Right as the battle was about to get started, it was interrupted, as the akward security guard stepped in to stop their fun little exhibition. Sparks was quickly disappointed by her cruel intervention. "Well girls what should we do now? I've really been itching for some sort of conflict..."
"Calm down sparks, just stick to the mission." Joseph spoke in a stern manner.
"Excuse me miss?" The samurai approached the GNA officer , "is there any ways for us to continue our exhibition . It would be the best possible way for us to show case the Neo shogunates awesome prowess."
Recruitment Fair
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"Yeah!" Suzume piped in after Sparks, getting right up in the mascot woman's face. Her clones poofing away. "We are just having some fun and trying to show off how good we are in a friendly match. It isn't really, real fighting." She grasped at the woman's paw-hand-glove-things and gave her big pleading eyes. "Peweeese let us continue? We really need the exposure to attract members by showing how awesome and sexy we are."
------------------------------
DragonierMan nodded along as Prez explained what the Terror Girls were about. What did he hear a moment earlier while she was talking to the other dragon-headed charlatan? Total NET disarmament? What strange ideas to one who was created as a weapon to think. Even though he tried to keep his face as passive as he could, it betrayed his skepticism. "Uh huh. So you don't want to fight? Then... why do you call yourselves Terror Girls? Seems to me you won't end of terrorizing anyone without any teeth."
With the last line he smiled, showing his sharp canines.
------------------------------
DragonierMan nodded along as Prez explained what the Terror Girls were about. What did he hear a moment earlier while she was talking to the other dragon-headed charlatan? Total NET disarmament? What strange ideas to one who was created as a weapon to think. Even though he tried to keep his face as passive as he could, it betrayed his skepticism. "Uh huh. So you don't want to fight? Then... why do you call yourselves Terror Girls? Seems to me you won't end of terrorizing anyone without any teeth."
With the last line he smiled, showing his sharp canines.
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Aya found the audience receptive enough to her message and several gave vague commitments about looking into the booth once they finished their snacks. That was better than nothing. As she spoke to the gourmet coffee drinkers, one of the women engaged her further in conversation. "I think the Neo-Shogun Empire has the wrong idea," she replied in a soft but bold voice, holding her lips just away from her cup. The woman in question was an elegant lady with long, blond, curling hair, a wide-brimmed sunhat, and a lengthy white sundress. Her striking blue eyes met Aya's as she took a sip of her coffee, then continued. "The efforts of the NetPolice, as well as the GNA, have caused such advances over the years in making the net more stable and improving the quality of life for all citizens. The NetPolice can't fully police the net at all times, but there's no reason any one entity needs to 'rule' the net in order to bring stability. I'd say the average navi's comfort with the net is high and that new governance will do little to improve that," she countered. Aya could easily be annoyed that she was being called to defend the views of an organization she was dragged into by her master in the first place, but the woman looked serious. "Would you like to discuss it further? I'll order you a cup, if you've no objections."
----------------------------
"Aroo? Aroo! This one says he's itching for conflict! Those sound like the words of a deviant! Aroo, aroo!" the strangely dressed woman barked, dancing back and forth in front of Sparks while invading his personal space. Her cape billowed back and forth as she jumped from foot to foot. The crazy eyes of the helmet that the woman was wearing stared disarmingly into Sparks' face as she hunched forward and listened to the samurai explain why the group was fighting in the square. "Display your prowess?! Should I let those other guys over their use their torches, or those terrorists use their tank, too?! Aroo, aroooo! Xiezhi doesn't make exceptions!" she retorted, shaking her big armor dog head.
Suzume pitched in as well, grabbing hold of the officer's paws and putting on the works. "Aroo! Exposure! Do something awesome and sexy that doesn't involve fighting, then! Puppy dog eyes don't work on Xiezhi, aroo! Aroo, aroo!" the persistent antagonist replied. "No more fooling around! I'm going to leave now and you all had better not fight any more! Or, if you do, do it outside of the netsquare area, aroo! The boundaries are over there," she indicated, pointed to a glowing blue line on the net floor. Unfortunately, it was so far away that they'd look pretty awkward, standing outside of the fairgrounds and fighting each other. "The snipers will leave you alone if you exhibitionists expose yourselves out there! Aroo!"
Lee stuck out her tongue, getting fed up with listening to the GNA officer. "I'd take off all of my armor if I was wearing a stupid dog head and dumb fur cape like you are!" she complained. "Are you really with the GNA, anyways? Or are you just being nosy?"
"Aroooo!? Xiezhi is a GNA officer!" the other girl cried, stomping her feet and dancing around again. "You better show me some respect!"
"I'll show you to a good armorer, if you want! The stuff Yasu makes is a lot better than that getup!" Lee taunted, then stuck out her tongue again. She turned around and slapped the butt of her armored skirt to aggravate the officer further. "I'll bet you can't even catch me without tripping over your stupid cape!"
"Aroo!" Xiezhi growled, dropping to all fours and bristling up like an angry dog. She began chasing Lee while Lee ran to the outskirts of town, where presumably she couldn't be affected by GNA sniper fire. It was hard to tell if Lee was getting the GNA officer off of their case, or if she legitimately wanted to infuriate the excitable, dog-headed girl. Either way, while alone, Suzume and Sparks could try to start another exhibition match if they wanted. It might be possible to do it without distractions this time... or it was possible another GNA officer would just show up. Or worse, they might just get shot. But then again, nobody had shot them earlier when they started fighting, so that didn't seem like a likely possibility. Perhaps the snipers had known they weren't fighting for real but Xiezhi hadn't?
-------------------------------------
"We Terror Girls will fight, as long as it's necessary! But only to the ends of total net disarmament," Prez explained, smiling back challengingly at DragonierMan. "This creature behind us is TerrorMan," she announced, pointing to the tremendous, skull-faced tank behind the stand. It didn't seem like a navi, despite the name; rather, just a weapon. "Our name is based on his own. When it comes to a radical idea like net-disarmament, people won't often listen to reason, and may respond with violence of our own. For that reason, we use TerrorMan to strike fear into them. It's unfortunate that we must resort to such tactics, but until the day that our mission is accomplished, TerrorMan will continue to serve us as our peacekeeper!"
She turned to inspect the tank, but continued talking. "Of course, no one needs to join the Terror Girls to support our cause. They simply need to spread the word about net disarmament. We need more cooperation, more attempts to understand supposed malefactors like viruses... more peace. Once that gradual process goes on for some time, the world will be a better place, and there will be no need for weapons like TerrorMan," she explained.
Vee looked to be gathering a nice crowd now, due to Aya's efforts to bring people in and DragonierMan's efforts to keep the opposition occupied.
----------------------------
"Aroo? Aroo! This one says he's itching for conflict! Those sound like the words of a deviant! Aroo, aroo!" the strangely dressed woman barked, dancing back and forth in front of Sparks while invading his personal space. Her cape billowed back and forth as she jumped from foot to foot. The crazy eyes of the helmet that the woman was wearing stared disarmingly into Sparks' face as she hunched forward and listened to the samurai explain why the group was fighting in the square. "Display your prowess?! Should I let those other guys over their use their torches, or those terrorists use their tank, too?! Aroo, aroooo! Xiezhi doesn't make exceptions!" she retorted, shaking her big armor dog head.
Suzume pitched in as well, grabbing hold of the officer's paws and putting on the works. "Aroo! Exposure! Do something awesome and sexy that doesn't involve fighting, then! Puppy dog eyes don't work on Xiezhi, aroo! Aroo, aroo!" the persistent antagonist replied. "No more fooling around! I'm going to leave now and you all had better not fight any more! Or, if you do, do it outside of the netsquare area, aroo! The boundaries are over there," she indicated, pointed to a glowing blue line on the net floor. Unfortunately, it was so far away that they'd look pretty awkward, standing outside of the fairgrounds and fighting each other. "The snipers will leave you alone if you exhibitionists expose yourselves out there! Aroo!"
Lee stuck out her tongue, getting fed up with listening to the GNA officer. "I'd take off all of my armor if I was wearing a stupid dog head and dumb fur cape like you are!" she complained. "Are you really with the GNA, anyways? Or are you just being nosy?"
"Aroooo!? Xiezhi is a GNA officer!" the other girl cried, stomping her feet and dancing around again. "You better show me some respect!"
"I'll show you to a good armorer, if you want! The stuff Yasu makes is a lot better than that getup!" Lee taunted, then stuck out her tongue again. She turned around and slapped the butt of her armored skirt to aggravate the officer further. "I'll bet you can't even catch me without tripping over your stupid cape!"
"Aroo!" Xiezhi growled, dropping to all fours and bristling up like an angry dog. She began chasing Lee while Lee ran to the outskirts of town, where presumably she couldn't be affected by GNA sniper fire. It was hard to tell if Lee was getting the GNA officer off of their case, or if she legitimately wanted to infuriate the excitable, dog-headed girl. Either way, while alone, Suzume and Sparks could try to start another exhibition match if they wanted. It might be possible to do it without distractions this time... or it was possible another GNA officer would just show up. Or worse, they might just get shot. But then again, nobody had shot them earlier when they started fighting, so that didn't seem like a likely possibility. Perhaps the snipers had known they weren't fighting for real but Xiezhi hadn't?
