"If you want us to stay our hand, then you'd best follow our advice and deactivate those guns. I can assure you, I'll strike you before those strike me." Katran's frigid response was fortified as she brought one of her blades up before her in a striking position. She certainly wasn't about to trust someone who preached peace while armed to the teeth. If something seemed off even for a moment, she wasn't about to hesitate to take him down on the spot.
"If you do that, then we'll considering hearing you out before bringing in our supervisor. Understood?"
[He's clearly a bad guy, get him! pow pow pow and all that good stuff, till he talks! heeheehee] The lovely Mira chimed in with her two cents as usual, much to the dismay of her navi. It was evident that her love of action films was beginning to affect her sense of etiquette in more delicate situations.
"Hush Mira, we're going to do this properly. Just sit down and pay attention in case I need you."
[Spoil sport!] Slumping into her chair, Mira just complied as she stuck her tongue out at the screen of her PET.
"Now then, I believe you should start talking before we change our minds."
Katran stared coldly at MarriageMan waiting for some kind of response. She was willing to listen to a degree but if his excuses just weren't cutting it she would have no choice but to take him in, or rough him up if he resisted.
Dune's Patrol Route
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"Girls, please! There's no need to uh, uuuu... kn-kneecap me," the old man pleaded, wringing his hands together in a way that made his jingling diamond rings clank together noisily. "These devices of mine don't fire live ammunition. Rather, they allow me to use my unique powers to create wide-spread illusions and move targets over short distances. Honest: if I were the man I was a few weeks ago, you would be doing all lovers a service by arresting me. But I'm changed now!"
Sensing that he had the floor to say whatever he wanted, he cleared his throat to continue. "My name is MarriageMan and I am a Blesser, a navi chosen by BlessMan to take a vow and use his supernatural abilities to accomplish it. In my case, that vow was to safeguard the activities of lovers. Now, in the past, I thought that meant protecting vulnerable wives and starry-eyed girls from the abuse of their miserable husbands, but I found that... ehm... my eyes were blinded. Never did I find a man who met up to my exacting standards... I punished all men for perceived transgressions. When I was judged by Blesser's Court, my powers were removed.
The old man sat up and waved one finger proudly. "For good behavior and due to the temporary hiatus of our staff psychiatrist, I was given a chance to redeem myself! My powers were partially restored... and I have been told to use my powers for good this time. I see now that I don't need to protect lovers from abusing one another... No, love will see to that. Instead, I will protect the beastial, at-times difficult to comprehend acts of carnal passion that they wish to share!"
"So you see, I came here after hearing of an illicit photoshoot... but understand! I knew the two involved in the photos personally and I know that their love is beautiful and shy. They came to this place seeking only to deepen their love through what could, I suppose, be called 'over-the-suit butt service,'" the navi continued, making air quotes as he spoke. "The authorities acted as expected and broke it up... But love transcends law! If I must impede the beach authorities in order to make this place safe for couples to express their love for one another, then that is a sacrifice they must unfortunately be made to bear!"
The pitch of his voice was rising now, making him sound like a fire and brimstone preacher. "How they choose to express their love is not my concern! Be it kissing! Hugging! Fondling the buttocks! Suckling! Aiding one another's sexual release in public! Love is what matters, the end all that justifies my actions and my power!" he declared in a mighty bellow, rising to his feet and raising his fists. Suddenly, he plopped back down and went into another coughing fit.
Once he was finished, he smiled like a kindly old man who wasn't using superpowers to allow people to spoon on the beach. "Lovely, isn't it? Such a benevolent act will surely be enough for BlessMan to see that I've changed, don't you think?" he asked, looking between the two girls.
Ship and Katran noticed that the voice on the radio that had been questioning MarriageMan had gone silent.
Sensing that he had the floor to say whatever he wanted, he cleared his throat to continue. "My name is MarriageMan and I am a Blesser, a navi chosen by BlessMan to take a vow and use his supernatural abilities to accomplish it. In my case, that vow was to safeguard the activities of lovers. Now, in the past, I thought that meant protecting vulnerable wives and starry-eyed girls from the abuse of their miserable husbands, but I found that... ehm... my eyes were blinded. Never did I find a man who met up to my exacting standards... I punished all men for perceived transgressions. When I was judged by Blesser's Court, my powers were removed.
The old man sat up and waved one finger proudly. "For good behavior and due to the temporary hiatus of our staff psychiatrist, I was given a chance to redeem myself! My powers were partially restored... and I have been told to use my powers for good this time. I see now that I don't need to protect lovers from abusing one another... No, love will see to that. Instead, I will protect the beastial, at-times difficult to comprehend acts of carnal passion that they wish to share!"
"So you see, I came here after hearing of an illicit photoshoot... but understand! I knew the two involved in the photos personally and I know that their love is beautiful and shy. They came to this place seeking only to deepen their love through what could, I suppose, be called 'over-the-suit butt service,'" the navi continued, making air quotes as he spoke. "The authorities acted as expected and broke it up... But love transcends law! If I must impede the beach authorities in order to make this place safe for couples to express their love for one another, then that is a sacrifice they must unfortunately be made to bear!"
The pitch of his voice was rising now, making him sound like a fire and brimstone preacher. "How they choose to express their love is not my concern! Be it kissing! Hugging! Fondling the buttocks! Suckling! Aiding one another's sexual release in public! Love is what matters, the end all that justifies my actions and my power!" he declared in a mighty bellow, rising to his feet and raising his fists. Suddenly, he plopped back down and went into another coughing fit.
Once he was finished, he smiled like a kindly old man who wasn't using superpowers to allow people to spoon on the beach. "Lovely, isn't it? Such a benevolent act will surely be enough for BlessMan to see that I've changed, don't you think?" he asked, looking between the two girls.
Ship and Katran noticed that the voice on the radio that had been questioning MarriageMan had gone silent.
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Ship struggled to keep quiet in the face of the ludicrous motives being revealed to her. She moved from serious consideration to a blush and comically tight-set grimace, trying her best not to seem professional and unaffected by the strange details. She couldn't quite understand everything she'd been hearing... the idea of Blessers being granted magical powers seemed like something out of a fantasy novel. Truthfully, Ship didn't know where she stood on public acts of affection. If the two were really in love, a little kissing and... a little horseplay... might be exciting! But she most certainly drew the line at "aiding one's sexual release in public." Besides, poor Dune appeared to have been running herself ragged trying to do her job because of this man's twisted ethics.
