[IC] Of Shadow and Flame EP2: Investigation

[Chevaleresse]

Alleyway

"Watch yourself. I have no issues with turning you into an unpleasant memory if you get in my way." Noriko's tone took on a noticeable edge. Perhaps it was best not to press her. "This isn't an area we can operate in freely, and that beast wasn't normal. Pull your head out of wherever you've lodged it and think about it for a moment. Magical beasts don't have survival instincts, so why did that one run away?" Despite her first hostile statement, she also released her transformation, revealing her normal teenaged self. She made a cutting gesture in the direction of Kouta and Gavriil, and Kouta followed with his own reversion.

[Pixl]

Gavriil's head swam with the events that went on. He wondered just at what point did he begin to notice there were others in the alley? He mentally admonished himself for being so careless and off his guard. Shaking off his mistakes, he steeled his nerves in order to focus more on the surroundings; there were a few other people in the alley, all of which had been transformed the moment before. Now, transformations were gradually being released, including Noriko's and Kouta's, so Gavriil followed his leader's signal and did the same.

He was not so inclined to interrupt Noriko during such a heated conversation, and so did not give voice to his questions regarding the alignment of the other people present; after all, he could always ask back in the base. Regardless of the questions Gavriil left unvoiced, he still gathered some information of his own from listening. This beast that they had encountered (supposedly, for Gavriil remained unsure if he had seen it in the first place) was an abnormality, and one that could give Noriko worry, at that rate.

It was at this point that Gavriil remembered Kouta might actually be able to answer in his leader's stead. The Russian turned to the boy next to him and looked at him inquisitively, as if to say, "What is going on, and who are these people?"

[Hiss13]

Dammit, Bark! Don't run your damn mouth off like an idiot! She wanted to say that to the man next to her but was rendered unable to by Noriko's retort. Nagi could feel the killer intent seething out of Noriko's words and broke into a cold sweat. There was a confidence to her threat. Nagi could tell from her own personal experience with the Protectors that people like that tended to be leaders of the group. In other words, it was likely that the woman in front of her was the leader of the Protectors in the city. If that was true, then Bark likely did not realize at how much of a disadvantage they were in at the moment.

Luckily it seemed that all of them had decided it would be best to disengage. Nagi let her hand down back into her jacket pocket and gave a deep sigh as she listened to Noriko. Nagi was surprised she did not notice it until Noriko had mentioned it but in the end, she had been focused more on going after the beast when she saw it escaping.

"Well, there are a few reasons I can pull of the top of my head. The first and least likely is that our knowledge of beasts and their patterns are partially incorrect with respect to this. The second is that it was being drawn away by something else like another source of emotional energy. The third is the possibility of a beast being controlled by another magic user. While the last one does seem far-fetched, it's definitely not something I would say is outside the realm of possibilities." Nagi then paused. She had realized that now would also be a good time to try and confirm whether the teenage girl standing in front of her was the Protectors' leader. "Is that what you're insinuating, leader-san?"

[Chevaleresse]

Takeshi's group

"We're trying to avoid the other groups around here, yeah. The Protectors are across town, so generally you don't have to worry about that. Noriko isn't the 'war-party' type. Haruto is batshit crazy, though. He'll let one of those things rampage all over town if they can't knock it out fast enough to haul it to. . . wherever they put the things. Cops, too." He looked back at Krys. "Cops don't like me - and magical people in general, but particularly me - for a few reasons. The big one is that we're pretty much squatters. It's not like I can afford that building, it's just that no one's used it in years so I set up camp without anyone caring. The second one is that I look like a criminal. They assume I'm up to no good." His expression changed for a moment, going to something between a guilty and an amused expression. "They might be right, too. I don't get paid to do this."

Krys's question made him think for a moment. "You know, I'm not really sure how that all works. Part of it is just that we try to avoid being noticed."

"I can answer that," another familiar voice rang out from behind them. Astros padded up to the group, looking freshly groomed. "We Mediators work behind the scenes to ensure that word does not spread. It is not nearly as much effort as you may expect, however; you humans are quite adept at fooling yourselves without any help from us. To more directly answer the question; yes, humans can see you and the beasts you fight. However, seeing is not necessarily believing, and there is much work done to ensure that the transition is never made."

