, Mirto, Randall Kayne
NPCs: Lanette, Cyanate

"... Was this it? Could nothing be done?" Randall narrated under his breath, even as he hurtled towards the group on his bicycle at breakneck speed. Well, it wasn't exactly his bicycle, since he'd "borrowed" it from the stand near the community center - which was probably the reason he didn't mind what he did next.

"YOU CAN GO THANK HER YOURSELF!"

"...!!!"

Leaping off the bike as he lost control of it, he grabbed the humanoid figure by the collar, privy to the heartbreaking scenario that had played out in front of him. As intended, the bicycle hurtled straight into the presumed antagonists. The Blight, Feradine, punched it away as though it were nothing, but the duo were obviously disoriented by the strange new arrival.

Randall released the collar of the silent Jacket after a moment of awkward silence. "Hmm. I think I used the wrong quote there. Do you mind if I start again?"

Randall turned to the duo, then sighed as he noticed the wreckage that was the bike. "I suppose that'll have to do."

"Ah, I see I may yet get my chance for blood." The white-haired man spoke now, a strange smirk spreading across his face. "Ever a surprise; are you another of the fragment's acquaintances?"

Randall quickly looked between each of the characters gathered there, fairly sure that he'd never been the acquaintance of any one of the people here at all.

"Hmm. Now that you mention it... it looks like I don't know any of you. Let's start with names."

Then he spotted Lanette.

"Well, apart from her, but then that just gives me more reason to learn the name of the man who'd dare treat a lady like that."

"Oho, is that a threat? Brave words for an unlinked Crosser."

Turning to face the other man squarely, Randall looked him in the eye, trying to ignore the scary-looking Blight by his side.

"... Who are you and what are you doing?!"

The others seemed to have gotten over the shock of his sudden appearance. A pity, because he only had a few moments to act the hero.

"Hey, Fragment, that's you, right?" He spoke to the silent Jacket. If the masked Stray had a response, he didn't show it. "You know, I may have only just met you, and I sure as hell have no idea what's going on, but even I know that guy is bad news."

"Look at that thing beside him. Is that what you want to be?" He put a hand on Jacket's shoulder and gestured toward Feradine. "I don't recommend it; I mean, honestly, look at him."

Turning serious, he looked toward the white-haired man, whose own expression was one of a terrible anticipation. "It's a noble thing you want to do, I'm sure. But you're leaving one person in the lurch. You."

He took a step forward towards the Blight, a small pocket of Ether building in his hand. "And if you don't want to take your life into your own hands, then I'll do it for you."

"..."

Reckless? Perhaps. But somehow, Randall knew that not getting involved in this would be something he would regret all his life. And he didn't like dealing with regrets.

"Hey, what's your name?"

"Hmm...? You've got guts, I'll give you that. You can call me Cyanate."

Randall grinned carelessly: he had been doubting so long when he needed to take action; now was that time. "Well, you know what they say about unnecessary civilian casualties, Cyanate?

"Better to avoid them... while you can."

[Sentrovasi]

Feel free to jump in at any time, really.

Date: 5th June, Saturday
Time: 12:16 PM
Weather: Snowstorm
Location: Nameless Cliff
PCs: Jacket, Mirto, Randall Kayne
NPCs: Lanette, Cyanate

Randall considered his options. Cyanate was definitely on a class beyond his, while the Stray Blight was certainly intimidating, and strong enough to have destroyed the Ether-charged bike he had thrown at them.

The air around him was saturated with negative Ether from the snowstorm, and he didn't exactly have the time to restore his Ether supply, either, so he was working with what he had on hand.

Fortunately, he'd been preparing for moments like this.

His vision blurred as he channeled his Ether into his limbs, boosting his reflexes at the cost of slight incoherence - he hadn't quite worked out how to get his other senses accustomed to the change in speed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Stray Blight lumber towards him; Cyanate seemed to be enjoying the show; evidently, a creature like Feradine was more than a match for him.

As he charged towards the creature, he noticed its head cocking back for a howl. Familiar energies like that from the snow seemed to be gathering in its maw.

"Ice breath, huh? Seems like a pretty serious case, too." Pulling a small gold orb from his bag with alarming alacrity, he threw it straight towards the beast. "Well, you're in luck."

With a single gesture, Randall released his power on the coalesced Ether. A blast of flame scorched the air around the Blight's head, interrupting its attack.

"Turns out a little girl I once met has got the cure for that."

Ducking under the flames, he wasn't surprised to see that the creature had taken next to no damage from the blast. In another moment Randall was right in front of him. Not the safest of places, but the only position from which he could do what he needed to do.

"You know what, Blight? I've wanted to try this for a while now."

Five more orbs, each of these a light brown in color, were now in a pulled-back fist. Without missing a beat, Randall punched into the Stray-Blight, releasing the orbs into the Stray's body. Not a moment too soon, as Feradine proceeded to knock him across the plateau with a vicious swipe.

"Unh..."

Randall landed a few meters away; this wasn't good. He'd expended much of the rest of his Ether coalescing a barrier of wind just to cushion that single blow. The Blight didn't even need to use Enomena to fight him. Slowly, he got to his feet.

Cyanate seemed amused. "Not bad for a newbie Crosser, though even this Hindfell," he indicated Lanette, "was probably a little more effective than you were."

Randall smiled, turning his gaze steadily to Cyanate. "That might have taken all of five seconds, but haven't you noticed anything different yet?"

"Wait a second, it's stopped snowing..."

A thumbs up from Randall. "Well, at least someone here can use her eyes. That's right, everyone, two days of gathering and storing positive Ether and you too, can temporarily weaken a Stray Blight."

Feradine's movements certainly seemed a little slower, but more importantly, its own flow of Ether would be slowed while it got around the positive-energy roadblock. Randall surmised that it probably wouldn't be able to heal as quickly, or use its ice attacks again.

Cyanate shook his head with a smile that seemed both disappointed and amused. "Heh. I didn't think I'd be having any trouble from you, but I guess you proved me wrong. You're that eager to die, huh?"

"Actually, I was hoping you'd take your little pet home and nurse it till it got better," Randall shrugged in a show of nonchalance. "But if you'd really rather stand your ground, I guess someone needs to knock you off your feet."

[Pasonia]

(I'm putting this up first sans colors. I'll do the colors in a later edit)
Date: 5th June, Saturday
Time: 12:08PM
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Nameless Cliff
PCs: Sanae Fujiwara, Martin Chang
Other PCs: Makoto (M), Sophia (Oriole)
NPCs: Hailey, Terry Tseng (one of Martin's cousins), Abigail Kotsworth
=================================

Martin thought long and hard. It's true that those guys have close to nothing to do with him. But he's neglected Sophia - and by extension, the people around her - for too long. Somehow, Martin feels weird that as her link, he's doing nothing to help Sophia.

