Temporary business rivals.

Finally Dee starting making sense and Saluki didn't say a single thing more. After all she said everything that was needed and anything else might be said out of anger and end up making things worse. It wasn't till the woman left could she could calm down, feeling somewhat burned out after such an emotional high and outburst. " I think it is safe Kari." Sally really was going above and beyond in order to get this mission finished.

With a timely beam of orange light the missing dress, what was left of the undergarments, suntan oil and the sandwich board disappeared; and Incognito.GMO applied before that Mist fully vanished. Her hair returned to its usual color and she looked like a fairly normal human female navigator; wearing all black work boots, long gloves, open faced helmet and cowl. The pink cat suit filed in the spaces between her arms/front/back/legs and torso; leaving everything covered but parts of her pale face and rosy eyes exposed. She really was going to miss that green hair; it was such a nice color.

"Yea it is me. Can you pour me something to drink please and thank you? I think I got a lot of explaining to do." Drink or not she wasn't going to bother sitting down so she just leaned against the stand and got started with the summery. The cowl was pulled down so she could speak clearly to you and take a sip now and then. "I started walking down the pier towards the beach and tossed the sign around and I handed out a few of the fliers on the way. Most people seemed to be fairly confused because they thought that your shop had closed down which was somewhat strange. That is when I noticed the woman that matched your descriptions lounging out on the beach with a rod and two minions. I figured that because she wasn't actively doing any promotions I thought that I could" Sally started rubbing her arms and gloves nervously before she explained what happened next.

"I guess you could say that I got alittle carried away and wrapped up in the whole spectacle. I placed down a Rock Cube to act as a soap box so I could make a real display and when I jumped up I may have gotten some sand in her Ice cream...anyway it got alittle out of control but the crowd ate it up. It got heated and all of your fliers got scattered and after that and we fought. As much as you could call it a fight, I never used any chips and I stayed purely on the defensive while trying to reason with her. The damage was minor and no one got hurt its just I sort of broke the GMO you had given me. I mean like... tattered and destroyed it. All that was left was the undergarment." She made a steeple with her fingers before continuing the rest of the story. "Then I honestly panicked when someone in the crowd said that your place was all empty and busted up. And I apologize in advance if you find the pictures to lewd; honestly there is no way that I would be able to round them all up. But we figured out that she was the cause of the illusions and with a bit of diplomacy the fight ended without anyone getting hurt" she laughed meekly really wondering how much; if anything you managed to see of the confrontation.

"Still; she admitted that what she was doing wasn't honest, and I understand if you want to deal with it yourself. But if you want to confront your sister I will see it through. If you need some moral support or someone to watch the stand while you talk things over or whatever."

Sullen would add in a tidbit "Gelata went awfully far with it considering she hired the 'Spellbinding Illusory Arch-Wizard, Aqua Sorceress Dee.EXE!'does it sound familiar? I still don't have all the details but hireling a 'Neo-Shogun Dynasty Senior General' does sound important."

Of course Saluki was open to any questions or anything that needed further explanations. After all this mission wasn't over till Citri was satisfied with the hired help.

"It sounds like you went through a lot... All but your undergarments!? I can't imagine that, it's too embarrassing," Citri exclaimed, pressing her hands to her face and shaking her head. "Who would have thought that the pervy woman that sister of mine hired was a famous sorceress!? It's all too much to believe."

After slipping Saluki a cup of lemonade from across the counter, she went to another customer and talked to the fox navi simultaneously. "We used to run a stand together, honestly. A composite lemonade and gelato stand! Can you imagine it? However, we got in an argument about which was better, gelato or lemonade... the split in sales was about 50/50, so there was no way to tell. We each went out on a separate venture to see who would sell more, but then she... she cheated! With that floozy magician!" Citri cried in anger, beating her fists weakly against the desk and nearly spilling the lemonade she'd just poured.

"I can't talk to her, no way! She owes me an apology after that, hiring somebody just to sabotage my business!" Saluki's employer grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm sorry, Saluki, but she crossed the line! I'm not going to rest until we've put her in her place! Whether that means beating her shop or... or just kicking her stupid face into the sand! Rrrr!"

