Liesel Moringmer; Dullahan Library Underground Car Park

A set of footsteps.

And then another.

Her usual smile was on her face before she knew it – oh, it was anything but pleasant. Those familiar with a Moringmer knew that, like any beast, teeth were never a friendly sign. The grin grew wider at Cedric’s… explanation, which went unacknowledged as slowly approached the newly arrived pair.

“Well, well, look who’s finally here!” she exclaimed, stepping up to the deck the Joker had left scattered on the ground. Crouching down, she flicked her finger and flipped the cards over one by one. “The King,” flip, “and the Ace,” flip. The King of Hearts and Ace of Spades were clear against the concrete. She blew the dust away, sighing through gritted teeth, before straightening.

Damn it, she really needed that smoke right about then or she was going to throttle someone.

“And it’s only half-past late.” It was her own words that sent Liesel past the ‘pleasant’ stage of her rage. Grin dying into a grimace, the woman closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Damn it, when there is a set time, there is a fucking reason! No message, no warning… you might have been caught in traffic or you might have been caught by Itex. How the hell am I supposed to know?” Her glare was turned to the king, who had been her fellow ‘strategist’ for quite some time now. “And I think you of all people know just how impossible any mission is with even one damn missing link… so where is that goddamn royal pain…”

Of course, Liesel meant the Queen… but she’d deal with that one later.

Now, the woman could have easily gone on her tirade for the next week and a half, but fortunately for the present pair, there was no time for that. She’d have to make it brief. “We’re out of time, so change of plans.” ‘Again…’. “There’s been a tip off that a certain warehouse by the river, a short ways off the pier, has something valuable to Itex. I don’t think I have to say that what’s valuable to Itex is valuable to us, hm?” Right, and she had the delivery to make… how to go about doing this... Liesel pondered a solution as her hand drifted to the package in her pocket. “Crow. You’ll head over first. I’ll send over her majesty when she arrives.” To the King, she signaled for him to be quiet and wait. “But be on your guard. I can’t assure the… reliability of this source. At least, not yet.”

She waited until the Ace was gone before addressing Cedric. “Now, don’t say a word, this is Torrings’ decision, not mine. You’re not going to be sticking around with me anymore,” she sighed, closing her eyes, looking almost weary… almost. Not quite. Liesel was a woman who needed no rest. “So, apparently you’re not needed here,” she stated slowly, circling around, trying to find the best way to approach the topic. In the end, she chose the only way she knew how: the direct approach. “You’re needed out on the field.”

She only gave the younger man a glance, a cursory gauge of reaction, before pulling the box from her pocket. “And we both know that’s pretty damn well impossible without a mask,” she continued. “And frankly, I don’t know what Torrings is thinking, as per damn usual, and in all honesty I think he’s acting like a goddamn fool…” Rambling. She needed to get to the point. With another sigh, she thrust the slender box towards the King and recited the proper phrase: “But I don’t have a choice. As Liesel Moringmer, proxy for Arthur Torrings, I gift this mask to you.”

With that said, there was no turning back. What the hell was Torrings thinking. She never knew. Never. “In case you haven’t put two and two together, that’s the moron’s mask. His. It’s complete, but it’s not originally yours, so the personality will be overwhelming. Before you head on to help out Crow at the warehouse, give it a test run. I’ve gifted the mask, so you should be able to sense it – can you hear the words ringing in your head?”

Well, Liesel was going off second-hand information, but she hoped that her understanding of the masks was accurate enough to let the King transform.

Another voice cut through the background murmur, a voice he recognised. Without even needing to look around, Strength knew. Cursing inwardly for not noticing the Chariot's approach, he spoke without looking back, face calm, voice steady.

"Yeah."

The single word held no inflection, no indication of what was running through his mind. It was almost bait, a lead in, for the Chariot to respond to, to open up first. Despite himself, Strength was intrigued as to what the other man would bring up, what he found important.

Chosing not to sit down, Chariot stayed standing, glancing around the coffee shop. "Not much of a crowd today." The murmer of casual conversation probably irritating, Chariot almost seemed disinterested. Instead he chose to furrough his brow before striding around into his compatriot's field of vision.

"Wonder who the deliveryman with the package is." A flicker of a smile, then, for the crowd, or lack thereof, in the cafe. "Wouldn't be out on the street where delicate things could be ruined..."

Casting an appraising eye over his companion, Strength grunted an assent, raised an eyebrow in question. "Honestly, I expected you to know who we were here to meet." Between the apparent apathy of the Chariot and the fact that neither of them knew concrete detail, still, alarm bells were ringing in his head.

Giving the room another quick glance, Strength leant forward, fixing the Chariot with a steady stare. "Do we have nothing to go on? At all?" A slight pause, one almost followed with criticism, but held back. Either way, it seemed their organisation didnt believe in handing out detailed briefs.

"Judgement is one of the more caprious superiors." The reply was fired back, casually daring the obvious criticism that even Chariot, not a skilled conversant, knew hung behind the comment. "He leaves information willy nilly, but nothing coherant. It's supposed to make the operatives think on their feet."

Frowning as he stared closely at the renewed giggling in the corner, Chariot's eyes thinned to slits. "I hate peaceful missions."

Whatever Strength was going to say was interrupted by the waitress bringing over their drinks. Giving her a nod of thanks, he reached out, taking his own coffee, staring down into the murky liquid as if in deep thought. Purposefully stretching out seconds, he took a sip, set the mug back on the table, every movement slow and controlled, designed to put the Chariot even less at ease.

"I have no strong feelings either way. Whether it's peaceful or not. I just dont like not knowing exactly what I'm doing." He stressed the last few words, waited for the other man to reply, watching the steam from the two cups twining patterns into the air.

Accepting the cup, but immediately discarding it in favour of the constant stare around the room. It was almost as if the Chariot couldn't help but keep a constant surveillance on the entire shop, just in case an enemy burst from somewhere.

"Then you'd prefer several of the other superiors. It's a pity that Judgement is the most common one to give out orders." There was... not very well hidden irritation in this comment, though much less of Strength's distaste for the lack of details. "Package means it's large enough to be noticable."

From his seat, back to the wall, Strength could see the entire room, even with his attention focused on his coffee. The seat had been chosen for this purpose, and he'd also known, in the back of his head, that the Chariot would have to sit with his back to a blind spot. Glad to see that the other man was at least keeping his eyes open, Strength took another long slug of the coffee, set the cup back down with a decisive snap.

"Well, Judgement said something about the backstreets. I came in here as we didnt seem to have a timeframe, and, honestly, to get out of the rain." He stood, pushed his chair back under the table, fished a note out of his pocket and tossed it onto the table, set a spoon on top of it. "Sitting here is accomplishing nothing. The sooner we start searching, the sooner we can find this package."

Again, Strength noticed that he was taking charge, despite the assertations that Chariot was to be the leader of the two. Calm and steady as a mountain, he simply stood and waited for the younger man's response.

Flicking his eyes back to Strength, Chariot turned his lips up in a smile. It certainly wasn't the casual cruel smile, more of a.. somewhat startled, but completely amused smile. He had always found those with initiative despite put in a lower position an amusing type. And certainly one that Itex could use. That she could...

"Indeed." Still not having touched the coffee, he stood with Strength. "The package wouldn't be out in the rain. More likely it'll be in a public meeting place out of the rain. This shop is actually one of the few places that could be described like that around here. But obviously is barren of the contact. So, all that remains is the small local mall down the road, and the covered food court that competes with here." The eyes had flashed cold, as the minutae detail of the map of the area was recalled. He paused long enough to almost imply he was deciding where to go...

Then. "So, which do you suggest?" The smile returned as he stared. Eyes unblinking in a gaze which seemed to expect something.

'The package wouldnt be out in the rain.' So Chariot did know something about this mission he wasnt sharing. Interesting. Strength met his gaze, returning the smile with one of his own as he spread both arms in a half shrug.

"What do I suggest? I seem to remember you being put in charge." The smile widened, fractionary, for a moment, then was gone, replaced by a pure and focused, businesslike calmness. "What do you suggest?" A slight pause, then a semi-sardonic, "Sir"

The smile from Chariot vanished just as fast as the eyes narrowed again. He never was good at expecting changes in conversational flow, and the persistant feeling that Strength was trying to get something from this that he couldn't fathom irked him.

"I suppose I was." The admission ruined the attempt to draw a suggestion, but then, the other had chosen that route quite intentionally it seemed. "On a rainy day, the Mall is likely the least likely place to be spotted in a clandestine meeting, so I suppose that is my suggestion of where to start."

"Well then." Gesturing to the door, Strength kept his face carefully straight. On a rainy day, a mall, the only covered place in the area, would be the least likely place to be seen? Still, it didnt matter, every word, every passing moment brought fresh information forward. Like how the Chariot was still deferring to him, or at least acting at it.

For some reason, Strength couldnt grasp the other man. Couldnt read him. The erratic changes in personality, the twitchiness. None of it was congruent with what he'd been expecting. Filing it away, to be dealt with another time, he nodded once. "Lead the way."

Well, game over. The new recruit was more than what had been expected, certainly. And Chariot hated how the conversation was turned around on him. Oh well, the game was over, the report would be filed back after this was over. Closing his face into the cold reflection of a perpetual icy stare, he nodded and headed towards the door himself. It was time to get this done with. No more reason to loiter, after all.

