2016-04-25 - Best. Plan. Ever.

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Best. Plan. Ever.

Summary: As worries mount over Solomon, a large discussion starts over what to do about him. Then Violet gets the best plan ever.



Who: Ari, Fayt, Frey, Jason_Inugami, Lina_Inverse, Minerva, Natsuki, Rin, Skeeve, Soma, Violet
When: April 25th, 2016
Where: The Usual Restaurant, Frey's Shop


Ari-icon.gifLina Inverse-icon.gifSkeeve-icon.gifViolet-icon.gif

The information contained within this log is to be considered information gained Out of Character (OOC).
This information may not be used as In Character (IC) knowledge or in roleplay unless it has been learned in-game or permission has been granted by the parties involved.

Questions should be directed to staff.


Skeeve strolls into the Usual from the street, pushing the doorso pen like he owns the place. He seems to be in rather a good mood.

Lina happens to be already here! She's perched at a table comfortably while tossing the last plate of an apparent massacre atop the stacks she's built up. Movement catches her eye and she lifts one hand in a wave! While dabbing at her face with a napkin.

Violet is currently seated at the bar, a plate with a club sandwich currently sitting on the bar in front of her. The plate is also laden with potato chips! Predictably, there's a glass of orange juice next to said plate. She rubs her hands together, looking like she's just about to dig into her lunch!

Skeeve returns the casual wave, winding his way through the tables on his way up to the bar. "Hey, Lina, nice to see you again. Afternoon, Violet, how's it going?"

Violet looks up at Skeeve. "Uh? Oh, it's... going. I'd say my life would be going perfectly at the moment, if it weren't for one problem... So I'd still say it's going pretty damn well, but with a nagging feeling, more like..." She frowns, looking a bit into space as she tries to make sense of what she said herself. "If that makes any sense."

Lina disentangles her face from the napkin to get a look at the speaker; ah right, one of the regulars! "Yoooo. Actually..." She checks her person a moment and produces a business card. Not hers, don't worry, "You know someone named Frey? Owns a magic shop and said something to me earlier about a mage's guild. Know anything about that?" She pauses, points at Violet, "Sounds like that's one problem you need to handle without wasting too much more time. If it's stressing you out that much."

Skeeve can't help but smiling a little bit at that. "I get that feeling all the time, actually, Vi. It sucks, doesn't it?" Leaning back against the bar, he snaps up one of the menus, considering. It seems that Lina doesn't seem to recognize him; oh well, it was too much to hope for. "And actually, yes I do know all about that. My name's Skeeve, Skeeve Plowse. It's a pleasure to be properly introduced."

Violet blinks and looks over at Lina as well, but lets Skeeve do the talking to her... as it seems that Skeeve might actually be exactly who Lina actually should be talking to. She does bring up one last point of what she herself had said. "Well, nagging feeling might not be the best words to use... I think... Well, I think there's some... someone that's at least almost my father around somewhere in the galaxy that seems to want to avoid me... And I think my stepmother might have been hiding that from me."

Lina yep. Still learning names - that multiverse just can't help but be fickle! Still, she's seen Skeeve around here enough she feels comfortable asking a question like this! "Lina Inverse! Though... you probably already knew that. Most people around here do for better or worse. Nice meetin ya. So... What's up? This isn't just some rinky dink hustle right?" Where she's from, that's kind of an Every Day. Not unreasonable to be cautious! To Violet, she advises, "Your parents had reasons for doing things the way they did. Maybe not good ones but, well, sometimes it's better not knowing? If you think it's worth pursuing though don't let anything stop you! Bust some heads if you gotta!"

Skeeve is leaning against the bar, leafing through the menu. He looks a little surprised at what Violet says. "Wait, there's an almost Jack around and he's actively hiding?" He shakes his head. "Man, I don't even know what that guy's thinking..." Sighing a little, he just kind of stares at Lina. "Uh, 'rinky dink hustle'? You know that no matter what, I'm gonna hafta answer that no, right, even if it is?" He laughs a little. "If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to answer them, though."

Ari dances into the place, quite literally. Her earbuds are in and blaring, and she's maneuvering between the tables and such to the beat, not really paying attention to who's in the place so much as trying not to bump into anyone or anything in general.

Violet sighs and shrugs, then takes a large bite out of her club sandwich. She only gets halfway through chewing it when Ari comes dancing in. She pauses, raising an eyebrow... then just shrugs and continues chewing.

And of course, while Ari comes in dancing...Frey comes in looking like she's had a rough night, and not in a fun way. And she looks around, seeing who all is here.

Lina well. She leans back in her chair. "Yeah, I get that. I mean, if it were and it caused me a lot of grief..." Eh, she didn't really think it was but she's going to give anyone she asks about it ample opportunity to vindicate or villify themselves nevertheless! "Maybe." She glances to the door, seeing someone dancing in like they... Oh, right. Way loud music. Then, "How about this then: She always look that rough?"

Skeeve looks up as the doors open, and can't help but smile lightly. Raising a hand, he gestures lightly, using magic to tug lightly on Ari's shirt, leading her gently in his direction. Lina's question turns his attention to Frey, however, and he peers at the mage just a little. "Huh. No, normally she's a little better put together. Mina's experiments must've gone seriously wrong."

Violet glances as well as the other two look towards the door, and waves to Frey as she starts eating the potato chips on her plate.

Frey looks over and sees Skeeve as she sighs. Well, he needs to know, so does Lina. And she makes her way over to the duo waving to Violet as she goes. And as she gets to their table, "You two have a minute?" she asks with a look at them.

Ari blinks as her shirt is tugged, and beams as she sees Skeeve. Not hearing what anyone is saying at the moment, she hustles her way over to him, grabs his shirt, and not exactly caring who sees, pulls him down to her for a quick kiss.

Lina tilts her head, "Oh, someone else finally blow something up and take a little heat offa me?" She's only kidding, though she does look curiously up at Frey as she approaches and asks for a minute. Glance. "Ah, got plenty actually! Whatsup?" It could be serious, even! This should be... interesting!

Violet, seeing that whatever Frey's business is apparently doesn't concern her, nods back to her to acknoledge the wave, then goes back to her club sandwich.

Skeeve can't help but smirk a little bit at that. "Oh, so that was you in the n-" He's cut off when Ari grabs him by the collar and kisses him. When she finally lets him go, with a goofy grin on his face, Skeeve pops one of Ari's earbuds out, and asks, "I don't know. Ari, do I have a minute to talk to Frey?"

Ari takes the other earbud out and nods. "Sure! I won't even time you!" she winks, hopping up on a bar stool.

Frey sighs as she grins at Skeeve and Ari having their moment as she feels a stab in her heart. Her Aoi is still missing and it's beginning to eat at her. But she shakes it off and sighs, "Well, end of the world at the hand of a mage that could possibly kick our collective asses if the info I have is accurate." she says to Lina in a casual tone of voice, the kind used for giving the weather or the like.

Minerva pushes the door open into the restaurant, just in time to hear Frey's statement. Damnit. Damnit damnit damnit. "Does this mage have a name?" She rolls her shoulders.

Lina slouches a little in her seat. The PDA doesn't bother her really. It's not like they're doing it in her personal space! Still, she glances at Frey and feels a liiiittle sympathy. Then, her eyebrows come up, "Ohhhh? Is this someone with a way overblown reputation blowing into town or what? Would I know 'em?" Most of hers are long gone. "I guess if it's that bad we'll hafta do somethin about it!"

Violet glances over again as Frey brings up a topic she's more or less heard about already, and listens in.

Frey looks at Minerva and then at Skeeve. Lina wouldn't know the name but she does say, "No Lina..his rep is earned." and two the other two, "Does the name Solomon, Son of David ring any bells?" she asks with a look at them.

Skeeve blinks a few times at that. He feels like there should be portentous music, or maybe some ominous thunder when someone says something like that. "Uh... well. Solomon... all I can think of is the Seal of Solomon. Isn't he some kind of demon summoner or something?" He slides an arm around Ari's waist, unobtrusively. "So he's come to town, then?"

Ari hears the words mage and summoner and well, she probably will be of no help, so she leans on Skeeve and takes out her PDA, working on something.

Minerva facepalms. "As in... King Solomon, from the bible? Demon tamer, known for his wisdom? How troublesome." She walks over to the bar. "Espresso, doubleshot."