All Saluki needed to do to complete the mission was get the customer base to 50/50, but it was worth thinking the situation through a little further. On one hand, it might be the best for the sisters in the longrun to reconcile their differences and Saluki might be the only one who could help. On the other hand, Citri might even be willing to pay extra if Saluki would help her get back at her sister! An ethics vs. rewards conflict had arisen for the fox navi and her operator to consider.

Citri's Chateau: 55% Customer Base
Gelata's Gelato: 70% Customer Base

Saluki has 0 fliers.

Sally's eyes closed while she mulled things over; Sullen was likely weighing the exact same things.

"Yea lets go for it, we went this far we might as well continue."

"An apology and an explanation will be the bare minimum Miss Citri." Something about seeing such a bubbly, lanky but well to do girl get so passionate was all that they needed to make up their minds.

Sullen loaded two chips into the P.E.T; Sword and guard1. The pink sword belt and scabbard materialized around her hips; while a Roman styled Scutum shield materialized on her back. It was large, rectangular and had a semi-cylindrical face; decorated with circles, spirals and a Skull for an umbo. The Skull shield and pink sword made her a rather interesting legionnaire. "It's just for looks I mean I hope that we don't have to use them and so they know that you are serious. " after what happened on the beach it really did help to be prepared.

"Well then I best be going, is there anything else I should know about? And you are welcome to join me." With that she made a casual walk down towards the piers and shops to return to the gelato shop.

Summary
1. Sheathed at her hips; Sword chip: Damage: 80 + Slashing Accuracy: B [6/6 uses]
2. Resting on her back via a guige; Guard1 chip: Effect: (1 Hit Shield) + (Reflect(up to 60 + Piercing + Line Attack): On Hit) Accuracy: S. Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
3. Starting to walk towards Gelata's Gelato.

"Woah woah woah! Thanks, but er, I don't think we're going to be trying to kill each other or anything like that. I know we've got bad blood going between our businesses, but I don't think either of us intended to intimidate the other like that... it's best if you disarm, I think," Citri explained, evidently thinking the centurion look was a little overboard. "I'm afraid I need to keep serving customers, so I can't go, but be sure to tell my sister she owes me an apology! Or uh... just get me a little more business? Then I'd be satisfied," she sighed.

Citri's demands were a little bit unspecific, but it sounded like Saluki's work wasn't done yet.

As Saluki headed out, she was forced to choose whether to honor Citri's request and disarm or keep her weapons up. On one hand, she might need them if she was going to intimidate Gelata or worse, if Gelata wasn't as non-violent as Citri seemed to think. On the other, Citri seemed to think it was going overboard.

Saluki also spotted the general Dee lying on her front with her sunglasses on, having her two men fan her as she tanned. Her swimsuit was immodestly unstrung from her shoulders, covering only the bottom as she lay there with her back exposed to the sunlight. It struck Saluki that it may also be worth asking her why she was hired or some of the job specifics.

Citri's Chateau: 55% Customer Base
Gelata's Gelato: 70% Customer Base

Saluki has 0 fliers.

Sally would sigh softly and rub her chin as she tried to think about a compromise in her appearance. She made sure that the shield was slug over her back and the strap adjusted so it was just being carried like a huge backpack. She made sure that the sword was sheathed and the belt was tight for when she walked; double checking that she would be able to carry the two chips without much chaffing. Saluki even went as far removing her helmet and pulling her cowl down so her face and hair was no longer hidden. She rolled up the cat suit to the knee and elbow and removed her gloves and work boots. After that she showed her bare hands to Citri "See; disarmed. I promise I will not harm your sister, but it could not help to be prepared."

Thankfully the walk towards the fancy ice-cream stand wasn't unfruitful and Saluki was the first to spot Dee."Well her and her entourage seems to be cooled down, so why dontcha see if you can talk to her before we ask Geleata for an apology?" Sullen suggested.

Saluki was careful when she knelt down near the sunbathing woman and her minions; trying not to kick up any sand or block the sun. " Ah hello Arch-Wizard It seems your dip in the ocean went well. I can explain the armaments, this is my usual employment; virus busting. You never know when a virus will pop up or some malicious person would do something sinister." The woman gave a nervous laugh before continuing. "Do you have some time to talk?" Hopefully Sally would still be recognized; the cat suit didn't have any lemons on it and her hair had returned to its normal color and other than that she was the same navi. She was cautious and polite this time and would fully understand if Dee didn't want to talk and shooed her away.

