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theresa-of-liechtenstein · 5 years ago

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prompt: “pilot.” for the weeklong #ProjectTheresa fanfiction challenge!

this one ran away from me and got super long so I’m throwing it under a cut

“Douglas, if you could, would you mind checking on G-ERTI? I’ve got to see about these blasted NOTAMs...something about thunderheads over Dresden…”

“Certainly, Martin. No rush.”

Douglas closed the door. Walking down the ramp, he muscled a luridly-yellow safety vest over his shoulders. As he headed for the hangars, he absentmindedly ran the thin mesh between his fingers.

This, admittedly, ranked high in the listing of Strange Arrangements. Martin, though finally able to fly for a living, still considered aviation as a hobby—thus, the Arrangement. On the off chance that Swiss Air wasn’t busy sending him off on tours to the corners of God’s green earth, Martin would wheedle a jumpseat to England from a colleague, bring his royal girlfriend along, and fly with OJS to give Herc some semblance of time off.

Douglas frowned a little as he passed by the first set of hangars. Speaking of...where was Theresa, anyhow?

He shook his head. She’d slipped away with a safety vest, expressing a desire to wander around the airfield. Douglas and Martin, meanwhile, had devoted themselves to filling out paperwork for the day’s flight—just like old days.

Passing the last hangar, Douglas looked both ways before crossing onto the apron. G-ERTI was on stand outside their hangar, gleaming in the morning light. Before, Douglas had definitely been the type of pilot to joke that he didn’t care so much about the plane’s exterior aesthetics since he spent most of his time inside of it, but now he had to admit: something as simple as a new paint job really did wonders. The old bird was nearly unrecognizable, looking half its age. Flying like it, too, if anyone was asking Douglas.

He crossed around to the fore of the aircraft, to start his inspection at the radome. As he went to face G-ERTI head-on, he noticed another figure in a safety-yellow vest, examining their number two engine.

Douglas peered intently at the figure before abandoning his walk-around and stepping closer. “Your Highness. Grüezi.”

Theresa whirled around and blushed a little. “Oh! Hello, Douglas.”

“You were interested in the engine?” Douglas indicated it with a jerk of his head.

Theresa nodded, looking back at it. She seemed a little embarrassed—or at least uneasy. The two of them hadn’t talked in person much since those terrible days when they’d thought that it was all over. And of course, he couldn’t forget the first time they’d spoken—over the phone at this very airfield—when he’d had a bit of a laugh at her expense.

But he also remembered that she—barely hours after they’d first met face-to-face—had covered for them when they were burning off fuel. She’d been there for the auction, gamely climbed into the back of Arthur’s van, and was currently here for Martin.

He sought to make her feel a bit more comfortable. “Martin’s told you about how we got this engine, yes?”

Her eyes lit up. “St Petersburg? Of course. Many times.”

Douglas stifled the urge to laugh a little. “I can imagine.”

“He also loves to talk about you. How you tricked...erm. Carolyn’s ex-husband.”

“Oh. Yes.” Douglas chose not to analyze too deeply, and managed a noncommittal shake of his head. “Well, I. You’ve seen it. I do have some tricks up my sleeve for such occasions.”

She smiled and turned her attention back to the engine. “You seem to have plenty of tricks up your sleeve for all occasions. Such is...such is what Martin tells me.”

Silence fell between them again. He focused on a Gulfstream taxiing to the runway.

“Er, Douglas…”

“Yes.” He pulled his gaze away from the plane and looked back at the princess.

“Is it okay if I touch it?”

“Touch what.”

“The...er. The blades?”

“You want to see if they spin?”

She blushed again, and this time the embarrassment was evident. “Yes.”

“Go on ahead.”

She reached up and pushed against one of the blades, startling a little when the fan began to spin slowly.

“Didn’t expect that?” Douglas smiled at her surprise.

“No, I didn’t. It’s that easy?”

“Yep. Now imagine it spinning at God-knows-how-many-revolutions-per-second at thirty-five thousand feet.”

She must have taken the command literally, because after a few long seconds, her eyes widened. “Wow.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you think of that...when you fly?” Theresa turned back to him curiously.

“Want to find out?” Douglas shot back. She looked a little confused, so he clarified. “Want to learn how to fly?”

Her eyes lit up again. “Really?”

“Yeah. I’m sure I’ve got enough knowledge to indoctrinate—of course, I mean educate—someone who wants to learn.”

“Really?” She turned up the voltage in her eyes. “I’d love to!”

“Well, but I can’t start now…” Douglas tried to bring her back down to earth. Enthusiasm. That was what she and Martin seemed to have in common when it came to aviation. No wonder, then, that they’d become close. “For starters, I’m not an instructor yet. A few classes, and I think I’ll be able to add the qualification to my license.”

Theresa nodded, looking a little chastened. “Of course.”

“And—well, there’s the arrangement,” he pointed out. “You’re not going to get a very consistent education, seeing as you and Martin only come here every so often.”

“Yes. That’s right.” She looked down.

“Oh, don’t look like that!” He hadn’t meant to discourage her, and he attempted now to rectify his mistake. “We can figure something out. There’s multiple ways to get a transport license, assuming that’s what you want. You could go about it in a modular fashion—no need to come into a classroom a set number of days per week or anything like that. In any case, you’d be smashing as a pilot. You’ve got Martin, first of all—I think he’d be happy to coach you through revising for theoretical examinations, so you’re basically set on that front.”

She nodded, fidgeting with the hem of her vest.

“We’ll figure it out.” Suddenly, Douglas remembered the task Martin had delegated him. “Actually, we could even start now, if you’d like. Have you ever been on a walk-around?”

—

Some months later, Martin and Theresa were back in England. By this time, Douglas had a flight instructor rating, a night instructor qualification, and a multi-engine piston instructor qualification added to his transport pilot’s license and a fuel tester in his pocket.

They met in the main lobby of Fitton Airfield, fluorescent lights gleaming off the glass counter where logbooks and charts were sold. As Douglas warmed his hands with a styrofoam cup of coffee, Theresa picked out a black logbook with green pages. After bidding farewell to Martin, she followed Douglas out to one of the Cessna 152s the airfield kept for instruction.

“It looks so small up close,” she observed as they approached the plane. “So light.”

“That’s why we tie the wings down,” Douglas gestured. “The plane could, quite literally, fly away in a wind.” Noticing her shocked look, he smiled. “Yeah. The wings work, even on the ground. It’s not that noticeable in a bigger plane, like G-ERTI, and even more for the biggest planes. But the wings are working all the time.”

He walked her around the plane and explained what he was looking for, similarly to their last meeting. She pulled off the pitot cover as he explained to her that if the pitot was not adequately protected, the airspeed indicator could fail. Douglas pulled out the fuel tester and drew out some liquid from the bottom of the tank. He held it to the sky and called Theresa over to look for water with him, cautioning her against allowing water into the fuel tank. She nodded, eyes wide.

Finally, he opened the plane’s door. “Watch your head.”

Theresa climbed in eagerly, and Douglas set about untying the wings before following her inside. Until that point, everything had gone smoothly, but he somehow had a more difficult time squeezing himself into the small plane than usual.

“It’s not exactly G-ERTI,” he excused himself as he tried to find the room to place his legs without bumping into the yoke. Whoever had used this plane before was, evidently, either a hobbit or an instructor much shorter than he.

Theresa stifled a laugh, sliding on a pair of sunglasses.

Once he’d finally gotten settled, he got on his headset, handed the other to Theresa, and quizzed her on the instruments. Evidently, Martin had prepared her well—or she’d been waiting for this moment for most of her life.

They whipped through a checklist and had the engine started in no time, and Douglas decided it was about time to get into the air. “Let’s check the brakes. Push forward a little.”

“The throttle? I can touch that?”

“Go ahead.”

Theresa reached down for the throttle and gave the plane a little bit of power.

“Rolling forward. Good. Now take the power back. Brakes.”

Theresa did as she was told. “Good,” Douglas complimented her, and she smiled. “I’ll check the brakes on my side.”

They went over how to transfer control to each other, and at last, Douglas directed her to get the power up and turn onto the main taxiway.

Her hand instinctively went to her yoke.

“Rudder. Use the rudder,” Douglas advised gently.

“Oh. Yes, right.” She took her hand off.

“Good. Stay on the center.” He slung his left arm over the back of her seat and directed her.

“Okay.”

They taxied around the airfield until Theresa could comfortably turn and stay on the centerline without confusing the rudder pedals and yoke. “It’s not like driving,” he advised at one point. “The yoke looks a little too much like a steering wheel, granted, but that’s something you’ve got to overcome. Rudder pedal. You turn with the rudder.”

“So yoke for roll, rudder for yaw?”

“Precisely.”

Finally, Douglas directed Theresa toward the main runway, got in touch with Carl, and asked for clearance to take off.

Carl granted it with the bare minimum of dallying, and Douglas grinned. “Okay, Theresa, we’re going up. Follow the yellow line.”

“What! Already?” Her eyebrows climbed up her forehead as she looked at him.

“Yes. You’re doing wonderfully. I’ll help you. Keep following the yellow line.”

They checked that the horizon was lined up, and Douglas directed her to push the throttle forward. “Full power. Keep looking outside. Stay on the center line.”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

Their speed climbed. Forty knots, fifty knots…

“Sixty, sixty-five—Pull back. Pull the controls back. Gently. Go on.”

Theresa pulled back on the yoke, and the ground peeled away from beneath them.

“We’re off!” In Douglas’s headset, he heard a distant cheer from Carl in ATC—and, from the sound of it, Martin.

“I’m doing it!” Theresa’s exclamation sounded not unlike one Martin would make, and he suppressed a grin. He could feel them rolling a little, but before Douglas could tell Theresa to do so, she was correcting it.

“Good. Now adjust your pitch angle. We’re a little too steep and might stall. And as interested as I am in seeing how you handle your first, I’m not keen on doing it so low and so close to the airfield. Not to mention this is your first lesson.”

“Okay.” She lowered the nose.

“Perfect.”

They climbed to a thousand feet and went through the climb checklist. Douglas put his hands on his own yoke and adjusted for her. “Don’t forget to fly the plane, Theresa.”

“Oh, yes, right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Just keep flying. Our goal now is to get this plane stable enough so that you could take your hands off the yoke, and the plane would just keep going on its own. They’re designed to be stable.”

They climbed further to about fifteen thousand feet, and after a good round of coaching, Theresa managed to keep the plane stable enough to take her hands off. After congratulating her, Douglas had her turn a few times, climb twice, and descend twice before taking control and bringing them back to Fitton to land.

Martin was there to meet them at stand, smiling in his luridly-yellow vest. “How’d it go?” he asked as soon as Douglas and Theresa had finished shutdown and piled out of the plane.

“The landing was smooth,” Douglas lazily passed the pitot cover to Theresa.

“You landed,” Theresa retorted, grabbing it out of his hand. Douglas laughed a little.

“Really, though,” he stopped her before they all went back to the portakabin. “You did well.”

She smiled.

—

Over their next productive (albeit sporadic) meetings, Douglas managed to help Theresa master slow flight. Though she was not what others might call a “natural” at flying, she could certainly absorb information better than most. After their sixth or so flight, Theresa could talk to Carl, work the trim wheel, manage a stall, recover from a spin without too much difficulty, and land visually.

Douglas, overall, was quite pleased with Theresa’s progress, especially for someone who was mostly restricted to ground schooling.

He’d told her that she could very well find an instructor in Switzerland that could help her better—one who could teach her in German and be more regular with flight lessons—but she’d insisted on staying under his tutelage for the time being, which slightly flattered Douglas.

And—more importantly—over the past few months, they’d gotten to talking between teaching moments, and by this point Douglas could, with certainty, call her a friend.

They were going up today, in slightly poorer weather than usual, to review some of the concepts they’d covered thus far in less ideal conditions. As far as Douglas was concerned, and based on the relative ease with which Theresa had been able to manage previous challenges, this was going to be a simple review flight.

“Golf Mike Bravo,” Carl told Theresa from ATC, “Piper Cub three miles on final approach. Cleared for immediate take-off.”

Theresa flicked the transmit button. “Cleared for immediate take-off, Golf Mike Bravo.”

“Good,” Douglas rubbed his hands together as Carl signed off. “Right, Theresa. Let’s get ourselves out of here before that Piper comes in.”

“Okay.”

In no time at all, they were in the air—but today, Theresa seemed to have a little trouble getting the Cessna into stable flight.

“Trim back,” Douglas advised her. “The plane wants to go up; notice how you’re trying to fight to keep the nose down? Remember, we can’t get any higher and enter Bravo airspace.”

“I know that. I’m sorry.”

“You’re porpoising,” he said gently a few minutes later, noticing how the nose kept rising and dipping. Theresa was probably still fighting the aeroplane. “Now you’ve got to trim forward.”

“Right! Right. Got it. Sorry.” Her tone had grown a little more prickly, and he noticed that the hand that reached back for the trim wheel was shaking slightly.

“It’s okay,” he tried to soothe, “relax, just correct yourself and keep on flying.”

He had her climb, descend, and turn for a while, then had her complete a checklist while he kept a hand lightly on the yoke.

“Theresa, we’re rolling a little. Watch your attitude indicator. I didn’t ask you to bank.”

Theresa nodded, but kept going through the checklist.

“Theresa. You need to scan.”

“Right, I’m going to.”

“One of your wings is higher than the other.”

“What?” Her hand flew to the yoke, and she corrected the plane.

“You need to scan,” Douglas admonished. “Remember the T.” He pointed to the instruments he’d drilled her on months ago, forming a T on the controls.

“Right, okay, I’m going to.” The prickle was back, and Douglas tried to stand down.

“Okay,” he directed in what he hoped was a calm tone. “I’ll have you do one last climbing turn, and then we’ll go and find a field we can practice spin recovery over.”

He’d thought it would be easy enough—she’d certainly done plenty of them before. But for some reason, today was different.

“Theresa! Your climb angle is too high. You need to scan!” he turned fully towards her in alarm as a stall warning began to blare.

Evidently startled by both his outcry and the stall warning, Theresa abruptly let go of the controls and screamed.

The plane, being a Cessna 152 and therefore the epitome of stalwart reliability, corrected itself and carried on happily scuttling across the English sky as if nothing had ever happened. Douglas was left to stare at Theresa, who’d buried her face in her hands, completely ignoring the panel in front of her.

He stared at her for what felt like thirty nautical miles before he cleared his throat, something like disappointment curdling in his chest.

“My controls. We’re going back to Fitton.”

“What?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide with shock.

“We’re going back to Fitton. I have control.”

And without waiting for her to confirm the handover, Douglas took hold of his yoke, dialed up the Fitton beacon, and began navigating back to the airfield.

—

“Hey, Martin.” Douglas opened the portakabin door, poked his head inside, and knocked on the wall—all while blocking Theresa from entering.

“Douglas, what—” she yelped from behind, bumping into him.

Martin took off his headphones and looked up from his charts, face brightening. “Douglas! You’re back? Where’s Theresa?” His face took on a confused expression. “Everything all right? That was rather quick.”

“Martin, get me my jacket.”

“What?” Martin stared, mouth agape.

“Douglas, let me in!” Theresa tried to squeeze past him. Finding that difficult as he’d wedged himself between the door and the doorway, she thumped him on his back. “I’m not a child.”

“Theresa?” Martin called out. “What’s happened?”

“I’m going to borrow your girlfriend, Martin,” Douglas said calmly. “Get me my jacket.”

“What!”

“Borrow me—Douglas, let me in—”

“Douglas! What do you mean, what do you want—”

Douglas sighed heavily. “I need my jacket.”

“You’ve said that already, something like three times. Will someone please tell me what is going on? And did you just say you wanted to borrow my girlfriend?”

“I’m going to debrief the flight.”

“What do you mean? You can do it in here.”

“I mean, Martin,” Douglas burst out, suddenly losing patience, “something happened up there today, and we need to talk about it like adults, so I am going to bring Theresa somewhere nice and relaxing to have something to eat and drink and then we’ll talk it out.” He held out a hand. “Won’t take more than an hour. Now please. I need my keys. Get me my jacket, will you?”

Theresa stopped trying to worm past Douglas, and Martin’s expression changed into one of stunned shock. He rose, grabbed Douglas’ jacket off a hook, and handed it to him.

“Thank you, Martin. Theresa,” he turned to the princess. With a single shocked glance at Martin, she followed him down the ramp.

“What exactly are we doing?” she dared to ask as he walked over to his Lexus.

“Exactly what I’ve just said to Martin. We’re going somewhere nice to have something to eat and drink and then we’ll talk about what happened today.” As he unlocked his car he realized that he was commanding a Princess; the humorous irony of this moment, however, would have to wait for another time. “Have a seat.”

“You realize this looks a lot like you’re kidnapping the princess of Liechtenstein.” She gaped at him over the roof of the sedan.

“You’re the one walking into the car, not me,” Douglas pointed out. “I am, in fact, very courteously unlocking the door and opening it for you as you gracefully sit in my car. Now come on. We should go. We have much to talk about.”

A former colleague from Air England had set up a coffeehouse a town over that sold food and drink at a reasonable price, having been declared unfit to fly by his GP due to worsening astigmatism.

Which was where he was heading now.

As he turned into the car park, he remembered that he was not in an aeroplane and wrenched off his tie, tossing it into the back seat. “Let’s go,” he said without looking at Theresa.

“Okay.”

They silently crossed the car park and Douglas opened the front door for Theresa.

“Douglas! Haven’t seen you in ages.” The man was drying a mug behind the counter and waved eagerly as they walked in.

“Morning, Jeremy. Just dropping in.”

“Sure. Who’s this?” Jeremy indicated Theresa with a tilt of his head.

“A student.” Douglas kept his replies short. “I’m debriefing our flight.”

“Gracious, you’re teaching now?”

“On a limited basis.” Douglas offered a chair to Theresa in the back corner. “If you don’t mind…”

“No problem.” Jeremy turned away.

Theresa nodded distractedly and sat across from Douglas.

“I’ll get you something. What would you like?” Douglas turned to Theresa. “Something to drink, something to eat…”

She twisted around a bit to look at the display case of various baked goods. “I think...erm. An éclair?”

“Nothing to drink?”

Strangely, Theresa paled a little. “Just water.”

“You’re sure?”

“Just...water,” she glared lightly, and Douglas was vaguely reminded of her barking, “I am Theresa Gustava Bonaventura, Countess of Sponheim and Protector Extraordinary of the Cantons of Nimes!” into G-ERTI’s satcom.

“Okay. Okay, sorry.” He put his hands up in a gesture of deference and headed to Jeremy’s post to get some food.

Some minutes later, he sat back in front of Theresa and handed her the éclair and water she’d requested. Jeremy went to talk to another customer in order to give them some semblance of privacy.

“Thank you.”

Douglas waited until they were both about halfway through their respective coffee/pastry before he started speaking.

“So. Let’s unpack what happened up there today,” he kept his tone low and calm. In front of him, Theresa clammed up a little, but he forged on. “Can you tell me, in your own words…”

“Who else’s words would I use?” Theresa interjected, then her ears turned red. “Well…” She thought for a second, then continued. “I didn’t have a problem getting off the ground, but I was having trouble...I was having trouble getting the plane trimmed to...to equilibrium. Then I did some climbing and turning, and that was okay, but then you asked me to do a checklist…”

“Right, and what happened then?”

“I wasn’t watching the plane, and it came out of its equilibrium.”

“That’s correct. And then?”

“You asked me to do a climbing turn, and I did, but I made a stall warning because I wasn’t scanning, and then…”

She trailed off.