Striding out into the rain with nary a glance to see if the other was following, the Chariot seemed to ignore the wetness, despite the coat not being much protection against the heavy driving rain. And he never stopped his roving eyes, taking in anyone on the street. Anyone passing by. The very fact that Itex suddenly called a meeting not originally scheduled, and upping activity around the place, meant that something big was happening. And whenever something big happened, there was always danger.

(Written by Alasund De'astion and Harlequin Smile)

The umbrella wasn't helping at all. Arthur put aside his umbrella once again to dry his glasses; he had no idea where he was. Wandering the streets of Maybelle would only get you something if you were lucky, and that hadn't happened yet. Well, he was finding where suspicious people weren't, narrowing down the search. Maybe Liesel was wrong? Ahaha! A quick response, No, we were sent here for a reason. Quitting halfway would only bring punishment. But they were turned around; where was a sign? The glasses went back on, see-through-able again for now (sure, they weren't needed, but a disguise was a disguise; it needed to be perfect). A nearby street sign proclaimed this Orion Street, and a quick glance showed a coffee shop nearby, with eaves which would at least stop the rain for a little while.

Arthur walked past, as a man in a coat walked up to the door before him. He paused, waiting for something, as Arthur walked by. A voice in the head, Why'd he pause? Take note, pay attention. I will not have you slacking off here! So Arthur slowed down and paid attention. And felt a slight wave of heat... that shouldn't have been there. A quick turn of the head, a whispered "Decoy" followed just as quickly by "End." An onlooker might have seen another "Arthur" for a split second, less, actually. It started to appear in the back of the head before disappearing as quickly as it came, facing the other man, and its information was conveyed to Karim, the other image of Arthur.

The man was dry; his hair at the very least, his coat stiffer than it should have been after walking through however much rain. Coupled with the sudden heat, there was something strange going on here. A coffee shop was a meeting place, and this was no normal customer. Call it investigator's intuition or whatever. Keep track of that man. And don't be seen... ...Yes, yes, 'mother.' No need to remind me twice! Ahahaha! This looks to be an interesting day! Haha! At the end of the eaves, the end of the building, Arthur sat with his briefcase to the side, his umbrella down, his glasses wiped. The watch that wasn't there was fidgeted with, as a message was input to the communicator. "@J2: Orion St Cafe, suspiciously-dry man, keeping lookout, following if needed. Come here and help. P.S. you won't recognize me. Ahahaha! ;)"

Sitting there, an organizer was brought out from his coat and looked at, scribbled-in additions entered from time to time. Suddenly, the cafe door opened once again, and a pair came out, one the dry guy, the other a man with... some presence. Something just felt... strong about him, confident. As they walked off, Arthur finished his dry spell and packed up, opening the umbrella and picking up the briefcase. With safe distance, he headed off in a... similar direction, where he could keep tabs on the duo. Back at the end of the eaves, a piece of note paper was left, left for Jack when he arrived looking for her, the Joker.

Chilly rain, small refrain, why didn't he bring an umbrella. Ax laughed as he half-mocked his human host internally. Well, it wasn't exactly correct, because James had taken an umbrella the entire way. He'd just left it in the greenery when he transformed into Axilious.

But what fun was it to be the star and forget a part of the play? Always others to blame it on. Always a person who deserved the guilt and who ought to be taught a lesson. Always someone else. After all, that was something the common human was good for. Taking blame, that is.

'Hum, hum, hummity hum.' The tune was bland at best, but it was the preoccupation that mattered the most to him. There would be a while before anything came of watching backstreets, and besides that, it'd just look like an obvious trap if there was a man unpreoccupied on a rainy streetcorner. Which is why he was now standing underneath an overhang, glancing casually over the shop's display.

"DAMN IT!" out of nowhere, the Wheel of Fortune stumbled back into view. "I forgot the time!" Then, almost as though he just realized that Axilious was there, he bounded up onto his toes with a smirk. "Just pretend that I was never here and go and do whatever. I wanna see a show!"

Shocked at the sudden appearance out of what seemed like thin air, he stepped back for one single moment before grinning fiercely. 'I am the star of the show.' The pronouncement shortly followed by an almost feral leap from the elegant prancer towards the new figure.

WoF stood there for a nanosecond, mouth agape, before he leapt backwards. "What are you doing, Lacey?!" he complained with a petulant frown on his face - more suitable for a child than anyone else. "You're not supposed to do that!"

'What, supposed to do my duty and catch an Itex agent? Hah!' Rolling forwards over the soaked road, and coming up smoothly, he stared down the other, soft blond locks plastered to his face by the driving rain. As the bladed staff materialised in hand, he flourished it, stepping closer. 'So, whelp, duel me and die honourably?'

That obviously wasn't WoF's idea of fun. Ignoring the completely incorrect statement, he continued stepping backwards, seemingly unworried of the extremely sharp object in Fluffy's hand. "But dueling is so ... boooooring. Why don't we do something else? You can duel with the," he glanced around then pointed at the shop display. "funny fake person in there. It even has clothes that are as pff as yours!"

Now, that did raise a grin, but it wasn't exactly 'haha I won't attack you anymore'. This was the 'What did you just imply? I think you need to be stabbed' grin. And sure enough, twirling the staff expertly, he stepped forwards measuredly, keeping pace with the retreating figure before lunging, staff directly out in front of him, attempting to skewer the other like a shishkebab.

He leapt backwards as quickly as he could, the staff not plunging into his chest - yet. After spending a few valuable seconds blowing a raspberry at the highly dangerous Lacey, he spun around and started running down the street as though his life depended on it. Which it probably did.

Growling as the blade missed, Axilious dismissed it and began haring after the vanishing figure. Trust Itex to turn tail and RUN. And this rain wasn't letting up either...

Trying to pump his legs as quickly as they could go, WoF alloted the vast majority of his brainpower to trying to remember one of his skills. Mainly because he wasn't really paying attention to where he was doing, his feet slid on a piece of slick sidewalk. A few seconds later, he was on the ground - bruised but not yet broken, completely wet, and a few meters farther away from his pursuer. And did he mention the pain?

To be honest, he'd expected a longer and better chase. However, he wouldn't pass up this opportunity. Slowing to a walk, he sauntered over towards the now injured prey. His movements designed to bring hype to the audience that... that... Holy hells. There was a one man who was staring at him strangely. Well, that sure put a dampener on things. Pretending to be going to check on the prone figure, he desperately prayed to whatever god was out there that the man keep on walking.

It seemed as though seeing threatening people walk closer made WoF's mind move faster. Without even noticing the other man, WoF quickly shouted, "Haha! I bet you're surprised!" and with hardly a transition, there was suddenly a rapidly spinning roulette wheel looming over his head.

Right. Itex was cowardly AND had no sense of presence. Well, the wheel certainly wasn't something that could be explained away, and the man now peering closer to try and work out what he was seeing was starting to become an annoyance. Even moreso when his wristwatch suddenly vibrated against his wrist. 'Goddamn all you pretentious self-absorbed critters.' Hopefully the man hadn't seen either of them well in the driving rain, and Axilious preferred to retreat while the Itex lackey made a fool of himself and became easily recognisable for the future. So, he jumped to the side, rolled, and vanished around the streetcorner...

The wheel gradually slowed, but WoF paid that no mind. There was no opponent, who had suddenly vanished around the corner. So, of course, he decided that the best course of events would be to -- there was a man? Who dared look at him as though he was the show? With a pout, he slowly picked himself off of the cold, hard ground and decided to follow Fluffy. At least he didn't stare as much. So, taking a cue from the other strange man, he bounded in the same direction.

Safe and sound around the next corner, Ax allowed himself a few moments of closed eye imagined adoration at his excellent exit. Well, whatever. He may have lost that due to a bystander, but he still had that message. Ah, Karim. Frowning and trying to recall the location of the Orion Coffee Shop, or of Orion Street itself, he paused, stretching the consideration out for just long enough...

And then his thoughts were interrupted by the Itex Lackey. Seems he'd realised the scene he was making too. 'Well, well, see what the gutters brought up...'

Ignoring the comment, the Wheel of Fortune merely blew the weirdly-dressed man a loud raspberry. "Your clothes, right? I knew they were gutter style." He reached forward to try and grab the elaborate material and surprisingly held it fairly easily.

Ax, completely shocked by the sudden aggresive reaction, stared for a moment before he tried to swat the hands away. 'Hands off my personage, if you please.'

WoF seemed to be just as amazed by his ability to place one hand on his opponent. However, he didn't dwell on it for very long. Despite the swatting hands of his opponent, he continued to hold on to the fabric before rubbing it between his palms. "Heavy." Looking up into Lacey's blue eyes, he seemed to find the entire thing quite amusing. "Yep. Gutter style. You should pick something that doesn't make you look like a jellyfish with legs."

And he dared to comment on his choice of clothes? Axilious literally seethed with rage, pivoting forwards to try and heave his fist right into the other's face. 'Gutter?!?!'

Leaping backwards, he was forced to relinquish his hold on the ornate material. Instead of trying to punch him (it was somewhat of a lost cause), he allowed a huge black book with peeling golden letters to materialize in hand and awkwardly thrust it towards Fluffy.

'Oof' Caught by surprise, failing to realise this was a masked opponent and therefore armed with a weapon not visible, Ax founds himself biffed on the chest by a book, staggering back despite the awkwardness of the blow. 'You use a BOOK to fight?'

