The turret produced a metallic clang as Katran struck it with her knife, but didn't dent or show signs of damage. It appeared to be fairly durable. Similarly, the water Ship had sprayed on one of the ones nearest to her simply slid off and had no effect. At least they were certain that those weren't illusions... The beachgoers were surprised to see the turret as well, which proved that, even if they were reaping the benefits of the illusion, they weren't really in on the details... or they were just good actors.
It seemed like ConchMan was doing just what he said he would: he was taking the captive to the life-guard shack, but with such acceleration that it looked like the two of them were going to ram into the lifeguard shack. MarriageMan wailed loudly, but ConchMan finally stopped, either out of mercy or because to not do so would mean smashing through the side of his own station. They were too far off now to hear and appeared to be entering the shed. Just like that, they were out of view. Of course, they hadn't gone very far.
Dune wasn't far behind, approaching swiftly over the horizon and rounding the shack. She didn't appear to know that ConchMan had gone in there; instead, she was proceeding towards Katran. The officer had spotted the turret that Katran had uncovered and began examining it immediately. "Huh, so it's this sort of thing that's creating the illusion? It could take a long time to round up all of these... Hopefully they're all routed to one source that we can find and deactivate. Where did ConchMan take the culprit?" she asked. It was a bizarre question, as she most certainly should have seen the two of them enter the shack... MarriageMan had removed all of the illusions, hadn't he? Katran and Ship could see that the sky had changed and that people were clearly engaging in debauchery on the beach, which they might associate with MarriageMan's capture. It was all rather distracting and just as bad as Dune had implied. "What are you looking at?" the officer asked, as she noticed Katran looking in the direction of a couple who was french kissing passionately beneath a shady umbrella. No surprise registered on her face at all.
Dune's Patrol Route
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Ship had risen again and given herself a quick brushoff, regarding the turret with a dainty hand to her chin. "The attack didn't have any attack. It appears impervious."
"Yeah, funny how your big bad splash of water doesn't do jack sh*t to a cannon made of solid f*ckin' gold," Lyn grumbled in return. "Seriously, why couldn't you be a fire-element Navigator or something..."
"Well, did Katran have any more success?" Ship asked, half in pouting and half out of curiosity.
"Nah, her knife didn't cut it either," Lyn admitted, shifting her spoon in her mouth. "Those things are built tough. Anyway, it probably doesn't matter... all of MarriageMook's hocus pocus seems to've poofed, and the turrets don't seem to be doing much. You ought to get your butt back on the beach."
Ship sighed, supposing she couldn't really argue. She took a last wistful look as ConchMan's board vanished. It looked like he liked to take it fast, but Ship would have given anything to be back on the ground faster. Letting out another audible sigh for good measure, Ship began her tedious descent down the tower ladder.
Lyn took a seat across from Mira again and kicked her feet back up on the table. "Yeah! I'm a coach. I'm a Navi coach, and the best. A damn good Navi coach." Of course, she'd had Ship for quite a while now... and letting the Navi inhabit her PET was more like leasing or sharing a room than teaching a class. "Anyway, there ain't much to say about me. I live alone, I wake up early in the mornings, I work hard, and I don't take sh*t from nobody. As I hope you already know." With that, Lyn went silent, apparently not intending to make any further conversation.
Lyn's Navi, who loved to hear girl chat and wasn't hearing much else but the clung-clung-clung of her ladder descent and random bawdy nonsense from the beach behind her otherwise, frowned. "Aren't you going to tell them about how you grew up, or how we met?"
"Nope. Nobody cares," Lyn replied, kicking back even more to show how much she really didn't care.
"All right, Lyn," Ship conceded with another sigh, stopping her descent momentarily to catch her breath. "I, for one, want to hear more about Mira. What do you do, Mira? Are you in school?"
"No one wants to play twenty questions, Princess! Can't you see Katran and Mira need to stay focused right now? Until you finish climbing down that ladder a year from now, they've gotta report to Dune so we can finally wrap this up." Lyn was neglecting the fact that Mira had given her twenty questions in the first minute of their acquaintance, but she seemed obstinate in expressing her disinterest in further introductory small talk.
"Lyn, are you getting cranky? Is it because you haven't been sitting in the shade?"
"Shaddup!" Lyn said, slamming her seat forward and propping her elbows on the table again. She hadn't thought about it, but she really was starting to sweat a little bit in the sun. Because of her choice of locations, her seat was completely in the sun while Mira had the only shade. "Anyway, are YOU gettin' cranky? Is it because you've been tryin' to set the world records for most pointless yappin' and slowest ladder climbin' at the same damn time?"
Ship rolled her eyes briefly but kept climbing, hoping Mira might keep the conversation afloat.
"Yeah, funny how your big bad splash of water doesn't do jack sh*t to a cannon made of solid f*ckin' gold," Lyn grumbled in return. "Seriously, why couldn't you be a fire-element Navigator or something..."
"Well, did Katran have any more success?" Ship asked, half in pouting and half out of curiosity.
"Nah, her knife didn't cut it either," Lyn admitted, shifting her spoon in her mouth. "Those things are built tough. Anyway, it probably doesn't matter... all of MarriageMook's hocus pocus seems to've poofed, and the turrets don't seem to be doing much. You ought to get your butt back on the beach."
Ship sighed, supposing she couldn't really argue. She took a last wistful look as ConchMan's board vanished. It looked like he liked to take it fast, but Ship would have given anything to be back on the ground faster. Letting out another audible sigh for good measure, Ship began her tedious descent down the tower ladder.