“Right. That’s all true.” Douglas took a sip of his coffee. “Now. I know you knew how to do everything I asked you to. This was supposed to be a review flight, remember? I wouldn’t have let you go up in today’s conditions if you didn’t know how to do what I asked you to—the bit of cloud and all. So.” He put his cup down. “What’s going on that you don’t want to tell me about?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what was on your mind? Has anything happened between...has anything happened between you and Martin?” He dreaded to hear the answer.

“What? No. No, we’re fine! Everything’s fine with us.” Her tone had abruptly grown defensive.

“Okay, okay.” Douglas tamped down the relief. “What I’m saying is, something’s probably set you off...Theresa. It’s like driving.” A thought occurred to him. “Wait, do you know...do you know how to drive?”

“For emergencies, yes. I was taught the basics a long time ago.”

“Well, you know how you wouldn’t—you shouldn’t drive when you’re unwell? Not just physically. Emotionally, too? Mentally?”

She nodded.

“Same with flying. You shouldn’t be flying if you’re not well. You shouldn’t have been up in the air at all today on that logic. Which begs the question.” He leaned forward. “You seem physically well. You’re mentally sound. Theresa...what’s wrong?”

Suddenly, she couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Come on, Theresa,” he urged. “We’re friends—at least,” he tacked on hastily, seeing the look that passed across her face, “a friend of Martin’s is a friend of mine, and you’ve—you’ve really been here for us, on quite a few occasions…” He sensed that he wasn’t getting his point across. “What I’m trying to say is…” He took a breath, reached across the table, and grasped her hand, which was lying limply next to her éclair. Her gaze whipped to him. “You can trust me. You can trust us. What’s happened?”

“Oh. Oh...I...Scheisse.” Theresa ripped her hand away and covered her face again. Douglas sat back and bit his lip, letting her talk when she wanted to.

Finally, she gulped, sat on her hands, and looked at Douglas. “Douglas. I…”

“Take your time. It’s okay.”

“Douglas...I think...I’m not saying, but I just think...I might be...Martin and I...well. I...might be pregnant.”

His jaw dropped. When the realization kicked in, he gasped and then grinned. The thought of a mini-Martin or a mini-Theresa was, frankly, incredibly endearing. “Oh my God! Congratulations—”

“No!” She shook her head rapidly. “Wait, no, I meant, not that I don’t want the congratulations, I mean no, it is not good, this is not good. Even though I’m only thinking I might...oh, it’s just bad! It’s really, really bad!” With shaking hands, she clutched at her curling hair like she was about to pull it out and looked at him, her hazel eyes desperate.

“What? How?”

“We’re...Martin and I aren’t married! If we’re having a child, right now, it’s going to be regarded as an illegitimate child since we’re not married! And my family’s already angry enough at me—”

“Why would they be upset with you, for God’s sake? You’re running a microstate in your teenage brother’s stead, I’d say that’s more remarkable than a given person of your age—”

“Let me finish!” Theresa hissed. Douglas knew her frustration wasn’t directed at him, but his interruption wasn’t exactly helping. He fell silent with an apologetic, deferential nod. “Sorry. Yes, I know I run the country, but I’m just waiting for Maxie to finish his education and take it over—there was a constitutional crisis just to allow me to become his regent—they were going to give the state to a ten-year-old! I couldn’t possibly let them do that—but there are older...more...more conservative members of the royal family that...that don’t like that I’m doing this. And...I’ve never actually wanted to be...listen, I just don’t want to be…I don’t like politics. I never have, and you know I wanted to be a pilot. But I do...what I do! Because I have to…”

Shakily, she picked up her paper table napkin and began to fidget with it. “And what’s worse...Swiss Air...Martin tells me they’re debating expanding to a hub in London, and...I want him to apply to be domiciled there. There’s a good chance they’ll let him, since he’s—he’s English, no matter how many times he reassures me that he’ll try to gain Liechtenstein citizenship…”

“Hold on. Citizenship?”

“Another problem. We talked to the archbishop of Vaduz. Martin’s not Liechtensteiner or royal, so one of those has got to give if we’re going to marry—and if any of our children are going to have any sort of claim to the throne. It’s not like I care about that last part, but the family’s going to make us suffer for it…”

“Wait, why would you want Martin to be domiciled here if Swiss Air opens a hub?”

“Because...I think it might be better for him. He’d be close to family, away from the worst of my relatives...not to mention close to you all.”

“And what about you?” Douglas stared across the table at her.

She sighed. “I...I would want to come with him if that happens. I've had...I have plans set up but I’ve never told anyone about them, not even Martin…I haven’t told anyone except Martin about me possibly being pregnant...”

“Again. Theresa. You can trust me.”

She gazed at him, openmouthed, then gave a “might-as-well-get-it-over-with” sort of shrug and continued. “Well, my next sister—she’s only a few years younger than me—she actually wants political life, she’s actually interested in running a country. She’d be overjoyed if I passed the regency to her. But after instating a constitutional crisis, I’d be expected to see the regency through, and that wouldn’t happen for...a few years yet. My God, it’s all so complicated, and I’m making no sense at all…”

By this point, the paper napkin was worried to bits on the table.

Douglas sat there for a while, trying to figure out how to respond.

“Theresa,” he began at last.

“Yes?”

“Whatever happens...whatever you choose to do, and whatever you and Martin choose to do. You...you have a home here. Both of you. Really.” It wasn’t about flying now, this conversation. It wasn’t about mistakes, it wasn’t about pilot licenses or anything of the sort. This was different. This was family. “And if certain family members are being horrible...who cares about them? We’ll be your family. You have a—you have a refuge with us. You’ll be fine. You and Martin both.”

She looked dubious, for just a second, and then she looked relieved.

“That’s better,” Douglas soothed. “You’ll be fine. You will be.”

“Thank...thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do.” He stretched across the table and grasped his friend’s hand again—and this time she didn’t pull away.

They smiled.

A week or so later, after Theresa and Martin had returned to Zurich, he received a message.

I’m not pregnant. I’m okay, turns out it was a scare after all. I am truly sorry for the dramatics that day. Theresa

I’m glad to hear you’re okay. You are fine. You can always talk if you need it. Douglas

Thank you. Theresa

—

“She’ll be fine.”

As Douglas scanned the horizon on the day of Theresa’s first solo flight, Carolyn elbowed him lightly in the side. “Hello, Captain Richardson? Do you happen to be in? She’ll be fine.”

He looked at Carolyn, who had endeavored to put on a reassuring look. “You’ve taught her well. She’ll be fine.”

“If I can say,” Herc interjected from Carolyn’s other side, “she’s done well for someone whose flying education has been so sporadic.”

“Yes. Loosen up, Douglas,” Carolyn admonished. “She'll be okay.”

Douglas had let her take him up around Fitton twice before leaving her in the training Cessna to complete her first solo around the traffic pattern. In the distance, he saw her talking to Martin through the open door of the aircraft.

Since their conversation a month or so previously, Theresa had made the decision to maintain her regency until Maxie’s coming of age. She and Martin were still discussing the idea of the domicile and marriage, but Douglas had faith that they would make the decision that was best for them.

But that wasn’t important now, not when Martin had leaned inside and kissed Theresa, his vest stirred by the breeze, before he closed the plane’s door and walked over to meet the rest of the group, standing on the apron in front of the main lobby.

The setting was ideal—commanding a view of both the apron and the main runway.

“How is she?” Douglas asked a Martin anxiously.

“Relaxed, mostly.” Martin had his hands shoved into his pockets as he came to stand next to him. Douglas resisted the urge to laugh—Martin’s face was still a vibrant shade of crimson. “I suppose...mo-more relaxed than me.” He laughed nervously.

Arthur came trotting over as best he could with a plastic bucket in his grip. Water sloshed over the rim.

“Arthur, dear heart—pray tell me why you’ve got that,” Carolyn turned and pointed at the bucket of water.

“Ah. Well...I may have told Arthur of the tradition of a pilot’s first solo,” Herc replied a bit sheepishly. “The Americans cut off the shirt-tail—but we douse the pilot in water.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake, really?” Carolyn rolled her eyes. “And she’s got on a uniform for the first time too.”

“It’s a rite of passage.”

It was Martin—of course—that had suggested Theresa get a uniform for the occasion, citing his own experience going through flight school. Initially, Douglas hadn’t even considered it—until that point he’d just let her show up in whatever she wanted to wear. However, he and Herc had agreed with Martin, and they’d pulled together to surprise Theresa with a uniform much like the ones the three of them used for flights with OJS. Martin had had the honor of fastening Theresa’s epaulettes for her—one stripe for now.

Douglas knew he would not be surprised if that one stripe would grow to three or even four.

“She’s starting up her roll,” Martin announced, ever the observant aviator.

Douglas watched her initiate her checklist before pulling forward and taxiing towards the runway.

Theresa paused at the mouth of the runway, and if Douglas squinted, he could see her take a deep breath before applying power.

The Cessna rolled down the runway, leaving the piano keys behind, quickly gaining speed.

“Rotate,” Douglas murmured under his breath.

The front wheel lifted from the ground, and the little aeroplane rose into the sky.

“Good start,” Herc assessed. Douglas saw him hold up his finger to form an angle with the ground. “Good angle.” Seeing Douglas watching, Herc looked over and sent him a grin. “You did well.”

“Hurrah!” Arthur jumped up and down excitedly. “That was brilliant!”

“Yes, well,” Martin said. “She’s got to come back down.”

Douglas nodded. The relief he’d felt upon watching Theresa take off was quickly replaced by a heavy feeling in his throat. Martin was right. For a novice pilot, taking off was easy enough—landing, not so much.

They craned their heads upward. The little Cessna was following the standard traffic pattern for Fitton, turning and coming back to land.

Theresa descended from the sky and approached the runway as Douglas had taught her. He envisioned her as he’d seen her so many times, as they practiced touch-and-go after touch-and-go after touch-and-go: correcting the side-to-side alignment, watching the PAPI lights on the sides of the runway, aiming for the touchdown zone...

“Flare,” Martin called out as Theresa tipped the nose up to increase the angle of attack.

“Come on,” Douglas muttered to himself, watching her intently. “Power through the ground effect, don’t use up the runway—!”

Finally, the main wheels touched the runway, followed by the front wheel, and he knew Theresa was pushing the rudder pedals as hard as she could to get the plane slowed down.

Martin and Douglas cheered at the same time, and Douglas felt Martin cling to him and jump up and down.

“She did it! She did it!” he chorused excitedly.

“Well done to you too, Douglas,” Herc said warmly, thumping him on the back.

“I must admit, that was exhilarating,” Carolyn added, a hint of pride in her tone.

“Douglas, here!”

He turned to Arthur, who shoved the bucket of water at him. Some of it slipped over the edges and wet Douglas’s shoes. “You should have the bucket since you taught her! I’ll help you if you need it.”

“Arthur, dearest, I should think one is enough for that!”

Almost as if in a daze, Douglas accepted the bucket. Theresa had done it. Of course, there was a long way to go in terms of licensing, but the truth still stood—she’d defied everything that had stood in her way.

She was a pilot now.

Finally, she pulled in to stand and, after completing shutdown checks, left the aircraft to slip on the pitot cover and tie down the wings.

Martin broke from the group and ran to her, and they followed. Douglas came last of all, heaving the bucket with him.

Theresa came to meet them, accepting congratulations from Herc and Carolyn, laughing as Arthur tackled her into a soul-crushing hug, and kissing Martin on the cheek.

Finally, she turned to Douglas with a brilliantly relieved grin, and he smiled mischievously at her. Luckily, she had her gaze concentrated on his face, and not the bucket he was trying to hide behind him.

“You’ve done well, Theresa. And now, since you’ve shown proficiency as a pilot...I’ve got something for you…”

Splash!

“Agh!! Douglas!! It’s cold!!!”

#cabin pressure #mine #project theresa #cabinpressurechallenge #im such a nerd. send help

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elliotthezubat · 6 years ago

Text

DEATH CITY DAYS CHAPTER 120

into the nether we go! (again)

Ragnarok: -_______- *gritted teeth* "Thank you, come again...GAH, THESE CUSTOMERS ARE THE WORST!"

kyouko: tough first day?

Ragnarok: "I hate these flipping customers and want to kill them."

kyouko: well, murder's illegal, so best you can do is grin and bear it.

Ragnarok: "..." *CREEPY BIG-TEETH DEMONIC GRIN*

kyouko:.... ._.

-elsewhere-

Danro: *slams open the door to his office...secretaries are seated, doing various tasks and talking until he marches in*

secretary: *looks up*

Secretary 2: "!!!" *stands up, salutes* "SIR!"

secretary: *does the same*

Danro: *salute* "At ease..." *marches by--then stops to look at photos* "...Wait, is this a new one of little Melody? How did she get so big?!!!"

secretary 3: yes, she starts kindergarden this September.

Danro: "How time flies! Congratulations! I'm sure you're worried sick to send her away!"

secretary 3: it is pretty scary, but im sure things will work out, right?

Danro: "..." *nods* "Good...Good attitude...I have work to finish. Take a message if anyone calls--unless family."

secretary: yes sir.

Danro: *marches into his office...sits down at his desk...buries his head in his hands*

{baby!maki: dada! up! up!}

{Danro: "Hee hee! As you wish..." *lifts her up, making an airplane ZOOM noise*}

{baby!maki: *laughs*}

*drip drip*

Danro: *shedding tears onto his desk*

-elsewhere-

Takehisa: "..."

{Takehisa: *drops his suitcase* "Well, here we are."}

{Akitaru: *staring up at the dilapidated cathedral* "...BEAUTIFUL!" *turns to Maki* "Isn't that right, cadet?! Or, um...Oze."}

{maki: just maki is fine, u-unless that's too unprofessional-}

{Takehisa: "You should refer to your commanding officer as 'sir,' or 'Commander Obi,' cadet."}

{maki: s-sorry sir!}

{Akitaru: *slaps Takehisa on the back* "Relax, Hinawa! We're firefighters! What, the military didn't take the stick out your butt when discharging you?"

{Takehisa: "...There is nothing up there, sir."}

{Akitaru: "...Maki, be honest--is he always this relaxed?"}

{maki: not that I can remember?}

{Akitaru: *smiles* "Then we'll need to do something about that!" *drops his bags off his shoulders--all 15 of them* "Starting with giving our new haunt a paint job!"}

Takehisa: "..." *shifts a photo hanging on the wall, showing the three of them in paint-covered overalls in front of the cathedral*

-elsewhere-

miyuri: papa? what's 'IKEA'?

Chuuya: "A furniture store."

miyuri: oooooh! is that where you got mito's castle?

mito: *at the top of the cat tower, lounging in the sunlight*

Chuuya: "Yeah, actually, it is..."

miyuri: WOW!

Chuuya: "They have a lot of furniture, but I did an online order--I didn't want to get lost in the store."

miyuri: ??

Chuuya: "Oh--Ikea's pretty big, almost like a maze trying to get through it all."

miyuri: REALLY?! OwO

Chuuya: "..." *smiles* "Like a castle full of furniture. And even has a restaurant inside."

miyuri: CAN WE GO?! OwO

Chuuya: ^^; "It's kind of a long visit...You'll need some comfortable shoes."

-elsewhere-

Akutagawa: *adjusts his sunglasses, waiting outside the toilet stall* "..." *knocks* "Hurry up in there--I don't have all day to babysit you."

Q: going to the poooottyyyyy~ going to the poooottyyyy~

Akutagawa: "And now they're singing--goddamn it..." *checks his phone*

-elsewhere-

Yosano: *examining ice cream flavors* "Hmm...I think this one--the black cherry."

naomi: ooooh! fancy!

Yosano: "What about you, Maki?"

*seem to be sorbets, yogurts, different toppings*

maki: i'll go for vanilla.

naomi: you ok, maki?

Hyde: "Always a popular choice!" *scoops some up*

maki: THANK YOU!

Yosano: ._____. "...That's quite a reaction to just vanilla. Seriously, what's up?"

maki: whatever do you mean? IM JUST FINE! *forced smile*

Hyde: "...Ma'am, you don't need to stab the ice cream--the spoon is plastic..."

naomi:....listen, if you're on your cycle, you can just tell us, yosano's a doctor and this is totally natural, you don't have to be ashamed.

maki: no, it's not that.

Yosano: -_-; *pats Naomi's shoulder* "Excellent tact...Is something wrong at work?"

Hyde: *has already covered his ears*

maki: well, for starters, my brother is a complete asshat and my dad just doesn't get my choice to join the 8th brigade and- *she rambles for a bit*

Tanizaki: *still standing behind them, holding boxes and shopping bags* "Yep, brothers can suck..." T~T

naomi: *listening to maki ranting and nodding*

Yosano: O_O; "Um...I empathize, and it's great you're not letting your family tell you what to do...But you're an adult--they have no control over you."

maki: exactly! but try telling my old man, he's so stubborn!

hyde: yeah girl, guys are dicks sometimes.

maki: we weren't talking to you?

hyde: solidarity, fam.

Yosano: "..." *sweet smile* "And you're tenacious--not giving up on what you want despite what someone thinks."

maki: thanks, yosano.

-ping-

naomi: ?? oh! naho just sent us a link to the new chapter of her fanfic!

maki: LEMME SEE!

Tanizaki: "OH LORD, NO!"

Hyde: "..." *puts on a helmet, hides behind the counter* ("Not dealing with her writing again...")

naomi:...…*inhales* niccccceeeeee.

Yosano: "..." *glances over their shoulder*

maki: she's really improved since first chapter. im proud of her.

Yosano: "Has she been writing long?"

-elsewhere-

Arthur: *standing in his boxers, arms extended to his sides* "Is this almost over? I feel cold." *he has sensors taped onto him*

Viktor: *checking monitors* "Just confirming my theory--the 8th managed to attract some of the most powerful pyrokinetics, I guess out of dumb luck."

Akitaru: "...Let's just say 'luck,' okay? So, what have you learned?"

Viktor: *holds up an 8th jacket* "You know how Haijima makes fireproof clothes, and yet Shinra keeps burning through his shoes and Tamaki burns through...everything else?"

komori: *holds up a note* <your point being?>

Viktor: "I got curious trying to figure out the maximum temperature, and here's what I found..." *pulls down a curtain, on which he has taped heat-signature outlines of...* "Arthur has almost no resistance to flames on his body despite his pyrokinetic abilities. Shinra does better but only at his feet, meaning he is susceptible to fire on other extremities. But Tamaki, as shown here, has almost total resistance to fire anywhere on her body. You could toss her into an open fire with her suffering no physical damage."

Akitaru: "Gee, isn't that lucky."

tamaki: ._.

shinra:....so in theory, we could burn her at the stake like joan of arc and she'd be fine?

tamaki: SHINRA!

shinra: .-.; sorry, that was uncalled for.

Iris: "Kind of heretical, too."

Petra: -_-#

Viktor: "I do want to keep testing how high the temperatures can get. That's why I had Vulcan make this..." *pulls down a curtain, revealing--* "The Incinerator 4200!"

*The Incinerator has a tiger design to it*

shinra: 0_0;

Viktor: "Who wants to be the first volunteer? Shinra? You can just dip your feet in." *kicks the side, as a foot massager pops out--on fire*

shinra:.... Q~Q;;;;

-elsewhere-

Takigi: *checking the underground maps before looking down the street*

takigi's partner: *looking around*

Takigi: *points* "That stairway--that's the spot where the latest victim was found."

takigi's partner: hmm

Takigi: "The chief seemed really concerned about this--seems like they got the order from higher up to check into the Nether..."

takigi's partner: not to sound intrusive, but your sister was in the nether some time ago, did she tell you anything?

Takigi: *nods* "It's come up in conversations. It sounded like she was embellishing some things, but it's backed up by the 8th's report...even if the 8th isn't exactly more reliable."

takigi's partner: still, they were at the sight of a lot of major events recently.

Takigi: "...Because they keep running recklessly without thinking."

takigi's partner: ...so how is she doing?