There was a brief pause as WoF bounded up (with a loud giggle) to look at the stumbling Fluffy's face. "It's the Art of Escaping Boredom," he chimed. "You should read it. You wouldn't be as bored as you are."

'And you can tell I'm bored?' Laughing once, Axilious recalled the twirling bladed staff, grinning still, message forgotten... With one shout of 'Hah!' he struck out, joining battle in both word and weapon. While there weren't any observers due to the nature of the streets, and the rain driving even the lurkers of the backstreets away, Axilious performed as if to an audience.

And then there was the Wheel of Fortune, book cut into as he blocked the deadly blade, quite disinterested in the battle, took his part in the play as well. Pouting for every mark on his 'weapon', and always looking for a reason to escape his pursuer.

The rain fell onto the rooftops with a soft hiss and the occasional plunk as the raindrops struck a metal surface. It pooled in slight depressions in the surface of the roof, or in the corners where the level of the building wasn't quite perfect. A few sullen looking pigeons huddled together on the nearby lip of the building, doing their best to cram underneath the overhanging gantry of a billboard, but not wanting to disturb the black hooded figure already beneath it. He radiated wrongness to them. The deep hood of the figure turned ever so slightly towards the pigeons, barely acknowledging their presence. They scattered, flying off through the rain in hopes of finding a safer sanctuary from the rain.

Dek watched the pigeons fly off with a small smirk of satisfaction on his face. Rats with wings. But they know better than to stay around someone like me. The tall pale man leaned forward slightly to glance at the street below, several scant drops of rain falling on the back of his hood with faint snapping sounds. Watching. His least favorite task. Too much waiting, observing. Not enough destruction, or fighting. Nothing worth doing any work for. His smirk quickly turned into a grimace. What's taking them so long? Surely they have it by now. Or are they doing something fun without me? Surely they wouldn't. His hand reached into his pocket, taking out his mobile.

For what must've been the tenth time in the past five minutes, Dek read the same message on his phone:
From: Anon.
Orion Cafe. Overwatch, 2 Itex w/ package. Approach after retrieval. Do not be late again, Tower. Punishment will be severe.


Dek snorted derisively before putting the phone back into his pocket. Christ he hated waiting. Again, he peered over the lip of the rooftop to stare at the people below. Almost like insects. So weak, so fragile. Not knowing who or what watches them. Not knowing of the dangers they could be in. A minute more of watching before he withdrew his head back underneath the gantry on the billboard. It wasn't that Dek hated the rain. In fact, he quite enjoyed it when he wasn't being forced to stand by idly. Then it wore on his patience as obstinately as an itch that was just out of reach. One final glance, then he'd go find something more interesting to do. Punishments be damned.

Within moments of looking over the edge of the building, he saw who he was looking for. Heh. Those two. They couldn't blend in if they tried, not with that kind of presence. Dek smiled as he turned into the rain as he placed his hands into his pockets. With those two exuding the presence they did, try as they might to blend in, any Masked would be drawn to them like flies to an open garbage bin. Dek followed the two on the street, keeping close to the edges of the buildings, barely staying visible. He hoped the Masked would follow, that'd make his day much much more interesting. And his day had been mind-crushingly dull so far. Oh what a day what a day this will turn out to be. What a day, what a day...

Sharp teeth bared into a smile meant anger - which was bad for the heart. Brought with it promises of future heart attacks. What a shame. She needed her bodies to be healthy in life.

“And it’s only half-past late. Damn it, when there is a set time, there is a fucking reason! No message, no warning… you might have been caught in traffic or you might have been caught by Itex. How the hell am I supposed to know?”

Yes, this was probably anger. Although whether or not Itex even had the means to capture a jinxflinger was doubtful. Very. There was a reason why magicians were always in demand. Because they were helpful.

“And I think you -”

Crow ignored whatever she said. There was no point. She was talking to the royal bastard who had no powers whatsoever. Really useless. Could be taken down with an arrow to the head. Probably aimed between the eyes. Would be simple enough.

Listening to the instructions to the warehouse with a quarter of one ear, Crow simply stood there, unmoving, not reacting, even as she inched her back closer to a wall. Always nice to have some backup. Her senses were at the top of her game - making her almost hypersensitive - and for a second, she was aware of the constant smell that always surrounded her.

So she was supposed to leave?

Exiting the room with the same blank expression that she used when entered, she paused after a few steps, just in turn to hear voices from inside start as soon as she left.

The two of them leaned together closely, whispering in each other’s ears with the appearance of common criminals. A tiny wavering smoke curled around their faces. ‘How soon are we going to do the deed. Well, of course, it will have to be done soon. Very soon. A poisoned blade will do the trick very well. Yes we have to be careful. The girl is only valuable to us dead.’ Faces marred with deadly smirks. A weapon fingered lovingly.

Yes, they had to be plotting against her. To destroy her life and steal her magic. They coveted her mask. They wanted her dead.

Arriving there did not take that much time. Walking in the center of the sidewalk, ignoring all of the little in number, hapless, brainless mortals that dared to be in her way. Fists clenched tightly, making her knuckles whiter than the rest of her skin, as she tried to drive back the urge to see them all to the loving embrace of death with a well-placed arrow.

The warehouse came into view faster than she expected. A quiet burbling from the river continued to annoy Crow even as she looked at the slightly open door that beckoned her closer.

A

Trap.

Refusing to get any closer, Crow stood there and looked at the opening, half expecting to see skeletal fingers curl over the wood. Then, a few minutes later, she continued walking forwards. The Queen could have fun setting off the trap because Crow was not going to waste her life on any dangers. Not if she could help it.

Just ahead, a wooden surface jutted over the silver-blue surface of the water. Skin tingling with the feeling that someone was going to kill her, Crow strode closer, magical sparks dancing from her fingertips.

There was someone there.

A boy.

With black clothing and white hair. Almost like her. Drawing one of her Lirael arrows from the air around her, she flicked it into the air, aiming a few centimeters away from his face. A warning shot across the bow. And if he moved into its trajectory, it wouldn’t be too much of a loss anyways.

A few minutes later, the arrow was arching elegantly towards the pier, leaving a faint trail of light as it traveled. Keening the siren call of death as it went.

With deft movements, Crow continued to pull a second arrow out of the air, letting it sit dormant in her hand. Always good to be prepared. Tongue tripping through the complicated incantation to control her still-flying arrow, the magician looked at her target through disinterested eyes. ‘How would the body react?’

It was taking a while. Was everyone of this world as inept as his contact? How long had it been? They all should have made it here by now, the contact, the others... anybody at all. This was taking far too long, but Itex's orders were Itex's orders. They wouldn't be disobeyed, and Caine was not as inept as the others. He would wait as long as needed or until he could wait no longer. The drawing complete, Caine flipped to the next page and noted with slight confusion the dampness of the book. Oh, right. It was raining. Not that it mattered, the rain never seemed to bother him. It calmed him, actually, or tried to. Speaking of, how was Kaden dealing with the rain and his friends? Oh well, he couldn't make a huge mess of things, right? Not as badly as the last time...

No, it was no use worrying about things he couldn't fix at the moment. And at the moment the main problem was meeting anyone at the meeting place. Itex had done its job and cleared the area, so there was no one around. And who would want to be around during such a wet day at a pier? People surely had better things to do. But seriously, where was the contact? There was a package, correct? It needed to be received and delivered to Itex. The contact would meet them; he had no need to move from this spot. But the others should have been here... it took nowhere near this long to get here. Maybe it should be reported? That the... leader of this mission did so well that he never showed? Hanged Man, indeed... and where was the Hermit, being reclusive as its name implied? Idiots. If he'd have to complete this mission by himself... If there were... complications. Did they concern themselves with their own well-being? Idiots, the lot of them...

Caine closed his sketchpad, his pen pressed inside, and sat on the pier, his legs swinging back and forth as he listened to his surroundings. Rain, hitting the water. Ripples from what may be fish underneath the dock; their smell was pervasive as well. The wind blowing around him. No people. Not yet. He waited, and waited, and he waited some more. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, there was the sound of footsteps. Was it finally one of the others? Or was it the contact? The footsteps paused and continued toward him before stopping again.

Suddenly, a sound. A keening, a projectile? A projectile. And... muttering, an incantation? The Magician wasn't sent on this mission; was there another? An invoker of sorts? Curiouser and curiouser... Turning, his head cocked to listen, sightless eyes staring in the direction of the projectile inquisitively, he stood up, his sketchpad catching the projectile mid-flight, his body reacting in "surprise." His fingers felt the projectile, a feather? Confusion likely clear on his face, he spoke in an almost-quivering voice, "Who's there? W- What do you want from me?"

It was strange; if it were Itex, there would be no need for attack. If it were the contact, would there truly be need for attack? And would the contact have a mask, for what else allowed magic in this otherwise magic-less world? Was there a third party interested in Itex, and how had they heard of the meeting? Had their location been compromised? Well, Caine would get what information he could from this person, and then it could be taken care of. Killing was no problem... no problem at all...

???; Liron Pier

“Don’t kill the messenger, eh?” the young woman scoffed as she nudged the limp body with her foot – red shoes, no heels, practical. After all, she was a very practical person. Don’t kill the messenger because, after all, he’s only delivering a message. That’s what he’d told her after their brief little exchange. Well, it seemed that for once, she’d actually listened – she hadn’t killed him, at least. However, the drying brown hue at her heel was a testimony to what she had done.

