[Date: August 17, 2020. Time: 1000 GMT.] [You've all gathered at the meeting point, Saldin arrived in a car with Ben, everyone else likely arrived seperately.] [You're in a fairly low rent part of London. A Mi-5 staffer has checked to make sure this is the right crew, being a bit more careful than usual. Also anyone who wants a bulky obvious headset gets one.] [For the record, you're in a commercial district. The weather is nice, warm and fairly light on clouds or humidity.] [Start] * Ben prefers to stick with his own headset. * Red arrives in her hot red car, driven by her hot red self. * Ben pulls up alongside it in his beaten up, dented, rust streaked, 2007 VW Golf hatchback. * Marcus steps out of a nearby wall * Miles arrives, for once, in a vehicle. Particularly, riding shotgun in Red's car. * Miles is poking around Red's car at some of the nifty gadgets. Ah, Red. Nice to see you again. * Saldin steps out of the car, smiling very slightly and looking about. "I am pleased to be done with that ride. Cars are still strange to me." * Ben steps out of his car and looks around. He's a white male in his late thirties, with greying black hair and a weatherbeaten face. He's wearing a grey suit and tie, and smoking. Oh, and Miles might note that he's healed up fine from the last mission, not a scar. H'lo, Marcus. How're yer doin' t'night? * Mi-5 guy gives everyone the once over one last time and then, after making sure everyone can get a headset, heads off. (red:) Better than before, at least. * Saldin is 6'1", muscular, and looks Indian (not American Indian), shaved absolutely bald. She is wearing a loose white shirt, although not so loose around the chest, and loose white chinese pants, as well as wooden sandals. One could see that her eyes are a solid white. Also, there is a strange symbol on her forehead. Some character in some language, probably. Something glints from her neck... gold, perhaps? * Marcus Marcus looks to be in his late 20s. Short black hair, and cleanly shaved. He has green eyes. Marcus stands about 5' 10", average build. Wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a leather jacket. 'Miles, hey. Good to see you again.' 'Oh, everyone, this here's Saldin. She wasn't in our briefings, but SAB says she's clean. That, or they just let anyone with a nice tattoo in. I'm not sure.' * Red is a fairly tall woman, at 5'8". She has short red hair and bright green eyes, and a figure that is alarmingly shapely. She is dressed in fairly common street clothes, save a bulky windbreaker that is odd in this weather. * Ben notes the windbreaker, and automatically tries to see any shapes inside it. * Saldin smiles and looks around at everyone. "I am not sure why Ben is so unwilling to believe me, especially with external confirmation. Nontheless, greetings to you all." * Miles looks at Marcus and waves. "Hiya Marcus!" He looks around wide-eyed as ever until he catches sight of Saldin, vanishing in a brief moment of... Was it fear? Miles, for the record, was wearing a blue shirt and blue-jeans today, looking around 15 years old. 'It was a joke, Saldin.' * Saldin says, without looking at Ben. "Ah. It is tough to tell with you." 'That's why my stand-up career never took off.' Nice to meet you, Saldin. And greetings yo yer as well, Saldin. * Red holds out her hand for the new boy and new girl to shake. * Ben shakes Red's hand. 'Ben Carmichael. And you're... Red?' Red Seifer, yes. I prefer 'Red' over the name my parents gave me, anyway, as it's shorter. Heh. That's an understatement. ~We've got a potential incident, three blocks West of you. Some Bobbies are confronting a girl who just broken down screaming. Awaiting confirmation...~ 'Mind if I ask what it is? Just out of curiosity.' * Saldin bows slightly again at Marcus, then slowly reaches out to grab Red's hand after Ben does, in a pleasant handshake. "Red, then. A fitting name." She must not notice the radio. No bulky headset for her, no-sir-ee! * Red takes a deep breath, and says; "Leslie Contessa Veola Magdalin Marilu Aracelis Seifer the 3rd. Yes, there were two more before me." 'Huh. Red it is.' * Ben looks over to the West. 'I guess we should check that out.' Yes, we should. ~Might be a false alarm, apparently she's a member of some half-assed street gang. We've got a guy that's dealt with her before, he's trying to calm her down.~ Let's wait here until there's confirmation. * Saldin does not seem to react to the report, or peoples' responses, instead looking around calmly with a smile on her face. Works fer me. Saldin, hm? May I enquire as to any meaning th' name has? (I just realized that what was meant to be Ben trying to see if Red was carrying concealed weapons under her inexplicable windbreaker might have come across as him staring at her chest. Which it may have looked like. But wasn't.) (Ha.) (I worded it poorly.) ( Oh, you know you want a look. All the boys do. ) (I don't!) And is who gone, Miles? (I could look and you'd never notice.) ( Sure I would. Woman's intuition. I'd know something was up! ) * Saldin shakes her head. "I do not believe it has any special meaning, Red. Simply something you can call a person by." I find it hard to interact with people when they do not know my name. Even 'Monk' becomes confusing sometimes. * Red smirks friendly-like. "Pitty. I can't comment on how appropriate it might be." * Ben profers his right hand to Marcus. 'Ben.' Although... Monk? That would explain why you have poor Miles so terrified. I think. * Marcus shakes Ben's hand. "Marcus." * Saldin nods. Then her eyes shift over straight to Miles briefly while Ben plays nicey. "Is that Miles? I did not mean to terrify him." (Hey, Ben can't be an asshole every single second. :) ) ~Oh shit. It's her alright. She just threw a punch at the Bobbie that knew her that knocked him back through a plate glass window.~ Waaah! 