-------------------------------------
"We Terror Girls will fight, as long as it's necessary! But only to the ends of total net disarmament," Prez explained, smiling back challengingly at DragonierMan. "This creature behind us is TerrorMan," she announced, pointing to the tremendous, skull-faced tank behind the stand. It didn't seem like a navi, despite the name; rather, just a weapon. "Our name is based on his own. When it comes to a radical idea like net-disarmament, people won't often listen to reason, and may respond with violence of our own. For that reason, we use TerrorMan to strike fear into them. It's unfortunate that we must resort to such tactics, but until the day that our mission is accomplished, TerrorMan will continue to serve us as our peacekeeper!"
She turned to inspect the tank, but continued talking. "Of course, no one needs to join the Terror Girls to support our cause. They simply need to spread the word about net disarmament. We need more cooperation, more attempts to understand supposed malefactors like viruses... more peace. Once that gradual process goes on for some time, the world will be a better place, and there will be no need for weapons like TerrorMan," she explained.
Vee looked to be gathering a nice crowd now, due to Aya's efforts to bring people in and DragonierMan's efforts to keep the opposition occupied.
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Sparks gave a chuckle as Lee pulled the officer away from the group. The crowd was still in tact, they seemed to have a lot of eyes on them. "Hmmm, Suzume I don't believe we have to continue any sort of sparring match at the moment." He motioned towards all the spectators and continued, "We already have the attention we seek, so we should go ahead and pitch what the Neo Shogunate is all about..."
Then it hit Sparks, he didn't really know anything about them. He knew they had to be somewhat just, if Dragoneirman was doing business with them. Other then that, the samurai had only been on the dream mission earlier, and that didn't provide him with any type of back story of the organization. The only thing that was for sure, was that he was here to help bring people in, and that's what he was gonna try and do. "So everybody, I know it wasn't much, but y'all have just witnessed a small, lovely portion of what this group is capable of, and we want to add some of you to that arsenal!" His words were stern, loud, and full of fiery emotion.
Then it hit Sparks, he didn't really know anything about them. He knew they had to be somewhat just, if Dragoneirman was doing business with them. Other then that, the samurai had only been on the dream mission earlier, and that didn't provide him with any type of back story of the organization. The only thing that was for sure, was that he was here to help bring people in, and that's what he was gonna try and do. "So everybody, I know it wasn't much, but y'all have just witnessed a small, lovely portion of what this group is capable of, and we want to add some of you to that arsenal!" His words were stern, loud, and full of fiery emotion.
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Aya did feel a little offended that she had to "defend" the Neo-Shogunate from naysayers, but at least the Navi seemed reasonable and not overly unbearable. She forced herself to smile. "I have no objections," she said as she got into line with the woman. She transferred what was left of her pamphlets, over their internal connection, to Suzume. Perhaps she could make use of them while Aya was busy with whoever this was.
"My name is Aya, what's yours?" she asked as they waited. "And as for what you said, there are those that say that the NET is not stable enough. Have you not been out in the wilds where viruses run rampant, making a mess in the Real World? And even in the more civilized areas, the so-called 'Police' and the 'Mafia' have been at war for some time, among other groups that sew discord. Clearly there should be something we can do to bring order to all this chaos. If not just for the improvement of conditions around here."
------------------------------
Suzume watched the antics of Xiezhi, and Lee. Which thankfully ended with the annoying wolf girl disappearing from view. She turned towards Sparks as he made his suggestion. Suzume smiled warmly... just before she face-planted into the ground. A stack of pamphlets had materialized in her arms and caused her to become unbalanced and pitch forward onto her face. It took her a moment of cursing and rubbing her sore nose and chin before she noticed what caused her spill. "Who? What? Why do I have Neo-Shogun literature?"
She took a moment to read the opening paragraph, and noticed Aya's writing style. "Aya? I should have known. She's trying to get back at me for losing her hairbrush by making me carry all these pamphlets. What am I a workhorse? Some nerve," she said as she stood up and kicked the stack of pamphlets, causing them to scatter everywhere.
"Iyaaah!" she yelled out in shock as she realised, a little too late, that this was the best time to use them on the gathered crowd. She frantically raced around and snatched the flittering papers up. Running up to random strangers and thrusting the pamphlets in their hands with a quick, "Here, read this!
"The Neo-Shogunate is recruiting members!" she yelled to the crowd as she shoved a stack into Sparks' hands. "The booth is over that way," she said as she pointed over towards the Neo-Shogunate booth on the other side of the fairground.
------------------------------
DragonierMan stared at the tank as Prez continued her speech. Then turned around and looked across the way to the ROT stage. An idea clicked in his head. "So ever get into scrapes with them?" he asked Prez as he turned back towards her, pointing over his shoulder at the group of red-robbed individuals. "They would probably think your idea of disarmament is a joke. They are trying to purify the NET of anyone weak and cowardly. They would spit on your peace," he said.
Drago didn't really know much about ROT, but he could guess. But right now he needed to get the two groups to bicker and draw attention away from their recruiting. He spun around and yelled across at the stage. "What do you have to say about that huh!?" He then made a show of pointing at the tank. "TerrorMan here says you're organization isn't reasonable and he is going to force you to disarm! What are you going to do about that? Or are you guys as weak and cowardly like your predecessor Guillotine? I bet you will all run and hide in your little holes and let them usher in their version of utopia."
"My name is Aya, what's yours?" she asked as they waited. "And as for what you said, there are those that say that the NET is not stable enough. Have you not been out in the wilds where viruses run rampant, making a mess in the Real World? And even in the more civilized areas, the so-called 'Police' and the 'Mafia' have been at war for some time, among other groups that sew discord. Clearly there should be something we can do to bring order to all this chaos. If not just for the improvement of conditions around here."
------------------------------
Suzume watched the antics of Xiezhi, and Lee. Which thankfully ended with the annoying wolf girl disappearing from view. She turned towards Sparks as he made his suggestion. Suzume smiled warmly... just before she face-planted into the ground. A stack of pamphlets had materialized in her arms and caused her to become unbalanced and pitch forward onto her face. It took her a moment of cursing and rubbing her sore nose and chin before she noticed what caused her spill. "Who? What? Why do I have Neo-Shogun literature?"
She took a moment to read the opening paragraph, and noticed Aya's writing style. "Aya? I should have known. She's trying to get back at me for losing her hairbrush by making me carry all these pamphlets. What am I a workhorse? Some nerve," she said as she stood up and kicked the stack of pamphlets, causing them to scatter everywhere.
"Iyaaah!" she yelled out in shock as she realised, a little too late, that this was the best time to use them on the gathered crowd. She frantically raced around and snatched the flittering papers up. Running up to random strangers and thrusting the pamphlets in their hands with a quick, "Here, read this!
"The Neo-Shogunate is recruiting members!" she yelled to the crowd as she shoved a stack into Sparks' hands. "The booth is over that way," she said as she pointed over towards the Neo-Shogunate booth on the other side of the fairground.
------------------------------
DragonierMan stared at the tank as Prez continued her speech. Then turned around and looked across the way to the ROT stage. An idea clicked in his head. "So ever get into scrapes with them?" he asked Prez as he turned back towards her, pointing over his shoulder at the group of red-robbed individuals. "They would probably think your idea of disarmament is a joke. They are trying to purify the NET of anyone weak and cowardly. They would spit on your peace," he said.
Drago didn't really know much about ROT, but he could guess. But right now he needed to get the two groups to bicker and draw attention away from their recruiting. He spun around and yelled across at the stage. "What do you have to say about that huh!?" He then made a show of pointing at the tank. "TerrorMan here says you're organization isn't reasonable and he is going to force you to disarm! What are you going to do about that? Or are you guys as weak and cowardly like your predecessor Guillotine? I bet you will all run and hide in your little holes and let them usher in their version of utopia."
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"Aroma," the blonde woman introduced herself, placing her cup down neatly with both hands now that the two had a conversation going. "Full disclosure: I'm not an NP officer, but I am a sponsor, of sorts. Back to our conversation, I would note that issues with viruses rampant on the net have existed since its beginning and, if anything, have improved over time. It's not realistic or feasible to expect to wipe out all viruses from the net, because doing so requires going after their sources... cybeasts in unknown locations, and even their origins are subject to question. I suppose what I'm saying is that the civilian population has been trained to arm themselves against the threat of viruses and thus far has done an admirable job of maintaining their quality of life, through regular virus busting."
Aroma transferred credits to a nearby server navi, who rushed off to get Aya's drink. "The ongoing struggle between the NetPolice and NetMafia has brought difficulties for everyone, to be sure. It negatively impacts the police, who have less time to perform their ordinary duties, and it affects civilians, who can be caught in the crossfire. On the other hand, I don't see how the Neo-Shogun Empire proposes to handle the Mafia situation any better than we are currently. Say the unthinkable happens," the sponsor continued placing her fingers upon a long, silver teaspoon. She slowly stirred her drink as she talked. "That the NetPolice either agreed to cooperate with the Empire, that they surrendered their capacity as the net's legal policing force, or that they were absorbed by the Empire, even. That wouldn't stop the Mafia, whose goals run counter to order and security on the net. The best case scenario is that the Empire replaces the NP and the war continues. The Mafia represents themselves, not a unified people. They like having assume degree of exclusivity, for, after all, they couldn't exploit and profit off of themselves."
"You're right on at least one account, however. I do believe the supremacy of one single faction would be in everyone's best interest. Only, I feel that it should be the NetPolice, not the Empire," she reaffirmed, then took another sip of her beverage. "The NP offers tested leadership, as well as a large member base operating under well-understood, legal boundaries. I also view their status as peace keepers, rather than a ruling party, as desirable."