A note of trivia: she might not kill, but she didn’t have anything against a bit of blood.

Really though, in the end, she was sure no one would have minded if she’d chosen to off this particular messenger… especially when he didn’t seem to have a damn clue who he was supposed to be delivering to. After all, the young woman now possessed the ‘delivery’, a plain little package, right in her hands, and she certainly wasn’t the recipient. Well, she wasn’t unless her name had changed to ‘Itex Pawns’ overnight. “All I had t’do was flash a smile and give a nod,” the woman chuckled under her breath, tossing her prize into the air.

Finally, it something interesting was brewing in Throme at last.

This seemed worth observing.

---

The pier was dreadfully calm as the second half hour ticked past. So far, all the young woman had seen from her high off little perch was the occasional sailor trudging by with rods, reels, and who knows what else – hardly ‘suspicious recipient’ material.

Boooooring.

Hell, was that messenger so incompetent that he’d been on a rendezvous at the wrong place? Pff. She wouldn’t have put it past the gap-toothed creep. Or… perhaps he was… a decoy? A red herring sent out in the world to confuse any – hell no, if he was a member, this shady Itex organization couldn’t possibly be so cunning. Besides, the package was waaaaaay too much of a disappointment to even be a decoy – a decoy would’ve been… what, like a bomb or something.

Hm? How did she know it wasn’t a bomb?

Well, she had long since carefully opened and its contents thoroughly examined for her curiosity, but… well… there hadn’t been much to examine.

Packing peanuts.

Packing peanuts.

More packing peanuts.

Siamese twin packing peanuts.

And then just a small drawstring bag with an even smaller little sliver of… some kind of rock?... inside it. It wasn’t even anything significant – dull grey, not stronger than the concrete, not pretty to look at, nothing. Really. Way too boring to even be a decoy. The young woman creased her brow at that, her mouth twisting into a pout. What, that was it?! This was what that shifty incompetent was so suspiciously trying to deliver?

Booooring…

… or maybe, just maybe… it was important?

She couldn’t exactly rule out that possibility either. Hell, what did she know about geology? She hadn’t even finished high school. Maybe it was something important. Yeah.

And in that case, she was going to hang onto it… oh, but she’d be delivering the package alright… just with a little switcheroo.

***

The true package is hidden in the yet unopened exhibit of the MTAH. Good luck finding it.

With this, she could see how big a deal these Itex people were. If they called her out, then no big deal. If they took the message seriously and actually paid a ‘visit’ to the museum… well…

“Stop right there! If you do not, I’m calling the police!” a woman’s voice rang out. Startled, the observer flipped her position, again staring down by the riverside. Oh? How had she missed such an interesting development?... But all the same…

Throme just got a lot more fun.

"Hm, so you're the one they're givin' this mission to?" Something was tossed to Caine, and he grabbed it. The box. The package. It was slipped in his bag, and his attention was turned once again to his opponents. The projectiles had been stopped with the sound of water, and of course the lack of cries of pain helped confirm that. Well, if that didn't work... "Fulmen." The hands turned once more to his opponents, and from them shot bursts of electricity.

With a startled gasp, Caine's hands jerked back at the shock. That was going to be more dangerous than normal... Why, was there water around beside the river? Had one of the others done something he hadn't noticed? Well, they'd react to this attack at least... Meanwhile, the messenger was speaking again.

"The higher ups'll wanna know." Hmm? This messenger wanted an explanation? Of what was happening? If the higher ups wanted to know, they could be told by him. And believe me, they'd find out what happened here... When I question the disappearance of the leader and the third on such an important mission. This was not supposed to have as many complications, and of course the higher ups would be told. But now was not the time to hold idle conversation.

Taking the box away from the meeting place, Caine broke into a run, the memories of Kaden telling him when to turn, as he tried to lose the others. Once it was secured, the delivery could be completed...

Angry out of her mind, Crow was not in the best of moods to deal at the incoming wave of energy. The muffled thanks was just to be expected, as she was the magician in this scenario - but really, she paid it no mind.

What was the best way to get rid of this mage?

The lightning bolt spread, jumping from drop of water to drop of water before - whelp, getting a little charred isn't going to do anything, right? Angling her body so that the least amount of surface area was facing the wave of energy, she made sure that her left hand was stuck at her side and was rewarded by a - albeit irritating - shock. The energy transferred directly down the right side of her body, making it feel temporarily numb.

But mind over body, so she shook off the effects pretty quickly.

Then dancing fingers plucked two arrows this time and slung them through the air towards the running mage. What a shame. Magic was rare enough, but killing the apprentice would be necessary. Allowing the two to weave together, this time making sure that the singing of the arrows was deliberately confusing and slightly disorienting, she saw the two feathers speed through the air - faster than last time - one right after the other.

The fake messenger could only watch as the eccentric young man hurried off with the package. "Tch, knew that was pushing it," she sighed... but no, she was far from done. Her attention was drawn to the other figure, who seemed to be readying some magical attack. It was too dangerous to step in, but too interesting to miss - she'd adopt a spectator's seat once more.

Something sparkling caught by her vision, Thia's attention as she angled herself sideaways. There she saw bolts of lightning heading towards them. She instinctively opted to dodge which she did at the nick of time. Although, she could feel the close call as it passed ever so closely to her face. The fizzle of the air among with the watery environment they were in rather added a logical effect to the lightning sent from the boy's hands. Thinking about it, she smelled something singed and noticed that some portion of her hair were not so lucky to dodge the tender licks of lightning.

However, before she could do anything about it. Another set of feathers were released by the woman who had protected her from the earlier attack. This time all she could do was watch in silence and worry if it would connect with its intended target. It seemed that her morality was once more battling within her once more.

More feathers. They'd never hit with that sound. That one wouldn't hit him... Caine dodged to the side, muttered the command to his next spell: "Obturberis morerisque," and a shimmering emanated from him. There. If they weren't distracted by- Ouch! There was? Another one? It had hit Caine in the shoulder, cutting and drawing blood... that would need to be covered up soon, or he'd be as easy to follow as, well, kids who left breadcrumbs in a forest.

As he was saying, if they weren't distracted by whatever distractions resulted from that... it wasn't called a shield for nothing. It would help him get away, though they wouldn't forget about him. All that mattered was that it lasted long enough for him to complete his delivery. The box was safe. It was with him. Now, he only needed a return to the chat room... Then Kaden could be back to clean up his mess, and all would be good. There was no need to look back to see if they were still chasing; they wouldn't be for long, but he'd find out soon enough.

Coldly, approaching the runaway apprentice boy, Crow -

What was that?

Turning her head to the side, her cold, empty white eyes glanced down at the creaking wood floor of the pier. It was an annoyance, something to be destroyed, yes. But, there was somehing that she could just not remember.

The dark haired human was some sort of clue, right?

Oh, the apprenti -

...

The red shoes were really obnoxious. Really. Maybe it would be better if Crow helped the girl out of them. And destroyed them for good measure. Crow, stepping forward to do just that, suddenly remembered the package that was whipped out so flamboyantly.

Where had it gone in the first place?

She just couldn't remember. Even thinking about it was hard -

What was going on?!

The false messenger, who had been enjoying the spectacle, noticed the peculiar shift in the air as well. Her smile faded as she narrowed her pale brown eyes - strange. There seemed to be something like... a glitch in her memory? She knew that something was amiss because there was a hole in the mental print of her plan. She never had holes in her plans.

Her attention was diverted by the sound of weight on pavement, someone stepping towards her. Potential danger. Move.

In almost a reflexive response, the outsider spun on her heel to face the other 'costumed freak' - the girl - keeping wary watch for sudden movements. See, this false messenger knew the street life well. She didn't even forget to smile and pretend like she was calm, even though she was far, far from it. Inside, she was frantically searching for the missing piece of the puzzle - it almost felt as if she wasn't supposed to, with everything else, every movement, every sight and smell assaulting her senses, but she wasn't about to just gloss over the glaring inconsistency in her thoughts.

What was she missing... maybe this other girl had some answers. Oh, it was dangerous for sure - what could she do when the enemy could use magic? But hell, she was willing to take the risk.

"Hey," she started with a tilt of her head. "You there, freak number two - mind filling me in on what just happened?"

The mall loomed ahead as the two wanderers in the rain approached. Still silent, still unreacting to the rain, Chariot strode ahead. As if sensing that something was going to happen very soon, the rain beat down harder, the small drops of rain hitting hard enough to sting on exposed skin. And yet, that hardly stopped either man from Itex.

Chariot, pausing to look around once as they arrived at the mall entrance, grimaced in distaste while glancing around, his face shielded from his current partner's. Of course he'd been caught on the spot and said the most logical sounding thing that came to mind, and now he would look like a fool to Strength, most likely. Especially with the clusters of people inside the mall. So much for being as deserted as he wanted it to be. Not that it effected the mission in any way..

Shaking his head, he stepped into the covered entrance, before stepping to the side to 'allow' his partner to also get out of the rain, although the entrance was easily wide enough for them to have gone abreast and still have room for more. No, the action was to obscure him while affording him a clear view of both in and outside the shop for people paying undue attention. After a moment finding nothing, a simple 'Let's go.' and the cloaked man was off at a brisk walk again. There was no hesitancy for where to go, or a pause for Chariot to get his bearings.