Lyn took a seat across from Mira again and kicked her feet back up on the table. "Yeah! I'm a coach. I'm a Navi coach, and the best. A damn good Navi coach." Of course, she'd had Ship for quite a while now... and letting the Navi inhabit her PET was more like leasing or sharing a room than teaching a class. "Anyway, there ain't much to say about me. I live alone, I wake up early in the mornings, I work hard, and I don't take sh*t from nobody. As I hope you already know." With that, Lyn went silent, apparently not intending to make any further conversation.
Lyn's Navi, who loved to hear girl chat and wasn't hearing much else but the clung-clung-clung of her ladder descent and random bawdy nonsense from the beach behind her otherwise, frowned. "Aren't you going to tell them about how you grew up, or how we met?"
"Nope. Nobody cares," Lyn replied, kicking back even more to show how much she really didn't care.
"All right, Lyn," Ship conceded with another sigh, stopping her descent momentarily to catch her breath. "I, for one, want to hear more about Mira. What do you do, Mira? Are you in school?"
"No one wants to play twenty questions, Princess! Can't you see Katran and Mira need to stay focused right now? Until you finish climbing down that ladder a year from now, they've gotta report to Dune so we can finally wrap this up." Lyn was neglecting the fact that Mira had given her twenty questions in the first minute of their acquaintance, but she seemed obstinate in expressing her disinterest in further introductory small talk.
"Lyn, are you getting cranky? Is it because you haven't been sitting in the shade?"
"Shaddup!" Lyn said, slamming her seat forward and propping her elbows on the table again. She hadn't thought about it, but she really was starting to sweat a little bit in the sun. Because of her choice of locations, her seat was completely in the sun while Mira had the only shade. "Anyway, are YOU gettin' cranky? Is it because you've been tryin' to set the world records for most pointless yappin' and slowest ladder climbin' at the same damn time?"
Ship rolled her eyes briefly but kept climbing, hoping Mira might keep the conversation afloat.
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"Focus Schmocus! Katran's more than capable of handling all the boring stuff hehehe." Mira retorted, cutting herself into the conversation between Lyn and Ship which she was beginning to find quite amusing.
"Besides, I love twenty questions! or thirty, or forty... or, you get the idea actually hehehe." The girl was clearly grinning happily, only stopping her chatter to indulge herself in more of her beloved tea. It truely was one of the only things that could shut the overly hyper girl up. "I totally wanna know how you met! Oh, but I guess I should answer Ships question first..."
While Mira pondered where to start, Katran was busy dealing with the important side of things. Not exactly different from any other time, of course. The feline navi was momentarily destracted by the public displays of the couples on the beach, but immidiately returned her attention to Dune upon hearing her words.
"It seems that although we disabled one set of cannons, the illusory system is still engaged." Katran took a moment, Pondering Dune's comment before continueing her thought. " If you did not see Conchman just now, then I can conclude that he is being hidden within the powerful illusion as well, as I could see him clearly with marraigeman entering that building there. They were making quite the speedy spectacle. As she jestured towards the shed, Katran realized the gravity of the assumption she was about to make, but the clues were coming into place.
"Dune, as much as I hate to say this... I believe Conchman may be one of the culprits. Not only could he see and enter a building that was previously hidden to me and ship until we infiltrated the system, but he seems to be left unseen to those who are affected by the illusions. If that's the case, then the fact he took MarriageMan away means they could be planning to escape." She concluded with a stern look on her face, wondering just how much time the group had to stop them.
"Mira, we need to go on the offensive. Ask lyn to send ship to join me and Dune at the shed where ConchMan was headed. We need to stop them!"
"Aww but we were just about to have a personal chat... Well, you heard her. Things are getting kinda hectic it seems hehe. I'll just answer quickly then!" Cheerful as ever, dispite getting shut down from the fun of delving deeper into each others personal history further.
"I'm a university student of Dentech, originally from Sharo though... but the classes are so boring. I wish they wouldn't give me such easy work, it just makes me want to sleep or play games instead."
The girl pouted at the thought of all the essays and tests they threw at her, wishing she could just relax and have fun all the time instead. "Anyways, we should probably back up Katran now! let's move out! hehehehe."
"Besides, I love twenty questions! or thirty, or forty... or, you get the idea actually hehehe." The girl was clearly grinning happily, only stopping her chatter to indulge herself in more of her beloved tea. It truely was one of the only things that could shut the overly hyper girl up. "I totally wanna know how you met! Oh, but I guess I should answer Ships question first..."
While Mira pondered where to start, Katran was busy dealing with the important side of things. Not exactly different from any other time, of course. The feline navi was momentarily destracted by the public displays of the couples on the beach, but immidiately returned her attention to Dune upon hearing her words.
"It seems that although we disabled one set of cannons, the illusory system is still engaged." Katran took a moment, Pondering Dune's comment before continueing her thought. " If you did not see Conchman just now, then I can conclude that he is being hidden within the powerful illusion as well, as I could see him clearly with marraigeman entering that building there. They were making quite the speedy spectacle. As she jestured towards the shed, Katran realized the gravity of the assumption she was about to make, but the clues were coming into place.
"Dune, as much as I hate to say this... I believe Conchman may be one of the culprits. Not only could he see and enter a building that was previously hidden to me and ship until we infiltrated the system, but he seems to be left unseen to those who are affected by the illusions. If that's the case, then the fact he took MarriageMan away means they could be planning to escape." She concluded with a stern look on her face, wondering just how much time the group had to stop them.
