Tales of New Eden IC RP

[spineyrequiem]

Naoko observed Yateson's outburst with big, bemused eyes. 'Kare wa nani o itte iru?'

'He doesn't think I'm alive. Idiot.'

'Oh...'

Naoko almost jumped with shock as Akky sat down next to her and started talking.

'Hai! Watashi wa anata ga kakushin shite iru!' she giggled, and blushed scarlet

'Naoko. Quit flirting. He's twice your age. Now pick the guy up.'

Naoko looked crestfallen, but stood up, extended her free arm to Edwin and pulled. After a few seconds of trying, she braced her feet properly and tried again, as Edwin looked on with amusement.

'Oh for god's sake.'

A cluster of lightning bolts reached out and wrapped around Vile, pulling him to his feet with a tingling, burning sensation and a vaguely distressing smell of ozone. The lightning lifted him a good meter into the air

'Naoko. Get the chair.' Naoko picked the chair up and returned it to an upright position, in time for Omo to drop the investigator into it.

'Now, since we've got all this out of the way, can we please get down to business?'

 

[Lynks]

As the hour of his meeting slipped away by the minute and the palpable awkwardness that exuded from both him and the parents across the table rose and rose, Ibby felt increasingly sure that this family he was sitting with was not, in fact the people he was here to meet. The situation was not helped by how enamored by the tall tale he was telling the child was, nor the lack of any sort of trigger to allow himself to excuse himself and still save face.

"Arrr, it was then little lassy that the white whale lept out of the water and bit me 'and right off..." he said, ashamed at having to pilfer someone elses work by being put on the spot,

"but yer see, I'd me own tricks up my sleeve, somewhat literally! I lashed me boat 'ook to me arm while the whales thrashed about of me deck..." The child looked on wide eyed, while Ibby made another furtive glance for any means of escape from this almost torturous situation...

 

[Get of W'soran]

Akky looked pleased at the young girls response, flashing a grin at Omo's commentary.

He was about to offer the girl a hand when the puppet intervened and he watched with interestest as the lightning physically moved the other mortal.

"Interesting." he murmured.

He glanced at the girl and leaned over whispering in a loud jokingly manner wearing his usual grin.

"Anata no yūjin wa tashika ni shinkokuna monodesu. Kare wa sakasama ni sono shikametsura o yūkō ni shite kudasai!"

He glanced over at Para with a faint frown "Who else we waitin' on boss?"

 

[The Archivist]

A frazzled cat girl finally found the half-mer after half an hour of false alarms and getting pulled off course by the smell of anchovies from tables scattered around the dining areas.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, tail twitching maniacly, nearly grabbing the man before noticing the company he had. The kid's eyes were tearing up at the possibility of losing her new friend.
"I'm sorry little kitten, I'm afraid the good sir has business to attend to. How about I fetch his juggler friend to entertain instead?."
The exchange made quickly, the cat girl bundled the man into the elevator.
" I'm so sorry sir, it's been a long day."
She sniffed the air a little.
"Wow, you smell good. Really good."
She wrapped her tail slowly around his hook, but before she could do anything else the doors opened and she had to take him past Scott and into the meeting room.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Para, I spent way too long finding him," she blurted.
"No trouble Nyasuki. He's here now," came the reply.

 

[Lynks]

Ibby hurriedly concluded his story as he was dragged off, relieved "... and that's when be and the white whale became best of friends!" The child was torn between being disappointed at such an abrupt ending or being left amazed at such a fanciful story, the possibility that none of it were true not occurring to them.


Hearing the catgirl's remarks in the elevator brought up memories of when he first changed... a younger lad back in the day with his very own darling kittylady for a lover... She'd been awfully supportive... more than anyone could expect given the circumstances... until he woke up one night to find her nibbling on his ear.

"sorry lass, the fish in me don't extend beneath me scales" he quietly remorsed, stepping out of the elevator into the basement chamber.

"Sorry for me lateness" he apologised, eyeing off his pizza party companions, "lets get down to the business of what's hooked us all together eh?" waving his bad hand not so subtely with a smirk on his face.