With one glance back out into the rain sodden street, Strength shrugged his shoulders and followed his partner into the mall, unable to shake the feeling that something was up. Maybe it was losing the jump in the coffee shop, or Chariot's twitchiness, or even the underlying distaste he felt for the way the missions were being handled around here, but then, maybe it wasnt. When it came to his own intuition, Strength trusted himself implicitly, despite knowing full well he'd despise someone else for using 'just a feeling' as a justification.

The mall was far from busy, but far from the ghost town Chariot had suggested it'd be. Aware that Chariot was doing the same, Strength settled into the same, familiar pattern of easy stride, head on a swivel, eyes flicking across each knot of people, each storefront, looking both for their contact, not that he knew what he was looking for, and for the out of place. Anything odd, strange, anything that could become, as he'd once heard it euphemistically described, a situation.

"So." It wasnt really a question, his tone flat and low, demanding response. "We're here. Now what."

Pausing at the base of the stairs to the second floor, Chariot carefully watched a pair go past. 'As soldiers, we're here to await contact.' There was no give in the words of Chariot. Turning to regard the man with him, Chariot's smile, pasted on for the passers by, was wiped away. 'I thought it was understood that trust with information should be earnt.'

Through blind obedience, or if not that, at least measured and patient obedience. 'Anyone with information regarding us should find us fairly easily. Where as the contacts we work with specialise in fading into the background.' As if this explained the entire situation, Chariot turned away again.

For a long second Strength gave no indication or response to the Chariot, just kept the same steady flat gaze on the other man, then nodded with a curt, 'Understood."

Trust for information should be earned? They were, as low level 'soldiers', not privy to information he'd assume was obvious for completion of their objective? Despite his misgivings increasing with every new word, every piece of information given, Strength kept quiet. From the other man's reaction either he wasnt used to being questioned so incessantly, or Strength had pushed simply too far. Showing no emotion beyond stolid readiness, he placed his back at the wall and waited for their contact to show.

Chariot nodded once to himself, satisfied by the other's response, and went back to casually surveying the surrounding people. The escalator above, hardly teeming with people at all, suddenly had a bit of a commotion as someone went barrelling down it, drawing the eyes of the surrounding people. The older man in the business suit merely muttered at everyone in a hostile manner as he barrelled past them.

For those not just watching the stairs, the man that paused right next to Chariot might have been an interesting person to watch. Wide brimmed hat and rather casual clothes masked his figure quite well, though his face was fairly visible. After watching the spectacle for a moment, he nodded at the two Itex people and continued on his way.

Chariot, meanwhile, now had his hands in his pockets while watching proceedings. 'We wait until another potential contact could give us information in some way before we move.' Resisting the urge to look at the written instructions that he'd received in the commotion, he left it in his pocket as he waited.

Before long, as the preacher with the pamphlets moved past, forcing one each on the pair, Chariot put the useless article inside his coat as he motioned for the duo to move to a more isolated place.

It seemed that the boy was now escaping the scene. However, he did not leave unscathed. One of the feathers connected with his skin and the sight of blood made Thia feel an amount of guilt. Still remembering the earlier events, she justified it as something deserving for his likes. Which goes to say, the woman who seemed to suffer a certain amount of anonymity both in the mind and presence appeared to be bothered. Thinking about it, this woman might have saved her yet, it does not change the fact that she destroyed her phone from the very beginning.

Fortunately, Cala was not able to linger on the emotions of irritation as the mysterious woman who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere was now before them. Along with that, the woman had a question. She would have taken the initiative to answer the query. Unfortunately, she was not also certain what was going on or why did she ever think to intervene on the matters where magic and mumbo jumbo ruled the possibility of all things.

Caine looked behind him, pausing in his run and listening. There didn't seem to be anyone following him. Now was the time to stop this infernal bleeding, give an end to the trail that would lead them to him. He could spare some more time using this wasteful power, but he was getting tired, from lack of energy and lack of stamina. Blood loss wasn't really a factor; it was a minor wound. Caine brought out his sketchpad and drew once more: a roll of bandages, used to cover his wound, stop it from bleeding, and above all stop that blood from falling. With a gasp, he drew it out and applied it, getting rid of the excess as ink, mixing with water and new-fallen blood on the ground. His time here was running out, and this disastrous mission would have to be completed soon. There'd be no more interruptions. Not if he could help it.

The bleeding stopped, Caine continued a ways, stumbling here and there in his fatigue. But that magician... who was she? Not that it mattered... Far enough from the trail, he muttered "finis" and took out the writing tablet and headphones Kaden had instructed him with, that he'd used so often before. For the second time that day, Kaden signed into the Itex voice chat and spoke. "Moon, signing in. There were t- two complications. Neither of them Itex. And I can't say much about your messenger. Or the rest of our crew... Hanged Man and Hermit never showed. I have the package, though. Where to?" Someone had to be on, right? Someone who knew what was happening, what to do? Because Caine sure didn't, and his time here was running ever shorter.

Freak number two? What was that supposed to mean?

Her eyes flickered towards the calm smile that the second mortal wore. Somehow she had the feeling that she was being mocked. Yes, somewhere behind that smile was a joke at Crow's expense. She balled her hands into fists, colorless sparks flying from her fingertips. Then, taking a step forward, she licked her pale lips. Her voice came out absolutely neutral. "What do you intend, mortal?"

Her fingers twitched again, violently. It just didn't feel right not to be slinging arrows and pulverizing the bodies. But, with the hole in her mental facilties, she needed some cannon fodder. Who knew what was going on right now? And there was something important going on.

"Mortal?" the stranger echoed, before giving into a bout of snickering. Spinning on her heel, she turned away from the masked woman, throwing out her arms. "Ahh, Throme really has become more interesting!" the mere human exclaimed, laughing all the while. Glancing back, she added, “I don’t ‘intend’ to do anything. I’m more of the spontaneous sort, myself.”

Lies. She never acted thoughtlessly.

“Do tell me though. What do you intend to do, hm?”

Reckless and sometimes, stubborn, those were Thia's ever present traits. However, she was not an idiot not to to understand the there is trouble brewing between the lady with red shoes and the woman with magic syndrome. She was certain things could get ugly in an instant with one wrong move. Still, she had no more energy to interefere with anything at all. The recent events had drained most of her spirit and more importantly, she was too cold and too battered to care anymore. Why was she here anyway? This was not her jurisdiction.

"I will leave you two now but I suggest you two do the same."

In the distance, one could heard the closing sound of sirens. It would proper to conclude that those were police cars and all. Cala did not find that odd as they did cause some ruckus with all the explosion and all. Even with the falling rain that could be used to mask such noises. There ws still a distinctive sound to differentiate it. Adding to that ongoing increase of crime rates in the city, the citizen and its security forces are quite vigilant nowadays. Turning her back at them, she walked away but not before stopping midway.

"I hope to never see all of you again."

After stating that, Calla continued on her way without looking back. She definitely would need to take a bath and to remember never to interfere with anything again. This was going to be the last time she would have an encounter with Masks and such things called magic. She returned to the pathway above and continued on her way wanting to take a cab, After all, she had no more energy left to walk towards her home.

Yes. The mortals were really laughing at Crow. Her white eyes narrowed as she took in the two females that dared tell the resident magician what to do. What courage. Stupid courage. She refused to answer, merely -

The damn apprentice.

It was all his fault.

So there had to be some magic going on, if he was able to escape without anyone remembering anything. With balled fists and pursed white lips, Crow twirled on the ball of her foot away from the red-shoed stranger. How would she be able to find him now? He had left with something - something important. There had to be some clue that would lead straight to him.

All the same, before she made her escape, she took careful note of her two new 'acquaintances', committing to memory their faces, their figures, their movements... because in a small world and an even smaller city like Throme, one never knew who they'd run into again. She'd learned to be careful.

With that done, the stranger merely gave a mock salute before darting off away from the pier.

Darn this blasted rain. Wiping off glasses every so often was beginning to be a large pain. Where was this pair headed on such a rainy night? Hopefully somewhere interesting, or this would be all for nothing. Arthur continued to follow after the two, hoping they wouldn't notice him, clutching his briefcase under his umbrella to keep it safe. The good news was, they were headed under cover: the mall in Lil' Maybelle, it was. Shaking off rain as he ducked through the entrance, Arthur collapsed his para- no, umbrella and wiped off his glasses once more.

Arthur Yes, that's who I am turned around, looking through the crowd and his watchless hand now and again. Now and again, his eyes alighted on the pair. And passed over them again before returning in another pass. Unless they suddenly sped up quickly, she... he wouldn't lose them in the crowd. What were they doing? Waiting at the stairs? Boring. Waiting again... would this night ever get interesting? Jack would respond. Eventually. They'd do something. Hopefully.

It was too far to hear them or see their expressions. Hopefully something would happen that she could see, but until then, seeing was all that would happen. Karim drummed her fingers on her- Snap out of it! Amy was getting cross again because... right. Arthur looked at his watch in impatience and shifted from foot to foot. Ugh... waiting. He had things to do and places to be, but it would have to do. His gaze scanned the crowd again, and he waited...


Dek looked upward at the face of the mall, pausing for a moment before following Strength and Chariot into it. He waited for just a moment, reflecting on nothing before heading into the mall. The automatic doors slit open noiselessly, allowing the noise, smells, and sights from the inside of the mall to crash over him in a gentle wave. The faint smell of various foods combined with the dull hum of a massive crowd. He gave a slight smile, imagining all the different ways he could make these people trample over themselves in terror.

