Infiltrate the Party in the Sky

Suzume joined the growing huddle around Roc and draped her cloak over her naked form. She took one of Roc's hands and began to softly sing an Aria of Renewal. Her hands glowed and 30 points of healing energy flowed into Roc. She then reached to her belt and began bringing out several bandages and assorted scraps of cloth to bind Roc's wounds. Directing the others nearby in treatment.

Aya listened to the information that Kismet gave, frowning at the fact that they would have to infiltrate another place to deal with the Scavenger problem. However, they at least knew now that they could leave, having retrieved the rest of the team. Aya attempted to help Kismet to her feet after she answered Aera's question, and then used her sword to cut her bonds, freeing Kismet. She pointed behind her at the unconscious Roc. "The bird girl over there is named Roc. Scavenger is her sister. She contracted us to help her locate her. Now that we know that the NetPolice have her, we have no reason to stay here. You guys can continue this party on your own terms, we're leaving." Aya then handed Kismet her sword. "I assume you have something to say to Gala on that regard. I'll leave you to it."

Aya then took steps backward, ready to spring away from Kismet if she decided to use the sword on her instead of Gala, until she came to stand by Zazz. "Your comments earlier indicate that you might be interested in a career change. There are bound to be others in our organization that share your lesbian viewpoint. In fact, the Head General Yasu seems to be more interested in women than men. And at the moment your NetMafia friends seem more interested in ending your life than preserving it. So the question becomes: Will you continue working for the NetMafia, or will you join the Neo-Shogunate? If so, then come with us."

DragonierMan waited until Roc was stabilized and then went over to pick her up. "It is time for us to leave," he said as Aera and Aya were wrapping up. And with that, unless otherwise stopped, he would try to lead them all out of Gala's room. He stopped in front of MachMan, Aya ducked in front of Drago to report. "The NetPolice have Scavenger. This whole thing was a waste of time."

If Kismet had told them where Scavenger might be located, Aya would also relay this information to MachMan. If Zazz took them up on the offer of joining the Neo-Shogunate, then Aya would introduce the new member.

Drago then gruffly said, "We should go. This place no longer concerns us." And then he would try to move to the opening in the ship again so he could grow into his giant dragon form and fly the group out.
Kismet turned her eyes up to Aera and momentarily relaxed her frown. "The home for unoperated navis is in Internet City, it's taken care of by a guy named Cranium. He's ex-NP, so even though the NP doesn't officially have a stake in the shelter, a lot of people view it as an NP asset, self-included. Scavenger and Stalker were attacking DimensionMan's SPs during a demonstration there and were defeated," the green-haired mafioso reiterated. Aya finally provided her an escape from her bondage; she rose back up and rubbed her wrists with an uncomfortable grimace. She turned her eyes to Vector and furrowed her brow. "What the Neo-Shogun Empire is up to is always going to be my concern, whether you or I like it or not. You all should get used to showing up as a big red blip on everybody's radar... mine included."

Aya and Zazz's conversation broke the monotony of mistrust, with the red-head giggling obnoxiously. "I can't cut and run now! I know I seem like a great person and all, but I'm still a mafia girl at the end of the day. I like the money, the attention, and the freedom from rules and regulations! If you guys are trying to becoming the net's official army, then sorry, I just don't have any place in an organization like that. I'm a bad girl! I'm always going to be on the bad side," Zazz explained, causing Kismet to glower at her, perhaps wishing she had offered a more convincing advertisement for their organization. "That said, I am toootally up for cooperating again in the future! We'll make it a date! A date with you, me, and all of the Neo-Shogun girls you can bring!"

On the other hand, DragonierMan didn't sound like he thought much of the cooperation so far or the results of their efforts here. In the end, they hadn't gotten a definite confirmation of where to find Scavenger; coming out with only another thread to follow had left a sour taste in his mouth. Vee held onto one of his arms and turned her head up to him again. "That's not the only thing we got out of this mission, though..." she reminded him. Pest looked in the direction and buzzed absent-mindedly, perhaps not understanding. Skywriter bit her lip and refocused her attention on caring for Roc, perhaps fully understanding.

"You've been wonderful guests! Toodles!" Gala waved, as Kismet drew her hood back around her head and summoned a new mask, like an unbroken white orb, encompassing her whole head. The NetMafia head family member then summoned a lengthy green blade atop one of her arms and faced the party's hostess. "Someone looks like they have a temper! So sorry you couldn't win the little game yourself, Kismet. You may be lucky, but sometimes luck isn't e-nuh... N-Neh!" Stammering, Gala stumbled back as the effect of a ridiculously fast sword swing became apparent across her face, causing the small eye-mask she wore to fall in half before opening a leaking wound from her forehead, down the bridge of her nose, and across her lip. Data spilled out repulsively as she fell backward onto the edge of her bath. "Neh-hehehe! Hehe-hrrrah!" she continued laughing, even as Kismet approached and slashed her again across the shoulders.