Citri gave a nervous laugh, then shook her head, bobbing her strange green curls. "Well, alright then. You're very thorough," she responded, then nodded Saluki off as she got back to tending her customers.

As Saluki continued on, she decided to take a stop in order to speak with the NeoShogun general that Gelata had hired. Seeing the fox-navi approaching, Dee lowered her shades and smiled. "All business now, are we? You were cuter in the other outfit though," she laughed. "Yes, it was a nice swim, I suppose. I'm not really one for salt water. At any rate, what's on your mind? Are you hoping to apply for a spot in the NeoShogun's empire? I can hook you up, you know."

The two men at the sides eyed Saluki suspiciously; she supposed that was just in their nature.

[Sorry about the delay I had some weird conflicts with my anti-virus; it just took a whole afternoon in safe mode to sort out.]

That question would make her train of thought crash and momentarily forget about what she was doing."Oh, well umm yea I guess that could give me some direction instead of wandering around; aimlessly." the navi replied meekly and pressed her fingers together.

"You have my blessing. After all you are the one in the net world and not me; I just hope you understand the gravity of applying to an organization. Anyways ask about Gelata."Sullen used the P.E.T.'s private connection to coach Sally on.

Sullen's reminder would snap her back into focus "I am about to go ask Gelata for an apology on behalf of Citri. I do want to know why she hired you, I mean in turn Citri had to hire me in sort of a helper arms race." Sally giving Dee a goofy grin. "Really any information would help."

Dee looked somewhat surprised when Saluki said that she was interested in applying for the Neo-Shogun's army. Apparently she had only thrown it out as a courtesy to her organization. "You're interested? Wow... if only it was that easy to get all of our new members. Well, this is no obligation to you of course, but I'll give you an e-mail address to use later. Just send an e-mail expressing your interest in joining us once you reach level 8 or higher, and we'll be happy to give you an initiation mission to test your skills," the sorceress replied, evidently pleased.


((NS E-mail Address received! Go here to send an e-mail in the future...))


After exchanging the e-mail, Dee pulled back up and secured the straps of her sling bikini, then turned to lie on her back. She stared upside down at Saluki and sighed. "When I took the job, it was honestly just a job listing with high pay, no details or anything. I was, however, ordered to do anything possible to stop the lemonade sales. Being the crafty, sexy magician that I am, I used my wonderful magic to create an illusion, causing everyone to think that the lemonade place was closed," she laughed, kicking one leg up into the air wistfully as she did.

"I'm not in the job any more, but that gelato girl was sure upset when I left. Angry upset... she said something like, 'What do you expect me to do, go back to her?!'" the sorceress mimicked, waving one finger in the air in a scolding manner. "If I was a betting woman, and occasionally I am, I'd bet that the best thing for the two of them would be getting together as one selling establishment. I just don't understand why they're so pissed at each other," she sighed.

"It may be a little harsh, but here's what I would do: explain to that gelato girl that the lemonade's business is going to keep getting better, since she's got a worker now, and that gelato's done without me. That'll scare her into wanting to combine again," Dee suggested.

Sullen would add the email to their contacts list and 'join the NS' was written on there to do list. Saluki looked somewhat discouraged that she currently wasn't strong enough; but she soon perked up because she got the address anyways! It was something to strive towards at least.

Saluki would nod her head every now and then to show that she was paying attention; and that her eyes where focused on the woman's face and not elsewhere. "That really is a lot to take in at once and thank you very much General Dee. I think I know enough to sort things out and I will be in contact; after a few upgrades of course." as long as there wasn't anything else that needed to be said Sal was going to continue off to the Ice cream stand armed with new information.

"That gives us some time to think, discuss and plan your upgrades. I mean not that we should jump on the first thing that comes our way, I mean if I had done that I would have ended up being a flight attendant!" Sullen sneered.

"Ho ho ho! Please, call me Dee. Save that 'General' stuff for Yasu," the sorceress replied, then waved Saluki off with a quaint "Ta-ta!"