"Mister Martin...?"
"Okay... Sophia, we'll go help your friends out, though I---"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Sanae shrieked a little in surprise, while Makoto, having to dodge a swift-moving figure from behind him, jumped away in the opposite direction Sanae swayed in. Though Martin spotted the figure from the corner of his eyes when it happened, he could not stop himself from being knocked from the back, and was barely able to stop himself from crashing into Abigail as he hung on to the table beside hers.

"What on earth just happened, sir? What the heck was that bird doing?!"

Martin ignored Abigail's questioning. Where is Sophia?!

"It's Madam---no, Big Sis Hailey!"

Martin could hear the faint cry from Sophia, hanging to the claws of the stupid crow. Or rather, the crow's clasping her hands instead.

"It's her."
"Her, who?"
"That accursed bird... but..."

Although Martin would like to know why that stupid bird named Hailey decided to kidnap his link, he calmed down enough to consider what interest would serve that bird best for it to want to take Sophia.

"Sophia... fire ability? No, she doesn't seem the sort to need help... Wait, is this about her mind-reading?"
"Oi, oi, grouchy, what now? We helpin' or what?"
"Martin, where should we go now?"

Martin knew where they were supposed to go.

"Sanae, I know this is unfair to you," Martin slowly spoke, pulling Sanae aside and away from Abigail's earshot, "but these people are on our side... at least, I choose to believe that these people are possibly our nakama in this whole confusing mess we're in now."
"Hai."
"But, because you're new to this, I'm afraid you'll get hurt."
"I'll be okay," Sanae smiled, pointing to her knight. "After all, I believe I have a samurai beside me!"
Martin eyed the kid, who shuddered a little at the wholehearted trust displayed by someone he barely knew.
"Ma, ma... I guess I can help... You both are 'new' enough to need help."

"Then that settles it then. I know a way to get to the Cliff fast. Quickly, this way."

**************************

Time: 12:10PM

"Where on earth is my bike again?"

Martin is rather exasperated that he's lost yet another bike again.

"Sheesh, it'll be damn awkward getting to the Cliff this way."
"Martin, what do we do now?"
Martin considered his options. Bike rental is probably the only way to go, but the nearest one is at Dawnview Park.
"Looks like we have no choice but to take a cab to--"

It was then that some rather familiar laughter - at least, to Martin alone - rang out from the lift area.

"Haha... you know, that kid sucked at that level 9 song. He like, failed it before he even got to the halfway point!"
"Seriously? Guess private school guys don't cut it, eh? Oh, hi, Martin-biaoge(older cousin Martin)!"

"Hey, Terry."
M looked at the kids, who were headed to a locked-up mountain bike nearby.

"You have your answer there, goatee."
"Huh?"
"I've seen you teach those kids two days back. Surely, they'll give you enough respect to lend you a bike?"

Martin's frown suddenly turned into a smirk. M was absolutely spot on.

"You've gotten smarter from the bonding."
"Err... courteous words, those," replied a rather-not-taken-in Makoto.
"I'll take your idea and run with it then."

Martin then halted the kids from behind with a holler that shook them, as though thunder had struck them. Simply put, they weren't expecting that from Martin at all; usually it's a hi-and-bye affair.

"Ei, Terry, can you lend me your bike?"
"Eh? Where did your bike go to? I thought you said you replaced your bike the other day?"
"That's why. I don't know! I need a bike like, right now. It's urgent business."

Terry spotted Sanae behind Martin, then flashed an evil smile at the flummoxed Martin, who instantly knew what they were on about.

"So that's what you're urgent about, eh?"
"'That' is a human, so mind your language. I don't have time to explain."
"Sure you don't."

Martin couldn't take it anymore; he didn't expect to have to resort to such a lowly tactic to get his point across.

"Ah, Sanae-san?"
"Ha-hai?!" Sanae was slightly confused at her name being called out.
"Because Auntie May's son doesn't want to lend me his bike in a pinch, let's take the taxi--"
"Eh, okay, okay, I was kidding, just kidding! If my ma hears that from you, she'll chew me out and I'll be grounded for a week."
"If you'd given in sooner, I wouldn't need to pull this on you. Where's the bike?"

Terry pointed at a mountain bike with a second mount behind; it was kind of hard to hide his disappointment at not being able to ride a bike over the weekend.

"Um, well, that one there," Terry blurted, pointing at the bike with a forest green finish.
"Thanks for the bike. I'll get you something from the mall later. Come on, Sanae, we've got to get to the Cliff soon!"

"Ha... hai!"

Seconds after Martin and the Nether pair left the scene, Terry's phone buzzed.
"Who is this... oh, it's Abigail. Wait, WHAT ON EARTH? THE PHANTOM JACKET?!"
"What now, Terry?"

He looked at Martin biking with Sanae in tow, apparently in a huge hurry.
From what Terry knew about his cousin for years, Martin never gets anxious about anything other than Go.

It would take something earth-shattering to shift his cousin's mindset.

"If that's my cousin there getting involved in Phantom Jacket's business... come on, hurry!"
"To where?"
"To the Cliff!"
"EH? Don't you want to go to Neo's?"
"Just follow! It'll be more interesting than the arcade if my cousin's involved in that Phantom Jacket's business!"

**************************

As for Martin, he couldn't care less anymore. He could only fervently hope that Sophia would be brought to the Cliff, and that he could help. As Sanae clutched on tightly to Martin's shoulders while he tackles the coastal footpath at high speed, all that ran through Martin's mind was Sophia's safety.

"I'll never forgive myself if Sophia gets hurt in this," growled Martin. "No matter how she thinks of me, I still have a duty to protect her."
"How heartwarming it would be if she hears that from you," snickered M.
"Makoto, time and place, if you would please!"
"Just kidding, alright? We're all in this, right, Sanae-sama?"

Sanae didn't respond, only blushed beet-root. How was she supposed to respond to such an embarrassing suffix?

[Pictor]

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: ~12:20 PM
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Nameless Cliff
PC: Jacket, Mirto, Randall, Sophia, Hailey
NPC: Lanette, Cyanate
============

"But if you'd really rather stand your ground, I guess someone needs to knock you off your feet."

"Hahaha, and who's that gonna b --!!"

Before Cyanate knew what was going on, a certain missing factor known as the Phantom Jacket... or rather, the fragment had launched himself from the corner of his eye.

"Surprise attack?! Don't underestimate me!"

The Panzer was quick to react. With incredible accuracy, three throwing knives were produced from under the folds of his cloak, and two were shot at Jacket's feet. The Stray froze mid-dash and hopped a ways back, just barely avoiding the subsequent explosion.

"That's right... you remember these don't you? Ether-charged throwing knives. I'm quite handy with 'em."