-----
Sparks and Suzume had about as much luck as Aya did. No one was committing to join, a few were heading over to speak to Vee, but mostly, they were content to continue doing whatever they were doing (in this case, watching the loud, screamy, impromptu rock concert). Still, it was better than nothing.
"Sizzling, squirming, slender and right
Coming on strong,
Hot and wickedly tight~
An ego feast
My feast tonight!
Give me your body and surrender your light!
No telling what the band was singing about, but it was so loud now that it was difficult to talk over. That might be hurting their efforts here, somewhat.
-----
Vee had an actual line formed now, which was certainly a step up from earlier. Prez didn't seem to notice, as DragonierMan engaged her attention. "Those navis? No, I've never met them. I've been avoiding them on this outing," she responded, looking somewhat worried. Her worry turned to outrage as DragonierMan's words seemed to be drawing out the intended emotions. "What they see as weak and cowardly is actually the superior option of peace! I will have some strong words for them!" she announced. Before she had the chance, though, DragonierMan took matters into his own hands, with a more direct approach.
The blond girl waved her hands and tried to defuse the situation as DragonierMan spoke for her. "Wait, er, I suggest a dialogue! We should make certain that we see every side of the issue before we jump at each other's throats!" she recommended. Despite her words, her blue armored subordinate's arms had opened up, revealing an array of miniature explosives. The one in green was holding onto the desk now, but it wasn't clear why. The pose looked aggressive, though. "A-And TerrorMan can't say anything! He's a tank. He does laugh sometimes though..."
"Ha ha ha ha!" the dominatrix cackled with an evil laugh of her own. "Guillotine was weak indeed! My name is Domm. Remember it: it's the name of your conqueror," she announced, cracking her whip aggressively. "Disarm? Utopia? What is that nonsense? The only utopia is one filled with powerful navis, free of scum and filth like you weaklings!"
"You've got it backwards! Warmongers like yourself are everything that's wrong with the net! I abhor violence, but I won't hesitate to blast you off of the net if you try to stop our mission!" Prez challenged the enemy.
"What an idea! If I fall to any of your half-hearted attacks, then I deserve to be deleted!" Domm retorted. "She who wields the most power is the one who is righteous. I'll show you just how righteous I am!"
The crowd speaking to Vee was suddenly alarmed, even more so when TerrorMan opened his mouth and began to charge a laser beam and Domm jumped off of her pedestal, straight towards her enemies. Many dove to the ground... when, suddenly, the problem was resolved, in the form of three shots. The first hit Domm, who faltered mid-air, losing her balance. She narrowly avoided the second attack by jacking out before it could hit her. A third shot, which came as a targeted beam that developed into a much stronger laser, hit TerrorMan's skull face, melting the ornament so that it lost its skull design entirely and covered up the cannon entirely. An explosion followed, erupting out of TerrorMan as he cannibalized his own shell. The now open-faced tank, now only about 3/4 of a tank, cackled evilly for a moment, then faded into a robotic drawl as it lost its ability to react.
"T-T-TerrorMan! Uuuuu.... ROT! I won't forget this, not as long as I live! You have no place in the perfect peace of the net!" Prez wept, holding back Cruz and Load from attacking. "We've got to retreat for today, but mark my words! We'll disarm you, even if that means deleting you!"
The ROT navis didn't respond, as they seemed pretty disorganized without their leader. They weren't jacking out, but there was really nothing they could do without her. "Blimey," one murmured.
Vee turned to DragonierMan and gave a discrete thumbs up, which seemed uncharacteristic of her. He deserved it, though; his seemingly reckless actions had taken out a lot of their opposition, caused the enemies to lose face, and simultaneously opened up the channels to allow more people into their booth... or, presumably, more people would be coming in, as soon as they were over the initial shock of the short-lived factional warfare that had just taken place.
Aroma transferred credits to a nearby server navi, who rushed off to get Aya's drink. "The ongoing struggle between the NetPolice and NetMafia has brought difficulties for everyone, to be sure. It negatively impacts the police, who have less time to perform their ordinary duties, and it affects civilians, who can be caught in the crossfire. On the other hand, I don't see how the Neo-Shogun Empire proposes to handle the Mafia situation any better than we are currently. Say the unthinkable happens," the sponsor continued placing her fingers upon a long, silver teaspoon. She slowly stirred her drink as she talked. "That the NetPolice either agreed to cooperate with the Empire, that they surrendered their capacity as the net's legal policing force, or that they were absorbed by the Empire, even. That wouldn't stop the Mafia, whose goals run counter to order and security on the net. The best case scenario is that the Empire replaces the NP and the war continues. The Mafia represents themselves, not a unified people. They like having assume degree of exclusivity, for, after all, they couldn't exploit and profit off of themselves."
"You're right on at least one account, however. I do believe the supremacy of one single faction would be in everyone's best interest. Only, I feel that it should be the NetPolice, not the Empire," she reaffirmed, then took another sip of her beverage. "The NP offers tested leadership, as well as a large member base operating under well-understood, legal boundaries. I also view their status as peace keepers, rather than a ruling party, as desirable."
-----
Sparks and Suzume had about as much luck as Aya did. No one was committing to join, a few were heading over to speak to Vee, but mostly, they were content to continue doing whatever they were doing (in this case, watching the loud, screamy, impromptu rock concert). Still, it was better than nothing.
"Sizzling, squirming, slender and right
Coming on strong,
Hot and wickedly tight~
An ego feast
My feast tonight!
Give me your body and surrender your light!
No telling what the band was singing about, but it was so loud now that it was difficult to talk over. That might be hurting their efforts here, somewhat.
-----
Vee had an actual line formed now, which was certainly a step up from earlier. Prez didn't seem to notice, as DragonierMan engaged her attention. "Those navis? No, I've never met them. I've been avoiding them on this outing," she responded, looking somewhat worried. Her worry turned to outrage as DragonierMan's words seemed to be drawing out the intended emotions. "What they see as weak and cowardly is actually the superior option of peace! I will have some strong words for them!" she announced. Before she had the chance, though, DragonierMan took matters into his own hands, with a more direct approach.
The blond girl waved her hands and tried to defuse the situation as DragonierMan spoke for her. "Wait, er, I suggest a dialogue! We should make certain that we see every side of the issue before we jump at each other's throats!" she recommended. Despite her words, her blue armored subordinate's arms had opened up, revealing an array of miniature explosives. The one in green was holding onto the desk now, but it wasn't clear why. The pose looked aggressive, though. "A-And TerrorMan can't say anything! He's a tank. He does laugh sometimes though..."
"Ha ha ha ha!" the dominatrix cackled with an evil laugh of her own. "Guillotine was weak indeed! My name is Domm. Remember it: it's the name of your conqueror," she announced, cracking her whip aggressively. "Disarm? Utopia? What is that nonsense? The only utopia is one filled with powerful navis, free of scum and filth like you weaklings!"
"You've got it backwards! Warmongers like yourself are everything that's wrong with the net! I abhor violence, but I won't hesitate to blast you off of the net if you try to stop our mission!" Prez challenged the enemy.
"What an idea! If I fall to any of your half-hearted attacks, then I deserve to be deleted!" Domm retorted. "She who wields the most power is the one who is righteous. I'll show you just how righteous I am!"
The crowd speaking to Vee was suddenly alarmed, even more so when TerrorMan opened his mouth and began to charge a laser beam and Domm jumped off of her pedestal, straight towards her enemies. Many dove to the ground... when, suddenly, the problem was resolved, in the form of three shots. The first hit Domm, who faltered mid-air, losing her balance. She narrowly avoided the second attack by jacking out before it could hit her. A third shot, which came as a targeted beam that developed into a much stronger laser, hit TerrorMan's skull face, melting the ornament so that it lost its skull design entirely and covered up the cannon entirely. An explosion followed, erupting out of TerrorMan as he cannibalized his own shell. The now open-faced tank, now only about 3/4 of a tank, cackled evilly for a moment, then faded into a robotic drawl as it lost its ability to react.
"T-T-TerrorMan! Uuuuu.... ROT! I won't forget this, not as long as I live! You have no place in the perfect peace of the net!" Prez wept, holding back Cruz and Load from attacking. "We've got to retreat for today, but mark my words! We'll disarm you, even if that means deleting you!"
The ROT navis didn't respond, as they seemed pretty disorganized without their leader. They weren't jacking out, but there was really nothing they could do without her. "Blimey," one murmured.
Vee turned to DragonierMan and gave a discrete thumbs up, which seemed uncharacteristic of her. He deserved it, though; his seemingly reckless actions had taken out a lot of their opposition, caused the enemies to lose face, and simultaneously opened up the channels to allow more people into their booth... or, presumably, more people would be coming in, as soon as they were over the initial shock of the short-lived factional warfare that had just taken place.
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DragonierMan had also ducked out of the way as the GNA took out their competition. He had to admit, it was a pretty impressive showing of force. He also wanted that tank-melting laser. Oh what he could do with a weapon like that. Something he would have to try to duplicate later. If he could find the specs somewhere...
But the main thing that he patted himself on the back for was how well the attempt to make the two factions fight each other worked out. Not only did he open up the whole area for the Neo-Shogunate booth and remove the two loud groups from view, but he also made them swear vendetta against each other. Eventually, the two of them fighting each other through the NET would weaken both of them enough for Drago to swoop in and dispatch them all. He would have his revenge against ROT eventually.