Concerning Dune, Lyn felt she'd started to piece together the mystery after MarriageMan's explanation (which had revolted Lyn to the point where she'd finally put down her dish). Allowing herself to believe the geezer's bullsh*t story, Lyn came to the conclusion that MarriageMan had used his cannons to create a field of illusions around the beach, disguising the beachgoers illicit acts. Meanwhile, he had some accomplice monitoring Dune's actions. He may have even been using his ability to artificially lengthen Dune's route by moving her and creating a running trail of illusions... "Anyway, who gives a sh*t. That numbskull must want to get handed over to the NetPolice, with all the free info he just turned over."
Lyn turned to her PET again, glaring at the stupid faces her Navi was making. "Oi, Princess! Extra-marital-sex-Man has made it pretty damn easy for us to turn him in, but you've gotta be careful now. You still don't know who his accomplice is. This old bastard seems to be in la-la land, explainin' all this sh*t while you two are trying to arrest him, but if he gets half a brain to do it, he might be able to just use those devices and teleport you two who knows where. Make him rat out his buddy before that happens. Mira," Lyn said, turning her attention to her acquaintance across the table, "I'd say you've got two choices. While Ship holds him, you can have Katran bust up his turrets so he can't work his voodoo, if you think you can make it... or, you should just get Katran off the tower and out of sight. Since that guy was relaying Dune's movements, I think the old man needs info before he can do jack sh*t, so if you can get Katran out of sight fast enough, she might be able to track down the bastard."
Ship understood she needed to string MarriageMan along for more info, but she was having a hard time making herself say anything. "Aaaa.... Absolutely!" she piped up, giving MarriageMan a funny, twitchy smile. "Absolutely lovely. I'm sure BlessMan will tickled about what you and your friend did. Oh!" she spoke up, putting a hand theatrically over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I was just assuming the friend you were talking with earlier was a Blesser too, what was his name...?" Ship got a feeling, based on MarriageMan's backstory, that he was a softy when it came to women. Hopefully she should be able to weasel something out of him with just this half-baked plan.
Concerning Dune, Lyn felt she'd started to piece together the mystery after MarriageMan's explanation (which had revolted Lyn to the point where she'd finally put down her dish). Allowing herself to believe the geezer's bullsh*t story, Lyn came to the conclusion that MarriageMan had used his cannons to create a field of illusions around the beach, disguising the beachgoers illicit acts. Meanwhile, he had some accomplice monitoring Dune's actions. He may have even been using his ability to artificially lengthen Dune's route by moving her and creating a running trail of illusions... "Anyway, who gives a sh*t. That numbskull must want to get handed over to the NetPolice, with all the free info he just turned over."
Lyn turned to her PET again, glaring at the stupid faces her Navi was making. "Oi, Princess! Extra-marital-sex-Man has made it pretty damn easy for us to turn him in, but you've gotta be careful now. You still don't know who his accomplice is. This old bastard seems to be in la-la land, explainin' all this sh*t while you two are trying to arrest him, but if he gets half a brain to do it, he might be able to just use those devices and teleport you two who knows where. Make him rat out his buddy before that happens. Mira," Lyn said, turning her attention to her acquaintance across the table, "I'd say you've got two choices. While Ship holds him, you can have Katran bust up his turrets so he can't work his voodoo, if you think you can make it... or, you should just get Katran off the tower and out of sight. Since that guy was relaying Dune's movements, I think the old man needs info before he can do jack sh*t, so if you can get Katran out of sight fast enough, she might be able to track down the bastard."
Ship understood she needed to string MarriageMan along for more info, but she was having a hard time making herself say anything. "Aaaa.... Absolutely!" she piped up, giving MarriageMan a funny, twitchy smile. "Absolutely lovely. I'm sure BlessMan will tickled about what you and your friend did. Oh!" she spoke up, putting a hand theatrically over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I was just assuming the friend you were talking with earlier was a Blesser too, what was his name...?" Ship got a feeling, based on MarriageMan's backstory, that he was a softy when it came to women. Hopefully she should be able to weasel something out of him with just this half-baked plan.
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It wasn't long into his exposition that Katran had lost the remotely small interest she had in his reasons. Of course she initially had no intention to change her mind off of capturing the culprit to begin with, as she was adamant on completing the mission. His rambling however was giving her a chance to do something about the problem that lay within the twin turrets which seemed to control the sights of the beach and seemingly had led Dune astray. If she could destroy those guns then perhaps things would move a lot smoother for the rest of the mission.
Katran sent a text through the PET for a chip request, as she plotted the strike to her surroundings, making sure she was ready to take off immediately in hopes of tracking down the accomplice.
[Oooh, I think my kitty is about to do something sneaky! I hope Ship can handle things on her own for a bit, cus things might get a little rough!] Mira chirped, as she pulled a Metagel2 from her belongings.
With the chip loaded in, Katran's hand slowly moved to the handle of one of her many knives. A quick flick of her thumb popped off a tiny end cap revealing a small red button on the base of the handle, one which she lightly touched the digit to as she inched back only slightly. She sent a wink Ship's way as the trigger was pressed, the feline-like Navi Leaping from the nearest exit as a fast moving aircraft seemingly appeared out of no where. As it darted by, two gel like missiles deployed from its under-carriage and fell towards the tower; the twin cannons were locked onto, and ready for a good smashing.
*used MetaGel2*
Katran sent a text through the PET for a chip request, as she plotted the strike to her surroundings, making sure she was ready to take off immediately in hopes of tracking down the accomplice.
[Oooh, I think my kitty is about to do something sneaky! I hope Ship can handle things on her own for a bit, cus things might get a little rough!] Mira chirped, as she pulled a Metagel2 from her belongings.
With the chip loaded in, Katran's hand slowly moved to the handle of one of her many knives. A quick flick of her thumb popped off a tiny end cap revealing a small red button on the base of the handle, one which she lightly touched the digit to as she inched back only slightly. She sent a wink Ship's way as the trigger was pressed, the feline-like Navi Leaping from the nearest exit as a fast moving aircraft seemingly appeared out of no where. As it darted by, two gel like missiles deployed from its under-carriage and fell towards the tower; the twin cannons were locked onto, and ready for a good smashing.
*used MetaGel2*
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"My partner? He's no Blesser I'm afraid, just a good citizen interested in aiding my cause. However, as you may have heard me mention earlier, what we are doing together is not strictly legal, so I must withhold his identity. For the sake of love and its uninhibited fruition. You understand?" MarriageMan explained with a kindly smile. He grinned wider, showing several thin, widely spaced teeth. "Ho ho! I feel like a vigilante, a bit! Why, if I didn't specifically have video evidence that Dune doesn't like this sort of thing, I would have been glad to let her in on my intentions as well. She'd make a fine lover herself, if she so choose. As may either of you! I don't think age or... to some extent, feline appearance... is all that important in matters of the heart-!"