Raising the last blade he withdrew, Cyanate slowly cocked his head toward the group behind Jacket.

"That was quite naughty, fragment. And you already know how I feel about naughty kids. Since I can't punish you... looks like one of your pals is gonna have to take the fall!!"

"---!!"

With a whip of his hand, Cyanate threw his remaining knife straight at Randall's direction. As it flew, the blade began to vibrate with a bright yellow energy.

"---Not good!"

The pony-tailed man only had time to brace himself in front of the two other kids, fully prepared to take the brunt of the shot.

*PAMF~!!*

"---What?!"

...But the impact never came. To everyone's surprise, something stopped the blade mid-air at the last second. As the projectile combusted, a large cloud of black smoke erupted from the explosion.

"Wait a minute, thats--!"

Cyanate began an effort to steer himself out of the dark smog, but it was too late. A unexpected, sharp pain in his abdomen halted him in his tracks.

"K-Kuh... you..."

Before the Panzer realized, a masked, white face was upon him. Scanning his gaze to the side, he noticed that his attacker was short of an arm. While the right one had a fist planted firmly in his stomach, the left was nothing more than a smoldering stump. A thick, tar-like substance spewed grotesquely from the messy remains and strips of dark sinew hung loosely, as if it had been torn off in a hurry. Jacket laughed as he saw the surprise in Cyanate's eyes. His voice was hoarse, and even more pained than the gut-punched Panzer's.

"Hehe... You're not the only one who can throw shit around."

"G-Guaaaugh--!!"

Cyanate hacked and choked as the wind was knocked from his lungs, but Jacket didn't stop there. With his arms still around the stunned Panzer, he made a beeline straight for the edge of the cliff. Suddenly realizing what his opponent was planning, Cyanate quickly tried to plant his heels into the ground. It was no use. Jacket's speed was simply too great for his weakened state.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU'RE GONNA KILL US BOTH!"

"Nah... you're mistaken. I can't be killed... I'm ALREADY DEAD---!!"

*~FLUMF~*

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

The shuffling of cloth was all Mirto heard amidst the chaos of the dark cloud, but she knew exactly what it meant. Turning toward its direction, the girl clawed her way through the blinding veil.

"Hey, Jacket! What the heck-- Whoa!!"

Mirto found herself struggling to keep her footing as the ground suddenly disappeared at her next step. Before she lost her balance, she was yanked back a few inches by a wayward hand. Randall made sure the girl was safely on mainland before letting go.

"Be careful. That's the edge of the cliff."

As another gentle breeze swept in, the smoke finally began to clear. Sure enough, there was nothing but a view of the ocean in front of them.

"But I heard..."

"GGGGGGGGGRrrrrrrRRrrrrrr..."

"Damn, looks like the pet is beginning to wake up again."

Randall gently shifted the cargo on his back -- a now-unconscious Lanette was resting sleepily against his shoulders.

"Hmm... I don't think I have enough 'ammo' to take this thing down another notch. We might just have to make use of this opening your friend kindly gave us."

"Friend...? You mean Jacket! What happened to him? Did you see where he went?!"

Randall's answer was mere silence, coupled by a furrowed brow.

"W-What's that look for...--"

"Mister Jacket---!!"

"... Eh?"

From the skies, a tiny voice meekly cried out. Looking up, Randall and Mirto witnessed perhaps the most peculiar thing so far this day.

A small girl, dangled from the arm by an even smaller black bird, floating in the sky.

[marcien]

and here comes martia's special: NPC-hijacking!!

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: Noon
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Near the cliff
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Hailey
Other PCs: Jacket
================

No way. The info ticket just got taken away.

Sophia picked up Hailey's irritation. "What's wrong, Big Sis Raven?"

That metal stray in a yellow jacket just jumped off the cliff with my prey!

Yellow jacket... jumped off a cliff...? Ah... "No... Mister Jacket!!"

"What, blondie, you know that stray?"

-- -- -- -- --

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 1230
Location: ???
NPCs: Cyanate and the three mysterious peeps in the room (Unknown crosser guy, Lin, Hyder)

A gush of static came from the tiny speaker of the man's phone. The other two waited on the edge of their seats for a reply.

Finally, the noise stopped, and the sound of Cyanate's chokes came through.

"What is going on there?" asked Lin.

"The fragment decided to engage me in a swimming competition, that's what. Lucky for me, that raccoons are good swimmers."

Lin heaved a sigh, somehow relieved that he was now far from her ward. She did not like what Cyanate has been doing to Lanette so far, despite how inevitable he thinks his actions are.

-- -- -- -- --

Location: Seashore
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Hailey
Other PCs: Jacket
NPCs: Cyanate

Sophia glanced anxiously in the direction of the sea.

"I won't worry 'bout him if I were you. He can't drown, so he'll just walk back on shore. I'm more concerned about that panzer."

Still, Sophia felt like going over to where Jacket fell in. Hailey assumed human-form and raised a monocle to her eye. Found you now, raccoon. She ushered Sophia away, "C'mon now, blondie, we have more important business to deal with."

-- -- -- -- --

Location: ???
NPCs: Cyanate and the three mysterious peeps in the room

"Woah. You're not gonna believe what I am seeing..." said Cyanate through the speaker.

A thack sound.

"Yea, you tell me. I don't believe this either," came Hailey's voice in the background.

"Geminesca?" commented the child. He recognised her voice.

"What the fuck are you doing?" continued Hailey, "Oh, you probably won't tell me anything right...?"

"Help me out here, kid. She has your other half with her."

The man stifled his laughter and turned to the child. Hyder closed his eyes.

-- -- -- -- --

Location: Seashore
PCs: Sophia (Oriole), Hailey
NPCs: Cyanate

Hailey stood a short distance from Cyanate. She questioned him, hoping that Sophia would be able to pick up his replies.

"Help me out here, kid. She has your other half with her," Cyanate said. It was then that Hailey realised that he was speaking to someone over his MPUD on the ground, which he must have dropped earlier. She prodded it with her feet.

BHAM! It exploded. Hailey moved away. "So that's what would have happened if I had picked it up, huh."

Sophia tugged on Hailey's shirt and shook her head. "It's no use... I can't hear him anymore."

[AYC]

(This is a long post. No, seriously, it is. Please don't kill me. Also, for convenience's sake, Cyanate is in this color.)

Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 12:30 pm
Weather: Cloudy
Location: On the Cliff
PCs: Mirto, Randall, Sophia
Other PCs: Hailey
NPCs: Lanette, Cyanate
================

Too many things are going over her head.

As confused as Mirto is about everything - the Panzer that had attacked them, Lanette's condition, the stranger that had come to their aid, and the little girl and crow that had been in the sky, everything - there's still only one thought that's clearly going through her head:

Where are you, Jacket?