"Mira, we need to go on the offensive. Ask lyn to send ship to join me and Dune at the shed where ConchMan was headed. We need to stop them!"
"Aww but we were just about to have a personal chat... Well, you heard her. Things are getting kinda hectic it seems hehe. I'll just answer quickly then!" Cheerful as ever, dispite getting shut down from the fun of delving deeper into each others personal history further.
"I'm a university student of Dentech, originally from Sharo though... but the classes are so boring. I wish they wouldn't give me such easy work, it just makes me want to sleep or play games instead."
The girl pouted at the thought of all the essays and tests they threw at her, wishing she could just relax and have fun all the time instead. "Anyways, we should probably back up Katran now! let's move out! hehehehe."
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Dune was momentarily flabbergasted by the idea that her partner, ConchMan, could in some way be related to the illusions. Luckily for Ship and Katran, several case details worked in their favor. "You're almost certainly right... After all, only someone who's at the beach as much as I am could construe and manage a plan like this!" she gasped, pressing her hands to her face. "And... he always was kind of creepy, really," she shuddered. "Like, good looking, but... you know?" It wasn't really apparent what she was talking about, but she left it at that. "But what incentive would he have to control the entire beach like this? I've been able to watch him for most of the time... illusion or not, I'd probably know if he was fooling around, or whatever. Then again, apparently people are doing it right now and I can't see any of that. So maybe he has been?! He used this whole stupid illusion to turn the beach into his playground and kanoodle with whoever he wants!" the officer exclaimed; her expression of horror at the thought made her look surprisingly childish. "That's it, we're getting him!"
She kicked her wheels into high gear, racing to the beach house to get there before ConchMan and/or his captive made their escape. When Dune and Katran reached the house (likely having left Ship in the dust), Dune burst open the door by ramming it with her vehicle-armored body. It swung open easily, apparently not having been locked. "Hands up, Sicko! You've had free reign of the beach for far too long!" the beach patrol girl announced, looking around for ConchMan.
The reason she didn't see him was that he was lying on the floor, seemingly in paint. The conch-shell on his head had been shattered into pieces and his pink hair flowed around his head; he was nursing a head wound, which appeared to be real from the amount of data leaking out. "Dune... he got away..." ConchMan responded, breathing heavily. "I tried to stop him and he did this to me... I think..."
"You think?" Dune asked, looking confused. Her confusion turned into irritability. "I get what happened! You're just pretending he hit you, gave you amnesia, and now you can't remember a thing, huh? I know you fooled me for a while, but I'm not that stupid," she huffed.
"No, I mean... I was talking to him about... er, what was I talking to him about, I, er, I can't remember," he coughed, holding his head wound again. "I-I was probably just going over the rules with him... when something hit me over the head all of a sudden and he escaped!"
If this was a setup whereby ConchMan pretended to be hurt and MarriageMan escaped, it was especially elaborate in one way: ConchMan clearly had a serious wound on his head. Was it even possible for MarriageMan to do that to him, though? Was it possible for ConchMan to do that to himself, even? Dune pondered these questions as she stepped further into the room... then paused, as she got halfway across, just past the large shelf in the middle of the room. "What's that...?"
Half of the room, the part from where she was standing to the window, was partially blackened, as if a wave of fire or an explosion had gone through it. The window had burst, but all of the glass appeared to be on the outside rather than the inside. It implied that something had gone out the window, but hadn't entered that way. It could be that MarriageMan had found his violent tendencies after all, once he was out of view of the others. It could also be that someone had been hiding inside, waiting to bust MarriageMan out. ConchMan wasn't offering much information. The officer had a dazed, confused expression and was nursing his wound with very real looking pain written on his face.
She kicked her wheels into high gear, racing to the beach house to get there before ConchMan and/or his captive made their escape. When Dune and Katran reached the house (likely having left Ship in the dust), Dune burst open the door by ramming it with her vehicle-armored body. It swung open easily, apparently not having been locked. "Hands up, Sicko! You've had free reign of the beach for far too long!" the beach patrol girl announced, looking around for ConchMan.
The reason she didn't see him was that he was lying on the floor, seemingly in paint. The conch-shell on his head had been shattered into pieces and his pink hair flowed around his head; he was nursing a head wound, which appeared to be real from the amount of data leaking out. "Dune... he got away..." ConchMan responded, breathing heavily. "I tried to stop him and he did this to me... I think..."
"You think?" Dune asked, looking confused. Her confusion turned into irritability. "I get what happened! You're just pretending he hit you, gave you amnesia, and now you can't remember a thing, huh? I know you fooled me for a while, but I'm not that stupid," she huffed.
"No, I mean... I was talking to him about... er, what was I talking to him about, I, er, I can't remember," he coughed, holding his head wound again. "I-I was probably just going over the rules with him... when something hit me over the head all of a sudden and he escaped!"
If this was a setup whereby ConchMan pretended to be hurt and MarriageMan escaped, it was especially elaborate in one way: ConchMan clearly had a serious wound on his head. Was it even possible for MarriageMan to do that to him, though? Was it possible for ConchMan to do that to himself, even? Dune pondered these questions as she stepped further into the room... then paused, as she got halfway across, just past the large shelf in the middle of the room. "What's that...?"