Alleyway

Kouta took a couple steps toward Gavriil and spoke in a low tone. He still seemed nervous around the large Russian, but the situation appeared to have distracted him from this. "I th-think those are Loners. They're not P-Protectors, and Preservers wouldn't have tried to kill the monster. The weird thing is that it ran away; I don't think I've seen one do that before. . ."

Noriko's expression, as usual, did not change, but the edge seemed to have left her tone somewhat as she replied to Nagi. "I don't believe it would have done that simply to reach a better food source. That creature was incredibly fast, and it moved much further away than your theory would indicate. Additionally, magi radiate large amounts of emotional energy in the first place. As for your final idea, it is unlikely." She paused for a moment, brow furrowing ever so slightly as her head inclined slightly. "However, that's also the only explanation we have at this time, despite how disturbing that idea is. I have heard of this, and I have reliable reports of it, but it is a difficult thing to bend the will of even a weak beast." Her head abruptly snapped back upward, and she eyed Nagi with an analytical look. "I don't suppose you would be willing to assist the Protectors? We could use someone like you."

Kouta seemed somewhat surprised by this last, but said nothing in response.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Vixen sat down and took a heavy sigh. This... would accomplish nothing. The beast had fled, sitting around getting angry at herself wouldn't get her any closer to finding it. She calmed her herself before thinking... and she hated to admit it, but she figured her best bet was those below. That beast was hard on enough to track on one's own, let alone fighting it as such. She hated working with people directly and preferred to work form the sidelines, but this thing was going to be a threat to way to many innocent people. She had to stop it. Had to keep it from killing so many more people. She hated the very notion of the thought. She hated people. She hated working with them even more. But sometimes one had to acknowledge when one won;t be able to handle something alone. She got up and looked through her scope again getting a lay of the area. She didn't want any nasty surprises. That was when she saw the new arrivals. "Hmmm, new ones... why are they here? Protectors, Preservers? Probably some sort of group by the number they arrived in. If they were loners... they probably would have trickled in one by one rather than all be clumped in a group like that. Well... most likely anyway." she thought to herself. She first tried to access if they were a threat.

"By their body language... that is a heated discussion. It probably would have turned violent by now though if it was going to. Unless of course I just happened to catch the beginnings of it. Firing a bullet straight at that women's head ((Noriko is who she is referring too.)) probably wouldn't be very productive in that it would prompt a battle. They don't know I am here and both sides might rip into each other. I want them to help me though... wouldn't be useful to have their blood line the streets... though in the long run it would probably be better for all of the people in the city. Protectors and Preservers are almost... more evil then the beasts. At least the small beasts. After they did release their transformations... it be easiest to kill them now." Vixen hit herself in the head. Now was not the time to be thinking that way. It was a bit of a bad idea to assume everyone was horrid right off the bat, even if most people were. Some actually did uphold the things their orders valued, even if they were far and few between.

"Perhaps... an introduction is needed." Vixen said aloud as she prepped a small flare she removed from her pocket. She fired it straight into the air so that it was visible to those on the ground below. "I could've fired a shot and got the same effect... however I feel like they might misconstrue that. They don't know well enough to know that if I missed a shot...I missed on purpose." and with that thought she begin to move towards the group. Hopefully they didn't perceive the flare as some sort of... attack. Things did seem a bit heated down there, they could do really anything at this point and Vixen wouldn't be that surprised. If anything was almost as certain as most people were horrible wastes of skin and bone, it was that they were unpredictable in situations of high stress.

[Jory]

Alleyway

Bark's eyes narrowed at Noriko and his face took on a blank expression. Was this kid really threatening him? Lately it seems like there's no such thing as respect for one's elders, he thought sardonically. "I'd like to see you try," he said flatly. "But we have more pressing matters to deal with than your injured pride. The easiest way to find something is to think like it. So the question we need to ask ourselves is relatively simple: Based on what we know about Beasts- that is, they do not feel fear or the need for self-preservation- what would cause one to fly off like that?" He pondered his own question for a moment before noticing the flare that Vixen had shot off. "Looks like we have more company," he added.