However, lost in his imagination, Dek almost lost sight of Chariot and Strength. For the first time in his memory, a small knot of terror wormed its way into his stomach. Fear of the repercussions from the Itex higher ups if he failed the assignment. That thread of fear vanished in an instant when he saw the two again standing at the foot of a large staircase, seemingly idle. He pouted. More waiting? This is bull. There's nothing to do but wait and wait and WAIT nowadays. I want the masked to come and play! He hummed as he considered how to best attract their attention.

Nothing came to mind for the moment, so Dek decided to lean back against a decorative column and just scan the crowd for anyone acting odd. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he just stood there and waited. I HATE waiting. He scowled at the crowds, occasionally sticking his foot out to trip someone with a large amount of parcels and laughing as they tried to recover before inevitably falling on their face. Commotion from near where the two last were caught his attention. Some guy barrelled down the staircase, knocking people to their feet in some kind of rush. Dek laughed at the man's attitude, then something caught his eye.

A man seemed to be acting strangely, constantly fidgeting with his glasses, wrist, and clothing. The man was shitfting from foot to foot. Dek almost dismissed the man as a nervous wreck waiting to run to the bathrom when he realized that the man's nonchalance was just a sham. To the passerby, he seemed as normal man, just busting for a piss. When Dek stared at him again, he noticed the man's head movements were calculated, even occasionally lingering on Chariot and Strength. Now there's something you don't normally see. Finally, something to do! To hell if he's Itex or Masked! I'm so BORED. He pulled his hood back slightly, allowing the single glowing red eye to just catch the light enough to shine menacingly. A few people in the crowd noticed the sinister glint and gave him a wide berth. Others who bumped into him had their retorts die in their throats when they saw him before scurrying away. He strode directly towards the strange man, hoping he'd see him so he could glimpse the face he made when he saw Dek.


Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Watch, glasses, shifting feet. Boring, boring, boring waiting. They were still doing nothing, and no one else seemed to be approaching. Arthur shifted his feet again and turned his gaze... right into the glowing red eye of someone approaching. What? Arthur dropped his briefcase in surprise, his mouth dropping open in surprise, shock, and... well, just a little bit of fear, no words coming out. The briefcase fell to the floor with a thud... Yes, it thudded. And hit the floor. Briefcases are supposed to do that, right? Karim? Yes, it must have hit the floor with a thud, even if it was muffled by the crowd. Shaking away the shock, Arthur glanced back at his watchless arm and then everywhere but that man.

So they did come. Liesel was right this time... Where's that Jack when we need him? That man, he wasn't- he's not coming at me, is he? What madness was behind that red- Karim! Right. Behind the illusion, Karim gripped a knife in her suitcase-hand. Itex wouldn't cause trouble, not much anyway with such a large crowd around. Right? All that was needed was to hold out until Jack arrived, escape was possible, or the pair did- He knows. He knew he was on to them. This third knew he- she was watching the pair. How didn't matter, but he knew. Somehow.

Escape rose in importance. She knew two, no, three, of them, and they didn't know her. Yet. And time was running out. It would be best to escape for now and let Jack handle the rest. Karim- no, she was Arthur - Arthur looked up to see what the man was doing, to find some escape if it was at all possible. He wasn't fit to fight this man, at least without backup, even if the other two weren't nearby. The red-eyed man hadn't reached him. Yet.

A new voice appeared and with it came new questions, asked in a torrent. Caine tried to speak an answer as they came, but the woman no longer cared for an answer. After all this work they put him to, alone no less, these higher ups couldn't even be bothered to hold a conversation, ordering him around yet again. And it would seem they couldn't even pay attention to who they were talking to, giving visual directions to the blind. No matter. Things would get done one way or another. If it had to be done, it would be. But... the complications? Who was she?

Caine winced in pain from his shoulder wound as he stood up carefully. He was exhausted, and the battle with the magician (strange to think there were others here) had near depleted his strength. There would be revenge, of course. No one who messed with Itex would be allowed to get away. Soon enough, he and others would find out the whereabouts of these interfering mask-users and take care of them. It was difficult to escape from Itex, especially if they were looking for you. They'd get what was rightfully coming to them. Itex wasn't in the wrong, of course. Right. Caine rubbed his shoulder, wincing again. He was tired, and it was time to get going. He reached his hands to his mask and sighed. "It's all on you now, Kaden. Don't you dare fail us."



Kaden pulled off his mask, starting from the sudden shock of the cold, the wet, the pain. Cursing, he shoved the mask in his bag and gasped from a throbbing shoulder. "Blasted Caine! I had an umbrella in here! Use it! And gods, what did you do to yourself? Here it... gah!" Pulling out the umbrella from his bag and opening it, Kaden winced again from the pain. Sitting back down, he leant against the wall, the umbrella slightly blocking the steady downpour, slightly protecting everything in his bag, though most were probably on their way to ruin anyhow. He examined the package, wet as everything else from the rain, and sighed.

I suppose I'd better get going. Cherry Park, was it? Thirty minutes, thirteen seconds. Nine minutes leeway. Less, now. Running would be cutting it close, and most of Kaden's argen had been spent earlier, on the balloon, on the movie. There wasn't enough for a taxi. The subway would have to do, and Maybelle station was close enough. Packing up everything and adjusting his umbrella, Kaden stood up with a wince. He felt the bandaged wound on his shoulder and brought his hand away, damper still than it had been. Blood. Great. The projectile, whatever it had been, hadn't hit clean, leaving what was probably a larger cut than normal. It was painful, at least...

Kaden began walking at a rushed pace, figuring out where exactly he was and heading toward the subway station. Once there, he paid the required amount to get to Academy Square and waited for the train. It was scheduled to arrive in two minutes, approximately 8:55, but at least he wasn't standing out in the rain. Though, he wouldn't be dry any time soon. It wasn't a busy time of night: the worktime rush was over with, many were still out partying or whatever they did on a Friday night, and the rain kept many others at home, except for the sad few still with things to do and places to be. There was a couple, late to party. There was a man pacing back and forth, something definitely on his mind. A woman here on the phone with a friend, a pair over there arguing. A kid running by, dragging his mother. A group of friends laughing at some joke another had made or maybe at nothing at all. Others here and there, but none paid much attention to Kaden as he stood leaning on the wall. Well, except a man nearby, who offered him a smoke, only to be ignored. The subway arrived, and Kaden got on.

It would be some time still until the train arrived at Academy Square station, so Kaden sat back and relaxed. It was strange, though, that the two others assigned to this mission, even the leader of the mission himself, hadn't arrived. Instead, there were two others, one maybe a random passerby, the other more likely an intentional interferer. Both had known of Masks, neither was Itex, and they hadn't seemed to know one another. Was there an information leak? Had the others encountered trouble, for whatever reason divulging this information about the meeting? But the Hanged Man... he was supposed to be "monitoring the security" of the chat. If something had happened, might there be more that would? It would be worth it to be a little cautious, even if there was someone with cloak and ribbons waiting for the meeting. But still, to have to doubt even those in Itex? If so... well, that was a topic for another time. Who was that other mask user, and how had Itex not known of her? Too many questions had been raised for Kaden's liking, and it was likely too few would be answered by the end of the night. Either way, next stop: Academy Station, and Kaden got off as the doors opened, a few others exiting, a few entering. Kaden headed toward the park.

The trees gave some protection from the rain, but not much. It was unlikely there would be many people here, and there weren't. The contact would be around. She would be, somewhere. Kaden wandered, looking for a cloak. Eventually... ah, there. There was someone, it seemed a woman, in the middle of Fountain Square, the black cloak and red ribbons distinctive. She was idly running a hand through the water, and she turned at his approach. It had been about thirty-three minutes since the call, but better late than never. "Good evening, ma'am. A beautiful night, isn't it?"

Dek slithered through the crowd towards the twitchy man, occasionally shoving hard to create a bit of a distraction. First impressions are most important. In no time at all, he had wound his way to the man. As he drew up to the twitcher, Dek drew a knife from his coat and gently pressed it into the man's side. He cleared his throat just enough to get his attention over the obvious point of the knife. He spoke just loud enough for the man to hear clearly, but not loud enough for the surrounding shoppers to hear.

"Good evening, friend-o! I see you're getting a good look around here, it's a lovely day for people watching, isn't it? But I'm sure you aren't REALLY people watching, right? If not, what ARE you doing?"

A knife. A KNIFE! Who in their right mind would just walk up to someone and put a knife to their- Oh, wait. This is the person holding a knife in her- his hand just in case. Still, that's just so terribly rude of him, wouldn't you say? Karim, he's talking to you. Who? What? Oh... right... him. A KNIFE!!! Really! The nerve!