Before the two could get any further, Katran sent in an air strike to regulate MarriageMan's turrets, coating each with a thick and heavy gel. Even if they weren't exactly destroyed, such gunk would be unhealthy for any machinery to be exposed to. "Aaaah, mercy, Lord," the old coot grumbled with the resigned irritability of one facing an expected but unwelcome outcome. "I'm doing the work I vowed to do, girls. So, though it pains me, I must raise my fists against you," he declared in his fire and brimstone tone. Next, he literally raised his fists up and pounded them together like it was clobbering time, despite the fact that they were so boney that the gaps between each finger were nearly as wide as the fingers themselves.
His plan became a little more apparent as a red, armored tube with a good cross on the front fell down to encompass his body. Arms extended out from it, each bearing a gold colored gauntlet with diamond-tipped knuckles. Matching ball and chain accessories appeared around each of the legs. All in all, it looked fairly intimidating: a giant new body had formed over his... except...
The body was headless. MarriageMan's voice echoed out from the hollow of the armor as he tried to climb through the neckhole; his scrawny fingers appeared, but not even the top of his head could make itself visible. "I will have to recommission this suit if BlessMan insists on keeping my power limited..." he mused. Since he could barely move, Katran and Ship did not appear to be in much danger. It was a little surprising that the lifeguard stand was still a stand and not a pile of wood debris, with all that added weight.
"Is there some trouble up there?" a voice called out from below. The voice belonged to a guy who, while built for the gym and possessing an attractive face with striking, romantic, sea blue eyes, was wearing a giant white conch shell on his head like a helmet to counterbalance his otherwise dreamy look. His hair was light pink, curling out from under his helmet. His only other clothing article was a pair of white and blue trunks, with a pink curving stripe down the side. "I thought I heard some commotion!" Apparently, he hadn't seen the stealth bombers, though.
The radio had gone entirely silent; not even the slight static sound remained. One end or the other must have been turned off.
Before the two could get any further, Katran sent in an air strike to regulate MarriageMan's turrets, coating each with a thick and heavy gel. Even if they weren't exactly destroyed, such gunk would be unhealthy for any machinery to be exposed to. "Aaaah, mercy, Lord," the old coot grumbled with the resigned irritability of one facing an expected but unwelcome outcome. "I'm doing the work I vowed to do, girls. So, though it pains me, I must raise my fists against you," he declared in his fire and brimstone tone. Next, he literally raised his fists up and pounded them together like it was clobbering time, despite the fact that they were so boney that the gaps between each finger were nearly as wide as the fingers themselves.
His plan became a little more apparent as a red, armored tube with a good cross on the front fell down to encompass his body. Arms extended out from it, each bearing a gold colored gauntlet with diamond-tipped knuckles. Matching ball and chain accessories appeared around each of the legs. All in all, it looked fairly intimidating: a giant new body had formed over his... except...
The body was headless. MarriageMan's voice echoed out from the hollow of the armor as he tried to climb through the neckhole; his scrawny fingers appeared, but not even the top of his head could make itself visible. "I will have to recommission this suit if BlessMan insists on keeping my power limited..." he mused. Since he could barely move, Katran and Ship did not appear to be in much danger. It was a little surprising that the lifeguard stand was still a stand and not a pile of wood debris, with all that added weight.
"Is there some trouble up there?" a voice called out from below. The voice belonged to a guy who, while built for the gym and possessing an attractive face with striking, romantic, sea blue eyes, was wearing a giant white conch shell on his head like a helmet to counterbalance his otherwise dreamy look. His hair was light pink, curling out from under his helmet. His only other clothing article was a pair of white and blue trunks, with a pink curving stripe down the side. "I thought I heard some commotion!" Apparently, he hadn't seen the stealth bombers, though.
The radio had gone entirely silent; not even the slight static sound remained. One end or the other must have been turned off.
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Ship frowned, having failed to get the information she wanted out of MarriageMan. The pitiable Navi clearly thought he was doing right, but he was knowingly crossing the line of what the law allowed. Furthermore, he was (knowingly or unknowingly) crossing the line of what reasonable conversation with a new acquaintance should allow. Mercifully, his monologue came to an end as Katran gelled his weaponry. Presuming that meant the threat they posed was now out of the way, Ship saw fit to disengage. She released MarriageMan just in time, as she found one step putting herself out of the reach of his fists, and another healthy two steps saving her from a concussion as the lawbreaker's armor fell from above.
Lyn tensed up for a moment, thinking they might have underestimated their opponent. Katran had already bailed at this point, which was good: she was prioritizing getting out of there, maybe finding the other culprit or getting backup. But could Ship really fight a Navi who had been blessed crazy sci-fi powers by herself?
However, it didn't look like Lyn was going to get to see Ship's new armor in action after all. In fact, it barely looked like she was going to get to see MarriageMan's new armor in action. "Christ," she muttered, gnawing on her pipe. "Can the old bastard even move in that gear?"
Ship forced herself to resist all of her natural, polite urges to try and help MarriageMan from his prison... it was like ignoring the cries of a helpless old man buried in shining, cross-emblazoned rubble. Instead, she was focusing on whether to fight or flee, before she suddenly heard the call of a man from below. Her impression of her foe as trapped, elderly, and in danger made it easy for her to turn her back on him. She got on her knees at the edge of the tower and carefully peered over.
From the overhead angle, she had a very difficult time making out what she was seeing. Fortunately, the owner of the strange helmet was looking up at her, so she got a better look at the shape. "You must be ConchMan! Dune told us you would be on patrol. We've got the culprit responsible for all the strange happenings up here. You wouldn't believe it, but he's just an elderly old man! The whole plot is really quite bizarre. Come up and I'll tell you all about it!" the Navi shouted.
She began to rise back to her feet (feet-puddles), but paused, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully. ConchMan didn't seem terribly shocked to see this gigantic tower suddenly taking up real estate on his beach. 'I thought I heard some commotion' was a strange greeting to give people having a brouhaha on top of a mysterious tower while you were supposed to be combing a beach for unusual activity. She felt like there were only two possibilities: either the tower had been invisible before and ConchMan would be surprised to see it; or, it had always been here as an installation for lifeguard use, but ConchMan should be surprised to hear two people fighting up here. She got back on her hands and knees and shouted down to ConchMan. "Beg pardon, but you are Dune's partner, ConchMan, correct? You've been helping her with the mystery?"