But now, with his job done, he dusted himself off and headed back to the booth. He sat down near Vee with a smug look on his face. "So... how'd I do?"
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Aya listened and sipped quietly on her beverage as Aroma laid out her well-thought-out views. Granted, Aya had not encountered a NetPolice Officer and was not quite sure about the legality behind them. But she had encountered a NetMafia... person. It seemed to her that they would have to deal with the NetMafia first before unification was possible. "So... assuming that we could eliminate the NetMafia, perhaps with the help of the NetPolice, and integrate the proven leadership and peace-keeping capabilities of the NetPolice into the centralized government of the Neo-Shogun Empire; would that convince you that the Neo-Shogunate is the way to go?" she asked.
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Suzume clamped her hands over her ears and groaned. They would have to do something about that blasted music before they could continue. She grabbed at Sparks and attempted to drag him towards the offending music people. "We got to get rid of that band if we have any shot at getting the crowds' attention. You're a warrior, you deal with them!" she yelled to Sparks to be heard over the music as she pushed Sparks in front of her over to the stage.
But the main thing that he patted himself on the back for was how well the attempt to make the two factions fight each other worked out. Not only did he open up the whole area for the Neo-Shogunate booth and remove the two loud groups from view, but he also made them swear vendetta against each other. Eventually, the two of them fighting each other through the NET would weaken both of them enough for Drago to swoop in and dispatch them all. He would have his revenge against ROT eventually.
But now, with his job done, he dusted himself off and headed back to the booth. He sat down near Vee with a smug look on his face. "So... how'd I do?"
------------------------------
Aya listened and sipped quietly on her beverage as Aroma laid out her well-thought-out views. Granted, Aya had not encountered a NetPolice Officer and was not quite sure about the legality behind them. But she had encountered a NetMafia... person. It seemed to her that they would have to deal with the NetMafia first before unification was possible. "So... assuming that we could eliminate the NetMafia, perhaps with the help of the NetPolice, and integrate the proven leadership and peace-keeping capabilities of the NetPolice into the centralized government of the Neo-Shogun Empire; would that convince you that the Neo-Shogunate is the way to go?" she asked.
------------------------------
Suzume clamped her hands over her ears and groaned. They would have to do something about that blasted music before they could continue. She grabbed at Sparks and attempted to drag him towards the offending music people. "We got to get rid of that band if we have any shot at getting the crowds' attention. You're a warrior, you deal with them!" she yelled to Sparks to be heard over the music as she pushed Sparks in front of her over to the stage.
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Sparks was pushed directly in front of the stage, finding himself between the crowd, and the band that was playing the loud distracting music. The samurai let out a deep sigh, as the music blasted, he could barley gather his thoughts.
"Um... excuse me." He said politely, but speaking in such a tone wouldn't have any type of effect against the high volume, so he gathered himself and yelled, "EXCUSE ME, COULD WE PLEASE TONE DOWN THE MUSIC!?"
"Um... excuse me." He said politely, but speaking in such a tone wouldn't have any type of effect against the high volume, so he gathered himself and yelled, "EXCUSE ME, COULD WE PLEASE TONE DOWN THE MUSIC!?"
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Vee turned her eyes to the returning DragonierMan, then gave her attention back to the person speaking to her from across the booth. She shook the navi's hand, having to lean out of her seat to do so, then plopped back down. "Good. Except for the part where you came and interrupted me while I was addressing a potential recruit. But otherwise, good." It sounded like that was the best praise he was going to get. At least it was probably more than he would have gotten from Yasu, who likely would have slapped him just for smiling. "To be honest, I'm not sure I get it. Yasu made it sound like you were more like my sister... stupid and battle-hungry. I guess maybe she only had the battle-hungry part right. But stirring up trouble was the right cause in this case," she admitted. The next visitor was up to the stand, so she broke up with DragonierMan and started pitching the empire again. "If you're done here, why don't you go meet Aya and see if she needs help? And... if you see anything to snack on... well, you don't have to worry about it. But I'm a little hungry."
The fact that she'd gone out of her way to tell him told DragonierMan that she was actually a lotta hungry. But then again, that wasn't really his concern, as it wasn't part of the mission.
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Aroma listened to Aya and nodded. "Having the Mafia out of the picture might make it a lot easier for the NP to cooperate with the Shogunate; part of their problem is likely they're worried they're spread too thin, worrying about several different growing factions. On the other hand, you've made another difference in the goals of the two organizations apparent: the NP doesn't necessarily need to 'eliminate' the mafia to succeed at achieving their status quo of protecting the peace. The Neo-Shogun Empire, on the other hand, must necessarily force the Mafia to put its cards on the table and relinquish its right to grow and gain self-ruling power. The NP would like that as well, of course, but we have no expectation of doing so. If you've chosen to join the Shogunate, you have a difficult road ahead of you, since you'll either need to convince the Mafia not to try to gain power or otherwise squash them," she responded, speaking in a light and quick voice. Her words didn't seem practiced, but they came easily; she clearly did a lot of debating on similar points, as evidenced by the flow of her speech, regardless of what one thought of her points. "On the other hand, I also imagine a situation where, once the Mafia is defeated, the NP and Shogunate could each struggle to maintain their legitimate authority. One or the other might end up resorting to the same tactics the Mafia used to try to give themselves an edge and would ultimately adopt that old rival role. That's a worst case scenario, though. I'd like to think the NP isn't capable of something like that, but there are certain folks in the business that care more about dominating others than they do enforcing the peace. Depending on their pull, it could happen."
She put her cup down and recrossed her legs, then gave a warmer smile. "Come to think of it, I haven't much of an idea whether the Shogunate could become such an organization because I know very little of the personalities of its leaders. What do you think? Do you think that the Shogunate elites would be just rulers and peacekeepers? Or do you have doubts on the issue and it's more of a 'settle into the role' type of scenario?" Aroma inquired. The sweet scent coming off of her was so strong that it nearly overpowered that of the gourmet coffee... Yet, it was like entering a candy shop or some such place, where the fragrance was pervasive but not overpowering, inciting happiness and perhaps a little hunger. "I don't mean to turn the conversation to gossip, but I'm sure you have an officer or two in your own ranks that sometimes befuddles you."
--------------
The band certainly didn't take any notice of Sparks as he was shoved towards the front of the crowd, then addressed them in a polite tone. It would have been pretty uncanny if they'd been able to hear him over their instruments, let alone the singing or the speakers. Noticing this, he raised his voice so that they'd be able to hear him, but it was nearly impossible to get any kind of effect. The people nearest to him turned, some laughing and others jeering. The bassist and the drummer continued playing, while the rock guitar player / vocalist snickered and made a parting motion with her hands, indicating that the sea of partiers should get out of the way so she could speak to the samurai.
The singer / lead guitar player was a girl of average, unassuming height, with a decent, if perhaps overly skinny, figure. Her hair was a bright, red-orange color and spiked around, reaching about to her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of red leather shorts, boots, gloves, and a matching crop top jacket with a black bikini top underneath. Her eyes, half closed, and her lips, curled into a half-condescending rocker's smirk, both made it look like she wasn't about to agree to his demands. "What's up, hairy-kairy? You make it a habit to go to concerts, just t'ask the performers and musicians to tone it down a little? You ain't one'a those 'think of the children' types, are you? Cause those are the lamest! Laaaame lamelamelame!" she cackled, although the laughter turned into a groan partway through. She sounded a little drunk, in that respect. "Naw, I don't really think you're one of those types, partially on account've erryone like that died off years ago with the dinosaurs, 'r whatever. So what's your complaint, buddy? Oh, are you from that little booth that was next to us? There was a girl there who had a real stick up her butt, who complained earlier, but I haven't seen her in a while. You one'a those Radioheads, or whatever?" It wasn't really clear what she was asking. Regardless, it seemed like just asking wasn't going to do the trick. She'd started playing her rock guitar again while she watched him, staring defiantly into his eyes and sticking out her tongue beneath her teeth, really getting into her not at all quiet instrumentation.
The fact that she'd gone out of her way to tell him told DragonierMan that she was actually a lotta hungry. But then again, that wasn't really his concern, as it wasn't part of the mission.
------------
Aroma listened to Aya and nodded. "Having the Mafia out of the picture might make it a lot easier for the NP to cooperate with the Shogunate; part of their problem is likely they're worried they're spread too thin, worrying about several different growing factions. On the other hand, you've made another difference in the goals of the two organizations apparent: the NP doesn't necessarily need to 'eliminate' the mafia to succeed at achieving their status quo of protecting the peace. The Neo-Shogun Empire, on the other hand, must necessarily force the Mafia to put its cards on the table and relinquish its right to grow and gain self-ruling power. The NP would like that as well, of course, but we have no expectation of doing so. If you've chosen to join the Shogunate, you have a difficult road ahead of you, since you'll either need to convince the Mafia not to try to gain power or otherwise squash them," she responded, speaking in a light and quick voice. Her words didn't seem practiced, but they came easily; she clearly did a lot of debating on similar points, as evidenced by the flow of her speech, regardless of what one thought of her points. "On the other hand, I also imagine a situation where, once the Mafia is defeated, the NP and Shogunate could each struggle to maintain their legitimate authority. One or the other might end up resorting to the same tactics the Mafia used to try to give themselves an edge and would ultimately adopt that old rival role. That's a worst case scenario, though. I'd like to think the NP isn't capable of something like that, but there are certain folks in the business that care more about dominating others than they do enforcing the peace. Depending on their pull, it could happen."