Even though there had been a ridiculous amount of crazy things that had happened in the last thirty or so minutes, she really just doesn't get why. Why did a Panzer come out of nowhere with his pet Stray-Blight to attack them? Why had he come after Jacket specifically?

And was it really okay for said Stray to break off their contract for her sake? Or rather, was she okay with it?

If the sickeningly ill feeling inside is telling her anything, the truth is that it isn't alright. Mirto hates this horrible, guilty feeling inside, but it hurts even more when she realizes that if she could've done something - anything - maybe none of this would've happened. If only she hadn't been useless...

The vivid image of Jacket injured - leaking his tar-like ether and all - but still fighting is burned into her mind.

I... I don't like this at all..!

Despite her inner turmoil, however, Mirto doesn't get much time to mope around further, as the mysterious Crosser stranger - who looks remarkably like a previously missing security guard - suddenly yanks her backwards with urgency.

"Get your head out of the clouds, the pet's woken up. We have to get out of here, NOW."

"B-but -!"

"Look, I know you're probably not happy about th -" The man starts to cuts her off, but is interrupted by the large gust of ice soaring towards them. With a clumsy jerk, he pushes both girls down to the ground, but the force of the wind sends them all rolling a little closer to the edge of the cliff. A bit too close for comfort.

DAMN, too late!

- (12:32 pm) -

Sophia jumps slightly at the loud roar that splits through the air.

What was that?

Although she's curious, she can't muster the courage to ask Big Sister Raven about it - especially since the Panzer in question seems to be rather preoccupied with the other, mean-looking Panzer.

The mean-looking Panzer, on the other hand, looks absolutely stricken with horror at the now-berserk Stray-Blight rampaging around above.

"OH SHIT, MY MPUD! SHIT, I FORGOT ABOUT THE CONTROLLER PROGRAM - damn it, Benzene's gonna flip his lid - "

"Oh yeah?" With a loud thump and surprising strength, the raven Panzer plants her foot on Cyanate's shoulder and pushes him roughly to the ground. "Do tell. Actually, if you don't want to go through hell, you'd spill the beans now, boy."

Despite his slightly panicked disposition, he doesn't cave in easily and only glares back in contempt. "Like you said, I'm not going to 'fess up. So feel free to take me to the pits of hell and back - if you can that is."

Sophia watches with a faint sense of dread as Hailey's expression suddenly grows darker and wide smirk breaks out on her face. "Oh? You're honestly asking for it, punk...?"

Call it luck or otherwise, but it's at that very moment that Sophia suddenly hears a thought ring out in alarm from the top of the cliff.

DAMN, too late!

Eh? Isn't this... Mr. Randall's voice?

For a moment, Sophia's not too sure about what could possibly be happening up there, until she suddenly remembers:

Uuuu-! There was a scary Blight up there too, right? Mr. Randall must be getting chased by that Blight!

At least it all makes sense with the conversation she had just overheard from the two hostile Panzers behind her.

I have to help him! But... but... With a nervous look over her shoulder, Sophia is slightly taken aback at the large, very intimidating aura emanating from the female Panzer. Vaguely, she wonders if Hailey was in fact much more dangerous than the Blight running around above, but wisely chooses not to dwell on it.

Big Sister Raven is strong, she won't need my help! ...Or at least, she won't miss it, I think...

Gathering her resolution, she zooms off as quickly as she can towards the top of the cliff, careful not to turn around even when she hears a small crack and muffled scream in the distance.

... Uuuu.

- (12:35 pm) -

Mirto has only just managed to get to her feet when something quite solid comes crashing into her head from below and knocks her right back down onto her rear with a loud thunk.

Her forehead is splitting in pain, ouch. Through her slightly dizzy, disoriented vision, she can, however, make out a small head of long, blonde hair and a face with big blue eyes.

"Ow... my head hurts..."

"Huh? Aren't you... Sophia?"

The small girl immediately composes herself and makes eye contact with the man over Mirto's shoulder. "Mr. Randall! Are you okay?"

"For now, yes. What are you doing here?"

"I came to help Mr. Randall!"

The man - Randall - manages to give her a mildly amused expression despite the dire situation they're currently in. If Mirto didn't know any better, it almost looks like he can't imagine what a little girl could possibly do to help them. Or maybe it's the opposite, and he's not too surprised at all. Honestly, Mirto can't tell nor does she particularly care - she just adds it to her growing list of things to be perplexed by.

The Stray-Blight behind them roars again, and a fresh wave of ice breath comes rushing towards them. Although the amount of moving area is small, the group manages to dodge and roll towards a wider area, though it ends up being more like a messy stumble and tangle of limbs than a beeline towards safety. As the four bodies finally slow to a stop, the little girl suddenly jerks up with a surprised expression on her face.

"Aah! It's Madam... Madam..."

Her small fingers point to the messy head of orange hair peaking out over Randall's shoulder. Oh, so this girl knows Lanette as well?

"Shadow Buster Lanette, you mean?"

The girl nods, and then jumps, as if she hadn't noticed - or else forgotten - the person she had painfully collided heads with. Mirto's eyebrow twitches slightly at this revelation, but she doesn't say anything and only watches as the child fumbles with her hands as if embarrassed, then asks her apologetically, "Um... who are you?"

Mirto doesn't get the chance to answer until after the mad rush to escape from another gust of icy wind from the Stray-Blight. Slightly out of breath, she answers flatly, "Mirto."

Another blast of ice, and a wild dive to dodge. "Madam Mirto is a Crosser?"

... "Madam"?

There's a small pang of pain when she responds, "... Yes. And you are..?"

"Sophia is a Stray!" Despite the messy hair spilling over her face and shoulders, the smaller girl manages to give a cute smile. That is, until it's wiped off her face the instant the Stray-Blight decides to stop playing the hit-and-run game and charges straight towards them.

After five minutes of nonstop running and close call after close call, the group huddles behind a large tree for a breather, as the Blight sniffs through the air nearby in search for them. Although Randall, tasked with lugging the still unconscious Lanette around, is probably the one with the most muscle pain at the moment, Mirto herself isn't much better off either.

"... It doesn't... haa... look like we'll... haa... be able to get away... at this... haa... rate..."

Mirto doesn't say anything to respond, but Sophia gives the panting pair of Crossers a worried face.

"But... but the Blight is..."

Coming for us, right?

The Stray girl tangles her fingers into the folds of her long shirt some more, her eyebrows furrowed in thought and worry as if in some sort of internal debate. Then, with a surprising amount of finality in her blue eyes, she stands up suddenly with her back to the group.

"Uh... Sophia, what are you doing?"

"Mr. Randall and Madam Mirto are tired, right? Sophia will... Sophia will... will protect you two while you run away with Madam Lanette!"

