(OOC: Teaming up with Sana for timewarps, again. Note that we're also effectively retconnning this post since Sanasanasan realized he'd screwed up Shinjiro's character there.)Streets to Maribel's Dorm, ~12.00 PM (noon), Day 2Participants: Team Drillkumo, Team Star GPS: E-mouse, SanasanasanThe mood was rather sober as Renko led us through the streets to, apparently, Maribel's dormitory complex. We all had something on our minds - worries of what we'd find there, the implications of the mana link between Renko and Sanasan, what the hell was going on back at... Kawa-whatever, wherever the shrine was...
After a little while, Sanasan apparently decided to try and lift the mood. He cleared his throat, and asked, "So... what do you guys do in your spare time?"
"Internet." I replied, promptly.
"
That... is a secret." Yukari added.
I looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. "Slayers reference?"
She shrugged.
"Internet? Like what? Watching random videos?" Sanasan asked.
"Mostly Touhou stuff." I replied. "It's kinda pathetic, really."
Yukari flicked a lock of my hair. "How modest."
"Huh." Sanananana paused, then laughed. "Well, that's better than what Renko does..."
Renko's pace hesitated for a moment. "....It's a good game, ok?" she said, defensively.
"Uh, no. Disgaea 2 is nothing compared to Disgaea 1." Sanasan said.
I raised an eyebrow, and was about to comment, but Renko beat me to the punch.
"Well, Maribel has my copy of Disgaea 1." she argued. I got the impression that her face was getting red by this point...
But time for the one-up-man-ship. "I've clocked at least a hundred hours on both of those."
Sanasan seemed interested. He turned to face me as we walked. "Really? I think I have 150 on D1... What level were you?"
"See, he plays more than me! I only have 90!" Renko said.
I skipped on her comment. "Don't recall perfectly offhand, but... I think I had a level 8000 Flonne?"
Sana's eyes widened. "8000!? I only had had her at 4000! Sounds like you must've grinded quite a bit..."
I shrugged. "100 may have been a low estimate."
"Well, uh...I have a 1500 Laharl..." Renko said feebly.
Uh... huh. That was a...
little low for that much play time, if that was her highest... but I'd rather not be mean about it...
"... are the rest far behind?" I asked, hoping for an alternative explanation.
Renko didn't reply for a moment. "...Flonne's 500. Everyone else..."
Uh... hm.
"It's because she didn't learn about passing on skills and dark assembly until about halfway through." Sanasan explained. "Basically, she had Flonne with nothing but her uniques until I asked her why she didn't know any magic."
"Ahhh, that'd explain it, then." I replied, nodding.
... well, mostly, at least.
Renko was not pleased with our antics. She turned to give us an angry look and... huffed, I guess you could call it. "Fine then, just wait! When I get my copy back today, I'll be 9999 in a week! You'll see!"
She turned around and went a fair bit faster with the "getting to Maribel's" bit.
"... but Ran spends most of her time doing housework, and Chen just kinda hangs out and acts cute." Yukari commented, long after the original question had been abandoned.
"What a balanced lifestyle." I replied, dryly.
"Isn't it?"
-----
Maribel?s Dormitory Room, 12.10 PM (Noon), Day 2Participants: Team Drillkumo, Team Star GPS; Ben, Mig, and Shinjiro from RAI Force 1"... so, what are we expecting?" I asked Yukari, in a low voice.
She shook her head as we walked down the hall to Maribel's dorm room. "An empty apartment and a panicked Renko."
"Let's hope that isn't a waste of time." I muttered.
"If we're lucky, she left behind something worth investigating." she pointed out. "Those people back at the Hakurei Shrine didn't seem like magicians, so..."
I looked down at the critters we'd returned to normal at the top of the stairs. "And I doubt they did any scent investigation, either."
Ran snorted.
... yeah, that was insensitive.
My thoughts were interrupted by Renko banging, loudly, on one of the doors on the hallway. We're here.
... let's hope she doesn't freak out too much.
"Maribel!" Renko yelled, "If you're in there, answer me!"
She wouldn't. I knew that much. But I walked up beside her. The Yakumos followed closely.
"Maybe she's not here?" Sanasan mumbled. Well, one of them was catching on...
I heard something from behind the door. A voice? Low-pitched, trying to be quiet... probably male. But...