Takigi: *DEATH GLARE*

takigi's partner:..... >->;

Takigi: *still frowning, as he looks down the steps* "...That door...You can still see the blood splatter."

*there's police tape around the crime scene*

takigi's partner: criminy, my mom would be rolling in her grave if she knew i was down here.

Takigi: *removes the tape--then grimace* "Ugh--assuming the smell wouldn't wake her up first..." *pulls out his flashlight and gun, before opening the door* "Get ready..."

takigi's partner:.....

Takigi: *studying the paths* "Don't get lost here..."

takigi's partner: *looking around*

*there's something along the floor...*

takigi's partner: hey, take a look at this...

Takigi: "?! Scorch marks, scratches--and fresh, too..."

*CLANG...RATTLE...in the distance*

takigi's partner: ?!?! what was that? *aims his light*

*the maze shows a sign: "Boiler Room ----> "*

takigi's partner: *looks at him*

Takigi: "Why would it still be running here..." *leads the way to the boiler room...* "Cover me..." *kicks down the door*

takigi's partner: DCPD! GET DOWN!.....!?!?!??!

*it's...a lab? there are terraria with animals and plants, a bloody gurney and...a skull in a glass case?*

Takigi: "...Why didn't the police find this..."

takigi's partner: who could this even belong to...some mad scientist?

Takigi: "There are enough of them in this town--hell, just in Haijima...!!! Look! The reports talked about using bugs to induce SHC."

takigi's partner: then, that would mean the white hoods had been here...

*something shift in the shadows, a bit of light reaching Takigi's eyes*

Takigi: "?!" *swings around, aims* "DCPD! FREEZE!" *takes a step forward--*

*CRUNCH*

Takigi: "???" *glances down* "?! The hell?!!"

takigi's partner: SHIT! an infernal?....it's not moving, though.....

Takigi: "An Infernal shouldn't be this well preserved if dead--it should be just ashes...Why is the core still intact..." *still aiming at the shadow* "Step out. Now!"

-beep....beep...beep...beep-

Hood: *steps out--with a bomb strapped to their chest!*

takigi's partner: !!!! WE NEED TO GO, NOW!

*BEEEEEEEEEEP--*

Takigi: "?!!! GET BACK--"

-elsewhere-

*a street level, the ground shakes, as an explosion can be heard*

kyouko: ?!?!? what the hell? !!! *summons her diamond barrier to keep a shoe rack from falling over* *phew* yikes....you alright, sir?

Customer: *holding onto a box of shoes* "Y-Yeah...Was that an earthquake?"

Ragnarok: "...The earth quaked. So, yes. Moron."

*a sewer grid cover had flown up--and landed on a short young adult--*

Mineta: X______X

kyouko: ...well, no one got hurt at least.

Customer: "True...Sorry, I'm in a bit of a rush--I better check with my commander." *sets down the box at the register, dials his phone...*

-back underground-

*there's fire...there's smoke...the lab is demolished...metal pipes broken and litter the floor...steam escaping out of the broken pipes...*

takigi's partner: *coughing* ugh...oze! oze, are you alright??!

*Takigi's partner is bleeding from the forehead, barely able to stand--but he looks relatively unharmed...*

*there's a crater in front of his partner...*

takigi's partner: !!! oze!!

*in the crater is Takigi, in the Yamcha position...he doesn't look too good...*

-elsewhere-

Haumea: *smiling to herself* "Arrow, the blush, please~"

sho: nnnn.... *he's barely conscious*

arrow:....and this benefits us, how?

Haumea: "Ain't it, though~? It's like our own little family. What do you say, Sho?"

sho: .........

Haumea: "That's right..."

-elsewhere-

Akitaru: "... ... ..." *hangs up*

karin: ??

Akitaru: "That was the hospital, looking for Maki."

karin: what happened?

Akitaru: *sighs* "I need to call her--her brother got caught in an explosion."

karin: !!!!

-elsewhere-

Yosano: "Just set them down anywhere."

Tanizaki: *does so--and falls onto the couch*

maki: i think i picked this one out...

naomi: sounds about right..

Yosano: "I'm glad they wrapped this one up--never too early for some birthday shopping."

Tanizaki: "Zzz..."

*the Agency phone rings*

kirako: armed detective agency, kirako haruno speaking, how may i help you?.......oh...one second. maki! it's your commander!

maki: oh? hey commander, what's up?

Akitaru: "Maki...Something's happened."

maki: .........

Akitaru: "Your brother Takigi is in the hospital--"

maki: !!!!!!! *her eyes widen as her hand shakes*

Yosano: "???"

-elsewhere-

Spirit: "Heading to bed, kiddo?"

izumi: yep.

sachiko: make sure you brush your teeth!

izumi: will do!

Spirit: "Night, Izumi."

-elsewhere-

Asher: *slides the window up, climbs down the fire escape quietly...*

-it's fairly quiet, but a family a few windows down seems to be watching a movie on the tv-

Asher: "..." *quiet sigh before getting down to street level...looks back at the apartment*

-a few mice scurry into their hole, carrying food bits in their mouths-

Asher: "..." *closes up their jacket before walking down the street*

-a can is knocked over-

Asher: *looks behind them, arm extended--*

kazue:.........

Asher: "??? Kazue? The hell you doing out?"

kazue: *holds up a sign* <on patrol, you?>

Asher: "...Sneaking out. Wait, 'patrol'? What do you do?"

kazue:....<that's classified for the most part.>

Asher: >_>; "Tch, okay, sure...Need company?"

-elsewhere-

Blair: *in cat form* "Who are we missing?"

mito: <sorry im late everyone!>

banjo: <ayyy mito!> ^w^

Natsume: "Now, remember how we practiced."

-the cats start meow-singing-

sayaka: how do these cats have such talent?!

Kuro: *joining in the harmony*

Bakugo: *covering his head with a pillow, groaning*

-morning-

Asher: *sniffles, yawns, looks around*

-sunlight peeks through the broken windows and cracks in the ceiling in a warehouse-

Asher: "...?" *sits up* "Kazue? ...Please tell me you're not hanging up like a vampire bat or something."

kazue: *sleeping against a pole in the corner*

Asher: "..." *checks their phone*

-elsewhere-

mina: hmm, oh! the new chapter of 'Manami Love Panic' just posted!

Jiro: "??? For real?"

mina: yep! ^^ looks like they're starting a summer vacation arc now!

Jiro: "Timely." *leans on Mina's shoulder, reading over it*

-elsewhere-

Takigi: *sitting up on a bench in the hospital hallway*

sachiko: mr oze! what are you doing out of your room?!

Takigi: "I got bored. I was thinking of visiting some other patients, taking a walk, maybe taking in a round of ping-pong--"

sachiko: need i remind you what you are in here for? burnt face, burnt forearm, left arm fractured, bruises all over, some injuries will take three months to heal!

Takigi: "Tch. I'm fine--Oze's heal quickly. How about you take a walk and cool off before you get an aneurysm."

sachiko: now liste-

Dr. John: *pat pat* "How about we leave Detective Oze alone for a bit, Sachiko?" ^^;

sachiko:...hmph. alright. but i better see you back in your room, mister! *gives him the 'im watching you' sign*

Takigi: "All in good time..." *waves her off*

???: causing trouble again, honey?

Takigi: O\\\\\O *turns around* "Sw-Sweetie muffin?!"

takigi's GF: ^^ *hands him a bento*

Takigi: "Oh, wow--this looks incredible! Thank you! D-Did you get my voicemail? I didn't hear from you..."

-elsewhere-

maki:......

Takehisa: "...Have you eaten?"

maki:...yeah..

Takehisa: "...The doctors promised to call it there were any changes. And you are on leave if you want..."

maki:.....ok....

Takehisa: "...I'm sorry."

-elsewhere-

Sid: "Kazue, Asher--you're late."

Asher: -_-;

kazue: ....

Sid: *groans* "Have a seat--get notes from your classmates after...Now, we return to the discussion about limb-weapon displacement--"

Asher: *sits with Izumi*

izumi: you ok?

Asher: "..." *nods* "My sister didn't call did she?"

izumi: she did actually.

Asher: >_<; "I'm in deep shit, huh?"

-elsewhere-

Hajiki: *hanging from the flagpole* "WHY AM I UP HERE?!"

hito: i was about to ask the same thing.

Hajiki: "I CAN'T REMEMBER, AND I AM SCARED I WILL LOSE MY GRIP AND FALL! IS THERE A...THAT THING WITH THE...WOOD STEPS?"

hito: you mean a ladder?

Hajiki: "YES, A LADDER, PLEASE!"

-elsewhere-

Kouyou: *looking at the menu* "Hmm..."

miyuri: wooooooow! *shiny eyes at what all is on the menu*

*the kids' menu lists 'dinosaur chicken nuggets'*

miyuri: are there dino-chickens?!

Kouyou: ^^; "I think they just cut the chicken into dinosaur shapes..."

miyuri: oooh.

Kouyou: "Sonia, you hungry?"

sonia:... i think i'll just get a cheeseburger and some fries.

Kouyou: *nods* "I'm intrigued by the tsukemono--"

???: "WOOF!"

sonia: ??

Otis: *pants, looking through the gate between the restaurant patio and the sidewalk*

miyuri: puppy!

Kouyou: "!!! Careful, Miyuri--"

Otis: *fits his nose through the gate posts*

miyuri: hi puppy! ^w^

Otis: *pants, licks her hand*

miyuri: *giggles* ^w^

Kouyou: -_-;

sonia: h-hello sir...

Keller: *holds onto Otis's leash* "Howdy. Old Otis isn't giving you any trouble, is he?"

Otis: *nuzzle*

sonia:....he sees to be doing well...

Keller: *nods* "Good."

Kouyou: *clears her throat*

Keller: "..." *tugs on Otis's leash*

miyuri: bye bye, puppy. *waves*

Otis: "WOOF!" *walks off with Keller*

-elsewhere-

Daisy: *sets down a bagged lunch with 'Daisy' written on it in marker* -_-# "Any of you say a word, and you get a spork to the eye..." *takes out a bagged sandwich--and a note drops out with it* "..." *groans*

louisa: ??

Daisy: *groans* "Damn it, Mom...Your parental units ever do embarrassing stuff..."

louisa: well, it's been a while since i spoke to them, so....

Daisy: "...Sorry." *offers half a cookie*

-elsewhere-

Axel: *running track against classmates*

zeke: yeah! woohoo!

Yafeu: *almost running into Stephanie's lane* "WATCH IT!"

stephanie: sorry~

Monica: *sitting on the stands with Genny* "The hell you ain't running?"

genny: PE is not my strong suit.....

Derek: "Hardly an excuse--you'll just fall behind at that rate." *has a timing chart*

lei-lei: *waves to genny*

Monica: "YOLANDA--MOVE YOUR ASS!"

-elsewhere-

Medusa: *passes her hand over a vial to spread out its vapor*

stheno:.....so what's the plan exactly?

Medusa: "Numbers."

stheno: ??

Medusa: "To win this war, we must win hearts and minds--increase our forces, our numbers."

stheno: as in recruiting people?

Medusa: "In so many words, yes. I'm trying to locate the nearest one..."

-elsewhere-

Takigi: *on the phone* "No, you tell Sansa to take this up with the chief--we need to find what was down there!"

nurse: mr oze, you have a visitor.

Takigi: "I'm at work--tell them to wait."

nurse: it's your father.

Takigi: O______O "...I'll call you back." *hangs up, stands up--and grimaces in pain* "AH!"

Nurse 2: "... ... ..." *whispers* "They're like little forests--above his eyes!"

nurse: shh!

Danro: "TAKIGI! YOU LOOK AFRIGHT!"

Takigi: "I-I'm fine, sir!" *salute--with the wrong arm* "...Ow."

Danro: "We were so worried about you! This is too dangerous!"

madoka oze: we're just...happy you're alright...

Takigi: Q_Q; "Mom? I-I'm sorry--I didn't mean to worry you." *awkward one-arm hug* "Where's Maki?"

madoka oze: she's....at work still.

Takigi: "..." *nods* "Okay...Alright."

Danro: "...Sit down. Your mother didn't go to all this work to make you a decent meal for you to waste it."

madoka oze: yeah, i know how crappy hospital food can be.

Nurse 3: "Grr...Can you believe the nerve of this family?!"

Nurse 2: "...Do raccoons live in those things?"

nurse: -_-# carol i swear to god.

-elsewhere-

-knock on the gallows mansion doors-

liz: yes?

tsubaki: hi, mind if we use your shower? ours has been monopolized. ^^;

Black Star: -n- "We adopted too many brats."

liz: um actually it's a bit....occupied at the moment.

Black Star: "??? You have a flipping mansion--not one bathroom is available?"

liz: well-

Black Star: "Screw this! I feel sweaty and gross, and I need to be cleaned!" *marches to the bathroom, pulling his shirt off on the way*

liz: ah-

Black Star: *kicks down the door*

stocking: HEY!

Kid: "BLACK STAR! YOU PIECE OF--"

Black Star: "JEEZ! COVER UP!"

stocking: *TOSSES A BOTTLE OF SHAMPOO AT HIM*

Black Star: *dodges* "OKAY, I GET IT, I'M GOING!" *running*

Kid: "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!"

stocking: *siiigh* well that was embarrassing.

Kid: T\\\\T

Black Star: *muttering* "They got bigger since the last time I walked in..."

stocking: I HEARD THAT! D8<

Kid: *stifles a laugh*

stocking: h-hey! >3<

Kid: "Is that wrong?" *cups her* "Seems to be."

stocking: *snerk* *cheek pull* meeeean~! Xp

Kid: "Hee hee..." *smooch*

stocking: *laughs* ^///^

Black Star: *walks back* "So. ...Liz, you got a shower in your bedroom, right? Or is Wes going to be in there?"

liz: there's a shower this way. -_-;

Black Star: "Thank you~" *pulling off his shoes and socks along the way*

liz: *closes the bathroom door*

stocking: thanks liz!

liz: no prob!

stocking: right....now, where were we~?

Kid: "Hmm...Not sure I remember. Care to jog my memory?"

stocking: *kiss* mmm~<3

-elsewhere-

Monica: "...You weren't entirely awful in track and field, Albarn."

izumi: oh, um. thank you.

Monica: >_>; "Better than some people--STEPH, YOU ALMOST GOT TRAMPLED BY THOSE MORONS!" *slams her locker door shut--which knocks down a row of them*

-elsewhere-

Sid: *sighs*

nygus: long day?

Sid: "You could say that..." *opens the fridge, pulling out a cup of yogurt* "The race in PE was a disaster."

nygus: *listening*

Sid: "Some of those first-years are so gung-ho on proving themselves that they rush in--just like the desert training. I even had two of them collide face-to-face in the track run, knocking heads."

nygus: yeah, they were in here.

Sid: "How bad was the diagnosis?"

nygus: one student got a concussion.

Sid: "?! Did you call up Kim?"

nygus: *nods*

-elsewhere-

oriko: *practicing violin*

Justin: "..." *has removed his headphones*

oriko: *still practicing*

Justin: *closes his eyes* ("It sounds...")

-seems she made an error-

oriko: oops. that's not right, let me try again... ^^;

Justin: "?"

oriko: it's been a while since i played last. ^^;

Justin: ^^ *nods* "It sounded good, all things considered."

oriko: thanks. *smiles*

Justin: "Well, I'll continue housework...Thank you for playing."

-elsewhere-

tsugumi: hmmm.. hey anya, meme? if you were weapons, what kind of weapon would you want to be?

Meme: "Axe chainsaw gun tonfa."

Anya: "..." *facepalm*

tsugumi: that's....a lot. *sweatdrop*

Meme: "Well, this is a thought experiment, and it never hurts to be prepared." ^^ "How about you, Anya?"

Anya: "Hmmm...Something classic, such as a spear."

tsugumi: hmmm. makes sense. and maybe the tip of the spear is shaped like a bird's wing!

mio: but arent _you_ the bird?

tsugumi: ^^;

Anya: "Hmmm...That could inflict more damage."

Meme: "Bird's the word."

Anya: "...What?"

tsugumi: ^^;

Meme: "I'll explain it later. How about you, Mio?"

mio:..... -_- i _am_ a weapon.

Meme: "Then what kind of meister would you want to be?"

mio: *sweatdrop*

-elsewhere-

ochako: *getting her work uniform on* ok, im ready for another shift!

Hyde: "Let's make that bread!"

ochako: YEAH!

Hyde: *opens up the baked good drawer, slides in the donuts* "There--bread!"

*the door jingles as someone enters*

ochako: welcome!

Vampa: "Bonjour!" *looking at bags of chips*

peppino: ^w^ ooooh these look so yummy!

Hyde: "We got a BOGO on those."

peppino: *GASP* oh my gosh look at these petit fours! they're so adorable! >w<

Vampa: "I think we could swing that." *to Ochaco* "Shopkeep, some of those, please."

ochako: right away sir!

Hyde: *watching them* "..."

Vampa: *picks up a pack of gum, studying it*

-elsewhere-

Motojiro: *puts the pen down, studying the seating chart* "Okay, I think we're all set."

leo: *smiles*

Motojiro: "I feel like I'm missing something, though...You okay with the music?"

leo: well, i wrote a list of songs for the wedding and reception. what do you think?

Motojiro: *reads through them--and--* "GASP!"

leo: ?? is something wrong?

Motojiro: *patting her arm, pointing* "This one is sooooooo good!"

leo: ah. im glad.

Motojiro: *hands on both of her cheeks* "I love you so much." *smooch*

leo: mmm~<3

-elsewhere-

Kafka: *reading the newspaper, having a cup of tea* "Hmm. Feel Good Inc's stocks went up--"

Walter: *rips the paper out of his hands* "GREAT RAO, THEY HAVE A FILM MARATHON THIS WEEKEND!"

Kafka: *staring at his empty hands* "..." -_-#

etta: really?

hans: which films?

Walter: "Superhero stuff! They even have 'Invaders from Uranus'--the worst thing ever! All Might has a brief cameo in it!"

george: wait seriously?

wilhelm: *GIGGLING*

Kafka: "Be mature--"

Walter: "There's also a costume contest."

-elsewhere-

All Might: *in depowered form in the teacher's lounge, staring at his phone* "... ... ..." -_-# "I thought I burned all those film reels."

Izuku: ^^; "Actually, someone kickstarted an online fundraiser to restore the film."

-elsewhere-

Giriko: "Okay, be a good girl for your big sis, okay?"

anna: okie!

TOWKOW: we're gonna teach this kid how to ROCK! YEAH! XD

Giriko: "...Have fun with that--but she has developing ears, and if you make her deaf, I'll--"

malaria: i'll make sure she's ok, dad. ^^;

Giriko: "I know you will..." *head-pat*

-elsewhere-

Cervantes: *looking out the window* "...Le sigh."

marquis: is something the matter?

Cervantes: "Nothing...It's just, when it's springtime--"

Dumas: "SUMMER."

Cervantes: "--the heart yearns for what it lacks."

marquis: awww.

Dumas: -_-; "I can't believe you're thinking of that cop again...Your sparkles are getting everywhere."

Cervantes: *has a glitter pen that he's writing onto notebook paper* -3-

marquis: why dont you write her a letter?

Cervantes: OwO "EXCELLENT IDEA! Let me write the envelope and I can send one of the love poems I already wrote--" *addresses the envelope 'Dulcinea Toboso, c/o Interpol--'* "Hmm...Need the street address..."

-elsewhere-

*in a dark room, someone is tied to a gurney...bugs are seen in vials around them, as white-clad figures stare at them*

Victim: "Please--let me go! I need to go home!"

???: shhhhh....

Victim: *crying, losing their mind* "LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! STOP!"

-elsewhere-

Akitaru: *on the phone* "..." *nods* "I understand...I'll need some time to re-organize."

tamaki: *her head is stuck in a cereal box....somehow* what's up?