Mirto looks up so quickly that she cricks her neck in the process. "What?"

Despite the grim situation before her, Sophia still manages to give a small, bright smile. Although Mirto supposes that its intentions are to be reassuring, it only makes the sinking feeling in her stomach worsen - but what the blonde-haired girl says next freezes her icy on the inside:

"Don't worry about me... as long as Mr. Martin is around... I won't run out of ether! So... s-so you can just rely on me! I'll be fine..."

As if on cue, the Blight catches onto their scent and pivots immediately in their direction, jaws open wide to fire more of its ice projectiles. With a set of determined eyes and both hands held out in front of her, the small girl conjures a faint, gold-colored wave of ether to counter - and the large spikes collide right into it, sending a gust of warm wind towards the group as the ice melts and dissolves into grey ether in the air.

Even the Blight, as berserk as it is, seems to be briefly astonished by the new barrier it's up against. The next instant, however, it explodes into a increased state of rage, and changes from spewing a few large chunks to a large spray of frost, pressuring Sophia and her wall of ether heat back with every step it takes forward.

"Uu-! Aaaah... Mr. Randall, Madam Mirto! Hurry up and run away!"

Mirto can feel Randall's grip on her arm tightening. "But Sophia, what about you?"

"Sophia will be... fine!" Her last attempt at a reassuring smile is heartbreaking with the way she's trying to hold back a grimace at the same time. A few stray chips of ice escape from being melted by her ether, and she winces a few times when they make contact with the exposed skin of her arms. "Please hurry, Mr. Randall! Madam Mirto!"

Mirto doesn't move. If anything's going through her head right now, it's that she's sick of it all.

Why...?

It's not right. Why is it that this small Stray is willing to sacrifice herself to protect - Randall and Lanette aside - a complete stranger like her, who she's only just met a few minutes ago? It's not alright just to go through so much, or to make such a sacrifice like this -

Her head is spinning, and repeating the same words over and over again:

It's not okay it's not okay it's not okay -

Mirto's tired of all this, and she hates it all so, so much. First it was Jacket, and now it's going to be this little Stray girl next? She can't take it anymore, she can't stand being this way and having everyone else have to make sacrifices because of it, she's just sick and tired of everything and being so -

Useless.

And in the next second, her mind goes absolutely blank.

And the next second, she's somehow pulled out of Randall's death grip and walking forward, back straight and seeing nothing but the faint glow of the ether in front of her.

And the next -

She's standing in front of Sophia, knocking the incoming chunks of ice aside with a swipe of the hand and the return of a familiar, glassy surface.

...

"... Madam Mirto...?"

"I don't want to be a weak Crosser, Sophia."

The Stray-Blight, undeterred in the slightest by the new obstacle in its way, increases the size of its barrage, and a small explosion of pale green ether erupts from the collisions as Mirto struggles to block all the flying ice pillars with her power. But even with jarring, jerky sensations running down her arms and through her body as she shakily pushes the attacks away, at least her ability is actually working to her will.

For once...

A loud growl emerges from the Blight when one its own giant icicles cuffs it back in shoulder area from Mirto's counterattack, and for a moment it hobbles on its legs, slightly disoriented. The situation grows worse though, when its eyes flash a darker, inflamed red from its sockets - as if it couldn't get more enraged and berserk, it seems to have crossed into its final threshold.

Uh oh.

Mirto's barrier cracks sharply when the beast charges right towards them, claws extended for a close up attack. Her efforts to push it back are messy and her control of the ether is far from perfect - as a result, she's forced down onto her rear and struggling to keep it from shattering her thin protection and crushing her flat.

"Just... a little bit... more..!"

With a final rush of adrenaline, she manages to concentrate her ether in enough of a spike of strength to push it back a few meters with a small amount of damage - at least, judging by the small trail of grey ether in the air. On the other hand, the force of the impact sends Mirto sprawling less than gracefully backwards, with the back of her head smacking painfully against Randall's chest.

"Madam Mirto! Are you okay?"

"Ouch... I'm fine... just kind of... drained..."

Randall, despite his previous exhaustion, helps her get back into a sitting position with a mildly concerned expression on his face. "Of course. You're directly manipulating the ether in the air - it might not be the same as manipulating your own ether inside you, but it sure does take a hell of a lot of concentration and focus to gather it all like you are."

"Madam Mirto is an unlinked Crosser, right? You can't use too much of your power..."

The reminder of being unlinked returns the same heavy, guilty feeling to her insides, but for the sake of being strong, Mirto forces it down with the thought that, at the moment, it's more important to get rid of the Stray-Blight. Or at the very least, push it back enough so that they can get away.

But if what Randall says is true, she's probably reached close to her limit for gathering ether from the air. If only there was some way to circumvent that, just for a little longer...

...

"Hey... Randall, is it? What was that thing you were doing earlier? Your Crosser ability?"

Although his expression seems to indicate that it's somewhat taxing for him to show her in his state, he forms a small ball of what looks to be a light colored ether in his hand. "You mean this?"

"Yes, that."

"Madam Mirto..?"

"How long do you think you can do that continuously?"

"... Huh, I see you have a plan. I can hold the shape for about a minute, but I don't know about doing it continuously, as you say." Randall shrugs nonchalantly, then gives her a crooked smile before adding, "I might not be in the top condition right now, but at least with all the negative ether gone, I've gotten back some of my strength. It wouldn't hurt to try it."

With a small nod in response, Mirto stands up again, trying to calm herself down for the sake of her plan. "Sophia, stay close to me. You're going to help me defend."

"Eh? Um, yes, Madam Mirto!"

As the Blight realigns itself onto its feet in the distance, Randall gathers a small amount of ether in his palms as Mirto runs forward, with Sophia following closely behind. At the sight of the nearing enemy, the Stray-Blight charges to meet them in the middle, the temperature dropping exponentially the more the distance between them decreases.

"Sophia, guard me!"

"Yes, Madam Mirto!"

Hands extended in front of her again, Sophia gathers her ether to block against the flurry of ice coming from the Blight's mouth as Mirto steadily manipulates the concentrated ether from Randall's hands into ether for her ability. The Blight growls angrily as it fiercely swipes at her, only to have its claw rebound back upon contact with Mirto's ether protection, spewing small bits of ether into the air. In blind rage, it attacks again in a rapid combo of sharp talons and ice projectiles, but with the small, but steady ether stream coming from Randall, Mirto manages to accumulate and manipulate enough ether to counter successfully each time as Sophia summons enough heat to melt the ice before it can damage anyone.

"Haa... how are you doing, Randall?"

"Well enough... I can last a bit longer. You're not faring too bad yourself."

"I'm actually feeling awfully exhausted right now..."