"... I heard something in there." I said. "If Maribel is in, she'd answer us."
"So..." Yukari whispered, rolling up her sleeves.
I cracked my knuckles. "Uninvited guests."
Apparently, we weren't the only ones investigating her. What a coincidence that we'd meet.
Maybe we could kidnap one of them to bring to Satori.
I don't know if Renko shared our concerns, but she didn't seem happy with the intrusion. "Maribel! I'm coming in, ready or not!"
More hissing from inside the room. How were we going to get in there? Surely she locked the door, even if Renko's being civil about not trying it...
"What do you mean, ready or not?!" Sanasan asked, "You're not going to-"
Renko lifted her leg to kick at it.
What? That couldn't possibly...
"TRICK OR TREAT!"
The door exploded inwards. I realized that the wood smelled wet. Must have been rotted.
... convenient.
Yukari rushed in after her, shouting. "Search and destroy!"
She was rather eager. I rather agreed with her. I didn't know how we were going to deal with whoever we were facing, but I wasn't going to let them off easy!
The rest of us barged in and looked around. The room was an awful mess, but essentially empty. Clothing and trinkets covered the floor.
Where'd they vanish to? I strongly doubted Kikuri'd managed to pull together some sort of teleportation tech in such short order...
"Eh...?" Renko didn't seem to like this situation, either.
Renko glared around the room. I followed them with my own. She stopped somewhere on the wall.
The window was open.
THAT explains it.
"...What happened in here?" Sanasan asked, eyeing a misplaced pair of panties.
"OI! YOU THIEVES!! WHERE'S MY FRIEND?!" Renko shouted out the window. I moved to get a better perspective and noticed three men running away on the next roof over. It... looked like a pretty tricky jump from the window to there...
Renko rushed over to the window. "... AND IF YOU STOLE THE ORIGINAL DISGAEA CD I LENT HER, YOU'RE ALL DEAD!"
"Remind me never to lose anything Renko lends me." Sana added, nervously.
"Crud, run!" one of the retreating figures cried.
"Why?! What from?! Don't we have diplomatic immunity?!" another replied.
"Can't you see that girl has murder in her eyes?!" the first shouted back. "I can't handle women! Especially not psychotic ones!"
"What'd she say about a CD?"
Kikuri's goons are awfully chatty.
"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's enough reason to kill us!"
The third goon finally spoke up. "Jeez... what on earth did I do to deserve this..." A more serious one, I see. Best watch out for him.
"Konoooo!!" Renko growled.
She jumped on the windowsill.
Well, I guess we're pursuing, then.
"ORAAA!" she shouted, leaping out of the window, sailing over the alleyway below, and landing safely on the next rooftop over.
Wow. Impressive.
"COME BACK HERE!" she shouted, rushing after the retreating 'thieves.'
Sana was the first to reach the window. He looked after Renko for a second, then down at the alley below, then back at Renko's retreating back.
"... nyoro~n...? This doesn't look safe..."
Stupid freakin'... we need to hurry!
I shoved his back. "Just go!"
He yelped and flailed about a bit.
Er... that wasn't the best move on my part, was it?
Sana managed to grab the next roof over. Phew. Well... I guess that makes our job easier. Sorry, man.
I used his body as a support to get over to the next roof. Yukari followed, a little less ginger on his back. Ran and Chen rushed over, but probably didn't bother him much.
Yukari rushed ahead, after Renko. I stopped to help Sana up onto the next roof.
"... yeah, just leave me here, all right?" he muttered, glaring after Yukari. "I'll just hang around here until you guys come back..."
I grabbed his wrists. "Come on, move it! Renko'll waste away without you, remember?!"
He paled. "I completely forgot about that! Let's go!"
---
"Oi, we've got a truckload of civvies behind us!" one of the goons shouted, as they leapt over to the next roof. Jeez, talk about an action scene...
Renko bent over after landing behind them, grabbed a loose shingle off of the roof, and flung it at him.
"And they've started throwing shingles at us!" goonie went on.
"No shit, Sherlock!" the other talkative one shot back.
Renko grabbed another shingle, barely slowing down, and flung it at the serious goon. The rest of us managed to catch up. I could hear Yukari laughing giddily. I guess she was eager for some ultraviolence.
The shingle shattered against the goonie's shoulder. It... didn't sound quite natural. Strange. He muttered something I couldn't hear.