Half of the room, the part from where she was standing to the window, was partially blackened, as if a wave of fire or an explosion had gone through it. The window had burst, but all of the glass appeared to be on the outside rather than the inside. It implied that something had gone out the window, but hadn't entered that way. It could be that MarriageMan had found his violent tendencies after all, once he was out of view of the others. It could also be that someone had been hiding inside, waiting to bust MarriageMan out. ConchMan wasn't offering much information. The officer had a dazed, confused expression and was nursing his wound with very real looking pain written on his face.
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"Well, I think it's wonderful that you're sticking it out and getting an education," Ship told Mira with a smile. She had an inflated mental image of the hardships of university courses, probably due to Lyn's absolute revulsion to all things higher-educational.
"And I think it's a total crock," Lyn input in her grumpy manner. "I mean, yeah, if all you're gonna do is shoot the sh*t and lolligag around otherwise, why not, but don't waste your time learnin' when you could be workin'. Build some muscles and some character!"
"Oh, stop being such a stick in the mud, Lyn. Hard work is admirable, but even you have to admit you enjoy relaxation and time with your friends."
"Pfft. What friends? You? Those old salty dudes at my dad's fishin' boat? My beat-up guitar?"
"Mira and Katran," Ship said with a sunny smile. "They're our friends too now, right?"
Lyn reddened just a little, mostly because of her Navi saying something so embarrassing in earshot of their "friends." "As if. You may be pals with Catnip in there, but as far as I'm concerned, hangin' around with lunch is like eatin' with a hyena... a chimpanzee, or somethin'. You talk to her just a little bit, and she starts makin' these crazy laughing noises and won't shut the hell up!"
Ship giggled a bit, going on the assumption that Mira would probably just laugh off Lyn's rude words. Girl talk always put her in a good mood. That, together with the fact that she'd finally reached solid sand again, had her feeling excellent. That said, she saw the action was moving on without her. Dune and Katran had begun to rush with some urgency towards the shack ConchMan had rushed into. Eager to be off her feet in any case, Ship summoned her boat once again and shoved off to her destination at full speed.
Upon reaching the shack, Ship decided to duck down and peer in, rather than get off her boat and step inside. She could tell that ConchMan seemed to be hurt and MarriageMan appeared to be gone. There was residue around the room as though a bomb had gone off inside the cabin... but they hadn't heard anything like a huge explosion, and nothing was burning. Ship had an image of something more like a burst of light or sound than a bomb...
"Well, that sucks," Lyn said, kicking back again and frowning. "I was lookin' forward to seein' the Beach Bunny slap the old perv's sorry *ss around some. Either way, it's Konk Man's fault he got away, right? Ask Dune to give us our reward so we can get gone."
Ship was still trying to puzzle out what had happened. Both Dune's explanation and ConchMan's sounded like they could be right, but all together it didn't add up. The Navi's first thought was that perhaps MarriageMan had... self-detonated, somehow, to prevent himself from being taken into custody. But if that was the case, why had he pretended to go along with ConchMan in the first place? Perhaps it was because he had a momentary vulnerable period and could only use the attack to escape if there was a single target. But hadn't there been a period where she was alone with him at the top of the tower?
"It's all a bit strange to me," Ship said, frowning and facing the official duo. "MarriageMan may have clubbed ConchMan like he said, but if that was the case, what caused the explosion, and where is ConchMan? Is it possible the explosion is just the after-effect of a jack-out procedure? Speaking frankly," Ship added, with a small frown, "we didn't have any way to keep him here at all if we had no physical hands on him."
"Score one for Mr. Butterfingers," Lyn said, taking her cap off momentarily and fanning herself with it. She was really beginning to feel the effects of the heat, but she wouldn't lower herself to move her chair into the shade, determined to keep herself out of Mira's arm length (for whatever reason). Her short, dyed hair flapped in her self-motivated breeze. "Culprit or victim, I hope his *ss gets fired for wearing such a dorky-*ss helmet, if nothin' else."
Ship continued looking pensive. She wasn't ready to cast judgment on ConchMan without proof, but she did have to admit that he had an "off" feel. More than him, though, the whole thing had an air that didn't feel final. Ship found herself wishing she'd gotten more out of MarriageMan in her earlier interrogation, to better understand his motives.
"Anyhow, dumb flashy jack-out effects like that are a dime a dozen. Trust me, when you've coached as many would-be wannabes as I have, you learn. The first thing a has-been operator does when he makes Dark Demon Denizen-Man is give him some lame-*ss pyrotechnics for his jack-in, his jack-out, all that crap." Lyn kicked forward in her chair now, leaning into her PET over the table. "Can we go home now...?"
"And I think it's a total crock," Lyn input in her grumpy manner. "I mean, yeah, if all you're gonna do is shoot the sh*t and lolligag around otherwise, why not, but don't waste your time learnin' when you could be workin'. Build some muscles and some character!"
"Oh, stop being such a stick in the mud, Lyn. Hard work is admirable, but even you have to admit you enjoy relaxation and time with your friends."
"Pfft. What friends? You? Those old salty dudes at my dad's fishin' boat? My beat-up guitar?"
"Mira and Katran," Ship said with a sunny smile. "They're our friends too now, right?"
Lyn reddened just a little, mostly because of her Navi saying something so embarrassing in earshot of their "friends." "As if. You may be pals with Catnip in there, but as far as I'm concerned, hangin' around with lunch is like eatin' with a hyena... a chimpanzee, or somethin'. You talk to her just a little bit, and she starts makin' these crazy laughing noises and won't shut the hell up!"