She put her cup down and recrossed her legs, then gave a warmer smile. "Come to think of it, I haven't much of an idea whether the Shogunate could become such an organization because I know very little of the personalities of its leaders. What do you think? Do you think that the Shogunate elites would be just rulers and peacekeepers? Or do you have doubts on the issue and it's more of a 'settle into the role' type of scenario?" Aroma inquired. The sweet scent coming off of her was so strong that it nearly overpowered that of the gourmet coffee... Yet, it was like entering a candy shop or some such place, where the fragrance was pervasive but not overpowering, inciting happiness and perhaps a little hunger. "I don't mean to turn the conversation to gossip, but I'm sure you have an officer or two in your own ranks that sometimes befuddles you."
--------------
The band certainly didn't take any notice of Sparks as he was shoved towards the front of the crowd, then addressed them in a polite tone. It would have been pretty uncanny if they'd been able to hear him over their instruments, let alone the singing or the speakers. Noticing this, he raised his voice so that they'd be able to hear him, but it was nearly impossible to get any kind of effect. The people nearest to him turned, some laughing and others jeering. The bassist and the drummer continued playing, while the rock guitar player / vocalist snickered and made a parting motion with her hands, indicating that the sea of partiers should get out of the way so she could speak to the samurai.
The singer / lead guitar player was a girl of average, unassuming height, with a decent, if perhaps overly skinny, figure. Her hair was a bright, red-orange color and spiked around, reaching about to her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of red leather shorts, boots, gloves, and a matching crop top jacket with a black bikini top underneath. Her eyes, half closed, and her lips, curled into a half-condescending rocker's smirk, both made it look like she wasn't about to agree to his demands. "What's up, hairy-kairy? You make it a habit to go to concerts, just t'ask the performers and musicians to tone it down a little? You ain't one'a those 'think of the children' types, are you? Cause those are the lamest! Laaaame lamelamelame!" she cackled, although the laughter turned into a groan partway through. She sounded a little drunk, in that respect. "Naw, I don't really think you're one of those types, partially on account've erryone like that died off years ago with the dinosaurs, 'r whatever. So what's your complaint, buddy? Oh, are you from that little booth that was next to us? There was a girl there who had a real stick up her butt, who complained earlier, but I haven't seen her in a while. You one'a those Radioheads, or whatever?" It wasn't really clear what she was asking. Regardless, it seemed like just asking wasn't going to do the trick. She'd started playing her rock guitar again while she watched him, staring defiantly into his eyes and sticking out her tongue beneath her teeth, really getting into her not at all quiet instrumentation.
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Now that she mentioned it, DragonierMan was a little peckish himself. And even though a food run wasn't in the mission description, he wasn't heartless. "Seems you got everything set here. I'll see what I can track down," he said as he stood up and started walking away from the booth. Time to go snackploring.
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Aya tilted her head. She didn't know much about the Neo-Shogun Generals beyond their interactions with DragonierMan. Unfortunately that colored their capabilities in a sad light. She put down her coffee and thought for a long moment. "I... I can't say that I really know them. My interactions with them have been nothing but mission-centric since the beginning," she said as she traced a finger around the rim of her mug.
"I also haven't really met Neo-ShogunMan either. So I don't know how effective of a leader he would be. However," she said as she sat back up in her chair, "My Core serves them. So I help as I can." Aya says with conviction, referring to the Navi that birthed her as the 'Core.'
She leaned in a little. Confiding with Aroma wouldn't really hurt, would it? "Just between you and me," she stated in a hushed tone, "I think he is just using the Neo-Shogunates for his own purposes. Whether or not he plans on taking control of the whole thing remains to be seen," she said cryptically. Either referring to DragonierMan or Destin Obscura, the Operator. "If he does seize control, I would like to think he would give the leadership they so desperately need. And then you wouldn't have anything to worry about."
------------------------------
Suzume bristled. "We are not lame! Sparks! Show them your mad music skills," she said as she produced what looked like a flute, but with a bunch of high-tech devices coming off of it. Like an electric guitar that was instead a flute. She then started playing it. It gave out a single high-pitched note to try to break through the din of the band and get their attention. And then she began to rock out on it.
------------------------------
Aya tilted her head. She didn't know much about the Neo-Shogun Generals beyond their interactions with DragonierMan. Unfortunately that colored their capabilities in a sad light. She put down her coffee and thought for a long moment. "I... I can't say that I really know them. My interactions with them have been nothing but mission-centric since the beginning," she said as she traced a finger around the rim of her mug.
"I also haven't really met Neo-ShogunMan either. So I don't know how effective of a leader he would be. However," she said as she sat back up in her chair, "My Core serves them. So I help as I can." Aya says with conviction, referring to the Navi that birthed her as the 'Core.'
She leaned in a little. Confiding with Aroma wouldn't really hurt, would it? "Just between you and me," she stated in a hushed tone, "I think he is just using the Neo-Shogunates for his own purposes. Whether or not he plans on taking control of the whole thing remains to be seen," she said cryptically. Either referring to DragonierMan or Destin Obscura, the Operator. "If he does seize control, I would like to think he would give the leadership they so desperately need. And then you wouldn't have anything to worry about."
------------------------------
Suzume bristled. "We are not lame! Sparks! Show them your mad music skills," she said as she produced what looked like a flute, but with a bunch of high-tech devices coming off of it. Like an electric guitar that was instead a flute. She then started playing it. It gave out a single high-pitched note to try to break through the din of the band and get their attention. And then she began to rock out on it.
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The band leaders words didn't seem to phase the samurai, or Suzume for that matter. Seeing her playing her awkward looking instrument motivated him to also perform. Sparks placed his right hand on the hilt of his katana, which may have drew the attention of the snipers but as he unsheathed the lighting sword l, it was revealed that it wasn't a sword after all, in fact the electric energy formed the shape of a magnification harp.
"A samurai should not only be a parcticioner of the sword, but he should achieve mastery over other arts as well." Sparks spoke and ran his fingers across the make shift harp strings, letting out a very graceful, yet loud sound in an attempt to drown out the opposing band.
"A samurai should not only be a parcticioner of the sword, but he should achieve mastery over other arts as well." Sparks spoke and ran his fingers across the make shift harp strings, letting out a very graceful, yet loud sound in an attempt to drown out the opposing band.
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"Thank you," Vee responded simply, briefly disregarding the patron she was speaking to. Just as quickly, she returned her attention to them, so as not to shirk her duties. DragonierMan left to go get snacks.
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"Really? That's surprising. I thought those generals were pretty involved with you girls and DragonierMan," Aroma responded, briefly frowning. "But... well, rumors being as they are, it does sound like they tend to have a lot of specific interest in DragonierMan," she chuckled. "But again, that's silly gossip. I have heard that Neo-ShogunMan is fairly difficult to get an audience with, so I suppose it's not surprising if you haven't spent much time with the organization leader himself."
Despite having said she didn't want to gossip, Aroma leaned her own voluptuous bosom a little across the table to listen in on Aya's private scoop. "Oh my... I hadn't heard anything about that. From what I've heard, he's been doing so much for the organization and... some rather undesirable tasks... so I had just assumed that he was eager to please the shogun. I had no idea that he had any intention of trying to wrest control. And I'm... honestly amazed that you thought to entrust me with that information. Appreciative... But surprised," the NetPolice benefactor murmured, sounding shocked despite her outwardly calm smile. "Are you saying... That if DragonierMan was in charge of the Neo-Shogun Empire... he might be receptive to a partnership in which the NP and Empire each retain their command structures and combine forces to police the net? Would he perhaps be interested in discussing something of this nature with the NP Department of Internal Affairs?" It sounded like the woman was getting big ideas, and further, like she had a bit more pull in everything than her status as a sponsor implied.
DragonierMan was approaching the food area now, on the hunt for something tasty to bring back to Vee. Aroma waved to him with one of her dainty hands, the one not occupied with her drink, signalling so that she would see his SP sitting with her. "Hello there!" she greeted him. "We were just talking about you."
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The drummer and bassist finally stopped as Suzume got their attention; the guitarist smirked, , leveling her guitar with her waist and waiting for the ninja to get some music out. She lowered her lip, nodded slowly, and raised her arms to the audience, asking them to signal what they thought. The tone was still mostly confusion. The drummer and bassist watched silently, the former smiling in a way that seemed mildly condescending and the latter staring with an inexpressive frown. All three looked between one another as Sparks brought out his harp, no less strange an instrument than Suzume's flute. The two played together, loud enough to drown out any music that the other girls could retort with.
The guitarist stepped forward with her hands on the hips of her shorts, tilting her chin backwards to attempt to match Sparks' eyesight. "Allow me to introduce myself!" she yelled unblinkingly, shouting over his music. "My name is Strum! Skins is on the drums! Washburn is on the bass! We're Lit Fusion!" she continued, pointing at each of the girls in turn. "Now, I 'preciate the effort... I don't know where you two learned to play music and it's real charming and all. But one, you two need a smidge more practice and a heck of a lot more passion before you can really impress me... And two, this crowd is here to see a rock band! A harp and a flute, I mean, they're pretty and all, but the people don't want sweetness. They want a haaaard, bitter sting that shoves itself right up their arses, and that's the sick guitar licks of Lit Fusion!" she announced, raising her instrument into the air and playing another lick; they had the benefit of giant speakers, so it was impossible to play over them. The crowd roared, indicating that they agreed with the assessment. She winked, then backed up, turn around and, threw off her jacket into the crowd. She placed both hands back onto the guitar and lifted it into the air, gyrating her butt while rocking out. Skins and Washburn joined back in.