Ship leaned further over the edge, giving ConchMan a better view of the confusion in her big, green eyes. She'd probably be giving MarriageMan a good view of her behind, if there was any possibility that MarriageMan could see out of that armor. Her position had put her top down and bottom up, and she was wagging her tail defenselessly. Truthfully, she'd practically forgotten he was back there.
Lyn hadn't, of course. "Oi! Keep your eyes around you, Princess. Have you forgotten there's, uh... a big suit of armor behind you? All sorts of Navis can shoot, or teleport!" She felt like she was making a good point, but somehow it sounded lame.
"Relax, Lyn," Ship said, still regarding ConchMan curiously. "The armor you made should protect me. Besides, no matter what happens, Katran should be getting Dune about now, right? This mission is as good as done."
"Well, don't blame me if Mr. Free Love over there decides to make a move," Lyn grumbled, taking the pipe out of her mouth and raising a glass of water to her lips. No matter how much she felt like she should be on edge, it was just too hard to take the situation seriously.
Lyn tensed up for a moment, thinking they might have underestimated their opponent. Katran had already bailed at this point, which was good: she was prioritizing getting out of there, maybe finding the other culprit or getting backup. But could Ship really fight a Navi who had been blessed crazy sci-fi powers by herself?
However, it didn't look like Lyn was going to get to see Ship's new armor in action after all. In fact, it barely looked like she was going to get to see MarriageMan's new armor in action. "Christ," she muttered, gnawing on her pipe. "Can the old bastard even move in that gear?"
Ship forced herself to resist all of her natural, polite urges to try and help MarriageMan from his prison... it was like ignoring the cries of a helpless old man buried in shining, cross-emblazoned rubble. Instead, she was focusing on whether to fight or flee, before she suddenly heard the call of a man from below. Her impression of her foe as trapped, elderly, and in danger made it easy for her to turn her back on him. She got on her knees at the edge of the tower and carefully peered over.
From the overhead angle, she had a very difficult time making out what she was seeing. Fortunately, the owner of the strange helmet was looking up at her, so she got a better look at the shape. "You must be ConchMan! Dune told us you would be on patrol. We've got the culprit responsible for all the strange happenings up here. You wouldn't believe it, but he's just an elderly old man! The whole plot is really quite bizarre. Come up and I'll tell you all about it!" the Navi shouted.
She began to rise back to her feet (feet-puddles), but paused, putting a hand to her chin thoughtfully. ConchMan didn't seem terribly shocked to see this gigantic tower suddenly taking up real estate on his beach. 'I thought I heard some commotion' was a strange greeting to give people having a brouhaha on top of a mysterious tower while you were supposed to be combing a beach for unusual activity. She felt like there were only two possibilities: either the tower had been invisible before and ConchMan would be surprised to see it; or, it had always been here as an installation for lifeguard use, but ConchMan should be surprised to hear two people fighting up here. She got back on her hands and knees and shouted down to ConchMan. "Beg pardon, but you are Dune's partner, ConchMan, correct? You've been helping her with the mystery?"
Ship leaned further over the edge, giving ConchMan a better view of the confusion in her big, green eyes. She'd probably be giving MarriageMan a good view of her behind, if there was any possibility that MarriageMan could see out of that armor. Her position had put her top down and bottom up, and she was wagging her tail defenselessly. Truthfully, she'd practically forgotten he was back there.
Lyn hadn't, of course. "Oi! Keep your eyes around you, Princess. Have you forgotten there's, uh... a big suit of armor behind you? All sorts of Navis can shoot, or teleport!" She felt like she was making a good point, but somehow it sounded lame.
"Relax, Lyn," Ship said, still regarding ConchMan curiously. "The armor you made should protect me. Besides, no matter what happens, Katran should be getting Dune about now, right? This mission is as good as done."
"Well, don't blame me if Mr. Free Love over there decides to make a move," Lyn grumbled, taking the pipe out of her mouth and raising a glass of water to her lips. No matter how much she felt like she should be on edge, it was just too hard to take the situation seriously.
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Having successfully launched her attack, Katran landed on the sandy beach below with a thud. Jamming the guns seemed to have worked, but since they had already been allowed to view the world behind the tower so to speak it was hard to tell if everything was shut off for other navi. Katran took cover in the closest spot she could find as her eyes surveyed the terrain. She was worried that MarriageMan's accomplice might come looking for him and wondered if ship would be ok until she could grab reinforcements.
Mira on the otherhand decided it was more appropriate to making whooshing noises as if to imitate the plane that had already vanished after her navi's attack.She was having no problems keeping herself entertained.
"Hehehe~ That was awesome! Is ship Ok, Lyn? She didnt get covered in goo or anything did she? I'd hate for her to ruin that cute outfit of hers..." Mira at least trying to return to some relevant state of conversation.
As Katran continued to keep watch from a safe distance, she reached for the radio which Dune had granted them earlier in hopes that she could reach her employer for further instructions.
"Commander Dune, do you read me? This is Katran. We have located both a structure and Navi of heavy suspicion which has been now confirmed to be part of the problem at this beach." She started, trying to gather her thoughts on how to explain. As she spoke though, her feline eyes caught sight of a new face approaching the building. They didn't seem hostile, but that wasn't always a case for determining friend from foe.
"A Navi named MarriageMan Has set up a short of... holigraphic overlay on the beach using a guard tower as it's focal point, which they seem to have been using to lead you astray. We've infiltrated and hopefully disabled the device, however there seems to be an accomplice of his still free as well as a group refereed to as "blessers". I also witnessed a navi with what seems to be a shell on his head had approached ships location, unsure of their intentions. What would you have us do?"
Having sent her message it was only a matter of time as she waited for her orders patiently. She stuck close enough that in the event ship needed assistance she could help, but still distanced enough to not draw attention. She only prayed that Dune responded swiftly otherwise she would have to take matters into her own hands.
Mira on the otherhand decided it was more appropriate to making whooshing noises as if to imitate the plane that had already vanished after her navi's attack.She was having no problems keeping herself entertained.
"Hehehe~ That was awesome! Is ship Ok, Lyn? She didnt get covered in goo or anything did she? I'd hate for her to ruin that cute outfit of hers..." Mira at least trying to return to some relevant state of conversation.