The fox navi continued down the beach, making tracks in the sand from one concession stand to the other. Near the pier was a shop so nearly identical that from the side Saluki may have thought that she was looking at Citri's place again. As she got closer, however, she saw that the sign and shoptender were both different; each member of the sizable customer population was busy consuming gelato, although it didn't look as crowded as it did earlier. Evidently customers had already realized that Dee had stopped helping out there.

Behind the counter, a girl with almost the exact same appearance as Citri, but with very light brown hair stood serving customers. Although she was wearing a brown dress similar to her sister's white one, it was pretty obvious that she was a good bit more sizable in the chest than Citri was, which might explain some of the sister's irritation."Welcome customer, what sort of refreshing gelato would you like today?" Gelata asked, evidently unaware of who Saluki was.

Saluki didn't bother sitting down; she didn't want to take up any customer space or get in the way of people eating. "Ah no thank you Miss Gelata I am wondering if you would be able to speak in private." she may have asked nicely but she was going to get to the point even if the buxom woman had to serve while talking.

"Well she seems to be cooled off I wonder if she will growl and smack her fists cutely like he sister. Anyways Sally lay out the facts and be frank."

"I am employed by your sister at Citri's to help with her business troubles and uncovered your rather interesting plot; and came to seek an apology." Saluki crossed both arms under her bust and closed her eyes while talking. "I spoke with Dee as well and she suggested that you two combine your Stands; which sounds like a legitimate way to end competition."

"What? Oh... you're that agent my sister hired," Gelata muttered, crossing her arms below her breasts with a depressed look. "Agent" hardly seemed like an appropriate word for the situation. "I'm sorry, a merger with her is just impossible. Do you know what she told me the day that we split? When I simply asserted to her the superiority of gelato over lemonade, she implied... she implied that gelato made me fat!" she whispered, not wanting the customers to overhear. "What brazen disrespect! I can't do anything with her again."

After simmering for a moment, Gelata looked around her shop at her happy customers and sighed. "No, I'm being unreasonable. You're right, we should merge back and reap the benefits of our combined establishments again... but if you don't mind, I have just one condition. You see, Citri and I were both pretty unsuccessful when we first split. People just weren't drawn to our stands and we were undermanned with just one worker each. But what baffles me is how that magician managed to draw so much of a new customer base... you've been effective as well, I understand. Please, if you could, I ask only that you demonstrate how you drummed up this much customer interest so that Citri and I will be able to continue on profitably! If you do, I'll go apologize right away," the shop-tender pleaded, clasping her hands together earnestly.

Saluki ran her fingers through her hair while she listened to the sister ranting "All good things in moderation right?" Saluki squeaked out a quiet reply. She clearly became relaxed when the situation was diffused; sometimes just listening and venting could do a world of good!

Still it looked like her heart skipped a beat when she was asked —how- they had drawn in customers. "Ah; well honestly we showed a bit of skin and made a spectacle of it while we advertised. Like spinning and twirling a sign while handing out fliers. It was tame; I mean there was nothing actually showed till I got into a bit of a scuffle with her. But that was more of my fault for provoking her; I mean it was an accident really when you come to think of it. I did not mean to kick up sand all over the place or block or sun, but it was all settled and I was able to leave most of my modesty intact."

"Well go right ahead Sullen and load it in" With that Citri's Chateau.GMO was applied a second time. A yellow beam of light washed over Saluki's form; and she was wearing that sporty, white, lemon decaled dress again. Her hair was dyed green and premed and that lemon shaped sign appeared again. She had to adjust the straps of the shear undergarments beneath the dress before she picked the sign up and demonstrated.

Saluki took a few steps back so she wouldn't accidentally hit someone with the sign before she gave it alittle twist and twirl. Showing Geleta that both sides where panted and it didn't really matter which way she spun or flipped it; the advertisement on it for Citri's shop would always be showing in one shape or form. She started off simple at first; just spinning and tossing it a few feet above her before she used gust to send it higher and faster than she normally could. It would give her time to do a curtsy; bending her knees outward and sweeping one foot behind her, using her hands to hold the dress out from her body. Waiting for the right moment to try and catch it and stop the display before it got to complicated. After all you couldn't give away all of your secrets at once!

"Something like that, well more or less"

"Really? That's all it took...? I can't understand, if it was as easy as wearing that outfit and using a sign, it feels like we could have managed ourselves. After all, your clothes and hair look just like Citri's..." Gelata muttered. She seemed skeptical, but she figured a promise was a promise and committed to follow Saluki back. "Are you really telling me everything? I can't help but feel like there must have been more to it than that..."