Lina headtilts, "I've read a few books since stepping into whatever kinda reality you wanna call this. The King? Heard a thing or two. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen something rip itself out of the pages of legend and try to do something insane like end the world. Not to say it's routine, fun, or anything I wanna deal with but like hell I'm gonna sit on my hands. So, what do we do?

Frey sighs as she sits down and orders a whiskey, "Allow me to do some explaining. In a world not like this one Mages summon Heroic Spirits. Yes, beings of legend. King Arthur, Medea from the story of the Golden Fleece, Hercules and others to fight for a prize. Well, Solomon, according to what I gathered is called the King of Magic, the founder of that world's magecraft and all the stuff from his legend, he has." she says with a sigh, "...Honestly there's only two people that can be classed as experts on Heroic Spirits, Rin Tohsaka and Mina's boyfriend he was trained by Cu Cuulian himself."

Skeeve shakes his head a little bit at that, sighing heavily. "Figures, I just bought some real estate here." He's quiet as Frey continues to explain. "So, essentially, this guy is capable of summoning beings of legend directly? Or he is one?"

Frey looks at Skeeve, "He is one. The Servants as they are called are set into classes. Saber: MAster of the sword. Archer: Knight of the Bow or any ranged weapon. Robin Hood is a good example. Lancer: Masters of the spear. Cu being the best example. Rider: Mounted Calvary. Caster: MAsters of the Arcane. Merlin is a good one there. Bezerker: Mad Warrior. And Assassin: That name needs no introduction." she sighs as she gets her whiskey and takes a sip, "Solomon is Caster, meaning massive magic reserves. Also possibly the ability to summon the demons he tamed from the Ars Goetia itself. His wisdom and knowledge make him even more dangerous. He can play the waiting game."

Ari taps a few more things in her PDA, then orders a salad. Yeah, this one is probably above her non--magical pay grade.

Minerva grabs her espresso as it's handed to her, and knocks it back like it was a shot of tequila, then sighs harshly. "I hate it when the badguys are smart." But, really... she's a magical girl. Refusing a call to battle against a much stronger force capable of destroying the world? Not really something she's able to do willingly. "So, we know how he's dangerous, where's the why, his goal?"

Skeeve is really, really wishing he could have some of that whiskey himself. He's quiet for a moment. "What does he want? Is there any chance we can just... give it to him, then let him go back to stroking his beard in some celestial realm?" He knows it's not going to be that simple; it never is. But he can hope, at least for a little while.

Lina frowns, resting arms on table while thinking. "So we don't give him the option to wait. If doing that gives him any less of an advantage I'll take it. Coz if he can sit back and summon an army of demons..." Pause, glance, "Well if it's not to destroy things for the sake of being a goddamn-" Ahem. "Maybe...? If we give it up that easily who says he won't want more and decide that since we're a bunch of pushovers he's just gonna take it? And oh, by the way, kill everyone that gets in the way accidentally or otherwise." Scowl. Too much experience with this.

Frey sighs and looks at Mina, "...Well, End of Time. From what Rin told me, he's convinced humanity has become a waste so..end it all. Clear the board so to speak." she says with a nod to Mina, "I agree, but well..we know he's here and we have people that know Heroic Spirits." she says with a grimace, "He's not out to rule or anything, he wants to end everything."

Skeeve hugs Ari a little tighter, letting out a deep, long sigh. "Well. Fuck this guy, then." He straightens up a little bit. "I guess we're in information gathering mode here. Do we know if he has something specific planned? Like some kind of doomsday trigger he needs, or is he just planning on brute forcing the whole thing?"

Minerva smiles wryly. "That's my cue to stand up and give a rousing speech about how he's all alone, but we've got each other to count on and thus we've got the advantage, right?" Mina sweeps a hand through her hair. "How long until we can track down the coordinates to his location? Lina's got a point, if this guy plays the waiting game let's not give him time."

Ari wrinkles her nose, as she is hearing everything, and knows exactly why Skeeve is hugging her tighter. She spins on the bar stool and leans on him. Okay, she can't do magic, but she can hack and slash with the best of them.

Frey shakes her head, "Unknown. I've been gathering all the info I can. Again, I called Jason in, he's the closest thing we have to a expert on Heroic Spirits and what to expect. Again, trained with one." she says, "What is know is look at his legend and you might see some his powers there. The Demons he tamed..he possibly can summon. King of Magic: He'll most likely have access to magics we've never seen and possibly could surpass us."

Lina covers her face, uuuugh! "I know it's not me but I can never seem to escape from being under the threat of some maniac that wants total oblivion." She smirks at the others, "So, yeah, let's find out what we can... Then kick this bastard's door in!" Pause. "Again, after we're sure to figure out everything necessary. Like which door we kick." Maybe the bravado is an act or maybe not. Either way, it's clear she's down!

Violet speaks up. "Well, get his location, keep him still and monologing. Then we call in an orbital strike." She pauses a moment. "Naaah, he's probably underground."

"I know in that system, the fewer people know a magic, the more powerful it is, but...," Mina points to Lina INverse. "It's not like we don't have access to magics he's never seen, either. I wanna see how many Dragon Slaves he can take to the face, while VF fighters do strafing runs on his location and a gundam punches him in the balls."

Frey sighs, "I agree, but we need to be careful anyway Lina. This guy didn't become a legend doing nothing." she points out, "...We find his location and make sure we can strike. But be ready for anything..servants, allies..take your pick."

Skeeve lets out a deep breath at that, but Violet and Mina's commentary gets him to crack a smile. "I think I'd rather like to see that myself... but honestly, you're right, Vi, he is probably hidden somewhere. Underground, in a heavily residential area." He picks up his drink, takes a sip. "It's what I would do, if I were him."

Violet frowns and nods. "Yeah... Living shields we can't just blow up.

Frey sighs and looks at the group, "Okay..meeting at my shop later on. Jason should be in and hopefully Soma will be there as well so we can compare notes."

Lina glances up at Mina, putting her hands up defensively against the point, "N-now wait..." Oh, dragon slaves. Phew. "Well if it's in a heavily populated area I can't just cut loose. Underground, too; I'd just run the risk of killing us all." She lifts Frey's card, "Gotcha. Helluva initiation you're planning." Grin.

Violet tilts her head with a raise eyebrow, unsure if she's included in this or not.

Ari nods a bit, still leaning on Skeeve, but saying nothing.

Frey looks at Violet, "You too Vi. You're in the military and they might need to know. Also you have the Phoenix flames so that's something there." she says and she looks at Lina, "Not what I had planned, I was thinking a party with food and drink.." and she shrugs idly, "But hell, either way it's gonna be one helluva party."

Minerva nods. "His knowledge of magic... my vote is we go almost completely non-magical, using the magicals to have him looking in one direction while a sniper sits comfortably on a rooftop a mile away with armor peircing rounds. Screw the box, let's think sideways."

Violet says, "Phoenix isn't op.... oh, right. That."

Violet is very military. She's actually even in uniform right now.

Frey nods, "That." and she nods to Lina, "We need some magic to hurt him..Servants are well, near deified forces of nature. Imagine Excalibur turned into a sword capable of releasing a blast wave surpassing a Dragon Slave."

Skeeve lets out a deep, slow breath. "I mean, we've got lots of options. But we're going to have to go on the offensive, and hard. If we let this guy get creative, we're so boned it's not even funny. We need to limit his responses to give us an opportunity to actually deal with what he's capable of." He drains his glass. "Maybe we can get lucky, and we'll be able to lock his magic down enough that someone can run up and stab him in the ass."

Frey nods, "I have weapons that are made to do more damage to Mages. And antimagic artifacts." she says with a sigh. "Also we have Jason and Soma...they're very good at killing demons and spirits and the like." I mean Soma is Count Dracula reborn!! And Jason, he's not called the Godslayer Reborn for nothing.

Lina considers, "Well, we're wasting time speculating!" She zips around and grabs onto Frey's arm, "There's food and drinks waiting, right? But we need to start doing our homework coz if this freak decides to do his first..." She leaves that open to interpretation! "Who knows, for every word we say about it, this guy may be catching bits and pieces of it. Or he has a spy in here right now...! Ah, just kiddin." Though it's a valid concern.

Skeeve shakes his head a little bit at that. "When dealing with someone renowned for their intelligence, don't assume that your plans are going to be kept secret. Assume that he knows about this conversation, that he'll know about our strategies, and have a counter strategy in place. Just as a default."