Akitaru: "...Yes, thank you. I'll call back after I break the news. Goodbye." *hangs up* "...Orders from above..." *takes out a pair of children's safety scissors* "Stand still--I'll get you out of that..."

-elsewhere-

Honda: "LINE UP!"

hito: *salute*

Takeru: *salute* -~-;

Hajiki: *salutes--with the wrong hand*

Honda: "WE HAVE A NEW ASSIGNMENT!" *taps a pointer to the map of Death City, underground*

jonas: sir, this is-

Honda: "THE NETHER."

anton: *GULP*

Takeru: *silent screaming*

Hajiki: "Really? I thought the Nether was just some little itty part of a subway..."

-elsewhere-

Izuku: *holding his suitcase down* "Come on--fit, darn it."

inko: izuku? is everything alright in there?

Izuku: *grunts* "Y-Yeah! Just struggling to fit all of this into my suitcase--" *presses down and--*

*FWOMP*

*a pair of boxers flies out of his room and against the wall*

inko:.....do you need help?

Izuku: QwQ *flung back into a pile of clothes* "Yes, ma'am, please?"

-elsewhere-

Masaru: "Now let's all calm down and talk this out--"

mitsuki: why are you being such a stubborn little brat?! we're only trying to help!

Bakugo: "I can do this on my own! God, can't you give me some room to prove that?!"

mitsuki: you're just flinging everything in there all willy-nilly! it looks like you threw a tornado in there!

Bakugo: "I can find what I need--I HAVE A SYSTEM FOR THIS!"

-elsewhere-

Mr. Uraraka: ^^; "I don't think a suitcase is the place for a doggie..." *pat pat*

trixie: *tail wagging* *ARF!*

Mr. Uraraka: *squeezes a toy, which squeaks* *tosses it*

trixie: *NYOOM*

-elsewhere-

ganma: now, the trick i always use when packing is to put the flatter things at the bottom, like clothes.

Samidare: *digging through Tsu's boxes of snacks--*

satsuki: moooom! sami's trying to mooch off sis!

Samidare: >_< "Tat-pole-tail!"

Beru: "Samidare, put them down."

Samidare: -n- *puts them down*

-elsewhere-

Kyotoku: *reviewing the feeding schedule* "Hang on--that's all the bird feed needed?"

mika jirou: im surprised too.

bowie: *BWAWK* EAT SHIT! *BWAWK*

Kyotoku: "..." *groans* "Goddamn it."

-elsewhere-

ragdoll: *shaking a cat toy* come on snoopy, go get it!

snoopy: *mreow!*

Mandalay: *recording it on her phone* "So cute! I just can't!" >w<

pixie bob: dawww!

Tora: *flexing* "Kota, could you get me some water? And some for Snoopy's dish?"

kouta:...*grunts and walks off*

Mandalay: "..." *sighs*

-elsewhere-

Sansa: "And with Oze out, I've had to pick up on investigating that patchwork person."

minoura: which one?

Sansa: *holds up a photo--the man looks to have his face stapled, skin of different colors* "This one. Why, who's the other one?"

minoura: oh yeah, that one. thought you meant those weirdos at that clinic...

Sansa: "... I never want to mess with that 'doctor' ever again..." *shudders*

-elsewhere-

atsushi: do you know where we're going? [[kyouka trying to find where her parents are buried?]]

Kyoka: "...Honestly, this is a more challenging than I thought..." *looking around* "A lot has changed."

*they've already passed one house in the distance*

Kyoka: *staring at the house*

sylvia: *pant pant* w-wait up!

Kyoka: "Oh, sorry."

atsushi: *looks around*

*there's a field...with something sticking out of it*

atsushi: ??

Kyoka: "...There." *walks to it, struggling over the rockier terrain*

atsushi:....should we come with or....?

Kyoka: "Stay here." *walks up alone*

atsushi:......

{Kyoka, a child: *can't stop screaming*}

{mr izumi: kyouka? are you alright?}

{Kyoka: *crying--her knee looks bruised from tripping*}

{mr izumi: *helps her up* let's see here. *examining the injury*}

{*it looks like a small abrasion*}

{Kyoka: *sniffles, crying less loudly*}

{mr izumi: i think we can fix this no problem. let's get inside so we can clean the cut.}

Kyoka: *her hand on the marker, tears falling* "..." *she looks stone-faced*

demon snow:.......

Kyoka: *shakes* "Why..."

atsushi:.....??

-there seem to be two other figures standing by the grave-

demon snow:.....*puts her hand on kyouka's shoulder*

Kyoka: *can't speak, her throat tightening...falls to her knees*

demon snow:...*hug*

Kyoka: "..." *holds onto Demon Snow*

mrs izumi?: .... *small smile* i see she's in good hands...and good company.

Mr. Izumi?: *nods* "Look how much she's grown."

mrs izumi?: hard to believe it's been almost 4 years...

Mr. Izumi?: "...We missed so much..."

atsushi:....

mrs izumi?:...?? young man, you can see us, cant you?

atsushi: !!.....*small nod*

Mr. Izumi?: "You're Nakajima, yes?"

atsushi: *nod* (can you hear my thoughts?)

Mr. Izumi?: ("We can? ...!!! Oh, wow, this makes things easier!")

atsushi: (im still reasonably new to this 'seeing and hearing ghosts' thing.)

odasaku: *nod*

Mr. Izumi?: ("I see...You've been keeping an eye on our daughter.")

atsushi: (yeah, more like she's keeping an eye on me.) ^^;

mrs izumi?: *chuckle*

Mr. Izumi: ("Well, it's important to have someone to watch your back in this line of work.")

atsushi: (yeah...)

-elsewhere-

Akutagawa: *looking from the Port Mafia Tower, down to a certain spot* "..."

miura: mr akutagawa?

Akutagawa: *coughs* "Y-Yes...?"

miura: what are you looking at?

Akutagawa: "..." *points to a spot* "Can you see down to Cage Street in the Slums?"

miura: you mean cone street?

Akutagawa: *shakes his head* "No, parallel to it--another street."

miura: oh.

Akutagawa: "...Used to steal from a shop there..."

miura:.....

-elsewhere-

Tanizaki: ._.; "He's been at it for hours--non-stop...I think he's going to stroke out."

Kunikida: *typing furiously*

aya: should i intervene?

Lucy: "Please do--the boss isn't ready for the game yet."

aya:....HI-CHA!

Kunikida: *stops typing with one hand to block, not even looking away from the screen* "I am busy, Aya."

aya: you cant skip out on rest! you're gonna get an ulcer!

Kunikida: "I already had my yearly check-up, and--"

yosano: your records disagree. ^^

Kunikida: -_-# "I appreciate your concern, Doctor, but I am managing my condition--"

Dazai: *kicks the side of the desk--as a drawer pops open into Kunikida's shin*

Kunikida: >_<# "OW! DAZ--"

*the drawer is full of energy drinks*

yosano:.......*grabs kunikida by the ponytail* you're coming with me.

Kunikida: Q__Q "OW! LET GO!"

-elsewhere-

Gin: "??? Q? What's wrong?"

Q: *squirming* >~<

Gin: "Did something happen? Or are you feeling sick?"

Q: i need to go!

Gin: *sighs* *knocks on the bathroom door* "Kuniko? Are you done in there?"

-elsewhere-

Kenji: *watering the tomatoes on the rooftop garden--then spots down on the street--* "Nankichii!"

nankichii: !! h-hi kenji!

Kenji: "Hang on--I'll be right down!" *leaps off the roof*

nankichii: a-are you alright?! D8>

Kenji: *had already swung on the drain pipes and lands on the sidewalk--producing two giant footprints shattered in the cement* "Yep!" ^w^ "I didn't get a chance to eat today..."

nankichii: .~.

Kenji: "What're you up to?"

-elsewhere-

Crimson Lotus Assassin: *taps the side of their head, causing their eyes to flicker* "..." <Two targets ahead.> *points at a building with no windows*

???: <good. move in.>

CL Assassin: *proceeds, sticking close to the floor, as if slithering*

*whispers can be heard inside the building*

???: *inside the building* "No, that goes underground..."

???: ugh, how are you supposed to navigate this place?

???: "The goggles and GPS device. Did you even listen to the orientation?"

*the lights go off inside*

???: oh what the fuck?

*SLICE*

???: ?!?!??!

*it sounds like something wet sprayed along the wall--before shining eyes pop up in the dark*

CL Assassin: *hiss*

???: ?!?!?! *pulls out a gun*

*the eyes dart away before vanishing*

???: shit shit shit!

*there's a noise on the wall behind them--before it breaks down, the moonlight shining in*

??? ?!?!?! where are you!?

*something drips on their shoulder*

???: *looks up*

*something rattles above them, as the CL Assassin descends with a hiss*

???: *SCREAMS*

*through the hole in the wall, others with shining eyes look in at the carnage*

-elsewhere-

Eugene: "She's still on the phone...Must be important."

frances: yes....understood....hm??.....!!! oh stop! >///<

London: *pats Eugene's shoulder* "Let her be, buddy. Come on, you still need to practice your ability."

Eugene: .____. "Do I? Really? We're still thawing out Ambrose..."

Ambrose: *encased in ice, looking pissed*

barrie: <-<;

Eugene: T~T "I'm trying my best! I just want to go home--my wife is worried sick..."

-morning-

Arthur: *petting the donkey's head on the wall* "Good, Silver Burro..."

shinra: *YAAAAAWN*

Arthur: "Thank you for continuing to serve as our sentry, Silburro..."

shinra: you know it cant answer you, right?

Arthur: "What does that matter? With or without life, its spirit serves as a shield against threats from the outside. Plus, we're in Death City--this is hardly the weirdest thing I could be doing."

shinra: .....i GUESS!

Arthur: "What irks me is how the Lieutenant's experiments have ruined Silburro's look..." *gestures to the horned hat on Silburro's head*

shinra: ....animal crossing?

Arthur: "??? But Silburro can't move?"

*a wad of paper falls out of Silburro's mouth*

Arthur: "... ... ..." *horrified silent screaming*

shinra: ???

Arthur: *pulls out a samurai sword* "Demon--how dare you defile Silburro with your paper refuse!"

shinra: hey! i didnt do it!

Arthur: *tackles Shinra*

maki: what's going on-..... owo

Arthur: *choke hold*

Iris: -_-; "Maki...Why is there paper in the donkey's mouth?"

maki: erm-

tamaki: littering is bad you know!

Iris: "So is improper disposal of waste--"

shinra: MERCY! DX>

Arthur: *knocked down, with Shinra on top of him*

tamaki: *examines the paper*

Iris: "How do you accumulate so much wasted paper, anyway?"

tamaki: o///////////////////////////o um....maki....

maki: they're.....old drafts.

Iris: "... ... ..." -_____-;

Relan: *walks in* "...Yikes. We're already starting this early?"

tamaki: *yanks shinra off* ok, that's enough rough-housing you two.

shinra: he started it!

Vulcan: "The 8th, a caravan of dummies..."

Arthur: "Don't put trash in Silburro's mouth!"

lisa: oh, that reminds me, maki.

maki: ??

lisa: the commander was looking for you.

-in Akitaru's office-

Akitaru: "..."

Takehisa: "..."

maki: *salutes* commander.

Akitaru: *salutes* "You may want to sit down for this..."

maki: what is it?

Takehisa: *hands her a report--it has a military seal on it*

maki: *her stomach drops as she opens it*..........!!!!!!????

Akitaru: "With the 2nd leading a mission into the Nether, it was thought best that you--"

maki: go back to the military?! but im a firefighter now!

Akitaru: "But given what happened to your brother, General Oze thought--"

maki: my dad? tch- of course he would issue this. well, since this is a family matter, i can easily decline to it!

Akitaru: "Your father is just worried--and I have to agree. This mission will be more dangerous than last time. The Hoods are liked caged rats, ready to attack, and unless we want to upset the 2nd and the military, we have to be smart how we handle this."

maki: you're seriously agreeing to this?! captain, talk some sense into him!

Takehisa: "...Officer Oze. I order you to return to the military."

maki: ......y-you cant be serious!

Takehisa: "There are reasons for this decision--"

maki: and what reason is that?!

Takehisa: "..."

Akitaru: "...Tell her."

Takehisa: *clear his throat--*

-outside-

Iris: >_> "So...What are they saying?"

shinra: i cant hear, this door is too thick.

tamaki: just like your head.

Arthur: "Ha." *has a glass to the door* "Hang on...Okay, the Commander just say 'Bonk.' Or maybe 'Donk.'"

tamaki: -_-;

nozomi: you're...holding it the wrong way.

Arthur: *has the glass stuck over his ear* "What? I can't hear--"

*the door slams open*

maki: ...... *she seems upset*

tamaki: ._.;

Vulcan: "??? So what--"

maki: *glare*

shinra: OxO;;;;;

Arthur: "Oh dear--they have awaken the ogre--"

maki: *storms to her room and slams the door shut*

shinra:.....

-elsewhere-

Takeru: *quiet whine of worry...*

hito: *cleaning guns* the nether, huh?

Takeru: "That is too, too dangerous! I read the reports and heard from the 8th--Kusakabe was stabbed nearly to death in there!" >~<

hito: hmmm.

Takeru: "I don't know what to do--I never wanted to be in the military! I was just recruited because my power is too much for traditional means to contain--" *starts heating up*

hito: easy, easy now.

Takeru: *grabs a paper bag, starts breathing into it*

hito: ..... (is this really the best place for him? dad, you always told me that being a soldier means being brave and doing the right thing, no matter how dangerous.)

Honda: *serious face as he walks by* "Morning, soldiers!"

hito: *salutes* sir!

Takeru: "EEP!" *flings the bag up--on fire*

-elsewhere-

Meme: "??? Who's she on the phone with?"

tsugumi: oh, well....i-i'll ask miss misery if she can set something up for you....h-hey, it's ok! it's only temporary, right? you'll be back in no time!

Anya: "Some guest, it sounds like..."

tsugumi: ok...see you soon. *hangs up* *phew*

Meme: "You okay?"

-tsugumi explains the situation-

Anya: "Oh dear--that's all awful."

Meme: "We'll do whatever we can to convince Miss Misery!"

tsugumi: thanks guys.

mio: any time.

ao: *nod*

Meme: "What about Takigi? You think you'll call him to see if he's okay?"

ao: im sure anya is curious as well.

Anya: O\\\\\O "?!"

-elsewhere-

mami: ok, the barrier should be here. you ready?

yuma: *nods*

nagisa: yep!

Sayaka: "Ready and waiting!"

Kyouko: "..."

homura: madoka and i will serve as backup.

mami: alright, let's go.

Sayaka: *follows Mami*

Kyouko: *looks around*

-inside the barrier it resembles a pencil sketching of a foggy forest path, like something from a tim burton drawing. crows with blood red eyes watch the girls as they pass-

Sayaka: "Spooky..."

yuma: *gulp*

homura:...familiars most likely. but they dont seem to be attacking yet....

Kyouko: "They waiting for an opening?"

mami:....*holds an arm out, pointing to a figure*

figure: *they appear to be a woman in funeral garb. it looks at them, and then screeches*

Sayaka: "?!!"

Death the Kid: Kyouko: *battle position*

-the birds begin divebombing at them-

madoka: *shooting them with arrows*

Sayaka: *slices through them*

-elsewhere-

Yukio: *checks his blood* "..."

{Todo: "..."}

-knock-

Yukio: *buttons up* "Come in."

momo sakura: yuki? are you feeling ok?

Yukio: "Fine, thanks." *puts on a smile*

-elsewhere-

Bakugo: "Then she had the nerve to dump the entire luggage to do again! GAH! I hate her crap!"

itsuka: well, i guess she's just being a mom.

Bakugo: "Since when is being a mom synonymous to being annoying as fuck? Your mom isn't this bad, is she?"

-elsewhere-

NOS: *flips through student profiles again*

Twice: "Okay, let's try a Dabi clone!"

himiko: traaaansform!

Dabi Clone: *looks deformed, like off model art* 0_0 "...BLOO."

himiko:..... owo

Twice: "It's beautiful! ANIMATION ERROR!"

NOS: "Hmm, looks about the same."

Dabi: -_-#

mustard: at least it saves on the budget.

himiko: what?

mustard: what?

Dabi: *lights the clone on fire*

Dabi Clone: *screams, flails*

Twice: "DABI JR, NO!"

fang: gaga?

Dabi: "That thing wasn't your dad..."

fang: *laughs* ^o^

Twice: "Aw, that's the nicest you've been to your child."

Dabi: *frowns*

fang: ^w^

NOS: "Progress, I assume--" *still staring at Denki's profile*

himiko: *peeeeep* owo

NOS: "Soon, you will be mine..." *looks behind him* "?!"

himiko: OwO do you like him?

NOS: "..." *pushes her away* "Get your mind out of the gutter. I just want to suck out his electric essence."

mustard: phrasing!

Twice: "I just heard 'suck essence.' Do you need one of those European converter plugs? A butt plug, maybe?"

magne: *GASP* not in front of the BABY!

Twice: "Whoopsie--sorry! THE BABY WAS GOING TO LEARN AT SOME POINT!"

tomura:.......

NOS: "Now look what you've done--you've awakened the night owl..."

-elsewhere-

Kid: "Feel better?"

stocking: yeah. stupid pencil, talking smack about me...

Kid: ^^; "They are notoriously rude..." *tucks her in*

stocking: ground that fucker down to the nub. *YAWN* show you to...shittalk me with a bishonen voice...fucking pencil. zzzzzz...

Kid: *forehead smooch, smooths her hair*

-elsewhere-

kotone: how does this one look?

kirika: eh, not what i'd pick, but hey, your save file.

kotone: well...i think it's nice.

Gopher: "Wings, wings..."

kotone: is that an option?

Gopher: "If I could mod it..." T~T

kirika: hmm.

Gopher: "I don't know who to pick...Dragon-something?"

-elsewhere-

Fukuzawa: "Good morning." *steps out of his office, walks to the tea kettle*

kirako: good morning, sir. here's a list of requests.

Fukuzawa: "Thank you." *reviews* "Are all members present?" *looks around*

kirako: *nods*

Kunikida: "Sir, good morning. I have already set up most missions for--"

Fukuzawa: *points to one* "Send Montgomery to this one." *taps the sheet*

Kunikida: "...Sir, I think that one may be out of her skill set..."

Fukuzawa: *staaaaaaaaaaaaare*

aya: anything i can do, sir?

Fukuzawa: "Yes, accompany her."

Kunikida: D8

aya: heck yeah! am i gonna get to fight bad guys?

Kunikida: "..." *ahem* *hands the map and instructions* "Find Lucy and head out."

-elsewhere-

Crimson Lotus Assassin: *bows*

???: good. now for our next target. *hands them a picture of 'the park's' leader*

Assassin: *hiss* "Excellent...I will begin."

-elsewhere-

Sakuya: "??? What's wrong?"

tsubaki:....i dont know...just.... *sigh*

Sakuya: "..." *pat pat* "You need a break."

tsubaki: yeah...maybe...

Shamrock: "What if you took a vacation?"

tsubaki: maybe..

Belkia: *holds up brochures* "Swiss Alps, scenic Chernobyl, Centaur Tours, Sao Paul..."

-elsewhere-

Lucy: *checks the map on her phone* "Okay, the warehouse is a few blocks away..." *smiles at Aya* "Kind of exciting, huh?"

aya: you bet!

*it seems to be an industrial area...there are some laborers working out front*

Security Guard: "Hold up--no kiddos allowed in here..."

aya: *holds up a paper*

Security Guard: *reads* "??? You're the ones Boss sent?"

Boss: *groans* "I told the Agency to send professionals, not some little girls."