'Guess that's our cue.' Yes, it is. * Red does not reach into her windbreaker to pull out her gun. Yet. (Ha! I knew it!) * Saldin looks about, making the pack on her back very clear in doing so. "Cue? Did something happen?" ( Hey, a girl can only hide so much under her normal clothing. ) ~We're telling the police to disengage, apparently the gang has scattered...~ Ok.. I guess we go, now? (Fair enough. I just knew there'd be a gun there. Even if I couldn't spot it, apparently.) * Ben starts to sprint off to the West. * Red heads in the direction of the girl! * Marcus turns invisible (and insubstantial) and heads three blocks west * Saldin starts running as well. And, coincidentally, it is westward! However, she seems to run somewhat slowly compared to a normal person. [Everyone's moving pretty briskly, halfway there in less than half a minute.] * Ben's own running slows after about a block. He's breathing heavily. Smoking hurts your lungpower, kids. * Red hops in her car and burns rubber. VROOM, BABY. * Saldin is just plain slow. She doesn't seem _winded_, just slow. ~Damn it! Now they listen.. One of the police decided to play hero and arrest her, and got his head smashed through a brick wall.~ * Red scowls. ~ *Through* a brick wall? Ouch. ~ [Marcus gets there first, as he can fly and go through stuff, quickly followed by Red and the rest of the group. Oddly enough, despite her slow running, Saldin arrives moments after Red, coming from a nearby alley.] * Red leaps from her car and heads towards the girl, once she sees her. She's in sight, right? * Ben's still huffing and puffing a block away. [As you get there, you see a row of shops, mostly selling cheap electronics or the like, one of them has a Bobbie landed about 2 meters inside, looks pretty hurt, another one's tending to him.] [Another Bobby wasn't so lucky to hit the glass, and his body is embedded in a brick wall, heat is far enough in that it's out of sight. Rest of the police are scattering in a vaguely organized manner.] (What is a "Bobbie"?) (British cop. Alternate name. :P) [Your quarry comes into view and there’s little doubt this is the girl in question. She’s obviously not past her mid teens and could only be said to be attractive if you go for that enraged and psychotic look. Hey eyes are a bloodshot brown grey which and her tangled brown hair is unevenly cut, but shoulder length at most. [Continued]] [She’s wearing a torn set of black jeans that seem to have more studs than strictly necessary as well as a few crimson stains. Her top is a dingy t-shirt covered by a plaid vest. She hasn’t got any obvious weapons at the moment. [End description]] [Free round from getting there early: Marcus.] ~ Did we happen to get the girl's name? ~ [Standard init after Marcus moves: Red, Target, Saldin, Ben, Miles, Marcus.] ~We're checking police files for that now, the guy that knew her is out cold.~ * Miles peeks out from Red's car. "Does someone need help?" Yes. The cops. * Marcus moves towards the girl and stops 15 feet away. [Red!] O-okay. If we need to know something from them, I'll go help them? * Red walks over towards the commotion, not drawing her weapon yet. "Well, well, well." (Miles is more scared of this girl than he was of the giant monster with the howitzer?) (Very much so.) (Saldin's scarier! *loom*) (White eyes, no hair, funny tattoos, sees invisible people. Boo.) (Bald people are creepy, yep.) * Target rapidly looks back and forth and then her eyes fix on the approaching Red. She then starts running down the street, pretty fast and away from the group. [Saldin!] My goodness, but you're making a mess out of-- eh. * Red is scary? She never knew! (Anyone who willingly walks up to someone that just killed a cop is kinda scary. :P) * Ben speaks into his headset. 'Just out of curiosity, Preston, did anyone have the brains to try to knock her out with gas yet?' ~No, we've got some riot police in the area, but this group wasn't so equiped.~ * Saldin walks out of the alley, and frowns, reaching inside of her shirt to pull out a shiny amulet. "She seems spooked. This may not succeed." Suddenly, those who are close can hear a humming noise, and a bright flash of light from Saldin's way. * Ben groans. 'Can you try to get us some onhand?' We can prolly talk 'er down. If she listens, anyway. ~Name is Nicole apparently, commonly known as Breaker.~ [Ben! Saldin's doing her thing as we speak, but it takes some time.] * Ben overcomes his shortness of breath to dash after Nicole some more. * Saldin is standing there, hand outstretched. The amulet is humming. (Gimme a body roll) (Failed by 1.) [Ben doesn't manage to keep the pace.] [Miles!] * Ben remains in pursuit, but doesn't catch up. * Miles vanishes and, in a series of teleports, appears right next to the Target... taking the route that would keep him furthest from Saldin. "Where are ya going, Breaker?" ^_^; (Then she breaks him in two. :P ) (Hooray! Er, wait, that's a bad thing, isn't it?) (<.<) ( Miles is about as non-threatening as a boy can be. ;P ) (He really is. ^^;) (Yeah, and he just TELEPORTED IN FRONT OF HER.) (Next to her.) (So, in theory, she wouldn't have seen him actually teleport. ^^;) (Famous last words.) * Breaker's eyes go wide. "What the fuck are you?" She slows up and backs up against a wall. She's looks at him with what seems to be a mix of confusion and loathing. [Marcus!] * Ben says into his headset, so that everyone except presumably Saldin can hear, 'Just so everyone knows, I can probably take a punch from the hellion without trouble...' * Saldin starts walking towards the woman slowly. (Miles doesn't have a headset.) (He was listening to Red's radio. ^_^;) (Red does, but it's one-way.) turns visible while still a bit away from Breaker, and slows up his approach and stops about 10 feet away. "Woah.. just calm down. We just want to help you." (Red can listen but not talk, though, right? Not the other way?) * Miles nods and smiles. "We're friends!" * Breaker does not look like she's buying this. [Red!] ( We met at a meeting of the People Who Appear Out Of Thin Air Suddenly club.) * Red tries to catch up! Run, Red, Run. (Body check) ( Made