The talkative ones talked among each other for a moment. One of them glanced over to one side of the rooftops we'd been leaping over.
"The train!" he shouted, "We're taking the train!"
I glanced over at where he'd looked and finally noticed another commuter train skimming along beside us.
Oh, FUCK no.
The other talkative goon agreed with me. "You can't be serious! I didn't sign up for this! They got the wrong person!"
"Hand me stuff to throw!" Renko roared. The loose shingles were getting sparse.
We passed by an attic window, with a ceramic bowl lying outside. I grabbed it and handed it to her. I made a small mental apology to its owner as it bounced off one of the goons' shoulders, rolled off the roof, and shattered after hitting the train.
We passed another attic window, with a flowerpot sitting outside.
Sana forwarded it. "I'm not sure I should be doing this..." he said, and shrugged slightly. "Ah, to heck with it, they stole a copy of Disgaea, those thieves."
Renko seemed slightly uncertain about the projectile, but flung it anyway.
Yukari handed her a garden gnome. I almost tripped in surprise.
"I didn't think you were in good enough condition to gap," I said, just loud enough for her to hear.
She grinned. "Nah, someone here's just insane."
"Now she's started throwing chimney ceramics!" That goon is pretty panicky. "And flower pots! And garden gnomes!"
There was a surprised "Nya!" from beneath my feet. I glanced down and saw Yukari's hand rising up past me, handing something black to Renko, and...
Oh for fuck's sake.
"A CAT IS FINE TOO!" Renko roared. Chen sailed through the air with rather surprising grace. But I really didn't like this, if she missed, then...
"Chen! CHEEEEEN!" I cried after her.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sanasan asked. I wasn't sure if he was addressing Renko or Yukari.
"And kittens!" the panicky goon shouted.
The other two were alarmed. "WHAT?!" They paused to turn around, and paled at the cat flying at them. I realized Chen's claws were drawn.
She let out a mighty "MYAAA~" and latched onto the relatively-normal goon's scalp.
Okay, nevermind, that worked out pretty well.
Chen's victim panicked even more than the other chatty goon. "AYAYAYAYA!!"
fucking hell why am i thinking of that skit
"HELP! A CAT! A CAT! A CAT IS TRYING TO EAT MY HEAD!"
"Don't worry, she's been debeaked!" Yukari roared after them, grinning far too widely. "But she might try to--"
Wait, I recognized that reference! But it was horrible.
"Do not finish that sentence!" I shouted at her, around a twisted grin. Didn't think she was well-versed with geeky stuff. Especially western.
The joke had kept me from noticing the orange ball of fur she'd grabbed and handed to Renko until much too late.
God DAMNIT.
The serious goon glanced back and paled as a flying fox soared towards him. I could see him mouth, "Oh, no..."
The other goons glanced back, apparently close enough to hear him. "What?!"
They paled, too. Canine teeth are even worse than cat claws, after all...
"KYUUUUU~"
The other chatty goon gained a fox accessory on his arm. He flailed it around wildly. Er... that won't be good for Ran.
"MY ARM! MY ARM! A FOX IS TRYING TO EAT MY ARM!"
Chen's victim apparently decided we were getting too dangerous to stick around with. "The train!" he cried, sounding pained, "Get on the train!"
The goons all changed direction. Oh god, they're serious. Can humans even survive being on top of a moving train?! I mean, I know it happens all the time in action flicks, but...
... oh FUCK, they have Ran and Chen!
By some miracle, the goon squad landed safely on the train, latched onto each other's limbs and shouting in pain. By an even better miracle, Ran and Chen remained safe as well, still stubbornly latched onto their victims. Much shouting was involved.
Strong girls. But now, if they got too far away...
Damnit.
"Bastards, look at what you've made me have to do!" I cried, turning towards the train line and putting on a burst of speed.
oh god i'm no action hero ohfuckohfuckohfuckohfuck
I leapt.
For some reason, I got it into my head to subvert the usual suicide drop yell. "SITTING BULL!"
By some fluke I managed to land in a neat crouch, despite the huge shift in momentum and ten-foot drop and oh god what the fuck
... though, that must have been pretty aweso-OW
I let out a gurgle and collapsed to the roof of the train as someone landed on my back.
... that's right, Yukari would have to follow too, wouldn't she?
But she didn't have to land on top of me!