Minerva nods, linking her hands behind her head. "Wouldn't be surprised if he had a scrying pond set up to activate whenever a conversation includes his name. Probably get a few false positives, as he shows up in a holy book of a major world religion, but we can't count on wheat getting discarded with the chaff."

Frey nods, "Or has already made plans despite not knowing about this." she sighs and nods, "Right..we can meet up at the shop and I can set up some wards to prevent scrying."

Violet makes a mental note to mention Solomon's name while in a very annoying location to spy on.

Lina had every intention of doing that, herself! She's had enough completely inane conversations with Gourry already that it should be pretty tedious for anyone who may be listening. "But you're all right. I've more or less never had a day of real privacy since the first time I picked up the Philosopher's Stone. There's always been someone or something watching. I guess I'm used to it now... Not really a good thing, huh."

Violet says, "....Anyone know if there's like... an official Yaoi fanclub or something filled with squeeing girls and crap that meets somewhere in this city?"

Skeeve nods a little bit at that. "It might help. But he might be able to decipher anything we come up with on the fly." He looks about to add something else, but just starts snickering, then laughing at Violet's idea.

Lina turns and stares at Violet. Then blushes completely crimson. Oh GODS.

Minerva nods. "Oh, Frey, different topic, I had an idea for a runic project yesterday I think you'd be interested in. An inversion of my camping set." Nah, she's not gonna say it out loud for the moment, but there's a viciousness to her grin... "Take a look." She pulls out a peice of paper from her bag and passes it over to Frey. Looks like it'd... draw every mosquito and biting fly within a mile radius when activated. "I'm thinking of carving a stick with it, and throwing said stick like a grenade." Violet gets a big thumbs up. "I like the way you think! Let's write some Doujin and muddy the waters!"

Skeeve just starts laughing even harder at that. "Muddy the waters!" He pounds his fist against the bar.

Lina shakes her head vigorously, "And I thought I was hard on people that pissed me off! This... It's... P-props on that..." Ulp. "Remind me to never piss any of you off."

Frey looks at everyone, "...Yep...Solomon's so gonna be scratching his head." she says with a chuckle.

Minerva nods. "I'll start drawing when I get home. It'll be good practice for steadying my hands when carving runes. Violet, please find me places to distribute these beyond the internet." She grins at Lina. "Don't worry. I only pull out this kind of thing against true evil. There's no risk of communist dalek uprisings in this city." this city? Oh god, she's truly Karrde's Sister, isn't she?

Frey sighs a bit, "Skeeve...she is a Karrde." and she nods at Mina and hmms, "And the design of the runes look good Mina."

Ari walks back in the room, going right to Skeeve and hugging him.

Lina leans over, "May I?" Never can be too curious about rune magic! So long as we aren't accidentally setting them off. And she'll take any excuse to not keep thinking about embarassingly ruthless this lot is!

Minerva grins at Frey a little savagely. "I think that array might come in useful, soon." Oh god, she's weaponising mosquitos as a non-lethal interrupt against anything with a casting time... "Sure, as long as no verbal mention is made right now... aah, Ari! I'd like your help with a project. How good are you with drawing human anatomy in weird contortions?"

Violet smirks lightly. "We're both Karrdes. Apparently this runs in the family pretty well." She raises an eyebrow at Mina. "Oh, sure, make me go find the Yaoi fanclubs..."

Skeeve slips his arms back around Ari lightly, still grinning broadly. "Welcome back, my dear. The psychological warfare has begun."

Ari nods a bit, looking at Skeeve. "I can see that." she raises a brow at the Karrdes. "Oh, hey Violet, forgot to mention, your other sister should be coming here soon.

Violet says, "...My other sister?" She tilts her head with a raised eyebrow. "I'm guessing Lishra is the one that's not 'other', so I'm going to have to assume it's someone I've never met or Rayne, who I didn't think you knew."

Skeeve blinks a few times at that. "Just how many Karrdes are there, anyway?"

Ari shakes her head. "Nope. Aerial. She chose public school, and is staying with friends until the school year is over. Raven was um.. still very pregnant when we left. In fact, Aer was born about a month after we moved." she smirks at Skeeve. "A lot. A real lot."

Violet blinks, looking quite surprised by this. "Huh. I thought the twins had barely been born then... but of course my memory is notoriously bad..."

Minerva laughs. "So I've got another neice to meet soon? Very nice." She runs a hand through her head, and puffs out her chest, just a little. "Though, how is the city still standing with so much concentrated awesome in such a small geographic area?" Preen, preen.

Ari giggles. "The twins were a year old when Aerial was born. Between those three and Marque they're quite the brood." She snuggles up to Skeeve.

Skeeve shakes his head a little bit at that, grinning and whistling lightly. Giving Ari a squeeze, he replies, "Maybe it's the Von Tilsen's. Something to be ready for all the same." Dryly, he glances over at Minerva, replying, "Long, dedicated work from the rest of us, let me tell you."

Ari blushes a little at Skeeve. "Well, the von Tilsens do have the history of twins." Well, she didn't bring it up and is technically not talking about any kids she may have, right, Skeeve?

Frey chuckles a bit and looks at Mina, if only Mina knew what's to come soon. And she sighs a bit, "Be nice to see Aerial.." she says with a shrug.

Violet says, "Well, do you want us to head there now, Frey, or is this going to be later, after you've set your stuff in there?"

Frey looks at Violet, "You guys go on and head to the shop. Jason'll meet us there and take over the meeting..he knows the most about Heroic Spirits save for Rin." she sighs, "I have a feeling he won't have good news."

Skeeve laughs cheerily at that, smiling lightly. "Yeah, definitely something to watch out for." Pushing off of the bar, he shakes his head lightly, offers his arm out to Ari. "Shall we then?"

Ari kisses Skeeve on the cheek. "You go on. Don't know how useful I'll actually be. Don't bring a knife to a magic fight, right?"

Minerva laughs. "Ari, you've got it backwards. Absolutely bring a knife to a magic fight. Blades never run out of ammo." She winks. "But, do as you like. After the meeting, I'll be drawing hentai of our enemy, to distribute to fangirls." And with a wave, she turns towards the door.

Skeeve looks a little surprised, but all the same, what he says is, "Well... I mean, if you don't want to come, Ari, that's one thing, and totally fine. But this is one of those situations where every perspective is helpful..."

Ari nods a little. "I... alright. I'll try." she smiles softly at Skeeve.

Violet says, "Ari, really. How much magical spellwork do you see comin' outta me? And what I got from Pops don't count. I gun, I stomp with Victoria's foot, I command from a bridge. Now come on, let's go."


Frey's Shop

And of course, as the others come in. We'd find a young man sitting at the counter with a book open in front of him looking at it as he adjusts a pair of glasses. From the look on his face, it's a good thing he's reading. And he sighs as he looks up, "Hello everyone." he says with a look at them all. "So.....Heroic Spirit on the loose. Yeah, not good."

Skeeve takes a quick glance around the shop as he walks in. He's never been in here before, and it's actually kind of a nice place. "When are these things ever good, man? Just once I'd like to see the spirit of beer and consensual sex show up and wreak havoc."

Minerva shakes her head. "No, it's not." She finds a relatively clear space on the wall and sets her shoulders against it, leaning back, arms crossed under her breasts. "But, we've got tools other than magic. I still say we use a gundam to punch him in the balls while someone with a sniper's rifle takes him out from a mile away."

Ari has her arm linked with Skeeve as she walks in beside him. She blinks and looks up at him. "Really." she wrinkles her nose. "Really?"

Skeeve shrugs a little bit, flushing. "Well, okay, maybe not, but you have to admit, it'd be a change from the usual 'let's break everything' that we usually get dealt."

Violet leans against a wall, also crossing her arms in front of her. "Okay, I've got Victoria for that part of the plan, Mina. It's not exactly designed for antipersonel use, but I can make do in a pinch."

Jason_Inugami grins at Skeeve, "I can second that motion." and he looks at Mina, "Mina, that might not work." he says with a sigh as he hopes into the counter and sits there. "OKay...seems you all need a crash course on Heroic Spirits." he says as he looks at the grouping, "To sum it up..a personification of a legend. If a person does something significant in their life they're removed from the cycle of reincarnation and placed in a place called the Throne of Heroes, which exists outside of everything. Past, present, and future are there...possibly other dimensions." he says as he adjusts his glasses.

Ari says, "I could recommend an amazing sniper, but unfortunately it's my sister and she'd probably end up taking me out first." she hehs."