Sophia tugs at the end of her jacket, a concerned expression making its way across her features. "Don't push yourself too hard, Madam Mirto..."

"It's alright... I think I can fight just a little more..."

"Then let's finish this, shall we?"

Mirto and Sophia returns Randall's smile with a nod, and turn to face the seething Stray-Blight in the distance, charging their ether as the Blight gets to its feet and rushes straight towards them, headfirst.

"Now!"

There's a bright flash of gold as the Blight crashes into Sophia's wall of heat, and the beast's growls increases in volume the more it pushes into the barrier, the muscles on its body straining as it forces its way through it.

"Sophia!"

"Yes!"

Quickly, she lowers her arms and ceases her attack, stumbling out of the way in a haste when the Blight suddenly dashes forward at breakneck speed, right towards the awaiting pair of Crossers.

"Are you ready, Mirto?"

"Ready when you are."

With a sudden burst of ether coalescing in Randall's hands, Mirto swiftly gathers it all in a large stream in front of her, and concentrates it in a dense wall, materializing it into a clear, impenetrable surface as the Blight approaches, roaring and snarling with enraged red eyes.

"Let's do this!"

"OOOORRRRYYYAAAAAAHHHHH!!"

(This funky color ^ is to show that it's both Randall and Mirto yelling that line at the same time.)

With all of their willpower, Randall coalesces the last of the ether he can, and Mirto surges the ether concentration before her in massive spike just as the Blight collides into it - and bounces backwards with a earsplitting crash over and off the edge of the cliff, a faint cloud of ether trailing after it as it falls down.

For a long moment, there's silence among the group.

"Is it gone?"

"Probably not dead, but at least, it's out of our way for now."

Mirto collapses onto her rear with a loud, exhausted sigh. "Ugh... finally..."

-(12:45 pm)-

Meanwhile, the pair of Panzers at the bottom of the cliff look up with alarm at the increasingly loud roar of pain coming towards them.

"What the -"

Despite the numerous injuries Cyanate's obtained during the brief interrogation session he's been submitted to, he still manages to crack a wide smile at the sight of the Blight falling in their direction.

"Looks like that's my ride. Gotta go, bitch."

"The hell are you - "

With rough shove of the shoulder, he manages to free himself from Hailey's hold and jumps onto Blight, extracting a small device from the pockets inside of his coat and sticking it forcefully into the Stray-Blight's underside. The beast jerks sharply in the air as strands of electricity courses through its insides, but swiftly recovers and lands neatly on the sandy ground before leaping back up immediately afterwards.

"HEY! Where the fuck do you think you're going?! I'm not done with you yet!"

"AHAHAHA!! Sorry, but the show ends here, Geminesca. See you later, bitch!"

Without so much as another glance back, he climbs comfortably onto the Blight's back as the creature makes its way back up the cliff, leaving the seething Panzer behind on the beach below. Good riddance. Hopefully the bossman won't make fun of him too much with the new black bruise circling his eye, or the large collection of scars marking his face after the raven Panzer's mini-Torture Chamber of Hell. Or at least, what she had thought was hellish.

Speaking of damage though, something wasn't quite right with Feradine. Although its main body seemed perfectly fine, there was a large number of dents along the front of its torso, and cracks marring a few of its claws.

But what surprised him most was the fact that none of it was healing. He was pretty sure the injection Alkane had given him to use was supposed to make it so that Stray-Blights in particular had an increased ether absorption rate from the air...

When Cyanate reaches the top of the cliff, however, he has a faint idea why.

A Stray, and a trio of unlinked Crossers. Don't tell me they have something to do with it.

One of them - Miss Hindfell, of course - is still unconscious, but the other three are downright stunned to see the Blight and Panzer towering over them in the air above. Cyanate scrutinizes the trio below, searching for which one in particular could be throwing a wrench into their plans of Blight experimentation.

Could it be the Stray, or one of those Crossers?

In the end, Cyanate decides not to dwell on picking just one - he might as well just kill them all. All the better to make sure that none of them come back bite them in the ass later, even if it's also going to dispose of little Miss Hindfell in the process. Oh well. His MPUD's fucked up at the moment anyway - what they don't know can't hurt 'em.

With a sickeningly sinister grin, he pulls out another set of knives from his coat, and chucks one in their direction.

Bye, kids. This is what you get for sticking your noses where they don't belong.

-(12:50 pm)-

It happens in slow motion. In one frame, the Blight has jumped back up with a familiar Panzer grabbing onto its shoulder. In the next, it's up high in the air above them. And in the next -

An exploding knife that Mirto recognizes all too well comes flying towards them.

She doesn't even think about it. In a heartbeat she stands, and with all of her remaining strength, gathers all ether she can from the air around, Mirto pulls it in front of her to make her translucent, shimmering shield.

Her chest constricts tightly when she watches, frame by frame, the knife approach - getting closer and closer - and...

Passes right through it, like it's not even there.

What -

the -

... Hell?

"Get down!"

Randall makes a wild grab for her, and pulls her down to prevent her from being straight out impaled by the weapon - but it's not quick enough, and there's a sharp, stinging pain as the knife slices through the skin of her upper arm as it whizzes by.

"MADAM MIRTO!"

Mirto bites her lower lip to prevent herself from crying out in pain as her fingers reach up to stem the flow of blood spilling through the wound. What just happened? The knife.... it didn't even crack her barrier or anything... it was almost like it didn't exist in the first place.

Could she... could she be misunderstanding something about her ability? Or is there something special about Panzer weapons...?

Oh no.

"The knife... it's going to explode..."

Sophia's face pales, and Randall sets his jaw in an irritated grimace.

"There's no way we can get away in time..!"

"Uuu-!"

I'm sorry... everyone... Jacket...

For a long moment, Mirto's vision gets increasingly darker, as if shadows are creeping around them in a large spiral. It swirls around them, faster and faster, before obscuring her vision entirely, and Mirto honestly thinks that she's gone unconscious. But it's odd really...

Why does she feel like she's moving somewhere? And for darkness, why does it seem to glow slightly...?

All of the sudden, her vision clears, and she winces and turns away from the bright surroundings. And then -

"Sophia!"

"Mr. Martin! Miss Sanae!"

[Pasonia]

(same time, different place. While Team Mirto fights away, where does that put Team Martin?)
Date: 5 Jun, Saturday
Time: 12:45 pm
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Private School Stadium
PCs: Martin Chang, Sanae Fujiwara
Other PCs: Makoto (M), Sophia (Oriole), Mirto, Randall Kayne
NPCs: Lanette, Cyanate
================

The security guard at the private school didn't even so much as bat an eyelid at the duo as they walked past the gate. Around the school were small groups of people left and right, who were either playing around with each other, or drawing, or what have you.