"You've been protected by the Oni and the rest of the Teksqp bastards for a long time, Gala, but it's a war zone up here and disappearances are going to happen. That's out of my control," Kismet spoke quietly. The hostess started to crawl away towards the other side of the room, her towel nearly riding up to an obscene point of her hips, before Kismet skewered her leg with one blade and summoned another sword to the free arm. "I should thank you for giving me the opportunity to reign in the foolishness of the Teksqp family, actually." Data was now leaking from Gala into the side of the bath, staining a portion of it red. Kismet would probably finish dispensing her justice shortly, but there was no reason the others had to stick around and watch it.

Partially recovered now, Roc slowly opened her eyes and recognized those before her. "Skywriter... Pest... Aera and... the armor... I'm hot," she growled in a guttural tone, breathing heavily but otherwise not moving. Between the pain and the very real possibility that she'd been having sex non-stop since being infected, her temperature was probably as bad as she was making it look. Skywriter and Pest stood back up, supporting her and the cloak around her, and now assuming that DragonierMan and his group were ready to go report in at the base.

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Back outside the door, Flambe continued struggling; he'd probably be beating the crap out of MachMan now to escape, if he was capable of such a thing. He wasn't, of course, and instead thrashed ineffectively. "A-Ah! I can hear it, the Head Family member's free! She'll murder me!" the chef navi wimpered. He seemed to think that Kismet knew plenty about his involvement with preparing the tainted meal that had set tonight's events into motion. If MachMan still had a view into the room, he'd see that Flambe did have at least one valid point: Kismet seemed to be in a murdering mood, judging by what she was doing to Gala.

"I can hear you out there," Kismet announced from far in the distance, causing the orange-haired navi in MachMan's arms to scream out in terror. "You're right: you and Piper are both going to pay for this too. I know that the two of you have been working in conjunction... I'm a Head Family organizer, remember? I'm fully aware that you and Piper were the ones who poisoned that meeting of NP women a while back in just such a manner as what's happened tonight. The fact that you're up here, along with Piper, who is ex-Mafia, only proves my suspicion that you assisted her again to infect all of us, this time to aid her revenge scheme. That makes you just as guilty as her... and just as dead as her. The ironic part is that she's probably sitting in a locked room somewhere, completely unaware of what's coming to her."

"N-No! She tricked me, this time and that time, honest!" Flambe defended, contorting as hard as he could to try to free himself. "I'll even show you where she is! Just don't hurt me!" Kismet nodded, perhaps indicating that was a suitable arrangement. Again, none of this was really MachMan or DragonierMan's concern, now that they'd finished interrogating Kismet. That had been there mission, in the end.
Aera made a mental note as Kismet detailed the specifics regarding the navi shelter, as well as its caretaker. She was about to inquire why they were sent to attack the shelter, but the now standing Navi had shifted her focus to Vector. He remained silent, to not antagonize Kismet further, but kept himself strategically placed as a barrier between the Mafia Navis and his allies. Aya explained their reason for being there, completely stripping the veil of mystery around their operation, but truth be told their objectives were fairly benign even for the NetMafia. However, Aya rightfully didn't mention the fact Piper was in cahoots with the NS. Tensions were already running high, and that tidbit of info would only fan the flames.

Zazz's loyalty to the NetMafia didn't waver, but it became clear she'd likely become a potential ally again sometime in the future; the NS's supply of eye-catching females is impressive to say the least. Luckily for her, Kismet's anger quickly became directed solely on Gala, as she drew weapons on the Navi. Vector's grip on the spear tightened in anticipation to defend his position, but the now masked Navi appeared interested only in attacking Gala, who still laughed while it plainly appeared she was in the process of being murdered. The brutality was hard to watch, especially for Vector, but it served an appropriate moment to gather everyone up and depart; interfering likely would only bring Kismet's blades directed towards him and his allies.

He turned his back on the pair, and had his spear "melt" back into his body to allow him to utilize both of his hands to assist DragonierMan and the two other Squadron members get Roc back on her feet. "Allow me, Sir DragonierMan. We'll tend to Miss Roc, as you still have Miss Vee in your care," he requested politely. Though DragonierMan looked to be more than capable of carrying a couple Navis, Vector didn't want him to be burdened further, especially if they needed to fight their way out. Vector would work with Skywriter and Pest to keep Roc steady, with him willing to bear most of the weight, as his fractal body would serve a rather effective crutch. "Hang on, Miss. We'll get you out of here," he said in an attempt to reassure the Navi. He'd try to have one of her arms up and over his shoulders, so he could help her stay upright. Aera followed close behind, ready to step in if they started to waver or lose their balance.