Ship giggled a bit, going on the assumption that Mira would probably just laugh off Lyn's rude words. Girl talk always put her in a good mood. That, together with the fact that she'd finally reached solid sand again, had her feeling excellent. That said, she saw the action was moving on without her. Dune and Katran had begun to rush with some urgency towards the shack ConchMan had rushed into. Eager to be off her feet in any case, Ship summoned her boat once again and shoved off to her destination at full speed.
Upon reaching the shack, Ship decided to duck down and peer in, rather than get off her boat and step inside. She could tell that ConchMan seemed to be hurt and MarriageMan appeared to be gone. There was residue around the room as though a bomb had gone off inside the cabin... but they hadn't heard anything like a huge explosion, and nothing was burning. Ship had an image of something more like a burst of light or sound than a bomb...
"Well, that sucks," Lyn said, kicking back again and frowning. "I was lookin' forward to seein' the Beach Bunny slap the old perv's sorry *ss around some. Either way, it's Konk Man's fault he got away, right? Ask Dune to give us our reward so we can get gone."
Ship was still trying to puzzle out what had happened. Both Dune's explanation and ConchMan's sounded like they could be right, but all together it didn't add up. The Navi's first thought was that perhaps MarriageMan had... self-detonated, somehow, to prevent himself from being taken into custody. But if that was the case, why had he pretended to go along with ConchMan in the first place? Perhaps it was because he had a momentary vulnerable period and could only use the attack to escape if there was a single target. But hadn't there been a period where she was alone with him at the top of the tower?
"It's all a bit strange to me," Ship said, frowning and facing the official duo. "MarriageMan may have clubbed ConchMan like he said, but if that was the case, what caused the explosion, and where is ConchMan? Is it possible the explosion is just the after-effect of a jack-out procedure? Speaking frankly," Ship added, with a small frown, "we didn't have any way to keep him here at all if we had no physical hands on him."
"Score one for Mr. Butterfingers," Lyn said, taking her cap off momentarily and fanning herself with it. She was really beginning to feel the effects of the heat, but she wouldn't lower herself to move her chair into the shade, determined to keep herself out of Mira's arm length (for whatever reason). Her short, dyed hair flapped in her self-motivated breeze. "Culprit or victim, I hope his *ss gets fired for wearing such a dorky-*ss helmet, if nothin' else."
Ship continued looking pensive. She wasn't ready to cast judgment on ConchMan without proof, but she did have to admit that he had an "off" feel. More than him, though, the whole thing had an air that didn't feel final. Ship found herself wishing she'd gotten more out of MarriageMan in her earlier interrogation, to better understand his motives.
"Anyhow, dumb flashy jack-out effects like that are a dime a dozen. Trust me, when you've coached as many would-be wannabes as I have, you learn. The first thing a has-been operator does when he makes Dark Demon Denizen-Man is give him some lame-*ss pyrotechnics for his jack-in, his jack-out, all that crap." Lyn kicked forward in her chair now, leaning into her PET over the table. "Can we go home now...?"
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"W-we can't be friends?" Almost instantly Mira sunk back in her chair, hands clasping her cup firmer as her infinitely cheerful mood dissipated. Her head hung low, moping in her chair as she sipped tea in larger quantity. She said nothing more on the matter, and for once oddly stayed silent.
"Mira, we should probably- oh lord... " Katran immediately noticed the reactions of her operator, and shook her head. " someone used the F word, great... Mira we've gone over this.just because someone isn't my ur friend doesnt mean they hate you. Not everyone is so open about life as you are!" unfortunately it barely registered a response out of Mira, aside from a slightly longer pause between drinks.
With a heavy sigh Katran turned her attention back to the room around her. "Well, she's useless for a while. For once I could have actually used her insight, if I could get her to focus at least. Let's take a closer look I guess."
The most telling thing to the navi immediately was the glass. While there were many things that could have caused it to shatter, if it all remained outside something or someone went through it. Taking into account marriageman's earlier actions when they first met, it wasn't implausible that there may have been another accomplice lying in wait. After all there was nothing to say conchman was who he may have been communicating with. Why would they retreat to such a small shack where they could be cornered after all, if there wasn't something there for them. It didn't tactically make sense otherwise.
"Ship, didn't he mention something about blessers? He had to be working with more then just conchman, I suspect. Have you ever heard of such a group, Dune?"
Katran had a feeling there was something more that she was missing but just couldn't place a finger to it. She had probably dismissed some minor detail as unimportant earlier and now it returned to bite her in the tail.
"Mira do you- oh for Pete's sake... SNAP OUT OF IT!
The sudden boom for her companion startled Mira, to the point that her sip turned into a full on chug of the hot beverage. She straightened up immediately, proceeded by a coughing fit as she put the now empty cup down. Her face now fully visible it was clear her eyes were a bit watery, but wether it was from the drink or not was debatable.
"While my unimpressive other half composes herself, how do you think we should proceed? We could always chase him or disable the illusions. We also need to deal with this one somehow." gesturing to conchman.
She wasn't quite sure how to proceed with this situation.
"Mira, we should probably- oh lord... " Katran immediately noticed the reactions of her operator, and shook her head. " someone used the F word, great... Mira we've gone over this.just because someone isn't my ur friend doesnt mean they hate you. Not everyone is so open about life as you are!" unfortunately it barely registered a response out of Mira, aside from a slightly longer pause between drinks.