Minerva gives her love a very even gaze. "And this person, from what Frey said, specializes in magic. Isn't it a rule to not face your opponent on a battleground where he has the advantage? If he expects Caster, fight like Assassin while someone else acts as Caster in the hopes of not noticing the poisoned dagger aimed for his kidney." It's right there in her eyes, there is a time and a place for honor, that time is not when the world is in danger and that place is Not Now.

Skeeve takes a seat up onto one of the sturdier-looking display cases, and, supporting himself mostly with magic, pulls Ari up into his lap. "Still, it's worth at least trying, if we can pull him out into the open somehow." Thinking for a moment, "So we can expect this Solomon guy to be representative of every myth about him, then? Even the contradictory ones?"

Jason_Inugami nods slowly, "Possibly Skeeve." and he looks at Mina, "Well..a good idea, but there's a problem. Remember Mina, I was trained by Cu Cuulian, Ireland's Child of Light, and he was a Lancer but could also be summoned as a Caster." he sighs, "But..here's where the big problem comes into play. Their abilities" he sighs a bit and rubs his temple. "A lot of Casters have the ability of Territory Creation. They can take a place and make it their workshop, as Soma said, he could be just outside of reality watching us now wondering how to use the other forces in this world to his advantage."

Violet simply says, "AUN."

Ari leans against Skeeve, listening intently, for as much as she understands of it, anyway.

Skeeve furrows his brow a little bit at that. "Okay, let me make sure I understood that correctly. So basically this jackass has the ability to make his own pocket universes?" He scrubs a hand through his hair. "Well, so much for snipers."

Jason_Inugami nods, "Right. The Anti United Nations could be something he'd use. Along with things in the Badlands or..anything." he sighs as he rubs his forehead, "And finally..and something I'm shocked Mina hasn't locked in on." and he looks at the others evenly. "In the world where Servants are from, normally a Mage can summon a spirit. And a Caster Class IS a mage. Meaning if he has access to a strong enough source of mana and the catalysts...he can possibly summon other Servants as his forces. Imagine clashing with Hercules, Robin Hood, Cu Cuulian, King Arthur if he has a artifact connected to them, they can be summoned. And then you got the Noble Phantasms. The symbol of the Heroic Spirits." and he looks at Skeeve, "You know the legends of great heroes wielding blades and weapons capable of destroying armies and shattering mountains. -That- is a Noble Phantasm. Alexander the Great and his peerless army, King Arthur and the Mightest of Swords: Excalibur.

Minerva nods towards Violet. "Make the workshop uninhabitable, perhaps. Treat it like that rabbit's warren in Watership Down. Burn the land, boil the sea..." you can't take the sky from me, no, wait, different topic. She shakes her head at Jason. "Jason if that happens I'm calling on Mitsuo for an orbital strike, and damn the casualties. I wasn't thinking about that because normally Servants are not summoned outside of the Grail War, the mana requirements are on the wrong side of rediculous."

Skeeve pose thinks about that for a moment. "If there is one thing I wouldn't count on, it's him not having enough mana. This is one of the most magic-rich dimensions I've ever been in." He's quiet for a few more moments. "What if we raided him? If he doesn't have his artifacts, it doesn't matter how much mana he pulls in, he's not summoning anything."

Minerva says, "Dibs on anything Lancelot related."

Jason_Inugami looks at Mina, "Mina..there's Mana Pools in the Badlands. Rips in space time where power can flow." he points out. "Also, this place allows for Servants to be summoned outside the War. Hell, Lancer didn't NEED his Master to supply him with Mana, the messed up nature of MU and now Neo." he looks at Skeeve, "He can still do luck of the draw. Do a summon and see what he can get. He'd probably summon one with a similar mindset or something off the wall." he sighs a bit, "...Trust me, I hate painting this picture but I was best friends with a Heroic Spirit and as a student of history you think I wouldn't pick his brain for all the info I could get."

Violet says, "So... this means we have the possibility of him getting heroic spirits from across the multiverse here, then. He could, say, find a shard of the Sazabi in the badlands and summon Char Aznable as a Saber or Assassin and then we need a Gundam just to hold him off."

Minerva closes her eyes briefly. "Jason, you sound like you don't even want to try fighting. I'm fine with that. I'm fine with trying to solo the bastard if that's what it takes, it just means I'll have to fight even dirtier than I'm comfortable reaching for."

Ari frowns a bit, nibbling her lip in thought.

Jason_Inugami looks at Mina, "MIna..I want to fight, trust me. But charging in isn't gonna help. Hopefully he thinks us not a concern as we haven't DONE anything to him and that could be a advantage." he says with a shrug. "Surprise him by using his own intellect against him."

Jason_Inugami nods to Violet, "Yes..highly possible." he says with a nod, "From all Lancer told me it's how it works.

Skeeve swears abruptly, having come to the same conclusion as Violet. "Or worse. Blood spirits, Walpurgisnacht, the rest of the elder gods, sky's the limit really." He sighs, giving Ari a quick snug. "Yeah, a head on fight is not going to work here. If he starts pulling the trigger on us, we're already in bad shape."

Minerva mmms. "So, isolating his bubble of reality, opening a portal into it just big enough to suck out most of the air via my air manipulation, closing the portal, and wrapping a shield around that bubble so he can't escape is still on the table then?"

Jason_Inugami hmms, "He probably doesn't need to breath Mina." and he looks at Skeeve, "Skeeve, what contact do you have with the local museuems?

Lina finally chimes in, "If it takes more than a couple of steps you can't count on him letting you finish, either.

Minerva can't help but feel a sting in her heart. "As my ideas are crap and not useful, I think I'll not participate in this conversation any longer then, and get to work on the psychological warfare aspect of this campaign. Let me know what brilliant tactics you come up with." she mutters under her breath something about people wondering why she has confidence issues, pulls out a pad of paper, sits down on the floor, and starts sketching.

Jason_Inugami looks at Mina, "Mina, they're good ideas..but the problem is that..we're not fighting a human. We're fighting a high powered spirit." and he sighs softly, "Anyway Skeeve, what contact do you have with the local museums and the like?

Lina sidles in, "Hey, I get it. You can think of ideas all day but I mean... That almost never works. One idea is never enough no matter how good or bad it is. What we need... is a playbook. Not just one idea but a whole bunch that take as many possible things into account. We need to think more strategy and less tactics. Make sense?

Skeeve shakes his head at that. "None. I may have bought a ticket once." He rests his chin on Ari's shoulder, glancing between Jason and Minerva with just a hint of raised eyebrow. Shaking his head lightly, he says, "My community outreach is outdated. I don't mind helping out with a smash 'n grab, though. Don't know if we've got time for much more."

Jason_Inugami nods slowly to Skeeve, "We need to find out if it has any artifacts he can use to summon." and he grimaces a bit, "...Might not do much, but hell....we might get lucky."

Minerva says three words, "What about Clarent?" And goes back to angry-sketching.

Ari looks to Skeeve, kisses him on the cheek, then hops off his lap to go sit next to Mina. She takes her PDA out, and begins drawing on it next to her. She does lean over and whisper something to her, though.

And like that Jason stops dead and looks at his pack and pales a bit, "Well...well..fuck." he says with a sigh, "Score one for Mina, she noticed something I didn't."

Skeeve pats Ari on the back a little as she goes, then winces, just a little bit, as Jason says that. "What about Clarent, then? Who did that belong to?"

Jason_Inugami looks at Skeeve and sighs, "....Clarent..." he grimaces as he pulls the sword. And yes, it's a beautiful blade, "...It's the sword in the stone Skeeve. Pulled by a young boy who became the King of England and it was later stolen by his son and used to kill him in the final battle between them." and he sighs a bit, "Sound familiar?"

Minerva smiles a bit at Ari, and nods once. "Clarent. Sword of Betrayal. Used by Mordred to kill his father, King Authur, King of Briton, King of Knights. Later used by Jason to drive the spirit of Lancelot, whom I was until that point drawing my powers from, mad enough with rage that we could break his connection to me." She pauses. "I'm fairly certain that earned me the title of Oathbreaker, come to think of it."

Lina settles back a little, chewing on bits of this while the drama sorta unfolds. "So, the sword's of use then? Does it matter at all? I mean, if you need someone to make an opening so you can hit him with it? Or do we need to just kee 'em away from it?"

Violet frowns, unsure of how she can really help, either. She's generally always fought by the seat of her pants, afterall. Eventually she sighs and takes out her own phone to start looking up local Yaoi fanclubs. She pales once she realizes just how many there actually are.