Lucy: "??? Little girls?" *looks around* "Aya, do you see any little girls here?"

aya: hey! we arent just 'some little girls' we're certified butt-whoopers!

Boss: -_-; "I was hoping for the tiger or even that samurai..."

Lucy: "...Hey, is that your car?" *points a few blocks away* "You let your employees eat in that thing?"

Boss: "What? It has air conditioning--"

Lucy: *snaps her fingers--and the car disappears*

Boss: D8

-and so-

Lucy: "Pfew! I got the last of the shipment into Anne's Room."

aya: it's really spacious in there!

Lucy: *nods* "Since joining the Agency, the President gave me a power boost. I bet I could fit an entire building in there now." ^w^

aya: wow! that's so cool!

*they pass an alley...*

Lucy: "We got some time before we're do to the drop-off point--feeling hungry?"

aya: heck ye-.... *turns*

*glowing eyes stare right at Aya*

aya: show yourself!

*a big straw pokes out of the shadows*

aya: !?!

Lucy: "?!" *shields Aya* "We're out of here--"

*SHTIK*

aya: LUCY!

Lucy: "... ... ..." @w@ *collapses, unconscious, a giant dart sticking out of her neck*

*masked assassins in red step out*

aya: !!!! s-stay back! im warning you!

Crimson Lotus Assassin 1: <Retrieve the teleporter. Silence the tiny one.>

Crimson Lotus Assassin 2: *reaches for Aya*

aya: *KICK*

CLA 2: "Ow! You little brat!" *grabs at her*

Lucy: *yawns* "Atsushi, the balloons go in the closet..."

*FWOOP*

*a tear in space opens up above Lucy*

aya: ??!!

*a balloon-design closet appears in the tear--and drops like an anvil on top of CLA 2's head*

CLA 2: X____X "..." *collapses on top of Aya*

aya:...woah.

Lucy: "Zzz...Giant panda, no, use the fork and spoon..."

*more portals out of Anne's Room open--dumping contents on top of CLAs*

CLA 1: "..." *throws Lucy over their shoulder, covering her mouth*

aya: HEY!!

CLA 1: *leaps with Lucy up the wall--a tail poking out of their outfit, within Aya's reach*

aya: *YOINK!*

CLA 1: "?!!!" <Unhand me!> *slithering up the wall, dragging Aya with them*

aya: let her go!

CLA 1: <Begone...> *swings the tail--knocking Aya into the air conditioning unit on the rooftop*

aya: *YELP*

CLA 1: *swings until flinging Aya away--and off the roof*

aya: !!!

*the scenery around her changes from brick walls to...checkerboard patterns*

aya: huh?

*she's in Anne's Room...but the gravity is all reversed*

aya: *she grabs a hold of a toy soldier's gun*

Toy Soldier: O_O *the arms snap off with the gun* "..." *looks down at its missing hands*

*more portals open up--showing a couple at a restaurant, a bathtub, and someone drinking milk out of the carton--*

Joker: "..." *wipes milk off his mouth* "There's something you don't see every day..."

*one portal shows CLA 1 slithering to a vehicle to unload Lucy*

aya: !?!?! *JUMPS IN*

CLA 1: *drops Lucy into the back* *to the driver* <Get going.>

aya: HI-YAH!

CLA 1: "?!!!" <What the-->

-POW-

CLA 1: X_X *KO'ed* *falls, with a slow hiiiiiiiiiss noise...*

*but the vehicle is getting away...*

aya: *looking around*

*there's a bike...*

aya: *hops on and pedals to the metal*

*in the vehicle*

CLA 3: <This girl managed to transport all of the shipment into some extra dimension. She was formerly in the Guild.>

???: is that right?

CLA 3: <Yes. But nothing the informant gave us told us how to get the shipment out of that space...> *holds up a pair of pliers* <We'll need to convince her...>

-THUNK-

???: what was that?

aya: *hanging on for dear life*

CLA 3: *looks in the rearview mirror* "?!! We got a gremlin on the van!"

aya: LET ME IIIIIN!!

CLA 3: *growls--turns left, moving into the left lane where oncoming traffic is coming at Aya...*

aya: O-O;

Spirit: *driving his car--and seeing Aya on the side* "?!!!" *slams the brakes, swerving out of the way*

aya: OHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCK!!

Spirit: "SHIT SHIT SHIT--"

*crashes into a light post*

Spirit: *face-first into airbag* "..." *pokes it with his scythe* "..." *dials 911*

aya: SORRY!

CLA 3: "..." <Get her off the van, now.>

Lucy: *still sleep-murmuring* "Nggh...No, I don't care if you're a skunk, you can't have tea with the tiger..." *snores*

*in a police car*

Minoura: *listening to the radio* "??? A van with a little girl on the side? Are these people high?"

*then the van passes--*

aya: MY FRIEND IS BEING KIDNAPPED!

Minoura: "?!!" *turns on the sirens* "Damn Death City wackiness..." *follows*

CLA 5: *holding a chain scythe--climbs the van roof, aiming at Aya*

aya: D8

CLA 5: *hurls it--*

*a portal opens up in front of Aya--*

CLA 5: *pulls back the scythe--which has stabbed through a teddy bear* "...?"

aya: thank you deus ex machina!

CLA 3: <What is happening up there?!>

Lucy: *yawns, sits up, stretches* =_______= "My neck hurts...This pillow is as hard as a rock." *looks around*

Lucy: "... ... ... ... ..."

*the van shakes*

Lucy: "WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!!!"

aya: WOAH!

Minoura: *on megaphone* "Attention van driving recklessly! You are under arrest! Pull over or--"

*ninja stars fling into the megaphone, knocking it out of his hand*

Minoura: "?!!!"

Lucy: *looks out the window--and spots Aya* "?!! Aya!"

aya: LITTLE HELP HERE?!

Lucy: "R-Right! Just give me a second to--"

CLA 3: *aims a dart--*

*CLA 3 wasn't looking and hits a speed bump--*

CLA 3: *swallows the dart* "... ... ..." *passes out* X_X

Lucy: *bounces with the bump* "AAH!"

aya: ACK!

Lucy: "!!!" *opens the door, pulling Aya inside*

aya: oh jeez! now what?

CLA 5: *hops back in, menacingly approaching with the scythe chain*

Lucy: "What is even happening here?"

*the van is approaching the highway...CLA 3's asleep foot is on the gas...*

Minoura: *racing after the van...*

aya: ok....i may have a plan. it's probably really stupid, so unless you have a better idea, just hear me out...

Lucy: @~@ "I'm still groggy, so talk fast!"

aya: on the signal, we bum rush this creep and jump!

Lucy: *nods* "Okay..."

aya: ok....one...two.....NOW!

CLA 5: *tosses the scythe*

Lucy: *battle cry*

aya: HYAAAAAAH!!!

Lucy: *tackles CLA 5*

CLA 5: "?!!"

aya: JUMP!

Lucy: *follows*

-slow-mo jump and screaming-

CLA 5: *slow mo* "Get back here, you--" *sees the van heading to the barrier of the highway* "Oh fu--"

Lucy: *grabs Aya's hand* "Hang on!"

*the van goes over the highway--*

Minoura: "?!!!" *slams the brakes*

-SLAM-

aya: *face pressed up against the cop car's front window*.....ow.

Lucy: @~@ *slow SQUEAK sound as she falls down to the hood*

*behind them, the van has crashed into the canal...a duck is pecking at CLA 3's hair*

-elsewhere-

sayaka: and then nagisa trapped some of homura’s bombs in her bubbles and when they got close- BOOM! double damage!

Crona: O_O; "Oh my."

kyouko: i'm still sore. *stretches* hey soul! you got pizza rolls?

homura: *documenting her notes*

Damon: "Oh, can we have some, too!"

soul: ok, one big batch of pizza rolls coming on up!

Damon: "Do you do this often? Fighting those--um...what are they?"

homura: the technical term for the main monsters are 'wraiths'. while the smaller ones are 'familiars' or 'minions'.

sayaka: not to be confused with those little yellow dudes in overalls.

homura: -_-;

mami: they usually appear for two main reasons; one of which is occasional time-space rifts between our world and an alternate world.

becky: so are they like kishin eggs?

mami: well, i suppose they are, but at the same time they arent. but the presence of wraiths can cause imbalance in the natural magical energy of the universe, and so we puella magi go in and correct the issue and stabilize the balance. think of it as technicians fixing a breaker.

homura: however, we cant afford to be careless; if our soul gems become completely dark mid-battle, we revert back to our normal form, leaving us vulnerable until it's cleaned.

becky: wow, being a magical girl is way different than i thought it was.

homura: *side glance* you have no idea.

Damon: ._. "...Can we go back to 'alternate world'? Like, a multiverse?"

sayaka: ^^; wwwhy dont we play some smash bros, huh?

Damon: -_-#

homura: yes, that sounds excellent.

Damon: *sighs* "Okay..."

-elsewhere-

*Izumi's phone rings*

izumi: ??? *checks it*

*phone call from Unknown number*

izumi: ??? ....

???: "Is this Izumi Albarn?"

izumi: yes?

???: "This is Detective Minoura with the Death City Police."

izumi: is something wrong?

Minoura: "Well, your dad's going to be late picking you up..."

Spirit: *sobbing over the hood of his car*

izumi: did something happen??!!

Minoura: "Your father is fine--just some cuts from a car crash, no fatalities--"

izumi: WHAT?!?!?

Minoura: "He wants you to stay put at the DWMA until he can get a police ride over, once the EMT finish--"

izumi: WHAT HAPPENED?!

lukas: izumi?

Minoura: "It's...a bit of a long story, and we're investigating what exactly happened--"

Saria: "???"

-elsewhere-

Kunikida: *running* *looking around the street*

aya: and then she got kidnapped by these sneople!

cop-chan: what?

aya: snake people! sneople!

Lucy: *holding an ice pack to her head* "I don't remember much after passing out..." *her neck is bandaged*

Kunikida: "!!! AYA!"

aya: !! kunikida! over here!

Kunikida: *stomps over* "..." *picks her up in a hug*

aya: !!

Kunikida: "Thank goodness you're okay..." *then holds her, shaking her by the shoulders* "HOW DID YOU GET THIS INJURED?! DID YOU BLOCK?!!"

-aya explains what happened to the best of her ability-

Kunikida: "...I knew this mission was not for you--the Crimson Lotus are not to be trifled with."

aya: but i saved lucy, didnt i?!

Lucy: "Darn right! Aya packed a punch, Kunikida--" *swings her arm while holding the ice to her head* "--popping through portals and even having a toy soldier's gun!"

Kunikida: "... ... ...How hard did you hit your head?"

aya: ...welllll....

Lucy: >~< "I know what I saw! Just ask all those bystanders, like that man!"

Spirit: *sobbing still over his car*

Kunikida: "... ... ...That man does not seem to be in the right emotional state."

-elsewhere-

Yosano: *staring at an invitation* "...Huh. Guess I'm taking off that day."

kirako: what is it?

Yosano: "A wedding invite."

kirako: ooh!

Yosano: *fans the invitation* "That means a new outfit~"

-elsewhere-

tachihara:....she was just.....eating.....a whole fucking tomato.....that gremlin is anything but normal!!

Pushkin: "You should see her with an onion."

tachihara:......WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!?!

Pushkin: "??? What? We don't judge you and your stupid nose-bandage."

tachihara:...it's not stupid.

Pushkin: "How long have you had a cut under there? Or is it to open up your nasal passages? Please don't tell me you wear it to look cool."

tachihara: none of your business.....

katya:....*pulls out eggplant*

tachihara: what are you doing?

katya: *starts eating it while maintaining eye contact*

tachihara: stop that!

katya: *advances toward him*

Pushkin: *snickers*

tachihara: g-get away from me! *RUNS*

katya: *SPRINTS AFTER HIM*

gin:.......i'd scold you both if this wasnt absolutely hilarious.

Pushkin: "Are we growing on you?"

gin: dont push your luck.

Pushkin: QwQ " 'Kay..."

-elsewhere-

Daisy: "Filing is done..." *falls on top of her desk* =______= "Please tell me it's 5 o'clock."

eckleburg: *glances at the clock*

*it's only 3:45*

Daisy: *face down* *GROAN*

eckleburg:.... ^^; would you like some coffee?

Daisy: "..." *thumbs up, not even looking*

eckleburg: ok. one coffee coming right up.

Daisy: "...Thanks, Teej."

-elsewhere-

Axel: =~= "I hate this heat. Hit me up with a slushee, my good sir."

Hyde: *sets down the cup* "Pick your poison, buddy."

zeke: blueberry please.

Hyde: "Good choice--we just repaired it--" *shouts at a layabout customer* "NO FREE REFILLS, YOU THIEF!"

Emine: "..." *fills it up again*

kirika: tch- amateur.

Hyde: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF I WENT TO YOUR PLACE AND STOLE ALL YOUR SHIT?!!"

kirika: simple, i'd break both your legs.

Hyde: "I'd rip off my legs and beat you with them!"

Axel: OwO;

Emine: "..." *slides a candy bar into his pocket*

-elsewhere-

maki: *aggressively making omelets*

Anya: ._____.;

Meme: "Could I have onions in mine?"

maki: SURE THING!

Anya: "Goodness, is this 'aggro'? Or 'hangry'?"

tsugumi: are you sure you're alright?

maki: OF COURSE! NEVER, BETTER!! OwO##

Anya: "..."

Meme: ^^; "Have you talked to your bro?"

-elsewhere-

Takehisa: *stares at the empty desk*

shinra: she'll be back soon, right?

Takehisa: "She has been reassigned."

shinra:.....

Arthur: "But we want her back now--"

Takehisa: "NOT. NOW."

-elsewhere-

Spirit: "And then this rassafrassing van was coming at me!"

izumi: ....

Spirit: "....Sorry."

izumi: it's fine...im just glad you're ok...

Spirit: *nods* "These things can be fixed...Lives can't."

izumi:......

Minoura: *pulls over* "Here you are."

izumi: thank you officer.

Minoura: -_-# "Detective...."

izumi: r-right! right!

Spirit: "Thank you." *hands his card over* "We'll be in touch."

-elsewhere-

Yumi: *sets Shiori down in bed*

shiori: *yaaawn*

Yumi: "Sleep well, sweetie." *forehead kiss*

-morning-

Vulcan: *working in the garage* "The ride should be ready after breakfast...You're going to the 2nd today?"

Akitaru: "Yes. Thanks for doing this..."

nozomi: do you want me to come with, sir?

Akitaru: *nods* "Sure thing--we need you and Viktor to explain your findings better than me or the Lieutenant could."

nozomi: right...

Takehisa: *cooking breakfast* "..." *he's letting the hashbrowns burn...*

*smoke is coming out of the kitchen*

tamaki: *SPRAYS HIM DOWN WITH THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER*

Takehisa: *covered in foam...removes his glasses, revealing skin under the foam*

Akitaru: "?! Hinawa, what the hell?!"

Takehisa: "I was distracted."

-elsewhere-

maki:........

Anya: "Oh, that uniform looks absolutely common--congratulations!"

maki: OwO# why THANK you anya!!

Anya: ^^; "And I see you're wide awake...And no one has made coffee yet..."

Meme: *nudges Anya in the ribs*

Anya: "??? Meme, are you okay? Muscle spasms?"

Meme: "..." *nudges again* "Yes."

-elsewhere-

Honda: "TODAY, WE WILL BE INVITING MEMBERS OF THE 8TH TO OUR BASE--SO I WANT OUR BASE TO LOOK SPOTLESS!"

soldiers: SIR YES SIR!

Hajiki: "I got my toothbrush ready, sir."

*thundering footsteps are heard--then a BONK on the ceiling*

???: "OW!"

Honda: "???" *looks at his watch* "Oh, he's early..."

hito: ??

Danro: *ducks under the overhang* "Ah, Honda--you need to raise the ceiling around here..."

hito: ._.;

Hajiki: "...What the hell happened to Juggernaut?! HE GOT SUPER OLD!"

Danro: "... ... ..." Q_Q;

hito: -_-; noto's right beside you, haijiki.

Takeru: O_O;

Haijiki: *GASP* "DOPPLEGANGERS!"

Honda: "J-Just come with me--we'll talk in private, away from buffoonery."

-elsewhere-

Sasori: *kneels down* "The Knights of the Purple Smoke are at your disposal."

Ritsu: "As I know~"

orochi:.....

Ritsu: "Here is the map where to lure our new 'fuel.' Be sure these are the only entrances into the Nether that are open--all others must remain closed at this time."

-elsewhere-

Hibana: "Morning." *picks up the newspaper* "Did the repairperson fix the espresso machine?"

Rino: *holding a crowbar over the espresso machine, huffing and puffing*

ryuuko: it's a work in progress. oh, my parents are going to be hosting a fundraiser dinner and invited you to attend.

Hibana: "Lovely--thank your parents for the invitation. When?"

-elsewhere-

Asher: *waiting at the bus stop* "So, how long's your dad's car in the shop?"

izumi: for about a few days i guess.

Asher: "Sucks."

izumi: well, do you have any plans for the summer?

Asher: "Avoid the heat, go to the library--they have air conditioning."

izumi: ah. well, my parents wedding is coming up, so....did you want to maybe, i dunno...go as a plus-1?

Asher: "... ... ...Sure."

izumi: really?

Asher: "They got food, right?" *small smirk*

izumi: ...*small smile* yeah.

Asher: "Cool. ...I'm rocking that tuxedo t-shirt."

-elsewhere-

Pushkin: *getting measured* "We got to talk about the color of the suit, though--that yellow is going to burn my retinas, man."

Motojiro: *also getting measured* Q____Q "I can do this...I can do this...I AM SCARED OUT OF MY WITS."

hirotsu: try to relax, gentlemen.

Tachihara: *looking at ties* "And they call us criminals--these prices are nuts."

naoya: *checking out suits* hmmm…

Chuuya: "The vest is a good touch on this one."

naoya: totes.

Chuuya: "I hope the girls get good outfits--Miyuri was screaming with excitement."

-elsewhere-

miyuri: WOOOOW! they're all so pretty!!

Gin: -______- "None of this looks like 'me.'"

katya: same, im not really one for dresses.

Kouyou: "Child, stand still--we need to get you dressed."

miyuri: ok grandma!

Dress Maker: ^^;;; "You excited for the big day, Miss Leo?"

leo: y-yes...is it perhaps possible to get a dress with a stretchier fabric? *rubs her stomach*

Dress Maker: "Trust me, I specialize in this." *picks up a fabric--it glows for a second and stretches* "See? My gift..."

leo: oh!

higuchi: so then you're....

Dress Maker: "Carlyle."

leo: it's a pleasure to meet you.

-elsewhere-

Kunikida: "And you are not getting out of my sight--today, it's paperwork, all day!"

aya: TT3TT

Lucy: "You are way too high strung..."

Kunikida: "And you have paperwork, too!"

Lucy: TT3TT

kirako: kunikida, perhaps you're being a little too hard on them?

Kunikida: "Finishing paperwork is part of the job--if they want missions, this is a good learning experience."

Dazai: *whispers to Aya* "Then just get the next flunkie to do the work _for_ you!"

aya: *CHOP*

Dazai: "OW!"

Lucy: "Serves you right!" *holds up a file labeled 'Dazai'* "Do your own rotten paperwork!" *throws it at him*

aya: and pay your stupid tab!

Lucy: *smirks*

Dazai: Q_Q "President, can we retroactively remove people from the Agency--"

fukuzawa: -_-;

Tanizaki: ^^; "In any case, there are more missions that need addressing, since we'll be short some people this week."