 

[The Archivist]

"Greetings, Mr Haulding. Please meet Mr Akky, Mr Omo and Miss Naoko, Inspector Vile and the shell shocked man over there is Mr Yateson."
Para gestured to each person as she introduced them.
"Everyone, please meet Mr Haulding."

Scott carefully entered the room behind Nyasuki and the half-mer, stooping to close the door behind him. Nyasuki stood next to him, brushing down her tail and neatening her clothes.

 

[The Archivist]

A large troglodyte, his cap slipping to show his milky white third eye perched in his forehead, opened the door.
"Miss Para, ma'am, we've got an unexpected arrival of the Spring court for their Winter banquet in five hours: there's a panic in the kitchens trying to prepare all the orders."
Para nodded.
"Thank you Munster, I'll be with them in a bit."
Para looked around at the assembly, pausing for a moment to check Mr Yateson was still conscious.
"To business then. We're all here to deal with the threat of the Cult to all parts of our society. The Inspector and Mr Yateson will be handling the legal side of things, assembling a case we can bring to court with our assistance. We'll also be trying to trim the Cult's resources back to prevent the damage they're causing to business, government process and Vancouver itself."
"Mr Yateson will be trying to keep the mortal authorities off you so you can do your specialties but please try and keep a low profile. Mr Oko has access to magical resources , Mr Akky is a trained fighter and Mr Haulding can get access to local knowledge and assistance.

Since I am unable to leave my business unattended, I hired our lawyer to take my place alongside one of my own.
I will be giving you a safe haven to retreat to here, as well as the services of one of my employees: Munster, Scott and Nyasuki have all indicated their willingness to help, though I can only spare one during the midterm rush."
She turned to her three employees.
"Keep me and each other in the loop, swap if you need, when they've decided on their starting partner I'll need the other two on laying the tables."
With a wave she headed for the door. At the door she paused and looked at Yateson.
"Oh, and if he's not recovered in five minutes give him a slice of Jalapeño Volcano Nova Surprise. Works every time."

 

[Get of W'soran]

Akimitsu broke out into a fit of giggles at the pirate's joke. "Haha..hooked hahaha"

After an unfortunately long period of time the assassin finally got a hold of himself, wiping tears from his eyes, although he still chuckled to himself.

After listening to Para speak the Japanese man nodded with a grin as the business woman left the room.

"I don't mind who comes along so long as we get going" Akky said happily "Although the cat girl looks like she'd be some fun."

"And those other two look boorrriiinnngggg...especially the big dude." he thought to himself

"Anywhos! When do we get started?" he asked enthusiastically.

 

[The Archivist]

Munster looked to Akky.
"We'll be finished here in twenty-two minutes."
He looked at Scott and Nyasuki as they stared at him.
"Ellie writes reminders on her notepad as well," he said. The other two relaxed at the explanation.

 

[Get of W'soran]

Akky raised an eyebrow in disbelief at the exact time given by Munster, the assassin pulled his sleeve up revealing a digital Spiderman Watch and pressed a button on the side which started the stop watch.

The man put his feet up on the nearby table and smirked at the room.

"Well let's get this show moving!" he told the group seemingly taken the given time as a challenge.

 

[spineyrequiem]

'I ain't NOBODY'S child. It's O-MO, pal!'

'Kanoji wa nani o itte iru?' whined Naoko

'She's just describing the mission kid. And saying she's gonna go off, so we need to decide which employee we want helping us.'

'Mā, Nyasuki sutekina yōde soshite kanojo wa nihongo o hanashi, watashitachi wa kanojo motte irudarou ka?'

'Yeah, I like her too. OK, so that's two votes for Nyasuki, anyone gonna suggest someone else?' The puppet looked around the assembled party.

'Alright people. First thing we gotta check is whether the cult knows we're here. If they do, can they hear us? If so, we're gonna have to keep our cards close to our chest.' Omo took another sip of his whiskey.

'Now one thing we know is that they're far-reaching. I'm here 'cause of how they're acting in Japan. If we try to act separately, we'll be crushed in short order 'cause they got a lot more resources than us, so whatever we do, we need to work as a team. Pass me another slice.' Naoko lifted a piece of pizza to the puppet's mouth and he chewed it noisily for a few seconds. 'Once we're sure we're secure, we're also gonna need a frank and forthright discussion of abilities; I don't want anyone getting killed 'cause someone was too proud to admit what he couldn't do. Lost too many friends that way.'