Ari blinks at the sword. It's a sword, she's definitely intrigued. She's the one with the blades, after all.

Jason_Inugami looks at Lina, "It's a catalyst." and he sets it on the counter. "You could use it to summon either Arthur or Mordred. Meaning, it's on his hitlist if he's after Catalysts" and he sighs as he sets the sword behind the counter and locks it away. "Well damn..there goes my favorite sword."

Skeeve tips his imaginary hat to Minerva. "Well, from one oathbreaker to another, we welcome you amongst our ranks." He just blinks a little bit at the sword, listening to Jason's story about the sword. "All I know about England is that I got thrown out." He shrugs a little bit. "Well, I'm sure we all know about something we don't want this guy getting his hands on."

Lina smirks, "Hey, I get it. I wound up costing someone my favorite sword once. I get it." She nibbles her lip, "Still, I think this crazy bastard needs some pressure. He knows someone's onto him already, right? We just gonna wait around worrying that everything we try won't work? Or we just gonna maybe hunt this freak down and let him know he ain't welcome? Make it damn clear! Then maybe we'll be able to keep him less focused on hunting things like that." She points at the counter. "And more worried about the next time someone like me shows up with a half-baked plan? Huh?" She winks across at Minerva. No sarcasm. This is her life!

Ari shakes her head a bit, and goes back to drawing on her PDA next to Mina.

Jason_Inugami sighs, "THat's the problem Lina. We got no idea where he is. The smart play would be the Badlands. Anything in the city could be detected."

Lina says, "I've been in an outta the Badlands since I first came here. It's how I -got- here. Tell me what I'm lookin for and I'll start now."

Violet steps over to Mina and Ari and shows them her PDA, showing the list of roughly 200 local yaoi fanclubs. She then looks up to Jason. "Then again, the city gives him the shield of innocent lives."

Skeeve speaks up at that, looking at the cabinet where Clarent's locked away. "A suck play, then. We bait him out with a fake Clarent, drop a train on him when he shows up to collect it." He's quiet for a moment. "Maybe literally."

Minerva nods. "It might be interesting, however, if he tried to summon Authur with it, considering..." considering that she knows that specific heroic spirit already exists within this city. "Bah, not worth the risk." At the mention of the badlands, though..... she grins. "Ohhhhhoooooo... that place with multiple xenomorph nests?" Yeah, she still thinks a top tier strategy is make the dude's workshop unliveable.

Jason_Inugami hmms, "True that." he sighs a bit, "Okay..we can divide into several teams. Search the Badlands and the city. I think Skeeve and Frey can set up scanners to find foci of magic power that could be a doorway to his workshop."

Ari grins and nods at Violet. "Nice!" She also mentions out loud. "If you do decide to do a fake sword, I can make it. Just as an FYI.

Violet looks over to Skeeve. "Definitely literally."

Lina makes a face, "Those gross bug things that squirt acid when you explode them? Guh. Hasn't been long enough since I've seen those. If you gotta drop a train on him, though? Make sure it blows up afterwords. Then burns. Then drop a few more trains, huh?

Minerva grins at Violet. "Perfect. I'll scan these into the net later, a preview of upcoming attractions." A glance down at her workpage would reveal... HOW many tentacles are those?

While everyone is talking, someone comes down the stairs, a short, pale kid with pale blue hair, holding a broom. Fayt comes to a halt as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, slowly glancing around at the others. "Um... should I come back later?"

Lina stands up, "Aaaaaack! Hold it right there!" DX

Jason_Inugami looks at Fayt, "Nah, it's cool. Holding a meeting." he says with a easy grin.

Violet says, "....Tentacles? I dunno, he may actually be into that."

Lina oh, good. She's just making a fool of herself by pointing at sudden arrivals, "Eheheh, sorry sorry~"

Skeeve, as Lina stands up, turns to look at Fayt, but relaxes - just a little - when Jason clears him. "Well, as long as you vouch for this kid, it's fin-" He blinks, stops, looks over at Minerva, Ari, and Violet. He opens his mouth to say something... then thinks better of it and closes his mouth again.

Jason_Inugami looks at Skeeve, "Best not to ask..they are doing something unspeakable." he says in a solmen tone.

Minerva tilts her head. "True, he does summon demons. On the other hand, this isn't to squick him out. This is to get fangirls squealing over him in multiple areas across the city. I mean, otherwise, I wouldn't be drawing him with this level of muscle definition either."

Ari says, "We could start with something innocent and sweet looking to draw them in, then BAM, total turnaround."

Minerva blinks. "I was thinking straight into guro with a pairing between him and Bezerker Hercules."

Lina starts to color again at the mere thought. Is it shame or embarassment? Finally, "Muscles! Oiled muscles!" Then she slams her hands on the table and hangs her head. Oh, what, why...

Fayt blinks at Lina. Slowly. Um..." He then looks at Jason. "O... K..." A pause as Skeeve speaks up. "Erm, look, I live here, supposed to keep the place clean." He holds up his broom "See?" He then blinks at Minerva. "I'm... pretty sure I don't wanna know."

Violet says, "No, no, no, they need to be pretty boys. Too skinny, feminine faces, the like. You want them gazing lovingly into each other's eyes."

Ari says, "And very sparkly eyes." she nods."

Skeeve says in a sing-song voice, "Those are words that I don't know, and I'd like to keep it that way~" He shakes his head a little bit at Fayt. "Sorry, kid. Just something of a war conference. Tensions are a little high, and frankly..." He sideeyes at the art contingent over in the corner, just for a split second. "...I'm not convinced everyone's sanity is surviving."

Don't mind Jason, he's just STARING at the girls and just staring as they talk. Reaching under the counter he pulls a bottle of whiskey out and upon opening it takes a long drink.

Minerva gets a look of relevation on her face, flips over to a new page, and sketches franticly for a few seconds. "So... something like this?" Solomon...looking like something out of a shojo manga, cheeks pinkened as he averts his eyes from a faceless stranger with strong shoulders only barely hidden under the top of a high school boy's uniform.

Violet says, "Yes! Perfect!" She looks at the faceless stranger, pondering who to turn that into."

Ari grins. "We should make the other guy sparkle like a badly written vampire.

Lina certainly starting to feel the pressure. She finally sits again, though she's clearly still showing a couple extra beads of sweat. She's totally never ever thought any of that. Ever! Never ever. Ohhhh jeez. "S-so, anyway, ah..." She glances at Minerva's sketch. Just a glance. Agh. Just... Okay, now she's staring. "So... The... cata..."

And Jason looks away from the girls and looks at Skeeve, "You know..I've looked Lovecraftian horrors in the face and didn't blink and then punched them in their multi-tentacled face. I have demons straight from your worst nightmare in my soul, waiting to be used as my weapons. And that." and he nods at the girls. "That..terrifies me."

Skeeve just starts to laugh at that, uproariously. "Yeah, give him the skin of a killer!" He starts laughing hard enough that he falls off the display case, pounding on the ground.

Minerva hrms, and draws in a few more lines, giving the faceless stranger a peircing gaze focused right in on Solomon. Hunter sighting prey, perhaps. "Nah. Perhaps a member of a band, so there's the excuse of body glitter for sparkles wherever we want. That way, we could also draw in the fans of that particular band."

Violet says, "Well, duh, Ari. I thought that was a given. Hrm. How about another well known powerful heroic spirit for the other guy?" She looks up to Jason. "Hey, who's another one we can use for this?"

Fayt Frowns at Skeeve. "Why do I have the sinking feeling this is a common occurrence here?" And then he falls over. "...I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Jason_Inugami looks at Violet and pulls out his table and brings up a picture of Gilgamesh. Hey, a pretty boy. "Here." and he looks at Fayt and offers him the booze, "Here."

Minerva bursts into laughter. "Cu! We pair him with Cu, and his mighty spear!" She hugs her sides, laughing hard. "No, no, I know Cu, I like him... I shouldn't..."

Violet says, "Oooh, yes, that will do. This pretty boy, Mina!"

Lina grabs her chest, "MIGHTY SPEAR...!" She's dead.

"Hey, leave my drinking buddy outta this." and Jason pauses, "Though that would explain the skintight outfit." he says in a musing tone.

Minerva keeps laughing. "The spear that warps reality so it will always hit it's target....bwahahahaha pounded in the butt... hahahahaha"

Ari snickers, then it builds up to a laugh! "Haaaahahaha... that.. that's so wrong it's right!!