As Katran continued to keep watch from a safe distance, she reached for the radio which Dune had granted them earlier in hopes that she could reach her employer for further instructions.
"Commander Dune, do you read me? This is Katran. We have located both a structure and Navi of heavy suspicion which has been now confirmed to be part of the problem at this beach." She started, trying to gather her thoughts on how to explain. As she spoke though, her feline eyes caught sight of a new face approaching the building. They didn't seem hostile, but that wasn't always a case for determining friend from foe.
"A Navi named MarriageMan Has set up a short of... holigraphic overlay on the beach using a guard tower as it's focal point, which they seem to have been using to lead you astray. We've infiltrated and hopefully disabled the device, however there seems to be an accomplice of his still free as well as a group refereed to as "blessers". I also witnessed a navi with what seems to be a shell on his head had approached ships location, unsure of their intentions. What would you have us do?"
Having sent her message it was only a matter of time as she waited for her orders patiently. She stuck close enough that in the event ship needed assistance she could help, but still distanced enough to not draw attention. She only prayed that Dune responded swiftly otherwise she would have to take matters into her own hands.
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"Oh! A cute girl. What are you doing up there?" ConchMan asked, crossing his arms as he spotted Ship peering over the side of the giant lifeguard stand. "Yes, I am ConchMan. Dune is my partner. You've got some sort of criminal up there, do you? You're right, I'd better get up there immediately. Please, evacuate if you are able; it sounds like it may be dangerous. I'll head right up to apprehend him!" the navi shouted back, gaining a sense of urgency as he heard the situation spelled out. He grabbed hold of the ladder and started to scale the tower. "Are you in any danger?"
"No, no!" MarriageMan's voice echoed from inside the armor; while Ship could hear it fairly clearly, she could imagine it must be projecting directly upward and otherwise muffled, so it was unlikely ConchMan could hear anything he was saying. "I haven't laid a hand on anyone! Please, calm down, everyone, and I'll explain the whole situation..."
In the mean time, Dune's voice replied to Katran over the portable radio. "MarriageMan? So he's created something like an illusion? Whatever you done, I don't think it's dispelled that illusion... I'm still not able to see anything out of the ordinary on my side. I'll head over to the area where I last saw you to assist with the arrest of the known offender, though. It sounds like ConchMan's already there... I'd advise you all to stick close to him and follow any instructions he gives you. If MarriageMan did have any help, they're still out there!" the radio buzzed.
As ConchMan continued to scale the tower, he held one arm out to the side... what looked like a large, pink surfboard zipped out from the sand and came into his hand. The surfboard, as it turned out, was the giant, pink-colored half-shell of a clam. "Young girl, use this to ferry yourself down to the beach! I'm almost there, so leave the criminal to me," he urged. The pink shell floated upward and stopped at the edge of the lifeguard stand near Ship, allowing her to step onto it if she so desired. MarriageMan didn't appear to be going anywhere; she could still hear his voice ringing out from inside the armor, but it was so distorted by the cave-like acoustics of the armor that she could no longer make out what he was saying.
"No, no!" MarriageMan's voice echoed from inside the armor; while Ship could hear it fairly clearly, she could imagine it must be projecting directly upward and otherwise muffled, so it was unlikely ConchMan could hear anything he was saying. "I haven't laid a hand on anyone! Please, calm down, everyone, and I'll explain the whole situation..."
In the mean time, Dune's voice replied to Katran over the portable radio. "MarriageMan? So he's created something like an illusion? Whatever you done, I don't think it's dispelled that illusion... I'm still not able to see anything out of the ordinary on my side. I'll head over to the area where I last saw you to assist with the arrest of the known offender, though. It sounds like ConchMan's already there... I'd advise you all to stick close to him and follow any instructions he gives you. If MarriageMan did have any help, they're still out there!" the radio buzzed.
As ConchMan continued to scale the tower, he held one arm out to the side... what looked like a large, pink surfboard zipped out from the sand and came into his hand. The surfboard, as it turned out, was the giant, pink-colored half-shell of a clam. "Young girl, use this to ferry yourself down to the beach! I'm almost there, so leave the criminal to me," he urged. The pink shell floated upward and stopped at the edge of the lifeguard stand near Ship, allowing her to step onto it if she so desired. MarriageMan didn't appear to be going anywhere; she could still hear his voice ringing out from inside the armor, but it was so distorted by the cave-like acoustics of the armor that she could no longer make out what he was saying.
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"I... don't believe I'm in any danger, ConchMan," Ship replied, standing up now that she could see the man more easily on the ladder. "I do believe the offender intended to fight his way out of this, but... his equipment seems ill-fit to the task. Maybe he's trying to make it more difficult to arrest him? It feels like he wasn't expecting his weaponry to be so difficult to wield... overall, I have not gotten the impression that the culprit is a threat," she finally admitted, overcoming her reluctance to insult the best efforts of the poor man within earshot.
Ship took a look at the surfboard and started to step on before her operator suddenly piped up again. "Oi, Princess! What's the hurry? We can't get paid until Dune gets back here and gives us the okay, right? So just sit tight and wait for her to slap the handcuffs on this *sshole. Might as well stay up here in case the guy finally finds the armholes in his sweater and gets a mind to attack your obnoxious looking pal." Lyn sipped some more water and pondered a bit, trying to think up a good insulting nickname for their new acquaintance.
"Right," Ship confirmed. She was eager to get back down to solid sand (and the beach, no less!), but it's not like scurrying around without Katran would do her any good regardless. "If it's all the same to you, ConchMan, sir, I believe I will remain here until Dune arrives, unless you've got the means to apprehend MarriageMan and remove him from the beach yourself. I imagine when he's gone, all of the strange illusions should disappear, and you can interrogate him to learn of his contact at your leisure. I must say, I'm looking forward to this beach regaining its respectable appearance. It looks quite lovely! Far too many trash cans about right now." Ship frowned, putting a hand to her chin. "Now that I think about it, we didn't ever discern the purpose of those trash cans. Maybe there's something in them that acts as a relay to cast the illusions... but it can't be hidden by illusions itself?" Ship gave herself a pat on the back for being clever and thorough. In fact, she took a brief pause to see if she was going to be praised by her operator before sighing and continuing her train of thought. "Lyn, can you have Mira see if Katran's available to check the contents of one of those trash cans? I'd hate to think we left any stone unturned. It would really be ideal if we could round up both of the culprits at once.