Suzume and Sparks had managed a diversion, but it was nothing more than that; the situation was back to sum zero. Strum looked back over her shoulder and grinned. "You wanna play along with us? Well... we can use the flute, but the harp ain't quite our sound. Waddya say?"
----------------------------
"Really? That's surprising. I thought those generals were pretty involved with you girls and DragonierMan," Aroma responded, briefly frowning. "But... well, rumors being as they are, it does sound like they tend to have a lot of specific interest in DragonierMan," she chuckled. "But again, that's silly gossip. I have heard that Neo-ShogunMan is fairly difficult to get an audience with, so I suppose it's not surprising if you haven't spent much time with the organization leader himself."
Despite having said she didn't want to gossip, Aroma leaned her own voluptuous bosom a little across the table to listen in on Aya's private scoop. "Oh my... I hadn't heard anything about that. From what I've heard, he's been doing so much for the organization and... some rather undesirable tasks... so I had just assumed that he was eager to please the shogun. I had no idea that he had any intention of trying to wrest control. And I'm... honestly amazed that you thought to entrust me with that information. Appreciative... But surprised," the NetPolice benefactor murmured, sounding shocked despite her outwardly calm smile. "Are you saying... That if DragonierMan was in charge of the Neo-Shogun Empire... he might be receptive to a partnership in which the NP and Empire each retain their command structures and combine forces to police the net? Would he perhaps be interested in discussing something of this nature with the NP Department of Internal Affairs?" It sounded like the woman was getting big ideas, and further, like she had a bit more pull in everything than her status as a sponsor implied.
DragonierMan was approaching the food area now, on the hunt for something tasty to bring back to Vee. Aroma waved to him with one of her dainty hands, the one not occupied with her drink, signalling so that she would see his SP sitting with her. "Hello there!" she greeted him. "We were just talking about you."
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The drummer and bassist finally stopped as Suzume got their attention; the guitarist smirked, , leveling her guitar with her waist and waiting for the ninja to get some music out. She lowered her lip, nodded slowly, and raised her arms to the audience, asking them to signal what they thought. The tone was still mostly confusion. The drummer and bassist watched silently, the former smiling in a way that seemed mildly condescending and the latter staring with an inexpressive frown. All three looked between one another as Sparks brought out his harp, no less strange an instrument than Suzume's flute. The two played together, loud enough to drown out any music that the other girls could retort with.
The guitarist stepped forward with her hands on the hips of her shorts, tilting her chin backwards to attempt to match Sparks' eyesight. "Allow me to introduce myself!" she yelled unblinkingly, shouting over his music. "My name is Strum! Skins is on the drums! Washburn is on the bass! We're Lit Fusion!" she continued, pointing at each of the girls in turn. "Now, I 'preciate the effort... I don't know where you two learned to play music and it's real charming and all. But one, you two need a smidge more practice and a heck of a lot more passion before you can really impress me... And two, this crowd is here to see a rock band! A harp and a flute, I mean, they're pretty and all, but the people don't want sweetness. They want a haaaard, bitter sting that shoves itself right up their arses, and that's the sick guitar licks of Lit Fusion!" she announced, raising her instrument into the air and playing another lick; they had the benefit of giant speakers, so it was impossible to play over them. The crowd roared, indicating that they agreed with the assessment. She winked, then backed up, turn around and, threw off her jacket into the crowd. She placed both hands back onto the guitar and lifted it into the air, gyrating her butt while rocking out. Skins and Washburn joined back in.
Suzume and Sparks had managed a diversion, but it was nothing more than that; the situation was back to sum zero. Strum looked back over her shoulder and grinned. "You wanna play along with us? Well... we can use the flute, but the harp ain't quite our sound. Waddya say?"
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Aya grinned inwardly. Her deceptive plan had worked at extracting key details from Aroma. Aya wasn't sure whether DragonierMan had any intention of wresting control from Neo-ShogunMan, but that was immaterial. And if this rumor got back to the Neo-Shogunate somehow, it would also be useful in seeing how they would react. Regardless the main point of the deception was testing what Aroma really wanted by talking to her. An alliance would propel the ideals of her Operator forward considerably. She just had to keep fueling Aroma's desires.
DragonierMan noticed Aya sitting with an unknown woman... having coffee. When he was waved down, he put on a questioning look and walked over to the table. "Hello," he responded courteously. He then looked to Aya, who shrugged. "This is Ms. Aroma. She is a Sponsor for the NetPolice. I was trying to convince her to back the Neo-Shogunate. One thing lead to another and she wants to discuss a potential alliance between the NetPolice and Neo-Shogunate."
"Ah," DragonierMan stated.
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"Sparks!" Suzume shouted to be heard over the music, "Switch to internal comm." With that she put her hand up to her ears and switched off the receiver code, plunging the sounds of the world into dead quiet. Then she waved her hand in the air in front of her face and produced a tiny vid-window. She passed it over to Sparks, gliding it on the wind. The box said <DO YOU ACCEPT SUZUME'S INTERNAL COMMUNICATION?>, but it only had a single button underneath it that said 'OK,' so their wasn't any real choice. If Sparks pressed the button they would be able to talk to each other through their minds. Kind of like Telepathy, but without the mind reading aspect.
IF SPARK'S PRESSED THE BUTTON:
<You might want to deaden your ears if you want to hear me clearly,> Suzume stated in Spark's mind. After a moment of silence for Sparks to do so, she continued. <So... I see two options now: either we beat them at their own game, getting their respect, or we find some way to disrupt their concert permanently. Either way the end goal is to get them out of here. What do you want to do? And if you have a better idea, let's hear it.>
IF SPARK'S DOES NOT PRESS THE BUTTON:
Suzume made pantomime motions to him that he should press the button. Making it clear through her movements that she could not hear him otherwise and that he should PRESS THE BUTTON ALREADY!
DragonierMan noticed Aya sitting with an unknown woman... having coffee. When he was waved down, he put on a questioning look and walked over to the table. "Hello," he responded courteously. He then looked to Aya, who shrugged. "This is Ms. Aroma. She is a Sponsor for the NetPolice. I was trying to convince her to back the Neo-Shogunate. One thing lead to another and she wants to discuss a potential alliance between the NetPolice and Neo-Shogunate."
"Ah," DragonierMan stated.
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"Sparks!" Suzume shouted to be heard over the music, "Switch to internal comm." With that she put her hand up to her ears and switched off the receiver code, plunging the sounds of the world into dead quiet. Then she waved her hand in the air in front of her face and produced a tiny vid-window. She passed it over to Sparks, gliding it on the wind. The box said <DO YOU ACCEPT SUZUME'S INTERNAL COMMUNICATION?>, but it only had a single button underneath it that said 'OK,' so their wasn't any real choice. If Sparks pressed the button they would be able to talk to each other through their minds. Kind of like Telepathy, but without the mind reading aspect.
IF SPARK'S PRESSED THE BUTTON:
<You might want to deaden your ears if you want to hear me clearly,> Suzume stated in Spark's mind. After a moment of silence for Sparks to do so, she continued. <So... I see two options now: either we beat them at their own game, getting their respect, or we find some way to disrupt their concert permanently. Either way the end goal is to get them out of here. What do you want to do? And if you have a better idea, let's hear it.>
IF SPARK'S DOES NOT PRESS THE BUTTON:
Suzume made pantomime motions to him that he should press the button. Making it clear through her movements that she could not hear him otherwise and that he should PRESS THE BUTTON ALREADY!
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Sparks did however choose to press the button. Her two options presented a slight issue though. They were already drowned out by the band's loud speakers, and if they caused any trouble it was sure to grab the attention of the guards.
The samurai however replied, "You want my sincere answer? I've been ready for this since we got here." Sparks knew good and well that while the speakers were pushing out the loud rock music the situation was hopeless. Something had to be done, but what could he do? He waved of Suzume, and ended thier transmission. The electrical harp shifted into its katana state.
Sparks used his elec clone signature move to split into two copies. Each rushed to the speakers on opposite ends of the stage. Without warning, nor hesitation the two samurai stabbed their electric blades into the speakers, pumping them with more electricity then they could handle.
The samurai however replied, "You want my sincere answer? I've been ready for this since we got here." Sparks knew good and well that while the speakers were pushing out the loud rock music the situation was hopeless. Something had to be done, but what could he do? He waved of Suzume, and ended thier transmission. The electrical harp shifted into its katana state.
Sparks used his elec clone signature move to split into two copies. Each rushed to the speakers on opposite ends of the stage. Without warning, nor hesitation the two samurai stabbed their electric blades into the speakers, pumping them with more electricity then they could handle.
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"Charmed," Aroma greeted DragonierMan, her hands leaving her cup to fold one over another. "I would always welcome any negotiations that could lead to a peaceful, cooperative relationship between our two alliances. Of course, I am merely a sponsor and not a proper officer, so if you ever have the desire to hold such a discussion, it would be my pleasure to put you in contact with my good friend, Bayonet. She's a ranked member of the NetPolice Department of Internal Affairs and would be more than happy to meet with you, I'm sure. How about... next time you have the opportunity, visit the NP Headquarters and tell them I wanted you to meet Bayonet? I believe that would be the easiest way to do it. Only if you're interested, of course," she finished, then took another sip of her coffee. "You really must try some of the confectioneries assembled here, they're all quite tasty. I'm always inclined towards whatever smells best, you understand, but I've tried the others as well. My, I've made a bit of a pig of myself~"
She must have some pretty daring taste buds if she chose to try all three of these particular items back to back: warm gourmet coffee, cold gelato, and sugary carnival snacks.