Skeeve is just killing himself laughing on the ground, clearly unable to articulate a regular sentence at this point, or you know, even stand up.

Fayt blinks at the offered booze, before taking it and drinking a sip. This results in an odd electric buzzing sound from Fayt as odd, multicolored lightening starts to dance around his head, not a lot, just enough to be noticeable. Probably best not to ask about it.

Fayt calmly hands the booze back to Jason. "Thanks."

Lina twitches. "He r-really doesn't know who he's messing with..." She paws around for something to drink, briefly eyeing the whiskey. Yeah, she's apparently too young for that here.

Minerva slowly calms her laughter. "If I draw that, Cu must -never- find out."

Jason_Inugami looks at Mina, "If he finds out I'm running for my life as he's gonna blame ME for it."

Minerva finally stops giggling. "Okay, yes, so wrong it's right, but he's a friend, so no go. Any other heroic spirits with," snigger, "Mighty spears? Gil might be a little difficult, I know enough of the original myth that I kinda otp him with Ekindu."

Jason_Inugami sighs, "....Dracula. Well..Vlad. Uh...Longinus."

Ari says, "Sparkly Dracula!"

Lina hrrrrk, "L-long....!?"

And Jason sighs a bit, "My god I'm being infected." he says with a grimace. And he looks at Skeeve and Lina, "You two alive?"

Skeeve just laughs even harder than that, pounding his fists against the floorboard. "Oh, Cullen likes spears alright~" He's clearly not going to be okay anytime soon.

Minerva twitch. Twitchtwitch. twitchtwitchtwitchtwitch DRAW. Her pencil flies over the page. She reaches into her bag, pulls out colored pencils, gives some rough blocking of colors. "Shinji Ikari/Solomon OTP!" she proclaims, holding the artwork above her head of the two in an intimate (but pg-13) embrace, gazing into each other's eyes.

Fayt glances around at everyone, the multicolored electricity still dancing around his head. "I'm just gonna pretend I can't hear anything." With that said, he sets about sweeping the floor.

Natsuki slooooowly peeks from upstairs. Oh, hell no. She's not cooking for these many people. And is that effin Lina 'The Maw' Inverse that she sees down in the shop!? NOPE.jpg

Violet says, "....I don't know who that is, but I'm going to assume it's pure gold."

Jason_Inugami groans a bit as he waves to Natsuki, "YEah..just stay there, you sanity will thank you." and he downs another swig of whiskey.

Lina eventually struggles back to full awareness, "I'm... I think I'm okay..." She briefly spies someone else peeking, points then relaxes and just waves. She can't eat in this state. She's just too beside herself. DX "S-so... Ah..."

Jason_Inugami looks at Lina and takes another drink, "...Give it five seconds Lina, they're just getting started."

Minerva nods firmly. "Oooh yeah. That skinny boy pilots a giant robot to fight angels, in the arms of someone who summons demons, their love the only bright spot in an uncaring world turned against them?" She taps Shinji's image. "Hell, his fandom's most popular pairing is with another boy anyway, so this isn't really new territory either. Familiar enough to lure people in, just different enough that it won't be passed by as same old, same old."

Skeeve, still cackling, eventually manages to regain his composure enough to sit up. Gently he wipes tears from his eyes. "Hoo hoo hoo... okay, I needed that..."

"No shit!" Natsuki quips from above, and she ducks back upstairs. Sanity good, tyvm. Yeah, pay no attention to the Laughing Skeeve. She wonders if they make bite-sized creamy cheese under that name.

Minerva grins at Jason and Skeeve. "Okay, I think brainstorming's past, your sanity can re-emerge. Unless, of course, you'd like to throw out a few more ideas?" she teases gently. "Maybe a wrestler superhero vampire? I mean, I'm gonna need lots of eye-catching ideas if this targeted fandom surge is going to maintain enough momentum to cover our activities."

Jason_Inugami grins a bit and then looks at Mina as she mentions THAT and he pales and begins to twitch..."No..no...no." he says as he shakes his head back and forth.

Lina hands on knees, just... Gosh, they're ruthless over there! "Heh, just getting started? I'd rather just get on with fighting this guy. They're practically planning out what hell's going to be like for him." She glances to Skeeve, then to Minerva... Jason's reaction is concerning enough that she tries very hard to purge the half-formed mental image!

Skeeve just snickers a little at that, apparently laughed out. He would, he's just too exhausted. "El Eduardo, sparkling skin, a luchador's mask and a big superman cape. Make it happen."

Ari grins, leaning back against the wall.

Jason_Inugami looks over at Skeeve and just twitchtwitches and sighs, as he walks over to Skeeve, "Hey Skeeve." and when and if Skeeve turns around..well, let's see..boot to the gut and YES..he's going for a Stone Cold Stunner. Wait, how'd he know wrestling moves. Oh right...Mina would remember his Uncle.

Fayt speaks up as he sweeps the floor. "I'd ask what's up, but that'd likely go over my head. That said if there's anything I can do to help feel free to let me know."

Minerva tilts her head, studying Jason's move a moment. "Aah, right, I forget, Grand Papillon..." No. NONONONONO do not delve that deeply into the ship-side of the force. "El Eduardo it is then, Luchadore with a question mark for his mask." She sketches... nope, nope, it's still Joachim, just with a luchadore's mask.

Skeeve was just getting up to his feet, when Jason calls over to him, and he looks up. "Hm-" He's cut off by the kick to his stomach, and laid out entirely by the Stunner, bouncing a good ten feet off of his shoulder to land in a heap on the ground. In a dazed voice, he asks, "...what'd I do?"

Lina takes this opportunity to just help herself to the whiskey. A couple swallows later, she grimaces and pushes the bottle back away. Not too much or she's likely to loosen up enough to join in with THAT planning. The violence befalling Skeeve at Jason's hand, well... Nothing she wouldn't do! Totally understandable!

Jason_Inugami looks at Skeeve, "Please..don't mention that." he grimaces, "My Uncle was well..a wrestling superhero. I don't like to think about it." he says wth a grimace.

Ari jumps up, obviously angry, turning to Jason. "What the FRACK?" she glares.

Jason_Inugami looks at Ari as he goes to help Skeeve up, "Calm down Ari...it was a faked move." he sighs, "I know HOW to kill someone with grapples but that..all show." and he pokes Skeeve. "Remind me to tell you about my Uncle..hell my world. You'd wonder how I stayed sane."

Violet looks a bit stunned herself as Jason kicks Skeeve like that. "....Wrestling... superhero?"

Minerva mmms. "Is this uncle part of the same family that had the gothic lolita magical girl vampire?" she asks curiously.

Violet says, "gothic.... Good god, Jason, your family is just as screwed up as mine! Possibly more so!" Possibly. Not definitely.

....Probably not, actually.

Skeeve, still a little dizzy, sits up, rubbing his chin lightly. "It's okay, Ari, I'm alright. No harm done." Chuckling a little more, he gets back to his feet. "What is family for, if not being ridiculously screwed up?"

Lina twitches. "G-glad my family is pretty normal..." Heh, not even close.

Jason_Inugami sighs, "......Oh, it gets weirder." and he sighs as he bearing totally changing, almost becoming regal, "Hello, I am Alexei Yuri Romanov Inugami, the son of Anatasia ROmanov and Kurando Inugami." Wait, if anyone knows history they'd know the name Anatasia.

Ari narrows her eyes at Jason, but stands down. "Don't do it again." she says coldly.

Minerva resists, by the skin of her teeth, the urge to quip about finding her Prince Charming. "I thought you'd rather keep that secret," she states instead, her attention going from the conversation to her sketching and back, now that she has a proper idea of what needs to be drawn.

Skeeve coughs into his hand, a cough that sound suspiciously like, 'bullshit'. But instead what he does, is head over to the Art Corner (tm), and lean over to kiss Ari on the cheek lightly. "Thank you for leaping to my defense, my dear. I appreciate you looking out for me."

Jason_Inugami nods slowly, "Many pardons for my behavior, I assure you it won't happen again, if he causes problems I'll turn him over to you Lady Ari." and he gives a sheepish grin as he becomes 'Jason' again, "God I hate shifting into that mode." he says as he sees Mina's picture and he TWITCHES but looks at Mina, "..Figured they could be trusted to not reveal it. Besides, here it don't matter."

Ari takes a deep, calming breath and looks at Skeeve. "You okay?"