"Eh, all right. Oi, Mira!" Lyn shouted across the table at the other operator. "Ship wants you to have Katran bust up one of those weird trash cans we saw earlier and see what's inside. Stop shovin' snacks in your mouth and get her on that, arright?" Lyn finished her sentence by immediately tearing into another croissant.
Ship wished her operator had preserved some of the politeness she'd intended for that message to carry, but she supposed that couldn't be helped. "Anyways, ConchMan, it's a pleasure to meet you. Dune may have told you, my name is Ship.EXE. Would you like me to fill you in on any of the details of the situation?"
Ship took a look at the surfboard and started to step on before her operator suddenly piped up again. "Oi, Princess! What's the hurry? We can't get paid until Dune gets back here and gives us the okay, right? So just sit tight and wait for her to slap the handcuffs on this *sshole. Might as well stay up here in case the guy finally finds the armholes in his sweater and gets a mind to attack your obnoxious looking pal." Lyn sipped some more water and pondered a bit, trying to think up a good insulting nickname for their new acquaintance.
"Right," Ship confirmed. She was eager to get back down to solid sand (and the beach, no less!), but it's not like scurrying around without Katran would do her any good regardless. "If it's all the same to you, ConchMan, sir, I believe I will remain here until Dune arrives, unless you've got the means to apprehend MarriageMan and remove him from the beach yourself. I imagine when he's gone, all of the strange illusions should disappear, and you can interrogate him to learn of his contact at your leisure. I must say, I'm looking forward to this beach regaining its respectable appearance. It looks quite lovely! Far too many trash cans about right now." Ship frowned, putting a hand to her chin. "Now that I think about it, we didn't ever discern the purpose of those trash cans. Maybe there's something in them that acts as a relay to cast the illusions... but it can't be hidden by illusions itself?" Ship gave herself a pat on the back for being clever and thorough. In fact, she took a brief pause to see if she was going to be praised by her operator before sighing and continuing her train of thought. "Lyn, can you have Mira see if Katran's available to check the contents of one of those trash cans? I'd hate to think we left any stone unturned. It would really be ideal if we could round up both of the culprits at once.
"Eh, all right. Oi, Mira!" Lyn shouted across the table at the other operator. "Ship wants you to have Katran bust up one of those weird trash cans we saw earlier and see what's inside. Stop shovin' snacks in your mouth and get her on that, arright?" Lyn finished her sentence by immediately tearing into another croissant.
Ship wished her operator had preserved some of the politeness she'd intended for that message to carry, but she supposed that couldn't be helped. "Anyways, ConchMan, it's a pleasure to meet you. Dune may have told you, my name is Ship.EXE. Would you like me to fill you in on any of the details of the situation?"
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"Understood. Katran, out. Over.""
It was unfortunate that her assault on the tower had changed nothing on Dune's end, but it was a problem that had already been anticipated in a small sense none the less. With the illusion still in effect, it was up to them to discover just who was providing aide to the derange geezer.
"Ehhhhhh? The illusions are still up? awwwww I thought our plan was perfect..." Mira began to pout as she listened in on Katran's conversation. "Oh well, guess we get to have lots more fun figuring it all out then, eh Lyn? heeheehee." As usual Mira's attitude was changing about as fast as she talked, all the while taking sips of her tea between sentences. "I wonder who's behind it though... I mean, they'd have to be able to still see every thing dispite all the holographical thingamagigs everywhere. Is there a way we can figure out who that is?"
Just as she was about to shove a biscuit into her mouth, she was caught off guard by Lyn's sudden out burst, only to drop the cookie in response. "A-ahhh... my biscuit..." She whimpered , before directying her attention fully towards Lyn.
"Trash cans? uhm, ok then! I'm sure we can manage that, right Katran? Oooooh, it's like treasure hunting! but stickier... good thing your not completely covered in fur, right? heeheehee."
Katran just grimaced at the notion that she had been reduced to dumpster diving in this sort of situation. Surely there was a more applicable task that could be taken, one better suited to her own skills and attributes. Unfortunately with none coming to mind off hand, and it being a request from Ship, the feline navi grumbled as she looked for the nearest disposal unit.
"Well if ship believes it's important... alright, alright fine. You will breath a word of this to no one, you hear me Mira?!"
"Hehehe my lips are sealed!" Adding a twisting motion with her fingers infront of her mouth to seal the deal, so to speak.
With that out of the way, Katran reluctantly approached one of the cans in the vecinity. Of course she was still taking her cautionary measures to stay as far out of sight as she could, in the chance they made it passed ship and began a hunt for her. A loud audible groan could be heard from the navi as she began to rummage about in the receptacle.
"Why me..."
It was unfortunate that her assault on the tower had changed nothing on Dune's end, but it was a problem that had already been anticipated in a small sense none the less. With the illusion still in effect, it was up to them to discover just who was providing aide to the derange geezer.
"Ehhhhhh? The illusions are still up? awwwww I thought our plan was perfect..." Mira began to pout as she listened in on Katran's conversation. "Oh well, guess we get to have lots more fun figuring it all out then, eh Lyn? heeheehee." As usual Mira's attitude was changing about as fast as she talked, all the while taking sips of her tea between sentences. "I wonder who's behind it though... I mean, they'd have to be able to still see every thing dispite all the holographical thingamagigs everywhere. Is there a way we can figure out who that is?"
Just as she was about to shove a biscuit into her mouth, she was caught off guard by Lyn's sudden out burst, only to drop the cookie in response. "A-ahhh... my biscuit..." She whimpered , before directying her attention fully towards Lyn.
"Trash cans? uhm, ok then! I'm sure we can manage that, right Katran? Oooooh, it's like treasure hunting! but stickier... good thing your not completely covered in fur, right? heeheehee."
Katran just grimaced at the notion that she had been reduced to dumpster diving in this sort of situation. Surely there was a more applicable task that could be taken, one better suited to her own skills and attributes. Unfortunately with none coming to mind off hand, and it being a request from Ship, the feline navi grumbled as she looked for the nearest disposal unit.
"Well if ship believes it's important... alright, alright fine. You will breath a word of this to no one, you hear me Mira?!"
"Hehehe my lips are sealed!" Adding a twisting motion with her fingers infront of her mouth to seal the deal, so to speak.
With that out of the way, Katran reluctantly approached one of the cans in the vecinity. Of course she was still taking her cautionary measures to stay as far out of sight as she could, in the chance they made it passed ship and began a hunt for her. A loud audible groan could be heard from the navi as she began to rummage about in the receptacle.
"Why me..."