As for Martin and Sanae, well, they were old enough to pretend they were teachers for the school, and the way they walked in - Martin reminded Sanae to keep a straight, unconcerned face - was enough to convince the under-paid old man they were part of the school.

Once they reached the stadium, the duo - looking totally like an unmarried couple and inviting a few giggles from one too many girls who spend their days watching idol soaps - took out the binoculars that they had borrowed; as if looking into the sky, they began to observe the Cliff.

One might ask, why would Martin be doing this instead of fighting with the rest? Actually, this bearded fellow had walked Sanae in to the school, instead of the Cliff, as he reconsidered the circumstances they were in on the bike ride to the park, with some startling problems.

It wasn't a simple problem, after all...

************************

Time: 12:25pm
Location: Bike Rental at south of Dawnview Park

"Dammit, trust the bike to hit a jagged rock in the park, of all places! Boss!"

They were at the bike shop, with the bike borrowed from Martin's cousin, now incomplete with a flat tire on the front as Martin rode over a rock unsuspectingly.

It was Sanae that first alerted Martin to the hissing sound, after which Martin slowed enough to quickly realise that, had he not been warned any sooner, he and Sanae would've been thrown off the bike painfully.

Speaking of the boss, a tall beefcake appeared from the back of the shop, all dirty with oil splattered across his singlet.
"Yes, can I help you, sir?"
"D'you have a tire replacement for this bike? We need it in a hurry."
"Let's see... wow, dude, how did you manage to bust a tire on this bike? It's a high-end one, dude. The tire's going to cost you."
"How much?"
"At least fifty, if you are going for one-on-one replacement."

(At this point of time, I know you guys were wondering about currency issues; MidnightMagnificent stated before that she didn't know the standard currency, so I pegged the value of the dollar Pebbleton uses, to the USD. They're still referred to as "dollars" but regardless of whether Pebbleton is clarified as a small town in the US or elsewhere, they will still be just called "dollars")

"Fifty kickers? What the heck... okay, wait, that's not a matter anymore. How long do you think you can get it fixed? We need to get somewhere on bike ASAP."
"Just rent a bike, your tire's gonna take an hour to fix fastest. I've even got the exact same model you're using now. Three dollars an hour. Rent three hours and get an hour free---"
"We'll just rent it on the go while you go fix the tire. I don't know how long we'll be using it."
"Okay then. Sign your name here... your cute friend behind you can add hers in as a witness."

Martin knew it, so knew it. This beefcake is trying to get close to Sanae!

"Your thoughts are clear as day," Martin casually blurted, which immediately made the beefcake throw a death glare at Martin.
"Well, she's not local. You'll be the witness."

(this town has a law that, for bike rentals and any similar contracts involving loaning or renting, on top of the person signing the paper there must also be a witness, who can also be the person offering the contract. Since this law only applies to Pebbleton, residents of Pebbleton are the only people who are legally bounded to this)

"Whoa, not a local, eh?" The beefcake, perked up by this revelation, proceeded to shift his eyes all over Sanae's body, causing her to blush red.

Martin shot him a death glare. "We're done here. Get me the bike. Sanae, please go outside and wait, thanks."
"All right, Martin..."
"Faster, would you, grouchy?"
This time, Makoto had to speak up, worried about the situation up top. And he thought Martin was the one worried about the situation there!

"Well, we can't run there in time, the park would take a long time to run across."

"Here's the bike. Be sure to bring your friend around the next time--"
"There won't be a next time," scowled an angry Martin.
"Sanae, let's go."
"Hai!"

************************

Time: 12:35pm
Location: Dawnview Park

Sanae had been meaning to keep to herself for a while now, but as Martin rode on, she found herself looking at more and more ghosts in the Park itself. Thankfully, almost all of them are non-malicious, and had she not known better she would have thought the Park is filled with a functioning community of ghosts.

"Ne, Makoto..."
"Hm?"
"Can you see those people over there...?"

Makoto looked around, but, from his point of view, found only a few ghosts here and there. What nobody knew at that point of time was that Sanae's Ether is leaky, and her Ether, by virtue of her Enomena, acted like a form of illumination for these unseen ghosts.

"I can only see a few people... that aren't actually people."
"Uso! There's a lot of ghosts here..."
"HUH?"

Martin, on hearing the comment, became quite disturbed. He had heard of rumors about Dawnview Park being the site of an exhumed cemetery, but that was plain crazy. On hearing that Sanae could see ghosts, he was so alarmed that he had had to stop the bike.

"Where? Where are these ghosts?"

Sanae could only look around, as the ghosts noticed her group stop.

"Ah, no wonder..." Makoto began growing a certain realisation.
"What's wrong, kid?"
"I can see Sanae-sama's Ether... and I could see these ghosts when they were walking near her leaking Ether."

Martin gathered that thought for a bit. "If that's the case, that means you're seeing them all over the footpath, since we've been riding on it. Sanae, you okay?"

"Lady of Nether, could you hear us?"

It was at that time, that Sanae fully recognised what had been meant by the title of "Lady of Nether". These... ghosts... though they were the same one as earlier in the ceremony, the sheer volume of these ghosts in the park had suddenly made her confidence abandon her entirely.

"Sanae?"
"I am fine, Martin..."
Despite her saying that, Sanae's voice trembled. Martin, somewhat upset that he could only watch his friend suffer, placed his hand on her shaking shoulder; but she was still shaking badly enough, as she clinged on to Martin's other arm for protection against an unknown.
"I... I am the Lady of Nether. Please... anyone, tell me what is happening."

From the crowd, an old lady emerged, standing before the crowd of ghosts that only Sanae and Makoto can see.

"I speak on behalf of my fellow ghosts, the Forgotten Ghosts of Marston."
"Madam, I'm terrified. Please, tell me what is going on..."
"We have come to warn you of great danger at the Northern End."
"The... Northern End?"

Martin whistled. "Whoa, it's real you're talking to some really old ghosts."
"And what makes you think they are?" Makoto cocked an eyebrow at Martin's comment.
"The Cliff was called the Northern End by the old people in my neighbourhood. Actually, very few people call it that name anymore, and when the city planning came about they decided to leave it unnamed. So... what are they saying, Sanae?"
"An obaasan told me that there is great danger at the Northern End..."
"I suppose she means the fight at the cliff."

"Lady, please pay close attention, for we speak of something gravely important."
"Hai...?"
"We say so because you are not to see us so clearly. Your powers, may it be as a candle that cannot burn to an end, will only bring you more harm than good."

Sanae gulped. It also occurred to her as strange how she was able to spot so many ghosts in the Park today when, during the course of the week, she hadn't seen any at all.