Arthur turned to the red-eyed man, shaking visibly. "Ah! What are you-? Umm... I don't know, you know? Ah! Calm down, there are people watching! Ummm... wouldn't want to cause a commotion, I'm sure? Anywho, my- my boss, you know, he- he set up some... meeting of sorts here? I was to meet hereabouts, you know? But, you see, I'm still here after waiting this long. I was to meet someone, but they've not shown, you know? Hence the watching! This meeting's, well, it's- it's rather important, you see? Umm... you do see, right? Can you- you know, can you be on your way? It's just, umm... well, I've answered your questions, you know? Aha." This was said softly, of course. Others weren't to hear. Important business, you know? ;)

Dek chuckled menacingly while shaking his head. "You just don't get it. Not at all. Not. At. ALL." Dek pressed the knife further into Arthur's side to punctuate his remark, but not enough to pierce the skin. "You see, I've never been the trusting sort. As for causing commotions, well, you mistake me entirely. I quite like causing commotions. You could call it... a hobby. Or my specialty. I've gotten quite good." Dek turned to look at Arthur, fully revealing the massive red eye, and the utterly blank other side of the mask. "Now, you don't mind if I enlist you for some company do you? I'm feeling rather bored while I wait for my friends to finish their meetings. Unless you're wanting to cause some commotion, in which I'd be more than happy to oblige you." Dek just stared, waiting for the inevitable response.

"A-ah!" The knife was poking. Commotions? Company? All Karim was looking for was a way out of this mess... This man was definitely Itex, and he was with that other pair. They were here for some meeting, or so it appeared, and somehow this monster had caught her gaze. Ugh. Why must stealth be so... stealthy? Can't I just... stab him? Just once? No, not yet. Yes, I know. Meanwhile, Arthur cringed back from the knife, gripping his suitcase harder, and began looking around frantically, licking his lips and obviously nervous. "Uh, sir... Uh, sure... Uh... as long as it's... just company, right? You know, no commotions. Terribly, terribly difficult to sort out, you know? Umm... ahah? Could you maybe? Umm..." Arthur trailed off, looking down at the knife to his side, and continued to look around frantically. For an escape. Maybe for information. Was the other pair still just waiting? How boring...


Chariot, beginning to lead the way out of the main thoroughfair, paused as an almost invisible haze spread across the mall. 'Keep an eye out. There's someone in here with us.' He didn't need to say the word 'Masked' to emphasise what he meant. The subtle mental pressure that was little more than a buzzing fly to the mental bastion of the Chariot hovered with the accompanying haze.

Turning back to the direction he was heading, towards a small corner shop that seemed to be rather unfrequented, which sold sports equipment, Chariot tried to blend into the surrounding crowd, even though his partner's aura made that rather difficult..


Axilious almost slouched into the mall. He'd almost lost his way after the annoying braggart of an Itex agent escaped his clutches, and he was far from dry. His flambuoyant clothing almost dribbled all over the floor beneath him as he looked around rather curiously, trying to find either the Joker or another annoyingly riddled code to tell him where she'd gone haring off to this time.

Despite the unusual appearance and sopping clothes, most people passing him seemed to not even take a passing glance at the soaking figure or even at the world around them. Most seemed to be losing a grip on reality, though a few minds broke the haze to realise on some level how inappropriate the man was and that they were doing nothing at all anymore. At least it wouldn't seem like a big deal to them in a while. Shaking himself as if to dislodge the cold placidness, he strode boldly into the mall, an obvious figure to anyone whose minds broke the numbing haze.

Grunting assent at the Chariot's instruction, as if watching the crowds wasnt what they'd both been doing for the last few minutes, Strength followed, a apace behind, still reflexively quartering and scanning the mall as they moved. He glanced towards the easternmost entrance as they passed by, took another few steps then hesitated. Something was wrong. A slow blink, brow furrowing minutely as he realised that, despite looking towards the doors, he hadnt actually seen anything.

"Wait."

The instruction was barked, he was already turning back the way they had come. Confused, Strength paused, tilted his head a fraction to one side at the sight of the sopping wet man, dressed almost as if he'd stepped out of a romance novel, walking into the mall. Out of nowhere the guy seemed to swim out of focus, the air shimmering like a desert mirage and Strength squinted, eyes twitching. It last barely a second and only took a moment longer to realise that no one else was paying the guy any attention either, and from the looks of the him, swaggering forward without a care, barely even looking at anyone he passed, it was obvious he didnt expect them too. Which was odd. Dressed the way he was, he'd have drawn attention in a carnivale parade.

"Something's up." Strength turned to face the Chariot, indicated the anomaly with a nod, watching him move in the mirrored glass of the doors. "That guy, Mr Ren Fair. You know him?"


Dek almost rammed the knife home in the man's side, but a strange sensation prevented him from doing so. Something was "off". A feeling of absurdity hung in the air, making the hairs on the back of his neck begin to tingle and stand on end. He swept his gaze over the crowds, trying to find something to clarify the sense of wrongness. He couldn't see anything wrong at first. The masses were too busy going about their lives to care at all, as if they didn't feel anything at all. They didn't even notice someone just sitting in the crowd with a fog machine on full blast. Hold on. Fog machine? What jerkoff brings a fog machine into a mall? Dek looked back and forth to see if anyone else noticed the fog, but nobody seemed to notice the fog.

Dek's suspicious were roused immediately. He stared at the fog, trying to see what it was hiding. After a short moment, the fog dissappeared and the most bizzare dressed man was just standing in the middle of the crowd. Nobody noticed him at all, bizzarely. "Hey. Bud.", he said to his hostage, poking him with the tip of the blade to get his attention. "Do you see the fog?"

The knife was poking into his side. Arthur's glasses were slipping. He pushed them up, and then noticed a strange quiet around the room, as conversations were momentarily cut off. His gaze slipped around the room, and passed a patch of... haze. Ahaha! Finally made it, did he? Quickly, the haze solidified into Axilious, and Karim almost laughed! ...until she remembered just where she was, and the knife poking into her side...

The start of a smile disappeared as Arthur's eyes glazed over. For a short while, there was nothing, then a pain in his side as the knife pushed farther, and the end of a voice "-see the fog?" Arthur started. "Ah! Uhh... hmm?" As he looked for the fog this other man spoke of, his eyes glazed over once more, and he became motionless. Hahaha! Go after Jacky, and leave me alone! I'm as useless as these other normals, you know? Hahaha!

Chariot, Axilious, Dek, Karim, Strength ; Sagaro Mall

Post written by spudjohnson, Alasund De'astio, Harlequin Smile, and Witless.

"He's not ours." Chariot tensed, his right foot stepping out as he settled back into a battle-ready stance as he turned to check who Strength was referring to. "If he keeps this stasis on the civilians he could cause a situation." But there were also other concerns that could be dealt with quickly using this to their advantage. "Hold him or force him to leave for a moment, I'll retrieve the target." As much as his instincts yearned to fight, and self-control wavered under the chance to bring blade against a proper enemy of some bent, he had a mission to complete. And his last failure Judgement had been sure to burn rather solidly into his memory. Stepping back, Chariot turned to swiftly make his way through the currently unobservative crowd.

"Boring boring boring." Oh yes, how boring this had been so far. As he waved magnaminously to the various subjects around him who were so awestruck by his presence that they had seemed to lose grip on reality, Axilious continued to scan the floor for the almost customary piece of paper left by his erstwhile partner. "How a lord must bow before the demands of his people." The dramatic muttering continued as he finally found something in the crowd that was not quite like the other things. The figure which seemed to be talking almost scandelously closely to a normal civilian against a pole, it didn't matter that both were male, as Axilious had no prejudice to speak of for the peasants sexual relations, squinted in his direction and seemed mostly uneffected by the fog around. "Greetings." Axilious held his left hand carefully, ready to summon his weapon at a moments notice. "Have you perchance seen a rather eccentric lady pass through here?"

Power. Yes. Sweet power. Oh smell its intoxicating aroma. Oh GOD I want to fight them! Fight fight fight! Dek shook his head vigorously in an attempt to dissipate the bloodlust that boiled at his core. It was then that he realized that Renaissance Man was addressing him and his hostage. Dek cocked his head quizzically, then cracked his neck. "Well! Mr. Mist! Where have you come from then, ey? Time portal? Time traveler? Or do you just enjoy looking like a peacock? Nonono, you enjoy the grandeur. Nobility then! Maybe. I don't really care." Dek shifted Arthur slightly to the side so he could address Axilious properly, all the while keeping the knife tip in Arthur's back. For now.

"Now! Strange woman.." The volume of his voice dropped slightly as he feigned trying to remember something. "Strange woman strange woman strange woman strange woman... NOPE! No strange women about here, Just these cattle! My newfound friend and I were just people watching. Nothing too serious, mind. Just observing these ignorant, pathetic, idiotic masses that are so intent on buying new shoes or clothes or whatever else they waste their money on. They never want to do anything more with their lives. Just consume, and consume, and consume. It's like they get some sick high off of it. It's really quite strange. Isn't it, friend-o?" Dek looked at Arthur, hoping for a response. When he saw his eyes glassed over, a petulant tone crept into his voice. "Aww. Look at that. Your little parlor trick seems to have taken out my only friend here. And we were going to have SUCH fun in this crowd. A little slicing, a little dicing, and a LOT of panicking! But, alas, he's gone for now." Dek pushed Arthur roughly towards a concrete support pillar in hopes of knocking the man out. He spread his hands widely, flourishing the knife before hiding it in his coat with a bit of slight-of-hand. "Well, looks like youuuuuuuuuuu're my new play-mate! How do you wanna play, mister? Nice and easy?" Dek held his right hand out to the side, preparing to bring his axe-hammer into existence. "Or will we do this the rough and tumble way?"