After setting up a temporary "CLOSED" sign, Gelata followed Saluki out to the beach. The two were on the way back to Citri's, but Gelata seemed incredibly skeptical, either because she didn't believe Saluki or perhaps some element of pride was preventing her from accepting that Saluki had managed to garner customers so efficiently. There was a chance that things could still backfire unless her mood improved somehow...

Saluki rubbed her fingers through that forest colored hair the temporary GMO provided as she tried to think of the most tasteful way to explain. "Well there was more to it than that." Sally would admit. Tugging the straps of the sporty dress down passed her shoulder blades; enough to see sheer string bikini top under it. The undergarment was almost transparent save two choice locations for pink lemons; its matching lower piece was just as light."Well there was a rock cube and some sun tan lotion and well some wind manipulation." hopefully that would have been satisfactory because she would have to stop and put down the lemonade stand sign if she wanted to demonstrate further.

Gelata's eyes widened as she discretely peeked down Saluki's shirt. Her face turned a little red, but she nodded and seemed to accept it. "Ah, of course... Honestly, when I hired her, I figured that's probably what she'd do to advertise. It's so simple, but I guess it's really effective," she admitted, pressing her fist to her chin thoughtfully as she walked.

Finally, the two reached Citri's stand, where the girl was tending to her customers as usual. Her eyebrows turned fierce as she spotted Gelata, then stopped pouring her lemonade and walked over. The person who she was serving was left sitting there with only half a cup of lemonade. "Look what the fox dragged in... if it isn't my sister!" Citri grumbled, holding her fists at her side.

"Stay calm, Citri. I've realized the error of our ways. We have to combine our stand again! It'll be better than before... this time, I know just what to do to generate business!" Gelata replied, walking closer to her sister.

Citri looked resistant, but Gelata grabbed her shoulders and whispered something into the side of her ear. Citri gasped, blushed, then gave a coy smile. "Oh, I see! Yeah, we could totally do that," she giggled.

"Oh, well... I was figuring I'd do it while you tended the stand, since er..." Gelata mumbled, pressing her hands over her breasts.

Citri's eyes shot up with obvious malice. "What was that, Sister?" she snapped.

"Ha ha, nothing, nothing! Of course! We'll both bring in customers with our sex appeal and we can take turns watching the stand!" Gelata laughed nervously, revising her proposal.

With a happy nod, Citri crossed her hands behind her back and turned back to Saluki. Her green hair bounced as she brought her hands back to front and took the fox navi's hands. "Saluki, I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for us. I'll make sure the SP base gets to you and I'll give you a bonus for doing such a great job! You can have the full cut of today's revenue from my stand!"

(Saluki received 3000z!)

Gelata leaned over to whisper into Saluki's fox-like ears. "Don't worry, the revenue from my stand was pretty high today too, so we'll be fine," she assured Saluki quietly.

"Thanks so much, we'll get along great from now on and maybe the job will even be more exciting!" Citri thanked Saluki again, then released her hands and coughed. "Oh, but er, I'll need the .GMO back before you leave."

(Saluki received 10 Citri FXP, 10 Dee FXP)

Saluki was just glad that she didn't need to demonstrate any further; still she did make a mental note about changing out of those meek robes now and then and into something more flattering. She was polite enough not to try and listen in on their whisperings until body type was mentioned.

"I do not mind either of your sizes really." she said rather honestly. But it was hard not to squeeze those hands, wag her tail and bounce up and down on her toes and join in the excitement. "Oh why thank you, thank both of you! And my apologizes, it has been rather interesting, embarrassing and disorienting; I am just glad to be my normal self again and I think I will be for a long time."

Returning Citri's Chateau.GMO!

"Don't worry I didn't take any screenshots or video but you did rather well today. It really is a shame I couldn't help much more. But I need to try and call my parents and see if I can figure out how an SP base works. I hope you don't mind alittle more R&R."

"Well if you do need anyone to work a sandwich board feel free to send me a mail, I think next time I'll walk on my hands" Sal gave a rather wolfish smirk and if there was nothing else to say she would jack out.

[Log out!]