it. XD ) * Saldin speaks. "Would all of the supernatural people, especially Miles, please back away from the woman? She is, unsurprisingly, not reacting well to you." She continues walking. * Saldin 's voice seems strained. * Miles glances back at Marcus. "Look, you scared her!" He turns back to the woman. * Red keeps going, since she is, as far as she knows, completely normal. (Can Miles not hear his name or something?) [Red catches up first.. what does she do?] (Saldin: Miles is... trying his best to ignore you at the moment. ^^;) (Oh, good, screw up the mission because you have issues with annihilation. ;P) (Sheesh!) (Wow. Ben's not the most wary of Saldin in this group. Heh.) * Red does not try to grab the super-strong girl and force her to stop. Instead, she says "Oi! Breaker! Cut the runnin', we can stop an' talk about this, right." * Breaker looks at Red and then Saldin. And then at Marcus briefly and Miles for a bit. She then starts backing up, facing Miles.] [Backing up towards a bar on the other side of the street. Underworld. Looks like a total dive.] (Note that Marcus is visible but insubstantial.) * Red puts her hands up, nice and empty. "Hey, no need ter be worried, 'ere. We're all friends, yeh? We're on your side." [Saldin!] * Miles looks around, then at Saldin. "She's scared of us. Let's go away so the normal people can talk to her..." * Saldin continues walking, a little faster. "She is scared of you, perhaps, as I implied." The amulet is still humming. Okay, I'll go away then... ~She's been in and out of lockup a few times, not so good with authority, we're not having any luck finding parents, trying to round up some of her friends.~ What? Oh, Miles? Don' worry 'bout 'im. He wouldn't hurt a fly if it were wavin' a gun in 'is face. If he bothers yer, tho, 'ell leave. * Saldin smiles slightly at Miles, and keeps walking. 'Hey, Preston, what info do we have on these Slayers anyway? Specifics, I mean.' [Ben!] * Red waves dismissively, like it's all no big thing. Casual, right. ~Powers are variable, known to at times include strength, incredible ability unarmed or sometimes with weapons, regenerative capability, at times flight, occasional shielding against close or distant attacks...~ * Ben pulls to a stop, huffing and puffing. 'Okay... Kid... I know... You've seen... Some scary things... In the last few... minutes. But you should just forget all that, okay? Forget all the weird scary crap you've just been through.' (Dammit. Need more levels in that.) (Failed.) (Well, you did roll a 13 on 2d8.) * Breaker keeps backing up, slowly, until she hits the wall. "I'll forget it if the pigs will. In writing..." [Miles!] 'I think we can arrange that, actually.' * Red shrugs. "Sure, we can do that." * Miles waves goodbye to Breaker, giving a small smile. " Breaker" He walks off down an alley that's in the other direction of Saldin and vanishes once he's sure he's out of sight. * Breaker calms down for a second and then... Frankly, sounds ter me like you've had a hard night, right? Could prolly go for a drink? (And then, life is good and we all get candies?) (Yeah, right.) [The bar behind her suddenly shimmers and the name switches to Netherworld. And it looks like slightly more of a dive.. probably can get cheap drinks there. Bit of a commotion inside.] [Marcus!] 'Yeah. Sure. Have a drink. Or you want a smoke, kid?' * Red blinks at that, and decides that THAT bar is a bad idea. "In fact, I know a good place, not far from here. I'm buyin'?" (Awww. But some of my best friends are from the Netherworld.) * Saldin smiles slightly. * Marcus continues to face Breaker, but holds his hands out in an attempt to look non-threatening [Red!] So, whad'ya say? Sounds good? * Breaker nods slowly... (Dammit. This is where not securing Greg a soul is going to come back to haunt us.) [And then the bar door opens, and out rushes multicolored gang of more than a dozen humanoids rapidly assembling, and looking fairly hostile. One or two may be from the same species, but they seem to be a rather eclectic group.[Continued.] * Red smiles an open and friendly smile. "Great! 'Ey, come this way. Oh, an call me Red, nice to meet yer." [There’s a shotgun and pistol wielder among them, as well as a few classical and more bizarre looking weapons, but primarily they seem unarmed or holding bats, pipes, or other improvised weaponry. Fangs, horns, claws, and tails also are prevalent.] And... and wot say we go REAL fast. (On the plus side, at least we now look less threatening than the alternative.) * Red NOW reaches into her windbreaker. "Breaker. C'mon, let's go." * Breaker starts running again, heading past the group, one or two go for her, but she quickly kicks one in the groin, and he flies up about 10 meters and lands, well, probably dead. The next one that tries to grab her gets punched in the side, about halfway up, and dies with a shocked look. Others in the mob wince in sympathy. She slows once she’s multiple meteres away. [Oddly enough, about half the group seems to be attacking the air.] (What direction's she running? ^^;) [Red can take a shot, then Saldin's turn] 'Think I should try to nuke that bar?' * Red pulls out an MP5 and fires a burst into the angry mob to take their attention off Breaker... although she did just fine, really, but still. ~There some sort of extra-planar bar in the area? We don't have any records of that." 'I think it just opened.' (*snerk*) ( Made by 2. ) (Greg: It's still Netherworld, right? and also if more demons are still emerging.) (Yes it is, no they aren't) [A blue demon has hand blown off. (In a latin variant) ] [Saldin's turn!] (Oh does anyone actually speak latin?) ( I do! ) (IRL or IC?) (IC. :P) (I might as well. I speak everything BUT Latin. ^_~) * Red would respond in Latin, but doesn't speak it. Yet. (World traveller?) (And how.) (Well, Ben speaks two romance languages, so could probably make a decent stab at comprehension of simple materials) * Saldin drops her amulet, and it hangs just between her breasts. "I think it would be best if those beasts were destroyed, yes." She walks towards Breaker. Her amulet is not humming anymore. (Holding action.) [The extra-planars, for the record, are now regrouping and murmering amongst themselves. ] [Ben!] (Oh, and give me a mind check -2 bonus, for language comprehension. Anyone who knows a few romance languages) (I knows a lots. ;_;) (Failed by 1 again!) (Hooray! I am winner.) ( Made it. ) [Red and Saldin get the gist of what they’re saying.] 