[Hiss13]

"YOU DUMBASS!" Before Nagi could even respond to Noriko's own proposition, she lost it and started shouting at Bark. "Faction leaders are not the type of people you want to provoke! There's a reason they became the leaders of their respective factions. Dammit, I've never met someone stupid enough to realize at how much of a disadvantage he is in."

She sighed it off before she began to get too passionate and noticed the signal flare. "That's most likely the person who fired the ice attack earlier. I wouldn't worry too much about it but keep your guards up just to be safe." She addressed everyone with that.

She then turned back to Noriko. "I'd be willing to assist you only as part of a temporary alliance. I have multiple personal reasons behind that but having an ex-Protector Deviant return to the Protectors may not be the best idea. Not to mention, I personally feel that a villain like me has no place being a part of a band of heroes. That being said, the prospect of someone controlling beasts is dangerous. If this ends up being correct, the factions will end up being placed into a precarious situation. There are multiple reasons I can think of for controlling and releasing beasts into a populous city. The first is obviously that it's a sadistic maniac. However, the second and more dangerous one is that it could be someone attempting to worsen tensions between the factions. If the attacking magus or magi end up being part of another faction like the Preservers or span across multiple factions, you risk the possibility of starting a war between the factions and frankly, I don't like that possibility considering the amount of innocents who would end up caught up in it. In other words, the Protectors need to tread cautiously. You can see what I'm getting at, I assume."

Edited May 24, 2015 by Hiss13

[Jory]

Alleyway

Bark looked down at Nagi, dismissing her outburst with a wave of his hand. "Someday you'll learn that being a leader isn't all about individual strength. For now, I think we can all agree that the most important thing is to stop that Beast from harming innocent people. So we can either stand around here having this little pissing contest or we can actually go try to track it down before it gets even farther out of our reach." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I don't have time for this. Sparky was right to leave before you all opened your damn mouths." With that, Bark strode past the Protectors and out of the alleyway. Now to figure out where it might have gone.

[Sutoratosu]

Outside the Peace Keeper HQ

"A beast that ran away..." Faust thought as he strode towards a particular building in the distance. He had let go of his transformation the moment he was far enough away to know no one was going to bother shooting him down, now once again clad in the mediocre attire he had accustomed himself to as a vagrant. The annoying draft of wind on his back as he walked served as a reminder that he still had a massive tear in the garment... but right now that was far from a priority. "Have to admit, it's the first I've heard of it...if I had known the damn thing was smart enough to use them to actually flee, I might've said something to those fools back there about it...oh well..."

He sighed as he got closer to his faction's Head Quarters. God knows what type of response he would get when he brought this to the attention of higher ups... hopefully they wouldn't demand proof... because he had nada. But he knew damn well that how it would most likely play out would be that no one would be willing to believe such a thing without evidence. And even besides that, if those bunch of nutjobs in the Preservers got wind of this thing...which they probably would somehow...

There was little use for hope. Without a single word, he made his way to the entrance...

((@Murdoc, I'm assuming you'll describe the building and interior and what not))

[Hiss13]

Nagi watched as Bark started to walk away. "Maybe so, but it's not that they're leaders because they're strong but that they all tend to be strong. Even back in my time with the Protectors, I never came close to beating Kanade-nee." She sighed. "Well, it doesn't matter. Let him go on with running a wild goose chase on his own if he wants to. I take it you understand what I am insinuating, right, Miss…what's your name?"

[Chevaleresse]

Alleyway

Noriko noted the flare. She made a quick set of gestures at Kouta, who waved at Gavriil to follow him before walking towards the building the flare had come from. "That man either is poorly informed or has a death wish. He is technically correct; leadership ability does not come from strength. It comes from experience. However, in this world especially, strength is directly proportional to experience. Regardless, if he places himself in my path then I will remove him from it and feel no remorse." She let the ruthless statement hang in the air for a moment. "Under normal circumstances I would have a number of questions about your status as a Deviant, but that description doesn't apply here."