-elsewhere-

maki: *sitting at a desk, giving off a rather frightening aura*

Sushimasa: *humming to himself, carrying tea* "Oh, our newest recruit! Welcome, Miss Oz--"

maki: *HEAD SNAPS TO LOOK AT HIM* OH! he-LLO Lt General!! Owo##

Sushimasa: "... ... ..." *dumps tea into a nearby potted plant--and shuffles back into the wall* "H-Hi!" ^^;;;;;;;;; "H-How are you adapting?"

maki: im....just....FINE! ^^####

Sushimasa: *stares at claw marks on Maki's desk* "...GREAT! I JUST REMEMBERED I LEFT MY GRANDMOTHER IN THE DISHWASHER--EXCUSE ME!" *runs away screaming*

maki:......*grumbles*

captain: so that's general oze's daughter, huh?

Colleague: *nods* "Yeah--quite a catch, isn't she?"

captain:.....sure hiraoka, whatever you say *sweatdrop*

Hiraoka: "Watch this..." *saunters up to Maki's desk, rests an elbow on it* "Hello, there--"

maki: *GLAAAAAAAAARE*

Hiraoka: "... ... ..." ("HOT BUT CRAZY EYES.") *stands upright* "CAPTAIN HIRAOKA, REPORTING FOR DUTY!" *salutes*

maki: how....NICE! ^^####

Hiraoka: "WE ARE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE! IF I CAN BE OF ANY ASSISTANCE, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK!" (*screaming internally*)

-elsewhere-

Viktor: *looking out the Matchbox window at the 2nd* "A very...bellicose base."

nozomi: i'd suppose so... ^^

Akitaru: *steps out* "You okay? Your driving seemed off today."

Takehisa: "I am fine."

*the Matchbox has a Stop sign wedged in the front--and someone slammed against it like an ornament*

nozomi:.... *exits*

Mineta: *muffled screaming against the hood*

nozomi: EEP!

Akitaru: "..."

Takehisa: "..." *picks up Mineta by the head--and slams him into a nearby trash can*

Viktor: OwO;

Akitaru: >_> "No-Nozomi, let's just get inside."

Haijiki: *sweeping in the front*

nozomi: *follows*

*everyone is dressed in military uniforms*

Viktor: "Jeez, I feel underdressed--maybe I should've put on the jumpsuit if walking into this place..."

officer: commander oubi, i presume?

Akitaru: *salutes* "Yes, hello. Commander Honda summoned us."

officer: right this way...

-elsewhere-

detective: takigi?

Takigi: *staring intently at maps, photographs, crime reports*

detective: shouldnt you be taking it easy? you sustained a lot of damage after all...

Takigi: *looks up* "Oh! Sorry, didn't see you--" *puts down the files* "Forget that--I'm built to recover. But you--how are you holding up?"

detective: doing better, thanks to you.

Takigi: *nods* "Good...Was getting worried--parents came by, girlfriend came by, had heard you were already released but hadn't seen you..."

detective: sorry i didnt come by sooner, had to see the family, you know?

Takigi: "...Yeah. Still working on that."

*his phone shows numerous dialed calls to 'Maki'*

detective:...

Takigi: "...Well, onto more important news: what is left of that lab?"

detective: hardly anything worthwhile...

Takigi: "..." *crumbles up a wad of paper with one hand--aims at the waste basket* "A secret organization, willing to kill its own and anyone who finds them...and destroy the evidence." *toss* *the paper lands in the waste basket*

detective: your sister's one tough cookie to face off with these maniacs...

Takigi: *frowns, balls up another paper* "It's that Hinawa bastard who pulled her into that hell..." *toss--and misses*

-elsewhere-

Yohei: "Be a good boy for the doctor--this is just to check you out."

toru: >~<

Dr. John: "What a brave boy he is..." *picks Toru's foot up carefully*

toru: >~~<

Dr. John: "..." *tickle* "This little piggy--"

toru: !! hehe!

Yohei: "See? Doc is full of laughs..."

Dr. John: "Reflexes are good for a child his age."

-elsewhere-

Kepuri: *in a junkyard* "Okay, catch!" *tosses a hunk of metal*

mana: woah!

Shotaro: *catches it* "This is the coolest thing ever! ...What is it?"

Kepuri: "It will be a new jet engine--after some modifying." *tosses down a rope, scaling down the junk*

mana:...should we really be here?

Kepuri: "??? What? The guy who usually does this is busy today--and isn't returning texts."

mana: *sweatdrop* riiiight...

Shotaro: "So breaking the law and stealing stuff is a good deed if it helps someone else who was going to break the law do it?"

Kepuri: "See? Shotaro gets it. Be like Shotaro, Mana." *head pat*

mana: -_-; *looks toward the building*

Shotaro: OwO "All those animal heads..." *moves* "I wanna touch..."

-elsewhere-

maki:.....

-phone buzzes-

naho: [hey maki! hope you're ok! QAQ]

Naomi: [same! we <3 u!]

maki: ....*sad smile* [hanging in there as best as i can. havent stabbed anyone, so so far so good.]

Naomi: [u need us to come down there and show them who's boss?]

maki: [it's fine, wouldnt want you two getting in trouble on my behalf]

Naomi: [maybe meet up when things get less stupid?]

maki: [i'd like that. tsugumi's letting me stay at her dorm till things cool down]

Naomi: [neat! like a big sleepover]

naho: [cool! if ur hosting a party, maybe i can see if otogii, lila, or the others want to come with. not higan tho. no old geezers allowed >3<]

Naomi: [kyoka would love it]

maki: [cool, maybe we could invite tamaki too, kana misses her.]

Naomi: [yuuuuuus! kyoka likes her too]

naho: [yay!]

-elsewhere-

nozomi: ._. .....m-mr....honda?

Honda: *his head is wedged into a hole in the ceiling high up--he shouts down* "HELLO! CAN YOU HEAR ME DOWN THERE?!"

Danro: *epic eyebrows of confusion*

nozomi: .____.;;;;;;;;

Viktor: OwO ("His cranium...It's super-powerful!")

Akitaru: "...YES! GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, GUSTAV! HOW ARE YOU?!"

Honda: "PRETTY GOOD! NOW, COULD OUR TWO FORENSICS EXPERTS PLEASE EXPLAIN TO MY SUBORDINATES?"

nozomi: r-right! *gets her notes in order* let's see here... ah, yes- the nether...

Viktor: *pulls out a small box from his lab coat, sets it down--and it projects onto the wall* "The map of the Nether."

*one lieutenant is watching*

Ayabe: "..."

Viktor: "Initially, we assumed the Nether was limited to just this one subway station, abandoned and now quarantined. After our research, we have determined that the Nether is more widesprea--"

*CRASH*

nozomi: !!!!!

Honda: *has landed on the floor, his head stuck in the cracked cement* "...Don't mind me--please proceed."

Viktor: "...We...think the Nether is actually a number of disparate locations, like a spider-web, so the Hoods could be in any of a number of underground locations."

nozomi: r-right. over the years, most parts of the nether have been caved in, given new subway systems and other pathways.

Viktor: *nods* "All giving the Hoods cover to appear and disappear without being noticed."

Ayabe: "Too many sites to search one at a time...Sir, this needs a simultaneous attack."

Honda: "Hmm..."

nozomi: general oze, your son, takigi, was researching one area, from what i gathered in the reports, is this true?

Danro: "..." *grave nod* "That location was bombed, caving in any path in or out."

nozomi: hmm, though looking at the map of the underground, there could be some overlapping connections to the nether that are still open, so perhaps we can investigate them.

Honda: "And the 8th knows those paths better than my team, while the 2nd has the numbers you'll need to guide us."

nozomi: right.

Ayabe: "I propose one member of the 8th to guide a team of 2nd soldiers."

hito: that would make the most sense.

Akitaru: "Agreed--and I want one nun per team, too, to put those suffering at peace."

Ayabe: "Why? What difference does it make, if it's to kill those Infernals?"

Akitaru: "..."

jonas: ......

Honda: "*ahem* "I will make sure to notify the troops about tomorrow's mission."

-elsewhere-

Hirotsu: *has a stack of books in his study, sipping tea as he jots notes*

-knock-

tachihara: gramps? you in there?

Hirotsu: *places a bookmark* "Yes. Come in."

tachihara: *enters* wow, nice place you got in here. a lot spacier than the last place you had.

Hirotsu: *nods* "I'm still in need of filling out the library." *seems to be a collection of books on his desk--philosophy, art, literature, religion*

tachihara: .....cool knick-knacks. this is...um, taishou era decor, right?

Hirotsu: "...Good eye."

tachihara: hey, just cause im a punk doesnt mean i cant be a little bit cultured, y'know?

Hirotsu: "I didn't doubt it. You don't bring it up, though."

tachihara: ....soo whatcha reading there?

Hirotsu: "I was hitting a wall writing the wedding officiation, so I thought reading my library may help...I'm afraid I'm at an impasse--it feels like it's all been said."

tachihara: ah...

Hirotsu: *small smile* "This volume of love poems...Seemed a little hokey. I was so stumped I even tried Heidegger--that was a mistake, what was I thinking."

tachihara: ....if you think im jealous, im not, ok?

Hirotsu: "??? Jealous of whom?"

tachihara: ....*sigh* it's kinda complicated....i mean, yeah, leo's like, banging hot as fuck, but, she seems better of with kajii, even if this is _kajii_ we're talking about, she'd probably never be too interested in me anyway. and....i guess im a bit jealous of gin, for beating me to the punch...*sigh*

Hirotsu: *ahem* "Yes, well..." ^^; "I know you won't refer to the bride as, um, 'banging,' but it is important to acknowledge these feelings, even as you are obviously accepting what has happened."

tachihara: yeah, yeah, i guess.......maybe, im just scared to make a move, so every time i like someone, they get picked up by someone else. im a real fucking coward, arent i?

Hirotsu: "No, no--everyone has their own pace. But if you see an opportunity, well, it can't hurt to say hello, yes? Just, you know, respectfully."

tachihara:...guess you're right....well, im gonna go down to the quik-e-mart for some stuff, maybe pick up a sandwich somewhere or something, you want anything?

Hirotsu: "...Tea biscuits."

-elsewhere-

Justin: ._.; "M-Me?"

lord death: yes justin, you.

marie: im sure you'll do great!

Justin: "...I-I won't let you down, sir!" *SCREAMING INSIDE*

-elsewhere-

*frogs are all over the grass*

Jacqueline: *looks out the cottage's window* "...?"

kim: i'll call eruka.

Jacqueline: "Good call...Wonder what brings them here."

Frog: *hops onto the windowsill...stares*

kim: well, maybe it's the creek in the backyard.

Jacqueline: "The weather can't be that bad there...Unless something scared them out."

kim:...i'll go have a look.

Jacqueline: "Okay..."

*frogs stare at Kim's movement*

kim: (i swear, if that short-ass kappa is back selling his wares again...)

*something is splashing in the creek...*

kim: *looks*

*giggling is heard*

kim: hey!

*there are sprites playing in the creek, splashing each other--and chasing after the remaining frogs*

Frog: Q_Q *hop hop*

kim: oi! oi!

sprite: *looks up*

Sprite 2: *pops up out of the water--with a fish in their mouth*

kim: what are you doing here?

sprite 3: wouldnt _you_ like to know!

Sprite 4: *scoops up water in their hands--and drops it on top of Kim*

kim: hey! why you little-

Sprite 4: "Hee hee hee! Play with us! Play with us!"

eruka: heeey! *flying in on her broomstick* WOAH! *CRASHES INTO A TREE* ack!

Sprite 2: "..." *spits out the fish* "...Bad landing."

Sprite 4: OwO "Did she die?"

eruka: you are disturbing the wildlife!!

Sprite 2: -_- "You're disturbing our fun."

kim: _why_ are you even here?

Sprite 4: "We were boooooooooooooored and got kicked out of the last body of water, and these yucky frogs were in the way!"

eruka: EX-SCUSE YOU?!

Sprite 2: "She said 'yucky frogs,' you yucky frog." *picks up another fish--and shoves it all into her mouth in one disgusting gulp*

eruka: *GLAAAAARE*

Sprite 4: *picks up Eruka's hat* *imitates her voice* "EXCUSE YOU! BWA HA HA!" >w<

-what happens next is rather terrifying-

Sprite 2: Q__________Q

Sprite 4: *screaming in the distance*

kim:...eruka holy fuck.

Jacqueline: *runs up* "Wh-What happened?!" *has a frog on her head*

eruka: ^w^ justice.

Frog: "..." *hops off of Jacqueline's head and back into the creek...a sprite's wing floats by them*

kim: she just....exploded them. that seems a bit....unethical. ._.;

Jacqueline: "...Understatement. And kind of messy."

-elsewhere-

Vulcan: "So, what do you think?"

lisa:....

Vulcan: "..." *nods* "Yeah, I kind of figured. It's totally fine to not go."

lisa: i...

Vulcan: "..." *offers his hand*

lisa:...i want to help, somehow...

Vulcan: "Well, how about the new radio?"

lisa: yeah...i could do that...

Vulcan: *smiles, nods* "Great--I know the team will appreciate it."

-elsewhere-

sonia:.....

Chuuya: "Sonia? Dinnertime."

sonia: oh, right, ok....

{sonia: *following chuuya out of the tunnel* .........(he's been really quiet...) }

{Chuuya: "..." *looks down at her*}

{sonia:...mr chuuya....did you...love mama?}

{Chuuya: "..." *gulps* "Why are you asking me something like that..."}

{sonia: .......*covers her eyes* b-bright....}

{Chuuya: "..."}

{*something falls onto her head*}

{sonia: ??? w-what is that?}

{higuchi:...it's the sun.}

{*he's put his hat on her head...*}

{sonia:... *hugs him*....papa...}

sonia:....

*his hat is on the hat-rack...he's in an apron, setting food onto the table*

sonia:...thank you, papa...

Chuuya: *smiles* "You're welcome. Did I forget anything? Want more vegetables?"

sonia:...*hug* thank you...for saving me that day.....

Chuuya: "??? ..." *hug* "Happy to..."

miyuri: ~?

Chuuya: "..." *pulls in Miyuri*

miyuri: ^^

Chuuya: "Love you both..."

miyuri: ^w^

Chuuya: "So, you hungry?"

-elsewhere-

Yoh: =_= *yawns...looks out a window...sees lights outside from the plane* O_O;

flight attendant: <did you enjoy your nap, sir?>

Yoh: <WHERE AM I AND WHO ARE YOU?!> *pulls out a book labeled 'Commendations'* <WHERE WAS I GOING?!>

flight attendant: ^^;

Pilot: *over intercom* <Attention, passengers, this is your pilot speaking. We're about another 2 hours away from Los Angeles Airport-->

Yoh: "... ... ..." <Oh! Mana!>

-elsewhere-

Poe: "???" *gets down on all fours, looking at some square outline on the wall along the carpet* "..." *tugs at the square--as it falls open* "?!"

lana: edgar? what are you doing? ._.;

Poe: "I think I found a crawl space in this old house, wallpapered over..." *tries to poke his head in* "I'm afraid I'm not the size for it..." *looks at Lana* "..." *looks up and down* "..." .\\\.; "I'm afraid you're too big as well..."

lana: ^^;

Karl: *pokes his head in--and crawls inside*

Poe: D8>

*scratching is heard inside*

lana: ??

Karl: *yipping, scampering back*

Poe: "KARL!"

*Karl dives out of the crawl space--before a growl is heard inside the crawl space*

Karl: *climbs up to Poe's head, cowering*

lana: .___.;; um...

Poe: "What the devil could be in there--"

*a paw reaches out, scratching*

lana: oh!

Poe: "EEEEEK!" *hides behind Lana*

lana: is that...a cat?

*the cat's head pops up in the crawl space, hissing*

lana: ._.;

Poe: *shivering*

Cat: *stares at Lana* "... ... ..." *sniff*

lana: hey, i think this is the neighbor's cat...

Cat: "..." *hobbles out...falls onto Lana's feet*

lana: ah! he's hurt!

Poe: Q_Q "I'll call the vet..."

-elsewhere-

ManBearFix: *bleeding in the infirmary, holding a clump of hair in his hand* "I SAID THE OTHER GUY STARTED IT!" *turns to Mimeca* "BACK ME UP ON THIS!"

mimeca: *nod nod*

Dr. Sasaki: "Uh huh...Which is why you decided Long-Hair Luke needed a haircut...by pulling his hair out in clumps?"

ManBearFix: -n- "You didn't hear what he said about Mimeca."

mimeca: >n< *shakes fist*

Dr. Sasaki: "That's no excuse for causing more problems with my specimens..."

ManBearFix: "...'Patients'?"

Dr. Sasaki: "Right, what did I say?" *uses another limb to grab a syringe*

-elsewhere-

maki:.....*fiddling with an 8 sigil* ...

Secretary: *fixing her makeup with a mirror* "Perfect!"

maki:...*sigh*

Death the Kid: Secretary: *smiles* "Any plans this evening, Maki?"

maki:....not really.

Secretary: "Well, I hope you're not putting in overtime--this job is killer for letting us have a flexible schedule, time off..."

maki:.....

*a cup of water on the desk starts to ripple with vibrations...*

maki: *glares upwards*

Danro: "Good evening, Maki-chan..."

Secretary: O_O; ("...THE BOSS CALLED HER '-CHAN'?!")

maki: .......

Danro: "I hope your first day went well...I was going home for dinner."

maki:...you sure seem satisfied....is it because your little kitten came to 'where she belongs'? *glares coldly*

Secretary: >_>; "...Welp, I'm heading out! Bye-ee!" *runs*

Danro: "..." *clears his throat* "If you have any problems with work, please direct them to your superior officer in a formal request...If that's all..."

maki: hmph....

Danro: "..." *nods* "Good night..." *marches into his office*

maki:.....*fiddling with the 8 sigil*

{maki: you want me to infiltrate the army?}

{Akitaru: "The army wouldn't be recalling you if they didn't know something else about that attack in the Nether."}

{maki: you think they know something we dont?}

{Akitaru: *nods* "And this recall is an invitation for the 8th to do its job, to act as internal affairs and make sure the Hoods have not infiltrated the military."}

{maki: why couldnt the captain do this?}

{Akitaru: "Well, the recall order was to you, the captain was expelled from the military, and--"}

{Takehisa: *in a ninja outfit*}

{Akitaru: "... ... ...His disguises suck."}

{maki: .....}

{Takehisa: "...Maki, this is important. Only you can do it."}

maki:....*sigh*

-elsewhere-

Relan: *hands the money over* "Thanks--sorry for such a big delivery, but our resident chef has been out of service for a bit."

Hyde: *in a pizza delivery outfit* "Hey, I get paid either way."

Vulcan: "So, tomorrow's the big day..." *passes out plates*

shinra: yeah.....

Viktor: "Have your wills ready and know what to do with your remains. I'm donating my corpse to science!" *nom* ^w^

Relan: "..." *looks at Shinra and Iris* "Be safe..." *rubs his arm cast*

shinra:...we will.

Iris: *nods* "And we have larger numbers than last time..."

Petra: "Tch..." *picks toppings off her slice of pizza with a fork*

-elsewhere-

Kunikida: *asleep in bed*

{Kunikida: *wanders through a dark tunnel, holding onto his firearm* "..."}

{???:....i will.....protect big brother.........}

{-a child is there, her back facing kunikida-}

{Kunikida: "..." *lowers his gun, tenses* "No..."}

{-the child looks back.....her head dangling off her neck, only attacked by a bit of skin-}

{Kunikida: *he drops the gun, then falls to his knees, staring in disbelief*}

{-the child smiles.....her grin stretching unnaturally as blood drips from her empty eye sockets-}

{Kunikida: "STOP! I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!"}

{????: wHy diD Y oU lET mE DIEEEEE???}

{Kunikida: "I-I don't know! I couldn't reach you--"}

{-the child starts twitching erratically.....before lunging at him at top speed-}

{Kunikida: *SCREAMS*}

*he feels something cold hit the back of his neck*

Kunikida: *wakes up in a cold sweat, screaming*

aya: *still asleep* zzzzzz

Kunikida: *quietly panting...shaking*

-it's quiet...-

Kunikida: "..." *throws off the sheets, goes into the bathroom, splashes water on his face...pants* "..." *looks in the mirror...he doesn't have his glasses on*

Kunikida: "..." *grabs his coat, puts it on, steps outside*

-it's a warm summer evening, but looks like tomorrow could be a bit rainy-

Kunikida: "..." *looks up at the moonlight...traces its glow down to the courtyard--*

Dazai: " 'Ello!"