Mach watched as DragonierMan lead the group out of the room, and advise it was time to depart. He acknowledged Aya's report with a nod, then responded to DragonierMan. "I agree, lead the way. I'll make sure no one falls behind." Though Flambe continued to thrash ineffectively, Mach decided to slightly reduce the amount of physical control on the Navi, electing to simply hold Flambe by the back of the collar of his chef outfit. Unless he wanted to slip out of the white sleeved garment, he'd still be secured in place. However, the commotion in the room between Kismet and Gala appropriately terrified the Navi. Kismet's voice came out of the room, further incriminating Flambe by claiming he also had a part in a group of NP Navis being poisoned in a very similar fashion. Mach craned his neck to give Flambe a critical, "really?" look, complete with both eyebrows raised. Flambe then sang like a canary, still claiming innocence and being deceived by Piper. He even pleaded with Kismet to lead her to Piper in exchange for mercy.

Mach weighed the options, it appeared Kismet would honor the agreement, but that meant Piper's head was now on the chopping block. Since the NS worked with Piper to execute this mission, it meant they'd lose a potentially useful resource. However, Piper's method was unpredictable, and it still appeared she betrayed the NS by poisoning the majority of the team. It looked like a good opportunity to burn a loose end, as they still would have Zazz as a potential "in" with the Mafia. Having decided, he released Flambe and began to follow his group down the hall. "Fine with me, saves us the trouble."

He kept his wings tucked tightly to his back as he quickly caught up with the rest of the group. He put a hand on Aera's shoulder, causing her to glance back to catch him nodding to her reassuringly. As he did so, he sent a message to General Yasu.

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General Yasu, we obtained the information we needed, I'll give you a report once we all return. No casualties, though I recommend you destroy all data trails tracing to Piper. She's about to get the axe, and I wouldn't want any wild claims about our involvement having any supporting evidence.

The group continued to follow DragonierMan as they attempted to navigate back out to the fire-scarred entrance. They wouldn't want to loiter, as Gala and her goons likely would fail to hold back the resistance he saw fighting in the cargo hold, or any of the infected guests still on the ship.
DragonierMan nodded as Vector took on the burden of Roc. Gently handing the heated navi over to the supporting group. "Very well Vector, you can have her." He then turned to the twins. "Suzume, Aya, you have the lead," he told them.

With a flash of light, the two SPs were once more in their armored forms and moved to get in front of the procession as they left the room, to the sounds of Gala being murdered by Kismet. Drago took up the position behind the twins, leading Vee by his arm (as she was wrapped around it). They looked like a couple at the ball. A rough ball that had shredded their garments a bit. And they completed the wealthy look by having Aya and Suzume be their bodyguards out in front.

"So, did you have a fun time at the party my dear?" Drago asked Vee in his attempt at a mockingly posh voice. "I think we should top off the evening by heading back to your place for a quiet dinner. The soiree was quite... vociferous. Wouldn't you agree?" Once they got to the burnt-out room where the hole to the outside of the blimp was, he would turn into his giant dragon form and take those that couldn't fly on his back.
MachMan's group and DragonierMan's both came to the decision that it would be best to leave the ship as soon as possible, for many reasons: the possibility that Roc's condition would start acting up again due to the persistent music, the lack of a need to observe Kismet's violent clean-up process, and the duty to report to General Yasu quickly were all factors. Here, they would cut ties with those they'd met: Zazz would presumably help or at least follow Kismet, Flambe huddled into a corner and waited for Kismet to finish (as running would likely forfeit his one possibility of escaping deletion), and Kismet and Gala were now caught up murdering and being murdered respectively. Amazingly, the guards made no move to help their controller as she was brutally slashed in punishment for her actions. MachMan would receive another message from the First General:

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Please report back as soon as possible. I'll be waiting to receive your report at the gate between camps. Excellent work, to all of you; completing the task with no casualties in such an environment must have been a trying task indeed.