The tension in the air seemed to change, if it didn't lessen. The blue-haired girl sighed as she began to address Nagi's statements. "You hit the nail on the head, there. I've done my best to keep my Protectors out of disputes, but I can't control them entirely, and that goes double for loners that line up with us more than Preservers." Her brow furrowed in thought again. "Though, perhaps the fact that you are not a Protector any more works to our advantage. You can operate in Preserver territory without sparking tensions. Well, at least between us and them. It would put you at great personal risk. By the way, you may call me Noriko." She added this last as an afterthought, a response to the other woman's implied question.

Peacekeeper HQ

The residence of the Peacekeepers was in significantly better condition than either the Preserver or Protector hideouts. This came from the fact that it was not an abandoned or unused warehouse of any sort; the building was actually owned by a Mediator posing as a wealthy businessman. It was listed as a small corporate office, but it had a large underground complex for the exclusive use of the magical police force that was the Peacekeepers. The interior was decorated in a minimalistic, streamlined fashion, and it was well-lit without being harsh. Wood paneling was what most of the walls consisted of, though thick steel-reinforced concrete contained rooms used for training. A man who appeared to be an employee stopped Faust a short distance into the building, though. "Do you have an appointment?" he asked.

((As a Peacekeeper, you should know that you simply need to partially or completely transform for a moment to prove your identity, since you haven't been to the HQ in this town.))

[Hiss13]

Alleyway

Quick, resourceful, and resolved, huh. Though, I wouldn't say strength is directly proportional to experience but more a variable function of experiencebut there's no point in rambling about pointless things like that. She thought as she listened to and processed Noriko's words.

"Good. You understood exactly what I am getting at. That'll make things go a lot more smoothly. With regards to the risk, don't worry about it. I don't mind it at all. The faster we can deal with this issue, the more lives we can prevent from being lost."

She then looked straight into Noriko's eyes. "That being said, Noriko-san, I have one last question for you before I make a final decision. Philosophies of how to get the job done vary even among the Protectors so I just want to make sure I'm allying with a person I can agree with. If you had to choose between protecting a life and annihilating a beast and there was no way to do both, which would you prioritize?"

[Pixl]

Gavriil began to grow annoyed at the man who took his leave. He came off as arrogant, and that sort of attitude in this situation seemed unprofessional to the Russian. However, he was not one to dwell once the issue had left, so he returned his focus to the girls talking. It seemed as if they would gain some sort of temporary alliance, which could prove to be helpful to their cause. At least, from Noriko's suggestions, it seemed like a bonus; Gavriil himself was still not knowledgeable of the politics of the land there.

With the leave of the rude one, the situation seemed to calm. There was still, however, the issue of the flare that Gavriil had taken notice of a few moments earlier. It seemed Noriko had ordered he and Kouta to go investigate, and so he followed Kouta's lead into the building. He prepared himself for a confrontation, for he had not been present at the fight to know what to expect from this person. Gavriil had many thoughts of the kind of scenario that might play out, but he left it to Kouta to lead the way. There did not seem to be so much worry about this person from the girl in the alley or Noriko herself, but Gavriil still was not keen on lowering his guard.

[Chevaleresse]

Gavriil

Kouta quickly made his way to an elevator. Fortunately, this building wasn't nearly as secure as the others, so they met little resistance on the way to the roof, though they had to find a set of stairs to actually get up there.

Nagi

"Given the absolute choice between the two? I would destroy the beast. Not through any hatred for them, unnatural though they may be, but because that one saved life might mean more lost to the creature's depredations. If it were possible to track it down and end it before it could kill again, I would save the life - after all, that is the true purpose of the Protectors." Noriko shook her head. "I don't know the circumstances behind why you left us, but I assume this question has to do with them. Before you assume that our ideologies are incompatible, I would like to press the fact that my decision is simply the one I believe leads to the greatest good." God knows I've had to make enough of those already.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Hmmm, that was fast." Vixen thought to herself as she heard footsteps in the building below her. She didn't expect the group to react that fast let alone come after her. She sighed loudly, probably being easy to hear. She was at the top of a staircase to the floor she believed they were on. She hadn't seen them yet, so she didn't know if they were some of the ones that knew her, or some of those Protectors...if it was the latter, things could get dicey. Though... they had to be stupid if they thought somebody firing off a flare was a threat. If she wanted to kill them why reveal her position? Not to mention she could have easily killed all of them already if she wanted to.