'So, before we say anything more; anyone here a spy?'

 

[The Archivist]

Scott raised his hand with a humorless grin.
"I'm an observer for the Shieldwall. Not quite the spy you're worried about, but as a member and swordmaster I'm capable of protecting against any supernatural being."

Munster slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Scott, just... no."
He looked at the rest of the group.
"The Shieldwall isn't another inquisition, but they are staunchly opposed to any contact between the paranormal and the unknowing public.
"Anyway, I'm a seer. Got the milky white third eye and everything. I'd go mad if I tried to predict the future proper, but I can see what is or will be written on any piece of paper I know the details of."
He borrowed Nyasuki's order slips.
"I usually predict pizza orders, but I'm willing to do something outside my comfort zone."

Nyasuki had been looking at Naoko with a thoughtful look.
"*japanese* Hey... Naoko? Don't I know you from somewhere?"
Munster elbowed her.
"Hey! Oh, sorry...
"Hey everyone. I'm Nyasuki, a catgirl. I have cat ears, tail and a good sense of smell, and that means I'm good at something illegal: breaking and entering! Not that I do that, but Dad insisted I learn the family skills..."

 

[spineyrequiem]

At Scott's admission, Omo seemed to jump back, startled, and though his glassy eyes were incapable of widening in shock, it was clear he would have liked them to. 'Wau! Supai! Purotokorushikkusu o kaishi shimasu!'

'Hai!' Naoko dived into her bag and pulled out two preposterously large false moustaches. Slapping one onto Omo's face (slightly misaligned), she stuck one onto her own lip before taking a quick glace at her phone screen as she pulled a checked shirt on over her seifuku. 'Harro!' she said. 'I am na-sing but a sim-purr kana-deean rumbar-zack, wiz za name of Feer-eep. Eh.' She scrolled down slightly. 'No, offf-ees-ur, I know na-sing aboat any tax...'

'You don't need to say that bit yet!' shouted Omo, cutting her off. She seemed slightly miffed at missing the opportunity to use all her carefully-rehearsed lines.

After Munster explained, Omo looked slightly mollified but still glared at Scott as he returned the moustaches to Naoko's bag. 'The kid ain't unknowing. She's always known about the paranormal. I have papers to prove it. You ain't got no case against me!'

When Nyasuki said her name, Naoko looked surprised then, with a thoughtful look, she studied the catgirl for a few seconds. 'Nyasuki-san, watashitachi wa sakunen, gakkō no ryokō de deatta no? Seitonaikai kokuritsu kōen no? Watashi wa anata no kao o oboete iru to kakushin shite imasu.'

Omo mulled over the relative advantages of the the two candidates. 'OK. You both seem pretty handy. I'm gonna keep my vote with Nyasuki for the moment, but if everyone else decides predicting the future will be more useful I'll bow to their wishes. In the meantime... I'm Omo, I make lightning. I can pick up and move stuff, and I can zap things. One thing is though, it shouldn't come into contact with normal electricity or it release radiation, apparently. I can deal with it, but most of you guys probably can't, and neither can the kid. If I get knocked off the kid's hand or if she...' he took a furtive glance at Naoko before leaning forward and continuing in a whisper, 'if she dies, I kinda go inert. I dunno exactly what happens, I just don't remember anything before I get picked up again. The kid's just a normal kid, she can run a bit but it's not like she's trained for it. So we probably shouldn't go too close to the front lines. That's basically everything with us.'

 

[The Archivist]

Scott narrowed his eyes at Omo but said nothing. Nyasuki, on the other hand, had plenty, and began yammering on in Japanese.

"I remember! You were the girl that let me nick her sushi! It's good to meet you again!"

She seemed about to continue when Munster elbowed her again. The catgirl gave him a playful swat in return but ceased talking all the same.

 

[spineyrequiem]

'Hai! Watashi wa sore ikō ichi nitchū hontōni kūfukudatta...' she stopped, looking embarrassed, when Munster elbowed Nyasuki.