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The already noisy speakers grew momentarily noisier, blaring a frustrating, high-pitched death whine as Sparks took the confrontational course of action, attacking the audio equipment with dual electric attacks from himself and his clone. The crowd and band alike all held their ears until the noise passed, clenching their teeth and squinting their eyes with the brief associated pain. When everyone managed to open them again, about a dozen sniper beams were trained on both copies of Sparks, perhaps predictably. If drawing one's weapon was considered a hostile action, it should come as no surprise that destruction of property would be treated as one.
Strum's mouth hung open for a moment, then she grinned, spun the guitar behind her back, and raise her fists out towards him. "Hey, Hairy-Kairy! I give your performance two fingers and no thumbs," she addressed Sparks, slowly raising both of her middle fingers simultaneously. "You can shove that review up your ass, too, if you like them up there. What the HELL were you thinking, rushing the stage and then killing our speakers?!" Despite her grin, she was clearly intensely frustrated.
The patronizing-looking blond girl on drums shook her head slowly. "Now, now, Strum. He's probably just upset that you didn't offer him a chance to play with us. I could have worked with an electric harp. I don't meet a lot of men who are so good with their fingers," she chuckled; it all sounded more like a joke than a legitimate endorsement.
"Yer'real ninkomputski, m'brother," the dark-green haired bassist remarked, flipping her shaggy hair out of her eye momentarily only for it to fall immediately back into place. Her words weren't very easy to understand, but they sounded like an insult as well.
The crowd also began booing viciously. The singing had stopped, though, so they accomplished that... but it wasn't easy to tell if they'd really gained anything by doing so.
She must have some pretty daring taste buds if she chose to try all three of these particular items back to back: warm gourmet coffee, cold gelato, and sugary carnival snacks.
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The already noisy speakers grew momentarily noisier, blaring a frustrating, high-pitched death whine as Sparks took the confrontational course of action, attacking the audio equipment with dual electric attacks from himself and his clone. The crowd and band alike all held their ears until the noise passed, clenching their teeth and squinting their eyes with the brief associated pain. When everyone managed to open them again, about a dozen sniper beams were trained on both copies of Sparks, perhaps predictably. If drawing one's weapon was considered a hostile action, it should come as no surprise that destruction of property would be treated as one.
Strum's mouth hung open for a moment, then she grinned, spun the guitar behind her back, and raise her fists out towards him. "Hey, Hairy-Kairy! I give your performance two fingers and no thumbs," she addressed Sparks, slowly raising both of her middle fingers simultaneously. "You can shove that review up your ass, too, if you like them up there. What the HELL were you thinking, rushing the stage and then killing our speakers?!" Despite her grin, she was clearly intensely frustrated.
The patronizing-looking blond girl on drums shook her head slowly. "Now, now, Strum. He's probably just upset that you didn't offer him a chance to play with us. I could have worked with an electric harp. I don't meet a lot of men who are so good with their fingers," she chuckled; it all sounded more like a joke than a legitimate endorsement.
"Yer'real ninkomputski, m'brother," the dark-green haired bassist remarked, flipping her shaggy hair out of her eye momentarily only for it to fall immediately back into place. Her words weren't very easy to understand, but they sounded like an insult as well.
The crowd also began booing viciously. The singing had stopped, though, so they accomplished that... but it wasn't easy to tell if they'd really gained anything by doing so.
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"!!!" Suzume silently exclaimed as Sparks took the direct course of action and actually attacked the speakers. She clicked back on her outside audio after the vibrations from the shorted speakers stopped. "Well, I guess that is the third way of dealing with the problem." She looked at the distraught crowd and the broken speakers. She hoped they wouldn't be billed for this...
It was just then that she noticed a few dozen beams of light covering Sparks head to toe. He looked like he had the pox. Oh wait... the snipers! Her voice broke in panic, "Sparks, don't make any sudden movements! The GNA snipers got you in their sights." She frantically looked around at the rooftops as she quickly took in the numbers. There were so many of them. This was really bad. How were they going to get out of this?
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"Uh, huh," DragonierMan said, looking over Aroma to the surrounding food stands. Clearly his mind was more on the food court than on acknowledging the NetPolice sponsor. "So, what is the best of the best here?" he asked after she was done with her speech about having him meet Bayonet. Aya, on the other hand, was writing this down on a little pad of paper she had just whipped out of... somewhere. "Sure, you can tell her we'll give her a ring within the week." Aya adjusted a pair of spectacles on her face and her hair was done up in a bun. She looked like a secretary.
After receiving any instructions on the choice of food, DragonierMan headed around to the different food carts and started loading up on a feast to bring back to Vee. "See you two later," he stated as he walked by Aroma and Aya with his bag of goodies. Barely acknowledging Aroma's presence again.
Moments later he dumped the bag of food items on the Neo-Shogun table. "I didn't know what you wanted, so I got a little of everything. Enjoy.~"
It was just then that she noticed a few dozen beams of light covering Sparks head to toe. He looked like he had the pox. Oh wait... the snipers! Her voice broke in panic, "Sparks, don't make any sudden movements! The GNA snipers got you in their sights." She frantically looked around at the rooftops as she quickly took in the numbers. There were so many of them. This was really bad. How were they going to get out of this?
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"Uh, huh," DragonierMan said, looking over Aroma to the surrounding food stands. Clearly his mind was more on the food court than on acknowledging the NetPolice sponsor. "So, what is the best of the best here?" he asked after she was done with her speech about having him meet Bayonet. Aya, on the other hand, was writing this down on a little pad of paper she had just whipped out of... somewhere. "Sure, you can tell her we'll give her a ring within the week." Aya adjusted a pair of spectacles on her face and her hair was done up in a bun. She looked like a secretary.
After receiving any instructions on the choice of food, DragonierMan headed around to the different food carts and started loading up on a feast to bring back to Vee. "See you two later," he stated as he walked by Aroma and Aya with his bag of goodies. Barely acknowledging Aroma's presence again.
Moments later he dumped the bag of food items on the Neo-Shogun table. "I didn't know what you wanted, so I got a little of everything. Enjoy.~"
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The clone vanished in to a poof of smoke and electricity. Sparks pulled his blade from the now broken speaker and sheathed it slowly. The samurai then proceeded to back away from the damaged equipment with his hands up. Unsure of how the guards were too react to his hostile action he simply turned his attention back to the band.
"I apologize for my hostility, seeing as nothing else has worked to gain the attention of surrounding spectators, it seemed, for a second anyways, like the best course of action." The Navi spoke calmly, with confidence. "I'm here on a mission, and must succeed so maybe now we can work something out."
"I apologize for my hostility, seeing as nothing else has worked to gain the attention of surrounding spectators, it seemed, for a second anyways, like the best course of action." The Navi spoke calmly, with confidence. "I'm here on a mission, and must succeed so maybe now we can work something out."
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The irascible band members looked between each other in a short conference, before the leader/guitarist/vocalist spoke up. "We don't need you to get shot or nothin'. I just wanna know why you're such a jackass, that's all," she shrugged, motioning at the unseen snipers to lower their weapons. It seemed to work, as the laser sights all left Sparks' body. "Well, like, specifically: what kind of mission are you on. You need to get people's attention? Hold your own damn concert, then!" she snarled, looking irritated again. "Whatever, I'm done with you. Just get out of here and we're going to pick back up where we left off, just with worse projection. There's nothin' to work out. You're you and we're us, unless you're looking to join Lit Fusion or something. But we ain't lookin' for members, Hairy-Kairy."
"Part've ower appeal's bee-yen an 'awl-gull band,'" the bassist added, putting special finger notes on "all-girl band" for some reason.
It sounded like the band wanted nothing more to do with Suzume and Sparks. It might be best for them to leave before things got any more tense. Lee appeared in the distance, no longer being followed by the dog-lady she'd met earlier. She looked to be covered in dust and bruises, with several bite marks covering her armor and a few chunks missing here and there. She looked half unconscious, stumbling around while grinning stupidly. When she realized the staredown happening on-stage, she stopped just short of entering the band's field of view and hung out behind the stage, in case they needed her to make a secret-play or otherwise didn't want to appear to be Neo-Shogun associates.
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"Oh... Well, I prefer the coffee myself," Aroma suggested, which was certainly in line with what one would expect. "I'm not really a judge of carnival confections or gelato, so much, but the coffee is exquisite." Although her appearance was still one of calm and serenity, the brevity of her speech implied that she was just the opposite of DragonierMan: no longer interested in the food and very interested with talking to a new contact within the Neo-Shogun's army. The NP sponsor turned her attention back to Aya, looking mildly surprised at the gag-like transformation into DragonierMan's secretary (and possibly the way she was suddenly being treated as the one whose time was the least valuable in the conversation). "Of course. I'll tell her," she agreed, fixing her expression back into a pleasant smile.
She sat awkwardly, wondering if her conversation with DragonierMan was over. It appeared to be, as he finished on a dismissive note. "Certainly," she agreed, watching her peculiar new acquaintance leave. "Hm... Not much of a talker," she murmured, then took another sip of her coffee. Her eyes were looking around as if she was afraid she'd see someone she knew, and that they in turn might have seen her get the cold shoulder, which didn't happen to her very often given her speaking skills and looks. "Thank you for introducing me, Aya. I hope that the two of you will have a productive meeting with Bayonet later on."