With a heavy sigh Katran turned her attention back to the room around her. "Well, she's useless for a while. For once I could have actually used her insight, if I could get her to focus at least. Let's take a closer look I guess."
The most telling thing to the navi immediately was the glass. While there were many things that could have caused it to shatter, if it all remained outside something or someone went through it. Taking into account marriageman's earlier actions when they first met, it wasn't implausible that there may have been another accomplice lying in wait. After all there was nothing to say conchman was who he may have been communicating with. Why would they retreat to such a small shack where they could be cornered after all, if there wasn't something there for them. It didn't tactically make sense otherwise.
"Ship, didn't he mention something about blessers? He had to be working with more then just conchman, I suspect. Have you ever heard of such a group, Dune?"
Katran had a feeling there was something more that she was missing but just couldn't place a finger to it. She had probably dismissed some minor detail as unimportant earlier and now it returned to bite her in the tail.
"Mira do you- oh for Pete's sake... SNAP OUT OF IT!
The sudden boom for her companion startled Mira, to the point that her sip turned into a full on chug of the hot beverage. She straightened up immediately, proceeded by a coughing fit as she put the now empty cup down. Her face now fully visible it was clear her eyes were a bit watery, but wether it was from the drink or not was debatable.
"While my unimpressive other half composes herself, how do you think we should proceed? We could always chase him or disable the illusions. We also need to deal with this one somehow." gesturing to conchman.
She wasn't quite sure how to proceed with this situation.
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Dune wasn't able to understand most of the squabble between navis and operators that was taking place, concerning friendship or the lack thereof, so she kept out of it. Besides that, she had bigger fish to fry: namely, the possible status of her coworker as the mastermind behind this plan and the mystery that presented itself to them as they entered the guard shack. Unfortunately, she had little more insight to offer on the situation, so she appeared relieved when Katran and Ship stuck around for a bit to help her digest the clues. "I haven't heard of the Blessers very much outside of a NetPolice bulletin that said to be careful of them, due to their extraordinary powers. That would make sense, if MarriageMan was indeed manipulating the entire beach into his personal... playground," she murmured, obviously thinking of saying something worse but finding it distasteful or embarrassing to name it more directly. "It is quite possible one of the Blessers was waiting here and helped bust MarriageMan out. Looking at it that way... maybe ConchMan really was attacked!"
"Ha," ConchMan laughed dryly, beginning to get thoroughly fed up with getting accusations instead of medical attention. "Well, I assure you, I wasn't working with the Blessers."
"I'm still pretty sure you were, due to the inconsistencies in your reports and your treatment of MarriageMan. That said, I believe that you really must have been attacked. Either you're holding back the identity of the attacker for some reason or you've genuinely been made to forget who they were," Dune surmised, seeming unwilling to let her partner off the hook. "Regardless, you can't get away like he did! We're going to have a trip down to the main branch office."
"What a waste... There are probably so many confused people all along the beach, now that the illusion's worn off, and here we are wasting time going to the branch office instead of quelling the chaos. I have to say, it isn't the best use of our resources," the pink-haired man sighed.
"They've been getting along pretty well this whole time, acting like... degenerates," the officer responded, placing her hands at her hips. "They'll survive for a while longer. I thoroughly understand now that you don't respect me, but you'll probably respect the chief a little more, won't you?"
"I have the utmost respect for you, Dune. That's why I'm letting you know this isn't the right course of action," ConchMan complained, with a shrug that showed he was resigned to go along with Dune anyways. "The beach needs to be controlled and we need to find the criminals."
"That's a lost cause... they definitely jacked out, or we would have seen them come out of the back on our way over, especially if there was a blast of some kind. We know it's the Blessers that are behind it, or I'm 95% sure, anyway. We'll look more into that, but frankly speaking, even if we found them, there's not much the beach patrol could do to stand up to them, if they've got the powers the NP warned about," she murmured, looking sad to admit that point. "The best I can do is take you in, question you, and submit a report to the NP."
"The best you could do is let me cooperate and help you with the clean-up and the report!" ConchMan retorted, looking hurt.
Dune looked like she was contemplating hitting him over the head with her heavy armored gloves, but decided against it. "Well, I've held you two long enough. You should accept the payment... 3000 zenny, with an extra 1400 for each of you, since you were placed in significant danger that I hadn't accounted for," the officer finished, preparing the zenny quickly. "Oh man... my shoulders feel so heavy. I hope I don't fall asleep on the way to the office..." If she was really feeling that way, it might benefit her to take off her armor or go for a soak, but she didn't appear to be contemplating either option.
*Katran and Ship each receive 4400z!*
"Ha," ConchMan laughed dryly, beginning to get thoroughly fed up with getting accusations instead of medical attention. "Well, I assure you, I wasn't working with the Blessers."
"I'm still pretty sure you were, due to the inconsistencies in your reports and your treatment of MarriageMan. That said, I believe that you really must have been attacked. Either you're holding back the identity of the attacker for some reason or you've genuinely been made to forget who they were," Dune surmised, seeming unwilling to let her partner off the hook. "Regardless, you can't get away like he did! We're going to have a trip down to the main branch office."
"What a waste... There are probably so many confused people all along the beach, now that the illusion's worn off, and here we are wasting time going to the branch office instead of quelling the chaos. I have to say, it isn't the best use of our resources," the pink-haired man sighed.
"They've been getting along pretty well this whole time, acting like... degenerates," the officer responded, placing her hands at her hips. "They'll survive for a while longer. I thoroughly understand now that you don't respect me, but you'll probably respect the chief a little more, won't you?"