'Okay, time for a going out of business sale.' Ben pulls out a grenade and tosses it through the door or window that makes the best target. (Hoo boy.) * Ben pulled out the pin first, of course. It was armed. (It's a frickin' demonic bar. I feel no guilt.) (Hey, Demons are people too!) (Greg: This just an attack roll or do I get a modifier or what?) (Ever heard of an illusion, kiddo?) (Oh, wait. No they aren't.) (Ah fuck, I'm gonna need to make a defense roll, aren't I?) (Attack roll, -3 bonus) (Think I made that.) [Grenade goes in.] * Red blinks. "That was... very unsubtle of you. Good job." (Hot gas comes out!) 'It's a f***ing demon bar.' 'There's a f***ing demonic horde over there.' * Extra-planar's glance over at the bar, and a few of them start to back off. I know it's a fucking demon bar. But we're still in-- oh, nevermind. (I forsee many penalties for "reckless disregard" in Ben's future as an SAB agent.) [Miles!] I'll explain later. For now, I think we're a little outnumbered and ought to go. Although cover for our exit can't hurt. (Ben was being totally subtle until the demons showed up! At that point, Ben believes, subtlety at this particular time and place was no longer an option.) (I'd like to point out that it wasn't Ben who spooked Nicole with gratuitous power usage.) (Indeed.) (And if SAB wants to complain that Ben drove the demonic insurance rates up, fine.) [And as this is going on, one of the extra-planars is speaking up. Red gentleman, weird looking weapon. (Holding action.) (Who is going after Breaker?) [ (Besides, I have characterization to maintain.) Oh, but good, uh, beings, I *know* you are not to be trifled ...oh, bloody hell. 'Just a thought, but maybe the mystics can handle the demons and the non- mystics can handle the girl who gets freaked out by mystics?' 'Not that I want to cut and run. Just a suggestion.' Get going now then! I agree entirely with your plan, Ben. You're a damn genius, I tell you so! 'Well, someone had to say it.' Quite. [Oh, and forgot to describe, there's the sound of an explosion from inside the bar, and it then flickers away and reverts.] ( Because it gets me out of here, but I won't say that.) 'Otherwise, everyone'd have to pluck the info right out of my mind. Wouldn't they?' ( Hey, I did NOT come armed to fight a horde of demons. ) [The guy attacks the air. Breaker looks confused for a moment and then glares at him with active loathing.] [Marcus!] (So the only one going after the girl is a demon?) (At the moment yeah, there's still like a dozen left) You guys take care of this mess, and I'll go after Breaker. I didn't come prepared to fight all this. * Saldin is right beside her. "I am more worried about if there might be other threats to Miss Breaker." (Greg: Is the reverted bar blown up or undamaged?) (Undamaged. Ben's having a good day. :P) (You needed to use the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Duh.) Other threats I can handle. More, ah, mundane things. (Ben's not just lucky. He made the correct call.) * Marcus positions himself between Breaker and the thing, and says back to Breaker and Saldin, "I suggest we leave. Quickly." [Red!] * Red runs after Breaker. She's still fleeing, right? (She's standing here. By me. ^_^;) (She fled, and then slowed up.) (So Red catches up, she can then take a new action) * Red comes to a stop next to Breaker, then turns and fires at the closest demon. ( Made by 6. ) [Demon takes it in the chest, apparently distracted by fighting the air.] [Other extraplanars discuss this amongst themselves, and then start running away... The leader hesitated for a moment and then chases after them.] * Saldin smiles pleasantly. "That seemed to work out very well." It did, yes. Let's be careful in case they regroup. * Breaker then actively stares at the ground, scanning the road, and actually moves closer to the group. "That's not it... They're everywhere..." * Saldin actually says a little forcefully. "Not everywhere. Beneath!" * Marcus turns to Breaker. "If you'll trust us, at least just for now, we can take you someplace where you will be safe." If they're beneath, they're not our problem. Let's get yer outta here, Breaker. * Miles speaks in a somewhat desperate voice. "Please hurry. That trick won't fool them for long." * Red leads Breaker back along the way they came. "C'mon, my car's this way." ~ Preston, If you'd be so kind, how do we get to the safe house? ~ * Saldin nods. "It would, perhaps, be best. Please come with us, Miss Breaker?" She is holding her amulet, and when Red moves, she moves. ~Got a synagogue, one block east, two south.~ Got a place real near, in fact. (Is the synagogue closer than Red's car?) (No, Red's car is closer) ( And is Breaker allowing herself to be lead? ) (But Red's car isn't very safe, and doesn't fit 6 people. ^_~) (Yeah) (Is Red's car on the way?) [As you speak a half dozen more than three meter long olive green tentacle whip out from under the street, typically through storm drains, but in one instance through a pothole and another by knocking a manhole cover off without any apparent effort.] (And yeah) * Saldin says, "Who said it was not our problem, exactly? We must move, or make a stand." 