Leaving the gruesome scene, which looked like it would probably end about how Kismet had said it would, everyone returned to the hole from which they'd entered. Neither PantheonMan nor any of the other Bloodhounds that MachMan had spotted earlier could be seen in the hallway.The group would find they could head out of the ship without incident; from there, they'd just need to return the public Neo-Shogun subordinate's camp. From the outside, it would become apparent that the second ship had fallen at some point; a flaming wreckage down below on the floor of NetVegas Net, which had flattened some unwitting establishment, was now surrounded by NP presence. Apparently, their jurisdiction extended even out here where the Mafia had interests in most of the businesses.
With no immediate threats inbound, their exfil from the ship seemed to go quite smoothly. Vector continued to support Roc, while Aera followed closely behind, occasionally readjusting the cloak that seemed to slip slightly from Roc's unabashedly naked form as they moved along. Even behind the cloak it left little to the imagination, and in less dire circumstances Aera would feel some rare jealousy over her ally's notably more voluptuous features. They warily watched the goons lingering in the halls; they made no move against them, neither did they rush to their master's aid... It seemed strange to all three programs, was Gala unaware of her own peril, too focused on her own delusions to use her best asset, or not actually in significant danger? While that thought lingered in his SPs' minds, Mach received a response from Yasu.

Her message seemed rather... nice, actually. She didn't seem as abrasive as before. [[i]Hm, guess she's more complementary now she knows we're trustworthy...[/i]] Mach wondered before he replied.

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Thank you, General. We're on our way back now. I'll give you the details in person, but it seems our search continues.


As they made their way out to the ashen exit, Vector advised Skywriter and Pest. "Carefully now, we must keep Miss Roc steady." Slats near his shoulder blades and his calves opened before inky white smoke oozed and circulated in the eerie blue glow of the vents, causing his body to rise several inches in the air, hopefully carrying Roc along before they floated out to the open air. If Skywriter and Pest were still assisting, they would likely have enough power to keep from falling behind, plus Aera would move to assist if they appeared to be struggling to maintain altitude. Aera's wings hummed calmly, only occasionally snapping with a thin cyan bolt of electricity amongst its feathers.

Mach waited for the entirety of the team to depart, facing back into the ship to keep an eye for anyone attempting to follow. His still-primed cannons materialized under his right forearm, which he pointed down the hallway in preparation to cover his team's exfiltration with fire if necessary. He occasionally glanced back to the exit, waiting for everyone to move clear of the ship. Once they did, he kept his weapon raised and kicked backwards as his wings unfurled. He floated a few inches from the blackened floor as he glided backwards until he saw the scarred hole in the hull pass around him. Once he was clear, he cut power and started to plummet to the floor below. He pitched backwards as his body rolled, leaving him inverted with his front facing the direction of the airship before his wings snapped outwards and pitched upwards, causing him to pull out of the dive and use the momentum to shoot forward and possibly climb to catch up to the rest of the group.

"Let's jump to the camp. Vector, Aera, secure Roc so she'll come with us," he said calmly to his SP's then raised his voice so the leaders of the group could hear, "DragonierMan! We'll meet you back at the encampment!"
Vector's head rotated nearly 180 degrees to look back at his Navi, possible only due to his fractal design, and nodded dutifully before addressing the two Navis assisting him with Roc as Aera approached. "Lady Aera and I will bring Miss Roc. We'll meet you at the encampment." Aera moved in to take her place next to Roc opposite of Vector, and cleared Skywriter and Pest off to link in to the NS Camp at their leisure. Aera moved under Roc's other arm and wrapped her own around Roc's waist to keep her steady, her hand inadvertently brushing against Roc's butt as she took hold of her waist. She also had a much more in-depth awareness of Roc's bustiness, causing a light redness to grow on Aera's face.

Once it appeared his SP's had a good hold on the injured Navi, Mach hailed his NetOp. "Mazer, we're ready to jump to the NS camp, but I don't think Roc can initiate the link. Can you try to send us all as one group?" Mazer adjusted his glasses then started to pull up some menus on the PET's screen. ["Should be possible, stand by."] A few moments later, he'd notify them if he was able or not. If so, he'd give them a countdown. ["Teleport in 3... 2... 1... now."] Mach and his SP's were instantly wreathed in cyan light and rocketed up and out of the network, hopefully with Roc in tow, making the three appear like one large beam shooting skywards before disappearing.

((To Public NS Camp))
As the group left, DragonierMan turned to Suzume, who was scribbling something on a notepad. "What are you writing?" he asked. Suzume gave a cat's grin and showed Drago the notepad. A series of notes had been scrawled on the paper as if she was writing a new song. "I have been listening to the song from Piper as it was broadcasted all over the ships. I think I might have the whole tune, but I can't be certain. Perhaps when we combine it with the cake you took we can find a way to prevent anyone from succumbing to it again," the songstress chirped. Aya smirked, "Or use it to our own ends." Then she frowned. "Although it might be more trouble than its worth."

Then MachMan and crew disappeared. "Well let's return then. Hop on," he said as he turned into his giant dragon form and flew Vee and the twins off into the horizon. Disappearing through a portal back to the Public Neo-Shogun Camp.