Omo glared at the silent circle of people. 'Is anyone else gonna say what they can do, or am I gonna have to start giving practical demonstrations of what I can?' Tendrils of lightning reached out and hovered menacingly over the heads of the rest of the group.

 

[Harland]

As he was lifted into the air by the gravity-defying pyrotechnics sourcing from the mottled puppet perched on the arm of the wide-eyed Japanese schoolgirl, Edwin Vile simply continued to eat his pizza.
He was promptly dumped into an awaiting chair, and listened with amusement to the schoolgirl nattering away with the assassin in anime. He shook his head sadly.

His attention was captured by a new arrival – a pirate covered entirely in tuna. Well, he smelt of tuna. But Inspector Vile didn’t speak up, he simply ate his pizza in silence, even as the discussion progessed.
That all changed, however, when the strange little puppet voiced its challenge.
“Is anyone else gonna say what they can do?”

Edwin Vile surged to his feet, casting away his unfinished foot (sending a half-eaten slice of custard and sauerkraut pizza cartwheeling towards the oblivious face of a still-dumbfounded lawyer). He lept onto the table, and barreled towards Mr. Omo. Stopping just short of disaster, he leant over as far as he could, his slightly bloodshot eyes mere inches from the animated sock.
“Do you mean to say,” he began, “that you have not heard of me?”

 

[spineyrequiem]

The huge, probably-drunken detective leapt at the pair and Naoko shrieked and tried to hide behind Omo. Though she was a small girl, the foot-tall puppet did precisely nothing to conceal her. She continued to emit small gibbering noises as the man shouted in English, spraying her with crumbs of pizza.

'Lemme tell you something pal. I been around a while. I was there when the first white guys landed, and when they left again. I remember the rise and fall of a hundred shogun. I remember Japan splitting and reforming, over and over again. I remember seeing cities burning, AA guns blazing, people screaming, crying, dying as the flames rose higher, a blood-red sun rising as the bombs kept falling. I remember two guys from the Kempeitai coming to the school, handing out spears. I don't think I can die, but if I'm never picked up I might as well be and that day, I thought it was gonna happen. I remember hearing Hiroshima was gone. I saw the occupation forces come and go, I saw the economy crash and rebuild, watched the culture go from militaristic to cute like THAT.' He looked regretfully at his fingerless cloth arms. 'Naoko, click your fingers for me.'

Naoko clicked her fingers.

'Thanks. I was already old when you were just born. I've seen dozens of people just like you tell me why they're unique. Why should I care about you? What have you done?'

 

[The Archivist]

Scott shifted his weight and coughed politely.
"Mr Omo, please do not antagonise Inspector Vile. Inspector Vile, Mr Omo is from Japan, and so you will need to recount your exploits to him later. For now, you'll just have to impress him with a list of your professional skills."

 

[Get of W'soran]

Akky tapped his watch with a sigh.

"How has it not even been fifteen minutes yet!?!?" the assassin exclaimed miserably as he slumped further into his chair.

Looking bored as he watched the others Akimitsu pointed at the detective "Stop creeping out the girl fatman." he said sounding slightly annoyed.

Turned his head slightly he smirked at the puppet "And I thought I was unlucky for having to spend my childhood on that small uptight Island."

Frowning Akky looked back at his watch before violently shaking his wrist "Come on time! Be a pal! Get to twenty-two minutes already!" he complainted to the inanimate object having already forgotten his original intent of trying to disprove Munster's statement.

 

[spineyrequiem]

'Ain't always that uptight, if you know where to look...' Omo seemed to develop an intense interest in the ceiling.

'Anata wa sono koto de nani o imi suru no desu ka, Omo-chan?'

'You'll, uh... You'll work it out when you're older kid.'

Naoko went into a huff.

'Now come on people, speak up, don't be shy. Time's wasting.' The lightning crackled menacingly.

 

[Harland]

Edwin simply squinted at the puppet.
"You are remarkably impatient," he said, "for a sock."

He whirled around and began circling around the table, kicking empty pizza boxes out of his way. "As for me, I am Edwin Vile. Inspector extraordinaire, master of disguise, martial arts specialist. I single handedly tracked down and apprehended the keychain killer, and solved the Pillsbury case in under 6 hours. I can analyse a crime scene faster than the police can realise I'm there." He not-so-nimbly jumped from the table, stumbled, did a twirl, and plopped into a seat.
"Any questions?"