'And here I thought that was just an urban legend.' * Red sighs. "Shit." We can't go by ground. Too slow. [Three of them wrap around plain air, but one wraps itself around Breaker who immediately starts trying to tear it off of her. She makes some headway, but the suckers on one side of the tentacle seem to make this a difficult task.] (Combat time, I think? ^^;) * Red walks up to the tentacle holding Breaker, puts her gun next to it, and fires off a burst. Get that thing off her, and I'll get her out of here. ( Not firing anywhere near Breaker, mind. ) 'Pity Mad Dog's not here. That plasma gun is starting to sound nice.' [Tentacles down.] (We'll say back in init.) Shit.. shit.. shit.. Where's your car? [Saldin!] [To be a bit more descriptive, Red easily severs the tentacle, which is now broken and flapping about uselessly.] Ew ew ew ew ew! This way! * Red goes that way! If she can. Or points the way out to Breaker at the least. * Breaker goes that way! ( Lemme know when we reach the car. ) * Saldin will follow Breaker. "I cannot do anything if it does not show itself." (Sorry. I forgot to check range like a fool. Holding action.) [Ben!] (Remind me of the situation? What hostiles are in sight?) ( The green tentacle, and the purple tentacle. ) [Oh, and as you're moving towards the car, additional tentacles are showing up, grabbing at air farther down the road.] (Quick! Distract them with an anime schoolgirl!) (There are like eight living tentacles up right now) Keepgoingkeepgoing! (I hold my action) [Miles!] * Saldin is such a slow mover. It is sad to be slow. "I cannot help but hope that I need to be somewhere soon." * Ben reaches the end of his cigarette, but sadly cannot afford to take out another one as he runs. Instead, he spits it out and is cigaretteless. Poor Ben. * Miles follows along. [Marcus!] * Marcus flies after Breaker, and as he catches up, says, "I'm sorry if I've startled you, but, we need to be moving a bit quicker than this." Marcus gracefully picks her up and flies as quickly as possible towards the safehouse, going up into the air a bit to ward off any further attacks from sewer tentacle demons. ...Eh, that works. (Oh dear.) * Red is still going for her car, tho. (Body roll marcus for getting up fast enough. +2 penalty cause she's startled and resisting) 'Just us and the tentacles now.' (well, that works...) [Breaker fidgits some, not quite full strength. As Marcus manages to pull her up about 3.5 meters.] [Everybody else, give me a defense roll. Melee if you've got a weapon out and you prefer. Otherwise unarmed (grabs) * Miles mutters something behind Red about making illusions visible to everyone. (Do I need to make a defense roll?) (Everyone visible) ( Ouch. That... did not make it. ) (Oh, and +1 penalty on that roll.) (This will be comedy.) (Flexible...) (AWESOME. Failed.) (Failed that.) 'I specifically asked NOT to be put on the decoy team, dammit.' We're not the decoy team. That's the worst part. Oi. Oi! This is really disquieting. [Ben, Red, and Saldin are grabbed by free tentacles as they ruun, the things squeeze painfully, making it hard to breathe, although not really exerting deadly force. Fucking unpleasant though, and they seem to have a really tight grips on your clothes. Apparently this is a genuine tentacle monster.] [A few are grabbing at air still, and two go for Breaker, but can't reach her.] [Red!] (Then what's it doing grabbing Ben? Wait, that's a straight line I don't want anyone to take.) * Red winces and whimpers a little. ( Can I shoot at the tentacle holding me? ) 'Hey, do you understand English, you big ugly motherf***ing tentacle thing?' (Red, gimme a body roll. If you fail, apply that penalty to your shot) (Steady hand helps) [Red, Ben and Saldin!] (What distance am I from Red and Saldin?) (Red's like 6 ms ahead of you, Saldin like 2 back) * Saldin struggles mightily! Well, as mightily as she can, attempting to break free. ( Alright. Missed by 2, but Steady Hand negates that much. ) * Ben struggles to pull the pin on one of his grenades. He's not throwing it. Just holding it. (This a body roll? Any mod?) [Saldin struggles to free herself from the grip, she actually manages to get her hands free by slipping out of her shirt, but the tentacle is still around her waist.] (Hm.. unarmed (grapple) is a bonus) * Red tries to get away from Ben, then. O_O (Saldin is barechested?) (Is now) * Saldin is half naked, now, indeed, barechester. There are tattoos, but unless you're actively looking, or looking from the back, I'll refrain from describing. (Failed. I am having really bad luck with the dice today.) [Ben doesn't quite manage to get it out this turn.] * Ben struggles for his grenades, but can't reach. [Saldin's turn again!] (You know, partial nudity's only going to give a tentacle monster what it wants. :P) [Red's tentacle gets shot and loosens up as it goes limp.] * Red gets free? Yay. * Saldin seems unbothered by her plight completely. She grabs her pendant, and it flashes and hums. You all know the drill, but if you see the flash, you must be a pervert. * Ben's too busy being grappled to even notice Saldin. ( Sure he is. ) * Miles is ignoring Saldin, thank you very much. (Hooray! 11s mean no way.) * Breaker stops struggling. "Take me down a little, my body's telling me I should help kill shit." (I like Breaker's body.) (Do you lurve it?) [The manhole covered displaced by the tentacle suddenly rises in the air and hurls itself at the tentacle holding Saldin. And it flies right by it..] [Miles!] (Wait...) [Ben again!] * Ben continues to squirm in the tentacle's grasp, trying to get his hand onto the grenade pin. All he has to do is snag the pin and pull it out... * Saldin looks at the cover flying by in annoyance. "I must mediate more." (Oh yeah.) * Ben snags his pin and pulls it out. * Ben is surrounded by an explosion, when it clears, it looks like he was pretty badly damaged by it, not just a flesh wound here. But on the upside, the tentacle is completely fragged. [Miles!] (See a pin, pick it up, all the day you'll have good l--booom.) 'Shoulda stuck to the schoolgirls, f***er.' That was... impressively stupid. 'Oh wait.' Ben realizes that the target of this thing actually is a female of high school age. 