Minerva smiles warmly at Jason, his switch back to his normal self without the artifice putting the warmth back in her eyes that had been missing this entire time. "Would it make you more comfortable if I finished this elsewhere?" she asks softly, for the moment like no one else was in the room.

Jason_Inugami sighs, "But yes...My Uncle in the extended family was a gay vampire wrestler that was a superhero. And my aunt, a vampiric gothic lolita that thought she was a magical girl. Oh, and my other uncle was a 1000 year old Warlock that whited out the secret of eternal life." and he snaps his fingers, "Oh..and a pervert." he looks at the girls, "IF he was here..he'd be jawdropping and cussing me out for not letting him know you all were here." and he rubs his forehead, "And sometimes I wonder how I stayed sane." and he looks at Mina, "Nah, it's cool..just surprised me is all."

Skeeve takes a seat next to Ari, slips arms around her waist and pulls her back into his lap, with a smile. "I am now."

Violet continues to stare a bit blankly. "You know... I'm beginning to think my own idea broke me." She then shakes her head. "Well, I think I've contributed enough to this plan... Honestly, more than I really figured I would. I'll make a..." She shudders slightly. "...report about the fact that this guy may try to mobilize other large scale threats to cover his plans, and that we need to start being on higher alert..." Yes, she actually seems more reluctant to write this report than to go into battle.

Ari leans her head on Skeeve's shoulder and smiles.

Lina says, "Much as I hate to be the one to be a kinda stick in the mud, is there anything else we really nee to consider about this creep? Anything we can do to undermine, slow him down-" Glance. "Piss him off even more?" She grins a little, finally not so terribly embarassed by the art fair now that a little bit of that whiskey-borne warmth is creeping in. "The sooner we get started, though, right? You mentioned teams before... Ah..."

Jason_Inugami nods, "...Yes. We break into teams and check the BAdlands and around the city. I think Skeeve and Frey." and he looks at Skeeve, "Can make items to track strong emissions of magical energy outside the norm, yes?"

Minerva shakes her head. "Nah, you're not broken. A little cracked, maybe, but you're more resilliant than that," and yes, that's familial pride in her voice. She nods at Lina. "Nah, not really stick in the mud. And like I said, this is chaff to throw off his scrying." She pauses. "If we get really lucky, he'll take this personally enough that he'll decide to target me directly. I won't try to hide behind anonymity."

Violet says, "Alright, well... I've had other reasons to check into the badlands... I'm looking for a ship. Not a specific one, mind you, just a small ship in general... So I'll take part in that, in hopes I can kill two birds with one stone, kind of thing." She glances around at the others."

Jason_Inugami hmms, "I know the BAdlands pretty well, I lived their for a year. I can go with you there Violet.

Natsuki peeks back out again, calling down to Jason, "I guess you guys'll need me to pack you some lunches?"

Ari looks to Violet. "What do you need a ship for, Vi?

Jason_Inugami looks at Natsuki, "If you don't mind Natsuki." he says as he rubs his temple and he sighs, "Also Mina..you stay close, if he does come after you I want you protected. And that's final." and he hmms, "Also..need a sword since Clarent is locked away."

Lina spreads her hands, leaning back, "I practically live in the Badlands. I've been staying with a friend but... I still haven't really gotten into the habit of doing anything but wandering. So I'm in on that and I can bring more bodies along if ya want." She glances up at the mention of lunches, "Extra for me, please!"

Violet grins. "Why wouldn't I want a ship?" She then laughs. "Alexa and I've kinda been making some plans, and one of them was to have our own ship we can fly around on. Raven said she'd help fix it up if we can get it to the warehouse."

Jason_Inugami nods to Lina, "Right..so Lina, Violet, and I on the Badlands team. Skeeve..you, Ari, Mina, and Frey on the city team?" Yes, he's acting like a soldier again.

Lina says, "Is TAKING a ship out of the question? Coz I think I know where that might be possible. More than a bit of extra work. We can talk about it though."

Minerva holds up her hands. "Suicidal tendancies are not in my psych eval, thank you very much. I will very much stay close to base." Well, unless it's in an attempt to try and prove herself, or someone else is in mortal peril, but how often does that come around really?

Ari grins at Violet. "What, like a moving in together on a ship kind of thing? Or just like an occasional take it out like an RV kind of thing?

Skeeve nods a little bit at that. "I can whip something up for that, yes. It won't be clean, it's not gonna last very long, but I can pull something together." He nods again. "The less time I have to spend in the Badlands, the happier I am."

Natsuki hahs! for only a brief moment until she remembers Lina is here. Something along the lines of, "Fuck me," is mumbled upstairs. Ahem! She brought this one on herself. Triple helping for Lina. She's going to have to make it real high calorie, too. Well, she was looking for something to do, and she's more or less become the shop's Cooking Mama, so...

Lina will always hold people that feed her in high regard! She calls up WAY too cheerfully as Natsuki disappears, "Thank youuuu!" Then back to the convo, "Ah, maybe I can help with it? Might be more stable if nothin else! My specailty may be blowin things up and shitkickin but I know my way around a little crafting!"

Jason_Inugami hmms as he checks his pack. Pulling out his gunblade and a whip...and he nods as he hooks on his holsters and sighs, "Well..let me know when you two are ready." and he looks at Violet and Lina. "I can go anytime."

Violet raises an eyebrow warily at Lina. "Taking a ship? Depends on who I'm taking it from, I suppose. Who are you proposing we take this ship from?"

Violet says, "I'll have to make sure I get that... report... filled out and sent in, then I'll need to make sure some things are going through on the Phoenix properly... So it'll be at least tomarrow... possibly later." She frowns, thinking about all she has to do. "Ugh, and I've still got monitering duty tomarrow..."

Skeeve thinks about that for a moment. "Nah, they don't need to be master craftsmanship. If you really want to help, Lina, I'll take all I can get, but I'm probably just going to make them out of papier mache and particle board. Doesn't need to hold an enchantment for very long."

Natsuki gets the characteristic dark blue shadow looming over her. Uuuugh. And the thought she ate like a machine. Wait, why is she even complaining? Her entire family causes widespread famine with their appetites! Time to get to work, Natsu. She wonders what kind of mom she would make.

Minerva glances away. Watching Jason pack up to leave... "I'll miss you." She's not missing the Soldier stepping forward again, shoving the man out of the way. It's even there in how he phrased his order for her to stay safe. "I hope you get to come back to me soon." Then, Mina pulls herself together, squares her shoulders, and turns towards Skeeve. "Well, I can use the time till you set off to help craft things." Best not to distract Jason with how needy she can get.

Violet says, "And we were thinking more the RVing thing, I think. As it stands, it's looking like we're both going to be on the same ship in the NTSDF, we don't need to live on a seperate smaller ship."

Ari beams at Violet. "She's joining? And you're stationed together? Gah! I'm so happy for you guys!"

Violet says, "Hey, the Phoenix needs a helmswoman, and I'm bettin' she can do the job, so why not?"

Lina looooks up, "Well, same place I got that power crystal I blew up over the park the other day. Those guys are -freaks- and just throw themselves at you like maniacs, shoot each other and just... Well, they can't seem to grasp that dyin is anythin but awesome. So they come at you all at once, shooting and shouting and... praying? Sounds like praying. Lotsa machines and bullets and rockets with exploding tips. I got the crystal outta some walking tank they tried to sic on me. First one I broke way too much to recover but the second one I was way more careful. Still blew it up like a rube, though." Sigh. "Well, if it's just a quick-cheap we can make a couple extras between us right? No big deal. I'll just hafta see how you're plannin on doin it so they don't wind up workin too different. So, anything else? This guy normally just hide like a scaredy turtle until he's ready for his big reveal? He gonnna care or even notice we're out lookin? I mean, in spite of..." Blush. "The Distraction."

Skeeve just gives Violet a great big grin and a thumbs up. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer girl." HE can't help but snicker a little bit at Lina; it takes him a few moments to get himself under control. "Unfortunately, we just don't know, Lina. COuld be anywhere. We won't know unless we find him or he surfaces."

Violet frowns at Lina's explanaition. "I'm... not so sure I'd want a ship guys like that would have liked..."

Lina hmms, "I dunno if they liked any of their hardware. Most of it was... attached. It uh... Yeah, y'know, come to think, that crap prolly don't suit ya. Just a thought!

Jason_Inugami looks at Mina and grins, "Promise." he says to her softly. He knows how she can be, but it's in his blood..the blood of kings and heroes and all that comes with it. And he looks at his gunblade and puts it away, "So...tomorrow we're good?" he says to the others as he looks at Mina.