 

[Get of W'soran]

Akky looked at Edwin with a thoughtful frown as he rubbed his chin.

"Hmm...I have heard...of none of those things." the assassin said before smiling happily "But if you're a martial artist then at least I'll have an available sparring partner along with me!"

 

[Mello]

On the ground floor, a slight tremor shook through the building, rattling the windows, before a deeper tremor shook the ceiling of the basement accompanied by a throaty boom. Dust filled the café the front door was kicked down violently, a shadowy silhouette filled the doorframe.

"YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME??" yelled a young feminine voice.

 

[The Archivist]

Para looked up at the dramatically thrown open door with a sigh as the surrounding patrons ignore the raucous shouting.

"Of course I didn't, Ms Melodia, your parents screen your emails. Now if you hurry downstairs to the usual board room the crew are waiting for you. There's your usual pizza waiting for you, courtesy of Munster."

She taps something into her PDA as a gentle breeze filters down from the upper floor and she heads upstairs. One of the waiters, dressed as a half-steampunk cyborg, opens the lift for the girl in order to lead her down to the boardroom.

---

Munster blinks as a light on his phone goes off and he looks at the last pizza box.

"I can now tell you without getting a migraine that one of our uncertain members has now arrived. Ms Harmonia Melody will be passing through the door in a moment."
"Now since the general consensus seems to be Nyasuki should accompany you, I'm heading back to the kitchen. Scott, if you could find somewhere for our legal and local experts to discuss matters that would be helpful."

Scott nods and leads the merman and the still slightly shellshocked lawyer out of the door. Nyasuki takes out her smartphone from somewhere and nods at the other three.

"I've already got somewhere to start. Let's just wait for Ms Melody to join us."

 

[Mello]

"But wait!! I haven't finished my entrance yet!" the girl shouted back, a little hurt. The shadow fiddled around a little in its pockets before a click was heard.

In front of the café the girl's previously unseen - due to the dust - car exploded into a large fireball. The resultant blast shook the buildings around it, loose roofing tiles and rubbish rained from the sky, and the smoke of the girl's arrival was blown away with the force of the explosion. Finally the horrifying pyromaniac could be seen.

A small girl stood in the doorway grinning from ear to ear. Her... "clothes" were scarce, and odd. Over her torso a black T shirt was loosely slung, highlighted just how horribly thin she was. Where one would normally wear a belt she had three or four. A pair of black leather studded belts, one brown suede one and a belt made of what hopefully was just imitation bullets. Both feet wore thigh length studded leather boots, with spikes on the heels and toes, and the left leg wore a full leg length pink and black striped tight, the other leg being bare. Her hair was dyed bright pink and pulled into two braided pony tails. Finally, two black leather holsters for pistols were on the outside of each boot.

Harm's boots softly clinked as she stepped into the entrance, eyes wide open in either insanity or excitement.. or both.

"Heya everyONEEEE" She yelled jumping up and down in happiness.

"OH MY GOSH KITTY!!" she squealed before running up to the nearest waitress and hugging it like she would sooner die than let go. Promptly letting go she runs to the lift before dropping to her knees, sliding the final distance and drawing her pistols for no apparent reason. Harm sniggered before holstering her weapons again.

"Sorry babe" she whispered to the cyborg look-alike "It's just too fun".

With that sentence the elevator pinged and Harm pressed herself up against the door, willing it to open faster.

The door to the conference room opened up.

"SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP" Screeched Harm, before twiddling her fingers with her eyes closed in concentration. As if from nowhere a metal-esque guitar riff played. Stopping her twiddling Harm strode into the room. Suddenly the guitar started up again and Harm frowned, punching the little black box on her hips violently. The noise slowed down, like a broken record and stopped.

"Stupid damned speakers" she grumbled. The box seemed to have been through worse things than undernourished teenager's punches however, it was thoroughly singed and even had what appeared to be the recently deceased car's paint flecked over it.

"So we have some stuff to BLOW THE **** OUT OF RIGHT?" Harm yelled in joy, raising her arms above a head. The arms faltered and lowered a little.

"... right?" Harm sounded wounded.