"What do I do, Madam?"
"Rest well to-day, milady. Do not over-exert the earthly miracle that is Ether. After to-morrow, all you need to do is to mention us, the 'Departed'. We will assist you at fastest notice."
"I understand."
"We stay for as long as you require to summon us, but we do not belong to this world, as we are but temporary residents of The Cycle - The Departed."
"The... Departed... I understand now. Arigatou gozaimashita!"

Sanae bowed deep... and had Martin not known, she'd be doing so to thin air.

"Douitashimashite, Gekai no Ojousama."

Sanae saw the old woman bow back - as did the rest of the Departed - and then they faded away into the air. Makoto saw only those illuminated sufficiently to be seen, disappear.

"What'd she say, Sanae?"
"The old woman... she said I shouldn't be going to where we are going, because I cannot turn off my Ether. I... keep seeing Departed people in the park. It scares me"
"Departed people? Those aren't Strays?"
"Normal ghosts," explained Makoto. "Before she bonded with me, she could not see them. I believe she could see Strays and ghosts, but because she could see both at the same time, she could not distinguish between either."
"Hai..."
"Well, shit be on me then, I thought you really could only just see Strays when you actually can see all sorts of ghosts," growled Martin. "I was thinking of helping them, but I cannot risk you being targeted by whoever is attacking the group there."
"But I can't be laying around doing nothing, grouchy," protested Makoto.

Martin considered the situation for a while. This is not really playing go, more like playing blind Chinese Chess with all the odds stacked against his group.

No matter how he and Sanae would like to help the other group get out of danger, if Sanae's ghostly ability will get her in trouble, he will not risk Sanae getting injured.

"Okay, then, that leaves us with no choice. We'll go to the next bike shop near the bus stop to get ourselves a pair of binoculars, and observe the action from afar."
"What about me?"
"You should observe up close. Help however you can, only when you think it is absolutely necessary."
"But... why?! Can't I just go fight?"
"The accursed handbook-in-a-PDF says so. As long as you stay within a comfortable distance, your Ether supply will not just disappear if you have a link. Tactically, that's almost equivalent to a two-space jump in Go - left alone long enough it's a worthless move, but however deployed to effect it's never a horrible move."
"Wakarimasu."
"I... see," mumbled Makoto, not sure what bullshit Martin just spouted as the bike rattled past the dark forest path into the clear cross-shaped open paths.

"Let's decide on a meeting point now," Martin stopped, right before the trio reached the Museum, where a Park information stand was erected.

"You will proceed beyond the museum, to the right and behind, and into the area. Make sure you can actually see them, but don't get too close unless they are having trouble fighting the situation. Priority goes to Sophia - I know you're concerned about her and so am I, but you have the ability to exert more concern."
"Sounds okay."
"Sanae and I will proceed to the private school stadium - at least, the picture Abigail took showed as much where it had come from. We will go to the roadside bike stall to borrow a pair or two of binoculars, then observe from there. I will do my best and use my ability to record the events I see."
"And what happens if I need to pull them away? How would you know I'm bringing them back?"

Martin thought for a moment. "I can't quite describe it, but every time Sophia is around I could 'feel' more of her presence than when she is away. You know, while she was still angry with me those few days."
"The 'link' is rather literal," Makoto concluded.
"Therefore, whether it's you or Sophia coming into range, we will be able to tell. Once we feel you're nearby, we'll get out of the school and meet you... here."
"Here?"

"Here" as pointed by Martin, is a spot that is close to the Cliff, and also between the Museum and the private school.

"Not on the map, but... there's an unused little outpost here," explained Martin. "A year ago when I went there for a competition, I spotted this place. I checked old records and maps for this and apparently, in the past, the entrance to the school was here, so they had a security outpost."
"Ano... Why wasn't it marked on the map?"
"Sanae, would anybody mark a security outpost on the map?"
"Tashikani sou dana..." (Yea, that's true...)
"Anyway, it looks old, and is really old, but it's a good enough size to hide a size of five, six people."
"Grouchy... doesn't anyone control this outpost?"
"Not many people realise that nobody owns this anymore - I checked with the property office because I was that curious. I had friends in the property office, see."
"Ah, naruhodo..."
"Toriaezu... I mean, for now, let's do this."

[SavviG]

A slice of life at the café.
Date: June 5, Saturday
Time: 12:33
Weather: Cloudy
Location: Tranquile Drive, Stray Cats
PC(s): Graciel Flay
NPC(s): Stray Cat Staff
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graciel sat on at a empty table. The place was empty except for the staff stationed around the shop. Graciel watched the snow subside. The fight somewhere out there must've ended.

'Guess who?~' and a pair of hand came into view, gently covering his eyes. 'I give you two guesses Gra-'
'Manager' came a quick response from Graciel and the hands came off his eyes.
'Heh, not that hard since there's only four people in the shop.' She pulled up a chair and slumped down besides Graciel. She let out a sigh. 'Where on earth are the customers?' No one anwered.

The other two staff stepped out of the counters and sat with Graciel. All four slumped. 'Say, Graciel' the second female staff named Jenny looking at Graciel. 'Where'd you get your cat gear from? Look so natural.'
'I don't know, It was a gift from a friend'
'oh, shame, I looked online and couldn't find a good pair.' She lifted her hand up attempting to take a better look at Graciel's ears. 'Look so real and -'
Graciel let out a deliberate sneeze attempting to refrain her from noticing real ears.

'GRACIEL!' said the Manager who let a jump scare. 'What are ?-'
'I'm sorry, it came so sudden' and he stood up. 'I'll clean the table right away!'

Graciel runs off the back. Jenny watched the second male staff fiddle with his tail. 'You should buy a new one too, look at the end, its tattered! You look more than a stray cat' and she giggled.
'Right, but I just don't know where to get a better one.' he wave his tail around in circles.
'Your tail looks like it caught a nasty infection'
'Har' And he tucked his tail away.

Graciel appears and wipes the table then sped off again.

Jenny leant forwards and ushered the othe two to do the same, and then spoke in a low whisper 'Don't you find it strange that Graciel's Nekomimi's is a tad too real?'
'Hmm, somewhat..' said the manager.
'Never noticed, may be surgically emplanted some real ears from a cat?'
'Don't be ridiculous, why would he?' replied Jenny. 'Besides, I noticed that his ear flicker from the corner of my eye.'
'You sure? come on, if it were, he'd be from a different planet.' and he looked around to check if Graciel noticed the huddle.
'Well, I still think his hiding something.'
A sudden knock came above both of the heads and the Manager was right behind them now. 'C'mon, we have a guest'.
She was right, a woman came into the store and greeted the staff members. Jenny took off the get take the guests orders.

Graciel was hiding behind the door edge listening in. He heard the conversation and now he would need to get some fake ears. Maybe he can order some from Panzer research facilities. They can mold some pretty realistic ears, he was sure of it.