*Dazai is stuck in a barrel*

Kunikida: "... ... ..."

Dazai: "So, I hate to repeat the same suicide attempts--"

Kunikida: "Or jokes." -_-#

Dazai: ^^; "Little help?"

-after he is freed-

dazai: *streeeetch* you'd think i'd have learned my lesson after the first time. haha!

Kunikida: "When do you learn anything?" *rubs his eyes*

dazai: =3= .....you look like you couldnt sleep.

Kunikida: "...I would say that's obvious when I'm not asleep. But yes, I was troubled."

dazai: care to let doctor dazai listen to your troubles~? *laying seductively on the grass*

Kunikida: "... ... ...What kind of doctor sexually harasses their patients? And don't say Yosano--or she really will kill you."

dazai: *GASP* oh kunikida! you wound me!

Kunikida: "...Not the worst I could do."

dazai:...seriously though, do you want to talk about it?

Kunikida: "...Just a bad memory."

dazai:.....

Kunikida: "...You weren't there. You were hospitalized."

dazai: .......

Kunikida: "During the investigation into the Rats..."

dazai: *listening*

Kunikida: "That child...My arrest and imprisonment..."

dazai:..........you feel like you could have stopped them...saved them.....

Kunikida: "...Yes?"

dazai:....i can understand.....if i'd stopped him then.....maybe.....

Kunikida: "...You've never talked much about your time in the Mafia."

dazai:........part of me wishes i could forget.

Kunikida: "Sorry--I didn't mean to dredge something up."

dazai:.....can i....stay the night with you?

Kunikida: "...Wait, what?" ._.

dazai:......nevermind.....im gonna call it a night. see you in the morning! *starts heading back to his room*

Kunikida: *sighs* "Fine."

dazai: hm?

Kunikida: "I'm not going to get much sleep anyway. I'll make some tea. How do you like yours?"

-elsewhere-

Asher: *looking up at the ceiling from bed* "...Sis? You up?"

cassidy: hnn?

Asher: "Sorry. Couldn't sleep."

cassidy:.....

Asher: "...I'm going to Izumi's parents' wedding."

cassidy: i heard.

Asher: "How fancy do you think it'll be?"

cassidy: not sure.........i've been looking at legal forums, seeing if it's possible to get custody of one's siblings...

Asher: "...Y-Yeah?"

cassidy:....i want to get us out of this apartment, away from _her_...

Asher: *looks nervously at the bedroom door*

cassidy: dont worry, the door is locked. she's probably passed out on the couch as usual....

Asher: "Thanks...for all of that."

cassidy: ...its not fair we're put through this.....i've always wished we could have had a normal family.

Asher: "Not everyone gets 'normal.' We're stuck with what we got...each other."

cassidy:..yeah...

Asher: "...Sorry. I meant that as a compliment."

cassidy: i know. and hopefully, when i earn enough money, it can just be the two of us.

Asher: "And I'll work, too."

-elsewhere-

leo: *making a smoothie with apples and potatoes*

ayako: *GAG*

Motojiro: ^^;;; "You know, that's actually a prank, to make someone think it's a chopped apple but it's really a chopped potato."

leo: *sniffle*

Motojiro: "??? Leo?"

leo: i-it's fine, motovya, it's just the hormones.

Motojiro: "..." *rubs her back*

leo: *softly purring*

Motojiro: ^w^ *cheek kiss*

-elsewhere-

Free: "... ..." *nudges* "How you holding up?"

eruka: better.

Free: "Man, wild those water fairies got all riled up." *scratches behind his ear*

eruka: water sprites.

Free: "Right, right...What's the difference again?"

eruka: *goes over to the bookshelf and pulls out 'encyclopedia of mythical creatures vol 1'*

Free: "... ... ..." *looks* "...How many volumes are they up to?"

eruka: a lot. lets see here....aha, the fae!

Free: *puts on a pair of reading glasses* " 'The label 'fairy' has been applied to specific magical humanoid creatures of small stature...' So is a human a medium-size fairy, and a giant is a king-size fairy?"

eruka: not exactly.

Free: "Well, it was worth a shot... 'The Seelie court seek help from humans and return kindness when favors done for them.' Oh, that's nice!"

eruka: but which court these sprites belong to is going to be a bit tricky to find out.

Free: "Why not just ask them?"

eruka: well...i did kind of scare them off. ^^;

Free: "Huh. Well, did they seem nice or like assholes?"

eruka: =___=#

-elsewhere-

Water Sprite: "THAT ASSHOLE FROG!"

sprite 2: im sure fynn will be fine....soon....maybe. ._.;

Sprite 1: "HOW DO YOU EVEN RE-ATTACH A WING?!"

sprite 2: -_-; lady titania said she'd take care of it.

sprite 3: i hope so, fynn owes me money!

Sprite 1: "... ... ...Sh-She said that?" ._.;;;;

sprite 2: oh come on, rufus! she might be scary sometimes, but she's still a good queen!

Rufus: >_< "I know! She's just so serious that I didn't think she'd give us the time of day over this!"

sprite 4: as queen of the seelie court, it's her responsibility to assist with each of the fae tribes as best she can.

Rufus: -3- "Would've been nice before that dumb frog attacked...I want to blow up that stupid frog."

sprite 5: if thou wishes to wage ware against the witches, you will only be left in stitches.

Rufus: -_-# "This isn't Ye Olden Times--talk like you're of this era! And that was no witch--that was just some slimy, ugly frog!"

-morning-

Anya: "Good morning, Maki."

maki: zzzz....*YAAAWN*

Anya: "??? Long work day?"

maki: y-yeah....you could say that.

Anya: "Well, you better hurry--or you'll be late."

maki: right, right.

-elsewhere-

aya: *YAAAAAAWN* *looks over to kunikida* ._.

Kunikida: "Zzz..."

Dazai: *has buried his face into kunikida’s chest*

aya:....um....kunikida?

Kunikida: "Nggh...Five more minutes, Aya...Ugh, this blanket is heavy--" *pushes--and feels hair* "... ... ..." *looks* "... ... ..."

aya:....kunikida.....do you have something you want to tell me?

Kunikida: "...At the moment, no."

Dazai: *nuzzle*

Kunikida: -_-#

aya: *inhale* DAZAI GET YER ASS OUTTA BED!

Dazai: "EEEK!" *falls off the futon--and drags down--*

Kunikida: "ACK!"

*CRUSH*

aya: *covers her eyes*

Kunikida: O\\\\O;

Dazai: "..." *feels around--*

*PUNCH*

Kunikida: -\\\\\-# "Yes, it is now safe..."

aya: *peeeek*

Kunikida: *has his blanket pulled up over himself*

Dazai: *face-first into the wall*

-elsewhere-

Yoh: *asleep in Los Angeles Airport terminal* "Zzz..."

*someone passes with a rolling suitcase--and drops something into his lap*

Yoh: "UMPH!" Q_Q;

Yoh: *looks around...*

man: sorry about that. ^^;

Yoh: "F-Fine..." *hands the object back to him--looks to be a package wrapped in brown paper* "You must be in a hurry..."

man: yeah, i have a job interview. so long. *leaves*

Yoh: *waves* "Good luck--"

*a handcuff is put onto Yoh's wrist*

Yoh: "... ... ... ???"

security: ....

Yoh: "... ... ..." <Hello! Would you mind un-cuffing me before I flip you?> *smiles happily*

security: open the bag.

Yoh: <Oh, sure--let me just reach over and-->

*while reaching for his bag, Yoh flips the security guard over his shoulder and onto their back*

security: ?!?!?

Yoh: <Here it is--> *looks down* "...Aw, what's wrong, lying down on the job?" *smirks*

security: @_@ ough....

Yoh: "Well, if that's everything, I have until this evening for my connecting flight, so I better take in the city..." *swings his bag over his shoulder, and drags the security guard behind him*

*a row of security officers block his path*

Yoh: "... ... ..." <Shit.>

-elsewhere-

Akitaru: "Okay, line up."

shinra: ....

Arthur: *holds onto Excalibur*

Takehisa: *carries his rifle*

Petra: *holds onto a book*

Vulcan: *lowers his goggles*

Viktor: *turns on his GPS tracker*

nozomi: the radio's loaded up, sir.

Akitaru: "Thanks. Lisa, Yuu, any machines still need to be loaded?"

lisa: just a few more pieces of equipment, sir.

tamaki: *adjusts her habit*

Akitaru: *nods* "I know we have a lot of conflicting feelings about this mission. The last time we were in the Nether, we saw a lot that shook us, a lot that surprised us...and we almost lost members of our team."

lisa:....

Akitaru: "This time, we have more information to know what awaits us down there. And we will have the 2nd to support us. But I need to know you are with us on this mission. If anyone is going to refuse to enter the Nether, you need to say so now."

lisa: i'll be with yu, managing the radio.

Relan: "I would like to be stationed at radio, too."

Akitaru: "And Shinra?"

shinra: im going in.

Akitaru: *nods* "Happy to hear it." *grabs his coat* "We depart in 10 minutes. Everyone, on board."

-elsewhere-

Haumea: "..." *smiles* "I see you're still obedient. What a good child you've been..." *head pat*

sho: ..........

arrow:.....(he's barely concious......)

Haumea: "Isn't our child just precious, Arrow~?"

arrow:........

Haumea: *frowns* "I said..."

-knock-

Haumea: -_-# "Go answer that!"

arrow: yes?

ritsu: it's time.

-elsewhere-

Joker: "And so, they're all headed to the Nether to face off. Based on what Viktor told me, I took a long time deliberating this, and..." *reveals a chalkboard labeled 'Dead Pool' with the names of each member of the 2nd, 8th, and Hoods* "We're taking bets on which ones survive."

nana:.....what....

ria marcelo: -_____-

Joker: "I think Orochi has good odds. Shinra's plot armor means that's a bad bet." *pulls out red Solo cups and boxes of Lucky Charms cereal* "I wager a glass of Red Balloons on the creator embarrassing Tamaki again with pointless perv pandering."

nana:....what the fuck is he talking about?

ivy: who cares.

Joker: "--and then we can have the 4th come in at the last minute to save the day--" *holds up a clay figure labeled 'Arg'* "--and then Arg unleashes his atomic breath and goes RAWR!" *bumps the figure against an All Might action figure*

scarlet: *WHACK* stop. -_-;

Joker: -3X "Let me have this--it's cheaper than therapy."

-elsewhere-

Kunikida: *marching up the stairs to the office* -_-# "You will say nothing inappropriate, untoward, or embarrassing for either of us. Is that understood?"

Dazai: -3- "I am nothing if not tactful. Besides, nothing happened--you just overreacted. Kind of offensive, actually."

Kunikida: *groans* "...Sorry."

*seems like a bit of noise coming from inside the office*

aya: we're he-

Ranpo: *sitting at his desk* "So, you two are sleeping together."

secretary 1: HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO POOR KIRAKO?!

kenji: congratulations! ^^

Kunikida: OnO# *glares at Dazai* "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Dazai: *waves his hands* ^w^; "I said nothing! Ranpo is just that good~"

Kunikida: -_-### "...I don't have time for this. There's work to be done!"

Lucy: "..." *whispers to Naomi* "Working Dazai, that is..."

naomi: it's not my main OTP, but its still cute.

Dazai: *sits at his desk* ^^ "Works for me." *opens his files* "Let's have a great workday everyone!"

Kunikida: -_-# "Aya, slap him."

aya: *kicks dazai in the back of the knee*

Dazai: >_< "OW! Is that any way to treat your Uncle Osamu?"

atsushi: *sigh* just another day at the ADA it seems.

Kyoka: "It's sad when people can't be honest about their feelings."

sylvia:.....

-elsewhere-

Sushimasa: OwO; "G-Good morning, Miss Maki..."

maki:....

Sushimasa: ("Please don't yell at me, please don't yell--") "We have fresh baked goods in the commissary..."

maki:....cool....thanks...

Sushimasa: OwO "..." *squeaks* "G-Good." ^w^; "Well, have a good workday..." *shifts away*

-elsewhere-

*a map shows different locations, labeled 'entrances to the Nether'*

Viktor: "Last time, we focused on one location where the Hoods could only be. But this time, we recognize there is a network of routes where they can enter and leave the underground."

shinra:...

Vulcan: *pulls over* "Okay, this is your stop--Shinra, Relan, Yuu, Lisa..."

shinra: *nod*

Relan: *steps out, grabbing a med kit*

Yuu: *carrying equipment out the back*

Vulcan: *looks at Lisa* "..."

lisa: be safe...

Vulcan: "..." *holds her hand, nods*

-elsewhere-

Heckler's Subordinate: "--and Commander Obi said to read this." *holds up an ebook on her tablet: "How to Talk to Arthur Boyle (a Dumbass)"*

-some giggling among the soldiers-

tatsu: *peeking from the haijima fence* what are they doing?

Subordinate: ._.; "Please don't laugh--the Commander said First-Class Soldier Boyle has to be handled carefully...It's important..."

Kurono: "...Don't stare at the weirdos. You still have training to finish."

-elsewhere-

engo: mr oze....i dont think it's wise for you to be here.

Takigi: *glares* "What's your name?"

engo: it's Engo, sir.

Takigi: "Yeah, and you know mine--and Oze's don't back down. So point me to the entrance or shut up."

Takehisa: *standing at the entrance* "..."

Petra: -_-;

engo: at least wear this protective jacket.

Takigi: "..." *points to his cast* "I can't exactly drape it over me, so put it on my shoulders."

-elsewhere-

shinra: *examining claw marks on the wall* ...

Hebio: "Officer Kusakabe? What did you encounter here to cause those scratches?"

shinra: i think these are new...

Hebio: "...Oh. That's concerning. I suppose a bit has changed since you were here..."

shinra: ……?? what's that you got, hebio?

Hebio: "Oh, it's a new book called 'How To Deal with a Devil'!"

shinra: *looks*................ (GOD DAMMIT ARTHUR!!)

-elsewhere-

Takehisa: "...Detective Oze, I am sorry about your injury. I myself had a shoulder injury recently during the attack on Haijima--"

Takigi: "Is that a joke?"

Takehisa: "...What? I don't joke."

Takigi: "I don't need your pity or this pointless conversation--I'm not going to be fooled, like how you fooled and corrupted my sister. I only need you here to show me through the Nether so I can memorize the path, so do your job competently for once and maybe this time you won't get someone killed!"

Takehisa: *seizes up*

Petra: "... ...Lord, give me strength." -_-#

Takehisa: "I assure you, Detective, safety is my primary concern--"

Takigi: "Savage."

Takehisa: "...I'm sorry?" O_O

Takigi: "Savage. You in the 8th are a bunch of barbaric, backwards savages who have no clue how to protect others, let alone run an efficient firehouse. So shut up and do what I say." *walks in--knocking into Petra on the way*

Petra: "?!" "... ... ..." *inhales* "1...2...3...4..." *counts as she follows*

-elsewhere-

Takeru: *looking around*

Hajiki: "Be careful where you walk, Patty."

tamaki: im not patti, im tamaki. -_-;

Hajiki: "??? Takeru, I thought your girlfriend's name was Patty."

Takeru: ._. "Tamaki isn't my girlfriend?"

Hajiki: "I know--Patty is."

tamaki: -_-; patti isnt even in a fire brigade.

Hajiki: "Oh, right--she's always hanging around that exorcist at True Cross, so she must be from there. Thanks, Aisha!"

tamaki: that isnt even close to my name! >n< .....takeru, you holding up ok?

Takeru: ^^;;;;;;;;;; "Oh, yeah--I'm fine. This isn't really that much different than the cellar back home."

tamaki: the cellar?

Takeru: *nods* "To learn how to better grow potatoes, I tried growing other vegetables in the basement in Qingdao--roots, beans, peas..."

tamaki: huh, well viktor has been trying to grow mushrooms at the 8th's base.

Takeru: "Oh! I should ask him about that! They can be finicky little buggers."

tamaki: maybe......

Takeru: "...Tamaki, are you afraid?"

tamaki: ?? i-im not a fraidy cat! >3< i-...im fine, really...

Takeru: ^^; *nods* "You know more about this place, so I'll be depending on your help finding my way through...because I'm really scared right now." Q_Q

tamaki: w-well try not to wander off to far.

Takeru: *nods fervently* "I have no intention to!"

Hajiki: *walking up ahead, smirks* "Careful, Juggernaut--or Patty will get jealous."

tamaki: that's not how it is! god, cant a guy and a girl talk without people thinking there is romance involved?! jeez!

Takeru: "Yeah!"

Hajiki: "??? Jeez, sorry--didn't mean to offend you, Selena."

tamaki: that's not my name! it's tamaki! ta-ma-ki!

Hajiki: *tenses up, holds up his hand* "Hold it!" *blocks their path*

tamaki: *whapped in the face* ow!

Hajiki: "???" *turns* "Tamaki! Who hit you?!" *aims his gun everywhere* "Were they ninjas?! Were they invisible?!!"

Takeru: -__-;

tamaki: hey take it easy with that!

Hajiki: "What? I know how to aim at targets..."

Takeru: *to Tamaki* "I'm sorry--Hajiki...has some memory-retention problems."

tamaki: jeez, is everyone with a flame ability cursed?

Takeru: "...What?"

{Takeru: *sitting on a small cliff, wiping his eyes, crying*}

{mrs noto: <takeru, sweetie? are you alright?>}

{Takeru: *sniffles* }

-BOOM-

Hajiki: "??? What was that? Is that the Lucky Lewd Syndrome Juggernaut warned me about?"

Takeru: *wakes up* .\\\.;

tamaki: *PUNCH*

Hajiki: *stands perfectly still* "..." *blinks* "...What just happened? Where am I?"

*up ahead, there's a small fire on the ground...and what looks to be a body...*

tamaki: ???

Takeru: "...Oh no..."

*it's members of the 2nd, exploded...*

tamaki: w-what the hell?

Hajiki: "This was targeted..."

*they hear something shift up ahead, and moans*

Hajiki: *aims* "Could be more injured...or the perpetrator. Show yourselves!"

*out walks...a row of Infernals...only partially transformed...some with missing limbs, some with their heads caved in...*

tamaki: !!!!!!!!

Takeru: "EEEEEEK!"

*there are holes in their torsos...*

tamaki: t-that...that shouldnt be possible!

Takeru: "They don't have any cores?! THEY'RE ZOMBIE INFERNALS!"

Hajiki: "...Zom-fernals?"

-elsewhere-

hito: *shooting* damn, they just keep coming.

Vulcan: *has on metal boxing gloves--and is wearing a tail to bounce back and forth, knocking Zom-fernals away*

Unlucky 2nd Brigade Soldier: *screams, as they're ripped apart and bitten*

-elsewhere-

ritsu: fufufufu~

Orochi: *bows* "With your permission, I would like to face the intruders."

ritsu: of course, orochi.

Sasori: "How asinine--you should wait for backup."

Orochi: *frowns* "I don't need anyone..." *marches away*

-elsewhere-

*members of the 2nd keep firing, but the Zom-fernals keep rising*

Jonas: "Damn, damn, damn!" *fires shot after shot*

iris: ashes to ashes....

hito: head's up! *throws a grenade*

*the grenade lands inside a Zom-fernal and--*

*BOOM* *body parts spray everywhere*

anton: nice thinking, yasunoki!