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Vee was hard at work, as the number of interested parties coming to the lone Neo-Shogun stand (surrounded on both sides by conspicuously empty stands) had continued to increase. Still, she took an immediate break once she saw that DragonierMan had come back with food. The little ninja took the items out of the bag one by one, her surprise growing at each: coffee, cotton candy, and gelato were odd options to go together. She picked up on the cotton candy almost immediately, grabbing it with a rude quickness before realizing what she was doing and slowing herself down to a more lady-like pace. "Thank you," she spoke quietly, then pulled her mask down from her nose to her chin so that she could enjoy the treat. She made no noise as she ate with a ravenous quickness, to the surprise of the man who she'd been pitching the Neo-Shogun Army to. "It's... very good. I haven't had something like this in a long time," she admitted, speaking around her food. While it had interrupted her speech to the newcomer, the good news was it didn't interrupt her for long, because she very quickly finished that snack and started speaking to him again.
After she'd finished up with him, she turned back to DragonierMan before addressing the next customer. "I'd say we've greatly improved our customer flow. If you want to get the girls, my sister, and Sparks, I don't mind paying you so you can all get on your way," she explained, then quickly changed gears to introduce herself to the navi across the booth from herself.
"Part've ower appeal's bee-yen an 'awl-gull band,'" the bassist added, putting special finger notes on "all-girl band" for some reason.
It sounded like the band wanted nothing more to do with Suzume and Sparks. It might be best for them to leave before things got any more tense. Lee appeared in the distance, no longer being followed by the dog-lady she'd met earlier. She looked to be covered in dust and bruises, with several bite marks covering her armor and a few chunks missing here and there. She looked half unconscious, stumbling around while grinning stupidly. When she realized the staredown happening on-stage, she stopped just short of entering the band's field of view and hung out behind the stage, in case they needed her to make a secret-play or otherwise didn't want to appear to be Neo-Shogun associates.
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"Oh... Well, I prefer the coffee myself," Aroma suggested, which was certainly in line with what one would expect. "I'm not really a judge of carnival confections or gelato, so much, but the coffee is exquisite." Although her appearance was still one of calm and serenity, the brevity of her speech implied that she was just the opposite of DragonierMan: no longer interested in the food and very interested with talking to a new contact within the Neo-Shogun's army. The NP sponsor turned her attention back to Aya, looking mildly surprised at the gag-like transformation into DragonierMan's secretary (and possibly the way she was suddenly being treated as the one whose time was the least valuable in the conversation). "Of course. I'll tell her," she agreed, fixing her expression back into a pleasant smile.
She sat awkwardly, wondering if her conversation with DragonierMan was over. It appeared to be, as he finished on a dismissive note. "Certainly," she agreed, watching her peculiar new acquaintance leave. "Hm... Not much of a talker," she murmured, then took another sip of her coffee. Her eyes were looking around as if she was afraid she'd see someone she knew, and that they in turn might have seen her get the cold shoulder, which didn't happen to her very often given her speaking skills and looks. "Thank you for introducing me, Aya. I hope that the two of you will have a productive meeting with Bayonet later on."
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Vee was hard at work, as the number of interested parties coming to the lone Neo-Shogun stand (surrounded on both sides by conspicuously empty stands) had continued to increase. Still, she took an immediate break once she saw that DragonierMan had come back with food. The little ninja took the items out of the bag one by one, her surprise growing at each: coffee, cotton candy, and gelato were odd options to go together. She picked up on the cotton candy almost immediately, grabbing it with a rude quickness before realizing what she was doing and slowing herself down to a more lady-like pace. "Thank you," she spoke quietly, then pulled her mask down from her nose to her chin so that she could enjoy the treat. She made no noise as she ate with a ravenous quickness, to the surprise of the man who she'd been pitching the Neo-Shogun Army to. "It's... very good. I haven't had something like this in a long time," she admitted, speaking around her food. While it had interrupted her speech to the newcomer, the good news was it didn't interrupt her for long, because she very quickly finished that snack and started speaking to him again.
After she'd finished up with him, she turned back to DragonierMan before addressing the next customer. "I'd say we've greatly improved our customer flow. If you want to get the girls, my sister, and Sparks, I don't mind paying you so you can all get on your way," she explained, then quickly changed gears to introduce herself to the navi across the booth from herself.
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"Good, I was getting bored with nothing more to hunt," DragonierMan stated with a grin as he took his hand out of a bag of popcorn and shoved the contents in his mouth. He then stood up and sat the rest of the goodies on his chair before heading out into the fairgrounds to gather the rest of the group. Vee and Lee would be able to take over from here.
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"Oh don't mind him, he isn't much of a conversationalist," Aya stated to Aroma after noticing her fidgeting. "He is a man of action, not words. And recently he has been on a lot of diplomatic missions and hasn't had a decent fight for a while. So, his attention has drifted a bit. But don't worry, he'll keep his promise to meet with Bayonet, I can promise you that!" Aya said as she grasped Aroma's hand in hers and gave her a warm smile. And don't worry Sponsor, you'll serve our interests as well. You can continue to think of whatever worth you have assigned yourself, you will just make it easy to be manipulated by higher powers. Aya thought darkly behind her masked smile.
Aya continued to make small talk with Aroma, noting down the information about Bayonet, until DragonierMan showed up. Aya looked up and smiled and waved at DragonierMan, before giving him a signaling wink with an cold gleam in her eye. DragonierMan noticed the signal and walked over to the table and bowed to Aroma. "Sorry for earlier," he said with a solemn tone. "I get singularly minded sometimes and do not stop occasionally to gaze upon the beauty in front of me." He raised back up and brushed his wavy hair back and gave a smile. He then reached forward to take her hand and lean in to give it a kiss. "I hope you will forgive my faux pas this once."
He then looked towards Aya and gave a flick of his head to indicate it is time to go, then turned back to Aroma. "Perhaps sometime later we can have a more involved conversation, but I am afraid that I am needed elsewhere today. So I bid your leave." He gave Aroma's hand one more gentle squeeze before releasing it and headed off with Aya further into the fairgrounds to find the rest of the group.
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Suzume rushed up upon the stage and grabbed at Sparks after the laser pointers all disappeared, trying to push/pull him away. "Y-You are absolutely right." she agreed with the band. "Come on Sparks, we should look elsewhere to finish our mission now that this area is handled."
Although she didn't have to go far before they met up with DragonierMan and Aya. "Good work on whatever you did," DragonierMan began, "Our mission has been quite the success. There is a large crowd over at our booth now. So, it is time for us to collect our rewards." It was then that he noticed Lee wasn't there. "And where is General Lee? I thought she was with you."
Suzume looked around for a moment, not noticing Lee either. "Well, she got into a scrape with someone claiming to be from the GNA, then hightailed it out of here. I don't know where she is."
"I see."
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"Oh don't mind him, he isn't much of a conversationalist," Aya stated to Aroma after noticing her fidgeting. "He is a man of action, not words. And recently he has been on a lot of diplomatic missions and hasn't had a decent fight for a while. So, his attention has drifted a bit. But don't worry, he'll keep his promise to meet with Bayonet, I can promise you that!" Aya said as she grasped Aroma's hand in hers and gave her a warm smile. And don't worry Sponsor, you'll serve our interests as well. You can continue to think of whatever worth you have assigned yourself, you will just make it easy to be manipulated by higher powers. Aya thought darkly behind her masked smile.
Aya continued to make small talk with Aroma, noting down the information about Bayonet, until DragonierMan showed up. Aya looked up and smiled and waved at DragonierMan, before giving him a signaling wink with an cold gleam in her eye. DragonierMan noticed the signal and walked over to the table and bowed to Aroma. "Sorry for earlier," he said with a solemn tone. "I get singularly minded sometimes and do not stop occasionally to gaze upon the beauty in front of me." He raised back up and brushed his wavy hair back and gave a smile. He then reached forward to take her hand and lean in to give it a kiss. "I hope you will forgive my faux pas this once."
He then looked towards Aya and gave a flick of his head to indicate it is time to go, then turned back to Aroma. "Perhaps sometime later we can have a more involved conversation, but I am afraid that I am needed elsewhere today. So I bid your leave." He gave Aroma's hand one more gentle squeeze before releasing it and headed off with Aya further into the fairgrounds to find the rest of the group.
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Suzume rushed up upon the stage and grabbed at Sparks after the laser pointers all disappeared, trying to push/pull him away. "Y-You are absolutely right." she agreed with the band. "Come on Sparks, we should look elsewhere to finish our mission now that this area is handled."
Although she didn't have to go far before they met up with DragonierMan and Aya. "Good work on whatever you did," DragonierMan began, "Our mission has been quite the success. There is a large crowd over at our booth now. So, it is time for us to collect our rewards." It was then that he noticed Lee wasn't there. "And where is General Lee? I thought she was with you."
Suzume looked around for a moment, not noticing Lee either. "Well, she got into a scrape with someone claiming to be from the GNA, then hightailed it out of here. I don't know where she is."
"I see."
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Sparks was ready to keep arguing with the band but Suzume pulled the samurai away leaving him with a disgruntled look. The duo soon met up with the main portion of the group. Due to DragoneirMans words, something must have gone right seeing a flow of navis surrounding the NeoShogun booth. Having rejoined everyone else, not including the still missing general Lee, it was time to finish up the mission. What was next Sparks wondered.