She hollered down the stairways, "And to what do I owe this unpleasant surprise? It is rather rude to come after someone who has shown you there position already is it not? You can stay down that flight of stairs until you answer... unless you want to die. Nothing personal... but it is rigged to explode. I don't like leaving my back exposed. So... answer my questions... and I will release the power on those bombs down there." Of course... they didn't know she had no bombs rigged. But why let them have their way? She wasn't about to let a bunch of people she didn't know out with her in the open. "So, how about it? I'd like to know sometime today, I have prey to track."

[Hiss13]

Nagi sighed. "Well, that's nowhere near the best answer I could have heard but it's good enough for me. Honestly, if I hadn't heard your reasoning, I would have walked away right there." She then gave a relaxed smile. "My reason for leaving the Protectors in all honesty has nothing to do with ideological differences. Kanade-nee would always say 'If you don't try to save the people right in front of you, then how are you so sure you won't be willing to abandon the next group?' She was always the type of person and leader who always prioritized protecting the people right in front of her. If anything, she was always and still the ideal type of hero and an older sister figure of sorts to me. In the end, even if I share those ideals, a villain like me has no place calling herself a part of that band of heroes."

At that moment, she realized she was divulging much more about herself than she really wanted to. Perhaps her lingering sentiment towards the Protectors was causing her to let her guard down. Whatever it was, she cut herself off. "But, that's enough about myself. I'm the type of person who dislikes formalities but seeing as we're going to be working together, it's only right that I give you my name. I'm Nagi." She reached her hand out, beckoning a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Pixl]

Gavriil paused and motioned for Kouta to stop. He was the junior in experience with these magical things, but he was still experienced in tight situations from his previous life. Analyzing the voice that spoke to them, the Russian decided that he had to speak lest there be some sort of misunderstanding. "Now, now. Assumptions are bad, yes? Of course we have no reason to harm you, but just as you have your precautions, you must understand that we have ours." He paused. For a moment, we have not sure if revealing their side was a poor decision, but he judged that this person probably already knew who they were. "We are two of the three that arrived late in the fight. We simply wanted to greet the person who revealed themselves after helping in the battle. It is the friendly thing to do, no?"

He was not unexperienced in combat or run-ins with other parties. He could not discount the bomb threat so easily for he was knew to this scene, but the way the voice tried to speed up the conversation gave Gavriil the idea that there was some expediency desired, outside the stated purpose of having a task at hand. Regardless, the best thing to do was wait in place for a response. It wouldn't do to have a fight break out here, though why that would happen, Gavriil did not know; the politics of the situation were just beyond him, so if this person was revealed, only Kouta would know if there was any threat.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"So, you hunt that beast as well then I see? Right nasty one there isn't it? Lot of innocent people in trouble if it keeps rampaging around the city like it has been. I mean to put an end to it, I suppose you do as well." Vixen said. Not a familiar voice and as he said definitely one of the newcomers to the scene. This of course made her all the more hesitant to show herself right away, since they were unfamiliar. While most of those she had met the previous day were... quite frankly... idiots, they meant well. And it is better an Idiot that means well then a genius that has no care in their soul. "So... if you do hunt this beast, why do you hunt it? Answer carefully. I have no qualms blowing this place sky high if you turn out to be my enemies rather than people I can trust. And that is a promise; I don't break promises."

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi

Noriko returned the handshake. She had a firm, but not harsh, grip. "It is good to meet you too. I'll have to meet this Kanade sometime; Protectors are generally pretty disconnected, since we don't have any reasons to maintain constant communication." She looked away from Nagi and toward the building Kouta and Gavriil had entered, looking for something. "I'll tell the rest of the Protectors to leave you alone, at least as long as we're working together." Alternating between looking at the building and down at what she was doing, Noriko pulled a crumpled sheet of paper and a pen from her pocket. She scribbled an address on it, then held it out toward Nagi. "This is where our headquarters is. Come there whenever you're ready to get started on cracking this mystery."

Rooftop

"We're hunting it because it's d-dangerous. Even Noriko-chan seemed afraid of it." Kouta visibly flinched after this last statement; although the listeners might not have known, he had made a massive slip. However, the boy persevered. "Protectors are supposed to stop beasts like that from hurting people. That's all we want to do. W-We just wanted to see who you were."