'Heh, that's almost funny.' * Red eyes Ben. How bad a shape is he in? And please tell me his pants miraculously survived the esplosion. (It's NAKED TIME!) (Hey, if Saldin gave us fanservice, can Ben do less?) (Nah. His pants are just on fire) (*snickers at Miles doing fanservice.) (What's your move miles?) (Woo. Show us some tail!) (*cracks up*) (... No thank you, I will pass.) * Ben's suit is in tatters below the waist and nonexistant above, revealing his less than muscular torso. His entire chest area appears to be one large bleeding wound, and there are shrapnel wounds bleeding all over his body. 'That showed him.' Ben nods in satisfaction. (How much expense allowance does Ben have for new suits I wonder.) Yer insane. Yer know that, right? 'Huh? What are you talking about?' * Red goes to help Saldin instead of responding. * Ben pulls from his pants pocket (one of the ones still there) a packet of cigarette and matches. [Suddenly, the tentacle holding Saldin spontaneously combusts. Must be good Karma.] Lower damn it! 'At least now that we've stopped running, I can have a smoke. All this clean air was burning my lungs.' He lights himself a cigarette. [Marcus!] Right. (Ben's character description specifically says he wears cheap suits. This is why.) * Saldin drops to the ground, landing not so gracefully. "This thing is truly an annoyance. Why will it not come out and fight?" 'It's intimidated by our good looks.' (How far am I from the synagogue?) (You're about two blocks.) (And we're not in imminent danger where we are right now?) * Red takes off her jacket and offers it to Saldin. (Not unless you listen to breaker. :P) (Does she take off her pants and offer them to Ben? :P) (That's what I thought.) * Saldin stands. "I was unaware I had good looks." She looks at Red and smiles. "I appreciate your offer, but it will most likely be unnecessary should the demon show itself." ( No. No she does not. Ben hopefully has enough pants left to cover himself. ) "Look, I know you want to fight these things, but, I'm supposed to get you to safety. There's more of those things than all of us can handle right now, and you need to figure out how to use your new abilities first." * Marcus keeps flying to the synagogue at top speed If we're gonna fight this thing, I need to get something from my car. ( And we've lined up a stuffy British guy to show you how.) (hahahaha) * Breaker grins, it's not a fun grin. "Did I say you had a choice?" Then leave. I will be fine until you return. (Marcus, roll die. unarmed (grapple) +19 penalty. ) 'Don't mind me, Red. I'm fine here. This f***er's a wuss.' I'll be *right* back, then. * Red runs for her car! Run, Red, Run. * Breaker struggles trying to get herself free. She pushes off Marcus's arm like they were plant leaves. Doesn't hurt him though, well, not much. * Ben turns to Saldin. 'You sure you're okay against this thing? No offense, but you don't look that tough.' * Breaker rolls as she hits the ground and grabs one of the remaing tentacles and yanks, hard. "Let's see how you like it." At first she doesn't make any progress. * Miles appears next to Red as a three-tailed fox. "We need to get her to the sactuary... But how?" * Breaker digs in her heals and keeps yanking, the street shakes and then cracks, and then crumbles as she pulls something out. [... and the main body of the monster comes into view. There’s a writhing mass of tentacles remaining though the fighting to this point obviously has taken a toll. The body itself is a six meter in diameter spheroid, and an ugly pucker- marked one from what you can see of it. There are no discernable eyes, mouth, or any features.] * Saldin does not turn to Ben, but does not shy from his gaze either. "You would be surprised what one can do when they leave everything behind." She pushes her pants down and unwraps something from around her waist, leaving her completely nude. Not bad looking, either. Session Time: Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 2004 I rock! Maybe! Uh... I'll take that flight again now. If we kill this demon, she won't feel the urge to fight it anymore. [Red's turn again!] ... Okay! * Red gets to her car, opens the luggage space, and pulls out her rifle. (Wow, you're fast running. @_@) (The car is only half a block away by now. Although.. gimme a body check to get it out nad still have time to shoot) ( Made! XD ) ~We've sent those riot police to the closest sanctuary and are reinforcing them. But, someone on a motorcycle just broke through out baracade, you've got company shortly.~ 'Friend or foe, Preston?' Not MORE company. ( I think that's a hit. ) [The thing takes a fairly nasty straight on hit. Although, the wound immediately starts to close up.] * Breaker runs up and delivers two hits in quick succession, the thing is still healing up, just slower now, it's also knocked back a few meters. ~There was a second car that stopped, claimed to be with the good guys. So tenatively, friend.~ [Saldin!] * Ben speaks into his headset. 'Hey, Preston, got a six meter tall tentacle demon here. Now, am I supposed to be subtle in this situation? Be honest.' * Saldin raises her amulet, in her hand. The amulet flashes and, well, maybe Ben, could swear the flash touched her eyes as well. She starts walking forward, and chanting very softly. * Preston is quiet for a moment and then snickers. ~In this case, subtle means the neighborhood is still there when you're done.~ 'You're always coddling the neighborhood.' [Saldin's action doesn't have an immediate effect.] [Ben!] ~What can I say, the city, she loves me. I try to look after her.~ * Ben takes out a grenade. He considers throwing it, then just shrugs and walks right up to the thing. He pulls the pin as he approaches and releases the handle. Oh, and he's giving Saldin a wide berth here, so she should be out of range. 