Meanwhile, delicious aromas begin making their way down from upstairs. o/~ I know that you waaant. You want what we're gooot. I know what you waaant. You want what we're got! o/~ Cue rock.

Violet says, "Hopefully tomarrow I'm good. I'll have to get back to you."

Minerva smiles softly at Jason, nods once, and completely misses his second look as she's back to doing the one useful thing she can offer in this scenario: draw porn of the enemy. God, how is this her life? Can't be useful in the fight, can't offer good ideas... how is this even her social circle, she can't stand shoulder to shoulder with them at all.

Skeeve nods lightly at that. "I'll see what I can't whip up."

Ari kisses Skeeve on the cheek.

Lina would probably have thumps to offer if she realized there was that degree of self-doubting going on here. As it is, she nods, flashes a thumbs-up, "So until we kick off, anythin else?"

Jason_Inugami hmms, "Nothing here." he says as he slams a fresh ammo clip into his gunblade.

Skeeve smiles a little, snugging Ari around the waist. "Sounds like we're adjourned until tomorrow, then?"

Jason_Inugami nods, "Yeah...I'm gonna do some recon of some sights in the Badlands. See if maybe I can find something, get a trail as it were."

Ari nods a bit. "Sounds like a plan."

Violet says, "All right, then." She stands up again. "I'll see you guys tomarrow at the border." She then glances at Jason. "Should I bring Victoria?"

Jason_Inugami hmms, "Victoria...your mech or something like that?" and he tilts his head, "Do it. We might need it."

Lina says, "I'll be a minute getting the little detectors set up and then I'm gonna hit the apartment. Grab my gear and my dragon. I'll make myself obvious when I head out that way."

Minerva nods. "Have fun storming the castle," she says absentmindedly as she continues to draw. Gotta get these out tonight if she's going to provide scrying protection for them exploring tomorrow. The art suffers a little, but not much.

Violet says, "Right. Will do. See you then."

Skeeve reluctantly starts to get to his feet. "Well, probably ought to at least get started.... ugh, I hate this 'having to be responsible' thing..."

Ari hops up out of Skeeve's lap and helps him up. "Come on, old man.

Rin-chan comes downstairs, yawning widely when she blinks, "Who died and/or what did I miss?

Violet says, "Ari, Mina.... Good work. Remember, if you come across him, he can probably read minds. Just imagine what you're drawing now if you come across him." With that, she waves and heads out the door."

Jason_Inugami looks at Rin and sighs, "War Council..Solomon and all that." he says as he runs a hand through his hair.

Rin-chan says, "Aww man, I must have been dead to the world if I missed this many people down here..." she looks around, "Good, glad you guys are taking it seriously."

Minerva turns around her sketch pad to show Rin an image of Gilgamesh and Solomon locked in a kiss. "Providing chaff to distract his scrying attempts now," she says in a falsely cheerful voice.

Jason_Inugami nods slowly, "Had a guy that thought the same back home. We had a argument about that back then. Figures I got another one in me.

Rin-chan stares at Minerva's drawing, then immediatly falls over clutching her sides laughing so hard you might think she's gonna suffocate if she doesn't breathe.

Looking at Mina Jason's eyebrows lift, "Mina..those pictures are dangerous." he says simply. And he goes to help Rin up.

Minerva blinks. "I'm ... rather glad I didn't show her a more explicit panel... come to think of it, Rin, in your professional opinion... which of these two would be the one to take it up the butt?"

Lina head in hands.

Skeeve has to fight back another round of giggles. It does take him a little bit of effort, but he does manage. "Alright, let's get out of here before I dissolve into laughter again."

Natsuki is upstairs making food for a lot people, it would seem. Packing... lunches? Don't mind her. Okay, wait. "Seriously!" she calls down, "What the hell is so funny down there?"

Rin-chan pounds the floor a few times then points to Gil, "He took it up the butt from Enkidu remember?

Lina gives Natsuki the most despondant look. Turn back before it's too late! "Ah..." Glance.

Jason_Inugami is looking at the cackling Rin and calls up to Natsuki, "We found Mina's pictures are a dangerous weapon capable of causing laughter that could kill a person. Don't look for fear of losing control of yourself." he deadpans as he looks at Rin and just steps away. Yeah, it's bad enough he found out King Arthur is a girl..and now all this other stuff. He did NOT need to know that. And he sighs as he pulls out a notepad and begins writing info down.

Minerva nods at Rin. "Right. Since I'm deliberately weaponising Yaoi, better switch it then. Good thing I haven't drawn in the identifying features on the sex scenes yet." On one hand, very fast drawing, on the other... she's very good at runes. She chews on the eraser a moment, then gets back to work sketching.

Skeeve just laughs a little bit, heading out into the street.

The door to the front of the shop explodes open as countless flapping, shrieking bats. The creatures chitter and shriek as they flap and circle about the middle of the store in a dense black cloud before they suddenly all seem to dive in on one another, forming into a singular dark, shadowy mass which quickly solidifies into Soma's form.

Ari waves to everyone, and walks out with Skeeve.

Jason_Inugami looks at Soma and nods in greeting, "You missed the meeting. Thank your god." he says with a sigh as he shakes his head, he'll never forgot THOSE images ever, as he hops up onto a counter. "We're forming teams to scout possible sites in the city and the Badlands to see where he may have his Territory at, possibly a portal to it." he says to the Lord of Castlevania.

Minerva is momentarily distracted from her drawing by, "Awww! Cute little batties!" she squeals, and holds out a hand to try and coax one over for pets before... damnit, vampire. Mina shakes her head, and gets back to sketching. She's sitting on the floor, back against a wall, sketchpad on her knees full of... dubious... content.

"Who's to say his Territory is even connected to this world in any meaningful way?" Soma asks with a slight tilt of his head, "Castlevania is only truly connected during a total eclipse, for example. Someone like Solomon would try to protect himself in the same way."

Lina is up in an instant, a glowing ball of pulsating light held between her hands! What the hell!? "FIRE-" Oh, was she the only one still jumpy enough to react like that? "J-jeez! Does everyone gotta-" And now people are fawning over the flying rats! She tchs, lets the spell fizzle and she flops back down in her seat. "Don't people knock here!?"

Rin-chan is slowly getting herself back together emotionally as she sits up aginst the wall, still snickering a bit, "Ow.. Ow.. But so worth it.." massaging her sides.

Rin-chan says, "Its just Soma, You act like you havn't seen a vampire before... My TEACHER is one.."

Jason_Inugami hmms, "Possibly. But, we need to cover all the bases. There's a lot of places in the Badlands and even in the city that put out a lot of mana. If he doesn't have a master he'd need that to keep in this world." he says with a shrug, "If they're busts..they're busts and we move to another plan."

"Unless he's not the same kind of Servant you're used to..." Soma adds with his eyes narrowing slightly.

Minerva deadpans, "That is in part why I'm about to flood the local fangirl community with gay porn of the sorcerer. It will either a: distract him from scrying for instances of his name spoken, or b: piss him off so badly he emerges to seek out the content creator, i.e. me, in an attempt to end my life so the porn stops." Mina pauses. "Maaaybe c, all of the above."

Rin-chan looks up to Jason, "He's probably not even IN this world, he might be directing his forces here through the leylines, but if he's come here directly, I'd be surprised..

Lenn comes down the stairs, "What's going on?"

Rin-chan says, "Like I said, Shirou knows more than I do about this."

Jason_Inugami looks at the others and then nods to Soma, "Point..but.." he grimaces, "It's better than sitting here waiting. Lord knows during the meeting I scared the hell out of everyone when I was briefing them on Heroic Spirits and what they can do."

Lina forces her mind to cool it and she brings herself abreast of the conversation, "There's a lot of places with no meaningful connection to this world. I came from one. In those cases, you either wait for the moment or you force the door." She smiles pleasantly, then hurfs. "I've seen plenty of vampires! They're a pain in the ass!" She avoids saying neck coz, well.

Minerva calls up, "I'm weaponizing gay porn to draw out an evil sorcerer intent on ending all life!"

Jason_Inugami looks at Soma and the others, "....I wish I could say she was joking, but she's not." he says with a sigh.

Natsuki calls down from upstairs at all the commotion, "Guys! Don't make a mess! I have to clean that shit, you know!" Cook cook cook!!

Minerva calls back up, "I'm not FILMING the gay porn, just drawing it!"



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