Jonas: *SCREAMS*

hito: !!!!

*a Zom-fernal has nabbed Jonas*

anton: JONAS!

*SLICE*

anton: !!!

*a Zom-fernal has stabbed one of their own bones into Anton's back and through his heart*

anton: *coughing up blood*

Runner Guy: "Anton!" *fires shots at the Zom-fernal--*

Zom-fernal: *retracts from Anton, dumping his body--turning onto Runner Guy*

Runner Guy: *panicking--*

Zom-fernal: *rushes--*

*HEAD-ON ATTACK*

Honda: *crashes his cranium into the side of the Zom-fernal, slamming them into the wall*

Runner Guy: "Commander! Th-Thank you--"

Honda: *upside down, stuck in the floor* "!!! LOOK OUT--"

Runner Guy: "???"

anton?: *has stabbed him, groaning*

Runner Guy: "..." *life escapes his eyes, before he coughs up blood and falls down*

hito: w-what the hell...?

Akitaru: *slicing at Zom-fernals* ("Damn it...What have the Hoods done to people?! These...These bastards!")

-elsewhere-

rita: *trembling*

Viktor: Q___Q *curled up under a bar at an abandoned subway restaurant* "This makes no sense, this is not how science works--you can't just reanimate dead tissue through a simple flame--unless it is puppeteering--Wait, like that unnamed puppet girl at Haijima? NO! Like that weird stitched-up necro weirdo in the Hoods! Is that how they were doing this--" *mutter mutter mutter mutter*

Zom-fernals: *striking at soldiers left and right, ripping them apart, biting into the corpses--causing those corpses to glow before they rise and repeat the process to the other living soldiers*

Ohana: *firing shot after shot--until a magazine runs out* "Fuck! Licht, toss me--"

*BANG*

Ohana: *falls down, a bullet through the center of his head...his opened eyes stare lifelessly at Rita*

Zom-fernal: *clutching a smoking gun, aimed at the bar*

rita: !!!!!!!!

Ohana: *motionless*

Viktor: *tearing up, shaking*

rita: *attempts to pray*

*CLUTCH*

rita: *yelps*

Ohana: *opens his mouth to roar--*

*a chair collides with his head, knocking off the top of it*

rita: !!!!!!!!!

Viktor: "GET BACK, ROTTEN CONTRADICTION OF KNOWN SCIENCE! ... ..." *falls down to his knees, shaking* "Oh God, oh God..."

rita: *shaking*

*then Ohana leaps up with a shriek*

rita: !!!!!!!!!!

Viktor: *screams back at Ohana--before picking up Rita*

-elsewhere-

Zom-fernals: *NOM NOM NOM*

Takeru: >~< "EEEEEK! GET THEM OFF OF ME! GET THEM OFF OF ME!!!"

Zom-fernal: *paws at Tamaki, like a kitten*

tamaki: *WHACKS IT*

Zom-fernal: *yelps, falls back like a scared animal*

Hajiki: "Juggernaut, stop squirming." *aims at him--and fires multiple shots into his body*

tamaki: !!

Takeru: *screams in horror*

*but the Zom-fernals run away from Takeru's body and into the shadows*

*Takeru lies motionless, his body and clothes ripped apart by the bullets from Hajiki's gun...*

tamaki: takeru!!

Hajiki: "..." *stares intently at Takeru's body*

tamaki: what did you do to him?!

Hajiki: "Don't worry, Morgana--I know how to aim."

Takeru: *the clothes regenerate--and parts of Takeru's body pop back out* *sits up* "Hello."

tamaki: w-what the-...what?!

Takeru: "You remember back during our mission in China, when those hot dogs ripped my body apart?" *pats his outfit* "Patty's magic clothing! Plus, I know where to shift my body in these layers of clothes so Hajiki doesn't hit any vital organs."

Hajiki: *looks behind them* "...Juggernaut, Mimsie, get behind me." *aims at the shadows*

Takeru: "..." *slowly inches up to behind Hajiki*

Hajiki: *looks at Tamaki* "Start praying."

tamaki: so those clothes...how did patti even get them?

Takeru: "Stocking's mom can make them--it's really neat!" *tugs on the fabric--which pulses like it's alive* "They're really durable--able to survive high temperatures. Kind of like you, Tamaki! Maybe Patty could ask her to make you some?"

tamaki:........ *stares at him dead eyed*

Takeru: OwO; "...Are you okay?"

zom-fernal: GUOOOOH!

Takeru: "EEEEEEK!"

*BANG BANG BANG*

*the Zom-fernals fall like dominos...with Hajiki looking like he barely moved*

Hajiki: "..."

Takeru: >~< "Th-Thank you, Hajiki..."

Hajiki: *reloading his rifle*

tamaki: ......!! behind you!

Hajiki: *flips the barrel over his shoulder and, without turning around, fires--*

*BANG*

tamaki: he's a natural....

Takeru: "He's an inspiration--especially since he won 'Most Valuable Non-Pyrokinetic' in the entrance tournament..."

tamaki: wait, he's a non-pyrokinetic?!

Takeru: ">_>; "Not quite...He does have a fire skill--but he forgot it when he filled out paperwork to enroll in the 2nd."

tamaki: just how bad is his memory?

Takeru: "Pretty bad--he has short-term memory problems. But his eyes are blessed with thermal heat vision--he can spot heat signatures anywhere, even behind walls."

tamaki: so he could see through your clothes and detect your heat signal?

Takeru: "Right--like x-ray vision! ... ... ..." O\\\\\O *covers himself* "EEK!"

tamaki: YOU'VE KNOWN HIM LONGER AND _YOU'RE_ THE ONE FREAKED OUT?!

Hajiki: *firing shot after shot at Zom-fernals, even able to grab guns off the corpses of his departed colleagues to replenish his ammo, without even looking at the targets--and landing every shot*

*a bullet shell flies up*

Hajiki: "..." *sticks out his tongue, catching it*

tamaki:.....

Hajiki: "...Ow! Hot hot--" *spits it out* *pants* "Okay...All targets put down. Tamaki, if you could finish prayers..."

Takeru: *looking over the corpses of their colleagues* "..." *wipes his eyes*

tamaki:....ratomu....

Hajiki: "If we were attacked, so must the others. We better head back to the Commander--" *turns--*

*there's a Hood in the distance*

tamaki: !!

Hajiki: "!!! Guys, get back--" *aims--*

*something goes flying up*

*it lands at Takeru and Tamaki's feet*

tamaki: ah-....

Takeru: "Ah..."

*it's the top of Hajiki's head, sliced at the jaw...*

*Hajiki's body falls to the floor, dead*

tamaki: ah-....*SCREAMS*

Takeru: "HAJIKI!"

*the Hood pulls back her cloak, revealing--*

Orochi: "I am Orochi of the Purple Smoke." *cracks her whip* "I promise to shatter my enemies to pieces."

Takeru: *falls back, panicking*

Orochi: "Shh...Relax. You will join the dead soon."

tamaki: (come on tamaki, do something!) *battle stance*

Orochi: "What's this? A small kitty cat?" *twirls her whip*

tamaki: (that attack killed him in one swipe...her whip, could it have been-)

{Viktor: *taps the heat meter* "Yep--you certainly can get to hot temperatures, exceeding those even of Shinra! That's some talent, Tamaki!"}

tamaki: (but still....was it her whip or an ignition ability? if it was the whip, how did she make it move so quickly? it's almost like rapid...)

*SLICE*

tamaki: AH!!

*despite being so far away, Orochi managed to slice through Tamaki's habit, cutting into her left shoulder*

tamaki: *clutches her wound* gnhh!

Orochi: "Darn...I had hoped to lop off the entire arm. Aren't you durable..."

tamaki: (d-dammit...)

Orochi: *smiles* "Will you be my worthy opponent?" *cracks the whip again, this time it wraps around Tamaki's right arm*

tamaki: !!!

Orochi: *swings the whip--slamming Tamaki into the ceiling and down to the floor*

tamaki: GRK- (come on, fight back tamaki!)

Orochi: "Come on, play! Play!"

*CRACK* *SLICE* *RIP*

tamaki: *screaming out* (dammit....why dont i just move! im not helpless! im not-)

*the whip wraps around Tamaki's hands, as Orochi holds her up above her*

tamaki: im no....helpless...im not-

Orochi: "Look at you...A scared little kitten. Wait..." *takes Tamaki's hand in her chin*

tamaki:......i-

Orochi: "You're that fire-cat Guruna talks about--the one whose skin can withstand any flame..." *pulls the whip tighter, as it burns along Tamaki's wrists*

tamaki: *winces in pain*

Orochi: "You're too valuable to kill..." *smiles wickedly, as she rips the tattered habit off Tamaki* "But I want to see how much damage my whip can do!"

tamaki: !!!!!

Orochi: *pulls Tamaki by her pigtail--*

*PUNCH*

tamaki: AH!

*something knocks into Tamaki's face, like a small pebble*

{-who do you think you're kidding?-}

tamaki: ngh-

*the whip is loosened from Tamaki, as she falls to the floor, her head hitting the floor*

*...but Tamaki can see someone else collapsed on the floor...it's Orochi, knocked down*

tamaki: i-...*looks up*

*there's something white on the floor...it's a tooth*

*someone stands in front of Tamaki, towering over her*

tamaki: w-what-

Orochi: *gets up...one eye is blackened...and a tooth is knocked out...* *lisping* "What the hell?! How dare you--"

Takeru: *offers a hand to Tamaki* "Tamaki...Can you stand?"

tamaki: t-takeru...

Takeru: "Come on--let's get out of here--"

*the whip cracks--smacking Tamaki between the eyes*

tamaki: GYAH!

*Tamaki is knocked--through a wall*

Takeru: "TAMAKI!" *turns--and the whip wraps around his arm*

Orochi: "How dare you touch me!" *cracks the whip, knocking Takeru back and forth between the tunnel's walls*

Takeru: "UGH!" *slams his head against the wall, knocking him out*

{hito: easy, takeru, easy!)

{Takeru: >~< "Nothing is easy! This is really scary! J-Just put the flame away! I don't want to be near it!"}

{Hajiki: "Can you believe this guy, Hito? JUGGERNAUT, YOU'RE FREAKING HUGE!"}

{hito: *looks at hajiki*}

{Takeru: "I-I'm not that big...I'm self-conscious, because I don't fit into most spaces easily--"}

{Honda: "BECAUSE YOU HAVE THE STATURE OF A SOLDIER!"}

{Takeru: "EEEK!" *leaps--into Hito's arms*}

{hito: *KNOCKED DOWN* grk- c-c-command-der!}

{Honda: *picks up Takeru--with one hand*}

{Takeru: O_____O; "H-How--"}

{Honda: "Training! The military will make you strong!"}

{Hajiki: "As strong as you're big! And as courageous as you're big!"}

{-...-}

{Patty: *glomps Takeru* "I LOVE YOU, YOU BIG BAKED POTATO!"}

{-...-}

???: "Yeah...It's a big one. Bring more people to drag him to the arena. And we'll need bindings to hold the cat. No, don't tell her--she'll get in the way--"

*Orochi is on a radio call...*

Takeru: *he's on his side on the floor* "..." *pushes himself up*

Radio: "What's with your signal? It sounds like you're lisping--"

Orochi: *lisping* "Just get here, damn it!" *a shadow passes over her* "???" *looks behind her--*

*a fist slams down--*

Orochi: "?!!" *leaps back, grabbing her whip before--*

Takeru: "YOU BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU!"

Orochi: "..." *smiles wickedly* "Here to protect your feline girlfriend? Fine..." *summons cat o' nine tails*

Takeru: *grinds his feet into the ground, holds out his forearms...then his neck suddenly elongates like a giraffe*

Orochi: "?! WHAT THE F--"

Takeru: *giant machine guns form in flames along his forearms* *his head slams down like a Pez dispenser, as shots fire at Orochi*

-RATATATATATA-

Orochi: "?!!" *she tumbles back, her flame whips trailing her before she twirls to use Medusa Whip, the multi-headed whip, to block these flame bullets* "Jeez! This is nothing like fighting Assault--" *smiles, before grinning like a madwoman* "THIS IS HARDLY A CHALLENGE FOR THE MEDUSA WHIP! BWA HA HA HA!"

Takeru: "..." *stops firing...looks back to see Tamaki's body through the hole in the wall* : "Tamaki!"

tamaki: ..... (i-....) {-look at you, crumbled and naked, just like usual! you cant fight to save your own life!-} i....

{Boy: "Mommy! That girl is naked!"}

{woman: disgraceful.}

{guruna: we're children of misfortune, you and i..}

tamaki: (im....really fucking pathetic, arent i?)

{Middle School Classmate: "You're a slut."}

{Burns: "What a disappointment."}

{mrs kotatsu?: i should never have given birth to you.}

???: "TAMAKI! WAKE UP, NOW!"

tamaki: nnh....

Takeru: "..." *the fabric on his jacket starts to pulse--before new arms pop out*

Orochi: "...What the fuck?"

Takeru: *swings his fist--and clutches Orochi by the throat*

Orochi: *choked*

Takeru: *eyes narrowed*

Orochi: *slapping her hand down on Takeru's hand, suffocating*

Takeru: *pulls back his fist--*

*Orochi managed to wrap her whip around his arm, ripping it off at the shoulder*

Takeru: *SCREAMS IN HORRIFIC PAIN*

{young!sasori: you're falling behind, orochi.}

{Young Orochi: *panting* *lying on her back, flipped over by Sasori* "No..." *shaking, trying to get up again...*}

{-stomp-}

{Young Orochi: "ACK!"}

{young!sasori: you're weak.}

{Young Orochi: *whispers something he can't hear...*}

{young!sasori: ??}

{Young Orochi: *still whispering...*}

{young!sasori: *leans in* ??}

{*CRACK*}

{*Orochi head-butts Sasori*}

{young!sasori: GRK-}

Orochi: *head-butts Takeru* "I TOLD YOU I'M NOT WEAK!"

Takeru: *gasping in pain, holding his stump of an arm*

Orochi: "This world is not fair...You hide behind some infinite supply of fire bullets and that regenerative clothing...You don't know what it is like--" *kicks Takeru in the face*

Takeru: *kicked back*

Orochi: "In this world...the weak die, the strong survive..."

{sasori:....}

{Orochi: *walks by, smirking* "Give up. You'll never catch up."}

{sasori: mind your own business...}

Orochi: *twirls Medusa Whips, like helicopter blades, getting closer to Takeru's face...*

Takeru: *growls...as the jacket covers his stump--regrowing his arm as he creates a Human-to-Surface Flame Rocket--*

Orochi: "?!"

*KA-BOOM*

*there's only smoke...*

Takeru: *coughs...looks around* "Did I do it...?"

*there's a figure standing in the distance*

Takeru: "?! No..."

Orochi: *lowers Medusa Whip...* "..." *looks up, grins widely, her tooth still missing*

{Orochi: *collapsed in a pool of sweat and blood*}

{sasori: *panting*}

{*around them...are the corpses of their former peers, now made into zombies...*}

{-clap clap clap-}

{ritsu: congratulations for making it into the knights of the purple smoke.}

{Orochi: *struggles to look up*}

Orochi: "In the Nether, only the strong survive..." *she tosses her whip at Takeru, slicing along his arms, then his intestines...*

Takeru: *screams in pain, clutching his stomach, as blood pours out...*

tamaki: no....

*something bright shines in front of Takeru--before nine beams of fire blast out through his back*

Takeru: "..." *collapses, face-down*

Orochi: *stands over Takeru...* *looks up and smiles at Tamaki*

tamaki: .....

Orochi: "What a shame. I had hoped today I could face someone who was my type...I never have..."

{Orochi: "AH!" *swings her fist*}

{sasori: *dodges and swipes at her legs*}

{Orochi: "?!" *falls back*}

{sasori: *pins her down* had enough yet?}

{Orochi: "...You know today is the day we face the 2nd and the 8th?"}

{sasori:....}

{Orochi: *smiles softly--*}

{*CRUNCH!*}

{sasori: GRK-}

{Orochi: *kneed him* "Enough? I've only begun..." *pushes him off of her*}

tamaki: *trying to get up*

Takeru: *clutching his gut...there's a giant hole in it...* "Tamaki..." *coughs up blood* "Stay back!"

tamaki: i....i have to.....-

Takeru: "I can do this!"

{Mr. Noto: <Huh--his suitcase is empty.>}

{mrs noto: <takeru?>}

{Takeru: *sitting outside*}

{mrs noto: <takeru? sweetie?>}

{Takeru: }

{mrs noto: <takeru...>}

{Takeru: }

{mrs noto: }

{Takeru: <But who will take care of the potatoes?>}

{mrs noto: <your papa and i arent going anywhere.>}

{Takeru: <...I just want to help...>}

{-...-}

{Takeru: *flailing his arms* "EEEEEK!"}

{Hajiki: *sparring* "Don't be such a coward!"}

{Takeru: "BUT THAT'S WHO I AM!" >~< }

{Hajiki: "Wrong--you are what you do!" *kicks him down*}

{Takeru: "EEP!" *falls back, rubs his bottom*}

{Hajiki: *offers his hand* "You stand up--you're standing up. You throw a punch, you're punching. You act brave, then you are brave. That's what it means to be a fire soldier..."}

{Takeru: *looking up in awe*}

{-...-}

Takeru: "To protect others..."

{Takeru: "I didn't want to be here like you...I'm not a soldier! I'm not cut out for this!"}

{Hajiki: "I see..."}

{Takeru: "Is this what I should do with my life?"}

{Hajiki: "Only you can answer that, man. So, what's the answer?"}

Takeru: "I am..."

{mrs noto: <we're proud of you no matter what. and someday, your flames of courage will be as big as this potato field.>}

{Takeru: <How do you know that?>}

{mrs noto: <would a coward have the strength to tend this whole field?>}

{Takeru: "???" *looks to the field...he feels the sun on his skin* "..."}

Takeru: "...THE JUGGERNAUT!"

*a giant bomb forms in Takeru's hand*

Takeru: *roars, as he slams the bomb down at Orochi's head--*

*SPLATTER*

*the bomb dissipates into weak flames...as Takeru's hand falls to the floor*

Takeru: *winces...his hand reforms...but now the right sleeve itself is...bleeding?

Orochi: "How sad...So, the magic jacket itself is bleeding?"

Takeru: "I don't care...how many times you rip me apart...YOU ARE GOING TO PAY WITH YOUR LIFE!"

Orochi: *leaps back, whipping at Takeru, slicing at the jacket*

Takeru: *screams in pain*

???: *SCREAMING*

Takeru: "?!"

*the jacket...is screaming*

Takeru: "Hold on...Just a bit longer..." *he's summoning another bomb*

Orochi: *sweating, backing up* "Stand down! Die! Why won't you stop?!"

*SLICE SLICE SLICE*

*the jacket screams again, as Orochi manages to slice the right arm sleeve off, exposing Takeru's hand*

Orochi: "..."

Takeru: "..."

*Takeru hurries to summon the bomb and starts to bring it down--*

Orochi: *lets out a cry, swinging her whip one more time--*

*SLICE*

*Takeru's arm is sliced at the wrist*

Orochi: "HA!"

*...and that hand still has the bomb in its clutches, as gravity brings it down*

Orochi: "!!!"

*Orochi's throat tightens, cutting off her voice before--*

*The bomb connects with her cheek--ripping it apart, her tongue sliced off...*

*BOOM*

*An explosion engulfs this sector of the Nether*

*the flames rush at Tamaki*

tamaki:.....*closes her eyes*

-elsewhere-

felisia: !!!

Mephisto: "??? What's wrong?"

felisia: i.... i dont know....

-elsewhere-

#death city days

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