"What was that for?" I asked, grouchily.
"For another random Indian chieftan?" she suggested.
Ugh, not now!
"Get off, we need to catch them!"
I pushed against her as she slipped off, then got to my hands and feet and headed for the fallen goons in a low half-crawl. Well, at least that was somewhat plausible. I squinted my eyes against the horrible wind as I went.
A shout from above. "RENKO!"
Oh god, what?! She couldn't be planning to--
"POCAHONTAS!" Renko cried, continuing the parodical theme. I heard a clang on the train behind me and glanced back to see her stagger off towards the other end of the train.
She fell off.
FUCK.
Damnit, and the goons are starting to crawl off, I can't let Ran and Chen stay alone any longer! I can't help her!!
"NO!" Sana shouted from above, "Now look at what you've made ME have to do!!"
... ah, that'll do the trick.
I turned back towards the goons we were pursuing. Sorry, guys, you'll have to take care of that problem yourselves...
The serious goon glanced back at us, looking extremely irritable. He frowned for a moment, then looked me in the eye, and......
...
I blinked, and Yukari's hand swished over my face. "Don't look him in the eye!" she hissed. "He stunned you somehow!"
What? They DID have magic?! Fuck!
"Thanks, Chen." she went on. I realized that Chen's tail was swishing wildly, passing over the dangerous goon's face regularly. Lucky.
After a second, the serious goon growled as he realized his trick wasn't going to work. He turned and kept crawling away from us. But with his buddies latched on in a chain of dependency and claw wounds, it was not at all difficult to catch up. We trapped them at the end of the train car, considering that they were even less capable of getting over to the next car than we were.
I stopped a few feet away from them and glared down, arms crossed. "Now then," I shouted at them, "Would you gentlemen care to explain yourselves?"
Ran and Chen's victims glanced at each other with horrified expressions. Yukari cracked her knuckles.
"Stop joking around!" the serious goon shouted back. "We don't need to tell you anything! You don't even outnumber us!"
Ran growled loudly as a counterpoint. What an idiot.
"IS THAT SO?!" Renko cried, rushing up alongside us with a look of insane, righteous fury in her eyes, and a sharp-edged shingle in her hand.
Wow.
The wimpier goons cringed back from her glare. Renko started to grin a very, very nasty grin, and they decided to talk.
"OHGODISWEARWEWEREORDEREDTODOITSOMETHINGABOUTBORDERSPLEASEDONTHURTUS"
Quite the word sandwich, but I heard 'orders' and 'borders.' No doubt left, now.
"By who?!" I shouted.
"Idiots!" the serious goon hissed. He swung a fist at Chen - no, really at Chen's victim, and she leapt out of the way. She stumbled on the train's roof for a moment before running over next to my feet.
"Good girl." I said, down to her.
"What was that about borders?" Sanasan asked, a little behind the game.
"Apparently, they're investigating borders." I replied, glaring Chen's (former) victim in the eye.
I knew why. I wonder if they did.
Renko tapped her weaponized shingle against a palm. "... give back what you stole. NOW!"
The recently-liberated goon whimpered, and started digging around in his jacket. The serious goon hissed something at him. I couldn't hear it, or the response. But he pulled out a Disgaea game case.
Oh for god's sake.
The serious goon rolled his eyes, and lunged for... the edge of the train?!
"Ran!" I shouted. She recognized the danger, let go of the arm in her mouth, and skidded towards us as Chen had.
The Disgaea case also skidded towards us, bouncing dangerously as it went. Renko grabbed it out of the air.
I was more concerned with the retreating goons. They dove right off the train. They dove right off the train!
... but that one guy had some sort of magic. They might have...
... I needed a parting shot. Something about what they were... ah!
"Oi!" I called after them, "Take good care of them, all right?!"
... no matter how they get their mana batteries, I want the girls kidnapped from Gensokyo to be treated well...
"I don't think they heard you." Yukari said from behind me. I turned to see Ran in her arm, airing out her mouth in distaste. The guy's shirt probably tasted awful.
"Gotta try, right?" I shot back.
She nodded. "But why did they escape after telling us?"
I shook my head. "They didn't tell us everything, and they were panicked anyway. Sounds plausible to me."
A loud whistle brought me back to reality as the train sped out into a more open area.
"Maybe we should get off the roof." I suggested.