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ConchMan smiled and narrowed his eyes as Ship refused to take him up on his offer. It didn't seem like he was the type to frown often, but if his nature had been otherwise, he'd probably be doing so now. It was hard to tell if he was offended that he wasn't being implicitly obeyed, or if he was thinking having her up there was going to make his work more difficult. "Well, if you believe he's not a threat, then I suppose it's fine. You can fill me in on the details, of course. For now... you in there! Can you hear me?" he questioned in an authoritative tone, knocking on the armor with one fist. "Answer if you can!"
"Oh! Er, yes, I can!" MarriageMan responded, sounding alarmed at the voice he heard.
ConchMan placed one hand on his hip and rested the other against the armor. "Please, dispel your armor. This is the beach patrol. We believe you're the cause of a recent disturbance and need to ask you some questions. Please do not execute a jack-out routine. Please refrain from any further show of force. Summoning any additional weapons or powers will be seen as a show of force, and will prompt my own violent response. Will you cooperate?"
"I-I will, of course," MarriageMan responded, sounding surprisingly reasonable. The armor vanished, leaving the skinny beach bum clad in his original beach bum gear. "Ahem, Officer ConchMan... I don't want any violence to erupt here. I'll follow you back for questioning."
"Splendid!" ConchMan laughed, hastily grabbing the captive by his shoulders and hurling him onto the pink surfboard he'd brought out for Ship earlier. The old man wailed in terror, clamping both arms and legs around its body. Ignoring the cries, ConchMan quickly moved onto the board behind the trembling MarriageMan. "Thank you very much for your efforts, Ship, Katran. Dune and I owe you a debt of service, that's for sure," he sighed. He didn't seem to have any intention of waiting on Dune to show up. He didn't even seem interested in waiting for Ship to explain the situation to him.
Beachgoers watched in surprise as Katran dug through the trash, some whispering to one another. After throwing out just the upper layer, however, it became apparent that the trash can was no ordinary garbage receptacle. Inside, Katran discovered another golden turret, standing upright with its nose pointed upward, out of the trash can. There was no reaction from MarriageMan or ConchMan, so presumably, they hadn't seen her discovery and weren't aware. Katran could only imagine how many of these turrets were hidden in similar spots along the beach...
"Oh! Er, yes, I can!" MarriageMan responded, sounding alarmed at the voice he heard.
ConchMan placed one hand on his hip and rested the other against the armor. "Please, dispel your armor. This is the beach patrol. We believe you're the cause of a recent disturbance and need to ask you some questions. Please do not execute a jack-out routine. Please refrain from any further show of force. Summoning any additional weapons or powers will be seen as a show of force, and will prompt my own violent response. Will you cooperate?"
"I-I will, of course," MarriageMan responded, sounding surprisingly reasonable. The armor vanished, leaving the skinny beach bum clad in his original beach bum gear. "Ahem, Officer ConchMan... I don't want any violence to erupt here. I'll follow you back for questioning."
"Splendid!" ConchMan laughed, hastily grabbing the captive by his shoulders and hurling him onto the pink surfboard he'd brought out for Ship earlier. The old man wailed in terror, clamping both arms and legs around its body. Ignoring the cries, ConchMan quickly moved onto the board behind the trembling MarriageMan. "Thank you very much for your efforts, Ship, Katran. Dune and I owe you a debt of service, that's for sure," he sighed. He didn't seem to have any intention of waiting on Dune to show up. He didn't even seem interested in waiting for Ship to explain the situation to him.
Beachgoers watched in surprise as Katran dug through the trash, some whispering to one another. After throwing out just the upper layer, however, it became apparent that the trash can was no ordinary garbage receptacle. Inside, Katran discovered another golden turret, standing upright with its nose pointed upward, out of the trash can. There was no reaction from MarriageMan or ConchMan, so presumably, they hadn't seen her discovery and weren't aware. Katran could only imagine how many of these turrets were hidden in similar spots along the beach...
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"Well," Ship began, clearing her throat and following ConchMan with her eyes, "we were tipped off to the presence of this man after interrogating some of the beachgoers down below. We quickly realized that the image of all the beachgoers simply sitting around was a sort of illusion caused by-" Ship cut off her explanation as she got the feeling that her intended audience was in a rush, continuing to act and talk even as she explained. She gave a small pouting frown as she rocked back and forth on her heels, upset that MarriageMan was being cooperative now that there was an actual male beach authority giving him orders rather than a little girl. "Lyn, did Katran have any luck investigating the trashcans?"
"Yeah, she just walked over and started digging through one," Lyn replied, having left her own seat to stand over Mira's shoulder and have a look at her PET. "I won't pretend it ain't funny seein' a cat like her picking through garbage."
"Hey, now! I clearly intended for Katran to do that as my valued partner on the ground. It just so happened they were garbage cans, it has nothing to do with the fact that she's like a cat." Ship pouted further, upset that her message may have been misconstrued.
"Well, the comedy sorta stopped short anyhow, cause there ain't a lot of garbage to see in these things. More turrets." Lyn punctuated her sentence with some loud slurping of her drink behind Mira's ear. "I think our next move oughta be to f*ck up one of these things and see what happens. In fact, those ones up near you are all still there, right?"
"Indeed," Ship replied with a nod. "I don't know if it's a good idea to bust them up or not, though. Dune may want to investigate them before they're tampered with..."
"Doubt it. She looks pretty damn beat, remember? She's probably going to see who you caught, give you a pat on the back and hopefully our f*ckin' rewards, and then pass out on the beach."
Ship was still hesitant, but she reconsidered as she saw ConchMan was leaving with MarriageMan in tow. She quickly realized there was no more space on the board, which meant... she would probably be climbing her way down. Eager to postpone that chore as long as she could, Ship turned to face one of the turrets. Summoning up her usual waters in the small space of the lifeguard tower floor, Ship gave a shout and fell back on her backside, causing a splash to shoot up and crash against a nearby turret. She stood back up, a bit red-faced. "I don't really know how to do it without my boat..."
Lyn took another big draw of her drink and sat back at her seat, not really looking surprised or amused. Such antics were mostly par for the course with her Navi now, and she had to admit fighting without her boat was out of her element. "Oi, Mira, maybe get Katran to bust up one on the beach?" Lyn had a spoon in her mouth now and kicked back in her chair while moving it back and forth. "... Actually, I might have a better idea. Maybe you should have Katran tail the two on the board? You never know with Navis, and a coach like me knows not to underestimate their potential strength." Lyn said this with a straight face, obviously forgetting how she'd been laughing at MarriageMan's powerless plight earlier and her own tendency to judge Navis based on appearance. Still, she had a feeling that something was off... "I dunno why the guy hasn't just tried to jack out already, but it might be worth following them so you can protect the stupid shell guy if MarriageMan gets any funny ideas. And maybe find out where they're goin'..." Lyn spoke with the spoon in her hand now still kicking back and turning her face down to address Mira from her tilt.