[Hiss13]

"I'm sure you'd find the experience of meeting her to be interesting. Though, finding her is its own arduous task since her cell is always on the move. But, I appreciate this. Having the freedom to move around more will make this go more smoothly." She took the paper that Noriko had written on and neatly folded it and placed it into a pocket while she watched Noriko looking off and back.

"ACK! I completely forgot!" She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pulled up the map she had marked earlier. "There are multiple scales scattered throughout the district. These were likely shed by the monsters. People who pick them up tend to start acting lethargic and eventually commit suicide. I had prevented one of them from committing suicide earlier and he's lying unconscious on the roof of this building here. I honestly don't have the resources to get all of the scales and dispose of them since destroying them causes a really unpleasant wave of despair on anyone in the vicinity but I think it's safe to assume you guys would have the resources for this." She displayed the map with various marked locations to Noriko.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Protectors then huh? If you aim to remove this beast our goals are the same... and the reason I fired that flare." So, they did aim to take out this beast... that at least quelled some of Vixen's doubts. She still wasn't thrilled to be working with Protectors... they didn't exactly fill her with confidence that they really meant well. It was sometimes Protectors that were more dangerous to regular Humans then the beasts ever were. It was more typical of the Preservers, those that protected the beasts, so she was glad they weren't preservers.

"Who is this Noriko...your leader I presume? That is my final question for now."

[Sutoratosu]

"No, I'm afraid I don't..." Faust answered the man, taking off his glasses in preparation. Already though, he could feel himself dreading how this would probably go down in the end. In a quick flash of violet and the crackle of a few sparks, his hair took on the same electric blue hue as had before, his pupils blazing like twin suns. "But my name is Johannes Faust, and I'm here due to an... urgent matter I felt would best be reported immediately. Not long ago, while conducting an investigation into the recent spike in suicide rates, I witnessed an... Anomaly in a certain beast that could prove to cause rather drastic implications somewhere down the road..." He kept his eyes fixed on the employee as he released the transformation, hair fading back to it's normal blonde hue, though all the optic luminescence did was dim a bit...

[Chevaleresse]

Nagi

"I'll get people on that right away." She stared at the map intently for a moment. "I think I could feel what you're talking about, so we should be able to locate them all without too much trouble." With that, she bowed a polite goodbye and headed into the building to collect Gavriil and Kouta.

Rooftop

"Yes. W-Who are you? I know you helped here, but I-I still have no idea what you even look like." Kouta's voice settled a bit, glad that seemingly no one had noticed his slip-up.

Faust

"Go right ahead, then." The man gestured toward an elevator, behind and to the left of him. "That will take you downward." As he said this, he leaned toward a console and punched in a quick code. A message flashed across the screen before being dismissed.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Get up here then. And just for your information there was never any explosives up here in the first place, so it is perfectly safe. Besides... this charade is getting tiresome." Vixen said. THis one seemed much more frightened then the other voice from down below... he was probably a new recruit. She didn't have much to fear if they decided to turn on her.

[Pixl]

Gavriil let Kouta do the rest of the talking, allowing him to sit back and observe the voice speaking to them. Her final comment before revealing the lack of explosives was genuine; this really was a person getting bored of the situation. The Russian thought about the laid-back types he had met in his life, or at least those laid back enough to make such comments, and he learned from experience that these were among the top ranks in terms of power and experience. The two protectors did not seem to be on the voice's bad side, so Gavrill took a cautious step forward. Despite what he was told, he still screened the corridor for rigged explosives. After taking a few strides up the stairs, he nodded back to Kouta to signal that it was clear.

He made his way to the rooftop to meet the owner of the voice that had been speaking to them. Since Kouta was still behind him, Gavriil took the liberty to speak: "Nice to meet you. I did not expect to meet such lovely lady. I am Gavriil, and the one who just spoke to you is Kouta. He is a little shy so I am sure he does not mind me introducing him." Though the reverberations from the stairwell and corridor made the accent tough to make out before, out in the open here was much more conducive to hearing his Russian heritage.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Pixl