'You should have taken the hint.' * Ben is about one metre away from the creature when the grenade in his hand goes off, engulfing both him and it in a momentary fireball. * Ben, when the dust clears, looks more or less the same as before, actually. Close inspection would reveal new cuts that weren't there before, but really, you can't look much more like someone who got blown up by a grenade than he already did. [A bunch of the things tentacles wither and die, as it gains another scar.] [Ben, well I'll let him handle the descript. On the upside, the suit was already totalled.] [Yeah] [Miles!] * Miles turns into a human and walks torwards the demon, holding a bright-white ball while concentrating. * Ben sees the minimal damage he did to the creature. 'Oh, come on. F***ing Hell.' Insane. I swear it. [Marcus!] * Marcus flies back down to Breaker. "Shall we go?" * Breaker looks up at the creature, whose tentacles are now beginning to reach for her again. "Uh.. my mind tells me, my work here is done." 'Listen to your mind, kid.' (She is a smart girl.) "Good. Let's go." * Marcus picks Breaker up and carries her off towards the synagogue. Let her walk! * Breaker jumps when he grabs her, which gives Marcus a momentary added burst of speed. * The big ball starts flicking at the ground with it's tentacle and starts rolling after Marcus, it's slow at first, but starting to pick up speed. Could probably catch him within 10 seconds. [Red!] 'Hey, Saldin, can you sanctify a grenade or something? Just asking.' (Holy Hand Grenade!) * Red shoots for the demon again. Click. ~Motorcycle guy is just around the corner we think. Apparently some sort of religious demon hunter. We're holding up his backup for now, unless you want them released.~ * Saldin says in an extremely flat voice. "No, I cannot." [Demon takes another hit. All of the wounds are now healing very slowly.] (Insulting deadpan flat, or distracted mystic flat?) (Just flat.) (Literally no tone or inflection.) [The warned of motorcyclist pulls around the corner, he’s got a heavy duty looking black Harley with a non-standard tankard cylinders (each about the size of a bedroll) on each side of the bike’s rear. License plate in back has a standard London plate, in addition two a personalized Tennessee plate reading DEM. [Continued.]] [The man himself has a lean hungry look, his black hair slicked back, and is fairly handsome and in his late thirties. He’s caucasian but his skin has a slightly ashen quality, those with good eyes can see that this seems to be the result of gray veins barely visible beneath his skin. [Continued…]] [He’s wearing a long and heavy black trench coat over black pants and a white oxford shirt and has a medium sized silver cross hanging from a chain around his neck. He also has a pair of mirrored shades which completely obscure his eyes. He’s got a dark gray high tech looking pistol of some sort in his right hand. [End description finally!]] * Red makes her way towards the Synagogue after the demon. She wants to talk to these unknowns after the fighting's done. ( That guy must be the boss. ) (No, he probably beats the bad guy for us to end the adventure 'cause Greg wants to end. :P ) * Motorcyclist assesses the situation and takes a shot at the sphere. It makes a smaller scar than Red's shot, but the wound is festers with some sort of gray material. It seems unable to heal. [Saldin's turn!] * Saldin 's amulet and eyes flash again, and she seems completely focused on the demon now. Pulse, hum... (Probably failed. :P) (Success by 10?) [The sphere suddenly ceases it's rolling and seems frozen in place, there's a slight greenish glow around it and a stench like that of a sewar.] [Ben!] (I've lost track... Is Miles near Ben or not?) (Heeell no.) (That wasn't relevant to the action. I was gonna do small talk while I waited, and no one was nearby.) * Saldin smiles. "It is mine now. Nobody interfere." (Except the person I didn't want to distract.) 'Right. Go ahead.' (Hold action) * Motorcylcist puts his gun away and speaks with a slight southern drawl. "Just so long as ya have the balls to finish it." He then looks over at Saldin and actually blushes slightly and looks away. * Ben blows a long stream of cigarette smoke into the air. 'Ball's in your court, Saldin.' (What? Miles doesn't like Ben? Aww.) ~Does this guy check out?~ 'What? You're asking us?' * Saldin doesn't reply to Motorcyclist's jab. He can tell whether she has the balls or not. ~Yeah.. his credentials seem valid, but how's he acting?~ 'You're just bluffing about having actually checked credentials, right? I can tell.' * Saldin 's amulet flashes once more, and the hum gets louder still. 'He seems fine.' ~Straight up, he's got a degree in theology and a lot of confirmed kills.~ 'Well, what person with a degree in theology doesn't?' [The thing shrudders and the smell gets stronger and the green haze gets thicker. Not quite gone yet though.] [Marcus gets Breaker to safety about now.] * Ben breathes in a soothing lungful of nicoteine and tar to cover the smell. ~I'll let the rest through then.~ * Miles finishes casting, a eagle, a grizzly bear, a leopard, a wolf, and a large snake appear out of portals around him. The animals circle around him as he walks to the big hunter guy. "Hey, who are you?" * Marcus ushers Breaker into the synogague. "By the way, the name's Marcus." 'Nice pets, Miles.' Thanks! Anno... I guess we don't need them, though. * Motorcyclist blinks and swings his gun aroiund straight at Miles. "People call me Mak. I'd advise, were I you, to explain why I shouldn't pull the trigger, demon." 'Hey, I saw your little fox transformation back there. You one of those kit sunny things?' * Red walks up to the rider. "Good afternoon. And he's not a demon." Actually? It's a terrible afternoon. 'Well, not a bad demon, anyway.' * Miles looks around in a paniced state. "Oni? WHERE?!" 'Oh knee? What?' No, he's really not a demon. He's a fox-spirit. Quite different, trust me. [At this, there's a flash from the amulet and the demon disappears in a puff of green smokes. The sewar odor fades quickly therafter.] * Red nods appreciatively at the result of Saldin's efforts. * Ben looks down at Miles' knee. 