"Yeah, she just walked over and started digging through one," Lyn replied, having left her own seat to stand over Mira's shoulder and have a look at her PET. "I won't pretend it ain't funny seein' a cat like her picking through garbage."
"Hey, now! I clearly intended for Katran to do that as my valued partner on the ground. It just so happened they were garbage cans, it has nothing to do with the fact that she's like a cat." Ship pouted further, upset that her message may have been misconstrued.
"Well, the comedy sorta stopped short anyhow, cause there ain't a lot of garbage to see in these things. More turrets." Lyn punctuated her sentence with some loud slurping of her drink behind Mira's ear. "I think our next move oughta be to f*ck up one of these things and see what happens. In fact, those ones up near you are all still there, right?"
"Indeed," Ship replied with a nod. "I don't know if it's a good idea to bust them up or not, though. Dune may want to investigate them before they're tampered with..."
"Doubt it. She looks pretty damn beat, remember? She's probably going to see who you caught, give you a pat on the back and hopefully our f*ckin' rewards, and then pass out on the beach."
Ship was still hesitant, but she reconsidered as she saw ConchMan was leaving with MarriageMan in tow. She quickly realized there was no more space on the board, which meant... she would probably be climbing her way down. Eager to postpone that chore as long as she could, Ship turned to face one of the turrets. Summoning up her usual waters in the small space of the lifeguard tower floor, Ship gave a shout and fell back on her backside, causing a splash to shoot up and crash against a nearby turret. She stood back up, a bit red-faced. "I don't really know how to do it without my boat..."
Lyn took another big draw of her drink and sat back at her seat, not really looking surprised or amused. Such antics were mostly par for the course with her Navi now, and she had to admit fighting without her boat was out of her element. "Oi, Mira, maybe get Katran to bust up one on the beach?" Lyn had a spoon in her mouth now and kicked back in her chair while moving it back and forth. "... Actually, I might have a better idea. Maybe you should have Katran tail the two on the board? You never know with Navis, and a coach like me knows not to underestimate their potential strength." Lyn said this with a straight face, obviously forgetting how she'd been laughing at MarriageMan's powerless plight earlier and her own tendency to judge Navis based on appearance. Still, she had a feeling that something was off... "I dunno why the guy hasn't just tried to jack out already, but it might be worth following them so you can protect the stupid shell guy if MarriageMan gets any funny ideas. And maybe find out where they're goin'..." Lyn spoke with the spoon in her hand now still kicking back and turning her face down to address Mira from her tilt.
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"Of course, so this is probably why Dune was still left in the dark..." Katran observed as her digging in the trash actually came up with some fruitful findings. If there were more of these located around the area, it would be a simple task of keeping what they wanted hidden a secret for as long as they needed. Poor Dune would never have a chance of finding them.
"Woohoo! Go trash cat! Its like you were born to-" "DON'T SAY ONE MORE WORD!" The cat snapped back before Mira could finish her sentence, clearly embarassed enough already just from the act alone. The last thing she wanted to hear in this situation was more of Mira's commentary on it. Mira just giggled to herself, before simply bringing her cup to her lips to enjoy her tea silently; How long that would last was a different story all together.
" Ahem... right, so I take it this is the culprit then."Katran confirmed, as she brushed the bit of garbage from her hands. That out of the way, her hand traced down to her belt, grasping one of her many blades and pulling it from it's sheath. From the PET Katran could make out that Lyn was seconding the plan to dispose of at least one of the beacons, so with no hesitation she struck in an attempt to disable it.
Placing the cup down on the table once more, Mira held a grin on her face as she watched her navi's actions intently. "Well, if we aren't going to hunt them all down one by one, i guess you're right. We should totally keep an eye on those two suspicious creeps! They might be- wait your a coach? a coach of what? did you already mention this early or did i just forget... either way you totally have to tell me more about yourself!" The girl was practically bouncing in her chair at the chance to dig more into Lyn's personal life, as though she had just unlocked some secret treasure she just had to get her hands on. It was quite clear she was full of anticipation. "Katran, you go chase them with your own discretion, i wanna listen to Lyn's cool life story!"
With more than a sigh and a "Right..."the feline returned her attention to ship's direction, looking to keep a watchful gaze on their two aquaintences. She wasn't sure if she had just blown her cover as she "excavated the receptical", so she opted to keep to the safe side. Moving cautiously and looking to see if there was anything she could move behind to give her a little bit of a hiding spot, she tried to get just a little closer once more.
"Woohoo! Go trash cat! Its like you were born to-" "DON'T SAY ONE MORE WORD!" The cat snapped back before Mira could finish her sentence, clearly embarassed enough already just from the act alone. The last thing she wanted to hear in this situation was more of Mira's commentary on it. Mira just giggled to herself, before simply bringing her cup to her lips to enjoy her tea silently; How long that would last was a different story all together.
" Ahem... right, so I take it this is the culprit then."Katran confirmed, as she brushed the bit of garbage from her hands. That out of the way, her hand traced down to her belt, grasping one of her many blades and pulling it from it's sheath. From the PET Katran could make out that Lyn was seconding the plan to dispose of at least one of the beacons, so with no hesitation she struck in an attempt to disable it.
Placing the cup down on the table once more, Mira held a grin on her face as she watched her navi's actions intently. "Well, if we aren't going to hunt them all down one by one, i guess you're right. We should totally keep an eye on those two suspicious creeps! They might be- wait your a coach? a coach of what? did you already mention this early or did i just forget... either way you totally have to tell me more about yourself!" The girl was practically bouncing in her chair at the chance to dig more into Lyn's personal life, as though she had just unlocked some secret treasure she just had to get her hands on. It was quite clear she was full of anticipation. "Katran, you go chase them with your own discretion, i wanna listen to Lyn's cool life story!"
With more than a sigh and a "Right..."the feline returned her attention to ship's direction, looking to keep a watchful gaze on their two aquaintences. She wasn't sure if she had just blown her cover as she "excavated the receptical", so she opted to keep to the safe side. Moving cautiously and looking to see if there was anything she could move behind to give her a little bit of a hiding spot, she tried to get just a little closer once more.
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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.
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.
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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!*