"I have the utmost respect for you, Dune. That's why I'm letting you know this isn't the right course of action," ConchMan complained, with a shrug that showed he was resigned to go along with Dune anyways. "The beach needs to be controlled and we need to find the criminals."
"That's a lost cause... they definitely jacked out, or we would have seen them come out of the back on our way over, especially if there was a blast of some kind. We know it's the Blessers that are behind it, or I'm 95% sure, anyway. We'll look more into that, but frankly speaking, even if we found them, there's not much the beach patrol could do to stand up to them, if they've got the powers the NP warned about," she murmured, looking sad to admit that point. "The best I can do is take you in, question you, and submit a report to the NP."
"The best you could do is let me cooperate and help you with the clean-up and the report!" ConchMan retorted, looking hurt.
Dune looked like she was contemplating hitting him over the head with her heavy armored gloves, but decided against it. "Well, I've held you two long enough. You should accept the payment... 3000 zenny, with an extra 1400 for each of you, since you were placed in significant danger that I hadn't accounted for," the officer finished, preparing the zenny quickly. "Oh man... my shoulders feel so heavy. I hope I don't fall asleep on the way to the office..." If she was really feeling that way, it might benefit her to take off her armor or go for a soak, but she didn't appear to be contemplating either option.
*Katran and Ship each receive 4400z!*
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Lyn noticed Mira's crestfallen expression from her side of the table, but immediately diverted her eyes in response, pretending she hadn't seen anything. "So yeah, ah... the Blessers. That's a pretty tough one to swallow, ain't it? Well, we oughta just leave it to the NP like the Beach Bunny said, anyhow. Grab the zenny and let's get."
Ship stayed quiet in response, just giving Lyn an icy stare in return. "Lyn, I hope you aren't thinking of trying to slink out of here after leaving our comrades with such a poor impression of us."
"What? F*ck you, what poor impression? I'm roasting my *ss off over here, so let's go!" Lyn was quite publicly yelling at her PET and wasn't making any attempt to hide that she was boiling in her oversized coat anymore.
"I'm tired of you not being 'open about life,' and I'm not collecting anything or going anywhere until you let Mira know how you really feel! You know that not everyone finds it as cute as I do when you put on the 'tough girl' act and treat them coldly. I demand that you let Mira know that you had a good time. Or did you eat all of that food and participate in a whole mission with the two of them because you weren't having a good time and weren't enjoying their company?"
Lyn hadn't been publicly dressed down by her Navi in such an authoritative way before, and gritted her teeth, red from either anger, embarrassment, or both. "Tch!" She normally would have shouted down and out-stubborned her Navi, but she really didn't want to make any bigger or more humiliating of a scene in the cafe than she already had. "Okay, okay. Let's see..."
Still blushing, Lyn cleared her throat and faced Mira, although she still wasn't making proper eye contact. "You and Katran did a pretty okay job, even though we did most of the work. I kind of sort of enjoyed the grub, even though I'm gonna have to pull extra hours working next week to burn off these calories. I didn't want to plant my knuckles in your face 100% of the time, okay?! F*ck, having to say stuff like this..." Lyn muttered, as though she'd just given an embarrassment of praise. She was able to keep a straight-forward gaze and stern face only in the half of her statements that sounded like an insult.
Hearing Lyn's thinly-veiled praise, Ship's was put in a much better mood. "Now tell her how much you enjoyed the date, and how if she still wants to hang out, the two of you could go somewhere more quiet, like your cabin, and-"
Lyn slammed her fist on the "volume down" button and gave her Navi a death-dagger glare, feeling vigorous again now that she'd gotten the guilt of leaving a bad impression on her... "comrade..." out of the way.
"Oh, well," Ship sighed, fully aware she'd pushed her luck too far then. "Well, I hate to say it, but Lyn probably has a good point. The beach patrol can probably take care of the devices well enough without us pitching in. Also, for my part... I can't stand the idea of stepping around couples performing obscene acts on the beach. Right now I have a fond enough memory of this place, and I'm looking forward to returning here some time with a clean atmosphere, a swimsuit, and a friend." She gave another of her bright, cruise-selling smiles to Katran before accepting the money from Dune.
"Thank you for your help, Ms. Dune, and we were certainly happy to assist. Please feel free to contact us in the future if there are any further developments. After you've dealt with ConchMan, won't you please try to get some rest? I'm looking forward to seeing you in good health and humor next time we're by!" She gave Dune's hands a shake to convey her sentiments.
... Notably, she didn't address ConchMan at all. It was pretty clear that she'd started thinking of him as the arrested culprit and therefore stopped paying any attention to him as a person.
"Well, Katran, let's get back to our PETs. Oh, and if Mira's feelings are hurt, please try to let her know Lyn just isn't capable of putting together two words of praise or decency for anything that isn't a fight. I'm confident she had a good time hanging out today. I'll see you again," she said, waving as she beam-and-splashed herself off of the beach in her standard jack-out procedure.
Ship stayed quiet in response, just giving Lyn an icy stare in return. "Lyn, I hope you aren't thinking of trying to slink out of here after leaving our comrades with such a poor impression of us."
"What? F*ck you, what poor impression? I'm roasting my *ss off over here, so let's go!" Lyn was quite publicly yelling at her PET and wasn't making any attempt to hide that she was boiling in her oversized coat anymore.