"Understood." Already moving before he'd even finished the single word, Strength strode across the plaza towards the oddly dressed man. Whatever it was the guy was doing, it was getting worse. Most of the people in the mall were stumbling around with glazed expressions on their faces, looking at nothing in particular. Damn right it would cause a situation if it carried on. Not often a few dozen people fall into a hypnotic trance in the middle of a public place. The tiniest of smiles crossed his face as he moved towards his target, who seemed more than preoccupied with a pair of guys standing close to at the edge of the plaza.

Obstruct or remove target. That was an objective he appreciated. Obvious. Straightforward.

Easy.

Another step and the smile was gone, replaced only with calm readiness as he ran through an automatic checklist, scanning over the entire situation. Target currently unarmed, seemingly unaware of incoming. Focused on pair of men, standing too close together. Threatening body language from the taller of the pair, pinning the other to the wall, one arm flourishing a blade before concealing it in the jacket he was wearing. Strength narrowed his eyes. The guy who had his back to the wall was the same one that had rushed past as he and the Chariot had been waiting earlier. It could be coincidence, but that was unlikely. Especially as the newcomer, the one who was playing with everyone's minds, had gone straight for them.

He flexed hands, confirmed they were free from possible restraint and prevention of weapon retrieval, both arms relaxed and ready. Approaching at an oblique angle, coming in from slightly behind Axilious so that he had to turn to face him, and wouldnt be able to keep the other two men, and presumably the Chariot, in view whilst looking at Strength, he stopped maybe fifteen feet away from the group and took a breath, projecting his voice so that all of them would hear him.

"Excuse me." A seconds pause to let them register him. "Mall security. Someone mind telling me what's going on here?"

Obvious gambit, and whilst he looked vaguely like a security guard in dark jacket and heavy boots, it was more than obvious to any intelligent onlooker that he really wasnt. But then, that wasnt the point. The point was to break flow. To get the attention on him, so that Chariot could do whatever it was he was going to do. And for that it would do just fine.

A shock of pain shook Arthur out of his daze, and he looked up to see what was happening around him. A pillar was to his side, obviously what he had been pushed into. His assailant was in front, turned to address another person... Karim's eyes widened in recognition as she noticed the Jack standing there confused. And they widened further as she saw one of the pair she had been watching walking toward them. Mind racing, she tried to think of a way to get her identity away to Jack without attracting too much attention. What to do, what to do... there wasn't much time...

Aha! Karim left a flower, a rose, against the pillar as she scrambled back out behind it. That should be enough of a hint, if that Axilious would take the chance to spot it. Message given, Arthur scrambled back to his feet and sputtered out, "Who- who are you... you... who? Get- get away!" And the backward steps turned to a full run, through the still still crowd, toward the area where the second had walked from, where the third was hopefully still waiting. These people were important, and Liesel would be furious if they let them out of their sight! Let Jack take the other two... Arthur didn't turn to see what was going on, but he could hear someone saying something about security. This would have to be done quickly, it would seem.

Axilious smiled almost cruelly as he regarded the one who had just threatened him. "Why would you like to know? I think that if you--" Suddenly cut off by multiple sources of sound, Axilious swirled irritated at the more self-important sounding one, leaving the peasant to scramble away in fear at the awe of the lords. "You attempt to beguile us peasant." Formal, blunt, and putting the villian down with his very demeanour, the audience must even now be booing at the man who dared interrupt the protagonist's witty remark. A very fast glance easily told him that he wasn't regular security, and mall security isn't ever likely to go undercover. Which meant that this was a plot twist, putting a third variable into the already explosive cauldron of antagonist and protagonist. "Explain yourself."

Haughty, the gesture demanding obeisance was calculated just right, the dramaticism adding flair to his movements as the shimmering energy, very distinctively showy calling of his weapon, formed into the double bladed staff that was his hallmark. "I am to be unseen. Let me make it so." The grave pronouncement of the good guy being forced to do evil. The performance was about to start.

"Hmm. So we're going to go there, already? Really? Fine by me!" Dek shrugged his hood back and revealed his masked face. At the same time, he held his right arm out above his head, mentally invoking his weapon into existence. The shadows around Dek all shot towards his hand with such force that they moved the clothing of the people around them. The shadows formed a midnight black sphere above his hand before stretching into the sillouhette of his weapon, then materializing into existence. Dek slowly brought the hammer towards the floor before firmly planting the base of the handle on the floor. The tile beneath the handle cracked slightly under the weight of the hammer-axe and the force of his strength.

"So." Any trace of levity in Dek's voice had evaporated, leaving a cold emptiness that verged on murderous. "Where do you want to begin, whelp?" Rather than waiting for a response from his now-opponent, Dek spun his hammer and unleashed an Arc of Chaos directly at Axilious. Without waiting for the Arc to hit or miss Axilious, Dek gripped the chain surrounding the handle of his weapon and threw it towards the floor. The chain unwound from the haft with a mind of its own. Instead of piling on the floor, it sank into the ground as if it were water. Nothing happened for a short time before chains burst out from the shadows of various objects surrounding Axilious. The chains, hovering in midair, seemed to absorb the light before streaking off towards Axilious. Deep down, Dek hoped that his new friend would dodge the otherworldly chains. It would at least indicate that he'd found some real fun for a time.

The situation escalating fast, Strength took a half step back, raised both his arms, fingers curling in until his fists were clenched tight, ready and willing to summon his own weapons at a moments notice.

"Explain myself?" He raised an eyebrow at Axilious, utterly calm and rational despite the chaos erupting around them all."I think it's you that should be.."

Whatever it was he was going to say was cut off as the other man, the one who'd summoned a giant, and to Strength's eyes, completely impractical axelike thing, swung it outwards, a wave of something that twisted in the air like shimmering heat erupting from its blade, aimed at the other man. The dodge was reactionary, two quick steps back and to the right, even though it wasnt aimed his way. The summoning of the gauntlets was just as instinctual. A moment after he willed, metal wrote itself into existence, curling first across his knuckles then shot backwards, twisting so close to flesh it was like a steel tattoo that covered his entire arms in dull grey up to both elbows.

He kicked forwards, aiming for the taller man, Dek, the one who seemed by far the most threatening. With no strategy in mind save simply ploughing into and through, he was content just to pit himself against the situation and see what came of it. Lips peeled back in a grin that came just from the joy of joining battle, he amended the ever present objective list that was running through his head.

Obstruct or remove targets.

Chariot, not looking back to watch Strength's progress, weaved quickly through the scattered people to disappear into a smaller shop at the back; one of the more specialised shops, this particular one in handbags and other personal accessories. Giving the note in his hand one more glance, Chariot tightened his fingures around the missive and let the words burn as he activated his own powers for a moment. A moment later he had retrieved the target package and had moved to secure it before moving back to mop up the situation if Strength hadn't cleaned it all up by himself. As he exited the shop, he glanced once around, not that carefully but enough to pick up the more casual of persuers, and moved towards the emergency exit at the rear of the mall.

Eenie, meenie, miney, moe, where'd that stupid third guy go? Karim looked through the crowd, searching for the last suspicious guy, the only one not confronting Ax. Where'd he go, where'd he go... Ugh, this endless searching and searching was getting boring. "Ah, let's end this charade..." as Karim reached up and pried off the Arthur mask. "Where oh where has the strange guy gone, oh where oh where could he be?" she singsonged and walked toward the back of the mall, keeping an eye out every which way for him. Suddenly, Karim spotted her target exiting a random shop, something about bags or somesuch. With that, she rang her bell, "Let the race... begin!" Karim took out two knives and began pursuit, hoping a good chase would arise.

Metal besought metal, and air parted for the true showing of power as Axilious brought his double bladed staff into existance, lips firm in a straight line of disapproval. "Axilious, brave knight, who stands against the tide of darkness." The words hummed with power as he stepped right into the wave of energy humming towards him, gritting his teeth against the flicker of energy attempting to twist his very organs against him. "He who guards the nine seals, and holds the highest of praises amongst the lords of the realm." As the chains darted towards Axilious, the stoic knight began to twirl his weapon, using it as a shield against the darkened objects. "Fear the guardian of truth, for the world is his battleground, to enact victory after victory."

As the Litany of Praise continued, Axilious felt the amazing powers buried within him envelope his body in a now visible almost-halo that emerged from the dust blond hair, and slowly seemed to envelope the rest of his body in an unearthly glow. The blade rotations stopped as the last chain was slashed and knocked away, but Axilious did not attack. After all, it would not befit a leading role to be drawn into battle first. "Fight for the judge of the Air and Earth." He proclaimed, taking no note of what the other man had said, but simply letting him move in to attack his assaulter.

Behind his mask, Dek's eyes narrowed to irritated slits. This wasn't who he wanted to play with. Didn't he realize one of his comrades? This must be someone newer, someone who hadn't met Dek already. Emitting a faint sigh, he shifted his stance so that he'd be able to dodge at the last moment. The hammer hung loosely in his arms, ready to move at a moments notice. Despite it's size and probable weight, it felt no lighter than a normal hammer to him, but to his enemies it felt much MUCH heavier. Just before Strength's fists impacted with his face, Dek rolled and evaded the strike. Dek landed on his feet, hammer held with one arm at his side. "Well well, sir. It appears you've made a bit of a mistake. The person you want to maim is up there", he pointed at Axilious, ",not me. I'm on your side, I believe. Unless you've defected. Then you're meat. But it doesn't really matter to me, a fight is a fight." He shifted his weight back slightly, with his weight over his rear foot and ready to spring.