'Nice work, Saldin.' Ah.. I see you're government types then. ::He doesn't use it in a complimentary sense. His gun isn't moving:: 'That's us. Civil servants through and through.' * Saldin , as the demon flashes, suddenly changes. For one, her breasts dissapear, her body shifts in shape slightly, and... her arms turn into strange green tentacles, the amulet dropping from them as that happens. A deeper voice says, without turning. "It was successful, at least." (To Miles) 'Now, what was that about your knee?' 'Holy f***.' Ben's gun is out and aimed at Saldin. * Mak (the motorcyclist) glances over at Saldin for a moment. "Well.. I suppose he did have the balls..." 'Now, who am I speaking to here?' Ben asks Saldin/tentacle thing. * Saldin turns to the group, still nude, but definitely a whole lot less female, and a whole lot more male, as Mak so delicately put it. [Around now a classic looking convertible pulls up, obviously designed off models from the first half of the 20th century if not actually that old, drives up at a fast but controlled pace. There’s a man in a normal suit driving it. As the car pulls up, the passenger in the front seat jumps over the side door. [Continued..]] [The man is wearing a white suit and tie and a black shirt, his eyes are dark brown which contrasts with his light brown skin. He’s got the looks and bearing of a movie or television star, although he’s definitely in the damned handsome rather than pretty boy category. He’s got a bible in his left hand and a cross on his belt buckle. [End]] What the hell? * Miles looks at Mak's gun, straight on. He says in a very even, very straight tone. "You shouldn't shoot me because I'm not a demon." * Ben is still training his gun on the transforming Saldin. 'I said, what's happening here?' * Saldin tries to gesture with one of his hands, which looks less like a gesture and more like a tentacle wave. "I am Saldin. Just as I was female before, I have... strange tentacles now." [Oh, and Cultural arts (television or music) roll to recognize this guy. Anyone who looks away from Saldin that is. -2 bonus for Americans] ( Yay! I bishi priest! ) ... (Not bishie. Ruggedly handsome. Quite different. :P) * Ben is still looking suspiciously at Saldin. 'Can anyone confirm that our gender changing compatriot wasn't just possessed by a hostile?' (Did Marcus see the guy well enough ay any point to get a roll?) Saldin? You're turning into a demon. Stop it. ~Apparently this is par for the course, according to our records.~ 'Preston? Start putting together better f***ing briefings. Okay?' He's not a demon. As for this one, funny, I don't recall Kitsune in the bible. Back off Mak. * Saldin ignores Ben, and with a smile still on his face, reaches into his pack to retrieve a simple robe, which he has a lot of trouble putting on. "I am... not a demon. It is simply one of the many problems associated with sealing a demon inside of a mystical pendant." * Ben lowers his gun and turns back to Miles. 'So you are a kit sunny?' * Red rubs her temples. "This isn't happening." I'm... I'm going to go talk to Breaker. She's sane. * Miles looks around panicked as the New Guy shows up. He vanishes, as do the animals. 'Oh, hey Red, nice shooting.' Ben is genuinely complimentary in this statement. * Saldin manages to slip the robe on, but has quite a time trying to tie it shut. * New guy walks over to Mak and puts his hand on the gun, lowering it with some force. He looks over at Miles. "Well friend, you don't steal souls or the.. Heh... Scared him off Mak." * Red walks towards the Synogogue. "Thanks, Ben." * Red heads over. * Ben looks around. Marcus and Red are at the synagogue, Miles has vanished. 'Hey, Saldin, want to head for the Synagogue?' * Mak concentrates for a moment and adjusts his gun in the direction the invisible Miles has moved too. The new guy then lowers it again. "Obviously he's an ally of theirs. Let it go." * Saldin finally ties the robe shut, and nods. "I believe Miss Breaker would appreciate a comforting face, even if it is not quite the face she would remember." * Saldin tries to do some motions with the tentacles. "Or the arms, for that matter. This is truly quite inconvenient!" * New guy walks over. "You got the new champion to safety? Congratulations, you've done us all a great service." * Mak grumbles and goes back to his bike. * Saldin bows. "It was simply part of what I had to do, Mister...?" * New guy bows in response. "Gibraltar, Peter Gibraltar. And who may you be, ally?" * Ben shrugs and heads off to the Synagogue. Maybe they'll have pants there. (Best line ever.) * Mak drives off, he doesn't look too pleased. * Saldin bows. "Saldin Qian, Devoted of the temple of ." (Hey, I thought you had quite comprehensible Chinese gibberish. Ben understood it.) (Well, yes, that's Ben.) ( There another channel for the Synogogue? ) * Peter smiles. "Ah, a pleasure to meet you at last, I've heard great things about your exploits, and your temple is of course legendary." ('The Legendary Temple of Chinese Gibberish'?) (It is LEGENDARY.) ( May I lurk and watch in Synagogue as well?) * Saldin smiles, and bows. His hands would be pressed together, but instead, the tentacles are just sorta... meet in the middle. "It is pleasing to know that my actions have had an effect, however small, Peter Gibraltar." * Peter bows back again. "They certainly do." He then grins. "Well, I was hoping to recruit the champion actually, but it appears she's in good hands." * Saldin lifts his pack onto where his shoulders should be. "She would certainly be welcome at the temple. I would at least hope they would allow her to make her own decision on the subject." * Peter nods. "Couldn't agree more. Well, I'll let you join your compatriots if you like. We'll be sure to contact the British government and offer our services." * Saldin nods. "I wish you a good day, then. I walk to where I need to be." He smiles, and walks. * Peter waves at his back. "Yourself as well." [End in here! Saldin proceeds to join the rest of the group in the Synagogue]