"I'm tired of you not being 'open about life,' and I'm not collecting anything or going anywhere until you let Mira know how you really feel! You know that not everyone finds it as cute as I do when you put on the 'tough girl' act and treat them coldly. I demand that you let Mira know that you had a good time. Or did you eat all of that food and participate in a whole mission with the two of them because you weren't having a good time and weren't enjoying their company?"
Lyn hadn't been publicly dressed down by her Navi in such an authoritative way before, and gritted her teeth, red from either anger, embarrassment, or both. "Tch!" She normally would have shouted down and out-stubborned her Navi, but she really didn't want to make any bigger or more humiliating of a scene in the cafe than she already had. "Okay, okay. Let's see..."
Still blushing, Lyn cleared her throat and faced Mira, although she still wasn't making proper eye contact. "You and Katran did a pretty okay job, even though we did most of the work. I kind of sort of enjoyed the grub, even though I'm gonna have to pull extra hours working next week to burn off these calories. I didn't want to plant my knuckles in your face 100% of the time, okay?! F*ck, having to say stuff like this..." Lyn muttered, as though she'd just given an embarrassment of praise. She was able to keep a straight-forward gaze and stern face only in the half of her statements that sounded like an insult.
Hearing Lyn's thinly-veiled praise, Ship's was put in a much better mood. "Now tell her how much you enjoyed the date, and how if she still wants to hang out, the two of you could go somewhere more quiet, like your cabin, and-"
Lyn slammed her fist on the "volume down" button and gave her Navi a death-dagger glare, feeling vigorous again now that she'd gotten the guilt of leaving a bad impression on her... "comrade..." out of the way.
"Oh, well," Ship sighed, fully aware she'd pushed her luck too far then. "Well, I hate to say it, but Lyn probably has a good point. The beach patrol can probably take care of the devices well enough without us pitching in. Also, for my part... I can't stand the idea of stepping around couples performing obscene acts on the beach. Right now I have a fond enough memory of this place, and I'm looking forward to returning here some time with a clean atmosphere, a swimsuit, and a friend." She gave another of her bright, cruise-selling smiles to Katran before accepting the money from Dune.
"Thank you for your help, Ms. Dune, and we were certainly happy to assist. Please feel free to contact us in the future if there are any further developments. After you've dealt with ConchMan, won't you please try to get some rest? I'm looking forward to seeing you in good health and humor next time we're by!" She gave Dune's hands a shake to convey her sentiments.
... Notably, she didn't address ConchMan at all. It was pretty clear that she'd started thinking of him as the arrested culprit and therefore stopped paying any attention to him as a person.
"Well, Katran, let's get back to our PETs. Oh, and if Mira's feelings are hurt, please try to let her know Lyn just isn't capable of putting together two words of praise or decency for anything that isn't a fight. I'm confident she had a good time hanging out today. I'll see you again," she said, waving as she beam-and-splashed herself off of the beach in her standard jack-out procedure.
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Katran graciously accepted the reward for the job, but a look on her face clearly showed that she wasn't happy with the events outcome. While it may have been good enough to please her employer the feline felt as though her skills were lacking since the villain managed to sneak away. With a sigh she uploaded the pay and prepared to call it there.
"It's too bad we weren't able to detain them all, but at least we figured out the cause. Please Mira and myself know if you ever need our assistance again, Dune. We would be glad to help."
She turned her attention to Ship, possibly the worst time as she caught a bit of the conversation going on. At first she was a little baffled at the topic, by as it went on it couldn't help but elicits a chuckle for on the normally serious Katran. She was tempted to mention the fact that Mira was known for her over reacting and probably would have forgotten the whole event, acting like friends that next time she saw Lyn regardless. She opted to just watch on amused instead, her tail swayed back and forth happily.
Waiting for the pair to finish, Katran Cleared her throat and addressed ship. " Thank you for your assistance. I must say, I do enjoyed myself a lot more than a job would normally produce with your company. I'm sure my partner there would say the knowing her. Feel free to contact us sometime, if you wish."
"You guys were so much fun! We should get together her more often! W can play games, have some snacks, and just hang out! It'll be great!" The hyperactive operator chimed in, almost as though Lyn's words have her new life and the previous incident had never occurred. In fact it was completely gone from the girls thoughts already.
"memory of a fish, I swear... Oh well. Take care you two, it was a great day."The navi waved, before following suit and jacking out.
"It's too bad we weren't able to detain them all, but at least we figured out the cause. Please Mira and myself know if you ever need our assistance again, Dune. We would be glad to help."
She turned her attention to Ship, possibly the worst time as she caught a bit of the conversation going on. At first she was a little baffled at the topic, by as it went on it couldn't help but elicits a chuckle for on the normally serious Katran. She was tempted to mention the fact that Mira was known for her over reacting and probably would have forgotten the whole event, acting like friends that next time she saw Lyn regardless. She opted to just watch on amused instead, her tail swayed back and forth happily.
Waiting for the pair to finish, Katran Cleared her throat and addressed ship. " Thank you for your assistance. I must say, I do enjoyed myself a lot more than a job would normally produce with your company. I'm sure my partner there would say the knowing her. Feel free to contact us sometime, if you wish."
"You guys were so much fun! We should get together her more often! W can play games, have some snacks, and just hang out! It'll be great!" The hyperactive operator chimed in, almost as though Lyn's words have her new life and the previous incident had never occurred. In fact it was completely gone from the girls thoughts already.
"memory of a fish, I swear... Oh well. Take care you two, it was a great day."The navi waved, before following suit and jacking out.